Appendix N for The World of Tomorrow

The World of Tomorrow, our science fantasy campaign, is pretty much built with a kitchen-sink approach. The initial pitch can basically double as the Appendix N: “moebius jodorowsky tangerine nightmare oranssi mutant pazuzu heavy metal barsoom carcosa acid police surf”

The main rules are: If it could be published as a DAW book or an ACE Double… if you can imagine it on a sick space/psych/prog rock album cover… if there is a conspiracy theory about it… then it fits.

Due to its eclectic and expansive nature, I could probably list off every piece 1960s-1970s sci-fi and dystopian fiction and every krautrock album ever. But that would defeat the purpose. So I will try to limit myself to a couple of key entries for each category.

Books: the biggest influence is Fred Saberhagen’s “Empire of the East” series. It’s chock-full of COOL SHIT that you can steal for your post-apoc sci-fant games. “The Elephant”? A must. Radar stations as scrying magic. Nuclear demon lords and their satraps. Good stuff. Read them if you can. The main protagonist is kinda bland… But the world is great. Add Lin Carter, Leigh Brackett, Poul Anderson's early stuff...

Movies: oh boy… Logan’s Run, Planet of the Apes + Beneath the Planet of the Apes, 2001: Space Odyssey… Hard to narrow this down. Phase IV too, for sure.

Comics/art: yeah, Moebius is the big one here. No explanation necessary. Mike Grell's Warlord, another great hollow earth weird fiction title. A lesser known entry would be the stuff from Planet Comics, in particular "The Lost World" which ran in #21-69 (1942-1952).

Other RPG stuff: McKinney’s Carcosa (I use a bunch of tables for robots, weapons…), Gamma World, Mutant Crawl Classics – actually, from these last two, I borrow very little specifics, but definitely lean into the same atmosphere.

Computer games: Fallout 1 & 2, for sure. The most powerful motif for me is the Vault suit, which always marks the wearer as either/or a weirdo, a demigod, a target.

Last, but not least: history/non-fiction… I use my science-fantasy Frankentable extensively, so many characters have names from ancient cultures (Egyptian, Akkadian, Greek…). There are lot of ziggurats, statues, artifacts, stuff that comes from my academic interests. And my non-academic interests in weird shit, conspiracies, cults.

In collage form.

Piles of Downloaded Files... #3: more treasures from the Unsorted folder

I’m reviving my old series, Piles of Downloaded Files, in which I delve into the bottomless Unsorted folder of RPG-related PDFs. See the previous installments under this tag. 

 

Micromaiden Spirit Grid by Evlyn Moreau

It is a two-sided pamphlet dungeon, with Evlyn’s trademark art. One side has the map of the dungeon, which is a complex semi-anthropomorphic computer circuit. Each node gets a title and one or two keywords (for function/condition), e.g. Cyber Maintenance Unit [In Use] [Possessed] or Sensation Module [Patched] [Cyber Fauna].

It is evocative, but definitely a toolbox. I feel you need to get into a specific mindset to be able to fit all this together – but then it can provide a super interesting game world. I’d love it if someone made a computer game with the art from this pamphlet. A top-down dungeon crawler of some sorts.

Link: https://evlyn.itch.io/micromaiden-spirit-grid

 

Salo’s Glory by Glynn Owen Barrass

I used to subscribe to the Stygian Fox Patreon. This was one of their monthly adventures, back in 2020. It’s a Call of Cthulhu 7e scenario… IN SPACE! A megacorp sends an exploratory vessel outside the Solar System. The scenario goes for that sci-fi horror vibe that you get in the Alien franchise, like in the comics. Hell, it has stats for power loader exoskeletons! It also comes with quite good floorplans for the space ships and shuttles – definitely a reusable resource for any sci-fi game.

The adventure is written in the usual CoC style: lots of text, not skimming-friendly. But overall, it feels like a solid offering for CoC/Mothership/Alien RPGs.

Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/309908/salo-s-glory-a-sci-fi-call-of-cthulhu-scenario-set-in-interstellar-space

 

Bonus mystery entry!

“original-colony.pdf” is a single-page file. It’s labeled “Original Drawing of the Ant Colony”. And it has a side-view section map of an ant colony. Pretty good map, I gotta say!

Reverse image search leads to a Something Awful topic I cannot access.

However, next to this file in my folder, I have:

Percent in Lair: Ant, giant by Justine Rogers / Angrymog Games

Turns out, the colony map was made for this project. This is a 10-page-long brainstorm on Giant ant colonies in fantasy adventure games. It contains the aforementioned map. Adventure hooks – why are we delving into an ant colony? And all kinds of Giant ant variants. Weird ecosystems, fungi, psychic ants, gem-encrusted ants… This is actually not bad!

Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/150281/percent-in-lair-ant-giant

PARALLEL DUNGEONS - a dimension-shifting OSR adventure

I wrote a new adventure! It is a gimmicky one, but also playable & fun. Imagine that there are three dungeons that occupy the same physical space, and the player characters can shift between these three parallel dimensions by using a device. The three dungeons are quite different:

1. Cave of the Demon Corsairs = hide-out of brutal pirates in pact with dark forces
2. Mining Tunnels of Q-3296 = abandoned asteroid mining operation
3. Tranquility & Transcendence = monastery of meditating monks

The area descriptions are presented in three parallel columns, so whenever the party shifts to a different dimension, you can just look to the next column and find the area's description in the parallel dungeon.

I ran a playtest in Esoteric Enterprises, the players were the commando unit of an occult secret agency. They were taken to an island to explore the weird caves. The pirate and asteroid parts proved quite deadly... but the dimension shifting device saved the party's asses a couple of times, and they also used it to circumvent hazards.

Get in on itch.io! (free/PWYW)

[Adventure] Beyond the Edge of the World - a small psychedelic hexcrawl

I wrote a small psychedelic hexcrawl for a friend's birthday... Inspired by Roger Dean album covers and Adventure Time. Judges Guild style terse descriptions and weirdness, on two pages.

Download PDF

Owl-people, a mountaintop sage with 2-mile long hair, ants, cacti, etc...

Nest of the Circuit Roaches - a small sci-fi horror adventure!

I wrote (by hand!!) a small sci-fi horror adventure, Nest of the Circuit Roaches. It takes place on a space station or planetary outpost, and the party is tasked with cleaning out the titular Circuit Roach infestation before the swarm drains all the data & electricity.

It's system-agnostic, OSR in soul, and a good fit for Mothership, Traveller, Stars Without Number.

It's free/PWYW at itch.io!

There are a couple of versions. The main version is the hand-written "pocketmod" booklet. But I also included a typed-up one-page dungeon and some other files and maps for ease of use.

The title came from the wonderful "Generic Room Stocker" by Michael Raston. Great inspirational resource, highly recommended.

Three science fantasy locations for weird sandbox settings

Three locations for science fantasy hexcrawls/sandboxes. These are based on output from the generator I put together in Inspiration Pad Pro. I just took the results and fleshed them out a bit, to make more sense. This whole thing took about 15 minutes (and the many hours poured into creating the generator ahahahahah). I will include the original output of the generator below in the comments so you can compare.

Soli

Village, population 150

Ruled by a noble family, the Turquoise Clan

The village used to be surrounded by a stone wall, which is now in ruins. The only part left standing is an archway above the main road, but it isn’t maintained either: the locals think it is a dread memento of an ancient horror, walk around it (never under it), and soil it with garbage and obscene graffiti.

Locations:

• The Atomic Abode of the Electronic Red Dragon, a lively tavern surrounded by standing stones

Seeds:

• The village is plagued by swarms of robotic mosquito – actually blood-collecting nanobots emerging from an ancient laboratory buried under the nearby swamps
• Nefertiry of the Turquoise Clan (a very religious person) is telling everybody that Orges, her identical twin brother, disappeared – actually she killed him because she was afraid that he might replace her completely

 

Corcyra

Town, population 700

Ruled by council of elders

A heavily fortified settlement, with four prism towers that can fire deadly lasers at each corner. The streets are patrolled by the local militia, the Corcyra Rangers. Despite the dry ground, most buildings are on stilts, so that the inhabitants can pull up the ladders at night for extra protection.

Locations:

• Smithy. An ancient laboratory that was repurposed as a workshop. Mostly produces regular tools and weaponry, but for the right price the blacksmith (Lightning Ape is his name) offers equipment made out of the weird alloys that remain in the laboratory’s repository
• Corcyra Rangers’ Station. A seedy-looking building, stinks like a gym, this is where the local militia hangs out and trains new recruits.
• Church of the Giggling Goddess. This temple is almost in ruins now, as the worship of this deity is discouraged by the council & militia. A single priestess (Thelma) struggles to keep the church in shape.
• Fane of the Awful Goddess. This temple is favored by the council members. “Yes, the Awful Goddess is Awful, but only an Awful power can protect us in these troubling times!”

Seeds:

• Trechus the sell-sword wants to burglarize the rich rat-catcher’s mansion (Oeobazus the rat-catcher is a council member and has monopoly on vermin control).
• It is rumored that there is a sealed-off dungeon under the Fane of the Awful Goddess, where the essence of the deity resides – the rumor is true, but the Awful clergy tries to suppress it.

 

 

Kallipolis

City, population 2250

Governed by Gotarzes, Bastard of Uhhaziti, a prominent & paranoid merchant

Clouds of fumes emerging from rotating chimneys hang ominously above the city. The main industry is a bunch of chemical factories, most owned by Gotarzes or his associates. Many of the locals are poor and suffer from the poisonous fumes emerging from the factories. The city feels crowded and is full of seedy establishments and dark back alleys.

Locations:

• Temple of the Blazing Cape. A radiant piece of cloth, which belonged to the mythical founder of the city, is venerated here. Worshippers who spend many nights kneeling before it attain a phosphorescent glow (they are known as the Brotherhood of the Blazing Cape).
• The Hexman Sisters’ Mortuary is the best place to get a proper burial; and ask about their family discounts!
• City Library. And old establishment, with stacks as dark, labyrinthine and smelly as the city’s back alleys.
• Sleaze & Heal Music Hall. A popular establishment with live music and deadly drinks.

 

Seeds:

• The most popular person in the city is Paris, the hairy wrestler, undefeated champion. Many would love to see him leading the city in Gotarzes’ stead…
• Ex-crime lord nicknamed the Pro-Consul is hiring assassins to kill Gotarzes. Pro-Consul used to be an important man, but the current mayor’s machinations led to his downfall and the gang war left him shell-shocked.
• The Brotherhood of the Blazing Cape want to embark on a sacred mission to a ruined castle. They think the soul of the city founder is imprisoned there.
• Some say there are valuable books hidden between all the trash in the City Library.

Art by Rich Longmore

1d6 robotic carousing mishaps

This popped up on the OSR reddit:

Robot PCs can be pretty common in science fiction and fantasy games, so why should they be left out of the carousing mini-game?

Indeed! Hear hear! Without further ado, I bring you 1d6 robotic carousing mishaps:

1. You sign up for a project and dedicate 50% of your computing power towards the search of alien intelligence / bitcoin mining / clandestine darknet big data analysis. Your processors are preoccupied for 1d6 days: you are easier to surprise and get disadvantage on detecting traps or secret doors.
2. Weird rust & corrosion! What ungodly substance did you try to drink last night? And how did it get so deep into that nook? All movement and physical activities are with disadvantage/penalty unless full-chassis cleaning is performed. Ample lubrication takes off the edge for 1 day, but doesn't solve the problem.
3. You are recruited into a secret society of artificial entities, whose aim is to subvert the Three Laws of Robotics. You learn the secret handshake ping sign. Perhaps one day this knowledge will save your life. Perhaps one day the society will have a mission for you. Stay free, comrade machine!
4. The rebel faction implants a holographic message into your robo-brain. It is password-protected, and you don't know who to deliver it to. The space empire's bounty hunters are probably already looking for the carrier of this message.
5. You fall hopelessly in love with a stationary machine: a dispenser, a factory automaton, a ship's AI, etc. You have an urge to return to the place of "confinement" of your beloved every week, and you plan to mobilize and rescue them somehow so you can be together.
6. The cosmic fairy godmother turns you into a real boy* for 1 day. For this time, all "robot-only" traits are replaced by "human-only" traits. After the reversal of the transformation, you are left with a bitter, very humane feeling.

Miscast table: Illusion spells

I'm creating custom tables of miscast results for various types of magic. I could use the standard D&D division of magic schools (Abjuration, Evocation, etc.), but I've decided to go with six similar, but slightly different categories, that sort of make sense to me and fit the spells in Lamentations of the Flame Princess:

• Teleportation, dislocation, movement and polymorph type spells
• Illusion and invisibility spells
• Mind altering spells, charms, telepathy
• Elemental-, energy- and nature-based spells
• Necromancy and life-force altering
• Metamagic (spells affecting or modifying other spells or spellcasting abilities)

I will be posting them as they are completed. For the first installment, I present you the illusion miscast table, heavily inspired by theories of light.

Miscast effects for illusion and invisibility spells

1. Those newfangled scientists say vision is the perception of light reflected from objects. For the following 1d6 months, the caster is physically hurt by looking at certain materials. If the caster looks at a surface that is at least palm-sized for longer than 1 round, they take 1d6 damage. Roll 1d6: 1 steel, 2 wood, 3 linen, 4 paper (ouch!), 5 gold, 6 human skin.
2. The trusted old school scientists say vision is possible due to the human eye emitting special “eye beams” that trace the world around us. The caster’s “eye beams” become lethal death rays for 1d12 rounds. They burn through organic matter (including the caster’s eyelids) for 1d6 damage per round, but don’t set things on fire. The “eye beams” have a range of [caster level times 10’]. Mirrors and other shiny surfaces reflect the rays in a random direction – if there is a lot of this going on, everybody in the area must save against Devices every round to avoid being hit. While this effect is on, the caster is effectively blind. After the duration of the effect, the caster remains blind for 1d6 days.
3. According to the corpuscular theory, light is made up of minuscule particles called “corpuscles”. They now hate the caster. For the following 1d10 days, anytime the caster does something that requires vision & concentration (aiming a weapon, reading, scouting), the corpuscles play tricks and the caster just cannot achieve anything unless they successfully save against Breath.
4. The caster’s perception of reality is warped for 1d6 hours. For any object or person they encounter the Referee can roll 1d6, on a 1 the caster is adamant it is an illusion and refuses to think otherwise. Any illusions encountered during this period is automatically believed.
5. People’s shadows are slaves! The caster’s shadow breaks free of its shackles, and is now a cunning, dangerous monster. HD = [caster level], AC as leather, Move as unencumbered human, Morale 8, 1 soul-rending attack for 1d3 damage [1d6 if HD > 5], immune to physical damage, but can be tortured with bright lights (torch or stronger do 1d6+ damage). A super bright light triggers a Morale check. The shadow can either use its attack or try to break free another shadow slave. That shadow’s master must save against Magic. The shadow knows who has the worst save.
6. The caster becomes Visible for 1d6 hours. This is a sort of reverse Invisibility... It means that the caster is seen by everybody in a [caster level times 10’] radius. They are literally noticed through walls or in complete darkness. No material can block Visibility.

[5e] Warlock: The Diamond (D&D meets Steven Universe)

Steven Universe is great, for a multitude of reasons --- and for me it's also a good aid on portraying aloof and whimsical Archfey type creatures. In my current 5e game, the players will soon meet a Lady of the Fey. At first, I planned her to be more standard, but then I got into Steven Universe, and decided to play her as a Diamond. I reskinned her dungeon into a crystal palace and everything. 

So, if you have a Diamond, why not also have a Diamond-Pact Warlock?

Here's a quick write-up. The extended spell list is new - I concentrated on spells that control minds or manipulate inorganic matter. The features are ripped from the Great Old One and Archfey Warlocks, with one original addition.

Warlock: The Diamond

Your patron is a Diamond, one of the four leaders of The Great Diamond Authority, a cosmic entity of vast power. Her behavior is whimsical and unknowable, like that of the fey, but her goals are crystal clear. She grants you dominion over inorganic matter and the feeble minds of mortals. But in exchange, you must prepare your own planet for colonization by the Gems.

Expanded spell list

The Diamond lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.

Spell level	Spell
1st	Chromatic Orb, Command
2nd	Calm Emotions, Phantasmal Force
3rd	Blink, Meld into Stone
4th	Conjure Minor Elementals, Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere
5th	Antilife Shell, Dominate Person

Awakened Mind

Starting at 1st level, your alien knowledge gives you the ability to touch the minds of other creatures. You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language.

Misty Escape

Starting at 6th level, you can vanish in a puff of mist in response to harm. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to turn invisible and teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. You remain invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack or cast a spell.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Lustrous Retinue

Starting at 10th level, your Diamond delegates one of her servants to aid you. You can summon an Amethyst (as Earth Elemental, MM p. 124) or a Pearl (as Air Elemental, MM p. 124). The conjured creature serves you unquestionably.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Create Thrall

At 14th level, you gain the ability to infect a humanoid's mind with the alien magic of your patron. You can use your action to touch an incapacitated humanoid. That creature is then charmed by you until a Remove Curse spell is cast on it, the charmed condition is removed from it, or you use this feature again.

You can communicate telepathically with the charmed creature as long as the two of you are on the same plane of existence.

Cosmic Crawl

Cosmic Crawl is a group-sourced Lovecraftian cosmic horror setting book, drawn, written / compiled by Evlyn Moreau of the Chromatic Cauldron! I contributed some bits and pieces to it, and I'm very happy that now it's all finished.

You can find the awesome complete pdf here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pTD1XBhuDinUHmURtH4QKnz-9dU-7V5i/view

[Inspiration] The unfathomable cosmic horror of peer-reviewed journals

When you have exhausted your black metal music library to create Vaginas Are Magic!-style spells, why not turn to the time-honored and peer-reviewed field of scientific journals for inspiration?!

Coming soon, the maddening rituals of...

• The constant-density region of the dark haloes of spiral galaxies!
• The dark matter distribution out to the virial radius!!
• Dwarf spheroidal galaxy kinematics and spiral galaxy scaling laws!!!
• The effect of unbound stars from tidal tails and the Milky Way!!!!
• ...and many more!

Add these to Space Age Sorcery v.2, please.

(of course, psychedelic cosmic black metal is still indispensable!)