Starscrapers of the Last City
This post was made as a submission for Dice Goblin's Adventure Calendar Jam 2023 where we post one short RPG idea every day until December 24. Here are my previous entries: day one, two and three
Here's a D20x4 table to generate some Starscrapers, the pale, lofty, transhumanist cyber-freaks of my weird-sci-fantasy everythingcrawl pet project (think Moorcock's Melniboneans in UVG).
| d20 | Starscraper First Name | Starscraper Second Name | Starscraper Description | This Starscraper Wants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tragic | Pain | A mechanical cacophony in black steel, porcelain spikes, bronze pipes, and silicone hoses, supporting a surgically stretched and lacerated body a few centimeters above the ground, engines purring softly. | Sheets of whisper-woven silk, untouched by mortal hands. |
| 2 | Desperate | Courage | Metal rings embedded into the skin, widening openings beneath tendons and musculature, creating tunnels in the flesh through which albino serpents slither in hypnotic movements. | The last breath of the final living specimen of an almost-extinct species of bird. |
| 3 | Ephemeral | Discord | A second skin that reflects light like a mercury mirror, flowing from head to toe without covering arms or legs. A circular glass plate suspended atop a crown that imparts the unmistakable sensation of being observed. Metal spikes jut out from the folds of the spine, screaming arcs of electricity jumping between their zeniths. | A soul completely untainted by evil—rest assured, they'll check. |
| 4 | Effervescent | Hope | Black, smooth, shiny strips of leather-like material criss-cross against naked, pale skin. Black paint (blood?), so red it hurts to look at, flows with the consistency of liquid mercury from the mouth, never dripping, never drying off. | The last remains of a dying star. |
| 5 | Terrible | Eternity | Dark-red insects burrow their tiny sharp legs into the skin, forming a glistening chitinous carapace. Sometimes, they open their back plates and vibrate long, multicolored wings, producing a hellish buzzing and mesmerizing reflections. | The screams of a spirit, recorded on a wax cylinder. |
| 6 | Lofty | Exuberance | A ring of black gold surrounded by at least a dozen life-size porcelain prosthetics of arms, held up by delicate strings of silver as thin as a thread of hair, moving in hypnotic patterns. | A sheet of music from the spheres, designed for instruments not yet invented. |
| 7 | Shameful | Disquiet | A huge spiked collar holds up a semitransparent gown over the body, so light it flows like a feather grazing against the wind. But the body is blood-red and toned, like a flayed corpse on display. | The coordinates of a long-forgotten dream. |
| 8 | Hateful | Absolution | Minuscule, translucent crimson lines hang from delicate arrangements of bronze and gold. On closer inspection, they are fully-functioning veins partially excised from the body. | Never-before-experienced pleasure, impossibly hard for someone like this. |
| 9 | Irredeemable | Justice | Gold-colored candles, lit in black flames. Wax drips down geometrically over the exposed skin, covering the body in impossible patterns. There is no discernible heat. | True fear, almost entirely forgotten. |
| 10 | Perfect | Freedom | A carved bell-shaped dome of glass, being held up over a naked body in a fetal position. The whole apparatus floats a few centimeters above the ground, vibrating and humming slightly. | The crown of the true king of the City. |
| 11 | Echo of | Melancholy | Entire rectangular sections of flesh and skin replaced by panes of glass, revealing functioning organs and guts. Flesh completely excised from arms, revealing an apparatus of silken threads that give movement to the bone, powered by ticking clockwork machines that hang from huge shoulder pads, whirring and whistling with each delicate movement with unfailing precision. | A living, adult dragon. |
| 12 | Anathema of | Mercy | Entire lower jaw replaced by crystalline pipes and valves that make the most beautiful sounds. | An accurate map of the depths of the world. |
| 13 | Reflex of | Possibility | Ribcage split open from the back, revealing a bustling, vibrant garden grown from flesh and guts. Strange fat bees and tiny, strange furry animals frolic among cabbage-sized flowers and translucent vines. The smell is intoxicatingly sweet. | That you put up a new constellation in the night sky. Yes, a little to the right of that one. |
| 14 | Memory of | Radiance | Inside a glass cocoon, suspended over a golden palanquin carried by four slaves. Naked and covered in what looks like blood, thick and dark-red. Hands trace sigils on the inner surface of the glass. They last only moments, but each one makes you feel like your head is being split open. | All the pieces needed for a living chess set. Real, breathing kings, bishops, you know the deal. |
| 15 | Idea of | Ruin | Arms and legs bent over the body and tied firmly with vibrantly-colored, strong rope. An exoskeleton of brass, bone, and mother-of-pearl is draped over the diminutive body like a blanket, controlled entirely by minute movements of the fingers. | The intact skin of an illuminated panther. Don't use metal weapons, they ruin the colors! |
| 16 | Structure of | Solitude | Long and thin cylinders of crystal hanging from steel chains draped over the shoulders, vibrating softly with each movement. Instead of making noise, they absorb it, casting a zone of shifting silence in the Starscraper's wake. | A meeting with the wisest man ever to live (probably long dead or not yet born). |
| 17 | Organism of | Submission | Pale flowers somehow blossom from open incisions, nourished by fresh blood, attracting a swarm of bees that nest in an artificial bronze hive suspended over the head, dripping thick red honey onto exposed skin. | A sphere from which one can gaze at the totality of the universe— they read about it once, surely it must exist. |
| 18 | Illusion of | Temerity | A heavy glass helmet sits over the respirator-wearing head, obscured by dark vapors. Black hoses connect the apparatus to strange brass cylinders that hang from the torso like artificial lungs, roaring deeply. Exhaust pipes sticking out of the upper back spit out bone-white smoke that slowly falls to the ground and dissipates. | To be the only one to see something no one has ever seen before. That includes you, so bring a blindfold. |
| 19 | Glimpse of | Temperance | A crown of long, irregular white spikes, hundreds of them. Several collars of black pearls hang like a veil of spheres over the face, shuffling with soft sounds, so long they drag on the floor, leaving only two pale arms exposed. | Touching poetry typed by a chimp. You can keep the typewriter. |
| 20 | Instrument of | Revenge | Almost all the flesh is missing. From beneath incisions on the silky skin draped over the bones, a colony of yellowish mold grows and drapes softly over the body, leaving behind flakes of sickeningly sweet spore. | Moonlight stored for later use. |
And here's an optional spark table to generate some slaves for Starscraper Palace-Cities / entourages (I did say they were like Melniboneans):
| D6 | Lacks... | Looks... | Made Into... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Both Eyes/Hands | Extremely Bloated/Thin | Silkskinned |
| 2 | Both Feet/Ears | Translucent/Charred | Trailpiercer |
| 3 | Half of Their Guts/Face | Pale/Lacerated | Skullsplitter |
| 4 | Esophagus/Fingers | Stretched/Rotten | Truthseeker |
| 5 | Lower Jaw/Ribcage | Artificial/Porcelain-like | Fleshsinger |
| 6 | Lots of Skin/Flesh | Metallic/Bleached | Roll Twice |
And some descriptions for the slave types:
| D6 | Skullsplitter | Trailpiercer | Silkskinned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invisible if Immobile for At Least one Minute | Can Walk for Days on End, no Water, no Food, no Rest | Makes the Most Ethereal Sounds |
| 2 | Can Stay Perfectly Still, Breathless, for Weeks | Always Knows Altitude, Latitude, Longitude, Where North Is | You Can't Take Your Away from Them |
| 3 | Can Feel Vibrations in Air, Ground. True Blindsight in 9m Area | Knows what the Weather will be Like in Seven Hours, Eleven Minutes, No Earlier, No Later | Supernaturally Hard to Disagree With |
| 4 | Can Excise Sharpened Bones Temporarily - Damage as Sword | Can Climb Sheer Surfaces with Bare Hands | Skin Tastes So Sweet, Normal Food is Bland by Comparison |
| 5 | If Head and Spine still Intact, Will Not Die | Accelerates Slowly to Top Speed of a Cheetah if Running Uninterrupted | Always Knows What you Want. What you Really Want. |
| 6 | Can Bend All Joints in All Directions, Fits Through Head-Sized Holes | Can Break Leg to Jump Five Times Higher. Bones Mend in One Hour | If Harmed, all who Witnessed the Act Break Down and Cry |
| D6 | Truthseeker | Fleshsinger | Glassdrifter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Can Taste Lies from Blood | Regenerates 1HP per Six Seconds | Can Cast Exact Opposite of Spell as Reaction, if Able to See It |
| 2 | Can Implant Thoughts by Eye Contact | Blood as Deadly Poison or Antidote, 50/50 Each Time | When they Speak, All shall Understand regardless of Language |
| 3 | Can Transfer Pain From Self to Others | Can See From Excised Eyes, Grows New Ones Weekly | Can See From Any Other Mirror, When Gazing Into Mirror |
| 4 | Can Scream Loud Enough to Shatter Glass | Removed Extremities can be Attached to Amputees, slowly Take Over Host | Can Walk in Walls, Ceiling as Long as in Dim Light or Darker |
| 5 | Serrated Teeth, 3m Long Tongue | Can Dislocate Jaw, Swallow Man-Sized Creature Whole. Immobile for a Week Afterwards | Can Eat Insect to See from Eyes of Others of the Same Species |
| 6 | Can Eat Tongues to Mimic Voices, Language | If Fed Blood from Someone, Slowly Morphs into Dopplegänger of that Person | Knows if Writing is Truthful by Licking the Words |
Thank you for reading!