BIOs Glossary

BIO - Bioaugmented Intelligent Organism.

Voidform - Self-sustaining city-ships built on many layers with the habitable area above the surface. Built with a Laevateinn dividing four quadrants on every layer.

Laevateinn - A shaft that goes from a few metres from the top of a Voidform to the bottom. It divides all layers of the Voidform into 4 quadrants.

Layers - Layers are the floors of a Voidform. The bottom layers are always called Wills, but can have another name. The manifestation of the Voidform is found inside the Will. In the context of the Nyarlathotep, its layers are:

* Layer 0: Storia
* Layer 1: Avalon
* Layer 2: Lemuria
* Layer 3: Shangri-La
* Layer 4: Atlantis
* Layer 5: R'lyeh
* Layer 6: Agartha
* Level 7: Pandemonium/The Will of Nyarlathotep

Conceptualiser - The hidden weapon of a Voidform that harnesses the thoughts of the BIO inside and turns them into weapons of vast power.

BIOhacking - Taking control of another BIO’s body or stealing their powers.

Worms - Semi-organic extraterrestrial minuscule creatures that augment BIO realities for better or worse when they enter a body. They attach to the brain, with most BIOs having one secretly-installed Worm slot in theirs. More can be added through dangerous surgery. Worms can compliment each others’ powers or completely reject another that is slotted alongside it.

Wakeners - Heavily modified BIOs forcefully put into a comatose state to save power due to their bodies being 90% machine. They are constantly hooked up to powerful generators that keep them powered, and usually have over 10 Worm slots inside their head. They subconsciously use their Worms to defend themselves. They are called Sleepy Jeans in BIO slang. Their Worms are kept sated through drinking Sigma from kidnapped BIOs.

The Aster - A void of collided planets (one of which being the Worm homeworld) that orbit/surround Ahriman. Ahriman is the source of the Aster. The portal to the Aster that opened under Pandemonium was created by Ahriman breaching into the core of the Will of Nyarlathotep as it was being ejected during its combustion after its defeat. Unofficially, it is layer 8 of the Nyarlathotep Voidform.

Devilsdoor - Both a pocket dimension where Worms can be customised and the shop that fronts for it. The master/owner of Devilsdoor is Lucifuge, an extradimensional demon who has dominance over Worms. Lucifuge forms contracts with BIOs who learn of his existence in return for cataloguing and studying their Worms. Contracts with Lucifuge are proved through possession of one of his Cards of Ouroboros Inside the Devilsdoor, Worms can be: upgraded, combined, traded for money and sacrificed en masse for an item. To enter the Devilsdoor, one must show their Card of Ouroboros to the cashier of the store, Randall, who almost never speaks.

Sigma - A chemical that feeds Worms that attach to BIOs. Sigma vessels form double helix spirals around blood vessels, slowly diffusing into the bloodstream so it can reach the brain to feed the Worm(s). Each BIO makes enough Sigma to reliably sustain one Worm, two at a stretch. Others must be managed through drinking Sigma from other BIOs. If a Worm is left unsated, it will consume the brain of its BIO host.

Aster Patterns - Paths of collided planets in the Aster that shift according to their orbits around Ahriman. Remnants of planets that lead to and from Aster Patterns are called Gate Worlds. There are 6 orbit cycles of Aster Patterns: Alpha (1), Beta (2), Gamma (3), Delta (4), Epsilon (5) and Stigma (6). There is a 7th orbit cycle that appears as a final optional challenge after all 6 have been completed fully on all paths: Zeta. The 6 normal cycles rotate daily (Alpha on Monday, Beta on Tuesday, etc.) and the Zeta cycle is only accessible on Sundays after its first completion.