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  Dreams and Dust
  Written by
  Jesse Pingenot
  Edited by
  Thorin Tabor
  Saga Machine system by
  Thorin Tabor
  Cover by
  Jason Moser
  Published by
  Tab Creations LLC
  Layout by
  Thorin Tabor
  Art by
  BroMiguel, Jarel Threat, Jason Moser, Jeshields, NASA, Wilson Saravia
  Special Thanks to
  All of our generous Patreon backers!
  Tab Creations is
  Ben Goreham, Jesse Pingenot, Matthew Pennell, Thorin Tabor
  Tab Creations, Saga Machine and Shadows Over Sol are trademarks owned by Thorin Tabor and Tab Creations LLC. All rights reserved. All 
  other content is ©2016 Tab Creations. The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark 
  or copyright concerned. This document is a work of fiction. Some artwork © 2015 JASON MOSER, used with permission. All rights reserved.
  
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  Dreams and Dust is a complete scenario 
  in which the player characters will be in charge 
  of constructing a new outpost on Mars. The 
  Stillwater Catholic Church is among the 
  investors that have recruited the team to lead 
  the construction, due to the team’s proven 
  abilities and past experience. It is designed to 
  run between two and four gaming sessions.
  Player characters in this adventure should 
  be established and notable, but not so famous 
  that the new colony’s investors believe they 
  will be too missed if anything goes wrong... 
  The pitch, after all, will be that this is their 
  opportunity to go down in the history books!
  If making new characters for this scenario, 
  players should pick specific leadership roles 
  and have those in mind during character 
  creation. For example, if one of them wants 
  to be head of security, she’d better take some 
  charisma and persuasion as well as combat 
  characteristics, or she’ll have a hard time 
  leading her team! Let the players come up 
  with roles for themselves, but as a friendly 
  GM, feel free to point out areas that they may 
  have missed or left unfilled.
  Synopsis
  Over the course of this scenario several 
  factions are at work. As the scenario 
  progresses, the machinations of each faction 
  should be unveiled.
  Libya Outpost
  Mars is served by a singular space elevator, 
  located in Oras colony. This means that all of 
  the other Martian colonies depend on Oras 
  for their supply of all offworld goods. As Still-
  water is the largest Martian colony, it has long 
  wanted to free itself from this dependence. 
  In recent years this has become increasingly 
  important, as the brewing conflict between 
  Unitech and the Stillwater Catholic Church 
  threatens to cut off Stillwater’s supply lines—
  Unitech, after all, owns a major stake in Mars’ 
  singular space elevator.
  To rectify this situation, the Stillwater 
  Catholic Church—along with a few other 
  investors—has been developing plans to 
  build an outpost with their own space 
  elevator. They’ve already secured funds and 
  picked out a site, which they’ve dubbed Libya 
  after its ancient identification as an albedo 
  feature. For reasons of orbital physics, this 
  site has to be some 200 km away, located at 
  the Martian equator.
  The agreement between the Church and 
  the other investors mandates that third-party 
  experts be hired to oversee the construction of 
  the outpost. This gives the Church and other 
  investors some distance from being the public 
  face of the new development.
  Unitech
  Unitech’s control of the Oras space 
  elevator is key to their influence over the 
  Martian colonies. They have much to lose if a 
  second space elevator outside of their control 
  is constructed, especially if its controlled by a 
  group with which they have a longstanding 
  conflict. Throughout this scenario Unitech 
  will be attempting to delay or stop the 
  outpost’s construction.
  Dextra Dei
  A secret faction exists within the Still-
  water Catholic Church which calls itself the 
  Dextra Dei, the Right Hand of God. This 
  secretive group holds the belief that original 
  sin is something encoded into the very genes 
  of humanity. With the right genetic changes, 
  they believe that they can cure mankind of 
  original sin itself, brining all of humanity a 
  step closer to a return to the Garden of Eden. 
  They are attempting to develop a “Sin 
  Vaccine” to fix the damning DNA. Towards 
  that end, they have stolen the relics of many 
  Introduction
  
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  Catholic saints—those who were unusually 
  pure, and thus freed from sin. So far they 
  have been attempting to extract remnant 
  genetic material from these relics, which they 
  can sequence and compare, thereby isolating 
  what makes the saints genetically distinct. It 
  will only be a matter of time, however, until 
  their experiments lead them to the Kronos 
  Protein and into damnation.
  Naturally, all of this subterfuge and 
  research costs a pretty penny. The Stillwater 
  Catholic Church has recently prioritized the 
  construction of Libya Outpost, and they are 
  dumping a large amount of money into the 
  endeavor. The Dextra Dei have embedded 
  themselves in the project in order to syphon 
  money away towards their own experi-
  ments. As construction of the outpost gets 
  underway, the outpost’s isolated nature will 
  also make an ideal testing ground for their 
  new experimental developments.
  Milites Filii
  The Roman Catholic Church knows the 
  Stillwater Catholic Church has stolen the 
  relics of many saints. In response, the Roman 
  Catholics have sent members of the Milites 
  Filii, a lesser-known military order of the 
  Church to recover the relics and shut down 
  the Dextra Dei’s sin vaccine project. As the 
  players make the way through the scenario, 
  the Milites Filii may prove to be ether allies 
  or enemies. Either way, they may provide 
  vital clues as to the existence and aims of the 
  Dextra Dei.
  The Kronos Protein
  As both the construction of the outpost 
  and experiments of the Dextra Dei go on, 
  Doctor Estrella—who is part of the secret 
  order—will reach out to his old contacts in 
  Jenseitech’s Accelerated Research Division 
  looking for possible leads that will amount to 
  to a breakthrough in his experiments. Seeking 
  to undermine their rival, Unitech, and 
  seeking to glean their own knowledge from 
  Doctor Estrell’s experiments, elements within 
  Jenseitech will supply him with a sample of 
  the Kronos Protein (see Fatal Frontier, page 
  30). This remarkable protein of unknown 
  origin will indeed lead to a breakthrough, but 
  not the kind that anyone has predicted. Its 
  results will be very evident when the finale of 
  the adventure is reached.
  Enter the Players
  This scenario is divided into three parts, 
  of which the second is by far the largest. In 
  the first part the players are introduced to 
  the job for which they’ve been hired, as well 
  as the major NPCs featured by the scenario. 
  The players also have the opportunity to learn 
  some key facts that will help them later. 
  During the second part of the scenario 
  the players will be in charge of planning and 
  overseeing the construction of the Libya 
  outpost. This section is not a linear series 
  of events, but rather a set of decisions and 
  challenges, interspersed with events that 
  should drop clues pointing at the Dextra 
  Dei and other actors working behind the 
  scenes. GMs should pick and choose both, 
  playing through them as makes sense given 
  the players and their interests.
  Eventually the players should piece 
  together what the Dextra Dei are doing. 
  This kicks off the third and final part of the 
  Ready-Made 
  Heroes
  The team found in the Ready-Made 
  Heroes supplement is a good match for this 
  scenario: just assume that they’ve added a 
  few accomplishments to their names by the 
  time they’re hired for this job. Aleksander 
  and Sam both grew up on Mars, and so will 
  be on their home turf. Alex has past experi-
  ence in management. Ozan has contacts in 
  Unitech, which may be useful in the events 
  to come. Steve spent time at the university 
  in Stillwater.
  
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  scenario, in which the player characters must 
  struggle the survive against the monsters that 
  have been created. Ultimately the players must 
  put an end to the Dextra Dei’s machinations.
  Modes of 
  Horror
  This scenario is a bit of an odd duck 
  when it comes to the three modes of horror. 
  Thematically this adventure is more of an 
  investigative horror scenario, but the vast 
  resources that will be put in the hands of 
  the player characters will allow them to gear 
  up much like action horror, should they so 
  choose. This fact makes the scenario a good 
  one for GMs who want to escalate their 
  campaign from survival or investigative 
  horror to action horror.
  If making new characters for this 
  adventure, we recommend that GMs begin 
  their players at investigative horror. This 
  should set the right expectations for the 
  scenario. If, however, players gear up beyond 
  the normal levels of investigative horror, then 
  that’s simply to be expected.
  Other Adventures
  Dreams and Dust can be used alone or in conjunction with other published Shadows 
  Over Sol adventures. Below are some notes on how to combine this adventure with others.
   
  �
  Eviction Notice: Since this adventure also takes place on Mars, it is an obvious fit. 
  Eviction Notice could either be ran before the events of Dreams and Dust, as an expla-
  nation of how the player characters made a name for themselves, or it could be ran 
  during the middle part of the adventure—in which case the gang residing in the ruins 
  of Vidhi Colony also poses a threat to the players’ new outpost.
   
  �
  Ghost Ship: This adventure could be made relevant to Dreams and Dust if the ship taken 
  over by the Insurrection Virus was in the process of bringing supplies to the players’ new 
  outpost. This might compel the team to make a trip to space to investigate.
   
  �
  Memories: Although this adventure was written for specific player characters, it fore-
  shadows Project Theta, in which Doctor Estrella was involved. It also foreshadows the 
  conflict between Unitech and the Stillwater Catholic Church. This adventure could be 
  ran as a one-shot “side story” to foreshadow these developments.
   
  �
  Small Mercy: This adventure also features the Kronos Protein (see Fatal Frontier, 
  page 30). As such, it might be ran before Dreams and Dust as a way to foreshadow the 
  appearance of the protein.
  Further Reading
  An enterprising GM might want to 
  families herself with the sections of the 
  Shadows Over Sol core rulebook relating 
  to the Stillwater colony (see page 86), the 
  Stillwater Catholic Church (see page 73), 
  Unitech (see page 60) and the Kronos 
  Protein (see Fatal Frontier, page 30).
  
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  The following scenes open the 
  scenario. Their purpose is to establish the 
  roles of the player characters, introduce 
  the major NPCs and to jumpstart the 
  plot of the adventure. This is a ray of 
  hope before the storm. It ends when the 
  PCs reach the site of the Libya outpost.
  Introductions
  This scenario begins with the player 
  characters sitting in an ornate conference 
  room in the Martian colony of Stillwater 
  (see the Shadows Over Sol core rulebook, 
  page 86). The team has been approached 
  by a group of investors who wish to 
  finance the establishment of a new outpost 
  near Stillwater. This site is to eventually be 
  home to a new space elevator, which will 
  bring a good deal of trade and economic 
  independence to the colony.
  If the characters are not part of an 
  established team, give the players a 
  moment to describe their characters to 
  each other. In front of each PC is a thick 
  envelope with her name on it, as well as 
  a glass and a pitcher of water. The table 
  is real wood, which is a very expensive 
  luxury on the Red Planet. Characters 
  may also have gathered some informa-
  tion either through past research or by 
  accessing the net:
   
  � A successful Int/conspiracy-10 flip 
  will reveal that the group of investors 
  who contacted the PCs primarily 
  consist of the Stillwater Catholic 
  Church, as well as a few associated 
  businesses. A failure still turns up this 
  info, but alerts the church to the char-
  acter’s snooping.
   
  � Succeeding on an Int/phy-sci-8 flip 
  will remind a character that for a space 
  elevator to maintain stable geosyn-
  chronous orbit, it needs to be built at 
  the equator—meaning the planned 
  outpost will have to be fairly remote 
  and eventually connected to Stillwater 
  by mag-train.
   
  � Players who open the envelope in 
  front of them early will find two 
  printed copies of the contract for 
  the job. A successful Int/bureau-
  crat-10 flip will determine that the 
  contracts are pretty standard for 
  a job like this and include a non-
  disclosure agreement that lasts until 
  the outpost is officially opened.
  Meet & Greet
  Keeping Track of NPCs
  This section introduces no less than 
  six NPCs, each of whom will play a 
  significant role later in the scenario. 
  Keeping track of all these characters 
  can be a daunting task, especially for 
  new GMs.
  One way to help players keep 
  track of the NPCs is to create small, 
  fold-up name tags for character (PCs 
  included) and place one on the table 
  in front of each player. Then, as NPCs 
  are introduced, the GM can place the 
  appropriate name tag in front of her. 
  Short descriptions or small profile 
  pictures could also be included on the 
  name tags for added effect.
  
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  Enter the Bishop
  Once the players have had the oppor-
  tunity to introduce themselves and 
  maybe gather some information, the 
  door will open and in will step Bishop 
  Adofo Dwamena, closely followed by his 
  assistant, Father Hafthor Schmidt-Sexton. 
  The team will be familiar with the 
  both of them: it was Bishop Dwamena 
  who contacted them about the job. 
  Father Hafthor, as his assistant, always 
  appeared on screen first and connected 
  them to Bishop Dwamena.
   
  � “Thank you all for coming. As you 
  know, I am Adofo Dwamena, Bishop 
  Coadjutor of the Stillwater Arch-
  diocese. I assist Archbishop Takanagi 
  with executive oversight. This is 
  Father Hafthor Schmidt-Sexton, my 
  assistant whom you have all already 
  met. I understand you have some 
  questions, I will hear them now.”
  Bishop Dwamena will be willing to 
  answer a few questions the players may 
  have regarding the economic impor-
  tance of the outpost, the interests of the 
  Church in securing the independence of 
  Stillwater or why the characters them-
  selves were chosen. He will only answer 
  two or three questions, though, before 
  continuing onward—leaving the players 
  wanting to know more.
  The Three Doctors
  Once a handful of questions have been 
  answered, Bishop Dwamena will interject 
  Father Hafthor Schmidt-Sexton
  Geneline Modern Superman, Subculture Serv
  Str 6, Dex 5, Spd 6, End 6, Int 8, Per 9, Chr 6, Det 7
  Defense 10/20, DR 0, Shock 13, Wound 6, Wealth 9, Lifestyle 9
  Skills: Awareness 2, Bureaucrat 3, Conspiracy 3, Deception 3, Investigate 4, 
  Lib-Arts 3, Melee 2, Program 3, Thievery 3
  Light Pistol: +2 (�12M/�8M/�4M/�2M), Range 10, Shots 10
  Gear: AR Implant, Hand Terminal
  Father Hafthor is toweringly tall and mildly obese, but he moves with an assured 
  stride, glancing at each of the PCs and obviously mentally checking them off 
  of a list in his head. His black cassock and sash are in stark contrast with his 
  pasty-white skin. He serves as Bishop Dwamena’s secretary and assistant, acting as 
  go-between in all of Bishop Dwamena’s official communications. He is of mixed 
  Scandinavian, Germanic and English origin. 
  As with Bishop Dwamena, Father Hafthor is a member of the Dextra Dei. He 
  minimizes his direct contact with the order, however, as he has made political 
  enemies within the Stillwater Catholic Church who would love to dig up dirt 
  on him. If the players were to come up with any damning evidence on Father 
  Hafthor, a certain Bishop Baglio would be very interested in that information.
  
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  that the conversation must be moving 
  on—there will be time for more questions 
  later. He first wants to introduce the team 
  to the doctors the investors have chosen 
  to head up the ecological development of 
  the new outpost. He gestures to Father 
  Hafthor to open the door to the confer-
  ence room, letting in three more people.
  Enter Doctor Estrella
  The first person to enter the room is 
  a short man with tan skin, wearing slacks 
  and a button-up shirt. 
   
  � “This is Doctor Thyoden Estrella. 
  He is a brilliant geneticist and he has 
  oversight of all of the science depart-
  ments on the expedition. He also 
  personally leads the genetics team 
  and facilities. I ask that you all defer 
  to him in matters of science—he has 
  command there.”
  Enter Doctor Nakatomi
  The second person is a woman of 
  average build and height, also wearing 
  slacks and a button-up, over which she 
  wears a white lab coat.
   
  � “This is Doctor Nakatomi Patricia. 
  Doctor Nakatomi is the chief medical 
  officer for your expedition. She will 
  be overseeing all of the medical staff 
  and facilities.”
  Enter Doctor Hassan
  Last to enter is a short, plump woman, 
  her long, black hair kept in dreadlocks. She 
  looks around cheerfully, beaming as she 
  bustles over to her seat. She is dressed almost 
  identically to Dr. Estrella, but her slacks and 
  shirt are loose and somewhat wrinkled.
   
  � “And this is Doctor Evelyn Hassan, 
  head of terraforming R&D.”
  Bishop Adofo Dwamena
  Geneline Celebrity Deluxe, Subculture Serv
  Str 4, Dex 6, Spd 6, End 6, Int 6, Per 9, Chr 8, Det 6
  Defense 10/21, DR 0, Shock 12, Wound 5, Wealth 4, Lifestyle 7
  Skills: Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Bureaucrat 2, Comp-Ops 2, Conspiracy 4, 
  Deception 4, Guns 2, Investigate 3, Lib-Arts 2, Persuade 2, Socialize 2, Stealth 2
  Heavy Pistol: +5 (�15M/�10M/�5M/�2M), Autofire 2, Range 10, Shots 10
  Gear: AR Implant, Hand Terminal, Injector Unit, Stimulox, Torpestat
  Bishop Dwamena is a tall, commanding man. His dark skin complements his 
  simple black cassock with red trim and a purple sash. A large cross lays on his 
  chest, suspended from a neck chain, and large gold episcopal ring, on which 
  glitters an amethyst. 
  He is a proud man of pure Akan ancestry. He is also the team’s main contact with 
  the Stillwater Catholic Church, as Bishop Coadjutor of the Stillwater Archdio-
  cese, assisting Archbishop Takanagi Samuel in his duties as overseer of the Libya 
  Outpost Project. Unfortunately, he is also a member of the Dextra Dei.
  
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  Doctor Thyoden Estrella
  Geneline Genius Deluxe, Subculture Techno
  Str 2, Dex 5, Spd 6, End 4, Int 9, Per 8, Chr 5, Det 8
  Defense 9/19, DR 0, Shock 12, Wound 3, Wealth 5, Lifestyle 5
  Skills: Bio-Sci 5, Bureaucrat 2, Comp-Ops 2, Conspiracy 1, Deception 3, 
  Engineer 3, Investigate 3, Mechanic 3, Phy-Sci 3, Program 3, Vehicles 2
  Light Pistol: +2 (�12M/�8M/�4M/�2M), Range 10, Shots 10
  Gear: AR Implant, Hand Terminal
  Doctor Estrella is a genius but fanatical geneticist and head of the Sin Vaccine 
  project for the Dextra Dei. He is very warm and welcoming except when he is 
  working, when he is so focused he loses all track of everything around him. He 
  seems sleepless and will be found in his lab at any hour—day or night—even 
  seeming to forget to eat for days at a time.
  Doctor Nakatomi Patricia
  Geneline Spacer’s Standard, Subculture Neoret
  Str 3, Dex 6, Spd 6, End 2, Int 9, Per 7, Chr 8, Det 6
  Defense 9/19, DR 0, Shock 12, Wound 3, Wealth 5, Lifestyle 5
  Skills: Athletics 2, Bio-Sci 4, Bureaucrat 2, Crafts 3, Investigate 3, Lib-Arts 2, 
  Medic 4, Naturalist 2, Program 2
  Fists: +3 (�9L/�6L/�3L/�1L)
  Gear: AR Implant, Hand Terminal, Medikit, Surgery Kit
  Doctor Nakatomi is the chief medical officer of the project. She is cold, uninviting, 
  and standoffish. She can be downright insulting if anyone seems to question her 
  ability. She mainly does medical research, but will patch up a worker if absolutely 
  necessary. She is of mixed North American and Japanese ancestry.
  Doctor Evelyn Hassan
  Geneline Modern Superman, Subculture Heed
  Str 6, Dex 6, Spd 5, End 6, Int 8, Per 9, Chr 6, Det 7
  Defense 10/20, DR 0, Shock 13, Wound 6, Wealth 6, Lifestyle 4
  Skills: Awareness 2, Bio-Sci 4, Deception 2, Empathy 4, Naturalist 4, Phy-Sci 3, 
  Program 2, Socialize 3
  Knife: +3 (�18M/�12M/�6M/�3M)
  Gear: AR Glasses, Hand Terminal, Torpestat
  Doctor Hassan is a free spirit with an amazing mind. She is of mixed Kurdish 
  and Eastern European ancestry. Dr. Hassan is to be the head of terraforming 
  R&D at the Libya outpost. She is also a Torpestat addict, having become addicted 
  while recovering from a serious injury during previous employment on Schwangi 
  station. This unfortunately led to her involvement in a minor drug smuggling 
  group there, leaving her wanted by the station authorities.
  
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  Elevator Pitch
  With all members of the leadership 
  team for Libya outpost introduced, the 
  Bishop moves on to his personal pitch 
  for the project. He makes the pitch to 
  the group, but may also tailor parts of the 
  pitch to specific team members, targeting 
  his rhetoric at what motivates them. 
  Some lines he may say include:
   
  � “We’ve invited you to be a significant 
  part of an historic undertaking. Mars 
  has only one space elevator, and the 
  Oras colony has flourished because of 
  it. But what were to happen if it were 
  somehow damaged in some way—if 
  one of the gangs sabotaged it, or a ship 
  failed to dock properly and it couldn’t 
  be fixed in time? The people of Still-
  water—no, the people of Mars—would 
  be in grave danger. The Vidhi colony 
  starved as World War Three cut off 
  its supplies. We are much more self-
  sustaining now than the Vidhi colony 
  was, but we are not out of danger. It 
  will be centuries before Mars is properly 
  terraformed, and until that day, we will 
  continue to be dependent on off-planet 
  resources for our survival. Were we cut 
  off, we’d die much later than did Vidhi, 
  but the danger is still present.”
  The Details
  At this point Bishop Dwamena moves 
  on from the initial pitch to the details of 
  the plan for the Libya outpost. Here is 
  the information to convey:
   
  � “For the protection of the people of 
  Mars, and for the prosperity of the 
  people of Stillwater, we have decided 
  to establish an outpost for a new space 
  elevator. As you know, we are not far 
  from the equator here in Stillwater, 
  but that is not quite enough. We must 
  establish this outpost directly on the 
  equator for geosynchronous orbit.”
   
  � “Fortunately, a mere 200 kilometers 
  away is an ideal site for the outpost. 
  As Stillwater grows, this new develop-
  ment will eventually become a hub of 
  the new and greater Stillwater.”
   
  � “This site—currently called Libya 
  after its ancient identification as an 
  albedo feature—is ideal for a number 
  of reasons. You may notice it is not 
  directly north of us, but about 70 
  kilometers to the west.”
   
  � “Surveyors have located a number of 
  promising mineral deposits in that 
  area, which makes the site valuable 
  for mining. What’s more, Libya is 
  on the rim of a crater that is of a 
  very useful size for us to conduct 
  terraforming research.”
   
  � “Preparations are already underway. By 
  the time you get there, the crater should 
  be full of water ice. We have purchased 
  several shipments of ice from off-planet, 
  diverting it to our little crater instead of 
  to the northern polar regions.”
  If the Team has a Doctor...
  It is quite possible that the team already has a PC doctor. If this is the case, 
  Doctor Nakatomi can be replaced easily enough with a player character. Should 
  she be replaced, all actions undertaken by Nakatomi later in the scenario can 
  instead by undertaken by Doctor Hassan.
  
  12
   
  � “An array of mirror satellites are 
  currently under construction in orbit 
  above Oras. When they are finished, 
  they will move into geosynchronous 
  orbit over Libya and begin melting the 
  outer edges of the crater ice, so as to 
  create a semi-marshy area. Dr. Estrella 
  and Dr. Hassan will be working closely 
  together to create new, hardier and 
  more efficient strains of bacteria and 
  algae to continue building atmosphere, 
  which will one day supply the outpost.”
   
  � “As you can tell, we are sinking a lot 
  of resources into this. You have been 
  selected because you are all proven 
  experts in your field. But let me make 
  this clear: you will succeed. This 
  investment will not come back void.”
  Enter the Archbishop
  Bishop Dwamena lets the team know 
  that he will answer all of their questions 
  soon, but first he has one final person 
  to introduce. This person is Archbishop 
  Takanagi, who is is charge of the project, 
  as well as its finances. He is the one to 
  whom the team will  ultimately be held 
  accountable—aside from God, of course. 
  Surveillance Afoot
  The Bishop has Father Hafthor 
  open the door, and of group of security 
  personnel sweep into the room and start 
  collecting reading on handheld sensors as 
  they search the area.
  Within a few seconds there is a 
  crunching sound from one of the security 
  personnel, and then she says, “We have 
  an audio recording device, a bug. It’s 
  been disabled.” A few seconds after that 
  another one of the security personnel 
  declares, “The room is now clean.”
  The PCs might notice the Bishop 
  muttering a few choice words under his 
  breath—it was after all, his duty to have the 
  room secured earlier. If the PCs ask about the 
  bug now or later during the Q&A session, 
  he will let them know that the bug probably 
  belonged to Unitech, who opposes the estab-
  lishment of a new space elevator.
  The Archbishop Speaks
  With the bug destroyed, the Arch-
  bishop will enter the room and deliver a 
  short speech:
   
  � “I won’t hold you long. I just 
  wanted to let you know how excited 
  I am that you are all here. Bishop 
  Dwamena and I have been working 
  hard for years to get this plan off the 
  ground, and now the time has finally 
  come! We selected you personally for 
  this expedition. It will be difficult, 
  but with God’s grace it will succeed! 
  Know that our hopes—not just for 
  ourselves, but for Stillwater and for 
  all of Mars—rest on your success. 
  My thoughts and my prayers—and 
  those of all of us here in Stillwater—
  are with you. Thank you very much.”
  Q&A Continued
  Finally, the players have time to ask 
  all the questions that they desire. Bishop 
  Dwamena will do his best to answer 
  anything involving the logistics of the 
  project. This is also a good time to have 
  the players discuss the upcoming job with 
  each other and with the three scientists 
  with whom they will be working.
  
  13
  Signing the 
  Contract
  Bishop Dwamena directs the team, 
  including the three doctors, to open the 
  envelopes in front of them. Inside each 
  are two physical copies of the contract for 
  the job. The team is asked to each look 
  the contract over and sign when ready.
   
  � “Congratulations! You are now all offi-
  cially part of the greatest undertaking in 
  the history of the Stillwater! Welcome!”
  Afterward
  So far this portion of the adventure 
  has involved a lot of interaction and 
  information gathering. More action-
  focused players may be getting antsy for 
  something  to punch. If one’s gaming 
  group includes players such as these, 
  this would be a good time to inject some 
  action into the scenario.
  Between the initial meeting and the 
  upcoming planning for the project, the 
  team has some free time to make them-
  selves home in Stillwater or to pursue their 
  own agendas. Player characters may have 
  personal goals here that would inject some 
  action into the scenario, otherwise here are 
  some ideas on how to ramp up the tension:
   
  � One of the player characters may find 
  her room bugged with a device similar 
  to the one found in the conference 
  room earlier. This again is Unitech 
  attempting to learn what they can 
  about the plans for the Libya outpost.
   
  � Players who have their characters hit 
  the bar or other public venue may 
  notice that they are being followed. In 
  people following them will attempt to 
  avoid a confrontation, but if forced 
  to talk, will reveal only they they are 
  local freelancers hired over the net to 
  keep an eye on the characters. Use the 
  Rent-a-Cop stats on page 212 of the 
  Shadows Over Sol core rulebook.
   
  � The team could also be targeted on the 
  street by local gangers, such as member 
  of the Red Sands gang network. This sort 
  of mugging is less common in Stillwater 
  than in less reputable colonies, such as 
  Chi Chen, but it still happens, particu-
  larly to people who look like visitors or 
  tourists. Use the Thug stats on page 213 
  of the Shadows Over Sol core rulebook.
  Archbishop Horatio Takanagi
  The Archbishop is a man of medium build, his olive skin standing out over 
  his black vestments. He is dressed almost identically to Bishop Dwamena, but 
  around his shoulders is pallium, a narrow ring of white lambs wool with six red 
  crosses. It rests on top of his shoulders, except for a loop that drops down the 
  middle of his chest, front and back. He frequently smiles.
  The Archbishop cares deeply about the Libya Outpost Project, but as he is 
  getting on in years, he has let Bishop Dwamena do an increasing amount of 
  planning. He is unaware of the existence of the Dextra Dei, but fully aware of 
  Unitech opposition to the project. If stats become necessary for the Archbishop, 
  use the Executive stats on page 212 of the Shadows Over Sol core rulebook.
  
  14
  Planning
  Eventually the team will be called in 
  for a second and final meeting before the 
  expedition sets out for the construction site. 
  The purpose of this meeting is to handle 
  necessary logistics and finalize plans.
  Some players are the sort who love 
  drawing up plans, making decisions and 
  handling aspects of building and explora-
  tion. If this is the case for your group, let 
  them go wild with planning! Subjects to 
  keep in mind include: life support, power, 
  food, water, housing, facilities, mainte-
  nance, warehousing, commerce and entre-
  preneurial space. This outpost is eventu-
  ally going to be part of Stillwater, after all. 
  The inhabitants will need to find ways to 
  serve their community and make a living!
  On the other hand, logistics bore some 
  players to tears. If this is the case for your 
  group, the actual logistics here can mostly 
  be abstracted as a Det/bureaucracy-10 flip. 
  The investors, after all, have been drawing up 
  plans for years. On a success, the character 
  catches a few significant errors. On a failure, 
  something major is overlooked.
  Below are a few challenges that the 
  GM can prompt players to undertake. 
  These examples can serve as inspiration for 
  GMs who want to come up with their own 
  critical decisions for the planning stage.
  Departments
  Each head of department should 
  submit a list of things their department 
  needs, and if the players want to argue 
  about it, they can. This includes each 
  of the three doctors, as well as any PCs 
  that are in charge of a department. The 
  GM should use common sense when 
  evaluating what the PCs are asking for in 
  their department budgets. Anything too 
  excessive will cost points from the discre-
  tionary budget (see page 15)
   
  � Genetics Department: If the players 
  choose to examine Dr. Estrella’s 
  requests in detail, the player reading it 
  should make a Det/bio-sci-14 flip. On 
  a success, she will note that there is an 
  abnormally large amount of gear that 
  could be used to genetically alter and 
  develop human cells. If the players 
  choose to confront Dr. Estrella about 
  it, he will justify it as redundancy in 
  case of sabotage. He will also say that 
  he has plans for geneline development 
  suited to the Martian environment. 
  Despite this weird allocation of funds, 
  his proposal is within budget.
   
  � Medical Department: Examining the 
  medical department budget requires 
  a Det/medic-10 flip. This reveals an 
  unusual amount of funds allocated to 
  treating injury and other trauma. This 
  causes the proposal to be over budget, 
  costing one point of discretionary 
  budget should the team decide to fund 
  it. Dr. Nakatomi justifies this as being 
  worried about Unitech interference.
   
  � Terraforming Department: Examining 
  the terraforming budget requires a 
  Det/naturalist-12 flip. There is nothing 
  particularly unusual about this budget, 
  other than a few pieces of equipment 
  that can also be used to manufacture 
  drugs. Dr. Hassan will explain this as 
  necessary for worker happiness. Her 
  proposal is within budget.
  Power Core
  The outpost will be more than 200 km 
  away from Stillwater proper and it will 
  need its own power supply. This means 
  
  15
  a large thorium fission core that’s capable 
  of supplying the outpost’s needs. As the 
  demand for these cores is small, they are 
  not manufactured in large numbers and 
  thus the players’ choices are limited. 
  The best core on the market currently is 
  the Sinoex Frimbobulator 7000. Unfortu-
  nately, purchasing one of these is just outside 
  of the project’s budget. Players may choose 
  spend one of their discretionary budget 
  points to secure a top-of-the-line power 
  core, or they may choose to purchase a used 
  Sinoex Frimbobulator 6500, which is within 
  their budget, but which may prove to be 
  unreliable once installed. Alternatively, char-
  acters looking a third option might succeed 
  on an Int/comp-ops-14 flip to find a Sinoex 
  Frimbobulator 7000 for sale within budget. 
  The downside is that it’s in the Belt and will 
  have to be shipped to Mars, meaning it will 
  arrive months after the characters begin 
  construction, leaving them short on power 
  in the meantime.
  Shitty Mistake
  The plans drawn up for one of the main-
  tenance domes lacks a simple, but critical 
  feature—there are no toilets anywhere in 
  the dome! What are the workers supposed 
  to do, crap themselves? Looking over the 
  plans and succeeding on an Int/engineer-10 
  flip will reveal this critical oversight and 
  allow the plans to be changed in a way that 
  won’t cost extra money to fix after the fact.
  Recruiting
  The outpost is not going to build itself. 
  The team will need to recruit construction 
  workers, foremen and other laborers. If the 
  GM wants to introduce a new NPC or 
  bring back a reoccurring NPC, this would 
  be a good way to do so. Interviewing a 
  potential hire for a key role in the construc-
  tion could also make for a fun scene.
   
  � Players who want to gloss over recruiting 
  can do a sufficient job with a successful 
  Chr/empathy-10 flip. On a failure, 
  someone problematic was hired. This 
  person could be anyone from a Unitech 
  spy to a simple drunk who is going to 
  crash a construction vehicle into a dome 
  one day, setting the team back a discre-
  tionary budget point.
  Handling Budget
  Rather than tracking every microcredit and trying to pinch pennies, we 
  recommend using the following system to handle budgeting matters. The team has 
  10 points of discretionary budget at their disposal. Each point represents a large 
  chunk of money or other resources—enough for at least a Cost 13 payment. 
  As departments submit their budgets, the proposal will be either within 
  budget or over budget. Proposals within budget will require no additional funds. 
  Proposals that are over budget will require the team to spend one or more points 
  of discretionary budget. Otherwise, the team can always deny the proposal.
  Similarly, if unforeseen expenses crop up, the team may need to spend points 
  from their budget to handle the expense. The same goes for paying for expensive 
  player character plans. These points will carry over to the next section, as the 
  players oversee the initial construction of the outpost.
  
  16
  Travel
  The final part of the first act of this 
  scenario is the physical transit to the 
  construction site. As with any long 
  trek, things are bound to go wrong 
  along the way. Even though the desti-
  nation is only a little over 200 km 
  away, the journey will take most of a 
  day, as workers will be moving heavy 
  equipment, including precision instru-
  ments that really shouldn’t be broken.
  Choice of Route
  There are two possible routes that the 
  convoy can take to the Libya outpost 
  construction site. The first is the more 
  direct route—it will get the convoy 
  there before Martian nightfall, but is a 
  more difficult route, risking damage to 
  equipment and vehicles along the way. 
  The second route won’t get the convoy to 
  the site until after nightfall, but is an easier 
  trek. The players should make a decision 
  on which route they want to take.
   
  � If they choose the first, faster route, 
  whichever character is heading up 
  the convoy will need to make a Dex/
  vehicles-10 flip. On a success, every-
  thing goes well enough and remains 
  intact. On a failure, however, some of 
  the delicate terraforming equipment 
  is damage. Fixing or replacing this 
  equipment will set the players back 
  one discretionary budget point.
   
  � If the second, slower route is chosen, 
  the autonav system on the vehicles can 
  largely handle the trek on its own. No 
  vehicles flip is necessary, however, when 
  the gang attacks they will have the cover 
  of darkness, giving them an advantage 
  (see “Gang” Attack!, page 17).
  Breakdown
  As the team is caravanning to the 
  site, they’re moving some very heavy 
  equipment over some potentially rough 
  terrain. A little over halfway there one of 
  the vehicles will suffer a breakdown. It 
  appears that the vehicle was not designed 
  to handle the weight of the Frimbobu-
  lator power core. There are several ways 
  that players may choose to handle this:
   
  � One possibility is to simply repair the 
  vehicle and hope that it continues to 
  hold out long enough to reach the 
  construction site. This requires a 
  Per/mechanic-12 flip. If successful, 
  the vehicle can lumber along to the 
  site, but it will still need serious 
  Don’t Forget 
  the Doctors
  During the journey it may be easy 
  for players to forget that the three 
  doctors are also along for the trek and 
  in positions of importance. The GM 
  should remind players of the doctors’ 
  presence by occasionally having a 
  doctor comment on the current 
  situation or offer an opinion. The GM 
  should not, however, use the doctors 
  in a way that deprives players of their 
  agency in decision making. The intent is 
  simply to provide the players with more 
  chances to see the personalities of the 
  three doctors, and to remind players of 
  their presence, which will be important 
  in the next part of the scenario.
  
  17
  repair afterward. On a failure, the 
  team will need to get replacement 
  parts from either Stillwater or their 
  supply. This will take long enough 
  that the vehicle will have to weather 
  the Martian night at this spot.
   
  � Another possibility is to transfer the 
  power core to an unbroken or more 
  capable vehicle. This means either 
  purchasing a new vehicle (costing a 
  point of discretionary budget) or a 
  major shift in cargo to accommo-
  date the change. Overseeing this shift 
  without incident requires a successful 
  a Per/bureaucracy-10 flip. On a 
  failure, something is misplaced or 
  broken. Either way, the process likely 
  lasts into the Martian night.
  “Gang” Attack!
  Unitech won’t just sit by and let the 
  Stillwater investors build a new space 
  elevator. They’re determined to stop the 
  entire project. As such, they’ve sent some 
  local toughs on their payroll to lay an 
  ambush for the caravan. These toughs 
  have been dressed up as members of the 
  Red Sands gang in a half-assed attempt to 
  hide Unitech’s involvement.
   
  � As the team nears the site of the 
  outpost, have anyone in the lead make 
  a Per/awareness-12 flip. If night has 
  fallen, apply a -2 penalty unless the 
  team has night vision equipment. On 
  a success, they will notice the ambush 
  in time to fully act the first round. 
  Otherwise, the toughs gain surprise 
  on the caravan.
   
  � If attacking during the day, there are a 
  number of toughs equal to the number 
  of PCs. Use the Thug stats found on 
  page 213 of the Shadows Over Sol 
  core rulebook.
   
  � If attacking at night, Unitech can 
  afford to be less subtle. In this case 
  the thugs are backed up by two fully-
  equipped soldiers. Use the Soldier 
  stats found on page 213 of the 
  Shadows Over Sol core rulebook.
  The primary goal of the attack is to 
  damage expensive equipment and cause 
  as much disorder and delay as possible. 
  The toughs, however, will be more than 
  happy to shoot to kill should they be 
  hard-pressed. They will retreat once half 
  or more of their number are down.
  Aftermath
  After the fight, the team may want to 
  examine their bodies of their attackers. 
   
  � A successful Per/investigate-10 flip 
  reveals that the attackers aren’t actual 
  members of the Red Sands gang, 
  despite efforts to appear as such. Success 
  by Mag 4+ also reveals their association 
  with Unitech. If Unitech soldiers were 
  present, any success will reveal this.
  If the toughs were able to successfully 
  perform any actions during the fight to 
  “damage expensive equipment,” count 
  the number of such actions taken. For 
  every three such actions the team will be 
  set back a point of discretionary income 
  to replace the damaged equipment.
  
  18
  
  19
  In this section the players will oversee 
  the beginning of the construction, as the 
  Libya outpost starts to become a reality. 
  This is also where things begin to get 
  scary. Over its course, the tension of the 
  scenario should slowly rise, until finally 
  the climax of the adventure is reached in 
  the next section.
  Unlike the other two parts of the 
  scenario, this section does not consist of 
  a linear series of scenes, but rather a set 
  of hooks and follow-up events that can 
  happen in any order. GMs with proactive 
  players should let them largely pursue the 
  construction of the outpost, interspersing 
  these events between player-initiated 
  activities. GMs who need to prompt their 
  players to action should choose to simply 
  describe bits of the construction process, 
  while cutting to these events between 
  short bits of narrative.
  Early Events
  The events in this section are broken 
  up into early events, middle events and 
  late events. These groupings, however, are 
  merely suggestions on when they should 
  be ran. The following events assume they 
  happen early in the construction process.
  The Case  
  of the Missing 
  Frimbobulator
  Despite the best efforts and planning, 
  something important will either be missing 
  or damaged. This may especially be the 
  case if the team failed any of the planning 
  flips in the last section, or if the Unitech 
  “gangers” managed to damage some of the 
  equipment on the convoy. The damage 
  could even be to the outpost’s expensive 
  Sinoex Frimbobulator power core.
  Whatever the case may be, the team 
  will need to either spend a discretionary 
  budget point to purchase a replacement, 
  or will need to come up with another plan. 
   
  � A skilled mechanic might even be able 
  to repair broken equipment with a 
  successful Int/mechanic-14 flip.
  Thyoden’s 
  Obsession
  Dr. Estrella is a fanatical geneticist, 
  often losing track of all time—and his 
  surroundings—as he pursues his research. 
   
  � Once his permanent lab is established, 
  the first time a PC with the Bio-Sci skill 
  enters, have her make a Per/bio-sci-12 
  flip. On a success, she will realize 
  Things Fall Apart
  Activities of the Dextra Dei 
  During the early events, the Dextra Dei is working behind the scenes to 
  siphon money from the Libya Outpost Project and to set up their operations at 
  the construction site. Dr. Estrella is working to set up his lab and to pursue his 
  genetic experiments. Unfortunately for him, however, the experiments all prove 
  to be failures. This will prompt him to reach out to his Jenseitech contacts for aid.
  
  20
  he’s fiddling with some very obscure 
  human alleles (DNA variants)—the 
  sort of thing that’s not part of any 
  normal gene therapy. Otherwise, she 
  has no idea what he’s working on. 
  Having been caught unawares once, 
  Dr. Estrella will not make the same 
  mistake again and no one else gets this 
  opportunity—it’s one time only.
  If the PC asks Dr. Estrella what 
  he’s working on, he will simply say he’s 
  developing a new geneline for adapta-
  tion to the Martian environment If 
  pressed, he’ll pretend to go in-depth on 
  the explanation, using the most arcane 
  and technical words he can.
   
  � A successful Per/empathy-12 flip 
  reveals that he is obviously hiding 
  something. No amount of persuasion 
  will get him to reveal what, however.
  Terraforming Dome
  Dr. Hassan is having troubles in her 
  newly constructed dome. It appears that 
  some of her lab equipment was damaged 
  in transit. If the “ganger” attack went 
  poorly, she may even have important 
  personnel that were killed. The team will 
  need to figure out how to get the terrafor-
  ming work back on track.
  “Gang” Raid Redux
  Unitech will do much in their power to 
  prevent the outpost from succeeding. Oras 
  has the only space elevator on Mars, and 
  Unitech has the majority share in Oras. 
  They will not hesitate to go to mobilize 
  their forces preserve their monopoly.
  Shortly after construction is fully 
  underway, Unitech will launch their next 
  attack. This will again come in the form 
  of hired toughs dressed as members of the 
  Red Sands gang. However, Unitech’s goal 
  this time will be different. Rather than 
  targeting equipment, they plan to target 
  civilian workers. Meanwhile, Unitech has 
  individuals planted in the outpost’s ranks 
  with multimedia recording equipment. 
  The plan is to make the attack partic-
  ularly brutal and to record the entire 
  thing. This footage will be edited and 
  then released anonymously on the net 
  in a segment designed to emphasize just 
  how dangerous it is to sign on with the 
  outpost. The goal here is to encourage 
  workers to quit and to make it difficult to 
  recruit new labor, as recruits will fear for 
  their own safety.
   
  � During the attack have the PCs face 
  off against a number of toughs equal 
  to their own number. Use the Rent-a-
  Cop stats on page 212 of the Shadows 
  Over Sol core rulebook. This won’t 
  represent all forces mobilized in the 
  attack, but rather the action closest to 
  the PCs in a larger, coordinated fight.
   
  � In the aftermath of the attack, a 
  character can spot one of the plants 
  with audiovisual equipment with a 
  successful Per/awareness-12 flip.
   
  � If the video gets posted to the net, the 
  team will have to cough up a point 
  of discretionary budget if they don’t 
  want recruitment to dry up. New 
  recruits will damage higher wages due 
  to the danger.
   
  � Characters skilled in computers may 
  attempt an Int/program-12 flip to 
  hack certain net nodes and take copies 
  of the recording offline.
  
  21
  Substance 
  Epidemic
  Reports are beginning to come in from 
  security of a growing substance problem in 
  the outpost. Workers are showing up high, 
  fights are breaking out, people’s money is 
  being stolen and there has been at least 
  one drug-related murder. It will be up to 
  the players to track down the source of this 
  problem and deal with it.
   
  � A successful Int/investigate-10 flip 
  turns up evidence that a Chi Chen-
  based criminal network known as 
  the Rakhimov Syndicate has started 
  smuggling drugs to the outpost in an 
  effort to expand their influence.
   
  � A successful Chr/socialize-10 flip 
  talking to the outpost’s workers will 
  reveal that many of them lack enter-
  tainment in their spare time and some 
  have turned to the recent inflow of 
  drugs to fill that need.
  Priorities
  The team will need to lay out a plan 
  for building everything, setting an order 
  to the priorities. Will they build the main 
  dome right away, or will they trust to the 
  temporary domes to meet people’s needs 
  while the outer habs gets constructed? 
  Will they set up the thorium generator 
  while they’re setting up the solar field, or 
  will the group rely on the solar field for 
  a long time? Let the PCs work out their 
  priorities, then bring in people who don’t 
  like those priorities.
  As they establish the colony there 
  will be several different heads of depart-
  ments all making demands on the PCs. 
  While the team is overseeing the installa-
  tion of the thorium reactor, for example, 
  the entire mining team is sitting around 
  doing nothing—and they’d much prefer 
  to have their domes built ASAP so that 
  they can start doing their jobs.
  Feel free to instigate some confron-
  tations. If the PCs are putting off estab-
  lishing mining operations and such, they 
  will have a lot of blue collar workers 
  sitting around bored. Many of them get 
  to drinking and stirring up trouble. If the 
  PCs don’t handle it right, they may end 
  up with a riot on their hands.
  The Stranger
  In its early days, the outpost is very 
  small, and as leaders of the construction, 
  the team should know just about every-
  one’s face, even is not necessarily their 
  names. While a member of the team is 
  out taking care of business in a crowded 
  area, she spots a face in the crowd that 
  she does not recognize. Before she can 
  approach the person or investigate him 
  sufficiently, the figure is gone.
   
  � A successful Per/comp-ops-12 flip will 
  allow the player to use the outpost’s 
  meager security cameras to track the 
  individual on the security grid, finally 
  seeing a recording of him suiting up 
  and exiting the dome. He does not 
  reappear on the security grid.
  This unknown person is a Unitech scout, 
  casing the outpost or collecting intelligence 
  from a spy embedded with the colony’s 
  construction workers. The same agent will 
  not return to the colony, especially if he has 
  any idea that he was observed.
  
  22
  Middle Events
  These events assume that construction 
  on the Libya outpost is well underway, 
  but not yet nearing completion. As such, 
  they are likely to happen between the 
  early and late events.
  The Empty Crater
  Dr. Hassan’s terraforming dome is 
  set up and functioning, but there is a 
  problem. The geosync mirror that was 
  supposed to be put into orbit to melt 
  the ice in the nearby crater hasn’t yet 
  been deployed. Without the mirror, little 
  terraforming work can get done.
  Investigation will turn up that 
  deploying the mirror has been held 
  up due to Unitech  manipulating the 
  bureaucracy of the orbital stations. It will 
  be up to one of the PCs to work through 
  the issue and get the deployment of the 
  orbital mirror back on track.
  Erratic Behavior
  The next few times the team sees 
  Dr. Estrella, they will notice that he is 
  becoming increasingly agitated. They 
  catch him saying things like, “I can fix it! 
  I know it’s there!” and “There has to be a 
  way! Just the wrong direction!” If pressed, 
  he will say that he’s reached a roadblock 
  in his research. If thus pressed, he will 
  begin to shun the PCs.
  Sabotage
  Unitech isn’t done trying to stop the 
  completion of the Libya outpost. Their 
  next attempt to stop progress will be one 
  of sabotage. Their target is the outpost’s 
  Sinoex Frimbobulator power core. As 
  the GM, one now has a judgement call 
  to make: Have the players put into place 
  adequate security measures?
  If the GM rules that the outpost’s 
  security is good enough, the team will be 
  forewarned of Unitech’s plan via an inter-
  cepted communique or similar means. At 
  this point their job becomes topping the 
  Unitech plan before it happens.
   
  � For a Unitech agent use the Spy stats 
  on page 213 of the Shadows Over 
  Sol core rulebook.
  If, however, adequate security measures 
  are not in place, the team will only learn of 
  the plan once a bomb has gone off inside 
  the power core. If the PCs skimped earlier, 
  buying an old and outdated power core, 
  this will be very bad indeed, as radiation will 
  immediately leak out into the surrounding 
  outpost. On the other hand, if the PCs 
  did buy a top-of-the-line power core, the 
  safeties worked flawlessly and the team is 
  left to clean up a mess that is expensive, but 
  not especially deadly. Repairing the power 
  core will cost a discretionary budget point.
  Gang War
  The actual Red Sands gang network 
  plans to lay claim to the new outpost as 
  Activities of the Dextra Dei 
  By the time of the middle events, the Dextra Dei has firmly established itself 
  within the Libya outpost. Meanwhile, Dr. Estrella has heard back from his Jensei-
  tech contacts and a sample of the Kronos Protein is on the way. Once the sample 
  arrives, Dr. Estrella will begin to make a number of breakthroughs.
  
  23
  their turf. As such, they’ve recruited a cell 
  from either the youths of the outpost or 
  moved established members there. The 
  team can either hear word about this on 
  the street, or maybe they realize this when 
  the gang attacks them personally, looking 
  to make a name for themselves. This 
  could be a good opportunity to inject 
  more action into this part of the scenario.
   
  � Use the Thug stats on page 213 of the 
  Shadows Over Sol core rulebook. 
  There are a number of thugs equal to 
  the number of PCs present.
  You’ve Been Warned
  One of the PCs receives a package 
  in her physical mailbox. Inside is a data 
  chip containing an audio message. The 
  message is heavily edited to disguise the 
  voice, but it clearly says that the Stillwater 
  Catholic Church is up to something 
  sinister at the colony. The speaker doesn’t 
  believe every church member is in on it, 
  but something evil is going on. 
   
  � A successful Per/investigate-10 or 
  Per/comp-ops-12 flip will reveal 
  security video of an unknown figure 
  coming into the dome from outside, 
  leaving the package in the PC’s delivery 
  box and then leaving the dome again.
  The mystery person is Frater Vladimir 
  Sutton, a member of the Milites Filii, who 
  seeks to use the PC as a pawn in uncov-
  ering the activities of the Dextra Dei.
  Poor Regolith
  Local surveys screwed up, and 
  one of the outpost’s domes has been 
  constructed on unstable regolith. With 
  the added weight of the dome, the 
  underlying rock has shifted, leading to 
  major damage to the dome. How will 
  the PCs deal with this crisis?
  Strange Occurrence
  The PCs receive a distress call late at 
  night from a local hab dome. In the back-
  ground they can hear the sound of wailing 
  and the occasional gunshot. The voice on 
  the other end is crying. “My whole life has 
  been a lie. Why the hell am I on Mars? 
  Why was I even born? I hate it all! I hate it 
  all! I hate it all, and it’s going to end now!” 
  Then a loud gunshot and a thud. 
  By the time the PCs arrive everyone is 
  dead. Investigation reveals that parents killed 
  their children before killing themselves. The 
  security feed from the dome has been wiped. 
  They don’t know it yet, but St. Therese the 
  Desolate—the first of Dr. Estrella’s successful 
  experiments with the Kronos Protein—
  visited the dome (see page 25).
  Late Events
  The following events assume that 
  construction on the outpost has been 
  mostly 
  completed, 
  not 
  including 
  construction on the space elevator itself.
  Hassan’s Problem
  The PCs have heard a report that 
  Dr. Hassan’s drug problem has gotten 
  worse and it is affecting her work. First 
  a groundcar gets damaged in a traffic 
  accident, then there is small gas explosion 
  due to negligence with the terraforming 
  dome’s methane reserves. Now some of 
  the workers under Dr. Hassan are threat-
  ening to quit unless something is done. 
  How do the players intervene? Do they 
  find a replacement for the doctor or do 
  they help her work through the addiction?
  
  24
  Behold and Despair
  While traveling between domes, the 
  team sees a lone figure in a vacc suit in the 
  distance, walking along the Martian surface. 
  Unknown to them, this figure is Saint 
  Therese, one of Dr. Estrella’s first successful 
  experiments with the Kronos Protein (see 
  page 25). Upon seeing this figure, they each 
  begin to feel a sense of despair. 
   
  � All characters present should make a 
  Det-12 flip. On a failure, the character’s 
  Dazed consequence increases a severity.
   
  � If the characters approach, the figure will 
  attempt to hide. Only a successful Per/
  awareness-12 flip will allow them to keep 
  track of the genetic saint. If pressed, the 
  saint will fight. For stats, see page 25.
   
  � If the characters decide to check the 
  security logs to determine which dome 
  the creature came from, a successful 
  Det/comp-ops-12 flip will reveal that it 
  came from the main colony dome. Ten 
  minutes later those logs will be erased by 
  a hacker (an agent of the Dextra Dei).
  Invasion
  Unitech is willing to make one final, 
  large push to stop the Libya outpost, 
  and this time they’re willing to bring the 
  conflict out of the shadows. En route to the 
  outpost are three squads of fully-armed and 
  equipped Unitech soldiers. These troops are 
  backed up by three tactical mechs.
  If the team managed to get the 
  geosync mirror launched and operational 
  (see The Empty Crater, page 22), they’ll 
  have forewarning of the approach of 
  these forces, as the troops are detected via 
  satellite imagery. Otherwise, they won’t 
  have warning until the forces are almost 
  upon the outpost.
  It is suggested that GMs run this 
  event as a sudden alert and quick 
  tactical planning, followed by a tense 
  and extended combat. Each squad will 
  break up into two sections of five troops 
  each, allowing players to engage a single 
  squad while NPC security forces tackle 
  the remaining sections. The goal of the 
  Unitech soldiers is nothing less than the 
  complete destruction of the outpost. 
  They are a professional military force, 
  however, and will retreat if the situation 
  looks hopeless for them.
  If the team wins this fight, Unitech 
  will finally leave them alone.
   
  � For the troops use the Soldier stats on 
  page 213 of the Shadows Over Sol 
  core rulebook. There are five sections 
  of six solders each.
   
  � If the GM has access to the Shiny New 
  Toys supplement, use the USD-10k2 
  “Domo” Tactical Mech stats for the 
  three mechs, found on page 62. 
  Otherwise, the GM can substitute in 
  Armored Crawlers, found on page 216 
  of the Shadows Over Sol core rulebook
  Activities of the Dextra Dei 
  By now Dr. Estrella has created a number of “genetic saints” using the 
  Kronos Protein, which has pleased his superiors in the Dextra Dei to no end. It 
  will only be a matter of time before these experiments get out of hand, leading 
  to the finale of the adventure.
  Stats for the various genetic saints can be found on pages 25, 28, 29 and 31.
  
  25
  Contact
  The Roman Catholic Church knows 
  that the Dextra Dei has stolen the relics of 
  many saints—after all, they stole many of 
  those relics from the Church! In response, 
  they have sent members of the Milites 
  Filii, a lesser-known military order of the 
  Church, to recover the relics and shut down 
  the Dextra Dei’s sin vaccine project. Since 
  their arrival, these members have been lying 
  low, digging up what information they can.
  This event begins when the Milites Filii 
  leaves the team another package similar 
  to the one they left in the You’ve Been 
  Warned event (see page 23). This package 
  appears in one of the characters’ physical 
  delivery box. Instead of containing a data 
  chip, however, it contains a radio comm 
  which will send an encrypted signal. This 
  comm is preprogrammed to contact Frater 
  Guhathakurta, the head operative of the 
  Milites Filii here on Mars.
  If the PCs make contact, the voice from 
  the other side of the comm will ask to meet 
  them in the Martian outback, some 30 km 
  north of Libya outpost. Little other expla-
  nation will be offered over comms. The 
  whole situation should seem quite myste-
  rious and more than a little disconcerting.
  At the meeting, two men will be waiting 
  in a groundcar. These are Frater Guha-
  thakurta and Frater Vladimir Sutton. Once 
  the team meets them in person they will be 
  willing to share more, explaining everything 
  they know of the Dextra Dei, their work on 
  the sin vaccine, the theft of saintly relics and 
  reports that their experiments have recently 
  yielded success in creating some sort of 
  monstrosities. At this point the GM should 
  feel free to share any information in the 
  scenario about the Dextra Dei, aside from 
  the actual identities of the members. This 
  knowledge should be the catalyst needed to 
  move on to the final part of the adventure.
   
  � If stats are needed for either Frater 
  Guhathakurta or Frater Vladimir 
  Sutton use the Cultist stats on page 210 
  of the Shadows Over Sol rulebook.
   
  � With a successful Chr/persuade-10 
  flip, a PC might be able to convince 
  the Milites Filii to send aid during the 
  final part of the scenario.
  Saint Therese the Desolate
  Str 5, Dex 7, Spd 6, End 7, Int 7, Per 9, Chr 10, Det 7
  Defense 11/22, DR 5, Shock 19, Wound 6
  Skills: Awareness 4, Empathy 3, Guns 3, Investigate 4, Melee 3, Stealth 3, Thievery 2
  Heavy Pistol: +6 (�15M/�10M/�5M/�2M), Autofire 2, Range 10, Shots 10
  Claws: +6 (�15M/�10M/�5M/�2M)
  Gear: Unitech “Sunspot” C3 Vac Suit (Big 5, Bulky 1, Vac, Worn)
  Despair Aura: To look upon Saint Therese the Desolate is to know despair. At the 
  beginning of every round, each character who can see Saint Therese must make a 
  Det-12 flip. On a failure, that character’s Dazed consequence increases a severity, 
  or two severities if the character fails by Mag 5+.
  Saint Therese the Desolate is a young woman of about 25, but few remember what 
  she looks like. Looking at her causes waves of despair to wash over the viewer. Saint 
  Therese takes advantage of this to shoot her enemies while their gaze is averted.
  
  26
  
  27
  In this final part of the adventure 
  all of the disparate plot threads begin 
  to come to a head. In a short time the 
  outpost will be cut off from the outside 
  world, as its long distance comm arrays 
  have been destroyed and vehicles 
  damaged beyond operation. If the team 
  wants to abandon the outpost, they’ll 
  have to build a rover from scratch—and 
  abandon their workers, otherwise they 
  will be forced to fight.
  With a Bang
  Events begin with an assassination 
  attempt on one of the player charac-
  ters. The GM should pick a PC who she 
  thinks can handle a sudden attack. Just as 
  the character heads in for the night, her 
  room will be flooded with a poison gas.
   
  � Have her make a Per/awareness-10 
  flip. On a success, she smells the gas 
  and gets to react before the poisoning 
  gets to her. On a failure, she still 
  smells the gas, but it increases her 
  Fatigue consequence a severity due 
  to the poisoning,
  Getting around the poison gas is as 
  easy as opening the door to the room 
  and dispersing the gas, however, as 
  soon as this is done, the character will 
  be attacked by the assassin herself! This 
  assassin is a Chi Chen professional hired 
  by the Dextra Dei.
   
  � Use the Contract Killer stats on page 
  210 of the Shadows Over Sol core 
  rulebook.
  Hopefully this sudden attack will 
  make the team personally involved in 
  the conflict. It’s now no longer about the 
  colony as a whole, but it’s about their 
  own survival.
  Monster Party
  As soon at the PCs get together 
  after the attack, reports should come 
  in that one of the domes has stopped 
  responding. GMs should have this event 
  happen in very short order after the last, 
  while the players are still figuring out 
  what to do. Then another report comes 
  in of a second dome that has stopped 
  responding. Then another. Finally, one 
  small hab dome contacts the team with 
  a distress call. They report that they’re 
  under attack, but the call is interrupted 
  by the attacker—the PCs listen as the 
  people in the dome die. 
  Analyzing the data shows that the 
  periphery domes are going quiet one 
  at a time, in a pattern heading towards 
  the main dome. The attacks started in a 
  pattern that emanates from Dr. Estrel-
  la’s genetics dome. Something will 
  have to be done very soon, otherwise 
  whatever is killing them will reach the 
  outpost’s main dome.
  We’re All Going 
  to Die Here
  
  28
  Calling for Help
  If players try to contact Stillwater or 
  elsewhere on Mars, they’ll quickly learn 
  that the outpost’s long distance comms 
  are all offline. Something has damaged 
  them, effectively isolating the outpost 
  and cutting off any communication 
  beyond 50 km. 
  Heading Out
  Characters who head for the 
  outpost’s vehicles will quickly find 
  them either missing or damaged 
  beyond easy repair. Furthermore, one 
  of Dr. Estrella’s genetic saints is lurking 
  in wait, having just destroyed critical 
  parts on all of the vehicles.
  Saint Ignatius will immediately 
  launch an attack. If the characters 
  have split up, be generous allowing 
  other players to get involved facing the 
  genetic saint.
   
  � For Saint Ignatius’ stats see below.
  Turncoats
  The Dextra Dei have a number 
  of agents among the workers in the 
  outpost. Once the PCs start to work 
  against the gene monsters, these 
  embedded agents will show their true 
  colors, attempting to launch an unsus-
  pecting attack on the PCs. This will take 
  the form of two workers who pretend 
  to be friendly, but who will turn on the 
  characters at the worst time.
   
  � When the agents attack, use the Spy 
  stats on page 213 of the Shadows 
  Over Sol core rulebook.
  Milites Filii
  If the team has made allies of the 
  Millites Filli, they may prove useful at this 
  time. The primary goal of the militant 
  order is to raid Dr. Estrella’s genetics 
  dome and remove any remaining saintly 
  relics that may be in his possession. 
  This may align well with the team’s goal 
  of stopping this chaos, as it apparently 
  originated from that same dome. At the 
  very least it may provide a distraction as 
  the team slips in to confront Dr. Estrella. 
  It will be up to the PCs, however, to 
  persuade the Millites Filli to provide any 
  additional aid.
  Saint Ignatius the Wrathful
  Str 10, Dex 7, Spd 9, End 10, Int 5, Per 4, Chr 2, Det 7
  Defense 10/20, DR 5, Shock 22, Wound 10
  Skills: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Investigate 3, Melee 5, Stealth 4
  Talons: +8 (�30M/�20M/�10M/�5M)
  In life, the original Saint Ignatius was a former soldier turned saint, founder of the 
  Jesuit Order. Thanks to genetic meddling by Dr. Estrella, Saint Ignatius is now a 
  horribly warped creature of uncontrollable wrath. He is huge, with muscles visibly 
  bulging even under his tremendously thick and horny skin. Worst of all are his 
  hands, which end in foot-long talons instead of simple fingers. He glares at his 
  victims with undisguised hatred before charging insanely to rip them to shreds.
  
  29
   
  � A successful Chr/persuade-10 flip 
  will convince friendly members of 
  the Millites Filli to provide the team 
  with minor aid.
   
  � If stats become necessary, use the 
  Cultist stats on page 210 of the 
  Shadows Over Sol rulebook.
  Facing Dr. Estrella
  When the team reaches the genetics 
  labs, Dr. Estrella will be there sending 
  off a final communication to Bishop 
  Dwamena—he apparently has a private 
  long-distance comm array he kept 
  hidden! As the PCs enter, Dwamena 
  closes the comm channel.
  For his part, Dr. Estrella is torn 
  between an insane giddy glee that his 
  creations have had such a profound effect 
  and a sense of despair that what he has 
  discovered isn’t the cure for original sin 
  that he sought.
   
  � Socially skilled characters can talk 
  Dr. Estrella down with a successful 
  Chr/persuade-14 flip. On a success, 
  Dr. Estrella will stand down and 
  hand himself over to the team. On 
  a failure, or another other course of 
  action, Dr. Estrella, weeping, presses 
  a button. Hidden doors open behind 
  him and Saint John the Black-
  Mouthed steps out, vaporizing Dr. 
  Estrella with a black beam from his 
  mouth. The final fight begins.
   
  � For Dr. Estrella’s stats see page 10.
   
  � For Saint John’s stats see below.
  Saint John the Black-Mouthed
  Str 10, Dex 8, Spd 10, End 10, Int 5, Per 6, Chr 6, Det 10
  Defense 12/24, DR 10, Shock 30, Wound 10
  Skills: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Guns 3, Medic 3, Melee 5, Thievery 2
  Talons: +9 (�30M/�20M/�10M/�5M)
  Black Beam: +7 (�15S/�10S/�5S/�2S), Ignores DR. Saint John commands the 
  target to die, emitting a black beam from his mouth. At the beginning of every 
  round draw a card. The black bean can only be used on the first round and on later 
  rounds when a face card is drawn.
  Saint John the Black-Mouthed is the failed attempt to reproduce Saint John Chrys-
  ostom (“Golden-Mouthed”). Where in life his words were life and hope to many, 
  now they rip the very air, bringing death and destruction. He is inhumanly tall and 
  imposing, with a narrow face and high forehead. He moves with lightning speed 
  and his olive skin seems to soak up most damage.
  
  30
  Aftermath
  In the aftermath of this fight the team 
  can search the lab to find documents 
  outlining the whole conspiracy to 
  abolish original sin by altering the 
  genetic code of saints. These documents 
  implicate Bishop Dwamena, Father 
  Schmid-Sexton and Dr. Estrella in the 
  bizarre experiments. In another hidden 
  alcove are the relics from which they’ve 
  been doing their experiments—the 
  Milites Filii will want these, and will 
  fight the team to obtain them if the PCs 
  are unwilling to surrender the relics.
  Now it’s up to the players. What will 
  they do about it? Will they broadcast 
  the files to the solar system at large? Will 
  they confront Bishop Dwamena about it 
  directly? Will they try to take down the 
  Stillwater Catholic Chuch as a whole, 
  or turn all the files over to the Roman 
  Catholic Church to do with as they will? 
  It’s up to the PCs what they want to do 
  from here, and the end of the scenario 
  will depend entirely on them.
  Cardinal Sin
  If the team decides to confront Bishop 
  Dwamena directly, he will offer them an 
  outrageous payoff to become part of the 
  Dextra Dei. If they accept, the scenario 
  will end on an ominous note. 
  If they refuse, he will call in his 
  guards and to arrest the PCs, having 
  forged financial records that implicate 
  the characters in embezzlement. If 
  attacked, he will call upon Father 
  Hafthor to defend him, in addition to 
  the guards he summons.
   
  � Bishop Dwamena’s stats can be found 
  on page 9.
   
  � Father Hafthor Schmidt-Sexton’s stats 
  can be found on page 8.
   
  � For the guards use the Rant-a-Cop 
  stats on page 212 of the Shadows 
  Over Sol core rulebook. There are 
  a number of guards present equal to 
  the number of PCs.
   
  � Characters who want to defend 
  themselves against these charges 
  can do so legally by succeeding on a 
  Chr/bureaucrat-10 flip.
   
  � Proving the documents were forged 
  is more difficult: a character must 
  succeed on an Int/conspiracy-14 flip. 
  However, proving them a forgery 
  will leave a smoking gun pointing to 
  Bishop Dwamena, who will then be 
  arrested and defrocked.
  The World Needs 
  to Know
  The PCs are, of course, free to 
  broadcast the evidence across the solar 
  system at large. If they do this, the team 
  will soon find out that Bishop Dwamena 
  and a dozen other people have been 
  arrested and defrocked by the Stillwater 
  Catholic Church. However, the church is 
  also unhappy with the team for making 
  all of this so public. They will terminate 
  their contract with the team. The PCs will 
  receive their full payment, but will never 
  work for the Stillwater Catholic Church 
  again—they violated the church’s trust by 
  airing their dirty laundry to everyone.
  
  31
  Additional Genetic Saints
  Below are two additional genetic saints that can be used to expand the scenario. 
  Maybe these two even escaped Dr. Estrella’s lab before the team’s arrival...
  Saint Ia the Torturer
  Str 8, Dex 7, Spd 6, End 9, Int 6, Per 6, Chr 6, Det 7
  Defense 9/19, DR 5, Shock 21, Wound 8
  Skills: Athletics 5, Empathy 3, Guns 3, Medic 3, Melee 4, Stealth 3, Thievery 3
  Axe: +7 (�27M/�18M/�9M/�4M)
  Stun Grenade: +8 (�12L/�16L/�8L/�4L), Area 5, Stun, Thrown
  Agonizing Touch: +7. A touch from Saint Ia’s hand relays some of the perpetual 
  anguish she feels to her target, wracking them with pain. Upon a successful hit, 
  the target’s Stun consequence increases two severities, or three on a critical hit.
  Gear: Unitech “Sunspot” C3 Vac Suit
  The body of Saint Ia the Torturer is riddled with tumors along her nerves, causing 
  her to live in constant torment. She appears as a twisted, agonized woman with a 
  perpetual grimace. She incapacitates her enemies with her Agonizing Touch, then 
  beheads them with her axe.
  Saint Agia the Widow-Maker
  Str 7, Dex 10, Spd 13, End 9, Int 5, Per 5, Chr 3, Det 6
  Defense 14/28, DR 5, Shock 20, Wound 8
  Skills: Athletics 3, Deception 4, Guns 4, Investigate 4, Melee 4, Ordnance 4, 
  Stealth 3
  Machine Lasrifle: +9 (�24M/�16M/�8M/�4M), Autofire 3, Hands 2, Mil, 
  Range 20, Shots 10
  Stun Grenade: +8 (�12L/�16L/�8L/�4L), Area 5, Stun, Thrown
  Gear: Unitech “Sunspot” C3 Vac Suit
  Emanate Fear: Saint Agia may take a concentrate action to spread a sense of 
  fear. Anyone nearby must succeed at a Det-12 flip or increase her Fear conse-
  quene a severity.
  Inhuman Speed: Saint Agia the Widow-Maker is inconceivably fast. She gains 4 AP 
  at the start of every round instead of the usual 3.
  Saint Agia is hard to pick out of a crowd. Nothing about her projects anything odd 
  or otherwise noteworthy, looking and acting completely average... Until she lets 
  loose a sense of fear and begins killing all the people around her.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Shadows Over Sol/Shadows Over Sol - Dreams & Dust.pdf