NEW RELEASE: Rise of R’lyeh – a new post apocalyptic vision

The strange aeons arrived and R’lyeh rose from the dark waters.

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A Dark Past
When the darkness came for me,
There was no-one who stood in their way

In 1998, the unthinkable happened.

It started with immense earthquakes under the Pacific Ocean as the Earths crust was torn and rent under the oceans. As the modern world turned their eye to the seismic events and did their best to cope with the resultant tsunamis over the days and weeks to follow along every coast along the Pacific (and beyond). The warnings were clear as the surge travelled to the east to the coast of the Americas and west to Asia and Oceania. Millions died as as a sequence of waves, hundreds of metres high inundated port cities and millions more were claimed by the destruction and pestilence to follow. Those who survived, by being inland or on high enough ground, found a world changed. The seas did not recede to their previous levels, staying more than 10 metres higher than previous; nor was there enough surviving infrastructure to allow any semblance of normal society. Anyone sent to the flooded cities either did not return or came back changed by their experiences. They spoke of vast basalt edifices dwarfing the skyscrapers of the past, the dark clouds of noxious smoke that billow from their chimneys, of terrible winged things that shrieked around their formidable spires and the city being filled with horrid fishlike humanoids hunting humans for sport. Their stories were not too far from the truth.

Using the acclaimed Year Zero Engine and specifically the Step Dice version pioneered in Twilight 2000 and used for more than a dozen other third party games, this promises a level, grounded, modern action system.

This also enables use of other supplements for Twilights 2000 without modification, whether you want the interdimensional invaders of Through the Silver Gate, the Dragons from Here Be Dragons, Supersoldiers from Enhanced or Psychics from Twilight Tangents.

Rise of R’lyeh contains mature themes (cosmic horror, death, invasion, infection, body horror, climate collapse, the end of the world, violence, mental illness, war, human sacrifice, cannibalism and other subjects which might cause distress. Please make use of appropriate safety and consent tools at your discretion with your players (X Card, Lines and Veils) to ensure that the game is enjoyable to everyone.

Until it runs out, you can grab it for only $4

New Release: Through The Silver Gate – a new alt-campaign for Twilight 2000

Through the Silver Gate is a new alt-campaign for Twilight 2000 cementing it as a flexible and practical modern task and combat resolution system.
It sits alongside Here Be Dragons and The Gloom as possible alt-campaigns for T2K on the premise of “what if it wasn’t the Soviets….”
This means it’s perfectly possible to play T2K and not be as concerned with the current situation in the world.

So, saddle up, grab your packs and get to the front line. The Orcs have all but taken Virginia and are moving North. Tales of Dragons flying over the Appalachians and a large silver sphere has materialised on the front lawn of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Let’s take the fight to them!

This book contains:

  • A new set of extradimensional enemies (Orcs, Goblins, ….and Elves…kinda)
  • A dual purpose campaign of resisting or invading the alien world
  • A whole new magic system, based on Fantasy Magic
  • A tie-in to future books about Dimensions

This is particularly inspired by a few sources including

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Janissaries, by Jerry Pournelle
Cannibal Halfling: The Forbidden Stairs
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
The Long Stair, a very long thread on RPGnet.

You might see some other influences from the Del Toro movie Cronos, to TORG.

Discussion

One of the issues I’ve seen raised repeatedly is the current state of the world. That Twilight 2000 represents something a little too close to reality with the current conflict in Ukraine. It’s kinda hard for some of us (old, aged, seasoned) GenX to fully understand as we grew up in the shadow of constant potential nuclear devastation from the USSR in the height of the Cold War. That’s when Twilight 2000 was birthed, in the state of existential worry.

But things are different now. People are more informed, possibly better informed, but certainly more. However there’s never been more uncertainty in the world.

This is the result of masticating this idea, in conjunction with others, on how to use a modern, tactical ruleset without the potential triggers it might cause. And this was born the idea of Twilight Dimensions or, in other words, alt-campaigns for Twilight 2000.

GDQW did this first with MERC 2000, where they took away the apocalypse and made the game more about mercenaries in a more milsimmy-way. But I’m more interested in other things. Like what if there was an interdimensional invasion? Or what if the minions of Cthulhu rose up and took over the world. And this book is a part of that.

The Fantasy War – putting the War in Wardrobe

I wrote some notes a while ago so forgive me for brevity. This morning on the bus….I kinda expanded them. Images are placeholders, I’ve pinged my artist, Dino, to produce some nice original art.

The Long Stair was an internet thread on rpgnet which imagined, possibly to excruciating detail, what happens when a fantasy world crosses over with ours.

This was then followed up with crossing Forbidden Lands (Free Leagues flagship fantasy game) with Twilight 2000 (IMO the best evolution of the YZE).

Now, we had written stuff a while ago about Narnia which kind of tracked with this. (OMG that was 2008).

The idea what what would happen in our world if there was interaction between modern soldiers and fantasy races with magic.

Fantasy Races?

So, Twilight 2000 only really deals with humans. Sure you can get supplements (right here) that add in horrific monsters (in The Gloom) or Dragons (in Here Be Dragons) or mutations (in Enhanced) or Zombies (in Twilight Tangents) but we hadn’t covered Orcs, Goblins and Elves – the standard fantasy fare.

I use the word race very deliberately. There’s only one human race. There is only one surviving human species.

In this photo-fantasy world, they didn’t get humans, they got Orcs, Goblins and Elves. In the hominid evolutionary tree, Orcs are the descendent of ape-like ancestors similar to the modern day Earth Gorilla. Goblins too – descended from chimpanzee-like ancestors.

Rise of the Orc

The Orc is a tribal, aggressive species standing on average 1.8 metres (6’) though specimens are recorded much larger. In terms of body mass, the Orc is commonly up to 500 lbs (226 kgs) of muscle and bone. They have a characteristic gait with the heavily muscled arms reaching down to their knees and can reach a top speed of 40 km/h – fast enough to outrun all but the fastest sprinters. Physically humans are not a match one on one. They have astounding endurance and are very hard to kill.

Orcs are smart, maybe not human smart, but they can learn. They’re delighted to learn about new weapons and toys, new ways to create fire or explosions and they find slapstick humour, particularly where someone gets hurt, to be utterly hilarious. (Not so different from humans).

Orcs live in Prides, where the decisions of the family group are decided by the female Orcs. They’re responsible for food prep, for rearing young and also for the social order. All of the females in the Pride are related but many of the make Orcs will be “hangers on”, drawn by the “wealth” of the Pride (territory, conquests, potential for mates, charismatic leadership). The females select who is their mate (if any) this adds to the males prestige.

Orcs are opportunistic omnivores, able to digest everything from raw meat to tree bark. They are seldom cannibals but will consider humans and even Goblins as a valid food source.

Culturally, the Orcs will form war bands for conquest, based on loose alliances. They can, however be controlled by the Fein who have millennia-old spells to ensnare the mind of the Orc and turn them to war.

STR AGI INT EMP
d20 d10 d6 d6
Close Combat d12, Stamina d12, Mobility d6, Ranged Combat d8, Recon d10, Command d10
Brawler, Melee, Killer, Load Carrier, Ranger
All Critical Thresholds are +1 when attacking Orcs. And their melee attacks Critical Threshold is reduced by 1
Equipment: Sword, Halberd, Mail Armour, Shield

The Goblins

Goblins are the arboreal equivalent of the Orc, weighing much less (50 kgs) and much smaller in stature (1.2m, 4 ft). Their arms are proportionally longer and well suited for moving through trees. On land they’re fast but not for sustained periods. Proportionally they’re stronger than most humans reflecting a life of action rather than sedentary life. Goblins are also smart tool-users, proficient at the bow and practiced with crossbows of their own design.

Goblins live in large community groups, each numbering around 100 individuals. Under normal circumstances, they hunt and forage for food but have been put to work in agriculture and war by the Fein.

STR AGI INT EMP
d10 d12 d8 d8
Close Combat d8, Stamina d12, Mobility d6, Ranged Combat d10, Recon d12, Command d6
Brawler, Archer, Mountaineer, Pitcher, Combat Awareness
Goblins can move through the trees at twice ground speed.
Equipment: Short Sword, Long Bow, Leather Armour

The Fein

The Fein are a slender race of humanoid elfin vampires, reaching 2.1 metres (7 ft) in height. They wear long flowing robes and have golden adornments on their fingers, beck and ears, which are long and pointed. At some point in their past, the Fein developed a type of magic which extended their lives but required the living to sacrifice theirs. They will feed on any living creature, draining its life fluids (blood, sap, ichor) to sustain their own lives. This way the Fein can live for thousands of years. A human will sustain them for 1 month, an Orc for two months and a large tree for a year.

They still eat food for pleasure and sustain their lifestyles through the control of other races, notably Goblins for manual labour and Orcs for war. Their history is a long series of highly triumphant novels about how their intervention has been vital for the survival of all. The Fein worship their royal family, a particularly wretched line of vampires who only feed on other Fein. At some point in the past, they were creatures who lived commensally with the trees using magic to create song and great works, but over the years their lust for immortality drove them to use their magic to unnaturally prolong their life.

Culturally the Fein consider all races to be subservient, as they alone are uniquely long lived. Their methods are cruel and their magic is effective. They are often armed with a keen and slender needle rapier which is effective against armour, ignoring any protection provided by mail armour.

STR AGI INT EMP
d8 d8 d20 d12
Close Combat d12, Recon d12, Command d12
Killer, Intelligence, Interrogator, Psy Ops, Fein Magic
With but a touch, the Fein can drain Hit Points from other creatures 1 per turn, healing their injuries. This operates through their Opifex
Equipment: Rapier, Opifex, Magic Scroll

Fein Magic

The Fein use Magic powered by their own life force and the life force of others. Each effect requires at least the expenditure of 1 Hit Point, which can be regained immediately using their Opifex. Humans can learn Fein Magic and use an Optifex.

The Optifex

The Optifex is a piece of magical technology resembling a pocket watch with an interior filled with glass, blood and some sort of insect-like creature. The Optifex cannot be dismantled without killing the creature. This technology enables the Fein to live effectively forever through the vampirism of other species.

Regent

The Fein have a complex ritual which is performed on every Fein. This causes every Orc and Goblin to be immediately subservient to Fein, effectively giving the Fein an extra d12 when using Command with Orcs and Goblins. It has no effect on Humans. Removing the Regent enchantment from a Fein is considered a serious punishment as these Fein are also vulnerable to the influence.

The Silver Gate

The caster can open an Schwartzschild Bridge (actually a Morris-Thorne Wormhole) between two locations. This spell creates a shimmering globe of silvery metal which, at the predetermined time, will transport anything that walks though it to the desired destination. The primary component is at least 200 grams of orichalcum (which may be re-used). Rather than being an unobtainable mystery substance, Orichalcum is a specific ore of copper and nickel (and can be manufactured).
The Bridge is opened above a specific pattern made in Orichalcum powder by the spell. To close the bridge, break the pattern. The pattern is automatically generated (similar to cymatics) depending on the destination and each pattern is unique.
There is no guarantee that anyone crossing a Bridge will survive. Sometimes they come out the other end ‘reassembled’ incorrectly and survival at the other end can also depend on the presence of life-sustaining conditions.

Rending

This spell exists in many forms across cultures. It causes direct harm to a target, Each Hit Point invested causes a point of damage and Stress may also be exchanged for enemy damage, point for point. The flesh of the target is scored and burned by the spell, including their internal organs. Cause of death will be inexplicable to normal medicine if it kills the target. The Caster may also choose to spend a Permanent EMP level to inflict an immediate Death Save on the target.
This spell completely ignores armour and can be cast line of sight or may have effectively infinite range if there is a sympathetic connection (hair, etc).

Place Stelae

The ritual for placing a minimum of three stelae to enable the forming of a dimensional chiasmata (the overlap of two dimensions) on the basis of a Silver Gate. Stelae must be forged from a conductive metal. The first three stelae must be placed within 16 hours of each other and the ritual performed over each one. Additional stelae can be added later. The maximum distance between them is 1.054 kilometres. If performed correctly, the next 32 hours will see the region within the stelae boundary change as the other dimension begins to write itself over Earth, changing plans, changing the air, even changing the sky.
The specific dimension is dictated by changing the directions within the ritual. If the stelae are destroyed, any areas not covered begin to revert though they will not be the same. For the chiasmata to maintain, there must be at least three stelae.

Resurrect

This spell takes the body of a deceased person and summons life back into it. Any decomposition will remain and can be healed (in theory). The spell does not remove the cause of death (wounds do not heal, cancer is not cured) but for the time being, they are alive again.
The spell also won’t heal any putrefaction processed (They’re still rotting). The Referee deducts 1 level from one Attribute, if it is from STR, AGI or INT, it’s likely decomposition. If it’s from EMP, it’s likely due to feeling the pull of death. If the target has an Attribute that was previously reduced to 0 due to another spell or injury, they retain that handicap.

Rise of R’lyeh – Apocalyptic Mythos Horror

Playtest copies currently available
Rise of R’lyeh is designed to work with the Year Zero Engine (Step Dice) shared by games like Twilight 2000, Bladerunner, Terminal Shock, The 23rd Letter and Excession.

It can be mixed with other third party supplements like Deadzone, Twilight Tangents, Twilight 2249 or any of the others out there. Mythos elements can be introduced into standard Twilight 2000 games or even into some of the games listed above.

The system is fast, deadly but ultimately designed for apocalyptic play.

This is not a game where the plucky heroes have to fight against crazed cultists intent on bringing about the end of the world. That’s already happened and the plucky heroes likely died as they failed. The stars were eventually right, R’lyeh rose from the depths and the dark gods clambered their way back onto this plane of existence.

The mood is therefore not heroic.

The Genre might be described as dystopian, apocalyptic (not post-apocalyptic as the apocalypse is currently proceeding) horror.

Your characters are survivors. They’ve all experienced something horrible and lived to tell the tale.