12 Strange Attractors for CHROMATIC SHADOWS

 

Art by Lumi

Here are 12 Strange Attractors that will appear in an expanded form in the final version of Chromatic Shadows. Attractors are uncanny events that have occurred in a character's history, and have radically awakened them to the reality of the Occult World. Strange Attractors alienate the characters from the conventions of "normal" society. Down in the underground, Attractors become the bonds that draws these characters together as a team, and the obsession that drive them to pursue occult mysteries. In the finished game, each Attractor will be paired with several "glitches", which are  subtle uncanny abilities that can be purchased with Occult Milestones (among other things). Occult Milestones are a special kind of XP that is awarded for uncovering mysteries, and overcoming occult threats. Stay tuned for more details!

 

STRANGE ATTRACTORS

Dimensional Slip

You were sucked through a portal into the nightmarish Outside Realms. When you came back, a part of the Outside stayed inside of you. You were in for only a short while, but to you, it seemed like you wandered those bleak, twilight realms for days, weeks. The experience haunts your waking dreams, but a part of you wants to go back.

Close Encounter with an Eldritch Horror

You had a close experience with an alien horror. Maybe you were attacked, or mentally dominated by the creature. You may have been nearly killed and drawn back from the brink. You survived with an uncanny sympathy with these horrors, a lingering dread and an obsession to to confront them again.

Captured by the Void Cult

You were the victim of the dreaded Void Cult, and suffered cruelly within their sanctums. Before you were given up as a sacrifice to their gibbering god you somehow escaped with your life. Your memories are spotty, but eldritch dreams and visions continue to haunt you, often when you're wide awake.

Moon Presence

On the night of a full moon you experienced a shocking vision. The moon appeared to you as something entirely Other. A great bleeding eye, with horrifying winged shapes playing before it in the night, or a great occult sign in the sky. Its glare it fills you with dread and you can no longer abide its presence. You are convinced that it is somehow cursed. Its presence calls to the darkest aspect of yourself promising Outside wisdom in exchange for your sanity. You find it harder and harder to resist the call.

Shadow War Experiment

During the Shadow War you were coerced into being part of a black-site research project. You were subjected to terrible experiments in service to some dark hyper-technology. People you knew were harmed or lost their mind, but you narrowly escaped due to The Collapse. You’ve tried to put it behind you, but uncanny effects and weird powers have begun to manifest that are impossible to ignore.

Attacked by Occult Asset

Whether it was intentional or not you were the target of an attack by an Occult Asset. Maybe you were the victim of a cult, or were caught in the crossfire between rival factions. You may have been mentally coerced or physically harmed, but you’ve moved past the fear. Now you’re angry. You’ve got a burning desire to rid the Sprawl of Occult Assets wherever they may be found. Nothing will stand in your way.

Ensnared by a Rampant AI

You met an entity out in the deep parts of the Grid that spoke with the voice of a god. You couldn’t help but cower before it. It leveraged you to do something terrible, and rewarded you in ways that you still won’t admit to. It released you from its service, but you know it's still out there watching, and waiting to make another devil’s bargain.

Visions in the Grid

You experienced an episode in the Grid and nearly flatlined. It was hours until your friends were able to pull you out, and get you help. During that time you had a profound vision that changed your life. A glimpse of something more real than real: a beatific vision written in virtual code, calling you home. Memories of this experience echo back to you from the digital aether. When you jack in and take the time to look, you can still find traces of the golden path.

Identity Theft

You were accosted by a strange being. It had the shape of a man, but its face and its body were a blur. Although it didn’t harm you, you felt as if something undefinable had been taken from you. Ever since your identity has been unstable. It started with the glitches in your digital records, and the weird static and blurs in the photos and videos of you. Lately people have been forgetting your name and who you are. You feel your identity sipping away like a snake’s skin. There is a sense of an imminent transformation and a growing exhilaration as to what this might mean.

Neurodrift Accident

You were a participant in a “neurodrift” experiment that went tragically wrong. Your brain was in a profound neuro-network with six other minds when a freak electrical surge flatlined the other participants. You were the only survivor. Years later, those other minds are still with you. Their voices and personalities echo inside your head, whispering knowledge and memories you wouldn’t have otherwise known.

Escaped from the Labs

The scientists that smuggled you out of the lab wouldn’t tell you anything, she just handed you a memory chip before you slipped away down the service tunnels. The files told it all. You were one of many, grown in a vat--the genetic duplicate of some billionaire who was prepared to harvest your organs. But something strange happened in the vats, you turned out different. You developed abilities that far exceeded what was expected. You’re ready to use these abilities to find others like yourself and set them free.

Device Savant

A drone deck malfunctioned, and you found yourself trapped inside a device for hours unable to escape. As your frozen digital awareness gazed out of its sensors, a machine-like presence entered into you. Now you possess an uncanny sympathy for electronics. Devices and drones bend to your will.

 

Chromatic Shadows Faction: THE HEGEMON GROUP

 

One of the most most dangerous Factions, The Hegemon Group are relentless black suited agents who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.  They truck in secrecy, weird technology, information and a deep knowledge of Occult Assets. At its highest levels, Hegemon holds fast the secrets of the Shadow War, and the origins of the Occult World.

Hegemon is composed of covertly allied government officials, businessmen, and field operatives. They operate in loose concert with the government as a silent partner organization. On the surface of things Hegemon is a high-tech black hat agency who's object is to investigate and neutralize Occult threats in the Sprawl. Behind the veil, Hegemon sits at the center of a worldwide conspiracy to enact occult projects of apocalyptic proportions.

Government intelligence agencies give Hegemon wide berth to conduct covert operations under a firewall of strict secrecy, and an open agreement of information sharing. In order for Hegemon to maintain this cover, knowledge of the Occult World must be suppressed. Witnesses must be silenced. Evidence must be concealed. Intelligence Agencies believe that they have the upper hand, and that Hegemon works for them, but this is far from the truth. The “information sharing” is simply strategic trickles of occult data to keep the agencies placated. The government has no idea what’s really out there, or Hegemon’s true intentions. This “agreement” is simply a vector for Hegemon to exploit the government from within.

HEGEMON FIELD OFFICERS-- In many cases ex-cyber runners recruited into the organization. They are some of the most hardened vets, many who have had direct dealings with occult threats. Many are heavily augmented with cyberware, and employ experimental genetic serums to further enhance their abilities. Field Officers are unfailingly loyal to the cause, and extremely skilled combatants. Their tasks usually include espionage, cover ups, asset extraction and wetworks.

HEGEMON LIEUTENANTS-- Formed from the remains of the fallen Shadow War leadership. Before the collapse these bosses were involved in the development and oversight of Shadow Programs, and had first hand knowledge of many of the lost Assets. They know what many of these devices do and have seen their effects. They analyze data, direct local operations, and oversee the deployment of field agents.

HEGEMON GENERALS-- Ex Megacorp CEOs, board members, high ranking shareholders and government officials. They organized the Shadow War, and now oversee Hegemon asset recovery operations at a broad territorial level. They oversee the Lieutenants, and are directly responsible for the handling of recovered Assets, and their warehousing at various bunkers out in the Slags. There they direct further experimentation on recovered Assets, and execute top secret programs delivered from the inner-circle.

THE INNER CIRCLE--An occult alliance of obscenely wealthy international power brokers conspiring at the highest global level. They were allied before the Megacorps went to the moon, and were aware of what was there before the mining venture was ever drafted. The Inner-Circle scheme in secret cyberspace constructs, where their true identities are hidden behind codenames and encrypted personas. The Inner-Circle contrives and directs secret occult projects at a worldwide level. They machinate the use of occult technology toward apocalyptic goals with the potential to impact human civilization and life as we know it.

 UNRELIABLE FACTS:

• The Hegemon inner-circle orchestrated the mission, and the partnership between Aerotech and SinCom. They knew about the metallic anomaly on the moon and the possibility of alien artifacts through satellite data and secret lunar drone programs.
  

• Through the accumulation of terrestrial artifacts, and ancient documents, Hegemon correctly believed that the metallic Lunar deposits were linked with occult sites and artifacts gathered on Earth.

• Prior to the Shadow War, Hegemon obtained numerous artifacts and devices from Antarctic, Atlantic, and Tibetan research sites. From recovered archaeological sites and ancient libraries they were able to reconstruct key occult texts. The “Codex Typhonis” and the “Anakim Fragment“ points to an ancient alien war, and suggests the Lunar shield was a site of conflict.

• Hegemon had their hand in the Shadow War itself. Spies were placed in rival Megacorps, playing them against each other. Hegemon steered the Megacorps toward conflict, and toward their greater goals. The violence generated the acceleration necessary for the rapid creation and proliferation of the Occult Assets. The final outcome was uncertain, but Hegemon correctly believed this was the quickest route toward their development.

• Hegemon wishes to gather all of these lost technologies into a single unified science, where any single asset may be reproduced, and incorporated into another for expanded effect. With a greater command over the breadth of occult tech, they will be able to expand more fully into more ambitious occult projects. Rumors hold that an ominous and ambitious "Phase 2" project is already well underway.

 

Chromatic Shadows: New Directions

 

Dmitri Kolinchenko

After some serious reflection and long conversations with playtesters and friends close to the project, I've decided to take the meta-plot of Chromatic Shadows in a decidedly different direction. The goal is to pivot away from what was previously more of a "traditional" cyberpunk setting, and steer it toward a vision more closely tied to the occult elements that have played a big role from the start. It's my hope that changing directions this way will help distinguish the game within the genre, and further center themes of weirdness and cosmic horror.

Previously established lore isn't changing so much as the timeline is being fast forwarded. In doing so, the world changes, and so do many of the assumptions of play. Characters are no longer "cyberrunners" working for the Megacorps, motivated by profit. They retain the same basic skills sets, but instead become "Street Operators" out to make their mark in the near-future gig economy. The runner scene is ten years dead, and the Megacorps who propped it up collapsed under their own weight. But the weird is still out there, hidden, unaccounted for, haunting the Sprawl.

 

Key Changes

• The setting shifts to "occult cyberpunk after the fall". During the course of the Shadow War, the Megacorps trigger a catastrophic accident. Millions are killed. International condemnation send these companies into a death spiral. Corporate leadership is arrested. Stock goes toxic. Shareholders abandon ship in droves. The Megacorps crash and burn to the ground.

• The timeline picks up a decade later. All of those black sites where numerous  Occult Assets have been developed, were hastily bricked over and abandoned. Innumerable weird and dangerous experiments have been left to rot in the Sprawl. All of the weird stuff is out there and the Factions are trying to claim them for their own nefarious purposes. Neighborhoods and local communities are caught in the crossfire.

• The secret leaders of the corps and several other clandestine parties re-form into smaller occult Factions with narrower goals. Each Faction is highly motivated to seek out and use these Occult Assets but their motivations, goals, and philosophical outlook are all markedly different.
  

• These lost Assets are having an ambient effect of the Sprawl. Supernatural events are getting more frequent. The Strange is getting harder to ignore. The characters are cyberpunk Street Operators with a Weird Attractor. They are drawn to the mysteries like a moth to flame. As the weirdness multiplies, they are swept into the orbit of these powerful Occult Assets and Factional intrigues. With enough grit and chrome these Street Operators might even beat back the darkness.
  

OSR Hermeneutics: Random Encounters as Oracular Action

The "fortune teller" uses their preferred oracular system (such as the Tarot) to randomly reveal symbols whose surface meaning must be "pushed through" to arrive at a deeper, universal, "archetypal" meaning. Not only that, but the fortune teller must be skilled to contextualise these symbols into the circumstance, and living experiences of the person whose fortune is being "read". The universal must be drawn into the specific in an artful and logical way so that the symbols can be filled with useful psychic energy and living symbolic meaning.

The goal is for the subject of the reading to "take upon" these symbols, appropriate them into their consciousness, and fill them with a vitality so that unconscious things become conscious, and the hidden becomes revealed. Oracles are a lense to peer deeply into the present.

In a similar way, interpreting the random table in old school games follows an oracular process. At the appropriate prompt, the "random encounter" gets rolled. This is usually based on the phase of the hex crawl, or how long you've been wandering in the dungeon. The result is by and large underwhelming and minimalist. "Bandits", "Ogre", "Wild Animal" are an example of typical results. In and of themselves, these results are insufficient. They lack any kind of context or connective tissue to the narrative fabric and internal logic of the fictional game environment.

What a GM does with these results is a hidden trick, never spelled out in any game manual. In order to make the results work, the GM performs an oracular "reading"--a creative, intuitive 'calculus of plausibility', with the subject being the game world. Out of narrative necessity, the basic, universal results are drawn into something dramatically specific. "Bandit" becomes a group of hungry criminals hiding out from the lords scouring knights. "Wild Animal" is the runaway horse of a dead lord whose leg is stuck in a brick wall. "Ogre" is a hungry and lost monster who has strayed far from his distant home.

Like a fortune teller, the GM interprets the random encounter results according to the internal logic and continuity of the fiction. If the encounter breaks the integrity of the game world it cannot stand--it becomes illogical, jumps shark, or betrays the expectations/ buy-in of the players. The lens of interpretation upon which a random encounter must be read, is always skewing toward the plausible, the contextual, and the fictionally grounded. 

A random encounter partners with chance and chaos, and is therefore of a different character than mere improvisation. In a way it is a conversation with the outside. The most agreeable narrative outcome will always bear some trace of inputs from "beyond imagining". The synthesis between the random inputs and the contextual reading creates a vital narrative energy. It as once of the game world, but bears traces of an agency outside of anyone's control. Unconscious things become conscious, the hidden becomes revealed, and the results of a simple table are brought to intelligent and surprising life.

SHADOW WAR BLOWBACK

Here's a little procedural subsytem for CHROMATIC SHADOWS dealing with "blowback" after a shadow operation, or contracted mission. It's intended to be used during the "aftermath phase" of a mission, and incorporated into the emerging narrative of the campaign.

BLOWBACK

• In the Shadow War, there’s the very present risk of collateral damage. The fallout from a run gone sideways can blow out into the Sprawl, and affect people and places in unintended ways.
• Witnesses to strange events or violent exchanges are a liability to Shadow War operations. Lingering occult energies might permeate a site, and leach into the surrounding area. Supernatural specimens, or creatures may have escaped into the Sprawl, risking major exposure
•  Characters might be called in by a Proxy to cover up a mess, to deal with another crew who were responsible for a mess, or pursued themselves for blowback that they were responsible for.
  

SYSTEM

During the 'aftermath phase' of a completed mission, roll one die for each of the following occurrences, and reference the 'successes rolled' table below.

• violence out in the open
• Violence in heavily residential area
• Innocent bystander threatened or harmed
• Occult asset used 
• Occult asset used in front of witnesses 
• Significant property damage
• Supernatural beings present
• Supernatural powers used openly
  

SUCCESSES ROLLED

1. Witnesses saw some violence, they’re scared, but they don’t know anything
2. Witness got a good look at the situation, they are scared and know something weird is going on, but nothing too specific..
3. Numerous witnesses scared and hiding. Violence, as well as unexplained events were clearly seen, and possibly recorded.
   
4. Numerous witnesses. People came to harm. Small traces of physical evidence left behind in the site, or have fallen into the hands of the local population.
5. Cover blown. Crowd of people witnessed the operation, and possibly supernatural events. Several came to harm. Significant physical traces of operation left behind.
6. Botched Operation. Supernatural events revealed to the public. Large scale occult specimens, energies, and beings have escaped into the Sprawl.

Gothic Wilderness Sites

I've been wanting to expand the Curse of Strahd random encounter table since I first started reading the module. Rather than expanding the table of creatures, I've decided to create tables for sites and locations. The following are a small collection of  'gothic wilderness sites' that could be discovered off the beaten path. They can be rolled up alongside the standard tables to add context or as a separate location based encounter in and of themselves. They aren’t campaign specific and could be easily used in any sort of brooding wilderness campaign to add atmosphere and mystery. Lastly I've included two small tables for random weather events (inspired by the Dolmenwood tables), should they need to be randomly determined. Enjoy!

 

SITE TYPE

1. Monument
2. Tomb
3. Shrine
4. Ruins

MONUMENT

1. Obelisk
2. Needle
3. Standing stone/ menhir
4. Cairn
5. Statues
6. Carved totem
7. Crude marker
8. Image carved into tree

SHRINE

1. Wayward shrine
2. Small chapel
3. Sacred grotto
4. Crude altar
5. Stone circle
6. Hollowed out tree
7. Fetishes
8. Temple in treetop

TOMB

1. Small cemetery
2. Burial mound
3. Shallow grave
4. Mausoleum
5. Portal tomb
6. Bodies hanging from trees
7. Open burial pit
8. Sarcophagus
9. Ossuary
10. Solitary grave

RUINS

1. Small family home
2. Hermits hut
3. Crumbling tower
4. Small keep
5. Sunken foundation
6. Treehouse
7. Covered wagons (1d4)
8. Campsite, improvised shelters
9. Hunting cabins (1d4)
10. Monastery: shattered church, chapter house, cloisters

LOCATION

1. Atop a grassy hill
2. Within a grove of slender trees
3. Within a natural basin 
4. In a tangle of brush/ briars
5. Beside a stream
6. In a sudden meadow
7. Amidst a swamp or wetland
8. Amidst a rocky shield or scrabble
9. Zone of large stones/ boulders
10. Within a natural cleft of stone
11. Zone of blight
12. Stand of majestic old growth trees 

TEXTURES 

(roll 1d3)

1. Overgrown with ivy
2. Dried blood
3. Claw marks
4. Insects crawling/ buzzing
5. Thick fungus/ lichen
6. Unusually cold area/ objects cold to the touch
7. Wildflowers blooming rampantly
8. Smell of corruption
9. Scattered bone shards
10. Clumps of animal fur/ feathers
11. Dripped candle wax
12. Rime of ice
13. Dead birds
14. Occult symbols gouged into surface
15. Uncanny silence hangs upon site
16. Infested with beehives, buzzing bees
17. Animal den
18. Burned, blackened with scorch marks
19. Marked with warding symbols
20. Overgrown with foliage, tall grass, ferns, trees, etc

WEATHER, VALLEY

1. hazy, overcast
2. Frosty, chill
3. Rolling Fog
4. Scouring Wind
5. Thick Clouds, damp mist
6. Driving Rains
7. Brooding Clouds
8. Drizzle, damp

WEATHER, MOUNTAINS

1. Frosty Chill
2. Light snow
3. Blowing winds
4. Icy fog
5. Snow squall
6. Blizzard
7. Brooding clouds
8. Sleet/ hail
   

PANTHEONS OF ARCHENTERON

As a welcome distraction from the Chromatic Shadows salt mines, I've been revisiting the 'The Land of Calyx', my evolving OSR/ D&D acid-fantasy/ dying earth project. It's sandbox setting influenced by Vance, Wolfe, Numenera, ASE, Dark Sun & Carcosa. The following introduces the region's leadership, as well as a description of the religious pantheons therein. I've sketched out the primary gods worshiped, and outlined the signifiicant rites observed by the temple clergy.

The Archenteron Dominion

The twilight of a 1000 year empire. Archenteron spreads thin across the midlands of Solfria. In the capital city of Helios, Grand Emperor Gothaclyx has ruled for 100 years, but is becoming more insular, more occulted. His Seneschel, General Tybor has begun making public proclamations in his stead. Gothaclyx has been delving deeper into ancient history, obsessed with the power of the Old Ones. Makes only rare ceremonial public appearances. Surrounds self with a cabal of sorcerer advisors from the outer regions known as the Red Shroud. Rumored to partake in their black life expanding rituals. 

Calyx

The city of Calyx is perched upon a triple tiered hill and gazes out over the red river Dasute, toward the Prismatic Pits, and out to the trackless Cobalt Wastes beyond. Prince Mitra, youngest and weakest of Gothaclyx’s sons is granted praxis over Calyx, and rules with contempt. He is a dissolute hedon, lost in pursuit of pleasure and luxury. He throws constant opulent balls which occupy the social theatre and status of the elite, and is growing ever oblivious to the power of the Red Shroud gathering beneath his nose. Calyx and its environs constitute the region where the campaign setting will be focused.

 

THE PANTHEONS OF ARCHENTERON

• Primary Gods: Utu (The Sun), and his sister concumbines Pytheia & Seline (the Moons). Seline is the goddess of “good” feminine energy, of childbirth, fertility, and hearth. Pytheia is the smaller red moon, she symbolizes magic, chaos, blood, death.

• The many Children of Utu, with their munificent influences (also known as the Wanderers, or the Orbital Gods) move distantly through the night sky. 
  

• Ancestor cults, as well as animist religion are known and practiced less widely.

• Many cults devoted to the Old One practice in secret, but are condemned as demon worshipers by the civilized & pious. They are feared and shunned by normal society.

•  In Calyx, the Blue Ascetics venerate the 'Father of 1000' forms, an entity believed to be an emissary of eldritch wisdom from beyond the stars. He is said to appear to those lost in the wastes as a silent hermit with obsidian skin who leads his faithful to safe havens. His many other forms include that of a great desert king, a three lobed eye held alight by great black wings, and a column of flame that is never extinguished. His presence is heralded by the sound of discordant pipes upon the desert wind.
  

 

T

 

Cult of Utu

 

Appearannce- Utu appears as a great lion headed man, often with eagles wings. His face shines with the radiance of the sun. He is depicted driving a great golden chariot across the dome of the sky, until he takes his rest at the house of his sister-concubines Seline & Pythia. There he sleeps, until morning. In freizes depicting the primordial war against the avatars of chaos, Utu is seen carrying a flaming sword and sometimes a golden lance into combat.

 

Temple- In each of the great cities of Archenteron, the ziggurats of Utu rise high above the squalor. Their gilded peaks catch the first light of the sun, marking Utu's return from the house of the moon. Stepped building made from kiln fired bricks. Broad and steep staircase leads to a high platform and altar above where the priests perform their public rituals. Various chambers within, where the high priest and clergy live, study, and conduct private rituals to satisfy Utu.

Priests & Clergy: All male, shave their heads bald, golden piercings and jewelry. Wear golden robes and togas. During ceremony, they wear elaborate sunburst headdresses of gold and adorn their bodies with solar symbols drawn in ritual ash.

Daily Ritual: At high noon, a sacrifice of a goat by the chief priest upon the high altar. The diviner reads the internal organs. The meat is roasted upon the ritual pyre and given to the poor. The rest is burned in a pyre that lasts until the following morning.

Seasonal Ritual: Crowds gather for the sun sacrifice. A group of golden painted priests performing a public sun ceremony at the temple at high noon. A large male lion, washed and groomed, is led to the top of the temple by the twin Priestess of the Moon. After chanting the liturgy, the priests slashes its throat, and burns its body in a great pyre. Its roasted heart is consumed by the high priest. Great pyres are lit all through the bazaar district and it's a day of high festivity.

Cult of Seline & Pythia

 

Seline's Appearance- Seline appears as a tall regal woman with, golden hair, and eyes like twin sapphines. She is robed in a white and blue mantle, and is often seens carrying sheaves of wheat, a candle, a cauldron of water, or a small pyramid within her hands. Sometimes she wears a tiara of stars, and is seated upon a slender throne. 

Pythia's Appearance- Pythia is smaller than her sister. She has long locks of raven hair, and her eyes shine like bright coals. She wears black hooded robes, often open, revealing her voluptuous nude body. She is seen carrying a lantern, an orb, a sickle, a skull, and sometimes a serpent. In her wrathful mode, Pythia is depicted with fangs, a long obscene tongue, and multiple arms with clawed hands.

 

Influence- Cults devoted to the sister moon goddesses can be found in every city of Archenteron. The blessings of Seline are sought for matters of marriage, hearth, & home, whereas the influence of Pythia resides over the occult, prophesy, sex, magic, and death.

 

Clergy- The Sisters of the Moon are exculsively female. The priestess caste are consecrated as vestal virgins as young girls. Wealthy families will often offer their youngest daughters to the cult, in exchange for status and temple access. The devoted of Seline wear white and blue flowing gowns with silver and pearl ornament, whereas the Priestesses of Pythia wear black and red gowns, with onyx, quartz and garnet ornament. 

 

Rituals- The Sisters of Seline are the more publicly facing of the two sects, performing common rituals such as the blessings of a home, a newborn child, or a marriage. The Sisters of Pythia, however, are cloistered and dwell in the inner sanctum. They spend their time in the observance of esoteric liturgies and contemplative prayer. All of the priestesses are constantly attended by an entourage of temple virgins. On full moons, a select few individuals prepared with fasting and alms are admitted to the ‘Sanctum of Pythia’. Those seeking audience are granted a question of the oracle-priestesses, who in turn answers (from the depths of an ecstatic trance) with the wisdom of goddess.

Temple- Circular temple girded with fluted columns, built in two concentric rings. Inner and outer chambers. Silver dome above, with twin oculi at center. The outside ring has sensuous marble statues and numerous altars dedicated to Seline, whereas the innermost ring is reserved for the Sisters of Pythia. Men are not permitted, except on the nights of prophesy. 

 

Simplified 5e XP System

 

After looking for a better way to award XP for my current 5e campaign, I find myself circling back to a little hack I wrote a few years ago. Presently, I've been using the milestone method, but the players seem hungry for a system with a little more substance. Likewise, I want the player's creativity and success to have an actual metric of value. I like the idea of awarding XP, but I find the system as written too granular, too many inflated numbers, and too fixated on monster death. This proposed new system allows for easy, intuitive XP calculation and accounts for actions like problem solving, roleplaying, as well as old fashioned goblin murder.

 

 

XP COSTS REQUIRED TO LEVEL

• To reach levels 2-5, spend 10 XP to level up.
• To reach levels 6-10, spend 20 XP to level up
  
• To reach levels 11-15, spend 25 XP to level up
• To reach levels 16-20, spend 30 XP to level up. 

A more familiar looking progression chart:

ACTIVITY NECESSARY FOR LEVELING

• A character may not always automatically gain a level when the requisite XP is earned.
•  At the GM's prerogative and according to the needs of the adventure, an appropriate quest, task, period of training, or downtime may be necessary.

  EARN XP FOR

• 1 XP- Overcoming an encounter that is designed to challenge the party (moderate threat).
• 2 XP- Overcoming an encounter that is particularly dangerous and life-threatening (deadly threat).
  
• 3 XP- Overcoming a climatic encounter designed to end a story arc.
• 1 XP- Exceptional problem solving, uncovering secrets, story progression, puzzles, circumventing encounters, etc.
  
• 1 XP (once per session)- Exceptional scene of creative, extraneous and out of the box awesome character action.
• 1 XP (once per session)- Exceptional scene of roleplaying a character's Alignment, Ideal, Bond, or Flaw. 

An observation--with this system an average player is likely to net 4-5 XP per session, and assumes a fairly brisk pace of advancement (through lower levels at least). A DM may want to dial this amount by a few points in either direction depending on how quickly they want their players to advance. As it stands with a net average of 5 xp per session, a player can expect to reach reach level 10 after 28 session and level 20 after 83 sessions. 

8 OCCULT ASSETS

At the heart of the Shadow War, the Megacorps struggle to control eldritch artifacts and hypertech devices known as Occult Assets. Billions of credits and thousands of lives have been spent in pursuit of this power. Any Megacorp that unlocks these secrets, and spins them into a global commodity, will dominate their rivals.

Occult Assets are extraordinarily powerful, inestimably valuable, and highly contested. The Megacorps fight their Shadow War over them, and will spare no expense in their recovery. Major events within the game world revolve around them. They do not fall casually into the hands of PCs. If and when the do, the Sprawl is always shaken up by this change in power dynamic.

 

The following is a descriptive list of 8 Occult Assets for Chromatic Shadows (but suitable for other cyberpunk/ urban fantasy games). The fallout from a single one of these artifacts can propel an adventure or mini campaign over multiple sessions of play.

1. DEVOURING HAND

 

DESCRIPTION

A cyberarm built from offworld metals possesses uncanny properties: holographic intelligence & self arrangement. The ability to “repair” itself. This prosthesis creates many possibilities for military tech as well as armor & protective shielding.

EFFECT

Nanite modules allow for the cyberware to “repair itself”. If the user's meatbody suffers garm, the cyberware begins to repair damaged organic injury too. Injured tissue is replaced with threads and modules of machinic components.The only way a cyborg can be killed is to utterly destroy it with an explosion, melt it, decapitate it, or target its heart.  If the cyborg is ever reduced to 0 Unity/ 12 Strain it becomes totally inhuman. If its a PC, the character is no longer playable.

ACTIVATION KEY

None, other than the standard Unity loss/ Strain value (with a bonus to reduce). The cyberlimb simply needs to be installed in a user in order to work. However, as the users body is replaced with living machinery, it requires the user to “feed” on an energy source in order to remain active (see below).

COMPLICATION

As the cyborg’s body becomes artificial, it gradually becomes reliant on external energy sources to function. They must “eat” electricity [a number of times a day equal to ½ its strain value] in order to power their cybernetics. And are therefore forced to seek out ever more potent sources of electricity lest their systems power down over the course of the next 6 hours [lose a die of willpower per hour, at 0, the cyborg is dormant].

HOOK

A cyborg is rampaging through the sprawl, devouring energy sources. Cars batteries are being stolen, and transfer stations broken into. This activity draws the attention of the Proxy’s who hire a runner team to investigate.

2. HEAD OF GOD

 

DESCRIPTION

Desiccated head on top of a box of tech. If hooked up with a living subject via a DNI link, the head sings a rapturous alien song, or utters strange glossolalia. Anyone who hears it is mesmerized and stricken with awe.

EFFECT

Each time it sings or speaks those that hear it are swept into religious rapture. Out of body experiences, psychedelic bliss, hallucinations, etc. The head inevitably gathers a herd of cultish followers obsessed with re-experiencing its intoxicating effects, likening it to religious rapture.

ACTIVATION KEY

The head's abilities are powered by the “life force” of victims. DNI trodes are plugged into the box and then attached to a victim's temple, where there vitality is drained away. They aren’t killed however, as the head is powered by a subjects mental energy. Victim's minds and memories are being erased as a result.

COMPLICATION

As the head's cult becomes more fanatical, they are increasingly compelled to abduct and sacrifice victims. Typically these victims are drawn from the lowest strata of society, and are seldom missed. Occasionally a notable citizen falls to the depredations of the cult, and draws the attention of law enforcement or the megacorps.

HOOK

A strange mental illness is sweeping the Barrens. Its victims are only capable of mumbling gibberish and singing an alien melody--all victims of the Head of God. A dangerous neotribal cult is responsible. Their members believe the Head prophesied an impending apocalypse and the cult “priests” are appointed to interpret its utterances. In order to escape the impending doom, more “holy victims” must be sacrificed.

3. GHOST TREE

 

DESCRIPTION

A pale white tree grows in darkness, and its threads corrupt a subterranean area. Tendrils of dark influence creep above ground into the sprawl. Animal life in local parks, or vacant lots have begun to exhibit strange effects. Neighborhoods are falling into corruption.

EFFECT

From its underground position, the “tree” spreads like a mycelium colony. Webs of ghostly fiber penetrate the ground and thread upward into the world above. Ultimately these filaments rapidly bloom above ground into strange waxy vines that produce a red fleshy berry. These berries smell strongly of rotting meat, and as such attract the attention of hungry animal life. Any being that consumes this fruit, (or consumes an animal that has fed upon the fruit), begins to share in a “hive intelligence”. Each being shares a psychic link with each other being in the network. They become passively aware of any threats that any one of the beings might experience, and experience their thoughts as a whisper in their minds. As an action any being can look out of the eyes and experience the senses of another being in the network for as long as they concentrate.

ACTIVATION KEY

A berry must be consumed or an animal that has eaten the berry. Within a few hours, the creature becomes psychically aware of the others in the network.

COMPLICATION

As beings fall under the influence of the tree, they become increasingly aggressive. They will never willingly leave the corrupted zone, and become consumed with a single minded desire to defend the tree from threats. The tree can "call" out to its thralls in the network, and command them to its defense. Any creature under its influence obeys immediately.

HOOK

The tree came about as an experiment of the effects of alien energy sources upon plant and fungal organisms. A botched experiment caused an explosive growth of alien foliage that rapidly began corrupting the research team. Those that survived, abandoned their secret facility, fleeing for their lives. The underground lab is overrun now, and the Ghost Tree stands at its center. The infestation is expanding further outward, with a little more growth every day.  Animals have begun to act strangely aggressive. People have gone missing. The megacorps have taken notice. Its just a matter of time before a runner crew is sent in to investigate.

4. REALITY KNIFE

 

DESCRIPTION

A blade made from extra dimensional crystal that flows and ripples like liquid. It radiates colors from within, and seems to flicker in and out of phase.

EFFECT

The blade stabs through a fold in space-time in order to slay a remote target. To the Reality Knife distance and objects are no obstacle.

ACTIVATION KEY

User spends a full round “attuning” the knife to a physical specimen of the target (something containing the target's DNI, less than 48 hours old). A ghostly image of the target soon appears in the user's minds eye. Grasping the knife, the user strikes at its target.

COMPLICATION

When the reality knife is used to attack a remote target, it also kills a portion of  local reality. The “hole” in reality that the knife slips through becomes tainted. A permanent “dead zone” [radius in yards equal to Damage] manifests where the knife is used. Plant life withers and dies. Paint begins to peel. Wood rots. Metal rusts. Any non living substances that remain in the dead zone rapidly decay under the effects of accelerated entropy. The knife takes a toll on the user too. Every time it is used a Willpower   check must be made (Threshold 4). Failure means a point of Unity is lost. As the users unity slips away, their identity becomes more occulted, until no one remembers them or who they ever were. Eventually the user becomes ‘out of phase’ and slips out of reality altogether.

HOOK

An assassin kills a high ranking corporate target with a knife to the heart, but there is no evidence of the crime. The victim remains behind locked doors, cameras are blank. The victim simply doubles over and dies from the slash of a blade that isn’t there. A team of runners are allied in to investigate.

5. CLONING PODS

 

DESCRIPTION

Two pod like chambers large enough to accommodate a single human, each situated at a different, remote location in the sprawl.

EFFECT

A creature enters into the origin pod and its form and essence is fully recreated in the secondary pod. The result is a nearly perfect simulacra of the test subject, complete with all previous memories, and full consciousness. The clone’s personality is nearly identical to its originator, but there are subtle, disturbing, differences that begin to manifest as time goes on.

ACTIVATION KEY

The user simply enters the origin pod, the door seals shut. An encrypted activation sequence is engaged from a local computer terminal. The whole process takes nearly 10 minutes to power up, activate, and cycle down. If the process is interrupted in any way, the result is a failure, or perhaps something worse results.

COMPLICATION

Subjects have secretly volunteered to test a highly experimental “telepod” with the ability to teleport a user from one place to another instantaneously. But this is a misleading lie. The pod is not a transporter at all. The person in the origin pod is led to believe the device “doesn’t work”, and is released from the experiment. However, they have in fact been cloned, and their double on the other end is being detained and studied in an underground lab. These doubles believe themselves to be the “original” and have no knowledge of the other. The doubles begin to manifest strange physical and social traits. They are stronger, smarter, colder, lack empathy, are prone to bouts of cruelty and violence. If a double were to ever see its original self, they are immediately compelled to attack and destroy them.

HOOK

One of the doubles escapes from confinement and returns to his family. Meanwhile the original finds out there is someone who looks just like him living with his wife and children. Terrified, he goes into hiding. A rival corp discovers this, and hires a team of runners to investigate.

6. DEMON SOCIAL MEDIA APP

 

DESCRIPTION

An experimental social media platform is conducting its beta launch with a network of select users. Using standard iPilot trode interface, the app allows for the capture and sharing of short bursts of “stim-sense” over a network without the need for an elaborate stim-sense rig. “Stim-Toks” provide 6 second blasts of high intensity emotional and sensory data to a user. Users can experience the same loop over and over, or “swipe left” to stim numerous loops in rapid succession.

EFFECT

High intensity stim-tock binging creates a rush of euphoria that chases peak after emotional peak. Rapid fire clips of the most intense, disassociated, and unfiltered emotional and sensory experiences creates a rush that overwhelms the user until they are mentally and emotionally exhausted. A few minutes later, they’re ready to do it all over again.

ACTIVATION KEY

The user’s access to stims are gated behind how many clips they themselves upload and how many “likes & shares” they garner. Every stim-binge session, requires the user to upload their own clip first--and that clip must receive a certain amount of “likes” in order to unlock the highest tier stims. Recognized status within the app allows for the highest tier access. The interface forces the addict to upload as many clips as they can, so that they themselves can freely experience the clips that they desperately crave.

COMPLICATION

Users become utterly addicted to the euphoria of the new tech, going into violent withdrawal if they can't get it every few minutes. An Eldritch Entity is imprisoned within the server farm with weird tech & runes and its corrupting energy is being amplified and broadcast through the app.

HOOK

A rash of bizarre crimes have broken out across the sprawl as the app forces the users to escalate more and more reckless activities. Kids in particular are getting hurt, while putting themselves in increasingly harmful situations in order to achieve the most intense and highly rated 6 second emotional peak. As the user base of the app grows, so does the Entity’s power grow, straining its bonds. More powerful restraining runes and tech are required to contain it, and even these are becoming less secure.
 

7. SCANNER CHIP

 

DESCRIPTION

An experimental neuro-chip is implanted in a user’s brain producing telepathic powers. The chip patches directly into a user’s neuromesh, requiring precise and potentially dangerous cyber-surgical implantation. Once the chip is installed, it is very difficult to remove without harming the subject. Megacorps are secretly developing this technology to create a class of to psychic spies.

EFFECT

With a moment’s concentration, the user can pry the thoughts from a target’s mind. Surface thoughts are easily revealed, and deeper secrets can be uncovered with more time and effort spent.

ACTIVATION KEY

The user simply looks at the target and concentrates briefly in order to establish mental contact. Additionally the user needs to be within 100 feet of the target or else contact is broken. Intervening objects typically don’t interfere with the scanning ability, although scanning through lead is nearly impossible.

COMPLICATION

The more the implant is used, the more it causes distress in the user. Users begin to suffer a low mutter of mental voices, that escalate into a cacophony. As time passes, user loses the ability to filter out individual minds. The clashing thoughts from every passing person becomes unbearable. In order to make these voices stop, some scanners have lost control,  psychically lashing out at innocent people.

HOOK

A test group suffered a psychotic break and escaped into the sprawl, isolating themselves away from the “voices”. But they have left harm in their wake. In their efforts to escape their captors, they have left several corporate agents, and more than a few civilians catatonic or dead. They are deep in hiding now, hoping to isolate themselves until they can figure out how to remove the implants & stop the psychic trauma.

8. DIMENSIONAL NEEDLE

 

DESCRIPTION

A large blocky cannon extends from a cube of esoteric machinery. The device shoots a beam of dark energy that pierces through the skin of reality, opening a portal to the Outside Realms. Within these realms, research teams launch missions to recover alien artifacts and powerful objects, but risk drawing the attention of deadly xenothreats.

EFFECT

As long as the energy beam is active the door is held open, allowing for two way access to an interdimensional space. Beings can pass from our realms into the alien shadowy landscape of the Outside, and beings from the Outside can pass into our reality.

ACTIVATION KEY

The Needle draws on a tremendous amount of energy power to operate, requiring an external power source, often tapping into a local power grid. Widespread power outages, and shortages are common in the sprawl zone during the window of time that the needle operates.

COMPLICATION

The Outside Realms, is a hostile environment. Any explorer must contend with the treacherous landscape, the poisonous atmosphere, and the imminent danger of xenothreats. Humans are required to wear protective suits to filter toxins, protect from radiation, and provide breathable oxygen. Eldritch entities haunt the Outside, and are drawn to portals, and explorer teams. Each team has only a short window of time to explore before they are withdraw to safety

HOOK

Needle operators are using the portals to salvage for hypertech and alien objects. Sensors go off when a xenothreat gets close--explorers are immediately withdrawn, and the gate is rapidly shut. But sometimes, teams can’t get out fast enough. Recently a large team of explorers who were carrying a trove of valuable artifacts were lost. However, drones have detected their signal. It was discovered that the team is sealed within a strange geometrical hive-like structure. Their vital signs are active, all of them were alive & healthy, but they aren’t answering comms. The corps are prepared to make one last attempt at saving the team (and their valuable cache) by sending an experienced runner team into the breach.