TEXT: An Enascentia Savage Tale for 4-6 Novice adventurers by Umberto Pignatelli 
  The Bridge of aThousand Whispers
  
  1
   Newly Generated Basic 
  Knowledge
  The Bridge is more than a simple 
  building: it is a titanic artifact built by 
  a forgotten Lost Tribe of the Second 
  Generation, the Luxuar. Imbued with 
  magic and arcane technology lost 
  today, its main purpose was to be a 
  self-sustaining environment, where the 
  Tribe could seal themselves inside and 
  find shelter, in sight of a new Subversion 
  of the Royal Tribes. Unluckily something 
  went wrong with the plan and the Tribe 
  was totally wiped out during the Second 
  Subversion before they could reach their 
  fortress and seal it…
  The Bridge Secret 
  Nobody truly knows when the Bridge 
  of Aalimshaasa was built; a cyclopean 
  structure with many levels, it crosses 
  the Valley of Fogs, in the Rallenok 
  Mountains, providing safe passage 
  through that insalubrious land.
  Some 
  legends 
  say 
  it 
  wasn't 
  constructed by any Tribe, but 
  that it appeared one night, the 
  manifestation of Kami itself, others 
  say it is the last remnant of a Lost 
  Tribe. Whatever the truth, under 
  its vaulted domes the travelers' 
  steps echo in weird ways, twisted 
  to resemble voices whispering in an 
  unknown language, hence the name.
  In recent months something dark 
  has been happening in the Bridge: 
  caravans passing through it never 
  reach the other side, and terrible 
  howls are heard during nighttime. The 
  cause is a monster, the Matryx, which 
  has made its lair in the lower bridge 
  levels. The Matryx is an enormous 
  mass of tendrils and energy, which 
  lives only to feed and to spawn its 
  sons, the Hunters, small chameleonic 
  creatures born to find prey to sustain 
  their mother. 
  Unless this threat is discovered and 
  stopped soon, the Matryx will grow 
  so big as to become a real danger in 
  the area… 
  Kidnapped! 
  The heroes joined the caravan of 
  Davarko, a chatty Oscurian peddler, 
  and are going to cross the Bridge. 
  Whether the heroes are simple 
  travelers or hired guards is left to the 
  GM, but Davarko didn’t tell them 
  anything about the voices on the 
  Bridge (he doesn’t believe in them 
  and doesn’t want to pay guards extra 
  money). 
  “Caravan” is an exaggeration in this 
  case because the whole enterprise is 
  composed of Davarko himself and 
  his companion, a gorgeous Menoosh 
  
  2
  woman called Wylya. Together the 
  two of them drive a train of six 
  Koopash packed with wares. Nobody 
  knows what Wylya sees in the little 
  Oscurian, but the two of them seem 
  to get along pretty well. 
  The caravan reaches the Bridge 
  in the afternoon and starts crossing 
  it. It is at least thirty miles long and 
  built on several, interconnected 
  levels, so the crossing will take a whole 
  day. Getting lost is easy, but Davarko 
  knows the place pretty well, because he 
  has used this path a dozen times. The 
  Bridge’s interior is feebly lit by glowing 
  stones. Frequent, unsettling, whispers, 
  are heard, but they are nothing out of 
  the ordinary, Davarko says.
  At dusk the caravan stops. Wylya 
  takes a secondary passage, a few 
  steps away from the main passage, to 
  gather water from a fountain (there 
  are a number of them in the bridge, 
  along with small, perfectly tended, 
  gardens). 
  She suddenly cries for help, but, 
  when the party arrives on the scene, 
  the woman is missing. On the ground 
  are the tracks of small feet, mixed with 
  blood (belonging to the Menoosh 
  woman). The tracks are almost 
  impossible to recognize; due to the 
  rarity of the Matryx and her sons, no 
  hero can know anything about them. 
  Davarko goes mad. He wants to 
  follow the tracks and rescue his 
  companion, but at that moment a 
  weird howl comes from the depths of 
  the bridge, driving the Koopash mad, 
  so the Oscurian must run to calm 
  them before they run away.
  Despite the merchant’s feelings 
  for Wylya, his beasts and cargo are 
  more important to him, so the task 
  of finding the woman is in the party’s 
  hands.
  In the Bridge's 
  Depths
  Following 
  the 
  tracks 
  of 
  the 
  kidnappers is easy, and will lead to 
  several encounters (the GM is free 
  to add or remove some to make 
  the adventure longer or shorter). 
  Before each encounter, ask the party 
  for a Tracking roll, which can be 
  cooperative; in the case of failure 
  the adventurers go off the trail (and 
  must play the appropriate encounter, 
  Ancient Gem). After playing that 
  encounter no further Tracking roll 
  is required as the party reach their 
  destination. 
  Matryx Guardian. The party, while 
  following the tracks, hears another 
  weird howl, like those heard before, 
  but this time coming from a corridor 
  nearby. Investigating, they discover 
  the source: on a wall there is a dog-
  sized, ball-shaped fungus, which 
  periodically contracts and expands 
  (it is breathing), and, at regular 
  intervals of five minutes, howls from 
  a small orifice on its top. It is a Matryx 
  Guardian, a lesser type of drone, 
  mentally connected to its mother, 
  which extends her sensory range. If 
  destroyed (Toughness: 5) the thing 
  
  3
  explodes in a cloud of needle-like 
  pieces, dealing 3d6 damage in a LBT 
  (a successful Agility roll halves this).  
  Ambush! 
  The 
  Matryx 
  Hunters 
  are patrolling the area: if the party 
  previously destroyed the Matryx 
  Guardian, they are alert and set up 
  an ambush in a large room with six 
  different exits: three at ground level 
  and three at 4” from the ground. The 
  room also hosts several columns, 
  which the little creatures use to their 
  best advantage. Half of them hide 
  among the column while the other 
  half are in the upper entrances, ready 
  to spray the pursuers with acid. 
  Remember the Hunters are drones, 
  controlled by a hive mind, so they 
  coordinate and fight to the death. If 
  the party didn’t destroy the Matryx 
  Guardian, the beasts are simply 
  wandering in the room and can be 
  Surprised.
  (M) Matryx Hunter (1 per hero +1)
  Voice of the Bridge. The heroes 
  arrive at a T junction. Both ways lead 
  to dark corridors and the tracks are 
  so confused that nobody knows what 
  corridor the kidnappers took. While 
  the party is discussing this, they hear 
  a whispering voice from the right 
  corridor, and they see a shrouded 
  
  4
  figure in the darkness, the only light 
  coming from a couple of burning blue 
  eyes under its hood. The apparition 
  says, in a rasping voice: 
  “They took the other path, they are 
  bringing her to it. You must hurry.” 
  If the heroes ask where the right 
  corridor 
  (where 
  the 
  mysterious 
  apparition stands) leads, it answers:
  “Only to death.”
  If they ask where the left one leads 
  it answers:
  “To the Enemy of Many Sons.”
  This creature is a manifestation of 
  the conscience of the Bridge, a psychic 
  echo of the builders. If a hero tries to 
  unhood the Voice, the cloak falls to 
  the ground, revealing only a couple 
  of floating blue sparks, which fizzle 
  and disappear. The Voice tells the 
  truth, and is worried by the presence 
  of the Matryx in its realm. If the party 
  decides to follow the right corridor, 
  play the following encounter, Room 
  of Death.
  Room of Death. While the party is 
  advancing along the corridor they 
  hear a very loud crashing coming 
  from the passage in front of them. If 
  this isn’t enough to make them stop, 
  they reach a large, empty room, with 
  polished walls and no roof. Looking 
  up they can see the sky, hundreds 
  of feet above. The stone ground is 
  peculiar too, being covered in little 
  holes, the size of a Groomsh’s finger. 
  There is another exit from the room, 
  on the opposite side from where the 
  party entered. While the adventurers 
  are crossing the room, a door opens 
  several yards from the ground, letting 
  a mass of waste (mostly plants and 
  dirt) fall into the room. At this point 
  the real nature of this room is revealed: 
  it is an enormous trash compactor – 
  the two walls start moving, crushing 
  everything in the room! The only 
  chance the heroes have to save their 
  skins is running like hell for an exit! 
  This is a Dramatic Task, based on 
  Agility. If the heroes score at least 
  five successes (raises count as extra 
  successes) in five rounds they are safe, 
  if they score three or four they almost 
  manage to exit, but a friend (only one) 
  must grab them with a Strength (-2) 
  roll, if he fails the poor sod is partially 
  smashed suffering 2d8 damage, AP 4 
  to the legs, before managing to escape 
  the deadly trap. With two or fewer 
  successes the adventurers are reduced 
  to bloody pulp. After some minutes 
  the walls separate again, while the 
  pulverized waste filters down through 
  the holes on the ground, leaving the 
  room clean as before.
  Off-Trail Encounter – Ancient Gem. 
  The adventurers have lost the tracks 
  of Wylya’s kidnappers. While they 
  are looking for them, they see a blue 
  light coming from an arch. If they 
  investigate they discover a round-
  shaped room. In the middle is a pillar 
  of light in which a white gem, large 
  as a fist, floats in midair. But that isn’t 
  all: from the wall emerge five stone 
  spikes, six feet long, pointed toward 
  the center of the room, as if they 
  
  5
  were a sort of colossal claw closed 
  around the pillar of light. The gem is 
  obviously a magical item but a well-
  protected one. 
  The pillar of light shields it from 
  any magical effect (so telekinesis, 
  gusts of winds or similar tricks don’t 
  move it), but the mere touch of a hand 
  is enough to grab it (breaking the 
  floating effect). The problem is that 
  picking the gem triggers a trap: from 
  the point of every spike, in sequence, 
  erupts a lightning bolt, thrown with 
  Shooting d8 and dealing 2d6 damage. 
  The bolts randomly hit a person in the 
  room (not necessarily the thief). The 
  random attacks continue, each round, 
  while there is at least one person in 
  the room. 
  The gem is a powerful ancient 
  artifact; it stores raw magical energy 
  accessible to every hero. It has 20 
  Power Points, which don’t recharge. 
  When they are exhausted the gem 
  turns gray. If the GM wants, it can 
  have other, mysterious capabilities...
  The Matryx Lair 
  Finally the adventurers reach the 
  end of their hunt: a narrow passage 
  leading to a room full of pipes and 
  weird-shaped columns. There is 
  something very strange in this 
  place: the air crackles, full of energy, 
  and blurs.
  Hanging from the columns there 
  is an enormous creature. It looks 
  like a giant octopus, made of semi-
  transparent 
  matter, 
  covered 
  in 
  irregular, bubbling, protuberances. 
  To make it even more horrible, it has 
  an enormous circular orifice in the 
  middle of its body, a sort of monstrous 
  mouth. A number of small Hunters 
  are dragging Wylya toward it: their 
  goal is clear - throwing the Menoosh 
  inside it, nurturing the creature! The 
  heroes must stop them before this 
  happens.
  But when the party approaches 
  they have a very bad surprise: several 
  protuberances 
  explode, 
  releasing 
  freshly-born Hunters, ready to kill!
  The party must fight!
  Note that, given their proximity 
  to the mother, the Veil Distortion 
  Ability of the Hunters doesn’t work.
  Matryx Hunter (2per hero)
               Matryx
  The End
  If the adventurers save Wylya and 
  kill the Matryx, the scenario is a total 
  success: the Bridge is safe again, plus 
  they gain the eternal friendship of the 
  Menoosh woman and of the Oscurian 
  merchant (even if “eternal” is a vague 
  concept for an Oscurian…). If they 
  kill the monster but Wylya dies 
  Davarko mourns the loss of his 
  mate, and in his grief he could even 
  blame the party for what happened, 
  becoming an enemy in the continuing 
  campaign.  
  
  6
  
  7
  Creatures and 
  nPCs
      Matryx
  Nobody knows from where Matryx 
  came from or how they reproduce, 
  but a common theory is they are the 
  result of a Kronoss experiment gone 
  wrong. When caught in the larval 
  stage they aren’t a great danger, but if 
  left to grow they become a real threat. 
  This specimen is of average size.  
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d8, 
  Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d10, Notice d4, 
  Shooting d8.
  Pace: -; Parry: 7; Toughness: 11
  Special Abilities
  • Hive Mind: A Matryx’s mind 
  is made to elaborate many 
  thoughts at the same time. Each 
  round roll a d8 four times and 
  check the table (see box) to see 
  what it is going to do. Each ac-
  tion is totally independent from 
  the others and so doesn’t suffer 
  any multi-action penalty. Roll 
  one die less per Wound taken 
  by the creature (so if the Matryx 
  suffers two Wounds it only rolls 
  two dice).
  • Large: Attack rolls against 
  a Matryx receive +2 due the 
  beast’s size.
   Matrix Actions Table 
  D8
  EFFECT
  1
  Tentacle Lash! Str+d6, Reach 3.
  2
  Energy Blast! One of the 
  protuberances of the creature 
  shoots a ray of raw magical 
  energy 
  (Range: 
  6/12/24, 
  Damage: 2d8). 
  3
  Stun Wave! Place a LBT in 
  contact with the Matrix. Any 
  target caught under it suffers 
  the effects of the stun Power 
  cast with arcane skill d8. The 
  Hunters are immune to this 
  effect. 
  4
  Displace Enemy! The Matrix 
  uses its power to teleport an 
  enemy 2d6” away from it. The 
  target can make a Spirit (-2) 
  roll to resist this effect.
  5-6
  Spawn Hunter! The Matryx 
  spawns a new Matryx Hunter. 
  It can act in this round, on the 
  Matryx’s Action Card.
  7
  Frenzy Order! The Matryx 
  releases a powerful mental 
  order to its minions! Till the 
  end of the next round, the 
  Hunters receive +1 to attack 
  and damage rolls.
  8
  Regeneration! 
  The 
  Matrix 
  regenerates a Wound, but only 
  if it has two or less. Otherwise 
  it does nothing.
  
  8
  • Size +5: A Matryx is large 
  enough to cover a whole room.
  • Veil Disrupter: A Matryx has a 
  field of magical anomaly around 
  it. Every Power cast within 12” 
  of it costs one extra Power Point, 
  unless cast with a raise.
  Matryx Hunter
  This creature, vaguely humanoid, 
  is three feet tall, with a brownish, 
  smooth skin, claws and a noticeable 
  hump of translucent material, which 
  contains a fragment of its mother, 
  the Matryx, and makes it capable of 
  briefly Distorting the Veil (see below). 
  It is toothless, living by sucking fluids 
  from nipples on the Matryx, but is 
  capable of spitting a deadly acidic 
  substance.  
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, 
  Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, 
  Shooting d8, Stealth d8.
  Pace: 10; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
  Special Abilities
  • Acid Spitting: A Matryx Hunter 
  spits acid at Range 3/6/12. It deals 
  2d6 damage, AP 2.
  • Claws: Str+d4.
  • Drone: Matryx Hunters are con-
  trolled by the Matryx so they are 
  immune to fear, tests of wills and 
  other mental effects.
  • Size -1: They are somewhat 
  smaller than an Oscurian.
  • Veil Distortion: A Matryx Hunt-
  er can, at will, become invisible. 
  This works exactly like the invis-
  ibility Power. No roll is required 
  but it can only be used once a day 
  and lasts only the basic duration 
  (three rounds).  
  
  Vigor
  Strength
  Spirit
  Agility
  Smarts
  Charisma Pace
  Parry
  Toughness
  Hindrances
  Edges
  Gear
  Skills
  Attributes
  Name
  Race
  Way
  Fatigue
  -I
  -I
  -II
  -II
  -III
  INC
  Wounds
  Weapon
  Power
  Armor
  Range
  Damage
  Cost
  Prot
  Wt.
  Range
  Wt.
  Notes
  Damage/Effect
  Notes
  Encumbrance Penalty
  Total Weight                       Value
  Weight limit   
  PP
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/Enascentia/Savage Worlds - Enascentia - Adv - The Bridge.pdf