Tag: seed

Group Seed: The Honorable Order of Ley Engineers (HOLE).

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The Honorable Order of Ley Engineers (HOLE)

Yes, they made that joke in the 19th century, too.  At least, that’s what the surviving records (of which, more later) suggest.  With ‘suggest’ being the operative word: people back then would often be more delicate when writing things down.

HOLE was a secret society (started in 1845) that seemed destined for greatness: it was well-organized, reasonably benign, and had access to a highly useful magical gate system that allowed them to reliably transmit small (no more than 20 lb) packages between any two permanent portals.  True, building new portals was a non-trivial exercise, but by 1860 the following network had been set up: Continue reading Group Seed: The Honorable Order of Ley Engineers (HOLE).

Adventure Seed: The SS John Franklin.

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The SS John Franklin

Two days ago, the government of the Pacific island nation of Kiribati surreptitiously reported to Great Britain’s GCHQ the appearance of a ‘derelict aircraft carrier’ in Kiribati territorial waters.  This report first amused, then alarmed the British intelligence community: amused because no ships that large had been reported missing by any country’s navy, and alarmed because the Kiribati government promptly sent video proof that an enormous, armed, yet abandoned sea vessel was drifting in their waters anyway. The British immediately sent a team to investigate the derelict: it took a day and a half to get there.  It’s unclear exactly when the team became a joint US/UK task force, but by the time they got there Americans were present; and it was probably just as well, because the ship (the SS John Franklin) had American registry.   Continue reading Adventure Seed: The SS John Franklin.

Creature Seed: Gol-Dough Golems.

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Gol-Dough Golems

Like all modern enchanting materials, the stuff that goes into Modeling Compound (we’ll call the stuff Gol-Dough) Golems has advantages and disadvantages.  The disadvantages first: Gol-Dough does not last very long, will dry out if not kept either oiled or hydrated, is not particularly strong, breaks apart easily under pressure or impact, and needs to be wrapped around some sort of framework or skeleton in order to get full use out of it.  And, of course, Gol-Dough Golems have a top weight of about, say, four or five pounds before bits start falling off in earnest. Continue reading Creature Seed: Gol-Dough Golems.

Item seed: Obelophage Therapy

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Obelophage Therapy

This particular Forbidden Book purports to be a self-help tome (author is “Tony Pat Haler,” and the book is published in 1994 by a North American publisher that doesn’t actually exist) for people looking for financial success.  A casual perusal of the book suggests that it simply rehashes the hoary old concept of ‘you have to spend money to make money; unfortunately, only a casual perusal of the book is at all safe.  Even one reading of Obelophage Therapy can be enough to infect the victim’s mind. Continue reading Item seed: Obelophage Therapy

Item Seed: The Faerie Van.

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The Faerie Van

The Faerie Van resembles an old-style red Volkswagen microbus with opaque windows and a skylight.  It glows under magical scans, for very obvious reasons: it’s intensely magical.  It’s also perfectly safe if you enter the Van through the doors; it drives like a bus and works like one.  However, if you go in or out through the skylight… you probably aren’t coming back.  The skylight acts each way as a portal to a fairyland – one of the unpleasant ones – and going through doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to come back. Continue reading Item Seed: The Faerie Van.

Adventure Seed: Case File ORIOLE EGGSHELL

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Case File ORIOLE EGGSHELL

On September 23rd of this year police responded to a report of shots fired at a motel in Biloxi, Mississippi.  At 9:30 AM two officers entered Room 34 of the Don’t Tell Motel (currently being rented by a ‘John Smith,’ who paid in cash) to discover a deceased human male with no identification and several holes in his head and chest.  The owner of the motel confirmed that this was not John Smith, who remains at large as of this date.

An investigation revealed the following: Continue reading Adventure Seed: Case File ORIOLE EGGSHELL

Item Seed: Cthu-Cola.

cthu-cola-google-docs

Cthu-Cola

Well, the bottle is kind of eldritch-looking.  It’s the sort of eldritch-looking that one gets when somebody takes an actual eldritch concept and focus-groups it a few times. The bottle is blue-grey-black.  There’s a vaguely squid-godlike being on the label.  It tastes like carbonated sugar water with some odd, but tasty, flavorings and spices. And it absolutely glows when magically scanned.  Blindingly so, in fact. Continue reading Item Seed: Cthu-Cola.

Item Seed: The Age of Asparagus.

The name absolutely fascinates me.

the-age-of-asparagus-google-docs

The Age of Asparagus

The Age of Asparagus, at first look, appears to be a fairly innocuous (but exceptionally well-maintained) 30-foot civilian powerboat.  Taking a closer look, however, reveals that the boat has discreet hardpoints for mounting machine guns, ballistic inserts in key locations, several gun safes, bulletproof glass, and a communications rig that clearly came straight out of the US Navy. A smart observer would then conclude, accurately enough, that the Age of Asparagus was a converted infiltration boat used by special forces for clandestine purposes.  An Illuminated observer, on the other hand, would already be aware of this absolutely infamous and precious paramilitary resource. Continue reading Item Seed: The Age of Asparagus.

Creature Seed: Cants.

This is one time when I wish that I was better at drawing things.  Ach, well, it’s greedy to want to have all the artistic talents.

cants-google-docs

Cants

Cants are… well, the name is a portmanteau of ‘cat’ and ‘ant,’ and it’s pretty accurate.  They are furry, tailed pseudo-mammals (the ‘cat’ part) with six legs and iridescent, protuberant compound eyes (the ‘ant’ part).  Cants are about the size of a bulldog, but can be sometimes a bit smaller.  They first appeared in the wilds of the Amazon river basin and the backwoods of Siberia, but have been spreading through the rest of the planet over the last few years, usually as pets.  Cants tend to be mixed insectivores/vegetarians: they prefer wetlands, but can adapt to any climate that has reliable water.  There was a desultory attempt to keep cants out of the general public’s clutches by various governments, but it didn’t work: just enough people had already adopted a stray to make it awkward to take them all away from their new owners. Continue reading Creature Seed: Cants.