I S S U E 1 5 S P R I N G 2 0 1 3 Protodimension Magazine is a quarterly publication written and n. produced by fans of the modern, conspiratorial, horror genre of role o play gaming. This magazine is provided freely via online download, missi and intends to follow all rules regarding fair use of copyrighted and er p trademarked material. No revenue for the writers and publishers of h this fan magazine is generated directly or indirectly. wit d e Us Managing Editor: Norm Fenlason C. Chief Editor: Tad Kelson LL a Contributing Editor: Lee Williams di e Art Direction : Norm Fenlason M Cover: Norm Fenlason aff st n Ki Protodimension Magazine is a Trademark of Kinstaff Media, LLC. 3. All rights reserved. 01 2 © While Protodimension Magazine is a trademark of Kinstaff Media LLC, all copyrights are held by the respective authors and artists, The Dark Conspiracy® game in all forms is owned by Far Future Enterprises. Copyright 1991, 1997 Far Future unless otherwise indicated. Enterprises. Dark Conspiracy® is a registered trademark of Far Future Enterprises. Far Future permits web sites and fanzines for this game, provided it contains this notice, that Far Future is notified, and subject to a withdrawal <Some> Internal graphics by Bradley K. McDevitt (pages 22 and 24). of permission on 90 days notice. The contents of this site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of Far Future Enterprises’ copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this web site and its files should not be viewed As a fan-based publication, Protodimension Magazine as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any program/articles/file on this site cannot be repub- is always looking for contributions by the fan community. lished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it. Please see the Protodimension Magazine website at http:// www,protodimension.org/zine. Submissions can be sent via email to Conspiracy Rules is copyright 2012, Kinstaff Media LLC and is used with their permission. [email protected] Call of Cthulhu® is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc., and is used with their permission. Chaosium Inc. is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc. 2 CC OO NN TT EE NN TT SS 44 SShhuufffflliinngg iinn tthhee SShhaaddoowwss 2299 AA RR WWoorrddss ffrroomm tthhee ttoopp AA sshhoorrtt ssttoorryy ooff tthhee nneeaarr ffuuttuurree bbyy TTaadd KKeellssoonn bbyy MMiicchhaaeell LLaannzziinnggeerr 55 AA CCrreeaattiivviittyy CCoonntteesstt 3333 EEllsseewwhheerree ffoorr IInnssppiirraattiioonn TToo ppuutt ssoommee wwoorrddss ttoo aa ggrreeaatt ppiiccttuurree AAddvveennttuurree CCrreeaattiioonn AAddvviiccee bbyy JJiimm KKaazzaannjjiiaann bbyy TTaadd KKeellssoonn AA CCoonntteesstt!!!!!! FFoorr CCaallll ooff CCtthhuullhhuu 66 FFoorrttyy--FFoouurr DDaayyss AAggoo 3388 YYoouu''rree NNiicckkeedd!! AA ttaallee ffrroomm tthhee BBaaddllaannddss AA BBrriittiisshh 7700’’ss sseettttiinngg bbyy CCaappttaaiinn OObbvviioouuss bbyy LLiinnddeenn DDuunnhhaamm FFoorr MMiinnii--SSiixx 88 EExxttrreemmee SSppoorrttss SSpplliinntteerrllaannddss 4488 CCoouurriieerr AAyyeess RRaaddiiccaall PPrroottoo--DDiimmeennssiioonnss bbyy MMiittcchheellll KK.. SScchhwwaarrttzz NNeeww ffiiccttiioonn FFoorr DDaarrkk CCoonnssppiirraaccyy,, 22nndd EEddiittiioonn bbyy TTaadd KKeellssoonn 1133 TToooo MMuucchh CCooffffeeee 5544 MMyy SSoo--CCaalllleedd LLiiffee......SSoorrtt OOFF AA rreeaall--lliiffee ssttoorryy LLiiffee iinn tthhee GGrreeaatteerr DDeepprreessssiioonn bbyy MMiikkee MMiinniihhaann vviiaa CCaappttaaiinn bbyy NNoorrmm FFeennllaassoonn OObbvviioouuss FFoorr CCoonnssppiirraaccyy RRuulleess aanndd DDCC33 1144 AAlllleeyy EEnnccoouunntteerrss 6600 FFrroomm UUnnddeerr tthhee FFlloooorrbbooaarrddss AAnn EEnnccoouunntteerr SSeett RReefflleeccttiioonnss ffrroomm tthhee uunnddeerrssiiddee bbyy NNoorrmm FFeennllaassoonn bbyy LLeeee WWiilllliiaammss FFoorr CCoonnssppiirraaccyy RRuulleess aanndd DDCC33 CCoommmmeennttaarryy 2288 IIzzhhmmaasshh IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall NNeeww ssmmaallll aarrmmss ffrroomm RRuussssiiaa bbyy LLeeee WWiilllliiaammss FFoorr DDaarrkk CCoonnssppiirraaccyy//CCooCC 3 SSHHUUFFFFLLIINNGG IINN TTHHEE SSHHAADDOOWWSS SHUFFLING IN THE SHADOWS ““SSoo mmuucchh ooff wwhhaatt wwee ddoo iinn tthhee mmaaggaazziinnee --mmaakkiinngg bbuussii-- cclloosseedd aalloonngg wwiitthh tthhee mmaaiinn ggaammee sshhoopp.. ThTheerree iiss ssttiillll hheeaarrtteenniinngg aanndd rreemmiinnddss mmee wwhhyy II ssttaayy wwiitthh rroolleeppllaayyiinngg nneessss iiss aabboouutt eessccaappee,, ooffffeerriinngg wwiinnddoowwss ttoo wwoorrllddss tthhaatt aarree aa ccoommiicc sshhoopp lleeftft wwiitthh ssoommee RRPPGG iitteemmss ((PPaatthhfifinnddeerr ggaammeess aass mmyy pprriimmaarryy hhoobbbbyy.. nnoott oouurr oowwnn..”” mmoossttllyy)),, aanndd aa HHoobbbbyy TToowwnn wwiitthh aa ttoouucchh ooff WWHH aanndd WWHH4400KK mmiinniiaattuurreess iinn iitt.. OOtthheerrwwiissee ffoorr tthhiiss cciittyy ooff 7755kk AAllll ooff mmyy ggaammiinngg lliiffee II hhaavvee kknnoowwnn hhooww wwoonnddeerrffuull WEEddoiitrtoodrrsss fNNrooomttee fftrrhooemm t oDDpwweellll MMaaggaazziinnee,, tthhee MMaayy 22001133 iissssuuee tthheerree iiss oonnllyy aa uusseedd bbooookkssttoorree aanndd aa BBooookkss AA MMiilllliioonn tthhee ggaammiinngg ccoommmmuunniittyy aass aa wwhhoollee,, iinn ggeenneerraall aanndd oonn GGlloobbaall SSttyyllee bbyy AAmmaannddaa DDaammeerroonn,, EEddiittoorr--iinn--CChhiieeff ((wwiitthh aa ffeeww sshheellvveess ooff ggaammiinngg mmaatteerriiaall aanndd nnootthhiinngg ssppeecciifificc,, ccaann bbee.. RReeggaarrddlleessss ooff oouurr ffaavvoorriittee ggaammee,, wwee aarree by Tad Kelson nnoonn--mmaaiinnssttrreeaamm)) lleeftft hheerree.. GGoooodd tthhiinngg tthheerree aarree aa aallll ffrriieennddss wwhheenn wwee mmeeeett aanndd tthhaatt iiss tthhee rreeaall ssttrreennggtthh II rreeaadd tthhaatt llaasstt wweeeekk ssttaannddiinngg iinn tthhee bbiigg bbooxx ggrroo-- ggoooodd hhaallff aa ddoozzeenn ssttoorreess wwiitthhiinn 22 hhoouurrss ddrriivviinngg tthhaatt II ooff tthhiiss ppaassssiioonn,, tthhiiss aaddvveennttuurree kknnoowwnn aass ggaammiinngg.. IItt iiss cceerryy//ddiissccoouunntt ssttoorree tthhaatt II ccaannnnoott ssttaanndd aanndd II hhaadd ttoo kknnooww ooff ppeerrssoonnaallllyy.. SSoo aallll iiss nnoott lloosstt,, bbuutt ssttiillll iitt ccoouulldd tthhee ssuuppppoorrtt wwee ggiivvee ttoo eeaacchh ootthheerr tthhaatt iiss tthhee ttrruuee ggiiftft ooff wwrriittee iitt ddoowwnn ffoorr uussee iinn mmuullttiippllee eeddiittoorriiaall ccoolluummnnss bbee bbeetttteerr iinn tthhaatt rreessppeecctt.. ggaammiinngg.. II hhaavvee ggooiinngg oonn rriigghhtt nnooww.. IItt iiss ssoo aapppplliiccaabbllee ttoo PPrroottooddiimmeennssiioonn MMaaggaazziinnee,, 33 HHoommbbrreess GGaammeess,, aanndd aallll ThThaatt bbrriinnggss uuss ttoo ggaammiinngg mmaaggaazziinneess.. KKoobboolldd QQuuaarrtteerrllyy SSoo hheerree wwee aarree,, tthhee 1155tthh iissssuuee ooff PPrroottooddiimmeennssiioonn ooff uuss tthhaatt wwrriittee aanndd ccrreeaattee fificcttiioonn oorr ggaammiinngg pprroodduuccttss jjuusstt ppaasssseedd aawwaayy bbeettwweeeenn tthhee pprreevviioouuss PPDDMM iissssuuee MMaaggaazziinnee.. AAss uussuuaall tthheerree iiss aann aassssoorrttmmeenntt ooff aarrttiicclleess,, ooff aallll ssoorrttss.. IItt rreeaallllyy ssuummss uupp wwhhaatt wwee aarree aallll aabboouutt.. aanndd tthhiiss oonnee.. GGyyggaaxx MMaaggaazziinnee hhaass llaauunncchheedd,, bbuutt iitt fificcttiioonn,, uusseeffuull iiddeeaass,, aarrtt,, aanndd ssuuppppoorrtt ffoorr ggaammee ssyysstteemmss CCrreeaattiinngg gglliimmppsseess iinnttoo ootthheerr wwoorrllddss,, aanndd iinn tthhee ccaassee ddooeess nnoott ccoovveerr oouurr ppoorrttiioonn ooff tthhee hhoobbbbyy.. ThThee rreevviivveedd tthhaatt wwee hheerree aatt PPDDMM eennjjooyy ppllaayyiinngg aass wweellll aass ccrreeaattiinngg ooff rroolleeppllaayyiinngg ggaammeess eexxpplloorriinngg tthheemm iinn mmoorree ddeepptthh aass UUnnssppeeaakkaabbllee OOaatthh iiss ssttiillll hhoollddiinngg ggrroouunndd,, aanndd ssoommee ffoorr.. wweellll.. ootthheerr ssmmaalllleerr mmoorree ffaannttaassyy oorriieenntteedd mmaaggss aarree aarroouunndd.. NNoo ootthheerrss bbeessiiddeess UUOO tthhaatt II kknnooww ooff ccoovveerr tthhee HHoorrrroorr SSiitt bbaacckk,, rreellaaxx,, eennjjooyy tthhee sshhooww aanndd mmaakkee ssuurree ttoo kkeeeepp SSoo,, wweellccoommee aanndd ggrreeeettiinnggss ttoo oouurr hhuummbbllee aabbooddee.. IInnssiiddee GGaammiinngg GGeennrree,, aanndd nnoonnee rreeaallllyy ccoovveerriinngg tthhee mmoodd-- ccoommiinngg bbaacckk aanndd ssuuppppoorrttiinngg aallll ggaammiinngg,, eeiitthheerr hheerree,, iinn yyoouu wwiillll fifinndd,, oonnccee aaggaaiinn,, tthhiinnggss ttoo aassssiisstt aanndd eennlliivveenn eerrnn--ssuurrrreeaall--ppoosstt aappooccaallyyppttiicc ssttyylleess tthhaatt wwee hhaavvee uunnddeerr ppeerrssoonn,, oonnlliinnee,, oorr aatt yyoouurr llooccaall ffaavvoorriittee ggaammiinngg ssttoorree.. yyoouurr ggaammiinngg eexxppeerriieennccee.. SSoo mmuucchh iiss hhaappppeenniinngg iinn oouurr oouurr wwrriitt aass wweellll.. OOuurr hhoobbbbyy iiss aalliivvee aanndd wweellll.. hhoobbbbyy tthheessee ddaayyss.. FFoorr tthhee 33rrdd yyeeaarr iinn aa rrooww RRPPGGss hhaavvee eexxppeerriieenncceedd aa rriissee iinn ssaalleess aaccccoorrddiinngg ttoo rreeppoorrttss,, aass ooff ((NNoottee ffrroomm LLeeee:: II hheeaarr tthhaatt ThThee BBllaacckk SSeeaall iiss ssttaaggiinngg aa RReemmeemmbbeerr ttoo ttaakkee ttiimmee ttoo eennjjooyy yyoouurr ggaammiinngg,, fificc-- ttooddaayy ((0033//3311//22001133)).. ThThee fifirrsstt IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall TTaabblleettoopp ccoommeebbaacckk!! IIff yyoouu ddoonn’’tt kknnooww TTBBSS iitt’’ss aa fifinnee ppuubblliiccaattiioonn ttiioonn,, iimmaaggiinnaattiioonn,, ttaakkiinngg ttiimmee ttoo rreeaacchh oouutt aanndd mmaakkee DDaayy wwaass yyeesstteerrddaayy aanndd iitt wwaass aa ssuucccceessss ffrroomm wwhhaatt II ssppeecciiaalliizziinngg iinn mmooddeerrnn--eerraa CCtthhuullhhuu && DDeellttaa GGrreeeenn,, yyoouurr ggaammee aa lliittttllee mmoorree iimmaaggiinnaattiivvee aanndd eennjjooyyaabbllee ffoorr hhaavvee ggaarrnneerreedd ((aatt lleeaasstt iitt wwaass ffuunn aatt tthhee sshhoopp II wweenntt ttoo aanndd rruunn bbyy ffrriieennddss ooff mmiinnee)) eevveerryyoonnee.. wwhheerree II ppllaayyeedd ZZoommbbiiee FFlluuxxxx ffoorr tthhee fifirrsstt ttiimmee)),, nneeww ssttoorreess aarree ooppeenniinngg,, KKiicckkssttaarrtteerr iiss aallll oovveerr tthhee mmaapp,, aanndd SSoo tthhaatt ttaakkeess uuss ttoo oouurr oowwnn sseellvveess.. WWhheerree aarree wwee aanndd RReessppeeccttffuullllyy,, tthhiinnggss aarree llooookkiinngg pprreettttyy ggoooodd ffoorr tthhee ggaammiinngg ccoomm-- wwhheerree aarree wwee ggooiinngg.. TTaadd KKeellssoonn mmuunniittyy aass aa wwhhoollee.. NNeeww ssyysstteemmss,, nneeww sseettttiinnggss,, nneeww LLeeaadd EEddiittoorr eeddiittiioonnss ooff oolldd ffaavvoorriitteess ((DDaarrkk CCoonnssppiirraaccyy bbeeiinngg oonnee ooff WWhheerree wwee aarree:: IInn ggrreeaatt sshhaappee.. WWee hhaavvee tthhee ssaammee ssttaaffff tthhoossee)),, aallll mmaakkiinngg ffoorr aa sseennssee ooff lliigghhtt aanndd ggoooodd ffoorr tthhiiss ssiinnccee PPDDMM ssttaarrtteedd uupp,, tthhee ssaammee ssuuppppoorrttiivvee ccoonnttrriibb-- nniicchhee iinndduussttrryy.. uuttoorrss aalloonngg wwiitthh aa sslleeww ooff nneeww oonneess ssiinnccee IIssssuuee 11.. AArrttiicclleess,, fificcttiioonn,, ppooeettrryy,, aarrttwwoorrkk aanndd aaddvveennttuurreess ssttiillll ThTheerree aarree ddoowwnn ssiiddeess ooff ccoouurrssee.. IInn tthhee cciittyy II lliivvee iinn,, aarrrriivvee,, wwiitthh qquuaalliittyy tthhaatt iiss hhuummbblliinngg ttoo tthhiiss eeddiittoorr.. ThThee iinn tthhee llaasstt 1100 yyeeaarrss tthheerree hhaavvee bbeeeenn 33 bbooookkssttoorreess tthhaatt ddeeddiiccaattiioonn tthhaatt oouurr ffaannss aanndd ssuuppppoorrtteerrss ggiivvee ttoo uuss iiss 4 AA CCRREEAATTIIVVIITTYY CCOONNTTEESSTT WWee aatt PPDDMM wweerree rreecceennttllyy iinnttrroodduucceedd ttoo tthhee wwoorrkk ooff aarrttiisstt JJiimm KKaazzaannjjiiaann aatt hhttttpp::////wwwwww..kkaazzaannjjiiaann..nneett//.. HHee mmaakkeess eexxcceelllleenntt aanndd ssoommeewwhhaatt ooffff--kkiilltteerr ppiiccttuurreess bbyy ccuuttttiinngg,, ccooppyyiinngg aanndd ppaassttiinngg A CREATIVITY CONTEST ppaarrttss ooff ffoouunndd pphhoottooggrraapphhss iinnttoo ssttrraannggee nneeww mmoonnttaaggeess......ssoouunnddss eeaassyy,, bbuutt cclloossee eexxaammiinnaattiioonn ooff tthhiiss iimmaaggee ooffffeerrss nnoo cclluuee tthhaatt tthhiiss wwaassnn’’tt tthhee oorriiggiinnaall.. IItt’’ss aallmmoosstt aass tthhoouugghh JJiimm iiss ttaakkiinngg hhoolliiddaayy ssnnaappss ooff To put some words to a great picture aannootthheerr ddiimmeennssiioonn!! by Jim Kazanjian AAnnyywwaayy,, wwee hhaadd aann iiddeeaa ffoorr aa ccoommppeettiittiioonn A CONTEST!!! ((ttoo bbee eexxaacctt,, rreegguullaarr ccoonnttrriibbuuttoorr CCaappttaaiinn OObbvviioouuss ddiidd)) ssoo hheerree iitt iiss:: ttaakkee aa ggoooodd llooookk aatt tthhiiss iimmaaggee wwhhiicchh iiss eennttiittlleedd ““CChhaatteeaauu””,, lleett yyoouurr iimmaaggiinnaattiioonn wwaannddeerr aarroouunndd tthheerree ffoorr aa wwhhiillee,, aanndd tthheenn wwrriittee ddoowwnn aa sshhoorrtt ddeessccrriippttiioonn oorr eexxppllaannaattiioonn ooff wwhhaatt eexxaaccttllyy tthhee ppllaaccee iiss oorr wwhhaatt ggooeess oonn tthheerree.. AAiimm ffoorr aabboouutt 550000 wwoorrddss iiff ppoossssiibbllee.. ThThee wwiinnnniinngg eennttrryy wwiillll bbee cchhoosseenn bbyy tthhee eeddiittoorrss wwiitthh iinnppuutt ffrroomm JJiimm.. ThThee wwiinnnneerr wwiillll rreecceeiivvee aa pprriizzee ccoonnssiissttiinngg ooff aa ffuullll bbuunnddllee ooff 33HHoommbbrreess GGaammeess pprroodduuccttss iinn PPDDFF.. IIff yyoouu hhaappppeenn ttoo bbee aa ggoooodd aanndd llooyyaall 33HHGG ccuussttoommeerr aanndd yyoouu aallrreeaaddyy hhaavvee iitt aallll,, yyoouu ccoouulldd ggiiftft iitt ttoo ssoommeeoonnee eellssee,, oorr mmaayybbee wwee ccoouulldd ssttrriikkee aa ddeeaall ooff ssoommee ssoorrtt iinnsstteeaadd ::--)) CClloossiinngg ddaattee ffoorr eennttrriieess wwiillll bbee JJuullyy 1144tthh 22001133 aanndd tthhee wwiinnnniinngg eennttrryy wwiillll bbee ppuubblliisshheedd iinn tthhee nneexxtt iissssuuee ooff PPDDMM.. GGoo oonn,, ggiivvee iitt aa ttrryy!! UUNNTTIITTLLEEDD ((CCHHAATTEEAAUU)) BBYY JJIIMM KKAAZZAANNJJIIAANN www.kazanjian.net Jim K. at Breeze Block Gallery 5 Jim K. at 23 Sandy Gallery FORTY-FOUR DAYS AGO A tale from the Badlands F orty four days ago, I didn’t know We thought we’d cornered the intruders by Captain Obvious the first thing about riding a horse. in the basement parking lot and then… Now I could keep up with anyone we just were somewhere else. I’d like else in our posse and even beat most to think it was Chicago, but not any of the others in flat-out terrain. I don’t Chicago you’d know. It felt like the bow- mind the desert now and truth be told, els of Grand Central Station, but more I kind of enjoy the unpredictability of like something out of a museum. Steam life here. engines. Gas lights. Horses. When we started, there were a dozen Well, the boss has never been one of us following the boss. We were the to be distracted from the task at hand. Lucky 13. It was supposed to be just We just followed the people we’d set out another intruder response, fairly intense to get and since then, eight of the team but also fairly common in these days of died – most from gunshot wounds, one rampant corporate espionage and theft. from a burst appendix, two just plain O G A S Y A D R U O F - Y T R O F 6 PRO TO DI MENSION MAGAZINE ! ! prop from Wild, Wild West but it works just as well as my M4 ever ! T did. S E Some things never changed. People are the same scared, treach- T erous animals everywhere. They also bleed the same. Women never N change. The food’s passable. The weather sucks, generally. But it O C is Primitive, truly the best single word to describe wherever we are now. There are other differences, most which don’t bear too much A scrutiny if one wants to stay grounded. I mentioned learning to ride a horse, but the creatures are quite unlike any horses one would find back home. So, it’s best not to look or think too hard about the whys or hows. Forty four days ago, I wasn’t what you would describe as a person having an introspective nature. Now, I believe I am more philosoph- ical. We passed a stone Celtic cross that was up on a hill over the trail a week ago and I pondered the implications of that for a whole day, never saying a word to the rest of the team the entire time. My comrades even tell me my speech pattern has changed, that I’m more ‘high fallutin’ than before. I smile and acknowledge inwardly that they’re all dolts. I know it’s been forty four days because I was wearing an antique wind-up wristwatch the night we went into the garage. It’d been a gift from a lady friend and now… it keeps me grounded, after a fashion. I will regret not seeing her again. Our quarry have been like rabbits, appearing and disappearing O with irritating regularity but the Boss follows their trail like the pro- G verbial bloodhound. We’ve run into a handful of strange characters A and the fireside consensus is that we’re being lured into a showdown, which suits all of us just fine. The games of hide-and-seek became S trite long ago and we are all passed ready to exact punishment. Y Which brings us to this fine morning, as I sit high in the saddle A and just to the left of my employer, staring at the collection of hovels D pretending to be civilization. I can see a few figures gathering in R the street and think that all we need now is an epic soundtrack. The U boss slaps his reins, his steed begins a slow walk and the rest of ours O disappeared and one.. I still couldn’t tell you what happened to him, follow. Horse shoes on stones, tackle creaking, and the jangle of F even though I watched it with my own eyes. Gone, that’s all. metal. - Forty four days ago, I had a tight afro. Now I kept my skull clean, I laugh to myself, having found my soundtrack. Y mostly so that the bugs won’t have any place to hide. You adapt, you T improvise and you overcome. I wear wool, leathers and silk now and If there is a Hell, it might as well be this place. R I make it look good. When we started running out of ammunition, O we took what we could find. I picked up a carbine that looks like a ✧  ✧  ✧ F 7 ExTREME SPORTS SPLINTERLANDS Radical Proto-Dimensions D ownhill is a skier’s dream – by Mitchell K. Schwartz everywhere is downhill, varying Proto-Dimension: Downhill from a shallow slope to steep one, Type: Halfland FOR DARK CONSPIRACY, 2ND EDITION flat or bumpy. It is covered in snow. Discontinuity: 2 Skis or snowboards provide the best Assimilation Effect Value: 0 means of moving around in Downhill, though certainly on can walk if not oth- erwise equipped. The terrain includes the slope toward where you have come, S trails and open slopes of various widths, you find that you are on the top of a D bordered by scrubby evergreen brush ridge with slopes going downhill in both N and trees. directions – where you were looking, A Your vision is generally limited by and where you looked back. This would L walls of vegetation or the curve of a be extremely disorienting, but the other R slope off to the side, or by a steepening elements of natural surroundings help E of the slope below you, cutting off your fool the mind to avoid thinking about T vision of what is below; when you get the lack of a consistent topography. As N to that point, you can see the edge of it is, it can certainly be disconcerting. I the drop, and then somewhere below The temperature is always between L where it next levels out, seeing as far as slightly above freezing and 5-10 Co P S the next drop beyond. If that drop is far degrees below. The wind speed (and its enough, and the cloud is thick enough, accompanying wind chill factor) varies the edge of vision may be obscured in between widely. When the temperature S T fog or mist. At best, the view in a given is above freezing, the overcast drops R direction is seldom more than a kilome- lower toward ground level, eventually O ter – the slope will curve off to the left or becoming a fog or mist. Very infre- P right, cutting off vision. quently, it rains. When the temperature S The sky is almost always overcast drops below freezing, the mist will enough to not show a definite light generally disperse, and the surface snow E “Best thing about Downhill? No lift lines, man!” source – there is no direction to where may become crusty. It may also snow, M the sun is. Downhill is not about usually lightly; blizzards are infrequent. – Quentin Jones, Protodimensional, E direction, particularly in the horizontal The snow conditions vary from Explorer and avid snowboarder R plane. Worse, it is not consistent in the crusty to several inches of fresh powder. T vertical plane either. If you stop for a Most disturbing is when visitors come x moment and then try to look back up upon other ski or snowboard tracks. E 8 PRO TO DI MENSION MAGAZINE The tracks may appear to start at any point, run for a few hundred N meters, and then stop. O In Dark Conspiracy (2nd Ed), skiing and snowboarding fall under I the Acrobatics skill. Walking downhill only requires a skill roll on T I Formidable slopes. Driving snowmobiles requires an Easy motorcy- D E cle skill roll most of the time. See the Slope Difficulty Table below. D When the slope varies, the difficulty level of the required skill roll N can vary too. Roll 1D100 on the Downhill: Slope Difficulty Table, 2 below. , Dimensional travel to Downhill is not difficult, but due to the lack Y C of direction and the inability to backtrack in Downhill to your point A of origin, returning to a gate is tricky. Remember that there is no R vertical distance - there is only down. If viewed from above (which I P you cannot do), a portal will remain in place. If you can maneuver S back in the direction of the portal in the x and y plane, you can find N S the portal again along the slope. But don’t tell your players that – it O C D won’t look the same. All other terrain features – level of slope, rocks, K N bushes, trees – will have changed. If your players try to backtrack, R A remember that the slope can down in a slightly different direction. A D L There are naturally occurring temporary gateways in various high R R alpine regions, including the Himalayas, the Swiss Alps, the Rocky O E Mountains, and the Andes Mountains. Other possibilities include F T Antarctica. N Downhill is irregularly shaped, though generally circular, and I about a dozen kilometers across. Since each section in a visitor’s L immediate vicinity is irregularly shaped, and the perception of the P S vertical dimension is utterly warped, it is difficult to tell the protod- imension’s actual size and shape. The changeable perception of any given location within the protodimension makes moving to a precise can pop into Downhill, glide, walk or fall down a slope and return S T location or skewing nearly impossible. However, Dimension walkers home having moved the appropriate distance (1 to 1 correspondence) R in all three dimensions. Downhill is one level easier to enter from O Downhill: Slope Difficulty Table somewhere hilly or mountainous with a wintry climate. P Critters: There are not many critters to encounter, although any Skiing /Snowboarding Snowmobile S critter than can live in a mountainous, wintry climate may be found D100 (Acrobatics) Walking (Vehicle: Motorcycle) – snow-shoe rabbits, mountain goats, deer, foxes, and rarely, wolves. E 01-30 Easy (skill x2) none Easy Motorcycle The wolves and Yeti from Ice Daemon are rare; though they are not M 31-75 Average none Easy Motorcycle native, Downhill is easy to reach from their native protodimension. E Hook: While visiting Downhill, the PCs encounter either a Yeti 81-95 Difficult (skill/2) none Average Motorcycle R or Yeti spoor. Did these naturally slip in or were they sent by the Ice T 96-00 Formidable (skill/4) Climbing (Average) or Formidable Motorcycle Daemon seeking a way station from his home protodimension to x Acrobatics (Average) Earth? E 9 PRO TO DI MENSION MAGAZINE N Proto-Dimension: Slope (Derivative of Downhill) Proto-Dimension: Wall O Type: Halfland Type: Halfland I T Discontinuity: 4 (Magnetic from Downhill) Discontinuity: 1 I D Assimilation Effect Value: 0 Assimilation Effect Value: 0 E D N 2 “What is this place? It’s like Downhill on speed!” “Biggest damn climbing wall I ever did see!” – Quentin Jones, Protodimensional, – Quentin Jones, Protodimensional, Y, Explorer and avid snowboarder Explorer and avid snowboarder C A R SLOPE WALL I P Slope is an abstract or derivative version of Downhill. It has a similar downhill Wall is another proto-dimension well-suited to sports enthusiasts – rock S slope aspect (every direction is downhill) – but the surfaces are all solid and curved. climbers, in this case. The dimension appears to be a near vertical rock face, N S The surface feels like hard plastic. It is of a similar size and shape to Downhill – irreg- extending up and down as far as can be seen, and curving off to either side. O C D ularly shaped, roughly circular, about a dozen kilometers across. There is no distract- Gravity definitely works and pulls down along the face of the wall, defining K N ing flora or fauna – just solid, curving surfaces in off-white to dark grey, with an iron direction (up, down, left, right). R A gray sky. Like a sloping skateboard park that goes on forever, without the neat forms, If this proto-dimension is entered using a device, travellers had best enter A D L raised bars, or any sharp angles. carefully, as the portal may be: R R Without the distracting flora or fauna, there is nothing to hide the changes in slope O E when you turn your head. These instantaneous changes in vertical direction are hell g Facing the wall from a slight distance away; more than a meter away F T on the mind’s perception of reality, and Slope quickly begins to gnaw at character’s can be a problem N sanity – human and darkling alike. Use the Mental Breakdown mechanic used for the g At an angle to the wall I interstices – but check hourly. g Facing away from the wall (with the wall ‘behind’ the portal exit) L P S Moving through Slope Running through a portal without ensuring a grip on the wall may be haz- Since the surfaces of Slope are solid and smooth, and have the same friction ardous to your health. coefficients found in our native dimension, any maneuverable vehicle can be used Using dimension walk skill usually allows the walker to arrive on a ledge of S T on slope. As it is not flat, vehicles more used to roads may not last long (picturing some sort. R taking a family sedan off-roading), but off-road capable vehicles with independent Visibility varies between 100 and 2000 yards in any direction before disap- O suspension should be fine. Non-powered vehicles, like bikes, roller blades, scooters or pearing into the overcast. Looking away from the wall, off in the distance, all P skateboards work well, as gravity keeps pulling them down the slope. Speed builds up that can be seen is light grey, as if a fog. The air pressure seems consistent with S quickly. Losing control can be extremely dangerous. Of course, there is no “up hill” about 3000 m above sea level on Earth, and has not noticeably varied, regard- direction to turn to stop; some form of friction must be produced in order to stop. less of how far up or down one climbs. E Such non-powered transport would be controlled through Acrobatics skill rolls. There is a wind that varies in strength and direction, blowing across the face M Slope can be used to drop a vertical distance more rapidly than in Downhill. The in one direction or another. There is occasional rain that will gust along in a E corresponding vertical distance to our dimension varies by the coefficient of the shower with the wind, varying from heavy to light. As there is no sunshine, R steepness of the current point of Slope. The steeper the immediate area, the higher the once wet, it will take a while for the face to dry off. The temperature varies T coefficient of vertical correspondence. This can be difficult to figure out precisely. between a little below freezing to about 25oC. The worst weather is when it x Slope is magnetic (1 level easier to enter) from Downhill. rains near freezing and the temperature then drops – Wall can become quite E 10