“The Colossus broke everything. Yes, literally, but conceptually also.

When it appeared, people looked at it and knew it was impossible. Nothing that big
could survive under Earth’s gravity, they said. Nothing that big could have been
unobserved by science for so long. Nothing like that should’ve existed outside of
comic books and bad monster movies…

And yet it did.

In the time since its appearance, a great many impossible things turned out to be
entirely possible. Destruction beyond our imagining, death in previously unheard of
numbers and ways, and… well, there’s no easy way to put this, but cryptozoology
became a legitimate field.

[Audience laughter]

See, with the arrival of the Colossus, things considered strange and unknown no
longer felt they had to conceal themselves in the shadows. They developed a certain
boldness. Things crawled off the skin of the Colossus and explored the world with
unhindered curiosity. Things crawled out from the sewers and chased people out of
their homes. Legitimate evidence of extraterrestrial life and “Atlanteans” came to
light. And medical conditions previously dismissed as fiction, became endemic:
flesh-eating ghouls, mind-controlling fungus, spontaneous combustion, possession…

Many of my respected colleagues have questioned whether the Colossus opened

academics’ eyes to the possibility of such things or merely made them gullible. The
fact that many of these academics still retain their tenured positions should put an
end to that line of questioning, of course.

[Audience laughter]

Still, life continues, in its new way. People sell food and medicine, people go to work…
People have to brave dangerous and poorly-maintained streets to go about their daily
lives and pest-control services in cities continue to be both desperately required and
impossible to get ahold of.

It's only the size of the pests that changed.

For me, perhaps the most surprising and impossible thing that occurred is that
humanity managed to continue going just as before, in spite of everything. We saw
all that we saw and we didn’t go insane or become catatonic or worship it as a god or
any of the nonsense that people feared back then.

We merely looked up at the Colossus every day until it became as unremarkable as

the evening sky.”

- Professor Edithe Van Saint, PhD.

A Lecture on Culture in the Wake of the Liminal Colossus (2029)

-1-
 How This Works
Now, most Liminal Horror mysteries involve investigators learning about something strange
happening and then putting a stop to it. Liminal Colossus, on the other hand, begins with the
fact that the world has been made irreversibly strange. A kaiju has emerged in the city and has
laid waste to everything. The question this book asks is what will the investigators do next?

As such, play has also changed in the following ways:

The Doom Clock Is Filled

Welcome to the worst case scenario. A Colossus emerged from nowhere, rampaged its way
through the city, and there was nothing we could do to stop something that huge. So now we
live in a world where the investigators failed and we have to make do with what came next.

This game contains special rules for the Colossus as it stumbles through the city, destroying
districts, infrastructure, emitting strange gas, and (very occasionally) leaving the city in peace.

Employment Is Plentiful
There is a lot more work for Investigators in this new era. Not only do people readily believe in
the monsters they hunt, but also the Investigators’ experience with the supernatural helps with
a lot of day-to-day issues.

Moving across town or searching a building for supplies is a lot easier if an Investigator goes
with you, ready to deal with any monsters or anomalies that cross your path. And yes,
occasionally, it is useful to have Investigators available to do pest control in dangerous places.

Investigators Are… Changed

Seeing a Colossus coming to a city and wrecking everything changes a person. As such, this
book also contains a section for updating an investigator into this world: A Post-Colossus
Investigator.

Open-World Mysteries
In Liminal Colossus, play is not structured into individual mysteries, but sort of a freeform
campaign. The city the investigators live in becomes a sort of open world they can roam around
and act within.

Factions will ask you to help with problems they have and you can use your skills to overcome
those obstacles (or to just benefit yourself). These can be found on the Factions page.

Travel Is Risky
Travel in this new era is much more dangerous and there are much more threats as you travel.
Safely moving from one location to another is always risky (since you could run into anything
on the streets), so it is much more common for the Facilitator to call for a Save when you do.
Alternatively, every time you travel, the Facilitator might provide a Random Encounter for you
to overcome by rolling on the Random Encounter table.

Touchstones
War of the Worlds (2005), Cloverfield (2008), B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth (2010-2016), Providence
(2015-2017), Shin Godzilla (2016), A Quiet Place (2018), As The Sun Forever Sets (2021-).

-2-
 The Post-Colossus Investigator
To create your Investigator, follow the steps outlined in the core Liminal Horror book. Once that
is done, you should follow these steps to fit them within the world that follows the arrival of the
Colossus:

1. Consider Your Character

In Liminal Horror, you primarily play human beings. Perhaps human beings who are capable of
magic, but human beings nonetheless.

With the arrival of the Colossus, you have more options available to you. You can play as a fish
person, a fungal being, an alien, a mutant, something that crawled off the Colossus’ back, or
whatever else you desire.

Different kinds of people exist in this new world. You don’t get any bonus to stats, since you’re
just as normal as any human in this city. Each and every one of you all live under the threat of
the Colossus and build up your city nonetheless.

You can also consider whether living in close proximity to the Colossus has changed your
character. Does anything on your character sheet need to change to account for it? Has your
character changed either through sickness or choice? Do they wear the same clothes they once
wore?

Even if none of these things do change, it’s important to think about this before going forward.

2. Describe Your Home

In Liminal Colossus, the location where the investigators live is important. They have all carved
out their own moderately safe corner in their city. It could be their pre-invasion home, an
altered subway car, a tent in a park, an abandoned penthouse in a skyscraper, or whatever else
feels right.

These places will change through the course of play. Homes might be destroyed or might be the
only place left intact in the city. Refugees will move from one place to the other and, every once
in a while, an investigator will count themselves among their number.

3. Describe Your District

Next, players should describe the district they live within. Players should feel free to describe
their own or roll a D8 and consult the following table:

1. The Flooded Borough 5. The Garden Shanty Town

2. The Subway 6. The Rooftop Markets
3. The Walled Zone 7. The Burned District
4. The Cargo Flotillas 8. The Exclusion Zone

4. Describe Your Connection’s Home

Your Connection (defined in character creation) also lives within a home and also lives within a
district. Repeat the last two steps, but for your Connection, rather than your Investigator.

While this is occurring, the Facilitator should do the same for any important NPCs or Factions
that exist within their existing prep.

-3-
5. Describe The Future Of Humanity
Both The Abyss Stares Back and Ideology & Beliefs help define what Investigators were like in the
times before the Colossus arrived, but now that the world they knew is gone, they had a new
realization, epitomized by the following question:

What Is The Future Of Humanity?

1. A life of hiding in shadows and ash. 6. We must teach monsters our ways.
2. This is the future. This is normal. 7. We bow to monsters. We are nothing.
3. A great war to fight back the invaders. 8. A few short years to enjoy ourselves.
4. Rebuilding our lost civilization. 9. People helping those in need.
5. We must become like the monsters. 10. I don’t know.

6. Describe The City Infrastructure

Now that you’ve done that, go around the table and have each player come up with some
infrastructure that survived the arrival of the Colossus. These are things that are important
and useful for society at large.

Each player can describe two things that endured or or roll a D12 on the following table:

1. The Public Transit System 7. Patrolled Shipping Lanes

2. A Nuclear Power Plant 8. The International Airport
3. Reliable Garbage Disposal 9. Neighborhood Farms
4. A Telecom System 10. Emergency Shelters
5. Working Roads 11. The Fire Department
6. Running Water 12. A Central Hospital

7. Describe The Colossus

Each of you has seen the Colossus. It’s impossible not to. But none of you have seen the full
picture.

Taking turns, go around the table and describe one part of the Colossus that you’ve seen. Either
pick one part that seems interesting, or roll on the table below.

1. Eye 6. Tentacle 11. Ear 16. Wing

2. Limb 7. Silhouette 12. Belly 17. Mouth

3. Spine 8. Tail 13. Snout 18. Beak

4. Appendage 9. Horn 14. Tongue 19. Foliage

5. Tusk 10. Shell 15. Pouch 20. Shape

-4-
 Factions
Factions work much the same in this book as in typical Liminal Horror mysteries, with a further
emphasis on the fact that investigators might be employed by the various important factions.

In this game, Factions will seek people to do jobs for them and investigators can take those jobs
or use that initial conversation as a springboard into a job of their own.

The Community
They want to make sure the people of the city are safe and cared for, no matter what the future
may bring.

Potential jobs for them include:

● Evacuation: People are stuck in a dangerous place and want to seek refuge. They have
called on you to get them to a safe district.
● The Stubborn Evacuee: The City has called for a district to be evacuated, but someone
has decided to remain behind. You should talk with them.
● The Flames: The Colossus’ latest rampage caused fires that are decimating the city and
you have to help put them out.
● Justice: A murder has been done during a rampage, and whoever did it hoped the
Colossus would cover up the crime. But it didn’t, so you must find the one responsible.
● Missing Person: After the latest attack, someone went missing. A relative of theirs
asked you to help find them… or at least confirm that they’re dead.
● House Hunt: There are stranded people looking for a safe place to live, knowing that
creatures and anomalies are all over the place now. They’re willing to pay if you can find
(or create) a safe home for them.
● Trapped In Rubble: After the Colossus’ recent rampage, people are trapped in the
wreckage, so the community is calling for people to help.
● Pest-Control: A person has been noticing that a monster has been roaming around
their apartment. They’re worried that something will happen unless the creature is
dealt with.
● Fix Infrastructure: After the Colossus breaks some infrastructure, the community is
always looking for volunteers to repair it through hard work and scavenging.
● Plague: A sickness is moving through the community and you have to find out where
it’s coming from and how it is spreading.

The Kaiju Watchers

Someone has to do it. They send people to keep an eye on what the Colossus is up to. Maybe also
try to figure out how to accomplish the impossible goal of killing it.

Potential jobs for them include:

● Watch Duty: Just sit quietly in a look-out point and watch the Colossus for an evening.
If it starts doing something, figure out what it’s doing and warn the right district.
● Tower Defense: The Colossus is heading towards an important bit of infrastructure.
You have to make sure they don’t destroy it on their way through.
● Expedition: They’re gathering together a team to clamber onto the body of the
Colossus, take samples, make notes, and bring back what they find. It’s very dangerous,
but vitally important.
● Special Traversal: You are given a new form of transport (wooden wings, grappling
harness, spring boots, or something else) which will help the Kaiju Watchers move
around the Colossus. They want you to test it out and see if it works.
● Fungal Growth: A strange fungus has begun to grow in the wake of the Colossus. You
are asked to investigate it. Is it dangerous? Is it edible? Is it alive?

-5-
 ● Offerings: You need to find a gigantic amount of food for the Colossus to eat. Otherwise,
it’ll start eating people.
● Evidence Gathering: You are asked to take photos of the Colossus. Recording what has
been done. Making sure that history remembers.
● Watch Towers: You are tasked with building look-out towers to help the Kaiju Watchers
do their job better. Find places that are high-up, but secure, and build it up.
● Nature Documentary: The Kaiju Watchers want to find out which monsters are found
in which region, so they’re paying you to move block by block to find out where to find
specific creatures.

The Black Market

A group of people working hard to make sure customers can still buy anything they want, even
while the world is falling apart. Anything you want, they can get it for you at a decent price.

Potential jobs for them include:

● Burglary: Someone heard of a penthouse apartment that was abandoned when the
colossus arrived. If you work with them, they’ll split whatever valuables you find equally
with you.
● Looting: When the Colossus went through a district, a supermarket got destroyed. Your
group can be the first group back in and can bring it back to the market, so they can sell
it for a mark-up.
● The Relic: People have heard rumors of a strange artifact in an old manor. Someone
from the market is willing to pay top dollar for anyone going to get it.
● Guard Duty: One of the black marketers has had their deliveries consistently go
missing while in transit. They want to send you to figure out what’s causing it and put a
stop to it.
● Ration Heist: Food is becoming scarce on the open market. One black marketer has
been hoarding a lot of it and selling it at high prices, so their competition hires you to
steal their food reserves, so it can be sold at a reasonable price.
● Banditry: A black marketer has found an easy target: a delivery truck that never has
enough guards to look after it. They’ll pay you to smash and grab it.
● Trophy Collectors: There are loads of weirdos who will pay for random parts of the
colossus. If you can climb up, get a fragment of horn, a pound of flesh, or some blood,
they’ll pay top dollar.
● Urgent Delivery: A pharmaceutical company is overcharging the city for important
medical items. You’re asked to merely steal those items, so the market can sell them for
cheap.

-6-
 Random Tables
Random Encounters
The following is a list of things that can happen as you move through the city. Either pick your
favorite, come up with your own, or roll a D20 and consult the following table:

1. A creature with exceptional hearing, 11. A pack of wolf-like creatures begins

but poor sight looks for you. surrounding you, penning you in.
2. A thick, impenetrable mist rolls in with 12. A man in a perfect black suit waves
God knows what else. hello. He is not to be trusted.
3. A swarm of small, tentacled things 13. A winged man-thing swoops you,
bursts from the sewers and crawls trying to get whatever valuable you
over everything. carry on you.
4. A sound rings out which makes 14. An ooze pours out from a window,
everyone go very still. dissolving all it touches, moving
5. A plant begins to grow rapidly, towards you quickly.
appearing as a small sapling and 15. A pale, bandaged person confronts you
growing to cover the street. with a gun. They want to drink your
6. A sick-looking person begins to swell blood.
up, until they explode where they 16. You realize the people around you are
stand, sending viscera and spores all infected with mind worms. They all
everywhere. want something from you.
7. A clutch of giant eggs have been laid in 17. A crowd of people stampede through,
the middle of the road. There is a crack threatening to trample you all.
in one of them. 18. People will try to rob you for the Black
8. Almost transparent wall-crawlers Market.
scritter around, watching you. 19. Someone calls for your help. It could be
9. A ruined building groans and then genuine. It could be an ambush.
begins to collapse on top of you. 20. A Colossus Event occurs.
10. A territorial beast blocks your path.
Continuing forward will mean a fight.

Sicknesses
The arrival of the Colossus brought rise to a number of bizarre new sicknesses:

1. The Bloating Sickness: People breathe 4. The Mind Worm: As soon as one of
spores in and it causes them to expand these latch onto your head, you can
more and more, until they explode, telepathically speak with other people
spreading more spores. with the mind worm. It isn’t mind
2. The Hunger: Makes people sensitive to control, just strange telepathy.
sunlight and gives them a strong desire 5. The House Rash: Transmitted by touch,
for consuming blood. this strange rash rapidly covers a
3. The Mutation: Contracted through person’s skin, then covers any object or
close exposure to the Colossus, this structure they touch. This has led to
“illness” changes you in various ways. instances of “living houses” where the
People grow taller, change gender, epidermis of a still-living patient covers
dramatically alter facial structure, gain the structure they live within.
animal-like features… They become 6. Hives: Caused by nesting. Small insects
unrecognizable. use people as host-nests, leaving them
quite alive as they build up a colony
inside them.

-7-
 The Colossus
What Does It Look Like?
It is too big to know for certain. You can only make out parts of it. The edge of an insectoid
wing poking out from behind a skyscraper. An elephantine foot with dozens of toes. A single
gray eye, watching from a window.

Even seeing it from a distance or in pictures only gives you a partial picture of what it is.

Colossus Event
Once per day (or whenever the Facilitator thinks it’s relevant), the Kaiju will do something
terrible. To figure out what, roll a D8 and consult the following table.

1. It consumes whichever infrastructure is closest to it.

2. It roams into a random District, destroying all in its path.
3. It rampages the district it’s currently in, feeding on all who cross its path.
4. It releases a strange gas, causing an outbreak of Sickness in this district.
5. It shakes off parasites, causing an increase in Random Encounters in this district.
6. Its body shifts and changes, as it adopts a new form.
7. It remains eerily still.
8. It returns whence it came, disappearing from sight. At least for the day.

Just One?
Only a fool would think that this is the only Liminal Colossus there is. Just because it’s the first,
it doesn’t mean it’s the only one.

At this moment, there might be dozens, either buried in the earth, swimming deep beneath the
sea, or roaming through the stars… Perhaps, even now, one might be attacking some other city
or countryside somewhere else in the world. You can only hope against hope that your city
doesn’t end up with two of these things.

If it does, roll twice on the table each day.

Killing It
A Liminal Colossus is not a problem that is solved with bullets. It is closer to a storm or a tidal
wave than a living thing. You endure it, run from it, or adapt to living around it. You learn how
to keep out of its way and to keep alive in the midst of its great monstrosity.

It is a true existential horror in that way.

As such, a Colossus has no Hit Resistance, Armor, or Abilities. Anything it wishes to do, simply
happens. If investigators want to get out of the way (or alter its path), they may try using a
Save, but a failure may cost them their life…

-8-