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(Epic Cydra) Empires of Chaos
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 3985161" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>Normally the twisted metal city-island-ship of the clockwork horrors lurks beneath the waves, deep under the sea. But now it is exposed, the water level lowered enough to reveal its surface, teeming with artificial ants that swarm over it everywhere. Strange blisters and protrusions on its surface hide strange, mechanical devices, weapons and sensors and other, less comprehensible things. Towers, fins and other, less definable things poke out at crazy angles from the strange isle’s skin. </p><p></p><p>The place/device/craft is vast, full of labyrinthine passages that shift, seal and flood at the command of Master Control, that enemy of our heroes that is composed of pure information. It commands the horrors here, using the same strange powers of radiomancy that enabled the Miloxi Empire to rule over tremendous areas in the distant past of Cydra. The horrors hear its silent commands by some strange machine equivalent of telepathy. In addition to their physical shells, the horrors exist on an <em>informational</em> plane, totally and strangely different from any other realm that our heroes have ever encountered.*</p><p></p><p>The clockwork horrors all move with the same purpose. With machine efficiency, the weaker horrors- copper, silver and electrum- retreat into the bowels of their great ship. They know that the threat to the place is beyond them; they will be wasted against the force striking at them. </p><p></p><p>The stronger horrors are emerging from within, swarming towards the small band of mighty, mighty adventurers that are attacking their home. Our heroes. Strange, specialized clockwork weapons move rapidly towards the assault point. They close in very quickly.</p><p></p><p>But not quickly enough. </p><p></p><p>Baron Lillamere, the mightiest sorcerer on Cydra, lashes all around him with his tentacles. His mighty spells have allowed him to take on the form and powers of a rust monster. He is deadly in this form, so deadly to the horrors and their island; but he knows that, if he remains in any one place long, he invites a concentration of withering firepower against himself. </p><p></p><p>He’s not interested in that. He’s interested in rescuing Belmondo.</p><p></p><p>Following Sybele’s nose, he flies down the passage at breakneck speed. The party falls in, gradually following, but many of them make quick stops to destroy the closest horrors that are hot on their collective tail. </p><p></p><p>The horrors can’t keep up with our heroes at first, but they have other tricks. Master Control floods the passages our heroes are in with gas, but our heroes cannot be stopped or contained so easily. They <em>disintegrate</em> or smash their way through any barriers, moving swiftly through twisting, shifting passages. </p><p></p><p>At last, Alcar bashes down a particularly sturdy barrier, and a wide, short passageway is revealed. Along each side, as well as at the end, there are small alcoves. Several of these hold creatures: an ogre, a needleman, two humans- and Belmondo! They are immobile, held reclining on strange boards bristling with wires and tubes, many of which join with the creatures on the boards. All four of the creatures have metal... things... that appear to have been implanted into their bodies, from Belmondo’s second arm to the axe and hammer that replace one of the humans’ hands. </p><p></p><p>“Uh-oh,” says JJ.</p><p></p><p>Bahgerah agrees, “I smell trouble.”</p><p></p><p>The figures stand and step out of the alcoves. </p><p></p><p>“We’re here to rescue you, dwarf, and all of your friends!” Sybele cries.**</p><p></p><p>The five figures attack. Their eyes are glazed and unblinking. <em>They are controlled,</em> thinks Alcar. <em>And it won’t be magic- this is Master Control’s strange powers at work.</em></p><p></p><p>Horrors behind, these four clockwork servitors ahead of them, our heroes attack, but not as ruthlessly as they could. Chakar tries to wrestle the ogre, and almost immediately takes him down to the ground, keeping its neck locked between his powerful dwarven legs. Chakar remains calm and balanced the entire time. He is the very picture of self-discipline. The clockwork ogre struggles against him, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Wankerman and the axe-and-hammer fellow begin to face off, while the other human begins casting fairly impressive spells, such as <em>chain lightning</em>, at the party.</p><p></p><p>It takes a lot more than <em>fairly impressive</em> to slow down our heroes, however. Only their awkward attempts at being merciful to these poor captives of the horrors extend the fight more than a few seconds. </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p><em>Belmondo is trapped in his own mind. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Or so Master Control thinks. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>He has been locked in his body, helpless and unable to control himself, for months. Master Control has taken over his physical form. Bitterly, Belmondo realizes how his greatest foe managed it. Decades ago, during Belmondo and his party’s final attack on the clockwork horrors, he had confronted Master Control on an informational plane, using informational weapons that the strange intelligent armor Adam had given him. Yet during his exchange of informational blows, Master Control had managed to slip a dormant command into Belmondo’s head.*** Years later, horrors appeared at Belmondo’s Lighthouse, and the command was triggered. Master Control took him captive, and has been using him ever since.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>But Belmondo has been exercising his mind as much as possible, stretching it and strengthening it, refining his ability to hear radio and reaching out to his </em>useful tool.<em>****</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>That is what his hopes revolve around: </em>Belmondo’s useful tool.<em> A minor artifact, psionic, able to shape itself into any kind of tool at Belmondo’s direction. And it is on his person.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Belmondo has detected that the plug in the base of his skull is crucial to Master Control’s ability to maintain its grip on him. And now, as all hell breaks loose and some people that he recognizes as friends burst in, he makes his move. </em></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>On the material plane, <em>Belmondo’s useful tool</em> begins to try to extract the plug that controls Belmondo’s brain.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p><em>Belmondo winces as he jabs himself in the head on the physical plane. He doesn’t care; if he can extract that damned plug, he might be able to get free in the confusion. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Though he does not control his body, he can see through his own physical eyes. </em>No!<em> Belmondo thinks, as he sees himself approach his old friend Alcar, ready to attack with whatever fiendish machinery Master Control has implanted in him. He can feel the </em>useful tool<em> working desperately at the base of his skull. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>From his physical ears, Belmondo hears his old friend say, “I’m sorry, Belmondo- but I will bring you back, free.” Then there is a series of terrific blows to the head, culminating in</em></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Alcar grabs his friend’s body and shouts, “Let’s go! I have who we came for!” </p><p></p><p>“Let’s bring them all!” insists Sybele. Wankerman nods. Quickly, the bigger, stronger members of the party grab the bodies of the servitors while the others hold off the horrors moving in on them.</p><p></p><p>Then the party blasts and then <em>superior teleports</em> out, back to Brelana. </p><p></p><p>Success.</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> So... what happened to Inoke, anyway?</p><p></p><p></p><p>*This was discovered by a group of heroes including Belmondo, the infamous tabaxi Hobbes, Malford the Magnificent and Lester discovered decades ago. Of them all, only Belmondo had the comprehension to face Master Control on such a plane, and that was only with the aid of a mysterious suit of armor that was intelligent, magical, psionic <em>and</em> technological. Called “Adam,” this suit had apparently survived from a previous multiverse where it had been worn by a mighty hero calling himself “Iron Dwarf”. </p><p></p><p>**Due to the touch of Chaos, Sybele cannot remember anyone’s name.</p><p></p><p>***The aforementioned series of adventures, which were the culmination of 2nd edition Cydra, were awesome. During the last game of the series, when Belmondo and MC duked it out on the informational plane, Belmondo failed a saving throw. There was no obvious effect.... <em>until now.</em> Yes, I planned an escape route for MC in case the pcs beat it back then... which they did. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":]" title="Devious :]" data-shortname=":]" /></p><p></p><p>****Belmondo gained the ability to hear radio years ago, during a previous period of captivity by Master Control.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 3985161, member: 1210"] Normally the twisted metal city-island-ship of the clockwork horrors lurks beneath the waves, deep under the sea. But now it is exposed, the water level lowered enough to reveal its surface, teeming with artificial ants that swarm over it everywhere. Strange blisters and protrusions on its surface hide strange, mechanical devices, weapons and sensors and other, less comprehensible things. Towers, fins and other, less definable things poke out at crazy angles from the strange isle’s skin. The place/device/craft is vast, full of labyrinthine passages that shift, seal and flood at the command of Master Control, that enemy of our heroes that is composed of pure information. It commands the horrors here, using the same strange powers of radiomancy that enabled the Miloxi Empire to rule over tremendous areas in the distant past of Cydra. The horrors hear its silent commands by some strange machine equivalent of telepathy. In addition to their physical shells, the horrors exist on an [i]informational[/i] plane, totally and strangely different from any other realm that our heroes have ever encountered.* The clockwork horrors all move with the same purpose. With machine efficiency, the weaker horrors- copper, silver and electrum- retreat into the bowels of their great ship. They know that the threat to the place is beyond them; they will be wasted against the force striking at them. The stronger horrors are emerging from within, swarming towards the small band of mighty, mighty adventurers that are attacking their home. Our heroes. Strange, specialized clockwork weapons move rapidly towards the assault point. They close in very quickly. But not quickly enough. Baron Lillamere, the mightiest sorcerer on Cydra, lashes all around him with his tentacles. His mighty spells have allowed him to take on the form and powers of a rust monster. He is deadly in this form, so deadly to the horrors and their island; but he knows that, if he remains in any one place long, he invites a concentration of withering firepower against himself. He’s not interested in that. He’s interested in rescuing Belmondo. Following Sybele’s nose, he flies down the passage at breakneck speed. The party falls in, gradually following, but many of them make quick stops to destroy the closest horrors that are hot on their collective tail. The horrors can’t keep up with our heroes at first, but they have other tricks. Master Control floods the passages our heroes are in with gas, but our heroes cannot be stopped or contained so easily. They [i]disintegrate[/i] or smash their way through any barriers, moving swiftly through twisting, shifting passages. At last, Alcar bashes down a particularly sturdy barrier, and a wide, short passageway is revealed. Along each side, as well as at the end, there are small alcoves. Several of these hold creatures: an ogre, a needleman, two humans- and Belmondo! They are immobile, held reclining on strange boards bristling with wires and tubes, many of which join with the creatures on the boards. All four of the creatures have metal... things... that appear to have been implanted into their bodies, from Belmondo’s second arm to the axe and hammer that replace one of the humans’ hands. “Uh-oh,” says JJ. Bahgerah agrees, “I smell trouble.” The figures stand and step out of the alcoves. “We’re here to rescue you, dwarf, and all of your friends!” Sybele cries.** The five figures attack. Their eyes are glazed and unblinking. [i]They are controlled,[/i] thinks Alcar. [i]And it won’t be magic- this is Master Control’s strange powers at work.[/i] Horrors behind, these four clockwork servitors ahead of them, our heroes attack, but not as ruthlessly as they could. Chakar tries to wrestle the ogre, and almost immediately takes him down to the ground, keeping its neck locked between his powerful dwarven legs. Chakar remains calm and balanced the entire time. He is the very picture of self-discipline. The clockwork ogre struggles against him, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Wankerman and the axe-and-hammer fellow begin to face off, while the other human begins casting fairly impressive spells, such as [i]chain lightning[/i], at the party. It takes a lot more than [i]fairly impressive[/i] to slow down our heroes, however. Only their awkward attempts at being merciful to these poor captives of the horrors extend the fight more than a few seconds. *** [i]Belmondo is trapped in his own mind. Or so Master Control thinks. He has been locked in his body, helpless and unable to control himself, for months. Master Control has taken over his physical form. Bitterly, Belmondo realizes how his greatest foe managed it. Decades ago, during Belmondo and his party’s final attack on the clockwork horrors, he had confronted Master Control on an informational plane, using informational weapons that the strange intelligent armor Adam had given him. Yet during his exchange of informational blows, Master Control had managed to slip a dormant command into Belmondo’s head.*** Years later, horrors appeared at Belmondo’s Lighthouse, and the command was triggered. Master Control took him captive, and has been using him ever since. But Belmondo has been exercising his mind as much as possible, stretching it and strengthening it, refining his ability to hear radio and reaching out to his [/i]useful tool.[i]**** That is what his hopes revolve around: [/i]Belmondo’s useful tool.[i] A minor artifact, psionic, able to shape itself into any kind of tool at Belmondo’s direction. And it is on his person. Belmondo has detected that the plug in the base of his skull is crucial to Master Control’s ability to maintain its grip on him. And now, as all hell breaks loose and some people that he recognizes as friends burst in, he makes his move. [/i] *** On the material plane, [i]Belmondo’s useful tool[/i] begins to try to extract the plug that controls Belmondo’s brain. *** [i]Belmondo winces as he jabs himself in the head on the physical plane. He doesn’t care; if he can extract that damned plug, he might be able to get free in the confusion. Though he does not control his body, he can see through his own physical eyes. [/i]No![i] Belmondo thinks, as he sees himself approach his old friend Alcar, ready to attack with whatever fiendish machinery Master Control has implanted in him. He can feel the [/i]useful tool[i] working desperately at the base of his skull. From his physical ears, Belmondo hears his old friend say, “I’m sorry, Belmondo- but I will bring you back, free.” Then there is a series of terrific blows to the head, culminating in[/i] *** Alcar grabs his friend’s body and shouts, “Let’s go! I have who we came for!” “Let’s bring them all!” insists Sybele. Wankerman nods. Quickly, the bigger, stronger members of the party grab the bodies of the servitors while the others hold off the horrors moving in on them. Then the party blasts and then [i]superior teleports[/i] out, back to Brelana. Success. [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] So... what happened to Inoke, anyway? *This was discovered by a group of heroes including Belmondo, the infamous tabaxi Hobbes, Malford the Magnificent and Lester discovered decades ago. Of them all, only Belmondo had the comprehension to face Master Control on such a plane, and that was only with the aid of a mysterious suit of armor that was intelligent, magical, psionic [i]and[/i] technological. Called “Adam,” this suit had apparently survived from a previous multiverse where it had been worn by a mighty hero calling himself “Iron Dwarf”. **Due to the touch of Chaos, Sybele cannot remember anyone’s name. ***The aforementioned series of adventures, which were the culmination of 2nd edition Cydra, were awesome. During the last game of the series, when Belmondo and MC duked it out on the informational plane, Belmondo failed a saving throw. There was no obvious effect.... [i]until now.[/i] Yes, I planned an escape route for MC in case the pcs beat it back then... which they did. :] ****Belmondo gained the ability to hear radio years ago, during a previous period of captivity by Master Control. [/QUOTE]
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