“I’ll be silver and I’ll be gold / without a heart without even a soul / I’ll be cold…
I am metal and I am steel / I don’t mind ‘cuz I don’t feel a thing / I’m a diamond ring…”
- Bob Schneider, “Metal and Steel”

Setting

In Flesh No More, the characters are people that are turning into objects that typify them, one part at a time. Generally known as the “Transforming,” these people have turned their backs on their humanity, for selfish or selfless reasons, or because they just can’t deal with being a person anymore. Truly leaving the aspects of life that make them human creates a vacuum that something else will fill. The characters slowly take on characteristics of inanimate things, gaining benefits but incrementally losing their souls as well.

One ‘body part’ at a time transforms; the parts can be symbolic as well as physical. Every event in there that draws them further from humanity brings about another change. Someone turning into metal might suddenly find himself with a silver tongue, and now has the ability to sway crowds with rousing speeches filled with vigor and emotion. That same individual soon discovers that he can no longer tell someone even the simplest truth when speaking one-on-one; he has to lie about even the most trivial matter.

In the real world, can other people see the changes that are happening to the Transformingwill they see a man on the street with jets coming out of his back as he becomes an airplane, for example? It depends on the game world you’re running Flesh No More in. In the “default,” modern-day setting, the changes appear to the person, but not to others that see them in everyday life, until they get too severe to ignore. In a high fantasy or other magic- or mythic-heavy settings, everyone or possibly just magically-inclined people can see the changes. In any case, other Transforming can always immediately see the changes of the rest of their kind.

The ideas in Flesh No More can be played as a stand alone game or an ‘add-on’ to another setting. The Transforming can be in any time period, though the game here is focused on a modern-day setting.

Characters

The most important aspect of character creation is to develop a “Path From Humanity”; a list of changes that happen to the character as they progress down the road, away from being a person. The Path From Humanity indicates what changes happen when, what the Advantage and Disadvantage is to the change, and how it can be triggered.

Players also have to decide why their character is abandoning humanity for something other. Is it a conscious changesomething the character is seeking outor is it happening beneath their rational thought?

Here’s an example of a possible character for the game:

Robert Dolen is an automobile mechanic whose wife was recently killed in a car accident. He blames himself, because the car’s brakes were found to have been somewhat faulty and played at least a small part in the accident. As the roofer’s wife is always the one with rain in her house, Robert worked such long hours at his shop he put off fixing his wife’s car. He’s drifting across America now, unable to resume his workaholic life and unwilling to stay in one place for long, lest he let another person (and himself) down again. Though he’s oblivious to it, at least at first, he’s slowly turning into a 1960s Chevy; he’s traveling far, but not really going anywhere.

Robert Dolens progression might go something like this:

1. Rear View Mirror - Robert can see behind him at all times, but he has to thoroughly wash his eyes at least once a day, or his vision becomes cloudy.
2. Headlights - Robert can see much better in the dark, but people shy their eyes away from him if looking into his eyes straight-on.
3. Horsepower - Robert can run 30 miles an hour. He has to drink at least five gallons of water every day or he slowly becomes immobile.
4. Dent-resistant doors - Robert can take punches or other physical attacks without feeling pain, but he gets very unnatural-looking dents on his body when he does so.
5. Car Talk - Robert can enter any locked car and drive it without the keys. He can also sense any car getting damaged (in an accident, break in, etc.) within a mile radius, but experiences phantom physical pain whenever that happens. (Mr. Dolen now avoids body shops like the plague.)
6. Space Age Steel Frame - Robert’s bones are extremely hard to break, but if they do they will not heal.
7. Weekend Warrior - Robert can replace any of his body parts with a corresponding automobile part (wheels for legs, an axle for his hip, oil for a blood transfusion). He’s also unable to use any kind of transportation (trains, planes, bikes) except for cars.
8. Redline - Robert can run 120 miles an hour, but his body is falling apart and wont last more than six months, minus one month for each time he uses this ability.

Adventures for characters like Robert abound. Does he make peace with his role in his wife’s death before he drives off in the sunset, or does his unwillingness to move on with life result in a car crash existence of solitude and guilt? If you want more action in your adventure, maybe Mr. Dolen finds out his wife was intentionally killed in that crashmurderedand he has to use his new-found abilities to catch a killer, and do it before his clutch on life fades and he’s lost at a used-car dealer.

The types of things characters can be turning into are virtually limitless, as long as the player can think of a progression of advantages and disadvantages that occur as the game goes on (or perhaps that responsibility is on the GMit’s up to you). Using everyday sayings or clichés involving inanimate objects, like “nerves of steel” or a “heart of gold,” work well.

System

The system used depends on what time period and world you’re going to play Flesh No More in. The modern day setting would need a system that can create everyday individuals that have “superpowers.” A game with an Advantage/Disadvantage system and/or superpowers or magical abilities works best for any time period, as the changes the Transforming undergo can be modeled after powers or weaknesses already detailed in the system.

(As a side note, if I found a sourcebook they’d be useful in, I’d think the D20 System’s rigid level system would work well for the game’s premise, and it’d be interesting to write them up. Each type of inanimate object would make for a different Prestige Classevery level the character advances in it they add another advantage and disadvantage to their character. If I get the time and/or the inclination, maybe I’ll put this system up at the Gaming Library.)

Adventures

Given Flesh No More’s focus on individual physical and mental transformation, it might be difficult to play as a ’standard’ RPG (i.e., an ongoing campaign with three to six players). It is likely better suited as a finite campaign, where the players create characters that have specific goals to resolve, and the GM creates a story with a definitive ending with those goals in mind. Think a feature-length film rather than a television series. This way, the main theme of the game is whether or not the characters make peace with themselves and the lives they once had before they change completely, or (possibly) if they manage to change themselves back. Another option would be to play a smaller campaign. Having a GM and just one character, or two that are related, playing could allow for very tailored adventures that focus directly on that character’s life and the people around him or her.