Omegakron was published in 1984 as the third adventure module for Lords of Creation. The previous adventures were set in more contemporary milieus, but Omegakron is set hundreds of years in the future after a series of disasters leave Akron, Ohio (and presumably the entire Earth) a mutant-haunted ruin. Tom Moldvay lived in the Akron area for years, and the illustrator, Dave Billman, is a University of Akron alumnus. The module is packed with Akron in-jokes and references, and the illustrations feature many recognizable Akron landmarks.
The module’s player handouts are pretty cool, and include a detailed map of Glendale Cemetery and the pamphlet “A brief history of Akron, Ohio” by Tom Moldvay. The pamphlet is intended to give the players both an overview of Akron’s history and clues for the adventure. The history presented is mostly true, with perhaps some elaboration here and there. My favorite tidbits are a macabre incident in Akron’s history (the coffin of a member of an important family was moved, and witnesses reported that it had a window which showed the corpse to be remarkably well-preserved) and some trivia about local woodchucks. I was most delighted by the inclusion of my workplace in the adventure (the University of Akron’s Bierce Library) and that the library is still staffed by librarians despite the apocalypse.
I donated a copy of the module University Archives, because of the Akron connections, and even managed to secure some ephemera related to the module (a soundtrack CD and movie poster for an imagined film of Omegrakron called Novos Akros, 2012 project of a local record store and an bunch of local bands for “free record day”). I put them all in a display at the library, with blown-up images from the module next to photos of the real places as they appear today. You can take the tour here: https://tinyurl.com/TourOmegakron.
Novos Akros is another story. The poster incorporates the characters and monsters in the module, and looks pretty convincing. The CD includes liner notes with a fictitious history of the eccentric filmmaker and his uncompleted film. The CD tracks all evoke the module, with titles based on encounters and events in the adventure; the bands are mostly electronic dance or spacey rock music which would fit pretty well into a science fiction soundtrack. You can give it a listen, and buy the files, here: https://tinyurl.com/NovosAkros.
Lords of Creation looks interesting, never played it. Omegakron sounds like a hoot. Thanks for the write-up.
I missed Lords of Creation! Thanks for the information!
When you said Moldvay, I thought for a minute that this was a sequel to Seren Ironhand or something! The man did some interesting stuff, wow.
This is fascinating and that album is killer.
Well that’s new. I never heard this tale before. And for some reason I never knew you lived in Ohio as well. My bike rides through Akron are gonna be a bit different now.