The Red Eye of Azathoth - Any New Information?

[El Mahdi]

The_Red_Eye_of_Azathoth - from Open Design Projects (Kobold Quarterly)

Unfortunately I wasn't able to sign up with this when it was enlisting patrons, but I've been eagerly anticipating it.

However, the date for publication keeps slipping without any news as to what's going on. It was originally listed as pre-order with a ship date in April 2011. Then shifted to a ship date of June 2011.

Well, it's now July 2011, the website still shows pre-order with ship in June 2011, and no word anywhere on the internet of what's up...

Anybody have any new info...?

 

[Aberzanzorax]

"By Gen Con if it kills me." were Wolfgang Baur's words.

The last update was on July 3, in which he said:

It [by Gen Con] is the plan, and it is achievable. According to the graphic designer, we're in final layout, should have something by mid-July. So that leaves:

1) Patron PDF to go out for review (mid-July)
2) Update with errata found (late July?)
3) Send patron PDF to project supporters
4) Post print preorder

We're pretty close. I can't wait!

 

[darjr]

And it's done, by the old ones it's DONE!! bwahahahaa!!!

And it's beautiful

... just note that it's only for patrons now to review ...

so I jumped the gun a bit, I think.

 

[darjr]

OK, now it's available.

Red Eye of Azathoth - Open Design | DriveThruRPG.com

via twitter Paul of Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth forums.

 

[El Mahdi]

"And there was much rejoicing!"


Hell Yes!


DL'd!

 

[El Mahdi]

Did a quick read through and it looks freakin' awesome!

This is definitely going to be a subplot in my next campaign. I can already see ways to expand it to add a modern chapter and a future chapter. I've looked for a way to incorporate the Star*Drive story Ylem into a campaign adventure, and I think this is exactly it. This is seriously cool.

@darjr Thanks for the heads up. I have to spread some XP around before I can hit you up again, but I will get back to you. Thanks.

 

[darjr]

I'm very intrigued by those ideas. Is Ylem still available?

 

[El Mahdi]

I'm very intrigued by those ideas. Is Ylem still available?

It's in the Star*Drive anthology of short stories: Starfall. The story is actually titled Point of Contraction by Gary A. Braunbeck, and is very Cthuluesque. There's also a Cthuluesque character that calls itself Ylem in a Dark*Matter story (can't remember which one). Apparently Ylem is an obsolete Middle English word (may have come from Old English by way of Old Norse or Old German), that was used by some physicists in the 30's. It means "the primordial substance from which all matter is formed".

A couple of excerpts:

October 30, 2497
Notes For Transmission
VoidCorp Survey Cruiser 547, Unity Gain

In every single case of head trauma I've thus far encountered, the victims' brains have begun to regenerate themselves into a similar form. When comparing -- and sometimes superimposing -- the scans taken of each brain, I cannnot help but be reminded of fractal patterns.

Whatever it is that's altering the structure of the vessiel is also enabling the victims' brains to repair themselves, but to only one design. Weren, human, two mechalus, and four sesheyans -- all of them now share a frighteningly similar brain structure.

As far as we can tell at this point, the membranous sacks are controlling the bodily functions of the victims. Everyone has his or her own "outerthought cluster" as they are called by the more lucid victims.

The girl in the tank -- "Sleeping Beauty" as Gillan calls her -- seems to be at the center of all physical and psionic activity. When she is awake, which is most of the time, the victims are docile, for the most part lucid (those who are still alive or whose brains have not yet fully regenerated) and cooperative. My fraal assistants no longer have to keep their psionic shields raised to squelch the neuro-babble.

Sleeping Beauty rests every nine hours for exactly seven minutes. it is during this time that the victims become violent, hysterical, unreasonable and uncontrollable...

October 30, 2497
VoidCorp Mining Vessel 767, Unity Gain
near the Lightning Nebula

Blackmore stood at the head of the tank, staring into Sleeping Beauty's hazel eyes.

"Can you hear me?"

Yes, she replied through Broca.

"What's your name?"

Ylem. It is all our names.

"Ylem", whispered Blackmore.

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Gillan.

"It's an old phsyicist's term given to all thoretical matter that existed in the universe prior to the Big Bang." he turned back toward Ylem. "Can you tell me what is happening here?"

We are approaching the Meeting.

"Which Meeting?"

Between us and the Last Ones. The source of The End.

Blackmore decided to let that one go for now. "Why is this happening now?"

Because we have reached too far. We are about to touch the point of contraction.

"The point of contraction, you say? What does that mean?"

This time the answer did not come from Beauty but from the other victims chained throughout the chamber.

"Contraction..."
"...the end of expansion..."
"...snap-snap, the band snaps back..."
"...trapped inside this darkness..."
"...withering in pain..."
"...and loneliness..."
"...lonely..."
"...lonely..."
"...lonely blackboard sky of eternity."

Gillan shook his head and called for the rest of the guards.

Blackmore continued. "Who tells you these things?"

"The Last Ones..."
"...who were the First Ones..."
"...before the Life of Darkness became the Death in Light"

"They tell us..."
"...sing us their songs..."
"...give us things..."
"...comfort us in sickness..."
"...all this sickness..."
"...make us well again after Seeing, after Becoming..."

"Becoming what?" asked Blackmore.

"What we should have been all along..."
"...what we should be now..."
"...if only we had been worthy..."
"...if only we had not reached too far..."
"...too far..."
"...so far..."
"...so far into loneliness..."
"...lonely, lonely, lonely..."

"They have been protecting us until now, but we're too close..."
"...traped inside this darkness..."
"...withering in pain."

"They have touched some of us..."
"...a warning..."
"...turn back, turn back now..."
"...even the Verge reaches an end..."
"...maybe a long time coming, maybe very soon."

"They won't tell us..."
"...because..."
"...because it would frighten us too much..."
"...so They show us..."
"...reveal themselves to us..."
"...peekaboo..."
"...say hello..."
"...hello to Mommy and Daddy..."
"...look up..."
"...say hello..."
"...hello to Mommy and Daddy..."

October 31, 2497
VoidCorp Mining Vessel 767, Unity Gain
Near the Lightning Nebula

Alone now with the victims, the Children of Ylem - Blackmore, Gillam and the fraal began their last session.

"Can you let me talk to them?" asked Blackmore.

Who? Mommy and Daddy?

"Yes."

Look up. Say hello.

Blackmore looked up into the forest of membranous sacks and saw them expand and contract at a dangerously rapid rate. The victims began to chant in unison, a song of sorts, and the atmosphere above their heads began to ripple and whirl until it created a spatial rip, a hole from which reached the hand of a Thing beyond all Things. It took hold of Gillan and pulled him to its bosom--

--but not before showing something very, very special to Blackmore and the fraal.

Time to go, said Beauty.

I think I can replace Ylem with the Azagoths of the adventure or call the Azagoths Ylem, and expand the story arc to include a modern chapter and a future chapter. Should be pretty cool.