cylent scream

8/10/2019 Cylent Scream

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YL NT S Re Mand ther ales

y Paul alsamo Patrick lanagan Robin Jaskow Scott MitchellMike Nystul and Lou Prosperi

dventures the Six ealms



Roleplaying the Possibi l ity Wars

Cylent Scream and Other Tales

Paul Balsamo Patrick Flanagan Robin ]askow ScottMitchell Mike Nystul Louis Prosperi

Design

Greg FarshteyEd

StarkDevelopment an d Editing

Cathleen HunterGraphics

Matthew JorgensenCover Illustration

Doug Shuler Bruce N. SolotoffInterior Illustrations

Published by

llJ

t. G Mf ®

RR 3 Box 2345

Honesdale PA 1843120566

Publisher: Daniel Scott Palter · Associate Publisher: Richard Hawran • Editors: Greg Farshtey Bill Smith Ed StarkArt Director: Stephen Crane · Graphic Artists: Cath leen Hunter John Paul L a n a · Illustrator: Allen Nunis • Production

Manager: Steve Porpora • Sales Manager: Fi tzroy Bonterre • Sales Assistant: Maria Kammeier Kean • Administrative Assistant:Jeff Dennis · Special Projects Manager: Ron Seiden· Warehouse Manager: Ed Hil l · Treasurer: Janet Riccio

Angar Uthorion Aysle. l3aruk Kaah Core Earth Cosm Cosm\ erse. Cyberpap 1cy D.ukness De\ icc Dr. Mobius. Gaunt Man. Gospog Heart of the Coyote High Lordlnfiniverse. Kallawa Li\ ing L nd Maelstrom Maelstrom Bridge. Nile Empire. Nippon Tech Orrorsh. Pella Ardinay. Possibility Raiders. Possibility Stoml Possibility WarsRa\ agon Stormers S torm Knights Torg an d the Torg logo ar e trademarks of West End Games. ® md West End Games. All Rights Reserved.

®. TM and West End Games. All Rights Reserved.

2



Power eyp ply

ower Cyp-plyPrologue

The dwarf looked up at th e rottedwooden sign which hung over th ecave'sentrance. Simon FeisterGoldMining Inc., it read. The mine ha dbeen boarded upand abandoned longago, bu t t he gap ing hole in the barr icadeand theshardsofsplintered woodlying about confirmed that someone,or something, ha d reopened it. With alantern in one hand an d a sack of goldin th e other, thedwarflumbered downt he v ac uo us tunnel. After travellingfor some time, he entered an immensetorchlit cavern. There, sleeping on a

ma t ofgold coins, wa s the object of hisJourney - a Draconis Metallica. It isa strange thief that brings gold intoou r lair, th e dragon hissed, not ye topening his eyes.

Ah, bu t you see, [am no thief, th edwarf replied, t ryi ng n ot to soundpetrified, bu t failing. am Giles, an dI come t? strike a bargain with you.

At tlus th e dragon picked his headup and looked at Giles through waking eyes. Wha t woul d you bargainwith that wec nnot take for ourselves,

dwarf ... The dragon blinked. No,no t dwarf ... h um an . No matter. Mybrothers an d I wil l kill you a nd a ddyour gold to the hoard.

Blasted disguise self spell He sawright through il. As Sedgewick VanSmythe t ried to formulate a ne w planof action, he quickly glanced aroundto find t he b ro thers t ha t the dragonwas ran ting about . All he saw weretwo piles of decaying bones laying onth e floor, a rusty iron cage hangingfrom the ceiling an d a v ery large

Draconis Metallica about to slice himinto whattheCore Eartherscall frenchfries.

O.K. I f i t' s this meager five hun-dred gold pieces yo u want, then killme ... Sedgewick proclaimed, holding up his sack of gold. The dragonprepared to strike. But you and yourbrothers would stand to make twentytimes that amount if you let me live.

Although the dragon halted his clawin mid-swing, the wizard could no t

prevent himself from recoiling. We w ou ld h ea r m or e of this bar

ga in of your s, bu t first we demand

payment for sparing your life. Thabag of gold an d th e platinum ring youwear will suffice.

Seeing no alternative, Sedgewickgrudgmgly removed his ring an dtossed it an d the sack to the dr agon. As I wa s saying, my organizationwilling to pay to yo u and you r brothers ten t housand gold coins to, howshall I put it, dispose of a smallgr oup of individuals . We will evenlead t hem here to this very cavern soasnot cause yo u any inconvenience.

This proposal does seem quite intriguing. I must discuss it with mybrethren. With that, th e dragont u r ~a:,d conversed with tw o imaginary slbhngs. Sedgewicktook the timto contemplate what ha d happened this original plan. He would have tcome up with a contingency plan thawould surely defeat th e heroes no wt ha t this demented lizard had pen-etrated hIS dwarven disguise. Rightnow,he would offer the dragon anytlung he wanted, as he never intendedto pay from the start.

Thedragonspun around and spoke We demand ten thousand tradesEACH

You drive a hard bargain, bu taccept your price. Sedgewick replied,suppressing a smile. xcellellt hethought to himself. The tmp is sel. Nowif I call only filld a bUllch offools er heroeto sprillg it •

The Major BeatThis one-act adventure is set within

th e magical reality of Aysle in an daround the Co re Earth hardpoint oLondon. The Storm Knights ar e hiredby Sedgewick Van Smythe, the president of Power Cyp-lied Inc., to guardthe company s main power plant. Du etoa recent wave ofsabotage an d threaton other electric companies in the areaVan Smythe feels that his plant ma y benext.

I3



Torg: Cylent Scream

The president s suspicions provecorrect when a gangof half-folk called the Misfits attempts to sabotage thePowerCyp-lied main powerplant thatthe Storm Knights are guarding. Theheroes learn from this encounter thatthe ga ng wa s contracted by a dwarfnamed Giles who resides in an aban-doned gold mine ten kilometers eastof the city. The Storm Knights searchthe gold mine o nly to find a very old,and very much insane raconisMetallica who attempts to destroythem.

By piecing the clues together, theydeduce that Sedgewick Van Smytheha d a rr an ge d bo th the sabotage attempt an d the Storm Knights subsequentdemiseat thejawsofthe dragon.The Knights return to confront VanS my the o nly to interrupt a meetingbetween the president an d the head ofthe criminal organization that is actu-ally behind the sabotage of the otherelectric powerplants. The StormKnights must decide to play ball withthe syndicate or put an end to thei rplans.

AdventureBackground

Due to the massive power shortagean d rationingof what little power thereis to the government an d military,some very innovative electric compa-nieshaveappeared in London to servethe p rivate sector. T he w ays of p roducing power vary greatly, rangingfrom dwarv en engines that run onsteam to electro magnetic generatorsdriven solely by barbarian muscle.

All the money being made in thisfield attracted the attention of a criminal organization called the Ring. Thepresident of the Power Cyp-lied corporation known r his excessivegam-bling activities, becam e deepl y indebted to the syndicate an d was forcedto do some creative accounting withth e corpo ra te books just to k eep upwith interest payments. After payingoff his debt, Van Smythe joined theRing an d continued to embezzle fromthe company. The syndicate decidedto increase its cut of this income bydecreasing the number of competitors. A phony assault on their ow n

4

power plant was conceived as a goodway to avoid scrutiny.

SCENE ONE:Get a Job

The SituationStandard. The Storm Knigh ts are

hired by Sedgewick Van Smythe toguard the main powerplant of PowerCyp-lied Inc.They receiveback groundinformation about the wave of sabotage from Van Smythe ~ throughtheir ow n investigation in the city ofLondon.

The ActionArrivingat the powerplant insouth

east London, the Storm Knights ar egreeted at the doorby a cypriumguardwho leads them to the president s office. Read a loud o r paraphrase:

77 e fain escorts yOIl dowll a 10llgcorridor which ends t an open door. re brassnameplate on the door reads

Presidellt Sedgewick Vall SmytllePeering into the room you seea youngbllsillessmall dressed ill a dark billesllit Ilervollsly pacillg back alld fortll.

Helooks

lipat

yOIl stalldillg ill ti,edoorway alld yOIl see mllclz Of the paillill Izis face disappear. He extellds Ilishand in greeting.

Van Smythe tells the Storm Knightsthat there has been a rash ofsabo tagean d burglary on electric plants in thecity an d it appears that his companywill be next. He has received writtenthreats that he must s hu t d ow n theplant b y t oday o r it will be destroyed.The president will offer 500 lemayspe r night pe r Storm Knight to guard

the plant an d a bonus of 5000 lemayseach to find an d stop the saboteurs.

the Storm Knights haggle, he will reluctantly go to nearly an y price. Theonly information that Van Smytheclaims he can give the Storm Knightsabout the other sabotage attempts arethe names an d addresses of the othercompanies. He a lso ment ions thatSparkling Dwarf Voltage an d PowerCyp-lied Inc. are theonly two companies that have not yet been attacked.

Sedgewick Van SmytheDEXTERITY 9Dodge 11, melee weapons 1STRENGTH 7TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 13Alteration magic 16 divinationmagic 15, find 15, scholar (accounting) 16MIND 11Apportation magic 13, conjurationmagic 13CHARISMA 7SPIRIT 9Reality 11Possibilities: 7Arcane Knowledges: folk 1 inanmate forces 3, magic 6 metal 2Spells: bllllet, disgllise self, illcrense

weight, opell lock silellce, spell sllnlel,erEquipment: short sword damage

value STR+4/13; Glock 17 (hidden indesk), damage value 15, ammo 1range 3 10 25/ 40

Description: Tall, well-groomedyoung executive type. He appearsnoticeably nervous, bu t he carries himself with a smo oth c or po ra te dmeanor. Currently, heis trying topasas a Core Ear th Ord.

The president will then take thStorm Knights into the generatorroomand explain how they make the electricity. Read the following aloud:

YOII nregivell a pairoftilltedgogglesalld le d ill to tlze Ileart of tlpowerplallt. WllGt yOIl see is spetacular. Rows of metal rods protmdefrom tlze floor. Above eaell rod, agrollpof fairies fl y ill a circle alld IIllleash asillgle slzaft of pllre electricitl .

Presidell t Vall Smytlze raises Iv oi ce ov e tI e liaise We emploover 350 cypriums met l fairiesIlearly al l tllOse of tlze Aysle r e a l mfor eaclz of tlzree sllifts. Tlzey workteams of tell, IIsillg tlzeir IIlliqlle abil-it y to illcrease tlze power of a lighning spell by slzear 1ll11llbers Slzollldteam fai l to produce a bol t there areback lip teams waitil lg to j l lmp ill almailltaill tlze flow of power Sillcetermillalcall ollly witllstalld 420 kilow tts t a time without burlliug outtlzere is a l imi t to the power we caproduce. This pl nt can generate nywlzere from 3 millioll to milliokilowatt hOllrs of power per day



After th e tour is over, the StormKnights ma y investigate the crimewave in the city o f L on do n. VanSmythe asks that they beback to guardthe plant by 6 P.M.

The Storm Knights may hangaround the building if they wish; VanSmythe says they can use theemployee s lounge as a base of opera-

tions if they w ish they have to saveroom for th e employees, of course).

Around The TownThe Storm Knights have a number

of places to look for information aboutthe crimes.

A. Th e Local Police. The Knightsar e directed to Chief Inspector Grantwho refuses to g ive them any usefulm ~ o r m o nand will not lis ten to any

eVIdence that they bring to him. hard pressed, Grant will threaten topu t the Knights in jail if they don tkeep their nose s ou t of police business. The inspector is on the Ring spayroll and will report all inqUiriesabout the crime wave to Van Smythe.

B Rumdink Electric Company.Although th e plant itself is untouchedthe owner a dwarf named oo lRumdink, will tell the Storm Knightsthat his employees were scared off bythreats an d he can t keep anyonearound long enough to keep the plantoperating. The threats were found inemployees pockets, inside securedlockers, an d on machinery. Rumdinkhas been unable to f igure ou t ho wsomeone could have put th e threats inthese places without being seen. Hesuspects magic has been used, bu t hecannot determine how.

e Th e Tilbury an d W. Thurcockpowerplants. Both of these plants,which ru n on oil and / or coal, ar e stillrunning buthave reported that a num-ber of oil and coal shipments havebeen sabotaged or lost. Many suppl i-ers are raising their prices in order tocover insurance premiums.

D. Charg O Lightning. The steampowered generator that ran this plantwas stolen an d an attempt to buildanother was halted by a saboteur. Theplant s manager D uss in Fra eks, isa fraid to start up production of the

generator a second time in fear thatsomeone will ge t hurt.

E Mighty Barbarian Power. Thisplant is in ruins fol lowing a bombattack that killed five barbarian workers. the Sto rm Knights searchthrough therubble, theywill find frag

ments of a dwarven b om b o n a [illri orperceptioll roll of 4

F Sparkling Dwarf Voltage. Thisis th e only other plant which has no tcome under attack. Trav Macklin, th edwarf who owns th e plant, will thinkthe Knights ar e part of the conspiracyto dnve l um out of business an d willtell them to leave.

Flags a lllleclioll card is played oneof

the Storm Knights knows a Constablenamed Vick Blighton wh o c an givethemallof th e above information aboutthe powerplant s including th e factthat dwarven bombs have been usedin the attacks. He does not know thatChief Inspector Grant is on the take,bu t he doesn t think that th e policehave done all they can to pu t an en d tothe crime wave and fears that there isa traitor inside the department.

Power yp p

a Persollat Stake subplot is uset he Storm Knight is a close f riend0001 Rumdink an d vows to f ind owhat s behind the terrorist activity iorder to keep he r friend s businesfrom going bust.

Variables the Knights as k to see the threa

that Van Smythe has received, he eplains that he burned them so as notalarm his employees. The cypriumsth e power plant know nothing abouwhat s going on.

SCENE TWO:The Gang s

All Here

The SituationStandard. On the second night

guard duty the Storm Knights encounter a gang of half-folk breakinginto th e plant. The Knights learn thathe gang was hired by a dwarf namedGiles wh o resides outside of Londonin an abandoned mine.

5



Torg yl nt Scream

The ctionThe Knights are asked to stand

guard in theentrancechamberin frontof the ma in power generation roomTheonly activity during the first nighttakes placeat midnight when the fourto midnight shift of cypriums leaveand their replacements arrive TheStorm Knights have the second da y torest an d investigate a ny th in g t he ymissed the first day. During the secon d night, the Misfits break into theplant t h rough the front d oo r a nd ar eambushed by th e Storm Knights. Readthe following aloud or paraphrase:

le secolld lIigltt of YOllr telllire asgu rds begins s lwevelltflll s tilefirst bllt t abollt P.M. yOIl ltearsome ne pickillg tile lock tile doorBefore yOIl call react tlte door bllrstsopell alld ill steps tw o align lookillgmillotallrs followed y hu o Itarpiesalld a celltallr. Tltey look t yOIl witllsurpr ise ill tlreir eyes nd reach fortlleir we pons

The leader of the gang is a centaurcalled Tross. Hemetwith VanSmythe,wh o wasin the guiseofGiles thedwarfoutside the Simon FeisterGold Mining company. He and the Misfits werehired to sabotage t he Power Cyp-lied

main power plant for 10,000 lemaysThe Misfits were told that there woulbe no on e on guard so the StormKnights ge t on e free round of surpristo act before drama cards are used forinitiative The leader has t\Vodwarvenbombs given to him by Gi les to sabotage the plant. Hewill usethem againstthe Knights as a last resort

Tro ss t he CentaurDEXTERITY 11Dodge 12, long jumping 12, maneuver12 missile weapons 3 running14 stealth 14, prestidigitation 13STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 8Find 9, language9 tracking 1 tric10 divination magic 9MIND 8Test 9 willpower 11

CHARISMA 8Charm 10 persuasion taunt 9SPIRIT 7Intimidation 1 reality 9Possibilities: 3Arcane Knowledges: ear th 1Natural Tools: hooves, damagevalue STR+2/1 0Equipment short bow damage

value STR+5/13, range3-1O/40/100;two dwarven bombs damage value19, range 0-3/8/15; Uzi submachinegun damage value 7 ammo 11 range

3-15/40/100

Minotaurs 2DEXTERITY 8Fire combat 10 melee weapons10stealth 9, unarmed combat 11STRENGTH 13TOUGHNESS 8PERCEPTION 7Divination magic 8 find 9 tracking9 trick 8MIND8CHARISMA 7

Taunt 8SPIRIT 7Intimidation 10Possibilities: noneArcane Knowledges: air 1Natural Tools: teeth, damage valuSTR+3/16; horns, damage valuS TR 4 /1 7; h id e armor valuTOU 7/15Equipment: wheel lockpistol,dam

age value 13, range 3-5/10/25; ballchain, damage value STR+6/19

~ 6 •



ow r Cyp-ply

o w r yp plyPower eyp-pl ied Inc. Main Plant

ElectricGeneration

Room

EntranceChamber

Va n Smythe sOffice

Ladder Down

Secret Room

Catwalk

Employee Lounge

Harpies 2)DEXTERITY 11Flight 14, lock pick ing 13, meleeweapons 13 stealth 3 unarmedcon lbat 2STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 8Find 9 tracking 9 trick 13MIND7Apportation magic 8, test 8CHARISMA 8Taunt 10SPIRIT 7Intimidation 8Possibilities: noneArcane Knowledges: avian 1Natural Tools : h ide, TOU 2/11;wings speed value 6; claws dama ge v al ue STR+3/11; fangs, damag e value STR+3/11Equipment : short sword, damage

value STR+4/12; It crossbow, damage value 15, range 3-10/100/200

VariablesDu e to th e plant s five meter thick

walls and the noise in the powerroomthe cyprium workers will not hear thecommotion outside. the Knights goto them for help, a backup t eam of tenwill arri and start shooting li lltl illbolts at the saboteurs.

th e Knights wi n the battle, theymay interrogate any survivors. TheMisfits tell all they know, bu t they donot know that Giles is actuallySedgewick Van Smythe. They givetheKnights th e invitation that Giles sentthem with directions to th e mine.

Th e Misfits ru n from th e scene if th eKnights a re de fe ate d, not h angi ngaround to kill them. If this happens, orif th e Misfits ru n away during thebattle, th e directions to th e mine fallou t of T ross s pocket an d maybe foundon a fil rl or Percepliol roll of 12 byanyone searching the scene.

SCENE THREE:One lew Over The

Dragon s Nest

The SituationStandard . The Storms Knights ar-

rive at th e Simon Feister Gold Minelooking for Giles the dwarf only tofind a Draconis Metallica waiting todestroy them.

The ActionTh e mine is located ten kilometers

eas t of London in an Aysle dominantarea of the rea lm. Van Smythe willloan th e Knights a company car FordTaurus: Tech 23, S pe ed Value 13,T l ghl ess 14), if they have no trans-portation. If the Storm Knights prefer,he will loan them horses.

The Storm Knights have no troubler each ing the mine. After l eaving th e

e7



Torg: Cylent Scream

car or their horses at the mine en-trance, they travel down the long tunnel into the dragon s lair. Once there,read the following aloud or paraphrase:

YO st nd inside a v s t caver1ldimly l it b y torches alollg th e wallsHallgillg f ro m t he ceilillg toward tile

ck of the cave is a JlIlman-si ze d ironcage. III piles all ti e floor are th e skel-etal remaills o f huo ven large rep-tiles. Lyillg ill th e cellter of til is maca-bre scene to p a ed ofgold coins isan e1l0nll0llS drago1l cleaning his cl wswitllilis tOllglle. Both tile gold alld th edragon s silvenJ sc les shimmer ill theflickerillg torchlight

The dragon s name is Tungsten. Thebones scattered about ar e what s leftof his t wo b ro th er s after a party ofadventurers tried to save the Princess

Driella, whose skeleton resides in theiron cage hanging above. Tungstenwa s able to dest roy the invaders, bu this brothers v r slain in the battle.The dragon went insane afterhis brothers were killed and does not realizethat they, an d th e princess, have beendead for over a hundred years.

After being forced out of his homein Ay sle , h crossed a mael st rombridge an d f oun d this abandonedmine, decorating t much the same ashis original. Heeven managed to bring

the bones of his brothers an d the princess, talking to them all th e time.

Th e d ra go n will try to fulfill hisagreement with Va n Smythe and killthe Storm Knights. He will us e thedracollis draw spell, descr ibed below,to pull the Knights within striking dis-tance of his claws. Once in melee withthe dragon, the Storm Knights willnotice that the dragon is very old an dhis scales ar e flaking. On a filld orPerceptioll roll of 15, the Storm Knighthas found a \veak spot the dragon s

armor. Hitting a weak spot requires avital b low, bu t compare all damagedirectly to Tungsten s TOllghlless ig-noring his natural arnlor. A Knightmust roll again to find a weak spo t ifhe attacks the dragon from a differentangle.

Tu n g s t en the D raconi s M etal l icaDEXTERITY 9Dodge 11, maneuver 10, unarmedcombat

8

STRENGTH 18TOUGHNESS 20/35PERCEPTION 15Alterationmagic16,divinationmagic17, find 16, tracking 16, trick 17MIND 12Apportation magic 16, test 13, will-power 14CHARISMA 8Charm 11, persuasion 10, taunt 11SPIRIT 10Intimidation 13, reality 12Possibilities: four plus one perStorm KnightArcane Knowledges: earth 3, metal7Spells: brittle walls blllld dracollisdraw fool s gold opelliock preciollslIIetal plateNatural Tools: armor, TOU+ 15/35;claws, damage value STR+7/25Descript ion: Tungsten is old and

has lost much of his strength. Sectionsof his metal armor a re b at te re d,bruised, or missing entirely. He ha snever accepted the fact that his brothers an d th e Princess Driella have beendead for years an d still talks to them asif they were alive. Aside from thisminor mental deficiency, he is quiteformidable.

Draconis Draw

Axiom Level: 7Skill: apportatioll/llletal 22Backlash: 14Difficulty: 10Effect Value: 15Bonus Number to: effectRange: 10 100 metersDuration: 9 minuteCast Time: 3 4 secondsManipulations: range

The dracollis draw spell is used bymetal dragons to pul l the ir prey closeenough for the dragon to strike. The

Draconis Metallica locks onto a metalobject that his opponent is holding orwearing, such as a sword or metalarmor, an d pulls it towards him. Theeffect value of the spell must equal orexceed the combined weight of themetal object an d th e person beingdragged.

f the object in question is beingheld, then the victim ma y elect to let i tgo to avoid the dragon s grasp. Thevictim may alternatively attempt to

halt the item s progression toward td ra go n b y generating a Strellgth togrea ter than the spell s effect value.

The d ra go n d oe s n ot h av e controver direction other than towards her.Themetalobject will travelin a straighpath directly toward the d ra go n a ndstop at an y distance he desires.ma y change targets or lock onto mu

tiple targets w it h t he u su al penaltieTo cas t the dracollis draw spell , t

dragon simply turns up his palmpoints at his target, an d clenches hfist. This spell wa s created by an dused solely by Draconis Metallica. textremely rare that on can coaxdragon to teach them the spell . Annon-dragon lucky enough to succein this task nlust wear a metal gauntletin order for the spell to funct ion.

Flags f break appears during th e fig

treat it as a setback result if th e dragodoes no t successfully attack. He wnot leave his home and his loved ones. f a hero selback comes up an d a StorKnight ha s found a weak spot in tdragon s armor, the dragon twist sa ro un d a nd th e Knight loses sightthe missing scale. He w ou ld h av emakeanotherfilld roll to locateit agai

IftheMistakellldelltitycard ha s bep la ye d, t he d ra go n thinks the StorKnights are the same ones who at-t acked hi s l ai r be fo re, or one of tStorm Knights is a descendant o oo f th os e adventurers . Tungsten wfight until he or the Knights ar e dstroyed.

If th e lllallce subplot has beplayed by a female Storm Knight, tdragon will think sh e is PrincessDriell\vho he s in love with. His base atti-tude toward heris loyal bu t he will nleave hi s cavern an d will try to pu t hback her cage to protect her.

Variables f none o the subplots are active

and Tungs ten is reduced to threeless possibilities, or i f he is heaviwounded, he will try to make a dew it h t he Storm Knights to leave hialone. He will attempt to ge t somcash for his troubles, but will reveal allthat he knows in order to survive.



Power Cyp-pl

The Fruits of Victory

The dragon tells the Knights about

the silly human in the blue sui t whotried to trick us into thinking he wa s adwarf. He will also sho\-\ Va nSmythe s r ing to them. Tungsten isslain, the Storm Knights cansearch thecavern an d find the following:

oThe gold coins which the dragonwas sleeping on (they were created bythe fool s gold sp el l (see the Ayslesourcebook page 89) an d has a duration of one week. t can be disbelievedon a Mind or willpower total of 13 orbetter).• 0 Van Smythe s platinum ring, bear-mg the Imhals SVS is on the skeletalh an d o f the princess. Anyone climb-mg up to search the cage wiII find i tautomatically.

Th e dragon s real treasure is in ahole under a trap door, concealed bythe remains of one of the bro thers . Afind or Perception total of 14 wiII revealthe t rap door Tonghness 16) if some-on e searches there. requires aStrength total of 14to open.

Ins ide is a total o f 4000 go ld coins(trades), including the sack of 500which bears the corporate insignia ofPower eyp-lied Inc.

SCENE FOUR:Fairies Wear Boots

The SituationStandard. N ow a war e t hat the y

have been duped the Storm Knightsdecide to return to London and deal

with Van Smythe. When they emergefrom the dragon s lair, they find thattheir ca r has been destroyed and theyare ambushed by a group of unseenfoes.

Unpleasant Surprise

Read aloud or paraphrase: he U l blillds your eyes as you

snrfacefrom tl e lIlineslraft. Wilen YOllrvision clears you see your car or

wh t s left of it ill pieces before YOSlIddenly a bol t of figlltl/il/g appearsiI ti e sk y al/d streaks toward YOI/..

The ActionJust incasethe lunaticdragon failed,

Va n Smythe decided to send a groupof Rmg operahves to the mine to makesure the Knights would be killedAboveall his involvement in thecrimewave must no t be revealed or the Ringwould surely cover their tracks by disposing of him.

The agents ambushing the Storm

Knights are a gang of cyprium fairiescalled The Sparks, who are also thegroup responsible for the sabotage ofthe power plants in London. They ar ewearmg enchanted boots which rende r them invisible.

There is one cyprium waiting oneach side of the mine entrance an dfour others hovering above thecenter.Due to their invisibil ity, The Sparksget one free attack before the dramadeck is used. When the Storm Knights

9



Torg: Cylent Scream

emerge from the mine, th e fourcypriums flying above unleash a combined lightl1il/g spell at the b iggestmember of the party. Although theyhave three more rounds of th e spell,they will abandon it after th e firstround so as not to hit their invisiblecompanions attacking below.

Sp a rk s Gangmember (6)DEXTERITY 12Dodge 15, flight 13, lock picking 13,maneuver 13 melee \ \ eapons 13missile weapons 13, stealth 15STRENGTH 7TOUGHNESS 7PERCEPTION 11Alterat ion magic 13, f ind 12, trick13MIND

Apportation magic 14, artist (metalwork) 12 test 12, willpower 12CHARISMA 7Charm 8 persuasion 9, taunt 10SPIRIT 8Faith 9, intimidation 9, reality 9Possibilities: 2Arcane Knowledges : inanimateforces 5 meta 4Spells: bllllet ligiItllil/g opel1lockNatural Tools: wings, speed value10Equipment: metal armor, TOU+2/

9; cyprium sword enchanted dam-age value STR+6/13; c yp ri um b ow,enchanted, damage value STR+8/15,range 3-10/40/100; boots of invisibility effect value 16 against visualtargeted attacks while invisible.

Note: The boots of invisibility haveth e iI/visibility spell permanently impressed in them (see PermanentMagic, th e Aysle Sourcebook page79). While the cyprium must spend around to activate the boots, he doesno t need to generatea magic total. Thespell will a lways genera t e an effectvalue of 16

Flags a villain setback comes up on the

drama deck, all the cypriums iI/visibility spells malfunction. a s ing lefairy is setback then only he becomesvisible. Since the spell is permanentlyimpressed into their boots, a cypriumcan spend one round to make himselfinvisible again.

Being invisible can hinder as well

••10

ashelp, thecypriums. WhiletheStormKnights cannot se e th e fairies, th ecypriu ms cannot see each other either. a cyprium usesa ranged attack, suchas a ligiItl/il/g spell, roll a die. On aresult of 1 th rough 4, a fellowgangmemberis in the lineoffire. Compare the attack against the dodge of theunlucky ally. the attack misses, resolve combat normally with the original target.

SCENE FIVE:Big Boss

Little Package

The Situation

D ra ma ti c. The S to rm Knights return to the PowerCyp-lied powerplantto confront Van Smythe. Arriving athisoffice, the Knights interrupt a meeting betweenan agentofHouse Vareth,Van Smythe, an d the kingpin behindt he c ri me s yn di ca te k no wn as TheRing. The heroes ar e offered a bribe tokeep q ui et a bo ut t he goings on at thep la nt a nd m us t decide to accept paymentor attemptto thwart the criminaloperation. Read aloud or paraphrase:

YOII bllrst iI/to President VallSmythe s office . The presidell t alld acmde-lookillg dwarf areseated ill frOlltof the desk. TI e chair behilld t e deskis flallked b y two Vikillg gllards wh oimme i tely point their Uzi s t you.Petite rillgs of smoke rise from thechair, as you see the diminutive fonnof a fain seated there smokillg a cigar. is dressed in a purple suit andsports a yellow alld greell stripedbo w tie. Hegazes a tyoll with eyes thatdictate allthoritl alld speaks J sayGood of yOIl chaps to drop i ll . WOIl t

yOIl jOillllS fo r a spot of tea so thatwemight disCllss the matter at halld?

have a 1IJostgenerous offer th twoulsllrely be belleficial to al l parties illvolved.

Th e Fairy Godfather

The Fairy G odfathe r, o r th eGodfairy as he is of ten called, is thehead of a crime syndicate that henamed The Ring. When Aysle s axi-

oms washed over earth an d the fairiewere revived, the ancient struggle btween the different typesof fairies waalso renewed.

On e Infernas, Chester E Tettletonobserved that the fairies wouldm uc h s tr on ge r a s a race if they combined their diversified skills into ongroup. He spent some time recruitinfairies with similar vi ws from thvarious different factions an d formeThe Ring, a criminal organization dvoted to seeing that fairies become thgreatest political power in AyslRealm.

Delighted to see a business ru n etirely by fairies, the Godfairy decideto m ak e P ow er Cyp- li ed Inc. a successful monopoly an d bring a smaprofit for The Ring atthe same time.w s an easy task to can Van Smytheinto joining the syndicate a nd u se hias a puppet in the corporate worlThe phony sabotage attempt on theown power plant wasa good plan, buthestormers that Van Smythehas hiredar e tougher than they were supposedto be.

Gharr

The dwarf is Gharrof House VarethHe has been supplying The Ring witdwarven bombs and is here to discusthe next shipment of weapons. Hegruff an d nervous, bu t will follow thlead of the Godfairy.

G h ar r o f H ou se VarethDEXTERITY 10Acrobatics 12, maneuver 11, meleweapons 13, steal th 14, unarmedcombat 11STRENGTH 12TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 9Divination magic 10, find 10 tracking 11, trick 12MIND9Test 10CHARISMA 7Persuasion 11, taunt 8SPIRIT 7Intimidation 9 reality 8Possibilities: 4Arcane Knowledges: ear th 1Equipment: battle-axe, damage

value STR+5/17; ring mail, armovalue TOU+3/13; Walther P.8S, damag e value 15 ammo 15, range 3-10



25/40; note f rom the Bank of Londonfor 1250 t ra de s m ad e out to his ac-count.

The ActionThe Godfairy will attempt to per

suade the Storm Knights that it wouldbe in everyone s best interest if theywere to remain silent about the opera-tion atthe plant. Heoffers them 100,000lemays to leave London quietly. theSto rm Knigh ts take the bribe, cu t toT he Aftermath.

If at any time in the discussion aKnight tries to get too close to theGodfairy or takes any hostile actionthe Viking guards will open fire withthei r Uzi s and step in front of theGod fa ir y to s hiel d him from harm.The Godfairy will t ake th is opportun ity to fly into a small ai r vent in thewall behind his chair. Generate a totalusing the Godfairy s stealth skill. Thisbecomes the difficulty number to spotthe fleeing crime boss. Gharr will en-gage the Knights with his axe (or h isWalther if he has room), while VanSmythe battles with spells. The Vi-kings will move up to melee after theGodfairy is safely in the vent.

The Godfairy will stay for a roundor two, to use his fatiglle ability an d tocancel a few possibili ties, but will flyup the a ir sh af t to the r oo f at the firstsign of serious trouble. Hedoesn tconsider this operation importantenoughto get captured. It takes three roundsfor the Godfairy to reach the roof an done mor e for him to fly far enoughaway from the plant to be safely out ofthe scene. Any Storm Knight wishingto chase him will take one round to

exit the building and another round to

scale the wall to the roof clilllbillg dif-ficulty of 13). The Godfa iry will en -gage an y Knights waiting on the roof,but will again attempt to f lyaway ifthe battle turns against him.

The Godfa i ryDEXTERITY 13Dodge 17, flight 14, lock picking 14,maneuver 15 melee \·veapons 14missile weapons 14 prestidigita-t ion 14, stealth 19STRENGTHSTOUGHNESS 8PERCEPTION 13Language 14, trick 16

MIND 14Conjuration magic 17, scholar (poli-t ics) 16, test 16, willpower 16CHARISMA 12Charm 13, persuasion 16, taunt14SPIRIT 8Corruption 15, faith (Endrak ) 10,focus 10, intimidation 11, reality 12Possibilities: 18Arcane Knowledges: fire 10Spells: conjllred fireballMiracles: harmNatural Tools: wings, speed va lue10Eq u i p men t : suit , enchanted ,

TOU+9/17; infernas cane enchanted,damage value STR+9/14

Description:The Godfairy is about30 centimeters tall an d wears a purplebusiness suit and a yel low an d greenstriped bowtie. Because of th e 7 addsin orruption he has become a horrificsight, with black fangs an d brown fur(only vis ib le to those with tnte sightHe has successfully deferred his cor-ruption to the land and, at the t ime ofthe adventure looks like a handsomeEnglish aristocrat. Anyone able to detect corruption will think he has 2adds.

Note: All of the Godfairy s skillslisted a l ready inc lude his corntptiollbonuses. He may cause one opponentto become fatiglled once pe r act. Hecurrently ha s three c lljllred fireballspells impressed. As an accomplishedcrime boss, he will hesitate before us-ing these spells if they affect his bodyguards (bad employee relations), bu twill do so if he sees it as a last resort.

Vi k in g G u a rd s (4)DEXTERITY 10Dodge 11 fire combat 12 maneu-ver 11 melee \·veapons 14 swim-ming 12 unarmed combat 13STRENGTH 14TOUGHNESS 11

PERCEPTION 6Scholar (navigation) 7 trick 7 landvehicles 9M IN D 7Apportation magic 8CHARISMA 7SPIRIT 8Intimidation Possibilities: 3Arcane Knowledges: water 1Equipment: broads\vord damage

value STR+6/20; uzi, damage value

Power eyp ply

17, range 3-15/40/100; ring mail, armor value TOU+3/14

FlagsIf a villain setback occurs during th

fight, th e first villain to be successfullyattacked in that round is thrown back

into the bookcase. This jars the secredoor loose expos ing the passage beyond. If a hero setback comes up , another Viking guard shows up an d enters the battle. This will only occuonce in the scene.

Variables the Storm Knights confront th

cyprium workers at th e power planeither before or a fter the meeting iVan Smythe s office, they will think

the Knigh ts ar e crazy an d will noresist if t hrea tened. They are not connected to The Ring a nd k no w nothingabout Van Smythe s corruption.

the Knights wi n th e bat tle in VanSmythe s office, they may search fothe Godfairy, assuming he got awayundetected. On an evidellceanalysis oPerceptioll total of 10, th e Knights findthe air vent and can deduce he es-caped through it. The ventilationshaftleads to th e roof, bu t the Godfairylong gone by t he t im e the Knights getthere.

In Van Smythe s office is a s ec retdoorbehind abookcase which requiresa filld or Perceptioll total of 12 to noticeThe secret passage leads to a room\ here an Smythe is hiding thesteampowered generatorstolen from ChargO Lightning. He has been tr yi ng tofigure out ho w it works an d plannedon using it as a backup s ho ul d t hecypriums out on strike or if someotheremergency occurs. Theroom alsocontains the accounting records of theplant, detailing payments to VanSmythe, The Ring, an d Chief Inspec-to r Grant. The Knights may bring thito the local police as evidence againstG ra nt a nd Van Smythe, if he s stilalive.

The Aftermath·Taking t he b ri be a ut om at ic al ly

resul ts in the Storm Knights receivingon e point of th e corntption skill, o

t r . . . . e 11



Torg: Cylent Scream

reduction ofone from their hO or skill.The Godfairy will leak word of theircrime to Ardinay s forces throughundercover Ring agents- he doesn tbelieve they will be loyal to him. Th eKnights will be marked by the Lady ofLight as traitors an d will be arrested ifidentified.

the Storm Knights take the bribe,but argue about the price, resolve theencounter following the rules for haggling org Rulebook page 72 . theGodfairy is forced to pay any am ountover th e original 100,000 lemays offered, he will have a group ofInfernasattack th e Knights at a later date to ge tit back. This happens ei ther before orduring th e Knights next adventure

Infernas Ring Agents 2 per StormKnigh t

DEXTERITY 12Dodge 15, flight 13, lock picking 14,maneuver 14 missile weapons 13,prestidigitation 14, stealth 16STRENGTHSTOUGHNESS 7PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 13, language 12,trick 13MIND 12Conjuration magic 15, test 14, willpower 13CHARISMABCharm 9, persuasion 10, taunt 9SPIRIT 6Faith 8, intimidation 8, rea li ty 9Possibilities: 2 eachArcane Knowledges: fire 9Spells: c l jl red fireballEquipment: fire armor, TOU+2/8;

infernass\vord, damage valueSTR 6/11; infern s b ow d m g e v l ueSTR+8/13, range 3-10/40/100

olf Gharr of House Vareth is arrested or killed, th e Knights wil l beactively h un te d b y H ou se Vareth an d

will be killed if found . Th e Ring willsimilarly be displeased if t he o pe ration is shut down and the Godfairywill certainly have Ringagentsgettingin t he S to rm Knights wa y in the future. Should the Godfairy himself be

12

terminated, the Knights should be prepared for an endless assault of Ringassassins coming after them in futureadventures.

olf t he G od fa ir y e sc ap es bu t theoperation is shut d ow n, h e will probably no t take an y direct action againstthe Storm Knight s - revenge is anexpensive luxury, an d the godfairy istoo smart to waste good tio le andmoney after failing in an expensiveoperation.

Play ending scenarios by ear. Depending on ho w the Storm Knightsfinish the adventure, things could gowel l - or badly - for th e heroes.

The Awards the Storm Knights accept thebribe

or are unable to figure out who isbehind the crime wave they receiveno possibilities for theadvenure.1f th eKnights win the batt le in th epresident s office, bu t fail to f ind th esecret room containing the accounting

le dg ers an d t he s to le n generator,award ten possibi li ties . If the StormKnights also expose Van Smythe anChief Inspector Grant by finding thsecret r 111 they recei ve fourteen possibilities.1f theGodfairy is captured okilled, consider this act as if a orycard had been played and increase theadventureaward by three more possibilities.

Ingenious or especially inventivesolutions should also be rewardedfor example, i the Knights can f igureout a way to stop the operation anddefeat Van Smythe, bu t can also keeth e Ring an d the Godfairy off theiback, they should ge t extra possibilities.

Like\·vise, attracting undue attention of a powerful villain or group isno t smart and, if th e Knights do so ouof a sense of bravado or invulnerability, they should be penalized. Neitherextra rewards or penalties should exceed three possibilities.



d Busines

Bad usinessPrologue

Taito Akio mulled over the prospects presented i n his m ee ting withthe representatives of Od a Aricraft.He ha d heard that Oda was in actuality owned by the same party thatowned the Kanawa Corporation. Thatdidn t bother him somuch. Whatworried h im was whe th er or n ot to t ru stOd a Aircraft to stick to their end ofthebargain. He would have becautiousinhismethods. Hewould havetobe surethat he would still be needed when heha d completed his part of the deal. Hewassettinghimself up tobedestroyedsimilarto the destruction hewas planning fo r hi s superior KennethMarkham.

Akio h ad u rg ed Markham no t tofund the strangers wh o called themselves Storm Knights and n ow Akiowould use those same Storm Knightsinhis plans takecontrolof MarkhamIndustries for himself.

Adventure

Background d usiness is a one act adventure

se t in the int rigue filled s treets an dalleys of the Nippon Tech realm. Theadventure takes place in the city ofTokyo Japan in the dominant zone of3327 s realm. Adventure Background

Soon after 3327 began his manipul at io ns of corporate Japan severalmembers o f t he Ja pa ne se b us in esscommunity noticed the quick growthofKanawa Co. They also came to learn

that the Yakuza an d theJapanesegovernment were linked n a conspiracywith Kanawa Co. A conspiracy whichthreatened both the economy of theirnative country of Japan and theeconomy of the entire Earth.

In the hopes of proving the existence of this conspiracy they foundedthe Rauru Block. Once evidence of theconspiracy was uncovered the RauruBlock made it it s goal to el iminate ofthe conspiracy.

The wa r between the Rauru Blockan d 3327 s corporate empire has hamany battlefields ranging from th

Stock Exchange to the dark alleystheNippon Techrealm. One suchbattlwhich continues to be fought involvesa corporate wa r between MarkhamIndustries a small member of thRauru Block an d one of3327 ssmallemega-corporations known as Od a Aicraft. The corporatebattle between thtwo mega-corps is at a delicate stagewhere one ba d move on the parteit her side could result in t hat sidbeing vanquished.

Thisdelicatebalanceiscornplicated

by theLawoflntrigue which demandsthat traitors exist within large organizations. In this case both sides of thcorporate battle have been affected bthe Law of Intrigue.

A mid-level executive working forOda Aircraft named Ito Tanak a approachedrepresentativesof MarkhamIndustries offering inside informationat a reasonable price Thisinformationhas allowed Markham Industries toout-maneuver Od a Aircraft in severalcorporate dealings an d has proven

itself to be more than worth the priceBut now when every resource oMarkham Industries is needed to fighoff the seemingly endless barrage ocorporate assaults launched by Odathis inside information is more criticalthan ever. It is n ow t hat the Law oIntrigue rears its head again and inway that could easily destroyMarkham Industries forever.

Among the high-level executives aMarkham Industries are a number oa dv iso rs w ho ai d CEO Kenneth

Markham with hiscorporate decisions.On e of these advisors Taito Akio hassuccumbed to greed and has sold outo Od a Aircraft. He has provided thname of the tr ai to r w ithin Od a Aircraft an d has offered a plan to eliminat e M arkham Industries. His planinvolves feeding false information toMarkham so that acted upon it willseverely strain th e cash flow oMarkham Indus tr ies making thmega-corp ripe for a hostile takeover.

tr 13



Torg: Cylent Scream

he World Laws ofNippon Tech

This adventure takes place n

the city of Tokyo, deep inside ad om in an t z one o f the Nippon

Tech realm. As the Law of Intrigue plays such a large role inthis adventure t he GM shouldre-read the World Laws of thisrealm found on pages 52-54 ofthe World ook an d pages 69 7

of the Nippoll Tech Sourcebook.Particular attention should bepayed to the bonuses gainedwhen using the stealth an d dis-glliseskills as thesefigure prominently in this adventure.

After d ispo sing of Tanaka, Akioarranged or a purchase of false infor-mation from Tanaka. Akio arranged or an imposter to pose as Tanakawh o uses the name Kinata whendealing with Markham. In an effort to ~ s s u eMarkham from suspectinghlln, Akio himself will meet with

•• 4

Kinata. Akio has asked Markhamthat a group of bodyguards be provIded for the meeting, stating that hefears that the illicitactivities havebeendiscovered. It is at this point that theadventure begins .. .

The Major BeatTh e adventure b eg in s w it h th e

Storm Knights ~ t i n as bodyguardsdunng the meetIng where the information is to purchased. Akio arrivesand meets with Kinata rea lly anagent of ada Aircraft in disguise. DurIng the meeting,immediately after themf?rmation is passed a team of ninjaarnve attemptIng to kill both Akioand :Kinata. The Knights fight offthe nInja and protect Akio, bu t theysee Kinata cu t down by the n in ja sgunfire. The ninja escape, bu t leaveeVIdence that they work for a d a Aircraft.

In the next scene, the Knights learnth at after us ing th e information obtained to make his business plansMarkham Industries has lost an enor-mousamountofmoney and isingravedanger of being bought out. t is obviou s that someone within MarkhamIndustries is working for ada Air-

craft. Markham asks th e Knights toinvestigate and find the traitor beforehis competitors initiate a hostile take-over.. Scene Four invoJves the KnightsInvestigating the home and offices o Kinata where they learn that he habeen killed two days before the meeting took place.They find clues indicating that an employee of Markham Industries met with Kinata on the dabefore he was killed.

The Knightsalsoinvestigatea warehouse they suspect the ninjas used athei r base of operat ions , an d whilthere, seea large black sedan drive ofThis ca r is Akio s, wh o has infonnedhis ninja th at th e Knights a re on htrail, and t hat they ar e to hunt thKnights and kill them.

During the course of their investigat ions, the Knights are at tacked bythe ninja, who, if captured, reveal thatthey work for Akio.

In the final scene, the Knights goMarkham s office to inform him oftheir findings. As they tell Markhamoftheirdiscovery, they realize that itisnot Markham at all but instead Akio n disguise. He presses a remote con-trol, and sliding walls open to reveaseveral more ninja and a pair of roninAkio then informs the Knights that hehas no intention of letting them leavethe building alive.

SCENE ONE:A Private

usiness Affair

The SituationStandard. The Knights are work

ing. as bodyguards for Taito Akio, aassIstant of Kenneth Markham wh omeeting with Kinata, Markham s spyIllSlde the a d a Aircraft mega-corp.The meeting is taking place in an iso-lated alleyway, on the northern sideofTokyo. Describe the Scene:

Iigllt m st pervades the okyo l leyw y where your l test missionhas taken you. You ve agreed to t abodyguards during a business meet-ing behveen Taito Akio, ssist ut



Bad Business Map of the Business MeetingAkio s Ca r

r

d Busine

Kinata •

J ll

Akio•

of the mall Y0lt work for, KellllethMarkham, and an agent known onlyas Killata a spy employed byMarkham within the mega-corporatioll blOW as Oda Aircraft.

There is strong suspicion t ha t d aAircraft is secretly oWlled by tileKanawa Corporation, and Markham sspy 'Killata' liaS illformatioll t llalc llld help yoltremployerilt his corpo-rate battles with the elligmatic CEOof the KlJllawa Corp, RYllchi Kallawa.

The stilllless of the lIight is brokellby the sOlwd ofa man s voice. Akio.

Taito Akio the mall y l are to beguardillg responds by saying, in apa-tlese, Youllave wllat I ve come for?

Kinata responds with slight nod,and lIands a small ellVelope over toAkio, il t tile same t ime haHds asmall plastic card to Kinata. You'resllre that this illformationwill proveuseful?

t shollid do all yOllwish i t to andmore.

The Action Kinata is actually an impostor

working for Od a Aircraft . The realKinata was exposed by Akio days agoand killed. Since n on e of the StormKnights haveever seen th e real Kinatathey will not notice anything peculiarabout the imposter.

Before the meeting began, Akio or-dered the Knights to station them-selves equally at ei th er en d of th e al-ley. Show the p layers the ma p of thealley and let them choose where theircharacters are at the beginning of themeeting. The conversation tw n

Akio an d Kinata can be heard at bothends of the alley without any diffi-culty.

Haveeach playergeneratea Percep-lioll total. Ona total of14 or higher, theKnights notice a number of shadowyfigures on the roof tops of the bui ld -ings which line the alley. Go immedi-ately to Scene Two: Ambush

n one of the Knights see the fig-ures on top of the buildings, the meet-ing will near its end just as the figureattack. Go to Scene Two: Ambush

SCENE TWO:Ambush

The SituationStandard As the meeting between

Akio an d Kinata is about to come toclose, a group of ninjas attack, presumably to kill Akio, Kinata, and thStorm Knights. Read or paraphrasethe following:

Y l sllOuld llave k no wn tha t tlljob wa s too easy. From llt of nwhere, si x figllres clad in black dropiHto view brmldislling swords ansubmac1titlegutls. They move to atack both Akio and Kinata

15



Torg: Cylent Scream

The ActionBegin combat rounds. There are six

ninjas/each armed with a shimsi swordan d a SC Kyogo 144 submachinegun.On e will head for Akio, on e for th efalse Kinata, an d two towards eachen d of the alley. The ninja who attacks

Akio will purposely miss him, as th eattack has been arranged by Akio toconvince the Knigh ts and in turnMarkham) that Kinata has been foundou t by Od a Aircraft. Akio hopes thathis presence during th e at tack willdissuade an y possible suspicion frombeing directed at him.

Any Storm Knight wh o is lookingfor the deception must make a er ep-tion or eviden e n lys s total of 19 tofigure ou t attacks on Akio are faked.The ninjas statistics ar e given below.

Oda Aircraft Ninja 6)DEXTERITY 11Dodge 12 fire combat 13 lock picking

13, martial arts ninjitsu) 13, missileweapons 12, prestidigitation 12,stealth 13STRENGTHSClimbing 9TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 11Disguise 12, tracking 12MIND 9Test of wills 11, willpower 11CHARISMA 9Taunt 1SPIRIT 9Reality 12, intimidation 11Possibilities: 3 eachEquipment: shimsi sword damage

value STR+5/13; SC Kyogo 144submachinegun damage value IS,ammo 15 range3-15/40/150,manrikigusari STR+5/13

Th e Knights should try to help Akio

escape from the ninja, as their missionwas to act as bodyguards for him.

t he Knights can p revent any of theninja from at tacking h im, it will take

Akio three rounds to reach his car anescape. the Knights allow Akio to battacked, i t takes hi m a total of fiverounds to reach his car and escape.

Inthethird round ofcombat,Kinata,if he is still able, beg ins to flee downthe alley. The ninjas concentrate theirgunfire on him, even at the expense o

theirow n

lives. t

isintended

that thKnights ar e no t able to prevent hdeath. Don tallow theplayersto knowthis however.

th e Knights examine Kinata body, they see the body of a man thanone of them recognize. None of thStorm Knights have ever seen Kinatabefore, so they won t know that this ino t the real Kinata. they photographKinata s body an d show the photoMarkham, he won t know that it is aimposter either as he has never seen

Kinata face to face.After Akio has escaped an d Kinathas been killed, the ninja break offtheir attacks an d attempt to escape.

16



any ofthe ninja are captured they willsuicide. Each has a cyanide capsulehidden in a false tooth .

Clues the Knights search the bodies of

any dead ninjas, in addition to theirlisted equipment they will find a blackplastic 10 card, with a whi te s tr ipealong its back. all the ninjas escape,one of them will have accidentallydropped his securi ty card while escaping. A find or Perceplion total of 3will allow one of the Knigh ts to findthecard i f someonesearchesthearea).

scholar (security systems or elec-tronics) total of 10 will reveal that thecard is an electronic security key. Ascience (compulers) total of 5 will reveal that the card is used by a securitysystem designed by Nakata Electronics, a subsidiary of a d a Aircraft.

VariablesDuring the fight with the ninjas: ifa

Villain: setback occurs on the crisis lineand a Storm Knight hits a ninja duringthat round the ninja s cyanide-filledfalse tooth breaks, releasing the poison into his mouth. The ninja diesimmediately, with white foam coming ou t of his mouth.

the Knights return with (or without) Akio to Kenneth Markham andtell him of the attack, h e will be disturbed by the death of Kinata, bu trel ieved that Akio escaped with theinformation intact He pays eachKnight 50,000 yen for their good work,an d su gges t they lay low for a da y ortwo, at which point he will getin touchwith them. From here cu t to SceneThree: Ripe for Takeover.

the Knights simply head to thei rrespectiveresidences, theywill be summaned by Markham two days later.Cu t to Scene Three: Ripe for Takeover.

InterludeSome time passe s between this

scene an d the next. Depending on theKnight s attitude, it could be as muchas two days o r a s little as a few hours.Dur ing this time, Markham is conducting corporate maneuvers that re-sult in the situation described in Scene

Three. When yo u are ready to beginScene Three, tell the players that theyhave been summoned by Markhaman d proceed with Scene Three.

SCENE THREE:Ripe for Takeover

The SituationStandard The Knights have again

been summoned by KennethMarkham Acting on the informationobtained from Kinata, Markhamtook certain corporate actions whichhave severely cu t into his liquid cash,leaving him very susceptible to a hostile takeover. He wants the Knights toinvestigate the possibility that thereis

a sp y within his corporation who arranged for him to be given falsifiedinformation. Describe the scene:

Again yo u are in the plusll offices ofMarkham Industries, where KennethMarkham, yo ur associat e and em-ployer greets you.

Thank yO l for coming. I find my-self aga in in need of YOllr services. t

seems that the information yo n helpedmy ssist nt k io acquire w s no t asgenlline as I believed i t to be. Usingthat information as agnide, I eIlgagedill somecorporate dealillgs wTlich haveproven to be disastrolls. My cash flowis at a dangerollsly lo w level , and Ifear immillent hosti le actions on tI,epart of my competitors, particlllarlyOd a Aircraft. Preventing any host i leactions will keep al l of my staff bnsyfor tIle next fe w weeks, I am askingyou to do some investigation for me Ineed to find alit OW O da A ir cr af tmanaged to find ali t about my mole,Kinata. I sllspect that there mllst besomeone inside my organization whot ip pe d t he m off, bllt I can t s implycome ou t and ask whoever i t is toconfess.

Markham chucklesgrimly alld C -

tinues: Instead, I wonld like yo u to find

out how who i t is, and who t dAircraft they are working for. I thinktI,e best place for yO l to s tart wOllldbe Kinata s TlOme and personnel file.His real name w s Ito Tanaka Here is

d Busine

hi s ho me address, bllt to ge t to hpersonnel file, YOIl'll have to get intthe Oda Aircraft compllter systemAside from that, yO l collld tnJ to finou t more bout the ninjas wh o ambllshed yO l at the meet ing the otheevening.

Where yO l start is lip to yO l blltneedyoll to find the spy, ifindeed the s Olle as soon as possible. If he couarrange forbad infonnation to begiveto me, who knows wh t else he couldaccomplish.

Of course realize th t your services are not free. I ll be able to paeach of yO l 60,000 yen i f yO l are successflll. Good lllck

Markham is in a bad situation. Anbargaining or haggling the Knightswish to make can be resolved on thpersuasion chart with Markham star

ing at 5 (Neulral). For every 10,00more the Knights demand move hattitude towards Enemy by one resupoint. Markham will not allow himself to be subject to extortion; he is ahonorable man (in his ow n way) wita substancial amount of pride.

The ActionAside from the information above,

Markham will also be able to providethe following information, i asked:

1 No o ne aside from himself knewabout Kinata s existence. ThreeMarkham s seniorexecutive assistanknew that he employed a sp y withiad a Aircraft, but none of them knewhis real name.

The three are Taito Akio, RogerWilliams an d S um ik o H ot od aMarkham will provide the Knightwith a security key that allows them toge t into the offices of all three, but hstresses secrecy if the Knights chooseto check ou t the three executives.

2 they presented the plastic security card discovered in Scene TwoMarkham h e has successfully analyzed it and returns it to the Knights.

In addition to the information described inSceneTwo, he will also havelearned that the card is keyed to aw ar eh ou se o wn ed b y ad a AircrafMarkham can provide the Knightwith the address of the warehouse.

••17



Torg: Cylent Scream

After they have finished speakingwith Markham, th e Knights shouldproceed with their investigations. Goto Scene Four: Investigations.

Flags f a Personal Stake card is played, the

Knight knew Ito Tanaka a nd w an t todiscover wh o was behind his murder.When this card is played, the Knightalso realizes that the ma n killed during the fight in the alley wa s not ItoTanaka.

SCENE FOUR:Investigations

The SituationStandard. In this scene, the Knights

follow up on the information theyhaveacqu ired regard ing the murder ofKinata, an d the possible sp y withinMarkham Industries. f the Knightsinvestigate Kinata s horne an d personnel file, go to Kinata s Horne. fthey investigate the warehouse usedby the ninja, go to Ninja HQ. f theKnights check ou t the executives s offices, go to The Execs.

Kinata s ome

f the Knights go to Kinata s address (given to them by Markham),they discover that a new tenant is living in his apartment.

The tenant s name is YukariYakamoto, and, when the Knights arrive, she is eutr l towards them. fpersuaded, sh e explains that she wastold about the apartment s vacancy bythe Human Resources Deptartment of

Nikata Electronics, thecompany sh e

works for. She moved into the apartment two days prior to thealley meeting.

f the Storm Knights as k the building manager, Genji Kowasaki, wh ythea partment was made available an d chieve a negoti te greement or betterin a persuasion attempt, he informs theKnights tha t a representative of thecompany that employed Mr. Tanaka(Kinata), repor ted tha t he died in anautomobileaccident five days ago. The

18

company representative also referredth e n ew t en an t Miss Yakamoto. fasked about Tanaka s belongings, th ebuilding manager will tell the Knightsthat t he com pany rep arranged forthem to be pu t into storage at IshitsuSelf-Storage.

Ishitsu Self-Storage f the Knights go to Ishitsu Self

Storage, they have to either break in,rent a s torage locker or persu e orbribe) the warehouse manager to le tthem in. The manager is an Enemy toall attempts at persuasion, bu t he goesto eutr l if a bribe of substantial sizeis offered.

Once inside, the Knights can findTanaka sbelongings with little trouble.Ishitsu Self-Storage is a large ware

house that contains many small storage areas, all of which are labelled byname an d number. The one containing Tanaka s belongings is at the en dof a long aisle. f the Knights searchthrough Tanaka s things, a find total of12 reveals an electronic datebook an dcalendar. f the Knights try to see whatinformation is in t he d at eb oo k, ascholar computers or Perception total of6 reveals the following:

November 15,1991 Kinata Markham South

s ide meeting place. November21, 1991 Meet with RobertAggiss of N ak ata Electronics4:00PM.The meetingdescribed inScene One

took place on November 26 1991, fivedays after K in at a s m eeti ng w it hNakata Electronics. It was during thatmeeting that Tanaka was killed byAkio (theKnights, ofcourse, still don tknow this).

While the Knights are searchingthrough Tanaka s belongings, haveeach generate a Perception total. AnyKnight wh o generates a total of 18 orhigher notices a figure watching themfrom th e far end of the aisle. This is aninja wh o was ordered to follow th eKnights. Yukari Yakamoto, the newtenant at Kinata s apartment, is working for Akio, an d informed him thatsomestrangepeoplewereasking aboutKinata. Akio thenordered his ninjas tokeep tabs on the Knight s progress. fthe Knights t ry to catch the ninja, he

retreats, using stealth to sneak away aquickly as possible. He has the sameattributes and equipment as the ninjain Scene One and will respond thesame way captured.

Tanaka s

Personnel FileTo access Tanaka s personnel file,

the Knights must break into the adAircraft computer system. This can(theoretically) be done from any public or private terminal.

The science computers skill is required to properly access the correctportions of the database. The first stepis to locate the personnel files of adAircraft within the computer systemThis requires a good success on a scence computers total versus a difficulynumberof12. in d total of18can bsubstituted i f the Knights do not havthe skill (assuming one of them hasrudimentary knowledge of computers).

Once the personnel files have beenfound, the next step is to scan thosefiles for the name Ito Tanaka. Thisrequires a science computers total versus a difficulty number of 18 Whet he Kn ig hts su cceed in accessingTanaka s file, give them the information in the Personnel File Box

Among the information in the fileare the following items:

1. A photograph ofIto Tanaka. Thisphoto clearly shows tha t the personkilled in the alley was NOT the real Kinata. f the Personal Stake carwas played, the Knight recognizes thema n in the photograph.)

2 Mention ofTanaka s betrayal ansubsequent Termination.

ersonnel File: OdaAircraft

Clearance: Beta ClassifiedSubject: Ito TanakaTer m o f Employment:

06/20/89 -11/21/91Date o f l as t update:

11 /21 /91



3. A note explain ing that all ofTanaka s belongings were taken toIshitsu Self-Storage after his termination.

inja Q

The warehouse used by the ninja islocated in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, an area of the city heavily controlled by the Yakuza. the Knightshave had a particularlyeasy time withthe adventure so far, the gamemastermight arrange for the Knights to encounter a gang of Yakuza operatives.

such an encounter occurs th egamemaster should try to prevent theKnights fromgetting tooinvolved withthe Yakuza, as they are no t part of theadventure - they ar e Simply a diversion to emphasize th e dangers ofdowntown

Tokyo.As the Knights approach the warehouse, have each player generate aPerception total. A total of1 awiII allowthe Knight to notice a large black seda n drive away. A Perception total of

reveals that the car is a KanawaMitsuyama Mikado, license number534-KCNE.

This is Akio s car. Each Knight wiIIhave to make a ind roll of 8 orhigher to recognize the license num-ber unless an alert Storm Knight hasalready recorded it. Akio has just leftthewarehouse after ordering theninjasto track down the Knights an d kiIIthem. the Knights try to find ou twho owns th e car bychecking ou t thecars registration), cut immediately tothe Event Ninja Attack) descr ibedbelow. the Knights check the car sregistration, a scholar computers totalof reveals that the car is owned byMarkham Industries. the Knightscheck Markham Industries records, ascience computers total of 9 revealsthat the car is currently being used byTaito Akio.

Following Akio

the Knights decide to followAkio s car, a iand vehicles total of 19 isneeded to follow without being noticed. any of the Knights is capableofflight Nile Poweror gizmo) a stealthtotal of 4 is needed to remain unseen

the Knights ar e noticed, the car s

driver will attempt to lose them. ehas a land vehicles skiII of 14 whichshould be trea ted as his stealth in thiscase. e is no t possibility rated, bu t hehas appropriate bonuses to his action see th e Torg ste lth chart). th eKnights follow the car unnot iced , itwiII drive into the underground parking g arag e of the building whichhouses the offices of Markham Industries. The Knights can find ou t wh o isin the car by hacking into the garage s

Bad Business

security computer. A science computers total of 14 reveals tha t the car isowned by Markham Industries an d icurrent ly in use by Taito Akio. Assoon asthe Knights discoverthis, go tothe Event Ninja Attack) below.

The Warehouse

the Knights took the security keywi th them, they wiII be able to enterthe warehouse with no difficulty at all

9



Torg: ylent Scream

Ho wever, as they sl ide the card intothe electronic lock, i t will as k for asecurity code. A science computers totalof21 will enablethe Knights to enter acode that the system will accept. f thecode is not entered , th e ninjas in th ewarehouse will be alerted to th eKnights entrance, an d will investigate. They will arrive in four rounds.

If the Knights successfully get pastthe security system, they will find anempty warehouse 35 meters wide, 60meters long. n the far left comerof thewarehouse ar e a number of small offices that has beenabandoned. Next tothe offices is a stairway that leads to aloft that se rves as th e b arrack s forAkio s ninja. There are a total of 12ninjas here, minus anywho were killedin Scene One, an d th e one at IshltsuSelf-Storage. For example if th eKnights killed four of the ninja inSceneOne, there wo uld b e 8 ninja remaining. A stealth total of is needed toascend the stairs without alerting theninjas if they have not already detected the Knights presence).

f the Knights manage to climb thestairs unnoticed, they ar e able to catchth e ninjas off g uard , granting themone round of actions before the fIrstcard is flipped. f this happ en s, theEvent below does not happen.

Keep track of the amount of time ittakes the Knights to get upstaIrs, beginning from the time they notice thecar drive away outside. f more than rounds pass, the ninjas are gone.They have gone ou t look ing for theKnights, following Akio s orders.

Unlesstheninja at lshitsuSelf-Storage was captured or killed, he willhave followed the Knights here, an dwarned theotherninjasoftheKnightsarrivaL f this happens, the ninjas willbe wait for the Knights to arrive. Inthis case the Event below does nothappen. . .

f the Knights arrive after the nInjashave left an d search the loft, a Percep-tion or find total of 8 will allow themto find an address scribbled on a napkin. The address is the same buildingthat holds the corporate offices ofMarkham Industries. After the Knightshave finished at the warehouse go tothe Event below.

••20

Event: Ninja AttackThis event happens only if th e

Knights have not encountered th eninjas atthe warehouse. f the KnIghtsfough t the ninjas at the warehouse,skip this Event, bu t go to Informahon,below.

The event takes p lace either in theparking garage of the building whichhouses the offices of Markham Industries or somewhere behveen theware-house an d Markham Industries. in either case, the attack happens in thesame way.

All the remaining ninjas from th ewarehouse participate in the attack.Th e stats for th e ninjas are found

Scene One except each ninja is no wadditionallly armed with onestun gre-nade each (d amag e v alue 27 - stundamage

only - explosiveburst

radius 3/8/15; see the Kmwwa PersollalWeapolls Guide page 69 for additionalinformation). The ninjas fight to thedeath. Break resul ts (on the conflictline ollly ar e treated as setback results.

Information

f any of th e ninjas are ren deredunconscious and awoken a succesfulinterrogatioll attempt (the ninjas areconsidered loyal to Akio, an d ellemy+ to the Storm Knights) gets the ninja toreveal tha t it is Akio wh o they workfor. n these circumstances, the ninjado not suicide unless the illterrogationlasts long enough for them to get theirwits about them (about three rounds). f th e Knights check, they can locateeach ninja s cyanide tooth on a Percep-tiall or first aid roll of 4 an d they canremove it on a 1 a failure to removebreaks open the tooth).

When the Knights ar e ready to inform Markham of their discovery, goto Scene Five: Showdown.

The Execs f the Knigh ts investigate the of

fices of the three possible suspect s(Akio, Hotoda, and Williams) a findtotal (one in each office) of 10 revealsthe following:

Akio s Office

A note referring to the Nakata Electronics warehouse. t appearsthatAkiowas investigating the pOSSibility ofMarkham Industries purchasing thewarehouse. Th e note will have thaddress of the warehouse, as wellment io n tha t N ak ata Electronics isowned by ada Aircraft.

Sumiko Hotoda s office

A private journal refers to a majorbusiness d is greem en t behveenSumiko an d Kenneth Markham, concerning th e corpora te deal ingsMarkham Industries. Th e journal alsmentions thatSumiko has been sending ou t resumes. He is apparently dissatisfied with his posit ion an d WIt

Markham s management techniquesSu mik o H otod a is uninvolv ed in

the conspiracy on any level. He is curently seeking ne w employment because of disagreements with Markham, an d it is because of these disagreements that he has taken time off.He is a dissatisfied, bu t reasonablloyal, employee.

Roger Williams Office

A mini-cassette tape recorder witha partially erased message. f carefullexamined Perceptioll total 12), thKnights are able to hear the portion ofthe message that wa s not erased.records a representative of ad a Aicraft offering Williams a posit ion inthe company. (Akio has planted thisevidence hoping to draw suspiciontoward s Williams and away from himself.)

However hidden in a secret com-parhnent beh ind the bed is a journal.Roger Williams has beenspylllg on h

fellow executives, hoping to find dam

aging information that he can parlayinto power. what he found wa s morthan he bargained for. He discoveredth e identity of Kinata through hspying on Akioand, in the process, hehas d iscovered Akio s whole p lan totake over the company.

Making a copy of his notes anhiding them here, he bought himselfenough insurance to fleeSacremento California. He intendsw ai t their for the dust to settle, an



Bad Busines

then he will use the information tosecure a position with whoever is lefton top.

the Knights thoroughly searchWilliams apartment, and geta ercep-tion or find total of 15 or above, theycan find thecompartment an d thejour-nal. Theycan use thisas proofofAkio sduplicity an d treachery.

Variables the Knights should attempt to

contact Markham before they havechecked ou t all the possible leads, hissecretary will inform them that Mr.Markham is in a conference and can-not be disturbed. Please try again to-morrow. Breaking into the office willreveal that Marham is not present an dthere is no clue his whereabouts.

Likewise the otherexecutive s have

disappear ed. Sumiko has taken anunexpected trip to Okinawa, Akio isout on business and Williams hastaken a few personal days. Both are

virtually untraceable in the timeframethe Knights have available to them.Oncethe Knights haveencountered

the ninjas (see the Event above), orhave been to the warehouse, they goto see Markham, go Scene Five:Showdown.

SCENE FIVE: howdown

The SituationDramatic The Knights go to

Markham s office to inform him thatAkio is the sp y within Markham In-dustries. When they arrive, they soondiscover that Akio has seemingly dis-posed of Markham, an d plans to a idOd a Aircraf t in a hostile takeover ofMarkham Industries, in exchange forcontrol of the corporation once it hasbeen successfully been taken over.

Akio then seals the room, an d reveala large group of ninja and ronin arpresent (to m ak e s ur e th e Knightneverreveal their discovery to anyoneeveragain). Read aloud or paraphrase

fter coming to the conclllsion thaTaito ki o is the sp y w ho betrayedKenneth Markham, you have gone toMarkham s office to illfonn Y llr employer of Y llr discovenj The corri-dors of ti e Markham Indllstries officebll ilding are sparsely l it as anothernight falls on the citt) of Tokyo Y l

arrive t Markham s office, only tosee hu o bodygllards standing ateitherside of the door s y ll approach theyopen the door and one s ys Mr.Markham has been expectillg you.

Y ll enter the office an d the back oKenneth Markham s chair is facingy ll as tire doorbehind y ll clicks slllltOn eacll side of the desk stand a roninarms crossed, w t hing you illtelltly.From behind the large chair Marklwmsays, Welcome; I ve been expecting

e21



Torg: Cylent Scream

you. Because you ve beell busy, I vehad to hireoutsidehelp as bodyguards,bu t euough of tlzat. Have yo u foulldout who the tr itorwithill my corpo-ratioll is?

The Action

This is not Markham, bu t is reallyAkio using a voice-synthesizer tominlic Markham s voice and a care-fully created disguise to simulate hisfeatures. A Percepliolltotal of 18 allowsthe Knights to notice a s li ght differencein the toneof Markham s voice.

the Knights try to go behind the deskt s Markham u close, the roninmove in tight, preventing them fromdoing so.

After the K nights have told Markham that it is Akio wh o is the

spy (assuming they ve f igured it ou tyet), read the following:

50, Markha m s ys ill all od dvoice, i t is ki o 1 1 has betrayedme? Well, wlzat do yo u suppose

should do about it?V chair thell swillgs aroulld re-

vealillg ki o ill place of your employer. Well, dOIl t we I,ave a sticky situa-tioll here? f course, you W realize

that cal l t l et yo u leave this roomalive. That would be badfor busilless.

Nothillg persollal, /,e adds, alld,with all evil grill, ki o presses a sm llbutton il a remote control, nd w llpmlels slide opell top reveal si x Ililljawho ppro ch you wi t h dr wllswords. TI e bodyguardsalld rOllill also

dr w weapo ll s and are ready to t-tack.

Misinformation

the Knights have figured ou tthat Akio is the traitor ( an d h av e exhausted their resources), or i theyt hi nk s om eone e lse is respons ib le ,b ri ng t he m to th e above scene anyway. Akiois, by now, certain that theyhave figured out, ifnot thewhole plot,e no ug h o f it that they must be removed. He pumps them

foras m uch

information as he can and then hasthem killed anyway.

Busisness s business.

The Battle

The ninjas are of the s am e gro upth at the Knights have been battl ingthroughout the adventure. Their statsappear in Scene One, with two excep-

tions: theyeach wear rimesh armorlooks just like their clothing) whicimproves their Toughlless by +3/2an d each ha s a group of six throwinstars v arious types; see the NippoTech sourcebook Equipment sectioWhile no t the exact same ninjas thparty has encountered before, thes

six have learned from the mistakestheir predessessors an d will deal carfully with the Storm Knights.

Ronin 4)DEXTERITY 9Dodge 10, fire combat 11, maneuve r 11,melee weapons 11, martial artsSTRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 8Find 10, tracking 1 trick 1 evdence analysis 9MIND 7Test 9 survival 8CHARISMA 7Persuasion 8, taunt 9SPIRIT 7Reality 9 intimidation 9Possibilities: 2 eachEquipment: Kyoto Armor TO

+7/16); 13mm Chunyokai (damagvalue 18, ammo 9); katana (damagvalue STR +7/16)

••22

the Knights attack Akio, he willofcourse defend himself.

Tai to A k ioDEXTERITY 9Dodge 10, fire combat 10, martiarts13, melee weapons 12STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 10Disguise 13, find 12, forgery 13,

landvehicles 11, scholar business) 12,scholar computers) 11, trick 12MIND 10Business 13, meditation 11 test 1willpower 13CHARISMA 9Persuasion 11, taunt 12,SPIRIT 8Reality 10, intimidation 12Possibilities: two per Storm KnighEquipment: Tiger Arms Defende

(damage value 18, ammo 18, range



14/40/50); kevlar lined business suitTa U +5/14

Note: Akio is trained in the RedLotus Style of martial rts an d has thestrike, kick disarm, ki punch, an d dropkick maneuvers. See the ippon echsourcebook for more information.

Whereis

KennethMarkham?Markham was ru n through with a

katana an d left to bleed to death in theprivate bathroom connected to his office. Akio arrived at Markham s officejusta few minutes before the Knightsdid, an d didn t have th e t ime to dispose of Markham s body.

Markham is not dead yet, howeverhe is possibility-rated, though Akio

only suspects this , bu t is mortallywounded, and will die 10 rounds afterthe Knights arrive in the office. theKnights find him before he dies, sav-

ing his life will require Dramatic SkillResolution of the medicine skill. StepsA, an d C are required, an d each hasa difficulty ofl2. StepAinvolvessafelyremoving the katana. Steps Band Cinvolve properly dressingthe woundson either side ofMarkham s body. acritical problem arises, the Sto rmKnights must begin with Step A allover again, an d the clock is still tickingon Markham.

Aftermath andAwards

the Knights defeatAkio, hisninjas,an d his ronin, and save Markham slife, he pays them twice the amount heha d promised, an d offers to partiallyfinance them in any missions againstthe Kanawa Corporation. Markhamha s decided to become more involvedin the Possibility Wars, an d the StormKnights have a ne w ally. The Knights

Bad Business

get 14 possibilities each. Markham dies, Sumiko Hotoda

an d Roger Williams prevent the takeover by a d a Aircraft, an d pa y thKnights only wha t M ar kh am p ro m-ised them. They ar e grateful for thedefea t of Akio, bu t they are int imidated by the prospec t of runningcompany against the Kanawa Corporation. They will attempt to keep theifinancial h ea ds d ow n. T he S to rmKnights only receive 9 possibilities forthis result.

the Knights are defeated, a daAircraft and 3327 of course has removed one of his competitors fromthe business community and takenaway a source of funding for futureStorm Knight act ivity in the NipponTech realm. The Knights, if they survived, ar e probablyin a Kanawa holdin g cell orwanted for industrial espionage. They receive no possibilities forthis result.

3



ylent ScreamTorg: ylent Scream

••24

PrologueThe familiar blaze of white light,

an d once agam the hope of being theman he once was tingles within thesoul of Philip Martel. Hoping againsthope, the scrawny wheelchair-boundresistance fighter rolls down the illuminated path towards his saviour. Heis guided by a golden road - a paththat he has followed many times before.

Martel is deafened by the chants ofthose already healed, prompting hisspmt to push hi m further. Smellingth e fragrance of cleanliness and purity, contrasting harshlywith the pungency of rot and disease.

Finally he reaches his destination,beholding the sight of angelic purity;abemg that wIll make h im again able tocarry on the struggleagainst th e unholiness that has invaded his home. Thegolden-haired angel smiles warmlyas h e a lw ay s does, calming the fearinside of Phillip. The being, with obviously divine compassion, extends hisopen hand and places i t on Martel sforehead as he has many times before,uttering a few simple words .. .

Le t IIIee be healed, my sonAnd once again, the virtual reality

consumes the victim of the horrid dis-ease. Phill ip watches and feels th etransformation as his scrawny shellfills with the vitality of a healthy man. S muscles grow strong his mindwhole, an d his spirit hopeful, until ,suddenly he is cast back into t he t ruereality that is his pained existence.

The experience ends, as alwaysdoes, w it h t he sermon.

vercome t he c yb er ne ti c A nt iChris t which has plagued ou r worldwith his disease. GnllIer your faith andyour spirit so that once again we canrise above the Incarnation of Sin, the e i n ~continues. He is no longe r th emerCIful benefactor for the sick, butthe liberator of the opressed. ThesickslInll be healed. The weak slInll bestrong. A nd t he people of Paris Libertewill conquer

Hi s healing hand rises an d a whitlight fills the virtual reality.

TIIe l n ling IInlId

The blaze of white light ends suddenly, and once again the Communeleader r eco gniz es the realities h eloa thes so much. Mar te l looks at hskeletal hand ravished by the diseasean d t hen he fumbles to disconnect thTempTrodes from his sunken temples

He wheels himsel f to his bedsidedresser to take another capsulemedlcme, pondering on the angeliImage wh o can pu t an end to his nightmare.

The P ap ac y w as n ev er mentione

with reverence in theseHolyVid transmissions. Ho w could an undergroundgroup manage to bypass the BabeMonitors? Why haven t the ChurchPolice responded to these t ransmissions?Surelysomeone has been traced.But no, no on e has.

T nl sick of withering away in thischair. Martel spoke aloud. Even hivoice sounded weak and frail. t

time seek this saviour so can helput an end to thisevil that has plaguedthe people of France, Martel speaks

now anger and determination.must call upon the Storm Knights ...

Not far from Martel s apartmentLes Tuileres, a PLM militia patrol hasuncovered yet another corpse lying inthe s tree t. Normally, this would beunremarkable in this land of swift retribution an d desperation but thcorpse is different. An abominationtwisted, melted flesh dripping fromwhat o ~ ewa s a living skull, gazes inhorror mt o the face of th e discoveringsoldier, its hollow eye sockets the only

witness to its death.A Hellfire murder the Militiacallsit Ten have occured so f r in Parisand there appears to be no way to stothis new horror.

As if the disease, gangs, and poverty were no t enough to deal with, theParis Liberte Militia must utilize whalittle manpower they have to investigate ye t another apocalyptic productof CyberFrance.



The Major BeatThe Storm Knights ar e summoned

by Philip Mar te l to help hi m find th eHealer of th e HolyVid. They follow a Healing Call pronounced on a flyermade available to th e Knights an dtransport Martel to Eas te rn P ar is

where a ma n fitting the description oft he H ol yVid Healer is curing th emasses of Les Bocage. Within LesBocage the Knights tangle with a gangof Carrion Dogs w ho h an g a ro un dhoping to zipyank the tourists.

They finally find th e Healer who isperforming healing miracles amongstthe denizensofLes Bocage. TheHealeragrees to cure Martel of th e debilitat-in g disease as long as he agrees tosponsor a Healing Camp that th eHealer wishes to establish for t he poor

of Par is Liberte. .Martel agrees to negotiate with th eman an d is apparen tly cured of hisaffliction.

Before th e Healing camp ca n b e s etup however the Knights find Martelmurdered in his apartment when theygo to pick up t hei r fee for their ser-vices. They must investigate the elev-enth Hellfire murder on request ofthe Resistance.

The investigation ultimately bringsthe Storm Knights to a Cyberlegger

hideout also serving as a secret head-quarters for the Hand of Cod. is herethat th e mysterious murders ar esolved an d th e Knights confront thefalse Healer and his HOC terrorists.

SCENE ONE:Cry for Life

The SituationStandard. This scene beg ins with

the Storm Knights having received acall from Philip Martel a well knownliberal member of th e Paris Commune.The Knights have already t raveled tothe Right Bank of the city of Paris.Once reaching the area known as LesTuileries read the fol lowing to th eplayers:

Another call has reae/led your earsfrom those seeking help against the

forces that invaded this world calledEarth. This time you journey to Parisa cib void of the direct ;,tfluence ofPope Jean Malraux and the minionsof CyberFrallCe bu t still a cib underseige. TheParis LiberteMilitiapostedaround the city are wan of strangersbu t you have been s en t p as se s byPhillip Martel, a prominent memberof the Paris Commune.

Plzilip Martel , the agents of theResistance named him. He once was awell known symbol in the eye of thepeople in r France bu t has sin

gone zmdergroll1zd. The message h

sent to you must be one of great ur-gency.

Wading tlzrougll the mass of Pariscitizens and other realm nmners youmake your way to a nm-down sectionof the Free City of France Witnessinga few acts of violence on the way, yourealize that thi s Free City is atroubled one.

Cylent cre m

A t the door to a ragged building, aPLM guard checks your passes, thenallows you to ascend a flight of stairsto the apartmentnlllnber noted on thecommuniquay.

A knock an d a few seconds waitthen the wood wom door creaks opento r eveal a wheelchair bound manwhose physical appearance suggestsintense suffering. T e disease-ravishedvictim raises his head with whatstrengthhe cansummon. Meetingyoureyes with a sullen resolve, he uttersone phrase:

] need your help.

The ActionPhilip Martel ha s summoned the

Storm Knights to find the Healer thatappears on the HolyVid hoping thatthis man ca n cure h im of his afflictionso that he c an c on ti nu e his battleagainst the Cyberpope an d his forces.

25



Torg: Cylent Scream

He has the HolyVid an d an outdatedflyer thatcan provide cluesas to whereto start for the Knights. Martel offersthe Knights 4000 Francs each for theservice of transporting him safely tothe Healer, if in fact such a perso nexists.

Philip Martel

Once a young liberal artist , PhilipMartel wished to change the worldwith his p igments an d canvas. Withthe coming of the Possibility Raiders,he was faced with a challenge, that no teven his imagination wa s ready for.Sure, during the Collapse the aspiring.painter wa s ab le to exp eri ence thetimes of the masters he so loved , bu twh o would have thought that me nsuch as he would b e h un ted by anInquisi tion st riving to vanqu ish theimagery that they believed was heretical to their God

At the time of The Surge, Martelfled to the area p eo ple were callingParis Liberte. Here his polit ical cartoons, which were circulated by theFrench Underground, spread an ai ro fhope to the refugees who wished to befree of the Cyberpope s clutches. Thecartoons caught the attention of agroup of socialists, communists, andminorities wh o were calling themselves the Commune.

The virile young man proved to bean importantsymbol oftheCommune,for he was able to inspi re the cit izensof Paris Liberte to stand ab ov e thepoverty and disease the common manwas falling prey to.

But recent ly this symbol beg in todeteriorate. The apocalyptic diseasebrought on by a m ere hu g from a sickchi ld he gave hope to was enough toslowly extinguish the fire that burnedin the freedom fighter's heart.The disease ate w y at the man making himwhat he is today: an invalid, confinedto his wheelchair, with only the hopeofa HolyVid Healer to keep him aliveto carryon his st ru gg le ag ainst theCyberpapacy.

The EvidenceThe only leads Martel has regard

ing the Healer is the HolyVid an d anoutdated news flyer. Attention of the

••26

HolyVid wa s brought to Martel by anagen t of th e Resistance. If so meon ejacks into the HolyVid by means oftheTem pTrodes, t he cha ract er experiences the same image as described inthe Introduction above.

The HolyVid

While experiencing the Vid, a native of the Cyberpapacy can analyzethe images with the evidence analysisskill against a difficulty number of 1

On a minimal or ver ge success, theKnight notices that there is no mention of the Cyberpapacy whatsoever.No Cyberpope, no crosses of circuitry,no cyberware etc. A sup r or successalso reveals that there are nosubliminals, n or any addictive effects as is usual with other HolyVidtransmissions.

One who is no t familiar withCyberFrancetechnologycanalsomakethe discovery, bu t at an videnceallaly-sis difficulty of 14.

Martel shares his theory with theKnights, that theVid may be the prod-uct ofanother anti-Cyberpapal under-ground, possibly led by a GodnetRaider or Cyberdecker. t is evidentthat it is geared towards the diseaseafflicted citizens of CyberFrance, andt ha t it offers h im the on ly avenue ofhope he can take.

The Healing Call

The Healing Call flyers have beendistr ibuted along with undergroundnewsletters for weeks now. They contain the dates an d locations for publicmeetings where the sick can be curedby The Healing Hand of a manwhose image graces the page. Theimage is the same as that on th eHolyVid. t is that of a man with chiseled ivine features anda warm com-

passionate smile. The Healer's blondehair and t rimmed b eard b ea r an angelic resemblance, yet his humanityan d his strength areobvious.The flyercontains directions to last week s Callheld in La Gere.

A recent flyer can be obtained fromthe streets of Paris Liberte if on e generatesa stree/wise total of 10, or if Marteluses his sources (street urchins an dthe like). This week's flyers advertise

the Healing Call which will take placeat a park in the vicinity of Menilmontant on Sunday morning.

Cut o

The Knights should havearrived inLes Tuileries on the Friday or Saturda y of that week. it is evident thatheKnights prepare to attend theSunda y H ealing Call in Meni lmo ntan t(Martel certainly intends to), cut to Scene Two: Within a Hand s Grasp.

SCENE TWO:Within a

Hand s GraspStandard.This scene familiarizes the

Storm Knights with thearrondissementwhere the HealingCall takes placeonSunday of that week. The parkMenilmontant where the Call is beinheld hasbeenturned in to ashantytown- Les Bocage. Describe thescene to theplayers:

Ti e invitation of the HealingCal/on thi s week s flyer has bronght youto one of the many sllanttj towns orLes Bocage that are scattered abontthe CittJ of Paris. Tllis park has beentransfonnedinto a small town ofsheters made of cardboard boxes and dis-earned debris. Men, woman and chilnren comprise tire many refugees wlroflood the streets designated by thecleared pathways

Feral c1lildren nm wildly throughti e ponds and puddles where ti e citi-zens of this town draw their drinkingwater An o ld woman dressed n layers of tattered rags eats from a gar-bage Ileap tllengets puslled aside as astrongeryoutJ,c laims Irerniglrt s sup-per. Amongst the shadows of despaiare a few remnants of the clergt whprovide tire denizens of tire townwith little more tllan hope to live in aworld gone awry.

The ActionAs the Knights and Martel wad

through the crowded Les Bocage tothe park where the Healing Call is



ylent cre m

beheld, they become prey to a gang ofarrion Dogs The gang s intentions

are to zipyank an y worthy possessions, especially cyberware, that thesnappilly dressed tourists may be

carrying.The Knightsare on theirown,as none of the onlookers dare to interfere with the ruthless local group sgoal.

Once they con tend with the Carrion Dogs, the Knights will reach thepark unmolested. The park will bepacked with the hoards of sick an ddiseased that wish to be healed by thefigure advertised on the flyers. Members of the PLM can occasionally beseen trying to keep the Healer s flockunder control, as they push andtrample their way to salvation. TheKnights manage to bypass all theruckus to witness the par tial cure ofPhilip Martel s disease.

Chien en uerre

While the Knights forge throughthe s hant y t own t ow ards the p ark ,have them make a Perception or evi-dence analysis check at a difficulty of14. successful, the Knights will notice the crowds parting behind them.A rag-tag group of teenagers, wearingfilthy rags an d exhibitingdirt-coveredsores ar e being avo ided by the citizens. They clear their pathby roughlypushing stragglers aside.

Thescum

are members of the Carrion Dogs, one of the many gangswhich plague the streets ofParis. Theyhavenoticed theKnights making theirwa y through the shanty town, an ddecided to zipyank the tourists foran y cyberware or valuables they ma yhave. The Dogs catch up with theKnights before they reach th e Healer.

Carrion Dogs 5DEXTERITY 11Melee weapons 13, stealth 14, unarmed combat 14STRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 8Find 10, evidence analysis 10, trick11MIND 8Streetwise 11, test 10CHARISMA 8Taunt 9SPIRIT 11Intimidation 13Possibilites: noneEquipment: Fangs, damage valu

STR+2/11, Slicers, damage value STR 2/11, NeuraCal. Cyber Rating: 7

Description: The Carrion Dogswear filthy rags, an d are covered bydir tand sores. They proudly baretheircyberware, especially their Fangs, toward off those that get in the gang sway.



Torg: ylent Scream

Kay ny n e , Ca rr i o n D og WarchiefDEXTERITY 11 14)Fire Combat 12 15), lockpicking 12 15), melee weapons 12 15), stealth14 17), unarmed combat 12 15STRENGTH 9 12TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 11

Trick 13, evidence analysis 12, firstai d 12MIND 9Streetwise 11CHARISMA 9Taunt 12, persuade 11SPIRIT 11Reality 13, Intimidation 14Possibilities: 3Equipment: Fangs, damage value

STR +2/14, Slashers, damage valueSTR+4/16, MB Adrenal Booster, +3 toSTR an d DEX, NeuraCal. Cyber Rat-

ing: 9Description: Kaynyne is a shabby,unkempt youth, wh o leads this groupof Carr ion Dogs through the shantytown. He has many battle scars fromprev ious run-ins wi th the Su n Kings,bu t his Adrenal Booster has p rovedhi m the victor many a time. Hi s greydo g pelt draped over his back separates hi m from th e rest of his streetsoldiers.

All of theCarrionDogs are carryingthe rabies virus within their fangs.

an y of the Dogs success ful ly bite aKnight, an injection of the virus entersthe blood system. Th e v ir us be gi nsattacking the central nervous systemof th e Knight in three to seven weeksof game time. After that time, the char-acter infected acquires a wound wodays later another wound is taken ifthe virus is no t t reated. Every da ythereafter, th e Knight receives anotherwound, u nt il d ea d. These woundshave a 12 difficulty to cure in terms ofthe medicine skill an d miracles which

cure disease.Gamemaster note: Those infected

by the rabies virus ma y have to con-sult the Healer for their ow n purposes.Handle this as appropriate for yourcampaign.

Fighting th e Carr ion Dogs

theCarrion Dog Warchief falls inbattle, and the gang is outnumbered,they will attempt to flee. On a filtd or

28

Perceptiolt rol l of 8, the Knights noticea blade from a Slasher that wa s brokenoff during th e b at tl e lying on th eground amidst the rubbish. An evi-deltce alta lysis roll of 11 will r eveal asmall manufacturing stampand serialnumber impressed near the base of theblade. Dame Malin is the name em-blazoned on th e blade.

Healing HandAfter contending with the Carrion

Dogs they reach th e location of th e Healing Call unmolested. Describeth e scene as follows:

ustling tllrough t l e crowds ofpeople you finally reach your desti-nation. Upon a cnldely constnlctedpl tfonn of plank and pipe a figurematcl ing the image on the HolyVidandflyers is preaching. Words of hopeandfaith againstthe Cyberpapacy arebroadcas t from the crackling CoreEarth speakers hanging from the treesof the park. Men in white gowns standbetween the man and the hoard ofpeople while other assistants draw afew of the spectators and escort themonto the platfonn.

Once onstage the people donatewh t must be their l st Francs to aofferton basin before being broughtto the angelic figure. A w om n w hoshows broken sores O her exposedskin and apockedandpitted complex-ion is brought before the Healer. esmiles with wann hearted compas-sion before laying an openlwnd uponthe woman s forehead.

Overcome the sin that has inher-ited this earth my sister and let theebe healed The man proclaims in atone of power. In seconds, the openwounds which h ve pl gued thewoman begin to close miraculouslybefore tIle eyes of those close enouglto witness to the feat.

The wom n cries tears of jo y as heraffliction disappears. The Healer em-braces her then calls to one of thegowned men to escorther of f the plat-fonn s th t another can become arecipient of his gift.

After witness ing the miracle, theKnights should be confident that thisis th e ma n theyseek. Martel is th e nextto be healed, after waiting in the lineof

the afflicted. The Knights ma y escohi m onstage along with th e gownedmen. Once the Healer l ays eyes oMartel, he welcomes hi m with famiiarity, as if he recognizes the Commune official.

The Hea le r

Saveur Michael, as the H ea ler icalled by the gowned men, introduceshimselfcordially to Martel and wisheto se e hi m privately; away fr om threst of the crowd; once th e Call isoverMichael discloses tha t he recognizeh im a s th e political artist Martel oncewas.

After a few hours , the Knights anMartel ar e invited by Michael to cometo his tent se t up i n the park to have haffliction taken care of. Inside the tent,t he Heale r explains t ha t he will heaMartel if he agrees to help him withproject: Michael wishes to set up heaing camps surrounding the borders oParis Liberte, as his Calls cannot provide enough help to the extraordinarynumber of people plagued by the disease. Acknowledgingthe Healer s sincerity an d th e obvious need, Martelagrees, and is t he n h ea le d bMichael.

After they witnessing this miracleth e Knights ar e dismissed by MarteHe has decided to stay an d work oupl an s w ith Michael, his ne w allagainst theCyberpapacy. He tells themthat they c an pi ck up their paymentfor their services at his apartment tomorrow morning. the Knights havea problem with this, Martel tells themthat hebroughtno money with him, ahe knew they would be walkingthrough dangerous areas.

The Catch

The Knights can also have their rabies healed by Michael if they havebeen infected by th e Carrion DogsThis, however, revea ls to the Heale rtha t theyareStorm Knightsalsowork-ing against the Cyberpapacy, an d ma ymark them as later targets for Hellfire attack.

Unknown to Martel or th e KnightsMichael will only use his Stay iseasemiracle on them as the ure Disease

more difficult. It also assures Michael



that Martel will return when he needsthem. The Healer wants to make surehis needs ar e met.

LaterThe Knights may spend the rest of

theeveningdoingwhatevertheywant.Th e g am em as te r m ay utilize The

yberpapacy sourcebook to set up encounters within Les Bocages or ParisLiberte. th e Knights are suspiciousof Sav eu r Michael (an d they reallyshouldn t be) or Martel, they can attempt to find ou t more about each.

Wherever they may wander havethe Knights can obtain a copy of TheMarquis: an underground newsletter distributed amongst Paris Liberte.Th e newspaper has t he head lin e, H LLFIR MURDER-TOLL TOTEN. Thearticleexplains thatstrangeserial murders havebeen plaguing thecity in the recen t week. No suspectsare named nor are any of the victimsThe horrid way the victims have been

found is described (see the Introduction). Th e newspaper sets up th eKnights for the upcoming scene.

Gamemaster note: There are sev-eral other items in thenews, includingpolitical cartoons by Martel an d others and there is even n ws from out-side France. The gamemaster should bury the Hellfire store amongstother, less important stories. Whilethe Knights should recognize that it isthemostimportant feature in thenewspaper, this should n ot b e b lat ant lyobvious or extra stories consultreal life newspapers or the [nfin uerse Rumors an d Dispatches section.

n sis of a SaveurWith the coming of the Surge, an y

common street punk could make afew Francs stripping a passerby of hisprecious cyberware. Selling it wa s noproblem, with all the back street technicians trying to duplicate the goodies of the Church. One street punk

Cylent Scream

who ranked among the best, at leastiDr. Josette Malin s eyes, was ClaudeGehenoise. With their cunning anbrawn, Gehenoise an d his bandstreet thugswere able to provideMalinwith enough cyberware to open uher own black market business justoutside ParisLiberte. Zipyankingcommo n folk was becoming boring for hisband , so they left the femalecyberlegger to join a larger faction ofscum

Hand of God groups have becompopular amongst the rebel rousers ofParis. Unlike the streetgangs, the neofascist groups are being supplied bthe Cyberpapacy itself. The hi-techweapons armor and cyberware werejust what Claude an d his followersneeded to rid thei r homeland of thundesirable foreigners wh o floodetheirstreets with disease, poverty, ancrime. The uniformed thugs weregiven respect in the eye of the publicin part due to the fear that they spreadeverywhere they marched. An d onc

29



l u d e Gehenoise (Saveur Michael)

Torg: Cylent Scream

again, Gehenoise reached the top ofthe ladder, gaining praisefrom GrandInquisitor Bernard-Jenetfor his abilityto assure the public that the way of theCyberpope wa s the o y way. In appreciation,Gehenoisewas made leaderof his ow n HOG group, wh o were too pe ra te o n th e outskirts of ParisLiberte. If anyone wa s able to regainthe city, Gehenoise would be the oneto do it.

Claude ha d a plan of his own. Hecalled upon his old boss, no w knownwithin the black market as DameMalin, to produce a piece ofcyberware which would allow him tospread the Wrath of God amongstthose unwilling to join the Church ofJean Malraux Malin wa s workingou t of an abandoned hospital outsideParis Liberte. As Malin designed thecyberware Gehenoise suggested, theHOG leader renovated th e hospitalinto a headquarters for his organization.

After weeks of research Malin invented a cybernetic hand which wa sable to emit a blast of h ea t w hi ch would surpass even the fires of Hell.Touching a ma n with the hand wouldmelt his flesh, punishing him for no taccepting the God of the Cyberpapacy.This would be th e symbol fo rGehenoise s cause. And so h w s

fitted with the lncend-E I as namedby its creator.

Now it was time for Gehenoise tospread the wrath of the Hand of Godorganization. The seduction of theCyberpapacy wa s strengthening hisfaith in the false religion. He requestedto be fitted with m ore o f t he Body ofthe Lord Incarnate. His faith becameso strong that he acquired the powerto heal those of the faith wh o werebeing ravished by disease. The Handan d hisfaith was all ClaudeGehenoiseneeded to pu t his plan to work.

Claude s goal was to spread thepower of the Cyberpapacy throughou t theworld. But to do this, he neededfunds, a nd w ha t the Cyberpope wa ssupplying him was enough. He decided to work under another guise; aguise that would be less frightening tothe public an d one which would lurethe desperate citizens of Paris straightinto his grasp. The weak an d the diseased; those hoping for a savior to free

30

DEXTERITY 9Unarmed combat 13, dodge 10,energy weapons 10, fire combat10, melee weapons 10

STRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 9 14PERCEPTION 9Find 11, trick 15MIND 9Test 14, willpower 10, medicine11CHARISMA 10Persuasion 11, taunt 11, charm13SPIRIT 9Focus 14, faith One True God)13, intimidation 12, reality 15

Possibilities: 14Miracles of Faith: Alter Disease,Cure Disease, Fanaticism, StayDisease, Ward Enemy

Equipment: HalloMesh +5armor value 14), God Meeter damage value 20), both of whichare not worn or carried whi leposing as Saveur Michael.

Cyberware: NeuraCal,Incend-E I damage value 25),EpiphaNuer, CyberH am Receiver, TSE Taster, The Clamp,

Throat Mike, all concealed withNeuraSkin. Cyber Value: 16Description:Gehenoise iscur-

rently wearing the guise of thecompassionate Saveur Michael.His b lo nd e h ai r is shoulderlength, atypical to the crew cutsworn by HOG members. A

them from their pain.Claude reached the masses in the

s am e w ay m an y of the televangelistsof Core Earth reached the public. Hechanged his appearance to tha t of acompassionate healer an d held publicgatherings, healing the sick an d theinfirm - all for only a few Francs.

Once he gained the trust of thepeople, he would lead them to partakein the way of the Cyberpapacy. Thosewh o refused to follow the path wouldbe incinerated by the Hand of o d

trimmed beard an d moustacheframes the false prophets s chiseled features, leaving his blue,piercing eyes to lure those seek

ing his gift. He dresses in awhi te robe wit h gol den trim,unless at St. Antoine, where hewears the traditional black uniform of the HOGs. All hi scyberware is concealed withNeuraSkin. All bu t the Incend-EI can be detected by EM Eyesan d the like, as the data on theweapon has not been availableon the market.

Incend-E I Cyberhand

Th e cyberhand is an in te gra lweapon based in part on the market available Shocker. It replacesthe entire hand an d is usually covered by a NueraSkin glove whennot in use, as the synthet ic skinmelts once the weapon isactivated.The Incend-E [ delivers a blast ofintense heat to anyone touched byit damage value 25), being activated by NeuraCal. Fiveblasts maybe uti li zed before the power cell

needs recharging.Surgery Difficulty: 15Effect: Heavy woundCyber Rating: +3Cost: Availableon Black Market only for 40,000Damage Value: 25

an d he could blame their ow n lackfaith for their deaths.

And thus,Saveur Michael was born.

Typical HOG s 00; disguisedGuards)

DEXTERITY 9Dodge 10, energy weapons 10, ficombat 10, melee weapons 10, unarmed combat 11STRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 9 14PERCEPTION 9Find 11



MIND 9Test 12, willpower 10CHARISMA 8Persuasion 9, taunt 10SPIRIT 9 Faith 10, intimidation 12Possibilities: noneEquipment: HalloMesh (+5/14 armo r value, God Meeter (damagevalue 20) hidden under robes.Cyberware: Apotheduct, Jaz,EpiphaNeur, CyberHam ReceIver,Throat Mike, Homer, ShocKnucks(+3 shock damage) Cyber Value: 10

Cut o

Once the Knights ar e finished withtheir business of the day, they canobtain lodging in Paris Liberte for thenight. n the morning they can ~ i c kuptheir pay from Martel. Go to SceneThree: False Prophet.

SCENE THREE:False Prophet

The SituationDramatic. Philip Martel an d Saveur

Michael began their negotiations onsetting up Healing Camps withinParis Liberte soon after Martel wa s

miraculously healed by Michael.Having Martel separated from th eStorm Knights, Michael providedMartel with an option. The Communeofficial could join the forces of JeanMalraux, providing the Cyberpapacywith information in exchange for be-ing completely healed of the diseasehe is still carrying. OtherwIse, he wIllexperience the wrath of th e Hand ofGod.

Martelrefused and, using his newlyreturned strength, managed to escapefrom Michael an d his HOGs. He returned to hiswell-guarded apartment.

But Michael, or Gehehoise as he istruly called, arrived there first. He ha dfound o ut a bo ut Martel s apartmentlong before and had just been waitingfor the right moment to us e the mformation. Gehenoise killed Martel th

the Incend-E I there a nd , k no wingMartel sStorm Knights would be picking up a payment i ~ the morning, hedevised a trap to rid hImself of an y

further interference.Once the S to rm K nig hts re ach

Martel s apartment, read the followin g aloud:

Once again yOll ascend tile dark-ened staircase tllat leads to Martel sapartment ll ugll your mission w s

sllccessful, and Martel is Ilealed, yOllwonder wllat lie atld Ilis ne w ally,Savellr Micllael, Ilave planned next.

Opening tile door to Martel s a p ~ r t -

ment you see i t is still dark E l I t e r l 1 Z ~

yOll are sllrprised to see, silllolletted

the window a man presum blyMartel, sitting in a wlleelcllair facingti,e apartment s only window

I f the Storm Knights investigate,continue with th e following para-graph:

YOll approacll tile cllair witll call-tion, only to view a siglltwllicll wOllldsicken even the strongest stomachis Martel. ot tile Martel ravislled bydisease, nor a flllly Ilea led Martel, bllta skeletaillorror tllat sits in Ilis place.Only Ilis clotlles, tile same as lie woreyesterday, p rove t llat tile mass ofcllarred, dripping flesll is tile sameman. His boney ja w Ilangs agape andIlis eyes bllige wide - wlletller in ascream for Ilelp or a sllriek of a:s.0n . isimmaterial. ow all tlzatremaInS IS a

Cylent Scream

~J ~ .

silent screamSllddenly tile air of silence is bro-

ken, and the windows of tile apart-ment sllatterin a cacopllony of brokeglass. Men garbed in b l a c ~llniformswing in from tile open WIndows ongrappling ropes. The silver crossesembroidered on theIr sllolliders areenough to disclose th t they are

bers of tile Hand of God

The ActionTheStorm Knights must overcome

the ambush ofthe Hand ofGod agents.Once the HOGs are defeated, theKnights find clues which enable themto track down the culpri t wh o is responsible for the murder of Martean d the other Hellfire victims. The

clueslead them to a wing of Hopi tal SAntoine which is serving ascyberlegger hideout and the HOG sheadquarters.

t the hosp ital , the m ~ h t s : Illhave their final confrontatIon th

Gehenoise an d his forces. Defeatingthe false healer will pu t an en d to th Hellfire murders, as well as the future plans of the HOG movement.



Torg: eylent Scream

ll in a Day s WorkHaving overheard that the Knights

would be picking up their paymentIrom Martel the next morning,Gehenoisedevised a plan whichwouldeliminate the Stormers lrom his futureplans. Alter Martel experienced thewrath 01 Gehenoise cyberhand, thebody would be transported back to hisapar tment by a t roop 01 HOGs. TheKnights would discover the corpsethe next morning an d lall into an am -bush 01 the awaiting agents.

There are 12 HOGs wi th the samestatistics as those from scene h·vo, onlyt he se H OG s ar e no t d is gu is ed a sguar ds. They have been ordered todestroy the Knights using any meanspossible. Stealth and silence is not apriority. Gehenoise wants all to knowthat the HOGs ar e capable 01 diSposing 01 any threat.

Four HOGs enter the room throughthe window each round making ro-

batics rolls 018 or higher) an d l ight tothe death, knowing that il they returnunsuccessful, the Incend-E I is waitinglor them.

II th e HOGs are deleated, th eKnights can comb the area or cluesleading to wh o is behind all this. Thegrappling ropes outside the windowlead to theroolwheretwo Peugeot105Hover Cars are docked. A ill total 0112 will reveal that a piece of paper ishangingoutolthetrunkcompartmentof on e of the hovers. Opening thecompar tment , the Knights find a boundstackoffreshlyprinted HealingCallflyers for next week.

Yet another cluecan be found if thebodies of the fallen HOGsare searched.One of the agents has a business cardin his wallet, which can be found on afilld roll of 8. The card has the nameand address Dame Malin - Expertin Cyber Modifications and Technology / St. Antoine Hospital embossedin metallic script. A hologram on thecard depicts a statue olthe Cyberpopestanding outside a large building.

The clues should lead the Knightsto believe that whoever is responsiblemay be located at the St. Antoine hospital. The Hover Cars are in workingorder an d ma y be driven b y an yCyberpapal or Nippon Tech characterwith lalld vehicles skill. The air vehicle

••32

skill is required by other characters tounderstand the workings 01 the unfamiliar craft.

Peugeot105 Hover Ca r 2 : Tech 24;KMH\MPH 160\100, value 11; Passengers 6, Toughness 18.

One and Serves

AnotherHopita l St. Antoine is located on

the outskirts of Paris Liberte in aCyberpapal dominant zone. The eastwingofthehospitalserves as theheadquarters lorGehenoise an d his HOGs.Thehospital hasbeen abandoned since

. the Collapse, making it a prime candi-date for the renovation into an under-ground Godware facility.

From the outside, thecementblockbuilding looks u nk ep t a nd lifeless,except lor the grass a nd b ru sh whichsurround thecomplex. A paved driveway leads from the street to the mainentrance. The w in do ws h av e beenboarded, keeping all activity withinshadowed Irom spying eyes. A ercep-tioll total of 6 a llows one to notice anoccasional black uniformed guard cir-cling the premises. The Knights maystorm the facility by day, bu t stalkingit by night may prove more successfulas the complex has no outside lighting.

1. Main Ent rance The front door isguarded by 5 HOGs. Two hold theirposition t the entrance while threepacearound the complex in 10 minuteintervals. Weapon fire will bring themto the scene in a round. The door isreinforced glass Tollghlless 20 whichis opened from the inside once theCartagras on duty is summoned viathe guard s Throat Mike.2. Rear Entrance The back door is alsoguarded by 2 HOGs. The door how

ever, is weaker Tollghlless 15 and isopened bycard key, which each guardhas.3. Cyb er po pe S ta tu e A over-sizedmetal statue of Jean Malraux standsupon a base in the grass outside thecomplex. Its head houses a surve illance camera which is focused on thefront entrance.

The lawn around the perimeter ofthe complex is lined with weight sensors. Anything over 2 pounds sends a

signal to the statue, causing itto locitself on that point. The picture is thensent to the Monitoring Room whereguards are dispatched.

The security sys tem has a ercetioll of 15 used against players steaattempts. The paved driveway is nlined with the weight sensors.4. Elevators5. Operating Room During the daDame Malin is usually occupying thisroom, install ing cyberware on HOGagents who need refinement. An operatingtable located under a domed lighis in the center of the room, with toolsnecessary for implanting an d remoingcyberware. Malin will be hereduring the da y installing cyberware onHOG.

A secret door disguised as a fullength anatomy chart occupies thsoutheast corner of the lab. leadsMalin s study. may be located onfilld roll of 16.

D a me M a li nDEXTERITY 9Melee Weapons 12, dodge 12STRENGTHSTOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 10First Aid 11, cyberdeck operation11MIND 11Medicine 14, cybertech 16, scienc(computer) 12, streetwise 12CHARISMA 9SPIRIT 10Reality 11Possibilities: 5Equipment: Medico Laser Scalpe

d am age value 13) Cyberware:NueraCal, BelleView 20-20, BelleMicroView, CSI LEOs, EpiphaNeuCyber Value: 12

Description: Malin is an attractiveFrench woman in her early 40 s. Shewears a stained lab coat over a red,

t ight fit ting spandex outfit, whethershe is working or not. Her s traighblackshoulder-length hairiswell keptdespite her busy schedule.

She has been working in thcyberlegging business since the beginning of theSurge, growing knowledgeablein modilying cyberwarecurrently on the market. The lncend-E Iher pride an d joy. Malin is taking advantage of Gehenoise and his HOGspresence in what was her hospital, a



Cylent Scream

ylent Scream. East Wing: Hopital Saint Antoine

15310000

_ ir . .. .. . ...._ ....P .... ir ... ._ First Floor2

2 22 247

23

19

4 4

21 25 18

16Second Ploor

theyprovideher with the hosts neededto carry on her experiments.6 Mess Hall7 Kitchen8 Reception Area A cubicle in thenorthwest comer of this waiting roomis o cc up ied b y a Cartagras pro-grammed to open an d close the frontentrance once receives orders fromth e guards through it s installedCyberHam Receiver. The controls forthe door are located within the cubicle. Th e Cartagras is not pro-grammed to attack or defend.9 Recovery Rooms10.HOG Living Quarters Each of theserooms houses 5 HOGs comfortably.Thefacilitycurrentlyhouses30HOGs,wh o will be evenly distr ibuted in therooms at nightfalL During the day upto ten of them leave the facility, bu tthe rest are distributed throughout.11. Washroom an d Showers12 Stairs

13. Lounge This r oo m c on ta in s aHolyVid unit and nine DeliciousCyberdecks.14. DameMalin sStudy This is whereDame Malin may be found during theevening, preparing notes an d experiments for future projects. Laser Discsar e scattered about around a DiscReader, one ofwhichcontainstheblueprints for the Incend-E L fin total of15 allows the Knights to find w hichdisk it is quickly.

The secret door is visible from thisside. An elevator in the southeast corner leads to the Hover Car Garageabove15. Malin s Assistants Quarters Anold, hunchbacked man assists Malinin he r lab,along with twonurses.Theyreside in this room. Neither will takepart i n a battle if one ensues. 6 Monitoring Room Transmissionsfrom the security camera are receivedon a video monitor in this room by a

HOG agent. intruders are discovered, he will dispatch 10 HOGs toinvestigate a nd war n Gehenoise.17. Armory HOG weapons an d armorare kept in this vault when not inservice see the yberp p lj sourcebook for examples of standard HOGequipment . Two HOGs guard thiroom18. Hover Garage There are fourPeugeot Hover Cars docked in this

garage, alongwith the equipment

focharging an d maintenance. The garage door which leads outside is located in the south wall . All cars havetransmitters which open or close thedoors.19. Guard Post Four HOGs guard thiintersection2 Training Facilities an d WeaponRange21 Ho ld in g Pen fo r Heretics thKnights are captured they willbe heldin the pens until Gehenoise decides

33



Torg CyIent Scream

what to do with them. Two HOGsguard the pens, which presently contain five individuals from the streetsof Paris, wh o are unwill ing to succumb to the way of the Cyberpope.None of them ar e effective combatants, having been beaten by theHOGs.22. Gehenoise Quarters ClaudeGehenoise will be in his quarters dur-ingtheevening unlessthereisaraisedalarm. n that case, he will head toward the Hover Garage to make hisescape.

Gehenoise room is the most lavishof all the living quarters in the complex. Ol d Healing Call flyers litterthe room, as does HOG propaganda.23 Malin sQuarters MuchlikeMalin sstudy the room is cluttered with datadiscs,blueprints an d medical journals.Malin will only be her e in the latesthours of the night sleeping, when fatigue finally draws her away from herwork.24 HolyVid Manufacturing Facilit ies Saveur Michael s HolyVids areproduced within this workshop by agroup ofCartagras technicians. The 20automatons are programmed only to

produce the Vids an d will not attackor defend.25. C om mu ni ca ti on s G od ne t a ndother communications are receivedan d transmitted through the equipment and terminals within this room.A microwave relay tower is locatedabove this room, on the roof. FourHOG agents occupy this room at alltimes

ClimaxThe Knights will most l ikely en

counter Gehenoise in the Hover Garage as he prepares for an escapefromthe complex. the Knights have notencountered Malin, she too will accompany the HOG leader. Gehenoisewill not escape from the complex un-less the 10 HOGs protecting him and

the cyberlegger have been defeated bytheStorm Knights. In this case, he willgo to an y lengths to flee from thecomplex, even to theextent of taking Malinhostage, threatening to kill her withthe Incend-E I i the Knights do not lethim go.

Adventure Awards the K nights put an end

Gehenoise reign of terror by capturing or killing him, an d have recoveredthe da tadisccontaining th e blueprintof the Incend-E I award them 12 Posibilities each. they stop Gehenoiseand

his forceswithoutgainingthe blueprints award them8 PossibilitieseachCapturing Malin (but not killing her)has an adventure award of an addtional3 Possibilities pe r Storm Knight

The Knights have failed if they allowed the HOG leader to escape; he lljust return when he has more forcesThey will receive no Possibilit ies forthat outcome.

The Knights will have sympatheticconnections with the Paris Communefor putting an en d to the mystery othe

Hellfire murders. Although animportant figure has been lost at thhand of the Cyberpope s minions, thStorm Knights havesucceeded inwinning one of the many battles that arneeded to bring the Possibility Warsto an end.



The Image of Nephthys

The Image of

NephthysPrologue

Khalidahas-Salaam walked aroundthe center of th e city of Memphis, fum-mg. That Ibrahim - ['II show him Hepledged himself to me O ve r a nd overshe relived th e scenes in h er mi nd :buyingwine at th e market to celebratehe r b ir th da y a nd their engagement ,gomgback to herapartment after workto change her clothes an d bring the

cakeshe hadbaked th e day before. Sheha d pu t on he r most beautiful dressand u sed the perfume sh e saved onlyforspecial occasions, then setoff downthe s t reet at a brisk and happy pace.

Bu t w hen she had a rriv ed atIbrahim s, she had found the doorlocked. Sh e put down t he bag of cakean d wine an d rummaged in he r pursefor paper and pen.

She ha d barely found both whensheheard thelaughter down the street.Ibrahim But there were two voices'o ne w s

his and the otherw s u r s ~

takably female. Oh well.She ha d hopedto be alone with him, but sh e l iked hisk id s is te r Fat ima, an d if he sti ll feltthey needed a chaperone well, i tw as o ne of t he t hi ng s s he loved bestabout him. He was so traditional, sorespectful.

That w as w hen the l aughtersounded again, much closer this time.An d th e woman definitely wasn tFatima

Grabbing u p her packages,

Khahdah ducked into an adjacent alley, sending at least a half-dozen catsskitteringaway. She pressed herself toa nearby wall an d watched.

What sh e s aw made he r wis h s hehadn t . I br ah im s to od w it h his armsaround a woman Khalidah h ad n ev erseen before a nd w ho bore absolutelyn o family re se mbl an ce to he r be -trothed. She watched as h e d re w th ewoman to hi m an d gave he r a long,hngenng ki Khalidah felt a sharppain i n her palms. Sh e looked down at

he r clenched fists a s t ho ug h t he y b elonged to someone else, an d slowlopened them. With an odd detachment, sh e noticed that in a few placehe r fingernails ha d penetrated deeenough to draw blood.

Ibrahim s laughter s tart led her ouof he r brief numbness. Khalidah?No,love, she doesn t suspect anythingan d if even she if she does - donworry - I'll handle her. A husband harights, an d she'll come to know that itime. She ma y cause a little trouble, buin the en d she 'l l accept it . ..

Oh, really, Ibrahim? Startledhe r ow n ~ l d n e s sKhalidah hardlyreahzed sh e d leapt from thealley untisa w hiseyes widenin shock.She didn twaste a glance on th e woman withim. Would you accept i t so eas ily if took a lover?

Khalidah No - I ... let me explain

~ h e r e snothing to explain;would be clear enough to an eightyear-old, or to someone with sand fobrains. Khalidah removed he r necklaces, rings, earrings - all of them higifts to her. f I ha d a dirham for eact imeyou told me I wastheonly womanfor you, 1'd have enough money tbu y ten times this much. But since thisi sn t t he case . .. She put the jewelryall of It, mt o th e man s outstretchedhands. Here, Ibrahim. Keep it, or givit to your girlfriend - an d you, whoe ve r y ou are, girl, watch ou t for himThere s no telling when he ma y do tyo u what he s just done to me.

She turned on her heel, ignoringIbrahim s protests, an d started to gback for th e wine an d cake, thenwrenched herself away. She walkeddown the street, no t looking, or reallc an ng , w he re s he w as going.

Damned fool of a naive - no. haeven}reason to trust that - that damnepig That son ofa flea and a lizard [ 1 1 -

An d tha t was when sh e realizedwhere sh e was

e

35



Torg: yl nt Scream

.--:::-- - --~ : : ; c · · :: . : : . : : : : ~ .

The Temple of Wa d jet loomed

ahead of her, an imposing building forall that it was two stories high. To oneside was a small shrine erected bysome wealthy devotee, no doubt. Bythis time it was totally dark, and bymoonlight she made her way to theshrine and knelt.

Before her was an altar with astatueof a cobra. Surrounding its base wereflo\vers fnlit incense-bowls and coins.Khal idah felt in he r purse for a fewcoins then placed them on the altarand closed her eyes.

M ig ht y o ne of Memphis, sh epra ye d, Grea t Lady, Wadjet of theCobra , I have been bet rayed, my lifewrecked by a She stopped, regained control of herself went on. Goddess, I beg you, let me have vengeance. Onlygrant me revengeagainstIbrahim ar-Rahmani' Let him sufferfor what he did to m then do withme what you will'

A violet l igh t suffused the shr ine.Khalidah rose before itas ifcompelled,

•• 6

and raised her head. Then she started

back in shock, for before he r wa s notthe image ofthe Cobra Goddess, cometo answer he r prayer as she hadthought. Floating disembodied in theair its eyes gl.owing violet against alllogic and belief was an image of ...Nephthys

phlhys here? Wadjet'senemy, theLady N ep ht hy s? S om et hi ng w aswrong here, terr ibly-

They heard Khalidah's scream halfa mile away. And on the other side ofto\VI1 Ibrahim s neighbors stared in

shock and horrorasa violetlightshonefrom the windows of his home an dscreams pierced the air from in s i -th e cries of Ibrahim and, as theythought , the sweet young woman towhom he \vas engaged.

But when they broke in, they foundthe bodies of Ibrah im an d a womanwhom they did not recognize. And atthe same time a novice priestess ofWadjet was bending over the body ofKhal idah in the shrine several miles

away.

Khalidah had indeed been grantedher revenge - for a price.

The Major BeatThe Storm Knights arr ive in Mem

phiS and hear that a series of bizarredeaths have occurred. No pattern canbe found as yet, except that they haveall happened near the Temple ofWadjet.

The Knights research the murders

and are contacted by Hilwa a GreaterInitiate of Nephthys, a dei ty opposedtoWad jet. She believes that theTempleofWad jet is responsible for the deaths,bu t won t tell the Knights why (s Adventure Background fordetailsl.

The Priestess of Nephthys asks thKnights to take her through the Catacombs below the Temple of Wadjet toretrieve an d artifact that she saysWa d jet's means ofcausing the deaths.She an d the Knights sneak into th



temple, c on fr on t t he fol lo wers o fWadjet and some supernatural menaces and retrieve the statuette

AdventureBackground

Several months ago, theSisterhoodof Wadjet ca pt ur ed a nd m ur de re d( though they called it a sacrifice) theHigh Priestess of Nephthys, Mut-emEnet, a g rea t mistress of th e arcane.Mut-em-Enet believed strongly thatarcane powers are a d iv ine gift, an dthat human beings wh o are fortunateenough to havethem should use themonly for good. She spread her teachingfar a nd wi de unt il the S is terhood ofWadjet felt their popularity declining.They decided to act for the sake oftheir temple and the honor of th ei rgoddess.

They captured Mut-em-Enet an dtortured her, bu t she would not useher po wers to benefit them. Finallythey killed heras an offering to Wad jetan d captured her life-energy asshe laydy ing. This they channelled into thesmall image of Nephthys they foundon her person

The clash between Nephthys an dWadjet is so strong th at the energ yimprisoned in Nephthys image,whichis in turn in the power of the Sister-hood, is growing m ore and m ore ou tof control. Khalidah s death was juston e of a series of such killings; whenthe energy in the image lashes out , itusually finds a victim ina shrineeitherof Nephthys or of Wadjet. The Sisterhood of the Serpent is not concerned ·about the deaths ( though the novicesresent the bother of removing bodiesfrom the shrinenow an d then), bu t thePriestesses of Nephthys are very upset; they hate to think of their beloved,fallen High Priestess as being in an ywa y involved with such violence.

A priestess of Nep hthy s n am edHilwa has sought the aid of StormKnights. She knows qui te a b it aboutthe layoutofWadjet sgrounds. Hilwa a greater initiate of Nephthys, but,before she became a follower, sh e wasa worshipper of Wadjet. She was ableto convince one of her former col-leagues to sell her a ma p of the Cata-

combs below the Temple of Wadjet,which reve l a secret ent rance to thetemple.

Hilwa hopes that the Knights willhelp he r to recover the statuette an dreturn it to the Temple of Nephthys.

SCENE ONE:Murders in emphis

The SituationStandard. The Storm Knights h ve

rrived in Memphis and, hearing ofsever l mysterious - an d apparentlymyst ica l - murders, h ve decided tolook into the incidents.

The Knights discover clues aboutthe murders t ha t p oint them at boththe Temple of Wadjet an d the Templeof Nephthys - two dialogically opposed religious groups. Following upon the clues, they make con tact withHilwa, a priestess of Nephthys.

The ActionIn order to follow up on their pre

liminary investigations, the Knightswill need to do a little research into thephilosophiesofNephthysand Wadjet.To do so is fairly easy; each temple ismore than willing to espouse the vir-tues of its deity, most Egyptians (including E gy pt ia n S to rm Knights)know something of each mythos, andthe librariesof Memphis hold a wealthof information on the subjects.

The Temple of WadjetThe Temp le of Wad jet, the Cobra

Goddess, is one of the largest in Memphis, even th ou gh , p rior to the inv -sion, Wadjet wa s considered a lesserdeity among th e Egy ptians of CoreEarth.

TheGoddessWadjet takes theshapeof a G reat Cobra as he r symbol and,like the cobra, she is a dangerous an dfast-acting goddess. Jealous of othergoddesses, Wadjet an d her followersspread their word through violenceasoften as through evangelism. For her

The Image of Nephthys

part, however Wadjet is ext remelyprotective of he r followers an d guardthem as carefully as she may.

f the Knights go to the Temp le oWad jet an d inquire about the religionor about the murders that are occurring in Memphis, they will be told

is a divine struggle between theGreatGoddess

Wadjetan d

Those Who DNot Follow, and many other mystcal-sounding (and equally usefustatements about Wadjet an d her relgion. The Knights can learn nothingspecific about the murders.

f the Temple of Nephthys is mentioned, the cobra priestesses growharsh and mocking. They believe th t he followers of the o v goddeswill be swallowed up by the cobra.On a er eption total of 16, one of thK ni gh ts h ea rs a s en io r p ries te ssmumble and

this has already begunpraise Wadjet before sh e disappearbehind the altar.

The Temple of ephthys

While not as popular as the Templof Wadjet with the transformed Egyptians an d the reset tled Terrans , thetemple vot to the worshipNephthys is n ot devoid of its followers. Many women, an d men, wh o loo r domestic assistance and guidanceworship the g od dess . Instead of th ecobrasofWadjetadorning the temple spillars an d walls, there are the doveof Nephthys.

Where Wadjet s temple projectedaggressiveness and quickness of ation, Nephthys temple is more serenand peaceful. Still, the Knights get thefeeling that something is clouding theserenity of the priestesses.

f the Knights ask around, they wibe given the basic run down on threligionbut, if they ask about the murders, looks of concern and suspiciocross the faces of the priestesses, andat the first available opportunity, eachpriestess will excuse herself claimingthat there is o ther temple businessfor her to attend to. Mentioning theTemple of Wadjet also prompts threaction

••



Torg: Cylent Scream

damage value24from the falling stone.6. Sarcophagus Thereisa large sar

cophagus in the center ofthis room. t

requiresa Strengthtotal of20to lift thelid off Inside are two mummies and astatuette of Nephthys (a false one).

t he Knight s take th e statuette, or ifthey stay in the room for more than aminute, the mummy comes to life an dattacks (see the World ook page 49,for statistics).

On the mummy s body an d in thesarcophagus ar e about 300 royalsworth ofgems an d jewelry. Mosthavemystical symbols pertaining to th eworship of Wadjet an d would be recognized byany worshipper.However,if the Knights sell t hem out si de of.Memphis, they will probably be accepted eagerly.7. Guardroom In here are six guards,their bunk beds, an d miscellaneousequipment. The Guards are unlikelyto be prepared for the Knights, as thepassage between 6 an d 7 is virtuallysoundproof. See The Guardroom fortheir statistics.8. Th e cells This is where the Sisterhood keeps their enemies - beforeconverting them or feeding them tothe cobras. There are two prisoners inthe last two cells; helpless innocents,useless in a conflict bu t in need of arescue nonetheless

•

40

9. The Ladder Up The ladder leads toa tr ap do or t ha t opens downward.Above is the hollowed-out frame of agiant cobra. Knights canclimb up an dexit through the cobra s mouth intothe Temple of Wadjet.

Travelling in theCatacombs

The rough-hewn catacombs are intotal darkness.Characters with no lightsource need to make Perception or intotals of24 or higher to find the correctpath (assuming they know it). th eparty d ev iat es from th e main path,they could en d up wandering aimlessly in the darkness - these passages have not been detailed becauseno one has returned from them.

The Cobra Patrols

Within the Catac om bs b en e athWadjet s temple is a l arge nest of unusual cobras. Invested with the poweroftheirdeity, theSisterhood of Wa d jethas managed to t ra in these cobras topatrol the rough-hewn sections of theunderlevel, attackingall strangers.TheKnights will undoubtedly encounterat least one patrol before they make itto the nest in area three. In fact, i they

leave the door to 4 open, they maencounter a few more as long as theare n the lower areas

Cobra Patrol (4-8 cobras)DEXTERITY 13Running (slithering) 16, unarmedcombat 15, dodge 17, stealth 15STRENGTH 3TOUGHNESS 3PERCEPTION 8Find 9, tracking 10MIND 3Test (18)CHARISMA 3Taunt 15SPIRIT 6Intimidation 14Possibility Potential: some 50Inclination: EvilNatural Tools: Fangs, damagvalue ; venom damage value Description:TheCobraPatrolscon-

sist of large, well- trained an d wedisciplined cobras. They have unusually large hoods, an d some of thelargest ar e even pierced with golden ringor other ornaments. They fight asgroup, heedless for their own safetOften, if the group is being defeatedone will break of f and go foreenforcements through passagesonlthey can travel.

ecisionsAfter dealing with the Catacombs

the Cobra Patrols, an d the mummythe Knights may be perfectly willingto leave the underground an d chancthe temple above, without ever checking ou t the dungeon in areas sevean d eight. so, Cu t to Scene FourThe Temple of Wadjet. f howevethey decide to try to free whatever prisoners are in the dungeons, continuewith The Guardroom.

The GuardroomThe Storm Knights have passe

through t he C at ac om bs and thUnderlevels of the Temple of Wadjetand have deal t with the mummy. Bthis time, they may be perfectly willingto bypass the dungeon and go straighupstairs; i so, Cut To ... Scene Three:The Image of Nephthys. Otherwise,they will have todeal with the guards ifthey wish to rescue any prisoners.



Torg: ylent Scream

an d to promote Wa d jet throughoutthe Nile Empire an d the world.Equipment: Envenomed Serpent sTooth stilleto da ma ge v al ueSTR+5/13 plus cobra venom (see Cobra Patrol for stats»; robes;LugerP.08, damage value15, ammo8,3-1O/25/40,statuetteofNephthys(holding thespirit ofMut-em-Enet).

The BattleZuleikha, wh o is no t a warlord by

an y means, has a simple set of tactics:throw all your screaming followers atthe e ne my at once. Sh e will castmiracles an d spells from th e rear, an dyell orders when necessary. Zuleikhawill be certain of victory, as will he rfollowers, even if the Knights start towin. In fact, if a Y Breaks comes up

on t he conflict line, treat is as a setbackinstead.When the battle starts going badly

for either group (or a fter five or sixrounds), Hilwa will work her way,unnoticed, around to Zuleikha and,from behind, jump out an d seize th estatuettefrom theHigh Priestess. Theywillstruggle, an d Zuleikha will plungehe r dagger into Hilwa. Read or paraphrase the following:

As Hilwa slllmps to tlze f loor,wOllnded, tlze Image ofNepl tlzys slips

from Izergrasp. TI,e statllette rol ls to astop on tlze f loo r and, to tI,e amaze-mellt of all, riglzts itself.A pllrpleglowbegins to rise from tI,e figllre, and yOIlsee Zuleiklza draw back an d Izear Izergasp.

Atthis point, th e Knights ar e able totell that everyone in the room hasstopped fighting an d is staring at thestatuette an d the purple glow. In fact,an y Knight wh o wishes to do anything else m us t m ak e a willpower orMind roll of 25 or higher to succeed.

Ti,e glow seems to take tlze fom ofa person .. . awoman. She is clothed in

flowingwlzite robes, an d a dove circlesIzer Izead silently. As size looks around,yo u see a look of displeasllre an d dis-gllst come over Izer face. Size glares attlze Higl Priestess of ZlIleiklza.

At this point, the Knights hear ahiss and a metal lic scrape from th ealtar; th e sound frees them from theirimmobility.

••42

Looking towards tl e altar, yOIl seean emerald glow c om in g f ro m tlzeserpent s eyes. is almost as ifit is .. .looking at you.

It is. And i t is moving.

Cu t To . .. Scene Four : Th e Cobraan d the Dove.

SCENE FOUR:The Cobra and

the ove

The SituationDramatic. At this point, the follow

er s of Wa d jet begin to flee the templein terror. They have worshipped theCobra Goddess, bu t they do no t to feelher wrath . Zuleikha an d the Image ofNephthys remain, and Hilwa lies onthe floor.

The ActionThe ImageofNephthys hovers over

the wounded Hilwa. A voice soundsseemingly from i ns id e e ac h of th eKnights heads:

1 can Izealmy clzild, and can dealwitlz ... tlzis, tizelmage indicated tlze

cowering High Priestess but youmust defeat tlze Walking God. is no trigl,t tlzat avatars wa r in tlze presellceof mortals.

Witlz tlzat, tl e Image h ms to Hilwaand begins to surround her with it saura. But th t is no t your Ollcenl Ascrape o stone on stone and a hissdraw your attention.

Wad j e t Walking Go dDEXTERITY 8Dodge 14, unarmed combat 18,maneuver 17, running (slithering)16STRENGTH 22TOUGHNESS 20PERCEPTION 9Trick 4 (24)MIND 12Test 17 (24)CHARISMA 14Taunt (16)SPIRIT 16Faith (Wadjet) 24, intimidation 19,reality 2

Inclination: EvilPossibilities: Three pe r StorKnightGoal: To consume or enslave aliving beings an d to dominate tworld.Natural Tools: Twin-mountedflamethrowers (in its mouth), damage value 20, range 3-5/10 15, (ding damage value eighteen for fivrounds after initial impact or unth e flames are ext inguished - thjellied gasoline sticks); fangs, damag e value STR+6/28; tail, damagvalue STR+5/28.Description: The Wadjet Walking

Go d is both an avatar an d a construof the Sisterhood of the Serpent. I textremely powerful but also terribsingle-minded. I t wa s built as a monument to the power of Wadje t anthrough constant prayerand sacrifictheSisterhood hasgivenit great power.

Unfortunately, with its great powecomes a great ambit ion: i t wishes todevour all others, even those who folo w its religion. It is purely evil.

The Battle

TheWad jetWalking Go d will trykill an d rend all th e Storm KnightsAnywho tr y to flee the templebecompriority targets; it d oe s n ot w is h to lany escape. If the Walking God neardefeat (is heavily wounded or is obvously losing), it will go berserk Earound after itgoes berserk, the WalkinGo d gets an automaticflurry if aflurrcomes up on the conflict line, thenonly gets on e flurry) until a V Breakor YSetback occurs. Atall times, thWalking Go d ignores break resulttreating them as setbacks. No PlayerCall can cause to surrender butcan destroy itself, flailing about in fur

During th e fight, i f th e Sto rmKnights are obViously getting

creamed, Hilwa, healed an d imbuedwith spiritual an d possibility energywil l join th e fight; he r powers anabilities increased by the presencethe Image of Nephthys . She will usmiracles an d spells sh e may no t havha d access to before, and sh e will helt he S to rm Knights fight the ir ba ttle(Gamemaster: yo u decide how muchelp sh e actually is).



The Image Nephthy

AftermathDuring the battle, the Temple of

Wa d jet will be t ak in g inc re as in gamounts of damage and when thCobra God is destroyed, i t will beginto collapse the faith that supportedhas been dealt a major setback . Whilethe Knights ha d some indication othiscollapse during thelattermomentsof the battle, they will have to makeseveral m n uv r rolls to dodge fallindebris an d ge t ou t into th e s tr ee t Gamemaster: The difficulty of thesemaneuvers is up to you; build the sus-pense, bu t don t just wipe ou t the partyafter they ve won.

Variables H ilwa w as killed or otherwise

incapacitated during the Catacombstrek, then one of the S to rm Knightswill have to be wounded fightingZuleikha to summon the Image ofNephthys.

f for some reason, on e of theKnights is able to attack Zuleikha be-fore theImageis summonedand Hilwwounded then wound Hilwa an dhave the statuette roll free on its own

Awards the Knights are able to ge t Hilwa

to the battle an d they beat the WadjetWalking God, they get 12 possibilitieseach. Hilwa is un abl e to get to thebattle, bu t the Temple of Wad jet isdefeated, then award them nine possi-bilities each. Not recovering the statu-ette bu t protecting Hilwa an d escap-ing for another try is worth four pos-sibili ties each, an d accomplishingnothing butgetting ou t alive is worthzero possibilities.



Rebel Withouta Soul

Torg: ylent Scream

••44

PrologueAlone in the shadows the master

surveys his domain Since his reas-signmenc his office has become hissanctum his surroundings a mirror ofhis black heart.

Writhingas ifalive steel lamps twiston theIr armatures searchlights seek-ing nothing but finding all a starkcon tras t to the e the rea l blue of theflickering monitors arrayed upon theexpanse of the enormous laminateandsteel desk wrapped about the Night-mare in a bizarre en1brace

Disdaining the technological mar-vels that surround him the creaturewithdraws a pack of cards from theves t pocke t of his e legant ly tailo redsuit The cards themselves are a con-tradiction of thesleek modern decor ofthe demon s office.

Hand-painted the int ricate plac-ards depict countless images. As thedemon shuffles them the images shiftand flow changing to match the forcesat the Nightmare s disposal and themortal fools wh o dare to oppose him.

Focusing his baleful will upon thetask at hand he savors the mountingdarkness as he fans the deck in anoutstretched claw e ch oo ses hiscards carefully formulating his strat-egy with all thecunningthatpromptedthe Gaunt Man to entrust him with theexalted station he now holds.

First the significator. e pauses There are so many who

require his attention bu t he has hisfavorites to be sure ut wh o

The girl Marie Sinclair An inno-cent struggling to save the soul of herbrother. Her fear and hopelessnesswould be an incomparable delicacywere it not for the fact that her brotherwas an accursed stormer wh o had es-caped him once too often He wouldnot escape this time

With a vile grin he places her cardbefore him .

Another card presents itself anthe Nightmare is unable to resist. Thema n in black. DerekStern. isdangeous to include him bu t if he takes thchance h e could be rid of anothernuisance

Making his decision he places thecard beside the significator.

Now theopposition. He pulls a thircard from the deck. The placard bearsthe image of a man riding a motor-cycle an d is labelled Fire. The Black

Death. A creat ion of which he is jusfIably proud an d soon they will havea Storm Knight to lead them.

Laying the card before thesignificator he withdraws t he oncard from his deck that never changesand crosses her with it

Thesallowvisage of thegrim reaperstares up at the demon from the carthat no w covers the beautiful facethe significator.

The card labelled Death.

Introduction n ebel it ollt n S li the Storm

Knights travel to BandarSeri Begawanin the Horror Realm of Orrorsh wherethey must face a gang of damned biers thesuccubus wh o leads them andher pack of Hellhounds to save the liof an innocent girl an d the soul of hebrother who is unbeknownst to her powerful Storm Knight in his owright. .

AdventureBackground

Marc Sinclair was born in BandarSeri Begawan to Alan and RebeccaSinclair economic advisors to the En

glish ambassador. Though he waraised in Bandar Seri Begawan hepurs ued a n education in Europe r

turnmg wIth a degree in economics to



rrorshanWorld LawsOrrorsh is th e r ea lm o f Hor-

ror, Fear an d th e Occult. t is no tenough fo r th e monsters ofOrrorsh to kill their victims; theymust strive to frighten them intogiving up their possibilit ies before their lives. At the beginningof th e adventure the Knightshave a Perseverance total thatallows them to try to counteractthe Power ofFear the value is8 ;see th e rrors sourcebook formore information on t he Wor ldLaws of Orrorsh.

complete the work his p ar en ts h adbegun.

Unfortunately, it w as n ot to be.During the first wave of th e inva

sion, Marc faced his moment of crisiswhen his parentswere slaughtered byhe m in io ns of the Gaunt Man. He

overcame his fear and saved his sister,becoming a Storm Knight in th e process.

Since that fateful day Marc Sinclairha s devoted his life to opposing th eforces of darkness wherever he finds

hem. Fearing for his sister s safety, hehas concealed theseactivities from her,eading he r to believe he ha s become

an irresponsible r og ue i n an a tt em pto explain his frequent and oftenengthy disappearances.

Marc s crusade reuni ted hi m withDerek Stern, an ol d friend of the famly wh o worked for M 6 th e British

SecretService. Derek ha d also becomea Sto rm Knigh t during the invasion.The two became a team an d havestarted to make a difference in the

fight against the minions of th e GauntMa n in Orrorsh.

For several weeks , Marc ha s beenworking on a case that ha s threatenedno t only his life, but his very soul. Hehas chosen to take o n t he Black Death,hefavored minions ofBornei s Night

mare.The Black Death are men wh o have

been corrup ted and transformed byhe powerofthe Nightmare. No w theseost souls serve their dark lord with-

ou t question as spir i t warriors wh oride motorcycles born of th e hellfiretha t c laimed thei r mortal bodies.

While attempting to infil trate th eBlack Death Marc became involvedwith Blaze, th e succubus wh o leadsthe demoniac biker-gang. Her subtlepowers have tu rned th e tables on theStorm Knight, leading him down th er oad to corruption.

MarieSinclair began to suspect thatsomething was seriously wrong withhe r brother an d becameconcerned forhis life. After M ar c w as drawn in by

Rebel Without A Sou

Blaze an d stopped looking in on hissister, she wa s convinced that he wa sin mortal danger an d opened a let teMarc left for he r to open n theevent ohis disappearance. t c on ta in ed t henames of several Storm Knights thatsh e c ou ld g o to for help. Taking mat-ters into he r ow n hands Marie sentlet ter to th e player-characters askingfor their help.

Since the letter wa s sent, Derek hasbeen forced to split his t ime betweenattempts to libe rate his partner an dseeing to Marie ssafety. Ironically, this

45



Torg: Cylent Scream

caused Marie to go into hiding as shemistook Derek for one o f the very riders he sought to save her from.

Shortly before the Knights arrive,the Black Death located Marie an dkidnapped her, taking he r to thewarehouse that serves as their headquar-ters to await her part in the initiationc er em on y tha t will t ra ns fo rm h erbrother into one of their own.

Adventure SynopsisTh e adventure begins with the

Knight s arrival in Bandar SeriBegawan.They havecomein responseto a plea for help from Marie Sinclair,wh o has begun to suspect that something is horribly wrong with herbrother.

The adventure centers around the

investigation of the disappearances ofMarc and Marie Sinclair.Starting withthe nightclub where she works, theKnights begin to gather informationfrom her co-workers, some of the locals threatened by the riders an d confront the riders themselves.

They learn more about theSinclairs,the Black Death an d Derek Stern, themysterious Man in Black w ho m ay b ea help ... or a hindrance.

During the adventure, the Knightshave several run-ins with the Black

Death and learn that their oppositionis a supernatural foe that cannot bekilled by normal means. Only near theend of the adventure do they learn thetruth about the riders, ho w they can bestopped, an d ho w Marc might besaved.

T he final scen e is the showdownbetween the Storm Knights an d theBlack Death at their warehouse-base.The Knights must face the biker-gangon thei r ow n turf, an d they must bevictorious i they are going to stop

Marc Sinclair s initiation; the murderof his ow n sister. They must also dealwith Blaze, the succubus wh o leadsthe riders, and her pack of dead lyHellhounds.

the Knights act quickly, they cansave Marie, an d ifthey act wisely, theycan turn her brother from the darkpath. They also have the opportunity

46

to destroy the Black Death, bringing atemporary respite to some of the beleaguered residents of Bandar SeriBegawan.

The SettingThe entire ad venture takes place in

a nd a ro un d Bandar Seri Begawan, aport city in thecountry of Bornei. Thearea is a Mixed Zone, combining theSocial an d Technological aspects ofCoreEarth with the Magical an d Spiritual axioms of Orrorsh. The Power ofFear an d ofthe Occultoperateswithinthis zone, an d the comfort of mod-ern technology only supplies the Horrors of Orrorsh with new ways to terrify the citizenry.

SubplotsThe following are twoSubplot Flags

that can occur at any time during theadventure. Use or modify them at yourdiscretion.

the Persollal Slake or ROlllance

cards ar e played, one or more of theStorm Knights could have a considerably more meaningful connection toone or m ore o f the key figures in theadventure as none of th e princip legamemaster characters has an established romantic interest.

• A COlllleelioll card could be usedas an introduction to oneof theprominen t cit izens of the city. a StormKnight knows Abdul, Emil, or one ofthe other neutrals in the story, itcould make life easier on the Knights.

The Major BeatThe Storm Knights h av e com e to

B an dar Seri Begawan to h elp MarieSinclair sav e h er brother from theagents o f darkness . They must findand rescue Marie Sinclair and herbrother Marc, from the Black death, ademoniac presence posing as a bikergang. They risk losing thei r so ul s tothesecretleaderofthegang,asuccubusnamed Blaze. Blaze s Perseverancedifficulty number, and the number theKnights must striveto defeat throughou t the adventure, is 6

SCENE ONE:The Cabaret

The Situation

Standard. Run this scene as the introduction to the scenario. Explain to

the players wh y their characters havecometo BandarSeri Begawan and reathem Marie s letter.

Th e a dv en tu re o pe ns with thKnights arrival at the club Marie performs at. Describe the scene as follows:

You stand before tl e Blue Ligltt aseedy cabaret i l le of tlte less faslti01lable distr icts of Ba1ldar erBegawa1l.

espite patltetie at tempts to provide tlte dilapidated stnlcturewitlt

i1lviti1lg facade tl e 1Iiglttclub is obvously a dive wltere tl e dregs of tl e ciseek respite frolll ti e Itorror i l wltictltey live.

The Handyman

As the Storm Knights ap proach ,they notice a surly-looking man inthreadbare overcoat an d fingerlesgloves taking down a poster from thdisplay outside.

the Knights make a point of try

ing togeta look at the poster or iftheask the handyman for a look, they wil that isan advertisement for MissMarie Sinclair, the Silver-Tongued S

ren.The handyman, Morris, is a gruff

ill-tempered old fellow with little patience for questions. He knows Mariean d is very fond of her, so if her namis mentioned he will become moreamiable.

Morris knows that Marie has been o ut of sorts for several weeks an

blames her no go od scoundrel of abrother an d his lowlife friends. Hhas seen those damned scumbags otheir fire-puking hell-machines anwishes that someone would do somthing about them.

Though the very mention of theBlack Death infuriates him, Morris isobviously quite fearful of them, glancing about nervously as if he expectsthem to r ide up at any moment.

The old man speaks of Marc, Marie



Torg Cylent Scream

into the distance

Th e Black DeathDEXTERITY 9Dodge 10 fire combat 10, melee

weapons 11 unarmed combat 11STRENGTH 15TOUGHNESS 14PERCEPTION 7Land vehicles 14, trick 8MIND 7CHARISMA 6Taunt 7SPIRIT 13Intimidation 15Possibilities: 2 eachPowers: attackfo nn resistance:fire-

arms and energtj weapo s; f lamingSpJrtt motorcyc es

Corruption Value: 15Fear Rating: 1/2Weakness noneTrue Death: an y deathEquipment: Th e Bikers ar e

equipped witha variety ofmelee weap-ons lIlcludmg chains an d lead pipes.All ar e essentially maces with damage

value +4, m ax im um d am ag e 19.Though not designed as armor, thebikers leathers offer TOU+2/16 pro-techon

The motorcycles the bikers r idear e actually as much a part of thespirit s physical manifestation as thosewh o ride them. Even so, the cycle pro-

Vides the biker with a speed va lue of13 They are also able to bend natu-ral laws. The bikes can travel overrough terrain as ifthey were on pavedroads, and they can travel over waterfor a distance equal to their speedvalue minus one

Since the bikes are actually part ofthe nders, an y attacksdirected againstthem ar e treated as attacks against therider an d the rider suffers theeffectsofan y failed push attempts during achase.

Sights and Sounds

The Bikers are spirit sendings, souse whatever special effects you thinkw be effective Their arrival can

heralded by a thunderclap, their bikescan leave fire trails, and as they ridethey can be seen to hover just abovethe ground.

Their very arrival is worth a Perseverance check, and, successful theKnights gain one Perseverance p ~

they fail their check, they lose onePerseverancepoint until the end olthscene. In addition, one of the StormKnights possesses truesight they neeto makea separatePerseverancecheckfor the s am e award o r penalty. This isbecause they see the bikers as thetruly r e flaming skeletons dressedin biker outfi ts with glowing yelloweyes.

Th e Man in Black

Derek Stern is watching the battlefrom a hiding place on the roof of thbuilding across the street from thecabaret . He was staking ou t the cluhopmg Marc, Marie or Blaze wouldshow up.

48



Torg: ylent Scream

able to collect some clues a bo ut t heSinclairs plight from Marie s possessions s Marie is no longer in resi-dence, the Knights will have to taketh e initiative if they decide to investigate he r hideaway.

Breaking InGetting into th e apartment is a

simple matter as both d oor a nd lockar e quite weak, an d the security ba r isn ot i n place. Defeating the lock o n t hedoor is only a Difficulty lockpickillgtask, an d the door itself only has aTOllghness of 6

The Apartment

The hideout is a cramped miser-able hole in th e wall t ha t w ou ld h av e

been condemned if th e local government wa s still functional. t is a twobedroom apartment with a kitchenette an d two closets. There is a chest ofdrawers in the larger of the t wo b ed -rooms

Th e chest of drawers containsMarie s clothing. There is a Colt .45pistol an d several boxes of ammuni -tion in t he t op drawer, and a cigarboxfilled with silverjewelry shewas gath-ering to h av e t ur ne d into silver bullets.

The bottom drawer of th e chest isfilled with personal possessions thatMarie must have gathered from he rold apar tment and dumped in herewhenshe arrived. Among these thingsis a book of newspaper clippings thatwill reveal that he r parents were English ambassadors killed in th e inva-sion and that he r brother wa s edu-cated in some of the most prestigiousinstitutions of higher learning in Europe which should seem incongruouswith the p ic tu re o f Marc that the

Knights have at this point.In th e middle of th e other bedroomis abedroll setonan inflatable mat. Onthe floor next tothis makeshift bed is abattery-operated lamp, a commandoknife, a box of handgun ammunitionan d a neat pile of men s clothes, allblack these belong to Derek, bu t thereis no identi f ica tion in the room).Among th e bl ack c lothing is a well-

••50

worn dockworker s outfit an d a falsebeard. While the other items in theroom are scattered about this outfit isfair ly well taken care of.

The only a pp li an ce t ha t s ee ms toh av e b ee n used recently is t he a ut o-matic coffee maker, an d t ha t w it h avengeance. Used filters, discarded coffee cans an d half-filled styrofoa m cupslitter the table an d floor, evidence oft he long sleepless nights th e terrifiedsinger has ha d to endure.

The entire apartment is a mess; notas if i thas been ransacked, bu t as if theoccupan t was forcing herself to stayawake an d alert beyond all physicaland emotional limits.

Event: The WatchdogWhen Blaze and th e riders came for

Marie, they left a Hellhound as a nastysurprise for anyone who came lookingfor her. t has been lurking in theshad-ow s of he r apartment ever since wait-ingfor the victims it knewwould come.

The Hellhound is in Derek s bedroom an d will wait until most of theKnights ar e in the apartment beforeattacking. it can, it will pu t itselfbetween the Knights an d the exit.

Have the Knights make a Perceptiontestagainst th e Hellhound s stealth at abonus of+5 to the Hellhound because

of the darkness. they succeed, theynotice it before it can maneuver for asurprise attack.

Describe th e action:

You catch a movemellt ou t of theconler of your eye bu t as you tun

something lallllches i tself Ollt of thedarklless towards you A massivehoulld with a co t s l ck as night n d eyes th t um l ike fire leaps tyou bared fangs gleaming

Time to check your Perseverallce

The ActionThe Hellhound fights to the death ,

and when i t is killed or knocked out)i t is consumed by its ow n fire, leavingno evidence tha t it ever existed othert ha n t he damage it wa s able to inflictbefore its demise.

Hel lhoundDEXTERITY 12Dodge 15, long jumping 18, running 18, stealth 15, unarmed combat18STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 15 17 with hide)PERCEPTION 14Tracking 20MIND 2CHARISMA 5SPIRIT 13Reality 14Possibilities: 3Powers: resistance to ZonllaI weap il S

Corruption: 8

Fear Rating: 1 /2Weaknesses: blessed i tems or silver weaponsTrue Death: burned in a Christiansanctified areaNatura l Tools: The hide

hellhounds is thick an d durable, serving as effective armor. They are alssupernaturally resistant to all bu t svered or sanctified weaponry, makingthem extremely difficult to harm uing physical means.

Perseverance

Encountering the Hellhound rquiresa Perseverancecheck, ofcourse. th e Knights fail, they lose one poinand if they succeed, they gain one. Thehound, however will us e all its cunning to try to terrorize the Knightsit will rend wounds terribly, going forvital gruesome blows causing further checks), an d will mark Knightfor death if i t can.

Also, if the combat lasts more thanfour rounds, the building ma n a g e r-a la rge I ndonesi an named Dakobreaks into the room crying what sgoing on? The Hellhound wi waste a round killing him if theKnights don t interfere thus furtherinvoking the Power ofFearagainsttheKnights; se e the Orrorsh sourceboofor details).

The scene ends when the Knighthave dealt with th e Hellhound,searched th e apartment to their satisfaction an d decided where t he y argoing next. Most likely, they will nowinvestigate Emil s tip about his cousinin which case cut Scene Three



Rebel Without A Soul

SCENE THREE:Crazy dul

The SituationStandard Run this scene when the

Knights decide to follow up on the t ipEmil gave them about the electronicswholesaler. They will find Abdul inhis store, sweating ou t the next v is itfrom the Black Death. Describe thescene as follows:

Followillg Emil s directions youhave arrived at Crazy Abdul s Houseof Values le sprawlillg structure israther ullimpressive save for the lay-ers ofbrightly colored advertisemelltsthat cover most of the outer walls

Up l entering the establishmentyou see thatAbdul offers quite a selec-tioll of new and used products. Boxescrates alld cartolls opened alld lW-opened are st ked nearly to the ceil-illg

Customers w nder the isles likerats ill a maze and at the back of thestore is a mml you recogllize immedi-ately as Crazy Abdul himself

The ActionC razy Abdul is one of the local

merchants wh o hasbeen forced to sellthecursed machines being distributedby the Black Death. But business hasbeen bad as the riders charge him toomuch for their deadly merchandise,forcing him to raise his prices to cover

the loss which in turn cuts into salesreliant on lo w prices.

Abdul s DiscountInformation

Abdul needs money badly. Busi-ness is very badly. He spends most ofhis t ime at the bar, drinking to forgethis business woes so he has seen a lotof thecomings an d goings the caba-ret. He figures hecan trade this knowl-edge for enough to pay the rent on his

store with enough left over for a fewbottles of the Blue Light s finest.lf theKnights t ry to illtimidate Abdul intgiving the information away for freethey need to bea t a d ifficulty numberof Abdul is desperate for money)

Abdul is a pathetic wretch whs pends as m uch t ime talking to him-self as he does the Knights, eyes anattention wandering as fits of paranoia grip him. Hesaw something trulhorrible once and his mind isn t wha t once was so he waxes incoherent attimes.

Abdul can impart the informationthat follows, but ifitseems theKnightswill kee p pay ing h im he will starmaking things up. Fortunately, he is avery bad liar.

o Abdul has watched Marieandhasseen that she has a brother that cometo visit her. He is a big m an who blusters while she is about but tur s quiewhen she is gone. Why he puts on aact for her, Abdul does not know buAbdul knows the m an s he sees is nothe man he is.

••



Torg: eylent Scream

oMarie s brother has friends wh ocome to see him, friends h e do es no twant his sister to see. He tells t hem notto come to th e Blue Light to see him,bu t they do , an d he gets very angrywith them. There ar e two friends, ama n in black an d a woman in red.

oBut Abdul knows tha t Mar ie has

seenthe ma n

in black. Sometimes, lateat night, when Abdul is coming homefrom the bar, he sees the ma n in blackenter Marie s aparhnent. He has toldno one else of this because he is afraidof th e ma n in black.

-The woman in re d is very beautiful. Abdul tries no t to s ta re , bu t hedoes, an d it makes him uncomfortable, bu t Abdul does not mind. Sh e isvery beautiful. Sh e comes for th ebrother, an d they leave together. He isvery lucky. Abdul likes the brother s

lady friend. She is beautiful.oSeveral weeks after the BlackDeath came to t ow n, A bd ul s ta rt edhearing stories about evil machinesthat were killing people. t didn t takehi m long to figure ou t that the stuff thebikers were forcing on him wa s cursed.He tried to closeup, bu t the bikers saidtha t if he stopped selling their stuff,they would kill hi m too.

oAbdulscraped together almost allhis remaining money an d hired a ma nto follow th e Black Death an d learnwhere their hideout was. The ma nfollowed them to the docks, bu t wa skilled before he could give Abdul an ymore information.

In addition to what little useful information he knows, Abdul will alsotell the Knights a s m an y stories aboutthe cursed merchandi se he has beenselling as they will listen to.

As most of these stories are th e invention of his fevered imagination an dnagging guilt, m ak e t he m up as yougo along. Man-eating food processors,

soul-sucking vacuum cleaners, mindblowing hair dryers, a nd, of course,the VCR of Death; these ar e bu t a fewof Crazy Abdul s wild tales.

After hearing Abdul s informationand hi s terrible tales, award th eKnights a Perseverance of if theybelieve most of it.

52

Cut To ...

Unless the Knights have ye t to investigate Marie s hideout , they wi llneed to go to the harbor to lookfor th eBlack Death.

Cut to Scene Four.

SCENE FOUR:The Harbor

The SituationDramat ic. Run this scene after th e

Knights have spoken to Crazy Abdulan d learned from him tha t the BlackDeath ma y have a headquarters nearth e harbor. Allow them to questionth e harbor residents for a while , confirming that the BlackDeath havebeenseen in the area, bu t there is no information about a ma n in black. Then,they hear the roar of motorcycles ...

Describe th e scene as follows:For the better part of all hOllr yOIl

have beell makiug illquiries about yourqllarnJ with little or no success wizenyOIl Ilear tIle roar of motorcyclesaround the next conler They do no tseem to be comiugcloser bu t they areroarillg10lldly Mixed ill with the tl/lm-

der of the engines yOll hear screamsWhen the Knights investigate, con

tinue: s you roulld the conJer yOll see

severalmembers of the l ackDeath-III1c1oaked Circl il lg a mal l ill blackpa/ lt s alld a black shirt alld beatillghi m with f laming dlail ls they aredressed ill theiruonlral black leathersbll t t llei r tnre forms - their flamillgskeletolls alld yellow eyes - showclearly throllgh

Time for a Perseverance check. Thistime, the Knights can gain or lose up totwo Perseverance points, as they allsee the riders for what they really are.

The ActionTh e Black Death have discovered

t he m an in black in his d isgu ise as adockworker an d havecome ou t in forceto pu t an end to his meddling. Thistime, Blaze has called on six riders to

deal with the ma n in black. Thesemembers aresuperior to their fellows,as Blaze wants to m ak e a n example ohim, an d have six more skill an d twomore attribute points that thgamemaster should distributeamongsttheir stats. Tw o or even threof them ar e possibility-rated.

The Rescue (?) ofthe Man in Black

While the Knights ma y have somereservationsaboutwhosesidetheManin Black is actually on, seeing hi m

being flayed alive by the Black Deathshould prompt them to action. thechoose to a ttack the spectral bikers,they automatically get the effects oIlormal sllrprise on their side. thKnights choose to be sneaky, stealth

totals of or higher from each of thpar ty members gets them a completsllrprise effect.

Destroying all of these Black Deathmembers is worth three Perseverancepoints. Being defeated is worth a threpoint reduction, an d the Knights willhave to flee th e ar ea to recoup theiPerseverance. Killing some an d driving off t he o thers is a t wo p oi nt increase, as the Knights realize that morewill be warned of their presence.

th e Black Death can be sur

rounded and kept off guard, they wilretreat when th e Knights defeat halftheir number. Otherwise, they will trto takeout th e Knights right there an dthen.

The M an in Black(and Blue)

The M an in Black ha s taken a terrible beating; he is heavily woundedwhen th e Knights ge t there, but, when

they attack, the Black Death allow hi mto collapse on the ground. Hewill onlhelp in t he combat if all lost otherwise.

AftermathWhen the battle is over, Derek will

introduce himself an d suggest thathey withdraw to a safe place to talk.They can go to the Blue Light, Marie sapartment, or anywhere the Knights



are comfortable. He needs medical attention, bu t isin stablecondition at th emoment.

Once they ar e safely away from th eharbor a nd h av e some measure of privacy, Derek expla ins wh o he is, h isrelationship to Marc an d MarieSinclair and what has been going on.Heapologizes for not approaching theKnights earlier, bu t he ha d to be surethey were allies. He thanks them forsaving his life.

Using information gained while ind is gu is e on th e doc ks , Derek ha slearned th e location of th e BlackDeath s warehouse headquarters . Hethinks Marc an d Marie ar e there, bu tfears for the ir continued well being.Since his disguise has been penetrated,an d Blaze m us t kn ow of th e StormKnights presence in the city, he feelsthat rescuing t he b ro th er an d sistermust be done immediately.

Derek has done research on Blazean d learned that sh e shies away frommirrors and, although he r reflection isnormal an d clear, she seldom looks at t This information is a clue to the truedeath of Blaze, an d is worth +2 to th eKnights Perseverance.

Flags the Mistakell Identity or Suspi-

cioll card is played during this scene,Derek will think on e of the Knights isa biker. this happens, he will tr y tosend the group on ahead to the warehouse alone.

Variables· Derek is killed during th e fight,

he will be unable to give them thecrucial information the warehouse an dthe Sinclairs. Have the Knigh ts find anotebook on his person that conta ins

the name and address of the warehouse and notes leading the Knightsto believe the Sinclairs are n immediate danger.

the Knights failed in their Perseverance check earlier and are unwillin g to save the Sinclairs, Derek, if he isalive, or Emil will come to them withan amule t enchanted against Blaze.The amulet contains t he t rue death ofthe succubus- n this case a distortedmirror that will show her foulness.

Th e knowledge of the true d ea th o fBlaze gives the Knigh ts +4 to theirPerseverance.

Cut To Scene Five: Into th e Lion s Den.The ac t ends w hen th e Storm

Knights have tracked down Blaze,Marc Sinclair and Marie Sinclair andeither destroyed the monster an d resc ue d t he siblings . .. or joined them.

SCENE FIVE:Into the Lion s en

The SituationD ra ma ti c. The Knights have re

turned to th e harbor, to th e warehouselocated by Derek Stern. He ma y bew it h t he m (if h is wounds h av e b ee ntended to an d he is willing). Describethe scene:

Having arrived at tlze Izarbor youm ke your y to the w rell use lo-cated by tlze IIIan in black You nowstand in ti e s lz ad ow s of a buildingacross tile street frol l tIle Izeadqllar-ters of tlze lack Deatlz

The ActionTh e Knights will have to decide

ho w to a pp ro ac h t he w ar eh ou se a ndg et t he Sinclairs ou t safely. As innumerable plans are possible, the detailsof the scene are presented in an holistic fashion, rather than step-by-step.

Blaze is confident in th e abilities ofh er h el lh ou nd s an d hellbikers, an dsees the other bikers as minions to beused. She wil l continue taunting andseducing Marc unless it is obvious all

her forces have been stopped oravoided by th e Knights. t is imperativ e for the Knight s to s ep ar at e h erfrom he r forces in order to truly defeathe r .

T h e O p p os it io n

When th e Knights arrive, there arequite a few enemies in the \varehousearea that they will have to bypass orovercome to ge t to th e Sinclairs.

Rebel Without A Sou

The headquar te rs a re inhab it ed byseveral bikers who have yet to be intiated into th e Black Death. These anormal humans who can fight an dharmed in the same manner as anyother mortal.

There ar e two bikers stationedeach of the entrances to t he t wo mabuildings in the compound. There aalso tw o bikers who wander the compound with four hellhounds that thwill release if they spo t any intrudersThis patrol follows th e fence clocwise in a slow circle stopping at eachof th e four guard posts for refreshment (they have beer an d munchieat each stop).

Bikers (six)DEXTERITY 9Dodge 10, fire combat 10, melweapons 11, unarmed combatland vehicles 11 0 3 w ImotorcycleslSTRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 9 10 w armorlPERCEPTION?M IND?CHARISMA 6Taunt 9SPIRIT 8Intimidation 9Equipment: Various melee weap

ons, damage value +4, maximumdamag e 19. 9m m pistol, damage valueLeather jackets, +1 protection.

Hellhounds 4See the hellhound statistics in ScenTw o for this encounter. Currentlythe houndsare disguised as lardogs, bu t tl lIe siglzt will reveal thetrue nature as will a few roundscombat. the Knights perceive theitrue natures , they need to makePerseverance check. Succeedinggives them a +1, failing a-I .

The HeadquartersThe Black Death have taken over

ol d warehouse tha t has not been useds ince the harbor all bu t shut downVery lit tle in the wa y of maintenanceha s been done by the bikergang, main g thei r base a run-down hell-hole

Area A: Main Gates. These chain-linkgates ar e closed but no t locked. Theris a security chain an d lock hanginf rom each of th e gates which ca nused by the Knights or the Bikers

e53



Torg: Cylent Scream

Rebel i t out Soul

~ The Black Death Headquarters

.

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IOJ 0 0 E

Io D D 0 I IJ) O o O m

OOc=J 0 0 F11

...

G\ :::> . . cQ- \

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seal the compound.Area B Warehouse. This huge room islined w it h c ol um ns an d filled withcrates boxes and barrels. There is alarge area cleared in the n1iddle wherethe initiation of Marc Sinclair is to beperformed. There ar e four tosixbikersan d their girlfriends here at an y giventime.Area C: Bike Park. There are a numberof motorcycles p ar ke d h ea r e qu al tothe numberof bikers in the compound

- including Marc.Area D:Tool Shed. A grubby shed fullof misused mechanical tools there areseveral knives and chains here alongwith normal equipment.Area E: Loading Bay. There is a t ru ckparked at the loading dock, and, in theback, a re t wo pieces of tw o foot rope,cu t in half. There is also a locket thatwas apparen t ly torn from its owneran d a gag. I f the Knigh ts make anevidence analysis total of 15 or higher,they recognize the locket from the pic-

• I

54

ture of Marie Sinclair.Area F: Main Office. Converted foruse by Blaze this area no w houses abed and an impressive array of \veap-ons such as knives chains and whips.Blaze is here as is Marc Sinclair whois in a trance of some kind. Blaze ispreparing him for his initiation themurder of his sister.

MarieSinclair is bound and gaggedon the floor behind the desk. Sh e ha sbeen roughed up a l it tle bu t is bas i

cally unharmed. Blaze has been taunting her so sh e knov rs about the initia-tion and is desperately afraid for herbrother.

Also in this office ar e th e six toughest of the Black Death - e a c h is possibility-rated, though they only h av etwo each left - an d they will be dispatched to deal with any problems inthe compound.

Marc and Marieand Blaze

Blaze the succubus ha s been working on MarcSinclairforweeksallOWing him to think that he ·v

using her to fight thehorrors ofOrrorshwhen in fact she was corrupting him.Marc has only to pass th e final stepBlaze s occult ritual - the killing ofhis sister - to join the Black Death a

their powerful ne w lieutenant.Marc Sinclai r

DEXTERITY 10 odge 4 fire combat 5 running 2 stealth 2 unarmed combat STRENGTH 11TOUGHNESS 14PERCEPTION 8Tracking 10,scholar economics) 12,language 11MIND 10CHARISMA 8



SPIRIT 8Intimidation 11, reality 12Possibilities: 10Equipment : 9mm pistol, damagevalue 15, range 3-10/25/40.

Succubus (Blaze)DEXTERITY 11Unarmed 14, melee 15

STRENGTH 14TOUGHNESS 11PERCEPTION 12Trick 17MIND 11CHARISMA 14Charm 21 persuade 18, taunt 19SPIRIT 15Int imidat ion 17, real ity 19, faith Orrorsh) 16Possibilities: 2 pe r Storm KnightPowers: IIypnosis, annor defeating t t k unarmed combat , resis-

tance to normal we ponsCorruption Value: 23Fear Rating: 1Weakness: eeing r direct reflec-tion a mirror stlJ nie weaknessTrue Death: er istort reflec-tion

Description: Blaze looks, usually,likeabeautiful woman dressedinblackleather an d red lace. Th e most obtuseobserver will detect the cruelness inhersmile an d thecoldnessin he r voice.

To experience her truedeath, Blazemust be held in front of a scratchedan d d is tor ted mi rro r for thi rty sec

onds. While sh e can fight during thistime, she cannot t ur n a wa y f rom themi rro r un til she has freed he r body.Getting he r in that position, however,is next to impossible.

The escue

Blaze, Marc, the remaining BlackDeath will be perfo rming th e initiation ceremony. the Knights cause adisturbance in the yard, the BlackDeath will be sent to investigate whileBlaze continues the ceremony. t takeswell over a n h ou r to perform.

Th e Storm Knights need to get pastthe bikers, and the black Death, an dtake on Blaze in her lair - with hertotallycontrolled victim, MarcSinclair.

ebel Without Soul

ftermath

the Knights are able to defeat theBlack Death an d Blaze, they can stopthe flow of death appliances an den d th e t er ro r of th e gang. They ar eheroes, even i they were unable tosave the unfortunate Sinclairs.

dventure wards

For successful ly rescuing bothSinclairs, each player character receives 12 Possibili ties. DestroyingBlaze permanently) is worth 3 Possibilities per Storm Knight. theKnights ar e u nab le to rescue Marc,subtract three possibili ties from theaward. neither Sinclair gets away,reduce the award by six. defeating theBlack Death an d driving away th

succubus is worth six Possibilities byitself. nothing is accomplished bythe Knights, then they get no award .

••



After the creature is repelled ordestroyed), the front commander takesthe Storm Knights aside an d explainsto them the reason they were s um -moned. Creatures like the on e theydispatched have been reported withalarming frequency, an d the government feels the source lies within therealm, at a place called Andoc. Hazyon thespecificsof the matter, the commander commissions the Knights

journey into the Living Land an d destroy Andoc a nd a ny activities goingon there.

The Storm Knights press forwardthrough the storm and into the jungle.After about a day s march an d severalencounters with the exotic flora an dfauna, they reach Andoc, a ruined research facility. Several top secret biologI al weapons ar e no w being usedin a hideous experiment withgospogseeds. The Knights must defeat theJakalls there, along with their gospogand another virus creature or BarukKaah will have another weapon to useagainst Core Earth.

Germ Warfare

AdventureBackground

The Andoc Medical Research Facili ty was one of Canada s leading CBR Chemica Biological- Rad iologica warfare centers Its most recent

~ e v e m e n twas its development of

vanous s uperp lagues ; v i ru len tstrains of killer diseases bred together to form a hybrid that defiesvaccination or treatment. Then onefateful spring day, a w av e o f energywashed over the site, an d all powerwas lost. Since the security measurescalled for absolute quarantine at alltimes the scientists within were shutinbyeleclronicallyoperatedsteelshutters. This, combined with the overwhelming savagery of pure Takta Kerreality, d rove m os t of the scientistsand guards into a raving frenzy. Theybegan to tear each other apart.

One scientist, a young lab assistantnamed Jack Horace, ha d transcendedthe axiom wash an d kept his sanity.He locked himself into a laboratory.

He was trapped inthere forthreedays;the lack ofsustenance an d the horribleviolence going on around managed todrive him over the edge, however.After three days, a group of Jakattsbroke in to the facility an d found him.

They also found the superplaguecultures, which ha d developed as apart of the Proteus Project, a massive R project for NATO.

The go taks of the Northern Landdecided to pu t thesespecimansto gooduse by plant ing them with gospogseeds.Theresultingbloated mutationsserve both as devasting warriors and,upon d es tr uc ti on a nd e xp os ur e,plague carriers. T hu s far, tw o of thecreatures have attacked CanadianArmy detachments an d inflicted mas

sive casualtieswhen

they were destroyed an d dissected, exposingsold ie rs to the germs. Canadian intelligence began to piece this plan together,and decided to let Storm Knights dealwith it the reason being that some ofthese alien creatures may be immuneto disease, an d wh o caresabouta dwarfor a werewolf anyway?).

SCENE ONE: Front oor to

Hell

The SituationStandard. The Storm Knigh ts are

escorted byArmy officials to the northeastern storm front in Columbia, speCifIcally the 300-meter stretch nicknamed the Front Door to Hell by thsoldiers s ta tioned there. There theymust s tand vigil against threats botfamiliar and unknown.

Read aloud or paraphrase:YOl Ilave jl st arrived at tile nortl

eastern st nn front, along tire North-em Living Land. Tile temperatl/re -tllis side of tile s t o is well belowzero bl/tglimpses of tropical rain for- st are visible from within tir realmWisps of tile Deep is t liang over tilefront. Tile land is marked by smolder-ingfires sl/ddenlrolesblasted tllrol/gllthe snow and eartlr, and tlrousandsSPe lt rOl/nds. One of tile soldiersescoringyou to the front commander stent remarks th t this area s knownas tlte Front Door to Hell - n

e

57



Torg: Cylent Scream

appropriate Ilame from what you callsee.

You have beell asked to come here POIl tIle reqllest of t ile Calladiall Se-cret Service ill cOlljullctioll with themilitan . Evidelltly a series of bizarrecircumstallces have unfolded here thatgo beyol ld tile ability of tlze CmzadiallAmlY to deal witl l so t ll ey cal led illyOIl to Ilalldle it. After all figlltweird-Iless with weirdlless Duly problemtlley s t i l l Ilavell t told yOIl wlzat yOIlare up agaillst; perhaps thefrollt com-mander can enlighten you.

The ActionThe commander a sober and dis

tinguished major named White, is briefin his discussion. He tells the Knightsthat a weird amoeboid creature has

been sighted an d fought by front soldiers to no avail. Its origin isunknownbut their relative toughness promptedthe government to contact those with special talents in order to handlethis.

What Major White tells the StormKnights is only partially true. He isunable to tell t he m a ny th in g a bo utProject Proteus or the nature of thecreatures. He has however beenbriefed on the circumstances; a persua-sio/l total that gets a /leulml result or

better opens up White, an d he willreveal the following information:o Canada had a to p secret research

facility in the vest on the lands no\ \captured by theJakatts. Since theinva-sion various rumors about it havefiltered through the armed forces, an dits existence is no w great rumor-fodder.

o Intelligence reports alleged Jakattactivity nea r the site of th e facility,involving some sort of religious ceremony a false assumpt ion on

Canada s part).o While strong forces of Jakatts usu-ally patrol the borders of th e LivingLan d at leas t in Canada), this regionshows a slightlylessconcentrated presence than most areas.

-While normal weapons can beused to b low apar t and kill theGospogVirus c re at ur e, this will probablyspread the disease to the attackers justas surely as i the creature still lived.

This is al l Commander Whiteknows. He has been ordered to brief

•

58

th e Knights o n t he general location ofth e site an d their missiononly; anthingelse he ma y reveal about thisoccuranceisstrictly unofficial and done only outof his concern for the Knights safety.

Commander Wh i t eDEXTERITY 9Dodge 10, fire combat 12, melee

weapons 11, running 10, stealth 10,unarmed combat 12STRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 1PERCEPTION 1Find 12, land vehicles 11, scholar military history) 11, trick 12MIND 9Science military) 13, survival 12,test 12, willpower 11CHARISMA 9Persuasion 11 taunt 11SPIRIT 8Intimidation 9, reality

Possibilities: 5Equipment: .45 Colt auto (damagevalue 16), ammo 7, range 310/15/40, Kevlar a rm or and helmet (+5/armor value 15 parka ElBenedicte cigars hi p flask.

EventWhile discussing the mission with

the front commander in his tent machine gun fire erupts from th e frontoutside. A Jakatt war party, howlingfuriously against the \ vind has attacked. Read aloud or paraphrase:

n e s taccato burst s of alltomaticfire f ro m o ll ts id e Ilze tezzl yallks yOIl0111 of YOllr cOllferellce. PlIllillg tlzete l lt f laps aside a gruesome scelle isrevealed: the soldiers locked ill com-ba t with a score ofedehzos alld tral1S-formed JllmWIlS streamillg out of th estann in a ma d rush. TI e ]akatts seemillsmle witll bloodlllst slmlggillg off

S.56mm rOllllds as i f tlzey were pebbles.So Oi l they are Oil the soldiers who arealso ill a flln at tI,e sigllt of tizeirellemy. TIle figlltillg is gon alld witl -Ollt quarter.

The Jakatts ar e all under the effectof the Increased TOllgJl less miracle. Theirreason for the attack is to draw th esoldiers closer to the storm and attractthe g os po g v ir us nearby - an d tohave some fun in th e progress. Theyar e all hunters, an d generally will us e

no miracles in battle, relying only otheir physical prowess. The soldierangry at the audaci ty of the edeinoswill follow them back to t he s to rmfight them unless t hey are stopped.

Edeinos Warriors 18)See page 34 of the Torg AdvelliurBook or page 83 of the Livi/lg Wilsourcebook for statistics on thedeinos. All t he ede inos are undethe effect of the I lCl ensed TougIzllesmiracle , l is ted in th e Livillg Wilsourcebook on page 76.

H u m a n Jakat ts 2)The human Jakatts have similaskillsand statsas theiredeinoscounterparts, making up for their lackTougIzlless bywearing boneand hid armor +3/20). They ar e alsunder the effects of th e I lCl ense

TougIzlless Miracle.Sold iers 25

DEXTERITY 8Dodge9, fire combat 1 meleeweap-on s 1 unarmed combat

STRENGTH 1TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 8Find 9, f irst aid 9, tracking 9, lanvehicles 9MIND8Survival 1 test 9, willpower 9CHARISMA 8SPIRIT 8Intimidation 10Possibility Potential: some 45).Equi pment: M16 (damagevalue 2

ammo 1 range 340 /250 / 400) grenad(damage va lue 14, range 16, 15/40)survival kit Kevlar armor and helmet(+5/armor value 14), bayonet (damage value STR+3/17 (not aff ixed trifle); STR+4/19 affixed), parka.

Aftera round or tw o of combat thStorm Knights will probably be ivolved, bu t they may be merely watching), th e Jakatts begin to slowly fback towards the storm. The soldiereagerly follow them, b ut a t once learth e reason for their enemy s retreaRead aloud or paraphrase:

From ou t of Il,e jllllgle, a Illlge pro-teall mass oozes fortll. is a sicklpurple greeu il hue alld bulges

evellly with protoplasm TI e creaturewriggles forward all pseudopods alw iz at l oo k like roots . TI,e soldiers,



terrified begin to flee bllt this newhOl ror lashes alit and begins to engllift ltem one time

Unless the Knights intervene, thegospog virus eats thesoldiers an d thenslides back into the jungle. The creature cannot be tallnted or tricked bu tattacking it draws its attention away

from the helpless an d fleeing soldiers.After it takes three wounds it attemptsto retreat.

G o sp o g Vi ru sDEXTERITY 8Maneuver 10 unarmed combat 17running 10STRENGTH 16Lifting 18TOUGHNESS 2PERCEPTION 5Find 8 tracking 8 trick (*)MIND 2CHARISMA 15Taunt (*)SPIRIT 3Intimidation 18Possibility Potential: none

Natural Tools: pseudopod (damage value 20), infection damage valuespecial) - if anyone is exposed to thecreature s innards that person is ex-posed to a virulent strain of anthrax.The Strengtlt value of the infection is18, and, i f the infection s Strengtlt ishigher than the character s TOllgltness without armor), the victim is infected- a medicine total against th e difficulty of 21 is needed to cure the infection, an d it does damage value 18 tothe victim every day of infection afterthe first. Thedamage cannot be healeduntil the infection is cured.

Description: The Gospog Virus is am ut at ed a nd infected Living Landgospog that has grown to many timesits size. Its main form ofat tack is thecreation and utilization ofpseudop ods.It at tacks mul tipl e target s u sing theOne-an-Many Difficulty Modifiers.

Once the creature is dealt with, theKnights have the opportunity to restand recuperate for a day. CommanderWhite, i he hasn t done so already,tells the Knights what he knows about

Germ Warfare

their mission and emphasizes thimportance of Andoc s destruction tothem.

Flags an lerlness card is played before

the virus attacks, one of the Storm

Knights perceives a shifting mass jusbeyond the storm s boundaries - thiis the gospog virus, awaiting the soldiersapproach. The Knights ma y theact to keep the soldiers from pursuingtheir quarry.

the same card is played after thegospog virus attacks, a character withsome science or medical backgroundshould realize that the bodilly fluidsof the creature could be infectous.

a SlIspicion card is played at thebeginning oJ the scene, one of th

Knights will not believe White is telling them the whole truth, and will bextremely suspicious of anything thcommander tells them offthe record.

Shoulda Connection card be playedone of the Knights knows a soldier in

e59



Torg: Cylent Scream

the de tachmen t, a sergean t namedJosette DePryng. She has heard someof the rumors about the situation (seeabove and could answer some StormKnightquestionsif Commander Whiteis unwilling.

Variables f it appears that theStorm Knights,

along with th e soldiers, will eliminatethe edeinos before they can draw thegospog virus out, t hen the virus, hungry for prey, will emerge from thestorm an d consume both the fallenedeinos an d t he n t he soldiers beyondthem. The Knights will b e u na bl e towatch the creature from a distance, asit will no w pursue an y creature withinimmediate proximity.

f the Knights do nothing to save

th e soldiers from the virus or th eedeinos, the virus willbloatitself uponth e downed soldiers an d then slideback into the realm. The remain ingedeinos, in a frenzy, wi ll a tta ck th eKnights ou t of sheer excitement. Oncetheyare driven off, Commander Whitewill berate the Knights for their cowardice an d have th e military policeescort them away from the front.

Cut to Scene Two: Wa lking th eTrail.

SCENE TWO: alking the Trail

The SituationStandard. The Storm Knights, fol

lowing their e nc ou nt er w it h th egospog virus, have breached the stormfront to find the rui ned And oc Research Facility. On t he way, they meetsome of the more unusual and deadlylocal inhabitants.

Read aloud or paraphrase:

fter a day s restol1 tile frol1t wllereyou il1dulged il1 world famous anl1Ycuisil1e, Commander White sends youoff iuto tile woods witll a Ilal1dsllakesome general directio1ls to get to thesite al d tllree satcllel ellarges of C5plastic explosive to use onAndoc. Youhave been walking for about hour,au d Core Eartll is W fully out ofsigllt. Tllis is pure Takla Ker tile es-

sence of primeval savagenJ, and you restartil1gtofeel a little ... cramped. TileDeep Mist envelops you, engulfs you,and, a t the same time you struggle tokeep yourself f ro m b ei ng engulfed bytI e realm. Grittil1gyourteetll orfmlgsas the case ma y be , you press 11

The ActionAndoc Medical Research Facility is

located approximately 25 miles southof the point where the Knights enterthe Living Land, an d it takesa while toreach it on foot. This scene comprisesthat hike. t endson th e outskirts ofthefacility (or what s left of it).

All t ravel is done on foot. on e ofthe Knights hasa vehicle and hisplayerstarts whining about autocraticGamemasters , too bad: th e jungle is

entirelytoo thick an d unpredictable todrive through.Gamemaster Note: The Living

Land is reowned for its dangerousinhabitants. Make sure th e Knightsar e beleaguered,pestered and attackedas several times on this journey. A fewoccurances suitable for this task are:

Shestike Forest - the Knights wande r into a bizarre grove o f w ha t appear to be hairy trees, their branchesenshrouded by the mist. Suddenly,the slender t ru nk s b en d an d th eKnights ar e set upon by a pair of hungry shestikes The two creatures hunttogether, standing side by side andt hen crouching down on their prey.They won t leave th e Knights untileach o f t hem h as fed.

Shest ikes 2See page 94 of the Livil1g al d

sourcebook.

Ugresk Nest - taking a breather,th e Knights sit down and discover anest of Ugresk eggs, which proceed to

hatch a number of vicious and violentyoung ugresks. The young uns, anxious for their mother, s tart snappingan d clawing at the Knights.

Ugresk babies l fo r e ach StormKnight)

DEXTERITY 6Flight 7STRENGTH 13TOUGHNESS 14PERCEPTION 9Find 10 Tracking 10

MIND 7CHARISMA 8SPIRIT 8Intimidation

Possibility Potential: noneNatural Tools: bite damage valuI5),claws damage value 14), wings(speed value 10

f any of the players express affection at th e Sight of this miracle of life,have th e ugresks snap an d claw atthaplayer s Storm Knight viciously. Thebabies aren t that threatening, bu t arnoisy - they will start to a tt ract unwanted visitors from the jungle . Acruel GM will have th e mother ugreskreturn to t he n es t before th e Knightcan slip away. See th e Livil1g al sourcebook for detai ls on this creature.

These ar e only th e highlights. Th

Knights must still surv ive th mundanities of the Land - that is,they m ust h un t for food, they musdeal with the reality, they must try noto ge t lost or lose all their equipment.Dealingwith these phenonmena isbeexplained on pages 65-70 of the ivil al d sourcebook.

Us e as many or as few ofthe inhabitants and features of the Living Landas you wish; too l it tle would not btrue to th e dangers of the prehistorisavagery of the realm, an d too many

will undoubtably drag th e players toofar from their main objective.

Variables f the Storm Knights ar e forced t

use one or more of the satchel chargesgiven them, they havea damage valuof 16 an d a blast radius of 0-3/6/10.

When the Knight s re ac h AndocMedical Research Facillity, cu t t Scene Three: Our Fortress Tall.

SCENE THREE:Our Fortress Tall

The SituationStandard. The S to rm Knights ar

rive at ndoc Medical Research Facility. There, they m us t p re ve nt thJaka tt s f rom creat ing a new gospogvirus an d des troy an old one.

. ~

60 .



Torg yl nt Scream

Jakatts kept him alive an d fed becauseof his knowledge of the laboratory,an d he wanders around the site aim-lessly. Unless the Knights haul himaway from the building, Horace willperish in the blast of the explosion.

AftermathThesuccessful destruction ofAndoc

an d the shutdown of this operationwill be a major boost to the anadianwa r effort. Their standing in the eyesof the anadian government will begreatly augmented, an d they may beapproached to work for them on apermanent basis. the Knights returnto the Living Land again, from theCanadian side, they can expect both

cooperation from the anadian mili-tary command an d antagonism fromthe Jakatts of the realm.

the Storm Knights fail in theirmission, thenBarukKaah sgotaks willcontinueto grow virus gospog. Pleasedwith the results, the Saar will dispatchthecreatures to the Western an d East-ern Lands Canadian authorities willbe hard pu t to defend their originalproduction of the virus an d to containthe spread of the creatures. t is un-likely that they will ask the help of theStorm Knights again.

the Knights rescue Jack Horacean d take him to theauthorities, he willbe placed under th e care of th ecountry s top physicians, wh o will aidhim on his recovery of mental health.

he is ever returned to normalcy,he will become a steadfast al ly of theKnights.

Awards the Knights destroyedAndoc (and

perhaps rescue Horace) award the

12possibilities at the en d oftheadventurethey dest royed the Jakatts an

the active Gospog Virus bu t did ndestroy the dormant viruses or thfacillity, award the Knigh ts 9 possibilities.

they failed to accomplish eithertask, award them no possibilities.

cylent scream

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