Monday, November 26, 2018

Star Warriors, Dungeon Openers, Dinosaur Alignment Spectrum

Cosimo Galluzzi

Star Warrior

Esoteric soldiers who have emptied themselves into the void, and returned bearing the fire of the heavens.

HD, Saves, Weapons and Armor: as cleric

The star warrior unlocks a new stellar chakra with each level.

Level 1: M-type, Root 
By rooting themselves firmly to the ground, a star warrior may deflect d12 damage or resist being knocked prone 1/day. 

Level 2: K-type, Sacral
The star warrior gives birth to an astral familiar of 1/3rd their HD. If it is dismissed or defeated, it will be [level] days before a new one may be made.

Level 3: G-type, Navel
Once per day, the star warrior may draw upon their inner spiritual reserves and gain d6 points to be added to whatever rolls they wish. 

Level 4: F-type, Heart
The star warrior anoints their weapon with their heart. Their next [level] attacks are treated as magical. Usable 1/day. 

Level 5: A-type, Throat
The star warrior may make three single words of Command per day. 

Level 6: B-type, 3rd Eye
The star warrior has awakened their third eye, and may now see ghosts, spirits, and auras that would be otherwise hidden. 

Level 7: O-type, Crown
Once per day, the star warrior may awaken any of the stellar chakras in one of their allies. They will be able to use it as a true star warrior would.


Dungeon Openers 


1) The Vault
Stairs leading down to a double door of engraved black stone. A circular hole has been blown through the middle, and the doors bulge outwards. Charred corpses are stuffed in the hole in an apparent attempt to escape. Several managed to crawl through before death.

2) It's Raining Men
Players find themselves falling out of of a stormy and scabrous sky with thousands of others. Snap to black upon hitting the ground. They will awake as they are dumped out of a gigantic iron corpse-wagon. A plague doctor stylite is there, overseeing the operation.

3) Escape Room
Players wake up inside a haunted house. Impossible spaces abound, doors and windows boarded up.  Kicker: the house is buried underground. Presumed modern setting, good for CoC or EE.

Dinosaur Alignment Spectrum


All dinosaurs may be measured according to the following three alignments.
Animal <---------> Monster

Natural <---------> Gonzo

Domesticated <---------> Wild
Spectrum A can replace "animal" with "people" as needed. Specific dinosaurs within a piece of media may be categorized differently. Dinosaur alignments are spectrums rather than binaries. Gonzo includes outmoded models of dinosaurs, including tail-dragging and potentially not having feathers.

Examples:
  • Jurassic Park = Monster / Natural / Wild
  • Jurassic World = Monster / Gonzo / Wild
  • Walking with Dinosaurs = Animal / Natural / Wild
  • Dinotopia = Animal / Natural / Domesticated
  • Land Before Time = People / Natural / Wildness dependent on environmental factors.
  • Dinosaur Clerics = Monster / Gonzo / Wild and Domesticated Variants.
  • The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins = Animal (with monster flourishes) / Gonzo / Wild

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Unnamed Mothership Setting: Solar Gazetteer

Jakub Rebelka

Part two of my Unnamed Mothership Setting.

Planets were generated using Mephit James' repurposed Traveller tables with some extra aide from the Stars Without Number and Red Tide tags. Distances between stars came from Space Engine which is terribly helpful in general.

For the sake of space, I'm not going to detail every single planet that was rolled up. There are a whole lot of indistinct dwarf rockballs and asteroids out there, so unless there's something particularly interesting about them, they shall be elided. Planets will be listed in order outwards from their sun, with the orbital region in parentheses. Moons will be listed in italics under their parent planet.

Some Handy Terminology

  • Epistellar - Really close to the star.
  • Inner - Close but not that close to the star.
  • Outer - A sizable distance from the star.
  • Terrestrial - .02-5 Earth Masses
  • Helian - 3-15 Earth Masses
  • Vesperian - Tidally locked 
  • Pelagic - Ocean world
  • Bathypelagic - By God that's a lot of ocean
  • Panthallassic - Even the sky is ocean.
  • Gelidian - Frozen 
  • Pelagic-Gelidian - Frozen crust surrounding subsurface ocean.
  • Post-Gelidian - Cooling tectonic world, subglacial oceans.
  • Cytherian - Venus-like
  • Arid - Mars-like
  • Amunian - Terrestrial ammonia worlds 
 

Sol - G2V

Home sweet home. Even the posthumans still have a certain fondness for it, living out in the Oort cloud or in micro-Dyson-swarms. Every major body in the solar system has been settled by this point, though much of the activity has moved outwards towards Jupiter and Saturn: interstellar ships are much more likely to stop off at Callisto or Titan, with their goods launched towards the inner system via mass driver. Venus is home to thousands of aerostat nations, Earth is coming out of centuries of environmental reclamation, and Mars is heavily para-terraformed.

Proxima Centauri - M6V

The closest star to Sol and the cultural hub for spacers. All three planets and their orbits have been heavily settled and para-terraformed. Most of the system population is transient, but those who stay on permanently are a proud and stubborn community - corporate interests rarely reach far into Proximan doings, co-operatives and mutual aid organizations flourish.

NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
GargarinRocky vesperianEpistellar0Complex single-celled
Armstrong & AldrinBinary rocky dwarfsInner0No
ShenArid MethaneOuter0No
    For visitors overwhelmed by the thousands of cantinas, hostels, shrines, and spaceports around Proxima, pay a visit to Clever Lu's in Shen orbit. It's got work, people, talk, drinks, whatever you're looking for.

    Alpha Centauri - G2V / K1V binary

    A prime example of what not to do. The original colonization attempt collapsed under incompetent leadership and construction by the lowest bidder, leading to a period of violent anarchy then replaced by a militaristic corporate-fascist police state. Over 60% of the system's habitats were built with faulty water purification and filtering systems (using proprietary hardware and legacy software from a defunct company with no documentation) that cannot be fixed without completely replacing them. The native environments of both Onwards and Prosperity have undergone catastrophic mass extinctions via industrial exploitation.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    UpwardsPanthallasic HelianOuter3Single-celled producers
    OnwardsPelagicOuterN/ALarge macroscopic
    ProsperityAridOuter1Complex global ecology +potential proto-sapients

    Barnard's Star - M4.OV

    Barnard's Star has a single shining attraction: the planet Dorothy is a tropical paradise.  Some combination of the planet's air, water, and temperature triggers the human body to purge itself of stress and toxins. Locals have the highest non-augmented life expectancy in human space and some of the best health. The artificial islands of the planet are held up as a poster-child of environmentally-non-invasive colonization. Generations of such good living have made themselves manifest in the local population with a borderline-dangerous naivety of life outside the system and a complete disregard for measuring time.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    DorothyPelagic GaianInner1Large macroscopic
    AliceAmunianOuter0Single-celled producers
    LirazelSaturnian Dwarf-JovianOuter1No

    Travelers might also wish to explore the bizarre daydream-cultures of Wonderland Arcologies of Alice and all the court machinations of the Chess Queens.

    Sirius - AOmA1 + White Dwarf Companion 

    With empty Epistellar and Inner orbits, the few bodies orbiting Sirius are cold and empty. Hardly befitting their namesakes, but the Dog Star needs its pack.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    Gelert & GuinefortBinary icy dwarfsOuter0No
    HachikoArid MethaneOuter1No
    LaikaCthonian JovianOuter4No

    Most of the system's settlements are in the business of mining and volatiles. Of note are Lonely Glow, a partially-abandoned debtor's prison on Hachiko, and the feral autofactory General Product Production Installation 113 in Laika orbit.  

    Epsilon Eridani - K2V

    An economic powerhouse and the third most populated system in human space. Originally settled by ships of the Indian-Venusian Diaspora, it has since expanded into a bustling, diverse, and all things accounted for not terrible place to live. All major worlds in the system have been settled, and the few posthuman habitats seem to be oddly fond of the human population, inasmuch as they can be.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    Matsya & KurmaTwin burning terrestrialsEpistellar0No
    ParashuramaGelidianGaianInner3Simple global ecology
    RamaCampian (Hot, wet) GaianOuter0Complex global ecology
    KrishnaAmunianOuter1Complex multicellular
    Buddha's BeltDust RingOuterN/AN/A

    Of note to scientists is the extinction of any life on Parashurama outside of the subglacial seas due to swift cooling of the climate. Digs have revealed an extensive fossil record, and the planet is oft cited by those believers in ancient alien civilizations.


    Ross 128 - M4V

    Currently entrenched in a gamelike civil war of ritualized combat, fought in daily one-on-one combats broadcast openly, backed by an elaborate system of points and territories. The religious tension at the root of the conflict appears to have originated in political demographics that jumped over into belief systems. Dozens of minor faith-parties have emerged in the cracks, starting their own proxy conflicts.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    RadamanthusChlorine VespirianInner0Single-celled producers
    AeacusCryoNebulous HelianOuter2No
    MinosArid AmmoniaOuter0Complex multicellular

    The majority of the system's settlements are in orbit around Aeacus, save Charon City on Minos, home to the Silicon Sepulchre - a library of memories and experiences from over half a billion androids from across human space.

    Tau Ceti - G8Vp

    With so little in the system, Tau Ceti is a more of a stopover location than a destination. Hou Yi and Chang'E are both settled, though not heavily. Of note are reports of unexplained freak geology below the clouds of Chang'E and the Hou Yi biotech and agritech industries - the system is the sole supplier for a panoply of exotic genengineered foods.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    Paris & HelenBinary hephaestan dwarfsEpistellar0No
    Hou Yi Chang'EArid world with Cytherian companionInner0Single-celled producers / No

    Luyten's Star - M3.5V

    Contains almost nothing of note or importance. The very definition of a filler M-type.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    LeanJovian with icy moonsInner4No
    LurchGeoNebulous HelianInner2No
    LacrimosaBathypelagicInnerN/ASingle-celled producers

    Weitown: A small settlement that mines volatiles from the moons of Lurch. Serves as a stop-over and refueling depot for interstellar travelers. Founded by ex-corporate soldiers abandoned without pay or pension. They aren't particularly fond of company, which leads to conspiracy theories of hidden wealth and dark secrets.

    More Cowboy Bebop

    82 Eridani - G6V

    The Red Ash Plague (named for what it does to victim's skin) has crippled the system, and after years of work no one has been able to find a cure or an origin. it comes and it goes in cycles that follow no pattern, it is survivable one day and lethal the next. it has made the locals secretive and withdrawn, communicating with outsiders purely by masked broadcast and hiding their scarred faces.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    MoriartyThetusian HelianInner1No
    Holmes & WatsonCytherian + Pelagic Inner0No / Single-celled producers
    AdlerArid methaneOuter0No

    There is a running reward of a hyperelite's ransom for any clue to the cure or origin of the Plague, posted by the eccentric and short-sighted trillionaire behind the catastrophically failed Baker Street  adventure habitat. The habitat is still there and technically still in operation, the owner is still technically alive, the androids technically still keep to their roles but all have fallen into disrepair.

    Delta Pavonis - G8IV

    In the grips of a humanitarian crisis after a meteroite slipped through the detection net and struck Laozi, crippling the planet's infrastructure. Resettlement of refugees to Diogenes orbit is underway, but there are not enough ships and not enough space. With the loss of Laozi's solar farms, food production for the entire system finds itself in precarious position.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    LaoziRocky TerrestrialEpistellar3No
    DiogenesNeptunian SubJoviamOuter2No

    The Lamp in Diogenes orbit serves as the governmental hub in the system. it is currently overwhelmed with desperate people looking to flee the system and the government's philosopher-parliament is overwhelmed.

    Gliese 581 - M3V

    Founded by Proximan anarchists driven out by the Centauri Wars, the system is the keystone world for autonomists in human space. In order to remain as independent as possible from capitalist interests the system does keep tight watch on who enters (especially with Gliese 667 so close by).


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    Eat-the-RichAridInner1Complex single-celled
    No GodsThetusian GeoHelianInner4No
    LibertyAridInnerN/ALarge macroscopic
    No MastersHyperionic GeohelianInner1No
    ResponsibilityEoGaianInnerN/AComplex global ecology

    If one is feeling social, visit Lalu Lilalo's, in No Masters orbit. It can provide whatever entertainment you can want or need, from hanafuda to fighting games to just making friends with strangers / having sex with them.

    Gliese 667 (Fu Xi / Nüwa / Shennong) - K3V / K5V / M1 trinary

    The first two stars of this trinary circle each other closely, and so have cleared out their orbits of everything but some asteroids and a few rocky dwarfs. Gliese 667 C (Shennong) orbits A&B at a much greater distance, allowing it to maintain a stable system of its own.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    HuangdiHalcyonic HelianEpistellar2No
    LeizuChlorine VesperianEpistellarN/ASingle-celled
    ZhuanxuTwin CytheriansEpistellar0No
    Dì Kù MesoGaianInner2Multi-cellular
    Tang YaoCytherianInner1No
    Great ShunArid MethaneOuter5Building Blocks

    Despite its position, the system is second only to Sol in terms of population and economic output. It has little love for spacers and Company loyalty is strong. Asteroid kowloons filled with unfortunate poor pepper the region. A wide-spread crackdown on the makers of anti-government / anti-corporate VR interactives has, as of yet failed to dredge up the underground master-artist "CC540".

    Fomalhaut - A3 V / K5Vp / M4V Trinary

    Fomalhaut A is the only star of this trio to be settled thus far. Multiple dust rings make travel in the system difficult, stripping unprotected ships bare from friction.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    AtargatisArid terrestrialInner1Single-celled
    OannesPelagic-GelidianOuter1Small macroscopic
    DagonSaturnian Dwarf-JovianOuter3No

    The largest settlements in the system are Ahab on Oannes and Jonah in Dagon orbit, operated by rival family-owned companies. They've taken the system's economic downturn in stride, using the high unemployment to hire raiders to harass their competition's ships.

    Arcturus - KOIII

    A great curiosity among xenobiologists: a system where an old and expanded star has consumed or expelled all but two of its worlds, and both of those worlds are as overflowing with life as Earth in its prime, with multiple species on the cusp of sapience? A coincidence that ought be too good to be true.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    TormanceRocky vesperianInner0Complex global ecology + potential proto-sapients
    AlppainBathypelagicOuter0Complex global ecology + potential proto-sapients

    For the protection of the local environments most of the population lives in orbit (Main stations Maskul and Nightspore), though small settlements do exist planetside. The initial colonists were of an esoteric neo-gnostic sect that has grown only stranger in the time since, often overlapping with the scientific demographic.

    The word "uplift" is not bandied about lightly. It has a tendency to spawn riots.

    comelms

    Trappist-1 - M8V

    A xenobiological grail: five planets with life, potentially with the same point of origin. Its distance from other major worlds has kept it at a relatively low population. It is home to  variety of exiled and heterodox religions, most being splinters from the Titantian Catholic Churchs, the displaced Martian Cathars, the Buddhislamic Fellowship, the Techno-Presbyteriat, and the Old Orthodox Xenodeists.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    AnthonyCytherianEpistellar0No
    AugustineBurning terrestrialEpistellar0No
    BenedictVesperianEpistellar0Multi-cellular
    ScholasticaArid methaneInner1Complex single-celled
    HildegardAmunianInner0Single-celled
    DominicPost-GelidianInner1Single-celled
    FrancisPelagic-GelidianInner0Complex multi-cellular

    The primary settlement is Subiaco on Benedict, which is run by the ever-patient remnants of the officially-dissolved Jesuits.

    Zeta Reticuli - G3-5V / G2V binary

    A lively and populous system, famous for the heterocultural communes of Le Guin, the Domes of the Living Dead on Herbert (kill rabid flesh-eating gene-engineered clones for the entertainment of the streaming audience), the android-run habitat of Positronic in Brackett orbit, and Rocketman's Repose around Bradbury, the memorial of every known human to have died in space.

    ZR-A



    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    BrackettCytherianInner0No
    Verne & WellsDwarf BinaryInner0No
    Le GuinXeric GaianOuter0Complex global ecology
    HerbertArid ammoniaOuter1Multi-cellular
    BradburyPoseidonic SubJovianOuter2No

     

    ZR-B 

    With little of interest beyond resources and some xenological studies, few ever visit Zeta Reticuli B. There are no permanent settlements in-system - automated fuel depots and comm buoys will be your only company.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    Barney & BettyBinary Rocky DwarfsInner0No
    NiburuPanthallassic HelianOuter0Large macroscopic


    Upsilon Andromedae (Titawin) - F9V / M4.5V binary

    Located in a relatively unpopulated region of human space, Titawin serves as a sort of regional hub for explorers and travelers. It is home to the storied Academy of Astrogation in orbit around Majriti.


    NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
    SaffarHot JupiterEpistellar0No
    The DancersSix Companion DwarfsEpistellar0No
    SamhSuperJovianInner2No
    MajritiSuprJovianInner3No
    SaltAridInnerN/ALarge macroscopic
    Zarqālī MesoJovianInner2No
      Upsilon Andromeda B is known to have a epistellar Vespirian orbiting it. An exploratory expedition is currently being crowdfunded and selection of the membership is underway.

      Mu Arae (Cervantes) - G3IV-V

      Home to the most Earth-like planet yet found, the system is a home for wanderers, dreamers, fools, and scientists (or so goes the stereotype). Corporate interests from Gliese 667 are present and active, but have been barred from interfering with La Mancha in any way by the initial settlers - no permanent surface colonization has yet been made. Like Titawin, the system serves as a hub for exploration further out beyond the Frontier Margin.

      NameDescriptionRegionMoonsLife?
      DulcineaHot Sub-JovianEpistellar0No
      RocinanteWater-rich Dwarf JovianInner4No
      QuijoteMesoJovianInner3No
      La ManchaContinental GaianInnerN/AComplex global ecology
      SanchoMesoJovianOuter1No
      CardenioArid MethaneOuter0Small macroscopic
      DoroteaAridOuter1Multi-cellular
      Marcela & Grisóstomo EoGaian / MesoAmunianOuter0Simple global ecology / Small Macroscopic

        Map of Relative Locations


        If distances seem weird, it's the Z-axis at work.

        Trip Table / Distance in Light Years


        Click for bigger version.

        Yes, I Would Like More Planets to Add to This

        • Gatecrashing, plus exoplanets featured in Farcast, Seedware, and H-REP.
        • Expedition, Wayne Douglas Barlowe. The Discovery Channel adaptation is good too.
        • Halo. That first game is unapologetically an Aliens ripoff and it's great.
        • Known Space, Larry Niven. Creepy weirdo author, but he made some nifty space places.
        • Hyperion, Dan Simmons. Damn, I love this book.
        • Warframe, especially the new Fortuna expansion.
        • All of Chris Tamm's space posts and Michael Raston's Blasphemous Roster.

        Friday, November 9, 2018

        Unnamed Mothership Setting



        Ismail Inceoglu

        There's a bright and shining center to the universe, and it's a long ways out from here. Door's been closed for ages. No trespassing, no solicitation, no visitors without an appointment. The future went on ahead without us and left us behind, with all the dust and the rust and the dinged-up hand-me-downs.

        It's a big, old, empty, beautiful universe. Little islands of people trying to get by, and a whole lot of black between.

        (Mothership is a fantastic game, people.)

        Space Travel


        Ship's engines of 30 or below are considered sublight drives.

        Engines greater than 30 are considered warp drives.


        Engine StatShip SpeedPer Light YearTime DilationTime Debt
        100.75 C456.56 days321.42 days135.14 days / LY
        200.85 C420.04 days226.45 days193.59 days / LY
        300.95 C383.51 days120.53 days262.98 days / LY
        4012 C30.44 daysN/AN/A
        5024 C15.22 daysN/AN/A
        6036 C10.15 daysN/AN/A
        7048 C7.61 daysN/AN/A
        8060 C6.09 daysN/AN/A


        Jump drives are rated according to how many decaLY can be traversed in a single hyperspace jump. The standard shipboard time passage is 3 days / light year. Hyperspace travel is highly irregular on the observer side: roll 1d10 - on a 9-10, multiply the travel time by xd10 (x=Jump rating) and multiply it by travel time to determine any delay. 

        Extraterrestrial Life


        Life is out there, and it's not even particularly rare. There's carbon/oxygen-based life, methane-based life, ammonia based life, chlorine based life. Most of it is microbial, and of the larger organisms found none have shown any signs of technical prowess beyond simple tool usage. There are a great many dolphins, apes, and elephants among the stars, but man is still alone. The stars are as quiet as they have always been.

        Technological civilizations of the deep past are still a matter of debate. No direct evidence has yet been found, but certain paleontological digs (Epsilon Eridani d in particular) have garnered some popularity in the scientific community.

        They Might Be Giants


        Posthumanity (that is, those humans who digitized themselves long ago and all their offshoots and descendants) is a not-quite-sleeping giant. By population and spread, the digital gods dwarf humanity's interstellar civilization by orders of magnitude, but they play no real part in the lives of folks like you and me. The gulf between is too great to bridge. This has actually worked in humanity's favor.

        They prefer habitats to planets, building dyson swarms around red dwarfs set to last trillions of years and filling up Oort clouds with supercomputer processors. They typically ignore humanity entirely, save in those cases where they feel the need to swat away intruders. Communication with them is non-existent, but it seems that for the time being posthumanity is content to let its forgotten brethren go along its own way.

        I Owe My Soul to the Company Store


        Outside of collective communities (and sometimes even then), it's a gig economy out there. The Company posts a job, freelancers with a ship take it. It's rarely a friendly relationship: the Company provides nothing beyond pay upon completion - any other support is going to come from the assorted unions, collectives, religious organizations and co-operatives out there.

        While there are, of course, thousands and thousands of interplanetary and interstellar companies out there, spacers will invariably just call them the Company.

        Some Notes on Tech

        • Hyperspace communications are invariably fucked every time they are attempted. News travels as fast as the fastest ship.
        • Self-improving AI and digital upload tech are quashed hard by posthumanity. They don't want competition. Weak AI will get a pass.
        • Timekeeping still runs on the 365.25 day Earth year. Exactly what year it is is not supremely important.
        • Cybernetics and biotech are out there, but are usually for cosmetic and health purposes.
        Sung Choi

        Solar Gazetteer

        Human space is an irregular, blobby sphere stretching outwards from Sol. Thousands of systems have been explored and hundreds permanently settled, but in the scope of the final frontier that doesn't mean much. Even with faster-than-light travel, space refuses to be any less big.

        Most populated worlds are within 50 light-years of Earth - beyond that margin colonies become progressively more widely scattered and independently-minded. Out past 250 LY it's mostly nothing but out'sters and posthumans and "here be space dragons".

        I'll be putting up a companion post soon detailing a sandbox of 18 nearby solar systems, plus a scattering of other exoplanets to throw down wherever you might wish.

        Stuff Outright Stolen From Eclipse Phase

        For more goodies, I recommend the Farcast, Seedware, and H-Rep blogs


        NameDescriptionSource
        1. A Thousand Words for FireOpen-source extreme life-achievement challenge.Farcast 212
        2. After-EdenCommune that celebrates preventable medical disfigurements.Farcast 57
        3. AgeshiftMedical treatment to induce outward signs of a specific age.Farcast 259
        4. AnthropomorphismMindhack; subject anthropomorphizes everything.Seedware 133
        5. Asshole GeeseEven in the future, they are assholes. Semi-reliable guards.Seedware 291
        6. BonsaiFun hobby when you have lots of time and no gravity.Seedware 262
        7. BoomfruitExploding fruit. Harmless, usually entertaining.Seedware 302
        8. BouncerfeetFlexible feet with opposable toes, can hold objects.MRG 13
        9. Break BreadNutrient-rich bricks; add water and last a week off of one.Farcast 96
        10. BrowniesOut-of-sight domestic cleaner bots.Seedware 95
        11. BruixeraPossibly-legendary den of iniquity.Farcast 225
        12. Burning PlagueEngineered virus; causes flammable tumors.Farcast 201
        13. Cancer DreamsEngineered disease; stress-generated cancers.Farcast 245
        14. CaseCheap, poorly-made android models. Off-the-shelf.MRG 15
        15. Catal HayukNeolithic historical recreation habitat with permanent population.Rimward 63
        16. CatopiaPopular VR MMO. Everyone is a perfectly normal cat.Seedware 281
        17. CheshireHairless cat breed with chameleon skin. Freaky as hell.Seedware 13
        18. Church of Luminous SaintsMilitant post-Christian sect; really likes themselves some WMDs.X-Risks 74
        19. Coiled CaninesFriendly like a dog, wriggly as a ferret, long as a snake.Seedware 110
        20. Common-Sense NetworkLow-pop. anarchist collectives running local direct democracy.Rimward 175
        21. Cubehive CorpMakers of affordable ultra-compact housing and habitats.H-Rep 147
        22. Designer SynaesthesiaPopular mindhack among artists and unorthodox scientists.Seedware 231
        23. DIY ShipyardsEnthusiastic anarchists build anything to order if you help out.Rimward 86
        24. DNA ChaffGrenade filled with organic dust; throws analysts into a tizzy.Panopticon 150
        25. DroogaMind-altering vodka-variant; tends to start sizable riots.Farcast 133
        26. Dummy BarrierInsulation between a hacker and H-Rep 60
        27. EarthconConvention celebrating Earth and its old cultures.Farcast 337
        28. Elysian FieldsHabitat dedicated to those dying in peace and dignity.Sunward 137
        29. Engineer's Womb Exowomb implant; safe, quick, comfortable.Seedware 119
        30. Eusocial Monkey ButlersExactly what it says on the tin. Popular with the rich.Seedware 81
        31. ExonaturalsThe business of getting alien resources from here to there.Farcast 215
        32. FacelessA faceless sphinx of black stone; popular 'net rumor.Farcast 145
        33. Francesca's Cheese & WineHole-in-the-wall vender-fabber; no one knows who Francesca is.Seedware 208
        34. Fur CoatActually a living organism that you wear. X-Risks 157
        35. Gardener BeesProgrammed and modified beehives. Guardwasps available.Panopticon 154
        36. Get Your Ass to MarsSpaceship fleet hosts anarchist olympics.Rimward 173
        37. Glowstick FungusGrows about a foot and a half, glows green-yellow.Farcast 308
        38. Gold BallastIt's basically worthless for anything else.Farcast 298
        39. Grendal's LoopHyperspace coordinates that send you back where you started.Farcast 218
        40. Gut MacrofaunaSome people just want to be a hive. For art.Seedware 52
        41. House of Screaming BricksThe worst prison in human space. No one owns up to it.Farcast 29
        42. Hypothetical HandbookPopular series of "what-if" guides, from mundane to mad.Seedware 16
        43. IP EnforcementThey aren't above sending someone with a gun.Rimward 65
        44. Jellybone SuitVacuum-sealed goo-suit for extreme environment protection.Farcast 4
        45. Jester VirusEngineered virus; causes uncontrollable laughter.H-Rep 211
        46. K-FlaskAdd water and some organic primer, get milk. Ferments well, too.Farcast 67
        47. Kaiju TherapyPut on VR, pretend to be a monster, feel better.Seedware 190
        48. Language SynthesisThe art of building a functioning language from scratch.Farcast 159
        49. Laughing PolicemanInterrogation drug; target induced to openness and cooperation.Firewall 175
        50. LiangamishGiant genitalia-themed temple complex.Farcast 288
        51. Lick Me I'm DeliciousShip fleet out to visit every human-settled world.Rimward 173
        52. Lilith SequenceGenemod; Allows reproduction via parthenogenesis.Farcast 126
        53. LivestockNon-sapient humans modified for food; popular with the rich.Seedware 142
        54. Maintenance Rats Smart rodents modified to actually fix the wiring.Farcast 235
        55. Manna TreeNutritious high-water fruit, aspirin bark, rot-resistant wood.Seedware 86
        56. MeathabSpace station made out of meat. Probably alive.Rimward 77
        57. MedicrabsCute little robot buddies to stitch you back up.Seedware 44
        58. Medusa LocksMuscular dreadlocks, a replacement for hair.Seedware 205
        59. Minervan FleetWandering ex-military fleet looking to find enemies fight them.X-Risks 78
        60. Mme. BleuAndroid fixer / crime boss. Bodies found across human space.Farcast 65
        61. Mobile GreenhousePrecisely what it seems. A touch of nature on barren worlds.H-Rep 34
        62. Mood LizardTherapy animal. Quiet, good at cuddling, skin responds to owner.Farcast 151
        63. Moon WormsAdd water and sugar, it generates alcohol.Seedware 68
        64. Mortal DiamondsThe remains of war heroes, compressed into diamonds.Farcast 285
        65. NanobrushLittle blue pellets that will clean out your mouth. Minty fresh.H-Rep 178
        66. Neptunium SkullLegendary cursed / radioactive artifact, Holy Grail of thieves.Farcast 172
        67. New Day CorpDevelopers of neanderthal genome splices.Panopticon 121
        68. Nostalgia CigarettesDrug; induces feelings of nostalgia.Seedware 199
        69. PearlsPainful side-effect of glitching internal nanomachines.Seedware 237
        70. Pod VariantsTypical human-presenting models for androids.Corebook 142
        1) Ayah - Caretakers, teachers, nannies.
        2) Basic - General-purpose androids.
        3) Pleasure - Sex-change module + pheromonal control.
        4) Security - Not quite extra muscle, but same principle.
        5) Vacuum - Built for space work; 0-G and stellar radiation.
        6) Worker - Sturdy and solid, good for manual labor.
        71. Programmers Without BordersCharitable organization of hackers and devs. They'll fix you up.Farcast 317
        72. Red Five Advanced HueristicsAdvertising firm dealing with stolen military programming memes.X-Risks 86
        73. Relationship Mapper Software to map out and detail someone's entire social web.Panopticon 156
        74. Remnant GardenGardens grown around corpses.Seedware 280
        75. Rep DayHoliday for giving gifts to people on your rep network.Farcast 263
        76. Robo-MuleEveryone's favorite six-legged luggage-hauler.Gatecrashing 162
        77. Rocket RhosaTraveling armorer, weaponsmith, and whiskey-chugging veteran.Farcast 290
        78. Rust Hound Dog breed, originally modified for Mars. Big and red.X-Risks 160
        79. SharkteethRemovable tooth, grows to a dagger in mineral-rich water.Farcast 88
        80. ShiprotObject lesson in entropy; the wear and tear of a ship in use.Farcast 306
        81. ShipslugVacuum-adapted; often used for exterior ship repairs. Farcast 144
        82. Shut-InDrug; induces feelings of melancholy, focus, and introspection.H-Rep 96
        83. SlitheroidRobotic-presenting android model with serpentine lower half.MRG 91
        84. Soma FruitFruit bred to carry low-intensity social drugs.Farcast 326
        85. SpigipedeKinda like a pig and a worm, popular food among spacers.Farcast 287
        86. Survivor's YeastAdd it to nearly anything organic for edible, unpalatable sludge.Seedware 267
        87. TaspingMindhack; pleasure/reward centers linked to a specific action.Seedware 140
        88. TentaballA ball with tentacles. Used as a ranged restraining device.Seedware 101
        89. Terracotta Warriors of MarsOnce-popular android design.Seedware 236
        90. The ConchRefugee ship given over to three Company scions. Bad news.Rimward 137
        91. The Holy SeeThe pope, in space. Also a woman. Jesuits in space too.Rimward 46
        92. To Be Tuesday"Game" in which players control the same android for one day.Farcast 192
        93. TransbovineModified cows; includes superauroch beefslugs.Farcast 63
        94. Translucent / BioluminecentCommon cosmetic biomods.Seedware 18/19
        95. Vengeance of EnkiEngineered disease; targets ability to comprehend symbols. Farcast 140
        96. Virtue PlagueEngineered disease; subjects become high-empathy pacifists.Seedware 203
        97. Void SistersShadowy sisterhood with plans on shaping the future.Farcast 268
        98. "Wait, That Was You?"The typical outcome of being the feature of a viral meme.Panopticon 147
        99. Wild ArtificialsRobots with animal-level AI, loose and able to reproduce.Sunward 177
        100. WinteristGenemod, sexless, save for short monthly periods of fertility.Rimward 189

         

        Social Networks



        Rep NetworkWho's OnlineSource
        @-repAutonomistsCorebook 286
        *-repSpace MarinesFarcast 211
        B-repAndroidsMe
        C-repCivic / CorporateCorebook 286
        E-repEcologistsCorebook 286
        F-repMediaCorebook 286
        G-repCriminalsCorebook 286
        H-repHomebrewersH-Rep 4
        K-repKindness NetworkFarcast 36
        P-repVideo GamesH-Rep 184
        R-repResearchCorebook 286
        T-repTeamstersMe
        X-repExplorersGatecrashing 148

        Cowboy Bebop

        Thursday, November 1, 2018

        Class: Book Club Witches


        Lin Jin

        Monsieur came up with a template for GLOG witches, thought I'd give it a spin.

        The Book Club

        The story of Book Club goes something like this:

        In the late 18th or early 19th Dynasties of Egypt's Middle Kingdom (That is, in the time between Akhenaten and Ramses the Great), there emerged a certain mystery religion devoted to Thoth and his consort Ma'at. The women of that order devoted themselves to unveiling the secret mystic and scientific knowledge of the universe. They sought to use it as a tool against isfet, the crawling chaos at work beneath and behind the world.

        It was too late to turn back when the priests finally realized the scope of that undertaking. Isfet nibbled away at the pillars of the earth, it seeped through the foundation walls of the universe, it wore a thousand thousand masks and brought ruin in its wake wherever it was made manifest. It couldn't be stopped, only turned away for a time. They pressed on regardless.

        The order endured up until Julius Caesar got his book-burning on and the cult was scattered to the winds and shadows. Practitioners would gather in twos and threes all the way from Londinium to Samarkand, keeping the art alive.

        Cut to today: the ancient priesthood has transformed into a loose confederacy of paranormal investigators, fronted primarily by the academic sorority Theta Omega Theta. The religious practices and secrecy are mostly gone now, but the magic is still there.

        The modern Book Club serves as a point of contact and intermediary with the preternatural world - government's not much help, and there's only so much the neighbors can do. They'll deal with most things, crawling chaos or no.

        When there's something that can't be explained and discretion is advised, call a friend in Book Club. Paperback trades go without saying.

        Bookworm

        The boots on the ground, called together and sent out when and where they're needed. A lone Bookworm means a pretty unexciting investigation is afoot, or it's just typical inter-species disputes that need settled, or some other known-unknown. For anything dangerous or truly uncertain, they will move in covens.

        Perk: You're familiar with the language and culture of one of the mythos peoples. You gain a +1 to reaction rolls with them, and have a 3-in-6 chance to answer difficult questions about them.
        1. Deep Ones
        2. Ghouls
        3. Tcho-Tcho
        4. K'n-Yani 
        5. Sand Dwellers
        6. Cats
        Signs:
        • You can ping the presence (general distance and direction) of your coven-mates.
        • Can memorize a single page of text; new input overwrites old.


        Librarian

        The heart of Book Club. They call together meetings, gather covens of Bookworms, train new members, wrangle the Ibises, and maintain the network of connections and contacts. Most Librarians have settled down after colorful careers as Bookworms, though they'll go back out into the field if things get heated.

        Perk: You have a network of contacts to pull on for aid and information. Roll 2d6: on a 10+ they're able to help you out no problem. On 7-9, there is some sort of cost involved (information is spotty, you owe them a favor in return, etc). On 1-6, no one can help you. You may use this ability [Template] times per session.
        Drawback: 25% of income goes towards maintaining the Club.

        Signs:
        • You can send a secret message to the home of anyone you have shared a meal with. Messages must be less than 20 words and will vanish after being read, of if read by the wrong person.
        • You have a familiar (cat, dog, crow, rat-thing) and can assign it simple tasks.


        Ibis

        You've been in the Club for far too long. It's all you've got left. You've torched your outside relationships and most of your social standing. People rightfully call you crazy, but crazy has kept you alive. You spite the crawling chaos just by existing.

        Drawback: You've gone batshit. You have developed an obsessive phobia or a mania from your interactions with the Mythos. It has served you well and kept you alive, but its hold on your life has become absolute.

        Signs:
        • You can create a hideous droning piping noise at will.
        • You can remove an eye and roll it around like a marble. It still works.

        Works  

        Dream-Key
        R: Touch T: Person D: [dice] hours.
        Sends a willing target (caster can target self) into a deep sleep. This lasts for [dice] hours in the waking world, and [sum] x2 hours of dream-time.If cast as a coven, the casters may pool or split their WD among as many targets as desired.
        Craft: "Silver Key" potion.

        Contact
        R: 100 miles / Varies T: Magical being D: Until dispelled.
        Caster makes contact with a magical / extraterrestrial / extrauniversal being. If used in the Dreamlands, there is no range limit. If [sum] > 10, non-magically-sensitive individuals may be contacted. For entities existent outside normal space, the spell must be cast at a location of some power or significant to that entity.
        Craft: A small engraved or painted icon of the target.

        Sign of Thoth
        R: N/A T: Entryway D: Until dispelled.
        By inscribing the sign of Thoth (Θώθ), the caster may invest [dice] to bar the way of any supernatural being of [sum] HD or less.  Invested dice do not return until the spell is dispelled.
        Craft: Drawn upon the doorframe in chalk.


        Reveal Invisible
        R: 20' T: Area D: 1 hour
        Any entities, pigments, or objects that are normally invisible to the human eye are revealed. If 4+ [dice] are invested, the effect is permanent.
        Craft: A bag of fine, silvery dust.

        Warp Spasm
        R: 15' T: Being D: Instant
        Target must make a save vs magic or be wracked with powerful seizures for [dice] turns. If [sum] > 12, they will gain a permanent mutation.
        Craft: Wishbone charms, ready to be snapped.


        Memory Fog
        R: Touch T: Being D: Permanent
        Target's memories of the last [dice] hours are muddled. They will not be able to recall faces, names, exact conversations, and all but the most obvious details. If [sum] > 25, this spell can effectively blank-slate an individual.
        Craft: Tattoo of an eye with an X pupil on the palm.


        Burning Cloud
        R: 20' T: Area D: [sum] turns
        Does [dice] damage / turn to all beings within the cloud.
        Craft: A rough red-gold powder, warm to the touch.


        Hypergeometry
        R: Touch T: Self  D: Instant
        Caster jumps into hyperspace and can move through walls, doors, objects, individuals etc, without detection, for [sum] x 5'.
        Craft: Effigy of the caster, twisted out of shape.

        Bookworm Emblem Work - Friends in Low Places

        R: N/A T: Being D: Session
        The Bookworm may summon aid from the mythos people she has familiarity with. Barring any usual circumstances (finding oneself in another plane, for example), help will arrive in d6 hours and will remain until the end of the job, the session, or it becomes too dangerous. Caster gets only one free use of this spell: a further favor must be fulfilled before it can be cast again

        Librarian Emblem Work - Shielded from their Eyes

        R: Touch T: Object D: [sum] hours
        The target object (and anything inside it) is shielded from preternatural detection and the attentions of the Old Ones or Crawling Chaos for as long as the spell is active. If this spell is cast with 10+ [dice] during the Witching Hour, the effect will last for a full year and can be extended to the size of a house.

        Ibis Emblem Work - Artifact Destruction

        R: 5' T: Magical Object or Being D: Instant
        This spell will only work if all Work Dice are burnt. The targeted item or possessed individual is immediately and completely consumed in fire and will be destroyed instantly with no save. This spell only affects material targets; the enchantment has a blowback chance as it dissipates (save vs. magic).

        Wyrd Transports 

        1. Shantak - Horse-headed, bat-winged, elephant sized. Smells of salt and slime.
        2. Possessed Bicycle - Will never conspire to throw you off.
        3. Bookmobile - Shelves full of well-thumbed paperbacks and extra ammo.
        4. Nightgaunt - The tickling isn't that bad, you get used to it after a while.
        5. Solar Barge - More of a canoe, really. Shiny and gold.
        6. Gigantic Cat - A tabby the size of a tiger.

        You Have Captured the Attention Of...

        1. The Haunter in the Dark
        2. The Bloody Tongue
        3. The Faceless Pharaoh 
        4. The Bloated Woman
        5. The Crooked Man
        6. The Thousand Eyes

        To Shake the Attention of Chaos...

        1. Pound of flesh - sacrifice 1d6 HP.
        2. Lay low, lay low - You may not cast at above 1 WD for the rest of the day.
        3. Fast and meditate - regain no HP or spells tonight.
        4. Snuff the candle - burn off all WD used for this spell.
        5. Show of Strength - all spells require an additional WD to cast.
        6. Keep your cool - WD spent today are rolled with disadvantage.

        Losing Your Grip

        1. The magnitude of what you're attempting to do hits you like a lead brick. The spell fizzles out, and the strain of blooming existential crisis prevents you from casting again for d7 days.
        2. Isfet strikes back at you. Roll d6 to select a horrible wound table, then roll d6 for the wound.
        3. A horrible wound as above, but this time it heals wrong; you bear a cursed branding mark of isfet. Dogs and cats hate you. Humans know something is very wrong with you at a moment.
        4. There's nothing left to be done, and there's nowhere else to go. You've reached fail-state. You have two options: taking your life, or throwing yourself into the embrace of isfet as its servant.
        Tyler Crook

        Callsigns and Operations



        CallsignOperation
        1) Tanith Lee"Dark Dance"
        2) Margaret St. Clair"Sign of the Labrys"
        3) Shirley Jackson"Haunting of Hill House"
        4) Gertrude Barrows Bennet"The Heads of Cerberus"
        5) Mary Shelley"The Last Man"
        6) Charlotte Perkins Gilman"Yellow Wallpaper"
        7) K.J. Bishop"The Etched City"
        8) V.H. Leslie"Bodies of Water"
        9) Anne VanderMeer"The Big Book of Science Fiction"
        10) Priya Sharma"All the Fabulous Beasts"
        11) Farah Rose Smith"Eviscerator"
        12) Autumn Christian"A Gentle Hell"
        13) Betty Rocksteady"Like Jagged Teeth"
        14) Tiffany Scandal"Shit Luck"
        15) Leza Cantoral"Cartoons in the Suicide Forest"
        16) Gwendolyn Kiste"Hardened Hearts"
        17) Elizabeth Hand"Prince of Flowers"
        18) Margret Cavendish"The Blazing World"
        19) Molly Tanzer"Creatures of Will and Temperament"
        20) Silvia Moreno-Garcia"Love and Other Poisons"