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.