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King Clam
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Jan 08, 2019 at 05:43:42 AM
King Clam
Radiation hung over misty Odluk Atoll (somewhere in the Pacific) like the odor of red licorice after a roomful of children vacated. It was from past atom-bomb tests and the team could feel it as soon as they came ashore.
Navy Captain Hemp Mavwell was restless. He liked bombs but didn’t care for science stuff. “How much longer?”
Dr. Karsly Morbin turned from her radiation detector with a flip of her hair. “Just a few more figures, Captain.”
“The figure I’m looking at is fine as it is.” Hemp lit a smoke.
Karsly matched his smoke with a smirk, rolling her eyes and making a rude gesture at Hemp’s back after turning to her moody assistant Alice Greem. Still new to the science game, Alice’s “trial by fire” was a run-in with the crab people, and it still upset her to think of it.
A sailor’s yell brought them to the far side of the atoll and a sight that would freeze the most hardened jeweler. It was the largest pearl anyone had seen. Larger than a rich lady’s.
“Why…it’s as big as a small cottage,” Hemp gasped.
“We need to take it back with us,” said Karsly, captivated by shiny things.
“That the scientist talking? Or the woman?” uttered Alice.
“A giant pearl? On a navy ship?” griped the outraged Hemp.
“Relax. Even a woman scientist would find it difficult to wear a pearl the size of a small cottage. But if we can find out what made it this way, who knows what doors we may unlock?” said the scientist, scientifically.
—
Back in the not-named-ironically Coastal City, Karsly had the pearl inlaid in a lovely massive industrial setting and she and Alice went to work studying it, along with difficult but brilliant Dr. Bundolph Laig. They quickly found the pearl had extraordinary properties.
“The radiation, constant pulsing, that funny hum — this pearl is jam-packed with science,” gasped Karsly.
“It is, in effect, my dear, a miniature atomic plant of inconceivable force,” confirmed Laig.
Hemp grasped that like a giraffe in a necktie store. “A source like this could make a whole lot of bombs. I’ll classify it and phone Washington.”
Later, Laig made his way to a cafe, into a back room, through a secret door to a secret chamber with a powerful modern television screen. It squealed as he made contact and soon he was looking at Egarp Krosh, severely-bearded representative of a hostile foreign power. “Well, brother-comrade? Is it true about the pearl?”
“More than true,” said Bundolph. “It is exactly true.”
“At last. The answer to big bomb prayers. We must have it at all costs, brother-comrade. You know what you must do.”
“I know you know I know what I must do,” smiled Laig.
“I know you know I know you know what you must do.” For security purposes, this went on…
—
But a gargantuan shadow loomed. And a resounding cry of grief special to mollusks. The captain of a tanker in the Pacific screamed as something the size of a stadium crashed down on him.
—
Reports of missing ships stacked like pancakes at a breakfast convention. Though the incidents followed a path directly to Coastal City, Karsly, Laig, and Alice were too caught up in science to notice. In fact, they’d succeeded in jury-rigging the pearl to power several nuclear plants.
But after hours, Laig and his minions snuck in with paint cans and managed to disguise the pearl as a giant display baseball, the kind enjoyed in ballparks across the country. Then they disappeared with it into the night.
Karsly knew who had stolen it right away: She’d never trusted Laig. Hemp notified law enforcement to be on the lookout for something giant, shiny, round, and radioactive.
The unsuspecting Coastal City waterfront became a nightmare when something as vast as a convention center rose from the water, looming darkly. A clam so colossal the press immediately dubbed it “King Clam.”
It slammed down on pier after pier, leaving rubble, confusion, and distaste for seafood in its wake. Its legless mobility was a raising and slamming down, as deadly as it was annoying.
—
Hemp hadn’t wanted Karsly to go undercover, but when they heard of the secret “radioactive pearl” auction she knew it was the only chance. Oddly, the sullen Alice was all for it. Fact was, Laig had betrayed his ungodly masters and was selling the pearl to the highest bidder.
Pretending to be “renegade scientist Bleeko Promine,” Karsly arrived at the warehouse location where both underworld and hostile powers were intent on buying the pearl. For display, the paint had been washed off and it looked as shiny and radioactive as ever.
As bidding began in earnest, Alice burst in, blowing Karsly’s cover.
“Karsly Morbin stole Newcott Waikes from me on their Seal Slug voyage! I vowed to get revenge and now I have!” she laughed.
“It was just a brief fling,” claimed Karsly.
Thunderous booming stopped everything. From the windows, all saw King Clam slamming its path of mass destruction right towards them. Hemp was leading the fight, firing up at the monster harmlessly with a pistol for some reason, which he emptied, then threw at the thing.
Karsly shouted, “Don’t you see?! You fools, oh you fools! All it wants is its pearl back!”
“Never!” shouted Laig like a madman, trying to roll the giant pearl to a hiding place.
Fearing for her own life, Alice got on the roof. “Here! Here is your pearl, King Clam! Oh, what have I done?!” she sobbed beneath the mighty shadow of King Clam as it slammed down on her and the roof. The hole in the building revealed the pearl to the monster as Laig bolted. Happy as a clam, King Clam managed to open its maw and scoop the pearl inside.
—
Hemp and Karsly watched from a pier as King Clam returned to the sea with its radioactive prize. “Maybe someday, Hemp… we can make bombs without giant clams.”
Behold! Your Kickstarter Concierge that came from beneath the sea!
We're closing in on our next Stretch Goal, like an angry seal circling a lost kayaker... Let's keep at it - spread the word, set out some bait, and pull them in. Or, figure out some kind of fishing metaphor of your own that works much better.
MIDWINTER GAMING CON
If you're at the Midwinter Gaming Convention in Milwaukee this weekend, come find the Onyx Path team and say hi! They'll be around booth CB7 and CB8, but I'm sure there will be signs of Onyx Path games all around the convention. And, if you can, check out the Onyx Path Q&A event late Thursday afternoon in the opulent Founder’s Room, where lots of secrets will be revealed and questions answered.
#TheyCONFromBeneathTheSea
#TheyCameFromBeneathTheSea!
The Story Told RPG Podcast interviews Matthew Dawkins
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Jan 07, 2019 at 03:39:34 AM
Behold, dry-landers,
A quick update today before I return with another Tale from Beneath the Sea tomorrow, and then creature previews on Wednesday and Thursday!
Moisturize!
The Story Told RPG Podcast has a special bonus episode this week, featuring an interview with Matthew Dawkins, who Came from Beneath the Sea!
We're almost at 600 backers, which is amazing! And, with just over 17 days to go, still lots of room to add even more supporters and unlock some additional stretch goals, building the B-movie world and filling it with adventure.
At $33,000 in funding! - A NEW SCENARIO - More adventure to be had with a new scenario PDF, added on to the rewards list for all backers receiving the They Came from Beneath the Sea! rulebook PDF.
At $35,000 in funding! - EXPANDED FLOATING FOES! - - A pailful of new threats and antagonists will be created and released as a Threat File! PDF, added on to the rewards list for all backers receiving the They Came from Beneath the Sea! rulebook PDF.
At $36,000 in funding! - DIGITAL WALLPAPER - Dress up your computer screen with some awesome art from They Came from Beneath the Sea! This Digital Wallpaper will be added as a reward to all backers.
So, keep spreading the word! Let's make some ripples in these waves and get to 600 backers... and beyond!
#TheyCameFromBeneathTheSea!
#LetsBuildABiggerBoat
#CreatureFeatureWeek
Slime of the Sea Slugs!
over 5 years ago
– Sat, Jan 05, 2019 at 06:01:26 AM
Slime of the Sea Slugs
The yacht sailed slowly into the fog. Never to be seen again.
—
Newcott Waikes grunted. He had grunted before, but this time the Department of Touristry agent really meant it as he stood on the deck of the rescue cutter while it streamed along. “Can’t believe I’m in the middle of the ocean looking for missing yachts.”
Bran Farsimmon looked amused. If the ace seafarer and folklore expert had seen one like him, he’d see five. “You Touristry boys are always up to your necks when tourists go missing.”
Karsly Morbin looked at him like he had three hands. “Simple, Mr. Waikes. I’m an expert on marine life, as well things that live in the ocean.”
“Of course!” exclaimed Bran. “I read your paper The Science of Disgusting Things. Interesting stuff.”
“Something in the sea might be responsible for these disappearances. Something alive.”
“There’s mystery connected with this part of the ocean.” The folklore expert paused to light a pipe. “Satan’s Septagon, it’s sometimes referred to.”
“Don’t expect scientists to get caught up in superstitions, Bran,” scoffed Karsly.
—
The next day, the cutter drifted into dense fog. Then, one by one, crewmen on watch began disappearing overnight without a trace, save a sickly yellow-green slime on the deck. With half the crew gone, Karsly, Bran and Newcott started to wonder.
“The instruments are going haywire,” said Bran in the pilothouse. “Typical for Satan’s Septagon.”
“Is haywire good or bad?” asked Newcott.
“At this moment we are hopelessly lost, without hope,” uttered Bran who looked at Karsly, who turned to Newcott, who turned to Bran, which went round several more times, stopping only when something emerged from the fog: a yacht.
Onboard, they found it empty — the telltale slime their only clue, of which Karsly took a sample.
—
That night, Karsly went to get some air on deck and ran into Newcott enjoying the fog.
“How’s the slime analysis, doctor?”
Karsly chuckled. “I’m afraid slime isn’t analyzed like you would toothpaste or whipped cream. I should know more tomorrow.”
“There’s another analysis I’d like to make… Karsly.” Newcott moved in and kissed her, not realizing Bran was watching from the pilothouse. “Been wanting to do that for a long time,” murmured the Touristry agent.
“We’ve only known each other a week,” said Karsly.
A squishy sound made them freeze and feel queasy.
“Something over the side!” exclaimed Newcott. “Too dark to see!”
A steady slapping. Some thing was climbing the hull. With a massive splat on the deck, the creature sprawled before them: an unholy union of seal and slug, big as a walrus. Of the four stalks on its head, the upper two housed shiny black eyes, while whiskers betrayed its seal side. It dragged itself along with large heavy fore-flippers, its tapering bulk leaving a trail of slime.
Suddenly, a crewman was there with a boathook. Before he could act, the monster absorbed him into its body, like fruit sucked in gelatin. Karsly screamed. Apparently sated, the horror pitched into the sea.
—
Newcott and Bran watched lab-coated Karsly study slime under a microscope.
“No doubt about it. Half seal, half slug.”
“A Seal Slug!” exclaimed Bran.
“That’s crazy,” sneered skeptical Newcott. “I mean how would they… you know?”
“It’s possible these are some sort of atomic mutations. I spent years studying seals. Maybe I could communicate using seal fin claps.”
“I dunno,” reasoned Bran. “I mean, it absorbed a guy.”
Their clapping-and-absorbing talk was cut short by a cry from the deck. They rushed out and immediately stood agape. Seal Slugs were climbing up the sides in a slimy horde.
Crewmen battled with anything they could lay their hands on, but the slushing hulks continued overpowering and absorbing victims with disgusting slurps.
Newcott drew his Touristry Department gun and fired, but bullets just passed through. Like any good hero, after running out of bullets, he threw the gun at one. It was quickly absorbed.
Bran grabbed whatever was handy, which was a tennis racket, and started swatting, but it only made obnoxious waffle patterns.
Karsly tried an acetylene torch from her lab but even flame had no effect. She then tossed sodium, even acid, but nothing slowed them down. As a last-ditch effort, she started barking and clapping, but Bran just moved her delicately away. Finally, having absorbed all remaining crewmen, the slimy hulks disappeared overboard.
—
Karsly brought her science stuff to the wheelhouse where they were holed up.
“Maybe they’re done with us. They ate a whole crew,” suggested Newcott.
“Absorbed,” corrected the scientist.
“I don’t think they’ll be done with us until they’re done with us,” said Bran. “At least the fog’s lifting.”
No sooner was that said than Seal Slugs began dragging themselves onto the deck. Soon, they surrounded the wheelhouse, smashing doors and windows.
“Quick, you two!” yelled Bran. “Up onto the platform on top while I hold them off!”
“Are you crazy?” barked Newcott.
“No, I’m sacrificing myself!”
“Let’s all go up there!” called Karsly, grabbing her science stuff.
“No, no, I really wanna sacrifice myself!”
“Oh, come on!” said Newcott, and they dragged him out of there onto the top of the platform. Seal Slugs started squishing up the sides and Bran and Newcott whacked them with baseball bat and boathook respectively. Karsly saw the sun coming out and had a brainstorm. Hastily, she began whipping something together.
“What are you doing?” asked Newcott as his boathook harmlessly pierced a Seal Slug.
“A little trick that just might work,” declared Karsly, coming up a couple of large magnifying lenses rigged together. She shifted it, aiming the sun’s rays at Seal Slugs, one after the other. Horrible shrieks filled the air as they started smoldering, then melting. Until, finally, only smoking pools of slime remained.
The three caught their breath, enjoying good fortune, as a rescue ship appeared on the horizon.
Prepare to be absorbed!
And now we've met the Seal Slugs! One of the coolest parts of the game - yet to be revealed - are the antagonists and creatures that our heroes will encounter! Next week, we'll be looking at the Threats chapter and previewing some alien invaders and posting the complete Threat chapter. You'll soon learn that the creatures from beneath the waves don't always share the same motivations, or allegiances, and may provide even more colors for a Director to use when painting a bigger picture.
Until then, check out this awesome Actual Play threat from Cinder on the Onyx Path messageboard - "Explorers of the Fathoms!"
And let's see if we can hit 600 backers over the weekend! Keep up the good work - keep sharing in your social circles and on social media, and let's continue to grow this game!
#TheyCameFromBeneathTheSea!
#ExplorersOfTheFathoms!
#TheScienceOfDisgustingThings
Backers Only Manuscript Preview #4
over 5 years ago
– Fri, Jan 04, 2019 at 06:14:21 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
A Preview from Beneath the Sea! - The Green Scare
over 5 years ago
– Thu, Jan 03, 2019 at 05:45:21 AM
Greetings dry-dwellers,
Behold! The agent of your soon-to-be Amphibian Overlords...
THEY CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA! will not just provide a system and rules to simulate your adventures, but also a trope- and hook-filled setting to serve as a background for your encounters. Described as 1950s America filtered through the lens of B-Movies, an entire chapter of theories, plots, history, and pseudo-history will help stir your imagination and launch fantastic tales!
Digging through these documents, beyond discussion of the Red Menace of the 1950s, we find details of...
The Green Scare
“We know nothing about these creatures from beneath the sea. We don’t even know if they know about us. Maybe they do. Maybe we should be worried.”
— CIA white paper on the NACA “Anomalous Suboceanic Species” report to HUAC
They responded to the nuclear tests, in any case. Wouldn’t you, if your home was being bombed?
Their biggest coup was the USS Shangri-La, a decorated aircraft carrier that survived the Pacific theater in WWII. She was pulled beneath the waves in harbor by a sudden eruption of tentacles from the sea floor. Few lives were lost, but the west was thrown into a panic. “Is this some new plan by the Soviet Union?” we all asked. “Who could be behind it?”
It’s amazing how quickly that event disappeared from the news. Government cover-up? Human inability to accept that we share our planet with something unknown? Who knows?
Honestly, we don’t know what specific creature caused it, but it created a new scare. The Red Scare, the Lavender Scare, they all fold back into the Green Scare, like flowers on a tree branch or fish in kelp. The CIA, FBI, MI-5, and CSIS all have lists of “un-human” activities to comb through. High-profile citizens are taken in for questioning. But in the halls of government, parliamentarians and congresspeople say nothing. Task forces are set up and just as quickly disbanded.
Popular culture’s changing too. Don Siegel introduced the threat of the “no-brainers,” humans taken over by alien intelligence, with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Ken Hughes followed it with his Atomic Man. Songs and short stories about extra-human intelligences are all the rage. In something of an ironic twist, scarlet red is now back in fashion as a statement against alien sympathies. The US produces a ridiculous volume of wartime propaganda. I hear Jack Kirby drew Captain America punching a squid, and the comic sold out in hours. An uncredited propaganda artist pulled on by HUAC drew a much-mocked take of the cover depicting Joseph McCarthy as Captain America fighting the “Green Menace.” It wasn’t nearly as good.
At this point, McCarthy’s fear of the “Reds” has taken a back seat in politics. It is still there, of course. The intelligence community today considers recruiting some of the folks they questioned, but it’s early yet, prejudice preventing a coordinated response from across humanity. All that said, McCarthy’s recent death has done some good in taking the governmental ammunition out of the HUAC arsenal.
Tune in tomorrow for a backers-only manuscript preview of The Human World Invaded!
STRETCH GOALS
I've seen lots of discussion about using They Came from Beneath the Sea! for casual play and one-shots, and you've just made that even easier by unlocked our latest Stretch Goal:
Achieved! - CHARACTER PACK - Ready-to-go PDF characters designed for print-and-play action! Added to the rewards list for all backers receiving the They Came from Beneath the Sea! rulebook PDF.
Waste no time getting right into the action and adventure, just print and go!
But, how to dress while enjoying these adventures, you might ask?
At $31,000 in funding! - BACKER T-SHIRT - hosted on the Redbubble store for a limited time, a They Came from Beneath the Sea!-themed shirt at a steep discount. All backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available.
And, now that you'll be stylishly dressed, what will the adventure look like?
At $33,000 in funding! - A NEW SCENARIO - More adventure to be had with a new scenario PDF, added on to the rewards list for all backers receiving the They Came from Beneath the Sea! rulebook PDF.
It's important to note that the expansions we'll be building for this world - the new threats, the new adventures, the ready-to-go characters - will be released as rewards to you (and, likely, for purchase in some form) apart from the core rulebook for They Came from Beneath the Sea! The team is focused first and foremost on delivering our primary reward to you within our timeline, so have built these expansions to ensure they don't interfere with the completion of the rulebook.
ENCOUNTERED WHILE SURFING (THE WEB)
To hear more about the game, some recent interviews and fun items from around the internet:
