Star Ships & Space Men Indie Go Go Update

They did it! The game has been funded(included stretch funded) & I can't wait for the book in my grubby hands here's the update!

We hit our stretch goal!

Everyone who pledged(s) at the Sub-Lieutenant level or higher will receive an iron-on/sew-on Space Fleet insignia patch!

This is the tough spot in a crowdfunding campaign where you have to decide if there should be more stretch goals, and what those could be.

I’ve mentioned in a previous update that stretch goals have become somewhat controversial. One reason is because if they are overdone, they become so expensive to produce and ship that they actually work against the goal of the funding program by costing money that would otherwise go into production.

That’s why I’ve decided with only one week left in the campaign I’m going to throw my focus into making the book the best it can be as we move into the next phase of commissioning art and putting final touches on revisions and layout.

That means instead of a stretch goal, additional funds raised at this point beyond my original needs will contribute to adding more art to the book. I think this is a great way to improve the product and reward everyone for believing in this project and supporting it.

There was a comment asking how to add additional books to your order. To do that you will need to do the following before the end of the indiegogo campaign:

Add $20 per perfect bound book.

Add $35 per hard cover book.

Note that if you are upgrading from Ensign (and these prices assume you are already a contributor) and you live outside the US, you will need to add (only one time no matter how many books you order) $5 for shipping to Canada, and $10 anywhere else in the world. If you originally pledged above the Ensign level you should have already added this for shipping, so you don’t have to do it again.

To do all of this you have to click on a perk as if you are making a new contribution, then scroll down to enter your own total. Then please send me a private note alerting me to your new contribution and what books you are adding, and I’ll add that to my list. If you want to add miniatures, I’ll paste my discussion of that here from a previous update:

Bridge Crew: $30

Any piece from the bridge crew (standing or sitting characters, chairs, panels): $2.50 each (note that sitting characters and chairs are sold separately)

Sick bay bed with patient: $10

Control Panel: $10

If you add any of these please specify in the notes section when you order which sets or pieces you would like to add.

 Personally I can't wait to have this game in my hands! Yeah I know you've heard it all before. But there has been a lack of any style of Trek game in the OSR for sometime. More news forthcoming! 

The Yorvrur''val Children of The Dark Star For Your Old School Space Opera

Children of The Dark Star 
Number Appearing : 1d6 
Hit Points: 5 
Damage : 1d6 per strike with their claws,by weapon 
Special: Teleport As Blink Dog, Regeneration 

These demonic half bastard children of demon & other appear across the universe to herald the end of an era. They will often accompany comets & other stellar phenomena.They bare witness to the passing of worlds, eras, cities, & civilizations. They feed upon those who survive. Often sucking the marrow from the bones of their victims.
These monsters are related to vampires & are often seen dealing with their lesser descendants with mocking attitudes & flaming black magical swords. There is no love lost between the two monster races. They will replace the vampire within the local undead food chain if possible.
These beings are neither alive nor undead but existing a twilight state of being where they hover between existence & demonhood.
They will often lair within cemeteries, battlefields, interstellar debris fields or the like. They choose their victims with care & sup on the weak willed or simple minded. These monsters will often travel ahead of battle fleets & invading forces announcing the carnage, futility of action, & then feed upon those who panic.
The Children will often sing about things that they have witnessed. Those hearing these terrible dirges must make a save vs wands. Or be struck with a profound sense of apathy making all rolls at at -2 for 1d10 rounds.
Once each 3 days the children may reach into the darkness of their souls & draw forth a black sword of sharpness. The sword will disappear with the coming of a new day.
The Children are scavengers of the worst variety & dispoilers of all that is good.
"Dark Star" by Vasily Alexandrovich Kotarbinsky (Russian,1849-1921

The Nazi Expediation to Carcosa Episode 3 - The Parts Quest

Tonight the party is about to find out what happened to the early 1904 expedition's saucer to Carcosa!

The PCs have set up a base of operation after 3 month operation. Supplies are dangerously low & their not happy at all. The Psionic batteries of Vril are having a hard time dealing with the dimensional chaos of Carcosa itself. They've had 5 separate attacks tonight so far. They need to find some spare parts fast! And away we go

They've found the remains of a downed Haunebu 2 style saucer but the design is much more primitive then theirs. They see lots of oozing liquid & movement down in the jungle valley below them. Sensors are jammed because of odd radiations coming from the valley floor. This is a Haunebu 2 saucer

 

They think that jungle striges were the main monster for the first encounter? Could there be something lurking under the green glowing gunk that lays around the saucer? Lets find out if... And boom 1d4 purple worm like monsters erupt from the mire! Machines guns are blazing now! Yeah waste your precious ammo! MUAHAHAHAThese aren't ordinary purple worms nope they have the qualities of giant rot grubs. Really you have to ask yourself.. Whose flesh were they infesting? Hmmmm

So they killed off the purple worms well most of them did. Two dead & one insane! Oh yeah we're off to a good start. The psychics have detected something evil coming from within the remains of the saucer. I'm slowly building up suspense & their running low on bullets. There are 2 rayguns just out of reach will they find them in time when the ghouls attack? 1d10 ghouls. The ghouls are the remains of the 1904 party.

3 are now infected with ghoul plague. They've taken a smoke break. One of the PCs has elected to remain a ghoul... The players are discussing destroying him or not. The player will not have the paralysis touch of the MM ghoul.
Advanced form of the plague & then the whole mind goes. It leaves a very low intelligence. He's got the claws, the level in fighter,can use a gun as well, etc. Actually doesn't need it(the touch)..He's got his normal intelligence for now..


Tonight's second dungeon takes place within the giant 6 story skull of a great old one. The energies of the monster have attracted all kinds of Lovecraftian horrors. The place is stocked with the parts they need. They've learned this from the former Lieutenant of the other expedition. There are 16 rooms within the skull. Did I mention that Carl the NPC is a ghoul & only by being infected could they understand him? Al Al Cthulhu! 
One of the monsters within the dungeon was this parasite! 


Hand Of The Old Ones - Outer God Parasite 
Hit Dice 6 
Armor Class 7 
Damage 1d4 with needle sharp teeth 
Special: Explode from the hosts body within 1d6 rounds. Immune to psionics



The PCs just acted like the Nazis they are & raided a "poor defenseless" village actually this village has a temple dedicated to the Great Old One Dagon! They fired machine guns from the saucer. Then awoke the avatar of the temple. They were able to grab a force field & some type X treasure. The saucer is in rough shape though after tangling with this guy!



The PCs  need the that saucer fixed asap! Really? Ok there's a sorcerer whose willing to help for half of the treasure & a quest for next week! He's got a grudge against the temple & loathes the Deep Ones
The saucer is fixed but they now owe the sorcerer
a quest..Muahaha. Very tired now & off to home.. Early night
All of tonight's action took place in one whole hex. That's it.

The Reshack'Vord A Psionic Discipline For Your Old School Space Opera

" I have harnessed the shadows that stride from world to world to sow death and madness.”

― H.P. Lovecraft, From Beyond

The Reshack'Vord A Psionic Discipline

There are dens of inequity & black schools of the darkest strip where this discipline is still practiced. Those who practice it are feared & loathed to out known space. None will admit they know it at all sometimes even to themselves.
The ability enables the user to reach into the foamy essence of existence beyond the known spheres to access worlds that are forbidden to our limited senses. These are places alien to life as we know it. Those things that live there are only to eager to answer the call to this universe.
Those who are even able to find someone who knows the tricks of seeing past the simple universe we live in has access the deepest depths of precognition. . This discipline access the strange folds of valleys of space time that have been sealed by the gods themselves. This power looks into the places beyond. 

Those who begin to use this discipline will see the flaws of everything around them. They will know the flaws  of every single structure around them. They must make an wisdom roll each day to see the universe as the way it was meant to be seen. Those who use these abilities will lose 1 Charisma point per month as their personality becomes as flawed as the places they star into.
After six months the user must make a save vs wands or be subject to the strange radiations, astral forces, weird visions. Their very flesh will wrack with the flaws of mutation itself. They will receive 1d3 mutations across the patterns of their flesh

1. Level One By Their Mark You Will Know Them - The psychic is able to see the unearthly energies of the places around them. There is a 75 % chance that they will know if any psychic power has been used recently, what it was, & how powerful the power was. There is a 25% that the psychic will know if there is an entity still within the area & may call it. There is no compulsorily  control of these entities by the psychic however. 
2. Level 2 - Access The Wisdom - The psychic may gain an insight into the motives of  someone around them randomly. Strange secrets, rumors, etc. that have been talked about or communicated within the last 72 hours be heard on demonic or angelic voices by the psychic.The psychic may communicate  with others of his kind once per day with this power instantly. The voices will be frightening & distorted to those hearing them however. 
3. Level 3 - The Children's Tumble Blocks - The psychic is able to gain a +3 to any roll involving seeing the flaws within plans, structures, buildings etc. The psychic will be very cynical when using this power however & all Charisma rolls are at -4 as they become very unpleasant to those around him. The psychic must make a wisdom check after using this power or be subject to apathy for 1d4 rounds. 
4. Level 4 - Call The Bastards - The psychic is able to see for moment the spirits around him within the flaws of the local space time continuum. They may call to them & there is a 50/50 percent chance they may answer. With a successful Charisma roll they will respond favorably to the psychic & do a minor service for the psychic. Using this power more then twice per day will result in them not answering for a month or more. There is a 10% of a planar demon hearing the call & answering. It will be hostile to the user & may attack. 
5. Level 5 - Access The Holes - The user is able to see the folds in space & time hidden from plain view. He may once per day blink as a blink dog. The power will function 3 times & if used any more there is a 30% of the user going out of  sync with the local space time continuum. The effects are up to the DM 
6. Level 6 - Beyond The Pale - The psychic tunes his vision to the hidden folds within space time. They are like a road map to him. He can see of an instant the world as it truly is. Some are driven mad but others gain valuable insights. The psychic can see the invisible, through shadows, through illusions, even find hidden treasure(only 30% of the time). The psychic can find space or star gates as well. This power is used 3 times per day otherwise the stress is much on the psychic 
7. Level 7 -The Wildest Dreams - The psychic accesses the madness & depravity of his visions. He is able to send these visions to a target who must make a save vs wands or be struck dumb. The target will be caught within these nightmarish visions for 1d4 rounds & can do nothing as the hell around him plunges him into his worst night mares. 
8. Level 8 - Call Beyond The Pale - The psychic sees beyond the pale itself & is able to momentarily interact with the inhabitants of this other place. He may call an imp, ghost, or echo of the past to him for 1d4 rounds. The creature is for all intents & purposes real for that time. It builds a PPKE body from the psychic power of the psychic himself. It will grant one favor to the psychic. This power is very taxing to the psychic however. This power can only be used once per day
9. Level 9 - Answer The Question - The psychic is able to see & interact with the echos or the past or future. These echos are of people the psychic knows & will answer one question of the Yes or No variety about an event. The echo will answer truthful but sometimes cryptically. This power is usable 2 times per day anymore & the echos may come to carry off the psychic 
10. Level 10 Crystal Clear Matrix - The psychic's mind flips through the mists of what might be to see the best outcome for certain events. He will see the best possible chain of events for this outcome but the madness that surrounds time itself will crowd around him. Once per day he may push a single moment favorably for himself or his fellows. This is not done lightly. There is a 10% chance that each time this is done a Hound of Tindalos may come for the psychic.
      The psychic may also use this ability to see the best route for space craft through hyperspace. There is often a crystal psychic matrix used for this operation. The matrix will hide the psychic from the Hounds view when the other ability is used.
    

The Minor Abilities of The Reshack'Vord

There are a number of minor abilities that many psychics manifest when learning the strange disciplines of The Reshack'Vord. These add to the sinister reputation of the psionic mode. 

1. Call the Matrix - The psychic is able to call the strange crystals that grow between the planar shadows to them. These crystals often have to be shaped by the psychic into a globe or ball which is the perfect form. This allows the psychic to focus their vision. 
2. Blue Lamp - The psychic is able to project a blue light in a 30 foot radius around them. The light will cause the psychic to vanish from the sight of planar spirits & the like for 1d4 rounds. 
3. Words of The Sinister - Once per day the psychic is able to make a pronouncement! With a successful Charisma roll this pronouncement will have valuable insight into the person hearing it. The psychic may not know its significance as he is a tool to the forces beyond! Even kings & madmen may heed these words
    
4. Hands of Beyond - The psychic channels the energies he uses to see the greater angles. His hands glow with the weird radiations of the planes beyond. He may cause an intense burst of these energies for 3 points of damage. Anyone caught in a 20 foot cone in front of the user takes this damage unless a save vs wands is made. Over use of this ability will cause a mutation check in the user after 1d4 hours!

The Vaults of Nar'reesshha - Encounter Location For Your Old School Space Opera

The Vaults of Nar'reesshha

Nar'reesshha is a name that echoes through the hollows of history & depravity. This was once one of the most extensive armories within the Outer Rim colonies. A beckon of hope to travelers moving through the dangerous star lanes as brigands & pirates threatened their every move.
 The vaults were a military armory & fortress of the highest caliber. This fortress world held millions of solders & their equipment. For decades it stood against the forces of darkness until the day when the Azure Curse was placed against the place. With just one day the sky turned the hellish colors of a demented madman. The whole world was swept into the nether voids of planar hyperspace.  It has become a time locked death trap now. The world is locked within an eternal limbo of the same day. The inhabitants are now ghosts caught within an ever repeating cycle of death & rebirth.
Why is not known. Was it the curse of some pirate shaman for an unknown insult, the final curse of some madman taken to the grave, or the whim of some sinister god? None know.
Treasure World Of Hell  
The Vaults of Nar'reesshha sit within hyperspace now only emerging when certain dead stars are right . A planet locked forever behind the palid wastes of  under space. Yet the fortress, the machines, the artwork, the whole of the world is a gleaming snow globe persevered for all eternity locked in time. Those relics have been tempting adventurers for centuries. Yet the world is not unguarded. Time Elementals, The Have Been men, & far worse insure that the curse is carried out. Each time one interacts with the time locked ghosts there is a 30% chance of attracting one of the time guardians.
 Random Encounters upon  Nar'reesshha Table 1d10 

1. Least Time Elemental -HP 4 AC 9  Damage 1d4 plus lose 1d4 years or be caught in a time loop unless a successful saving throw is made. The elemental will reassemble itself in 4 rounds 
2. The Mockers Of Time - Doppleganger like creatures created from the stolen moments of the past. They are only 3 hit points each & with an armor class  of  9. They will try to murder the person they are copying & take their place. This is temporary at best as they fade back into the time stream within 1d4 hours. 
3. The Stealers Of Lost Secrets - Hit points 6 AC 5 Damage 1d6 claws  - These bovine demonic humanoids will rip apart anything that they can get their claws on sacrificing it to Entropy. They vanish once they have claimed a sacrifice. 
4. "The Have Been" Men - Number Appearing 1d3, Hit Points 3, AC7, Damage 1d6 - These nasty small dwarves of grey flesh & strangely patterned skin come from the moments that have pasted in time. They claim all of the past incarnations of objects,people, & things. Things break down in their hands including flesh. Especially flesh. They will swarm any being that they find greedily consuming them with a bio acid & they will not be denied. 
5. The Momentary Flies - A swarm of nanotechnological time creatures that does 1d4 points of damage to anything that they touch breaking down the time constraints about people, objects, etc. These creatures can be driven off with words of truth. They will appear again in 1d6 hours in the exact same spot in time & space. 
6. The black pools of time -  Black pools of used time that sit like toxic waste in the middle of weird areas ie in temples, apartment buildings, etc. The pools will spew 1d8 azure green goblins who will rampage about the area & attack anyone within sight. They will be max hit points. Anyone touching these pools will lose 1d10 years off their lives. Saving throws apply however. 
7. Hollow Things -  Number appearing 1d6, Hit Points 2, Armor Class 9, - These tattered wraith like things are the remains of people that have flowed away in time. These are merely their echoes who wish to join with the present. They cause those who go encounter them to lose 1d4 rounds as they become frozen in the near now. They cause no damage but those caught by them will have visions & memories of others. These will be blurred, confused, & slightly terrifying. There are those who hunt & bottle these things as type of  drug. 
8. A Momentary Lapse Of Reason - Number Appearing :1d10 Hit Points 7 Armor Class 6 Damage: 1d6
   These owl like hunters desire to feed on the life of those around them in the normal continuum of time. They are demonic scavengers hunting from world to world where they wait to tear apart anyone within their talons. 
9. 1d10 Hounds of Tindalos - They pour from the angles of time. 
10. Your PCs are caught within the endless loop of Nar'reesshha, Your PCs are caught within the endless loop of Nar'reesshha, Your PCs are caught within the endless loop of Nar'reesshha,etc.

The Vaults of Nar'reesshha appear randomly throughout the cosmos on an endless parade of regeneration & destruction. Its technological treasures tempting mankind & the foolish for eternity.

Happy Gary Gygax Day !

Happy Birthday Gary Gygax about whom I can't say enough but who changed some many lives for the better through the game he created & the legacy of imagination he left behind. You are missed.
 

The legacy of Gary is one of playing the game he created & having fun. Get out & play yourself some D&D & raise your glass to the man who created products of your imagination! 

The Darkness Between The Stars -Stars Without Number - Actual Play Episode 3 1/2

 The Party headed into the depths of the Relic Empire after leaving the star gate at Talon's Point. They had some extensive readings in hyperspace before exiting the gate. A fleet of   space cruisers belonging to the Interstellar Police whizzed by them. There was some radio contact & a warning about the region of space they were about to enter.

 After a sensor sweep they encountered the remains of a heavy cruiser. The hull of the 10,000 ton vessel was  carbon scored with deep cuts into the exterior of the ship. They watched it for five minutes & with the flight deck missing, a small reactor leak, & the weapon systems still intact the party wasn't taking any chances. They were by passing this encounter going right to the heart of their mission.
The recovery of a gravity engine from Illumanium itself. The party dropped a salvage buoy & tagged the wreck. Who knows what awaits them aboard that ship?

The planet itself was a barren wasteland. Row after row of abandoned cities, space ports, etc. The whole place was eerie & is like a carnival after 4 am.

 They followed the signal of the drive to a space port left to rot in the desert world's triple suns

The approached on a deep orbit & landed. The Land master exited their ship & they drove into the ruins of the silent place. The wind howled at 10 miles an hour. The air had gone stale & bad as the terraforming units had malfunctioned centuries ago.

Seven space craft remains sat around the place. The party's lust at recovering these wrecks turned to disgust as they discovered that rail guns had been used with pin point accuracy many years ago. The hulls were punctured & electromagnetic pulses took out the electronics of many of the ships.


The wreck they wanted was mostly intact but had been exposed to the elements. Sand, rust, & dust had taken their toll on the wreck but it's parts were mostly intact.


Night was coming soon & the party didn't want to stay at all. The things mostly came at night, mostly..


There were weird vines draped over everything in the hull. The reactor was still active after all this time. Electricity pulsed through the vines & one PC got nailed for 1d4 points of damage from those vines. They were much more careful after that.
 After that the entire party began the task of  carefully detaching the gravity drive. 5 hours later game time the deed was done. That's when the building began to shake.
A strange massive vehicle showed up! The thing dwarfed the buildings around it. 

 Out of its bowls came a swarm of 7 combat robots. The party didn't even stick around! They climbed in their transport & ripped out of there.

While the combat droids were checking out the buildings, wrecks,etc. The PC's rolled very well to meet their ship & light out of there.


After another 2 week stint in hyperspace they were able to get back to Arch light space station where a warship was waiting to take possession of the engine. They got paid, filed their salvage claim, & did a quick refuel on their ship. They're going back for that other wreck for salvage though.
Bottomline of the adventure 

• A gravity engine 
• four engineering mechs 30 years old that will be refited into one working suit. 
• 3 small hulls for salvage plus assorted parts 
• a new alien plant species 

Into Talon Space - Stars Without Number - Actual Play Episode 3

Tonight the group is going into the heart of Talon space to seek a pair of gravity engines within the folds of Talon Space. The whole area is riddled with all kinds of  ruins, death traps, pirates, & God knows what. Talon Space is all that remains of the once great Talon Empire. After the Stroke became the Talon Relic Empire. Simply a collection of planets not even controlled or paroled by anyone.
Now the home for space pirates, mutants, lunatics, & the mad. Many of the surrounding powers simply try to contain or destroy the rag tag fleets that occasionally emerge from the place.

There are thousands of ruins, relics, & treasures still laying around on planets where swarms of nano monsters wait to tear the fools who dare to trespass. The PCs are mad enough for such an errand as this.

Notes About Stars Without Numbers 

1. Its been recently pointed out to me that the PCs are going to need thousands of credits to maintain their space craft. That means lots of adventures, treasure, & monsters simply to upkeep things 
2. PCs even at level 5 or 6 are still very easily killed! They need lots of adventuring & experience points simply to survive. 
3. The game is very Traveler like but has a clandestine feel to it. It easily suits a more gothic space game. 
4. Mechs & robots are smaller & anything Battle tech mech size or larger has to be built as a vehicle. That also means that mech combat is much more personal & upfront in the game. 
5. The old school "Japanese animation" feel is going to be stepped up tonight. Cybercity will a major influence  in tonight's game
   
   

6.Much of tonight's action will include space borne monsters. Things that have been engineered to survive the hard vacuum of space with a bit of an Lovecraft twist. 

 After game report to follow later so stay tuned!

The Misbegotten - Undead Horde From Beyond For Your Old School Space Opera

 

The Misbegotten - Undead Horde

Beyond time & space as we know it are the realms of the angles of unreality. These are places where even the normal realms of planar physics breaks down. Temporary foams of heavens & hells wash against each other as the remains of various universes whirl  against entropy & time winds down.
 This is the domain of demons & far worse. Places where the anti life is strong & creatures build temporary bodies from emotions & beliefs of those long since past.
One of these entities is the Misbegotten, a one time disciple of Orcus who became so powerful to almost rival the demon lord himself. The lord of the undead would not have it & so stripped the name, essence, every essence from this would be demon lord & cast him to the angles.
Such a fate would have ended most entities but the techno necomancer priests of Orcus called down the power into the material universe.
The power was sheathed in the nanite organic viruses of a million worlds. Plagues of undead began to roam the universe where the viruses touched. But there were other things, horrible things  among this horde of undead not seen before. The Misbegotten are called again
 

The Skulls of Wrack & Ruin
Number Appearing :1d4 

Hit Points: 4

Armor class : 6
Damage: 1d4 per blast of  green grey hell fire. 

Special: fly as bat, partially material, mocks others constantly
Hordes of these monsters accompany the Misbegotten on their raids  of the living. They constantly mock & amuse themselves on the sufferings of others. They're endless prattle points up the uselessness of  living while sewing the seeds of apathy in their victims ears. Even when the Misbegotten has left a world dozens of these monsters are left behind as calling card & endless torture.

 Minstrels of The Damned
Number Appearing : 1d4
Hit points: 4
Armor class: 5
Damage : 1d6 from the cold unearthly touch of their skin.
Special: Undead, Regenerates as troll, -2 to all skill checks on target from the dirges of hell that they play
These masked menaces from beyond the grave always accompany the Misbegotten on their rounds. They announce the coming of the undead horde with their songs of the Abyss itself. They can't be killed & will regenerate as a troll. They're touch is the coldness of alien hells. Bone cracks, skin freezes, & the victim's mind fills with the sound of demons! A psychic may 30% of the time with a successful attack as their forms return to the void as the planar energies return to the angles.
 Capering Mocker
Number appearing: 1-2
Hit points: 7 

Armor Class : 5 

Damage: 1d8 per hit
Special: Claw hits as ghoul, Partially immaterial, rage as berserk
These terrible foul smelling things are all that remains of the Misbegotten himself  They  are an unholy mix  part demon, part ghoul, & partially existing outside the material universe. The creatures torment the living ahead of the great mass of the undead horde. These monsters fly into rages & tear apart anyone see tossing the body parts back to the horde. They have a wicked sense of humor priest & clerics are of often the butt of their jokes.  They dance around their targets flinging decaying body parts hither & yon.Their streaked & matted hair is sewn through with the rot of the grave itself. They attack as berserk warriors once a target has been identified they will not stop until it is dead.
 
The Smoke Of  The Ages

The horde is made up of  wights, zombies, & many variations of undead. They collect their number & incorporated into a nanite swarm. This weird black ungodly cloud then plunges from world to world.. They're whims & hungers driving the forces of  hell within the material world. The cloud can be stopped temporarily by vary powerful psionics or magics but it can not be denied for long.
 These monsters may be found on any world called there by the the techno necomancer priests of Orcus. They power of their desire, hungers, & fixation calling down this plague of the damned on the living.

Spacial Planar Walking & Navigation For Your Old School Space Opera

 They are lean and athirst!" he shrieked... "All the evil in the universe was concentrated in their lean, hungry bodies. Or had they bodies? I saw them only for a moment, I cannot be certain."
—Frank Belknap Long, "The Hounds of Tindalos"


There are pathways through space & time that invade the mind of psychics. Things that move in those angles of space where time is nothing more then an illusion. This is the place of dead roads where those whose mind wanders there can learn to fold space as a man folds paper or his fingers.
Those who use these abilities risk much as the things that dwell there are not simply another form of life but another existence entirely.  Each time one employs these abilites they risk much from the "Ones Who Rebuild Their Bodies"  or simply the Tindalos.

"At the beginning of creation, a terrible thing was done.  Echoed and reflected throughout time, it still seeks to accomplish it dire purpose.  Beyond the White Void it lies, hideous beyond human comprehension or imagination.  This ignorance, though a great mercy, yet leaves our souls exposed to a fate unspeakable and malign.  Were it not for Those across the Black Void, that all-devouring barrier that not even the Strong Door passes, there would be no hope for we who are caught within the coils of the Great error.  But They, upon Their wise, all-seeing Thrones, intervene not against mere damnation, but only to avert the advent of the Fatal bridge.

- While we, in our awful foolishness, still batter at the gates of That which is to Hell as Hell is to Heaven." 

- anonymous, The Urgaak Manuscript, codex B

 They are from the angles of other realms & we move through the curves of space. Those who access this ability see but the curves & the angles. Yet those who dwell there are the anti life building their bodies from hunger, desire, & the very foundations of the universe. Their realms are undergoing constant change, destruction, and re-creation.
Those who use these abilities see & are seen by the hounds & others. Alien Demons, unknown devils, & the remains of gods whose worshipers have pasted on are also there. The used up prey of the Tindalos & worse. Eaten but still conscious they all seek the life of us all & at the end of this existence they may have it.
Yet there are advantages if one does not mind the cost of their souls. 
 
Spacial Planar Walking & Navigation Powers Chart 

1. Level 1  - Pierce The Vale - The psychic can see though time & space to his destination. There is a 10% of being seen by forces from beyond this sphere. The psychic's perceptions can be cast ahead to see the "now" of the situation at his destination. Light, temperature, gravity, etc. are all seen by the psychic as if he was standing right at the viewing location. His mind is else where when using this ability & so must be guarded lest someone or something seek to harm the person. He is at -4 on all abilities when using this power. The user's conscious will unable to perceive the world around him for 1d4 rounds after using this ability 
2. Level 2 - Channel The Foulness - The  user is able to channel the foulness or wrongness of the other life that dwells within the angles of space & time. The user may spew forth this foulness for 1d4 points of damage per round for 2 rounds. The target must save vs wands or take full damage. The victim will take half damage. 
3. Level 3  Eyes of The Universe - Time & distant are illusions to you. You can see everything but must concentrate through the hazy waves of quantum foam & matter to see what needs to be seen. The sight beyond is yours & a wisdom check is needed each time you use this ability to keep your perceptions from wandering. There is a 40% each time this ability is used that something else may notice you. & follow
4. Level 4 - Corporeal Teleporation  - The Psychic views his destination among the stars or planes. He can wander the planes to get there but must shed his current body. Upon arrival he will build a new one from the molecules & life stuff of the stars by making a save vs death. Should he fail he will be a bodiless spirit less then a ghost. There is a 60% that an angel of death, demon, or hound will scent the spirit within 1d8 rounds. The user may try again to rebuild himself. A successful wisdom check is needed each time this ability is used not to go slightly mad for 1d3 rounds each time this ability is used.
5. Level 5 - Walk The Spheres - The Psychic learns to keep his own body intact & journeys through the angles able to move 1d20 light years. With a successful stamina check he may bring others with him. The psychic must make an intelligence check to keep to his destination. There is a 10% each time this ability is used that something foul & horrible  will notice him. The psychic will be very hungry after this ability is used. He  will require a full meal & rest as per the AD&D DM's guide. 
6. Level 6  - The Strong Door - The psychic is able to project a hazy force field of planar energy equal to X 20 points plus the user's hit points. This will last 1d6 rounds after which the poly dimensional forces will collapse.  The character is protected from any planar creatures  for the duration of the power After which the character must make a stamina check. 
7. Level 7 - The Brazen Key - The psychic is able to move himself & any space craft  1d30 light years from his current position in 1d6 rounds. The psychic must make an intelligence check every round  to create & maintain his psychic shield. 
8.  Level 8 Metatropic Semi-material Planes Of Time - The psychic is able to experience his own history & perceive the events from different points of reference. He may adjust stats by learning from his own mistakes. The psychic is able to view recent stellar events & conditions in time. The psychic can tell if there have been recent stellar activity within the last 1d8 days relative Eisenstein time. This is of course is dependent upon an intelligence test. 
9.  Level 9 -Phantom Hell - The psychic is able to reach mind & body into the angles to travel instantly through the Black Void. Distance is now an illusion. The pathways are now open to him. He may move 1d100 light years. However the person using this ability is now a creature of the angles & using this ability more then 2 times per day  will allow the creatures of Tindalos to claim the character as one of their own. Even using the power will open the character up to 1d3 points of damage. The character will have an unnatural hunger that must be slated every 1d4 days.
   Unnatural Hunger Table 1d6 

1. Blood - The character must drink a glass or more each time a power is used
2. The flesh of dogs or cats the whole animal
3. Grave dust 1d4 spoonfuls each day 
4. The foulness of graves each time a power is used
5. The flesh of corpses each time a power is used
   
6.  A pound of flesh from a wizard every two weeks

The Mega Dungeon of Fettenburg Castle For Your Science Fantasy Campaign

Fettenburg Castle - Lost to the planar warps this sprawling castle was once the home of the Fettenburg noble family. The castle was part of an extensive battle between the forces of Chaos & battle weary vampire family as well as their army. The head of the family finally cast one last enchantment casting the castle, its grounds, & everything within the spaces between. The castle has been seen wandering the cosmos. Its former inhabitants mere animalistic shadows of themselves. The location has been the subject of the whims of dead gods for centuries. Fettenburg castle has a glamor about it which temps all who see her with their heart's desire. But it delivering nothing but death, depravity, & a sense of utter horror within its walls
 The strange castle supposedly has over 17 levels to it & is rumored to have added more! The evil thing seems to be a living entity that moves rooms, slides doorways, & builds within its halls traps for the unwary. Its agenda remains vaguely sinister at best.

The Vort'rrela -The Empty Ones For Crypts & Things

 

The Vort'rrela -The Empty Ones
During the latter half of the Twilight Wars.These warriors became very common. Produced by the millions. These biological undead horrors are merging of ghoul tissue & abhuman flesh. This gave rise gave rise to a new breed of warriors. Undead things who were servants of their own hunger & base needs able to follow any orders given. These monsters could see in the dark, had little fear of most physical harm, & could track their prey by sweat alone. They were immune to daylight from their human side. The Vort'rrela have been described half finished human things & animal fetuses . Slick, dull skinned grey monsters with the rough features of ruined wax & sickness. They are often equipped with the tools & weapons of soldiers. Their masks hide the monsters inside.
These monsters barely qualified as human at all. They most often feed upon the very prey they were sent to hunt.
Number Appearing :1d4
Armor Class: 8
Damage: 1d4 per claw strike or by weapon
Special: Infravision, Regeneration as troll, can't cross circles of protection

Nazi Expedition to Carcosa '44 - Episode # 3 - Actual Play

Tonight's Nazi Expedition to Carcosa '44 - The PCs have just gotten attacked by a cannibal cult wearing power armor. Two of the ten PCs have been injured. This cult also had a Shub Niggurth Spawn with them. The PCs Mi Go patrons drove off the spawn & have asked for a meeting at their base with the PCs

On there way to the Mi Go's cliff side hive. The PCs noticed something on the Vril radar/sensor suite. They approached silent, slow moving, anti gravitic cigar style mother ship. Many of their instruments went off the chart & this thing dwarfed their own ship. They hung back for a few moments & this craft silently glided over them. Then it open fire with machine guns! The PCs have decided to shoot back! The craft dropped out two smaller saucers.. The PCs are reluctant to use the energy cannons as they don't have enough ammo. They're going to need to acquire the nerve centers from a spawn to get them working again. They've retreated into a cloud formation & dropped chaff ( the biological remains of a mythos monster not simply chaff). 

Well that was a close one. The PCs have managed to evade this strange mother ship. "Perhaps we're not the one Germans on Carcosa" Hmm perhaps not

The PCs have been invited to see the conversion process for the Mi Go Vril ya. This isn't quite the paradise that the propaganda made it out to be! Sanity checks right here! "I wonder what the inner chambers of this place holds?" 
No really go down & check! 
The Mi Go want an artifact & the PCs are going to have to retrieve it. There's talk about a teleportation gate to allow them to shave off some flight time. PCs aren't happy about this! Oh ho there's the first failed sanity test & the PC is in a corner whimpering!Smoke break/supper break - Chicken with potatoes, a light wine,& soup with bits of bacon.

In a stunning reverse of patronage the PCs have rejected the Mi Go offer of perfection through surgery after the insane PC went missing. The PCs skin was found on the floor minus the PC himself. They have improved him, taken his brain & spinal column into a sealed metal jar. 
Here comes the power armor! This might be a mistake because the Mi Go Warrior are coming out with the electric guns! I'm using the original Dieties & Demigods stats here! There goes on power armor now! That's 2 PCs out of ten for this evening! The PCs are using machine guns to cover their escape

"When the adept prepares to return to his world the Guardian of the Gate will bid him to feast upon the flesh of Gauru-Yoth, and thus will the adept become one with the world god and carry the essence with him. Over time the body of a man will take on the cast of Gauru-Yoth and become an unspeakable thing, taking on the appetites of Gauru-Yoth, ravenously consuming man and beast alike." 
Gee they've just found some ruins & written in 8 foot letters is the above quote. They've decided to leave now. Only there is a saucer hot on their tale!

The PCs have set up another base camp & will go back for more supplies come morn. They've set up guards,mecha, & machine guns. Little do they know that near by a group of Deep Ones is watching their every move! A temple of Dagon sit off nearby. The Deep ones have 3 shaggoths at their beck & call.The PCs have decided to bargain for some artifacts from the Deep Ones through their human looking hybrids. Wilheim the thief of the party has decided to sacrifice a couple of fingers in exchange for "treasure" Using the cryptic formulae found in Von Juntz's "De Vermis Mysteriis" and seemingly inert tissue samples from Germany's ill fated 1938 antarctic expedition; They have at last achieved success in the creation of shoggoth protoplasm. They have gained three energy weapons & the protoplasm's rite.
The Deep Ones will show them more but they demand one of the lady PCs..The party turns them down & leaves

The PCs have tangled with their first Shaggoth as I knew they would! I brought a prop from my archives! 4 dead PCs from the shaggoth! The Shoggoth Formulae prop & how my shaggoths have always looked for the last 5 years. Taking a break now after their psychic cast the banishment formula!

Oh Sh** the material activated inside their saucer! Fortunately their psychic was able to leap into a protective circle they had prepared beforehand according to Von Junt's specifications and was protected from the ravenous thing. They're trusted assistant Conrad was not so lucky, several pseudopods wrapped about his legs and dragged him directly into the central mass where he was quite noisily digested. While the creature was occupied they tossed some high voltage cables in the central mass and threw the switch simultaneously reciting Alhazred's "Voorish Chants". The combination of electrical and eldritch energies proved sufficient to boil the horror down to a greasy liquid

Migo Artifact recovered, likely to be some sort of "scalpel" device used in the harvesting of brain tissue by Mi-Go operative. Artifact displays no obvious function and appears to be inert, in keeping with other yuggothian technology it may require a biological power source supplied by the user, this process allows the Mi-go to be fully integrated to their tools and explains the variety in their appearance. The alien devices can integrate with human tissue and function with varying degrees of success but the process is both physically and mentally detrimental to humans.Recovered from officers body. Party not happy about this. 6 out of 10 dead for this evening..PCs just killed Mi Go warrior with death ray!

PCs recovered a alien book from the wreckage of an alien craft. They fought the strange wormlike humanoid things inside the one man saucer. They used energy weapons

One last thing they found the still living brain of the pilot within the saucer! MUAHAHA

Tonight's real treasure the alien book. A hoary spell book of unknown ages of Carcosa's past 
1d20 sanity blasting spells bound in the humanoid flesh of something long forgotten. Smells of dead things from unknown seas..

Note that for years I've owned a number of Lovecraft inspired props by Zarano..  Especially the ones used in tonight's game. You can visit his blog Here & purchase some great stuff.