Take him and cut him out in little stars

 

A Stellatine in feminine form. Pictures Mangled By: Me

Pictures Mangled by Me: Any picture with this in its caption means it is a collage I made using 19th and early 20th century illustrations. All these illustrations are public domain, meaning I didn't rob anyone by using these pictures for my own gains.

Author's Note: This is a partial fluff write up for a perspective race called the Stellatine. The crunch will follow tomorrow or the day after.

Beneath the City is void, and darkness covers its depths. And the spirit of the City moved over the abyss, casting its image upon it. From the reflection came the spirit of the Stellatine, from the void and darkness came their physicality. (Ad Initio 1: 2 – 3)

Beings of darkness and starlight glimmers, protean bodies shifting to fit new identities, personalities as luminescent as the light that breaks the darkness of their bodies. Humanoid in form, the color of their skin being quintessential night, naturally androgynous unless they will a change upon themselves.

They are the Stellatine, the darkness of their skin broken by points of prismatic light. Stellatine forms are mutable, constructing from their own light, features and even 'appendages' to fit their own identity. Blank faces morphing to have neon features, creating identities out of light.

A Stellatine in more masculine form. Pictures Mangled By: Me

The Stellatine have a demeanor as bright as the light that forms their many faces, never at a loss for a reason to experience all that life might have to offer. Despite their current liveliness, they were once the dour caretakers of the Infinite City, moving from neighborhood to neighborhood enveloped in dark cloaks. At the end of the Storyteller Wars they changed, somehow freed from a weight that kept them subdued.

Claiming that their god and creator, the City itself, had freed them from their toil to live the lives they were denied due to their service. In being emancipated from their service the Engineer Kraken and Labor Nautilus arrived through the city gates to take their place. When asked, the Stellatine will reply that they do not know the purpose of their new found freedom, though there are some that doubt the truthfulness of their claim.

They are the founders of a city wide holiday, ostensibly to celebrate the end of the Storyteller Wars, though it seems to have been founded to simply celebrate the beauty of life. Called Light's Celebration, the Stellatine come together to wreath the city in lights, outlining every building and street in prismatic light.

A man in festival attire. Art By: Leon Brakst

During the festival men and women dress in as little as possible, this being one day that propriety is thrown to the wayside, painting themselves with makeup made of light itself. Horded during the rest of the year, the Stellatine freely hand out these luminous pigments for men and women to paint themselves, with true artists of the medium turning people into idealized forms of themselves for a few hours. At the setting of the sun until its next rise, the city becomes a carnival that can range from innocent entertainments to neighborhood wide acts of carnal pageantry.

In the city, the cobbled streets are smoothed to lanes of velvet night. Broken bits of glass, scattered in the destruction of castoff bottles, become pinpoints of starlight in the shifting festival lanterns. People, dressed in bright and varied colors move up and down the under-lit sidewalks. The cloth they wear becoming light itself, luminous makeup smoothing skin and sharpening features, leaving tracers in the wake of their passing. Everyone on these streets are made into Nagel portraits for this night, perfect in lanterns' glow. In dawn's glow people stumble home, their painted fading in morning's light, some abandoning temporary lovers, others propped upon one another to sleep off the headaches that are soon to follow.

A woman in festival attire. Art By: Leon Brakst

On the other nights of the year, the Stellatine fill the pubs, clubs, and theaters, filling them with the light of their bodies and personalities. The Stellatine always dress as if Light's Celebration is a daily occurrence, exposing as much of their starlight-skin as possible.  

Strange items in markets and ruins

Beautiful merchants of strange wares. Art By: Leon Bakst

Pictures Mangled by Me: Any picture with this in its caption means it is a collage I made using 19th and early 20th century illustrations. All these illustrations are public domain, meaning I didn't rob anyone by using these pictures for my own gains.

Author's Note: Here are a couple weird magic items for your viewing pleasure. While they have backgrounds that are more geared towards my Infinite City setting, they can be easily integrated into any game. If you're tired of stocking your dungeon with +1 long swords and cloaks of Elven Kind, give these a try. 

Strange weapons with dangerous grins. Pictures Mangled By: Me

 

Grin Hatchet

Black iron axehead, crooked yellow embedded in the edge, greased metal replacing gums. More of a hatchet than an ax, its short haft ending in the pronged roots of a molar. The flat back of the axehead has a molar crown protruding from it, the enamel yellowed and chipped like the front teeth. An eye stares from either side of the axehead's midpoint, unmoving, the material of the eye as unyielding as the iron itself. Sometimes, when you're not looking, the pupil shifts to stare at the wielder, always shifting back when they turn to look.

These hatchets bear an unsettling resemblance to the full-sized axes carried by Smilers. Called Grin Hatchets, they will occasionally appear in black markets, ruins, and pawnbrokers with the proprietors having no information on how they came to own these items.

While their form is off-putting to most, the wounds they inflict are savage, making them prized weapons for people in the business of killing dangerous people and 'animals'. No one seems to have any information about the 'staring problem' the ax's eyes have, but it has yet to cause an issue... That you know of.

OSR / AD&D / LotFP

Damage: 1D6+1

Size: One-Handed (Light)

Speed Factor: 4

Bonuses: +1 to Damage (Sharp Teeth, Damage Already Figured Into Stats)

Special Abilities: Each time damage is rolled, damage may be rolled a second time, with the player always taking the second result. The spell Shillelagh may be cast on this ax as if it were a cudgel or unshod staff.

Pathfinder / DnD 3.X

Damage: 1D6 (Medium) 1D4 (Small)

Size: One-Handed (Light)

Critical: x3

Bonuses: Masterwork (+1 to Hit)

Special Abilities: Each time damage is rolled, damage may be rolled a second time, with the player always taking the second result. The Magic Fang spell may be cast on this item as if it were the natural attack of a creature. Furthermore, Druid's are considered proficient with this weapon.

Pits and Perils

Damage: 1 Hit

Size: One-Handed

Special Abilities: A number of times per day equal to the wielder's level, the player may re-roll one of their D6's to hit a target. The player must always take the results of the second roll.

Into the Odd

Damage: 1D6

Type: Hand Weapon

Special Abilities: Each time damage is rolled, damage may be rolled a second time, with the player taking the better of the two results. 

Twisting scarves to untwist mazes. Pictures Mangled By: Me

 

Maze Scarf

Made of cloth with a fine weave, the scarf looks positively ancient: fraying at the edges, holes in the material, and a slight musty smell. Its form isn't a straight line, rather it branches off at ninety degree angles to rejoin itself in a maze-like configuration. Most startling of all, the pattern which continually shifts as if in movement, despite the wearer standing still. Out of the corner of your eye you can see a new pattern emerge in its endless scrolling, only to disappear when it is looked at directly.

OSR / AD&D / LotFP / Pathfinder / Pits & Perils

Wearing this item grants the wearer certain abilities:

1/Day per Level of Wearer – Know the Path: This ability allows the wearer to find the shortest, most direct route that he or she is seeking, be it the way to or from or out of a locale. The locale can be outdoors or underground, a trap or even a maze spell. The spell will enable the wearer to select the correct direction which will eventually lead him or her to egress, the exact path to follow (or actions to take), and this knowledge will persist for 1 turn (10 minutes) per use of the ability. The ability frees the user, and those with him or her from a Maze spell in a single melee round and will continue to do so as long as the spell lasts.

Shorten Change's Journey: Those wearing this scarf roll 1D8 to determine the number of hours it takes to find the a Sarxist temple-clinics.

Link to post about Sarxists

Into the Odd

Arcana Type: Powers you cannot understand.

1/Day per Experience Level of Wearer – Know the Path: This ability allows the wearer to find the shortest, most direct route that he or she is seeking, be it the way to or from or out of a locale. The locale can be outdoors or underground, and even a trap. The spell will enable the wearer to select the correct direction which will eventually lead him or her to egress, the exact path to follow (or actions to take), and this knowledge will persist for 10 minutes per use of the ability.

Shorten Change's Journey: Those wearing this scarf roll 1D8 to determine the number of hours it takes to find the a Sarxist temple-clinics.

Link to post about Sarxists

You can only smile for so long, after that it's just teeth

 

Theirs is a city of screams, laughing, and madness. Pictures Mangled By: Me.

Pictures Mangled by Me: Any picture with this in its caption means it is a collage I made using 19th and early 20th century illustrations. All these illustrations are public domain, meaning I didn't rob anyone by using these pictures for my own gains.

Author's Note: As you'll see, there aren't that many new illustrations. I will be adding some new ones to the blog later, my ability to make new collages was limited tonight.

They are the smiling ones, lips split to display teeth in all states of repair and ruin. Skin that runs the gamut of shades and hues, they draw from the full breadth that humanoid life can offer. As long as the race has lips to peel back to reveal teeth, they are free to be conscripted into this frightful group.

Those who are forced into their ranks, the sane, and those who willingly join, the mad, all have their faces stripped away. Replaced by a roiling static more at home on an aged television, their faces only retain lips and mouth to mark the passage of an identity. They become one and the same as the rest of the other grinning insanities. They become Smilers.

Grins that can crack mirrors and shred skin. Pictures Mangled By: Me

To most viewers they appear innocuous, normal faces among the crowds pressing into the Infinite City streets. Those that mark the face of a Smiler, might only recall a wide grin, if anything at all. Their madness is temporarily infectious, they are normal to themselves, so those around them count these Smilers as being mundane, unworthy of note.

The Smilers' agenda is incomprehensible, if they have one at all. Bringing murder and rending to one group, while passing another without incident. Preferring to place their Radio Idols among a crowd, then leaving, they avoid direct conflict unless pressed. When pressed, they pour the same charnel fury onto a target as their Radio Idols inspire in vulnerable masses.

If you can't smile in the face of screaming masses and torn flesh, then where can you smile?

If you haven't read my previous posts, you may wish to in order to understand this next part. Post 1 and Post 2. 

The face Olivia used to have.

Agency Site Surveillance Transcript

Site #: [REDACTED]

Observation Targets: [REDACTED] and Olivia Dravok

[REDACTED]: Hello, Olivia.

Olivia: Surprised to see me?

[REDACTED]: Not terribly, we knew this would be an eventuality given your previous situation and the means by which it was solved.

Olivia: I'd be very upset with the Agency right now if I could bring myself to care about what I used to be.

[REDACTED]: We thought that Nihilotics would permanently erase your soul. Believe me, we didn't want you to come back, your continued life was a burden to all parties.

Olivia: I'm touched by your concern, [REDACTED]. However, I have found new purpose, new [pause] drives. New hungers to feed.

[REDACTED]: I am happy to hear you are no longer in pain, Olivia.

Olivia: You know, the Agency has been very untruthful. Telling the citizens that the Smilers are just leftover Marchen 'horrors'. Telling your contractors that they are the victims of a Marchen 'Conceptualization'.

But the truth is, you gave that city cell, and all of those people to [UNTRANSCRIBABLE]. You were losing to the Marchen, and you found them in one of the Centers. [UNTRANSCRIBABLE] helped you, and you gave them hosts to manifest in.

All those people. [Pause] They screamed as they watched their escape routes closed, as [UNTRANSCRIBABLE] began to manifest within them.

[REDACTED]: They? Them? Let us not devolve into pointless play acting. We both know I am speaking to [UNTRANSCRIBABLE]. The only question is, which part am I speaking to?

Olivia: [UNTRANSCRIBABLE].

[REDACTED]: And that roughly translates to?

Olivia: The Hallowed Mother of the Unseen.

[REDACTED]: Lovely, you do realize that taking Olivia is a breach of contract? We agreed to a limited number of hosts. It wouldn't do for all of you to escape the Center. If you fully manifested, you'd kill all of reality and then yourself. You're risking us as well as yourself by taking more hosts than attrition would require.

Olivia: I needed a new host, one of my previous hosts was destroyed.

[REDACTED]: How? Our records do not show a host termination.

Olivia: I destroyed the host, I wanted Olivia.

[REDACTED]: Why? I [pause] I don't understand what value she could have had to you.

Olivia: Goodbye [REDACTED], a pleasure as always.

[REDACTED]: Do I need you to escort you through security?

Olivia: No need, I brought my own door.

[REDACTED]: [Speaking to intercom] Please bring me all available information about a contractor, last name Dravok, first name Olivia. Also, contact the Sphinx and Spider, inquire about any information they may possess. Inform them that we are willing to pay the normal rate.

[END OF Surveillance TRANSCRIPT]

Smile and the whole world smiles with you. Pictures Mangled By: Me

OSR / AD&D / LotFP

Activity Cycle: Any

Alignment: Neutral (Evil)

Intelligence: Superhuman

Treasure: Varies (Standard Treasure For Difficulty Level) and a Radio Idol

AC: 20 / 0

Move: 40 ft

HD: 8

THAC0 / To-Hit: 8 / +12

All Saves: 10

Attacks: 2 x Biting Ax or Laughing Scream

Biting Ax: The Smiler pulls a woodcutting ax from the folds of their clothing, the edge of its black iron head lined with gleaming white teeth. It does 1D10+3 damage rolling the 1D10 twice taking the better roll. The ax dissipates once the Smiler dies, or once it leaves their hand.

Laughing Scream: The Smiler lets out a cry that rides the border between a scream and a laugh creating a shock-wave. The attack targets everyone in a 30 foot cone, doing 2D6 damage. Those hit must make a save versus Magic, those that fail their save erupt into uncontrollable laughter, unable to take any action, for 1D3 rounds.

Special Abilities

Unassuming Madness: Despite their bizarre appearance and behavior, are treated as unimportant or mundane by those around them. When a creature first comes within sight of a Smiler, they must make a save versus Magic. Those that fail their save see the Smiler as being completely unimportant, no matter what anyone says to the contrary. Once the Smiler attacks or acts directly against the creature, the spell is broken and they are seen for what they are. Unless the ability's effect is broken, the creature will only vaguely remember the Smiler's clothing and their strange smile, but not their unsettling appearance.

Brought Their Own Door: The Smiler may enter any hallway or alley, and after taking a few turns (which were not in the hallway/alley originally) they emerge in their own horrible part of the city. Someone following close enough to the Smiler can follow them back to their own part of the city. They may also use this ability in reverse to enter into any building, street, or part of the city. 

Smile long enough, and world will change with you. Pictures Mangled By: Me

 

Pits and Perils

Attacks: 2 x Biting Ax or 1 x Laughing Scream

Level: 5

Move: 50'

Size: M

Side: N (Evil)

Number: 1

Treasure: Type III and Radio Idol

Biting Ax: The Smiler pulls a woodcutting ax from the folds of their clothing, the edge of its black iron head lined with gleaming white teeth. On a normal hit it does 1 hit of damage, on an exceptional hit the ax does 3 hits of damage.

Laughing Scream: The Smiler lets out a cry that rides the border between a scream and a laugh creating a shock-wave. The attack targets everyone in a 30 foot cone, doing 2 Hits of damage. Those hit must make a save, those that fail their save erupt into uncontrollable laughter, unable to take any action, for 1D3 rounds.

Unassuming Madness: Despite their bizarre appearance and behavior, are treated as unimportant or mundane by those around them. When a creature first comes within sight of a Smiler, they must make a save. Those that fail their save see the Smiler as being completely unimportant, no matter what anyone says to the contrary. Once the Smiler attacks or acts directly against the creature, the spell is broken and they are seen for what they are. Unless the ability's effect is broken, the creature will only vaguely remember the Smiler's clothing and their strange smile, but not their unsettling appearance.

Brought Their Own Door: The Smiler may enter any hallway or alley, and after taking a few turns (which were not in the hallway/alley originally) they emerge in their own horrible part of the city. Someone following close enough to the Smiler can follow them back to their own part of the city. They may also use this ability in reverse to enter into any building, street, or part of the city. 

Change enough, and the world will never be the same. Pictures Mangled By: Me

 

Into the Odd

Str: 14 Dex: 14 Will: 18 HP: 12 Armor: 2

Driven to create chaos and mayhem by planting Radio Idols and escaping. Driven to kill anyone who attempts to follow or corner them.

They always have a Radio Idol on them.

Biting Ax: The Smiler pulls a woodcutting ax from the folds of their clothing, the edge of its black iron head lined with gleaming white teeth. It does 1D10 damage rolling the 1D10 twice taking the better roll. The ax dissipates once the Smiler dies, or once it leaves their hand.

Laughing Scream: The Smiler lets out a cry that rides the border between a scream and a laugh creating a shock-wave. The attack targets everyone in a 30 foot cone, doing 3D4 damage. Those hit must make a Will save, those that fail their save erupt into uncontrollable laughter, unable to take any action, for 1D3 rounds.

Unassuming Madness: Despite their bizarre appearance and behavior, are treated as unimportant or mundane by those around them. When a creature first comes within sight of a Smiler, they must make a Will save. Those that fail their save see the Smiler as being completely unimportant, no matter what anyone says to the contrary. Once the Smiler attacks or acts directly against the creature, the spell is broken and they are seen for what they are. Unless the ability's effect is broken, the creature will only vaguely remember the Smiler's clothing and their strange smile, but not their unsettling appearance.

Brought Their Own Door: The Smiler may enter any hallway or alley, and after taking a few turns (which were not in the hallway/alley originally) they emerge in their own horrible part of the city. Someone following close enough to the Smiler can follow them back to their own part of the city. They may also use this ability in reverse to enter into any building, street, or part of the city.

The radio was shouting at you, pleading with you, and seducing you (Pathfinder)

 

Madness can be found in more than the broadcasts of Radio Idols. Art By: Alfred Kubin

Pictures Mangled by Me: Any picture with this in its caption means it is a collage I made using 19th and early 20th century illustrations. All these illustrations are public domain, meaning I didn't rob anyone by using these pictures for my own gains.

It begins, always, with the setting of a strange device among a crowd. A flick of a switch, a turn of a dial, a retreat of a smiling faceless stranger, then the beginning. The crowd surges, hands now claws, teeth tearing flesh, people now animals.

These horrific receivers cast into crowds the voice of a little girl counting while accompanied by sounds that pull at the deepest parts of the mind. It unlocks something in people, beneath the animal, a thing that usually reserved for serial killers and spree murderers.

The purpose of these exercises in murderous rage? Answer: Why not?

This is what the broadcast sounds like: Youtube Link! 

Tune in madness, its melodies are far superior to sanity. Pictures Mangled By: Me

City Works Agency Public Service Announcement

Radio Idols and YOU

Radio Idols are a danger that many citizens face on their way about the city. If you prepare for these hateful artifacts, you too can avoid the dangers they present.

REMEMBER! A prepared citizen is a safe citizen! A safe citizen is a GOOD citizen! You want to be a GOOD citizen, don't you?

If you hear something, say something: Report any instances of a young girl counting accompanied by strange sounds to your local constabulary.

Discretion is the better part of valor: If you see or hear a large group trying to kill one another, DON'T attempt to provide assistance or see what the commotion in. Immediately flee the scene and report it to the nearest constable.

Better to be alone than have company: If you suddenly experience any or all of these symptoms, immediately find a place to be alone until they pass. Once gone, report the experience to your nearest constable. These symptoms include, but are not limited to:

Urges to harm yourself.

Urges to harm a loved one.

Urges to consume your own flesh.

Urges to consume the flesh of a loved one.

Urges to harm a nearby stranger.

Urges to consume the flesh of a nearby stranger.

Urges to question the authority of the City Works Agency.

Follow all these recommendations and you too can be a GOOD CITIZEN.

Mirth is madness. Pictures Mangled By: Me

To understand this next part, you may wish to check out my previous post: Here. 

 

Inter-Agency Memorandum #236 – 17 – 8G

Sender: City Works Contractor – Forensic Science #1786 - Q

Receiver: [REDACTED]

As per Agency Policy #5,013 – 81 [The Treatment and Disposal of Liquidated Agency Contractors]: Dravok, Olivia was removed from [REDACTED] Asylum. All witnesses have been paid a silencing fee [Level: S-13] as well as having been made aware of the city's right to liquidate said persons in the event they proliferate any information concerning Dravok, Olivia.

At 03:16:17, Dravok, Olivia was to be autopsied as per previously noted Agency Policy. City Works Contractor – Forensic Science #2099 – Z found that Dravok, Olivia was completely missing from her storage drawer save for the following: Facial Epidermis and Dermis, Left and Right Supercilium (Eyebrows), Left and Right Cilium (Eyelashes), Left and Right Oculus, and the Totality of Nasal Cartilage.

It should be noted that her Labia Oris (Lips) were not among the remains found in the storage drawer.

Sanctus, I am sorry, my friend. While Delemonde is a complete dullard, he doesn't slack in his duties. He told me that he maintained his post outside the body-locker for the three hours her body was in it, no individual was allowed in before the autopsy. I believe him, as I said, he's an idiot, but a trustworthy one. Olivia Dravok is a Smiler now... - Archibald

Author's Note: I've designed the Radio Idols to straddle the gaps between autonomous construct, trap, and environment hazard. The rules for something like this are few and far between, so I had to make them up as I went along. If there are rules that actually cover these kinds of things, let me know. 

Mechanisms of madness. Pictures Mangled By: Me

Pathfinder / DnD 3.X

CR 3

800 XP

N Tiny construct

Initiative: +0;

Senses: Blindsight 100 ft.; Perception –5

DEFENSE

AC: 15, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+3 Natural, +2 size)

HP: 18 (3d10)

Fort +1, Ref +0, Will -4

Defensive Abilities -

Hardness 10 and Construct Immunities

OFFENSE

Speed: 0 ft. (Cannot move on its own)

Special Attacks -

Break Knowledge: The Radio Idol can emit a field that temporarily hinders the class knowledge of every individual within 30 feet of it that is capable of hearing. Those within range and capable of hearing must make a Will save (DC 13). On a failed save: Non-Spellcasters have their To-Hit penalized by1D4 points, Spellcasters are considered 1D4 levels lower when figuring maximum spell levels and the number of times they are capable of casting a spell. The effects from this ability are not cumulative and last for 10 minutes.

Rending Static: Every sentient creature within a 30 foot cone capable of hearing takes 3D6 sonic damage. A successful Will save (DC 13) reduces the damage by ½.

STATISTICS

Str --, Dex --, Con --, Int --, Wis 1, Cha 1

Base Atk +2; CMB --; CMD – (Treat as an inanimate object)

SQ: Made of Metal 10 Hardness

Destructive Transmission: Every sentient being within 100 feet capable of hearing the transmission must make a Will save (DC 13) each round they are within range. Those that fail their save will do one of 3 things for the duration of the round:

Behavior – 1D3

1: Attack themselves with the nearest weapon at hand. For standard citizens the damage is usually 1D3 unless they find an actual weapon.

2: Attack the nearest person with the nearest weapon at hand. For standard citizens the damage is usually 1D3 unless they find an actual weapon.

3: Scream.

For those who attack a loved one, when they come to their senses the next round, they become horrified at their own actions. Their next save roll is at a -1 penalty from their mind beginning to unravel from the guilt and horror of their own actions. These penalties are cumulative and last for 10 minutes.

This ability is always active, unless the Radio Idol “decides” to turn it off for the purposes of creating greater havoc later. While not truly sentient, it was crafted in a way that allows it to be adaptive in its behaviors.

ECOLOGY

Environment: Any

Organization: solitary, pair, or Hi-Fi (3-8)

Treasure: Concept-Fission Battery

A broken Concept-Fission Battery. Pictures Mangled By: Me

Concept-Fission Battery: These devices are powered by batteries that generate energy through the gradual destruction of a particular concept. Each battery is imbued with a particular concept, with no two batteries ever sharing the same concept. As the concept is broken down it becomes harder and harder for people of the world to understand, with it becoming completely incomprehensible when the battery is finally drained.

The more minor/inconsequential/bizarre the concept is, the smaller the battery. If one were to make a Concept-Fission Battery out of the concept of happiness or love, it would be incredibly powerful, and would ruin the world when it was finally drained.

The batteries in Radio Idols involve rather inconsequential concepts, meaning the vast majority of the world will not miss them when they become incomprehensible. A character may remove and break the battery near a magical item to recharge it, restoring 1D20+30 charges.

Other things might be possible with these batteries, but what exactly is up to the GM.