Gateway to the Megaverse

A Star Lost

Erick Wujcik was a master at his craft. While writing some new material that I planned to see in Rifter #47, I heard of his death. A tragedy for sure. I hope that there is a place for that master of the dice and nice. I regret that I didn't get to meet him even once. I hope that I don't make the same mistake with Kevin. One of these days I plan to get to Michigan just don't know when. I hope that I get the chance to go to one of those open houses. At any rate, God bless the gamer that is missing from the worlds table. We will miss you.

New Ideas of Nightbane

Originally I thought of creating a new idea for Nightbane with ideas about the Sea or Pirates but that idea has already been done with Pirates of the Caribbean. So things have changed with ideas about Nightbane in ancient times with a tribal war or clan war of something like that. Its just an idea but I think that something that tied the true Illuminati or Knights of the True Templar or something cool like that.
I would like to incorperate Vampires and Were beasts in the whole thing but again it would be a secret behind the true powers that ruled Europe. At any rate I will have to think more about it. As for Cyberbane I have some new editors who are going to take a look at it before it hits Palladium's front door. To say the least though, its turning really into something cool.
By the way the image to the left is the inspiration for what I have been doing for Cyberspace.

Hemo-Techno

I ran across some old stuff that I had developed in my Utah days (over a year ago). It was interesting to come across some great idea. By the way its Hemo with an 'E' not 'O' It means Blood Machine (or at least is the roots for that). It turned out to be an idea that I was kicking around that involved the Blood Shaman and Techno-Wizard. It was a bit dark and twisted version of Blood magic and the power of perservation of P.P.E. in a jar. I haven't figured it all out yet but I will get it posted soon.

Information of the Factions

Notable new characters and factions in Cyberspace
The Factions
Its note easily noted about the difference between the various factions that reside in the just the realm of Cyberspace but to say the least, they are real and as active as the other factions on the Physical Layer. Along with their diversely different core beliefs and quirks are their wildly unique leaders and lieutenants.
Physical Layer Factions
The Shadow Board: Although this group is detailed in another book (Through the Glass Darkly), it should be noted that this group is widely and sporadically involved in the actions of Cyberspace. Not all members know about the realm of Cyberspace so action among members of this fractured Faction is sparse and infrequent. It has only been recently noted that there could be a Cyberspace outside of the Web and that such rumors could lead to a new war on an entirely new battlefield.
The Grid: These humans are conspiracy theorists and are constantly on the hunt for anything suspicious. They do not believe in vampires or supernatural creatures (but aliens) and have created a bunch of theories about Dark Day and usually mix it up with stuff from various RPG’s and movies so it gets mixed up.
Originally they were so tied up in aliens invading and Area 51 they had no clue as to the power of the Nightlords or their secret war with the Nightbane. Since Dark Day, however, they have had a load to talk about; there has been so many monsters and weird phenomenon that it is widely ignored by all of the serious factions including the Nightlords. However there are some things that they have discovered that perhaps should be noted but they have not confirmed.
The show Nightlands and Dark Harbor (a New York cop vs. evil creatures secret invasion conspiracy theory) produced by Dark World Productions (Lilith) could be true but to get to this dark world is impossible as they have no one mystical in their ranks but the dreams of some are vivid.
Some one is attempting to poison the human populous. As to how they are is undetermined. Some suspect that it’s though cosmetics and sanitation products.
There is a new discovered element that when sharpened is sharper than anything that has been produced on earth.
Some programs in various computers especially the more complex have turned on their programming masters and may be attempting to either delete themselves or escape into a physical body.
The Beast is real, looking for every man woman and child and the apocalypse is happening with nothing to stop it.
The Nightlords: For the most part the Nightlords have ignored Cyberspace. There is however those that know full well that the cursed Nightbane can use their talent of Lightning Rider and leave the Physical Layer. To combat this, the Nightlords have funneled all of the online communication though thirteen servers that reside in thirteen points of the world. Along with the servers they have installed RES. The program flushes out Nightbane as they cannot conform to the various limits that are place on other creatures of the realm of Cyberspace. The only problem with the RES it’s at only the Physical Layer and cannot penetrate the deeper layers of the realm of Cyberspace. The Nightlords don’t see this as a problem as most Nightbane don’t enter the deeper layers but for only a split second unaware that they have even entered and exited a realm of existence. Their sudden jump puts them back in the RES and in the Physical Layer and once again exposed to the RES and its ‘magic’ to expose those that are not part of the program.

The other Layer Factions
The Net Daemons: The Resistance is to the Physical Layer (‘real’ world) as the Net Daemons are to the virtual one. Hundreds of Nightbane fight the Nightlords and all of their digital information attempting to confer clean data to the other factions like a invisible ghost while keeping poor data and misleading data in the hands of the Nightlords and any other clown that attempts to tap into this secret resource. This however is the lesser of two fronts that they are fighting.
The second one is fighting the creatures that the Nightlords have created (viruses) that have invaded their home (Cyberspace). Their first attempt is to fight the virus in the Physical Layer by breaking into the computer of vastly secured servers. For the first decade this was successful but the Nightlords got wise to the style of attack and have put stronger and stronger defenses in the RES making it almost impossible to get back into the Physical world without death or near death experience. This has limited the attacks to the RES directly and has directed them to fight the battles in Cyberspace. To kill this faction would require shutting down almost every electrical device and more importantly the thirteen servers that expand the globe.
Recruitment is almost always by accident as they are a new Nightbane that have not been cataloged by the RES and they slip in the world of Cyberspace. Encounters turn into a young Nightbane on the run in the cyber realm bumping into the RES and the various viruses attempting to catalog this ‘new program’. Roughly 40% get rescued from being destroyed. After they are put into a safe house that is usually disguised as a safe/common website and they are there taught about the world that they have entered and the possibility of not ever being able to get back.
The Net Daemons are captained by a Ancient Nightbane that is incapable of getting into the realm of Cyberspace (ironic) but a master of programming codes and the RES. Prior to the coming of Dark Day Jared West was a Nightbane that had got comfy in his possession as a entrepreneur and multi-billionaire (the seventies had been kind to him). As such he invested his time and talent developing what would later be the magical land of internet. Initially it was a military project and was very linear with no real potential. That’s when the genius met Millard Yates a master at programming and hardware building.
The two began building a series of prototypes for communicating electronically. In a matter of months the two had developed a program that could be used by any computer and convey a series of messages instantly though hard lines. Millard was not suspicious in the least that he was working with a supernatural creature like Jared. In the next two dozen years the two created a company that was a superpower among the people of the word.
Dark Day twisted this dream of Jared as when the Nightlords took over; they attempted to take over Jared and Millard’s company Peach Computers. The morning Millard didn’t report to work but a Doppler did. Jared did what any other Nightbane did and killed the Millard creature and released a press note that Millard died on Dark Day of a heart attach. He knew that he was now in danger. Though out his travels he had known other Nightbane and quickly contacted them and organized them into the Board; a group that would be the buffer that would be greeted before Jared. He also ordered that the Board stay in the building and find a way to enter and exit the building without detection. That is when the realm of Cyberspace was discovered.
Cyberspawn
Recruitment is similar to the scene from a sci-fi movie where there is an invisible force (the Beast) communicating with Nightbane prior to their Becoming that have been detected and invited to the realm of Cyberspace.
For most of these Nightbane it’s a dream come true to escape their freakish real world that has been turned up side down. Through a series of rigorous training simulations in the real world that help them recognize members of other factions and the Nightlord’s minions, the Net Daemon and any other being that frequents the place the Beast calls home. The final test comes when they are taught how to tap into their Morphus and transform creating a mark. Those that never succeed are left in the ‘real’ world with a email to the Nightlords as to where they live. If that doesn’t bring about their Becoming, they are usually dead by the following morning. The Nightlords do not know who this mysterious benefactor is and it has caused them to grow suspicious as their RES cannot trace the email or any details as to how their mysterious informant received information of Nightbane. Those that are lucky get to the more generous and forgiving Net Daemons. The only thing that draws suspicion is the strange barcode that is now permanently part of their Morphus.
The Cyberspawn are run by a mysterious benefactor that hunts down those that have not experienced their becoming but the face that is associated with the Cyberspawn and its minions is being called Barcode. Barcode is a Nightbane that has made an effort to call all his Nightbane minions/loyalists the Cyberspawn. He works directly for the Beast who he has never seen but has benefited extremely from. In the Physical Layer he is Ryan Young a young businessman who works directly with Dr. Zeiss (see Nightlands page 37) in her development of RES. His supernatural nature is carefully guarded and although the doctor is somewhat suspicious (she is suspicious of everyone just like her lord Lilith) she trust him just enough to work with the RES because he is such a vicious businessman and violent with his underlings (an effect working with the Beast). Young Mr. Young is constantly tuning his talent of Lighting Rider attempting to slip past the RES. So far because his closeness has paid off and no one in the faction of Cyberspawn have been ever been detected as he has made his Lightning Rider now an Elite Talent.

Adamantoplasma

Adamantoplasma is the fifth phase of matter. As pure energy condenses, it begins to follow the principles theorized by Einstein (E=MC2), energy is converted into matter. The matter is unstable due to the escaping non-materialized energy. To prevent the loss of matter, adamantoplasma requires a containing energy field (such as a magnetic field, a telekinetic field, or a ionic field). In short, adamantoplasma consists of small particles of matter surrounded by a matrix of pure energy. Each of these two substances are in constant resonance and flux. The energy matrix is much like a glue holding the matter together and providing a versatile shapeable form. Due to the constant flux between solid condensed energy to pure energy , adamantoplasma has properties of both of solid matter and pure energy. As the matter phases to energy one can observe a faint glow emanating from the matter. This glow is the escaping energy manifesting as visible and invisible photon emissions. All of these qualities give adamantoplasmic objects their unique properties. Adamantoplasmic properties can be control by the use of a proper containment field. Thus, the matter can be forced to display a solid form or the pure energy form as desired.

Research has found that telekinetic fields are the best containment fields for creating and harnessing adamantoplasma due to their versatility. Telekinesis allows the matter to be molded and bent into any any shape. Furthermore, this psionically based field can trigger the matter to react like pure energy; shifting from tangible to intangible with a mere thought.

Certain beings naturally are able to condense energy into adamantoplasma, while experimentation has shown that humans can also be endowed with this ability through brain stimulants and organic transplants. The manifestations of the ability to create and manipulate adamantoplasma are extensive. When given a stable energy source the creations are relatively endless.


NEW POWER: Matter Expulsion: Adamantoplasma (Major)
(see Comments that will follow for details in this power)

Mater Expulsion: Adamantoplasma
Range: 300 feet
Damage: 4D6 +2D6 per level of experience
Those immune to energy and kenetic attacks will feel no effect but if they are immune to one or the other will experience half damage; otherwise there is full damage to the character.

Spawn Runner

I cant get out of Cyberspace. There is no safe place to escape. I have attempted to use conventional means but the Nightlords have put up digital security to prevent me to leave by legal channels. I can't find an exit inside this part of the country.
The new anti virus in the digital realm appears as any version of the Nightlords minions. The Physical Layer is just as bad as the realm of Cyberspace. Like a labyrinth of wild twist and turns I have been running.
It was only three days ago that I lost my guide. I can at least say that I know of the presence of the Nightlords and the Beast in Cyberspace and the Internet. Both are ruthless and heartless antagonists against each other. Thousands of programs are created and die daily but are never noticed thanks to rapid duplication of programs.

I am terrified for my life. I may not survive.

More Paint

I didn't know that one of you would be so animate about the lack of a Alter Physical Structure: Paint. Just to let you know I did create it but never connected a character to it; until now...

Graffiti
No one knows who or what Graffiti is or was only that they talk always in the third person and that they are constantly laughing. Some speculate that the creature that was once Betty Irons is Graffiti as she was in a scaffolding accident that ended her billboard painting career. When she hit the ground there was a huge pile of colors as she was working with about 16 colors. No one could separate the blood from the paint and when she was carted away that was all anyone remembered. Months passed by and the incident was forgotten.
When Graffiti came into the picture she was a swirl of colors and the only thing true to a human being was that it was female in shape and had white pupils for eyes. Its first attack was against the very building that watched Betty fall. It would be 40 minutes before heroes would leave the building empty handed with two dead and forty injured. Since then Graffiti has been involved in hit and run assaults all throughout Century Station. There ins no real rhyme or reason as to why she does it only that she insure that its both painful and long; plus being a creature of paint and the toxic fumes from the paint doesn’t make it any easier.

Real Name: Unknown; its suspected that it is Betty Irons
Aliases: Calico Phantom
Legal Status: Wanted for murder and assault to both civilians and police
Alignment: Aberrant; it keeps children out of its rage
Attributes: I.Q.: 15, M.E.: 24, M.A.: 6, P.S.: 13, P.P.: 21, P.E.: 10, P.B.: 18, Spd.: 19
Hit Points: S.D.C.: 40
Weight: 130 (59 kg)
Height: 5’2” (137 cm)
Age: Unknown
Horror Factor: 16
Insanity: Claustrophobia; she is terrified of closed spaces.
Disposition: Manically laughs when they are sure that they cannot be seen; always with a crazy smile. Weather or not they have normal life is unknown.
Experience Level: 12
Combat Skills: Hand to Hand: Martial Arts
Attacks per Melee: 6
Combat Bonuses: +3 to roll, +3 to initiative, +3 to pull a punch, +2 to disarm, Body throw/Flip, +4 Damage, +5 to dodge, +5 to parry, +2 to strike
Other Bonuses: Jump attacks (all), Kick attacks (all), Critical Strike 18, 19 & 20, Paired Weapons, +9 vs. Horror Factor
Super Power Category: Mutant
Super Abilities
Major(s): Alter Physical Structure: Paint and Teleport (twice per round; counts as an attack)
Minor(s): Venomous Attack (see PU1 for a description of her toxic skin) and Horror Factor
Side Effects: When Graffiti teleports away, there is a light explosion of paint to everything in a 5 foot radius (like some one threw a can of paint 360 degrees). Graffiti knows this and usually waits until people are within range of her power and then teleports. She sticks around close enough to see what they look like when they exit the scene. Note: This is a poisonous attack and a save vs. Poison is needed.
Skills of Note: Art (98%), Detect Ambush (+15%), Intelligence (+15%), Track (+15%), Automotive Mechanics, Pilot: Motorcycle, Prowl, Streetwise, Math: Basic, Math: Advance, Language: French
Appearance: It appears as a hairless humanoid with a females shape. There is a constant swirl of color of all kinds that is in constant motion.
Occupation: Professional Assassin
Weapons: None; it likes to use its powers
Vehicles: None; it uses its powers to move long distances
Money: It has no need for money

Alter Physical Structure Paint – Major
The character is able to transform themselves into a live body of paint. When attacked, the character is immune to all kinetic attacks as they pass though the character. The character swarms with colors of every kind and can attempt to chameleon (30%). The chameleon character will look more like a painting of camouflage instead of a true chameleon. The character struggles to prowl due to the trail that they leave behind and paint fumes that, although not toxic, still faint (-10 to prowl) and unless there is an alternate source of the fumes, the penalty applies within 15 feet.

The character can use there powers in a number of ways.
Bucket of Paint – The character makes a large ball of paint that is used for deliberate attack at the eyes and/or face. The character then must save vs. non-lethal attack (16) or suffer the consequence of the burning of paint in their eyes and blindness (-10 to strike, parry, and dodge!). The blast radius of the attack is one yard for every three levels of experience (1, 4, 7, 10, and 13). The victim or target will be covered in a solid color of the characters choosing (generally the color that they have transformed themselves to).
Slippery Surface – The character sprays paint on a smooth surface so as to make it slippery with paint. Victims are -4 to strike, parry and dodge. The victim also suffers a penalty to their prowl (-30%) and must exercise caution to hide themselves.
Paint – The character is a master painter at a professional level and can mimic most paintings with ease (80% +1%)
Paint Chips – The character can create chips of paint that are hard as a diamond and razor sharp. Because this is a natural ability, the chips fly with amazing accuracy. The character can create as many as one chip every other level (one at first level, two at third level, etc.) The chips can be thrown collectively or individually. The character produces as many as two chips per level of experience. Chips can be stored for future fighting but last for only 1D4 days before becoming soft or “chipping”. Victims hit with the chips will not have to save vs. poison as it is not a liquid form, however if wounds are not cleaned from attacks within six hours the victim must then save vs. toxin.
o +3 to strike
o 2D4 damage per chip
Disguise – The character can use their powers of painting to disguise and chameleon themselves and others.
o Disguise: 50%, +6% per level of experience.
o Quick Disguise (one minute): 20%, +3% per level of experience.

Still in Cyberspace

Its been nearly a month hiding from the Nightlords in the realm of Cyberspace. I have been sick these last few days. My guide says that its the Beast Bug or Techno-virus. Funny thing is I have never been sick in any realm or plane that is connected to Earth (and I have been to plenty).

It all started on my trek in the strange place called Cyberspace. I was in what was called the Terminal , the Station or Layer 2 or its even called The Data Layer; I figured it had something to do with the OSI of the internet. At any rate while I was picking up some food to consume, there was some screaming and panic. I didn't get out of the way in time and was attacked by a vampire man of sorts. His skin was greasy and lucky me failed to bite me. A few hours ago, though, I began to feel sick and my forehead and hands began to feel like they were on fire. When we finally got though all the Layers to the kingdom, I was so sick I could barely move. My head and hands felt like they were on fire.

Days passed and now there is what looks like a permanent black zebra stripes on my body. My guide says because I was not bitten that its only temporary and it will fade.

This world is unusual even for the realms of the Nightbanes universe. Cyber beings walk about some homeless programs, some successful programs. Each day these programs go to work to do the order of their creation. Most are just mindless drones that perform a function while others who are free-code fight the fight against the Beast. I dont know much about the Beast and am looking forward to getting out of Cyberspace to tell the tale.

Cyberspawn

I have been working on a project for the Rifter now for over a year, Cyberspawn. It is a adventure world that parallels the Nightbane world. Basically for this post I am going to put the journals of the Surfer here to give a decent description of what is going on in Cyberspace, the realm of the Nightbane and Cyberspawn. In these posts I am going to put in new creature descriptions, politics and a world overview of the ether space of the Web...

January 12 2005

The Wonderers diary is awesome. I have read nearly every text I can get my hands on. I am pretty certain that some of it is exaggerated or written by an alternate source but its worth investigating anyway. I have just wondered why they (I dont know if the Wonderer is a man or a woman) have not discussed the realm of Cyberspace. Perhaps 'they' are not able to ride lightning and enter or 'they' have found so much about Nightlands that its overwhelming. to say the least, the world of Cyberspace needs to be discussed.

When Dark Day occurred here in the 'real' world, in cyberspace a 'dark day' occurred there too. They call it the Reboot. When that happened, some say, the Beast appeared. A digital monstrosity that reigned havoc on the entire realm of Cyberspace. Thousands of cyberbeings were injured thousands died and hundreds were not heard from again.

They say that there was a re awaking that caused a separation of the various Layers. Each layer suddenly became very protected and the firewalls just got hotter. There was a witch hunt for the viruses or anyone program that appeared as a virus including the Nightbane that used this realm to escape.

For the next 86400 seconds thousands of programs were screened and went offline. It seemed like there was a big blackout in the real world. The most unusual thing was that for the first time programs that had only done what they were told suddenly gained a life of their own. Each one taking on a persona that was unique and original. Thousands of seconds would pass before people would dare enter the chat rooms, stock websites online games, etc; for the cyber-realm this was almost an eternity. Over the next few seconds the Sites readjusted themselves, protecting themselves from viruses and the new threat the Beast.

To prevent the real world from getting involved in the excitement, the people of cyberspace created a front that would be the face of world wide web allowing the human race to be 'safe' online while they, the people of cyberspace, existed in peace.

Then more lightning riders came. They were attempting to escape from this imagined terror called the Nightlords. What they didn't know is that in the real world they were already being followed by the Nightlords. Websites were being created to house the new Avatar of the Nightlords. They were not going to let the Nightbane escape.

Over the next few weeks in 'real' time the Avatar spent their time creating their own Avatars subject to the Nightlords (some secretly to themselves) to hunt down the Nightbane. They though that this was an empty plane and that the Nightbane would be quickly found; how wrong they were...