Talislantan Space: In the Expanse

The Zaran Expanse is a region of decimated star systems and damaged worlds, the epicenter of the devastation of the Great Disaster. The area gets its name from the ancient Zaran Empire, though how much of the territory the empire actually controlled is a matter of debate. Traversing through and residing in the Expanse are a mix of species from all over the galaxy:

A Nagra bounty hunter draws on his quarry. The Nagra's "spirit tracking" ability allows them to trace the psychic ripples of their prey's passing, even across space.

A group of Zandir fencers perform an exhibition bout.

Two Batrean females run a confidence game.

A rare glimpse of a Muse Empath outside the Seven Worlds Alliance.

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.