High Tech Mysticism & High Caliber Adventure - Burroughs/Bakshi Fantasy Mash Up

After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'
William S. Burroughs
Introduction


At the very edge of human consciousness is a place where reality bleeds into the deepest abysses of the artistic places of the human genius & roll into forbidden & terrible dreams. Places that exist as mini planes that float between the astral storms of the dream streams & the greater Astral. These uncharted realms are the Burroughs/Bakshi realms. The remains of once mighty what ifs, what might bes, & the city blocks of yet to exists. In some worlds  magic works & others it has become a second place citizen to the laws of  physics  of the hustler, the city goer, & the urbanity of the city dwellers  





Black magic operates most effectively in preconscious, marginal areas. Casual curses are the most effective.
William S. Burroughs
 
Burroughs/Bakshi Realms are accessible by certain rituals & rites which allow the user to see these  new realms & realities as if they were their own. A level three spell grants the passage over threshold of  these realms.
They aren't for the faint of heart though. The darkness of  malevolence has its fingers firmly in the pie of reality here.
Fae & the kindly races have their families of races in these realms as well. All battle against the great wheel of circumstance. 





Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape.
William S. Burroughs

Random encounters within Burroughs/Bakshi Realms 1d10 

1. Spectral Warrior party 1d4 5 hit points each with level drain abilities
2. Mugwump cultists looking for escapees. 4 hit points 2nd level fighters armed with machine pistols 1d4 damage 30 yard range 
3. Soulless Android Warriors 1d4 2 hit points each armed with ray guns 1d3 damage 20 yard range. Looking for esper slaves. Has psi sensors 
4. 1d6 Elven Scouts Scouting the Outer Fringes of The Dream Realms 3 hit points Bow & Arrows 1d3 50 yard range. 3 sleep spells, 1d4 poison arrows 
5. 1d4 Humanoid rabbit hustlers 2 hit points each with 1 3rd level fighter as leader. Armed With automatic pistols 1d4 damage 50 yard range 
6. 1d6 Mutant Soldiers 4 hit points armed with machine guns 1d4 damage 50 yard range 10 shots. Hostile & looking for trouble 
7. 1d6 Gang Of 2nd level thieves from 'Cool World' utterly lost but still looking for the big score! 3 mutations each & very chaotic 
8. 1d6 hobbits 3rd level fighters armed with magic blades but hopped up on hobbit pipe weed. Stoned completely & utterly 
9. 1d10 orc warriors scouting the Outer Dream realms. Armed with swords, shields, & side arms. Automatic pistols 1d4 damage range 70 yards 7 shots each 
10. A group of 1d10 neanderthals armed with spears & shields . 2 hit points each 2nd level fighters. Slavers looking for prey!

The Realms Of The Fifth Dimension 
The face of evil is always the face of total need.
William S. Burroughs

There are realms below where the Burroughs/Bakshi  spaces are. These are places where time  & deadly magics drip down through the spaces between the planar continuum. They act as a sort of waste catch system. 
Demons, mutants, trolls, & all sorts of fell creatures live here. The place attracts the desperate, the lonely, the crazed, & they all come here. These are realms of total chaotic anarchy where only the stone will of alien wizards & elder gods can hold the landscape & its inhabitants together.



Folks who disappear from their home cosmos often end up here between the cracks in reality often as slaves food, experiments or worse!



Wizard warlords often use these slaves as food & make matters far worse by employing spectral warriors, mutant soldiers & other forces of the damned!

The spectral warriors come for the blood lust as well as the challenge. They fight the forces of one warlord or other. They often switch sides as the rising & falling of one of these bastards is always taking place. 



Mutant soldiers are often employed to guard the vast fields of alien plants, strange alien animals, & much weirder things that will become the ingredients for weird manufactured drugs that are sold in other universes. 



Junk is the ideal product... the ultimate merchandise. No sales talk necessary. The client will crawl through a sewer and beg to buy.
William S. Burroughs
 
A List of Junk From Beyond The Fifth Dimension 

1. The Black Meat of The Aquatic Giant Centipede -This strange flesh creates within its user a +2 on all attributes for 1d4 hours. The user gains 1d3 extra spells & is able to perceive weird realms beyond normal space time.  The user will be at -2 on all specs once the high ends. Must be eaten or injected. 20 gold pieces for 3 doses 
2. Fey Brain Juice - Made from the ground up brains of certain types of lawful fey this stuff allows one to cast 1d4 magic spells, read magic, & create 2 realistically illusions per day. The user however will be despised by the fey & they will seek him out! User's breath smells of rotten fairy flesh. Comes in 3 indigestible doses.  300 gold pieces 
3. Hobbit Weed - Smoking this stuff has a soothing effect on the nerves. The user is able to create illusions from deep within their minds & others may see these illusions as if they were real. Other effects include being immune to all fear based attacks & not prone to panic. Anyone under the effects of this stuff will have to eat 1d4 pounds of food when the dose ends within 1d3 rounds 30 gold coins for 1d3 doses 
4. Stem Juice - Created from the pulped up brain stems of humans, humaniods, & others this stuff allows one under its influence to learn 1d4 extra skills or 1d4 spells  from the memories & experiences of the victims of its makings. The effects last for 1d3 day but the person takes 1d4 points of damage at the end of the period. 300 gold pieces for 1d3 doses.
5. Fairy Dust - This strange glowing powder allows those who are under its influence to fly as a levitation spell. Bad fairy Dust however will induce the most vivid nightmares imaginable for 1d3 days! 20 gold pieces per small sack

Michael Ploog's Nazgul concept, plus two paintings by Ed Hirth

The Twisted Ones 
 Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage.
William S. Burroughs

The incredible magic which courses through the realms is often harnessed by the wizard warlords of the area to create better, stronger, faster, deadlier forces!




Genetic Magical  Tailoring Of  The Twisting 

1. Partially Elemental - The creature's body becomes one with a particular element giving +2 to all traits. The downside is that the element's opposite number does double damage 
2. The Devil Inside - The creature becomes the host for a spirit of the damned. This might be a dead human, demon, or other. +2 to intelligence but able to be turned as undead 
3. The Plants Among US -The creature becomes part plant & may be able at 20% chance have 1d6 plant mutations. Fire does double damage 
4. The Fires of Undeath - The creature becomes a minor undead with all of the benefits of their state. However they are subject to all of their weakness as well 
5. The Animal Inside - The creature gains 1d6 characteristics of a random animal but is subject to -2 as there is a 30% of it going berserk when entering combat 
6. Thousand Psychic Wars - The creature gains 1d6 mental mutations but will be stunned if they fail their saving throw when engaging other psychics in combat. There is a 10% of their heads exploding if they use a particularly powerful esper ability.

Twisted Treasures 
Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside.
William S. Burroughs

1. Glimmering Silver - This foul melted silver is made from the run off of nuclear war remains .It glows with an inner fire but gives +2 on all necromancy related rituals or spells. However there is a 60% of a radiation hazard each time it is used 300 gold pieces worth
2. Liar's Gold - This beautiful gold was created from the gold fillings of Atomic War victims that has run together. Here & there bits of teeth & bone can be seen. Anyone seeing this stuff will be affected by gold fever. The stuff is perfect however for creating illusions of treasure or for finding more really valuable gold. There is a 40% of others wanting to desire it & they will do anything to possess it. Anything.. 400 gold pieces 
3. Gene Works - This strange twisted machinery will allow the creation of 1d3 twisted troops from scratch within 1d6 weeks. The machinery weights in access of over 20 tons however & requires a very pricey set of magically powered reactors to power it. 400000 gold pieces 
4. The Hustler's map - This magical map will allow a thief or other to find the perfect 'mark' within 1d4 miles of them. It will show date time & location 600 gold pieces 
5. The Junky's Key - This strange key will open a dimensional door to alien realms of perception & weirdness there is a 40% of encountering an astral raider party who wish to recover these keys. Why is unknown. Value unknown 

The Cities 
Here & there  the entire landscape is dotted with cities that resemble New York or Detroit surrounded by mile after mile of abandon houses & strange underground works. These cities are home to humans, humanoids, & talking animal humanoid species. 



The original artwork for this post comes from Here
S o why prey tell are there Carcosa, Crypts + Things, Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, Retroclones, Terminal Space listed for this. Because this is a mini plane or 3,000. These planes are easily reachable via spell. If you want to send your players into a tail spin then introduce the party to a realm with technology, machine guns, & Detroit,etc.
These movies are some of my earliest influences on my game. It worked for the original Star Trek series  & it can work for you!