Warlord Wednesday: Legacy of Nightmare

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Legacy of Nightmare"

Warlord #117 (May 1987)

Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Ron Randall

Synopsis: As Shamballah celebrates the end to the aging plague caused by Muldahara’s magic, Queen Tara is still troubled by traumatic dreams of the mental tortures she suffered at Desaad’s hands. She’s got to find away to get over her fears. She heads out of the palace without telling Morgan where she’s going, reminding him in passing of all the times he’s done it to her.

Meanwhile, Machiste confronts Mariah. He wants to know who she ran out on him for. She resists telling him, but ultimately the truth comes out: It was Morgan.

Tara rides out toward the only place she can truly face her demons: Desaad’s citadel (actually, it’s unclear in the story that that’s where she’s heading, but it’s the only thing that makes sense). Crossing a desert landscape, she attracts the attention of a group of bandits. Though she’s deadly with her bow, she’s outnumbered. The only place close enough for refuge--the citadel, of course.

A world away on Dinosaur Island, Redmond has found a cave that he believes may provide an entry point to Skartaris. He’s still convinced that Morgan went over to the Russians at some point. Even though Morgan has spent most of the last decade in a sword & sorcery fantasyland, and he couldn't have given the Soviets any information recent or useful, Redmond’s going to get his man.  He immediately runs into trouble:

Tara makes it to Desaad’s Citadel. She plans to hide inside, luring the bandits in after her, then take them out one at the time Die Hard style. The former Vathek assassin, Y’Smalla hides in the citadel, planning to watch events unfold on the monitors but not interfere.

Tara manages to separate off some of the bandits and kill them, but there still too many, and she’s on the run. Cornered in a room, she accidentally triggers some of the illusion creating machinery. The bandit is disoriented, making him easy pickings. She begins luring the men into rooms and using the illusions to her advantage. The last bandit has gotten wise to the trick, though and doesn't fall for the illusion. Tara puts on Desaad’s helmet that allows the experiencing of the subjects emotions--and the exploitation of their greatest fears.

As she causes the bandit believe he's being squeezed to death by eel-things, she gets a jolt of the sadistic pleasure Desaad experiences.

She finally is able to stop, but the man is dead, and killed in a horrible way by her hand.

Meanwhile, the mysterious blonde stranger is trying to book passage to new Atlantis. The captain wants to head south instead of north. When a cargo net full of crates threatens to crush his daughter and the stranger saves her with a speed one might call faster than a speeding bullet...

...he relents and agrees to take the woman where she wants to go.

Things to Notice:

• Despite wearing her old outfit on the cover, Tara (just like everybody else) sports her new outfit in the story.
• On the subject of new outfits, Mariah's eye makeup has gone totally 80s and combined with her new headband, she looks like a member of Jem and the Holograms. 

Where it Comes From:
This issue continues to deal with the dangling plot threads of the "Morgan's Quest" storyline. The new costumes tend to abandon some of the 70s-ism--and some of the fur. They didn't make the lasting impression Grell's outfits did, though.

Celluloid Rocketship

By the mid-thirties, the major film studios were all exploiting the public’s interest in the exotic worlds of the solar system. Of all the one-reel travelogue series produced, perhaps none was more popular than The Rocketship of Movietone, debuted in 1931.

Several of the earliest films dealt with Venus. “Giants of the Jungle” focused on the exotic and dangerous Venusian saurians. In early 1932, “Lost Cities of Venus” used footage from the Markheim survey expedition's dangerous foray into one of the ruins of the ancients.

Of course, Mars figures prominently in the early subjects. The low canal markets and bazaars were featured. Another dealt with the desert tribes--though the tragic fate of the expedition that provided the footage was wisely kept from the movie-going public.

While the initial run of films dealt predominantly with the inner worlds and their satellites, one was made from footage shot by one of the earliest commercial missions to Ganymede. While the footage is limited (still photos had to be used at times) and of lower quality than what was coming from film crews on Mars or Venus, it did give the public their first view of the eerie necropolises of that cold and distant moon.

More than one spaceman of the fifties and sixties sited these early Rocketship of Movietone films as an important influence on their lives.

Hwuru

Hwuru are bipedal sophonts bearing some physical resemblance to Terran apes and sloths. They are shorter than humans but powerfully built with arms longer than their legs, and digits with claw-like structures (actually bony projections covered with horn) on their dorsal surface. They're covered with shaggy fur except on the anterior surface of their torsos, which are covered with leathery plates.

The hwuru evolved from arboreal insectivores. They have small, beak-like snouts (like the Terran echidna) and extendable tongues to aid in snatching up arthopods or their larvae in hard to reach places. Hwuru can’t swallow anything very large and must have bulkier foodstuffs made into a mash before they can consume it. Most hwuru have a mild dependence on chaoofsh a chemical attractant released by the trees native to their world. When off-world, they tend to wear a breathing apparatus to deliver this chemical.

On their native world, no hwuru have advanced beyond the Iron Age, and most live in tribal societies that use stone tools. Interaction with starfaring civilizations has afforded hwuru the chance to leave their planet, and they are sometimes found among the stars where their physical traits make them useful as hired muscle.

Stats for Starships & Spacemen:

Encountered: 2d4 (5d10)
Movement: 120' (40')
Intelligence: Average
Psionic Potential: 2d4, inactive
Hits: 1d8+1
Armor: -1
Combat Skill: 12
Save: L1
Attacks: 1 weapon or 2 claws
Damage: by weapon or 1d3/1d3
Morale: 9
XP: 15

Notes: This is an alien species of my own devising, inspired by an unnamed character in an episode of Superman: The Animated Series.

Tome of Draculas!

An orphaned Secret Santicore request from Ian was for “better draculas.” This cryptic request I interpret as referring to D&D’s propensity of turning unique creatures from mythology or fiction into a class of creatures. A dracula then is pretty much like the standard D&D vampire--except that they have a whole “urbane foreign noble fallen on hard times” thing going for them.  For a standard dracula, simply use your vampire stats of choice: give him (it’s going to be a him, most of the time) a foreign accent, a stylish cape, and a dilapidated castle.

With that in mind, here are some dracula variants:

DRACULA, AQUATIC
Aquatic draculas haunt sunken funeral ships or castles submerged by some natural or manmade upheaval. Draculas are restrained by running water, but relatively still lakes, inlets or lagoons provide a place where they may be active at least some of the time. Aquatic draculas are unable to summon rats, bats, or wolves, but crabs, sentient seaweed, piranhas, and unsavory otters are an option.

DRACULA, ANIMAL
Merely vampiric animals (besides bats) are impossible, but the power of a dracula’s curse is such that even beasts must succumb. Dracula dogs are the most common variety, but even cows have been known. Dracula animals have HD 7 and all the usual vampiric powers and weaknesses, plus whatever innate abilities they possessed in life. Magical animals may not be dracula-ized. (An alternate version of the hellcow appears here.)

DRACULA, LOVELORN
Some draculas ache for a love lost and often mistake some woman or another for this long dead inamorata. The charm ability of the lovelorn dracula often convinces the woman in question that she is indeed a reincarnation. Lovelorn draculas are mechanically identical to the standard version, but they are often hunkier and have flowing locks and a penchant for going shirtless. They seldom bother with summoning vermin, though they probably can.

DRACULA, NOSFERATU
These draculas are hideous and vaguely rodent-like in appearance. They lack the suave demeanor other draculas affect: they are either testy and animalistic, or creep- pathetic and lonely. They have a special affinity for vermin and can summon twice the usual number of rats. They also tend to bring plagues where they go and can cause disease. When exposed to sunlight they fade away rather than turn to dust.

DRACULA, OTHERWORLDLY
This dracula violates the "mostly male" rule. These draculas are mostly female and their foreignness comes from being from another world or plane where blood flows like water. They have none of the shapeshifting or animal summoning powers of usual draculas, but make up for it with HD 9.

DUST OF DRACULA
After a dracula dies, they turn to a reddish powder. This dust can be collected and made into a beverage when mixed with wine and human blood. When this potion is consumed, the imbiber must save vs. polymorph or painfully transform into a duplicate of the dracula whose dust was used.

Talk to the Animals

For Starships & Spacemen, here's an obscure species from the background of Star Trek: The Motion Picture:

KAZARITES
Requirements: CON 9
Ability Adjustments: INT +1
Skill Adjustments: Contact +1
Metabolism: Iron Based

Kazarites are a Federation member species known for largely living a simple, bucolic lifestyle, despite their technological advancement. There are few cities on Kazar and herds of great beasts still migrate, guided by shepherds in telepathic communication with their charges.

Kazarites are somewhat anthropoid in appearance and tend to dress in homespun garments. They possess active psi abilities: most notably, the ability to communicate telepathically with nonsapient lifeforms. Perhaps because of their abilities, many Kazarites are vegetarians and carry their own food for practicality’s sake. They wear small bags of pellets around their neck that can be mixed with water to make a yeasty paste.

Psi Powers: In addition to Animal Telepathy (functions similar to the telepathy, except that it is limited in the complexity of the thoughts that can be conveyed due to the limited intelligence of the animal), a player may select 1 more psi powers at character creation.

Note: Kazarites just appeared in the background of ST:TMP and have never been featured prominently. They don't even show up in any of the Trek rpgs. What little information has been published about them comes from the costume designers for the film.

Warlord Wednesday: Revenge of the Warlock

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Revenge of the Warlock"

Warlord #116 (April 1987)

Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Ron Randall

Synopsis: Amazingly, Tara forgives Mariah for trying to steal her husband, though saving her life has something to do with it. Everyone’s primary concern now is Jennifer: She’s still dying and they don’t have a cure.

Meanwhile in P’Thun (a small kingdom north of Shamballah) the flamboyant wizard Muldahara prances into the throne room and announces his intention to take over the city. He blasts the king with his jeweled wand causing the monarch to rapidly age to death.

A rider arrives in Shamballah from P’Thun and gives Morgan and Tara the news. Morgan remembers Muldahara as the wizard that sent him on the quest to find V’Zarr Hagar-Zinn. The jewels in his wand sound like the eyes of Ankanar Morgan stole for him. And the aging--it’s just too coincidental. Morgan’s been played.

The object of Morgan’s ire is luxuriating in a bath and reminiscing about how he got to this point. He was skulking around around the rebel camp when he saw Ankanar attack and blast Jennifer with the aging ray from its eyes. When Morgan came to him for help, Muldahara sent him to steal Ankanar eyes, then dispatched him on a long quest to the edge of the world to get him out of the way. Mudahara then fashioned his fancy rod to hold the eyes.

On the road to P’Thun, Morgan encounters a large hedge maze that wasn’t there before: More wizard’s work. The magic ring from Hagar-Zinn points out the right path, but then:

A world away in the South Pacific, Redmond is flying to Dinosaur Island. His interrogation of the hapless tourist captured by a lost group of Mayans (back in Annual #5) reminded him of this place. After a run in with some pteranodons damages his plane brings the jet in for a crash-landing.

Morgan’s neither Morgan’s sword or his pistol does much to the creature. It regenerates. Finally, he hits on the idea of setting it on fire. The monster dispatched, Morgan is soon storming the steps of Muldahara’s palace. The wizard is waiting.

Muldahara uses his wand to age the floor to crumbling beneath Morgan’s feet. Then, he ages his sword to dust. Eventually, once he’s done playing with him, he’s going to age Morgan himself.

Miles away, Jennifer--frail as she is--senses her father is in danger. She summons all of her sorcerous powers and instantly transports herself to the palace in P’Thun. She shatters the gems in Muldahara’s rod with a blast.

With the jewels gone, Jennifer de-ages.

Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger arrives in Bandakhar:

Things to Notice:

• Mike Grell returns to Warlord--at least its cover.
• Our main characters get new outfits this issue. They aren't that impressive.
• This is the conclusion (finally) of  "Morgan's Quest" after a sort of hiatus for Legends. 

Where it Comes From:
Muldahara is back (last seen in issue #101) and his very complicated evil plot is finally revealed.

The aircraft flown by Redmond to Dinosaur Island in this issue appears to be the F-19 Stealth Fighter--which never actual existed as far as is known. The design here is based on the Testor Corporation model kit for the "Lockheed F-19 Stealth Fighter," released in 1986.

And the Superhuman Krewe

The Southron canal city of New Ylourgne has a culture all its own. This is as apparent in its magical traditions as anywhere else. While a  professional, (somewhat) public, and singular Thaumaturgical Society holds sway in the City, New Ylourgne is home to a patchwork of societies and cabals, secretive in their teachings but often flamboyantly public in their rivalry.

Despite the tales sometimes heard in the Sorcerers' Quarter, most of these mystical societies or “krewes” don’t trace their traditions to the Averoignian magocracy that once ruled the city. Most seem instead to date back about fifty years, and the oldest rarely more than a century. They began as as social clubs for local thaumaturges (and non-thaumaturgist adventurers), who threw public parties and helped fund parades and celebrations related to Oecumenical holy days. These krewes began to compete for public acclaim, and thaumaturgical spectacle was part of winning these contests.The spells that created illusions and wonders became closely guarded secrets, hidden behind layers of coded language, and artificial mythology, unique to each krewe.

There was some precedent for these organizations. The mages of the Black Folk had long formed gender-specific orders for socialization and the exchange of knowledge.These orders waged ritualized magical battles in order-specific costumes in the city’s streets. Though this practice was suppressed by the ruling Averoignian sorcerers, it was never completely eliminated. The krewes may have been inspired to a degree by these groups, and in turn the Black Folk orders have conformed their primary ritual performances and competitions to the Oecumenical holiday calendar.

The krewes typically have exalted or archaic sounding names, harkening to some legendary founder or progenitor. The officers of the krewes (which are typically almost every thaumaturgy practicing member) take on ornate and nonsensical titles, and often go masked in public performances to evoke an air of mystery. Much of this mummery is magical enhanced; in many ways, the krewes are as adept as illusionists at fooling the public.

While the vast majority of the krewes are only out for fun and entertainment, the magics they wield are very real. Though it happens less these days, it’s not unheard of for serious magical feuds to exist between krewes that have ended in death.

Talislantan Space: Kasmirans

Kasmirans are a short, lean, humanoid species with heavily wrinkled skins. Displaced by the Great Disaster, they now inhabit an arid world near the Seven Worlds Alliance's border with the Zaran Expanse. Despite their origin as refugees, the Kasmirans have become a wealthy people, though how they acquired this wealth is not entirely clear. They are infamous throughout the galaxy, however, as misers and shrewd negotiators.

The Kasmirans have maintained (and expand) their fortunes through investment banking.They have a reputation for ethical behavior and conservative investment, but also infamous as sticklers for the letter of contracts and for their hard credit terms.

Kasmiran society is divided into clans. The heads of these clans elect a Chief Executive Officer of Kasmir. When the Kasmiran clan leaders lose confidence in a CEO, he or she is replaced--and memory-wiped to insure the protection of secrets. This process is referred to as “beheading.”

Their desire to protect their wealth (and the wealth of their clients) has led the Kasmirans to become experts in both physical and data security. Prevailing Kasmiran aesthetics in physical security measures tends to favor clockwork mechanical devices with only sparing use of electronics; they extend this mechanical design into the nanoscale.

Kasmir City, the capital of the world of Kasmir, has a walled and check-pointed city center full of windowless high-security towers where the wealthy Kasmirans reside. Offworlders that work for them reside in the more modest areas surrouding it.

Hidden Lands & Inner Space

Here are a couple of maps from the pages of Marvel comics that could be put to good rpg use.

The first is from the pages of Micronauts. It gives me flashbacks to organic chemistry but also provides a basic layout of Homeworld:

This one is of a hidden land of prehistoric holdouts in Antartica: Ka-Zar's Savage Land:

A Bug of a Different Color

Here's another obscure Star Trek species for Starships & Spacemen:

NASAT

Encountered: 2d4 (5d10)
Movement: 90' (30')
Intelligence: Average
Psionic Potential: 4d4, inactive
Hits: 1d8
Armor: -2
Combat Skill: 12
Save: L1
Attacks: 1
Damage: By weapon or 1d4
Morale: 7
XP: 10

Nasat are short humanoids vaguely resembling Terran isopods. They are known to the Federation in the 23rd Century, but are not yet members.

Nasat average 4 ft. tall and have 8 limbs, but typically ambulate bipedally. Either of their upper pairs of limbs may be used as manipulators. Though they have an internal skeleton, they also possess thick plates of carapace that extend down their tails. Their integument is either green, blue, red, brown on yellow.  

These colors divide the Nasat into “shell-groups” which are geographically co-mingled but divide their society in a way analogous to kinship groups in human societies. Nasat have no other concept of kinship. or even pair-bonding. Mating is a casual affair, with no real associated emotion. Children are raised in communal nurseries  and shepherded through adolescence by minimal support from members of their shell-group.  

Nasat are cautious, often to the point of cowardice from the perspective of other species. They make poor fighters, but have a natural aptitude for technology and make excellent technicians and engineers.

Note: Em3Green was a thief and expert lockpicker  who appeared in the animated series episode “The Jihad.” His species was named and further members were introduced in the ebook series Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers .

Warlord Wednesday: Citadel of Fear

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Citadel of Fear"

Warlord #115 (March 1987)

Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Ron Randall

Synopsis: Crossing the desert on the way to Kaambuka, a merchant caravan is attacked by “the Warlord and his blood-mad horde.” The survivors of the caravan are taken off to the Citadel of Fear. The Citadel’s master is Desaad, chief torturer of Darkseid, who’s indulging his sadism at the expense of the captives. When the technological illusion drops away, the Warlord is revealed to actually be Y’smalla, the former Vashek assassin. She allied herself with Desaad in her quest for vengeance.

Meanwhile, the real Morgan and his companions are returning from the castle of V’Zarr Hagar-Zinn--still without a means to save Jennifer. He’s also not looking forward to facing his wife Tara and telling her he’s now in love with Mariah! Shakira is disgusted with him and rides off on her own.

Mariah and Morgan ride into a town where Morgan is immediately attacked. The two are taken captive and the townsfolk plan to burn Morgan alive! A bystander rushes to a horse to ride to Shamballah and tell Queen Tara.

He arrives just in time to see a person with the appearance of Morgan shift into the form of Desaad and kidnap the Queen. The man doesn’t want to tangle with a sorcerer, but he rides back to the town, arriving in time to save Morgan and Mariah from being burned at the stake. (It’s a good thing Shamballah and this town are so close.)

This helpful fellow leads Morgan and Mariah to the Citadel of Fear where Desaad is already subjecting Tara to his tortures. Morgan may be in love with Mariah (thanks to a magic charm Mariah bought) but he feels honor bound to save Tara. Mariah, for her part, is starting to feel guilty about manipulating him.

Y’smalla warns Desaad that Morgan is coming. The Apokolipsian villain plans a reception for the Warlord. When Morgan arrives, he sees Tara reclining in sybaritic indulgence with wine and two guys. It’s all an illusion courtesy of Darkseid. Morgan wavers for a moment, but then V’Zarr Hagar-Zinn’s magic ring kicks in:

Desaad knows the jig is up. He tries to blast Morgan but hits Mariah instead. Morgan returns fire with his pistol, destroying some of Desaad’s machinery. The torturer decides his work here is done and makes his escape. Desaad’s device is falling apart--and both Tara and Mariah are in harm’s way! Who will Morgan choose?

Morgan runs for Mariah, who suddenly has an attack of conscience. She throws the love charm in a nearby fire. She tells Morgan to save Tara. With the charm destroyed, Morgan makes an about face and runs to save his wife. A certain black cat bounds in and transforms into Shakira. She helps Mariah get to safety.

Our heroes are all safe, and Morgan and Tara are reunited. And Mariah:

Desaad leaves Skartaris, his mission to destroy the legend of the Warlord far from a complete success but not a total failure, either. He’s also left Y’smalla behind with tools to cause chaos as a parting shot.

Things to Notice:

• This issue is a Legends crossover.
• Morgan calls his beloved Mariah "youngster," too. That's even more odd than him calling Shakira that.
• It's strange that the loyal Shamballan so pivotal to this story goes unnamed.

Where it Comes From:
The title of this issue is the same as a 1918 lost world novel by Francis Stevens (Gertrude Barrows Bennett),  but there is no clear link between the two. 

Soldiers for Salvation

Every adventurer has at least heard of the Hell Syndicate and its infernal bosses, but fewer are aware that the agents of Heaven are also active in the world. Worldwide, they’re a varied lot--more variable even than the differing versions of the Supreme Being espoused by world religions and encountered by planar travelers--but they have similar aims: They make sure the multiverse functions as it should and they motivate humans to confront the forces of evil.

The followers of the Good Book call these beings “angels.” In the Astral and beyond they can be powerful and frightening, bigger and stronger than many earthly eikones. Their forms are too big and strange for the Material Plane, but in the higher realms they're composed of  a tumult of wings and heads of animals or geometric solids and fire. Always fire.

On earth, they're are smaller and more mundane. A string of soup kitchens and homeless shelters across the Strange New World are operated by angels in human guise or their agents. From the down-and-outs, addicts, and alcoholics that take advantage of their services, the angels recruit soldiers. The most trusted of these they grant minor miraculous powers, making them essentially members of the Gifted. Others are recruited via traveling revivals or mysteriously short-lived radio evangelist shows. These folk drawn from among the working poor, the elderly, and the outcasts of society become secret members of the Army of Salvation.They wait quietly for the time when they will be called upon to perform some task for the agents of God.

Some angels on Earth are sent on missions by their superiors to right various mundane wrongs they encounter--not by direct action as much as by encouraging humans to do so. These angels seldom appear in any way angelic: They mostly look like traveling salesmen, regular clerks or the like. They rarely manifest any supernatural powers--though they are able to travel from place to place instantaneously and have the uncanny knack of avoiding serious physical harm. Other powers are available to them, but these must be cleared with their superiors and are only sanctioned in the direst need.

Ghosts of the First Ones

Discoveries since the the advent of the space age have confirmed occult theories and assertions of the Book of Dzyan that humanity is not the first intelligence to arise on the earth. Astral projection has allowed a glimpse of the beings that inhabited earth in the distance past. The oldest of these was a protoplasmic race made of lighter elements than current physical matter--indeed, they were of a density we would currently term “etheric.” They inhabited a continent only slightly denser than themselves, long ago sublimated into the Astral, but then located at what is now the North Pole. For this reason, these beings have been dubbed “Polarians.”

Psychic impressions indicate the Polarians were alien in many respects. They do not appear to have possessed consciousness in the manner of humans and were perhaps part of a group intelligence. They weren't users of tools in the usual sense: they made what they need from their own substance. Polarian bodies possessed no organs and they reproduced asexually via binary fission.

Polarians are long extinct, but their tenuous ghosts are sometimes encountered, particular in the atmospheres of the gaseous outer planets, blown there by the solar winds.

POLARIAN GHOST
# Enc.:1 (1d4)  Movement:180’ (60’)  Armor Class: 0 (or 8)  Hit Dice: 8  Attacks:1  Damage: 1d6, see below  Save: M8.
These remnants of the Polarian race are ethereal and incapable of physical harm or being harmed by physical creatures. However, their presence is unnerving and may cause fear as per spell. Pyschic beings are particularly susceptible to their alien intellects and save at a -2. They can be harmed by supernatural abilities which effect ethereal creatures or by other ethereal being. They may strike ethereal creatures with pseudopods for 1d6 damage. On a successful hit they can envelope a foe if they wish, provided their man-size or smaller. To ethereal creatures this does a 2 points of damage per round. Their ability to damage etheric beings also allows them to disrupt psychic helms, effecting navigation in unpredictable ways.

Some Images from Talislantan Space

Well, not really, but they work reasonably we for it:

Chana warrior.

Jaka manhunter.

Mondre Khan.

Sarista.

Talislantan Space: Cymrilians

The planet Cymril lies at the center of the Seven Worlds Alliance. Its capital and only city--the crystalline megalopolis Cymril City (or just “Cymril”)--is the de facto capital of the Alliance and the nexus of trading routes, as well. Beyond the city, Cymril is only sparsely populated wilderness, dotted with small settlements.

Cymrilians are a green-skinned humanoid species known for their powerful psi abilities. Not all Cymrilians possess these abilities, but psi training and experimentation are central to Cymrilian culture, and the most powerful psionics form the planet's ruling elite. They have even developed technological means of enhancing their mental powers. All children of Cymrilian society are tested at a young age for psi abilities and the most promising are sent to various academies.

Cymril was founded by a people called the Phandre from the Phaedran Star Empire of old. The Phandre exiles split into three factions/sub-ethnicites that exist to the modern day. The Koresians, currently ascendant in Cymril, are forward-thinking and more interested in being involved in galactic society. The Tanasians are conservatives descended from the former rulers of the Phandre. Until their ouster, Cymril was more a authoritarian and expansionistic state. Tanasians instituted a eugenics program to foster psi potential among their people and were generally opposed to alliances with other (lesser in their view) species.

The third group, the Pharesians, are radicals and rejectionists of Cymril society. Pharesians are distinct from the Koresians and Tanasians, having a darker green skin-tone. They are outcasts, dwelling in the wilderness outside Cymril City or wandering among the inhabited stars as merchants or traders. Their ancestors considered psychologically unsuitable for advanced psi training, Pharesians are barred from the psionic academies by Koresians and Tanasians alike.

Warlord Wednesday: When A Legend Dies

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"When A Legend Dies"

Warlord #114 (February 1987)

Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Ron Randall

Synopsis: A peasant is getting hassled by the tax collector of Baron Kraag, when the Warlord shows up. He rallies the peasants then leads them in a charge on the Baron’s castle. His horse picks up a stone in it’s shoe, and the Warlord falls behind. The peasants ride into an ambush and are slaughtered. When the battle’s over, the Warlord collects his fee from the Baron.

Has Morgan turned evil? No, this Warlord activates a device and his disguise falls away. This is Desaad of Apokolips out to sully the legend of the Warlord.

Meanwhile, the real Morgan is trying to figure out what happened to the wizard V’Zarr Hagar-Zinn. He finds a scrap of the wizard’s robe and a piece of parchment. The parchment contains part of an incantation. Morgan and friends step into the waiting magic circle and:

Morgan and friends find themselves hanging from the hand of the wizard over a demon-pit of “weirdling ethers” that will turn their “physical bodies into vapors” to be huffed by demons. Once the demons have done that, they’ll have the power to invade Skartaris.

In the vicinity of Shamballah, Tara discovers the area of extreme aging is indeed expanding. She she’s a dinosaur age, die, and decompose to bones before her eyes. If Morgan doesn't get back with a cure soon, all Shamballah is at risk!

Back in the nether-realm, Morgan pulls an improbable maneuver that involves dropping them all toward the pit, but swinging out at the same time. Somehow, this works and soon their battling demons.

They make their way to some pudgy, winged reptile mounts. The wizard tells them they have to get back to the portal they came through to return to their world.

They fly out toward the portal with the demons right behind them. Morgan wants to stay behind and hold them off while the others get through, but V’Zarr says he should do it instead. Only Morgan’s heroism can save Skartaris from the coming threat. He magicks a ring into Morgan’s finger.

Morgan and the others fall through the portal. The wizard knows he won’t be able to follow them. He converts himself to pure magical energy, sacrificing himself to close the portal.

Meanwhile, Desaad disguised as Morgan is jumped by a Vashek adherent out for revenge. He’s surprised the Vashek is a woman--and he surprises her by laughing at her desire for revenge and suggesting they have an enemy in common.

Things to Notice:

• This issue is a Legends crossover.
• It seems a bit odd that Desaad is personally masquerading as the Warlord.

Where it Comes From:
The title of this issue refers to the death of V'Zarr Hagar-Zinn, but also to the hit-job Desaad is doing on Morgan's reputation.

Speaking of Desaad, he's the chief torturer to Darkseid, and a creation of Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Forever People #2 (1971).

Three Years, Three Skulls

I completely forgot that December marked this blog's third anniversary. Where does the time go?

Thanks to everyone who's been a reader and a supporter.  To commemorate the occasion, here are three of my most popular posts over the past year:

Here's an unusual monster in the form of the Night Nurses. Or you might want to revisit my discussion of using famous monsters of filmland in unfamiliar contexts in "Monster Mashup." Finally, you can check out one of my Hell's Hoods series and learn all about Moloch, "The Bull."

Want A Science Fiction Adventure?

Last night I ran my first Starships & Spacemen: Star Trek game. Rather than do a post-play write-up, I thought it would be more interesting and maybe useful for people to turn it into a sort of mini-module. 

So here it is.

It's suitable for any science fiction game, really, but assumes Star Trekian universe.

Pirates of Orion

Here’s another Star Trek species for Starships & Spacemen:

ORIONS
Encountered: 2d4 (5d10)
Movement: 120 (40’)
Intelligence: Average
Psionic Potential: 2d4 (inactive)
Hits: 1d8
Armor: -1
Combat Skill: 12
Save: L1
Attacks: 1
Damage: By weapon
Morale: 8
XP: 10
The Orions are an ancient, multi-species society engaged in legitimate trade--but also involved in numerous criminal enterprises including piracy and slave-trading. Their most infamous commodity are the “Orion slave girls” or “Orion animal women,” members of a green-skinned humanoid species exploited by the more advanced members of the Orion congeries.

The dominate Orion species has pale blue to chalk white skins. They employ disruptor weapons and fly fast, stealthy starships. 

Warlord Wednesday: Though Fiends Destroy Me!

Let's re-enter the lost world with another installment of my issue by issue examination of DC Comic's Warlord, the earlier installments of which can be found here...

"Though Fiends Destroy Me!"

Warlord #113 (January 1987)

Written by Michael Fleisher; Art by Ron Randall

Synopsis: Shakira’s gathering firewood in a gloomy forest. She’s miffed at Morgan’s behavior ever since Mariah showed up. The two have been lovey dovey all the time, and it’s irritating her.

What bugs her even more is a tribe of cylopses that chase her back to camp, screaming for Morgan.

Meanwhile, leagues away, Tara (Morgan’s wife) plays nurse to the elderly Jennifer, reminding us of what the Morgan’s Quest storyline is about anyway: Morgan is looking for a cure for his daughter (by his first marriage) who was magically cursed with aging. What’s worse, the zone of aging has begun expanding from the meadow where Jennifer was found toward the city of Shamballah.

Morgan and friends quickly defeat the cyclops tribe. Then, Morgan and Mariah are quickly back to making out, and Shakira to being disgusted. What would digust Shakira even more if she knew is that Morgan’s new attraction to Mariah is all due to a magic love amulet.

While that’s going on, in a “agless edifice of otherwordly desgin overlooking the Greenfire Sea” a wizard peers into his smoking dish. He’s worried that evil forces from a tenth and previously unknown plane are out to get the one man who can save Skartaris from a coming threat. That man (of course) is the Warlord. The wizard hopes Morgan and his companions arrive soon.

In Kiro, King Machiste is having a conversation with a wizard:

The wizard tells Machiste he cast a spell to transport Mariah to the side of her beloved! Wrong answer.

In our world, Redmond, the CIA agent Morgan evaded in the Yucatan, is still trying to figure out what was going on. He “renditions” Doug Andrews (the hapless tourist Morgan saved from high tech Mayans) to get answers.

Finally (after 14 issues), Morgan and his gang reach the Greenfire Sea.

They don’t have long to bask in that accomplishment, as a flock of gargoyle creatures swoop down on them. Oh, and they’re gargoyle creatures that shoot energy beams out of their eyes! Luckily, our heroes have a protector: The wizard uses his power to block the gargoyle rays.

One of the creatures snatches up Mariah. Morgan throws Shakira his gun, then leaps at the creature with a action hero quip:

They manage to jump to safety as the creature falls into the Greenfire.

Morgan’s safe and the wizard’s relieved--but then a group of beam-shooting garogyles swoop down on him!

When Morgan and the others arrive at the tower, they find no wizard V’Zarr Hagar-Zinn. The place is trashed and there’s fresh blood on the floor--perhaps only an hour old, according to Mariah. Shakira angrily says they could have been here an hour earlier if Morgan and Mariah hadn’t been acting all hormonal.

Their argument is cut short by a peal of villainous laughter.

Things to Notice:

• For some reason, Fleisher holds off on identifying V'Zarr Hagar-Zinn until the very end.
• This is the last issue where before the DC Universe invades Skartaris. Next issue is a Legends crossover.

Where it Comes From:
The events of this issue and the last one reset the love triangle between Morgan, Mariah, and Machiste--though this time with Morgan as a love-drugged participant.

IN SPACE!

Is it just me, or wouldn't the races and some of the setting elements of Talislanta translate well to a space opera milieu? Probably some of that is the exotic skin colors and mostly humanoid forms certainly seem like TV and movie space opera, at least.

So, this is what it could look like: the Galactic Empire of the Archaeans (or maybe, humans) was destroyed in the Great Disaster. A time of darkness followed, but now a New Age of progress is under way. Pockets of civilizations are expanding out into the stars. These new civilizations include:

• The Alliance of Seven Worlds: A confederation of the planets Astar, Cymril, Durne, Kasmir, Sindar, Taz, and Vardune.
• The Quan Empire: A territory conquered by a race of warriors, now fallen into indolence. It's subjects include the warrior Kang, the spiritual Mandala, and the technically skilled Vajra.
• The Instrumentality of Aa: An oppressive, theocratic regimen, at war with an offshoot of their race known as the Zandir.

Then of course, there are the independent races and worlds. Everybody takes shore leave on the pleasure planet of Thaecia. Nagra and Jaka bounty hunters chase criminals all of the galaxy. Then, their are the Imrian slavers, dealing in Batrean slave girls.

Works pretty well, doesn't it?