ae (ae 0) a Dm OC yh COMES E LR ew Le tReet Maem cUraite The Possibility Raiders had come to steal Earth’s energy, its Possibili- COMA Oech ee er Ne Oe eerie Ae Ctec iC Ce ebb) Ce ee eC AOr ar OCR a Cree elecuedi ey the fruition of centuries of schemes by the Gaunt Man and his Darkness Device, Heketon. Now creatures which defy the rational mind roam dark jungles. Victo- PRM ao eee eC cntnee estar ete Pao nna Cenc) Pena eee sie ot Det eRe eens see oe Meet rule of the realm through guile and deceit. Great sacrifices need to be Per eRe areca tm coe Renta CCUM Te Roch Sen eee ce ett Cree cuba ss Carr Teer cy ttag ares UNen eta cen nen aes cts This is the realm of ...Roleplaying the Possibility Wars ™ Orrorsh The Sourcebook of Horror Reality TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 THE REALM AND COSM Chapter One: Southeast Asia 8 Chapter Two: The World of Gaea 12 Chapter Three: The Realm of Fear 18 THE RULES Chapter Four: World Laws 54 Chapter Five: Skills and Investigation 68 Chapter Six: The Occult 7 Chapter Seven: Miracles of Orrorsh 89 Chapter Eight: The Horrors 94 Chapter Nine: Equipment 12 Chapter Ten: Adventuring in Orrorsh 115 TEMPLATES n9 “It’s not what you are willing to kill for, it’s what you are willing to die for that matters.” —Father Christopher Bryce =>Orrorsh Chris Kubasik Design Greg Gorden ‘Additional Material, Development, and Editing Stephen Crane, Cathleen Hunter Graphics Allen Nunis Cover Illustration Farl Geier, Dan Gelon, David Miller, Allen Nunis Interior Illustrations Eric Aldrich [Jeff Brown, Garry Corbin, Mike Lansdaal, Letha ‘Owens, John White], Steve Crow [Robert Ashby, Chad Crouse, Robert Managlia, Christopher Mortika, Matt Van Kirk, Storm Wilderl, Greg Farshtey, Dr. Michael A. Fortner[Kevin Carroll, Becky Hall, Phil Inkpen, Robert Morphus, Shari Smith, Chris, Weeks] , Stephen Kenson [Andy Frades, Scott Hess, Lyle Hickley, Sean Johnson, Bill Selander, Jonathan Szeto, Richard ‘Tomasso, Chris Watrouse], MSC Nova: Mike Chapman, David Mandeville, Richard Singleton [Rogan Brunet, Will Christian, John Guerra, Chris Peacock, Doug Peacock, Kevin Raley,Jim Reiff, Tom Rice, Jackson Roberts, Greg Younglove] Louis J. Properi [Christopher Clark, Christopher Hazel, Kevin Hudson, Gregory Rushton, Michael Shannon, Mark Terilli, Lawarence J Trainer|, Bill Smith, Ed Stark Playtesting and Advice Published by Viet. RD 3 Box 2345 Honesdale , PA 18431 First Printing: July 1991 Publisher, Daniel Scot Palter » Associate Publisher: Richard Havera ‘Assistant Publisher: Denise D. Palter Associate Editor: Greg Gorden * Editor: Greg Farshtey + Assistant Editor: Bill Smith, Ed Stark + Art Director Stephen Crane ‘Graphic Artsts: Cathleen Hunter, Allen Nunis + Production Manager: Steve Porpora + Sales Manager: Fitzroy Bonterre Sales Assistant: Maria Kammeier-Kean * Special Projects Manager: Ron Selden * Warehouse Manager: Ed Hill + Treasurer Janet Riccio ‘TM and ©1991 West End Games, All Rights Reserved. yr Uthoron, Aye Barak Kash, Core Earth, Coem,Cosmwverse,Cyberpapacy, Darkness Devic, Dr. Mobius, Gaunt Man, Gospog, Haar of th Coyote, High Lod, ae, Kana, Living Land, Macstom, Macitrom Beige, Nie Empise, Orersh, Pella Ardinay, Posty Raiders, Posblity Storm, Posty War, Kavagon, ra Storm Knights rg sn he Teng logo are trademark of West End Cares. 8, ™ 1991 West End Games Ail Rights ReservedTong: Onorsh Introduction From the journal of Dr. Kyai Maja For the third time this week they discovered a corpse at sunrise Dipanagare, Saleh, and now Maha- ja. The neighborhood is in a panic. Thave examined the bodies myself, and cannot deny that the neck of each victim was torn open and the bodies drained of blood. The supernatural? | find such things impossible. Istudied countless cultures while obtaining my doctorate in anthropology. Until now Learned that tales of the undead and curses and creatures were merely warnings contained in the form of sto- ries. From the fairy tales of my own land of Indonesia to the multi-million dollar cinemas of Hollywood, USA, the people of the world have had a fascination with the terrors produced from their minds. We are at once re- pelled by them, for they are death, and yet we are drawn to these terrors, for they are mysteries that we want to understand. Andsoataleofavampyre has always been a matter of curiosity for me, but not a reality. Until now. Fornow thePossibility Raidershave come. They have attacked the world and exerted their will upon my planet. Things once a part of my childhood nightmares now walk the Earth ‘Other parts of the globe suffer as well, Iknow. But cannot imagine that any of the conquered lands of Earth areso tortured as the nations of South- east Asia under the rule of Orrorsh. For this isa reality of fear. It permeates the ai, ives within raindrops, burns within the sun’s heat. We fight our war, but it is not the same fight as others conduct. We never know what our enemies are — they strike from darknessand disappear before we can react. Our defenses are still weak, for ‘we have yet tolearnall we must of our ‘opponents. And even when we learn something, say of azombie oran other, the next time we encounter one, its strengths and weaknesses have qd . Wen think of Orrorsh, I think of ‘uncertainty. I think of the unknown. I think of the terror produced when an industrial society that believes that the universe can be conquered by sci- ‘ence suddenly encountering foes that draw their strength from mystical powers. Thave heard tales from travellers from other countries that a being is ruling Orrorsh, a High Lord, called the Gaunt Man. He is the master of Orrorsh, its designer and warden. We ‘wage the battle on two fronts. The first is the level of the monsters. They live in the jungles and towns and cities of Southeast Asia and huntand terrorize the people of our nations. We must hunt them down and destroy them, as Thave taken it upon myself to hunt down the vampyre that terrorizes the people of Jakarta. The second ison the level of a war, where Thratchen and the Gaunt Man’s lieutenants struggle to keep the reality of Orrorsh strong and expand it. We must eventually infiltrate their organization and stop their plans. There is so much to be learned and ‘understood before we can defeat the enemy. What is clear is that it shall not bbe easy. The people I mentioned ear- lier, the travellers from all over the globe, call themselves Storm Knights. They have told meof their deedsin the primitivereality in North Americaand their heroic actions in the Nile Empire and the Cyberpapacy. They are brave people and seem capable of perform- ing miracles. But when they speak of Orrorsh.... Every one of them has lost aStorm Knight companion to the hor- lost several. Of all the invading reali- ties, itis Orrorsh that seems to be the most brutal, the harshest, with the ability to drive a Storm Knight to the brink of terror. ‘And then over the brink. From the Journal of Dr. Kyai Maja — 8 January, Near Now The vampires have undoubtedly moved on after the battle at the ware- house. Their lair was discovered, and they will seek new shelter. We will, f course, pursue. Sister Thorn and Tare the only ones left of the expedition. It seems that no one else will accompany us on our mission. I have asked aid of some of my dearest friends, but they either think that Ihave gone mad because of my claim that the creature I seek is a ‘monster froman American cinema, or simply refuse to help me out of fear. ‘They turaway fromme,embarrassed, but actually unable to help me. I see them tremblingasI press them foraid. Some of the people Ihave spoken with slammed their doors in my face, de- serted me in mid-conversation. Some ranaway, or even, on three occasions, broke down into tears. I believe that Sister Thorn’s theory of a force of fear acting upon this area is correct. Itis the only way Ican explain such behavior. And yet, why am I not so affected? Is it because I have become what Sister Thorn refers to as a Storm Knight? Perhaps. Yet even I felt every nerve in my body turn to ice when I held the Koran and the creature sim- ply laughed atme. How overwhelmed Twas with terror! ‘We leave for the jungles to the east ofJakarta tomorrow. That is where we think the creature and his servants retreated to, though we do not know for sure. Our only lead is that several homeless people near the docks told us they saw giant bats flying in that direction the night of the fight. Before we leave on our quest in the ‘morning Ishall note some of the Sister Thorn’s news about invaded area. Be- cause communications are limited, I cannot keep in touch with the rest of the nation and other nations in South- east Asia. Sister Thorn, on the other =hand, has travelled extensively through the area since the invasion. WhatSister Thorn haslearned from other Storm Knights who have adven- tured in Southeast Asia is that Orrorsh is no longer expanding. Is this due to an unexpected weakness in the Gaunt Man, or some ploy to raise hopes, the better to rouse fear? There are rumors that a demon known as Thratchen now has a place ofimportance in Orrorsh. Sister Thorn believes this mightbe another guise of the Gaunt Man, for he has taken other forms before. She has heard rumors that the High Lord’s lieutenants and special subordinates, knownasNight- mares, are hesitant. That is a rumor I fervently hope is true. Sister Thorn just reminded me we must leave at dawn. [had no idea the hour had grown so late. I pray for a peaceful slumber. Fe From the Journal of Dr. Kyai Maja — 10 January, Near Now Our trek has only lasted for two days and already I believe we are doomed. It is not for the reasons that once suspected would make a hunt in the jungle so dangerous. We are not in serious danger from the elements or malnutrition. We stocked our provisions carefully, and brought with us proper supplies for shelter and cooking. Sister Thorn is obviously a woman of great resources and, compared to a university book- worm such as myself, has proven her- Bell to be the picture of the frontier survivor. Nor have we had any trouble with the wildlife of the jungle — although the animals of the jungle are present. We spotted a tiger just this morning, and hearda catalogue of animal noises lastnightas wetried unsuccessfully to sleep amidst all of our fears. For those of you without a knowledge of our Introduction jungles, the creatures seldom attack humans without provocationorades- perate need for food. Since we do not bother them and the rain has been neither too heavy nor too light this year, neither condition exists to prompt their attack. ‘So why do I say we are doomed? It is the strain — the tension of fhrough the jungle. Icannot ribe it any other way. There isan unearthly quality to theair, thesounds of the jungle. Shadows move along- side us within the brightly lit green leaves of jungle. I often hear heavy, loud breathing in the distance when ‘westop to rest. Iam sometimes aware of creatures flying over head — pass- ing so quickly that by the time Thave looked up they are gone. To what does this all add up? Fear. It is the reality of Orrorsh. There is something about the very fabricof my land that now induces terror not from sight, but from the unknown. Ifa crea- ture would only leap out of the jungle 5Orrorsh — that would be relief! But this con- stant not knowing! It is beginning to ‘wear at my sensibilities. ‘And I know that it is unnatural. I travelled through the jungle many times when I was a boy. I know the nature of the jungle. I was wary as a boy, yes, as was taught to be, but this issomething different. Thisisnot natu- ral, One must be careful in a jungle because there is always the chance for danger. One is terrified in a jungle in Orrorshbecausethedangertaunts you, staying just out of sight. Itbegan yesterday, just hours after we began our journey. We started out inthe direction that the bats were seen flying, (It is our hope to encounter farmers or Gypsies who might have further clues of the creatures’ where- abouts. So far this has not happened.) At first I was aware of something walking alongside us at about fifty meters distance. All I heard was a ~~ § Tr crunching of undergrowth and branches and the loud moving of leaves. The noises were so non-threat- ening that Iat first thought that it was the echo of the footsteps of the Sister and myself through the jungle. But I noticed that the “echoes” of- tencontinued when we stopped. They didn’t keep moving forward, but of- ten turned and began walking closer tous. After an hour or so the footsteps stopped — I do not remember if they moved away from us, Itjust occurred to me at one point that they were no longer there. Later on I noticed that many of the leaves of the underbrush around the path we walked shook as we passed them. It was not we who were making theleavesshake,no. any wind, forthe day was brightly lit with a cloudless, bluesky and theairwasstilland warm. (Ah, the Power of Orrorsh that even on such a beautiful day, when it seemed that nothing could be wrong, fear could so permeate my being! I must remember that terror does not always present itself with the visual clues of a Hollywood movie, but oftentimes in the most mundane of locations.) Now, although I saw nothing spe- cificto stir my imagination, Ibegan to speculate on the cause of the noises. My imagination soon conjured the image of hands, dismembered human hands, crawling around on the jungle floor, following us. It then occurred to me that there mightbea largecreature of some kind burrowing its way through the ground of the jungle. I fashioned in my mind a monster cov- ered with many limbs, each tipped with horrible claws and layered with sharp claws. Sister Thorn was right in front of me, and at one point she just stopped --Introduction | walking and stared at the ground. “What?” Lasked, apprehensivethat she might have seen a chitinous spike rising up through the surface of the jungle floor. “|don’tknow. think there’ssome- thing following us. A group of snakes. Idon’t know.” “Are you sure?” Sister Thorn said nothing. Important! This sourcebook is a companion volume to Torg: Roleplaying the Possi- bility Wars. You must have the boxed set to use much of this book, as the boxed setexplainsmany conceptsand rules necessary for roleplaying in Grrorsh. Read the game first, then come back to this book for details on the reality of Orrorsh. The Sourcebook This sourcebook provides all the information and advice needed to de- signcreepy campaignsand adventures set within Orrorsh and the Torg uni- verse. Itdescribes theculture, religion, and world of the horror reality and the lands it has invaded. It provides new character templates for players to use, new rules for equipment and axioms of Orrorsh, and more. The first section of the book con- tains source material on Orrorsh. In- side it are descriptions of the impor- tant regions and characters within the realm, as well as notes on the realm’s axioms and the makeup of the Gaunt Man’s reality. ‘The second section features rules and other information for the gamemaster. Theserulesareadditions to those found in the Torg Rulebook for ‘use specifically in Orrorsh. This sec- tion also contains a listing of creatures found in the realm, spells and equip- ment. Thefinal section providesnew char- acter templates —ready made charac- ters for you group to play. See the Torg Rulebook for details on how to custom- ize them.Tog: Orsomh Chapter One Southeast Asia he reality of Orrorshnow intrudes upon or eclipses six nations: Burma, Ma- laysia, Thailand, the Phil- ippines, Singapore, and Indonesia. We do not intend this book tocover every detail of so many differ- ent countries. Adequately describing even one of these nations would re- quire a book containing hundreds of Phat followsisa brief listing of data aboutfiveSoutheast Asiannations, plus Australia, andamoredetailed portrayal ‘of one of the nations — Indonesia. We highlighted Indonesia because both of Ortorsh’s maelstrom bridges landed within its borders. Before the Storm The portion of the world overrun by Orrorsh contains more than 150,000,000 people spread out over ‘one peninsula and more than 13,000 islands. Many of the people live in isolated tribes and by the laws of their ancestors. Others live in huge cities such as Singapore and Jakarta, the business people and factory workers and miners. Any discussion of South- east Asia must keep in mind that the area has a tremendous mix of ancient traditions and modern technologies. There are no hard and fast rules that can be applied to sum up the nations or the people living within a nation. The rugged terrain of the area has steep mountains descending almost to the sea. The climate is hot and wet, although themountainsarecoolerthan thelowlands. Tropical rain forestsand jungles cover much of the country- side. Many acres of jungle have been cut down to provide arable land for farming to support the ever-growing population. Theareaisamixof several religions —Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. The influence of each reli- gion varies from nation to nation. The history of each country is influenced by the exchange of ideas, people and religion that took place through trade within the area of Southeast Asia. All the histories are also colored by Europeancolonialism. The Europeans arrived in the fifteenth century and used the nations of Southeast Asiaasa base for economic profit. Although theEuropeans often aided the inhabit ants of Southeast Asia, for the most part the Asian nations suffered be- tayal and brutality. The political in- fluence of some Western nations con- tinued until only twenty years ago, in ‘most cases expunged from the Asian nations only after years of bloodshed and war. Hereare brief detailsabout some of the nations invaded by the Gaunt Man’s reality Malaysia Malaysiaisa parliamentary democ- racy with a constitutional monarchy. It’s population is 60 percent Malays, 30 percent Chinese, and nine percent Indian. The major religions are Mos- Jem, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The population is evenly split between urban and rural. Heavily industrial- ized, Malaysia produces 30 percent of the world’s output of rubber. The offi- al language is Malay, though many speak English and Chinese. ‘The government has fled Kuala Lampur, and is now in exile in Japan. Cities and large towns are now inde- pendentcity-states, struggling for sur- vival as best they can =>(Chapter One Singapore Singapore is a parliamentary de- mocracy. The entire country is virtu- ally one large city; within an area of 224 square miles (573 square kilome- ters) lives a population of more than 2,600,000 people. Seventy-seven per- cent of the population is Chinese, 15 percent is Malay, and six percent In- dian. Singapore practices many of the world’s major religions. The nation is 0 industrialized that it relies on im- ports for nearly all its agricultural needs. With an excellent harbor, itis still one of the great commerce and manufacturing centers of the world. ‘The capital of Singapore is Singapore. Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and English are all official languages. The Nightmare Skutharka has adapted horror to technology. While Singapore's lights and televisions still work, they are often a danger rather than a convenience. Singapore finds comfort in the illusion that the Gaunt Man's realm stops short of their border. Burma Burma is a republic located on the Asian continent. Over 30 million people live in the nation. The country covers approximately 678,000 square kilometers. Buddhism, Moslem, Chris- tianity, and a host of indigenous be- liefs are all part of the nation’s reli- gious character, though the nation is 85% Buddhist. It's capital is Rangoon. ‘The nation’s official language is Bur- ‘mese, which gives way in certain parts of the country to a variety of ethnic dialects. Largely intact, Burma is concen- trating not on Orrorsh but the flood of refugees. Arrivingby thetens of thou- sands by foot and boat, Burma’s infra- structure cannot support the added burden. International relief agencies, such as the Red Cross and the Cyberpapacy’s Soldiers of Mercy, are rushing food, medical supplies and personnel to the region. Thailand Ruled by a constitutional monar- chy, the nation of Thailand also on the mainland. Thenationis514,000square kilometers and nearly 40 million people live in Thailand. It's two major religions are Buddhism and Islam Dominant languages are Thai, English, and local dialects. Thailand is undergoing a religious revival. The intensity of the revival is unlike anything in the past thousand years. The faithful stream into Bangkok, and the press reports nearly daily occurrences of miracles. Appar- ently as a result, the horrors have re- duced incursions into Thailand.‘Torg: Orrorsh Philippines ThePhilippinesaremadeup ofover a dozen islands which total approxi- ‘mately 300,000 square kilometers of land. More than 40,000,000 people live inthe Philippines. 'sgovernmentisa republic run from its capital city of nila. Well represented religions are Roman Catholic, Protestant, Moslem, and Buddhist. It’s major languages are Pilipino and English. The threat from Orrorsh initially fractured the Phillipine people rather than uniting them. Recent initiatives by the government and opposition groups are beginning to patch the na- tion together again, just as pressure from Orrorsh is increasing. Indonesia Indonesia is an archipelago in the Indian and Pacificoceans. Ttliesacross the Equator for one-eighth of the Earth’s circumference. Its islands can be grouped into the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra, Java, the southern extent of Borneo, and Celebes; the Lesser Sunda Islands of Bali and aline ofislands that runs eastward through ‘Timor; the Moluccas between Celebes and New Guinea; and the western extent of New Guinea known as Irian Jaya. Indonesia is the largest nation is Southeast Asia. The country straddles 13,667 is- lands. Noteverihalfofthesearenamed. The Indonesians inhabit fewer than 1,000 of theses islands. The capital city of Jakarta is on the island of Java. ‘The major islands of Indonesia are made up of volcanic moun- tains, erates ae tropical for- ests, Many of the volcanoes are active, especially those on the islands run- ning from Sumatra through Java and the Lesser Sunda. Java itself has sev- enteen volcanoes witha recent history of eruption. The mountains slope down to coastal swamps, bordering shallow seas and coral reefs. The official language of Indonesia isBahasa Indonesian Malay);Javanese isalso spoken. 10 Background on Indonesia TheIndonesianislandsarebelieved tohave been settled by travellers from southwestChina some 4,000 yearsago. By the seventh and eighth centuries AD,, kingdoms had grown up in ‘Sumatra and Java with close ties with India. Traders and settlers from India brought with them not only Hindu- ism, but Buddhism as well. Around the fourteenth century Muslim trad- ers arrived in Indonesia. They began spreading the Islam faith throughout coastal towns and cities of Indone- sia. By the end of the fourteenth cen- tury the powerful kingdom of Ma- lacea strongly committed itself to the Muslim faith. Malacca controlled the Straight of Malacca, a strip of water found betweenSumatraand theMalay Peninsula. The Straight gave control ofthetrade from the Spice Islands and theseaborne commerce of the Far East with India, the Middle East, and Eu- rope. Portugal began establishing its powerin the area of the Indian Ocean at the start of the sixteenth century. Controlling the Straight was vital — and this meant taking the Kingdom of Malacca. Alfonso: haar led thearmada that invaded the kingdom. This marked the beginning of Euro- peaninvasions,conquestandrulethat ‘would continue for the next five hun- dred years. ‘As the Christians in the West were the Muslim faith of the Moors and Turks, de Albuquerque led the assault on the newly converted Mus- lims halfa world away. Because of the Europeans hatred for Islam, they had nothing but contempt for the Malays and Indonesians. The Portuguese shocked the Indonesiansby buildinga fortress from Muslim gravestones. They staged aseriesofexecutions with- ‘outprovocation, and undertookacam- paign of general piracy in the Indian Oceai nm. ‘When the Dutch arrived in Indone- sia it was clear a trade war was brew- ing between the Dutch and the Portu- ese. A Portuguese ordered a war based on Goa and Malacca to sweep Dutch vessels from the Indian Ocean. But the temptation to attack and plunder other ships as well over- powered the Portuguese, and they came to regard any shipas their prey, including ships of the Javanese king- doms. The Javanese struck back, crip- pling the Portuguese fleet so badly that they were unable to stop the next Dutch expeditions. Anallianceofsorts formed between the Dutch and Indo- nesians, the cornerstone of which was the destruction of the Portuguese. Soon the Dutch ruled and made profit by making deals with princes, ‘whowereresponsibleformaking their subjects produce a fixed amount of goods at a fixed price. This led to a great deal of abuse as the ‘worked their people to near death to make profits. The Dutch broke trea- ties, permitted slavery, promoted the ‘opium trade, drained the islands of their wealth without equal benefits to Indonesia, and treated the people like second-classcitizensin their owncoun- try. To control the prices of spice they destroyed forests of trees to prevent the spice from becoming too plentiful. ‘The practice wiped out the means of livelihood for countless Indonesians. Indonesia began resisting the colonials. The fulcrum of Indonesia’s inde- pendence camein 1942, when the Japa- nese invaded Indonesia. The Japanese claimed to bring the means of Indone- sian independence.Societies and mili- tary units were formed under Japa- nese sponsorship, Many people coop- erated with the Japanese, but soon found out that Japan wanted them only to be a puppet state. ‘Asin the resance movements in Europe during the German occupa- tion the Comununists and ant-Com- ‘munists worked together. The free- dom fighters worked as outward col- laborators with the Japanese, secretly establishing underground move- ments, and taking to the hills and or- ganizing guerilla bands. Toward the end of the war the Japanese tried to soften their position, but many na- tionalists opposed anything short of complete freedom.Ontheseventeenth of August, 1945, Sukarno, the leader ofthe revolution, read Indonesia’sDec- =>‘Chapter One laration of Independence. Men and women freedom fighters barricaded themselves in radio and telegraph of- fices to send the toall partsof the country. The Republic of Indone- sia had begun, but there was no guar- ante it would survive. Blood spilled immediately after World War Il as both the Dutch and Indonesians committed atrocities. A military truce was signed in 1946 and negotiations were started to set up a Dutch rule over partof the Indonesian islands. This plan did not sit well with ‘many nationalistsand there wasa great deal of arguing. In 1947 the Dutch launched a full scale attack on the Republi ‘An emergency government was established in Sumatra out of Dutch reach, After war and pres- sure from the United States, the Soviet Union, and other Asian nations, the Dutch backed down. On November 2, 1949, the Dutch agreed to recognize the Indies as a sovereign power. Tirfightine nome plagued Eadooe- sia. It was not until 1971 that Indone- sians firmly established the govern- ‘ment as we know it today — nearly five hundred years after the Portu- ‘guese first put the Indonesian islands under Eu influence. This is the world that the Gaunt Man as invaded, He has come toro the people of Irdooaia of ter fos their lives, of the very energy that made thelr revolution fr ok pendence possible. He comes not alone, but with the Victorians, his un- witting helpers in his plans, for they carry with them the same racial arro- gance that enslaved Indonesia in cen- turies past. With their freedom so re- cently won after such hardship, it isno ‘wonder that the citizens of Southeast Asiaareputtingupafiercefightagainst the invaders. They have no desire to exchange one foreignruler foranother — they will resist the new colonialism no matter what the cost. Indonesia of the Near Now Jakarta continues as a Core Earth ardpoin but is no longer the capital ofindonesia. Thegovernment has! transfered to Inia Jaye, The govern- ‘ments trying every diplomatic effort to get aid from other nations, particu- larly Japan and the Soviet Union. Aid from Japanis slowing, while aid from the Soviets, particularly military aid, is increasing. Soviet advisors are present, a few having made it to Jakarta. Envoys are talking of moving part of the Soviet Psychic Group from the southern front of the Nile Empire to Indonesia. Australia While not part of Southeast Asia, Australia hasbeen forcibly drawn into the struggle with Orrorsh. Australia maintains full diplomatic relations with the Indonesian government in Irian Jaya. Cooperation is best exem- plified by the exchange of information between the military and academic institutions of the two nations. Indo- nesian troops are allowed to base and resupply in Australia, although this activity is not officially recognized. Australian and Victorian relations range from cool to uous. Aus- tralia has not given the Victorian colony of Majstie diplomaticrecognt ita revolutionary move- thent whi bas teanporaly, ad We sally displaced the legitimate regime, ‘Northern Australiais: psctnia wiih sormastoace as frequent as they were in the early days of the invasion. The bad news is the horrors now infest the Northern Australian coast. The cities of Derby, Wyndham, Kununurra and Darwin have been particularly hard hit by a rash of creatures. The Australians be- lieve they are holding their own, or perhaps even winning. Core Earth technology seems capable of killing some of these creatures. The truth is different;see Chapters Fourand Eight. These creatures are reconnoitering, sensing and probing how to twist the horrors to best affect the Australians. ——————— reorg: Orrorsh 12 Chapter Two The World of Gaea here is no longera home cosm for Orrorsh. Like the other invading realities thereality moveson from world to world. The real- ity of Orrorsh was so brutal that it eventually consumed each world the Gaunt Man invaded. He left no tra The Victorians’ home world of Gaea is the first world to survive the Gaunt Man‘ sinvasion. TheHighLord spared Gaea because the Gaunt Man learned of the power of colonialism from the Victorians. He redesigned his reality to foster the potential colonialism of- fered. The nature of these changes to Orrorsh’s reality are discussed below. Gaea is now directly involved with the affairs of Earth. It is important to examinethissister world ofour planet to learn more about the invasion, and the people who have settled on our planet. The World of Gaea, The Nation of Victoria Gaeasharesa great dealincommon with our own world, but two drastic changes turned it into a world with a great many differences. The first change took place in 43 AD. In our history Caratacus led the people of Britain against the Roman Empire when the Romans made their bid to conquer the island. Caratacus and his forces were defeated at Medway and the Romans’ westward conquests were complete. Inthe history of Gaea, the Brits had in their number a warrior-woman named Victoria. Just when the Ro- mans seemed about to win, she turned the battle and brought her people to victory. They rallied around her and she unified the people of her island. She was a politically astute woman who realized that she would have to focus her peoples’ attention upon an external force. Focus against Rome eased dissension in Britain. Sheturned her people toward the Roman Empire. Her subjects coined the phrase “Victoria For The World,”and itnever lost its value. ‘The wars with the Roman Empire took decades, and Victoria, ruling as a queen from a throne in later years, ‘commanded her people with an iron fist. Victoria I died in 72 AD and was succeeded by her husband, whowould live only a few more years. It became tradition for kings and queens to rule Britain. It not only became popular to name daughters born to the royal couple Victoria, but the Brits them- selves renamed their island Victoria, in honor of their first leader. ‘The wars continued, and over the next hundred years the Victorians slowly ate away at Gaul then onto the Italian peninsula. Unlike the Romans, who simply ruled a civilization as it stood, letting their rules frame the ex- isting laws of the land, the Victorians established colonies right from the start. They took land, fortified it, and then took land and resources from those who lived around them. These ancient Victorians fought the Romans fiercely. They infused themselves with anindomitablesenseof righteousness. Anyone with an army of such men could rule the world. They did. Ittook time. The Victorians still had notdeveloped seafaring shipsand had tolearn the technology from the Medi- terranean cultures they encountered =Chapter Two and conquered. This was not always easy for them to do. They are a very, very arrogant people. Many times in their history they stumbled across valuable technology or writing or learning — and dismissed it. Not only did they slow themselves down, but there were still the Huns to deal with. Then the Vikings. They con- fronted many of the problems that the Romans, and their feudal successors, confronted in our world, One external influence that the Vic- torians did assimilate was the word of Christ, which they encountered through missionaries travelling through the remnants of the Roman Empire. Before the missionaries the religion of the Victorians was a pagan faith. They had, of course, no respect for other religions, and dismissed or killed those who argued with them. ‘The strange Martyr cults of the early Christians that finally impressed the Romans of our world found a recep- tiveaudiencein the Victorians as well. For not only were the Christians will- ing to die for their faith in their God, but there were enough references to swords and The Kingdom of Heaven to fill the ambitious souls of every one of the former Brits. Victoria becametheRoman Empire of Gaea. The difference was that their world’sempirelasted longer thanours. ‘Their strength and influence spread. They built colonies throughout Eu- rope and the Mediterranean and fi- nally the Middle East. But by this time the Islamic faith had also madeits way throughout the Middle East, and the Victorians had finally found for them- selves opponents that matched them forreligiousand tribal furor. Thebattle lines were drawn, and the “Eastern Campaigns” lasted for over three cen- turies. During thecampaigns, timedid not stand still back in Victoria. Despite their best efforts, ideas and concepts from different cultures did assimilate into Victorian society. Despite the bloodshed that was part ofdistantcolo- nies, the island of Victoria found time todevelopinterestsin philosophy and negotiation. They balanced their strange alternate history with habits and customs considered “normal” for England during Earth’s history. The Victorians spread their Empire, greatly reducing theIslamicstatesand establishing colonies in the New World. The Asian nations were the only lands they were never able to break militarily. Japan rebuffed them, but they traded with China, By the 17th century Victoria's colo- nies stretched from the southern tip of Rhodesland, to the Middle East and through India, up to the edges of Rus- sia, and onto the continent of North ‘America. The histories of Russia and Asia, for the most part, stayed similar to Earth's, In other parts of the world the Victorians took the roles of the European nations of our world. The Victorians colonized the West Indies instead of the Dutch. The Victorians colonized North America instead of the French, Spanish and English. One difference —South America’s history 13Torg: Orrorsh changed greatly in that it was not strongly colonized by anybody. The Victorian efforts failed there. ‘The American colonies were much the same as the colonies of our world. Itwasnot the desire for religious free- dombutthe pursuit ofprofit that popu- lated the new world. This difference ‘was minor, for the Church of Victoria’s religious beliefs permeated daily life inthealternate New Worldasmuchas Protestant beliefs did here. At the end of the Seventeenth Cen- tury something very strangehappened inthe New world—another changein worldhistory assignificantasthebattle at Medway. The change was marked by mysterious murders in the Crown Colonies, and later in India. No mur- derer could be found, and the mur- ders were grisly, involving dismem- berment and apparent cannibalism. Atfirstthe colonists assumed thatthose who died were the victims of Indian assaults. Although the Victorians had tempered their vicious xenophobia over the centuries, they were all too ready tobelieve that such horrorscould only be committed by the heathens. Several leaders of the communities riled the colonists up into hunting down the Indian tribes. They found a terrible surprise. The Indians weresuddenlyempow- ered with mystical properties. They ‘were,according the reportsof the colo- nists, “alive with the fire of the devil, their eyes ablaze with Hell's flames.” They cast mystical spells and caused great pain to the colonists who con- fronted them. The colonists escaped and told their tale, and there was a great deal of fear throughout the colo- nial towns. Allgates wereclosed in the cities. Guards stayed up all night, but stillthemurderscontinued. Sometimes the Victorians found strange footprints left on the ground, sometimes strange liquids, colored pools of slime. But the murders could not be prevented. In 1692 ten girls in Salem, Massa- cchusetts were convicted of murdering theirown parents. The girls claimed to have been corrupted by the satanic powers of an East Indian named Tituba, a servant of the Reverend Samual Parris, and two women of Sa- lem. The girlsall decreed that hell was unleashingitsdemonsupontheworld; only a return to the old way of blood and conquest could save the world. ‘Themorning after the girls made their statements, their bodies were found completely charred in their beds. Fire had touched nothing else in any of their rooms, including their bedding, The Salem Witch Trials began. The planet of the Victorians sud- denly became infused with magical and spiritual power at just the time everyone was paying close attention tosuch things. Cotten Mather became a spiritual beacon for the frightened in the New World. He suddenly had powers supposedly given from god, and spent his days writing missives about how the Victorians had become laxin their morality. The accusation of Tituba tied all the Indiansintoa grand Satanic conspiracy, and the blood be- gan to flow freely in the New World.Chapter Two Instead of eventually breaking off po- litical ties with Victoria, the colonies came to depend on them for men and supplies. It wasnothing shortofa holy war in North America. It soon became clear that the Indi- ans were not the real threat. The colo- nists who carried their war over the Appalachian mountains wearing their coonskin caps and armed with their muskets soon encountered strange creatures. The Mississippi River marked a stalemate that lasted for sev- eral years, with horrible creatures of darkness on the west bank, and the colonists on the east. There were open, pitched battles between demon-led forces and the colonists. Powerful creatures who could pass among humans — vampyres, werewolves in human form, sorcerers, zombies raised imme- diately after death — made their way to human camps and to the colonies of Victoria. Their appearance created havoc and caused terror. The horrors spread. The Gaunt Man chose to s the bodies of prominent mentbers of Victoria's ruling class. In this way he could seduce members of the parlia- ‘mento his aid. Sometimes themen he influenced knew they were making deals with an evil being, and other times they were simply swayed by his, arguments. In this way heencouraged the racism and sweat shops that are a curse of Victorian society. The Gaunt Man would live within one body until it had grown old enough to die, and the let it expire. He would then move on to another body. ‘Three hundred years passed and the might of the Victorian Empire waned. Bitby bit the reality of Orrorshateaway at their colonies around the world, as well as the other nations that had re- ‘mained independent of the Imperialist touch of Victoria. Throughout it all the ‘Victorianssaw thesituationasapunish- ment for their moral laxity. They strengthened their spiritual rsolveand eventually shaped themselves into the Victorian culture that we knew on our own world. However, the Evangelical ‘movement of Earth was replaced by the Victorian Sacellum. The Sacellum is the philosophical and religious structure that holds the Victorian society together today. r Eventually the Orrorsh reality clawed its way up to the island of Victoria. The motherland lost con- tact with countless colonies and assumed that the horrors had de- stroyed most of them. However, even today word arrives from an outpost in North America or an envoy from Rhodesland. Unlike Victoria, which has retained a sem- blance of everyday life, these out- posts on Gaea are besieged and desperate. They are like cities or forts from the middle ages or American Western movies, sur- rounded on all sides by foes who barely give them a moment's rest. Expeditions and outposts gathered enough information over the years to let the Victorians know that there is a creature who rules the horrors of their world. They know the Gaunt Man by name now, but do not suspect that he is a raider from another dimension. For the Victorians, the Gaunt Man is just one name of many for Satan, in- voked by Victorian parents who want to silence their children at bedtime. The last one hundred years of their history have been a desperate battle to keep the horrors off their shores, and to free portions of their world. There are Storm Knights on Gaea, though they are usually outcasts from Victo- rian society. They scour the world searching for artifacts and eternity shardstoaid themin their fightagainst the Gaunt Man. There are also men and women who, for their own profit and personal gain, launch expeditions into the horror of the Orrorsh reality seeking treasure orarcane knowledge. Such expeditions usually end in trag- edy, for the world is alive with the Gaunt Man's terrors. ‘And what of the Gaunt Man? He ruled from his bridgehead in the Grand Canyon of Gaea’s North ‘America. Over the years he watched with grim satisfaction as the work of centuries of experimentation reached fruition on the world of Victoria. The GauntMan,asother High Lords, gains strength from robbing the inhabitants of worlds of their possibility energy. But his world was so violent and bloody that he seldom drew from a planet all the possibility energy that ‘was available on a world. To rectify this he spent thousands of years altering the nature of Orrorsh so that he gained more possibility from a person if the person was afraid. And since terror was what Orrorsh did best, he gained more and more possibility energy. 15Chapter Two }he World of Gaea 1. Victoria — England in our world, homeofthe Victorianson Gaea. ‘The country is like the England of our Earth at the end of the 19th century. 2. The Abyss—Earth’sGrand Canyon wasapparently the point of arrival for the Gaunt Man’s invasion of Gaea. Several explo- ration societies launched expe- ditions into Western North America in the 19th century in search of the source of the ter- rors. Fewadventurerscameback, and those who did return re- ported seeing Hell on Earth—a gant pit filed with towering lames. Creatures of the night danced and cavorted in the fires while mortal men, women and children burned but never died. 3. Jonestown — One of the few colonies that keeps in regu- Tar touch with Viera, Jones- town is a massive walled city that has large tracts of land set aside within its walls for farm- ing and livestock. 4, Rumostria — A kingdom carved out of Europe ruled by Prince Beastro,anundead ghoul, and populated by ghouls, vam- piresand zombies. Beastroisone of the Gaunt Man’s lieutenants left on Victoria to keep things in line, He has worked outa system of raising humans like livestock, whichishowacountry ofundead can remain alive. The culture seems based on easter Euro- Itwasduringhisinvasion of Victoria that the Gaunt Man fitted this new technology upon Heketon, his Dark- ness Device. For this reason he lets the Victorians live on their mother island, fornow he gainssomuch energy from their fear that it is profitable to hold back his hordes and keep the mortals alive. In fact, he aids the Victorians from time to time — planting clues to a werewolf’s identity, dropping an- Fr pean principalities of Earth’s middle ages. 5. Ch'in — This nation, Victoria’s China, has been over- run by the horrors, but has kept its national character intact. The Power of Fearhasteshaped crea- tures into the eastern mythos. Interestingly, the social structure ofmedieval China still exists,and the country is ruled by the 102nd dynasty. The imperial bureau- cracy is now more like the sta- tions of hell. The art of brush painting uses blood, and flower arrangements are created with human limbs. 6. Nippon — Like its sister island on the other side of the ‘world, Nippon, Victoria’s Japan, has kept the incursions of horror atbay. Having neverbeen pierced bya foreign navy, Nippon’s soci- ety ismuchasit was from the time of Medieval Japan. 7. Congo — Central Rhodes- land is even more rugged and jungle-grown than Earth’s AF rica in the 19th century. Itis also overrun! ous mutations of jungle wildlife. The animals are not only sentient but some- times armed with thicker hides covered with spikes, or larger than normal teeth. They have formed themselves into tribes and prey on human military out- posts established around the coast of Rhodesland. cient tomes with clues to destroying a new type of zombie — all so that the Victorians can continue to breed and prosper and live in fear. Eventually itcame time for Orrorsh toattack another world. With his new technology of fear the Gaunt Man knew he could set up one “colony” of fearafter another. Hecould then leave behind a trail of conquered worlds that would always feed his insatiable appetite for power. ‘Thrilled with hisnew power of fear, hesoughta world wealthy in possibil- ity energy, something that would let him gain vast amounts of energy. He found the world he was looking for. ‘Our Earth. It was similar to Victoria, but with a greater variety of possibil ties. It was 50 rich he knew he could notconqueritalone.So he found other High Lords of different realities and made an alliance. He would be the Torg of Earth, but they would share in the spoils. And so the Gaunt Man, Dr. Mobius, Jean-Paul Malraux I, Ryuchi Kanawa, Uthorion, Baruk Kaah and the cosm of Tharkold attacked the Earth, bringing their strange and vio- lent realities with them. Tharkold’s attack failed, but the others succeeded in establishing their reality. For his part, the Gaunt Man found away to havethe Victoriansaid himin his invasion of Earth. He had grown fond of their arrogance, their bloody past and their ability to be monstrous to their fellow man. He engi their aid by tricking them. en A Victorian scientist, Dr. Wells, found an ancient treatise of arcane knowledge stating that there were other worlds. These worldscould only bereached by weakening the fabric of reality. Wells thought that it might be possible to build a device based on the Knowledge and find aid for the world of Victoria. The machine worked, and Wells created a machine that created a bridge that connected Victoria to Earth. However, Wells saw the creatures of Darkness stream down the bridge — travelling from his world to Earth. He tried toturn off themachine, butit was tonoavail. He had brought the terrors to Earth. Out of an overwhelming guilt he committed suicide. He left word for his fellow countrymen as to what he had done. Knowing, as only a Victo- rian can know, that only they could stop the horrors that were invading, Earth and knowing their country was responsible forthe invasion, they gath- ered an army and crossed the bridge to Earth to defend our world for us. But their invasion only allowed the reality of Orrorsh to spread faster. 17Chapter Three The Realm of Fear he realm of Orrorsh re- fers to the area of Earth that the Gaunt Man has conquered and imposed his reality upon. Making up the realm are several important factors — the people and cultures of Gaea, the Gaunt Man’s ecology of hor- ror, and theorganizationsoftheGaunt Man and the Victorians of Gaea. ‘TheGaunt Man has hisown form of organization, though the system has slowed down in the High Lord's ab- sence. Below are descriptions of these and other organizations found in the realm of Orrorsh, as well as the people and creatures that make the organiza- tions run. The Gaunt Man ‘The most important thing to know about the Gaunt Man is that he is a creature that feeds on fear. In fact, this isalmost ll anyone knows of him, for his history is shrouded in mystery, a shroud of his own making. Unlike the other High Lords, who spend as much time proclaiming the glory of their victories as they do con- quering worlds, the Gaunt Man rarely speaks of his past. There are some who believe he does this to avoid revealing. any weakness that might be exploited by one of his underlings. Others sus- pect thathe doesit only toadd anair of mystery and tension to his presence. ‘The unknown is an elemental part of the reality he created in Orrorsh. Fi- nally there are those who believe that he does not speak of his past because he does not know it. Their opinion is that the twisted and deranged mind required to construct such a reality as Orrorshwould of necessity be unstable — that the Gaunt Man has simply lost touch with certain parts of his identity The Gaunt Man’s Goals and Ambitions Currently the Gaunt Man is in the maelstrom of a reality storm, strug- gling with a powerful eternity shard known as the Heart of Coyote. His body is torn apart again and again in thestruggle. Unless Thratchen an gain control of the Orrorsh Darkness De- ice the Maelstrom will some day stop and the Gaunt Man will probably be freed. With thisin mind, herearetheGaunt Man's goals, in order of their priority for him: First, he craves knowledge of the Nameless One. TheGaunt Man, one of the oldest of the High Lords, is ob- sessed by the stories of the entity and bends all his efforts to making contact, withit. Whereasonce hesought power out of a small-minded greed, he is aware now that there are even greater powers at work in the cosmverse, and he wants contact with those beings. Second, he seeks to increase his power. If he is to live long enough to find the Nameless One and to have enough powertosurvive contact with it, he must gain power. Third, he wishes to expand the boundaries of Orrorsh. Although he invited the other High Lords to Earth, hehas every intention of ruining them when the time is right. Like the world of Gaea, he wants to spread his hor- rors over every comer of the globe. Thenhe willestablish “colonies of fear” and reap the benefits of his invest- ment. These colonies will be established om the cosms of the other High Lords, as thesecosmsare now conveniently attached to Earth. Fourth, he wants a feeling of fear to pervade the areas within the bound- aries of Orrorsh. He does this by creat- ing reaturesand letting themrunram- pant through the civilized areas of the worlds he conquers. The monsters nevercomeanywhereneartooutnum- >Chapter Three‘Torg: Orvorsh bering the native populations of the worlds he is attacking, If the people of Earth were fighting armies of mon- sters, the populace would become numbed to the horror and the fear would leave. Fear rests upon the un- known. We feel fear when death can leap out at any moment, in any form, from powers we do not understand. It isthe tension of waiting that produces fear. Fifth, he desires Eternity Shards. Even though the Eternity Shards area weakness of the Gaunt Man, he de- sires their pure possibilities. His expe Tience with the Peart of Coyote el move him to take precautions when near an Eternity Shard, or Storm Knights who are rumored to have an Eternity Shard. Before any of these goals can be attained, the Gaunt Man must free himself from the Maelstrom. He is slowly draining the Heart of Coyote of its Possibilities. He now has the upper hand; soon he might claim victory. ‘The Gaunt Man’s Personality ‘The Gaunt Man is a contemplative creature who spends much of his time analyzing the nature of fear. There is nothing so enjoyable to the High Lord as touching upon some new truth of terror, some new insight as to what makes people afraid. The cane he car- ries is actually a possibility energy- driven item of fear. Not only is it a ‘weapon that can be used to render foes harmless with panic, but it con- stantly thrums terror in his hand, a ‘warm pulsing ofsheerhorrorthatcom- forts him as he plots his conquest of Earth. ‘There are two peaks that the Gaunt Man often experiences on either side of his steady contemplation. The first is rage, usually brought on by failures, or perceived failures, of his underlings. ‘The Gaunt Man has lived for so long and has gained so much power that he can accomplish almost anything to which hesets his mind. He such competence from his minions, even thoughthey seldom havelived formore than a few centuries. Theotherisa kind of joy —theonly joy someone like the Gaunt Man could experience. When he causes someone terror, or explains a new mystic toy to someone, he is like an Earth-child 20 thrilled with the death he can cause to acolony of ants. He revels in his rela- tivepowertothosearound him. Tosee the Gaunt Man happy is a terrible thing, for you know immediately that something uns} le must have Ng unspeakab Lord Bryon Salisbury The identity of Salisbury is a recent choice for the Gaunt Man, having played the part for less than a decade. ‘The original Salisbury was a dashing calvary officer who died fighting the horrors in Rhodesland on Gaea. The Gaunt Man stole his form and image for the rare times he wished to walk about Victorian society. The Victori- ‘ans treat him as a broken hero who, while respected, is not quite all right. Hisdisappearances wereattributed to “anurgent-alling toagain face the foe, towin one final victory,” as explained in notes written by the Gaunt Man himself. His occasionally staged victo- ries gave the Victorians evidence that still had what it took to be a Victorian, Whenthe Victoriansmounted an expedition to Earth, the Gaunt Man, returned toGaea inthe guise of Salisbury to passionately argue for the action. He again entered Earth with the Queen's ‘Own 17th Lancers. Quixotic as ever, Salisbury announced he was striki out for the heart of the enemy, an walked into the jungle. He has not been seen by Victorian society since. The Gaunt Man DEXTERITY 17 Dodge 22, maneuver 18, melee ‘weapons 20, prestidigitation20,un- irmed combats. STRENGTH 21 TOUGHNESS 28 PERCEPTION 29 Evidence analysis 31, find 30, lan- ise schole (testy shards scholar (the Nameless One) 33, trick 31 MIND 28 Test 32, occult 34, willpower 34 CHARISMA 2 ‘Charm 26, persuasion 27, taunt 23 SPIRIT 28 Faith Orrorsh) 37, intimidation 38, Reality 35 Possibilities: At least 140; more if he has recently tapped Heketon, his Darkness Device. Equipment: Cane with a small liv- ing head atthe top ofit. The cane is an occult device. Itcausesfear within a30 meter radius around the Gaunt Man whenthe High Lord raisesit. The spell functions as the spell fear, as listed in Chapter Six. Powers: attack form resistances (from physical, mental, and spiritual damage from magical attacks), regen- eration, resistance to normal weap- ons, silence. Corruption Value: 61 Fear Rating: 5 Perseverance DN: 27 Weakness: Eternity Shards. His ‘weaknessis severe, astheGauntMan’s incamation includes destructiveness so similar to the void and the Name- less One thatan Eternity Shard imme- diately causes a reality storm. This weakness takes precedence over the PowerofFear’sability tolimitinvoked reality storms. True Death: None known Heketon Heketon is the savage and proud Darkness Device of Orrorsh. It ap- pearsasa obsidian heart. Ithas worked with the Gaunt Man for millennia. They alone have bested another Dark- ness Device and High Lord. They tri- umphed over Kurst, then the High Lord of Dairoga, and his Darkness Device in a savage battle. The devas- tated Darkness Device blindly fled by dimthread. Heketon’s threads pierced in pursuit, It found the nearly insane Darkness Device in a then undiscov- ered cosm, Earth. The possibility en- ergy of Earth nearly overwhelmed the senses of the Orrorsh device. Heketon and the Gaunt Man must have this cosm. But how? Heketon knew its limits, and Earth was beyond it. But the Gaunt Man schemed. The Gaunt Man then returned tothe world oftheravagons, to appear as one of the Prophets, or Iri- shanti. Entire tribes followed the Gaunt Man's ‘of conquest and battles beyond any they had experienced. They found a Darkness. Device ‘when conquering a cosm. They led a Heutenant to “discover” the device, allowed him to leave to create hisown realm; Tharkold. A later cosm gave Uthorion the same opportunity. That 3‘Chapter Three was two realms whose High Lords had reason to fear the Gaunt Man, and whose High Lords’ greed could be manipulated in a predictable way. As cosms with High Lords were discov- ered, Heketon made sure thatits Dark- ness Device, and therefore the High Lord, had reason tobe impressed with the Gaunt Man's power. Discovering the cosm of Gaea pro- vided the final key, stable ecology of destruction and fear (see “Ecology of Horror” below). Now the invasion of, Earth could be readied. It was a inva- sion which the High Lords would win. Heketon’s triumph was near. Heketon carefully observed the opening days of the Possibility Wars. It was disturbed by what it saw, and what the ravagons reported. While Tolikely, the chance of Gefeat existed, One or more realms might fall, and then the possibility energy of Earth ‘would surge in a storm across the remaining realms, shattering the ste- laewhichbounded them. Allthe work of Heketon and its High Lord undone in one furious cataclysm. The Gaunt Man believed the plan still worked ‘well enough. Heketon did not. Heketon researched the problem with the blinding speed and power availabletoitas the master ofOrrorsh’s reality. Theanswerwasanoccultritual, one of daring complexity and scope requiring great sacrifice. The first sac~ rifice was betraying the Gaunt Man ta his enemies. Many others were neces- sary. The inal sacrifice involved itself, giving up part ofitselftousethe power of the occult. Theritual isnow complete. Now all Orrorsh stelae are a part of Heketon. Any future Orrorsh stelae will be part ofHeketon. Heketon may useits power directly through astelae, affecting any object or being within 10,000 meters of a connected stelae. Most importantly for Heketon, it may now create dimthreads from any of the stelae. These dimthreads will run from Orrorsh toa cosm previously drained Of ts possibilities by the Gaunt Man. If Core Earth’s possibility energy builds to the point that it threatens Orrorsh boundaries, the dimthreads are cre- ated, The Core Earth energy pours through the threads to the depleted ccosm, which offersless resistance than the reality of Orrorsh. The excess en- Fe ergy is bled off, and the horror reality preserved. Orrorsh is now the only realm which can survive alone on Earth. Heketon is the architect of horror’s ultimate victory on Earth. Now Heketon waits to see the fate of the Gaunt Man. If he frees himself, Heketon shall again offer him the po- sition of High Lord. If the Gaunt Man fails to win the struggle with the Heart of Coyote, Heketon will wait to see if any Nightmare or member of the Hel- lion Court challenges Thratchen. Only with reluctance will Heketon accept ‘Thratchen; it will first transform the techno-demontothe reality of Orrorsh. Heketon DEXTERITY 0 STRENGTH O TOUGHNESS 190 PERCEPTION 33 Alteration magic 34, divination ‘magic 34, find 37, scholar (horror) 37, research 35, tracking 35, trick 36 ‘MIND 40 Apportation magic 41, conjuration magic 44, occult 56, science 46, test 47, willpower 47, CHARISMA 28 Charm 30, persuasion 30, taunt 33, SPIRIT 50 Faith (Nameless One) 51, focus 51, intimidation 51, reality 64 Possibilities: Untold thousands Powers: Heketon can release cor- rupted souls to inhabit new monsters (see below). Corruption Value: 63 Fear Rating: 5 Perseverance DN: 27 Weakness: None True Death: None Stelae Orrorsh stelae are occult objects which are imbued with additional power by Heketon. The objects which have been converted into stelae in- clude a gypsy dagger, a tombstone, a church gargoyle, one of General Wellington’ uniforms,adeckofcards, and the jellied remains of a Victorian soldier. The most common stelae a statuettes representing one of the Nightmares, the Hellion Court or the Gaunt Man. This statuettes weigh be- tween fourand twenty kilos, and have Toughness ranging from 15to 19. The largest are half a meter tall, the small- est” no more 20 centimeters (eight inches). They are made of rock, most frequently marble. The occult process turns the statuettes a sickly green- black. Thratchen Thratchen,the oftheGaunt Man's position, has declared himself the Regent of Orrorsh. He claims that the High Lord himself put him in charge of the realm, and while many believed him at first, his story is begin- ning to look threadbare. fatchen is a “techno-demon” from the cosm of Tharkold. The Possi- bility Raiders from Tharkold attacked the world of Kadandra. Kadandra de- feated them, in part due to the warn- ings of a child prodigy named Dr. Hachi Mara-Two. She warned her le of the upcoming invasion and they applied their cybertechnology to create weapons of defense to beat off the Tharkoldu. Thratchen was on Kadandra when they defeated his reality, and became trapped when the Tharkold bridge collapsed. In'a fury of vengeance Tiakhen Gael doukDe Mare Two, killing her friends and associ- ates. Dr. Mara-Two escaped by gating to the Cosm of Earth. Thratchen fol- lowed, believing the child had trav- elled to Earth to warn its inhabitants that his people were about to invade the Soviet Union. Warned in time by the Core Earth psychic Katrina Tovarish, the Soviets gave Tharkold its second defeat. It could take Thratchen’s High Lord some time to attain the power needed for another cosm raid. ‘Tharkold’s reality isa reality of hor- ror based on advanced , the grafting of machinery into living flesh, This differs greatly from the reality of Orrorsh, wherethetechnology ssimple and the horrors are usually something ‘between man and animal. Thratchen is Tharkold is a world where man is tumed into monsters through the use oftechnology. Menand women areso laden with machinery that they can- not even touch each other without 21Chapter Three causing pain. He has metal claws that can extend and retract from his hand, mechanical wings, and powerful, me chanical legs. His flesh is enhanced by artificial skin. A human being can be strapped down and altered beyond his own recognition. Often the truly evil creatures remember who they werebeforetthey asked for power from the High Lord of Tharkold. In that itis similar to Orrorsh, Thratchen conducts the affairs of Orrorsh ina similar fashion to the way the Gaunt Man did. However, Thratchen is burdened by the need to find the Darkness Device and make it his. Many suspect it is waiting either for the Gaunt Man to free himself or waiting for a worthy successor. Thratchen desperately want to find the device before Heketon decides another creature of Orrorsh is more valuable than he. Thratchen DEXTERITY 15, Dodge 17, energy weapons 17, fire combat 16, flight 19, maneuver 18, stealth 18, unarmed combat 23 STRENGTH 18 ‘TOUGHNESS 26(30) PERCEPTION 24 Evidence analysis 26, find 27, scholar (The Nameless One) 27, tracking 25, trick 26 MIND 25 Science 26, test 27, willpower 27, CHARISMA 16 Charm 21, persuasion 22, taunt 23 SPIRIT 24 Faith (Tharkoldu Evil) 29, focus 30, intimidation 26, reality 28 Possibilities: 40 Equipment: cybersenses, internal computer (+3 bonus to evidence analy- sis, find, and targeting rollsifthe target ‘generates electrical impulses, such as, character with cyberware), cyber- claws (STR+5/ damage value 23) cyberwings speed value 11), laser pis- tol (damage value 19), armor (TOU +6/ armor value 30, its maximum). Goals: To find the Darkness Device and become High Lord of Orrorsh before the Gaunt Man is freed or an- other inhabitant of Orrorsh becomes High Lord before him; to obtain enough power to discover more infor- mation about the Nameless One. Miracles: Because of Thratchen’s fe high faith and focus ratings he can call almost any miracle of Tharkold into existence. Below are two sample miracles of his horrid native realm. The gamemaster should use them as guidelines for creating other miracles of Tharkold: Mechanization Spiritual Rating: 16 Community Rating: 12 Difficulty: 18 Range: touch Duration: five minutes Effect: turns the victim into a me- chanical slave ‘Mechanization transforms the cursed character into a gleaming metal, ro- otic version of himself. Hisskin trans- formsintochrome, hiseyes glow bright white, his ears become radio receivers and his mouth sealed with an elec- tronic transmitter. He is a mindless servant of whoever cursed him. The character'sattributesandskillsremain thesame forall but Strengthand Tough- ness, which each gain a bonus of +1 for‘Torg: Orrorsh each success level attained by the faith total of the miracle. Thus, a good suc- cess is worth +3 to the two attributes. The character who called down mecha- nization must be able to speak to the character he controlled. Ifthe caller of the curse is able to transmit via elec- tronic means he can control his me- chanical slave through such means. The cursed character will hurt his friends, and even destroy himself, ifso commanded by the focus character. Animate Cables Spiritual Rating: 14 Community Rating: 11 Didteulye Range: faith total Duration: special Effect: animates cables and wires 0 they can kill organic life within range ‘Thismiracletargetsone person. Any ‘metal wires that the person is in con- tact with — the telephone cord of a phone he is using, the wiresina car he isdriving—suddenly cometolifeand attempt to strangle him. The duration of the miracle is a number of rounds equal tothe result points ofthemiracle. Ifthe focus character received four re. sult points, the wires would be ani- ‘mated for four rounds. The wires all havethefollowingattributesand skills: DEX12 Maneuver 13, unarmed combat 13 STR14 Tou Notethatacarhasmany more wires than a phone and it is possible that more than one wire attacksa character depending on what the character was in contact with when the curse was called down upon him. Themaximum, number of wires is five. The wires will ‘work in coordination if possible, that is one will hold a character in place while another tries to strangle him. The cables can rip themselves out of their socketsand moveindependently of their power source. They can crawl very fast with a speed value of nine. Tharkold’s Axioms Magic 12, Social 20, Spiritual 17, Technological 26 24 Thratchen and the High Lords Thratchen has beenacting asregent ‘of Orrorsh. His attitudes and dealings with the High Lords are the following: Kanawa Kanawa’soperativeshaveinvested timeandeffortintopreventing Orrorsh from expanding its boundaries and slaying Orrorsh expeditions into Core Earth territory. Thratchen is fighting Kanawa to the best of his abilities. Jean Malraux I Antipope Jean Matraux is not the samebeing with whom theGauntMan made his alliance. The holy power of the sae combined with the new technology might well havethe power to wipe out bors unholy reality, as Kadandra defeated the techno-hor- ror realm of Tharkold; on the other hand it may be subverted into techno- horror. Thratchen now plays an even hand with the Cyberpapacy. ‘Dr. Mobius Of the High Lords, none amuses Thratchenas muchas Dr. Mobius. The Doctor’s madness lets him rule his realm with a degree of glee that is unknown tothe techno-demon. While hedoesnot understand the high-paced reality of the Nile Empire, its novelty isasource of greatentertainment. Since Mobius has made no effective moves against Orrorsh, Thratchen will let Orrorsh’s agreement with the Nile Empire stand. He would most likely call upon the Doctor for aid against Malratxx, possibly Nippon. Baruk Kaah Although the Saar of the Edeinos no longer trusts the Gaunt Man, he is working in concert with the forces of Orrorsh. This arrangement is vital to Thratchen, given the open hostilities between Nippon Tech and the Living, Land. Pella Ardinay This “ ‘good” High Lord is a night- marefor Fhrtchen Herfantastoneal ity, fantasy with magic and honor, is a threat to fear and corruption of Orrorsh. He will lend all the aid that he can to Uthorion in the dark lord’s attemptonceagaintousurpthethrone. The Structure of Orrorsh “Know that fear rules Orrorsh. The Gaunt Man made it no secret that he drew his power from Heketon, the Darkness Device of Orrorsh. He let all under his command know that it is fear that aj the device, and that he seceive the devier’s favor for ce. ating fear on Gaea and Earth. In turn, whichever subjects created fear on Gaeaand Earth would receiverewards from the Gaunt Man. Orrorsh became pyramid of fear, with zombies vying to create fear beneath the powerful vampyres, each creature supporting the fear of the greater monster above it, Atop the pyramid rested the Gaunt Man. Above him, floating just over the pyramid’s peak, was Heketon. The entire structure served the Darkness Device; it was the system's sole pur- Pose. “Youask me what the organization of the Gaunt Man is. This is hard for ‘me to put into words you know, for your minds, your world, are used to organizing the world. The point of ‘organizing the worldistoremovefear. You catalogue the stars, name all the animals, study the motions of the plan- ets so that they are no longer mysteri- ous. You, Bryce, your people, from what you have told me, created a gov- emment based upon logic and social law. Men gathered and debated. The government arose out of rational ar- Orrorsh is a place of fear. Itis a place where fear rules, not rational thought. The notion of having a regulated bu- reaucracy has no place in the Realm. But stil, there are positions of Orrorsh. Not always of authority, mind you, but of power.Chapter Three “Ruling Orrorsh is the Gaunt Man, the High Lord of the Realm. He draws his power from the Darkness Device, andalllofhisminions were taught this. ‘The Gaunt Man made this clear to his minions so they would not try toover- throw him — every one of the Gaunt Man's servants knew that without the power of the mysterious Darkness Device to support him, he had little chance of challenging the Gaunt Man. “The Gaunt Manis the mastermind of Orrorsh and its invasions. It is he who decides what core areas of an invaded world the horrorsattack next. He decides who sits on the Hellion Court, which of his minions rules dif- ferent parts of the realm, and which corrupted souls are assigned to what creatures. “Asto his methods of invasion: Itis his policy to ‘soften’ an area with ran- dom attacks of terror in an area he ‘wants to conquer. He destabilizes the government with mysterious murders of political leaders, and supernatural slaughter of the general populace. From what I understand Thratchen has followed this policy and shownits effectiveness within the borders of Thailand, Cambodia,and Vietnam. He has used zombie death squads to spread fear and panic throughout the general populaceand the governments of the nations. The supernatural ele- ments tended to confuse the people who confronted the zombies. “In one of the nations, Vietnam I think, nationalist forces captured and studied a zombie. Did this calm the people who studied the creature? Cer- tainly not. For in your world such a monstrosity brings every underlying precept of the nature of reality into ‘question. You have all spent so much time on Earth figuring out how reality really works. When confronted by a creature that defies all you know a sense of dread passes over you. One of the scientists who studied the zombie, Dr. Nu Pham, took his own life after studying the creature. In his note he wrote — ‘How can we survive the invasion? They have the power to cre- ate the horrors that mankind dreams. ‘As mirrors of our subconscious such monsters were ours to control. But as physical realities ...? — No. We are doomed.’ SE “You may think that since Vietnam has heard about the invasion in the East Indies the impact of monsters running through their countryside ‘would belessened. Thisis notthecase. Untila person sees a monstrosity with his own eyes or holds in his own arms the body of a loved one killed by a ‘creature of Orrorsh, thereis.adenial of the reality of such beings. I saw the same thing occur on Gaea, for the citi- zens of Victoria believed that the colo- nists of India and the New World were reacting to intense loneliness when the first of monsters started filtering back to the Mother Country. twas not until the creatures overran the continent that the full impact took place. “Of course, ifthe High Lord sends toomany monsters nto theareastobe “softened” then the impact is lost. People become used to the beasts and terrors. For thisreasontheGaunt Man, and now Thratchen, keeps tight con- tqlay Wich mecareTamat chee No Nightmare is allowed to send any creatures outside of his province with- out the express permission of the High Lord, and this is rarely done. It is usually members of the Court or their assistants that are sent on missions outside the realm. “The Gaunt Man hasnoconcern for taxes or any other monetary wealth. He does not want tribute or glory or the respect of his allies or enemies, He only craves power. And he generates this power through the fear his min- ions create.” — from a transcript of an interview with Kurst,a former seroant ofthe Gaunt ‘Man Hellion Court Beneath the title of High Lord, the greatest power in the land is the Hel- lionCourt. The Court membersare the mnal servants of the Gaunt Man— messengers, his assassins, his en- forcers, hisspies. Membersof thecourt oftenlivein lllmound Keepand report directly to the Gaunt Man. Members of the Court are usually drawn from the Nightmares, though very power- fulcreaturesare often put directly into the Court. ‘TheGauntManhada Hellion Court serve him for centuries. Its members kept changing, but it always seemed to serve its purpose, for its well re- warded members always remained faithful to the High Lor Despite this, Thratchen has insti- tuted the Hellion Court in hisRegency, though he has reduced the number of the Court to keep better control of it. His court thas five members: Baron Victor Manwaring, Parok, Gen- eral Avery Wellington, Lord Stanton Cheltenham, and Basjas. Baron Victor Manwaring (Vampyre Mantooth) The Baron is a new member to the Court. He is a vampyre, of pale skin and jet black hair. Hie appears to be 40 years old, but undoubtedly is much older. Manwaring is from Gaea’s Eu- rope, slain many, many years ago. He hada great deal of poweronGaea, but had a falling out with the Gaunt Man when he demanded that he be ap- pointed a member of the Court. He was hunted by the Gaunt Man's min- ions, but avoided them. He has now returned, assuming a place in Victo- rian society and serving Thratchen. Manwaring is aware that Thratchen ‘usurped the Gaunt Man, and is doing everything in his power to insure that the techno-demon acquires the power he needs to retain his position. Victor Manwaring, DEXTERITY 12 Acrobatics 20, dodge 19, maneuver 17 running 17, stealth20, unarmed combat 20 STRENGTH 17 Climbing 19 TOUGHNESS 18 PERCEPTION 11 Alteration magic 16, divination magic 14, find 14, language 15, scholar (Victorian Culture) 16, trick 16 MIND 14 Test 23, occult 16, willpower 23 CHARISMA 14 Charm 26, persuasion 21, taunt 16 SPIRIT 9 Intimidation 18, reality 21 Possibilities:atleastfourperStorm Knight Powers: life drain (Strength), infec- tion, regenerate, shapeshift (bat), Up 25org: Orrorsh condition (night) Corruption Value: 21 Fear Rating: 2 Perseverance DN: 21 Weakness: cross, holy water, stake through heart, symie condition (day). ‘True Death: Decapitation Natural Tools: fangs (STR +1/dam- age value 18) Goals: To help Thratchen attain the power needed to become High Lord. Basjas Basjas is a giant, intelligent spider. Her home is Illmound Keep, though she frequently wanders the world on assignments for the ruler of Orrorsh. She stands about three meters high and her body is about four meters in radius. Shehas theability to shapeshift into a human form, and does so when travelling amidst humans suits her purposes. She has two human forms available to her —a young girl, about five years old, and a tall, attractive 26 woman in her early thirties. Basjas knows that the Gaunt Man is impris- oned, forshe has seen him. Shehas not told Thratchen this. Instead, she has made it clear to the Gaunt Man that shestillserves him. Althoughshedoes not have the power to free the High Lord, shemindshisaffairs in the court. She helps to insure that the realm is strong and that Thratchen does noth- ing to threaten its existence for his ‘own personal gain. She has set into operation a cabal of Nightmares that willremovethetechno-demonassoon as the Gaunt Man is freed. She has not made her knowledge public, for she, like Thratchen, wants people to think that everything is progressing, as it should. In this way she hopes to pre- vent the realm from ripping itself in a desperate powerstruggle. Asitstands, since Thratchen rules the realm as the Gaunt Man would, there is no need to remove him until the Gaunt Man re- tums. Basjas (Spider Form) DEXTERITY 18 Dodge22,stealth24 unarmed com- bat 24 STRENGTH 22 TOUGHNESS 18 PERCEPTION 16 Find 19, tracking 18, trick 19 MIND 19 Test 21, taunt 14 CHARISMA 11 SPIRIT 17 Intimidation 21, reality 31 Possibilities: At least seven per Storm Knight Natural Tools: Mandibles (STR+-6/ damage value 28); Web (can spin a weblargeenough foronehuman-sized creature every 10 minutes; the web has a TOU 35. To free oneself of the web a character must get a Strength total over the value of the web.) Powers: cold aura; darkness; si- lence; life drain (Dexterity) anyone trapped in a web spun by Basjas suf- fersthelifedrain— She usually leaves =(Chapter Three her pray in the web for one day to get possibility points, and then eats the ‘victim; resistance to normal weapons. Corruption Value: 23 Fear Rating:3 Perseverance DN: 25 Weakness: gold True Death: Basjas must be ‘wrapped in her own web for three days, and then she will die Basjas (Human Form) DEXTERITY 15 Acrobatics 18, beast riding 19,dodge 18, maneuver 19, stealth 18, un- armed combat 19 STRENGTH 12 TOUGHNESS 13 PERCEPTION 21 Find 22, tracking 23, trick 22 MIND 21 Test 24, willpower 22 CHARISMA 22 Charm 25, persuasion 24, taunt 23 SPIRIT 17 Intimidation (19) Reality 31 Skill Notes: Both human forms have the same Attributes and skills. When in the form of the little girl, however, Basjas does not reveal most of the abilities. Equipment: None Goals: Tokeep therealm of Orrorsh protected until theGaunt Man returns; to subtly prepare Thratchen’s down- fall. General Avery Wellington Wellington is the commander of the Victorian forces on Majestic. He introduced the forces of the occult to Governor Robert Ashton, governor of New London. Wellington is a carry over from the Gaunt Man’s Hellion Court. Although hehassuspicions that Thratchen’s story is false, he is not terribly concerned with the truth of the matter. Wellington suspects that the Gaunt Man is actually leaving subtle clues tosuggest thathe hasdied as a test to see how the members the Hellion Court will react. For Wellington, it makes no difference whether he serves the Gaunt Man or Thratchen. His concern is that he is rewarded with power and the plea- sures of the senses. Wellington has a reputation as a military leader. Although the man isa Fr brilliant tactician, many of his victo- ries against Orrorsh’s horrors have been prearranged with either the Gaunt Man or Thratchen. In such cases he has been given information to destroy horrors that have gotten out of hand, or the victories are staged. Wellington's value is that he can be used to direct troops to their deaths or to create the impression of victory when there was none. His reputa- tion is so great that he can lose and still be respected. Wellington is a fit man of 51 years. His hair and mustache are gray, but his body is firmand trim. Although he appears to be a man in excellent shape for his age, his physical form is actu- ally superhuman — rewards from the power of the Gaunt Man. General Avery Wellington DEXTERITY 12 Beast riding 14, dodge 16, fire com- bat 17, maneuver 17, melee combat 21, running 14, stealth 15, swim- ming 14, unarmed combat 15 STRENGTH 13 TOUGHNESS 14 PERCEPTION 14 Find 17, language 14, scholar (mili- tary tactics) 20, tracking 15, trick 16 MIND 12, oe Test 17, occult 18, willpower 15 CHARISMA 13 Taunt 18 SPIRIT 12 Faith (Sacellum) 18, intimidation 16, reality 20 Possibilities: atleast four perStorm Knight Powers:resistance tonormalweap- ons, regeneration, armor defeating at- tack (any melee weapon) Corruption Value: 22 Fear Rating: 2 Perseverance DN: 23, Weakness: None Known True Death: Slain at sunrise in a duel with a single opponent. Equipment: Tawning 38; (Tech 19; damage value 15; range 3-5, 15, 40) Goals: To please whomever is rul- ing Orrorh through acts of military sabotage; to live a life of luxury. Aub sii is unnaturally agile, not possessthe power levels of the other members of the Court. Lacking that power, he is constantly guarded by ten elitesoldiers, known to the Victorians as the Wellington Reds. The Wellington Reds have no idea of the dark secrets and activities their commander is involved with. To their eyeshe isa great man that must be protected, even at the cost of their own lives. Wellington Red DEXTERITY 12 Beast riding 14, dodge 14, fire com- bat 15, maneuver 14, running 13, stealth 13, swimming 13, unarmed ‘combat 15 STRENGTH 12 ‘TOUGHNESS 12 PERCEPTION 11 Find 15, scholar (military tactics) 13, tracking 12, trick 13 MIND 9 ‘Test 11, willpower (11) CHARISMA 9 SPIRIT 9 Intimidation 11, faith (Sacellum) 13 Possibility Potential: Some (25) Powers: none Corruption Value: 13 Fear Rating: 1/2 Suggested Perseverance DN: 10 Weakness: None True Death: A peaceful, non-vio- lent death. Equipment: Lee-Hollings Rifle (damage value 18) bayonette STR +5/ damage value 17), Goals: To preserve Victorian soci- ety; uphold the laws of the Queen; protect with their very lives the blood of General Avery Wellington. Lord Stanton Cheltenham LordStanton Cheltenham isacarry- over from the Gaunt Man’s Court. He has lived for nearly three hundred years, and has served the Gaunt Man faithfully during that time. Chel- tenham was in India when the Gaunt Man's bridges locked onto Gaea in India and the western United States. He encountered the minions of the Gaunt Man, agents sent ahead to se- ‘cure recruits from Gaea’s inhabitants. Cheltenham, a wealthy lord with hid- den and deep interests in the occult, quickly agreed to help the invaders, and sacrificed members of his own expedition toseal the pact. Hereturned to Victoria, hisbags stuffed with secret 27‘Torg: Orrorsh tomes of occult lore, and engaged in passionate study. He only came out of hislibrary long enough toattend meet- ings of the House of Lords, where he argued vehemently against pursuing the stories of evil horrors invading Gaea. “It’s all rubbish,” he said again and again. “We've better places to spendourtimeandmoney.” Hehelped the Gaunt Man eat away at the far flung Victorian empire. Today Cheltenham is powerful inthe powers of the occult, but is only a husk of a man. Hisskin is withered and dry, and when he speaks the movement of his jaw creates a soft sound like leaves against pavement. His mind is now ce an animal’s — but instead of searching for food and a warm place tossleep, he is obsessed with informa- tion about the occult. He protects him- self when threatened just as a dog might, and he serves his master just as faithfully. He always appears distant, pethaps even senile — but he is not. His mind is sharp and alert. He only appears unfocused because he spends 80 much of his time thinking about new experiments he wants to try in his occult lab. Cheltenham gave up his placein Victorian society centuriesago. Lord Stanton Cheltenham DEXTERITY 12 Beast riding 14, dodge 16, fire com- bat 15, stealth 15, unarmed combat 15 STRENGTH 15 TOUGHNESS 15 PERCEPTION 18 Find 21, language 19, tracking 20, trick 19 MIND 19 Occult 24, test 22 CHARISMA 13 Taunt 16 SPIRIT 14 faith (Orrorsh evil) 17, intimidation 18, reality 22 Possibilities:atleastfive perStorm Knight Equipment: Amulet of Regenera- tion (created through the occult, heals ‘one wound the round after the wound istaken);love of Boiling Blood (when thegloveis pressed againstthe flesh of someone and the words “To the Mas- ter” spoken the glove discharges the spell boiling blood. The spell is cast at Cheltenhham's occult skill level. 28 Powers: attack form resistances (physical, mental and spiritual dam- age from magical attacks) Corruption Value: 28 Fear Rating: 3 Perseverance DN: 23 Weakness: His personal posses- sions from his life before corruption. ‘True Death: Burned in flames fu- eled entirely by occult books from his collection. Goals: Toobtainmoreoccultknow! edge; to please the ruler of Orrorsh to gain more knowledge of the occult and more power to live longer to gain more knowledge of the occult Parok Parokis the Ravagon Warlord who pledged his race to the Gaunt Man ‘generations ago. He is one of the few ‘creatures that accompany the Gaunt Man from world to world as he pur- sues his goal of power. Parok is not certain that the Gaunt Man was be- trayed by Thratchen. He carries out his duties faithfully, waiting for the Gaunt Man’s return. The Warlord is given to rash outburst of rage, and often jeopardizes his own life to deal with problems personally if he be- lieves thata solution has been toolong in coming. Parok values his loyalty, and if he finds certain proof of what ‘Thratchen had done to the High Lord hewill ly withall speed to thetechno- ‘demon’s presence and and attempt to rip him to shreds. Parok DEXTERITY 15, Dodge 18, flight 17, maneuver 18, unarmed combat 24 STRENGTH 17 TOUGHNESS 19 (25) PERCEPTION 13 Find 19, language 16, tracking 19, trick 18 MIND 12, Test 13(22) CHARISMA 10 Taunt 13 SPIRIT 10 Intimidation 19, faith (Irishantism) 20, reality 19 Possibilities: at least six per Storm Knight Powers: resistance tonormalweap- ons Corruption Value: 22 Fear Rating: 2Chapter Three Perseverance DN: 25 Weakness: Enchanted weapons made of elemental earth ‘True Death: Occult ritual to sever the wings from his body Natural Tools: natural armor (TOU +6/ armor value 22); talons (STR+3/ damage value 17); wings (speed value 13) Goals: Toservethe High Lord faith- fully; to hunt down and destroy Stormers. The Nightmares ‘The world of Gaea and the Orrorsh realmare divided into provinces, and each of these provinces is ruled by a creature designated as a Nightmare. ‘Those areas which the Gaunt Man al- lows the Victorians to rule are not divided into provinces. Victorian ar- eas are bounded by Nightmare con- trolled provinces to simultaneously heighten the Victorians fear of the world and reinforce the Victorian’s belief that their ways are right. If the Victorians are wrong, why do their areas have fewer monsters than those that immediately surround them? The size of a Nightmare's province is determined by the population of an area. The average province contains about 1,000,000people. Thereareabout 200 Nightmares in the Orrorsh realm on Earth. Different areas can have wildly varying populations, however. ‘Singapore has only one Nightmare for the entire city. Each Nightmare is responsible to the Hellion Court and the Gaunt Man (or currently, Thratchen). Each ‘Nightmare’s task is to insure that the population of his province is kept ina constant state of fear. How they do this is their choice. Many of them uti- lize creatures which are very familiar from Earth’s horror stories, but others create according to a Nightmare’s twisted whims. They are also respon- sible for restraining their province's horrors if t appears the population is ‘becoming jaded to the effects of the terror. Below are some of the more active nightmares. Ahjebax Ahjebax (ah-JAY-bax) is giant ‘mound of pus and ooze. His province includes Jakarta and the area to the ‘west of the city. He lives far beneath the ground in the midst of a compli- cated maze of caverns surrounded by guards of his own design. This Night- mare has bent his imagination toward creating oozing creatures, creatures of shapes and undefinable form. Itissaid that thecreatures of Ahjebax’s imagination are so strange that even people looking directly at them have trouble determining exactly what the creature looks like. When asked about the monsters later, witnesses hesitate in their descriptions, for they are un- able to accurately describe the beasts andoften doubt their very sanity — ‘what they poset di been true. Ahjebax is a powerful sorcerer of the occult, which is responsible for his, very strange appearance. Little is known of the Nightmare's origin, though he is rumored to be an Ameri- can Indian shaman from Gaea who used the new mystical ‘intro- duced by the Gaunt Man’s reality to travel into an even Dream Journey state. (The Indians of Gaea had always taken “journeys” in their dreams.) With the Gaunt Man’s hor- rible magic available, it became pos- sible to bring creatures back from the dream place. Ahjebax enslaved the creatures and began gathering more and more power on Gaea, slowly cor- rupting into his present form. Ahjebax is aware that the Gaunt Man is entrapped in the maelstrom, but he as probed the situation with his mystical powers and knows there isnothing he can do tohelp his master. He therefore does nothing but dream of new terrors and use his mystical abilities to create them. Abjebax is almost always found in hiscentral chamber, forhespends very little time moving about. The room is thick with smoke that encourages the “dreamstate” he enters when for creatures upon which to model new servants, Abjebax DEXTERITY 9 Maneuver (14) STRENGTH 14 TOUGHNESS 25 PERCEPTION 19 Alteration magic22,divinationmagic 25, scholar (dreams) 21, trick 22 MIND 20 ‘Apportation magic 22, conjuration magic 21, occult 23, test 22, will- power 23 CHARISMA 11 SPIRIT 19 Faith (Orrorsh evil) 20, intimida- tion 24, reality 26 Skill Notes: Through his years of study Ahjebax has found a way to create mystical wardsusing thespell ‘madness. Anyoneentering Ahjebax’s central chamber is attacked by the spell once. The spell is cast at Ahjebay’s alteration skill level. If anyone exits the chamber and re- enters the spell fires once again. Possibilities:atleast fourperStorm Knight Powers: attack form resistances (heat! fire, physical, mental, and spiri- tual damage from magical attacks); hypnosis; darkness; fire resistance; resistance to normal weapons Corruption Value: 32 Fear Rat Perseverance DN: 24 ‘Weakness: none known True Death: An occult tool from something taken from the “dream state.” Goals: To serve the Gaunt Man; to plumb the horrors of his own dreams and bring them to life. Dr. Willhem Sconce Dr Sconceresidesinagrimcastleat the southeastern tip of Majestic. He is a member of Victorian society who bent his genius toward finding a mys- tical meansto destroy theGaunt Man's power. As he studied the dark arts of the occult he was seduced by them. His lust for the occult led him to make a pact with the Gaunt Man. Although he carefully hid his change in nature from his fellow Victorians he quickly became one of the Gaunt Man's prize agents of evil. Eventually Dr. Sconce impressed the Gaunt Man so much that the scientist was offered a posi- Sees‘Torg: Orrorsh tionasa Nightmare forthe invasion of Earth. Sconce quickly accepted. When itcame time for the invasion he estab- lished a castle far from the Victorian colony, claiming that he needed to keep a distance from the colony “in case my research should release forces that might threaten New London.” In fact, he was simply looking for a way to keep the Victorians from prying into his affairs. Dr. Sconce is a mad scientist. He creates life from dead limbs, dabbles with placing the hearts ofatigerintoa human body (and vice versa), and ex- plores the effects of potions to make people behave in a purely evil way. His castle is filled with strange ma- chines, rods that emit bolts of electric- ity, odd dials and gauges. The whole place looks like something out of Dr. ‘Mobius’ realm of weird science. Dr. ‘Sconce’s technology is not weird sci- ‘ence, nor is iteven technology. Itis all based on the occult, shaped to look like science and technology. Castle Sconce is alive with the ex- periments (failures) of the doctor's work. There are flesh golems, men with the brains of sharks, crawling, disembodied hands, and worse. These are also the terrors the doctor sends ‘out into his province. His creatures usually kill Core Earth inhabitantsand Victorians and then bring the corpses back to the castle. Sconce is one of the growing num- ber of Nightmares that has realized that the Gaunt Man is no longer in charge and that Heketon has vanished. Sconce is ambitious enough to believe that he is capable of becoming the new, true High Lord of Orrorsh. Al- though he appears to be following Thratchen sordersheisreallyattempt- ingtobesohorrific,so terrible, that the Darkness Device will pick him as the Gaunt Man’s successor. Dr. Sconce’s most able assistantisa misshapen hunchback named Golo. Golo is one of the doctor's first experi- ments — living creature made out of the pieces of corpses. Golo is loyal to Dr. Sconce to the point of fanaticism. ‘The two are rarely apart. ThetrioofStorm Knights gressed carefully argh jungle toward Dr. Sconce’s castle. ‘They could see it in the distance, resting atop the a cliff halfway up the steep mountain. “That'libea good climb,” said Marcus, the Core Earth merc. ‘Arean, the mage, and Scuzz, the cyberpunk, grunted in agree- ment. ‘They had talked less and less as they had travelled through the jungle. Ever since Jenny had been taken out by the tiger with the head of a blonde-haired woman. The stitches around the thing’s neck had been large and ‘obvious. Marcus remembered that the woman, the face of the woman, had been attractive. He wondered who she had been before Sconce got his hands on her. The woman, her head, had screamed the whole time of the attack, as if she suffering from intolerable pain—butatnotime did she sound human. They knocked her out, the creature she'd been turned into... Butonly after the thing had torn into Jenny. The kid barely had a chance. The monstrosity leaped out of the jungle before any of them knew what was going on. When the creatureregained con- sciousness, they'd tried talking to it, to see if it could tell them anything of Dr. Sconce. It wasall tied up and wasn’t going any- where. Her mouth still had Jenny's blood all over it. She didn’t say a word —but looked upat them. Eyesbig. She wanted todie. Marcus had seen the look before. She was begging them to ill her. Arean wasn’t up for it, she wanted to study the animal, he Many Hands of Dr. Sconce but he made a unilateral deci- sion, and before they could stop him he whipped out his pistol and tooka clean shot to her fore- head. So they hadn't talked much. Not for the last couple of days. And then the rustling noise retuned. They hadn't heard it sincebefore Jenny’sdeath.Some- thing in the brush. Travelling alongside them. Except it was louder now. Like there were more of them. ‘And then Marcus felt some- thing grab his ankle. He jumped back and looked toward the ground. He didn’t see anything —but there wassstill pressure on his ankle. He looked down at his foot — and saw a disembodied hand clutching at his ankle. The thing’s fingers started to climb his leg. Marcus stooped down to pry the thing off his ankle — Before he knew it another hand scuttled out of the under- brush and latched onto his right wrist. Instinctively he pulled up and raised his left hand to tear thething fromhis wrist. Thehand was scarred and golden brown. Veins and bits of torn muscle trailed out of the thing's wrists. “Marc,” began Scuzz, "What's thedeal...2” The punk’squestion was intercepted by Arean’s scream. Marcus whirled and saw hands, dozens of them falling from the giant leaves of the palm treesall around them. Arean was covered with them, others began crawling up Scuzz’s legs. Marcus felt something land on his shoulder. In an instant he felt a pressure against his throat as the fingers of a disembodied hand began to squeeze around his neckChapter Three Dr. Willhelm Sconce DEXTERITY 13 Beast riding 16, dodge 15, fire com- bat 14 STRENGTH 12 TOUGHNESS 11 PERCEPTION 22 Evidence analysis 24, find 24, first aid 26, language 23, trick 25, MIND 21 Medicine 28, occult 25, willpower 2 CHARISMA 18 SPIRIT 14 faith (Sacellum) 15, reality 21 Possibilities:atleast fourperStorm Knight Equipment:BP 1856 (damagevalue 15) Powers: None, not yet a monster Corruption Value: 23 Fear Rating: 2 Perseverance DN: 20 Weakness: None ‘True Death: None. When killed will g0 to waiting village to be assigned to a monster that will havea True Death. Goals: To tap the mysteries of life and death; to create such horrors that Heketon, the Darkness Device of Orrorsh, will take notice of him and make him High Lord of Orrorsh. Golo DEXTERITY 15, Acrobatics 16, dodge 19, maneuver 20, melee weapons 19, running 18, unarmed combat 20 STRENGTH 17 Climbing 19, lifting 18 TOUGHNESS 22 PERCEPTION 12 MIND 9 CHARISMA 11 SPIRIT 12 Reality 15 Skill Notes: Possibilities: 17 Powers: None Corruption Value: 12 Fear Rating: 1 Perseverance DN: 10 Weakness: None True Death: WhileGoloisstillalive, removing occult sutures which hold his heart in place. Equipment: large metal studded club (STR +4/ damage value 21;STR 15 or better to wield) Cat Goals: To serve and protect Dr. Sconce Sabathina Sabathina rules a province along the northeastern edge of Majestic. The province runs from Palembang to the eastern edge of the island, about fif- teenmilesin fromtheshore.Sabathina isan ancient vampyre, one of the few creaturesto travel with theGaunt Man into Gaea and then continue on to Earth. The Gaunt Man offered her a position on the Hellion Court but she politely refused the offer. Her stated reason was that she preferred her po- sitionasa Nightmare too much to give it up. While true, a second reason is, Sabathina knows that the Gaunt Man usually bestows True Death on those who know too much about his inter- nal politics. It is her goal to serve the Gaunt Man faithfully, but learn noth- ing of obvious value about her master. She wants the Gaunt Man to feel no compulsion to remove her from his pyramid of power. Sabathina’s home cosm was called Lereholm. It was a world of frozen wastes. Giant creatures roamed the landscape and strange, ghost-like a paritions wandered the tundra. humans who lived on the world lived invast catacombs carved outofmoun- tains. The world’s harsh conditions required a rigid social structure, and the humans were divided into strict tribes. Each tribe was ruled by a Matri- arch, and Sabathina was such a Matri- arch. When the Gaunt Man‘s invasion began she began depending on evil ‘meansto protect her people. The Power of Corruption ate away at her soul, and finally she found herself trans- formed into a vampyre. Her position of power within the caverns allowed her appetite for blood to be sated eas- ily. Although she at first felt pangs of for murdering her tribespeople; corruption achay bier asoaaeed her felings and she quickly came to love the thrill of hunting for blood. Sabathina appears to be about 62 years old. Her skin is wrinkled, her Short, full hair is gray, but her pres- ence is strong. To be near her is to know what a true ruler is. Over the centuries she adopted her tribal cus- toms into her clan of vampyres. Her ‘vampyre clan presently consists of 30 members. Only 10 of them are of per- sonal value to her, the other are ex- ible. New members are created through the murder of innocents by clan members. Whenever a new vampyre is born Sabathina’s agents ‘outand find him, bringing thecrea- Foxe beck: hr aos of eperaions located in the caves of a semi-active volcano on Majestic and he swears an oath of loyalty to her. The caverns serve asa home for Sabathina and her core group of ten vampyres. The other vampyres are allowed to hide in the ‘caverns in emergencies, but are usu- allyrequired to find lodging elsewhere (Go as not to lead vampyre hunters back to the caverns all the time.) Sabathina DEXTERITY 15, Acrobatics 24, dodge 22, maneuver 17, running 18, stealth 18, unarmed combat 23 STRENGTH 22 Climbing 24 TOUGHNESS 21 PERCEPTION 14 Find 16, tracking 18, trick 19 MIND 17 Test 24, willpower 23 CHARISMA 16 Charm 28, sion 23 spirits Faith (Orrorsh Evil) 21, intimida- tion 23, reality 22 Possibilities: Atleast fiveperStorm Knight Natural Tools: Fangs (STR+2/dam- age value 24) Powers: life drain (Spirit); shape- ‘change (wolf); animal control; resis- tance to normal weapons, infection. Corruption Value: 30 Fear Ratinj Perseverance DN: 24 Weakness: Vassen (a holy symbol from Sabathina’s home world — a circle with a triangle within it) The ‘weakness is severe. True Death: A stake of ice must be driven through Sabathina’s heart Goals: To serve the Gaunt Man faithfully by creating fear; to keep her- self and her favorite clan members alive. 31‘Torg: Orrorsh ‘Thetencoreclanmembersare, from eldest to youngest, Barstrate, Keywin, Lucy, Heather, Stanton, Randolph, Michael, James, Winston and Agatha Older vampyresmay have skill values which are even higher, some having a few skills which exceed Sabathina’s. Core Clan Members DEXTERITY 13, ‘Acrobatics 20, dodge 20, maneuver 18, running 19, stealth 22, unarmed combat 21 STRENGTH 17 Climbing 20 TOUGHNESS 19 PERCEPTION 12 Find 15, language 15, tracking 15, Trick (15) MIND 14 Test 16, willpower 21 CHARISMA 16 Charm 25, persuasion 22 SPIRIT 10 Intimidation 18, reality 18 Possibilities:at least two perStorm Knight Natural Tools: Fangs ( STR+2/ damage value 19) Powers: life drain (Spirit); resis- tance to normal weapons, infection. Corruption Value: 12 Fear Rating: 2 Perseverance DN: 19 Weakness: Vassen (a holy symbol from Sabathina’s home world — a circle with a triangle within it). De- scended from Sabathina they share her weakness. True Death: A stake of ice must be driven through Sabathina’s heart. As long as their leaders live, these vam- pires can never truly die. Goals: ToserveSabathina;tocreate fear. Skutharka Skutharka is a terrible, wolf-like creature. His build is powerful and he stands about three meters tall. He is not a shapeshifter, but an intelligent beast. Rumorsclaimnhehasestablished his base of operations at the top of a skyscraper in Singapore. He dresses in tailor-made suits designed for his massive frame. His offices are popu- lated by about a dozen corrupted indi- viduals who serve him. They work at desks and function asa typical office. 32 This is part of Skutharka’s style: the dog-eat-dog world of business held eel appeal for him as soon as he heard about it, Hemimicsthemanner- isms of capitalists — going so faras to pick up phones not in use, speaking, intothemand laughing the wholeway through an imaginary conversation. Skutharka was also inspired by Thratchen’s tales of his techno-horror realm of Tharkold. He has turned Singapore into a realm of mechanical horrors. The Nightmare’s chief assistant is Mr. Su Ho, an Earth native of Chinese decadences. Some say Mr. Ho sold his loyalty toSkutharka in order to get the power tosave his dying wife. The first command Skutharka gave Mr, Ho was to murder his wife. Having tasted the delightful power of the Power of Cor- ruption, Mr. Ho chose to comply with the instructions. Mr. Ho was an complished martial artist before his mind was corrupted. He now enjoys finding people in the midst of an emo- tional crisis and designing a physical horror to complement it. He then passeshissuggestions on toSkutharka. Skutharka DEXTERITY 15 Acrobatics 17, dodge 19, maneuver 18 running 17, stealth 20, unarmed combat 19, STRENGTH 21 Climbing 23, lifting 22 TOUGHNESS 18 PERCEPTION 16 Find 19, tracking 19, trick 20 ‘MIND 14 ‘Occult 19, survival 16, test 17 ‘CHARISMA 14 Persuasion 17, taunt (15) SPIRIT 12 Intimidation 15, reality 16 Possibilities: 24 Powers: attack form resistance (magical physical damage);resistance to normal weapons; hypnosis; resis- tance to magical weapons Corruption Value: 22 Fear Rating: 3 Perseverance DN: 23 Weakness: Roses True Death: Skutharka must be decapitated and a mixture of bee's honey and rose petals poured down his throat. Natural Tools:claws(STR+2/dam- age value 25); teeth (STR+3/ damage value 26) Goals: To create fear in Singapore; to amuse himself while doing it. Mr. Ho DEXTERITY 12 Acrobatics 14, dodge 15, fire com- bat 13, maneuver 14, martial artist 17, melee weapons 13, stealth 21 STRENGTH 11 Climbing 13 TOUGHNESS 13 PERCEPTION 11 Find 12, Evidence Analysis 12, Tracking 12, Trick (13) MIND 10 Test (13), willpower 13, CHARISMA® SPIRIT 9 Reality (Core Earth) 12 Skill Notes: Ho's corruption have costhimhismartialart sdisciplines. Hestilladds +2tohis Strength (dam- age value 13) when attacking with ‘martial arts. Possibilities: 12 Powers: None Corruption Value: 16 Fear Rating: 1 Perseverance DN: 11 Weakness: None True Death: None. When killed will go to waiting village to be assigned to monster that will havea True Death, Equipment: 45 Colt Auto (damage 16);nunchuks (STR+4/ damage value 15) Goals: To serve his master in find- ing victims of horror; to keep his mind 0 full of pain to inflict on others that he does not remember his own hor- rible crime. The Horrors The horrors are the countless mon- stersand beings of Orrorsh. They usu- ally act alone, but are given authority toterrorize by a Nightmare. Ifa horror isnot killed in exactly the proper man- nerits corrupted soul is sent to a Wait- ing Village, where it is eventually plucked out at randoms and sent out to create a new monster. See Chapter Eight for alisting ofthe many horrors of Orrorsh.IM)|:. tio Finds a Horror Thestreets of Singaporeareas crowded as they were before the invasion. Perhaps even more so, since technologies such as tele- phones and cars work with in- frequency and people have to speak to each other face to face —even if it means a cross town trip to do so. Mr. Ho walks the streets of Singapore. His broad Chinese face smiles happily as he jostles his way through the throng of humanity. He hums song. “So many people,” he thinks. “So many people to terrorize.” He is well dressed — a businessman unaffected by thedepression that has destroyed the country’s economy. Hundreds of thou- sands now live in the streets, starving, and praying for the nations factories and machines to start working again. A 45 thumps rhythmically against his chest as he walks. ‘The streets,” he thinks with an inward laugh, “can be danger- ous.” There is also a small black notebook in the chest pocket of his jacket, along with a pen. The notebook is lighter than the pis- tol. Despite this, Mr. Ho some- times forgets about the gun, but he never forgets about the note- book. Mr. Ho notices a man just ahead of him,a short Malaysian ‘The man has a worried look on his face. Mr. Ho is intrigued and follows. He has developed a sense about these things. The Malaysian walks quickly through the crowd, obviously in a hurry. “And,” thinks Mr. Ho, “with a touch of guilt?” Without thinking about it he withdraws his notebook. He does nothing with it. It is simply in his hand, ready. ‘The small man leads Mr. Ho to a deserted area outside of ‘Singapore’ sbusinessdistrict. The walk has been long, and the sun is now high overhead, making ‘most men sweat. Mr. Ho does not sweat. He is more than well dressed. He is pristine. Mr. Hois now certain thatthe manis guilty ofacrime. Heisconstantly check- ing over his shoulder to see if anyoneis following. Hedoes not spot Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho is rarely seen unless he wants to be. And that is rare ‘The man ducks into a junk yard. No, a shanty town. The homeless have made an elabo- rate village out of scraps of metal and cementblocksand cloth. Mr. Ho forgets that so much has changed since the invasion. He draws in his breath and smiles. Resilient. “People are resilient,” he thinks, Which is good. If they weren't resilient they'd all sim- ply die and he'd be out of a job. He enters the shanty town. He does not try to conceal his presence any longer, fortheman is home and his guard is down; the man no longer glances be- hind him. Eventually he enters a shack. Se Chapter Three Mr. Ho walks carefully up to, stepping over piles of rusted bumpersand old gears. He peers througha window. There, onthe floor, isa young boy. The man is preparing a hypodermic. The package with the chemical is bright and shiny. The man obvi- ously stole medicine for his dy- ing boy. On the man’s face Mr. Hoan see the frustration — the invasion has robbed him of his job, his home, and his ability to protect his family. He will do almostanything to save hisson. At first Mr. Ho frowns, for there is an unpleasant memory too close to the surface of his ‘mind, but then he smiles. He opens his notebook and takes out his pen. He writes, “Man needs medicine. What if he is givenamagical hypodermic? He needstodraw the blood of people he murders. When the blood is injected into the boy it acts as whatever medicine the boy needs. The boy will always be safe. The man need only murder and steal the blood.” He slides the pen back in his pocket and closes the notebook. Around him is the shanty town. Desperate people who already have enough on thelr minds, What happens when an un- known assailant begins killing themand methodically bleeding them dry? With a jaunt in his step he heads out of the town, smiling to those he passes,‘Torg: Orrorsh The Ecology of Horror Unlike the other realities that have invaded Earth there is no room for a true society in Orrorsh. Societies are designed to providecomfortand struc- ture. Comfort and structure discour- age fear, and since it is fear that Heketon wants, society has no place. However, a High Lord and his Dark- ness Device draw power from the pos- sibility energy drained from people living nthe realm. Ifthemonstersand terrors of Orrorsh are too fierce and chaotic and destroy too much of the planet's population then the invasion is for nothing, for there is no more energy to be drained. On the other hand, if the monsters are too orga- nized, like the Cyberpapacy or Dr. Mobius’ Empire, then although they arestrangeinvaders they produceless fear. Much fear rests in the unknown. 34 saa J y An army of werewolves might be ter- rifying at first, but soon they are no morefrightening thanany otherarmy. The horrors of Orrorsh are the terrors ofthedarkcornersand footsteps walk- ing behind you late at night ‘Because of these complicated con- cerns, the Gaunt Man has slowly al- tered his cosm during the yearsthathe hasruled it. At first the reality was far too brutal, and too many inhabitants of invaded worlds were killed by vampyres and witches before they could be drained of possibility energy. ‘Then hetried reigning in hiscreatures, taming their savage natures. But this meant that they were no longer truly monsters. They wore the guise of a vampyre, attacked innocent prey, but they did it with the same cool preci- sion of a hit man. The edge of terror was lost thas taken centuries for the Gaunt Man to find the perfect balance of or- ganization and wildness to make his reality truly alive—a reality thatiisat 4 I ‘once brutish and horrible while re- maining organized enough to remain capable of invading one world after another. Thisbalanceis the Ecology of Horror. This ecology balances the needs of his creatures and monsters against the need to keep the vast majority of the population of the world he has in- vaded alive. The Ecology also helps the evil of his realm survive against the onslaught of heroes and do- gooders, The Ecology of Horror rests upon three points. The Power of Fear This power protects the Gaunt Man's creatures from the general populaceand braveheroes. The Power of Fear keeps people from taking ac- tion and weakens them when they confront the horrors of Orrorsh. This fear overwhelms the average person somuch that they lock their doorsand =>Chapter Three windows when they hear reports that ‘a monster is nearby. Storm Knights, while theare able to overcome the fear toa degree, are still unable to shake it off completely. This fear affects their ability to act. These rules are covered in Chapter Four. Anyone who gives up possibility energy to Heketon while afraid gives up a purer, richer, form of possibility energy. This enhanced energy means that the Gaunt Man gains more possi- bility energy from thesamenumber of people than he would normally get. It also means that the reality of Orrorsh is rewarded simply for frightening people. The brilliance of the Gaunt Man‘s cruel ecology lies in the last aspect of the Power of Fear. Fear acts as a per- verse glory, a corruption of a great legend's power to refill the trans- formed with possibility energy. As deeds and tales of Fear spread, the Everlaw of Two reconnects a trans- formed person. Possibility energy jn flows into reconnected being, connection and the possibility energy strengthen the ties between a person and his reality. To the reconnected characteritasifthe world became even more horrible than be- fore. A person soon recoils from this horzific reality and its energy —so he rejects the connection. Hi ab- sorbs the possibility energy released when the person rejects the connec- tionand empties himself of possibility energy. The Gaunt Man's ecology is stable. ‘Thehorrificreality of Orrorshcancon- tinue toextract possibility energy from ‘.cosm even when the entire popula- tion has been transformed. That is the true Power of Fear. The Power of Corruption ‘The second point, the Power of Corruption, encourages peopletocom- mit acts of evil and selfishness, and rewards them with the High Lord's dark power when they do. Over the long run, this supernatural strength eats away at the soul of the recipient and consumes it Eventually people who are seduced by the Power of Cor- - ruption become monsters of Orrorsh. There are game mechanics for this world law as well, and they are cov- ered in Chapter Four. Eternal Corruption ‘The third and final point is Eternal Corruption, a reincarnation process for creatures of Orrorsh. Eternal Cor- ruption is offered to beings who have ‘been seduced by the Power of Corrup- tion. When a creature or corrupted person is killed, its soul is offered the choice of either being sent to its re- ive god to be judged, or being jetained by the Gaunt Man fora short period of time and then placed in the host body of another creature at some later date. ‘The mystical means of Eternal Cor- ruption contains several key ideas to understanding how Orrorsh functions and how the Gaunt Man is able to survive one invasion after another without depending on massivearmies to conquer worlds. Unless a creature of Orrorsh is killed in just the right way its sou! lives on even though its body has been destroyed. If the vampyre’s soul agrees to it, it can be saved from leaving the mundane world of the cosm and traveling to the higher powers of the universe to be judged. Since most monsters and cor- rupted people know they do not want tobe judged (they've spent their exist- encekilling innocent people forknow!- edge and power afterall) they usually t the Gaunt Man's offer. Darkness Device sends the cor- rupted soul, now separated from its rane a Waiting Village where it resides with other corrupted souls. There it is treated to sensations and pleasures only dimly remembered by the corrupt soul. The darkness that has shrouded the soul's lif lifts and it is happy and content for the first time in years. Eventually a Nightmare who ‘wants tocreateanew creature requests a soul from the Gaunt Man. The High Lord grabs a soul out of the waiting village and flings it to the Nightmare who places it in his new creation of terror. Thenew terror islet loose upon Orrorsh, but the souls an old soul. The Storm Knights might well find themselves facing an old foe in a new guise, If this new body is destroyed as ‘well, then the corrupted spirit is once again offered the chance to travel toa ‘Waiting Village. After living the dead- ened life of a corrupt creature, the promise of pleasure in the Waiting Village is an offer the creature does not want to reject. The creature again postpones judgement. The problem for the corrupt soul is that its fear of being judged and its desire for short term pleasure con- signs itself to an eternal existence of non-life as it's reincarnated over and overagainasamonsterthancannever really experience life. Where Do Monsters Come From? Corrupted soulsareeither creatures and monsters of Orrorsh or people ‘who have, through a moral lapse or active greed, called upon the dark forces of the cosm, Where the cor rupted people come fromis fairly clear Mikey allow themeelves to be that way. And some corrupt people, once they become really corrupt, become ‘monsters themselves. But what about all the souls in the Waiting Villages? Where do the monsters come from for them to inhabit? Well, they created in one of four ways. They are created through the Power of Corruption when a corrupt ‘human becomes a monster, they are designed by Nightmares, they are cre- ated through the actions of another monster, or they are created through “wild horror.” The first method is covered Chap- ter Four, under the Power of Corrup- tion, Each timea person alls upon the dark forces ofthe cosmheruns the risk ‘of becoming a creature of Orrorsh. ‘The more he calls upon the Power of Corruption the greater the risk. There arefew people whoregularly call upon the Power of Corruption who do not end up a creature of the realm. Re- ‘member thatany sou! thatiscorrupted, even the soul of a Storm Knight who called upon the Power of Corruption to save his friends, is given the option to travel toa Waiting Village upon the death ofits body. The soul could be in the body of a human, or within the body of person who tumed into a 35