Friday, June 2, 2023

Darkness & Occult Horror - The Invisible College & Wretched New Flesh Post Cards From Avalidad - The Black Lodge

 So the other day I got a chance to sit down and watch a review by the RpgPundit on Wretched New Flesh Post Cards from Aviladad & his Invisible College Rpg.  Now in the past I've DMed these two rpg's together but watching the review made me go back to my Wretched Flesh campaign notes. First let me say that I strongly disagree with Rpg Pundit about Wretched New Flesh baring any resemblence to the  'Over The Edge' rpg. And instead I think it resembles the older editions of the classic Kult rpg. 'Over the Edge' feels far more of it's time back in the 90's. Wretched New Flesh feels uncomfortably around the corner to me. And let's talk about one of the most powerful and dangerous factions within the occult war in the Invisible College that could jump right into Wretched New Flesh. And that's the Black Lodge. 


“Chaos is Peace… Blackness, blackness intolerable, before the beginning of the light. This is the first verse of Genesis. Holy art thou, Chaos, Chaos, Eternity, all contradictions in terms!”
― Aleister Crowley, The Vision and the Voice: With Commentary and Other Papers


If the 'Black Lodge' is the mirror of the Invisible College therefore the opposite number of the PC's. And you can bet your ass it's going to be exploiting the near future world of Wretched New Flesh &  Avalidad. The Black Lodge is going to be using Chaos magicians, occultists, agents,etc. all in an effort to gain the edge in the war of the occult. 
And if you think that the biopunk world of Avalidad is going to be easy pickings for the Black Lodge's machinations think again. Pundit's suggestion about dropping the whole cloth magick system of 'Postcards from Avalidad' is counter productive. And here's why. The truth is that there's more then enough room in a campaign for two or more ritual magick systems. 
The real truth is how to maintain the action and balancing in two dynamic systems with competeting world settings. My advice is to use both. And there's adventures from the Wretchedverse that easily fit the ongoing weirdness with the 'Invisible College' and the Black Lodge being involved. First there's 

Novanexus

 which could well be a screw up by a ritual of the Black Lodge & second is 

Sexual Holocaust

. Both of these have the earmarks of Black Lodge activity without the David Lynch factor thrown in. 


In Sexual Holocaust we've got a Black Lodge Ritual going very wrong with the resulting mayhem being investigated by the PC's of the Invisible College or Zonesec or both. The occultist whose work might have created the situation within Sexual Holocaust might have close ties to the Black Lodge or the Black Lodge itself might be interested in the fall out of the events of Sexual Holocaust. And what happens when it's revealed exactly who or what has been intruding on Hammetcity's reality? 

Novanexus

 is entirely different affair highlighting the internal occult & highly terrifying nature of reality. In 

Novanexus

 the player's PC's are going to have to act as agents blending into the background of 
the Morracco of the future. 
The Black Lodge's agents may already be aware of the 'Glitch' and have agents on the ground blended into the adventure's background. 
The fact is that the 'Glitch' may in point of fact terrorize the Black Lodge's senior members & inner circle. 
Think about it the Black Lodge wants to control reality not destroy it. The nature of the 'Glitch' is not apparent & as it grows the more it consumes or corrupts. 
The Black Lodge is a manifestation of the occult forces behind the facade of  Wretched Flesh's reality or so they think. Domination, control, and occult might are the hallmarks of the Black Lodge. 
And the Black Lodge is just one faction within the Invisible College. We'll get into the Cult of Typhon next. Because the Cult of Typhon has deep ties into Avalidad. 

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