At Dreaming Gynoid we love the rebels -
Things I think you should know about the Splinters book
It is in many senses a Book of Worlds. Some parallel some fundamental some very very esoteric. Some may sound familiar…some few may even be familiar but most of this Is not something you’ve seen before.
So, let’s Q&A this shit. Trust me I can hear these coming. Relax.
We have Control.
What is with al this rampant Christianity in this book? Huh? From You?
So look, Satan and Lilith are cited in the core book -that means, Dark Lord willing, they are free to use on the table and Fair Play.
So yes I’s there, so is my usual metric ass loads of faithful and remixed Greek Mythology (that’s a thing for me, if you maybe are unaware of ……me at all) which mix pleasantly in a nice post classic Milton-Faust stew.
Hey if it came rom Blavatsky it’s the D&D cosmology. Which isn’t this – this is DCC – but I can do similar things to get a particular effect.
In Any case, for those who care about such things, this continues with the Book of Scarlet Abomination and some of my non-games work as doing double duty as a work of esoterica.
In this case, the whole Splinters book and by extension one can infer the underlying cosmology of all of my DCC books then, is one of (to quote my darling spouse) “Total Gnostic Bullshit” albeit mixed heavily with a highly feminist spin on all things rabbinical and apocryphal.
There are no long winded speculations on the nature of Sophia (well there is but you won’t recognize it as such) but it is HEAVILY implied that Adam was made from the rib of Lilith who then fucked off as she had better things to do than stick around in this walled garden.
Nothing really earth shattering but Statements of purpose and intent nonetheless. Workings. Sigils. Whatever the kids call them these days.
It’s all Art To ME.
Is this a Judges book? A players? Book?
There aren’t a lot of actual Supplement type books for DCC (by design) so I have cut this weird little niche out here where that’s basically all I do. Traditiaonlly my assumption has always been it’s he Judge reading the book (at least) which is as much for economic reasons as anything else. I do like to give players stuff though even if I despise the sort of 3e era of “Constant Stream of Player Stimulation” splatbook bloat. Ew.
Let me put it this way
There are a bunch of weird zero levels in this book
There is a strong Appendix N tradition of people from here being drawn to otherwhere, it’s almost founded on it. I thought it would be an interesting way to get across the different alternate worlds by making them sources of zero levels to be whisked away to wherever the Judge wants.
At a con sometime someone REALY should use this book to spawn Zeros for a game of Intrigue At the Courts of Chaos. Dead people who have escaped the Underworld, pirates from the south China sea 75 years after world war 3, secret assassin-surgeons of 18th century Free France, all in one party. A fun headache for any Judge who has run that one before.
Big ups to this by the way, one of my total faves of the whole DCC line as it’s just so unexpected on every level. And you can remix it ENDLESSLY
(Someone gave the Egg to Tamarah once. MISTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE; the Lords of Chaos wee amused…and quite pissed)
The adventure I have planned as he follow up to the Patrons of the Fairy Chaos book is heavily influenced by Courts of Chaos in that it’s a fish out of water scenario at a wedding of cosmic entities…all of whom have agendas IF I ever finish it.)
Anything else you want peeps to know?
While I’ve thought about this as my Big Moorcock book to a certain extent (Though parts of Galaxy Black really fit that appellation far better) I should have to say that postproduction this is even more my Big Zelazny book.
Both Amber series, the Dilvish books, even some obscure stuff like a few items from Unicorn Variations and Eye of Cat. (Obscure stuff I’m not lifting anything here. But I am shameless about showing my references. It’s part of the game’s tradition AFAIAC; DCC stealth elevates the whole hobby every time it goes on about its sources IMO- EMBRACE THE LITRACHA)
Also this by itself paired off with the DCC rulebook makes for a wicked weird basic urban fantasy hack. I think if you glance at the right angle you can see Numinagents from there. (another place you can see bits and bobs of both Numinagents and its twisted companion Nomads lay int creature makers in the Judges Guide. Deliberate plug.
Maybe somewhere down the road I will take this and the Fair Folk books and bits and pieces of other things (lots from the Tammy book) and make some strange Coraline/Labyrinth/Neverwhere/Newford /Under London type Urban Fantasy book thing for DCC.
That would need to be a really pretty book though. I wouldn’t feel right otherwise
Anything else?
Yeah I really want to run a magical girl type game lately I don’t know why. It may involve gemstones or dinosaurs or both if I’m feeling saucy. We’ll see what happens. This is pretty much me trolling for willing victims.
Also, it’s not in the book but your DCC characters _really_ should have not problems finding the world of Etherscope or something very much like it if they go playing bout the stuff in the Splinters book at all. The clever reader will see it. That was a great book.
IT WOULD BE REALLY COOL IF SOMEONE DID AN DCC UPDATE
