Fig. 1: The Lost Cosmonaut wandering tunnels beneath a derelict missile development site.

ENTITIES

Bureau Agents aren’t the only things moving in the spaces between dimensions. There are individuals, creatures, even inexplicable concepts in corporeal form which wander those strange liminal worlds. Here are some of the entities travelers may encounter in abandoned and liminal spaces.

Fig. 2: Insignia reads “Glory unto the people’s heroes of the new frontier!” in cryptocyrillic.

THE LOST COSMONAUT

The Lost Cosmonaut wanders the starways searching for a way home, the essence of its soul fragmented across countless worlds. Ricocheted into interdimensional space on a long-forgotten mission for a now-dead empire (refer to: the Commissariat of Public Enlightenment), it wanders spaces dedicated to military and scientific research. It is typically noncombative as long as one does not mention any events following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Fig. 3: A Floodgolem keeping an eye on the boundaries of its tunnel fen.

FLOODGOLEMS

Just as the river nymphs of old sprung from natural waterways, floodgolems manifest in manmade waterways. Usually benign and caught in a state of dionysian subterranean revelry, but possess an unpredictable and often lethal temper.

Fig. 4: Excerpt from retrieved medical journal, translated from latin: “Life is the disease, and we are the cure.”

THE PLAGUE DOCTOR

The Plague Doctor has moved on from the study of mere disease. Its experiments now concern the root of all maladies and that most elusive work of alchemy: the distillation of the human soul. However, sacrifices must be made for this scientific quest of the mind and spirit. Rejecting offers of operation shall inevitably lead to extreme acts of violence by the Plague Doctor, yet that is a better event than submitting to the Doctor’s requests. It stalks new research subjects in derelict hospitals, morgues, and sanatoriums.

Fig. 5: Found written on adjacent bronze plate prior to encounter: “This new dawning empire of light and reason.”

CHILDREN OF ALEXANDRIA

Though they pass for humans at first glance, upon closer examination it is clear that they are something else. Seekers and traders of knowledge in all it’s forms, often found in disused halls of learning. Knowledge given to them is lost to it’s original holder. Willing to trade information if encountered, but may become hostile if trade is rejected. Children of Alexandria become more dangerous with age, as older Children seek out more complex knowledge.

Fig. 6: Auditory report: [ETHEREAL STATIC]

THE RADIO SILENT MAN

Fills the minds of travelers with trancelike static and visions from alternate lives. Its ability to resonance on countless dimensional frequencies allows a window into all things which could be, both wondrous and terrible. Explorers are advised to be suspicious of fantasizing. Some have fallen hopelessly to its siren’s song and fallen into a cult (see: the Church of the Intergalactic Transmission), worshipping this entity. They pray to avoid the horrors it pipes into their heads, and to taste the divine delights of the better realities it torments them with.

Fig. 7: Paranaturalist astralphotographic exposure of a Windstrider in its native habitat.

WINDSTRIDERS

Playful spirits who dwell in the high places of the world, such as bridge pylons and rooftop ledges. They like to have playful shoving matches with people who enter their domain. Unfortunately, they have yet to realize that humans can’t fly.

Fig. 8: One of the more common forms glimpsed of the Iridescent One, “the Panoptiman”.

THE IRIDESCENT ONE

Not the god of any known religion, though it often dwells in forsaken worship halls. Also known as the “Panoptiman”. Usually takes the form of impossible geometries, fractals made of colors that can’t exist, and other sanity-warping forms. Described as beautiful, like the wings of a butterfly- or perhaps the light of an angler fish. Unlike most Entities there is no need to be concerned about it noticing you since you already have its attention. Rather, beware that you don’t notice it.

Fig. 8: Trogolodyte gatewardens of the settlement of Undertown.

TUNNEL TROGLODYTES

A mirror-society hidden beneath cities of the surface world. Behind countless urban legends of “tunnel people” afoot in the sewers, the Tunnel Troglodytes are as human as any surface-dweller but have existed as a separate society since prehistory. Having dwelled once in extensive cave systems, they now live in the labyrinthine tunnel systems beneath major metropolises. There they have built subterranean towns, trading outposts, libraries, halls of worship, and every other construct of civilization. They are relatively welcoming of topsiders, having a tacit understanding with surface world sewer and metro workers, and even welcoming the rare traveler into living in their societies. However, threats to their relative secrecy, refusal to pay tolls (currency: underworld obol), or disregarding troglodyte social practices can end with dire consequences, as their rule is supreme in the tunnels.

Fig. 9: Reverie in the foundry. A mystic attempts to commune with the mechanical universe.

THE DIVINE CLOCKWORK

Can be interfaced with through disused factories and other places of creation. The purpose of this Entity is beyond current human understanding, but it is clear that the Divine Clockwork lacks both mercy and malice.  Can be harnessed by a clever Traveler if their goals align, but cannot be diverted from its unknown purpose.

Fig. 10: The Orderlies upon finding a new patient.

THE GNAWING DESECRATION

Found in places associated with human disease and mutilation such as hospitals, asylums, and other medical sites. Often takes the form of rot, disease, and decayed medical equipment. Beware the Orderlies- though they were once human, they haven’t been such for a long time.

Fig. 11: A cairnkeeper crafting a new gateway to Dimension 19ZB-6.

ORDER OF THE CAIRNKEEPERS

Guardians of the astral gateways. They are vital to maintaining interdimensional travel, keeping the astral cairn leylines in good condition allowing navigation, and opening new portals through ritual methodologies. However, they guard these gateways jealously and do not like to encounter other travelers using them. If a trespasser is caught at a gateway by the Cairnkeepers, they may be banished to the void plane.

Fig. 12: Hearthbroken gathering at the threshold of the root cellar.

HEARTHBROKEN

Spirits found in houses that were once homes. Their presence evokes feelings of nostalgia, grief, and yearning for something indistinct. Not usually dangerous unless allowed to gather in significant numbers- a large enough mass of Hearthbroken can subsume a town if left unchecked.

Fig. 13: Be wary of the paths the Sprites may lead you down.

PORTAL SPRITES

Easily mistaken as faint glimmers or tricks of the light, Portal Sprites are a mischievous fey of the astral realm. A familiar sight to the seasoned interdimensional traveler, they appear whenever an astral gateway is opened, slipping in and out of adjacent dimensions. Bureau Astralphysicists theorize that they are native fauna of the realms-inbetween, hovering in mathematically exotic spaces between worlds. While they are harmless by themselves, they can cause illusions and deceptions that are potentially lethal, misleading travelers with a playful and deathly sadistic sense of humor.