The Time of the Oath

There is a being known as the Wizard of the Red Robe, whose face is forever hidden by his hood. This being is also called the Keeper of the Seven Keys because, having followed the signs beyond the Twilight of the Gods and the creation of new synthetic gods in his home reality, he was able to wrest the Keys from Insania’s dead hand.

After his setback in the World of the Maze That Lies Hidden in Shadow, whether or not the Wizard of the Red Robe was able to recover the lost Key of Heaven and the Mind, the Wizard was able to recover the golden Ring of the Silicon Minds, connecting his thoughts once more to the Future World.

To make the best use of this material, see also this blog post and this blog post.

The Ring of the Silicon Minds

This band of plain gold allows the wearer to connect with the Silicon Minds of the Future World, artificial gods created by the magio-technicians of that plane. Wearing it commands a form of patron bond, allowing the wearer to invoke the Silicon Minds (as invoke patron). A minimum of 1 point of spellburn must be used when invoking the Silicon Minds, and the spellburn effects table below should be consulted every time spellburn is used, so long as the ring is worn. It takes a full week to bond with the ring, and gain the power to invoke the Silicon Minds.

Each time the Silicon Minds are invoked, the image of a gold ring appears somewhere on the caster’s features. A caster may only bear one such image per level, as each represents painful connection to the rather overwhelming thoughts of the Silicon Minds. Each image therefore also causes 1d3 temporary Personality damage, which remains so long as the image remains, and then is healed instantly. One image of a ring from a previous day’s invocation disappears each day at dawn. It is always the most stable connection (as signified by the highest temporary Personality damage) that dissolves first.

Certain sages in the Fields We Know claim that the Ring of the Silicon Minds was once found upon our own Earth, and that connection to the Silicon Minds of the Future World forged the basis for the prophecies of Nostradamus.

Invoke the Silicon Minds

Spell Check        Result

1                          Failure and patron taint (see below). The Ring of the Silicon Minds ceases to function until dawn.

2-11                     Failure. The Ring of the Silicon Minds ceases to function until dawn.

12-13                   A circle of fire: The Silicon Minds create a circle of green flames around the caster, which grant a +4 bonus to AC and saving throws. This effect lasts CL rounds.

14-17                   We will find it once more again: The Silicon Minds restore one spell that the caster has lost. If the caster has not lost a spell, the Silicon Minds instead grant a single casting of a random spell the caster doesn’t know, at the highest level of spells the ring’s wearer is able to cast.

18-19                   Child of the stars: The Silicon Minds grant the caster insight into magic and technology. The caster gains 1d3+CL Insight Points. Each Insight Point may be used, once, to modify either a spell check or an artifact check (MCC), and each point used grants a +1d5 bonus to the die roll. Each point can be used only once, and unused Insight Points fade away at the rate of 1 point every day. Until all the Insight Points are used, the caster’s eyes become star fields mirroring distant galaxies.

20-23                   Last of the seven troopers: The Silicon Minds download the memories of a dying Trooper into the caster’s mind. The caster gains vague memories of the 7^th War in the Future World. The caster gains 1d12 temporary hit points per Caster Level. Damage is taken from these temporary hit points first, and this damage cannot be healed. Until all temporary hit points are used, the caster gains a bonus to Initiative equal to half his level, and gains the Deed Die of a warrior of half his level (round up in both cases). When the temporary hit points are used up, these benefits disappear, but the caster will always be haunted by flashes of the trooper’s memories, which haunt his dreams.

24-27                   The blaster of the gods: The caster gains the ability to shoot forth a laser-like ray, which does 3d6+CL damage on any successful hit. This power uses an Action Die each time  it is used, but the caster is able to draw upon it for 1 turn per Caster Level.

28-29                   I have seen it all before: Foreknowledge is granted to the caster, coming from the Future World through the aegis of the Silicon Minds. This effect lasts for 1d7+CL rounds. During this time, the caster can evade attacks, receiving only 1 point of damage from any successful attack. Further, any time the caster is called upon to make a roll during this period, he rolls two dice (or two sets of dice, for instance, if rolling 3d6 damage) and selects which outcome occurs.

30-31                   Wake up the mountain: Power from the Silicon Minds floods the caster, healing all damage that does not relate directly to the ring or the Silicon Minds themselves. This includes any natural disease or poison that the caster is suffering from. The caster gains a +10 bonus to any Strength-based checks (including attack rolls and damage rolls with melee weapons), and ignores the first 10 points of damage from any attack. These effects last for 1 turn per Caster Level.

32+                      Son of a distant future: For a moment, the caster sees into the Future World and achieves perfect communion with the Silicon Minds. He gains two of the boons, above, of his choice, and they last until the next day or their normal duration (whichever is longer). At the end of this period, the caster takes 1d6 points of temporary Stamina and Personality damage from the strain on his mind and body. Alternatively, the caster may choose only a single boon (which also lasts one day if its normal duration is shorter) without suffering from the strain thereafter.

Spellburn: The Silicon Minds

While wearing the ring, and thereby bonded to the Silicon Minds, any attempt at spellcasting can be influenced from the artificial gods of the distant Future World. When a caster wearing the Ring of the Silicon Minds utilizes spellburn, roll 1d4 and consult the table below, or use these suggestions to create an event specific to your campaign.

Roll        Spellburn Result

1             Electrical feedback from the Silicon Minds arcs through the caster’s body, resulting in temporary Strength, Agility, or Stamina loss.

2             The character’s mind becomes enmeshed with that of a blissful citizen of the Future World. This manifests as Strength, Agility, or Stamina loss, but the actual cause is the distraction of pleasurable events occurring in another time and place, of which the caster is keenly aware. As the spellburn heals, this awareness fades.

3             Perfect connection! The caster gains a +3 bonus to his spell check without cost, and is free to spellburn further to augment his casting (do not reroll on this table; no further free bonuses are available).

4             Temporal displacement. The caster is moved out of sync with his current timeline, making him less able to affect the world around him. Spellburn must be taken from Strength, but the caster gains a +1 bonus to AC per two full points of spellburn, which also represent his being slightly out of phase with the world around him. As the spellburn heals, the caster moves into sync with his time track. AC bonuses are reduced as spellburn recovers.

Patron Taint: The Silicon Minds

When patron taint is indicated, roll 1d6 and consult the following chart. Because some results can occur an infinite number of times, patron taint must always be rolled.

Roll        Patron Taint Result

1             You have drawn the attention of the Corruptor, who sends creatures to destroy or corrupt you. Roll 1d7 to determine what is sent: (1-4) 1d3+CL shadow-goblins, (5-6) 1d3-1 creepingnightmares, or (7) 1d6 dogs of war per caster level. There is no limit to how often this patron taint can be rolled.

2             You have drawn the malice of the Corruptor, who reduces your Luck by 1d14 points (to a minimum of 3). This loss is recovered at a rate of 1 point per day, as the Corruptor’s attention is drawn elsewhere. There is no limit to how often this patron taint can be rolled.

3             Another world calls. You and your companions are pulled immediately into another world, as determined by the judge. There are many DCC products the judge may use to flesh out this world, and any DCC or MCC adventure can be modified to occur on another plane. Materials that might be of use include (but are not limited to!) The 998th Conclave of Wizards; Againstthe Atomic Overlord; Beyond the BlackGate; Black Powder, Black Magic; Black Sun Deathcrawl; Crawling Under A Broken Moon (Umerica); Crawljammer; Crawl-thulhu; Cyber SprawlClassics; Dark Trails; various modules in the DCC Xcrawl series; Demonland; The Dread God Al-Khazadar; Drongo: Ruins of the Witch Kingdoms; Fate's Fell Hand; The Hobonomicon; Hubris: AWorld of Visceral Adventure; Journeyto the Center of Aereth; Nowhere CityNights; Null Singularity; Peril on the Purple Planet (and related); Phantasmagoria; Primal Tales; Rock GodDeath-Fugue; RPGPundit Presents Last Sun materials; Secret Antiquities; Secrets of the World-Harvesters; Star Crawl; Tales From the Fallen Empire; Through Ningauble's Cave (and various DCC Lankhmar materials); Through the Dragonwall; The Tower of Faces; Transylvanian Adventures; Trench CrawlClassics, Pandemonium, and the Sunless Sea in The Gong Farmer’s Almanac (among others); and Trumphammer 2K. Various Sanctum Secorum Episode Companions also offer a plethora of materials. This transfer may be temporary or permanent, as the judge desires, and may be rolled any number of times.

4             Artificial thoughts. Your contact with the Silicon Minds has made you more intelligent and rational, at the cost of some individuality. Each time this is rolled (to a maximum of 3 times), gain +1 to Intelligence (maximum 20) and lower Personality by 1 (minimum 3).

5             Replacement parts. If you have lost a body part, you gain a cybernetically controlled prosthesis, which is permanently grafted to your body. If you have multiple lost body parts, determine which is replaced randomly. Treat this as a natural body part in all respects, except as follows. Damage to that part specifically must be repaired rather than healed. This normally requires at least 10 minutes per check, with a DC 10 Intelligence check repairing up to 1d4 hit points or 1 point of temporary ability damage. Each point healed (either way) requires 10 gp worth of materials. If the body part to be healed precludes your working on it (for instance, a hand or an arm), you may have to get another to perform the check or attempt it with a reduced die. The judge makes the final determination. Finally, the replaced part is immune to damage from disease or poison, and may take reduced damage from heat or cold at the judge’s discretion. You can roll this taint any number of times, but it only has an effect if you are missing one or more body parts.

6             Future mind. Images of the future have taken hold in your mind, reducing your effectiveness in combat. Each time this is rolled, you must make attack rolls at -1d step on the dice chain. This is a permanent reduction, and also affects any spell check you might make for a spell which is used only to directly causes harm (such as magic missile or flaming hands). The judge is the ultimate arbiter as to which spells are affected. This taint can be rolled a maximum of 3 times; ignore additional instances.

Removing the Ring of the Silicon Minds breaks the bond, but does not undo current spellburn effects or patron taint!

Listen to the album here.