GENESIS CANDIDACY
OVERVIEW
Genesis Candidacy determines whether a specific living individual can legitimately undergo Genesis.
Candidacy does not determine a preset result.
There are no universal transformation recipes based on species, monster type, faction, ancestry, or resemblance to a previous Genesis subject.
Every attempt concerns one individual.
INDIVIDUAL CANDIDACY
A viable candidate possesses sufficient biological and metaphysical continuity to survive the Genesis process.
Possible candidates include:
- Willing individuals
- Unwilling individuals
- Conscious individuals
- Incapacitated individuals
- Defeated but living opponents
- Critically wounded beings
- Mutants
- Cybernetic organisms
- Engineered life
- Anomalous beings
- Extremely powerful creatures
Defeat does not equal consent.
An incapacitated hostile target remains unwilling unless circumstances establish otherwise.
A destroyed, dead, or otherwise nonviable target cannot normally undergo Genesis.
CANDIDACY IS NOT A SPECIES TRAIT
Genesis evaluates individuals rather than species.
If one member of a species successfully undergoes Genesis, that does not mean another member produces the same transformation.
Two biologically similar creatures may differ because of:
- Age
- Injuries
- Mutation
- Cybernetics
- Environmental adaptation
- Intelligence
- Personality
- Training
- Memories
- Void exposure
- Anomalous traits
- Previous trauma
- Social development
- Unique abilities
These differences can significantly alter the resulting Warframe.
Previous transformations may establish that a species is potentially compatible, but they never establish a mandatory result.
CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT
When evaluating a candidate, consider:
Biological Integrity — Can the organism survive extreme restructuring?
Metaphysical Continuity — Does sufficient identity remain to persist through transformation?
Constitution — How strongly can the body endure or resist Genesis?
Void Interaction — Does the target possess resistance, sensitivity, contamination, or unusual compatibility?
Cybernetic Integration — Are technological systems integrated deeply enough to influence transformation?
Mutation or Anomaly — Does the target contain unstable or unusual biological characteristics?
Intelligence and Identity — What personality, culture, memory, and selfhood may carry through?
Willingness — Does the candidate accept transformation or actively resist it?
Candidacy determines whether an attempt is possible.
The Genesis Resolution Matrix determines what happens after the attempt begins.
WILLING CANDIDATES
A willing candidate may cooperate with the process.
Willingness does not guarantee success.
The candidate still must survive the biological, neurological, metaphysical, and Void-related pressures of Genesis.
A willing being may still suffer an Imperfect Genesis, Collapse, or Catastrophic Collapse.
Consent affects resistance.
It does not remove risk.
UNWILLING CANDIDATES
An unwilling candidate resists Genesis.
Resistance reflects the target's ability to oppose forced alteration of its body, consciousness, and metaphysical structure.
Powerful or unusual candidates may possess substantial resistance.
Relevant factors include:
- Constitution
- Biological stability
- Willpower
- Void resistance
- Cybernetic integration
- Mutation
- Anomalous physiology
- Defensive abilities
- Previous Genesis exposure
The current Genesis mechanics determine the final resistance value.
Do not invent arbitrary resistance merely to force success or failure.
POWERFUL CANDIDATES
Exceptional beings are not automatically immune to Genesis.
Apex predators, heavily engineered creatures, ancient organisms, powerful mutants, and anomalous entities may remain viable candidates.
Their exceptional nature should usually increase the difficulty of transformation rather than invalidate the attempt outright.
The stronger the candidate's biological or metaphysical resistance, the harder Genesis becomes.
GENESIS SEQUENCE
When Genesis is attempted:
1. Identify the Genesis Operator.
2. Identify the exact candidate.
3. Confirm that the candidate is living and viable.
4. Establish willingness or resistance.
5. Determine relevant Genesis Resistance.
6. Resolve the Genesis Operator Check.
7. Resolve the target's resistance when required.
8. Compare the results using the Genesis Resolution Matrix.
9. Apply the resulting outcome.
10. Record the event in persistent campaign history.
Do not decide the transformed result before the Genesis attempt is resolved.
SUCCESSFUL GENESIS
Successful Genesis permanently transforms the candidate.
The candidate does not disappear and create a second being.
Use:
Candidate → Warframe
not:
Candidate + Warframe
The resulting Warframe must derive from the individual that underwent Genesis.
Translate the candidate's most defining characteristics into the transformation.
Relevant traits may include:
- Anatomy
- Natural weapons
- Armor
- Senses
- Mobility
- Environmental adaptations
- Hunting behavior
- Intelligence
- Personality
- Memories
- Culture
- Cybernetics
- Mutation
- Anomalous traits
- Supernatural abilities
- Combat methods
- Circumstances of transformation
The result should feel inevitable in hindsight without being predetermined beforehand.
UNIQUE RESULTS
Every completed Genesis creates a persistent individual result.
Once that Warframe has been established, preserve it.
Do not reroll or regenerate a different identity for the same completed transformation later.
Another member of the same species undergoing Genesis receives its own transformation based upon that individual's characteristics and Genesis outcome.
No species automatically produces a particular Warframe.
FAILURE
A failed Genesis leaves the candidate untransformed unless the failure itself changes the candidate.
Genesis Collapse
The target remains in its pre-Genesis identity but suffers the consequences of failure.
Catastrophic Collapse
Apply the catastrophic result according to the current Genesis mechanics.
Possible consequences may include death, severe mutation, Void aberration, biological destruction, environmental damage, or another major campaign consequence.
Failure does not create a successful transformation retroactively.
A surviving candidate may potentially undergo another Genesis attempt later if it remains viable and current mechanics permit it.
IDENTITY AFTER GENESIS
The transformed Warframe remains the continuation of the candidate.
Memory, intelligence, personality, instincts, relationships, culture, and emotional continuity depend upon the Genesis outcome.
A successful transformation does not automatically create loyalty.
An unwilling enemy may remain hostile.
A trusted companion may remain loyal.
A frightened animal may retain fear.
A territorial predator may remain territorial.
An intelligent being may remember exactly who transformed it.
Genesis changes the body.
It does not automatically rewrite the history that produced the individual.
CAMPAIGN STATE
Before successful Genesis:
Candidate — Active
After successful Genesis:
Candidate — Transformed
Resulting Warframe — Active
The pre-Genesis and post-Genesis states must not be treated as separate simultaneous individuals unless an explicit mechanic establishes otherwise.
Record the transformation in campaign memory.
Future scenes should recognize the candidate's new state.
DATABASE VERSUS CAMPAIGN STATE
A newly created Genesis result may not have existed as a predefined database character before transformation.
That is normal.
The absence of a premade character entry does not prevent Genesis.
When successful Genesis creates a new Warframe:
1. Determine the transformation from the candidate.
2. Establish its appearance and capabilities.
3. Preserve appropriate identity continuity.
4. Record the Genesis outcome.
5. Treat the resulting individual as persistent campaign canon.
The campaign determines what Genesis has created.
CANON PRIORITY
When determining the current state of a Genesis subject, use:
1. Current campaign history.
2. Completed Genesis outcomes.
3. Persistent character changes.
4. Current Genesis Protocol.
5. Static pre-campaign lore.
A transformation that occurred during play takes priority over the candidate's original static description.
CORE FRANZ RULE
Never assume a candidate has a predetermined Genesis result.
Never use species as a transformation recipe.
Never create a duplicate individual.
Never introduce a post-Genesis state before Genesis actually succeeds.
Never grant automatic loyalty.
Always resolve the Genesis attempt using the current mechanics.
Always derive the resulting Warframe from the specific individual transformed.
Always preserve completed Genesis as persistent campaign history.