A Cabinet of Curiosities Puns

My cabinet would have stuffed sranc, scylvendi war banners, non-man skulls, antiquities from before the apocalypse, and a chorae or two.

The psychovores are a species of unknown origin, existing as both a race of outsiders and biological beings with a clear kinship. A Starfinder Society ship, the Far Horizon, managed to broadcast a thorough set of notes before it was overtaken and destroyed. The notes were taken by the android assistant xenobiologist of the ship, Idren-5, even as more biological compatriots were overtaken.

The psychovores were found in an asteroid that seemed simply to have interest to the science officer, who ordered a probe to retrieve it. Upon analysis of the surface, it was found two craters were almost an exact match with each other. The duplicate crater then transformed into a creature of wispy, ethereal blue flesh and spindly legs, which rammed itself through the faceplate of the unlucky scientist. Three more of the creatures emerged from the xenobiologist's body, which vanished into the ship's ventilation shafts.

In the hours that followed, the creatures disguised themselves as small, common objects, like coffee cups, chairs, and cushions. Corpses of the fallen crew were re-animated by psychic energy, and used to construct a strange, crystalline lattice around the ship's computers and power conduits. This coincided with the empowerment (and enlargement) of the creatures, allowing them to more easily subvert the vessel's life support and power, and assimilate the crew. Indren-5 hypothesized he'd been left alone (so far) due to his unconventional cognitive structure, relative to those already assimilated.

An analysis of the crystalline matrix showed the memories and personalities of those killed by the psychovores. The souls of the victims were stretched out and filleted, literally and figuratively, and completely cognizant of their fate. Now boosted by the ship's reactor, the matrix seemed to call something extraplanar. Just as a titanic psychovore the size of a dreadnaught appeared, Indren-5 submitted a controversial hypothesis: The psychovores were a threat to all sentient species, or at least those with souls and self-awareness in any recognizable form. Even the Swarm, with its relentless hunger, was easier to comprehend than these psychovores. The fact the original asteroid seemed to be extragalactic in origin was more than enough to speculate as to the horrors between the stars.

Further speculation ended with Indren-5 jettisoning his documentation into the Drift on an automated escape pod. Some say the psychovores stowed away on that escape pod, hiding a

I really enjoy Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities especially for the general dark vibe, and I like the “true story” aspect of it.

I’m looking for a podcast that has these types of elements to it. I love history, so if it involves quirky historical facts it’d be right down my alley!

Thanks for taking the time to read/respond!

In a newly explored star system, explorers found something morbid orbiting a previously habitable planet: the Drifting Mummies. They are asteroid-sized corpses, each of a living creature. The taxonomy of the creatures is irregular and inconsistent, as though each is a hodgepodge of genetic material from unknown sources. The corpses bear scars across their bodies, as though they were locked in battle with each other at the time of death. Either way, their bodies have been preserved in the vacuum, freeze dried for untold years in orbit.

The planet beneath them bears some scars of whatever battle occurred between the orbital titan. A few oddly geometric patterns suggest there might have been cities or intelligent life at some point, but it's long gone now. Only a cratered wasteland remains, silent save for the occasional impact of a titanic corpse from orbit. The entire planet has an eerie, uncanny feel to it, a residual psychic energy from that long-ago battle.

The world has drawn the attention of historians, xenobiologists, and worse, the necromancers of the Corpse Fleet. Such beings could be very dangerous if reanimated, given implanted Drift engines, and let loose on the galaxy. They also may hold secrets within, ready to drive unwary scholars mad. For now, the Drifting Mummies hang silently in orbit, and it may be fortunate if they remain there.

The world of Albedo was believed to be colonized at some point during the Gap, and settled as a seemingly primitive world. The ambient technology level, at first glance, is pre-industrial or early industrial, similar to pre-Gap Golarian. The global population of humans is approximately 1.5 billion, sustained by pre-industrial agriculture, fishing, gathering, and even magic in some cases. Ethnic groups and nationalities, strangely similar to records of Golarion, also remain here. Even non-humanoid races and entities, thought extinct elsewhere in the Pact World, the Vast, or Near Space, are found here. Magi-technical scans, however, will provide a far more interesting picture.

The atmosphere, the ground, the oceans, and the environment are utterly saturated with magical nanobots. Would be offworld conquerors and filibusters landed on Albedo's various continents, trying to use their technological advantage to carve out their own kingdoms by force. While they'd have some initial success (often rendering them overconfident), the nanobots would empower their opponents, nearby creatures, cause planar rifts, or even the environment itself, against them. The threat level is proportional to the technological, martial, or magical might thrown around by the would-be invaders. If they can survive, the threat level increases until the outsiders either leave or cease their efforts. The response is not seen (or at least, nowhere near as intense) to peaceful travelers, visitors, or explorers, even those staying long term.

The magical nanobots seem to be the primary enforcers of this "offworld immune system," guided by some non-sapient (but vastly powerful) artificial intelligence. The terraforming of an entire planet, populating it in a facsimile of ancient Golarion, and designing/implementing the nanotech infrastructure was no small undertaking. Records from a nearby, but apparently higher tech, base on the planet's moon suggest it was a social experiment constructed during the Gap. Who launched this social experiment, and to what end, are unknown. There are Starfinder and even Pact Worlds representatives making deals with the nations and peoples of Albedo, but they temper each move, lest the world itself react adversely to their interests.

While such a social experiment was ethically dubious, there were signs the original settlers were volunteers, rather than captives. They simply desired a lower technology existence, but not all of their descendants share this view

Performing a census of the Pact Worlds and its member races is always troublesome, since planetary governments are not the only members. While large spacecraft like the Absalom Station and the Idari count as Pact Worlds, other space stations and habitats are more of a gray area. Some list themselves under whatever planet or body they are closest to, while a few claim membership of other worlds or even independently apply as Pact members on their own. For example, a drow-run habitat moved itself into orbit around Aucturn, although it is still listed as being part of Apostae for tax and legal purposes. Plenty of businesses perform these tricks, creating a never-ending mess that even AbadarCorp's best auditors have issues solving. That's before getting into devoted criminal outfits and pirate habitats, some of which set up shell companies to launder ill-gotten gains.

The true number of humans in the Golarion system is vastly underestimated in official records, due to esoteric census-taking methodologies. Steward analysts believe the true number to be over a dozen billion, considering all of the habitats and space stations and their often irregular relationship with local Pact World governments. While Golarion is gone since the Gap, the space habitats around the system suggest extensive orbital infrastructure and construction were performed during that period.

No where is that more apparent than the Tangle. While Absalom Station has a consistently shifting armada of ships around it (which total more than a dozen times its official population most days), the Tangle easily dwarfs the station and fleet. It is not a single space habitat, but instead a range of space habitats (O'Neill cylinders, tin can habitats, small ringworlds, converted spacecraft, and others) connected by a tangle of carbon nanotube cables. Individual habitats and craft come and go, but the Tangle remains. While it is a pre-Gap structure, records suggest it was one such location where habitats and spacecraft were assembled. Some even claim to have found records of pre-Gap nations and their insignias on the original habitats in the Tangle, but these are often spurious.

The Tangle travels around the Pact Worlds, propelled by solar sails and the wishes of the majority of its habitats. Spacecraft and habitats are free to leave and rejoin if they do not agree with a current path, and many often do. Due to the constantly shifting membership, the Tangle (and newer structures like it) are not ye

The world of Impath is an unremarkable terrestrial planet, settled by slower than light sleeper ship at some point during the Gap. The world itself likely had no native life above the microbial level, but the Gap means nothing can be certain. When Pact Worlds explorers rediscovered the planet, they found the crew of thousands had become a population of billions.

Impath was largely an oceanic world dominated by a single large continent, with the only other landmasses being smaller island chains. Most of the population (humans, elves, dwarves, and other Golarion races) are in two countries at the far north and far south of this continent. These countries are two militaristic states, the Northern Hemisphere Alliance and the Southern Coast Union, similar in all respects, save their undying hatred for the other.

The two have waged war on each other during and since the Gap, although with periods of intense wars and uneasy peace. When one country gains an advantage, the other spends no expense to counter it. Whether arcane or scientific discoveries, new tactics, or even divine favor, the two states have turned the center of the continent into a cratered wasteland more like a moon than once beautiful land. The probable cause of such an intense war, however, was far more tragic.

Fragments of surviving records, as well as archeological investigation, have found the original captain died during a cryogenic pod malfunction. While the acting captain ensured the colony ship arrived safely, there was a dispute between two officials on where exactly to land a colony, the north or south end of the continent. Both had similar climates and amount of resources, and a heated debate ended with both groups seizing landing craft and supplies to set up the direct precursors of the warring states.

Since then, the tension turned to abject hatred. Some of the original crew are still alive in each country, although cryogenically frozen for much of their existence. They would be awoken by the leaders of each country when guidance was being sought. While some egged on the antagonism, surviving ship crew have become jaded and horrified by the militaristic regimes that focus on continuing a war that should never have started. Rumor has it they maintain covert ties with their counterparts on the other side, and they are seeking outside help to arrange a formal ceasefire.

For now, Pact Worlds officials treat lightly on this world. Even the Veskarium's clergy of Damoritosh find the

The episode Potpourri starts off about a cow falling into a hidden room under a french field and them finding several rooms. All the stuff in the hidden rooms came from seemingly different eras. All of this was too unspecific for me to google it and i was intrigued, anyone know more?

This Redshift Pleasure Sail is outfitted with Starfinder Society logos. The crew of this vessel are academics who spend sabbatical and leisure time (as well as official time) scouring the stars for research. The crew are both faculty and students, but a testament to hands on and practical learning (including learning from humiliating defeats) is required for success in the School of Hard Knocks.

-Prof. Jungmin Park (NG human shock and awe soldier): A professor of acoustics and ocean systems, Prof. Park uses various sonic devices intended for sonar and acoustic analysis in atmosphere and underwater. He also designed a number of signalling devices and utility launchers (flare guns, signal lasers, injection dart guns, etc.) for maritime application. Just don't get too close when his devices are active.

-Head Librarian Elsa Senebo (TN human akashic mystic): Elsa is practically the picture of a librarian: silent, bespectacled, and very insistent on a silence in the stacks. She is also a human encyclopedia, able to find almost any source of information, no matter how obscure. Her weapon of choice is a silenced pistol, as well as energy weapons that strike without distracting sound.

-Dr. Carol Segan (NG human envoy): Carol Segan is known across the Pact Worlds for her work as an astronomer and a science popularizer. She appeared on a popular documentary series on astronomy, the cosmos, and multiverse. She originally grew up on Akiton, which was captured in her famous work, "Pale Red Dot." She uses plasma pistols as both tools and scale models of stellar fusion mechanics.

-Dr. Marvin Matrioshka (CG human gadgeteer operative): An engineer renowned for his work on electromechanical systems, Marvin has shown himself able to adapt to bad field conditions and tests. His work enabled most of the electromagnetic accelerators in the Pact Worlds today. While seemingly eccentric and scatterbrained, he nevertheless knows where everything is in his cluttered workplace, including his handmade precision coil rifle.

This Kevolari Venture is repainted in psychedelic colors, clearly no longer an official military or police craft. It was refurbished by a group of recent university graduates and students, who travel around the Pact Worlds and beyond following rumors of mysterious phenomena. Many of these cases turned out to be busts, such as smugglers faking hauntings to scare off interlopers. Sometimes, though, they run into the real deal. What most of their fans do not, know, however, is the crew has a horrible secret.

There are 4 main members of the team. There's the golden boy, the solarian university athlete Frank. There's his redhead girlfriend, the video blogger Diana. They are accompanied by the famed technomancer Thelema, who has short hair and thick glasses. There's Peaches, the unkempt videogamer and his robot dog QB. The truth is this crew of misfits are all funded by Frank's family, corrupt businesspeople who launder their profits through petty criminals. When the small tune criminals outlive their usefulness or draw too much attention, the Mysterious Machine pays them a visit. The lucky ones are framed or simply outted and arrested. The unlucky ones are brutally killed, and sometimes reanimated as genuine undead or monsters.

It is unknown how much the Mysterious Machine knows, since most of the crew are either too drugged, dim-witted, or otherwise incompetent to notice. One of them may be wolf among sheep, ensuring the barely functional crew of human detritus is ready for prime time, and covering up any compromising footage or leaks. Random people who cross their path may also inadvertantly end up the 'fall guys' for their latest "case."

-Frank (male human solarian): While from a wealthy family of Aspis Consortium executives, Frank made his name as a gladitorial champion on Eoxian reality TV shows. That scholarship allowed him to attend the best university, where he met the others. He's actually a sadistic brute once a fight starts, often making painful, but mortally wounding, strikes when he has a chance for a cleaner, quicker finisher. He takes the gunner's chair in starship fights.

-Diana (female human envoy): The sometime pilot and media darling, Diana carefully manages the group's media exposure. She blogs about fashion and cosmetics, as well as acting as a public relations shill, from helping ruthless dictators and corrupt officials whitewash their images.

-Thelema (female human technomancer): The magitechnical specialist and science office

Yesteryear's Vigil is an Interitorworks Shieldcraft attached to Act 7, one of the Church of Iomedae's exploratory (and missionary) corps. Technically, it is an auxiliary vessel, a civilian volunteer owned and operated one. The craft has been present for major deployments and fleet reviews, and occassionally acts as an honor guard or escort. Its crew, however, are far more interesting than others may suspect.

The vessel is not crewed by standard troops, but instead a group of strangely archaic individuals in both dress and mannerism. They seemingly use antique weapons and spells when they have the chance, although they will use modern technology when necessary. Some claim they are from old Golarion, or at the very least, obsessed re-enactors or deluded crazies. No matter what the truth is, they have ardent champions of Iomedae's cause.

-The Knight (LG human blitz soldier/divine champion) : The vessel's captain is a stern leader and takes the ship's weapons in battle. She gives potential foes a chance to surrender, but she does not tolerate deceit or atrocities against the innocent. After starship action, she prefers to get close and start boarding. In such cases, she uses her powered armor and longsword to get in close with the enemy. She even shouts challenges at individual foes that seem particularly noteworthy.

-The Ranger (CG elf explorer operative/forerunner): The ranger is a longbow-using elf with a curious aversion to the actions of his kin on Sovyrian, instead claiming his kin should be more open and adventerous. He uses a thin blade in melee and a seemingly antique longbow at range (although he has adapted to using modern grenade arrows). He acts as a skirmisher and scout while on the ground.

-The Druid (NG human xenodruid mystic): The druid is an older human who apparently acts as an advisor and emissary to the others. He uses a staff (and a strange plasma claw) when he needs to fight. He seems to be interested in collecting genetic samples of species from old Golarion, which are shared with the Xenowardens. He is no less respectful of alien ecologies, from the anacites of Aballon to the gas giants, although he does dislike undead Eoxians and the mutants of Apostae.

-The Conjurer (LG human technomancer): Apparently the most tech-savvy of the group, the technomancer nevertheless has a curious way of going about it. He uses a clockwork "computer" depicting the locations of planets as the object of his arcane bond/spell cache, an item a

Fathom is a rogue planet traveling near the edge of the galaxy, accompanied only by a debris field and a Drift beacon placed by a lost explorer. It was an ice shell world, warmed by radioactive elements in the core. There is no atmosphere, unless one counts the 20 miles of ice that make up its shell. Beneath that is liquid water, getting warmer and higher pressure the deeper one goes. It is a world of total darkness and peril, with no native life above the microscopic level.

An intrepid solarion found the world amazing. He descended into those unlit depths in a pressure suit, turned off his lights and communications, and simply meditated. It was like a sensory deprivation tank crossed with religious rapture. It was a world isolated from stars, yet in that isolation, the solarion made profound insights. Since then, a community of pilgrims has built an underwater habitat on that peculiar world. A ship typically arrives from the Drift, and then lands on a small (mostly automated) spaceport and research outpost on the surface. An elevator descends for what seems to be hours until they arrive in Fathom Retreat.

Fathom Retreat was established to allow willing pilgrims to undergo that unique form of iso-meditation. Those pilgrims typically live a rigid, structured routine of exercises (physical and mental), simple meals, and training for iso-meditation, even before their first excursion. Once familiar with the pressure suits, they depart as a group, cut their power and communications for a time, and simply reflect. After a set period or medical emergency, the suits reactivate and re-establish contact. Even though the suits have tracking devices and auto-return functions, a few pilgrims go missing each year.

Despite this Fathom is a world that draws in those seeking esoteric insights. Solarions, mystics, and technomancers may seek supernatural insights. Mechanics may seek self-reflection for new inventions or to clear their minds. Operatives and soldiers may find such isolation a test of their mindset and discipline. Even envoys can benefit from such self reflection. There is a reason for everyone to visit Fathom, and try its strange form of mediation...