TEXT: SWORDBREAKERS
  BY BRUCE R. CORDELL
  AN ELITE ORGANIZATION OF THE STRANGE
  
  2
  Credits
  Writer/Designer
  Bruce R. Cordell
  Developer
  Monte Cook
  Creative Director
  Shanna Germain
   
  Editor & Proofreader
  Ray Vallese
  Cover Artist
  Matt Stawicki
  Graphic Designer
  Bear Weiter
  Cartographer
  Hugo Solis
  Artists 
  Patrick McEvoy 
  Grzegorz Pedrycz 
  Joe Slucher
  Matt Stawicki 
  Tiffany Turrill
  Monte Cook Games 
  Editorial Board
  Scott C. Bourgeois
  David Wilson Brown 
  Eric Coates
  Gareth Hodges 
  Jeremy Land
  Laura Wilkinson
  Marina Wold
  George Ziets
  © 2014 Monte Cook 
  Games, LLC
  The Strange and its 
  logo are trademarks of 
  Monte Cook Games, LLC 
  in the U.S.A. and other 
  countries. All Monte Cook 
  Games characters and 
  character names, and 
  the distinctive likenesses 
  thereof, are trademarks of 
  Monte Cook Games, LLC.
  Table of Contents
  Introducing the Swordbreakers 
  3
  Manifest Zeal (for the GM) 
  4
  Swordbreaking (for player characters) 
  14
  Dedicated to our Kickstarter backers Andrew Cotgreave, 
  Brian Hickey, Federico Franceschi, and Andrew Brereton
  
  3
  INTRODUCING THE SWORDBREAKERS
  Throughout this adventure, you’ll 
  see page references to various 
  items accompanied by this symbol. 
  These are page references to The 
  Strange corebook, where you can 
  find additional details about that 
  item, place, rule, NPC, or creature. It 
  isn’t usually necessary to look up the 
  referenced items in the corebook; it’s 
  an optional way to learn more about 
  the situation and provide additional 
  information to your players. The 
  exception is if a cypher or creature 
  stat is referenced, in which case 
  you’ll want the corebook nearby.
  Swordbreakers: An Elite Organization of the Strange gives 
  players and game masters a close look at a select group 
  of NPCs active in various recursions, but especially 
  Ardeyn. 
  As a GM resource, Swordbreakers introduces a crack 
  team of NPCs for players to ally with, fight, or even 
  aspire to join, along with the history, goals, and short 
  description of the group’s main base. In addition, this 
  Fractal also includes several adventure seeds, a location 
  (Swordbreaker Keep), and artifacts (the Soul Gem of Zeal 
  and its various fragments, plus boots of the Strange).
  As a player resource, Swordbreakers potentially provides 
  a special focus (Embraces Swordbreaker Zeal), patrons 
  (or sometimes allies) in the form of the NPCs, and an 
  affiliate organization for those who want to expand their 
  horizons. It’s up to the PCs. Will their characters oppose, 
  ally with, or join the Swordbreakers?
  INTRODUCING THE SWORDBREAKERS
  Soul Gem of Zeal,
  page 10
  Swordbreaker Zeal 
  fragment, page 15
  Embraces Swordbreaker 
  Zeal, page 14
  
  4
  Recruited out of an already-elite team called the 
  Prime Element on Earth, Swordbreakers are among 
  the best of the best. They can acclimate to almost 
  any recursion, environment, or situation. But their 
  primary mission is facing threats that arise in the 
  recursion of Ardeyn. 
  To that end, the Swordbreaker Alpha Team spends 
  most of its time in the Land of the Curse, operating 
  out of a fortress called Swordbreaker Keep. (The 
  Swordbreaker Bravo Team is made up of recursors 
  who include the PCs, but only if the characters join 
  the organization.) 
  Symbol: Exploding sword
  Motto: Bravery, Honor, and Sacrifice
  SWORDBREAKER ALPHA TEAM
  The four principals of the group, plus their 
  commanding officer, are detailed below. Each 
  member of the Alpha Team focuses on one or two 
  areas where they particularly excel, though they’re 
  all deadly with weapons, cunning, and, because 
  they work as a team, hard to kill.
  Prime Element,
  page 201
  Ardeyn, page 160
  “Really, you didn’t already know that? 
  How . . . interesting.”
  —Federico Franceschi, Swordbreaker
  MANIFEST ZEAL (FOR THE GM)
  
  5
  MANIFEST ZEAL (FOR THE GM)
  ANDREW COTGREAVE “GREAVES”
  Andrew Cotgreave, commonly called “Greaves” 
  by his teammates, is a former Navy SEAL. Andrew 
  is a brash man of few regrets and fewer friends. 
  Mostly, only other Swordbreakers have warm 
  feelings for him (and not all of them, and none 
  of them all the time). Despite his sometimes 
  harsh bearing, flaring temper, and fiery language, 
  Greaves is a man of honest feelings and the kind 
  of person you want in your corner. As your friend, 
  Greaves will never let you down. As your enemy, 
  he will never stop looking for you until you’ve paid 
  for whatever you did to piss him off in the first 
  place.
  Like any sane resident of Ardeyn, Greaves is 
  concerned about Lotanic cultists, but he has a 
  special dislike for dragons, who once served as 
  the mounts for Lotan’s ancient army. Even though 
  most dragons in Ardeyn have no obvious remaining 
  connection with what burns in the Heart Core, 
  Greaves retains a nigh-unstoppable hatred for the 
  creatures that seems unlikely to ever be tempered.
  In Ardeyn, Greaves is particularly adept at hunting 
  and killing dragons, which puts some of the fear of 
  him into dragons that dragons normally instill in 
  others.
  CONDAR FREED
  Condar Freed is a mechanic/demo specialist. Only 
  his closest friends know that he was born Brian 
  Hickey. But like so many other things, he resolved 
  to leave his old life behind. He became Condar 
  Freed in mind, body, and will. It’s his resolute 
  nature that saved him when he was injured by an 
  IED on a patrol across Syria. Given the terrible 
  wounds he received, most people would have 
  given up. But Condar vowed to live. He crawled 
  10 miles back to base in what can only be called a 
  superhuman effort. He’s a man of his word, and 
  not just to himself. If Condar promises something, 
  he won’t stop until he does what he swore he’d do.
  Condar Freed’s indomitable will is what first 
  allowed him to fend off the fear that besets 
  most people who deal with ghosts, spirits, and 
  necromancy. Despite the real possibility that a 
  bodiless spirit could “sour” and become wrathful 
  or demonic, he recognizes that those who have 
  passed into the spirit realm should be protected, 
  respected, and, when possible, saved from a fate of 
  irredeemable evil.
  In Ardeyn, Condar Freed gains the ability to 
  command spectral spirits.
  FEDERICO FRANCESCHI
  Federico Franceschi is a hacker/tech genius. 
  Seriously, he’s the smartest man you’ll probably 
  ever meet. His memory is supernatural, he grasps 
  difficult concepts with ease, and his wit is beyond 
  compare. In fact, some would say he’s so cutting 
  that he’s cruel. That goes double for people who 
  demonstrate a willful ignorance regarding any topic 
  important to Federico. Some say he deserved to 
  win a national “computer hacker” championship, 
  but his open contempt for the event organizers 
  got him disqualified from the final match. He plays 
  it off when the topic comes up, but the slight is 
  something that bothers him to this day.
  More than just his wit is cutting—Federico is a 
  master with the blade. His great intelligence gave 
  If Condar Freed were 
  a PC, in Ardeyn his 
  focus would usually be 
  Shepherds the Dead, 
  unless he Embraces 
  Swordbreaker Zeal.
  Embraces Swordbreaker 
  Zeal, page 14
  Condar Summary: 
  quiet unless provoked, 
  intense, given to staring 
  impolitely
  Slays Dragons, page 77
  Dragon, page 267
  Heart Core, page 186
  Shepherds the Dead, 
  page 76
  If Greaves were a PC, in 
  Ardeyn his focus would 
  usually be Slays Dragons, 
  unless he Embraces 
  Swordbreaker Zeal.
  Greaves Summary: 
  foul-mouthed, loud, 
  doesn’t (seem to) give 
  a rip
  ANDREW COTGREAVE STATS
  ON EARTH
  Level: 5
  Tasks related to planning combat 
  tactics as level 6
  Health: 25
  Armor: 1
  Long-range pistol attack that inflicts 6 points of 
  damage
  IN ARDEYN 
  Level: 5
  Health: 25
  Armor: 2
  Lance attack that deals 7 points of 
  damage (10 points to creatures more than 
  twice as large as him)
  Carries Swordbreaker Zeal fragment
  CONDAR FREED STATS
  ON EARTH
  Level: 5
  Attacks with pistol as level 6, tasks 
  related to engine repair and 
  explosives as level 6
  Health: 20
  Long-range pistol attack for 4 points of damage
  IN ARDEYN 
  Level: 5
  Health: 20
  Accompanied by level 3 spirit 
  accomplice that serves as an 
  asset to any one attack or defense task each 
  round
  Shamshir (scimitar) attack for 4 points of 
  damage
  Carries Swordbreaker Zeal fragment
  If Federico were a PC, 
  his focus in Ardeyn 
  would usually be Wields 
  Two Weapons at Once, 
  unless he Embraces 
  Swordbreaker Zeal.
  Federico Summary: 
  cutting humor, knows 
  more than you
  Wields Two Weapons 
  at Once, page 82
  
  6
  him not only the capacity to study the techniques 
  of old masters but also the mental agility to 
  incorporate moves of newer teachers, including 
  those located in a “mere” recursion like Ardeyn. 
  Federico appreciates how the near-boundless 
  computing potential of the dark energy network 
  precipitated Ardeyn’s retroactive history, making 
  it almost as real and relevant as actual history on 
  Earth. That history is also much longer, and blade 
  techniques in Ardeyn have had much more time to 
  develop.
  In Ardeyn, Federico studies and improves his 
  blade technique with as much intelligence and 
  attention to detail as he applied to mastering 
  computer code and related technology on Earth. 
  ANDREW BRERETON
  Andrew Brereton is a tough palooka type, ready 
  to take on anything that comes his way. That’s 
  because he’s truly jovial and never lets anything get 
  him down too long. That good nature extends to 
  his comrades. Andrew is always ready with a quip, 
  a play on words, or a comedic expression to ease 
  the strains of everyday life—or, in the case of the 
  Swordbreakers, the vicissitudes of the occasional 
  grueling mission. In fact, Andrew is in many ways 
  the glue that holds the Alpha Team together. 
  Internally, his near-endless supply of good cheer 
  is something that other Swordbreakers have come 
  to rely on, even if they never admit it. Moreover, 
  without Andrew to put a pleasant face on Greaves’s 
  foul mouth, Federico’s cruel wit, and Condar’s 
  intense silence, the Swordbreakers would probably 
  have a much different reputation than the fairly 
  positive one they enjoy in Ardeyn.
  If Andrew were a PC, 
  his focus in Ardeyn 
  would usually be Abides 
  in Stone, unless he 
  Embraces Swordbreaker 
  Zeal.
  Andrew Summary: 
  jolly, friendly, ready with 
  a joke
  FEDERICO FRANCESCHI STATS
  ON EARTH
  Level: 5
  Tasks related to computer use and 
  hacking as level 6
  Health: 20
  Scimitar attack for 5 points of damage
  IN ARDEYN 
  Level: 5
  Health: 20
  Armor: 1
  Two shamshir (scimitar) attacks as 
  a single action for 4 points of damage each
  Carries Swordbreaker Zeal fragment
  Abides in Stone,
  page 51
  
  7
  MANIFEST ZEAL (FOR THE GM)
  energy (which shines blue-white). In this guise, 
  the Swordbreakers’ commander comes across as 
  a no-nonsense leader with little time for niceties 
  or distractions. That may be her true personality, 
  though because she has a limited period while 
  in simulacrum form—usually no more than an 
  hour at a time—she just might not have time to 
  act otherwise. When she is not communicating 
  through the Soul Gem of Zeal or present in the 
  Swordbreakers’ base as a spirit energy simulacrum, 
  where she resides remains a secret.
  SWORDBREAKERS BACKGROUND
  Zanousha Nazari wasn’t the first Swordbreaker. 
  When the Quiet Cabal formed the organization, 
  the group first picked Gordon Galbraith to lead 
  the team. He immediately set the Swordbreakers 
  on a quest to find and destroy something called 
  the Soul Gem of Zeal. According to Galbraith, 
  the power accumulating in the soul gem was 
  like a time bomb, and the longer it was allowed 
  to resonate, the more certain Lotan’s eventual 
  freedom would become.
  To destroy the soul gem, the Swordbreakers had 
  to find it. Thanks to the efforts of Condar Freed 
  and his ability to question spirits, the soul gem 
  was finally located in a bastion in the hollowed-out 
  center of a massive stone monument along the 
  eastern Borderlands of Ardeyn. The bastion was 
  defended by several golems, but Andrew Brereton 
  convinced the creatures that the Swordbreakers 
  were allies, not enemies. The team slipped into the 
  inner sanctum, where the soul gem rested in an 
  elaborate cradle. Its potent guardian, a creature of 
  brilliant spiritual energy powered directly by the Soul 
  Gem of Zeal, emerged to face them.
  Andrew had a tough childhood, one in which 
  his father was something of a bully and an avid 
  proponent of corporal punishment. Rather than 
  pull into himself, Andrew looked outward for 
  peace and happiness in other parts of his life. 
  And he was rewarded in spades. In Ardeyn, where 
  jokes are less common, he applies himself to 
  riddles. In the city known as Citadel Hazurrium, he 
  sometimes presents himself not as a member of the 
  Swordbreakers but as the celebrated Golem Riddler, 
  whose riddles are as hard to penetrate as his stony 
  hide is. (On the rare occasion he translates back to 
  Earth, it’s usually to attend an “open mic” night at a 
  comedy club.)
  When Andrew translates to Ardeyn, his body 
  becomes stone like a golem’s, which is incredibly 
  useful when his jokes fail to impress servitors of 
  Lotan, the Betrayer, or invading Strangers.
  ZANOUSHA NAZARI
  The true identity of the Swordbreakers’ 
  commander is secret, but her code name is 
  Zanousha Nazari. She apparently resides in 
  Ardeyn, but the team members have never met her 
  in person. She sends them mission updates via the 
  Soul Gem of Zeal whenever official Swordbreaker 
  services are required. 
  In rare circumstances, a simulacrum of Zanousha 
  forms for short periods, composed of Zeal spirit 
  “There’s no time to feel sorry for the victims. If that makes me a bad guy, too bad. The 
  Lotanic cultists who did this don’t feel bad, for fuck’s sake. So we need to toughen up 
  and go after them right now, not sit around wringing our hands.”
  —Greaves, Swordbreaker
  ZANOUSHA STATS
  AS ENERGY SIMULACRUM
  Level: 6
  Health: 30
  Armor: 3 from Zeal energy
  Long-range Zeal energy attack that inflicts 7 
  points of damage and ignores Armor
  If destroyed, reappears 24 hours later
  Gordon Galbraith,
  page 13
  Zanousha Summary: 
  terse, focused, sometimes 
  wistful
  Condar Freed, page 5
  Lotan, page 162
  Citadel Hazurrium, 
  page 166
  ANDREW BRERETON STATS
  ON EARTH
  Level: 5
  Tasks related to diplomacy, 
  persuasion, and detecting the 
  lies of others as level 6
  Long-range pistol attack for 5 points of damage
  IN ARDEYN
  Level: 5
  Health: 25
  Armor: 3 from stone form
  Melee fist attack for 8 points of 
  damage
  Carries Swordbreaker Zeal fragment
  A Stranger is the term 
  for any creature native to 
  the Strange, rather than 
  Earth or a recursion.
  
  8
  The “creature” named itself Zanousha and seemed 
  unstoppable until Greaves plunged his lance into the 
  soul gem itself. Although this attack didn’t destroy 
  the gem, it did splinter off several fragments and 
  dissipate Zanousha’s form. Galbraith stepped forward 
  and began smashing the remaining Soul Gem of 
  Zeal into so much powder. As he bashed the relic, 
  Federico Franceschi finally put together all the clues 
  that Galbraith had accidentally provided. With his 
  impressive intellect and knowledge of Ardeyn history 
  to draw upon, Federico realized that the massive 
  monument in which they stood likely represented 
  the ruins of one of the missing Seven Sentinels of 
  Ardeyn—which meant the soul gem that Galbraith was 
  hammering away at was a sentinel’s heart or engine. 
  Given that the Seven Sentinels were supposedly set to 
  guard against Lotan’s release, it occurred to Federico 
  that destroying a sentinel’s heart might be unwise.
  At the precipice, the four team members turned 
  on their commander. It was touch and go, but 
  they prevented Galbraith from utterly destroying 
  the soul gem. However, he managed to escape. 
  He remains somewhere at large to this day, 
  plotting his revenge and sending trouble the 
  Swordbreakers’ way every now and then.
  In the aftermath, the team members were 
  chastened by how they’d been rooked into doing 
  the opposite of their charter. They pledged to 
  make amends, gain vengeance on Galbraith, and 
  work against Lotan’s servitors and other threats 
  to Ardeyn. In this work, they found a new ally and 
  eventual leader: the same guardian entity they’d 
  first defeated upon attaining the soul gem chamber, 
  Zanousha Nazari. Due to the partial destruction 
  of the soul gem, Zanousha can manifest physically 
  for only a limited time. Even when not manifest, 
  she can still communicate as an image on the Soul 
  Gem of Zeal, or to anyone carrying a fragment of the 
  gem that broke off during the conflict. (Zanousha 
  never explained her lack of a physical body or her 
  association with the soul gem, despite being asked 
  many times.) Besides allowing communication, 
  each Zeal fragment serves as a power conduit 
  artifact to the main soul gem. These days, an 
  outsider might know a Swordbreaker by the soul 
  fragment he carries or the bluish-white glow of Zeal 
  that shines like a faint nimbus around him.
  SWORDBREAKER GOALS
  Though individual members have their own 
  motivations, as a group under the command of 
  Zanousha Nazari, the Swordbreakers are consumed 
  by two desires. One is to track down Galbraith and 
  exterminate him and every other Lotanic cultist in 
  Ardeyn. The second is to explore the mysteries of 
  the Age of Myth, especially those that pertain to the 
  Seven Sentinels. This includes learning the fates of 
  the many artifacts and magic objects that bedecked 
  the qephilim cities of old.
  Individual Swordbreakers are free to pursue 
  secondary concerns, as long as those do not 
  interfere with the organization’s goals. For instance, 
  Andrew Brereton occasionally attends comedy clubs 
  on Earth (and performs during “open mic” nights) 
  and later goes out drinking with friends who have 
  no idea of his secret life in Ardeyn. If he does so on 
  a night before a major mission, however, there’s 
  friction between him and other team members.
  When the Swordbreakers deploy on missions 
  related to their primary goals, they usually plan 
  ahead, develop fallback contingencies, and pull the 
  trigger only when they’re reasonably confident they 
  know all the facts (the history of their founding still 
  leaves a psychic scar on the original members).
  Andrew Cotgreave,
  page 5
  Federico Franceschi, 
  page 5
  THE QUIET CABAL AND THE PRIME ELEMENT
  The organization called the Quiet Cabal in Ruk 
  has a covert arm pledged to protecting Earth from 
  various Strange-related dangers. They believe 
  that if Earth were destroyed, Ruk would be as 
  well. Much of the Quiet Cabal’s assets are tied 
  up in countering another faction in Ruk called 
  the Karum. To help fight the Karum’s recent 
  upsurge in activity, a special force called the 
  Prime Element was created. The Prime Element is 
  made up of Earth humans recruited from military 
  units, security companies, and related situations. 
  For a while, the Quiet Cabal was content with 
  leaving Ardeyn-only conflicts to the Estate, its 
  sister organization on Earth. But that eventually 
  changed, and the Swordbreakers was born.
  Quiet Cabal, page 199
  Ruk, page 190
  Karum, page 200
  Prime Element,
  page 201
  Ardeyn, page 160
  Seven Sentinels,
  page 182
  Age of Myth, page 162
  Qephilim, page 163
  
  9
  MANIFEST ZEAL (FOR THE GM)
  SWORDBREAKER KEEP
  Located on a free-floating skerry in the Borderlands 
  east of Lornvale is a mass of broken stones. 
  Thrusting up from the center is Swordbreaker 
  Keep. The “keep” was once a stupendously large 
  humanoid statue, but to naive eyes, it now appears 
  like a particularly tortured natural mesa. The skerry 
  that hosts the keep is part of the demolished original 
  sculpture, one of the lost Seven Sentinels. A heavy 
  mist usually swirls about the area, which further 
  conceals the true nature of what the place once was.
  KEY FEATURES
  Swordbreaker Keep is essentially a series of 
  tunnels and rooms carved into the core of a 
  defunct Sentinel. The chambers are spread across 
  several levels.
  Defenses
  One of the keep’s best defenses is its relative 
  isolation. Enemies who find it must contend with 
  a handful of exterior golem guards that stand 
  watch at equidistant points across the skerry. If a 
  golem notices unannounced visitors, it booms out 
  a warning that echoes across the entire chunk of 
  free-floating landscape.
  Golem, page 270
  Borderlands, page 178
  CROSSING THE GAP
  Moving between free-floating skerries in the 
  Borderlands is difficult for creatures that can’t 
  fly. That counts as one more defense that 
  Swordbreaker Keep enjoys, but it also limits the 
  ability of well-meaning petitioners to approach 
  and ask for aid. To help alleviate this gap, the 
  group recently built a transfer tower on the very 
  edge of Ardeyn. From it, the mist-swaddled mote 
  of Swordbreaker Keep is visible several miles in 
  the distance, right where the atmosphere begins 
  to fuzz and give way to the Strange. A group brave 
  enough to enter the cage at the top of the tower 
  and pull the rusted iron lever labeled “Pull for 
  transfer” is slung like a bullet from a ballista on an 
  arcing trajectory that deposits them on the shore 
  of the skerry holding Swordbreaker Keep. Travelers 
  who fail a difficulty 3 Speed defense roll take 4 
  points of damage from a hard landing. A similar 
  tower on the skerry can provide return passage.
  
  10
  All told, about a dozen golems (including the 
  golem watchers on the exterior) remain active enough 
  to respond if invaders appear at the keep’s gate. They 
  don’t automatically attack visitors; those who aren’t 
  obviously Lotanic cultists, servitors of Galbraith, or 
  otherwise deemed to be enemies are escorted under 
  heavy guard (two golems) through the keep gate and 
  into the audience chamber (see below).
  Besides golems, the Swordbreakers, including 
  the manifest simulacrum of Zanousha, defend their 
  keep if it comes under attack. In addition to the 
  Alpha Team, Bravo Team Swordbreakers (if any) also 
  respond to an alarm. Because each member carries 
  a Soul Gem of Zeal fragment, communication 
  between them is usually well coordinated. 
  Finally, several level 3 qephilim Free Battalion 
  mercenaries serve as general staff for the keep. They 
  clean, cook, repair, and do other needful tasks. They 
  also defend the keep when necessary.
  Visiting the Swordbreakers
  Guests are first escorted to an audience chamber. 
  Banners showing a symbol of an exploding sword 
  decorate this large hall. Comfortable seats and 
  a long table fill most of the room; foods from a 
  connected kitchen are laid out when visitors arrive. 
  Guests are usually accorded the opportunity to 
  talk to a senior Swordbreaker. Visitors are in luck if 
  they get Andrew Brereton, but not so lucky if one 
  of the others is on diplomatic duty, especially if it’s 
  Greaves.
  What the Swordbreakers do with guests after 
  the initial greeting depends on why the visitors 
  have journeyed to the keep. If they bring dire news, 
  all the Swordbreakers are eventually summoned, 
  including the simulacrum of Zanousha.
  There’s always the chance that none of the Alpha 
  Team are present, in which case a Bravo Team 
  member (if any) or a qephilim meets with guests and 
  determines what’s to be done.
  Soul Gem Chamber
  PCs on the road to becoming Swordbreakers (or 
  those who have already joined the group) are 
  eventually ushered into the presence of the Soul 
  Gem of Zeal, which is in a chamber at the heart of 
  the complex.
  The chamber is spherical and large. A complex 
  cradle about 10 feet (3 m) in diameter lies at the 
  center. Within the cradle floats a massive, glowing, 
  bluish-white crystal gem. Despite the cracks that run 
  through it (and the broken-off fragments that orbit 
  the gem like tiny moons around a planet), the object 
  radiates palpable power. It is, of course, the Soul Gem 
  of Zeal. It once served as the heart of one of the Seven 
  Sentinels. Now it is the heart of the Swordbreakers.
  The feminine visage of Zanousha forms on 
  the gem’s surface, or steps out as a fully formed 
  humanoid simulacrum of bluish-white energy, to 
  greet visitors or fend off attackers. If someone new 
  is accepted into the ranks of the Swordbreakers, 
  Zanousha gifts them with a fragment of the 
  soul gem, which functions as an artifact known 
  as a Swordbreaker Zeal fragment. (Despite not 
  being completely physical, Zanousha enjoys the 
  benefits of wielding a fragment herself, one she 
  never needs to renew while the Soul Gem of Zeal 
  remains intact.)
  The Soul Gem of Zeal is a level 9 object suffused 
  with magic power. How and why Zanousha Nazari 
  became so intimately associated with an object of 
  Ardeyn’s extrapolated history remains mysterious 
  to say the least. Being asked about that association 
  is one of many topics that Zanousha will not 
  entertain, instead leaving by simply dissipating her 
  visage or simulacrum.
  Qephilim Free 
  Battalion mercenary, 
  page 284
  Bravo Team 
  Swordbreakers, page 14
  
  11
  MANIFEST ZEAL (FOR THE GM)
  ADVENTURE SEEDS
  These adventure seeds provide the GM with 
  several additional ways to use the Swordbreakers 
  in her campaign.
  WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
  A den of Lotanic cultists is operating out of a 
  nearby secret base (a hidden cave beneath a 
  tower). Despite periodic cleansings of such ilk 
  by various agencies, new dens keep popping up. 
  But that doesn’t make shutting down a Lotanic 
  cultist den routine by any means. Although each 
  den draws from the same playbook of kidnapping, 
  human and qephilim sacrifice, and sometimes 
  even demon worship, most dens also offer 
  something surprisingly dangerous.
  Getting the PCs Involved: This adventure seed 
  is well suited for PCs who have had only limited 
  exposure to the Swordbreakers or who have never 
  heard of the group. The PCs are pursuing their 
  own mission in Ardeyn, which might be completely 
  unrelated to Lotanic cultists (such as following up 
  The Curious Case of 
  Tom Mallard, page 386
  Qephilim, page 163
  Spirit of wrath,
  page 292
  Umber wolf, page 295
  Sark, page 288
  Soulshorn, page 291
  on The Curious Case of Tom Mallard or tracking 
  down the Mouth of Swords). On the other hand, 
  their mission might be to find the offending 
  Lotanic cultist den and clean it out. Either way, 
  the characters become involved because they’re 
  initially mistaken for Lotanic cultists by two 
  Swordbreakers who have come to investigate the 
  same site that the PCs are exploring.
  Complicating Factor: If necessary to end a conflict 
  between Swordbreakers and PCs, the location 
  where the two groups encounter each other 
  suddenly reveals itself to be a trap. The floor gives 
  way, and both groups fall 30 feet (9 m) into a 
  maze of tunnels thick with spirits of wrath, umber 
  wolves, and sark.
  “Boss” Fight: The Lotanic cultist den is made up 
  of four level 3 members. However, they are 
  being led by nothing less than a soulshorn. The 
  PCs are likely to need every bit of help the two 
  Swordbreakers can provide to put the Lotanic 
  soulshorn down.
  MOUTH OF SWORDS
  The Mouth of Swords is an ancient qephilim burial place full of treasures from the Age of Myth. A crazed 
  spirit of wrath called the Myth Keeper guards the stored items on behalf of their original owners. The secure 
  underground complex is also guarded by lesser spirits, traps, and sorcerous wards. Its treasures have lured 
  more than one adventuring company to its doom.
  For additional 
  information on the 
  Mouth of Swords, see 
  The Dark Spiral, page 47.
  
  12
  PROVE YOUR WORTH
  Something bad is happening in the city of 
  Shalmarn. Residents in random neighborhoods 
  wake to find their eyes are missing. The only clue 
  regarding the nature of the eye thief is that a 
  pearlescent slime remains behind in the otherwise 
  empty sockets of victims. With investigation, a 
  residual slime trail leads to previously unknown 
  entrances to the abandoned qephilim ruins and 
  mines that the city of Shalmarn is built over. 
  (In fact, many of the buildings are converted 
  remnants of structures first built during the 
  Age of Myth.)
  Getting the PCs Involved: This adventure seed 
  is well suited for PCs who wish to join the 
  Swordbreakers as part of the group’s Bravo Team. 
  The mission is suggested as a quest. If the PCs 
  bring the eye thief to justice, they prove themselves 
  and are invited to join the Swordbreakers. 
  Alternatively, they discover what’s going on when 
  a screaming, eyeless victim runs into the street 
  one morning with goo leaking from her sockets. 
  Complicating Factor: A group of seven level 3 
  brigands, who call themselves the Dethroned, 
  have their lair in the abandoned ruins, and 
  the residual slime trails lead right through 
  it. The brigands attack anyone who 
  discovers them. Though uncooperative, 
  a captured brigand who is persuaded to 
  talk explains that sometimes a “burning 
  star” shoots up from the lower tunnels. 
  The Dethroned don’t mess with it, and 
  it doesn’t mess with them. If pressed 
  further, the captive may admit that 
  when the silvery star appears, the 
  brigands recite the Seven Rules over 
  and over, which seems to placate it.
  “Boss” Fight: Characters who get 
  past the brigands and follow the 
  residue discover a vast, dark crack 
  leading even deeper. Within the 
  gulf, motes of silver light burn. One 
  such mote grows larger and larger 
  as it approaches. The spherical mote 
  seems to transform (or perhaps it sheds 
  an illusory guise) and is revealed as a 
  winged qephilim who describes itself as a 
  “fallen star.” This particular fallen star has 
  developed an unholy appetite for eyes.
  LOCATE ANOTHER SOUL GEM
  A trading caravan attempting to find new routes 
  discovers a potential location of one of the missing 
  Seven Sentinels. The site is deep in the Green Wilds, 
  and according to the stories of the surviving traders, 
  it is overrun with flesh-eating vines, spiders the size 
  of houses, and sark.
  Getting the PCs Involved: One of Zanousha’s 
  longstanding goals is to locate the remains of 
  the Seven Sentinels. Every so often, rumors of a 
  potential new site come to light, and Zanousha 
  sends the Bravo Team to investigate whether there’s 
  Green Wilds, page 170
  Seven Rules, page 162
  Shalmarn, page 169
  Age of Myth, page 162
  Fallen Star: level 6; 
  health 21; Armor 2; can 
  fly a long distance each 
  round; long-range beam 
  of burning light inflicts 
  8 points of damage (loses 
  this power in sunlight); 
  see The Strange 
  Bestiary, page 53
  
  13
  MANIFEST ZEAL (FOR THE GM)
  any truth to the story. Alternatively, the PCs hear the 
  tale of a massive, vine-strangled statue in the heart 
  of the Green Wilds from a drunken trader down 
  on his luck in a nameless dive bar. Either way, the 
  characters learn enough to travel to the general 
  location where the lost Sentinel supposedly rests.
  Complicating Factor: PCs who get past the sark, the 
  flesh-eating vines, and the very large spiders (which 
  are only the size of well-fed humans) find someone 
  else who heard the same stories and came to 
  investigate: Galbraith. Characters who are part 
  of the Swordbreakers may eventually realize that 
  Galbraith was the name of the original traitorous 
  leader of their team, and that he wants to find soul 
  gems so he can destroy them. Galbraith is allied 
  with several Lotanic cultists as well.
  Whether the site is just the ruins of a very large 
  statue or the location of another Sentinel is for 
  the GM to decide. Either way, the PCs learn one 
  thing while fighting Galbraith or investigating the 
  area: the soul gems that once served as the hearts 
  of the Seven Sentinels were not native to Ardeyn. 
  Somehow, and against all common sense and 
  causal linkage, soul gems are 
  artifacts of the Strange.
  Flesh-eating vine: level 4; 
  immediate-range attack 
  deals 2 points of damage 
  to Speed Pool
  Very large spider: level 4; 
  short-range web-strand 
  attack holds victims in 
  place for a round if hit; 
  mandible attack deals 5 
  points of damage
  Galbraith: level 6; Armor 
  1; long-range flesh-
  decaying attack against 
  one target inflicts 5 points 
  of damage; short-range 
  death spell attack (usable 
  once per minute) moves 
  one target who fails an 
  Intellect defense roll one 
  step down the damage 
  track; wears an artifact 
  called boots of the 
  Strange
  Lotanic cultist: level 3; 
  health 12; talwar (great 
  sword) attack inflicts 6 
  points of damage
  Sark, page 288
  Chaosphere navigation, 
  page 215
  Fractal surfing,
  page 215
  ARTIFACT: BOOTS OF THE STRANGE
  Level: 1d6 + 3
  Form: Pair of boots inlaid with swirling fractals
  Effect: When the boots are activated as part of 
  a move, the wearer can walk across empty 
  air for a long distance each round for up to 
  one minute. If used in the Strange, the boots 
  decrease the difficulty of any Chaosphere 
  navigation or fractal surfing task by one step.
  Depletion: 1 in 1d100
  
  14
  The Swordbreakers are an elite group dedicated 
  to hunting Lotanic cultists, and they don’t hand 
  out memberships to just anyone. If the PCs wish 
  to join, they’ll have to be invited and, what’s more, 
  meet the entry requirements.
  SWORDBREAKERS
  BRAVO TEAM REQUIREMENTS
  The first requirement, of course, is that the GM 
  introduce the Swordbreakers into the campaign, 
  then determine whether it will remain an NPC-only 
  group or recruit for a Bravo Team that includes 
  characters.
  If the PCs come to the attention of the 
  Swordbreakers in a positive fashion, they may 
  later be invited to join. Joining imposes a few 
  requirements, as follows.
  Initial Quest: The PCs must successfully 
  accomplish a mission set by the Swordbreakers, 
  such as the one described under “Prove Your 
  Worth,” or another quest provided by the GM.
  Dues: The initiation fee is a one-time payment of 
  100 crowns. Annual dues are also 100 crowns, 
  but the real cost of membership is a commitment 
  to destroy a few Lotanic cultists or dangerous 
  Strangers each year. Members set their own limits, 
  but each limit is publicly displayed for all to see, so 
  members are held accountable.
  Availability: A Swordbreaker must respond to 
  urgent summons from any member of the Alpha 
  Team or Zanousha. Swordbreakers on the Bravo 
  Team who enjoy an affiliate status (those who 
  don’t reside in the keep, which probably includes 
  most PCs) aren’t bothered for routine missions—
  they are summoned only if something of particular 
  importance is afoot.
  The Estate, page 148
  Prove Your Worth,
  page 12
  SWORDBREAKERS
  BRAVO TEAM BENEFITS
  PCs who become members are either affiliate or 
  core members. Core members are those who stay 
  in the keep full time. They are sent on missions far 
  more often than affiliate members.
  Affiliate members (likely the status of most PCs) 
  have their residence elsewhere and can more easily 
  maintain other affiliations, such as with the Estate. 
  A Bravo Team affiliate member gets room and 
  board whenever she visits the keep, if desired.
  In addition, the Swordbreakers provide the 
  following benefits to all members.
  Swordbreaker Zeal Fragment: Bravo Team 
  members gain an artifact referred to as a fragment 
  of the Soul Gem of Zeal. 
  Embraces Swordbreaker Zeal: Bravo Team PCs 
  gain access to a special focus called Embraces 
  Swordbreaker Zeal.
  Reasonable Aid: A Bravo Team member can 
  expect aid from the larger organization, though 
  usually only on matters that are directly related to 
  Lotanic cultists or Strangers.
  SPECIAL FOCUS: 
  EMBRACES SWORDBREAKER ZEAL
  This special focus is available only to members of the 
  Swordbreakers Bravo Team in Ardeyn. Once gained, 
  the focus can be chosen as an alternative to the 
  character’s regular focus any time she is in Ardeyn 
  and activates a Soul Gem of Zeal fragment that is not 
  depleted. When a character gains this focus, whatever 
  other focus she had goes into abeyance, though her 
  equipment remains constant between her normal 
  Ardeyn focus and Embraces Swordbreaker Zeal. If the 
  character’s Soul Gem of Zeal fragment is depleted, 
  Embraces Swordbreaker Zeal immediately goes into 
  abeyance and can’t be made active again until the 
  fragment is renewed.
  Empowered by a relic from the Age of Myth, you 
  fight for Ardeyn. When you call upon the Soul Gem 
  of Zeal, you gain a power over the evil of Lotan and 
  that which lies beyond the Borderlands. 
  SWORDBREAKING (FOR PLAYER CHARACTERS)
  
  15
  SWORDBREAKING (FOR PLAYER CHARACTERS)
  Blinded creatures act as if 
  in complete darkness.
  Embraces Swordbreaker 
  Zeal GM Intrusions: The 
  cultist has allies. A scene 
  of horrific sacrifice and 
  torture is uncovered. A 
  demon of Lotan attempts 
  to possess the character.
  Darkness, page 111
  Demon of Lotan,
  page 265
  You keep whatever equipment is provided 
  by your normal Ardeyn focus. However, when 
  Embraces Swordbreaker Zeal is active, you can 
  display a faint bluish-white nimbus (or not, as you 
  desire).
  Swordbreakers are commonly vectors, but 
  paradoxes and spinners also join the group.
  Connection: This is never a PC’s starting focus.
  Equipment: As provided by your normal Ardeyn 
  focus.
  Minor Effect Suggestion: Bluish-white energy 
  blazes from you and partially blinds your foe for 
  one round, increasing the difficulty of all its actions 
  by one step.
  Major Effect Suggestion: Bluish-white energy 
  blazes from you and fully blinds one or more foes 
  for one round.
  Tier 1: Find the Lotanic Cultist (1 Intellect point). 
  You sense the presence of the nearest creature 
  (including living cultists) within immediate range 
  who serves or has been touched by Lotan. If the 
  Lotanic cultist has taken special precautions to 
  hide her identity, determining her presence or true 
  nature is an Intellect-based task whose difficulty is 
  equal to the target’s level or the level of the effect 
  employed. Action.
  Minor Zeal. You gain 1 point from your soul 
  gem fragment that you can spend when you spend 
  points from any Pool for any reason. This is a 
  difficulty 2 Intellect-based task, but each time you 
  use it again before your next ten-hour recovery roll, 
  the difficulty increases by one step. In addition, 
  you must make a depletion roll for your soul gem 
  fragment. For example, if you use Find the Lotanic 
  Cultist, you can use this ability to pay the cost 
  instead of spending 1 point of Intellect. If using 
  another ability that costs more than 1 point, you 
  can use Minor Zeal to pay part of the cost. Enabler.
  Tier 2: Flame of Zeal (2 Intellect points). You emit a 
  bluish-white beam of energy that deals 5 points of 
  damage to a target within long range. Alternatively, 
  you can use this ability to enhance a melee 
  weapon, causing it to inflict 1 additional point of 
  damage. The weapon continues to burn with the 
  flame of Zeal until the next time you use this ability 
  or any other special ability from this focus. Action.
  Tier 3: Swordbreaker Grace. You are trained in 
  using a weapon or an attack in which you are not 
  already trained. Enabler.
  Tier 4: Weaponbreaker. When fighting a creature 
  touched by Lotan (including living cultists) and 
  you roll a 16 or higher on a successful attack, the 
  physical weapon held by the target breaks. This 
  effect supersedes the minor or major special effect 
  you’d gain for rolling a 19 or 20. If the target isn’t 
  holding a physical weapon, the difficulty of all 
  actions attempted by the target is increased by 
  one step for one round. If the weapon held by the 
  target is an artifact, it does not break unless you 
  succeed on a Might-based task whose difficulty is 
  equal to the artifact’s level. Enabler.
  Tier 5: Improved Swordbreaker Grace. You are 
  specialized in using a weapon or an attack. If you 
  are already specialized in that weapon or attack, 
  you instead deal 2 additional points of damage 
  with it. Enabler.
  Tier 6: Amazing Zeal. When using Minor Zeal, 
  you draw 2 points from your soul gem fragment 
  instead of 1 point. Enabler.
  ARTIFACT: SWORDBREAKER ZEAL FRAGMENT
  Level: 5
  Form: A crystal fragment, usually set in an amulet, a staff head, a 
  weapon hilt, or a ring
  Recursion: Ardeyn
  Effect: Someone with this fragment who has personally renewed it (see 
  below) gains access to the following abilities. Anyone else with this 
  fragment can use only the Repel Enemies function. Each use requires 
  a depletion roll unless otherwise noted.
  Speak: The user can broadcast to all the other fragments and the Soul 
  Gem of Zeal for about a minute. If more than one fragment bearer 
  does this simultaneously, it enables real-time communication 
  between them. Action to initiate.
  Shift Focus: The user can change her normal Ardeyn focus to Embraces 
  Swordbreaker Zeal, or change it from Embraces Swordbreaker Zeal 
  to her normal Ardeyn focus. Switching foci is a difficulty 1 Intellect-
  based task. Action to initiate. 
  Repel Enemies: If the user makes an attack of any kind against a 
  Stranger, a demon of Lotan, a creature that employs spells provided 
  by Lotan, or Lotan himself, the difficulty of the attack is decreased 
  by one step; this effect does not require a depletion roll. If the attack 
  succeeds, the artifact bearer decides whether to activate the following 
  additional effect (which does require a depletion roll). If activated, the 
  fragment flares with Zeal, and the attack inflicts 4 additional points of 
  damage (ignores Armor). Enabler.
  Renew: Once a fragment’s energy has been depleted, it can be renewed 
  if it is pressed against the Soul Gem of Zeal by someone who utters 
  the Swordbreaker Oath: “I vow to quench the fires of Lotan, to stand 
  as a bulwark against Strangers, and to break the swords drawn 
  against the sanctity of Ardeyn. By the Seven, I so bind myself with 
  bravery, honor, and sacrifice.” Action.
  Depletion: 1 in 1d20
  
  Eschatology Code
  The Dark Spiral
  The Strange Bestiary
  Monument spiders, data sentinels, octopus sapiens, extereons, 
  blobs, kaiju, and killer robots: The Strange Bestiary features more 
  than 150 lavishly illustrated creatures and characters native to 
  Earth, Ardeyn, Ruk, Crow Hollow, Atom Nocturne, and 
  others. It also facilitates creating your own worlds by 
  providing scores of creatures that will work in any 
  recursion you can dream up, including those created 
  by fictional leakage and operating under the laws of 
  Magic, Mad Science, Psionics and more.
  The Strange Creature Deck
  100 Strange, scary, dangerous, and just plain weird creatures from 
  the Shoals of Earth! Build encounters quickly and easily, or create 
  them randomly on the fly. Then give your players a look at their foes 
  before plunging into combat.
  The Strange
  Cypher Deck
  Also Available:
  DriveThruRPG. 
  The Strange PDFs are also available on
  The Strange
  XP Deck
  The Strange 
  Player’s Guide
  The Strange
  corebook
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Cypher System/Campaign Settings/The Strange/Supplements/Swordbreakers.pdf