Deep Breathing: Part One of The Designers

It's slim and compact in design.  A thin plastic oval about twice the size of an American football with a power cord and cable antennae protruding from one end, and the breathing apparatus from the other.  When hooked up and left in secret, it is used by creatures from another plane to siphon the life force out of a human subject.

The machine's strange materials allow it to be manipulated by the Designers from their home plane.  It works slowly, but ensures that the subject is exhausted upon waking up.  If a human is aware enough, and the device is removed, the Designers turn on the subject.  They will haunt the human who took notice, turning their dreams into nightmares, demanding that they set the machine up on someone else or restful sleep will never come again.

Generally, the device is affixed to humans while they sleep, providing an excellent opportunity for monitoring.  The device is removed before the typical subject wakes up, and is usually placed discreetly among the tangle of bedside wires that is part of the modern human living condition.



I woke up this morning, and was already so tired.  Ever have just one of those days?

Just another alternative timeline

1000.                  Leif Ericson discovers Vinland (New England).

1492.                  Columbus discovers the New World.

1497.                  The Cabots set sail for the New World, they do not return.

1498.                  Columbus on third voyage discovers South America.

1501.                  Columbus dies in Venezuela.

1502.                  Columbus’ body is returned to Spain and interred at a cathedral in Valladolid.

1507.                  New World named after Americus Vespucius.

1513.                  Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean and Ponce de Leon discovers Florida.

1519-1521.       Cortez conquers Mexico. Magellan sails round the world.

1524.                  Verrazano and Gomez explore New England coast.

1528.                  Cabeza do Vaca explores southern United States.

1533.                  Pizarro conquers Peru.

1534.                  Cartier sails to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

1541.                  Do Soto discovers the Mississippi River.  Expedition lost.

1565.                  Founding of St. Augustine.

1576.                  Frobisher discovers northwest passage, Frobisher Strait.

1579.                  Drake explores coast of California.

1584.                  Raleigh sends first expedition to America.

1588.                  Defeat of the Spanish Armada.

1604.                  Acadia settled by the French.

1607.                  May 12. Founding of Jamestown, Virginia.

1608.                  Founding of Quebec by Champlain.

1609.                  Hudson discovers the Hudson River.

1619.                  First assembly meets at Jamestown. Slaves first sold in Virginia.

1620.                  Coming of the Pilgrims in the Mayflower.

1623.                  Settlements at New Amsterdam. First settlements in New Hampshire.

1630.                  The great emigration to Massachusetts. The failed founding of Boston.

1634.                  Maryland first settled by Calvert.

1635.                  Connecticut settled by emigrants from the old Boston settlement.

1636.                  Founding of Providence by Roger Williams. Harvard College founded.

1637.                  War with Pequot Indians. First negro slaves in New England.

1638.                  Swedes first settle in Delaware.

1639.                  First constitution in America adopted by Connecticut.

1643.                  May 30. New England Confederation formed.

1649.                  Toleration Act in Maryland.

1655.                  Stuyvesant conquers the Swedes in Delaware.

1656.                  Europeans expelled from Massachusetts.

1662.                  Connecticut charter granted.

1663.                  Charter granted to Rhode Island. Charter for the Carolinas granted.

1664.                  September 8. The English conquer New Amsterdam. New Jersey given by King Charles II to his brother, the Duke of York.
1665.                  New Hampshire wildfires drive Europeans out.  Fires stop at the edge of the old Boston settlement.

1666.                  Origin War.  Connecticut evacuated to New Amsterdam.  Rhode Island lost.

1667.                  Fundamental Constitutions drawn up for the Carolinas.

1673.                  Marquette explores the Mississippi.  Discovers the De Soto shipwrecks.

1676.                  Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia. King Phillips War in New Amsterdam

1681.                  Penn receives charter for Pennsylvania.

1682.                  Penn founds Philadelphia and enslaves the Indians. La Salle explores Louisiana and takes possession for France.

1692.                  Philadelphia witchcraft killings. Indians take in women accused of using devil magic.

1700.                  Iberville plants colony in Louisiana.

1713.                  Treaty of Utrecht, ending Queen Anne's War, which began in 1702.

1733.                  Georgia settled by Oglethorpe.

1748.                  Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ending King George's War, which began in 1744.

1754.                  Colonial Congress at Albany; Franklin's plan of union.

1755.                  Braddock's defeat.

1756.                  French and Indian War formally begun.

1759.                  Wolfe captures Quebec.

1763.                  Treaty of Paris.  Evacuation of Pennsylvania.

1770.                  First Battle of New Amsterdam.

Way way less than 52 in like a single post, I guess.

Have you seen Owen K.C. Stephens's 52 in 52?  You should check that bad boy out if you haven't already.  Over 200 pdfs over the stretch of one year for four different gaming systems.

In my own weird middling way of doing some kind of thing in Owen's honor, I present to you a feat I fever dreamed up for both Pathfinder 1st and 2nd Edition.



(Pathfinder 1st Edition)
COMBAT SLIDE:  At the last crucial moment of your assault, you drop to your knees and slide along the ground, dodging weapons intended to be used on you before returning to your feet to deliver the blow.

Prerequisite:  3 or more ranks in Bluff, Base Attack Bonus +2

Benefit:  When Charging, you may move through the threatened squares of your target without triggering Attacks of Opportunity.  You may end your charge in any square adjacent to your target.  If the creature is one or more size categories larger than you, your Charge may move through the squares occupied by your target.

Normal:  When Charging, you must stop in the closest adjacent square to your target, triggering any Attacks of Opportunity as normal.

Special:  When counting any occupied squares for movement, each square counts as 10 feet.


(Pathfinder 2nd Edition)
COMBAT SLIDE   [FEAT 2]
[GENERAL] [SKILL] 
Prerequisite:  Trained in Deception
At the last crucial moment of your assault, you drop to your knees and slide along the groung, dodging weapons intended to be used on you before returning to your feet to deliver the blow.  When Charging, you may move through the threatened squares of your target without triggering any reactions from them.  You may end your charge in any square adjacent to your target.  If the creature is one or more size categories larger than you, your Charge may move through the squares occupied by your target.  Each occupied square counts as an additional 5 feet of movement.