OSR Supernatural Menace - Pennywise the Dancing Clown (IT) For The Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition Rpg & The Cepheus Engine Rpg

 

In the Cepheus Engine (a 2D6-based Sci-Fi RPG based on classic 2D6 SRD mechanics), Pennywise the Dancing Clown (IT) is best represented not as a physical alien, but as an ancient, extra-dimensional psionic entity or "Eldritch Abomination" residing within a specific colony world or ruined habitat.

Pennywise (It)

An ancient, shape-shifting entity that feeds on fear and human psychic energy, hibernating for decades between feeding cycles.

Attribute	Value
STR	10 (+1) / Variable
DEX	10 (+1) / Variable
END	15 (+3)
INT	12 (+2)
EDU	08 (+0)
SOC	00 (-3)
PSI	15 (+3)

• Armor: 6 (Gains +6 vs. conventional kinetic weapons; light attacks pass harmlessly through its illusory form).

• Skills: Deception-3, Melee (Unarmed)-2, Persuasion-2, Recon-2, Stealth-2, Survival-3.

• Traits: Extra-Dimensional, Immortal, Psionic Master, Shape-Shifter.

Combat & Traits

• Bite/Claw: Melee (Unarmed). Hits for 2D6+2 Kinetic/Slashing damage.

• Shape-Shifting (Telepathic Illusion): Pennywise can instantly alter its physical form into whatever its target fears most. When attacking a terrified target, it receives a +2 DM to attack rolls.

• Deadlights (Psionic Stun/Madness): Pennywise can reveal its true form (the Deadlights) to a target within short range. The target must make a Psicombat / END check (DM-3):

  • Failure: The target is instantly paralyzed for 2D6 combat rounds and gains a lasting Phobia or Mental Trauma characteristic.

  • Critical Failure: Comatose or permanent loss of 1D6 INT/PSI.

Special Abilities

Fear Feeder Pennywise's armor and endurance are boosted by fear. Characters targeting Pennywise must pass an END or PSI check (Difficulty: Average) before attacking. If they fail, they are Frightened (DM-2 to all actions against Pennywise), and Pennywise recovers 1D6 lost END points per round from their fear.

The Hibernate Cycle After a active feeding period (typically 3–4 weeks), Pennywise reverts to a dormant state inside planetary infrastructure or sewer networks for roughly 27 standard years.

Vulnerabilities

• Shared Belief / Psychological Counter: Weapons only harm Pennywise if the attacker genuinely believes they will work, or if the party acts with total solidarity (giving a +2 DM to penetrate its Armor).

• True Form: Outside its lair or off-planet, its physical form can be disrupted if forced into a physical vessel without psionic backing.

The Arachni-Lobster From 'The Mist' 2007 Adapted For Cepheus Engine, Cepheus Atom, & Hostile Rpg Setting

 


Existing in the Grey place between dimensions that occasionally comes in contact with the plane prime. The  Arachni-Lobster is a massive two story beast that can tear apart a grown man in seconds. The shroud of huge  teeth that surrounds a massive mouth of sheer deadliliness . But its the Arachni-Lobster's claws that are capable of ripping a full grown human being in half in microseconds. This monster has a shroud of mist or the coying  atmopshere of the plane that these monsters exist on. 

This monster is an eating machine capable of taking on prey animals much larger then itself. The wicked claws of the   Arachni-Lobster are always searching for the next meal. And these monsters love fresh meat.  These breasts use a combination of swift claw attacks, incredibly strong secondary muscles,, & praying mantis like lighning speed,  These monsters are some of the most dangerous of the Mist plane's inhabitants. These monsters  provide a key niche predator within the ecology of the plane 'Between Places'. 
 The   Arachni-Lobster have super charged metabolisms & almost always appear to be hungry. The monster's young are some of the most aggressive creatures of the 'plane between places'. These thobstrocities share the parents appetities & are often found around areas wihere the parent monster hunts. These young share the parent monster's  attack manner & violent hunting tactics. There will be 1d6 Arachni-Lobsters within a hunting terrority usually clustered around nearby ruins or dungeon locations. 

Arachni-Lobster use sound, smell, & an uncanny 'sixth sense' to hunt. They lash out with the force of a monster's claws capable of decaptitating a grown man with little issue. These cunning predators set up shop near ruins, & game trails. They lie in wait for any passing prey & strike with a violence that few can survive. 

The  Arachni-Lobster is beyond dangerous & are always unwittingly unleashed by a wizard or black magick cult. These entities take full advantage to expand upon their mist shrouded domains. At the same time the Arachni-Lobster moves across the planar threshold to expands upon its interdimensiona hunting grounds & seek out new food sources. 

The Arachni Lobster 
# encountered 1d6 
 

9/18, Move 10m, Armor 7, 2 Claws (melee 3D damage each) or one bite (melee 2D damage)  Combat-3, Physical-3, Survival-2.

'The Tentacles From Planet X' From 'The Mist' 2007 Adapted For Cepheus Engine, Cepheus Atom, & Hostile Rpg Setting

 'The tentacles from planet X' come from 'The Between Place' also known as the Mist. Within this plane is a very alien macro ecology filled with alien Lovecraftian life forms.  'The tentacles from planet X' are such a life form able to tear off chunks of flesh from their prey easily. But these life forms are actually complex omnivores able to digest anything that comes into the hundreds of mouths that line their tentacles. These things are aggressive & highly dangerous  predators within their own right. 

Each tentacle weights hundreds of pounds & is equipped with hundreds of alien sensors, taste buds, and other sense organs. They taste their surroundings as they move able to taste even color. The tentacles are aggressive in the extreme equipped with hundreds of miniature fang covered mouths & sharp teeth like spikes. Flesh is no match for the inner fang lined maw that tips each tentacle. What the tentacles belong to remains a mystery. 


'The tentacles from planet X' main bodies are shrouded within a blanket of fog like cloying alien mist. The tentacles come a huge variety of sizes & so each one is capable of piercing flesh, cloth, and other obstacles in their never ending search for food. 
The alien main body surrounded in a strange fog like mist that protects the main creature. The tentacles will dissolve into a stinking cloud like liquid if cut from the main body. 

'The tentacles from planet X' are often found within the towers of wizards or black warlocks who employ them as ever hungry guardians for occult secrets. But the 'The tentacles from planet X' are also found anyplace where dimensional breaches or worm holes have occurred.  'The Between Place' dimension takes advantage of such breeches to fill in & expand its own planar domains. 


'The tentacles from planet X' take full advantage of such expansions to increase the area for their own species to expand its ever feasting reach! The monsters have been found increasingly upon a wide variety of planets, planes Prime, & other dimensional locations. 

'The Tentacles from planet X'
21/44, Move 6m (swim or slither), Armor 4, Beak (melee 3D damage) and 8x arms (melee 2D damage each). Combat-3, Physical-3, Survival-1. Gigantism, 
Evaporate - The Tentacle if damaged or severed from the main trunk of tentacles will dissolve into a foul smelling liquid in 1d6 seconds. There are some occult theories which state that resulting left over alien sludge can be collected to be used in a 'summon horror ritual' used to call the tentacles 

The Grey Widowers From 'The Mist' 2007 Adapted For Cepheus Engine, Cepheus Atom, & Hostile Rpg Setting

 Existing in the mist like dimension between planes which occasionally contact's the plane Prime. The Grey Widowers are a highly aggressive species of  non Terra archind the size of a small dog. The larger man sized Grey Widower are expert hunters  capable of tackling a creature twice their size. The real horror of the Grey Widowers comes from their ability to lay thousands of eggs within a target & being capable of hatching within 1d6 days. 

Grey Widowers small 
9/18, Move 10m, Armor 4, 2 Claws (melee 1D damage each) or 1 sting (melee; target must throw Physical 6+ or die from poison within 1 turn). Corrsive web (ranged 2d dice damage)  Combat-2, Physical-2, Survival-1. Gigantism

Grey Widowers colonies are some of the most dangerous of the Mist plane's inhabitants. These colonies are a part of the macro agressive ecology of the plane. They provide a key niche predator within the ecology of the plane. They also work  taking out any mid tier animals while providing the species with an expanding basis for procreation, expansion, & colonization. The Grey Widowers have been found on other planes Prime as well. This includes several where they have taken over entirely. 
The Grey Wildowers are fast, aggressive, & horrific. In point of fact the most dangerous predator to a Grey Widower colony is another colony. 
The larger Widower Guardians & queens aggressively cull any smaller animals they come across. This includes any tasty straty humans. 
The larger Widow Guardians are often the source for several hiver widowers. These are smaller Grey Widowers that ride the larger of the species as they hunt to scout new colony sites. 

Widow Guardians are huge man sized or larger predators capable of taking on prey many times their size.
Grey Widow Guardian  
9/18, Move 10m, Armor 6, 2 Claws (melee 1D damage each) or 1 sting (melee; target must throw Physical 6+ or die from poison within 1 turn). Corrsive web (ranged 2d dice damage)  Combat-3, Physical-2, Survival-2. Gigantism, Eggs (eggs hatch within 1 day & the young eat their way out of the host) 


The Grey Widow Queens are a highly adaptive version of the Grey Widows that can often be found scouting for colony sites across the planes. They can create a massive colony of Grey Widowers all on their own. These are large armored behemoths with 1d6 Grey Widowers residing within their chitinous armor. These will attack on their own. 


9/18, Move 10m, Armor 7, 2 Claws (melee 1D damage each) or 1 sting (melee; target must throw Physical 6+ or die from poison within 1 turn). Corrsive web (ranged 2d dice damage)  Combat-3, Physical-3, Survival-2. Gigantism, Eggs (eggs hatch within 1 day & the young eat their way out of the host) 

Vampires, Cosmicism, & 'The Monsters Within' More OSR Urban Dungeon Ecology For Your Old School Campaigns

Evil with a capital 'e' is seen as hokey & corny, but a recent four A.M. marathon viewing of the 1979 Tobie Hooper's Salem Lot has made my thoughts turn back to Arthurian literature. What does the concept of 'the Wasteland' of mythology have to do with a 1979 adaptation of Stephen King's classic vampire book?!


Well everything when it comes to Renegade Heroes, Tyrannical Conquerors, & Wasteland Kings! What the Hell is that title? Its my  turn of the of the century alternative Earth setting & system,an old school OSR hybrid of Adventurer, Conqueror, King's Barbarians of Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu mixed in with Troll Lord Games Amazing Adventures firearms rules, modern equipment & more.

Salem's Lot concern's itself with the theme of evil attracting more evil leading to the death of Salem's Lot. The Marsten house is pit of boiling corruption that attracts the vampire lord Kurt Barlow (Reggie Nalder) & his servant Richard Straker (James Mason). Its the small town complacency of the town's residents that opens the door for the vampire's corruption that literally invited into Salem's Lot.

But the town of Salem's Lot's fate is sealed in the opening credits. The wind blows dust & dirt around some of the abandoned store fronts & buildings as the main character drives into town. The impotence of the town's residents  in the face of the murders that occurred at the Marsten house act the catalyst for wasteland to gain a foot hold in Salem's Lot. This same theme runs through the Arthurian literature's Grail cycle.

"In the Arthurian Grail material, the Wasteland's condition is usually tied to the impotence of its leader. Often the infirmity is preceded by some form of the Dolorous Stroke, in which the king is injured tragically for his sins but kept alive by the Grail. In Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail, the Fisher King has been wounded in a misfortune that is not revealed in the incomplete text, and his land suffers with him. He can be healed only if the hero Perceval asks the appropriate question about whom the Grail serves, but warned against talking too much, Perceval remains silent. In the First Continuation of Chrétien's work, the anonymous author recounts how Gawain partially heals the land, but is not destined to complete the restoration. Over the course of time romances place less emphasis on the Wasteland and more on the king's wound. In the Lancelot-Grail Cycle the link between the devastated land and the wounded king is not absolute, and in the Post-Vulgate Cycle much more emphasis is placed on King Pellehan's injury by Sir Balin than on the devastation this causes to his kingdom.

Scholars of the earlier 20th century devoted much study to the Wasteland motif. In one of the more popular works on the subject, From Ritual to Romance, author Jessie Weston suggested that the origin of the motif lies with an otherwise unattested pagan fertility cult. The book is mostly disregarded today, though T. S. Eliot credited it as the source of the title and the largest single influence on his famous poem The Waste Land."

In classic original Dungeons & Dragon's campaign settings  such as Blackmoor &  Greyhawk the dungeon attracts even greater evil to it. The wounded king allows the evil in & the corruption takes hold this is especially true of Gary Gygax's classic Greyhawk setting.
In OSR terms Adventurer, Conqueror, King's main rule book has the sink of evil optional rules & it certainly fits the pulpy background of Renegade Heroes, Tyrannical Conquerors, & Wasteland Kings Pan America setting. The corruption of the dungeon literally attracts more evil men, cultists,  monsters & demons to it! Blocks of houses & buildings might have literally ruins & horror filled dungeons crawling under them.


The Lion & Dragon retroclone rpg has some great rules & suggestions for incorporating in the ideals & guidelines for a slower corrupting form of Chaos. Given some of the Arthurian origins of my heroes in Pan America I'm going to be taking full advantage of those. These same apocalyptic cycles of ending are exactly the sort of thing that Clark Ashton Smith wrote about in his Hyperborea cycle.

The monsters are carrying out a cosmic directive as the world moves on. And there's  a Cosmicism  indifference & ironic humor  in the in the monsters visage in Clark Ashton Smith's tales.

• Coming of the White Worm, The (1941)
• Door to Saturn, The (1932)
• House of Haon-Dor, The (1989)
• Ice-Demon, The (1933)
• Lament for Vixeela (1953)
• Muse of Hyperborea, The (1929)
• Seven Geases, The (1934)
• Tale of Satampra Zeiros, The (1931)
• Testament of Athammaus, The (1932)
• Theft of the Thirty-Nine Girdles, The (1958)
• Ubbo-Sathla (1933)
• Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan, The (1932)
• White Sybil, The (1932)

This is the same strain of wild weirdness that we get in Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition's latest adventures The Anthropophagi of Xambaala & The Anthropophagi of Xambaala. Why? Because the PC's in AS&SH are literally adventuring within a wasteland where time has passed the world by. The wasteland has engulfed the world & torn it from its moorings on Earth. AS&SH takes its 'P's & 'Q's from the Lovecraft circle. Its no accident that Underborea is so dangerous but by design of gods whose time has passed on.


AS&SH art by Peter Mullen

I've avoided Stephen King's Dark Tower series on purpose because it's just too damn expansive for my blog today. The idea that he adventure location is brought with  the 'sins' of evil of locals &  monsters are drawn to dungeon and vice versa isn't new but it does present some very dangerous opportunities for PC's. More to come

Gunslingers, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyprborea, & More Commentary On Steve C.'s 'Arthurian Twist' Campaign & Actual Play Events

So last night about four A.M. after I got back from my regular game of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea I got an email from Steve C. and he wanted to talk about Arthurian mythology and Celtic legends. Sometimes that how these things begin small & work themselves into a bit of an OSR  frenzy. Steve had  seen the Steven King Dark Tower movie trailer that came out last week.I'm surprised that it didn't get more attention in the OSR but there you go.

You see way back in 1987 or so it wasn't that easy to get a hold of any H.P. Lovecraft or some of the other Appendix N fiction from the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. But everyone's mom, grandma, dad,etc. had a copy of Stephen King's The Stand. And since I was both the Arthurian guy & the Stephen King fanatic I knew that the Dark Tower: Gun Slinger stories were connected with 'The Stand'. My adopted uncle had made damn sure that I had copies of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction sent from New York State after he finished with them. There are five stories that constitute the original novel heres' the Wiki breakdown:

The five stories that constitute the novel were originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:

• "The Gunslinger" (October 1978)
• "The Way Station" (April 1980)
• "The Oracle and the Mountains" (February 1981)
• "The Slow Mutants" (July 1981)
• "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" (November 1981)

All of this would come in handy for the 1987 Stephen King games. My uncle also sent me the first edition of The Dark Tower :The Gunslinger by Stephen King. The Dark Tower first edition novel with the great Michael Whelan cover that I had for many years in Boston. Now gone the way of so many treasures as ash in an apartment fire. 


The blurb from Wiki contains a bit of information on the first edition cover.
This is the front cover art for the book The Dark Tower - The Gunslinger written by Stephen King. The book cover art copyright is believed to belong to the publisher, Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., or the cover artist, Michael Whelan.

So what's this got to do with old school gaming? Everything because even back in middle school we knew that there was a connection between the Arthurian legends & the Gunslinger stories. So if it was good enough for Stephen King & Gary Gygax then it was good enough for us. You see way back when after reading Dragon magazine we knew that Gary Gygax & his players were mixing in cowboys from first edition Boot Hill into Greyhawk. So we took it to the next step & mixed in Book Hill with the Arthurian NPC's in Deities & Demigods turning King Arthur & his knights into gunslingers. There was also a healthy mix of Gamma World second edition thrown into the mix as well. So what does all of this have to do with Steve C. and his recent Arthurian Twist?


Well, Steve C. had questions about an NPC from that old game at the library way back in Torrington. It seems the players have run afoul of a certain time traveling gunslinger villain from our old days. Now they need to find a very special shooting iron from an abandoned ghost town that time sort of moved on from.

Now 'Merlin' has sent this party of of Roman cataphracts , Hyperborean thieves, Amazon warriors, outlaws, wizards,Keltic necromancers,warlocks, & cut throats after that shooting iron that we left in that abandoned ghost town so many years ago.
But that place is a half world location under the direct control of the 'Fey' forces of evil and the deserts around the ghost town are the playground of demons, specters, & worse. All of these under the control of  a very nasty version of Morgan Le Fey drawn directly out of Deities & Demigods.

Its been her group of mercenary trolls and their captain troll giant captain  that the party has endless trouble for. This has led directly to several PC deaths at the hands of this evil bastard and the backs of several Hyperborean warriors being broken. Will the PC's ever return to Hyperborea & England? Only the wily Merlin & the fiendish DM Steven C. knows the answers to that. If the recent Dark Tower movie trailer had this kind of inspiration on Steve then I can only imagine the types of horrors the players are in for.

Giant troll (Russ Nicholson, AD&D Fiend Folio, TSR, 1981)
Keep em rolling folks.

This blog entry is for entertainment & educational  purposes only. This is not an attempt to violate any of the copyrights or trademarks of the properties written about. This is for a table top role playing campaign & none of the game systems or publishers there in are responsible for the content. Artwork is used without permission and comes under the terms of fair use. Concepts and ideas are copyrighted to the author.

Saturday Shoot Out - Eighties Stephen King DYI D&D Memories Or Post Apocalpytic Gaming Without Tears

With huge apologies to Stephen King & his publishers, this is the recollections of a very despite dungeon master way back in the bad old days of the Eighties. The winds of Fall blow in some unique memories of another time and DYI Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Well sort of.

   This is the front cover art for the book The Dark Tower Book II: The Drawing of the Three written by Stephen King. The book cover art copyright is believed to belong to the publisher, Grant, or the cover artist, Phil Hale.

 

So its Saturday, the cold November winds are blowing through the streets of Torrington, Ct.. And I'm standing in front of the Torrington library on a Saturday morning thinking about the 'Last Stand of The  Jameson Ka-tet '.




This was another time & place folks come with me now back down the annals of history to 1987 when Stephen King's The Dark Tower series entry
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three ruled the book stands. Way back when I would get together with friends on a Saturday morning to play at the library. This was under the pretense of 'studying' of course but we'd be playing D&D or AD&D hardcore. Of course this Saturday they were looking for something different either TSR Marvel Super Heroes, Gamma World (a Torrington favorite btw), or AD&D 1st Edition or D&D (there really was no difference in these kids minds). But this Saturday the only thing I had was my copy of Stephen King's The Stand, The Dark Tower, The Drawing of the Three,  Boot Hill, The AD&D Player's Handbook & my AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. I grabbed the wrong pile of books!? I had left Gamma World at home!?

  Little did I realize that I was about to embark on one of the longest running campaigns ever. I had about fifteen minutes to come up with something new, dangerous, and playable. I spied my copy of Boot Hill & the conversion rules & guidelines in The First Edition Dungeon Master's Guide.

I had the players take on the roles of a party (Ka) of gunslingers (each one was a traditional D&D character class with the addition of a weapon of their choice) who were on a holy mission into the wasteland after the disappearance of Roland so many years ago.  The party woke up on the trail to Los Vegas where Randal Flagg was holding court.
The party made their way into the ruins of Los Vegas which Captain Trips had done its work and needed to avoid the armed minions of Flagg in order to recover the Colt Navy Excalibur from an abandoned gun shop.  The PC's didn't know that they were on the clock as Vegas was going to go up in a nuclear fire ball that night.


Photo by Hmaag
They made their way through the dust choked streets in an abandoned part of town and ran straight into a series of roachstrotities who poured up from the sewers & a party of slow mutants who had made their home within the remains of the gun shop.
They did everything in their power not to fire their guns lest they attract the attention of the city guards whom they had observed upon arrive were far better armed then them.
Did they get Excalibur? Yes they certainly did but they were cut down after getting into an extended fire fight with the Vegas city watch! Except that the wizard survived and made his way to New York City but that kids is another story. The damn wizard had survived & the adventure was a hit, suddenly I had to spin whole cloth another campaign. The players went home and rolled up new PC's & I was committed to another Saturday campaign!?!

So what did I learn about this little foray into the deep end of DYI D&D & AD&D? Well first thing I did was check out some books from the library on Arthurian legend and lore then grabbed a stack of Time Life Old West books! Then I calmed down & reread the Stand "The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It expands upon the scenario of his earlier short story "Night Surf" and outlines the total breakdown of society after the accidental release of a strain of influenza that had been modified for biological warfare causes an apocalyptic pandemic which kills off the majority of the world's human population."
I also learned that on Monday that one of the seniors in my school system who ran a complex Greyhawk campaign said," That I had ruined Dungeons & Dragons." Yeah it was one of my third or fourth encounters with one of 'those' guys. It would not be my last folks.  This campaign lasted some ten years and would see numerous PC gunslingers of every description known to man come in and out.  This blog entry isn't an attempt to violate the trade mark nor copyright of any of the properties of Stephen King's work, nor the trade mark nor copyright holders, or the publishers for that matter. This is merely a blog entry for entertainment and educational purposes.
This was one of my favorite campaigns & taught me how to manage both a D&D and AD&D first edition campaign on the fly. The fact is that your abilities to think on your feet and go with the flow of where the players take you as a DM will allow you to build upon what they create for you during play. This was one of the greatest things that the players taught me.
Thankee, Sai