(Played on 11/23)

Players: Dan, Seth, Caspian, and Tim

Concept: We decided to focus on the idea of an elder race that preceded humanity, whose creations would remain as mysterious signs long after they were gone. Specifically, we decided to model them (physically) after Cthulian horrors, large with lots of tentacles.

Overview (on the card): The reign, domination, civilization, and disappearance of the Elders.

Palette:
Yes - Conjoined planets (sharing atmosphere, linked to each other's gravitational fields), the planet that some day would be known as Earth, and communication by touch (and more specifically, communication by sticking one's tentacle into another's "communication orifice").
No - Spaceships, Human-Type Reproduction, Guns, Time and/or Dimensional Travel, Binary Gender

Bookends:
First Period - The Formation of the Elder Civilization (Light)
Last Period - The Mysterious Disappearance of the Elders (Dark)

Actual Play:

Taking all basic "human" assumptions of how things work out of the equation definitely led to some unique and pretty awesome stuff. We ended up creating 4 distinct races in this game. First, the Elders, huge and tentacled, who communicate (usually) by emitting clouds of gas and (when more complicated information needed to be transmitted) by touch and/or tentacular insertion - into designated communication orifices mind you--and sometimes by a form of interpretative dance. Second, the Loud Ones (or Loudians) who are apparently somewhat snakelike, as they excel at slithering and digging. They communicate by sound: a fact that the Elders took generations to realize. Third, the Many, who look similar to gelatinous cubes and who derive GREAT pleasure from dividing, and do so...a lot. Fourth, the Shala'shah, who are formed entirely of mist and other gases, live inside a gas giant, and possess great scientific knowledge.

Communication was a huge factor in how this history played out. The Elders could communicate with the Many by touch (and..ahem...rubbing them on their faces). They could communicate with the Shala'shah by emission of gas. And they could communicate with the Loudians...not at all. First contact involved them desperately attempting to communicate with the frightened Loudians (who tried to defend themselves with their "communication sticks?", as interpreted by the Elders) until they beat them to death. Elsewhere the expedition leader, irritated at the ineffectual communication of this planet's inhabitants, ends up communication-gassing a small village until they fall down and quit poking gibberish at them.

Ah, the Planet Loud. The seemingly quite daft inhabitants spend most of their days creating beautiful sounds which the Elders record and take back to share with Elder home worlds as music. The most gifted music makers are put into the Musical Sanctuary, with a nice high wall to keep them safe. The most privileged Elders can visit the Sanctuary to hear these songbird-like little slitherers. The sounds of the Sanctuary are played in high-end discoteques for those that can't make the trip. And we live with them in harmony, as they make such magnificent sounds as "No", "Stop", and "Leave Me Alone." (It is worth mentioning that eventually the Elders did realize the error of their ways--Who knew they were using those noises to COMMUNICATE?--and signed a peace treaty with the abused Loudians. Unfortunately, by this time the communication gases that the Elders had been putting into the Loudians' atmosphere reached a critical point, and the entire race was slowly poisoned...and died out. Many years later, the Elders carved the Planet Loud's single moon into the image of a giant Loudian head which, when poked, would emit a short Loudian sentence out into space...in memorium).

A couple other highlights of the game:

1) An Elder named Vakel-Skra chemically dissipated themselves to become more like the perfect Shala'shah. This prompts the founding of the Cult of Vakel-Skra, who seek this transcendence of physical form as their ultimate goal. Later on, they learn that when dissipating themselves in the presence of the Many, they are absorbed into the Many and become...something else.

2) The Year-Bridge Towers are created that, one day per year, align to connect the conjoined planets of the Elder home world(s). They also serve to tell time by their relative positions over the course of the remainder of the year.

This was an awesome game. It also was an interesting teaching mechanism into our (certainly my) habits of speech and thought. Over and over again, I would find "he" or "she" slipping out of my mouth, when these concepts had zero bearing on the story. The Elders had something in the neighborhood of 15 genders. The Many had just one. The Loudians had three, and the Shala'shah...well, who knows. It was good to be continually challenged to think differently.

Thanks to Caspian, Seth, and Dan for creating this alternate universe with me. And, to all you confused Elders out there, beating someone to death is not a valid way to get your point across. No really, trust me.