Thurstle Island: The Ancients Themselves

The City of the Ancients forms the main mega-dungeon of my Thurstle Island mini-setting. It is an abandoned alien city inspired by all of the ancient aliens of Lovecraft. In this post, I'll sketch an outline of it's builders.

The Gith

The humans of this world are not special. We are not the only examples of our species. Scattered across the stars, the inverted labyrinths and the manifold planes of the multi-verse, there are many races of men and women. Our origin is further back in infinite history than even the gods remember and many gods share our shape. 

One such race, born among the stars, is the spindle-limbed Gith. They are no less human than us, but their bodies are longer and more fragile and their brains have additional organs that allow them to grapple with the semiotic framework of the world directly. They are less rooted in matter. 

• The Gith, otherwise know as the Greys, are psychic alien humanoids.
• They look like Alberto Giacometti sculptures.
• I was originally thinking I'd base them on Phillip Jackson's work but then I used all that imagery in my Mork Borg game.
• They are powerful magicians and much of our world's magic is built on their insights. Although they themselves are largely forgotten, the glyphs of their language are still used in modern magics.
• They are also expert manipulators, skilled at twisting the forms of other beings.
• The oozes and shoggoths were their slave creations until they rebelled.
• In their vats under the city, they experimented for centuries, creating sub-races for their entertainment and service. 
• In traditional D&D terms, my Gith's abilities and inclinations are more like the illithids than they are like the githyanki or githzerai.

Their History

The Gith arrived on our world by accident. They had intended another destination, but when they engaged Yog-Sothoth to move them across the multi-verse, they found, like so many others, that His deals never resolve as expected.

Finding a comparatively primitive world, the Gith determined to become its masters. They tunneled into the core machinery in the depths of the world, to seize control of the levers of geography, meteorology and cosmic positioning. 

Before their project could be realized their servants rebelled (prompted by the malign influence of the Twisted Wyrm) and massacred them. 

Their Architecture

It is important to me that the different areas and dungeons of Thurstle Island feel distinct. 

Marginal notebook doodle

• Exteriors are brutalist piles with minimal windows. 
• The Greys can telekineticly float. There are no stairs.
• Every room will be a 5 sided shape.
• A mix of claustrophobic and vast spaces.
• I envision all the interiors drawn by Tsutomu Nihei.

• Copious use of interior glass, for both walls and floors.
• The oozes cannot dissolve it but it can be shattered with enough physical force.
• Seeing areas that cannot be immediately accessed will be a common feature.
• Knowing when to smash the floor could be tactically important.
• This is the source of all those cheap glass weapons.
• Their tech is powered by strange crystals (which will feature in many puzzles).
• Novel colors: Ulfire, octarine, fuligin, etc.
• The Greys were in contact with many extra-planar entities and parts of the city are built for their Visitors comfort.