Bodies Change: An Opherian Mystery...

Some players have wondered why Stalkers of the Elder Dark features only three of the Opherian Mysteries. There has to be more, but we hoped to avoid even a level playing field with the cosmic horrors characters will inevitably face. That said, there are other dreadful Mysteries to be uncovered (and used) in a Faustian bargain, for no power comes without its price. So being October, a month of horrors, here's a fresh offering...  

BODIES CHANGE transforms the caster into an abaloth, with all the physical attibutes of one while retaining their human faculties. This utterance deals an instant 2d6 trauma, with 1d6 additional points per day spent in this condition. Traumatized characters ignore their phobias in this state; but mental breakdown causes them to become true (and mindless) abaloths pending recitation of an Elder Sign in the presence of the affected individual.

The above can be used to survive the void of space and/or withstand the debilitating effects of one's greatest fears, noting that phobias become active again upon resumption of the character's human form and faculties. Of what use this was to the Opherians remains lost to deepest time, although some writings suggest a reproductive process, if not a gift to cults consecrated to The Elder Ones. It may be best not to know such secrets...    

Once again, fair fights are antithetical to cosmic horror. That doesn't mean the players have no chance against the darkness. Far from it. But it does mean the characters are at best unnerved; and when taking up the tools of the enemy, they do so at tremendous personal risk as befits the terrifying powers at work. And if your players know even a hint of real fear at risking a beloved character's humanity, Stalker's true purpose has been realized.

Gaming's Timeless Tabletop...

Who remembers Pong in the 1970s? Robyn and I plead guilty. Not only was it cool that mere mortals could control what appeared on their screens; it was doubly exciting that we could physically interract, indeed control, what happened therein. Fast forward, we're playing Atari's square and conspiculously pixelized reality. We thought Intellivision was damn near Skyrim because one could (sort of) make out the baseball cap on the pitcher...

Fast forward again and its the future. Computer (and especially console) games are ambitious affairs with Hollywood's production values. Vintage games were primitive things, and while throwback titles exist, you can tell the difference. But tabletop games, they're timeless. Now the design and physical production might be dated (OD&D was clunky with more than a few oversights); but our theater of the mind was as modern as CGI.

The human imagination, beyond all gadgetry, has better special effects. Of course, a generation born to shoddier (you can see the zippers) movies doubtless refers to them, so maybe not universally; but as a rule, human imagination reigns supreme. And that's the timelessness of tabletop gaming. It's one step away from a Paleolithic clan gathering, but more realistic than centuries spent trying to nail our visuals with technology... 

Friends sharing stories. It's a human preoccupation. And given all the hysteria around television (the 70s version of a modern concern), you'd think roleplaying, with its social bent and academic pretensions, would have been a parent's dream. Another decade's drama, replete with bad religion and 80s hair metal; but it's nonetheless true that while technology tried to tell our tales, tabletop was there well before we finally started catching up.