Law Order The Otherworld.pdf

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Law & Order & The Otherworld

By Steve Johnson

“In matters of justice, the people of Twilight City are served by three distinct but equally

important organizations. The TCPD, responsible for investigating criminal activity; the DA’s

Office, responsible for prosecuting criminals, and the Dragonflies, responsible from retrieving

the spirits of deceased witnesses and victims from the Otherworld so they can testify before a

court of law. These are their stories.”

Setting Information

The idea of bringing back the souls of the dead to serve as witnesses in their own murder trials

has been around for as long as people have claimed the ability to talk to the dead, but juries

(not to mention the legal code) have always been reluctant to accept the testimony of mediums.

After all, there’s really no way to distinguish between a genuine channeler of the dead and a

good actor lying in order to influence the trial. Dr. Osiris Shade attempted to increase the

credibility of the dead by placing their bodies into various sorts of mechanical constructs, but

there was still a question as to whether the golem’s words were really those of the dead person

or simply part of an elaborate hoax. When Shade found a way to place the recovered souls into

the bodies of the recently deceased, things started to change.

At first, many were suspicious that the “revived” bodies were simply paid actors who were part

of some mad scheme by Shade, but after years of public demonstrations and expert

corroboration, the idea that the dead could be brought back from the otherworld and placed in

new bodies gained ground. Shade’s witnesses were allowed to take the stand with increasing

frequency, and eventually they became so widelyaccepted that the powers that be in Twilight

City contracted Shade to train a special unit to act as bail bondsmen for the dead, travelling into

the Otherworld in order to retrieve the souls of those who may be able to provide important

testimony in criminal cases. This team of psychopomps is known as the Dragonflies.

Your Law & Order & The Otherworld Game

In Law & Order & The Otherworld, players take on the roles of the Dragonflies who travel into

the otherworld in order to bring back the souls of potential witnesses. The rules here focus on

the PCs’ missions to the Otherworld, so it’s up to each group to decide how much to explore the

events of the real world, including the crimes that the recovered witnesses testify about and the

everyday lives of the protagonists. If you want to take the “Law & Order” gag to its fullest

extreme, each player can create three characters (a homicide detective or crime scene

investigator, a member of the District Attorney’s Office, and a Dragonfly) and roleplay the police

investigation and the prosecution as well as the soul recovery, but that’s beyond the scope of

the rules provided here.

The rules here are specifically designed for use in the dreamlike setting of the Otherworld, so if

your game will include the real world as more than just a framing mechanism for trips into

Otherworld, you’ll need to decide on a system. I personally recommend QAGS, but I am

unbelievably biased (since I cowrote it). Any system that works for a modern setting with a little

weirdness thrown in should do. If the real world is to play a major role in your game, you’ll also

need to develop Twilight City and maybe even consider the other implications of Dr. Shade’s

research (which, if it allows for permanent “soul implanting,” could mean the possibility of a form

of immortality). The things that go on in the waking world are entirely up to the group and can be

as relatively mundane or as deeply weird as you want them to be.

The Otherworld

The exact nature of the Otherworld is not completely understood, but it seems to be the realm of

dreamers as well as the dead. Most of the Otherworld’s inhabitants, whether temporary or

permanent, are confined to their own selfcreated section of the Otherworld, but some shamen,

lucid dreamers, and psychedelic drug users have the ability to travel beyond their own realm

and through The InBetween to the worlds created by others.

The dreamscapes of the living are completely torn down and rebuilt several times a night, and

as such are very fluid and relatively easy for a visiting dreamer to influence. Those of the dead

are similar to living dream worlds at first, but become increasingly “solid” and unchanging as

time goes on. They also tend to shrink, so that those who have been dead for a long time often

inhabit a tiny paradise or Hell of their own creation.

Outside of the individual dreamscapes lies a vast wasteland known as The InBetween. Since

the geography of the Otherworld changes constantly, navigating through The InBetween to a

particular dreamscape requires travellers to rely on a combination of instinct, dream logic and

the assistance of other wanderers. These other wanderers fall into two categories (though it is

often to difficult to distinguish which category a particular wanderer falls into): other living

travellers of the Otherworld and tulpas. Tulpas are thought constructs that have gained some

form of sentience and escaped the dreamscapes in which they were created. Some tulpas are

dangerous, some are helpful, and most are weird.

The Dragonflies

When he first began to journey into the Otherworld, Dr. Shade discovered that it was sometimes

difficult to find his way back to the real world, especially with a dead spirit in tow. After a few

journeys, he discovered that he could create a minor tulpa with the ability to lead him back to

the waking world. At first the tulpa appeared as a moving ball of light, but later Shade began

creating the tulpa in the form of a dragonfly due to the insect’s symbolic association with the

shattering of illusions. The Dragonflies take their name from the tulpa and all members of the

team are taught how to make the dragonfly manifest and lead them out of the Otherworld.

Character Creation

Characters in the Otherworld have the following stats:

Form

When in their own dreamscape, all inhabitants of the Otherworld are some form of themselves,

but once they leave the part of the Otherworld created by their own thoughts, they assume an

Otherworld Form. A character’s Form may be an idealized version of their physical body, but it

doesn’t have to be. Common Forms include archetypal characters (knights in shining armor,

hardboiled detectives, and costumed crime fighters, for example), mythological or fictional

creatures, and human/animal hybrids. The character’s Form is purely cosmetic and does not

affect the character’s rolls in any way, but the character will have dream versions of equipment

appropriate to the character (the knight in shining armor Form comes with a sword and probably

a horse, for example).

Abilities

While characters in the Otherworld can attempt to do just about anything they want (it is a

dream, after all), most dreamers are more accomplished at doing things that they’re good at

doing in the real world, that are related to their Form, or that they dream about doing frequently.

All players get 7 points to assign to Abilities, which are expressed as a bonus. Players can

choose 7 Abilities at +1, 1 Ability at +7, or any combination in between. Abilities can range from

the mundane (sword fighting or crime scene investigation) to the fantastical (flying or shooting

laser beams), but all abilities must be approved by the GM and she is free to veto any abilities

that she feels are too broad or will be disruptive to the game.

Otherworld Energy

All characters begin the game with 5 points of Otherworld Energy, which can be used in various

ways during that game. Each time a player successfully completes a mission, he adds 1 to his

Otherworld Energy total.

MetaDream Power

While all travellers in the Otherworld can manipulate the world through the actions of their Form,

experienced dreamers can manipulate the reality of the Otherworld itself. A character’s

metadream power allows him to alter the reality of the dream world in a specific way. Some

examples of metadream powers are provided below, but players and GMs are encouraged to

come up with their own unique dream powers.

● Shapeshifter:

The character may assume any Form he chooses. The change is in

appearance only and does not give the character any abilities, memories, or knowledge

of the Form assumed.

● Pathfinder:

The pathfinder is able to find ways around obstacles in the dreamscape by

locating hidden paths, secret doors, and other means of passage that probably don’t

exist unless there’s a pathfinder there to see them.

● Opener:

An opener has the ability to alter parts of the dreamscape that have not yet

been revealedwhat’s behind a particular door or over a ridge, for example. The opener

can’t cause a specific place (“the bounty’s dreamscape”) to appear, only a general type

●

of place (“a safe place to rest” or “a magic shop,” for example).

Dreamscaper:

A dreamscaper has the ability to “redecorate” a dream location. He may

not change the core geography/architecture of the location, but can change the

location’s appearance, mood, and even the “background” inhabitants and contents. The

dreamscaper can change a ruined, gloomy castle into something out of a fairy tale, but it

must remain a castle.

Tulpa crafter:

hile the dreamscaper can create the semblance of living beings, such

creatures have no real intelligence or selfawareness and merely fulfil the role assigned

to them when they’re created. A tulpa crafter can create beings capable of some level of

independent thought. When first created, tulpas are somewhat simple and can only be

assigned relatively straightforward tasks (“protect this person” or “guard this place”, for

example), but the longer they exist the more complex they become. It’s possible to

create a tulpa with the appearance of a particular person, but the tulpa does not share

the real person’s memories, knowledge, or experience.

Shaper:

here dreamscapers (kind of) create places and tulpa crafters (kind of) create

people, Shapers (kind of) create things. Unlike the incidental items created as part of a

dreamscape or a tulpa, the objects created by a shaper are not tied to a particular

location or otherworld entity. Shapers can create dream versions of specific items that

they have personally seen (in real life or in a dreamscape), which can sometimes be

useful when luring a spirit back out into the waking world.

Teleporter:

The teleporter can transport himself and as many dreamers or tulpas as he

wants to any dream location he has visited before. The dead can only be teleported

once they have been convinced to leave their afterlife and return to the living world.

Looper:

The character can “reset” the current scene back to the beginning. Everything

that happened after the reset point is erased and only the looper has any memory of

those events. If there is ambiguity about when the current scene began, the GM makes

the call.

Jumper:

The jumper is the opposite of the looper, with the ability to create a “film break”

effect that transports everyone into the next scene without necessarily resolving the

current one.

Seer:

A seer can differentiate between dreamers, spirits (the souls of the dead), tulpas,

and incidental dream entities and can often divine the symbolism or purpose of objects,

places, and entities within a person’s dreamscape. They can also sense whether they

are getting closer to or farther away from a particular dreamer or spirit.

Recurring Nightmare:

Every player must describe their character’s recurring nightmare. The

amount of detail necessary is a matter of group preference and GM fiat.

Game Rules

Basic Rolls

A character can attempt to do anything he wants to do in the dreamworld, but not all actions are

guaranteed to succeed. When there’s a chance of failure, the character rolls a d20 and adds the

bonus for any appropriate Abilities. The result is then compared to a target number determined

as follows:

● For actions opposed by another entity of the Otherworld, the target number is the

opponent’s roll.

● For mundane actions and fantastical actions (flying, superpowers, etc) for which the

character has an Ability, the GM should set the target number according to the difficulty

of the task: 5 for somewhat difficult, 10 for moderate difficulty, 15 for something very

difficult, and 20 for a nearly impossible task.

● For fantastical actions for which the character does not have the appropriate Ability and

actions that rely heavily on blind luck, the target number is a d20 roll.

Before rolling, a player may spend one or more points of Otherworld Energy. Each point spent

increases the value of the roll by 3. A roll that is higher than the target number succeeds. A roll

that is lower than the target number fails. The GM should use the amount by which the player’s

roll missed or exceeded the target number as a guide when describing the results or

consequences of the action. If the player’s roll is 10 or more under the target number, the failure

results in additional complications and the player loses 1 point of Otherworld Energy. If the

player’s roll exceeds the target number by more than 10 points, the player gets to narrate the

result of the roll and regains 1 point of Otherworld Energy (up to his normal maximum).

Contests

Basic rolls work fine for most simple actions, but some groups prefer a more “playbyplay”

method for rolling extended contests like combat and chase scenes. When the group decides

that a series of die rolls would make it easier to describe the action, the GM simply decides how

many basic rolls one side needs to win in order to prevail and everyone rolls until one side has

won that number of rolls.

Using MetaDream Powers

In order to use metadream powers, a player must spend 1 point of Otherworld Energy and roll

a d20. The character’s power always works, but the roll determines how closely the result

matches the character’s intent.

Characters can attempt to use metadream powers other than their own by spending 1 point of

Otherworld Energy and rolling against a target number of 15. Failure by more than 10 results in

the usual loss of Otherworld Energy (so the attempt costs the player 2 points) and success by

more than 10 restores Otherworld Energy (so the player breaks even).

All PCs can create a Dragonfly tulpa by spending 1 point of Otherworld Energy (no roll

required).

Running Out of Otherworld Energy

If a player’s Otherworld Energy total ever reaches zero, he disappears from the current

dreamscape (or The InBetween, if the loss happens in the wastelands) and becomes trapped

in his recurring nightmare within his own dreamscape. A character in his own dreamscape

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