seed – Page 7 – Moe Lane

Location Seed: The Pool of Terre Haute.

Pool of Terre Haute – Google Docs Download

The Pool of Terre Haute

57 S 21st Street, Terre Haute, Indiana

Description: two story single-family residence, wooden frame, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, car park to the side, decent yard in back. Unoccupied, but maintained. There is a hatch in the basement that leads to a pre-Columbian underground stone-lined room. The room has a shallow (1ft deep) pool in the exact center: there is no obvious water source, but the water is continually clear and fresh.

Properties: variable. Drinking from the pool results in a dramatic transformation of some sort. The effects range from the mundane (winning the lottery, going blind) to the unquestionably esoteric (de-aging, bodily transformation, instant and irrevocable death), but the effects are always permanent, and people only get one drink from the Pool. Theurgists and magicians both report that the anima behind the Pool is essentially benevolent, but it is neither ‘nice’ nor ‘sentimental.’ At least, towards adults; the Pool is remarkably more forgiving and solicitous of children.

Item Seed: Geriatricol.

Geriatricol – Google Docs Download

Geriatricol

Description: well, in its ‘natural’ form Geriatricol is a swarm of self-replicating nanobots that are individually too small to see. But in its natural form Geriatricol will self-destruct when exposed to atmosphere, so it usually comes in the form of a yellow gel pill.

Powers: one dose of Geriatricol cosmetically ages the subject. Within five minutes of ingestion, his or her skin and hair will wrinkle and whiten; sweat, stools, and urine will become compatible with an old person’s; and a superficial blood analysis will bring back a positive result for a number of minor ailments associated with being old. The effects are not permanent: if not reversed, the process begins to reverse itself within two weeks and completely reverse within two more. Underlying health, reflexes, mental agility, bodily functions, and ultimate lifespan remain unaffected.

Item Seed: Hydraulic Dowsing Rods

Hydraulic Dowsing Rods – Google Docs Download

Hydraulic Dowsing Rods

Description: A Y-shaped wooden stick, encased in brass wires, gears, a glass reservoir in the crook of the Y, a small steam engine and whistle in the base, and a few pressure gauges here and there. Basically, it all looks very steampunk, right down to the occasional puff of steam.

Powers: liquid detection. Pour a liquid in the reservoir, activate the steam engine, and start dowsing. When the Hydraulic Dowsing Rod comes within fifty feet of a liquid that matches one in the reservoir, the whistle starts blowing. The closer the liquid, the louder the whistle.

Item Seed: The Blade of Aureate Frost.

Blade of Aureate Frost – Google Docs Download

Blade of Aureate Frost

Description: a shortsword with a yellow-orange blade made out of iron-rich ice. The blade constantly smokes in any temperature above the freezing point of water, but is magically enchanted to never melt or shatter (although it can chip; see below). The hilt is wrapped in leather, plastic, twine, and a variety of other non-conductive materials, but is still almost painfully cold to touch. The Blade smells, highly unpleasantly, of rust and blood.

Powers: wounds inflicted by the Blade of Aureate Frost take extra-long to heal naturally, although magical healing will work normally. The wounds are also more likely to get infected, and typically scar. In some cases a piece of the Blade will chip off and embed itself in the wound; if this happens, the victim will gradually lose his sense of touch, become uncomfortable in any temperature above 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and will likely come back as an ice-themed zombie after his death. All of this can be treated by healing magic, theurgic intervention, or modern, cutting-edge medicine.

Creature Seed: Cosmosquitoes.

Cosmosquitoes – Google Docs Download

Cosmosquitoes

Description: imagine an eight-inch long mosquito (not including proboscis). Their dual heritage as Gene Warped Perversions of Science / Unholy Sorcerous Abominations is as obvious as the visible tendrils of magical energy sustaining and suffusing their blue-glowing, electro-technic wings. Actually, Cosmosquitoes are rather pretty, although the crackling proboscis can be a bit off-putting.

Item Seed: Soil of the Tarnished Bounty.

Soil of the Tarnished Bounty – Google Docs Download

Soil of the Tarnished Bounty

Description: about a pound or so of soil, reddish-black in color, stored in a bag made from a dubious leather. It is perpetually damp to the touch, leaving an unpleasant smelling stain that cannot be removed by any kind of cleanser. Any stain that comes from casual contact with flesh will eventually fade away as new layers of skin form, but long-term users of Soil of the Tarnished Bounty can end up with a mark that goes all the way down to the bone marrow.

Item Seed: Bat Prime.

Bat Prime – Google Docs Download

Bat Prime

Description: A wooden Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Anyone who sees it will immediately recognize it as being the most Louisville Slugger of a Louisville Slugger possible. Seriously, it is the Platonic Form of a Louisville Slugger; staring at it for too long makes all the shadows sharper, the air take on an awful, pitiless clarity, and your nose bleed. Generally, the wielder of Bat Prime keeps it covered with a cloth, which has to be replaced after a week because the fabric tends to crumble.

Item Seed: Exo-Osseins.

Exo-Ossein – Google Docs Download

Exo-Ossein

Description: an intricate and delicate-looking exoskeleton made out of human bone. The Exo-Ossein covers the body, ears, and eyes, but leaves the nose and mouth free. The chest features a large green gem that provides absolutely no esoteric powers or benefits whatsoever. There is typically a faint aroma of ozone. Exo-Osseins are surprisingly durable, in more or less exactly the same way that Undead skeletons are.

Adventure Seed: Operation FRIDAY CURIOSITY.

This thought seems familiar, somehow. Kind of Laundry RPG-ish, although a quick scan of the books didn’t bring anything up. Ach, well.

Operation FRIDAY CURIOSITY – Google Docs Download

Operation FRIDAY CURIOSITY

Background: From 2013 to 2019 the human sacrifice death cult known mundanely as ‘Islamic State’/’Daesh’ (hereafter referred to as ‘IS’) operated as a proto-nation state in Syrian and Iraqi territory. IS attempted to mix its alarmingly brutal ritualistic practices with the maintenance and creation of a functional civic infrastructure, and achieved some success before the cult was eventually forced out of its physical territory. Preliminary checks by untainted Abrahamic theurgists have not uncovered conclusive proof of actual contractual diabolism, but ritual purification of important IS sites is ongoing.