Journeying Jormungandr

GLOGtober 2023 #5: Mortality is the Mother of Invention

GLOGtober 2023 prompts are here.

2. Unusual corpse preservation methods.

The ancient civilization of Fallen Carcaro is believed, by some, to be the birthplace of the necrotechnic methods of inventor necromancers. They reached heights of the dark science unrivaled in the modern world - the apex of which was designing stable control mechanisms which allowed inventor necromancers to mass produce and transfer control of their necrotech to others, an art now long-forgotten.

Fallen Carcaro was a kingdom without graves - every corpse, great or small, was converted into some manner of necrotic invention. Direct reanimation had long fallen out of favor - it was determined to be too dangerous and too messy. What exactly doomed Carcaro is unknown - only that its destruction was swift and terrible.

Some Carcaren techniques persist to the modern era, but the secret of mass-producing and sharing necrotech remains lost, as does many of the artistic gifts the Carcarens employed to ensure their creations were aesthetically pleasing. The few secrets of Carcaren necrotech that survive to the modern day are graceful and efficient.

1d6 Necroventions

1: Personal Platform

Essentially techno-necrotic mobile tables with arms, personal platforms were used for materials transport through areas designed for pedestrian passage - the Carcarens had larger necrotechnic beasts of burden and vehicles used on streets, thoroughfares, and large tunnels.

2: Statuesque Eternal

One of the few pieces of Carcaren necrotech that left the body in (mostly) one piece, statuesque eternals were made from the corpses of great nobles and kings, able to pose triumphantly and, through alchemic fluids and necromancy, weather the ravages of time unchanged, looking very nearly alive. Modern examples are far inferior, aesthetically - often requiring implanted support struts and banded reinforcements. The statuesque eternal is capable of movement - as quick as it was in life - but not attack or carrying additional equipment. However, it can "lock" or "unlock" on command, becoming entirely still and nearly impossible to shift - a fact used by adventuring inventor necromancers to block doors, form improvised bridges, or shackle enemies.

A creature may attempt to forcibly break a statuesque eternal, possibly indirectly (such as by pushing a door it is barring). When it does, it rolls strength checks until it fails, and the statuesque eternal takes [5 x number of successes] damage. Such strength checks will almost always require at least an action.

3: Biomechanical Winch

A cornerstone of Carcaren industry, the biomechanical winch was originally designed to effectively utilize the byproducts and unused components of popular necrotechnic mechanisms, but its shear utility lead to it being a primary target of manufacture in its own right.

A modern biomechanical winch is 50 feet of intestinal rope and sinew, ridged with powerful muscles and reinforcing wires. The biomechanical winch is as strong as chain, but its true power lies in its ability to contract. While touching the rope, as an action, the inventor can cause the rope (or a portion thereof) to retract 1/4 of its length (at a maximum rate of to 1/4 per round) or return to some portion of its full length (which can be slow, or as fast as the inventor decides). The rope pulls with the strength of (per [templates]) 2/5/10/20 strong men.

4: Horoscopic Head

Traditionally, Carcaren families would keep honored patriarchs or matriarchs as horoscopic heads, carefully preserved and masked with porcelain. Modern horoscopic heads tend to be ugly things, with brains visible behind glass plates.

Up to [templates] times per day, you may ask this head a yes-or-no question. It has a 3-in-6 chance of correctly answering (yes, no, yes and no, uncertain - rolled secretly). Each distinct piece of relevant information you give it before asking a question increases the chance of a correct answer by 1, to a maximum of 5-in-6. If the check fails or the answer is unknowable, the head always answers "uncertain". Asking multiple heads the same question with the same (or less) evidence always returns the same answer.

Additionally, the head may store up to [templates] pieces of brain matter harvested from living or freshly deceased creatures. For each piece, it gains understanding of a single skill or topic the creature understood in life, and may answer questions about that topic - the knowledge is chosen when the brain matter is inserted, and it may only gain one knowledge from any given creature. This cannot be used to learn specific secret knowledge (such as passwords and true names), arcane knowledge (such as spells and magical potion formulae), or knowledge beyond human intellect.

5: Biofurnace

Carcaren scientists claimed that, pound-for-pound, humans burn hotter than the sun. These principles were exemplified by the organic heaters called biofurnaces. Ancient designs that could sustain greater heat for longer were used to power steam engines and run turbines.

Typically shaped as an thigh-sized cylindrical cage containing several lung segments and a heart, the biofurnace has several applications. It can be used to attack with a stream of flame, attacking a 30 foot line for [1d6 + templates] fire damage (roll a single attack roll against all creatures in the line) - this attack has a 2-in-6 chance of recharging each round. Additionally, creatures within 5 feet are protected from mundane cold and gain cold resistance [templates]. Finally, it can be used as a heat source to cook food and boil water and to cast light as a candle.

6: Skin Raven

A key element of the Carcaren communication and command systems, skin ravens effectively utilized excess skin and some smaller bones and muscles that were in low demand otherwise. A great deal of work was done by the Carcaren necrotechnicians to make hijacking skin ravens difficult to impossible.

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