TEXT: BY SEAN K. REYNOLDS
  SHADEWALKER
  
  2
  Shadewalker is a Numenera™ adventure, suitable for beginning player characters (PCs), that can 
  take place almost anywhere in the Ninth World. 
  Part 1, “Shadewalker Shanty,” describes a small town built around a mobile machine that moves 
  itself every few years and provides details about the machine itself.
  Part 2, “Path of Struggles,” centers around the PCs’ chase after the machine, and details the 
  hazards and creatures unearthed by its travels. Shadewalker is a simple adventure designed to 
  demonstrate the Numenera system to new players. It includes explanation about how the rules work 
  and page references to the Numenera corebook for important information.
  BACKGROUND
  The PCs saw a brilliant flash of light in the distance two nights ago, and have followed it from the 
  southwest, investigating its cause, hoping to find something interesting. As they continue on this 
  journey, they come to the trading town of Shadewalker Shanty, famous for having been built under 
  and around an ancient machine, called the Shadewalker, that comes to life every few years and 
  moves itself to a new location—an event the locals call the Big Walk. The people who discovered the 
  machine a few decades ago realized it would make an excellent landmark and a hub for commerce, 
  and built a camp on the site, which attracted merchants and other travelers. Eventually their tents, 
  lean-tos, and simple houses became a shantytown market. When the Shadewalker animated three 
  years later, it pulled free of those temporary structures and moved a few thousand feet away. The 
  settlers quickly adapted, moved their town, and rebuilt their ramshackle homes and stores around 
  the machine’s new location. Since then, they have repeated this activity whenever the machine 
  awoke again. Just after the characters arrive, the machine comes alive once more, disrupting life in 
  the town and giving the PCs an opportunity to explore.
  SHADEWALKER
  INTRODUCTION
  Credits
  Writer/Designer 
  Sean K. Reynolds
  Rules Developer 
  Monte Cook
  Creative Director 
  Shanna Germain
  Editor & Proofreader 
  Kim Mohan
  Graphic Designer  
  Bear Weiter
  Cover Artist 
  Jason Engle
  Artists 
  Patrick McEvoy,  
  Eric Lofgren
  Cartographer 
  Christopher West
  Monte Cook Games  
  Editorial Team 
  Scott C. Bourgeois, 
  David Wilson Brown, 
  Eric Coates, Gareth 
  Hodges, Ryan Klemm, 
  Jeremy Land, Laura 
  Wilkinson, George Ziets
  © 2014 Monte Cook 
  Games, LLC
  Numenera 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.
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  3
  This portion of the adventure introduces the PCs 
  to a small trading village, a place more famous 
  for its unusual landmark than its goods, but 
  reasonably safe, comfortable, and profitable for 
  those who live there. Once the characters have 
  a look around, an event shakes the town apart, 
  and they are asked to help out with a special 
  task while the villagers pick up the pieces.
  SYNOPSIS
  The PCs have come to the town of Shadewalker 
  Shanty on their quest of finding the source of a 
  brilliant flash of light in the distance two nights 
  previous. It is mid-morning, and the characters 
  can do some trading, purchase supplies, and 
  meet interesting creatures. While they are there, 
  the Shadewalker reactivates, pulls itself free, 
  and flies away to the northeast. The village 
  leader announces that he will reward any able-
  bodied folk who follow the Shadewalker to its 
  new location, scout the area, and make sure 
  it is safe for resettlement. Since the villagers 
  are accustomed to this turn of events, they 
  immediately busy themselves packing up their 
  belongings and salvageable building materials. 
  As such, this exploratory task usually falls to 
  visitors and new arrivals who have no homes of 
  their own—people like the PCs. Of course, the 
  PCs were going that way anyway ….
  The Shadewalker is an organic machine built 
  in some previous era, worn down and damaged 
  by the passage of years, lack of maintenance, 
  and salvage efforts by creatures unaware of its 
  original purpose. It was created to search out, 
  assess, and extract useful materials—water, oil, 
  ore, silicon, and so on—and package them for 
  use by other machines. Now it remains inert 
  most of the time, slowly recharging and running 
  its internal maintenance systems. Every few years 
  it rouses itself to motion, making erratic but 
  inexorable progress toward an unknown goal.
  The Shadewalker’s body resembles a 
  rigid, flattened dome, about 60 feet (18 m) 
  across, made of a mix of synth, metal, and 
  organic chitin (like a crab’s shell), dotted with 
  protrusions, small apertures, and large areas 
  of hard synth resembling dull, black eyes or 
  windows (these are akin to solar panels). Its five 
  limbs, arranged radially along its underside, are 
  flexible like an elephant’s trunk and are made 
  of the same material as its body. The limbs are 
  mostly synth, with an exoskeleton of interlocking 
  metal and chitin plates, thicker toward the outer 
  side of the limb; when inert, the Shadewalker 
  curls up its five limbs and rests on them like 
  table legs, holding its body about 25 feet (7.6 m) 
  off the ground. Much of the Shadewalker’s outer 
  surface has been scarred by looters, lightning 
  strikes, and fatigue from repeated expansion 
  and contraction; most of its black “eyes” are 
  covered in a spiderweb of gray cracks.
  When functioning well, the Shadewalker is 
  able to fly due to an internal levitation device, 
  which allows it to make aerial surveys. Its 
  limbs are for backup locomotion and contain 
  most of its mining sensors, which it deploys 
  by burrowing them into the ground. When the 
  Shadewalker activates during the adventure, it 
  has only enough power to fly for short bursts, 
  about 1,000 feet (305 m), and usually resorts 
  to walking, using its flight ability to bypass 
  difficult obstacles on its journey. When its 
  power supply is depleted, it slowly comes to 
  a halt in its “sitting” position, usually with its 
  dome a little tilted because some limbs aren’t 
  able to completely curl into the appropriate 
  configuration.
  NEW ARRIVALS
  The characters have arrived at Shadewalker 
  Shanty, a minor trading village notable for an 
  ancient artifact/building called the Shadewalker, 
  which comes to life every few years and moves 
  itself to a new location. This structure resembles 
  a rigid, flattened dome made of a variety of 
  materials, dotted with protrusions, apertures, 
  and black areas resembling windows or perhaps 
  eyes. It has five tentacle-like limbs made of 
  interlocking plates, which are positioned under 
  itself like the legs of a table, holding the dome 
  about 25 feet (7.6 m) off the ground. Its outer 
  surface is scarred from burns, many of its “eyes” 
  SHADEWALKER SHANTY
  PART 1
  Throughout this 
  adventure, you’ll 
  see page references 
  to various topics 
  accompanied by 
  this symbol. These 
  are references to the 
  Numenera corebook, 
  where you can find 
  additional details. It 
  isn’t necessary to use 
  the corebook to run 
  this adventure; it’s an 
  optional way to provide 
  additional information.
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  4
  are covered in cracks, and in several places it 
  looks like people tore off pieces, tried to pry it 
  open, or drew markings on it. Nevertheless, on 
  the whole it is still an impressive structure. The 
  village is built under the Shadewalker’s bulk, 
  around its limbs, and spills outward from there in 
  a ramshackle of large wagons, lean-tos, tents, and 
  hastily constructed buildings, taking advantage of 
  the Shadewalker’s bulk to gain some shelter from 
  the elements. A few hundred feet to the north is 
  a small stream, which emerges from a sparsely 
  wooded area to the northwest.
  Once the PCs arrive, give them at least 
  fifteen minutes of game time to gawk at the 
  Shadewalker, explore the village, talk to local 
  people, and do some shopping.
  Investigating The Shadewalker: Upon closer 
  inspection, the characters can get a much better 
  idea of the Shadewalker’s age and the wear it 
  has suffered. Anything removable has long since 
  been taken from it, and the villagers become 
  upset if the PCs attempt to damage it, but only 
  watch with curiosity if the characters want to 
  climb on it.
  If anyone examines the Shadewalker with 
  some knowledge of the numenera and succeeds 
  at a difficulty 4 task, they can determine that 
  while it has been dormant for a long time, 
  something is active within the machine. In other 
  words, they get the idea that something is about 
  to happen. They cannot, however, glean the 
  machine’s nature or purpose.
  Talking with the Villagers: Shadewalker Shanty 
  is not an exceptionally wealthy village, nor is it a 
  center for any unusual goods, but it does attract 
  visitors who are interested in the numenera 
  and artifacts from previous worlds. Most 
  buildings, tents, and wagons are both shop 
  and home to the locals, and all such objects 
  look like they were made out of local materials 
  (typically wood, straw, and leafy branches) or 
  salvaged from other structures. Many buildings 
  were originally constructed so they could be 
  moved if necessary, but over time they have 
  fallen into disrepair or have been augmented 
  with additions that would make them too 
  cumbersome or fragile to move. Many locals 
  own one or two draft animals. 
  Four other visitors are currently in the 
  village: Tewra, a traveling peddler, and Kelmar, 
  a stone merchant in search of new business 
  accompanied by two bodyguards.
  The villagers are friendly and accustomed to 
  strangers. Although all of them know that the 
  Shadewalker does its “Big Walk” every few years, 
  plodding to a new location before settling down 
  again, it’s not something they talk about often. 
  All the adult villagers have been living here for at 
  least three of these events, and most can trace 
  their lineage back two or three generations to a 
  small tribe of nomads who huddled under the 
  Shadewalker during a great lightning storm and 
  decided to settle there. Thus, the villagers focus 
  on the machine’s shelter rather than its very 
  rare movement. With a small population, the 
  villagers are aware that they need new settlers 
  to keep their bloodlines healthy, and are they are 
  happy to see any young visitors willing to work 
  and live here.
  Aside from standard equipment, the villagers 
  or other traders might have one or two oddities 
  for sale, priced anywhere from 1 to 20 shins each.
  TEWRA
  Tewra is a large, burly peddler woman with a 
  friendly grin and many tattoos. She crafts simple 
  weapons such as bows, spears, and knives, and 
  can make temporary repairs to more complex 
  items (not including the numenera). All of her 
  worldly possessions are in a small enclosed 
  yellow wagon hitched to a gallen. She knows to 
  stay on the dirt road, for there are wild creatures 
  who hunt nearby.
  KELMAR
  Kelmar is a small, fair-skinned man with large 
  eyes. He buys and sells exotic building stone 
  for wealthy clients and occasionally trafficks 
  in precious gems. Very strong for his size, he 
  carries a leather satchel weighted down with 
  samples of the building stones he can acquire. 
  His bodyguards are Alx and Uto, quiet brothers 
  who are very protective of Kelmar.
  PARL
  Parl owns a large number of gallen, and he is the 
  spokesman for the village, easily recognizable 
  by his large hat with a simple sketch of the 
  Shadewalker on the front of it (which he drew 
  himself). He sells rope and cloth woven out of 
  gallen hair and barters gallen labor to support 
  his family. Prone to exaggerate or tell harmless 
  lies if he thinks he won’t be called out on it, Parl 
  is friendly and polite but more concerned about 
  taking care of his animals than repairing his 
  collapsing house. 
  THE AWAKENING
  Without warning, the Shadewalker begins 
  to shudder, and its limbs start to uncurl and 
  lift its body upward. A loud, deep humming 
  emanates from the central structure, and after 
  a few seconds it pulls free of the ground and 
  flies northeast about as fast as a bowshot. The 
  Climbing the Shadewalker is 
  a difficulty 3 task.
  GM Intrusion: A character 
  who is trained in social 
  interaction or has an unusual 
  physical characteristic 
  unintentionally makes a 
  strong positive impression 
  on an influential village 
  family, the Thaafs. Family 
  members comment to each 
  other about the individual, 
  introduce other relatives 
  to the character, and tend 
  to show up in the village 
  wherever the PC is. Family 
  members are annoyingly 
  persistent and can get in 
  the way.
  Tewra: level 2,
  level 3 for repairing
  Alx and Uto: level 3,
  1 point of Armor
  Kelmar: level 2,
  level 3 for negotiation
  Parl: level 1,
  level 2 for handling animals
  If the characters 
  want to know if 
  there is anything 
  unusual for sale in 
  Shadewalker Shanty, 
  refer to the table 
  on page 314 of the 
  Numenera corebook 
  and roll 1d100 to 
  determine an oddity.
  Gallen, page 145
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  5
  SHADEWALKER
  machine’s departure causes chaos as the many 
  structures that used the Shadewalker’s limbs as 
  a wall or a support surface fall down and animals 
  throughout the village scatter in fear of the noise. 
  It’s best if this event happens before the PCs 
  learn that it could happen. That way, it’s a far 
  greater surprise. 
  The PCs can overhear comments from the 
  villagers such as “It’s flying!” or “Why isn’t 
  it walking?” suggesting that this behavior is 
  unusual for the Shadewalker. (They might 
  instead accost a villager and ask questions to 
  get the same result.) Of course, assuming the 
  PCs didn’t know that the Shadewalker moved at 
  all, the whole thing likely seems quite unusual.
  The GM should use one or more of the 
  following quick encounters to show the villagers 
  that the characters are quick to take action and 
  solve problems. The GM should use intrusions 
  to advance the story and allow the PCs to feel 
  and appear confident.
  • The PCs hear a weak cry for help from 
  under a collapsed roof—an elderly person 
  is trapped and cannot get out. Freeing the 
  victim without injury is a difficulty 2 task.
  • A villager with a limp asks for assistance 
  rounding up his two gallen, which ran away 
  when their hitch broke. The creatures are 
  skittish, but can be caught by a character 
  with good speed or one who is skilled at 
  dealing with animals, requiring two separate 
  difficulty 1 tasks.
  • Kelmar and a villager were negotiating 
  over some traveling rations when the 
  Shadewalker roused itself. The stone 
  merchant is annoyed by the sudden 
  interruption and starts yelling at the 
  villager. If the PCs don’t stop this tirade (a 
  difficulty 2 task), another frustrated villager 
  will start punching Kelmar, prompting his 
  bodyguards to wrestle the villager to the 
  ground. If the PCs intervene and resolve 
  things peacefully, Kelmar is grateful and 
  gives them 1 shin each.
  After a few minutes (perhaps during which 
  the PCs are retrieving gallen or otherwise 
  helping out), things in the ruined village settle 
  down a bit, and the villagers begin the process 
  of picking up their belongings, salvaging what 
  they can from their homes and shops, and 
  start arranging to move the town. No longer 
  distracted by commotion and danger, the 
  villagers are eager to discuss and explain what 
  they know about the Shadewalker—that every 
  few years, it gets up and moves, and the people 
  of the tiny town follow it. But they’ve never 
  known it to fly (after all, they do call this event 
  the Big Walk); at earlier times it walked like a 
  strange insect, with heavy steps. If the PCs look 
  to the northeast, they can see the Shadewalker 
  lurching off in that direction, having landed 
  some distance away and continued on the 
  ground thereafter.
  Normally the village would send a scouting 
  party to follow the Shadewalker’s trail so they 
  could get an idea of the terrain the others would 
  have to move through and where their new 
  homes would be. However, because the Big 
  Walk came early this time, and the destruction 
  was heavier than expected, they don’t have 
  anyone to spare for a scouting party. Parl, the 
  village spokesman, turns to the visitors (the PCs 
  and the two merchants) and asks them to go 
  after the Shadewalker, make note of tracks from 
  game or dangerous animals, find out where it 
  stops, and report back to the village with this 
  news. The village isn’t wealthy, but the locals 
  can scrounge together about 10 shins and some 
  fresh fruit, and Parl offers a healthy young gallen 
  to sweeten the deal.
  The visiting NPCs aren’t interested in 
  this task. Tewra knows there are dangerous 
  creatures in this area, doesn’t like leaving the 
  road, and isn’t much for scouting. Kelmar’s 
  bodyguards can fight, but they’re more suited 
  for discouraging thieves than for fighting wild 
  beasts; as well, Kelmar is too greedy and the 
  payment isn’t worth his time or the danger—
  and he’s not really fond of gallen). Therefore, 
  this opportunity falls to the PCs; if they made 
  a good impression on any villagers (such as 
  the Thaaf family), those people speak up on 
  the PCs’ behalf, praising them for helping in 
  the immediate aftermath of the Shadewalker’s 
  departure (if they did indeed help).
  Parl tells the PCs that the Shadewalker 
  rarely travels more than about a day’s walk 
  before settling down again. He tells the PCs 
  that the most dangerous creatures in the area 
  are huraths, snakelike animals about the size 
  of a tall human with multiple vestigial limbs; 
  they lurk in tall grass and can climb trees, but 
  normally attack only solitary creatures. He also 
  tells them that if they kill one, hurath meat is 
  delicious, and encourages them to try it, or at 
  least bring it back to the village for bartering.
  Talking about huraths reminds Parl that the 
  PCs should keep an eye out for Balvo, a reclusive 
  hunter who sometimes comes to the village to 
  trade hurath meat for supplies. Balvo is gruff 
  and generally unpleasant, but means no harm 
  and knows the area well.
  When the players are ready to proceed, 
  continue to the next section of the adventure.
  GM Intrusion: After 
  the room collapses, the 
  debris shifts just as the 
  PCs attempt to move it, 
  increasing the difficulty to 3, 
  and failing means that the 
  victim and any character 
  within an immediate 
  distance takes 1 point of 
  damage from the collapse.
  For more on the influential 
  Thaaf family, see the GM 
  intrusion on page 4.
  Hurath: level 2
  Details about the PCs’ 
  encounter with Balvo are 
  on page 7.
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  6
  SYNOPSIS
  The mechanisms that allow the Shadewalker 
  to leave the ground are old and unreliable, 
  and it is able to fly only about a thousand feet 
  before it has to land and start walking. The giant 
  machine’s path takes it over a rocky ridge (which 
  the PCs need to find a path through or around) 
  and near a camp of margr abhumans (which 
  the PCs need to drive away). Eventually the 
  Shadewalker settles in an isolated area where it 
  burrows all of its limbs into the ground instead 
  of just curling them underneath itself. It then 
  manufactures crab-like guardians to protect 
  itself and guard the resources that its limbs digs 
  up. The PCs can reset its programming so that 
  it stops creating the guardians and is again safe 
  for the villagers to approach.
  TRACKS AND CURIOUS DIRT
  The Shadewalker’s large, heavy tracks are easy 
  to follow (no roll needed), creating an odd 
  pattern of trapezoidal flattened areas as its five 
  radially symmetrical limbs move it northeast, 
  sometimes flattening the small trees growing 
  in this area. The PCs move about 2 miles per 
  hour over this terrain. Despite its size, the 
  Shadewalker moves faster than a typical human 
  can run over long distances, and the PCs won’t 
  be able to catch it on foot until it stops moving. 
  Every half mile or so, the tracks cluster together 
  and overlap, as if the Shadewalker had paused. 
  Near the perimeter of these clustered areas is a 
  shallow patch of disturbed soil about 10 feet (3 
  m) across, surrounded by a low ridge of spilled 
  dirt and rocks, as if someone had dug a big hole 
  PATH OF STRUGGLES
  PART 2
  Margr, page 244
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  7
  and quickly filled it in again without bothering 
  to pound the earth flat. The diameter of the 
  loose earth is about the same as one of the 
  Shadewalker’s limbs. 
  The Shadewalker is actually probing into the 
  earth about 50 feet (15 m) to use its sensors to 
  determine if there are any valuable resources 
  underground. Then it withdraws the limb and 
  allows most of the displaced earth to settle 
  into the hole. Following each of these scans, it 
  slightly adjusts its course in search of the richest 
  deposits.
  If the characters decide to excavate one 
  of these pits, after an hour they make some 
  headway, but the edges of the pit are prone to 
  collapsing. Meanwhile, the Shadewalker is not 
  getting any closer and the PCs are running out 
  of daylight. If the characters insist on digging 
  for more than an hour, the GM should use 
  an intrusion to collapse one of the pit’s walls, 
  potentially trapping a PC or burying some of the 
  group’s equipment.
  STONE RIDGE
  Unless they delayed themselves by examining 
  the site of one of the Shadewalker’s ground 
  probes, the PCs should reach this next point in 
  the story one to two hours before sundown. Up 
  ahead, the Shadewalker’s path is blocked by a 
  jutting ridge of stone. Ranging from 50 to 100 
  feet (15 to 30 m) high, the ridge ends a little over 
  a mile to the south-southeast and extends north-
  northwest for longer than that. From the ground 
  on the near side it is impossible to tell how thick 
  the ridge is; it might only be a hundred feet 
  (which is actually the case), or it might be the 
  edge of an elevated mesa that continues on for 
  a long distance. The Shadewalker’s tracks stop 
  about 100 feet (30 m) short of the near side of 
  the ridge. (It is physically incapable of climbing 
  up the slope of the ridge, but was able to use 
  its levitation engine to fly over it, landing on the 
  other side to continue its walking survey.)
  Near where the PCs approach the stone ridge, 
  they encounter the reclusive hunter Balvo. He 
  had founds signs of margr in the area and was 
  going to climb to the top of the ridge to see if 
  he could spot the creatures. The Shadewalker’s 
  flight overhead distracted him, and he slipped 
  and fell, breaking his leg. He has tried to splint 
  the leg himself but lacks the leverage or tools to 
  do so. Realizing he’s out on his own, vulnerable, 
  and probably near some dangerous abhumans, 
  he decided he should make the long crawl to 
  Shadewalker Shanty to get help.
  Fortunately for Balvo, the PCs end up finding 
  him. He tries to quietly attract their attention (so 
  as not to disturb the margr) by shooting arrows 
  into their general area, well clear of their actual 
  location, and it’s an easy matter for the PCs to 
  locate him after that.
  Balvo is fairly young, with a scruffy, wolf-like 
  appearance, unkempt hair, a few missing teeth, 
  and bad breath. He doesn’t like being around 
  other people any more than he has to be, but 
  is aware that he needs help with his leg. He 
  explains that he spotted some margr tracks in 
  the area and was climbing the ridge to get a 
  better look when the Shadewalker flew overhead 
  and caused him to slip. He would prefer that 
  the PCs help set and splint his leg so he can be 
  on his way, rather than carrying him back to the 
  village. He is embarrassed that he hurt himself 
  falling and gets angry if anyone laughs at him for 
  doing it.
  If asked about the margr, he tersely explains 
  that they are savage, violent brutes with 
  animalistic features. So far in this area he 
  has seen only tracks and the remains of what 
  they’ve killed, but he estimates them to number 
  between four and six. He says that the near 
  side of the ridge is fairly steep, but the other 
  side is a gentle slope; he might size up the 
  PCs and suggest that they climb over or go 
  around, depending on his estimation of their 
  mountaineering ability.
  Setting and splinting Balvo’s leg is a difficulty 
  4 task that takes 10 minutes. 
  If the PCs succeed at treating Balvo, he 
  is visibly relieved but tries not to sound too 
  grateful. As thanks for their help, he offers them 
  his remaining eight arrows and some hurath 
  jerky (he can make more arrows later, and would 
  have a hard time firing a bow anyway since 
  he can’t stand freely on two legs), keeping his 
  dagger and wood axe for himself.
  If the PCs fail twice in their attempts to set his 
  leg, Balvo becomes frustrated and starts yelling 
  at them, insisting that he’ll crawl all the way to 
  the village on his own and they should leave him 
  alone. Thereafter he refuses all help and actively 
  fights the PCs if they try to carry him back to 
  the village (they’ll need to knock him out or 
  otherwise make him helpless to get him to stop 
  fighting).
  Once his leg is set and the PCs are done with 
  their questions for him, Balvo fashions himself 
  a crude pair of crutches and hobbles off to make 
  camp for himself, refusing any offers to travel 
  with the PCs. As long as they haven’t made him 
  angry or resentful, Balvo grudgingly respects 
  them but doesn’t consider them friends; he 
  would help them as they had helped him if the 
  circumstances were reversed, but he’s still an 
  Balvo: level 1, trained in 
  hunting, level 3 for resisting 
  interactions with people
  Before the PCs attempt to 
  splint Balvo’s leg, the GM 
  could remind the players 
  that they can use Effort and 
  treat the help of another 
  person as an asset to make 
  this task easier (cyphers and 
  numenera abilities might 
  also affect the difficulty 
  of this roll, at the GM’s 
  discretion). If the PCs fail 
  at this task and want to try 
  again, they must use Effort 
  on the retry.
  If asked about the 
  numenera, Balvo admits 
  he has one cypher (a level 3 
  speed boost) and is willing 
  to trade it for one the PCs 
  offer him, if he finds the 
  item useful. He can be 
  persuaded into giving up his 
  cypher as payment for the 
  PCs’ help instead of trading 
  it, but doing so makes him 
  resentful and unwilling to 
  talk more.
  Effort, page 21
  Retrying, page 89
  Falling, page 94
  Speed boost,
  page 295
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  8
  asocial hermit and would rather be on his own. 
  The PCs will have to climb the ridge or travel 
  southeast to get around it. Climbing is definitely 
  the faster option, but is a difficulty 2 task. 
  The GM should remind the PCs that they can 
  spend Effort or use assets such as rope or the 
  assistance of a trained character to reduce the 
  difficulty of the climb roll.
  Once the PCs reach the top, they see that 
  the ridge is fairly narrow, and it slopes down 
  on the far side, allowing them to negotiate the 
  far side without climbing as long as they don’t 
  rush. From this elevation, they can easily spot 
  the Shadewalker’s tracks and the occasional 
  broken tree resulting from its movement. If 
  it is still daylight, the Shadewalker is visible 
  in the distance, although it is hard to tell if 
  the machine is stationary or moving. It would 
  take about three hours for the PCs to get to its 
  current location.
  If the PCs reach this point in the adventure 
  relatively early in the game session, or if this 
  is part of an ongoing campaign instead of a 
  convention or store demonstration, the GM can 
  add an encounter at the top of the ridge with a 
  group of laaks or pallones.
  From the top of the ridge, the PCs might be 
  able to spot what looks like a small camp about 
  an hour away near a small pond, just south of 
  the Shadewalker’s path. Seeing the camp in 
  daytime is a difficulty 4 task, but at night the 
  campfire reduces this to a difficulty 2 task.
  Once the PCs climb off the ridge, it is 
  probably about sundown (unless digging 
  delayed them, in which case it is completely 
  dark). If the PCs camp for the night, the margr 
  at the camp reach the Shadewalker first. If 
  the PCs press on toward the Shadewalker at 
  night and aren’t aware of the camp, the margr 
  ambush them along the way. If the PCs move 
  forward, are aware of the camp, and try to get 
  around it, they might avoid the camp encounter 
  but the abhumans could still arrive later, while 
  the PCs are dealing with the dangerous plants 
  or the Shadewalker’s defenses. If the characters 
  decide to investigate the camp, they can sneak 
  up on its occupants or brazenly approach the 
  place. For information on the camp and its 
  inhabitants, proceed to the ”Abhuman Camp“ 
  section; otherwise, proceed to the ”Shadewalker 
  Guardians“ section.
  If the PCs decide to travel around the ridge to 
  the southeast, it takes them about an hour to 
  reach the end of the obstacle. If the characters 
  follow the other side of ridge, they meet up with 
  the Shadewalker’s tracks on the far side in about 
  an hour and resume their tracking. If the PCs 
  assume that the Shadewalker kept moving after 
  crossing the ridge and decide to bear to the 
  north to make up for lost time, they will pass 
  very close to the margr’s camp. Proceed to the 
  “Abhuman Camp” section.
  ABHUMAN CAMP
  A group of margr wandered into this area in 
  search of food. They found and killed a hurath 
  and have made camp to cook it. Their camp has 
  a small campfire, and the abhumans are using 
  their spears to cut slices of meat from their 
  prey and roast them over the fire. They see their 
  hunting success as a good sign and plan to stay 
  here for a while, which means they’ll eventually 
  cause trouble for the villagers of Shadewalker 
  Shanty. Although the PCs were instructed 
  to “make note of” dangerous animals, the 
  presence of violent, brutish abhumans is a more 
  significant threat. The characters can attempt 
  to get rid of the margr, either through force or 
  trickery. There is one margr for each PC; this 
  group has no leader.
  If the PCs are aware of the camp, how 
  this encounter plays out is up to them—
  killing, intimidation, and persuasion are all 
  GM Intrusion: The stone 
  the character is using to pull 
  himself up a tricky spot in 
  the side of the ridge comes 
  loose, and the character 
  tumbles down the ridge. It is 
  a difficulty 3 Speed task for 
  the character—or another 
  nearby character—to stop 
  her tumble. If not, she suffers 
  2 points of damage and must 
  begin the climb again.
  Laak, page 295
  Pallone, page 251
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  9
  SHADEWALKER
  possibilities. Any outcome that keeps the margr 
  away from the villagers is a success.
  If the characters are unaware of the camp, 
  they might stumble onto it and be forced into a 
  confrontation, or the margr might hear the PCs 
  in the vicinity and send a few of their number to 
  investigate. If the margr discover the PCs before 
  the PCs discover them, the abhumans attack, 
  either in a direct charge or by circling around the 
  characters and setting an ambush.
  The margr carry their treasure in a heavy 
  leather bag: 6 shins, several polished animal 
  skulls, an oddity (a rubber-like marble that, 
  when squeezed, creates sparks like a struck 
  flint), a level 4 living solvent, and a pair of level 
  3 telepathy implants. The hurath carcass is 
  freshly killed and unspoiled, and the PCs can cut 
  several large steaks from it and take them along 
  without being overburdened.
  DANGEROUS PLANTS
  Beyond the margr camp, the Shadewalker’s 
  tracks lead through a large, sparse patch of 
  flowering bushes with green berries. The bushes 
  don’t look unusual and do not have a noticeable 
  odor, but they give off poisonous fumes, and the 
  PCs are unlikely to notice that anything is wrong 
  until after they are among the plants. About a 
  minute after coming within a short distance of 
  the bushes, each character must succeed at a 
  difficulty 3 Might defense roll or move one step 
  down the damage track (from hale to impaired, 
  or from impaired to debilitated, but not worse 
  than debilitated). Resting for 10 minutes 
  removes this penalty. The PCs must attempt 
  this Might defense roll every minute they remain 
  within range of the plants.
  The berries are tasty. However, they are also 
  poisonous, and anyone who eats a handful 
  automatically moves one step down the damage 
  track for one hour. Each additional handful 
  requires a difficulty 3 Might defense roll to avoid 
  moving down one more step on the damage 
  track for an hour (the berries do not count as 
  an asset for these rolls). Unlike the fumes, this 
  poison can move a creature from the debilitated 
  condition to the dead condition. Gathering a 
  handful of berries takes 10 minutes.
  SHADEWALKER GUARDIANS
  Finally, the PCs come to within a few hundred 
  feet of the Shadewalker. Instead of “sitting” on 
  its curled limbs, the underside of its body is 
  resting on the ground, all of its legs are thrust 
  into the earth at 45-degree angles away from its 
  body, and several large containers are visible on 
  its upper surface. Three crab-like creatures, each 
  resembling a smaller version of the Shadewalker 
  and made of similar materials, patrol the 
  top of the structure and the area around it. A 
  low rumble can be felt in the earth, and the 
  characters hear a clanking noise that sounds 
  like a mill or simple machinery at work.
  After decades or centuries of alternately 
  scanning and crawling, the decrepit 
  Shadewalker has found a place where it can 
  fulfill its intended function: harvest and collate 
  minerals and other resources for distribution to 
  other machines for construction and repair. Its 
  limbs are deep in the ground, gathering various 
  compounds, which are separated and packaged 
  within its body and dumped into hoppers for 
  later transport or pickup. It reserves a small 
  portion of these resources for self-repair, but 
  its repair mechanisms are undependable, and 
  it will take years for the Shadewalker to undo 
  all the damage it has suffered since it was 
  abandoned.
  The crab-like robots are Shadewalker 
  guardians, security units programmed to 
  prevent unauthorized removal of the processed 
  materials. They react threateningly to all 
  creatures that approach the Shadewalker, but 
  not necessarily aggressively. They are made of 
  the same stuff as the Shadewalker, and were 
  released from a hidden storage chamber when 
  the machine entered this mode of operation.
  If the PCs do not attack the guardians or 
  approach the minerals, the guardians do not 
  attack. However, after just a few moments, 
  the PCs can see that these things are not 
  functioning at top efficiency. Their limbs move 
  clumsily or erratically, and the guardians 
  sometimes inexplicably spin or even bump into 
  things. Even if not attacked, a guardian might:
  • Attempt to grab a PC or an item from one’s 
  person and carry the PC or item to the 
  mineral bins, dumping them in.
  • Bump into a PC, inflicting 1 point of 
  damage.
  • Emit a high-pitched screech for one minute.
  Because the guardians would most likely 
  attack the villagers who arrive here, and 
  because they will not leave the vicinity of the 
  Shadewalker, the PCs must destroy them to 
  make the new village site safe. The characters 
  might discover later that the Shadewalker can 
  manufacture more guardians if necessary (each 
  taking several weeks), leading them to realize 
  that they should find a way to deactivate or 
  reprogram this function.
  Once the PCs defeat the guardians, they can 
  salvage a total of three level 3 anoetic cyphers 
  from their remains: a datasphere siphon, an 
  Living solvent,  
  page 289
  Telepathy implant, 
  page 89
  GM Intrusion: If the PCs 
  are having an easy time 
  fighting the margr, a level 3 
  leader arrives.
  Having the margr attack 
  the PCs after one or more 
  of them are impaired is a 
  nasty surprise—one that 
  would challenge even tough, 
  experienced characters.
  Damage track,
  page 93
  Shadewalker guardian: 
  level 3, defends as level 4; 9 
  health; 3 points of Armor
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  10
  eagleseye, and a remote viewer. The characters 
  can then examine the Shadewalker more closely, 
  particularly its new features and its functioning 
  control panel.
  SHADEWALKER’S HEART
  The upper surface of the Shadewalker is a 
  smooth, gentle slope (difficulty 0, no roll needed 
  to climb). Each of the containers on top is large 
  enough to hold a crouching human and has 
  walls about a foot thick; a 1-foot-diameter pipe 
  projects out of the top of the Shadewalker to 
  just above each of these bins. Each container 
  is mostly empty, but every so often (anywhere 
  from a few seconds to a minute) a small nugget 
  of material—crystal, iron, stone, or synth—
  is blown out of the pipe and falls into the 
  container. The hum of machinery comes from 
  within the limbs and body of the Shadewalker, 
  and after a time, characters can discern that 
  some of the repeated noises seem to indicate 
  the pending arrival of another sample. In short, 
  the Shadewalker is processing raw materials 
  into refined materials and placing them in these 
  bins for collection; nevertheless, any creature 
  or machine that was intended to collect these 
  materials is probably long destroyed, along with 
  whatever civilization created the Shadewalker, so 
  these items are now up for grabs. If the people 
  of Shadewalker Shanty rebuild their village here, 
  they will slowly accumulate valuable resources 
  they can use for trading or construction (these 
  resources aren’t useful to the characters unless 
  one or more of them have crafting abilities).
  One large box initially appears to be a closed 
  container, but is actually a control panel that 
  was hidden within the Shadewalker until the 
  machine switched to mining and refinery 
  mode. Activating the panel is a difficulty 2 task. 
  Someone trained in the numenera can spend 
  an hour puzzling out the basic functions of the 
  control panel, which consist of:
  • scanning, cataloguing, retrieving, and 
  processing buried resources
  • self-repair (already active)
  • building additional guardian units to replace 
  damaged or destroyed ones (also active)
  Deactivating either of the active functions is 
  a difficulty 4 task; it is impossible to reprogram 
  the Shadewalker to move, to look for other 
  resources (such as water or gold), or to 
  activate any of its other abilities by using this 
  control panel. Dismantling and scavenging 
  the control panel yields 1d6 shins and a level 4 
  machine control implant, but renders the panel 
  inoperable thereafter.
  Datasphere 
  siphon, page 283
  Eagleseye, page 285
  Remote viewer, 
  page 293
  Machine control 
  implant, page 289
  CONCLUSION
  It takes about the same amount of time as the trip 
  out for the PCs to return to the ruins of Shadewalker 
  Shanty. When they arrive, they see that the villagers 
  are much more organized, and various homes and 
  wagons are already being converted or rebuilt for 
  transportation. The villagers enthusiastically greet 
  the characters and ask what they’ve discovered. 
  Parl is pleased by the news about the material the 
  Shadewalker is crafting, since he expects this to 
  increase the village’s wealth.
  Tewra is curious about the margr weapons 
  and anything the PCs salvaged from the 
  guardian robots.
  Kelmar wants to see the stone samples produced 
  by the Shadewalker and might proposition Parl for 
  first rights to negotiate trade for them. 
  If the PCs brought back any hurath meat, 
  the villagers suggest sharing it as part of a 
  celebratory feast. (If the PCs are hesitant to give 
  up the tasty meat, a villager offers an appropriate 
  amount of salted meat in exchange.)
  Parl and the other villagers make good on 
  their payment to the PCs, and invite them to 
  stay for a couple of days and enjoy the local 
  hospitality (and he has an ulterior motive: he 
  would like the PCs to help escort the villagers 
  safely to the new site).
  The characters’ successful mission cements 
  the reputation of the PCs in the eyes of the Thaaf 
  family. Family elders might suggest an arranged 
  marriage to a character. If no PCs are interested 
  in this offer, the elders suggest that one or more 
  young, able-bodied family members accompany 
  the PCs as a porter, with the hopes of learning 
  useful skills, discovering a bit about the outside 
  world, and finding people who are interested in 
  moving to the village.
  Now that the Shadewalker is performing a 
  function instead of being an inert hulk, Aeon 
  Priests might take an interest in it and its 
  creations. Likewise, rumors of the Shadewalker’s 
  manufacturing abilities might spread and be 
  exaggerated into stories that claim the machine 
  creates vast wealth and powerful artifacts, which 
  will likely attract the attention of unsavory folk.
  EXPERIENCE POINTS
  The PCs earn 1 XP for helping the villagers 
  deal with the aftermath of the Shadewalker’s 
  relocation, 1 XP for eliminating the threat of the 
  margr, and 1 XP for securing the Shadewalker 
  so the villagers can relocate. They can also earn 
  1 XP if they were able to help Balvo without 
  making him angry or resentful. 
  Note that 4 XP is enough to increase an 
  aspect and put the character on a path to 2nd tier!
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  Practiced in Armor
  Practiced With All Weapons
  Bash (1 Might point)
  Pierce (1 Speed point)
  Attack Flourish
  Inability: Lore, knowledge, and understanding
   
  Climbing
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
    
   
   
   
  Lies and trickery
   
  Resist mental
   
  Assess danger, lies,
   
      quality, importance,
   
      function, or power
  Extremely stylish clothing
  Beastskin armor
  Ornately jeweled battleaxe
  Crossbow / 12 medium bolts
  Controlled blinking nodule (level 5)
  Sound dampener (boots, level 6)
   14
   
   
  1
   13
   
   
  1
   
  9
   
  1
   
  2
   
  2
   15
   1 
  1
  A pair of rose-colored spectacles that, 
  when worn, cause everyone to appear 
  to be either in the prime of their lives or 
  dead
  Battleaxe 
   
  4
  Crossbow 
   
  4
  X
  X
  X
  X
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  Kalen
  Clever
  glaive
  Fights with Panache
  In your younger days, you served as a 
  caravan guard, traveling throughout the 
  Steadfast. You got to know a smattering 
  of people in many cities and towns 
  along the way, and consider many of 
  them allies.  
  You got involved with this group 
  because ____________ is one of those 
  allies that you met along the way, and you 
  would like to impress this person with 
  your skills, bravado, or wit. 
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  Practiced in Armor
  Practiced With All Weapons
  Bash (1 Might point)
  Thrust (1 Might point)
  Move Metal (1 Intellect point)
  Inability: Charm, persuasion, etiquette & 
  deception
   
  Jumping
   
   Climbing
   
   Running
   
   Swimming
   
   
    
   
    
    
   
   
   
  Training, riding, and
   
      placating animals
   
  Botany
   
   
  Clothing
  Plate armor
  Swordstaff
  Shield
  Explorer’s pack
  Dataphere siphon (pill, level 3)
  Ray emitter (numbing) (glove, level 6)
   16
   
   
  1
   11
   
   
  1
   
  7
   
  1
   
  3
   
  2
   
  5
   1 
  1
  A small metal box that produces sounds 
  of hysterical laughter when shaken
  Swordstaff 
   
  6
  X
  X
  X
  X
  X
  X
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  Mulran
  Rugged
  glaive
  Employs Magnetism
  Preferring the wilds to anything that 
  even smacks of populated areas, you are 
  self-taught and self-reliant. Recently on a 
  trip to a nearby town, ______________ 
  saved you from a very uncomfortable 
  social situation and you are in this 
  person’s debt.  
  Although you’re new to this group, 
  you’ve notice that when you use 
  your powers within short range of  
  ____________, any metallic items on that 
  character’s body shudder, rattle, clank, 
  and shake. 
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  Practiced With Light and Medium Weapons
  Flex Skill
  Pierce (1 Speed Point)
  Archer
  Inability: Movement-related tasks
   
  Might Defense
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    Stealth
   
    
    
   
   
   
  Perception
   
  Lies and Trickery
   
  Fletching
   
   
  Clothing
  Leather jerkin
  Sisk
  Crank crossbow / 12 medium bolts
  Detonation (web) (level 3)
  Living solvent (canister, level 5)
   10
   
   
   15
   
   
  1
   13
   
  1
   
  1
   
  2
   
  8
   1 
  1
  Ring that reduces the wearer’s sense of 
  touch.
  Sisk 
  -1 
  2
  Crank Crossbow 
   
  4
  X
  X
  X
  X
  X
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  Sados
  Stealthy
  jack
  Carries a Quiver
  Long ago, you were accused of a crime 
  you didn’t commit. You tried to prove 
  your innocence but were unable to, and 
  finally ran. You suspect that you’re still 
  being hunted, and this group seemed like 
  the perfect cover for a little while. 
  While here, you’ve become close with 
  ___________, someone you consider a 
  true friend. This person gave you a gift of 
  the bow that you currently use. 
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  Practiced With Light and Medium Weapons
  Flex Skill
  Thrust (1 Might point)
  Practiced in Armor
  Healing Touch (1 Intellect point)
  Inability: Balance
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    Initiative
   Running
    
    
   
   
   
  Geography
   
   
   
   
  Clothing
  Hides and furs
  Rapier
  Verred
  Memory lenses (goggles, level 4)
  Friction-reducing gel (spray, level 2)
   13
   
   
  1
   14
   
   
  1
   13
   
  1
   
  1
   
  2
   
  8
   1 
  1
  A hat that disappears when the wearer 
  wishes, but returns in a few hours
  Rapier 
  -1 
  2
  Verred 
   
  4
  X
  X
  X
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  Denwor
  Swift
  jack
  Works Miracles
  Your whole family is full of nanos. 
  While you haven’t been able to follow 
  in their path, you have a fair amount of 
  knowledge of the numenera. 
  _____________ suspects that you’re 
  a messiah or a supernatural being, and 
  convinced you to join the group, although 
  you’re not entirely certain why that is.
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  Practiced With Light Weapons
  Scan (2 Intellect points)
  Ward 
  Hedge Magic (1 Intellect point)
  Distant Activation (1 Intellect point)
  Inability: Charm, Persuasion, and Deception
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
    
   
   
   
  Numenera
   
  Sense “magic”
   
  All tasks involving
   
       electrical machines
   
  Clothing
  Blowgun / 12 darts
  Book on the numenera
  A bag of small tools
  Reality spike (level 3)
  Visual displacement device (bracelet, level 2)
  Detonation (flash) (ceramic sphere, level 6)
   
  7
   
   
   12
   
   
   17
   
   
  1
   
  1
   
  1
   
  3
   
  4
   1 
  1
  A ceramic bird with a razor-sharp metal 
  beak
  The face of a person stretched and 
  pressed between two panes of glass
  Blowgun 
  -1 
  2
  X
  X
  X
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  Trasyn
  Mystical/Mechanical
  nano
  Talks to Machines
  While traveling alone, you tried to 
  save the “life” of a powerful machine. 
  In gratitude, this machine taught you 
  much of what you know. Since then, 
  your life has been devoted to the pursuit 
  of knowledge about the numenera, all 
  of which you do in the name of your 
  machine friend.  
   
  You’ve noticed that ____________ 
  seems to have a terrible relationship with 
  machines. You believe you could fix that, 
  if you just had the chance. 
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  Practiced With Light Weapons
  Onslaught (1 Intellect point)
  Push (2 Intellect points)
  Telepathic (1+ Intellect point)
  Inability: Lore, knowledge, and understanding
  Inability: Resist mental
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
    
    
   
   
   
  Numenera
   
  Positive/Pleasant Social
   
       Interaction
   
  Esoteries that influence
   
       others’ minds
  Clothing
  Punching dagger
  Book on the numenera
  Might rejuvinator (patch, level 5)
  Stim (injector, level 4)
  Catseye (pill, level 2)
   
  7
   
   
   
  9
   
   
   20
   
   
  1
   
  1
   
  0
   
  3
   14
   1 
  1
  Forehead crystal (+1 to Intellect pool 
  when worn)
  A scarf that releases a soothing odor 
  when its owner is scared or hurt
  Punching Dagger 
  -1 
  2
  Onslaught 
   
  2/4
  X
  X
  X
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  Perem
  Charming
  nano
  Commands Mental Powers 
  You worked for a time with a group of 
  Aeon Priests, and they still look upon you 
  with fondness. In fact, you remain friends 
  with one of the higher-ranking members 
  of the Amber Papacy. When you discover 
  pieces of the numenera for them, you are 
  richly rewarded for your discoveries.
  You recently discovered that 
  _____________ is particularly tuned into 
  your mental powers. While within short 
  range of each other, the two of you are 
  always in telepathic contact.  
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Cypher System/Campaign Settings/Numenera/Fiction/Shadewalker.pdf