A blog about sewing machine repairs,but mainly my hobbies which include old school role playing games, science fiction,films, horror, and general geekery. Sit down and stay a spell.
The PC's in tonight's game played cat and mouse games with some Martian nuclear drilling machines and finally ended up on the surface amid some Tharkian Green Martians.
Even with a light mech and their ATV explorer they weren't about to tangle with a robot crewed nuclear powered Martian drill machine armed with two anti vehicle lasers and mini missiles. After some fancy maneuvering the PC's managed to lose the nightmare machine.
They opted to go top side and play amid the ruins of some nameless lowland Martian city state. There a party of Green Martian Tharks were dealing with a raiding party of red men mutant scavengers! This party in a ground car was assisted by 2nd level fighters on hover bikes. The mutant red men were armed with mag rifles, light lasers, and a Thunder Gun mounted in the ground car. It took the PC more then half an hour of dealing with the forces even assisted by the Tharks.
The PC's finally routed the mutant bastards and found out that this tribe of renegade red men were hunting for Tharks because of a bounty on Thark skulls for 200 credits each. These tattooed rogues are a tribe of nothing more then skull hunters without honor and so the party finished them to a man. The Tharks were pretty secretive to the party but took them to a semi underground bunker that had been converted into a secret Green Martian trade city. There were several close calls with entropy fall out created mutated Martian horrors especially the White Carnivore Apes. These bad boys can give a medium sized mecha a hard time and use both telepathy and pack tactics to deal with prey.
1d10 Random Martian Post Apocalyptic Encounters Table Amid The Ruins
A pack of mad Ghoul plague infected Cadlots # 1d8 Hit Dice 1-1 Dam 1d4 bite
A high Martian priest of Issus looking for artifacts to inspire his followers with. Guarded by two ghouls Max hit points
A pair of red men scouts armed with spears, short swords, and looking for trouble. Dressed in kilts and clan tattoos. 2nd level fighters, traveling on foot but with two mutant throats near by.
A party 1d8 of red men mutant cave men from a nearby clan looking for sacrifices to their alien god. These guys fight as 1st level fighters and are armed with metal clubs as well as knives.
A small proto plastic flesh blob hunting for victims amid the ruins. This 2 hit dice monster has an armor class of 8 but its touch causes 1d4 points of damage as it dissolves flesh.
A small clutch of green men warriors armed with traditional Martian weapons( short sword, long sword, dagger, rifle, and pistol) looking for an escaped slave and some artifacts amid the ruins. Fight as 2nd level fighters.
A mad earth element lurking amid the ruins and driven mad by the fall out. 6 hit dice monster with an armor class of 3 and capable of doing 1d8 points of damage. Completely and utterly insane!
A small remote for some an ancient mechanical horror that lurks below the shifting sands. This small very cute thing will lure anyone it can to its master for murder. Capable of projecting holograms and sensory illusions.
Ancient martian ghosts haunting the remains of their city. These horrors will try to drive any they meet insane!
An HG Wells Martian slaver probe saucer looking for choice slave stock. The thing will try to escape detection while transmitting back to its hellish masters! A raiding party will arrive within 1d6 rounds!
A modern reference guide to the space spider and much more "The Arduin Eternal Bestiary And Treasures book.
Marcus Orearlus addressed the floor of the college of Alchemists and Elementalists. "Ladies And gentle brothers of the Holy Corporate Empire. Nineteen of our best hyper space carriers have been destroyed. The burnt corpses of some of our best and brightest astronauts have been found aboard. The counsels of the empire are meeting right now and the slaughter shall continue unabated unless we know our enemy. I tell you now it is not life as we know it! This is not a new enemy but a very old one that we face! The Space Spider has stalked us through the ages! We must beware its tendrils and its eye that burns with the light that never warms. I myself have heard the howling, sucking, roar of this stalker from between the dark of the stars. Observe the stellar scope for a three vi broad cast of the Ultra probe incident."
I refer you now Ladies and Brothers to World Space Commission Medical Department form regarding the status of one Captain Tony Cellini and the reports that are attached. May the Gods themselves have mercy on his soul."
"9 March 1996. At Alpha's Technical Section, Astronauts John Koenig and Tony Cellini and Professor Victor Bergman were working out the final details of the Ultra Probe, a high-profile deep-space mission to explore the then-newly discovered planet Ultra. This tenth planet, discovered by Bergman in 1994, showed every indication of being habitable. Both equally qualified, Cellini and Koenig could not decide which of them would command the mission. The two friends left the choice up to a coin-toss. Cellini won.
The Ultra Probe departed from the Interplanetary Space Station on its seven-month journey on 6 June 1996. Cellini and his crew (astrophysicist Doctor Darwin King, radiation expert Professor Juliet Mackie and medical officer Doctor Monique Bouchere) experienced no difficulty during the voyage. On arriving at Ultra, they marveled at its similarity to Earth and preparations were made for a manned landing. While orbiting behind Ultra—out of direct communication with Alpha mission control—the ship encountered a collection of alien spacecraft. No life signs were detected from any of the derelicts. By consensus, the crew decided to dock with one of the silent vessels.
As the airlock opened, there was an unexpected phenomenon—swirling light, raging wind, screeching noise—and King shouted to Cellini to close the airlock. Emitting a deafening electronic scream, a huge, vaguely octopus-like creature with prehensile tentacles, one blazing eye and a fiery maw materialised, filling the aft portion of the main module. When King attempted to seal it off with the emergency bulkheads, its incredibly strong appendages prevented the closure of the doors—which shorted out the ship's auto-systems. The crew's efforts to defend themselves came to naught. One by one, they were hypnotised into inaction by the creature, devoured alive, and their smoking remains regurgitated.
Cellini was trapped in the command module by the system failure. After a hasty repair job, he released the jammed door in time to witness the death of the last of his shipmates: Monique Bouchere. He fired on the creature, the laser beams bouncing off its armoured hide. Cellini retreated to the command module, pursued by the monster. Fending off the creature's tentacles with a fire axe, he sealed the doors. He then blasted the command module free from the body of the probe-ship to use as an escape craft. In a brilliant manoeuvre, Cellini managed to slingshot around Ultra on a return vector for home.
After a six-month journey, he reached Earth barely alive, sustained by survival rations and sheer courage. His accomplishment was soon overshadowed by the world-wide disbelief of his horrific tale of the alien monster. While recuperating in an Earthside hospital, Cellini was visited by one Helena Russell on behalf of the Space Commission Medical Department to evaulate his competency. From the start, the Italian astronaut poured on the charm, discussing diverse topics ranging from Father Christmas to his own sex life. When the conversation turned to the Ultra Probe incident, he became physically and verbally agitated. Helena was forced to order sedation as the hysterical Cellini pleaded with her to believe him.
World Space Commission executive Commissioner Dixon summoned Cellini, Koenig and Bergman to his offices on Earth. He stated bluntly that there was no evidence on the flight recorder of any 'monster'. He judged that Cellini bungled the decompression procedure, killed his crew and refused to accept the blame. When questioned, Bergman and Koenig tried not to implicate their friend, but were forced to admit there were no facts to support his tale—or refute it, Koenig cheekily rebutted. Dixon ended the interview by stating the ultimate fact was that 'space adventuring' was terrifically expensive. His overwhelming priority was protect the space programme from the financial ruin the probe's failure would bring. Dixon grounded Koenig and Bergman as punishment for their ‘misguided’ support of Cellini. The scapegoat himself was then sent for extended psychiatric assessment.
Time passed, and Dixon's tenure as commissioner ended. Bergman was again welcome on Alpha as a visiting scientist, and Helena was posted there as head of the Medical Section. In September 1999, Koenig was appointed base commander to resolve the Meta Probe crisis, and he transferred his friend Cellini back to Alpha's Reconnaissance Section. After the Moon's breakaway, all memory of the Ultra Probe incident was obliterated by their struggle to survive in a hostile universe—until Cellini's irrational behaviour on this night revived the controversy...
A summons from Main Mission calls him away from Medical Centre; waiting for him on the big screen is an image of a jumbled assortment of alien craft. Despite five years' time and a distance of uncountable light-years, Koenig uncannily knows it is the spaceship graveyard Cellini had described encountering behind Ultra. Further investigation reveals the main module of the Ultra Probe still docked with one of the derelicts. Koenig agrees to investigate, and Cellini feels redeemed. Helena, though, is concerned by Cellini's unnatural calmness.
Boarding Eagle One, Cellini tells Koenig he is going up front to apologise to Carter for his earlier assault. However, he again knocks Carter unconscious and hijacks the Eagle, leaving the passenger module (and Koenig and company) behind on the launch pad. He radios his old friend, informing him that the beast is his enemy and he must face it—alone.
Koenig's Eagle Two docks with the probe-ship; he and the Security team enter the main module to witness the epic battle. Cellini's lifeline is yanked free by the monster and the astronaut is devoured, his ravaged corpse ejected to lie by those of his fallen comrades. Koenig reckons the monster's weakness could be its massive, exposed 'eye', and retrieves Cellini's axe. Evading the flailing tentacles, Koenig dives in and, hacking away at the eye, slays the monster."
"From that incidents and my own research I have across several assessments. The Dragon Space Spider makes its lairs within the wrecks of space craft. It uses the wreckage as both lair and for procreation. These space craft become a web of hyper dimensional energy for these monsters acting as anchor in the local space time continuum. These uncaring predators are gluttons feeding on as many victims as they can. They roast all of the life essence and vitality from their victims. They have the characteristics of both dimensional shamblers and the dread Hounds of Tindalos. These beings use combination of psychic lure and assault to force their victims within range of their tentacles. The monsters mouth orifice is like a blast furnace stripping a man to a burnt shell in seconds and absorbing the soul. The creature is a glutton feeding on as many souls as it can stuff into maul. The creature is capable of moving across time and space within moments. It departure signaled within the span of moments by a light show of swirling lights and a rushing of wind, light, and psychic insanity. This wind is accompanied by fog generated but both the creature itself and its body being suspended between our reality and else where. Some have sworn the Outer Darkness and others have said lower dimensional spaces."
" These monsters exist in timeless dimensional limbo where the passage of time means very little and yet they can lay dormant for thousands of years. The beasts move along a terrasact of foamy dark lower realities. They often have several lairs along inter dimensional axis routes. If you refer to page 42 of my report we shall exam the tendril strength of these creatures which is just as capable as a small "space kraken." The most heidious power of these beasts is of course the so called Psychic Death Kiss. These monsters once encountered can track prey that has escaped them years or months later. They act as sort of "paranormal murders" stalking those who have escaped their grasp. Sometimes upwards of ten years or more eventually the creatures will come for their prey." "They're presence is denoted by a howling murderous roar and a soul sucking wind that is generated by the mouth of these monsters. Indeed their inner gullet is like an atomic blast furnace. Please pay no attention to the magus high guard who have entered the meeting around you. " Marcus Orearlus paused and sipped his water for a moment collecting his thoughts and paid special attention to Gelbrus Cronos the Elemental guild master in the front. " As I have said I have had personal experience with these monsters. The doomed Argos mission encountered the lair of these beasts in late August three cycles ago when we were exploring the Pyrius sector. Only myself and my late wife survived the encounter. The guild master himself authorized the expedition but I digress." "This is not the only species of the Space Spider that mankind has encountered. The Gods themselves have cursed mankind going back thousands of years and only recently has this species brought to light. Please observe the Tri di again."
" These monsters are very similar to their larger brethren but only exist in a fixed point in time and space. They have been called by a psychic key of man or by placement by the Gods. They often patrol a territory of some 300 acres. These areas are always bathed in the same dimensional fog as that which is produced by their larger relatives. They are far more dangerous and have the singular ability to calcify a man in seconds. The victim must stare the monster in its single eye for only a moment for the process to begin."
" Further research indicates that the victim is both alive and aware the during the entire time they are petrified by the monsters. They are locked in a state of torment and the monsters feed upon their very souls as time passes. The beasts have veritable garden of stone statues that they feed off of. Victims within this state can last ten to twenty years of time.
"The medusa is a very stealthy hunter and able to sneak up its prey with its attack. A single glance and the very soul of the victim is frozen along with their flesh. And why the eye? Because it is the window to the soul. Upon our colony of Alphas II we encountered such a beast. The medusa had been dormant for more then ten years within its valley. Cyber centurions working on behalf of the colonists disturbed the sleep of this monsters. We lost half a company to the creature. The results of this encounter are well known. Please see report 23 in your briefing"
"Gelbrus Cronos the Elemental guild was also responsible for this outrage and only then did we learn that these creatures and their larger brethren have visited mankind many times in the past. There was ruined temple upon the colony world and within its halls were indications that millions of years ago during the Atlantian period of these creatures were summoned to Earth with astonishing regularity. Because of the necro dimensional magic of certain Atlantian sects the fabric of space time was weakened allowing these creatures free access to the Earth's space time. Most of these spells or psychic keys have been lost in the mists of time. However certain indications also point to activity of these monsters during the so called Twilight years after the Atomic Wars. Also similar symbols were found within the caverns of Mars. Could ancient Barsoomian psychic rites have paved the way for these monsters there as well? Why even my own beloved wife sub combed to the lusts for the human soul that creatures exhibit. Gelbrus Cronos the Elemental guild is sitting upon such a symbol right now. Notice the lights beginning to dim my friend and that roaring that your hearing right now. I was also aboard the Argos. I escaped it you see but one never really escapes it. The dreams come. My wife knew that. Let me comfort you and tell you all about it in our final moments together.This meeting is now over" The strange lights began to swirl and rushing got very loud indeed and the screaming began
Notes
The star spider is a high level monster from the Arduin Eternal line that has seen action within several of my campaigns. The star spider has been plaguing mankind for thousand if not millions of years. The creatures appeared to have interaction on planet ten and Barsoom.
There are three variations of the space spider and only to two are still viable at this time. The Barsoomian variation is extinct at this time.
The Space Spider is capable of moving itself and its lair 1d100 light years in interdimensional space in order to reach its prey. The creature must have left a "Psychic Death Kiss" upon its victim. Please note that only certain psychic abilities are able to remove let alone detect the kiss. Certain forms of expensive magic, psychic healing or super science may remove the kiss from a victim.
These creatures are related to Dimensional Shamblers of Lovecraftian Mythos. These beings do not get along at all and compete for the same food source. Mankind is so much cattle to these beings.
These creatures are feasters of souls but their metabolic processes are so alien and mysterious that it is very hard to be sure of the processes of life and true death even applying to them. There are indications that they are immune to psychic,magical, and any type of detection or are capable of masking such. There are indications that these beings are related or exist in areas controlled by the Outer God Yog Shaggoth.
The Medusa variety of the Space Spider is capable of limited shape shifting of mass and tendrils. And due to its nature capable of effecting its victims molecular structure. Resurrection isn't possible by cloning or even divine interaction due to the corruption of the victim's very soul.
Each type is capable of tracking its victims across interstellar distances and seems to stalk as well as send telepathic dreams in order to create fear and insanity with the victim. There is speculation of the monsters simply saucing the meat so to speak
There are indications of this beast appearing in Cimmerian and Atlantian periods of Earth's history. Times when the proto dimensional fields were at their weakest. After the Atomic Wars there was a similar weakening taken full advantage of by monsters of this type.
Though they can be summoned by divine or psychic "magic" rites. These being are immune to 99.9 percent of all magic or psychic control of any type. Once summoned it is best to run away if possible so as not to end up as supper for one of these beings.
The eye beam of the star spider sees into several realities at once. Its attacks are directed from outside of the local space time continuum.
Certain stellar or cosmic terrestrial cosmic objects seem to draw members of this species. These are often objects of power or artifacts of lost or ancient origin.
The tendrils or tentacles of these beings are often used to bleed off the reality bending energies of the monsters. They are laced with 17,000 sets of neo reality sensing nerves. Capable of instantly running through a gamut of realities and planar constants. This appears to be a matter of instinct and not intelligence.
The beasts appear to be capable of storing six hundred and sixty six individual trace patterns in order to trace their prey.
The creatures have a hunger that knows no bounds and they will feed on as many beings as they can stuff within their proto glandular stomach. The medusa extends this stomach over the statues of its victims drawing as much of the sou as it can. Each day taking a bit at time.
The petrification beam of the Medusa has a range of 60 feet in length and width of 2-3 feet.
The Space Spider Medusa Armor Class : 5 (14)
Hit Dice: 6 Attacks: Petrifying gaze Special : Immune to magic, most psychic abilities, regenerates as troll
Move:12
HDE/XP:8/800
These creatures can be summoned by a summon monster spell but can not be controlled by such. They are very dangerous and have a horde class of XII.
"The Medusa" originally appeared in the sword and sandals flick Perseus vs The Medusa. It was designed by the monster maker maestro Carlos Rambaldi himself. The creature later appeared on television as part of the "Sons of Hercules"series The part of Perseus played by Richard Harrison.
The Dragon version of the space spider was originally statted up by the legendary Dave Hargrave for Arduin. It originally appeared on the "Domain of The Dragon" episode of Space 1999.
These beasts have appeared in the Talon sector, the environs of the post Apocalyptic Mars game, and countless other games over the past three years. You can purchase the Bestiary from Emperor's Choice Games HERE This blog entry is for entertainment purposes only. The author's intent is for entertainment purposes only. This not an attempt to violate the trade markers or copy right of anything discussed or portrayed in the blog entry. This writing however is my own invention.
Foul Necromatic Rites, Horror, Zombies, Dime Store Tiki Torches, and the adventure of a lifetime await you in "I Eat Your Skin!" Book Your Vacation Destination in Darkest Key West on The Dark Corner Blog!
This is a trashtastic movie for your Sunday viewing. Made in 1967 this one has it all from a great plot to the "Doctor Who" style sets. Its all there and it's waiting to be used.
The Plot according to Wiki:
Project Star Talk is based at a UK radio telescope site, its mission is to listen for radio signals from other intelligences. Dr Joe Burke (Simon Oaks) is the head of the project assisted by his small team consisting of electronics expert Ben Keller (Stanley Meadows) and office manager Sandy Lund (Zena Marshall). Due to the lack of success reported by the Site Manager, Dr. Henry Shore (Max Adrian), Project Star Talk is given 90 days in order to report positive results. During this period an accountant Mr. Yellowlees (Charles Hawtrey) is sent to look over the project's accounts. As luck would have it, a repeating signal is received by the project, but the signal is only coming from a small asteroid with no atmosphere in the outer Solar System. Despite this, Dr Burke spends the balance of his grant to equip the telescope with a powerful transmitter to contact the source of the signals. The night of the transmission, Mr Yellowlees and Mrs. Jones (Patricia Hayes) who runs the tea trolley, stay to witness this historic event. While waiting for a response, Dr. Burke tells of his father's discovery at an archaeological dig in France of a cube that gave him strange dreams as a boy, inspiring him to become an astronomer . The signal is sent and reaches the asteroid. The asteroid has on it a huge installation that receives the radio signal and answers it with a spaceship sent riding down the radio beam to the point of transmission. When the spacecraft arrives at Project Star Talk, it picks up the transmitter shed and carries it, the project staff and the 2 witnesses to the alien installation. The telescope staff believe that the transmitter shed exploded, killing the Star Talk team.
Upon arrival at the asteroid, the team is greeted by a robot that takes them through a series of tests. After each test, they are provided with rewards such as food for the intelligence test, a weapon for the motivation test and a "Knowledge Cube" for the knowledge test. After a tour of a control room, they are then brought to a chamber with a small platform and a figure in a chair, who simply happens to be the long dead caretaker of the base. As they head back to the control room, Ben bumps Sandy onto the platform and she is "transposed" in a puff of smoke to a distant planet peopled by savages who try to kill her. Dr. Burke then follows Sandy to the planet armed with the gun and effects a rescue before she is killed discovering the secret of the Knowledge Cubes in the process. Dr Burke plugs in to the cube, and the horrible secret is revealed, the planet of savages is the home of the survivors of an interstellar war that is fast approaching Earth, and the Star Talk team are the only ones who can use the advanced weapons of the installation to stop an invading enemy fleet from destroying the Earth. The team searches frantically through the huge library of cubes for the instructions to use the weapons of the fort but are unsuccessful. as the enemy fleet comes into range, the robot delivers the cubes needed just in time. the battle is joined but the Star Talk team has a hard time hitting the aliens with missiles so with the cubes instruction, the fortress's engines are started and they rise off the asteroid to intercept the aliens, who nearing defeat, then crash into the fortress. Dr. Burke sets the "Transposer plates" for Earth and the Star Talk team, Mr. Yellowlees and Mrs Jones are transposed to the very archaeological dig in France where Dr. Burk's father found the cube so long ago. While they congratulate one another on their luck, a French Gendarme (André Maranne) arrives just in time to arrest them for trespassing.
Using The Terrornauts For Your OSR Campaign
The Terrornauts actually delivers quite a bit that can be used for any retrocloned science fantasy game. Lets take the Star Talk Group themselves, this organization has the backing to become the UK twin of SGI from the Star Gate television series. If the modern upgrade works for Doctor Who it could potentially work for this group. They've got a network of "Transposer" plates that are the remains of an ancient stellar empire at their disposal. The plot is the perfect set up for getting those Time Displaced characters into the interstellar action of Star Ships and Space Men Second edition. Then of course there's the mega-dungeon space station right in the middle of the picture with the robot straight out of X plorers.
Who knows what other potential treasures is on those "knowledge cubes" and lets not even get into that space fleet that's wreckage from the end of this picture.
I'm going to bet that you could see an entire series of adventures just spinning off of this film. The characters are recuited by a secret government organization to find, explore, and catalog the remains of this once great thriving interstellar race.
Could there be some connection to an entirely new galaxy as hinted at in the film? Perhaps a network of vast worlds that allow the PCs to leap from on world to another across billions of light years.
Throw some Lovecraft mythos in and your ready to go with a Terminal Space Campaign.
The Terrornauts remains a guilty pleasure after my fiancee from the UK showed it to me on VHS many years ago.
Here's what wiki had to say about Battle Beyond The Sun :
Battle Beyond the Sun (Russian: Небо зовет, translit. Nebo zovet, lit. The Sky is Calling) is a 1959 Soviet science fiction film directed by Mikhail Karyukov and Aleksandr Kozyr. It tells of the "space race", with the USSR forced into competing with the USA to become the first nation to land a spacecraft on the planet Mars. The Russian film came out in 1959 and had a pretty interesting plot Again here we've got Wiki : A reporter interviews Dr. Kornev about his work in space travel. While writing his story, the reporter daydreams about such a future. In the daydream, he and others board a rocket that takes them to an orbiting space station. There, he learns the large rocket, the Rodina docked at the station. A short while later, an American rocket, the Typhoon, arrives at the space station. The soviet scientists hold a dinner for the visitors. At the dinner, Kornev announces that the Rodina's will travel to the planet Mars in a few days, The Americans, Clark and Verst are taken aback. The Typhoon was secretly prepared to make the first Mars mission. The reckless American authorities order Clark to take the Typhoon to Mars immediately. In their haste to blast off, they inure Somov, the Rodina's pilot. Gordiienko steps in as the new pilot. He and Kornev take off in Rodina as planned. Not long after departure, things go wrong aboard Typhoon. Their course is off and they don't have enough fuel to correct it. Now they're headed for an asteroid belt and if they survive that, a collision course with the sun. Clark radios the bad news. Kornev decides they can help and fly Rodina to the rescue. Doing so, however, used too much fuel, so Rodina must land on the asteroid Icarus where they all get at least a fine view of Mars. A pilotless refueling rocket is sent to Icarus, but crashes. The men on Icarus despair. Verst awakens to see a fifth man on Icarus. It's Somov. He flew another pilotless refueling rocket to Icarus, but since it wasn't built for being manned, he suffered lethal cosmic radiation and dies. The four are able to blast off and return to a hero's greeting in the Soviet Union. Then Roger Corman And Francis Ford Coppola came along and revamped the movie into something completely different.
From Wiki: Roger Corman acquired the film for US distribution and hired a young film-school student named Francis Ford Coppola to Westernize it. In addition to preparing a dubbing script free of anti-American propaganda and supervising the dubbing, Coppola filmed a few shots of two space monsters fighting and cut them into the Soviet material. According to Jack Hill, who worked on the new version (it was his first paid job for Roger Corman), Coppola's idea was that one monster would look like a penis and the other a vagina.[1] The new monster scenes were shot on a sound stage at Hollywood. Hill and Coppola also shot some footage of the Rose Bowl Parade at Pasadena. The Corman Plot is interesting and can be minded for some very interesting ideas According to wiki :
"The film opens with a non-sequitur prologue in which a hard-boiled narrator explains space flight concepts. Models of space craft "currently under development by the United States Government" are shown in succession. The narrator usefully explains that "the motion picture you are about to see, may be called 'a fantasy of the future.'"
The time: November 1997...in the "fear ridden years following the great atomic war." The world has been divided by north-south hemispere. The two countries: North Hemis - South Hemis, are clearly analogues for the United States & Soviet Union. The camera zooms in toward the South Hemis banner.
Dr. Albert Gordon, and his wife, Dr. Ruth Gordon currently head the top secret project 'Red Planet' for South Hemis (the footage we see is dubbed from the original Russian-Soviet; names have been Anglicized.)
A space mission -more re-purposed footage- blasts off for an orbiting space station. The mission docks with the station, delivering the Gordons, as well as "Astronaut Craig Matthews."
South Hemis has been developing a spacecraft which SHOULD be able to complete a mission to Mars. Solar and orbital conditions are favorable. Suddenly, another spaceship is detected approaching the station. It is from North Hemis. It requests permission to land for emergency repairs. The request is granted.
The two North Hemis astronauts -Captain Torrance and his co-pilot- are treated to dinner by their South Hemis hosts. Dr. Gordon reveals that they themselves are about to commence a flight to Mars. The two North Hemis astronauts decide to end dinner, because "it's getting late.
Captain Torrance confers with his superiors in North Hemis. He wants to pre-empt the South Hemis flight to Mars with their own mission, Meanwhile Dr. ___ meets with Doctor Gordon to discuss both missions. The North Hemis astronaut refuses to divulge any information about the North Hemis plan. Captain Torrance says "I cannot accept defeat." He disconnects from his North Hemis superiors and barges in on the meeting between Dr.___ and Dr. Gordon. Outside in the corridor, Captain Torrace decides to commence with the flight to Mars anyway. "Our repairs my not hold up," says the other man.
They decide to commandeer their rocketship -the Typhoon- under cover of trying to repair it. They blast-off: full power. Craig Matthews -the South Hemis astronaut- is caught in the rocket back blast. He is injured. Meanwhile, the Typhoon sets course for Mars.
Craig Matthews has his injuries examined: concussion. He cannot go on a pursuit mission after the Typhoon. Dr. Gordon will go along with another South Hemis astronaut.
Ths mission launches. Meanwhile, the Typhoon encounters a meteor storm, and its course veers dangerously close to the sun. The ship is disabled. The South Hemis ship locates them and eventually intercepts. The other astronaut effects an EVA transfer of the two North Hemis astronauts. The South Hemis ship abandons the Typhoon to space.
Now, the South Hemis ship is low on fuel. There's no way they can make it to Mars. Dr. Gordon decides to land on the asteroid Angkor which orbits Mars (Mars, in reality is orbited by two planetoid moons Phobos and Deimos.) The ship successfully lands on the asteroid. A brief insert shows a vague form in the shadows behind a rock formation. It roars: a monster.
Meanwhile, back at the space station, the South Hemis superiors decided to send a fuel rocket to Angkor. This will allow the stranded rocket to re-fuel and return home. The fuel pod is successfully launched. Dr. Gordon and his team appear to gain remote control of it, but something (solar radiation?) interferes with its guidance system and it crashes into the asteroid - exploding.
South Hemis decides to send a second -manned- fuel rocket to the asteroid. Astronaut Craig Matthews will pilot the flight. The fuel pod successfully makes the journey and lands on Angkor. Matthews must leave the ship in order to rendezvous with Dr. Gordon and his stranded team. As he makes his way across the craggy asteroid surface, he encounters two monsters in combat. He continues toward Dr. Gordon's stranded rocket, but collapses and dies. It is understood that he conveyed the whereabouts of the landed fuel rocket. Dr. Gordon and his team can return to Earth.
The rocket launches. It passes the space station and returns to Earth, landing at an offshore platform. Adoring throngs of people -more re-purposed Soviet footage- greet them with exburant admiration. Boats are launched to pick up the team. They return to shore. Dr. Gordon reunites with his wife. They embrace. Children present them with flowers.
Dr. Gordon and his team did not make it to Mars, but they have set the stage for more heroic exploration of space...sometime in the near-future."
Battle Beyond The Sun Movie
Mining "Battle Beyond The Sun" For Your OSR campaign It may not look it but the film has a ton of stuff to offer. The original plot can serve as a jump off point for an Xplorers or SWN game with little problem. Should the DM decide to go with a pro Soviet view point for a different kind of game the Russian film offers an interesting retro future from an alternative history timeline.
The Roger Corman effort offers a much more entertaining and inviting retro future to play in.
"The time: November 1997...in the "fear ridden years following the great atomic war." The world has been divided by north-south hemispere. The two countries: North Hemis - South Hemis, are clearly analogues for the United States & Soviet Union. The camera zooms in toward the South Hemis banner." These pesudo imaginary countries are the perfect jump off point for an alternative history for a Mutant Future/Star Ships and Space Men 2nd edition game. Its all there to use. The Atomic War, the paranoid countries and a seething boiling plot of nationalism with a helping of a space race on the side. Then there are the monsters.
HDE/XP : 6/400 These creatures are a type of parasite worm monster employed as ancient gene modified mining worker creatures. They have mutated far beyond their intended design. These creatures are a mix of worm, Lovecratian monster, and pseudo nightmare from beyond the pale. These creatures infest many asteroids within our solar system and they posses a box chemistry capable of surviving out in the depths of the asteroid fields. Because of their alien mental makeup they are immune to charm, sleep, and many other mind alternative psychic disciplines. The monsters monsters grab adventurers within their tendril claws for 1d6 and then attack them with the bio organic acid dripping teeth for an addiitional attack for 1d4 points per round. The monsters are always on the look out for the Asteroid Scavenger the natural predator and tied directly to the bizarre biological reproduction of these space going parasites.
The Space Scavenger
Number appearing 1d3
Armor Class : 8(11) Hit Dice : 4
Attacks : 1d4 claw swipe and Circular Mouth Parts 1d4
Specials : Immune to Mind Control, sleep, and other mental influences
Move 9 HDE /ExpXp : 5/240
These creatures are the remains of an ancient gene modification process using the genes of the Dhole species , and bits from several other alien worms as well. The monster uses a claw swipe and a bio organic acidic mouth capable of chewing through a heavy duty space suit in one bite. The creature's eyes are able to see far into the infrared and beyond. The creature's life cycle is dependent upon the Asteroid ripper. There alien minds of these creatures make them immune to any charm, domination, or other psychic abilities.
Little Giant Exploration Craft
Crew : 6 Drive : Nuclear Fuel Hit Dice : 30 Armor Class : 7
Weaponry : Scatter Laser Asteroid Defense system 1d4
A direct result of the late Atomic Wars these craft were employed during the Imperial period of Old Earth Exploration of the solar system. The design is cheap to produce, easy to manufacture, and reliable. The design is still in production today and can be found thought out the Talon Sector and beyond.
The Little Spacer Class Star Explorer Crew 7
Drive: Nuclear Fuel Hit Die 20
Armor Class :8 Weaponry : Asteroid/Mining Laser system 1d6 per shot. The Little Spacer is a fast, reliable, ship that appeared during the Imperial age of Old Earth. The design was so successful that the ship is still under production today. There are 42 design variations of this ship in flight today.
Ronda Space Station
Crew 130 Hit Dice 40
Weaponry : Soft Spot Laser 1d4 per shot with +2 to hit. These full service space stations are the back bone of the Old Earth Imperial Era. They are quick to set up and useful upon the ever changing colony and terraforming frontiers. They house 130 families in comfort and some style. A very useful model of space station.
Special: Regeneration, Poisonous Bite, Smells Magic - Is Drawn To It
Move:18
Challenge Level/XP: 10/1,100
Bred millions of years ago by the serpent men these terrors beyond time & space haunt the desolate places of the Earth. They are drawn to the foul black magics of their extinct serpent men masters. These giant horrors were created with a patient & deadly intelligence. They instinctively hunt the weakest of prey & seek out areas where necromatic magic has been used. They were used for guarding the fortresses of their ancient masters.
An underground burrow is hollowed out closest to these sites & the monster begins its hunting pattern. They begin to consume the prey within their territory. Many times these creatures regenerate spontaneously from their foul remains that have been buried for millions or thousand of years. Shifts in stellar alignments, stray planar energies, & even some ancient curses may call these foul things into existence.
The monsters are incredibly large & dangerous. They have little fear & will attack when the opportunity presents itself. The foul magics that went into their creation & that continue to sustain them allows them to shrug off many spells. Even when damaged physically the monsters may regenerate from mortal wounds by crawling into their lairs & entering into a deathless sleep for 1d20 months. Only then they may emerge fully restored & very hungry.
The foul creatures are drawn to grey & black magic! They may sense the planar energies at 2d6 miles away! They will seek these energies out to either eliminate the source or serve it! Only a magus of strongest wisdom should attempt the subjection of these beasts. They must know the lore of the serpent men very well. Lizards have been known to eat & excrete those who fail to have the mastery to bend them to their will.
They're bite is of the most vile poison imaginable! A combination of lethal chemicals that can stop a man's heart. A single nip will cause the following unless saving throw is made. Symptoms of the bite include excruciating pain, edema, and weakness associated with a rapid drop in blood pressure.
It uses its extremely acute sense of smell to locate prey, especially dragon eggs. Its sense of smell is so keen that it can locate and dig up dragon eggs buried 2 miles deep in the and accurately follow a trail made by rolling an egg.
Prey may be crushed to death if large or eaten alive if small, swallowed head-first and helped down by muscular contractions and neck flexing. Unusually, after food has been swallowed, the monster immediately resumes tongue flicking and search behavior, probably as a result of a history of finding clumped prey such as eggs and babies in nests
Studded Horror Lizards may be summoned from beyond the realm of death itself if one knows the resting place, has access to the bones of this monster from beyond, & the insanity to call them forth. They have been known to kill 1d4 victims to create the proper pits of victims themselves for regeneration . These individuals were exceptions not the rule however. A very dangerous creature of foul serpent man sorcery & chaos of a bygone era.
No. Enc.: 1d4 Alignment: Chaotic Movement: 90' Armor Class: 6 Hit Dice: 4 (regenerate 1 hp/turn) Attacks: 2 Damage: Claw 1d6, or by Weapons or Spells Save: F4 Morale: 9
Within the endless depths of -planar space there are those who have sailed these endless depths yet have given themselves over to the task of wandering the endless heavens & hells that emerge. These souls sail their crafts to unknown harbors & beyond. They're part flesh & part something else. They are called Ogwethamazgorc- The Void Riders. Wizards sometimes call them from the dimension depths to consult them about strange & forbidden byways of the planes & lost hells.
For a price they will carry anyone to another shore between the planes. Their buoyancy tanks filled with the stuff of ether & other more forbidden gases. Their crafts are lashed together with bits & pieces of sailing vessels, space craft, & less identifiable things.
Those who sail the depths of these forbidden places between the Outer Darkness become something less then human. Others become victims of undeath itself & the void of nothingness of it fills their veins. They advance as thieves & magic users. They learn spells as a matter of course between the stars in places where no sane man sails.
Those who attack them are in for a surprise. They're so closely tied with the very nature of the planes themselves that its stuff will rebuild them one bit of flesh at a time. There is a price however. For each battle they get into damns them a bit more. Others enter into the service of much, more forbidden things. Those void riders become less & less human with the passing of centuries. They will become demon spawn & far less. They're flesh sloths off to reveal bone under flesh.
All Ogwethamazgorc can be found in less then savory space ports. They gather in strangely lit inns & taverns where they spin tales of other worlds, trade relics, teach each other alien languages, & trade in half forgotten trade routes.
Some are said to worship Nodens & may call upon the night guants for protection. They use his ritual scratching out this inscription :
DEVOMNODENTi
FLAvIVSSENILSPOSSVit
PROPTERNVPtias
quaSVIDITSVBVMBra
'To the great god Nodens (the god of the Great Deep or Abyss) '
—Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan
The god or his emisarry will appear 1d4 rounds later & the reason had better be very good indeed. Still others of a chaotic bent serve Nyarlathotep They're rituals to summon him have been described as "the maddening beating of drums, and thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate gods — the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep. " These rites last for days & this horror beyond all is said to attend . They are sometimes armed with weird & strange weapons below is a chart of six of the more common ones. Ogwethamazgorc- The Void Riders Random Weapon Chart
Puss Rifle - 1d3 damage range 30' 4 charges - This rifle like weapon uses the dried veins of astral behemoths lost to the depths as the main component. The weapon fires fist sized puss filled nodes. These grow back at the rate of 2 every 12 hours.
Crystal Staff of Damned Lightning- This strange looking twisted staff looks grown rather then cut. It is made from the wood that grows along the Lethe. Each round the staff may release a lightning bolt for 1d4 points of damage. The range is 200' & the staff only has 5 charges. It must be charged in the blood of the innocent under the moons of Krin
Demon Intestine Pistol - This twisted pistol is shaped as an unholy combination of organ & fire arm. The pistol creates its own ammo deep within itself. It may fire once a round doing 1d3 points of damage & has a range of 20'. Holds one shot & will grow another in 1 round. Must be fed fresh meat once a month.
Rod Of Horror - This strange crystal rod is said to made from the nightmares of a dying man. The crystal will cry out in rage once per turn stunning anyone who hears it unless a saving throw is made. The rod must be place under the user's pillow while he sleeps & will create a horrific nightmare to recharge itself. 3 uses per nightmare.
Spinal Gun - A gun created from the spine of a dying angel. This gun fires a piece of bone which will harm both mortal & planar creatures alike for 1d4 points of damage, 4 shots, & a 40' range. The weapon must be bathed in the tears of an innocent to recharge it every 13 days
The Whispering A.I. - A combination of living weapon & gun made from the mind of an insane A.I. .This unholy combination of technology & will damage a target for 1d3 points of damage, has a 30' range, & will whisper the most insane thoughts & dreams of the AI into target's mind. The target will be stunned & suicidal for 1d4 rounds unless a save is rolled.
These are simple a small sample of the vast range of weird items these wanders carry! Let your imagination dream up many more!
Those who can engage these beings in conversation had best avoid looking into their eyes for these are the eyes of damned men who have ventured very, very far indeed. They will stay bought but you'd best make sure your contracts with them are signed & sealed lest you end up in weird realms & strange hells. They serve whomever can pay their coin.
To call the Ogwethamazgorc 1st level rite
To call the Ogwethamazgorc- The Void Riders a 1st level rite is used. A single specially prepared gold piece is cast into the infinite void as a token of the coming payment. A chant is echoed into the planar void & 1d10 rounds later the closest Ogwethamazgorc & crew will answer. Make sure your answers, destination, journey are outlined lest they assume matters of their own weird & damned ways!
