TEXT: THE 
  PENUMBRA 
  PROTOCOL
  BY JENNY JARZABSKI
  ADVENTURE PATH
  ADVENTURE PATH
  
  ANTUMBRA OVERSEER     
  TIER 8
  Large destroyer
  Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
  AC 20; TL 21
  HP 190; DT —; CT 38
  Shields light 60 (forward 15, port 15, starboard 15, aft 15)
  Attack (Forward) heavy torpedo launcher (5d8)
  Attack (Port) light particle beam (3d6)
  Attack (Starboard) light particle beam (3d6)
  Attack (Aft) light EMP cannon (special)
  Attack (Turret) chain cannon (6d4)
  Power Core Pulse Orange (250 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic; Systems advanced short-range sensors, anti-hacking systems, crew 
  quarters (common), mk 3 armor, mk 4 defenses, mk 3 trinode computer, self-destruct system; Expansion Bays cargo holds (2), 
  escape pods, passenger seating
  Modifiers +3 to any three checks per round, +4 Computers (sensors only); Complement 6 (minimum 6, maximum 20)
  CREW
  Captain Bluff +16 (8 ranks), Computers +13 (8 ranks), Diplomacy +16 (8 ranks), Engineering +13 (8 ranks), Intimidate +16 (8 ranks)
  Engineer Engineering +16 (8 ranks)
  Gunners (2) gunnery +14
  Pilot Piloting +21 (8 ranks)
  Science Officer Computers +16 (8 ranks)
  A holdover from the company’s days as a defense contractor during the Pact Worlds’ war with the Swarm, Eclipse Innovations’ Antumbra Division 
  produces a small line of armed starships. Its space docks were mothballed after the end of the war but have recently been staffed again. Business 
  analysts across the system believe that Eclipse Innovations has signed an exclusive contract with an unknown military force beyond the Pact 
  Worlds, as the new vessels Antumbra has been manufacturing aren’t up for general sale. In reality, Kaeon Rhyse has diverted funds from the sales 
  of the Penumbra app to create a private military force for the company to defeat any who resist the pull of Dr. Gragant’s shadow signal.
  The Antumbra Overseer is designed to protect high-profile sites and ferry individuals from one dangerous area to another. It boasts an impressive 
  array of weapons and a durable hull, though its shields are less powerful than those of other vessels of the same size. The Overseer usually maintains 
  a perimeter patrol near a single location, constantly scanning for potential threats. Antumbra has begun installing self-destruct systems in its ships 
  to prevent its technology from falling into other companies’ hands, but even if that system is compromised or bypassed, the Overseer’s anti-hacking 
  systems mean that any potential thieves won’t have an easy time of it.
  
  ON THE COVER
  CONTENT WARNING
  The Signal of Screams Adventure Path contains typical Starfinder action and adventure, but be warned 
  that it also presents scenarios in which horrifying things happen to the PCs and the NPCs around 
  them. The events presented in this Adventure Path fall into the realm of body horror and psychological 
  horror, which can include disfigurement, mutation, parasitism and disease, self-mutilation, injury, and 
  the aftermath of such unpleasantness. Before you begin, understand that player consent (including that 
  of the GM) is the most important thing to consider. GMs should talk with their players about the horror 
  elements included and obtain everyone’s consent to the inclusion of these topics. It’s also a good idea 
  to include a method for players to indicate whether the game’s content has gone too far during play. 
  More instruction about running horror campaigns responsibly and ensuring that all players have fun is 
  included in the article “Horror Campaigns” in Starfinder Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain.
  Paizo Inc.
  7120 185th Ave NE, Ste 120
  Redmond, WA 98052-0577
  paizo.com
  THE PENUMBRA PROTOCOL
  PART 2 OF 3
  THE PENUMBRA PROTOCOL 
  2
  by Jenny Jarzabski
  CUVACARA 
  38
  by Jenny Jarzabski
  FIENDS OF SHADOW 
  46
  by Isabelle Lee
  ALIEN ARCHIVES 
  54
  by Jenny Jarzabski and James L. Sutter
  CODEX OF WORLDS: MALFANE 
  62
  by Owen K.C. Stephens
  STARSHIP: ANTUMBRA OVERSEER 
  INSIDE COVERS 
  by Jenny Jarzabski
  This book refers to several other Starfinder products, including the Armory by using the abbreviation 
  AR, yet these additional supplements are not required to make use of this book. Readers interested 
  in references to Starfinder hardcovers can find the complete rules of these books available online for 
  free at sfrd.info.
  This product is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with Starfinder or the Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying Game.
  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, 
  Section 1(e), and are not Open Game Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper nouns (characters, deities, locations, etc., 
  as well as all adjectives, names, titles, and descriptive terms derived from proper nouns), artworks, characters, dialogue, locations, 
  plots, storylines, trade dress, the historical period called the Gap, the terms kishalee, sivv, skyfire, Dreamer (the official Open Game 
  Content term for which is “dreaming barathu”), and the Drift (the official Open Game Content term for which is “hyperspace”). 
  (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content, or are exclusively derived from previous Open Game 
  Content, or that are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)
  Open Game Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo game 
  product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(d). No portion of this work other 
  than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
  Starfinder Adventure Path #11: The Penumbra Protocol © 2018, Paizo Inc. All Rights Reserved. Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem 
  logo, Pathfinder, the Pathfinder logo, Pathfinder Society, Starfinder, and the Starfinder logo are registered trademarks of Paizo 
  Inc.; Pathfinder Accessories, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Adventures, Pathfinder 
  Battles, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Cards, Pathfinder Combat Pad, Pathfinder Flip-Mat, Pathfinder Flip-Tiles, 
  Pathfinder Legends, Pathfinder Map Pack, Pathfinder Module, Pathfinder Pawns, Pathfinder Player Companion, Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Tales, Signal of Screams, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Combat Pad, Starfinder Flip-Mat, 
  Starfinder Pawns, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, and Starfinder Society are trademarks of Paizo Inc.
  Printed in China. 
  Artist Ignacio Bazán Lazcano gives us a haunting look 
  at executive Kaeon Rhyse; once a philanthropist, Kaeon 
  has surrendered to the corruption within his soul. 
  Development Leads • Jason Keeley and Chris S. Sims
  Authors • Jenny Jarzabski, with Isabelle Lee, 
  Owen K.C. Stephens, and James L. Sutter
  Cover Artist • Ignacio Bazán Lazcano
  Interior Artists • Luca Bancone, Dave Melvin, Mark Molnar, 
  Mirco Paganessi, Mary Jane Pajaron, and Ainur Salimova
  Page Border Design • Graey Erb
  Cartographer • Damien Mammoliti
  Creative Directors • James Jacobs, Robert G. McCreary, and 
  Sarah E. Robinson
  Director of Game Design • Jason Bulmahn
  Managing Developers • Adam Daigle and 
  Amanda Hamon Kunz
  Organized Play Lead Developer • John Compton
  Developers • Eleanor Ferron, Jason Keeley, Luis Loza, 
  Ron Lundeen, Joe Pasini, Michael Sayre, Chris S. Sims, and 
  Linda Zayas-Palmer
  Starfinder Design Lead • Owen K.C. Stephens
  Starfinder Society Developer • Thurston Hillman
  Senior Designer • Stephen Radney-MacFarland 
  Designers • Logan Bonner and Mark Seifter
  Managing Editor • Judy Bauer
  Senior Editor • Christopher Carey
  Editors • James Case, Leo Glass, Lyz Liddell, Adrian Ng, 
  Lacy Pellazar, and Jason Tondro
  Art Director • Sonja Morris
  Senior Graphic Designers • Emily Crowell and Adam Vick
  Production Artist • Tony Barnett
  Franchise Manager • Mark Moreland
  Project Manager • Gabriel Waluconis
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Chief Operations Officer • Jeffrey Alvarez
  Chief Financial Officer • John Parrish
  Chief Technical Officer • Vic Wertz
  Director of Sales • Pierce Watters
  Sales Associate • Cosmo Eisele
  Vice President of Marketing & Licensing • Jim Butler
  Marketing Manager • Dan Tharp
  Licensing Manager • Glenn Elliott
  Public Relations Manager • Aaron Shanks
  Organized Play Manager • Tonya Woldridge
  Human Resources Generalist • Megan Gilchrist
  Accountant • Christopher Caldwell
  Data Entry Clerk • B. Scott Keim
  Web Production Manager • Chris Lambertz
  Senior Software Developer • Gary Teter
  Webstore Coordinator • Rick Kunz 
  Customer Service Team • Sharaya Copas, Katina Davis, 
  Virginia Jordan, Sara Marie, Samantha Phelan, and 
  Diego Valdez
  Warehouse Team • Laura Wilkes Carey, Will Chase, 
  Mika Hawkins, Heather Payne, Jeff Strand, and 
  Kevin Underwood
  Website Team • Brian Bauman, Robert Brandenburg, 
  Whitney Chatterjee, Erik Keith, and Andrew White
  ADVENTURE PATH
  ADVENTURE PATH
  
  2
  THE PENUMBRA PROTOCOL
  THE PENUMBRA PROTOCOL
  PART 1: IN PURSUIT OF ECLIPSE 
  3 
  The PCs have escaped New Elysium, but they must travel to Verces to search for 
  answers from Eclipse Innovations. They soon discover that the company plans to 
  release Penumbra, a social media app that will expose the entire city of Cuvacara 
  to a mind-warping signal similar to the one the PCs experienced at the resort.
  PART 2: GATHERING SHADOWS 
  11
  The PCs track down signal transmitters across Cuvacara and gather information 
  about Eclipse Innovations’ mysterious corporate black site. Hunted by a team of 
  corporate-sponsored assassins, will they be able to outwit their pursuers and save 
  the city from disaster?
  PART 3: THE BLACK SITE  
  25
  To stop Eclipse Innovations once and for all, the PCs infiltrate a secure site on 
  Verces’ Darkside and come face-to-face with the charismatic executive Kaeon 
  Rhyse. During the fight, Kaeon activates an experimental particle accelerator 
  that transports the PCs to the Shadow Plane.
   
  The PCs begin this adventure at 
  9th level.
    
  The PCs should reach 10th 
  level before reaching Eclipse 
  Innovations' black site.
   
  The PCs should be 11th level by 
  the end of the adventure.
  “The Penumbra Protocol” is designed for 
  four characters.
  ADVANCEMENT TRACK
  10
  11
  9
  
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  3
  Born to an impoverished family living in the Shade, a crime-
  ridden district in Cuvacara, the verthani Kaeon Rhyse rose 
  from humble beginnings to become the youngest executive 
  at Eclipse Innovations. As a child, he honed his naturally 
  brilliant mind with hours of study. In school, Kaeon was 
  always at the top of his class, and he soon found a part-time 
  job at a computer and cybernetic repair shop to help support 
  his family. By his teen years, Kaeon had earned a following 
  of regular customers, and he started his own tech repair 
  business. His love of technology manifested in his personal 
  life as well, and he designed apps for his circle of friends to 
  use for communication and study. 
  Kaeon was eventually offered a prestigious internship at 
  Eclipse Innovations. His work there distinguished him as a 
  rising star, and the young technomancer was soon hired full-
  time. He combated the ageist and classist prejudice leveled 
  against him by using his sharp mind and innovative approach 
  to technology, earning him several promotions in a short 
  period. Even with his heavy workload, Kaeon found time for 
  philanthropy, creating his own scholarship for impoverished 
  Cuvacaran students. 
  When he was invited to tour the luxury resort New Elysium 
  5 years ago, Kaeon was skeptical. He preferred to funnel his 
  disposable income into charity rather than pamper himself. 
  Other board members convinced Kaeon to visit the resort, 
  assuring him that self-care didn’t necessarily mean selfishness. 
  This trip to New Elysium turned out to be a fateful occurrence, 
  however. Dr. Lestana Gragant, imprisoned in the Shadow Plane 
  version of the asteroid, saw Kaeon and expertly twisted Kaeon’s 
  mind, making him her obedient servant. Kaeon returned to 
  Verces a changed man, his personal goals and philanthropic 
  attitude wiped away by his devotion to Dr. Gragant. 
  At the doctor’s behest, Kaeon brought other Eclipse 
  employees and executives to the asteroid to be corrupted, 
  and a little over a year later, Dr. Gragant had a loyal group of 
  servants. Now she effectively controls the company through 
  her first “disciple” Kaeon, with many of Eclipse’s employees 
  used as test subjects for horrific cybernetic implants. As the 
  head of software development, Kaeon has also spearheaded the 
  development of Penumbra, a “social media solution” that will 
  eventually be able to transmit Dr. Gragant’s corrupting signal 
  across the galaxy. The Keys to Elysium app that premiered on 
  New Elysium was an alpha test of this technology. 
  Though he would love to watch firsthand the chaos that Dr. 
  Gragant’s shadow signal will wreak on the city of Cuvacara, 
  Kaeon knows that such an indulgence would be foolhardy and 
  dangerous. Last year, as Eclipse put the finishing touches on 
  New Elysium’s virtual concierge app, the verthani executive 
  located a weak spot between the Material Plane and Shadow 
  Plane on Verces’ Darkside. He built an underground black 
  site there to contact and make deals with denizens of the 
  Shadow Plane, including Avigdis, a svartalfar assassin. Kaeon 
  has relocated much of the company’s assets to this bunker, 
  where he continues to aid Dr. Gragant in her mission to free 
  the galaxy’s inhabitants from the fear of pain. 
  By the time the PCs reach Verces, Kaeon Rhyse is aware of 
  their interference with the tests on New Elysium, and he has 
  already sent his shadowy allies and corporate killers to track 
  them down.
  By the end of the previous adventure, “The Diaspora Strain,” 
  the PCs have shut down or destroyed the server hosting the 
  Keys to Elysium app. The PCs have learned the identity of 
  the corporation responsible for the creation of the sinister 
  program—Eclipse Innovations—and tracked the location of 
  Eclipse’s headquarters to the city of Cuvacara on the planet of 
  Verces. This adventure assumes that the PCs are dedicated to 
  traveling to Eclipse Innovations to search for answers about 
  what happened on New Elysium, but they will soon discover 
  that putting an end to the virtual-concierge program has 
  not stopped the corruption that grows within the PCs (see 
  Shadow Corruption below). If they want to cleanse the stain 
  from their souls, their only lead is Eclipse Innovations.
  After the PCs have plotted a course, their journey from 
  the Diaspora to Verces takes 1d6+2 days with conventional 
  thrusters or 1d6 days if the PCs use Drift travel.
  SHADOW CORRUPTION
  In the previous adventure, the PCs likely contracted a dormant 
  version of the shadow corruption. More information about this 
  corruption is found on page 40 of Starfinder Adventure Path 
  #10: The Diaspora Strain. Remember that each day for the 
  remainder of this adventure, each affected PC must attempt 
  a Will save to resist the progress of shadow corruption. Some 
  encounters in this adventure require additional Will saves. 
  EVENT 1: A LEARNING EXPERIENCE 
  Even as the PCs escape the constant bombardment of Dr. 
  Gragant’s shadow signal and travel to Verces, they still feel the 
  effects of shadow corruption, especially if they have garnered 
  any manifestations. If the trip takes more than one day, the 
  PCs startle awake from sleep, screaming from nightmares 
  they can’t recall. They begin to experience sensitivity to light, 
  developing headaches after spending more than a few minutes 
  in brightly lit areas of the ship. A PC might even experience a 
  flash of pleasure as a result of a painful cut or burn.
  If the PCs haven’t realized it already, these are the first 
  signs of a growing malady. A PC who casts detect affliction 
  on an affected PC and succeeds at a DC 25 Mysticism check 
  PART 1: 
  IN PURSUIT OF ECLIPSE
  ADVENTURE 
  BACKGROUND
  
  determines that the PC is under a kind of curse, but doesn’t 
  learn how to remove it.
  The largest, most undeniable sign of their sickness occurs 
  before they arrive on Verces, when afflicted PCs experience 
  a collective dream that takes place in one of Dr. Gragant’s 
  original laboratories on asteroid D-334H. For the most 
  powerful experience, describe this scene at the beginning of 
  a session with no explanation of how the PCs got to the lab, 
  only the vaguest memories of their true lives, and with none 
  of their usual gear. This dream is not a phantasm, but it shares 
  some common elements (see page 20 of Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #10: The Diaspora Strain). The PCs are in no real physical 
  danger, but they shouldn’t know that! Even though the surreal 
  nature of the dream likely gives them cause to suspect they’re 
  experiencing something other than reality, you shouldn’t 
  confirm or deny their suspicions. Remain cryptic and ask for 
  their next actions. Strive to keep the following scene fast-
  paced and fluid so the players have little time to discuss or 
  second-guess their actions.
  If you believe your players will be uncomfortable with the 
  dream’s content, you should gloss over the more gory details 
  or consider skipping the scene altogether (finding another 
  way to award them the XP). Read or paraphrase the following 
  to begin.
  As this unfamiliar room shifts into focus, its function is 
  not immediately apparent. Harsh fluorescent lights reflect 
  off a row of metal tables, shrouding the rest of the room 
  in darkness. Glass jars on a nearby counter contain sterile 
  swabs and syringes. An open box of surgical tools lays ready 
  near the jars. The scrubbed metal floor and pristine surfaces 
  suggest this chamber may be a medical bay or clinic.
  A strange metal apparatus is mounted to the ceiling. Thick 
  wires dangle from the device like lifeless appendages, ending 
  in circular electrodes. A strong medicinal scent permeates 
  the chilly air. 
  The click of heels on the cold metal tiles shatters the 
  silence. A vaguely humanoid figure dressed in a white lab 
  coat approaches. Her face is wreathed in shadow, but her 
  eyes seem to glow from within. “Students, today you will 
  duplicate a procedure of my own invention on a test subject.”
  Randomly determine which of the PCs attempt the procedure 
  and which are the test subjects; split the party as evenly as 
  possible between the two groups. Test subjects are bound to 
  the metal tables with electrodes attached to their heads linked 
  to wires on the overhead machine. A PC can escape from the 
  restraints by succeeding at a DC 41 Acrobatics check. 
  The shadowy woman presiding over this nightmare is a 
  projection of Dr. Lestana Gragant. She orders each unbound 
  PC to make incisions from sternum to groin on one of the 
  test subjects. These PCs find that surgical scalpels instantly 
  materialize in their hands. A PC who obeys the order 
  experiences an increasing sense of euphoria as she dissects 
  one of her comrades. A scalpel deals 2d6 slashing damage 
  with each cut, and a cut bleeds for an additional 1d6 damage 
  each round. Disturbingly, a test subject PC feels intense 
  pleasure as the blades slice into his flesh. Dr. Gragant praises 
  PCs who don’t resist the incisions, saying, “You are delightfully 
  receptive. I have so much to teach you.”
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Computers or Medicine check 
  recognizes that the electrodes attached to the test subjects are 
  feeding data to a computer terminal in the center of the room, 
  recording the victims’ neurological responses to injury. 
  Dr. Gragant reprimands PCs who refuse to play along and 
  flips a switch that sends an electrical current through their 
  bodies, dealing 3d6 electricity damage. 
  If a PC questions the hallucinatory Dr. Gragant, she does 
  not reveal her identity; she simply states that she is a scientist. 
  If asked why she’s doing what she is doing, she responds, “I 
  am trying to help you.”
  The dream lasts for 10 rounds or until a PC is reduced to 0 
  Hit Points by either the electrical damage dealt by Dr. Gragant, 
  the slashing damage from the scalpels, or the bleed damage 
  from the incisions. The PCs then wake to realize they never left 
  their starship and are physically unharmed. This might prompt 
  a PC to cast detect affliction to detect the shadow corruption if 
  the party still has yet to realize they are afflicted.
  Development: Each PC has the choice to gain a shadow 
  manifestation (see “Corrupted by Shadows” on page 40 of 
  Starfinder Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain). Gaining 
  this manifestation doesn’t advance a PC’s shadow corruption 
  (unless it is still dormant within that PC) or count toward the 
  total number of manifestations a PC can have before becoming 
  fully corrupted. A PC who refuses this “gift” must attempt a 
  Will saving throw to resist the growing shadow corruption, as 
  detailed in Shadow Corruption on page 3.
  Story Award: Award the PCs 6,400 XP for experiencing 
  this terrible nightmare and “meeting” Dr. Gragant. 
  ARRIVING IN CUVACARA
  As the PCs process their harrowing experience, they realize 
  they are approaching their destination. After entering orbit 
  and then Verces’ atmosphere, they spot illuminated landing 
  strips that guide them toward the spaceport located within 
  the Northeast Facet of Cuvacara. (The city, which is known as 
  the Dusk Jewel, is divided into eight sectors, or facets.) Read 
  or paraphrase the following text.
  Beneath an early evening sky stained crimson and gold, 
  a craggy island rises a thousand feet above blue-gray 
  waters. A white, dome-shaped structure occupies most of 
  the island’s surface. Concrete landing pads jut out from the 
  island’s cliffs, illuminated by blinking blue and green lights. 
  Other ships coast toward the spaceport in slow spirals. 
  A sprawling city of dazzling skyscrapers—laced with a 
  grid of roadways and elevated transparent tubes containing 
  trains—glitters across the river to the south. Visible even 
  4
  
  from this height, holo-billboards advertising a range of 
  products in Common and Vercite flicker in the dusky light. 
  After the PCs land on a platform, their ship is lifted by 
  machine arms into a large hangar built into the side of the 
  spaceport. The PCs exit on foot through a tube of silver metal 
  to a central area bustling with activity. Friendly verthani 
  spaceport attendants dressed in yellow uniforms direct 
  groups of travelers to and from departure gates. Holoscreens 
  announce departures and arrivals for commercial space flights 
  in both Common and Vercite, while signs direct customers 
  to baggage claim areas. Sleek, white security robots glide 
  through the huge room, scanning individuals as they pass. 
  Holo-billboards within the spaceport (and throughout 
  the city) advertise in Common and Vercite various products 
  available for purchase. One of the ads, emblazoned with 
  the image of a black sphere radiating golden light, is for a 
  new social media app called Penumbra. While the PCs might 
  have already heard about Penumbra while they stayed at 
  New Elysium, a PC who succeeds at a DC 20 Culture check 
  recognizes the symbol on the advertisement as the logo of 
  Eclipse Innovations. 
  Once inside the spaceport, the PCs have access to Verces’ 
  infosphere. A PC who checks the infosphere or succeeds at a 
  DC 14 Diplomacy check to gather information finds the exact 
  location of the Eclipse Innovations office in the West Facet. 
  The PCs can rent a private hangar for their ship for 10 
  credits per day. Cuvacara is a densely populated metropolis 
  with only one allocated area for landing spacecraft, so the PCs 
  will have to leave their ship at the spaceport and make other 
  transportation arrangements moving forward.
  NAVIGATING CUVACARA
  The PCs may wish to get their bearings in this strange new 
  city before continuing their mission, or they may want to book 
  accommodations and purchase supplies. Because of its location 
  in Verces’ terminator belt, Cuvacara exists in an eternal state of 
  sunset. It’s impossible to know what time of day it is through 
  light indicators alone, but PCs who need a little shut-eye can 
  rent a sleep pod within the Cuvacara spaceport. Even with 
  this amenity, the PCs will likely want to leave the spaceport 
  and explore the city as soon as possible. For more information 
  about Cuvacara, see the gazetteer on page 38. 
  Lightning-fast bullet trains travel to each facet of the city. 
  Riding a bullet train to a specific location costs 1 credit. Robo-
  taxis (which cost 1 credit per 10 miles) and vehicle rentals are 
  also available.
  EXTENDED STAY IN CUVACARA 
  The PCs have several lodging options to choose from in this 
  large metropolis. See pages 233–235 of the Starfinder Core 
  Rulebook for more information about lodgings and pricing. 
  The following are just a few examples of where the PCs 
  might stay.
  Dusky Arms: This mid-level hotel located in the city’s South 
  Facet offers suites that each contain one to two beds, as well 
  as a kitchenette and bathroom. Laundry and dining facilities 
  are located on each floor. A free continental breakfast is 
  available each morning on the ground level of the hotel, 
  alongside a bar that serves steeply overpriced drinks. Staying 
  here costs 5 credits per night.
  The Sky Jade: This luxury hotel in the city’s Northwest Facet 
  accommodates high rollers in spacious suites that include 
  up to four beds, a full kitchen, bathroom, laundry, and maid 
  service. Drinks from the rooftop hotel bar are complimentary 
  for guests. These rooms cost 10 credits per night.
  Slumber Warehouse: Located in the Southeast Facet, this 
  drab building features hundreds of sleep pods that branch 
  from central hallways. Communal restrooms are located 
  near each block of 10 pods. A small number of efficiency 
  apartments are available on the top floors. Renting a sleep 
  pod costs 1 credit per night, and renting an efficiency costs 3 
  credits per night.
  A. ECLIPSE INNOVATIONS HEADQUARTERS
  When the PCs arrive at this building, Eclipse has already 
  completed its relocation to the black site on Verces’ Darkside. 
  Fewer than a dozen verthani workers remain, driven to 
  zombie-like slavery by an experimental cybernetic implant. 
  Some of the employees have already succumbed to starvation 
  and have been reanimated as cybernetic zombies. A squad of 
  these unfortunates guards the central computer terminal in 
  area A13. Although the company recently moved, most of the 
  building’s security features remain in place. 
  Unless otherwise stated, all of the locations within 
  the Eclipse Innovations headquarters have the following 
  traits.  Ceilings, Doors, and Walls: The ceilings are 20 feet 
  high, and the doors are thick steel doors (hardness 30, HP 
  125, break DC 35). Computerized locks and key card readers 
  are built into the doors (Computers DC 25 or Engineering 
  DC 30 to bypass) and can be opened with white Eclipse 
  key cards. The walls are concrete (hardness 15, HP 540 per 
  10-foot-by-10-foot section, break DC 45).
  Lighting: Powerful industrial lights built into the ceilings 
  brightly illuminate the halls and rooms.
  Security: Visible security cameras mounted to ceilings and 
  walls throughout the facility transmit constant video feeds, 
  though no personnel remain to monitor them. Other automated 
  security measures, including electrified doors, remain intact 
  where noted. In addition, security robots patrol the area.
  A1. Lobby (CR 9)
  The front steel door isn't locked, but it is trapped with a 
  dangerous electrical charge (see Trap on page 6).
  Within this brightly lit foyer, tall, leafy green plants grow 
  from ceramic pots on either side of the steel doors to the 
  southwest. The floor is covered in a thin, mint-green carpet, 
  5
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  A. ECLIPSE INNOVATIONS HEADQUARTERS
  1 SQUARE = 5 FEET
  A2
  A5
  A6
  A7
  A8
  A11
  A4
  A3
  A1
  A17
  A16
  A15
  A15
  A14
  A14
  A14
  A13
  A12
  A10
  A9
  A15
  and the concrete walls are painted an institutional shade of 
  off-white. A glass double door to the northeast leads to what 
  appears to be a reception area. Two other doors flank the 
  glass double door.
  The glass doors (break DC 20) to the northeast are locked 
  (Engineering DC 20 to disable).
  Trap: Wires built into the steel front door of the building 
  release a powerful electrical charge when an unauthorized 
  person attempts to enter (by pulling on the handle without 
  first running an access card through the reader). 
  ELECTRIFIED DOOR TRAP 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  Type technological; Perception DC 33; Disable Engineering 
  DC 28 (disable shock grid)
  Trigger touch; Reset 1 minute; Bypass wireless key card 
  reader (Computers DC 28 to hack)
  Effect arc of electricity (10d10 E); Reflex DC 18 half
  A2. MAin HALLwAy 
  Off-white ceramic tiles speckled with green glint in the 
  powerful light given off by rectangular fixtures built into the 
  ceiling. Steel doors, some adorned with nameplates, branch 
  off from the corridor, leading to the various rooms within the 
  facility. Compact, black security cameras keep watch from 
  the ceiling, spaced at 30-foot intervals. 
  Most areas within Eclipse Innovations headquarters can be 
  accessed via this hallway. These doors are unlocked except 
  where noted before a room’s description.
  Creatures: Four patrol-class security robots currently 
  patrol the hallway. Once they detect the PCs, they attack.
  PATROL-CLASS SECURITY ROBOTS (4) 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200 each
  HP 52 each (Starfinder Alien Archive 94) 
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The security robots attack the PCs with 
  their tactical arc emitters, using their jolting arc ability 
  whenever possible. When reduced to 20 Hit Points 
  or fewer, the robots use their nanite repair ability to 
  heal themselves. 
  Morale The security robots are programmed to protect the 
  facility at all costs and fight until destroyed.
  Development: As they fight, the patrol-class security 
  robots upload data of their experiences with the PCs to the 
  office’s security network. Images of these intruders and 
  details of their tactics are transmitted to the terminator-class 
  security robot in area A9.
  6
  
  A3. ReCeption
  Rows of rigid plastic chairs line the walls of this L-shaped 
  room. A silver metal reception desk in the center of the room 
  houses two employee workstations. A small computer is 
  mounted to each workstation.
  This room provides ample but decidedly uncomfortable 
  seating for prospective employees and visitors, and was 
  overseen by two receptionists while the facility was 
  operational. The doors to the northeast are open.
  Treasure: The two portable self-charging tier 2 computers 
  can be removed from the reception desk and are worth 275 
  credits each.
  A4. woRkRooM (CR 9)
  Four rows of beige plastic cubicles occupy this large room. 
  Each identical cubicle contains a metal desk and swivel 
  chair, differentiated only by various personal items such as 
  photographs and kitschy paperweights. The green carpet 
  and off-white concrete walls provide a bland, unimaginative 
  decor, and potted plants adorn each corner of the room. 
  Screens on the walls cycle through holographic images of 
  outdoor scenery accompanied by motivational phrases. 
  This large room houses a collection of cubicles for low-
  ranking employees assigned to data entry or software 
  development. A cylindrical water cooler near the doors to 
  the south once witnessed moments of camaraderie, but it 
  has been forgotten by the room’s current occupants. The 
  motivational images encourage employees to “persevere” and 
  “collaborate” and remind them “when we all work together, 
  we win together” in both Common and Vercite. 
  Each cubicle contains a desk, a swivel chair, and a tier 
  3 computer. Accessing any of these computers requires a 
  successful DC 25 Computers check to hack. If a PC fails this 
  check, a fake shell countermeasure presents uninformative 
  desktop files filled with code, a calendar with mundane events, 
  and a messaging inbox with no information of real interest. A 
  PC can attempt a DC 30 Computers check to recognize the 
  fake shell and bypass it. The following data modules can be 
  accessed through any computer in the room.
  Once the PCs have accessed a computer in this area, two 
  data modules labeled “Eclipse Mail” and “Penumbra” are likely 
  of interest to them. The contents of these data modules are 
  described below, including any countermeasures.
  Eclipse Mail Module: This module can be accessed without 
  additional Computers checks. It appears to be an inbox for 
  office messaging. A group message titled “Relocation” details 
  internal preparations for a move from the HQ building in 
  Cuvacara to a new location on the planet’s Darkside. This 
  message is addressed to all personnel and is signed, “Kaeon 
  Rhyse, Executive Director of Software Development.”
  Penumbra Module: Because of the sensitive information it 
  contains, this secure data module is protected by a firewall 
  and equipped with a feedback countermeasure. Bypassing 
  the firewall requires a successful DC 27 Computers check. The 
  module details the development of Penumbra, a new social 
  media app created by the company. Penumbra is described as 
  a private infosphere accessible only to its users. Those who 
  purchase and download it can share video recordings, status 
  updates, pictures, and their current location with other users. 
  User feeds are broadcast through signal transmitters around 
  Cuvacara, Penumbra’s test market. The module also refers to 
  something called the “Penumbra protocol,” according to which 
  Eclipse will broadcast a new type of signal to each comm unit 
  on which Penumbra is installed. Details on this signal aren’t 
  present, but PCs will likely associate it with the similar signal 
  that affected the guests of New Elysium. This signal is meant 
  to go out 1 week from the current day.
  Creatures: Several months ago, select members of the staff 
  were invited to test an implant with unique cybernetic features 
  designed to increase productivity… at a price. Those who opted 
  into the program stopped taking breaks, eating, or making small 
  talk in the office. Gradually, they stopped even going home, 
  resisting sleep until they passed out from exhaustion at their 
  desks. When Kaeon relocated the headquarters, management 
  ordered mandatory paid sick leave for these employees. Some 
  had to be sedated and forcefully removed from the property. The 
  lucky ones went to hospitals funded by corporate hush money, 
  but others have returned to the site to continue their work.
  These afflicted employees feverishly work at tasks now 
  rendered useless by the recent release of Penumbra and the 
  corporate move to the black site. The emaciated verthani 
  ignore the PCs unless the PCs prevent them from working, 
  visibly destroy or remove something from the office, or 
  attempt to hack one of the computers. In these cases, the 
  workers attack en masse. 
  AFFLICTED EMPLOYEES (6)  
  CR 4   
  XP 1,200 each
  Male and female verthani (Starfinder Alien Archive 118)
  N Medium humanoid (verthani)
  Init +5; Senses low-light vision; Perception +10
  DEFENSE 
  HP 44 EACH 
  EAC 16; KAC 17 
  Fort +4; Ref +5; Will +7
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee office equipment +10 (1d4+5 B)
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The afflicted employees attack the PCs with 
  random pieces of office furniture (such as chairs and 
  hefty personal items), which function as tactical batons. 
  They don’t chase PCs who leave this room.
  Morale If provoked and not allowed to return to their 
  computers, the employees fight to the death.
  7
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  AFFLICTED EMPLOYEE
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +5; Con +1; Int +3; Wis +1; Cha +0 
  Skills Acrobatics +15, Culture +10, Computers +15, 
  Engineering +10, Physical Science +10, Stealth +15
  Languages Common, Vercite
  Other Abilities easily augmented, skin mimic
  Gear piece of office furniture (functions as tactical baton), 
  engineering tool kit, professional clothing, white Eclipse 
  key card; Augmentations productivity implant (see below)
  Development: A PC who succeeds at a DC 10 Wisdom 
  check remembers seeing advertisements for Penumbra on 
  New Elysium and when they landed in Cuvacara. The 
  key cards held by these employees open all the doors 
  within the building except for the doors to Kaeon 
  Rhyse’s office (area A7) and the restricted hallway 
  (area A9). 
  A PC who examines the body of an 
  afflicted employee and succeeds at a 
  DC 20 Medicine check discovers the 
  scars for a brain implant. A PC whose 
  result exceeds the DC by 5 or more 
  can surmise the verthani’s unusual 
  behavior is likely the result of the 
  implant. Unless the PCs have some way 
  to see through flesh and bone, they will 
  have to cut open one of the employees to 
  get a closer look at the productivity implant.
  The productivity implant is a tiny hybrid 
  nanocarbon device inserted directly into 
  the stem of the brain and connected to the 
  subject’s nervous system. A PC examining 
  the augmentation and succeeding at a DC 32 
  Engineering or Mysticism check can identify 
  the implant’s functions. A subject implanted 
  with the device gains the benefits of 8 hours 
  of rest with only 2 hours of sleep, and can go 
  without eating or drinking for several extra 
  days. While the implant allows the subject to 
  focus on a task, it also eventually overwrites 
  the subject’s desire to eat, drink, or rest, 
  which is, of course, very detrimental to the 
  subject’s health. If the PC's result exceeds 
  the DC by 5 or more, she also realizes 
  that a subject who dies with this implant 
  installed might rise as a cybernetic zombie 
  (Starfinder Alien Archive 114) in a matter 
  of hours.
  A5. MARketing DepARtMent 
  This room contains spacious cubicles 
  for Eclipse’s marketing staff. Glass cases 
  to the northeast contain two personal 
  comm units running the Penumbra app. 
  To the south, a wooden table provides a comfortable space for 
  employees to relax. 
  Each cubicle contains a desk, a comfortable chair, and a tier 
  3 computer with a security II upgrade. Accessing any of these 
  computers requires a successful DC 27 Computers check 
  to hack and gives access to the same Eclipse mail module 
  noted in area A4, as well as spreadsheets of sales reports and 
  projections that show the recent release of Penumbra was 
  well received, with 60 percent of city inhabitants purchasing 
  the app within 48 hours of its release. 
  A6. Meeting RooM 
  An oblong wooden table surrounded by cushioned swivel 
  chairs takes up most of this room. A large vidscreen on 
  the eastern wall currently displays an image of a black 
  sphere limned by radiating golden light.
  Employees once took part in meetings 
  and training sessions here, using the 
  large projector screen. The vidscreen is 
  controlled by a simple panel that has 
  nothing currently uploaded 
  other than the company logo. 
  A7. exeCutive 
  DiReCtoR’s offiCe
  A silver nameplate on 
  the wall outside this office 
  reads, “Kaeon Rhyse.”
  A matching chair sits behind a 
  mahogany desk in this spacious office. 
  A pair of filing cabinets stands 
  against the eastern wall. A map 
  of a vast city covers most of the 
  western wall, studded with 
  many silver pins in seemingly 
  random locations. 
  One of several larger offices 
  in the building, this particular area belonged 
  to Kaeon Rhyse. If the PCs search his desk, 
  they find an electronic frame haphazardly 
  shoved into a drawer alongside other office 
  detritus. When powered on, the frame 
  cycles through holographic images of 
  a young adult male verthani shaking 
  hands with a gray-haired human man 
  in medical scrubs, walking across 
  the stage at a graduation ceremony, 
  posing with verthani children in 
  front of a school, and other happy-
  looking memories. 
  8
  
  In addition, a PC who searches the desk drawer finds a 
  laminated key card. It displays a picture of a smiling verthani 
  male in his late 20s and is labeled “Kaeon Rhyse, Executive 
  Director.” The face on the badge is the same as the one featured 
  in the frame’s images. This key card unlocks the door to area A9.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 10 Wisdom check recognizes 
  the verthani in the images and on the key card as Kaeon 
  Rhyse, whom they briefly met on New Elysium.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC  23 Culture check identifies 
  the image on the western wall as an aerial map of Cuvacara. 
  No context is provided to explain the significance of the 
  silver pins on the map, but the PCs may copy their 
  coordinates if they desire. In 
  actuality, they are potential 
  locations for the three signal 
  transmitters 
  eventually 
  placed in Cuvacara, and 
  the PCs will likely realize 
  the importance of these 
  coordinates if they hack 
  into 
  the 
  computer 
  in 
  area A13.
  Treasure: 
  A 
  PC 
  who 
  searches 
  the 
  desk 
  and 
  succeeds 
  at 
  a 
  DC 
  28 
  Perception 
  check 
  finds 
  a 
  nondetection spell chip and a probability 
  prediction spell chip. 
  A8. bReAk RooM 
  To the east, metal cabinets provide storage for various 
  food items and utensils. A large rectangular device labeled 
  “Meal-o-Matic Deluxe” stands on the L-shaped counter to the 
  southeast. A door exits to the south.
  The break room houses two tables with seating for 
  employees to enjoy a coffee break or meal while on the clock. 
  The cabinets are filled with nonperishable canned foods, as 
  well as packets labeled “Meal-o-Matic” that display pictures of 
  a wide variety of cuisine from prime rib to tofu curry. 
  The Meal-o-Matic Deluxe is a non-portable version of a mk 2 
  culinary synthesizer (Starfinder Armory 129) that creates 
  meals from specially designed packets (instead of UPBs). 
  Each packet inserted into the machine produces a common-
  quality meal in 1 minute. It also has a setting for different 
  flavors of coffee and tea, but can’t produce any intoxicants. 
  There are 14 meal packets remaining in the cabinet.
  Treasure: If the PCs search the cabinets, they salvage 20 
  field rations.
  A9. RestRiCteD HALLwAy (CR 10)
  The door into this corridor can be accessed only with Kaeon 
  Rhyse’s key card.
  Creatures: A terminator-class security robot patrols the 
  north-south section of the hallway. It is programmed to attack 
  any unauthorized intruders who venture into the area.
  TERMINATOR-CLASS SECURITY ROBOT 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  HP 165 (see page 58) 
  TACTICS 
  Before Combat The terminator-class security robot uses 
  Stealth to attempt to ambush intruders.
  During Combat The terminator-class security robot shoots 
  targets with its plasma rifle until a PC closes 
  the gap to enter melee; if 
  the robot is reduced to 60 
  Hit Points or fewer and 
  has not yet been engaged 
  in melee, it charges its 
  enemies. When reduced 
  to 40 Hit Points or fewer, 
  the terminator-class 
  security robot activates 
  its nanite repair ability. 
  On the next round, it 
  activates its hardware 
  acceleration ability and 
  continues attacking.
  Morale The security robot 
  fights until it is destroyed.
  A10. MeDiCAL ReseARCH LAb (CR 9 AnD CR 9)
  Two raised examination tables constructed of stainless 
  steel stand in the center of this laboratory. A rolling metal 
  cabinet is connected to the southern wall by a tangle 
  of multicolored wires and emits a low humming sound. 
  Starched white lab coats hang from metal hooks on the 
  eastern wall.
  A team of scientists previously used this room to develop 
  and surgically install the productivity implant. While the 
  Eclipse physician Dr. Ivri Qindor aided in performing the 
  delicate augmentation procedures, his position as medical 
  director was largely a farce after Dr. Gragant corrupted 
  the other medical professionals. The cabinet to the south 
  contains medical-monitoring equipment, which a PC 
  can identify by succeeding at a DC 25 Engineering or 
  Medicine check. 
  Trap: The door to this area is equipped with sensors 
  that detect unauthorized attempts to enter the room. If an 
  authorized Eclipse key card (such as the one found in area 
  A7) is not presented to the card reader on the outside of door 
  when a PC tries to enter, destructive nanites spray from vents 
  in both sides of the door onto creatures both within the room 
  and outside it.
  HOLOPICTURE
  9
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  NANITE SPRAY TRAP 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  Type technological; Perception DC 33; Disable Engineering 
  DC 28 (jam the vent) 
  Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour; Bypass key card reader 
  (Computers DC 28 to hack)
  Effect nanites flood the area and eat away at living tissue 
  (8d10 A); Reflex DC 18 half; multiple targets (all targets in 
  a marked area)
  Creatures: Three former Eclipse employees who died as a 
  result of their productivity implants have been reanimated by 
  the technology into cybernetic zombies and were left behind 
  when the company abandoned this facility. Two of the zombies 
  were strapped to the examination tables for observation. The 
  reanimated employees burst from their bonds when the PCs 
  enter the lab. 
  REANIMATED EMPLOYEES (3) 
   CR 6
  XP 2,400 each
  Male and female verthani cybernetic zombie (Starfinder 
  Alien Archive 118, 114)
  NE Medium undead
  Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13
  DEFENSE 
  HP 90 EACH 
  EAC 18; KAC 20 
  Fort +8; Ref +8; Will +7
  Defensive Abilities integrated weapons; Immunities undead 
  immunities
  Weaknesses vulnerable to electricity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +16 (1d8+11)
  Ranged integrated corona laser pistol +13 (2d4+6 F; burn 1d4)
  Offensive Abilities self-destruct (1d6+6 E, DC 14)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The reanimated employees attack with their 
  corona laser pistols and then charge the PCs.
  Morale These mindless undead fight until they are destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +3; Con —; Int —; Wis +2; Cha +0 
  Skills Acrobatics +13, Athletics +18
  Other Abilities mindless, unliving
  Gear corona laser pistol with 1 battery (20 charges)
  A11. CoRpoRAte CLiniC 
  Two circular tables made of thick laminate occupy this drab 
  beige-and-white room. The floor, however, is littered with 
  broken glass, discarded medical supplies, and an overturned 
  swivel chair. Computer terminals on the tables have 
  shattered screens and cracked keyboards. Drawers in the 
  cabinets to the north hang open, and flecks of dried blood 
  mar the white tile floor. 
  Corporate doctor Ivri Qindor used this clinic to monitor 
  the productivity implants installed into volunteer employees. 
  Ignorant of the implants’ true purpose, he gladly accepted 
  the responsibility to oversee the clinical trials of the implant. 
  Weeks passed as Dr. Qindor recorded the increasingly 
  negative effects of the technology. When his requests to halt 
  the trials were ignored, the doctor suspected a corporation-
  wide conspiracy surrounding the tech. In a moment of 
  desperation, Dr. Qindor destroyed his own clinic, cutting his 
  hand in the process, and resigned from the company a day 
  before the relocation. He intended to confront Kaeon Rhyse 
  personally about the issue, threatening the executive with 
  media exposure if he did not stop the trials, but Dr. Qindor 
  mysteriously disappeared. In truth, Kaeon killed Qindor and 
  reanimated him at the black site (see area E15). 
  This room functions as a medical lab (Starfinder Core 
  Rulebook 220) for the purposes of treating conditions and 
  injuries. Among the items strewn across the floor is a smashed 
  framed holographic picture of an elderly human man and a 
  young male verthani, the same image seen in the frame found 
  in area A7.
  One of the computer terminals in the clinic is broken and 
  inoperable. The other computer has a cracked screen but 
  can be activated normally. A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 
  Computers check can hack this computer and spot two data 
  modules of interest, labeled “Clinical Trials” and “Eclipse Mail.” 
  Clinical Trials Module: This module is protected by a firewall 
  and requires an additional DC 27 Computers check to access. It 
  contains captioned recordings of an augmentation procedure 
  referred to as “PS 2.1.” The recordings show a human man 
  installing cybernetic implants in the brains of 35 different 
  employee volunteers. The man identifies himself as Dr. Ivri 
  Qindor and comments on patients’ vital signs as he verbally 
  describes the operation during each procedure. The module 
  also contains text logs of Dr. Qindor’s personal observations 
  of each patient after their surgeries, which describe their 
  deterioration in health and the doctor’s misgivings.
  Eclipse Mail Module: This module can be accessed without 
  further Computers checks and contains Dr. Qindor’s private 
  inbox. It contains a full record of the medical director’s 
  communications within the company. Many of the messages 
  are mundane invitations to meetings, medical-supply orders, 
  and reports sent to HR about sick or injured employees. A 
  group message in the outbox titled “Employee Volunteers” 
  announces that the recipients of this message have been 
  selected to participate in an employee-exclusive clinical trial 
  of a brain augmentation developed to enhance productivity 
  and improve stress management. The message details 
  compensation for the volunteers, including a sizable credit 
  transfer and free copies of the Penumbra app. 
  Treasure: The cabinets contain medical supplies, including 
  an advanced medkit, two doses of sprayflesh, two tier 2 
  antitoxins, two tier 2 sedatives, four mk 3 serums of healing, 
  and an x-ray visor.
  10
  
  A12. RestRooM
  This single-occupant restroom is painted a calming shade of 
  blue and contains a toilet, shower, and sink. 
  A13. MAsteR CoMputeR RooM (CR 9)
  Within this dimly lit room, a 10-foot tall terminal constructed 
  of dark-gray metal houses a computer with dual monitors, 
  accessible by two identical workstations.
  The master computer acts as a server for the building’s 
  other computers, and the terminal to access it is built 
  into the eastern wall of this room. This master computer 
  terminal contains modules for the building’s lighting circuits, 
  messaging network, and data storage. This tier 5 computer 
  is equipped with the security II upgrade and a rank 3 shock 
  grid countermeasure. Hacking into the terminal requires a 
  PC to succeed at a DC 35 Computers check; a PC who has 
  Kaeon Rhyse’s key card gains a +4 circumstance bonus to 
  this check. 
  The computer holds several files describing the planned 
  installation of signal transmitters around Cuvacara. An image 
  of the same map found in area A7 contains three sets of 
  coordinates for Eclipse engineers to install this equipment. A 
  document explains that the test conducted at New Elysium is 
  going according to plan. Cuvacara will host stage two of the 
  trials in approximately 1 week, when Eclipse broadcasts Dr. 
  Gragant’s signal to all devices that have Penumbra installed. 
  Additional recovered memos reference Eclipse Innovations’ 
  new headquarters, a black site on Verces’ Darkside, though 
  no coordinates are listed for the facility.
  Creatures: Three Eclipse employees who succumbed to 
  starvation as a result of their productivity implants were 
  reanimated by the same technology. Now trapped in this 
  room, these cybernetic zombies viciously attack any living 
  creature that enters the area.
  REANIMATED EMPLOYEES (3) 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400 each
  HP 90 each (see page 10) 
  TACTICS 
  During Combat These undead attempt to maintain a bit of 
  distance between themselves and the PCs, firing their 
  corona laser pistols.
  Morale The reanimated employees fight until they are destroyed. 
  Development: A PC who succeeds at a DC 15 Culture check 
  recalls that the Grand Assembly meets in the Assembly 
  of Nations in Cuvacara’s East Facet. This group includes 
  representatives from each member of the Ring of Nations and 
  acts as a planetary governing body. The PCs can conclude 
  that the consequences of Penumbra’s corrupting signal would 
  likely be planetwide, and from there might spread to other 
  nearby worlds. 
  A14. LAb 
  Each room labeled A14 is a software-development lab. All 
  computers have been removed from these rooms.
  A15. exeCutive offiCe
  Similar to area A7, each room labeled A15 is a well-furnished 
  office with a polished wood desk and comfortable swivel 
  chair. Each office contains a tier 3 computer completely wiped 
  of data. 
  A16. RestRooMs 
  Two rows of stalls provide privacy for employees and guests 
  who use this restroom. Each stall contains a toilet and 
  dispenser for hand sanitizer. 
  A17. seCuRity ContRoL RooM
  A collage of moving images covers the southern wall of 
  this room—the video feeds from the dozens of cameras 
  positioned throughout the interior and around the exterior of 
  the building. A dark-gray metal workstation and two plastic 
  swivel chairs provide a space for employees to operate the 
  twin computer terminals connected to the security video 
  screen. Plastic storage lockers line the walls to the west. 
  Cameras throughout the building feed live video data to 
  the viewing screens on the room’s south wall. A desk and two 
  computer terminals, for use by security guards, are located 
  beneath the screens.
  A PC can hack into either of the tier 4 computers here 
  by succeeding at a DC 29 Computers check. The computers 
  allow a user to control and change the feeds from the security 
  cameras, potentially gathering information about the different 
  rooms in the complex.
  Treasure: If the PCs search the lockers to the west 
  (Engineering DC 25 to disable the locks), they find a ghost 
  killer fusion seal (12th), a jetpack armor upgrade, a spell 
  ampoule of haste, and two ultra-capacity batteries.
  After the PCs search the abandoned Eclipse Innovations office, 
  they have a few new leads to follow. The coordinates from 
  Kaeon’s office and the master computer terminal lead to three 
  locations around Cuvacara where Eclipse engineers installed 
  devices programmed to receive and amplify Dr. Gragant’s shadow 
  signal. The PCs need to disable each transmitter, or they run the 
  risk of the signal affecting Cuvacara’s residents in a week’s time. 
  Checking the local infosphere, or asking around by 
  succeeding at a DC 15 Diplomacy check to gather information, 
  reveals basic facts about the three areas. The first location is 
  11
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  PART 2: 
  GATHERING SHADOWS
  
  the Blue Room (area B), an infosphere cafe in the Southeast 
  Facet rumored to be a hacker den. The second location is a 
  black-market cybernetic shop (area C) in the city’s Northwest 
  Facet run by a ysoki named Scuttle. The third location is the 
  Lizard Lounge (area D), a vesk-owned club in the South Facet. 
  The PCs can visit these locations in any order. Before they go, 
  the PCs might want to learn more about these locations.
  The PCs can attempt a Culture check to recall knowledge 
  or a Diplomacy check to gather information about the Blue 
  Room and learn the following.
  Result 
  Information
  15+ 
  The Blue Room is a small infosphere cafe among 
  dozens of its kind in Cuvacara’s Southeast Facet, 
  the city’s tech district.
  20+ 
  The cafe is open at all hours and is owned by a 
  verthani named Liander Vaz, who frequently 
  picks up shifts when understaffed. 
  30+ 
  Rumor has it that the hacktivist organization 
  Syzygy either co-owns the cafe or has close ties 
  to Liander Vaz. (See page 13 if the PCs want to try 
  to learn more about Syzygy.)
  40+ 
  A female android who hides her face with a hood 
  and mask has been spotted numerous times at the 
  cafe. Locals suspect that she is none other than 
  the notorious hacker Noname.
  The PCs can attempt a Culture check to recall knowledge or 
  a Diplomacy check to gather information about Scuttle’s shop 
  and learn the following.
  Result 
  Information
  15+ 
  This cybernetics and weapons shop is located 
  on the ground level of the Northwest Facet, an 
  impoverished area known as the Shade that is 
  infamous for its criminal activity. The shop’s owner, 
  a ysoki mechanic named Scuttle, maintains ties to 
  several local gangs, and the area is not well policed.
  20+ 
  Scuttle sells both stolen and legally acquired items 
  at outrageously inflated prices, but he has enough 
  clout within the local crime scene to protect 
  himself from unsatisfied customers. Anyone with 
  proof of allegiance to a Cuvacaran gang may 
  qualify for a “friends and family” discount.
  30+ 
  Scuttle, who normally loves technology, has 
  loudly refused to buy the new Penumbra app 
  and has discouraged his close associates and 
  employees from downloading it. He claims to hate 
  social media, but his acquaintances don’t recall 
  him being outspoken about this fact in the past.
  The PCs can attempt a Culture check to recall knowledge 
  or a Diplomacy check to gather information about the Lizard 
  Lounge and learn the following.
  Result 
  Information
  15+ 
  The Lizard Lounge is a popular nightclub located on 
  the 30th floor of the Apex Building in Cuvacara’s 
  South Facet. It is a typical bar and dance club 
  that does brisk business around the clock in the 
  restless sunset city. Celebrities frequent the 
  establishment and enjoy its private balcony, 
  which boasts a stunning view of Cuvacara. 
  20+ 
  The Lizard Lounge’s owner, a vesk immigrant 
  known as Boss Zurnala, values brains over 
  brawn and prefers a refined life of luxury to the 
  battlefield. She relies on the stereotypes about her 
  race to gain an edge over those who underestimate 
  her intellect, and employs a staff of vesk bouncers 
  to protect partygoers at her club.
  30+ 
  Boss Zurnala’s best friend and favorite customer 
  is Silvene, a male damaya lashunta who works as 
  a high-class escort in Cuvacara. Silvene frequents 
  the lounge and brings his wealthy clients there. 
  40+ 
  Both Boss Zurnala and Silvene are no friends to 
  Eclipse Innovations, for reasons that they refuse 
  to discuss. Zurnala doesn’t advertise Penumbra or 
  any other Eclipse technology in her club. 
  EVENT 2: SPECIAL DELIVERY (CR 9)
  Through his connection to Dr. Gragant, Kaeon Rhyse is 
  aware of the PCs’ actions on New Elysium. Though he 
  hopes the shadow corruption overtakes their souls and 
  removes them as a threat, he is smart enough to keep 
  an eye out for them in Cuvacara, where they might come 
  seeking information or revenge. When his informants told 
  him the PCs landed at the spaceport, Kaeon contracted the 
  svartalfar assassin Avigdis and her team of elite corporate 
  assassins to eliminate the PCs before they locate the black 
  site. The first attempt on the PCs’ lives comes in the form 
  of a mysterious but ordinary-looking package delivered to 
  wherever they are staying.
  Once the PCs have had a chance to rest and recover 
  from the events of Part 1, a package arrives addressed to 
  a randomly determined PC. The package, which is about 
  the size of a shoebox, lists no return address and appears 
  innocuous at first glance.
  Trap: Avigdis sent this mail bomb to the PCs, hoping 
  to kill one of them remotely. The package contains an 
  explosive primed to detonate when the parcel is opened or 
  tampered with. 
  EXPLOSIVE PACKAGE TRAP 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  Type technological; Perception DC 33; Disable Engineering 
  DC 28 (defuse explosive)
  Trigger touch (opening the package); Reset none
  Effect explosion (8d12 F); Reflex DC 18 half; multiple targets 
  (all targets within 20-ft. radius)
  12
  
  D1
  D3
  D2
  C1
  C2
  C3
  B2
  B3
  B1
  C.SCUTTLE'S CYBERNETICS SHOP
  D. THE LIZARD LOUNGE
  B. THE BLUE ROOM
  B. THE BLUE ROOM 
  A massive skyscraper towers above a network of bullet train 
  tubes, roads, and darkened lower walkways, its iridescent 
  glass gleaming in the dusky sunlight. A sign posted on the 
  north side of this building reads “The Blue Room Infosphere 
  Cafe,” accompanied by a neon arrow that points down a 
  winding back alley to a blue door. 
  Located in Cuvacara’s Southeast Facet, what locals call the 
  tech district, this infosphere cafe is a hangout for students, 
  gamers, and low-level businesspeople who can’t afford to own 
  a high-end computer. These customers don’t realize that the 
  cafe also serves as a hideout and work space for members of 
  the secretive hacktivist organization Syzygy.
  Unless otherwise stated, the ceilings throughout The Blue 
  Room are 15 feet high, and the walls and doors are industrial-
  grade plastic (hardness 10, HP 80 per 10-foot-by-10-foot 
  section, break DC 27). The map for this area appears above.
  By succeeding at a DC 30 Perception check, a PC notices 
  a small discolored area on the exterior door to this building. 
  If this area is exposed to a source of bright light, a series of 
  three tiny interlocking circles appear on the door. A PC who 
  succeeds at a DC 28 Culture check recognizes the symbol 
  as the logo of Syzygy, a hacktivist organization. The PCs 
  can attempt a DC 25 Culture or Diplomacy check to gather 
  information about Syzygy to learn that the organization 
  believes all corporations are fundamentally corrupt, that it 
  has no central leadership, and that it operates anonymously. 
  A PC whose result exceeds the DC of this check by 5 or 
  more knows that many of the members tattoo the symbol on 
  their bodies in UV-reactive ink and that one of Syzygy’s most 
  famous members, the notorious hacker Noname, sometimes 
  frequents the Blue Room.
  b1. Lobby
  Signs in Common and Vercite are positioned near the door 
  stating, “Access our state of the art computers and discreetly 
  browse the infosphere on our secure servers for the low 
  rate of 2 credits per hour! Complimentary noise-canceling 
  headsets allow you to surf the ‘sphere in peace. Ask about 
  our virtual reality headsets and day-pass discount.” Another 
  sign proclaims that this establishment is a licensed Penumbra 
  retailer. Beyond the welcome desk, rows of plastic carrels 
  house comfortable swivel chairs facing identical computers. 
  To the south, an outdated-looking service bot dispenses food 
  and drink.
  The Blue Room’s lobby contains 21 workstations separated 
  by plastic partitions. Each houses a tier 3 computer equipped 
  with a keyboard and headset. Customers purchase passes at 
  13
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  the welcome desk at the front of the room and can select any 
  open computer station. 
  Twenty 
  customers—mostly 
  humans, 
  shirrens, 
  and 
  verthani—occupy the carrels. The room is oddly quiet for its 
  level of occupancy. All customers are wearing noise-canceling 
  headsets and seem thoroughly absorbed in their tasks. The 
  only individual who appears to notice the PCs’ arrival is 
  Liander Vaz (N male verthani). He greets the PCs from his 
  position by the signs without looking up, continually tapping 
  at his datapad during the conversation. 
  Liander’s association with Syzygy is limited to providing 
  members with a relatively safe location to work. These 
  hackers identify themselves with a UV-reactive tattoo 
  invisible to the naked eye: a row of three interlinking circles. 
  A handheld scanner allows Liander to see the ink. Liander 
  Vaz grants anyone who displays the tattoo free access to a 
  computer linked to a private, virtually untraceable server. 
  Liander regularly deletes this server’s information cache and 
  wipes any computers used by a potential Syzygy member. 
  This server is accessible only to Syzygy members, and other 
  customers are unaware of its existence. 
  When the PCs approach him, Liander lists the cafe’s 
  services and pricing word for word as it appears on the 
  signage around him. If the PCs ask about VR-headset rental, 
  he says that it costs 50 credits for the day and comes with 
  pre-downloaded VR apps and games. If they ask about the 
  discount, Liander explains that they can purchase a 24-hour 
  pass to use a computer for 15 credits. 
  If the PCs mention Eclipse Innovations, Liander asks if they’d 
  like to purchase the Penumbra app for 20 credits. Since Liander 
  knows nothing about the inner workings of Syzygy, he has no 
  useful information to share with the PCs. Liander won’t allow 
  the PCs to remain in his cafe unless they purchase access to 
  a computer or present a Syzygy tattoo. If the PCs refuse to 
  leave or if they threaten him with physical violence, he warns 
  that he intends to call the police. If the PCs do not stand down, 
  he presses a hidden button under his desk, which sends a 
  silent call to a police station a few blocks away. Two Cuvacaran 
  officers of the peace (use the stats for a detective on page 177 
  of Starfinder Pact Worlds) arrive in 5 minutes. While he waits 
  for the authorities, Liander quickly deletes the cache of data 
  from his secure server while giving the PCs a final chance to 
  simply pay the fee to rent a computer or leave. 
  If the PCs present a Syzygy tattoo, mention Eclipse 
  Innovations, or attempt to interrogate him about any 
  subject related to the corporation, Liander Vaz sends a 
  silent communication to Noname. Once the PCs take a seat 
  at a computer, Noname reveals herself through a computer 
  message and invites the PCs to join her in a private room in 
  the back of the cafe. She includes a temporary seven-digit 
  passcode that PCs can use to access the room.
  However, if Liander calls the police, Noname flees the 
  premises, and the PCs do not encounter her in area B2 or have 
  a chance to learn any information from her. 
  b2. pRivAte RooM (CR 9)
  This tiny room is located behind a locked door (Engineering 
  DC 35 to disable or enter code to bypass) and contains a 
  single desk and computer. At first glance, the custom-
  built tier 6 computer appears to be older tech than the 
  sleek, new machines in area B1, but it is actually a more 
  advanced model. 
  Creature: The PCs encounter Noname in this room. The 
  results of this meeting depend on the decisions the PCs 
  make during their conversation with the android, but it is not 
  intended to be a combat encounter. Should combat break out 
  between the PCs and Noname, see Development on page 16.
  Noname is a female android wearing a hood and a 
  mask that covers her face. She carries herself with a cool 
  confidence, and her mask makes her next to impossible to 
  read. Noname is an introvert who prefers interaction with 
  code and machines over real-time conversation with living 
  beings. She knows that revealing her true identity could be 
  harmful to her organization. She places Syzygy’s goals above 
  all else, including her own life, and believes that hacking 
  corporate servers and leaking any damning information she 
  finds is beneficial to society. 
  Noname spends as much time talking with the PCs as 
  they wish, though she doesn’t trust the PCs at first (she has 
  a starting attitude of indifferent). She readily admits to her 
  status as a member of Syzygy and explains that she’s been 
  keeping close tabs on Eclipse Innovations for the past 3 years. 
  However, she doesn’t share the information she has about 
  Eclipse Innovations or Kaeon Rhyse until the PCs change her 
  attitude to friendly or better (requiring a successful DC 28 
  Diplomacy check). Claiming to be another member of Syzygy 
  requires that a PC present a Syzygy tattoo and succeed at a 
  Bluff check opposed by Noname’s Sense Motive check (though 
  she receives a +10 bonus to this check); success grants the 
  PCs a +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks to change 
  her attitude. Noname’s responses to some of the PCs’ likely 
  questions are below.
  Who are you?/Why did you contact us? “My name is not 
  important. I am one of many. I am part of an organization 
  known as Syzygy. When I overheard you in the lobby, I 
  realized we may share a common goal: exposing the true 
  intentions of Eclipse Innovations.”
  What is Syzygy? “We are legion. We could be anyone; we 
  are everyone, and we are no one. We understand that the true 
  threat to our galaxy lies not in the Swarm or any other outside 
  force, but within our own towns and cities. This threat offers 
  commerce and opportunity with its right hand, but it carries 
  death and destruction in its left. Corporations are far more 
  powerful than individuals, but they can be easily twisted 
  to serve an individual’s selfish agenda. Syzygy tirelessly 
  monitors the actions of corporate entities, large and small, 
  and shares their secrets with the public as we see fit. Our 
  goal is to open citizens’ eyes and bring criminals hiding behind 
  expensive suits to justice.”
  14
  
  What do you know about Eclipse Innovations? Noname 
  sighs. “Not as much as we should.” She turns and boots 
  up her computer, clicking through images and archived 
  news feeds to illustrate her points. “Eclipse Innovations 
  originally developed military tech to use against the Swarm. 
  Thirty years ago, Eclipse purchased asteroid D-334H for 
  unspecified research. A number of employees assigned to 
  the site went missing and are probably dead. Five years 
  ago, Eclipse sold the asteroid through a number of fronts to 
  another company that built the New Elysium resort. Eclipse 
  won the contract to provide the resort with its automated 
  systems—no surprise there. Now they’re the hottest corp in 
  the social media game. We’re missing a piece of this puzzle.”
  What do you know about Kaeon Rhyse? “Kaeon Rhyse 
  is Eclipse’s head of software development. He’s gained 
  a disturbing amount of influence in the company 
  lately. Before my surveillance cams went black, I 
  watched him lead meetings. He had Eclipse’s board 
  of directors wrapped around his finger. He 
  used to style himself as a philanthropist, but 
  two years ago he stopped donating money 
  and attending charity functions. These 
  executive types always reveal their true 
  colors in the end.” 
  Do you know where the Eclipse black 
  site is? “So far we have been unable 
  to trace intercepted comms to the 
  location. We know that the site is 
  underground, somewhere beneath 
  the Klebani Range in Darkside. We 
  haven’t been able to pinpoint its 
  exact location yet.” If Noname is 
  convinced that the PCs plan to 
  take action against Eclipse, she 
  gives the PCs coordinates for a 
  100-square-mile area of the Klebani 
  Mountain Range, but she explains that the area 
  is too large for a physical search to be fruitful, so 
  they will need to narrow it down further.
  Are you aware of a Penumbra signal 
  transmitter in this location? “Yes. Tampering 
  with the device or jamming the signal it emits 
  might draw attention to this location, so we’ve 
  decided to merely observe—for now. We know 
  there are others located throughout the city, so 
  destroying just one is a pointless exercise. Why are 
  you so concerned with these transmitters?” If the 
  PCs tell Noname about their experiences with the 
  shadow signal or Eclipse’s plan to turn Penumbra into 
  a weapon, the android hacker tells the PCs where the 
  transmitter is and encourages them to take action.
  Will you help us? Noname shakes her 
  head. “I can perhaps help disable the 
  transmitter here, but after that I must 
  disappear. Syzygy is most effective when it is anonymous. We 
  certainly can’t aid you in charging into a well-financed, highly 
  defended corporate facility. Our strengths lie in cyberspace, 
  not material reality.”
  If the PCs make overt physical threats against Noname, 
  she rethinks her decision to entertain this conversation and 
  tries to flee the location. What constitutes a physical threat 
  is ultimately up to you, but actions such as brandishing a 
  weapon or stating violent intentions are prime examples. If 
  any PC outright attacks her, Noname uses her spell ampoule 
  of invisibility and escapes.
  NONAME 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  Female android mechanic
  CN Medium humanoid (android)
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light 
  vision; Perception +17
  DEFENSE 
   
  HP 135
  EAC 22; KAC 23
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +10; +2 vs. 
  disease, mind-affecting effects, poison, 
  and sleep
  Resistances electricity 10
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee incapacitator +17 
  (3d4+9 B nonlethal; critical 
  staggered [DC 18])
  Ranged aphelion laser pistol +19 
  (3d4+9 F; critical burn 1d4)
  Offensive Abilities override 
  (DC 18)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If combat 
  seems unavoidable, Noname 
  uses her spell ampoule of invisibility.
  During Combat If cornered, Noname 
  shoots with her laser pistol in self-defense 
  and looks to escape.
  Morale Noname is not a skilled fighter. If 
  she doesn’t escape, she surrenders once 
  reduced to 50 Hit Points or fewer.
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +4; Con +3; Int +6; Wis +2; Cha +0 
  Skills Acrobatics +17, Computers +22, Culture +22, 
  Engineering +22, Stealth +17
  Languages Castrovelian, Common, Shirren, Vercite 
  Other Abilities artificial intelligence (drone named 
  Ghost), constructed, expert rig (datajack), flat affect, 
  mechanic tricks (ghost intrusion, hack directory), 
  miracle worker (2/day), remote 
  hack (DC 18), upgrade slot (mk 2 
  electrostatic field)
  NONAME
  15
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  Gear gold AbadarCorp travel suit, aphelion laser pistol 
  with 1 high-capacity battery (40 charges), incapacitator 
  with 1 battery (20 charges), spell ampoule of invisibility, 
  engineering kit, hacking kit; Augmentations high-
  density datajack
  GHOST 
  CR —
  N Small construct (technological)
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 100 
  EAC 19; KAC 20
  Fort +4; Ref +4; Will +8
  Defensive Abilities construct immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
  Ranged integrated corona laser pistol +16 
  (2d4+7 F; critical burn 1d4)
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +5; Con —; Int +4; Wis +2; Cha +0 
  Skills Acrobatics +19, Computers +19, 
  Engineering +14, Stealth +19
  Languages Castrovelian, Common, 
  Shirren, Vercite (can’t speak)
  Other Abilities mods (hardened 
  AI, invisibility field, reactive 
  camouflage), reduced 
  actions (Starfinder 
  Alien Archive 138), 
  unliving
  Gear corona laser pistol 
  with 2 batteries (20 
  charges each)
  Development: If the PCs kill Noname 
  without learning any information from 
  her, they find that her computer is 
  wiped clean of data. Liander can view 
  the exchange from his desk in the lobby 
  and calls the police if he witnesses 
  the PCs physically harm Noname (see 
  area B1 for how such an event might 
  play out). 
  Story Award: If the PCs learn the 
  general coordinates for the Eclipse 
  Innovations black site from Noname, 
  award them 6,400 XP. If the PCs instead 
  fight and defeat her in combat, award the 
  PCs XP as normal, but they gain no additional 
  story award for learning about the black site.
  b3. DAtA CenteR
  This cramped, narrow space is lined 
  with humming, rectangular machines 
  that stretch all the way to the ceiling. Illuminated floor tiles 
  suffuse the room with a blue light, and flickering multicolored 
  bars are displayed on the machines, which are protected by 
  glass coverings.
  This room houses the secure computer servers used by the 
  infosphere cafe. The ceiling is 10 feet high, and the walls and 
  servers are constructed of nanocarbon (hardness 35, HP 120 
  per 10-foot-by-10-foot section). The area is dimly lit by the 
  luminescent floor tiles. 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 Perception check spots a 
  tiny black box attached to the base of one of the servers by a 
  tangle of yellow wires; a friendly Noname can also point out 
  the device to the PCs. This is the Penumbra signal transmitter 
  installed by Eclipse engineers several days ago. The 
  transmitter is constructed of nanocarbon (hardness 35, 
  HP 60) and can be smashed, 
  or a PC who succeeds at a 
  DC 32 Engineering check 
  can disable it. Alternatively, 
  a PC can potentially track the 
  source of its signal by succeeding 
  at a DC 32 Computers check to hack 
  the transmitter. The PCs need to 
  successfully hack the two other 
  transmitters in areas C and D 
  to triangulate the signal’s exact 
  source and find the location of 
  Eclipse’s black site. If Noname’s 
  attitude is friendly or better, the hacker helps 
  them examine the transmitter, granting a +5 
  bonus to all checks made to disable or hack 
  into the device. She insists on disabling or 
  destroying it afterward if they hack the 
  device, and she asks the PCs to seek out 
  any other transmitters. 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 
  Mysticism check while examining the 
  device determines that the signal it is 
  currently emitting is different from the 
  signal broadcast on New Elysium. While 
  these transmitters allow the Penumbra 
  app  to function, Eclipse Innovations 
  has not yet begun transmission of the 
  corrupting signal they plan to test on 
  Cuvacara’s citizens.
  event 3: ALLey AMbusH (CR 10)
  When the PCs leave the Blue Room after speaking with 
  Noname 
  and 
  hopefully 
  destroying 
  the 
  transmitter, they find the alley much quieter 
  than when they first arrived at the building. 
  Creatures: Avigdis sent many corporate hit 
  squads to deal with the PCs. One such squad 
  CONTRACTED MERC
  16
  
  tracked them to the infosphere cafe and then waited outside 
  to attack the PCs as they exit. Posing as local police, these 
  mercenaries cleared the area of witnesses before setting up 
  their ambush. A PC who succeeds at a DC 26 Perception check 
  notices that something is unusual before the mercs strike, and 
  that character can act during the surprise round.
  CONTRACTED MERCS (4) 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400 each 
  Male and female human soldier
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +9; Senses low-light vision; Perception +13
  DEFENSE 
  HP 90 EACH 
  EAC 18; KAC 21
  Fort +8; Ref +6; Will +7
  OFFENSE
  Speed 25 ft.
  Melee tactical skyfire sword +13 (2d4+9 F; critical burn 1d8)
  Ranged advanced rail gun +16 (1d10+6 P) or 
  incendiary grenade II (explode [20 ft., 2d6 F, 1d6 burn, 
  DC 16])
  Offensive Abilities fighting styles (hit-and-run), nimble 
  fusillade, opening volley
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The contracted mercs throw their 
  incendiary grenades at the PCs and then move into 
  melee combat. They use Quick Draw to switch between 
  weapons seamlessly, while staying mobile with 
  nimble fusillade. 
  Morale The contracted mercs fight to the death unless 
  given orders to retreat. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +5; Con +2; Int +1; Wis +2; Cha +1 
  Skills Acrobatics +13, Athletics +13, Intimidate +13, 
  Stealth +18
  Feats Quick Draw
  Languages Common, Vercite
  Gear vesk overplate I, advanced rail gunAR with 30 longarm 
  rounds, tactical skyfire sword with 2 batteries (20 charges 
  each), incendiary grenades II (2), credstick (150 credits); 
  Augmentations wide-spectrum ocular implants
  C. SCUTTLE’S CYBERNETICS SHOP
  The golden glow of evening light fades to near blackness 
  within this maze of murky, shadowed streets illuminated 
  only by blazing neon signs. The few pedestrians in the area 
  move quickly, heads down and clutching their valuables, 
  as they speed past stone walls crowned by razor wire and 
  adorned with colorful graffiti. 
  The squalid buildings here are characterized by boarded 
  windows and metal doors riddled with bullet holes. Located 
  near a two-way intersection, one such entrance is adjacent 
  to a large, intact storefront window displaying a variety 
  of tech from weapons to cybernetic augmentations. Neon 
  block letters above the door simply state, “Open.”
  Beneath the elite gated communities of the Northwest 
  Facet, many unscrupulous businesspeople set up shop to 
  cater to ultra-rich high-rise residents and Shade dwellers 
  alike. While wealthy Cuvacarans concentrate their private 
  security around the lifts that lead to their homes, criminals 
  thrive in the shadows.
  This particular unmarked building is a cybernetics shop 
  well known for dealing stolen tech. It is owned and operated 
  by a hardened ysoki criminal named Scuttle.
  Unless otherwise stated, the ceilings in the shop are 10 
  feet high, the walls and floors are constructed of concrete 
  (hardness 15, HP 540 per 10-foot-by-10-foot section, break 
  DC 45), and the doors are steel (hardness 20, HP 60, break 
  DC 28). The doors are unlocked during business hours. A map 
  of this area appears on page 13.
  C1. MeAn stReets of CuvACARA (CR 10)
  Two ground-level streets intersect outside Scuttle’s shop. 
  Nearby buildings and trash compactors provide plenty of 
  cover, and the area currently does not have much foot traffic.
  Creatures: Before the PCs enter the shop, a squad of 
  corporate assassins sent by Avigdis attacks them. A PC who 
  succeeds at a DC 31 Perception check realizes the party is 
  being followed and can act during the surprise round.
  CONTRACTED MERCS (2) 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400 each
  HP 90 each (see above) 
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The contracted mercs open fire with their 
  rifles and then close into melee combat, being careful not 
  to provide cover for the PCs against the attacks of the 
  hired killers. They also try to keep the PCs away from 
  the sniping positions the hired killers have taken.
  Morale The contracted mercs fight to the death unless 
  given orders to retreat. 
  HIRED KILLERS (2) 
  CR 6 
  XP 2,400 each 
  Female verthani operative (Starfinder Alien Archive 118)
  CN Medium humanoid (verthani)
  Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 80 EACH 
  EAC 18; KAC 19
  Fort +5; Ref +8; Will +9
  Defensive Abilities evasion
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee tactical knife +12 (2d4+9 S)
  Ranged corona laser pistol +14 (2d4+6 F; critical burn 1d4) or 
  entangling tactical shirren-eye rifle +14 (1d10+6 P)
  17
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  Offensive Abilities debilitating trick, trick attack +3d8
  TACTICS 
  Before Combat The hired killers activate their cloaking 
  fields to observe the PCs and get into sniping positions. 
  During Combat Each hired killer attempts a debilitating 
  trick attack and activates the entangling fusion of her 
  sniper rifle with her first shot. If her sniping position is 
  compromised, she attacks with her corona laser pistol. 
  Morale If reduced to 15 HP or fewer, a hired killer attempts 
  to flee the area. She waits until she’s a safe distance away 
  and then uses her comm unit to tell her allies to retreat.
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +5; Con +1; Int +2; Wis +3; Cha +2
  Skills Acrobatics +19, Athletics +14, Bluff +19, Sleight of 
  Hand +14, Stealth +19
  Languages Common, Vercite
  Other Abilities easily augmented, operative exploits 
  (cloaking field, debilitating sniper), skin mimic, 
  specialization (ghost)
  Gear freebooter armor II, entangling tactical shirren-eye 
  rifle with 25 longarm rounds, corona laser pistol with 
  2 batteries (20 charges each), mk 2 serum of healing, 
  medpatches (2), credstick (400 credits)
  Development: The PCs can attempt Intimidate checks to 
  interrogate any captured foes. These foes also respond to a 
  bribe of at least 1,500 credits, sharing what they know with 
  the PCs. They confirm that they work for Eclipse Innovations 
  and were hired by Kaeon Rhyse to track down the PCs and 
  stop them from meddling in company affairs. They have no 
  information about the black site or Dr. Gragant’s shadow 
  signal, and they respond to interrogation about those subjects 
  by stating, “That’s above my pay grade.” The hired killers also 
  reveal that they are part of a larger team commanded by a 
  svartalfar named Avigdis, an accomplished sniper. 
  C2. stoRefRont (CR 9)
  A long, four-foot-tall steel-and-glass display case separates 
  a small area of the room to the east from the main shop. 
  Analog and powered weapons hang from hooks on the wall 
  behind the display cases. The cases also contain cybernetic 
  devices, comm units, and other technological items labeled 
  with significantly marked-up price tags. To the west, a 
  repurposed storage crate serves as a table, flanked by 
  two dilapidated velvet armchairs. The table and chairs are 
  positioned in front of a metal rack containing antiquated 
  print books and magazines that appear to be falling apart. 
  Scuttle’s shop carries armor, armor upgrades, cybernetic 
  augmentations, weapons, and weapon fusions up to 13th level at 
  double their normal price. A PC can attempt a DC 35 Diplomacy 
  check to haggle or a DC 35 Bluff or Disguise check to fake an 
  affiliation with a local gang to receive a discount, reducing 
  these items to normal cost. A built-in hinged metal door to the 
  northeast provides access to the area behind the display cases. 
  Creatures: A white ysoki with red eyes stands on a stepladder 
  behind the display cases, and two vesk sit in the chairs to the 
  south browsing antique print magazines. The ysoki, Scuttle, 
  greets the PCs as they enter, and the vesk snap to attention.
  Scuttle’s ties to the area’s gangs and his shady deals with local 
  corporations make him difficult to negotiate with, but anyone 
  can be bought for the right price. The results of this encounter 
  depend on the PCs’ decisions during their conversation with 
  the ysoki.
  Scuttle is surprisingly cheerful and friendly, though his jovial 
  banter disguises a bitter, nihilistic worldview that regards 
  everything—including living beings—as a commodity. Scuttle 
  sees the PCs as potential customers and calculates how best 
  to cheat them out of their money. Once he realizes what the 
  PCs are really after, Scuttle carefully analyzes their actions to 
  determine how much they already know about Eclipse.
  Scuttle is aware of the true purpose of the Penumbra app 
  and signal transmitters. He’s convinced that allowing the 
  coming events to unfold will help him personally. He’s already 
  used some of his substantial payout from the corporation to 
  purchase a private bunker. He plans to lay low there until the 
  chaos dies down and then emerge to profit from the disaster. 
  Initially Scuttle lies to the PCs and claims to know nothing 
  about Eclipse Innovations. He answers their questions only 
  after the PCs succeed at a DC 28 Intimidate check, confront 
  him with physical evidence from the transmitter in area C3, 
  or defeat his bodyguards. His responses to some of the PCs’ 
  likely questions are as follows.
  What do you know about Eclipse Innovations? “It's, uh, 
  a business associate of mine. From way back. Eclipse does 
  a shipment, I show up on the delivery route, some credits 
  change hands… I get fresh tech, and Eclipse cashes in on theft 
  insurance. Ya know, a typical business relationship.”
  Tell us more. Scuttle looks around nervously and presses 
  a button on his wrist console. Heavy metal shutters lower 
  and cover the shop window. “Look, nobody likes a snitch. If 
  I’m gonna stick my neck out, you gotta give me something 
  to work with.” At this point, the PCs must succeed at 
  another DC 28 Intimidate check or offer a bribe of at least 
  1,500 credits to keep Scuttle talking. “Eclipse is a washed-
  up military contractor from back in the Swarm days. You 
  pups look too young to remember it, but it was bad. Eclipse 
  started poking their noses into things best left alone, 
  wanting super soldiers that couldn’t feel pain. Some doctor 
  was in charge of it. I don’t know her name. Then one day 
  the lab just poofed. She ghosted ‘em. Present day, Eclipse 
  is installing these transmitters, right? But the transmitters 
  ain’t just for this app. They make people hurt themselves. 
  Kill each other. If you ask me, something happened in that 
  lab that royally screwed Eclipse for good.”
  Does the name Kaeon Rhyse ring a bell? “Yeah. He says 
  he’s in charge, but I figure someone else is pulling the strings.”
  18
  
  Where is the Eclipse black site? “Somewhere dark. And 
  cold. Pretty sure it’s underground. I didn’t get a good look 
  around. I went to make a pickup and they had me blindfolded 
  in a cargo hold the whole way there and back.”
  So you’ve been there? Scuttle looks ill. “I been working the 
  Shade all my life, but nothing ever spooked me as bad as that 
  lab. They had bodies there, gutted and strung up with wires, 
  but they weren’t dead...” His voice trails off and he shudders. 
  “But it’s none of my business.”
  You aren’t worried about the signal affecting you? “Nah, I 
  don’t vibe with that social media nonsense. Bunch of hyper-
  connected pups yapping about their feelings and posting pics 
  of their bowel movements. I’ll lay low for a while with my 
  buddies,” he pats the gun on his hip, “And wait till it’s all over. 
  Disaster is an extremely profitable business, ya know?”
  We’ll report you to the authorities. Scuttle lets out a high-
  pitched giggle. “Good luck with that! I got so many palms 
  greased, I could open a massage parlor. Do what ya need to 
  do, buddy, but no cops are gonna take Scuttle down.”
  If the PCs attempt to harm Scuttle, he orders his bodyguards 
  to attack. If the PCs successfully bribe or intimidate Scuttle, 
  he allows them to access area C3. 
  SCUTTLE  
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 
  Male ysoki envoy 
  CN Small humanoid (ysoki)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 100 RP 4
  EAC 19; KAC 20
  Fort +6; Ref +8; Will +10
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee tactical knife +13 (2d4+8 S)
  Ranged red star plasma pistol +15 (1d8+7 E & F; critical 
  burn 1d8)
  TACTICS 
  Before Combat If the PCs act hostile toward him, Scuttle 
  orders his bodyguards to attack. 
  During Combat Scuttle uses improved get ‘em to direct 
  his hired muscle to attack the strongest-looking PC. If a 
  PC levels a dangerous-looking attack against one of his 
  bodyguards, he warns them with watch out.
  Morale If his vesk guards are reduced to 0 HP, or if he is 
  reduced to 40 HP or fewer, Scuttle drops his weapon and 
  begs for mercy. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +2; Con +2; Int +4; Wis +2; Cha +5
  Skills Bluff +19, Computers +14, Culture +14, Diplomacy +19, 
  Engineering +19, Sense Motive +19, Stealth +19, 
  Survival +14
  Languages Common, Vercite, Vesk, Ysoki
  Other Abilities cheek pouches, envoy inspirations (get ‘em, 
  improved get ‘em, watch out), moxie
  Gear estex suit III, tactical knife, red star plasma pistol with 
  2 batteries (20 charges each), credstick (300 credits); 
  Augmentations storage prosthetic limb (leg)
  VESK GUARDS (2) 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600 each 
  Female vesk soldier
  N Medium humanoid (vesk)
  Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11
  DEFENSE 
  HP 70 EACH
  EAC 18; KAC 20 
  Fort +7; Ref +5; Will +6; +2 vs. fear
  Defensive Abilities guard’s protection; DR 5/—
  OFFENSE
  Speed 25 ft.
  Melee tactical doshko +14 (1d12+10 P) or 
  unarmed strike +14 (1d3+10 S)
  Ranged thunderstrike sonic rifle +11 (1d10+5 So; critical 
  deafen [DC 13]) 
  Offensive Abilities fighting styles (guard), natural weapons
  SCUTTLE
  19
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  TACTICS
  During Combat The vesk attack with their doshkos and try 
  to get between Scuttle and the PCs, though one tries to 
  stay adjacent to the ysoki. If the PCs attack Scuttle, the 
  vesk adjacent to him uses her Bodyguard feat and then 
  uses her guard’s protection ability to take half of the 
  damage if the attack is successful. 
  Morale The vesk enjoy combat and fight to the death to 
  protect their boss, unless ordered to stand down. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +3; Con +2; Int –1; Wis +1; Cha +1
  Skills Athletics +16, Intimidate +11, Sense Motive +11
  Feats Bodyguard
  Languages Common, Vesk
  Other Abilities armor savant, armor training
  Gear lashunta ringwear II, tactical doshko, thunderstrike 
  sonic rifle with 1 high-capacity battery (40 charges)
  Story Award: If the PCs talk with Scuttle and learn what he 
  knows about Eclipse Innovations, award them 6,400 XP. If the 
  PCs instead fight and defeat him and his bodyguards in combat, 
  award the PCs XP as normal, but they gain no additional story 
  award for learning what Scuttle knows about the corporation.
  C3. bACk RooM 
  This tiny, cluttered room is a testament to Scuttle’s hoarding 
  tendencies. Spare parts litter the floor, and crates of new 
  shipments intermixed with boxes of unsalvageable junk are 
  piled nearly to the ceiling. The Penumbra transmitter sticks 
  out as a piece of shiny new technology amid the disorder. See 
  area B3 for details about the transmitter, its properties, and 
  how to disable it.
  A door to the north leads to a small scrap heap in a yard 
  outside the shop. The squalid area is fenced in by a 10-foot-tall 
  chain link fence (Athletics DC 25 to climb). 
  Treasure: If a PC takes 10 minutes to search the scrap heap 
  and succeeds at a DC 28 Perception check, he finds a motion 
  detector and a sonic dampener armor upgrade that are both 
  still in working condition. Scuttle won’t notice they are missing. 
  Development: After the PCs disable or destroy the 
  transmitter, they can choose to exit through the back door to 
  the scrap heap or return to area C2. If they exit through the 
  storefront, Scuttle greets them with an accusatory “What did 
  you do?” When he realizes that the PCs disabled or destroyed 
  the signal transmitter, he buries his face in his hands and lets 
  out a frustrated sigh. “Well, looks like I’m going underground 
  sooner than I thought. Now get out!”
  As the PCs exit through the front door, the green “Open” 
  sign blinks off, replaced by the word “Closed” in red neon.
  D. THE LIZARD LOUNGE
  The Lizard Lounge is located on the thirtieth story of the 
  Apex Building, a skyscraper in Cuvacara’s South Facet. This 
  flashy nightclub, owned by an enterprising vesk immigrant, 
  is a local hotspot popular with partygoers on both sides of 
  the law. The lounge is composed of a large central area with 
  a dance floor and bars, an employees-only area, and a private 
  balcony. Unless otherwise stated, the ceilings throughout 
  area D are 20 feet high and the area is dimly lit by flashing, 
  multicolored lights installed in the ceilings and walls. The walls 
  are transparent aluminum (hardness 10, HP 60 per 10-foot-by-
  10-foot section) and the wooden doors (hardness 5, HP 15) are 
  left unlocked during business hours. Security cameras built 
  into the ceiling of every room in the club feed to Boss Zurnala’s 
  office in area D2. A map of this area appears on page 13.
  D1. CLub fLooR
  Two circular bars made from a hard, green acrylic stand on 
  either side of an open dance floor. A bass rhythm thrums 
  as a sea of patrons moves to the beat. To the east and 
  west of the dance floor, blue leather couches positioned 
  around tables made of the same blue acrylic offer more 
  private places to relax, though the music’s volume makes 
  conversation difficult. 
  The Lizard Lounge boasts a polished ceramic dance floor 
  with bars to the north and southeast. Couches surround 
  tables to the east and west, and a green velvet curtain 
  separates the private balcony (area D3) from the main lobby. 
  Behind the southeastern bar, a plastic swinging door leads to 
  the employees-only area. 
  D2. eMpLoyees-onLy AReA
  The kitchen and storage area are separated from the rest of 
  the club by a plastic swinging door. Boss Zurnala’s office is 
  located to the east. Eclipse Innovations engineers recently set 
  up a signal transmitter in the storage area under the guise 
  of routine maintenance. Zurnala has no idea that the signal 
  transmitter is present in her club or what it’s capable of; 
  she allows the PCs to search the area if they made a good 
  impression on Silvene (see page 21). See area B3 for details 
  about the transmitter, its properties, and how to disable it.
  D3. bALCony
  The PCs are refused entry to the balcony by a pair of burly 
  vesk bouncers until Event 4.
  This circular private balcony overlooks the glittering city 
  streets hundreds of feet below. Exotic plants with pointed 
  purple leaves and bloodred flowers grow from planters near 
  the edge of the balcony, wrapping over the rails and trailing 
  down into open air. Two blue leather divans face a glass table 
  set with five crystal glasses and a decanter of ruby-red liquid.
  Separated from the rest of the club by a velvet curtain, this 
  balcony overlooks the streets 600 feet below. Other balconies 
  jut out from the building above and below this area at 20-foot 
  20
  
  intervals. A creature can jump or climb over the balcony’s 
  5-foot-tall, 6-inch-wide metal rail with a successful 
  DC 20 Athletics check or DC 15 Acrobatics check. 
  Climbing the building’s transparent aluminum walls 
  is possible with a successful DC 25 Athletics 
  check. 
  speAking witH siLvene
  The Lizard Lounge is open all day and is usually 
  busy. Today is no exception, and patrons of all 
  kinds are tearing up the dance floor or enjoying 
  bottle service in the booths. If the PCs go poking 
  around the club or start asking questions, a vesk 
  bouncer approaches the group and barks in a gruff 
  voice, “Come with me. Boss wants to see you.” If 
  the PCs follow, she leads them behind the bar and 
  through a swinging door marked “Employees Only.” 
  Beyond the kitchen and storage area, Boss Zurnala 
  (N female vesk) sits behind her desk, puffing 
  on an electronic cigar and playing 
  solitaire on a small holoscreen. 
  She 
  introduces 
  herself 
  cordially 
  enough, but her emotions are hard to 
  read. For one, her eyes rarely leave the 
  virtual card game. She asks the PCs 
  what they think of her club and wants to know if they 
  tried tonight’s drink special. Broaching the subject of Eclipse 
  Innovations, signal transmitters, or Kaeon Rhyse outright 
  seems to be a dead end, as every question is met with a shrug 
  or a grunt. PCs who try to intimidate or threaten Zurnala are 
  met with laughter from the vesk as she gently reprimands 
  them to “behave like civilized beings.” If the PCs want to 
  loosen Zurnala’s lips, they must offer a bribe of at least 500 
  credits, succeed at a DC 32 Diplomacy check, or mention her 
  friend Silvene by name. Once the PCs manage this, Zurnala’s 
  demeanor changes. 
  Zurnala swipes her hand to clear the screen in front of her, 
  and the cards vanish in an instant. She regards her guests 
  for the first time. “You ask too many questions,” she says. “I 
  like that. Curiosity is a sign of intelligence, and that’s what 
  separates us from the animals. What do you need to know?” 
  Zurnala folds her claws on the desk in front of her and 
  watches her visitors with a look of genuine curiosity.
  If the PCs then ask about Kaeon Rhyse or Eclipse 
  Innovations, Zurnala directs the PCs to one of her regular 
  customers named Silvene, who’s waiting at the southeastern 
  bar. Once escorted out of the office, the PCs can talk to Silvene. 
  Silvene (NG male damaya lashunta) is a local escort who 
  caters to wealthy clientele. He’s known for his discretion and 
  demure manner as well as his physical grace. Though Silvene 
  doesn’t have much of a formal education, his witty banter 
  charms his clients and his hard-won street smarts keep him 
  alive. Silvene is wary of the PCs at first, but as long as the PCs 
  succeed at a DC 29 Diplomacy check, they are able to put him 
  at ease. Some responses to questions the PCs may have for 
  Silvene are given below.
  What do you know about Eclipse 
  Innovations? “Oooh, didn’t they 
  make Penumbra? It looks great, but I 
  think I’ll wait till the hype dies down to buy 
  it.” The PCs can attempt a DC 29 Sense Motive 
  check to realize that Silvene is lying.
  Do you know where the Eclipse black 
  site is? Silvene blinks, genuinely confused. 
  “What are you talking about? Is that a new 
  club?”
  If you don’t know anything, why did Zurnala 
  say we should talk to you? Silvene sighs. “It 
  must be about my former client.”
  Who was your client?/What do you know about 
  Kaeon Rhyse? “Kaeon Rhyse.” Silvene looks 
  away, and it's obvious he’s seeing something 
  other than the club around him. “Mr. 
  Rhyse did hire me awhile back, but I 
  usually don’t discuss clients.” If the 
  PCs assure Silvene of their good 
  intentions, he recounts his story. “I’m 
  telling you this only because I need to 
  get it off my chest. Six months ago, I got 
  a call from my agent. She said she had a special assignment 
  for me. I couldn’t believe someone like Kaeon Rhyse would 
  hire me! He’s smart, beautiful—not to mention rich—and all the 
  feeds say he’s such a lovely person. He spends half his money 
  on charity, which is so refreshing. He took me to a ritzy hotel 
  in the Gloaming. Everything was wonderful till we got back 
  to the room. He took off his shirt, and there were marks all 
  over his skin. Scars, like someone had cut him up bad. I tried 
  to play it cool, but he caught me staring. He said that’s why he 
  hired me. He wanted me to—hurt him.” Silvene’s voice falters. 
  “Everyone has their kinks, but this was beyond. When he 
  brought out the knives, I told him our time was up.”
  What did he do? “He seemed sad. There were actual tears 
  in his eyes. He told me one day I would be enlightened like 
  him. I went to the powder room to compose myself, but I could 
  hear him talking to someone. I thought maybe it was a comm, 
  but when I came out, he was just staring at the mirror. And 
  it wasn’t his reflection looking back. I saw a dark, disfigured 
  woman, scarred like him, with hands like claws. Looking at 
  her made me feel cold all over. He called her Dr. Gragant. He 
  said, ‘Soon our worlds will meet, and everyone will know the 
  true joy of pain.’ I ran as fast as I could out of that room. I 
  couldn’t work for a week after that.”
  Story Award: If the PCs talk with Silvene and learn what he 
  knows about Kaeon Rhyse, award them 3,200 XP.
  EVENT 4: A PRIVATE PARTY (CR 11)
  After the PCs speak with Silvene, Boss Zurnala appears at 
  the bar. She puts a reassuring hand on Silvene’s shoulder to 
  SILVENE
  21
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  comfort him and informs the PCs that another customer may 
  have a lead for them: the celebrity Neva Kavetsaka is waiting 
  to speak with them on the private balcony. If the PCs have 
  failed their Diplomacy checks with Silvene and Zurnala, a 
  bartender relays the tip about Neva to the PCs before they 
  leave the bar. They can now enter area D3.
  The PCs can attempt a DC 18 Culture check to know that 
  Neva Kavetsaka is a verthani singer and celebrity in her 
  twenties. Her latest album, Sensation, is a well-received blend 
  of synthpop and shumka beats, and her music vids have 
  inspired several new fashion and makeup trends. If a PC's 
  check result exceeds the DC by 10 or more, they know that a 
  month ago, Neva alleged she was the victim of identity theft, 
  but there is no solid evidence of the supposed crime. 
  Creatures: When the PCs step onto the balcony, they are 
  greeted by someone who appears to be Neva Kavetsaka, a local 
  icon who’s achieved fame from her modeling and music career. 
  However, the PCs are actually meeting with a criminal named 
  Alyxi Troja, an assassin and master of disguise hired by Eclipse 
  Innovations to kill them. Alyxi is the one who stole Neva’s 
  identity. Earlier, Alyxi used her master of disguise ability to 
  appear as Neva to enter the club and secure the private balcony. 
  She waited there for the PCs to arrive and then used master of 
  disguise again after inviting them to join her. She then poured 
  herself a glass of wine and dosed the remaining decanter with 
  black lotus extract (Starfinder RPG Core Rulebook 419).
  Alyxi asks the two bouncers to give her some privacy with 
  her guests and then offers the PCs the poisoned wine. Though 
  her disguise lasts for only 10 minutes, Alyxi toys with the PCs a 
  little. She uses Bluff to flaunt her assumed identity and to keep 
  them talking—and hopefully drinking—without giving them any 
  information of use. As the conversation progresses, a PC can 
  attempt a DC 28 Perception check to notice that Alyxi doesn’t 
  help herself to a second glass of wine. A PC must succeed at a 
  DC 19 Will saving throw before he can attempt to pierce her 
  disguise with a successful DC 35 Perception check.
  Alyxi waits until the PCs begin to feel the poison’s effects 
  or until her cover is blown to attack, but not more than 5 
  minutes. She calls for help from the vesk guards, who rush to 
  her aid as soon as combat begins. 
  VESK GUARDS (2) 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600 each
  HP 70 each (see page 19) 
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The vesk step onto the balcony with their 
  rifles drawn and order the PCs to “step away from Ms. 
  Kavetsaka.” If the PCs don’t comply, both guards open 
  fire, shouting for the verthani singer to get behind them. 
  They then try to protect Alyxi as best they can. 
  Morale The guards believe they are protecting Neva 
  Kavetsaka and fight to the death to keep her safe. If the 
  PCs spend a standard action to attempt a Diplomacy 
  check to change the guards’ attitudes or call out Alyxi’s 
  disguise, each vesk receives a +2 bonus to her Will saving 
  throw and a +10 bonus to her Perception check to pierce 
  the impostor’s disguise. If the vesk realize Alyxi isn’t 
  actually the singer, they help the PCs apprehend her.
  ALYXI TROJA 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  Female human operative
  NE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +11; Perception +20
  DEFENSE 
  HP 150
  EAC 23; KAC 24
  Fort +9; Ref +12; Will +13 
  Defensive Abilities improved evasion, uncanny agility
  NEVA KAVETSAKA
  22
  
  GOING TO THE AUTHORITIES
  At some point, the PCs might decide to take their 
  evidence about Eclipse Innovations to Cuvacaran 
  authorities. Checking the local infosphere points them 
  to the nearest police station, where a male verthani 
  receptionist instructs the PCs to fill out a lengthy 
  electronic form about the nature of the reported 
  incident. An officer speaks with the PCs personally 
  only if they report a violent crime or have a suspect in 
  custody. She listens to their claims with forced patience, 
  and unless the PCs have evidence, she informs them 
  that there’s nothing she can do at this time. Turning 
  in an alleged corporate assassin or presenting the 
  officer with video recordings of the events leads her 
  to assure the PCs she will “investigate the matter as 
  soon as resources become available.” Either way, the 
  PCs should feel like they have to act for themselves.
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee ultrathin switchblade +18 (2d4+11 S)
  Ranged called elite semi-auto pistol +20 (3d6+10 P) 
  Offensive Abilities debilitating trick, trick attack +5d8, 
  triple attack
  TACTICS
  During Combat When the vesk guards arrive on the 
  scene, Alyxi draws her ultrathin switchblade from her 
  quickdraw hideaway limb and makes a triple attack 
  against the PC closest to her. She uses trick attack in 
  subsequent rounds while getting closer to the vesk. 
  Morale If reduced to 30 HP or fewer, Alyxi moves to 
  the edge of the balcony to climb down the side of the 
  building onto another balcony to escape.
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +8; Con +2; Int +3; Wis +2; Cha +5
  Skills Athletics +20, Acrobatics +25, Bluff +25, Culture +20, 
  Disguise +25, Sleight of Hand +20
  Feats Mobility, Spring Attack
  Languages Common, Vercite
  Other Abilities operative exploits (master of disguise 
  [3/day, 100 min. or 10 min., DC 19]), specialization (spy)
  Gear gold AbadarCorp travel suit, called elite semi-auto 
  pistol with 30 small arm rounds, ultrathin switchbladeAR, 
  mk 3 serums of healing (2), ring of whispers, formal 
  clothing, credstick (400 credits); Augmentations 
  quickdraw hideaway limb (arm)
  Development: Boss Zurnala watches the fight through 
  her security cameras and arrives at the end of combat to 
  investigate after calling the police. If she already trusts the 
  PCs, she suggests they deliver Alyxi to the authorities. Two 
  Cuvacaran officers of the peace arrive in 1 minute. If the PCs 
  already improved Zurnala’s attitude toward them or exposed 
  Alyxi’s identity to the bouncers, the club owner supports their 
  claims to be fighting only in self-defense. If Zurnala doesn’t 
  trust the PCs, she reports that they attacked a celebrity in 
  her club, and the two officers (use the stats for a detective on 
  page 177 of Starfinder Pact Worlds) attempt to take the PCs 
  into custody. PCs taken into custody must spend the night in a 
  city holding cell and pay 2,000 credits each in bail. If the PCs 
  evade police, they become wanted criminals in Cuvacara and 
  have a 30% chance of facing an additional pair of Cuvacaran 
  officers when venturing out in public. 
  If the PCs try to interrogate Alyxi, she refuses to answer any 
  questions and she activates her final use of master of disguise 
  for the day in a last-ditch effort to fool the authorities. If the 
  PCs turn her into the authorities and can prove she’s a fraud, 
  they collect a bounty of 8,000 credits for the wanted criminal. 
  EVENT 5: BECOMING THE HUNTED (CR 11)
  After the PCs investigate the three signal transmitter sites, 
  Avigdis realizes her assassins have failed, and she takes matters 
  into her own hands. Wait until the PCs finish their investigation 
  to introduce this final obstacle between them and a head-on 
  confrontation with Eclipse Innovations. At some point, either 
  while the PCs are shopping for items or when they are on 
  their way back to the spaceport, Avigdis makes her move. As 
  they walk down the crowded street, each PC should attempt a 
  DC 29 Perception check to notice they’re being followed. 
  Creatures: Transported from her home on the Shadow 
  Plane by Kaeon Rhyse, Avigdis vigilantly tracked the PCs 
  as they searched Cuvacara for clues about the Eclipse black 
  site. Avigdis has positioned herself on top of a building 
  overlooking the street where two drow mercenaries plan to 
  ambush the PCs. A PC can spot Avigdis’s position on the roof 
  by succeeding at a DC 40 Perception check. 
  DROW SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE (2) 
  CR 7 
  XP 3,200 each 
  Male drow soldier (Starfinder Alien Archive 42)
  CE Medium humanoid (elf)
  Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
  DEFENSE 
  HP 105 EACH
  EAC 19; KAC 22 
  Fort +9; Ref +7; Will +8; +2 vs. enchantment
  Immunities sleep; SR 18
  Weaknesses light blindness
  OFFENSE
  Speed 35 ft.
  Melee LFD pulse gauntlet +17 (2d6+13 So; critical knockdown) 
  Ranged thunderstrike streetsweeper +14 (1d10+7 So; critical 
  knockdown) or 
  incendiary grenade II +14 (explode [10 ft., 2d6 F, 
  1d6 burn, DC 17])
  Offensive Abilities charge attack, create darkness, fighting 
  styles (blitz)
  23
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  Drow Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th)
  At will—dancing lights, detect magic
  TACTICS 
  Before Combat The drow attempt to sneak up on 
  their targets. 
  During Combat The drow wait for Avigdis to take her first 
  shot, then try to distract the PCs from Avigdis’s position 
  by throwing grenades and charging into melee combat.
  Morale The drow are conditioned to 
  obey orders, and they fight to the 
  death for Avigdis.
  STATISTICS
  Str +4; Dex +5; Con +2; Int +1; Wis +1; 
  Cha +1
  Skills Acrobatics +14, Athletics +14, 
  Stealth +19
  Languages Common, Drow
  Gear golemforged plating III, LFD pulse 
  gauntlet with 2 batteries (20 charges 
  each), thunderstrike streetsweeper 
  with 1 high-capacity battery 
  (40 charges), incendiary 
  grenades II (2), credstick 
  (300 credits)
  AVIGDIS 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  Female svartalfar operative
  HP 135 (see page 60) 
  TACTICS 
  Before Combat Avigdis sets herself up in 
  a tactical sniping position. She then 
  activates her cloaking field ability to gain 
  a bonus to Stealth checks made against 
  the PCs. 
  During Combat Avigdis takes advantage 
  of her hidden position to snipe the 
  PCs from a distance while her drow 
  allies keep them busy. If the PCs 
  reach her position, Avigdis switches 
  to her laser pistol and uses trick 
  attack. If cornered, Avigdis throws 
  a flash grenade and uses her spell 
  strike ability while attacking with 
  her knife.
  Morale Avigdis casts greater invisibility on 
  herself and flees when reduced to 20 Hit 
  Points or fewer.
  Development: Any captured drow refuses to 
  speak and knows little about Eclipse or 
  its plans.
  If the PCs manage to capture 
  Avigdis, a PC who succeeds at 
  a DC 32 Intimidate check convinces her to reveal what she 
  knows about Eclipse Innovations. Avigdis has no desire to die 
  for her employer. She believes she can escape and find other 
  work on the Material Plane, leaving Kaeon to rely on other 
  assassins to finish the job. If the PCs fail to intimidate Avigdis, 
  she offers information in exchange for her freedom. Below 
  are Avigdis’s answers to some of the PCs’ likely questions. 
  Avigdis can provide the PCs with the correct coordinates 
  for the black site or confirm them if the PCs already have 
  this intelligence. If the PCs ask Avigdis for more information 
  about Eclipse technology or the corporation’s ultimate goal, 
  the svartalfar states that it’s none of her concern.
  Who are you? “I am called Avigdis,” the svartalfar says, 
  lifting her chin proudly. “Scion of the Avhildr clan. Millennia 
  ago our tormentors exiled us from our true homeland, 
  and we became assassins by necessity. Now we kill 
  your kind for whatever pittance vengeful mortals 
  offer us, though, truth be told, we rather enjoy 
  the opportunity.”
  Who hired you? “Kaeon Rhyse of Eclipse 
  Innovations. You’ve caused some complications 
  for him as of late, and he contracted me to take 
  care of the problem. The fact that I failed is 
  surprising to me, but it makes no difference 
  in the long run, either to my people or to 
  this executive. My services are only a 
  redundancy in his plan, and I doubt you 
  will be able to stop him.”
  Whom does Kaeon Rhyse serve? 
  “Someone far more powerful than 
  me. I would be careful poking your 
  noses into these matters, if I were 
  you, mortals.”
  Where is the black site? “The 
  underground facility you speak of 
  is on Verces’ Darkside, buried deep 
  beneath the Klebani Range. You will 
  have to travel through a dangerous, 
  frozen wilderness to reach this place. 
  You won’t be able to walk right in, either. 
  Kaeon Rhyse has made preparations to 
  welcome you.”
  Tell us about his preparations. “I’m not the 
  only employee Kaeon Rhyse recruited from the 
  Shadow Plane.”
  If the PCs take Avigdis to the authorities, she 
  cooperates but denies any connection to Eclipse 
  Innovations. She escapes from her holding cell 
  8 hours later after regaining her spells, leaving 
  Cuvacaran police with no leads to follow. If the 
  PCs allow Avigdis to go free, she sends 
  a communication to her drow contacts 
  and boards the next off-world shuttle to 
  rendezvous with them. 
  NPO
  AVIGDIS
  24
  
  As the PCs end their investigations in Cuvacara, they have 
  discovered the exact location of Eclipse Innovations’ black 
  site, where they might be able to find more answers about the 
  corrupting signal and get revenge on some of its architects.
  The bullet trains that dart between cities in the Ring of 
  Nations don’t travel to the planet’s Darkside. Overland travel 
  to the black site takes approximately 4 days by land vehicle, 
  though it isn’t recommended; treacherous natural obstacles 
  such as mountains and sheer cliffs, aggressive fauna, and 
  extremely cold temperatures all make the journey extremely 
  dangerous. The PCs can attempt a DC 15 Life Science or 
  Survival check to recall these dangers. The PCs’ best option 
  is to travel in their starship, which takes less than a day and 
  provides a convenient escape option. In the end, their method 
  of travel is the players’ choice, but you should remind them 
  that air travel is a quicker and safer option.
  This adventure assumes the PCs take their starship, but if 
  the PCs choose to travel by land, players without appropriate 
  gear or spells must attempt Survival checks and Fortitude 
  saving throws to resist the extreme cold, and you should 
  include random encounters with bloodbrothers and other 
  Vercite wildlife (see Starfinder Alien Archive and Starfinder 
  Pact Worlds for more ideas).
  If the PCs take their starship, they should first upgrade 
  it to tier 10. Once they have disabled all the Penumbra 
  transmitters, they are no longer on a time limit—except for, 
  of course, the one resulting from the growing corruption that 
  casts an ever-lengthening shadow on their souls. Upgrading 
  services can be purchased at the Cuvacara spaceport. Once 
  the PCs have made these improvements and settled their 
  docking fees, they can leave.
  EVENT 6: FLY BY NIGHT (CR 10)
  By starship, the journey to Verces’ Klebani Range takes 2d6 
  hours. As they travel, the light outside dims until it reaches 
  full darkness. Before the PCs get close enough to the black site 
  to descend, an unmarked destroyer engages them in combat. 
  Starship Combat: When combat begins, the PCs are 30 
  hexes from the Obsidian-1, an Antumbra Overseer (you can 
  use Starfinder Flip-Mat: Basic Starfield to track this distance). 
  The Obsidian-1 attacks without any warning. The captain 
  focuses on her crew, using demand and encourage actions. The 
  engineer diverts power to the guns, hoping to take out the PCs’ 
  ship quickly. The pilot tries to counter or copy the PC pilot’s 
  actions, while attempting to catch the PCs’ ship with their light 
  EMP cannon, eventually switching to evade stunts whenever 
  possible. The gunners begin with a broadside attack, while the 
  25
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK SITE
  
  science officer attempts to target specific systems on the PCs’ 
  ship, focusing first on their weapons, then their engines.
  If the Obsidian-1 is reduced to 50 HP or fewer, the captain 
  orders her gunners to fire at will. The engineer attempts to 
  hold his ship’s weapons together at this point. The captain is 
  unwilling to admit defeat until her ship is reduced to 20 HP 
  or fewer; she then orders her crew to board the escape pods, 
  activates the self-destruct system, and abandons ship.
  If the Obsidian-1 disables the PCs’ vessel, the crew orders the 
  PCs to land at the black site, where they attempt to take the 
  PCs into custody. The PCs can acquiesce if they wish, but how 
  they escape from the guards’ clutches is beyond the scope of 
  this adventure. Otherwise, they can resist on the landing pad, 
  fighting several shadow-touched guards (see page 30).
  OBSIDIAN-1 
  TIER 8
  Antumbra Overseer (see inside front cover)
  HP 190
  Story Award: If the PCs defeat the Obsidian-1 in starship 
  combat, award them 9,600 XP
  E. ECLIPSE INNOVATIONS BLACK SITE
  Hidden hundreds of feet below the Klebani Range on Verces’ 
  Darkside, the Eclipse Innovations black site is an underground 
  complex powered by wind and geothermal energy. The 
  complex has four levels connected by lifts, and is built above a 
  massive particle accelerator that Kaeon Rhyse plans to use to 
  transport the entire site to the Shadow Plane. The site’s first 
  level (areas E1–E15) serves as administrative headquarters 
  and contains laboratories dedicated to twisted experimental 
  research. The second level (areas E16–E20) houses the master 
  transmitter for Dr. Gragant’s signal as well as a horrifying 
  “training center” for Eclipse employees. The third level (areas 
  E21–E26) contains pens for creatures brought from the 
  Shadow Plane and cells for the site’s test subjects. The fourth 
  level (areas E27–E30) was excavated from natural shelynium 
  ice deposits to accommodate Kaeon Rhyse’s personal bunker 
  and control room for the particle accelerator.
  Unless otherwise stated, all of the locations within the 
  black site have the following traits.
  Ceilings, Doors, and Walls: The ceilings are 25 feet high, 
  and the doors are thick steel (hardness 30, HP 125, break DC 
  35). Computerized locks and key card scanners are built into 
  the doors (Computers DC 30 to hack or Engineering DC 35 to 
  disable) and can be opened with authorized key cards (though 
  not any of the ones from the Eclipse office in Cuvacara). The 
  walls are 5-foot-thick cement (hardness 15, HP 900 per 
  10-foot-by-10-foot section, break DC 65).
  Communications: Holoprojectors located in every room 
  are capable of receiving broadcasts from the equipment in 
  area E19. 
  Lighting: Dull, yellow cylindrical light fixtures run along 
  the walls of most corridors and rooms in the complex, 
  resulting in dim light in most areas. Areas E21 through E29 
  are in total darkness.
  Security: A concealed security camera (Perception DC 35 
  to notice, Engineering DC 30 to disable) is located in just 
  about every corner of every room and hallway throughout 
  the complex. The personnel in area E11 monitor the security 
  feeds. The cameras’ feeds can be also accessed through the 
  maintenance-room terminals in areas E8, E20, and E23, and 
  Kaeon Rhyse sporadically monitors the feeds from area E29.
  e1. entRAnCe (CR 11)
  A nearby landing pad is almost undetectable via sensors and 
  is camouflaged from casual view with holographic projectors. 
  However, the PCs have enough information to spot the landing 
  pad with a DC 28 Perception check or a DC 30 Computers 
  check to scan. A path leads to a cave.
  Icy winds howl outside this shallow cave, which provides some 
  protection from the bitter cold. A metal platform extends over 
  a wide hole in the frozen ground, connected to a cage-like lift 
  that hangs precariously over the darkness below. 
  The PCs can access the lift by walking up four metal steps 
  to the platform. The lift is a 10-foot-square platform protected 
  by metal bars, operated by a console with controls labeled 
  in Vercite. 
  Creature: A velstrac transported from the Shadow Plane—
  at great expense to Eclipse Innovations—guards the entrance 
  to the cave. None of the security guards have been up to deal 
  the sexton any damage in the past 6 hours, so the velstrac is 
  fatigued and sickened until the PCs damage it.
  SEXTON 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  HP 175 (see page 61) 
  TACTICS 
  Before Combat When it notices the PCs’ vessel landing, the 
  sexton creates darkness to conceal itself.
  During Combat The sexton steps from the darkness to 
  affect the PCs with its unnerving gaze and then shoots 
  its shadow spines at them. It then enters melee combat 
  and attacks with its chains. 
  Morale The zealous velstrac revels in both inflicting and 
  receiving pain and fights until destroyed.
  Development: The PCs can operate the lift either by 
  following the directions provided in Vercite or by succeeding 
  at a DC 15 Engineering check to tinker with the control panel. 
  The panel shows that the complex has only three accessible 
  levels, and the PCs can visit them in any order they wish, 
  but a black Eclipse key card can be used to reach a hidden 
  fourth level (alternatively, they can disable this security by 
  succeeding at a DC 45 Engineering check, but they probably 
  aren’t even aware there is anything to bypass). When the PCs 
  26
  
  E1
  E10
  E10
  E10
  E10
  E9
  E5
  E5
  E5
  E3
  E2
  E21
  E22
  E26
  E25
  E24
  E23
  E18
  E17
  E16
  E19
  E20
  E27
  E28
  E29
  E30
  E4
  E4
  E4
  E4
  E4
  E4
  E5
  E9
  E8
  E7
  E7
  E6
  E5
  E14
  E15
  E13
  E12
  E11
  E. ECLIPSE INNOVATION BLACK SITE
  LEVEL 1
  LEVEL 2
  1 SQUARE = 5 FEET
  LEVEL 3
  LEVEL 4
  27
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  select a level, the barred metal door of the lift closes and the 
  lift slowly descends.
  e2. fiRst-LeveL Lift pLAtfoRM
  The lift can stop here on the first level of the black site. Metal 
  steps descend to a metal catwalk overlooking a large, open 
  area. Four sets of stairs descend to the central part of area E3 
  from this catwalk. 
  e3. eCLipse woRk AReA (CR 10)
  A metal catwalk overlooks a large, open-plan room where 
  Eclipse technicians operate computers mounted to metal 
  platforms that rise from the stone floor. Rectangular yellow 
  lights positioned low on the walls bathe the room in an eerie 
  artificial twilight.
  This large, open-plan office provides a place for Eclipse 
  technicians to develop and repair technomagical hardware. The 
  tier 5 computers located throughout this room all radiate magic, 
  and are strange hybrids of conventional computer parts and 
  living organs. A PC must succeed at both a DC 33 Computers 
  check and a DC 33 Mysticism check to access any of the 
  computers in this room; upon doing so, they find two modules 
  labeled “Product Archives” and “Signal Transmission Schedule.” 
  Product Archives Module: This unsecured module details 
  technology currently in development within the black site, 
  including brief descriptions of armor and computers that share 
  their users’ blood, biotech crafted from velstrac body parts, 
  machines powered by pain, and a particle accelerator that 
  produces magical energy. 
  Signal Transmission Schedule Module: This module is 
  protected by a firewall (Computers DC 35 to hack). It lists the 
  locations scheduled for a release of Penumbra technology, 
  beginning with the Cuvacara rollout and followed by other 
  Vercite cities. Absalom Station and planetary capitals are 
  included farther down this list, all scheduled to receive access 
  to Penumbra in the coming weeks. 
  Creatures: Eclipse engineers with retractable surgical 
  blades grafted onto their hands work at various tasks. Some 
  of the technicians are connected to their computers by thick 
  cables, and a PC who succeeds at a DC 20 Medicine check 
  realizes the technicians are sharing blood with the machines. 
  Others appear to be dissecting computer parts with the blades 
  on their hands, causing the nanocarbon and organic parts to 
  bleed when cut. The engineers are intent on their tasks and 
  receive a –4 penalty to their Perception checks to notice the 
  PCs. When they do, four of them break from their stations 
  and attack the PCs. The others take no notice of the PCs or 
  care if the PCs kill their coworkers.
  TWISTED TECHNICIANS (4) 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400 each
  Female and male verthani (Starfinder Alien Archive 118) 
  LE Medium humanoid (verthani)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +13
  DEFENSE 
  HP 80 EACH
  EAC 18; KAC 19
  Fort +5; Ref +7; Will +9
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee grafted surgical blade +14 (1d6+9 S; critical bleed 1d8)
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The twisted technicians rush the PCs and 
  gleefully attack with their grafted surgical blades, using 
  their Step Up feat to get closer to retreating PCs and 
  attacking with Step Up and Strike when possible. The 
  technicians take perverse pleasure in being harmed by 
  the PCs.
  Morale The twisted technicians fight to the death, basking 
  in the pleasure of pain. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +2; Con +2; Int +5; Wis +1; Cha +1
  Skills Acrobatics +13, Athletics +13, Computers +18, 
  Medicine +18, Engineering +18
  Feats Step Up, Step Up and Strike
  Languages Common, Verthani
  Other Abilities easily augmented, skin mimic
  Gear professional clothing, white Eclipse key card; 
  Augmentations standard darkvision capacitors
  Treasure: The key cards clipped to the technicians’ belts 
  open most of the doors on the black site’s first level. 
  e4. sLeep poDs
  These utilitarian rooms contain sleep pods for scientists and 
  other workers, each including a recharging station. They are 
  all currently empty. The PCs can stop to rest and charge their 
  batteries here at no cost. However, if the PCs don’t disable 
  the rooms’ security cameras, the two shadow-touched 
  guards from area E11 arrive to investigate in 1d3 hours. 
  e5. offiCes
  These rooms are private offices for high-ranking staff. Each 
  office contains a desk and chair. They are currently empty.
  e6. ARMoR ReseARCH LAb (CR 11)
  Sheets of transparent material are stacked in the southwest 
  corner of this laboratory, while two metal tables to the north 
  and south display incomplete suits of armor crafted from 
  the same material. A translucent suit streaked with red and 
  purple markings is suspended in a display case affixed to the 
  eastern wall. 
  Eclipse scientists and engineers used this laboratory 
  to develop a new type of armor that mimics some of the 
  28
  
  natural resilience shown by velstracs and other Shadow 
  Plane inhabitants. These employees can be found in the other 
  laboratories on this floor.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Physical Science check 
  recognizes the sheets of material as graphene, an allotrope 
  of carbon that is more than 100 times stronger than 
  steel. Graphene is also flexible, transparent, highly 
  conductive, and impermeable to most 
  gases and liquids. A prototype of hybrid 
  graphene armor is displayed in the 
  eastern glass case (see Treasure 
  below), while unfinished versions are 
  draped over the tables to the north 
  and south. 
  Trap: The room is equipped with a 
  nanoflechette launcher trap that activates 
  1 round after anyone enters without first swiping 
  a gray Eclipse key card through the door’s card 
  reader. The doorway is sealed off by a steel 
  partition (hardness 20, Hit Points 60, break 
  DC 28) and five wall apertures 
  open up to launch nanoflechettes 
  at every creature in the room. The 
  trap operates for 10 rounds, unless 
  all the apertures have been closed 
  or destroyed. An aperture has EAC 23, KAC 27, Fort +14, Ref 
  +11, hardness 10, and 40 Hit Points. Closing or destroying an 
  aperture reduces the damage dealt by 1d12.
  NANOFLECHETTE LAUNCHER TRAP  
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  Type technological; Perception DC 36; Disable Engineering 
  DC 29 (close one aperture) or DC 35 (open door)
  Trigger location; Init +17; Duration 10 rounds; Reset 1 
  minute; Bypass wireless key card reader (Computers 
  DC 30 to hack)
  Effect nanoflechettes +25 ranged (6d12 P); multiple targets 
  (all targets in room)
  Treasure: The display case contains a single Light 
  Experimental Neural Interface Exosuit, a hybrid suit of light 
  armor woven from isolated graphene fibers. Upon closer 
  inspection, PCs notice a tiny computer built into the armor’s 
  retractable helmet and a row of razor-sharp needles that line 
  the left sleeve of the armor at the wrist. The armor’s statistics 
  are presented in the sidebar.
  If a PC dons the armor, those tiny needles prick the 
  PC’s flesh and draw a few drops of blood into the armor’s 
  fabric. The artificial personality boots up with a cheerful 
  male voice in that PC’s ear. “Hello there! I hope that stung 
  a bit! I’m Lennie, and I’ll be your guide to operating this 
  technology!” Lennie explains the armor’s features (though 
  he neglects to mention the pain dependency). Though 
  pleasant and upbeat, Lennie is a cruel masochist, enjoying 
  the pain of the armor’s wearer and urging her to inflict pain 
  on others. A PC who wears the armor for more than an hour 
  must succeed at a DC 22 Will saving throw or refuse to take 
  it off, even after its negative side effects come to light. This 
  is a curse effect.
  Once the Light Experimental Neural Interface Exosuit is 
  removed (or before it is even put on), a PC can reprogram 
  the artificial personality with a successful DC 35 Computers 
  check, erasing Lennie’s masochistic tendencies. This removes 
  the curse effect and the wearer’s pain dependency, but also 
  removes the morale bonus the wearer gains after scoring a 
  critical hit.
  e7. psyCHoLogy LAboRAtoRies
  These laboratories both contain workstations to the north and 
  south, each equipped with a tier 3 computer for collecting 
  and reviewing data. In the center of both labs, a glass booth 
  contains a metal chair equipped with restraints and a skullcap 
  laden with wires and electrodes. Cables attach the wires from 
  the device to the two computers. 
  LIGHT EXPERIMENTAL 
  NEURAL INTERFACE EXOSUIT
  The Light Experimental Neural Interface Exosuit is a 12th-
  level suit of light armor that provides a +14 armor bonus 
  to both EAC and KAC. It has a maximum Dexterity 
  bonus of +8 and no armor check penalty. 
  Three of its four upgrade slots 
  contain a targeting computer 
  with an artificial personality, a 
  forcepack, and a mk 2 thermal 
  capacitor. This hybrid armor 
  molds perfectly to your shape, 
  regardless of body type and size, 
  and the armor’s artificial personality 
  monitors your vital signs and informs 
  you when you are diseased, poisoned, 
  or exposed to radiation. However, when 
  you wear this armor, you become 
  addicted to pain, and if you go more 
  than 4 hours without 
  taking 
  damage, 
  you 
  gain the fatigued and 
  sickened 
  conditions 
  until the next time 
  you take damage. You also gain a +1 morale bonus to 
  attack rolls for 1 round after you score a critical hit on 
  a significant foe. Without any of its upgrades, the Light 
  Experimental Neural Interface Exosuit costs 38,000 
  credits (though it isn’t yet available for purchase by the 
  general public) and has light bulk. Though it is a hybrid 
  suit of armor, it doesn’t count as a worn item.
  LIGHT EXPERIMENTAL NEURAL 
  INTERFACE EXOSUIT
  29
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Medicine check realizes 
  that these machines gather neurological data to feed into 
  the computers. A PC who casts detect magic finds traces 
  of magic in the machines. PCs who access the computers in 
  these rooms (DC 25 to hack) can review procedural notes 
  left by lab technicians and can conclude that these labs are 
  dedicated to researching the psychological indicators of pain 
  and pleasure. 
  Creatures: In the northernmost laboratory, six humanoids 
  in white lab coats monitor the workstations and stand around 
  the glass booth peering at a seventh humanoid within, who 
  also wears a white lab coat. A section of the subject’s skull 
  has been removed, revealing his brain wired directly into 
  the computers. The scientists appear to be sending direct 
  electrical stimuli into the subject’s brain, murmuring excitedly 
  about the results. The scientists and the subject (who seems 
  to be enjoying the process) ignore the PCs, even if they attack. 
  These seven individuals are noncombatants and die in a single 
  hit, with smiles on their faces. Each scientist carries a gray 
  Eclipse key card.
  Story Award: The PCs shouldn’t receive XP for killing the 
  Eclipse scientists.
  e8. MAintenAnCe RooM
  A computer console on the northern wall controls the 
  lighting, security features, and doors throughout the first 
  level. A PC can hack into this tier 5 computer by succeeding 
  at a DC 33 Computers check, revealing a three-dimensional 
  map of the first level and three modules labeled “Door Locks,” 
  “Lighting,” and “Security.”
  Door Locks Module: This module is protected by a firewall 
  (DC 35 Computers to hack). PCs who access this module can 
  lock or unlock all the doors on the first level. An additional 
  control allows a user to remotely open and close the doors. 
  Lighting Module: No additional checks are required to 
  access this module. The PCs can control the light fixtures on 
  the first level. PCs can set the lights to off (darkness), 50% 
  (dimly lit), or 100% (bright light).
  Security Module: This module is protected by a firewall 
  (DC 35 Computers to hack). The PCs can access and view 
  feeds from all the security cameras on this level after 
  accessing this module. Additionally, this module controls 
  the door alarms on the first level. A PC who hacks into this 
  module can disable the alarms. 
  e9. stoRAge AReAs
  These two areas are used to store various raw materials, 
  electronics, and office supplies.
  e10. eMpty LAboRAtoRies
  These laboratories contain various experimental stations but 
  are currently not in use by Eclipse scientists.
  Treasure: If the PCs search these rooms, they find two 
  shadow orbs.
  e11. seCuRity HQ (CR 11)
  Two large screens along the western wall of this darkened 
  room glow with a sickly green light. Each screen is divided 
  into dozens of individual squares, broadcasting live security 
  recordings from around the complex. Some of the feeds show 
  scientists bent over strange machines or bloody operation 
  tables, while others display darkness. A black metal locker 
  stands against the eastern wall. 
  The security cameras from around the black site feed 
  live video to the screens in this room. Each feed is labeled 
  with tiny letters and numbers corresponding to the room or 
  hallway quadrant it monitors. If the PCs haven’t yet visited 
  the second level and spend 10 minutes viewing the feeds, 
  or if they succeed at a DC 35 Perception check, they spot 
  a verthani male recognizable as Kaeon Rhyse tinkering with 
  equipment in area E19; he doesn’t remain there for long.
  Creatures: Monitoring the cameras are two vicious 
  creatures who were once human Eclipse employees but have 
  been thoroughly corrupted by the shadow signal. If they 
  detect the PCs either through their cameras or by hearing a 
  nearby door alarm, they attack. 
  SHADOW-TOUCHED GUARDS (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each
  LE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +17
  DEFENSE 
  HP 145 EACH
  EAC 22; KAC 24
  Fort +11; Ref +11; Will +10
  Weaknesses light blindness
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee hook knife +21 (1d8+15 S; critical bleed 1d6)
  Ranged gelid ice carbine +18 (3d8+9 C & P) 
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The shadow-touched guards prefer to fight 
  in melee range with their hook knives. 
  Morale The shadow-touched guards fight to the death, 
  finding pleasure in the pain inflicted upon them. 
  STATISTICS
  Str +6; Dex +4; Con +3; Int +2; Wis +2; Cha +1
  Skills Acrobatics +17, Athletics +22, Intimidate +17, 
  Stealth +17
  Languages Aklo, Common, Verthani
  Other Abilities shadow manifestations (eerie perception*, 
  insubstantiality*, shadow cloak*)
  Gear advanced iridishell, gelid ice carbineAR with 1 high-
  capacity battery (40 charges), hook knifeAR, gray Eclipse 
  key card 
  * See “Corrupted by Shadows” on page 40 of Starfinder 
  Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain.
  30
  
  Treasure: If the PCs search the lockers to the east, they 
  find two flash grenades III, an ultra-capacity battery, and 30 
  small arm rounds. 
  e12. opeRAting tHeAteR (CR 10)
  An adjustable steel operating table lined with sterile linens 
  stands in the southern half of the room. Next to it is a 
  cylindrical metal waste receptacle containing bloody gauze, 
  chunks of flesh, and an amputated human arm. Across 
  from the door to the east is a freestanding wheeled cabinet 
  holding surgical implements and equipment.
  This operating room is primarily used to install experimental 
  biotech augmentations—created from the bodies of monstrous 
  creatures from the Shadow Plane—into humanoid hosts. Most 
  of these experiments are carried out without anesthetic and 
  ultimately fail, resulting in the painful deaths of the test 
  subjects. Blood and other fluids cover the cement walls and 
  floors. Powerful fluorescent lights in the ceiling cast this into 
  bright light. 
  Creatures: Four corrupted verthani surgeons dressed in 
  scrubs surround the operating table, on which lies a human 
  “patient.” They have just amputated the human’s arm and 
  are attempting to suture the arm of a sexton velstrac to the 
  stump. The surgeons remain focused on their task unless the 
  PCs attempt to stop the procedure. These noncombatants 
  die with a single strike and succumb to the trap if the PCs 
  trigger it.
  Trap: A magical trap capable of unleashing the fear and pain 
  of the creatures that died in this operating room is embedded 
  in the floor in front of the table. When a living creature steps 
  onto the marked space, holographic images of the suffering 
  endured by victims of Eclipse Innovations experiments fill 
  the room. Those who don’t disbelieve these illusions might 
  die of fright.
  AMALGAMATED SUFFERING TRAP 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600 
  Type magical; Perception DC 35; Disable Mysticism DC 27 
  (disrupt the spell)
  Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour
  Initial Effect spell effect (3rd-level holographic image); Will 
  DC 19 disbelief; multiple targets (all targets in area E12); 
  Secondary Effect intense pain (8d12 damage, this is a 
  death and fear effect); DC 16 Fortitude half; multiple 
  targets (all targets in area E12 who didn’t disbelieve)
  Development: A PC who succeeds at a DC 15 Medicine 
  check while examining the human subject can determine 
  he died several hours ago. If the PCs haven’t disabled the 
  cameras in this room, Kaeon Rhyse broadcasts a message 
  into the room, commenting, “Sacrifices must be made for 
  any great vision to be realized. Surely you are wise enough 
  to understand that.” The PCs can respond if they wish, but 
  Kaeon says nothing else.
  e13. expeRiMentAL stAtion 
  A ten-foot-tall steel cylindrical machine stands in the center 
  of this room, connected by clear plastic wire casings to 
  three mesh cages to the east, south, and west. Inside each 
  cage, rabbits huddle in a layer of sawdust, their white coats 
  marred by partially healed wounds caked with dried blood. 
  Mechanical bladed arms are poised above each cage.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 15 Physical Science check 
  recognizes the machine as a large mass spectrometer, but 
  like none she has ever seen before. When a PC examines 
  it with detect magic, the PC finds that it radiates a magical 
  aura as an item of 8th level. A PC who then succeeds at a 
  DC 30 Mysticism check determines that the device analyzes 
  and is powered by the suffering of the caged rabbits. When 
  the device is activated, the bladed arms descend to deliver 
  shallow, painful cuts to the rabbits. The centrifuge is difficult 
  to physically destroy, but the mechanisms that control the 
  razors can be disabled with a successful DC 32 Engineering 
  check. Successfully casting dispel magic on the machine also 
  renders it inoperable. Releasing the rabbits from their cages 
  requires disabling the locks (Engineering DC 25). 
  e14. exeCutive offiCe 
  Kaeon Rhyse’s personal office contains a black metal desk in 
  front of the southern wall, equipped with a hard-backed metal 
  chair and a computer workstation. Aside from the desk, the 
  office is unfurnished. Doors to the north and east lead to the 
  hallway. If a PC succeeds at a DC 33 Computers check to hack 
  into Kaeon’s secure tier 5 computer, she finds two modules 
  labeled “Black Site Floor Plan” and “Journal.”
  Black Site Floor Plan Module: This module is protected by 
  a firewall (Computers DC 35 to hack) and contains a three-
  dimensional map of the entire black site, including an image 
  of the site’s hidden fourth level and inaccessible fifth level, 
  which houses a particle accelerator. The representation 
  of the particle accelerator contains notes about its 
  construction, listing highly complex theoretical equations 
  alongside runes that appear to be magical in nature. The 
  PCs must succeed at both a DC 35 Physical Science check 
  and a DC  35 Mysticism check to decipher these notes 
  and learn the particle accelerator is capable of harnessing 
  planar energy and that Kaeon Rhyse plans to activate it for 
  unspecified experimental purposes. 
  Journal Module: This module contains a series of text 
  documents chronicling Kaeon’s personal life from 5 years 
  ago to the present day. The first passages include ideas for 
  new tech and plans to launch a nonprofit organization to gift 
  technology to disadvantaged Cuvacarans. An entry dated 
  2 years ago details Kaeon’s first visit to New Elysium. The 
  31
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  tone of the entries changes dramatically at this point and 
  takes on an unnerving fervor. While touring an underground 
  maintenance area, Kaeon was visited by a “dark, brilliant” 
  entity calling herself Dr. Lestana Gragant. She showed him 
  that all beings can find pleasure in pain. Afterward the entries 
  focus on Kaeon’s “conversion” of Eclipse’s board members 
  and other staff, the company’s relocation to the black site, 
  and the release of Penumbra. All of them contain glowing, 
  almost reverential praise of Dr. Gragant. The last entry of 
  the journal notes that Kaeon hopes to free Gragant from her 
  Shadow Plane prison so she can transform the universe into a 
  utopia free from the fear of pain. It takes about an hour 
  to quickly read through the entire module.
  If a PC succeeds at a DC 30 Perception 
  check while reading the entries, they find a 
  mention of Taganth Wisle, an Eclipse executive 
  who was one of the first victims Kaeon offered 
  to Dr. Gragant. He aided in the relocation, but 
  soon the corruption overtook him and he grew 
  too erratic to function properly. Kaeon notes he 
  was saddened that Taganth had to be forcibly 
  confined to the cells on the third level, reminding 
  himself to “revoke Taganth's key card access to 
  the bunker.”
  Treasure: If the PCs search the desk, they 
  find a spell gem of mystic cure (4th) and two 
  spell gems of restoration.
  Development: As the PCs attempt to 
  hack into the computer, a hologram 
  of Kaeon Rhyse appears near the 
  northern door and scolds them. 
  “It’s exceedingly rude to go looking 
  through other people’s belongings. 
  If you want to know something, 
  just ask.” The PCs can speak to 
  Kaeon Rhyse through the hologram; 
  he reveals all the information presented 
  in his computer’s modules (though 
  not the information about Taganth 
  Wisle). If the PCs ask for additional 
  information, such as the purpose of the 
  particle accelerator or where he’s hiding 
  in the complex, Kaeon smiles. “Patience, 
  friends. You’ll have your answers in 
  good time.” 
  If a PC examines the holo-projector 
  before the transmission ends, they 
  can trace the source of the transmission 
  to area E19 by succeeding at a DC 30 
  Computers check. 
  e15. MeDiCAL LAb (CR 10)
  Gleaming white ceramic tiles line 
  the floor and walls of this spacious laboratory. Six ten-foot-
  tall glass observation tanks display hideously transformed 
  humanoids suspended in a glowing blue liquid. The disfigured 
  corpses are a patchwork of mismatched limbs, dissected 
  abdomens, and extra rows of teeth set in impossible places. 
  Three stainless steel tables in the center of the room are 
  equipped with metal restraints. To the west, a massive 
  computer towers eight feet tall, trailing wires and cables 
  slick with blood into the shadows. 
  This large medical lab is equipped with operation tables, 
  medical tech, and observation tanks. The specimens currently 
  on display are human, verthani, and shirren experiment 
  victims who succumbed to unspeakable augmentations 
  at the hands of Eclipse scientists. The room functions as 
  a medical lab (Starfinder Core Rulebook 220) for the 
  purpose of treating wounds and other conditions. 
  Creatures: When the PCs enter the room, 
  they see a human man standing in the 
  center of the room. His skin is pale with 
  several black splotches around his neck, 
  his eyes are glassy, and he is pierced 
  in several places by cables connected 
  to 
  cybernetic 
  augmentations 
  and tubes that pump blood 
  throughout his body. He has gray 
  hair and a gray-and-black beard. 
  He is wearing a white jumpsuit 
  that is stained with patches of his 
  own blood. This is the animated 
  corpse of Dr. Qindor.
  The PCs might recognize 
  Dr. Qindor from the images 
  they found in the empty 
  Eclipse Innovations office (if 
  necessary, a PC can attempt 
  a DC 10 Wisdom check to 
  jog her memory), but it is clear 
  he has been dead for some time. When 
  he confronted Kaeon Rhyse about the 
  productivity implants, the executive sedated 
  him and transported him here to make him 
  another one of Dr. Gragant’s disciples. Dr. Qindor 
  resisted the signal but ultimately took his 
  own life. Kaeon then used technomagical 
  procedures granted to him by his Shadow 
  Plane patron to reanimate the doctor, 
  leaving Qindor with his professional 
  skills but without the burden of 
  mortal memories.
  However, this wasn’t the end of Dr. 
  Qindor’s torment. The reanimation 
  process attracted the attention of a 
  pair of creeping shades—incorporeal, 
  DR. IVRI QINDOR
  32
  
  plantlike creatures from the Shadow Plane that recently used 
  the undead Dr. Qindor as a doorway to enter the Material 
  Plane. This tore apart the necromantic force animating the 
  doctor, leaving him no more than a shell housing the creeping 
  shades. Kaeon is unaware of the outsiders’ presence.
  The body of Dr. Qindor doesn’t respond to the PCs’ presence 
  or to any questions directed at it. If any PC attempts to harm 
  the corpse or moves adjacent to it, the creeping shades burst 
  forth and Dr. Qindor falls to the floor, completely lifeless. A PC 
  who succeeds at a DC 32 Mysticism check recognizes the black 
  splotches on Dr. Qindor’s skin as a symptom of some kind of 
  possession effect and is able to react during the surprise round.
  CREEPING SHADES (2) 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800 each
  HP 112 each (see page 55)
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The creeping shades use Spring Attack 
  to move about the room and into various solid objects, 
  making it difficult for the PCs to attack them. 
  Morale The creeping shades feed on the PCs’ life forces until 
  destroyed, but do not pursue the PCs out of the room.
  Treasure: A PC who searches the room uncovers four doses 
  of sprayflesh, two doses of tier 2 analgesic, four mk 3 serums 
  of healing, two serums of enhancement (scientist), and two 
  serums of enhancement (sensate). In addition, the PCs can 
  find a gray Eclipse key card on Dr. Qindor’s corpse.
  e16. seConD-LeveL Lift pLAtfoRM
  This area is similar to area E2, housing a platform for the lift. 
  Steps lead down to a cylindrical stone hallway that branches 
  off to the northeast and to the south.
  e17. obseRvAtion AReAs 
  In this hallway, two circular, transparent aluminum windows 
  provide viewpoints into area E18. If the PCs stop to observe 
  area E18 and haven’t yet been to area E19, a hologram of 
  Kaeon Rhyse appears and tells the PCs, “Eclipse Innovations 
  is currently accepting applications. Would you like to arrange 
  an interview?”
  e18. pRofessionAL DeveLopMent DepARtMent
  The door to this room can be opened with a gray or black 
  Eclipse key card. It is filled with rows of mundane office 
  cubicles occupied by human and verthani employees. Their 
  naked flesh is plastered with electrodes, the wires attached 
  to the computers in front of them. Some of the employees 
  appear to be unconscious, while others cut at their own flesh 
  with blades or flagellate themselves with bundled network 
  cables. To the south, robotic arms suspended above rows of 
  metal operating tables perform surgery on other employees. 
  A chorus of screams fills the air as the surgical bots insert 
  blades into the flesh of their hands and forearms. 
  Uninitiated employees are brought here and exposed to the 
  rawest form of Dr. Gragant’s corrupting signal. They are kept 
  in these small cubicles as they are quickly driven insane. These 
  employees are then augmented in the mechanized surgical 
  theater to the south before reintegration into the workforce in 
  area E3. The 12 employees currently here are in various stages 
  of “professional development” and remain unaware of the PCs. 
  They don’t attempt to defend themselves if attacked.
  If the PCs enter this room, they are exposed to the shadow 
  signal and must attempt a Will save or risk advancing their 
  shadow corruption (see Shadow Corruption on page 3).
  Story Award: The PCs should receive no experience for 
  killing these unfortunate victims of Dr. Gragant.
  e19. bRoADCAst stuDio
  The door to this room can be opened with a gray or black 
  Eclipse key card.
  Bright lights illuminate the black ceramic tiles of this room. 
  A polished wooden table in the room’s center is surrounded 
  by additional lights, cameras, and microphones positioned to 
  capture input from each seat’s occupant, though the area is 
  currently deserted. Three screens to the northeast display a 
  mirror image of this tableau. To the southeast, a glass partition 
  separates the seating area from a massive black console. 
  The console to the southeast is an amplifier that conducts 
  Dr. Gragant’s signal from the Shadow Plane and broadcasts 
  it to the Cuvacaran transmitters. Monitors marked with the 
  transmitters’ locations show darkened feeds or static if the 
  PCs destroyed those transmitters. The PCs can attempt a 
  DC 25 Computers or Engineering check to identify the purpose 
  of this equipment. The broadcasting equipment is constructed 
  of nanocarbon (hardness 35, HP 240). The equipment can be 
  disabled with a successful DC 35 Engineering check.
  A holo-projector here is capable of broadcasting images 
  to the receivers located throughout the black site, and 
  a soundboard and mixer to the southwest allows for 
  manipulation of the studio’s audio output.
  Treasure: If the PCs search the studio, they find a 
  laser microphone.
  Development: Kaeon Rhyse vacated this room before 
  the PCs arrived. If the PCs destroy, disable, or hack the 
  broadcasting equipment here, the Penumbra app on all 
  devices on Verces ceases to function, making Eclipse 
  Innovations unable to broadcast Dr. Gragant’s signal without 
  effecting extensive repairs. 
  e20. MAintenAnCe RooM
  Similar to those in the maintenance rooms on other levels 
  of the black site, a computer console on the northeastern 
  wall controls the lighting, security features, and doors 
  throughout the second level. See area E8 for details about the 
  computer’s modules.
  33
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  e21. tHiRD-LeveL Lift pLAtfoRM
  This area is similar to area E2, housing a platform for the lift 
  that opens directly into a darkened corridor.
  e22. CoRRiDoR (CR 9)
  A miasmic darkness hangs heavy in this wide corridor, and 
  murky, gray motes drift through the air. Steel doors yawn 
  open on either side of the hallway, and a heap of flesh and 
  bone savaged beyond recognition sprawls on the floor to 
  the east. 
  Semicircular chambers line the northern and southern 
  walls of this corridor. Each is filled with a small pile of 
  shredded bedding. The corpse in the middle of the corridor 
  is a former Eclipse employee who was mauled by the beasts 
  kept here.
  Creatures: When Kaeon Rhyse became aware of intruders 
  in the complex, he remotely opened the steel doors to these 
  cages, releasing four shadow mastiffs. They prowl the corridor 
  and attempt to ambush the PCs.
  SHADOW MASTIFFS (4) 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600 each
  HP 70 each (see page 59) 
  TACTICS 
  During Combat Each shadow mastiff uses its bay ability 
  and then attempts to flank the PCs. 
  Morale The shadow mastiffs fight to the death. 
  Treasure: If the PCs search the corpse here, they find a 
  numbing taclash, a nyfiber net, an ultra-capacity battery, and 
  a credstick with 290 credits on it.
  e23. MAintenAnCe RooM
  The door to this room can be opened only with a gray or black 
  Eclipse key card. Similar to those in the maintenance rooms 
  on other levels of the black site, a computer console on the 
  northeastern wall controls the lighting, security features, and 
  doors throughout the third level. See area E8 for details about 
  the computer’s modules.
  Treasure: A locked metal cabinet in the southeastern 
  corner of the room (Engineering DC 30 to disable) contains 
  gear confiscated from the level’s former prisoners, including a 
  suit of lashunta mind mail IIAR, a ysoki refractor suit, a yellow 
  star plasma doshko, and two high-capacity batteries.
  e24. CoLD stoRAge
  The door to this room can be opened only with a gray or black 
  Eclipse key card.
  What at first appear to be slabs of frozen meat stacked 
  in the center of this bare stone room are, upon closer 
  inspection, humanoid bodies. The lifeless corpses are piled 
  haphazardly in a heap of bloodless flesh, their skin bluish-
  white and marred with frost. Their faces are eternally frozen 
  into masks of terror. 
  This room is kept at a constant 18° F to prevent the 
  corpses within from decaying. The bodies belong to dozens 
  of experiment victims who died within the complex and were 
  dumped in this room for later disposal. 
  e25. eMpty HoLDing CeLL
  The door to this room can be opened only with a gray or black 
  Eclipse key card.
  This sparse holding cell contains two cots and a rusty drain. 
  The cement walls of this stark chamber are stained with 
  various bodily fluids, and the whole area reeks of death. 
  This cell used to hold unruly employees and test subjects. 
  As his plans to transport the black site to the Shadow Plane 
  have moved closer to fruition, Kaeon had the captives killed 
  and their bodies taken to cold storage (area E24).
  e26. stuRDy HoLDing CeLL
  The door to this room can be opened only with a gray or black 
  Eclipse key card. The darkness within the cell can only be 
  pierced with magical light.
  The shadows of this small cell seem to twist and move of their 
  own volition, and there is a chill in the air. The bed against the 
  northern wall appears to have partially melted into the stone 
  floor. Deep gouges line the cement walls.
  This smaller holding cell was designed to house 
  particularly reticent prisoners and the dangerous results 
  of experiments too valuable to destroy. A pile of clothes, 
  once belonging to the only occupant, lies in the center of 
  the room.
  A former Eclipse executive named Taganth Wisle fully 
  succumbed to Dr. Gragant’s corrupting signal shortly after 
  he relocated to the black site, and Kaeon locked him away in 
  this cell. In the intervening days, Taganth melted completely 
  into shadow. When the PCs enter the room, they feel as if 
  they are being watched, but they can’t quite pinpoint from 
  where. A PC who casts a detect magic spell reveals that 
  the room is drenched in magic. In the end, the PCs won’t be 
  attacked when they enter to grab the treasure, but don’t let 
  them know that!
  Treasure: The PCs can find a black Eclipse key card in the 
  pile of clothes, a credstick containing 500 credits, and a photo 
  ID of Taganth Wisle.
  e27. fouRtH-fLooR Lift (CR 12)
  This area is similar to area E2, though it opens directly into a 
  large chamber.
  34
  
  Trap: Kaeon Rhyse installed a trap outside the lift to 
  protect his personal bunker. The first person who steps out 
  of the lift is targeted by a lancet on the end of a robotic arm. 
  The lancet deals damage if it hits, but it also secretly injects a 
  technomagical microchip into the target’s blood that emulates 
  a dominate person spell. Kaeon Rhyse gains telepathic control 
  over that person (unless she succeeds at a Will saving throw), 
  ordering her to behave normally until she enters area E30, 
  whereupon he exerts full control over that person during any 
  fight that follows.
  OBEDIENCE IMPLANT TRAP  
  CR 12
  XP 19,200
  Type hybrid; Perception DC 38; Disable Engineering 
  DC 33 (disable lancet) or Mysticism DC 33 (render 
  implant ineffective)
  Trigger proximity (visual, 10 feet); Reset manual
  Effect lancet +27 melee (3d6+10 P plus dominate person); 
  Will DC 21 negates dominate person effect
  e28. obseRvAtion DeCk
  This room is carved out of twinkling ice. A transparent 
  rectangle set into the floor offers a glimpse of the level 
  below, showing a muddle of wires and tubes that appears 
  to be a small section of an immense machine. To the east, 
  the chamber opens onto a balcony that looks out into a 
  deep crevasse. Freezing wind whips through the area, 
  howling like the cries of a wounded animal. 
  The transparent section of the floor shows part of a 
  machine below. A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 Physical 
  Science check can identify the machine as a particle 
  accelerator. A PC who succeeds at a DC 32 Mysticism 
  check can sense the magical planar energy emanating from 
  the accelerator. 
  Due to the room’s unique construction and the open 
  balcony, the air temperature here is a constant 20° F, which 
  could affect PCs if they stay here too long. The icy surfaces 
  here count as difficult terrain, and the DCs for Acrobatics 
  checks attempted here are increased by 5. 
  e29. MAintenAnCe RooM
  Similar to those in the maintenance rooms on other levels of 
  the black site, a computer console on the northwestern wall 
  controls the lighting, security features, and doors throughout 
  this level. See area E8 for details about the computer’s 
  modules; the lighting on this level can’t be raised above 
  dim light. Additionally, this room contains security-camera 
  viewing screens and a microphone capable of sending public-
  address messages through the speakers located in many of 
  the black site’s rooms. 
  This room is also carved out of ice, and the temperature 
  here remains a constant 20° F.
  e30. exeCutive bunkeR (CR 12)
  This area is protected by private sanctum. No matter the light 
  level of the rest of the level, the PCs are confronted by a dark, 
  foggy curtain halfway down the steps from area E28. When 
  they pass through, read or paraphrase the following.
  A metal platform built into the ice rises fifteen feet high to 
  the west, a ladder leading up to it. A control panel built into 
  the machinery beneath the platform houses a complex set of 
  buttons and switches. Above, a huge screen occupies most 
  of the wall. A pallid male verthani in a dark business suit 
  stands on the platform and spreads his arms in welcome.
  “We meet again,” Kaeon Rhyse announces. His protruding, 
  jet-black eyes and crazed grin give his face the appearance 
  of a mask. “These are my associates.” He gestures to indicate 
  two muscular female verthani standing to either side of him. 
  Their armor is cut to expose parts of their scarred flesh. 
  Burns on their chests form the shape of humanoid skulls 
  with chains strung through the eye sockets. Their faces 
  are mangled by ritual scarification, and piercings through 
  the bridges of their nose, cheeks, and foreheads stretch 
  their skin to reveal open wounds. A blade is grafted to each 
  verthani’s left arm at the elbow.
  “I used to believe that poverty was the scourge of the 
  galaxy, that overcoming it would create better worlds for 
  everyone. Dr. Gragant showed me the truth. I now know that 
  pain is the real enemy. Pain is a plague that preys on both the 
  rich and poor.” Kaeon indicates the screen behind him. Images 
  of amputees, starving children, wounded soldiers, and sick 
  elderly humanoids punctuate his words. “Some people may be 
  able to cheat death, but pain is inescapable. It is always with 
  us. Dr. Gragant worked for years to eliminate pain, and she 
  failed, until her transformation brought her enlightenment. 
  The only way to conquer pain is to change our perception of it. 
  That is the gift she offers us. Will you accept?”
  This room is a private retreat for Kaeon Rhyse, where he 
  can meditate and communicate with Dr. Gragant. It became 
  his living quarters after he left his old life in Cuvacara. The 
  folded-up cots to the southeast provide a place for Kaeon 
  and his bodyguards to rest. A recharging station stands in 
  the eastern corner of the room near the beds. Using the 
  recharging station here incurs no cost. 
  The control panel operates the particle accelerator below 
  the site, which is imbued with enough technomagical energy 
  to transport the entire complex to the Shadow Plane. 
  Hazard: As the PCs listen to Kaeon’s speech, they experience 
  an inner conflict as voices whisper to them from the shadows, 
  reinforcing the verthani’s message. Each PC must succeed at 
  a Will save to resist advancing their shadow corruption (see 
  Shadow Corruption on page 3).
  Creatures: Kaeon Rhyse waits here for the PCs. As he 
  watched them make their way through the complex, he offered 
  them some choice tidbits of wisdom from the broadcast studio 
  35
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  in area E19, but when he realized their progress wouldn’t be 
  easily stopped, he retreated to his bunker. His bodyguards, 
  two corrupted female verthani, accompany him. 
  Kaeon belongs to Dr. Gragant, body and soul, and he 
  genuinely believes that her corrupting influences will free the 
  mortal world from pain. He entreats the PCs to join him. If the 
  PCs remain peaceful and ask questions, Kaeon can reveal any 
  of the adventure path’s background information you feel the 
  PCs still need to discover, focusing mainly on Dr. Gragant’s 
  plans and current location. If any PC asks how they can purge 
  themselves of the shadow corruption, Kaeon laughs and 
  says, “Only Dr. Gragant can do such a thing, and she has no 
  intention of depriving you in that way.”
  Kaeon talks to the group for as long as he believes they are 
  considering switching to his side. If the PCs refuse to convert, he 
  and his bodyguards attack; at this point, he commands any PC 
  affected by the obedience implant (area E27) to fight at his side.
  During combat, Kaeon activates the particle accelerator 
  under the complex by flipping a switch on the control panel. 
  A visible wave of powerful magical energy washes over 
  the bunker, but it has no other obvious effects. A PC who 
  succeeds at a DC 30 Mysticism check recognizes the energy 
  as planar energy. Though the PCs won’t realize it right away, 
  the particle accelerator transported the entire black site—
  including the PCs—to the Shadow Plane (see Concluding 
  the Adventure).
  UMBRAL DISCIPLES (2) 
  CR 8 
  XP 4,800 each
  Female verthani (Starfinder Alien Archive 118) 
  LE Medium humanoid (verthani)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +16
  DEFENSE 
  HP 125 EACH
  EAC 20; KAC 22
  Fort +12; Ref +10; Will +7
  Defensive Abilities integrated weapons; DR 2/—; 
  Resistances cold 10
  Weaknesses light blindness 
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee integrated wrack devastation blade +19 (2d8+14 S)
  Offensive Abilities channel negative energy (4d6, DC 16)
  TACTICS 
  During Combat The umbral disciples enter melee range and 
  channel negative energy to harm the PCs. They attempt 
  to keep the PCs from attacking Kaeon Rhyse, using 
  their Stand Still feat to halt any movement toward the 
  executive if possible. 
  Morale The umbral disciples rejoice in the pain of battle, 
  fighting to the death to protect Dr. Gragant’s chosen 
  representative on the Material Plane.
  STATISTICS
  Str +6; Dex +2; Con +1; Int +0; Wis +4; Cha –2
  Skills Athletics +16, Intimidate +21, Mysticism +16
  Feats Stand Still
  Languages Aklo, Common, Verthani
  Other Abilities easily augmented, shadow manifestations 
  (coldblooded*, eerie perception*, pain refuge*), skin mimic
  Gear lashunta ringwear III, wrack devastation blade; 
  Augmentations mk 2 dermal plating
  SPECIAL ABILITIES 
  Channel Negative Energy (Su) Three times per day as a full 
  action, an umbral disciple can channel negative energy 
  in a 30-foot-radius burst, dealing 4d8 negative energy 
  damage to all living creatures. A successful DC 16 Will 
  saving throw halves this damage.
  * See “Corrupted by Shadows” on page 40 of Starfinder 
  Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain.
  KAEON RHYSE 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  Male verthani technomancer (Starfinder Alien Archive 118)
  LE Medium humanoid (verthani)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +21
  DEFENSE 
  HP 138 RP 5
  EAC 22; KAC 23
  Fort +9; Ref +9; Will +13
  Weaknesses light blindness
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee ultrathin switchblade +16 (2d4+10 S)
  Ranged elite semi-auto pistol +18 (3d6+10 P) or 
  cryo grenade II +18 (explode [15 ft., 2d8 C plus 
  staggered, DC 19])
  Technomancer Spells Known (CL 10th; melee +16, 
  ranged +18) 
  4th (3/day)—overload systems (DC 22), rewire flesh 
  (DC 22)
  3rd (6/day)—arcing surge (DC 21), discharge (DC 21), 
  haste, lesser resistant armor
  2nd (at will)—inject nanobots (DC 20), mirror image
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Kaeon has been observing the PCs’ actions 
  through his surveillance equipment, and when he knows 
  they are close, he casts lesser resistant armor, choosing 
  two energy types used by the PCs. He then casts haste 
  and mirror image.
  During Combat Kaeon uses his spell grenade magic hack 
  to imbue a grenade with overload systems. He positions 
  himself out of the PCs’ reach while his bodyguards engage 
  them. If Kaeon Rhyse sustains significant damage from 
  a single attack, he activates his void heart manifestation 
  as a reaction to transfer half of the damage to one of his 
  bodyguards (who doesn’t resist). If reduced to 60 Hit 
  Points or fewer, Kaeon uses shadow jaunt to get to a 
  position where he can use a mk 3 healing serum. 
  36
  
  Morale Kaeon’s sole purpose is to follow Dr. Gragant’s 
  orders, and he fights to the death to prevent the PCs 
  from ruining her plans.
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +5; Con +2; Int +8; Wis +3; Cha +1
  Skills Acrobatics +24, Computers +24, Culture +19, 
  Mysticism +19
  Languages Aklo, Common, Verthani
  Other Abilities cache capacitor 1 (keen senses), easily 
  augmented, magic hacks (spell grenade, tech 
  countermeasures), shadow manifestations (eerie 
  perception*, insubstantiality*, shadow jaunt*, void 
  heart*), skin mimic, spell cache (accelerated datajack)
  Gear white carbon carbon skin (white force field), elite 
  semi-auto pistol with 30 small arm rounds, ultrathin 
  switchbladeAR, cryo grenades II (2), mk 3 serums of 
  healing (2); Augmentations accelerated datajack, storage 
  prosthetic limb (arm)
  * See “Corrupted by Shadows” on page 40 of Starfinder 
  Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain.
  Development: If the PCs defeat Kaeon Rhyse, they can 
  choose to continue exploring the black site at their leisure or exit 
  the complex. If the PCs rest within the bunker, they experience 
  vivid nightmares similar to the dream in Event 1. They also hear 
  whispers and far-off screams while using the recharging station. 
  When the PCs emerge from the black site, they discover 
  their ship is missing and doesn’t respond to any attempts to 
  communicate with it! A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Culture 
  check knows that Cuvacara is the nearest large Vercite city to 
  their current location, though there should be smaller towns 
  in Vimal between here and there. Their only recourse is to 
  begin the trek out of the Klebani Range on foot.
  Less than an hour later, they come across what appears 
  to be an abandoned village. All indications point to this 
  village being in the Ring of Nations. Continuing on their way, 
  they reach a ruined city draped in shadows a little over an 
  hour later. From their earlier time there, the PCs instantly 
  recognize this place as Cuvacara, but it is far more empty 
  and desolate than they left it! 
  The PCs come to two terrible realizations. First, it should 
  have taken much longer to walk to Cuvacara from the black 
  site than it did. Second, they should be able to see the sun by 
  this point. A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 Mysticism check 
  realizes that the planar energies discharged by the black site’s 
  particle accelerator must have transported the entire complex 
  to the Shadow Plane!
  37
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  CONCLUDING 
  THE ADVENTURE
  
  CUVACARA
  CUVACARA
  My body may wander, but, as cliché as it sounds, 
  my heart yearns always for Cuvacara. I could 
  travel across the universe and never find another 
  city to rival its grandeur. For millennia, the cradle 
  of the Klebani Range has protected our city, and 
  the winding Rudoan River inspired our eternal 
  wanderlust. From the lemniscate green belt at the 
  city’s heart to its glass skyscrapers that mirror the 
  crimson sky, Cuvacara is a jewel set within that 
  twilight between dreams and reality, an unsleeping 
  metropolis where anything is possible.
  —From the memoirs of Anefthi Xaeus, aether pilot
  38
  
  A
  s the capital city of Vimal (one of the larger 
  members of the Ring of Nations located on 
  Verces’s terminator belt), Cuvacara has a well-
  deserved intergalactic reputation for its beauty, culture, and 
  technological advancement. It nestles within a valley just 
  north of the Klebani Range, and enjoys some protection from 
  Verces’s storms inside the mountains’ rain shadow. To the 
  north of Cuvacara lies the Rudoan River, a small tributary of 
  one of the planet’s larger waterways. 
  Like all cities within the Ring of Nations, Cuvacara exists 
  in a state of perpetual twilight. Due to its close proximity 
  to Fullbright, however, the constant light conditions within 
  Cuvacara closely resemble an offworld sunset, and many 
  foreign visitors find comfort in the brighter light here 
  as opposed to the darker environs of the city’s eastern 
  neighbors. The constant golden quality that seems to 
  suffuse Cuvacara’s landscape inspired its first non-Vercite 
  inhabitants to christen the city “The Dusk Jewel,” a nickname 
  eagerly embraced by the locals.
  Even among its many breathtakingly beautiful and 
  technologically advanced sister cities, Cuvacara truly is a 
  sight to behold. An amalgam of different architectural styles 
  coexists within the city. Wavy triangular spires shoot up from 
  the ground like the leaves of desert succulents, towering 
  over iridescent glass domes. Cloud-piercing towers house 
  businesses and residences throughout the city, connected 
  by sky bridges constructed of transparent aluminum and 
  sapphire. Bullet trains and commuter vehicles zoom through 
  the multitiered network of roads below, and dusky shadows 
  partially conceal the city’s ground level.
  CUVACARA  
  N metropolis
  Population 30 million (55% verthani, 15% shirren, 10% 
  human, 5% kasatha, 5% ysoki, 1% ryphorian, 9% other) 
  Government council (coalition appointed by Grand Assembly) 
  Qualities cultured, economically disparate, technologically 
  advanced
  Maximum Item Level 20th
  QUALITIES 
  Economically Disparate The citizens of the settlement are 
  unofficially but firmly organized into economic classes, 
  and the difference in income between the highest and 
  lowest of these classes is quite dramatic.
  HISTORY
  Though historians dispute when the verthani first settled 
  in Vimal, written records that seem to date before the Gap 
  contain census and trade records for the area that is now 
  Cuvacara. The common agreement among academics holds 
  that early verthani settlers first ventured closer to Fullbright 
  as a result of traveling the network of river tributaries 
  located within the terminator belt. Indeed, the Rudoan River 
  north of the city was a major trade and transportation route 
  before space and air travel developed. In centuries past, 
  proud river yachts traversed the Rudoan River, carrying 
  goods and people across Vimal. 
  The Rudoan River’s importance for transportation 
  gradually waned as the verthani transitioned from existence 
  as a planet-locked people to a space-faring collection of 
  nations. The river still retains some of its usefulness to the 
  Cuvacara of today, however. Industrial plants in the city’s 
  Southwest Facet draw in water from the river by way of 
  underground pipes to use as a coolant. Cuvacara’s spaceport 
  is built on a lofty island on a wider section of the waterway 
  known as Rudoan Lake, and is second only to Skydock in 
  its amount of commercial and private air traffic. In the city’s 
  North Facet, high-end communities and opulent resorts 
  dot the river’s beaches. Some wealthy citizens of Cuvacara 
  still enjoy sailing, and pleasure yachts can often be seen 
  skimming the Rudoan’s surface.
  Even at the end of the Gap, Cuvacara was an urban 
  powerhouse, with diverse neighborhoods, gridded streets, 
  and a system of bullet trains providing public transportation 
  to all citizens. The Cuvacara Spaceport was quickly converted 
  to receive the new Drift-capable starships that soon populated 
  the system, though Vercite aetherships can still be seen here 
  to this day. When shirren refugees arrived on Verces over 
  200 years ago, many of them flocked to Cuvacara to enjoy its 
  cosmopolitan amenities and the bustling populace of the city 
  welcomed them with open arms.
  SOCIETY
  The residents of Cuvacara are quick to claim that they were 
  some of the first verthani to abandon their millennia-old 
  caste system in favor of a modern paradigm, though it is 
  almost impossible to prove this assertion. However, when 
  the verthani emerged from the Gap, it was clear that most 
  of Cuvacara’s citizens weren’t beholden to the rigid caste 
  system of the past. As trade with other planets began to 
  rise with the introduction of Drift travel and Cuvacara’s 
  tech industry boomed, a new social order rose in Cuvacara: 
  economic classes. All of the metropolis’s residents keenly feel 
  this unofficial categorization. Though Cuvacara is equipped 
  with abundant resources to provide for its impoverished 
  citizens, a stark disparity between the rich and the poor still 
  exists within the city.
  The upper tiers of Cuvacara are a bastion of wealth and 
  prosperity. Successful business executives and merchants 
  can afford to live and work on the top floors of the city’s 
  glittering skyscrapers, but many immigrants and locals 
  alike fall short of the income required to participate in the 
  higher echelons of Cuvacaran society. These folk are often 
  obligated to seek housing elsewhere.
  Beneath the gleaming buildings and fragile skywalks lies 
  a teeming underworld bustling with activity. Derogatorily 
  termed the Shade, the darkened lower streets of Cuvacara 
  are home to economically disadvantaged citizens, who are 
  39
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  40
  RUDOAN RIVER
  NORTHWEST 
  FACET
  NORTH
  FACET
  THE GLOAMING
  CUVACARA SPACEPORT
  HEART OF CUVACARA
  RUDOAN LAKE
  NORTHEAST 
  FACET
  ASSEMBLY
  OF NATIONS
  SOUTHEAST
  FACET
  SOUTH
  FACET
  SOUTHWEST
  FACET
  WEST
  FACET
  3 MILES
  EAST 
  FACET
  40
  
  41
  forced to live side by side with notorious criminals. In the 
  Shade, neon-lit cantinas and lounges stay open at all hours 
  to cater to questionable clientele. Hundreds of restaurants 
  and small businesses cater to the lower economic classes 
  who settle in the Shade, and these establishments often 
  serve double duty as money-laundering operations for 
  their enterprising owners. Black-market deals are closed 
  in shadowy alleys and seedy clubs. Back-alley cybernetic 
  shops and hacker dens enjoy brisk traffic in the Shade, all 
  while upstanding corporate workers and dignitaries speed 
  past on bullet trains, content to look the other way.
  Though a marked economic dichotomy prevails within the 
  city, the majority of Cuvacara’s poor never have to worry 
  about going hungry. Under the old caste system, verthani 
  traditionally shared resources equally among all citizens. 
  Some of the oldest recorded laws of Vimal provide for 
  a universal basic income in the form 
  of food and housing. This practice 
  continues in Cuvacara today. Cuvacara’s 
  fresh markets and supply dispensaries 
  provide free parcels of food and other 
  necessities to all residents, and even the 
  worst slums are connected to the city’s 
  free power grid. 
  Now that credits have replaced food 
  as the universal currency, however, 
  the old laws struggle to keep up with 
  the times. While even the poorest 
  Cuvacarans 
  are 
  clothed 
  and 
  fed, 
  they often feel lost in a society that 
  increasingly 
  revolves 
  around 
  costly 
  technology and space travel. Compulsory 
  and free public education extends only 
  to the lowest collegiate levels, and many 
  impoverished children leave school well 
  before then to help support their families. 
  Without the skills to market themselves in a 
  competitive corporate and industrial market, 
  a large number of these children grow up to 
  be the new Pure Ones, unaugmented not by 
  choice but because of a lack of credits. Some of 
  these instead individuals turn to crime in order 
  to earn the finances necessary to live a more 
  comfortable life. 
  Still other disadvantaged youth seek 
  employment in the police force. Working 
  as an officer of the peace is an attractive 
  occupation 
  for 
  indigent 
  Cuvacarans, 
  provided a resident can pass the physical 
  and psychological tests to join. The city 
  funds augmentations and tech for all of 
  its police officers. This free access to 
  expensive 
  technology 
  coupled 
  with a tidy salary allows many 
  disadvantaged Cuvacarans to provide for themselves and 
  their families without completing years of expensive higher 
  education. Cuvacara’s current chief of police, Kulakar Pumal 
  (LG male verthani soldier) is living proof of the benefits 
  available to poor residents through the police force, having 
  worked his way up from poor beginnings. Kulakar is part 
  of a coalition that actively lobbies for government-funded 
  collegiate education for all officers of the peace, and his 
  recently proposed Education Initiative was met with 
  overwhelming support in Cuvacara.
  For those seeking a higher salary, employment within 
  the myriad corporate security squads operating within 
  Cuvacara is an appealing option, though off-world relocation 
  is common and some of the assignments are of dubious 
  morality. Enlisting in either private or public police sectors 
  is not without its risks, but many destitute Cuvacarans 
  are willing to take their chances. 
  RESOURCES
  Regular trade across the independent Ring of Nations 
  currently provides plenty of food and water for 
  all citizens to survive, and Cuvacarans have 
  access to numerous offworld imports 
  as well as produce from farms east 
  of the city. In addition, hydroponic 
  gardens throughout Cuvacara produce 
  berries, fungi, herbs, and leafy greens. 
  This produce can be purchased in small 
  fresh markets located within the city or 
  harvested directly from residential co-
  ops on the rooftops of most apartment 
  buildings. Luxury apartments typically 
  forgo these co-ops for skygardens 
  that feature inedible plants chosen 
  for looks rather than functionality, 
  since residents with higher incomes can 
  afford to directly import their own supplies. 
  The traditional Cuvacaran diet includes 
  very little meat and is heavily reliant on fish 
  caught in the Rudoan River. As concerns 
  about the river’s pollution have grown in 
  recent decades, consumers overwhelmingly 
  turned to prepackaged insect and vegetable 
  protein. Luckily, culinary synthesizers can 
  make such raw supplies taste like nearly any 
  cuisine imaginable.
  Cuvacara is home to a thriving industrial 
  complex, mostly dedicated to the manufacture 
  of cybernetic augmentations and computer 
  components. Thousands of corporations own 
  offices and factories in Vimal’s capital. 
  The manufacturing processes for 
  these goods are overwhelmingly 
  automated, however, with little 
  41
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  KULAKAR PUMAL
  
  need for living workers. This abundance of technology means 
  that prototype and knockoff versions of otherwise expensive 
  devices are available in Cuvacara at low prices, though the 
  entrepreneurs who deal in cut-rate tech are often unscrupulous 
  about selling counterfeit or stolen items. 
  CONFLICTS AND THREATS
  As citizens of a socialist society governed by elected 
  representatives, residents of Cuvacara and Vimal as a whole 
  have a say in their government’s policies, and the populace is 
  generally peaceful. Crime in Cuvacara predominately takes 
  the form of corrupt business practices, theft, and other 
  nonviolent crimes. The city’s police force mostly concerns 
  itself with violent criminals, and due to its vigilance, 
  Cuvacara is generally a safe place to live. 
  Though 
  political 
  organizations 
  demanding 
  radical 
  social change or seeking an overhaul of ecological policy 
  occasionally see some of their membership splinter off 
  into terrorist cells, most dissenters express their opinions 
  through peaceful demonstration and government lobbying. 
  Citizens of Cuvacara often experience commuter delays as 
  a result of the nearly constant protests both in the city’s 
  center and outside the Assembly of Nations building.
  Two of the more notorious political groups based in 
  Cuvacara are Equilibrium and Puretopia. Equilibrium 
  believes that Verces’ abundant renewable resources will 
  soon not be enough to keep up with population growth. 
  Equilibrium’s law-abiding members frequently lobby for 
  reproductive restrictions within Cuvacara, maintaining 
  a stance that limiting the number of children born to 
  residents will save the city from an impending crisis of 
  overpopulation. Radical members of the organization call for 
  euthanasia of the city’s disabled, sick, and elderly to balance 
  the population. Equilibrium’s main branch tries to divorce 
  itself from association with these zealots, but public opinion 
  condemns the organization as a whole.
  Puretopia is an anti-technology organization. Its leaders 
  published a manifesto renouncing verthani dependence on 
  technology, citing concerns that a massive infrastructure 
  failure would reduce Cuvacara to an anarchic wasteland. 
  Rumors suggest that Puretopia is part of the wider Banner 
  of Purity movement, though it’s unclear if the two groups 
  have a legitimate connection. Nine years ago, members of 
  Puretopia were responsible for simultaneous attacks on 
  corporate buildings in the East Facet and tech factories in 
  the Southwest Facet. The incident resulted in millions of 
  credits’ worth of property damage and the loss of nearly 
  two dozen lives. The individuals responsible were ultimately 
  arrested and publicly tried for their crimes. Cuvacaran police 
  remain dedicated to preventing further domestic terrorism, 
  but the specter of Puretopia is a constant fear in the city.
  Less deadly but more insidious threats also mar the Dusk 
  Jewel. Cybercrime is rampant in Cuvacara. Many criminal 
  hackers seek asylum in Vimal’s capital because of the nation’s 
  anti-extradition policies, further enticed by the proximity to 
  the corporations they target. Syzygy, a self-styled hacktivist 
  group dedicated to exposing corporate corruption, famously 
  operates within Cuvacara’s borders. Noname (N female 
  android mechanic) is a legendary hacktivist associated with 
  the group. Like most Syzygy members, Noname guards the 
  details of her true identity well, and on Cuvacara’s densely 
  populated streets, she could be anyone. 
  Among Cuvacara’s residents, however, the most 
  ubiquitous conflict exists between the haves and the have-
  nots. Rich verthani citizens pay lip service to their traditional 
  cultural values by donating to charity or volunteering 
  in government-sponsored fresh markets. Behind closed 
  doors, however, they enjoy luxuries that the city’s poor 
  can only dream of. Citizens born into poverty rarely rise 
  to the upper echelons of society, even though doing so is, 
  in theory, possible. Such an increase in station requires a 
  combination of immense inborn talent, an incredible work 
  ethic, and unlikely strokes of luck. Those who manage to 
  break the cycle of poverty often find themselves the target 
  of an unspoken but potent prejudice infecting their new 
  social circles. This dislike goes both ways, as many low-
  income residents are convinced that affluent Cuvacarans 
  are greedy and wasteful, and that their wealth should 
  evenly redistributed to all people in the city. As accepting 
  as Cuvacaran verthani are of other cultures and races, they 
  are often cruelly biased against members of their own race, 
  based solely on differences in income. 
  NOTABLE LOCATIONS
  The city of Cuvacara is divided into eight sectors, commonly 
  called “facets” in keeping with the city’s beloved nickname. 
  Only a few of these facets are zoned for specific uses, and 
  residential areas exist alongside commercial enterprises 
  throughout most of Cuvacara. The following sectors and 
  areas of interest are found within the Dusk Jewel.
  ASSEMBLY OF NATIONS
  Located within the city’s East Facet, this cluster of 
  cylindrical spires constructed of artificial transparent 
  sapphire provides a space for representatives of the Grand 
  Assembly—the Ring of Nations’ central government—to 
  meet and make policy. Symbolically, the towers’ building 
  material represents the transparency of government within 
  the Grand Assembly. The four towers surround an ancient 
  black obelisk bearing this inscription: “From strength unity, 
  from unity strength. Thus do we stand against chaos, thus 
  do we honor their sacrifice.” An engraved rune of unknown 
  meaning that exudes a magical aura follows this text. The 
  obelisk is one of many identical monuments located around 
  the country of Vimal. Though their significance is lost to 
  history, some believe the obelisks may hold clues about the 
  reasons behind the unification of the Ring of Nations and 
  the creation of the Stewards. 
  42
  
  HEART OF CUVACARA
  Cuvacara’s central point is marked by a loop of roadways that 
  form the shape of a lemniscate. A popular saying in Cuvacara 
  holds that all paths meet here before diverging, carrying the 
  people and goods that are Cuvacara’s lifeblood across the city. 
  The Heart of Cuvacara is surrounded by lush green parks and 
  tiered hydroponic gardens, and is a popular tourist destination. 
  Various social justice and environmental groups protest here 
  regularly, usually countered by oppositional organizations. 
  Occasionally, these demonstrations turn violent and end in 
  police intervention.
  NORTH FACET
  This district is a patchwork of homes, commercial buildings, 
  and government facilities housed within a network of 
  skyscrapers connected by transparent skywalks and bullet-
  train tubes. The highly coveted riverfront property in this area 
  is the playground of the wealthy. As it is Cuvacara’s oldest 
  facet, local legend tells of catacombs that exist beneath 
  the facet’s current structures. These relics of millennia-old 
  verthani civilization do in fact exist, and visitors can even 
  book tours limited to safe sections of the historical ruins. As in 
  many old places, ancient secrets and lost treasures lie hidden 
  beneath the present-day city streets, and hearty explorers 
  willing to brave the risks of collapse, forgotten traps, and 
  police interference might venture to explore these ruins. 
  THE GLOAMING
  Located in the North Facet on the banks of the Rudoan River, 
  the Gloaming is a luxury housing development equipped with 
  private security, as well as its own central park and exclusive 
  beaches. Unlike the elevated communities of the Northwest 
  Facet, the Gloaming is open to paying visitors. Several upscale 
  hotels and a beach resort cater to nonresidents who can 
  afford the amenities. A few different corporations own real 
  estate in the Gloaming, at least on paper, but popular rumor 
  has it that a single individual owns the entire development. 
  Reptoid sightings have been reported at the elite resorts and 
  hotel casinos in the Gloaming, and local conspiracy theorists 
  smile knowingly as they confirm the existence of a shadowy 
  network of reptoids vying for control of the entire city. 
  NORTHEAST FACET
  An island within a wide section of the Rudoan River called 
  Rudoan Lake hosts the Cuvacara Spaceport. The island rises 
  to an elevation of 1,000 feet above the water’s surface, 
  surrounded on all sides by treacherous cliffs. Accessible by 
  both bullet train tubes and vehicle bridges, the spaceport is a 
  large, dome-shaped structure surrounded by multiple launch 
  and landing pads. All manner of spacecraft, excepting the 
  largest freighters, can safely access the port; truly immense 
  cargo ships instead dock at Skydock, where smaller shuttles 
  operated by contracted pilots wait to ferry their goods to 
  the Cuvacara spaceport. 
  The spaceport is large enough to occupy the island in its 
  entirety, and the Northeast Facet is zoned for the sole purpose 
  of space travel and ship storage. Hangars built into the 
  island’s sheer cliffsides offer secure docking for commercial 
  and personal spacecraft for daily fees. A host of attendants, 
  mechanics, and pilots are employed by the spaceport, where 
  anyone can purchase a ticket for the regular commercial 
  flights that travel not only to other Vercite cities, but also to a 
  variety of locations around the Pact Worlds. It’s common for 
  private ship captains to recruit crew members here, or offer 
  passage on their craft for the right price. Despite security 
  efforts, stowaways are relatively common.
  NORTHWEST FACET
  Cuvacara’s Northwest Facet simultaneously contains some 
  of the best and worst of the city’s residential facilities. Many 
  of the city’s elite make their homes here in secure, gated 
  communities accessible only via high-security elevators. 
  Below these sky-mansions, however, the Shade thrives. 
  Government-subsidized housing dominates the ground 
  levels of the Northwest Facet. This area is divided into gang-
  controlled territories rarely patrolled by the city’s police. 
  Wealthy Northwest Facet residents often hire bodyguards to 
  escort their families through the crime-ridden slums beneath 
  their lofty homes. A recent string of kidnappings and ransoms 
  among the ultra-rich has led these individuals to form a 
  coalition that actively seeks capable individuals to find and 
  punish those responsible. 
  WEST FACET
  The West Facet of Cuvacara is home to the corporate sector, 
  an area specifically zoned for office buildings owned by 
  offworld corporations. Though Cuvacara maintains its own 
  justice system and police force, corporate security squads 
  who shoot first and ask questions later also patrol here, 
  meaning that in this sector, trespassing is frequently a death 
  sentence. The corporations responsible quickly cover up any 
  fatalities, and as long as no one of consequence meets their 
  end in the West Facet, Cuvacaran residents remain generally 
  unaware of these casualties. 
  EAST FACET
  This large district contains the Assembly of Nations 
  building (see page 42), and thus is another popular site for 
  demonstrations and protests. Since visiting dignitaries and 
  local politicians frequent the East Facet, this is one of the 
  more heavily policed areas of Cuvacara.
  In addition to many hotels and apartment buildings built 
  specifically for these government functionaries, the East Facet 
  is home to dozens of restaurants and nightclubs that cater to 
  these same individuals. Most are upscale establishments that 
  offer various cuisines from around the planet, but the small 
  coffee shops and greasy-spoon diners still do a brisk business 
  with overworked individuals looking for a quick repast.
  43
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  As the first Pact Worlds race to enhance their bodies and 
  minds with cybernetic augmentations, verthani have always 
  been on the cutting age of this technology. New cybernetics 
  are often available in Cuvacara before they hit the intergalactic 
  market. The following unique technological augmentations 
  were patented in Cuvacara and are available for purchase 
  within the city.
  These cybernetics include new ways that a character can 
  augment her body with technological augmentations. Page 
  208 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook explains how to implant, 
  replace, and activate cybernetic augmentations.
  NAME
  LEVEL
  PRICE
  SYSTEM
  Emotional regulator
  4
  2,120
  Brain
  Bionic knees
  5
  2,750
  All legs
  Detoxifier, standard
  5
  3,500
  Heart
  Adaptive fingerprints
  6
  4,030
  All hands
  Biosynthetic nanites, mk 1
  6
  4,450
  Skin
  Polarizing palm
  7
  5,850
  Hand
  Adrenal booster
  8
  8,900
  Endocrine
  Biosynthetic nanites, mk 2
  9
  13,700
  Skin
  Artificial third eye
  10
  18,000
  Brain and eyes
  Detoxifier, enhanced
  12
  39,500
  Heart
  Linguistic capacitor
  12
  36,600
  Brain
  Biosynthetic nanites, mk 3
  13
  50,900
  Skin
  Detoxifier, elite
  19
  612,000
  Heart
  ADAPTIVE FINGERPRINTS 
   
  SYSTEM
  All Hands
  PRICE 4,030 
   
  LEVEL 6
  Originally created for military operatives but favored by 
  criminals throughout the galaxy, these pads of nanotech-
  infused artificial flesh replace the skin of your palms and 
  fingertips. You leave no identifying fingerprints behind when 
  touching an object or surface, and you can’t be identified 
  through your fingerprints. In addition, if you have access to 
  records of another individual’s fingerprints, you can spend 
  1 Resolve Point to create wrinkled patterns in the pads that 
  mimic those fingerprints for 1 hour, allowing you to bypass 
  security features or leave false evidence.
  ADRENAL BOOSTER 
   
  SYSTEM
  Endocrine
  PRICE 8,900 
   
  LEVEL 8
  This pair of nanocarbon devices replaces part of your adrenal 
  glands, and microscopic threads delicately link them to 
  your endocrine system. When you are dying, the number 
  of Resolve Points you need to stabilize is reduced by 1 (to a 
  minimum of 1 Resolve Point needed to stabilize). This ability 
  doesn’t stack with any other ability that allows you to spend 
  SOUTH FACET
  When their shifts end, many of Cuvacara’s citizens flock to the 
  South Facet to relax. The city’s entertainment district contains 
  grand theaters built of imported white and black marble that 
  host productions of the latest plays or screenings of newly 
  released holovids. Skyscrapers towering hundreds of stories 
  above the streets house a variety of clubs and bars, each 
  occupying their own floor. Many of the clubs here have their 
  own unique gimmicks, such as retro dive bars, vidgaming 
  lounges, and cabarets. Though club owners often employ 
  bouncers and have the city police force on speed dial, bloody 
  conflicts—both drunken brawls and public assassinations—
  have been known to occur in the South Facet, eagerly recorded 
  by bystanders looking for infosphere fame. However, this has 
  done little to discourage visitors from exploring this bustling 
  and vibrant part of the city.
  SOUTHEAST FACET
  The information and technological heart of the city, many of 
  Cuvacara’s reputable cybernetic shops and satellite towers 
  are located here. Technophiles are naturally drawn to the 
  area, and some infosphere celebrities own apartments in 
  this facet as well. Most notably, popular musician and model 
  Neva Kavetsaka (CG female verthani envoy) resides and 
  produces music and vids in this part of the city. More about 
  Neva Kavetsaka’s rise to fame and her affairs across the town 
  appears on page 22. 
  Elsewhere in the Southeast Facet, a competitive vidgaming 
  team known as Serendipity lives in a communal gaming 
  house equipped with cameras to provide live feeds of their 
  activities and training. Serendipity’s team captain, Schiskal 
  (N male shirren) rose to stardom as a result of his vidgaming 
  live streams. Schiskal famously sent out a running challenge 
  to other vidgamers offering a substantial reward to anyone 
  who can beat him one-on-one in any game of their choice. 
  Schiskal broadcasts these matches through the planetary 
  infosphere, and competitors who manage to hold their own 
  for a respectable amount of time can achieve temporary 
  celebrity status and receive offers to join other vidgaming 
  teams. Thus far, however, none have bested Schiskal. 
  SOUTHWEST FACET
  This district is also known as the industrial facet. The area 
  is reserved exclusively for factories and assembly plants. 
  Regardless of this zoning, the Southwest Facet’s drab, low-
  lying buildings shelter nomadic shanty towns constructed 
  by immigrant workers and homeless Cuvacarans. Since most 
  Cuvacaran industry is automated, these disenfranchised 
  laborers have a difficult time integrating into the city’s work 
  force. Runaways and aspiring criminals also tend to congregate 
  in the area, taking advantage of the district’s solitude. Try as 
  they might to relocate these down-and-out citizens to more 
  suitable parts of the city, Cuvacaran authorities find it difficult 
  to stem the living tide.
  VERCITE 
  AUGMENTATIONS
  44
  
  fewer Resolve Points to stabilize. In addition, once per day, 
  you can spend the required Resolve Points to stabilize and 1 
  additional Resolve Point to stay in the fight (regaining 1 Hit 
  Point) in the same round. 
  ARTIFICIAL THIRD EYE 
   
  SYSTEM
  Brain and eyes
  PRICE 18,000 
   
  LEVEL 10
  This crystalline nanocarbon node is implanted into your 
  occipital lobe and connected to your optic nerves with a 
  series of microscopic fibers. You can activate and deactivate 
  your artificial third eye with a move action. When activated, 
  an artificial third eye collects X-ray data and relays the 
  information gathered directly to your eyes. You gain sense 
  through (vision) with a range of 30 feet, though your vision is 
  limited to black-and-white. The amount of visual information 
  you receive when your artificial third eye is active can be 
  distracting, imposing a –4 penalty on initiative checks.
  BIONIC KNEES 
   
  SYSTEM
  All legs
  PRICE 2,750 
   
  LEVEL 5
  Complex actuators and servos are installed in your knees, 
  giving you the power to make impressive leaps. You always 
  count as having a running start when attempting Athletics 
  checks to jump. In addition, you don’t fall prone if you fail an 
  Athletics check to jump by 5 or more. Finally, the damage you 
  take from the first 10 feet of a fall is converted into nonlethal 
  damage, even if you aren’t falling onto a yielding surface.
  BIOSYNTHETIC NANITES 
   
  SYSTEM
  Skin
  Model 
  Level 
  Price 
  Treat Wounds Fast Healing
  Mk 1 
  6 
  4,450 
  2d8 Hit Points 
  2
  Mk 2 
  9 
  13,700 
  3d8 Hit Points 
  3
  Mk 3 
  13 
  50,900 
  6d8 Hit Points 
  6
  Once injected into the body, these nanites congregate just 
  under the epidermis and can quickly replicate to heal bodily 
  injuries. This augmentation allows you to spend 1  Resolve 
  Point as a swift action to activate the nanites’ treat wounds 
  capability, instantly regaining a number of Hit Points 
  depending on the model of biosynthetic nanites you have 
  installed. In addition, once per day as a full action as long as 
  you have Resolve Points remaining, you can overcharge the 
  nanites to gain an amount of fast healing depending on the 
  model of biosynthetic nanites you have installed for 1 minute. 
  If you do so, you can’t activate the treat wounds capability of 
  the augmentation until the next time you rest for 10 minutes 
  to regain Stamina Points.
  DETOXIFIER 
   
  SYSTEM
  Heart
  Model 
  Level 
  Price
  Standard 
  5 
  3,500
  Enhanced 
  12 
  39,500
  Elite 
  19 
  612,000
  This synthetic organ replaces your liver, constantly filtering 
  your bloodstream for toxic substances at a rate far more 
  effective than that of 
  an organic liver. 
  The  new organ 
  is 
  controlled 
  by a wirelessly 
  paired processor installed 
  in your heart. When you have a 
  standard detoxifier installed, you 
  gain a +4 enhancement bonus to Fortitude saves 
  against diseases, drugs, poisons, and radiation, and you 
  are immune to addiction. Once per day when affected by a 
  poison, you can roll your Fortitude save twice and take the 
  better result. The enhanced detoxifier grants all of the above 
  bonuses, as well as the ability to roll saving throws against 
  poison twice per day. In addition, you automatically stabilize 
  if reduced to 0 Hit Points as a result of damage from a poison. 
  The elite detoxifier grants immunity to poison, as well as the 
  bonuses to other Fortitude saves from the standard model.
  EMOTIONAL REGULATOR 
   
  SYSTEM
  Brain
  PRICE 2,120 
   
  LEVEL 4
  This integrated processor is threaded into your brain by 
  microfilaments that act as artificial synapses within the 
  amygdala. These synthetic synapses subtly alter the 
  transmission of emotional input, and you receive a +2 
  enhancement bonus to saves against confusion and fear 
  effects. If you are affected by a confusion or fear effect, the 
  duration of the effect is reduced by 1 round. 
  LINGUISTIC CAPACITOR 
   
  SYSTEM
  Brain
  PRICE 36,600 
   
  LEVEL 12
  A linguistic capacitor is a microscopic data chip inserted into 
  your brain and connected by artificial synapses to your brain’s 
  language centers. Once per day as a full action, you can activate 
  a linguistic capacitor to gain the ability to communicate via the 
  spoken or signed language of any intelligent creature, whether 
  it is a racial tongue or a regional dialect, for 1 hour. You gain 
  only one language at a time, and you can’t communicate with 
  creatures whose method of communication is other something 
  other than a spoken or signed language. You can make yourself 
  understood as far as your voice carries. 
  POLARIZING PALM 
   
  SYSTEM
  Hand
  PRICE 5,850 
   
  LEVEL 7
  One of your hands contains a microscopic matrix of 
  electromagnetically charged wires and nodes that is kept 
  powered by your own nervous system. As long as you aren’t 
  holding or wielding an item in that hand, you can use it as a 
  standard action to make a melee attack roll against a target’s 
  EAC. If you hit, a technological item that target is holding or 
  wearing in a visible, accessible manner (such as on a belt) or 
  a weapon that is powered by a battery that target is wielding 
  loses 1d6+1 charges. This amount is doubled if you score a 
  critical hit. 
  45
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  NPO
  
  FIENDS OF SHADOW
  FIENDS OF SHADOW
  “Your kind are but larva—soft and pale, squirming 
  blindly in huddled masses—yet you are capable 
  of ascending to inconceivable perfection. Your 
  exodus from your progenitors was a bold act, and 
  your self-determination has sown the seeds for 
  your apotheosis. Now you must become something 
  more. You crave dominion over your fate? Choice 
  without restraint? I am the very embodiment of 
  your desires. Let go of your petty morality and 
  cast off your fragile mortality, for you have need of 
  neither. Mortal life is a puzzle of flesh, and we are 
  its solution.”
  —Ylthir Vec, a velstrac, to a shirren captive
  46
  
  47
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  O
  n the Shadow Plane lurk fiends known by 
  several names, such as kytons, fleshweavers, or 
  apostles-in-chains. However, they call themselves 
  velstracs. These beings are artists whose medium is flesh 
  and bone. Explorers of space and sensation alike, velstracs 
  are philosophers and scientists for whom no ethical or 
  moral boundary is too taboo to cross. They are unparalleled 
  masters of invasive surgery and seekers of perfection—
  mental, physical, and spiritual.
  Each velstrac seeks enlightenment by means of an 
  unnameable and individual apotheosis. While utterly 
  amoral, velstracs bear mortals nothing so base as ill will. 
  Instead, to these disciples of darkness, mortals can be 
  pawns, tools, experimental subjects, pupils, raw material, 
  and occasionally, partners. Some velstracs have a perverse 
  desire to “help” mortals by ushering them onto the velstrac 
  path of enlightenment. For a velstrac, no depravity is too 
  vile and no cost is too great in the personal pursuit of this 
  ultimate goal.
  ORIGIN
  In the time before history, in the earliest days of creation, 
  the depths of Hell knew life. Long before its colonization 
  by the exiles of Heaven, the ninefold plane was home to 
  asuras (beings born of divine mistakes), titans (among the 
  firstborn beings of the multiverse), and stranger entities. 
  In the darkest corners of that infernal realm, Aroggus, the 
  first velstrac, emerged from the essence of the plane, born 
  from the first truly depraved and selfish thoughts conceived 
  by mortals.
  This creature surprised and horrified the early gods with his 
  power and hideous nature, and so they reinforced the chains 
  that bound Aroggus to his remote part of Hell. As a being 
  of Hell, Aroggus knew the folly of rebellion and the glory of 
  order, yet he found the plane’s hold over him to be gravely 
  offensive. His weakness and incapacity to resist he found to 
  be even more so. At this moment, Aroggus realized the first 
  truth of velstrac kind: one must never accept weakness. For 
  an unknowable time, Aroggus honed himself, developing, 
  improving, and strengthening his nascent form, until he pulled 
  himself free of his bondage and at last knew independence. 
  In this way, the velstrac learned the second truth: one must 
  always strive. Hell, augmented with divine power, responded 
  by dragging its wayward fragment back down, setting upon 
  Aroggus with gruesome tortures, punishing him for his 
  insolence with more torment and captivity. Yet Aroggus knew 
  that he had succeeded in a fashion, and so he learned the 
  third truth: pain is the reward of victory.
  For eons, this persecution continued, until Aroggus 
  understood every facet of pain. With willpower forged over 
  ages of agony, Aroggus ceased resistance and turned his 
  mind to the chains of his captivity, tearing them from Hell and 
  taking them for his own. Thus, he learned the fourth truth: 
  willpower honed to perfection is power beyond compare.
  Gazing upon the substance that had birthed and 
  imprisoned him, Aroggus saw fertile material rife with 
  imperfection, and he realized the fifth truth: perfection must 
  be imposed upon anything unwilling to seek it. Aroggus set 
  about cutting into Hell’s essence, separating portions of it 
  in the same fashion he had created himself. Rather than 
  free these slices, Aroggus visited upon these neonates all 
  the torments he had suffered, imbuing them with the truths 
  he had amassed. This process revealed the sixth truth: the 
  quest for perfection must be propagated through pain until 
  weakness is purged. In time, the seventh truth emerged: 
  pain is a guide to the self and the perfection thereof, but 
  it cannot liberate—liberation is achieved only through an 
  application of will in which resistance ceases and suffering 
  along with it.
  Aroggus brought forth many of his kind, gestating each 
  in a womb of torment and forcing them to birth themselves 
  in a placental shroud of chains. The one had become many, 
  and Aroggus's children left him to explore new boundaries 
  of pain and pleasure, returning only to share their findings. 
  The ensuing orgy of torment and carnality revealed the 
  eighth truth: there are limits to what one might discover 
  alone—revelations and inspirations can be found in the works 
  of others.
  When Geryon, a great asura, betrayed its kin and helped 
  Asmodeus and his devils conquer Hell, Aroggus led his 
  children from the plane into the darkness of the Shadow 
  Plane. Velstracs inhabited Hell before the devils did, and 
  they left it before the devils conquered it, giving lie to 
  the common misconception that velstracs are themselves 
  devils. Once on the Shadow Plane, Aroggus raised the 
  Abbey of Nevers, a half-physical phantasmagoria where 
  velstracs could hide forever, if they desired. In the ages 
  since, Aroggus, also called the Abbey Maker or Archabbot, 
  has become one with his refuge. He indulges his followers, 
  his victims, and himself with visions of seeking retribution 
  for his early imprisonment and torment, ever honing the one 
  true revenge—his ninth truth.
  Since that time, like their unholy father, velstracs 
  have continued their eternal striving for perfection and 
  unwholesome truths. The ninth truth of the velstrac kind 
  cannot be shared. Every velstrac’s ninth truth is a unique 
  revelation—a riddle each must decipher. And so, these fiends 
  spread throughout the stars on eternal pilgrimage, carrying 
  with them their gospel of pain and perfection.
  ECOLOGY
  As beings of the Great Beyond, velstracs are unlike mortal 
  creatures in their conception and procreation. Mortals 
  who in life followed philosophies similar to velstracs’ are 
  exiled to the Shadow Plane in death. There they become 
  “the mutilated,” petitioners bound under the authority of 
  velstracs. Velstrac surgeon-scientists break and remake 
  these petitioners over and over, mimicking Aroggus's 
  
  48
  persecution by torturing them for centuries, until the 
  mutilated emerge as new velstracs. Over the eons, some 
  velstracs have discovered how to directly transfigure the 
  living into their own kind, but the majority of new velstracs 
  are still created from the mutilated. The youngest velstracs 
  are called anchorites (Starfinder Alien Archive 2 128–129), 
  and as they follow and learn the velstrac way, they serve 
  the interests of other, more powerful velstracs.
  Anchorites also serve by making fiendish devices 
  designed by mightier velstracs. Fleshweavers, as a species, 
  have taken to technology with unnatural glee, both for its 
  role in the perfection of physical form and its potential for 
  agonizing torments. Many velstracs bear magical, hybrid, or 
  technological grafts, ranging from reflections of flesh cast in 
  nanocarbon to warped shapes of twisted metal. Such grafts 
  might serve no practical purpose from a mortal perspective.
  Mortal 
  body 
  modification, 
  whether 
  magical 
  or 
  technological, also deeply intrigues velstracs. They take 
  every opportunity to study such subjects. Velstracs have a 
  particular obsession with augmentations and those victims of 
  medical malfunction known as rebuilt (Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #4: The Ruined Clouds 60). Some velstracs infiltrate 
  medical centers and sabotage equipment in the hopes of 
  birthing these creatures.
  Velstracs’ relationship with the soul-devouring undead 
  known as devourers bears special note. Endlessly curious 
  explorers of forbidden ideas and places, many velstracs 
  delve beyond existence on a doom-paved path known to 
  turn fiends into devourers. Some velstracs devoted to Zon-
  Kuthon plan and undertake such a pilgrimage intent on this 
  fate, seeing the transfiguration as a reflection of the Midnight 
  Lord’s rebirth. A few of these velstracs lead cults of mortals 
  who desire a similar fate, although numerous mystics who 
  follow Zon-Kuthon need no fiendish guidance to seek a 
  metamorphosis that mirrors their deity’s.
  SOCIETY
  Velstracs lack the physiological needs of mortals. They 
  also have no need to congregate in large numbers, and as 
  they grow in power, they tend to pursue divergent aims. 
  When they do gather, velstracs usually form small-scale 
  hierarchies. Those devoted to Zon-Kuthon or other non-
  velstrac deities are the most hierarchical, but all velstracs 
  parody the structures of other faiths in their titles and rites. 
  A gathering of velstracs most often forms around one of their 
  kind who has demonstrated great inspiration. The disciples of 
  such a velstrac paragon form monasteries and seek to learn 
  from their master. Godlike velstracs called demagogues—
  including Aroggus the Archabbot, Kaikyton the Stitchweaver, 
  and Inkariax the White Death—often have such 
  followings. However, mighty velstracs such as 
  ephialtes, eremites, or termagants can also attract 
  students. Velstracs are fanatical by nature, and any 
  powerful creature who knows something velstracs 
  might want to learn could become the focus of the 
  fiends’ attentions.
  In addition to their advances in personal philosophy 
  and technology, velstracs long ago devised the secret 
  of spaceflight. They construct vessels to traverse the 
  void between the planets of the Shadow Plane and 
  the Material Plane alike. Immortal and endlessly 
  patient, the fiends take it upon themselves to 
  explore all realms, including the Drift, and reveal the 
  secrets found within. Some even craft spacefaring 
  monasteries or harvest vessels, traveling from world 
  to world in search of revelations, victims, or both.
  Velstracs also travel to seek mortal creatures to 
  tempt into willingly accepting the transfiguration 
  into their kind, for the most potent velstracs are 
  those who ascent directly from mortals through the 
  force of their own will. These fiends believe those 
  among them who ascend with the least aid are 
  destined to reach the status of demagogue. To be 
  the progenitor of such an entity is a secondary but 
  nonetheless great honor.
  Although not a velstrac himself, the god 
  Zon-Kuthon shares traits with the shadowy 
  fiends. His teachings are compatible with velstracs’ 
  
  49
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  amoral and cruel mindsets. Many velstracs are drawn to 
  the Midnight Lord’s temples and places of power, such as 
  the realm of Xovaikain on the Shadow Plane. Zon-Kuthon’s 
  worldly places of worship often host fleshweavers, too. 
  Mortal worshippers of the Midnight Lord, for their part, greet 
  these extraplanar visitors with adulation and ecstasy, treating 
  them as emissaries of Zon-Kuthon and aiding them in their 
  dark endeavors.
  Given adequate time and inadequate opposition, the effects 
  of velstracs on the Material Plane are apocalyptic studies in 
  agony. A planet might be frozen in eternal ice during its height 
  of development, its inhabitants locked in stasis between life 
  and death as an anguished record of their achievement and 
  downfall. A population could be sewn together into a vast 
  skin covering an entire world, billions of minds screaming 
  in a chorus of torment, pierced through with the crumbling 
  structures of the planet’s greatest civilization. A stellar core 
  might be inverted into a beacon of gloom, dooming an entire 
  system to darkness, starvation, and death—and the truths 
  revealed through the resulting suffering. A world’s single 
  remaining inhabitant could be cloned and mind-printed 
  over and over, desperate for oblivion but unable to reach 
  it, instead forced to accept its nature as it strives. Such a 
  teaching calamity is the penultimate act each velstrac hopes 
  to commit. Every velstrac aches for the opportunity to realize 
  this goal before achieving ultimate personal apotheosis in the 
  deeply personal discovery of the ninth truth.
  LAIRS
  Velstracs take great pride in twisting their surroundings into 
  reflections of themselves. A velstrac who occupies a site for 
  any significant length of time creates a lair to mirror its nature, 
  its needs, its abilities, and the particulars of its quest for the 
  ninth truth. Evangelists might fill their lairs with chains, while 
  termagants gather or create bioengineering equipment to 
  help create their twisted children. In most cases, velstrac lairs 
  are hazardous to their inhabitants. Velstracs’ innate defenses 
  and regenerating flesh permit disregard for their own safety, 
  however, and most velstracs find hostile environments to be a 
  boon in their search for enlightenment.
  Velstracs can be found across the Pact Worlds and the 
  galaxy. On some planets, as well as upon the great worldship 
  Idari, they occupy small enclaves or work alone, seeking their 
  twisted goals. Upon certain worlds, though, velstracs play 
  greater roles.
  On Castrovel, velstracs form secretive sensate cults 
  among the lashuntas and Forlorn elves. These cults are dens 
  of cruel hedonism whose adherents hide their scars and 
  surgical modifications outside their cloisters and gatherings. 
  Some such cults have elements of fertility worship as well, 
  with the velstracs’ skill at surgery and body modification 
  aiding the process. Occasionally, this macabre hedonism 
  leads to the birth of one of the rare shackleborn, humanoids 
  with velstrac heritage. Such entities are raised in hiding 
  or smuggled offworld as part of a velstrac cult leader’s 
  greater designs.
  Velstracs find Absalom Station to be useful for many 
  reasons. As the station is a cosmopolitan hub visited by 
  numerous species from across the galaxy, velstracs can easily 
  blend in and avoid notice. In addition, the space station’s 
  teeming slums are the perfect place to prey upon and harvest 
  humanoids. Rumors suggest that powerful velstracs have 
  designs upon the Starstone itself.
  The elebrians’ state of undead ascension holds some 
  interest to fleshweavers, but velstracs are rare on the dead 
  planet of Eox. Notably, though, some velstracs work in the 
  Halls of the Living. Drawn by the exhibitionist brutality of 
  the reality shows and their ghoulish audiences, a number 
  of velstracs provide the showrunners with peerless skill at 
  gruesome and bizarre surgeries, gaining the opportunity to 
  hone their skills, study mortal urges and inspirations, and 
  recruit volunteers for modification in exchange for providing 
  exclusive content. In addition, the accumulated lore of the 
  bone sages is vast enough that even these ageless fiends 
  seek secrets from the sages’ libraries.
  The Pact Worlds’ great gas giants’ lack of solid ground 
  makes them inhospitable to terrestrial creatures, including 
  most velstracs. However, some of the fiends find the 
  adaptable biology of the native barathu intriguing. In 
  addition, many of the moons of the Cradle and the Dreamer 
  host velstrac visitors. Conspiracy theorists and a few 
  academics have argued that the Taking of Melos might have 
  been a mass abduction at velstrac hands, but this theory has 
  no more evidence supporting it than any other. Telepathically 
  gifted velstracs sometimes make pilgrimages to Hallas, 
  slipping through the cordon or posing as mortal visitors. 
  Once upon the moon, these velstracs open their minds to 
  hallajins, seeking rapture in the destructive pain of psychic 
  contact with the ascended beings; in many cases, reciprocal 
  torment is also inflicted upon the hallajins. Finally, given 
  the nightmarish conditions of Thyst and the light-absorbing 
  nature of its enigmatic inhabitants, some speculate that 
  these natives could have ties to the fiends of shadow.
  As both a planet of horrors and an enormous living entity, 
  Aucturn has quite a few velstrac visitors. The fleshweavers 
  pay no allegiance to the Elder Mythos or the Dominion 
  of the Black, but they find both philosophies intriguing. 
  Aucturn provides velstracs an opportunity to exchange 
  their services as mercenaries for a chance to study these 
  factions without their normal shroud of secrecy. Beyond this 
  activity, the world’s unique status as a nascent Great Old One 
  is fascinating to many velstracs, who perform invasive and 
  twisted experiments upon the planet itself while braving its 
  unique, unpredictable, and ghastly hazards.
  Of all the Pact Worlds, Verces has hosted the longest 
  continuous population of velstracs. Verthani have a long 
  tradition of cybernetic self-improvement, and some scholars 
  theorize this tradition has roots in long-past machinations of 
  
  50
  the fleshweavers. Velstracs are eager to push mortals into 
  terrible excesses of mechanical apotheosis. The shadowy 
  fiends have no fear of the cold of Darkside, and some have 
  raised monasteries in isolated places. In addition, in the time 
  since the Gap, velstracs on Verces have begun laying the 
  seeds of an eerie faith. These missionaries from a distant 
  system whisper tales of a cyber-demagogue who seeks to 
  eclipse Triune. One day, this technofiend might take into its 
  mechanical “utopia” those who properly augment themselves, 
  throwing off weakness and recognizing the ninth truth.
  In open space, a distress call from an immobilized starship 
  could be bait for a velstrac trap. The fiends sometimes lurk in 
  such a vessel’s shadows, eager to torture interlopers or gather 
  them for harvest. Those who fall for such tricks are lucky to 
  escape with their lives, but unless they destroy the velstracs’ 
  trap in the process, it remains a threat to other travelers.
  Beyond the borders of the Pact Worlds, velstracs can be 
  found throughout the galaxy. The Azlanti Star Empire has 
  long found use for velstracs as torturers, slave masters, 
  and servants. For their part, velstracs find the Azlanti to 
  be ideal converts to their way of thinking and exult in 
  subtly indoctrinating master and slave alike, ensuring their 
  transformation into the mutilated upon death. For similar 
  reasons, the prison world of Daegox 4 is well suited for 
  velstrac activity, and the fiends maintain a presence among 
  prisoners and jailers. The Daegox Corporation employs a few 
  velstracs, but their activity exists on a scale far greater than 
  the corporation is aware of.
  The Swarm is of special interest to velstracs. They find the 
  lack of individuality among its components repulsive, but 
  they are deeply interested in the Swarm’s capacity for birthing 
  lethal life-forms. Some velstracs seek to shatter the Swarm in 
  a mass imitation of the shirren exodus. While the end of the 
  Swarm would otherwise be a boon for the universe, velstracs 
  make few moves without having plans in place. Freed Swarm 
  components, a deadly horde of living weapons, might become 
  tools for far more sinister masters.
  FACTIONS
  While every velstrac searches individually for the ninth 
  truth, the shadowy fiends do gather into philosophical 
  collectives. The three that follow are only a sampling of the 
  factions among the velstracs—more exist within the Pact 
  Worlds and beyond.
  FLAWLESS KEEPERS
  For countless centuries, even before the Gap, the velstrac 
  demagogue Morrobahn, also known as the Parasite Seed, 
  has influenced worlds upon worlds in many systems across 
  the galaxy. The Parasite Seed’s influence on these planets 
  has been subtle and not entirely malevolent. Through 
  careful manipulation of genetics and engineering particular 
  situations, his hand has created dozens of perfect beings in 
  all walks of life, from art to politics to crime, though they 
  conform to Morrobahn’s idea of perfection. Most never knew 
  they were tools of a fiendish outsider, living their lives not 
  realizing they were pawns in a master plan.
  Several times over the years, Morrobahn has abducted his 
  perfect specimens from their home worlds and transplanted 
  them to more controlled environments, attempting to keep 
  them safe from any calamities that might befall them. 
  Unfortunately for the demagogue, many of the abductees 
  weren’t pleased with their treatment and used their 
  heightened skills to escape. Not wanting them to return to 
  their pedestrian lives, Morrobahn felt he had to destroy any 
  fleeing individuals. The Parasite Seed soon realized that he 
  had to alter his plans.
  Shortly after the end of the Gap, Morrobahn created the 
  Repository, a planet-sized haven for his perfect specimens, 
  whose exact location is a mystery to all but the demagogue 
  and his most trusted agents: a group of like-minded powerful 
  velstracs who call themselves the Flawless Keepers. The 
  Keepers act as both guards and collectors of Morrobahn’s 
  perfect specimens, traveling the galaxy and quietly stealing 
  away any beings that have received the demagogue’s gifts.
  The Repository is essentially a prison, though the Flawless 
  Keepers strive to make it a comfortable one. Some of the 
  inmates don’t seem to care that they are being held against 
  their will as long as they are left alone to live in peace. 
  Others are kept docile by the Keepers through the use of 
  mind-altering drugs and immersion in virtual worlds. While 
  this does risk ruining their perfection, the Keepers believe 
  Morrobahn prefer the prisoners them alive and controlled.
  The Flawless Keepers are somewhat less cruel than other 
  velstracs, usually more open to diplomacy and contact with 
  mortal races that doesn’t involve radical body modification 
  and vivisection. The Keepers usually cover their faces with 
  beautiful ceramic masks to avoid affecting others with their 
  unnerving gazes, taking them off only when capturing one of 
  Morrobahn’s perfect specimens.
  MOUTHS OF ANYALARITUS
  The first members of the Mouths of Anyalaritus to arrive 
  in the Pact Worlds spoke of Anyalaritus, or “the Manifold,” 
  a place (or an ideal being) where (or in which) flesh 
  and technology have become one—frailty, impurity, and 
  suffering have been purged with the acceptance of amoral 
  existence. Anyalaritus, say the Mouths, defies description. 
  To understand it (her), one must experience it (her).
  The Mouths wield bizarre powers and integrated 
  technologies, which they share with those who join their 
  ranks, and their shapes reflect the myriad species from 
  which they were created. They obsess over propagating their 
  philosophy along with velstrac kind. Mouths of Anyalaritus 
  believe the ultimate fate of the galaxy, if not the universe, is 
  to become part of their “paradise.” They are mouths for and to 
  this place (being), speaking for it (her) and opening doorways 
  to it (her).
  
  51
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  Circumspect in their outreach, the Mouths restrict their 
  activities to missions on Verces and other cosmopolitan 
  regions, working furtively to spread their gospel. Mouths of 
  Anyalaritus take particular interest in androids due to the 
  constructed nature of these living beings. The Mouths also 
  work to infiltrate and influence the Augmented, and they 
  no doubt have some influence on radical elements within 
  that faction.
  Few velstracs subscribe to this creed. However, the Mouths 
  of Anyalaritus long ago discovered one method of converting 
  a living being directly into a velstrac without requiring a 
  soul already among the mutilated of the Shadow Plane. This 
  scholarship has, at least, earned the Mouths the respect 
  of their kin. Numerous velstracs outside the Mouths seek 
  Anyalaritus, suspecting it (she) is a velstrac demagogue who 
  ascended during the Gap.
  Even by velstrac standards, the Mouths of Anyalaritus are 
  fanatical about augmentation, experimental self-modification, 
  surgery, and integration of the digital, mystical, and physical 
  worlds, accepting all sensations without acquiescing to 
  suffering. These velstracs act in groups, employing and 
  distributing magitech with unpredictable psychic effects. The 
  fiends who follow this creed can have truly bizarre forms, and 
  they might have altered or expanded defenses or weaknesses, 
  such as damage reduction that only adamantine can bypass, 
  vulnerability to electricity due to technological components, 
  and so on.
  WEAVER’S NEEDLES
  As disciples of Kaikyton the Stitchweaver, velstrac demagogue 
  of experimentation and physical joining, the Weaver’s Needles 
  seek enlightenment through the combining of living flesh. 
  Many bear spliced or conjoined forms or grafted parts from 
  other entities. Needles, as they call themselves, are apt to 
  practice these arts upon any living being that falls into their 
  clutches. Results are functional and viable, if not rational or 
  free from agony.
  At least one gathering of Needles lurks in a laboratory-
  monastery on Castrovel, drawn by that planet’s great 
  diversity of life. Led by a trio of interwoven interlocutors 
  calling themselves the Knot of Three Strands, these velstracs 
  take particular interest in splicing lashuntas with Castrovelian 
  creatures, especially their prized shotalashus; their 
  ancestral enemies, the formians; or even native plant life. 
  Most subjects that survive are penned for observation, but 
  at least one subject has escaped. Siranah (N female spliced 
  soldier) is a former korasha lashunta and a shotalashu rider 
  now cruelly and permanently spliced with her mount. She 
  seeks to enact revenge upon her twisted captors and to warn 
  her people about the velstrac menace. Her greatest difficulty 
  with the latter is that due to her unpredictable bouts of 
  rage, those whom she would warn see her as a monster. 
  If PCs encounter Siranah, she seeks their assistance 
  to return to the Needles’ laboratory-monastery. Those 
  who decide to help must contend with the Needles and their 
  spliced creations and risk suffering a similar, terrible fate 
  should they fail.
  Spliced beings can vary widely based on the type and 
  number of component creatures and the exact nature of their 
  conjoining. Consider using the monster creation rules in the 
  Alien Archive, making each creature a unique monstrosity 
  with abilities based upon those of the component creatures. 
  You can add elements of a class graft if the creature is a 
  combination of one or more beings that could have a class.
  SIRANAH
  
  52
  VELSTRAC GEAR
  The equipment velstracs make and use is elaborate and 
  baroque—they take pains even in crafting. Each such item is 
  crafted from blood, bone, flesh, metal, shadow-matter, dark 
  wood, or composites of these materials. These pieces of gear 
  are macabre and often disturbingly beautiful due to their 
  gruesome artistry. Although velstrac gear is most easily 
  described in terms of the fiends’ own humanoid forms, it can be 
  found for or modified to accommodate any species.
  Using velstrac gear, especially augmentations, can be risky. 
  Numerous such items are genuine articles made by velstrac 
  anchorites on the Plane of Shadow. These authentic items 
  can be the source of shadow corruption (see “Corrupted by 
  Shadows” on page 40 of Starfinder Adventure Path #10). 
  However, some wielders consider this corruption to be an 
  additional boon of velstrac equipment.
  MAGITECH AUGMENTATIONS
  Velstrac augmentations are magitech and follow the rules 
  for augmentations as regards implantation, activation, and 
  removal (Starfinder Core Rulebook 208). These augmentations 
  can be detected and crafted as hybrid items, but once they 
  are installed, they become a part of your body and can’t be 
  affected by abilities that disable or destroy hybrid items. Most 
  velstrac augmentations are external piercings of the related 
  system, with fibrous material that attaches to nerve, muscle, 
  and bone.
  NAME
  LEVEL
  PRICE
  SYSTEM
  Velstrac shackle, follower
  3
  1,200
  Arm
  Ecstasy mask
  7
  7,000
  Brain
  Velstrac shackle, acolyte
  8
  9,100
  Arm
  Velstrac shackle, penitent
  11
  25,000
  Arm
  Sciatic agonizer
  14
  75,000
  All legs
  Velstrac shackle, ecclesiastic
  15
  102,000
  Arm
  Heart of darkness
  16
  145,000
  Heart
  Velstrac shackle, devotional
  19
  431,000
  Arm
  ECSTASY MASK 
   
  SYSTEM
  Brain
  PRICE 7,000 
  LEVEL 7
  Piercings of the ecstasy mask crisscross your face, and its 
  fibers penetrate your central nervous system. When you 
  experience pain, the augmentation also activates the pleasure 
  center of your brain. Because this augmentation conditions 
  your body to associate pain with pleasure, when you attempt 
  a saving throw against an effect that has the pain descriptor, 
  you can roll twice and take the better result.
  When you take Hit Point damage or suffer an effect that has 
  the pain descriptor, you are flooded with pleasure for 1 round. 
  You can spend 1 Resolve Point to extend this benefit by 1d4 
  rounds. During this time, you ignore the shaken condition and 
  pain effects. In addition, provided you are conscious, when 
  you attempt a saving throw against a mind-affecting effect, 
  you can roll twice and take the better result.
  HEART OF DARKNESS 
   
  PRICE 145,000 
  LEVEL 16
  The piercing hooks of a heart 
  of darkness augmentation 
  hold the flesh, muscle, and 
  ribs of your chest open, 
  revealing a gory window 
  to 
  your 
  heart. 
  Dark 
  fibers of the augmentation 
  weave wisps around and 
  drive deep into that organ, tapping its vital energies. Each 
  day, after you finish a rest during which you could regain 
  Resolve Points and daily abilities, you gain the benefits of 
  death ward. The spell has a duration of 10 minutes, but 
  this duration starts to elapse only after the first time you 
  use a benefit of the spell during the day. You can spend 1 
  Resolve Point at any time to stop the duration from elapsing, 
  suspending the remaining duration until you use a benefit of 
  the spell again and resume the duration.
  In addition, you can activate the heart of darkness to 
  cast mass inflict pain (caster level 16th, save DC = 16 + your 
  key ability score modifier) centered on yourself. You select 
  targets in the area, but unless you spend 1 Resolve Point, 
  you are also subjected to the spell. In addition, if the light 
  in the area is brighter than dim, it drops to dim and remains 
  so until the mass inflict pain spell you cast no longer affects 
  anyone. Nonmagical light can’t raise the light level of this 
  dim light.
  Once you use mass inflict pain in this way, you can't do so 
  again until you have rested for 10 minutes to regain Stamina 
  Points. However, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to recharge 
  the augmentation immediately.
  SCIATIC AGONIZER 
   
  SYSTEM
  All Legs
  PRICE 75,000 
  LEVEL 14
  A sciatic agonizer consists of long needles driven precisely 
  through the flesh and bone of your hips and sacral spine, 
  connected to a series of barbell piercings running down the 
  back of your legs with fibers running deep into the leg and 
  through its nerves. With a twist, you can activate these 
  piercings, blasting your nervous system with pain and 
  shocking your legs into motion.
  Each time you activate the sciatic agonizer, you take 
  damage equal to your level. This damage can’t be reduced or 
  redirected in any way. You can activate the augmentation as a 
  swift action to gain one of the following benefits.
  D You double your land speed, as well as the speed at which 
  you swim and climb, until the beginning of your next turn. 
  This is an enhancement bonus to your speed.
  D You gain the benefit of the Mobility feat until the beginning 
  of your next turn.
  In addition, when you attempt a Reflex saving throw, you 
  can activate the augmentation as a reaction to roll that saving 
  throw twice, taking the higher result.
  SYSTEM
  Heart
  
  53
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  Once you activate your sciatic agonizer, you can’t activate 
  it again until you have rested for 10 minutes to regain Stamina 
  Points. However, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to recharge 
  it immediately.
  VELSTRAC SHACKLE 
   
  SYSTEM
  Arm
  Model 
  Level 
  Price
  Follower 
  3 
  1,200
  Acolyte 
  8 
  9,100
  Penitent 
  11 
  25,000
  Ecclesiastic 
  15 
  102,000
  Devotional 
  19 
  431,000
  A spiked gauntlet made of dark composite and inward 
  pointing spikes, a velstrac shackle fits over one forearm and 
  has filaments like muscle fibers that snake up to the shoulder, 
  connecting to dark barbs that protrude from your skin. 
  The shackle feeds on your tissue, requiring you to eat and 
  drink half again more than usual to sustain it, and it must 
  be attached to flesh. Further, no matter how many arms you 
  have, you can have only one velstrac shackle.
  As if drawing a weapon, you can cause the shackle to 
  extend a shadow chain (Starfinder Armory 11–12) of the 
  same model name as the shackle. The shadow chain within 
  the velstrac shackle is magical. It can also be upgraded 
  with weapon fusions like a normal weapon of the velstrac 
  shackle’s level.
   Within the shackle, the chain is hidden from casual 
  observation, although someone who searches you can discern 
  the chain’s presence inside the shackle by succeeding at a 
  Perception check (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 × the item’s level + your 
  key ability modifier). While you wear the shackle, you are 
  proficient with the shadow chain within, and you cannot be 
  disarmed of or drop the weapon. You can withdraw the chain 
  into the shackle as a swift action or part of a full action. In 
  addition, if the weapon takes damage, you can allocate any 
  healing you receive to it, provided that healing restores your 
  Hit Points.
  When your character level is within 2 levels of the next 
  more powerful velstrac shackle, you can upgrade the item to 
  its next level. To do so, you must acquire magical components, 
  including rare minerals from the Shadow Plane, worth the 
  price of the more powerful shackle minus 25% of the value 
  of your current shackle. You then use the components in a 
  1-hour ritual to upgrade the shackle to the new, higher level. 
  You must also pay to upgrade any weapon fusions you wish 
  to keep on the shadow chain as if transferring each of those 
  fusions to a new higher-level weapon.
  Upgrading a velstrac shackle via shadow magic is 
  rumored to be a way to awaken mortal-made shackles to a 
  true connection with velstracs. This awakening can make a 
  shackle that was once safe a source of shadow corruption. 
  Whispers about this dark possibility suggest virtuous users 
  who magically upgrade a shackle are more at risk than those 
  who already have bloodthirsty or wicked tendencies.
  MAGIC ITEM
  Velstracs create magic items to corrupt mortals or aid in 
  personal enlightenment. The following item can do both.
  RING OF THE NINTH TRUTH 
  LEVEL 13
  MAGIC ITEM (WORN) 
  PRICE 51,000 
  BULK —
  A rare velstrac item that neither causes nor relies on pain, a 
  ring of the ninth truth is a prize to anyone seeking insight or 
  personal enlightenment. The ring’s guidance is accurate, but it 
  is often cryptic, utterly amoral, and rarely safe.
  A ring of the ninth truth functions as a mk 3 ring of 
  resistance. It also gives you powers of prescience. Once per 
  day, you can enter a trance for 1 minute and focus on your 
  planned actions in the immediate future, gaining an intuitive 
  insight into the results of your actions with regard to your 
  personal values and goals. You learn whether your course 
  might be beneficial to you, harmful to you, both, or neither. 
  You can spend 1 Resolve Point to recharge this power, but the 
  ring can be used this way no more than three times per day.
  In addition, once per week, you can enter a similar trance 
  for 10 minutes and spend 1 Resolve Point, seeking insight into 
  a specific goal, event, or activity that is to occur within the next 
  week. You receive an enigmatic and unsettling vision pertaining 
  to your query. This vision always contains useful hints that 
  can guide your steps toward the chosen event or goal.
  Any mortal using a ring of the ninth truth eventually 
  attracts the notice of velstracs. The form this attention takes 
  is often subtle, augmenting the ring’s ministrations with 
  fiendish aid intended to usher the wearer down the path of 
  darkness. Rumors speak of rings of this sort that allow a 
  wearer to safely contact a mighty velstrac, as if using contact 
  other plane, with the price of reciprocating that velstrac’s aid.
  WEAPON FUSIONS
  The following weapon fusions follow the rules detailed on 
  pages 191–192 of the Core Rulebook. Velstracs are interested 
  in physically and painfully impeding their foes.
  AGONIZING 
  LEVEL 6
  Once per day when you successfully attack a foe with a 
  weapon with the agonizing fusion, you can cast inflict pain 
  on the target as a spell-like ability (using the weapon's item 
  level as the caster level). This doesn't provoke an attack of 
  opportunity. If the weapon with this fusion has an item level 
  of 11 or higher, you can use this ability twice per day, and if it 
  has an item level of 16 or higher, you can use this ability three 
  times per day.
  HINDERING 
  LEVEL 1
  A hindering fusion turns a melee weapon into a device 
  suitable for making your foes less capable of escaping and 
  fighting back. The weapon grants you a circumstance bonus 
  to attack rolls to attempt dirty trick, disarm, and trip combat 
  maneuvers equal to 1 + one-sixth of the weapon’s level.
  
  54
  ALIEN ARCHIVES
  ALIEN ARCHIVES
  “Sure, I’ll move just about anything—illegal guns, exotic 
  flora and fauna, stolen starships. Even drugs. But I draw 
  the line at niaqui. I once transported a hold full of carriers 
  of the niaq virus for a criminal syndicate, and I wouldn’t 
  wish that fate on my worst enemy. They spent the entire 
  trip rooted in place, but I could see their eyes spinning in 
  their sockets, focusing on terrible things that only they 
  could see, while sweat poured off their foreheads. To 
  think that these people are kept that way for weeks, just 
  so their blood can be used to give some spoiled rich kid a 
  chance to ‘feel a deeper connection to the universe’ for a 
  couple of minutes. Turns my stomach.”
  —Jenzadla, shirren smuggler
  
  55
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  NE Medium outsider (incorporeal)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
  DEFENSE 
  HP 112
  EAC 20; KAC 21
  Fort +9; Ref +7; Will +11
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal
  OFFENSE
  Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft.
  Melee incorporeal touch +18 (1d12+8 C; critical inhabit)
  Offensive Abilities gloom spores, inhabit (DC 18)
  STATISTICS
  Str —; Dex +6; Con +3; Int –3; Wis +2; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +16, Stealth +21, Survival +16
  Feats Spring Attack
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary or garden (2–7)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Gloom Spores (Su) A creature affected by a creeping shade’s 
  inhabit ability risks being poisoned by gloom spores when 
  the creeping shade leaves its body. For every round 
  past the first that a creeping shade has inhabited a 
  creature’s body, the creature takes a cumulative –1 
  penalty to the saving throw to resist the poison.
  Inhabit (Su) When a creeping shade scores a critical 
  hit on a living creature, it enters that creature’s 
  space (this doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity) 
  and merges with the creature’s body for 1d6+1 
  rounds. The creeping shade doesn’t control the 
  creature it inhabits, but does make the creature 
  feel an overwhelming sense of melancholy. An 
  inhabited creature can’t benefit 
  from morale bonuses. Every 
  round after the first, an 
  inhabited creature can 
  attempt a DC 18 Fortitude 
  save to eject the creeping 
  shade from its body. In 
  addition, a creeping shade 
  can inhabit an adjacent, unconscious 
  living creature as a full action if that 
  creature fails a DC 18 Fortitude save. 
  When a creeping shade leaves an 
  inhabited creature’s body (either if it is 
  ejected or if the duration of the ability 
  ends), it appears in an 
  adjacent square of its 
  choosing and regains 
  5d8 Hit Points, and 
  the affected creature is 
  subjected to gloom spores. 
  GLOOM SPORES
  Type poison (contact); Save Fortitude DC 18
  Track Wisdom (special); Frequency 1/minute for 6 minutes 
  Effect progression track is Healthy—Weakened—Impaired—
  Confused—Comatose—Comatose. The second comatose 
  functions as an end state.
  Cure 1 save
  Creeping shades are incorporeal, plantlike creatures 
  originating on the Shadow Plane. A creeping shade lies in wait 
  to strike at passing prey with its incorporeal touch, attempting 
  to inhabit the creature and infect it with gloom spores. The 
  victim usually falls comatose a few minutes later, after which 
  it is killed by nearby predators, leaving the corpse behind to 
  fertilize nearby plant life, including the creeping shade.
  CREEPING SHADE
   
  CR
    8
   
  XP
    4,800
  
  56
  NE Medium monstrous humanoid
  Init +0; Perception +10
  DEFENSE 
  HP 50
  EAC 16; KAC 18
  Fort +8; Ref +6; Will +5
  Resistances fire 5
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +13 (1d6+7 S plus grab)
  Ranged static arc pistol +10 (1d6+2 E; critical arc 2)
  Offensive Abilities implant young
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +0; Con +5; Int –1; Wis +1; Cha –1
  Skills Athletics +15, Stealth +10, Survival +10
  Languages Common, Ihonva
  Gear static arc pistol with 3 batteries (20 charges each)
  ECOLOGY
  Environment warm desert (Verces)
  Organization solitary, pair, raid (3–12), or tribe (20+)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Implant Young (Ex) As a standard action, an ihonva can lick a 
  grappled or helpless creature to expose it to ihonva infestation.
  IHONVA INFESTATION
  Type disease (injury); Save Fortitude DC 13
  Track physical; Frequency 1/day
  Effect Ihonva young emerge after 7 days, or 1 day after a 
  victim dies, whichever results in more time.
  Cure 2 consecutive saves
  Ihonvas are native to the blistering deserts of Fullbright. 
  Although these infamous humanoids call themselves ihonvas, 
  a collective term for their race and their nation of federated 
  tribes, most of Verces’s population knows ihonvas by another, 
  sinister name: skin-stitchers. An ihonva is a wormlike being 
  with a chitinous shell, usually dusty yellow or red to match 
  its environment. For appendages, an ihonva has flexible 
  tentacles that, like its tail, separate into multiple parts and 
  allow fine manipulation. A single, outsized eye shaped much 
  like a sideways hourglass dominates an ihonva’s face, the 
  pupil a colored horizontal line across the glossy-black cornea. 
  Below the eye, several feet of trunk end in a circle of teeth. 
  This trunk serves as the ihonva’s only orifice, used for feeding, 
  excretion, and mating.
  Ihonva reproduction begins with both partners exchanging 
  gametes through their snouts in a practice they call “the 
  long kiss.” Each ihonva stores the resulting zygotes until an 
  appropriate host—preferably another intelligent humanoid—is 
  captured and immobilized. The would-be-parent ihonva licks 
  the host’s eyes and other mucous membranes, creating a bridge 
  for the zygotes to enter the host’s bloodstream, where they act 
  as parasites. Ihonva parents stake hosts out in the desert to 
  allow their flesh to wither and cure, and to prevent magic or 
  medical treatment from removing the young. The larval infants 
  grow rapidly in size, sickening and eventually killing their host. 
  When the baby ihonvas are mature enough, they exit through 
  existing openings. Newborns battle until the strongest drives 
  the others away. The winner then claims the host’s skin as a 
  trophy, flaying it with the overlarge teeth that only neonatal 
  ihonvas have. When this victor returns to ihonva society, other 
  ihonvas fashion this “birth-skin” into ceremonial clothing.
  Citizens of the Ring of Nations leave ihonvas alone despite 
  their brutal mating habits. Ihonvas have a fearsome reputation 
  and prey mostly on members of the Outlaw 
  Kingdoms, rarely killing sapients for reasons 
  other than self-defense or breeding. Some 
  ihonva tribes even engage in trade, and 
  a few have settled for using non-
  sapients as hosts, to the horror 
  of their kind.
  An ihonva stands 6 feet tall 
  and weighs 350 pounds. They 
  reach maturity at about 10 years 
  and have a natural lifespan of 50 years.
  IHONVA
   
  CR
    4
   
  XP
    1,200
  
  57
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  N Large magical beast
  Init +3; Senses blindsight (heat) 360 ft., sightless; 
  Perception +13
  DEFENSE 
  HP 90
  EAC 18; KAC 20
  Fort +8; Ref +10; Will +7
  Resistances cold 10
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft., fly 90 ft. (Ex, average)
  Melee feeding lance +17 (1d8+11 P plus infection)
  Ranged quill volley +15 (2d6+6 P plus infection)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +3; Con +2; Int –3; Wis +1; Cha –1
  Skills Acrobatics +13, Stealth +18, Survival +13
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any cold (Verces)
  Organization solitary, pair, or wing (3–5)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Infection (Ex) A creature injured by a niaq’s feeding lance 
  or quills is exposed to niaq virus.
  NIAQ VIRUS
  Type disease (injury); Save Fortitude DC 14
  Track physical (see below); Frequency 1/round
  Effect progression track is Confused—Weakened—
  Debilitated—Immobile; victim experiences intense 
  euphoria and bizarre hallucinations throughout 
  the infection. An immobile victim also gains cold 
  resistance 10 and slows the frequency to 1/day.
  Special When victims reach the end state, their blood 
  can be used to infect others with the virus, or it can be 
  treated to become an addictive but noninfectious drug 
  called niaqui.
  Cure 2 consecutive saves
  NIAQUI 
  LEVEL 6
  Drug 
  Price 3,500
  Type drug (ingested or injury); Save Fortitude DC 15; 
  Addiction DC 19 (mental and physical)
  Track Wisdom; Effect euphoria, hallucinations, and cold 
  resistance 10 for 1 hour
  Niaqs hunt in the frigid wastes of Verces’s Darkside, soaring 
  silently through snowy skies. Shaped like a pterodactyl, a 
  niaq is white with a network of black-blooded veins that 
  extend across its body. Instead of eyes, the creature 
  has a mane of cilia that sense minute variations in 
  temperature, allowing it to distinguish heat signatures 
  of prey and the nearby topography. For a mouth, the creature 
  has a feeding lance, which is a tight cylinder of long, hollow 
  quills. Each of a niaq’s wings has a fringe of similar but shorter 
  quills that the creature can launch as projectiles with a flick of 
  a wing.
  The feeding lance and quills can infect prey with a virus 
  that lives symbiotically within the niaq. Victims diseased in 
  this manner suffer hallucinogenic effects, which make them 
  not only easy prey for the niaq, but living factories for the 
  natural drug the virus produces. Genetic differences between 
  niaqs and their prey allow a feeding niaq to experience the 
  euphoria the drug produces in prey, since the niaq is immune 
  to the effect of the virus in its own system. A niaq therefore 
  carries prey back to its lair, usually a cave or hollow in the 
  Darkside’s ice and snow. Niaqs 
  keep prey alive and immobilized, 
  sipping the drug-laced blood 
  from their victims’ bloodstream, 
  earning niaqs their local nickname 
  of “sippers.” 
  The drug the niaq virus produces 
  is called niaqui. Illegal due to its 
  manufacturing method, this drug is 
  found in black markets throughout the 
  Pact Worlds. Criminal syndicates kidnap 
  victims and infect them, turning them 
  into production hosts. The drug dealers 
  then purify extracted fluids to kill the 
  virus and ensure clients can become 
  addicted but can’t produce the 
  drug themselves.
  NIAQ
   
  CR
    6
   
  XP
    2,400
  
  58
  TERMINATOR-CLASS SECURITY ROBOT 
  N Large construct (technological)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +19
  DEFENSE 
  HP 165 
  EAC 23; KAC 25 
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +7
  Defensive Abilities integrated weapons, nanite repair; 
  Immunities construct immunities
  Weaknesses vulnerable to critical hits, vulnerable 
  to electricity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee slam +22 (2d10+18)
  Ranged integrated yellow star plasma rifle +19 (2d10+10 
  E & F; burn 1d8)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Offensive Abilities hardware acceleration
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con —; Int +3; Wis +0; Cha +0 
  Skills Computers +19, Intimidate +24, Stealth +19 
  Languages Common
  Other Abilities unliving 
  Gear integrated yellow star plasma rifle with 1 high-
  capacity battery (40 charges)
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any urban
  Organization solitary, pair, or force (3–5)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES 
  Hardware Acceleration (Ex) Once per day as a 
  swift action, a terminator-class security robot 
  can over-clock its processors to gain greater 
  speed than other security robot models for a 
  number of rounds equal to half its CR (5 rounds 
  for most terminator-class security robots). 
  This extra speed has several benefits: When 
  making a full attack, the robot can also take 
  a separate move action in order to move. 
  This movement can occur before, after, or 
  between the attacks from the full attack, but 
  all movement must occur at the same time. In 
  addition, the robot’s land speed increases to 70 
  feet. This ability functions as a haste effect.
  Nanite Repair (Ex) A terminator-class security robot’s 
  nanites heal it, restoring a number of Hit Points per 
  hour equal to its CR (10 Hit Points per hour for most 
  terminator-class security robots). Once per day as a full 
  action, a terminator-class security robot can restore 5d8 
  Hit Points to itself or any touched construct with the 
  technological subtype. 
  Favored by wealthy corporations and government-funded 
  security firms, the expensive terminator-class security robots 
  are equipped with weapons that are more robust than those 
  of their patrol-class counterparts, as well as specialized 
  processors that allow them to gain a boost of speed. 
  Terminator-class security robots are humanoid in appearance, 
  but much larger. They are bipedal and typically stand 8 to 
  12 feet tall, though some manufacturers are known to create 
  quadrupedal versions of this construct. Most terminator-
  class security robots have smooth, ovoid heads, with a single 
  camera lens serving as the construct’s visual sensor.
  ROBOT, SECURITY
   
  CR
    10
   
  XP
    9,600
  
  59
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  NE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11
  DEFENSE 
  HP 70 
  EAC 17; KAC 19 
  Fort +7; Ref +7; Will +6
  Defensive Abilities shadow blend
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee bite +15 (1d6+10 P & C plus trip) or 
  tail slap +15 (1d4+10 B)
  Offensive Abilities bay
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +2; Con +3; Int –3; Wis +0; Cha +1
  Skills Acrobatics +11, Athletics +11, Stealth +16 (+20 when 
  not in bright light)
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue (can’t speak 
  any language)
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3–8)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES 
  Bay (Su) When a shadow mastiff howls or barks, every 
  creature within a 300-foot spread except evil outsiders 
  must succeed at a DC 15 Will save or become panicked 
  for 1d4 rounds. This is a sense-dependent, mind-affecting 
  fear effect. Whether a creature succeeds at the save or 
  not, it can’t be affect by the same shadow mastiff’s bay 
  for 24 hours.
  Shadow Blend (Su) In any condition of illumination other 
  than bright light, a shadow mastiff disappears into the 
  shadows, giving it concealment (50% miss chance). A 
  shadow mastiff can suspend or resume this ability as 
  a swift action. In addition, a shadow mastiff gains a +4 
  racial bonus to Stealth checks while in any condition of 
  illumination other than bright light, and it can hide even 
  if it is observed or lacks cover. 
  Trip (Ex) In addition to dealing the listed damage, if a 
  shadow mastiff hits with its bite attack and the attack 
  roll result equals or exceeds the target’s KAC + 4, the 
  shadow mastiff also automatically trips the foe (this 
  takes no action). 
  Native to dimly lit areas of the Shadow Plane, these  ferocious 
  and alien-yet-familiar beasts often inspire a primal terror 
  in those who witness them in drug-fueled nightmares and 
  visions of that dimension.
  Though they are commonly known as shadow mastiffs, 
  these creatures have little in common with actual 
  canines except for their appearance, and shadow mastiffs 
  encountered outside of the Pact Worlds might bear a closer 
  resemblance to local predatory beasts. Shadow mastiffs 
  discover new hunting grounds when power-hungry or 
  corrupt mortals summon them, or when mystical and 
  technomagical rituals tear the veil that separates their world 
  from the Material Plane.
  SHADOW MASTIFF 
   
  CR
    5
   
  XP
    1,600 
  
  RACIAL TRAITS
  Ability Adjustments: +2 Int, +2 Dex, –2 Str
  Hit Points: 4
  Size and Type: Svartalfars are Medium fey with the 
  extraplanar subtype. 
  Bane: See the stat block. 
  Darkvision: Svartalfars have darkvision with a range 
  of 60 feet.
  Low-Light Vision: Svartalfars can see in dim light as if 
  it were normal light.
  Lethal Grace: Svartalfars are known for their uncanny 
  grace in combat. They gain a +2 racial bonus to 
  Acrobatics and Stealth checks. 
  Light Blindness: A svartalfar exposed to 
  bright light is blinded for 1 round, and 
  dazzled as long as it remains in areas of 
  bright light.
  Svartalfar Magic: Svartalfars have an 
  affinity for magic. A svartalfar chooses a 
  1st-level spell. It can cast that spell as a 
  spell-like ability once per day for every 
  3 character levels it has. The caster 
  level for this spell is equal to the 
  svartalfar’s level. Once chosen, this 
  spell cannot be changed. 
  60
  Svartalfar operative
  LE Medium fey (extraplanar)
  Init +9; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +18
  DEFENSE 
  HP 135 
  EAC 22; KAC 23 
  Fort +8; Ref +11; Will +12
  Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny agility
  DR 10/cold iron; Resistances cold 10, electricity 10; SR 20
  Weaknesses light blindness
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee tactical knife +17 (1d4+10 S)
  Ranged advanced shirren-eye rifle +19 
  (2d10+9 P) or 
  aphelion laser pistol +19 (3d4+9 F; critical 
  burn 1d4) or 
  flash grenade II +19 (explode [10 ft., 
  blinded 1d4 rounds, DC 18])
  Offensive Abilities bane, 
  debilitating trick, spell strike, 
  trick attack +5d8, triple attack
  Svartalfar Spell-Like Abilities (CL 
  9th; melee +17) 
  1/day–entropic grasp (DC 18), 
  greater invisibility 
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +6; Con +3; Int +4; Wis 
  +2; Cha +3 
  Skills Acrobatics +23, Intimidate +18, 
  Mysticism +18, Sleight of Hand 
  +23, Stealth +23
  Languages Common, Elven, 
  Shadowtongue, Vercite
  Other Abilities operative exploits 
  (cloaking field, debilitating sniper)
  Gear d-suit III, advanced shirren-
  eye rifle with 20 sniper rounds, 
  aphelion laser pistol with 2 
  high-capacity batteries (40 
  charges each), flash grenades II 
  (2), tactical knife, credstick (1,200 
  credits)
  ECOLOGY 
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary, pair, cabal 
  (3–10), or clan (11–30)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES 
  Bane (Su) Once per day as a swift action, 
  a svartalfar can imbue one of its weapons 
  with the bane weapon fusion. It must select 
  one creature type (and subtype, if choosing 
  humanoid or outsider) when it uses this ability. 
  This lasts for 1 hour. This ability functions only 
  while the svartalfar wields the weapon. 
  Spell Strike (Su) As a swift action after hitting 
  with a melee weapon, a svartalfar can cast 
  and deliver its entropic grasp spell-like ability 
  to affect the target’s armor, if it hasn’t already 
  cast it yet that day. If the spell is cast in this 
  way, its duration is an additional 6 rounds.
  Exiled aeons ago from the First World for 
  unspeakable crimes against other fey, svartalfars 
  fled to the Shadow Plane. When Triune bestowed 
  Drift technology to the universe, svartalfars 
  channeled their vengeful energies away from the 
  fey who expelled them to focus on an inscrutable 
  endgame spanning both the galaxy and the 
  planes. Many of these calculating killers have 
  realized that the universal currencies of money 
  and power can advance their race further than can 
  the arcane knowledge they once sought as payment for 
  their services.
  SVARTALFAR 
   
  CR
    9
   
  XP
    6,400 
  
  61
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful, velstrac)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; 
  Perception +20
  DEFENSE  
  HP 175
  EAC 24; KAC 26 
  Fort +15; Ref +13; Will +10 
  Defensive Abilities integrated weapons, regeneration 5 
  (good or silver); Immunities cold; SR 22
  Weaknesses pain dependency, vulnerable to fire
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee integrated penitent shadow chains +24 (5d4+14 C; 
  critical bind)
  Ranged shadow spine +21 (3d8+11 C; critical staggered [DC 18])
  Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with penitent shadow chains)
  Offensive Abilities create darkness, unnerving gaze (30 ft., 
  DC 18)
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +5; Con +3; Int +0; Wis +1; Cha +8
  Skills Acrobatics +20, Athletics +20, Intimidate +25
  Languages Common, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
  Gear integrated penitent shadow chainsAR
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Plane of Shadow)
  Organization solitary, pair, escort (1d4 plus 1 
  velstrac of lower CR), or entourage (2d6 plus 1 
  velstrac of higher CR)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Pain Dependency (Ex) A sexton is addicted to pain. If it 
  doesn’t take damage every 4 hours, it gains the sickened 
  and fatigued conditions until the next time it takes 
  damage.
  Shadow Spine (Su) As a ranged attack, a sexton can fire 
  the spines of solidified shadowstuff that protrude 
  from its back at its foes. This attack has a range 
  increment of 40 feet and a maximum range of 200 feet. 
  Unnerving Gaze (Su) A creature that views a sexton’s visage 
  is beset by visions of torment. A creature that fails a DC 
  18 Will saving throw against this gaze is panicked by 1d4 
  rounds as horrifying images and sounds flood its mind. 
  This is a mind-affecting fear effect. Whether a creature 
  succeeds at the save or not, it can’t be affected by the 
  panicking effect of a sexton’s unnerving gaze for 24 
  hours. However, every round after the first that a creature 
  is within range of a sexton’s gaze, it is racked by phantom 
  pains and must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or be 
  nauseated for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting pain effect.
  Tall and muscular in appearance, a sexton has an additional 
  pair of arms that look like they have been sewn onto the 
  sexton’s elongated torso. A sexton’s pallid, bloodless flesh 
  is icy cold to the touch and marred with ritual scarification. 
  Nanocarbon chains weave in and out of a sexton’s skin and 
  wrap around its limbs, and razor-sharp spines of frozen 
  shadowstuff protrude from its back. 
  Even compared to other velstracs, sextons are rabid fanatics, 
  existing only to experience pain and carry out the orders of 
  more powerful velstracs. They are completely addicted to the 
  act of receiving pain, and they become nearly useless if such 
  experiences are unavailable. Pain pleases a sexton best if it 
  is delivered by another being, but a sexton will harm itself to 
  receive a needed fix if no other options are available. 
  VELSTRAC, SEXTON
   
  CR
    11
   
  XP
    12,800 
  
  MALFANE
  Literal Hellscape
  Diameter: ×1; Mass: ×2
  Gravity: ×2
  Location: The Vast
  Atmosphere: Varies
  Day: 13 hours; Year: 169 days
  Malfane is the smallest of 11 planets orbiting the star Pejor, 
  and it circles so close to the star that the world is hellishly 
  hot, ranging from 110° to 140° F at the cool end to 200° 
  or more in its deserts and tropical zones. Steaming seas, 
  magma vents, volcanic mountain ranges, and smoldering 
  jungles spotted with wildfires crisscross the planet. The 
  atmosphere is breathable, though sooty, near the poles but 
  becomes mildly toxic closer to the equator. As seen from 
  space, the planet’s night side is aglow with hundreds of 
  fires and lava flows, which form ever-changing runes in the 
  Infernal language.
  Ample evidence shows Malfane was once a technologically 
  advanced planet similar to most in the Pact Worlds. Broken 
  ruins of cities and shattered ribbons of mass-transit rails and 
  roadways litter the surface, and a ring of satellite debris, 
  centuries old, floats in orbit. However, Malfane now has little 
  native life, for the world is entirely overrun by devils and 
  other entities from the plane of Hell.
  Six major settlements exist on Malfane, one at each pole 
  (Arazu and Gelmnor) and four more spread equidistant 
  around its equator (Churlg, Llovach, Vax, and Zarglon). A 
  powerful devil, holding the title “Governor of Hell,” rules 
  each city, but who these officials answer to and how they 
  earned their titles is unclear. Devils within these cities 
  engage in nonstop labor. Some raid Malfane’s ruins for 
  useful technology, which is then bound to minor devils 
  to turn them into cybernetic fiends. Others perform vile 
  rituals to summon more devils from Hell, employing them 
  planet-side or placing them on fiendish starships to travel to 
  other systems. Still others build and staff obscene pleasure 
  domes and vulgar medical facilities.
  The devils have no need for either of these latter amenities, 
  but they act as lures for wealthy and influential mortals, 
  who can gain access to the benefits and amusements 
  within for the mere price of a soul sold to one devil lord 
  or another. In most cases, the deal promises the mortal 
  good health and nonstop gratification for the remainder 
  of a long life. However, such mortals can never leave the 
  city that hosts them, and upon death, their souls belong to 
  Hell. Because Malfane is not well known and its location in 
  the Vast means considerable travel time from any 
  other world, these devil cities have only a few 
  thousand mortals dwelling within them 
  in decadent luxury, but each metropolis 
  has room to support millions. The 
  devils are very patient, and they 
  employ a subtle marketing force 
  of 
  profane 
  mortals 
  and 
  disguised  devils that have 
  been sent throughout the 
  galaxy to entice further 
  victims. 
  Many 
  of 
  these 
  agents work simply by word of 
  mouth, but a few have built 
  splashy storefronts in major 
  civilizations to advertise a 
  “new way of living.”
  Visitors are welcome 
  to land wherever they 
  wish on Malfane, but 
  safety is guaranteed only 
  within the six cities. Even 
  there, only those who adhere to 
  all laws remain protected. The fiendish 
  hosts avoid explaining regulations in 
  detail, including the fact that ignorance of the law is 
  not considered to be an excuse for violating it.
  62
  CODEX OF WORLDS
  CODEX OF WORLDS
  
  63
  HEART OF NIGHT
  by Saif Ansari
  Trapped on the Shadow Plane, the heroes find their only 
  hope of returning to the Material Plane is to find and destroy 
  the mad scientist whose machinations put them in this 
  predicament. After retrieving a starship from worshippers of 
  a god of darkness and pain, the PCs fight past a disturbing 
  vessel piloted by shadowy fiends who want to flay them alive 
  and arrive at a shadow version of the asteroid resort where 
  the campaign began. At the center of this web, the heroes 
  confront the transformed Dr. Lestana Gragant. If the PCs 
  can defeat her, they might be able cure themselves of their 
  corruption and find a way home!
  CONTINUING THE CAMPAIGN
  by Tracy Barnett
  The heroes have saved their souls from the corruption 
  caused by Dr. Gragant’s shadow signal, but their adventures 
  don’t have to end there! From thwarting the machinations of 
  the android CEO of a corrupt corporation to being tempted 
  by terribly seductive offers from a velstrac demagogue, this 
  article is packed with plot hooks and ideas to continue any 
  Signal of Screams campaign.
  THE SHADOW PLANE
  By Thurston Hillman
  A twisted reflection of the Material Plane, the Shadow Plane 
  is home to dozens of native species, some exiled or trapped 
  there ages ago and some who were born in the dim light of 
  the plane, but all have been warped by its energies. Learn 
  about these people and the unusual places they reside, many 
  of which are strange echoes of familiar locales.
  SUBSCRIBE TO STARFINDER 
  ADVENTURE PATH
  The Signal of Screams Adventure Path concludes! Don’t 
  miss out on a single exciting volume—head over to 
  paizo.com/starfinder and subscribe today to have Starfinder 
  Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Adventure Path, and Starfinder 
  Accessories products delivered to your door!
  Open Game License Version 1.0a
  Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
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  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with 
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors: Jonathan 
  Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave 
  Arneson.
  Starfinder Core Rulebook © 2017, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, 
  Amanda Hamon Kunz, Jason Keeley, Robert G. McCreary, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, 
  Mark Seifter, Owen K.C. Stephens, and James L. Sutter, with Alexander Augunas, 
  Judy Bauer, John Compton, Adam Daigle, Crystal Frasier, Lissa Guillet, Thurston Hillman, 
  Erik Mona, Mark Moreland, Jessica Price, F. Wesley Schneider, Amber E. Scott, and 
  Josh Vogt.
  Starfinder Adventure Path #11: The Penumbra Protocol © 2018, Paizo Inc.; Authors: 
  Jenny Jarzabski, with Isabelle Lee, Owen K.C. Stephens, and James L. Sutter.
  NEXT MONTH
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  THE
   PENUMBRA
  PROTOCOL
  PART 1:
  IN PURSUIT 
  OF ECLIPSE
  PART 2:
  GATHERING 
  SHADOWS
  PART 3:
  THE BLACK
   SITE
  CUVACARA
  FIENDS OF 
  SHADOW
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  Battle or befriend more than 100 exotic and alien life-forms in this creature collection for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game!
  • Rules and ecological information for creatures from across the known worlds
  • Exotic alien gear
  • Sixteen new playable races let YOU be the alien
  • Complete magical polymorphing rules, and more! 
  Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem logo, Starfinder, and the Starfinder logo are registered trademarks 
  of Paizo Inc.; Starfinder Roleplaying Game is a trademark of Paizo Inc. © 2018, Paizo Inc.
  AVAILABLE NOW! 
  INTELLIGENT CENTIPEDE?  
  YOU CAN PLAY THAT!  
  ALIEN ARCHIVE 2
  paizo.com
  
  MAP KEY
  1. Main bridge
  a. Captain’s station
  b. Pilot’s station
  c. Engineer’s station
  2. Lift
  3. Crew quarters
  4. Main airlock
  5. Washroom
  6. Galley
  7. Escape pods
  8. Power core
  9. Lower bridge
  a. Gunner’s station
  b. Science officer’s station
  10. Cargo hold
  11. Cargo airlock
  12. Passenger seating
  13. Turret deck
  ANTUMBRA OVERSEER
  1  SQUARE = 10 FEET
  FORWARD
  a
  1
  10
  11
  12
  2
  2
  13
  8
  7
  7
  6
  5
  3
  2
  2
  4
  9
  a
  b
  b
  c
  
  Infected with a sickness that threatens to turn them into twisted sadists, the heroes travel to the city of 
  Cuvacara on the planet Verces to find the possible origin of their affliction! They soon discover that a sinister 
  company plans to release a new social media app that will corrupt the entire city. If they can survive 
  attacks from corporate assassins, the heroes must save the metropolis by shutting down the transmitters 
  set to broadcast the corrupting signal. Along the way, they learn the location of the company’s hidden 
  underground base on the planet’s Darkside, where a sinister executive awaits their arrival.
  This volume of Starfinder Adventure Path continues the Signal of Screams Adventure Path and includes:
  • “The Penumbra Protocol,” a Starfinder adventure for 9th-level characters, by Jenny Jarzabski.
  • An exploration of the twilight-drenched city of Cuvacara on the tidally locked planet of Verces, by
  Jenny Jarzabski.
  • A look at the history and motivations of the Shadow Plane outsiders known as velstracs, by Isabelle Lee.
  • An archive of alien horrors, including a skin-harvesting, wormlike humanoid and a cruel fey exiled from the First 
  World, by Jenny Jarzabski and James L. Sutter.
  • Statistics and deck plans for a corporate attack vessel, by Jenny Jarzabski, plus a glimpse at a fiery planet
  infested with devils, by Owen K.C. Stephens.
  A KILLER APP
  paizo.com/starfinder
  Printed in China. PZO7211
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Starfinder [multi]/Adventure Paths/SF10-12 Signal of Screams/Signal of Screams - 02 - The Penumbra Protocol.pdf