Post Human RPG: Session 0

I’m going to write the following phrase a lot in this Substack: “I wrote,” and that’s because at this moment, this Substack is about my writing, but I have a collaborator, Journeyman, who is my friend, editor, and co-creator. Most of what we do starts with my writing, but it ends not only with his art but also with his critique of my writing, his sensitivity to my writing, and his organization and shepherding of my writing and his art into a finished product. So when you read “I wrote,” remember that the next steps are “Journey gave his critique—I rewrote—he painted some wonderful things—he hired a graphic designer—we hired an editor—he found a printer to publish our stuff—we put it up for sale on his website and elsewhere.” It’s a process, and this is only the first part.

“Fairy and Eel,” Painting by Journeyman

What Came Before

A few years ago, Journeyman and I created the Post Human world.

We didn’t know that we were doing it, at first. I had written a weird sci-fi short story called “Third-Rate Romance” (after the song by the Amazing Rhythm Aces), about a one-night stand between Fred, a squid alien, and a human woman. Journeyman and I worked on a comic book version of that story, but we never quite finished it.

Then I wrote a mean little short story called “Emerald Alley,” about a deluded, murderous witch and her very real enemies. Journey and I finished that one, and you can find it here: https://journeyman1029.net/product-category/comic-books (This one has violence, nudity, and cruelty.)

After that, I wrote a coming-of-age tale called “The Burlap Daughter,” about a young girl abused by her mother so mom can look good for her church. The girl grows up and has to cast off her mother’s abuse, made literal by magic, in order to find herself. This story was deliberately set in the Post Human world. The church, though modeled after modern-day small-town churches, was dedicated to a Chaos god, and Journey and I started creating the rules of the Post Human world (see below), already implicit in the previous two stories. (About “Burlap” — It’s very personal to both Journey and I, and it’s unfinished, and one day it’ll be our masterpiece.)

Next was Godkillers, a southern Gothic RPG adventure about a corrupt minister and the flawed teens who have to stop him before his corruption defiles a “godling” and brings about the wrath of the godling’s mother. You can find the PDF on drivethrurpg, though you have to log in since it is listed as “adult.” Spoiler: There is no significant nudity, though there are a lot of adult themes: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/266374/Godkillers

You can get the physical copy here: https://journeyman1029.net/product-category/rpgs

Godkillers was supposed to the introduction to our Post Human RPG, but I stalled after that for personal reasons but then also for global reasons, and here we are, ready to go beyond Godkillers.

The Post Human World

When I began writing Post Human stories, even before I gave name to them, I was writing against the standard assumptions of cosmic horror: (1) That the universe is unknowable by humans; (2) That if you learn too much about it anyway, you will go mad or worse; (3) That nonhuman beings are inherently evil and dangerous; (4) Certainly don’t hook up with an alien. These axioms of cosmic horror come from H.P. Lovecraft’s fear of the discoveries of modern physics as well as his outright racism.

Many modern writers have made great use of these fears to craft their own stories, but I couldn’t take Lovecraft’s fears seriously enough to serve as the basis for my own writing, but I loved the weird part of Lovecraft’s tales as well as the tales of many other writers.

Weird tales, strange tales, magic and chaos in a world you could recognize, but distorted as through a shattered mirror. You could call it magical realism, I guess, but what I really wanted to do was to mix Chaos — not just magic but weirdness and dream logic — with the heroism or villainy of the ordinary person. Is it any surprise that if Lovecraft is my anti-inspiration that Philip K. Dick is my actual inspiration?

So what is the Post Human world? It’s simple. The apocalypse that characters in the Cthulhu Mythos are always trying to prevent, happened. The stars were alright, the gods of Chaos awoke, reality warped, and humans mutated, but our core did not change.

You might have a third eye and an intelligent fungus as a roommate, but you still have to call your momma once a week, and you fight with the fungus over space in the fridge, and maybe once or twice in your life, something terrible happens, and you’re called upon to be a hero, as only an ordinary mutant can be, and that’s the Post Human condition.

Next Up

The plan for the core book of the Post Human roleplaying game.