Gregorius21778: A Gift from the Outer Dark is a role playing game supplement written and published by Kai Pütz a.k.a Gregorius21778 for use with Dark Streets & Darker Secrets. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is an adaptation of Curse of the Gleaming Icosahedron, originally published for Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and it is also available for Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells.
The supplement is available as a nine page Pay What You Want PDF from DriveThruRPG. One page is the front cover, around half a page is the front matter, one page is recommendations for other supplements and one page is the Open Game License. It comes in two versions, a standard one and one without backgrounds for printing.
The opening paragraphs explain that this is a title that is only available during October, and, as is common with old school RPGs, the dice define what happens, but it all starts by messing with something that should have been left alone.
A Gift not Meant for Them explains that the characters find a metal disc, a container which they may be able to access, inside which is a gem, an icosahedron.
Curiosity, Greed or Foolishness states that if the gem is only briefly examined and the container closed, nothing bad will happen. If they stare too long at it, or remove it from the container, well, bad things happen. A 19 is now classed as a critical success and, with each critical success, the owners body starts to transform. As more transformations happen, critical successes drop by 1, and each one requires a roll. Critical failures can also start to happen the same way.
The Conclusion of the Metamorphosis explains that when the metamorphosis is complete, the character will need to make a Willpower test each time they gain a level. Failing means the character has now been taken over by another being. Three successes mean they remain a PC – though one largely comprised of tentacles.
But what if… ? explains what to do if the GM decides the character was supposed to get the gift. There are details on a creature that comes from a corpse and a sheet to print out to keep track of the progress.
Gregorius21778: A Gift from the Outer Dark in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and is long enough that they would have been useful. Navigation could be better. The page of ads looks like it should be linked, but the links don’t appear to be working. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared nearly free of errors. There is some stock art. Presentation is okay.
This supplement only differs from the original mechanically; the various rolls and checks have been replaced by ones for DS&DS. This is as would be expected. Gregorius21778: A Gift from the Outer Dark is a nice or, perhaps more accurately, nasty little supplement on the dangers of messing with things best left alone and it can be found by clicking here.
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