TEXT: 1
  
  2
  GM – read these, then explain as much as you wish to your players 
  in your own words. They should feel like aspects of the story, 
  rather than additional rules.
  RESTLESS
  As the action is continuous, Protagonists do not automatically 
  regain Health and Resolve between Chapters. Allow them to regain 
  up to half their total Health and Resolve at your discretion – a group 
  is at their more entertaining when they’re battered but on their 
  feet. There can be several story justifications for a rest, including 
  barricading the Hydroponics or Refrigeration Rooms, or even the 
  entrance to the Charnel Corridors if they don’t take the hints.
  AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)
  Augmented Reality allows programmers to upload images and 
  sounds directly into the user’s brain, where they experience them 
  as vibrant, over-the-top stimuli. It’s very hard to make “realistic” 
  AR programming; attempts to in the past have left users unsettled 
  and confused as their brains jar with the conflicting data. As such, 
  most AR inputs are deliberately and stylistically false and favour 
  bright colours, clean iconography and idealised concepts.
  Essentially, it’s not possible to “fool” people with AR disguised 
  as real life, but it is certainly possible to bombard users with 
  stimuli and confuse them. All the Protagonists, and all of the 
  people in cold storage, have the implants required to experience 
  AR. Disabling these implants requires complex surgery which is 
  outside the scope of this adventure. Some Protagonists have 
  abilities related to AR, and Assisti uses AR in the Break Room.
  The Charnel Corridors and Yasin’s disguises are NOT AR, and as 
  such, the players won’t automatically know what’s real or not. 
  They may think it’s AR, but realise otherwise. If they want to 
  test Wits (5), they’ll realise that quickly, but have no idea of the 
  source/cause of the distortions.
  REBIRTH (OPTIONAL)
  If one of the Protagonists dies you can declare that they awaken 
  in the body of someone trapped in cold storage – their ghost, 
  energised by the events on board, has possessed an unwilling 
  host. They lose their Gear, and their Toughness and Agility are set 
  to 2. Set their other stats to match what they started the game 
  with. Replace two of their Drives (player’s choice) with ISOLATED 
  – reunite with the others and COLD – find a way to get warm. 
  Test Toughness or Smarts (9) to break out of the capsules from the 
  inside: failure inflicts 1 damage on the Protagonist as they injure 
  themselves trying to get through the glass. They can no longer 
  leave the environs of Charon without dissipating into nothingness 
  and leaving their host. 
  This trick only works once per Protagonist, and even then only at 
  your discretion. Don’t let players become complacent because 
  they can just “wake up” after dying – find a reason for this not to 
  work again if you need to.
  SPECIAL RULES
  GM REFERENCE
  
  3
  NAZARI, 
  THE SUPERVISOR
  Your contact for this work cycle is a cheery – if slightly overworked-
  looking – man in a crimson suit (as is the fashion for business people 
  in Earth orbit) called Nazari.  Contacting Nazari is as easy as using 
  the Meeting Room in the Employee Quarters; he’ll appear on the 
  large monitor, although due to the time to broadcast messages to 
  and from Earth orbit, comms can be crackly on occasion. 
  The Protagonists don’t know this, but instantaneous communication 
  with Earth orbit is impossible at this range. Nazari is a digital ghost 
  in service to OBOL, bound to the comms centre on top of the ship. 
  SPECIAL
  POSSESSION
  Nazari’s soul has been mangled and hacked to make him obedient, 
  but as the rebels spread throughout the ship, he’ll become able to 
  project his consciousness into the cold-storage bodies on the lower 
  decks and interact physically with the players. He’ll still use this 
  option to further the aims of the OBOL Corporation, although he 
  might be persuaded to change his mind.
  This action is never specified in the adventure, but can be 
  introduced at any point to make things more interesting. Use 
  these stats for a body possessed by Nazari:
  ROLEPLAYING TIPS
  Nazari’s primary aim is to ensure that the souls reach Tartarus Gate 
  intact and to avoid an interstellar incident, and – as Nazari – you’ll tell 
  the Protagonists whatever they need to hear to make that happen. 
  If they think that they’re in danger (and they are!) offer to unlock the 
  cache of weapons in the cargo hold if they agree to use them to fix 
  the problem. Repeat yourself occasionally; it comes across as learned 
  marketing-speak rather than data corruption in your animus, you hope. 
  ASSISTI
  Assisti (pronounced like “Kristy”) 
  is the ship’s digital assistant. They 
  appear on monitors throughout 
  the ship; the Protagonists can 
  talk to them freely (summoning 
  them with 
  “Hello 
  Assisti!”), 
  although they might not have 
  all the answers they need. Their 
  primary aim is to assist the 
  crew with their basic duties by 
  outlining processes, answering basic questions, and cheering them 
  along with cordial greetings. Assisti appears as a ball of blue-white 
  energy that buzzes and deforms as they speak.
  Like Nazari, they’re a digital ghost. Or, rather, they’re a swarm of 
  digital ghost shards – each a fragment of someone’s spirit – that 
  functions as a gestalt consciousness. They’re not very bright but 
  they’re perfectly loyal to the OBOL Corporation. They are polite, 
  pleasant to be around, and do their best to support people. 
  SPECIAL
  POSSESSION
  Assisti can, as an absolute last resort – if all the Protagonists are 
  dead or they side with the rebels – disperse their consciousness 
  into twenty or so bodies in cold storage that act as a stuttering, 
  lunatic hive-mind. Stumbling but nightmarishly fast, these 
  enslaved bodies have a blue tint to their eyes, speak with a distorted 
  version of Assisti’s voice and are treated as the Crowd of Followers 
  Antagonists (see page 5). They’ll do anything they can to make sure 
  that the ship stays under control of the OBOL Corporation.
  ROLEPLAYING TIPS
  The Protagonists can communicate with the ship’s AI, Assisti, by 
  saying “Hello, Assisti!” out loud to activate it. They appear in the 
  subject’s vision as an AR projection. The deeper the Protagonists 
  progress into the ship, the less sense Assisti will start making: 
  they can’t rationalise the events that are happening on board, and 
  attempt to fill in the gaps with obviously incorrect information. 
  Assisti isn’t lying maliciously, they just don’t really understand 
  what’s going on but are still compelled to help.
  As Assisti, give surface-level information – make the players get 
  their hands dirty if they want to find out anything in detail. 
  RANDOM EMPLOYEES
  If you want to add additional characters to the adventure – if the 
  Protagonists rescue someone from possession, perhaps, or you 
  want to mess with them by throwing in some innocents, here are 
  a few ideas. Roll one die and use the matching character, or just 
  pick one you like the sound of.
  1.    NOVAK. Slim, gang tattoos, no thumb on their left hand. Furious 
  and terrified in equal measure. Temperature control specialist.
  2.   MINASSIAN. Heavy-set, shaven head, both arms are prosthetic 
  from the elbow down. Confused and disorientated. Shuttle pilot.
  3. DEEQA. Five feet tall, hair woven in complex braids, metallic 
  canines. Seeks to be protected by the Protagonists. Biologist.
  4. DRESDEN. Skeletal build, scabs on extremities, blind. Vomits 
  and draws the attention of enemies. Theologian.
  5. LAJANI. Prosthetic eye, loyalty shunt, rotund build. Asks 
  difficult questions. Internal Security agent.
  6. WILLEMS. Fit, ashen pallor, rosary beads wound around their 
  hand. Detached and unresponsive, but will follow Protagonists. 
  AI Developer.
  SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
  GM REFERENCE
  6
  HEALTH
  TOUGHNESS
  AGILITY
  SMARTS
  WITS
  2222
  
  4
  DIGITAL GHOSTS
  The rebels can possess the unconscious cold-storage passengers 
  on board Charon but are unable to leave the proximity of the 
  ship’s server farms unless their spirits are transmitted somewhere 
  else. When possessing a host, the ghost will change the body to 
  look like their own by twisting the meat and bone into a grotesque 
  parody. Ghosts can voluntarily leave a body that they’ve 
  inhabited: the subject will be disoriented from cold storage and 
  unable to be of much use, or they might be left in a completely 
  catatonic state.
  The Rebels are led by Dwyer and Yasin. The first time the crew 
  encounters these two they’ll be sickly and weak, but this will 
  change as time goes on. If reduced to zero health, their body is 
  killed but they possess another passenger in the bowels of the 
  ship. Each time they die, they get more dangerous: increase two 
  of their stats by 1 to a maximum of 4; increase their health by 6; 
  and pick a monstrous change from the list below.
  Night-black eyes that trail smoky shadows in the air
  Elongated limbs
  Bony talons instead of fingers
  An extra foot of height
  Spectral serfs in chains surrounding them that do their bidding
  Chains pushed through their flesh
  Gory horns growing from their temples
  Needle-teeth
  Ghostly winds buffet everything around them
  Digital Ghosts cannot possess dead bodies: the target must be 
  living, and preferably unconscious, for them to make an entry. 
  The only way you can permanently kill a Digital Ghost is to find 
  their mind on the servers and delete it – or destroy the servers 
  themselves, at great cost to the OBOL Corporation.
  DWYER
  Digital Ghost. A broad-shouldered man with long, unwashed 
  black hair. His throat is slit.
  Dwyer lead a bloody revolution on Earth against the OBOL 
  Corporation. It worked, for a while, but treachery and espionage 
  from the Corps saw him defeated, tried for his crimes, and 
  executed in secret. His digital ghost, along with the ghosts of 
  everyone in his country who dared defy their corporate overlords, 
  has been stored on hard drives and will be imprisoned in eternal 
  electronic torment at the Tartarus Gate penitent storage facility.
  He has no intention of letting that happen. From beyond the grave, 
  his spirit has manifested in the bowels of the spaceship Charon, 
  and he has raised his army – quite literally a phantom of what it 
  once was, but still filled with a bitter desire for vengeance. He 
  will hunt down and kill any OBOL employee he sees with great 
  enthusiasm.
  GEAR
  HOOKED SPEAR
  An iconic weapon; the symbol of the revolution. Deals one extra 
  damage in melee combat, or can be thrown to make a ranged 
  attack. You can reach with it and hook people off balance. 
  The rebellion’s icon and flag are based on his weapon. Dwyer drags 
  it along ductwork and railings to signal his approach each time 
  the Protagonists meet him. If he dies, the spear remains alongside 
  his twisted body, and Protagonists can use it. The next time he 
  appears, the Protagonists’ version will rust and corrode into 
  nothingness and Dwyer will bang a revitalised version along the 
  ducts again to let them know he’s there.
  ROLEPLAYING TIPS
  As Dwyer, you’re in charge, you’re angry, and you’re excited at 
  the opportunity to get revenge on the people who executed you. 
  Far from a mindless killing machine, you take every opportunity to 
  separate your targets before hunting them down. When you talk 
  to people – which is rare – you do so to intimidate, not to gain 
  understanding. 
  You know what the OBOL Corporation does to rebels after 
  corporate wars: they forcibly download their consciousnesses and 
  then transport them to Tartarus Gate, a digital Hell. Sometimes 
  you get confused and think you’re still fighting back on Earth, and 
  that maybe you can win this time if you’re strong enough.
  ANTAGONISTS
  GM REFERENCE
  14
  HEALTH
  TOUGHNESS
  AGILITY
  SMARTS
  WITS
  2222
  
  5
  YASIN
  Digital Ghost. Body bloated as if drowned. 
  Dwyer’s chief speaker and diplomat who turned a nation of 
  corporate serfs into hot-blooded revolutionaries. A charmer 
  who’s very willing to talk to the Protagonists in order to get what 
  they want; and an excellent liar.
  SPECIAL
  ILLUSION
  Yasin can hide their tells and appear as a normal person; this costs 
  1 point of health, and hurts. If they take further damage, or if they 
  wish to end it early, the illusion ceases.
  As written, there are no living characters in this adventure 
  (Protagonists aside) – everyone the characters meet is a ghost 
  in some form or another. If you decide to include any additional 
  characters, you can at any point deduct one health from Yasin and 
  declare that they were in disguise as that character the entire time. 
  ROLEPLAYING TIPS
  Lie. Use your Illusion ability to get in good with the players, then 
  take their gear and sabotage their plans. Give them false information 
  about the situation that leads them into danger. Don’t attack anyone 
  unless you’re discovered. If the Protagonists unveil your true identity, 
  strike as hard as you can and turn up as someone else next time. Mess 
  with their heads.
  Yasin is loyal to Dwyer, but is motivated by escaping Hell rather than 
  revenge. They’ll compromise with the players if they think they can 
  be trusted, but it’ll take some convincing..
  CROWD OF FOLLOWERS
  A swarm of low-level digital ghosts.
  Dwyer rallied a nation together and led a revolt against the owners 
  of his country. His Followers are the digital shadows of the people 
  who pledged their allegiance to him in life. Confused and angry, 
  these phantoms inhabit the bodies preserved in cold storage. Unlike 
  Dwyer and Yasin, the Followers aren’t able to come back with 
  increased power after being killed. There are enough of them that 
  this shouldn’t really make a difference, though.
  Followers look wrong. They move with jerky, badly-coordinated 
  movements and many of them are leaking blood from the nose, 
  eyes and mouth. They can talk, and do talk to one another (or 
  scream at the Protagonists) but they struggle to speak through 
  their unfamiliar mouths.
  SPECIAL
  SWARM
  Inflicting 6 damage to the group of Followers “kills” one of the 
  meat-puppets, and leftover damage can be spread throughout 
  the group however you like. Attacks that affect multiple targets 
  (explosions, gouts of flame, shotgun blasts) inflict 1 extra damage 
  against a Crowd of Followers.
  GEAR
  Whatever they can grab to function as weapons: shards of glass 
  from their smashed cryochambers, lengths of pipe ripped from 
  walls, chair-legs, and work tools. If a Protagonist grabs one, it deals 
  1 extra damage to their next successful attack but then it breaks. 
  ROLEPLAYING TIPS
  As a Follower, you’re barely hanging on to consciousness; your 
  body is sluggish and strange and not your own. You’ve been 
  told that, unless you find a way to steer the ship and defeat the 
  Protagonists, you’re destined for a lifetime trapped in a digital 
  Hell. You’re not a zombie, and you’re not an idiot, but you’re not 
  used to your body yet and you make mistakes often.
  10
  HEALTH
  TOUGHNESS
  AGILITY
  SMARTS
  WITS
  1223
  6
  HEALTH
  TOUGHNESS
  AGILITY
  SMARTS
  WITS
  1222
  per 
  member of 
  the group
  
  6
  ADVENTURE MAP
  GM REFERENCE
  LEVEL 3
  COLD STORAGE
  LEV
  CARGO HOLD
  EVEL 1
  LEVEL 2
  1
  2
  3
  
  7
  3
  ALTERNATE
  CHARNEL 
  CORRIDORS
  THE PALACE
  
  8
  NOTES
  GM REFERENCE
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Adventure Presents/Tartarus Gate - GM Reference Book.pdf