Another "using weird phenomena in the Mythos" post:
"Spring-heeled Jack" was a phenomenon from Victorian England: mysterious figures capable of superhuman feats of jumping, which terrorized people in London and many other parts of England. Spring-heeled Jack was sometimes described as being able to shoot blue or white fire, having burning eyes, or even having sharp claws. (See the Wikipedia article).
Despite popular legend, "Spring-heeled Jack" is not a single individual. At least four are known to have existed, though there were likely more.
Spring-heeled Jacks are named for their amazing leaping abilities. This ability is actually merely a part of their greatly increased agility. The other strange ability they are known for is producing blue-white flame; this is an electrical phenomenon similar to "St. Elmo's fire".
A Spring-heeled Jack is produced by exposing a human being to carefully modulated electrical pulses at a certain amplitude and frequency. If this is done correctly, the person's muscles are supercharged and a "Spring-heeled Jack" is produced. The technique was developed in 1836 by the English doctor Isaac Baker Brown, drawing on experiments by the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani. After three experiments recorded in his book "On Diseases and Conditions of the Muscular System, and their Treatments" (and possibly more unrecorded) he gave up the practice. The only known Spring-heeled Jack that did not result from Brown's experiments was accidentally produced in the small American town of Los Amigos by early experiments in the electric chair. That creature seemed to be more powerful than the normal Spring-heeled Jack, resisting bullets.
(If you're not interested in the RPG side of the Mythos, then ignore the following:)
In game terms: A Spring-heeled Jack's DEX increases by 2, but POW (in d20, Cha) decreases by 2. The St. Elmo's fire ability is harmless, but casts light as if a lantern.
A Spring-heeled Jack lives in this state for one week to three months after transformation. After this, it has a 50% chance of dying of heart attack; if not, it loses its increased DEX and 2 INT, but can live for as much as triple its previously natural lifespan.
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The Los Amigos reference derives from Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Los Amigos Fiasco".
Showing posts with label using weird phenomena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label using weird phenomena. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Ghost Lights in the Mythos
This is the first of (hopefully) a series of posts about tying in 'bizarre' or 'Fortean' phenomena into the Mythos, such as for use in gaming.
Ghost lights are a mysterious phenomenon known from many places around the world.
Marfa Lights: These strange lights appear to "dance" near the town of Marfa, Texas, on many nights. They have been seen in the Marfa area for at least 50 years. They are rarely seen close up. This much is common knowledge, but the true explanation is never mentioned. The Marfa Lights are in fact a strange form of fire vampire, less powerful and aggressive than the normal form.
These differences are caused by the fact that the form of fire vampire known by most Mythos scholars outside Texas is subject to the rulership of Cthugha. This violent, fearsome entity causes all creatures which serve it to become more aggressive; in its fire vampires, the changes affect not only their actions, but their fiery bodies as well.
Though they are not driven by the flaming wrath of Cthugha, any person approaching a Marfa Light too closely may be attacked.
Ropen: These strange lights found in New Guinea are often attributed by cryptozoologists to bioluminescent flying animals, such as relict pterosaurs, but they are generally another example of ghost lights.
(If you're not interested in the RPG side of the Mythos, then ignore the following:)
In d20, the fire vampires of Marfa have Wisdom and Charisma 2 points lower than normal; in BRP, they instead have POW reduced by 2. The Ropen of New Guinea are in fact identical to ordinary fire vampires.
Ghost lights are a mysterious phenomenon known from many places around the world.
Marfa Lights: These strange lights appear to "dance" near the town of Marfa, Texas, on many nights. They have been seen in the Marfa area for at least 50 years. They are rarely seen close up. This much is common knowledge, but the true explanation is never mentioned. The Marfa Lights are in fact a strange form of fire vampire, less powerful and aggressive than the normal form.
These differences are caused by the fact that the form of fire vampire known by most Mythos scholars outside Texas is subject to the rulership of Cthugha. This violent, fearsome entity causes all creatures which serve it to become more aggressive; in its fire vampires, the changes affect not only their actions, but their fiery bodies as well.
Though they are not driven by the flaming wrath of Cthugha, any person approaching a Marfa Light too closely may be attacked.
Ropen: These strange lights found in New Guinea are often attributed by cryptozoologists to bioluminescent flying animals, such as relict pterosaurs, but they are generally another example of ghost lights.
(If you're not interested in the RPG side of the Mythos, then ignore the following:)
In d20, the fire vampires of Marfa have Wisdom and Charisma 2 points lower than normal; in BRP, they instead have POW reduced by 2. The Ropen of New Guinea are in fact identical to ordinary fire vampires.
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