Working Title: Cybervaeth

Sure. It doesn't really flow off the tongue, but it is just a working title. Maybe the Zenagos of Vaeth might be a better name. But it'll probably just be Zenagos by the time I'm done.

I kept mulling over the God Hunters of Vaeth, but I could not get the right feeling for the game. I have great ideas for the system, but I could not get them shoehorned into Gods Hunters of Vaeth.Then I was thinking about the idea for stress. I want stress to partially bad, but also partially good.

On the Bad Hand, it will reduce your dice pool.

On the Good Hand, it will be spent to power your abilities.

This got me thinking about psionics, and unstable powers and characters, and the big frustrating stress explosion. I may have written this before. I'm tired and a bit rambley...

Anyways, during my morning commute, I got a lot of good writing done. Don't worry, I was on a train.

The Zenagos are an idea that I've had bumbling around in my head for a few years.

Zenagos

The Zenagos (plural and singular are the same) are an alien species. They are found inert by a powerful organization, probably Government. Scientists quickly discern that they are inert organic lifeforms; much like waterbears, bacterium, spores, or virus in stasis. They tried submerging them, burning them, burying them, but it was finally implanting them into a living dog that got a response.

The creature sent out little tendrils that bonded with nearby nervous tissue. 

Without many specimen to experiment with, and worrying about possibly losing viability of the specimens (especially the ones that had been burnt or irradiated) they jumped straight to human trial.

They got their hands on some test subjects (the PCs) that were declared deceased, but they were not really. The creatures were then implanted directly into the subjects brains. The base of the skull was chosen as the best entry spot.

The surgery is a success, but in such a way the scientists can only begin to imagine.

For the PCs, they now that they have an intelligent being implanted into their brain, and they call themselves the Zenagos. The Zenagos give them psionic powers, and can project themselves into the host's line of sight, but this is an illusion created by direct manipulation of the optic nerves. The Zenagos helped the hosts get out of the lab. Now the hosts and Zenagos are on the run from the authorities.

That was as far as I got all of those years ago. 

Now I know that the Zenagos are beings hunting another alien entity, the Stigvel. Stigvel are dopplegangers that are able to take the form of other medium sized life forms, but not specific people. They are emotive manipulators, and surround themselves with an army of followers. The followers believe they are making their own decisions but it is really the Stigvel pushing them to do their bidding. The Zenagos enlist the hosts to help find the Stigvel, and to fight them. In the meantime, this covert corner of the government is trying to quietly reacquire the PCs. They are trying to do this in a way that will attract the least attention from their own government, their superiors, other nations, and the general public. This severely limits the manpower and resources sent after the PCs.

The Setting

This just feels like a cyberpunk-dystopian game. Corrupt government, a sprawling criminal underworld where the PCs can hide, maybe some criminal elements that want to leverage the PCs in some way. The problem is one of my players doesn't like a game unless it is multi-species fantasy so he can be a big silly murder hobo. 

I sort of understand him, so I am trying to fantasize up this cyberpunk. The problem is I have Aureata on the brain. Now, I think Aureata would be an awesome cyberpunk setting. Dangerous seas, separating the cyber-mega-urbanized islands. I could see Nueromancer taking place in the setting.

I'm way to tired. I'll have to continue this in the morning.