False Documents: The Joyce-Armstrong Fragment

Adventure seeds for your tabletop RPGs, via classic literature

A false document is a literary technique of inserting reference to a fictitious work within a larger work of fiction, with the goal of building mystery or lending depth and verisimilitude to a setting. Fictitious books like Tolkien’s Red Book of Westmarch or Lovecraft’s Necronomicon are known by almost everyone, but there are countless other examples that offer equally tantalizing possibilities for use in tabletop RPGs. False Documents will explore a different example in each installment, describe what it is and where it comes from, flesh it out, and offer ruleset agnostic suggestions on how you might use it in your own games.

I. The Joyce-Armstrong Fragment

"I shall never see earth again. They are beneath me, three of them. God help me; it is a dreadful death to die!"

Sources

• “The Horror of the Heights,” Arthur Conan-Doyle (1913)

• Supplementary material from Crawfordsville Daily Journal, September 5, 1891

Synopsis

The fragmentary diary of Mr. Joyce-Armstrong (Conan-Doyle does not give him a first name), celebrated English pilot and early monoplane pioneer, retrieved among wreckage strewn in a field near the village of Withyham, along the Kent-Sussex border in September of 1913. The diary chronicles his flights above the then-impressive altitude of 30,000 feet, as well as his curious belief in the existence of what he termed “jungles of the upper air,” inhabited by heretofore unknown atmospheric fauna. The last entries describe his encounters with a variety of these creatures, including huge, tentacled predators that attacked his plane and were presumably responsible for his death.

Further Developments

The fragment was deemed a grisly hoax when it was first brought to light, and few respectable people were able (or willing) to believe that Joyce-Armstrong’s death was caused by anything besides the normal hazard of aviation.

Eventually the story -- and the memory of Joyce-Armstrong himself -- passed into obscurity, though the “air-jungle” idea was kept alive on the fringes for a few more decades. By the mid-20th century, however, regular flights above 30,000 feet seemed to disprove the existence of the aerial jungles, at least in any of the regularly traveled skylanes.

Curiously, the Aviation Bond Corporation (ABC), maintained a persistent, if private, interest in the idea. They purchased the original and published a special annotated edition that circulated in their Bureau of Meteorological Research, correlating Joyce-Armstrong’s tale with similarly unsettling encounters before and since. These were practical, hard-nosed men who drew their own connections to such phenomena as the “Crawfordsville Monster” of 1891, mysterious incidents of pilot decapitation, unidentified tentacle-like appendages caught in the propeller shafts of cargo digs, and hundreds of other inexplicable things. As the world’s largest insurer of aircraft, the ABC simply couldn’t afford to overlook any possibility, no matter how unbelievable.

Still, without any clear video footage or recovered specimens, there was little anyone could do except speculate.

Then, three years ago, the ABC Mark Boat (a rescue and recovery dirigible) Aethra intercepted the drifting and unresponsive cargo dig, Pulsar, over the English Channel. A boarding party led by Captain Danica Novak (formerly the superheroine and Challenger Foundation member Meteora) discovered a silent vessel, its pilot house empty and its helium depleted despite the absence of holes in its gas envelope. Eventually, the bodies of the crew were discovered, slain in horrifying fashion. Some, like the Lt. Myrtle mentioned in the Joyce-Armstrong Fragment, were found dismembered. And in the midst of the gore, dragging limply out of the half-closed door of the cargo bay, was the carcass of a gigantic, tentacled monstrosity the likes of which no human had seen before and lived to speak of.

Encounters

The mysterious fauna of the air jungles offer a refreshingly alien foe, one that even seasoned adventurers are unlikely to be familiar with.

Atmospheric Plankton

Size: Microscopic
Description: “The air... was full of long, ragged wisps of something which I can only compare to very fine cigarette smoke. It hung about in wreaths and coils, turning and twisting slowly in the sunlight. As the monoplane shot through it, I was aware of a faint taste of oil upon my lips, and there was a greasy scum upon the woodwork of the machine.”
Attacks: None

Only visible in large concentrations, experienced aeronauts often refer to Atmospheric Plankton as Wisps or Ribbons. They are not harmful to humans, except on the rare chance of an allergic reaction. Then again, prolonged exposure may cause mysterious respiratory and eye infections frequently found in aviators. Fields of atmospheric plankton will emit an uncanny glow when they react with jet fuel exhaust. Transparent to radar, they will sometimes show as erratic ‘ghost’ readings on LIDAR.

Air Snakes/Rods

Size: Tiny to Large
Description: “These were long, thin, fantastic coils of vapour-like material, which turned and twisted with great speed, flying round and round at such a pace that the eyes could hardly follow them. Some of these ghost-like creatures were twenty or thirty feet long, but it was difficult to tell their girth, for their outline was so hazy that it seemed to fade away into the air around them. These air-snakes were of a very light grey or smoke colour, with some darker lines within, which gave the impression of a definite organism…. their composition was so unsubstantial that I could not connect them with any thought of physical danger… There was no more solidity in their frames than in the floating spume from a broken wave.”
Attacks: None

Air Snakes, also known as ‘Rods’, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from half an inch to many yards in length.. These solid, but translucent creatures fly with the aid of undulating, ribbon-like wings that run the length of their bodies. They move extremely fast, but are so fragile that they disintegrate harmlessly if they collide with a human. The smallest examples are most likely to be found on camera, where they appear at first to be defects in the lens or grainy interference.

Magonian Man o’ War

Size: Huge to Colossal
Description: “Conceive a jelly-fish such as sails in our summer seas, bell-shaped and of enormous size—far larger, I should judge, than the dome of St. Paul's. It was of a light pink colour veined with a delicate green, but the whole huge fabric so tenuous that it was but a fairy outline against the dark blue sky. It pulsated with a delicate and regular rhythm. From it there depended two long, drooping, green tentacles, which swayed slowly backwards and forwards. This gorgeous vision passed gently with noiseless dignity over my head, as light and fragile as a soap-bubble, and drifted upon its stately way.”
Attacks: Poison, Explosive

Magonian Men o’War are akin to an airborne jellyfish. Vibrantly colored, colossal, and yet fragile, they are as likely to provoke wonder as fear -- at first. Although not aggressive, Men o' War are a serious hazard to aviation. Even though their tenuous bodies would be quickly destroyed by collision with modern aircraft, they are essentially gigantic bags of flammable hydrogen gas, capable of producing an explosion that would destroy most planes and seriously damage even large zeppelins. In addition, propellers and jet intakes could be fouled by accumulation of their tissue, leading to engine failures, loss of steerage, and crashes. A human who comes into contact with one of their long tentacles should make a health check to see if they become ill with nausea and fever. A critical failure will lead to temporary paralysis and toxic shock. Magonian Men o' War appear as faint, erratic blips on radar, and they have phototropic skins that provide excellent adaptive camouflage, so it is easy to be taken by surprise.

The Crawfordsville Monster

Size: Large to Huge
Description: "...eighteen feet long and eight feet wide and moved rapidly through the air by means of several pairs of side fins. It was pure white and had no definite shape or form, resembling somewhat a great white shroud fitted with propelling fins. There was no tail or head visible but there was one great flaming eye, and a sort of a wheezing plaintive sound was emitted from a mouth which was invisible. It flapped like a flag in the winds as it came on and frequently gave a great squirm as though suffering unutterable agony."
Attacks: Bite, Poisonous Breath

One of these creatures terrified the residents of Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1891. Whether they are a juvenile version of a Sky Kraken or another species entirely, similar creatures have been spotted for centuries, attaining a lasting place in aeronaut lore under the humorous name Flying Carpets.

Sky Kraken

Size: Colossal
Description: "...hundreds of square feet in size. Though fashioned of some transparent, jelly-like substance, it was none the less of much more definite outline and solid consistence than anything which I had seen before. There were more traces, too, of a physical organization, especially two vast, shadowy, circular plates upon either side, which may have been eyes, and a perfectly solid white projection between them which was as curved and cruel as the beak of a vulture.

The whole aspect of this monster was formidable and threatening, and it kept changing its colour from a very light mauve to a dark, angry purple so thick that it cast a shadow as it drifted between my monoplane and the sun. On the upper curve of its huge body there were three great projections which I can only describe as enormous bubbles, and I was convinced as I looked at them that they were charged with some extremely light gas which served to buoy up the misshapen and semi-solid mass in the rarefied air. The creature moved swiftly along, keeping pace easily with the monoplane, and for twenty miles or more it formed my horrible escort, hovering over me like a bird of prey which is waiting to pounce. Its method of progression—done so swiftly that it was not easy to follow—was to throw out a long, glutinous streamer in front of it, which in turn seemed to draw forward the rest of the writhing body."
Attacks: Crushing tentacles, Bite

Sky Kraken are the most perilous of all the inhabitants of the air jungles, the apex predators of the high solitudes. Even larger than the Magonian Man o' War, these tentacled killing machines are much more solidly built than the other aerial fauna, and aggressive enough to attack aircraft. Their tentacles are massive enough to cause severe damage to passing aircraft, wrenching off flaps and crumpling metal. Slow and high flyers like airships are more likely to be attacked than jets, though in the right circumstances, anything is possible. Sky Krakens are especially dangerous to aircraft with exposed crew compartments, men working on the outside of digs, parachutists, and hot air balloons. Helicopters, ultralights, and jetpacks, though they typically operate below the aerial jungles, would be easy prey if the massive Krakens were driven to hunt at lower altitudes. In a superhero game, flying characters would be especially likely targets. They attack by tentacle constriction and devouring with their barbed, squid-like beaks. Like the Magonian Men o' War, they have color-changing skin.

Gnosis

The Joyce-Armstrong fragment sheds light on an unknown corner of the natural world. If taken seriously, it could revolutionize zoology and open up challenging questions about the evolution and origin of life. Beyond that, however, it reveals no deeper secrets of creation. Regardless of the true origin of the air jungles, nothing in the fragment points conclusively to anything in the realm of the paranormal. It is unlikely to induce Sanity loss or produce neuroses, except perhaps in easily excitable people who are already afraid of air travel. Seeing one of the larger air creatures up close, however, is a different story. Magonian Men o' War and Sky Krakens are terrifying creatures, and should provoke a Fear or other reaction test, and possibly Sanity loss.

Plot Hooks

Rescue at 35,000 Feet

The PCs are an ABC Mark Boat crew (maybe even the crew of Aethra) or in their own airship, responding to a distress call from a dig that’s grappled by a tenacious Sky Kraken. The dig’s hull is buckling beneath its gigantic tentacles and its beak has cut into the pilot gondola. The PCs must drive the beast off and rescue the crew of the stricken ship.

Roughnecks of the Skyways

An inquisitive aviation mechanic discovers that the oily scum covering his fuselage burns clean and hot. Soon atmospheric plankton is being called the jet fuel of the future. Economical and eco-friendly to harvest, the quest to exploit the air jungles begins. The PCs are crew or free agents on a plankton harvesting vessel that uses giant static-electric vanes to attract the plankton. But where there’s plankton, there are things that eat plankton. Eventually, a Sky Kraken shows up to ruin everyone’s day.

Vacation of a Lifetime

The PCs are enjoying a bit of R&R on a resort airship, the Empress of the Dawn. Unfortunately, it unwittingly steers through an aerial jungle trying to avoid a storm. Aggressive Flying Carpets may ambush sightseers on the observation deck, or a stray lightning bolt detonates a Magonian Man o' War, disabling an engine or rupturing the hull. Can the PCs keep the predators at bay and get the passengers to safety?

Horror at Ground Level

Someone is committing murder using a never-before-seen paralytic neurotoxin with no antidote. The PCs must try to track him down and discover the source of the poison, which is nothing less than the concentrated venom of a Magonian Man o' War. How did the killer get it, and more importantly, can the PCs get more to create an antidote?

Hunting the White Blob

Moby Dick -- in the clouds! An obsessed pilot is seeking revenge on the enormous Flying Carpet that maimed him and destroyed his aircraft years ago. The PCs are members of his aircrew, mercenaries hired to hunt down and destroy the beast, or hapless passengers on an aircraft he’s using to bait the beast.

Death Jelly

The Project for Attainment of Technocratic Harmony (PATH), a cabal of mad scientist terrorists, has captured a pod of Magonian Men o' War and conditioned them to follow radio waves. Loaded with explosives, the flying jellyfish are directed against commercial aircraft, military bases, and other targets of opportunity. Largely invisible to radar, they are stealth incendiary bombs. The PCs must uncover this plot and find a way to thwart it.

Rain of Terror

A foul-smelling, strangely colored rain has been falling on the countryside, contaminating the water, killing animals, and making people deathly ill. The recently-installed weather control station at the local airport may be the culprit: the orgone-generating cloudbuster arrays are inadvertently killing the inhabitants of a heretofore undiscovered aerial jungle high above, and their putrefied remains are a vector for disease. The PCs will have to unravel a medical mystery, and maybe even have to recover a living specimen to convince the airport authorities.

---

NPCs

Capt. Danica Novak (aka METEORA)

Danica is the commanding officer of the Mark Boat Aethra, a search & rescue ’dig (dirigible), homeported in Ostend, Flanders. Born in Yakima, Cascadia, she has seen much of the world in her thirty years, first during her youth, following her adventurer father throughout North America; then in her own right as a member of the Challenger Foundation; and most recently as an officer in the Aviation Bond Corporation (ABC).

Danica is remarkably well known for a Mark Boat captain. In fact, she joined the ABC in part to escape the burden of her global celebrity. Her father, Chuck, operated as the superhero known as the Hypergolic Man, and Danica inherited both his uncanny powers and the attentions of gossip column reporters. She embarked on her own superhero career, calling herself Meteora. A teenage rebellious streak coupled with her willingness to shoot commercials and pose in swimwear calendars made her a frequent focus of the celebrity blogs and tabloids. As she matured, however, she tried to withdraw from the limelight, hoping instead to be recognized for her more serious accomplishments. This, however, only provoked the ire (and libel) of the reporters.

For several years, she was the field leader of the Challenger Foundation, a position she inherited by default rather than any particular design on her part. Courageous, clear-thinking, and kind-hearted, she was a credit to the World’s Greatest Adventurers. However, her adversarial relationship with the media and her inability to keep a lid on the explosive private lives of her teammates soured her on the role. When it became clear that her infatuation with her teammate, Atomic Ranger, was unrequited, she left the team. In the ABC, she may have finally found a sane and stable environment for her heroism.

Stats (using TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes/FASERIP)

Class: Altered Human

Revealed Talents: Pilot (Fixed Wing Aircraft, Dirigible), Navigation, International Law, Martial Arts C, Leadership

Equipment: Anything that may reasonably be found on a Mark Boat armory; ‘Flicker Suit’ - a padded harness that can be filled with gravity-neutralizing Fleury’s gas, allowing its wearer to safely and slowly descend to earth if falling from an aircraft.

Powers:

• Flight: Danica can fly and make charging attacks by rocketing off in a straight line at up to Monstrous (75) speed. In order to fly, she must move at least at Excellent (20) speed. She cannot turn easily; and must make a Yellow Agility FEAT to turn at speeds of up to Remarkable (30), or a Red Agility FEAT to turn at higher speeds.

• Body Armor: The cavitation field that allows her to fly without injury also provides Body Armor of Incredible (40) rank, but only while flying.

• Legal Immunity: Per the CAMERA accords, Danica’s status as a Mark Boat captain affords her certain legal privileges connected with her duties. She cannot lawfully be arrested, harassed, or otherwise delayed while on patrol or when conducting a rescue, and her airship cannot be denied safe passage and unhindered travel.

Roleplaying Danica

While on her ’dig, Danica is a consummate professional. She takes seriously her role both as a lifesaver and a representative of the ABC. As such, she expects respect and quick obedience from her crew, and she scrupulously avoids any excessive familiarity or friendliness that might jeopardize that. Though it’s easy for a stranger to mistake this aloofness for arrogance at first, it should become apparent that she is motivated instead by sober experience: when lives are on the line, when seconds count, there is no room for stupidity or ego. She also embraces the grave responsibility of a leader, ever ready to risk herself--or sacrifice, if necessary--to save the lives of those under her care. She will never abandon anyone to danger or death, even defeated enemies.

When it comes to others outside of her responsibility, she allows more of her naturally warm, affable personality to come through. She is polite, soft-spoken, and even retiring at times. If challenged or insulted, she will sooner shrug her shoulders and withdraw rather than go tit-for-tat; she is not wired for social drama and, after all, she has little left to prove. And although her past and position give her considerable prestige, she does not throw her weight or her celebrity around.

This last point is especially important. The GM must remember that Danica is a life saver, not a law enforcer or a vigilante (at least, not anymore!). She recognizes and respects the limits of her position as much as its privileges. Accordingly, she will use suasion and subtlety rather than force or threats, relying on determination to wear her opponents down or cunning to outwit them.

As a questgiver, she’ll likely only send others to do a dangerous job if she’s tied up with something equally as dire or something only she can do. Likewise, if the PCs don’t present themselves as confident and capable, she’ll insist on accompanying them. If they refuse or try to shake her, the GM should prepare to rattle off a list of warnings as the unruly party walks away.

As a tagalong NPC, she’ll fall in line with the party so long as one of the PCs asserts themselves and shows good judgment. If they don’t, she’ll try to rally the team to do something else. Danica is also good at “herding cats.” If the party seems unfocused or is joking around, she’ll urge them to hurry along.

A natural problem solver and very sympathetic, she’ll also bolster PCs and NPCs who are afraid or unsure of themselves, but not beyond their capabilities. She’s a good judge of character and ability, and is eager to send a PC where they’ll do the most good.

It’s worth noting that while Danica has the looks and charm to seduce male NPCs, she won’t (consciously) use her feminine wiles to charm anyone into doing what she says.