The Strange - Translation Codex.pdf

The Translation

Codex

Written by Ryan Chaddock and Jordan Marshall

Artwork by Ryan Chaddock

Editing and Layout by Katherine Gohring

This product was created under license from Monte Cook Games, LLC.

The Strange and its logo are trademarks of Monte Cook Games, LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. All
Monte Cook Games characters and character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are trademarks of
Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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Creative Commons Source Images

The following source images were adapted into illustrations under this Creative Commons 2.0 License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

warpnisity 03 by Lewis Minor on Flickr
Dumbo Octopus by NOAA Ocean Explorer on Flickr
Graffiti Star Burst by darkday on Flickr
Siren by BIPIN on Flickr
Dark gargoyle by Estitxu Carton on Flickr
The Dark Forest Ranger by Jyrki Salmi on Flickr
lightning bug eye by Karin jones on Flickr

The following source images were adapted into illustrations under this Creative Commons 3.0 License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

These icons are from The Noun Project at www.thenounproject.com
Chapter 1: Book icon by Chris Thoburn, Sword icon by Jake Dunham, Carnival-Mask icon by Federica

Gatta, Religion icon by Ricardo Augusto Cherem, Hiker icon by johanna, Lion icon by Louie Greco,
Drunk icon by Dan McCall, Compass icon by Cris Dobbins, Knight icon by Juan Pablo Bravo, Horse
icon by m. turan ercan, Throne icon by Megan Carrell, Handshake icon by hind andaloussi, Thief icon
by André Renault.

Chapter 2: Man icon by Gerald Wildmoser, People icon by Wilson Joseph, Cosplay icon by Claire Jones,

Fire icon by Mister Pixel, Magic-Wand icon by Ian K, Flag icon by Even MacDonald, Tree icon by
Parmelyn, Dragon icon by Cassie McKown, Shield icon by Michele Zamparo, Actor icon by Jonathan C.
Diedrich, Cracked icon by Alex Kwa, Angel icon by Juan Pablo Bravo.

Chapter 3: Centaur icon by Nathan Thomson, Safety-Glasses icon by Alex Z, Raygun icon by Dominik

Grob, Robot icon by Alexander Wiefel, Science icon by Pham Thi Dieu Linh, Weather icon by Mateo
Zlatar, Crosswalk icon by Juan Pablo Bravo, Artificial-Intelligence icon by Dan Hetteix, Breastplate
icon by factor[e] design initiative, Technology icon by Chris Keithley, Time-Portal icon by Julien
Deveaux, Body-Builder icon by Murali Krishna, Hand icon by jake sones, Superhero icon by Chris Kerr.

Chapter 4: Steering-Wheel icon by Alessandro Suraci, Lips icon by Agus Purwanto, Fist icon by Alexndr

Cherkinsky, Archaeologist icon by Jorge Hernan Correa, Otter-Track icon by Kaie Westbrook, Hand
icon by Nick Abrams, Injury icon by Wojciech Zasina, Street-Light icon by Juan Pablo Bravo, Nfc-
Phone icon by Andrew Forrester, Ejection-Seat icon by Luis Prado, Cpr icon by Luis Prado, Soccer icon
by David Padrosa, Translation icon by Lek Potharam.

Chapter 5: Biometric-Reader icon by Andrew Forrester, Brainfreeze icon by Simon Child, Castle icon by

Les vieux garcons, On-Fire icon by Laurent Canivet, Psychic icon by Ryan Beck, Eagle icon by Yi Chen,
Yoga icon by Murali Krishna, Sleeping icon by Hadi Davodpour, Empathy icon by Stott Lewis, Out-
Of-Body-Experience icon by Andrew Forrester, Mind-Blowing icon by Luis Prado, Eye icon by Karsten
Barnett, Alzheimers-Disease icon by Luis Prado, Shield icon by Mateus Leal.

Chapter 6: Body-Builder icon by Mani Amini, Warrior icon by Joshua McMahan, Carnival icon by

Daniel Behrends, Angel by Juan Pablo Bravo, Phaser icon by Nate Holland, Gps icon by Juan Pablo
Bravo, Button icon by Dan Hetteix, Spaceship icon by Ben, Falling icon by Juan Pablo Bravo, Gun
icon by Olivier Guin, Mountians icon by Chris Cole, Sunrise icon by Lil Squid, Suicide icon by Evan
MacDonald, Astronaut icon by juliana Iliteras, Pickaxe icon by Luke Anthony Firth, Genie icon by
James Keuning, Follow icon by THRIVE - Gold Coast Digital Design, Fiscal-Cliff icon by Mike
Pick, Flashlight icon by Alex Auda Samora, Cthulhu icon by Studio Fibonacci, Apocalypse icon by
Mark Szulyovszky.

Contents

My name is Dr. Erica Prethus and I am of  the Strange.
Something is not quite right with me.  Something ticks when
it should probably tock.  I am a lost visitor.  A changeling.
A foreign walker on the Earth. I know not where I belong,
but the realm of  man is not it.

I call myself  doctor, not because of  my academic degrees,
but because of  the nature of  my work.  I am an observer
and documenter of  realities. I theorize and test my hypoth-
eses. I seek truth behind the curtain of  mere sense percep-
tion. I use tools few traditional scientists possess.

This book represents the collected writings of  my travels
to other worlds. If  you are holding it, you likely know that
I mean recursions - small universes spun from the stuff  of
collective belief  interacting with ancient forces. You are
probably someone for whom nothing I say will be surpris-
ing, for you’ve been to other universes yourself  or felt the

tug of another world on your soul. You know you can

slip away between the bones of mother Earth. You can
walk between the known paths into the unknown and be-
come someone else. Something else. I have seen what you
can be. I know much of what other worlds have to offer.

I hope that by looking upon this work you can become pre-
pared for what lies ahead. If  Earth is to survive the lurking
world eaters of  this galaxy we’ll need people with insights
like yours to be well informed. Capable of  making worlds
of  your own even.

Take this tome to be a sign that your time is right. Take
what I’ve provided here as hard won wisdom to be care-
fully guarded and dutifully heeded.  Most of  what I have
to say involves the ways in which we become part of  the
worlds we invade. Understanding of  these ways may one
day provide you with the knowledge needed to be whatever
you need to be. I hope this codex is a beacon in the dark.

Preface

How to Use This Book

First and foremost, this is a book of Foci. You’ll find 100
of them compiled here for use as a GM in constructing re-
cursions or just providing more options for new characters
on Earth. Each Focus has been kept to a single page so
that it’s easy for you to print out select Foci for each player
using them.

All the following six chapters provide numerous Foci for
one or more genres (Chapter 6 has 5 small genres), some-
what associated with the various recursion laws, but mostly
just grouped according to similarity of theme and fictional
source. You’ll get a lot of mileage from mixing and match-
ing Foci from the various sections though.

For instance, when constructing an action-packed space
opera the obvious starting place is the five space Foci pre-
sented in Chapter Six. However, a number of the science
fiction / mad science Foci in chapter three would likely be
appropriate as well and could be included in a list for your
players as they translate their characters in.

Each chapter also provides a number of  example recur-
sions built around these Foci.  These can be used as jump-
ing off  points, examples, or even the central places your
game could take place within. One of  the great things
about The Strange is the infinite possibilities presented by
the nature of  recursions. The Translation Codex aims to
assist in the enjoyable task of  making worlds.

Many of  the Foci presented do not include starting equip-
ment.  When they do provide equipment these are intended
to be in addition to any standard starting gear.  The reason
we leave this out is because we don’t know how the reader
is going to use these Foci.  The recursions you make could
have widely varying science and technology, not to men-
tion currency and economics. The Foci presented in The
Strange Corebook should be used as guidelines for starting
equipment when needed.

The chapters of the Codex are as follows:

Chapter 1 - Disenchanted.  A look at low fantasy and
other non-magical, non-scientific settings.  Useful for gritty
throne wars and feudal settings throughout world history.
Any of  these Foci can be added to a fantasy game to pro-
vide more non-magical options.

Chapter 2 - Otherworldly.  Foci suitable for high fantasy
settings, recursions infused with magic or just epic world-
shaking events.  Usable in Ardeyn or the fictional bleed of
your favorite fantasy novel series.  Some Foci here could
also be used as though they were among the more unusual
psionic powers.

Chapter 3 - Pseudoscientific. A presentation of Foci
drawn from various mad science sources. Robots, death
rays, superpowers, and gadgets. Useful for sci-fi and comic
book recursions alike.

Chapter 4 - Earthly. Abilities for Earth and Earth-like re-
cursions, with Foci suitable for action packed modern set-
tings. Many Foci here would also work in sci-fi and comic
book settings.

Chapter 5 - Paranormal. Mental and otherwise psychic
powers suitable for recursions under the Law of Psionics.
These Foci can also be adapted to magical settings with a
more cerebral theme.

Chapter 6 - Miscellaneous.  Five sets of five Foci, each
presenting a taste of  a less expansive genre.  These are:
Space, Wild West, Mythic (Greco-Roman), Lovecraftian
Horror, and The Strange itself  (including one Focus for
Exotic recursions).