# Echo Lake *A weird Americana Ruleset for Tiny d10* This document outlines the **Echo Lake** ruleset and the town for which the game itself is named. It includes important information on background and themes, as well as details on key game components like classes, monsters, locations, and more. **Echo Lake** will be released as a standalone ruleset, and will be accompanied by a periodical zine (**The Echo Lake Observer**) that presents an opportunity to friends of the system to contribute material like supplementary content, short stories, and more. ![[echo-lake.png]] The purpose of this document is to give designers a "sneak peek" at the setting and rules in order to make compatible content for publication in subsequent issues of **The Echo Lake Observer**. All contributions should leverage the [[Core]] to ensure that they are mechanically aligned to the Tiny d10 system. ## Background > **Town Name:** Echo Lake > **Population:** Appx. 2,000 > **Area:** Appx. 10 sq. mi. > **Location:** Northern Minnesota (officially nonexistent) Founded in the late 1800s after the discovery of vast seams of coal beneath the dense coniferous forests and surrounding mountains, Echo Lake was for many generations a small, prosperous mining town. No stranger to strangeness, the town quickly accumulated local legends as dancing lights in the night sky, strange creatures stalking the forests, and disappearances by the lakeshore were not uncommon occurrences. In the 1960s, after the U.S. Government detected temporal instabilities in the region via satellite surveillance, the lower levels of the coal mine were clandestinely converted into a Deep Underground Military Base (D.U.M.B.) and extended far beneath their original depth. ### The D.U.M.B. For years, the U.S.G. used this facility to conduct a wide range of unusual experiments, including interdimensional breach attempts, genetic engineering with recovered Nephilim DNA, psionic amplification research, time manipulation, and more. Their research eventually led to a breakthrough, during which they discovered **LIMINALIS**—a trans-dimensional energy source more powerful than anything currently known to man. But an attack on the base by a race of subterranean creatures (known in Native legends as **The Tall Ones**) damaged several interdimensional portals and released dangerous amounts of LIMINALIS, resulting in a catastrophic explosion that destroyed several levels of the facility and killed at least 50 staff. The explosion caused a secondary collapse in the mine above it, leading to the deaths of more than 200 miners. Additionally, the damage to the facility caused an increase in the strength of temporal instabilities and frequency of anomalies. After attempts to contain the resultant fluctuations failed, the U.S.G. reduced its activities at the facility and initiated a proactive coverup of their operations, designating the incident a mine collapse and permanently sealing the site, while simultaneously removing the town from all maps and records, and rerouting roads and infrastructure around it. ### The Error At some point during the life of the facility, the U.S.G. rediscovered an ancient truth: the existence of a mirror-image universe where the properties of matter, mind, and spirit are inverted. This "anti-universe" and the influence it exerts over our realm in areas where the boundaries are naturally thinner is responsible for so-called "vile vortices" like the Bermuda Triangle, the Devil's Sea, and now, Echo Lake. After the explosion and failure to contain the huge amounts of LIMINALIS hemorrhaging into our realm, Echo Lake slowly "slipped" from our universe—but not into the anti-universe. Instead, it reached a third state, trapped beneath both and a part of neither, wholly. It has—in the most real sense—become liminal. ### The Tragedy The residents of Echo Lake are oblivious to this fact. They are still consumed by tragedy, living in the shadow of the mine collapse with many having lost fathers, husbands, and brothers in the collapse. To add insult to injury, many feel that they were denied closure due to inconsistencies in the explanations of the incident. The federal government claims the explosion was caused by a methane gas build-up resulting from "systemic negligent mining practices" and "poor operational oversight." However, a local and independent investigation—conducted simultaneously and led by the mining company and supported by the community college's geology department—asserted that seismic readings captured that day showed a pressure wave originating from far below known mining depths. These findings were ignored, and the report dismissed. But this was just the beginning for the residents of Echo Lake, who today live much as if in a dream, aware only vaguely of the strangeness that envelopes them. That is, until recently. Things that once lurked mostly at the periphery grow demanding: the dancing lights swirl almost angrily now, and the strange creatures of the forest are no longer content to remain only there—then, there's the matter of the unmarked black vans coming and going at all hours of the night. And finally, the catalyst: A sudden rash of spontaneous human combustion has jarred them from their restless slumber. Their fear of the deadly phenomenon is palpable, and their need for answers desperate. And behind it all, beneath it all, a strangeness unfurls its dark wings and prepares to take flight... ## The Forces of Echo Lake Named for the lake upon whose northwestern shore it huddles—itself translated directly from the Ojibwe *Basewegamaa*—Echo Lake is isolated from the world in the **12 Lakes Valley** and surrounded by the **Half Moon Mountains**. Echo Lake's geology is exceedingly unique, due in no small part to the deep valley in which it is situated, which was spared the glacial scouring that shaped much of Northern Minnesota. As a result, the prehistoric ecology of this valley remain as pristine and unspoiled today as it was thousands of years ago. It is for this surprising reason, principally, that three powerful forces vie for control of the region today. ### The Lake Somewhere in its inky depths, the lake possesses a form of consciousness. It communicates with and even through sensitive individuals by dreams, synchronicities, implanted memories, and omens, using them as vectors to exert its will. It desires the truth to be known: both what it is, and what has happened as a result. Echo Lake remembers, and wants nothing more than to return to a time where its shores were populated by giggling children, wading and splashing in its waters on warm summer days, and their mothers and fathers lazing in the sun. ### The U.S. Government The U.S.G. maintains a strong interest in the continued study of the town: particularly how the prolonged LIMINALIS exposure has affected the land and the people. The government observes closely, maintaining just enough presence to intervene—whenever and by whatever means necessary. Their primary motivation is to prevent the truth from ever being known and Echo Lake ever being discovered, and to extract as much esoteric knowledge as possible from the situation. ### The Beyond-Entities The introduction of LIMINALIS into our realm brought with it other *things*, called "non-human intelligences" by the U.S.G. but commonly known throughout history as ghosts, djinns, "aliens," or even demons. The Beyond-Entities are a collection of mostly non-physical entities, each possessing their own motivations but all united by one thing: selfishness. ## The Echo Lake Observer Contributions to **Echo Lake** are to be published in a serial zine called **The Echo Lake Observer**, which presents new content in a "local newspaper" format. The tone of the zine is slightly editorialized, but not so much to interfere with its content-forward nature, which exists so that YOU can, like the land itself, exert your will over the events of the past, present, and futures of Echo Lake. This section provides guidance on a wide range of content (and its preferred formatting) that can be contributed to the **Observer**. ### The Places of Echo Lake ![[echo-lake-map.png]] #### The Town Echo Lake is, in many ways, a quintessential Midwestern town: a place mostly forgotten by time where very little changes. Its residents, for the most part, simply want to live their lives, but the escalating nature of the anomalies—particularly as of late—has made that increasingly difficult to do. ##### 1. Main Street The town’s commercial backbone: grocery, bar, newspaper, bank, and a handful of niche shops that have outlived better ones. Routine is visible here, which makes deviation impossible to ignore. ##### 2. Neighborhoods Postwar four-squares, pre-war duplexes, and small apartment buildings arranged in a practical grid. This is where most people live, sleep, and quietly absorb the consequences of things they don’t talk about. ##### 3. Civic Street Town hall, police station, and utility offices clustered together for efficiency and all built in a handsome (and almost miniaturized) Romanesque Revival style. Several key political positions remain vacant and have for years, but things function just the same. ##### 4. Industrial Corridor A function-over-form stretch of warehouses, yards, and the coal-fired power plant. Loud, dirty, and deliberately overlooked unless something breaks or someone gets hurt. ##### 5. The Quarry An open pit near the river and falls, still nominally active. Most of the older buildings in town were built using the distinctive granite quarried here. Heavy equipment runs irregularly, and access is officially restricted for safety reasons. ##### 6. The Saw Mill Older than the mine and still operational, the saw mill smells of sap and damp wood, and runs on schedules no one fully understands. ##### 7. The Docks A modest lakeside working area with small commercial fishing boats (supplying local shops with the fish for their would-be regionally renowned smoked fish, were things different), storage sheds, and seasonal traffic. It’s where the lake feels most like a resource rather than a presence. ##### 8. The Grand Lodge A large, aging timber construction lodge on the forest edge, perched atop a tall promontory with an enchanting view of Echo Lake. Catering to the odd tourists, hunters, and conferences that don’t advertise, it is owned by a prominent family who lives on the premises; locals work here also, but rarely stay longer than necessary. ##### 9. The School Complex Elementary and high school buildings sharing a campus just outside the residential grid. Attendance is steady and records are meticulous—and children sometimes say things adults dismiss too quickly... ##### 10. The Radio Station A small broadcast facility situated on a hill just north of and outside town. Little else is known about it, other than it seems to run at all hours of the night and day, and the DJ—Kip Kasper—must be severely overworked, as no one ever seems to relieve him of his duties. ##### 11. The Cemetery A well-maintained but crowded hillside plot overlooking the lake. Older graves predate the town’s official founding, while no graves newer than the mine incident can be found. ##### 12. The Mine Site Sealed, fenced, and posted with warnings signed by the federal government. It remains physically present but socially liminal, with sharp divides between residents: some would never stop talking about it, others would never hear of it again, if either were allowed—but neither are. ##### 13. The Rail Spur A short, underused rail line once essential to mining operations. Trains still come through occasionally, though few residents can say why. ##### 14. The Forest Edge Trailheads, access roads, and informal campsites marking the boundary between town and wilderness. This is where people disappear without immediately disrupting daily life. #### The Wilderness Echo Lake is surrounded by mostly virgin forest—a fact that is magnified by its position in the deep 12 Lakes Valley, resulting in it feeling particularly isolated. ### NPCs A wide range of community pillars comprise the NPCs of Echo Lake, from grocery store proprietors to commercial fisherman to local politicians and more. ### Mysteries Like points on a map, the mysteries of Echo Lake represent destinations on the multitude of paths to unraveling the truth—or whatever parts of it can be comprehended. It is therefore important that they are orthogonal, not nested; that they intersect locations, but do not resolve there; and that they are capable of surviving partial understanding. ![[echo-lake-iceberg.jpg]] ### Classes Despite the extensive cover-up, and on less-than-rare occasions, strangers still arrive in Echo Lake to answer its call—often without knowing how they got there, or why. Echo Lake remembers, and wants the truth to be known. The four core classes of **Echo Lake** are built on the Tiny d10 Core System [[Core#Archetypal Classes|archetypes]]. #### Clergy - Understand events in spiritual, moral, or apocalyptic terms - Minimal combat ability, focus is on healing and intervention - Deal with possession, investigate miracles, heresies - Must reconcile faith with unreality - **Example:** Priest, monk, or nun called to serve the spiritual needs of the community and eradicate the evil #### Law Enforcement **Law Enforcement** are sworn officers—sheriff's deputies, state troopers, federal agents, and more—whose central goal is to maintain order and uncover the truth. They are trained to be cool under pressure, deescalate conflicts, and when all else fails, eliminate threats. In Echo Lake, they are often the first to arrive, the last to leave, and the ones tasked with pretending that everything still makes sense. They have a Toughness of 5 (T5), are trained in the use of **firearms** and **impact weapons**; and gain +2 Hit Points and +1 Power Point. Law Enforcement begin with two class abilities: *Lawful Order* – when you issue a command to a human target (e.g. stop, drop it, hands up, stay back, etc.), make an **Aspect Challenge**; if you win, they comply, hesitate, or de-escalate—even if only momentarily (game master adjudicates). Cost: 1 Power Point. *Read the Room* – in any situation, you are able to ascertain the most immediate threat, nearest exit, or similar tactical advantage. #### Laymen - Combat capabilities vary - Experience the horror personally, not abstractly - Often the most grounded (and most vulnerable) - **Examples:** "Awakened" locals, drifters, workers, family members searching for answers #### Psychics - Experience dreams, visions, intrusive thoughts - Limited combat ability through psionic powers - Sense temporal echoes and emotional residue - Are actively _used_ by the town - **Examples:** clairvoyants, DUMB test subjects with memory loss, abductees, etc. ### Monsters Bigfoot, werewolves, escaped experiments, government agents, the influence of beyond-entities, and more. ### Phenomena Spontaneous combustion, lights dancing in the sky, time anomalies, shared dreams, abductions & disappearances, and more. ### Random Tables Play in Echo Lake is emergent. There are no plots or narratives, beyond those that develop naturally as a result of character actions, player curiosity, and the influence of mysteries and phenomena. To facilitate emergent play, random tables are key. The more random tables, the better! Examples include: - 1d10 forest encounters - Wildlife, monsters, phenomena, etc. - 1d10 NPC encounters - 1d10 dream imagery - 1d10 town omens - 1d10 rumors (town, district, and location level) - 1d10 weather conditions - 1d10 weather anomalies ## Research Material A wide range of material has inspired Echo Lake; admittedly, much of this material is dreams, and since I am unable to share those directly, the next best thing will be materials that capture (in one way or another, and to one extent or another) the tone and aesthetic of Echo Lake. ### Shows - Twin Peaks - X-Files - True Detective - The Twilight Zone ### Movies - The Thing (1982) - The Banshee Chapter - Prince of Darkness - Horns ### Music - [Echo Lake Playlist](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9j9qwroLp-DygF0WFmokFM86z_xCGHjc) ### Reading - [Numbers Stations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBZz4X8f3MQ&list=PLodP6KUvZ2LiHtNrGNWbb9CIYIIdNxv49) - SCP Foundation (early entries) - Midwestern folklore & mining disasters - Cold War black-project histories ### Tone & Aesthetics Echo Lake is a quiet, creeping horror—until it isn't. Tensions escalate slowly, but erupt with deadly suddenness in the form of monster encounters, twists and betrayals, temporal anomalies, and tragic accidents. It is close yet distant; intimate yet antiseptic; familiar, just not entirely so... It is not a slasher, nor is it fantastical, satirical, or action-adventure; it is an emergent play, **sandbox of weird**. If the tone you're taking feels like a missing-person flyer, a half-remembered news report, or an urban legend that just won't die, then you're *doing it right.* This, of course, is not to say it should be without levity. The unusual nature of the many residents, as well as whatever sensibilities players bring to the table, will provide ample opportunity for well-timed comic relief in the midst of mystery.