Some More K22B Previews from Luke DeGraw

Note: These Doctor Who fish-people are not necessarily related to those in Hex 160.59

Well, stocking old K22B has been a little slow - I finally have some ideas generated for my own chunk of the planet, though several other projects are holding me up on completing them. In the meantime, enjoy some more previews from Luke DeGraw and Sector B8 ...

Hex 67.18
Many animal trails lead to this hex from all directions, merging as they become progressively closer to an epicenter. Animals of all kinds make their way to the center of the hex, where all the trails merge. Once there, they stand without moving for several hours before moving away. Sometimes, a multitude of animals will be present, ranging from snakes, spiders, and other small vermin to desert deer and large predators. They will push together, attempting to be as close to the center as possible. No animal attacks another. Animals in the center of a group will leave by pushing their way past the others and another animal will take it's place.

Should an animal be attacked by a player character, all animals currently caught in the trance will quickly turn their head (or their body, if they have no independant head) and gaze at the offender. Their eyes will immediately emit a glowing red light. The red light acts as an Intimidation effect against all who can see the light equal to the median HD/level of all animals present plus three, and it has a 100 ft. range. Should the offender cease attacking (by their own volition or intimidation), the animals will continue gazing for 2d6 seconds before the light dies out and they turn back to the epicenter. Should the offender continue attacking, all animals present will attack. If the offender moves 100 ft. from the epicenter, the animals will cease attacking and move back to the epicenter. However, if the offender moves back within 100 ft., the animals will immediately attack again.

Should the players dig ten feet down at the epicenter, they will find a disc mesuring two feet in diameter and three inches thick made of metal. It will have a red light in the center of one side. If pressed, the red light will turn off; another press will turn it back on. When on, it attracts animals from all over the sector, at an effective rate of 1d20 per day. If the device is turned off when an animal is present, it will immediately begin acting like a normal animal, i.e. run away, attack, etc. Predator animals are likely to attack other animals, if present, before attacking the player characters.


Hex 160.59
A peaceful village rests here on the shore of a mountain lake. It is populated with a race of fish-scaled humanoids who live both on land an in the water. They speak of a time when they had access to a water-without-end, but now they cannot leave the lake because they cannot survive the surrounding desert. The village is a trading post of sorts, though travelers are infrequent. There are commodities to be bartered for here, most importantly metal workers who shape metal using high-pressure water techniques. All metal items produced here are extra durable (double applicable durability), and bladed weapons are extra sharp (+1 damage).

The local people will tell of a water-stop at the bottom of the lake. If the players can find a way to get to the bottom of the lake, they will find a spring that has been gummed up with the barnacles of some kind of creatures. Straying too close, crab-like creatures will spill forth and attack the group. These crabs are about the size of a dinner plate and have razor-sharp pincers. Strength in numbers is their advantage, so individually they will not be difficult to kill. Once the crab threat is removed (by destruction, or other means), the barnacles can be broken away, releasing a full torrent of spring water. This will cause the lake to fill far more than it's current level and over the course of a few weeks it will spill over to create a new river. This river will flow south into Sector B9 and into the sea there. Randomly determine the direction the river takes in each new hex it enters, though it will always bear southerly. The fish-people will reward the players for their gracious feat.


Hex 12.65
A statue-fountain of a humanoid woman is at the top of this mountain. The fountain is in the shape of a woman kneeling before a basin. The water from the fountain trickles from the woman's eyes and into the basin. The stream of water does not break when falling off the woman's chin, creating a silent flow. Should the players drink from the fountain, they will feel greatly refreshed and focused, removing fatigue and giving them +1 to skill checks for four hours. The water can be bottled, and there is enough water in the basin to fill three normal sized water skins or flasks. The water in the basin refills in one hour. When bottled, the water will retain is unique properties for fourteen days.

The statue-fountain is actually a rendition of a mother-goddess who eternally weeps in joy and sadness for her children. If a player prays to or meditates on the goddess for one hour before the statue and then sleeps at its base during the night, the player will be visited by a dream of the goddess. In the dream, the goddess will reveal the presence of an ancient evil inside the bowels of the arcology to the east. Should the player be willing, the goddess will task him or her with destroying the evil and pledge her assistance. When the player wakes, a 1-inch cube will be in the player's pocket. When confronting the alien at the bottom of the arcology, the cube will strongly vibrate and emit a sound like a continuous bell chime. If presented before the alien, the runes will glow bright blue and the alien will be incapacitated and weakened for five rounds. During that time, the alien will not be able to move, attack, or defend, and all player attacks will automatically hit.

First Peek at Kepler 22B!

I've received my first peek at what one of our survey teams, led by Luke DeGraw, as found on the surface of Kepler 22B - specifically in Sector B8, an area of desert, mountains and hills.

Pieter Bruegel's Tower of Babel

Hex 57.63
The ruins of a super-tall arcology stand here. From the base of the building to the 100th floor (1500ft), the exterior is surprisingly intact. Above the 100th floor, less and less of the building remains until only a small portion exists at the 300th floor (4500ft), creating a knife edge or spike appearance. There is no indication of how tall the arcology originally was; however, for aesthetic’s sake, the building was 1.3 miles (7566ft) high, consisting of 504 floors. There are also 50 sub-floors. The arcology sits on a square base of 1150x1150ft (aprox 15% of the original height). Obviously, the building is visible from quite a distance.

While the super-strong exterior has remained mostly intact, at least around the base, the interior has fared much worse. The building still runs on functioning geo-thermal generators which gives access to partially functioning elevators, minimal interior lighting, and other energy needs. However, there is no full access to any of the floors; only portions remain unblocked by debris or fallen floors. From a play perspective, this is so that you don't have to make a 1150x1150 square map of 100+ floors. All in all, I'd say there are a maximum of 20 accessible floors; these floors can be of varying sizes to increase or decrease the amount of exploring required. Travel between floors can be achieved by unobstructed stairs, functioning elevators, or makeshift ropes and ladders. There are also no computers. All functions, even mechanically and electrically driven functions, appear to be manually operated.

Each floor is 15ft tall, made up of 13ft of open living space and 2ft of engineering space (plumbing, lighting, electrical, etc). The interior of the building is made up of living spaces around the entire perimeter of each floor; this allows all living spaces to have windows to the outside. The interior is made up of manufacturing, shops, restaurants, offices, and recreation rooms. Living spaces are generous at 50x50ft (3025 square feet), with customizable interiors. Retail and business areas are of varying sizes, however, there is generous open space (perhaps 100ft, more or less) separating the business section from the residential spaces, filled with wide walkways, small trees, bushes, and grass. The first floor contains a open park space that occupies the entire interior of the building as well as 4 floors (60ft) of vertical space. It is filled with open park space, tall trees, and simulated breezes. Residential spaces surrounding this open space that are not on the "ground" level open onto 20ft communal balconies that overlook the open space. This open space occurs every 20 floors after (ie, floor 1, floor 21, floor 41, etc.). Originally, the arcology housed 24 of these parks. To clarify, there is no agriculture within the interior of the building. Floors above the 100th level are physically incomplete and are often open to the air where walls or the floor above has fallen away. Avian beasts can be found roosting there.

Agriculture was done on the lands surrounding the arcology. One might deduce that the decline of whatever civilization that lived here was due to the land turning from fertile farm lands to sand-sea, perhaps due to a cataclysmic event or over a long period of time. At this time, the base of the arcology is surrounded by dense jungle, in stark contrast to the desert around it. It is unknown how this jungle survives in the middle of the desert, though one can reasonably guess that the arcology is responsible. In reality, there is an irrigation system beneath the jungle that is still functioning, providing ample water to the jungle. It is a part of the arcology, put in place to create or maintain farmable land directly around the building, probably in response to the climate change. The water is drawn from deep in the earth. Hexes 56.62, 56.63, 57.62, 57.63, 67.64, 58.62, and 58.63 are all jungle hexes.

A primitive humanoid culture occupies the arcology. They find enough food in the jungle and immediate surrounding desert to sustain a population of several hundred. They are very protective of their building, as nomad tribes have tried to take it from them in the past. They attack intruders on sight. However, should one gain their trust, they might tell them that they have lived in the building for as long as anyone could remember. They call it the Pillar of the World. They claim their goddess built it for them in the beginning of time, but she smote the building when a dark and evil god took control. She left the building intact as a reminder of her works that she was forced to destroy. There are tales that once there were many such buildings taken over by the dark god, but only one was left standing by the goddess. The humanoids consider the top of the building to be the most sacred space, consisting of but a few hundred square feet of accessible space that is open to the air. Due to the height of the building, the local tribe has mastered glided flight, and keeps numerous gliders in the upper levels with which they travel between levels and great distances, as well as patrol their territory.

Encounters within the arcology might include primitive warriors wielding metal weapons left over from the old culture. Dogs and primates are kept as pets and guard animals. Above the 100th level when floors are open to the air, abnormally large sized eagles and vultures roost and will defend their nests. There are no constructed traps within the building, however, there are floors and walls that may collapse if disturbed. The advanced and alien nature of the construction makes it difficult to determine what is structurally unsound. The locals are knowledgeable about what to avoid. There are also doors that may be hidden behind debris or obscured by damage, but still accessible, leading into previously unexplored spaces, even by the local occupants. These obstacles and hidden doors should be treated as traditional traps and hidden doors.

Lost artifacts of technology may be recovered from unexplored areas of the arcology. On the second to highest level of the building, a temple has been created by the locals. Magic men and shamans live there as well as numerous guards. The highest level above the temple is a treasure hoard, containing all the precious metals and artifacts owned by the local tribe. It is also where the magic men and shamans go to pray to their goddess.

There are also secret sub-floor levels. The building has 50 sub-floors that have been effectively lost to the local population. They know of a secret entrance, but stay away. Strange things occur beneath the surface and many have been lost trying to plumb its depths.

The corpse of an old and alien being rests deep under the arcology. Ghosts and apparitions haunt the catacombs that were once the service center of the building. The threat of death is minor compared to the madness the residual effects the being has on anything the ventures below the surface. Players risk their very sanity. If players decide to venture down, I would secretly apply to them Sanity Points via the d20 SRD or the Call of Cthulhu game. Players would encounter horrifying images and psychic attacks, all emanating from the dead alien corpse, that deplete sanity points. Ghost and ghouls of dead adventurers roam the halls, often taking on the appearance of victims of inhuman deformities and torture, again depleting sanity. Should the players make it to the bottom and the alien corpse, they would confront a shadow of the being's original form, a sort of demi-god or extremely powerful ghost. There are riches galore in the basement, piled there by the followers of the "old god" before it was struck down. This would be a high-level adventure.