By The Mirrorball Man (j_hirt@yahoo.com)
Morphotes are dog-sized, tripedal creatures who share a vague resemblance with iguanas. Their bodies are covered with deep gray mineral formations that grow thicker and thicker as they grow old. Forming pyramids, spikes, scales and all kinds of other forms, these mineral concretions compose an indestructible armor, and ensure that every member of the species looks different. Very old Morphotes really look like living rocks, since it has become impossible to distinguish their face and limbs among the mineral crystallizations.
Morphote technology seems oriented towards warfare, and seems to be similar to Teknomagick. They can be considered compatible in the "conflicting realities" table. However, Morphotes seem to despise electronics. Their technology is a very refined and improved form of mechanics, with little electricity involved. They don't use computers, a fact that Cybermancers find tremendously irritating. Since the first contact, almost all encounters with the Morphote empire have been conflictual, although Freetraders have managed to do business with them from time to time.
Nobody knows for sure how tough Morphotes really are, but some dare to speculate that their threat might eventually force the Factions to unite against them.
Attributes: Str 3, Dex 2, Sta 5, Cha 1, Man 2, App 1, Per 3, Int 2, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 3, Awareness 2, Brawl 3, Drive 2, Firearms 4, Occult 1, Computers 1.
Willpower: 8
Powers: Skin Armor (4 dice)
Devices: Blaster gun (6/9), communicator.
Health: OK, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated
Erisians can be considered emotionally unstable when you judge them with human standards. They only live to fulfill the desire of others. When they remain alone for too long, they let themselves starve to death. However, Erisians are not pathetic creatures, destined to become sex slaves. After a short period, the Erisian ceases to be interested in his form, and undergoes a mental crisis called the Monotony. He then suddenly becomes crazy, and often enough kills everybody around him. Less violent forms of Monotony involve a sudden change of attitude. The transformed Erisian uses the ascent his ideal form has on others to ruin their lives.
When the Monotony ends, the Erisian usually wanders for a while before undergoing a new transformation.
Attributes: Str 2, Dex 4, Sta 2, Cha 5, Man 4, App (variable), Per 4, Int 1, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 4, Awareness 5, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Firearms 1, Languages 5.
Willpower: 2
Powers: Metamorphosis (like the Life 5 Effect "Perfect Metamorphosis", no roll required), Empathic Link (Like the Mind 1 Effect "Pathos", no roll required, always on)
Health: OK, -1, -1,. -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated
Gemellites have only one mind for two bodies. A Gemellite is one individual who controls simultaneously two bodies, sees through their eyes, speak through their mouths, and that, whatever the distance between them might be. One of the bodies might be exploring one of the islands of the Other Side, while the other could be cooking in a hut on New Horizon. It's not as if two different creatures were under the control of a supreme authority, it is one creature, with two bodies. When one of the bodies dies, the remaining Gemellite spends a couple of months looking for a new partner. If he finds one, they merge their souls, and a new pair is formed. Some Dreamspeakers have accepted to bond with these alien creatures, as a result of what their personalities have been dramatically altered. After a couple of months, if the remaining Gemellite doesn't manage to find a new partner, he is killed by his peers.
Gemellite culture is very primitive; they have an animistic view of the world, very similar to that of the Dreamspeakers. However, communication between these two groups has proven to be difficult. Letting the dual body thing aside, Gemellites have 17 genders, which makes reproduction an art of unfathomable refinement. More than that, they don't act according to the principle of causality. They don't really interact with their environment the same way as we do. Their actions are triggered by an internal clock and their knowledge of astrology and numerology more than anything else. Don't count on them in dangerous situations, because they might well let you down, and try to help you hours after you're dead.
Attributes: Str 5, Dex 1, Sta 5, Cha 3, Man 3, App 1, Per 2, Int 3, Wits 1
Abilities: Awareness 3, Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Occult 4, Culture 5, Languages 1, Souljumping 4.
Willpower: 5
Powers: Telepathic Link (with their other body, infinite range, always on, no roll required), Internal Clock (Like the Time 1 Effect, always on, no roll required), most of them have at least Hedge Magick, and a lot of them are Awakened.
Health: OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -5, Incapacitated
Some Kuei-Jin had survived the catastrophe, but it is very likely that they all have been eliminated by Wu Lung purges.
The portion of space that has been explored by man is called the Expansion. Whether it has been charted by Cybermancers or Wu Lung makes no difference, it is still part of the Expansion. The Expansion is a section of the Milky Way roughly shaped like a pie, a flat cylinder. The average diameter of the pie is 15-20 million light years. At the exact center of the pie is Ghostball, the asteroid belt formerly known as Earth. It is the place that Euthanatos Mages call home.
The center of the Expansion, roughly up to 5 million light years away from Ghostball, is called the Core. It is more civilized and less dangerous than the rest of the Expansion, which is called the Fringes. The Fringes are a harsher environment, populated by pirates and criminals, as well as daring colonists.
The pie is separated in three parts, roughly equivalent in volume. They are the Celestial Crusaders', Teknolords' and Wu Lung's empires. These three are by far the most powerful Factions, and the ones that hold the largest number of colonies. The Crusader's zone is the largest of all three. Crusaders are very expansionist, driven by their mission of evangelization. They have set foot on many worlds to bring faith or destruction to alien infidels. Their methods are not subtle, and most of their settlements are nothing more than a couple of barracks and a tiny spaceport. If they don't have the time to submit an alien civilization, they try to destroy it, and then they leave to the next planet. This strategy has left them lacking primordial resources, and they have recently decided to establish a couple of better-developed colonies. Some of them have been left to the responsibility of Freetrader cartels, who are in charge of the administration and the economy of these planets.
The capital planet of the Crusade, Vatican, is situated in the Core, not far from Ghostball. Hippocrates, the Progenitors' home world, is located in the Fringes of the Crusaders' Empire.
Three important planets are located in the Tekno zone: the Teknocenter itself, in the Core section of the empire, Babbage, the world of the Cybermancers, deep in the Fringes of the zone, and New Horizon, the neutral planet, at the frontier between Tekno and Crusader space. Teknolords don't deal with colonization the same way as Crusaders do. They don't spend their time looking for infidels, only to kill them when they've found them. They try and find inhabitable worlds that shelter no intelligent life. There, they establish big colonies, devoted to the exploitation of the planet's resources. Most of these colonies are highly specialized, their factories responsible for a limited number of items. One colony would only build weapons, another land vehicles, etc... Sometimes, Teknolords need cheap workers and they take the control of an inhabited planet to use the natives as slaves.
Kun Lun, the Dragon Wizard' home planet, is located in the core section of the Wu Lung empire. Wu Lung have chosen yet another approach in their colonization policy. They take control of inhabited worlds and try and integrate the native population in their empire. Natives are then considered second-rate citizens, but they have more or less the same rights as their Chinese counterparts. However, members of conquered civilizations are never promoted to important positions. Wu Lung think that all things have a place, and apparently, the place of aliens lies somewhere below human beings in their hierarchy. A third of the Wu Lung Fringes is controlled by the Verbena and their blossoming empire. They have not encountered any problem with their Chinese neighbors. Both Factions seem to live in peace. For now.
Dreamspeakers, members of the Order, Nephandi and Marauders all roam the entire Expansion. They can be found anywhere.
The imperialistic race known as the Morphotes has conquered a chunk of the Milky Way as well. Some say it is twice as big as the Expansion, and far more united. The periphery of the Morphote Empire is close from the Wu Lung and Teknolords' Fringes.
The planet has no Umbra, and no Spirit lives on it. This is the case on most uninhabited planets, or on recently colonized worlds.
The planet has no Umbra, but there are Spirits everywhere, along with all kinds of impossible monsters and Creatures of the Night. Those who know how to proceed may speak to mountains, rivers or pebbles. It is the case on very primitive worlds, where no intelligent life has appeared yet or where it hasn't developed a true civilization. Spirits are everywhere on this kind of planet, but they are so alien to human minds that it is very difficult to deal with them.
The planet has a single-layered Umbra, like Mars. This happens on primitive worlds where a civilization has blossomed, which has been the cause of a local Shattering. The Umbra is usually what Mages call a "Middle Umbra".
The planet has a complex, multi-layered Umbra, with at least three main divisions, along with Zones, Realms, Sub-Realms and Enigmas. This kind of Umbra can be encountered on most planets where intelligent life has had a vast influence over the development of the environment. A trip to an alien High Umbra, the Realm of Ideas, may be a confusing experience for human beings on planets where the native's philosophy is very different from the human point of view.
New Horizon is under the responsibility of a Territorial Administration, where all Factions are represented. The governor is usually an Orphan or a politically neutral person. All people are equal on New Horizon, whether they are Awakened or not. However, the governor isn't allowed to accept political refugees, so the rule's only impact is on people born on New Horizon.
New Horizon's capital, Concordia, is home to a couple of intergalactic institutions, such as the X Bank, the Stock Exchange, the Intergalactic Ecstatic Commerce Ethical Board (the IECEB), the Intergalactic Board for Afterworld Policy, and, most importantly, the Agora. The Agora is an organization where all Factions are represented by diplomats, and which purpose is to prevent wars. Since the discovery of the Morphote threat, the Agora has evolved into an organization armed with real political powers. It is, however, one of the most intrigue-ridden place in the entire universe. Diplomats have a lot of work to offer to free agents and mercenaries. Although it is humanity's best chance of peace, the Agora is also the place were most wars, coups and assassinations are planned.
Concordia is a gigantic city, crammed with life. Thousands of cultures and languages clash in this out-of-control metropolis. Plagued with crime, filthy and polluted, it is a city that never sleeps and where many artists have decided to live. Many young Mages of all Factions meet there, fight, become friends, find job assignments, and form multi-Faction Cabals. Some of them are groups of friends united only by their camaraderie, others are space pirates, united by money and by the missions they're being assigned, yet others are terrorist groups or rebels, fighting against one Faction in particular or against all Factions.
Whatever happens in New Horizon, it is never boring.
An Afterworld is an alternate dimension that can be accessed from any point in the universe and that can lead to any other point. Distances are much shorter in the Afterworlds, so passing through them saves a lot of time when you want to travel through the Void. An Afterworld is also a realm built by Faith, and populated by Spirits, Gods, strange creatures and dead people.
Afterworlds can be accessed through Soulgates, openings in the Tapestry big enough to let a spacecraft enter. When a ship enters an Afterworld, the Soulgate opens. You have to open another at the end of a journey in order to go wherever you want to go.
Travelling through an Afterworld is called souljumping. The first thing you have to choose before souljumping is choosing through which Afterworld you want to travel. Many Factions have free access to one or two Afterworlds, which means that the Soulgate will open for them and that the inhabitants of the Realm won't be too hostile. But any ship is able to pass through any Afterworld, it is just a bit more difficult when they choose something else than their usual Soulgate.
The first step of souljumping is to find a potential Soulgate. This involves a Cosmology roll for the captain or the navigator of the ship. The difficulty is 6-7 near an important planet, 7-8 near any other planet, and 8-9 in the Void. The more successes you have, the quicker you'll find the Soulgate.
Then you have to open it. Since spacecrafts are basically big Talismans, they all have an Arete trait and Spirit/Correspondence/Time powers. The captain rolls the Arete, according to the "Conflicting Reality" chart. One success opens a hole big enough for one man. A space fighter needs three, a War Cathedral needs eight, and a Verbena tree-ship needs at least 12 successes.
If you don't have free access to the Soulgate, you will need to step in without getting noticed. It requires some knowledge and skill. The pilot makes a "Soulstealth" check (A new Knowledge, difficulty variable). If he is successful, his ship may enter the Soulgate, and if he isn't, he will suffer one additional problem during his journey (see below).
The journey through the Afterworld is dealt with roleplaying, but it also involves two kinds of rolls: a "Souljumping" (a new Knowledge too) check is needed to find the shortest path. I could of course come up with a table and a galactic map but I don't feel like it. Let's just say that the average souljump takes a couple of days, and that the more successes you score, the faster you travel.
Every passenger in the ship then has to roll his Arete (diff. 6) or his Willpower (diff. 9). Every botch means that some kind of problem will occur to the person who has failed: a Froth, a Tide, a Sensori or an Augrinast (see below)
All this is very technical, but the Afterworlds are mostly meant to be the vectors of stories. They may be dealt with without dice, or with strictly limited rules.
The Afterworlds are described below. These terms are used in their descriptions. Please note that the elements presented in every Afterworld description are just suggestions. For example, ghosts are very common Necronasts in most Afterworld, even if it is not ostentatiously stated as such.
Annwn is a huge grassy plain, so big that nobody has ever reached its limits. The traveler can encounter small hills, turbulent streams and dark woods during his journey. The weather is cold, and a thick mist haunts the valleys of Annwn. In the distance, one can hear the roars of wild animals. Human silhouettes can be seen in the distance or in the fog: these are the souls of dead warriors, wandering their hunting ground.
Annwn is ruled by a Celestine called Arawn. He sometimes appears to visitors in the form of a young boy, a hare or an old woman, and issues strange statements.
Everything is possible within the Flux. It is a place of pure chaos and confusion, were time and space are distorted. The landscape of the Flux shifts and flows. Nightmarish even by Steve Ditko's standard, it looks like a very colorful space, traversed by ribbons of colors, islands and mountains, strange creatures, houses, and anything else, which seem to float in the air without real purpose. Geometry, common sense and sanity are burdens when passing through this Area of Madness.
Heaven is seen by some as a realm of pure, benevolent light, or as a shining tunnel. It is sometimes seen as a deep blue sky with fairy-tale clouds and the sound of organs and trumpets. Others see Heaven as a garden. Whatever is the way you see it, Heaven is a place of absolute benevolence and it does not tolerate sins. Everyone who travels through Hell is limited by his True Faith (Christian) rating. One cannot roll more dice for any action than one has in True Faith. A Crusader with two dots in True Faith is limited to using 2 dice for any task he might carry out. It means that people who have no dot in True Faith (Christian) can't do anything while in Heaven. In addition to that, people who utter blasphemies or who indulge in sins in Heaven are instantly transported to Hell (Storyteller's discretion).
Hell, in the contrary, can't really be described. The traveler only gets to see glimpses of it when he travels through it, and some have described what they have seen as a dead, soulless planet covered with gray ice. But visitors can't concentrate on this aspect for very long, because from the moment they enter Hell, they have to relive all their worst memories and nightmares, on and on and on, amplified a thousand times. Most travelers lose their mental balance in the process. It goes without saying that Hell is seen as a kind of last ditch measure of escape for Void travelers.
The following Fragments, Froth, Tide, Sensori and Necronasts only concern Heaven.
The first of these heavens is Yu-qing, the Heaven of Jade Purity, and is inhabited by Yuan-shi tian-zong, the "Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning", one of the highest deities of religious Taoism. This gigantic palace is made of Jade, and seems to stretch in foreign dimensions. Its rooms are big enough for a ship to pass, and gravity seems to defy common conceptions. The beauty of this place is unforgettable.
The second heaven is called Shang-qing, the Heaven of Great Purity, and is reserved for Ling-bao tian-zong, the Heavenly Venerable of the Magic Jewel. It is a realm of knowledge and Chinese magick. Those who enter it have to leave their spacecraft behind, and may take it back when they leave. It is a quiet palace made of rose and gray granite, where scribes relentlessly write the history of mankind.
The third heaven is Tai-qing, the Heaven of the Highest Purity. It is ruled by Tao-de tian-zong, the Heavenly Venerable of the Tao and the Te. It has no visible landscape. Each visitor is sent to an imaginary place where he is told ancient truths.
The first of the hells is a large lake of fire. Here avarice and usury are being punished, under the guidance of a king called Er-Lang.
The second of the Taoist hells is the hell of thieves and murderers. It is a large lake of ice. Chu Jiang is the king of this hell.
The Third Hell of Chinese myth is a lake of boiling oil. Here people are punished who were guilty of unfilial behavior, disobedience, disloyalty, and rebellion. Song-Di presides over their destinies.
The king of the fourth hell is called Wu Guan. He rules over this great Lake of Blood, where counterfeiters and cheats are punished.
The god of the dead, Yan-lo, is the lord and judge of the Fifth Hell. Punishment in this hell is the memory of things past. The fifth hell looks like a lake of mists.
Hyperspace looks like a network of interconnected cylindrical tunnels, whose walls seem to be made of a kind of opalescent energy. The tubes are big enough to let a Void Cruiser pass through. Astrogators are able to detect the fastest way through these tunnels, although most Sleeper devices are jammed while in the Hyperspace.
The Hyperspace, unlike the Void, is not a silent place. One may hear strange clamors in the distance, chilling shouts, echoes and incoherent melodies. They may be heard from within the hull of a spaceship. Scents and perfumes also diffuse in the atmosphere of the Hyperspace. Freetraders are trying to study their components in order to sell them on the cosmetic market.
The Infosphere is an artificial landscape made of symbolic computer imagery. It is made of streams of colored lights, flows of oscillating pixels, pulses of electrons and illuminated information highways. The Infosphere is made of multitudinous stages and layers, secret passages and narrow corridors. It is very easy to lose your way if you don't pay attention to the complex information icons that are scattered all along your way. The visitor can assume whatever form he chooses, and may fly over the landscape and in the structures freely. The Infosphere is connected to every computer in the universe, though only Cybermancers' computers are easy to find. You have to be an expert and spend many hours of research to find a computer in particular. As an exception to the rule, travelling through the Infosphere doesn't take days, it takes hours or minutes, depending on the difficulty of the task.
In addition to that, the Other Side is as primitive a world as it can be. Everything, living or not, is protected by a guardian Spirit. Especially potent Spirits in this Afterworld are Elementals. The ocean is almost entirely made of water Elementals, the sky is crowded with Air Elementals, and light in the Realm comes from gatherings of Fire Elementals.
Agora, the: A forum were representatives of all the factions meet in order to promote peace.
Annwn: The Verbena Afterworld.
Babbage: The Cybermancer home planet.
Bioapp, bioware: Living creatures used as technological devices.
Church of Silence, the: A religion created by Nephandi Mages. It is in favor of the destruction of all things.
Companion: The spaceship of a Cybermancer.
Core, the: The central part of the Expansion, its center is Ghostball.
Crux Universalis: The Celestial Crusaders' universal evangelization program.
Erisians: A race of alien metamorphers.
Expansion, the: The portion of space that has been explored by man.
Flux, the: The Marauder Afterworld.
Fringes, the: The peripheral part of the Expansion.
Gemellites: A race of shamen. Every individual has two bodies.
Ghostball: A nickname for the Earth.
Haven, the: A secret foundation created by Iteration X and which has become the United Teknolords.
Heaven and Hell: The Celestial Crusaders' Afterworld.
Hippocrates: The Progenitors' home planet.
Holovision: The most popular form of mass entertainment on certain planets.
Huang Chuan: The Wu Lung Afterworld.
Huttrasels: Gigantic oaks, ancestors of the Verbena tree-ships.
Hyperspace, the: The Tekno Afterworld.
Infosphere, the: The Cybermancers' Afterworld. A dense universal network of communication.
Intrinsic: The language of the Teknolords, considered a lingua franca by most.
Kun Lun: The Wu Lung home planet.
Limbo: The Nephandi's means of transportation.
Morphotes: A race of imperialist aliens.
New Horizon: A neutral planet, one of the most cosmopolitan that exists in the Void Age.
Other Side, the: The Dreamspeakers' Afterworld.
Soulgate: The entrance of an Afterworld. Sometimes used to designate the Afterworld itself.
Souljumping: Travelling through an Afterworld.
Terraforming: Transforming a planet so that it can shelter human life.
Teknocenter: The Tekno home planet.
Tree-ships: Huge trees that the Verbena use as spaceships.
Vatican: The Celestial Crusaders' home planet.
Void, the: Deep space, the Deep Umbra.
Void Age, the: The era in human history following Earth's destruction.
X: The Expansion's currency unit.