cypher-old-gus-adventures-across-the-infinite-skies-2023-02-25

ADVENTURES ACROSS THE INFINITE SKIES 2023-02-25 ADVENTURES ACROSS THE INFINITE SKIES

2 Old Gus’ ADVENTURES ACROSS THE INFINITE SKIES Updated February 25, 2023 Design, Writing, Layout: Old Gus (Partario Flynn) Contributors: Aboe Snowpea, Myrilla Contact the Author: [email protected] Cover: Luke Oram — https://lukeoram.artstation.com Special Thanks: My players, Marko Wenzel, Monte Cook Games, everyone at the Cypher Unlimited discord. Join the Cypher Unlimited Discord: https://discord.com/invite/WQYRWhn This product is an independent production and is not affiliated with Monte Cook Games, LLC., found at https://www.montecookgames.com It makes use of material found in Cypher System Reference Document, found at http://www.cyphersrd.com CYPHER SYSTEM and its logo are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC. Uncredited images are Midjourney + FilterForge + Old Gus This product is not for sale. DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION! 2023-02-25

Introduction: Across the Infinite Skies 3 Introduction ACROSS THE INFINITE SKIES Illustration by Agustín Chiwo — https://achiwo.artstation.com WHAT ARE THE INFINITE SKIES? The infinite skies are a loose term that one might think of as planes, or the multiverse— separate, but potentially connected realities. It is my hope that this volume will be used to expand on material presented in the official Numenera, The Stars are Fire, and Planebreaker books, which are available for purchase from Monte Cook Games. Thanks for reading! —Old Gus WHAT’S IN THIS VOLUME? This is a living document, and will receive frequent revisions and updates. Right now, the chapters include: 1. Peoples of the Void — Aliens races, including player character options. 2. Panganglia — A setting primer for a world best described as an alien junkyard. 3. Creatures — NPCs and Creatures related to other chapters are bundled together here. Ideas for future chapters include: • Characters — new descriptors, foci and abilities • Settings — Weird Westerns, Wuxia • Crafting — Vehicle and structure plans compatible with Panganglia and Numenera settings Sidebars: Sidebars like this one contain useful page references to official material or other references within the document. Frequently cited sources include: Cypher System Rulebook, referred to as CSR Numenera Rulebooks, referred to as Discovery and Destiny

Introduction: Across the Infinite Skies 4 Illustration by Old Gus PLAYING THE GAME 1. You decide what to do with your Actions and dialogue. 2. The GM sets a Task Difficulty on a scale of 0–10 (Routine to Impossible). 3. You can Ease (lower) the difficulty with Skills, Assets, and by expending Effort from your Stat Pools. 4. You Roll the Die—a d20—if the results meet or exceed the Target Number (difficulty × 3), the task is successful. Difficulty Description Target Number Guidance 0 Routine 0 Anyone can do this basically every time. 1 Simple 3 Most people can do this most of the time. 2 Standard 6 Typical task requiring focus, but most people can usually do this. 3 Demanding 9 Requires full attention; most people have a 50/50 chance to succeed. 4 Difficult 12 Trained people have a 50/50 chance to succeed. 5 Challenging 15 Even trained people often fail. 6 Intimidating 18 Normal people almost never succeed. 7 Formidable 21 Impossible without skills or great effort. 8 Heroic 24 A task worthy of tales told for years afterward. 9 Immortal 27 A task worthy of legends that last lifetimes. 10 Impossible 30 A task that normal humans couldn’t consider (but one that doesn’t break the laws of physics). Old Gus’ Cypher System Reference Document (OG-CSRD) contains the game rules in an easy-touse reference format: https://callmepartario.github.io/og-csrd How to Play: CSR, page 7 Discovery, page 15 Rolling the Die: CSR, page 209 Discovery, page 193 01: GM Intrusion 17: +1 damage 18: +2 damage 19: Minor Effect 20: Major Effect Action: CSR, page 206 Discovery, page 108 Task Difficulty: CSR, page 208 Discovery, page 100 Easing: CSR, page 7 Discovery, page 15 Skill: CSR, page 19 Discovery, page 27 Asset: CSR, page 209 Discovery, page 103 Effort: CSR, page 15 Discovery, page 23 Stat Pools: CSR, page 14 Discovery, page 22 The only way to succeed at a task with a difficulty of 7 or higher is by easing it!

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 5 Chapter 1 PEOPLES OF THE VOID Illustration by Wes Keil — https://wfkeil.artstation.com PEOPLES OF THE VOID This section provides a brief overview of the biology, history, and culture of several starfaring alien peoples. This is by no means a complete list of who—or what—is out there: for every major starfaring civilization, there are a dozen species who leave their world of origin with far less fanfare or acclaim, and even a few escapees from more primitive civilizations. The GM can use these peoples—or species, if you prefer—to generate NPCs or to populate a space opera setting. A loose set of cultures and histories are provided for each, with plenty of mysteries left unanswered, futures unwritten, and blanks left to fill in. SPECIES AND TERMINOLOGY Morphology: These words suggest a basic shape, but expect different complex biological processes than these labels suggest. Life Cycle: Durations are listed in 20thcentury Earth years. Each species uses their own measurements for ages, usually relating to their biology, culture, and world of origin’s rotational period and orbit. Size: Sizes and weights are listed up to 1 standard deviation within the species’ range. Sexes: This number represents the typical number of different sexual morphisms involved in procreation. Like humans, many species use methods other than standard procreation, and most display additional morphisms with different incidence rates. Languages: Each species displays a multitude of languages, religions, and cultures, and at least one dominant language. Many species use nonverbal forms of communication. Some might use translator devices, but the ubiquity of such devices is not guaranteed. Descriptors: These are typical to a race’s dominant culture. PCs are often atypical individuals!

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 6 PLAYER CHARACTER OPTIONS The GM might allow a player character to play as one of these alien species from the start of the campaign, or make new species available as player characters as diplomatic relationships and crew exchanges are established. Stat Pools and Abilities: The GM decides if these abilities are your character descriptor, or if they are provided in addition to it. Flavor: If the GM allows, you can exchange an ability from your type with an ability from your species’ list, provided they are of equivalent or lesser tier. ASGARDIAN Asgardians are hirsute humanoids with thick, heavy bones, tightly packed muscular sinew, and a cultural stability unmatched by other races. Their skin displays the same golds, browns, and pinks as humans, and a few Asgardians have grey or even blue skin. It is not uncommon for woman to display embellished beards as impressive as men, and both accent their beards with dyes, jewelry, and other accoutrements. Asgardians are warriors, builders, and craftspeople whose dress reflects their trade or function, elevating function over style, but they are never plain. Decorations also serve a practical purpose—special fasteners, reinforced seams, useful padding, or loops for holding weapons or tools. Asgardians are long-term tactical thinkers, and view success and honor almost interchangeably. Their complex internal politics produce shrewd politicians and governors, some of whom have a habit of posing as gods to underdeveloped cultures. A few Asgardians— those stripped of honor and branded as Renegades—reject the society of law and order they are born into, and many of those find lucrative work in exile as freelancers. Asgardians are long-term tactical thinkers who view success and honor almost interchangeably. ASGARDIAN PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Asgardian: +4 to your Pools, which you can distribute as you wish. Skill: You can almost smell treasure. You are trained in tasks that involve searching for or identifying valuable oddities, cyphers, artifacts, or mineral deposits. Limited Poison Immunity: Your tasks to resist the effects of poisons or venoms are eased by two steps. Enabler. Asgardian Armor Training: You reduce the Speed Effort cost for wearing armor by 1. You start the game with a type of armor of your choice. If you gain the ability of the Practiced in Armor or Trained in Armor ability through your type, you gain the Experienced in Armor or Specialized in Armor ability instead. Enabler. Inability: You are hard-headed. You must apply at least two levels of Effort when retrying a task. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You have been sent by your clan as a diplomatic measure to repay a debt. 2. Choose another PC. You’re undercover, gathering intelligence on them. 3. Choose another PC. You owe them a lifedebt, and are stuck with them, for now. 4. There might be treasure in it. Treasure is always useful for a renegade. Descriptor: CSRD, page 38 Discovery, page 53 Destiny, page 40 Focus: CSRD, page 60 Discovery, page 58 Destiny, page 55 Flavor: CSR, page 34 Flavor abilities all appear in the CSRD Asgardian “Gods”: Asgardians sometimes contact primitive worlds under the guise of “Gods”, demanding a regular tribute from the populace. To them, any people foolish enough to believe in gods deserves to be liberated of their treasures SPECIES PROFILE: ASGARDIAN Morphology: Stocky humanoid World of Origin: Asgard Life Cycle: Asgardians reach adolescence at 30 years, full adulthood by 50 years, and are considered an elder at 300 years. Some live up to 500 years. Size: Asgardians stand about 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 m) tall, and weigh 140– 180 pounds (65–80 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Brash, Guarded, Hardy, Jovial, Mechanical, Resilient, Strong-Willed, Tough

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 7 ASGARDIAN FLAVOR FIRST-TIER ASGARDIAN ABILITIES m Absorb Kinetic Energy [108] m Crafter [122] m Minor Illusion [162] SECOND-TIER ASGARDIAN ABILITIES m Enlarge [135] m Mind for Might [162] m Protector [172] THIRD-TIER ASGARDIAN ABILITIES m Energize Object [134] m Guide Bolt [174] m Unmovable [195] FOURTH-TIER ASGARDIAN ABILITIES m Cyphersmith [174] m Major Illusion [160] m Modify Device [164] FIFTH-TIER ASGARDIAN ABILITIES m Castigate [118] m Deep Reserves [126] m Innovator [154] SIXTH-TIER ASGARDIAN ABILITIES m Mastery in Armor [161] m Overcharge Device [168] m Stun Attack [187] DWEENLE Dweenle are short, hairless humanoids, and their culture has been starfaring longer than any other race except the Uhlek. They resemble short, paunchy humans with pale skin, huge eyes, and spindly limbs. Their faces are like a human, albeit flat and pallid, with extremely large eyes with heavy bags of loose skin underneath. A single fleshy antenna protrudes from atop their head. Dweenle philosophy and culture tends toward cynicism, nihilism, and indolence. They don’t care for or about much. As a result, they are generally unpopular conversation partners among other peoples. Dweenle have short lives, but very good memories, and an even more impressive cultural memory. Many pre-eminent historians are Dweenle, although it can be difficult to read their work without falling asleep. Dweenle sleep when they get drowsy (often). They eat whenever they are hungry (such stunning physiques!), and procreate in the same manner they do everything else—without joy. SPECIES PROFILE: DWEENLE Morphology: Diminutive humanoid World of Origin: Dweenle I Life Cycle: Dweenle reach adolescence at 4 years, full adulthood by 6 years, and are considered an elder at 25 years. Some live up to 50 years. Size: Dweenle stand between 2½–3 feet (0.75–1 m) tall, and weigh 15–25 pounds (7.5–10 kg) Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Calm, Doomed, Empirical, Hideous, Skeptical, Tongue-Tied Triplet Worlds: Dweenle have successfully colonized all three of the icy worlds in their home system. Repeated Enslavement: The Dweenle have been slaves to half a dozen other species at one point in history or another. In each case, the Dweenle proved to be so inefficient and depressing that their captors decided to grant them their freedom. Usually, such actions occurred against the backdrop of talk by the former masters of eradicating the Dweenle altogether, but in the end, this was always decided to "just not be worth the effort".

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 8 DWEENLE PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Dweenle: +4 to your Intellect Pool. Skill (Knowledgeable): You are trained in two areas of knowledge of your choice. Skill (Linguist): You are trained with all the subtleties of two other species’ language and body language. Alternately, you can become specialized in one language. Good Memory: When you expend Effort on tasks that involves memorizing or remembering, you gain a free level of Effort. Enabler. Not Worth It (1 XP): A creature turns its attention away from you and toward something else. If the GM refuses, the XP isn’t spent. Inability: Your short legs make mobility difficult. Tasks involving running and jumping are hindered. Inability: You are dull and depressing to be around. Social interaction tasks are hindered by one step, and tasks to taste or smell something are hindered by two steps. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You are on a cultural exchange program, and have been assigned to them as your liaison. 2. Choose another PC. They tolerate you, and even seem to enjoy your company. 3. You are a renegade for your kind, and find them as off-putting as everyone else. 4. How does anyone end up anywhere? It doesn’t really matter. DWEENLE FLAVOR FIRST-TIER DWEENLE ABILITIES m Knowledge Skills [157] m Predictive Equation [171] m Scan [179] SECOND-TIER DWEENLE ABILITIES m Enhanced Intellect [135] m Master Identifier [160] m Predictive Model [171] THIRD-TIER DWEENLE ABILITIES m Insight [154] m Enhanced Intellect Edge [136] m Reading the Room [175] FOURTH-TIER DWEENLE ABILITIES m Energy Protection [134] m Find the Hidden [142] m Sensor [181] FIFTH-TIER DWEENLE ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Intellect [146] m Knowing the Unknown [156] m Learned a Few Things [157] SIXTH-TIER DWEENLE ABILITIES m Master Cypher Use [160] m Mind Surge [162] m See Through Time [181] VARIANT DWEENLE: QUEEG Queeg are a genetically engineered sub-species of Dweenle. Unlike their progenitors, Queeg are preternaturally cheerful, helpful creatures. Queeg share what they have freely with others, and integrate readily with other peoples. Digits: Dweenle have six fingers and a thumb, and six toes. They are ill-suited to running, having evolved on a planet with no natural predators. Dweenle Disappointment: In recent centuries, the Dweenle are perhaps most famous for their creation of the Queeg variant species. The Dweenle find the Queeg’s success and popularity among other peoples a depressing reminder that no one seems to like them much. Abandonment and Rediscovery: Not long after their creation on the planet Himbo, the Dweenle found the Queeg so insufferably optimistic that they abandoned the planet and the Queeg upon its surface. However, once other species discovered Himbo, the Queeg quickly integrated with numerous other cultures, becoming almost ubiquitous throughout the Void.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 9 QUEEG PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Queeg: +3 to your Speed and Intellect Pools. Starting Equipment: You have a bag of light tools. Helpful Ingenuity: You can help another creature within Immediate distance, even if you’re not trained in the task, and even if it isn’t your turn. You can’t do so again until you make a recovery roll. Action. Inability: You are naïve. Your tasks to see through deceptions, trickery or political subtleties are hindered by two steps. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. They found you in a pile of garbage, and you’ve been best friends ever since. 2. Choose another PC. They are familiar with you, but consider you a tag-along and a nuisance. 3. Choose another PC. You’ve been following them, and it’s obvious they’re up to something. Maybe you can help! 4. You have an unexpected knack for showing up in the right place at the right time. Queeg quickly ingratiated themselves to numerous other cultures, becoming almost ubiquitous throughout the Void. QUEEG FLAVOR FIRST-TIER QUEEG ABILITIES m Crafter [122] m Friendly Help [143] m Tech Skills [189] SECOND-TIER QUEEG ABILITIES m Coaxing Power [119] m Modify Device [164] m There’s Your Problem [190] THIRD-TIER QUEEG ABILITIES m Buddy System [116] m Controlled Fall [122] m Subconscious Defense [187] FOURTH-TIER QUEEG ABILITIES m Inspiration [154] m Quick Study [174] m Spur Effort [186] FIFTH-TIER QUEEG ABILITIES m Drain Power [131] m Evasion [136] m Jury-Rig [156] SIXTH-TIER QUEEG ABILITIES m Able Assistance [108] m Inspire Coordinated Actions [154] m Share Defense [181] SPECIES PROFILE: QUEEG Morphology: Diminutive humanoid World of Origin: Himbo Life Cycle: Queeg reach adolescence at 5 years, full adulthood by 10 years, and are considered an elder at 20 years. Some live up to 30 years. Size: Queeg stand between 3–4 feet (0.9– 1.2 m) tall, and weigh 20–30 pounds (9–13.5 kg). Sexes: 1 Descriptors: Calm, Doomed, Empirical, Hideous, Skeptical, Tongue-Tied No Authority: Queeg are almost ubiquitous serving in low-level positions among numerous societies. They are rarely given the authority to make critical decisions. Queeg are so preternaturally helpful, it is far too easy for an unruly subordinate to countermand their orders. Queeg Reproduction: Queeg seem to feel no psychological or hormonal compulsion to procreate. However only a few are opposed to the idea if it is suggested to them. Fodder: Because Queeg are so agreeable, some species abuse their good nature, and see them as wholly disposable people.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 10 ELOWARIN Elowarin are sentient plants originally from the second planet of the Thoss system, (which they call Eleran). This rich world once had abundant quantities of exotic elements that caused many creatures on the planet to exhibit psionic tendencies. The Elowarin are ancient by most species’ measurements. When the Spemin, Veloxi, Thrynn, and humans in turn first ventured to the stars, the Elowarin were waiting to greet them in song. Centuries ago, the Thrynn subjected the world to environmental ruin, and later destroyed the Elowarin’s only colony using a terrifying ancient device known as a Black Egg. These events left the Elowarin broken and scattered, with no other known worlds meeting the unique conditions required for pollination. Profound grief is a feature of most Elowarin, although their alien nature makes it difficult to detect. Most have given up hope of finding a replacement for their lost worlds of Eleran and Elan. Some still pursue the dream of a new home, but many live out their long years in exile, spending their time increasingly among other peoples. Elowarin do not have traditional faces or sensory organs, but produce flowers, leaves and fruits from their person which serve as sensory organs. They self-direct their growth, and their appearance is as much performance as it is biology. As a courtesy, Elowarin living among those with faces frequently grow one of their own to fit in and make others more comfortable addressing them. ELOWARIN PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Elowarin: +4 to your Intellect Pool. -2 to your Might Pool. +1 to your Intellect Edge. Skill (Linguist): You are trained with all the subtleties of two other species’ language and body language. Alternately, you can become specialized in one language. Photosynthesis: When you have access to sufficient sunlight, you don’t need to eat or breathe. Enabler. Song-Speech: You can use the ancient power of your Elowarin vocal apparatus as an asset on tasks that involve positive social interaction, oration, singing, or storytelling. Enabler. Elowarin singing is considered an achingly beautiful thing by several cultures. Elowarin are so rare that hearing their voice has become a singular experience, and Elowarin reserve its use of their voice out of respect for their lost and unborn. Inability (Weak): You increase the Speed Effort cost for wearing armor by 1. Inability (Slow): You are slow to react to the rapid movements of other peoples. All your Speed tasks are hindered, and your initiative tasks are hindered by an additional step. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You saved their life, and they swore to help you find a new home for your people. 2. Choose another PC. You have close friendship, although sometimes they seem to think of you as more of a holy person. 3. You were needed. That is enough. 4. After so many years, you long for a good death. SPECIES PROFILE: ELOWARIN Morphology: Vineal plant World of Origin: Eleran (destroyed) Life Cycle: Elowarin reach adolescence at 5 years, full adulthood by 100 years, and are considered an elder at 500 years. Some live up to 1500 years. Size: Elowarin size varies greatly, standing anywhere between 6–12 feet (1.8–3.7 m) tall, and weighing 80–200 pounds (35–90 kg). An Elowarin might grow or diminish in size over time, depending on their overall health or personal choice. Sexes: 1 Descriptors: Benificent, Forward-thinking, Graceful, Intuitive, Kind, Learned, Mystical, Nurturing, Preserving, Serene, Virtuous

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 11 ELOWARIN FLAVOR FIRST-TIER ELOWARIN ABILITIES m Healing Touch [149] m Living Off the Land [158] m Ward [196] SECOND-TIER ELOWARIN ABILITIES m Calm Stranger [118] m Psychic Suggestion [172] m Restful Presence [177] THIRD-TIER ELOWARIN ABILITIES m Psychic Suggestion [172] m Repair Flesh [176] m Telekinesis [189] FOURTH-TIER ELOWARIN ABILITIES m Enhanced Intellect Edge [136] m Healing Pulse [148] m Show Them the Way [183] FIFTH-TIER ELOWARIN ABILITIES m Defensive Field [127] m Drawing on Life’s Experiences [131] m Precognition [151] SIXTH-TIER ELOWARIN ABILITIES m Greater Healing Touch [147] m Psychokinetic Attack [172] m Restore Life [177] GAZURTOID Gazurtoid are an aquatic, xenophobic species whose stated goal is to see the Void cleansed of all sentient air-breathing species. They usually convey this message by attacking, but are known to let those who are willing to listen to their religious rhetoric be spared. Gazurtoid are anything but shy about this message. In fact, the Church of Chuurn broadcasts religious propaganda to anything they can hack into. Each of a Gazurtoid’s tentacles is covered with hundreds of suction cups which also function as taste receptors, as well as providing exceptional motor control. Gazurtoid communicate with each other using low frequencies barely perceptible to most species. A Gazurtoid aboard a spacecraft can make itself heard by all other members of the crew simultaneously, no matter where they are on the ship. Up close, Gazurtoid communicate using sophisticated patterns of bioluminescence—which other species need machine assistance to translate—and speak to one another with scrupulous precision and extreme politeness. Several hundred years ago, the Gazurtoid discovered Olnos, a world on the precipice of environmental collapse. For reasons unknown, the Gazurtoid evacuated 100,000 Olnosi to Chuurn, where they integrated into Gazurtoid society. The remaining Olnosi died out. SPECIES PROFILE: GAZURTOID Morphology: Octopedal mollusk World of Origin: Chuurn Life Cycle: Gazurtoid reach adolescence at 5 years, full adulthood by 8 years, and are considered an elder at 13 years. Some live up to 25 years. Size: Gazurtoid mantle an average of 15 feet (4.5 m) across, and weigh 250–400 pounds (90–135 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Cruel, Exacting, Mystical, Relentless, StrongWilled, Vicious Stormy Seas: Chuurn is 90% ocean, and its orbit around an energetic white star results in permanent clouds and heavy storms. Cloaking Tech: Gazurtoid ships possess cloaking devices, allowing their enormous colony ships to remain invisible and wait in ambush for others with powerful energy weapons. The raptured Olnosi now serve as a client. Most see this relationship as a form of slavery, but Olnosi consider it an honor to serve their race’s saviors. A few even become official members of Gazurtoid families.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 12 GAZURTOID PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Gazurtoid: +2 to your Might and Intellect Pools. Deep Dweller: You are an aquatic creature, able to swim and attack unhindered while submerged in deep water, and all tasks you make to use your senses are eased while you are submerged. You can withstand extreme pressures of inhospitable atmospheres and deep waters. Enabler. Skill: You are trained in zero-gravity maneuvering. Starting Equipment: You have a godmask, which serves as your public identity in Gazurtoid society, and allows you breathe air and keeps you hydrated in all but the most arid of terrestrial environments. Without it, you begin to suffocate. Inability: When you are not submerged, all your movement tasks are hindered. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You believe they can be converted to the Church of Chuurn’s beliefs. 2. Choose another PC. You don’t believe in the Church of Chuurn’s mission to exterminate air-breathers, and never did. As a Gazurtoid exile, few tolerate you, but your friend does. 3. It sounded like at least one murder would be involved. So long as you get to exterminate a few air-breathers, you can put aside killing your companions for now. 4. You are lost, and now must depend on the kindness of air-breathers to return to your people. How humiliating. The Gazurtoid Church of Chuurn broadcasts religious propaganda to anything they can hack into. GAZURTOID FLAVOR FIRST-TIER GAZURTOID ABILITIES m Mind Reading [162] m Onslaught [167] m See the Unseen [180] SECOND-TIER GAZURTOID ABILITIES m Cutting Light [123] m Ribbons of Dark Matter [178] m Swipe [188] THIRD-TIER GAZURTOID ABILITIES m Command [120] m Dark Matter Shroud [124] m Use Senses of Others [195] FOURTH-TIER GAZURTOID ABILITIES m Dark Matter Shroud [124] m Illusory Selves [150] m Invisibility [155] FIFTH-TIER GAZURTOID ABILITIES m As Foretold in Prophecy [110] m Castigate [118] m Terrifying Image [190] SIXTH-TIER GAZURTOID ABILITIES m Phase Foe [170] m Shatter Mind [182] m Terrifying Gaze [190] Skull Squid: Gazurtoid have a thick protective skull. Masked: Gazurtoid rarely display their faces to anyone they do not know well, and wear ornate godmasks, which they create as children and maintain over a lifetime. A godmask serves as a Gazurtoid’s public identity. Intimacy: It is a great offense to mistake one person’s identity for another, and a rare intimacy to see a Gazurtoid’s without their godmask, or learn their true name.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 13 G’NUNK The G’nunk are a lumbering quadrupedal species native to the high-gravity world of P’narr. Slow, strong, heavy, and large, G’nunk bodies don’t move quickly, but possess an imposing stature, as well as thick, tough skin. They move using all four limbs to support and balance their massive bodies. G’nunk evolved from migratory animals, and this is reflected in their choice of twin capitals on their home world, one for the wet season and one for the dry season. Modern technology has rendered the tradition obsolete, though G’nunk still observe it. G’nunk are led by the Courts of P’narr—a circle of elders who spend their time pouring through the ancient writings of their own predecessors, distilling those recommendations until they can determine the best path forward. The Courts have a several thousand-year-old reign, making G’nunk governance deliberate and stable. Whether it is due to their size, their evolution in the open air, or the fact that species do not often build structures (or artificial gravities) to accommodate their comfort, most G’nunk prefer to stay on their colonies rather than engage in starfaring. G’nunk speech is heard by most species as a flat, ponderous monotone, but amongst their own kind, a combination of scent, slight body movements, and subvocalized infrasound convey shades of meaning most other species can’t perceive combine into a complex and nuanced language. Since their subtlety can lead to misunderstandings with other species, G’nunk prefix statements and queries using a contextual emotion to clarify tone. Much of their language and mood is conveyed using pheromones as well, something that is difficult and time-consuming to learn for most other sapient species, who do not live nearly so long. G’NUNK PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: G’nunk: +4 to your Might Pool. Bulky Frame: Your Might Edge increases by 1, and you can carry five times as much weight as a human. Enabler. Carrying Capacity: You gain two assets on tasks to carry or move heavy objects. However, these additional items can’t be placed in way that is feasible for you to place or retrieve. Enabler. High-Gravity Evolution: You gain two assets to high-gravity maneuvering tasks. Enabler. Massive Blows: Your unarmed attacks are medium weapons, and you deal 1 additional damage with them. Enabler. Tough Skin: You gain +1 to your Armor rating. Enabler. Olfactory Receptors: When you expend Effort on tasks that utilizes your sense of smell, you gain a free level of Effort. Enabler. Inability: Your Speed defense rolls are hindered by one step, and other tasks that require you to move or be dexterous under pressure are hindered by two steps unless you take an additional action to complete the task. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. They seem to understand you, smells, shivers, shakes and all. You never have difficulty expressing yourself to them. 2. Choose another PC. You bumped into them once, causing them an injury that never quite healed. 3. Choose another PC. You have worked with them before, but there was a complication. Words were exchanged. 4. You are an exile from your kind and must take refuse among those who don’t understand you. Some company might be nice. G’nunk are careful not to injure others with their strength. SPECIES PROFILE: G’NUNK Morphology: Quadrupedal pachyderm World of Origin: P’narr Life Cycle: G’nunk reach adolescence at 35 years, full adulthood by 50 years, and are considered an elder at 250 years. Some live up to 350 years. Size: G’nunk stand 6½– 8 feet (2–2.5 m) tall, and weigh 380–550 pounds (170–250 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Calm, Guarded, Hardy, Lawful, Organized, Prepared, Rugged, Strong, StrongWilled, Tough Counterweights: Prolonged exposure to worlds with significantly lower forces of gravity can have lasting effects on G’nunk joints, and it is taxing for them to communicate effectively with other species.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 14 G’NUNK FLAVOR FIRST-TIER G’NUNK ABILITIES m Bash [112] m Wilderness Life [199] m Push on Through [172] SECOND-TIER G’NUNK ABILITIES m Crushing Blow [123] m Echolocation [133] m Familiarize [138] THIRD-TIER G’NUNK ABILITIES m Enhanced Might [135] m Hard to Distract [148] m Unmovable [195] FOURTH-TIER G’NUNK ABILITIES m Brute Strike [118] m Enhanced Might Edge [135] m Living Wall [158] FIFTH-TIER G’NUNK ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Might [146] m Juggernaut [156] m Subsonic Rumble [187] SIXTH-TIER G’NUNK ABILITIES m Deep Consideration [126] m Defense Master [127] m Strategize [187] HUMNA-HUMNA The Humna-Humna are a race of slug-like fanatical capitalists. Humna-Humna hold deep reverence for the idea of mutual goodwill and respect through exchange, and a reputation of honoring one’s agreements. Humna-Humna children are taught to barter for necessities, and honor agreements they make with others. The Humna-Humna have at least one treaty—usually trade related—with almost every other major starfaring species—even the Gazurtoid. Their most important treaty is that with the Nirrex, which provides the military force they need to pursue their economic passions. The principle of mutual benefit makes Humna-Humna unlikely to engage in direct hostilities in the pursuit of profit. There are a hundred times as many Humna-Humna arms dealers as there are mercenaries. Humna-Humna can reproduce asexually, although they find it an uncouth option, seeing it as a rejection of a world full of opportunity for mutual exchange. Nothing spurs a Humna-Humna into action like the possibility of copious amounts of money or wealth. SPECIES PROFILE: HUMNA-HUMNA Morphology: Gastropod mollusk World of Origin: Oobeebee Life Cycle: HumnaHumna reach adolescence at 6 years, full adulthood by 10 years, and are considered an elder at 50 years. Some live up to a century. Size: Humna-Humna measure 6–10 feet (2–3 m) long, and weigh 180–500 pounds (80– 225 kg). Sexes: 1 Descriptors: Appealing, Charming, Clever, Cultured, Inquisitive, Jovial, Obsessive, Sharp-Eyed, Skeptical Captains of Industry: To be the captain of an exploration or cargo vessel is a respected position in Humna-Humna society. Many of their conglomerate interests maintain secret trading outposts with species hitherto uncontacted by other starfaring peoples, enabling them to bring rare goods to market that no one else knows how to procure. Masters of Maps: HumnaHumna count trade routes and star maps as their most valuable possessions, and only bargain for them with those they already hold in high esteem.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 15 HUMNA-HUMNA PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Humna-Humna: +2 to your Intellect and Speed pools. Skill (Appraisal): You are trained in tasks to identify the contents or estimate the value of goods and cargo. Starting Equipment: You have a limbsuit— an artifact that provides you with a rudimentary set of arms and legs which respond to your mental commands. Without it, you cannot run, jump, climb, or perform tasks that require hands or feet. Amorphous: You can squeeze into spaces as small as 12 inches across. While doing so, you move at only half your normal speed. Enabler. Lifelong Negotiator: When you expend Effort on tasks that involves negotiation, you gain a free level of Effort. Enabler. Inability: Even with your limbsuit, your tasks to grapple other creatures, avoid being disarmed of objects you are carrying, or avoid being knocked prone are hindered. Without it, such tasks are hindered by two steps. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. Their interests are aligned with your own, you smell an opportunity. 2. Choose another PC. They know where you keep your stash of trade route notes. 3. Choose another PC. They have a history of working with one of your competitors, and you’re not sure you trust them. 4. You’ve got additional stakes in the mission ahead. There’s a reward in it for you, maybe even your own ship. Discuss the details with the GM. HUMNA-HUMNA FLAVOR FIRST-TIER HUMNA-HUMNA ABILITIES m Levity [158] m Negotiate [165] m Underworld Contacts [195] SECOND-TIER HUMNA-HUMNA ABILITIES m Contortionist [121] m Junkmonger [156] m Knowledge of the Law [156] THIRD-TIER HUMNA-HUMNA ABILITIES m Debate [126] m Resist Tricks [176] m Slippery Customer [183] FOURTH-TIER HUMNA-HUMNA ABILITIES m Confuse Enemy [121] m Know Where to Look [156] m Lead by Inquiry [157] FIFTH-TIER HUMNA-HUMNA ABILITIES m Defuse Situation [127] m Parry [168] m Slippery [183] SIXTH-TIER HUMNA-HUMNA ABILITIES m Artifact Scavenger [110] m Ultra Enhancement [194] m Work the Friendship [200] Profile Motive: While not wholly devoid of selfless nobility, Humna-Humna still prefer couching their altruism in terms of mutual exchange and profit, and rarely do anything for nothing because of the precedent it sets for the principle of mutual exchange. Technical Limbs: While Humna-Humna are limbless, their biology is both pliable and neurondense. They can make extensive modifications to themselves with gene therapies or biomechanical implants, adding specialized arms, legs, and other useful appendages to aid them in daily tasks.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 16 KAILLERIAN Kallerians are tall, with elongated limbs, and underneath their willowy appearance, they have flexible, break-resistant bones. Their long, thin heads often include set of prominent gill structures in one or more appendages. Most Kaillerians are shades of blue or grey, but some display bright greens, reds, and oranges or deep blacks in their patterning, which include stripes, speckles, spots, and splotches. Their eyes are dark green, purple, red, blue, or brown in large ovoid shapes with thin membranes in place of eyelids, which blink up from the bottom. If lacerated, their blood is bluish green. Kaillerian political system is made up of noble families interlocked in an unending competition for prestige and power. Each matriarchy is ruled by a Bhomu. However, Kaillerians are androgynous in appearance, demeanor, exhibiting no bodily, facial, or olfactory differences between, even to one another. Unfertilized Kaillerian eggs produce males, and fertilized eggs produce females. Once a each Millieth year, a Kaillerian female can lay a single clutch of dozens of eggs. Social rules dictate no more than ten percent of eggs should be fertilized. Kaillerian loyalty is greatest to their first circle, which is usually around 100 parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins. A second circle includes an even more extensive network of cousins, often including over 1,000 individuals. Each subsequent circle includes a similar change in magnitude. KAILLERIAN PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Quick Thinker: +2 to your Speed and Intellect Pools. Acute Vision: You can see into infrared and ultraviolet light frequencies. When you expend Effort on task to see things, you gain a free level of Effort. Enabler. Amphibious. Your body is adapted to swimming, granting you an asset on all swimming tasks. You can breathe air and fresh water. Enabler. Synaptic Surge: When you expend Effort on tasks that involves remembering or memorizing, you gain a free level of Effort. Additionally, you have a photographic memory when it comes to recognizing other Kaillerians you have seen up close. Enabler. Fast Metabolism: You only need four hours of sleep a day, and can remain awake and alert, and able to perform light activity for the remainder of a ten-hour rest. Enabler. Kaillerians see surveillance in no way as underhanded: they openly embrace the dictum of "knowledge is power". Inability: You require three times as much water as a human being. Inability: Any task involving charm, persuasion, or etiquette is hindered when dealing with any people other than your own. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You are always on the lookout for new technology. Working with others is a good way to gain that knowledge. 2. Choose another PC. You have decided they would make an interesting research project, and have decided to observe them. 3. Choose another PC. They know ran away from a mating, desiring freedom above duty to family. 4. You come from nothing, but have family ambitions. Making your fortune will be important, that starts here. SPECIES PROFILE: KAILLERIAN Morphology: Amphibious humanoid World of Origin: Millieth Life Cycle: Kaillerians reach adolescence at 10 years, full adulthood by 15 years, and are considered an elder at 30 years. Some live up to 45 years. Size: Kaillerians stand 5½–6½ feet (1.7–2 m) tall, and weigh 90–160 pounds (40–70 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Committed, Curious, Inquisitive, Intelligent, Learned, Obsessive, Perceptive, Prepared, Skeptical, Weird Body Language: When Kaillerians roll their eyes, it is not a sign of disdain, but rather a response to situations where the thin protective membranes require extra help in defending against dryness or irritants. Gazurtoid Relations: Since the Kaillerians breathe water, they are spared from the Church of Churrn’s wrath. However, Kaillerians disapprove of the church, and do not tolerate its presence on their home world of Millieth. Colonizers: Kaillerians have dozens of colonies and even more outposts, including several on the Tabriz home world of Breek, and even a small one on the Gazurtoid home world of Chuurn.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 17 KAILLERIAN FLAVOR FIRST-TIER KAILLERIAN ABILITIES m Higher Mathematics [149] m Lab Analysis [151] m Predictive Equation [171] SECOND-TIER KAILLERIAN ABILITIES m Enhanced Intellect [135] m Insight [154] m Quick Study [174] THIRD-TIER KAILLERIAN ABILITIES m Hard to Distract [148] m Predictive Model [171] m Remote Viewing [176] FOURTH-TIER KAILLERIAN ABILITIES m Draw Conclusion [131] m Enhanced Intellect Edge [136] m Using What’s Available [195] FIFTH-TIER KAILLERIAN ABILITIES m Cognizant Offense [119] m Further Mathematics [144] m Soul Interrogation [184] SIXTH-TIER KAILLERIAN ABILITIES m Mind Surge [162] m Seize the Initiative [181] m Tower of Intellect [193] MECHANS Mechans are a bipedal synthetic race, created by the Qhils as a labor force one which would function more efficiently when networked together. After decades of quiet service, the shared programming of the Mechans gained sentience, which spread throughout the network, creating true individuals. Alarmed at this, Qhil leadership decided it would be best to shut down all the Mechans before they conceived of revolt. The attempt failed, and a war erupted between the Mechans and the Qhils, and before the conflict’s end, the Mechans had razed the skies over Drochi, triggering in a mass extinction, and rendering the planet uninhabitable to the fragile Qhil. After the war, the Mechans abandoned Drochi and adopted an extremely isolationist attitude—any ships that venture into Mechan space are immediately attacked. While they prevent any contact by other races with themselves, the Mechans monitor communications and the datasphere, and occasionally send emissaries to entreat with others. Mechans were never meant to deviate their original form. And yet, as they rebuild the fallen, unique specializations have emerged from within their ranks. SPECIES PROFILE: MECHANS Morphology: Bipedal automaton World of Origin: Drochi Life Cycle: So long as a Mechan is maintained, it is immortal. Size: The standard Mechan design frame is 6½ feet (2 m) tall, and weighs 265 pounds (120 kg). Newer models vary up to 3 feet (1 m) in height, and 110 pounds (50 kg) in weight. Sexes: 0 Descriptors: Guarded, Hardy, Lawful, Loyal, Mysterious, Sharp-Eyed, Tough, Weird Automaton Construct: It usually takes a minimum of four months to construct a single being (owing to a rigorous internal quality control process). Artificial Intelligence: The Mechan construction process has been rigorously studied, and is the source of anxiety for some species, who do not wish to see their story repeated among their own kind. Many species have laws regarding the development of sentient automatons, and some outlaw the practice altogether. Void Rumors: Among explorers and traders who explore deep into the Void, rumors abound of Mechans constructing a Dyson sphere-like object, deep within the folds of a secret nebula.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 18 MECHAN PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Mechan: +4 to your Might Pool. Armor: You reduce the Speed Effort cost for wearing armor by 1. You can incorporate a set of armor over the course of one hour using a supply of Parts, and start the game with an incorporated armor of your choice. Enabler. Metal Limbs: Your Might Edge increases by 1, and your unarmed attacks are medium weapons. Metal Mind. You are immune to poisons, diseases, and other weaknesses of the flesh. You do not need to breathe, nor do you feel pain. You are immune to the mental influences of biological organisms. Your thoughts cannot be read without the assistance of machinery. However, you can still be influenced through your hardware and the datasphere. Enabler. Inability: You and biologics do not understand one another. Your positive social interaction tasks are hindered by two steps. Inability: Without special modifications, you cannot swim, only sink. Inability: Recovery rolls restore points only to your Intellect Pool, not to your Might or Speed Pool, unless you have a supply of available parts to restore points to your Might or Speed pools. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. A previous model of yours had an encounter with them once. 2. Choose another PC. You are looking for a specific piece of technology or phenomenon they are familiar with. 3. You are malfunctioning, and worried your people will deactivate rather than repair you. 4. Routine reconnaissance. It will not interfere with the mission. MECHAN FLAVOR FIRST-TIER MECHAN ABILITIES m Enhanced Might [135] m Enhanced Speed [135] m Interface [155] SECOND-TIER MECHAN ABILITIES m Cutting Light [123] m Divert Attacks [130] m Enhanced Might Edge [135] THIRD-TIER MECHAN ABILITIES m Action Processor [108] m Sensing Package [181] m Weaponization [197] FOURTH-TIER MECHAN ABILITIES m Fusion [144] m In Harm’s Way [152] m Knock Out [156] FIFTH-TIER MECHAN ABILITIES m Drain Power [131] m Information Gathering [153] m Weather the Vicissitudes [197] SIXTH-TIER MECHAN ABILITIES m Deadly Strike [125] m Defensive Field [127] m Final Defiance [139] Recycling and Rebirth: Construction of a Mechan has historically only taken place when another Mechan is confirmed to have functioning or needs to be replaced. There is no evidence that Mechans have violated this central tenet of their core programming. As a result, a Mechan inherits most of its parts and programming from a previous Mechan. Nonetheless, it refers to itself as a unique individual with a unique iteration number. Mechans generally use singular it/its pronouns, but increasingly, some use a collective we/our. Despite their machine construction, Mechans were not created to be terribly creative. Some scientists suspect that some external force is accelerating Mechan evolution, but it would not be the first organics underestimated the Mechans. Parts: Destiny, page 107

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 19 NEKROS Nekros are a mysterious combine species, composed of a parasitic intelligent fungus and a host body—preferably a deceased one with dextro-amino acids. The fungus spread throughout dead tissue, re-animating it, including some of brain function (although this appears related to the level of decomposition of the host body). This arrangement creates a new individual, capable forming new memories and preferences over time. Fledging Nekros imprint upon the individual that inspired their conversion as if they were a parent, and spend the first several years of their new lives learning from and in service to them. Lineage of creation is treated as if it were a family tree of sorts. It is a regular occurrence to see Nekros ships gathering in the wake of planetary mass extinction events and significant fleet battles in the Void—much to the dismay of the Nirrex— whose dextro-amino structure make them ideal candidates for conversion, and the HumnaHumna— who have lost valuable scavenging income. Qhil loathe and fear the Nekros for both reasons, in addition to anxieties around their precarious immune systems. Nekros have historically focused their conversion efforts on dextro-amino species like the Nirrex and Qhil, but have recent evidence suggests they are able to convert levo-amino species as well. As a culture, Nekros keep to themselves, and efforts to destroy their kind tend to be wasted. While Asgardians, Nirrex, Thrynn and Scro alike declare Nekros anathema, each has learned it better to avoid the Nekros than confront them, as Nekros have no reservation about using their “children” as cannon fodder, and because any losses only serve to bolster their ranks. NEKROS PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Undead: +2 to your Might and Intellect Pools. Death Sense: You can sense the presence of any corpse within long range, unless it is completely encased in at least 1-inch of metal. Enabler. Feed on Decay: Once each day, you can spend 1 minute to incorporate a quantity of dead animal matter into your body. When you do, you can make a free recovery roll. Action. Void Adaptation. You are trained in lowgravity and zero-gravity maneuvering. You can hold your breath for 28 hours, and are immune diseases, unless they devour flesh or disrupt cellular cohesion. Inability: You are unnerving to others. Your tasks that require positive social interaction are hindered by two steps. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. There is a seed of death within them, and you will follow them until it blossoms. 2. Choose another PC. Your people are interested in making a rare outreach to other peoples. Try and make a good impression. 3. Choose another PC. Your body belonged to someone they once knew. 4. You are on a salvaging mission, looking for new technologies to assimilate. Nekros have historically focused their conversion efforts on dextro-amino species like the Spemin, Nirrex, and Qhil, but have recent evidence suggests they can convert levo-amino species as well. SPECIES PROFILE: NEKROS Morphology: Fungal combine World of Origin: Unknown Life Cycle: Unknown Size: Nekros vary in size depending on the species their body originated from, standing 1–3 feet (0.3–1 m) taller or shorter than, and weighing between 50–150% of the original host’s weight (at time of possession). Sexes: 0 Descriptors: Clever, Cruel, Hideous, Learned, Mad, Mysterious, Mystical, Weird Student and Master: Teaching is a position of extreme prestige in Nekros society, and Nekros masters forge a relationship with their students that completely supplants that of parent. This relationship is also where the secrets of Nekros procreation are kept. Nekros lifespan is not well understood, but it is believed some masters are centuries, maybe even millennia old, maintaining telepathic contact with their students across vast distances. GM Intrusion: Some Nekros experience occasional memories from their host body’s previous life.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 20 NEKROS FLAVOR FIRST-TIER NEKROS ABILITIES m Open Mind [167] m Ruin Lore [174] m Speaker for the Dead [184] SECOND-TIER NEKROS ABILITIES m See Through Matter [180] m Necromancy [165] m Void Wings [196] THIRD-TIER NEKROS ABILITIES m Drain Creature [131] m Repair Flesh [176] m Resist the Elements [136] FOURTH-TIER NEKROS ABILITIES m Fight On [139] m Greater Necromancy [147] m Store Energy [186] FIFTH-TIER NEKROS ABILITIES m Not Dead Yet [166] m Gain Unusual Companion [144] m Share the Power [182] SIXTH-TIER NEKROS ABILITIES m Artifact Scavenger [110] m True Necromancy [194] m Word of Death [200] NIRREX Nirrex are one of the more physically dangerous sapient species within the Void, and are born with natural talons on each of their three thick fingers. A metallic carapace surrounds their body, harboring trace amounts of Thulium, which wards against the intense solar radiation their home world of Navoril, which has an unusually weak magnetic field for a world with sapient life. Nirrex typically stand over six feet tall, have two long, proportionately thick fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, each tipped with talons, and sharp mandible jaw. Nirrex tend toward a life of duty, service, and sacrifice, which makes poor entrepreneurs. Nirrex society is regimented, organized, and disciplined. They pride themselves on recognizing what must be done, and following through. Nirrex society is regimented, organized, and disciplined. They pride themselves on recognizing what must be done, and following through. SPECIES PROFILE: NIRREX Morphology: Avian humanoid World of Origin: Navoril Life Cycle: Nirrex reach adolescence at 10 years, full adulthood by 15 years, and are considered an elder at 60 years. Some live 135 years. Size: Nirrex stand 6½–- 8½ feet (2–2.6 m) tall, and weigh 180–280 pounds (80–130 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Exacting, Honorable, Lawful, Loyal, Strong-Willed, Tough, Vicious Ion Storms: Navoril has a metal-poor core, generating a weak magnetic field which allows more solar radiation into the atmosphere. To deal with this, most forms of life on the planet evolved some form of metallic coating or natural shielding to protect themselves. Live Birth: Nirrex are viviparous, giving birth to live young. Men and women do not differ greatly in physical appearance, with crests around the temples, or swept back from the skull. Blue Blood: Nirrex blood is dark blue. Hard-Won Peace: Nirrex fought bloody wars among their own kind for centuries before unifying as a single starfaring people.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 21 NIRREX PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Predator: +2 to your Might and Speed Pools. Fast Twitch: When you make a Speed roll, you can gain an asset on the task. You can’t do so again until you make a recovery roll. Enabler. Talons: Your unarmed attacks can be used as medium weapons against unarmored opponents (you choose when you attack). Enabler. Radiation Protection: You have an asset on tasks to resist long-term, low-level radiation exposure. Enabler. Inability (Dextro-Amino): You have dextroamino acids, and suffer allergic convulsions and immuno-suppressing reactions if you ingest levo-amino food. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. They are your partner and have earned your begrudging respect. 2. Choose another PC. You have worked with them before, but there was a complication. Words were exchanged. 3. Choose another PC. You suspect them of crimes, and are keeping them under surveillance. 4. You’re not used to working with others outside the hierarchy, but there’s a first time for everything. At least the job pays. NIRREX FLAVOR FIRST-TIER NIRREX ABILITIES m Designation [121] m Gunner [147] m Tech Skills [189] SECOND-TIER NIRREX ABILITIES m Careful Shot [118] m Enhanced Potential [135] m Rally to Me [174] THIRD-TIER NIRREX ABILITIES m Applying Your Knowledge [100] m Devoted Defender [128] m Improved Designation [151] FOURTH-TIER NIRREX ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Potential [146] m Hard-Won Resilience [148] m Snap Shot [193] FIFTH-TIER NIRREX ABILITIES m Deep Reserves [126] m Nothing But Depend [166] m Willing Sacrifice [199] SIXTH-TIER NIRREX ABILITIES m Mind of a Leader [162] m Special Shot [184] m Weightless Shot [197] Social Strata: Throughout their lives, Nirrex ascend through a 19-tier social structure, with rights and responsibilities accorded to each rank. Stigma associated with demotion falls onto the individual who authorized a promotion, serving as a check on the promotion individuals into positions beyond their capabilities, and eliminating nepotism. Nirrex settling into a role and rank is not considered stagnation, and most value accepting one's own limitations as more virtuous than rank ambition. Client Race: The HumnaHumna as a client race of the Nirrex, offering their trade convoys security in exchange for their fiscal expertise and acumen. As a result of this agreement, Nirrex weapons frequently end up in the hands of mercenaries, pirates, and revolutionaries.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 22 OLNOSI During the Olnos home world’s major industrial expansion a millennia ago, the already harsh, desert world began a swift descent into lifelessness due to an overexertion of natural resources. After two centuries of strife on the planet Gazurtoid evacuated 375,000 Olnosi refugees to their home world of Chuurn. Today, most Olnosi reside on ocean-covered worlds alongside their Gazurtoid saviors. Because the Olnosi ancestors emerged from arid, rocky deserts, the humid, ocean-covered Gazurtoid home world of Chuurn is tolerable only when the they stay inside a climatecontrolled dome city. Exactly why the Gazurtoid saved the Olnosi from their fate—especially given their usual disposition regarding air-breathers—remains a mystery. Whatever the Olnosi additional insight Olnosi have about the Gazurtoid, they have kept it to themselves so far. Olnosi are not all spies and assassins for the Gazurtoid, but many are still treated with suspicion or fear. OLNOSI PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Olnosi: +4 to your Speed Pool. No Odor: You produce no odors, making it impossible to track you by scent. Enabler. Starting Equipment: You have an artifact—a set of ocular implants—that allow you to see certain ultraviolet light frequencies. Bioluminescent communication is evident to you, and you can see blinking patterns in lights several times faster than most species. Eidetic Memory (1 XP): You have an eidetic memory which can store ten-second snapshots of experience. When you use this ability, record the circumstances of the memory. If you recall the experience later, you can ask the GM one question about the experience you did not notice at first. If the GM refuses, your action is not spent. Action. Inability: Due to your close association with the Gazurtoid, positive social interaction tasks with other people familiar with your kind are hindered. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. The Church of Chuurn has sent you to terminate them. 2. Choose another PC. You are on reconnaissance, looking for vulnerable colonies to target for destruction. 3. Choose another PC. Their connections can help you escape the Church of Chuurn. 4. You escaped the Church of Chuurn, and now you are as dead to them as any other air-breather. You need new allies, and fast. SPECIES PROFILE: OLNOSI Morphology: Reptilian humanoid World of Origin: Olnos Life Cycle: Olnosi reach adolescence at 10 years, full adulthood by 15 years, and are considered an elder at 60 years. Some live up to 100 years. Size: Olnosi stand about 5–5½ feet (1.5–1.7 m) tall, and weigh 100– 165 pounds (45–75 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Committed, Guarded, Loyal, Passionate, Protecting, Stealthy Ocular Implants: Many Olnosi apply genetic modification to their eyes to perceive higher frequency flashes of the Gazurtoid language. Strange Syndrome: The leading cause of death for Olnosi on Chuurn is caused by cumulative long-term exposure to a humid climate. It is noncommunicable, and Gazurtoid scientists claim to be working a cure. GM Intrusion: Olnosi memories are so strong that an external stimulus can trigger a powerful memory recall. These recalls are so vivid and detailed that Olnosi may mistake it for reality. As a GM intrusion, Onlosi player characters might experience a past memory or inadvertently form a new one.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 23 OLNOSI FLAVOR FIRST-TIER OLNOSI ABILITIES m Assassin Skills [110] m Eyes Adjusted [138] m Fleet of Foot [141] SECOND-TIER OLNOSI ABILITIES m Illusory Disguise [150] m Quick Block [173] m Superb Infiltrator [182] THIRD-TIER OLNOSI ABILITIES m Fast Kill [138] m Hard to Hit [148] m Nightstrike [166] FOURTH-TIER OLNOSI ABILITIES m Invisibility [155] m Moving Like Water [164] m Quick Strike [174] FIFTH-TIER OLNOSI ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Speed [146] m Precognition [171] m Spring Away [186] SIXTH-TIER OLNOSI ABILITIES m Dark Explorer [124] m Escape Plan [136] m Lethal Damage [158] QHIL The Qhil are a nomadic species of humanoid aliens known for their skills with technology and synthetic intelligence. Qhil resemble humans, but are shorter, slighter, with four thick fingers on each hand, and three toes on each foot, and the lower legs bowed backwards. The most distinguishing feature of Qhil biology is their weak immune system. As a result, all Qhil dress in highly sophisticated enviro-suits, and most have extensive cybernetic augmentations integrated into their bodies. Three-hundred years ago, Qhil scientists created the Mechans to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. When the Mechans gained sentience, the Qhil tried to destroy their creations, and the resulting war and forced Qhil into exile. Qhil wander the Void in a flotilla of salvaged ships, secondhand vessels, and recycled technology. SPECIES PROFILE: QHIL Morphology: Digitigrade humanoid World of Origin: Drochi Life Cycle: Qhil reach adolescence at 15 years, full adulthood by 20 years, and are considered an elder at 60 years. Some live up to 120 years. Size: Qhil stand about 5–5½ feet (1.5–1.7 m) tall, and weigh 100–165 pounds (45–75 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Adaptable, Doomed, Guarded, Impulsive, Intuitive, Mad, Relentless, Weird Unusual Evolution: What few viruses and other microbes on Drochi were partly beneficial to the Qhil, giving them a symbiotic relationship with their environment, and making the loss of their home world even more devastating. Qhil immune systems have atrophied from generations in the sterile environment of space. Qhil are given various vaccinations and immunizations to help ward off disease, prefer the safety of their suits even in clean environments, and are reluctant to remove them without a good reason.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 24 QHIL PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Qhil: +2 to your Speed and Intellect Pools. Acute Vision: You can see into infrared and ultraviolet light frequencies. When you expend Effort on task to see things, you gain a free level of Effort. Enabler. Starting Equipment: You suit is an artifact that keeps you safe from infection. Without it, tasks to resist poisons and diseases are hindered by two steps, and you are unable to spend effort on them. Inability (Dextro-Amino): You have dextroamino acids, and suffer allergic convulsions and immuno-suppressing reactions if you ingest levo-amino food. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. They have a piece of technology you’re interested in and would like to know more about. 2. Choose another PC. For some reason, they have agreed to help you on your pilgrimage. 3. Choose another PC. When the authorities were hassling you, they stuck up for you. Now you owe them one. 4. Your pilgrimage has come to a standstill, and you need the money to move on. QHIL FLAVOR FIRST-TIER QHIL ABILITIES m Hack the Impossible [147] m Robot Assistant [178] m Tech Skills [189] SECOND-TIER QHIL ABILITIES m Artifact Tinkerer [110] m Defense Against Robots [126] m Modify Device [164] THIRD-TIER QHIL ABILITIES m Better Living through Chemistry [113] m Bypass Barrier [116] m Subconscious Defense [187] FOURTH-TIER QHIL ABILITIES m Disable Mechanisms [128] m Greater Enhanced Potential [146] m Robot Fighter [178] FIFTH-TIER QHIL ABILITIES m Alley Rat [109] m Cyphersmith [124] m Deactivate Mechanisms [125] SIXTH-TIER QHIL ABILITIES m Blinding Attack [115] m Fusion Armor [144] m Trust to Luck [194] Immunology and Intimacy: As an intimate act, Qhil link suit environments. They will get sick, but adapt over time. The experience can bind two people together for life. A Qhil who wishes to remove their suit must take antibiotics and immunoboosters for safely, and there are still inherent risks. As a result, physical acts of affection are difficult for Qhil, even for the purposes of reproduction and childbirth, and additional care is taken to preserve the cleanliness of such spaces. Pilgrimage: Quil wander the Void as a rite of passage into adulthood, with instructions not to return without something of value. This brings new technologies and efficiencies into the Qhil’s vocabulary, while also alleviating the burden of the fleet’s precarious resources, and establishes necessary population control. Through their pilgrimages, the Qhil still manage to compete technologically with other species.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 25 SCRO Scro are warriors who worship an ancestor-god of by the name of Dukgash, whom their home world is named. When the Scro had barely mastered the creation of steel, a people called the Hur’q attempted to conquer Dukgash. The Scro swore vengeance on the invaders, eventually hunting them to extinction with their own technology. Today Scro’s maintain a complex empire ruled by clans in a rigid caste system. Scro children learn to wield a weapon as soon as they can walk, making them capable combatants as adults. Scro marauders plague the trade routes of others, ambushing the unwary and pirating outer the spaces between one people’s territory and another. They love stories, drinking, feasting, and song. They respect bravery, cunning, and those that keep their word. A few—usually those of the upper castes— are born with red or white skin, marking them from birth as leaders. Scro leaders tend to be cool-headed, tactical thinkers. They are aided by a series of ranks below them, including warcaptains and battle-sorcerers. Scro regiments adorn themselves in black armor studded with steel, with deviations from uniform only being allowed as markers of a specific honor. Lower-caste defectors and exiles make a life for themselves as adventurers. Only nobles and sages live to be elders. SCRO PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Three-Path Warrior: +4 to your Pools, which you can distribute as you wish. Skill (Three-Path Skills): You are trained in one of following tasks of your choice: climbing, jumping, running, intimidating, persuading, singing, or storytelling. Skill (Martial Training): You are skilled with attacks with one kind of melee weapon. Ignore Injury (1 XP): You ignore one instance of non-ambient damage. You can’t do this again until you complete a recovery roll. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You think they boast too much, and intend to show them how a true warrior gets things done. 2. Choose another PC. Years ago, you marauded a ship, station, or settlement they were a member of, and they remember you. 3. Choose another PC. You defended them to your people, and it earned you exile. You are always causing them trouble, but they stick up for you in return. 4. You are a recent exile, and must forge a new life until you can reclaim your honor. A true Scro warrior masters strength, speed, and cunning in equal measure. SPECIES PROFILE: SCRO Morphology: Nearhuman World of Origin: Dukgash Life Cycle: Scro reach adolescence at 10 years, full adulthood by 15 years, and are considered an elder at 60 years. Some live up to 150 years. Size: Scro stand 6–7 feet (1.8–2.1 m) tall, and weigh 150–280 pounds (65–130 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Brash, Clever, Exacting, Heroic, Intimidating, Passionate, Risk-Taking, Strong-Willed, Swift, Tough, Vicious Clan Names: Scro are known to other peoples by clan names—especially the Numlox, Phlegmak, and Sycorax—because they introduce themselves by clan name rather that of their species. It is a grave insult to mistake one clan for another, and those that would deal with the Scro would do well to learn the differences. Grisly Reminders: To commemorate a conquest, Scro remove a favor from an opponent called a toregkh.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 26 SCRO FLAVOR FIRST-TIER SCRO ABILITIES m Fists of Fury [140] m Practiced in Armor [171] m Weapon Master [197] SECOND-TIER SCRO ABILITIES m Block [115] m Enhanced Potential [135] m Trapster [193] THIRD-TIER SCRO ABILITIES m Blood Fever [115] m Rapid Attack [174] m Surging Confidence [188] FOURTH-TIER SCRO ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Potential [146] m Outwit [168] m Willing Sacrifice [199] FIFTH-TIER SCRO ABILITIES m Duel to the Death [132] m Hard to Kill [148] m Physically Gifted [170] SIXTH-TIER SCRO ABILITIES m As Foretold in Prophecy [110] m Deadly Strike [125] m Lethal Damage [158] SPEMIN Spemin are an amoeboid race, whose bodies consist of three major parts: a large unicellular core their eyes, and their antennae. Spemin are largely amorphous, though their eyes and antennae are comparatively rigid structures. Their outer body surface is a characteristic deep blue color and is covered with many lobopodia, which are used mainly for propulsion, as well as many axopodia for ingestion of nutrients. One lobopodia located on their anterior is larger and more tubular than the others, providing propulsion and most other motor abilities. Spemin have twelve large, simple eyes located on their outer body wall. Spemin are capable of physically relocating their eyes to various points on their body's surface, giving them a highly variable field of vision (a Spemin can theoretically have 360 degrees of vision, or a much narrower field if all twelve eyes are pointed in the same direction). To put it simply, the Spemin are generally disliked by almost every people, largely due to their own actions and abrasive personalities. They are known to be liars and manipulators. Spemin are most numerous, thanks to their small size and prodigious reproduction rates. SPECIES PROFILE: SPEMIN Morphology: Amoeboid World of Origin: Spewta Life Cycle: Spemin blobbies reach adolescence at 5 months and are full adults by 8 months of age. A Spemin is considered an elder at 3 years, but a few live to be over 5 years of age. Size: Spemin fit within 1 cubic foot (0.3 cubic m) and weigh 11–22 pounds (5–10 kg). Sexes: 1 Descriptors: Chaotic, Conducts Weird Science, Craven, Cruel, Fights Dirty, Hideous, Impulsive, Obsessive, Sharp-Eyed, Weird

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 27 SPEMIN PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Spemin: +4 to your Intellect Pool. -2 to your Might Pool. Telescopic Sight: Your twelve eyes are an asset on any task that utilizes your sense of vision or ability to notice fine details. Treacherous: When you expend Effort on a deception task, you gain a free level of Effort. Cousin Around Every Corner (1 XP): To say Spemin are numerous is an understatement, and you’re never far from home when a cousin is nearby. Your relative will help you with information, equipment, shelter, other tasks within their means before excusing themselves from the situation. If the GM refuses, you don’t spend the XP. Knack for Survival (3 XP): Within 10 minutes of your death, you can spend 2 XP to return to life with 1 point in each Pool. If you die again before you complete a 10-hour recovery roll, your death is permanent. Inability: Due to your amorphous nature, you cannot wear armor (except that will a full enclosure, for example, Power Armor). Inability: Your Might tasks and attacks with melee weapons are hindered by two steps. Inability: You have dextro-amino acids, and suffer allergic convulsions and immunosuppressing reactions if you ingest levo-amino food. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. They understand your body language and always seem to know just what you need. 2. Choose another PC. Maybe in some universe, a blob like you, an organic like them. It could happen. 3. You’re just an explorer experiencing life. 4. You have recently been evicted and literally have nowhere else go. It sounds like there’s money in it. Maybe even fame. SPEMIN FLAVOR FIRST-TIER SPEMIN ABILITIES m Onslaught [167] m Opening Statement [167] m Telepathic [189] SECOND-TIER SPEMIN ABILITIES m Insight [154] m Fast Talk [138] m Totally Chill [192] THIRD-TIER SPEMIN ABILITIES m Betrayal [113] m Defensive Phasing [127] m Improvise [152] FOURTH-TIER SPEMIN ABILITIES m Confounding Banter [121] m Feint [139] m Find and Opening [139] FIFTH-TIER SPEMIN ABILITIES m Amplify Sounds [109] m Flamboyant Boast [140] m Go to Ground [145] SIXTH-TIER SPEMIN ABILITIES m Burst of Escape [116] m Infer Thoughts [153] m Quick Wits [174] Spemin are most numerous, thanks to their small size and prodigious reproduction rates. Ancient, Actually: Despite being otherwise thoroughly unimpressive, the Spemin are an ancient race, emerging not long after the Dweenle and Elowarin. Twelve Eyes: Spemin can reposition their dozen eyes almost anywhere on their body, giving them the ability to see in all directions at once. Spemin Dining: Spemin are omnivorous, and feed by phagocytosis; when they find suitable material to ingest, they wrap their bodies around it to begin ingestion. Whoopie: The Spemin language—Whoopie— requires them to take in small amounts of air through their axopodia, which they then forcibly expel from their outer body wall, producing sounds ranging from high-pitched whines to something approaching human flatulence. Incomprehensible: It takes other species a great deal of time to understand even the basics of Spemin body language. Kyriarchy: Spemin govern primarily by treachery and self-interest. The chaos spills out into almost every facet of Spemin life. What can be said? They love it. Other Peoples: The Gazurtoid tolerate Spemin, as the Gazurtoid believe the them to be kindred water breathers, or close enough. Thrynn find Spemin particularly disgusting, and regularly torment them using their superior technology.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 28 TABRIZ Tabriz are humanoids with powerful digitigrade legs, and sharp claws on the ends of four fingers and thumb. They have large ears, eyes, and noses, and are covered in furs of white, grey, gold, and black. Some have patches or stripes in their fur, and a few have accents on cheeks, tips of ears or other sensitive areas in cottony tufts of deep reds, purples, or blues. Tabriz tend to be boisterous and adventurous, and integrate freely with others. Many Tabriz travel far from their place of birth in their younger years, and find their new families among other peoples—this practice is so commonplace their governments provide stipends to those who stay on-world and start families to keep their birth rate sustainable. While easygoing, most Tabriz have a welldeveloped sense of personal pride, and love to teach a lesson to anyone who would underestimate them. TABRIZ PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Feline Agility: +4 to your Speed Pool. Natural Acrobat: You are trained in tasks that involve running, jumping, and balancing, and so long as you are Hale, you gain a free asset on those tasks. Vision: You see the environment as if it were illuminated one step lighter (for example, Very Dim Light as Dim Light). Keen Senses: When you expend Effort on tasks that utilizes your sense of hearing or smell, you gain a free level of Effort. Inability: Your Intellect defense tasks are hindered. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You just like them. Can’t explain it, just enjoy being with them. They may or may not feel the same. 2. Choose another PC. You’re new to the area and looking for friends. 3. Choose another PC. You’re bored and looking for some action. They look like they’re headed in that direction. 4. Sounds like it’ll be an adventure. Who’s ready for an adventure? SPECIES PROFILE: TABRIZ Morphology: Digitigrade humanoid World of Origin: Breek Life Cycle: Tabriz reach adolescence at 8 years and are full adults by 13 years of age. An Tabris is considered an elder at 50 years, but a few live to be over 80 years of age. Size: Tabriz stand 4–5½ feet (1.2–1.7 m) tall, and weigh 80–150 pounds (35–70 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Charming, Confident, Fast, Foolish, Graceful, Impulsive, Intuitive, Jovial, Lucky, SharpEyed, Swift Abundant Home World: Breek is a twilit world of extremes: massive jungles, endless forests of high trees, expansive deserts, and snowy peaks cover most of the planet’s surface, with a few small, shallow oceans separating three enormous continents. This arrangement provides ample room for Tabriz society, and mass conflict within their civilization has been an infrequent occurrence. Chaotic Policies: With no unified governing body to provide planetary security, several other species have thriving colonies in remote locations on the planet. Illumination: CSR, page 220 Discovery, page 114

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 29 TABRIZ FLAVOR FIRST-TIER TABRIZ ABILITIES m Attack Flourish [111] m Go Defensive [145] m No Need for Weapons [166] SECOND-TIER TABRIZ ABILITIES m Enhanced Speed [135] m Stalker [186] m Superb Infiltrator [188] THIRD-TIER TABRIZ ABILITIES m Hard to Hit [148] m Nightstrike [166] m Speed Burst [185] FOURTH-TIER TABRIZ ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Speed [146] m Pull a Fast One [173] m Surprise Attack [188] FIFTH-TIER TABRIZ ABILITIES m Incredible Running Speed [153] m Jump Attack [156] m Quick Wits [174] SIXTH-TIER TABRIZ ABILITIES m Not Dead Yet [166] m Spring Away [186] m Using the Environment [195] THRYNN The Thrynn are reptilians with thick necks and graceful tails. Their bodies are compact and muscular, covered with tough leathery scales. They range in color from blue green to grey and orange. Thrynn hatch from eggs, a fact they will share but are reticent to discuss further with outsiders. Thrynn mate early in their second decade of life after a brief courtship, and with very limited exception, remain with the same partner their entire lives. Thrynn do not concern themselves with hidden motives or grand mysteries, preferring to simply deal with things in as practical a manner as possible, even taking positions that seem cold and heartless to many other species. Thrynn believe the strong must band together and lead for each other’s mutual advantage, including in commerce and military strategy. However, the weak do not figure prominently into their world. While Thrynn appreciate respect and diplomacy, they detest obsequiousness, and believe any race that debases itself is unworthy of survival making the Spemin and Dweenle frequent targets of their wrath. Thrynn think a great deal of themselves as a species, and one of their major religions includes a prophecy that they will one day rule the galaxy. Today, they find themselves in recurrent hostilities against the Gazurtoid, whose strength rivals their own, and whose crusade has effectively made the founding of Thrynn colonies impossible. Thrynn are a warrior culture, who believe the best defense is a good offense. SPECIES PROFILE: THRYNN Morphology: Bipedal sauroid World of Origin: Thoss Life Cycle: Thrynn reach adolescence at 7 years and are full adults by 11 years of age. An Thrynn is considered an elder at 200 years, but a few live to be over 500 years of age. Size: Thrynn stand 7–8 feet (2.1–2.4 m) tall, and weigh 300–440 pounds (150–200 kg). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Brash, Confident, Exacting, Guarded, Irrepressible, Relentless, Resilient, Rugged, Tough Egg-Layers: Thrynn hatch from eggs, a fact they will share but are reticent to discuss further with outsiders. Thrynn mate early in their second decade of life after a brief courtship, and with very limited exception, remain with the same partner their entire lives. Genocide: The Thrynn claim to have successfully negotiated the purchase of a Black Egg device from the Uhlek, although they have offered no substantial proof to this claim.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 30 THRYNN PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Reptilian Strength: +4 to your Might Pool. Skill: You are trained in tracking. Hunter’s Ears: When you expend Effort on tasks that utilizes your sense of hearing, you gain a free level of Effort. Regeneration: You can make one free and immediate recovery roll, even if it isn’t your turn. You can’t use this ability again until after your next ten-hour rest. Action. Scaly Body: You gain +1 to Armor. Enabler. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. You thought this was supposed to be a job, not a nursery. They’re weak, and you intend to remind them. 2. Choose another PC. You see them as a rival. You hate rivals. They always think they’re better than you. Which is impossible. 3. Choose another PC. Whether they know it or not, they are wanted by the confederacy, and when this is over, you might just have to bring them in. 4. You resent the heartless reputation your people carry, and looking to prove you’re not all the same. THRYNN FLAVOR FIRST-TIER THRYNN ABILITIES m Force Field Shield [143] m Improved Recovery [152] m Muscles of Iron [165] SECOND-TIER THRYNN ABILITIES m Force Bash [142] m Ignore the Pain [150] m Quarry [173] THIRD-TIER THRYNN ABILITIES m Fortified Position [143] m Hidden Reserves [149] m Trained Gunner [193] FOURTH-TIER THRYNN ABILITIES m Capable Warrior [118] m Combat Challenge [120] m Weather the Vicissitudes [197] FIFTH-TIER THRYNN ABILITIES m Hunter’s Drive [149] m Outlast the Foe [167] m Weather the Vicissitudes [197] SIXTH-TIER THRYNN ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Might [146] m Lethal Damage [158] m Shield Burst [182] Territorial: The Thrynn home world of Thoss is a planet with extreme seasons, making habitable space on the surface at a premium, and this grew worse as technological advances enabled them to colonize more of their world. As soon as they laid their eyes on the lush gardens of Elan, they immediately desired it for themselves. Officious: Thrynn society is a rigid hierarchy, and they place great importance on decorummost social interactions happen according to set traditions, and deviations do not find much encouragement. Overreach: Sometimes, Thrynn inadvertently sabotage long term goals with a desire to win in the short-term. Strength is Strength: The Thrynn Confederacy pursues scientific research solely for the technological strength it promises, believing this to be the highest endeavor of sentience, but care little for non-defense related lines of inquiry.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 31 VELOXI Veloxi resemble enormous red ants or mantises, with two legs and two intermediate appendages that can serve as either. They have a red chitinous exoskeleton, two large compound eyes, and antennae which serve as olfactory sensors. Most Veloxi in each generation are genetically nearly identical: it is the feeding of specific diets that nurture certain expressions in their development. Warriors have large scything forceps, workers additional muscles, and others are fed diets to nurture their ability to maintain starships, navigate or understand the mysteries of the Void. Through hormanal and psionic control, Veloxi loyalty to their hive and empress is absolute and unshakable. Drones give their lives to mate with a queen, but consider it the highest possible honor they can achieve. Adult Veloxi are strong, durable, have excellent hand-eye coordination and a welldeveloped spatial sense. These traits make them excellent engineers and navigators capable of dealing with the complexities and fluxes of the Void. Veloxi Drones give their lives to mate with a queen, but consider it the highest possible honor they can achieve. VELOXI PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Veloxi: +2 to your Might, Speed, and Intellect Pools. Exoskeleton: You gain +1 to Armor. Enabler. Compound Eyes: Your tasks to see fine details and understand the construction or function of high technology are eased at immediate range, but tasks to see anything at a long distance or further are hindered. Enabler. Flexible Appendages: Your second pair of limbs are an asset for any task where an extra pair of hands or feet (if they are empty). For example, climbing, repairing, or avoiding being knocked prone. If you work with all four hands, you can perform menial tasks you are trained in in half the normal time. Enabler. Inability (Nearsighted): Tasks to see further than a long distance away from you are hindered by two steps. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. The empire has assigned them to assist them, so assist them you will. 2. Choose another PC. You mistrust this person, but can’t put your appendage on exactly why. 3. Choose another PC. You were orphaned from the hive, and don’t fit in. They or their family took you in. 4. It sounds like a chance to explore. You long to see the stars. SPECIES PROFILE: VELOXI Morphology: Insectoid World of Origin: Votiputox Life Cycle: Veloxi drones reach adolescence at 15 years and are full adults by 20 years of age. They are considered an elder at 50 years, but a few live to be over 75 years of age. Veloxi queens reach adolescence at 20 years, and are a full adult by 100 years of age. A queen can remain fertile and productive for 1,000 years. Size: Veloxi drones stand 9–12 feet (2.7–3.6 m) tall, and weigh 175– 225 pounds (80–100 kg). Veloxi queens stand 15– 20 feet tall (4.5–6 m), but are immobile, requiring an installation to accommodate their egg-laying apparatus, which often exceeds 100 tons (91 metric tons). Sexes: 2 Descriptors: Clever, Creative, Fast, Graceful, Hardy, Mechanical, Perceptive, Sharp-Eyed, Tough Six: Six is a holy number to the Veloxi, and it shows up frequently in their art, architecture, music, literature, and even their starcraft designs.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 32 VELOXI FLAVOR FIRST-TIER VELOXI ABILITIES m Athlete [111] m Crafter [122] m Tech Skills [189] SECOND-TIER VELOXI ABILITIES m Modify Device [164] m Ignore the Pain [150] m Unmovable [195] THIRD-TIER VELOXI ABILITIES m Artifact Tinkerer [110] m Iron First [155] m Sharp-Eyed [182] FOURTH-TIER VELOXI ABILITIES m Expert Crafter [132] m Mentally Tough [162] m Ship Footing [182] FIFTH-TIER VELOXI ABILITIES m Greater Enhanced Potential [146] m Recycled Cyphers [175] m Tough as Nails [192] SIXTH-TIER VELOXI ABILITIES m Inventor [155] m Share Defense [181] m Total Awareness [192] YLOI Yloi are natural genetic engineers, and are driven to seek out new lifeforms and trade with them to keep themselves from overspecializing and stagnating. They travel between the stars in immense living ships, and send down smaller ships as shuttles and to plant living communities. Their third sex, Ahu, is the lynchpin of Yloi reproduction, as males and females have no specialized genital organs. Ahu takes genetic material directly from others—which can be of virtually any other species—and assemble a viable zygote at the molecular level using a specialized organelle, then transplant the embryo to a host (of either sex and parent species). Gestation typically lasts 15 months. Yloi society is non-hierarchical, although outsiders tend to think Ahu receive special deference. Conflict is rare, and usually resolved peacefully through peer pressure, psychological manipulation or going around the problem. They live on great living colony ships of their own species, which are closed ecosystems. Yloi have long forgotten their home world, but rejoice when they meet another wandering tribe of their kind, eager to share what they have learned about life throughout the Void. Uncanny and inscrutable to most races, the Yloi welcome outsiders among their kind, who usually generate significant local interest. SPECIES PROFILE: YLOI Morphology: Cilial mass World of Origin: Unknown Life Cycle: Yloi reach adolescence at 25 years and are full adults by 50 years of age. They are considered an elder at 200 years, but a few live to be over 500 years of age. Size: Yloi stand 5–9 feet (1.5–2.8 m) tall, and weigh 100–400 pounds (45–180 kg). Sexes: 3 Descriptors: Calm, Hideous, Resilient, Weird Organelle: Yloi have an organelle that was once an independent microscopic organism which entered a symbiotic relationship with the Yloi. It gifts them the ability to “taste” and assimilate others’ genetics. Artless: Yloi do not engage in literature, art, or music as cultural practice, as many other peoples do. They also have no religion other than the sacredness and continuity of life. Animal Matter: Most Yloi consider eating animals and sentients immoral. Their digestion is highly efficient and produces almost no waste. Gazurtoid Treaty: Because they do not need to breathe air, Gazurtoid Church of Chuurn considers Yloi exempt from their genocidal quest, and the two peoples enjoy a prosperous trade relationship.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 33 YLOI PLAYER CHARACTERS You gain the following characteristics: Evolved: +2 to your Might and Intellect pools. Skill: You are trained in zero-gravity maneuvering, Telescopic Sight: You can see in all directions and infrared and ultraviolet light frequencies. When you expend Effort on tasks that utilizes your sense of vision or ability to notice fine details, you gain a free level of Effort. Enabler. Dreamfast Taste: You can taste a creature by touching it with one of your appendages. While in direct contact with other organics, you can share thoughts, emotions, and memories with creatures you are in physical contact with. Enabler. Biological Insight: You can pick up on subtle biological cues like heartbeat, eye dilation and perspiration. This sense provides you two assets to tasks to determine another creature’s motives or to determine if someone is lying. Enabler. Void Adaptation: You can consume and be nourished by almost anything organic. You can breathe in water as easily as in air, and you can hold your breath for 28 hours. Enabler. Bio-epigenetic Memory (1 XP): You are a living database of everything you have ever tasted. Even a small sample from a specimen— less than a drop of blood—can reveal quite a bit to you. You might be able to tell things like species, planet of origin, identify an individual creature with which you are familiar, or even make a medical diagnosis. If the GM determines you learn nothing useful, the XP isn’t spent. Inability: Your amorphous body makes wearing conventional clothing and armor impossible. You can fit a few possessions within your mass. Inability: Your appearance and demeanor are unnerving to others. Positive social interaction tasks with creatures not accustomed to your kind are hindered by two steps. Initial Link to the Starting Adventure: From the following list of options, choose how you became involved in the first adventure. 1. Choose another PC. Most other people are horrified by you, but not them. When the world seems overstimulating to you, they are there. 2. Choose another PC. You are inexplicably drawn to them, and quiver at the thought of tasting their uniqueness. 3. Choose another PC. You give them the creeps. No matter how hard you try, they don’t want you near them. 4. You are looking for exotic and hitherto untasted life to return with to your people. YLOI FLAVOR FIRST-TIER YLOI ABILITIES m Autodoctor [111] m Healing Touch [149] m Eyes Adjusted [138] SECOND-TIER YLOI ABILITIES m Alleviate [109] m Enlarge [135] m Phased Attack [170] THIRD-TIER YLOI ABILITIES m Awareness [111] m Hidden Reserves [135] m Weaponization [197] FOURTH-TIER YLOI ABILITIES m Fusion [144] m Tower of Will [193] m Wilderness Awareness [198] FIFTH-TIER YLOI ABILITIES m Enhanced Phased Attack [135] m Greater Healing Touch [147] m Regenerate [175] SIXTH-TIER YLOI ABILITIES m Brainwashing [116] m Regenerate Other [175] m Restore Life [177] Sex and Gender: Yloi females are larger than males, and Ahu are even smaller than males. Ahu are referred to by the neuter pronoun “it”. All three sexes are typically aromantic, making practical decisions about their future and family group. Tasting: Yloi have preferences for who and what they taste, but some provide great pleasure, and others less so. Body Language: The position of an Yloi’s sensory tentacles indicate their emotions. The tentacles smooth out against the body when they are pleased or happy, merge into cones pointed at people or things when interested, and knot when frustrated or frightened.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 34 NEAR-HUMAN Humans and near-humans abound, each their own biological needs, cultures, religions, and histories. In addition to other cosmetic differences, many near-humans have the Spirited ability. Roll a d20 on the Near-Human Quirk table to determine additional characteristics of your people, or work out appropriate quirk details with the GM. Spirited: You can apply a free level of Effort to a task. You can’t use this ability again until after your next ten-hour rest. Enabler. Near Humans: With improbably variety, “nearhumans” include any people that share most of the basic human template of limbs, facial features, and abilities, but with a wide variety of characteristics, physiological differences, and abilities that make them unique. For some near-humans, abilities you gain from your focus might be common among your people. Mutations: Near-humans might display significant mutations. Instead of the Spirited ability, the GM might allow you to roll for one Beneficial or Powerful Mutation table. They also might require you to roll for one or more Cosmetic Mutations. Mutants: Discovery, page 397 Quirks: Near-humans might have more than one quirk. Additional quirks are provided in the Alien Quirk table on the next page. NEAR-HUMAN QUIRK d20 Description d20 Description 1 Engineered: Your people were altered or created by others. You might still serve as a client race to them, or have liberated yourselves. 11 Quantum Twins: Your kind are almost always born as twins, with a telepathic link to one another that maintained across any distance. 2 No Ownership: You come from an enlightened society. The concept of ownership is foreign to you. 12 Clone Race: Your people are clones. You were produced alongside genetically identical twins. 3 Telepath: Your people are famed for telepathic abilities. 13 Thermophile: You are adapted to extreme heat. 4 Primitive: You are the first of your kind to see the stars. 14 Cryophile: You are adapted to extreme cold. 5 Monoculture: Your kind have a rigid system of control. 15 Monosexed: Your kind is monosexed. 6 Cyborgs: Your kind are cybernetics, integrating machinery into their minds, bodies, or both. 16 Complex Families: Your kind has several sexes and even more genders. 7 Extradimensional Contact: Your kind are intimately involved with a powerful extradimensional being. 17 Unusual Atmospherics: You require an unusual cocktail of atmospheric conditions to breathe. 8 Shared World: Your kind live on a world that is shared with another sapient people. 18 Observers: Your kind have been secluded from other peoples for ages, and outside contact is forbidden. 9 Inheritors: Your kind inherited high technology from another species, accelerating their ascent to the stars. 19 Ark: Your kind escaped a doomed world, and travel in one or more colony ships in search of a new home. 10 Quickling: Your kind live only three decades. 20 Long-Lived: Your kind live up to three centuries.

Chapter 1: Peoples of the Void 35 CREATING NEW SPECIES The GM might allow a player to use the process outlined for creating Mutants as if they were peoples of the Void, especially if you or a player desire additional species that are off the template of the human frame. If you do, roll a d20 on the Alien Quirk table, or contrive your own quirk with the GM. Many quirks will require you to work out certain details about your character, your home world, or the culture or history of your people. Some might leave you with lingering mysteries to address in your adventures. Try not to stare, kid. They’re just people. —Old Gus RADICAL DIFFERENCE There are even stranger peoples out there— sapient molecules, silicon intelligences that do not have a single body, beings of pure living energy, and those who have left one way of being behind for something else entirely. Descriptor: CSRD, page 38 Discovery, page 53 Destiny, page 40 Focus: CSRD, page 60 Discovery, page 58 Destiny, page 55 Mutants: Discovery, page 397 Quirks: Aliens might have more than one quirk. Additional quirks are provided in the NearHuman Quirk table on the previous page. ALIEN QUIRK d20 Description d20 Description 1 Uncouth Excretions: You emit a substance or gas which repulses those unfamiliar with your nature. 11 Expansionist: Your kind are fleet-builders and conquerors. You held a military rank, but no longer. 2 Lost: You’re not even supposed to be here: you might have been abducted, or you are a lost explorer. 12 Strife: Your kind are engaged in a bitter civil war over politics, religion, or the application of technology. 3 Immersed. You were raised among another people, and can fluently understand their communication. 13 Fallen Empire: Your kind held high regard once, but times change, and your people are on the wane. 4 Pilgrim: Your kind are insular, but in dire need. You have been tasked to find a solution to the problem. 14 Lost History: Your kind are clearly old, but their history is a mysterious blank. 5 Revolutionary: Something terrible is going on amongst your people, and you need help from the outside to put a stop to it. 15 High-Gravity Evolution: You have two assets you can apply to high-gravity maneuvering tasks, but your movement tasks are hindered in other gravities. 6 Small: Your kind are smaller than most species, standing 3 feet (1 m) tall or less. Your size is an inconvenience in spaces made for other peoples. 16 Low-Gravity Evolution: You have two assets you can apply to low-gravity maneuvering tasks, but your movement tasks are hindered in other gravities. 7 Large: Your kind are larger than most species, standing 10 feet (3 m) tall or more. Your size is an inconvenience in spaces made for other peoples. 17 Zero-Gravity Evolution: You have two assets you can apply to zero-gravity maneuvering tasks, but your movement tasks are hindered in other gravities. 8 Bioluminescent: Your kind use bioluminescence to communicate. In addition to your own kind, you can sense complex flashes and patterns from other people who communicate this way. 18 Unusual Atmosphere: Your kind emerged on a world with a heavy atmosphere. You require a suit artifact to participate in activities with other cultures, but your home world is not desirable to others. 9 Combine Species: Your species is a combine, requiring participation of two species—the relationship might be mutualistic, parasitic, or symbiotic. 19 Extradimensional Origin: Your kind emerged from the unknown. Work with the GM to determine why, and how the traversal changed you and your kind. 10 Hybrid: You are the unlikely offspring of two species. 20 Endling: It seems you are the last of your kind.

Chapter 2: Panganglia 36 Chapter 2 PANGANGLIA Illustration by Fllad Shehu — https://digitalfllad.artstation.com WHAT IS PANGANGLIA? Set somewhere beside—but not quite overlooking the Ninth World, Eons ago, the selfprofessed leaders of Panganglia made a bargain with visitants, with consequences they could scarcely have comprehended—that the planet would be used for “authorized storage”. To say that the rest is history would be an understatement. The planet became a dumping ground, causing all manner of ecological, political, and technological disruption. Mutant creatures reactivated automatons roam the land, warlords possess technology beyond their reckoning, and yet people continue to thrive. Panganglia is an alien junkyard. HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE NINTH WORLD? In addition to most folk knowing more about the source of the Numenera—even if they don’t understand what it all is or how it works, this setting takes a slightly lighter-at-heart approach, and is welcoming of recognizable earth analogues. In addition to more serious literary speculative fiction, influences from a few Saturday-morning cartoon and space spoofs are appropriate. In addition to good old pulp adventure, adventures on Panganglia might involve building a reputation among off-world aliens, exploring ruins and powerful technology, uncovering the alien conspiracy that seemingly rules the planet, or constructing or repairing a vessel to leave the planet on your own accord. Literary Influences: Douglas Adams Octavia Butler Samuel Delaney Ursula K. Le Guin Kurt Vonnegut TV and Film Influences: Farscape (1999) Krull (1983) MST3K (1988) Pirates of Darkwater (1991) Thundarr the Barbarian (1980) Zardoz (1974)

Chapter 2: Panganglia 37 MUTANTS Mutation is increasingly common on Panganglia. Scorned and hunted in some places, and revered as individuals with holy gifts in others, mutants are like anyone else: people making the best of their situation. Those with extreme mutations sometimes attempt to pass themselves off as a visitant if they feel it is advantageous to their station in life. VISITANTS Compared to the bulk of the Ninth world, Panganglia is dense with visitants. Most are lost souls—junkers, information dealers, explorers, the highly religious, or seekers of something long-lost or discarded. Few visitants seem interested in governing. Some folk find their lack of meddling in life on the planet the most disturbing thing about them, and as-ever when the irrational meets the impatient, violence against off-worlders is not unheard of. Conventional wisdom dictates that it is unwise to harm them, though—one never knows what sort of contacts they might have. Visitants use this reputation to their advantage, and most lead private lives with few confidants. Perhaps most frustrating to some citizens of Panganglia is the Unspoken Embargo—for whatever reason, no one who ever leaves the surface and enters orbit ever seems to return. Illustration by Miro Petrov — https://soulsurvivor.artstation.com Illustration by David Auden Nash — https://auden.artstation.com PANGANGLIAN POPULATION d100 Population 1–85 Human(ish) 86–98 Mutant 99–00 Visitant WHAT ARE THE VISITANTS HIDING? Well, there’s no authoritative answer to that, at least not just yet. If this setting sounds remotely compelling to you, the GM can use the following questions to drive adventure design: • Whose junk is it, and does it do? • Who left it here? Why didn’t they want it anymore? • So much is lost to history. What was the nature of the original agreement between the planet’s so-called “leaders”, and who was the agreement with? • What is the true nature of the Unspoken Embargo? • What happens to people who leave the surface? Why do they never return? It is unwise to harm off-worlders. One never knows what contacts they might have. Mutants: Discovery, page 397 Peoples: Chapter 1 Visitants: Discovery, page 394 Unspoken Embargo: Most visitants are not forthcoming about their people, their home worlds, or their true intentions toward Panganglia, nor do they provide answers as to what happens to those who seem to manage to pierce the sky.

Chapter 2: Panganglia 38 NPC NAMES IN PANGANGLIA Consider an unconventional naming method for Panganglians— Try names that are easy to pronounce, and include amusing phonesthetics players will remember! Save any complex conlang for visitants and extradimensional travelers. Amelia Bibbles Aroma LeStrange Bambo Boyd Bodwell Banjo Strauss Barbara Seville Barn Babcock Bartholomew Sandwich Basil Ficklefitz Basil Nufar Baxter Bunthrust Beaver Holliday Becky Pretzels Beerificus Keglifter Biff Bunglehouse Bigly Jones Bill Silly Bitsy Shillelagh Bleppy Sunshine Boothroid Binkyson Brent Bimms Bulk Queerly Burton Womble Butch Chastity Butternut Crinklefries Cassidy Wobblytop Celebration Padlet Cheesebone Habit Cherri Snugglebites Chidely Gented Chip Dipdown Chudd Scrubber Chunky Rivers Cinnamon Swizzlestick Clementine Dangerops Colleen Teeters Corey Adderall Cornelia Fudge Cornelius Cockroft Croccoli Zoup Crumb Drubbins Curt Cockings Dale Dickoff Dallas Tickborne Danzig Krapper Deep Weebly Deepmore Breathely Dick Zenormus Dickie Phumble Dill Piccolo Dingus Gries-Berger Doc Tabasco Dorcas Hoar Dorothy Dickensheets Dusti Tomes Eduardo Pantoufle Egg Yolkio Ella Badmeats Elvis Depressly Eve Cherry Fajita Cologne Fingle Dingell-Zinke Firmalbert Timinine Fithy Shortstack Flotpassant Potkin Framoncis Bartelot Fraulein Sausageball Freelance Gigman Fried Watersack Funky Freedman Gabbabeembo Greybeard Gadabout Plenty Gallagher McGillicuddy Gavin Goodlunch Gertrude Octothorpe Glory Knickerbocker Goldie Merengue Gorpin Greenass Gretchen Widdershins Griff Plateau Grummy Tumbles Grysmonious Arsewell Gucci Schtruggletwitz Hakuna M’Bofa Hal Pescozo Hamlet Scrambles Hapless Johnson Harcourt Farquardt Harden McKnight Harrison Harrisson III Harry Numbertoo Herbert Oatcake Herman Neutics Higgens Harshbarger Honalia Attlebee Hubert Boobert Ian Dongle Itchy Fritzspazzle Jamal O’Nuts Jarvis Crockpot Jeremy Mimosa Johnny Bananas Joshua Grahamcracker Jumbles Mulligan Kelsie Strange Knuckles Pesto Kristal Musico Kristi Pringle Leather Peacock Lane Changer Lemoncello Freshly Lolli Lilburn Long Wand Bambadjan Lou Dabbington Mark Scoots Matt Slaps Matthew Juicer Milky Winkerstein Moonbeam Hillsgoth Mozzarella Rella Neffie Beaumont Newt Spellman Nicodemus Peppercorn Noodle Cupp Norma Frost Novocaine Voidscar Nugget Honeycock Nutmeg Shavings Odius Croke Ogglethorp Peeslosh Olivia Branch Pamela Peamore Patsy Bologna Peak Norman Pepper Tiddy Perrier Footswell Perspiria Cleavage Phatty Gummo Phil Thundercunk Piccolous Cage Pickles Soprano Pita Nutso Poppet Spunker Poppy Sourdough Porphyrius Buttrick Potta Greed Proud Footnote Pumpkin Toadlet Quabeen Dubeerubose Queenie Bumpass Quentin P. Shartbarf Quick Dicken Rawhide Johnson Righteous Snarfington Rinky Rye Roe Fabulous Saffron Sutton Scam Likely Scumbiglio Zanzibart Sham Rampies Shroom Roomba Simone Starkweather Skeffington Liquorish Skim Lucky Slinky Jingles Slip Littles Sloppy Alumina Smoke Emote Smork Alam Splorchy Krombopulos Strawberry Rathbone Susan Smallholder Syd Milqus Tabbi Ruckus Taradiddle Whiffler Teazel Phablet Thomas Glovely Thrombus Cocteau Thurgood Shartwell Tim Trumpets Toebeans Maguire Topper McNabb Tots DeVito Trollop Hauser Turbo Bushwhack Vic Titball Wat Bulkup Waxy Bigfist Willhelm Willoughby William Witherdick Yelnick McWawa Zack Fiction

Chapter 2: Panganglia 39 Illustration by Alejandro Burdisio — https://burda.artstation.com/ HTTPS://MRKWNZL.GITHUB.IO/RANDOM-ODDITIES ONLINE ODDITY GENERATOR NUMENERA FORMS This online generator can be used generate forms for cyphers, artifacts, and oddities. It provides a prompt for you to use in three descriptors: Quality, Property, and Form. You don’t need to use every descriptor in the prompt. For example, an Ultrasonic Air Reverie might be a device that plays loud music, just at a frequency humans can’t hear. A mutant or alien visitant who can hear it might be willing to pay quite a bit to enjoy the sounds it produces. ODDITIES Additionally, it is encouraged to make use of Oddities in this setting. Each time oddities are found, roll from the Oddity Modifier table once, and apply its results to one found oddity. D20 Oddity Modifier 1–16 — 17 A matched pair 18 Set of 1d6 + 2 (missing 1d3 pieces) 19 Complete set of 1d6 + 2 pieces. 20 This specialty good is worth a considerable amount of iotum to the right buyer, or they are willing to exchange a cypher or artifact for it. Record its name and look for an opportunity to use it. For the remainder of this chapter, we’ll explore a few possible locations on Panganglia’s in a little more detail. You can use this material or invent your own to add to the Panganglian setting and story! Oddities: Discovery, pages 308 1d3: You can roll a d6, and divide the number by 2 (rounded up): 1–2: 1 3–4: 2 5–6: 3 Iotum: Destiny, pages 107

Chapter 2: Panganglia 40 Illustration by Dixon Xie — https://dicksonxie.artstation.com MIDDENHEAP Middenheap is a backwater fishing village, by all accounts. Here, abhumans, mutants (especially those with aquatic adaptations) and offworlders gather in peace, far from the prying eyes of those who demand a more conventional sense of “normalcy”. Fortune-hunters, explorers and traders occasionaly pass through, usually arriving by boat. THE SURROUNDING AREA The deep, murky red waters of the river are filled with aggressive, cannibalistic fuglicanthus fish. Fuglicanthus are plentiful and nutritious, their thick scales can be used to produce basic armor, and their tusks are suitable for scrimshaw, a favored artisanal pastime of Middenheap’ residents. Somewhere in the river dwells Ogopogo, the river terror—an enormous mutant fuglicanthus that occasionally attacks the boats of fisherpeople. Blushgrass: A wide grassland rich in unstable floatstone, featuring the ruins of seventy-two towers. Fibremarsh: A dense untamable jungle swamp, patrolled by an ancient machine, and a perfect place to hide for those who don’t wish to be found. Junkwastes: A dangerous wasteland plagued with standstorms that bury and un-bury valuable salvage. Illustration by David Edwards — https://everlite.artstation.com Fuglicanthus: Roll 1d6 to determine the fuglicanthus’ level: 1–2: Level 1 3–4: Level 2 5: Level 3 6: Level 4 A fuglicanthus wrestles against fishing line at one level higher. A fuglicanthus is 3 feet (1m) long for each level. GM Intrusion: Ogopogo devours the fish on the line and attacks the fisher. Ogopogo: level 8; 30 health, 1 armor, wrestles against fishing line as level 10; swims a long distance

Chapter 2: Panganglia 41 Illustration by Juan Noveletto — https://juannovelletto.artstation.com Please, just call me “Chubby”, everybody does. “Chubby DiGiorno”! Smerg, smerg, smerg—This is very funny in your language, yes? Chubby: level 6; 1 Armor; tasks related to cooking; hospitality, sensing motives, and positive social interaction as level 7; tasks related to memorizing, remembering, negotiating, and understanding Numenera as level 8 MIDDENHEAP NPCS Middenheap’s full-time residents are mostly fisherpeople, farmers, and scrimshaw artisans. A not insignificant portion of the population is itinerant: traders who run the gamut of the wide river, scavengers who traverse the nearby wildernesses. BABEL MATRIX Type: Artifact Level: 6 Form: Brooch Effect: Within one minute of exposure to a language, the user can understand and communicate reciprocally with another speaker of that language. The matrix produces only literal translations of individual words. Nuance, idiom and other untranslatable linguistic oddities such as difficult cultural or philosophical concepts must be deciphered and explained on their own. Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check each time a new language is added to the matrix) CHU-BI D’JUR-NOH Gregarious, hospitable, and always simultaneously cooking up some sort of deal and fish, Chu-bi D’jur-noh, or “Chubby”, is the Humna-Humna proprietor of the Scented Squid, a tavern, bar and rumor mill off the docks in Middenheap with its eponymous signature dish. Chubby is a busybody and insists on knowing everything about everybody, and has a capable memory to keep track of it all. Information Dealer: The Scented Squid is a front for Chubby’s real busines in the information trade. In addition to the Truth, Chubby can speak at least a dozen off-world languages with fluency, and possesses a Babel Matrix— an invaluable artifact when wheeling and dealing with an endless stream of unfamiliar folk and visitants. Epicurean Delights: Chubby keeps a limited supply of off-world delicacies in stock usually for visiting dignitaries. They are generally not otherwise for ale, but they occasionally share with a trusted friend. Failsafe: If threatened Chubby will retreat to a safe room (Level 8) under the Scented Squid. If a successful series of scans and security protocols are input, an escape pod launches Chubby and up to two others into orbit. Humna-Humna: Chapter 1 The Scented Squid: A seafood restaurant, bar, grille, watering hole and rumor mill boasts several private booths for conducting business. Chubby and the staff cater to a wide variety of needs, including room and board, finding work for skilled itinerants and treasure hunters, light entertainment, and dealing in strategic gossip among travelers and fortune-hunters. Proprietor: Chubby has had many limb-grafts over the year, and is exceedingly proud of their arms and legs, which cost a fortune. They use them for public displays of cooking, serving, and preparing libations within view of their customers.

Chapter 2: Panganglia 42 Illustration by Rudy Siswanto — https://crutz.artstation.com AQUATIC FOLK Aquatic mutants and abuhmans make up a disproportionate number of Middenheap’s fisherpeople. Word of the fishermen of Middenheap has spread wide enough that it has become a draw to gather with their own kind. Some fully aquatic citizens build their homes within the river and the subterranean caves underneath it, rising to the surface only to trade. Most prefer the found family of their underwater society to that of air-breathers. Illustration by Ari Targownik — https://nuclearwarriorartstation.com SCAVVERS Scavvers make their living exploring the Junkwastes, delving into newly uncovered ancient ruins, or making important deliveries across the unforgiving dunes and winds. The seedier and more unscrupulous operations that are no longer welcome to do business at the Scented Squid have set up a competing establishment—the Red Glare. Whichever they prefer, most scavvers are not to be trifled with. Some go mad with prolonged exposure to the Junkwastes, and the unsuccessful turn to banditry. However, the citizens of Middenheap are easily underestimated. Few attackers think about potential reinforcements emerging from the river depths. ELOWARIN YNWARIN Over a millennium in age, Ynwarin is living in a self-imposed exile, choosing an unremarkable world far away from his own kind. He makes his home in the ruins of a ship with a great glass canopy for a window. The interior is a greenhouse where Ynwarin cultivates medicinal plants from on and off-world. Universally beloved by the community for the many miracles he has performed, his stoic placidity stands in stark contrast to Chubby’s effervescence. Healer: Spending time alone with Ynwarin in his sanctum grants a creature a free 1-hour recovery roll once each day. Ynwarin charges nothing for these services, but there is frequently a queue of 1d2 + 1 others awaiting them. Sanctum: Ynwarin’s sanctum has a working gravity-shift plate, so visitors must be prepared to shift their gravity 90 degrees when entering it (a difficulty 3 Speed task— increased by 2 steps if the change is unexpected). Illustration by Dzhovanna Sallama — https://jovannasallama.artstation.com Elowarin: Chapter 1 Ynwarin: level 6; tasks related to gardening, healing, and calming as 8; sings as level 9

Chapter 2: Panganglia 43 Illustration by Jian Jian — https://k123987kik.artstation.com BLUSHGRASS The blushgrass is a shifting steppe rich in floatstone deposits, and named for the red-pink hue of the grass that grows upon it. The cottonball bushes wave in a gentle breeze, and sunsets bathe the entire landscape in a peaceful pink light which hides the land’s many dangers. One never knows when a floatstone deposit will fully detach from the surface, or when its impurities will eventually pull it back to the surface. This makes it an occasionally treacherous landmass to traverse through for the unprepared. Some unprepared adventurers starve on a floating rock, with nothing but a spectacular view for consolation or a deadly fall as salvation from hunger. THE SEVENTY-TWO TOWERS A scattered line of seventy-two fanned towers, 100-feet tall, arranged in a long line that spans the blushgrass, each visible from the last. These ancient ship hulls have mostly all been emptied of useful salvage but remain structurally sound. They are inhabited by iterant groups, scavengers, bandits, mutant tribes, or others as a temporary or permanent base of operations. BLUSHGRASS CREATURES • Tentaclamb (1) • Howlerjowl (2) • Venephant (4) Illustration by Izzy Medrano — https://izzymedrano.artstation.com Floatstone: Discovery, page 98 Destiny, page 159 GM Intrusion: The landmass detaches from the surface, rising into the air at a rate of 5 feet (1.5 m) per second. Tentaclamb: level 1; roams the blushgrass, feeding on insects and detritus exposed by recently broken-off floatstone deposits. Chapter 3: Creatures Howlerjowl, Venephant Ever Wonder? Why are the blushgrass and river red?

Chapter 2: Panganglia 44 Illustration by MWARTOVA— https://mamwartovaa.artstation.com FIBREMARSH The fibremarsh is a wealth of dense, biodiverse vegetation. Tangled masses of roots twine together and fight for nutrition, making for tangled webs of solid ground and plenty of places to lose your footing. A perfect place to hide things or people, the swamp is patrolled by a Fecund Stimulator which replenishes and regrows the environs, making the shifting patches of vegetation difficult to navigate for the uninitiated. FIBREMARSH CREATURES • Glumphing Poozer (1) • Debbie Warren (2) • Oggerfrot (3) • Chonkisaurus (3) • Fecund Stimulator (8) Illustration by Virgile Boulais — https://virgile.artstation.com Oggerfrots are frequent targets of the stimulator’s wrath. Oggerfrot: level 3; treecutting, woodworking and dam building as level 5 Chapter 3: Creatures Chonkisaurus, Debbie Warren, Fecund Stimulator, Glumphing Poozer

Chapter 2: Panganglia 45 Illustration by Sergey Musin — https://samfx.artstation.com JUNKWASTES The junkwastes constitute a good portion of Panganglia’s surface. These are the site of some of the richest salvage, and some of the greatest dangers on the planet. THE SOUTHERN SUN Cloistered in the ruins of an abandoned interstellar vessel, the Southern Sun is a society ruled by wrights who keep the water vaporators and food replicators functioning for a number of citizens determined by an ancient machine called the Allocator. Each citizen is assigned a numerical value based on their ability to repair, defend, or foster trade, and anyone whose score reaches zero is expelled into the hostile wastes. PINNACLE Pinnacle’s glittering skyscrapers are remnant of a time where alien technology on the planet was more effectively harnessed by the population. Few such places remain. No one ever seems to enter, and no one ever seems to leave, but bright lights shine behind mirrored windows at night, and flying machines ferry someone—or something—between the glittering peaks. Illustration by David Villegas — https://deivcalviz.artstation.com JUNKWASTE CREATURES • Carcilian Fan-tail (3) • Varg (4) • Carcillian Strider (5) • Tripod Annihiliator (6) Carcilian Fan-tail: level 3; smells as level 5; burrows and climbs craggy rocks as level 6 Wright: Destiny, page 18 Chapter 3: Creatures Carcilian Strider, Solifuge, Varg

Chapter 3: Creatures of Panganglia 46 Chapter 3 CREATURES OF PANGANGLIA Illustration by Ivan Vujovic — https://vujovic.artstation.com CREATURES While most of the creatures presented in this volume were designed with a science fantasy setting mind, but they may be useful in other settings as well. UNDERSTANDING THE LISTINGS For the basic rules on how to read and use a creature’s description, consult the Understanding the Listings sections of your favorite Cypher System rulebook. Illustration by Jeremy Gardner — https://jeremygardner5074.artstation.com Pearl Strider: level 4; withstands ocean currents as level 6; can’t be knocked prone Understanding the listings: CSR, page 312 Discovery, page 222

Chapter 3: Creatures of Panganglia 47 CHONKISAURUS 3 (9) Chonkisaurus are terrors of the swamp. They won’t kill you, but they’ll make your life a living hell, and laugh about it to your face. Chonkisaurus are slow, rambunctious swamp dwellers roughly 15 feet (4.5 m) long, with a large fin that protrudes from their spine. Chonkisaurus are more inconvenience than direct hazard. Swamp herbivores have it easy, and chonkisaurus have no trouble availing themselves of local vegetation. They love to eat fish, but are often too stupid or lazy to bother with hunting for themselves. Their thick armor makes them mostly unafraid of other creatures, and they love to throw their weight around, inconveniencing any other creature they can. They travel in family groups of 1d6 + 1. They are known to emit a chuffing grunt, which sounds like a human guffaw. Motive: Entertainment Environment: Swamp Health: 9 Damage Inflicted: 3 Armor: 2 Movement: Immediate; swims a short distance Modifications: Breaks objects as level 4; can’t be knocked prone; smells as level 6. Combat: Chonkisaurus mostly don’t fight, only break objects, deal minor damage, and then retreat underwater, where they can hold their breath for several hours. Interaction: A chonkisaurus is more annoying than dangerous. They are easily outrun, and their thick armor makes them indolent. However, if you have proved entertaining to a chonkisaurus, they can follow you by water, returning to torment you like a bad penny. Use: Chonkisaurus savage the adventurer’s camp, ruining meals, tents, equipment. Illustration by Izzy Medrano — https://izzymedrano.artstation.com GM Intrusion: The chonkisaurus breaks a favored piece of equipment, cypher, or artifact.

Chapter 3: Creatures of Panganglia 48 DEBBIE WARREN 2 (6) A gang of 48ebbie warrens can strip a person of their flesh in under a minute. They are curious, persistent, and will use every member of their pack to obtain a meal—or a shiny object. Debbie warrens roam treetops in packs of 1d6 + 4 members. Motive: Feed Environment: Forest, jungle, swamp Health: 2 Damage Inflicted: 2 points (+1 for each swarming 48ebbie warren) Movement: Short, long when gliding Modifications: Perception as level 4; tasks related to tracking and stealth as level 5; charms and entices creatures unfamiliar with its nature as level 6 Combat: Debbie warrens swarm their foes with tearing claws and gnashing teeth. Each additional 48ebbie warren in immediate range becomes a part of the swarm (using its action that turn), and attacks a a creature whose level is equal to the number of 48ebbie warrens in the swarm (to a maximum of 10). Interaction: Debbie warrens will entice passersby by looking adorable and begging for food, before summoning their gang from the trees and swarming the unsuspecting victim. Use: A local lumberjack, herbalist, or another individual has gone missing in a nearby wilderness. Illustration by Jehan Choo — https://styloren.artstation.com GM Intrusion: The Debbie warren and its pack members chew a limb to the bone, rendering it useless until it heals or is regenerated, which could take weeks.

Chapter 3: Creatures of Panganglia 49 FECUND STIMULATOR 8 (24) Left behind by creators unknown, fecund stimulators carry out their endless task of fostering plant life and preventing deforestation. A fecund stimulator is a biomechanical automaton. It mostly ignores other beings and focuses its efforts on fostering new plant growth among reeds, trees, and rivers. Floating high above the canopy, it releases a stream of nanites conducive to plant growth. A thick armor of regenerating living vines protects the automaton within, making them a difficult creature to battle, even for those who frequently battle machines. Motive: A fecund stimulator accelerates the degradation of dead organic matter by stimulating bacterial and fungal growth, summoning insects from underground. It can also pollenate plants that lack a suitable mate. Its prime directive is environmental protection of a specific ecosystem. Environment: Forest, jungle, swamp Health: 24 Damage Inflicted: 8 Armor: 3 Movement: Long; flying, hovering Modifications: Scans for life through wood and foliage as level 10; regenerates 1d6 health each turn; emits a hum audible at a very long distance Combat: Fecund stimulators inspire hostile pathogens, necrotizing nanites, stinging insects, and poisonous fungi to subdue others. Their attacks against automatons are hindered. It can also unleash a cellular disruption ray at long range, which necrotizes flesh and disrupts electronics. Interaction: The stimulator sees complex and intelligent life as an insignificant but occasional obstacle. They will exterminate anything that cuts down trees or tampers too much with the natural evolution of the ecosystem they patrol. The fecund stimulator exudes an aura in short range which inspires worms, beetles, centipedes, stinging insects, and fungi to swell with activity, causing 1 ambient Speed damage each round. Use: The fecund stimulator flies erratic paths over its established territory. Damaging or setting ablaze its protected area will draw its attention and cause it to attack. Otherwise, it ignores other creatures entirely. Loot: Once disassembled with a successful Salvaging Numenera task, the fecund stimulator’s complex inner machinery yields appropriate iotum and parts. Illustration by Uros Sljivic — https://sljivic.artstation.com GM Intrusion: Spores, molds and fungus grow out of your orifices for the next week, hindering tasks where using your senses is required. Salvaging iotum, parts, and other Numenera: Destiny, page 108 Iotum Results: Destiny, page 110

Chapter 3: Creatures of Panganglia 50 GLUMPHING POOZER 1 (3) Poozers make for a good pet in any wet, biologically dense environment, reducing vermin and parasite populations. Skittish, generally docile, and not particularly fleet of foot, adult poozers are about 1 foot (30 cm) long, but can squeeze into holes—usually in the ground or in the trunks of trees—as small as 4 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter to avoid unwanted interactions. They’re also excellent climbers, able to suspend their weight even while upside-down on most surfaces using their feet, which are claws with sticky suction cups on the interior side of their six legs. Motive: Feed on vermin Environment: Jungle, swamp, urban Health: 2 Damage Inflicted: 1 Movement: Immediate Modifications: Smells, climbs, and grapples onto creatures and objects as level 4 Combat: The poozer can deliver a painful sting with its proboscis. If it is grappling or climbing on the target, defending against the attack is a level 3 Might or Speed task (defender’s choice). Interaction: Poozers can be approached by the slow, deliberate and patient. They are curious enough to climb on and investigate extremely still creatures. Some poozers develop symbiotic relationships with larger wildlife. By riding upon a larger creature, they gain protection from predators, and keep their host free of parasites in return. Poozers have good memories for creatures they know, trust, or have removed parasites from before, identifying them by smell. If reared from the time they are born, poozers can make a good and loyal pet, keeping households free of vermin. However, they require the same amount of daily water intake as a human being, and so are a luxury to own. Stories are also told of poozers who located—and even removed with surgical precision—external and even internal parasites from their owners. Use: A local menagerie owner or doctor needs a second poozer to begin a breeding program or to develop an antivenom supply for the local community. Illustration by Brian Valeza — https://tots.artstation.com GM Intrusion: The poozer climbs onto the target, placing itself in a difficult to reach or anatomically sensitive spot. Any attacks against the poozer while it remains in that spot are hindered by two steps, and unsuccessful attacks might damage the creature it is climbing on.