TEXT: ™
  the stygian cycle II:
  Venusian Sunset
  ™
  
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  2
  Created By
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  robert GlASS
  matthew GRAu
  fraser MCKAy
  mike VAIllAnCouRT
  Written By
  christopher DoRn
  IP/Line Developer
  matthew GRAu
  Editing
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  Graphic Design
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  Cover Art
  trevor ClAXTon
  Interior Illustration
  mike VAIllAnCouRT
  WildFire 
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  matthew GRAu
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  •	
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  Arens
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  Travis Wickline
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  CreditS
  
  3
  (1) Overview  
  4
  (2) Background 
   
  8
  (3) Venusian Sunset: Act I  
  10
  (4) Venusian Sunset: Act II 
  18
  (5) Venusian Sunset: Act III 
   
  21
  (6) Monster: Harbinger 
   
  24
  table oF ContentS
  
  Overview
  1
  Welcome to Venusian Sunset, the 
  second adventure in the epic story of 
  The Stygian Cycle. This is a ready-to-run 
  adventure that can be part of Orga-
  nized Play.
  This adventure is for Level 1 Char-
  acters, which are those that have re-
  ceived 10 Advances or less. If your 
  Characters are more advanced than 
  that, you will need to adjust things to 
  be appropriately challenging.
  This adventure is self-contained, 
  though it is designed to set Characters 
  up for the next adventure in The Sty-
  gian Cycle. It involves the Characters 
  being sent to the Diamond Head col-
  ony on Venus to investigate a string of 
  mystifying killings and disappearanc-
  es. What they discover could threaten 
  all life within the colony.
  Naturally, these adventures are in-
  tended for Gamemasters. However, 
  as a player, you may find the way the 
  setting of The Void is brought to life  in 
  these adventures useful for your visu-
  alization of your Character and game. 
  You probably don’t want to memo-
  rize the adventures if you plan to play 
  them – it’ll only ruin your enjoyment.
  This adventure assumes that your 
  group is composed of Wardens. If it is 
  not, the adventure can still work, but 
  requires some adjustments before you 
  run it.
  The Stygian Cycle
  The Void Organized Play adventures 
  will take you through the most signifi-
  cant events in the solar system, as de-
  signed.
  This doesn’t mean that you won’t 
  come up with awesome and signifi-
  cant adventures on your own, but 
  these are the ones we designed to hit 
  the high points based on what we’ve 
  created.
  Soundtrack
  We’ve created a soundtrack for The 
  Void on the popular Spotify platform. 
  It is composed of dark ambient music, 
  designed to provide an eerie back-
  ground for your game. We will be up-
  dating over time, to expand the rep-
  ertoire of music and moods. If you’re 
  interested, check our Facebook page 
  for links – facebook.com/TheVoidCalls.
  Venus
  The gravity on Venus is Moderately 
  Low Gravity, so Characters will have to 
  deal with those minimal effects – as 
  found on p. 136 of The Void Core. Since 
  the effects of this less than 10% shift 
  from 1G, the colonies of Venus don’t 
  take any extra precautions such as 
  energized deck plates. However, there 
  are entertainment complexes that ro-
  tate in 1G, just to help keep people at 
  maximum health.
  A Venusian day is longer than its 
  year – 243 Earth Standard days long. 
  That means there are months of both 
  day and night, depending up the time 
  of year. To combat this, Venus is run on 
  a standard 24 hour Earth Standard day 
  – though there aren’t light cues to tell 
  people what time of day it is.
  
  5
  Got Feedback?
  We’re all roleplayers here. 
  When you’re playing The Void, 
  you’re going to have feedback 
  – whether it be questions, com-
  ments, or the awesome stuff you 
  came up with while you’re play-
  ing. We want to hear it. You’ve 
  got two options. You can just 
  fire off an e-mail to feedback@
  fearthevoid.com. Alternatively, 
  you can jump into the pool on 
  our forums and engage in con-
  versation with both us and oth-
  er players. Find them at http://
  www.reddit.com/r/TheVoidRPG/.
  Outside the domes of Venus, the at-
  mosphere is extremely dangerous. It is 
  a Toxic Exotic Atmosphere, as found on 
  p. 135 of The Void Core, as well as Super-
  Heated, as found on p. 136 of The Void 
  Core. The Venusians have special ve-
  hicles and environment suits to allow 
  people to go outside when necessary, 
  but most people never even contem-
  plate such a trip.
  Plot Points
  In this adventure, you’ll have a chain 
  of related evidence that will be the 
  subject of investigation by the play-
  ers, the bulk of which together will 
  unravel the mystery for the Characters 
  and put them on the path of resolution. 
  Each piece of this chain can be learned 
  through Plot Points.
  Once in the appropriate place to earn 
  Plot Points, the Characters must simply 
  have the resources necessary to gain 
  them and they do. They don’t have to 
  make a series of Tests, hoping to suc-
  ceed at all of the Tests they need to in 
  order to glean the clues or information. 
  To determine if the Characters have the 
  necessary resources, simply total up 
  the requisite dice pools from the Skills 
  + Attributes necessary. If it is equal to 
  or greater than the Plot Point score, 
  they succeed. Easily gained informa-
  tion requires four or five Plot Points, in-
  formation that requires some expertise 
  requires six or seven Plot Points, and 
  information that is difficult to glean re-
  quires nine or ten Plot Points.
  For example, the Characters wish to 
  search the quarters of a missing com-
  
  puter technician in Salacia. The key 
  information they need to learn there 
  is that the place has been completely 
  wiped clean (sterilized) and that the 
  hard drive in the dwelling’s computer 
  hasn’t just been erased, it has been 
  replaced. This requires the Investi-
  gate and Computer Skills, but not 
  particularly high levels of either. The 
  GM determines that the Investigate 
  portion rates a four, as does the Com-
  puter portion. If the players enter the 
  scene, spend the time, and have a total 
  pool of points from their Investigate + 
  Awareness and Computer + Clever-
  ness ratings that each equals or ex-
  ceeds four, together they glean all the 
  information there is to gain. 
  Sometimes players won’t have the 
  necessary resources at hand. In many 
  cases, they’ll know that they’ve come 
  to an important juncture and be aware 
  of the resources they are missing. They 
  can simply go away, gather those re-
  sources, and return. If they cannot and 
  it’s important they gain the informa-
  tion, have them make Tests using the 
  appropriate Skill at whatever Difficulty 
  seems sensible. If they succeed, they 
  get the information. If not, they’ll miss 
  it – or just have them spend 2 Tension 
  Points to Get a Clue.
  Rules for 
  Organized Play
  The great advantage of organized 
  Play is that players (and GMs) have 
  the flexibility to use their Characters 
  in different groups. Perhaps they’re 
  playing an event at a local hobby store 
  or at a convention, they’re playing in 
  two groups, or their group dissolves or 
  moves on to another game and they 
  want to keep playing.
  using the guidelines here, players 
  can keep their treasured Characters 
  going through The Stygian Cycle with-
  out restriction.
  Level 1 Characters
  This adventure is designed for level 
  1 Characters, which means they have 
  earned up to 10 Advances. 
  If players have been playing The Void 
  outside of The Stygian Cycle, they may 
  have enough Advances to be consid-
  ered a higher level. If this is the case, 
  you’ll need to bump up the difficulty 
  and foes in this adventure in order to 
  make it appropriately challenging.
  Adventure Rewards
  Characters completing this adven-
  ture should receive 3 Advances. you 
  can give these out over sessions, or 
  you can give them all out at the end.
  Verification
  Since players can travel between 
  groups within the organized Play of 
  The Stygian Cycle, any kind of Charac-
  ter advancement needs to be tracked 
  and verified by the GM. This is to make 
  sure that everyone stays honest from 
  group to group.
  The simplest method of verification 
  is to note on the back of their Char-
  acter Sheet the number of Advances 
  awarded, any special gear the Charac-
  ter acquired, as well as the name of the 
  adventure and date or dates played. 
  Please include your name and write in 
  your own handwriting – don’t let the 
  players do this themselves. If you’re 
  comfortable with it, you may also in-
  clude your e-mail address.
  Chapter 1: Overview
  
  7
  Since mobile devices are common-
  place, an even more formal way to ver-
  ify advancement is to post the above 
  details to the player’s Facebook Wall. 
  This creates a digital record that is less 
  easily disputed, if it ever comes to that.
  Character Death
  If a Character dies, the player 
  shouldn’t be handicapped in terms of 
  playing in The Stygian Cycle. As per the 
  rules found on p. 225 of The Void Core, 
  have the player create a new Character 
  with the same number of Advances as 
  the Character who has passed on. 
  However, have that player keep the 
  deceased Character with the new one, 
  so that all Advances have been tracked 
  and verified for purposed of orga-
  nized Play.
  Suspected Cheating
  Cheating is poor sportsmanship, 
  most especially in roleplaying games. 
  Most people simply don’t, since role-
  playing games are about the story.
  If you encounter a player who you 
  suspect has cheated, ask them to be 
  more detailed about how they re-
  ceived their Advancements or gear. If 
  they can recount the events of their 
  adventure and they make sense, you 
  may choose to let them participate.
  However, if a Character has extreme-
  ly unusual advancements – most espe-
  cially in terms of gear – or cannot satis-
  factorily recount where they received 
  them, then you have several choices. 
  you can let them play as is, and adapt 
  the challenges for that Character to 
  make them more difficult. you can also 
  ask them if they will play without the 
  suspect advancement for the duration 
  of your game. Finally, you can simply 
  not allow them into your game.
  unverified advancement can be 
  suspect, but groups can often be too 
  excited at the end of a session to prop-
  erly record things.
  In any event, make the judgment 
  call that works best for your group.
  Playing Outside the OP
  Enthusiastic players may wish to play 
  adventures that are not part of The Sty-
  gian Cycle in between organized Play 
  adventures. That’s awesome and no 
  one should be penalized for that.
  However, if anyone wants to bring in 
  such a Character, they should have all 
  outside advancement verified by their 
  GM, just as if they were playing within 
  The Stygian Cycle.
  
  Diamond Head is the corporate col-
  ony of Geo Excavations on Venus. like 
  most colonies on that caustic planet, 
  the domed city is built into the ground 
  to protect from the elements. While 
  home to its own tensions, Diamond 
  Head has attracted the attention of 
  the diabolical cult known as the Scions 
  of Blight. Worshipping the unnamed, 
  they perpetuate suffering wherever 
  they go, feeling that this is the highest 
  form of worship to which they can as-
  pire. Wherever the Scions go, disaster 
  and suffering follows in their wake. 
  The Scions have been in place for 
  many years in Diamond Head, recruit-
  ing its members from the disenfran-
  chised workers of the mining industry 
  that support the decadent corporate 
  bigwigs. Following long lost texts that 
  detail the horrific suffering of victims 
  at the hands of the unnamed, they be-
  gan by kidnapping and torturing visi-
  tors, all to appease their master. 
  The cult only recently started to 
  show up on the radars of Warden Com-
  mand when something occurred to 
  drive the cult to even more depraved 
  and violent acts of terror. A Harbinger, 
  a servant of the Chthonian Star, has 
  found them and possessed the body 
  of the chief lieutenant of the cult. The 
  Harbinger has manipulated the cult to 
  increase the number of kidnapped vic-
  tims to dozens at a time. These victims 
  are subjected to rites “deciphered” by 
  the Harbinger, which increase the ex-
  posure to even the smallest amounts 
  of radiation to lethal levels. The victims 
  literally cook before the cult’s eyes, 
  screaming as their flesh withers and 
  their insides are cooked like a micro-
  wave. It is the discovery of the first of 
  the body dumps, located in the center 
  of one of the largest entertainment 
  complexes, that has brought the War-
  dens to Diamond Head.
  Many, if not most, of the lower-level 
  employees live on one of the lower 
  levels known by most as the Hole. Its 
  official designation is the Tier-1 Resi-
  dence level. It is serviced by a set of 
  elevators dedicated to transporting 
  those who live in Tier-1, allowing them 
  to reach their worksites rapidly. While 
  the Hole is not a slum by any means, 
  the difference in lifestyle from those 
  above to those below is so dramatic 
  that it has caused tensions in the past. 
  The management of Diamond Head is 
  aware of the growing dissent and has 
  taken steps to improve working and 
  living conditions. In fact, the living 
  conditions in the Hole are better than 
  most other cities’ middle-class areas. 
  There are, however, very run-down ar-
  eas of the Hole, especially in the more 
  isolated areas.
  The cult has set up shop in the Hole, 
  as it is much easier to hide itself in the 
  machinery of Diamond Head than up 
  above. It is also from the Hole that it re-
  cruits its members. The first sacrifices 
  that the cult kidnapped, tortured, and 
  laid out for display were made in the 
  Hole. This was done in part to start the 
  terror machine rolling, but also to stir 
  up the locals. These acts did not im-
  mediately register on anyone’s radar 
  and were handled by local authori-
  ties that had no idea who committed 
  the crime. It was not until the bodies 
  Venusian Sunset
  3
  
  9
  started showing up top-side that of-
  ficials began taking notice. This has 
  brought the Hole to a boiling point, as 
  it appears that the lives of tourists are 
  worth more than their own.
  End Game
  The Harbinger’s end game is noth-
  ing short of killing all inhabitants of 
  Diamond Head. It will do this by di-
  recting the cult, via manipulation of 
  the cult leader, to expand the scope 
  of the ritual and cause a failure in the 
  radiation shielding of the city. In order 
  to accomplish this, the cult must set 
  demolitions at key structural points 
  within the facility, kidnap enough im-
  portant sacrifices to power the ritual, 
  and summon more Harbingers to in-
  fect and possess the survivors who do 
  manage to get away. 
  Adventure Synopsis
  Venusian Sunset has three distinct 
  Acts, as the Characters riddle through 
  the horrific events in Diamond Head. 
  Act I: Into the Party Zone
  In this first act, the Characters are 
  sent to the Diamond Head colony on 
  Venus. There, they discover a hideous 
  and perplexing mass murder and are 
  given loads of information by their 
  Warden contact within the colony.
  Most of this first Act is spent going 
  over all of the data so far as well as do-
  ing some preliminary investigations. 
  These numerous leads do not seem 
  connected and the method of murder 
  is mysterious. However, they will even-
  tually find a piece of evidence that will 
  point them towards the perpetrators.
  Act II: Bring Your Sunscreen
  once the Characters open the 
  strange Box dropped by one of the 
  cultists, they are pointed to what they 
  discover to be a cult safehouse. The 
  cult is armed and will not be shy about 
  opening a firefight with the Charac-
  ters, or innocent bystanders. This is a 
  challenge for the Wardens, as this sort 
  of overt action can be difficult to cover 
  up – and be a bureaucratic mess.
  The finale of the Act will be the un-
  willing sacrifice of the pursued cult-
  ists by the Harbinger watching the 
  encounter. The Harbinger will trigger 
  latent energies that he previously 
  stored within each cult member to kill 
  the pursued. Investigation of the cult 
  hideout will lead the players to the 
  final confrontation with the Harbin-
  ger and the plan to destroy Diamond 
  Head.
  Act III: Burn, Baby, Burn!
  In the third Act, the Characters find 
  that the cult plans to kidnap dignitar-
  ies from the Anniversary celebration 
  and kill them in some kind of ritual. 
  Combined with explosives that will 
  crack the dome, the cult will attempt 
  to kill everyone in Diamond Head.
  Tracking the cult to their headquar-
  ters, the Characters face a final con-
  frontation with cult leadership – and 
  the mysterious Harbinger – in an effort 
  to stop the cult’s plans, which are al-
  ready in motion.
  
  aCt i:
  into the Party Zone
  Goals: To introduce the Venusian 
  colony of Diamond Head as the main 
  setting, and allow the Characters to in-
  vestigate the strange deaths and dis-
  appearances.
  Setting: The Character’s Knight’s Er-
  rant ship, Warden HQ in Diamond 
  Head, various points of investigative 
  interest
  Cast: Agent James Capstan, local 
  Medical Examiner, random people at 
  points of interest
  The adventure presumes that the 
  Characters are in the process of leav-
  ing Mars after the events in Barsoom. 
  They are prepping their Knight’s Errant 
  to leave when they receive a call.
  However, the Characters can come 
  into this mission from anywhere. Just 
  tailor it to their last location and modi-
  fy the travel time to Venus as appropri-
  ate.
  Scene 1: A New Mission
  As the Characters are prepping to 
  leave Mars, read the following to your 
  players:
  The call comes in at 2 am lo-
  cal time. Your internal clock hasn’t 
  adjusted from the trip in-system. 
  Bleary eyed, you squint at the mes-
  sage board of your comm panel 
  and see your orders.
  SITUATION ON VENUS. ARRIVE 
  LOCAL OFFICE DIAMOND HEAD 
  SOONEST. BRIEFING ON SITE. BODY 
  COUNT HIGH. PROFILE HIGH. NO 
  GAMES. NO SCREWUPS. WARDEN 
  COMMAND OUT. EOL.
  Diamond Head is a mining colo-
  ny belonging to Geo-Excavations. It 
  is neither the largest or most popu-
  lous colony on Venus. They don’t call 
  Wardens in unless things are going 
  haywire. As you clear the message 
  and start to get dressed, an ad plays 
  on the monitor. 
  “Come join us on for Founding 
  Day here in Diamond Head! Cel-
  ebrate one of the greatest achieve-
  ments of Geo-Excavations! Job fairs 
  and hiring managers will be avail-
  able to discuss your future career.”
  You switch off the monitor, know-
  ing this is probably not going to be 
  much fun.
  The Characters can do what they 
  want before they leave for Venus. The 
  trip itself will take 14 days, and the 
  Characters will be in grav-couches the 
  entire time. Any actions they want to 
  take during this part of the adventure 
  will need to take place before depart-
  ing Mars or immediately after arriving 
  on Venus.
  Scene 2: Venus
  upon arriving on Venus, the Charac-
  ters will awake from A/D Stasis, ready, 
  and head down to the colony.
  Read the following to your players:
  As the large sun rises on the far 
  side of Venus, the surface structures 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  
  11
  of Diamond Head come into view. 
  The structures are simple, no-non-
  sense affairs that give no clue to the 
  vast complex of a caverns and tun-
  nels the lie below. As you get closer, 
  you can see the Geo-Excavations 
  logo plastered across the surface of 
  the Welcome & Customs Center that 
  affords access to the colony below.
  Landing at an isolated docking 
  bay away from the civilian traf-
  fic, your shuttle settles down with 
  a gentle bump. As you collect your 
  gear and begins to disembark, you 
  see that the docking bay is empty. 
  Because most Warden missions are 
  off the books, this is not surprising. 
  A young man enters the docking 
  bay and approaches. This should 
  be Agent James Capstan, according 
  to your personnel roster. Newly as-
  signed to Diamond Head, fresh out 
  of training, he was assigned to a 
  desk here to get his feet wet without 
  throwing him to the wolves right 
  away. Thinking back to your first 
  year in the Wardens, you remember 
  the mindless reports and meaning-
  less interviews that you had to en-
  dure – all the while silently begging 
  for some action. If only you could 
  go back and knock some sense into 
  that foolish young version of your-
  self. However, that’s in the past and 
  all you can hope to do is get this 
  green kid through the next few days 
  alive. If you’re here, it’s likely some-
  thing back is going to happen.
  After nervously introducing himself, 
  Capstan is eager to share the informa-
  tion he has gathered. He sends his files 
  immediately to the Characters wrist 
  comps. However, feel free to let the 
  players ask the questions. If they miss 
  any of these topics, have Capstan offer 
  them up – he wants to do a good job.
  Investigation: General
  •	
  Three days ago a collection of ten 
  bodies was found arranged in a 
  neat circle in the center of the 
  main thoroughfare in Diamond 
  Head.
  •	
  The bodies all show signs of ra-
  diation burns, from the inside out. 
  While they look mostly normal on 
  the outside, their insides appear 
  to have been exposed to some-
  thing like microwave or gamma 
  radiation.
  •	
  There is no residual radiation on 
  the bodies – not even on metallic 
  objects.
  •	
  Surveillance feeds from the area 
  were cut, so no surveillance is 
  available.
  •	
  The victims are a collection of 
  tourists from the lower end casi-
  nos and have no apparent impor-
  tance.
  •	
  There are two families of three, 
  and a family of four.
  •	
  Ages range from 15 to 54.
  •	
  Families all arrived on different 
  shuttles from different parts of the 
  solar system.
  •	
  Two of the families stayed at the 
  same hotel, the other across town.
  •	
  Back tracking is currently under-
  way to see if they crossed paths 
  anywhere.
  Scene 3: Warden HQ
  As the Characters familiarize them-
  selves with the basic details of the 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  Investigation: General
  
  case, Capstan leads the Characters 
  over to an unassuming side alley and 
  slides up a panel cleverly hidden in the 
  wall. 
  Read the following to your players:
  A door-sized panel slides open 
  and Capstan ushers you inside. 
  “Welcome to Warden HQ on Dia-
  mond Head. It’s not a lot, but it’s 
  home for now. All the access points 
  to the undercity are hidden in pan-
  els like this. I’ll issue you pass codes 
  when we get to my office and up-
  load the layout and location of all 
  passageways. Your pass code will 
  be able to open any of the undercity 
  passage doors here. Transporta-
  tion around the city is handled by 
  ground cab and moving walkways. 
  Travel in the Hole is primarily the 
  Tube and walking. Your pass codes 
  will get you on the Tube as well.” 
  The HQ is nothing more than a 
  hallway with offices on each side, 
  eight total. The far end of the hall-
  way is another door that has been 
  wielded shut, blocking passage off 
  to the rest of the colony. Capstan 
  guides you past three empty offices, 
  and a fourth that has been convert-
  ed into an interrogation room. The 
  final four rooms hold three confine-
  ment cells and Capstan’s office.
  The Characters are given an oppor-
  tunity to do further research on the 
  information that has been provided 
  them. Capstan has only provided an 
  overview.
  Investigation: Researching the 
  Deaths
  Plot Points:
  Awareness + Investigate
  Cleverness + Research
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The available data 
  doesn’t show any direct connec-
  tion between the victims.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – All of the initial vic-
  tims worked or lived in the Hole. 
  Their bodies were discovered in 
  areas where vagrants and the 
  dispossessed have taken up resi-
  dence after failing to make it here.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Because the victims 
  were homeless or worked in the 
  more rundown areas of the Hole, 
  autopsies were only just compet-
  ed on some of them.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Background infor-
  mation on the six original victims 
  will require talking to the locals in 
  the Hole. The Warden database is 
  limited when it comes to those 
  who dwell in the lowest levels of 
  the colony.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – There are six sepa-
  rate deaths that occurred over the 
  last eight weeks in the Hole that 
  have similarities to the deaths of 
  the tourists.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – When viewed 
  chronologically, 
  the 
  radiation 
  burns have progressed from mi-
  nor interior burns to the final vic-
  tim, whose autopsy looks he was 
  cooked from the inside out.
  Scene 4:
  Running Down The Trail
  At this point, the players will want to 
  formulate a plan. There are several op-
  tions for both going through the data 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  Investigation: Researching Data
  Plot Points Earned By: 
  •	
  Awareness + Investigate
  •	
  Cleverness + Research
  
  13
  and physically going out to salient 
  spots to investigate. Characters can 
  explore:
  •	
  Visiting the Medical Examiner
  •	
  10 Most Recent Deaths
  •	
  original 6 Deaths
  •	
  Pounding the Pavement
  Investigation: Visiting the Medical 
  Examiner
  The bodies of the original six victims 
  have already been cremated. The most 
  recent bodies are all still available for 
  viewing. They are being held in quar-
  antine until the source and possible 
  exposure risk is assessed. All of the 
  bodies show that same withered, des-
  iccated exterior and an interior that 
  looks to have been exposed to the raw 
  solar radiation levels of Mercury’s sur-
  face. All their faces are frozen in ago-
  nizing screams, which indicate they 
  were alive while this occurred. 
  The information in this avenue is the 
  freshest and may seem the most prom-
  ising. Surprisingly, the cult did choose 
  these victims completely at random. 
  However, there is nothing that is 100% 
  random in the universe and there are 
  trails that will allow the Characters to 
  trace back the victims to common lo-
  cations. These locations will allow the 
  Characters to find a cell of the cultists 
  and, from there, the cult. The begin-
  ning part of this section consists of a 
  lot of research and investigation.
  There are three families for the War-
  dens to investigate, in order to attempt 
  to find common elements. Following 
  is a trail of information the players can 
  glean.
  Family 1 – The Henderson’s
  •	
  Father – Harry (age 45)
  •	
  Mother – Joanna (age 42)
  •	
  Daughter – Jessie (age 15)
  •	
  Point of origin – Fresno, CA (Earth)
  •	
  Planned Stay – 7 days
  •	
  Arrived – 5 days ago
  •	
  Disappeared – 3 days ago
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Day 1: arrived on 
  shuttle in the afternoon, took 
  cab to hotel (the Jovian Grande), 
  checked into Hotel, had dinner in 
  hotel café that evening.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Day 2: had “break-
  fast” in hotel café (11 am), took 
  bike taxi to central Promenade, 
  apparent exploration of the colo-
  ny for the afternoon, bike taxi to a 
  restaurant for dinner, took regular 
  Taxi back to hotel room only 35 
  minutes into the show.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Call made to hotel 
  front desk asking for a doctor to 
  be sent up to the room, wife re-
  ported not feeling well.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Doctor arrived and 
  found door to room open and no 
  one inside.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Video feeds to the 
  victims’ floor, elevator and main 
  floor are blank.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Key lock records 
  only show the Henderson’s Key 
  being used when they came back 
  from the restaurant early.
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  Investigation: Medical Examiner
  Investigation: 10 Recent Deaths
  Plot Points Earned By: 
  •	
  Awareness + Investigate
  •	
  Cleverness + Research
  Investigation: Payment Records
  
  Family 2 – The Wynn’s
  •	
  Father – Eric (age 54)
  •	
  Mother – Bonnie (age 53)
  •	
  Son – Fred (age 24)
  •	
  Son’s wife – Jean (age 22)
  •	
  Point of origin – ursa (Jupiter)
  •	
  Planned Stay – 14 days
  •	
  Arrived – 1 day ago
  •	
  Disappeared – 1 day ago, miss-
  ing within 2 hours of arrival
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Arrived by shuttle 
  in the early morning, stopped for 
  breakfast at spaceport dinner.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Got in a cab 1.5 
  hours later, giving directions to go 
  to the Geo-Excavation Historical 
  Museum. Records show the family 
  had reservations there.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Destination is de-
  termined by the cab company 
  computer, cab driver entered des-
  tination before leaving hotel. Cab 
  never arrived at destination.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – That evening the 
  cab company reported the cab 
  and the driver missing.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Cab was found just 
  an hour ago by local authorities.
  The Cab’s GPS system was dis-
  abled soon after disappearing.
  Family 3 – The Jen’s
  •	
  Father – Wang Jie (age 39)
  •	
  Mother – li yan (age 39)
  •	
  Son – li Quiang (age 21)
  •	
  Point of origin – Titan (Saturn)
  •	
  Planned Stay – 3 days
  •	
  Arrived – 2 days ago
  •	
  Disappeared – 1 days ago
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Day 1: Arrived on 
  shuttle at noon, took cab to hotel 
  (Jovian Grande), checked into ho-
  tel, different floor from family #1.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Key lock records for 
  the Jen’s room show multiple en-
  tries on their keys that evening. 
  However, the hallway monitors 
  show no one entering or exiting 
  the room – not even the family 
  Jen.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – A closer look will 
  show that no one entered or left 
  the room for the rest of the night.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – If the Characters 
  examine the surveillance camera 
  that faces the Jen’s room, they will 
  find signs of tampering.
  •	
  8 Plot Points – The Characters can 
  track the movements of the fam-
  ily to right under the camera po-
  sition, where they apparently lin-
  gered for a while coming in and 
  leaving.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Day 2: The family is 
  seen leaving their room and go-
  ing to the elevator, they are not 
  carrying anything with them, they 
  take a taxi from the hotel to some 
  unknown location.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – The records of the 
  taxi company that the family used 
  do not show a taxi with that num-
  ber in their fleet.
  I
  Information on these six deaths is 
  sketchy at best. The deaths track back 
  to eight weeks ago, with a body every 
  four days for 24 days, then nothing. 
  Most of the victims were discarded in 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  Investigation: Payment Records
  Investigation: Payment Records
  Investigation: original Deaths
  
  15
  an area frequented by former or low-
  level employees who live on the fringe 
  of the colony now. The first three bod-
  ies were not suspicious, so they were 
  not autopsied and simply put in stor-
  age for burial at the later date. The last 
  three were in increasingly worse states 
  of radiation burns, and were autopsied 
  to help determine where they were ex-
  posed to the radiation. 
  The information available on the 
  Warden mainframe is listed below. Vic-
  tims are listed in order of their deaths. 
  It requires 6 Plot Points using Aware-
  ness + Investigate or Cleverness + Re-
  search in order to gain all the follow-
  ing information at once. 4 Plot Points 
  will only provide 3 of the entries under 
  each.
  Jim Lazarus (age 45)
  •	
  Sanitation worker, with interior 
  dome cleaning group
  •	
  Failed to show up for work
  •	
  Found dead the next day
  •	
  no relevant information found in 
  his living quarters
  •	
  Contents crated and put in stor-
  age, living quarters reassigned
  Gary Gannon (age 31)
  •	
  Vagrant
  •	
  not reported missing
  •	
  Area he generally frequented was 
  picked clean by other vagrants in 
  the area
  •	
  no one would speak to officials 
  Josh Allen (age 29)
  •	
  Structural engineer
  •	
  oversaw repairs and verified any 
  changes to the facility
  •	
  nothing found missing from 
  home or office
  •	
  last seen late night in the office, 
  but no record of leaving or arriv-
  ing at home
  •	
  Body found in the Dregs area of 
  the Hole
  Elisabeth Shaw (age 22)
  •	
  Personal assistant to one of the 
  event coordinators of the gala
  •	
  no other signs of assault, other 
  than the burn damage
  •	
  Was found in the Dregs
  •	
  last seen leaving a planning 
  meeting for the event
  Ed Park (age 33)
  •	
  loan shark
  •	
  Wasn’t reported missing
  •	
  Body discovered with cash still on 
  the body
  •	
  Apparently taken from from his 
  home/office
  Larry Everett (age 41)
  •	
  Ran a mission for the down trod-
  den
  •	
  Mission door found open one 
  morning
  •	
  Everett was found in a back room
  •	
  nothing was taken from the Mis-
  sion
  I
  During any one of these physical 
  investigations, there is a possibility 
  that the Characters will find the Box 
  that will lead them to Act II. This is not 
  resolved with Plot Points, but instead 
  requires that the Wardens succeed at 
  a Hard Awareness + Investigate Test. If 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  Investigation: Pounding the Pave-
  ment
  
  they do, they find the Box. If not, con-
  tinue in the investigation. 
  If the Characters do not find the Box 
  by the investigation of last death, they 
  will find it there.
  The Henderson Family
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The hotel room is 
  still being held for the investiga-
  tion. There are no signs of forced 
  entry.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Investigation of the 
  surveillance cameras in the hall-
  ways show that they have been 
  tampered with, and are running 
  on a loop.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – There is surveillance 
  that shows the people in the room 
  in a panic attempting, to help the 
  mother who was reported to be ill.
  •	
  5 Plot Points – The door to the 
  closet is open and looking in, it 
  appears that someone was sitting 
  in the closet.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – The Characters will 
  notice a smell of almonds coming 
  from the closet. This can create a 
  connection, if the Characters went 
  to the morgue to view the bodies 
  and noticed the same smell on 
  the daughter’s body. 
  •	
  Special – If found, the Box was 
  dropped by one of the cultists 
  when they went in the closet, in 
  order to get the daughter who 
  was hiding there.
  The Wynn Family
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The hotel room is 
  being held.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The cab is also be-
  ing held.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – The GPS on the cab 
  was shorted out in some way.
  Success at a Cleverness + Engineering: 
  Electrical Test will allow the Characters 
  to determine that the GPS was shorted 
  out before the Wynn family arrived
  •	
  4 Plot Points – luggage was still in 
  the trunk.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – There is no other 
  damage to the vehicle.
  •	
  Special – If found, the Box was 
  dropped by one of the cultists and 
  is lodged under the seat.
  The Jen Family
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The Cab has not 
  been found or spotted on video 
  cameras.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Their room is be-
  ing held, has been thoroughly 
  searched, and has been complete-
  ly sanitized.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – The “Jen’s” are a hit 
  team sent by an unknown entity 
  to take out the CEo of Diamond 
  Head at the celebration in a few 
  days. 
  •	
  6 Plot Points – It seems to be just 
  blind luck that they were chosen 
  by the cult to be victims of the 
  sacrifice.
  •	
  Special – This is a dead end, as far 
  as this adventure goes. However, 
  this could be used as a jumping 
  point to another adventure.
  Jim Lazarus
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The only thing to 
  search is the contents of his habi-
  tat, which is currently in storage.
  •	
  Special – Attempting to search 
  the storage office will have the 
  Characters encounter the the first 
  cultist. He will be sneaking around 
  the facility, looking for the stor-
  age container. He will run when 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  
  17
  chased and should be allowed to 
  escape. If the Characters find a 
  way to capture or corner the cult-
  ist, he will spontaneously com-
  bust.
  •	
  Special – If found, the Box was 
  dropped by one of the cultists and 
  packed up in a storage case.
  Gary Gannon
  •	
  Investigating this option will re-
  quire that the Characters convince 
  one of the other vagrants in the 
  area to talk to them (Demeanor 
  + Persuade). An Average Success 
  will convince a woman to tell the 
  Characters that death itself came 
  to claim Gary. The descriptions 
  of the person that took him is a 
  gaunt, frail man whose eyes were 
  dead.
  •	
  Special – If found, the woman 
  picked up the Box, which was 
  dropped by the attackers.
  Josh Allen
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Josh’s habitat is still 
  accessible, as is his office. There is 
  nothing important in the home of 
  Josh.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Searching the of-
  fice, there are signs of a possible 
  struggle and definite signs it has 
  been searched.
  •	
  Special – With Success at an Aver-
  age Cleverness + Computers Test, 
  the Characters will be able to find 
  that the last information accessed 
  on the computer were the plans 
  for the entire city of Diamond 
  Head. The plans were copied to an 
  external drive.
  •	
  Special – If found, the Box was 
  dropped by one of the cultists and 
  is lying under the desk.
  Elisabeth Shaw
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Her habitat is still 
  available. However, there is no in-
  formation there pertinent to the 
  investigation.
  •	
  4 Plot Points – Interviewing the 
  Gala event staff will be the direc-
  tion that the Characters want to 
  go.
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Elisabeth was leav-
  ing with a list of all the dignitaries 
  and their itineraries.
  •	
  Special – There is no opportunity 
  to obtain the Box from this option.
  Ed Park
  •	
  4 Plot Points – The home/office of 
  Ed has been taken over by a com-
  peting loan shark. The players will 
  need to intimidate or strongarm 
  the new owner, John Jeon, to gain 
  access to his place.
  •	
  Special – Jeon is no real help to the 
  Characters, stating that he took 
  over Ed’s turf when he showed up 
  dead. He has an alibi for the time 
  of death, which is why he wasn’t 
  arrested.
  •	
  Special – If found, the Box was 
  dropped by one of the cultists and 
  is lying hidden under the book-
  case. Jeon will attempt to claim 
  the artifact.
  Larry Everett
  •	
  6 Plot Points – Talking to anyone 
  at the Mission will reveal that 
  there have been people sneaking 
  through the Mission and talking 
  to residents. Then, some of those 
  residents disappeared.
  •	
  8 Plot Points – The Mission was the 
  original location where the cult 
  attempted to get its victims. larry 
  found out what was going on and 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act I
  
  was attempting stop the cultists 
  by alerting the authorities. How-
  ever, they got to him first.
  •	
  Special – If found, the Box was 
  dropped by one of the cultists 
  in the back office, behind some 
  boxes.
  Wrapping Up Act 1
  Because the players could choose 
  one of many paths to get to the end of 
  Act I, you will need to bring the action 
  back to the events at the start of Act 
  II. The Characters will eventually find a 
  Box which, when opened, will contain 
  details of a cult safe house.
  When they find the Box and exam-
  ine it, read the following:
  “The box is old and rusted. It’s 
  three inches square and an inch tall. 
  There’s a hinged top that’s closed, 
  with no apparent means of locking. 
  However, the lid is shut tight and 
  does not easily open. There’s the 
  faint smell of almonds which ema-
  nates from the seams of the open-
  ing, which are very thin. You are un-
  able to see inside.”
  Allow the Characters to attempt to 
  open the Box any way that they want. 
  The lid is being held shut by a low 
  power magnetic field. It is actually 
  possible to force the lid open – how-
  ever, that will destroy the contents of 
  the Box. If they destroy the contents 
  of the Box, they’ll find themselves well 
  off the path – encourage them to be 
  smart about this. If they figure it out, 
  they can run an electric current over 
  the Box’s exterior. The internal bat-
  tery will be shorted out and the lid will 
  open. However, this requires Success 
  at a Hard Cleverness Attribute Test.
  “Now that the box is open, you 
  find that the smell was coming from 
  a half-eaten bag of almonds. Also, 
  there’s a notebook with encoded 
  numbers scrolled across page af-
  ter page. Finally, there is a business 
  card for a mechanical repair shop 
  in the Hole on the other side of the 
  city.”
  aCt ii:
  bring your SunSCreen
  Goals: To put the Characters on the 
  trail of the cult, and to have them 
  confront the cult at one of their safe-
  houses.
  Setting: Jim Fezzel’s Small Mechanical 
  Repair in Diamond Head
  Cast: Cultists, possibly the Harbinger
  Scene 5:
  The Repair Shop
  The business card found in the box 
  is for “Jim Fezzel’s Small Mechanical Re-
  pair.” Calling into Warden HQ for any 
  details on the location will provide 
  directions and the following database 
  information.
  •	
  Jim Fezzel’s Small Mechanical Re-
  pair has been in business for the 
  past eight years in the Hole. Tax 
  records show an early profitable 
  business – however no tax returns 
  have been filed in the past 3 years. 
  no reports of problems at the site 
  have been made to local authori-
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act II
  
  19
  ties, and a visit by the local tax 
  collectors indicated that the place 
  looked abandoned. However, no 
  reports of anyone moving into 
  the facility have been made and 
  the location remains empty.
  •	
  Fezzel’s shop is a one hour Tube 
  ride from Warden headquarters. 
  Maps are detailed and give a good 
  sense of the area. The building is 
  in an open area in the middle of 
  the block, with the street in front, 
  an empty lot to the right, and a 
  partially constructed building to 
  the left. The building to the left 
  has only the foundation and studs 
  up, so there is very little cover 
  from that direction. The back of 
  the building is on the exterior 
  bulkhead to the facility – it is of 
  course about five stories under-
  ground. 
  Allow the players time to plan how 
  they intend to enter the location. A 
  small group of cultists are located 
  within. These are one of the teams re-
  sponsible for the kidnappings, though 
  not the only group. As it happens, the 
  Harbinger has been shadowing the 
  Characters since they arrived and is 
  also watching from a distance when 
  they arrive. 
  Encountering the Cultists
  There are three ways the Characters 
  could approach this entry – Hard and 
  Fast, Soft & Slow, or Silently. The out-
  come of each option will hopefully 
  lead to the capture of one or more of 
  the six cultists by the Characters. It is 
  not required, but the cultists are not 
  mindless fanatics and will give up if 
  cornered. If no cultists survive, then 
  just skip to the Harbingers sacrifice at 
  the end. The information in the shop 
  will be enough to lead the players to 
  Act III.
  Hard & Fast
  With a full-on blitz of the location, 
  the lead will be flying from the get-
  go. The cultists will see the Characters 
  coming and will have enough time to 
  get to their stash of weapons. How-
  ever, the Characters will still have the 
  initiative for the first turn. Play out the 
  gun fight and jump to the Act II con-
  clusion section once the Characters 
  round up any survivors and/or start 
  searching the shop.
  Soft & Slow
  This option entails some of the Char-
  acters attempting to talk their way in, 
  while the others attempt to sneak 
  into position. This will involve some 
  impressive Social Skill Tests (the cult-
  ists are immediately unfriendly) for 
  the people going in the front, as they 
  will be in the line of fire when the ac-
  tion starts. once the cultists get tired 
  of attempting to make the Characters 
  leave, or the Characters make their 
  move to take the place, play out the 
  gun fight and jump to the Act II con-
  clusion section once the Characters 
  round up any survivors and/or start 
  searching the shop.
  Silently
  While this may be the safest method 
  of taking the cultists down, this tactic 
  still has its dangers, as the Characters 
  will need to wait until the cultists settle 
  down for the night. They are not con-
  cerned with getting caught, so there 
  will be no lookouts. Successful Grace + 
  Stealth Tests will allow the Characters 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act II
  
  to make it into the building, and a sec-
  ond successful Grace + Stealth Test will 
  allow for the Characters to make it to 
  the rooms the where cultists are sleep-
  ing. While there may be a struggle with 
  one of the cultists when the Charac-
  ters grab them, it will be minimal since 
  they’re asleep. The downside to this 
  option is the time it takes to wait for 
  the cultists to go to sleep. If the play-
  ers choose this option, then the events 
  of Act III will occur much more quickly 
  and they will have less time to prepare.
  Average Blight Cultist
  Attributes:
  Awareness 2 
  Grace 2
  Cleverness 2 
  Perseverance 2
  Demeanor 2 
  Physique 2
  Statistics: Health 6, Speed 8 mph
  Skills: Deception 2, Defense 1, Guns: 
  Handguns 2, Insight 2, notice 1,  Re-
  action 1, Survival 1, unarmed Com-
  bat 1
  Equipment: ACC-62 ‘Bandit’ Semi-Auto 
  Pistol, 2 clips of ammunition
  Scene 6:
  Wrap Up of Act II
  If the Characters end up killing all 
  the cultists, skip this section.
  “Collecting the cultists together 
  in the main room of the repair shop, 
  you begin to question them. They 
  all look ragged and gaunt. There is 
  something sickly about them. Just 
  when one of them is about to talk, 
  the cultists start going into violent 
  convulsions. One by one, the rest of 
  them do the same, in rapid succes-
  sion. Their limbs seize up and their 
  faces contort into death masks of 
  agony. Each begins to howl in ago-
  ny and the noise is deafening. If you 
  attempt to approach the cultists to 
  offer any assistance, you are struck 
  by the heat coming off the bodies. 
  Your radiation sensors start to go 
  off but, backing off a few feet, the 
  radiation fades to nothing.”
  Horror Test time! This is a Hard Hor-
  ror Test.
  If anyone fails this test, choose one 
  of the unlucky ones, and – as they 
  turn away from the cultists and begin 
  to heave their lunch on the ground – 
  they will notice another gaunt figure 
  looking from across the street, hidden 
  in an alley. As the Character looks out, 
  the figure will smile an evil smile with 
  no feeling in his eyes and disappear. 
  By the time the Character is able to get 
  up and steady themselves, the figure is 
  gone and no trace can be found.
  Searching the Building
  With all the cultists dead, there is 
  little to do other than search the dead 
  and the building. The bodies are no 
  longer giving off radiation, so it is safe 
  to examine them. The exterior of the 
  bodies all look similar to the bodies 
  of the tourists found earlier. There is 
  little doubt that the interior is also the 
  same. 
  The pockets of the cultists contain 
  everyday things you would expect to 
  find on a person. They have ID’s that 
  can be run down. If time permits, the 
  ID’s will tie back to vagrants and oth-
  er personnel who came to Diamond 
  Head to make it and failed over the 
  years. one of the cultists has a Box 
  similar to the one found earlier. This 
  Box is open. It also contains a note-
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act III
  
  21
  book containing coded numbers and 
  a code key.
  Success at an Average Cleverness + 
  Research Test will allow the Characters 
  to decrypt the messages in the note-
  books. The notebooks contain map 
  grid coordinates to numerous loca-
  tions around Diamond Head. There 
  is also a listing with each entry of 
  some item listed in pounds/kg – one 
  pound/0.45 kg at one location, three 
  pounds/1.36 kg at another and so on.
  Success at an Average Cleverness 
  + Engineering: life Support or a Hard 
  Cleverness + Engineering (any other) 
  Test will have a Character come to the 
  conclusion that the numbers at each 
  location list the number of pounds/kg 
  of explosives required to destabilize 
  the dome and kill everyone within.
  Also found within the main sleeping 
  area is a map that leads to a spot deep 
  within the bowels of Diamond Head’s 
  undercity. This is likely where the kid-
  nap victims were taken.
  There are too many bombs planted 
  for the Characters to find and deacti-
  vate enough of them to save the city. 
  The only way stop the deaths of thou-
  sands will be to get to the cult head-
  quarters and stop the bombs from 
  there. If there is some question from 
  the Characters whether or not this is 
  possible, let them find out that the 
  bombs are not on independent timers 
  but on a single transmitter detonator 
  located somewhere – presumably the 
  headquarters.
  aCt iii:
  burn, baby, burn!
  Goals: To confront the cultists in their 
  headquarters and stop them from kill-
  ing everyone in Diamond Head.
  Setting: Deep in the undercity of Dia-
  mond Head
  Cast: Cultists, cult leadership, the Har-
  binger, most likely local Wardens and 
  police
  Scene 7: Cultist HQ
  Information found within the cult 
  hideout will give the Characters two 
  key bits of information. The cult are 
  about to attempt to kidnap dignitaries 
  from the Anniversary celebration and 
  kill them to power some kind of ritual. 
  The cult has also stolen numerous ex-
  plosives packs over the course of the 
  year and placed them at key points 
  around the city’s exterior dome with 
  the intent of weakening the dome 
  enough to allow radiation to flood in 
  – which the cult will amplify to kill the 
  citizens of Diamond Head. 
  The location indicated on the map is 
  in the lowest part of Diamond Head’s 
  undercity, below even the genera-
  tors and air processors. These are the 
  lowest sections of the area excavated 
  many years ago to house the city of 
  Diamond Head. Most of these sections 
  have been closed off and abandoned 
  for years. The cult opened one of these 
  areas and set up shop here years ago. 
  The Harbinger only arrived here about 
  a year ago, possessing the second in 
  command of the cult. It then started 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act III
  
  instigating the plan to kill all the peo-
  ple of Diamond Head.
  While the Characters are planning 
  the assault, a notice comes over the 
  wire from the Warden local office.
  “A shuttle carrying a group of of-
  ficials from the outlying colonies 
  on a tour of Diamond Head went 
  missing about an hour ago. The 
  shuttle was spotted and detained 
  ten minutes ago, but the driver was 
  found to be some vagrant from be-
  low. When the officers attempted to 
  arrest him, the vagrant went into 
  convulsions and died in the arms of 
  the officer. The officer is currently in 
  transit to a medical facility with ra-
  diation sickness symptoms”
  While a firefight in the upper areas 
  of Diamond Head, or even in the Hole, 
  would cause questions and issues for 
  the Wardens, there is no need to hold 
  back now. The Characters can feel free 
  to enlists members of the local War-
  dens and the local police force to ac-
  company them on the assault of the 
  cult base. The number of cultists are 
  unknown (about 20), so they should 
  consider bringing backup. Also, a hos-
  tage rescue will require a larger team.
  Assault on Cultist Camp
  The local help will pave the way for 
  the Characters, even laying down their 
  lives so the ring leaders of the cult 
  can be confronted. Take the time to 
  describe the heroic efforts of the lead 
  team dying on the front. Allow the lo-
  cal help to be guided by the Charac-
  ters to rescue and retrieve the hostag-
  es, while the Characters are allowed to 
  focus on the leadership of the cult and 
  stopping the explosion. The aftermath 
  of the assault will leave the Characters 
  standing against the head of the cult, 
  with his two lieutenants hiding in a 
  back room of the area. The first lieu-
  tenant is in actuality a Harbinger.
  From time to time, on the lead up to 
  the finale, cultists will get in the way 
  of the Characters on their way to the 
  back room. use the same stats as be-
  fore to resolve combat.
  Confrontation
  Make sure to read all this text before 
  allowing the Characters to act, as this 
  will occur within the time it takes to 
  get in the room and see what is there.
  “Breaking into the back room, 
  you finally see the leadership of 
  the cult. Three men stand facing 
  the door chanting. Standing in the 
  front is the cult’s leader, wild-eyed, 
  holding the detonator clutched to 
  his chest. He’s dressed in rags and 
  has the same withered look that 
  the rest of the cultists have shown. 
  Standing to his right and left are his 
  lieutenants. While both show the 
  tell tale signs of withering, the one 
  to the leader’s right looks down-
  right cadaverous.”
  If anyone saw the Harbinger be-
  cause of the failed Horror check in Act 
  II, they will recognize him now.
  The leader raises the detonator 
  above his head and shouts, “The Blight 
  consumes all but the faithful!”
  now the Characters are allowed to 
  act. 
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act III
  
  23
  unless they are content to allow 
  the colony to be destroyed, it is likely 
  the Characters will open fire. let them 
  make their attacks – the cultists have 
  no armor, no cover, and they are tar-
  gets at close range. The only thing pro-
  tecting the cultists is their belief in the 
  Blight, and they learn that the Blight 
  does not care.
  As you open up, the hail of gun-
  fire tears through the cult leaders. 
  The bodies of the leader and the 
  cultist to the left splay back against 
  the back wall and come to a rest in a 
  broken heap. The cultist on the right 
  gets hit, over and over again. Holes 
  are blown through him as he still 
  stands there. Emptying your clips 
  appears to to have no effect. 
  As the smoke clears, you can see 
  that there are huge gaps where the 
  remaining cultist’s body remains 
  standing. Inside him, there appears 
  to be some kind of glimmering 
  energy that’s keeping his body to-
  gether. The cultist/creature reaches 
  down to retrieve the detonator as 
  his body slowly dissolves away. Just 
  as his hand reaches the detonator, 
  the last of his arm sloughs away 
  and only energy remains – which 
  causes the detonator causes it to 
  short out.
  All that’s left is a gristle-covered 
  skull hanging for a moment in 
  mid-air. With a scratchy voice it 
  speaks, “Pity, the screams would 
  have been glorious. Your victory is 
  meaningless. The oncoming Star is 
  inevitable!” And with that, the skull 
  dissolves, the energy dissipates, and 
  you are alone.
  Epilogue:
  Pass the Aloe Vera
  once the Characters have had the 
  opportunity to clean up the cultist 
  headquarters, it’s time to end the ad-
  venture.
  You are ordered to report to War-
  den High Command to be debriefed 
  on what occurred in Diamond 
  Head. The local officers that accom-
  panied you on the mission and sur-
  vived have been sworn to secrecy, 
  the rescued officials have been told 
  cover stories, and your identities 
  have been hidden from the public 
  record. The official story is that a 
  group of radicals attempted to dis-
  rupt the anniversary celebration 
  and were going to use some small 
  explosives to cause a panic. But 
  thanks to the heroic efforts of the 
  local police force, all was taken care 
  of without incident.
  Chapter 3: Venusian Sunset Act III
  
  It has been weeks since you last saw 
  John; he just disappeared from the sta-
  tion in the middle of his shift. Now you 
  finally have information about a person 
  who matches his description. After a 
  chase, you have John in your sites. But 
  something is wrong.
  John turns around and steps 
  into the light – but what stands 
  before you is not him. His body 
  is withered and blackened, 
  almost as though it has been 
  through a fire. His hands end 
  in claw-like fingers. His face 
  is ashen, the skin pulled 
  tight over his forehead and 
  cheeks. However, his eyes, 
  although sunken within 
  the skull, are John’s – and 
  they appear to plead 
  for some kind of re-
  lease.
  “Yes, he is here,” 
  said 
  the 
  thing 
  with John’s voice. 
  “He 
  said 
  you 
  would come. How 
  loyal a friend you are. I 
  wish I could see that loy-
  alty repaid, but that will not 
  occur today.”
  The Harbingers are a race 
  of energy creatures that 
  sweep before the Chthonian 
  Star searching for planets with 
  sentient life. Soon after their 
  arrival violence and destruc-
  tion follows.  
  The Harbingers are a creation of the 
  Chthonian Star itself. To accomplish 
  their terrible tasks, Harbingers possess 
  the bodies of sentient beings, trap-
  ping the victim’s consciousness in a 
  corner of his own mind.
  Harbingers are not telepathic and 
  cannot read the victims mind; they 
  just inhabit the body of the vic-
  tim. While the signs of such a 
  possession are virtually unde-
  tectable to those around the 
  victim in the early days, signs 
  beyond the unusual behav-
  ior of the victim become ap-
  parent. His body begins to 
  wither and desiccate, as well 
  as taking on a decidedly 
  unnatural hue. The victim 
  is slowly transformed 
  into a monstrous crea-
  ture  – though it is 
  rare for a Harbinger to 
  remain in the body 
  long enough to see 
  this 
  transformation 
  through to the end.
  Fortunately not all are 
  susceptible to being possessed. 
  A Harbinger must fight for control 
  when it enters a victim. There is no 
  known rhyme or reason to the vic-
  tims a Harbinger chooses. The end 
  result is always the same though 
  – the victim is forced to perform 
  tasks completely out of character 
  and that often result in 
  death, destruction and 
  chaos to those around 
  him.
  harbinger
  Harbinger
  
  25
  Harbinger Game Statistics
  Size:  
   
   
  5’-10” tall,  180 lbs. (Male)
   
   
   
  m/kg
   
   
   
  5’-4” tall, 135 lbs. (Female)
   
   
   
  m/kg
  Habitat:  
   
  Any sentient body
  Average Attributes: 
   
  Awareness  
  4 
   
  Grace 
    
  3 
   
  Cleverness 
  5 
   
  Perseverance  
  6
   
  Demeanor  
  4 
   
  Physique  
  3
  Average Statistics:
   
  Health   
  12 
   
  (12/24/36/48)
   
  Speed   
  12 mph 
  Skills:  
  Athletics: Fitness 2, Cryptozoology 4, Deception 3, Defense 3, Guns: 
  Pistols 3, Hand Weapons: Blades 3, Insight 4, natural Weapons 3, no-
  tice 2, occult 5, Persuade 3, Reaction 3, Stealth 3, Streetwise 2, Survival 
  2
  Weapons:  
  As normal pistols
   
  Claws (1d6 + 2d6 for Physique)
  Armor:   
   
  As normal armor
  Horror Factor:  
   
  Average
  Special Abilities: 
  •	
  Possession – a Harbinger can attempt to possess any sentient being. It 
  must first leave its current host. Doing so will render the prior victim un-
  conscious from the trauma of the departure. The Harbinger then enters 
  the new victim. Each hour thereafter, the victim must make an Average 
  Perseverance Test. If he manages to succeed four times in a row, he has 
  fought off the possession and ejected the Harbinger. The victim will know 
  that something happened, but not what unless he succeeds at a Hard oc-
  cult Test. During possession, the victim will be in a helpless, but conscious 
  state. As soon as the victim fails one of these Tests, he will be fully pos-
  sessed.
  
  UpCOmIng SUpplementS
  There are many exciting supplemental books coming up for The Void!
  Horrors of the Void I: Monsters
  The Horrors of the Void series introduces you to more of the fascinating and terrify-
  ing creatures that are awakening in the solar system. Already available!
  Pandora’s Paths I: Adventures
  The Horrors of the Void series introduces you to more of the fascinating and terrify-
  ing creatures that are awakening in the solar system. Already available!
  Characters Unbound I: Tactical Combat
  The Ecological Footprint series provides in-depth looks into the different planets of 
  our solar system, with more setting, adventure seeds, and character options. This first 
  installment explores Jupiter – most especially the Gallilean Moons of Callisto, Europa, 
  Ganymede, and Io.
  Secrets of the Void
  The Tools of the Trade series explores new kinds of technology and provides new 
  gear, weapons, vehicles, and more to add to your game.
  Vessels of the Void: Spaceships
  This volume greatly expands the roster of spaceships for The Void, including ex-
  panded stats, customization, and rules for spaceship combat.
  Characters Unbound II: Player’s Guide
  The Characters Unbound series introduces new options for Characters of all kinds, 
  with this volume focusing on a much expanded list of awesome Talents.
  ™
  
  The stars were never meant for us
  2159 AD. Something approaches, a thing on an orbit 
  from far away. Seemingly a mysterious shard of dark 
  matter, this object is known in obscure prophecy as the 
  Chthonian Star. It is awakening things long thought 
  lost or dead, things that have slumbered awaiting its re-
  turn. The Unified World Council sends out special teams 
  of sanctioned Wardens, whose job it is to ascertain the 
  new threats to human life, to learn everything they can 
  about them, and fight them wherever they are found.
  Venus. A corporate world, steeped in propaganda. 
  However, Founding Day approaches and people flood 
  from all over the planet for the celebration. Then, peo-
  ple go missing. Some turn up in a ritualistic-style sacri-
  fice, cooked from the inside out. What is going on in the 
  Diamond Head colony? Find out for yourself.
  The Void is an original Lovecraftian hard sci-fi horror 
  setting, and this is an adventure to take you there.
  The Stygian Cycle II – Venusian Sunset:
  •	
  Is a turn-key adventure, ready-to-run, with most 
  everything you need.
  •	
  Takes Characters  
  •	
  Is the second adventure in the epic Stygian Cycle 
  campaign.
  •	
  Is usable in The Void Organized Play framework – 
  take your Character from game to game.
  •	
  Created by the award-winning team that 
  brought you CthulhuTech.
  http://fearthevoid.com
  http://www.reddit.com/r/TheVoidRPG/
  ™
  ™
  WDF 33401
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/The Void/The Void - The Stygian Cycle II - Venusian Sunset.pdf