CADO GEES MUST DIE!!!!!!

Rather out of nowhere I was inspired to throw together a one shot using Galaxy Black but set  not in it's Empire but that of the Star Wars galaxy. The results worked so well together that I cleaned up my notes and have put it together for you. 

So, have a mini- scenario.  You will need to make a map – the startport entrance is on the west side, the Haalderan arms is on the east side; in between are three to five large dome shaped buildings with lots of ramshackle one story buildings between them.  This is a city in a state of arrested decay, and slow collapse.   You could easily though run this with maps recycled (I’m super fond of the city map from the old Star Frontiers boxed set for this sort of thing) or use or make urban geomorphs.

You could also just draw some circles on some paper and write down where what is. It need not be pretty, just functional. 

Everything else you will need is provided.  Full character sheets for the three PCs are given at the end and in a separate document for convenience.   Special rules used from Galaxy Black are with the characters themselves.    The rest can be run with just the DCC core, or possibly another system if you are willing to squint and wing it.

Enjoy!

Cado Gees Must Die!

Pregens

Updates from the Giant Electric Head

Updates....

My great big Full Edit of the Whole Text has reached it’s final chapter, though that is the biggest of the bunch, and contains the psychic disciplines and all their rules.  Fun!  So happy to be able to see the end of this thing (not done but I can see it from here.) .    

Let me vague that up for you……

Need to put the final touches and finish an article for but should be loading something free and OSR shaped onto drive thru soon.  Just Need. To. Finish. Doing. That.

Which right now is harder than it sounds.  Time doing anything is time not spent doing something else.  And this is low low low priority.  Mostly it’s old stuff that doesn’t exist anymore but brought up to code lol.   More when I’m dropping it; nothing serious but just for fun.

Think about the future……

A lot of my spare thinky thoughts time has been lining up a few smaller books to support Galaxy Black and then what to do next after that.   (I’ve been speaking to several of you about a fair bit of these ideas.)   Plotting and brainstorming mostly but once I’m no longer critiquing my own systems design I can put some real work into getting those ready too.  Would love to be able to drop the first one of these simultaneous or soon after getting Galaxy Black itself released.    But obv, just getting the White Whale / Black Galaxy out the door is the main concern.

Scum and Villainy……

You may recall ( LINK ) I mentioned a second game I’m running set in the overcrowded urban slums of Maleth Noir.  This is my Underworld game as it’s come to be known.

ANYWAY, I made a thing for the players, esp as none of them are DCC players, and of course I’m not clubbing anyone over the head with a 700+ book *just* yet.   A really super basic chargen guide and idea what to expect more than anything else.

Anyway, it was pointed out I ought to share this with ya’ll so I am. 😊 

Players Guide to the Underworld of Maleth Noir 

Since I’m dropping all my players resource links I might as well add my two playlists; they are pretty useless for those of you without a google play music subscription (which is most of you) but here they are regardless.

In the Imperial Shadow Maleth Noir

Sounds of the Underworld Crawl

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……

Updates! From Las Vegas to Vega-5

I have two 'playtest' games going on right now, both going in very different directions and playing with different moving parts in the book and setting.

The first, spun off my Spice Pirates funnel (which needs work) seems right now more focused on exploring the Splinters and mucking about thereunto.   We’ve a Cleric of Starfire, an apprentice wizard (baby hedge witch really) who has pacted to Tamarah (mistaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!) and an urban confiscator running around the Las Vegas of Splinter 1,9721 which looks an AWFUL lot like the late summer 2019 of the real world.  

This game leans into the high metaphysics and fantasy elements of the setting.  Also, this is by far the less cautious of the two.    Honestly, it’s a lot like this

And on the other side of the aisle we have a small purge of Zeros in the Zero, one of many subterranean levels of an overcrowded city-arcology on Maleth Noir, already up to their knees and leg-segments in skullduggery and common criminal activity.   The sector has recently been scheduled for total urban renewal so everyone in the ant hill is panicking and doing dumb stuff that properly motivated player character sorts should fine properly opportunistic.  

Oh, and spies. Spies spies spies. Spies everywhere. But they haven’t figured that last part out yet.   Lots of overly cautious paranoia.   Fun, but slower.

Violence is much harder to come by in the Imperial core and this game reflects that (whereas the other party knocked of the head of a Great House before bouncing into the Splinters;  yes, even zeros can rock hard).  On Noir, though not even the Security Forces have guns.  There’s LOTS of non-lethal stuff in Galaxy Black and so far, it’s playing together nicely though things feel VERY different.

Warning: nudity, adult stuff, you know, the usual

What strikes me as ironic is that both games ditch much of the central conceit o the book (being a spacer, traveling through space and only stopping on worlds to get into trouble) though the first one still accomplishes the same aims by other means. 

Other things

Am buttoning down the final bits to get a print proof for Book of Scarlet Abomination.  If it comes back okay, there should be a small print run by the end of the year.  More on this as it unfolds but it’s in the works.  It’s happening.

Had two weeks in July spent dealing with a hard drive failure.  In the end Tamarah called the solid-state drive (Ten. Days. Out. Of. Warranty.) home.   There was some minimal data loss. And right now, the less I talk about this the happier my superstitious ass will be.  So enough about that.

Editing CharGen in Galaxy Black turned into a full revision.  I need to stop doing that some day right?  Two classes are getting worked on otherwise done.   Gear is done, which is interesting as I added two more mechanics to all items of equipment this pass (yes really).   I have been recently looking at breaking the text into smaller books, but I think ultimately, I’m going to stick to my guns and just give ya’ll THE TOME.    Even with some very necessary cuts and a VAST amount of editing the book is still a monster.  Print copies of that bad boy are going to be in hardcover.  I’m already looking at how I’m going to do that given how much planning that will require. BUT until the text is set, I can’t go forward on that.

So, there we are.

I have some plans for post release support for Galaxy Black - about three volumes, I think.  They’ll be meaty and as self-contained as I can make them but will be enriched by using the big book with them.    I could pro’lly push two of them out the door now but doing so before the main book seems backwards.

If you think otherwise, tell me. Please. :)

In any case they’ll be support material plus a setting or subject with lots of support for that setting or subject.   Each is wrapped around an adventure right now (all 0-1 FWIW).  Each should have an accompanying article to aid using the material with DCC but without Galaxy Black.    Will be as long as they need to be, so pro’lly 50-75 pages each. 

Through the Walls of Mist and Thorn-Patrons of the Faery Chaos is about half written and the rest is outlined and as laid out as can be sans text.   I expect to finish this up after I’m done with Galaxy Black but honestly if it gets done first, I would not be all that surprised.  It’s far along for a book “I haven’t started working on yet.”

Patrons as a way to describe a setting.   I don’t think a book like this has been done before and I’m not sure it will work but the experiment is too good to pass up. 

Probably about sixty pages, say a little longer than BoSA but likely no more than that.

Oh yeah, I said I’d share these

So, when the Sirens found themselves in Vegas, they were all JUST BARELY level one.   And but three of them plus an NPC or two. But they are all (well all but one) aliens on planet earth so this limits their activities somewhat.

Or would.  The Friggian has a chameleon cloak with many settings they got when they robbed a noble during the Spice Pirates has enabled her to use her confiscator abilities on the casino floor (they’re at the Flamingo).   

You can see how much fun that’s going to be right? 

So clearly it seems to me, there will be a need for more zeros.

NEEDLESS to say these are presented in the spirit of fun, and not to be taken at all seriously. I feel a special need to point this out as these are zeros (amusingly) drawn from something real world looking.    

(VERY) briefly

The Splinter 1,9721  0-level occupation generator

All are human, 1d4 HD, 3d6 in order, Neutral unless otherwise chosen.  All speak and read/write American English unless otherwise specified. All saves are +0, BAB is +0

Roll 1d16

1. Desert Dweller – your people have a rich and ancient tie to the land here but they are long gone.   You live on the outskirts of the city, away from people, where you can stay in touch with the world around you without so many pointless distractions. You have little but you know who you are.

Beat up pickup or van, working man’s clothes, a family you miss dearly, d16$

2. Card shark – you are a professional gambler, or more accurately, a professional cheater.  You don’t think of it as cheating of course, you just know the game well right?

Deck of cards, one decent outfit, one that looks like it’s been slept in, half a clue,  2d30$

3. Conspiracy Nutter – you’re a boring middle class nobody with an obsessive interest in the Illuminati, or Area 51 (nearby!), or the global reptoid conspiracy, or communist fluoridation. Whatever, no one’s listening to you anyway. 

Old Acura that could stand a tune up.  16 maps of the identical stretch of desert, badly maintained ham radio, mobile phone turned off with 16 messages from an increasingly worried spouse, a credit card 120$ below the limit.  Misdemeanor criminal record back home for “spreading the truth.”

4. College student – You’re enrolled at UNLV or possibly an unremarkable community college. 

Backpack, mobile phone, expensive textbooks, 3d5x1000$ in student loans, battered rpg rulebook - OR - 36$ to live on for the month

5. Drugged out magic bus hippy – you are a few years late coming back from the Burn. Or was it Woodstock? Whatever.  You have a nigh indestructible but often broken down old van/bus and have been driving around the desert*G* for whatever reason for a long long time.  Welcome to Las Vegas.

Magic bus, half a tank of fuel, dime bag of oregano and sage, surprisingly robust set of tools and spare parts wrapped in filthy poncho, 13% chance of clever dog or other pet / sidekick 5% chance/day you will be harassed by the Sherriff’s office, Highway patrol, or other Secret Agents of the Desert Gestapo MAAAAAAAAAAN

6. Elvis impersonator – working another “wedding” huh?  Hey it pays the bills

Jumpsuit needs washing, it’s missing a few rhinestones, keys to your car in impound, clean uniform  for your waitress /wait staffing job. Apartment you share with d3+3 others

7. Hitchhiker – Getting away from something or going toward something?  While you’re on the road there’s not much difference.  You’ve been hiking these back roads long enough to know your way around, or think you do.   You’ve probably seen some weird things.

Rucksack full of … stuff, rugged ripped up jeans and such, dusty boots, blood crusted wrench “right where you can get at it” (1d6 damage, not much good as a wrench anymore though)

+1 STA

8. Idiot on Family Vacation – you are a perfectly normal middle class idiot but damn you are stupid.  How your family puts up with or survives you can only be explained by luck.

“Family truckster” – dodgy ass station wagon with 1982 stylings, bloody dog leash, some serious issues, 1500 debts, and warrant in two states

-1 Int, Agil, and Pers

9. Runaway – either on your way through, or stuck here, or trying to get out of here, you bailed on your home life for whatever reason. Idealistic or survivor, your fate is now your own. All your own.

Single set of clothes, backpack with 1d4 random knickknacks of zero actual value, 1d4$

10. Semi-retired mob goon – you were a nobody and now you’re a nobody but you’re a nobody who did some stuff for somebody and now you can nobody where nobody knows you. Welcome to Vegas.

Paunch, bad suit, worse haircut, horrible taste in shoes, phone number for several bookies who will not pay, 38 or 357 revolver

11. Stripper – it’s a job.  Pays better than yours. Fuck off.  

Apartment, scooter, 2d100$, 13% of stalker (one other zero level randomly determined)

12. Strip rat – how long have you been here? You don’t think of such things.  On the nod, or off, you’re one of those interchangeable Goth urchins constantly looking for their next score before they scatter like rats before the man

Giant fucking hoodie with 1d16 pockets, scuffed black outfit, track marks, powerful need to eat

+1 STA

13. Truck Driver -

Knife in your boot, rugged clothes, rig with 36 mos. of payments remaining, several tons of (1 frozen fish 2 medical supplies 3 spare parts 4 contraband)

14. Unemployed – you are one missed opportunity from winding up like one of … them. 

Apartment that needs cleaning, 5d100$ in debts, car in shop requiring 800 $ labor and parts, 15% chance of 1d4 kids, 35% chance of spouse or other adult in household, stink of pure desperation.

15. Unusual – you are a bit one of a kind. Roll on Unusuals below

16.Washed up lounge singer – Wayne Sinatra, or/with Dinah Warwick opening.

Orange tan, wash and wear outfit, pill counter, stiff drink, memories.  

The Unusuals Roll 1d4

Gabriella Raphael Anatoly

Russian – Italian; father put first name down as the child’s surname before bailing; likely grew up in the system

Killer, berserker, absolutely ruthless towards those who would hurt or prey upon children.

Add 2 to STR, 1 to Agil, and 1 to Sta.  -1 to Pers and remember you have a temper that flares at odd times.  Regardless of stated alignment, when combat starts you are functionally chaotic.  When fighting in defense of innocents, you gain 1d4 hp.

Brass knuckles, 26$, single rugged outfit, broken nose (set and healing), 45 hours of remaining community service

Jeremiah Cornell

Impeccably dressed androgynous Englishman quite possibly blissed out of their mind on something … exotic.

Your own history and recollections are subject to change without notice though you seldom care.  Your alignment is implicitly Chaotic as you are the very spirit of change, brought unto this age to turn the wheel.  You often feel destined for greater things.  

Exquisitely maintained car with top of the line sound system, needle gun, probable appearance of members of the Commedia dell’arte in subsequent weeks

+2 PERS, +1 AGIL, -2 STA, drug addiction of choice, fixation on sister

Sewer goblin – you hitchhiked across the country on a truck of toxic waste to get here now you must find the secret fairyland underneath the Strip.  You are all alone and have never seen another of your kind since leaving (1d4 1 Under-Chicago, 2 Secret New York, 3 the Cemetery Drip of the under quarter (now flooded) or 4 Greater Outer Imperial Aerial College of Oak Ridge)

3 foot height, 20’ infravision, skin that does NOT tan well and prefers moonlight thanks, functionally you are a 0 level Halfling who looks like they were smacked about by the ugly tree as a kid. At level one you spend luck as Halflings do provided your motives are noble or clever should you somehow live that long, none among you have done so since the Haymarket riots.  

Sexton

You’re….a vampire actually. Slumming clearly but whatever.  Ignore those weird attention attracting PCs unless they really get your dander up…or get hungry.

HD 4d12; need to consume 1d3 hp of blood loss per hd/day, plus one for every point of damage taken.  No natural healing ability.   Take 1 hp/hour in direct sunlight. 

No ability to level or gain XP while remaining undead.

Stolen car with 1d3 bodies in the trunk.  Reversible body bag in the back seat, pistol grip shot gun with bird shot, silver ring, single outfit (1d3 1 impeccable suit, somewhat out of fashion  2 leather and ….more leather; easily mistaken for punk or metal head or poss bdsm enthusiast 3 jeans and a t shirt, why?)

What’s going on in town this week?

Anime convention – or gaming; one of those – there really much of a difference at this point?  Older characters may have a hard time telling it apart from the AVN awards (below); 

AVN awards – up to your tits in journalist, nominee, creepy super fans

Gaming Convention – see Anime convention above

Narcotics officers convention – square and terrifying, like PTA for psychopaths 

Someone attempts to rob a casino – consider that if they were any good you’d never know about it.

the Princess of Demons is hiring magickal fools

Not a Disney Princess

Tamarah Pandoramicum, the princess of demons, hears your pleading cries for aid mortal sorcerer.  Got a problem?  Bully? A boss who passed you over for promotion again? Errant church hunters who won’t let up?   Parents who just don’t understand?
TAMARAH WANTS TO HELP

The book of Scarlet Abomination - 60 pages of rainbows, unicorns, and body horror

Get it Here

Galaxy Black Update
Let me say right now that layout alone will prevent me from ever eve ever doing a book this big again; at the least I won’t try it solo.   That said I’ve done more layout in the last nine months than I have done ever in life prior so hey I think that burn is called experience gain.

Metaphysics and the Gear chapter are in editing.   I have some tweaks I want to make to the chargen chapter but it and Worlds are largely done;

We shall see.   Impatience is sucking at my kneecaps in terms of wanting to get this out into the world but the struggle continues.   It will be done when it’s done and not a moment before.

The FAQ is being assembled, slowly from a series of long discussions with Chris Dunlap, who is the source of probably 95% of the questions on the FAQ. (They are good questions too!)  plus those that have come up in playtesting and a few other places.   Once that monster is done I’ll be posting it. 

Random things of no particular order or substance

The first round of playtests for the Spice Pirates is done.  This is one of two funnels I’m developing for Galaxy Black.  A good time was had by all but even for one of my games it went off the rails.

Final outcome – the lone survivors absconded from the market in a stolen flyer and proceeded to do a home invasion on some noble’s estate some 400km to the south.  Breaking into the home of one of the Great Houses of the Empire is bad enough but to wander into the nursery wing of House Thet’chel is a peculiar form of suicide.

Anyway demons were invoked.  The survivors killed a vampire and a named NPC before fleeing to Las Vegas.   I guess I will be improv’ing some modern rules huh?

I haven’t started running RAID ON PLANETOID P-4710a, the other (longer) funnel (0-1 if it were released, but a big party helps) just yet but soon. I need to make some maps for that first.  

On trucking with demons (and beastfolken!)

My most sincere apologies! I slipped up – I forgot completely that beaastmen are not actually in the DCC RPG rulebook – they do however go all the way back to the beginning, Sail the Sunless Sea (check title)

Nonetheless I reference them many times in the book, statless, as I mistakenly thought they were in the core.  My bad and I should have checked.

In any case for those that need them here’s an appropriate stat block for beast folk, based off of (but not identical to) the classic Harley Stroh stats from Starless. (Wasn’t sure if I could reproduce them but also hey look I spun it.)

Bestialfolk (1-6) Init. +1; Atk spear +0 melee (1d6); AC 12; HD 1d8; hp 3 each; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SV Fort +1, Ref +1, Will -1; AL C.

For each Bestial encountered, roll 1d12 and 1d14 and combine the results to determine their appearance.

Beast folk are dim-witted, only marginally social creatures that are driven by a combination of instinct and both craven and darker urges that make it difficult for even the smartest of them to effectively reason.   They often appear to move as a pack or hive mob with no pretense of sentience.   Rare individuals may differ.

Tamarine breed beastfolken – roll 1d12 twice and combine the results

1.       Cow headed

2.      Scorpion tailed (attacks for 1d4)

3.      Horse hooved

4.      Covered in fine black and brown fur, some leathery webbing at the fingers and toes.

5.      Wasp head, mandible, antennae, compound eyes, buzzing from tiny vestigial wings. 

6.      Covered in fine Bee-like hairs, constantly covered in pollen

7.      Horse headed

8.     The digitigrade hind paws of a Wolf

9.      The horns of a Goat

10.   Serpent scaled

11.   large muscled body covered in short hair, and an additional head – that off a (1) dog (2) wolf (3) saber tooth (5) Lamprey (5) A feral, leonine head and mane (6) bee head

12.  A bejeweled dragonfly

1.       Doughy, leathern skin

2.      Shiny black-brown chitinous resin covering skin

3.      Mane of (1-3) horse (4-6) lion

4.      Thick leathery skin

5.      The blind eyes, large ears, and screech of a bat

6.      Six to eight eyes spread out across the face in two rows of three or triple rows of two.

7.      A thick luscious horse tail

8.     Horns of a goat, perpetually streaked with gore

9.      Oily black secretions constantly seep from enormous skin pores

10.   Thick bristly orange fur

11.    Wings and segments suggesting a bejeweled dragon-fly like body.  Wearing armor is impossible.

12.  Body is segmented into thorax and abdomen; wasp-like body with vestigial wings, goes about on all fours.

And now a question I'm surrprised I don 't get more often

Why would any civilized person ally with such a monstrous spirit as the red queen?

Because she legitimately will help you, and isn’t likely to screw you over unless you have first done so to her.  She has long offered her 'gifts' most readily to  those who place themselves in harm’s way – prostitutes and sex workers especially but also gladiators, professional fighters and those who do what they must to survive.   Sorcerers who seek the safety to a cushy court wizard position will find themselves increasinly challeneged by her patronage.  In rare instances, the Pandoramicum has been known to favor princes and princesses, and more commonly across the worlds down through the ages she is said to have watched over the smallest of children, most especialy the abandoned.....

In short, Tamarah is among the most "reasonable" of demons, but she remains a demon and a potent one. 
Play-wise, of course, Tamarah is there for those who seek to experience the patronage of a dicey untrustworthy cosmic power that equalmuch seeks to use them as they use it in the finest Moorcockian tradition.

Take the first sip here
Turn off your mind relax and float downstream. It is not dying, it is not dying. Lay down all thoughts surrender to the void - it is shining. It is shining.