Prison of the mind (Argul's cell)

You can feel your body compress and be stretched like spaghetti.  At one point, you are literally spanning millions of light years as you get pulled into the singularity of the black hole....  




You then find yourself floating, alone.  You cannot see the other party members, nor any companions you brought with you.  You are singular.  You are no longer Argul\Brick\Korvaq\Zang.  You are like a dreamer and your life as the character was but a dream.  You can remember that life, but feel less attached to it than a moment ago.

You can see a man.  He is bound in some device.  He is a prisoner.  You are the prisoner and the observer at the same time.   Rasso has control of the machine.



You are at the singularity of the black hole.  Inside a black hole, TIME becomes a physical dimension, just like space.  There are 4 quadrants:  on the LEFT are Parallel Universes (or the interior universes), on the RIGHT the External Universes (where you just came from on the battle map), on the TOP are the future timelines and on the BOTTOM are your past timelines.  

This is a general map to the interior of the black hole.  This explains what each area represents  



The prisoner (you) are located at the "point of consciousness" in the center, the exact center of the singularity.  The background looks like both brain synapses and deep space.  In the far upper right corner, you see the "paradise" that the cosmic mother showed you before the final battle.

This is what the actual inside of the black hole looks like:





Just for clarity, as I know this is a LOT to take in all at once:

LEFT - parallel universes or interior universes are represented by and populated with characters from many of our recent games
RIGHT - the battle map, from this game, the exterior of the black hole in 'real space'
BOTTOM - the past, a sequence of events from your homeworlds to the bridge, to the fear of needles, to the space station, to the queen fight
CENTER - you, the prisoner in the machine and Rasso is controlling the machine
TOP - a map of possible futures, most of which are full of Necrons, wastelands and dead planets.  There is 1 possible future left with life and happiness.  It is the "paradise" revealed by the golden light of the Cosmic Mother.  It is the house on the beach, with the woman and the children from the vision.

Chris wrote:
Q: "Seriously, WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO HERE??"
A: free yourself (the prisoner) using everything on the map at your disposal + your imagination to find a way to escape the Prison of the Mind.

Argul senses his surroundings...

Listen (any?)
Smell (any?)
Taste (any?)
Feel (hot/cold/wet/dry/wind/motion/etc?) Oreintation (gravity/up/down)

And speaks -

"It is time for this end, Rasso."

MAS wrote:Argul senses his surroundings...

Listen (any?)
Smell (any?)
Taste (any?)
Feel (hot/cold/wet/dry/wind/motion/etc?) Oreintation (gravity/up/down)

And speaks -

"It is time for this end, Rasso."

Listen - you hear the low background hum of a machine.....  you hear a rhythmic hissing sound with intervals about 3 seconds apart.....  occasionally you a beep

Smell - none, in fact, distinctly sterile

Taste - plastic.  something is in your mouth

Feel - whatever is in your mouth is also down your throat, it feels like a tube or a tentacle perhaps (see the pic).  Temperature is comfortable, neither hot nor cold

Orientation - matches the picture of the man in the machine, which is suspended in a supine position

You cannot speak out loud because something is in your mouth.

Argul calmly considers his senses.

The sterile smell gives him the feel of something meant to be kept deliberately and obsessively clean...



The rhythmic hissing and beeping reminds him of steam powered, clockwork bellows that were used in the Medicariums of Ling to perform the mechanical work of a trauma patient's breathing when their natural faculties were compromised.

Come to think of it, they used a glass tube to channel the air down into the poor fellow, which would account for that thing in his mouth keeping him from talking.  And the machine would chime softly when the casualty's pulse activated the air pressure cuff fitted around his leg.

 








"Mr Rasso, I've begun to suspect that things are not as they seem. In fact, I am less and less convinced that you and I are, dare I say, mmmm, how to put this politely..."real". I'm quite sorry to bear the news, sir...But I do think now that perhaps you and your legions are the symbolic embodiment of whatever tragedy has struck to place "me" here. It's been an entertaining romp, galumphing about in high adventure with colorful characters, however, it seems very likely to have been imaginary, and in substantiative reality - the true self lies enfeebled and comatose. This being the case, I feel strongly that having soundly bested you in combat and drawn a satisfactory conclusion, it is time we return to our true, conscious, waking self.

Do you concur?"

---

The point of consciousness (that was in some way Argul) focusses all of its "psychic" willpower on the single remaining unspoiled future and attempts to wake itself up.

MAS wrote:Argul calmly considers his senses.

The sterile smell gives him the feel of something meant to be kept deliberately and obsessively clean...



The rhythmic hissing and beeping reminds him of steam powered, clockwork bellows that were used in the Medicariums of Ling to perform the mechanical work of a trauma patient's breathing when their natural faculties were compromised.

Come to think of it, they used a glass tube to channel the air down into the poor fellow, which would account for that thing in his mouth keeping him from talking.  And the machine would chime softly when the casualty's pulse activated the air pressure cuff fitted around his leg.

 








"Mr Rasso, I've begun to suspect that things are not as they seem. In fact, I am less and less convinced that you and I are, dare I say, mmmm, how to put this politely..."real". I'm quite sorry to bear the news, sir...But I do think now that perhaps you and your legions are the symbolic embodiment of whatever tragedy has struck to place "me" here. It's been an entertaining romp, galumphing about in high adventure with colorful characters, however, it seems very likely to have been imaginary, and in substantiative reality - the true self lies enfeebled and comatose. This being the case, I feel strongly that having soundly bested you in combat and drawn a satisfactory conclusion, it is time we return to our true, conscious, waking self.

Do you concur?"

---

The point of consciousness (that was in some way Argul) focusses all of its "psychic" willpower on the single remaining unspoiled future and attempts to wake itself up.

 I am duly impressed!  You are 95% right on target.  Well done.  


Rasso replies, "Imaginary adventures... hmmm... not quite.  They were real and also symbolic.  You are indeed comatose.  Your brain is going through its final death process.  The body is being kept alive artificially.  Your brain is reliving your life, "flashing before your eyes" as they say.  When your brain reaches the end of your memories, the moment you entered the coma, it triggers the memory recall.  Again and again and again.

Unfortunately, as the brain dies, the memories become.... degraded.  Your brain is filling in the missing bits from your subconscious (interior) and your imagination.  You are replacing real people and events with this heroic adventure.  

And now, you try to move "towards the light" eh...  But how to navigate the future filled with death machines?

Perhaps a final reminder of your actual life......"

“Come on, dear, time to go the hospital for your first Chemo treatment.”  She said in a calm and reassuring voice to her husband.  

“Is it time already, Jan?” her husband asked, still laying on the couch.  He was wearing his favorite Star Trek t-shirt with a stern-looking Klingon standing with his arms folded.  “We have to pick up the kids, remember? They all want to be with you.”  

She got her husband loaded into the family minivan.  The inside of the minivan had safari-pattern seat covers. They left their country house and headed into the city.

“Where are they today?”  the man asked, rolling down his window to get some fresh air.  Ever since he started the radiation treatments, his stomach was sensitive to motion.  Sometimes he got nauseous; other times it just put him to sleep.

Jan replied as she drove, “Oh, the usual….  Praxia is doing 4-H in the park….  Steve has pee-wee wrestling practice… Kor is at Science Club and Argul is at the library, probably on Skype with all his digital buddies in Japan or Australia or where ever today.”  She chuckled, “I am just the chauffeur as always.”

“Is Steve wearing his Brick Rockman costume again?”  The man asked feebly, his stomach turning south on him.

She laughed, “Haha, coach told him he had to wear proper wrestling gear – for his own safety.”

“Did Steve actually listen this time?  He is usually off in his own world.”



Jan picked up Steve, their youngest boy, first.  He was indeed wearing his Brick Rockman costume from last Halloween.  It had a rip in the feather boa today.  “Where’s Steve? I can’t find Steve.  Brick, have you seen Steve?”  she asked playfully.  She knew that once he had on that costume, he would only answer to being called by his hero: BRICK ROCKMAN – SPACE WRESTLER!

Brick answered, “I lost Steve, Miss Elizabeth!  I think he fell out the bus window on the way to school this morning.  Will you be my manager today?  I have a big match against MEGA-CLAW tonight!”

“Sure honey.  Can we look for Steve later?” Jan replied with a wink.




Jan picked up Argul next.  He came out of the library loaded down with a backpack full of new books.  “Look what I found!” Argul proudly held up a copy of “28 ways to increase your psychic abilities”.  

“I see…. so what I am thinking now, young man?”  Jan asked her eldest son.

Argul squinted his eyes in concentration, “Um…. That you got me chicken nuggets!  No?  That… I should get in the Safari Van.”

“Amazing!” his mom replied with a wide grin.





Jan pulled up to the city park, to look for their middle child and only daughter.  She could see the 4H group walking their pets on leashes.  Most of the other kids had dogs.   There were a couple cats, who didn’t seem happy about being on leashes.  And then there was Praxia who was trying to leash-train her pet Iguana.  Skree had climbed a tree in protest.   Jan helped get Skree out of the tree and loaded them into the family “safari van” as the kids called it.

“Did you remember to bring Zang?”  Praxia asked her mother.

“He’s in your seat pocket dear, just where you left him this morning.”  Jan replied.  The only thing Praxia loved as much as her pet lizard was an old rusty robot she named Zangular the Mechan.  Praxia always pretended Zang and Skree lived in the same make-believe world of Ssyk.  The history of how dinosaurs and robots lived together was a constantly-changing tale of aliens, space ships, and pyramids.  Zang always spent the night with his best friend Skree in his terrarium.




Jan headed for the old jr. high building.  Science Camp used the chemistry room.  Korvaq was playing chess on the steps outside with one of his friends.  His teacher was standing nearby and he didn’t look happy.  Jan waved as she walked up the old cracked sidewalk.  The teacher didn’t return the wave or say hello.  “Kor started another fire today” he said sternly.  Jan sighed, Korvaq did have an affinity for fire.  Kor kept playing chess without looking up.  The teacher continued, “He was combining Styrofoam cups from lunch with chemicals from the chemistry lab in a glass beaker.  If I didn’t know better, I would say he was making some kind of napalm grenade.  Kor is very bright, but he’s become a safety threat.  I can’t allow him back for the rest of the summer.  I am sorry.”

Jan tapped Kor’s shoulder.  Kor followed his mother to the safari van silently.  She knew how much science camp mean to him and being expelled was punishment enough.





Jan drove the safari van, with its colorful seat-covers, over a long bridge towards Salyut Clinic in downtown. Everyone was quietly looking out the windows or day dreaming for most of the ride.  Her husband had dozed off in the seat next to her.  He snored slightly, though he refused to admit it.

Jan heard Praxia make a loud growling sound from behind her in the backseat.  “What’s wrong with Skree?” she asked her daughter.  

“The 2 boys in the car next to us are mad-mugging me, mom!  So Skree jumped out the window and landed on top of their car.  He smashed them good!”  Praxia was making Skree hop up and down in the window, pretending he was demolishing the enemy car.

Jan glanced over her shoulder but instead of seeing Praxia, she saw Steve, still dressed as Brick Rockman.   Brick was flexing his muscles at a group of bikers out the other side window.  She chuckled at her kids’ imaginations.  When she turned her eyes back to the road, her heart jumped into her throat.  Traffic ahead of her had stopped.  She swerved sharply to the left to avoid slamming into them at full speed.  She pressed her brakes as hard as she could, but couldn’t stop in time.  She sideswipped the car with the 2 boys who were making faces at Praxia to her left.  Both cars hit the cement divider on the bridge.  Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but the crash made quiet a mess.  One of the bikers stopped and made sure they were all ok.

Everyone got an ambulance ride to the hospital, which the kids greatly enjoyed.  Jan went with the kids to the ER while her husband headed upstairs to Oncology.





The nurses in the ER wanted to check the kids out.  The ER was full of minor injuries from the traffic wreck.

There was a guy with a broken jaw that looked painful and another whose nose was bleeding.  The kids had a few bumps and Praxia needed a couple stitches on her elbow.  The nurse approached her with a gentle voice and needle to stitch up her arm.  Jan watched in shock as Praxia jumped out of bed and started running around the ER like a crazed chicken.  She was still carrying Skree, who looked confused, and Zang under her arms.

Steve jumped out of his bed, “Don’t worry sis, Brick Rockman will save you!”  Steve began pulling blankets off the beds and tossing pillows.

Argul just laid in his bed and shook his head at his siblings’ antics.  He was talking to an old man with a British accent in the bed next to him.  

Korvaq slipped off his bed and disappeared in the chaos.

Praxia swung her metal robot Zang at the fire alarm lever on the wall.  Sirens blazed, water sprayed from the ceiling and in the chaos that ensued, Praxia, Kor and Steve dashed out the ER.  They were finally cornered in the hallway by a security guard named Rodgers and a handful of orderlies.  Everyone finally got stitched up and were cleared to leave.





Jan and the kids, still dripping wet, went upstairs to find their father.  They checked the Chemo treatment room, but he wasn’t there.  They headed down the hallway to Dr. Rasso’s office.  The door was closed but they could hear Dr. Rasso’s voice from inside.  His voice went from a shout to an inaudible whisper.  Jan didn’t like Dr. Rasso, but he was supposedly the best oncologist in the tri-state area.  Her husband never wanted Jan to hear the details, but she opened the door anyways and went inside with the kids.  

Dr. Rasso was lecturing her husband, “Your cancer has spread…  I told you this was possible.  You wanted to start with only the radiation treatment, remember?  The Barium injection identified several spots of Chondrosarcoma.  Do you remember that Golden Barium dye we injected you with?  I told you at the time that we should be more aggressive, but you wanted to wait.  Now the cancer has metastasized and spread through your blood to your spine, lungs and spleen.  We have to attack it now, with a multi-dose of Chemotherapy and radiation treatment.  I have developed a special treatment for aggressive Chondrosarcoma!”  

Jan supported her husband, though she just wished he could be well again. “What’s the point of living if he is too tired and sick to participate in life, let alone enjoy it?” she wondered to herself.

Dr. Rasso went off on a loud rant about his research on cancer, different treatments, success rates, and survival outcomes without his treatment.  Jan saw her husband’s defeated look.  He hung his head and motioned for her to take the kids out to the hallway.  She knew that he was going to consent to Dr. Rasso’s treatment plan.




Over the next several months, time seemed to slip away.  





Jan took care of the kids by herself.  The man barely got out of bed.  He might make it as far as a swinging chair on the porch, but only if it was warm and sunny.  It’s was like time was just passing him by without his notice.  His body was being destroyed on two fronts by Dr. Rasso’s Chemotherapy and by the cancer eating him away organ by organ.  

One warm day, Jan and the kids pulled up in the driveway after school.  The man was asleep on the front porch.  The kids went inside and Jan kneeled down by her husband.  He awoke and looked lovingly at his wife.  Jan was still beautiful to him.  She was bathed in yellow sunlight and surrounded by the trees of their yard.  She was his world, his entire universe.  Lately she was like his mother as well - caring for him, the house, the kids – she was a mother to everything he cared about.  

Jan still saw herself as his partner, his love, his wife.  “My love, I miss you.  I miss us.  You have to stop this madness.  This is no way to end your life.  Either chose to FIGHT or stop all treatment and at least enjoy the time you have left with your family.  We could just go to the beach house.  You always loved it there.  You said it was like Paradise.”

Jan hadn’t realized the children had come outside on the porch too.  They were looking at their father, who was again wearing his favorite Klingon t-shirt.  

“We want you to fight dad.  Zang and Skree will help.” said Praxia.  

“Maybe there is a way to burn the cancer out?”  suggested Korvaq.

“We will fight with you, Brick Rockman never gives up!” said Steve, who had put on his Brick costume.

“I will use my psychic powers to heal you, dad” said a confident Argul.

“What’s it going to be, my love?” Jan asked her husband.

The man felt like giving up.  He was so tired.  He felt beaten, defeated.  He could see how much his family loved him and wanted him to live.  He looked down at his favorite t-shirt.  The stern-faced Klingon stared back at him, challenging him to fight.  He stood up quickly.  His children took a step back in surprise as their dad hadn’t moved that fast in months.  “I need your help! ”  

Perhaps he just stood up too quickly or perhaps his body was finally failing.  The man saw a black dot in front of his eyes.  It grew larger and larger until it filled his vision.  He felt light-headed, like he was about to faint.  As the man lost consciousness it appeared to him as though he was falling into the black hole in front of his eyes.  That is the last final memory.

Well done sir, well done.

"The Man" would like to integrate the rest of the party into awareness...

MAS wrote:
Well done sir, well done.

"The Man" would like to integrate the rest of the party into awareness...

Thanks! I appreciate it.


Well... that's kind of an issue. There really isn't a "party" it's always just been "the man" or you. Essentially I am telling the same story 4 times, for each individual player. It started as solo prologues and it has to end as a solo story (I think, I don't actually know how it ends, to be honest.)

And for now, nobody else is close to figuring it out. You are the only player that tested their senses. The others are still interacting with the singularity as if it was real. I don't want to spoil the surprise for them.

So for the time being, just assume it's your personal story as "the man". You wanted to focus your psychic energy to move towards the Paradise future. Does your new knowledge change or affect how you would do that?

I dig it - figured you'd want to play things out with the others.

"The Man" has a few thoughts on this, and he is going to err on the positive side and assume that he is only passing out or fainting here and not experiencing final death.

He knows that the Golden Dust/Chemo kills Xeno/Cancer and he has to get rid of the Xeno/Cancer to survive, so he is going to use Psychic willpower to guide the Golden Dust/Chemo into all of the Xeno/Cancer-ridden futures, dissolving them, until only the Paradise future remains.

Ah, using the elements on the map - good!

I don't think this works if it is just passing out though (maybe I am wrong? as a reader, let me know if just feinting works). Assume for a minute, that the man is in a coma and on life support. He is experiencing a brain-death level total recall of his life, until the memories degrade into fantasy.

That being said, people wake up spontaneously after being "brain dead" in a coma for years. So clearly, our understanding of the human body is not nearly complete. How do they do that? I have always wondered.

The chemo is killing the man as fast as the cancer is (the insanity of western medicine's approach to cancer as represented by Rasso).

How does the man survive flooding the future with Chemo? Are there any other elements on the map that might help? Or any other meta-ideas?

I have an idea, if you are running dry, but it's more like my own thoughts on the subject, not directly game related.


if this helps, let me clarify a couple things symbolically:

xeno - cancer

necrons - chemo

golden dust - radiation (used as a therapy, but also why it messed up transfiguration magic)

Sorry for the delay, got caught up in work and family obligations. Will post late tonite or tomorrow.

MAS wrote:Sorry for the delay, got caught up in work and family obligations. Will post late tonite or tomorrow.

no worries! you are almost finished and the farthest along

Chris wrote:

The chemo is killing the man as fast as the cancer is (the insanity of western medicine's approach to cancer as represented by Rasso).  

How does the man survive flooding the future with Chemo?  Are there any other elements on the map that might help?  Or any other meta-ideas?

Proposition: The Man will survive and exist "in transit" by traveling through portals repeatedly until the process is completed (or if possible, shelter in "portal space" itself - the space between worlds) to avoid the deadly forces coursing through the worlds.

Let the Necrons kill the Xenos, then forge an Alliance with Rasso and the Necrons to preserve a space in which to build Paradise on whatever sliver of ground remains. Paradise will grow if nurtured.

MAS wrote:
Proposition: The Man will survive and exist "in transit" by traveling through portals repeatedly until the process is completed (or if possible, shelter in "portal space" itself - the space between worlds) to avoid the deadly forces coursing through the worlds.

Let the Necrons kill the Xenos, then forge an Alliance with Rasso and the Necrons to preserve a space in which to build Paradise on whatever sliver of ground remains. Paradise will grow if nurtured.  

Ok, that sounds like a reasonable solution. It reminds me of what Maud'ib did in Dune, he entered that trance\coma after taking the water of life. It sounds like you are suggesting using the coma in a similar fashion with the knowledge that his mind\psyche is still active here, in the 'portal space' or the space between worlds.

more later, I got a busy morning!

MAS wrote:
Proposition: The Man will survive and exist "in transit" by traveling through portals repeatedly until the process is completed (or if possible, shelter in "portal space" itself - the space between worlds) to avoid the deadly forces coursing through the worlds.

Let the Necrons kill the Xenos, then forge an Alliance with Rasso and the Necrons to preserve a space in which to build Paradise on whatever sliver of ground remains. Paradise will grow if nurtured.  

Ok, I am going to break down the details of your bargain with Rasso.  Let me know if this is agreeable, with a heavy dose of meta-Hinduism thrown in for future content  



The Man survives "in transit" in this coma or asleep.  He is in a state of pure consciousness, with infinite potential.  The Multiverse is not born and cannot die, but has always been, and will always be, in a state of perpetual flux.  This Multiverse is simply the current one.  When it finally ceases to manifest, a new one will arise.

However, balance cannot be maintained without a destroyer or annihilator - this power the Man gives to Rasso, so that balance can be restored.  This is the bargain that allows for the Man to build Paradise on the remaining sliver of the future.  The Man is allowed to return to his life healed, the last life in this manifestation of the Multiverse.

When the Man re-enters the state of pure consciousness, he will dream a new Multiverse.  This new Multiverse is based on his story, which is now the Song of Creation.  The Man assumes the role of Creator (Vishnu).  The other characters become the Gods:

Argul - god of knowledge, diplomacy, magic and the mind.  All libraries are towers that teleport across the lands.

Brick - god of strength, personal combat and vanity.  In his constellation, Brick wrestles a giant demon dinosaur

Korvaq - god of fire, warfare and technology (forge)

Zang - flying metal god of the air, lightning and storms (water)

Skree - ferocious god of animals who takes the form a Velociraptor  

Praxia - goddess of evolution and life (twin of Xenia)

Xenia - goddess of the demons and mutation  (twin of Praxia)

Jana - goddess of travel, exploration, family

Rasso - the destroyer, god of madness

The low hum of the machine grows louder.....  slowly, the man opens his eyes.  He is greeted by the tearful faces of his family: his wife Jan, Steve (dressed as Brick), Praxia holding Zang and Skree, Argul with his books and Korvaq.

Dr. Rasso informs them that the man is, somehow, miraculously clear of cancer after his coma.  Dr. Rasso earns much fame as the "destroyer of cancer" with his radical coma-inducing treatments.

The man and his family retire to the house on the beach for the rest of their days

An excellent tale! Great fights and Superb storytelling. 10/10, would play again. I love the genesis of a new Pantheon and Multiverse!

Also - You've kicked a hornet's nest here, in a creative way. You pulled in characters and games that were used in the "1,000 Worlds" Multi-verse and taken the audacious move of destroying the framework I've been tying together for decades. But I am very satisfied with the conclusion, and even like the meta nature of the death and rebirth of the multi-verses being rooted in a "normal real world" person. It is reminiscent of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, where he wrote himself into the story, and the center of all of the many worlds was tied to the Earth that you and I inhabit.

And now we have a new multi-verse to play with!

Project: At some point, we could put together an "Atlas" of games and campaigns. It would ideally include a brief summary of the game/campaign, the characters (if we can remember), the "world" it occurred on, and in what point of the timeline it occurred. Everything to this point has been "Old Multiverse" or "First 'Verse".

I am glad you enjoyed it!

I am sorry if I stepped on any toes from C1KW.  It was such a neat idea and very inspirational for this story.  I was sad that we hadn't returned to it.  You are most welcome to play with the new multi-verse if you wish, though I figured it was just my own side-verse if you will, lol.

an Atlas\timeline of all games is a great idea!  I kinda tried to remember stuff on my own, but I definitely missed a lot.

There were gaming epochs in my mind:

childhood - neighborhood games with Greg Gann, Eric Plett and his brothers, the Zabakow brothers

high school, for me, was Josh, Whitey, Maloney, Ryan and Alan at the end

Breese-land - with you, Kevin, G, Trey, etc

college - alan, josh, you, Mike Mackey, JC

steamboat - Mike Dillion, Ryan, Scott, Aimee, couple others

online - this crew, which has changed over time

I'm not offended, no toes stepped upon. The 1K campaign setting as a whole as been a meta-aggregate that was designed to incorporate all of the games in a way that would make some sense, and you tied it up neatly in a well-told way. While I feel very attached to it and would say I've given it shape and guidance, I'd also say that it has been a collaborative effort and that I co-opted everyone else's material as part of the process. So it's a shared multi-verse! Or pair of them, as it now stands.

I believe this works as long as GMs stick to an underlying principle; the improv strategy of "yes...and" rather than fight the flow of previous materials. Besides, there is always room to go back into the timeline. To expand and detail parts of the stories. There are major story arcs that have not been played in the "First 'Verse" that I would love to play out, all of these I had pocketed as various campaign ideas.

1) The Fey rebellion against the Titans.
2) The mission to destroy the corrupted machine of Throne.
3) Continued "Heroes of 1K Worlds" Missions
4) An invasion (or defense against) and subsequent integration of the Throne Empire into a new found World/reality

The cool thing is, having some idea of the ending, a GM can tie some of the key players, places, events, and symbolism back into historical events via prophecy, time travel, etc. Who knows how detailed and convoluted the path was to get there?

Plus, I still have the 5e "Shadow and Light" campaign that I'd like to get back to later this fall. Even though it is off in a distant corner of the 1kW untouched by most of the larger arcs, it is still part of it.

I'll have to sit down and make a list of the games and campaigns I can remember. It will be a cool project to see, I wonder what ideas and connections it will spark!

Indeed!

I will work on a list too. I do hope we get back to Shadow and Light. That was a fun setting!

speaking of your Gazeteer and the multiverse, did you recognize this guy?

Chris wrote:

As if in reply to Zang's question, a rainbow worm-hole opens up in the hallway of spoke E in Salyut Clinic.  4 dangerous looking characters emerge: an armored figure with a red\white\blue shield, a black woman with animated dreadlocks, a robot apparently built from Scrap and a green-skinned alien that discreetly picks a booger and wipes it on his pant leg.






The armored figure calls out in a loud and clear voice, "STAND DOWN!"  He says that to the party as well as his own group.  "We are not your enemies.  I know you are disorientated, but if you give us a chance, I can explain.  If you continue to destroy Salyut Clinic, we will be forced to stop you."   Scrap's claw opens and closes with a loud SNAP.  The woman's dreadlocks twirl like vipers ready to strike and the green-skinned alien powers up some kind of rotary cannon.

Didn't I have a Hero System character or somesuch like that?!?!?! With Tracey Henderson running the game?!?!?!

Slipped right past me!

MAS wrote:Didn't I have a Hero System character or somesuch like that?!?!?! With Tracey Henderson running the game?!?!?!

Slipped right past me!

BINGO!


that was a 1 night adventure Tray ran at the house I was house-sitting with the 2 big dogs: Max and Rosie, during the summer of wretched excess

That character stuck with me, as it was one of the coolest and most unique super heroes ever!

FLASHBACK! No shit, synapse's connecting...

I tried to do an old gravelly black man voice for that guy. It was like "Sanford and Sons" mixed with being struck by some alien meteorite that caused all of the scrap metal to get stuck to him, or something like that. hahaha!

another classic from back in the day.... goblinoid vietnam! that was such a good short story and the best part was that you killed Mackey

Loved that one!

Knocking snakes with hooked tails! KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

Goblin wave attacks! Drums in the Jungle!

Mackey (a ranger?) killed himself. Kept telling the damn fool not to go. Added a sense of danger to the rest of the session, though.

You (A druid, I think) used sanctuary to break through the goblin lines and go for help. Found a dragon sleeping in an ancient temple and brought him back to save the base.

JC (a Wizard) defended against goblin attacks with the soldiers at the base. Used "Flaming sphere" to deadly effect. Goblins tested the walls with pole vaulters, tunneled in with sappers, all sorts of stuff.

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The original "Golden Dust" game from that era was awesome, too! We had too many players so we never got to play it beyond 2-3 sessions.

Post-apocalyptic feel, Ogres gathering survivors in airships, a few really good fights...

I think I had a ranger named Vorrick, don't remember the other characters.

I had a Vodkyn ranger. He could camouflage in the woods. He snuck around whacking the drummers to mess up their marching orders. I think the rest was right. I forgot about the green dragon, cool!

Original Golden Dust - yes, your ranger tortured one of the ogres, much to the dismay of the rest of the party. Chris Odendall had a bard. I don't remember what Alan played but he kept doing these leaping attacks. I am not sure if Josh was in it or not. You guys captured an airship near the end and then set off to find the source of the GD. You came up with the name Vengeance of Illidorn, after the capital city that was destroyed.

What was your Brujah's name in Scott's WoD? Tor?
That was my first Vamp game, I made Tarzan as a gangrel

And didn't you and Sam have samuri sisters or something in Scott's epic D&D game?

Yes! I remember the "Vengeance of Illidorn"! I'm not certain if Josh was in that one, either. THAT is a story/campaign setting that I always wanted to explore further. I guess the mystery of the Golden Dust is solved now, at last!

Several gems in these snippets, for further play -

1) A ghostly airship full of pissed-off, cursed former PCs, wandering the multiverse, trapped till their mission is completed...
2) Why did that Green Dragon agree to do something helpful and "good" aligned instead of being evil and simply killing the Vodkyn ranger who disturbed his lair? What became of it?

My Brujah (and original Vampire character) was named Tor. He was murdered and diablarized by Kevin Ryan's character later. I remember your Gangrel, vaguely.

I did have a "Samurai Sister" character with Sam for a short time, but that campaign didn't go too far. Before that, in a year long game that Scott ran, I played a rogue named Silo Silva all the way from 1 to 20.

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Do you remember the GENCON trip when Mage was released? We rode the synchronicity wave through the whole trip. Got the very last hotel room in Milwaukee on thursday night, then stayed at some Asian kid's house on friday. His mom made us breakfast. Played some crazy indie game where you mutated every time you went through a portal, met some reasonably attractive gamer chicks. Then we marathon road tripped down to Bloomington with brand new copies of Mage in hand, reading it by dome light.

love the multiverse 'hooks' though few may get them, as they are an inside job.

I will never forget that gencon trip! the portal game, buying mage, staying at that kids' house, the roadtrip... that gamer chick dressed as a vampire came down to visit me the next year at Wallis, hehe

but... she wasn't nearly as cute in daylight, sadly

here's a chicken-monkey if I ever saw one

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t347-domonok-dok-zadir-palacle-of-hermes#18200

what are you playing?

Chris wrote:here's a chicken-monkey if I ever saw one

https://lodgestgaming.forumotion.com/t347-domonok-dok-zadir-palacle-of-hermes#18200

what are you playing?

Thats a cool mix! I didn't know/see that Josh had started a new thread...

What happened to the Kineticist?

I really want to play the Kineticist, but I also want to try a pure healer\support character. I am torn.

Honestly, the Kineticist is verging on OP and could wreck so much havok, that it might be a problem. He can repeatedly lift 900 to 9000 lbs with little effort with his TK powers. As a GM, that would be a problem compared to what other 9th level characters can do.

I am glad you are going combat! I love to watch you wreck house with unusual builds. Alan and Rob are playing mages. This healer crunch is crazy good, but not OP.

Chris wrote:I really want to play the Kineticist, but I also want to try a pure healer\support character.  I am torn.  

Honestly, the Kineticist is verging on OP and could wreck so much havok, that it might be a problem.  He can repeatedly lift 900 to 9000 lbs with little effort with his TK powers.  As a GM, that would be a problem compared to what other 9th level characters can do.

I am glad you are going combat!  I love to watch you wreck house with unusual builds.  Alan and Rob are playing mages.  This healer crunch is crazy good, but not OP.  

I'd like to see how you manage a support class. That being said, never be afraid to play a published class RAW. If it's in the rules, its fair play, and if the GM hasn't designed it out of their world, it's on them to manage within the framework of their encounter design.

If you stick with your healer, I might splash Kineticist with Gunslinger or some sort of ranged combat build....

Before I forget, and since we are revisiting old games and campaigns, I found this article an interesting take on game design. Thought you would too.

http://geekandsundry.com/learn-the-fascinating-theory-behind-roleplaying-games/

wow, that article is spot-on in my opinion. It is also interesting the conflict between GM style and player style. for example, when the GM tries to go narrative and the players react as gamists.

I would suggest there is even a meta-level interaction: an overly gamist scene by the GM can often by defeated by clever simulation or narrative, while players try to use gamist crunches to bust up narrative scenes. I see it as kind of a rock\paper\scissors interaction.


as for my character, I can save the KT for later. I found a really good healer crunch that I want to try and it isn't a pure cleric, which surprised me. if the healer dies, then I can unleash someone with TK power on par with Vader