Saturday 12 October 2019

KRX - Enslaved by the Insect Overlords - Troika Hack


The wonderful K Yani has very kindly laid this out in PDF, as well as fixed a few errors in the text. Cheers!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NO_YfQZ_ucYSqaVXgPM9jlIewyhuutzi


Booklet for Letter size printing, graphics off, dots for notes on, no cropmarks
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hF2XpMkVRO2yaI9BBfKaoBvJFncSmfG2

Booklet for A4 size printing, graphics off, dotes for notes on, no cropmarks
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h3Rk2TZ1-ab2Rvenxqb5agCDuytTVCyy

Rule 0

Don't tell the players shit.

Humanity is in thralldom to the enslaving insects, black carapace nightmares brandishing their neural whips else lounging in their quilled towers, purple-shine black metal walls studded with spikes hung with taut fungus-flesh rupture-loom above rioting corpse-built slums filled with the un-engaged surplus. Bruise-hue skies studded with eight tumour-moons loom above such vistas. Some amongst these pitiful dwellers covet the parasites swarming the hives, becoming willing hosts to alien biologies, accretions of strange fluids limbs and senses. The empire of the Insects is decadent and vile and unchallenged, the whole world locked in their mandible grip - rot farms, mines, wilderness and cities alike are unquestionably their dominion. All castes of owned beings throng and move through society, all bound up and up to the pitiless insects, attempting to eke out survival when not under orders. All of this is witnessed through alien compound eyes. They are known as the Krx.

Characters

Born in slime from a womb-tower, all emerge fully formed adults - denying slaves culture or familial bonds allows the overlords to dictate culture and deny the possibility of alternatives.
Generate Skill, Stamina and Luck normally, then roll for deviations. They begin with no skills.
Characters are assumed to be state-owned slaves, meaning they must perform actions given by Freeborn and Insects. Failure to do as such is punishable by torture in the first instance, maiming in the second and death in the third. Slaves owned by individuals are only required to follow their Owner's instructions, although rudeness and defiance to other Insects will be punished as disobedience.
Each character is born with 1d6-2 deviations from the human average.

d66 Deviations

11 - Carcinoma armour plating entombs you - armour as Heavy.
12 - Thick/Patchy/Long/Crystalline/Metallic/Prehensile Fur
13 - d3 additional limbs - 50/50 arm or leg per limb - duplicate deviations if any have already been rolled.
14 - Flexible bones
15 - Gliding wings
16 - Quills, can be fired via muscle contraction, take 2 weeks to regrow
21 - Nervous system extends 15ft outside of body, millions of hair-thin tendrils protruding.
22 - Bone-blade scything arms - useless for tool manipulation - replaces 1 set of previous arms.
23 - All bodily fluids are acidic, dissolving inorganic material.
24 - Near-perfect transparency.
25 - Engorged cranium imparting super-computational ability
26 - Functional gills.
31 - Moist skin requires constant hydration.
32 - Mouthless - must feed via osmosis or photosynthesis.
33 - Can only lope in dog-like gait due to spinal contortions.
34 - Feet replaced with hands, with leg modifications to make this workable.
35 - d3 failed siblings fused with body, faces protruding - If they die they must be removed before sepsis kills you.
36 - Hairless top of head is swollen with bio-luminescent glands which pulse with heart-rate.
41 - Single, powerful claw
42 - Ability to project reeking, fuming bile - the fumes thick enough to block sight.
43 - Blood, when exposed to air, rapidly forms thick, sticky, flammable web - A cupful of blood would be enough to coat an average door
44 - Useless, vestigial wings.
45 - Hollow bones and an air-sac allow flotation, locomotion provided by the wind and flatulence -
46 - Head is a smooth dome of skin - hidden mouth can still generate sonar pulses
51 - Body lined with glands capable of generating an electric shock, usable twice a day - at range, this bolt deals damage as Jolt, at touch as Modest beast.
52 - Chameleonic skin which is hyper-sensitive to emotional state - roll Skill to try and control this.
53 - d3 limbs replaced with tentacles - 50/50 arm or leg per limb - 50/50 with/without suction cups per tentacle
54 - d3 additional tentacles - 50/50 with/without suction cups per tentacle.
55 - Elongated predator-skull filled with incisors - can bite for damage as Sword.
56 - Elongated, quintuple-knuckled fingers - d6 per hand.
61 - Incredibly long, tough optic nerves and eyeballs which are removable.
62 - Immune to Neural Whips.
63 - Torso and head taken over by Plasmic Projector and support organs - ability to fire as Fusil d6 times per feeding - must feed on exotic energies and radiations.
64 - Flexible exoskeleton carapace - Armour as moderate.
65 - Compound eyes.
66 - Incredibly nutritious, smell delicious.

Equipment

Metal is exceedingly rare, and the exclusive domain of the overlords, the overseers and the hated Trueborn. All other materials owned by the subject species are re-purposed and organic in origin - bone and carapace blades, corded sinew bowstrings and shell shields.
Metal equipment always gets +1 to damage rolls, protects as 1 armour higher, and is worth quadruple the normal amount of food.
There is no official currency amongst the slave population - instead, values are given in days worth of food, and the majority of trade is barter with food used to make up "change".
Neural whips are the weapons of the overseers. Strikes with neural whips cause no damage, but do causing pain strong enough to induce a full-body cramp and unconsciousness.
Firelances are the most devastating weapons of the Krx, each a family heirloom passed down the equivalent of knightly orders. Anything struck by a Firelance is destroyed utterly. Batteries of them have been used to destroy stars when planets refuse the yoke.
Weapons cost around 2 weeks food, more for the highly lethal or easily hidden. All weapons are illegal in the hands of State-Slaves
Armour costs weeks of food equal to it's damage reduction times two.

Patrons

d6 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 Chief Demancipator Umpire of the Hunt Spire Architect Trueborn 'Nobility' Sub-Arsonist Scholar of Genes and Metal
2 Scion of a Noble House Event Horizon Scout Arbiter of Punishment Bound Daemon-Supplicant Pheromone Merchant Scholar of Direction and Subversion
3 Racing Beetle Stable Magnate Adjudicator of Worthiness Chitin-Beautician Profligate Trader Vertebrate Intercessor Scholar of Fire and Death
4 Master of Webs and Secrets Divinity Epicure Rot Guild Representative Breeding Specialist Subjugator-Admiral Scholar of Stars and Sacrifice
5 Fluid-Artist Firelance Operator Thorn-Court Torturer Eccentric Mammal-Keeper Gluttonous Sampler Scholar of Misery and Art
6 Brood Sicarian Arch-Judge and Marshal of Trueborn Parasite-ridden Duellist Final Imago Warlord Womb-Tender Scholar of Domination and Morality
For many of these, you will be dealing with fronts and intercessors - meeting directly is a rare privilege for such as yourselves.

Objectives

(Use the patron table to determine the nature of the individual where needed)

What

1d6 Action
1 Steal
2 Destroy
3 Tarnish
4 Modify
5 Put into Disrepute
6 Gather information On

To What

d6 1 2 3 4 5* 6
1 Use Where? Extensive collection of slave-species pre-conquest cultural artefacts A favoured slave A slime-crusted grimoire A scheme to crush a Freeborn brood A Rival - Use Patron Table
2 Use Where? An elaborate garment, sure to impress in court A compromised guard or warrior A fine Hunting Beast A scheme to test new parasites in the slave-slums An Ally - Use Patron Table
3 Use Where? An ancient Firelance built to arcane specification A trusted advisor A highly experimental Womb A scheme to poison the sacrifices A Brood-Sibling - Use Patron Table
4 Use Where? A Poison-Womb An heir or protégé A storied Prey Beast A scheme to eliminate a scholar-house A Neutral Party - Use Patron Table
5 Use Where? A porcelain court-mask, as worn by Freeborn A noted philosopher A Compression-Stone from the orbit of a Black Sun A scheme to recruit gladiator-slaves A Social Superior - Use Patron Table
6 Use Where? A highly guarded Sphere-Gate An entertainer A collection of powerful narcotics A scheme to unearth a pre-conquest weapon A Court Favourite - Use Patron Table
  • a plan has a 50% chance of being secret

Where?

d6 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 A prison for disobedient slaves A forgotten laboratory, overrun with failed experiments The Psychotropic Quagmire A Pleasure-Vessel atop the Vinegar Sea Infested and condemned slave-slum Work-site for a Mountain Deconstruction Team
2 An abandoned tower of a rebel Insect A Grand Cathedral to Domination The Glass-Slag Plains Beneath a Monument of Cruelty Rotting carcass of orbital-defence animal Ocean Exploitation Facility
3 A Tower (1-2 A Rivals, 3-4 An Unaligned Insect 5-6 Their Own) Compound of a Lesser Demancipator The Plague-Blessed Crucible A military outpost on the edge of the Unbowed Wilderness Beached bio-mass caused by mutations in local fauna Biomass Reclamation Plant
4 Within the State-Slave Slums Corral of the Hunting Beasts The Hypertrophic Boscage Amongst the booby-trapped caves where survivors hid to no avail Refuelling Golden Barge with visitors permit Womb-Repair Workshop
5 Within the lair of Rebel Slaves Firelance Battery The Rotten Boughs Within the control-centre organ of a Battle Beast, d6 stories high Within the imagination of [use Patron table or target] Academy-Crèche
6 Amongst the pre-conquest ruins The Under-Workings of a Astrolabe-District The Concrete Labyrinths A rotting Freeborn Mansion The House of Splintered Glass The next Sphere lined up for conquest

Others

11 Krx, Insect Overlord

A black chitin monstrosity, sat squat on four legs with it's thorax erect. The face of a slaver, mandibles wild. Compound eyes purple-dark, unable to see suffering as more than art. Pitiless and secure in it's superiority.
Skill 9
Stam 10
Init 3
Armour 2
Damage as Small Beast or Weapon
Mien
  1. Domineering
  2. Sadistic
  3. Megalomaniacal
  4. Paranoid
  5. Scheming
  6. Ecstatic

12 Freeborn

The chosen children of bootlickers and serviles, born in the Old Way - grown inside a human womb, not from some tower.
Skill 7
Stam 7
Init 2
Armour 1
Damage as Weapon
Mien
  1. Haughty
  2. Cringing
  3. Infiltrating
  4. Following Orders
  5. Scheming
  6. Self-Loathing

13 Yakul-Drak

The first to submit to the dominion of the Krx, Yakul-Drak have adapted to become ideal symbiote-slaves. The Krx mount them in times of war, their entire nervous system fusing with the will of the rider. In appearance they are heavy, bulky beetles with a curious depression in the back of their vestigial wing-covers.
Skill 5
Stam 14
Init 1
Armour 2
Damage as Maul
Mien
  1. Grazing
  2. Waiting
  3. Seeking Maintenance
  4. Rutting
  5. Mock-Fighting
  6. Raising Young
Special - A Krx may mount a Yakul-Drak. Whilst so conjoined, all damage is dealt to the Yakul-Drak, but the Skill and Initiative of the Krx are used. They count as one creature for all intents and purposes.


14 Hunting Beasts

Lithe half-reptiles, bipedal and constructed like javelins. Each the size of a large dog, they are loosed ahead of the Krx on their hunts, whether the prey is in the wilderness or the slave-slums.
Skill 5
Stam 6
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as Moderate Beast
Mien
  1. Leaping
  2. Sprinting
  3. Fighting
  4. Shrieking
  5. Feeding
  6. Contented

15 Rotten Husks

One of the few acknowledged threats to the Krx is the Brainsponge. The fungus grows in the brain and extends into the mind, dominating the will utterly, subsuming them into the colony. Where ever Krx domination expands to, Brainsponge colonies erupt and consume entire slave populations.
Skill -2
Stam +2
Init -1
Armour as base Creature
Damage as base Creature
Mien
  1. Fortifying Current Holdings
  2. Sending Infiltrators
  3. Lying in Ambush
  4. Stalking next Victim
  5. Attempting Mass Infestation
  6. Preaching Freedom
Special - apply this template to any other creature to represent Brainsponge infestation. There is no cure beyond death.


16 Hunter-Killer

The terror of the slums, a dread construct of midnight-purple blades and whiplash razor tails, hidden against the sky, awaiting curfew breakers...
Skill 10
Stam 20
Init 3
Armour 2
Damage as Greatsword
Mien
  1. Waiting
  2. Watching
  3. Drifting
  4. Stalking
  5. Descending
  6. Eviscerating

21 First-Wave Shock-trooper Survivors

When a sphere is first identified for occupation, the Krx first send in their shock-troopers to break the fighting ability of the sphere. This is then followed by a clean-up virus, wiping out these terrors.
This one survived.
Ten foot of muscle and bone-plate armour, a mind tuned to savagery and bred with the knowledge of untold battles. It bears the scars of the war to break the sphere and the war to survive since then.

Skill 12
Stam 18
Init 2
Armour 2
Damage as Fusil (range) or Large Beast
Mien
  1. Resupplying
  2. Ambushing
  3. Resting Fitfully
  4. Interrogating Captives
  5. Maintaining Mission Profile
  6. Destroying all Resistance

22 Fighting Machine

Some among the Krx find the Yakul-Drake crude, and instead have turned to their technology to breed a superior mount. These semi-autonomous fighting machines stride above the battlefield, emblazoned with personalised flags of dominion and victory. The base is something like a crab, reinforced with metal and equipped with energy weapons, grown to fantastic proportions.
Skill 5
Stam 25
Init 1
Armour 4
Damage as Fusil, doubled or Gigantic Beast
Mien
  1. Laying (non-viable) Eggs
  2. Grazing on Seaweed
  3. Preening
  4. Wrestling for Dominance
  5. Playing with Clutch-mates
  6. Dying of Gene-sickness
Special - If piloted by a Krx, use which-ever statistics are better. All damage is dealt to the Fighting Machine.


23 Occupation Machine

Upon the success of the Fighting Machine concept, some decided to develop similar creatures for differing purposes. The most successful of these is the Occupation Machine - based on a species of Land-Octopus, it is able to camouflage itself before using it's ridged tentacles to snatch dissidents from a crowd before they incite violence.
Skill 8
Stam 15
Init 2
Armour 0
Damage as Special
Mien
  1. Playful
  2. Faux-Hunting
  3. Actually Hunting
  4. Clambering Over Buildings to Establish Hierarchy
  5. Spewing Ink
  6. Sunbathing
Special - If piloted by a Krx, use whichever statistics are better. All damage is dealt to the Occupation Machine. Occupation Machines do not deal damage, but instead always Grapple and crush, dealing damage as Modest Beast. Up to eight creatures of human size can be grappled at once. Alternatively, victims can be thrown - test Luck. On success, they land relatively softly, taking damage as Club. On failure, they strike a hard object, taking damage as Longsword.


24 Resistance Fighters

Some amongst the native populations refuse the yoke of Krx, despite the terrible price. They form all manner of doomed resitance bands across the dominion, plotting and planning their ineffectual guerilla actions.
Skill 6
Stam 6
Init 1
Armour as armour
Damage as Weapon
Mien
  1. Maintaining Operational Security
  2. Accusing Others of being Spies
  3. Discussing Tactics
  4. Stockpiling Illegal Goods
  5. Taking the Bait
  6. Honouring those Lost to the Struggle

25 Wolf-Squid

A cruel predator animal, used for terror-raids by Krx and then left to infest the wilderness of their new holdings. They appear as compact, dense squid, somehow slicing through the air with no resistance. They form packs of six.
Skill 4
Stam 8
Init 2
Armour 0
Damage as Small Beast
Mien
  1. Toying with Prey
  2. Fighting other Packs
  3. Rooting out Corpses
  4. Slumbering amidst Bones
  5. Spewing Eggs into Chemical Waste
  6. Raiding other Nests

26 Bombardier Beetle

A biological siege weapon, the abdomen filled with a pair of chemical sacks. When these combine in the air, they form a terrible explosion, rending defences into so much rubble. As with many such weapons, once the occupation begins they are left to infest the wilderness, occasionally hunted for sport.
Skill 4
Stam 15
Init 1
Armour 1
Damage as Small Beast or Dragon Fire (once an hour)
Mien
  1. Seeking Reactive Minerals
  2. Expanding Burrows
  3. Destroying Structures Instinctively
  4. Devouring Burnt Remains
  5. Vomiting Excess Fluids
  6. Basking in the Suns

31 Steel-Tree Slaves

One of the stranger slave-species, these metallic trees are prized for their hideous screeching. They are primarily used for the creation of agony-symphonies and their utility as alarm systems. They are known to reach down with their bladed leaves and slice intruders apart.
Skill 3
Stam 25
Init 0
Armour 5
Damage as Longsword
Mien
  1. Swaying Gently
  2. Rusting Slowly
  3. Organising Root Structure
  4. Vibrating
  5. Preening Rust
  6. FUCKING SCREAMING

32 Parasite Host

The natural parasites of the Krx have unpredictable effects on the physiology of the slave-species. Many experience extreme mutagenic effects, their systems overcome with alien fluids and instructions. Those who do not go on destructive rampages as a result of these mutations instead form an underclass to the slaves.
Skill Special
Stam Special
Init Special
Armour Special
Damage as Special
Mien
  1. Isolated
  2. Terrified of Own Biology
  3. Hoping for a Cure
  4. Consumed with Despair
  5. Seeking Others
  6. Rampaging
Special - roll d66 and consult this section to determine the Skill, Stamina, Init, Armour and Damage of these unfortunates. For speed, roll one and use the entire statistic block, otherwise roll once per statistic.


33 Allswine

Such an empire produces quantities of waste too vast for any reasonable solutions - instead, the Krx enslaved and modified a species similar to swine. Their hunger quite literally knows no bounds as they greedily devour all refuse, maiming and killing one another in their clamouring.
Skill 5
Stam 10
Init 2
Armour 0
Damage as Moderate Beast
Mien
  1. Snuffling for Trash
  2. Jaw Locked on Refuse Pipe
  3. Giving Birth to 30-50 Allswinelings
  4. Being Corralled by Starving Slaves
  5. Being Torn Apart by Parasites
  6. Just absolutely chowing down

34 Bloated Organic Dropship

A rare example of machine-slave-organisms being granted autonomy - these loathsome purple-hued winged maggots allow the Krx and their various warrior-thralls to use it's Brood Pouch, enabling it to act as transport.
Skill 7
Stam 21
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as Moderate Beast
Mien
  1. Swarming Around Tower
  2. Gathering Detritus for Nest
  3. Consuming Errant Slaves
  4. Playing with Young
  5. Transporting Killsquad
  6. Transporting VIP

35 Emissary of the Stars

To the horror of the Krx, they are not alone in their conquest of the spheres. Others lurk beyond, their influence absorbing and crushing cultures unimaginable. These are representatives of just one such despoiler, fractal starfish undulating with mood-colour and sensitive to insensate winds.
Skill 3
Stam 20
Init 5
Armour 1
Damage as Jolt
Mien
  1. Undulating
  2. Whispering Missives to Unseen Messengers
  3. Observing Culture
  4. Uttering Terrible Ululations
  5. Grasping Mindlessly
  6. Levitating Mournfully

36 Dog Tower

The invaders will spare things they find useful or amusing. In the case of the Dog Towers, it was both. Some fifty hounds of mixed breeds are melted together, forming a pillar of whining, growling dog heads. All are eager when they see someone approaching, and begin baying madly. Attempting to pacify the tower by feeding it would require such mountains of food as to be impractable.
Skill 1
Stam 15
Init 1
Armour 2
Damage as Small Beast, strikes d6 times
Mien
  1. Braying
  2. Barking
  3. Whining
  4. Growling
  5. Whimpering
  6. Slumbering

41 Cargobeast Parasites

Within the lumbering lobotomised Cargo-Beasts, able to stride across oceans, lurk proliferations of variformed parasitic lifeforms. As a Cargo-Beast disgorges the freight-sacs, these skittering slithering crawling flying nightmares come tumbling out too. Many a slave has died on pest control postings.
Skill 5
Stam 12
Init 2
Armour 1
Damage as Moderate Beast
Mien
  1. CAN
  2. YOU
  3. JUST
  4. KILL
  5. THAT
  6. THING

42 Ss'lth

The Ss'lth are a recent addition to the Enslaved Legions, and have pleased the Krx in their brutality. These bronze-clad reptiles can often be seen as honour-guards for notable members of Colonial Governments, clutching alien weapons. Some suggest that their servitude is a ruse, and revolt grows in glacial lizard minds.
Skill 9
Stam 14
Init 2
Armour 2
Damage as Polearm
Mien
  1. Securing Points of Ingress
  2. Stoic and Attentive
  3. Screening Visitors
  4. Being Rewarded
  5. Bullying Slave-Soldiers
  6. Singing for their Unhatched Clutch-Siblings

43 Prey Beast

The Krx have bred and engineered these slight, flighty beasts across all of their conquests. Their ability to suffer extends far beyond rational limits, and as such they deploy a great multitude of prey adaptions to avoid pain. As such, they are perfect for the Krx to hunt - not only are they highly challenging, but their amazing capacity for suffering is the hieght of sadism.
Skill 10
Stam 10
Init 4
Armour 1
Damage as None
Mien
  1. Breakneck Pace Running
  2. Hiding using Adaptive Camouflage
  3. Swelling to Immense Sizes
  4. Rapidly Generating and Spitting Toxins (Damage as Firebolt)
  5. Firing Spines (Damage as Bow)
  6. Trying to be as Cute as Possible

44 Cleaner Mites

Cat-sized nymphs, neutered to ensure they never progress to the next instar. They are driven to relentlessly seek smaller amounts of filth, preening and cleaning city and denizen alike. The Krx delight in torturing them, and beneath their towers the ground is covered in the shells of those flung from atop the towers.
Skill 3
Stam 3
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as Small Beast
Mien
  1. Huddling
  2. Scuttling
  3. Feeding
  4. Clambering
  5. Observing
  6. Limping

45 Amplification Arachnids

One of the stranger conquests of Krx - the spiders seem in line with the size of their more widespread cousins. However, the tiny puncture wounds their bites inflict rapidly grow in size - not due to any necrosis, but simply expanding in size, as if something much much larger had caused the wound. As such, they are commonly introduced to haunt the wilderness.
Skill 5
Stam 1
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as Special
Mien
  1. Waiting
  2. Watching
  3. Crawling
  4. Dancing Beneath Alien Moons
  5. Sensing Vibrations
  6. Striking
Special - Damage Dealt by Amplification Arachnids is rolled once. First, reference Knife damage. The round after this, Sword damage, increasing the damage taken by the difference. On round 3, damage as Longsword. Finally, damage as Polearm. If this is survived, the damage decreases back to Knife damage, and any Stamina lost are returned.


46 Imagineer Slaves

Not all slaves are bred for labour or war - some are bred for their minds. These unfortunates, shrivelled vestigial bodies beneath globe-skulls, spend their lives imagining. They are able to visualise their imaginings in such detail that they can be birthed into reality. As such, batteries of Imagineers are stored for times of great need - relying on such whimsy has proven disastrous in the past.
Skill 1
Stam 8
Init 4
Armour 0
Damage as None
Mien
  1. Imagining Weapons
  2. Imagining Cruelties
  3. Imagining Unconquered Spheres
  4. Imagining Arcane Mysteries
  5. Imagining Observers
  6. Imagining Themselves

51 Misery Batteries

A modification of the Imagineers stripped of their ability to imagine and instead only able to generate concentrated misery. Each is born with a socket allowing access to these resovoirs of pain. There are great fields of these wretched creatures, crushed beneath the weight of their own suffering. The Krx drink this substance like wine.
Skill 1
Stam 8
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as None
Mien
  1. Misery
  2. Misery
  3. Misery
  4. Misery
  5. Misery
  6. Misery

52 Overseer Insect

Some Krx were not born to rule. Domination over lesser species is important, but the internal hierarchies take precedent. These are the unclean, the malformed and the dishonoured. They are those tasked to live amongst the slaves to ensure that they are reviled, and to sow fear and obedience. The cruelties inflicted on the overseers are magnified and paid forward to their charges.
Skill 9
Stam 10
Init 3
Armour 2
Damage as Small Beast or Weapon or Neural Whip
Mien
  1. Self-Loathing
  2. Mindlessly Destructive
  3. Hatefully Busy
  4. Mock-Empathetic
  5. Plotting Revenge
  6. Wallowing in Defeat

53 Feed Grubs/ Insect Larvae

Throughout their dominion the fat green young of the Krx crawl and slither. Many are neutered, and grow into the Cleaner-Mites. Others are eaten by Krx, slave and wildlife. The fraction that survive remember ever cruelty endured on their years-long journey to maturity. .
Skill 1
Stam 5
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as Knife
Mien
  1. Squirming
  2. Eating
  3. Escaping
  4. Brooding
  5. Commiting Cannibalism
  6. Building Pupation Chamber

54 Plasticbone Tumour

The strangely soft deposits of bone common to occupied spheres are created by these cancerous lumps. They are some cross between mammal and fungus, wrapped in an exoskeleton of bone kept soft and malleable by the secretions of the flesh within.
Skill 0
Stam 15
Init 0
Armour 3
Damage as None

55 Palanquin Walker

An adaption of a custom the Krx absorbed - the powerful carried to and fro. Rather than relying on multiple slaves, the Krx bred tripod beings, their brain exposed and pillowy - the perfect display of luxury. The rest of the beast is supported by a dun armoured shell.
Skill 5
Stam 18
Init 1
Armour 2
Damage as Large Beast
Mien
  1. Trumpeting to Itself
  2. Sharpening Foot-Claws
  3. Attempting to Scrape Infection out of Brain
  4. Twitching and Dying from Brain Infection
  5. Trying to Hide Eggs
  6. Being Prepared for a Journey

56 Soldier Slave

Amongst the earliest acquisitions for the Krx, this species enabled many of their early conquests. Which of their features have been bred in by the Krx, and which led to their selection as the perfect slave-soldiers originally can no longer be determined - but their effectiveness can certainly be measured. Overall, their character is decidedly molluscoid - their faces, when not hidden by their helmets, are a mess of sensory organs and grasping tendrils. Beneath this is a compact body, stacked with muscle and bone plates, giving them natural armour. They are able to digest and eat minerals as well as organic substances, and their primary limbs (2 arms, 2 legs) are tipped with digging claws. Their secondary arms are used to steady weapons. They breed in batches of hundreds. Once they had a name, but are now simply Soldier-Slaves.
Skill 8
Stam 15
Init 2
Armour 2
Damage as Weapon
Mien
  1. Pacifying Slave Populations
  2. Exterminating Rebels
  3. Digging Breeding Chambers
  4. Praising the Krx
  5. Secretly Worshipping the Krx
  6. Destroying Ss'lth Egg-Clutches

61 Ashmouthed Fumedrinker

Soaring taut-skin all-bone jutting rib squares of leathery flesh, they seem to delight in the noxious fumes released by the occupation of the Krx, diving through them and drinking deeply. Some say slaves - or resistance fighters - have tamed them. Those who say such things are rarely seen again.
Skill 5
Stam 8
Init 2
Armour 0
Damage as Moderate Beast
Mien
  1. Soaring
  2. Diving
  3. Roosting
  4. Excreting Toxic Sludge
  5. Duelling
  6. Dying, Poisoned

62 Compliance Engine

When extermination is not an option, the Krx will deploy a Compliance Engine. These arcane assemblages are unknown to their science, having been discovered inert and lifeless between the Spheres. How they operate is unknown - the only detectable mechanism the subtle flows of some minute energies - the results, however are immediate and dramatic - the previously rebellious and emancipatory are broken utterly, albeit to the will of the Compliance Engine. It does not communicate, and it's goals seem to be allied to those of the Krx, for now.
Skill 12
Stam 24
Init 8
Armour 0
Damage as None
Mien
  1. UNKNOWABLE
  2. UNKNOWABLE
  3. UNKNOWABLE
  4. UNKNOWABLE
  5. UNKNOWABLE
  6. UNKNOWABLE
Special - all creatures present for the activation of the Compliance Engine use it's initiative, their will utterly subsumed.

63 Leafwork Automatons

A true rarity in the Dominion of Krx - genuine art. Life born from twisted bower and cunning horticulture, automatons made entirely of twisted branches. Why the Krx find delight in such benign creations is unknown, but it has ensured that their home sphere is spared the excesses of Insectoid rule.
Skill 5
Stam 5
Init 3
Armour 0
Damage as Weapon
Mien
  1. Coy
  2. Delighted
  3. Exquisitely Sorrowful
  4. Curious
  5. Inspired
  6. Complementary

64 Skinshifter Elite

Long before the violence and plagues and terror-raids, the Krx will infiltrate the societies of their prospective conquest. These Skinshifters are their tool, able to generate and cast away personalities with mere thoughts, able to read the assumptions from the minds of those observing them, adding layers upon layers of subtle stereotype confirming mannerisms and behaviours. Observers feel justified in their biases upon meeting such creatures.
Skill 10
Stam 10
Init 3
Armour 0
Damage as Weapon
Mien
  1. Blank
  2. Empty
  3. Void
  4. Hollow
  5. Blank
  6. Vacant

65 Culture Haruspex

Much can be read in the entrails of sacrificed animals. The same concept applies to sacrificed cultures.
Skill 9
Stam 10
Init 5
Armour 2
Damage as Small Beast or Weapon
Mien
  1. Researching Potential Conquests
  2. Reliving Past Prophecy
  3. Measuring Progress
  4. Terrified of the Portents
  5. Delighted at the Possibilities
  6. Lecturing on the Reading from this Sphere

66 Harnessed Annelid

The transformation of conquered Spheres does not only occur above ground - in the soil itself churn alien worms, harnessed and controlled, chemically altering the soil to better serve the needs of the dominion.
Skill 3
Stam 26
Init 1
Armour 0
Damage as Gigantic Beast
Mien
  1. Tunneling
  2. Churning
  3. Slithering
  4. Paused, Thinking
  5. Recovering from Toxic Shock
  6. Slumbering Fitfully

13 comments:

  1. Will it be fine with you if I make it pdf for my own use?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By all means! If you let me know when it's done I'll drop a link in for others if that's cool by you?

      Delete
    2. I'd be happy to share, although it will be just functional pdf (I love you graphic style, as in Broken Systems and Hooden, but cannot make anything like it, sadly)

      Delete
    3. GoogleDrive shareable links

      Digital, single page, bookmarks, hyperlinks, layers
      [I changed one word (Freeborn Mien 5, Scheming -> Plotting, because Scheming was in Krx Mien 5 just above it)
      I moved entries around, both in tables and in Others section to better fit
      I added Mien table for Plasticbone Tumour]

      https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NO_YfQZ_ucYSqaVXgPM9jlIewyhuutzi


      Format is 5.5 in by 8.27 in, which is the smallest dimensions from both A5 and half-letter, so it will technically fits on both paper sizes with some trimming.
      You can print booklets right from Adobe Reader, I think, but just in case here are two printable versions:

      Booklet for Letter size printing, graphics off, dots for notes on, no cropmarks
      https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hF2XpMkVRO2yaI9BBfKaoBvJFncSmfG2

      Booklet for A4 size printing, graphics off, dotes for notes on, no cropmarks
      https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h3Rk2TZ1-ab2Rvenxqb5agCDuytTVCyy

      I didn't put crop marks on because some people might want more margin space.

      Please let me know if you want to change anything.

      Delete
    4. (In addition there is a digital version for Troika! cities, 11-46; format is 6x9 so it isn't for printing much so far)
      https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NPnklC16tjd3DF6o4oeNAuN5iFn1pUsj

      Delete
    5. holy shit these are fucking great!

      i'll add links at the top - how do you want to be credited? any other links you'd like?

      Delete
    6. Glad that you like them.
      K Yani is ok.
      If you can put a note "the graphics and/or dot grids can by turned off in 'layers' panel" it would be great, as I didn't put such comment onto Troika file.

      Delete
    7. (P.S. I did one more change - changed second 'Blank' in Skinshifter Elite Mien 5 to 'Absent' as it was already in Mien 1. Hope it is ok with you).

      Delete
    8. Thank you.

      In case if you need it, here are A4 and Letter booklets for Troika! Cities (11-46, no graphics) They are going to print scaled down and with too wide of margins, so not fully optimal solution, but in case if somebody finds them useful.
      A4: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uKwBwdnyxvpW2EiFPjyN2TRNDhh8sy4o
      Letter: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1B2QhwR6DNT-28Z3J-PJYf4a12F-kpuwb

      (sorry for multitude of comments)

      Delete
  2. This is just exquisite. Mysterious, grotesque, enthralling. I'll have to run this when I get a chance, though I still need to read Troika to begin with...

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is just what I've been looking for to run an "All Tomorrows" type game, thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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