Omegakron (spoilers)

A post-apocalyptic Mod Squad

Art by Dave Billman

Have you ever wanted to use the history of your home town as the basis of a rollicking RPG adventure?  Neither have I.  Yet Tom Moldvay, not being me or you, took the idea and ran with it until he couldn't run any further.  Had Moldvay come from Chicago or San Antonio, this probably would not merit mention; however, he hailed from the Buckeye State... specifically Akron.  Lacking the élan of Cincinnati or the gravitas of Cleveland or even the je ne sais quoi of Toledo, Akron might not be the most marketable of Ohio's cities.  Maybe it was home town pride, maybe it came about because of a dare; regardless, the third (and last) of the Lords of Creation adventures features the (former) Rubber Capital of the World.  Toss in a dead abolitionist and – in Moldvay's estimation – you have suitable components for a commercially successful role-playing romp.

“Omegakron” refers to the greater Akron area two centuries after a world war using nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.  The result is a combination of science and savagery populated by intelligent animals, street gangs, mutants, cyborgs, and androids.  The player characters can arrive at this future setting via the dimensional gate from the conclusion of The Yeti Sanction, but “the Game Master can choose any means he wishes...”  On page 3 we read, “The simplest method is to have the characters mysteriously appear in the city.”  The setting of Omegakron was “an obscure probability branch diverted from the main time-flow.”  Instead of leading to the Imperial Terra setting, the main-time flow 'now' leads to Omegakron due to a temporal shift.  “The characters entrance into Omegakron was a way of nature seeking to restore the proper time-flow.”  Of course, the player characters don't realize this at the start of the adventure; they just “mysteriously appear.”  However, before arriving, the player characters “see a vision of Prometheus” and receive a 31-line poetic message.  “Even if the characters have never before seen Prometheus, they will recognize him as friendly.”  Naturally, the “cryptic message...holds the key to the success of the adventure.”  The adventure consists of several missions.  “Each time the characters succeed at one of their ten missions, the old town bell will mysteriously ring.”

Omegakron is dedicated to three TSR alumni:  Mark Acres, Jim Ward, and Steve Sullivan.  Given the time travel aspects of Omegakron, Acres makes sense due to his association with TIMEMASTER.  Given the gonzo post-apocalyptic nature of Omegakron, Ward makes sense due to his association with Gamma World.

Various factions exist in the Omegakron area, some of which are races of intelligent, mutated animals.  There are anthropomorphic raccoons who ride semi-intelligent buffalo, anthropomorphic woodchucks who ride semi-intelligent wolves, and anthropomorphic squirrels who ride mutant rhinoceri.  Although not anthropomorphic, there are also intelligent tigers and bears.

Player's Aid #1 is “A Short History of Akron,” a pamphlet with eight pulse-pounding pages of canal building and rubber litigation.  This pamphlet “contains clues woven into the manuscript which will help the characters solve most of the mysteries in the vision of Prometheus.”  The player characters are meant to find this pamphlet early in the adventure; however, the location of the pamphlet is considered sacred to the intelligent animals.  When the intelligent animals catch the player characters violating their shrine, they give the characters three options.  The first option is to fight against a hundred animal warriors and undoubtedly die.  The second option is to submit to a trial in which “one character chosen at random will be killed.”  The third option is to endure an ordeal that will allow the characters to become tribal members, thereby absolving them of their trespass.

The ordeal consists of running along a path to the Cuyahoga River while avoiding booby-traps and fending off animal warriors.  In game terms, the ordeal “has been designed abstractly.”  This means the characters will have 41 - 60 chances for encounters in the course of the ordeal.  For each chance, 1d10 is rolled; a result of '1' indicates an encounter and a table is then consulted.  So, 1d10 is rolled up to sixty times.  The adventure even acknowledges that “it can become boring for the players to watch the GM roll dice.”  Why not just have 4 - 6 encounters?

One of the factions in Omegakron is Novos Akros.  It has a high level of technology, including longevity treatments and “a small intergalactic spaceport.”  Novos Akros has a small 'Manager' class that exerts Orwellian control over the 'Worker' class.

A 12-hour work day is still common in Novos Akros.  Education stops at age 12, when the youths join the labor pool. Workers are kept hopelessly in debt. Any rebellious attitude is immediately crushed.  Offenders are kept in a state of drugged obedience.

To maintain the sophisticated technology of Novos Akros, there are “about 1500 technicians on loan from Old Akron,” a democratically ruled faction established at the University of Akron.  Old Akron has a level of technology roughly equal to the late twentieth century.  For reasons not explained, Old Akron helps a tyrannical regime maintain a technology superior to that which Old Akron enjoys.

The Akros Rangers are the police force for Novos Akros.  Rangers are recruited from personnel not native to Novos Akros.  The player characters are enticed into Novos Akros so they can be drafted into the Rangers.

While drafting the characters might appear to be an underhanded trick at the time, it is actually a way of helping them succeed in their ultimate mission.  As Akros Rangers, they can go anywhere in Omegakron with reasonable safety.  Even the street gangs and intelligent animals hesitate to attack Akros Rangers...

Noted radical John Brown was once a resident of Akron.  This association is all Moldvay needs to bring John Brown's ghost into the adventure.  We learn from Moldvay's pamphlet that “John Brown was one of the world's foremost experts in appraising wool.”  However, he was financially ruined when people refused to buy his overpriced wool.  (If people don't pay the price you set, can you really be considered an expert at appraisal?)

Anyway, the player characters encounter the ghost of John Brown who wants to liberate the “wage slaves” of Novos Akros.  (“For the adventure to work best, it is suggested that the GM make sure the characters join the Akros Rangers before meeting John Brown.”)  The player characters can successfully foment a worker revolt in Novos Akros only if they steal a copy of the Bill of Rights from Old Akron.

By completing all of their missions, the player characters “opened the way” for the Time Adjustors, “a mysterious group of individuals who strive to maximize the time flow.”  (Maximizing the time flow entails the preservation of the branches of time “which lead to the most successful of all possible futures.”)  The Time Adjustors explain to the player characters about such concepts as time flow, temporal shift, and probability branches.  The Temporal Adjustors can recruit the player characters to seek out the reason for the temporal shift that redirected the main time flow toward Omegakron.  This would have lead to the fourth, unpublished Lords of Creation adventure, The Towers of Ilium.  Moldvay claims “the GM should be free to use his impression of the Time Adjustors” and thus provides little detail about them.

Art by Dave Billman

The Book of Foes

Art by Dave Billman

Included in the Lords of Creation boxed set was The Book of Foes with 64 pages (including covers).  According to the book, 'foe' is a term of convenience for “any being who is not a character.”  This broad term includes animals, gods, extraterrestrial species, folklore races, legendary beings, historical persons, mythological monsters, and figments of Tom Moldvay's imagination.  Beings tied at having the least experience value are baboons, cobras, (average) goblins, (average) mandragoras, and wolves.  An entity named Romerac Elerion has the largest experience value.

Romerac Elerion (rom'-er-ac el-er'-e-on) seldom appears twice looking the same.  His favorite guises are a pot-bellied, balding man with a beard; a 7 foot tall gray-eyed blond man with a jagged lightning scar criss-crossing his body; a brown-haired, blue-eyed minstrel; a tawny-colored Feline; a dwarvish jester dressed in multi-colored rags; a small gray cat; and a 200 foot long Dragon.  Romerac is whimsical, but once his fancy is caught he follows the whimsey to the end with rock-hard purpose.  He has all skills and powers.

Experience value being “the maximum number of experience points the characters could receive for surviving a determined attack by that particular foe.”  Los has the next to greatest experience value while the number three position is occupied by Wayland who...

...looks like an ordinary human man but he is actually one of the most powerful Lords of Creation.  Wayland is the master technician.  He can build almost anything.  He specializes in fantastic creations and has built many of the powerful objects in the world.  He also takes contracts for constructing special “pocket universes”.  Wayland has all powers and skills.  He sometimes goes by the name of Welland or Wayland Smith.

One of the settings described in the Lords of Creation rule book is the Elder Lands, featuring fantasy versions of various cultures of the Bronze Age (more or less).  This allows Moldvay to include in The Book of Foes game stats for gods who didn't make the cut for Deities & Demigods.  Among these are the gods of the Scythian pantheon.

Moldvay's interpretation of mythology is not necessarily traditional.  Outside of the Elder Lands, for instance, Moldvay describes the Einherjar as “the most valiant Viking warriors raised from the dead (as biomechanical constructs)...”

Art by Dave Billman

The first two entries in The Book of Foes – Abiku and Acephali – often work in tandem with Kinnara for reasons not expressly stated.  Abiku are described as “three foot tall humanoids with gray mottled skin, long claws, and fangs.”

Acephali (ak-e-fal'-e) are six foot tall creatures with brown, barrel-shaped bodies.  They have three legs arranged like a tripod and two long tentacles instead of arms.  They have three eyes spaced out around their bodies for all-around vision.  Acephali can teleport through space, time, and other dimensions.  Wrapped in their tentacles, Acephali can carry six small individuals, three human-sized individuals, or one large individual.

Kinnara are described as “thin, 5 foot tall humanoids with oversized heads.”  They are telekinetic.

Art by Dave Billman

Psyschokillers (cue Talking Heads) are...

...clones of psychotic killers with a genetic disposition toward murder.  They are raised in an environment designed to foster paranoia then surgically altered to be more efficient killers.  Ownership of a Psychokiller is highly illegal.  A Psychokiller is an arch-assassin, never stopping until its victim is dead.  Psychokillers have the powers of Plasteel Body, Exoskeleton, Backup Metabolism, Physical Control and Energy Control.

It's “highly illegal” to own Psychokillers?  When you outlaw Psychokillers, only outlaws will have Psychokillers.  Is it only slightly illegal to make them?  How do Psychokillers feel about being owned?

Art by Dave Billman

Scavenger Wheels are animals that have a 4 foot wide, spherical body covered with tentacles between two 6 foot tall, wheel-like appendages.  They hunt by rolling over the ground (usually wind blown, though they can move laboriously to a hill top, using their tentacles, then rol down when they sight prey).  As they roll over prey, they scoop it into their mouths using their tentacles.

Art by Dave Billman

According to page 61, “Vorian Death Maggots are winged serpent-like creatures 10 feet long.”  The never-published fifth Lords of Creation adventure was to be titled Voria.  Doubtless, these venomous foes would have played some part.

The Yeti Sanction, part III (spoilers)

Art by Dave Billman

At the conclusion our previous installment, the player characters had just received unexpected assistance from allies of which they were unaware.  As such, the characters were free to pursue Kahai the Yuga and Anton Markov “to a large room with circular walls about 100 feet in diameter” and “which is filled with strange alien machinery.”  Although the characters do not realize it, they have followed Kahai and Markov onto “the bridge of the Yugan space ship.”  (“Most of the Yuga ship is underground in a huge silo.”)

How formidable are the characters' two opponents?  Kahai has the powers of Mind Block, ESP, Electrosensing, Electrosleep, Hypnosis, and Persuasion.  In addition, he has an energy shield and is armed with a proton beamer (”A rifle-like weapon that shoots a beam of charged proton particles” inflicting 5d6 damage) and a varilance (“A 6 foot long tube that projects a beam of controlled energy that can vary in length from 3 feet to 9 feet” and causes 1d6 + 1d10 damage).  Markov also has a proton beamer along with an energy vest.  Incidentally, Markov possesses the powers of sensual chaos, invisibility, and fear.  You might wonder how an insane, former KGB spymaster gained such powers.  Don't you think it's a little late in the game to start asking questions like that?

Anyway, Kahai “initiates the liftoff sequence that will take the ship off the planet Earth.”  Once “the battle ends, the characters will be pressed to the floor by the high acceleration of the take off.”  The ship's hyperdrive automatically engages after about five minutes whereupon the characters “experience brief disorientation and mild hallucinations for a few seconds.”  Due to damage caused during the battle, the hyperdrive control catches fire when activated and becomes nothing but slag by the time the characters put the fire out.  The characters are now “lost in hyperspace.”  Do Kahai and Markov survive?  Perhaps; they are not referenced at any further point in the adventure (even though Beeveesome, “the ruler of all Yeti,” promised the player characters he would reward them if they bring the villains to him).

After aimlessly travelling through hyperspace for several – evidently uneventful – days, a tractor beam seizes the ship and pulls it toward an asteroid which is “part natural and part artificial.”  A message transmitted from the asteroid is announced via the ship's radio.  I suppose the ship's computer conveniently translates the message into English or maybe all languages are universal in hyperspace.

By the Archon's order . . . no course deviation will be permitted . . . this ship is confiscated . . . all life forms aboard will prepare for termination . . . resistance is futile . . . prepare for docking inside Arcanus 16.

Does preparation for docking take precedence over preparation for termination?  Is docking preparation intended only for entities that aren't life forms?  Answers to these pertinent queries are not provided.  Via the ship's viewing screens, the characters can see the docking bay which is apparently their destination.  At “irregular intervals” the tractor beam partially malfunctions and the ship “nearly breaks free of the beam.”  Somehow the characters realize that they may be able to take advantage of the beam's partial malfunction “to deviate slightly from the present course, so that the ship crashes down upon the the death squad sent by the Archon” even though they have no knowledge of said death squad.  Incidentally, the death squad consists of ten Giant Mantises; this number is reduced to five if the “crash landing” stunt succeeds.  “Since this encounter is potentially deadly to all the characters, it is suggested that the GM use discretion.”

Assuming the player characters prevail, television cameras inform them that twenty more Giant Mantises are approaching the docking bay via the left tunnel.  “There is little choice but to run from the Archon's death squad,” so the player characters presumably flee down the right hand tunnel which “opens into a passageway leading downwards toward the asteroid's interior.”  Eventually, the player characters encounter three air elementals guarding “the entrance to the Cave of the Winds.”  The characters can either defeat the elementals or enter into a magical contract with them allowing “unhindered passage across the Cave of Winds in return for aid in an attempt by a Baroness of Air to take to control from a Duchess of Air.”

If the characters opt for the contract, they and Cerulea (the Baroness) fight Pneuma (the Duchess).  If Cerulea wins, she tells the characters how to escape from the asteroid.  If Pneuma wins, “The only chance for the characters to live...is to accept a magical contract with her.”  Pneuma then gives the characters the same information about escaping from the asteroid since – given the contract – it is “in her best interest to see that the characters survive.”

Beyond the Cave of the Winds, there is “a huge plateau about 20 miles wide” in the center of which “is a giant pyramid of obsidian.”  The pyramid is huge – “several thousand feet high.”  A black sun illuminates the plateau with “dark and hazy” light having “a purplish-blue tint.”  (“One particular aspect of the 'sunlight' is that nothing on the plateau casts a shadow.”)  The characters are informed that “their best hope of escape lies in the gate atop the Obsidian Pyramid, and that they will need the control box owned by the creature that lives in the Black Sun, plus the crystal prism and master tape cartridge owned by various creatures inside the pyramid.”

Art by Dave Billman

The creature of the Black Sun is an Urlar.  What's an Urlar?  According to The Book of Foes, “Urlar are space for faring [sic] amoebas about 30 feet in diameter...[that] can change shape at will (it takes 10 turns to form a new shape).”  Aside from having all powers from the Cyborg, Projector, Telepath, and Invoker sets, the Black Sun Urlar has a gamma raygun* implanted in it.

Attached to one side of the pyramid is “a castle built from rainbow-like quartz.”  Apparently, the only way into the pyramid is through the rainbow castle.  Inhabiting the castle is the Bestiary Grand Council, an organization of animal rulers.  According to The Book of Foes : 

Every type of animal has both a ruler and guardians who personify and protect that type of animal.  It is possible for the characters to make pacts with animal rulers and guardians so that the ruler or guardian may be summoned by the characters.  All rulers and guardians have the ability to Travel Between Dimensions to answer a summons.  The pact upon which the summons is based must be mutually rewarding.  Usually, the characters must either bargain for a service after meeting the ruler or guardian face-to-face, or was rewarded the pact for some action that was extremely beneficial for the type of animal associated with the ruler or guardian.

(While humanoid in aspect, animal rulers should not be confused with humanoid races having animal characteristics or the leaders of those races.  For example, sharkmen are a humanoid race with shark-like properties.  Bloodhook is the lord of the sharkmen.  The animal ruler for all sharks is named Skulo.)

The council will permit the characters “to pass through the rainbow castle into the interior of the pyramid only if the characters can prove themselves worthy.”  To accomplish this, each player character must engage in single combat with an animal guardian.  “The characters will be judged worthy to enter the obsidian pyramid if at least half of the characters are victorious in their individual combats.”  A character who loses to an animal guardian will be under magical contract to that guardian.  On the other hand, if the animal guardian loses, the guardian will be under magical contract to the character.

Should the player characters be permitted to access the pyramid, the council will provide them with a magical compass that will lead them through the pyramid's “maze of tunnels.”  (If the characters managed to avoid Cerulea and Pneuma, the council will tell them about the three devices they need to escape the asteroid.)  In the pyramid, the characters confront trolls, Fomorians, and a  Wendigo to obtain the needed devices and reach the top of the pyramid.  Actually, the pyramid is truncated.  “The top of the pyramid is a square plateau about 1000 feet to a side.”  Seventy-seven statues ring a pond of mercury at regular intervals.  “Fifty-six of the statues depict giant humanoids sitting on thrones,” the remaining statues are empty thrones.  In the middle of the pond “is an obsidian platform about 20 feet square.”  On the platform is an obelisk “covered with dials, meters and switches.”  The characters can use the devices to operate the obelisk, “which locates and locks on to an interdimensional gate.”  However, when the gate opens, one of the statue humanoids becomes animated.  Said humanoids are actually Archons.

What's an Archon?  According to The Book of Foes, “Archons...look like large muscular humans, though they can Shape Shift at will three times a day.”  Unfortunately, The Book of Foes doesn't explain what Archons are; we must garner clues from The Yeti Sanction.  We learn that, “The race that built the asteroid and created the Archons has long since ceased to control the asteroid.”  Also, “the Archon remains true to its original purpose:  to kill all unauthorized intruders.”  Since the creator race no longer controls the asteroid, no authorization is possible.  So, Archons are synthetic and would not seem to be capable of independent thought that would overcome their programming.

Of course, the Archon attacks the player characters.  Chiron appears from the gate.  “He will join the characters, telling them: 'Prometheus thought you can use some help.'”  In The Horn of Roland, Prometheus provided assistance to player characters (and vice versa).  The Yeti Sanction claims that any character who participated in Roland “will know that Chiron speaks the truth, since the friends of Prometheus can always recognize each other telepathically, even went they have never met before.”  Somehow the characters know this.  Of course, it's possible that the Yeti player characters did not partake in Roland.  How and why Chiron would assist the characters in this instance is not explained.

Presumably, the player characters and their new centaur friend defeat the Archon, allowing the characters to access the interdimensional gate.  “The GM can use the escape through the gate as a prelude to the character's [sic] next adventure.”  Specifically, “The escape was designed to be used as a background to the adventure module: Omegakron.”  However, “The GM does not have to let the gate lead to Omegakron.”  In any event, Chiron does not accompany the player characters; he returns from whence he came (presumably under the auspices of Prometheus).

Art by Dave Billman

* “A submachinegun-like weapon that fires a ray of gamma radiation.  There is no known natural defense against a gamma raygun, and it is illegal to own one.”  It inflicts 6d6 points of damage.

The Yeti Sanction, part II (spoilers)

When we last left our intrepid player characters in The Yeti Sanction adventure module, they had just uncovered a Russian mole in the CIA.  This is because a middle-management bad guy had a dossier – written in English – that identifies the mole and explains his mission.  The player characters only become aware of this dossier when the bad guy tries to burn it in their presence.  Uncovering the mole isn't even necessary for the continuity of the adventure; that's how sad this is.  If it was a set up for a dramatic confrontation with the mole, it wouldn't be so bad.  If the mole turned out to be a Yeti-hybrid, I could even cut it some slack.

Anyway, the player characters start out on their journey to Kathmandu.  The plane set to take them on the first leg of the trip is hijacked by nine terrorists.  I would write 'skyjacked', but the terrorists don't wait until the plane is airborne.  “If the characters are able to defeat the hijackers,” the adventure reads, “they will be given the grateful thanks of the airline officials and flown (free of charge) to London.”  Even in the pre-911 era, I think a terrorist attack would have caused the flight to be canceled.  “If the characters are not able to defeat the hijackers, then the plane will be taken to Cuba” where the characters spend two days before they can leave.

Various random encounters are possible as the player characters travel from Kathmandu to the village of Dingpouche.  The listings on the random encounter charts include False Yeti and different types of True Yeti.  The 'New Foes' section of the adventure describes four True Yeti types:

• Ragshi Bonpo (Tehelma) – “They look like intelligent monkeys” and they “have the powers of Animal Control, Clairvoyance, Invisibility, and Sound Control.”
• Dremo (Migyu) – These Yeti “are covered with blueish fur with blond or brown highlights.”  They are “extremely aggressive” and “have the powers of True Sight, Fascination, and Sensual Chaos.”
• Nyalmo (Szu-Teh) – These Yeti stand “8 to 10 feet tall” and “have brown or black fur with blond, red, or gray highlights.”  They “have the power of Fear, and the ability to control the direction of the wind.”  The Yeti described in The Book of Foes is identical to the Nyalmo, except – instead of having the power of Fear – the Foes Yeti can “cause a 10 feet × 10 feet area to Freeze doing 4-24 points of damage (range = 150 feet) once per day.”
• Rimi (Mih-Teh) – “They have powerful muscular bodies with reddish-blond fur highlighted with white” and they are “12 to 20 feet tall.”  Rimi are “extremely intelligent” and “have the powers of Physical Control and Dermal Armor.”  Additionally, they have the Freeze ability ascribed to the Foes Yeti and the power of “Elemental Shaping (ice or snow only).”

Also listed among the 'New Foes' is Beeveesome, “the ruler of all Yeti.”  He “is an immortal spirit that roams the Himalayas” and “looks like a giant Rimi (32 feet tall).”  Two types of creatures from the elemental plane of air can also be encountered – Welkins (“giant eagles of air that can pick up, then drop victims”) and Ethereans (“seven foot tall, cloud-white humans”).

The non-player character guides state that YETI headquarters “is rumored to be in the small village of Lhotsepurna just below Mt. Everest.”  In the area, YETI is known as a cult and the cultists raid and take over villages.  The guides have planned three possible paths from Dingpouche to Lhotsepurna.  The paths are shown on the map from the back cover of the adventure book (displayed above).  No scale is indicated for this map, but this is not problematic.  Each path takes the same amount time to traverse – “about three days worth of climbing.”  For practical purposes, the only differences among the paths are the terrain types they cross.

The brown areas are morraine [sic].  Morraine consists of loose rock and dirt.  There is a fair chance of a landslide.  The gray areas are skree.  Skree is loosely-packed snow were [sic] avalanches can occur.  The white areas are ice walls.  Ice Walls sometimes cover deep crevasses with a thin layer of ice.  Individuals could fall into the crevasses.  The black areas are bare rock and are reasonably safe.

The different terrain perils have different game effects and different ways they can be mitigated.  Unfortunately, for moraine and ice walls, there is no indication as to how often their respective perils should be checked.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to explain what's really going on.  “YETI actually stands for the Yama Elite Triumphant Immortals,” although the players do not necessarily learn this during the course of the adventure.  The cultists serve what they think is “the Hindu god of death.”  A ship of aliens called the Yuga landed in the Himalayas “because the mountains resembled their home planet.”  Local inhabitants assumed they were messengers of Yama given “their spectacular arrival from space, and the fact that their fur and eyes are Yama's colors (pale green fur and copper colored eyes).”  Anton Markov, “former head of the Asian section of the KGB,” escaped from a psychiatric institute and sought “refuge in the Himalayan mountains where he was joined by some of his special agents.”  Naturally, “a race of megalomaniacs who firmly believe that anyone not dominated by them are their foes” will get along swimmingly with an insane KGB spymaster.  Given “his knowledge of human psychology, [Markov] reinforced the belief of the Yama worshippers that they had encountered the true messengers of the god Yama.”

Where does Markov's plan to foment a nuclear war fit in with all of this?

He managed to convince the Yuga that other humans would kill the aliens if their presence became known.  The only chance for the aliens would be a nuclear war (which would devastate the lowlands, but leave the mountains reasonably untouched).  After the radiation levels lowered, the aliens and Dr. Markov's men would inherit the earth.

As such, YETI might as well stand for Yuga Extra-Terrestrial Integration.  I understand that Markov is insane, the Yuga aren't concerned about a nuclear war, and the cultists can be manipulated into doing anything.  It seems odd, however, that none of Markov's agents resist his plans for nuclear annihilation.  Some Yuga, including Kahai, the leader, have the powers of Hypnosis and Persuasion which they could possibly use against the agents.  Regardless, those powers cannot affect victims for very long.

The aliens have an Anabolic Metamorphosis Machine.  Via this machine, the Yuga transform and mentally program humans into False Yeti.  The Yuga also used the machine to create a twenty foot tall false Yama.  This “false Yama really believes he is the Hindu god of the dead...that he is immortal and that the Yuga are his servants.”

At the climax of the fourth scenario, the player characters are confronted by Markov, Kahai, and ten false Yeti.  We read that...

...the situation looks grim.  Fortunately, help arrives before the battle takes place.  Several metal plates from the right-hand wall come crashing inward.  Through the gap pour 8 Rimi (true Yeti) led by Beeveesome...  When they see the true Yeti, Anton Markov and Kahai the Yuga flee through the far door.  The characters hear (telepathically) a message from Beeveesome, the leader of their allies:  “Leave these abominations to us.  They will not last long against true Yeti.  Bring me the masters of these wretched creatures, and I will reward you greatly.”

Nothing in the adventure prior to this occasion informed the player characters that Beeveesome is an ally or even that such an entity exists.  At this point, less than seven pages of the adventure remain in the thirty-two page book.  Yet the final two scenarios are where the adventure delivers the Lords of Creation goods.

Art by Dave Billman

The Yeti Sanction, part I (spoilers)

Art by Dave Billman

Enjoyment of fiction sometimes requires suspension of disbelief.  Such suspension is also needed when participating in a role-playing game.  However, different genres can tolerate suspension to a greater or lesser extent.  The genres of mystery and espionage, dependent upon logic and plausibility, are not well suited for suspension of disbelief.  The first Lords of Creation adventure, The Horn of Roland, includes a mystery scenario.  Although I questioned the appropriateness of the scenario as an introductory adventure, the mystery was competently crafted.  The second Lords of Creation adventure, The Yeti Sanction, begins with an espionage scenario.  Unfortunately, this scenario is so implausible, it makes any given Saturday morning cartoon plot look sophisticated in comparison.  Lords of Creation can accommodate mystery and espionage, but the potential of the game is so vast it seems a shame to present an unsatisfactory espionage scenario instead of any of numerous possible opportunities.

The Yeti Sanction “was designed for characters who have just finished” The Horn of Roland, but the completion of Roland is not a prerequisite for Yeti.  In fact, the continuity between the two adventures is practically non-existent.  Yeti, however, requires characters of a higher power profile than Roland.  The Yeti Sanction (1984) was designed by Ian Guistino and Tom Moldvay.  Since Moldvay is listed second, it would seem that Guistino did more of the work.  Other than some magazine contributions in the 21st century, Yeti is Guistino's only published RPG effort.

Like Roland, Yeti encompasses six scenarios.  The first scenario begins with the player characters being contacted by an Air Force colonel; however, when “he is sure that no one else can hear, he will reveal to the characters that he is actually a member of the CIA...”  The colonel “has been sent to escort the characters to Washington.”  I think we can all appreciate how annoying it is when someone from the CIA wants to escort us to Washington.  The colonel establishes his bona fides by presenting an ID card.  Also, “Any characters with the Espionage skill will know that CIA agents have a recognition code which is changed each week.”  It is also somehow known that, “This week the code is wearing a piece of silver jewelry shaped like a lion, with imitation ruby eyes.”  The colonel “is wearing such a tie pin.”  This is important later when...oh, wait, it isn't important.  If the characters call the CIA to confirm the colonel's credentials, the GM should “give them a 10 XP bonus for intelligent play.”  Ten experience points is more XP than a character can earn by beating up a grizzly bear or an orc leader.

It is assumed that the player characters will accompany the colonel to Washington.  Instead of taking them to Langley, the colonel brings them to a facility underneath the Pentagon.  A CIA official named Commander Williams addresses the player characters via television screen.   Williams explains that the Secretary of State has been kidnapped and, as a result, the commander is “empowered” to recruit the player characters “to help during the crisis.”  Williams claims, “Every one of you has been recommended to me.”  The adventure background claims the characters are asked “on the basis of the job they did in New Bristol” (assuming they completed The Horn of Roland adventure).  Williams gives the characters the opportunity to back out; however, “The GM should encourage the the characters [sic] to accept since there is no adventure otherwise).”  Assuming the characters accept the offer, they become “Force J” and are briefed by Williams:

     ...Up until three years ago, Dr. Markov was Chief of the Asian Division for the Russian KGB.  Then one day he suddenly disappeared.  Unconfirmed rumors placed him somewhere in Siberia at a secret base.  We believe that he received special training in terrorist tactics while at the base.  About a year go Markov surfaced in Tibet.  He is currently leader of an international terrorist organi-zation named YETI.  As far as we can determine, YETI stands for Young Everest Terrorist International.  They have an isolated base somewhere in the Himalayan Mountains.
     In the past year, YETI has established an international reputation for kidnappings and assassinations on a grand scale.  While not as well known yet as some other international terrorist groups, their actions over the last year make YETI one possible suspect in the kidnapping of Secretary Jackson.  Other agents are checking out different leads.  Your mission is to find out whether or not YETI was involved in the secretary of state.  If so, rescue Secretary Jackson and capture or kill Anton Markov.

Additionally, Williams explains that the characters' “contact in the field is Sally Anderson at the United Travel Agency.”  Anderson “has already done some preliminary work on the case and...will handle all preparations for your trip to the Himalayas.”  Williams directs his secretary, Helen Robbins, to take the characters to the “Armaments section” so that they may be issued their equipment.  Williams concludes the briefing by alerting the characters, “There may be a leak in the agency” and only five people know about Force J:  the colonel, Williams, Anderson, Robbins, and George Fox, “the head of the Armaments section.”

I would have handled the recruitment of the player characters in a different manner.  Rather than have the Secretary of State kidnapped from his home, I would have him kidnapped from a conference held at a hotel.  They player characters would also be at the hotel and they would fall victim to the incapacitating gas used by YETI.  The characters recover from the gas with the aid of the CIA.  After checking the characters' backgrounds, the agency offers the 'Force J' opportunity.  In this way, the player characters would have a sense of obligation to the CIA and a motive for going after YETI.

Just over six pages near the beginning have listings for spy equipment, rules for car chases, and forty-eight car descriptions.  The only foreign vehicle that isn't a luxury model is a Volkswagen Rabbit.  Anyway, “The Game Master has two methods of giving the characters their special equipment.”  The GM can either provide the characters with the suggested equipment or let them outfit themselves with a budget (“$50,000 for two cars, and $15,000 for other equipment”).  If you bog down the adventure by letting the players go on a shopping spree, you're doing it wrong.  Just give them the suggested equipment and entertain any reasonable requests.  Honestly, time is too precious – both in real life and in the game.

Once the characters get their equipment, they go to United Travel Agency to see Sally Anderson.  There are two indicators that something isn't right:  'Sally' doesn't respond with the proper recognition phrase and there is “a muffled yell from behind the back door.”  The real Sally Anderson is being kidnapped.  Specifically, she is being forced into a station wagon in the back alley.  The station wagon has the name 'Yak Exports Unlimited' displayed on the sides.  A car chase ensues...probably.

Included in The Yeti Sanction box are some player aids:  equipment lists, car descriptions, charts pertaining to the car chase rules, and a map of Washington, DC.  The Lords of Creation car chase rules are not as abstract as those for other games.  The chase follows a specific route through Washington and there is a table that indicates what happens on each game turn (including what 'driving check' rolls are required).  The adventure acknowledges that – instead of pursuing the station wagon – the characters can just find the address of Yak Exports Unlimited by looking in the phone book.

At the Yak Exports Unlimited warehouse, the player characters find out about the YETI plan:  “Dr. Anton Markov hopes to start a nuclear war by setting off [atomic] bombs in Washington and Moscow after first kidnapping important officials from each country.”  A disassembled atomic bomb is present at the warehouse and “Included with the bomb is a copy of Markov's orders.”  If your plan is to start a nuclear war, destroying Moscow and Washington ought to do the trick; kidnapping officials would seem to be an unnecessary effort (unless that's the easiest way for a GM to involve the player characters).  The player characters have captured the Washington bomb, but the Moscow bomb plays no part in the adventure.

Also at the warehouse, the player characters come across a bad guy burning some papers.  An unburned fragment relates information about a Russian mole in the CIA, including the mole's date of birth.  The reasons why this document would even exist, why it would it be written in English, and why the bad guy would have this document on his person are not elaborated upon.  (Spymaster pro tip:  If you really must write down your mole infiltration plans, don't mention the mole's identity.)  Additionally, “On a pad next to the telephone is a message which reads:  'Tell Katrina about Force J; also call Marie at house'.”

The characters are awarded 50 XP if they can determine who the mole is.  Only five people know about Force J.  Of the five, only two did not know Sally Anderson's recognition phrase – George Fox and the colonel.  Fox is too old given the mole's date of birth; hence, the colonel is the traitor.  Of course, this logic assumes that the mole would have supplied YETI with the recognition phrase if he or she knew it.  Absent is the possibility that the actual mole would implicate someone else in order to avoid detection.  “Of course,” the adventure states, “deducing who the mole is, and proving it, are two different things.”  Also, “The GM should remind the characters [sic] that they do not have any actual proof.”  Via the phone company, the player characters can determine “that a number of calls have been made from Yak Exports Unlimited to a number which originates from an apartment on 20th Street...”  At said apartment, the player characters find “the complete dossier on the mole...[including] pictures, fingerprints and a list of...subversive activities.”  So, there's the proof.  Fortunately, Markov kept a bunch of identifying information about his infiltration agent so that his enemies could acquire it when needed.  Actually, the mole subplot doesn't affect the rest of the adventure, it didn't even need to be included.

Lords of Creation as Space Opera

Art by Dave Billman

Lords of Creation contains a one-and-a-half page description of the 'Imperial Terra' setting.  We learn that:

Terra now rules more than a thousand planets throughout the galaxy.  All of the planets have been Terraformed to approximate the living conditions on the mother world (even so, some of the planets are only marginally inhabitable).  Because of Faster-Than-Light drive (abbreviated FTL) the planets can be reached in days instead of centuries.  Even so, Terra is only able to control such a population because of Luna-X.

Luna-X is a giant, planet-sized computer.  “By law, all computers are linked to Luna-X.”  Emperor Romulus XI also has a mental link – the only one – with Luna-X.  However, “there are are unconfirmed rumors that it is not Romulus who controls Luna-X, but Luna-X who controls Romulus.”  While all of Terra “is one interconnected, giant city,” the emperor resides in the capitol, “the Megalopolis District, located in what used to be the bed of the Mediterranean Sea.”

There are three factors that form the basis of the Imperial administration:  The Lunar Corps, The Fleet, and The Imperial Inspectors.  “The Lunar Corps is both a computerized bureaucracy and a force of secret police.”  Said secret police – The Lunar Police – “have the right to impose sentences on the spot, without trial, unless dealing with a member of The Fleet, or superseded by an Imperial Inspector.”  The Fleet consists of the Hyperspace Navy, the Stellar Marines, and – recruited from the best of these two services – the Imperial Guard (also known as the StarGuard).  (Corvus Andromeda was one of the StarGuard.)

The Imperial Inspectors are another secret organization.  No one knows how they are recruited, paid, or who ultimately controls them.  But when they appear, they are quickly recognized.  Imperial Inspectors have the right of 'high and total justice' even over The Lunar Corps or The Fleet.  Strangely enough, the emphasis really is on justice.  The Imperial Inspectors have a deserved reputation for total honesty, incorruptability [sic], and impartiality.  Their justice is always tempered with mercy.  It is likely that without the ideal of the Imperial Inspectors, the Empire would have dissolved into rebellion and anarchy despite the efforts of The Lunar Corps and The Fleet.  The Imperial Inspectors provide an element of hope, a safety valve that emphasizes slow, peaceful change over bloody rebellion.  Unfortunately, the Imperial Inspectors are few, and the evils they combat are many.

Imperial Terra is only one of the Lands of Wonder, but nothing prevents it from being used as the basis of a space opera campaign outside of the Lords of Creation paradigm.  For Imperial Terra, Tom Moldvay incorporated concepts from various instances of science fiction literature, yet there was likely more to the setting than was published.  The details he provided for the Starnomads suggest as much.  Despite the recycling of a couple of names, Revolt on Antares could easily be part of the Imperial Terra universe.  Other indicators of a more expansive setting can be seen in a two-part article in Avalon Hill's Heroes magazine (issues 2 & 3).  This article allows for the creation of non-human player characters in the Imperial Terra setting.  The article also mentions an adventure module in development, “Voria,” in which such characters could be used.

As indicated in the Lords of Creation rules, 2d10 are rolled for the basic abilities for humans.  However, according to the article, the “minimum basic ability score [for Humans] is 8.”  With regard to non-humans,“Perhaps two-thirds of the population of the Empire are Terran descendants, the rest belong to...seven other (known) space-faring races.”

Art by Dave Billman

ASTREGANS:  In The Book of Foes, the 'n' is left out and this race is referred to as Astregas.  They “are a race of intelligent crustaceans.”  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 4d6-1; for MENTAL and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 6” and they have natural armor of -2.  However, they begin with one less skill.

Art by Dave Billman

DRACONIDS:  They are 8 foot tall, bipedal saurians with prehensile tails.  They are vegetarians and have an easy-going attitude.  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 4d6+1; for MENTAL, 2d10; and LUCK, 3d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 6” and they start with one less skill.

Art by Dave Billman

FELINES:  “Felines take pride in their extreme sophistication, but often revert to barbarism in times of crisis.”  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 3d6+1d10; for MENTAL and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 6” and they start with one less skill.  Using their claws, Felines cause an additional 1d6 damage in unarmed combat.

Art by Dave Billman

LUPINES:  “The Lupine virtue of loyalty and their vice of vengefulness are renowned throughout the galaxy.”  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 2d10+1d6; for MENTAL and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 7” and they begin with one less skill.  Their vestigial claws “add 1-3 points of damage to unarmed combat.”

Art by Dave Billman

MANTIS LORDS:  They “are 7 foot tall intelligent insects.”  Mantis Lords “appear to be completely paranoid” and “seem to be psychologically incapable of trusting another race enough to sign a peace treaty.”  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 2d10+1d6; for MENTAL and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 7.”  They can use their vestigial wings to lift themselves off of the ground for periods of 1-6 rounds.

Art by Dave Billman

PONGOIDS:  They “are a cross-breed between humans and the great apes.”  They “were held as virtual slaves but won their freedom in the Great Rebellion” (which ended twenty years ago).  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 4d10-1; for MENTAL, 2d6; and LUCK, 2d10. “Their minimum basic ability score is 6” and they with two fewer skills.

Art by Dave Billman

PUPPET MASTERS:  “They stand about 3 feet high and weigh roughly 75 pounds.”  A Puppet Master can connect its spine to a victim's spine via an artificial cord and thereby control said victim.  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 2d6; for MENTAL, 3d10; and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 5.”

In addition to the intelligent, star-faring races above, the Heroes article also provides character creation information for the following.

Art by Dave Billman

ANDROIDS:  “It requires a detailed biological analysis to tell Android bodies from normal Human bodies.”  Androids raised under clinical conditions “take pride in their aloofness and rationality.”  However, “Androids created in the fetal stage and raised by Human families show normal Human emotions.”  For all five basic abilities, the roll is 2d10+1.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 7” and they begin with one less skill.  They also have an armor value of -1.

Art by Dave Billman

CYBORGS:  “Some Cyborgs are virtually indistinguishable from a normal Human; others are virtually indistinguishable from a normal machine.”  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 4d6; for MENTAL and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 6” and they begin the game with two fewer skills than starting Human characters.  Cyborgs start with no money but automatically have the first Cyborg power (i.e., Recycling Implant).

Art by Dave Billman

MUTANTS:  They “are often disfigured in various ways and are usually less healthy than Humans.”  For MUSCLE, SPEED, and STAMINA, the roll is 2d6+1; for MENTAL, 4d10; and LUCK, 2d10.  “Their minimum basic ability score is 6” and they start with one less skill.  However, each mutant begins play with the one power – the first power of either Poltergeist, Clairvoyant, Mentat, Telepath, or Magneto.

Art by Dave Billman

ROBOTS:  “Robot player-characters have not been playtested,” Moldvay informs us.  “If introduced into a campaign, they will require a fair amount of work on the GM's part.”  Still, Moldvay suggests a roll of 3d10 for each basic ability and an armor value of -3.

Player-character Robots would suffer from several liabilities.  Any computer technician or engineer with the Robotic skill level could completely re-program Robots, making them difficult to play as player-characters.  While Robots should be able to progress by gaining experience, such progress would have to be accompanied by actual physical changes (new memory circuits; larger, tougher body, etc.)  Some of the skills and powers would be illogical for a Robot (a Robot acrobat?, a Robot necromancer?).

Powers in Lords of Creation

Art by Dave Billman

In Lords of Creation, there are twelve power sets, each with a hierarchy of five more-or-less related powers.  Sometimes, Moldvay refers to these sets as 'classes'.  However, he also uses the term 'class' in reference to how these sets are grouped.  There are three power groups (or types):  Magical, Psychic, and Futuristic.  These types “help show what type of setting is most appropriate for the various powers.”  According to the Setting Index optional rule, “each of the three types of powers would be categorized one of three ways” in any given setting.  Either a power type works in the setting, “that type of power has only a 50% chance to work in the setting, or that type of power will not work in the setting.”  For example, Moldvay posits a GM could decide that for a 20th century setting:  a 50% Psychic Index, a 50% Technology Index, and a “no” Magic Index.  (Apparently, 'Technology' equates to 'Futuristic'.)  “These three simple classifications,” Moldvay informs us, “give 27 different possible combinations for setting classifications.”

The dozen power sets, along with their associated powers, are listed below, grouped according to type:

MAGICAL

• Adept (Remove Magic, Magic Armor, Magic Weapon, Magic Prison, Shape Shift)
• Invoker (Elemental Shaping, Invoke Elementals, Possession, Elemental Body, Dimension Walking)
• Sorcerer (True Sight, Fascination, Illusion, Enchanted Sleep, Animation)
• Wizard (Animal Control, Necromancy, Fly, Curse, Storm)

PSYCHIC

• Clairvoyant (Clairvoyance, Cure, Psychometry, Precognition, Photon Ray)
• Mentat (Hypnosis, Persuasion, Altered Features, Metamorphosis, Mass to Energy)
• Poltergeist (Sound Control, Telekinesis, Apportation, Gravity Field, Teleportation)
• Telepath (Mind Block, ESP, Telepathy, Neural Overload, Forced Rapport)

FUTURISTIC

• Cyborg (Recycling Implant, Weapon Implant, Plasteel Body, Exoskeleton, Back-up Metabolism)
• Magneto (Electrosensing, Electrosleep, Energy Field, EM Tuning, Energy Beam)
• Projector (Sensual Chaos, Invisibility, Fear, Hallucination, Automaton)
• Somatron (Physical Control, Dermal Armor, Regeneration, Energy Absorption, Shock Control)

Player characters do not begin with any of these powers, but when they gain powers, “they must always choose the powers in order within a category.”  As an example, Moldvay informs us that a “character could not choose the Magneto power of Energy Field until he or she already had both the Magneto powers of Electrosensing and Electrosleep.”  Non-player characters are not bound by these restrictions.  For instance, the write-up of Circe in The Book of Foes indicates she has the Wizard powers of Animal Control and Storm, but none of the intermediate Wizard powers.  Incidentally, Hercules has most of the Somatron powers even though they are Futuristic.

Unfortunately, Moldvay does not disclose exactly how player characters may obtain these powers.  In the Lords of Creation Introduction, we are told:

As the characters continue to gain experience, they will gain special powers.  When a character qualifies for a special power, the player should read PART 6 – POWERS to decide what power their character chooses.

This suggests that acquiring powers is dependant upon gaining experience.  It also suggests that players select the powers they want their characters to have.  Page 29 specifically states, “When characters choose powers, they can choose freely from any category except Cyborg.”  Cyborg powers can only be obtained in a futuristic setting hospital and the “character will also be charged a fee for the surgery...”

A study of the published adventure The Horn of Roland does little to educate the prospective GM as to how player characters should gain powers.  In one encounter ancillary to the plot, a single character makes a Luck Roll:

If successful, the individual gains the power of Clairvoyance.  If unsuccessful, the character's mental ability is immediately reduced to 2.

In another ancillary encounter, it is possible for a single character – after winning a series of combats – to gain “the power of True Sight.”  Neither of these circumstances involves a character choosing freely (or even the character being aware that a power may be gained as a result of the circumstance).  As such, they do not seem to conform to how Moldvay intimates characters gain powers.  Although Moldvay wrote several articles about Lords of Creation in the periodical Heroes, in none of them does he touch upon power acquisition.  This seems to be an oversight of a vital aspect of the game.

Art by Dave Billman

Saga of the Starnomads (Part II)

Art by Dave Billman

In this post, we continue our presentation of Tom Molday's historical background of the Starnomads.  We learn that “Mudhuggers have no honor” and that, regarding mudhuggers, “Promises need not be kept...”  Yet,“trade is so important the Starnomads” and “Starnomads make excellent traders.”  It seems incongruous that a people seen as “merciless, treacherous barbarians” can manage to be “excellent traders.”  Additionally, we learn that Starnomad “habitats are entirely self-sufficient.”  So, why should Starnomads sully their superior hands by trading with debased mudhuggers or by raiding disgusting mudhugger settlements?

How superior are Starnomads to mere human mudhuggers?  Moldvay establishes elsewhere in the adventure that – when creating a Starnomad character – “a player rolls 2d10 plus 2d6 for each of the five Basic Ability Scores (instead of just 2d10).”

“Mudhuggers have no honor,” we are told.  However, a Starnomad ship will “formally adopt an individual who gains its hospitality.”  This is not a rare occurrence – “New blood is constantly being added to the Starnomads.”  As such, there must be honor to be found among some mudhuggers.

In last week's post, it was established that, “In the Starnomad mythos, they are building toward an ultimate new species that will have about as much in common with Homo Sapiens as Homo Sapiens have in common with the tree shrews...”  Yet in the sections reproduced below, we learn that, “There are even a few [Starnomad] ships composed entirely of alien races.”

Speaking of alien species, illustrated above is a 'Feline', which seems to be slightly larger than the example human shown.  The Rule Book states, “Felines are a bipedal cat like species of intelligent, space-faring carnivores.”  They are among the “traditional enemies” of the Starnomads, but were previously allied with them.  For nearly every humanoid race listed in The Book of Foes, statistics are provided for an average specimen, a soldier specimen, a hero specimen, and a noteworthy individual.  The noteworthy Feline individual, Grymalkin, has magic powers.  Also, Feline heroes are capable of having magic powers.  This is strange in that the Starnomad Setting Index specifies that “Magic does not work...”

Saga of the Starnomads (Part I)

Art by Dave Billman

In Lords of Creation, Tom Moldvay offers seven settings.  One of these, Imperial Terra, is a space opera venue.  “Because of a series of man-made catastrophes,” states the description, “details of entire centuries of history have been lost, so it is impossible to date the Empire using 20th century time references.”  (Corvus Andromeda comes from Imperial Terra.)  The Rule Book has one-and-a-half pages dedicated to the details of Imperial Terra.  About one-quarter of a page is devoted to describing the Starnomads.  According to The Book of Foes, “A Starnomad is a member of a wandering futuristic culture that practices genetic selection of the fittest.”

Evidently, Moldvay put a great deal of thought into the Starnomads.  I think they're elitist jerks, but I'm just a mudhugger. To the premier issue of Heroes, Avalon Hill's magazine, Tom Moldvay contributed a Lords of Creation adventure, “Survival Run of the Starnomads.”  (However, the adventure refers to itself as “The STARNOMAD SURVIVAL MAZE.”)  In the 'Designer's Note' for the adventure, Moldvay explains, “In the summer of 1979, I designed a game system entitled 'Starnomads' for the amusement of my friends and myself.”  He further explains that the game system “was the grandfather of LORDS OF CREATION®.”

Along with the adventure, Moldvay provides an 'Historical Background' for the Starnomads, some of which is duplicative of the material in the Imperial Terra setting description.  The first part of this background follows.