Dungeons the Dragoning 1.6

CHAPTER XV:
SETTING

higher power. Other rumors say that the offer
is just what it seems, an attempt to boost the
tourism trade.

Beastlands

The Beastlands are a mysterious
Crystal Sphere. There are a number of planets
circling the star that are habitable, each one
covered in wilderness and with astoundingly
deadly wildlife. There are some ruins on the
planets and mysterious power signatures, but
attempts to investigate the ruins or establish a
colony have all met with failure as the fauna -
and even flora - turned actively hostile,
demonstrating abilities impossible for normal
plant and animal life that only increased in re-
sponse to resistance.

PHYSICAL ecosystems are astoundingly deadly to out-
siders, functioning almost like a massive de-
CONDITIONS fense system at every scale from microscopic
to even defending from orbital threats. The
To a casual observer, the Beastlands things that the life forms on these planets can
seem like a fairly normal system, if one com- do border on the supernatural in scope, yet
pletely untouched by industry and the trap- there doesn't seem to be much actual magic to
pings of civilization. Someone more observant it at all, merely biology so incredibly advanced
might note that the worlds in the Sphere are that it seems impossible, from trees that grow
unusually flush and full of life, with every sin- as armored shells around high-energy hydro-
gle solid surface - and even the system's sole carbons - firing upward as ballistic missiles
gas giant - supporting an advanced ecology. that can even achieve orbit - to plants with
The system has seven planets, and there's little leaves with almost perfectly reflective surfaces
point in describing each of them in detail - that they use to focus ambient light into deadly
they are all nearly the same. beams of heat.

The sameness of the worlds is actually The fauna is even worse than the
quite startling. Very nearly the same ecosys- flora. Dragons can't even compete with them,
tems exist in every world, just adapting to sur- mostly because they all seem to work together
vive in the conditions present on each of the when intruders are around. When observed
planets. From what few samples scholars have from a great distance, the ecology seems to
been able to gather, the native organisms de- settle and act like a fairly normal world, the life
veloped an astounding ability to survive in forms preying on one another and so forth. It's
nearly any environment, possibly thanks to a only when someone from the outside comes in
massive planetary disaster. There's little evi- and disturbs things that they seem to sponta-
dence to support that theory, though. With the neously form an army. There doesn't seem to
active ecosystem on each system, finding be any central planning or hivemind effect - all
craters and other signs of disaster are difficult. of the behavior seems to be emergent, devel-
Any kind of active scan is almost inevitably oping from their normal behaviors.
met with a response from the planet.
Because of the sheer danger of the
Naturally, it's this response that is of
greatest interest to people. Mostly because it's
what ends up killing just about everyone. The

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SETTING

life forms from the planet got
onboard. The Mothership has
since become a crumpled wreck
overgrown with tough fungus
and massive vines that have de-
veloped thick skins that use
metal drawn from the ship to
form radiation-resisting hulls.
Animals, most of them smaller
and stranger than in the rest of
the system, prowl the warped
hallways which have become
more like caves or the bowels of
some massive beast.

ecologies, settlements are more-or-less impos- The Sargasso Asteroids
sible. One attempt was made to terraform the
most temperate of the planets. The attempt Supporting the idea that the
ended badly, and the tales the few survivors life forms here spread through
told were enough to make sure a second mis- space via some kind of impact event, asteroids
sion was never launched. To date, the Beast- have become collected in most of the stable
lands lie relatively untouched, left to the Lagrange points and, over time, life has grown
dangerous animals within. there. Weedy strings of plant matter and bac-
teria have joined the asteroids that fall here
BEASTLANDS into loose nests and webs. They're one of the
INHABITANTS few places that are relatively safe to collect
samples from, as there isn't enough biomass to
The only real inhabitants are the create anything really dangerous, though oc-
strange, extremely advanced life forms. Noth- casionally asteroids will break free on suspi-
ing else can really survive for long, either end- ciously precise trajectories to hit ships that
ing up becoming food or being torn apart and approach too closely.
then food. A few (very well armed) scientists
still study the local life forms, but their expe- The Great Circle
ditions have to be very fast and unobtrusive -
even a slight disturbance can start the wildlife The Great Circle is the name given to
on a killing spree. the only ruins that have ever been discovered
on any of the planets of the Beastlands.
BEASTLANDS They're the only structures that aren't over-
LOCATIONS grown or destroyed quickly by invading plants
and animals. The ruins are in the form of a
The Mothership ring, twenty kilometers around and a kilome-
ter and a half thick. Several expeditions have
The remains of the first terraforming tried to explore the ruins, but there doesn't
attempt are still floating in-system. The mas- seem to be a way inside the structure. For
sive ship is several kilometers long, and had a now, it remains one of the greatest mysteries
crew numbering in the tens of thousands. in the Sphere.
Had. Only a tiny fraction of the crew managed
to escape, and the rest became food and bio- Variable Gravity Well
mass for a growing infection that started after
On one of the moons of the system's
sole gas giant (which itself harbors floating
plants and animals like gliding wings and bal-
loons) is a spot that's unique in the system.

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SETTING

Something buried deep within the moon is outside of the Spheres. The ships don't match
emitting a high amount of warp energy that's any known class or even general design philos-
warping space around the moon, the effect ophy of the known races. At least one of the
most strongly felt as a, well, variable gravity ships was destroyed after firing strange plasma
well that changes in shape and power over weapons on a human ship. The debris recov-
time. The corpses of many thousands of the ered - and there wasn't much - was almost en-
largest variety of predatory native are in a mas- tirely non-metallic, made of strange polymers
sive pile over the site of the gravity well, their and plastics that seem organic in nature. Are
hardened shells forming a tough barrier that these ships connected to the reports of space
would take battleship-level weapons to break monsters attacking nearby Crystal Spheres?
through. Even approaching this moon is dan-
gerous - it seems to represent a sore spot or Bytopia
sensitive zone for the wildlife, always drawing
fire. Bytopia is a place of intense industry,
a pair of worlds that are covered in forges and
Adventure Hooks factories, industrial complexes soaring into the
sky and mine workings burrowing deep into
* Recently, humanoid creatures have the crust. Bytopia boats the most impressive
been spotted on one of the planets in-system. factories in known space, its massive produc-
They didn't quite match the description of any tion able to supply armies throughout the
known race, but seem to combine features Wheel. Entire fleets are devoted to bringing
from all of them. Are they intelligent life forms raw materials to Bytopia and bringing con-
that have somehow escaped detection until sumer goods away. The very void within the
now, a new development that has only recently Crystal Sphere of Bytopia is contaminated
evolved, or are they part of a rumored cult of with enough industrial pollution and smoke to
survivalists that is said to have come to the give it a thin atmospheric haze.
Beastlands to escape the sprawl of civilization?
PHYSICAL
* Some of the scientists returning CONDITIONS
from studies of the Beastlands have been van-
ishing after returning home. At the same time, Bytopia is an old and used-up system.
there are reports of creatures that resemble the There are only two planets left, encrusted with
native life of the Beastlands appearing on their factories and landing facilities for ships. Space
homeworlds. Is there some new disease or in- elevators hang down from artificial, solid, rings
fection that is lying dormant in researchers and around each planet that serve both as docking
waiting to spread the taint of the bizarre life ports for massive freight ships and mass accel-
here across the Wheel? erators for launching cargo loads to waiting
nets and waste loads into the sun. The planets
* Increasingly, as research efforts be- are only barely habitable, wastelands of indus-
come more uncommon and unmanned probes trial waste and mining debris. The vast major-
become the norm, strange malfunctions and ity of the large population spends their lives
glitches have been occurring. Probes are inside, many never seeing the light of day.
recording passages of time that don't match
the time that passes outside the Sphere. It ap- Bytopia's system is thankfully free of
pears as though the longer that the Sphere magical hazards. The place operates much as
goes without being opened, the faster time you'd expect a space to, with few surprises in
passes inside it. Some have suggested that this terms of the actual physical laws. The compo-
time warp might be the cause for why the life sition of the plane might surprise a person,
here is so evolved - it's had many more billions though. As noted above, there's so much pol-
of years without extinction-level events or out- lution and industrial waste floating around in
siders becoming involved to become intercon- the sphere that it's actually somewhat pressur-
nected. ized, thicker than a nebula and made entirely

* Reports speak of strange ships being
seen around the Beastlands, both inside and

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SETTING

out of pollution. Going outside these areas carries the threat of
immediate and often deadly police action.
There's plenty of evidence that there
Ships are constantly moving in and
were a number of other worlds in the system. out of the system, making the traffic a hazard
in its own right. Thankfully, the traffic control
The mined-out remnants of no less than three agents of Bytopia are excellent - the combina-
tion of Virtual Intelligence and extreme skill
gas giants and two other rocky planets float in they use combines the best aspects of logic and
instinct. The trade in raw materials and ore
lazy orbits. There's little left now except an- has priority over almost all other traffic, fuel
for the furnaces of creation.
cient scaffolding from when they literally took
BYTOPIAN
the planets apart, too old and in much disre- INHABITANTS

pair, everything of value already taken away. The major inhabitants of Bytopia are
Squats and Humans. Halflings are found in
The only thing left are frameworks of metal great numbers as well, though they typically
live in the underbelly of the factory-cities, sur-
too difficult to work or scrap. viving on scraps and cunning. Gnomes can be
found as well, working on the more arcane and
The first planet of Bytopia, Dothion, ancient machinery and keeping it running

is all rust-colored landscapes and tarnished from day to day. There
is no wildlife to speak of,
metal. Most of the natives live in massive ar- though there are some
working animals used in
cologies that supply all their needs. Monorails a few factories, and pets
kept by the affluent.
and moving walkways are the norm - there are
BYTOPIAN
almost no personal transports except for the LOCATIONS

very rich. Most live within walking distance of Ring 0

their jobs, only know their neighbors and One of the oldest
parts of the system, Ring
workmates, and never even think about travel 0 is the scaffolding rem-
nant of one of the inner
or the outside world. Vacations are spent in rocky planets. It was one
of the first planets com-
purpose-built recreation zones which offer pletely strip mined, an
overbuilt prototype that
some modest simulation was refined as the By-
topians tore the rest of
of nature, albeit one the system apart. The
scaffolding surrounds a
crowded shoulder-to- useless core of slag rock
that no one has (yet)
shoulder with other peo- found a use for. What
remains of Ring 0 is
ple. what they couldn't easy

The second

planet, Shurrock, is far

less forgiving. It pro-

duces many items that

are restricted or illegal on

other worlds - lockpicks,

weapons, military armor,

and spelljammer compo-

nents. The natives don't

have the same sort of

freedoms enjoyed on the

first world - because of

the dangerous nature of

many of the items and

the value of them all,

they're constantly

watched, searched, and

screened for dangerous

ideas. Outsiders are

viewed with suspicion

and kept away from the

general population, dis-

tracted by areas set aside

for just that purpose.

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SETTING

recycle - the mass driver and damaged parts GWOTT Headquarters
that just weren't worth saving. It has become
something of a tradition for the smaller inde- A government building as large as a
pendent traders to stop at Ring 0 at the end of city, the Great Wheel Order of Trade and Tar-
a successful run. A bar has been built there, iffs is the organization that polices economic
and the ancient Ring 0 docks are more than activity and acts as a kind of police force to
sufficient to handle the light traffic. The bar, protect the stability of the Wheel's economy
Absolute Zero, is an inflatable structure that and to curtail trade in illegal goods and serv-
looks out into the void with transparent walls. ices. GWOTT keeps its headquarters separate
It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times from Sigil to keep a distance both politically
now, but the bartender, an Eldarin exile who and literally from the interests of the Factions.
goes by Moondog, refuses to make the struc- The chief of GWOTT is a strict and collected
ture more sturdy or quit. He says he enjoys the woman named Eclipse who makes few public
danger and excitement. appearances. Rumors say that the GWOTT
employs teams of Exalts to take on the most
The Last Ruby Rays of Dawn difficult and sensitive missions, often breaking
or ignoring local laws for a greater good.
A wrecked ship, the Last Ruby Rays
of Dawn was carrying extremely hazardous Solar Observatory #14
cargo that broke containment and left every-
one onboard ship dead. For over a century, A very plain title for one of the best-
the Dawn has floated in an extremely elliptical kept secrets in the system. For thousands of
orbit that keeps it away from all other traffic years now it has been watching a very strange
lanes. No one has tried to salvage the ship - object - a station orbiting the sun at extremely
the filed reports say that it'll be another hun- close range. Impossibly close. The station has
dred centuries before anyone can go aboard been seen passing through arcs of solar plasma
without melting into a puddle of radioactive with no change to the structure. Ships haven't
ooze. Or that's what the reports say. No one is been able to get close enough to actually dock
willing to chance it. The ship floats with a with it. The assumption among most scholars
hundred thousand kilometer no fly zone is that it's Syrneth in nature, a relic of their
around it, though rumors say that transmis- golden age. Of course, it hasn't been proven,
sions and even running lights have been seen and some of the latest scans have presented
coming from the wreck. somewhat worrying evidence of growing activ-
ity lately. The truth may never be known at all,
as the orbit is slowly decaying and within a
generation or so it is expected to simply drop
into the sun and never be seen again.

ADVENTURE SEEDS

* In one of the best protected factories
of Shurrock is a legion of massive war ma-
chines, titanic walking tanks called Warstrid-
ers. Whoever gets their hands on them can
conquer entire Crystal Spheres, carve out em-
pires among the stars. Next week, the bidding
is due to start. Now, though, they're vulnera-
ble (relatively) and an extremely tempting tar-
get. A surprising amount of information on
their location and the security forces has been
leaked to the wrong people, almost as if they're
tempting someone to try taking them...

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SETTING

* The inhabitants of Dothion Sphere opened has also had prizes, technology
are used to excavating geofronts, huge that even the most clever looters had been un-
caverns underground, to house people able to claim. Despite the signs that Carceri
and industry. However, in one of the was constructed to contain something terribly
latest excavations, the miners discovered dangerous, the lure of Syrneth technology has
a cave complex that was certainly not funded countless expeditions.
natural. Before contact was lost, they re-
ported strange power sources, halls of PHYSICAL
black metal staring into them, stasis
banks with sleeping things the refused to CONDITIONS
describe, and, towards the end, the
sense that something was awakening, Carceri is located in the scenic middle
that the entire place was alive and full of of nowhere. It's not only out of the way, but
hate for them, endless ancient hate. the crystal sphere is shrouded in a dark nebula
that makes it invisible until a spelljammer gets
* The GWOTT would like outsiders close to it, when it suddenly looms up out of
to think that it is a perfect organization with- the gloom. The portal relay that services
out any internal troubles and unparalleled au- Carceri is well outside the nebula, making the
thority throughout the Wheel. However, journey to the crystal sphere a trying task. The
recently two very important high-ranking op- outermost crystal sphere is easy to breach from
eratives went rogue, claiming that the the outside. From the inside, though, the
GWOTT is being controlled by a cabal of once-easy navigation becomes a trying task,
merchants and aristocracy that have some ne- the structure of the crystal sphere serving to
farious plan. While the rogues might be right, funnel ships inside.
unconfirmed internal reports suggest that they
might be high-level exalts, and perfectly capa- As already mentioned, Carceri is a
ble of doing a lot of damage on their own. unique structure, as far as is known. Inside are
nested crystal spheres - the exact number of
* Shurrock has been experimenting which aren't known. The first open area is the
with something extremely dangerous - a kind most well-known, especially by treasure
of mind control agent of extreme and subtle hunters, as it's their first stop (and often the
power delivered over multiple means. The last place they're seen alive). The space be-
food, water, and entertainment of the planet tween the spheres on the first layer is quite
are all tainted with this system, and it has been small, only a few kilometers like a shallow sea
very effective in keeping worker unrest down of space with crystal spheres above and below.
and happiness high. However, it appears long-
term use of the drugs and psychological pro- Even on the first layer of Carceri, the
gramming has a determental effect. An effect Sphere's various hazards appear. The two
that drives people to murder everyone around most obvious are the massive storms and
them. clouds of floating debris. Because of a kind of
strange extradimensional friction, massive
Carceri

Carceri is an unusual formation, a
matryoshka doll of Crystal Spheres nested one
inside the other. Each layer contains equip-
ment of incredible age - most assume that it's
Syrneth, but some scholars claim that it seems
even older, though that is of course impossi-
ble. The center has never been reached, each
Crystal Sphere proving to be more and more
difficult to breach. But each new Crystal

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SETTING

electrical storms roil across space, strange and deeper in to find anything worth selling.
lighting striking out in all directions in unpre- Still, it's said that even one good find can set a
dictable patterns. These bolts have been man up for life, so those looking to get rich
known to wreck smaller ships and slag electri- quick typically can't resist.
cal systems on larger ships. The debris is even
worse, everything from ships wrecked by the There are other, less obvious dangers
storms to clouds of razor-sharp hull fragments to Carceri. While there's no atmosphere, there
that can cut through void suits (and the people are occasional rains and snows of a black acid
wearing them) like a sword through butter. that can eat through unprotected starship
hulls. Some kind of Warp turbulence makes it
There are other dangers as well, some so that no one can manage to get sleep without
of them less obvious. The first few layers have having horrible nightmares that stay with them
been relatively well-explored, and it has be- for the rest of their lives. Worst of all, the com-
come quite clear that space is warped here, pression of space in the lower layers of Carceri
compressed so that impossible gulfs of space carry with them a compression of time. Not
span the layers between the spheres. It seems just time flowing at a different rate, but cause
to grow at an exponential rate, so where only and effect jumbling together, events being
a few kilometers are in the first layer, there are forced closer together even as perception of
hundreds in the next, then tens of thousands. time stays the same and struggles to catch up.
Always at the center, though, is the next layer
of Carceri's crystal sphere. Exacting measure- CARCERIAN
ments have shown only a tiny decrease in the INHABITANTS
central sphere's diameter with each layer
down. There might be hundreds of layers. No one sane would call Carceri
home, which means that humans have natu-
Syrne ruins are the main attraction for rally tried to colonize the place. The attempts
visitors. And the only visitors are foolish treas- have been universally met with failure. No one
ure hunters. There's a long history of treasure wants to stay here. The creatures that seem
hunting here, thousands of years of people truly native to the place are among the worst,
throwing their lives away for Syrne artifacts. and toughest, known to exist. Aside from
All of the ruins that are easy to get to have crawling things like giant bugs that scavenge
been picked clean, driving the hunters deeper

306

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SETTING

wrecked ships for anything they can eat, there close with it end in being fired on. Rumors say
are predators like large flying jellyfish that have that the shipyard isn't government work, and
proven resistant to even concentrated attacks that pirates run the place, but that seems un-
and seem to drain the very life from their vic- likely given some of the ships seen there unless
tims. the pirates and government are working to-
gether - a theory only a conspiracy theorist
CARCERIAN would believe. What is certainly true is that the
LOCATIONS shipyard is building prototype ships designed
to penetrate the extremely dangerous Crystal
The Vault Spheres of the lowest Carceri layers, complete
with a new and unique type of navigation sys-
Carceri is a place that's hard to get out tem.
of, with no helpful natives and nowhere to re-
ally run. It's a great place to build a prison, or Agathys
at least so thought some of the Factions. When
someone really, really needs to disappear, this Agathys is the name scholars have
is where they're sent. It's a structure that re- given to the sixth layer of Carceri, the deepest
sembles nothing so much as a blank sphere of one that has been reliably penetrated and
iron, with just one dock for a ship, no win- partly mapped. While some gatecrashers tell
dows, and no lights, guide beacons, or any- stories of navigating through the crystal sphere
thing else to draw attention. The warden, at its center and reaching another layer full of
named Staccato Thaman, is a man with a hard ruins, but this is almost certainly nothing more
head and an iron fist. No one has ever escaped than just stories or dumb luck. Current think-
from the vault. As long as he's in charge, he's ing is that no human can actually penetrate the
going to make sure no one ever does. Crystal Sphere here - the course changes
needed are too much for anything but a com-
Rostok puter, but actually building the program that
can manage it and the ship that can fly the
Rostok is one of the very few places in course have proven difficult.
Carceri that offers travellers any services. It's
a space station bodged together with scrapped ADVENTURE HOOKS
hulls of ships and garbage, giving it a ram-
shackle and overall dirty appearance. For the * The unique properties of the plane
gatecrashers who attempt to penetrate deep have inspired a group of mages to create a
into Carceri's layers, though, it's the place they unique form of magic that affects time itself.
come for supplies and the latest information. They're not willing to just teach these secrets
While no one is really in charge here, to anyone, but if someone was persuasive
Sidorovich is an old gatecrasher who has re- enough or managed to do some pretty impres-
tired here, and has ended up keeping the place sive things for them, they might just be willing
running with repairs and patches. Anyone who to give him a hint or two.
comes here can find things to buy, people will-
ing to buy almost anything even a little useful, * Beyond Agathys, in the deepest part
and the occasional artifact brought back by a of Carceri, is a thing, a monolith or obelisk
lucky adventurer who managed to find a scrap that can grant wishes to anyone with what it
of Syrneth technology that hadn't been scav- takes to get to it. Many have tried to reach it,
enged yet. and almost all of them have failed. Their am-
bitions were mountains of artifacts and gold,
Shipyard X-18 and anything else their greedy minds could
think of. Of course, it extracted from them a
Another highly defended point, X-18 price, and some people tell horror stories of
is located three layers deep in Carceri, far from people who got exactly what they wanted.
prying eyes. The place is extremely difficult to
approach, as any unauthorized attempts to * In the void between the spheres, im-
possible music sometimes finds its way to peo-

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SETTING

ple, carrying promises and power in exchange Within the city of Commorragh, it is
for terrible sacrifices, always involving the be- much like being inside an immense cavern.
trayal or murder of someone close to the lis- The temperature is mild at all times but never
tener. There aren't many that can resist these quite comfortable, ranging from just a little too
calls, not because of any mind-controlling ef- hot to just a little too cold. The air is damp
fects, but just because what they offer is tai- and dank, gray fog rolling through the city
lored to the person that hears it. daily. The light is inconstant and dim, though
the bright neon lights of the city provide garish
* Some very wild and unconfirmed illumination at street level.
rumors say that what the Syrne were protect-
ing deep inside Carceri wasn't some amazing It is difficult to comprehend the sheer
artifact or powerful weapon but the future of scale of Commorragh. When someone pic-
their race. Some of the more barmy and un- tures a city, they typically think of some mere
trustworthy types have claimed to meet with metropolis. Perhaps if they're well-travelled,
real, living Syrne. But that is, of course, totally they may think of a world entirely covered in
impossible. And you'd have to be even barmier construction like Dis. Commorragh is so
than they are to go looking. much larger than that. The city is a megastruc-
ture that reaches for literally billions of kilo-
Commorragh meters. In the real universe, such a structure
would collapse in on itself, but in the warp it
Not a real Crystal Sphere, the city of hangs like a tumor in the endless expanse,
Commorragh is a dark parallel to Sigil, a hid- growing and changing at the behest of Lolth.
den place lying in the Warp itself, a place of
anarchy and terror ruled by the Dark Eldarin The megastructure of Commorragh is
and their dark god, Lolth, a demon spider connected and built around the webway like a
queen who protects them from the ravages of particularly tasty morsel trapped in a spider's
the warp. Their depravity knows no bounds, web. Because it is located in the Warp, ships
and what happens to the slaves and captives can travel directly to it without ever exiting the
they take is... unspeakable. Warp, making it almost impossible to track
those ships or find the city. It's said that only
PHYSICAL the Dark Eldarin can truly find the city, their
CONDITIONS pact with Lolth giving them an internal com-
pass centered on the Dark City.
Commorragh is a difficult city to find,
existing in the Warp itself. It is built in and on The half-reality of Commorragh has
a massive series of constructs called the Web- strange effects on people. While the shadowy
way, secret invisible passageways that create a reality of the webway is fairly safe, certainly
space not unlike the Umbra - not quite the real moreso than the Abyss that it shields from, it
world, but not quite the Warp either. It is a isn't quite the same as normal reality. Light
place of shadows, the color drained out of does not travel as far, liquids seem thicker and
everything and leaving it black and white. ichorous. Even emotions are affected - within

The Webway itself is akin to a giant
spider's web woven out of a strange material
that is rumored to be the lost souls of those
who have been captured by the Dark Eldarin
and sacrificed to the daemon Lolth. Lolth is
the weaver of the Webway, either having de-
veloped the technique herself or learned it in
some ancient time. Some parts of the Webway
seem quite different from the chaotic tangle
that Lolth has created, surprisingly orderly
and structured, hinting at another weaver.

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SETTING

COMMORRAGHAN
LOCATIONS

Daemonweb Pits

The domain of Lolth herself, the Dae-
monweb pits are said to exist near the very
heart of Commorragh, a tangle of webs in a
space tens of thousands of kilometers wide.
There, Lolth and her most trusted servants
(who rarely last long before they're sus-
pected of betrayal and replaced with new
trusted servants) plot from a massive mov-
ing palace of darksteel and mithril shaped
like a vast spider crawling across the web
strands. Lolth herself is rumored to be a
rogue or fallen pattern spider, one of the
weavers of destiny. Lolth, of course, has
anyone killed if they speak of her as less
than a god, so the wise would take care to
keep these rumors to themselves.

the webway not only are lights and flame Erelhei-Cinlu
dimmed, but also anger, joy, and sadness.
This is something of a boon for the Dark El- Erelhei-Cinlu is one of the largest Ka-
darin, as outside of the webway they are con- bals in Commorragh, a self-governing
trolled by their powerful emotions - though socio-economic paramilitary organization.
some say that their powerful emotional dis- Commorragh is simply too large for any single
plays are a reaction to the webway itself, over- government to control it, and so the Kabals
compensating for the normally muted feelings. formed out of the old noble families and pleas-
ure cults. Erelhei-Cinlu is... calling it safe
COMMORRAGHAN would be improper, but it is slightly less dan-
INHABITANTS gerous than some of the other Dark Eldarin
Kabals. The Dark Eldarin here have recently
The most common inhabitants of recovered from one of the civil wars common
Commorragh are, of course, the Dark Eldarin. to their kind, and have become increasingly
They are the masters of the city, decadent and aware that they don't exist in a vacuum, and
full of terrible lusts. Slaves of all shapes and that the Great Wheel can offer them more
sizes can be found everywhere, outnumbering than just slaves and toys. Outsiders are becom-
the Dark Eldarin but broken by the tortures ing increasingly common in Erelhei-Cinlu,
and horrors they've experienced. Lolth's dae- merchants and mercenaries who have sworn
monic minions wander the streets, toying with blood oaths to obey the Kabal. The survival
the Dark Eldarin as they toy with others. Al- rate for outsiders is surprisingly high, and peo-
most any kind of person or creature could be ple have actually been known to come back
found here, especially if one of the cruel mis- from Erelhei-Cinlu. Few desire to return to
tresses of the Dark Eldarin would find it amus- the Dark City, but the lure of wealth and un-
ing. told pleasures tempts many.

Menzoberranzan

One of the oldest Dark Eldarin Ka-
bals, Menzoberranzan is an archetypical Dark
Eldarin city-state, with huge numbers of slaves

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SETTING

existing only to serve the needs of their mis- number of slaves, and how were they taken so
tresses. The city is a matriarchy where the easily? To find the answers, the heroes will
most powerful rise to the top through assassi- need to find a guide who can lead them to the
nation and torture. They say that visitors are Dark City - and unless they hurry, there's no
welcome here, and that's certainly true. What telling just what will happen to the captives.
most visitors learn quickly is that they're wel-
come as tools and playthings. Anyone visiting * A powerful merchant has made con-
Menzoberranzan will quickly become part of tacts in Commorragh. He's accepted their in-
the endless game of politics and death that un- vitation to meet and discuss a trade agreement
derlies everything in the city. Because the city to use him as a front to sell their goods and
is so old, it is deeper within the megastructure buy what they want from the outside world.
of Commorragh than other Dark Eldarin Ka- He is no fool, though, and requires powerful
bals, often finding itself under siege from the bodyguards in case this is just an elaborate
terrors of the Underdark. Menzoberranzan's plan to betray him. Anyone he hires will have
ruler is Triel Baenre, a priestess of Lolth who to be careful not to anger or offend the Dark
commands great respect and fear for her pacts Eldarin, lest they decide to turn on the of-
with the Spider Queen. She doesn't rule with fender and make an example of him.
an iron fist but a cloaked blade, her enemies
simply vanishing. * A recent slave revolt in Erelhei-
Cinlu has made it clear that there is someone
Underdark organizing the slaves to rise up and fight the
Dark Eldarin. The Dark Eldarin have put an
Vast spans of Commorragh are
labyrinths of steel and mist, entire worlds
worth of artificial caverns and illogical con-
structions that seem almost random in form
and completely without function. They are
often pitch-black, and in the vastness of these
spaces, strange forms of life encouraged by the
underlying taint of the warp and the radiation
of its mutating energies grow into strange
ecologies. There are nameless seas as wide and
deep as entire worlds that no mortal eye has
ever seen, endless twisting passageways
through the dark, forests of fungus and vines,
half-starved cannibalistic monsters descended
from escaped pets and experiments of the
Dark Eldarin, and roaming undead. There are
rumors of grand treasures in the Underdark,
of hordes of gold, weapons, and data that lie
for the taking, abandoned or hidden in some
lost scheme by one of the Dark Eldarin. Life-
times could be spent wandering the Under-
dark, meeting no one, seeing nothing, just
alone in the utter darkness and silence.

Adventure Seeds

* The population of an entire Crystal
Sphere has vanished in a single day. Evidence
suggests that the Dark Eldarin have taken
them for some terrible purpose. But what
could the Dark Eldarin need with such a vast

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SETTING

extraordinary price on the head of the instiga- planets. The Eldarin do not want to live on the
tor. It has become a deadly race to find him, surface, even here, and space stations and re-
and the heroes might find themselves on either maining onboard ship are the norm.
side of the conflict.
The six worlds of Elysium are each
Elysium suited to a different climate, though all are eas-
ily habitable. The first world is a desert, but
A small group of worlds, Elysium is a with surprisingly abundant plant and animal
Crystal Sphere that almost seems an un- life that makes survival easy for those who
touched paradise. Each world is blessed with know how to look. It is a place of harsh beauty,
fertile richness and unsurpassed natural perfect for those seeking a quiet place to med-
beauty. However, these worlds are claimed by itate. The second world is a lush jungle burst-
the Eldarin, and those who seek to settle there ing with life, hot and steaming and filled with
must take care not to disrupt the land or break color. Thousands of years of breeding have
any of the Eldarin's mysterious laws. turned the animal life here tame - they prey
upon each other as in a normal ecosystem, but
PHYSICAL they would never harm the Eldarin (or most
CONDITIONS sentients, who don't look terribly different in
their eyes).
There are a half dozen worlds in the
Elysium system, each one beautiful in its own The third world is a hilly grassland
way. The system is somewhere between a gar- with fields of boulders and creeping vines.
den and a wild paradise, the ancient Eldarin There are small trees that dot the landscape,
allowing it to grow and trimming away unde- each one twisted and stunted and shaped into
sirable growths. Speaking purely in terms of a pleasing form. Small songbirds and flying in-
natural hazards, Elysium is one of the safest sects with glowing wings flitter through the
places in the Wheel. There are no deadly pred- sky. The fourth world is a broadleaf forest, a
ators here (at least none that will attack peo- place of flowing rivers, streams, and wide
ple, anyway), no poisonous plants, and no oceans, with the sound of flowing water cas-
massive rivers of fire or atmospheres of poison cading everywhere.
gas. The void between the planets is clean, free
of all debris both natural and artificial. There The fifth world is much like the
aren't even micrometeorites here to scar a fourth, but where the fourth world is temper-
ship's paint. ate, the fifth is chilled, with light snowfalls and
needle-bearing trees. The temperature varies
However, there is one extremely real just enough to get a freeze and a thaw, allow-
threat here. The Eldarin. While most Eldarin ing for beautiful ice formations and then a
live their lives aboard world-ships and rarely warming spring. The last of the worlds of Ely-
even set foot on a sium is a frozen tundra, windswept fields of
planet, they still glaciers and pillars of ice like some natural city
find planets useful
for some things, carved by erosion.
and the world-ships Just like the first
of the Eldarin occa- world, this is a
sionally need re- place of quiet
pair. They jealously meditation, with
guard Elysium all the tools of sur-
against all who vival easily at
would dare to hand.
enter. There are no
permanent settle-
ments on any of the

311

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SETTING

ELYSIAN maiden worlds, keeping them at the same
INHABITANTS biome from pole to pole all year long. The
Array is maintained by a special sect of Eldarin
Elysium has a large amount of that never leave the system. They are the
wildlife, the Eldarin having chosen only the youngest and the oldest of their race, those
most beautiful and interesting animals to place with much to learn and those who can teach
on their Maiden Worlds. Of course, there are and have left adventures behind them. Almost
also the working animals that keep the ecosys- all Eldarin serve here, at least for a short time.
tem working - earthworms and ants, for exam-
ple. There are always Eldarin in the system, The Axis
and it's one of the few places that Eldarin from
different craftworlds are likely to meet. Visitors A massive space station built out of a
from other races are rare, as the Eldarin dis- massive asteroid, Axis is the closest thing to a
courage other races. Violently. With lasers. real government capital of the Eldarin. It is a
Still, if one is a true ally of the Eldarin, being meeting place where Eldarin from different
allowed to see Elysium is the greatest privilege craftworlds come to meet and discuss events,
they can offer, and so even if it is rare, other trade agreements, and plans for the future.
races can be found here (typically being The tone of these meetings is always extremely
watched at all times from a polite distance). formal, something like a ball crossed with a
political debate. These formal meetings are
ELYSIAN where many young couples and political al-
LOCATIONS liances are formed. The current commander
of Axis is a young Eldarin named Haman
The names of most of these locations Karn. She has distinguished herself as a fighter
have been shortened from their extremely long and a charismatic leader, and rumors say that
and poetic Eldarin names to shorter terms that she Exalted shortly before assuming leader-
have roughly the same meaning. ship. She is a dangerous woman, who has a
very dim view of the other races and would as
The World Harbour soon have them exterminated.

The only docking platform large The Cradle
enough to accommodate a world-ship, this
massive, skeletal space station floats beyond The Eldarin reproduce only slowly
the sixth planet. While skiffs and smaller ves- and require time and great care to bear young.
sels are typically used to resupply world-ships, The Cradle is a place they built specifically for
occasionally one will need refitting or massive the purpose. It is a large space station that is
repair work due to some accident or attack. extraordinarily well defended. Outsiders are
The Eldarin preform all of their repair work not allowed in under and circumstances, and
here, away from prying eyes. The world-ships automated systems ensure that even if every
are their homes, and so they treat them with
great care. This is also the birthplace of new
world-ships, built here by sorcery and careful
work, growing like a living thing of wraith-
bone. The process is said to take centuries,
and none have been built in living memory.

The Array

A massive solar array like a net
around the sun, The Array provides power
throughout the system. The main target for
this power grid is to power weather-control de-
vices buried beneath the crust of the six

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SETTING

defender should fall, the developing Eldarin the innermost constantly erupting and the out-
will be taken care of. Rumors say that inside, ermost a cold, almost dead place aside from
The Cradle is just row after row of artificial geothermal vents and cracks.
wombs, countless millions of them. And de-
spite this, the Eldarin are still slowly declining, PHYSICAL
losses from wars too much for them to bear.
CONDITIONS
ADVENTURE HOOKS
There's nowhere flat on Gehenna.
* Elysium isn't just where the Eldarin That's inevitably the first thing anyone notices
come to have children, but also where they on entering the sphere, because it isn't just the
come to die. Under the surface of the worlds planets that are affected, even artifical gravity
are massive catacombs where the bodies and systems can't compensate. Something about
belongings of the most powerful Eldarin lie. A the place makes it utterly impossible for any-
graverobber could make a fortune in a day if thing to stay stable and perpendicular to grav-
he could find his way into these catacombs, if ity. Most ships seem to 'list' at somewhere
he could somehow get in and out without get- between ten and forty-five degrees, though
ting killed in seconds. some go nearly vertical. This makes getting
around the system annoying, since most ships
* The Eldarin have been keeping it a are forced to turn off their gravity - and the
secret even from most of their race, but their ones that can't are stuck with a hill climb just
ability to control the six Maiden Worlds has to get around.
been slipping. Most recently, a terrible preda-
tor spawned on the second world, and has There are four main earthbergs, hun-
slain dozens of brave Eldarin warriors and only dreds of thousands of kilometers tall, far larger
grown stronger from the experience. The El- than a normal planet. Each is a hotbed of vol-
darin will reward anyone who can destroy this canic turmoil. Each has mostly cleared the
creature extremely well, though anyone taking space in its orbit, though it's not uncommon
the job had better make sure to get a promise for smaller rocks to tumble out and smash into
of safe passage in and out of Elysium. the earthbergs. The dark void between the or-
bits of these primary earthbergs is dark and al-
* The Eldarin desperately need to most impenetrable, a minefield of hot rocks
bring some fresh blood into the fold. Elves and and, away from the central sun, ice. It's impos-
Dark Eldarin, though both are distasteful, are sible to see from one berg to the next, and
perhaps the only answer. The heroes are going even trying to get a glimpse of the central sun
to have to escort an Elven Prince and a Dark is difficult - not that anyone would want to.
Eldarin Archon to Elysium and get them both Gehenna's sun is a sickly, half-dead thing that
there alive and happy - while defusing what- produces dim red light and smoulders with
ever plots they have. dark shadows like a coal.

Gehenna The first berg is called Chamada, and
is pretty much the most hostile place in
Gehenna is a Crystal Sphere of mas- Gehenna. In addition to the heat it gets from
sive volcanic activity - some obscure change to the sun - the only berg to get much heat from
the laws of reality have made every planetary it at all - it also steams with heat from the in-
body turn into geothermal furnaces, with four ternal volcanic activity. Though really, little
main planets like twin volcanoes hundreds of enough of the geological activity here is inter-
thousands of kilometers tall and joined at the nal. Most of it seems ready to escape at any
base. Countless mountain-sized burning rocks moment, and very good at it. At any given
orbit and float with these 'earthbergs'. The time, about half of the surface area of the berg
closer the 'earthbergs' are to their central star, is molten rock.
the more intense their geological activity, with
The second berg is considered to be
the most gentle of the four. And it surprises
some to think that Khalas would ever be con-

313

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SETTING

sidered gentle, considering the ground is hot
enough to burn unprotected feet. Even so, it's
one of the few places with running water. Of
course the water runs in great rivers that cut
canyons and ravines into the rock. The third
berg is a place of ice and fire, occasional rivers
of burning rock streaming through glaciers
tainted foul and black with ash. It's always too
hot or too cold on Mungoth, with nothing in
between.

The berg farthest from the sun is
Soltheim, a rough place of ice. The volcanic
activity here is long dead, and any warmth it
had is once gone. It's a brutal, dark place, to-
tally inhospitable to life. Even the tough native
life doesn't extend to this location. It's just an
empty, dead rock.

GEHENNAN catching the interest of the Mandrakes. A mas-
INHABITANTS sive temple to Lolth dominates Vivec, and it's
said that one of her most powerful servants,
The main inhabitants of Gehenna are, half Eldarin and half Daemon, lives there and
surprisingly, Dark Eldarin. Just as the Eldarin dispenses orders directly from her dark mas-
need somewhere in a gravity well to do their ter.
thing, the Dark Eldarin do as well - and Com-
morragh is in the middle of the warp, making Rura Penthe
it less than ideal for quite a few things.
Gehenna isn't well-traveled otherwise, making Rura Penthe is a prison built on
it useful for them. The native plant and animal Soltheim by the human Imperium. The place
life here is limited to fungus and insects of sur- has some of the harshest prison conditions in
prising size, some of which are dangerously ag- the Wheel. There are no walls, few guards,
gressive. There isn't much here that isn't trying and a lot of cold, ice, and cliffs. Unlike most
to kill someone. prisons, plenty of people have tried to escape
Rura Penthe. The guards don't even give chase
GEHENNAN when people leave the perimeter - the cold is
LOCATIONS more than enough to take care of all but the
hardiest escapees, and the fact that there's
Vivec nothing to eat usually takes care of the rest. A
few prisoners are wise enough to return.
Vivec is the largest Dark Eldarin set- They're beaten, though it's more of a formality
tlement, a sprawling complex of small arcolo- than anything else, and put back in their cells
gies over roaring rivers, connected with with no other mention made of the attempt.
bridges deliberately unsafe bridges. The Dark
Eldarin decided long ago that safety railings
were a lot less entertaining than making the
edges of the bridges slippery and razor-sharp.
Elite warriors called Mandrakes patrol the ar-
cologies and dispense their own brand of swift
and typically instantly-deadly justice. Of
course, as to what crimes the people actually
were guilty of, well... typically it's merely

314

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SETTING

the micromachines have surpris-
ingly adept skill at making goods.
While the rumors say that the
replicators consume people,
enough have returned from Nimi-
cri speaking of its wonders and
with goods that they got merely
for information that occasionally
merchants make the trip. And re-

ally - considering the number of
Dark Eldarin in the system, it would
be foolish to think that the place is
much more dangerous than anywhere
else in Gehenna.

No Acererak's Tomb
one is sure why the
Dark Eldarin permit this, though the common Acererak makes his realm here on
belief is that they're given a suitable number of Gehenna. It is not a place where people are
prisoners themselves to use as toys. welcome. Magic - powerful magic - is required
to get around. The place is a dusty tomb, with
Tower of the General many sections sealed off and filled with deadly
guardians. There is no air, water, or food. Just
One of the few services that can be dry bones and dust, stone and silence. Those
had here is mercenaries. There's never a short- who come seeking knowledge find themselves
age of people willing to hurt other people for faced with test after test, with deadly conse-
a bit of money. The mercenaries here work for quences for those who fail and knowledge -
a mysterious figure known as the General of gained in the passing of the test - for those who
Gehenna, and they're some of the best that can succeed. Acererak does not meet with people.
be found anywhere, willing to take any job if He merely tests them, and lets them learn for
you can meet their price. Of course, the trou- themselves.
ble with mercenaries is that they're, well, mer-
cenary. They'll turn against their employer for ADVENTURE SEEDS
the right amount of coin, and they're far too
well informed. For a mercenary band, they * On Mungoth, there is supposedly a
seem to have their eyes and fingers in every- secret temple, a massive structure designed to
thing. Some suggest they've been drumming entrap a Daemon named Hircine. It's full of
up their own business and playing both sides. traps, mazes, and lesser daemons - either
Hircine's servants or spawned from his power.
Nimicri It's said that every hundred years, Hircine has
a chance to escape, but that someone called
Nimicri is an extraordinarily strange by destiny always appears to gain entrance to
place. At some distant time in the past, some his prison and defeat him, sealing him away
race (possibly the Syrne, though it doesn't re- again for another century.
semble any other examples of their technol-
ogy) developed self-replicating machines * Though it seems impossible, rumors
about a centimeter across. What they were say that there is someone living on Soltheim -
made for has never been proven, but Nimicri a tribe of werewolves that have gone totally
is a planetoid made entirely of them. They've feral, preying on the prisoners of Rura Penthe
formed into roads, terrain, buildings and even like cattle in a pen. The guards either don't
crude replications of people made out of small know, don't care, or they have some connec-
blocks of metal. The place is safe enough, and tion to the wolves that runs even deeper. Pris-
oners say that the guards *are* the wolves, and

315

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SETTING

stalk the corridors of the prison every night Blood War, as well as serving as a grim re-
looking for food. minder of the forces at work.

* There's something actually worth PHYSICAL
having on Chamada, huge veins of raw dark-
steel ore. Of course, they're extremely difficult CONDITIONS
to get to, since the molten surface sometimes
manages to smelt it into its pure form and The Grey Waste contains three star
leave misshapen, unchangeable messes of systems, though there isn't really much left of
metal. Anyone who could manage to set up a them. Endless war has reduced what planets
mine to get at the ore would become rich, but there are to shattered husks, gravel and rocks
the Dark Eldarin native to the area don't care floating around the three pale white stars of
to have people intruding on them, and have al- Oinos, Niflheim, and Pluton. There isn't a
ready destroyed one expedition sent by the hu- hint of color here - everything is a shade of
mans. grey ranging from charcoal to off-white.

* Under the Arcologies of Vivec, there What people learn, very quickly, is
are caverns driven into the rock that provide that this isn't a trick of the light or the material
direct access to Commorragh, passages of the system. The physical laws of the Grey
through the webway that a person can simply Waste simply don't allow for color. Even the
walk down them. They're a tempting target to most vibrant colors are reduced to shades of
invaders, especially the Eldarin, since they Grey. The effect is draining, emotionally and
would provide an easy way to get to the dark mentally. Worse, losing the ability to see colors
city. However, the defenses around the web- is very bad on many ships that use colors to
way passages are said to be some of the cru- display things like, oh, warnings, damage, en-
elest and most terrible known to exist, just gine condition, and so forth. A ship that goes
deathtrap after deathtrap, designed so there's in unprepared can find itself with a number of
always the sense the person can escape, but it's meters and displays that are simply useless.
just an illusion to make their torturous deaths
more painful. Worse, the lack of color does some-
thing to a person, emotionally. People just
The Grey Waste start losing hope, forgetting dreams and goals,
like the Waste is just training them of every-
The Grey Waste is a large and easily- thing that they ever wished to be. For the most
navigated Crystal Sphere helpfully located part, the symptoms of this 'Waste Syndrome'
right between Mount Celestia and the Abyss. resemble post-traumatic stress. Which is cer-
It consequently is almost tainly something else common enough here.
constantly turned into a The Grey waste is a battleground, one that has
battleground between been fought over again and again.
the forces of Order and
Chaos. There might
have been life here once,
but all of the planets
within the Crystal
Sphere have been
blasted into grey rocks
over time, and floating
bands of asteroids pro-
vide even more pointless
strategic points to take
and retake in the endless

316

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SETTING

It's because of this constant tract treaties from both sides of the Blood War
warfare that almost nothing is left of to make fighting here illegal, and he doesn't
worth here. The planets have been hold to any particular god worship, though
blasted to rubble, fortresses built and Vectron seems to have a major following here,
taken and lost and destroyed. Ships making this sort of an unofficial pilgrimage
come fresh off of the assembly lines to stop for Vectron's flock to come and see that
meet their end here. The place is just an Vectron is the only sane and stable god, or so
meatgrinder, turning men and machines they say.
into dust. And yet neither side will stop
fighting, or can stop fighting. The Khin-Oin
Blessed Pantheon and the Ruinous
Powers both want this place because the This place is a massive tower, going
other also wants it. right through the middle of an asteroid and
out the other side. It looks like nothing more
Most of the fighting here takes than a spine almost eighty kilometers tall. It's
place on massive floating rocks, some the most important fortress in the entire Crys-
still bearing the marks of once having been tal Sphere, and has traded hands over and over
life-supporting planets. The largest are a few again in massive battles. The only ones that
thousand kilometers across, but most are only have held the tower for any significant length
a dozen or so. Armies meet in the colorless of time are mercenaries, though who they were
dust, in the silent void, and fight battles that accepting pay from changes fairly often.
mean nothing. Untold billions have wasted
their lives here. Death of Innocence

GREY WASTE The Death of Innocence is a small
INHABITANTS town, made of scavenged supplies and emer-
gency shelters joined up together on a mid-
There are only two permanent inhab- dling sized rock (a kilometer or so across)
itants of the Grey Waste. The dead, and lar- that's well out of the way of the fighting or any-
vae, and it's hard to know which of the two is thing interesting. Death of Innocence is a
more numerous. Larvae are a type of parasite haven for deserters and war criminals. People
that somehow survived the destruction of their who have grown disillusioned of war or simply
planet and survived on the only kind of food so shell-shocked they can't take any more. The
that was in great supply - the corpses (mostly ruler of the town, Viliki Cainor, is a human
Aasimar and Tiefling) of the fools and soldiers who signed up to help one side (she doesn't
who come here. They're relatively harmless say which, and here it doesn't matter much)
things. and found that it wasn't at all the glorious bat-
tle she had been expecting. She keeps the
GREY WASTE
LOCATIONS

The Port at the Center

There's a point right at the middle of
the Waste, where the gravitational forces are
mostly stable and the orbits of the outermost
rocks overlap. A massive spaceport was built
there, and the owner and operator, Dandy
Will, has worked hard to keep it as neutral
ground. Mostly he does this by making the
place useful to both sides at once - especially
with medical technology. He's managed to ex-

317

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SETTING

place holding together, with a kind and gentle are just a little too creative. With all the
optimism that comforts and makes things corpses in the Grey Waste, it was only a matter
work. of time before a necromancer showed up to
have some fun. But no one expected him to
Aeaea build a city out of the undead. Literally, out of
the undead - walls, floors, furnishings, all of it
Aeaea is the one remaining intact made from corpses returned to a horrible half-
planetoid. In most other systems, the former life and melded together. Corpus is a fairly
moon would be an uninteresting lifeless rock, safe place, but it's said that the mysterious man
but here it's one of the most dominating fea- who made it has an artifact of extraordinary
tures of the system. Aeaea is never held by power that's letting him do all of this.
anyone for long. There's always some fighting
here, and more of the craters come from or- Mechanus
bital bombardments than asteroid impacts - an
impressive feat considering the Waste is filled The Dead Worlds. Mechanus is or-
with chaotic orbits. dered and set like clockwork, entire worlds
merely gears within a great machine. It is a
ADVENTURE SEEDS lifeless place of constant machine motion and
cold law. This is not a place for living crea-
* There is a strange group that shows tures, all traces of life quickly eradicated by the
up to the largest and most important battles of Modrons, horrible immortal things of living
the Blood War and bets on the outcome of the metal, nearly mindless, just cogs in the ma-
fighting. And when they fighting isn't interest- chine themselves. Where once they were just
ing enough, the meddle to make things more rumor, the Modrons are awakening from their
exciting. No one is sure just who they are, but great slumber. Some scholars warn of a great
they must be extremely rich and extremely March that will see them eradicating all life
powerful. And very interested in the ebb and from the Astral Sea, leaving it barren and pris-
flow of the war. tine again.

* The native Larvae are more danger- PHYSICAL
ous than they look. If they're left alone long CONDITIONS
enough, they metamorphize into strange and
unique creatures, beautiful and utterly deadly. Almost none have returned to speak
They're hateful things, and rumors say they're of it, but the inside of the sphere of Mechanus
partly made of the anger and wasted lives of is one great machine, a Dyson Sphere that
the corpses they feed on, their faces twisted presses against the confines of the Crystal
parodies of the fallen and with wings reflecting Sphere. Gears the size of worlds turn in space,
the moments of their lives they regret most. pistons pump, and everything is bathed in ter-
rible green light. The Modrons are not yet
* The Grey Waste is a place of con- fully awake, and so Mechanus is merely as
stant decay and death. Because of the Blood dangerous as being inside of an engine while
War, so much death occurs here that it would it's running, rather than actively attempting to
have been impossible for there not to have destroy everything that infests it.
been some sort of major plague. There's a
wasting sickness going around that completely Mechanus is a hellish place, beyond
destroys a person, body and mind (and, if the the imaginings of most. It is like a vast clock-
rumors are correct, it even eats the soul). Peo- work tomb, lifeless and yet full of movement.
ple would pay a lot of money for the man who Necrodermis forms the bulk of the structures
can cure the wasting sickness. Even more if, of the realm, that nightmare metal that some-
as the rumors say, it's a weapon that got out of how lives. Warp energy simply does not func-
control and someone could find the one who tion in Mechanus. Spells fail, enchanted
made the thing.

* There are some exceptionally cre-
ative people in the Wheel, and some of them

318

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SETTING

weapons dull, and magical protections vanish. alive as the rest of the realm, horrible in its
The deeper one tries to go into Mechanus, the own way, pouring and pooling in ways that
more powerful this effect. On the outskirts, just don't seem natural, waves breaking in
only those effects needing the most magical ways that are terribly wrong, and currents and
energy fail, but eventually even the simple flows like countless worms slithering around
spell becomes too much. and over each other. The oil is dangerous on
its own, carrying a terrible disease that de-
Should someone be foolish enough to stroys living tissue. Rumors say that it can
go deep into Mechanus, they will find seas of even convert machines into Modron technol-
black oil, forests of pipes and chimneys, and ogy, the metal itself festering and turning to
arcs of terrible green energy like impossible necrodermis, but no proof has ever been found
lightning. It is an utterly hostile place, where to the wild stories.
nothing natural is wanted or permitted to exist
for long. Merely being here can quickly draw The Pylon Forest
the notice of whatever foul systems run this
Sphere, defense systems coming online with A perfectly regular forest of identical
enough power to destroy anything that stands and bizarre machines, all standing perfectly
against them. still. The Pylon forest seems like it should be
just a note on a map, but the pylons them-
The whirling gears and moving ma- selves seem to somehow distort magic around
chinery of Mechanus pose their own threat to them, like lightning rods or mirrors. No one
anyone hoping to explore the place. The sheer has discovered just what they are for, or how
size and hostility of Mechanus means that no they are able to achieve this effect, though
one has really been able to sit and map out safe some suggest that the pylon's branches might
routes through the gears. The smallest, most extend not just through three dimensions but
maneuverable ships can get quite a long ways into the warp or some other higher dimension,
in, though the ones that dare to almost never and serve as some kind of beacon for the Mod-
return. ron's unexplained ability to teleport without
using spellcraft.
MECHANIAN
The Afterlife
INHABITANTS
It's where you end up if you spend too
Modrons, and nothing else. And the bloody long here.
gods themselves can't help you if you run into
a significant force of Modrons. Turn tail and
run and hope that you're very quiet
or you're with someone you don't
care much for and can easily outrun.
Fighting the Modrons here is a fool's
task - not only will they just come
back almost instantly, but every sec-
ond a berk fights, more and more of
the damned things will wake up to
kill him.

MECHANIAN
LOCATIONS

Black Oil Sea

One of the most obvious fea-
tures in Mechanus are the seas of
glistening black oil. The stuff seems to be as

319

CHAPTER XV:
SETTING

ADVENTURE HOOKS the ocean fills half of a Crystal Sphere. Gravity
here, as you might expect, isn't quite normal.
* A worried scholar thinks that the
Modrons are awakening, very soon. He needs Gravity, in fact, is the most interesting
hard data to back up his theories, though, and thing about Mount Celestia. It seems to vary
there's only one place he knows to get it. He not with time or place but with each person,
needs the heroes to capture a modron alive (or as if they're weighed down by their guilt.
whatever you call one that's still kicking) and Scholars have named the phenomenon 'Intel-
extract the data from its clockwork shell. ligent Falling'. It seems to be some form of
Warp phenomenon, as anyone with sufficient
* The black oil of Mechanus is a pow- magical resistance reduces the effect or even
erful poison, one that can even fell one of the becomes next to weightless. Objects are all af-
Exalted, and this fact is not lost on those who fected as though they were in a normal gravity
deal in death. An alchemist is willing to pay well of average strength. The notable excep-
through the nose for raw Mechanus Oil, espe- tion is that nothing can fly up the mountain.
cially if the heroes can find a large supply for The only way to ascend Mount Celestia is by
him. Getting in and out is only half the dan- walking the paths or climbing the sheer cliff
ger, though. Who knows what it might do, just faces. Ships can only hover slightly above 'sea
sitting around. Or worse, if even a drop got level'.
into the workings of the ship...
Natives divide the mountain into
* It's a dangerous job, but someone seven Traverses, starting at the seashore of
needs to destroy the Mechanus Portal Relay. white sand that marks the sea's end. The layers
While it could serve as a way to mount an of- are like huge terraces the size of planets, yet
fense against Mechanus, the risk of the ma- the next highest is always just barely visible
chines escaping is simply too great to ignore. and shining brightly. Climbing from one Tra-
The heroes must find a way to take the Portal verse to another is difficult, and dangerous for
Relay offline forever - no easy task when those who are feeling the effects of the
they've been running for tens of thousands of Sphere's gravity. The next Traverse always
years with no sign of wear. looks beautiful and inviting, but the higher a
body goes up the mountain, the farther off and
Mount Celestia more difficult they are to reach. Thin mist and
haze prevents anyone from getting a good look
An impossibly giant mountain, larger at what lies ahead, though the glimpses and
than worlds, rising from an ocean that fills half imagined sights are impressive indeed.
of a Crystal Sphere, Mount Celestia is the
home turf of the Blessed Pantheon in the same Mount Celestia contains the domains
way The Abyss is to the Ruinous Powers. No of the Blessed Pantheon. They make their
mortal has ascended to the top of the moun- homes at the very top of the mount, making
tain and returned to tell what he found at its them almost completely inaccessible to mor-
glittering peak. Aasimar call this place home. tals. No one has ever conquered the mount
and returned to speak of it. Whatever is up

PHYSICAL

CONDITIONS

Mount Celestia is one of the
more impossible places in the Wheel.
While some other impossible places are
roiling chaos or great machines, Mount
Celestia looks fairly normal at first. It's
simply a mountain rising up out of the
ocean. The problem is that the moun-
tain is the size of a solar system, and

320

CHAPTER XV:
SETTING

there is either so beautiful that no one wishes some of the farmers here raise on the lower
to return or else so deadly that anyone who Traverses. Aasimar are born here, and form a
breaks into it is put down before they can es- kind of upper class (though they'll deny that
cape with the secrets. Those who worship the and say everyone is equal).
Blessed Pantheon will assure you it's the for-
mer, but the dark of it is that the latter is more CELESTIAN
likely - no matter how much they might pres- LOCATIONS
ent themselves as benevolent, Mount Celestia
is the center of the Pantheon's war effort, and The Fortress of Sigmar
it's likely they're doing something there that
they don't want anyone to know about. The Sigmar's realm on Celestia is a mas-
wise don't ask questions.
sive palace the size of a continent, centered on
Justice and law here are meted out by
the Aasimar. As servants of the Pantheon, they a golden throne that wouldn't fit in many na-
rule by divine will and make sure
everyone knows it. Justice tions. Sigmar's most trusted servants, the Cus-
tends to be fair but imme-
diate - the Aasimar here todes, are all Aasimar Chosen
are ready for action
and take it where with thousands of years of
they can find it.
Death isn't the only experience. Sigmar has a
punishment,
though it comes large personal army,
pretty quickly if the
criminal isn't will- though they're al-
ing to pay their fine
or get thrown in jail most always out
or exile.
among the
It's a nice
place, really, de- Spheres, on one
spite the Aasimar
occasionally taking crusade or an-
a bolter to some-
one's skull. The other. He isn't
weather is always
pleasant and warm, the type to have
with light rains that
are more refreshing an army and not
than annoying.
actively use it.
CELESTIAN
Anyone ap-
INHABITANTS
proaching Sig-
Almost any sentient race can be found
on Mount Celestia. Almost any. Tieflings are mar's fortress
not welcome, and any Tiefling that does hap-
pen to find their way here are kindly asked to finds that every
leave. Asked once and then exiled. Animals
here are universally tame and small, with noth- stream and hill,
ing larger or more dangerous than the sheep
every tree and

rock, everything

is purposeful and

planned. There is

nothing here that

is untouched and

made useful, and

that includes the

people. Any he-

roes entering his realm find that they're di-

rected where they need to go rather than his

fortress, and can only approach if Sigmar al-

lows.

Bahamut's Palace

Bahamut's Palace is a glittering won-
der built entirely out of treasure, with windows
of gemstones in settings of gold and silver,
walls of inlaid copper and ivory, and floors of

321

CHAPTER XV:
SETTING

jade and beaten electrum. It moves from place yet never hot, just comfortably warm. Pelor's
to place, and is one of the few realms of the sanctum is said to be at the very center of the
Blessed Pantheon that mortals have much of palace, a place of pure light, beauty, and hope,
a chance of really seeing, though approaching where he bathes in the light of all the stars of
it would be foolish. Bahamut has the smallest all the Crystal Spheres.
personal army of any of the Blessed Pantheon,
but the quality of that army is exceptional, as The Halls of Justice
he leads a force of dragons, each one worth
dozens of the best soldiers. This is also an ex- Cuthbert's Realm is not located on
ceptional way to discourage thieves. No one the seventh Traverse, but on the very first. He
would be so foolish as to steal from Bahamut's prefers to keep his distance from the other
Palace with guards like that. Well, no one who gods. His realm is a gigantic prison, where he
wasn't sure they could get away with it. seeks to 'reform' captives to the worship of
more proper gods and ways of life. There's a
The Soulforge kind of aura about this place that makes it dif-
ficult to resist following the orders of the
Moradin's realm is a gigantic forge, guards, and most of the countless prisoners
with an anvil forty meters high and a river of just kind of mill about, confused and lost,
pure divine energy. Moradin creates great when they're not being told what to do. It's a
wonders here. The Squats say that the souls of peaceful place in its own way, just horribly op-
their race are forged here, each one personally pressive and not a very nice place. No one gets
made by Moradin. It's also said that this is the to see Cuthbert. He deals with everyone
place where the Aasimar are born, reforged through underlings, locked away reading
from what they were before into their new through his giant book said to contain every
forms, like tempering a sword. No one is sure transgression and broken promise.
just what the process entails - the Aasimar lose
almost all their memories of their former lives ADVENTURE HOOKS
and all memory of whatever is done to them.
General concensus is that it's probably better * There's a man willing to pay a small
that they don't remember. The process is likely fortune to anyone who can get one of his
a long and painful one, given the massive friends out of Cuthbert's prison. The chap
changes made to their bodies. seems to know the location of some hidden
trove of relics from a massive theft before get-
The Unconquered Sun ting locked up on Mount Celestia for some
minor crime. Getting him out is only going to
Pelor's palace sits at the very highest be half of the problem - the heroes are going
point of Mount Celestia, providing the light to have to find some way to deprogram him,
that shines down over the rest of the Sphere. and he doesn't want to return to his old ways.
The palace shines like the Sun itself, blinding
anyone who looks at it for too long. Most have * One of the Traverses of Mount Ce-
to wear blindfolds here, as even a glimpse of lestia has taken to worship of the Grey Coun-
the inside of Pelor's realm will render a man cil. The Blessed Pantheon is having the entire
sightless forever. His servants are so familiar Traverse purged, and evidence suggests that
with the palace that they can guide visitors this isn't the first time it has happened. The
around without having to see their path, but heroes are caught in the middle, and must find
to those who seek to invade the palace be- a way to escape or somehow stop this purge.
comes a terrible maze that the unworthy can-
not navigate. Thieves and spies find that every * On the first Traverse, an under-
step twists and turns, and they soon find the ground trade in a strange new drug has sur-
ground under them changed to soft loam as faced. Apparently someone has managed to
they turn a corner and are abruptly outside of get their hands on some of the divine energy
his realm. The entire structure is shaped like that Moradin uses to forge his wonders, and is
a sphere of orichalcum, glowing with heat and using it as an ingredient in this new, highly-
addictive drug. If they can find the alchemist

322

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SETTING

mixing it, the heroes could become rich. Or deafness, madness, and blindness. The very
they could stop him from getting thousands first thing more people notice about the
addicted to his vile poison. Whatever floats Sphere of Pandemonium is the noise. Of
their boat. course that's like saying the most noticeable
thing about fire is that it's hot. In most places,
* There are countless minor holy sites the winds of Pandemonium blast with hurri-
scattered throughout Celestia. The steward- cane force, a deafening roar through the end-
ship of one of these sites belongs to followers less black caverns. There are some places
of Pelor, a small group of female paladins who where the wind is just a nerve-wracking moan-
are willing to lay down their lives to protect the ing, but they're few and far between.
shrine. A group of knights from another holy
order has come to challenge their right to the At this point one might wonder how
shrine, as it is an important site to their god as winds can howl that strongly in space. Pande-
well. Unless someone intervenes, and quickly, monium is one of the stranger Crystal Spheres
it will erupt into a holy war. in structure. There's no planetary system, no
giant megastructures. Just massive caves, start-
Pandemonium ing as kilometers wide and enough for ships to
find somewhere to dock and eventually nar-
We don't go to Pandemonium any- rowing to cracks in the endless black rock,
more. Not since the reports came out. Endless wind moaning and pouring through them.
screaming tunnels in the blackness. Madness
and death are all that await here. DonÊt go to And that wind is the most dangerous
Pandemonium. thing in the sphere. It doesn't just blow air
about and make noise, there's something
PHYSICAL about it that will drive a person completely in-
CONDITIONS sane. The constant howling is enough to drive
a person barmy, sure, but everyone who hangs
So for some reason you're stupid around the place long enough eventually goes
enough not to follow my good advice and stay crazy. Some are lucky and manage to go only
away. More's the pity. The three things a per- a little insane, but spending any time here is
son has to get used to in Pandemonium are call for a long session of therapy later.

The next thing most people will no-
tice about the place is that it's dark. Pandemo-

nium is utterly and
completely without
light sources. The
only light anywhere
in the sphere is that
maintained by those
visiting or living
here. Most would
think that the lack
of light would be
the first thing most
people notice, given
that most folks rely
on sight as their
number one sense.
But that just goes to
show you how
throughly noisy
Pandemonium is.

Carrying

323

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SETTING

around a light source in Pande- was so unspeakable that almost all of those
monium has its own dangers - it who were sent in on the rescue operation were
makes the person carrying it an lost to the horror as well. Something lurks in
obvious target, and in a place full Pandemonium's depths. Something horrible.
of crazy people, whatever mon-
sters are lurking in the dark, and PANDEMONIUM
the nameless horrors of the end- LOCATIONS
less caverns, well, being a target
might not be a wise idea. Luckily, The Black Flag
actually traveling the tunnels of
Pandemonium bears some re- The one thing Pandemonium is really
semblances to actual spelunking. good for now is as a place to hide from the rest
Gravity here points towards some of the Wheel. There aren't many groups that'd
unseen center of the sphere. No pursue someone here - a thief would have to
one has found their way to the have something damned important for a gov-
center (or at least no one has returned sane ernment to consider the risk worthwhile. The
enough to talk about it). Black Flag is the name of a huge pirate base,
where pirates and crooked merchants meet to
Travel through Pandemonium's end- trade goods, stories, and to hide from the law.
less caverns is further complicated by the foul The exact location is a closely kept secret - the
water flowing here. Most passages have a Black Flag is careful about just who is allowed
stream of one size or another, whether it's a to dock at their station. The place is built like
bare trickle or a raging torrent. If they're mov- an armored space station, airtight and with
ing very fast, these streams can throw up a baffles and insulation to keep the worst of the
spray that fills the air with an oily mist and noise out. The owner of the Black Flag is a pi-
makes footing horribly slippery. rate king named Atomsk, said to have such
amazing skill as to steal entire planets.
The last effect that Pandemonium has
is one that people don't typically notice at first Ravenholm
- lights just won't go as far. They're as bright
as ever, illuminate just as well, but at less than Ravenholm used to be the largest city
half the distance they should go... they just in Pandemonium. Used to be. It was estab-
stop, like they're hitting a wall of shadow. The lished to act as a mining camp, with some de-
darkness here is almost a physical force. And gree of success. The most attractive part of the
speaking of that, anyone going into the Umbra city, for most, was that absolutely anyone was
here will quickly learn that that's a bad idea. welcome. They would take people in, find
The Umbra's psychic landscape is not a them work, and let them forget about their
friendly place in a sphere that is all darkness
and madness. The number of predators there
is very high, and they are so very hungry.

PANDEMONIUM

INHABITANTS

Pandemonium isn't some summer re-
sort where people go to spend holiday. There
are not a lot of people who want to come here
and spend any amount of time. It's one of the
least populated Crystal Spheres, especially
after some of the recent events. See, not too
long ago one of the few permanent cities in
Pandemonium was destroyed by something -
no one knows what - and what was left behind

324

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SETTING

past as long as they behaved themselves in the miniature tornadoes. Bubbles without a
present. It was the kind of place where a per- breach are utterly still. Only about half have
son could redefine themselves and escape the air, the rest merely vacuum. They're obviously
horrors of their past. But a few years ago, incredibly hard to find, and it's rumored that
something terrible happened. No one knows the gods themselves use them as vaults to hide
if it's the result of some daemon infestation or away things they don't want stolen, things they
an artifact that was supposed to be sealed away don't want running loose. It's certainly true
or some kind of contagious psychosis, but that things are found in the bubbles, things
every single person living in Ravenholm was that couldn't possibly be there.
killed in a single night, just a few hours of ter-
rible violence. Or at least it's assumed that ADVENTURE SEEDS
everyone died. The rescue effort turned up
mostly fragmentary bodies, people torn limb * The eldest daughter of a royal line,
from limb, before the rescue team succumbed next in line for their throne, left her home
to the same psychosis and contact was lost. Crystal Sphere and became a pirate. Unfortu-
nately, her father has just found his way into
Phlegethon the next world thanks to an assassin, and even
if she isn't a fan of the idea she's needed back
Phlegethon is a region of rare beauty at home. Someone is going to have to go to the
in Pandemonium. This part of the Sphere is Black Flag and find her - before the assassin
surprisingly cold, like the composition of the can.
walls leeches heat away, but the walls are
beautiful, dripping water giving rise to great * Whatever happened to Ravenholm,
columns, stupendous stalactites and stalag- it's spreading. Several other small outposts
mites, and incredible curtains of rock in mag- have stopped responding after transmitting
nificent variations of color. The colors of this messages of such horror and fear that it's been
place make it great for sightseeing, but there hard to find anyone to even fly over the sites.
are stories that there's something terrifying Unless the cause of these disasters can be
here, spirits of earth and air and cold, phan- stopped, the entire place might become a char-
toms and faeries that lure people deeper into nel house. The last thing Pandemonium needs
the tunnels where they're never seen again. is to be an even worse place than it is.

Agathion * Rumors say that Aboleth and Mind
Flayers have a massive city here, hidden some-
Somewhere close to the core of Pan- where in some massive underground sea. If
demonium is an area that explorers call Agath- there's truth to these rumors, then this hidden
ion, where the passages stop, and caverns are city represents a grave threat to the Great
sealed away, bubbles in the endless rock. Wheel.
Where breaches exist, the wind howls into

325

Marina Pheonix waited, perfectly still, behind the chest-high wall of reinforced concrete. She
had only noticed the trouble moments after she had entered the room and her sensors picked up the
fresh exhaust fumes. She had only just barely managed to get her light-bending implants active before
the walking tank locked onto her. The thing was just waiting for her to leave cover now.

And she didn't have much choice. Her target was down there, the tank standing over it like a
mountain of steel. She checked her rifle. She wasn't sure why she was checking her lasgun. It'd be as
effective as shining a flashlight at the hulk of metal. She was really starting to wish she'd brought a
bigger gun.

"Marina, can you read me?" came the whisper on her comm implant. It was Chief Anya. Ma-
rina touched her chin, a reflex from when she had been merely human and wore a radio instead of
being one.

"Yeah," Marina subvocalized.
"We have your transponder location again. What's the situation?" Marina quickly glanced over
the wall. She was able to look for half a second before a hail of fire from the tank's heavy machine
gun blasted into the concrete of the wall. She ducked down as the bullets tracked up and nearly hit
her.
"He's in the back of a ground transport. There's a spider-tank covering him. It's going to be
hard to get to him like this."
"The ship will be directly overhead in thirty seconds. If you can get it out in the open and give
us a firing solution, we can give you fire support." The sound was nearly drowned out by the thun-
dering impact of the shells against the concrete. Marina wondered how long it would hold out. She
felt it crack. Not long enough.
Marina activated her Veil system, and light bent around her as she channeled warp energy
through her artificial body. She got up and ran for it just as the barrier shattered. The tank must have
had one hell of a sensor suite - the bullets started tracking her motions after just a moment. She'd
have only one chance.
The arcane pyros flowing through her mechanical heart flared, and power surged into her legs.
The promethean jumped down to the lower level of the room, level with the tank, and ran serpentine
for it. A lucky shell bounced into her left arm, shredding her artifical flesh and exposing orichalcum
bones to the air. Marina ignored the warning alerts flashing in her vision and jumped again, cooling
vanes on her body springing out and flaring with discharge as the Pyros surged through her again.
She landed on top of the car, and with another quick motion as the tank scrambled to get a
firing solution that didn't include the thing it was trying to protect, she got on top of it. The tank
stumbled off to the side, confused, and got right under the shattered skylight.
Marina grabbed the hatch with both hands, pulling with all her might. The hatch popped, and
her damaged left arm went with it. She swore, then drove her right hand into her chest, tearing her
transponder free.
"I want you to fire directly on my transponder signal!" Marina shouted, forgetting to subvo-
calize. She threw the transponder into the tank's hatch, then jumped away, rolling as she hit the
ground. The tank spun to face her. The gun started tracking her. She had landed wrong. She had no
speed. She couldn't run.
"Understood. Firing lance battery." Just as Marina was looking into the black void of a gun
barrel, a blinding red light struck down from the heavens, and a hole was burned right through the
tank. There was a crack as the superheated air expanded. The tank shook like a leaf for a moment as
the VI systems inside it crashed. The beam drifted slightly, cutting the tank in two. Molten steel
dripped to the floor.
"I think you got it."
"Is the target still in one piece?" Marina walked over to the transport, a mixture of machine oil
and blood dribbling from her severed arm. She opened up the back door and unzipped the black bag
there. A blank face stared up at her. She smiled.

XVI THE STORY
MASTER

This chapter offers guidance for you Initial Questions

to share stories about grand Heroes molding Before you begin a DUNGEONS
the fate of the Great Wheel and provides ad- THE DRAGONING campaign, you and your
vice for running a game of DUNGEONS players need to answer some basic questions
THE DRAGONING. You will learn the prac- about the characters, the setting and the rules.
ticalities of running a DUNGEONS THE Story Masters need to figure out the follow-
DRAGONING game, how to create your own ing:
campaign and how to simplify bookkeeping.
You will also find some rules for character ad- * Are there any elements of the setting
vancement and tips on the tone and themes of that you want to explicitly avoid? Will you
the game. Take what you need, ignore what need to change or ignore any of the rules be-
you don't, and run the best damn DUN- fore you play?
GEONS THE DRAGONING game you and
your players can come up with. * Who are the direct antagonists and
recurring characters the Heroes will encounter
GETTING STARTED throughout the campaign? With what allies do
the heroes begin, or what aid can they initially
As Story Master, your first goal is to procure? How far across the Wheel do you ex-
focus the options for the DUNGEONS THE pect the game to span?
DRAGONING game. You need to create
some general parameters for your game, and * Where are the characters from?
the players need to do the same for potential How did they arrive at the game's starting lo-
characters. Next, you need to figure out the cation? How do they know one another?
style of game you're trying to run and where it
will occur in the Great Wheel. Finally, you * What areas of knowledge and ex-
need to work with your players so they can fig- pertise does each character bring to the party?
ure out how their characters interact with your Are there any hooks characters should possess
campaign. or avoid? Should the characters have vastly dif-
ferent capabilities, or is it okay to overlap?

* Should the characters form a bal-
anced party with healing, skills, fighting, and
magic? Can they possess similar Backgrounds
such as belonging to the same organization or

327

CHAPTER XVI:
THE STORY MASTER

matching artifact armor?
Use these questions to get started. If

you like to plan ahead, come up with useful
questions of your own for current or future
games.

CHANGING THE RULES

You are in complete control of your
game and can change any rule you want, at
any time, for any reason. However, DUN-
GEONS THE DRAGONING rules often in-
terlock with others, so be sure you understand
what the rule affects before making changes.
Players who find their spells and special at-
tacks invalidated by your changes can become
frustrated, particularly if they discover this
during play. Be flexible in each case, and al-
ways apply the rules consistently.

KEEPING realms of the Great Wheel, and by extension,
CHARACTERS UNIQUE help the players to better sink into the roles of
their characters.
It's okay if characters have similar
Characteristics and Skills or have the same The Ancient and the Forgotten
race or Exaltation. If players have character
ideas that overlap, have them work together to The Great Wheel's standard calendar
make sure their concepts aren't too similar. As runs from the disappearance of the Syrne over
long as nobody feels her character is overshad- 40,000 years ago. There is an incredible depth
owed by another (whether by numbers on a of time, tens of millennia, ages of galactic his-
sheet or involvement in the story), each should tory that lie forgotten and lost, either de-
be able to fill her own niche. Character choices stroyed in war or simply forgotten over time.
are broad and customizable enough that no The Great wheel is filled with mysticism, fear,
two characters need be alike. and superstition, and people survive huddled
together away from the darkest parts of the
THEMES IN universe. Crystal Spheres lie unexplored, Syr-
neth ruins dot the stars, and the golden age of
DUNGEONS THE the galaxy is long past.

DRAGONING Into the Unknown

The universe of the Great Wheel, and Every hero has their quest, goals for
the DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING their gods or their avarice or their own per-
game which resides within it, are different sonal moral values. These quests drive them
from any other science fiction setting. To bet- to become prolific explorers, some of the few
ter evoke this universe and weave its flavour in the Great Wheel willing to take on the dan-
and colour into his games, the Story Master gerous task of charting pathways into Crystal
should become familiar with its key themes. Spheres and breaking the ancient laws to open
Being able to add these themes to a game will new paths on the Portal network. Such is the
help to make it undeniably set within the vast scope of the Galaxy that entire empires of
aliens, lost worlds, and never-before-seen ce-

328

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lestial phenomena have all been found hidden bring to the table. if you need inspiration, or
within the folds of the known stars or on their if your players want to try something different,
edges. use these style summaries for ideas. Each in-
cludes a 'focus' a general recommendation for
Points of Light building characters to suit that style.

Civilization is not the norm in the "Vanilla" Dungeons The Dragoning
Great Wheel. Most of the galaxy is unexplored
wilderness and the centers of civilization are The most obvious DUNGEONS
few and far between. There are great empires THE DRAGONING game involves the He-
and powerful worlds, but the void and the un- roes returning to the world, confronting their
known dangers in it separate them by huge enemies, establishing a power base, conquer-
gulfs of time and space. Anything could be ing the surrounding regions and becoming
lurking off the beaten path, and any journey god-kings. Their grand conflict could involve
carries with it the inherent dangers of Warp drawing a line in the sand and fighting anyone
Travel. Almost anything could happen to a who dares cross it. It could mean working be-
world without anyone noticing for a long time. hind the scenes to spy and assassinate. It could
even mean actively seeking to bring down the
One Minute to Midnight Factions, either from within or without.

The galaxy is tottering on the brink of The players' characters eventually end
ruin and disaster. There are enemies around up calling the shots in their own empire carved
every corner, from daemons to the ancient in the stars, defending their people and the
nightmare automatons of the modrons to the Great Wheel from all who oppose them. This
vile aliens that lurk in the shadows. Across the style can emphasize rebuilding and restoration
Great Wheel, there is a constant struggle to of society from the tragic mess of things made
survive. Doom fills the air, and the end is nigh. by the Factions, or it could focus solely on the
long, hard road to seizing Sigil itself.
Game Styles
Focus: No change.
There is no one true way to play
DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING, but By Your Powers Combined
there are basic assumptions many players
DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING
is usually over-the-top, but this style cranks it

to eleven and pours
enough excess over
it that Slaanesh
would be pleased.
This game might in-
volve Heroes with
color-coded pow-
ered armor riding
drop pods down
into a hot battle
zone where they
fight hundreds of
enemies then return
home to be em-
broiled in melodra-
matic, soap-opera
relationships with
storyteller charac-
ters (or each other).
The players' charac-

329

CHAPTER XVI:
THE STORY MASTER

ters may sport Lascannons, Null Rays, and the problems, and typically allows characters to
ability to call down orbital strikes upon their come together and focus because of their
enemies. Powerful individuals and organiza- shared background. They might be seen as
tions will have complicated, intricate plots that heroic special agents of their government, a
might inadvertently destroy the world. special team of experts, or members of the
same vampire clan or werewolf tribe. By hav-
This style of game harks back to how ing one element be the same for all characters,
the Wheel looked back when the Syrne were it gives everyone common ground to work
in charge, the golden age of the galaxy, but it from.
can be really fun if you're going for a more ex-
treme vibe. Be sure to throw in a vengeful Focus: Social Backgrounds, Differing
Dragon Empire, an enraged behemoth that is skillsets.
slowly eating Crystal Spheres, and mysterious
dead ship floating between the stars made of Miscellany
some terrible living metal.
There are many other game styles you
Focus: Artifact Background. can apply to your DUNGEONS THE
DRAGONING game. Here are a few more
Outlander suggestions:

Perhaps the known Crystal Spheres Bolter and Chainsword with Daiklave
don't interest you much at all. Whether the call is a lighthearted, goofy take on the DUN-
of the stars has lured the characters to a life of GEONS THE DRAGONING setting. Per-
searching out lost treasure or simply exploring haps the characters are all teenagers in a Sigil
to see what lies at the second star on the right, academy or must prove their worth to be a
there are alien ways of living and surviving in ruler by finding the Lady of Pain a date for an
the stars that might appeal to the Heroes. An exclusive ball. This style doesn't take much of
Outlander game brings the character in close anything seriously and is mostly played for the
contact with these foreign elements, letting lulz.
them boldly go where no man has gone before.
Invasion! presents your standard
The Storyteller should concentrate on DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING game
the differences between the new expanses the with a massive influx of otherworldly beings
players are exploring and the familiar places bent upon conquering, enslaving, or destroy-
they come from, highlighting the peculiar ing the Great Wheel. The characters attempt
denizens and the strange logic by which they to fight, delay, or flee from the seemingly un-
operate. Remember that the Heroes are pow- stoppable enemy, be they Daemons, the
erful on a large scale, so even in these alien armies of the Modrons, terrible beings from
worlds they represent a force to be reckoned beyond the stars, aliens from a newly-opened
with - don't make them the smallest fish in a Crystal Sphere, angry ghosts, or anything else.
very big pond.

Focus: Lore skills.

The Clans

Similar to a standard
game of DUNGEONS THE
DRAGONING, this style of game
focuses more on a single common
background. Each character be-
longs to the same race or has the
same Exaltation, allowing them to
focus on the internal politics of
that group.

This style of game can en-
compass smaller and more focused

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CHAPTER XVI:
THE STORY MASTER

FORMING A PARTY

There are many reasons why a group
of Heroes might form a party. Some of the
most common are these:

The Enemy of my Enemy

The easiest way for characters to en-
counter one another is when they're working
against a common menace. They might be on
the run from some terribly powerful evil, or
they may simply be out to take down the same
dark overlord or oppressive tyrant. Characters
can come from almost anywhere in the Great
Wheel, and even if they don't necessarily know
each other, by the end of the first adventure
they should decide to stick together for their
own safety, at least for the time being.

Perhaps the characters can stop the invasion The Gods Will It
with some form of Syrneth superweapon after
finding allies among those who would nor- If the characters have similar align-
mally seek to destroy them. ments, they may have been thrust together by
the will of the gods themselves. The Ruinous
The Hero Who Came in from the Powers, the Blessed Pantheon, and the Grey
Cold assumes a game of intrigue and espi- Council can all exert an otherworldly impetus
onage, perhaps with the characters working for to unite the characters. If this pull is not sub-
one of the Factions, a powerful Rogue Trader, tle, the Heroes might receive prophetic dreams
a particularly important government, or even full of places they have never been. The He-
a god. The characters won't always know who roes travel to find one another, for their visions
to trust, but they must rely on brains, skills, clearly indicate the importance of the other
and cunning to survive rather than their com- characters to the accomplishment of their di-
bat capabilities. vine task. This backdrop works well in a game
with an emphasis on the more mystic elements
Sorcery & Sorcery is similar to a stan- of the setting.
dard DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING
game, except every character plays a sorcerer. Supernatural Conspiracy
Should the players wish to emphasize this as-
pect, the game can take on a life of its own as There is no shortage of people looking
the Story Master plays to their sorcerous am- to improve their position, and naive Heroes
bitions. can make perfect tools if properly controlled.
At least, that's how the ambitious and the ar-
Walk the Earth is perhaps the sim- rogant view it, be they one of the Factions of
plest form of game, for it follows the characters Sigil, a collection of daemons, an ambitious
as they wander around the Wheel with no government, a cunning Pirate Prince or any
overriding purpose beyond a desire to see the number of supernatural movers and shakers.
universe and have unique escapades in new While the characters begin the game serving a
places. This style of game is a DUNGEONS power they are told is greater than their own,
THE DRAGONING travelogue, allowing they should have many opportunities to disa-
Story Masters to alter the Wheel as they see fit buse their controllers of this notion.
to share cool, standalone stories set in a per-
sonalized backdrop. Beyond the Call to Action

The characters knew one another be-

331

CHAPTER XVI:
THE STORY MASTER

fore they became Exalted. Perhaps they were mal pressures of the game. These minisessions
all close friends. Whatever their backgrounds, are also useful for deciding exactly what char-
they are now Heroes who stick together be- acters do during their downtime and as some-
cause of their previous connections. The im- thing to do if not everyone can show up for a
plications of so close a group all ascending to full session.
become Exalted at the same time could easily
become a major plot point. The First Session

RUNNING THE The first session of the campaign in-
troduces your players to the game. Do every-
GAME thing you can to start it with a bang. Instead
of the characters meeting in a dive onboard
DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING some space station before leaving to search
is unlike a lot of roleplaying games when it through some ancient ruins for an artifact,
comes to the level of control provided to the have them start the game with the artifact in
players. This can be daunting to even the most hand, escaping from the collapsing ancient
experienced Story Masters, to say nothing of ruins and being chased by beastmen hordes,
those running a roleplaying game for the first then end it with a relaxing tavern visit.
time. The important thing for both you and
the players to realize is that the characters con- Think of the opening to a James Bond
trol the direction of the game. While they reg- movie - you see the action-packed culmination
ularly react to circumstances you provide of an exciting adventure that seems unrelated
them, you will just as often be the one impro- to what comes next, but later on ties into the
vising a response to what they are doing. plot. Aim for this by setting an over-the-top
scene and asking your players to describe ex-
The Prelude actly how they got into this predicament. Cut
them some slack and let them get creative, be-
You might want to run a short session cause you can tie that into the ongoing cam-
called a prelude as the players get a feel for paign later.
their characters' personalities. We recommend
you do this with each player individually be- If this is your first time running
fore the first session. A prelude should be a DUNGEONS THE DRAGONING or if you
short session focused more on roleplaying and have players who are new to the game, you
involve few, if any, dice rolls. They provide a should primarily use this session to test out the
way to explore a character outside of the nor- limits of the system and show the players' char-
acters exactly how cool they can be. Go lenient
with stunt requirements to get people in the
mood, giving examples of the kinds of things

they can do before letting them
run with it. Encourage them to
focus on the basics, to test out
any rules they don't fully under-
stand and to use any powers
they're itching to try out.

While the characters should
feel threatened in dangerous
circumstances, killing off a
character in the first session is
discouraged. The point is not
to show the players how easily
you can destroy their charac-
ters, but for your players to test
out what does and doesn't
work. Should your players be

332

CHAPTER XVI:
THE STORY MASTER

very timid and hesitant to put themselves into
dangerous situations, you might want to tell
them flat out that if they 'die' in this session
you won't force them to Burn any Hero
Points, but they'll just be incapacitated in-
stead, maybe ending up with a cool scar for
their troubles. Only do this if the characters
are being too timid - DUNGEONS THE
DRAGONING is a game about heroes, and
knowing you're invincible doesn't make you
brave.

Reworking the Characters banked and total experience. Banked experi-
ence is any experience stored by the player for
You might want to allow players who future improvement of a character's traits.
were unsatisfied with the way their character Players who spend experience in this manner
performed in the first session to rework their reduce their banked experience by the amount
characters. If any player finds a character fun- spent.
damentally boring to play or poorly balanced,
now is the time to change it. However, be sure Total experience is the total amount
to take an active role with the player to smooth received from the Story Master and is never
out the rough spots. Some players might want spent or reduced. When the Story Master
to completely remove non-combat skills in awards experience, the player adds this
favor of ass-kicking. If your first session was amount to banked and total experience. Keep-
mostly action, encourage them to keep any ing track of total experience gives you a good
non-combat skills you forsee coming up in idea of the overall power level of your charac-
your game. While combat skills can certainly ter, and makes sure you have the same amount
tip the balance in a fight, non-combat skills as the other characters in the campaign.
can sway whole nations.
There are two main ways for the SM
Beyond the First Session to award experience to his players: the Ab-
stract Method and the Detailed Method.
The first session lays the groundwork
for your first DUNGEONS THE DRAGO- Abstract Method
NING campaign. It is vital to recognize that
the campaign itself is a shared experience. You This is the easiest and recommended
are not dictating an unchangeable narrative, (certainly for beginning SMs) way to award
displaying the elaborate schemes of antago- experience. It relies simply on the amount of
nists and extras punctuated by the occasional time spent gaming and ensures a steady and
interruption of the players' characters. Instead, smooth rise in power for the characters. For
you are crafting a fun experience based around each game session each player should receive
the characters themselves. Talk frankly with 500 xp. The SM can adjust the reward for
your players about what they want out of the longer or shorter sessions.
game, and make sure you get their feedback,
or you'll never be able to give them what they
want.

EXPERIENCE

Character growth is measured with
numerical points provided by the Story Master
to the players, known as Experience Points.
There are two kinds of experience points:

333

CHAPTER XVI:
THE STORY MASTER

Detailed Method the desired increase with their Story Master.
The rank of some abilities - your Power Stat,
A more detailed method of awarding Magic Schools, and Fighting Styles - are
experience is also possible, in which each re- capped by your character's level.
ward is broken down on a case-by-case basis
and players gain experience for completing Example: Mistress Scarlet wants to
specific tasks. For this method to work, how- increase her Charisma from 3 to 4. Charisma
ever, the SM must assign a value to each en- is a characteristic, so it costs (100 x current
counter. For example, he might have a session rank) to increase. Her current rank is 3, so it
that includes a dangerous journey through the costs (100 x 3), or 300 xp. Should her Story
warp, a space battle against orks, and a tense Master approve, Mistress Scarlet can subtract
negotiation with some hostile natives. In this 300 from her banked Experience and fill in
case, each of the three encounters would be one more dot of Charisma.
worth a set amount of XP that would be
awarded to the players when the encounters Spending Experience
are completed or overcome.
Improve a Characteristic 100 x Current Rank
The Encounter Difficulty table gives
examples of encounters based on difficulty. To Improve Devotion 50 x Current Rank
work out the difficulty of an encounter, con-
sider how much it taxes the resources of the Improve a Skill 50 x Current Rank
group and what it costs them in Hit Points,
equipment, or time. Improve your Power Stat 200 x Current Rank*

When using this method, it is impor- Improve a Magic School 100 x Current Rank*
tant to remember to award experience for only
meaningful encounters and obstacles, lest the Improve a Sword School 100 x Current Rank*
players embark on the wholesale slaughter of
worlds simply for the 'experience'. Likewise, as Buy a Feat 100
the player characters gain in power, some chal-
lengers will be so easily overcome as to be New Skill 100
worth little or no experience.
New Magic or Sword 200

* Your Power Stat, Magic Schools, and Fighting
Style ranks are all capped at your current level.

Encounter Difficulty Other Rewards

Difficulty Award There are plenty of other rewards that
a player can get aside from raw Experience.
Easy 50 Backgrounds are the most obvious of these - a
character may well be rewarded with a high-
Routine 70 ranking position in some group (gaining Back-
ing), a mystical talisman of power (gaining an
Ordinary 100 Artifact), or simply a lot of cash (gaining
Wealth). Fame and Status are probably the
Average 130 easiest to get - an Exalt will naturally get both
as long as they arenÊt trying to keep their ac-
Challenging 170 tivities a secret.

Hard 200 A character can also gain Assets in
this way. They might necessitate some down-
Very Hard 250 time - a promethean might be rebuilt to use
Necrodermis in his construction, or a Chosen
Spending Experience could undergo a ceremony to gain the Mark
of their patron. Similarly, a Vampire or Were-
Players can spend a character's wolf can become a member of a clan or tribe.
banked experience to purchase new traits or Some Assets might be rather difficult to get in
increase existing ones. Increasing a trait costs this way - thereÊs no simple method for some-
banked experience equal to a multiple of its one to become Large, after all.
current rating. This is the value of the trait be-
fore it is raised. Players should always bring up

334

XVII ANTAGONISTS

The galaxy of the Great Wheel is a TRAIT DESCRIPTIONS

strange and limitless place, filled with horrors Amphibious
and wonders in equal measure. So too are the
individuals, creatures, and alien races in it. Amphibious creatures are more suited
From the spires of Sigil to the darkest depths for underwater movement than crawling
of Pandemonium, Heroes can encounter around on the ground. When moving under-
countless different fores, from mortal soldiers water, Amphibious creatures never need to
to otherworldly beasts and the most hideous make tests to advance through less-than-ideal
terrors imaginable. The trick, of course, is to conditions like rushing water. They also dou-
know which one is which... ble their listed speed while swimming.

Traits Amorphous

Skills and Feats represent ability and Amorphous creatures don't have body
knowledge gained over a character's life. structures that lend themselves to easy under-
Traits, then, are innate abilities gained by standing. All hits on an amorphous creature
virtue of birth and racial circumstance. They go to the body. An Amorphous creature dou-
may be gained through other means later in bles its hit points.
life, but almost never by choice. Racial abilities
are one example of traits, albeit extremely spe- Armor Plating (X)
cific ones that are limited just to their given
races. Other characters can have various traits, Creatures with armor plating have a
features inherited from their particular type of natural armor rating because of their tough
species or their environment. skin, bone ridges, scales, or just generally
being a tough bastard. The rating of a crea-
ture's armor plating is always listed, and by de-
fault protects all parts of a creature's body
unless otherwise listed.

335

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Aura (X) with this trait, they must roll against it as listed
in the Fear and Insanity section.
As armor reduces damage from phys-
ical sources, Aura reduces damage from mag- Flyer
ical ones. Aura always protects all hit
locations. Creatures with this trait typically A creature with this trait has the nat-
have great magical power of their own, or are ural ability to fly, whether with broad leathery
warded against spells. wings, strange Warp energies, or inflatable gas
sacs. This trait typically includes a number to
Auto-Stabilized indicate the Speed it uses while flying. If not
otherwise listed, this Speed is double the crea-
The creature always counts as braced tures normal movement speed.
when firing heavy weapons and may fire on
fully-automatic mode as a half action. Machine

Caster A creature with the machine trait is
fashioned from inorganic materials and is gen-
A creature with the Caster trait can erally more hardy than real people. Machines
cast a number of spells. Their effective ranks do not breathe, are immune to the effects of a
in magic schools are listed after caster. They vacuum, extremes of cold, any mind-influenc-
follow all the normal rules for casting spells. A ing psychic effect, and they gain a number of
creature with Caster always counts as being armor points that apply to all of their body lo-
sanctioned. cations.

Crawler Mindless

Worms, serpents, and similar crea- Mindless creatures have no Charisma,
tures crawl and slither rather than walk. The Fellowship, Composure, or Intelligence
base speed for a creature with this trait is scores. They automatically fail all social skill
halved, but they don't take any penalties due tests, are immune to social attacks, and are im-
to terrain. mune to any attempts to control their mind,
since they don't have anything there to con-
Daemonic trol.

Daemonic creatures are creatures of
the Warp, but can manifest in real-
space through sheer strength of will,
hunger, or occult rituals. Creatures
with this trait gain extra hit points
and armor equal to their Constitu-
tion score. This armor stacks with
all other sources of armor.

Dark Sight

A creature with this trait
sees normally even in areas of total
darkness, and never takes a penalty
due to lighting conditions.

Fear

Creatures with a fear rating
are horrifying things that can inspire
terror in all those who see them.
They gain the listed fear rating.
When a hero encounters a creature

336

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Phasing undead creatures can just stand in one spot
until they rot away. They don't suffer blood
A creature with this trait can trans- loss and ignore stunning effects.
form its body into an insubstantial state, pass-
ing ghostlike through solid objects or barriers Unnatural Toughness
of any sort. A creature may change to and
from corporeality as a half action. An incorpo- Creatures with Unnatural Toughness
real creature gains two extra raises on Stealth are almost impossible to put down. Their hit
checks when hiding inside an object and are points are doubled, including from sources
immune to normal weapons. Magic weapons like Sound Constitution.
and weapons with the Power Field property
can affect them normally. Dramatis

Quadruped Personae

Quadrupeds are much quicker over a There are a lot of berks out there
distance than their bipedal counterparts. Their looking to hurt someone because theyÊre in a
ground speed is doubled as they can use all bad mood, theyÊre on the wrong side of a fight,
four legs to sprint. or just because someone slipped them a few
Thrones to do it. Or maybe theyÊre just hun-
Regeneration gry. Here are statistics for a few sample ene-
mies to get you started.
Creatures with this trait heal very
quickly. Every round, at the start of its turn,
the creature may regain a number of lost hit
points equal to its regeneration score.

Resource Stat General Noncombatant

A creature with a resource stat has a The Wheel contains countless billions
pool of points to pull from, just as an Exalt of men and women, from the hab-workers
does. These follow all the normal rules for re- trudging to and from factories day after day,
source stats. The type and number of resource to the ratings that blister their hands working
stats the creature has to spend are listed with impossible hours onboard military ships, to
the trait. ore miners providing fuel and raw material to
fuel the galaxy's lust for wealth.
Stuff of Nightmares
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
Some warp entities and bizarre crea-
tures are so terribly powerful that the will per- 222222222
petuating their bodies in our reality is almost
impossible to break or disrupt. Such entities Skills Common Lore 1, Perception 1,
are completely immune to the effects of poi-
sons, diseases, the need to breathe, most en- Craft 1
vironmental hazards, bleeding, stunning, and
any critical result other than one that would Speed 4
destroy them outright unless caused by a
Spell, Power Weapon, or similarly unusual Size/Resilience 4 / 4
source.
Static Defense 12
Undead
HP 4
An undead creature isn't really alive.
They're animated by terrible forces of sorcery Feats None
and warp energy. They don't need to breathe,
eat, drink, or really to do anything. Mindless Armor None

Attacks Unarmed

Gear Drab garb, a few coins.

Level 1

337

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Green Troops/Common Outlaws Helmet (4 AP; Head)

The lowest of the low, these men rep- Attacks Knife (4k2 R; Pen 0), Lasgun (60m; S/3;
resent barely trained conscripts and thieves.
They present little threat to anyone armed or 3k2 E; Pen 0; Clip 60; Reload Full)
ready for them, preying upon the weak and
afraid. Every day, wars and hardship drive Gear Uniform, Flak Armor, Lasgun, 2 Energy
more people to these extremes - many are not
even bad people, just hungry and not able to Packs, Micro-bead, Torch
see any other way out.
Level 2

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
323222222

Skills Acrobatics 1, Perception 1,

Common Lore 1, Intimidate 2,

Scrutiny 1, Weaponry 1, Ballistics 1.

Speed 5

Size/Resilience 4 / 4

Static Defense 12

HP 5

Feats Weapon Proficiency (Ordinary, Parrying)

Armor Leathers (2 AP; Arms, Body, Legs)

Attacks Knife (4k2 R; Pen 0),

Autopistol (30m; S/6; 2k2 I; Pen 0; Clip Elite Soldiers/Raiders

12; Reload Full) Elite Soldiers are special forces, dis-
tinct not just in having somewhat better equip-
Gear Threadbare clothing, leathers, 2 autopis- ment, but also in having better training and
experience. They tend to not only preform
tol clips, a few coins. better in combat than the standard soldier, but
also know when it's time to leave.
Level 1

Regular Troops/Rebels Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil

A common, every day soldier, armed 433223222
with standard service weapon and armor.
They've gone through basic training, unlike Skills Acrobatics 1, Perception 2,
conscripted soldiers forced into service, and
can present an actual threat if there are enough Common Lore 1, Intimidate 2,
of them around to concentrate fire.

Scrutiny 1, Weaponry 2, Ballistics 3.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Speed 7
333222222
Size/Resilience 4 / 5

Static Defense 13

HP 8

Skills Acrobatics 1, Perception 1, Feats Weapon Proficiency (Ordinary, Parrying,

Common Lore 1, Intimidate 2, Las). Sound Constitution x 2, Jaded, Armor Profi-

Scrutiny 1, Weaponry 2, Ballistics 2. ciency (light, medium, Heavy)

Speed 6 Armor Carapace Armor (7 AP; Arms, Body,

Size/Resilience 4 / 4 Legs, Head)

Static Defense 13 Attacks Knife (5k2 R; Pen 0), Lasgun (60m; S/3;

HP 7 3k2 E; Pen 0; Clip 60; Reload Full)

Feats Weapon Proficiency (Ordinary, Parrying, Gear Uniform, Carapace Armor, Lasgun, 2 En-

Las). Sound Constitution x 2, Jaded, Armor Profi- ergy Packs, Micro-bead, Torch, Rebreather, 2 Frag

ciency (light, medium) Grenades

Armor Flak Vest, Gauntlets,(5 AP; Arms, Body) Level 3

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CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Mortal Hero Sabbat Thug

The mortal hero represents a warrior The Sabbat is a kind of vampire
near the very peak of mortal mafia, an organization whose tendrils reach
ability, armed with some into many major planetary cities and with po-
of the best equipment litical influence that stems from simply being
and training that a per- around for over a thousand years and gaining
son can get. To a lots and lots of wealth. The lowest members
newborn exalt, they of the Sabbat are thugs, soldiers and enforcers
present a threat in who are at the bottom rung of the organization
one-on-one com- with nowhere to go but up.
bat, pure luck and
bloody-minded- Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
ness taking the
place of su- 333222112
pernatural
power. Skills Acrobatics 1, Athletics 1, Ballistics 1,

Brawl 2, Drive 1, Intimidation 1,

Perception 2, Weaponry 2

Speed 6

Size/Resilience 4 / 4

Static Defense 17

HP 6

Feats Sound Constitution, Weapon Proficiency

(Ordinary)

Armor None

Attacks Bite (4k1 R, Pen 0), Brass Knuckles (3k2,

Pen 0), Hand Cannon (35m; S/-; 3k2 I; Pen 3; Clip

6; Reload 2 Full)

Abilities

Undead Resilience - As the Vampire power.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Sunlight Weakness - As the Vampire power.
544343224
Blood Dependency - As the Vampire power.

Traits Resource Stat (Vitae; 5), Dark Sight

Gear Dark clothing, Brass Knuckles, Hand

Cannon, Chrono, 5 reloads for the Hand Cannon.

Skills Acrobatics 2, Perception 2, Level 2

Common Lore 2, Intimidate 2,

Scrutiny 1, Weaponry 3, Ballistics 3.

Speed 9

Size/Resilience 4 / 6

Static Defense 20

HP 10

Feats Weapon Proficiency (Ordinary, Parrying,

Las, Chain). Sound Constitution x 2, Jaded, Armor

Proficiency (light, medium, heavy, extreme,

power), True Grit, Blind Fighting, Luck

Armor Light Power Armor (10 AP; All)

Attacks Chainsword (8k2 R; Pen 4, Tearing), Las-

gun (100m; S/4; 2k2 E; Pen 2; Clip 40; Reload

Full)

Gear Flashy clothing, Light Power Armor,

Pulse Rifle, 2 Energy Packs, Micro-bead, Torch,

Rebreather, 2 Frag Grenades

Level 3

339

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Sabbat Prince Skills Brawl 2, Perception 3, Intimidate 2,

A Sabbat Prince is considerably Weaponry 2
higher up in the organization than the thugs
they command. They have a huge amount of Speed 5 [8]
personal power, not just from their undead
abilities, but also because they're so well con- Size/Resilience 4 / 4 [6 / 5]
nected with the local political scene. They are
rarely seen alone or in any kind of vulnerable Static Defense 12 [8]
position, usually accompanied by bodyguards
and hired thugs. HP 6 [8]

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Feats Furious Assault, Heightened Senses

545424234 (smell), Iron Jaw

Armor None

Attacks [Claws (7k1 R), Bite (8k2 R)]

Abilities

Shifting - As the Werewolf power. Stats in brackets

are for Warform.

Lycan Resistance - As the Werewolf power.

Silver Bane - As the Werewolf power.

Traits Resource Stat (Rage; 6), Regeneration 1

Gear Torn street clothing.

Skills Acrobatics 2, Athletics 3, Ballistics 2, Level 2

Brawl 4, Drive 1, Intimidation 3,

Perception 3, Politics 3, Weaponry 4

Speed 9

Size/Resilience 4 / 5

Static Defense 22

HP 12

Feats Sound Constitution x 3, Weapon Profi-

ciency (Ordinary), Quick Draw, Swift Attack, Fear-

less, Wall of Steel

Armor None

Attacks Bite (6k2 R, Pen 0), Brass Knuckles (5k3,

Pen 0), Hand Cannon (35m; S/-; 3k2 I; Pen 3; Clip

6; Reload 2 Full)

Abilities

Undead Resilience - As the Vampire power.

Sunlight Weakness - As the Vampire power.

Blood Dependency - As the Vampire power.

Traits Resource Stat (Vitae; 15), Dark Sight,

Fear 1

Gear Sharp black suit, Brass Knuckles, Hand

Cannon, Expensive Chrono, 5 reloads for the Hand

Cannon.

Level 3

Zoanoid Thug Zoanoid Heavy

Werewolves are a divided group, and More powerful than the standard
Zoanoids are the worst of the worst, changed Zoanoid, these monsters are deadly, some-
and mutated by the powers of the Warp. times simply berserk monsters that go wild in
They're barely distinguishable from daemons the streets but occasionally one with excep-
in their warforms, and it's entirely possible that tional power or charisma will form a gang of
they'll have abilities and traits that aren't listed mutant monsters and terrorize a city. Most ap-
here as a consequence of these mutations. pear as horrible abominations in their war-
form, a mix of insect and aquatic features that
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil look unreal and terrible.

3[6] 2 4[6] 2 1 3 2 2 2

340

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil ical damage to that location even if they have HP
5[8] 3 5[7] 2 1 3 2 2 4
remaining.

Frightful Presence - Whenever this creature charges

or makes an all out attack, all creatures within

Skills Brawl 4, Perception 3, Intimidate 4, melee range of it must test against its fear rating.

Weaponry 4 We'll Be Back - When 'killed', roll 1d10 at the start

Speed 8 [11] at each of its turns. On an 8+, the creature fades

Size/Resilience 4 / 5 [6 / 6] away, teleporting somewhere else. After three

Static Defense 17 [13] rounds, the creature comes back to life at 0

HP 11 [13] wounds.

Feats Sound Constitution x 2, Furious Assault, Traits Armor Plating (4), Aura (4), Crawler,

Power Attack, Heightened Senses (smell), Iron Jaw Fear 2, Mindless, Regeneration 1, Stuff of Night-

Armor None mares

Attacks [Claws (9k1 R), Bite (10k2 R)] Gear -

Abilities Level 3

Shifting - As the Werewolf power. Stats in brackets

are for Warform.

Lycan Resistance - As the Werewolf power.

Silver Bane - As the Werewolf power.

Traits Resource Stat (Rage; 10), Regeneration 1

Gear Expendable suit, sunglasses.

Level 3

Monodrone Modron Duodrone Modron

Modrons. The very name causes Duodrones are more advanced and
some of the bravest heroes in the Wheel to powerful than monodrones, capable of not
shudder in terror. They are immortal things, only destroying life, but seeking out new tar-
battle shells of an unholy living metal. Their gets when they have eliminated their targets.
weapons fire beams that tear their targets apart They have even more deadly weapons than
layer by layer. They slowly and methodically monodrones, and are even tougher and
seek out living things and destroy them, im- stronger.
placable and terrible. Monodrones are the
most common Modron, simple creatures like
metal spheres of skeletal metal with baleful
eyes and long, birdlike legs.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil

425- - - -45

Skills Weaponry 3, Ballistics 3,

Brawl 3, Perception 3

Speed 3

Size/Resilience 5 / 5 Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil

Static Defense 10 538- - - -48

HP 10

Feats True Grit Skills Weaponry 4, Ballistics 4, Brawl 4,

Armor Armor Plating 4 (All) Perception 4

Attacks Gauss Flayer (80m; S/-; 2k2 X; Pen 12; Speed 4

Clip -; Reload -; Tearing), Melee Attachment (8k3 Size/Resilience 6 / 6

R; Pen 4) Static Defense 13

Abilities HP 16

Gauss Weapon - Whenever a creature takes damage Feats True Grit

from the Modron's Gauss Flayer, they suffer 1 crit-

341

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Armor Armor Plating 6 (All) Arch-Heretic

Attacks Gauss Blaster (80m; S/3; 2k2 X; Pen 12; A dangerous and fanatical champion
of their god, typically the leader of a radical
Clip -; Reload -; Tearing), Melee Attachment sect. They might even worship a daemon di-
rectly. Regardless of their cause or master,
(10k3 R; Pen 4) they are dangerous, not just because they have
magical blessings but because they cannot be
Abilities reasoned with.

Gauss Weapon - Whenever a creature takes damage

from the Modron's Gauss Flayer, they suffer 1 crit-

ical damage to that location even if they have HP

remaining.

Frightful Presence - Whenever this creature charges

or makes an all out attack, all creatures within

melee range of it must test against its fear rating.

We'll Be Back - When 'killed', roll 1d10 at the start

at each of its turns. On an 8+, the creature fades

away, teleporting somewhere else. After three

rounds, the creature comes back to life at 0

wounds.

Traits Armor Plating (6), Aura (6), Crawler,

Fear 2, Mindless, Regeneration 1, Stuff of Night-

mares

Gear -

Level 4

Cultist Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
334344335
A cultist is, naturally, a member of
one of the more extreme arms of a religion.
They're not any stronger, faster, or smarter
than the average person, but they've got just
enough crazy to make them really dangerous
and the blessings of their gods mean that they
shouldn't be underestimated.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Skills Academic Lore 2, Forbidden Lore 4,
222222213
Arcana 3, Weaponry 3, Persuasion 3,

Ballistics 3

Speed 4

Skills Academic Lore 2, Forbidden Lore 2, Size/Resilience 4 / 5

Arcana 2, Weaponry 2, Persuasion 2 Static Defense 17

Speed 4 HP 11

Size/Resilience 4 / 4 Feats Lucky, Powerful Charge, Weapon Profi-

Static Defense 12 ciency (Ordinary, Flail, Flame), Armor Proficiency

HP 5 (Extreme), Sound Constitution x2, True Grit, Di-

Feats Lucky, Powerful Charge, Weapon Profi- vine Ministration

ciency (Ordinary) Armor Plate Armor 8 (Arms, Body, Legs)

Armor None Attacks Dire Flail (6k2 I; Pen 3; Two Hands,

Attacks Hand Weapon (5k2 R; Pen 0) Flexible), Hand Flamer (10m; S/-; 3k2 E; Pen 4;

Traits Resource Stat (Favor; 6) Clip 3; Reload 2Full, Flame)

Gear Tattered Robes, Hand Weapon, Heretical Traits Resource Stat (Favor; 8)

Writings, Charm Gear Ornate Robes, Dire Flail, Hand Flamer,

Level 1 extra fuel tank, Plate Armor, Heretical Writings,

Charm

Level 3

342

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Heretek Gear Tattered robes, Combi-tool, Data Slate

A Heretek is a failed promethean, a filled with illegal data, Chrono, Laspistol, 2 power
being more machine than man and often
driven insane by the bionic upgrades and sur- packs, Heavy wrench
geries that they've suffered in their attempt at
immortality. Some are the poor victims of mad Level 2
scientists, others are the mad scientists them-
selves, men with the will and drive to experi- Dark Mechanius
ment even on themselves.
A powerful and dangerous opponent,
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil the Dark Mechanius is almost everything the
Heretek wants to
324223423 be, merely the
barest traces of
Skills Academic Lore 3, Ballistics 2, Drive 2, flesh remaining
inside a ma-
Forbidden Lore 3, Pilot 2, Tech-Use 3 chine shell.
Nearly every
Speed 5 part of them
has been re-
Size/Resilience 4 / 4 placed with
bionics, and
Static Defense 12 many are lit-
tle more than
HP 7 a few scraps
of brain tis-
Feats Weapon Proficiency (Las, Ordinary) sue control-
ling a
Armor Subdermal Plating (2, All) machine.

Attacks Laspistol (30m; S/-; 2k2 E; Pen 0; Clip

30; Reload Full; Reliable), Wrench (4k2 I)

Abilities

Man of Iron - The Heretek ignores critical effects

that would cause death except for effects resulting

from critical damage to the gizzards or head.

Traits Armor Plating (2), Stuff of Nightmares,

Resource Stat (Pyros, 3)

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
536324525

Skills Academic Lore 3, Ballistics 2, Drive 2,

Forbidden Lore 3, Pilot 2, Tech-Use 3

Speed 8

Size/Resilience 4 / 5

Static Defense 17

HP 14

Feats Weapon Proficiency (Las, Ordinary,

Plasma), Crack Shot, Sound Constitution x3, Iron

Jaw

Armor Subdermal Plating (4, All)

Attacks Integrated Plasma Gun (90m; S/2; 3k3 E;

Pen 8; Clip -; Reload -; Recharge), Power Sword

(9k2 R; Pen 4; Power Field)

Abilities

Man of Iron - The Dark Mechanius ignores critical

effects that would cause death except for effects re-

sulting from critical damage to the gizzards or head.

Mechendrites - The Dark Mechanius has a number

343

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

of extra mechanical limbs. These allow him to take

an extra half action on each of his turns that can

only be used for something those extra limbs could

do, such as a ready action or attack.

Traits Armor Plating (4), Stuff of Nightmares,

Resource Stat (Pyros, 9)

Gear Tattered robes, Combi-tool, Data Slate

filled with illegal data, Chrono, Power Sword

Level 4

Incarnate Lesser Daemon HP 17

A daemon brought from the warp and Feats Frenzy, Swift Attack
into the real world, the incarnate daemon
presents a deadly threat. They're almost im- Armor Daemonic Toughness (6, All)
possible to kill by normal means, made more
out of warp stuff than any real matter. A lesser Attacks Claws and Teeth (8k3 R; Tearing), Warp
daemon is little more than an animal, clever
and dangerous but not truly intelligent or with
much magical ability.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil

333313133

Fire (50m; S/-; 4k3 E; Flame)

Skills Perception 1, Arcana 2, Brawl 3 Traits Daemonic, Dark Sight, Fear 2, Resource

Speed 6 Stat (Essence; 14)

Size/Resilience 4 / 4 Gear None

Static Defense 17 Level 4

HP 9 Beast of Burden

Feats None This stat block represents a great va-
riety of creatures. From oxen to heavy horses
Armor Daemonic Toughness (3, All) or grox, the Beast of Burden takes as many
shapes as there are worlds. They're hardly dan-
Attacks Claws and Teeth (5k2 R; Tearing) gerous, but they're usually stubborn.

Traits Daemonic, Dark Sight, Fear 1, Resource

Stat (Essence; 7)

Gear None

Level 2

Incarnate Greater Daemon Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
424111132
Where the lesser daemon is essentially
a wild animal, the greater daemon is an intel- Skills Perception 2, Athletics 2, Brawl 1
ligent opponent that uses its abilities to their
all. With its massive size and sheer toughness, Speed 8
the Greater Daemon can shrug off all but the
most impressive attacks. Size/Resilience 8 / 1

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Static Defense 4

646313335 HP 6

Feats -

Armor None

Attacks Kick (5k2 I)

Traits Quadruped

Skills Perception 1, Arcana 2, Brawl 4 Gear -

Speed 10 Level 1

Size/Resilience 8 / 7

Static Defense 14

344

CHAPTER XVII:
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Ferocious Creature Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
252111142
A predatory creature much more dan-
gerous than the simple beast of burden, the Skills Perception 3, Athletics 2, Acrobatics 1,
Ferocious Creature is typically cat- or wolf-
like. They tend to be much less fearful than Brawl 1
most animals, and many are not afraid to hunt
people for food. Or sport. Speed 7

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Size/Resilience 3 / 3

443111133 Static Defense 29

HP 4

Feats Swift Attack

Armor None

Attacks Claws (3k1 R)

Skills Perception 3, Athletics 3, Acrobatics 2, Traits Flyer (14)

Stealth 2, Brawl 3 Gear -

Speed 12 Level 1

Size/Resilience 4 / 4

Static Defense 22 Slithering Creature

HP 6 Most worlds have some form or an-
other of sneaky ambush predator that uses poi-
Feats Heightened Senses (Scent), Step Aside son and stealth to get to its prey. Snakes are a
surprisingly common type of creature, with
Armor None variants throughout the stars. This stat block
represents something like a large rattlesnake or
Attacks Bite (6k3 R) viper with a dangerous enough bite to prove
toxic even to a Hero.
Traits Quadruped, Dark Sight
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
Gear -
242111142
Level 2

Flying Creature

From large hawks to severely pissed
off swans, there are plenty of things that fly
around that might give a Hero some trouble.
They are more dangerous because their mo-
bility and agility makes them difficult to hit
than be-
cause of
their
low
damage
potential.

345

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Skills Perception 2, Stealth 3, Brawl 2 Static Defense 18

Speed 3 HP 14

Size/Resilience 3 / 1 Feats -

Static Defense 24 Armor Machine Toughness (6, All)

HP 4 Attacks Claw (6k2 I; Snare), Multilas (60m; S/8;

Feats None 3k2 E; Pen 0; Reliable)

Armor None Traits Machine (6)

Attacks Bite (4k2 R; Toxic) Gear -

Traits Crawler Level 3

Gear -

Level 1

Walking Creature

A primitive humanoid creature like a
gorilla or vegetarian, these beasts are fairly rare
creatures on most worlds, but are sometimes
surprisingly intelligent and capable of learning
limited speech.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
433111133

Skills Brawl 4

Speed 7

Size/Resilience 6 / 5

Static Defense 13

HP 6 Industrial Servitor

Feats None A more modest machine, the indus-
trial servitor is designed to work in environ-
Armor None ments where people would be put too much
at risk. They have hardened plating designed
Attacks Fist (4k2 I) to stand up to the difficulties of an industrial
workplace and an arc welder that can be set to
Traits - an amazingly dangerous power level if it is pro-
grammed or ordered to defend itself.
Gear -
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
Level 1
425113111
Combat Servitor
Skills Brawl 1, Crafts 1, Tech Use 1
A robot designed to kill, the Combat
Servitor is a dangerous machine with an inte- Speed 6
grated multi-barrel las weapon that can put
down an impressive volley of fire. It isn't a ter- Size/Resilience 5 / 5
ribly intelligent machine, however, and its pro-
gramming typically has it do little else but keep Static Defense 10
an overwatch over an area and fire at anything
that moves. HP 8

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil Feats -

546113112

Armor Machine Toughness (2, All)

Attacks Claw (6k2 I; Snare), Arc Welder (10m;

Skills Brawl 1, Crafts 1, Tech Use 1, S/-; 3k3 E; Flame)

Ballistics 3 Traits Machine (2)

Speed 9 Gear -

Size/Resilience 6 / 6 Level 2

346

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Dragon

Giant killing machines made of scales,
wings, and fire. They're also smarter than you
are, centuries old, and with more magic in
their fingernail than the typical wizard has in
his entire body. The stats presented here are
only representative of a fairly small and young
dragon. Ancient wyrms can be far, far more
powerful.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil

746634555

Skills Academic Lore 3, Acrobatics 2, Arcana 4,

Athletics 2, Ballistics 3, Brawl 4,

Charm 3, Command 5, Common Lore 2,

Forbidden Lore 2, Intimidation 5,

Perception 3, Politics 2, Scrutiny 4,

Weaponry 3

Speed 11

Size/Resilience 12 / 10 Lich

Static Defense 6 Not everyone can become an immor-
tal Exalt. That doesn't mean there aren't other
HP 22 paths to immortality. Well, being a Lich isn't
quite immortality - being an undead horror is
Feats Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, Iron Jaw, more accurate - but it's a pretty attractive op-
tion for a sorcerer getting on in his years and
Power Attack, Powerful Charge, Strong Minded, feeling mortality creeping up on him. Becom-
ing a lich is a terrible process that involves the
Armor Iron Scales (10, All) death of someone the lich deeply cares about
as a sacrifice.
Attacks Claws and Teeth (10k3 R; Tearing),
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
Dragon Fire (80m; S/-; 6k3 E; Flame)
233514544
Abilities

Frightful Presence - Whenever this creature charges

or makes an all out attack, all creatures within

melee range of it must test against its fear rating.

Traits Flyer (22), Unnatural Toughness, Armor

Plating (10), Dark Sight, Caster (Evocation 3, Div-

ination 4), Fear 2

Gear -

Level 5

Skills Academic Lore 3, Acrobatics 2,

Arcana 5,

Athletics 2, Brawl 4, Charm 3,

Command 5, Common Lore 2,

Forbidden Lore 5, Intimidation 2,

Perception 3, Politics 2, Scrutiny 4

Speed 5

Size/Resilience 4 / 5

Static Defense 17

HP 7

Feats Wizard Tradition (All), Spell

Specialization (All), Tested

Armor None

Attacks Unarmed

347

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

Abilities

Phylactery - Every Lich has hidden their death Skills Academic Lore 4, Acrobatics 2, Arcana 4,

somewhere safe. They cannot be killed as long as Athletics 2, Brawl 4, Command 3,

their Phylactery exists. A lich's phylactery is invari- Common Lore 2, Forbidden Lore 5,

ably a constructed and typically valuable item. Perception 3, Scrutiny 5

Traits Undead, Dark Sight, Caster (Evocation 4, Speed 5

Illusion 3, Abjuration 3, Conjuration 3) Size/Resilience 3 / 4

Gear Musty but expensive robes, staff, ancient Static Defense 19

gems and jewelry. HP 7

Level 4 Feats Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, Strong

Minded

Armor None

Attacks Tentacles (2k2 I; Snare)

Abilities

Mind Blast - The mind flayer may spend a half ac-

tion to fire a 60' cone of psychic power. All targets

within the cone must make a TN 25 Willpower test

or else become stunned for one round.

Eats Your Goddamn Brain - A mind flayer's attacks

in a grapple always hit the head. While grappling, a

mind flayer's tentacles gain Tearing.

Traits Dark Sight, Caster (Divination 3, En-

chantment 3, Illusion 3)

Gear Blasphemous Robes

Level 3

Mind Flayer Aboleth

Mind Flayers are some of the most Aboleths come from the same blasted
dangerous creatures in the Wheel. They are and forsaken place as the Mind Flayers.
evil, mind-controlling things with only simple They're even more powerful and evil than
desires. Desires like the subjugation of all liv- Mind Flayers, if that's possible. They're
ing things, brains to eat, and countless slaves. bloated, scaled fish things with bony ridges
They're humanoids with slick slimy skin, long and four powerful tentacles. They don't eat
fingers, and tentacles sprouting around a brains with them. They just poison with the
beaked mouth. They use those tentacles to pry barbs on them, and anyone who dies from this
open skulls from their victims and extract their poison turns into a sludge that the aboleth
brains. consume. They typically have a few slaves on
hand to deal with interlopers.
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
232324555
534414656

Skills Academic Lore 4, Acrobatics 2, Arcana 4,

Athletics 2, Brawl 4, Command 3,

Common Lore 2, Forbidden Lore 5,

Perception 3, Scrutiny 5

Speed 4

Size/Resilience 8 / 7

Static Defense 9

HP 10

Feats Danger Sense, Eidetic Memory, Strong

Minded, Swift Attack

Armor Bone Ridges (3, All)

348

CHAPTER XVII:
ANTAGONISTS

in exceptional natural purity. They're typically
not dangerous as long as they're left alone.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil
333123123

Skills Perception 3, Brawl 3

Speed 6

Size/Resilience 6 / 5

Static Defense 13

HP 6

Feats None

Attacks Tentacles (4k2 I; Snare, Toxic) Armor None

Abilities Attacks Slam (6k3 I)

Mindslaver - An Aboleth can concentrate to main- Abilities

tain Enchantment spells as a free action, and targets Elementals get one of the following, depending on

do not get extra dice to resist the effects of those their composition:

spells based on the orders given. Earth - An earth elemental gains 6 armor to all lo-

Traits Dark Sight, Caster (Divination 4, En- cations.

chantment 4, Illusion 4), Crawler, Amphibious, Air - An air elemental gains Phasing.

Armor Plating (3) Fire - Fire elementals deal E damage with their at-

Gear Slime tacks and all targets within melee range must test

Level 4 Constitution against TN 15 every turn or gain a

point of fatigue from waves of heat.

Water - Water elementals gain Regeneration 1.

Traits Amorphous, Stuff of Nightmares

Gear None

Level 2

The Walkin' Dead

Zombies. Shamblers. They go around
biting people and eating their flesh. Some-
times they're caused by a plague or curse, but
they're more often the result of evil sorcery and
warp energy. While they only really pose a
threat in huge numbers and to ill-prepared
people, they still manage to cause a lot of trou-
ble on more primitive or run-down worlds.

Str Dex Con Cha Fel Cmp Int Wis Wil

322- - - -22

Skills Brawl 2, Perception 2

Speed 5

Size/Resilience 4 / 4

Static Defense 12

Elemental HP 4

Elementals are spirit creatures that Feats None
create and inhabit bodies made of one of the
four primary primal elements - Earth, Air, Armor None
Fire, or Water. They're not really properly life
forms, and are quite common in the Umbra Attacks Claws and Teeth (3k1 R)
and places where one of the elements is found
Traits Undead, Mindless

Gear Bloody and torn clothing.

Level 1

349