Monstrous Monday: The Faceless Deck

http://www.bgamers.com/gameparts.htm

Not all monsters are creatures; some are things. Outward signs of inward despair.

One of the countless cellae of the Gate House contains a completely blank deck of cards. At least, the other sides are blank as far as we know. The cards have never been turned over, and have never been touched. So we merely surmise that both sides are blank.

One day, centuries ago, this deck materialized inside its arcane prison cell in the Gate House. So it has to be a Monster from Beyond, in spite of the fact that it gives off no Radiance, unlike all the gods and demons in the other cellae. In fact, the cracks and fissures in the exterior walls of its cella all crater inwards. So it is possible that the cards are draining Radiance from other nearby cellae in the Gate House.

The exact nature of this deck of cards has been a subject of great controversy for centuries, but the Copyists and Visiting Scholars of the Gate House have reached some preliminary conclusions: The Faceless Deck must be some kind of Anti-Fortune Deck, a Misfortune ir Calamity Deck.

Each card is believed to be the antithesis of one of the Major Arcana, the Greater Forces that represent and govern the Multiverse, and give the million spheres their shapes and individuation. Yet they are not a true Antithesis, since the cards' energy blocks any Synthesis. There is no change, transition, evolution, growth, or development with these trumps - no Aufhaben - only the silent species named Annihilation.

These trumps have the power to make Arcana never have been.

If these cards were released from their cella - or even simply turned over and viewed  - entire worlds might disappear. The Deep Horizon might advance, consuming Otherway and numerous other worlds near the periphery. Eventually, the multiverse itself might unravel entirely.

And so the Nothing in this cella remains the Gate House's greatest secret - and trouble. Its walls are cracking; eventually they will crumble and fall.

The Copyists and Visiting Scholars who have contemplated The Faceless deck and its failing prison cell speculate that the Fall will come within 10 years - and possibly sooner. From their anonymous study chamber close by the failing cella, they have advanced possible solutions:

• Build a new, stronger cella, or perhaps a cella within a cella within a cella
• Build one new cella for each trump
• Burn the cards, one-by-one, in Dragon's Fire
• Drop the each of the cards into The Jar of the Ink Absolute
• Return the cards to their Source, each Copyist and Visiting Scholar who has seen the cards sewing one into their flesh and hurling themselves into the Radiance

Something must be done soon. A bulwark must be build against Annihilation.

Monstrous Mondays: The Eurypterid Kings

http://zoltantakacs.com/zt/pw/in/album.php?idx=2

The Eurypterid Kings are close cousins of the giant sea scorpions of the realm of The Shallow Seas. They ride on the backs of their giant cousins, looking for ships, barge-temples, or dry land upon which to crawl and find their true prey.

When they find someone of great discipline and skill - a patient fisherman, a martial nuns, or a deft swimmer - the Eurypterid King will mount that person and sting them. Their venom causes the victim great agony, but only the first time. With the second sting, the victim begins to hear the thoughts of the Eurypterid King. S/he will then be able to reinterpret the pain as great pleasure, as the ecstasy of the focused mind.

Concealment is the key. On an arm, a back, a torso, a thigh. Both the Eurypterid King and the person it rides will stay together and stay hidden, sting after sting. Together, the victim and his/her passenger will do great things - become a Fisherman-King, a Poison Abbot, or a Legendary Dragon-Road Swimmer.

Eventually, though, the poison becomes too much. After a few years, the victim must go into hiding. It's the smell... they retain their discipline, skill, and focus but their body is rotting, covered in suppurating necrotic flesh wounds. Skin finally sloughs off limbs, and the victim collapses into a final fever. The Eurypterid King dies with its victim. But just before their mutual deaths, a thousand small eggs burst open on the victim's body - one from inside each boil made by a scorpion sting.

Dozens of these will escape detection and slip into the sea, so that the Eurpterid King's life cycle can begin again.

Everway Mechanics:

Eurypterid King (Creature)

The Elements:

• Fire 2 - Skitter to Safety (3)
• Earth 2 - Exoskeleton (3)
• Air 6 - Coach for Greatness (7)
• Water 6 - Sense Greatness (7)

Powers:

• Ecstasy of Focus (2 point power) - The scorpion's sting brings its victim intense focus, excellence, and joy in creation
• Concealed Ride (1 point power) - Scorpion is gifted at concealing its presence on the human person

Monstrous Mondays: The Demon Sultan

Virginia Frances Sterrett
http://cizgilimasallar.blogspot.com/2011/09/
virginia-frances-sterrett-arabian.html

An exiled potentate from Beyond, The Demon Sultan was the first ambassador to take up residence in the city of Otherway. The Demon Sultan dwells deep in the caverns below the city's Embassy Tower, which rose from the ground in a single day and night after his arrival. Within his caverns, The Demon Sultan engages in fine dining with the occasional visitor and sharpens his nails on the roots of Gate Trees.

His name is a nonsense word from one of the multitude of languages in the Beyond. Quite unpronounceable by mortals, The Demon Sultan's name has been said to sounds like a fever blister or the din of a thousand love-smitten wasps spurned by a Ruk. You won't hear these sounds when you approach his caverns though. Your feet will be making too much noise of their own. Crunch, crunch, crunch your feet will go when you approach his caverns: a carpet of insect exoskeletons crushes under your as you approach His Excellency Below.

A few visitors to his caverns have struck strong bargains with The Demon Sultan. Among the great families of Otherway, you can tell these people from the bluish cast of their skin. It is said that the demon's blood runs in these families' veins, and that as a result of this, their diets and appetites have become rather eccentric. During his annual month of fasting, The Demon Sultan will take up residence in one or more of their homes.

Visitors to Otherway are cautioned to buy one of the simple protective amulets sold in Otherway's Gate Market. Without some form of protection, The Demon Sultan can spell you into his caverns and then proceed to feast on your flesh. Many travelers dismissive of the local customs have found themselves lost forever in precisely this way. Most Otherwayans take no chances; they have a midwife tattoo protective charms on their children as soon as they are born.

Monstrous Mondays: The Tikbalang

Art by Kajo Baldismo
"Trese" komiks serieshttp://www.comicscube.com/2010/09/
fresh-off-read-pile-trese-1-3.html

The Tikbalang are tall, long-armed, red-eyed, cigar smoking creatures with the heads of horses. They are notorious for sneaking up on people in jungle forests. They live on islands throughout the Sitting Dog Archipelago on the sphere of Wingspan.

Their favorite sport is waylaying lonely nighttime travelers as they make their way though the forest from one village to another. The Tikbalang hide in the trees until they spot someone passing by their perch. When they hear a victim approaching, the Tikbalang will quietly light a cigar, and begin puffing out a thick miasma of smoke. Soon, the traveler will no longer be able to see moon and stars through the trees. They will become lost and confused. And dizzy.

At that moment, the Tikbalang will use his very long arms to swing down from the trees and quietly drop just behind the unsuspecting traveler. Using their powers of illusion to confuse and bewilder their prey, they will impersonate a long-lost relative of the now-confused traveler. They will offer to help guide the traveler to their destination. After a short while, the Tikbalan will turn and reveal its true appearance, and the family member's face will dissolve into a leering horse's head. The last thing the victim will see is the Tikbalang's long fingers closing around his or her neck.

In the days to come, a relative of the victim may come across their loved one during a nighttime walk between two villages...

The Tikbalang are increasingly found on many other spheres. This has led some scholars to speculate that the Tikbalang can Spherewalk. Look carefully the next time you enter the smoke-filled back room of a merchant house. Today the Tikbalang frequently use their gifts of illusion, impersonation, and deception for financial gain.

EVERWAY MECHANICS

Elements:

• Fire 5 
• Earth 5  
• Air 4 
• Water 3 

Powers:

• Image of Kin (3 point power): The Tikbalang may impersonate one of a person's kinfolk until making an attack.
• Blow Smoke (2 point power): The Tikbalang may confuse, bewilder, and dizzy someone by blowing  a nauseating miasma of cigar smoke into their vicinity.

Monstrous Monday: Shadow People

"Shadow People" image by Robert & Mihaela Vicolhttp://publicphoto.org/people/shadow-people/
attachment/shadow-people_ghost_71583/

Sometimes you can feel them behind you. Just don't look. If you look, they may grab hold of you and eat your shadow. The Shadow People congregate near Gates. When you pass through a Gate, close your eyes. Just before crossing the threshold, ignore anything you might see in your peripheral vision. And whatever you do, don't look back! If you see one of the Shadow People, they will be able to touch and hitch a ride on you.

No one is entirely sure where the Shadow People come from or what they are. The Keeper family, as Gate guardians see them the most, and believe they are the ghosts of Spherewalkers who have died far from their homes - or worse yet, have died while walking between the worlds.

Shadow People release their victims once they have passed through into another Realm. But the Spherewalkers they ride are forever changed by the experience: they no longer cast a shadow. Sometimes they also have new memories... of terrible past deeds.

Everway Mechanics:

Shadow People (Creature)

The Elements:

• Fire 1 
• Earth 1  
• Air 3 
• Water 6  

Powers:

• Consume Spherewalker's Shadow - 2 point power.  This power can only be used if the Shadow Person a touches a Spherewalker; effect is permanent, and reduces Spherewalker's Water Score by 3 to a minimum of 1.
• Ride Spherewalker - 2 point power. If a Spherewalker directly looks at a Shadow Person, the Shadow Person will be able to touch and thereby ride the Spherewalker through one Gate and out another Gate into a different Realm.
• Gatestalk - 2 point power. A Shadow Person can move silently and invisibly beside or behind a Spherewalker, but may never cross directly in front of one. Once approached, the Spherewalker is likely to feel the Shadow Person's presence and begin looking for a nearby spirit. If the Spherewalker's Water score is higher than the Shadow Person's Water score, the Spherewalker may close or avert their eyes to avoid seeing the Shadow Person.