I got kirt dankmeyer's curt and dank prompt "d20 surreal science fantasy adventure seeds, the weirder the better. Optional: A micro-setting that would tie them all together" for the OSR secret santacorn this year.
This marks the second santicorn I've participated in in which I've gotten a scifantast prompt, which is fine by me. anything i write i gonna go that direction. the previous one was an o'neill cylinder hex crawl which grew into an entire hexcrawl setting generator and took me nearly a year to finish.
now that my adhd is under control i have no more excuses for my derangement. i apologize in advance. please consult your doctor before on
Micro-Setting: The Splintered Kalpa
In the last gasp of a dying universe the remnants of time and space are tearing themselves apart. Fractured by aeons of misuse, the "Great Mechanism" that holds existence together sputters and leaks, spilling reality mutating fluid in great emerald rivers across the rocky barren landscape.
What remains is a nightmare mosaic of quantum fragments: ancient ruins that shouldn’t exist, alien bio-machines from other dimensions, sentient time-locked cities, eldritch entities drawn to feeding on the cacophony and spawning unstable pocket realities from their festering asses. The very laws of the universe are corrupted: gravity bends in spirals, time loops and skips, the dregs of star-faring species have unravelled into schizophrenic diversity. Cultists worshiping the putrifid chrome ichor of dead gods stalk openly for live sacrifices, mutated humanoids of every possible incarnation scrape by scavenging relics of what once was/will be. The only thing edible is meat. Those born blind are considered Saints for they've never been tainted by the sight of this discarded hell.
The Splintered Kalpa is not merely a location but a state of existence: an endless landscape of decayed glory and cosmic madness feeding endlessly upon its own unraveling. The wise seek escape, the bold seek riches, and the stupid seek answers.
d20 Surreal Science Fantasy Adventure Seeds
1. The Tower of Singing Suns
An obsidian tower hums with a thousand discordant voices: at its peak is a "living sun”, imprisoned and bleeding great lashes of magnetic energy. Touching it grants terrifying visions of other realms but permanently alters the viewer's form.
The Sun-Eaters, a cult of blind devotees, scour the landscape searching for sacrifices to "feed the sun’s hunger”. They believe the sun must never be freed, fearing its light will burn away reality. They refuse to acknowledge their efforts are actually destabilizing the sun's malfunctioning containment field.
2. The Fossil Womb
An enormous, fossilized animal fetus looms over a desolate plain, cracked open to reveal a glowing, organic core. Inside, embryonic monsters swim in a pouch of viscous fluid, mutating, growing, regressing, dissolving, perpetually exploring the infinite possibilities of evolution in hyperspeed. Any creature removed from the womb attempts to escape and multiply.
The Pale Remnant, a dying alien parasite, once fed off the living form of the fetus but became trapped millions of years ago when its host died. It feebly emits signals begging for rescue, promising access to immense power in return, but its true goal is to spread dominion and feed on souls. It will say and do anything to manipulate others into breaking containment.
3. The Ship of Falling Stars
A ship constructed from the bodies of ancient gods crashes into the desert. Its corridors are alive, pulsating with celestial ichor. The ship whispers the true names of those nearby, drawing them deeper into its heart, where an alien star is trying to be reborn.
Scavenger-lords from the Blistered Iron Band have already claimed part of the ship, setting up traps and killing intruders. They will trade artifacts from the ship for survival gear but are heavily armed and paranoid. They seek desperately to find a way to harvest the ship's celestial energy for their interdimensional war machines.
4. The Black Pyramid
A towering black pyramid appears at random intervals, hovering over the land, insidiously rewriting the landscape anywhere its shadow falls. At its apex lies a single switch labeled "RESET." An echo of the pyramid exists in a parallel timeline, and actions in one affect the other. Temporal Knights patrol both versions, erasing any anomalies they deem dangerous (including the players).
Goal: Preserve their version of reality at all costs.
5. The Pale Caravan
A caravan of emaciated figures trudges across the wastes, carrying massive bone relics on their backs. They trade memories for protection. Following them reveals a hidden fortress where an immense skeleton sits upon a throne, awaiting tribute.
A group of violent stim-addicted scavengers called “the Gravediggers” track and harass the caravan attempting to steal their relics. They are led by Hollow Garan, a skeletal figure in scavenged funeral garb, a cracked and scorched ceremonial burial mask welded to his face. Garan was once a mortal soldier who perished in the ruins of dying starship but was resurrected by the cursed Pale Caravan. He is driven for vengeance against the Pale Caravan for his undeath. Hollow Garan and his cadre may work with players or turn on them if the opportunity arises.
6. The Flayed Cathedral
An organic cathedral made from flesh and bone grows slowly outward, absorbing anything it touches, inhabited by choirs of skinless priests perpetually chanting the mantra of their god, the Flesh Cyclone.
The Flesh Cyclone is a mindless swirling vortex of human and alien body parts which roams the cathedral, assimilating those it touches. Survivors claim the cyclone whispers secrets of immortality, but the only way to hear it is to get dangerously close.
A wandering merchant-priest called the Skin Broker offers maps to treasure housed in the cathedral in exchange for a strip of the players’ flesh. If cheated, the Broker summons flayed assassins to relentlessly hunt the party.
Goal: To construct a skin suit for the giant skeleton in Seed #5. the skeleton doesn't want it.
7. The Machine That Dreams
A massive, partially buried machine dreams of an alternate timeline. Interfacing with it allows players to temporarily access "ghost echoes" of themselves from the past or future. But the machine’s dream is unstable and sometimes mixes up the identities of those it's had contact with in other dimensions.
Dream Thieves, a group of desperate refugees, already inhabit the machine, addicted to using it to continually rewrite their past. They’ll do anything to protect their sanctuary from intruders.
Goal: Prevent anyone from waking the machine. The machine considers them parasites but its mind is imprisoned in perpetual stasis.
8. The Glass Serpent
A titanic crystalline serpent sleeps, coiled around a ruined city, its body refracting chaotic beams of light from invisible suns. Inside its translucent body glitters artifacts from consumed worlds. Pieces broken off from the serpent form into dopplegangers who sleep until prey comes within scent.
Goal: to sleep and digest undisturbed.
9. The Crimson Spill
A river of blood flows uphill, leading to a source deep underground: a colossal, beating heart. Eating a piece of the heart grants random mutations but marks the eater for an unknown predator that stalks the night.
The Red Sisterhood, a coven of blood mages, guards the heart of the river. They demand seekers submit to replacing their own hearts with an alien biomechanical parasite in exchange for admittance into the main chamber, but curse those who refuse with uncontrollable bleeding.
Goal: Resurrect the Blood Titan.
10. The Cosmic Chain
An enormous golden chain hangs from the sky, descending into the horizon. Climbing it leads to a void realm where figures frozen in agony float in stasis. It is said they guard a secret to escape this world into a new, infant universe.
A group of ragged ascetics called the Chainbound attempt to climb the chain endlessly, muttering prayers of salvation. They attack anyone who tries to pass them, believing only they are worthy to ascend.
Goal: Reach the chain’s end and ascend to godhood.
11. The Laughing Moon
A moon-sized, skeletal face leers from the night sky, laughing audibly. Its teeth occasionally fall to earth as immense structures carved with alien figures that pulse with necrotic energy. Touching them grants knowledge of eldritch rituals but risks drawing the moon's attention.
The Laughter Cult worships the moon, seeing its falling teeth as sacred relics. They interpret the players' interest as heresy and seek to silence them or steal back any “stolen” knowledge
Goal: Feed the cult's leader to the moon to gain its favor.
12. The Clock That Eats Time
A monstrous clockwork mechanism embedded in a ruined tower ticks backward, erasing seconds, minutes, and memories. At random intervals it disgorges piles of objects from forgotten eras which are slowly erased. Turning it off requires entering its gears.
Chrono-Wardens, time-manipulating warriors, arrive claiming any intruding presence has already caused dangerous paradoxes. They seek to protect the clock and anyone tampering with it.
Goal: Maintain temporal stability at any cost.
13. The Bone River
A riverbed made entirely of bones stretches for miles. Some bones emit soft whispers when touched, revealing half-truths or riddles about the seeker's fate. The foolhardy seek answers from the bones and attempt to scavange truths. At night, the river animates and flows uphill.
Bone Reclaimers, a hive-mind colony of skeletal constructs, rise from the river at night, collecting anything they perceive as "misplaced bones." They’ll hunt the players only if provoked.
Goal: Rebuild their long-dead Bone King atop the Prismatic Ziggurat.
14. The Choir of the Hollow
Deep in a ravine, a choir of hollow, faceless figures sings a haunting melody that causes listeners to weep blood. Each song reveals hidden passages within the ravine, but singing along risks losing one's face.
The Veil Dancers, cloaked figures immune to the choir’s effects, seek others to join their ranks. They trap victims in the ravine to harvest their faces for their own use.
Goal: Maintain control over the ravine and build their army of slaves. Cover the world in song.
15. The Veil of Hungry Stars
A shimmering curtain of starlight appears once per month. Passing through it allows travel to distant realms but leaves behind pieces of the traveler.
a faction of desperate exiles patrol the veil, demanding payment in memories for safe passage. They secretly plant seeds of paranoia among groups to control them.
Goal: Hoard enough memories to construct a new identity for their leader. Use the virulent implanted memories to construct a secret cabal of mindless soldiers and spies.
16. The Well of Shattered Skies
A bottomless well emits light of shifting colors. Dropping objects into it causes them to reappear elsewhere in the world, altered and corrupted. The well’s guardian claims to be an avatar of a dead sun and demands offerings.
the Herald of the Abyss, spectral entity who traps the minds of those approaching it, forcing them to relive alternate lives endlessly. It uses these alternate lives to work out “the perfected universe”.
Goal: Use the well’s power to unmake reality.
17. The Iron Forest
Metallic trees hum with static, their leaves sparking with eldritch energy. Deep in the forest, a humanoid figure made entirely of rusted gears sits frozen, clutching an orb that distorts gravity.
A rogue druid named Rustblight has claimed the forest as a sanctuary. It sends metal beasts to kill intruders, believing them to be agents of the old gods.
Goal: Preserve the forest by assimilating all organic life into metal.
18. The Whispering Chain
A sentient, endless chain wraps around a crumbling tower, its links engraved with alien symbols. Studying the engravings grants access to alchemical secrets but slowly calcifies the examiner's body from the inside.
A group of corrupted alchemists called the Chainwrights seek intelligent, magically attuned prisoners they can compel to study the chain for them. Prisoners are strapped into beds and hoisted up the tower using complicated machinery. They used the gained knowledge to produce powerful and addictive elixirs hoping to find the recipe for True Death. They're running out of prisoners and desire a formula to extend their lifespan.
19. The Dying God’s Blood
An ichor-filled crater faintly glows, filled with the decomposed ooze of a dead god. Drinking it grants fleeting power but causes the drinker to dream of a dying universe, their dreams erratically pulling spawning beings of pure entropy into this realm.
Ichor-dripping spawn of previous imbibers haunt the wastes, having killed their birthers. They are guardians of the dying god’s essence, enslaved to enacting its final will. A cabal of wizards called the High Speakers are embroiled in an enternal rift: do they attempt to harness the power of the crater or find a way to destroy it?
20. The Library of Living Dust
A ruined library contains books filled with arcane knowledge which begin to dissolve into fine, animate dust when opened. Breathing the dust embues one with chaotic magical essence which slowly erodes their minds.
The Memory Keepers is a sect of librarians dedicated to maintaining the library. Once in a generation they grant access to it's kno
wledge for the duration of a single cycle. Otherwise they attempt to silence all who know of the library's whereabouts.
Species generator
roll d4, d12, d20
d4 body type
1 bipedal
2 quadrupedal
3 multi-legged (d20 if unsure)
4 floating/winged/limbless/swimmer (d4)
d12 lifeform
1 humanoid
2 reptilian
3 robotic
4 crustacean
5 plant
6 putrescence golem
7 undead or semi-undead
8 gaseous
9 prismatic
10 elemental
11 humanoid and roll again to combine
12 roll d4 times and combine, ignore if re-rolled
d20 spiciness
1 mindless drone
2 exudes anti-magic aura
3 twin beings with hivemind
4 parasitic
5 breath/blood/plasm vitae highly toxic/corrosive
6 reproduces via budding
7 telepathic
8 transformation abilities
9 infected by noxious disease
10 aging backwards
11 limbs can disconnect and act independently
12 can produce small items from its bones
13 obsessed with pyramids
14 confuses creation and destruction
15 bionetic or cybernetic implants
16 multi-headed
17 ethereal/dimensional shifted form
18 worships rogue AI
19 this is just its larval form
20 feeds on inorganic material
d20 additional locations
1 vast sea of fuligin oobleck
2 plain pockmarked with craters, shards of satellites constantly rain down
3 honeycombed mountain so massive it juts out beyond the atmosphere, full of drone perpetually rebuilding machine cities
4 a city built around an enormous glass orb showing ghostly forms within the most contained within
5 arcology pleasure-garden populated with hedonistic bat people
6 a gently rotating island in the center of a perfectly circular lake of motor oil
7 castle perched atop the back of a mountain sized tortoise
8 City built inside a whale skeleton
9 forest of humming crystal shards
10 village of shamans that hate technology beyond rocks and fire
11 field of skeletal limbs which grow like flowers
12 scattered village of mudhuts inhabited by an enclave of clones of the same person
13 crashed freighter starship inhabited by terrified space marines. inside the freight pod is an enormous human with perfectly smooth alabaster skin, sleeping
14 herd of sleek robotic unicorns sporting 6 foot air-powered harpoon horns
15 the shifting amber labyrinth, home to moth-men obsessed with dissecting human social constructs
16 a single sentient tree capable of telepathic speech, desires world peace
17 a star-fort of pterodactyl riders
