Cosmic Horror in Space [Horror/Space]

AlexanderHowl · 06-05-2019, 09:29 AM

I was just wondering how much people have combined cosmic horror and space in their campaigns and settings. I know that Cthulutech and W40K are examples of the fusion, but I am more looking for more original settings or new spins on existing settings. An example of the latter would be cosmic horror versions of Star Trek or Star Wars.

Let us take a look at a possible example of a cosmic horror version of Star Wars. In this setting, the Jedi and the Sith would be two different philosophies that sought to use the Force to keep the Elder Gods and the Ancient Ones from destroying galactic civilization. In the case of the Jedi, they sought to generate positive emotions in order to repulse the Elder Gods. In the case of the Sith, they sought to generate negative emotions in order to sedate the Ancient Ones. With the practical extinction of the Jedi and Sith though, the Elder Gods will soon sweep through the Galaxy to harvest intelligent life, as they have every few million years since the beginning of time, and the Ancient Ones will soon awaken to oppose them, destroying galactic civilization in the wake of their battles.

Black Leviathan · 06-05-2019, 11:55 AM

Fading Suns has a lot of nods to Lovecraft. Demon's wait in the dark of space. Ships that go too far in the void are eaten by Kraken. I ran a game where soldiers in the middle of a war got trapped in a starship that had sunk to the sea floor and there was a malevolent spirit within that was trying to convince the survivors to sacrifice members of their crew or she would strike indiscriminately. I never said outright if she was a demon or an alien or even a hallucination, but she vanished once they drained all of the sea water from the ship's ballasts.

whswhs · 06-05-2019, 12:24 PM

Some years ago, I have the fanciful idea of a Lensman/Cthulhu Mythos crossover. There would be three factions: Civilization, Boskone, and the Elder Gods. The Overlords of Delgon, despite their cooperation with Boskone, would actually be part of the Elder Gods faction, and there would be a question of whether one of the two would seek alliance with Civilization at some point. Any allegory of World War II is purely intentional.

06-05-2019, 09:29 AM	#1
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Cosmic Horror in Space [Horror/Space] I was just wondering how much people have combined cosmic horror and space in their campaigns and settings. I know that Cthulutech and W40K are examples of the fusion, but I am more looking for more original settings or new spins on existing settings. An example of the latter would be cosmic horror versions of Star Trek or Star Wars. Let us take a look at a possible example of a cosmic horror version of Star Wars. In this setting, the Jedi and the Sith would be two different philosophies that sought to use the Force to keep the Elder Gods and the Ancient Ones from destroying galactic civilization. In the case of the Jedi, they sought to generate positive emotions in order to repulse the Elder Gods. In the case of the Sith, they sought to generate negative emotions in order to sedate the Ancient Ones. With the practical extinction of the Jedi and Sith though, the Elder Gods will soon sweep through the Galaxy to harvest intelligent life, as they have every few million years since the beginning of time, and the Ancient Ones will soon awaken to oppose them, destroying galactic civilization in the wake of their battles.

06-05-2019, 11:55 AM	#2
Black Leviathan Join Date: Sep 2018	Re: Cosmic Horror in Space [Horror/Space] Fading Suns has a lot of nods to Lovecraft. Demon's wait in the dark of space. Ships that go too far in the void are eaten by Kraken. I ran a game where soldiers in the middle of a war got trapped in a starship that had sunk to the sea floor and there was a malevolent spirit within that was trying to convince the survivors to sacrifice members of their crew or she would strike indiscriminately. I never said outright if she was a demon or an alien or even a hallucination, but she vanished once they drained all of the sea water from the ship's ballasts.

06-05-2019, 12:24 PM	#3
whswhs Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS	Re: Cosmic Horror in Space [Horror/Space] Some years ago, I have the fanciful idea of a Lensman/Cthulhu Mythos crossover. There would be three factions: Civilization, Boskone, and the Elder Gods. The Overlords of Delgon, despite their cooperation with Boskone, would actually be part of the Elder Gods faction, and there would be a question of whether one of the two would seek alliance with Civilization at some point. Any allegory of World War II is purely intentional. __________________ Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more.