The Fifth GM Inspiration: Borrowing from Films

The Fifth GM Inspiration: Borrowing from Films

The idea of watching a movie and taking inspiration from it is nothing new, but a while back I took it one step further when I realized some films provide really solid, timeless plots that can translate well into the sort of "buddy adventure" scenarios that most RPGs tend to cater to. An important part of this borrowing process isn't just finding a movie with a plot that can easily translate into a scenario or campaign, though; part of the fun is the other part: genre translation. 

My favorite example comes from a campaign I ran in my early Starfinder 1st Edition days some years ago, when I was trying to figure out what to do with that edition (the new 2nd Edition is much, much easier to figure out, btw). I wanted to explore the implied and explicit elements of the universe as given, but was having a hard time conceiving of what that would look like. While watching films for a movie night I put on Conan the Barbarian (the original Schwarzenegger version) and realized that, nestled within this simple reimagining of Howard's barbarian was a classic group of adventurers (Conan, Valeria, Mako and Subotai) exploring a series of dungeons (The Temple of Set, the Even Bigger Temple of Set, and the Old Ruins along the coast where the last stand takes place), against a nefarious opponent (Thulsa Doom and his cronies Rexor and "the other guy") with a medley of side quests mixed in (finding the sword in the ancient king's tomb, the witch, King Osric, etc.). 

The thing is, if you borrow from this for a typical fantasy game not only will it feel oddly familiar, but the players likely have some familiarity with the source material (at least, if they are Gen X or millennials; Gen Z might be genuinely surprised by a borrowed plot from this film). But take the film and reskin it as a high octane scifi space fantasy adventure, and you may have something special going on. For example:

The Wicked City of Shaddizar becomes a remote outpost on a desert world;

The Temple of Set could still be a temple to Set in Starfinder, or maybe its Apophis now or any other serpent god; and maybe its ancient abandoned ruins left behind by a lost starfaring race of serpentfolk and the cult has moved in recently;

The Even Bigger Temple of Set is now a giant, ominous space station with the ability to move through Drift space, floating from world to world calling the pilgrims of Apophis (or Set, or Apis, etc.) to bring forth tribute. Sneaking in to this temple could require stealing pilgrims' identities, and the bowels of the great station revel the debaucherous parties of the elite priesthood and the high priest himself, who has funded an armada of reavers to cross the galaxy in search of artifacts sacred to his god;

The group could find that they are commissioned by the Governor of this space sector to find his daughter, who unbeknownst to him has genetic ties to the ancient serpent folk aliens, and seeks her heritage. Or maybe she's just swept up by the priest king's amazing hypnotic skills. Either way, they have to find a way to infiltrate the station-monument to the serpent god, rescue her against her will, and make a daring escape. This could lead to a holdout in more lost ruins of the ancients, where there are technological traps still waiting to be used against those who would infiltrate the ruins, or against their enemies if they can be as clever as Conan and his pals were in the film.

So, good stuff! And now it may not look so obvious to anyone that you've taken the story beats of Conan the Barbarian and turned it into Starfinder: The Cult of Apophis campaign plot.

Some more examples I have used or plan to use:

The Transporter, but as a thematic riff on a D&D campaign with horse, dragons or other means of travel as the core form of transport;

Hellraiser, but its in Mork Borg, and the dungeon is the house, and the cenobytes....are probably just a version of themselves in Mork Borg, I suppose! Extra credit if you take the core plot of Hellraiser and figure out how to put it into a really strange RPG genre like, say, Cypher System Rust & Redemption or Numenera; or maybe Hellraiser, but the plot is taking place in the archaic era of GURPS Egypt or GURPS Rome; or stick it in Call of Cthulhu and make it all mythos-appropriate.

Black Hawk Down but its Eberron during the great war and the skyship has crashed in enemy territory.

It's Pulp Fiction, but written through the lens of In Nomine or Nephilim ( to drag out two fantastic and currently very extinct games); I actually got to be a player in an In Nomine campaign which was riffed off of Pulp Fiction, in fact, and it was serious fun. The contents of the suitcase took on special meaning in that campaign.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe but its on a backwater world in the Traveller universe. The players are trying to uncover the plot, but don't realize the government has been suppressing their secret alliance with Droyne visitors who have been selling technology to the backwater world.

Starman, but the players are now the alien visitors trapped on a remote world in the Imperium of Traveller with no easy way off.

Weapons, but the entire weird plot is taking place in some remote township in Dragonbane, or the entire plot is happening on a colony world in Mothership and involves mind control not through voodoo but nanotech.

The Mansion of Madness (see my review in October) from 1971, but set in the fantasy system of your choice, and the mad doctor behind the "miracle treatment" for the mentally afflicted is really some sort of aberration. This was the plot of my lastest Pathfinder story arc, in fact. I practically ran it beat for beat like the movie until the players, who had far less patience and decorum than the movie's main character, finally lost it and decided to start smashing things.

Streets of Fire, but its Cyberpunk Red (or Cypher System Neon Noir, or Mothership) and otherwise played straight. Actually, for a weirder match imagine Streets of Fire, but the endless city is somewhere in Call of Cthulhu or the Kult universe, or maybe its Savage Worlds Supers or Cypher System Supers, and the larger than life heroes of the film are recast as actual vigilantes and idealistic metahumans. Wilhem Dafoe's villain takes on new meaning in this context. 

And so forth! There are innumerable examples, and to be honest the stranger the mix between choice of film and choice of game, the more interesting the translation can get.

The Fourth GM Inspiration: Dyson Logos

 

The Fourth GM Inspiration: Dyson Logos

Dyson's Dodecahedron

Dyson's Delves

If I am going to use the 12 Days of Inspiration to highlight all of my favorite GM resources, I would be completely remiss if I did not bring up Dyson Logos's blog and books. I have gotten more mileage out of Dyson's postings on his site and used almost all the content of his Dyson's Delves books on Lulu in my campaigns over the last dozen or so years. Seriously! His cartography is incredible, providing evocative maps that don't always come with a keyed scenario, but contain enough conceptual imagery and "spatial evidence" of adventure to readily spark the imagination. His Delves books include many maps but also many keyed locations which I have adapted into scenarios in my own campaigns on numerous occasions. In fact my current Pathfinder 2E campaign is on map three of three of Dyson's maps I adapted to manage the first 6 or so levels of the campaign plot. Hell, while writing this I noticed he has hardcover editions of his Delves books which I decided I must have and ordered them (my old paperbacks are really falling apart).

There are a lot of maps you can find and develop online into your own games, but Dyson's maps are far and away the best in terms of being universally applicable to any fantasy RPG while still evoking a fantastic old school feel. I am sure most of you who still enjoy the print bloggosphere for RPGs already know who Dyson is, but on the off chance you haven't, and you enjoy customizing generic maps into your own scenarios, then you definitely should check out his blog and books at the links above.

The Third GM Inspiration: Runequest Cities

 

The Third GM Inspiration: Runequest Cities

Long out of print but still available at used game stores or on Ebay (recent search here) for probably more than I would pay for it, Runequest Cities is one of the oldest resources in my game collection that I persistently find invaluable at the game table. There may also be PDF versions of it somewhere online. 

Originally published in 1979 by Midkemia Press, Cities was part of a series of resources for OD&D/AD&D providing some excellent altenrative resources to other third party publishers of the day (especially Judges Guild, which managed to produce both great stuff and also invented the concept of shovelware for print games before it existed as a concept for video games). At some point the series, which includes other more directed books named Carse and  Tulan of the Isles, Chaosium acquired ownership and published an edition of the books. Eventually when Avalon Hill took over as publisher for Runequest III they released the book as Runequest Cities in a fourth edition. This is the copy I have held on to since its release, and have used in countless fantasy campaigns.

While there have been many good City campaign resources over the years, the reason I like this particular book the most is that it manages to pack an incredible volume of interesting randomized detail into a tight 64 page package. It also did a lot of stuff that is "back in vogue" today but was honestly invented, if not by this book, then certainly by the first generation/era of RPGs. Among these inventions are some excellent rules on generating realistic towns and cities procedurally, along with a lovely section on character catch-up; downtime rules, effectively, for seeing what is going on the PCs when they have been out of action for a while, or had some decent time off between adventures. Today games often pack in some rules on this (see Pathfinder's downtime rules or D&D 5E's section on the same in their expansion books as an example), but here is, in my opinion, a much nicer set of interesting rules for doing exactly that.

Runequest Cities is also excellent for campaigns looking for a baseline sense of mythohistorical verismilitude. It provides a fine picture of a city setting that could easily have nestled somewhere in antiquity with ease, and the tables fit settings with such baseline assumptions easily (ergo the reason it was adapted as a Runequest resource). If you play Mythras, GURPS, Savage Worlds or even, say, Pathfinder of D&D with some baseline assumptions set in a more Romanesque era rather than a renaissance or steampunk era then this book will prove incredibly handy for generating interesting encounters on the street and building realistic settlements.

The downside of Runequest Cities is it is out of print. You can find copies for a pretty penny on Ebay, but if you are interested in the closest modern equivalent resource I think the next best book like this I have found it Kobold Press's Campaign Builder series, especially Cities & Towns.  

The Second GM Inspiration: GURPS Places of Mystery

 

The Second GM Inspiration: GURPS Places of Mystery

In its many years GURPS, especially 2nd edition and 3rd edition, generated a copious wealth of useful sourcebooks that were almost universally appreciated by those looking for a bit of history or realism in their games, whether they were actually used for GURPS or not. One of the best of these books, one which has remained in my collection for decades now and gets brought out for periodic use and inspiration, is GURPS Places of Mystery.

Places of Mystery contains twelve sections focusing on historical, archaeological and sometimes mythical locales in our world, providing enough detail on their mythological and historical relevance, along with maps, to funnel your modern day or historical adventurers and investigators through hundreds of hours of interesting gaming. Just a sample of topics and locales in this book include:

The Bermuda Triangle

Stonehange

Ley Lines

Temples of Thebes

Lamaseries

Mohenjo Daro

Nubia

King Solomon's Mines

Knossos

Camelot

The Kremlin

Ayer's Rock

Anasazi Towns

And etc etc.....this is just a sampling of one or two locations from each chapter!

For modern games like Call of Cthulhu, Savage Worlds or Cypher System this is an invaluable book. 95% of it is system-neutral as well, and what few rules are here for GURPS are remarkably easy to interpret into other game systems with little to no difficulty.

For fantasy games you can easily take these locations and reinterpret them within the light of your preferred fantasy setting. Adopting many of these locations may let you fill out and even explore some ideas in your fantasy campaign that you might not otherwise have considered before, now with a veneer of quasi-historical authenticity.

Anyway, check it out! PDF here and Amazon Print Edition here. 

The First GM Inspiration: Good Music - Showcasing Castle Rat

 

The First GM Inspiration: Good Music - Featuring Castle Rat

Any good GM will find that you want to have a decent environment in which to sit down and work out a good scenario or two, or develop a decent campaign. Sure you probably want some decent desk space, a laptop or notebooks, graph paper, rules handy in whatever medium you prefer (PDF, print, whatever)....but when you've got all that down, and some quiet time to focus, music may also prove truly inspirational. Music, if you can bring it to the game table, can also be very mood setting if done right. 

To that end, I want to draw your attention to Castle Rat, a dark downtempo heavy metal music band founded by singer Riley Pinkerton, which has two albums out now that provide incredible backdrops to fantasy gaming, and sword & sorcery in particular. If you want to get right to seeing if this music works for you, check them out here on Bandcamp, featuring their two albums, Into The Realm and Bestiary. I have no particular favorite here, both are equally amazing productions. 

If you only listen to the music of Castle Rat then you are missing their amazing videos. The Castle Rat Youtube channel is worth putting on in the background while crafting as a GM; the retro aesthetic of their videos feels like an imaginative "re-envisioning" of what I think many D&Ders might have held in their minds as teens and kids back in the 70's and 80's when listening to music for gaming, as opposed to the reality, which was mostly mired in the presentations of low budget films in that period. The videos are great though, worth a watch to see the Rat Queen battle the Rat Reaperess and many other lovely scenarios played out in metal ballad form.

Dagger Dragger remains my favorite:

Anyway, check them out! 

The December 2025 Goal Post: 12 Things to Inspire GMs

 So for my writing challenge this month I am going to post 12 things which will inspire GMs. These things can include novels, graphic novels, movies, objects or....well....anything I look at and think, "This motivates/inspires/gives me some ideas for a cool RPG session down the road."

I already sort of did this with the Twelve Weird Things last month, with #2 being a plot idea inspired by the graphic novel Invasive, in which a supremely ordinary and non-supernatural cult of people obsessed with dealing surgery out upon themselves and others in the name of achieving immortality (or something; the plot gets complicated and weird at the very end) could be a great inspiration for a mundane creepy horror campaign. I'll riff off of this premise with some other inspirational material I have in mind....starting.....NOW! Well, later this week. Keep an eye out!

The Twelfth (and Final) Weird Thing: The Amarna Campaign

 The Twelfth Weird Thing: The Ancient Amarna Campaign

 Presented as it stands, a campaign idea I had for a GURPS Egypt campaign I have never quite managed to foster to reality....

Set ancient Egypt around 1350-1340 BC. It’s going to involve a particularly weird and unpleasant period in Egyptian history during the reign of Akhenaten and the dynamic relationship between Egypt, Amurru, Syria, Hattusa, Punt and Nubia during that period. There’s some really interesting and weird stuff that happened around this time, with lots of holes in the record but enough to know what happened if not always why. This will be a “mostly historical” account but with a horror-themed take on the Egyptian pantheon and a dose of necromancy mixed in. The PCs will be delegates of one of the key “allies” of the time, probably Amurru, though one of them will be a Hittite spy as well. This gives them local prominence for the Mediterranean without being overly familiar with Egyptian customs…they will have to navigate the rivalries and particulars of Egyptian noble life during a turbulent period while representing the self-interest if their own noble ruler, King Aziru, whom they have come to find and possibly liberate from his semi-imprisonment by Akhenaten.

Key Figures:

Akhenaten: the ruler of Egypt, high priest of a new being or philosophical concept he calls the Aten. He is married to Nefertiti and has six daughters. His mystical power is impressive and he is believe to be able to transform into a sphinx, as well as have potent heka (magic, specifically necromancy). His is at once revered and feared by his people in this time. He dwells in the recently constructed city of Akhetaten.

Aziru: ruler of Amurru, a Canaanite city. His conquering of the city of Zemar led to his exile and semi-imprisonment in Egypt after the betrayal of the King of Gubla (Byblos), Rid-Hadda, into the hands of Siduna.

Zimredda of Siduna, the king of Siduna who claimed victory in the capture and possible murder of deposed king Rid-Hadda.

The Habiru, an army of rebels and raiders joined in common cause on the borders of Syria and beyond to stand against the noble lesser kings who serve the Pharaoh.

Shardana: the mercenaries from the sea, prominent sea people who ravage the coast during this time with their ongoing attacks.

Ili-Rapih: ruler of Gubla once his brother Rid-Hadda is killed in Siduna.

Zemar (Sumur): trade city conquered by Aziru.

Gods:

Amurru: gods of Amurru include Hadad (Canaanite storm god) and Asherah (Ba’alat Gublu, fertility goddess)

Egypt: At this time Aten is the only recognized deity/concept, but there are still cults hidden away in worship to the many Egyptian deities which noble and commoner alike is loathe to neglect just becaue the Pharaoh has decreed it.

Languages:

Khemit (Egypt), Akkadian (most of northern Canaan and Syria), Hatti (Hittite), Cushite (Nubia), Puntish (Punt). Others: Alashiya

Locations:

Alashiya: ruled by King Kushmeshusha and his daughter princess Hatbi, an island kingdom which pays copious amounts of copper to Egypt as tribute, but is fiercely xenophobic in many other regards. The city is built along a mountain slope. Recently a plague descended upon the land, driven by the “Hand of Nergal.”

Plot Ideas:

Hand of Nergal:

Akkadian god of death, war and destruction, Nergal is the supposed cause of the plague which begins in the north and spreads from Alashiya to Egypt and throughout Canaan to Hatti. Those who are killed by the plague are known to rise again as the undead. In Egypt the cults of Anubis, Set and Isis suspect that the plague is beset upon humankind for their abandonment of the old gods and grow suspicious that it is the fault of Akhenaten himself.

Nergals’ touch to the north seems to lead to demonic possession of the corpses, and it is believed the Seven Gods or Demons called the Ilu Sebettu are the drivers behind this undead plague. Nergal and the Seven rule with their councilor Isum from Emeslam, a dark kingdom in the realm of the gods, each one personifying a weapon of death. Beside him resides Ereshkigal, his wife of the underworld.

All of Nergal’s plague comes from the ancient ruined city of Kutha, from which his dark servants ride forth to spread the plague.

A talisman of his first wife, Las, is believed to provide blindness to the undead, who cannot sense one so armed with such a talisman.

The Usurpation of Akhenaten:

Akhenaten’s rule is sound until his final year, following the great convocation of his servants throughout the kingdom and the principalities of Egypt. When this happens, the plague comes to Akhetaten and the Pharaoh’s daughters begin to die. As they revive into undead the quiescent Egyptians who remember the old gods can stand it no more and repent, seeking to bring down the Pharaoh in civil war. Ultimately Nefertiti will repent worship of Aten when her husband falls and take the mantle of rulership briefly before her son Tutankhamen rises to power. Only when Akhenaten is dead and Tutankhamen is sworn into the rule of Pharaoh does the plague leave Egypt.

Special Twists: it becomes clear that Akhenaten is sick and transformed by undeath or possession. His heka makes him more susceptible. The PCs are tasked with seeking out the ancient Temple of Set near the Necropolis of Naqada. There the PCs must find a way to put him down, beseeching the dark god with such a task.

Communing with Set (after a brutal trial to prove worthiness of some sort) reveals that the right eye of Akhenaten is his weakness, and once plucked from it’s socket must be returned to the temple as an offering in exchange for such knowledge. The eye is symbolic of Ra’s eye of the sun, and Set wants it. Once it is retrieved, they must travel eastward into the barren wastes and deliver it to an ancient Sphinx.

The Eleventh Weird Thing: The SAS Hierophant for Mothership

 The Eleventh Weird Thing: The SAS Hierophant for Mothership

This was the culimnation of a lengthy Mothership campaign I ran online a while back. May reflect 0E stats! Presented unedited from the original notes. Some character references are to actual characters from that campaign.

The SAS Hierophant Re 22178-XZ

Captain: James Gurdy, 23 years as a contractor and salvager for Sector Authority

Three Extra Crew: Engineer Carl Spectro, field agent Tammy Scythe, and Medic android Craiton.

Current Commission: with Syngen CTO James Revan, who has access to FART unit recovered from Megaldon stomach. Has identified in unit’s recordings that KT-223 vessel is in possession of the Phase Wave Shifter, recovered from ISS Somnus.

Need to Know: The crew are seeking out the KT-223, which was last reported adrift by a Belter mining freighter (The SAS Greenlight) which reported the salvage with request for a partial finder’s right. They tagged the drifter with a beacon but refused to enter for reasons not explained.

Destination: Alpha Persei, the Demon Star (Mirfak) (511 LY from Terra)

Local worlds: Alpha Persei I (super gas giant) (6.8X Jupiter’s mass) – an ominous world with three immense red superstorms larger than some small gas giants that look like eerie eyes.

Colony: L774 New Haven – 13^th moon of AP I (the primary world has 123 moons accounted for)

New Haven was founded in 2673 by the now defunct AE Expansionists. The colony was abandoned in 2710 and not recolonized until 2754 when the colony was purchased by World Systems MC for terraforming. Since then the colony has done well and the terraforming has been a success; the planet is earthlike as of 2901.

Governance: the Independent Colonies charter; subscribe to Sector Authority protection (but behind on payments)

Noteworthy Recent news: the system’s FTL Beacon System has had issues and has been down for six months pending repairs. The KT-223 was carrying necessary goods for the repair. No news has gone in or out of the system in six months not carried directly by visiting freighters, though only three are on record (including KT-223) as heading to the system.

 

The Mystery:

The Hierophant arrives to find a colony that is not responding, and a gigantic research ship in orbit that records say was reported lost or destroyed twenty years ago. They need to decide which to investigate first…and neither is responsive.

The Starship Hades, a currently unregistered Hecate Class Research Vessel, formerly registered to Stygian Development MC, an old Megacorp which operates outside of the Coreworlds almost exclusively, though it is said to have close ties and funding from Persephone Industries, headquartered on Earth. Many suspect Stygian Dev. Is a front for Persephone to carry out illicit and unregulated research in the Rimward Regions. Stygian Dev. Claims the ship was lost twenty years ago.

The ship is parked in orbit around L774. It is currently the last known source of the broadcasting tracker placed on the KT-223 by the belters. The signal is absent from the sensor readings of any ship in the system until Hades is approached, and then the signal begins to ping again….

Inside the hold of the Hades, now ensconced in a docking bay in a Classified Research Module, is the remains of the KT-223. The ship is experiencing a full meltdown. No one seems to be in control. Attempts to hail the Hades are met with a response from Dr. Crystal Matavos, a cyborg researcher who appears to be in charge and will state that any vessel which approaches is at risk of retaliatory destruction, and to depart immediately. But, the ship seems largely offline and neither shields nor weapons are online according to scans….

While in orbit, the vessel suddenly exhibits a massive power surge just when the Hierophant decides to land, briefly bringing the Hades ship to life. Everyone makes a Body check, and if anyone fails they have a momentary blackout and out of body experience on the Hierophant. If anyone critically fails their spectral essence is ripped from their body!

Phase Wave Specter Instinct 30 Combat 25, touch deals 2D10 chilling radioactive tissue damage. Energy weapons can harm the specter (HP 30).

Complication:

The pilot, 1^st lt. Trish August, is hit by the energy and her specter is ripped out. The ship veers abruptly into the station, crashing into the main landing bay. It will take 2D6 hours for remaining crew to disentangle the ship and repair the thrusters to manage a fresh take off.

 

Inside the Ship:

The sudden surge of energy is only the latest, brought on by a slow alien cancer which has torn through the guts of the ship, converting those it touches into phasewave creatures. The device known as the Phase Wave Shifter has been recovered. Dr. Matavos was experimenting on the device when the interred crew, including DOS, who was found strangely cocooned in a metal embryo of exotic matter nanites, awoke, and began converting crew into phasewave forms. The research conducted in Research 1-3 was all part of their assessment of the PWS. The Classified module contains the ship and embryo from which a new DOS awoke, shedding the mundane parts as she proceeded to use exotic matter nanites to build a machine which directed the phasewave energy at L774 below.

Since then of the three hundred crewmen on the ship more than 80% have been turned into different sorts of phasewave creatures:

Phasewave Soldier – basic units of protection; Instinct 50 Combat 55 Damage energy attack 1D10X10, Health 40

Phasewave Rupture – the phasebonding did not go well; Instinct 35, Combat 55, Damage 3 attacks 3D10 each by tentacles, Health 50; Can also spit once instead and if it hits the target must make a body save or be invaded by exotic restructuring nanites. If killed by one of these, you see your spectral ghost form ripped free and devoured. The body drops and animates as a soldier 1D10 minutes later.

Phasewave Exterminator – the final form of a successful conversion; Instinct 70, Combat 70, attacks 1D10X10 energy or direct matter conversion attack Body save or take 2D10X10 damage and turn in to a phasewave soldier. Only two are on the ship right now.

Phasewave Hybrid Speaker – These intermediary units retain communication skills and speak the voice of the Destructor, the Final Manifestation. Occasionally they will address individuals directly, and speak of the dead they have known. Instinct 40, Combat 40, Attack 1D10 claws, HP 25.

The Final Manifestation – this colossal beast is located on the planet below and has already annihilated the colony, converting all it finds into exotic matter servants. It is the first of the Final Solution by ancients to eliminate the Baryonic Plague which has crippled the universe. Instinct 100, Combat 100, Attack 1D10 tentacles or stomp, all 3D10X10; Health 1,000. It is pure exotic matter and can only be harmed by energy weapons or antimatter.

About 60 humans and androids survive on the ship, ensconced in Research Modules 1-2, the Bridge, and a handful in other areas. These include some soldiers, researchers and damaged androids; the phasewave pulses are slowly shredding the synthetic skin of the androids.

They are led by Dr. Crystal Matavos, who has been infect (as DOS was) by the exotic matter nanites. She wants to see what the final machine is, and realizes that the aliens may represent an exotic species that exists between normal baryonic matter and non-baryonic dark matter. The potential for the weapon being built is enormous, as it seems capable of opening a wormhole in space to any other star system to “fire” upon, though so far it has only targeted New Haven.

The Corrupted Regions:

Engineering – the source of the Phasewave Shifter Engine/Weapon

Classified Research Bay – where KT-223 and the crew were stowed; heavy corruption

Each other region has a 25% chance of corruption, which goes up by 10% for each hour the crew remains on the ship. The energy pulse takes effect once every 5 hours, but after each new pulse the next one is 1 hour sooner. Dr. Matavos believes the pulse, when it hits zero, will unleash the true effect of the weapon. She wants to record it all.

Complications:

The Mutineer:

Commander Alan James was head of Special Security for the Hades and watched most of his men convert or perish. He’s damn pissed and is located in a brig off the Commons. He wants out, and he knows a hidden chamber into the locked down Engineering section. He has the codes to reactivate the ship’s weaponry, including antimatter warheads.

KT-223 Stowage:

DOS (android) and Tennl (android) are awakened by the latest phasewave surge, which is strong enough to spontaneously recharge them, though they have only 1D10 minutes before the ambient energy subsides to find replacement power cores. DOS is a skeletal wreck lying in front of the opened cocoon, and her memories are a wreck. The other crew remained in stasis lockdown, but the power surge overwhelms the lockdown protocols and initiates an emergency thaw. This includes the PCs and some extras:

Space KT-223 Crew: Senior Technician Alan Spencer; Teamster Extra Morris, Labreu, Chester and Dwight. Backup Pilot Mike Hondo, and backup Navigator Archie Loam

The ship appears flyable, but the tendrils of exotic matter winding from it like blood vessels need to be cut. The good news is, this is bended exotic matter, and so can be damaged; pure exotic matter forms are only harmed by energy weapons.

The Cat:

Miraculously Prince is still alive and wandering around somewhere on the ship. A second prince is also in the ship. This one, if inspected, appears to be a clever simulacra and its body hosts a small faraday cage, as it is a clever robot designed by Fart to hide the PWS. Unfortunately it was found by the crew of the Hades. The cat was disabled, but reanimated with the first phasewave surge that hit the colony some days ago.

Docking Bay One and Two:

The secured docking bay still contains two shuttles, though one is flyable but missing some parts and will fail if it enters atmosphere. The second docking bay appears to have had a catastrophic accident, and three of four shuttles are wiped out, with a fourth one intact but also resting in vacuum as the bay integrity was compromised. A Phasewave Exterminator waits within.

There is clear evidence at least 2 shuttles are completely missing.

Research Station 2: This is where Dr. Matavos is operating, and she has 6 security guards with her, all androids. She has a half dozen additional researchers with her, monitoring the activity of the manifestation and recording everything. A hyperlight probe is recording all and ready to fire in the aft sensor array section, which is where another dozen scientists and security are trying to keep the area held from the incursion.

Communicating with the Manifestation:

The speakers are the only way the entities can communicate. They seem to draw on the emotions and memories of whoever they are near, and speak with the voices of dead relatives. They refer to the Final Manifestation as the Purest Light and the Phage. They claim it will exterminate the bacterial infestation that is baryonic life. They otherwise seem irrational and have no reasoning skills though they can mimic voices and try to convince people to do things like open sealed doors and such.

Other Notes on Phasewave Events:

During the countdown, when a new phasewave event happens the ship’s systems all spontaneously power up, even ones not attached to a power grid, as if ambient energy is bleeding in to them. When this happens, the androids briefly gain advantage on all rolls for 1D10 minutes. The phasewave creatures go insane, however, and begin rampaging and attacking at random, sometimes even each other. This feral behavior also lasts 1D10 minutes. There is a 10% chance one lesser type will mutate into a greater type, or that a recent corpse will turn in to a rupture.

Resolutions

There is a chance the crew can detonate the antimatter warheads in the ordnance bay. They can simply flee the system and hopes the Doctor’s belief that the PWS device opens wormholes is false. They can abandon the station for the planet and end up stuck.

Key to the Hades – Unique Location Details

For each location, roll D100 to determine contamination level on arrival; increase by 1D10 for each energetic event. In each location there is a 1 in 10 chance Prince is nearby, increase by 1 every two locations searched.

Shuttle Bay 1                   Corruption:

              Two working shuttles, but one is missing parts and will fail if it enters atmosphere

Shuttle Bay 2                   Corruption:

              1 working shuttle, in vacuum; an exterminator is in the chamber

              Other shuttles wiped out in a crash by looks of it

Forward Gunnery           Corruption: 35% start

              Contains forward particle accelerator cannon; heavily corrupted; 1D6 soldiers

Medical Bay                     Corruption:

              Most are compromised; 1D6 specters are in the area

              One Medical chamber is locked and contains Dr. Richard Warren and 3 nurses, 2 patients.

They have captured a speaker which is locked in partial stasis

Commons and Crew Quarters    Corruption:

              Will have one random creature for every 5% corruption rolled

              Searching brig reveals Commander Alan James trapped

Forward Sensor Array                  Corruption:

              Contains three speakers working to graft an exotic tech device to the sensors

Secondary Sensor Array

              Lt. Ray Golds is hiding out here in access tubes playing cat and mouse.

Bridge Controls                             Corruption:

Captain Dearing of the Hades is holding out here with a dozen bridge crew. Will let anyone In if proven safe, but are suspicious as the speakers have been taunting them for entry.

Dearing has a plan to force the ship into LEO and crash it, as a last ditch effort, but engineering is cut off; he considers the Doctor to be mad

Engineering                      Corruption: 85% to start

The heart of the corruption; what appears to be the Phase Wave Shifter is connected to the engine here, which is fueling energy to the device.

Two exterminators are here.

The corruption has sealed off all normal access.

Research Bay 1                              Corruption:

              A chamber with multiple cells, containing evidence of horrid mutations perpetrated on prisoners

A laboratory filled with more mutations, apparently caused by research on the PWS before the “cocoon” awoke

              A stasis chamber with a specter held in place; appears to be pleading for release

              Dr. Afram Zellar hiding in a chamber, he’s gone quite mad.

Research Bay 2                              Corruption:

This is where Dr. Matavos is operating, and she has 6 security guards with her, all androids. She has a half dozen additional researchers with her, monitoring the activity of the manifestation and recording everything. A hyperlight probe is recording all and ready to fire in the aft sensor array section, which is where another dozen scientists and security are trying to keep the area held from the incursion.

Munitions Storage                        Corruption:

Sealed, high security, location of 6 antimatter warheads locked in stasis and magnetic bottling powered by fusion cores

Docking Bay                                   Corruption: 0% to start

              Crash site of the Hierophant

              Clear of corruption at the start

Back of the entire bay has been cordoned off behind steel shielding and a heavy security entrance.

Quarantine Zone                           Corruption 40% to start

Contains the KT-223 remains. Includes the cargo left over from the planetary visit that did not happen. This includes a working hyperlight jump sensor ready to go.

              Location where DOS and others wake up following latest surge of power.

              3 destroyed androids can be gutted for power cells.

              A phasewave soldier is on patrol

Escape through main doors impossible due to corruption; access tunnels lead to Aft Controls and Research Bay 3.

Aft Controls/Sensors                   Corruption:

              The location of the sensor and communications array, as well as a backup aft bridge

A message on the comms relay is captured indicating that the military cruiser Chiron is inbound. And should reach the outer rim of the star system in 1 week. The message is 5 days old.

Dozens of desperate messages asking for help from the colony New Haven about two weeks ago, suggesting they were attacked

Storage Dock 1                              Corruption:

A lot of useful equipment though short on armament. Includes vacc suits. Careful searching reveals orbital re-entry suits, designed to drop into orbit, survive re-entry with ablative shielding, then pop parachutes.

Classified Bay                                 Corruption:

Hidden in the Classified Bay is a Scimitar Class Assault Ship, stowed away. It will take 2D5 hours to assemble and prep. It appears to have Jump 3 capabilities and while it has a particle beam weapon and torpedoes it lacks ordnance (which is in the ammo dump).

Rack of training weapons and a testing ground in this bay. Weapons are loaded with blanks.

Research Bay 3                              Corruption: 100%

This contains the Initiator, a speaker of particular cunning, and a dozen other creatures.

There is a wall of techno-hybrid machine flesh in which a dozen humans are embedded, and they are being used like a computer by the phasewave entities.

Another phasewave shifter is here! It is linked to the webwork of corruption and seems to be recently grown.

All in the chamber feel constantly distorted as if moving in and out of their own bodies (SAN check or 1D10 stress)

Initiator Instinct 70, Combat 50, Damage 1D10X10 can “push” spectral soul from target, HP 20

             

The Tenth Weird Thing: THE DEATH CRYPT OF GHASTRAL for Mork Borg!

 

The Tenth Weird Thing: THE DEATH CRYPT OF GHASTRAL

My first Mork Morg adventure....I don't think I've published this on the blog, but either way, a good weird adventure. Make your own map (it's fairly linear) and do what I did when I ran it on Roll20: generate images from whatever image generator you want to use to reflect each room. No idea what I did with those images, I think they are still on the Roll20 room I made for this one.

You are at the Bergen Crypt Treeline. A pale one name Savatha has offered you 100 silver to escort her here.

A restless soul named Ghastral has contacted Savatha in dreams. She seeks to commune with him in his crypt.

While meeting with Ghastral in his crypt, an earthquake strikes! The obelisk in the center of the crypt cracks, and beyond a hidden chamber is revealed, exposing rooms of a lost temple.

The crypt is an inactive dungeon, but because a misery was fulfilled: “Brother shall slay brother, and sister shall poison sister (3:6)” it has been exposed once more!

Imminent Danger: senses are being distorted! DR10 each new chamber that is entered, to see what “appears”: 1-2 fabulous treasure, 3-4 a monster; 5-6 the doppelganger of the adventurer

What Dwells Here Now? A meaty mass of slime, larvae and spider eggs! It is alive.

Distinctive Feature: the bony remains of the Basilisk’s spawn litter the complex, like a vast, winding serpent.

Room 0: entrance to the tomb, collapsed rubble, shattered obelisk to the Basilisk which oozes the corpulent mass of slime, larva and spider eggs. If anyone steps in it (DR10 to avoid if rushed) they risk 1D4 damage from serious bites and acid. The hollow presence of Ghastral remains long enough to fade away, with a terrible shriek that the Unformed One has Awakened….searching carefully reveals a random scroll deposited in the crack of the obelisk. If the group lingers too long, 1D3 goblins show up to investigate, dropping from holes in the ceiling.

Room 1: Mirrors everywhere! The mirrors show strange distortions and reflect other lands, some worse and others as if they are the Eternal Fields. Amidst this, a strange beast prowls through the mirrors, distorted and strange…

The Mirror Monster: it drags one arm behind, covered in slime, with a dozen bloodshot eyes frantically casting about for victims. Its bloated body is a mass of bilious organs tied together, covered in weeping maws.

Morale 10; Damage D4 (bites and scratched); -D6 armor (regrows wounds); 5 HP

Goal: collect your eyes to add to its own so it can see through the mirror realm to Nechrubel!

Room 2: sooty walls from floor to floor, it looks as if an eruption of fire annihilated this chamber. A strange sooty wet trail leads from the next room into this one, where a mass of water surrounds a Zodiac Lung (Feretory), lying in the floor.

Room 3: graffiti in terrifying inscriptions covers the walls of this chamber. The center of the chamber is bifurcated by a vast chasm with intense rushing water deep below, roaring as loud as the ocean. Salty sea smell fills the air, and a lone gull flies up from below to land on the ledge.

The water trail in Room 2 leads to this chamber and ends at the chasm. Footholds are carved in the chasm and descend to a small grotto below, where 150 Silver, 20 gold and 1D6 trinkets can be found, along with a Galgenbeck Deathmask (Heretic) and one scroll. Guarding the hidden alcove is a Bent hiding in the chamber! His name is Sparrow, and he knows that the raging river leads to the coast.

A lone stone bridge crosses the chasm. A single black form in a cloak resides at the center of the 25 foot span. Wearing the cloak is a Belze, a bloody skeleton named Pavrak, an ancient lost priest of the temple destined to protect the bridge. He will let the group pass if they use the Galgenbeck Mask to tell him how he died….from poison slipped to him by his rival, Onmater.

Room 4: fire damage to walls show recent destruction, and in the center of this chamber is a vast altar to Nechrubel. The altar’s center is a deep pit, from which the endless bones of its spawn appear to have emerged. Amidst the rubble and debris are human skeletons as well. The Formless Priests will rise, randomly assembling, within two minutes of the group entering:

Formless Priests (D4), Morale 10, Damage D6 (clubs and rusted metal), Armor none, 4 HP (will drop lifeless if someone falls into the center pit).

FINALE: On defeating the priests, a ghostly basilisk-form rises from the pit and hovers there. If a sacrifice is made (an artifact or a living being) the ghostly serpent spews forth a random occult artifact from its mouth and then disappears. The chamber rocks in a destructive quake, striking again! The group must make DR10 agility checks to avoid 1D6 damage from falling rubble. When it ends, the pit is sealed, and a crack in the far wall reveals the ominous night of the Bergen Crypts. A cloudburst of rain greets the party as they leave. Everyone may roll to see if they improve.

The Ninth Weird Thing: Perdido City Station for Mothership

 The Ninth Weird Thing: Perdido City Station for Mothership

Station 472 Perdido City 

Public Housing

Visitors can get cheap housing here, with metered facilities (20 CR/day)

About half a dozen habitat centers here, but only two are active, the rest appear semi abandoned

Some out of work locals hanging out will talk about the weird murders going on (They’re calling it the Plasma Torch Killer because the victims appear to have been instantly incinerated with a high intensity heat source).

A back alley contains some clues to the last killing, a scorched area, and strange writing that looks geometric and indecipherable. Locals say its borrowed from the “old ruins.”

KT Corporate Branch

A gratuitously expensive corporate office nestled in a district filled with shuttered travel agent shops and smaller corporate offices hidden in the afterglow of KT’s neon holographics.

Operation center for KT in the Outer Rim. CMO Alan Durns is in charge, but he’s a frayed and maddened sort of personality, clearly hooked on stims and stuck out here to avoid embarrassment. He will try to dock the PCs for not salvaging the experimental ship Somnus, but if he learns of the sphere will promise to “remove as much of the penalty for failure as possible” in exchange for the artifact.

Guarded by a Wolf-337 glimmerhound, and two robot guards.

Aeroflight

A large sub-domed facility within the complex laden with launch pads for the ultralite aerogliders used by locals for most travel.

Local independent travel service, provides rental and purchase of the light airframe gliders used by colonists to get around on Wolf-337. Run by Paulo Marquette. He will mention that the station has a problem with the “Sirius Nine” pirates on the independent cruiser Adelaide.

Public Markets

Half of this vast stretch is wreathed in semi-darkness as a medley of mostly shuttered businesses, like a dead mall, stretch out, punctuated by small clusters of active shops, and lots of bars. About 20% of the sky grid holograms are working. Among the victims of time is a vast casino, now all but shut down, collecting dust as its floors are graced by a handful of patrons. Mold fills the air.

Maybe only 20% of the markets are active, but there’s no limit on what to find here. Drugs and guns are to be found at the black market, however.

Sector Authority Offices

This monolithic structure appears to be a bastion of regional authority, but the large number of holographic signs advertising cheap insurance rates suggests that the local authorities are just another scam business.

Outer Rim Sector Authority represents itself as a for-hire police force but is really no better than an insurance company which likes to look the other way when premiums are past due.

Captain Samine Weathers is in charge, and she is secretly on the take from both KT and the Mining Corp. if they ask here to guarantee no interference.

Ship Yards

This vast area holds no pretenses, as multiple vessels have been towed in from outside and are undergoing repairs, overhauls or special installs. Most of the laborers appear to be machines of various types.

A handful of independent and corporate-backed shipwrights work in this area, surviving on the trade of repair and replace. A couple used ship dealers are also present, but their wares are deeply suspect.

Rimward Museum

Run by a dour android named Scott Selman (formerly a casino droid), this quaint affair was built with public funding in the early days and somehow continues to survive on Academy donations. The museum charts a slightly biased take on the discoveries of first explorers Thomas Gorman and Selina Rausch, and their discovery of the Wolf-337 ruins, evidence of a once thriving civilization nearly 1.5 million years ago, preserved due to the extremely low level of geologic activity on the planet. It documents the failed terraforming events and the take-over of independent miners, followed by the rise of the Tyber-Morgan Mining Corporation today.

Scott Selman can attest to the fact that the mystery markings sprayed like grafitti around the city do match the enigmatic symbols of the prehistoric ruins. “Thesallonians” are what they were called, and he will talk a bit about it, showing samples of artifacts. He explains the name came from Selina Rausch, who in her later years claimed to be able to communicate with the ghosts of the dead species. He mentions in passing that the radioactivity of the ruins caused unfortunate and often fatal mutations in the original colonists.

Passage to Old City

This area includes evidence of a large construction zone and an incomplete corporate works project dedicated to “Eon Industries” but the sign is twenty years old. A passage through the dig site leads to a carfully repaired structure which opens up to a heavy airlock to one of the underground tunnels that runs seventy kilometers north to the location Old City, which was the original colony site that failed. Warnings at the airlock indicate that there are no resources and no breathable atmosphere past this point.

CDF Rimward Recruitment Center

The Colonial Defense Forces have a large building manned by a skeleton crew, seeking mainly to try and encourage incoming spacers to jump contract and join their ranks since few locals show any interest these days. The recruiting officer in charge is an aging fellow named Cmdr. Walter Kellerman.

Kyle Razor’s Retreat

This private section of town is dominated by long city blocks between transit passages, each one extremely well secured and private. As you reach Razor’s retreat, you find that the outer door opens easily enough to reveal a wonderland within, a private holodome of a suny California beach, beneath which a similuated beach house and what appear to be genuine (but probably synthetic) flora and fauna scamper about. A seagull with grey, mechanical eyes lands on a pole and watches you. The wide entry door to the lush retreat is guarded by a Mantis Guardian class bioroid, which appears to be extremely pissed that it must tolerate your presence.

Kyle Razor got wind of the ship’s cargo before the crew ever arrive thanks to the transmission network bringing word just ahead of their arrival. He’s here, with two clones named Dolly and Brianna, as well as his two bodyguards, “Crane” and “Skillshot”. Skillshot appears to be a former augmented marine, sniper trained, and Crane appears to be an ex-corporate fixer turned bodyguard. Lurking on the premesis is a cloaked fellow who refuses to show his face, a scarred mutant named Cordon who is one of the original colonists, mutated and given extended life by an encounter with the Thesellan ghosts, though he tells few of his encounters with them, or that he can still see them….and that they are all around the city!

Kyle will offer the group 1 million credits or their own ship in exchange for the artifact. He is a “retired” media personality and former musician from the core who fled to the outer rim after his time as a pop star turned into a cult leader for the Cult of the NU. which in turn led to accusations of mass murder when he fled the scene of the crime following the dead of his entire cult when the star Rapsody-1515 went super nova. If pressed, Kyle admits he thinks the artifact is actually a vessel for the voice of the NU, and he intends to commune with his dead flock and especially his wife, Cryseta.  

Abandoned Districts

Large swathes of the complex are completely abandoned, lived in by transients waiting for a new mining gig or seeking some fortune to buy their way off-planet. Dangerous gangs and criminals roam here, and multiple murders from the “Plasma Torch Killer” have happened here though Sector Authority ignores it.

Many abandoned buildings are covered in the mystery writing.

Perdido Research Facility

This facility is receiving about one third of the PC’s cargo, the rest going to the mining corporation. The facility is headed by Director Anton Birch, a wiry man who cares little for spacers. The facility appears to be focused on establishing a better approach to eventually terraforming the planet, but it also seems to have an unusual number of ancient artworks on display from the indigenous ruins.

Gorman-Rausch Preservation Site

This site is open-air, in the incredibly thin and toxic local atmosphere. The site is mostly off-limits, but nothing is around to stop people from going into the deep ruins, made of a soft, crystalline material similar to chalcedony in appearance but in fact an extremely complex molecular design which is nearly impervious to damage. The material has been dubbed Rauschium in honor of the discoverer.

A self guided tour of the “safe zone” is available.

There is a 10% chance of spotting one of the elusive Thesellan ghosts during the visit, which appears briefly like a strange floating after-image from staring too long at the sun before disappearing into rock. The tour mentions that it is believed that these are actually holographic augmentations caused by still functioning embedded circuitry within the rauschium ruins, which seem to occasionally garner energy from sunlight and reactivate programs which have somehow sustained functionality after 1.5 million years. The constructs are believed to be harmless and non-interactive from exhaustive studies, allegedly.

Anyone who scopes around the site will see a large aerocruiser parked a half kilometer away under a camouflage tent. This is the Sirius Nine vessel, where these rogues have been scouring the ruins lately looking for artifacts to sell to core world bidders. Drawing their attention could quickly escalate to a fight. Entering the ruin tunnels could also lead to an encounter.

Tyber Morgan Mining Corporate Offices

The head of mining operations, Gale Forran, runs everything from this secured complex reachable from the city dome by underground tunnel. This may be the only complex in the region that is bustling with activity and fully staffed. They seem to garner a lot of work from mining technetium and vanadium, valuable for use in superconducting technology, as well as raw deposits of promethium ore for jump drives.