AlgaeNymph, I have to dispute your assertion that the V'hanian Empire is cosmic horror as you define it. First of all, Istvatha V'han is not indifferent or unfriendly. She's very much the opposite of indifferent, actively campaigning to subjugate every new dimension her explorers discover; and her intention is benevolent, to rule for the betterment of all, because she believes herself best qualified to do so.
But unlike cosmic horror, in which humans are small and helpless in the face of vast forces beyond our comprehension, the V'hanian Empire is in the tradition of comics, a threat which superheroes are equipped to fight. And they can fight it because the whole thing is built around and held together by Istvatha herself. She is ageless, but not immortal; she is very capable, and very well protected, but not omnipotent. She could be captured, or killed, or otherwise neutralized, and with her gone her Empire would almost certainly fragment. She herself has expressed that concern.
If you actually did want to deal with cosmic horror, the Champions Universe has Tyrannon the Conqueror. It has the Dragon. It has the Kings of Edom, and the Solipsist. They're all out there in the wider Multiverse, and they are truly alien and uncaring forces of nature that are almost impossible to destroy; but again in the comic-book tradition, there are built-in ways to oppose them, defeat them, contain them, if you have the skill and genius, the power, and the courage, that superheroes possess.
The essence of horror is helplessness. Superheroes are rarely helpless -- they were created "to fight the battles that we never could."
My claim in brief: V’han’s presence in the Champions Universe is so large that her metaptot is the only one that matters, and all you can do is serve or oppose her. While a worthy campaign idea, it essentially writes the setting into a corner.
That said, I hope you’ll forgive me for belaboring the point but I feel I need to set up some explanation first so as to prevent confusion. I shouldn’t assume people know as much as I do on the topic.
For those unfamiliar with the subject, cosmic horror is where the universe is dominated by a vast power that’s at-best indifferent and not at all friendly. It spawned by new discoveries in astrophysics, growing secular humanism, and Anglo entitlement feeling threatened. Earth is insignificant, there is no God, and we are not the chosen ones.
To modern-minded gamers, the genre is now high-stakes pest control, often with an anxiety-laden narrative I never find convincing. Even squishy mortals can adapt to vast, uncontrollable forces; it’s called “disaster management.” And on the micro level the genre’s just chasing amateur sleuths with what are essentially scaly, tentacled bears. Avoid, or kill, or parley: anything besides helpless angst. This becomes exacerbated with superpowered individuals. For anything as simple as a maltheistic being the answer would be to simply punch out Cthulhu.
Not so Istvatha V’han.
For those unfamiliar with the setting (which I find common in any gaming community), Istvatha V’han is a pan-dimensional conqueror comparable to the Achaemenid Persians (which will be pertinently analogous later). Her politics can be crudely described as “NPR with teeth.” Her three main goals are cultural preservation, anti-corruption, and improved living standards — at gunpoint, if need be. Her management of rebels is comparable to General Sherman’s, and is the main point of contention. I always find myself questioning why people would rebel, suspecting many are regressives who wrap themselves in Freedom™ much as myth has the Spartans did. But going into detail there is its own thread (and I have no desire to indulge whataboutism fringe cases until I’m well-read enough to), and the point is that V’han, like the Persians, would allow integrated polities essential autonomy.
And it’s here I’ll finally get to the point.
V’han debuted in Conquerors, Killers, and Crooks, and was even right on the cover. The year was 2002 when we still believed in American Exceptionalism and Whig History. She was meant as a moral dilemma villain, with the aforementioned benefits verses a nebulous-defined Freedom™. (You can just hear the eagle screech.) Nowadays, we see that her rule would grant the Four Freedoms, the only losers being bigots and conmen, who today seem to shout the most about “Freedom.” Worth noting is how in official Champions Universe canon, at least in 5th Edition (written 2004), that the Champions drove her off for a thousand years in 2017, when the world probably really wanted her around. I wonder how Our Heroes accepted thanks from the POTUS. Or how much they felt like heroes, particularly come 2022 when the magic went away.
My point is that today, V’han is as much of a dilemma as the Trolley Problem, where only the most insane ditherers (like philosophers) would choose inaction to keep their hands clean. The only rational choices are to either pull the lever and sacrifice one for the many, or attempt a third option and be complicit in the deaths of many because the situation’s set up to be no-win for four-colored heroics.
Which finally gets me to the cosmic horror, and I thank you for being patient so far with my verbiage. (And won’t blame you if you just scrolled down.) Suppose you’re a superhero who’s less into face punching mentally ill bankrollers and more into systematic reform. Fighting corruption! Scientific utopianism! Magitech revolutions! Great campaign ideas! : D
Except…it’s already been done for you. All of that is one dimensional message away. Sure, you’ll be well-rewarded for your work, and an ideal job, but it’s just not the same. You’re not the reformer, you’re just working for her. The campaign’s no longer about you.
Or you could fight the Empire. No doubt amidst the violent aftermath you brought about there’ll need to be someone who’ll rebuild society. Someone like you.
[O]utside the ordered universe [is] that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes.
--from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
I got a letter from the fedloan people regarding my PSLF (student loan forgiveness) status. They recalculated things and I have only four payments left!
If you want to just shock them without going to technical extremes, you can point out that there are already efforts to create a medical system that doesn’t bankrupt people and welcome them to the cause…
... and he's checked out for good this morning, sooner than I think most of us expected, but if he'd had another stroke (or more than one) that could have done it. The cat was at his side until the end.
