by David | Feb 1, 2015 | Recursions
The Lost World results from the accretion of myths and fiction throughout the ages that describe lost lands divergent from modern history. Whether they have been sheltered from or destroyed by the catastrophes that our world has experienced, these worlds contain long forgotten flora and fauna long since extinct on Earth, and species of hominids that have branched off of the human evolutionary tree millions of years ago. The Lost World is a 500 square mile tropical plateau bordered by sheer cliffs that fall into an endless sea of clouds. Pterodactlys circle overhead visible through the jungle canopy as primitive humans and ape-people fight bitter wars over territory and resources. Both have primitive technology that allows them to construct simple shelters, clothes and weapons. However, the leaders and shamans of the human tribes sometimes wield magic that allows them to harness the wild untamed power of the forest, and the spirits that occupy it. A brave few have also managed to tame the more intelligent of the terrible lizards, using them as mounts and pack animals. Victorian England-era explorers traverse the forests and observe the culture of the local inhabitants, sometimes using their superior technology to take sides in the brutal human-ape wars. Deeper still in the jungle lurk the mysterious Saurians. Human and ape alike both know to stay away from their regions of the jungle in which the shrieks and caws of the jungle seem preternaturally quiet. PCs entering The Lost World are explorers, primitive humans or ape-men. Explorers have garb and technology corresponding 1900’s – 1920’s, this includes safari hats, machetes, rifles, canteens, binoculars, TNT, etc…...
by Michael Baumann | Jan 31, 2015 | Recursions
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm assembled one of the greatest collection of fairytales in western literature. Children all over the world have enjoyed these tales and they have been turned into amusing movies and television programs making them instantly recognizable by almost everyone. The recursion is flavored by the dark and old tales. The ones that do not get made into children’s movies. In Grimm, the forests are dark and dangerous. If you stumble upon a cottage, it is probably a den of thieves (and they are quite likely cannibals as well). Witches delight in cursing all manner of folk for the slightest insult. Kings are cruel, setting impossible tasks before those wooing their daughters and ready to smite the head off any would-be suitor who fails. Not all of the stories end “happily ever after”. It is not all doom and gloom. There are times when Grimm is absolutely whimsical. Intelligent animals abound and the inhabitants seem to take it in stride. Foolish people are common and their antics are sure to bring a smile to your face. There are also plenty of friendly magical creatures willing to lend aid with little thought of reward. There is no set topography in Grimm. Recursors report that the place seems to change with every visit, as if the land itself responds to the story that needs to be...
by Ivan Blasco | Jan 30, 2015 | Recursions
“Homo homini lupus est” It doesn’t matter how many time pass. Neither how many laws,culture and civilizations have developed the humanity. Deep down the humans are still animals. And the beast inside only knows one simple rule: Eat or be eaten. There is no more truth than the survival of the fittest. There is no more social classes than hunter and prey. The Hunt recursion is the result of that philosophy. Every 15 days some special chosen ones will receive a sealed envelope containing only an old coin. The ones that discovered his origin will be able to find a recursion door (normally in some illegal gambling place) that will transport it to the Hunt recursion. Once they trespass the door, the coin will disappear. Any recursion traveller that enters into the Hunt will found a Victorian age manor surrounded by a huge primal forest. In that manor an english lord named Sir George Kennigstone will give them the welcome and introduce to the Main Hall. There will be kept there until the suitable number of “guests” enter into the recursion. Once this happen Sir Kennigstone will explain the rules of the game. During three days all the recursors will be trapped in that recursion. During that time they will be hunters and have to between them. The winner will receive the ultimate price (A wish disk cypher see pag. 97 Technology Compendium Sir Arthour’s Guide to the Numenera). The ones still alive after the three days will be able to return to their native homes. The dead ones will stay in the Hunt. Their bodies will feed the...
by ConnorJames | Jan 30, 2015 | Recursions
The Astral Plane has existed before humanity, and humanity has just begun to evolve methods of interacting with it. The most common interaction with this realm being in dreams. The Astral Realm is a wild land of untamed potential, populated by strange flora and fauna. Influenced solely by imagination the Astral Plane has no specific layout or even fixed points save three: The Wilds: An ancient wilderness created by years of paranoia over things that go bump in the dark. The Wilds take the form of a Forest most commonly or a Misty Marsh, they have also been known to manifest as a Desert or alien landscape. Populated by Nightmare Creatures. The landscape of The Wilds always appears as a twisted and warped caricature of whatever it takes the form of, so that the Forest isn’t just a forest but a very dark and spooky one where the trees seem to grow into skeletal and menacing shapes. The Nightmare Creatures keep mostly to themselves and few are openly hostile, some simply seek an end to their own existence. Most Nightmare Creatures are between level 3 and 7, depending upon what and where it is found, a Nightmare wolf is level 7 in the Forest but level 4 in the Misty Marsh or level 6 in the desert. Flora: Most Nightmare Flora are basically just plants, non harmful if a bit of a bother. Tentacle Vine: Level 5 Corporeal. Tentacle Vines are the manipulatory tendrils of a carnivorous flower, most commonly a Snatcher Flower (See next entry) and have been known to have needles which secrete a paralyzing agent. By...
by W. Dove | Jan 29, 2015 | Recursions
Some say the city never sleeps, but here The City seems to never wake up, and the city’s dreams border on nightmares. Noir City superficially seems to be an urban setting from a rough hodgepodge of the American 30’s and 40’s, but significant differences from Earth quickly become apparent. While Noir City has day and night, the days are only a few hours long and always heavily overcast and raining, so that the gloom never lifts. The long nights see scattered showers, mixed with light fog and clouds of steam and smoke that snake through the streets concealing the dim alleys and dirty brick walls. Colors seem muted and washed out, and the lighting never seems adequate, with street lights casting small circles reflected in puddles in the dark, and interior lights leaving corners in deep shadow. The city itself seems threadbare and rundown, with seedy bars, aging lounges, and nightclubs the most obvious businesses, and tired office towers hosting low rent clients looking down on the dirty streets below. The Southside is full of shabby slums brushing up against antiquated industrial structures, like old factories and warehouses, and the Waterfront is dominated by sagging piers where commercial ships load and unload boxes of freight. The inhabitants of this recursion call their home simply “The City” and if pressed are not entirely clear on where they think they are. The local cops all seem to be apathetic or corrupt, and most locals bury their sorrows in the bottle. JUST KEEPING A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD The typical inhabitant of Noir City has a rundown apartment, a job that just...
by James Stutz | Jan 28, 2015 | Recursions
Masters of the World History is full of what-ifs, almosts, and might-have-beens, and these possibilities and near-misses have fueled Humanity’s imagination for centuries. La Mer is one of the products of such imaginings, an alternate history that sits at the intersection of two major events. In La Mer, the year is 1812, and the rapid and unexplained melting of the ice caps at both poles has led to massive flooding across the globe. In the wake of these rising water levels, the armies of Napoleon I have taken a back seat to his navies and, following on the heels of his success at Trafalgar, the French Emperor has launched a full-scale invasion of the British Isles. So far, he has conquered much of southern England, but the country is proving hard to pacify, and between heavy fighting in the North Country and rebellions that periodically flare up in the south, the French forces and their mercenaries are finding themselves stretched thin and sorely taxed. A Tale of Two Cities La Mer is large for a Developed recursion, having been fed by countless retellings of Napoleonic-era glory, and occupies a roughly 1100-mile (885-kilometer) diameter centered approximately over the English Channel. In the north and west, the fog-shrouded edge of the ocean leads directly into the Strange, while in the east and south, the similarly foggy land borders gently return those who attempt to venture past them to the lands encompassed by the recursion. The one force that is still able to easily outmatch L’empereur is the implacable sea. Sea levels in La Mer are over 200 feet higher than...
