The Black Tower
Rising, nameless and threatening, the Tower is a jarring superstructure of vertical strength and indomitable, unfathomable will.
Made of strange bone, flesh, and organs combined with iron, steel, and other exotic metals and wooden planks from other dimensions, the Black Tower rises high enough to pierce the stratosphere, always hailed and haloed by a red sun with (with a black corona), changing the very color and nature of the skies itself.
About the Black Tower are always its mindless, strange servants.
THE WORLD OF THE BLACK TOWER
The Black Tower is absolute, resolute, and completely unstoppable without (somehow) destroying it. Servants of the Black Tower are black, twisted humanoids who live to procreate and offer up their babies to the Tower itself.
Soldiers and beasts of the Tower all are a result of these sacrifices, and the humanoid slaves will sometimes travel in packs to attack outposts and settlements nearby, raping anything that gets in their path no matter the gender.
The original story of the Black Tower points to a stolen heart of a god from another dimension, one that anchors that god to the Black Tower’s demesne within or without.
The Black Tower is treated as an Overpowered Primeval, one that can take very limited direct actions against PC’s but can unleash waves of terrors and horrors upon an environment.
Wherever the Towerlands lay one shall find only unending despair. Black soil and gnarled, twisted creatures that may or may not be the very denizens of the world itself (or perhaps the gnarled trees and nasty shrubs that sometimes dot the blighted lands), the entirety of it is overshadowed by a filthy red sun overhead, always and inexplicably ever behind the Tower no matter where one looks.
The World of the Black Tower is one of unending indulgences, at the constantly protean whims of a precarious creature that suffers no rule save it’s own.
The Black Tower is a defiler, an invader, a twisted abomination of equally twisted desires.
And if you lack the strength or courage to face it, you’re probably going to end up getting carried along with those desires.
THE STORY OF THE BLACK TOWER
The Black Tower has always been, and always was, and always will be. Even should the Tower be expunged from reality by a passer-by Overpowered, it will simply appear elsewhere to once again begin its horrid cycle.
Humans are born to be meat for the Tower’s denizens, their souls and bodies transformed into terrible artifacts and useful food. The people of the Towerlands (those who aren’t taken in by the Tower) are brainwashed, cancerous zombies, offering up their children at any point in time during yearly Harvests. Babies are especially prized but limited in number collected - each year the Harvest is different, and there is neither pattern, rhyme or reason to it.
All children born to these zombied horrors are known as “Orphans.”
In the Towerlands, everything revolves around pleasing the Tower. Necromancy and darker arts have given rise within the populace, and there remains an underground market that is practically open to all. While the denizens of the Towerlands aren’t given any extra luxuries, it’s well known that the Tower never takes from a family twice in a row, though this isn’t inexactly true.
To certain larcenous hearts, the Underground Market is potential for not only fame and riches, but to hide from the all-seeing eyes of the Tower.
The truth of the matter is that the Tower knows. The Tower has always known. Absolute dominion, absolute strength, the Tower houses the stolen heart of God, and is feeding on the soul of a Devil.
This story takes place when a particular man (a child smuggler, traveling merchant, and alchemist) realizes he accidentally dropped the child off to Tower guards (a sting operation set to capture him), witnessing her immediate execution. Fleeing their forces, he stumbles upon a sewer that takes him to the lowest dredges of the Tower..and starts his ascension from the Hell levels all the way to Heaven, being forced to deal with the various worlds inside of the Tower.
The Narrator, a constant guide throughout the misadventure, is proven to be God itself, giving him pointers along the way in order to reacquire the Heart, only for it to be revealed that the Alchemist was the avatar of a creator God of even older times, hellbent on continuing the cycle of the Tower.
And as the Alchemist reclaims the heart, so does the Tower fall, and the endless cycle continues. Mankind will reach a certain point of lustrous decadence, only for the Tower to rise once again out of the mass graves, the byproduct of absolute sin and vice.
THE INVASION
If the Black Tower has yet to appear within a world, then it should be a dramatic, incredible, unstoppable affair, witnessed by the PC’s. This phenomenon cannot be recorded by technology or scrying devices, and will result in those who witness such recordings stark raving mad with insanity, no will save.
It’ll also immediately melt the device used to replay this sequence.
The Black Tower will always “infect” the grounds around it, forcing a small space (at first) to change to the same dimensional point as the Black Tower itself. This is a dimensional overlay phenomenon, and even when the Black Tower leaves the grounds will bear a stain as if desecrated that lasts for 1d100 years.
If there are no other Overpowered-level phenomenon sensed within the world (or if the world is NOT an artificial construct), then the Black Tower will remain in a single location, spreading it’s infection the further the beasts and slaves travel, staining the ground with each footstep taken. Should at least 50% of the world be overtaken and claimed by the Black Tower, the Tower may at will attempt to devour the entire world, trapping it within and forcing the Tower onto the next life-bearing (at least 75% humanoid) world in order to do it again. Should it devour at least 25% of an entire dimension this way, it may attempt to devour the entire dimension, locking the entire thing within it’s internal dimension.
Should the Tower successfully devour an entire dimension, then it will immediately tear a hole into a new dimension at random.
NOTE: Should the Tower spawn on an artificial world or a world with more than 2 Overpowered phenomena there (Neo-Tokyo, Neo-Florida, Neo-Germany, Neo-LA), the Tower will, instead, take to randomly teleporting itself and all within the demesne about the lands, attempting to infect it while staying on the move. In this case the behavior of the Tower changes to almost absolute defense, competely shutting down it’s interiors except to spawn random adventurers and creatures with specific powers, meant to be thrown into the world at random.
Whenever the Black Tower moves, it leaves behind an infected patch of Chaos, which randomly transforms any who steps within it. These patches last for 1d10 interdimensional years.
These patches may be suspect to Overpowered manipulation and use. A noteworthy case of this was an unnatural consciousness found in Neo-Florida, due to the proximity and direct actions of the Magewinds and the Overpowered-level phenomenon “El Cabron.”
The Black Tower cannot be within 15 dimensions of either Absolute Order or Absolute Chaos.
Should the Black Tower find itself within the Eternal Void, the Tower will enter a sleep mode where the internal dimensions swallowed continue to operate as if they were within Existence, operating as a limited pocket of Existence within the Void, ignoring the Voids infiltration attempts. After 1d100 interdimensional years (within itself), the Black Tower will attempt to respawn within Existence at a random dimension.
Upon spawning onto a world, a psionic-supernatural scream can be heard throughout the entire world, especially by those who are genetically connected to the Tower denizens/slaves/beasts. This psionic-supernatural scream will almost always burn out any psychic/supernatural creature of 75g or less of Elan, and will always draw the attention of magic-users towards the spawn point.
All within the demesne of the Black Tower-infected lands are under constant brainwashed assault, ignoring Faith Points and Elan up to 99g. Only those who have noteworthy Will saves can even make a will save, and those with at least 1000 EP can shrug it off completely save for the odd exertion from the Tower itself.
INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR
Surrounding the Tower will always strange, cubical shanties in a constant state of disrepair and decay, the rooftops covered by nets and more. Skulking about the shadows of such unnatural geometries, the twisted denizens of the Tower live and serve to procreate madly, giving birth within a week no matter who has been inseminated.
Strangely enough, this doesn’t work with the males of these creatures, but WILL work if the male is of another race. In such cases the resultant baby will almost always be born tragically and to the detriment or death of the carrier.
The babies born outside of Towerlands will always attempt to crawl towards the Tower. In EXTREMELY rare cases, the baby may end up being a normal baby, in which case they will only have the scent of an evil outsider about them rather than actual evil.
This network of filthy, dilapidated stone stretches out for at least up to five miles in all direction. When that has been established, the plains and swamps of the Tower’s preference will begin. Should the infected lands reach a mountainous rise of any sort or valley, it will fill it with the same kind of brackish, unviable soil that comprises the Towerlands.
With each mile gained, the beasts of the Tower will establish themselves as per their natures.
Should any actually venture into the Tower, they will find a strange, MC Escher-style of dimensional layout, encompassing at least: one world from the Physical Plane, the possibility of at least two worlds from the Elemental Planes, and at least one form of Heaven and Hell.
There is no Purgatory within the Tower.
When within the Tower interior proper, it is almost always a series of bloody red walls and tubes, almost anthill-like in scope. The Tower almost always has a “welcome” level that is far more stable than the rest of its structure, a central chamber for the “God’s Engine” (the stolen heart of God), and the “Titan’s Brain” chamber at the very top of the ever-growing Tower. This chamber can allow the user to view any room, any tunnel, any single point within the Tower’s interior, and can be used to command and control the activities of the associated beasts and characters within Towerlands.
Any who sit upon the commanding throne of the Brain will be immediately absorbed by the Tower itself should they be at 999g of Elan or less.
CHANGES TO A GONZO GAMING WORLD
Upon entering an already existing gaming world, the Black Tower will immediately establish itself within a single mile of land, normally in the middle of “nowhere” (though noticeably nearby any human/hmanoid settlements).
At this point it will take a solid week to establish itself further onto this planet, sending out supernatural sensory organs to gather information regarding the denizens of this plane. Should any challenging factor dispel or destroy the Tower, it will immediately withdraw (leaving not even a patch of desecrated land) and respawn in a random dimension.
Should none get rid of it or answer the summons, the Tower has one of two immediate behaviors:
-Should there be more than two Overpowered phenomenon outside of itself, it will seek to teleport to random locations away from those phenomenon and, instead, focus on slowly growing only the shanty town within it’s demesne, building up forces and instead of directly invading other humanoid settlements and claim land it will create creatures and adventurers to randomly throw into the world with neither mission or direction.
They are simply to live and generate further chaos within the world.
At this point the Tower is almost whimsical and practically uncaring of the world it’s inhabiting, focusing more on throwing it’s random creations into the world than anything else.
-Should there be no other Overpowered phenomenon (or at least one outside of itself that has neither challenged or dispelled it), then the Tower will take up a singular point and expand it’s growth unchecked throughout the world. Once it has devoured a certain amount of the world, it will then attempt to devour it wholly, continuing on until it has devoured the entire dimension.
THE CAST OF CHARACTERS
The Scarlet Circus - a wandering circus tribe that can move freely within and outside of the Tower with its permission. The Narrator is their ringleader, and is dressed the part. Both ally and enemy, the Scarlet Circus is bound by the laws of the Tower but appears to have their own part to play in this strange opera.
The Dark Godlet - a demigod who, at first, seems to run the Tower and knows its abominable secrets, the Dark Godlet knows of what gave rise to the tower, the manifestation of Sin. The titan known as the Tower, run by the heart of God and swallowing the soul of Satan, born to subjugate and dominate all.
The Dark Godlet also knows of the terrible secret of the Alchemist, even as he, himself, knows not.
Willow-Wisps - wicked, winged fae creatures that secretly enact the will of the Tower, leading certain people towards the walls that will absorb them.
Clockwork Mecha - the most horrifying of the Towers works, when a Doll Slave’s light blows out, the body is then excavated and filled with clockwork gears from the guts of the Tower itself, granting them an unnatural strength and undead lifespan and vitality. In a way it is immortality, but horribly enslaved to the will of the Tower.
The strongest ones are placed at the gates of Heaven or Hell, designed to look like the demons or angels they now guard.
Demons and Angels - creatures that once swore fealty to god, now horribly twisted and secured to their homes, bound and feeding the Tower forever through steam-powered engines and yellow, eldritch tubes.
Aliester Vambrace - an Alchemist, Traveling Merchant, and Child Smuggler of some renown. Within his bulky travel pack lays an endless space, though once something is within it it’s no longer endless. Uses chemicals and potions, as well as his handy cudgel, to do battle. Through a strange series of circumstances Al meets the Narrator and is then guided towards the innards of the Tower, crossing the boundaries of time and space to either reinforce or deny his heritage and destiny.
Bears broken shards of a mystic blade, the very same that used to house his soul in a previous life.
Tempestua and Oriole - the tale of Tempestua and Oriole, the first Child Smuggler, became warped over the years as it was whispered from bard to bard. Originally it was a love story, one that involved a trickster Titan by the name of Jupiter. Jupiter, the Titan who devoured his children so that none would rise against him, yet who allowed a son to live: Oriole, the beautiful one. Tempestua was a wandering warrior who fell in love with Oriole, and sought to free him for herself. While Tempestua and Oriole died in the attempt, Tempestua swore that her blade would pierce the demon’s heart and bring him down as her vengeance.
Jupiter was a greedy, gluttonous titan, one who swallowed the sins of humanity for eons. Finally it reached a critical point where his body could no longer hold any more sin…and so it transformed, becoming the Tower.
Now its gluttony was endless, and he subjugated all which fell under his shadow.
But now the Alchemist, the Blade given human form, has pierced his body and has been set upon an irredeemable quest for it’s heart.
A heart which may not be Jupiter’s.
The Narrator - the ringleader of the Scarlet Circus, the Narrator is full of secrets and blares them out at all time. A madman, a jester, a bard, the Narrator arrives only to give the Alchemist taunting questions and guiding song.
Exposition and explanation, the Narrator reveals all and, eventually, it is revealed the the Alchemist is actually God, hellbent on getting his heart back.
That is until it’s revealed the Blade and the Alchemist are one and the same.
Midboss - a mysterious, masked blacksmith who rides a motorcycle that sometimes looks like a dark horse. Midboss faces down the Alchemist, but after his defeat reveals the truth of the Tower to him…and his own grim fate, his own grim destiny.
In the end, the Tower will fall and crush all three dimensions.
And yet, there is no way around it. The Alchemist will have to, ultimately, choose to sacrifice his greatest love and hope that there is some life left on the blasted, wasted planet after he has chosen the ultimate fate of all.
Dawn Merryweather - a succubus who falls in love with the Alchemist early on in the story. It is Dawn who leads the Alchemist out of the City and into the sewers, where they run afoul of her ex, the Narrator.
She knows many things, but ultimately is as much a pawn of the Tower as anyone.
In the end she decides to take her own life in order to save the Alchemist, though he must still decide the fate of all afterwards.
It’ll just be a little more lonely, and hateful, than before.
Sobbing Wretches - the process of becoming enslaved to the Tower sometimes fails, and leaves the orphan both mindless and filled with a blinding, throbbing hate. Spewing foul ichors from gibbering mouths and wounds all over their bodies, sobbing wretches are staggeringly monstrous, only semi-humanoid and are best killed on sight.
The Tower collects them and sets them loose within labyrinth walls as free security.
Fault - the vampire lord who runs the Cult of the Tower, and who seeks to stop Aliester right off the bat. A dapper gent who mostly stays amongst the dark clouds of the Heaven Sector.
Manos, Klein, Derriere, Dom Magnus - various members of the Scarlet Circus. Strongman, sad clown, angry clown, and beast tamer.
Mallory Devonshire - a bard who has travelled throughout the lands who follows Al and chronicles his adventure. When the Narrator drops his role, Mallory picks up his mask and becomes the new Narrator.
THE BEASTS OF THE BLACK TOWER
Zombied Peasant - both within and without the Tower, humans are no longer able to live of their own volition. The tissues break down shortly after reaching adulthood, and results in cancerous sores appearing across their body, horribly disfiguring them sometimes.
The Zombied Peasants have completely blackened flesh, glowing red eyes, twisted and elongated limbs and have the insatiable need to procreate. Zombied Peasant women will give birth to fully-developed babies within two days, and any who are impregenated by Zombied Peasant males that aren’t Zombied Peasants themselves will give tragic birth a baby within a week.
Only 5% of these babies will be actual hybrids, taking after the host in terms of racial features and abilities, and will always have a strange aura of an evil outsider about them (though without being, themselves, evil…mostly).
Zombied Peasants need neither sleep, drink or food, and can be killed only with silver, blessed, chemical or enchanted weapons. They are considered fully regenerated at the beginning and ending of any round.
Zombied Peasants, as a whole, never number more than what they need and will raise an unlucky child instead of sacrificing them to the Tower should they need to replenish their numbers.
Zombiied Peasants only live for 1d4 years.
Doll Slaves - not all babies are born to be succulent meats. Many are, instead, harvested by the Tower to become the ground troops known as “Doll Slaves.” Wearing the bones of children and loincloth, they wield terrifying weapons of heavy dolls attached to their arms through unholy, foul chains.
The Slaves themselves have no brains, but the Dolls control them completely, speaking to one another with inhuman whispers that can drive listeners mad.
They also beat out a rhythm with the dolls that matches the pounding heart-engine of the Tower, drumming all slaves and zombies throughout their lives of dreary drudgery.
Necromongrels - Undead hellhounds that follow only the orders of the Tower or those empowered by it. They feed on the viscera and guts of humans, and greatly value and prize human babies as delicacy.
If not for that, they’d actually be quite good dogs.
Child Smugglers - in a world of zombies and precise, clockwork order, there still exists those who would rather not deliver their children or loved ones to be harvested. Child Smugglers have perfected the art of spiriting people away before the Harvest, and are the architects of the Underground Market.
There is a story that the very first Smuggler sought to spirit his nephew away from the all-seeing eye of the Tower, eventually bringing him to a different location that had already been Harvested.
Thus is the lore of the Smugglers.
Child Smugglers are notorious for looking like anyone, becoming anyone, and possibly have sacrificed their hearts to a demon god in order to gain the power to never be looked at directly. In reality they practice eldritch arts, including using the ward against the Evil Eye in order to not be noticed.
Gravecreeps - Gravedigging is not an illegal art, but it is frowned upon by the Tower. The Tower has a specific and precise method of which humans are allowed to live and die, and digging up the corpses to sell the parts aren’t a part of that method.
Gravecreeps tend to live somewhat luxuriously, though secretive. They can usually be found at the lower depths of the Underground Market.
Little Bastards - humans who have been transformed into human-faced war dogs.
Zombie Pod - sometimes the sores take over the body to the point where they are simply no longer human, but are merely incubating the darkness within them.
Whole cities have fallen to such a plague, giving rise to a wave of monstrosities that haunt the night.
Plague Creazoids - spindly and sickly, they’re vaguely humanoid and live only to pass on the strange sickness that has caused their birth. Born from a Zombie Pod, Plague Creazoids are terrifying avatars of waste and disease. Daylight and blessed silver can cause them to burn, but they are technically immortal.
There is a rumor that only true Smugglers know how to kill them, and even a few who can disguise themselves and their charges to walk amongst them without being noticed.
Guttersnipes - children who have yet to be harvested but run away from their zombified parents tend to cluster up in wolf-like packs, living completely wild and lawless. Usually armed with knives and other cutting instruments either stolen or found in the streets, guttersnipes can easily strip a grown adult of their meat down to the bones in about two minutes. Any packs of 10 or more are considered a “swarm,” and should they grow into a “hive” then they are actively hunted by Tower guards.
Ghastly Long Legs - haunted creatures who are encased in dark pods with long legs, bristling with horrific, terrifying weapons.
Bloodhounds - mid-level managers and powerful lordlings, they are vampires who are extremely loyal to the Tower itself, worshiping it as a creator god.
All save for one.
Wheelie Boys - packs of Dolls who have been transmuted and fused with wicked demon’s bone, creating sentient motorcycle units that belch Hellfire and evil smoke clouds. Very fast, but are actually weaker when they pack up.
THE RANDOM CREATIONS
When the Tower is unchallenged but has detected more than two Overpowered phenomenon besides itself, it will choose to instead bottle itself up from external influences and, instead, will continuously generate randomized creatures and characters.
It will do this multiple times (with each 100 babies sacrificed to it) throughout a month, spitting out these creatures who instinctively flee the Towerlands to integrate themselves within the world, normally as adventurers or scholars. Though the Tower itself gives them neither direction or missions, it does retain a psychic link to them, providing information gleaned about the planet to them as needed.
Otherwise these misbegotten souls are usually left alone and to their own devices. Not all escape the shantytown, but those who do sometimes return in attempting to discover more about themselves.
An even smaller number of them never make it out again, whether becoming one of the humanoids or falling prey to them.
Every 1000 of such randomized creatures birthed from the Tower will result in a special kind, dependant on the whims of the Tower itself. These whims change every 100 special type birthed, and will almost always switch to the next special type in line.
Those who are born of these special types have an uncontrollable need to fight one another should they come across one another, but may sometimes develop strong bonds with each other instead.
Should they face each other down for a fight, they will almost always be placed in Berserk status for the first round of combat, ignoring any other target save for the other type they’re focusing on.
If they are able to speak, they can only chant one thing: “Let the blood of the stone never pale upon bone.”
SUPERHERO PHENOMENON
At this stage, the Tower creates a randomized adventurer with access to up to 1d4 special powers. These powers can be extra/strengthened abilities or feats, special attacks, or simply extra abilities they can use in or out of combat.
Feel free to create characters based on your favored d20 Superhero splatbook at this point.
CLONE PHENOMENON
At this point, the Tower creates a randomized adventurer based on a historical NPC. This NPC can be either chosen from any in the world’s history or even a previously killed/dead PC.
If so they are now a NPC under the direct control of the GM.
If the Clone (who thinks they are completely the original) discovers either the PC they’re connected to, the PC’s party, or any records of the Black Tower itself, then it will have to make a will save in order to keep living with their sanity intact. From this point on the Clone may attempt to learn more about the Tower or the people it’s connected to, either to their detriment or their aid.
ALT PHENOMENON
The most combative of the special types, the Alts are those who bear a supernatural-psychic-spiritual creature formed of their will. All Alts are considered supernatural constructs, as are their Owners.
Alts differ in shapes, sizes, and appearance but mostly follow these generalized rules
Alt Users are required to have the following abilities, cost paid upon character creation:
Servant 2 [Alt’s Name] - see Alt character sheet. Has a single servant created from 30 character points. See GM notes for further details. Connected to the Unknown Superhuman Power (Alt) ability.
Unknown Superhuman Power (Alt) 1 - has an ethereal Servant that can be summoned as a free action. This summoning is considered a Supernatural ability, and a Spell-Like Ability at the same time. The Alt is ethereal and can emerge from any point of the user’s body, sharing the user’s same point in space. The Alt can affect the physical realm without becoming completely physical. Both creatures are lifelinked - if an attack hits the user, it affects the Alt, and vice versa.
Alts, themselves, are required to have the following abilities, cost paid upon character creation:
Magic 1 - 4 cp
(GM note: this is an SLA - summonable by user, can be in the same spot as user, can be insubstantial unless affecting physical objects)
Unknown Superhuman Power - 1 cp
(Is linked to user, grants access to user’s abilities and feats if Alt does not have them as a constant effect. GM NOTE: THIS WILL NEVER ALLOW STACKING OF ABILITIES AND FEATS! Has access and grants access to special attacks, feats, abilities, senses, and memories but halves current EP upon activating)
The Alt must bear the following Defects, giving them points back upon character creation:
Marked 3 - 3 cp
(No matter how normal the Alt looks, they will almost always seem strange to any outside the User, even if they look completely human. Also the “Scream of the World” marks them out to anyone with advanced sights of any kind, magical/psi/ki/faith)
Blind Fury 2 - 2 cp
(Should the user be knocked out or killed, the Alt will lash out in a blind, berserker fury against all in range for 1d6 minutes before fading out. Should the User have been killed, the Alt will immediately die after the 1d6 minutes are up. Should the User be brought back somehow before this, the Alt will regain their senses and be usable as normal.)
When building an Alt, they gain +1 Path specialty every four levels, start from level 1 (so level 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and a final one at level 20). Unless they’re a Hybrid, they canNOT choose from different Path specialties.
Combat Alts cannot pick the same two Path specialties unless otherwise noted.
On GM discretion, the Alt can continue to acquire Path specialties even beyond level 20. It’s suggested that they pay Style Points for this (25-50 SP) and gain the chance to do so every five to ten levels.
When building an Alt, one must be aware of these particular Paths:
COMBAT
Combat Alts are the most straightforward of all Alts. Al Combat Alts are at least somewhat humanoid in shape, with at least one limb dedicated to punching and grappling. All Combat Alts can only move 2 meters from the User. Encompassing a mixture of Offense, Defense, or Support, they have access to the following list of powers:
Burst Punching - allows the Alt to deal unarmed damage up to 1d6 times in a single action. All Combat Alts gain this ability at level 1.
Maximum Defense - during total defense, Alt gains Cover (User) and AC is increased by half. This does not stack with other feats or abilities.
Healing Hands - Up to [Alt’s Con Modifier] times per day the Alt may heal any target for 1d10+ECL HP.
Resistance - each level of Resistance grants a specific form of +1 DmR for the Alt. This can be applied to Physical Damage, Magical Damage, Psionic Damage, Supernatural Damage, or Elemental (declared Element) Damage. Each level of
Resistance (up to 3) grants +1 DmR. This can stack with all other forms of DmR bonuses.
Reach - grants the Alt the ability to attack further than usual while wielding melee weapons/unarmed. They can now threaten and attack targets up to 10 feet away.
Ability Increase - increases the Alt’s specific Ability score by +1.
Ability Mod Increase - increases the Alt’s specific Ability Mod score by +3.
Armored - grants +3 to AC. This is a supernatural effect.
Charged Strike - allows the Alt to “charge” a single attack by “X,” where X is # of standard actions sacrificed. Charging does not provoke AoO, and the act of charging cannot be countered or negated.
Charged Special - allows the Alt to “charge” a special attack by “X,” where X is # of standard actions sacrificed. Charging does not provoke AoO, and the act of charging cannot be countered or negated.
Burst Special - allows the Alt to utilize two Special Attacks as a single action. Target will still have to block/react to each one individually.
Weapon Slayer - allows the Alt to gain access to the User’s weapon bonuses.
Devourer - allows the Alt to attempt to devour a killed creature. Devoured creatures grant the Alt bonuses (+HP and +EP from the Devoured, as well as the Ability Mod score of one chosen Ability) and allows the Alt to utilize one special technique, attack, or spell from the devoured.
Synthesis - allows the Alt to, once per day, combine two melee weapons into a special enchanted weapon based on either Spellcraft or Craft (Weapon) skills. The synthesized weapon has the combined stats of the original items used, and is now considered an enchanted weapon. If the Synthesis attempt fails, the Alt cannot try again for 48 hours and the base items are destroyed.
Stacked - allows the Alt to “stack” their Skills, Abilities, Feats or other scores with their User. Must be declared upon acquisition, can only affect one Skill, Ability, Feat or other score that the User has access to (on their profile).
Healing Ward - upon successfully defending, allows the Alt to heal themselves or the User by half of the damage that WOULD have been dealt at the cost of an equal amount of EP.
Pleasant Breath - allows the Alt to take up a full round action. The User’s party now gains 5 Regen, 5 Refresh, and 1 DmR until end of combat. Can only be used once per combat. Users must be within 10 foot range of the Alt upon activation.
Cloned - connected to a special attack or special defense, allows the Alt to create ki-based clones of the special attack or defense once successfully activated. Can be utilized once per combat, can count towards Dualspelling if the attack or defense is magic-based.
Rancor (Declared Race/Monster Type) - the Alt and User have an incredible affinity towards harming a particular humanoid race/monster type. Gain +ECL to To Hit rolls when targeting the declared particular humanoid race/monster type. The reasons for such hatred MUST be approved of by GM and fit the User’s backstory.
Duel Stage - whenever a 1v1 situation occurs due to ability, skill, feat, spell, or attack of any sort than the Alt gains +User’s ECL towards To Hit and Damage rolls.
Evolved - allows a previously unimproved Path Specialty to be "evolved" to a stronger form. This works unless otherwise specified by the GM. Allows for doubled effects from any other Path Specialty the Alt and User qualify for while halving the costs where applicable.
(Player Created Specialty) - allows for completely custom, character-created specialties so long as they have the GM permission.
WEIRD
The Weird Alts are the…well, not to sound redundant, but the strangest of the Alts. Featuring powers that are hard to trigger or incredibly niche but with fantastic results, Weird Alts are not to be underestimated.
At the same time they might be a bit useless outside of their specialty.
Weird Alts must always be based around the focus and obsessions of the User, and must be tempered by the GM.
NOTE: Weird Alts are almost always built around “If/Then” and are situational. For every “If” condition granted, the “Then” result will always be more powerful and effective. Conditional modifiers to the If can decrease or increase the strength of the results.
EXAMPLE: If outside of combat, and while actively not in the area (up to fifty feet away), and while User is hidden using a Stealth ability or skill, then the Landmine Alt will explode upon being stepped on (up to fifty feet), dealing 5d20 damage while ignoring AC. Successful Reflex save halves damage. Should the target take any damage from the Landmine Alt, target is frozen in place and gives up one memory to the User.
Possible conditions:
If the User has died
If outside of combat
If User is not in the area (up to # of feet/miles)
If User is actively using a skill/ability/feat/special attack/power
If User is inactively using a skill/ability/feat/special attack/power
Possible results:
Then Target is immobilized, stunned, or otherwise suffers a debilitating effect
Then Target swaps souls with User
Then User drains Target’s (HP, EP, memories, soul, whateverhaveyou)
Then Target is stoned
Then User is stoned
Then Target takes damage
Then Target absorbs User’s/Alt’s combined damage
Then Target is healed for User’s/Alt’s combined damage
Then Target’s party is teleported to a random location
Then Target is time-locked for 24 hours to a specific location
Then User can fire a nail from their finger at the target
Then Target’s God ignores them for 24 hours
Remember, when building a Weird Alt, the GM has final say-so. While a Weird Alt may gain new powers with each Path Specialty, they can instead choose to simply improve, empower, and evolve their original abilities instead.
HYBRID
A Hybrid Alt combines any two features from Weird, Combat, or other templates. They allow the GM and Player to build Alts with features from not only the Alt System but other systems as well, including standard Familiars.
NOTE: if left completely random, this may give you a Familiar x Familiar Hybrid Alt.
All Hybrid Alts are considered Chimera.
RANDOMIZED PHENOMENON
Every 10,000th special type birthed by the Tower will be a completely randomized creature or adventurer, combining random abilities from every special type into one body.
Sometimes the resultant creature just dies from the weirdness of it all.
Sometimes this begets a god, or even stronger.
GM ONLY: Plot Progression for the Black Tower
Should the GM wish to run a Black Tower only campaign, they may find the following overview useful for it. All plot points are merely suggestions, and are the current canon for the Black Tower setting itself. Suggested play is 2-4, with at least one adventurer the designated Child Smuggler spoken of in Cast of Characters and here.
The entire thing should be presented as an Opera (so to speak), one that crosses meta, and is also an adventure meant to be “After The Opera,” following the misguided adventure of Tempestua and Oriole.
This setting is Advanced play, and requires heavy roleplaying experience from the GM as well as trust in the game experience of the players to complete.
Suggested ending is: everyone dies.
-The Narrator appears before the audience and sings of this terrible world and the absolute dominion of the Tower, bringing our attention to a Child Smuggler who has delivered his charge faithfully, but with a horrid end.
-The child is beheaded, the body held aloft as blood sprays unnaturally about. The Alchemist, realizing this was a trap set by the Dollies, flees.
-Fault arrives and takes over the scene, directing the Slaves and the Dollies to go after the Alchemist. He must be captured by any means possible!
-The Alchemist is accosted by Guttersnipes, and is herded through the dark labyrinth of the City by the howling wolfpack of children.
-As the Alchemist realizes that the Doll Slaves are after him as well, he uses his Clone Potion and tricks the two groups into coming across one another.
-Al comes across Dawn, his beloved, who reveals that Fault is on his way, taking wing in the moonlight to find them from above. So she believes they must go below.
-The zombie peasants cry out for the Tower’s aid as the couple eventually runs their way to an even older corner of the City ,revealing an old sewer pipe that takes them to a “safe point” in the Underground Market.
-The Narrator comes across them, revealing Dawn’s true nature as a succubus. Aliester makes the choice to believe in her anyway, and the Narrator rewards them with a new option: flee into the Tower itself, where no one would expect.
-They do so, entering the Hell Sector of the Tower.
-Fault meets up with the Dark Godlet, who admonishes him - the Tower had ignored the presence of the Child Smuggler on purpose, and Fault’s zeal may have set into motion a horrid end. Fault accepts his punishment and releases the forces of the Tower to raze the City, and to begin the Harvest early.
-In Hell, Dawn and Al behold the wicked sight of demons locked up in vats of flesh, feeding the Tower for eternity. Through a looking glass, they see that Heaven is just as captured, and both God and the Devil are missing.
-Led by Narrator, Dawn and Al make their way to an iffy looking elevator that should take them to Earth Sector, only to find that the forces of the Tower are scouring through Hell for them.
-Dodging the Bastards and other nasties, the couple make their way through a secret staircase through the darkness and into the light of the Earth Sector
-They find that the Earth Sector of the Tower has absorbed the entirety of the Earth out of rage and spite. Finding themselves in a transformed version of the City, they must make their way through throngs of dead creatures and the twisted abominations of the Tower itself, seeking to make their way to the rooftops where a secret warphole exists. With it, they should be able to bypass Heaven itself in order to make their way to the secret chambers of Tower Operations.
-Fault himself finally comes across them, nearly barring their way until members of the Scarlet Circus arrive to distract him. Taking advantage of the situation, Dawn and Al make their way through the warphole, only to find that the Narrator has lied to them.
-When the Tower arose, Heaven was split asunder further than ever before. God, having lost a wager, had his heart stolen by the Tower, who also devoured Satan in order to gain access to both Heaven and Hell. As Heaven was torn apart, God was able to create a final bastion within the center of paradise - the Scarlet Circus. The Narrator reveals himself to be God, and bids Al to find his heart and bring it back in order to achieve balance once again.
-Dawn points out that God left out one tiny iota: destroying the Tower would destroy all three dimensions, something God merely ignores. After all, he can always rebuild everything, eventually.
-Though Al agrees that something needs to be done, he doesn’t inexactly promises to help God. This pisses off the Narrator and the Scarlet Circus attacks, but at the last second Heaven is assaulted by Fault and the twisted mechanical goons of the Tower. Al and Dawn flee.
-The Dark Godlet bemoans that the continuous cycle of the Tower has fallen upon them all, a doom that cannot be stopped.
-Al and Dawn appear in the Tower Operations, and make their way through the various tunnels and strange chambers of flesh and metal. Dawn reveals the true story of Tempestua and Oriole, and Al’s part of this strange play.
-As they draw closer to the Heart of the Tower, the Dark Godlet releases the new form of Jupiter, the body of the titan shared with the mindspace of the Tower, and declares that he has won even as Jupiter devours him.
-The mechanical titan rounds on Dawn and Al, and Dawn takes on her own succubus form in order to fight the titan to a standstill in a kamikaze attack. As they both fall into the all-consuming void at the center of the tower, Al must now make a very important choice.
-Wracked with guilt, loneliness, and a nameless rage, Al makes his way to the chamber of the Heart. There the Dark Godlet and God both whisper to him, but it’s Mallory who appears next to him, bearing the mask of the Narrator and singing truth to him.
-So Al makes his choice, reaches out and crushes the heart of the Tower.
-As all three dimensions crumble to dust, the Tower crushing all with it’s descent, Mallory reveals that for the first time in thousands of cycles, the cycle of the Tower has been broken. Perhaps the next cycle will never come, perhaps it will, but the powers of Sin and Vice must always be met with heroic resolve and the choices of individuals.
-Al dies and, as the Tower falls lifeless to the ground, so does he fall into the arms of his beloved Dawn.
-Exeunt