Shadows of the Serpentmen Part II - Serpents & Zombies - Tomb of the Serpent Kings By Skerples Session one Report

Back on August 16th things were a bit rough for me, so I went on bit of a buying spree. That buying spree ended up with with several different small miniatures orders these included several minor box sets of miniatures including Snake-men Box Set, Crew - Ghost Archipelago (x20 figs). You can read more about these figures on Wargames Illustrated site here. 

Tonight the crew of players & DM Steve's PC's  got ran Tomb of the Serpent  Kings - Deluxe Print Edition by Skerples.  

 Tomb of the Serpent Kings - Deluxe Print Edition by Skerples is a perfect beginning level dungeon & lesson in OSR adventuring that can be used to set up a serpent men legacy right at the beginning of a campaign. Tomb of the Serpent Kings has several twisting & turning tunnels that connects to ACK's Dwimmermount. This version of the megadungeon links up with my Godbound/Cha'alt efforts from back in Feburary. 



This campaign links back on itself with few a Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg  adventures  especially  AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen (SoSQ). But waiting for Drivethrurpg to play catch up in a post covid world just isn't cutting it so I've had to take matters into my own hands especially with DM Steve lurking around my table. The wastelands of this mini campaign echoes with the planar winds slipping away through the serpentmen's other worldly gateways that link to many worlds. 

The  'Order of the Lords of Mystery'  has taken to recruiting the PC's into tonight's game. There was no we get together in a tavern tonight's game instead the Emporor's  dungeons were raided by the order for a group of fool ermm adventurers to brave the Tomb of the Serpent Kings. They made it into the tombs but part way on level one ran into trouble with particually nasty intelligent conquistor zombie that commanded other undead. This partiucarly nasty piece of work was inspired by Antediluvan miniatures Mictlan Lich. 

The undead horror ( a nasty juju zombie) had command of four other Conquistor zombies that kept the party very busy. Not to worry folks these are all experienced ACK's players. 


One wrong turn & they'll end up on   Lamentations of the Flame Princess's Carcosa/Cha'alt. The players are hoping that their PC's end up back on their own world. But things are just getting started & they've already picked up a stray erm former zombie victim. They got to him just in the nick of time for he wasn't victim. But he was babbling something about 'the master' & already the players are mumbling something about  Dave Cook's X5 Temple of Death.

Aryxyrmaraki's Almanac of Unusual Magic was brought up tonigt as the players tried to fall back to several of the side rooms to regroup & regain some ground from some the zombies & thier undead master. 


All in all the players are right in the middle of the action in tonight's game. The players have been in my recent  Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu rpg  mini campaign. We had to end early because of everyone has to work in the morning. 

Retro Review - Reptiliads Their History, Society, & Military System & The 'Battle Cry of the Reptiliads' For Your Old School Campaigns

 
Way back in the annals of time when War & Pieces existed in West Hartford Ct.back in the early Eighties the store had an in house Empire of the Petal Throne game going. Back then I was knee deep into the M.A.R. Barker's in house universe setting &  one Friday  I was dropped into the back end of a group of nine players. Now I don't want to say that these folks were a nightmare but they knew the good professor's universe back to front and they were supposedly taking a subtrain car to another country. Fortunately I was in a wargaming & gaming shop, so I picked up the latest issue of Dragon and the first page I opened had an add in it for RAFM's Reptiliads army book which contains the history, culture, army structure. There was also a second one called Battlecry of the Reptiliads: A History of the Legion of the Iron Tanth and the Great Orcish War.

• So the game was on Saturday and a quick couple of calls around the state of Connecticut nailed me a copy of both books from the Time Machine in Manchester Ct

So the game was on Saturday and a quick couple of calls around the state of Connecticut nailed me a copy of both books from the Time Machine in Manchester Ct

If you know anything about Empire of the Petal Throne you know that its a metal poor former interstellar empire world that was locked away in an a pocket universe for safe keeping. The high interstellar level of technology quickly disappated and the former alien races on the planet quickly degenerated into savagery and magic. This of course included the human population too. Reptiliads was a perfect little bundle to bring in another race of alien humanoid reptile men into the ruins of that colony world. The whole thing worked like a charm. Because this is from an era when the crossover from wargames & role playing wasn't that far off. We were given far more details such as the society and cultural history of the Reptiliad race and yet there was more then enough room for a DM to fill in what was needed for their own games.
 
 We were given lots of background such as the back culture, langauges, religion, social structures, the world view, and much more including a complete work up from the ground of the entire world of these reptilian warriors. This made presenting them as a forgotten alien culture especially easy and it worked like a charm.


 This book functions as an all access pass into the military as well as the setting of the Replitiads and gives all of the background necessary for a DM to breath life and details into the world that these creatures can be dropped into including background on weapons, tactics, clans, clutches and battle turtles as well as specialized warriors.

The military system is dangerous and somewhat violent lending a bit more menace to these lizardmen like warriors then one might expect. I've used them as a race to rival D&D own lizard men in sword and sorcery games.


 Given the amount of details about these beings its easy to drag and drop them into any jungle or lost world setting and surprisingly they work quite well especially in the OD&D Hollow World setting. The clan structure of the reptile warriors works nicely in D&D's background and with a little work easily fit many of the old school AD&D 1st or OD&D rules.

 You get a hierarchy of these ancient lost world warriors and there is enough to use them as a PC race with a little work. I've had both PC and NPC Reptiliads show up in a wide variety of campaigns and there are still friends who recall these noble and savage warriors of the jungles.

 Reptiliads battle turtles and warriors are sights that both Gamma World and Metamorphosis Alpha first edition players came to fear. The Empire of the Petal Throne players actually opened a trade deal with them after losing a particularly troubling adventurer to a clutch of warriors.

 Sadly this book is long out of print but our second title has some great merit as a companion piece to the Reptiliads book. The lone sight of a Reptiliad fortress or temple was a sight that chilled many an adventurer in my games over the years

The 'Battle Cry of the Reptiliads' is a slightly different book with a different slant on the Reptiliads, amazingly the book is still in print and very reasonable.  Selling for four ninety five and packed with lots of information about these reptile warriors.

 What's in the Battlecry of The Reptiliads book; "
Battlecry of the Reptiliads: A History of the Legion of the Iron Tanth and the Great Orcish War. Also included the rules for the Reptiliad Game of Lurpa. Text by Bob Murch, Colin McClelland and Susan Crane. Artwork by Bob Murch. Rules and information on the Game of Lurpa by Lee van Schaik, Claude Burns, Paul Sharpe and James van Schaik. © 1988 Rafm Company Inc. Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. ISBN 0 920727 08 5. Printed in Canada.

36 page paperback booklet (7” x 10”) with two maps on the inside of the covers, a 4 page section of painted miniatures and colour artwork between pages 18 and 19. There are monochrome illustrations throughout."


 We get everything on the society and world of the Reptiliads and everything is broken down from their society to their relations with other standard fantasy races and for an older book its very well done. Even though this is monochrome artwork, there's something very old school about the line work here. Everything works towards fleshing out these reptiles and their world. 

 We get tons of background & the conflicts that shape these reptile warriors view point of the greater world. The fact is that much of this is generic enough to drop into any D&D campaign world is a huge plus.

 Mostly everything here is based around the wargame origins of our collective hobbies & its very old school Eighties material trying desperately trying to escape the specter of Dungeons and Dragons.

 All of the traditional races from Dwarves to Orcs have had dealings with these reptile warriors. The Elves were real jerks towards the Reptiliads and deserved what they got in the coming conflict.

 Here we get lots and lots of lurid details about the fortresses,military set ups, the paint schemes, and much more.

 All of this book highlights the lurid and oh so worth it colour sections of the book. There is a pulpy vibe that runs through out  'Battle Cry of the Reptiliads'

 Everything in this book gives the reptile warriors a sense of proportion and a completeness  in the work up that will help flesh out the world of the Reptiliads for a DM. These are warriors who have a real purpose and goal for expansion.


 Finally we're given maps, a mini game, and much more to bring the world of the Reptiliads to life and even a few potential NPC's to deal inside these reptile men's world. The maps that come with both books are killer, the cartography is nice and everything is woven into the world that these book make come to life. Perfect campaign fodder for an old school game that is looking for that different twist on the usual races.

We're even given a mini game of Lurpa, game revered by the Reptiliads and their ilk. Much of this section centers around the themes of the game and its place within the reptile men's society.

For an army book there's lots of interesting fun details. All of this is geared toward creating a better uniform feeling.All of this is packaged tightly round some powerful factions and double dealing characters.

 About ninety nine percent of this book is perfectly usable as a campaign fodder and the book does a surprisingly good job at presentation and as a potential campaign adventure location.


Believe it or not these old school books have valid campaign use and if you find them to have as much fun to look through and use then that's all that counts. Retro Review - Reptiliads Their History, Society, & Militery System & The 'Battle Cry of the Reptiliads' come from another era but remain perfect campaign fodder if you're into just this sort of products that has survived into our modern world.Amazingly RAFM is still producing and stocking the Reptiliad figures and minis on their website.

The Free OSR Adventure Resource - Tales from the Laughing Dragon: A Dragonclaw Adventure As Adventure Fodder For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaign

 So with OD&D being the basis for several games out there surely there isn't a free low level adventure that could be used introduce your old school space scum to some back water planet?  Well there actually is a very well done one for the Basic Fantasy Rpg and its free.

   A desperate bit to save a kingdom upon a remote colony world in a backwater providence as the forces of evil threaten the planet. Only a brand of brave outer world adventurers can save us all. Are you those brave souls? Sound like the latest in the Star Wars saga or Battle Star Galactica? Or perhaps an old pulp sci fi novel? Nope. Instead its simply an old twist and trick that any DM has done in the past. Take an existing fantasy adventure and add in your favorite science fantasy crew. In this case the easily ported, DC1 Tales From The Laughing Dragon. There are several reasons why this works, one this is a low level series of adventures and have the same feel as a space opera, the events place the PC's into the deep end of Dragon Claw system errm barony. And their  presented as three sequential adventures set in the back end of the campaign enabling the DM to fill in the science fantasy issues as needed. 

Grab It For Free Right Over 

HERE 

The humanoid races become alien races, there are number of giant monsters that don't need to be explained this after all an alien planet. Add in a star port near the town of Dale minimal facilities and well your pretty much ready to go.  The ruins stay as is and simply need to be fleshed out with a few more exotic failed colony bits and your pretty much ready to go.

The goblins and orc forces are a very easy fit for this adventure and can easily be ported over with little to no problems. Everything in the adventure can easily be ported over to a slightly better then average primitive backwater planet. All three of these adventures start in a cantina ermm bar. Yet these are not hack & slash adventures some thinking is required on the part of the adventurers. Hence why your psychic warriors and space knight types might be required. Sure there's plenty of action but some serious thought is going to have to be put in.

Add in some space teddy bear rangers, and your ready to go! But don't forget the giant spiders as well. There's a secondary & possibly much better OSR option in the form of Jason Vey's Free OD&D Star Wars Supplement. Here's where the rubber hits the X wings! All of usual Star Wars suspects are here & its cross compatible with everything already within this blog post! 

With the Mandolorian hitting hard on the nostalgia buttons its not hard to see where & when this style of high space adventure could hit an OSR campaign note! All of this campaign formula is completely compatible with Warriors of the Red Planet or Dungeons & Dragons Warriors of Mars


Boil all of this in hot simmering pot of White Star & your ready to go with only players needed to be added into the kitchen soup of a mix. Giving the DM a complete run of everything they need for OSR interstellar adventure! 

All images are from the Ewok Adventure franchise and used for reference no trade mark or copyright infringement is intended. This blog post is for entertainment purposes only and the Basic Fantasy Rpg the copyright and trademark of its owners. This blog post is for entertainment purposes only. Happy gaming folks!

1d20 Under Lovecraftian Skies Random Adventure Plot Generator Encounter Table For The Alpha Blue Rpg System & Your Old School Campaigns

 Sex, lust, and the dark between the stars ring with the comings and goings of space adventurers but sometimes the contrails from a space ship's engines bring with it far more then what is expected above a planet's sky.  It brings the opportunity for exploitation,horror, and worse against the dark of space.

"a frightful messenger from unformed realms of infinity beyond all Nature as we know it; from realms whose mere existence stuns the brain and numbs us with the black extra-cosmic gulfs it throws open before our frenzied eyes.”
― H.P. Lovecraft, The Colour Out of Space and others

Encounters with the horrid and dangerous entities that exist beyond the pale of our reality are often the only markers to run ins with extra dimensional entities. Adventurer's souls, existences, flesh, blood, and individuality in space time are often the very morsels that these things seek to feed on.
The dark depths of space are lonely and very dangerous a places indeed where mankind are mere strangers to much older places. There  far more ancient species have already trodden and made their mark on the stage of interstellar space. In every space dive and weird disco bar there are hybrid species who were once slaves or servants to things so alien that their mere appearance can drive a being mad. But under the glaring hot disco lights of interstellar dance clubs there are millions of deals, pieces of esoteric gossip, and snippets of adventure all centered around the remains of empires crumbled to dust over billions ago across many realities.

There are thousands of credits and blue bucks that are made each and every night under alien skies whist things older then universes wait under stars of the damned for fools to find them. Sex, lust, and flesh ripping terror do indeed make strange bed fellows.

1d30 Under Lovecraftian Skies Random Adventure Plot Generator Encounter Table

  artwork by Dominique Signoret

1.   A space craft of incredibly ancient design streaks across the sky inside is an alien princess whose appearance will spark lust and interest any male or female adventurers who find her. But its her space craft which is the real treasure because it contains a highly advanced hyperdrive system worth millions. She will paralysis and lay her eggs within any PC she can after which they will hatch and consume the soul of the host along with their flesh to interact with interstellar society. 
2. A jewel encrusted prince from the outer territories comes in to do trading and find a pleasure palace aboard Alpha Blue. He's actually an Outer God larva whose taken on the flesh of this alien prince. He's very dangerous and unpredictable going about spreading mayhem and terror. He has 1d4 alien artifacts worth a small fortune.
3.  An ancient elder god who was worshiped by an alien civilization has turned to dust long ago has turned into a demon and is now treading the flesh dens of the cosmos feeding upon the souls of those it sleeps with. It leaves a few alien coins of cursed aspect behind it and sometimes a flesh eating fetus for those who displease it. 
4. A space construction worker has become infected with Abyss imps and they've now taken over his body and are joy riding around in his missing construction space craft. They are dangerous and very psychotic; they will kill anyone they come across in amusing ways. 
5.  Mi Go cluster of soldiers is trying to gather 1d10 brains for a psychic bomb and to take a few choice specimens back to their alien hives beyond the pale. 
6.  Space fairy infected with a demonic essence is looking for other to seduce to pass along her mistress into others. She is very dangerous and will cut off bits and pieces of those who cross her. 
7. A telepathic dream thief is going across alien space in a very strange space craft. He is from the Dreamlands and is taking the 'dreaming' pieces of souls to return to his dark masters in the realms of dreams. 
8. A space hooker from Alpha Blue has become infected with a colour out of space and there is a bounty on her. However she has stolen a high performance space craft moving among interstellar worlds scouting for her young who are following on her spiked heels. 
9. An Elder Thing near humanoid construct is pursuing an alien agenda of his long dead masters against the Great Race of Yith. He will kill anyone he comes across and has 1d4 alien artifacts. 
10. A Star Vampire egg clutch has hatched on a ship and now the crew are under the domain of one of these horrors beyond the pale of space. The vampire pursues a very dangerous agenda against an alien overlord aboard Alpha Blue. 
11. A space essence belonging to a long dead horror stalks the stars and now seeks out his ancient dead masters whist consuming the souls of these lesser things around it. It is a dangerous, sad, and pathetic creature consumed by old horrid appetites especially the flesh and souls of this young universe. 
12. A weirdly designed organic craft has aboard valuable cargo worth thousands of blue bucks but a space vampire queen has a clutch of hundreds of eggs aboard as well ready to hatch bringing a cycle of death and rebirth upon the galaxy. 
13. A Great Race construct has appeared in the system its mission unknown but there is valuable cargo aboard it. 
14. A telepathic alien has been possessed by a Lovecraftian demon under the stars of the dead. The thing is seeking the soul of a shape shifting hooker aboard Alpha Blue for an unknown agenda. 
15. There is  sex starved alien entity who  is looking for its god who has been pursuing an alien dreamer aboard Alpha Blue. The alien is looking to restart his people deep in the Dreamlands. 
16. A cat from Saturn is looking to consume the souls of eight people in order to placate its ancient god thing master. This is merely the pet entity of something much more horrid and dangerous. 
17. A Shaggoth disguised as a space hooker, adventurer, and bounty hunter is on the trail of one of the PC's whom it must eat. 
18. A control rod of the spawn of Cthulhu has come into possession of a space adventurer whom it has driven mad. The fool is even now trying to awaken one of the spawn circling a nearby star. He wants several thousand credits for the rod but in actuality he will sacrifice the buyer and his party too the thing. 
19. A moon beast slaver party is offering 'used' slaves through an interstellar  front management company as well as looking for investors for expansion into local markets. They are sacrificing and enslaving the competition for use in alien experimentation 
20.  An Outer God frozen in time and space has drifted into the local system. Bits and pieces of alien technology has caused a massive gold rush effect with local adventurers who have no idea of the dangerous situation that they find themselves in.

1d10 Random Things Left Behind After The Giant Monster Attack

 

 1d10 Random Monster Debris Table 

1. The radioactive scales of an incredible mutant reptile  There are incredible regenerative abilities inherint in these scales. The tissues  are reforming right before your eyes. Might be worth a fortune to the right buyer or scientist. 
2. Giant Hairs From A Mutant Insect - These hairs contain an intensity level 5 contact poison. Save or die right here. There is also a 75% chance that the scent of these might attract a 4 hit point parasite to the owner. Capabilities vary greatly 
3. A Coupound Eye From A Giant Spider ~ This puzzle could be used to heal the eyes of the blind or for a bio cybernetic implant. Very useful for scientists 
4. A Giant Claw that will cut steel like tissue paper. The claw is being sought by its original owner. The power of the monters resides within the claw itself. 
5. Several giant cells from the back of one of these giants. The material is very radioactive and as such might be used to power every day household items. Simply plug right into the house. 
6. The wing from a giant bat- These could be used to summon the mutant god of the bats that remain 
7. Giant Wooly Mammoth Ivory Trunk _ This tusk is as long as a truck and could take a strange cast on to its surface. The tusk can be used to summon the psychic ghosts other Giant mutant Mammoths. Each is a 3 dice monster 
8. A bit of Radioactive Material _ This royal jelly like  material and it is highly corrosive & dangerous. Alchemists though will pay top dollar for this slime. I could be used in the forging of an unholy magical weapon. There is a 3% chance of the stuff coming to life 
9. A giant gauntlet belonging to interplanar god. This strange pink like glove can deliver a 1d4 blast of magic god fire to the target. The god will demand the glove back but make promises of riches beyond compare 
10. The magic tome capable of sending its user on an un expect plane jumping journey. The god of the book will coming looking for it He will not take no for an answer about where the thing is

Free Retro Science Fiction Download Inspiration - The Tree of Life - C. L. Moore For Your Old School Space Opera

 

Download It Right Over

HERE

The interplanetary adventurer Northwest Smith trapped for food by Thag, a 4-dimensional monster, in the ruins of the ancient Martian city of Illar.

  Dark Illar is the perfect desert ruin for trapping your PCs and getting them into a sci fi Gothic adventure. The place is a nasty nightmare location just waiting for PC's to blunder into a hellish encounter.

A Bit Background NorthWest Of Earth 

These are classic  C.L. Moore and their pulp science fiction roots show through. The fact that many of her stories seem to feature Lovecarftian god like aliens is simply icing on the cake. She remains one of my all time favorite writers. North West Smith is the classic anti hero adventurer/space which now seems the classic trope. 

 

According To Wiki : 

By profession, Smith is an outlaw who lives by a variety of criminal means, including smuggling. By nature, he is an anti-hero, ruthless, self-serving, and cynical. Despite this, he has a core of goodness and often does the right thing in spite of himself. Smith is described as a dark haired man with "space bronzed" skin and pale eyes, who wears brown spacer's leathers and carries a raygun at his side like an old west gunfighter. His ship, the Maid, is small and unspectacular but surprisingly fast and agile. His closest ally is the equally amoral Venusian, Yarol.

His stories often involve ancient alien beings who have been worshipped as gods. This theme is similar to the tales of H. P. Lovecraft though, unlike Lovecraft's tales, Moore provides a hero who always manages to win out over hopeless odds. The classic Northwest Smith story is "Shambleau" in which Moore plays with themes of sexuality and addiction in Smith's encounter with a strange female alien.

The story "Quest of the Starstone" is also worth noting because it connects Smith with Moore's other most famous character, Jirel of Joiry.

Moore originally created Smith as a western character and kept the name when she switched to science fiction.^[1] She reportedly liked the absurdity of a character named "Northwest" in space, where compass points are meaningless.

Moore traced the origin of the character's name to the typing work which she was doing for a living while writing Shambleau and which included a letter addressed to a "Mr. N.W.Smith"

 You can find out more about the first lady of Science Fiction

 

HERE

The North West Stories and collections are the following : 

• "Shambleau" (Weird Tales, November 1933). On Mars, Northwest rescues a strange, beautiful girl from the Lakkdarol mob. They become very close.
• "Black Thirst" (Weird Tales, April 1934). A Minga woman invites Northwest into the forbidden Venusian fortress where she lives. It turns out to be even larger than expected.
• "Scarlet Dream" (Weird Tales, May 1934). An oddly-patterned shawl that Northwest picks up in Lakkdarol gives him unpleasant dreams.
• "Dust of Gods" (Weird Tales, August 1934). Northwest and Yarol take a job searching for the physical remnants of a dead god in northern Mars.
• "Julhi" (Weird Tales, March 1935). Northwest takes a wrong turn in the ruins of Vonng, Venus.
• "The Cold Gray God" (Weird Tales, October 1935). In the polar city of Righa on Mars, Northwest meets a Venusian lady who isn't quite herself.
• "Yvala" (Weird Tales, February 1936). Northwest and Yarol go looking to capture slave-women on one of Jupiter's moons and find out more about themselves.
• "Lost Paradise" (Weird Tales, July 1936). A little old man with a big secret helps Northwest learn more about ancient Lunar history.
• "The Tree of Life" (Weird Tales, October 1936). In the ruins of Illar, Northwest finds out more about the Martian drylanders' past.

Fanzine stories and collaborations[edit]

• "Nymph of Darkness" (Fantasy Magazine fanzine, April 1935; written with Forrest J. Ackerman)
• "Quest of the Starstone" (Weird Tales, November 1937; written with Henry Kuttner)
• "Werewoman" (Leaves fanzine, Winter 1938/39)
• "Song in a Minor Key" (Scienti-Snaps fanzine, February 1940). Northwest meditates on his own past life.

Collections[edit]

Northwest Smith stories appear in the following collections:

• Shambleau and Others (1953): Shambleau, Black Thirst, The Tree of Life, Scarlet Dream (collection also includes Black God’s Kiss, Black God’s Shadow and Jirel Meets Magic, three Jirel of Joiry stories)
• Northwest of Earth (1954): Dust of Gods, Julhi, Lost Paradise, The Cold Gray God, Yvala (collection also includes The Dark Land and Hellsgarde, two Jirel of Joiry stories)
• Scarlet Dream (1981): Black Thirst, Dust of Gods, Julhi, Lost Paradise, Shambleau, The Cold Gray God, The Tree of Life, Yvala, Scarlet Dream, Song in a Minor Key
• Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams (2002): The same stories as Scarlet Dream, together with five stories of Jirel of Joiry.
• Northwest of Earth (2007): All of the Northwest Smith stories, both primary and fanzine/collaborations.

The Shop of Aubrey 'Harter' Burke & Oscar Hare, Dealers in Antiquities!

 An old & venerable patron of adventurers that has branches in  'Atlantandria Port City Of Accursed Atlantis' is the venerable Shop of Aubrey 'Harter' Burke & Oscar Hare, Dealers in Antiquities. Our adventurers may stumble into this abode of the unreal & unusual coming up soon. Here's a revised look at one of our favorite dealers in the unusual & oddly dangerous. 

There are those who feast after the uncommon & unique among all of the known worlds. The usual channels of such merchant corporations such as Gijar & Sons won't do. Those whose vices, are determinedly  barbaric rites, uncanny phenomena, and inexplicable the darkest magics. This firm stands ready to provide its patrons with the unique, the forbidden, & the unusual. There agents are everywhere & hire the best to obtain by hook, crook, & then some that book, puzzle, planar objects that their buyer wants or desires. 

The first thing that a client must do is contact the agent on staff for either employment or to obtain a particular object.Clients never ever see Mr. Burke or Mr. Hare ever. There are branches of the establishment on over 300 worlds. 

Clients must realize that they will be paying top dollar when dealing with this fine establishment & that failure is sometimes not an option for jobs being done. The means are never discussed but the results should never put the firm within a position of unlawful means. 
  For employment opportunities Burke & Hare pay 400 credits a day plus a modest expense. They employ among their ranks scientists, adventures, & many other adventuring professionals. Their so called Guardians are often sent when payment can nut be rendered & antiquities aren't returned in a timely fashion. 

Some of the more unusual items that they have in stock :

1. Tablet From Telv' Alpha 4- The tablet supposedly speaks in a large variety of tongues & has been known to chant in unknown language. Those holding the tablet add +2 to their intelligence & find themselves within an alien mind dripping with pure order & higher hyper dimensional equations. The effects of the tablet will last 1d4 days & the user might not retain his original language. Cost is 2000 credits 

2.MI Go Projector- Built from plans found on the atomic waste land of Earth this project will show the user the location of any Mi Go Hyper dimensional gates. The downside being that the Mi Go will be aware of the user & able to cross into their para dimensional space. 1200 credits for plans & parts.

3.The Verchi Mechanism - Found on Deneble 6 along the Frri beach this isn't a trunk but rather a 600 year old mechanism. super science device. The only inscription found on item in Galactic Common reads,"It opens doors!" There is room for a power source but no one has been fool hardy enough to power it up. Plans for the device are available. 400 credits for plans & parts

4.fULSTERIN nanobots -These micro machines open doors of perceptions to the pleasures of various heavens & hell within hyperspace. The micro machines add + 2 to the user's psy but the user will see the odd angles outside of time & space. There is a 1d6 chance that a hound of  Tindalos will notice the user. The
fULSTERIN has been gone for over 6 million years with out a trace. Sold in doses of  400 for 600 credits each.

5.Vael Planar Drive System Core- Floating within a magnetic bottle is this incredibly rare Drive Core. This object exists within 23 different higher dimensional planes at the same time. The vibrations that this object creates alters the reality matrix of those around it this allows the user to step from one dimension to another. The core will remain stationary however. There is also the fact that this object will cause annoyance to many Tholu entities so care should be taken where this is being used. 4000 credits. We take no claims for any incidents that result from the use of this object. This core is for entertainment & collectible purposes only

6. Ritual Items of  the Theologians of the Order of the Gash- Very rare items brought to this plane by the extra planar beings of the Order of Gash. For collectible purposes only. 500 credits each or the set for 800. 

7. Old Earth Plastic -These ultra rare examples of plastic items from Old Earth which have survived the atomic fires. These objects retain the planar essences of their original owners & a sensitive may be able to speak with the ancient ghosts! 900 credits each 

8. The Golden Beo Hardrive  & Disks from Sceber 4 - These are the last known recordings of this race. Found within the ruins of a minor house these recordings show the day to day activity of the Sceber including planar research. 700 credits 

9.Spirit Bottles From Santurni Minor- These are the essence of the Saturni whose empire lasted 20 billion years. All that remains is these "Spirit Bottles" matrix for the very beings themselves layered in molecular ordered perfection.  There is a 1d20 chance that each time the user accesses the memories of the Santurni they will be possessed by these ancient malevolent beings 

10 The .Drug Liao -It is a living culture of the drug Liao (though to call it a drug demeans such a marvel of pharmacology), and while strongly vivotropic and able to move as a whole (as do the slime molds), its material component cannot pass through the dense matter of these quartz lemnules.  Also, should it somehow do so, growth outside its natural host requires a strong ulta-violet light or other such powerful etheric vibratory force.  And it must be fed upon the ichor of gods. 2000 per dose. 
   
    Note Burke & Hare are rivals of  Gidj & Sons, & this merchant corporation should never be mentioned within the presence of an agent of Burke & Hare*
  I didn't create this patron but they have appeared in many of my campaigns over the years. This twisted creation of mine is mine. 
The Shop of Aubrey 'Harter' Burke & Oscar Hare, Dealers in Antiquities is being used with with the kind permission of Ed Martinez & the pyramid gallery - PS my players should stay off of this link or else