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JovIAN JovIAN NIGHTMARESNIGHTMARESA SOURCEBOOK FOR CTHULHU RISINGA SOURCEBOOK FOR CTHULHU RISINGCALL OF CTHULHU ROLEPLAYINGCALL OF CTHULHU ROLEPLAYINGIN THE 23RD CENTURYIN THE 23RD CENTURY

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2 JOvIAN NIGHTmARES

JOVIAN NIGHTMARESBy John Ossoway

JOVIAN NIGHTMARES is published by Chaosium, Inc. JOVIAN NIGHTMARES © 2008 Chaosium Inc. as a whole; all rights reserved. Text for JOVIAN NIGHTMARES is © 2008 by John Ossoway. “Chaosium Inc.” and “Call of Cthulhu” are registered

trademarks of Chaosium Inc. Similarities between characters in JOVIAN NIGHTMARES and persons living or dead are strictly coincidental.

Address questions and comments by mail to Chaosium Inc., 22568 Mission Blvd. #423, Hayward, CA 94541-5116 U.S.A.

Our web site www.chaosium.com always contains the latest release information and current prices.

Chaosium publication 0367. ISBN 1-56882-295-2. Published in March 2009. Printed in the United States.

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3JOVIAN NIGHTMARES

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction 4About Jovian Nightmares 5About Cthulhu Rising 6Acknowledgements 6Dying in a Winter Wonderland 7Circum-Jove: History 9Jupiter 17Io 20Europa 23Ganymede 26Callisto 29Other Locations 32Organisations 34Jovian Investigations 42Jovian Secrets 46Cut Back Blues 52Escape Velocity 54Adventure Seeds 86Glossary 90

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4 JOVIAN NIGHTMARES

INTRODUCTIONWelcome to Circum-Jove.

By the late 23rd century, the gas giant Jupiter and its sprawling system of rings and moons is home to a colonial population of millions.

Over the century and a half since the colonisation of the outer planets began in earnest, an aggregation of settlements and outposts have developed to mine the raw materials which drive the economy upon which the United Earth Federation depends. The types of settlements found in the region are varied, ranging from the subterranean conurbations at the top of Europa’s oceans to the harsh mining towns of Io; from the Callisto orbitals to the countless corporate research outposts.

Despite its location in the most densely-populated and heavily-policed star system in the United Earth Federation, Circum-Jove remains a fertile breeding ground for a multitude of subcultures, outlaws and weird religious cults. It’s also a hotbed of new technologies research and home to corporate infi ghting at its worst.

Humanity is not the fi rst starfaring culture to have visited this region. There are beings far older than Man. Ancient, malign beings that would be

described in human terms as pure evil, but for whom such a label is meaningless. Here, they wait. Beneath aeons old ice and rock. In the dark spaces between the stars. Waiting for when the time is right.

Some nightmares are very real. Jovian Nightmares.

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5JOVIAN NIGHTMARES

Jovian Nightmares was conceived and written as a campaign setting for Cthulhu Rising – Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying in the 23rd Century.

The book is deliberately designed to be an open setting. What this means is that the background information is deliberately presented in an overview format rather than describing every minute detail of life in the Circum-Jove system. The reason I chose this approach is that I personally tend to dislike source books where everything is already ‘fi lled in’ for you. It can often limit scope for individual GM creativity. Jovian Nightmares will hopefully provide enough of a framework for writing and running adventures in the Circum-Jove colonies, with enough freedom for Keepers to be as creative as they like.

Jovian Nightmares is also structured so that it can be easily translated into a non-mythos BRP resource if this is desired.

WHAT’S IN THE BOOK?Fiction:• Dying in a Winter Wonderland by John OssowayCutback Blues by Gary CooperHistory• : A brief history of the colonisation of the Circum-Jove system.Circum-Jove – The Rough Guide• : Jupiter and major locations of interest in the Circum-Jove system.Jovian Organisations• :Political, governmental, corporate and private organisations of interest.Jovian Investigations• :New professions for roleplaying in the Circum-Jove colonies.Jovian Secrets• :A Keepers-only chapter full of Mythos secrets associated with this region of space. What lies in the world-oceans beneath the ice of Europa? Who or what has been causing disappearances in the labyrinthine catacombs beneath Ganymede? What dwells within the eye of Jupiter?Adventure• :Escape Velocity is a short adventure designed to be played in one gaming session. The adventure also contains deck plans and details of an orbital gas mining platform.Adventure Seeds• :Ideas for more adventures set in the Jupiter system.Glossary• :A glossary of terms and abbreviations used in Jovian Nightmares.

ABOUT JOVIAN NIGHTMARES

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