Nagrul Rising (mostly blather about Epic illustrated)

This is not directly a gaming post by any means save in the vaguest of senses so if me blathering on about my influences and comics from 35 years ago aren’t your thing then feel free to happily skip this one.  More interesting stuff will come.

One of the bigger inspirations for the galaxy crawl was an old marvel magazine called Epic Illustrated.  Very much like the Heavy Metal of its day (itself, initially just an Americanized version of Metal Hurlant where most of HM’s early strips first appeared) - but while Heavy Metal was still (at that time) very much hooked into the Euro comics scene (where a bunch of other influences come into play - Moebius, Drullet, etc. multiple cetera) Epic was all about promoting American (mostly) artists and writers….while also giving some marvel folk the place to do let’s just say untraditional material.  Lots of the stuff in there (especially the Ostrander) is VERY appendix N in flavour, style, and direct influence IMO.

There was an adaptation of Almuric in the early issues that was I think my exposure to non-Conan, Howard fiction. It was favorable. Also Sword & Planet. There was a LOT of Sword & Planet in Epic, though not nearly as much as in HM. A good balance of post-apocalyptic stuff too (It was the 80s after all).  Like, Cobalt-60, which was, however indirectly, was my first exposure (it was by his kid I think) to Vaughn Bode, which led me to Crumb and all that later on when I was a bit taller. (But only a bit, I was a curious kid.)

Other notable and memorable bits I recall were P. Craig Russel’s Dreaming City (but that had already appeared in Star Reach I think) and Wendy Pini did a weird little tie in to their Elfquest comic in one issue.  (Like I said the magazine was random. Not that there was a dearth of magazine sized comics in the early 1980s.  Fewer if you take out Mad and Cracked and that lot.)  There was some Corben I think, though not nearly as much
as in HM; probably because of the nudity. 

Eventually Epic was (briefly) successful enough - well “successful” in that the magazine itself ended but the imprint, sort of a proto-Vertigo lingered on for many years, giving us Dreadstar (more Ostrander), the Alien Legion (a HUGE influence on the thing), and a few others besides. I loved that imprint.  (And it was all over the place too. Swords of the Swashbucklers (sort of adolescent girl escape story meets Crawljammer style space pirates – it was a lot of fun), Stray Toasters (by Sienkiewicz) and Groo were all put out at the same time as the rest of this stuff.

Anyway, I’m getting off topic.

 Nagrul (below) originally appeared in Heavy Metal back in the 70s but I didn’t know that when I first saw it in a later issue of Epic Illustrated (in the 20s I think) - I read this right when I was sinking my teeth in Moorcock’s other characters besides Elric, and the whole idea of cyclic time and cycles of doom really appealed to me - and still does, from a story standpoint.)   But also the way the panels mate the classical with the cosmic. Like Kirby’s Thor and New Gods, it nailed the idea in my imagination that myth cycles taken onto a cosmic scale are, well, very appropriately….mythic. Especially to a jaded audience from today that has no trouble comprehending the idea that symbols evolve, but the meanings remain.

Wow that got deep.  To the point then, Nagrul Rising.  A direct inspiration in
some ways to the sort of galaxy crawl meta setting that’s emerging, though a strong tonal one as well. But mostly, just a cool seven page epic from Epic.  

This was from Epic Illustrated so yes there’s sex & violence.  It’s a myth after all.

Dude totally looks like Nicol Williamson from Excalibur.

Back when I ran a crapton of Werewolf the Apocalypse in the late 90s this spread always came to mind with regard to the Apocalypse. Still does. 

Loving the Four Nazgul of the Apocalpse thing gong on here. 

At some point, I need to sit down and scribble out why Bill Mantlo is one of the greats of
comics and def. one of those lucky few who warped my tiny little mind growing up.
We all have our inspirational and creative debts; the muse dictates that we pay it forward.

Voyages in the Sub ether

The Sub ether

Sub-etheric voyage complications sub table

1	Without so much as a wink of translocation energy, a Ferryman now stands on the bridge waiting its toll.
2	Dance Along the Edge - possibly your navigator is pushing her limits, or the Ship’s God is especially heady with worship but the combined limits of ship, etheric protections, and power have been reached if not exceeded.   Likely will arrive at destination d5 days sooner than projected, even if this is impossible.  Also psychic spillover affects all unshielded passengers and non-crew life forms :  sleep, arousal, hunger, communal clustering, communal grazing, communal grooming
3	Energy curve - vessel momentarily passes alongside an etheric region of great energy bending; (1-3 amplification, 4-6 drain) In amplification,  Apply effect 2. Above, stage all energy effects upward *four* stages on the dice chain, and all batteries become charged, lights grow brighter, etc.   Those with recent injuries will heal four times faster;   In Drain, Again apply 2. Above but all affected parties become sluggish and sleep.  Those with hibernation tendencies will fall into such a state.  All light and sound are dimmed for the duration of the voyage.  Thought passes slower.  Dreams do not seem to occur.   All energy effects are reduced 4 steps on the dice chain.   Those who are injured will heal four times slower than normal and magical / technological healing is affected by the energy curve as above.  Thank your Navigator or Ship’s God right now.
4	Grazing the Toum-Var  - Ship’s energy screens or the like graze the outer edge of the bleed;  1d7+12 dimensional analogs spawn near or replace local versions immediately.
5	The first Sub-ether...follows you home.  Voyage occurs without incident; At arrival however, those on ship are (and remain) entangled with supernal phenomenon taking the form of a constant monotonous chanting. It is apparently in their own accent but no known language.  IT loops every 3.14 minutes and remains persistent for 3d20 hours...unless another etheric voyage is undertaken in that time after which it does not further persist. .
6	Visions.  1D5 aboard ships simultaneously experience a vision; Any with Seer abilities may share it to others. Vision Thing table (D8) 1)    Ship’s destruction 2)   Something occurring at destination 3)   A quest object 4)   A danger in the nearby or oncoming sub-ether 5)   A premonition of warning or disaster from long dead civilization 6)  The death of billions on a world as it is destroyed, thousands of lights away. 7)   The Death Sun gazes into you 8)   Endless dead bleeding bodies or other terrible scene- Pick from Plague, Revolution, Racial Purity, Law, Chaos, or Undead Fun.

And faster than you can say Event Horizon....

Little known sub dimensional pathways through the aether

1	The soul roads - patrolled and protected by the armies of the Hell gods, ensuring the traffic of souls to the Pit. For a toll or other agreed upon stand-in, they may give ships and voyagers access to the deeper planes via such a road.   Be wary.
2	The Red Lodge - the vessel overlaps, however briefly in transit, with a hallucinatory conceptual space defined by desire, hunger, life, passion, and violence.   The crew is randomly distributed across this hallucinatory mindscape until they can find a way to break free.  Good luck. Also, cancel your plans for the evening, this is a misjump.
3	The City of Dreams - impossibly tall, thin glass towers throbbing with red and yellow glow are everywhere packed in too tightly together.  Immediately your vessel is surrounded by little beings with tremendously deep eyes.  “You aren’t supposed to be here.”  All goes black.  Consciousness regained 1d12+5 hours later…..somewhere along the ship’s intended path of travel. Maybe.
4	The Metropolis – Dim recollections, missing time, soul terror, examinations, you arrive at your destination 1d8 hours prior to your departure.  Violate your light cone at peril. No one seems to recall who suggested the pathway – it is gone from your memory.
5	Nightmare 102 - it gets...bad.  Reality goes runny.  Each and every individual mote of consciousness spends the next period of conceptual existence trapped in a hell of their own making.  IT must be endured;  5d12 real hours later, the ship will arrive at its destination point.  All those who have “died” in the meantime must make a DC 20 Fort save or they will experience immediate death by system shock.
6	The Writhe - ship now voyaging through an only semi-material realm wrought of small writhing, scuttling insect analogs.  Sacrifices must be honored every d12 hours or the creatures making up matter in this realm will attempt to infest and consume the vessel and its contents.   Sacrifices must take the form of those openly displaying the most fear. They must die afraid.