by Kelley | Feb 19, 2015 | Recursions
Shaelore Shaelore is a dark and dreary place, yet bright and beautiful as well. Techonlogically and geographically similar to modern day Earth, the presence or absence of light causes drastic changes in the environment with a twisted perspective leaning more towards disturbing – the entire recursion is the manifestation of single woman’s mind – Ellie Swanson. Ellie Swanson (Level 8) Ellie was a patient in a mental institution suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (or Multiple Personality Syndrome), when she stumbled into the Strange. She took control of her own life again, and after wandering the Strange for many years, she created Shaelore. Ellie became a God there, but her personality split into two incarnations – the Umbramancer Zaerahan and the Goddess Ahnzaera; the two of which are constantly vying for absolute control of Ellie and all of Shaelore. Ellie is about 5′ 6″ and unhealthily slender, but still young and beautiful. She has long red hair and wears a straight jacket. She is locked in room 932 on the ninth floor the Gryvorum. If the door to that room is opened, Zaerahan and Ahnzaera will immediately appear and stand guard. They will not attack unless aggressive movements are perceived towards Ellie. The Umbramancer Zaerahan (Level 8) The Umbramancer Zaerahan is a pale skinned beauty, with hair that pulsates from dark black to crimson red. Her scarred left eye is a slit-pupil with a dull orange iris. Her right eye is milky and assumed to be blind. She has two immense bat-like wings and her left arm is strangely elongated, with long sharp claws at the tips of her fingers. The Umbramancer Zaerahan manipulates the Umbra and has complete control of any Shadowborne within long range of her. She can emit a pulse of Umbra that deals 8 points of...
by Darren White | Feb 19, 2015 | Recursions
Description Some people claim to have been abducted by aliens. Some of them claim to have been tested or examined. And some of them disappear forever. So do cows, pets and a thousand other animals no one ever realizes. The Lost Lands are a recursion that appears, initially at least, as a broad African veldt, dotted with loose groves of acacia and baobab trees, streams that swell and shrivel with the seasons, and rough, rocky outcroppings that bake in the harsh sun and offer shelter at night. In the perpetually hot weather, reptilian megafauna roam the Lost Lands, herds of smaller herbivores graze alertly, while larger ones can be found in small family groups. Large solitary hunters compete with smaller predatory packs for the herds, while even smaller bipedal mammals use cunning, tools and tactics to hunt the game. Feral, primitive humans eke out an existence amongst the giant dinosaurs and the smaller, clever raptors, taking shelter in the safety of caves and using their skills of tool making and knowledge of fire to survive in the hostile recursion. Life is grim and difficult but the intelligence of the human natives gives them the edge they need to compete against much larger predators or the smaller, more numerous raptors. That is, until the Greys arrived. Greys are a shy, scientific race, driven by an insatiable curiosity. Some have learned to travel between recursions in their sleek, saucer shaped vehicles and some of the more daring have even learned how to operate their ships in Sub-standard Physics environments by carrying a micro-recursion ‘bubble’ of Mad Science wherever they go. As...
by Lee | Feb 18, 2015 | Recursions
Picture an architect, a great one, full of talent and promise. Feed them exotic liqueurs and opiates. Warp his mind with a terror and madness so pure as to be almost elemental. Now tell them to build the grandest castle they can imagine. Now picture a whole army of architects working at cross purposes. That fever dream is Castle Dracula. Miles of twisted corridors connect a mad jumble of rooms. The normal logic of a castle layout has no sway here. Kitchens abut bedrooms. Massive ballrooms are found beneath grisly torture chambers. Myriad spires pierce the eternal night, each of them castles unto themselves. Rooms of every mundane function are here, but their adornments are anything but ordinary. The furniture and decorations were splendid once, rich and Gothic. Now cobwebs and mildew rule. Among the guestrooms and armories are stranger things, arcane laboratories and forgotten shrines. The only thing more varied and phantasmagorical than the castle are the monsters. If fearful tales of it have been told, it exists somewhere in Castle Dracula . Harpies, nuckelavees, penanggalans, nue, all these and more lurk in the darkened rooms. Most are content to stay put and guard their lairs from intruders, but some prowl the castle, looking for mortals to prey upon. And there are mortals, even in a place as dark and inhuman as this. They huddle together in small enclaves, fearful of the ever-present night. Some are nominally employed by the count as servants. There is an entire tribe of cooks in a Brobdingnagian kitchen, cooking endless banquets for ghouls and creeps. Others are outside of any supposed social...
by Otterpoet | Feb 17, 2015 | Recursions
“… A river of pus? Yeah, this is the perfect place to build a summer home.” ~ Loretta Walsh, Recursion Miner Description Also known as the Place of Fear, the sprawling underground city of Xibalba truly earns it unsavory title. Ruled by seven Death Gods, its labyrinthine halls, overgrown gardens, vaulted chambers, and Mayan structures brim with traps and tests meant to confound and slay the unworthy. Those foolish enough to venture into the shadows find themselves stalked by a myriad of creatures like giant scorpions, diseased bats, relentless undead, and cunning jaguar men. And, even though the city is far beneath the ground, unnatural weather patterns like hail, freezing cold, and blistering heat can appear at random and with deadly consequence. The city expands outward from a centric point (The Ball Court) to roughly form a ‘clock’ shape with twelve temple complexes built at regular intervals. Five of these complexes have fallen into ruin, while seven are the homes for the Xibalba’s remaining Death Gods. Three rivers divide the city’s convoluted interior like canals – one of scorpions, one of blood, and one of pus. Scattered throughout the city are the terrifying Houses – nightmarish structures where travelers are ‘tested’ by threats such as complete darkness, bottomless pits, flying swords, and monstrous creatures. Worse yet, one may not even realize they’ve stumbled into a House until it is too late. The city shifts constantly, rearranging its internal structures, confounding even the most wizened inhabitant. First-time Recursors arrive in the Ball Court. Once built for deadly competition, the city’s human inhabitants have transformed the extensive area into a small...
by Matthew Craft | Feb 17, 2015 | Recursions
The City Wrought In Neon is the dark echo of Earth’s city of Las Vegas. On the surface, it seems like a typical night along the – tall buildings covered in blinking lights, mirrored windows, and omnipresent neon lighting proclaiming the wonders and marvels of the City and the buildings within it. The inhabitants of the city are loud and raucous, revelers to the core in clothing that ranges from elegant formal outfits and evening gowns to little more than sequined bikinis with feather headdresses. Every minute of every hour is a new performance, a new excitement, with revelers who reach exhaustion either collapsing in the narrow alleys between the casinos to sleep in the detritus of a never-ending party, or staggering into the casino hotels to collapse in rooms that are always almost but not quite sold out. Scratch the surface and the glamour fades; the alleys behind the casinos are home to men and women in dark, sober attire reminiscent of the Mob that once ruled Las Vegas, and they’re always busy running supplies of alcohol, food, drugs, and stranger things that seem to appear from nowhere in shipments that arrive from somewhere unknown. If a reveler stumbles into this area, they’re quickly escorted away with a free sample of something to take away the memory of what they just saw. Recursors are also likely to find the mobsters trying to hustle them away; resisting will see a bristling array of weaponry produced from under coats and inside cars, the sober faces turning grim. Dig a little deeper yet, and recursors can find the real trouble of...
by Mikkel Berget | Feb 15, 2015 | Recursions
New-Tokio 2034 New-Tokio is a large futuristic metropolis with almost 50 mio. inhabitants run by three mega corporations simply known as the Monoliths. Mifune Environmental, Gijutsu Ryu and Roberts and Roberts (R&R) were instrumental in rebuilding the city after it was devastated in 1980 by a cataclysmic explosion that destroyed most of Tokio leaving it a toxic wasteland. Mifune Environmental provided toxic clean up and medical assistance, Gijutsu Ryus remote controlled machines cleared most of the rubble and rebuilt the city while R&R supplied the security and man power required to keep the city from anarky. The Monoliths also supplied the funds to keep the city running and in return they were each given control over a part of the new city. Each Monolith built a giant skyscraper in the middle of their territory to remind everyone of what they did for the city and to remind them that they are in control in that area. The skyscrapers are at least 50 floors taller than the other high rises in New Tokio and can be seen from any part of the city. The city council consist of two members from each Monoliths and a representative from the city though most important decisions are made by the chairmen or boards of the Monoliths. In mutual agreement the Monoliths have allowed the city to run the major utilities like power, water, gas and the web to prevent the inevitable power struggles over these to plunge the city into chaos. The city also runs a small overworked police force, who are constantly at odds with the private security forces of the Monoliths...
