Borderland, the Cosmic Horror Cosm

On the surface, The Cosm of Borderland resembles Core

Earth of the 1920s. This veneer of sanity masks a reality
that cannot be understood by rational thought. The true
shape of reality in Borderland is so alien to human logic
that one cannot understand it, or even perceive it fully,
without risking one's very sanity. The creatures that have
mastered the tangled axioms have warped their minds to
conform to its requirements; humans are also able to do this,
but generally lose the ability to function in human society.

Axioms and World Laws

The axioms of Borderland are limited in strange ways by
the Power of Madness (see below). They work the same way as
in other cosms up to a point, and beyond that point they are
utterly different. To reflect this, each axiom is given two
ratings. The first number represents the limits within which
the axiom behaves the same way as in other cosms. The second
number denotes the true limits of the cosm.

Magic Axiom: 5/20

On the surface, Borderland is a rational cosm, where
magic is dismissed as superstition. Things seem to work by
scientific means, with very little if any credence given to
"luck" and unseen influence. Beneath the surface, things
happen which science cannot explain, but there are never any
reliable witnesses. Even if they were reliable before they
became witnesses, they lose their reliability in the face of
what they have seen.

Social Axiom: 19/24

Socially, Borderland is in the 1920s. Most of the
world has been tamed, leaving no real frontier, but there are
many hidden areas in dark continents and distant mountain
ranges that have yet to be explored. Most governments are
constitutional monarchies, democracies or republics, with a
fairly free-market economy. Socialism has been discovered,
but is generally regarded as wild-eyed utopianism.
The Power of Madness has had its effect on the
underpinnings of society. There is a faint hint of decay in
every culture; rustic backwaters are full of ramshackle,
crumbling buildings, while modern cities are redolent of
sinister shadows and suspicious doings. Madmen seem able to
act in disturbingly organized fashion even if they have no
means of communicating with one another... no normal means!

Spiritual Axiom: 7/33

The rational paradigm of Borderland is material science.
Religion is seen as either superstition, or a useful moral
compass in a universe that makes sense. Beneath the veneer,
insane gods cavort through the vastness of space. These gods
are entirely real, hence the Axiom level of 33. Of course, a
mere glimpse of these gods is enough to drive one into total,
eternal insanity.

Technological Axiom: 20/33

The internal combustion engine exists, but even in the
cities, horse-drawn carriages are still used for deliveries.
Cars are limited to the likes of the Model T and Model A.
Some automobile manufacturers are trying to market steam-
powered cars, but these are not catching on as fast as the
gasoline models.
The telephone is another recent invention, but most
rural homes don't have one. Radio and movies are the primary
source of amusement. And if any technicians or scientists
suspected what sort of things were really possible, they
would take up finger-painting.

World Laws

The Power of Madness

In Borderland, reality is inherently incomprehensible.
Beyond certain limits, its axioms are tangled into a complex
knot of mixed principles that no sane mind could understand.
As a result, the powers of this cosm are not divided
into spells, miracles, psionic powers and devices. Instead,
there is an array of techniques known as Elder Secrets.
These will be described in more detail later.
The other effect is the madness skill. This Mind skill
is not normally studied; instead, one "learns" it by
encountering the creatures and ideas of the Cosm. Many of
the creatures of Borderlands have a Madness Rating; upon
encountering one of these creatures, a character must roll
against this rating on either Mind or madness. Failure means
the madness Skill gains one add. Old books of forbidden lore
also have Madness Ratings, which one must roll against before
learning its secrets (and Secrets). Like the Ayslish skills
of honor and corruption, madness has a cumulative effect with
each add gained. Unlike those skills, the effects of madness
are not purely advantageous. There are four levels of
development; the first (at one or two adds) is Eccentric.
The precise effects of each add are left for the reader
to work out, but they should include penalties to the totals
of Charisma skills, physical effects like hair turning white
or shaking hands, and the ability to induce madness checks by
raving about what one knows.
In addition, at certain points in the progression, the
character should check for Degeneration; if this occurs, the
victim stops gaining madness adds and becomes a mindless
monster of some kind, and usually goes to live in underground
tunnels, howling wilderness or desert. The monster gains a
Madness Rating comparable to its madness skill, and anyone
who encounters it must make a madness check.
The principal benefit of madness is that it allows those
possessing it to learn Elder Secrets. An Elder Secret can be
anything from a ritual that summons creatures from some
insane pocket dimension to a method of building a teleport
gate out of brass, gold and tiny chunks of radium. A person
may know one Elder Secret for each add of madness.
Each Elder Secret has a Madness Threshold; this is the
minimum madness skill that must be possessed in order to
learn that Secret. Most Secrets also have a Madness Rating,
similar to that possessed by monsters; the madness check is
made when using that secret. In the case of, for instance,
teleport gates, a lesser madness check must be made by anyone
who walks through.
It is possible to lose adds in madness. The use of the
psychology skill, with a DN equal to the madness skill of the
patient, can remove one add of madness at a time. This can
cause the loss of Elder Secrets, if the patient can no longer
meet their Madness Threshold, or now has too many Secrets for
his madness adds.
Elder Secrets usually require a skill roll, but
different ones use different skills. The "Active Skill" may
be faith, focus, psi manipulation, one of the magic skills,
or sometimes something weird like martial arts.
Some sample Elder Secrets:

Call To The Piper In The Mist

Madness Threshold: 14
Active Skill: Conjuration magic
Difficulty: 16
Backlash: 19 (resisted by willpower)
Cast Time: Varies, see below
Effect Value:25
Range:0
Speed:0
Duration:NA
Bonus Number To: Willpower (for resisting backlash)
Madness Rating: 19

This chant requires that the mage stand on a hilltop on

a foggy day just before dawn. She must slowly dance in
circles, calling out the alien words while making intricate
gestures with her hands. As the sun clears the horizon (not
that you could normally tell in the fog), the sound of pipes
being played joins the chanting, while the fog becomes
thicker and takes on a kind of yellowish gleam.
Finally, a shape will be dimly seen in the fog, with two
glowing eyes about a foot apart and eight feet above the
ground. The Piper will fully manifest just after the sun
clears the horizon (not that you... oh, I said that already).
The Piper In The Mist is not controlled by the caster of
this Secret, but starts out neutral in attitude. Unless the
caster knows the language of Astruel, it will quickly become
hostile and attack. Speaking to it in Astruel allows the
caster to bargain with it for knowledge or ask it to use its
powers on behalf of her. It distains actual, physical
combat, preferring to use its powers and spells, but will do
so if angered or pressed.
The actual Attributes, powers, skills and Madness Rating
of the Piper are left as an exercise for the student.

Telepathy
Madness Threshold: 10
Active Skill: Psionic manipulation or Perception
Difficulty: Mind or psionic resistance of target
Backlash: 20 (resisted by madness, but see below)
Cast Time: 3 (within one combat round)
Effect Value: 14
Range: 8
Speed: 8
Duration: one round
Bonus Number To: Backlash reduction
Madness Rating: Backlash effect value
 This Secret allows the user to glimpse the thoughts of
another person within range. It requires no gestures, no
incantations, no material components. All it takes is eye
contact. The "quality of success" chart should be used to
determine how deeply the casster saw into the target's mind.

Ancestral Regression
Madness Threshold: 12
Active Skill: Meditation
Difficulty: 14
Backlash: 17 (resisted by willpower)
Cast Time: 18 (one hour)
Effect Value: NA
Range: 0
Speed: 0
Duration: NA
Bonus Number To: Willpower
Madness Rating: 17

This technique causes the user's mind to begin sliding

into the past, where it re-experiences important events first
in his own life, and then in the lives of his ancestors. The
quality of success of the backlash result is used to decide
how fast the pastward travel is; if control is lost entirely,
no more than a glimpse of each life is gained before it's on
to the next one.
Once the caster decides he's seen enough, a willpower
roll must be made, at a DN of the backlash result +1 for each
life seen, in order to break free of the spell. Failure
means sliding back another life before he may try again. If
the caster fails completely, he begins to accelerate into the
pre-human past, eventually becoming one with the primordial
slime. Mercifully, he is completely insane long before that
happens.