Down and Out at the Imperial Ramen Stand

If I have run even a single session of Galaxy Black for you then chances are right about 50% that the game started with all of you in line waiting for the single working Imperial Ramen kiosk.  Whether you were in a mid-block commercial area when some vampire got hangry, or a planetoid about to be attacked by pirates,  standing in queue at the ramen stand is a central pillar in the imperial voyager experience.

Sometimes it’s the only thing you know you’ll be able to digest, sometimes it’s the only thing you can understand, and sometimes you’re just hungry.   But everyone in the empire finds themselves standing in line at the ramen kiosk at some point, somewhen.

And Imperial Ramen is EVERYWHERE

Imperial Ramen

A chain of over 2 million automated ramen shop/kiosks; the closed box infomorph that runs each stand is part of a distributed intelligence (IMPERIAL RAMEN) - as all but two are franchise operations; and the programming in each automat is specific to determine local linguistic and culture drift, it’s not uncommon to find older ones taking on an identity of their own...and sometimes to break down (By sometimes we mean, it’s what they’re known for)

Imperial “Shoyo” Ramen             Soylent Ramen

Ramen with Aqua paste                Ramen Surprise

Ramen with Desert paste              Ramen Unlmited

Ramen with Ovipositor                 Ramen Surprise

Ramen with Reach Egg                 Lyche Ramen

Ramen with Oil Mist                     Bubble Ramen

Ramen with subarctic burrower   Star Fungus Ramen

Cock Bauble Ramen                      Myochortizoid Sporamen

Hulu Ramen                                  Filth “Brown Stuff” Ramen

Grox Ramen*

*Like anchovies of old, only the most daring, or lonely, sentients will order this.   And few will do so without some fear of reprisal.  Anyone casually dining in an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere will find the odor of raw Grox to be like unto that of a loaded diaper.   So making a soup out of it is pretty universally 'fighting words' indeed.  To a select few out of the imperial mainstream however, it is unique and delicious.

Sidereal specials

Ramen with maltransported animal fats and proteins  (Beamed while you Wait)

Ramen with Ovafats (recommended for hosting or pregnant life forms!)

Butter ramen or “Little Ramen”

Ramen with Intense aka Ramen No. 9

(Warning NOT for those fitted with calcium based food reduction systems)

Ramen Sidearm

(specify Curry, Red, Green, or Purple)

Beverages

Tea in a can (ubiquitous; could be ANYTHING)

• Squid ink tea (black or green;  green from Tanix is nasty but right now very very popular)

Now with SLURPS

SLURPS a small fizzy bubbly drinks that come in a variety of flavors and change color on contact with various atmospheres.

Id Algae Paste Slurp                                                   Blue Goo Whee Slurp

Pink Popppy Pop Slurp                                               Gohrm baddem Slurp

Fried Curry Green Slurp                                            

#galaxyblack

#imperialramen

“This article is reproduced in Apocrypha Obscura – Transmissions from the Dreaming Gynoid, available  (drive thru link)  

  and (itch.io link) 

SpAcE mAdnEss

At long last I am going over the psychic powers and metaphysics chapter; the last great chunk of text that needs editing. The era where the text is set is in bloody sight finally.  I would *really* like to get some higher-level playtesting for the psi powers in before that so I should probably cook up a few 2-5^th level characters and go from there.  

I should probably get further along on designing a character sheet for this thing. 

I wrote all the psi powers in one sitting in a white heat, a bit like I did the Sub-ether chapter.  Unlike the sub-ether chapter this is (so far) requiring a lot less revision (the Sub-ether chapter was the first written in completeness and so needed substantial revision to be up to code with the rest of the book.  All in all, giant improvements of course)

AT higher levels psi powers seem all about tapping other worlds and breaking down the barriers between them. Very Luther Arkwright, very Jerry Cornelius.  Also, a bit Hunter the Reckoning if you recall the creeping derangements at Virtue 7 to unlock level 4 powers.

Also, wouldn’t it be mighty inconvenient if psychic powers caused mutation?   They are as much Cronenburg or Barker as they Moorcock.

Right now, there is an (optional) rule mandating a check against space madness at fifth level and beyond.

“@ attaining fifth level, the Imperial Psion must succeed at a DC 14 Will save to avoid succumbing to the rigorous demands their powers, space, and time, place upon them.”   On a failed roll consult the Space Madness table

This must be repeated at sixth level (DC 16), seventh level (DC 20), eighth level (DC 24), ninth level (DC 26) and finally at tenth level (where the will save to avoid creeping space madness is now DC 30.)

“Space Madness” – inspired madness for higher level psions

1.         Garden variety paranoia;

2.         Feels trapped; The psion=spacer will go to any length to avoid feelings of déjà vu as though they are trapped in a loop of time from which they cannot escape……….

3.         Body warp – perception of self has been altered; likely through teleport or clairvoyance mishap.  Unusually preoccupation with and awareness of internal bodily processes, often to distracting degrees.  Likely will begin wasting away or accumulating large amounts of weight within 8-12 mos. “

If the table progresses very far it will get messy. Right now, it goes up to eight and I already feel it’s a bit excessive.  To be honest, there are a few things herein that fit that description. 

Of course, it’s self-indulgent. Who else is going to indulge me?  Ha.

Ultimately if I’ve done my job correctly you will be wishing for the joy of playing a wizard or an elf or even a cleric again after a few weeks of this psion shit.  They have it rough and that’s by design. If you’re going to do an end run around the universe these things they will have damn consequences.

You see me now the veteran of a thousand psychic wars……