Degenerate, Deviant, and Devilous - - The Invisible College & Wretched New Flesh Post Cards From Avalidad - The Cult of Typhon

 Alright, so let's dive into the deepness of the cult of Typhon within the Invisible College rpg. And how it relates to the Wretched New Flesh Post Cards from Aviladad. And this is going to pick right up from here on the blog.The Cult of Typhon is an off shoot of the Black Lodge & they are explorers or worshippers  after the entities from  the qlippoth. 

What exactly is the qlippoth? Well simply put it is the dark reflection of the tree of life and the filter between Gods holiness and our reality. But it's also the layers of unreality between our reality and the seven layers of Hell. Or an unreality of alieness completely immicial to mankind. 
And what does this have to do with Wretched New Flesh Post Cards from Avalidad?! Well a bit of everything really because the Beyond just might be another aspect of  the qlippoth. And the cult of Typhon worships the entities that live or dwell there. The cult itself works through a caches and networks of cults that it fronts. The cult of Typhon works through a net work of agents, priests, occultists,etc. each trickling knowledge to thier patsies. And what does this have to do with Avalidad? Well everything. Because Avalidad itself is the front lines for weird technologies, alien presences, and high tech weirdness. The cult of Typhon is going to have it's agents and presence there at ground zero. What does this mean for the PC's?! A few things .. One is the fact that the cult of Typhon is going to be interested in or behind any rips in reality. The cult  is interested in  &  exploration of foreign intelligence such as extraterrestrial life and daemons, and on the darker aspects of occult existence. This is done through agents, cults, temples, and a thousand other fronts. 

“The sin which is unpardonable is knowingly and wilfully to reject truth, to fear knowledge lest that knowledge pander not to thy prejudices.”
― Aleister Crowley, Magick: Liber ABA: Book 4

The cult of Typhon doesn't have the resources of the Black Lodge & therefore uses other resources such as alien presences. Machinatores takes full advantage of the cult of Typhon as experimental fodder. Well actually it's the cult of Typhon's operatives and cache cult fronts. These are given many of the alien occult technologies and artifacts of the Machinatores. Zone Tec is well aware of a wide variety of front cults and even one or two operatives of the cult of Typhon. They are not aware of the heads of actual Typhon organization that keeps it's own hands clean of any wrong doing. 

The  qlippoth itself as dark reflection of other aspects of unreality is also home to the dangerous apostles of pain. Alien entities who are interested in exploiting and using the human race for sensation and further reaches of extreme experience. The cult of Typhon often uses it's other cult fonts to feed it's agreements with the apostles. 

And finally the cult of Typhon is most often dealing with aliens and demons from   the qlippoth using operatives and humans as fodder. 
The cult of Typhons ultimate aims are ill understood. They may help or hinder PC's depending upon thier own NPC aims. They are at best unpredictable and at worst enemies who could murder the PC's at the drop of a hat. 

And then there's the fact that the cult of Typhon's main source of income is the selling of illicit alien drugs as a secondary source of income. When I say,'alien' I mean alien as in manufactured by beings who are from outside our reality. 
And a really solid introduction into the cult of Typhon might be to use the adventure In Wretched Depravity By Miguel Ribeiro Joe Coombs

The events of the house are actually by the cult of Typhon who are experiementing with the local reality. And your PC's are sent in to investigate from both Zonetec and the Invisible College. Things start to go sideways really fast so be prepared when running  In Wretched Depravity.
Another fun one to bring into the fray with the cult of Typhon is The Memorial by Miguel Ribeiro. The Memorial takes place in a run down hospital with all kinds of occult and supernatural as well as mundane weirdness going on. The cult of Typhon is behind some of the more bizarre goings on and this adventure could easily be placed within Avalidad. 
The Cult of Typhon is bizarre, mad, dangerous, and utterly obsessed with bringing the entities of  the qlippoth into the reality of Aviladad. Why? Because the cult of Typhon has deep ties into the fabric of society on all levels in Avalidad. 
And the cult has worked hard to get it's front cults to be fashionable from the gutter to the halls of the elite. And they frequently take risks that other factions in the occult war wouldn't dream of. Because the cult of Typhon is always recruiting through thier other cult fronts. 
They do this with promises of hidden knowlege, power, lust, sex, and all of the tools that have serviced the cult for centuries. And in the world of Avalidad the cult of Typhon's leaders have gained a level of immortality through mutant drugs and through the use of forbidden technologies. The sect of the cult of Typhon may be cutting edge but it's an edge that cuts both ways. They are always serving thier own interests and the interests of thier masters from beyond. 

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. 

Review & Commentary For Wretched Vigilantes By The Red Room For The Wretchedverse Rpg Systems

 "Wretched Vigilantes - RELEASED (Red Room store for now, print version coming soon from Lulu). Wretched Vigilantes is a game setting for the Wretched Role-Playing Game, co-authored by ML Straus, that thrusts players into the gritty and dark world of Hammettville, infamously known as “Crime City.”"

Wretched Vigilantes by line; "Within this setting, players assume the roles of anti-hero characters, retired vigilantes who are unexpectedly called back into action to defend their city. Their adversaries are the Vanguard Squad, a group of once-heroic crime fighters who have become corrupted and transformed into crime lords themselves, terrorizing the very city they once protected. As former vigilantes, the player characters embark on a journey of redemption and self-discovery.

In the Wretched Vigilantes game setting players have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the grim and tumultuous world of the Wretchedverse and Hammettville. It is a world where the lines between heroes and villains blur, and notions of good and evil become murky. While the default assumption is for players to take on the role of the Vigilantes, the game also allows for the intriguing option of playing as the super-villains, former members of the Vanguard Squad. This versatility provides players with a range of perspectives and storytelling possibilities, ensuring a rich and engaging game-play experience. To play Wretched Vigilantes, players will need the Wretched Role-Playing Game core book or another suitable old-school set of rules that align with the game’s mechanics"

Wretched Vigilantes clocks in at about eighty pages of super heroics done in the Wretched style and this is an add on book not so much a complete rpg unto itself. And this makes it very desirable for a DM such as myself whose looking for a setting to stage thier own adventures. Hammettville, infamously known as “Crime City.” has it's own distinctive voice and it's a voice that echoes through the undercurrent of Wretched Vigilantes. 
The setting & additional systems which is the vices & virtues system adds in many adventure & complication elements into the inner workings of Wretched Vigilantes. The old familar advesaries & monsters are lurking in the background. And there's definitely a huge opening of factions, supers, and whatnot that push Wretched Vigilantes into the world of Wretched New Flesh. 

This only makes sense given the recent adventure Novanexus. The world of Wretched Vigilantes is right down the road from Novanexus which means the 'Glitch' is more then a mere local phenemana. Forget the rival supers threatening the city and worry about all reality. 
The power players of Wretched Vigilantes are actually small patatoes compared with some of the other issues lurking in the back of the wretchedverse. 
I think that as an experienced Wretched DM I'd pair Wretched Vigilantes with Wretched Darkness & Agents of W.R.E.T.C.H.  

Why? Beacause quite frankly I'd love to see the 'villains' crushed by others who might be working the angles of Hammettville, infamously known as “Crime City.” for thier own benefit. The PC's could well be these folks. There's enough here within  Wretched Vigilantes to keep a campaign going for years. 
What I'm yammering about? Random encounters, plenty of random setting info, neighborhoods, villains, and more all make  Wretched Vigilantes highly well arounded as a supers setting. 

OSR Review & Commentary On Novanexus By The Red Room For The Wretched Flesh Rpg

 "Novanexus is a scenario designed for Wretched New Flesh – but adaptable to other near-future games – set in a sprawling metropolis that represents the pinnacle of human achievement and technological progress. In this scenario, inspired by movies such as My Uncle (1958), Playtime (1967) and Traffic (1971), players have the option to take on the role of local law enforcement or work for ZoneSec, a security organization hailing from the distant city of Avalidad. They are sent to Novanexus to either spy on the city or assist in investigating the mysterious phenomenon known as Glitch. Novanexus is an awe-inspiring European city with a skyline filled with towering skyscrapers and streets buzzing with activity. However, beneath its futuristic façade, the city is plagued by a sense of alienation and isolation.As the players investigate the mystery of the Glitch, they will be faced with the city’s advanced technology in disarray having to rely on their wits and low-tech to survive in the chaotic environment." 

Novanexus is an Aviladad adventure location  that basically introduces a number of common concepts to the game. Namely isolation, modern conspiracy, and deadly goings on below the surface of the city of Novanexus. And the high tech rot that boiling below the city is the Glitch. A reality warping phenemona that is ready to swallow the whole affair if left to continue. The PC's get involved up to thier eyeballs in this Sixties seeming affair. And not all is at it seems. While much of the Red Room's thirty three pages of European style  centered adventure in Novanexus reminds me very much so of My Uncle (1958), Playtime (1967) and Traffic (1971). What Novanexus really reminds me of is a Wretched New Flesh version of the Sixties cultclassic Prisoner tv series. The Glitch threatens everything about the status quo of the reality of the city. And there's more. 
Novanexus as a rival city location offers far more for the PC's to explore,  engage, & deal with the far future of Wretched New Flesh. As a whole cloth affair Novanexus brings a lot to the table top as both an adventure & a resource. Novanexus is also a solid rpg adventure to use with Wretched Conspiracies or even Wretched Darkness. The nature of the Glitch and it's attendant encounters is inspired and highly dangerous. 

Novanexus is an excellent beginning or mid tier adventure for the Wretched New Flesh Rpg. And will put the PC's into a place where they need to test and deal with the mind altering encounters with the Glitch, what or whose behind it, and more. The encounters are both interesting and engaging. The NPC's are well drawn out and the Science Fictional or more apt Science Fantasy horror is apt for what Novanexus brings to the table. 

Red Room A Wretch Flesh Mail Call - Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg By Miguel Ribeiro, Sílvia Clemente, & Manuel Sousa OSR Commentary - Blackguard update.

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

Thanks to the Red Room I got an updated Lulu copy of Wretch Flesh Post Cards from Availad. And yes, we went for the expensive hardcover. There's a lot to take within this three hundred & seventy nine page behemoth. Please ignore that copy of Invisible College rpg my players and concentrate Wretched New Flesh rpg. 

Black magic operates most effectively in preconscious, marginal areas. Casual curses are the most effective. William S. Burroughs

The above William S. Burroughs quote sums up Wretch New Flesh quite nicely because Avalidad, is the B/X D&D post humanity powered rpg I didn't know we needed. The fact that Avalidad is one of those marginalized areas. And it's so taken with it's place in the world that it doesn't know this fact. This  moves the game from simple Cyberpunk knock off rpg (its not)  into the realm of post modernist horror/science fantasy via Clive Barker paperback books, 90's horror, European Giagallo horror movies & more all spun into Avalidad the game campaign world ; "The game setting is centred on Avalidad, a futuristic city in Morocco, where corporations have been conducting research in genetics, cybernetics, augmented and virtual reality, and biotechnology. By default, characters are expected to be ZoneSec operatives or executives for Takeda Technologies, one of the most powerful corporations in Avalidad, but other roles such as Avalidad’s celebrities, fiscal royalty and seedy underbelly are also possible." 

Our characters in Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg have actually been the Blackguard. A group of high caliber & high technological occult mercenaries who have gotten themselves in way over their heads within Avalidad numerous times.  They've stolen Takeda technologies numerous times, had their necromancers save their asses twice, gotten screwed over at least three times, and come face to face with some really nasty occult terrors. This has cost our group three operatives already. 
And now the group of players is looking to ally themselves with some lovely sisters who may offer them some information. Information that will of course have a price. A very high price indeed. 

So the three games which repeatly get used in our Blackguard campaign are 'The Invisible College By RPG Pundit' , Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg  blends really well with the College. Both of these games have very different takes on ritual magick. And finallyNightshift Veteran of the Supernatural Wars gets throw into the mix. Because it has a very dynamic traditional Vancian take on magick which our players are familar with. 

OSR Review & Commentary Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg By Miguel Ribeiro & Sílvia Clemente

 "Wretched New Flesh is an OSR adaptation of Postcards from Avalidad, a Postmortem Studios setting. This is a near-future sci-fi/ surreal horror game inspired by the works of William S. Burroughs, David Cronenberg, William Gibson, and Clive Barker. Almost 400 pages crammed-full of information about the bizarre world of Avalidad, with mechanics compatible with the previous Wretched games."

"The game setting is centred on Avalidad, a futuristic city in Morocco, where corporations have been conducting research in genetics, cybernetics, augmented and virtual reality, and biotechnology. By default, characters are expected to be ZoneSec operatives or executives for Takeda Technologies, one of the most powerful corporations in Avalidad, but other roles such as Avalidad’s celebrities, fiscal royalty and seedy underbelly are also possible."

So the Red Room folks have been busy again & this time it's a full rpg that we've been waiting for!   Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg  By Miguel Ribeiro &  Sílvia Clemente is perfectly aligned with it's rpg setting. The rpg is readable, well laided out, & is a labor of love. The Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad rpg takes Avalidad & brings it to life in a 379 page tour of a futuristically dangerous city alive with elements of the supernatural, high tech, and the dark criminal underbelly of this near future. Sure there have been other rpg other early versions of Postcards From Avalidad Post Mortem Studios.

Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg By By Miguel Ribeiro &  Sílvia Clemente is the definitive version & edition of the game. Why?! Because it features band new additional content & older supplements distilled into one game wrapped around a very Wretchploitation core. Wretched New Flesh does an excellent job of taking the Wretched engine & bringing it in line with the Postcards from Avalidad Rpg setting completely and utterly. And Wretched New Flesh PC's are generated the usual way. The rpg system is pure OSR and does a solid job of casting the PC's in Avalidad   but this isn't the player's only option. Oh no they can be : Assassin, Common Citizen, Cyborg/ Transhuman, Investigator, Man of Action, Proselytizer, Psionic, Rogue and Scholar, plus the optional Conjurer. These classes fit the Earth of Wretched New Flesh. This is an Earth on the edge but the edge of what?! We're not sure, because this is a world where the weird is pronounced in spades. Cults, horrid bio technological weirdness,  transhuman elements, horror, naughty nuns,gun wielding thugs, alien entities  and much worse all await the PC's. 

PC's level out at tenth level and they Wretched Flesh rpg incorporates a psionic & magic system in addition to the high tech weirdness of Avalidad. And so we wind up with an OSR  adventure game that can handle anything from full on horror to neo Noir with little issue. 

Avalidad is not a place that you as a normal person want to get lost in. This is an Earth with a defined timeline going back to the Sixties so the PC's could start with Wretchploitation & end up in Avalidad. Around every corner there's the weird & the  supernatural lurking and it bleeds into this reality. And we're not talking about the nice kind of supernatural here. But Hellraiser and co types  ready to rip your PC's appart. And this is a theme that follows throughout the world of Avalidad. That around some corners PC's shouldn't venture. And it bleeds through into the PC's themselves. Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg By By Miguel Ribeiro &  Sílvia Clemente is a game where the PC's have secrets. And those secrets come out during play as your PC's find themselves against the powers, patrons, and weirdness that makes up the wedding cake of Avalidad  itself. The Zontec organization  gets a huge update as the force of the city that PC's can play or  don't want to run into; "Wretched New Flesh’s setting assumes that most players will (at least) consider taking the role of ZoneSec operatives, more specifically within the black ops’ unit under the command of Clayton Reed. ZoneSec operatives enforce the role of a state police, and their mission is to protect the corporations’ assets, important personnel, and most importantly their secrets. But even within the operatives, there are different loyalties. The ‘official’ operations division is strongly aligned with the Kobayashi Corporation, whereas Clayton Reed’s secret unit answers directly to Takeda." 
Wretched Flesh is an OSR game where the player's PC's can have a direct impact upon the world around them completely and change it for better or worse. And this system gets a work out within the  Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg. And this is a good thing allowing domain change on a quick level of reality from the ground up. A nice quick level montage as we've seen in many classic films. This same system works for the peusdo bio Cyberpunk asthetic of  Wretched New Flesh.

 Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg's Earth isn't one that we want to live in. Adventure in? Oh yes, we've got organe accumulators, psionic drugs, pleasure cyborgs, androids, and many other staples of weird science fiction. We get the Earth of ' Postcards from Avalidad' but distilled down into a usable OSR framework and it's done quite well. Where could  Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad be used?! Where couldn't it actually. If one is looking for a weird far future  campaign setting for an OSR game then Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad could easily fit the bill.  Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg is a rarity among OSR rpg's because it's actually complere unto itself. All you need are dice, players, paper, and a few sessions in and you've got a campaign going. 

Now let's talk about using  Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg with other OSR systems. The one that comes to mind is actually Mutant Future as a soft post apocalptytic alternative that could be blended in with Wretched New Flesh. Dial this campaign in with Skirmisher Publications Wisdom From The Wastelands & this would be Science Fantasy  campagin with years of play. 

The option that comes to mind is Night Shift Veterans of The Supernatural Wars which could easily work as a supernatural basis for a complete campaign occult adventures campaign. There are in point of fact several future worlds baked into the Night Companion: A Sourcebook for Night Shift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars. 

Is Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg By Miguel Ribeiro &  Sílvia Clemente worth getting?! In a word yes if your players are looking for a complete rpg that works on something akin to David Lynch mixed with Hellraiser mixed with David Cronenberg served with a light side of Cyberpunk style Blade Runner. That being said I want a physical copy as the pdf made my eyes want to bleed from three hundred & seventy nine pages of reading. 

Wretched New Flesh - Postcards from Avalidad Rpg By Miguel Ribeiro &  Sílvia Clemente in PDF Is Available Right Here

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