TEXT: Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  1
  Version: 2.savage140813
  This product is copyright Savage Mojo Ltd 2014. All rights reserved. It is for personal use only, and may be printed for personal 
  use. It may not be modified, distributed or sold without written permission. 
  This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage 
  Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle 
  makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.
  Credit Where Credit’s Due 
  Original Concept:  Miles M. Kantir.
  Words: Zach Welhouse. 
  Additional Words: Clyde Clark, Richard 
  Mendenhall, Aaron Rosenberg.
  Rules: Alan Bundock. 
  Additional  Rules: Curtis and Sarah Lyon, 
  Magnus Nygaard.
  Edits: Scott Haring, Miles M Kantir.
  Additional Edits: Genevra ‘Goddess Of Uber-
  Awesomeness’ Harker.
  Art Direction: Aaron Acevedo.
  Art: Aaron Acevedo, Alec Acevedo, James 
  Denton, Jason Engle, Alida Saxon, Gorislav Solovov, 
  Carly Sorge.
  Additional Art: Robert Friis, Damon Wilson 
  Hart, Chris Malidore. 
  Layout and Design: Aaron Acevedo, Alida 
  Saxon.
  Play Testing: Jim Ashby, Kath Banks, Julie 
  Bélanger, Alfie Bellinger, Charles Hamilton, Martin 
  Klimeš, Leah Osborne, Paul Sharpe, Martin Wilson.
  Alan’s Dedication: To Miles for letting me play 
  in and help shape his universe and to Genevra too, 
  neither of them get nearly enough recognition for 
  their myriad contributions. My parents also deserve 
  a mention, especially mum – I wouldn’t be the man I 
  am without them and she’d be so proud.
  Disclaimer
  Suzerain is a fictional depiction of our universe. 
  Any resemblance between any proper noun we come 
  up with and any real person/place/whatever is purely 
  coincidental. By the same token, the book you are 
  reading is a game based on a fictional depiction of 
  our universe. It is not reality. The GM sets a scene in 
  a fictional realm and the players play characters in it. 
  Repeat after me, “I am not my character. I cannot do 
  the things that my character can do because he is a 
  fictional character in a fictional universe.” Don’t try 
  to fly just because your character can fly. Don’t kill 
  anyone just because your character is a master of the 
  Scottish claymore. Roleplaying is meant to be fun, 
  but comes with serious responsibilities. 
  We would also like to explain that Suzerain is 
  our take on reality with mythological and magical 
  elements. It depicts religions and mythologies with 
  a twist – that is to say, differently than a true believer 
  might see them. We mean no disrespect if you are 
  such a believer but ask you to respect our right to our 
  own interpretation. 
  Thank You 
  I’d like to thank everyone who allowed me to 
  text them in the middle of the night with questions 
  about matters both sundry and relevant to this tome. 
  Megan, Marissa, Amy, Stuart, Ashley, Andrew, and 
  Alex, you know a lot about a great many areas. 
  Surely, you seven are not the only ones with 
  something to say about Suzerain or its inhabitants. 
  We’re happy to receive feedback from anyone – all 
  lines are open, as they say. Check us out at hello@
  savagemojo.com and say hello.
  Have fun, friends.
  Zach
  We Bring Worlds To Life
  www.savagemojo.com
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  2
  Contents
  For Players 
   
   
   
   
  4
  What’s New In Suzerain?  
   
   
  5
  Terminology   
   
   
   
  6
  Advancement  
   
   
   
  6
  The Touch Of Greatness  
   
   
  7
  Pulse   
   
   
   
   
  8
  Fatigue 
   
   
   
   
  8
  Fatigue Recovery 
   
   
   
  8
  Races  
   
   
   
   
  8
  Followers And Companions   
   
  9
  The Spirit World 
   
   
   
  10
  Optional Extras 
   
   
   
  11
  Heroes And Demigods  
   
   
  13
  Karma  
   
   
   
   
  13
  Shaken 
   
   
   
   
  13
  Soak Rolls 
   
   
   
   
  13
  Recovery 
   
   
   
   
  13
  Wild Die 
   
   
   
   
  13
  Life And Death 
   
   
   
  13
  Flexing A Nexus 
   
   
   
  14
  Character Creation 
   
   
   
  16
  Starting At The Top 
   
   
   
  16
  New Edges & Hindrances 
   
   
  17
  Pulse Paths 
   
   
   
   
  35
  Saving The Universe 
   
   
   
  39
  Your Pocket Realm 
   
   
   
  40
  A Character’s Telesma  
   
   
  41
  The Mechanics Of Telesmae   
   
  43
  Telesma Growth 
   
   
   
  44
  Character Growth 
   
   
   
  45
  Relic, Yr208  
   
   
   
   
  46
  The Past And Present  
   
   
  47
  Characters In Relic 
   
   
   
  47
  New Wizardry 
   
   
   
  51
  For GMs 
   
   
   
   
  55
  Playing The Spirit World 
   
   
  56
  Why Visit The Spirit World?  
   
  56
  Sight Beyond Sight 
   
   
   
  58
  Meeting With Spirits  
   
   
  59
  Welcome To The Maelstrom 
   
   
  61
  Entering The Maelstrom 
   
   
  62
  Mapping The Maelstrom 
   
   
  64
  Realm Of The Archangels 
   
   
  64
  Realm Of Yggdrasil 
   
   
   
  65
  Realm Of The Pure Mages 
   
   
  65
  Realm Of Mount Olympus 
   
   
  66
  Realm Of Fire  
   
   
   
  67
  The Red Realm 
   
   
   
  68
  Realm Of Ascendant Order 
   
   
  68
  Fey Realm Of Dreams  
   
   
  70
  Travels In Time And Space 
   
   
  72
  Of Travel: Portals 
   
   
   
  73
  Talk About Moving 
   
   
   
  73
  The Veil 
   
   
   
   
  75
  Elastic History  
   
   
   
  76
  But The Future Changed... 
   
   
  77
  Traveling Technology  
   
   
  77
  The Gods’ Role  
   
   
   
  80
  Heroic Games  
   
   
   
  81
  All Times, All Places  
   
   
  81
  Away Missions 
   
   
   
  81
  Nature Of The Heroic Game  
   
  82
  Heroic Direction 
   
   
   
  83
  One World 
   
   
   
   
  83
  Quantum Sliders 
   
   
   
  84
  Mix And Match 
   
   
   
  85
  Suits You, Sir  
   
   
   
  86
  Demigod Games 
   
   
   
  87
  The Power And Glory  
   
   
  88
  Gods And End Times  
   
   
  88
  Alternate Reality 
   
   
   
  89
  Or Not 
   
   
   
   
  89
  Plot Point Campaign 
   
   
   
  90
  Starting The Campaign 
   
   
  91
  The Dragon God: Act I 
   
   
  93
  The Dragon God: Act II 
   
   
  95
  The Dragon God: Act III 
   
   
  98
  The Dragon God: Act IV 
   
                104
  The Dragon God: Act V 
   
                108
  The Dragon God: Act VI 
   
                115
  Adventurer Savage Tales 
   
                118
  Skulls And Crossbows  
   
                118
  My Generation 
   
   
                  121
  Ouroborous Emergent (I) 
   
                123
  Ghosts Under The Earth 
   
                126
  Festival Of Blood 
   
   
                129
  Stones And Bones 
   
   
                  131
  Landscraping  
   
   
                132
  Air To The Empire 
   
   
                135
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  Heroic Savage Tales 
   
   
                 137
  Land Of The Rising Surf 
   
                137
  The Heart Of All Saints 
   
                140
  The Crescent  
   
   
                 143
  Code: Grimm Woodsman 
   
                 146
  Escape From Zhiming Dao 
   
                 148
  Ouroborous Emergent (II) 
   
                 150
  The Ill-Tempered Cauldron 
   
                  153
  Dreaming Of Crossed Gears   
                157
  Demigod Savage Tales  
   
                 162
  Scarbone 
   
   
   
                 162
  Ouroborous Emergent (III) 
   
                 166
  The Desolation Engine 
   
                 168
  The Heat Is On 
   
   
                174
  The Apollonian Gambit 
   
                177
  Norse Elm’s Disease 
   
   
                 180
  Thought Is The Mindkiller 
   
                 184
  Angelic Throwdown  
   
                 188
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  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
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  The Suzerain Continuum
  Suzerain isn’t a setting, it’s all settings. 
  You’ve heard that one before, right? It starts out 
  with fun and high promise, but by the end you’re 
  a necromantic sharkman with six-shooters for 
  hands and acid for blood and no idea what 
  happened to your original character. We’re not 
  like that; we’ve got standards. Your character 
  will begin in one setting – a particular realm in 
  a particular time and will grow in capabilities, 
  achieve mighty deeds, and become a big fish 
  in a small pond. From there he will attract the 
  greater attention of the universe – or at least 
  the universe’s housekeepers, who will send 
  your hero hurtling through the Maelstrom of 
  time and space to places where only legends 
  dare tread. This rulebook keys you in to our 
  greater cosmology, some of its notable realms, 
  and the domain of the spirits, which connects 
  it all. All you need to start exploring is a copy 
  of the Savage Worlds rules... and this book. 
  Right out of the gate, adventuring in a Suzerain 
  realm is more or less what you’d expect. There are a 
  few differences, but they’re more along the lines of 
  refinements than pulling the rug out from under you. 
  Then your characters hit Heroic rank and the walls 
  around their world begin to become more malleable, 
  buckling under the forces of ascension. Before they 
  know it, your young gods-in-training will begin 
  influencing events beyond their immediate environs. 
  It is at this stage most characters will first encounter 
  other times and campaign worlds.
  How big is the difference from Veteran to 
  Heroic? Veterans will survive the alien invasion and 
  help rebuild society. Heroes sail beyond the sunset 
  and take the fight to their foes’ inverted pyramids 
  of crystallized ichor, battling through to the heart of 
  the alien planet where the laws of physics are, well, 
  inverted. 
  Once you make it to Heroic, the stakes get 
  raised a notch and you’ll find your characters in 
  ever more demanding situations. At the start of 
  Heroic a character might well be the guardian of a 
  nation or the best con man in the star system. That’s 
  small fry compared to what’s coming: our reactive 
  protector leads his nation through a world-spanning 
  renaissance, while our con man becomes The Con 
  Man, an idea given flesh. It’s time to take him out to 
  new places, and new times. 
  Come ascension to Demigodhood, those will be 
  the cakewalk and salad days. Because once you are 
  tightly tied to the universe as a Demigod, you begin 
  to work not through time but also across alternate 
  realities. Each could easily have the length, depth, 
  and impact of one ‘normal’ plot campaign, and you 
  will do them all, with one character, across who 
  knows how many realms, through time and across 
  reality. Welcome to Suzerain. Please drive carefully.
  Most importantly, Suzerain is about having fun 
  with awesome characters in amazing settings and 
  a chance to create high octane stories with your 
  friends. This book lets you do that seamlessly, in a 
  single overarching continuum.
  Imagine the ever-changing experiences of 
  characters in Doctor Who and Sliders, the potential 
  for genres intermixing from Rifts, and the enormous 
  epic storytelling promise of the transformative Torg. 
  They’re all possible, without being mandatory. One 
  system, endless settings... infinite fun!
  What’s New In Suzerain? 
  The Suzerain experience is one that values grand, 
  heroic scope over the slim-and-trim ideals of the 
  Savage Worlds core system. No longer are heroes 
  constrained to being merely Legendary. Instead 
  they are able to access a wider stage where their very 
  words will shake the heavens. In comic book terms, 
  this is cosmic-level stuff. The fantasists would have 
  you believe that it is epic, while classicists would 
  prefer the term ‘mythic.’ Either way, your characters 
  won’t be spending a lot of time fighting rats and bugs 
  in the sewers. 
  This is represented mechanically with a wealth 
  of new options, both for building characters and 
  interacting with their surroundings. Everybody 
  who’s anybody has access to minor special powers, 
  which are fueled by natural wellsprings of bioelectric 
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  6
  All The Detail, All The Time
  The Suzerain Continuum is a big place. 
  Lots happening. Very exciting. We’re aware 
  there’s a limit of what your brain can store 
  before the space worms suck it dry, so we’ve 
  created a safe haven for all the best info (and 
  plenty of neat little details): www.suzerain.info. 
  You’re find extra features on all our realms, and 
  much more besides. 
  Head over and, in particular, you might 
  want to type “Suzerain Continuum” into the 
  search box. Just a suggestion for a good place 
  to start browsing the universe. 
  energy – Pulse. This invigorating life-force is the stuff 
  of spirits: the human soul, specters without a physical 
  form, and gods alike. These spirit forms aren’t a 
  natural part of any of the Suzerain realms, but they 
  have ready access to them through the spirit world. 
  The spirit world is a moonlit reflection of the 
  solid world, where every action is suffused with pale 
  light and symbolic gravity. The terrain surrounding 
  spirits of pure emotion often warp and pool to reflect 
  their inner states. Those rare sages and street-corner 
  madmen who tell stories of such places of pure energy 
  often tease their audiences further with the promise 
  of a layer of reality even deeper than the spirit world 
  – one where even Pulse breaks down and is reformed 
  into the transcendental residences of the gods. 
  We’ll get into all of that before we’re done. 
  Suzerain uses the Savage Worlds rules, but adds 
  a few twists; it is best if you are already familiar 
  with those rules before reading this section, starting 
  with….
  Terminology 
  Bennies. Suzerain replaces bennies with Karma, 
  giving them a few more tricks along the way.
  Karma. See ‘bennies’. 
  Power Points. Suzerain replaces this term with 
  ‘Pulse’. 
  Pulse. See ‘Power Points’. Every Suzerain realm 
  knows something about Pulse, but very few know the 
  entire story. What is generally agreed upon is this: 
  everybody possesses Pulse, and it is somehow vital to 
  their living processes. All abilities that are powered 
  by Pulse draw from the same pool. 
  Realms. Some people call these ‘settings’ or 
  ‘campaign worlds’: you have your pirate world, your 
  leprechaun world, your Gothic horror special. In 
  Suzerain we refer to these as realms in order to avoid 
  confusion. Consider for a moment a sci-fi story where 
  you might visit one hundred planets (or worlds). That 
  is fine for roleplaying games where travel from one 
  setting to another means a new campaign, but that 
  isn’t the way Suzerain rolls. Suzerain is the setting 
  (we call it the Suzerain Continuum), and it is a 
  setting with as many places and game genres as you 
  wish to explore. We are always looking for new realm 
  developers and the Suzerain Continuum  has the 
  potential to contain almost anything, so if you think 
  you are up to it – drop us a line! 
  Telesma. A special gemstone, usually integrated 
  into an object of some kind. Most often jewelry but 
  sometimes found in other objects too. Your character 
  has one. You’ll find out more soon. 
  Advancement 
  Advancement works exactly as it does in Savage 
  Worlds, with the addition of a new rank after 
  Legendary. The rank table now looks like this:
   
  Experience Points  
  Rank 
   
  0-19  
   
   
  Novice 
   
  20-39   
   
  Seasoned 
   
  40-59   
   
  Veteran 
   
  60-79   
   
  Heroic 
   
  80-119   
   
  Legendary 
   
  120+   
   
  Demigod 
  We recommend retiring your characters at 180 
  xp to become the founding gods of a whole new 
  pantheon, perhaps even to be venerated by or become 
  patrons to your group’s next characters. It gives a nice 
  sense of legacy, carrying on your old man’s mantle 
  and all that. 
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  7
  Wild Cards
  To continue delivering great Suzerain 
  flavor we’ve sneakily replaced the Wild Card 
  icon from the Savage Worlds book with our 
  own symbol.
  This is our Telesma symbol, and it still 
  means the critter, character or whatever it’s 
  linked to is a Wild Card.
  The Touch Of Greatness 
  There’s something that links your character 
  to greatness. This could be a profound inner 
  transformation, a chapter in the tome of blood and 
  glory, or the power to revolutionize the world through 
  the boundless imagination of the mind. What it isn’t 
  is destiny – destiny’s for saps without options. Instead, 
  your character has access to an otherworldly conduit 
  that grants access to Herculean opportunities… or 
  titanic ruin. 
  This ‘touch of greatness’ as it’s referred to by self-
  aware mooks and flunkies, is what insures your story 
  won’t slip on a banana skin or rot away in a dead-end 
  plot line. The Suzerain  Continuum has detected some 
  spark in your character, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed 
  by the gods in their immortal realms. One way or 
  another, your character has wound up with a physical 
  symbol of this connection – a Telesma. When several 
  Telesmae come together with an adventuring group 
  of heroes, they form a pocket realm within the fabric 
  of the Maelstrom, that ethereal place beyond the Veil 
  where divine entities live. Both these are explained in 
  more detail in the ‘Saving The Universe’ section on 
  page 39.
  A lot of heroes will no doubt feel crowded by 
  the ready presence of gods in Suzerain. Nobody 
  likes knowing that there’s someone bigger around, 
  especially the BMoC (Big Men of the Campaign, 
  natch). To be perfectly frank, the gods don’t care 
  enough about the heroes that this should be a concern. 
  Don’t get us wrong – the gods love the characters and 
  hope they’ll be able to help in all sorts of tight scrapes 
  in the mortal realms, but there are dozens and dozens 
  of heroes out there at any given time. The characters 
  aren’t unique and precious snowflakes. Sorry about 
  that. 
  Not that you can’t change that paradigm. There 
  are always stories about the divine prince (or demon 
  prince) falling in love with an earthborn maiden, 
  and if that’s your shtick go for it. As a whole, though, 
  gods are pretty busy. The tides don’t ebb and flow by 
  themselves, and pushing the sun across the sky all day 
  is tiring work. Messing with the moment-to-moment 
  antics of a stable of strong-minded heroes on top of 
  that? Not likely. The gods hire the characters to deal 
  with problems while they run the universe, not to 
  micro-manage them. 
  So how does it all work, working for the gods? It’s 
  really like being free agents, guns for hire with a sense 
  of ethics, realm-based problem specialists. Your 
  character can put whatever he wants on his business 
  card. There are all sorts of actions required to keep 
  the universe from tearing itself apart, and a gazillion 
  problems that need fixing lest the Grand Machine 
  busts a piston. For that stuff the gods pass the buck to 
  their intermediaries: demigods or devoutly faithful 
  spirits. From there, it’s just a matter of time until the 
  characters get a knock on their clubhouse door. 
  This isn’t to say that the gods are entirely lazy 
  and detached. There are solid political reasons for 
  not fraternizing too closely with their sponsored 
  heroes. For one, it gives the heroes a protective level 
  of neutrality. No one is eager to repeat the massive 
  Hero Wars that spanned the universe in eons past, 
  except for the occasional mad, one-eyed soul eater. 
  And you really don’t want to go back to that. 
  More importantly, it allows your heroes to 
  go anywhere. If they’re all wearing large, glowing 
  crests of the Firelord on their tabards, chances 
  aren’t so great that the Icelord will let them into his 
  lands. As a result, only the most devout or ground-
  shaking characters have any direct contact with their 
  particular god. Everyone else can work for whichever 
  mix of deities show an interest in the current crisis. 
  What sorts of things do the gods need doing? 
  Well, you’ll get the idea from the campaign in this 
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  8
  book, but it tends to break down into the three stages 
  of character development. Until your character hits 
  Heroic rank you can expect him to be building his 
  skills and proving his mettle to the universe. He’ll be 
  dealing with bigger and bigger adventures, but in his 
  home realm, the world he grew up in. At Heroic he 
  gets access to all of existence, every time and place. 
  He’ll be expected to fix the sorts of problems that 
  could threaten entire worlds. Then he hits Demigod, 
  and the universe itself is at risk. Well, it was probably 
  at risk many times before, but this time it’s your 
  character’s turn to stop the End Times from crashing 
  the party. Hop around reality, and change it as needed 
  to stop the big bad from happening.
  Pulse 
  Pulse, also called the Pulse of All Things, is 
  everywhere and in everyone. This makes it a derived 
  Attribute. Pulse is 10 for all characters and goes up by 
  5 points with each rank. A Novice character without 
  any modifiers has 10 Pulse, a Seasoned character has 
  15 Pulse, a Veteran gets 20 Pulse, a Heroic character 
  gets 25 Pulse, 30 for a Legendary character, 35 for 
  a Demigod. Should a character have to pay Pulse 
  (perhaps because some evil entity is draining it...) 
  and not be able to afford the whole amount or already 
  be on zero, he loses all remaining Pulse and gains a 
  level of Fatigue.
  Fatigue
  In Suzerain we have extended the Fatigue track to 
  a third box so characters can take an equal amount of 
  Wounds and Fatigue. The third step after the existing 
  ‘Fatigued’ and ‘Exhausted’ is called ‘Debilitated’. Your 
  character becomes debilitated just before he hits 
  ‘Incapacitated’.
  Why do this? Well, we believe Fatigue should 
  cover social/spiritual Fatigue and mental Fatigue 
  too. To reflect this we have opened up new uses for 
  existing skills allowing new methods for you to wear 
  down opponents on the battlefield, as well as new 
  options in places where conventional weapons are 
  not appropriate, such as a courtroom or a fancy dress 
  ball. 
  It isn’t possible to Incapacitate or kill someone 
  through normal taunts or intimidation, but 
  supernatural forms of physical, social or mental 
  Fatigue follow no such rules. There’s no accounting 
  for what the horrors of the undiscovered world or its 
  perilous magic may inflict. Don’t say you haven’t been 
  warned. Seriously, be extra wary of those octopus 
  guys; they’ll suck your brain and burn those Fatigue 
  levels for breakfast.
  Fatigue Recovery
  Fatigue levels recover at the rate of one for every 
  15 minutes away from the situation where the Fatigue 
  happened. We should point out this is a rule of 
  thumb. You may decide there are certain effects that 
  cause Fatigue you can’t cure without a good night’s 
  sleep, for instance, and that’s fine. Whatever suits 
  your game.
  Races
  Just humans. That’s because races work a little 
  differently in Suzerain though, so don’t feel like 
  you’ve been snookered. If you want your character 
  to be a dwarf, there’s still hope! Races have been 
  switched to background Edges for reasons that may 
  become clear as your characters’ adventures progress. 
  Remember, background Edges may be taken freely 
  at character creation but require GM permission to 
  take once the game has begun. Your GM has more 
  information on how and why this is possible – and 
  why it’s still only possible to belong to one race at 
  a time. (Unless a particularly exotic realm-specific 
  Edge says otherwise….)
  There are four broad categories into which all 
  sentient Suzerain races can be divided. Their presence, 
  role, and attitudes are culturally based and realm-
  specific, but their powers are pretty consistent. Here 
  are some broad generalizations to get you started:
  Shifters contain strong bestial elements along 
  with their humanity. As civilized as they may be, 
  shifters are able to reach back and call upon their 
  primal Edge when necessary. The wolf-like furies are 
  one example of shifters, but as many varieties exist as 
  there are animals.
  Channellers were once human, but exposure to 
  intense Pulse processes has given them control over 
  energy. Each race has a specialized type of energy 
  that it channels, such as heat, electricity, or light. One 
  example is the auroras, who control both light and 
  shadow.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  9
  Elementals are the physical counterpart to the 
  energy-attuned channellers. Every elemental is both 
  more than flesh and less, a creation of dumb matter 
  and living Pulse. They are the dwarves with mastery 
  over earth and stone, the metallic gremlins, and the 
  airy djinn.
  Perfecteds claim a pure bloodline, with all genetic 
  muck purged from their system generations ago… 
  only problem is, each race disagrees on what was 
  muck and what were the perfect traits. As a result, 
  there are very different races out there who all claim 
  they’re perfect!
  Followers And Companions 
  What’s a Gilgamesh without an Enkidu, Robin 
  Hood sans Merry Men, or Batman without Ace, the 
  Bat-Hound? Lessened, that’s what. A good hero has 
  allies, companions, sidekicks, or some form of a pit 
  crew that ends up making him look better. That’s not 
  to say the support staff are total slouches! After the 
  core hero hits Seasoned, they advance every time he 
  does. They’re always one rank behind the character, 
  but at least they do progress. And remember, they’re 
  not Wild Cards unless something totally unexpected 
  happens. 
  Extras and animal companions get to travel 
  between realms and to the Maelstrom with the 
  character under the same principle of the ‘emotional 
  bond of ownership’ as a character’s trademark 
  weapon, clothes and other personal effects. We’ll 
  come back to that when we talk about the spirit world 
  in a moment. 
  The following Edges are modified in Suzerain: 
  Beastmaster: In addition to the Edge’s normal 
  effects, the animal companion is considered to be 
  one rank lower than the character at all times for 
  the purposes of choosing Edges and advancing 
  Attributes. The animal can be saved from death in 
  the same fashion as a character with a special use of 
  Karma.
  Followers (Requirements: Heroic): Followers 
  have an effective rank of two lower than your hero 
  for the purposes of choosing Edges and improving 
  Attributes. Lost or killed followers are replaced in 
  2d6 days.
  Rapid Recharge (Requirements: Spirit d8+) 
  Mr. Fix It (Requirements: Smarts d10+, Repair 
  d8+, at least two other scientific Knowledge Skills at 
  d6+) 
  All other Edges and Hindrances are allowed and 
  work as normal.
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  10
  Changing Races
  With all of the realm-hopping that 
  cosmic-level characters undergo, it’s not much 
  of a surprise that they’ll be exposed to change-
  inducing phenomena. We can hope they will 
  grow as people, allowing their life experiences 
  to influence their thoughts and reactions to 
  the outer world. They’ll also pick up some cool 
  powers. There’s a more fundamental type of 
  change out there though, especially for those 
  who find themselves drinking from strange 
  fountains every chance they get.
  Race is a fluid concept in Suzerain, at 
  least to a degree. Given the proper in-story 
  justification, characters are allowed to change 
  race once in their careers – any more and the 
  strain on one’s body and identity would be 
  crippling. That said, the first change is easy as 
  waking up one day and deciding to be a dwarf. 
  The actual transformation, however, takes 
  something special, such as a magical artifact 
  of untapped power or a healthy dose of genetic 
  therapy performed by the finest transhuman 
  specialists. 
  Consider 
  the 
  Emergent 
  Squall, 
  as 
  practiced by certain societies of djinn within 
  the realm of Relic. In order to boost their 
  numbers, the air elementals take on applicants 
  for transformation. Following several weeks of 
  intense philosophical teachings on the nature 
  of change, the applicants purify their bodies 
  with the smoke of rare herbs, which grow in 
  only the most isolated of mountain valleys. If 
  the desire for change is earnest, the applicants 
  are then guided through dreams to a brilliant 
  green crag, spiked with the spires of fallen 
  towers. One by one they fling themselves 
  into the clouds surrounding their great 
  height. As their old bodies fall, that which is 
  djinn separates itself and ascends toward the 
  heavens. Not all racial transformations are as 
  invested in ritual, but they should nevertheless 
  be memorable. It is a major life choice, much 
  more than deciding pointy ears are stylish this 
  season.
  The Spirit World
  The spirit world is everywhere, and more than 
  one or two places beyond that. It’s a big part of the 
  Suzerain Continuum, no matter how much of it is 
  readily visible. So you best know how it works. 
  The most basic way of thinking about the spirit 
  world is like a big, silvery sheet of packing material 
  that goes around each realm to keep them from 
  smacking into one another. That’s certainly not the 
  whole truth, but it will do for now. 
  Despite the cosmetic details, the spirit world 
  isn’t overly different than the physical plane. There 
  aren’t hook-handed horrors around every corner or 
  pulsating waterfalls of souls – not usually, anyway. 
  Adapting to its quirks is the work of mere moments. 
  Everything glows slightly, revealing its animating 
  Pulse as silvered sparks that throb to celestial rhythms. 
  Communication is by telepathy. Physical matter 
  doesn’t exist here, at least not in the conventional 
  sense. It’s kind of peaceful, really. 
  If you’re only peeking into the spirit world, the 
  main thing to be aware of is its native inhabitants. 
  Spirits have forms that are unique to the spirit world. 
  For example, a simple invisible poltergeist in the 
  solid world may be revealed to be a dead ringer for 
  a murdered king once you look at it with the eyes of 
  a spirit. Most spirits can have very little impact on 
  the physical world, but once you’re in their territory, 
  that’s a whole different matter. 
  If, for whatever reason, a character finds his 
  spirit unshackled from its physical tethers, the spirit 
  world feels no different than the real. He can walk 
  around, pick things up, or get socked in the jaw for 
  eye-balling someone’s spirit wench. It’s like flipping 
  a switch: if you’re keyed to the spirit realm, the solid 
  world seems unreal and distant. If you’re part of the 
  solid world, it’s the spirits who come off as spooky 
  and insubstantial. Normally someone aligned to 
  one world cannot interact with someone aligned to 
  the other, but there are enough exceptions to that 
  particular guideline that it’s best to be on your toes 
  at all times.
  So what does change? Well, telepathy and neat 
  visual effects aside, the role of Spirit and Vigor are 
  reversed. When a character would normally be called 
  on to make a Vigor check (on a Soak roll against a 
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  The Emotional Bond
  Let’s talk about the ‘emotional bond of 
  ownership’. We all get attached to certain 
  items, and develop a sense of ownership to 
  things after we’ve had them for a while. When 
  a character shifts between worlds, all the items 
  that are bonded refocus too, for as long as he’s 
  holding them. If a shaman shifts to the spirit 
  world, his clothes will most likely shift with 
  him. Similarly with his favorite walking cane 
  (if he’s carrying it). It normally takes about half 
  a week for a person to form a bond with an 
  item after becoming its owner, as long as he’s 
  using it and doesn’t just stick it on a shelf. On 
  the other side of the coin, extreme emotional 
  attachment can happen much quicker. Pick up 
  a sword off a battlefield and immediately use 
  it to save your life a couple of times during 
  the furious fighting, then you’ll get that bond 
  pretty much instantly!
  ghostly cutlass, for example), in the spirit world he 
  would instead roll his Spirit die for the check. Likewise, 
  when asked to make a Spirit check, the character 
  would instead roll Vigor. This is why victims of 
  unearthly possession so often receive physical shocks, 
  such as pure-white hair and heart attacks. The Spirit/
  Vigor switch also affects a character’s Toughness, as 
  the Spirit die is used as the basis of the calculation. 
  Natives to the spirit realm undergo the same switch 
  when they manifest in the physical world. 
  ‘Dual-aligned’ characters have it hardest of all, 
  being present (and therefore vulnerable) in both 
  worlds simultaneously. They can get their soul sucked 
  by a hunger spirit and their body diced by a band of 
  brigands at the same time! Their Spirit and Vigor 
  remain the same as the world in which they’re native 
  – the spirit world for spirits and the physical world 
  for the rest of us. 
  The oft-mentioned Maelstrom is an especially 
  important part of the spirit world. Unlike the more 
  traversable regions, it has no physical counterpart, 
  existing in its own bit of the universe beyond the Veil. 
  Whether that makes this a domain of limitless energy 
  or unbound dreams, it’s about as weird as you’re going 
  to find. To some, it’s a never-ending Hell dimension 
  peopled by the spirits of the unborn. Others describe 
  it as the true heights of Mount Olympus, Shangri-la, 
  or the Unending City Across the Sea. The truth is up 
  to your characters to find out, isn’t it? 
  Optional Extras
  Boom and Doom: Also known as jokers, for 
  those of you who’re more familiar with Savage 
  Worlds. Traditionally, one joker in each deck of cards 
  is red, while the other is black. Treat the red joker 
  as normal – this is the boom card, and is all kinds 
  of good. The black joker works exactly like the red 
  joker, with just one little twist: the GM gets one extra 
  point of Karma. She can use this Karma however she 
  likes, although it is most thematic to apply it to the 
  character who drew the doom. This represents a type 
  of tainted luck, or jumping out of the frying pan and 
  into the firing squad. 
  Adventure Deck: Pinnacle’s solution to giving 
  characters more surprising, luck-based powers. It’s a 
  fun addition to any game, and is particularly fitting 
  for the increasing sway a Suzerain character holds 
  over the unspoken favor of the universe. In Suzerain 
  games, characters get one card per session until they 
  hit Heroic, then two cards until Demigod, and three 
  cards from Demigod to godhood.
  Karmic Influence: Many people already use 
  this option in their games, so we’ve decided to 
  formalize it. Players may spend Karma to bribe the 
  GM into giving them a taste of narrative authority 
  – that’s bordering on fancy-talk for working player 
  suggestions into the plot. Let’s say your character 
  is backed into a corner by a mob with pitchforks 
  and torches, through no fault of your own. Instead 
  of ending the game there, you might offer the GM 
  a point of Karma or two for there to be a trap door 
  under the rug. It is the GM’s call in the end, but she 
  should remember what a precious resource Karma is, 
  and how long it took to earn. 
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  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  13
  Heroes And Demigods
  As characters rise through the ranks, they become 
  increasingly in tune with the rest of the universe. This 
  isn’t just hippie-talk – they physically change as their 
  bodies begin utilizing Pulse more efficiently. Standing 
  against these champions becomes tantamount to 
  telling the universe it is wrong and you are right. It’s 
  like willfully disobeying the laws of thermodynamics 
  (in a realm where they apply, naturally). That kind of 
  burden isn’t something the Continuum would thrust 
  upon the unprepared – even the smallest licks of 
  phenomenal cosmic power have been known to drive 
  mortals over the edge. With the kinds of challenges 
  that shake the fast-track to godhood, both internal 
  and flesh-eating, the following bonuses are the least 
  that the will of the universe could provide. 
  Karma 
  The Suzerain Continuum  loves heroes – or at 
  least those who have proven themselves. Characters 
  receive the normal amount of Karma at the start of 
  each session: 3. This increases to 4 once the character 
  reaches Heroic rank and goes up again to 5 at 
  Demigod rank. This is modified as normal by Edges 
  and Hindrances (Bad Luck, Young, Lucky, etc.). A 
  Demigod-rank character with Great Luck gets 7 
  Karma every session!
  Shaken
  Heroic rank characters get +1 to recover from 
  being Shaken. This increases to +2 at Demigod. 
  Soak Rolls
  Heroic rank characters get +1 to Soak rolls. This 
  increases to +2 at Demigod. 
  Recovery
  Time, damage and Pulse regeneration just don’t 
  mean what they used to when the gods are footing 
  your karmic expense report. Heroic-rank characters 
  can make a natural healing check every three days 
  (instead of the standard five days), and Demigods 
  get to make a check every day. Furthermore, Pulse 
  recovery increases by 1 at Heroic and by a further 
  1 at Demigod. Yes, that stacks with the ‘recharger’ 
  Edges, so a Demigod with Improved Rapid Recharge 
  recovers 3 points every 15 minutes. 
  Wild Die
  The Wild Die for Demigod rank characters 
  becomes a d8. Even the most unfamiliar task can 
  be related to something that the character has 
  accomplished at a prior time. As ground-shaking 
  as this change is, would you really want a bunch of 
  heroic tricksters stealing an alien moon with only 
  d6’s as backup?
  Life And Death
  Player characters can escape death with alarming 
  ease, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The 
  universe loves a good story, especially the slam-bang 
  kind where heroes aren’t piling up left and right 
  from boring-yet-efficient sniper fire. Ever since the 
  Underworld replaced its three-headed dog with an 
  honor system, death has just had a hard time sticking 
  to the bold.
  Novice, Seasoned and Veteran rank characters 
  in Suzerain only require the expenditure of 1 Karma 
  to escape death’s clammy grasp. Instead of kicking 
  the bucket, the character is spared by his Telesma 
  sending out a mighty distress signal to the gods 
  and they orchestrate a suitable coincidence or act 
  of ‘dumb luck’. The gods work in ways that can be as 
  humble as a runaway kangaroo or as surprising as a 
  last-minute religious conversion.
  In practical terms, the player should look 
  forward to controlling Extras, getting drinks, and 
  ensuring other players never want for snacks for the 
  rest of the session, but his character will return at the 
  start of the next session – no longer Incapacitated but 
  bearing whatever Wounds and Fatigue he had at the 
  time of ‘death’. The gods don’t suffer foolish deaths 
  gladly, however; the character starts his second (or 
  third, or fourth) lease on life with no Karma for that 
  session. If he dies in that session… well, that’s just 
  careless. He had it comin’. With no Karma it’s time to 
  roll the credits and think up another character idea.
  At Heroic and Legendary rank, a character begins 
  the post-’death’ session with 1 Karma. Demigod rank 
  characters begin the session with 2 Karma. These 
  numbers aren’t modified by Edges and Hindrances, 
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  Realm Hopping
  Characters have a number of ways to travel 
  between realms. Being given a Telesma by the 
  powers-that-be is one, and it’s the one that 
  Savage Mojo’s own settings focus on. That’s far 
  from the only way, though. Characters can also 
  get drawn through by randomly blundering 
  into a portal, a ‘wormhole’ between realms. 
  They can find they’d been living inside a 
  virtual reality simulator inside another realm. 
  They can even be caught at the moment of 
  death and find their souls entering new bodies 
  as ‘reincarnates’ (which is how Suzerain 1st 
  edition worked).
  nor by being Heroic or Demigod, nor anything else 
  for that matter. Them’s the breaks, but it sure beats 
  the alternative. 
  Now some of you might ask, “What happens when 
  my character flies the nukes into the sun to sacrifice 
  himself for the greater good?” Simply enough… he’s 
  dead. Honestly, there’s no coming back from that. 
  The Telesma is fried and never gets to send out the 
  distress call. Also, if a character volunteers to make a 
  great sacrifice, his Telesma will pick up on that vibe 
  and let him die a hero’s death with full honors.
  There are going to be some situations where it’s 
  genuinely not right for the story that the character 
  survives, and this rule isn’t there to stop that. Instead, 
  consider the following option in those cases: the 
  Telesma scoops up the life essence of the character 
  at his instant of death, then somehow finds its way 
  into the hands of another potential hero, about as 
  skilled as the deceased character (same rank), and 
  binds itself to him instead – create a new character, 
  but he has the sum of the life experiences of the old 
  character imprinted on his memories. He thinks it’s 
  a past life thing, but it’s actually the pretty jewel he 
  just found.
  Which option you use when a character would 
  otherwise die, that’s up to you and your GM. 
  Each situation is different and different results are 
  appropriate for a gritty horror realm than a heroic 
  fantasy realm. Bottom line, though… in Suzerain, 
  death is not the end, even if you have to go questing 
  to some shadowy afterlife realm to bring your 
  character’s soul back. 
  Flexing A Nexus
  As your characters reach Heroic rank and above, 
  they’re going to find themselves in some pretty 
  uncommon situations. Time and space will become 
  far less familiar than they are now, and chances are 
  good that you’ll end up exploring your world’s future 
  or its past. There’s a big, complex reason for why time 
  travel doesn’t tend to wreak havoc on all events that 
  occur after the insertion point, but we leave that for 
  the scholars (and the GM) to handle. All you need to 
  know for now is that it’s all right if you litter in the 
  Italian Renaissance or give Hitler some art lessons – 
  usually. Important historic anchors, known as nexus 
  points, are resistant to change. 
  Demigod rank characters are able to temporarily 
  subvert nexus points as part of their standard skill 
  set. They accomplish this by bending reality until a 
  major nexus on the timeline pops and moves across 
  to an alternate reality. After a while, reality responds 
  to this change and snaps back into place. Although 
  these changes are small in the grand scheme of 
  things, they’re still a gleaming shot of divine power 
  that most characters are unaccustomed to. To flex 
  reality, a character pays either 1 or 2 points of Karma:
  1 Karma flex: Flexes of this intensity are 
  able to introduce moderate physical changes into 
  reality. We’re talking about things like discovering 
  an overlooked, fully operational hovertank in a 
  post-apocalyptic setting. Or picking the key to an 
  opponent’s home out of a nearby flowerpot. It’s also 
  enough to drive a bitter wedge of hate between two 
  lovers, ensuring that a particular Extra (but not Wild 
  Card) was never born. The effect only ever lasts for 
  about five minutes, and the effects need to be able to 
  take shape in an area of about 100m, centered on the 
  meddling demigod. For example, in the case of the 
  disappearing Extra, he’ll need to be within 100m of 
  the character to be flexed out of existence (for those 
  five minutes).
  How’s about another example of how this might 
  work in a game? The characters are in France, 1944. 
  It’s shortly after D-Day and they need to hold a bridge 
  in a small, half-destroyed town against a relentless 
  assault by the enemy. Somebody plays an Edith Piaf 
  record and then all hell lets loose. After furious street 
  fighting the characters have been driven to the far 
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  side of the bridge. Five minutes from now the cavalry 
  will turn up but for now it’s a desperate situation. 
  But what if the bridge was destroyed when the town 
  was bombed a few days before. Suddenly, there’s no 
  bridge for the enemy to cross… though the characters 
  know it’ll be back in five minutes – just as the cavalry 
  turn up. If there were any troops on the bridge when 
  reality was flexed,  the GM gets to pick what happens 
  to them – do they appear on the river bank with their 
  fellow soldiers, or suddenly find themselves trying 
  to swim across instead (blissfully unaware there was 
  ever a bridge)?
  2 Karma flex: At this level, demigods can get 
  into the good stuff. Any historical point that you 
  know about becomes a virtual “what if…” point, 
  transforming every event that radiated out from it. 
  For example, our guys in 1944 France could change 
  history so that Hitler was assassinated early on and the 
  war was already over. Reality would warp outward, 
  changing every necessary detail so that the portion of 
  the realm around the character (again, about 100m) 
  was reshaped to fit the divine vision. For five minutes, 
  the bit of town around the characters is a bubble filled 
  with a different reality, one of little pastry shops, 
  happy schoolchildren playing by the river, and people 
  talking about getting back to normal after that short 
  but terrible war with Germany. 
  These changes are far-reaching, but limited to the 
  100m bubble around the characters. Those people 
  outside the 100m zone of effect aren’t aware of the 
  difference around the demigod – they’re part of one 
  reality, but if they get closer than 100m they become 
  a part of another reality in that instant, unaware of 
  anything else.
  In both cases, if you can’t describe the changes 
  within one reasonable sentence, the timeline proves 
  too rubbery to mold. Generally, you tell the GM what 
  you want to achieve (“I want to remove the Extra with 
  the rifle from this scene”) and he makes it happen 
  as appropriate (“It turns out he fell and broke his leg 
  this morning, so never showed up for work” or “Years 
  ago, his parents had an argument about the color of 
  the wallpaper in their home, and the guy was never 
  born” or whatever).
  There is such a thing as a 3 Karma flex. Nexus-
  flexes of this level are available only to true gods. They 
  can remake entire realms, not just the area around 
  them, but such power always comes with a price. 
  Somewhere in time and space, someone is paying for 
  what is done. Furthermore, these changes set quickly 
  and can inadvertently become permanent. The 
  resultant tremors along the timeline are something 
  everyone wishes to avoid. No god wants to be 
  responsible for bringing about the End Times.
  While changes last up to five minutes, they can 
  be extended with additional Karma with the GM’s 
  approval. There’s something else you should bear in 
  mind about flexing a nexus, before you go crazy and 
  change the world multiple times per session: your 
  character doesn’t get the Karma he spent on flexes 
  back at the start of the next game session. Rather like 
  the death penalty in Suzerain, these are major ways 
  to mess with reality and there’s a longer term cost for 
  that power. If you spent 2 Karma on flexing during a 
  session, the next session your character will start with 
  2 less Karma.
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  16
  Character Creation
  If you’re looking to create a Suzerain character 
  from scratch, this is the right place to be. Before getting 
  to Traits, Skills, and statistics, think about what role 
  you want your character to have in the story. Will the 
  character be a reluctant hero, dodging every speck 
  of divine interference? A highly trained professional 
  with abandonment issues? A muscled lunkhead with 
  a heart of gold? Go over the possibilities with your 
  GM and the rest of the group so that everybody has 
  a unique, valued voice once play begins. This isn’t as 
  simple as making sure that every group of heroes has 
  a tank, an infiltrator, a buffer, and a healer. What’s 
  more important is that the characters have points of 
  interest where they will be able to interact with one 
  another and the GM’s stories without falling prey to 
  boredom. 
  Race: All Novice characters start as humans, with 
  the usual free Edge. If your realm has exotic races and 
  you want to start as one of those, use the Edge to take 
  the appropriate Racial Edge. 
  Attributes: As normal in Savage Worlds rules, 
  you start with d4 in each of your Attributes and have 
  5 points to raise them. Each die type increase costs 1 
  point. For example, raising a d4 to a d8 costs 2 points. 
  Skills: As per normal Savage Worlds rules, you 
  have 15 points to spend on Skills. 
  Derived Statistics: Pace is 6 unless modified by 
  Edges or Hindrances. Parry is calculated normally as 2 
  + ½ the Fighting Skill die type. Toughness is calculated 
  normally as 2 + ½ the Vigor die type. Charisma is 0 
  unless modified by Edges or Hindrances. Pulse is 10. 
  Edges And Hindrances: Standard rules apply. 
  A character may take up to one major Hindrance 
  (worth 2 points) and up to two minor Hindrances (1 
  point each). With these points a character may: 
  Points Effect 
  2: Gain an Edge 
  2: Raise an Attribute 
  1: Gain one extra Skill point 
  1: Gain additional money equal to your  
              starting funds
  Gear: You have the standard equivalent to $500 
  with which to purchase starting equipment. Your 
  GM should have (or create) a price list tailored to the 
  realm in which you begin.
  Starting At The Top
  If you don’t want to start at the bottom and 
  ease slowly into the realm-jumping hijinx, you 
  have a couple of options. All of them depend on the 
  entire group deciding to operate at higher power 
  levels, otherwise you’d just be hogging the spotlight. 
  This works fine for television shows about specific 
  individuals, but not so well with a circle of friends 
  who all want equal input. 
  The first option is to create a character as outlined 
  previously, and manually advance the character 
  to the Heroic (60xp) or Demigod (120xp) rank. 
  While normally a chore, the handy advancement 
  tracker on our Suzerain character sheets makes this 
  fun! Just follow all the standard rules for character 
  advancement and you’ll soon have a hero or demigod 
  ready for action. 
  The other option is for those of you who are 
  no doubt asking, “Why can’t I just do the setting 
  jumping/alternative dimension thing from day one, 
  as a starting Novice character?” Well, if you want 
  to, of course you can. This is your game now. Write 
  your name on the inside cover if you don’t believe 
  us. Plenty of quality stories can (and have) been 
  told about a small band of outmatched protagonists, 
  jumping from dangerous setting to dangerous setting 
  because they had run out of options at home. 
  Just keep in mind the same caveat as before: 
  the GM and other players should agree that it’s an 
  interesting idea. If everyone is prepared to take on 
  some seriously tough challenges with only the Skills 
  and Edges available to Novice-rank characters, have 
  at it. The official, Suzerain-approved way to run that 
  kind of game is in the GMs section.
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  17
  Cha-ching!
  Different times and different places use 
  different ways of paying for things. From clam 
  shells to precious metals to little bits of plastic, 
  mankind has come a long way... and eCash 
  is just around the corner. As for the future, 
  who knows what a far-flung space colony 
  will use? To keep things simple and not get 
  bogged down in tracking the spare change of 
  a dozen realms, Suzerain works in standard 
  dollars as per Savage Worlds. A realm might 
  use a different name for its currency - crowns 
  instead of dollars in Relic for instance - but we 
  always keep the exchange rate 1:1. That keeps a 
  little flavor, but it’s really simple to remember. 
  30 Crowns... that’s $30 to you. If you want 
  more historical accuracy and detail, go for 
  it. But we’re happy to have some fast, furious 
  fun rather than doing the precise accounting. 
  Now, back to stealing that million clams we 
  need to bankroll our audacious plan for world 
  domination!
  New Edges & Hindrances
  Hindrances
  Doomed (minor or major)
  Have you stolen from any gods lately? Born on 
  cursed ground in the middle of a thunderstorm? 
  Decided that a secret, universal truth is just a 
  ‘harmless superstition?’ If you’ve answered yes to one 
  or more of these questions, you may be doomed.
  As a minor Hindrance this gives the GM one 
  additional Karma each session to add to her general 
  Karma pool. As a major, the GM gets two additional 
  Karma. This Karma should be used against the 
  character with this Hindrance, making his life less 
  comfortable in fun and interesting ways. Remember, 
  the gods of Fate tend to have the wickedest sense of 
  humor.
  Evil spirit (minor or major)
  A malicious spirit stalks your character and 
  does its best to make his life hell. Although it’s 
  not necessarily your character’s fault, something 
  happened to trigger this burst of ill-will. Is it too late 
  to get this invisible stalker off your back? Probably.
  The minor version of this Hindrance results in a 
  distraction capable of making subtle noises and lights 
  only the character can perceive. Once per session, the 
  GM may use the spirit to give the character a -2 penalty 
  to any Trait check. As a major Hindrance, the spirit 
  has the previous power in addition to being able to 
  physically manifest. It’s not a very big manifestation, 
  but enough to make minor physical changes to the 
  world such as hiding keys, ringing bells, tripping 
  traps and alarms etc. The GM is encouraged to make 
  the most of this. Alternatively, the spirit may expend 
  its entire power for the session to give the character a 
  -4 penalty on a Trait check. These effects are used at 
  the most inopportune or embarrassing time for the 
  character.
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  Fanatic (minor)
  You gotta have faith. No really – you gotta. You’re 
  one of those religious types who just can’t stop. 
  Everyone must know your exceptional happiness, 
  purity, and devotion. Characters who pair this 
  Hindrance with the Empowered Edge should have it 
  grow more noticeable with each increase of the Faith 
  Skill.
  Hungry Telesma (major)
  Your character’s Telesma isn’t the most efficient 
  of heroic companions. It may have expensive tastes, 
  or maybe it’s a secondhand artifact, battered by the 
  ravages of whatever destroyed its previous owner. No 
  matter what the root cause, it takes out its flaw on 
  your character.
  Whenever your character uses Pulse, his Telesma 
  consumes an additional point. This increases the cost 
  of all your Pulse effects by 1.
  Optimist (minor or major)
  Your character is having a wonderful time 
  being alive, and it’s starting to get on everyone’s 
  nerves. It’s not enough to be cheerful in silence, but 
  your character must share the joy with everyone 
  – especially those no-good pessimists who think 
  they’re only being realistic. 
  As a Minor Hindrance, your character’s perpetual 
  chirpiness gives your character -1 Charisma and a 
  pronounced tendency to get himself and others into 
  trouble that could have been avoided with a little 
  forethought. 
  As a Major Hindrance, the Charisma penalty 
  increases to -2 and the character is blissfully immune 
  to the concept of failure and actively encourages 
  others into similar acts of bravado the likes of which 
  would make the Darwin Awards with ease. On the 
  plus side this grants a +1 bonus to Spirit checks 
  against Fear effects. 
  Rebellious Telesma (minor or major)
  Your Telesma isn’t quite as helpful as you’d like, 
  and may sometimes even be downright dangerous. 
  It may believe that it’s helping train a hero who can 
  overcome any adversity, or there was an error in the 
  initial synchronization process. On the other hand, 
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  Telesmae can be like people: some of them are just 
  jerks.
  Once per session (minor Hindrance) or twice per 
  session (major), the GM can force your character to:
  re-roll a Trait check and take the lower result
  or
  take the lower result after you spent your 
  character’s Karma to re-roll
  or
  discard your highest re-roll if you spent more 
  than one Karma on a check.
  New Edges
  Bearer Of Ill Omen
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic
  Your character was born under a bad sign, but 
  didn’t let it faze him. Instead of suffering fate’s slings 
  and arrows like a commonplace whipping boy, he 
  fought back and learned some tricks about bad luck. 
  All it takes is a slight nudge to redirect the luck toward 
  a more deserving target.
  When an opponent makes a check against your 
  character and succeeds, your character may respond 
  by paying as much Pulse as he likes. Every two Pulse 
  spent reduces the opposition’s roll by 1.
  Bearer Of Ill Omen: Improved
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Bearer Of Ill Omen
  Your character has flirted with bad luck and gone 
  on to seal the deal, as it were. Coils of dodged fates 
  flicker at the feet of his spiritual form, ready to be cast 
  at less adept opponents. 
  When an opponent makes a check against your 
  character and succeeds, your character may respond 
  by paying as much Pulse as he likes. Every one Pulse 
  spent reduces the opposition’s roll by 1. If spending 
  Pulse in this way reduces a check to less than zero, the 
  action becomes a critical failure!
  Carpe Diem!
  Type: Leadership
  Requirements: Heroic, Command
  Your hero has seen enough of the battlefield 
  that its swirling chaos is no longer a cause for alarm. 
  Instead it is a source of new opportunities and split-
  second stratagems.
  Immediately after initiative cards are dealt, your 
  character may pay 1 Pulse to switch their order. Take 
  the initiative cards from all willing (note – willing!) 
  allied characters, including himself, and redistribute 
  the cards as you see fit. While this doesn’t guarantee 
  acting before your enemies, it will allow you to 
  optimize your side’s attacks and time some perilous 
  stunts.
  Cat’s Descent
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic
  Through guided training or extended experience 
  with pit traps, your character has learned to fall with 
  preternatural grace. He may land on his feet after a 
  fall of any distance so long as he passes an Agility 
  check.
  Furthermore, he may pay Pulse to reduce falling 
  damage. Each point of Pulse reduces the effective 
  distance fallen by 10 feet, so 10 Pulse would turn a 
  150 foot fall into a 50 foot fall in terms of damage.
  Cat’s Descent: Improved
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Cat’s Descent
  Your character automatically lands on his feet 
  after every fall. 
  Furthermore, he may pay Pulse to reduce falling 
  damage. Each point of Pulse reduces the effective 
  distance fallen by 20 feet, so 10 Pulse would turn a 
  250 foot fall into a 50 foot fall in terms of damage.
  Finally, as long as your character has at least one 
  point of Pulse, he may pay all his remaining Pulse to 
  ignore all damage from one fall.
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  Companion
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Seasoned
  You have a trustworthy, loyal, and able 
  companion who follows your character and helps 
  him out to the best of his or her ability. This character 
  is the ‘Tweetboy’ to your ‘Ratman’ and might 
  occasionally get in trouble, but is generally pretty 
  good at watching out for himself. The companion has 
  an effective rank of one less than your character for 
  the purpose of improving Attributes and choosing 
  Edges. Should your companion be slain he can be 
  saved with a use of Karma just as you would to save 
  your own character. Failing that, some other lucky 
  individual will be drawn into the void your previous 
  Companion left, appearing in 2d6 days.
  Cool As Ice
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Heroic
  Your character has become a battlefield 
  calculator, confident under pressure that would send 
  lesser minds crawling for the nearest foxhole. 
  After making a Spirit check to recover from being 
  Shaken, your character may spend 2 Pulse to improve 
  the result. If the check failed, he automatically 
  becomes unshaken. If the check succeeded, he may 
  add a Raise to it.
  Cool As Ice: Improved
  Type: Demigod
  Requirements: Demigod, Cool As Ice
  If your character doesn’t already have a godly 
  portfolio in mind, he should consider looking at 
  battle, tactics, or glaciers. Lesser blows are like sparks 
  on a smith’s apron to him, or gnats against a tank. 
  When tempers flare, he stays cool, collected, and 
  focused on victory.
  After making a Spirit check to recover from being 
  Shaken, your character may spend 1 Pulse to improve 
  the result. If the check failed, he automatically 
  becomes unshaken. If the check succeeded, he may 
  add a Raise to it. Alternatively, if the check failed he 
  may spend 2 Pulse instead of 1 Pulse to make it a 
  success with a Raise.
  Crushing Blow
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Legendary, Strength d12+
  This character crushes bones and rips sinews with 
  each blow. Whenever he gets a Raise in close combat 
  he rolls +1d10 to damage instead of the normal +1d6.
  Deadly Aim
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Legendary, Shooting d12+ or 
  Throwing d12+
  The character deals death from a distance. 
  Whenever he gets a Raise on a shooting or throwing 
  attack he rolls +1d10 to damage instead of the normal 
  +1d6.
  Extreme Luck
  Type: Wild Card 
  Requirements: Heroic, Wild Card, Great Luck
  The best thing about being your character is 
  everything. Events tend to work in his favor, even 
  when he doesn’t deserve it.
  Whenever the character is dealt a joker, he gains 
  1 Karma.
  Favorite Of Fate
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Veteran, Luck
  Fortune may favor the bold, but fate favors 
  the compulsive gambler. To make your character’s 
  eventual downfall all the sweeter, Fate has decided 
  to give him a slight boost. With all this luck, you’re 
  bound to get cocky someday.
  The character may spend Karma to add 4 to the 
  result of one of his actions. When he rolls multiple 
  checks in one action (like casting more than one Bolt 
  as an action, Frenzy, or rate-of-fire weapons), he adds 
  4 to ONE of those results, not all of them.
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  Fearsome Presence
  Type: Social
  Requirements: Seasoned, Intimidation d8+
  Parades halt and guards shake when your 
  character gets angry.
  Your character can intimidate more than one 
  Extra at a time by placing a Medium Burst Template 
  and making an Intimidation check. This is treated 
  much like a ranged (2/4/8) attack with an area 
  effect. Non-allied Extras under the template make a 
  resistance check with the normal consequences for 
  failure. Wild Cards cannot be affected by this Edge.
  Fearsome Presence: Improved
  Type: Social
  Requirements: Heroic, Fearsome Presence
  Crowds part and trained soldiers falter when 
  your character gets mad. There’s something about 
  him that’s just… unsettling.
  Your character can intimidate more than one 
  Extra at a time by placing a Large Burst Template and 
  making an Intimidation check. This is treated much 
  like a ranged (3/6/9) attack with an area effect. Non-
  allied Extras under the template make a resistance 
  check with the normal consequences for failure. Wild 
  Cards cannot be affected by this Edge.
  Feel My Pain
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Heroic, Vigor d6+, Spirit d6+
  You can make your wounds look worse than 
  they are, sickening and repelling your opponents. As 
  a free action on your turn, your character can spend 
  1 Pulse to apply his Wound modifiers to all Trait rolls 
  made by other characters under a Medium Burst 
  Template centered on him. This effect lasts till the 
  end of the Round.
  Feel My Pain: Improved 
  Type: Demigod
  Requirements: Demigod, Feel My Pain
  Even if your character looks like bloody 
  hamburger, he’s not the only one suffering from it. 
  His wounds are so distressing that even the grimmest 
  torture artists aren’t sure how he carries on.
  As per Feel My Pain, but your character may 
  choose to use a Large Burst Template. Furthermore, 
  when triggering the effect, he may choose to spend 5 
  Pulse instead of 1 Pulse to ignore all Wound penalties 
  until his next action.
  Fleet Footed
  See Savage Worlds core rules.
  Fleet Footed: Improved
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Fleet Footed
  Some people start running one day, and never 
  really stop. No world is too large for your character’s 
  journey.
  Running is a free action for your character. 
  Furthermore, by paying 1 Pulse he may move as if he 
  were the wind and travel horizontally without regard 
  for the surface underneath – so running over rice 
  paper, wet cement, water or even thin air is possible. 
  The only catch is that his movement must begin and 
  end with solid ground.
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  Flight Of The Ascendant 
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic
  After a certain level of accomplishment, walking 
  becomes far too prosaic for a certain breed of heroes. 
  They recognize that they’re larger than life, and as 
  such must take large steps. 
  You may increase the distance your character can 
  jump to a maximum of 12 inches. Each inch beyond 
  his normal distance costs 2 Pulse.
  Flight Of The Ascendant: Improved
  Type: Demigod
  Requirements: 
  Demigod, 
  Flight 
  Of 
  The 
  Ascendant
  Whether through sterling muscle control, daily 
  exercise, or a strident disdain for gravity, your 
  character can travel in great bounds that approach 
  flight. Doing so is incredibly showy, and a great way 
  to demonstrate one’s superiority over lesser foes.
  Your character’s basic jumping distance is 
  increased by 1 inch and he may increase the distance 
  he can jump by any amount. Each inch beyond his 
  normal distance costs 1 Pulse.
  Indomitable
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Novice, Smarts d8+, Spirit d8+
  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak? 
  Not anymore! Your character can use his faith or 
  unflagging willpower as a battery to power any action.
  Your character may voluntarily take a level of 
  Fatigue to re-roll any one roll. He chooses which 
  result to use. This may be done as many times as 
  required, until the character is Incapacitated. The 
  newly gained Fatigue is not applied to the re-rolls. 
  Iron Inside
  Type: Social
  Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Spirit d6+
  Your character is accustomed to attempts to break 
  his mind or spirit, and has learned special defenses to 
  resist them. Perhaps he chants sutras, retreats into an 
  alternate personality, or is simply too conceited to be 
  affected. Your character gets a +2 bonus on resistance 
  checks against any check from a non-physical source 
  that could cause Fatigue.
  Living Banner
  Type: Leadership
  Requirements: Command Presence, Demigod, 
  Natural Leader
  The mere presence of some charismatic figures 
  is enough to change the tide of an entire battle. His 
  exploits have grown to be legends on several worlds, 
  and victory is assured to those who follow his lead 
  without faltering.
  Your character’s leadership radius is increased to 
  50 inches. He may pay 2 Pulse at any time as a free 
  action to have any bonuses from his leadership Edges 
  apply to allied Wild Cards and Extras until the end of 
  the Round.
  Master Leader
  Type: Leadership
  Requirements: Legendary, Natural Leader
  Master leaders know that they’re only as good 
  as the most vulnerable of their troops. In order to 
  survive contact with the enemy, the character must 
  look out for even the lowliest of his charges. The 
  character can spend a point of Karma to give all allied 
  Extras within his leadership radius a Soak roll, which 
  they can each use when needed that Round.
  Monkey Grip
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Novice, Strength d8+
  Your character can use a weapon that normally 
  requires two hands in a single hand. When doing 
  so, treat his strength as if it were a die type lower for 
  determining damage and whether he can effectively 
  wield the weapon. This does not allow a character to 
  wield a two-handed weapon in each hand. However, 
  it does allow him to use a shield with a two-handed 
  maul, or answer his cell phone while firing an AK-47.
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  Monkey Grip: Improved
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Heroic, Monkey Grip
  Your character no longer treats his strength as a 
  die type lower while using the Monkey Grip Edge. 
  Also, he may spend 1 Pulse to heave any weapon he 
  can hold in one hand (it becomes a throwing weapon 
  with range 2/4/8 for that Round).
  Opportunistic Push
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, Spirit d8+, Vigor d8+
  Just being good enough doesn’t always cut it. 
  Sometimes it takes giving 110%, pulling out all the 
  stops, or going completely overboard. Your character 
  may spend 1 Pulse (and only 1 Pulse!) to give any die 
  roll a +1 modifier, as long as that +1 would be enough 
  to grant the check a Raise or additional Raise.
  Patron God: Crafts
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A god or goddess of artists and craftsmen has 
  looked favorably upon your character and offered 
  him divine patronage. Hephaestus is one such god, 
  as is Ptah. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to promote creativity, and to act as protectors for 
  craftsmen. In exchange for devotion, your character 
  is granted a choice from the following supernatural 
  abilities. He picks one on gaining this Edge and 
  a second when he reaches Demigod (or two 
  immediately if he takes this Edge once he’s already at 
  Demigod rank).
  Inspiration: By spending Pulse when making a 
  Repair, Knowledge (Craft), or similar roll to create, 
  improve or repair an item (even if it’s mechanical, 
  electronic, or magical in nature), the character can 
  affect the outcome. If spent before rolling, he gains 
  a +2 bonus per Pulse spent. If spent after rolling, he 
  may improve the result by +1 per 2 Pulse spent.
  Keen Eye: Before rolling, by spending 1 Pulse as 
  an free action the character gets +2 to a check related 
  to noticing visual details such as spotting forgeries or 
  valuing an item. This affects a single check whether 
  that check takes 3 seconds, 5 minutes, or 3 days. After 
  rolling, the check may be improved by spending 2 
  Pulse to add +1 to the result.
  Craftsman’s Hands: Before rolling, by spending 
  2 Pulse as an free action, the character gets +2 to 
  all actions related to fine manual dexterity, such as 
  checks to make paper animals, Sleight Of Hand tricks, 
  and less creative endeavors like lock picking and 
  bomb disposal. This affects a single check, however 
  long that check takes. After rolling, the check may be 
  improved by spending 3 Pulse to add +2 to the result.
  Patron God: Death
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A death god or goddess has looked favorably 
  upon your character and offered him divine 
  patronage. Among the better-known death gods are 
  Hades, Anubis, and Relic’s Pemephonae, goddess of 
  the Storm Ascendancy. Many do not realize that the 
  death god is not cruel at all – he is simply part of the 
  natural order. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to mete out death on their behalf but also to reduce 
  suffering for those who are dying. In exchange for 
  devotion, your character is granted a choice from 
  the following supernatural abilities. He picks one 
  on gaining this Edge, and a second when he reaches 
  Demigod (or two immediately if he takes this Edge 
  once he’s already at Demigod rank).
  Ease Pain: As a free action the character lowers 
  Wound penalties for himself, and anyone covered by 
  a Medium Burst Template centered on him, by 1. This 
  costs 1 Pulse and lasts for 3 Rounds.
  Wound Transfer: As an automatic action the 
  character may transfer Wounds from a willing target 
  within 2 inches of him. He spends 2 Pulse per Wound; 
  the target is immediately healed of those Wounds, 
  which the character immediately suffers. This cannot 
  be soaked or otherwise prevented.
  For a number of Rounds equal to half his Spirit, 
  the character may then spend 2 Pulse for every 
  Wound he gained and make an opposed Spirit check 
  against another target within 2 inches. If successful, 
  those Wounds are removed from the character and 
  inflicted on this new target instead.
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  Gaze Of Death: The character looks with his 
  naked eye at a person who is badly injured and that 
  person dies instantly. Spend 1 Pulse as a free action to 
  make an opposed Spirit check against a Shaken Extra 
  or Shaken Wild Card who has sustained 3 Wounds 
  already. Success shakes the target again and counts as 
  a damaging source which will wound even opponents 
  with the Hardy ability or the Tough As Hell Edge. 
  Patron God: Fertility
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A god or goddess of life, healing, and fertility has 
  looked favorably upon your character and offered him 
  divine patronage. This could be Bes, Marduk, Osiris, 
  or Relic’s Istopa, goddess of the Growth Ascendancy, 
  among others. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to provide healing, comfort, and medicinal aid 
  on their behalf. In exchange for devotion, your 
  character is granted a choice from the following 
  supernatural abilities. He picks one on gaining this 
  Edge and a second when he reaches Demigod (or two 
  immediately if he takes this Edge once he’s already at 
  Demigod rank).
  Divine Medicine: Before rolling, by spending 
  1 Pulse when making a Healing check (magical or 
  otherwise) the character gets +2 to the check. After 
  rolling, the check may be improved by spending 2 
  Pulse to add +1 to the result.
  Fleshknit: As an automatic action, the character 
  begins to heal his recent Wounds (any Wounds 
  inflicted in the last hour). The first Wound heals after 
  1 minute, with another Wound healed every minute 
  thereafter. Each Wound healed in this way inflicts a 
  level of Fatigue on the character, and costs 3 Pulse.
  Faithful Replication: By spending 5 Pulse as 
  an automatic action that deals 1 level of Fatigue to 
  the character, he bleeds onto the ground and on his 
  action next Round a replica of himself springs up 
  where the blood hit the ground. This replica does not 
  have this Edge, nor any Pulse of its own, though it 
  may use its master’s. The copy acknowledges him as 
  its master and will do as he tells it, even to the point 
  of death. This duplicate has a duration of 3 Rounds; 
  alternatively the character may spend an additional 
  10 Pulse when creating the duplicate to make the 
  duration 5 minutes instead. When the time limit 
  elapses, the replica collapses, ‘dies’, and fades into the 
  ground leaving only a bloodstain.
  Patron God: Knowledge 
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A god or goddess of knowledge has looked 
  favorably upon your character and offered him divine 
  patronage. This could be Athena, Odin or Relic’s Etaro 
  the Wanderer. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to be wise and to pursue knowledge for its own sake. 
  In exchange for devotion, your character is granted a 
  choice from the following supernatural abilities. He 
  picks one on gaining this Edge and a second when he 
  reaches Demigod (or two immediately if he takes this 
  Edge once he’s already at Demigod rank).
  Know Weakness: By spending 3 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character gains an inherent 
  understanding of the weaknesses of one opponent he 
  can see within 24 inches. For the next three Rounds 
  (extendable by paying 1 Pulse per additional Round) 
  whenever he attacks that opponent and gets a Raise, 
  he gains an additional bonus die. In other words, on 
  a regular attack roll he would deal +2d6 damage on 
  a Raise.
  Borrow Knowledge: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action lasting 3 Rounds the character 
  may touch someone (requiring a touch attack for 
  unwilling subjects) to become aware of every Edge 
  and Skill that person has. The character may gain 
  any single Skill the target knows at the same level 
  he knows it for the duration, or until another target 
  is touched using Borrow Knowledge. The duration 
  may be extended by spending 1 Pulse per additional 
  Round.
  Divine Understanding: By spending 1 Pulse as an 
  automatic action the character gains the equivalent of 
  Knowledge (some broad type) d6. For instance, this 
  may be Knowledge (World Geography), Knowledge 
  (Arts And Crafts), or Knowledge (Science) rather 
  than Knowledge of a particular town, of a particular 
  craft, or of a particular science. This affects a single 
  check, however long that check takes.
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  Patron God: Love
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A goddess of love (they tend to be goddesses rather 
  than gods) has looked favorably upon your character, 
  and offered him divine patronage. Aphrodite, Astarte, 
  Freya, and Ishtar are the best known, though there are 
  many others. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to sow love and lust everywhere, forming and easing 
  relationships and enhancing sexuality. In exchange 
  for devotion, your character is granted a choice from 
  the following supernatural abilities. He picks one 
  on gaining this Edge and a second when he reaches 
  Demigod (or two immediately if he takes this Edge 
  once he’s already at Demigod rank).
  Silky Voice: By spending 1 Pulse as a free action, 
  everyone within earshot of the character is impressed 
  by him. He gets +2 to Persuasion checks for the 
  purposes of seduction, and people who couldn’t 
  otherwise be seduced can now be (albeit at a -4 
  penalty). This affects a single check, however long 
  that check takes.
  Heightened Passions: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action for 3 Rounds, the character causes 
  one target he touches to become more susceptible 
  to emotional stimulus, giving them -2 to resist 
  Taunt, Intimidation, and Persuasion checks. This 
  may require a successful touch attack – especially in 
  combat! The duration may be extended by spending 
  1 Pulse per additional Round.
  Divine Compassion: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character heals a willing target 
  he touches of 1 level of Fatigue - but only if inflicted 
  in the last 5 minutes.
  Patron God: Nature
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A god or goddess of nature has looked favorably 
  upon your character and offered him divine 
  patronage. Artemis, Ceres, Gaia, and Kupala are all 
  nature deities. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to help keep nature safe, and to make sure the natural 
  order is maintained and supported. In exchange for 
  devotion, your character is granted a choice from 
  the following supernatural abilities. He picks one 
  on gaining this Edge and a second when he reaches 
  Demigod (or two immediately if he takes this Edge 
  once he’s already at Demigod rank).
  Nature’s Ally: By spending 1 or more Pulse after 
  making a check to resist the effects of natural factors, 
  the character gets +2 per Pulse spent added to the 
  check. This includes exposure to extreme weather, 
  snake venom, jumping out of the way of sudden jets 
  of lava, etc.
  Plant Manipulation: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character takes control of one 
  non-sentient plant (yes, in some realms there are 
  sentient ones). He may cause it to grow to double its 
  size, shrink to half its size, or move its branches/stem/
  trunk/vines (though it can’t uproot itself), effectively 
  allowing it to make physical Skill checks as per the 
  character’s Skill. Each effect takes 1 Round to happen. 
  This control lasts 3 Rounds, which may be extended 
  at a cost of 1 Pulse per additional Round, then the 
  plant returns to its original state.
  Animal Speech: By spending 1 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character can talk to and 
  understand animals. The conversation may be a 
  little limited in the case of earthworms, but dogs and 
  eagles tend to have more to say for themselves. This 
  effect lasts 5 minutes.
  Patron God: Trickster
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A trickster god or goddess has looked favorably 
  upon your character and offered him divine 
  patronage. This might be Coyote or Susano-o or Loki, 
  among others. Such gods expect their representatives 
  to shake people up, confuse them, and make them 
  question their lot in life, introducing change and 
  creativity to their world. In exchange for devotion, 
  your character is granted a choice from the following 
  supernatural abilities. He picks one on gaining this 
  Edge and a second when he reaches Demigod (or two 
  immediately if he takes this Edge once he’s already at 
  Demigod rank).
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  Aura Of Truth: By spending 1 Pulse as a free 
  action, there is a -2 penalty to the next check to spot 
  the character lying, whether that check uses natural 
  or supernatural means. This affects a single check, 
  however long that check takes, but if nobody has 
  announced such a check within 5 minutes, the Aura 
  Of Truth ends.
  False Positive: By spending 2 Pulse and 
  succeeding at an opposed Spirit check, the character 
  can make one target within 2 inches become obsessed 
  by something that isn’t true, as per the Hindrance 
  Delusion (major). The target absolutely believes in 
  some lie, and that lie becomes the most important 
  thing to him. For example, a guard who (falsely) 
  thinks there are intruders in his town will obsess on 
  patrolling and catching them above all else. This effect 
  lasts 1 minute but it can be extended by spending a 
  further 2 Pulse per minute.
  Prestioculation: By spending 1 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character creates a static 
  illusion in a small area, like making a book seem to 
  have a different title or a drink appear to be a different 
  liquid. People seeing the illusion may attempt a 
  Notice check at -2 to see through the illusion. This 
  effect lasts 5 minutes.
  Patron God: Unknown
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A mysterious god or goddess has looked 
  favorably upon your character and gives him divine 
  patronage secretly, behind the scenes. Your character 
  knows very little about this enigmatic figure, apart 
  from the benefits that are being bestowed on him. Is 
  it a benign or malevolent force in the universe? Only 
  time will tell.
  In exchange for devotion, your character is 
  granted two supernatural abilities of his choice from 
  those offered by other patron gods in his realm, or 
  those can be used as guidelines for the creation of 
  new abilities. The first ability is bestowed upon taking 
  this Edge, while the second is activated at Demigod 
  (both are active immediately if the character takes 
  this Edge at Demigod rank). These powers give a hint 
  of the god’s hidden nature.
  While this flexibility sounds great, your character 
  suspects that his shadowy patron has big plans for 
  him. While other patrons see characters as their 
  messengers and representatives in the mortal realms, 
  discussing plans with them openly and with trust, 
  there is some reason this character is different.
  This is a terrific roleplaying opportunity for the 
  GM, a chance to weave the character into the heart of 
  the epic that she’s developing. There are bound to be 
  some twists and turns along the way, and a shocking 
  revelation or two before the dust settles.
  Patron God: War
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A war god or goddess has looked favorably upon 
  your character and offered him divine patronage. This 
  might be Ares or Neit, or the goddesses Agrona, Brigit, 
  or Menhit. Such gods expect their representatives to 
  take part in battles on their behalf, ensuring that the 
  god’s preferred side wins. In exchange for devotion, 
  your character is granted a choice from the following 
  supernatural abilities. He picks one on gaining this 
  Edge and a second when he reaches Demigod (or two 
  immediately if he takes this Edge once he’s already at 
  Demigod rank).
  Steadfast In Battle: By spending 1 Pulse as an free 
  action, the character gives allies under a Large Burst 
  Template centered on him a +2 bonus to Spirit checks 
  against Fear effects for the next 5 Rounds, allowing 
  anyone who had previously failed a Fear check an 
  opportunity to reroll. 
  Resilient In Battle: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character gives allies under a 
  Large Burst Template centered on him a +1 bonus 
  to Parry and Toughness, lasting for 2 Rounds and 
  extendable by paying another 1 Pulse per Round.
  Mighty In Battle: By spending 3 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character gives allies under a 
  Large Burst Template centered on him a +1 bonus 
  to Shooting and Fighting, lasting for 2 Rounds and 
  extendable by paying another 1 Pulse per Round
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  Patron God: Weather
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, No other Patron God 
  Edges
  A god or goddess of weather or the sky has looked 
  favorably upon your character and offered him divine 
  patronage. Thor, Zeus, Horus, and Quetzalcoatl are 
  among the best known weather gods. Such gods 
  expect their representatives to alter the weather as 
  necessary to ensure a desired outcome, whether that 
  means aiding a side in battle or helping crops grow or 
  flooding a disloyal village. In exchange for devotion, 
  your character is granted a choice from the following 
  supernatural abilities. He picks one on gaining this 
  Edge and a second when he reaches Demigod (or two 
  immediately if he takes this Edge once he’s already at 
  Demigod rank).
  Deluge: By spending Pulse as a free action, the 
  character can (as long as he’s outside) start a torrential 
  downpour of rain within 12 inches of him. The 
  downpour covers an area the size of a Large Burst 
  Template. Movement within the area is considered 
  difficult and ranged attacks passing through the area 
  suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls. This costs 2 Pulse 
  and lasts 3 Rounds, extendable by paying 1 Pulse per 
  additional Round.
  Static discharge: By spending 3 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character can unleash a blast of 
  electric force from the atmosphere on a target within 
  12 inches. This deals 2d10 Damage or knocks out 
  a single electronic system for 1 minute. This effect 
  drains the area within 12 inches of the character of 
  any static charge, and it takes 24 hours to build up 
  enough to be used again in that location.
  Purify: By spending Pulse as an automatic action, 
  the character can remove harmful impurities – 
  including poisons and radioactivity – from natural 
  substances including air, earth, and water. A 1 inch 
  square can be affected for each Pulse spent (a 2m 
  cube of material, if you’re being all rules lawyery 
  about it).
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  Perfected Races
  A Perfected character has the benefit 
  of being from a part of the gene pool that 
  has been altered by the use of Pulse, making 
  it particularly adept at one type of activity. 
  Perfected characters are born to Perfected 
  parents, and such bloodlines tend to be 
  massively proud of their racial heritage. That 
  said, there’s nothing stopping a Perfected 
  character from taking a racial type Edge as 
  well – it’s rare but not unheard of, and heroes 
  are well known for being rule breakers. Such 
  a case might cause social problems when the 
  Pure Strain Human son comes home from 
  his hiking trip to the mountains as a Pure 
  Strain Dwarf… the roleplay possibilities are 
  intriguing for sure. You can see the Pure Strain 
  Human Edge at the top of the next page.
  New Edge Type: Perfected
  Perfected Edges are very powerful, but 
  they’re also demanding. A character may only 
  take a Perfected Edge at character creation 
  (never later in his career), and may only have 
  one Perfected Edge. Perfected Edges ‘cost’ 
  double a normal Edge. A human taking one 
  could use his free Edge from being human 
  toward the cost of the Edge but would still 
  need another 2 Hindrance points to finish 
  paying for it. Optionally you may choose to 
  build your character with one less Attribute 
  point than normal (4 for most or 2 if you’ve 
  taken the Young Hindrance) to pay for half a 
  Perfected Edge.
  Penetrating Strike
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Novice, Notice d8+
  Many warriors find that simply smashing away 
  at their heavily armored opponents is a waste of 
  energy that could better be spent elsewhere. They 
  have learned to find weak spots in their opponents’ 
  defenses. Your character adds +1 Armor Penetration 
  to all his attacks.
  Penetrating Strike: Improved
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Heroic, Penetrating Strike
  Why have a little Armor Penetration when you 
  can have a lot? Your character increases his Armor 
  Penetration by +2. Furthermore, he can pay 2 Pulse 
  to make his attacks for the Round count as Heavy 
  Weapons.
  Penetrating Strike: Mastery
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Demigod, Penetrating Strike: 
  Improved
  Why have a lot of Armor Penetration when 
  you can have LOTS of Armor Penetration. Your 
  character’s bonus Armor Penetration increases to +3, 
  which can be further increased by spending 1 Pulse 
  per +1 Armor Penetration. This increase lasts until 
  the end of Round. Furthermore, he can pay 1 Pulse 
  to make his Fighting attacks for the Round count as 
  Heavy Weapons.
  Pulse Armor
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Heroic
  Sometimes Pulse has subtle effects that could be 
  mistaken for luck. Other times it turns knives aside 
  and deflects bullets. This is one of those other times.
  After damage has been calculated but before 
  making a Soak roll, your character may pay 1 Pulse 
  to add 1 point of Armor across his whole body. This 
  is effective against one attack and he may spend as 
  much Pulse as he likes in order to boost the Armor 
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  rating. He may do this against a single damage result 
  per Round. For example, a person hit by a machine 
  gun takes three serious hits. After discovering how 
  many Wounds each would inflict he may spend Pulse 
  to gain Armor against one of the shots – each point of 
  Pulse buys a point of Armor. 
  Pulse Armor: Improved 
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Demigod, Pulse Armor
  After damage has been calculated but before 
  making a Soak roll, your character may pay 1 Pulse 
  to add 2 points of Armor across his whole body. This 
  is effective against one attack, but he may spend as 
  much Pulse as he likes in order to boost the armor 
  rating, and may spend Pulse on multiple attacks that 
  Round. For example, a person hit by a machine gun 
  takes three serious hits. After discovering how many 
  Wounds each would inflict he may spend Pulse to 
  gain Armor against one, two or all three of the shots – 
  each point of Pulse buys two points of Armor against 
  one of the hits. 
  Pure Strain Human
  Type: Perfected
  Requirements: Novice, Smarts d10+
  Your character’s mind and body are perfect, 
  absolutely flawless – and he probably does everything 
  possible to keep it scar free because he’s so proud of it. 
  His Smarts can be raised as high as d12+2 over time 
  with normal advancements (and beyond that with the 
  Edges ‘Professional’ and ‘Master’ each increasing it by 
  a further +1). He gains a +1 bonus on all Skill checks 
  where Smarts is the linked Attribute and suffers only 
  half the normal multi-action penalty for additional 
  cerebral actions. Having the perfect form also has 
  social perks – the character gets +1 Charisma.
  Reader
  Type: Professional
  Requirements: Novice, Notice d6+, Taunt d4+, 
  Intimidation d4+
  Careful observation has taught your character 
  a library of personal quirks and ‘tells’ that suggest 
  veiled truths. He is now skilled enough at social 
  manipulation to gain +2 to all Notice checks to see 
  through disguises and to mark lies (both overt and 
  through omission). The character also gets +1 in all 
  opposed social actions, including Tests of Will.
  Resonance
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic
  Your character’s Pulse is such a roiling tempest 
  of activity that it’s just bubbling to get out. His 
  spirit world representation looks like a chained 
  thundercloud. When the fury is unleashed, every 
  ready source of Pulse nearby sings in harmony. The 
  effect is quite forceful.
  As an action costing 1 Pulse, your character may 
  place a Medium Burst Template up to Spirit inches 
  away from him. He makes an opposed Spirit check 
  against the Strength of each creature under the 
  template. If he defeats any targets they are moved 1 
  inch away from the center of the template and 1 more 
  for each Raise. Anyone moved in this way must make 
  an Agility check or be knocked prone by this burst of 
  Pulse resonance. No damage is inflicted by the burst, 
  but it’s a way of making enemies fall off ledges for 
  instance. Getting slammed into solid objects makes 
  the target(s) Shaken.
  Resonance: Improved
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Resonance
  In the spirit world your character is now constantly 
  sparking with untapped Pulse. In moments of strong 
  emotion, the energy flares and dances visibly around 
  him. Activating the resonance is no longer a song, 
  but a penetrating howl.
  As an action costing 1 Pulse your character may 
  place a Large Burst Template up to Spirit x2 inches 
  away from him. He makes an opposed Spirit check 
  against the Strength of each creature under the 
  template. If he defeats any targets they are moved 
  2 inches away from the center of the template for a 
  success and 1 more for each Raise. Anyone moved in 
  this way must make an Agility check or be knocked 
  prone by this burst of Pulse resonance. No damage 
  is inflicted by the burst, but it’s a way of making 
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  enemies fall off ledges for instance. Getting slammed 
  into solid objects makes the target(s) Shaken.
  Sidekick
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: 
  Heroic, 
  Beastmaster 
  or 
  Companion
  Your companion or animal companion’s fate 
  becomes intertwined with that of your character – 
  the companion becomes a Wild Card. Rare are the 
  moments when he is not by his master’s side, and 
  most people have trouble conceiving of one without 
  the other. Your character can also share his Heroic 
  and Demigod-related benefits (bonuses to Soak 
  rolls, recovery from Shaken checks, etc.) with his 
  companion by spending 1 Pulse per Round.
  Stutter
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Smarts d8+, Spirit 
  d8+, Vigor d8+
  Your character’s Pulse is so potent that time has 
  started to warp upon contact with it. He may pay 1 
  Pulse to repeat an action in a combat Round. For 
  example, your character can make two Shooting rolls 
  or two Intimidation checks. This may only be done 
  once per Round, and the multi-action penalty still 
  applies. 
  Surge
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic
  The blast doors are closing, the villain is escaping, 
  the ground is crumbling beneath you. Just… a little… 
  faster. Your muscles shriek, something surges within 
  you. Jackpot!
  Your character may increase his Pace by any 
  amount for one Round. Each inch of movement 
  beyond normal costs 1 Pulse.
  Surge: Improved
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Surge
  Three seconds and nothing will be left of the 
  city. The coruscating artifact is so close to the portal, 
  but so far. Time slows, the faces of your companions 
  begin to blue-shift as you rush past them. You’re in 
  the zone.
  Your character may increase his Pace by any 
  amount for two Rounds by spending Pulse. Each 
  point of Pulse spent adds two inches of movement to 
  your character’s Pace.
  Tough As Hell
  Type: Combat
  Requirements: Legendary, Tough As Nails
  Lesser heroes succumb to minor wounds or 
  scratches, but not this character - he doesn’t suffer a 
  Wound from a second Shaken result.
  Trait Perfection: Heroic
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, Relevant Trait d12+
  Heroes known across multiple realms for their 
  feats of strength do not have bad days where their 
  efforts are stymied by a stubborn door. By the same 
  token, heroes of the mind are able to reason their way 
  through any problem beneath a specific threshold. 
  When so much is at stake, bad days are a luxury 
  heroes can’t afford.
  On a failed check your character may spend 1 
  Pulse for a +1 bonus to the check and may continue 
  to do so until the check is a success or he runs out of 
  Pulse. In the case of checks with multiple Trait dice 
  (such as when using the Frenzy Edge), the bonus 
  applies to only one result, but Pulse may be spent to 
  add a bonus on each result independently. This Edge 
  may be taken more than once, but it may never be 
  applied to the same Trait twice.
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  Trait Perfection: Demigod
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, 
  Trait 
  Perfection: 
  Heroic for the affected Trait
  When was the last time that Hercules couldn’t lift 
  something? Exactly.
  On a failed check your character may spend 1 
  Pulse for a +2 bonus to the check and may continue 
  to do so until the check is a success or he runs out 
  of Pulse. In the case of checks with multiple Trait 
  dice (such as when using the Frenzy Edge), the 
  bonus applies to only one result, but Pulse may be 
  spent to add a bonus on each result independently. 
  Additionally, when he rolls a fumble on this Trait, 
  he may pay 5 Pulse to turn it into a failure with an 
  effective result of 0… which he can then spend more 
  Pulse to increase as above. This Edge may be taken 
  more than once, but it may never be applied to the 
  same Trait twice.
  Pulse Paths
  The source of magical power, whatever it may be, 
  exists somewhere in the universe. Some claim it is 
  hidden in the deepest cloud of the Maelstrom, among 
  the crumbling bodies of petrified gods. Others have 
  reams of evidence proving the primal source prospers 
  in a backwater realm where it is shared among a 
  coven of fierce guardians. 
  Whichever truth is the most popular in a given 
  era, it is generally agreed that four rivers emerge from 
  the source: divine magic, spirit magic, the power of 
  sigils, and the unadulterated magic of spells. Each 
  realm or culture has found different ways to harness 
  and focus these four primal streams to create a 
  profusion of schools, traditions, disciplines, and 
  circles… and some realms have discovered other 
  ways to harness Pulse which aren’t easily classified in 
  these categories (but that’s a teaser to future books!). 
  In generic Savage Worlds these would be called 
  Arcane Backgrounds; in Suzerain they’re Pulse Paths.
  Each of the four branches of magic has a ‘seed’ 
  Edge that must be taken if a character wishes to 
  use magic. They are: Empowered, Enabled, Gifted 
  and Sighted. These Edges allow the character the 
  ability to work one type of magic, grant him two 
  powers selected from the appropriate list, and a d4 
  in the relevant Skill for using those powers. The seed 
  Edges can theoretically be found in any realm in the 
  Suzerain Continuum but that doesn’t confirm their 
  legality, ease of use, or popularity. Rough-edged, 
  hobo-scrawled wards of protection on the walls of 
  a train car are as much the work of scriveners as 
  techno-magical pyramids coursing with the rerouted 
  Pulse of an entire planet. 
  Selection of a single seed Edge is enough to 
  call your character a mage, shaman, or what-have-
  you. It’s also enough to get pretty good at it. You can 
  always pick up more spells and increase the related 
  Skill. While the trappings of the spells may change 
  from realm to realm, or even from one caster to the 
  next, these are the basics. If your character concept 
  is leaning toward being archetypal or you don’t want 
  magic to be the entire focus, this is the way to go.
  However, if you want something with a more 
  realm-specific flavor, there are further options. 
  Those hobo scrawls from two paragraphs up weren’t 
  just a throwaway example. They’re part of the Noir 
  Knights book, our take on the Great Depression with 
  supernatural elements. A more immediately relevant 
  example is anatomism, used by specially trained 
  body-wizards who are prevalent in the Relic setting. 
  For further information on them, check out page 
  50. Fitting your character with one of those Edges 
  represents specialist training, granting greater focus 
  to their power. The specialist Edge works exactly like 
  the seed Edge, giving the character a d4 in the new 
  specialty’s requisite Skill and two Powers from the 
  new list. Your character can gain additional Powers 
  on the list by taking the Extra Power Edge, as usual.
  Selecting a realm-specific Pulse Path has more 
  prerequisites than being a generalist, but also offers 
  greater rewards for those who develop them to 
  the highest levels. While there is no universal rule 
  forbidding a character from branching into several 
  different schools, the end benefits will not be as 
  great. On the other hand, you could have yourself the 
  shamanic equivalent of a polyglot, able to commune 
  with the spirit of absolutely anything at a basic level. 
  Generalization versus specialization… it’s an age-old 
  dilemma.
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  Basic Terms And Edges
  Here’s the lingo you’ll want to know if you’re 
  planning on exploring the Powers available to heroes 
  and villains in the Suzerain Continuum.
  Prayers. Mystical powers used by ‘empowered’ 
  characters. Usually priests, but not always.
  Rituals.  Mystical powers used by ‘sighted’ 
  characters. Rituals get spirits to perform a 
  supernatural task for a shaman.
  Sigils. Mystical powers used by ‘enabled’ 
  characters. There are plenty of flavors of scrivener, 
  writing mystical symbols.
  Spells. Mystical powers used by ‘gifted’ characters. 
  This is your classic wizardry.
  Empowered
  Type: Pulse Path
  Requirements: Spirit d6+
  A divine patron has agreed to oversee your 
  character’s connection to the mystical source of all 
  existence. The character does not need any formal 
  connection to the divinity or its earthly organization, 
  only faith in the deity itself. Certain deities will have 
  rules that their empowered must follow, but most 
  don’t feel it’s necessary except among their cloistered 
  elite. On taking this Edge your character gains:
  Faith in a particular god or pantheon (Spi) d4
  Two prayers from the following list: Armor, 
  Barrier, Beast Friend, Boost/Lower Trait, Burrow, 
  Burst, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, 
  Divine 
  Intervention, 
  Elemental 
  Manipulation, 
  Entangle, Environmental Protection, Fear, Fly, 
  Greater Healing, Healing, Invisibility, Light, Obscure, 
  Puppet, Quickness, Shape Change, Smite, Speak 
  Language, Speed, Stun, Telekinesis, Zombie.
  Multi-Prayer: A divinely empowered character 
  may recite one prayer multiple times in a single 
  action. For example he may recite Boost Trait on 
  three targets instead of one. Each additional target 
  gets a separate Faith die (as with Bolt or rate-of-fire 
  weapons), but the whole action gets only one Wild 
  Die as normal. The full Pulse cost of the prayer must 
  be paid for each instance. Each additional instance 
  of the prayer increases the difficulty of reciting it and 
  incurs a -1 penalty on the check. For example, a priest 
  reciting Boost Fighting on 4 party members would 
  roll 4 Faith dice and one Wild Die. He would then 
  pick the four best results, apply a -3 modifier to each 
  die to determine success or failure, and pay the cost 
  of Boost/Lower Trait 4 times. He would only need to 
  pay upkeep on the instances that succeeded. 
  Enabled
  Type: Pulse Path
  Requirements: Strength d6+
  All scriveners share one thing in common – 
  their bodies have been enhanced to allow them to 
  lay down magical symbols that would otherwise be 
  beyond mortal control. Depending on the realm, 
  the required change may take the form of cybernetic 
  implants, ritual anointing of the hands, or 20 years 
  of sequestered monastery training. Mental changes 
  mirror the scrivener’s physical transformation; his 
  mind is either warped or strengthened to allow for 
  the terrible strain that the shape of magic brings to 
  flesh and spirit. On taking this Edge your character 
  gains:
  Scribe (Agi) d4
  Two sigils from the following list: Armor, 
  Barrier, Beast Friend, Blast, Bolt, Boost/Lower Trait, 
  Burst, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, 
  Elemental Manipulation, Environmental Protection, 
  Fear, Fly, Invisibility, Light, Obscure, Quickness, 
  Shape Change, Smite, Speak Language, Speed, Stun, 
  Telekinesis, Teleport, Zombie.
  Transference: Scriveners can inscribe a sigil they 
  know onto an object or person, then give someone 
  else access to its power (or leave the sigil ‘open’ for 
  anyone to use). Transferring a sigil’s power this way 
  costs 1 Pulse per rank of the sigil. Pulse spent in this 
  way does not recover as normal. However, other 
  people may now use the power. The Trait check 
  required to use a transferred power defaults to Spirit, 
  but a more logical choice may present itself in certain 
  instances. For example, Shooting makes sense for a 
  Bolt spell transferred to a wand. The scrivener can 
  break his link to the sigil at any time. The invested 
  Pulse then replenishes as normal.
  Gifted
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  Type: Pulse Path
  Requirements: Smarts d6+
  Traditional wizards fall under this Pulse Path. 
  They’ve acquired their control over magic through 
  strict mental discipline and often invest years of 
  research in the art of casting spells. As such, their view 
  of magic tends to be an extension of the user’s strength 
  of will. Most people with the gift for spellcasting see 
  their connection to the Pulse source as the purest 
  form of magic, as it exists without the intermediary 
  actions of other beings or objects – no gods or spirits 
  are needed, and no bodily enhancement either. It’s 
  not something to get too vain about, though. The gift 
  strikes at random, with some people discovering a 
  talent for wizardry despite living a life of drudgery for 
  decades. On taking this Edge, your character gains:
  Spellcasting (Sma) d4
  Two spells from the following list: Armor, 
  Barrier, Blast, Bolt, Boost/Lower Trait, Burrow, 
  Burst, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, 
  Elemental Manipulation, Entangle, Environmental 
  Protection, Fear, Fly, Invisibility, Light, Obscure, 
  Puppet, Quickness, Shape Change, Smite, Speak 
  Language, Speed, Stun, Telekinesis, Teleport.
  Flood The Channels: Gifted casters can make their 
  spells harder to resist by paying more Pulse. Each 
  point of Pulse spent in this way gives the target(s) -1 
  on opposed checks and Soak rolls against the power. 
  This cost is paid after the character rolls, but before 
  his opponent makes the resistance check.
  Sighted
  Type: Pulse Path
  Requirements: Vigor d6+
  Shamans – those in the physical world who deal 
  with those in the spirit world. Most realms have some 
  people who perform rituals to summon spirits with 
  specific powers and offer them Pulse in exchange 
  for their services. Different groups of shamans use 
  different strategies for switching their sight to the 
  world of the spirits, but it mostly involves chants, 
  rituals, and secret blends of dangerous substances, 
  which requires a certain amount of physical 
  sturdiness to consume repeatedly over a period of 
  years. On taking this Edge, your character gains:
  Perform Ritual (Vig) d4
  Two rituals from the following list: Armor, Barrier, 
  Beast Friend, Blast, Bolt, Boost/Lower Trait, Burrow, 
  Burst, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Dispel, 
  Elemental Manipulation, Entangle, Environmental 
  Protection, Fear, Fly, Greater Healing, Healing, 
  Invisibility, Light, Obscure, Puppet, Quickness, 
  Shape Change, Smite, Speak Language, Speed, Stun, 
  Telekinesis, Teleport, The Sight, Zombie.
  Ritual Use: All sighted Powers require a ritual 
  to cast, with the exception of The Sight (see below). 
  The specifics depend upon the shaman’s culture, 
  but tend to involve chanting, repetitive movement, 
  and 
  spiritually 
  significant 
  (but 
  non-magical) 
  components. Performing a ritual takes 5 minutes 
  per point of Pulse the power requires. At the end of 
  the ritual, the shaman makes a Perform Ritual check 
  as usual. Rituals with non-instant durations remain 
  in effect for 24 hours, during which time they can 
  be dismissed as an action. Instant effects may be 
  triggered at any point during the next 24 hours as an 
  action. Pulse spent on rituals doesn’t begin to recover 
  until the effect is spent, dismissed or ends, at which 
  point recovery begins as normal. Rituals both started 
  and finished during the spiriting hour (midnight – 
  01:00) receive a +2 bonus to the Perform Ritual roll, 
  as spirits are unusually co-operative at that time.
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  Two New Powers
  Divine Intervention
  Type: Prayer
  Requirements: Novice, Empowered
  Pulse: Special
  Range: Self
  Duration: Special
  Trappings: Beseeching your god loudly and 
  offering placating deals or proof of faith.
  Your character has a hotline to his chosen deity 
  and may plead with them for assistance – ideally 
  you’ll roleplay his platitudes to tempt your GM into 
  being more generous. For 1 Pulse he may ask to 
  be temporarily bestowed with any Edge for which 
  he qualifies. The bonus Edge normally lasts for the 
  duration of a scene. In combat, it lasts until the battle’s 
  end or until a joker is drawn, whichever occurs first. 
  Your character can also request Edges for which he 
  does not qualify. The basic cost of this is 3 Pulse plus 
  1 Pulse for each rank he is short of qualifying. No 
  check is required to do this. If your character has been 
  especially devout, his prayers may well be answered. 
  Prayers can be answered as the character 
  expected, in a way more befitting of the patron 
  divinity’s philosophy, or not at all. Praying to Hela, 
  the proud sun goddess of Valon, for the Thief Edge to 
  better sneak into an enemy temple is unlikely. Instead, 
  the request may be met with the boon of Command 
  or Attractive so the empowered can take the more 
  direct route. If the character is trying to sneak into 
  one of Hela’s own temples, he should consider himself 
  lucky if all that happens is wasted Pulse. 
  The Sight
  Type: Ritual
  Requirements: Novice, Sighted
  Pulse: 1
  Range: Self
  Duration: 1 hour
  Some of the places that shamans go, eyes just 
  get them into trouble. Normal eyes, that is. To see 
  the spirits they converse with, shamans need sight 
  beyond mortal sight. Despite its name, The Sight 
  refers to all of the five basic senses.
  For 1 Pulse, the shaman shifts all senses from the 
  physical world to the spirit world for one hour, which 
  shifts his body too, making him a ghostly presence in 
  the solid world and a solid form in the spirit world. 
  The duration increases to two hours with a Raise. He 
  may end this effect prematurely by making a Spirit 
  check with a -2 penalty. Unlike all other shamanic 
  Powers, invoking The Sight requires a single normal 
  action rather than a lengthy ritual.
  Saving The Universe
  Suzerain makes your characters truly heroic 
  and then turns them into demigods, before finally 
  (hopefully) they transcend to godhood. That’s about 
  as epic as it gets. They’re obviously going to need some 
  help to face the challenges that inevitably turn up to 
  sour their day. They get Pulse, and Karma, and once 
  they hit Heroic rank they get improved Soak rolls 
  and other perks, and a d8 as a Wild Die at Demigod. 
  And let’s not forget the ability to avoid death at the 
  cost of a single Karma.
  It’s still not enough. Trust us, these challenges 
  aren’t little niggling issues like finding matching 
  socks in the morning. They’re not minor impish 
  problems biting their ankles and trying to undo their 
  shoelaces. We leave that stuff to other settings. These 
  are serious challenges for mortals who are favored by 
  the very gods themselves. As such, your characters 
  get two additional bits of supernatural aid: a fortress 
  of their own and a tour guide to the universe.
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  Your Pocket Realm
  After a few Telesmae get close to each other, they 
  communicate with one another and start forming 
  strange, interconnected geometries that burrow 
  through the Veil separating the mortal realms from 
  the Maelstrom. If the gods can strike an accord 
  over the gathering of champions, the Telesmae’s 
  connections deepen, hollowing out a section of the 
  Maelstrom for their bearers. 
  The creation of this pocket realm is a subtle event. 
  Just because the gods have chosen to back a gathering 
  of heroes doesn’t mean they’ll immediately break out 
  the golden drinking horns and mythic taxidermy. 
  More than likely, your characters will first notice 
  their new safehouse when they keep on returning to 
  it, no matter how unlikely the circumstances. That’ll 
  be the Telesmae chirping amongst themselves, trying 
  to return to their god-blessed home. As the forces 
  of history bend around your characters’ actions, 
  the links between them, their Telesmae, and the 
  Maelstrom will become ever deeper. 
  It’s comforting to know your adventuring group 
  has access to a base of operations – a pocket dimension 
  crafted of Pulse and capable of surreptitiously 
  transporting itself from one realm to the next, along 
  with your characters. The pocket realm is a relatively 
  stable area of the Maelstrom that is maintained for 
  the characters by their Telesmae, but without your 
  characters knowing about it at first. Until Heroic 
  rank, Telesmae keep a low profile, and the pocket 
  realm will look like any other accommodation that’s 
  suitable for the local environment – a cozy inn room, 
  a fine, sturdy tent big enough for the whole group, 
  etc. Your characters’ Telesmae maintain this space, as 
  well as its contents. For example, if characters leave 
  some possessions in the closet of their cheap motel 
  room while beating a hasty retreat, those same items 
  will be waiting for them in the next dusty motel in 
  the next tumbleweed town. This might give some 
  sharper characters pause to think that things aren’t 
  exactly what they seem.…
  The pocket realm grows and becomes increasingly 
  grand as the characters increase in rank. The quality 
  of the hotel rooms they get seems to improve, until 
  they have a nice suite at Veteran rank instead of 
  a roach-infested basement at Novice. But it’s still a 
  place that looks right for the local environment.
  As soon as the average rank in the group reaches 
  Heroic, everything changes. The characters are 
  contacted by their Telesmae, and it’s time to see the 
  universe for what it really is. Their souls are now 
  strong enough to handle the transition to different 
  times and places through the Maelstrom. As a first 
  step, though, they need to meet the representatives 
  of the gods, and that happens in the pocket realm. As 
  the characters step through the door into their realm, 
  suddenly they’re aware they’ve traveled through a 
  portal to another place. It’s like a veil has been lifted 
  and they see what’s really going on – the space inside 
  no longer matches the space outside (sort of like a 
  certain blue police box…). And there, in the middle 
  of the main room, is the welcome party made up of 
  various senior spirits and demigods who want to 
  check out the newbies. If the GM has any ‘big reveal’ 
  secrets about the workings of the universe, this is a 
  good time to slip them in. Otherwise, the new Heroic 
  characters are clued in to what you, the reader, 
  already know about the wider Suzerain Continuum. 
  As part of their Heroic rank briefing, the new 
  kids are taught how to rearrange their pocket realm. 
  From then on the characters are able to modify the 
  trappings of their realm to suit their tastes. Since it’s 
  a shared resource, dependent on the psyche of each 
  of the characters, its architecture and particulars 
  will be tailored to the group. Followers of the Grand 
  Singularity can expect an eventual technotopia of 
  free-flowing information falls; a group with strong 
  patronage from Relic’s Etaro, the Wanderer, is more 
  likely to be granted an ever-evolving hunting lodge 
  with room for a great number of interesting guests. 
  As the heroes prove their worth to the universe, 
  their Telesmae work to strengthen the realm’s ties 
  to the Maelstrom. By Demigod rank, the realm will 
  be saturated with enough Pulse that it could easily 
  reach the size of a palatial estate, complete with its 
  own ecosystem.
  No matter what its internal trappings, access to 
  the pocket realm is always through an unassuming 
  entryway. Everyone who isn’t capable of traveling 
  to the Maelstrom (including most mortals) will just 
  see the normal room beyond, while the owners will 
  see the entrance lobby to their realm. As they step 
  through, they disappear from the mortal world – 
  leaving any observers with a new tale to tell about our 
  heroes’ many wiles. Permanent animal companions 
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  Telesmae In Play
  There are three basic approaches to playing 
  Telesmae. You can ignore the fact that they’re 
  sentient and just play them as powerful magic 
  items. Or you can decide on a basic personality 
  and let the GM handle all Telesmae like they’re 
  Extras. Or each player’s Telesma gets played by 
  the player on his left, and everybody plays both 
  their character and occasionally a Telesma. Try 
  them all out and see which is most fun for you.
  and followers bought with Edges get to travel with 
  the character who has the Edge, using the same rules 
  as people carrying items to and from the Maelstrom. 
  When characters travel into a mortal realm, the 
  flow of time in the pocket realm synchronizes with 
  that realm. If characters hide in their pocket realm 
  for ten minutes, ten minutes pass on the other side 
  of that unassuming doorway too. If the characters go 
  back through a portal to the Maelstrom, the pocket 
  realm synchronizes to ‘Maelstrom time’ instead of 
  ‘mortal time’.
  The pocket realm is a home away from home, 
  a secret hideout, Fortress of Solitude, and private 
  lodge. Because of the pocket realm’s deep ties to the 
  characters’ great potential, the messengers of the gods 
  also prefer it as their meeting area. When the higher 
  powers want the heroes’ help, they send a high-
  ranking functionary (say, an angel or a Demigod-
  level phoenix) into the pocket realm to share what’s 
  going on and what bold hearts can do about it.
  A Character’s Telesma
  We’ve mentioned Telesmae a few times so far, 
  but what are they exactly? Each is an individual gem, 
  usually part of something else, like a ring that has 
  been handed from seventh son to seventh son for 
  generations. Or a smooth rock that your character 
  picked up one day, and never got around to tossing. 
  Or an ugly tourist charm, which nevertheless ends up 
  hanging in conspicuous locations, that your character 
  bought to get rid of that weird old lady at the side of 
  the road. Just one of those things, right? 
  Wrong. That little gem casts eerily familiar 
  patterns when it catches the light, and silently hums 
  of nostalgic times. It feels like a mix between an old 
  friend and a favorite pair of pants. Also, it’s sentient. 
  Maybe it’s not very smart – in the area of a cat or 
  dog – but that’s still a serious step up from most 
  jewels. Whatever shape the Telesma is in now, it was 
  originally created by a divine power and designed 
  as a conduit to a chosen one: your character. (Note 
  the difference between being a chosen one and The 
  Chosen One. Gods know that heroes often fail – 
  heroically. It’s good planning for them to keep a few 
  spare chosen ones up their nigh-infinite sleeves.) 
  The gods discovered early on that repeatedly 
  pulling mortals through the Veil between realities 
  could destroy their very soul, shredding it like so 
  much tissue. Not wanting to add to the growing 
  pile of pulped heroes, one of the gods had an idea. 
  Nobody remembers who, but it was a good enough 
  idea that everyone took the credit, as divine egos tend 
  to do. 
  At any rate, one of the gods created a small yet 
  flawless gem, which he filled with one of his spirit 
  servants. Its job: to guide the appointed hero as he 
  fulfilled his divine purpose. Each major deity has 
  hundreds of lesser spirits at his beck and call, so 
  bonding a few to gems wasn’t a great loss. The god 
  set this gem into a piece of jewelry, divinely beautiful, 
  and offered it to his hero. 
  This was the first Telesma, the first talisman of 
  the gods.
  A powerful bond grew between Telesma and 
  human. Better still, the god could bring the human 
  to and from the Maelstrom by summoning the gem 
  back – it would then bring the human with it, safely 
  cocooned in its power.
  Time passed and more gods gave Telesmae to 
  their followers, each creating new designs as they 
  went. Not all Telesmae guided their appointed heroes 
  as closely as the first. Over time, most gods agreed it 
  was better to have a pool of free agents, unfettered 
  by the eon-spanning politics associated with being a 
  direct servant. If your character takes a Patron God 
  Edge or has Faith in a particular deity, his Telesma 
  will inevitably have been created by that deity for 
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  him. Otherwise, it’s likely the Telesma was created by 
  the gods as a group without a particular one-to-one 
  relationship between a god and your character.
  Although there are exceptions, Telesmae tend 
  to have only limited consciousness. While they are 
  generally obedient and are strongly loyal to the human 
  they have bonded with, it’s a narrow intelligence. 
  Telesmae can be playful, or even mischievous, but also 
  contrary if asked to work against their core purpose. 
  Like any divine artifact with the intelligence of a 
  golden retriever, bribery and tricks may be necessary 
  to guide them toward individual goals rather than 
  godly dictates.
  Telesmae are incredibly useful items for your 
  character. They transport him through portals and 
  across the Veil, and they ease the transition into 
  each setting. Telesmae can learn different additional 
  powers, too. Characters start to feel the benefits of the 
  Telesma before they even hit Heroic rank, but it’s only 
  then that the gods let the Telesma reveal itself and 
  open its direct telepathic link.
  It’s impossible for a hero to lose his Telesma: the 
  two are connected by a force deeper than Pulse. Each 
  can sense the other’s approximate location from any 
  distance within a realm, and precise position from 
  close range (within 1km). But that doesn’t mean they 
  are physically bound. Your character can still take off 
  his Telesma just like any other piece of jewelry. That 
  means they can be stolen. Certain mortal legends 
  involve heroes seeking enchanted items, and growing 
  in power and prestige once those are located – those 
  stories may actually be about heroes fighting to claim 
  stolen Telesmae, or reclaiming one stolen from them. 
  Excalibur was encrusted with jewels, after all … 
  There are also drawbacks to having a Telesma. 
  The first is that it links the character to the gods, 
  allowing the gods and their representatives to contact 
  him and call him back to the Maelstrom. This can 
  be annoying, because the view across the Veil is 
  misty, fading in and out of focus, so the gods might 
  choose an inappropriate time to call a hero back for 
  an update. This can make for some fun roleplaying, 
  and it also provides a handy excuse when one of the 
  players can’t make it to a session.
  The second is that anyone with the power to see 
  the spirit world will instantly notice a Telesma and 
  recognize it as something not native to their realm. 
  Beings of opposed philosophy are drawn to it, good 
  to evil, chaos to order. The character stands out 
  mystically because of the touch of the gods, making 
  him a clear target for demons and devils and evil 
  spirits and all manner of nasty beings who want to tear 
  down anything good or heroic. And if your character 
  is the sly, malicious sort, he’ll find himself a target for 
  every do-gooder in the universe. It’s not fair, but that’s 
  why most heroes find themselves at the center of plots 
  and plans, forever being assaulted from all sides. And 
  there always seems to be a nemesis lurking in the 
  wings. The character-and-Telesma’s bonded aura 
  draws danger to him and makes him a temptation 
  to anyone who can see or sense his enhanced power. 
  Subconsciously, unknowingly, opposites attract – and 
  it’s not a good thing!
  The third problem is Telesmae do have some 
  sentience, and aren’t always perfectly obedient. Again, 
  this is great for roleplaying – you get to give your item 
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  a bit of personality. The GM also gets to have some 
  fun; if your character tries to use his Telesma to do 
  something that’s inappropriate for his patron god 
  (if he has one), he needs to make a Spirit roll with 
  a negative modifier based on how inappropriate the 
  action is. Fail, and the Telesma stubbornly refuses 
  to help out. The fallout could be embarrassing, or 
  merely deadly, depending on the circumstance.
  Only a mortal who has been flagged by the gods 
  as a potential Hero can own or use a Telesma, and 
  even then only the one that’s bound to him. This 
  describes all characters in a Suzerain game, even 
  if they don’t have the Patron God Edge – that’s for 
  characters who want an extra close relationship with 
  a particular deity. Characters who don’t know they 
  have patron gods or don’t believe in the divine right 
  of the space faeries to control their destiny aren’t 
  exempt either. There’s a Maelstrom full of gods and 
  great spirits who’ve marked him for greatness, like it 
  or not.
  Other people may be able to force a Telesma to 
  share its power, but their body, mind, and soul are 
  not prepared for the exchange. The granted power is 
  too much for them to handle, and they will go insane. 
  All those tales of men and women driven mad by 
  cursed relics has some basis in fact – many of those 
  people foolishly tried to wrest power from a Telesma 
  and were overwhelmed by the experience.
  The Mechanics Of Telesmae 
  A Telesma becomes part of the character during 
  character creation, and you have some say in its 
  appearance and personality. A Telesma is like having 
  a wizard’s familiar, only it’s a magical gem. It has some 
  sentience and it has certain powers. The Telesma 
  has a spiritual link with its owner, and is unlikely to 
  disobey a direct order. But because it has intelligence 
  it also has a personality. And that’s something you 
  can work out with your GM.
  Is your Telesma snarky? Is it eager? Is it hesitant? 
  Is it playful? Aggressive? Afraid to be left alone? And 
  what form does it take? All Telesmae are gems, but the 
  type, color, and cut vary. Is it a large square ruby, set 
  in a heavy gold ring? Will it be a round star sapphire, 
  suspended from a fine gold chain? Or a small, rough 
  quartz attached to a watch fob? Decide what would 
  be fun to play and what would suit your character. 
  A Telesma has a few inherent powers that it’ll 
  reveal at Heroic rank:
  Focused Telepathy: The Telesma can mentally 
  communicate with its owner and vice-versa, in 
  either the physical world or the spirit world. Its range 
  is limited to sight – it must be within sight of the 
  character to hear him and be heard. This is a passive 
  power, and costs no Pulse. Even if they cannot talk, a 
  Telesma and its owner always have a sense of where 
  the other is – as long as they’re in the same realm.
  In the spirit world, Telesmae can talk among 
  themselves telepathically when they’re within line of 
  sight. This allows characters to send mental messages 
  to each other without speaking, using their Telesmae 
  to pass the message on.
  Spirit Senses: The Telesma is a spirit, and even 
  bound into a gem it can sense the spirit world, hear 
  what’s going on and see everything around it. By 
  contrast, it’s aware of physical beings in the same way 
  that physical beings see spirits – as ghostly forms. 
  This is a passive power, and costs no Pulse.
  Control Portal: This is the bit that allows a Telesma 
  to help the character get back and forth through the 
  Veil around the Maelstrom, and through portals to 
  different times and places in the mortal realms. The 
  Telesma can find and manipulate portals which allow 
  travel through the Veil between the mortal realms 
  and the realm of the gods, the Maelstrom. 
  Telesmae can sense portals within 1km, and 
  have a vague idea of where others within 100km are, 
  enough to find them with a bit of searching. Once 
  within 10m of a portal the character will be able to 
  see through it, but the other side will be frustratingly 
  distorted. He can pay 1 Pulse to share his sight of a 
  portal with other characters, as long as they’re within 
  a Large Burst Template of him.
  To activate a portal, the character touches it and 
  concentrates for one minute, expending 2 Pulse in 
  the process, though some portals are harder to open 
  than others, requiring greater Pulse expenditure or 
  Spirit checks to ease open. Oddly enough, these are 
  the portals that characters tend to find while being 
  pursued across featureless plains, armies of troll 
  legionaries on their heels. Once the portal is open, 
  the character can see the swirling milky barrier of the 
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  Veil through it and can pass across to the Maelstrom. 
  Your GM has information on what happens then. A 
  portal stays open for 24 hours, useable by anyone 
  who has a strong enough soul not to get bounced 
  or utterly destroyed by the forces of the Maelstrom, 
  before it closes once more.
  Localization: When characters arrive in a new 
  realm, they’re unfamiliar with it. Normally, a clueless 
  first-time visitor wouldn’t be able to make common 
  Knowledge rolls about that world, but the Telesma 
  helps out by tapping into the great subconscious of 
  the realm, allowing rolls at -2. Once the character has 
  been around a realm for long enough, that penalty 
  disappears. Your GM will decide what “long enough” 
  means.
  Another benefit is that the Telesma picks up 
  on the way local people talk, allowing its owner to 
  communicate as per the Power Speak Languages. It 
  takes a couple of minutes to kick in when first arriving 
  in a new place, after which the telepathic link to the 
  Telesma keeps the translation pretty smooth while in 
  that realm. It costs no Pulse and it’s always on.
  Even better, the Telesma can also make the 
  character look like a person native to his new realm. 
  Again, this is a Pulse-free automatic action that takes 
  a few seconds to manifest. Then his face and body 
  change slightly to give him a thicker or more slender 
  frame, darker or lighter skin, local facial features, etc. 
  This won’t change his race or make him more than 
  10% taller or shorter, and it won’t make him look like 
  a different person. The effect is subtle enough that 
  most people won’t even notice it – subconsciously 
  they simply treat him as a local when he’s using this 
  ability.
  This process is called “masking” and even clothes 
  and equipment can be masked to blend in, a rifle 
  holding the illusion of being a bow in the eyes of the 
  local of a fantasy realm, for instance. Masking costs 
  nothing, and it’s one of the most important functions 
  of a Telesma.
  Telesma Growth
  Telesmae evolve along with their owners – 
  indeed, many believe it is that constant contact with 
  a Hero that allows the Telesma to change and grow 
  and improve in the first place. However it happens, 
  Telesmae can become smarter and more powerful, 
  exhibiting new abilities and fine-tuning old ones.
  This growth happens even before the character 
  is aware of the true nature of the gemstone he never 
  seems to lose. Every time a character gains a new 
  rank, starting at Seasoned, his Telesma also gains an 
  advance, which takes the form of an Edge from the 
  following list:
  Allure
  Your character’s Telesma is sexy, convincing or 
  some combination of the two. This benefit is shared 
  telepathically, granting your character +1 Charisma.
  Assistant
  Your character’s Telesma can concentrate on 
  maintaining his magic Powers for him, reducing the 
  concentration penalty by 1 per Telesma rank. It also 
  grants +2 to checks made to keep Powers going when 
  your character suffers damage.
  Attribute Synergy
  Your character’s Telesma is particularly adept 
  in one of the five core Attributes and able to guide 
  and influence the same Attribute in your character, 
  increasing his Wild Die one step when rolling that 
  Attribute. This option can be taken multiple times, 
  applying to a new Attribute each time.
  Balm
  Your character’s Telesma can soothe his Fatigue, 
  reducing the Fatigue track by a single level once per 
  day.
  Forced Manifestation
  Your character’s Telesma can trick, tear, or 
  finagle spirits into the physical world. This causes 
  the targeted spirit to become dual-aligned (see page 
  11). Doing so costs your character 5 Pulse. This effect 
  lasts for five Rounds, and can be extended another 5 
  Rounds by paying an extra 5 Pulse.
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  Karma Bank
  Your character may store 1 unspent Karma at the 
  end of a session. This may be used in later sessions. 
  The bank can hold only 1 Karma at any given time.
  Protective
  Your character’s Telesma emits a protective field 
  of Pulse around his physical body shielding him from 
  harm. This grants your character +1 Toughness.
  Psychically Aggressive
  Your character’s Taunt and Intimidation checks 
  can Incapacitate opponents thanks to the assistance 
  of his Telesma in the spirit world.
  Pulse Battery
  Your character’s Telesma acts as a battery 
  containing 1 Pulse per rank of the Telesma. This 
  replenishes every 24 hours. This option may be taken 
  multiple times, each time increasing the Pulse per 
  rank by 1.
  Spirit Interaction
  Your character can pay 1 Pulse as a free action to 
  become dual-aligned for 1 Round so he affects both 
  the spirit world and physical world simultaneously.
  Telesma Radio
  Your character’s Telesma is capable of sending 
  telepathic messages to other Telesmae in the same 
  group as long as they’re in the same realm, without 
  the need for line of sight. Note: If one Telesma gets 
  this Edge, every Telesma in the group should get it!
  Touch Link
  In the spirit world, the spirit in your character’s 
  Telesma can move up to 10 inches from the gemstone. 
  It can now touch things for him, such as to deliver a 
  touch spell effect. 
  Unbounded Adjustment
  Your character’s Telesma knows a lot of things, 
  which can help with quick adjustment to new realms. 
  Your character ignores the Common Knowledge 
  penalty when first arriving in a new realm, and the 
  language/masking effects are instant.
  Vigorous Spirit
  When your character enters the spirit world, 
  his Spirit and Vigor are not reversed. His Telesma 
  prevents the change, keeping things ‘ right way 
  round’ for him.
  Character Growth
  Characters should never be static. They have new 
  experiences constantly, after all – going new places, 
  meeting new people, seeing new things, facing new 
  challenges. And all of that forces characters to grow. 
  Characters who go on adventures are going to 
  grow more than typical folks because they see and 
  experience far more. Their ideals are tested on a 
  grand scale, with many precious people at stake. This 
  is especially true for those who pass through portals 
  into other worlds. Imagine spending your whole 
  childhood believing your neighborhood was the 
  entire world, and that certain habits and traditions 
  were universal. Then you grow up and get to see 
  the rest of the city, and discover that some of those 
  traditions make no sense anywhere else and actually 
  get in the way of appreciating the wider world. 
  That’s exactly how it is for experienced travelers. A 
  superhero from a crime-ridden world might think 
  that fistfights and long declamations are the way to 
  solve every problem, only to go to a world where 
  fights are considered savage and quiet diplomatic 
  conversations are used to sort out any conflicts. 
  The really important thing when growing your 
  Suzerain character is not to let yourself be limited by 
  anyone else, and this is important so listen up. Some 
  games give characters a ‘class’ or ‘clan’ or whatever 
  that squeezes them into archetypes. ‘Fighter’, ‘leader’, 
  or ‘sneaky guy’, for instance. Things that limit what 
  that they can do. Suzerain doesn’t work that way. It’s 
  nice to know where your characters strengths are, 
  but don’t let your initial character concept serve as a 
  straitjacket for what he will become. We are all shaped 
  by our experiences, even if the effects are hidden.
  When you advance your character at the end of a 
  session, travel in the direction that feels right to you – 
  and to him. Did your character discover that magic is 
  real and that he has a talent for it? He might settle in 
  some place and become a classic wizard. Maybe he’ll 
  just learn a few handy spells to enhance his detective 
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  skills and brawling techniques, making him more 
  effective at both. It’s all about who your character is 
  and who he’s becoming. The two should fit together, 
  even if there’s a sudden drastic lifestyle change (and 
  what could be more dramatic than, say, a fantasy 
  wizard appearing in cyberpunk world?).
  Suzerain gives your character the freedom to 
  travel every genre and every setting. Revel in it. Play 
  the sneaky-fighting-leader guy if you want. He won’t 
  be as good at any one of those things as a specialist, 
  but he’ll be using his skills much more often and will 
  be hugely flexible. Action heroes, legends, and those-
  who-are-as-gods aren’t constrained to being one 
  thing, and neither is your character.
  Relic, Yr208 
  There is no default Suzerain realm where 
  everything works exactly as described in the preceding 
  pages. In order to demonstrate these concepts more 
  concretely, here’s a quick look at Relic, our realm of 
  sword-and-sorcery. 
  Relic has centaur tribes, dragon-men who evolve 
  to be full dragons over their lives, sea elves with 
  an Egyptian-style society, wizards and alchemists 
  rubbing shoulders with the Church and her questing 
  knights, a huge Greco-Roman civilization of intrigue 
  and organized combat, shamans, warlocks, priests of 
  a dozen flavors, elemental humanoids, barbarians, 
  charging monsters the size of mountains, gremlins 
  who have metal pass right through them, dwarves 
  that pass right through stone, and much more. It is a 
  proving ground for heroes, and a great first stop for 
  the career-focused would-be god. The Lich Queen 
  from our Dungeonlands books started her life here. 
  In fact, an uncommon number of the most powerful 
  Suzerain gods started their ascent to power here, so 
  it has a well-earned reputation in the upper circles.
  That’s getting too epic, too fast, though. For now 
  it’s enough to say Relic is your realm if you’re looking 
  for high adventure and deep intrigue. If you don’t 
  have any other characters you want to use for your 
  Suzerain campaign, this is a good place to start one.
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  The Past And Present
  Past and present are interesting terms in Suzerain 
  since characters can come from anywhere and 
  anywhen. There are certain points in the history of 
  each realm that simply resonate as junctions of the 
  time stream. Called nexuses, these times and places 
  tend to be incubators for potential heroes, and Relic 
  has a couple of good ones in the first three Ages of 
  existence. The biggest nexus forms in the 208th year 
  of the Third Age, but it’s worth knowing a bit about 
  the rest of history too:
  In the Second Age, the Trader Imperium built 
  great walled cities and fortress-markets across 
  the center of the grand continent of Austeria. The 
  excesses of these metropolises have been relegated to 
  folktales, but rare is the historian who doesn’t express 
  nostalgia for the misted corridors of the past. Iron-
  shod caravans connected the land, spreading peace 
  and culture across a network of wide, paved roads, 
  some stretching over a thousand kilometers.
  The Traders were the dominant civilization of 
  their age, their ziggurat temples towering over the 
  landscape. Then the Warlocks came, destroying 
  everything in their path with earth and fire, bringing 
  about the War of the Wild. They called the earth to 
  swallow entire towns, and all that now remains are 
  buried ruins and overgrown stretches of the imperial 
  road.
  If that sounds interesting, check out our Caladon 
  Falls book, which focuses on the first year of the War 
  of the Wild.
  Now fast forward 200 years into the Third Age 
  when the days of jumping at shadows and starving 
  from spell-tainted wheat are at an end. Scavengers 
  mine the land for Trader relics and sell them in 
  bustling, if lopsided cities protected by knights who 
  can trace their lineage back to old Caladon. Wizards 
  tear into the fabric of reality, providing luxuries for 
  the burgeoning nobility, earning new riches for their 
  moldering universities. Across the Great Expanse 
  where the Imperium once flourished, nomadic tribes 
  no longer disappear without a trace on account of 
  demonic predators. Life is still harsh, but for the 
  first time in generations, there is a peaceful calm 
  and hopefulness. Where there is hope, there are 
  heroes, and that’s why we’ll focus on that nexus for a 
  while. The War of the Wild is a pretty big nexus too, 
  though….
  Characters In Relic
  The following are just a few of the new Edges 
  available in the fantasy realm of Relic, a little taste of 
  the sorts of things you can expect to see in our meaty 
  realm books. If your character grew up in that realm, 
  or spent a chunk of time there, he’s eligible for these 
  goodies.
  Aurora
  Type: Background, Racial
  Requirements: Spirit d8+, Strength d8+
  Following the War of the Wild, the shattered 
  nations experienced a great number of dark days. 
  Aurora tradition claims that they appeared during 
  these years to drive back the worst excesses of the 
  night. The way their skin and hair shine in the light 
  lends credibility to the tale. However, auroras are as 
  comfortable in darkness and shadows as they are 
  underneath the sun-catchers that adorn the halls of 
  Hela, the sun goddess. Indeed, in shadow the same 
  skin and hair turns to midnight black, making them 
  fine sneaks and assassins. Apart from the skin and 
  hair thing, auroras tend to be tall and wiry people, 
  strong yet lean.
  Enhanced Vision: The character can see much 
  better than normal in dark, dim, and extremely bright 
  conditions – he only receives half penalties from 
  them. If light levels change particularly extremely or 
  suddenly, he takes one Round to adjust.
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  Channel Light: The character can manipulate light 
  using one of two effects, each an action requiring a 
  Spirit check. The first effect is light as per the Power 
  Light, but the range is altered to ‘self only’ and the 
  character can choose to decrease or increase the 
  intensity of the light. The options are puny (Small 
  Burst Template), dim (Medium Burst Template), 
  and illuminating (Large Burst Template). The second 
  function is to create darkness around the character as 
  per the Power Obscure where the range is ‘self only’ 
  and the aurora may choose to use a Medium Burst 
  Template instead of the large one. The character 
  sees normally through the obscured area. Light and 
  Obscure are found in the Savage Worlds rules.
  Shadow Walking: Shadow walking functions as 
  per the Power Teleport in the Savage Worlds rules 
  with the following exceptions: the character must be 
  able to walk into a natural shadow or area of darkness 
  big enough to cover his whole body, and emerges 
  from another such shadow in his line of sight within 
  Notice x2 inches. This is an action requiring a Spirit 
  check, and costs 1 Pulse (rather than the usual cost of 
  Teleport). The aurora affects only himself, and may 
  not carry passengers.
  Aurora: Improved
  Type: Racial
  Requirements: Heroic, Aurora, Spirit d10+, 
  Strength d10+
  The character’s Racial Edge is improved in three 
  ways:
  The duration of the character’s Obscure ability 
  is extended to minutes, as per Light. The range of 
  shadow walking is extended to Notice x3 inches. His 
  enhanced vision works in any conditions, from total 
  darkness to searing sunlight – he ignores all penalties 
  for such conditions.
  Aurora: Mastery
  Type: Demigod, Racial
  Requirements: Demigod, Aurora: Improved, 
  Spirit d12+, Strength d12+
  The character’s Racial Edge is improved in three 
  ways:
  The character adjusts to changes in light 
  conditions instantly, no matter how extreme and 
  sudden they are. His Channel Light ability no longer 
  requires a check. He can take passengers when 
  shadow walking by paying 2 additional Pulse per 
  passenger (each passenger must hold the hand of at 
  least one other passenger or the aurora himself).
  Child Of The Arrow
  Type: Background
  Requirements: Agility d8+, Shooting d8+
  Thirteen great constellations mark the months in 
  Relic, each with its own myths and earthly resonance. 
  The Arrow is swift and purposeful, constantly moving 
  toward the object of its desires. It is the star sign of 
  subtlety, not raw brawn or muscle-bound machismo. 
  Children who are marked by these stars tend to 
  become hunters, decisive leaders, and monomaniacs. 
  When your character’s attack hits with a Raise he 
  may increase the die type of the bonus damage die 
  by spending 2 Pulse per step of improvement. The 
  bonus die cannot exceed d12.
  Child Of The Arrow: Improved
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic, Child of the Arrow, 
  Shooting d10+
  The stars have called to your character, and he 
  has answered. The Arrow has a greater influence on 
  your character’s life, bolstering his greatest desires 
  with celestial energy.
  When your character’s attack hits with a Raise he 
  may increase the die type of the bonus damage die by 
  spending 2 Pulse per two steps of improvement. Each 
  step beyond d12 adds +1 to the d12. The bonus die 
  cannot exceed d12+3.
  Child Of The Arrow: Mastery
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Demigod, Child of the Arrow, 
  Improved, Shooting d12+
  Your character’s connection to the Arrow is 
  complete. His purpose is evident, and the silent sky 
  points the way.
  When your character’s attack hits with a Raise he 
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  may increase the die type of the bonus damage die 
  by spending 2 Pulse per three steps of improvement. 
  Each step beyond d12 adds +1 to the d12. The bonus 
  die cannot exceed d12+6.
  Dwarf
  Type: Background, Racial
  Requirements: Vigor d10+
  For many years after the Warlocks were defeated, 
  popular opinion was they took all the dwarves with 
  them. The Warlocks’ foul magic had corrupted the 
  earth, turning farmlands to ash and tainting stone 
  with corrosive impurities. Although scattered bands 
  of dwarves fought back, the assault was too pervasive 
  for anything but heroic last stands. True, many 
  dwarves died during the War of the Wild, but a few 
  families survived and as time passed, their numbers 
  slowly rose again.
  Dwarves are walking rocks, the elemental race of 
  earth. Their stony nature means they are resilient to 
  some attacks. Blunt weapons deal damage normally, 
  but dwarves get +1 Toughness against slashing and 
  piercing weapons. Being made of solid rock comes 
  with a price, though; they just can’t cover ground 
  quite as quickly as other races and suffer -1 Pace.
  Manipulate Earth: Your character can manipulate 
  stone and rock as per the Power Elemental 
  Manipulation (Earth) from the Savage Worlds rules.
  Transmute: Your character can pay Pulse to 
  take on the spiritual signature of stone. He merges 
  with the earth without it moving aside in any way. 
  They simply become one. He can use his senses as 
  if the earth around him was air for the duration, 
  and breathe the earth like air (though he better get 
  out before he stops paying the upkeep or it’ll be the 
  end of him). This allows him to move through stone 
  and earth as per the Power Burrow from the Savage 
  Worlds rules with the following modifications: His 
  travel speed is his base Pace (he may run), and the 
  effect costs 3 Pulse and lasts 1 Round, then 1 Pulse 
  each Round to maintain. 
  Dwarf: Improved
  Type: Racial
  Requirements: Heroic, Dwarf, Vigor d12+
  The character’s Racial Edge is improved in three 
  ways:
  The cost to transmute is lowered to 2 Pulse. The 
  amount of earth your character can manipulate with 
  Manipulate Earth is doubled. His Toughness bonus 
  against slashing and piercing weapons rises to +2.
  Dwarf: Mastery
  Type: Demigod, Racial
  Requirements: Demigod, Dwarf: Improved, 
  Professional (affected Trait: Vigor)
  The character’s Racial Edge is improved in three 
  ways:
  The cost to transmute is lowered to 1 Pulse, 
  then 1 Pulse every two Rounds to maintain. The 
  amount of earth your character can manipulate 
  with Manipulate Earth is quadrupled (rather than 
  doubled). His Toughness bonus against slashing and 
  piercing weapons rises to +4.
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  Fury
  Type: Background, Racial
  Requirements: Vigor d6+, Strength d6+
  Furies are a shifter race from Relic, a race of 
  half-men half-wolves who can shift into human 
  form for a while. Tall and feral humans paired with 
  a beast’s spirit, they are strong, fast, quick to anger, 
  and possess impressive natural weaponry. In human 
  form they tend to be taller, darker, and hairier than 
  the average person. They also tend to be leaner; a fat 
  fury is a rarity and most are sleekly muscled. Their 
  hybrid animal form is a tall man-wolf combination 
  much like the classic ‘werewolf’ with grey, black or 
  white fur though some reddish varieties are known 
  among the barbarian clans of the mighty Lehr Peaks.
  Transformation: This is an automatic action 
  costing 3 Pulse and lasts 1 hour which can be 
  maintained by paying 2 Pulse to extend the duration 
  for an additional hour. Transformation inflicts a level 
  of Fatigue –  as does transformation back. Furies in 
  wolf-man form suffer a -1 Charisma penalty with 
  non-furies because... well they’re a bit scary to deal 
  with. A fury in his human form suffers no charisma 
  penalty.
  Regenerate: Furies can regenerate wounds while 
  in their wolf-man form. Five minutes after having 
  sustained an injury, a fury can make a natural healing 
  check. In the case of multiple wounds inflicted close 
  together, such as during combat, make a single check 
  five minutes after the fracas. Before you ask, this 
  effect cannot bring a fury back from the dead.
  Claws: Furies in wolf-man form also have claws.
  These count as a weapon and deal Str+d4 Damage. 
  Unfortunately they tend to get in the way of fine 
  manipulation, and any action requiring manual 
  dexterity (including wielding other weapons) is at -2.
  Fury: Improved
  Type: Racial
  Requirements: Heroic, Fury, Vigor d8+, Strength 
  d8+
  The character’s Racial Edge is improved in three 
  ways:
  The initial cost to transform is lowered to 2 Pulse 
  and only 1 Pulse per hour thereafter. While the initial 
  transformation still inflicts a point of Fatigue, the 
  transformation back no longer does.
  When making a natural healing check for his 
  regeneration effect he ignores Wound penalties.
  His claws gain Armor Penetration 1 and he is 
  more used to using his clawed hands – the penalty 
  for manual dexterity actions is reduced to -1.
  Fury: Mastery
  Type: Demigod, Racial
  Requirements: Demigod, Fury: Improved, Vigor 
  d10+, Str d10+
  The character’s Racial Edge is improved in three 
  ways:
  The initial cost to transform is lowered to 1 Pulse 
  and only 1 Pulse per hour thereafter. Neither the 
  initial transformation nor the transformation back 
  inflict Fatigue.
  As an action the character may pay 5 Pulse to 
  trigger and accelerate his regeneration, making a 
  natural healing check immediately (instead of five 
  minutes later).
  The Armor Penetration of his claws improves to 
  2 and he is completely used to using his clawed hands 
  – the penalty for manual dexterity actions is removed 
  altogether.
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  Patron God: Zanua
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Heroic
  This is an example of how a specific patron god 
  might cross the boundary from the standard faceless 
  archetypes like Patron God: Fertility or Patron God: 
  War. There are thousands of patron gods out there. 
  As long as you and your GM agree on what special 
  abilities the Patron God Edge might give, feel free to 
  make up your own. We’ll certainly have more for you 
  in individual realm books as we release them.
  As the goddess of deep thinking, strategic 
  cunning, and righteous honesty in the Valon empire, 
  Zanua is rarely without her symbol – a round hoplite 
  shield with a chess board pattern on it (complete with 
  chess pieces set up for the start of a game). She is the 
  helper of heroes and, as such, a perfect patron for a 
  character. In exchange for devotion, your character 
  is granted a choice from the following supernatural 
  abilities. He picks one at Heroic rank and a second 
  when he reaches Demigod (or two immediately if he 
  takes this Edge once he’s already at Demigod rank).
  Aura Of Truth: By spending 1 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, people get -2 to checks to spot the 
  character lying, whether by natural or supernatural 
  means. This effect lasts 5 minutes.
  Resilient In Battle: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character gives allies under a 
  Large Burst Template centered on him a +1 bonus 
  to Parry and Toughness, lasting for 2 Rounds and 
  extendable by paying another 1 Pulse per Round.
  Divine Understanding: By spending 2 Pulse as an 
  automatic action, the character gains the equivalent of 
  Knowledge (some broad type) d6. For instance, this 
  may be Knowledge (World Geography), Knowledge 
  (Arts And Crafts), or Knowledge (Science) rather 
  than Knowledge of a particular town, of a particular 
  craft, or of a particular science. This effect lasts 5 
  minutes.
  Talk With Animals
  Type: Weird
  Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+
  A small proportion of animals in the world of 
  Relic are capable of structured communication, being 
  more intelligent than their brethren. Characters with 
  this Edge are able to talk with the various intelligent 
  animals they might meet along the way.
  New Wizardry
  Every realm has its way of tapping into Pulse 
  to do ‘magic’. In some realms it even changes from 
  country to country. In Relic, for example, the Caladon 
  Kingdom is the hub of all wizardry, centered around 
  its universities and cities, where lore can be gathered 
  and the gift explored to its full potential. Caladon is 
  also a place of guilds; there seems to be a guild for 
  everything, including guilds of wizards. We’ll look at 
  the anatomists, those spell-using doctors who heal 
  the rich and occasionally become top class villains 
  when their medical experimenting goes too far!
  We’ve also got a couple of new general wizard 
  spells developed at the Mages Guild at Garris, 
  available to any wizard who lives in Caladon and 
  registers with the guild (and woe betide any wizard 
  who doesn’t!).
  Anatomist
  Type: Pulse Path (Specialist)
  Requirements: Gifted, Healing d6+
  Body specialists extraordinaire, what they can’t 
  do to organic matter probably isn’t worth doing. 
  A talented anatomist can heal the most grievous 
  injuries and ailments. They can also animate the 
  dead and curse the living. Anatomists are the best of 
  friends and the worst of enemies, neatly wrapped up 
  in one bundle. This is a specialized school of wizardry 
  practiced in the Caladon Kingdom, and is an example 
  of how special schools of magic work, whether they’re 
  wizardry or shamanism, fantasy or science fiction. 
  On taking this Edge your character gains: 
  Anatomist (Sma) d4
  He also gets two spells from the following list: 
  Body Boost, Digits Expers, Greater Healing, Healing, 
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  Infestus Minor, Max Energis, Restoration, Sensory 
  Limitation, Zombie.
  Body Boost
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Seasoned, Anatomist
  Pulse: 2
  Range: Smarts
  Duration: 3 (1/Round)
  With their detailed knowledge  and experience 
  in the realm of body manipulation, anatomists 
  have found they can milk greater effect from the 
  common Boost/Lower Trait spell by focusing its 
  effect. The target of the spell increases the die type 
  of one physical Attribute (Agility, Strength or Vigor) 
  and one physical Skill (any Skill linked to a physical 
  Attribute) by one step, or two with a Raise. Once the 
  caster is Heroic rank or above the spell may boost a 
  second physical Skill as well, but not the same one 
  twice, by paying 3 Pulse during the initial casting 
  instead of 2.
  Digits Expers
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Novice, Anatomist
  Pulse: 2
  Range: Self
  Duration: 10 minutes (1/10 minutes)
  This novel incantation turns the caster’s fingers 
  into implements suitable for surgery. The amount of 
  control this gives the user is exceptional and grants a 
  bonus to Healing rolls based on the character’s rank. 
  The bonus starts at +1 for a Novice character and rises 
  one point at each rank, from +2 at Seasoned to +6 
  at Demigod. Surgical implements can hurt as well as 
  heal – if used as a weapon in melee they deal Str+d4 
  Damage, but the caster is still considered unarmed.
  Infestus Minor
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Novice, Anatomist
  Pulse: 2
  Range: 12/24/48
  Duration: Instant
  Anatomists generally don’t like to talk about it, 
  but their treatments can also curse their adversaries 
  with ailments. This particular curse infects the 
  target with an infestation of hungry slimy grubs. 
  Any Fatigue levels inflicted by this Power will not 
  heal naturally. Instead, a Healing check (as if curing 
  Wounds) is required. Magical healing will also do the 
  trick.
  The character makes an opposed Anatomist 
  check against the target’s Vigor. Success starts the 
  infestation and the target is Shaken. Each Raise causes 
  a level of Fatigue which can lead to incapacitation 
  and even death. The anatomist may get a bonus on 
  the roll based on his rank. There is no bonus for less 
  than heroic rank anatomists. The bonus starts at +2 
  for a Heroic character and rises to +4 at Demigod.
  Manifest Object
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Novice, Gifted
  Pulse: Special
  Range: Self
  Duration: Special
  For some wizards, useful tools are only a thought 
  away. This spell allows the character to transform his 
  Pulse into physical form. This may be a sword for a 
  legionary or a small set of lock picks for a thief. The 
  object lasts until the end of the scene/fight and costs 
  1 Pulse per 2 points of ‘bonus’ the object grants, or 1 
  Pulse per 3 points of bonus on a Raise. 
  What’s a ‘bonus’? Since picking a lock without 
  picks (or with inappropriate tools) would get a -2, 
  using this spell to create the picks would require 2 
  points of bonus. Each point of Armor the created 
  item has counts as 2 points of bonus. A weapon that 
  deals d4 Damage also counts as 2 points of bonus, 
  and each increase of die type would be an additional 
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  2 points. Additions such as a +1 to Parry or Reach 
  and so forth count as 1 point of bonus. The item can 
  be dual-aligned, thus influencing the physical world 
  and the spirit world, at the cost of 2 points of bonus. 
  Mechanically or chemically complex items such as 
  war machines and explosives are beyond the scope 
  of this spell.
  Max Energis
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Novice, Anatomist
  Pulse: Special
  Range: Smarts
  Duration: Instant
  The caster may transfer Pulse to one willing 
  target. The cost to initiate the transfer is 3 Pulse, which 
  drops to 2 Pulse when the caster reaches Heroic rank 
  and 1 Pulse at Demigod. Once initiated, the caster 
  can transfer any amount of Pulse from his own pool 
  into the targets Pulse pool so long as doing so would 
  not cause the target to exceed his maximum Pulse 
  or the anatomist to drop below 0 – you can’t transfer 
  what you haven’t got. A noteworthy side effect of this 
  process is an increasing feeling of euphoria. For every 
  5 Pulse transferred the caster can remove a level of 
  Fatigue. Heroic anatomists get this benefit for every 4 
  Pulse transferred and Demigod anatomists for every 
  3 Pulse.
  Restoration
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Novice, Anatomist
  Pulse: 2
  Range: Touch
  Duration: Instant
  A daily infusion of healing energies and general 
  purgatives is what anatomists recommend for their 
  patients (and their bank balance). There isn’t much 
  an anatomist can’t heal in a person, and this treatment 
  is the final tool in their considerable toolkit. The 
  anatomist takes a penalty on his anatomist check 
  equal to the Fatigue penalties the target is suffering, 
  but gets a bonus on the roll based on his rank. The 
  bonus starts at +1 for a Novice character and rises 
  one point at each rank, from +2 at Seasoned to +6 at 
  Demigod. On a success, and for each Raise, the target 
  is healed one Fatigue level.
  Sensory Limitation
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Novice, Anatomist
  Pulse: 4/10
  Range: 6/12/24
  Duration: Instant
  The Anatomists Guild charges a significant fee 
  for their services and while few are foolish enough 
  to even think about trying to con a wizard or attempt 
  to skip out on payment, this curse is an excellent 
  motivator against such behavior. The anatomist 
  makes an opposed anatomist vs. Smarts check, and 
  may receive a bonus on his check depending on his 
  rank. The bonus starts at +2 for a Heroic character 
  and rises to +4 for a Demigod. On a success he inflicts 
  the Hindrance Hard Of Hearing (major) for 4 Pulse 
  or Blind for 10 Pulse (chosen when the curse is cast). 
  The effect is permanent, though it can be removed 
  by another use of this curse to reverse the effect, or 
  through an application of the power Greater Healing.
  Shatter
  Type: Spell
  Requirements: Seasoned, Gifted
  Pulse: 3
  Range: Touch
  Duration: Special
  This spell is usually cast on a weapon or round 
  of ammunition but may be cast on a person if an 
  unarmed attack is the ‘weapon’. The next time the 
  enhanced object is used to attack, it counts as a 
  Heavy Weapon. More importantly, if the attack was 
  an attempt to break an object your damage dice 
  can Ace and the Toughness of the object is halved – 
  quartered if there was a Raise when casting the spell! 
  The enhancement is good for only one attack but 
  lasts until used or 5 minutes have passed, whichever 
  occurs first.
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  Playing The Spirit World
  Welcome to the weird and less-traveled lands of 
  the spirit world. Don’t worry; the physical world will 
  still be here when you get back. The spirit world is 
  composed of shaped Pulse, with no physical matter 
  at all, yet the two impact each other greatly… well, as 
  much as is right for your game!
  The spirit world and physical world are living 
  mirrors of one another, the yin and yang of matter 
  and energy. Moving from one to the other requires 
  special magic. Shamanism is the easiest way for 
  physical beings like your players’ characters to slip 
  their fleshy prisons, and the Manifest ability is the 
  easiest way for spirits to cross the other way. There 
  are many and varied ways though, as many as your 
  imagination chooses to use, from obscure relics 
  created by long-dead gods to the future-tech ‘ghost 
  suits’ we’ll be introducing in the campaign. 
  Why Visit The Spirit World?
  If the spirit world echoes the solid world so 
  closely, you might wonder, why would anybody 
  want to go there? If it’s just a silvery, shadow-free 
  look at what already exists, wouldn’t a strobe light 
  be cheaper? The primary reason is its inhabitants. 
  Those who make the spirit world their home aren’t 
  necessarily paired up with anyone in the solid world. 
  They are their own beings, able to observe, reason, 
  and possibly even manifest, briefly becoming solid. 
  It’s important to know that spirits aren’t all ghosts 
  of dead people. While they could be run-of-the-mill 
  poltergeists out to cheer up a dreary afterlife, they 
  could also be fallen gods with a mere fraction of 
  their former power or scientists trapped between the 
  dimensions by an experiment gone wrong. Mostly, 
  though, they’re beings just like us… except without a 
  body. Irrespective of their origin, they’ll be different 
  enough from the characters encountering them that 
  their weirdness will be memorable. 
  Even though great swaths of the spirit world map 
  directly over the solid realm, it’s a much bigger place 
  than that. Where the spirit world spills out beyond its 
  physical twin, there you’ll find reason enough to pay 
  the place a visit. A waterfall of dying souls that sends 
  them coursing off the edge of the world and into 
  oblivion would make a great location for a parasitic 
   In the Player’s Section you’ve learned about the 
  nuts and bolts of the Suzerain Continuum, been given 
  an overview of the mortal realms and introduced to 
  the idea of the Maelstrom, shown glimpses of the 
  power of demigods and gods, and more besides… 
  which is great, but now we’re into the GM’s Section. 
  How’s about we take the lid off and see what makes 
  the Suzerain Continuum tick?
  • 
  First up we’ll look deeper at the nature of the 
  spirit world, and give you some sample stats for spirit 
  beings. From there we’ll focus on the Maelstrom, and 
  while we’re there we’ll give you a little walk-through 
  of some god realms. Following that, we’ll detail 
  how portals and the Veil work, and what it means 
  for characters who are trying to move around time 
  and space. Yes, we’ll cover what happens if someone 
  tries to change the past or the future. The aim here 
  is to show the true flexibility of Suzerain, and seed 
  your mind with various ideas on how to tailor the 
  setting into that rarest of things – the perfect gaming 
  environment for your gaming group. Flexibility and 
  choice are really important, but you don’t need to put 
  all the options into one campaign. Rather, pick and 
  choose. Take a new idea out for a test drive and see if 
  your players like it. If not, swap it out for something 
  else the following week.
  Having talked about all that, the next stage is to 
  discuss the Heroic/Legendary and Demigod rank 
  experiences, and what makes them special. We won’t 
  get into the Novice/Seasoned/Veteran experience 
  here since we covered that in the Player’s Section in 
  detail (and there aren’t too many secrets the players 
  shouldn’t know about).
  Finally, we’re including a full campaign that goes 
  all the way into Demigod rank, and along the way 
  you’ll find assorted stats for a variety of wonderful 
  critters to populate those adventures.
  Ready? Okey dokey then – let’s go for it.
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  necromancer to fill up on free souls; it would be an 
  even better place for a team of heroes to stop the 
  freak where he stands – and bid farewell to a fallen 
  friend in the process. The characters just need to deck 
  themselves out with a few shamanic charms to help 
  get them jump the gap, and that climactic scene is 
  yours for the taking.
  Regions of spiritual importance in the solid 
  world tend to have more grandiose reflections on 
  the other side. The site where a saint was martyred 
  may warp the mirrored realm so that it contains a 
  Pulse oasis, while the death of a god is enough to 
  raise an entire immaterial mountain range (not that 
  the gods should be outside of the Maelstrom, but 
  that’s another matter). Both locations will throb with 
  sympathetic Pulse, sending mortals on the flipside 
  into unexplained ecstasies, or driving them to sinister 
  ends. 
  Death isn’t the only way to modify the spiritual 
  landscape. All sorts of things leave their own 
  impression, like the footsteps of enlightened monks, 
  infernal devices, and consecrated shrines. 
  Religion also plays its part in shaping the 
  movement of Pulse that creates the spirit world. 
  If we’re talking about a temple to proud ol’ Zeus, 
  chances are it’ll look more magnificent in the spirit 
  world. Lightning spirits will course up and down its 
  ornamented columns, while a cluster of storm spirits 
  lounge against the altar and talk about the gossip on 
  Mount Olympus. A dilapidated old shrine to Guanyin, 
  Bodhisattva of Mercy, is less likely to represent itself 
  as a structure, but perhaps as a broad river from 
  which Sighted travelers may refresh themselves – 
  the echoes of physical objects can linger long after 
  the object itself is gone. Lesser spirits may cluster in 
  a nearby depression of forgotten piety, attacking or 
  advising travelers depending on their mood.
  In some far-flung realms, the spiritual reflection 
  is the senior partner of the two, blasting duplication 
  into outright control. Physical bodies are nothing 
  more than ambulatory meat chariots here, discarded 
  in fits of evolution or fashion. Slippery-minded 
  fleshcrafters take up the mantle of shamans in these 
  bizarre realms, championing the esoteric pleasures 
  and mortifications of the physical body. It’s an 
  opportunity for a unique roleplay experience in a 
  futuristic world of shapeshifters, an alien encounter, 
  New Creature Abilities
  You’ll find plenty of new creatures and 
  NPCs in the following pages. Some of them 
  use these new abilities:
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants the 
  creature all the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank 
  characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for its 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants the 
  creature all the perks enjoyed by Heroic rank 
  characters, i.e. +1 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +1 Karma for its 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  Pulse Leech (range): As a ranged attack the 
  creature has the ability to drain Pulse from a 
  target who is in the same world as it (spirit 
  world or physical world). Any damage dealt 
  by this attack is instead taken as Pulse loss 
  by the target, and the same amount of Pulse 
  is added to the creature for its own use later. 
  Some creatures may have additional rules or 
  restrictions for their Pulse Leech ability.
  Spirit: Denotes a creature native to the 
  spirit world, meaning its ability to interact 
  with the physical world is limited. See the 
  sections on the spirit world and spirits here 
  and on page 10 for more information. If the 
  spirit can manifest in the physical world, it’ll 
  be noted here.
  Vitality: 
  This 
  creature 
  automatically 
  Soaks the first Wound in any encounter. The 
  damage gets through, but the creature simply 
  ignores it - it doesn’t count as a Wound and 
  the creature isn’t Shaken. Particularly resilient 
  critters might have Vitality 2, 3 or even higher. 
  If a creature with Vitality 2 takes two Wounds, 
  for example, it Soaks them both. If it takes one, 
  it Soaks it and will still Soak the next Wound 
  it takes. 
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  or all manner of other plot possibilities. Use the idea if 
  you like it; ignore it if you don’t – that’s what the spirit 
  world is to a clever GM, a bunch of opportunities.
  Sight Beyond Sight
  Characters tend to be more comfortable in the 
  physical plane, so any excursions to the spirit world 
  will be limited. Someone will pop in to converse with 
  a spirit, explore an area’s spiritual reflection, and 
  then return to business as usual. Here are a few ways 
  that trips to the spirit world can be worked into a 
  predominantly solid-side adventure:
  The characters are exploring a grounded cruise 
  ship that is suspected to be haunted. Unidentifiable 
  fluid with the chemical composition of tears 
  leaks continuously from the walls, and whispered 
  conversations can be heard at the end of several 
  flooded corridors. Looking into the spirit world 
  reveals that the ship’s reflection is still in full repair, 
  and the spirits of the passengers are reliving their 
  final hours. They will break from routine to converse 
  with the characters, but will not accept that they are 
  dead – merely trapped on a cruise ship with a deadly 
  neurotoxin. 
  Members of a big-city social club have been 
  having an uncommon number of psychotic 
  outbreaks of late. What’s worse, when the police 
  attempt to restrain them, the crazed citizens respond 
  with savage violence and sprout weedy tentacles 
  from their mouths. This matches the pattern that 
  any occultist worth his protective salt circles would 
  be able to recognize. Viewing the spirit world, it’s 
  easy to see undulating, thick-bodied trees sprouting 
  from each of the infected people. If they’re allowed to 
  blossom, the spirit will manifest and all sorts of havoc 
  will result.
  A psychic detective in modern Chicago is able 
  to detect peoples’ inner thoughts as buildings that 
  extend into the spirit world. A quiet, but imaginative 
  accountant might project an office building filled 
  with traps and gravity defying projections, while 
  a tough-as-nails secretary would have a medieval 
  fortress manned by spiritual sentries. Understanding 
  the motives of the buildings’ owners is as simple as 
  infiltrating the spiritual constructs and talking to the 
  correct facet of the person’s personality. It’s also the 
  secret to solving a murder. The only problem? The 
  detective being driven insane by his ‘gift’.
  If people as buildings aren’t your thing, how 
  about flat-out ghost buildings? Certain locations have 
  existed long enough to attract an aura of permanence, 
  even if their physical forms have been destroyed. 
  There’s no better source for information on the 
  ancient world than the ghost Library of Alexandria, 
  and any hero would be glad to hide behind the walls 
  of ghostly Troy to repel an invasion of rage shades.
  Many warriors have spiritual protectors – a boon 
  from a goddess of luck perhaps, a guardian angel, 
  or the ever-watchful eyes of their ancestors. If those 
  spirits could be presented with strong arguments 
  (or strong warding sigils) to convince them to 
  rescind their aid, the mortals in question would be 
  significantly easier to handle.
  The key point to remember when using excursions 
  to the spirit world is that not every character may be 
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  able to take part in the action. Unless everybody has 
  the ability to interact with spirits, any trip beyond the 
  pale is going to end up with part of the team staying 
  in the physical world and babysitting the others. This 
  isn’t ideal, but there are two solutions:
  Give the guys in the physical world something 
  dynamic to do during this time, like distracting the 
  marks who’re having their psychic joints cased, or 
  hold off the horde of radiation-enhanced zombies 
  until the spiritually sensitive characters can uncover 
  the root of the infection.
  Invent a way to send everybody. This is the 
  preferred option if the jaunt into the spirit world 
  will take more than a short amount of game time. 
  The group’s shaman gets the perk of going into the 
  spirit world for the short visits, but if you’re planning 
  a whole session over there, best arrange a way for 
  everyone to travel.
  Meeting With Spirits
  Spirits are native to the spirit world. Some can 
  be found in the part of the spirit world that overlaps 
  the physical world, while others largely remain in the 
  Maelstrom. You might find a Minotaur spirit in the 
  spirit world around ancient Greece, for instance (or 
  any place where there’s a good maze), but mostly they 
  are servants on Mount Olympus, and that’s where 
  you’ll meet more than one at a time.
  Spirits are different enough from solid folk that 
  their ways of causing harm may come as a surprise. 
  These abilities fall into two broad, painful categories. 
  The first is through manifesting. Some spirits are able 
  to use their Pulse to temporarily burrow into the 
  physical world. Manifested spirits are physical beings 
  for all intents and purposes. They may be clammy, 
  dank, and barely cohesive, or as hard as steel, 
  depending on the spirit in question. Some spirits are 
  clever enough to only manifest parts of their bodies, 
  such as the hands of a strangler spirit or the fanged 
  tentacles of the gland-eaters of Zardozz IV.  There 
  are enough different types of manifestations to keep 
  players guessing; what works for the ghost won’t 
  work for the salamander. And don’t forget that a 
  spirit manifesting in the physical world switches its 
  Spirit and Vigor, just like the characters do when they 
  go the other way!
  The second means of assault that spirits have at 
  their disposal is psychic in nature. These attacks cover 
  everything from sanity-sapping Fatigue to vampiric 
  Pulse drain. Although each is treated as an attack, 
  many spirits are so alien that they cause damage by 
  mere exposure to the human mind. Emotion spirits 
  are good examples of this principle. A greed spirit does 
  not desire to cause avarice to bloom in the breasts of 
  men any more than a fire decides to burn. The spirit 
  appreciates all of the ambient emotions that it creates, 
  but it can hardly be said to be a predator. This is little 
  consolation to prosperous merchant families who are 
  tainted by spiritual backwash, nor the lives that they 
  inadvertently ruin as a result. When this kind of spirit 
  starts hanging around your neighborhood, then it’s 
  time to get a shaman! Please remember, though – 
  while all this is possible, it’s not necessarily fun. If the 
  characters have no way to get to the spirit world to 
  combat one of these spirits with psychic attacks, it’d 
  be a pretty frustrating game where you populate your 
  setting with them. Save it for the group of characters 
  who want to fight that kind of opponent and who are 
  prepared for the challenge.
  Here are a couple of examples of feral spirits for 
  the characters to get their teeth into (and vice versa!), 
  and an interesting type of ‘half spirit’ to spice up your 
  adventures, the Mael-born:
  Spirits Of Feral Glee 
  Spirits of feral glee resemble small silvery men 
  with goat-like features and a single horn in the center 
  of their heads. Slow to fight, they would much rather 
  caper around any new strangers and entertain (and 
  bother) them with jokes and insipid observations. 
  Despite possessing several abilities that should add 
  up to utter annoyance, spirits of feral glee are hard to 
  turn away. Even if their upbeat nature is overdone at 
  times, it’s nevertheless reassuring.
  These spirits never stay in one place for long, 
  always moving their herds in search of the latest 
  rumor or shiny piece of optimism. They can be 
  encountered anywhere, and as a result know a little 
  bit about everything. Getting it out of them without a 
  two-hour sidetrack is another story.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d6
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  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, 
  Streetwise d10, Taunt d8
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 4 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size -1: Small of frame, these spirits suffer -1 to 
  their Toughness.
  • 
  Bite: (Damage: Str+d4)
  • 
  Well Of Knowledge: Spirits of feral glee keep 
  fingers in every pie (and every other culinary 
  dish for that matter), getting +2 to Common 
  Knowledge checks and act as if they had the Jack 
  of all Trades Edge.
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Spirits Of Feral Empathy 
  Spirits of feral empathy are slight, bipedal 
  creatures that resemble featureless humans. Their 
  faces are blank except for large, round eyes and 
  projecting ears. They’re always looking for other 
  sentient beings to examine, as they have no emotions 
  of their own. When a spirit of feral empathy discovers 
  a living being nearby, it begins to probe its soul with 
  long, prehensile fingers and toes. As it feels out the 
  mechanics behind its target’s inner workings, it 
  flickers rapid-fire through a dizzying array of colors. 
  When the process is complete, taking about five 
  minutes, the spirit manifests fully in the solid world. 
  Using the primary guiding emotion of its target, it is 
  able to craft a makeshift identity. What happens next 
  rather depends on that guiding emotion.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6 Persuasion d8, 
  Streetwise d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Spirit: Once a spirit of feral empathy has 
  probed a target’s emotions, it can manifest by 
  duplicating that person. By succeeding in an 
  opposed Spirit roll, it duplicates the target’s face 
  on itself, draining the target of 1 Pulse. This is an 
  action that can be taken on a target who is either 
  in the physical world or the spirit world at the 
  time, and can be opposed Spirit vs. Spirit by the 
  target. The newly manifested spirit then follows 
  the goals of the target, perverted by their guiding 
  emotion, burning 2 Pulse an hour until it can no 
  longer sustain its existence in the solid world. 
  For example, a gunslinger paralyzed by doubt 
  while tracking bandits across the baking desert 
  encounters a band of feral empathy spirits. They 
  feed on him in his sleep, and take his form before 
  he wakes. One returns to the town where the 
  gunslinger set out from, and admits his failure in 
  front of a full saloon. One continues tracking the 
  bandits, but gives up as soon as the first shot is 
  fired. A third waits by the gunslinger’s fire until 
  morning to commiserate about how useless the 
  other two were.
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  Mael-born
  Mael-born are the offspring of powerful spirits 
  and mortal creatures, born in the Maelstrom but with 
  one foot in both the spirit and physical world. Due to 
  the variety of spirits and creatures out there, Mael-
  born may have many forms. Each is marked by one 
  Trait that makes it stand out from others of its general 
  form. Human-shaped Mael-born may boast horns or 
  swooping wings, while Mael-born sired by efreets 
  might shimmer with inner fire rather than cast visible 
  heat. Although spirits themselves, many are able to 
  manifest at will and pass for flesh-creatures despite 
  their odd markings.
  Because of their parentage, Mael-born are natural 
  links between the spirit and solid worlds. Though 
  they aren’t dual-aligned, they’re able to converse 
  with spirits even when manifested, and are often 
  accompanied by a squirming aura of lesser spirits 
  including emotion wisps, feral spirits or sprites. 
  Because of their ease in talking with spirits, Mael-
  born often become shamans when they choose to live 
  in the mortal realms.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, 
  Shooting d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 6 Pulse 15
  Edges: Level Headed
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Mael-born Trait: One Edge or creature ability as 
  seems appropriate to the Mael-born’s origins.
  • 
  Dual Voice: Irrespective of which world a Mael-
  born is aligned to, his voice is clear to both 
  physical beings and spirits at all times.
  • 
  Spirit: Mael-born can physically manifest as an 
  action and can stay in the physical world for as 
  long as they wish, but they do not recover Pulse 
  while manifested.
  Welcome To The Maelstrom
  The Maelstrom is what happens when you’re 
  tripping the razor’s edge between the solid and spirit 
  world and you run out of land. The spirit realm keeps 
  on going, more or less forever, kept afloat by a steady 
  stream of Pulse; it’s pretty much composed of ‘beyond 
  the edge of the map’ territory. There’s no longer 
  anything with which to anchor the dizzying burst of 
  spiritual emanations, so everything really goes nuts. 
  The far reaches are a chaotic display of power and 
  light and color, where dreams and beliefs tangle with 
  the unthinkable. The logic of mortals is likely to get 
  one killed here unless tempered with equal shots of 
  willpower and legend.
  Out beyond this weirdness lies the Veil, a 
  barrier that signals the end of the mortal realms and 
  beyond which exists the endless roiling Pulse of the 
  Maelstrom. There is very little solid ground within 
  the Maelstrom, and what substance does exist was 
  created by the gods as bastions of order amid the 
  ever-changing patterns. The mountain of Olympus 
  is just a giant cloud of raw Pulse sculpted by Zeus 
  and the other Greek gods into forested slopes and 
  marble columns. Fly too far from its sylvan splendor 
  though, and the eternal storm resumes once more. 
  This is the playground of the gods, their laboratories 
  and natural habitat. Great, grand ideas have room to 
  grow without the small hindrances of finite realms, 
  feeding off the chaotic energies until they influence 
  the fates of millions or collapse under their own 
  bloated weight. 
  Most pantheons echo the example of the Greeks, 
  shaping a comfortable corner of the Maelstrom into 
  a form that suits them. These are the sections of the 
  Maelstrom that most heroes will be visiting: domains 
  called Immortal Realms that follow a semblance of 
  earthbound rules. These focus points can range in size 
  from a single, chicken-legged hut to an entire realm 
  populated by the scions of an alien intelligence. The 
  deep reaches of the Maelstrom have their pleasures 
  as well, but they are primarily reserved for madmen 
  and martyrs.
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  Realm-Jumping Novices
  In the Player’s Section we hinted that it’s 
  possible for Novice characters to go from realm 
  to realm rather than waiting to hit Heroic rank. 
  Anything’s possible, but you’ll need to take care 
  how you make it happen. The Maelstrom is a 
  dangerous place which Novice characters will 
  be ill-suited to handle. As a result, the best way 
  to travel is to find another way. Our suggestion 
  is to use the network of atrophied portals.
  Many portals eventually stiffen and 
  close up entirely, no longer letting characters 
  through to the other side of the Veil. At that 
  point they cease to be important... mostly. 
  Heroes and demigods stop using them, taking 
  alternative routes instead. However, some of 
  these ancient portals still have a little life in 
  them, and given enough of a jump start they 
  might open from the mortal realms, even if 
  they can’t push through to the Maelstrom.
  Where do they go? That’s where the spirits 
  of the Veil come in, linking the portals up 
  inside the Veil itself. Yes, there are spirits living 
  inside the Veil, as you’ll discover when you get 
  to the campaign later on. These spirits use the 
  old network of portals to tunnel from one place 
  to another, say from modern Manhattan to 
  ancient Greece. There’s no map of this network, 
  and the links keep changing at the whim of the 
  spirits, making it a perfect opportunity for lots 
  of Novice adventures. It’s not the conventional 
  way of doing things, but it’s possible. We’ll let 
  you figure out how the characters discover 
  these portals and get them working.
  Entering The Maelstrom
  Without a god’s protection the mere act of 
  entering the Maelstrom would be enough to turn 
  most mortals into sticky statistics as their soul 
  collapses from the huge psychic pressure of crossing 
  the Veil. Luckily for the characters, the standard-
  issue Telesma cushions the impact. There are still 
  conceptual predators, nomadic gods’ spawn, and 
  mimetic parasites to deal with, but basic existence is 
  possible.
  Even after dealing with the Maelstrom’s sensory 
  overload and its inhabitants, it’s not the greatest 
  place for a mortal to vacation. The air feels thick, 
  like a leaden apron tossed over a storm. That feeling 
  is all around because there’s no hard distinction 
  between ground, sky, or water. Instead it’s all closer 
  to a gelatinous, cosmic gumbo. This isn’t to say that 
  slogging through the Maelstrom is anything like 
  drifting through lukewarm chowder. It’s more akin 
  to a dream of flying, although many denizens prefer 
  rather to swim or simply… move.
  New visitors to the Maelstrom find themselves 
  hovering perfectly still as the landscape swirls past 
  at a breakneck pace. Trying to interact with the 
  cacophony of energy is as appetizing as diving into 
  a maelstrom (aha!). A lot of first-timers try running 
  and discover that they can move forward even though 
  their feet strike nothing solid. Others sit down and 
  find themselves sinking like they’re in adventure 
  movie quicksand. It won’t devour them, though it 
  will get ether into all sorts of unpleasant nooks and 
  crannies. 
  Terrestrial boundaries disappear as soon as 
  anyone tries moving vertically in the Maelstrom. 
  Although a thought is all that’s necessary, creatures 
  from most realms are more comfortable pumping 
  their legs as if climbing a steep slope or making 
  arms-extended flying gestures. It’s initially enough 
  to throw anybody for a loop, especially those versed 
  in two-dimensional tactics. Every direction becomes 
  a potential ambush point, every patch of ‘ground’ 
  somebody else’s ‘up’. The unsurpassed mobility can be 
  viewed less cynically as well; some of those who visit 
  the Maelstrom cavort like small children, spinning, 
  leaping, turning circles and swooping like birds, 
  twirling toward infinity through sheer force of will.
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  The boundary between spirit and solid worlds is 
  blurred in most Maelstrom realms. In practical 
  terms, it means that both the spirit residents and the 
  characters keep their Spirit and Vigor the right way 
  round – nobody needs to switch them over. This isn’t 
  true of encounters that might happen between the 
  realms, in the broader infinity of the Maelstrom – 
  that follows all the regular rules of the spirit world.
  Realm Of The Archangels
  The Goddess Trinity is worshipped by her Hussar 
  faithful in Suzerain’s Untamed Empires realm. She 
  is the Goddess, the Light, formless but eminently 
  beautiful. She remains distant from her followers, 
  delivering all communication through her council of 
  Archangels. In Her Maelstrom realm, the Archangels’ 
  winged magnificence is the word of the Goddess, 
  and they rule in Her name. Yet each of the pearly-
  white towers that rise from the clouds of Her realm is 
  home to many other servants, including thousands of 
  lower-ranked angels. Any visiting mortals are likely 
  to live among them, lulled to sleep by the sourceless 
  celestial choirs, despite the eternal brightness that 
  lights the clouds with a diffuse white glow.
  However, there is another side to this realm. A 
  dark and shadowy side. Down, through the clouds 
  under the foundations of those glorious towers there 
  is perpetual night, lit only by the unending fires of 
  war and torment. Here, deep below, is the home of 
  the Dark One, an Archangel who was cast down in 
  chains for his transgressions against the Light. The 
  Dark One slowly bleeds out in his rusted prison, 
  kept conscious only by the souls fed to him by his 
  demonic spirits. Twisted and bitter, he is utterly evil; 
  rare is the soul that is not subjected to hellish tortures 
  before being consumed.
  Where Light and Dark meet there is an endless 
  war being fought, with angels defending the base 
  of their towers against waves of demons who hurl 
  themselves at the gates above, clawing for freedom. 
  For now, the Dark One remains caged in the lowest 
  reaches of the realm, unable to breach the formidable 
  defenses of his prison. But he has started a new war, 
  a war of propaganda against Trinity and her angels. 
  On every world where Trinity is worshipped, 
  heroes of devil-kind seek to infiltrate Her churches 
  and strike at the untempered souls of Her clergy. If 
  As if the Maelstrom wasn’t dangerous enough 
  to linear-thinking squares, time flows differently 
  there. The daily grind as we know it doesn’t exist 
  within the Maelstrom. How could it? It touches upon 
  every second of all realities, both bizarre and blasé, 
  simultaneously. Upon first entering the Maelstrom, 
  every living being drags a portion of their home 
  realm’s chronal flow with them, like an invisible 
  bubble. Over time (as you understand it), this pocket 
  full of hours begins to decay.
  On the GM-side, that means you have full and 
  proper authority to play around with time when the 
  characters exit the Maelstrom. Maybe they’ve been 
  sloppy or had to leave in a dash, so they end up ten 
  years in the future. Perhaps someone’s spending too 
  much time in the Maelstrom and not enough time 
  being a hero? Oops, better get to work before his 
  supply of native time runs out. Instantaneous aging 
  ain’t pretty.
  If you want a neatly ordered sense of time then 
  go with relative chronology instead – time passes one 
  second at a time for the characters whether they’re 
  in a mortal realm or in the Maelstrom. Ten years of 
  character time ages them ten years. It’s easy to fathom 
  and many of us find it comforting. Traversing the 
  Pulse currents between immortal realms, though, 
  it doesn’t have to be that way. Time is as flexible as 
  everything else out there.
  Mapping The Maelstrom
  As a domain of endless potential, it would be 
  impossible to chronicle what every corner of the 
  Maelstrom is like. At the same time, it would be an 
  act of high treachery to throw you to the wolves 
  unarmed. As a happy compromise, we’ve provided 
  examples of some of the Maelstrom’s most visited 
  hotspots. This is by no means a comprehensive list; 
  the price-point for infinitely paged tomes is pretty 
  awful, in these troubled times.
  There’s one thing to bear in mind about the 
  immortal realms, those permanent places created in 
  the Maelstrom by gods and great spirits: these realms 
  feel just as solid and real as any physical realm across 
  the Veil (well, unless its creator wants an abstract 
  region to live in). The immortal realms of the gods 
  are places that are inherently dual-aligned, so spirits 
  and visitors from the physical world interact equally. 
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  they can be turned toward heresy, the powers of the 
  Archangels will falter and the Dark One will gain 
  new grist for his ever-thrumming engines of despair.
  Realm Of Yggdrasil
  The Realm of Yggdrasil appears in the Maelstrom 
  as a giant oak tree with a huge snake wrapped around 
  its entire length. Any who seek to enter must first 
  navigate past the perimeter created by its snapping 
  maw. Lord Odin, ruler of the realm, encourages the 
  serpent. It is a fine first challenge for any who seek his 
  pantheon of warrior gods or their thanes.
  In the years before the beginning, Lord Odin and 
  his allies fought a valiant war against a race of feral 
  spirits who had powers equal to the gods themselves. 
  The invaders struck deep and fast, tunneling straight 
  to the core of Odin’s realm. Its native civilizations fell 
  one by one, buried with their honor intact. Odin’s 
  last remaining allies rallied and sealed the invaders 
  on the site of their final battle, weaving a labyrinth of 
  wood and courage in which to imprison them. This 
  maze became the roots of Yggsrasil, the World Tree.
  Inside the trunk of the tree is a world similar to 
  our own, with cities, mountains, and lakes. Several 
  different layers exist here, massive continents floating 
  above, below, or even beside each other. It is not 
  uncommon for a traveler to see cascading waterfalls 
  tumbling from layers above, falling impossible 
  distances, to finally pool into one massive ocean. 
  Heroes from all over visit frequently, to trade, 
  gamble, or to seek employment. As a result, many 
  different leaders have emerged to make terrible war 
  against the realm’s cities, historic monuments, and 
  layers. This sort of behavior is not only allowed by 
  the ruling gods, it is encouraged. After all, it is only 
  through the fiery furnaces of trial and tribulation that 
  great heroes will emerge and provide guidance for the 
  chosen people. The gods are always on the lookout 
  for such hero potential, sometimes even appearing in 
  person and giving the proper nudges and hints.
  Inside the branches of the World Tree, Odin has 
  created his grand palace of Valhalla and locked it 
  away from the rest of the realm. Only brave warriors 
  who have died in a great battle are allowed inside 
  the broad halls of Valhalla. Odin’s Valkyries are 
  constantly sent out into the mortal realms in search 
  of brave warriors, and if a mortal is deemed worthy 
  he is guided by the maidens back to Valhalla.
  Deep inside the roots of Yggdrasil, the feral god-
  spirits have not forgotten their embarrassing defeat. 
  Having secretly broken the bonds of their prison 
  long ago, they travel the Maelstrom and the mortal 
  realms looking for allies, gathering their strength, 
  slowly infiltrating the hearts of those who follow 
  Odin, luring them to commit acts of cowardice and 
  treason. One day, when they are ready, they will surge 
  out of the roots of Yggdrasil and once more clash on 
  the battlefield with their hated rivals. This time they 
  will not lose.
  Realm Of The Pure Mages
  The Realm of the Pure Mages is a cosmic concert 
  of scientific genius and raw mathematics. From the 
  outside it looks like a giant, ever-shifting puzzle box 
  that completely reconfigures itself every hour, on 
  the hour. Each of its 108 different layers is a self-
  contained world governed by the strictest scientific 
  principles. These principles vary from layer to layer, 
  always containing new systems to observe and 
  integrate. Each world has, at its core, a riddle of sorts 
  that, if solved, unlocks a door to the next layer. After 
  the final layer resides the creators: the pure mages. 
  The pure mages do not consider themselves 
  ‘gods’, in the religious sense of the term, but rather 
  believe they are sentients who have unlocked the 
  great mysteries of the universe and have transcended 
  their mortal frames as a result. For all intents and 
  purposes, each of them is a god-rank character, but 
  this is due to evolution and self-purification rather 
  than any degree of belief or wizard tricks.
  It is a rare event for any traveler to complete a 
  circuit of the 108 realms, but rumors claim great 
  rewards await any who succeed. Many try, but few 
  are able to wrap their minds around the abstruse 
  mathematical riddles and secular challenges that stud 
  the trail. If anyone actually makes it, a seat among the 
  pure mages themselves awaits. If the rumors are to be 
  believed.
  The inner sanctum of the pure mages is marked 
  by bio-organic architecture designed to replicate 
  a perfectly balanced cycle of life and death. It is lit 
  by fractal pocket universes, which cast the light 
  of a thousand miniature suns from each floating 
  encasement. The optimal position for every aspect 
  of sanctuary has been computed in advance, but new 
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  experiments are always spilling out from behind their 
  reinforced lab doors.
  Although the pure mages don’t overly concern 
  themselves with the subjective realities outside their 
  labs, they do make it a point to intercede in events 
  that supposedly break the laws of science. “Rubbish!” 
  they scoff. “A sufficiently developed science can 
  explain anything, given enough will.” To this end, 
  many followers of the pure mages find themselves 
  sent on fact-finding missions to the most nonsensical 
  of realms.
  Realm Of Mount Olympus
  Among the Maelstrom’s psychotic momentum, 
  there aren’t too many landmarks. Mount Olympus is 
  one of them – and the only one where the roast mutton 
  can honestly be called mythical. This realm is the 
  abode of Zeus, Hera, and the rest of the god-spirits of 
  Greek myth. From the air, it is a sprawling landscape 
  of verdant valleys and snow-covered mountains, 
  whose roots reach deeper than the basement of the 
  World Tree. The walled city of Olympus tops the peak 
  of the tallest mountain, shining into the Maelstrom 
  like a marvelous, fractured beacon of stained glass 
  and back-alley intrigue.
  Spirits and heroes from a library’s worth of 
  mythology books call this massive city their home. 
  During the day, even its spacious courtyards are 
  packed with teaming bodies and busy hands. It is 
  a city of art and light, saturated with marketplaces 
  bearing goods from across the realms. Locals tend to 
  keep from the wilder markets, preferring to live in 
  line with the Classical ideal. 
  The god-spirits who created this realm are far 
  more involved with the lives of their subjects than 
  most gods, and are often seen administering justice 
  to individuals who anger, displease, or irk them. 
  This is a cause of continued strife in Olympus, as it is 
  difficult to please all of the gods all of the time. Zeus is 
  the undisputed ruler, but those who he favors tend to 
  get in trouble with the other gods, who are as jealous 
  as they are bold. Each of the gods and goddesses who 
  make Olympus their home has a string of palaces and 
  shrines in the city, as well as a hand-picked priesthood 
  to watch over them and act as a private spy network.
  Guards!
  Here’s a sample inhabitant that you might 
  find in a god realm, or in the mortal realms 
  occasionally:
  Minotaurs
  Wherever there is a maze, underground 
  deathtrap or crowded slum, there are decent 
  odds a minotaur is hanging around somewhere 
  in the spirit world nearby. Ever since the Greek 
  gods left the mortal realms, the sons of Minos 
  were left without the rich infusion of Pulse they 
  needed to survive. Those who didn’t escape to 
  the Maelstrom to continue serving the gods 
  began to fade until their physical bodies fell 
  away. All that was left of them were memories 
  – and that was enough. A few minotaurs now 
  inhabit the spirit world of certain mortal 
  realms, treading and retreading the forked 
  paths of their bull-headed ancestors. As for the 
  rest, they’re now guards in the realm of Mount 
  Olympus.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit 
  d10, Strength d12, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d10, Notice d4
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 8 Pulse 10
  Gear: Great Axe (Damage: Str+d8)
  Special Abilities
  • Size +1
  • Gore: A minotaur can use his horns to gore 
  an opponent, dealing Str+d6 Damage.
  • Spirit: Minotaurs are able to manifest a 
  fraction of their will. This costs 8 Pulse, 
  lasts for 1 hour, and they only manifest 
  their glowing bull’s head (-2 to be hit) and 
  big rough hands  that can move objects, cut 
  ropes, and – in dire situations – gore enemies. 
  The rest of the minotaur (and his axe) stays in 
  the spirit world throughout, making this an 
  interesting form of dual alignment between 
  spirit and physical worlds. Depending on 
  the individual minotaur’s temperament, 
  this manifestation can be used to confound 
  intruders into the spirit’s maze or aide the 
  lost.
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  The favored shrine of each god is equal 
  parts ministry of propaganda, center of religious 
  ceremonies, and awe-inspiring collection of marble 
  columns. Individually, each building is a wonder; 
  together they’re one of the sights of the Maelstrom. 
  Functionality and craftsmanship kiss lewdly in the 
  ivy-strewn halls, conspiring archly over the heads of 
  senators and their shrine intermediaries. Unofficially, 
  the shrines serve as the center of Olympus’s 
  government, as each of the priesthoods holds a great 
  deal of influence among the elected senate of wise 
  senior spirits.
  Apart from their individual vendettas, the gods 
  take little notice of the day-to-day affairs of the city 
  dwellers. As long as their rules are being followed, they 
  care not who gets stabbed, what gets stolen, or what 
  breed of shady deals are being made. Such concerns 
  do not pose any danger to them or their realm, and 
  are thus beneath their notice. As a result, several 
  interlocking hives of criminals and malcontents 
  ferment inside the city walls, and political murder 
  has taken on an almost festival air. 
  Realm Of Fire
  At a glance the Realm of Fire seems like a place 
  no mortal would want to go. It’s hot and dry enough 
  that the locals have over two-hundred different words 
  for ‘hot’, most of them on the far side of ‘blisteringly 
  unpleasant’. The realm’s most generally acceptable 
  features are its ubiquitous lava fields, marred only by 
  the occasional pyroclastic surge. Serpentine creatures 
  wend beneath the surface in violent dance, but those 
  mortals who have viewed the mysteries can be 
  counted on one charred hand.
  The inhabited regions of the Realm of Fire are 
  more controversial in travelers’ minds. Yes, they 
  can always be counted on for a nice, warm bed or 
  a piping hot drink. Unfortunately, the inhabitants 
  aren’t exactly friendly. They live in the only habitable 
  corner of the realm -- although legends of an inverted 
  volcano archipelago persist despite lack of concrete 
  information. The inhabited oasis is located in the 
  middle of an ever-burning forest, with rings of 
  geysers and steam tunnels running above and below. 
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  Great Spirit of Hate, where negatively charged Pulse 
  is transformed directly into bitter monstrosities. 
  Because of what it has become, the Red Realm’s 
  second notable purpose is a prison, used by gods 
  and other beings of god-like power. Evil mortals 
  that cannot be killed due to prophecies, curses, or 
  potential political backlash are deposited here to 
  suffer for their ability to evade death. Trust us, this is 
  not a place the characters want to end up. Not unless 
  your players like a good challenge.
  Realm Of Ascendant Order
  The Great Spirit of Order looked upon the 
  shrieking Maelstrom and was appalled at the furious 
  disharmony in its clashing elements. It was as the din 
  of copper pot cymbals to his refined ears. 
  With a shake of his heavenly mane, stars died and 
  he declared war on the very nature of the Maelstrom. 
  Compromise was not possible. The Realm of 
  Ascendant Order stands as a redoubt against the raw 
  power of the outside universe, a perfectly measured 
  society that is nevertheless in a state of constant war.
  In this ever-expanding fortress realm, the 
  numbers of the great spirit’s troops swell regularly 
  thanks to pilgrimages made by strong-willed mortal 
  heroes. Any sentient with order in his heart is given 
  one of the great spirit’s scales to wear as armor in the 
  grand crusade. As the wearer’s sense of devotion to 
  justice increases, he syncs with the scale causing it 
  to grow into a massive construct of solid Pulse. For 
  this reason, the great spirit grants special boons to 
  crusaders who join before attaining adolescence. 
  Saved from the confusing influence of the outside 
  world, none are able to doubt their devotion to order 
  or to beating back the eternal wave of the Maelstrom.
  To some, the mighty walls of the Realm represent 
  the epitome of divine creation, standing proud as 
  seas of Pulse crash against them and are repelled. To 
  others, the same walls are an unnatural abomination, 
  holding back the pure and natural chaos of the 
  Maelstrom. By choosing to wage war on the very 
  nature of the Maelstrom, the Great Spirit of Order 
  has made friends of orderly-minded gods, but others 
  whisper the word ‘hubris’ and eagerly await his 
  downfall.
  This is the Pyre, a grim, high walled town of soot 
  and stone. The town is a lawless one, but only because 
  of the mercurial nature of its iron-clawed enforcers. 
  These native spirits can enter and leave the blazing 
  flames at will, and thus care little for those who must 
  hide behind the chimney-brick barrier. They care 
  more about the hateful efreets, who ever plot the 
  Pyre’s downfall from their desert island of black sand. 
  Deep in the furnace realm stands a singular 
  mountain top, which pierces the sulfurous clouds 
  that roll across the glowing sea. It is here where the 
  Great Spirit of Fire surveys its realm, pondering. It 
  has been said that the Great Spirit of Introspection 
  posed it a riddle eons ago, and is still waiting for a 
  response. 
  The Red Realm
  The color red is symbolic of so many things such 
  as romantic love and passion. Once, these elements 
  were in harmony with the more violent aspects of 
  ‘redness’ and the Red Realm was a balanced place. 
  Not any more. The Great Spirit of Red had been 
  descending into rage and pain, blood and anger, all the 
  negative aspects of the color. He associated with the 
  Great Spirit of Hate, whose influence is everywhere. 
  Finally, sickened by what he was becoming, the 
  realm’s creator fled his creation and is rumored to be 
  building a new realm elsewhere.
  These days, the Red Realm is a sore upon the 
  Maelstrom, a merciless tangle of rusty iron fortresses 
  and crumbling bloodstone towers. It is a dark and 
  twisted land, clouded by the stench of ever-present 
  swamps and the deafening buzz of predatory insects 
  that swarm the bloody River Crimson. Giant rats, 
  spiders, scorpions, and more terrifying beasts provide 
  additional hazards, most of them carrying diseased 
  and poisonous bites. 
  This harsh realm now serves two purposes. The 
  first is as a hunting preserve and testing ground for 
  the Great Spirit of Hate’s malevolent creations. Only 
  the nastiest of fiends would be allowed to express the 
  great spirit’s utter contempt for creation. 
  Since the Great Spirit of Red left, the realm has 
  been locked in a power struggle between the lesser 
  native spirits. This spiritual battle royale centers on 
  the Desolation Engine, a nightmare factory from the 
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  Here’s another example of an inhabitant of the 
  god realms:
  Lords Of Order
  Each scale of the Great Spirit of Order is an 
  individual Lord of Order. However, the term is more 
  commonly used to refer to the fusion of a scale with 
  a mortal host. The paired organism forms one being, 
  like a knight wearing a sentient suit of armor. As the 
  mortal’s devotion to justice and order strengthens, 
  the godscale evolves in shape and power. Initially it 
  looks like armor formed of semi-opaque Pulse. Mid-
  ranking Lords of Order tower above their underlings, 
  reaching 4-5m in height, their war mask resembling 
  the fierce but noble features of mythical beasts. The 
  elite among them no longer wear armor, instead 
  operating immense machines made of pure light 
  with additional armament befitting their gigantic 
  stature. Eyebeams are a good start, but really we’re 
  going to need missiles too. A mid-ranking Lord of 
  Order might look something like this:
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+5, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Notice d4,  
  Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 17(4) Pulse 25
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Trait Perfection: Heroic 
  (Fighting), Pulse Armor, Improved Sweep.
  Gear: Armor of Order (+4 Armor, all locations), 
  Blade of Order (Damage: Str+d10 AP 2). Both are 
  manifested spiritual constructs and part of the Lord 
  of Order itself. As such, they can only be wielded 
  by the honored mortal host the Lord of Order is 
  attached to.
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +6: Big. Like a big thing. Also takes up a 2x2 
  inch space on the field of battle.
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants the Lord of 
  Order all the perks enjoyed by Heroic rank 
  characters, i.e. +1 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +1 Karma for its 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.  
  • 
  Spirit: Lords of Order act as armor and weapon 
  for their host in the spirit world, but they can 
  also physically manifest for 1 hour at the cost of 
  4 Pulse. Each additional hour costs a further 1 
  Pulse.
  Fey Realm Of Dreams
  The realm of the fey is a magical place where 
  Pulse-laden breezes blow like an eternal spring night. 
  Wild, picturesque forests cover most of the realm, 
  each gnarled and ancient tree dusted with enough 
  greenery to hide the grasping branches beneath. 
  Animals frolic in great abundance, satisfying the 
  fondest of dreams and rending flesh with every 
  star-blessed leap and flicker of their shapely forms. 
  The sameness of the forest is broken from time to 
  time with radiant fields of flowers that could dope 
  a crash of rhinos, and gentle peaks of beauty and 
  terror. Underneath run crystalline caves that spiral 
  downward into the soil’s frozen heart. Travel down 
  and you shortly emerge on a new landscape, the 
  upside down of the realm above… or are they the 
  other way around? This reversed twin is identical 
  to the land above, but day replaces night and night 
  replaces day, always the opposite where fair becomes 
  foul, deadly become benign.
  The rare thatched cottage, surrounded by well-
  kept apple orchards, are the only signs of civilization 
  in either land, but they’re more unsettling than 
  comforting. Who would live so casually in such a 
  place, where a single breath could kill?
  At night, the moon gives off an eerie glow like 
  the Great Fey Spirit’s single, winking eye. This is 
  when the realm’s true masters come out to play. They 
  are the fair-folk of Earth’s legends, the mind-killers 
  of colonial Mars, and the bright-eyed revelers who 
  flit across a thousand realms. They are silly faeries 
  who spin razor-ribbon garlands, industrious sidhe 
  who craft gemstone mazes never meant to be seen 
  by mortal eyes, and many other types of fey besides. 
  The trees move as they see fit, going from diversion 
  to diversion with patience unshared by the smaller 
  beings, whose lives are measured in mere centuries. 
  Fragments of world-shattering incantations mingle 
  with children’s rhyme, carried ever onward by the 
  multi-layered lovers’ lips, and all is right with the 
  realm.
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  Meeting Gods
  If and when the characters in your 
  campaign meet a god in person, it’s worth 
  remembering that gods are spirits rather 
  than physical beings. They can all manifest 
  at will, should that be necessary, but their 
  native environment is the spirit world (which 
  the Maelstrom is a part of). Since the gods 
  have sworn away from crossing the Veil and 
  messing with the mortal realms, this might 
  not be an issue. But there’s always that one 
  bad guy rogue of a Great Spirit who breaks the 
  rules and needs tracking down (as you’ll see in 
  our campaign). Should the characters become 
  gods themselves, they will shed their physical 
  bodies and transcend to a purely spiritual 
  form… but that’s a lot of gaming away for most 
  groups!
  Great power and insight can be found in the Fey 
  Realm of Dreams, but their acquisition is a task unlike 
  most. Conventional logic does not apply, nor do the 
  prevailing mores of Suzerain, where daring heroics 
  are rewarded. Instead, the masters of the realm are 
  those who can understand dream logic, with all its 
  symbolic traps and abstract forms. Nothing is what 
  it seems to be on the surface, except when it actually 
  is. Familiar faces and echoes of the past reveal 
  themselves in the most innocuous of places, first 
  taunting visitors then bowing gladly to their wills, 
  before spinning off once more into the night.
  It is said the fey are able to cross the Veil directly 
  from their realm, visiting the dreams of sleeping 
  men and manifesting in their world during the night 
  time hours, bringing the dreams (and sometimes the 
  dreamers) back with them. If so, they have one of 
  the few conduits between the mortal and immortal 
  realms that do not require portals. This may be a 
  useful thing to remember for your games….
  Travels In Time And Space
  With all the upcoming information about time 
  travel, this is a good place to kick in and explain 
  exactly what characters of each rank are able to 
  do. Heroes are able to use the Maelstrom to travel 
  through time and space. Demigods are able to do all 
  that as well as knock down the doors into alternate 
  realities.
  What this means is Heroic rank characters can 
  reach any conceivable type of world or setting or 
  genre, but not alternate versions of existing places. 
  For example, the characters cannot go to a 1970s 
  Europe where the Allies lost World War II. Why 
  not? It doesn’t exist as part of the ‘prime reality’. That 
  said, there are plenty of blank spots on the cosmic 
  map of reality, just like that chart from Time Bandits. 
  Remember that? If not, go rent the movie; it’s a good 
  model for an atypical Suzerain campaign that dials 
  down the heroics a few notches.
  What we’re getting at is this - even if your 
  campaign is set in the ‘real world’, feel free to spice 
  it up. In the distant past, Camelot existed if you say 
  it did. If you want there to be centaurs in enchanted 
  parts of ancient Greece and modern archaeologists 
  have just mistaken their remains for man/horse mass 
  graves, then that’s what really happened. Another 
  option is that most of the weird aspects of ancient 
  history have been obscured as a result of, say, Zeus 
  showing up and leaving huge Pulse ripples wherever 
  he trod during his searches for comely females. 
  Really, it’s no surprise the gods have an agreement to 
  stay out of the mortal realms after something like that 
  happens a few times.
  As for the future, that’s unwritten. If you say that 
  there’s a cyberpunk cityscape realm in the future, so 
  be it. After the technocratic oligarchy that funds that 
  city crumbles, why not have the realm grow into one 
  of shiny starships-and-spandex sci-fi? No problem 
  there. Even the grandest utopia can’t last though, so 
  there’s also room for a scoured post-apocalyptic world 
  of genetic rejects and filthy scavengers. Not every era 
  needs to be plotted out before the story begins, but 
  it is a fun thought exercise to fill your notebook. Just 
  remember to leave space for your heroes!
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  Once you decide on the core events of your 
  Continuum, past, present, and possibly future, it’s 
  your Suzerain. That’s your supplement-spanning 
  metaplot, right there! But once you’ve set reality, 
  it’s concrete for Heroic rank characters and below, 
  with the standard battery of provisos and notable 
  exceptions. Full-out alternate histories, like Viking 
  Mars or the Earth where the Black Death killed 99% 
  of Europe, are reserved for Demigod rank characters. 
  Theirs is a noble stature, able to cross into That Which 
  Never Was with impunity.
  Of Travel: Portals
  The Maelstrom and the mortal realms – both 
  spiritual and physical – are bound together, much 
  like two twists of bread braided into a single loaf. 
  Just like those twists, there are points where the two 
  planes touch and points where they are farther apart. 
  At points of contact between the two planes, the 
  Veil is the most receptive to being crossed. Gods use 
  these regions to pry into the mortal realms, gather 
  their agents, and generally play havoc with the whole 
  ‘free will’ game. Travelers who have tired of their 
  own realms also frequent these weak points between 
  realities. You know these places as portals.
  On the Maelstrom side, portals are visible as 
  hungry-edged patches of darkness or light, little more 
  than shadows or subtle auras. The mortal world isn’t 
  as lucky: go solid-side and portals are much more 
  difficult to notice – in fact, they are invisible to anyone 
  without the necessary mystical sight. Telesmae have 
  the ability to sense portals, and it’s rumored that a 
  wizard once trained a portal-sniffer dog. Otherwise, 
  most people can’t see them.
  Portals aren’t absolutely necessary for travel to 
  and from the Maelstrom. The gods can breach the 
  Veil at other points, but only do so in times of dire 
  emergency. That said, they have an agreement not to 
  enter the mortal realms in person – not since a string 
  of incidences that embarrass them to talk about. They 
  rely on their representatives to, well, represent them. 
  That’s why heroes are so important to them. Even the 
  most black-hearted rabble-rouser will stick to these 
  rules; if nothing else, godhood is about politics on the 
  big screen.
  Portals don’t stay open long; Telesmae can force 
  them open for a while, but only the gods have the 
  power to hold a portal open indefinitely. A portal 
  might also have material defenses… which means 
  when it does open, it’s showtime! Spirits surge forward 
  to hit the next stop on their structured pilgrimages, 
  desperate prisoners hop worlds without a second 
  glance, and plots that may have been decades in the 
  making receive their vital shock. Portal-jumping will 
  become pretty routine if the characters are good at 
  their jobs, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t also be 
  wonderful. This is the safety valve on reality popping 
  open; take that as license to be unexpected.
  But wait! Fun with portals doesn’t end there. 
  Gods and heroes aren’t the only ones who know 
  about portals. Demons, spirits, and demonic spirits 
  know all about portals, as do villains of a more arcane 
  bent.  Given the chance, they could use portals as 
  choke points where they ambush the characters. 
  Some scholars have theorized that portals are 
  the source of magic in the mortal realms. Pulse flows 
  through them like water from the grand reservoir of 
  the Maelstrom. If this is true, damming up a realm’s 
  portals would not only put a lock on inter-realm 
  travel, but put a number of honest wizards out of 
  their jobs. Far be it for us to suggest than only magic-
  hating simpletons would want to put a stranglehold 
  on portal operation, however. They do add a random 
  element to the terrain that causes city planner and 
  tree-hugger alike cause for concern.
  Common opinion among portal-watchers is 
  that the landscape surrounding portals tends to take 
  a turn for the… uncommon. This may have some 
  truth to it, if only because the gods are more likely 
  to send their agents through at those points and 
  because those with mystic sight may be drawn to 
  portals out of curiosity. Also, some portals leak traces 
  of latent Pulse into their surroundings, which tend 
  to soak into the ground, imbuing local trees, water 
  supplies, and animals with supernatural abilities. Use 
  that to create weird and wonderful locations at your 
  discretion.
  Talk About Moving
  Remember, you can make time travel as difficult 
  or as effortless as you like. What kind of mood are 
  you going for? Do you want to ruffle the minds of 
  your more impressionable players by messing with 
  their senses, or will the group just brush you off as an 
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  armchair thespian? Consider the mood of the night 
  and tailor your dramatics accordingly. Sometimes 
  it’s fun to drag out the process, describing in detail 
  what it’s like to feel your atoms pulled apart as your 
  very being is sieved through the barrier that is the 
  Veil, every iota strained through that filter and 
  barely allowed passage, then slowly and painfully 
  reassembled at the other end, back safe in the mortal 
  realms. However, that can get old after the first few 
  sessions, just like stock footage in a low-budget 
  action show. Unless you’re mixing it up and the group 
  is staying entertained, “You push through the portal, 
  faces almost blistering from the heat of the volcano 
  on the other side”, should be enough.
  Put another way, how does your favorite movie 
  treat scenes where the main characters are riding 
  their horses, driving their car, or otherwise moving 
  from place to place? Is it just an assumed action, 
  unworthy of your time? Does it build suspense, 
  highlighting the special nature of the characters? Or 
  is it not a statement about the characters at all, but 
  a chance to focus on the sweep of the background? 
  Consider a bedraggled caravan, tiny as it struggles 
  against stinging winds and never-ending hills. Here, 
  the focus is not on the caravan, but the dangers that 
  the travelers are hazarding on the way to the exciting 
  part of their adventure.
  Alternatively try using portal travel to key the 
  players in to how a scene sounds and feels before they 
  arrive. Imagine two criminals, meeting in the ruins 
  of an abandoned cathedral. They are grateful for the 
  rain, for nobody else would be out on such a rotten 
  night. One of them hears voices. He tenses, ready to 
  bolt. His comrade assures him that it’s nothing. The 
  voices get louder. Ghostly faces appear, laughing 
  and jeering. Your characters burst through the Veil, 
  interrupting the deal. The thieves scatter! You’ve 
  established a mood for the realm, and everyone has 
  just arrived.
  Another way to interact with portals is to play 
  up their attachment to objects in the mortal realm. 
  Some portals masquerade as common items - which 
  doesn’t mean they always go unnoticed, however. 
  While it’s unlikely anybody would suspect anything 
  amiss about a portal hidden at the back of a stuffy 
  wardrobe, a free-standing drawbridge, or a glittering 
  force-door at the peak of a mountain are more 
  conspicuous.
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  The only limit is what you can get away with. 
  There are some guidelines to avoid the worst excesses 
  of time travel and multiversal goat rodeos, however. 
  Demigods and higher are able to muck around with 
  these guidelines, but we’ll get to that later on. Let’s 
  focus on characters up to Heroic rank for now. 
  The foremost guideline for realm travel is 
  that outsiders follow the realm’s rules rather than 
  vice-versa. This means outsiders’ internal clocks 
  synchronize to whatever realm they visit. There’s no 
  outrunning Death by continually sprinting into the 
  past, or hiding in pocket dimensions with favorable 
  chronal exchange rates. Everyone dies one minute 
  at a time, heroes included. That’s one of the reasons 
  immortality is typically painted as being so appealing.
  As a side effect of internal chronal synchronization, 
  no individual can exist more than once in the same 
  point of time – at least without some serious wiggling. 
  If the wily White Warlock fails in his mission to lift 
  the Amulet of Greed from Victorian London, he 
  can’t simply re-enter his favorite portal and try again 
  under the same conditions. Every time he jumps to 
  Victorian London, he’ll always appear where and 
  when he left, plus as much time as went by according 
  to his internal clock. If it was midnight on May 9, 
  1871, and he leaves for exactly 24 hours, he can try 
  to come back a few days earlier, or a few miles away, 
  but he’ll end up in the same place he left at midnight 
  on May 10, 1871. If he tries to reappear using a portal 
  that’s in Paris, he’ll still wind up in London, at the 
  same portal he left by. If he wants another shot at 
  the Amulet of Greed, it will have to be through more 
  conventional measures such as mystically tracking it 
  to its new location. It’s not the phenomenal cosmic 
  power that merchant gods make realm travel out to 
  be, but at least it keeps the timeline intact. Those who 
  aren’t as accepting of such petty restrictions have an 
  additional reason to strive to become Demigods.
  What’s the limit to an anchor point’s stickiness? 
  Wiser minds than us have tried to calculate it, and 
  were only able to settle upon a general rule of thumb. 
  Here it is: characters appearing within a decade of 
  the point they have already visited, or within a few 
  hundred miles, tend to snap into the same anchor 
  point as they have already established. Anchors do 
  fade over time though, and lose their stickiness. Give 
  it a few years (according to the character’s internal 
  Then there’s the prospect of additional defenses 
  to deal with. Some defenses are built by the local 
  populace, such as barricades and warning signs 
  placed around a pulsating rift in the sky. Others are 
  created by the portal itself in order to blend in with 
  its surroundings. Examples include a rusted iron 
  lock and a numeric keypad whose combination is 
  only known by the local electricity spirits. Not every 
  portal needs to be as ostentatious, but remember that 
  they are an option – especially when characters are 
  Unlucky or on a travel god’s bad side.
  The Veil
  Because the Maelstrom exists outside time, it 
  overlaps the mortal realms, both solid and spiritual, 
  at every point simultaneously. The barrier between 
  the two is the milky, cloudy Veil. It’s not unknown 
  for heroes to dive into the past to match arms and 
  minds with the great legends before flashing forward 
  to the future to complete their training. In fact, we 
  encourage it. Shake hands with your idols and save 
  your grandchildren from your crazy mistakes! It’ll 
  create a story with a personal timeline as well as a 
  worldwide one.
  Before setting off on the time traveler’s Top Ten 
  (the Crucifixion, JFK, and the Second Great Robot 
  War), be warned: heroes aren’t the only ones who have 
  access to time travel. Craven villains who would fain 
  strike from the shadows of the past rather than enter 
  a head-on confrontation prefer this route. To make 
  the characters’ jobs even more difficult, Maelstrom 
  travelers aren’t limited to ‘official’ timelines and 
  histories – even places we would consider the stuff 
  of myth, legend or idle speculation have their place 
  in the Maelstrom. Not all of them, mind you, but 
  enough to make one wonder if the writers of ancient 
  tales knew more than they were letting on.
  What this means is you can travel to any time 
  period, any setting, and any genre. 1940s New York, 
  where two-faced triple-crossers match wits with 
  steely eyed dames and men of tarnished honor? Not 
  a problem. A medieval fantasy world where knights 
  battle acid-tongued dragons? You hardly need our 
  help on that one. How about a realm of silicon and 
  high-impact plastic torn asunder by virtual hotshots 
  and dripping biological monstrosities? Absolutely.
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  clock) and it shouldn’t be any trouble at all to use 
  new, nearby portals.
  From a GM’s perspective, it may be easier to 
  establish a handful of popular eras and limit the 
  players’ access to portals leading anywhere else. For 
  example, throughout the course of their adventures, 
  the characters discover portals to 12000 BC, 1000 AD, 
  1999 AD, and 2300 AD. After a year of adventure, 
  each portal will kick forward to 12001 BC, 1001 
  AD, 2000 AD, and 2301 AD. You would then only 
  be responsible for four realms, each connected by 
  time’s bonds, rather than the myriad suggested by 
  unchecked time travel. 
  That said, rampant time jumps can have a rush 
  like none other. It’s exciting to go to different places, 
  especially if they’re linked by a little thing like shared 
  history. The Maelstrom connects to every time and 
  place that can be imagined, even if they aren’t always 
  the easiest to enter. Maelstrom-side threats, chronal 
  synchronization lock-outs, and especially well-
  hidden portals are three common limits to finding 
  such realms as the Land Where My Hero is Praised 
  as an Eternal Super King. A final difficulty is the 
  opacity of the Veil. Even the gods have a distorted 
  view of what’s on the other side. A character might 
  think he was going to ancient Rome and wind up in a 
  Romanesque fantasy world instead.
  Of course, this uncertainty is part of what makes 
  time travel so exciting – realm travelers never know 
  where they’ll wind up, even with an air-tight promise 
  from the mouths of angels. That confusion helps keep 
  the elite few from taking too many vacations, forcing 
  them to be ready to adapt at a moment’s notice. It also 
  makes those rare adrenaline jockeys who flip through 
  realms as if they were infomercials into patron saints 
  for heroes and fools, both.
  Elastic History
  Adventures being what they are, it’s easy to 
  imagine some over-zealous hero killing the wrong 
  butterfly or romancing the wrong grandmother and 
  irrevocably changing the course of the future. This is 
  a time-travel game, after all. Certain shenanigans are 
  to be expected. So what’s to stop a gang of dissatisfied 
  historians from appearing in London every week 
  to assassinate Churchill, and then bopping over to 
  America and killing off FDR? What if they prevent 
  the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Won’t that 
  allow the Axis powers to win the war?
  Nope. Every time anybody has tried that, they 
  return to the Maelstrom to discover it had been a 
  security stand-in for Churchill, Eleanor masqueraded 
  as FDR for the rest of his term, and back-up bombs 
  were already in place to carry out the bombing run. 
  The Japanese surrendered, Hitler disappeared and 
  was presumed dead, and the Allies won.
  So what does that mean? Is history unchangeable? 
  Is man’s life really without purpose?
  Not entirely. The way it works is this: Each 
  timeline is given structure by a number of nexus 
  points. These nexuses are key people, places, items, 
  and events throughout history. Alexander the Great, 
  Hitler, FDR, JFK, Stalin, Lenin, Nelson Mandela – 
  all of these people were nexuses. They were crucial 
  to our history, which means they’re crucial to the 
  timeline. The individuals aren’t as important as 
  their actions and the repercussions of those actions, 
  but the individuals do gain a degree of universal 
  significance as a result. The timeline fiercely protects 
  its nexuses, rolling and shifting lesser figures to insure 
  that the basic shape of time remains stable. God-
  level intellects who are able to compute billions of 
  independent variables at a time are able to maneuver 
  around nexus points if necessary, but even then there 
  are many risks requiring countless teams of agents. 
  Demigods are able to affect more temporary nexus 
  changes, but more on that on pg 14.
  When a realm traveler steps through a portal he 
  carries traces of both Veil and Maelstrom with him. 
  Those clearly mark him as an intruder, an out-of-place 
  element, and the timeline senses that the newcomer 
  does not belong. The realm tolerates his presence – 
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  the gods and their Telesmae have too much power for 
  him to be thrown out on his ear – but it relaxes the 
  timeline to accommodate any potential interference. 
  Once the outsider disappears back into the 
  Maelstrom, the timeline tightens back up, shifting 
  everything back into place like an expert butler after 
  a surprise house party. Minor changes are overlooked 
  and are left alone; treasures can be plundered, Extras 
  can be slaughtered, and the potential for change 
  exists. If a nexus has been altered or removed, the 
  timeline notices and flies into overdrive to repair the 
  damage. Coincidence and happenstance conspire to 
  draw bystanders into the nexus’s place and carry out 
  the actions it should have performed. If the nexus was 
  forced into acting out-of-type, the realm minimizes 
  that damage as well; Ghandi’s not getting a 12-step 
  lesson in knife-fighting in our game. In the long run, 
  history continues as it always has.
  Killing Hitler when he’s a young man doesn’t 
  prevent World War II, it just means some other young 
  man steps up and assumes Hitler’s name and identity 
  and continues his plans. Funny thing – turns out it was 
  never Hitler at all, but some stand-in working for a 
  secret organization of dubiously defined power. Your 
  players may have revealed a greater conspiracy, and 
  they should feel proud. If that’s not enough, and they 
  travel back to defeat that organization, they find that 
  World War II still happens because of another set of 
  factors that they hadn’t even considered. Pinpointing 
  all of the elements that support nexus points requires 
  so much hacking through seemingly unconnected 
  eras and events that most attempts end in failure and 
  divine reprisal. Each interconnected network leads to 
  others, and untangling them becomes a task for only 
  the most dedicated. Sydney Bristow from Alias was 
  clearly a character from a Suzerain game!
  Because of time’s elasticity, characters on 
  standard missions can alter the world around them 
  with impunity. Anything too outrageous won’t have 
  a lasting effect. Kill a random passerby? Fine. Steal 
  some silverware from the Hindenberg? As much 
  as you like. Leave a radioactive fuel container in a 
  Babylonian well? No such luck. Some other god’s 
  troubleshooters will fish it out before it gets out of 
  hand, or a prehistoric sea creature will gulp it down 
  and absorb the worst of it.
  But The Future Changed...
  Players being as they are, it’s pretty likely that at 
  least one per group will become fed up with the elastic 
  nature of time. “What’s the point,” this hypothetical 
  gamer may ask, “if I can’t lord over time and reshape 
  it to my will?” There are options for such players, but 
  be sure to drive home how risky and unlikely the task 
  will be before exploring them. The player is asking for 
  a challenge, so you should take this as an invitation to 
  release some of the limiters on your nasty plots. This 
  is uncharted territory, so the potential for loss should 
  be great. Utter erasure from history is a good place to 
  start for failure, as a great number of gods have vested 
  interest in the stability of their own pet timelines.
  If the character still refuses to falter, he will need 
  a guide. Gods are the only intelligences sure to have 
  the necessary processing power for the task, but the 
  Maelstrom is vast and rife with both rebellious great 
  spirits and forgotten god-machines. The hero will also 
  need knowledge of alternative timelines with similar 
  conditions to those he seeks to create. These may be 
  provided by the guide, or experienced directly.
  After obtaining a guide, the nexus-cracker will 
  need to actually change the countless number of 
  situations required to unseat the nexus from its 
  original location along the timeline. These should 
  take several fully fleshed adventures, loaded with 
  high octane complications and double-crosses by the 
  fistful. By now you should be able to tell this isn’t a 
  process that should be undertaken lightly; it’s easily 
  meat enough for an entire campaign!
  Traveling Technology
  One common feature of time-travel stories is the 
  effect of technology when removed from its original 
  context. The classic example is the “Connecticut Yankee 
  in King Arthur’s Court” – he created gunpowder and 
  firearms back in Arthurian times and made himself 
  the big boss because no one could stand against him. 
  That’s dangerous. So what do you do when a pulp-
  era character goes back to the Stone Age, wielding 
  his twin .45s? Or a well-meaning futurist starts 
  passing out jetpacks to his favorite samurai? How do 
  you keep that from becoming unbalanced, and from 
  completely shattering the timeline?
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  Let’s talk about balance first. Cavemen are 
  primitive, but not dumb. Every moment of their lives 
  is spent centered on survival. Anyone who has seen 
  Return of the Jedi knows where we’re going with this 
  one. If that seems too unlikely for your game, consider 
  environmental solutions: ammo gets wet, batteries 
  die, and cavemen are constantly evolving to protect 
  against their key predators. Now we’ve evened the 
  odds a bit. Likewise, samurai may have little-known 
  cultural biases against the use of jetpacks in all but 
  the most isolated incidents. 
  The goal here is not to penalize your players by 
  stripping their characters of their equipment and 
  cunning plans. It’s all right to do, temporarily, and may 
  force them to come up with some spicy moves to get 
  them back, but what’s Johnny Laser without his laser? 
  There are other ways to level the playing field. Let’s 
  keep on thinking about those cavemen. Cavemen are 
  far stronger and tougher than people of the twentieth 
  century, and they hit a lot harder – especially if there’s 
  no one in the group who cares about anthropology 
  or fossil records. Those stone clubs they wield can 
  really pack a punch; those who weren’t so great at 
  clubbing never made it past adolescence. Moreover, 
  they’re surprisingly good at flinging those crude, 
  stone-tipped spears while on the run. And that’s 
  without unleashing the stampeding mammoths, or 
  the characters worrying about jammed weapons and 
  limited ammo.
  Part of the fun of a time travel game is making the 
  characters (and the players) reevaluate a setting. “Oh, 
  the Wild West! What do you mean those guys draw 
  faster than I can, and I was tricked by a rail baron?! 
  I’m their better – their god!” Let the characters and 
  their players see the strengths each setting has to offer, 
  and the dangers. Just because someone has more 
  advanced tech doesn’t mean they’re more dangerous. 
  Nor does having less tech mean you’re going to get 
  crushed – if wily Odysseus were transported to a 
  world of flying cars, he could do an incredible amount 
  of damage despite never having brushed his teeth or 
  shot a gun. That he wouldn’t need to rely upon an 
  internal processor for directions means he could 
  stab and trick people out of his way while they’re still 
  accessing the mainframe. The human (or dwarf, or 
  gremlin) brain is the best weapon in any setting.
  So what sort of impact will inappropriate tech 
  have on a setting? What do the cavemen do when 
  someone shows up with a pistol or a laser? How do 
  the knights react to a man armed with a Tommy gun? 
  Will introducing such devices into a world change its 
  – and our – history?
  The short answer is no. Just bringing tech with 
  you won’t alter the setting. After all, it’s self-contained 
  and will leave again with the character. The cavemen 
  might tell stories and paint pictures of a strange figure 
  who could draw lightning from the sky and strike 
  down those who angered him, and the knights might 
  share tales later of the evil sorcerer who could fling 
  a hail of metal and stone that could pierce armor, 
  but that’s all they’ll know about it. Even if the objects 
  get left behind, who’s going to understand them? 
  You won’t find cavemen figuring out how to mix 
  gunpowder and shape bullets, or knights learning 
  how to create a new ammo drum.
  Nor will teaching the locals about scientific 
  advances have much effect in the long run. Remember 
  that the timeline protects itself. A character can 
  lecture all he likes about electricity and lightbulbs and 
  the internal combustion engine – once he passes back 
  through the Veil, the Visigoths will only remember 
  him as a strange man with mystic powers and odd 
  notions about lightning and horseless chariots. 
  Detailed drawings will disappear as the years go by or 
  simply become too smudged to read clearly. Journals 
  will get lost or damaged. Stockpiled weapons and 
  machines will rust or be caught in a lava flow. The 
  world will right itself, as it always does.
  That’s just on the broad scale though. Dry 
  your eyes, tender reader! There’s nothing saying 
  that characters can’t have fun training a pack of 
  Neanderthals in the use of rifles and leading them 
  against a band of displaced WWI soldiers. Or giving 
  a noble knight a jetpack and a laser gun and setting 
  him loose on a cyberpirate with dreams of creating a 
  new plunderarchy. But the effect will be temporary, 
  and the knowledge will quickly fade back into myths 
  and legends – creating new legends in the process. If 
  used to achieve a goal that would be tougher without 
  it, technology is fine. If used to try and change the 
  way technology will be used once the characters are 
  gone, that just won’t work. In short, technology will 
  serve the crazy fun of your game, not break history.
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  The Gods’ Role
  The gods are natives of the Maelstrom, as well 
  as its most powerful residents. They’ve mastered the 
  art of tapping the Maelstrom’s power for themselves, 
  and have learned how to ride its timeless wave, seeing 
  from one end to the other at a single glance. With this 
  knowledge, they comprehend how the Maelstrom fits 
  together with each realm, like an enormous trans-
  dimensional puzzle. The gods are even able to see 
  through the Veil where it is thin… though the picture 
  they get can be somewhat garbled. Their messengers 
  and followers are legion.
  Gods are a powerful bunch, but they do have 
  their limits: the other gods for one, and their 
  common agreement to stay out of the mortal realms 
  for another. Despite their subtle cosmic purpose, 
  many gods seek to exert their influence as much as 
  possible. To this end, they engage in politicking and 
  favor-trading on an astronomical scale. If Ochun, 
  She of the Sweet Waters, desires the prayers of a 
  newly sentient race of crystal spheres, she cannot 
  just send a few miracles and start reaping the glory. 
  First she makes sure that none of the more powerful 
  gods have interest in the same development. If 
  they do, she builds up a pantheon of smaller gods 
  who will support the move. Some will require later 
  concessions, while others will need a demonstration 
  of the crystal beings’ worthiness. This is where the 
  gods’ interaction with the heroes of Suzerain begins. 
  Someone needs to defeat the plans of jealous rival 
  gods, gather the gifts from perilous realms, and guide 
  the new race through its travails: heroes!
  Many of the gods within the Maelstrom have 
  familiar names: Thor, Hermes, Quetzalcoatl, etc. 
  That’s because they’ve peered into the mortal realms 
  and occasionally stepped on through. Those days 
  are in the past though, consigned to a mythic age 
  of antiquity and maybes. Every realm has its own 
  specific reasons for the gods’ eventual withdrawal 
  to the Maelstrom, but it all boils down to the truth 
  that manifesting as showers of gold or horny bulls 
  (that’s right Zeus, you’re on notice) wasn’t doing 
  anyone any favors. In all but the strangest realms, 
  the gods now choose mortals to act as messengers 
  and representatives on the other side of the Veil. In 
  return, the mortals gain a touch of divinity. When a 
  job needs doing in the mortal realms, the gods call 
  upon heroes and demigods to intercede.
  Importantly, not every person with a Telesma 
  is beholden to do as the gods ask. There’s free will 
  involved, after all. The gods tend to be generous 
  employers though, especially for those who prefer 
  to be paid in glory. Heroes and demigods with 
  more direct divine links (such as Empowered 
  characters or those with a Patron God Edge) have 
  a more traditional god-mortal relationship with the 
  pantheons, but even they are not slaves (unless they 
  happen to worship the God of Tyranny). At Heroic 
  rank and higher, characters are rare enough that the 
  gods start to treat them as valued freelancers – as 
  long as they realize that they’re still just mortals and 
  keep some semblance of humility.
  When needed, a god will call on one or more 
  heroes to travel to particular times and places and 
  perform mighty tasks. Sometimes these tasks don’t 
  make a huge amount of sense, but if the Great Fey 
  Spirit needs a prehistoric mountain moved 300m to 
  the right, it is far older, wiser, and more complicated 
  than any mortal. It’s perfectly normal to think that 
  the great spirit has gone senile through the eons of its 
  wild revels, but just as common for the eventual truth 
  to seem so natural that it was the only way.
  For a GM, it’s useful to know that most gods work 
  toward their own goals and don’t always do so with 
  other members of their pantheon. For instance, the 
  characters might get visited by Shiva, Loki, Athena 
  and the Archangel Mihel. Though they’re part of four 
  different pantheons, together they have a task for the 
  characters – the recovery of a long-lost scroll that’s 
  turned up at auction in Madrid in the year 1968. 
  That allows the characters to get friendly with an 
  eclectic mix of divine beings and still find adventures 
  that involve them all. They might well ask why those 
  four gods are so interested in that particular scroll, 
  but figuring out the link is part of the fun that can 
  lead to all sorts of follow-on adventures.
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  Heroic Games
  One of our goals with Savage Suzerain is to get 
  you to agree that ‘Life begins at 60’. While many 
  Savage Worlds campaigns finish around 60-80xp, 
  Suzerain is just getting started. At 60 xp, characters 
  break into the big leagues; they become heroes in the 
  eyes of the Continuum and get a chance to strut their 
  stuff on the universal stage. Here are some thoughts 
  on running games for Heroic and Legendary rank 
  games.
  Playing a Heroic rank character doesn’t have 
  to involve a patron god. Some characters become 
  Heroic without ever stepping into the Maelstrom. 
  They simply reach a point in their own development 
  where they grow beyond the role of a normal person, 
  even a normal adventurer. Their abilities and powers 
  increase to levels no regular mortal could hope to 
  attain, powers that appear legendary to those around 
  them. These heroes know nothing of the Maelstrom, 
  the gods, or the Veil – nor do they care. They find 
  their own problems to solve, their own goals to strive 
  toward, and their own enemies to face. And they do 
  all that within their own native setting.
  Despite this book’s focus on the traveling hero, 
  there’s nothing wrong with playing a character 
  who sticks to one realm and timeframe. Not every 
  realm is going to knuckle under the first time a few 
  Heroic rank characters get together for a good time, 
  especially expansive ones or regions known for their 
  eye-gouging toughness. A sufficiently advanced sci-fi 
  galaxy will have its fair share of heroes no doubt, able 
  to provide ample challenge to even the most shiny-
  toothed of star captains. 
  Sticking to one realm allows characters a chance 
  to focus, cultivate networks of friends and allies, 
  and build far-reaching influence. With that kind 
  of familiarity, the people who the characters meet 
  have time to evolve past their initial, possibly flat, 
  characterizations and into full, complex personalities. 
  As the inner world deepens, its outer counterpart 
  expands similarly. Heroic rank characters are skilled 
  enough to influence the fates of nations; even if they 
  stay at home on the dimensional scale, they’ll be 
  asked to travel quite a bit by the movers and shakers 
  of their realm.
  All Times, All Places
  Not everyone wants to be so confined, however. 
  Some players want the excitement of trying different 
  settings and different genres, and doing it without 
  having to change characters or rules systems. For 
  those people, the Maelstrom is the logical next step. 
  Playing in multiple times and multiple settings 
  can be fascinating. One minute your character is at 
  home in 1930’s Chicago, the next he finds himself 
  following a series of esoteric clues back to 13th century 
  France. After discovering the necessary evidence, he’s 
  on a spaceship hurtling toward Alpha Centauri at 
  impossible speeds, and then he’s traipsing through 
  fog-shrouded mountains hunting yetis for the final 
  part of the cipher. Playing through different settings 
  keeps everyone on their toes because each realm has 
  its own unique challenges. A character designed for 
  fighting bog mummies isn’t going to have an easy 
  time befriending 28th-century socialites, but that’s 
  part of the fun. If it’s not working out, there’s always 
  a new realm through the nearest portal. That way the 
  adventures of Mummysbane Mendoza can continue, 
  even if his career as a futuristic man of mystery is cut 
  short.
  Away Missions
  One of the realities of a roleplaying game is 
  that it has to fit around everyone’s schedule. Often 
  someone can’t make a particular session because 
  outside commitments get in the way. We hate that 
  sort of thing, but it’s a reality we all face. Although 
  some groups take great joy in watching terrible ill 
  befall characters whose players are absent, we have a 
  different way of handling it. 
  We tackle this all-too-common problem in 
  Suzerain with… the Maelstrom! Any character with 
  a patron god will have to accept that gods work 
  along different timeframes than mortals. Said god 
  may pluck said hero from the midst of an important 
  mission for a quick check-in. Longer absences are 
  better covered by urgent side missions to nearby 
  realms. These meetings can be played at the leisure 
  of the GM and any absent players, or swept under the 
  rug and left as convenient blanks for filling in later. 
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  Another option is for the gods to call the players 
  who are in attendance to take a sudden side mission, 
  leaving the absent player’s character behind to 
  monitor their current task. This is a good time to 
  pursue plot threads the missing character wouldn’t 
  necessarily care about. Has a particular NPC been 
  vexing the players who were able to show up for a 
  shortened session? Spin a side mission around her. 
  Are two of the characters money-grubbing hucksters, 
  always at odds with the upstanding-yet-absent 
  character? Give them an excellent adventure where 
  they can indulge in their avarice. What tales survive 
  until the next session will give the returning player 
  added incentive to make it to future games!
  If the absent character doesn’t have a patron god, 
  it’s an opportunity for some new deity to take an 
  interest in him and haul him over to the Maelstrom 
  for a closer look. Dreams and portents work for some, 
  but the real hands-on sort go for full-out kidnapping 
  if the individual in question is anywhere near a portal.
  Naturally enough, disappearing characters might 
  need some serious explaining if the group was in the 
  middle of a social encounter when the session starts. 
  Luckily, the timeline has ways of smoothing over 
  the cracks. Perhaps onlookers assume the missing 
  character stepped out to use the restroom, or he’s so 
  unmemorable that they barely notice he’s gone at all, 
  or any number of other possibilities.
  No matter how you handle missing players, the 
  meddling Maelstrom dwellers allow play to continue 
  without a hitch. Better yet, those absences become 
  part of the story itself.
  Nature Of The Heroic Game
  Most Heroic games start with a bang. It makes 
  sense – whether the player has been with his 
  character for months or is just introducing him now, 
  the character has suddenly ascended to a new level 
  of power and ability. Something in him has changed 
  – maybe he finally won his mentor’s approval and 
  was granted the last secret of his training, maybe 
  he discovered a new aspect of his superpowers, or 
  maybe he suddenly realized he was meant for bigger 
  things than facing down muggers and bank robbers. 
  No matter how it happened, the whole world looks 
  different to the character, and his place in that world 
  has definitely changed. And that requires a big 
  response, a serious dramatic moment.
  If the Heroic game is an extension of a campaign 
  that progressed through Novice, Seasoned and 
  Veteran then the session after a character advances to 
  Heroic rank should begin with a reflection upon this 
  new status. Talk with the player before the session 
  to see if he has any especially cool scenes in mind. 
  Did he finally split the steel bar with his bare hands, 
  swinging his fists through the hammering blows of 
  a mid-summer storm? Does he meet his patron god 
  in a dream and receive a token pushing him toward 
  new horizons? This should be a gratifying moment, 
  even if the rest of the character’s life is sodden with 
  bad luck.
  It’s a great time to introduce the gods and the 
  Maelstrom if they haven’t already become a part of 
  the campaign. Most likely, they’ll be a big part of 
  the stories to come. If it’s not the right time for the 
  big reveal, there should still be something to mark 
  the change. Perhaps a new crime boss has moved in 
  and taken over all the old gangs – and his first heist 
  has the papers running red with his new methods. It 
  could be that the hero slew a dragon – only to learn 
  that it was a mere infant, and now its parent vows 
  vengeance! Maybe the characters’ great benefactor 
  died under mysterious circumstances, leaving them 
  on their own for the first time. Whatever happens, it 
  should be apparent very quickly that new threats are 
  out there – ones fit for true heroes, leaving previous 
  challenges in the dust.
  This doesn’t mean that everything needs to be 
  Capital Letters and Epic Threats to Humanity from 
  here on out. A character who has pledged to protect 
  Boston from unearthly crimes shouldn’t give up on 
  the pixies and gremlins just because an 18-wheeler 
  full of hopping vampires has pulled into town. He 
  may need to find a way to delegate those problems, 
  whether to a junior partner or to the local police, but 
  it’s still part of his responsibility. So are maintaining 
  his business contacts, going to his day job, meeting 
  with his friends, caring for his aged parents, eating 
  right, and getting enough sleep. It’s often these 
  mundane details that help keep heroes grounded 
  even as they’re facing massive evils that could blot 
  out the very sun.
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  Heroic Direction
  The players all know how to make their characters 
  and they’re ready for the big time. You’re the GM, 
  and they’re looking at you expectantly. Now you have 
  to deliver. There are so many directions to go with 
  a Suzerain game that the number of options can be 
  daunting at first. How do you make the most of them 
  to create a memorable, unique experience that they’ll 
  reminisce about for years to come? Your players are 
  waiting, the pressure mounting. 
  One of the biggest questions with a Heroic rank 
  game in Suzerain, and one of the first questions you 
  should ask both yourself and your players, is: multi-
  setting or single-setting? Obviously you’ll all need to 
  agree – don’t force your players into a single setting 
  when they want to explore a bunch of settings and 
  genres, and don’t kick them out into the vastness of 
  time and space when they just want to focus on their 
  own neighborhood.
  Here are some pointers compiled from seventeen 
  years of development. Relax – it’s all going to be just 
  fine.
  One World
  Single-setting epics offer a more traditional play 
  experience. One setting, one set of genre conventions 
  to internalize and adapt to. If the characters are 
  ongoing ones, both you and the players already know 
  the setting. It’s familiar territory, comfortable ground. 
  Of course, that should change… and quickly. Don’t 
  let the players or their characters become complacent 
  and lazy. They’re playing with the big boys now.
  Throw a new threat at them, one they’ve never 
  encountered before and don’t know anything about. 
  That should wake them up. Up the ante, not only with 
  bigger and badder villains, but larger stakes, higher 
  risks, and more potential for collateral damage. 
  Heroes would be nothing without their opposition, 
  so give them something to struggle against!
  Don’t focus on the new threat right from the start, 
  though. Give it time to build. Throw a few minor 
  but distantly related problems at the characters first, 
  to lull them into a false sense of security. As a case 
  study, consider an invasion of shape-shifting aliens, 
  doppelgangers, or underfolk. The first inklings of 
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  the assault shouldn’t be the discovery of an entire 
  country of replicants. Perhaps there’s a crooked cop 
  who’s acting more bloodthirsty than usual. Upon 
  closer study, he’s not human! A few weeks later, a 
  disturbed madman gives the standard, “Fools, I will 
  kill you all!” speech, with a few notable changes. He 
  refers to a world of falsehoods and symbolic lives 
  without honest backing. 
  After a few scenes like this, the players will start 
  to catch on that a storm is brewing. That’s when you 
  either confirm their suspicions with the discovery 
  of a small town entirely populated by pod people, 
  or pull the rug out from under them and reveal the 
  true threat to be hallucinogenic spores released by 
  a furious nature spirit. Wham! That’s the second 
  punch, but still not the big one. Knock the characters 
  around, make them realize they’re no longer the new 
  kids on the block. They’ll need to adapt, develop new 
  strategies to confront their greatest challenge yet. 
  That’s when you bring in the alien mothership, the 
  invaders’ true forms, or their ultimate goal.
  One-setting campaigns are about exploring the 
  same world on a grander scale than was previously 
  possible. If the characters were focused on their 
  hometown, take them up a notch to saving the whole 
  country. We call the life of heroes an ‘epic’ for a 
  reason, and this is where the players get to feel that.
  Quantum Sliders
  A multi-setting epic is more difficult to set up, 
  since it can be hard to keep track of all the different 
  backdrops to the action. That’s OK; it’s all part of 
  the rush. You can literally set your game anywhere, 
  anywhen, and in any genre. Want to run a pulp 
  game with two-tone morality for a while? Put the 
  characters in the 1930s or ‘40s and set everything 
  four-color. Want to do noir? Turn everything dark, 
  gritty, and melancholy. When the characters get on 
  the wrong side of the corrupt mayor, let them recover 
  with the splendor of a high fantasy realm. That place 
  where dragons fly and wizards cast fireballs and kings 
  wield enchanted swords… it’s only a portal away. 
  Because of the way the mortal realms exist in the 
  Suzerain Continuum, any setting you can imagine 
  is part of Earth’s timeline somewhere – the idea is 
  that our history is only the latest layer of the world’s 
  true history, and places like Atlantis and Lemuria 
  and Camelot existed in previous eras, now forgotten 
  except as confused myths. As for the future, that’s 
  not been written, so you can have anything you want 
  happening there.
  The trick to a multi-genre game is getting the 
  pieces to fit together. Sure, it’s fun to do a high-tech 
  science fiction world one session and a medieval 
  fantasy setting the next, but what’s the connection? 
  You can just have gods sending the characters to 
  various times at random, of course, but what’s it all 
  Group And Troupe
  If you’re lucky enough to have a stable 
  gaming group where everyone trusts each 
  other, we highly recommend everyone has 
  a player character in the story – even the 
  GM. Play that character as a key Extra, never 
  hogging the limelight and just being there to 
  add another opinion and another sword to the 
  characters’ resources. He’s a henchman or the 
  brother of one of the others who tags along, 
  and they tolerate him because he turns out to 
  be useful every now and again.
  What’s 
  the 
  benefit? 
  Well, 
  it 
  adds 
  survivability to the group, and gives the GM 
  a voice to point out additional information if 
  the players’ creative energy has temporarily 
  flagged. It also allows you to switch GMs every 
  now and again while keeping the same pool 
  of characters. And that’s a really useful thing 
  to be able to do. This form of ‘troupe play’ is 
  already popular in many places; we highly 
  recommend you keep an open mind and give 
  it a go sometime.
  That said, we would like to repeat the 
  ‘trust’ portion of troupe play. One of the most 
  popular topics for player horror stories is the 
  scene-stealing GM-PC. This character appears 
  to be a character’s sidekick, or perhaps a 
  white-bearded messenger from the gods, but 
  he ends up being far more effective than the 
  tale’s nominal heroes. He’s the one who has 
  the plan for defeating the Oshkosh Ooze, and 
  it’s his flashing blade that finally defeats the 
  Invincible Sword Princess. These characters 
  are no fun and it’s a low blow from a GM.
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  leading up to? The players expect you, the GM, to 
  make sense of it all. They expect you to have a plan. 
  Don’t disappoint them.
  Figure out a larger plot first, something that can 
  tie different eras together. Are the gods concerned 
  about the whereabouts and activities of a certain 
  immortal? They send the characters to several key 
  points in the timeline to check up on that immortal 
  and foil her plans (or make sure they succeed). Do 
  the gods need the characters to retrieve certain items 
  scattered through time? At their core the items are 
  just an excuse to get the characters into different 
  scrapes, but don’t make it so obvious. Maybe the 
  items will be able to fulfill a specific character goal 
  when they are assembled, such as the destruction of a 
  nexus point or the resurrection of a friend.
  For a more proactive game, introduce a dark 
  mirror to the characters – another god or a demon 
  – recruiting agents for his own nefarious plans all 
  along the timeline. The characters will then need 
  to identify and defeat those enemy agents, who are 
  backed by patrons as powerful (or more!) than the 
  heroes’ own. There are just a few quick examples; 
  your overarching plot doesn’t need to be any more 
  laid out in the beginning. Players being what they are, 
  they will no doubt introduce complications to your 
  plot and pursue leads that you never expected. As 
  long as everyone’s having a good time, there’s nothing 
  wrong with that. If the players aren’t scrabbling for 
  a grand narrative right away, the behind-the-scenes 
  explanation could just be that the gods want their 
  champions to experience as much of the mortal 
  realms as possible. 
  One of the most entertaining things about using 
  different genres and settings is the ‘fish out of water’ 
  syndrome. Think of any anime series where a normal 
  high school student is sucked into a nostalgic world 
  of magic – it’s fun to watch (or play!) a character who’s 
  thrust into a time he doesn’t know or understand, 
  where he has to do his best to fit in and winds up 
  using his own skills and abilities to get ahead. Players 
  love games like this, because it’s a chance to show off 
  their ingenuity and to have some really funny scenes 
  as well. These hijinks can be carried a step further 
  when multiple timelines clash, forming groups of 
  characters from several different times and places.
  Take a group that has a dwarfish knight, a cyborg, 
  a hardboiled detective, and Kid Thunder, heir to the 
  Nemean Lion’s hide, and wait for them to show up in 
  the cyborg’s neon-lit streets. Even if the cyborg has 
  been the group’s comic relief up until this point, he’ll 
  be the voice of reason when the knight thinks cars are 
  demons and the detective tries fermenting FlavoSoy 
  to refill his dwindling flask. Toss the same group into 
  a classic fantasy setting and it’s the knight’s turn to 
  laugh as the cyborg tries wiring himself into a well 
  and Kid Thunder’s ‘devil music’ attracts angry mobs.
  Don’t be mean-spirited – it’s not about putting the 
  characters in settings to make them uncomfortable 
  or cripple their character concepts. It’s about the 
  disconnect between their previous experiences 
  and their new environment, and the good-natured 
  humor that results. Put that same group in the Holy 
  Roman Empire and make everyone mistake them 
  for Centurions and you’ve got a fun game that could 
  still have some very high stakes to it – the characters 
  have to pull off their masquerade well enough to be 
  accepted as part of the Emperor’s Honor Guard so 
  they can save him from an assassination attempt by a 
  killer from the late 21st century.
  Multi-setting games are a bit like the TV series 
  Quantum Leap, but they’ll take your characters 
  to every bit of our universe, from forgotten past 
  to far future. Use the different realms to highlight 
  characters goals and differences, or just provide new 
  challenges and interesting set-pieces. You’ve learned 
  your history, now it’s time to put it to good use.
  Mix And Match
  Keep in mind that you don’t need to lock your 
  campaign into a specific mode. You could center 
  the game around the relations between two or three 
  realms, or spend an extended period of time with a 
  particularly important setting after many sessions of 
  realm-trotting. You can also start the characters out 
  in their native setting and then segue into a multi-
  setting campaign.
  Of the Suzerain epics we’ve seen, the final 
  possibility is actually the most popular and it’s easy 
  to see why. We all love our characters, but there’s 
  usually a point where we’ve been playing in one 
  setting and the ‘been there, done that’ feeling has set 
  in. We’re itching for big stompy robots, and a troll in 
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  plate armor is no longer cutting it. Thanks to portals, 
  our disenchanted enchanters are able to cruise the 
  universe in search of bigger, stompier adventure. The 
  characters keep developing, and soon we have three 
  wizards in color-coordinated mecha. We laugh and 
  play and stomp, and are finally able to answer the 
  age-old question of who would win in a fight between 
  giant robots and short, rural demihumans with a 
  fondness for smokeable plants. Malaise sets in again 
  until we see that cool movie with the invisible sci-fi 
  predator and those great aliens who eat marines for 
  breakfast. Time for the armored re-enchanter corps 
  and their friends to step up to the next challenge!
  Make sure your players know what you’re 
  doing, however. If they’ve stated explicitly that they 
  don’t want to do multi-setting, don’t pull a fast one 
  and suddenly have them yanked out of their world. 
  Nothing’s worse than starting a game about zeppelin 
  pirates only to discover three sessions in that it’s a 
  computer simulation. By the same measure, if the 
  players have established that they never want their 
  characters to make it back home from their run-in 
  with a timequake, don’t force it upon them. 
  If you’re not sure how to proceed, test the waters 
  with a few brief encounters. The characters might 
  encounter someone from their own past while on 
  a mission elsewhere, for example, making them 
  wonder what he’s doing out of their native time and 
  what’s happening in their home as a result. Or they 
  might see a stranger in their world, one who clearly 
  doesn’t belong, or find a thug using a weapon whose 
  technology is far beyond anything currently available. 
  If they’re itching for wider skies, they’ll follow the 
  lead. If not, it’s business as usual. If done smoothly, 
  the ability to shift gears can keep your game exciting 
  and your players entertained and their characters 
  involved, all without losing your storyline or leaving 
  any one portion of the epic feeling awkward and 
  forced.
  Our last bit of advice? Do what’s fun, and don’t 
  be afraid to change what you’re doing as time goes 
  by. Sure, have a plan for a great epic before you start, 
  but if a few months go by (or a few years for that 
  matter) and everyone agrees that a change is what 
  you need – then change! Take the characters through 
  a rollercoaster of a few sessions where each one is a 
  short away mission to a different place (try out the 
  free One Sheet adventures from the Treasure area 
  of our website to see how those work). Why not let 
  different people be guest GMs for each of those while 
  you recharge your imagination? Then, with a fresh 
  plot idea in mind, you can take the same characters 
  to a setting where a new long adventure awaits… 
  the next bit of their rambunctious struggle towards 
  godhood.
  Suits You, Sir
  Here’s a hint to making fun, memorable, and 
  compelling epics for your group, which is even more 
  important in Heroic rank games than at lower ranks: 
  suit them to the characters involved.
  What does that mean, exactly? Well, you may 
  have come up with an incredible game to run. It’s 
  a mystery, with subtle clues, tons of red herrings, 
  devious Extras, lots of twists, and a final diabolical 
  reveal. It’s brilliant! 
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  The problem is, the players all have rough-and-
  tumble characters. They’re not detectives. They’re a 
  motley assortment of killbots, scions of Ares, and 
  femme fatale snipers. Not even close. The nearest 
  they get to detecting is beating up a street gang and 
  then demanding information from them. 
  So, not a good game. Why? Because it doesn’t suit 
  the characters.
  When building your epic, think about the players 
  and their characters. Who are they? What do they 
  like? What sort of game would they enjoy? If no one 
  in the group likes subtle mysteries, clearly creating a 
  finesse-based story is going to fail on two accounts: 
  the players will ruin your ‘dream game’, and they 
  won’t have fun doing it. Think about their interests 
  and tailor your sessions accordingly.
  Keep in mind that the characters are larger than 
  life. While they should have small doses of everyday 
  humanity to ground themselves, this isn’t the time for 
  counting copper coins or describing every routine 
  bus ride. Build the central plot around something 
  that only your group of characters can do. It can be as 
  small as rescuing a kidnapped heiress from an Indian 
  snake cult, or as big as saving the entire world from 
  a madman with a freeze ray the size of Rhode Island. 
  You may have some untapped plans for games about 
  public relations or investment banking, but this isn’t 
  the greatest setting in which to unleash them... unless 
  the characters are specially trained mediators who 
  run PR/threat evaluation for the giants of industry 
  in a world of corporate espionage and mimetic 
  assassination. It was a minority who thought of 
  archeology professors as sexy Nazi-punchers until 
  Indiana Jones came along, but now the globe-trotting 
  academic has become an accepted (and eminently 
  mimicable) archetype.
  You can always stand convention on its head, 
  of course. Go ahead and let the bruisers have their 
  chance at solving the Case of the Battered Blade. The 
  story may develop a more comedic edge as a result, but 
  you could do worse than a session where everyone’s 
  laughing so hard that they can’t breathe on account of 
  the demolitions expert using the conclusive evidence 
  as a makeshift bomb. Just be sure you leave yourself 
  an out if the tone isn’t building as planned, and that 
  the final focus of the story will be properly suited to 
  the characters involved. 
  Demigod Games
  Where do realm travelers go after proving 
  themselves legends in their own time? They are 
  second in skill and knowledge to the very gods who 
  shake the foundations of creation at this point. They 
  are demigods. As with attaining Heroic rank, there 
  should be some sort of grand event to celebrate the 
  promotion. More traditional gods prefer to go the 
  thunder, lightning, and chorus of angels route, letting 
  everyone in a realm know that one of their chosen 
  has lived up to his name. Trickster gods (or patronless 
  heroes) may need to steal their divine rights, 
  infiltrating the inner sanctum of the Maelstrom and 
  outwitting its inhuman guardians. More modern 
  gods err on the side of restraint, informing their 
  favored with a quick phone call and light lunch. No 
  matter what the route this ascension takes, it should 
  be an in-game event that boosts the players’ egos and 
  puffs them up for the challenges to come.
  What sorts of conflicts remain to challenge a neo-
  pantheon of demigods? How about a galactic mystery 
  that has the gods themselves flustered and coughing 
  nervously into their sleeves? Whether it turns out 
  to be the grandest conspiracy in creation or simply 
  a fundamental inevitability, getting to the bottom 
  of it will require travel to realms of non-existence. 
  These areas exist on maps, but most frequently in the 
  shared minds of fantasists and doubters. These are 
  unofficial versions of history, the what-ifs, maybes, 
  and nevers. Only within these apocrypha can the 
  truth be dredged forth.
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  The Power And Glory
  Your players’ characters are demigods. They have 
  the power of the divine, and they want the glory of 
  becoming gods. Make them work for it. As their epic 
  enters its third act, it’s time to make them realize 
  they’ll need all that power if they’re to survive, let 
  alone earn their transcendence to godhood. Trouble 
  is, that’s easier said than done.
  Think about the amazing arsenal at the 
  characters’ disposal. Stacks of Pulse to fuel plenty of 
  supernatural abilities and powers. A fistful of Karma 
  each session, which they can use to change reality. 
  Three cards from the Adventure Deck (if you’re using 
  it). A more powerful Wild Die than any character 
  ever had. An array of fine Edges. And let’s not forget 
  those seriously impressive Traits they’re bound to 
  have amassed.
  Oh, and death is just a Karma point of annoyance, 
  making characters almost immortal.
  Put it that way and it’s quite a challenge to build 
  a significant challenge for them. Don’t fret, though. 
  By this stage you know your players well enough to 
  make life interesting. You’re the GM and you have 
  two great tools at your disposal that will help you out:
  You control what happens off-stage: That allows 
  you to rob the characters of some of their resources 
  at the start or as the sessions go by. Demigods who 
  get to heal up and replenish their Pulse every session 
  can handle almost anything. Don’t let them get a 
  good night’s sleep and keep hurrying them, heaping 
  more and more trouble on their heads until they’re 
  struggling to keep up. They should be saving the 
  Continuum at this stage of their career, and the 
  kind of evil god who wants to bring about the End 
  Times isn’t likely to wait while they retreat to their 
  pocket realm for some R&R. In fact, finding a way 
  to disable their access to the pocket realm isn’t a bad 
  place to start. Say, we should use that in our Demigod 
  campaign some time!
  You control the NPCs: Use this to force the 
  characters into making really tough ethical choices. 
  All the supernatural artillery in the world won’t 
  help when it’s a choice between sacrificing the souls 
  of innocent children to hungry demon spirits and 
  saving mankind from the eternal tyranny of the Great 
  Dragon Spirit (a choice you’ll find familiar when you 
  meet poor Gregor in our campaign later on). Or what 
  about saving the life of one character’s kid sister, who’s 
  been hanging around with the group since they were 
  first put down on paper, weighed up against saving 
  the Archangel Gabel who guards the prison of the 
  Dark One? If a character has an Edge or Hindrance 
  that comes associated with an NPC... use that person 
  to put the characters into an impossible situation. 
  You’ll find they try to get the best of both worlds and 
  shock you how close they get to succeeding despite 
  the odds – they’re demigods after all. It’ll be a great 
  game for it.
  Gods And End Times
  Even gods have myths, and all residents of 
  the Maelstrom have one myth they share. One we 
  mentioned just a moment ago. The gods tell of a 
  moment when the Veil will be torn apart, merging 
  the mortal and immortal realms. The time stream 
  of the Maelstrom and the time stream of the mortal 
  universe will collide, briefly coexist in the End 
  Times, and then the universe will implode into a 
  single particle, destroying all things, even the gods 
  themselves.
  The myth frightens many gods, depresses others, 
  and drives one or two to bouts of drinking. Yet there’s 
  one positive crumb within all versions of the story: 
  the particle that’s left when our universe is destroyed 
  will grow to become a new universe, the seed of 
  another set of beings and realms and gods. Few take 
  this as any consolation.
  For all their power, none of the gods can prove or 
  disprove the myth of the End Times. In many ways, 
  that makes it even more frightening in their minds. 
  Surely, someone with mastery over time and space 
  would be able to tease out a clue? Instead… nothing. 
  There’s no sign of an apocalypse coming, but many 
  residents of the Maelstrom just have a gut feeling that 
  the myth is right, and that one day everything that 
  ever existed will just disappear.
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  Alternate Reality
  As mentioned earlier, demigods are able to 
  bypass the gates of never-was to enter genres and 
  settings that could not exist along the main timeline. 
  These realities are good opportunities to pull out 
  ideas for worlds and cosmologies that wouldn’t 
  maintain player interest for extended campaigns, but 
  vibrate with shock-and-awesome when they’re first 
  introduced. If Heroic multi-setting campaigns are 
  Quantum Leap, Demigod multi-setting campaigns 
  might be Sliders.
  It’s in these shadow almost-realms that demigods 
  are able to do the hands-on detective work that full-
  fledged gods are barred from undertaking. As the 
  bold divinities-in-training trek across humming 
  alien landscapes unlike any they have encountered 
  before, the truth of the End Times will come to 
  light. This isn’t something that we’re going to hold 
  over your heads, waiting for the right moment to 
  provide a grand reveal. This is the End of All Things. 
  Paradoxes be cursed, something this big should be 
  deeply personal and keyed to each group.
  One classic way of personalizing alternate realms 
  is to base them on a character who is important to 
  the story. For example, what if one of your player’s 
  characters almost made a deal with a black-hearted 
  alien intelligence during one of the Heroic rank 
  highlight reels? Why not explore the episode a little 
  further in the alternate reality where the deal was 
  signed, sealed, and delivered, and said character now 
  rules over it with a fiery fist? Running with this idea 
  a little further, it’s not beyond reason to think the 
  corrupted hero has also heard about the End Times, 
  and is doing everything in her power to bring them 
  to pass in order to erase her moment of weakness 
  from the universe.
  As with time travel, the number of available 
  alternate reality portals depends on your comfort 
  level. Players should not have access to an infinite 
  library of portals right away, unless you’re willing 
  to give them access to anything their hearts desire. 
  A good compromise is to think about it in terms of 
  resource management. Access to alternate realities 
  should give the characters more and grander ways to 
  solve their problems, but the realities should not be 
  answers in and of themselves.
  Or Not
  Just because the characters are now Demigod 
  rank doesn’t mean our basic advice has changed. All 
  these fancy options for alternate realities are great, 
  but if they don’t suit your group then simply ignore 
  the possibility. Aside from letting the characters flex 
  a nexus for five minutes, shut the door on Hitler 
  winning WWII and all other non-realities. Let the 
  characters continue moving from realm to realm, 
  taking on bigger challenges in new bits of the prime 
  reality. Time and space is big enough not to need the 
  extra razzle dazzle if it’s not your style.
  And let’s leave you with a truly revolutionary 
  thought… what if the characters never leave their 
  home realm, not once they hit Heroic, and not when 
  they get to Demigod? As Novices they saved their 
  village from evil cultists. At Heroic rank they stopped 
  invaders pillaging their nation. Now they’re demigods 
  it’s time to save the whole world, but is there really a 
  need to save a thousand worlds when one well-told 
  story is enough for the characters to reach godhood 
  with a sense of great satisfaction?
  Suzerain doesn’t tell you what to do. It doesn’t 
  punish you for choosing one epic over another. It was 
  always your choice, from the moment you opened 
  this book. With that thought we humbly present 
  you with our unconventional campaign, spanning 
  everything from Novice to Demigod in one set of 
  scenarios.
  Celestium
  Celestium is a super ceramic created by a 
  well-guarded Pulse infusion process. Several 
  realms have access to it, though very few can 
  actually manufacture it. Celestium is light gray, 
  shiny, and often thought to be a metal by those 
  who don’t know better. It’s phenomenal for 
  making Pulse-based computers, much better 
  than silicon, but it also makes pretty good 
  weapons. Those who can work with such a 
  tough material are always in demand, and the 
  Trader Imperium of Relic was expert at turning 
  it into… relics. When the Imperium fell apart 
  after the War of the Wild, the knowledge was 
  lost to the world, making Trader items like the 
  arc gun massively valuable.
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  Plot Point Campaign
  The place is the fantasy realm of Relic and the 
  time is the last days of the Second Age. The Trader 
  Imperium is on its last legs, besieged at the walls of 
  their last city, Garris, alongside their Caladonian 
  and Valon allies, bravely holding the line against the 
  armies of the Wild and the dragons. In the midst of 
  this conflict, a small unit of dragon kin has overrun 
  the new Cathedral of Trinity, only to discover the 
  place has enough power to summon the Great 
  Dragon Spirit if they re-consecrate it to their master. 
  Bringing a great spirit into a physical realm is one 
  of those ‘Things You Don’t Do’, like summoning a 
  god, but these guys are fanatics – fanatics who were 
  just handed a spiritual construct of cataclysmic 
  importance.
  Only one thing stands in the way of re-
  consecrating the cathedral for draconic worship of 
  their great spirit (apart from the characters in Act 
  III). The dragon kin need a divine incantation that’s 
  inscribed on a scepter belonging to the Caladonian 
  king, who’s safely commanding the troops on his 
  side of the battle lines. Instead of risking a head-on 
  assault, the dragon kin call on the spirits of the Veil 
  using a little-known mystical ritual.
  The spirits of the Veil are milky nebulous beings 
  who reside inside the Veil between the mortal 
  realms and the Maelstrom. Although the price is 
  extortionate, they’re able to open portals between 
  different realms and times. The dragon kin use their 
  new allies to open a portal to the future, to Yr208 of 
  the Third Age, and send one of their elite demi-ogres 
  to break into the now-crumbling catacombs where 
  the scepter should be resting in the sarcophagus of 
  the long-dead king.
  It’s not there, having been extracted in the 
  208 intervening years and is in the museum at the 
  university instead. Curses. The demi-ogre goes to get 
  it, which is where he comes to the attention of the 
  Guardians of Austra, in particular their senior hunter 
  of supernatural evil, a man called Gregor.
  Gregor is a rare case, in tune with a protection 
  Avatar of the city who nobody else thinks exists. 
  Gregor’s Avatar tells him of the demi-ogre and its 
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  plans; he heads the creature off but not before it 
  memorizes the incantation. He knows the beast is too 
  powerful for him, so instead he rushes to the buried 
  cathedral and sets up the most powerful binding 
  magic he can.
  Just in time.
  The demi-ogre returns, and Gregor shackles him 
  before he can get to the portal. But the shackles won’t 
  last long, and the buried catacombs are a long way 
  from any help.
  The spirits of the Veil have been watching all 
  this, and spot an opportunity. They emerge from 
  their portal to make Gregor an offer he can’t refuse 
  – if he sacrifices a number of children, ‘harvested’ at 
  astrologically important times in the coming weeks, 
  they’ll close the portal for good and trap the demi-
  ogre, stopping it from returning to its home and 
  stopping the summoning of the Great Dragon Spirit. 
  A few lives to save so many generations who will 
  otherwise be enslaved and murdered at the hands of 
  the dragons…. 
  Gregor snaps, and accepts the terrible bargain. 
  The spirits strengthen the binding magic so the 
  shackles will hold the demi-ogre for forty days – the 
  exact time it’ll take to kidnap and bring the children 
  back to the catacombs and sacrifice them in a terrible 
  ritual. Gregor goes completely insane, but in that 
  insanity understands he has no choice. He hires 
  some henchmen and rushes to abduct the children 
  the spirits tell him about, at the exact moment they’re 
  needed. Which is where our would-be heroes come 
  along, with about 30xp to their name and plans to 
  become gods over time.
  Starting The Campaign
  So you were expecting a regular plot point 
  campaign and here we are jumping in at Seasoned 
  rank.  Understandably you’re wondering what gives. 
  Well the plot point campaign here spans an entire 
  career for Suzerain characters, all the way into 
  demigodhood. That makes it quite a bit bigger than 
  the traditional plot point campaigns you might be 
  used to. Three times bigger we reckon, and laying all 
  that out in every detail… well that would be a whole 
  lot of book.
  Instead we’ve gone ahead and taken the liberty 
  of giving you the focal points of the campaign and 
  a heap of Savage Tales to keep you busy in between 
  so you can have as much fun as possible. Up to 
  and including running your own plot point style 
  campaign intertwined with this one if you wish!
  There are two ways to approach the start of the 
  campaign. If you want to jump straight into the 
  action, make up some characters in the middle of 
  Seasoned rank and jump straight in. Alternatively 
  use the pre-generated characters you can download 
  for free from the treasure area of our website. 
  If you’d rather grow your characters organically, 
  the world of Relic has plenty for them to explore and 
  you can make as much or as little of the capture of 
  Gregor as you (and your players) like. Just remember 
  the characters and players don’t know all that stuff 
  about the Great Dragon Spirit, spirits of the Veil and 
  the fate of millions just yet. Mostly they just know 
  some gibbering madman who saw too much evil in 
  the world is kidnapping children for some dark ritual 
  or other foul purpose. If you choose to start with 
  total Novice characters and have thrilling adventures 
  before Act I starts, try not to give the game away in 
  the process!
  Once you’re into the plot and have run Acts I and 
  II you have another choice to make. You can keep 
  the campaign running, with other scenarios filling 
  the time up to Heroic rank (where Acts III and IV 
  take place), or you can turbo-charge the characters, 
  bumping them up to 90xp artificially to get a feel for 
  Suzerain’s Heroic play style quickly. Similarly, you can 
  take the characters at the end of Act IV and increase 
  them to 150xp characters in an instant, then play 
  Acts V and VI. It’s not a Plot Point Campaign if you 
  do it that way, but you do get a taste of Heroic and 
  Demigod play very quickly. Playing it all as part of an 
  epic campaign, interwoven with other plots of your 
  devising and the Savage Tales, will take a lot longer 
  but will be hugely satisfying. It’s your call.
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  The Dragon God: Act I
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  The first two acts of our campaign, Return of the 
  Dragon God, are intended for characters with about 
  30xp each. They should have seen some action, but 
  not enough that they’re sure of their place in the 
  world. These adventurers are still essentially street-
  level. Taking down a whacked-out Guardian and 
  rescuing a band of children will be right up their alley. 
  What’s more, it’ll be enough to springboard them 
  into the thick of Garris society, if that’s their style.  
  Up-and-coming merchants will want to make their 
  acquaintance, and formerly tight-lipped guardsmen 
  will be eating their hats.
  Before this scenario begins, the adventurers have 
  already tracked Gregor, captured him, and handed 
  him over to the city watch. It’s the James Bond 
  beginning where things start half way through the 
  action. If you want to play through some scenarios 
  where the adventurers chase Gregor and his people, 
  trying to stop him abducting children, go right ahead. 
  There are plenty of stats below to help you plan those. 
  Then it’s time to get into the thick of the action.
  Breakout
  At the start of this scenario, the adventurers 
  should know that Gregor is a madman who used to 
  work for the Guardians of Austra, a noble organization 
  of law-keepers. Since he snapped, he’s been travelling 
  the countryside with some henchmen, abducting 
  children in pairs, always at astrologically significant 
  times. He needed two more victims and then he’d 
  be ready to carry out some kind of terrible ritual 
  involving the sacrifice of the children. The ritual was 
  scheduled for this night. But the adventurers captured 
  him and he’s safe behind bars. So all’s well, right? 
  This is just one of those introduction scenes that has 
  nothing to do with the main plot you’ve got planned. 
  That’s what the players should think, at least.
  No one has had any luck gleaning the location 
  of the missing children from Gregor in the hours 
  since he was captured. As the adventurers leave the 
  jail and enter the mid-day traffic, explosions rock 
  the building. Several robed figures emerge from 
  the crowd, and fling firebombs at the building for 
  additional chaos.
  By the time the smoke clears, a cart is tearing 
  down the bumpy road with Gregor’s face leering 
  from the back. Traffic is dense with merchants 
  seeking to fix their smashed trade stands, passers-
  by who couldn’t get out of the way quick enough, 
  and panicked animals. The chase is on. Somewhere 
  during the grand ruckus, a heavily armored woman – 
  Nova – hops aboard the escaping coach. One young 
  child is slung over each of her broad shoulders. Make 
  it clear that she’s carrying the last two kids Gregor 
  needs to carry out the sacrificial ritual.
  Your players will miss out on some interesting 
  scenes if they catch Gregor straight away, so don’t be 
  afraid to spend Karma in aiding the carriage’s escape. 
  After the adventurers have made several attempts to 
  wear it down, the carriage will speed across a narrow 
  bridge crossing a deep gully. Otto, a discredited guild 
  wizard is waiting on the other side to cast two spells 
  on the bridge: first, an Obscure spell to raise a bank 
  of mist for the cart to escape into. Next, he raises a 
  stone Barrier to cover his own escape. Four members 
  of Gregor’s gang, all Extras, aid in Otto’s escape, but 
  they’re only buying Gregor and Nova time to set the 
  traps in their lair. If Otto is captured, he’s more than 
  willing to sell out his employers. 
  Thugs
  These miscreants, brigands, and ne’er-do-wells 
  have been assembled from the worst alleys of Garris 
  to slow down the adventurers. When they’re not 
  cracking heads for Gregor, they’re moving boxes or 
  suffering from sporadic infections. If the adventurers 
  find themselves tussling with them, use the rogue 
  archetype statistics from the Savage Worlds rules, 
  supply them with clubs (Damage: Str+d6), and 
  you’re good to go.
  Otto
  After his once-in-a-lifetime streak at the card 
  table ended, Otto was no longer welcome on any 
  Wizards Guild premises. Although no one could 
  prove he had cheated, they’d all lost enough money 
  that they didn’t care. Otto lived off his ‘severance 
  package’ for as long as he could before admitting to 
  himself that freelance mischief was the only career 
  that suited his temperament. Although he’s in his 
  mid-30s Otto is prematurely bald, though he sports 
  a slick moustache to make up for it.
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  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d4, Gambling d8, Notice d4, 
  Spellcasting d8
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Edges: Gifted (Barrier, Light/Obscure, Speed)
  Gear: Knife (Damage: Str+d4)
  Even without Otto’s help, the lair is easy enough 
  to find. It’s in a poorer district, where the locals are 
  quite skilled at getting out of the way of oncoming 
  carts. They’re able to give directions all the way to 
  where the vehicle has been abandoned in a nearby 
  alley – right across the street from Gregor’s lair.
  Entering The Lair
  The building itself is a simple single storey affair 
  with no access to the roof (though a Climbing check 
  would do the trick for anyone who wanted to get up 
  there, where they would find a curious box with a 
  tarpaulin thrown over it – more on that later). Inside, 
  the building is pretty barren. There’s a rickety old 
  table in one corner and a couple of just-as-rickety-
  looking old chairs, a small, old chest against one wall, 
  and a threadbare rug on the floor. There is no door, 
  but the entrance does have shutters made of badly 
  warped wood.
  Any attempt to search the room reveals a 
  trapdoor beneath the rug. A Raise on the Notice 
  check will reveal that the chest is secured to the floor 
  by metal rails, and has been shifted slightly to the left 
  of its normal position along the rails. 
  Moving the chest back to its original position 
  results in a muffled but audible ‘click’. This disables 
  the trap on the trapdoor.
  If the characters don’t disarm the trap, opening 
  the trap door will trigger a crushing stone slab. 
  Directly above the trapdoor there’s a patch of roof 
  that looks much newer than the ceiling around it. On 
  the roof, above this new ceiling, is a box covered in 
  a tarpaulin that houses the rest of the trap – a heavy 
  slab of rock. When the trap is triggered, it tips a potent 
  bottle of acid into pre-cut grooves in the ceiling 
  to give the trap a slight delay. One Round after it’s 
  tripped, the acid will have weakened the roof enough 
  to let the slab crush through the roof and slam down 
  directly on top of the trapdoor. Anyone hit by the 
  falling block trap can look forward to Damage: 2d8 
  with AP 2. The falling slab makes enough noise to 
  serve as a suitable alarm for anyone hiding in the lair 
  below, and then there’s the little problem of moving 
  the heavy slab out of the way in order to continue the 
  pursuit… (A Strength check at -4 is required to move 
  the slab; up to six characters can pitch in and do it 
  together.)
  The trapdoor leads to a basement via a stepladder; 
  a person opening the door and descending swiftly 
  might escape the trap. Any companions intending to 
  follow will likely get a stone slab on their head. The 
  basement mirrors the dimensions of the floor above 
  but has a set of stairs in one corner, leading down 
  into the gloom. The room is quite clearly in heavy 
  use, containing basic foodstuffs, water, beer, rope, etc. 
  There are enough crates and barrels in here to feed a 
  decent-sized group of people for a week.
  Deeper Into Darkness
  After several flights of wooden stairs, the wood 
  gives way to a much older staircase of stone, which 
  descends deeper still. The stone staircase is smooth 
  and lacks any sign of life – no moss, fungus or even 
  insects. Act I ends here, but segues immediately into 
  Act II. Through this first session the players should 
  have been settling in and getting used to the way 
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  Suzerain works (and what their characters can do), 
  trying out interesting actions while chasing escaping 
  bad guys, gaining confidence all the time. Next, 
  they get to pit their characters’ skills against a small, 
  traditional dungeon crawl. By the end of Act II we’ll 
  take the training wheels off and it’ll be time for the 
  full experience.
  The Dragon God: Act II
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  As the second act begins, remind your players 
  of Gregor’s insanity, and the great pains that he has 
  taken to secure these children. Give them something 
  to think about as the adventurers descend into the 
  bowels of Garris. There’s a bigger picture here, but 
  what?
  The last step of the stairs is unstable – it’s on a 
  pivot so should a person step on it, it will roll forward 
  under the weight, triggering a spear trap. The trap 
  inflicts Damage: 3d8 with AP 1 to the poor sap in 
  the lead unless he can successfully make an Agility 
  check at -4.
  The Old Fort
  Under the city of New Garris lie the ruins of Old 
  Garris, swallowed in the last great siege of the War 
  of the Wild, 208 years before. Gregor has dug into 
  and refitted one small section for his own purposes, 
  including the old catacombs of the former cathedral 
  where he’s got the demi-ogre bound and plans to 
  carry out his terrible ritual.
  The characters should be able to follow his 
  trail easily until they get to the makeshift barracks 
  inhabited by his hired muscle, who get to use the 
  space for their own purposes as soon as the sacrifices 
  have been made.
  Unless the adventurers have been especially 
  stealthy in pursuing Gregor and infiltrating the lair, 
  the thugs are ready for them. The group enters a 
  large area with four small bunk rooms to their left, 
  sectioned off from the main room. On the other side 
  of the main area from the entrance is an exit, in front 
  of which two tables have been overturned to serve as 
  firing screens for two crossbowmen. They’re backed 
  up by their boss and two swordsmen.
  To cross the area, the adventurers will pass the 
  doors to the small rooms. Four more swordsmen are 
  waiting in the small rooms, watching through spy 
  holes, ready to burst out as soon as the adventurers 
  get into the middle of the main space or when the 
  boss calls for them. Once the fight starts, they go 
  on hold and wait for any close combatants to come 
  charging past them before rushing out to stop the 
  charge from reaching their crossbowmen. 
  Thugs
  This hired muscle is little different from the thugs 
  from earlier. Use the standard soldier template again. 
  However, these men are better equipped, with Short 
  Swords (Damage: Str+d6), Crossbows (Ranges: 
  15/30/60, Damage: 2d6, AP 2, 1 Round to reload), 
  and Leather Jack Armor (+1 Armor to the torso and 
  arms).
  Boss Thug 
  The leader looks similar to his men, except 
  he is a Wild Card with the Edges Command 
  and Fervor. Also, he’s a little taller and sports a well-
  trimmed beard.
  A Notice roll after the encounter reveals each 
  of the thugs wears a pendant around their neck. 
  The pendants give the wearer +2 on any check to 
  resist Fatigue. They also allow the wearer to use the 
  shackles (coming up shortly). As magic items, they 
  are shoddily made enchantments and lose their 
  power after one week.
  There’s an alcove on the far side of the room, with 
  a locked door closing it off – the thug leader has the 
  key. It contains a glowing red Pulse crystal and a crate 
  of pendants similar to the ones worn by the thugs. 
  Each character can draw Pulse from the crystal once 
  (and once only) by paying one Karma and making a 
  Spirit check. The result of the check is the amount of 
  Pulse regained.
  Shackles
  After plowing through the thugs, the adventurers 
  travel through a door. This might lead to more of the 
  dungeon if you fancy adding more, or just head into 
  the next encounter. Either way, at some point they’ll 
  get to the room where the kidnapped children were 
  kept. Straw mattresses litter the floor and the smell 
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  is stomach-turning. Jutting from the ground near 
  the straw mattresses are several metal spikes with 
  surprisingly strong Pulse signatures. 
  If a character who isn’t wearing a thug’s pendant 
  approaches within 2 inches of a spike, a set of Pulse 
  shackles shoots out and wraps about his wrists and 
  ankles in the spirit world. Once ensnared, every inch 
  a character moves away from the spike deals one 
  level of automatic Fatigue. The shackles can be easily 
  removed by anyone wearing a pendant (or by simply 
  dropping a spare pendant over the head of a trapped 
  character).
  Searching the straw mattresses reveals a chilling 
  message scrawled in the filth by tiny fingers: Let us 
  die. One of the children has come to understand the 
  true nature of what Gregor is trying to do (save the 
  world), and wants to stop any ill-conceived rescue 
  attempt. But since when did roleplay characters listen 
  to hostages and kidnap victims, or anyone else for 
  that matter, when they’re convinced they’re doing the 
  right thing?
  Nova Attacks
  The 
  adventurers 
  move 
  on. 
  It’s 
  another 
  opportunity to add rooms and ambushes if you 
  want, or to go straight to the next encounter. The 
  fiery chasm is Gregor’s last line of defense, but it’s a 
  good one. It is blocked by a large set of double doors 
  marked with many strange glyphs. Anyone passing 
  through this door must make a Spirit check (with +2 
  if in possession of a pendant from earlier), or take a 
  level of Fatigue as the bound watchdog spirit tears at 
  their confidence. 
  On the other side of the door is a bubbling pit of 
  magma, bridged by a single span of hardened lava. 
  Gregor has called in a favor with a powerful spirit 
  of flame to create this room. Waiting at the far end 
  of the gantry, where it is at its narrowest, is Gregor’s 
  accomplice, Nova. She is under the influence of 
  an Environmental Protection spell and therefore 
  does not suffer the same discomforting heat as the 
  adventurers, who must pass Vigor checks at -2 or 
  receive a level of Fatigue each Round. Nova believes 
  in Gregor’s cause, and refuses to let anyone pass.
  Nova 
  Nova grew up on the mean streets of Garris, and 
  they made her hard. Rock hard. She has been Gregor’s 
  partner ever since rescuing him from a surprise 
  barbarian attack in a tavern five years ago. Although 
  they’ve had their differences since then, she supports 
  Gregor’s mad crusade fully: she knows what’s at stake 
  in the room behind her. Any sacrifice is acceptable 
  for a clean slate for the future. 
  Nova’s job is to hold the bridge at all costs, and 
  she will only move from that spot when she’s dead. If 
  the adventurers engage her in conversation she will 
  attempt to convince them that Gregor is working for 
  the greater good and will rationalize it any way she 
  can – it all buys Gregor the time he needs. Failing 
  that, she begins by Taunting or Intimidating her 
  would-be attackers to get the +2 on her next action 
  against them, opting for the Fatigue penalty over 
  shaking her opponents on a Raise, knowing full well 
  the room’s heat can be a powerful ally if she can tough 
  it out long enough. Once people close, she Sweeps 
  when multiple targets are present, going on hold to 
  maximize her blows. Wild attacks may well follow.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6+2, Notice 
  d6, Taunt d6+2
  Pace 6 Parry 8(2) Toughness 9(3) Pulse 15
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Strong Willed, Sweep
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  Gear: Longsword (Damage: Str+d8) Breastplate 
  (+3 Armor, torso) and Chain (+2 Armor, all 
  locations), Large Shield (+2 Parry, +2 Armor against 
  ranged attacks)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Environmental Protection: This Power has been 
  cast on her before the encounter to make her 
  immune to the room’s Fatigue effect.
  The Final Countdown
  After Nova falls, the adventurers are free to enter 
  Gregor’s ritual chamber, which should follow straight 
  on from the lava room. It was once the catacombs 
  of the cathedral in Old Garris, as evidenced by its 
  crumbling sarcophagi and decorative stone pillars. 
  Any guarding ghosts of great knights have long 
  departed, leaving the place cold and desecrated.
  A portal into the Veil stretches between two of the 
  pillars, appearing as a region of buckling, distorted 
  air. Ten dirty and scared children are chained to 
  plinths located around the room. 
  As soon as the adventurers enter the room, 
  Gregor finishes his chant of summoning, “Come forth 
  and earn your payment!” he screams. At this, five Veil 
  spirits spill out of the portal, manifest, and make their 
  way at normal Pace to the chained children. Each 
  child’s soul takes one Round to harvest, and each 
  spirit returns to the portal after obtaining two souls. 
  Meanwhile, Gregor will fight like a caged tiger to 
  prevent the adventurers interfering with the spirits.
  During all of this there is a great, brutish demi-
  ogre in the corner. He’s unable to die in this era, but is 
  unable to move due to Gregor’s supernatural shackles, 
  supercharged by the spirits’ power. If Gregor dies, the 
  shackles will break and the demi-ogre immediately 
  charges into the portal and back to his own time.
  Once the demi-ogre is gone, the spirits have been 
  destroyed, or have finished their task and returned 
  to the portal, it closes. The shackles on the demi-
  ogre break (if they haven’t already), and it’s not 
  inconceivable that the adventurers will have to fight a 
  very angry bad guy – see Act III for his stats. If he fails 
  to get through the portal he’ll focus on killing Gregor 
  first (if Gregor’s still alive), then the adventurers.
  Gregor
  After serving Garris’ Guardians for so long, 
  Gregor has seen too much. His deal with the 
  Veil spirits was too much for his mind and now he 
  cares for nothing but the completion of his mission. 
  Only success will be able to justify his existence and 
  assuage his tormented mind, despite the terrible price 
  he’s paying for the spirit’s help.
  In spite of his mental instability, Gregor is in 
  good shape and a dangerous foe to underestimate. 
  Years spent trailing Garris’ elite and observing the 
  depravities of the supernatural world have toughened 
  him up and eroded his compassion at the same time. 
  He is hollow-eyed and ragged. There is little left to 
  suggest Gregor’s once proud bearing, but hints of 
  strength shine through when his speech turns toward 
  justice.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d8, Investigation 
  d10, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6, Stealth 
  d6, Swimming d6, Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 7(1)  Toughness 6 Pulse 20
  Edges: Arcane Resistance, Combat Reflexes, 
  Nerves Of Steel, No Mercy
  Gear: Spear (Damage: Str+d6, Reach 1, +1 
  Parry)
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  Veil Spirit
  Like their cloudy home, Veil spirits are difficult 
  to define around the edges. They resemble nothing 
  more than dark gray humanoids made of coiled fog, 
  lit by flashing neurons of Pulse. Although they look 
  like they’ll drift away at any second, their physical 
  bodies are deceptively solid. Are these residents 
  of the Veil merely spirits like others of their kind, 
  or something more sinister? The nature of the deal 
  they’ve struck with Gregor should hint to something 
  more… demonic in their nature, something that 
  might make an interesting plot hook for a sub-plot 
  later in the adventurers’ epic career. We leave that to 
  your discretion.
  The spirits are only interested in collecting their 
  payment. They ignore the adventurers as much as 
  they’re able, knowing that once they have the souls of 
  the children, the destruction of their physical forms 
  will only hasten their return through the portal. 
  However, once attacked they will fight back against 
  any adventurers preventing them from claiming their 
  payment.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, 
  Persuasion d8, Streetwise d8, Taunt d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 8 Pulse 15
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demonic: +2 Toughness
  • 
  Claws: (Damage: Str+d6)
  • 
  Aura Of Torment: The first time any character is 
  adjacent to a Veil spirit, he must make a Spirit 
  check or take a level of Fatigue. A Raise on the 
  roll makes the character immune to this effect 
  from all Veil spirits for the rest of the scene. A 
  character must make a check against each Veil 
  spirit he comes into contact with. The Fatigue 
  from this ability cannot Incapacitate a character.
  • 
  Spirit: Veil spirits can manifest while within 12 
  inches of a portal as an action costing 1 Pulse. It 
  is only while manifested that they can ‘harvest’ 
  the souls of the children, by killing them.
  The Dragon God: Act III
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (final year of the 
  Second Age).
  Time passes. Relic adventures are adventured 
  (from the Savage Tales here or others of your 
  devising). The adventurers develop till they hit the 
  magic mark – Heroic rank!
  After the heroes have gotten a taste of what being 
  Heroic and Legendary is really about (we’re assuming 
  they’ll be about 90xp for the next part, but it’s up to 
  you as always), the gods will assign them a task: return 
  to their home realm to deal with the fallout from one 
  of their earliest adventures. Isn’t time travel great? 
  Despite their best efforts in Act II of the campaign, 
  the demi-ogre with the incantation escaped back to 
  the War of the Wild, 208 years earlier. The armies of 
  the true dragons, working alongside the evil Wild, 
  will use it to bring about a terrible abomination 
  unless someone can stop their ritual. Three guesses 
  on who gets that job.
  But what if the demi-ogre didn’t get through the 
  portal? That could derail the whole plot and leave 
  you with some free sessions for other adventures, or 
  you could explain that the dragon kin sent another 
  assassin robot to terminate the leader of the… no 
  wait, that’s a different story altogether. The dragon 
  kin sent another demi-ogre that even Gregor didn’t 
  know about. The first one was just a decoy and the 
  second one got back in time to kick off this part of 
  the story.
  Preamble
  The gods send the heroes back to fix their mess, 
  but the heroes may not know much about any mess. 
  After all, they might think they foiled a madman’s 
  ritual and saved the lives of many children. What 
  could be bad with that? If they didn’t learn much 
  of the plot before, this is your chance for the gods 
  to enlighten them. Pick gods the heroes have 
  associations with, patron gods in particular, or just a 
  group of gods you’ll enjoy playing.
  Bottom line, it was really important to stop the 
  demi-ogre getting through the portal (or the second 
  demi-ogre if they stopped the first one!), and now it 
  seems there’s a massive flare-up of the nexus around 
  Garris that means something big is about to happen. 
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  And the prognosticators say it’s definitely something 
  bad. Oops.
  It doesn’t matter how much time has passed for 
  the heroes between the two bits of the story. Time is a 
  strange thing, especially once heroes become Heroic 
  and start hopping through portals. In the mortal 
  realms everything happens neatly, in chronological 
  order, but on the cosmic scale of things it’s taken a 
  while for the nexus flare to pierce the Veil and alert 
  the gods. The heroes can get their gear from their 
  pocket realm, prepare themselves mentally, and then 
  pass through the portal that a friendly representative 
  of the gods is holding open for them like some 
  spiritual doorman.
  What the gods failed to notice, because such 
  details are beneath them, is that the nexus in question 
  is in a different time, 208 years before the heroes ever 
  met Gregor in fact. Appearing in the middle of the 
  Siege of Garris, one of the most famous bits of Relic 
  history, should be a bit of a shock. Fortunately, the 
  siege is a crazy chaos of people milling around in 
  the shadow of the huge old city walls, and the heroes 
  don’t stand out too much.
  The city walls protect the Trader city that’s 
  behind them. What they don’t protect is the Caladon 
  town that’s in front of them. The Caladonians are 
  refugees who were displaced from their own lands 
  by the armies of the Wild and the Traders were good 
  enough to let them create a settlement just outside 
  Garris. It has plenty of medieval style buildings and, a 
  little way off, a cathedral in honor of the Caladonians’ 
  Goddess, Trinity. Now though the Wild is knocking 
  at the door and in an attempt to save the Caladonian 
  settlement the Alliance army has set up battle lines to 
  try and repel the Wild.
  Within minutes of arrival, a messenger 
  approaches the heroes who relays the message that 
  Commander Jessop, in charge of the Caladonian 
  knights, is waiting for them in the command tent. 
  Upon entering the tent, they are greeted by the 
  distinguished lady Commander who is destined to 
  become a heroic figure in Caladon’s history books. 
  After identifying the group as elite mercenaries and 
  going through introductions, she returns to a table 
  displaying the state of the battle lines. She fills them 
  in on the situation:
  “Bad news. Reports tell us the Wild are using the 
  cathedral they took from us yesterday as the focal 
  point for something big. Big enough to destroy it. 
  The occupation of the cathedral was a massive blow 
  to morale; its destruction might well be the last straw. 
  We can’t let that happen.”
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  Jessop turns to a statue of Trinity and offers a 
  short prayer, “Trinity gives us hope, be the Light in 
  the darkness.” It’s an ancient blessing spoken in an 
  old dialect, a bit like Shakespeare talking to a modern 
  audience. Then she continues her briefing:
  “The cathedral lies here, behind the new enemy 
  lines. The dragon kin and their elite demi-ogre 
  warriors hold that end of the line for the Wild army, 
  but we have a way in. We’re fairly sure the dragon 
  kin don’t know about the escape tunnel from the 
  cathedral catacombs; the entrance is well concealed 
  at both ends. It surfaces here,” she points to the map 
  just where the front lines are, a few hundred paces 
  from the cathedral, “which is as close to good news 
  as it gets. I plan to launch a dawn offensive tomorrow 
  against the whole of the line. The engagement will be 
  a smokescreen. My real objective is to push back their 
  front line far enough so we can get a team into that 
  tunnel to stop the dragons desecrating or destroying 
  our holiest site. That’s where you come in. Get into 
  the tunnel and drive the dragon kin from our most 
  sacred house of Trinity.”
  The battle line can be as simple or as complex as 
  suits your group, but at bare minimum the section of 
  line they are attacking should contain several large 
  troop tents (3 or more) in a neat military line. Behind 
  the tents a single Arc Tower looms, providing fire 
  support.
  Before the heroes can get to the tents, there are 
  large camp fires, one burning between each pair of 
  tents (and a few meters in front). On the periphery 
  of the light provided by the fires, there’s a line of 
  patrolling ratten sentries whose unenviable job it is 
  to walk back and forth checking in with one another 
  or playing ‘spot the corpse and raise the alarm’ when 
  someone isn’t at a checkpoint.
  The heroes can ask as many questions as they like 
  and gather any last-minute resources. Any reasonable 
  request will automatically be granted – this is after 
  all a crucial mission. Bear in mind, however, the 
  Alliance’s resources are hugely limited and whatever 
  they take another warrior has to give up. Make them 
  meet the soldiers who are giving up their equipment 
  for the heroes, watch knights taking off their armor 
  and hand it over. That sort of thing.
  Here are some of the things the heroes may find 
  out as they ask questions:
  The arc towers belonged to the Traders (who built 
  Garris originally and who led the Alliance against the 
  Wild), but were turned around as soon as the dragon 
  kin broke through their perimeter and took control 
  of them. Each one is an elevated stone bunker armed 
  with a fast-firing lightning engine. 
  The heroes have command over 30 warriors, 
  including a sergeant to lead and hold the breach until 
  the mission is complete. Each player should be given 
  a proportion of these troops to control so that they 
  act on different initiative numbers.
  Each tent contains around a dozen enemy troops 
  who may be awake at dawn, but not battle ready. The 
  heroes can expect to meet dragon kin, demi-ogres, 
  ratten guards, and possibly ‘larger threats’.
  The hidden tunnel entrance is 12 inches beyond 
  the arc tower. The exit into the catacombs is a small 
  elevator concealed in the base plinth of a large statue. 
  It is not catastrophically noisy, but anyone in the 
  catacombs would surely hear it. 
  The meeting with Commander Jessop ends mid-
  afternoon, and the assault is the following morning. 
  As soon as everyone is ready, plunge headfirst into 
  the fray.
  Pushing The Line
  The scene as the characters sneak forward in the 
  pre-dawn should be pretty close to the setup shown 
  on the description given, but feel free to spice things 
  up to account for misinformation and battlefield 
  surprises. The one suggested surprise is that overnight 
  some clouds rolled in, and a fine misty rain seems 
  to hang in the atmosphere. It has a rank smell and 
  feels slightly greasy on the skin – a reminder of the 
  perverting nature of the Wild magic. The specifics 
  of what happens next depends on everyone’s plans. 
  Consider the following:
  The sentries are alert but not expecting an attack. 
  As soon as they are attacked, or even reasonably 
  suspicious, they will sound the alarm. The guards 
  around the arc tower will then open fire on any visible 
  targets. If none are visible they will either go on hold 
  or use suppressive fire on an area close to where the 
  alarm was sounded.
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  Each tent contains 10 troops and 1 leader. It will 
  take two whole Rounds for the inhabitants to prepare 
  for battle before they start to emerge, at a rate of 2-3 
  per Round.
  Two Rounds after the soldiers in tents have 
  responded, a squad consisting of one ogre per hero 
  plus their demi-ogre squad leader (the one from Act 
  I, if he made it out alive) will come crashing in from 
  the rear. They head straight for the largest mass of 
  troops or the unluckiest hero.
  Remember that the goal is not to wipe the map 
  clear of everything that moves, and that the battle 
  may end as soon as everyone makes a mad dash for 
  the tunnel entrance. That said, ‘surrender’ is a dirty 
  word to the agents of the Wild and their allies. The 
  dragon kin and their soldiers will pursue unless 
  a diversionary force is available to handle them. 
  Make sure enough reinforcements are available to 
  the enemy so the heroes have to leave the sergeant 
  and his surviving troops to hold that end of the line, 
  buying the heroes time to get to the cathedral.
  Wild Soldiers
  The heroes are assaulting the part of the Wild 
  army controlled by the dragon kin and their demi-
  ogre servants. Although they wear no standardized 
  uniforms, regimental markings are common. Many 
  dragon kin dye their facial scales to differentiate 
  between their units. Demi-ogres prefer to drape 
  themselves in the looted garments from their 
  vanquished foes, mixing Trader insignia with jewelry 
  and other, fouler trophies. 
   These soldiers are asleep in the tents when the 
  action begins, but rouse quickly and efficiently at the 
  first sign of trouble.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness: 9(3) Pulse 10
  Edges: Combat Reflexes
  Gear: Draconic Blade (Damage: Str+d8), Partial 
  Draconic Plate (+3 Armor, all locations), Mass 
  Crossbow (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1, AP 4)
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  Wild Sentries
  The wiry, twitchy ratten don’t get the nicest jobs. 
  Sentry duty is a fine example of that. It’s what they 
  get for being practically human. If it weren’t for their 
  pointed muzzles and their slick, matted body hair, 
  the rat-people would have found themselves enslaved 
  long ago. As it is, they constantly need to prove 
  themselves tough enough to roll with the dragons and 
  ogres. Every intruder that sneaks past them is a new 
  scaly tail adorning the belt of a demi-ogre overseer… 
  which is quite an incentive to be super-vigilant.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Throw d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 7(1) Pulse 10
  Gear: Draconic Blade (Damage: Str+d8), Leather 
  Armor (+1 armor, all locations), Mass Crossbow 
  (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1, AP 4)
  Ogres 
  Big and crazed, these beasts are the larger, less 
  human cousins to the demi-ogre troops who serve 
  the dragon masters. Each one stands tall as a tree, 
  with legs like squat columns. Although their sloping 
  brows and tiny, shining eyes suggest stupidity, most 
  ogres are simply uneducated. They know what they’re 
  built for, and treat each situation accordingly. They’re 
  hulking and easily angered, everyone else is easily 
  crushed without resorting to more thought-intensive 
  tactics.
  One in ten ogres is completely hairless, a fact that 
  has confounded soldiers on both sides of the battle 
  lines for the duration of the war. This apparently 
  means something within the ogre community, but 
  nobody’s quite sure what.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+2, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice d6
  Pace 8 Parry 7 Toughness 11 Pulse 10
  Edges: Berserk, Combat Reflexes
  Gear: Great Mace (Damage: Str+d10, AP 2)
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  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +4: These beast are exceptionally large . 
  Opponents get +2 to hit them due to their size.
  Demi-Ogre Squad Leader
  Although smaller than their brutish cousins, demi-
  ogres have better muscle tone; they’re more than 
  capable of tearing an armored warrior in half with 
  their bare hands. What’s more, they possess a mean 
  cunning that allows them to enjoy the mayhem 
  they cause twice as much as your standard ogre. 
  What’s even scarier about their leaders is they move 
  fast around the battlefield, delighted to rush in and 
  engage dangerous foes one-to-one.
  Demi-ogres stand a few inches taller than most 
  human warriors, and squad leaders stand head and 
  shoulders above the average demi-ogre. They use 
  serious armor and serious weapons. As a result, the 
  sound of an approaching demi-ogre leader is akin to 
  that of a runaway garbage wagon.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice d6
  Pace 8 Parry 7 Toughness 13(4) Pulse 10
  Edges: Berserk, Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Fleet 
  Footed, Improved Frenzy
  Gear: Demi-Ogre Sword (Damage: Str+d10, AP 
  2), Draconic Plate (+4 Armor, all locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +1
  Arc Tower
  Each arc tower is an elevated stone bunker 
  manned by two ratten sentries. The arc gun inside the 
  bunker  is a bulky Celestium emplacement capable 
  of spitting blue lightning with the range and speed 
  necessary to dominate a skirmish. Although none 
  among the Wild are able to replicate these marvels of 
  Trader technology, some ratten show a natural talent 
  for operating them. 
  A small ladder on one side of each bunker leads 
  up eight feet to a trap door. Attempting to open it may 
  alert the sentries within, depending on the climber’s 
  Stealth roll.
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  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Throwing d8
  Pace: 6 Parry 5 Toughness 7(1) Pulse 10
  Gear: Short Sword – sheathed unless alerted 
  (Damage: Str+d6), Leather Armor (+1 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Arc Gun:  (Ranges: 16/32/64, Damage: 2d8+1, 
  AP 2, Snapfire, ROF 4)
  Stone Bunker: Toughness 10. Ranged attacks 
  made at the slit where the gun peeks through are 
  made at –6
  The Dragon God: Act IV
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (final year of the 
  Second Age).
  Having had a session of grand scale melee, it’s 
  time to return to normal adventuring fare – the 
  heroes against the big bad, one on one. Feel free to 
  have the heroes join in with further clashes along the 
  line before clearing the cathedral, but when they’ve 
  satisfied their lust for heroic warfare on the open 
  battlefield they should make their way, single file, 
  along the secret tunnel to the cathedral catacombs. If 
  the heroes aren’t running for their lives at this point, 
  it’s a good time to reflect upon the closeness of the 
  walls and how far they’re removed from aid. They are 
  the cavalry, and no backup is coming after them (at 
  least it isn’t if you’ve played your cards right).
  Inside The Catacombs
  The cathedral catacombs are exactly what you’d 
  expect: walls honeycombed with coffin bays, statues 
  and ornate carvings everywhere, and a central 
  chamber filled with sarcophagi for Trinity’s favored. 
  One sarcophagus is open, displaying an ornate 
  silver chalice cupped within mummified hands. An 
  observant hero might realize this is the same place 
  Gregor was performing his vile ritual, 208 years in 
  the future (Heroic rank Suzerain is one of the few 
  places you get to mix past and future tenses in that 
  way!).
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  There are two bodyguards plus one for every three 
  heroes. They are led by Hursk, an imposing mass of 
  sinewy muscle and blood red dragon scales. While 
  the priests are concentrating intently on their prayer 
  of desecration, the guards are alert and ready for 
  almost anything. 
  The monolith is carved with scenes of the 
  Archangels fighting hordes of capering demons. 
  It radiates Pulse strong enough to be visible to the 
  naked eye, tossing off flares of burning light at an 
  irregular tempo. Looking at the monolith with spirit 
  sight is akin to staring at the sun. 
  Destroying the monolith will be difficult, but 
  necessary. It has 16 Toughness, and is an inanimate 
  object (Remember: Damage rolls can’t Ace against 
  inanimate objects, called shots reap no extra benefits, 
  and one Wound will destroy it.) If the monolith 
  is destroyed, the Pulse it is focusing will feed back 
  into the priests. This will cause the lesser priests to 
  explode in messy chunks and destroy any remaining 
  Barrier segments.
  Once a fight starts, the dragon kin spell priests 
  will siphon enough Pulse from the monolith to 
  erect an enhanced Barrier spell (Toughness 14 and 
  the height of two men) across the room, extending 
  from the monolith to both side walls of the cathedral, 
  cutting off the far end of the cathedral and the priests 
  from the heroes. The elite demi-ogres will not hesitate 
  to sacrifice themselves to buy the priests enough time 
  to finish their incantations, and will call upon all of 
  their (considerable) training to do so. They will focus 
  their attacks on tough targets, dog-pile the wounded, 
  and murder every wizard they see. They’re smart and 
  nasty opponents.
  When the Barrier is breached, one of the dragon 
  kin spell priests will step back from the desecration 
  prayer and hurl spell after spell upon the intruders. If 
  that doesn’t do the trick, the second dragon kin spell 
  priest will try. When they run out of spells, they draw 
  swords and engage in melee – who’d have guessed; it 
  turns out they’re pretty good fighters too.
  The primary spell priest is a demi-dragon, and a 
  pretty imposing sight. Luckily for the heroes, she will 
  move to defend herself but won’t attack - the prayer 
  continues until her dying breath.
  Apart from dozens of stony carvings of the pious, 
  there are no signs of life. Anyone who checks with 
  spirit sight will realize that this is not completely true; 
  many of Trinity’s honored dead are hanging around 
  in spirit form.
  The spirits of these holy men and women became 
  restless the moment the dragon kin laid foot in the 
  cathedral. As the heroes further disturb their place 
  of sanctuary, the spirits begin to rise from their 
  sarcophagi. Give each player a Notice check at -2 to 
  spot them before they’re fully manifested.
  The spirits are a stern-faced lot but they are 
  reasonable. If the heroes demonstrate proper respect 
  for Trinity and her exalted host, they will be allowed 
  to pass in peace. If they simply must have the silver 
  chalice, make jokes at the expense of the architecture, 
  or generally disrespect the religion in any way, the 
  spirits will be far more likely to invoke their curse 
  – everyone in the catacombs (apart from the spirits 
  themselves) makes a Spirit check at -4 or suffers -2 
  to all actions while they are in the cathedral and 
  catacombs. Oh, and the heroes can expect to have 
  some explaining to do when they get back to their 
  pocket realm next – an upset Archangel or two are 
  likely to be waiting for them with some particularly 
  dangerous mission for them to perform by means of 
  atonement.
  If the encounter with the spirits is a peaceful 
  one, there are many boons they could grant. The 
  upcoming encounter is intended to be difficult 
  though, so consider limiting their aid to a free Karma 
  point or two, or distracting a major foe at some point. 
  Additionally, if the heroes find themselves in a bind 
  and can’t get through the Barrier the spell priests 
  will cast (you’ll learn more about them in asecond), 
  the spirits can dispel one segment of it – their 
  contribution to getting these desecrating dragon kin 
  off holy soil.
  Showdown In The Cathedral
  After heading up from the catacombs, the 
  heroes will find themselves by the main doors of the 
  cathedral, at the opposite end of the building from 
  the main altar. There are three spell priests on the 
  raised altar area at the head of the cathedral. Elite 
  demi-ogre bodyguards are spread around a black 
  stone monolith, with as few blind spots as possible. 
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  When the demi-dragon is finally stopped, all 
  is quiet for a beat. The sickly rain outside trickles 
  to a halt. Has the day been won? A great, booming 
  clap rends the air. An enormous flaming mass tears 
  through the sky and rockets over the cathedral and 
  off over the far horizon leaving a sonic boom in its 
  wake. The heroes may see it as a sign of great victory 
  (certainly the demi-dragon’s last breath, as the meteor 
  streaks overhead, is a scream of, “Nooooooooo!!!”).
  The day is saved and the gods are pleased. The nexus 
  is no longer flaring, the divine prognosticators are 
  nodding in approval.
  As for Garris, it will be destroyed and sink into 
  the ground in the weeks to come, but not before the 
  Alliance army breaks the back of the Wild, sending 
  the surviving Wild troops scattering, with Trader and 
  Caladon and  Valon heroes in hot pursuit.
  To decide the ultimate fate of the Great Dragon 
  Spirit, tune in for the next act of our campaign. He’s a 
  little harder to beat than just interrupting a prayer to 
  him mid-stream. That said, if the heroes did anything 
  to stop the ritual early in the fight, or dispatched 
  the primary spell priest especially quickly, consider 
  giving them a bonus in the final showdown. The 
  Great Dragon Spirit may be weaker than we list him.
  Elite Demi-Ogre Bodyguard
  These bad boys are similar to standard issue 
  demi-ogres (see the Wild Soldiers in Act III above), 
  only leaner, meaner, bigger, smarter, and covered 
  in more steel. Each one has committed numerous 
  atrocities, and has plans for several more as soon as 
  the current ruckus has ended. They cut intimidating 
  figures in their red and gold plate, always ready to 
  shout abuse and challenges from behind their crude, 
  yet powerfully wrought dragon maw helmets. 
  Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climb d12, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d12, Notice d12, Swimming d12
  Pace 8 Parry 8 Toughness 15(4) Pulse 20
  Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Improved 
  Frenzy, Improved Sweep
  Gear: Two Draconic Blades (Damage: Str+d8), 
  Draconic Plate (+4 Armor, all locations)
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  preternatural impulses of the reptile brain. At the end 
  of their transformation, they are both magnificent 
  and terrible.
  The dragon kin priests have not yet gone too far 
  down the path of transformation. They resemble tall 
  dragon kin with more of a draconic head perhaps, 
  and have yet to grow wings. These guys are fanatics, 
  and each has a lot to gain from summoning the Great 
  Dragon Spirit. Despite their personal rivalries and 
  egg-oaths, they’ve all banded together to protect their 
  leader and defeat the heroes. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12,  Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d10, Spellcasting d8
  Pace 8 Parry 6 Toughness 13 (3) Pulse 25 
  (Unlimited while the monolith is intact, but can’t be 
  used to fuel the Gifted ability ‘Flood The Channels’)
  Edges: Gifted (Barrier, Blast, Bolt, Boost/Lower 
  Trait, Burst, Dispel, Puppet)
  Gear: Draconic GreatBlade (Damage: Str+d12), 
  Partial Draconic Spell Priest Armor (+3 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +3
  Aara, Demi-Dragon  
  (Primary Spell Priest)
  While still bipedal, the primary priest is further 
  along the transformation to full dragonhood. Human 
  emotions no longer register on her armored face and 
  she has recently grown draconic wings (though they 
  aren’t yet strong enough yet for flight). When she 
  moves, it is with a slithering grace that tracks the eye; 
  nothing so large should move so effortlessly.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d12  
  Strength d12+1, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d10, Spellcasting d8
  Pace 8 Parry 5 Toughness 14 (4) Pulse 30 
  (Unlimited while the monolith is intact, but can’t be 
  used to fuel the Gifted ability ‘Flood The Channels’)
  Edges: Gifted (Barrier, Blast, Bolt, Boost/Lower 
  Trait, Burst, Dispel, Puppet)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +2: They’re big lads.
  • 
  Slice ‘n’ Dice: Elite demi-ogre bodyguards are 
  trained to attack with twin swords simultaneously, 
  even against different opponents, and suffer 
  no penalties for it (treat them as having the 
  Ambidextrous and Two-Fisted Edges).
  Hursk, Dragon Kin Champion
  The leader of the demi-ogre bodyguards 
  is readily noticed due to the skulls of two 
  Caladonian knights that are hanging off his belt. 
  Each one was defeated in single combat, a matter of 
  which Hursk is inordinately proud. He’s not as large 
  as the elite demi-ogres he commands, but that doesn’t 
  matter because he knows he’s invincible – well, no 
  enemy has been able to kill him yet. His cleaver is 
  hefted and ready. It’s time to smash puny heroes!
  Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climb d12, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d12, Notice d12, Swimming d12
  Pace 8 Parry 8 Toughness 13(3) Pulse 20
  Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Improved 
  Frenzy, Improved Sweep
  Gear: Hursk’s Draconic Cleaver (Damage: 
  Str+d10, AP 2), Partial Draconic Plate (+3 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +1
  • 
  The Blood Of Dragons: Hursk has been through 
  a rare draconic ritual and bathed in the blood 
  of one of the true dragons. The enchantment on 
  his blood red scales shrugs off the greatest of 
  blows (the equivalent of the Hardy ability and 
  Improved Nerves Of Steel Edge).
  Dragon Kin Spell Priests
  The Great Dragon Spirit’s chosen people resemble 
  him in many particulars, from their scaled bodies to 
  their impassive, draconic faces. As they age, their 
  bodies crack and warp under the unnatural strain. 
  Walking upright becomes uncomfortable, their claws 
  lengthen, and their thoughts sink ever deeper into the 
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  Gear: 
  Celestium-Tipped 
  Claws 
  (Damage: 
  Str+d8, AP 4), Full Draconic Spell Priest Armor (+4 
  Armor, all locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +4: This beast is exceptionally large. 
  Opponents get +2 to hit her on account of her 
  size.
  • 
  Vitality: Aara automatically Soaks the first 
  Wound in any encounter. The damage gets 
  through, but she simply ignores it - it doesn’t 
  count as a Wound and she isn’t Shaken. 
  The Dragon God: Act V
  Realm: Mortal realms, Wilderlands, long after 
  the Pulse War.
  Once again, time passes. The characters travel 
  from realm to realm, battling evil and being every inch 
  the heroes of the universe. Day after day they save the 
  day, and sleep at night content in the knowledge that 
  they’re getting the job done. They probably forget 
  about that little incident with the cathedral – it’s just 
  one hurrah among many.
  By the time they’re well into Demigod rank 
  (about 150xp), they’ll be thinking they’re pretty hot 
  stuff. That’s when you tell them a bit more about 
  what’s going on. As before, it’s up to you whether you 
  roleplay the intervening adventures or advance the 
  demigods artificially.
  The gods gather the demigods and actually look 
  worried. They explain what they’ve just been told by 
  one of their intelligence gatherers; they finally know 
  what that whole dragon kin cathedral thing was all 
  about. The dragons of Relic were trying to summon 
  the Great Dragon Spirit to the mortal realms, breaking 
  the rule about god-power entities crossing the Veil 
  but massively unbalancing the future of mankind… 
  in favor of the dragons taking over and enslaving all 
  non-draconic races for all time. With a great spirit in 
  the mortal realms they could easily make permanent 
  changes to the necessary nexus points.
  “So what?” the demigods might say. They stopped 
  the ritual after all. Except they didn’t stop the Great 
  Dragon Spirit landing on Earth, just threw him off 
  target. That’s what the meteor was, the physical body 
  of a divine entity coming crashing down.
  Oops.
  It gets worse. The gods and their representatives 
  overlooked the whole thing because the Great Dragon 
  Spirit landed in a part of time and space that was barely 
  inhabitable – the Wilderlands, a post-apocalyptic 
  nightmare landscape with very few people left in it. 
  Because of the gods’ oversight, he’s had time to build 
  an army of dragon kin and true dragons, all working 
  away at regenerating their master.
  The demigods are considered very competent 
  demigods, and because they’re so competent it’s their 
  job to finish what they started… to infiltrate the 
  draconic army and slay the mortal body of the Great 
  Dragon Spirit, spending him back to the Maelstrom 
  where the gods will be waiting to capture him and 
  imprison him.
  One more thing: the dragons are besieging a 
  base run by survivors of the war that created the 
  Wilderlands. It’s a new nexus that has appeared, a 
  place where history could be remade. The dragons 
  need fresh blood to regenerate the Great Dragon 
  Spirit, and the base might just contain enough people 
  to complete the process. Luckily, as often happens 
  with nexuses, a portal has appeared in the base as 
  well. Which gives the demigods a chance to turn up 
  and save the day!
  Hanging On
  The action starts in a futuristic base manned 
  by the Pure – genetically perfect humans who are 
  hanging on against hordes of dragon kin out for their 
  blood. It’s only a matter of time until the defenders 
  are captured.
  The demigods’ welcome to the Wilderlands takes 
  place in a fortified sci-fi hangar with the Maelstrom 
  portal in one corner. Reinforced barricade blocks give 
  the Pure some cover; a gutted hover tank is flipped on 
  its side in the middle of the hangar. The Pure control 
  two sentry guns, aimed at the main entrance to the 
  hangar, and the defenders are protecting a single 
  corridor leading out behind them. This, however, is 
  where they’re making their stand for now.
  The demigods appear in the hangar through 
  an experimental portal device that has long been 
  scavenged for useful parts, and  is assumed not to 
  work. They probably scare the heck out of the Pure, 
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  who are understandably paranoid about strangers 
  since being attacked. Oh, and we should mention 
  that they’re massive xenophobes and human 
  supremacists… if any of the demigods is clearly not 
  human, give the group -2 to all social checks with the 
  people they’re supposed to save.
  To make the situation more dangerous, the 
  demigods appear in the middle of one of the assaults 
  by the dragons – wave one died in the corridor but 
  wave two has just established a foothold in the hangar 
  having dealt with the hover tank. Deal initiative 
  straight away and expect a few shots to be fired at the 
  demigods from both factions while everyone figures 
  out who’s on whose side. All the time there will be 
  plenty of gunfire and other unpleasantness between 
  the defenders and assaulting force. The demigods 
  are demigods, and it’s time to prove their demigod 
  diplomacy skills. They’ll need to communicate 
  quickly and efficiently to save the situation.
  Once the demigods convince the Pure whose side 
  they’re on, things should get significantly easier. Dr. 
  Aman Scilene, nominal leader of the cell of survivors, 
  doesn’t much care who the heroes are as long as they 
  have weapons and they’re pointing them in the right 
  direction.
  The dragon kin have stolen a few matter 
  destabilizers, which burn holes through the Pure 
  defenses as if they weren’t there. As soon as the 
  initial barrage is over, slaver teams with concussion 
  grenades, and energy rifles set to stun rush in and 
  grab as many defenders as they can.
  A wave consists of one dragon (use the standard 
  dragon from Savage Worlds but remove its Wild 
  Card status and add the new creature ability Vitality), 
  4 dragon kin raiders + 1 per character, and a demi-
  dragon Sergeant. Gruul is the Sergeant of the second 
  wave; subsequent Sergeants are Wild Cards at your 
  discretion. Wave three will be along 5 Rounds after 
  the demigods arrive on the scene, further waves can 
  be sent if you feel the need to keep the action going 
  longer. There are 6 Pure survivors and Dr Scilene 
  holding the line.
  This is your chance to run a claustrophobic sci-fi 
  ruckus, with unending swarms of dragon kin, some 
  over-the-top technology, and a few demi-dragon 
  champions/leaders thrown in for good measure. 
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  Once the initial assault has been repulsed, Scilene 
  will take the demigods into the corridor, down to 
  the maze of rooms that make up the basement level 
  where the remaining Pure are sheltering. It’s a scared 
  group of a dozen or so children, elderly folk, and 
  wounded fighters. The rest of their base has already 
  been over-run, with a hundred people killed or taken 
  by the dragons.
  In addition to the two sentry guns, the Pure 
  have access to six ghost suits, a collection of Pulse 
  ports, and a colony of Celestium nanobots. Each 
  ghost suit allows its wearer to travel into the spirit 
  world for one hour for 4 Pulse. The Pulse ports are 
  easily installed cyberwear that allow the use of Pulse 
  rifles and pistols, as well as access to the sentry gun 
  controls and powering the ghost suits. The nanobots 
  are composed of Suzerain’s rarest of rare Pulse-
  conductive materials – Celestium. The Pure have 100 
  Pulse stored in total. Every Pulse point of nanobots 
  can dismantle a 5 meter cube of inorganic material or 
  five mook-level opponents, atom by atom. This stash 
  of nanobots is the greatest treasure of the Pure, once 
  used for mining operations but now irreplaceable. 
  Given the circumstances, though, they’re willing to 
  use it all if necessary.
  Breaking Out
  Staying in the base would be suicide. The 
  demigods will need to do something bold, and fast! 
  A popular rumor among the survivors suggests that 
  everyone who’s captured by the outsiders is brought 
  somewhere far off for an apocalyptic purpose. Could 
  this ragtag group of Pure be inspired to rescue their 
  companions? Possibly – all they need are leaders and 
  transport. 
  The hover tank’s no longer operational, but 
  there’s a fully-stocked motor pool in the next cluster 
  of buildings, less than 500 meters from the hangar 
  entrance. There are a good 10,000 dragon kin 
  encamped in this bit of the Wilderlands, but this is 
  hardly a time for quibbling about numbers.
  Diversions are the way to make it across No Man’s 
  Land and to snag a VTOL Pterodactyl or a couple 
  of fortified ATVs. The dragon kin have numbers, 
  control the guard towers, and may have mines at their 
  disposal. But they’re not expecting a counter attack. 
  The hangar entrance is the center of the dragons’ 
  attention, but those nanobots could chomp the earth 
  up from the basement and create a new tunnel out 
  – the nearest they could get is 250 meters from the 
  motor pool, but that’s half the distance covered and 
  the group will appear somewhere the dragons aren’t 
  expecting them.
  Make them the longest 250 meters the demigods 
  have ever travelled. Remind them that they have 
  children and wounded people with them. Remind 
  them that they can’t let the dragons capture any more 
  people alive. Make them make hard choices and use 
  every Power at their disposal as you count down the 
  distance and more dragons of various sizes appear.
  And then, as soon as the demigods hotwire their 
  new rides, the dragon kin will release a brace of 
  hydras to give pursuit.
  Road Trip
  The demigods are in the middle of a dragon army. 
  Many of the larger dragons have wings, so being 
  airborne isn’t any guarantee of safety. The demigods 
  will want to get the heck out of there, and fast. Except 
  that their target is the epicenter of draconic activity, 
  an enormous crater that’s easily visible from the base. 
  That’s the landing spot of the Great Dragon Spirit, 
  and that’s where the demigods need to go if they’re 
  to stop all of mankind’s future suffering the fate of 
  these Pure.
  Everywhere they go is marked by scorched rubble 
  and hints at the realm’s past. Flaming crevasses in the 
  ground are not uncommon. Some days their glow is 
  the only light not swallowed up by the frosted brown 
  cloud cover. More dangerous than the flame pits are 
  the localized gravity wells. These invisible killers are 
  fallout from before the Wilderlands went by that 
  name. The first sign that one’s nearby is the sudden, 
  crushing pressure and crippling pain. Next comes 
  the inexorable pull toward the center of gravity. 
  Anything not rescued before reaching the center is 
  utterly destroyed by the process. On top of all that, 
  everywhere they go there are dragons and dragon 
  kin, some armed with technology scavenged from 
  the rest of the Pure base, others with nothing but 
  their formidable natural weaponry.
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  Unless the demigods are planning some post-
  apocalyptic tourism, they’ll be heading straight for 
  the crater, which is where we move on to Act VI for 
  the thrilling conclusion to the campaign!
  Dragon Kin Raider
  Dragon kin look pretty much the same, no 
  matter where you find them. These raiders are about 
  the same size as Hursk, the champion in Act IV of 
  the campaign, but not as developed as the casters, 
  and their claws are sharp enough to use as weapons. 
  They’re still capable of displaying human emotion, 
  but there’s something off about it. They’re perfectly 
  still most of the time, seemingly moving at the last 
  second in pursuit of their inscrutable goals.
  Although 
  well-armed 
  (using 
  stolen 
  tech 
  scavenged from the Pure base!), the raiders wear a 
  motley assortment of human uniforms from several 
  eras, animal skins, and spiked leather biker gear. 
  Because, well, it’s a post-apocalyptic setting after all.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Shooting 
  d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 9 Pulse 10
  Edges: Combat Reflexes
  Gear: Concussion Grenade (Ranges: 4/8/12, 
  Damage: 2d10, Medium Burst Template, Agility 
  roll vs. damage or be knocked prone), Energy Rifle 
  (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage 2d8, AP 2, 3 RB, can be 
  set to stun so damage Incapacitates only and recovers 
  like Fatigue). A few raiders also have access to 
  Matter Destabilizers which are a bit like single-shot 
  bazookas  (Ranges: 24/48/96, Damage: 4d10, AP 20, 
  HW, single shot)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +1
  • 
  Claws: (Damage: Str+d6, AP 2)
  Gruul, Demi-Dragon Sergeant 
  Gruul’s midnight blue scales contrast with 
  red and black of her troops. She modifies 
  her coloration further with bright yellow war paint. 
  Although impractical, it has an inspirational effect 
  on the raiders. Even broken and bloodied they will 
  follow her over the next shattered wall; that is how 
  it has been and nothing can change their fanatical 
  willingness to serve her.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12, Intimidation d10, Shooting 
  d12, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 14(2) Pulse 20
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Command, Inspire, 
  Fervor, First Strike, No Mercy
  Gear: Concussion Grenade (Ranges: 4/8/12, 
  Damage: 2d10, Medium Burst Template, Agility 
  roll vs. damage or be knocked prone), Energy Rifle 
  (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d8, AP 2, 3 RB, can be 
  set to stun so damage Incapacitates only and recovers 
  like Fatigue)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +4: This beast is exceptionally large. 
  Opponents get +2 to hit her on account of her 
  size.
  • 
  Tough Hide: +2 Armor
  • 
  Claws: (Damage: Str+d8, AP 3)
  Hydra
  Somewhere along the line, some bright dragon 
  kin decided that normal fire-breathing dragons didn’t 
  have enough oomph and demanded more. The Great 
  Dragon Spirit provided. More heads. More attitude. 
  More muscle. Just more.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+11, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12, Intimidation d10, Notice 
  d10+2, Shooting d12, Throwing d8, Tracking d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 22(6) Pulse 20
  Edges: Awareness, Improved Sweep, No Mercy
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  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +8: These things are massive and attacks 
  against them are made at +2.
  • 
  Double Tough  Hide: +6 Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Double Sharp Double Strong Bite: (Damage: 
  Str+d10, AP 6, Reach 2)
  • 
  Breath Fire: As the Power Burst, use Shooting as 
  the ‘casting’ die
  • 
  Fear: Seeing this monster inspires Spirit checks 
  with a -1 modifier
  • 
  Fearless
  • 
  Vitality: A hydra automatically Soaks the first 
  wound in any encounter. The damage gets 
  through, but it simply ignores it - it doesn’t count 
  as a Wound and the hydra isn’t Shaken.  
  • 
  Many Heads: The hydra has 5 heads and each 
  is considered separately, meaning they take no 
  multi-action penalty for all attacking. Wounding 
  a head disables just that head and does not take 
  the creature out of action unless it’s the last head. 
  Killing the body is the quickest way to shut down 
  the beast. Each use of Improved Sweep requires 
  two heads to work in co-operation. Every head 
  can use the Breath Fire ability.
  Pure Survivors
  The few Pure tough or lucky enough to have 
  survived the initial onslaught are a rare breed. Even 
  in times of peace their people were known for being 
  skilled and resourceful technologists. Those who 
  remain are a particularly hardy bunch.  Due to their 
  extensive genetic therapy, the Pure are disconcerting 
  to those from other realms. Even in the middle 
  of a sustained firefight, they don’t appear overly 
  disheveled; every move they make flows as if it was 
  rehearsed several times before execution.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice 
  d8+1, Shooting d8, Taunt d6+1
  Pace 6 Parry 7(1) Toughness 9(4) Pulse 15 
  Charisma +1
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Pure Strain Human
  Gear: Energy Blade (Damage: Str+d6+2, AP 
  2, Parry +1), Pure Combat Fatigues (+4 Armor, all 
  locations), Pulse Rifle (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 
  2d10, AP 4, Auto, 3RB), Pulse Port (allows use of 
  Pulse weapons and internal targeting computer gives 
  +1 to hit when using one)
  Dr. Aman Scilene
  By virtue of a cool head and a quick mind, Dr. 
  Scilene has become the impromptu leader of 
  the band of survivors. Although combat and tactics 
  are not his core strengths, the last several weeks have 
  revealed talents he never expected. Still very much the 
  brainy scientist, Dr. Scilene is prone to giving overly 
  technical explanations and verbose suggestions when 
  out of immediate danger.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Knowledge 
  (Advanced Particle Science) d12+1, Notice d8+1, 
  Repair d8+1, Shooting d8, Taunt d6+1
  Pace 6 Parry 7(1) Toughness 9(4)  Pulse 20 
  Charisma +1
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Command, Dodge, 
  Level Headed, Pure Strain Human
  Gear: Pure Blade (Damage Str+d6+2, AP 4, 
  Parry +1), Pure Fatigues (+4 armor, all locations), 
  Pulse Pistol (Ranges: 10/20/40, Damage: 2d8+1, 
  AP 4, SemiAuto), Pulse Port (allows use of Pulse 
  weapons and internal targeting computer gives +1 to 
  hit when using one)
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  Vehicles
  VTOL Pterodactyl
  It moves like a helicopter, but there the similarities 
  end. Vaguely egg-shaped and heavily armored all 
  around, the Pterodactyl is completely sealed when 
  buttoned up. Internal view screens take the place of 
  windows, though no external cameras (or weapons, 
  or anything else for that matter) can be seen. The 
  hideously complex multi-layered interface, which is 
  only accessible through a Pulse port, is enough to 
  confuse the best pilot. Non-Pure attempting to pilot 
  the craft do so at -2, and there is a further -2 penalty 
  for any pilot whose Smarts is under d10.
  Type: Aircraft
  Acc/TS: 24/70
  Toughness: 26(10)
  Crew: 1+8
  Cost: Not for sale!
  Notes: Climb 24, Heavy Armor, Counter-
  Sensor Measures (-6 to detect with sensors), Sealed 
  Environment, armaments including Missile Rack 
  with 4 missiles (Ranges: 24/48/96, Damage: 3d8, AP 
  8, HW, ROF 4) and Rail Cannon (Ranges: 24/48/96 
  , Damage: 3d8, AP 8, HW, ROF 4), Other suitably 
  high-tech toys at the GM’s discretion.
  Sentry Guns
  The Pure’s sentry guns are ball-mounted armored 
  turrets capable of a full spectrum of rotation. For 
  those with a fondness for ordnance, the sight of twin 
  rail cannons tracking and leading targets must be 
  the most inspirational sight in the world. The world 
  can’t be in that much trouble, with all these fireworks 
  in the air! For the rest of us though, it’s downright 
  terrifying.
  Type: Stationary Emplacement
  Toughness: 21(12)
  Crew: 1
  Cost: Unknown
  Notes: Twin Rail Cannon (Ranges: 24/48/96, 
  Damage: 3d8+2, AP 8, HW, ROF 4), Targeting Suite 
  (+2 to operator’s Shooting rolls). These guns are 
  large, taking up a 2x2 inch area, and attacks against 
  them are made at +2. 
  Fortified ATV
  It’s a good thing the Wilderlands are so empty 
  because otherwise you’d never be able to find a parking 
  spot in this thing. The standard-issue fortified ATV 
  is tough enough to survive the worst of the post-
  apocalyptic terrain with only minor scratches in the 
  paint and an oil change every 5 years.
  This pretty little piece of hardware features 
  multiple axles, massive, acid-resistant tires, and 
  armor plating like nobody’s business. It’s perfect for 
  military support, picnics on the beach, or even salt-
  flat death racing. The typical Pure ATV is unarmed, 
  but dragon kin flout this generalization all the time. 
  Type: Land
  Acc/TS: 8/40
  Toughness: 30(10)
  Crew: 1+20
  Cost: Unknown
  Notes: Heavy Armor, Counter-Sensor Measures 
  (-6 to detect with sensors), Sealed Environment, 
  Everything the enterprising grunt needs to ascend 
  massive inclines and plow through the stickiest 
  quagmire. Various armaments are possible, but 
  communications arrays and enhanced sensor suites 
  are more common. 
  The Dragon God: Act VI
  Realm: Mortal realms, Wilderlands (long after 
  the Pulse War).
  No build-up is necessary here. You should know 
  what to expect by this point: the demigods are going 
  to take down the Great Dragon Spirit’s physical 
  form, so the gods can chain him somewhere in an 
  unfathomable backwater of the Maelstrom. 
  The rim of the crater is lined with dragon kin 
  warriors and larger dragons, waiting in barely 
  contained ecstasy for their master’s return. Blood 
  pools around the physical form of the Great Dragon 
  Spirit, allowing Pulse to sink into his regenerating 
  flesh. We should point out that the crater is simply 
  huge and the half-fleshy, half-skeletal dragon fills 
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  it all. Let’s put it this way - his mouth alone could 
  swallow a football field. This task isn’t going to be as 
  simple as walking up to him and socking him on the 
  jaw.
  As the demigods close in, their Telesmae start 
  getting talky. The gods want to make sure that the 
  demigods get it right, so they’re opening up all the 
  lines of communication. The gods are aware of the 
  four steps necessary to banish the Great Dragon 
  Spirit from the mortal realms, and will explain them 
  as the demigods approach the crater and get their 
  first glimpse of the opponent.
  To Kill The King Of Dragons
  1. Raising The Scale: His physical form can only 
  be destroyed at the heart, yet that’s also the place 
  where he already has immeasurably hard scales. 
  However, several of the Great Dragon Spirit’s scales 
  have not yet hardened into their final position. One 
  of these can be pried up to reach the new, tender 
  flesh below. Each Round a demigod must succeed at 
  a Strength test at -4 to either lift the scale or keep it 
  held aloft. As soon as a scale is hoisted, stage two can 
  begin.
  2. Exhausting The Dragon: Hammering at the 
  Great Dragon Spirit’s flesh brings the brave demigod 
  into direct conflict with the spirit’s personified 
  endurance. The demigod making the attempt must 
  pay 1 Pulse and make a Vigor test at -4. Every success 
  and each Raise inflicts a level of Fatigue on the Dragon 
  Spirit. Every level of Fatigue dealt reduces the Vigor 
  penalty by -1. After the flesh receives three levels of 
  Fatigue, it is exhausted. The player who wrestled it 
  into submission may pay 1 Karma or 10 Pulse to ‘seal’ 
  the damage. Otherwise, the flesh will fully regenerate 
  whenever a joker is dealt and the demigods are all 
  pushed back to the surface and need to start the 
  whole process again.
  Exhausting the flesh is only one part of the 
  process. The demigods need to exhaust the opponent 
  completely, mind, body and soul. Exhausting the 
  spirit works in the same way as exhausting the flesh, 
  only Spirit replaces Vigor and the great spirit has a 
  whole new Fatigue track for its spiritual Fatigue. 
  Because the Great Dragon Spirit is a being of god-like 
  power, his Fatigue tracks don’t stack. Exhausting the 
  mind works similarly, only Smarts replaces Vigor and 
  he has a whole new Fatigue track for mental Fatigue. 
  After the mind, flesh and spirit have been 
  exhausted and sealed (in any order) the demigods 
  have torn a deep enough hole in the great spirit to 
  reach his pulsating viscera. As they descend, gore is 
  everywhere.
  3. Shredding The Heart: The great spirit’s beating 
  heart is the final obstacle before reaching the very 
  core of his being. Some brave demigod has to tear into 
  the house-sized heart by dealing two Wounds with 
  a single attack (against Parry 5 Toughness 12) and 
  then plunging in, expending 1 Karma and 10 Pulse 
  as he does so. Having fought his way into the center 
  of the great spirit’s heart, all that’s left is to wrestle his 
  spiritual signature – time to head to the spirit world!
  4. Scattering The Pulse: The vital essence of the 
  furious enemy lies exposed and vulnerable before the 
  demigods. In the spirit world it looks like a man-sized 
  diamond with a dragon of pure light coiled around it. 
  Unraveling it requires the demigods to make Smarts, 
  Spirit or Vigor checks against the central core. Any 
  character who is in the spirit world may attempt 
  these checks. Each attempt costs 1 Pulse. The Great 
  Dragon Spirit does not suffer multi-action penalties 
  for resisting several times in one Round, but he 
  does if multiple demigods attack simultaneously. 
  Every success and each Raise allows the character 
  to sacrifice one point of Pulse permanently (yes 
  permanently – this process is bound to leave some 
  scars) to repel a proportion of the great spirit back 
  across the Veil and to the Maelstrom. Once 10 Pulse 
  have been sacrificed in this way, the Great Dragon 
  Spirit will be forced up into the heavens and in a blaze 
  of blinding light his spirit will be ripped through the 
  Veil. Looking up, the demigods will be able to see the 
  hands of gods reaching through to wrestle him and 
  pull him to the Maelstrom. In the physical world, his 
  body will collapse on the ground, lifeless.
  And... Fight!
  The four stage process doesn’t sound too tough 
  for hardened demigods like your characters. Bear in 
  mind, though, they’ll have just been fighting their 
  way through an army of dragons and might well 
  be bloodied. Also, the Great Dragon Spirit has no 
  intention of letting them act unopposed.
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  The first obstacle for the demigods is the sheer 
  scale (if you pardon the pun) of the task. When the 
  demigods get on to the semi-regenerated body of 
  the Great Dragon Spirit, each of the demigods must 
  make a Spirit check at -4. No matter what they’ve 
  seen in their long and epic career, this is worse; it’s 
  definitely worth a roll on the Fear Table.
  Deal initiative as usual during this combat. At the 
  start of the round, compare the Great Dragon Spirit’s 
  card to the following table, which decides how he acts 
  that Round:
  Suit: 
   
   
  Effect:
  Clubs 
   
   
  Nothing
  Diamonds, (numbers) 
  Shake
  Diamonds, (faces)  
  Impact
  Hearts 
   
   
  Breath Weapon
  Spades 
   
   
  Roll
  Shake: The great spirit shudders in torment. 
  All demigods must make Agility checks at -2 or fall 
  prone.
  Impact: Seeking to dislodge the impertinent 
  insects on its hide, the great spirit scrapes against the 
  side of the crater. All demigods must make Strength 
  checks at -2 or slide 1d10 inches in a random direction 
  and fall prone. If they fall over the edge, this could be 
  bad news.
  Breath Weapon: A long, snaking neck topped 
  with an array of misshapen mouths sprouts from 
  the punctured flesh of the great spirit and spits fiery 
  doom over the demigods. Place the cone template 
  wherever it seems most advantageous. This deals 
  Damage: 3d8 to everyone in range.
  Roll: The god pitches from side to side, shrieking 
  in rage. All terrain is treated as difficult, and the 
  demigods must past a Test of Wills against the great 
  spirit’s Intimidation of d12.
  As if all this wasn’t enough, 2d6 bloodlings seep 
  from between the great spirit’s scales every Round. 
  These creatures are never affected by spirit attacks – 
  the demigods should feel constant pressure from all 
  sides while they try to carry out their four tasks.
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  Once the great spirit has been sent back to the 
  Maelstrom, the vast majority of the dragons and 
  dragon kin in the vicinity die, their existence linked 
  to their master’s. The surviving Pure will be eating 
  juicy dragon steaks and ribs for decades.
  The day – and the universe – are saved, and our 
  demigods have killed their very first god-powered 
  being. Congratulations to them! Their own path to 
  godhood is well under way.
  Bloodlings
  Everyone knows that dragon teeth can be 
  harvested for a crop of expert warriors. The blood of 
  the Great Dragon Spirit works on a similar scientific 
  principle. Within moments of contact with air, the 
  god’s spilt blood begins to coagulate into the shape 
  of dragon kin warriors. They are under the Great 
  Dragon Spirit’s immediate control; it can sense what 
  they sense and command them as it wills.
  Although bloodlings possess a rudimentary 
  intelligence, everything they know is blood and fury. 
  Communication should be nigh-impossible.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Any that are needed are at d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Special abilities
  • 
  Claws: (Damage: Str+d6, AP 2)
  • 
  Flesh Of My Flesh: Unaffected by the Great 
  Dragon Spirit’s Shake, Impact, Breath Weapon 
  and Roll actions.
  The Great Dragon Spirit
  The Great Dragon Spirit is the lord and master 
  of all dragonkind. He hates mankind for the 
  violence men have inflicted on dragons in dozens of 
  realms. His current physical form is a titanic slab of 
  regenerating flesh studded with twisting bones and 
  surging viscera. When fully healed, the Great Dragon 
  Spirit is girded in impenetrable scales, not all of 
  which have grown in yet. This is the chance for the 
  demigods to strike decisively!
  The Great Dragon Spirit has Spirit, Smarts, and 
  Vigor at d12+2, with a d10 as his Wild Die. 
  Adventurer Savage Tales
  The following eight tales take place in the city 
  of New Garris in the Relic setting. Feel free to rip, 
  tear, and otherwise alter the parts that don’t fit your 
  idea of a rollicking good time, changing names and 
  faces as necessary to fit your stories. You can also use 
  them as encounters to spice up your own long-term 
  epic. Someone important to the central plot didn’t 
  show up one day? Run everyone who’s left through a 
  Savage Tale. Problem solved.
  Ultimately, the aim of these Tales is to give the 
  characters some new angles on fantasy roleplay in 
  Suzerain’s Relic realm. While those characters are 
  still Novice, Seasoned and Veteran ranked their time 
  will be spent in that realm exclusively, and it’s good to 
  have a variety of scenarios to take them through. Use 
  them as a wrapper for the main Plot Point Campaign, 
  developing a rich sense of the world where the dragon 
  kin plan to unleash their great spirit.
  Skulls And Crossbows
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  Not all of those who live beneath Relic’s seas are 
  content to stay there. The Aquasaar race of water 
  elemental merfolk is normally reluctant to mix with 
  the cultures of the mainland, preferring to stick to 
  their distant island home. Occasionally, though, one 
  of their number is enticed by the lure of riches.
  An Aquassar trader named Kesi is looking to set 
  up shop in the city of Garris, but her first shipment of 
  weaponry and alchemical supplies has gone missing. 
  She promises the characters generous discounts and 
  assistance in dealing with Garris’ upper crust if they 
  help her.
  The barge that was supposed to transport her 
  goods from the uppermost reef of the sunken city of 
  Ulm never made it up the Lehr River where Garris sits. 
  Kesi’s family has enough enemies that she suspects 
  sabotage – and what self-respecting Aquassar would 
  destroy the goods instead of trying to resell them?
  The missing weapons are pretty high-tech… 
  repeating crossbows. This batch is identifiable by a 
  small starfish marking on each one. 
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  The obvious thing would be to retrace the barge’s 
  potential path downstream. If the characters take this 
  route, they’ll find the nomadic Yando tribe first, a day 
  out from the city. A few hundred meters beyond their 
  camp, the missing barge is smashed upon a sandy 
  stretch of river bank.
  Meeting The Nomads
  The Yando tribe is an ancient one, with history 
  covering most of the Great Expanse. They’re known 
  for their particularly sturdy breed of horse, as well as 
  their ancient grudge with the Bourna tribe. 
  Anyone looking for signs of the missing weapons 
  will notice that a few Yando warriors are practicing 
  with crossbows that are several technological 
  advances beyond their typical short bows. Each 
  weapon is stamped with a starfish insignia. If no one 
  thinks to ask, a random Notice check will provide the 
  same information.
  The Yando are quick to say the barge drifted 
  ashore on its own. There were several Aquassar 
  bodies on board, which the tribe’s shaman purified 
  and cremated. They had died unhappily, and he 
  helped their souls escape the anger. 
  Scavenge has been a long-standing tradition 
  among the Yando, and they will not return Kesi’s 
  goods. If the characters press the point, they will 
  attract the attention of Ruce-of-Many, the tribe 
  shaman. Ruce explains that even if the characters 
  could prove anything, his people need the weapons 
  more. A band of ogres has taken up residence in the 
  area, and they’ve been stealing horses. To turn away 
  any advantage would be the height of foolishness.
  Careful examination of the barge will reveal 
  signs of violence, including bloodstains and 
  smashed crates. These should be used to confuse the 
  characters; if they believe the Yando, why was there 
  such a struggle? If they’re willing to write the tribe off 
  as murderers, how was the boat smashed?
  A truly wicked GM would leave the matter 
  undermined until the last possible moment, calling in 
  the runner from the next scene before the characters 
  find definitive information (if ever). The official 
  answer, however, is that the Yando had nothing to do 
  with attacking the barge. It was an inside job, sparked 
  by a bag of coins from Kesi’s family’s enemies in Ulm. 
  The mutineers made their move while the barge was 
  traversing treacherous shallows, causing the barge to 
  lose control.
  Surrounded By Ogres
  At a suitably dramatic moment, a nomad runner 
  bursts into the camp. Ogres have attacked the camp 
  of the unmarried men! They’re holding out for as 
  long as they can, but without the aid of the tribe’s 
  more experienced warriors they’ll fall soon. 
  This is a good chance for the adventurers to 
  show their goodwill to the Yando. Without aid, the 
  nomads will only be able to drive back the invaders 
  with heavy casualties. If the characters are intent on 
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  recovering the weapons for Kesi, defeating the ogres 
  would go a long way – and possibly win some more 
  customers for their employer.
  The unmarried men keep their tents on the other 
  side of a low rock-studded hill. As soon as they’re 
  able to support a wife, they marry and move into the 
  main camp. At least three of them will never have 
  the chance though, laid low by ogre clubs. The fight 
  is desperate when the characters arrive, untested 
  warriors dodging and fighting a holding action 
  against their hulking opponents.
  The battle includes two ogres per character, 
  ten warriors (use the standard soldier from Savage 
  Worlds), and ten to twelve unmarried men (who are 
  standard soldiers, but only have a d4 in Fighting). 
  The warriors will move first to secure the safety of 
  their tribe members, and secondly to drive off the 
  ogres. The characters’ safety isn’t high on their list of 
  priorities unless there was some serious diplomacy 
  involved in the previous scene. Five of the warriors 
  have access to the special Aquasaar crossbows 
  (Ranges 10/20/40, Damage 2d6, AP 2, five shots 
  then three actions to reload).
  What happens at the end is really up to the 
  characters. They may not fight the ogres at all – they 
  may even resort to force against the Yando. The 
  dilemma at the core of this tale is trickier than it 
  appears to be at first, but the potential rewards – both 
  material and personal – could be great.
  Wild Ogres
  Although wild ogres have gotten less tough since 
  their hey-day in the Second Age, it’s not by much. 
  Wielding tree branches for clubs, they aren’t the 
  smartest tacticians in the world. They don’t really 
  need to be.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+1, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d4
  Pace 8 Parry 6 Toughness 10 Pulse 10
  Gear: Ogre Club (Damage: Str+d8, AP 1)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +4: These beasts are exceptionally large. 
  Opponents get +2 to hit them on account of 
  their size.
  Ruce-of-Many
  Two years ago, Ruce-of-Many watched as the 
  Yando’s shaman was devoured by a starving 
  spirit-ogre. Since then, he has been his people’s sole 
  line of defense against spiritual threats, as well as their 
  moral compass. Although younger than the shamans 
  of the nearby tribes, Ruce is afforded great respect by 
  his people. They recognize his many sacrifices for the 
  tribe, readily excusing his occasional periods of quiet 
  introspection.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Perform Ritual d6, 
  Persuasion d6, Survival d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 7(1) Pulse 10
  Edges: Sighted (Healing , The Sight, Stun – a 
  stinging powder infused with Pulse and carried by 
  anemone spirits )
  Gear: Club (Damage: Str+d6), Light Bone 
  And Hide Armor (+1 Armor on the torso), Bronze 
  Spyglass
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Rituals: Given the violent times, Ruce performs 
  2 Stun rituals and one Healing ritual each 
  morning. He is fairly well-prepared for any 
  action, but currently has only 3 Pulse available 
  for other uses.
  My Generation
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  This scenario runs best after Act II of our 
  campaign, but it can be any time after. Children 
  are disappearing from Garris again, and the city 
  leaders are concerned that Gregor’s group of fanatics 
  have resurfaced, with or without their master. The 
  characters are called in because they have the most 
  practical experience with Gregor and his methods.
  A quick trip to the city’s criminal underworld 
  reveals that slavers from the Imperial Ministry are 
  to blame. Their totalitarian theocracy festers far 
  from Garris’ borders, but its corrupting influence is 
  inescapable.
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  Searching For Clues
  Through careful observation or dumb luck, the 
  characters will eventually catch wind of a story that 
  has been circulating among Garris’ urchins about 
  Ol’ Sawguts. They say he’s the spirit of a miner killed 
  in a cave-in. He’s back, with saws for teeth! Adults 
  are too big to fit in his pinched, jagged mouth, but 
  kids are just the right size. No one knows where the 
  story started, but everybody knows that Ol’ Sawguts 
  prefers street kids from the Rookery, Garris’ bustling 
  guild plaza.
  Careful observation of the Rookery will reveal 
  that children aren’t the only ones talking about 
  Ol’ Sawguts. He’s also a part of the stage patter of 
  a scarecrow-styled illusionist named Veran, who 
  operates outside of the Garris public baths. At the 
  climax of his show, he calls eleven children onto his 
  makeshift stage and makes them disappear. Only ten 
  return, while the unfortunate eleventh is bustled off to 
  a nearby warehouse belonging to the brewer’s guild. 
  Veran is no more than a lazy criminal who happens 
  to put on an okay stage show – he has no Fighting 
  skill and is a flight-rather-than-fight kind of a guy. 
  The children are kept in an empty brewery vat until 
  there are enough of them to fill a large cart. When the 
  characters track this operation down, be sure to use 
  the warehouse’s many of barrels in the battle.
  The chief slaver reveals that several of the  
  barbarian clans who live around the Jorna Peak 
  are offering a premium on young children. He was 
  heading to meet some Jorna barbarian representatives, 
  far in the Great Expanse, before being so rudely 
  interrupted. He can be persuaded to draw a map to 
  the Jorna foothills, but vows bitter revenge. 
  The Jorna Guard
  Even if the children in the brewery vat are safe, 
  there are still the ones who’ve already been shipped 
  away – and slavers will continue to steal for the clans 
  of Jorna until they can be stopped. It looks like a trip 
  to the mountains is in order!
  The slaver’s map leads to a Jorna outpost in the 
  low foothills. It’s a ride of several weeks, with all 
  manner of adventure possibilities along the way, so 
  don’t rush things. Throw in a couple of other Savage 
  Tales before the characters get to the destination and 
  the end of this one.
  Thick timber walls protect three no-nonsense 
  longhouses, each housing a dozen Jorna clansmen. 
  A watchtower rises above the base, allowing a view 
  of the paths leading into the mountains, as well as 
  the worn road back across the Great Expanse towards 
  “civilization.” 
  A tiny, pitiful marketplace runs twice monthly, 
  bringing a woeful assortment of merchants to trade 
  their wares. This is when the children are typically 
  transferred and dispersed among the various clans. 
  Getting in touch with the right people will require a 
  convincing cover story and an impressive Persuasion 
  roll. If the characters offer to buy the children, they’ll 
  be met with stern faces and told the clans need them 
  more than the money.
  Outsiders unfamiliar to the outpost’s regular 
  inhabitants are treated with suspicion, and are 
  monitored wherever they go. Mentioning the 
  stolen children is a good way to be invited behind a 
  longhouse and ambushed. 
  No Time For Talk!
  Eventually the characters will discover the 
  head of the outpost, or she will find them. Bulla ek-
  Jorne likes to think that she runs a tight ship; she’s 
  always accompanied by a pair of messengers who’re 
  prepared to dash off and confirm rumors. Her 
  favored tactics for dealing with intruders are threats 
  and intimidation. Surely, it would be better for the 
  clans to focus on internal matters rather than resume 
  the dreadful raids of the old days?
  If pushed to say more, Bulla explains how her 
  peoples’ blood has grown thin from their seclusion. 
  Ever since the Jorna clans backed the forces of the 
  Wild two-hundred years ago, they became outcasts 
  from civilization. Battered from their defeat, they 
  eked out what living the treacherous mountains 
  allowed. Many died from hunger and exposure. 
  Fresh blood would make the clans strong again, not 
  to mention appease the old clan gods. Jorna altars 
  have lain bare since the War of the Wild, their priests 
  unable to get any kind of regular communication 
  with their deities.
  What kind of heroes are in your story? The 
  sort to try for a diplomatic solution, attracting new 
  settlers to the Jorna lands while working to erase 
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  generations of hatred? Brave leaders who won’t bow 
  to the demands of fear-mongers? This is the moment 
  where their mettle is tested once more… can they live 
  with the consequences?
  Chief Slaver
  The chief slaver is a well-fed bully with enough 
  knowledge of numbers to appreciate the margins of 
  the slave trade. He was a handsome man at one point, 
  but the replacement of hygiene with strong drink 
  has started to show its toll on his rugged looks. He’s 
  always looking for future business opportunities, and 
  despises “peasants” – anyone who bothers him on a 
  particular day.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Drive d4, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, 
  Taunt d6
  Pace 5 Parry 5 Toughness 7 Pulse 10
  Hindrances: Obese
  Edges: Strong Willed
  Gear: Club (Damage: Str+d6), he may or may 
  not have several poorly paid, poorly equipped thugs 
  to handle rough customers. Use standard soldiers if 
  you want to make the warehouse with its brewery 
  vats more of a memorable fight.
  Jorna Clansmen
  Although barbarians, they’re hardly barbaric. 
  Jorna warriors are ferocious in battle, but more 
  interested in bringing in new blood than spilling it 
  needlessly. Although Jorna traditions are proud and 
  boastful, their hard lives have tempered the glorious 
  excesses of former times.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Survival d6, 
  Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 (1) Toughness 7(1) Pulse 10
  Edges: Brawny
  Gear: Hand Axe (Ranges: 2/4/8, Damage: 
  Str+d6), Furs And Helmet (+1 Armor, all locations, 
  +1 to resist effects of cold weather), Medium Shield 
  (+1 Parry, +2 Armor against ranged attacks)
  Bulla ek-Jorne
  Bulla’s a large, fearsome warrior with hands like hams 
  and a snear that could wither fruit. She enjoys playing 
  the part of the big bruiser, keeping her more reasoned 
  observations hidden until the last moment. The stakes 
  of her current mission are too high for weakness, 
  so she allows none in herself or those under her 
  command. Any attempt to compromise with her will 
  be met with suspicion and strong countermeasures to 
  prevent being scammed.   
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d10, Persuasion 
  d8, Streetwise d8, Survival d6, Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 7(1) Pulse 15
  Edges: Brawny, Fearsome Presence
  Gear: Maul (Damage: Str+d8, AP 2), Furs And 
  Helmet (+1 Armor, all locations, +1 to resist effects 
  of cold weather)
  Ouroborous Emergent (I)
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  The treasure-digging world is in an uproar! A 
  prime dig site has been located underneath the shrine 
  to Hezekiah the Elder, a minor Caladonian prophet. 
  When his skeletal remains were moved to Garris, they 
  were interred in a makeshift tomb fashioned from 
  the remains of several Old Garris residences located 
  at the far end of Godspeakers Street, the two-tiered 
  avenue of temples. Hezekiah’s sole disciple planted 
  a garden on top of the tomb, which later expanded 
  into a park. Anonymous donations soon provided 
  for a modest wall decorated with icons and a small 
  chapel. The elevated halls of the Valon gods cast long 
  shadows over the shabby park, but also protect it 
  from the bustle of the rest of the city. The shrine is a 
  popular location for laborers to rest and swap gossip. 
  Cale Poplin, penniless scholar-rogue, spent many 
  a lunch-hour sitting outside of the shrine, engaged in 
  Garris’ most noble profession: treasure hunting. He 
  badgered the groundskeeper and became a nuisance 
  to passers-by with constant questions about the 
  prophet’s connection to the Trader Imperium. Every 
  image of the prophet depicted him in fragmented 
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  Trader garb, cut in a fashion that was unsuited to his 
  humble origins. Clearly, there was more to the story.
  One night not too long ago, Poplin took a shovel 
  to the park and unearthed the prophet’s tomb. Before 
  he could get more than an eyeful of what lay within, 
  the city watch arrived. He would not be allowed to 
  dig any further without approval from Maltho, the 
  shrine’s groundskeeper. Knowing that other treasure 
  hunters would poach his claim, the enterprising 
  Poplintracked down the characters to speak on his 
  behalf.
  Behind The Veil
  A Knowledge (Religion) or Faith roll will reveal 
  Hezekiah the Elder’s claim to fame was the so-
  called Ouroborous Chronicle. These poems describe 
  Hezekiah’s journey to a world of wonders where sleek 
  towers kissed the sky and their perfectly proportioned 
  inhabitants wanted for nothing. Modern scholars 
  agree that this is an allegory for Trinity’s home, the 
  Realm of the Archangels. Unfortunately, little study 
  has been done on the matter since the sole copy of 
  the chronicle disappeared from the Three-Point 
  Cathedral over twenty years ago.
  Maltho the groundskeeper knows what happened 
  to it; he’s the one who took it. He suspects that the 
  story of a distant world is true, and attainable under 
  the proper circumstances. No one could spend as 
  much time polishing the iconic carvings of Hezekiah 
  without noticing how strangely he was garbed; fie on 
  allegory!
  In his haste to decode the manuscript, Maltho 
  opened a small portal to the spirit world to find a 
  tutor. Unfortunately, all he was able to manage was 
  a swarm of emotion wisps, primarily of the rage and 
  greed varieties. These spiritual nuisances enjoy the 
  shrine as much as its mundane visitors, and refuse 
  to leave – even after poisoning Poplin with blinding 
  greed and Maltho with magnified spite.
  Breaking And Entering
  If the characters need an altruistic reason to 
  engage in a little shrine exploring, all they have to 
  consider is the collateral damage caused by the wisps. 
  As they become more content with their new home, 
  the nearby temples become infected with unnatural 
  mood swings. Without aid, the situation is not 
  going to get better; there’s enough ambient Pulse 
  surrounding Hezekiah’s treasure that the wisps have 
  already started forming a nest around it.
  The tomb is an empty affair consisting of five 
  crumbling rooms connected by rough tunnels. 
  Maltho’s emotion wisps have claimed the entire tomb 
  as their home, and will attack with the intensity of 
  wild dogs. 
  The final room is the prophet’s burial chamber. 
  His consciousness has passed into the Maelstrom, 
  leaving naught behind but some bones. One skeletal 
  hand clutches a wooden staff. Rolled up within the 
  staff is a magically preserved map, which changes at 
  the touch. It is hyper-advanced Trader-tech from an 
  alternate timeline; the characters will not even begin 
  to unravel its mysteries until they are Heroic rank. 
  For now, it’s enough to know that it’s burning with 
  Pulse, and both man and spirit want it.
  Several minutes after Poplin gets the characters 
  into the tomb, his rivals will arrive. They’ve been 
  watching the site for their chance to bust in, and 
  there’s no way they’re letting a group of newbies walk 
  off with their loot. The emotion wisps have clouded 
  their minds, and reasoned debate will prove difficult. 
  If they don’t leave with Hezekiah’s map, there will be 
  blood.
  If Maltho is made aware of the map, he will not 
  allow it to leave the shrine. Moreover, he will not 
  allow anyone resembling a no-good, dirty bandit to 
  examine it; that rules out Poplin and his ilk. Have the 
  characters treated the old man courteously? Are they 
  knowledgeable enough to help him with the map or 
  political enough to win control of it? 
  Cale Poplin, Treasure Hunter 
  Formal education never agreed with Poplin. 
  It was far too abstract, stuffy, and above-ground. 
  Getting to the good stuff took months of slogging 
  through disintegrating texts, licking the dusty boots 
  of his seniors, and above all, not getting paid. When 
  he was in his mid-20’s he left academia to pursue the 
  active life of a professional scavenger. Despite the 
  occasional rolling boulder or poisonous dart, the 
  perks are worlds better. For a shot at the mother lode, 
  most anything’s worth it.
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  Although Poplin doesn’t know what he’s looking 
  for in the grand scheme of things, he knows he’ll 
  know it when he sees it. As a result, no lead is too 
  small to investigate; there’s a grand mystery out there 
  and it won’t solve itself.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, 
  Investigation d6, Notice d6, Survival d6, Swimming 
  d6, Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Gear: Backpack Containing Exploration Kit, 
  Hooded Lantern, Short Sword (Damage: Str+d6), 
  Parchment, Quill And Ink
  Maltho The Groundskeeper
  Maltho could have been somebody. If his parents 
  hadn’t sold him to wandering monks when he was a 
  youth, he could have been an actor of some acclaim. 
  If he hadn’t slept in that once, he wouldn’t have 
  missed the meeting with the investors from Elenium 
  who were looking to donate to some of Garris’ little-
  known temples. Maltho’s not bitter though. The 
  pious are awarded good fortune in their own time. 
  He’s getting old though, and opportunities have been 
  getting fewer and farther between.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d4, Investigation d8, Notice d8
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Edges: Awareness
  Gear: Gardening Implement (Damage: Str+d4 
  and a lifetime of ridicule from your peers for being 
  blindsided by a spade/rake/trowel etc)
  Greedy/Enraged Treasure Hunters
  As is to be expected from a city built on top of the 
  gem of a lost civilization, Garris is filled with treasure 
  hunters of all stripes. This group is an inexperienced 
  band of diggers with only a few minor finds between 
  them. All of their finds have gone into paying for 
  living expenses and street medications. They’re 
  angry, they have picks, and they’re not going to take 
  it any more.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6+1, Shooting d6, 
  Survival d4, Swimming d6
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 6(1) Pulse 10
  Gear: Pick (Damage: Str+d4, AP 2), Leather Jack 
  (+1 Armor to torso and arms)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Rage/Greed: Having been under the influence 
  of well-fed emotion wisps for some time, these 
  gentlemen are heavily affected by them. They 
  receive +1 to hit, -1 Parry on account of their less 
  than rational state.
  Emotion Wisps
  These little guys rest at the bottom of the spiritual 
  totem pole. They’re the cats and dogs of the spirit 
  world, and are often trained as pets or guards by the 
  spirit world’s more intelligent residents. Like cats 
  and dogs, emotion wisps range in danger from the 
  kittenish spirit of playfulness to the saber-toothed 
  rage specter. 
  Among solid-side shamans, even the most 
  benevolent seeming wisps are seen as pests, albeit 
  potentially useful ones. This is because of the unique 
  makeup of the spirits’ diets. Even the most ravenous 
  of schadenfreude hounds doesn’t deal any damage in 
  grazing, sucking up the ambient thoughts and dead-
  end tangents of sentient beings. It’s the byproducts of 
  consumption that cause problems. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d4, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d4
  Skills: Climbing d4, Fighting d6, Notice d8, 
  Stealth d6, Tracking d4
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 3 Pulse 5
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size -1: Being cat/dog sized these spirits suffer -1 
  to their Toughness.
  • 
  Bite: (Damage: Str+d4)
  • 
  Spiritual Malaise: Every minute spent within 
  10 inches of a grazing Emotion Wisp has 
  the potential to deal a level of Fatigue as the 
  area is bathed with waves of pure emotion 
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  – a successful Spirit check avoids this. Any 
  character can willingly reduce the damage by 
  opening his mind to the psychic assault. Every 
  rank of Fatigue Soaked in this manner sticks 
  the character with the equivalent of a major 
  Hindrance: Overly Emotional for 15 minutes. 
  If there is not an appropriate flaw available, 
  such as Mean or Optimistic, use -1 Charisma 
  and roleplaying cues as a guide. This malaise 
  can affect characters in the physical world even 
  while the spirits are in the spirit world – which 
  can make them a real pain.
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Ghosts Under The Earth
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  We mentioned earlier that spirits aren’t ghosts; 
  they’re beings like us, but without a physical body. 
  That’s mostly true, but occasionally the soul of the 
  departed lingers in the spirit world instead of going 
  to its final rest. In a city like Garris, swallowed whole 
  during a mighty battle, a lot of them stayed behind 
  rather than accepting their demise.
  These ghostly inhabitants of Old Garris are 
  rebuilding their city beneath the earth. Throughout 
  the city, ghostly spires thrust out of the earth, causing 
  all sorts of unsightly Pulse fluxes. In order to expend 
  Pulse near one of these ghost towers, the user must 
  first pass a Spirit check. Failure results in the Pulse 
  being drawn to the tower like a lightning rod, aiding 
  its manifestation into the solid world.
  The spires are only visible in moonlight or 
  when sucking up nearby Pulse. They appear as half-
  completed examples of Old Garris architecture, 
  inhabited by flicker-flame inhabitants. It’s a bit creepy, 
  for sure, but what’s it got to do with the characters? 
  The wizards in their guilds are pretty annoyed about 
  the Pulse fluxes messing up their experiments and 
  might be willing to hire the characters to investigate. 
  That, or your characters are just curious to know 
  more. 
  In-Spire-Ation
  Travelling to the spirit world allows the characters 
  to the top levels of the ghost towers. Any deeper 
  would require digging through several dozen meters 
  of solid rock. For more information on the lower 
  levels, see “Down in the Mine.” Most of the ghosts are 
  soldiers, shoulders steeled in determination to drive 
  back long-dead foes. Any character with a Telesma 
  will be able to speak with them.
  The soldiers don’t realize they are dead, believing 
  the rare flashes of New Garris they see to be distracting 
  illusions conjured by the Wild. Their situation is too 
  desperate to give the matter much thought, however. 
  Dark forces have taken the guardhouse below!
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  Any attempts to convince the soldiers that they 
  are dead, spirits, or creatures out of time will activate 
  their passive defenses. All signs of life will drop away 
  from their faces, revealing terrible networks of lethal 
  blows. Characters who do not succeed on an opposed 
  Spirit check receive one level of Fatigue at the sudden 
  shock.
  Down In The Mine
  Despite their clouded perceptions, the ghostly 
  soldiers are correct. Dozens of meters below the 
  surface, dark forces have roiled with anger since 
  shedding their mortal bodies. Every thirteen 
  years they make a sally against the soldier spirits, 
  corrupting a few more every time. The recent spate of 
  buildings were designed to hold back the spirit-Wild, 
  no matter the cost.
  If the characters want to put a stop to the 
  inconvenient towers and the dark spirits, they’ll 
  need to navigate the mazes of Garris’ subterranean 
  artifact mines. Local scavengers will be able to relate 
  numerous tales about the weird happenings down 
  below. These stories don’t stop at flashing lights or 
  eerie sounds; many diggers will swear that they 
  saw the ghosts of buildings, visible in the physical 
  world. One of their braver pals got too close, and was 
  recruited into an army of spirits. 
  The rumors are pretty spot-on. Ghostly 
  battlements jut from the walls of the most common 
  dig sites, and each intersection is guarded by a 
  spiritual guardhouse, existing half inside piles of 
  tightly packed debris. As they progress deeper, 
  the Garris spirits manifest more completely. Not 
  recognizing the characters, they’ll challenge their 
  presence in such a contested zone. 
  Anyone with strong Pulse (more than 5 current 
  Pulse qualifies) will eventually encounter the 
  recruiting sergeant. This career soldier was crushed 
  by falling masonry more than twenty decades ago, 
  but refuses to miss a quota. Anyone who refuses 
  to share their Pulse under his draconic rationing 
  measures will be accused of stockpiling and forcibly 
  detained. Mad as he is, the spirit is not unreasonable. 
  The characters will receive a service exemption if 
  they help drive back the Wild spirits in a more direct 
  fashion.
  Cleaning House
  Every time the spirits of Old Garris drive the Wild 
  spirits back, the dark forces recuperate within the 
  remains of an arc tower. That’s where they keep their 
  most potent relic: the desiccated body of one of Old 
  Garris’ most distinguished defenders: Commander 
  Jessop. Micro-runes carved into her flesh transform 
  her bound spirit’s eternal struggle into a vile beacon. 
  Worse, the spirits can command her ancient body 
  as a puppet, defending them from any physical 
  intrusions. Using their battery as a defense system 
  has its downside though: if Jessop’s body is defeated 
  in the solid realm, her spirit is able to break free. Cut 
  off from their power, the Wild spirits will no longer 
  have a battery to sustain their terrible raids.
  Jessop’s arc tower has decayed over the years, but 
  still crackles with ambient energy. As the characters 
  approach it from the broad access tunnel, it opens 
  fire. The possessed tower has enough of a charge 
  to fire on the characters for three Rounds before 
  running out of juice. After that it lies dormant until a 
  nearby Wild spirit sacrifices itself to provide energy 
  for three more shots. While they’re pinned, Jessop’s 
  body strides from within and attack the intruders.
  Once the Wild spirits no longer have their Pulse 
  generator, the spirits of Old Garris consider their 
  duty complete. The construction of new spiritual 
  towers grinds to a halt, and the old ones fade in a 
  matter of weeks. 
  Commander Jessop
  When Old Garris was consumed by the earth, 
  Commander Jessop was there. She gave her life so 
  that one last knot of priests could escape, saving their 
  sacred treasures from the charging Wild. Although 
  her spirit has not yet given up the fight, her body has 
  become a necrotic prison. Despite the indignities 
  visited upon her, Jessop remains a staunch soldier. 
  She has had generations to consider every aspect 
  of her situation and is ready to pass on. All that she 
  needs is a little help.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, 
  Shooting d8, Taunt d6
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  Pace 6 Parry 8 (1) Toughness 12(4) Pulse 20
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Improved Frenzy, No 
  Mercy
  Gear: Trader Hammer (Damage: Str+d6+3, AP 
  2, Parry +1) Trader-Forged Battleware (+4 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Regain Control: If Jessop’s initiative card is a 
  heart, she’s able to control the body for a Round. 
  Otherwise the dark forces are in control. Her 
  first free action will be to identify herself and 
  ask for release. Identifying herself is important 
  – it’ll make it all the more poignant when the 
  characters meet her in the campaign scenarios 
  after hitting Heroic rank.
  • 
  Micro Runes: +2 Toughness.
  Spirit Soldiers
  These soldiers are the spirit world Pulse 
  signatures of soldiers the characters may meet in Act 
  III of the main campaign. Still believing themselves 
  to be Garris’ last hope, they aren’t in the mood to take 
  any guff from interceding hero-types. Grab a sword 
  and join ranks, if you want to help.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, 
  Shooting d6, Taunt d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 9(4) Pulse 10
  Gear: Trader Saber (Damage: Str+d6+2, AP 2, 
  Parry +1) Trader-Forged Battleware (+4 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  Spirit: They cannot manifest, but the whole 
  area around the arc tower and the underground 
  foundations of the new defender towers is dual 
  aligned… so they don’t need to.
  Recruiting Sergeant
  The recruiting sergeant always had a way with 
  words. Even in the final days, he was able to lure the 
  able-bodied from their families and parched dirt 
  farms to strike against the dark heart of evil. After 
  his death, his honeyed words soured. No one was 
  good enough; they were maggots, weak-willed, and 
  probably just waiting to betray their allies. Good ol’ 
  discipline would fix ‘em though. It’s all that he had 
  left. 
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice d6, 
  Shooting d6, Taunt d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 9(4) Pulse 15
  Gear: Trader Saber (Damage Str+d6+2, AP 2, 
  Parry +1) Trader-Forged Battleware (+4 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Spirit: He cannot manifest, but the whole area 
  around the arc tower and the underground 
  foundations of the new defender towers is dual 
  aligned… so he doesn’t need to.
  • 
  Drain Pulse. On a successful Intimidation 
  check the sergeant may, instead of gaining any 
  other benefit, draw Pulse from the target. He 
  gains 1 point of Pulse for every two points his 
  Intimidation check was higher than the target’s. 
  On the plus side, everyone within hearing 
  distance learns 1d4 new vulgarities, which may 
  be of interest to certain esoteric scholars.
  Wild Spirits
  When Old Garris was consumed by the earth at 
  the end of the War of the Wild, plenty of Wild troops 
  were dragged down as well as defenders. These are 
  ghosts of wicked humans, slippery ratten, and the 
  occasional small dragon kin. The very definition of 
  mooks.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d8, Throw d8
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 8(2) Pulse 10
  Edges: Combat Reflexes
  Gear: Longsword (Damage: Str+d8) Chain 
  Armor (+2 Armor, all locations), Shield (+1 Parry, 
  +2 Armor against ranged attacks), Mass Crossbow 
  (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1, AP 4)
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  Special Abilities
  • 
  Spirit: They cannot manifest, but the whole 
  area around the arc tower and the underground 
  foundations of the new defender towers is dual 
  aligned… so they don’t need to.
  Possessed Arc Tower
  As per standard arc tower (see page 103), only 
  surrounded by a dead zone of burnt electric air. 
  The whole tower is dual-aligned, including the 
  Arc Gun itself, thus able to hit targets in both the 
  spirit and physical worlds.
  Arc Gun (Ranges: 16/32/64, Damage: 2d8+1, 
  AP 2, Snapfire, ROF 4)
  Festival Of Blood
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  The Festival of Saphron is coming, and Garris is 
  ready for it. The young and hardy have been building 
  makeshift wooden forts, cleaning their wooden 
  swords and shields, and discussing battle plans with 
  their friends. Soon, mock combat will sweep the 
  streets as everyone attempts to steal the flag from the 
  neighboring districts.
  This lusty celebration of the Valon god of battle 
  never ends well, but the citizens of Garris love it. 
  It gives them a chance to settle old feuds without 
  the trouble of arranging formal duels, shows the 
  merchant down the street who’s boss, and provides 
  an excellent chance to blow off steam. 
  As if that weren’t enough excitement, Grillax Par, 
  the greatest gladiator in Valon, is in town. So far he 
  has received offers from the temple of Saphron, the 
  blacksmith’s guild, and two wealthy families to fight 
  for their teams. Instead of committing, he’s stringing 
  them along while enjoying free wine and easy 
  company. This is one way to show the characters what 
  to look forward to as their fame spreads. Moreover, 
  it gives them someone who they can look back upon 
  someday and say, “We were scared of him?!”
  Grillax Par
  Despite being one of Saphron’s chosen, Grillax 
  never really paid much attention to the side of his 
  patron’s teachings that involved tactics or restraint. 
  He’s a glory-hound through and through, preferring 
  to showboat rather than engage in measly little fights. 
  His martial prowess and raw physicality have been 
  enough to get him through everything so far, so why 
  change?
  Par’s popularity extends farther than even he 
  knows. Everywhere he travels, he is in the perpetual 
  center of a spiritual coliseum. The stands are packed 
  with his vocal following, egging him on toward 
  greater displays of skill. If that’s not enough, they 
  hurl metaphysical debris and emotional wisps at his 
  surroundings until an interesting situation develops.
  The audience is primarily composed of voyeur 
  spirits: enormous, goggle-eyed heads on top of 
  shriveled bodies. Many of them keep spirits of feral 
  rage as pets, which they whip into violence whenever 
  ennui strikes. The voyeurs live for spectacle, especially 
  the loud and bloody variety. To them, Par has been a 
  godsend… though nobody can agree which god to 
  thank.
  Day One: Pumped Up
  The first day of the festival, Grillax Par works 
  hard to drive up demand for his services. He declares 
  himself his own district, attaching a flag to his back. 
  Then he goes on the warpath, taking on whole 
  groups of merchants and young nobles. Perhaps 
  our PCs have to defend their civic pride against this 
  foreign juggernaut, or one of their allies needs advice 
  in defending their fort from the one-man army. 
  Alternatively, the characters could be agents of Kesi 
  (see the Skulls and Crossbows Savage Tale above) 
  looking to convince Par that her district has the best 
  offer.
  During this phase, the voyeur spirits are relatively 
  well-behaved. If anyone tries surrendering to Par, 
  they’ll loose an emotion wisp or two in the area. 
  Their hero’s causing a scene though, so all is good.
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  Day Two: The Letting
  By the second day of the Festival of Saphron, 
  Par has decided to lend his considerable strength to 
  the most interested buyer. Whether it’s the temple 
  of Saphron or Kesi, one district has just received a 
  substantial boost. This displeases the voyeur spirits. 
  Where’s the challenge if their favored one fades into 
  an organization like everyone else? The contest is 
  hardly worthy of him… unless they make things 
  more interesting.
  The voyeurs begin the day of culturally-approved 
  street fighting by scanning the surface thoughts of the 
  most enthusiastic revelers. The ones who’re looking 
  to settle old grudges get a face full of emotion wisps 
  to further enrage them. In no time, good-natured 
  stick fighting turns to something altogether more 
  dangerous. If that’s not enough, the voyeurs release 
  their spirits of feral rage on the city. The beasts 
  manifest and add to the confusion, giving Par a truly 
  chaotic scene to wade through – unless the characters 
  can restore order.
  The manifested spirits should clue the characters 
  in that there’s some sort of shamanistic tomfoolery 
  going on. A quick peek onto the spirit world will 
  confirm this, coupled with the ethereal roar of Par’s 
  fans. Can they convince the showman to leave town 
  before his followers cause irreparable damage? 
  Grillax Par
  Hair of darkest raven waves, flesh of burnished 
  bronze, there is no doubt that Grillax Par is a hero. 
  He knows it, and is quick to demonstrate it in word 
  and deed. That’s all right when an alderman needs 
  rescuing or a wizard’s cave is on fire, but less pleasant 
  when he’s staring you down and demanding your seat 
  at the bar. His many victories were not small, a fact 
  that he will not let anyone forget. 
  Although it’s possible to win Par’s respect, it 
  requires a casual disregard for injury and firm martial 
  prowess. After all, any sturdy warrior would be glad 
  to drink with the man who defeated the Eastlands 
  Wyrm, with naught but a bucket of tar!
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Notice d4, 
  Persuasion d6, Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 10 Toughness 9(2) Pulse 25
  Edges: Brave, Improved Block, Improved Dodge, 
  Trait Perfection – Heroic (Fighting), Improved 
  Counterattack, Improved Sweep, Improvisational 
  Fighter, Opportunistic Push.
  Gear: Legionary Armor (+2 Armor, all locations), 
  Gladius (Strength: Str+d6, AP 1) though during the 
  festival he will be using a wooden replica (Damage: 
  Str+d4)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Par all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced 
  recovery rate, and so on.
  Spirits Of Feral Rage 
  Spirits of feral rage have sleek and wiry, hairless 
  bodies. Badger-like in shape, they are red skinned, 
  marked with flashes of black from their rippling 
  spiritual muscles. They are rarely seen alone, 
  preferring others of their kind, but in-fighting 
  prevents the packs from getting too large. Although 
  their intelligence stops at animal cunning, spirits of 
  feral rage are mean and will always finish off their 
  opponents if given the option.
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  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d4, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d4
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 4 Pulse 5
  Edges: Frenzy
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size -1: Being smaller than humans, these spirits 
  suffer -1 to their Toughness.
  • 
  Bite Of Hopeless Anger: (Damage: Str+d4). The 
  bite of a spirit of feral rage infuses the target with 
  a taste of hopeless anger that cannot easily be 
  sated. Their bite attack deals Fatigue instead of 
  Wounds and gives the victim the Berserk Edge 
  for as long as the Fatigue lasts.
  • 
  Spirit: Spirits of feral rage cannot manifest on 
  their own, but live close to the join between 
  worlds. Anyone who knows of their presence and 
  is sufficiently enraged can summon any within 
  12 inches to the physical world by spending 5 
  Pulse and taking a level of Fatigue. This doesn’t 
  guarantee any control over the spirits, as they are 
  often hungry and always angry.
  Emotion Wisps
  (See page 125)
  Stones And Bones
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  The characters won’t be able to solve all of the 
  problems caused by nature, but that’s all right. They’re 
  only being paid to chase down a single dwarven 
  assassin – and they already know where he’ll be. How 
  hard can it be? 
  To The Gallows
  The morning of this Savage Tale, Garris’ animals 
  are skittish. They can tell that something is wrong, 
  and need to get away. Confirming their fears, a mid-
  morning rumbling in the earth causes jars to fall 
  from shelves. Just a minor earthquake, nothing to be 
  worried about.
  Soon afterward, the city watch informs the 
  characters that Grey Hesse, the famed dwarven 
  assassin, is in town. They want to ask him a few 
  questions about a missing knight, but everyone who’s 
  able to take him down is on assignment. He moves 
  fast, so they could use a little help.
  Hesse was last seen at a local pub for poets 
  called the Gallows (where dreams go to die.) He was 
  drinking half an hour ago, but they’ll have to hurry to 
  catch him. The watch captain provides the characters 
  with a sketch and wishes them good luck.
  Hesse knows that he’s not wanted in town, but his 
  situation made it necessary. He recently discovered 
  a cache of dragon bones that would pay off his debt 
  to a cadre of mercenary anatomists who make Garris 
  their home. He hasn’t met his contact yet, and is right 
  surly when the characters arrive.
  As soon as the characters are about to come 
  crashing down on Hesse, that’s when the real 
  earthquake hits. He throws his sample dragon bone in 
  the characters’ faces and melds through the Gallows’ 
  wall into the street and all the panicking people there.
  Rock And Roll
  Chasing Hesse follows the normal Savage Worlds 
  chase rules. However, the following modifiers apply:
  For the first five minutes after the quake begins, 
  all Agility rolls receive a -2 penalty due to shifting 
  earth and falling rocks. This can be avoided by using 
  dwarven racial powers (see page 49).
  Hesse is a dwarf and able to pass through solid 
  stone as per normal dwarf rules. If hard-pressed he 
  will duck underground momentarily. However, due 
  to the shifting nature of the earth, he sees it as a great 
  risk under present circumstances.
  Obstacles include runaway carts pulled by 
  spooked horses, burst cisterns, and entire buildings 
  sliding down the city’s hillsides.
  The chase should have a wild, busy feel. Hesse 
  is running for his life, sliding down terraces and 
  slipping around rubble like a ball of hot wax. If he 
  manages to get a slight lead on the characters, he’ll 
  hold his action and use his Elemental Manipulation 
  (Earth) ability to trip the speediest of his assailants.
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  Elevator Action
  At some point during the pursuit, make sure 
  the characters pass close to a terrace edge and can 
  see down the cliffs to the city’s docks far below. The 
  workers responsible for operating an elevator to the 
  river have run off in the confusion, leaving the elevator 
  dangling several stories above the stony dockside. 
  Aftershocks still rumble through the area from time 
  to time. One good jolt could snap the elevator’s rope, 
  sending its four occupants to their death. They shout 
  out for help, unaware that the only people who can 
  hear them are closing in on a dangerous criminal.
  Turning the giant elevator winch requires a 
  combination of four successful Strength checks and 
  Raises. For each person less than four working the 
  clumsy winch, the checks are made at -2. Making this 
  check requires a minute of concentrated labor, giving 
  Hesse time to disappear for good. For best effect, 
  spring this encounter when it looks like the guy has 
  no way out.
  Back To The Wall
  Eventually, Hesse’s going to run out of Pulse 
  and dirty tricks. At that point he turns to bribery. 
  He offers to share his stash of dragon bones with 
  whoever will look the other way and allow him to 
  escape. He contends that he doesn’t know anything 
  about the missing knight, but the guys who’re after 
  him probably did it. He’ll even provide a name and 
  an address: Dr. Slate of the Grim Surgery, Street of 
  Mechanical Birds.
  If Hesse is brought into custody, he relays much 
  of the same information. He offers the opinion 
  that the missing knight was hired to investigate 
  the Anatomists Guild secrets, but will say no more 
  without the promise of an escort out of the city. 
  The next day, he’s struck with a sudden, debilitating 
  disease that drives him mute. The characters have 
  learned something new, but have they also made new 
  enemies?
  Grey Hesse
  Even the best assassins get cut once in a while. It 
  was after a particularly tricky job involving an art 
  critic, a glass fountain, and five tons of limestone that 
  Hesse found himself in need of some serious medical 
  attention.  Dr. Slate was willing to help based on 
  Hesse’s reputation, as well as his own plans for the 
  quick-footed killer. Hesse now lives in fear of what the 
  grim doctor has planned; his life hasn’t been a happy 
  one, but he knows that it could get much worse.
  Grey Hesse’s name comes from the slate-grey 
  color of his skin, lightly speckled with white quartz 
  around his face, making him look like he has a 
  dappled white, short-cropped beard.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Notice d6, 
  Stealth d6, Swimming d6, Throwing d8
  Pace 7 Parry 7 Toughness 8(1)/10(1) Pulse 15
  Hindrances: Phobia (minor): Thinks the PCs are 
  anatomist agents, out to dissect him.
  Edges: Dwarf, Fleet Footed, Quick, Luck.
  Gear: Leather Armor (+1 Armor, all location), 
  Warhammer (Damage: Str+d6, AP 2 vs. rigid armor)
  Landscraping
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  The Valon town of Elenium overlooks Garris 
  from across the Lehr River. It is an orderly center 
  of art and learning, blessed with wide avenues and 
  bustling markets. Erasmus the wool merchant, 
  patrician of the marble-lined Hela Way, is one of the 
  many Elenians who can’t stand the sight of Garris. It 
  is a sore upon the earth, splattering its stink in every 
  direction. What’s worse, its ramshackle buildings are 
  visible from his newly dedicated theater. 
  How, Erasmus muses, can his peers pay tribute 
  to the stream of magnificent performance flowing 
  from his open-air stage when they’re so distracted 
  by stinking peasants across the river? It’s a wide river 
  and you could barely see the other side, but that 
  doesn’t stop you feeling the grime and depravation, 
  and that’s enough.
  The only recourse is to clean the city up. If 
  anyone gets in the way, well… he has already moved 
  on to other projects. Wool is good this year, and he is 
  a busy man.
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  Fumigation
  Erasmus’s agents have decided their primary 
  target is Tanner’s Row, a side street leading from the 
  Fumes. The tanners have long been moved out to 
  outlying parts of the city, but they’ve been replaced 
  by tradesmen specializing in all manner of unsavory 
  wares for the anatomist and alchemists. Through 
  weeks of careful questioning, Erasmus has discovered 
  Sigurd Hermokretes is storing a potent cache of 
  highly explosive fertilizer. One spark while there’s a 
  good wind to fan the flames, and the resulting fire 
  could solve all their problems.
  The characters are in the Fumes on routine 
  business with an alchemist when a loud chain of 
  explosions tears through the everyday hustle and 
  bustle. To a trained professional, these are not 
  neighborhood-leveling explosions; still, they are not 
  welcome.
  “Goodness!” exclaims their host. “I warned 
  Sigurd not to store so much fertilizer in those old 
  tanks. No sense, that hack!”
  Although apologetic, he asks the characters if 
  they’ll check on his friend. If they resist, he offers a 
  discount on their current order. 
  Miracle Growth
  Sigurd’s shop is only three streets away, but 
  it appears to be in a different world. When his 
  experimental fertilizer vats blew, they inundated 
  several blocks with his newest discovery. Alien 
  greenery sprouts from each pony-sized lump of 
  jellified compound. Hungry roots burrow into nearby 
  stone, while grasping vines go for higher structures. 
  A jungle has sprouted in the middle of Garris, and 
  it’s fighting for its survival. Moving through the area 
  counts as difficult terrain. 
  The shouts of trapped residents reach the 
  characters over the unfamiliar humming of tropical 
  insects that infest the undergrowth. It smells worse 
  than usual, adding a tang of rotting meat and wet 
  mulch to the ubiquitous stench of excrement and 
  humanity.
  The most immediate threats in this strange new 
  land are the tzikas, crawler bugs that hide in the 
  leaves. They won’t strike immediately, waiting for the 
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  characters to make strong, decisive movements. The 
  scent of sweat attracts them like nothing else, and 
  they prefer Fatigued targets over all others.
  Approaching a glob of fertilizer will trigger 
  another of the jungle’s inhabitants. Anyone passing 
  within two meters must make an Agility check at -2 
  or take Damage: 2d8 from dripping sap. This damage 
  can only Shake a character, not deal actual damage. 
  However, recovering from it gets -2 penalty to the 
  Spirit check. Anyone who is Shaken is a valid target 
  for the drill-tipped roots, as described below. 
  As the characters cut deeper, give them a few 
  clues about what’s going on: some well-dressed, 
  desiccated Elenians, sewn to the ground by networks 
  of roots, perhaps. A Common Knowledge check is 
  enough to reveal that their presence in Tanner’s Row 
  is just as odd as the jungle’s.
  Slash And Burn
  Eventually, the characters will reach the shop 
  of Sigurd Hermokretes. Knots of bulging greenery 
  pour from its openings, the upper windows choked 
  by gaudy shocks of magenta flowers. Getting through 
  the tangle will be difficult, as the fertilizer chunks are 
  tightly packed this close to the source.
  Sigurd is barricaded in the root cellar underneath 
  his shop. It is defoliated when the characters arrive, 
  sharply contrasting with the outside. He’s hard at 
  work brewing a way out of there, but is lacking a few 
  key ingredients. If he could get out of the jungle and 
  to a decently stocked alchemist lab, brewing an acid 
  to disrupt the goopy fertilizer would be the work of 
  hours. Without their foci, the plants and the tzikas 
  will wither and die.
  Sigurd’s strangled herb garden is behind his 
  shop. The fertilizer storage vats are back there as well, 
  crumpled from strong internal force. An Investigation 
  check will reveal a pair of skeletonized legs peeking 
  out from under a collapsed shed. Digging them up 
  will reveal the relatively unharmed upper body of 
  Erasmus’s top agent. He’s holding a scroll case in 
  one hand with the seal of his employer on it. Inside 
  is a map of the Fumes, with a big old X on Sigurd’s 
  shop. If the characters want to pursue the matter any 
  further, they have all of the information they need.
  Tzikas
  In the legendary island jungles of Yul, far off the 
  coast where only the Aquasaar go, the sky is streaked 
  with yellow clouds that smell of sweetness and death. 
  Multi-fanged predators that walk with the shattered 
  gait of a hanged man live in huts carved from the 
  shattered skulls of their soft-footed prey. In the night, 
  the tzikas come, insects as large as jungle cats. They 
  coat the skulls like electrified puzzle pieces, buzzing 
  and squirming until they find sightless entrance. 
  There is no light to shine off their segmented bodies, 
  no armor that can long protect against their seeking 
  mandibles. They feed and are gone.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d6
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Notice d6, 
  Stealth d8, Swimming d6, Tracking d6
  Pace 8 Parry 7 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Bite: (Damage: Str+d6)
  • 
  Go For The Throat: The hunting instinct is strong 
  in these predators and with a Raise on an attack 
  roll they automatically hit the targets most 
  weakly armored location.
  Drill-Tipped Roots
  Although the wooden-shoed freemen of Yul 
  trust the jungle floor over its verdant canopies, the 
  danger of the drill-tipped roots is never far from 
  their minds.  It is well known that even the sturdiest 
  of lacquered shoes is nothing to the plant’s hungry 
  bore. Those who fall prey to the bite lose more than 
  just their footwear. The freemen have a phrase that is 
  relevant: “to lose one’s soul through one’s feet.”
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts -, Spirit -, Strength 
  d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6
  Pace - Parry 3 Toughness 5 Pulse 15
  Edges: Improved Sweep
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  Special Abilities
  • 
  Drill-Tipped Roots: (Damage: Str+d6). Damage 
  from the roots can Shake an opponent but not 
  wound them.
  • 
  Weak Defenses: This plant doesn’t actively defend 
  itself beyond continuing to attack and suffers -2 
  Parry.
  • 
  The Drop: Unless a person knows about exotic 
  plants and is on the lookout for such dangerous 
  greenery they are likely to stumble straight into a 
  patch and be taken completely by surprise giving 
  this plant The Drop against its first victims.
  • 
  Plant: A non-sentient predatory plant is fearless 
  and takes no additional damage from called 
  shots – it lacks vital organs.
  Sigurd Hermokretes
  Sigurd is a credit to his community. He’s 
  knowledgeable, kind-hearted, and apart from an 
  interest in exotic fertilizers, is completely harmless. 
  Whatever trouble he gets into is the result of raw 
  scientific drive overruling common sense. The 
  cheerful, bustling little man will gladly sell dangerous 
  alchemic compounds to young punks, questionable 
  drugs to criminals, and explosives to adventurers 
  in the hopes of learning more about the forces that 
  he studies. Every sale he makes is backed by a full 
  disclaimer and several reliable scholarly sources, but 
  they never listen. Oh my, they never listen…
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d4, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Alchemy) 
  d10+2, Knowledge (Biology) d10+2, Notice d8
  Pace 5 Parry 4 Toughness 6 Pulse 10
  Hindrances: Elderly
  Edges: Scholar
  Gear: Alchemical Equipment, Soiled Apron, 
  Crusty Boots.
  Air To The Empire
  Realm: Mortal realms, Relic (Yr208 of the Third 
  Age).
  A youthful group of djinn separatists known as 
  the Nistral Storm find records ‘proving’ that members 
  of the djinn race were the original inhabitants of the 
  Garris region. The Trader Imperium took it from 
  them, then later settlers built on the ruins to create 
  the current city. They’ve been kidnapping influential 
  historians and trying to convert them using the Ritual 
  of the Emergent Squall, a risky way of changing 
  people into djinn which involves changing race while 
  falling.
  The ritual requires a willing subject though, 
  so mostly they’ve just been throwing historians 
  from a cliff. The characters could be introduced to 
  the problem several ways, including finding the 
  philosophical musings of a Nistral Storm member or 
  being asked to track down a missing academic.
  The Nistral Storm has about a dozen members 
  but there are two groups within that number. The 
  hardliners want the official Garris records changed as 
  the first step of setting up an ancestral governing body 
  and taking control of the city. The moderate faction is 
  less influential; they don’t care about political power 
  and would be happy to sell ‘their land’ to the citizens 
  of Garris for a hefty fee.
  Although both groups are working together for 
  now, there will be a turbulent split if they accomplish 
  their shared goal of legitimizing their cause. The 
  hardliners see the moderates as wishy-washy 
  and pampered, while the moderates consider the 
  hardliners dangerous and greedy.
  Paying The Toll
  At first, the Storm just appears to be one set 
  of wackos among many who proselytize from the 
  perches outside the temple of Etaro. The plaza outside 
  of the Valon trickster god’s home is protected by holy 
  law, allowing anybody to speak their mind within 
  its boundaries. Wooden beams extend from both 
  the earth and the cliff face, giving the speakers spiny 
  perches from which to preach. 
  A group of young nobles visiting from Elenium 
  has made mocking the square’s speakers their favored 
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  pastime. Their combination of academy-trained 
  rhetoric and smug assuredness often provokes the 
  speakers into physical altercations, at which time 
  the temple guards step in and pummel the one who 
  threw the first blow. This is great fun for the Elenians, 
  who tend to pick on withered hermits and zealous-
  yet-unimposing cultists.
  When the characters arrive, six Nistral Storm 
  speakers have already laid out the temple guards 
  and are advancing on the Elenians. Djinn are air 
  elementals and tough to defeat in combat, especially 
  these enraged members of the race, doubly so since 
  these are members of a terrorist organization and 
  travel well-armed. They plan to engage the students 
  in ‘ancestral duels of honor’ (beat them to within an 
  inch of their life, and maybe not stop there). Since the 
  students are armed with daggers at best, the fight is 
  hardly fair. If the battle starts to go against the djinn, 
  they’ll transmute themselves into clouds of vapor 
  and escape, perhaps pausing on the temple rooftop 
  to shower everyone below with throwing knives and 
  insults before they finally depart.
  While the students are pretty obnoxious people, 
  their central claims are true: there is no evidence that 
  a djinn nation ever existed, and the Nistral Storm 
  refuse to share their ‘definitive proof’ (a silver cloak 
  of prophecy) with anyone who would be able to 
  validate it.
  The nearest Valon legionary unit is a few minutes 
  away, by which time it’ll all be over. The characters 
  are the only help the Elenian students can get. How 
  the characters act will define the rest of this scenario.
  A Fit Of Peak
  As the Nistral Storm ramps up its campaign, 
  more historians disappear. The agitators who are 
  caught slip through their prison bars and pop up 
  on the streets the next day. Like all elemental races 
  there are few djinn, and they keep a tight community. 
  Those who aren’t involved with the organization still 
  help to hide the active members and contribute funds 
  to ‘the cause’. Still, there’s some hope of infiltrating 
  the community and finding out more – perhaps by 
  picking up on the split in philosophy between the 
  moderates and the hardliners and using that to gain 
  sympathy with a reasonable member of the djinn 
  community.
  Whether through careful tailing, interrogation, 
  or convincing a trusted Nistral Storm sympathizer 
  to go turncoat, the characters should eventually 
  learn about the site of the Emergent Squall ritual. 
  The most dedicated members of the group keep a 
  training camp in the mountains, a week upriver from 
  the city. Reaching the camp by foot is a dangerous 
  process, vexed by crumbling paths and rock falls. 
  Three shattered towers rest beyond these challenges, 
  leaning like drunken sightseers over the mountain’s 
  ridge.
  Two historians are imprisoned in one of the 
  towers, being forcibly purified for the ritual. Tarin 
  Muj, the leader of the movement, stays in the camp at 
  all times to keep an eye on the converts. With him are 
  4-6 of his most dedicated followers. Only this inner 
  circle is allowed to view the silver cloak of prophecy 
  which started this entire mess. If any of them suspect 
  that Tarin created the cloak and the prophecy out of 
  scraps, they don’t care. Each has their own reason to 
  see the movement succeed, and will defend it forcibly.
  Nistral Storm Member
  Humans have never done these rabble-rousers 
  and counter-culturists any favors. They’re out to stir 
  up trouble and look good while doing so. These are 
  true believers in the goals of the Nistral Storm. 
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d4, Stealth d6, Taunt 
  d6, Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6(1) Toughness 6(1) Pulse 10
  Gear: Valon Thin Blade (Damage: Str+d4, 
  +1 Parry), Leather Jacket (+1 Armor to torso and 
  arms), Concealed Throwing Knives (Ranges: 3/6/12, 
  Damage: Str+d4)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Djinn: For 3 Pulse a djinn can transform his 
  physical form into air making him immune to 
  many things and allowing him to float through 
  the air.  He may move in three dimensions at 
  a walking pace (and yes, his clothes and most 
  treasured possessions become ethereal too). 
  The effect lasts one Round but its duration can 
  be extended by paying a further 1 Pulse each 
  Round.
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  Tarin Muj, Nistral Storm Leader
  Tarin’s plan was so simple he was surprised no 
  one had ever tried it before: gain unsurpassed 
  political power in New Garris by creating a false 
  prophecy and stirring racial tensions. He doesn’t want 
  too much power – just enough to live comfortably 
  and have strangers tip their hats to him as he gusts 
  past. With power of that caliber, he could court a fine 
  wife, raise some healthy children, and get started on 
  a legacy to last the ages.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Investigation, d6, Persuasion 
  d8+2, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Streetwise d8+2
  Pace 6 Parry 6(1) Toughness 5 Pulse 15
  Edges: Charismatic, Command, Natural Leader
  Gear: Valon Thin Blade (Damage: Str+d4, +1 
  Parry)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Djinn: For 3 Pulse a djinn can transform his 
  physical form into air making him immune to 
  many things and allowing him to float through 
  the air.  He may move in three dimensions at 
  a walking pace (and yes, his clothes and most 
  treasured possessions become ethereal too). 
  The effect lasts one Round but its duration can 
  be extended by paying a further 1 Pulse each 
  Round.
  Elenian Students
  Poseurs and jerks, in another time these would 
  be wearing tweed and calling each other “Chet” and 
  “Bunny”. Still, they have a right by law to make their 
  opinions known (that is to say, their daddies have 
  enough money to bail them out of most any mess). 
  They may be jerks but they’re right, which makes 
  them doubly annoying. Do they deserve to die for 
  that?
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d4, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d4
  Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Religion) d8, 
  Notice d4, Taunt d6
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 4 Pulse 10
  Gear: Knife (Damage: Str+d4)
  Heroic Savage Tales
  These Savage Tales take the characters far from 
  the realm of Relic, into situations both strange and 
  exciting. All of them depend on having some form 
  of realm travel, whether via Telesmae or seemingly 
  random portals throwing them into a new set of 
  surroundings every week. The Tales are listed in date 
  order, from realms in ancient history to far future 
  realms, and a couple of Maelstrom Tales are included 
  at the end.
  Land Of The Rising Surf
  Realm: Mortal realms, Japan (1609).
  The Great Spirit of Order has noticed a decline 
  in recruits from what was once a bustling portal to 
  medieval Japan. Many of the gods have treaties with 
  the great spirit, so they ask the heroes to check it 
  out. Upon arrival, they learn history is in danger of 
  being changed: the monks and samurai who would 
  normally join the Great Spirit of Order’s crusade 
  against universal chaos have more immediate 
  problems to worry about!
  Fight Them On The Beaches
  Feral sea spirits have snuck into the Sea of Japan 
  in 1609, halting the Lord of Satsuma from invading 
  the Ryuku Islands. In the history the characters are 
  familiar with, his invasion fleet was so large the 
  islanders were ordered not to throw their lives away. 
  With feral spirits and unearthly weather on the 
  islanders’ side, the story may end quite differently. 
  Now, barefoot Ryuku samurai skim the wild waves, 
  storm cloud hair whipping around them. Their 
  weather shamans scribe octopus-ink spells on eelskin 
  before offering them to the Great Spirit of Storms 
  with sparks of Pulse lightning. Every day, the winds 
  separating Japan from the rest of the world grow 
  fiercer, the waves less navigable. If the samurai are 
  allowed to reap their whirlwind, the resultant tides 
  will be too fierce for even the finest ship.
  The heroes arrive in the realm in a cloud of mist 
  near the Lord of Satsuma’s military camp. His war 
  against the Ryuku rebels is at a stalemate despite 
  the vast number of well-trained soldiers under his 
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  banner. The edge they need rests not in strength 
  of arms alone, but in driving a wedge between the 
  interloping spirits and their island allies.
  Each Ryuku raiding party consists of one samurai 
  commander, one weather shaman, and eight hulking 
  crab oni. Their approach is heralded with rain, heavy 
  winds, and thunder, but always too quickly for 
  organized bodies of troops to respond. The samurai 
  and the shaman explode onto the shore in sprays of 
  surf and strike at targets of tactical significance while 
  their crab soldiers run interference. 
  Observant heroes may notice that although 
  many of the locations targeted by raiding parties 
  contain great wealth, all that’s ever stolen are pearls. 
  The raiders will spoil food and slash at fine tapestries, 
  but it’s the strings of pearls that go into the swag-bags 
  at the end of the day. This is because of an agreement 
  between the feral sea spirits and the Lord of the 
  Ryuku Kingdom. Every week they receive 54 pearls, 
  that’s a week the kingdom will remain free. To any 
  hero who doesn’t want to take on an entire army of 
  spirit-bolstered warriors, this should suggest a plan: 
  robbery!
  The Sting
  A Ryuku informant tells the characters that the 
  feral sea spirits receive their payment in the middle 
  of a bay protected by a curtain of unending rain. The 
  bay itself is well hidden and unlikely to be located 
  without his aid (and he might demand payment 
  that leads to further adventures), but once there it’s 
  unmistakable. Nestled within the circle of rain is a 
  patch of pure calm where the undulating sea spirits 
  circle. Every payday, a ship sails from a nearby fort 
  and tips the fee into the ocean at sunset. As the pearls 
  sink, they shift to the spirit world and are consumed 
  by the spirits who love these crunchy morsels. If even 
  a single payment is missed, the spirits will depart 
  forever, denied their favorite delicacies. The crab 
  oni will shrivel soon after, and the shamans will no 
  longer be able to count on the help of the spirits when 
  performing rituals. History will proceed as planned.
  The fort where the pearls are stored is well guarded 
  and will require careful planning to infiltrate. It’s built 
  into the cliff overlooking the bay, and protected by 
  thick forests and dangerously slick rocks. The main 
  gate can only be reached by foot during low tide; the 
  rest of the time it is only accessible by small boat. 
  Furthermore, crab oni dot the beach, disguised as 
  large smooth stones. A small garrison resides inside, 
  as do three weather shamans. Pearl shipments come 
  in every month under heavy guard, and are collected 
  personally by the garrison commander. After locking 
  the pearls in a carved wooden chest, he returns 
  the key to a chain on his neck. This is an excellent 
  opportunity for the characters to show off their 
  breaking and entering skills. It should be possible to 
  sabotage the deal without being the target of a single 
  attack… but make them work for it. Alternatively, 
  there’s always piracy.
  Sea Spirits Denied
  If the sea spirits don’t get fed they pack up and go 
  home. Simple, right? Well, it would be if they weren’t 
  feral sea spirits. Before leaving, the put-upon spirits 
  will let their more bestial behavior slip – smashing 
  nearby boats, controlling the crab oni to devour the 
  innocent, and sending a tsunami heading toward 
  whatever landmarks the characters and their patron 
  gods hold dear. They had a good thing going, and 
  now everyone is going to pay for ruining it. Time for 
  the characters to save the day again.
  This time the characters will need magic to help 
  quell the sea, combat skills to fight back the oni and 
  save the innocent, and generally accept that it’s an 
  action adventure after all, not just a stealthy-sneaky 
  mission.
  Crab Oni
  Demon crabs who walk like men have long been 
  a problem in polite society. They slash up whomever 
  they please with their jagged pincers, and are known 
  to mumble blasphemies in their garbled tongue. It is 
  best not to invite a crab oni to tea, for they will never 
  reciprocate.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d10, Notice d6, 
  Stealth d6, Swimming d10, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 11(4) Pulse 15
  Edges: Frenzy
  Special Abilities
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  • 
  Tough Shell: Provides the oni with +4 Armor, all 
  locations.
  • 
  Pincers: (Damage: Str+d6, AP 2)
  • 
  Disguise: Crab oni can make their form look like 
  a large smooth rock. Doing so costs 1 Pulse per 
  hour and grants a +4 bonus to Stealth checks 
  made to hide in an appropriate environment, so 
  long as the crab oni does not move.
  Weather Shaman
  The weather shamans are the key to the Ryuku 
  islanders’ resistance, and as such are accorded the 
  rights and respect due to victorious samurai warriors. 
  Most of them are unused to this grand treatment, and 
  prefer to spend their time communing with wind and 
  wave spirits. This often leaves their ceremonial garb 
  salt-stained and disheveled.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Perform Ritual d8, Shooting 
  d8, Swimming d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 7(1) Pulse 15
  Edges: Sighted (The Sight, Speed, Obscure, 
  Teleport)
  Gear: Ceremonial Garb (+1 armor, all locations), 
  Wakizashi (Damage: Str+d6, AP 1)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Rituals: During a raid the shaman will have 
  already performed rituals for Speed on himself 
  and his samurai wingman. He will also have 
  performed Obscure and Teleport so they’re 
  ready to trigger if needed.
  Samurai
  Most legends told about samurai are true. They 
  are the elite warriors of medieval Japan, each honed 
  into a powerful weapon at the command of his lord.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Notice d8, 
  Swimming d8, Throwing d8
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  Pace 6 Parry 7/8 Toughness 8(2) Pulse 15
  Edges: Brave, Florentine, No Mercy, Quick Draw
  Gear: Katana (Damage: Str+d6+2, AP 2), 
  Wakizashi (Damage: Str+d6, AP 1), Samurai Battle 
  Armor (+2 Armor, all locations)
  Feral Sea Spirit
  The largest tsunami begins with the smallest 
  wave. These waves ebb and flow around the 
  serpentine loops of the feral sea spirits, held in check 
  by the spirits’ whims. With the sinuous unfurling of 
  their pale white coils, the spirits allow waves to slip 
  loose and expand like ripples on a pane of glass. The 
  resulting destruction is monumental.
  Sea spirits can be benevolent or malicious, minor 
  or mighty. Without exception, feral sea spirits are 
  petty, lazy, and greedy. Who let these ones have so 
  much power?
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 6 Pulse 20
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Elemental Control: Feral sea spirits have the 
  equivalent of Elemental Manipulation for all 
  4 elements and affect 100 times more of the 
  element than normal!
  • 
  Claw: (Damage: Str+d4)
  • 
  Spirit: These spirits cannot manifest, but they’ll 
  use their claws on anyone who enters the spirit 
  world, and use their elemental control ability to 
  affect the physical world.
  The Heart Of All Saints
  Realm: Mortal realms, USA (1935).
  This Savage Tale crosses over into the realm of 
  American Grit, our look at magic, spiritualism, and 
  the weird things riding the rails during the Great 
  Depression... and beyond! The American Grit realm 
  is the subject of a whole setting book called Noir 
  Knights (1930s), and Millennium Knights (1999) 
  books. 
  Kalfu, the big, bad loa spirit who’s literally the 
  devil at the crossroads, wants the characters to do 
  him a favor. There’s a rare artifact that would look 
  splendid in his collection, but it was last referenced 
  in 1935. The treasure in question, the Heart of All 
  Saints, is actually the shellacked brain of Adrien 
  Toussaint, the first taximancer, who disappeared from 
  history in 1732 - taximancy is a specialized form of 
  necromancy, dealing solely with the manipulation of 
  dead bodies. The Heart must be returned to Kalfu’s 
  agent, Sid Harker, who will pay the characters the 
  agreed-upon price. The price should be a good one 
  – if anyone knows how to make tempting deals, it’s 
  Kalfu.
  What Kalfu doesn’t tell the characters, but they 
  can probably guess, is that the Heart is best used for 
  malicious acts. It contains Toussaint’s considerable 
  knowledge in reanimating human remains. Zanua, a 
  goddess of justice from the Relic realm, isn’t pleased 
  with the proliferation of such foul magic – especially 
  since Harker has caused trouble in her realm before. 
  She has tasked Jason Yancy, one of her chosen ones, 
  with giving the characters an offer counter to Kalfu’s: 
  bring Yancy the Heart instead and they’ll receive a 
  favor. Ally with Kalfu and they will have a new enemy.
  The Heart Of Mold
  The characters have to do some investigating to 
  track down the Heart. The most immediate route of 
  investigation involves making friends with the Filial 
  Order of Saint James, the heirs to Toussaint’s studies 
  who are still active in 1935. 
  The Filial Order operates as a public church, 
  although all mention of taximancy is relegated to 
  trusted friends. From there the characters will learn 
  that Toussaint disappeared with Captain Cesar 
  Raleigh, a pirate descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh, 
  A Gentle Reminder
  The immortal realms of the gods and 
  Great Spirits are places where everyone is 
  dual-aligned by default, so spirits don’t need 
  to manifest to engage with the characters and 
  they don’t need The Sight to see them. Spirits 
  get rules for manifesting so you can use those 
  stats in other adventures, where the spirits 
  might find their way to the mortal realms. It’s 
  something to bear in mind for the next couple 
  of Savage Tales and for several of the Demigod 
  Savage Tales that follow.
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  on his final voyage. Raleigh settled down to live the 
  life of a gentleman in New Orleans soon after, and 
  the map to his greatest treasure still rests hidden in 
  his ancestral library in the Garden District. If the 
  characters are spirit-friendly, the restless ghosts of 
  the men Raleigh killed to keep his past hidden could 
  help; otherwise, there’s always honest archival work.
  The map shows Raleigh buried his treasure in the 
  Florida Keys. Renting a boat to travel to the Keys will 
  be easier than the characters may suspect. Though 
  it’s not common knowledge, Adrien Toussaint had a 
  family and one of his descendents is an unassuming 
  man called Thaddeus. Unless the characters have been 
  especially sneaky in obtaining the map from Raleigh’s 
  library, Thaddeus will notice. He’s been after the map 
  for years, and isn’t about to let some johnnies-come-
  lately take it away from him. He will offer his service 
  as their boatman at the most convenient moment, 
  neglecting to mention his family name when he 
  introduces himself.
  One day from land, the map will lead the 
  characters into a supernatural hurricane – the first 
  line of defense arranged for the Heart of All Saints. 
  The spirit of Cesar Raleigh’s ship, The Royal Blue, will 
  manifest into the physical world and attack at the 
  storm’s peak. Even while the waves course over the 
  characters’ deck, pirate ghosts will surge forward and 
  manifest with rusty cleavers and ill intent. Two Wild 
  Card spirits direct their action from the Royal Blue’s 
  wheel.
  Raleigh’s Rest
  The island where Captain Raleigh buried his 
  final treasure is a squat, ugly place. Treasure Island 
  it ain’t. The beach is a broken, rocky affair. A battered 
  wooden stockade sits at the highest point, serving 
  as a way station between the beach and the swampy 
  interior. Several huts sit inside of the stockade; they’re 
  in better repair than the exterior, but not by much. 
  The island’s keepers sleep here on occasion. 
  Twelve Escoltadoros live on the island, gnarled 
  and twisted plant men grown from the mangroves as 
  supernatural guardians of the island. They are tasked 
  with protecting the Heart of All Saints until the end 
  of time. Although they have never been off the island, 
  they are content with their role in life. The sun and 
  earth keep them fed, the Heart gives them purpose. 
  Upon death, they are buried in the swamp and are 
  born again from their sacred trees.
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  An old cannon pokes out of the east face of the 
  stockade. Despite its broken-down appearance, it is 
  still operational. The Escoltadoros will fire upon the 
  characters’ ship given the chance. Other tactics they 
  may resort to in protecting the treasure include hit-
  and-run attacks, disguising themselves among the 
  swamp trees, and unearthing the island’s final store 
  of Toussaint’s black-powder packed zombies. The 
  last measure is far from subtle, but there’s a certain 
  impressive show of arms involved in deploying 
  shambling bodies studded with hissing fuses.
  Battle Royale
  When the characters arrive back in New Orleans, 
  Harker is waiting for them at the docks. Yancy and 
  six G-men are observing the transaction from nearby 
  buildings, ready to step in if the transfer is made. Of 
  course, if the characters refuse the transfer, Harker 
  will get right mad. It’ll take some fast talking or a faster 
  draw to get out of this one, especially once Toussaint 
  joins the fray (and he will, if he hasn’t tipped his hand 
  already). Seeing his ancestor’s remains about to get 
  away from him, he’ll join the tussle and make off 
  while the attention is on the big players.
  Thaddeus Toussaint, Taximancer
  Thaddeus is a quiet man in his mid-30’s who 
  keeps to himself. He doesn’t want the trouble of 
  being the sole heir to Adrien’s taximancy abilities, 
  but he doesn’t want anyone else messing with his 
  family’s remains either. He’s a good, Christian man 
  who knows that the dead deserve their rest. He’ll stop 
  animating corpses as soon as he’s able to obtain his 
  ancestor’s remains and remove all traces of weirdness 
  from his family history.
  You know the old adage about power and 
  absolutes, though. If Thaddeus gets the Heart of All 
  Saints, who knows what he’ll really do with it? And 
  really, when you have a horde of shambling zombies 
  at your command, everything starts to look like a 
  stick of jerky.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Boating d8, Fighting d6, Investigate d10, 
  Notice d10, Shooting d8, Stealth d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 20
  Gear: Pistol (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1, 
  AP 1)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Taximancy: Through means unknown, Thaddeus 
  is able to animate the dead and command them 
  as the power Zombie, but the dead remain 
  animated indefinitely if animated using the 
  Heart of All Saints.
  Taximaciated Zombies
  Unlike many zombies with which you may be 
  familiar, these fellers don’t eat brains. Mostly, they 
  shamble around being nuisances. They are able 
  to perform simple commands, such as guarding 
  locations, carrying objects, and exploding violently.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4
  Pace 5 Parry 5 Toughness 7 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Undead: +2 Toughness, +2 to recover from being 
  Shaken.
  • 
  Claw: (Damage: Str+d4)
  • 
  Fearless
  • 
  Explosive: The zombies guarding the island 
  that the Escoltadoros release are packed with 
  gunpowder. This ability can be activated 
  voluntarily or when destroyed by a shot to the 
  torso. The effect is a Medium Burst Template 
  centered on the zombie dealing Damage: 2d8 to 
  anyone under the template.
  Pirate Spirits
  A ghost ship deserves ghost sailors. When the 
  Royal Blue manifests, so does its crew. For these 
  spirits, simply use standard soldiers from Savage 
  Worlds adding the Spirit and Fear creature abilities.
  Escoltadoros
  Use standard soldiers from Savage Worlds with 
  Stealth d8. Describe them as covered in bark and 
  smeared with mud, possessing of choking hands 
  and rough, ancient knives. They offer the ultimate in 
  jungle warfare guerrilla combat.
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  Sid Harker, Kalfu’s Chosen
  That Sid Harker’s bad news. He’s a spirit 
  wrangler who’s made a career travelling the 
  Deep South, making people deals they can’t refuse. 
  A young couple wants to get married, but the stern 
  family patriarch won’t allow it? The old man can 
  hardly protest when he starts speaking in tongues, 
  unable to operate the family business. A grisly 
  landlord’s giving his tenants a hard time? He’ll end 
  up dead of fear the next day, fingers clutched around 
  a melted rosary. No matter what sorts of intentions 
  people have going into a deal with Harker, the results 
  are always bad. 
  Harker delights in causing mischief, but hides 
  it behind a snake oil salesman’s grin and a list of 
  guarantees and testimonies so long it will make a 
  prospective client’s head spin. As he tells it, there was 
  only one time when he got the bad end of a deal – and 
  that was with Kalfu himself.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Shooting d8, 
  Persuasion d10
  Pace 4 Parry 6 Toughness 6 Pulse 20
  Hinderances: Lame
  Edges: Sighted (The Sight, Armor, Boost/Lower 
  Trait, Fear, Invisibility)
  Gear: Pistol (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1, 
  AP 1), Travel Bag Full Of Bribes.
  Jason Yancy, Zanua’s G-Man 
  In an era of straight-laced government 
  operatives, Yancy is one of the most direct. In 
  his search for the Truth, he trailed a band of extra-
  dimensional bootleggers to the realm of Relic. After 
  apprehending them, he found himself accosted by 
  an elderly lady with the piercing eyes of divinity. She 
  spoke to him about justice, and how his realm needed 
  it more than ever. Yancy agreed, despite his desire to 
  see more of the mysterious world that was like the 
  pulp magazines he read.
  “Someday, my champion,” promised Zanua. 
  “When your task is finished, you may return and 
  claim that which was taken from you so long ago.” 
  Yancy didn’t know what that last part meant, but 
  he sure intends to find out. And who knows, maybe 
  you can turn that plot hook into an adventure of its 
  own at some point.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Investigation 
  d6, Notice d8, Stealth d8, Shooting d8, Streetwise d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 6 Pulse 15
  Edges: Marksman, Patron God: Zanua
  Gear: Pistol (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1, 
  AP 1), Sharp Suit.
  Yancy’s G-men
  Use experienced soldiers from Savage Worlds, 
  equipped with Tommy guns and the Rock And 
  Roll! and No Mercy Edges. They trust Yancy 
  unconditionally; if he falls, they will try to recover 
  his body and withdraw.
  The Crescent
  Realm: Mortal realms, USA (1939).
  The streets of Los Angeles don’t care that there’s 
  a war going on; they’ve got their own things to think 
  about. Half a world away, a madman has invaded 
  Poland, but back home industry has never been 
  better. There’s more than one way to make money 
  from human suffering though, and Sam Davies knows 
  it. He runs the Los Angeles Crescent, circa 1939. It’s a 
  dreary social issues newspaper, wet with the blood of 
  the city’s unfortunates. It carries the stories of dirty 
  crime more respectable papers wouldn’t touch. That’s 
  one reason it’s sold so well since Davies launched it 
  twenty years ago. The second reason is because Mr. 
  Davies can see spirits.
  With his spirit eyes he can see the spirits of 
  rage and jealousy that feed in the tenements and 
  flophouses, and their greasy cousins that stalk the 
  corridors of high society. Ever a realist, he writes about 
  the physical effects of the spirits while investigating 
  their more ethereal qualities in his free time.
  Davies’ most hard-hitting interviews have been 
  with spirits of feral dread. Although it was simple 
  information gathering in his mind, Davies’ most 
  recent project has turned out to be much tougher - a 
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  gilded invitation to talk with the spirit of malice known 
  as the Gravedigger. The Gravedigger’s attention has 
  caused a dark cloud of negative emotion to descend 
  upon the city. Now, Davies is imprisoned within his 
  own home by a labyrinth of wailing spirits… but the 
  Los Angeles Crescent is doing better than ever.
  How much of this adventure gets set in the 
  physical world and how much is in the spirit world 
  depends on the characters’ abilities. You can play 
  it either way, with physical storm clouds on the 
  horizon, or have the characters moving to the spirit 
  world to see the storm of dark energy circling L.A.’s 
  finest areas.
  M.M. P.I.
  The characters are alerted to the ominous storm 
  clouds and lurking doom by Mick Mercury, a no-
  nonsense private eye who shares headspace with the 
  Greek god of travelers (among other things.) He’s the 
  realm’s divine representative for Mount Olympus, 
  much to his chagrin. Greek gods in fedoras? Togas 
  and Tommy guns? It doesn’t add up.
  Through hook or by crook Mick calls the 
  characters into his office and lays the facts bare: he’s 
  at the end of his rope and had to call in the specialists. 
  He’ll fight a mob enforcer with scales from time to 
  time, but the whole clouds-of-doom gig is beyond 
  him.
  The investigation should take as long as everyone’s 
  having fun following leads. This could be a multi-
  step process that starts with interviewing witnesses, 
  noting how the Los Angeles Crescent always has the 
  scoop on storm-influenced crimes, and infiltrating 
  the central offices to learn that the owner hasn’t been 
  in for several days. Alternatively, someone could just 
  demonstrate with a color-coded map that the number 
  of crimes reported increases rapidly in the vicinity of 
  Sam Davies’ home.
  The house is a fine one, a small mansion in fact, 
  indicative of the popularity of the Crescent. It is this 
  very wealth that now has its owner imprisoned. The 
  wrought iron fence that stretches around the grounds 
  is rusted shut under the weight of supernatural decay. 
  The once-trim garden has exploded into a skeletal 
  hedge maze that blocks access to the mansion. 
  Despite the lack of healthy greenery, brightly colored 
  flowers burst from the walls of the maze, decorating 
  it like offerings on a grave. Feral spirits patrol the 
  maze under magically enforced obedience to the 
  Gravedigger. No one is to enter or leave until his 
  reign has been cemented. 
  Sam Davies is hiding in his study, the one room in 
  the house that is still lit. He knows what he has done 
  and regrets it, but refuses to leave his room. If the 
  characters can guarantee his house’s safety, he’ll share 
  the means of banishing the Gravedigger’s influence in 
  the city: a mystic sigil that must be replicated 10,000 
  times and spread around the area under the dark 
  cloud. Good thing they have a newspaper to work 
  with!
  Stop The Presses!
  At some point in the investigation, the characters 
  will encounter Sam’s daughter, Lola. She’ll be dressed 
  in red, smoking a cigarette from an ebony holder, 
  drawn from an embossed silver cigarette box. Despite 
  looking like trouble to anyone with an inkling of 
  genre awareness, she’ll prove herself a real sweetheart. 
  According to her story, she heard from Mick that the 
  characters were out to help her father. She’ll tag along 
  with them, staying out of danger but helping with 
  directions and quirks of the realm.
  What the characters don’t know is that she didn’t 
  get the information about them from Mick, but 
  Hades. The femme fatale is in the employ of the god of 
  the underworld, who gets generous kickbacks as long 
  as the Gravedigger’s hanging around. She wants her 
  father rescued, but would prefer to keep her patron 
  happy at the same time. She’ll sabotage any efforts to 
  get the sigil into the Crescent’s printing office. If that 
  doesn’t work, she’ll resort to hired muscle.
  Lola knows a lot of dangerous men, as you’d 
  expect from a beautiful woman in a hard boiled story, 
  but the ones she has in mind for the hit are some of 
  Hades favorites. Don Calamari’s boys (or informally, 
  the Fish Mafia) are a band of toughs that heard the 
  sea’s siren song and… changed. Their skin is pale and 
  clammy to the touch, and delicate webbing grows 
  between their fingers and toes. 
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  Sam Davies
  All those other schmucks can chase the cops, 
  chase the ambulances, chase the moon red, for all 
  Sam Davies cares. He has leads like no one else, 
  and he’s going to use them. He’s a newspaperman’s 
  newspaperman, all cheap whiskey, strong cigars, 
  and long nights. Despite his wealth, he takes pains 
  to depict himself as a good ol’ working class kinda 
  guy. When he’s not held captive within his own home 
  by feral spirits he enjoys dirty jokes, baseball, and 
  showing off his collection of ancient Greek pottery.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Investigation 
  d8, Notice d8, Perform Ritual, d6, Persuasion d6, 
  Stealth d6, Streetwise, d8, Swimming d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 15
  Edges: Sighted (The Sight, Detect/Conceal 
  Arcana, Shape Change)
  Gear: .38 in a concealed holster – just in case 
  (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6, 5 shots, Revolver), 
  large sacks of money.
  Lola Davies
  Lola isn’t a bad girl, she just happens to be 
  working for the god of the underworld. She 
  knows that her father’s a small fry compared to the 
  keeper of souls, but she can’t help having a fondness 
  for the poor old fool. He was the first man to try and 
  buy her love after all, and she learned a lot from him. 
  The times are changing though, and she’s learning 
  to look out for herself these days. When Lola wants 
  something – and she has expensive tastes – she’ll find 
  a way to get it.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6+2, Notice 
  d8, Throwing d8, Persuasion d12+4, Shooting d8, 
  Streetwise d8+4, Taunt d6+2
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 5 Pulse 25 Charisma 
  +4
  Edges: Very Attractive, Connections, Reader, 
  Strong Willed, Trait Perfection: Heroic (Persuasion)
  Gear: Svelte red dress… what more does she 
  need?
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Lola all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for her own use, enhanced 
  recovery rate, and so on.
  Don Calamari’s Boys
  These wise guys are pale, clammy, goggle-eyed 
  gangsters. The Don controls the whole waterfront, 
  from the fishermen’s docks to the Santa Monica 
  Pier. Nothing gets through his net of informants 
  and heavies, which is where his ‘boys’ come into 
  the picture. He dines at El Crusto, the finest seafood 
  restaurant on the west coast, which is also a place for 
  people like Lola Davies, and explains how the Don’s 
  boys are doing a job for her.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Notice d8, 
  Swimming d10, Throwing d8
  Pace 6/10 Parry 7 Toughness 7 Pulse 15
  Edges: Berserk
  Gear: Pistol (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 
  2d6+1), Nightstick (Damage: Str+d6)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Aquatic: Can breathe underwater and have a 
  Pace while in the water equal to their swimming 
  die.
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  Rico “Tentacles” Vasquez,  
  Mob Enforcer 
  The largest of Don Calamari’s boys is a right 
  mean son-of-a-gun, always ready to bust a head that 
  needs cracking. When he gets angry, his skin takes on 
  a bruised purplish color. Rico doesn’t think it’s polite 
  to mention it; anyone who does gets to witness Rico 
  removing his huge overcoat. From there, it’s just a zip 
  and a slap and he’s giving the poor guy the tentacles.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+1, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Notice d8, 
  Swimming d10, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 9 Pulse 20
  Edges: Berserk, Ambidextrous, Two Fisted, First 
  Strike
  Gear: Two pistols (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 
  2d6+1), Two Nightsticks (Damage: Str+d6)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Pseudopods: Rico has the disturbing ability to 
  sprout tentacles, four in fact. Each is capable 
  of taking an action without incurring a multi 
  action penalty though all four suffer a -2 off-
  hand penalty.
  • 
  Size +1: They grow ‘em big in his neck of the 
  woods.
  Code: Grimm Woodsman
  Realm: Mortal Realms, Germany (1943)
  Bunker 13. Officially it doesn’t exist and never 
  did. Unofficially, it was a top secret German facility 
  where the Nazis first made contact with spirits from 
  another realm. The Great Spirit of Hope needs a 
  few strapping heroes to infiltrate the bunker in 
  July of 1943, and end the spiritual warfare program 
  before the 1944 development of the Leaden Rift. The 
  quickest way to accomplish this is to assassinate the 
  Nazi’s sole shaman: Frau Totenkreuz.
  Berlin And Onwards
  The most convenient portal to 1943 deposits the 
  characters in a run-down hotel in the heart of Berlin. 
  Travel in and out of the city requires papers, and the 
  only people who’re getting them for the time being 
  are soldiers. The characters’ Telesmae will take care 
  of any language issues, but they’ll still need disguises 
  to move around freely.
  Any inquiries about Bunker 13 will be initially 
  met with laughter; it’s an old military prank to tell new 
  recruits to report there because it doesn’t exist; the 
  number’s unlucky so they skipped it, see? Continued 
  inquiries will be met with a private invitation from 
  Sturmscharführer Jaeger to discuss the matters at 
  Ernst’s, an underground cabaret.
  This is, of course, a trap. Jaeger will find out what 
  the characters know before calling in his goons to 
  execute them. Ernst’s is a frequent SS hangout, so 
  he can get away with pretty much anything there. In 
  the process of the interrogation, Jaeger demonstrates 
  minor arcane abilities – reading the characters’ Pulse, 
  perhaps. This should demonstrate that Totenkreuz is 
  not the only threat. Conveniently, he also possesses 
  the proper clearance to get the characters on the train 
  to Bunker 13.
  Bunker 13 is a squat, concrete affair surrounded 
  by barbed wire and chain-link fence. Ancient, 
  gnarled trees stretch upward outside of the perimeter, 
  leaving artificial lights to provide illumination. In the 
  spirit world, the entire area surrounding the bunker 
  is a blasted wasteland: no trees, no spirits, no ghost 
  trains.
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  Once inside, security is tight. Guards make 
  regular patrols, and are familiar enough with the 
  bunker’s inhabitants that any new faces will be 
  met with heavy suspicion. Any number of nasty 
  experiments can be going on in here, but the primary 
  one that the characters should be concerned with are 
  the thirteen (there’s that number again) imprisoned 
  spirits of feral dread.
  The spirits are contained in the bunker’s second 
  basement, where Frau Totenkreuz has bound them 
  within ritual circles of Pulse-infused runes. If the 
  base is on high alert, she will cancel the runes and 
  send them shrieking out at any intruders. Otherwise, 
  they spend most of Totenkreuz’s waking hours 
  sharing dark secrets of their master’s immortal realm. 
  A special chamber has been constructed for these 
  sessions, consisting of a comfortable wheeled chair 
  and rows of blackboards covered with perilous spirit 
  data.
  Before her death, Totenkreuz will try to poison 
  the characters with despair. “I may fall, but others 
  know the truth,” she laughs. “We are the Gravedigger’s 
  favored race; his armies are promised to us!” This is 
  not an idle threat; as long as the Gravedigger, the Great 
  Spirit of Despair, supports the Nazi war machine, 
  it will be able to train shamans with impunity. To 
  reverse that, a trip to the Immortal Realm of Despair 
  is required.
  Grilling The Gravedigger
  As can be surmised from the name, the immortal 
  Realm of Despair is not the most cheerful of places 
  to spend one’s time. The prevailing legend is that 
  it used to be a crystalline metropolis created by a 
  race of supermen until its citizens summoned the 
  Gravedigger without knowing his true nature, and 
  he brought ruin upon them all. On the other hand, 
  it’s entirely possible that’s just propaganda put out 
  by the great spirit to make the realm’s inhabitants 
  responsible for their own slavery.
  The Realm of Despair follows a five-hundred 
  year cycle of destruction and rebirth. Structures 
  rise, new science uplifts the lives of its inhabitants, 
  and it always seems like the predestined destruction 
  will miss the next time. It never does. Logic turns to 
  barbarism, monuments are torn down, and dreams 
  give way to dust. The Gravedigger laughs, a new plot 
  already unearthed.
  When the characters enter the Realm of Despair, 
  it’s in its Cold War paranoia phase. Looming buildings 
  tower over narrow streets, choking the thoroughfares 
  like a barbed wire noose. Cloaked figures rush 
  frantically from building to building all day, only to 
  return home to an empty mirror and metallic soup. It 
  doesn’t rain, but it’s never sunny either.
  The Gravedigger can be found outside the 
  city limits, hard at work on a new graveyard. If the 
  characters want his undivided attention, they’ll have 
  to offer something in exchange for withdrawing his 
  blessing from his ‘chosen people of the 20th century’. 
  One way to do this is to convince him that another 
  party – say the Allies – would serve his purpose just 
  as well. There are thorny moral issues involved with 
  that choice, so be ready to accept other options as 
  well. The Gravedigger isn’t a charity though, and will 
  put the bargaining screws to the characters if they 
  give him a chance. 
  Sturmscharführer Jaeger 
  You know the type – a Grade-A, by-the-
  book Nazi officer. Highly trained, cruel, and 
  precise.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Investigation d8, Intimidation 
  d8+2, Knowledge (Battle) d8, Notice d8, Persuasion 
  d8, Streetwise d8, Shooting d8, Taunt d8+2
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 6(1) Pulse 20
  Edges: Reader, Strong Willed, Dodge
  Gear: Heavy Coat (+1 Armor, all locations), 
  Luger Pistol (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 2d6+1)
  Frau Totenkreuz 
  Frau Totenkreuz isn’t much for politics, 
  but spirits enthrall her. When soldiers first 
  discovered her cottage in the depths of the Black 
  Forest, she wasn’t even aware that there was a war 
  going on. Totenkreuz is smart though, and quickly 
  learned the proper jingoistic Nazi phrases to parrot if 
  she was to continue receiving funding. 
  Life without access to the spirit world is a slow, 
  foggy nightmare to her. It is a barren land where all 
  her dark imaginations are invisible, forgotten. The 
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  immortal Realm of Despair is so much better though, 
  with its shadow-blasted halls and endless litanies of 
  the occult. To put it another way, Totenkreuz is only 
  happy when she’s truly miserable.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Occult) d8, 
  Notice d8, Shooting d6, Perform Ritual d8, Persuasion 
  d8+2
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 6 Pulse 20 Charisma 
  +2
  Edges: Attractive, Sighted (The Sight, Speak 
  Language, Boost/Lower Trait, Stun, Fear)
  Gear: Luger Pistol (Ranges: 12/24/48, Damage: 
  2d6+1)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Frau Tokenkreuz 
  all the perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, 
  i.e. +1 on Soak rolls and checks to recover 
  from being Shaken, +1 Karma for her own use, 
  enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  Nazi Mook
  Use standard soldiers from Savage Worlds.
  Nazi Squad Leader
  Use veteran soldier from Savage Worlds with 
  Combat Reflexes and Command.
  Spirits Of Feral Dread
  Spirits of feral dread are the sole survivors of 
  realms that have fallen to a being of divine power 
  known only as the Gravedigger, their great spirit 
  and master. They appear in the spirit world as large, 
  leaden shadows, each erupting with dozens of eyes 
  with which to see threats. They avoid contact with 
  others whenever possible. If forced to fight, they will 
  share the tales of their demise (Intimidation) until 
  their opponents collapse from the terrifying woe, or 
  the spirit can find an escape route.
  Despite their fearful nature, spirits of feral dread 
  can be convinced to share their ancestral memories if 
  given that rarest of commodities - hope. Many were 
  originally from realms rich in secrets of the dark 
  arts, which could be shared with the proper bribe. 
  Depending on how amicable the deal is, the spirit 
  may even reveal how its dark magic first lured the 
  Gravedigger to its realm.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d10, Notice 
  d12+2
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 6 Pulse 15
  Edges: Alertness
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Tale Of Demise: Fatigue inflicted through 
  Intimidation can Incapacitate an opponent.
  • 
  Fear: Leaden shadows with dozens of eyes, the 
  spirit world personification of dread? You bet 
  they’re scary.
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Escape From Zhiming Dao
  Realm: Mortal realms, China (2019).
  In 2019, Zhiming Dao, a small island in the South 
  China Sea, disappeared. The island officially only 
  had one inhabitant, so Shanghai officials covered the 
  matter up and quickly forgot about it. The gods were 
  not willing to let it go so easily. In addition to being 
  the private sanctuary of Tian Long, the power behind 
  the XiCorp electronics giant, the island was home to 
  a useful portal to the Maelstrom. With the island’s 
  destruction (let’s not mince words), the portal and 
  its ancestral keepers were likewise destroyed. The 
  characters are sent to this time and place to set things 
  right, or stumble upon it while portal surfing.
  All signs point to Tian Long being the culprit. 
  As of 2019, she was 97 years old and pouring great 
  chunks of her vast fortune into prolonging her life. 
  Her most eccentric plan was her final one: hosting an 
  underground martial arts tournament to determine 
  the world’s best warriors. The winners would have 
  the dubious (and unmentioned) honor of providing 
  her with the organs that she needed to stay alive.
  Unfortunately for Tian Long and the gods, 
  Dioxippus Jones, the contest’s eventual winner, was 
  too powerful to be defeated by Tian Long’s post-
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  championship ambush squad. Instead, the experience 
  of taking down the island’s forces bare-handed drove 
  him over the edge of heroism into demigodhood. 
  The resultant Pulse surge, coupled with Jones’s rage, 
  shook the island to its core, destroying all traces 
  of its existence. If the characters wish to avoid that 
  fate, then they’d best discover Jones’s role in the 
  destruction and either pacify him or beat him fairly.
  Entering The Ring
  The characters appear at the island’s portal just 
  before the fateful tournament begins. They can either 
  infiltrate Tian Long’s base by their own means or 
  earn an official invitation by defeating one of the 
  hopefuls who are fighting for the last wild card slots 
  on the main beach. The former method will test their 
  infiltration and evasion skills, as Tian Long has made 
  many enemies over the years. Her island defense 
  systems consist of the standard-issue guard towers 
  manned with searchlights and machine guns as well 
  as armed patrols of XiCorp security that ensure that 
  all visitors to Zhiming Dao stay in the authorized 
  zones. Bordering the perimeter fence, the island’s 
  motor pool could be one way in. It holds several jeeps 
  and enough black market helicopters to make the 
  characters worry. Once inside the perimeter, though, 
  they should be able to make it to Tian Long’s private 
  mansion relatively easily.
  Facing the other hopefuls is as simple as filling 
  out the necessary paperwork. They’re aware of 
  the rules of engagement, and are prepared for the 
  consequences. Note that not all of the characters have 
  to win a qualifying match to be allowed on Zhiming 
  Dao; every successful martial artist has access to a 
  support staff, merchandisers, managers, etc. Some of 
  the contenders, such as stuntman Yang Chi, will fight 
  with honor. Others, including ex-KGB Yelena Konev, 
  will resort to trickery and deceit.
  Zhiming Dao
  The visitors’ quarters of Zhiming Dao are 
  the equivalent to a four-star hotel, complete with 
  extensive gym facilities, tennis courts, and trail rides. 
  The rooms are small, but well furnished by one with 
  an eye for quality. This is a tropical vacation on top 
  of an underground martial arts tournament! Despite 
  the luxury, it is difficult not feel constrained. Chain-
  link fences overlaid by more photogenic bamboo 
  keep visitors from walking off the beaten path and 
  onto Tian Long’s private preserve. The only time that 
  armed guards won’t turn visitors away is when the 
  battles are in progress; Tian Long’s arena is reserved 
  for the purpose.
  Tian Long’s mansion is architecturally simple, 
  but large and built of expensive materials. Above 
  ground, it is built around a central courtyard where 
  the coliseum-style fighting arena has been set up. A 
  warren of secret labs undercuts the mansion, each 
  staffed by a staggering array of doctors. Thanks to 
  their patron’s desperation and deep pockets, they 
  have been able to rig up a chemical bath that will 
  make any harvested organ suitable to her body’s 
  particulars, as long as it is administered quickly and 
  under controlled conditions.
  Anyone who takes the trail rides or makes 
  an effort to get away from the restrictive visitors’ 
  quarters will notice an old-fashioned windmill and 
  wisps of campfire smoke in the distance… these 
  belong to the portal keepers who oversee Zhiming 
  Dao’s portal to the Maelstrom, where the characters 
  first arrive (and their way out too, hopefully). 
  Although they don’t understand the full extent of 
  the portal’s power, several of them are able to see and 
  converse with spirits. They don’t know much about 
  the island, but they do send information back to the 
  Maelstrom whenever they learn something new from 
  any passing spirits, making them useful information 
  gatherers for the gods.
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  Tian Long’s Ritual
  The tournament’s closing ceremonies take place 
  on the Amber Balcony, which overlooks a heavily 
  forested valley. Several long tables are set for dinner. 
  All of the surviving participants are in attendance, 
  along with their staff. 
  Without any intervening action by the characters, 
  this is how the next several minutes unfold: first, 
  Tian Long praises the top three contestants and 
  places ceremonial talismans around their necks. The 
  talismans contain powerful drugs, which make the 
  already weary fighters confused and complacent. She 
  invites the winners to eat on the Emerald Balcony, 
  apart from the courageous losers. There is no 
  Emerald Balcony, but there is a secret, underground 
  lab just waiting for three drugged organ donors! If 
  Dioxippus won the tournament, he will resist the 
  drug long enough to take down Tian Long’s guards. 
  At this point, his ascension has begun: the island’s 
  portal flares to life and begins releasing Feral Spirits 
  of Rage into the peaceful hermitage. Dioxippus, flush 
  with his taste of divinity, tears through Zhiming Dao, 
  slaughtering everything in his path until he reaches 
  the portal. It begins to twist and tear; the island 
  begins to shake, sinking within ten minutes.
  Somewhere along the way, the characters will 
  hopefully intervene to stop that happening!
  Dioxippus Jones 
  Jones is a master of the Greek martial art 
  pankration, and a chosen of Ares. He was 
  born on the battlefield, the smell of blood and smoke 
  his first companions. When he closes his eyes, he 
  sees himself on a throne made of skulls, the banners 
  of every nation crumpled at his feet. He never tries 
  explaining any of this to his buddies when they’re 
  out rock-climbing or shooting promotional spots for 
  the newest line of muscle-boosting powder. They’d 
  tell him to lay off the drugs. Jones doesn’t do drugs, 
  though; he’s a winner. Winners don’t do drugs. Life 
  is a natural high, and fighting is the pinnacle of life. 
  Jones is a bluff, cheerful man of Greek/English 
  ancestry. He hides his doubts beneath a thick layer 
  of machismo, knowing that if he keeps on fighting 
  he’ll get past his demons. There hasn’t been a foe yet 
  that he couldn’t drive into submission. He carries 
  a long spear which he has learned to use as well 
  as his martial arts skills. Since this isn’t the sort of 
  tournament where melee weapons are banned, he has 
  his spear with him at all times. Jones doesn’t recall 
  where he got the spear, but he thinks it really makes 
  him look cool. In fact, it was a gift from Ares who 
  looks forward to seeing it used in a real full-scale 
  battle.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Notice d8, 
  Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 8 Pulse 35 Charisma 
  +2
  Edges: Attractive, Improved Cool As Ice, Flight 
  Of The Ascendant: Improved, Improved Sweep, 
  Improved Frenzy, Stutter
  Gear: Spear Of The Damned (Damage: Str+2d6, 
  AP 4, HW)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants Jones all the 
  perks enjoyed by Demigod rank characters, 
  i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to recover 
  from being Shaken, +2 Karma for his own use, 
  enhanced recovery rate, and so on.
  Ouroborous Emergent (II)
  Realm: Mortal realms, Garden of Athena (far 
  future).
  Now that the heroes are recognized as such, they 
  finally have enough resources to decode the treasure 
  map that they found in Ouroborous Emergent: 
  Episode I. The stained map explains how to open a 
  portal to the starship Sagittarius, where a great jewel, 
  the Ouroboros, will be forever buried. The jewel 
  is, in fact, the physical manifestation of a pocket 
  dimension that the characters will be able to visit 
  once they are demigods. For now, it’s enough to know 
  that possessing it allows the bearer to regenerate 
  Pulse at triple the standard rate. That should get their 
  treasure-hunting juices flowing.
  When the characters beam aboard the starship, 
  it is one month out from the Garden of Athena, a 
  futuristic realm settled by the best of the Greek gene 
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  pool with sci-fi technology and the blessings of the 
  Olympian gods on their side. The Sagittarius is a 
  pleasure liner peopled by squabbling philosophers, 
  grey-bearded statesmen, and purveyors of all sorts 
  of amusements. In six hours, barbarian terrorists will 
  blow up the ship, killing everyone aboard.
  If you like this Savage Tale, you’ll be delighted to 
  know there’s a whole setting book about the Garden 
  of Athena realm called Dogs of Hades. It has a plot 
  point campaign, plenty of options for characters, and 
  stacks more besides.
  Waltz For Sagittarius
  The Ouroborus is currently being used as the 
  lucky charm of Anakletos, a Heroic rank veteran of 
  many Athenian campaigns. The characters will spot a 
  great jewel around his neck when they see him first, 
  and any glimpse into the spirit world will confirm 
  that it’s spiritually active. Very active. Anakletos is 
  vacationing on the Sagittarius, dividing his time 
  between displays of arms, engaging in philosophical 
  duels, and gambling. This last pastime is what will 
  eventually get him into trouble. If he doesn’t lose at 
  dice or a wrestling contest with one of the characters, 
  he’ll lose it to one of the barbarian terrorists. Of 
  course, nobody onboard knows that the characters 
  are as great as they say they are, and obtaining an 
  introduction to the glorious soldier may require 
  navigating a foreign social web.
  The barbarian terrorists will attack whenever it’s 
  most convenient for the story. This could be as the 
  characters are about to win a bet against Anakletos, 
  or soon after they see a laughing barbarian terrorist 
  walking away with the Ouroboros. At this point, 
  explosions will rock the ship as terrorists detonate 
  the bombs hidden in the cargo hold. 
  The ship’s captain will be quick to alert the 
  passengers to the trouble, calming them with the 
  knowledge that the hull had not been breached. He 
  is interrupted by Caspian Harloch, leader of the 
  barbarians (despite his cultured voice and dress, 
  Harloch is still considered a barbarian, as is everyone 
  who isn’t from the Garden – that’s just the Athenian 
  way). His demands are simple, but untenable: return 
  sovereignty to his people and grant remunerations for 
  their ongoing war. Since peace cannot be brokered, 
  he settles for taking all of the valuables onboard the 
  ship and crashing it into an asteroid.
  Harloch commands the operation from the 
  ship’s flight deck, where he stands with a gun to the 
  captain’s head at all times. Five of his most trusted 
  revolutionaries share the room, keeping an eye on 
  ten of the most high-profile prisoners. The rest of 
  the ship is divided into sections, which are looted by 
  rank-and-file terrorists. As soon as the escape pods 
  are filled with valuables, they’ll jam the controls and 
  depart.
  Portal Rescue
  If any of the characters get the idea to try saving 
  the ship, it will be more difficult than simply packing 
  their favorite passengers into their pocket dimension. 
  The destruction of the Sagittarius is integral enough 
  to its realm that history will conspire to ruin any large-
  scale rescue programs. The only way around this is 
  a devious loophole that will banish the passengers 
  from their home realm forever.
  Close attention to the ship’s navigational 
  equipment will indicate that there’s a black hole not 
  too far off course. If the characters contact the gods, 
  they’ll learn that the black hole is Hephaestus’ Forge, 
  a star that the god of the forge fired so hot when 
  creating a new alloy that it collapsed upon itself. The 
  gods will tell them that if they can navigate the ship 
  through it, they should be able to activate the portal 
  to Olympus that’s still there, in the middle of the 
  black hole.
  Normally, any characters less than Heroic rank 
  are unable to handle the chaotic pressures of the 
  Maelstrom. In order to protect the passengers of 
  the ship, the characters must arrange a deal with the 
  portal’s spirits of the Veil, the twin spirits known as 
  the Palici. Spirits of the Veil are known for driving a 
  hard bargain, often involving unpleasant terms. Just 
  ask Gregor at the start of the campaign on page 91. 
  The Palici have d10 in Smarts, Spirit, and Persuasion.
  If the characters can convince them of the 
  universal importance of saving the starship, the Palici 
  can craft a reality bubble that surrounds it as it goes 
  through the Veil and into the Maelstrom. It should 
  last the ship until it reaches Olympus. The bubble is 
  quite an oddity in the Maelstrom though, and will 
  attract all sorts of unpleasant spiritual turbulence. 
  Between navigating a black hole and the rigors of the 
  Maelstrom, there’s no way that autopilot’s going to do 
  the trick.
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  Anakletos 
  Anakletos is an iconic Athenian, trained in all 
  of the noble arts of his people. He knows a 
  little bit of everything, which has served him well in 
  his dozens of military campaigns. The last one was a 
  hairy one even for the brave champion though, so he’s 
  taking some time off. Freed from the authoritarian 
  rule of his homeland, Anakletos is letting his hair 
  down and engaging in all of the pleasures that he 
  has fought so long to protect.  Although he has 
  little practical experience with many of the more 
  refined activities aboard the Sagittarius, he’s willing 
  to try them out with gusto.  After that, there’s always 
  gambling!
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Gambling d10, Knowledge 
  (Battle) d10, Knowledge (Philosophy) d6 Notice d10, 
  Shooting d8, Persuasion d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 6 Pulse 30
  Edges: Penetrating Strike: Improved, Natural 
  Leader, Command, Master Leader, Improved Block, 
  Jack Of All Trades
  Gear: Hades Blade: Short Sword (Damage: 
  Str+d6+2, AP 4)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Anakletos all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced 
  recovery rates, and so on.
  Caspian Harloch,  
  Barbarian Terrorist 
  He’s the blond-haired barbarian who is taking 
  the space lanes by storm. Nobody knows where he’s 
  from, but he is as cultured as he is passionate about 
  the freedom of his people. Although deeply apologetic 
  about his demands, he has so little in common with 
  the crew of the Sagittarius that finding compromise is 
  extremely difficult. 
  Caspian can be temporarily distracted by a 
  spirited debate. Just once in his life, he would like 
  to prove that he has the chops to take on a trained 
  rhetorician.
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  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Gambling d8, Knowledge 
  (Battle) d8, Knowledge (Philosophy) d6 Notice d8, 
  Shooting d10, Persuasion d8
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 6 Pulse 20
  Edges: Hold The Line, Fervor, Command, Block, 
  Jack of All Trades
  Gear: Light Recurve Blaster (Ranges: 15/30/60, 
  Damage 2d6+1), Hades Blade: Knife (Damage: 
  Str+d4+2, AP 4)
  Barbarian Terrorists
  Use veteran soldiers from Savage Worlds with 
  Strong Will and Combat Reflexes, using the same 
  blaster weapon as their leader, Caspian Harloch.
  The Ill-Tempered Cauldron
  Realm: Maelstrom, Realm Of Yggdrasil.
  With the characters becoming heroes in the eyes 
  of the Continuum, it’s time to start networking with 
  other like-minded troubleshooters. The Suzerain 
  Continuum is a big place, and having bold allies is 
  a career move encouraged by everyone who hopes 
  to keep the current system of divinity in place. To 
  this end, Bors the Daring has invited the characters 
  to train in the Maelstrom realm of Yggdrasil. It is a 
  domain of great deeds and hardy challenges – not to 
  mention sumptuous feasts.
  The First Challenge
  This is a good opportunity to introduce story 
  threads of your own, as the characters could 
  encounter important people from a number of realms 
  at Bors’ revel. Together, they can face mythological 
  creatures and form rivalries that are the heart of 
  legend. These events should by no means be easy, but 
  the stakes for failure are low; it’s just training, after 
  all. Other important figures who will be training are 
  Nils Squaretooth and Bjorn Snorrason; these leaders 
  of rival mercenary bands are using the occasion to 
  cement their new alliance. The first great event is 
  flushing out a nest of lindwurms. They’re not quite 
  dragons, but they’re big enough and twice as mean.
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  If no such ideas are forthcoming, the same tale-
  teller who explained the cauldron could be convinced 
  to share some tales of a nearby camp of trolls. Surely, 
  defeating this filthy knot of brutes would be a heroic 
  action. On the way to the troll camp, test them once 
  or twice. Is it brave to attack a sleeping troll? How 
  about one who is feeding his two young children 
  from a bag of stolen chickens? After the warm-ups, 
  hit them with the full-fledged camp. 
  The troll camp consists of twelve warriors in 
  varying states of battle readiness. They have been 
  clashing with the war bands that crisscross the 
  region, occasionally allying with one long enough 
  to legitimize their brutality. They keep two human 
  slaves, and aren’t particularly concerned with the 
  value of human rights. Not when they’re hungry, at 
  least.
  In the course of events, one of the characters may 
  feel the blame for the meat’s failure to cook. Perhaps 
  he had a notably cowardly moment, or is waiting to 
  reveal a dark secret to the rest of the gang. There’s no 
  set answer for who actually triggered the cauldron’s 
  power: it may have been a young warrior who turns 
  to the characters to teach him strength, it may have 
  been Bjorn for behavior on the battlefield, or it may 
  have been nobody at all. The god of misdirection 
  loves his jokes, especially when they can get a group 
  of proud, warrior-types bickering like children.
  Like many delicacies, lindwurm does not taste 
  particularly good. At least it makes a memorable 
  story!
  Bors The Daring 
  Bors is old school - a bold Norseman with a 
  beard as fiery as his temperament. Although 
  his friendships are not deep, they are many. Has he 
  ever told you about the time he had to sneak out of 
  a camp of giants while disguised as the King of the 
  Trolls? Share a barrel of mead with him and you’ll 
  soon be best friends, at least until the hangover hits.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d12, Gambling 
  d10, Knowledge (Battle) d10, Notice d4, Swimming 
  d6, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 12(3) Pulse 30
  The lindwurm nest is located in the shallows of a 
  deep, black lake in the foothills surrounding a spine 
  of snow-capped mountains. Standard procedure is 
  to lure the amphibious beasts out of the lake before 
  engaging in battle, but it is a sign of great skill to defeat 
  them on their home terrain. Other complications 
  could 
  include 
  under-trained 
  youngsters 
  and 
  landslides from the shifting tides of battle.
  The Second Challenge
  Following the destruction of the lindwurms, it is 
  traditional to roast their bodies and feast upon the 
  remains. Mighty warriors have mighty appetites to 
  match! The pre-emptive entertainments begin as the 
  central dish is cooked. Hours pass. The lindwurm 
  still refuses to retain heat. If anything, it has cooled 
  down after several hours in the pot. Bors is outraged 
  – the cauldron was a special gift from a senior hero at 
  the gathering, and it refuses to cook?
  Consulting the spirit that lurks within the pot 
  (or researching its legend with a knowledgeable 
  tale-teller) reveals that the pot won’t cook meat for 
  cowards. If this becomes widely known, the banquet’s 
  cordial mood soon sours. Who among them is a 
  coward? Who would dare?
  Tensions flare and memories leading back for 
  years are examined. No one wants to admit cowardice 
  among so many heroes, but everyone wants this rare 
  meat; it is a delicacy, and they are hungry. Soon talk 
  turns to throwing out the least brave of the revelers so 
  that the rest can eat. It doesn’t take long for Nils and 
  Bjorn to go at each other with weapons, renewing 
  their bloody feud. If only there were some test to 
  prove that everyone at the meal was truly brave…
  The Final Challenge
  One way to go here is to have someone suggest a 
  one-week break for everyone to go out and perform 
  a brave deed. Upon reconvening, they will share the 
  tales, eat the meat, and be comrades once more. This 
  will give your adventure the air of a fairy tale; after 
  all, how easy is it to go out and intend to be heroic? 
  Is it something that just happens, or can it be forced? 
  Give your players’ suggestions lots of weight here. If 
  they want to investigate the cauldron further, that’s 
  an interesting way to go (it was made by Loki, after 
  all.) Alternatively, if they want to spend the next week 
  wrestling electric sting-sharks, that could work.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  155
  Edges: Brawny, Cool As Ice, Cat’s Descent, 
  Trademark Weapon – Nine-World Axe, Giant Killer, 
  Surge, Contacts
  Gear: Fur Of Mountain Wolves (+3 Armor, 
  torso), Nine-World Axe (Damage: Str+d12+1, AP 6, 
  HW, 2-Handed)
  Special Abilities
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Bors all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 on 
  Soak rolls and checks to recover from being Shaken, 
  +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced recovery rates, 
  and so on.
  Nils Squaretooth 
  A loud-mouthed Norseman with oddly square 
  teeth, Nils leads the Frosthammer mercenary 
  band with honor and distinction. Although others 
  will tell different variations of the story, Nils prefers 
  to boast about the time when he tore the burning 
  blade from a dark álfr’s hand and used it to slay a 
  score of spearmen.
  Nils is the gourmand of the group, and would 
  much rather discuss food than brave deeds. He 
  knows what is expected of him, however.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d12, Gambling d6, 
  Knowledge (Battle) d8, Shooting d6, Swimming d6, 
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 14(6) Pulse 25
  Edges: Improved Frenzy, No Mercy, Improved 
  Nerves Of Steel, Feel My Pain
  Gear: Enchanted Pendant (+6 Armor, all 
  locations), Wizard Bane Greatsword  (Damage: 
  Str+d10, AP 2, 2-Handed, any “leftover” damage - 
  damage above that required to inflict a Wound - is 
  instead drained from the victim’s Pulse)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Nils all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced 
  recovery rates, and so on.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  156
  Bjorn Snorrason 
  Although not as large as the other assembled 
  heroes, Bjorn has no shortage of heroic deeds 
  about which to boast. There was the time that he won 
  his Concussion Maul from Thor in a game of dice, for 
  one. Even more amazing was the time he outran Thor 
  after winning his Concussion Maul in a game of dice. 
  When Bjorn’s not demonstrating his prowess 
  with his amazing Concussion Maul, he’s poking holes 
  in Nils’ tale of the burning blade. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d12, Gambling 
  d10, Knowledge (Battle) d8, Notice d4, Swimming 
  d6, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 9(2) Pulse 25
  Edges: Improved Sweep, Quickness, Mighty 
  Blow, Monkey Grip: Improved, Pulse Armor
  Gear: Oil Of Surety (+2 Armor, all locations, 
  and nullifies 10 points of AP), Concussion Maul 
  (Damage: Str+d10, AP 2, 2-Handed, anyone 
  sustaining a Wound from this weapon is knocked 
  back fd6 inches per Wound from the attacker)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Bjorn all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced 
  recovery rates, and so on.
  Lindwurm
  Use the Drake from Savage Worlds, and take 
  away his feet.
  Troll
  Use the Troll from Savage Worlds.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  Dreaming Of Crossed Gears 
  Realm: Maelstrom, Fey Realm Of Dreams.
  It’s inevitable: the characters will need a piece of 
  obscure technology to complete a task, and the only 
  one who can help them is a brilliant scientist. Stanford 
  McKenna is just the man they need, no matter what 
  realm or device they’re looking for. He’s just the 
  “hook” as we like to say in the business. McKenna 
  is easy to find, but difficult to work with. He seems 
  absent-minded and uncoordinated, and is unable to 
  help with the characters’ question. 
  This is because the man they meet is not Stanford 
  McKenna at all, but a lifelike android/clockwork 
  golem/wax figure animated by a tribe of gremians. 
  The real McKenna set off to the Realm of the Pure 
  Mages months ago; the gremians tried to continue 
  his work, but found it beyond them. Traveling 
  through the Realm of the Pure Mages after him isn’t 
  going to work. McKenna prepared for his trip for 18 
  years, and had a substantial collection of notes to 
  guide him. No, the only way to access his figures and 
  plans is by directly appealing to the Duke of Crossed 
  Gears, lord of the gremian spirits. He monitors the 
  dreams of scientists from his mound in the Fey 
  Realm of Dreams, mining them for grand inventions 
  and prospective subjects.
  Crossing The Realm
  During the day, the Fey Realm of Dreams is a 
  thick, fairytale forest dotted with lush pastures and 
  flowing streams. Animal life is plentiful, but there 
  are still a few dangers (so don’t let it get too much 
  like a theme park). Upon nightfall, the fey spirits 
  emerge from their homes on missions both dreadful 
  and frivolous. Dream logic takes control over 
  standard, logical flow. Don’t be afraid to describe 
  strange, symbolic background elements like maidens 
  harvesting skulls from red-barked trees studded with 
  thorns, or packs of hounds tearing across the sky in 
  pursuit of silver-lined clouds. It’s also the time the 
  howlers are at their worst, caged within the night 
  terrors of mortal sleepers.
  The first sign that the characters are approaching 
  the domain of the Duke of Crossed Gears is that the 
  rivers turn to oil. Cog-blossomed vegetation sprouts 
  along their banks, providing ample perches for 
  miniature mechanical fliers plucked from mechanics’ 
  fancies. Grass becomes stiff and metallic enough to 
  puncture shoes. 
  A gang of sprites have elected themselves the 
  Duke’s welcoming committee, and take it upon 
  themselves to introduce newcomers to the duchy’s 
  finer points. Their methods are crude, but ensure that 
  nobody gets too familiar with the wild, industrial 
  beauty. More than anything else, it keeps the sprites 
  entertained.
  As the characters make their way past a garden 
  of rusted metal war-machines, one of them will roll 
  from its resting place and block their way. A second 
  one will clamber up behind them. They won’t attack 
  except to defend themselves, but won’t let anybody 
  pass either. If the characters are deadlocked, the sprites 
  will get bored and reveal themselves. In exchange 
  for calling off their machines, they’ll demand a toll. 
  In spring, this will merely be a fresh idea or a few 
  seconds of embarrassment. Come winter, they’ll be 
  out for blood – or Pulse.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  158
  Impressing The Duke
  The Duke of Crossed Gears has been picking 
  through some of the most creative minds of the 
  universe since before the characters’ ancestors were 
  born. It’s going to take something special to pull 
  him away from his dream decompiling. Luckily, he 
  frequently hosts symposiums under the sprawling 
  boughs of his titanic steelwillow. He invites the most 
  brilliant performers into his inner circle until he is 
  next distracted.
  Fey spirits, primarily gremians and sprites, attend 
  these boisterous events for the wine, gossip, and 
  shining ideas. Each gathering has a specific theme, 
  such as light sources or howler deterrents. Anyone 
  with a contribution is invited to speak. Jeers and 
  tangential arguments are quick to develop, however, 
  unless the speaker is presenting an idea that is both 
  new and in line with what is currently popular – a 
  tough mix to achieve! Contradictions are the current 
  fad in the Duke’s court; a hero who could invent 
  reproducible cold fire or that which is dead, yet also 
  alive would be guaranteed time with the Duke.
  To those he favors, the Duke is all compliments 
  and probing questions. He is appreciative of their 
  smallest insight, but is endlessly curious about the 
  reasoning that led to it. Any contradictions are seized 
  upon at once and dissected and reassembled until 
  they are completely understood. He has McKenna’s 
  collected dreams, and will share them in return for 
  stimulating conversation, inserting the characters 
  into the collected dreamscape.
  The dreamscape before the characters will vary 
  greatly depending on what kind of scientist he is. If 
  they required the plans for a submarine, the realm 
  will be one of undersea domes and bio-synthesoid 
  sharks. If they needed a hacking protocol, they’ll 
  instead be confronted with a 3D datafield constructed 
  from pulsing nodes and cables. No matter what the 
  external trappings, the realm is inhabited by two sets 
  of sentient creatures: doppelgangers of McKenna, 
  each representing one facet of his personality, and 
  fanged, multi-tentacled night terrors. These psychic 
  parasites feed on the creative aspects of McKenna’s 
  personality, injecting them with doubt and contempt. 
  The characters are shining beacons of personality, and 
  will no doubt attract swarms of parasites themselves. 
  Better find the right scientist and run!
  This is largely an abstract adventure in an ever-
  shifting setting (both the Fey Realm of Dreams and 
  McKenna’s dreamscape are subject to change without 
  a moment’s notice). It’s a session’s interlude between 
  more ‘regular’ action and it should feel magical and 
  enchanting to the players while also keeping them off 
  balance. The duchy is a place where rhetoric, rhyme 
  and logic are the only real weapons and armor a 
  person can hope for and the denizens of the realm 
  are voracious Pulse sucking and Fatigue inflicting 
  predators. It’s a realm where being able to calculate 
  pi to seven places is enough to destroy a dozen 
  predators, a dirty rhyming couplet more effect that 
  a submachine gun and a good riddle offers nigh 
  impenetrable armor. Wounds are dealt in Fatigue 
  till characters’ minds temporarily break down 
  (Incapacitated), and good use of imagination by a 
  player should spontaneously remove Fatigue from his 
  character. This isn’t a session of many rules, and may 
  not suit everybody, but it’ll be a lot of fun for some 
  of you who want to explore the strangest extremes of 
  the Maelstrom and the immortal realms therein.
  Sprites
  Sprites resemble beautiful human specimens 
  with butterfly or dragonfly-like wings. They’re tiny, 
  measuring six inches at the shoulder, and fond of 
  pranks that few mortals are able to comprehend. 
  Their laugh is as magically contagious as it is grating. 
  Sprites change their natures with the seasons: spring 
  pranks are the lightest, only causing embarrassment 
  to the chosen victim. Summer jests raise the stakes, 
  and may cause the target’s friends to begin to worry 
  – and woe betide any mortal who encounters a Sprite 
  come winter! While not physically very powerful, 
  their laugh and Pulse Leech ability make them a 
  danger when they appear in groups.
  When in the mortal realms, spites prefer 
  remaining manifested in the physical world, coasting 
  on their powers of misdirection to live life to its 
  fullest. If local dangers get to be too hot to handle, 
  they hightail it back to the spirit world as quickly as 
  possible. If they’ve angered anybody enough to be 
  pursed there, they’ll make a beeline for the nearest 
  dream, the more vivid the better, disappearing into it 
  and fleeing to the safety of the Fey Realm of Dreams, 
  where they inevitably have friends and relatives who 
  serve as messengers for the greater fey spirits.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  159
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  160
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d4, Persuasion d8+2, 
  Taunt d8
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 3 Pulse 10 Charisma 
  +2
  Edges: Improved Dodge
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size -2: -2 Toughness and regular-sized creatures 
  get -2 to hit them.
  • 
  Magical Laughter: The laugh of a sprite allows the 
  Fatigue from their Taunts to cause Incapacitation 
  if they pay 1 Pulse. Anyone knocked out by this 
  laugh will fall under the sprite’s influence for 1 
  minute if the sprite chooses to pay another 1 
  Pulse.
  • 
  Flight: Sprites have a flying Pace of 6 and a climb 
  of 3.
  • 
  Beautiful: These sprites get +2 Charisma.
  • 
  Pulse Leech (4/8/12): As a ranged attack sprites 
  have the ability to drain Pulse from a target 
  who is in the same world as it (spirit world or 
  physical world). Any damage dealt by this attack 
  is instead taken as Pulse loss by the target, and 
  the same amount of Pulse is added to the sprite 
  for its own use later. A sprite may never use this 
  attack to get beyond 15 Pulse.
  • 
  Spirit: Regular fey sprites can manifest in the 
  physical world at night-time as an Action costing 
  1 Pulse and lasting until dawn.
  Spritemech One: Alpha
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+7, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d12+2, Notice d4, Stealth d6, 
  Throwing d8
  Pace 10 (cannot run) Parry 9 Toughness 25(10) 
  Pulse 20
  Edges: Improved Block, Improved Trademark 
  Weapon – Restless Dreams Grindwheel, Surge
  Gear: Restless Dreams Grindwheel (Damage: 
  Str+2d10, AP 6, 2 Handed, Deals Fatigue not 
  Wounds, can Incapacitate not kill)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Hardy
  • 
  Captured First Love’s First Sunset Together: (+10 
  Armor, all locations)
  • 
  Tracks: Alpha has tank tracks not legs so ignores 
  most difficult terrain and it would be very hard 
  to trip.
  • 
  Size +8: +4 to hit this massive machine, and it 
  takes up a 3x2 inch space on the battlefield.
  • 
  Spirit Construct: Cannot manifest, but never 
  leaves the Fey Realm of Dreams so never has to. 
  Follows the normal rules for constructs.
  Spritemech Two: DoubleDibble
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8(A), Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+5, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d12, Fighting d12, Notice d6, 
  Stealth d8, Swimming d6, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 10 Toughness 19(6) Pulse 20
  Edges: Improved Block, Improved Dodge, 
  Improved First Strike, Improved Sweep
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Hardy
  • 
  Fond Memories In Sepia: (+6 Armor, all locations)
  • 
  Improbably Jointed, Vaguely Rubbery, Sometimes 
  Telescopic Limbs: Reach 2
  • 
  Two Heads: Ganging up bonuses against Double 
  Dibble are reduced by 2
  • 
  Serrated Tears Of Joy: (Damage: Str+d8, An 
  opponent who takes damage from this attack 
  must make a Spirit check and if they fail must 
  roll on the Fright table – permanent effects such 
  as phobias last only until the character leaves the 
  realm)
  • 
  Size +6: +2 to hit this impressive machine, and it 
  takes up a 2x2 inch space on the battlefield.
  • 
  Spirit Construct: Cannot manifest, but never 
  leaves the Fey Realm of Dreams so never has to. 
  Follows the normal rules for constructs.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  161
  Gremians
  The gremians are curious about technology first 
  and foremost, throwing their lives into the ever-
  spinning gears of experimentation. Every time a 
  dream of an unbuilt invention makes its way into 
  the Fey Realm of Dreams, a gremian grows from the 
  kernel. She (for gremians are predominantly female) 
  then makes the solution to the dream-contraption 
  her life’s work. Solving this riddle may require 
  tracking down the original dreamer and observing 
  him secretly as he works. Other times it may 
  require taking the dreamer’s other inventions apart, 
  examining them for the key component that could 
  lead back to the dream-contraption. The gremian 
  then toils to try and smooth the way to the invention 
  being constructed. If the inventor is working on 
  other things, for instance, she’ll manifest at night and 
  pull out the plans for the unbuilt invention and leave 
  them in his workshop. If his girlfriend is taking up 
  too much of his spare time… well, the gremian might 
  see that as a threat to the invention being built, and 
  that would be bad for the poor girlfriend.
  Gremians tend to be associated with mechanical 
  contraptions, but some are born to electronic 
  inventions and bio-tech creations. It is even whispered 
  that a few are born purely in software, no more than a 
  collection of binary code.
  Although the vast majority of gremians respect 
  their progenitors and aren’t maliciously-minded, 
  a few outright loathe their origins. These hexagon-
  knuckled miscreants see their dream-contraption as 
  a waste of time and their creator as an addlebrained 
  simpleton. In order to make their cursed lives 
  bearable, they content themselves with causing 
  trouble among the more well-behaved gremians and 
  plotting to maim or kill their creator.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Investigation d6, Notice d8, 
  Repair d10
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Edges: McGyver
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Tool Hands: Gremians can change their 
  fingertips into a variety of useful tools, from 
  small hammers to assorted screwdrivers. As a 
  weapons these deal Damage: Str+d4, but they’re 
  mostly used when manifested to tinker and 
  construct their life’s work.
  • 
  Spirit: In the presence of technology and 
  machinery, regular gremians can physically 
  manifest for 1 hour at the cost of 4 Pulse. Each 
  additional hour costs a further 1 Pulse. While 
  manifested, gremians do not recover Pulse.
  Howlers
  Unlike most fey spirits, which display whimsical 
  mixtures of light and darkness, howlers are bad news 
  all around. These spectral forms were incubated in 
  the darkest nightmares and fed by their loathing for 
  the freedom that they will never have. Each howler 
  is bound to the location where several dreamers – 
  human or spirit – are unable to escape persistent night 
  terrors. When the howler can no longer bear the slow 
  burn of freedom denied, it gives in to its malicious 
  nature and willingly shares its soul-withering grief 
  with all in its domain.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d10
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 7 Pulse 10
  Edges: Berserk
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Necrotic Shriek: A howler’s grief is communicated 
  through a necrotic shriek costing 5 Pulse that 
  deals Damage: 3d6 to all targets with a Cone 
  Template. The howler also makes a Spirit check, 
  opposed by Spirit, against anyone under the 
  template. On a success and for each Raise, the 
  howler inflicts a level of Fatigue which can kill. 
  The Fatigue can affect characters in the physical 
  world despite the howler having no physical 
  presence, though no damage is dealt to physical 
  beings by the attack.
  • 
  Claws: (Damage: Str+d6)
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  162
  Demigod Savage Tales
  This is it. The big time. The characters are 
  probably legends in several realms by now, and have 
  access to large support networks. There’s no such 
  thing as a quick trip to the store to buy milk; every 
  action they take is infused with higher purpose.
  Each of these Savage Tales takes place in either a 
  distant, alternate reality or one of the Pulse-inundated 
  domains within the Maelstrom. Stand tall, for these 
  are the tales that will form a new pantheon.
  Scarbone
  Realm: Mortal realms, Alternate Earth (65 
  Million B.C.).
  An alternate prehistoric Earth is threatening 
  to invade the real one. This is a world where 
  dark, psionic saurians (dinosaur men) became 
  the dominant species rather than ape-descended 
  humans. From their mobile cities of basalt and steel 
  they scheme endlessly for new allies against their 
  roach-like enemies. Recently, their neural explorer 
  program paid off. For the price of lobotomizing their 
  most brilliant minds, they were able to construct a 
  dimension-spanning portal. It leads to a world much 
  like theirs, but where the Titanosaurs aren’t the size 
  of skyscrapers and don’t carry entire military bases 
  on their backs.
  The Green Earth Coalition, as the saurians are 
  known, have entered our reality and constructed a 
  gigantic Pulse reflector in the year 65 million B.C. 
  Anything that endangers Earth’s dinosaurs (say, a 
  meteor) will be blasted to paste. Dinosaurs will rule 
  the Earth, and in time, the universe. Then they’ll go 
  back to their reality and save their brothers from the 
  roachocalypse.
  If the characters were hoping to smash a machine 
  and be home in time for cocktails, they’ll be sorely 
  mistaken; the Pulse reflector is considerably more 
  complex than that. Initial reports suggest it’s actually 
  a lake of glowing magma, kept warm by thermal 
  fissures and saurian tenders. Any time Pulse is 
  injected into the lake, it’s reflected back with ten 
  times the power. Aiming this blast requires esoteric 
  knowledge and several simultaneous vantage points. 
  Saurian Pulse-engineers can do this as a function of 
  their job. All other Pulse-users will need to make a 
  Smarts check at -4.
  Observant characters will figure out that thermal 
  vents and a few dozen saurians in robes aren’t enough 
  to blast meteors out of the sky. The body of a dead 
  god, on the other hand, will do the trick. Deep at 
  the bottom of the lake, a forgotten deity bleeds rich 
  streams of raw creation into the churning magma. 
  None of the Maelstrom gods know his name, but his 
  power is unmistakable. This is because he’s all that 
  remains of the prior End Times. When all of creation 
  was destroyed uncounted eons ago, it was at his 
  bidding and he survived when our creation came into 
  existence. Well, his corpse did at least.
  When the Pulse reflector focuses at least 1,000 
  Pulse in a single Round, a semblance of life flows 
  through the god once again. His pitted, crumbling 
  arm of the blackest stone thrusts from the lake’s 
  surface, gathering all ambient Pulse into its palm. 
  One cyclopean finger points at the chosen target, and 
  releases the Pulse in a screaming torrent of heat and 
  pressure. That’s how you blast meteors out of the sky.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  163
  Green Earth Expeditionary Force
  A trio of Titanosaurs has been sent to watch over 
  the site of the Coalition’s greatest triumph. They’ve 
  been ample defense so far: time machines from a 
  staggering number of eras litter the broken earth 
  surrounding the magma lake. Each one is wrecked 
  beyond repair, stripped by a wing of saurian engineers 
  after their inhabitants were defeated. It’s obvious the 
  gods have already tried more than once to neutralize 
  this threat. Could the characters be the last hope of 
  stopping our universe suffering its End Times?
  Each Titanosaur is covered with slabs of 
  reinforced basalt from the Coalition’s alternate 
  reality home. Tunnels run through the mammoth 
  battle armor, allowing the monsters’ crew access to 
  the dozens of machine gun ports that stud the outer 
  shell. Each Titanosaur is topped with a squat fortress 
  boasting eight Pulse cannons. There are 50 battle-
  ready saurian commandos in each fort, as well as 
  a floating squadron of twelve Pulse engineers. 
  Let’s meet the three Titanosaurs individually:
  Mirrorhide: Field command. Grillisk 
  Slythe meets with his 15 field commanders 
  here, leaving his carved halls as rarely as 
  possible.
  • 
  Obelisk: In addition to the standard 
  armor, Obelisk is covered in natural spikes. 
  Its bite attack deals Damage: 6d6, and it has 
  an additional +4 Toughness.
  • 
  Salamander: Salamander stands over 
  the Pulse reflector, observing it at all 
  times. Only when the device is about 
  to fire does Salamander move. The 
  controls for the Green Earth reality 
  displacement ray are aboard.
  Destroying the Titanosaurs and 
  draining the Pulse reflector is a 
  good first step, but it doesn’t stop 
  the Green Earth Coalition 
  from cramming more forces 
  into the breach. They have 
  an entire alternate Earth 
  at their command; the 
  characters only have 
  themselves. 
  There’s 
  only one thing to do: 
  travel to the Coalition’s alternate reality realm and hit 
  it so hard it will never recover.
  The Coalition’s weakest point is its power base. 
  While the saurian overlords are busy with upper-
  level tasks like penning wicked philosophy and 
  engaging in shadow wars, as well as holding back the 
  roaches as well as possible. a thriving slave class takes 
  care of all the real work. The slaves are predominantly 
  human, taken from two other Earth-like realms the 
  saurians have conquered.
  Inviting the slaves to riot is easy; they have the 
  will and the numbers. What they don’t have are 
  charismatic leaders or military-type support. After 
  the characters help them liberate a Titanosaur city 
  or two, they should have all the resources they need 
  to keep Coalition forces occupied. If that’s all the 
  characters need, they’re free to return home… there’s 
  always the saurians’ initial problem to worry about, 
  though. Will the characters help lead the slaves 
  against the roaches, or leave them to suffer 
  whatever fate befalls them?
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  Green Earth Coalition Soldier
  What if dinosaurs evolved into bipedal 
  humanoids? They’d end up a lot like the 
  Green Earth Coalition soldiers. The soldiers’ unique 
  brain structures allow them to communicate anger 
  on a narrow-band psionic frequency. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Intimidation 
  d8, Knowledge (Battle) d8, Notice d8, Shooting d8, 
  Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 12(5) Pulse 15
  Edges: Marksman, Combat Reflexes, First Strike
  Gear: Assault Armor (+5 Armor, all locations), 
  Strikelight (Ranges: 12/14/48, Damage: 2d10+2, 
  AP 4, Double Tap), Dispersion Gauntlet (Damage: 
  Str+d10, AP 10, HW)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Psionic Follow Through: Fatigue inflicted through 
  Intimidation can Incapacitate and even kill!
  Green Earth Coalition Pulse Engineer
  The Green Earth Coalition engineers are 
  responsible for maintaining the Coalition’s Pulse 
  reflector as well as the numerous strikelight weapons 
  used by the soldiers. Each beam weapon is a powerful 
  display of saurian technology, but something in 
  Earth’s atmosphere doesn’t agree with them. Every 
  week of operation in our version of Earth, the 
  strikelights need to undergo minor maintenance by a 
  trained Pulse engineer or stop functioning altogether.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Intimidation 
  d8, Knowledge (Pulse) d8, Notice d8, Repair d10, 
  Shooting d8, Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 12(5) Pulse 20
  Edges: Marksman, Combat Reflexes, First Strike
  Gear: Assault Armor (+5 Armor, all locations), 
  Strikelight (Ranges: 12/14/48, Damage: 2d10+2, 
  AP 4, Double Tap), Dispersion Gauntlet (Damage: 
  Str+d10, AP 10, HW), Toolkit
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Psionic Follow Through: Fatigue inflicted through 
  Intimidation can Incapacitate and even kill!
  Grillisk Slythe 
  Slythe is the field commander of the 
  Coalition’s expeditionary force to our Earth. 
  Competent and experienced, he’ll use every resource 
  available to him when fighting the characters… and 
  he has a lot of resources!
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10(d12), Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d8, Knowledge (Battle) d12, Notice d8, Shooting d8, 
  Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 13(6) Pulse 25
  Edges: Command, Inspire, No Mercy, Marksman, 
  Combat Reflexes, Improved First Strike 
  Gear: Commander’s Assault Armor (+6 Armor, 
  all locations, +1 step to Strength), Strikelight 
  (Ranges: 12/14/48, Damage: 2d10+2, AP 4, Double 
  Tap), Dispersion Gauntlet (Damage: Str+d10, AP 10, 
  HW)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Psionic Follow Through: Fatigue inflicted through 
  Intimidation can Incapacitate and even kill!
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Slythe all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced 
  recovery rates, and so on.
  Pulse Maggots
  Ambient Pulse is a delicacy to many creatures 
  in the spirit world. The least of these are the ghostly 
  grubs known as Pulse maggots. Individually, they 
  aren’t a threat – but where there’s one, more will 
  quickly follow. Within minutes of the arrival of the 
  first maggot, a roiling swarm of bloated Pulse suckers 
  will be ready for its next meal. Wounded spirits, 
  unguarded Pulse springs, and the corpses of dead 
  gods are all popular locations to find these parasites.
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  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d4
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d4, Notice d4, 
  Swimming d4
  Pace 2 Parry 6 Toughness 4 Pulse 25
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Swarm: Medium Burst Template, +2 Parry, 
  immune to all but blunt weapons and area of 
  effect attacks.
  • 
  Pulse Leech: (Ranges: 2/4/8) As a ranged attack a 
  swarm of maggots has the ability to drain Pulse 
  from a target who is in the spirit world with it. 
  Any damage dealt by this attack is instead taken 
  as Pulse loss by the target, and the same amount 
  of Pulse is added to the swarm.
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Titanosaur
  Really? Okay. The characters are demigods now!
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8(A), Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+32. Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d4, Swimming d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 121(80) Pulse 35
  Edges: Improved Sweep
  Gear: Coalition military installation and crew.
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants the Titansaur 
  all the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank 
  characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for its 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  • 
  Size +30
  • 
  Fearless
  • 
  Saurian Titan: +4 Toughness
  • 
  Gargantuan
  • 
  Fear -2: Yeah, they are pretty scary.
  • 
  Bite: (Damage: Str+3d12, AP 40, HW)
  • 
  Thick Skin And Scales: +8 Armor, all locations)
  Ouroborous Emergent (III)
  Realm: Mortal realms, Alternate Relic (Yr208 of 
  the Third Age).
  With the power of demigods on their side, 
  the characters are finally able to unravel the outer 
  defenses of the Ouroborus. This Pulse-infused 
  gemstone they found with Cale Poplin’s treasure map 
  back when they were novices, is more than a handy 
  relic. Something great is inside: an alternate version 
  of the Relic realm where the War of the Wild never 
  happened. Instead the Trader Imperium flourished, 
  creating a peaceful world based on consumer 
  capitalism and non-intrusive religious benevolence.
  So, what’s the problem?
  The realm has been used like a mobile battery 
  for too long. Pulse levels in all of the citizens have 
  dropped to dangerous levels. Pulse is what the 
  human soul is made from. Despite their fantastic 
  tech, they’re listless and weak – and now their realm 
  has been unsealed.
  The second the characters open the realm, 
  it’s like loosing the door between a cage of sharks 
  and a wounded seal sanctuary. Rippling masses of 
  Pulse-sucking astral remoras flow into the newly 
  opened portal and begin their feast. The only way 
  to defeat them all is to re-arm the realm and give 
  its inhabitants the strength to fight. To do this, the 
  characters must travel to the alternate Relic’s spiritual 
  core and reignite it.
  Looking Around
  Garris+ looks much like Garris during Acts III 
  and IV of our campaign, but larger and cleaner. Its 
  mega-ziggurats reach into the clouds, each terrace 
  marked with parks full of dying plants and still 
  fishless ponds. There are few people about, all of 
  whom are dressed impeccably but have a haunted 
  look in their eyes.
  They know their world is dying. Some have 
  barricaded themselves in the ziggurats, immersing 
  themselves in weeks of final, squalid parties. Others 
  went to the plains, hoping to ride out the death of the 
  world in cabins stocked with value packs of tinned 
  beans. The ones the characters will be most interested 
  in are the Pulse users. Most of them set off  toward the 
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  metropolis of Atelco. There, between the three Holy 
  Hills, the realm’s spiritual core has revealed itself in a 
  silent shriek for aid. That’s where the characters will 
  want to go.
  As the characters enter Atelco, they should 
  realize that something is amiss. The utopian ziggurats 
  they saw from far away are smeared with smoke and 
  marked with deep red banners. Rubble fills the streets. 
  Any pilgrims they may have encountered on their 
  journey reveal themselves as being less balanced than 
  they initially appeared; doom cults from across the 
  realm have converged upon Relic+’s spiritual centre 
  to prepare for the end.
  The most influential of the cults sprang from the 
  lifeless church of Atelco Tecuhtli - the god of cold, 
  death, and stasis. Its guiding belief states that not only 
  is the realm doomed, but that its destruction will be 
  the first in a chain reaction that will herald the End 
  Times for all men and gods equally. This may or may 
  not be true, but gives the characters a good reason to 
  fix what they can.
  Although the outlying districts of Atelco are still 
  fiercely contested, the three hills of Trinity are solidly 
  under control of the Atelco Tecuhtli cultists. They’ve 
  seized the city’s garrison and are using it to defend 
  the sacred nexus from all challengers until the astral 
  remoras arrive and drain it dry. 
  Remember the arc towers from Act III of the 
  campaign? Those have been outdated tech in Relic+ 
  for more than a hundred years. Reaching the Great 
  Temple will require penetrating a jagged battle line 
  studded with arc busters, hover platforms, and void 
  spirits. The defenders give no quarter, as they’re 
  fighting for total oblivion.
  The Great Temple
  The spiritual heart of the realm is a sun-like sphere 
  of Pulse that orbits the Great Temple, bounded by 
  three imposing hills. Even as it’s guttering and fading 
  through all the shades of blue to a sickly purple, it’s an 
  impressive sight. The purity of the Pulse is unmatched 
  by anything the characters have experienced, short of 
  the unmasked might of a god.
  Depending on your pacing, the astral remoras 
  may already be gorging themselves on the core by the 
  time the characters arrive. In that case, a second big 
  battle is the most likely option. If the characters arrive 
  ahead of the wave, they may have time to prepare for 
  the remoras before they arrive. 
  Preparing may involve anything from convincing 
  the high priest there’s a chance for the realm to 
  survive, building a positive wave of energy from the 
  population (hence strengthening the realm’s Pulse 
  core for the coming assault), all the way up to the 
  ultimate sacrifice. Nothing tells a realm “I love you” 
  like offering to be the living Pulse battery inside its 
  spiritual sun for untold generations. 
  Spending time in Relic+ after it has been saved 
  will give the characters the chance to ask all sorts of 
  questions about its history. If anyone’s after a more 
  material reward, it will only take a Streetwise or 
  Knowledge check to compare the location of treasure 
  in Relic+ with those in the more familiar realm. Time 
  to get digging!
  Astral Remora
  Long, lashing, and foul, astral remoras are 
  suspected by Pulse scholars to be members of the 
  same genus as Pulse maggots. Both are parasitic spirit 
  creatures that leech pure Pulse, and the two creatures 
  inhabit the same role in ecosystems in the distant 
  reaches of the Maelstrom. 
  Remoras possess segmented, shimmering bodies 
  that ooze through the air like raw meat on glass. 
  Large Pulse sources draw them in, they feed, lay eggs, 
  and move on. The fact that they stay in the spirit 
  world but their attack can affect the physical world 
  is a rarity, and a nasty shock for those who encounter 
  these spirits.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d8, Swimming d8, Tracking d8
  Pace 8 Parry 6 Toughness 6 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +1: Long remoras are long.
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  • 
  Bite: (Damage: Spi+d4). This is a dual-aligned 
  attack, equally capable of hitting physical and 
  spirit targets.
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  • 
  Pulse Leech: Every Raise on bite attack damage 
  also drains 1d6 Pulse directly into the astral 
  remora.
  Void Spirits
  Void spirits are defined by lack. Nature abhors a 
  vacuum, but it despises void spirits even more. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d12, Notice d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 8 Pulse 15
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Void Touch: Touch attack. On a success, the 
  target must make a Spirit check at -2 (-4 on a 
  Raise), or suffer a level of Fatigue. This can kill.
  • 
  Spirit: May physically manifest for 1 minute at 
  the cost of 4 Pulse. Each additional minute costs 
  a further 1 Pulse.
  Assorted Cultists
  Go ahead and use the standard soldiers from 
  Savage Worlds for most of these guys. Each cult 
  will have its own clothing and customs, but they’re 
  mechanically identical.
  Arc Buster
  A battery of Pulse-generators that shoot focused 
  electricity.
  Arc Buster (Ranges: 24/48/96, Damage: 3d10+2, 
  AP 8, Snapfire, ROF 5, HW)
  Hover Platforms
  Although boxy and unfashionable, hover 
  platforms are surprisingly durable and a popular 
  form of quick transport for armed cultists.
  Type: Hover Vehicle
  Acc/TS: 12/100
  Toughness: 18(6)
  Crew: 1+15
  Cost: Unknown.
  Notes: Climb 8
  The Desolation Engine
  Realm: Maelstrom, The Red Realm.
  Long ago, the Great Spirit of Red fled the realm 
  he created, leaving it to the Great Spirit of Hate, who 
  rather liked the color scheme. Since then, the Red 
  Realm has been one of the most contested pieces of 
  real estate in the Maelstrom (see page 68) Ask any 
  god-watcher what’s going on in the stinking badlands 
  that day, and it’s going to be some variation on a new 
  spirit being in town, trying to claim the burnt-out 
  shell of the Desolation Engine.
  One of the ‘lesser’ spirits caught up in the struggle 
  is getting dangerously close to ending the deadlock, 
  which can’t be a good thing for anyone. What’s worse, 
  it has the nightmare-creating Desolation Engine up 
  and running. The only ones who’re cheering this 
  news are unsavory sorts who want what it’s peddling: 
  nightmares. Not just the kind that slip into a dreamer’s 
  mind and come out trailing secrets all over the floor, 
  but the sort that stand twelve feet tall and have razor 
  wire intertwined with their muscle fibers. 
  No doubt the characters know someone who 
  would employ nightmares like that. This enemy is 
  being supplied with additional forces thanks to the 
  Desolation Engine. Cutting them off at their source is 
  the best option, so it’s off to the Red Realm.
  Doing Time
  The only way to reliably get into the Red Realm is 
  through the oubliette portals used by gods of dubious 
  morality to dispose of their special captives. Mortals 
  who can’t be killed for various reasons are thrown 
  into the Red Realm, making it a prison of sorts. It’s 
  a rough place for those incarcerated in it, but it beats 
  being turned into a tree, a pillar of salt, or a pile of 
  smoking ash. 
  The portal drops the characters in a toxic swamp 
  of oily puddles and a scratchy, thick red moss. It was 
  home to a penitentiary building sometime in the 
  past, back when the gods cared about providing such 
  luxury for prisoners, but only the prison’s columns 
  and half-walls remain. Rusted shackles trap unwary 
  feet under the muck, and hang from blood bark trees 
  like crusted iron nooses. 
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  Everybody who escapes is soon scouted by the 
  mortal gangs who inhabit the realm. Most of them 
  are of the post-apocalyptic warlord variety, sporting 
  fashions from a boggling spread of worlds. The most 
  influential of these call themselves the Gorgons. They 
  tear across the treacherous wastes in their rusted 
  tanks, causing as much mayhem as the native spirits 
  on most days. They’re led by Boss Dio, a hawk-headed 
  son of Horus who blasphemes as well as he fights.
  Rusted tanks aren’t the only way to survive the 
  realm. The Free Thought League, which is formed 
  primarily of militant atheists, instead trusts their 
  usefulness to the other gangs. The League has learned 
  to communicate with the realm’s native spirits (which 
  they do from behind the walls of their solid stone 
  fort), and they barter information gleaned from the 
  natives for their safety.
  On the other side of the coin, the Longshots work 
  at eradicating all signs of the spiritual taint from the 
  realm. They hate the color red after being marooned 
  here for eternity. Hate it, hate it, hate it. All the 
  remaining spirits of red should be destroyed utterly, 
  as far as they’re concerned. 
  These gangs are important because they know 
  the land. The characters will have a substantially 
  more unpleasant time tracking down the Desolation 
  Engine if they don’t find themselves some form 
  of aid… for example, someone who has a swamp-
  runner to get them across the Scarlet Hollows. And 
  don’t forget, the closer the characters get, the more of 
  the Desolation Engine’s creations they have to deal 
  with.
  Desolation Drive
  The most immediate path to the Desolation 
  Engine runs right through the Hollows. The last great 
  monsterwork from the Great Spirit of Hate is said to 
  reside at the bottom of this flooded valley. 
  Rubbery tree trunks stretch above the oily swamp 
  water, giving the impression of rowing into a solid 
  shadow. The feeling of dread and insignificance is so 
  strong here that Spirit tests must be made every four 
  hours. Failure causes two levels of Fatigue from the 
  mental duress. If this causes a character to become 
  Incapacitated he instead becomes supernaturally 
  confrontational. No issue is too small to fight about, 
  and friendship is but a momentary shield.
  The revolutionary force driving the realm is the 
  Desolation Engine itself! It has been soaking up 
  tempestuous emotions since the day it pumped out 
  its first warty bog goblin, and now it’s getting the 
  hang of things. Production and consumption are all 
  it knows – specifically the bloody kind.
  The Engine is a solid, angular factory complex 
  surrounded by blocks of uninhabited buildings. 
  Nightmares dash across their eaves and hunt between 
  the shadows, but they never go in. Those buildings 
  are reserved for something. Or somethings.
  The active parts of the factory are all conveyor 
  belts and crushing presses. Through force and 
  opposition, the bad dreams of the realm are minted, 
  drawing upon such ingredients as insanity ore and 
  sulfurous bile. Anyone who tries to shut down the 
  Engine is likely to receive a hopper of corrosive 
  shadows for his trouble, or at least a spinning web of 
  hooked chains. 
  After razing the factory and ending the Desolation 
  Engine’s existence, getting home is the ready matter 
  of waiting until the Engine’s next customer arrives. 
  Instead of receiving a new crop of made-to-order 
  monsters, they’ll receive the characters. Payback has 
  its moments.
  Nightmare Ogre
  Does exactly what you imagine it’d do after 
  midnight. Nightmarish spirits of ogres roam the Red 
  Realm in search of easy victims to crush into a red 
  paste.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d12+8, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climbing d12, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d12, Notice d8, Stealth d6
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 14 Pulse 20
  Edges: No Mercy
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +6: Attacks against a nightmare ogre get +2 
  to hit. It takes up a 2x2 inch space.
  • 
  Claws/spikes/other torturous implement for 
  inflicting pain: (Damage: Str+d8). If the damage 
  exceeds the target’s Toughness they must make a 
  Spirit check or take a level of Fatigue.
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  • 
  Hardy
  • 
  Fearless
  • 
  Fear -4: The sight of these creatures reaches deep 
  into the soul of even the stoutest hero.
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Nightmare Breath-Stealer
  A simple pile of rags rests in the corner, or 
  perhaps a scum of unidentifiable flotsam floats across 
  the surface of a still pool. Ignore it at your own peril; 
  there are breath-stealers about. They’re made of the 
  discarded threads from the Loom of Fate, or perhaps 
  the cloaks of murderers mixed with the final breaths 
  of a miser. No matter what the story, they are one of 
  the unnatural predators designed by the Desolation 
  Engine. Their only purpose is to cause conflict and 
  suffering, which they do without complaint.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Shooting d12, 
  Swimming d8
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 8 Pulse 10
  Edges: Marksman
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Breath Stealer: (Ranges: 3/6/12) A large blob of 
  mucus attached to a long tongue; ick! These vile 
  creatures use their appendage to literally steal 
  the breath from their unfortunate victims. The 
  nightmare breath-stealer must make a head shot 
  for this to take effect. On a success there is no 
  damage but the mucus has encased the victim’s 
  head and he must now make a Vigor check 
  each Round or suffer a level of Fatigue. Once 
  Incapacitated, the target dies in a number of 
  Rounds equal to half his Vigor unless someone 
  gets the mucus off.
  • 
  Fearless
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest.
  Spirit Of Conflict
  Upon first glance, spirits of conflict are often 
  mistaken for macabre decorations. Each one 
  resembles a fleshy sack the size of a human head, 
  marred by a scowling face. A sharp, hooked nose 
  disguises a lipless opening lined with thousands of 
  softly waving cilia. 
  As the spirit’s Breeds Conflict power takes effect, 
  the spirit balloons larger and tighter. If the feeding is 
  good, its scowl will turn into a cheerful O-shape and 
  cheerful gurgle will trickle through the air.
  Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d12, Notice d6, Stealth d12, 
  Throwing d12
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 6 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Breeds Conflict: Anyone using Pulse within 12 
  inches of a spirit of conflict must make a Spirit 
  check with a penalty equal to half the amount 
  of Pulse used, rounding up. Failure gives the 
  character the Hindrance Mean for the next hour. 
  If he already has Mean he gains Greedy (minor). 
  If he already has Greedy (minor) he gains Greedy 
  (major). 
  • 
  Spirit: May physically manifest for 1 hour in the 
  presence of a conflict situation at the cost of 3 
  Pulse. Each additional hour costs a further 1 
  Pulse.
  Prison Ganger
  A hodgepodge of survivors, Chosen Ones, and 
  those unlucky enough to anger the gods. After a 
  couple of years in the Red Realm, they all start to blur 
  together. Unique goods get traded for essentials or 
  buried beneath churning muck, and the true heroes 
  fall battling the nightmare creatures. 
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d8, Notice d10, Repair d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d8, 
  Survival d8, Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 8 Parry 9 Toughness 8(1) Pulse 15
  Edges: Fleet Footed, Dodge, Block
  Gear: Patchwork Armor (+1 Armor, all 
  locations), Visceral Implement (Damage: Str+d8), 
  Backup Visceral Implement (Damage: Str+d6), Sack 
  (with a whole life inside).
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  Boss Dio 
  After crashing Anubis’ millennial party 
  with his favorite band of rowdies, not even 
  his father’s influence could save Dio. The son of 
  Horus was banished to the Red Realm, where he’s 
  been having the time of his life. Never before has 
  he been able to engage in the carnage that was his 
  birthright, playing all the war games he wants with 
  the cast-offs from countless realms. Dio’s a bully and 
  a megalomaniac, playing up his god’s blood far more 
  than it actually affects him. If the characters want to 
  go anywhere without bowing and scraping to The 
  Man, they’ll have to deal with him at some point.
  Dio will get bored of the Red Realm some day, at 
  which point his true situation will dawn upon him. 
  At that point, the realm’s power structure is due for a 
  definite upheaval.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d8, Notice d10, Repair d6, Shooting d8, Stealth d10, 
  Survival d8, Swimming d8, Throwing d8
  Pace 8 Parry 10 Toughness 9(2) Pulse 25
  Edges: Fleet Footed, Improved Dodge, Improved 
  Block, Hard To Kill, Surge, Patron God: War
  Gear: Improved Patchwork Armor (+2 Armor, all 
  locations), Especially Visceral Implement (Damage: 
  Str+d10), Backup Visceral Implement (Damage: 
  Str+d6)
  Special Abilities
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Boss Dio all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 on 
  Soak rolls and checks to recover from being Shaken, 
  +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced recovery rates, 
  and so on.
  The Desolation Engine Core
  The factory from your nightmares, where you’re 
  always running but never able to get away. It ends 
  not in a bang or a whimper, but leisurely series of 
  crunches followed by a drawn-out slurp. The very 
  core of the engine is a sentient machine of pure 
  malice, delighting in the hopelessness it generates.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12+8, Vigor d12+2
  Skills: Climbing d12, Fighting d12, Intimidation 
  d12, Notice d8, Stealth d6
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 20(5) Pulse 35
  Edges: No Mercy
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +6: Attacks against the Desolation Engine 
  Core get +2 to hit and it takes up a 2x2 inch 
  space.
  • 
  Blades/Hammers/Chains/etc: (Damage: Str+d10, 
  AP 2)
  • 
  Fearless
  • 
  Fear
  • 
  Hardy
  • 
  Armored: +5 Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants the Desolation 
  Engine Core all the perks enjoyed by Demigod 
  rank characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks 
  to recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for its 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  • 
  Desolation Engine: All damage dealt to the 
  Desolation Engine is also dealt to whoever 
  inflicted it. This doesn’t have to Wound the 
  Desolation Engine for the effect to occur.
  • 
  Spirit Construct: Cannot manifest, but never 
  leaves the Red Realm so never has to. Follows 
  the normal rules for constructs.
  Scarlet Sharks
  Something swims in the oily waters of the Scarlet 
  Hollows. Go ahead and use the great white shark 
  from Savage Worlds for these guys.
  Mechanoverminous Parasite
  Each of these metallic beetles the size of an iron 
  filing was crafted to polish a specific aspect of the 
  Desolation Engine. As components fell into disuse or 
  were stolen by greedy spirits, many of the parasites 
  found themselves without purpose. Gathering in 
  formless swarms, they now travel across the Red 
  Realm in search of objects to buff, polish, and 
  maintain. 
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  The 
  maintenance 
  protocols 
  of 
  the 
  mechanoverminous parasites are infused with such 
  dark energy that any object “upgraded” by it that isn’t 
  part of the Desolation Engine will instead begin to 
  warp and decay. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d10
  Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Notice d8
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 7 Pulse 10
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Mechanofail: Anyone Shaken or worse by 
  Mechanoverminous parasites gains the All 
  Thumbs Hindrance for the next 12 hours.
  • 
  Deconstruct: Anyone caught under the swarm 
  template as it moves suffers Damage: Str+d8, 
  ignoring armor. However any character may 
  choose to lose a sizable piece of equipment such 
  as a weapon or their armor to get a free Soak roll 
  against the damage.
  • 
  Spirit Swarm: Cannot manifest, but they never 
  leave the Red Realm so never have to. Follow the 
  normal rules for swarms. Use a Medium Burst 
  Template.
  The Heat Is On
  Realm: Maelstrom, Realm Of Fire.
  In the realm of Relic, King Freder of Caladon 
  has been struck with a terrible madness. When he 
  is awake, he’s listless and unresponsive; at night he 
  screams blasphemous prophecies about the death 
  of the gods and the End Times. Normally the gods 
  wouldn’t be concerned with the afflictions of a mortal, 
  even a hero of such an important realm as Relic. On 
  the plus side, Freder has the benefit of being owed 
  a favor from an especially zealous Archangel. On 
  the minus side, the king’s personal squad of Blade 
  Evangelist inquisitors are over-stepping the bounds 
  of religious tolerance, taking advantage of his malaise 
  to run a-mock while he’s stricken and unable to rein 
  them in.
  The Archangel in question tasks the characters 
  with being the mad king’s guide on a transformative 
  journey to the Realm of Fire. Only the Crucible of the 
  Great Spirit of Fire will be able to burn the impurities 
  of the Dark One from the king’s mind. Getting there’s 
  not going to be easy though.
  Kingnapped
  The court of King Freder is currently stocked 
  with a rogue’s gallery of heretics and secret servants 
  of the Dark One. They’ve used the king’s inquisition 
  as cover for some pretty twisted excesses, and they’re 
  not looking forward to letting their figurehead 
  escape. Life in the court is muted, consisting of 
  hushed whispers and back room conversations about 
  the future of the Caladon Kingdom.
  The king’s personal physician is secretly a filth-
  eater demon. Every night it mixes two drops of its 
  boiling blood with the king’s medicine to ensure that 
  the king’s illness remains spiritual as well as mental. 
  He never lets the king out of his sight, going so far as 
  to cling to the ceiling above the sleeping man’s bed.
  Official protocol holds that King Freder is not 
  to leave the palace under any circumstances. It is 
  a familiar, safe location. Those who speak with the 
  voice of the Goddess Trinity may be able to get him 
  out of the castle legitimately, but it’s only a matter of 
  hours until the journey is repainted as a kidnapping 
  attempt. The most depraved of the king’s inquisitors 
  know that they will not be able to get away with their 
  heinous excesses if his sanity is restored (although 
  lesser excesses would still be A-OK.) 
   As the characters make their escape, they’ll 
  be harried by corrupted Blade Evangelists, duped 
  knights, and disguised filth-eaters. The Realm of Fire 
  isn’t an easy place to get to these days, either. The great 
  spirit who made it has sealed it off from the rest of the 
  Maelstrom while dealing with some great, unspoken 
  issue. The only way in requires a huge, blazing 
  source of heat – a forest fire, or a volcano. The rest 
  of the process is relatively simple: make an offering 
  of 10 Pulse and jump in. If it works, the characters 
  appear in the Maelstrom city of Pyre. If not... but the 
  Archangel is fairly certain her information is correct 
  and it’ll work. It should do. It seems feasible at least. 
  Right?
  More or less crispy, the characters and Freder will 
  arrive in Pyre. Once freed from the demonic aspect 
  of his disease, King Freder shows a turn toward 
  the better. He’s still undeniably mad, but moments 
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  of surprising clarity will shine through from time 
  to time. His prophecies about the End Times will 
  become more coherent, providing names and places 
  – albeit cloaked in metaphor.
  Unfortunately for the characters, they’ve come 
  into Pyre at a terrible time for prophets. The city’s 
  inhabitants are gearing up for war with the realm’s 
  other dominant civilization, the efreets (and that’s 
  why the great spirit sealed off the realm, to keep his 
  civil war quiet). The king’s raving resonates strongly 
  with them. As the characters get their bearing in the 
  new realm, they will have to fend off several efreet 
  attempts to steal the king, as well as ploys to intensify 
  his madness. 
  Crossing The Realm Of Fire
  The trail to the Great Spirit of Fire is daunting, 
  even without a war in the works. Traveling from Pyre 
  to his divine mountain home crosses burning deserts 
  of black sand, volcanic ridges, and lava-seas. These 
  can be individual challenges or window dressing, as 
  you desire.
  Upon reaching the great spirit, the characters 
  learn that he will not share the Crucible unless they 
  first do him a favor. Three thousand years ago, the 
  Great Spirit of Introspection posed a philosophical 
  quandary. So far, it has stumped the Great Spirit of 
  Fire. This is because the riddle (“Is the fundamental 
  nature of fire to create or destroy?”) does not have 
  an answer. The Great Spirit of Thought posed it as 
  a thought exercise, meant to guide the Great Spirit 
  of Fire toward a more complete understanding of its 
  own being. 
  If nobody can aid the Great Spirit of Fire, taking 
  control of the Crucible by force is always an option. 
  The characters don’t need to keep Freder near it 
  for long: it takes five Rounds to remove a minor 
  Hindrance, and ten Rounds to remove a major one. 
  Every Round, the coruscating flames deal Damage: 
  3d6. At the end of the process, the Hindrance is wiped 
  away as if it never existed. If the characters took the 
  combat route, that’s a pretty good cue to start running 
  away, devising some cunning escape plan as they go. 
  They’ll have succeeded, but as far as the Great Spirit 
  of Fire is concerned they’ll have burned their bridges, 
  so to speak.
  King Freder of Caladon 
  King Freder is hardly a just king, but he is a 
  great one, and a stellar politician. If anyone 
  can maintain order in Caladon’s coming dark days, he 
  will be the one to do it. When in the grip of his cursed 
  madness, he alternates between self-destructive 
  despair, wild rages, and bouts of blasphemous 
  prophecy. His doctors are unable to discover any 
  triggers for those conditions, but that may say more 
  about them than his madness.
  Once freed from the shackles of his curse, King 
  Freder is grateful, but wary. After saving him, the 
  great warriors no doubt want a grand boon of him? 
  Why, that could ruin his kingdom! Politely, but firmly 
  he will try to head off any requests with a gift of his 
  own choosing and the request to go save somebody 
  else for a while. 
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d10, Notice d10, 
  Riding d6, Persuasion d10, Shooting d6, Swimming 
  d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 5 Pulse 25
  Hindrances: Being Driven Mad
  Edges: Noble, Filthy Rich, Improved Arcane 
  Resistance, Indomitable, Iron Inside
  Gear: Jewelry  of a pious nature.
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Freder all the 
  perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, i.e. +1 
  on Soak rolls and checks to recover from being 
  Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, enhanced 
  recovery rates, and so on.
  Blade Evangelist Heretic
  Use Veteran Soldiers from Savage Worlds.
  Caladonian Knight
  Use Veteran Soldiers from Savage Worlds.
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  Filth-Eater Demon
  In the hierarchy of demons, those on the lowest 
  rungs aren’t always the least powerful. The filth-eaters 
  are a prime example; although they live among the 
  scraps and refuse of the Dark One’s minions, they do 
  so out of choice. The juiciest morsels always sink to 
  the bottom: betrayed hope, forgotten sacrifice, well-
  intentioned blasphemy… the very poisons that ruin 
  men’s souls nurse the filth-eaters like a vigorous meat-
  broth. They revel in the garbage and grow robust.
  When filth-eaters are out in the field, they take 
  the form of their poisoned victims. This allows them 
  to infiltrate key targets and tease out the specific 
  morsels they so desire.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d12+4
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d8, Stealth d10
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 10 Pulse 15
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Poison: The blood of a filth-eater can be fashioned 
  into assorted different poisons as the filth-eater 
  sees fit. “Harvesting” a dose inflicts a level of 
  Fatigue on the filth-eater, but can recreate the 
  effects of any disease or poison in Savage Worlds 
  or a wasting poison which inflicts Fatigue levels 
  on the target instead.
  • 
  Spirit: Filth-eater demons are able to manifest 
  and wear the form of anyone they have poisoned 
  to death themselves at a cost of 1 Pulse per hour. 
  The arcane ritual that follows death to achieve 
  this? Well, they are called filth-eaters for a reason.
  Pyre Militia
  Use Veteran Soldiers from Savage Worlds. They’re 
  armed with flaming spears and large clubs wreathed 
  in permanent fire.
  Efreets
  Efreets are creatures of smokeless fire, valuing 
  pain, nobility, and conquest. When they speak, their 
  booming voices sound as though they could be heard 
  for miles. The eternal flames of their home realm, 
  the Realm of Fire, have hardened their hearts, and 
  trail behind every gesture that these hard-faced 
  humanoids make. Each stands taller than a man and 
  is covered with scars from a lifetime of hard-won 
  campaigns. Efreets often hire themselves out as elite 
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  mercenaries, but their services come at a price steeper 
  than most. If their employer cannot pay, refuses, or 
  simply looks at the wrong efreet in the wrong way, he 
  may find his realm a barren plain of ash and cinders. 
  Efreets arm themselves with a wide variety of 
  curved, obsidian weaponry – although they hardly 
  need it to win most fights.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12, Intimidation d10+2, 
  Shooting d8, Throwing d8, Notice d8 
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 11(2) Pulse 20
  Edges: Improved Frenzy, Penetrating Strike
  Gear: Flaming Obsidian Blade (Damage: 
  Str+d8, AP 1, shatters when the efreet who owns it 
  dies in a Small Burst Template dealing Damage: 2d6 
  to anyone caught by the template), Efreet Mail (+2 
  Armor, all locations). 
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +1: Taller than your average man and 
  hardened by battle.
  • 
  Booming Voice: +2 on Intimidation checks.
  • 
  Flametouched: As per the Power Smite, activated 
  with a Spirit roll. Also, efreets are immune to 
  damage from heat and fire.
  • 
  Spirit: Efreets can physically manifest in their 
  humanoid form for 1 hour at the cost of 5 Pulse, 
  or 1 Pulse if manifesting in the middle of a fire 
  (bonfire or larger). Each additional hour costs 
  a further 1 Pulse. Alternatively, efreets may 
  manifest as a blazing wildfire. This costs 10 Pulse 
  and lasts only 1 minute, with each additional 
  minute costing another 5 Pulse. During this time, 
  any Pulse consumed by this fire (such as a living 
  creature that perished in the flames) is added 
  to the efreet’s pool, up to double its maximum 
  amount. The wildfire is a Medium Burst 
  Template with a Pace of 6 that deal Damage: 3d6 
  to anyone it moves over. Damage dealt to the fire 
  is taken as Fatigue. If an efreet is Incapacitated 
  while in this form he is immediately ripped back 
  to the spirit world.
  The Great Spirit Of Fire
  Probably unkillable. The PCs’ goal should be to 
  last ten Rounds against it, its bodyguards, any flame 
  spirits it chooses to summon, and all other hordes you 
  choose. More appropriately, the characters should 
  be trying to help the great spirit with his riddle and 
  making a new ally, but it’s up to them of course.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6,Vigor d6
  Skills: Gambling d6
  Pace 6 Parry 2 Toughness 5 Pulse As much as 
  he wants
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Immune
  • 
  Immolate: 
  Anything 
  automatically, 
  except 
  possibly other great spirits and gods. Or things 
  that really are totally immune to fire.
  The Apollonian Gambit
  Realm: Maelstrom, Realm Of Mount Olympus.
  Reports abound throughout the Maelstrom that 
  the Olympian gods continue to have undue influence 
  on the lives of mortals, despite their formal hands-
  off policy. The Egyptian gods cite modern-day 
  secret societies, shady mystery cults, and even the 
  prevalence of Olympian gods in corporate branding. 
  Each repetition is a sigil or invocation of the gods, 
  and an eyehole into the world they were supposed to 
  leave behind.
  If confronted, the gods on Mount Olympus 
  consider the intrusions so minor that it annoys them 
  to even talk about it. Some will present it as an issue 
  of free will; it’s hardly their fault if mortals decide to 
  worship them. If they want to act as divine conduits, 
  that’s their problem. Over all, the Olympians reckon 
  it’s a lot of fuss about nothing.
  The truth of the matter is that free will isn’t the 
  only factor at work. Olympus’ priesthood of Apollo is 
  running its propaganda engine at full tilt behind the 
  scenes in accordance with a prophecy delivered by a 
  dire oracle.
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  Phoenix And The Deep Blue Sea
  In the early days of Olympus, high priests learned 
  a dark secret. According to their interpretation of 
  a particularly thorny prophecy, there is enough 
  ambient Pulse in the universe to allow a select group 
  to survive anything – even the End Times. Sucking 
  up all of this power will make the End Times come 
  so much sooner for everybody else. It’s inevitable, the 
  priests reason, so they may as well guide their patron 
  into a new age. They formed a secret pact known 
  as the Phoenix Plan dedicated to collecting the 
  universe’s ambient Pulse and channeling it toward 
  the Greek gods. 
  None of the gods know about this plan, and the 
  priesthood doesn’t plan on sharing until after it’s 
  too late. But just because the gods don’t know about 
  something doesn’t mean that the information is 
  safe from the characters! They could stumble across 
  an increasingly unlikely string of monuments to 
  Papa Zeus across the universe. Alternatively, if the 
  campaign has already had a strong focus on aiding 
  the Greek gods, the Plan’s priests could approach the 
  characters directly with an offer of membership.
  Whatever happens, if the Phoenix Plan isn’t 
  stopped, the universe will end a lot sooner than 
  everyone would like.
  The movers and shakers behind the universe’s 
  largest PR campaign rarely leave the realm of 
  Olympus. 
  Any 
  attempt 
  to 
  undermine 
  their 
  organization will eventually take the characters there. 
  The bulk of this segment should be spent finding out 
  which members of the priesthood are involved and 
  wresting the location of Charybdis from them. Out 
  of the 400 priests and temple staff, 100 of them know 
  something about the conspiracy. A quarter of those 
  are full-fledged members of the Plan.
  Lazy heroes may wonder why they can’t just 
  present their suspicions to someone higher up on 
  the totem pole. It’s Apollo’s priesthood, shouldn’t he 
  be cleaning it? The short answer is that it would be a 
  matter of great embarrassment for everyone involved. 
  Not only would the Olympian gods appear weak to 
  outsiders, Apollo would be blamed for not keeping 
  a better eye on his worshippers. That ill will would 
  transfer to the characters. If they solved the problem 
  on the down-low, they’d be assured of some staunch 
  allies later on.
  If the characters are lax in their infiltration, 
  they’ll attract the attention of one of Apollo’s chosen 
  who has decided to back the conspiracy. Golden-
  Haired Orpheus is more a poet than a warrior, but 
  his schemes are many. He will play to the characters’ 
  vanities before luring them on a side-quest against 
  a great monster. At the key moment, he will betray 
  them to their deaths. 
  All of the ambient Pulse drained by the Phoenix 
  Plan’s sigils needs to be processed before being 
  packaged out to the gods. This happens at the centre 
  of the ur-sigil, a four-dimensional construct that 
  is only wholly comprehensible from the farthest 
  heights of the Maelstrom. Because of its similarities 
  to a coursing whirlpool of sparkling life energy, the 
  central sigil is known as Charybdis, the devouring 
  mouth. 
  If the Plan members can’t be convinced to halt 
  their scheme peaceably, the only way to stop their 
  Pulse-siphon is to scatter Charybdis to the corners of 
  the Maelstrom. Any ambient Pulse will then disperse 
  back into the Continuum as soon as it’s gathered. 
  There’s a problem with that, though. Charybdis has 
  attained rudimentary sentience, and will fight to 
  stay in operation. Charybdis is aided by a squad of 
  Scyllians, elite soldiers trained in Maelstrom combat. 
  Destroying Charybdis will weaken the Olympian 
  pantheon considerably, but allow the universe to exist 
  for as long as is natural before the End Times make 
  their inevitable return – at least if the Apollonian 
  oracle can be believed. Maybe it’s time to pay her a 
  visit and see what else she knows…
  Charybdis
  Charybdis is a four-dimensional sigil that serves 
  as the linchpin to the Phoenix Plan scheme. It sucks 
  Pulse from around the universe at a constant rate, 
  causing it to throb and flash with light as it careens 
  around the Maelstrom, gathering it and concentrating 
  it in the hands of the Phoenix Plan priesthood, who 
  secretly release it to the Olympian gods, making them 
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  stronger. Think of Charybdis as a huge whirlpool 
  among billowing clouds of Pulse.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12+10, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d4, Notice d4
  Pace 2 Parry 4 Toughness 16 Pulse Unknown
  Edges: Improved Spiritual Recharger
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +10
  • 
  Slam: Damage: Str+d10 and drains the victim of 
  1d10 Pulse, plus 1d10 more if there was a Raise 
  on the damage roll.
  Scyllian
  Scyllians are snake-bodied warriors from a 
  realm that worships the Greek gods. Their culture is 
  one of rigid castes, where the only way to advance 
  is through highly ritualized combat. At some point, 
  their finest warriors were blessed by Apollo and 
  brought to the Maelstrom to act as temple guards on 
  Mount Olympus. More recently, the Phoenix Plan 
  members have given the Scyllians the solemn duty 
  of protecting Charybdis, a duty they will carry out to 
  the last snake-man.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d12
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d10, Intimidation 
  d10, Stealth d6, Shooting d8, Throwing d8, Notice d8, 
  Swimming d6 
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 10(2) Pulse 20
  Edges: Improved Frenzy, Penetrating Strike
  Gear: Blade (Damage: Str+d8, AP 1), Olympian 
  Mail (+2 Armor, all locations). 
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Maelstrom Warriors: Despite not being Heroic 
  entities, Scyllians are able to comprehend the 
  Maelstrom due to the blessing they received 
  from a god. They have become expert warriors 
  in the Maelstrom, and get a +1 bonus to all attack 
  actions while floating in-between realms.
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  Golden-Haired Orpheus
  The deeds of Golden-Haired Orpheus are the 
  subject of legend across a hundred realms. 
  He is a poet, a warrior, a doctor, and the bringer of 
  light to civilization. He’s also a charmer, a rake, and 
  a sneak. Beware of Golden-Haired Orpheus, for he 
  has already written the song of your doom. If you ask 
  nicely, he’ll even sing it to you with a laugh.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d12, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d10, Healing d10, Intimidation 
  d12, Knowledge (Poetry) d12, Notice d12, Persuasion 
  d12+6, Shooting d10, Taunt d12
  Pace 6 Parry 7 Toughness 6 Pulse 35 Charisma 
  +6
  Edges: Strong Willed, Trait Perfection: Demigod 
  (Taunt), Flight Of The Ascendant: Demigod, Very 
  Attractive, Charismatic, Patron God: Knowledge 
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants Golden-
  Haired Orpheus all the perks enjoyed by 
  Demigod rank characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls 
  and checks to recover from being Shaken, +2 
  Karma for his own use, enhanced recovery rates, 
  and so on.
  Priest Of Apollo
  They’re good guys, mostly. Even the members of 
  the Phoenix Plan just want to serve their gods as best 
  they can. 
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Prophecy) d8, 
  Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Gear: Ritual Dagger (Damage: Str+d4). 
  Norse Elm’s Disease
  Realm: Maelstrom, Realm Of Yggdrasil.
  Yggdrasil, the world tree, is sickening and dying. 
  Its once-sprawling boughs are twisting back on each 
  other and giving off waves of tangible rot. Every 
  village that is struck by a portion of the diseased world 
  tree soon falls prey to a wasting disease. Those who 
  die come back as shambling beasts, equal parts dead 
  flesh, rotting vegetation, and pestilence. Heimdall, 
  guardian of the Norse gods, sees this as a sign of the 
  End Times. Who is mighty enough to end the blight 
  without being brought low by its taint?
  This Savage Tale works best if the characters have 
  already proved their valor in Yggdrasil. It is a realm of 
  burly braggarts who will only allow the most worthy 
  bodies to strive for further glory. If the characters 
  have solved the conflict between Bors the Daring 
  and Nils Squaretooth (see page 155), that would be 
  a perfect lead-in. Having already proven themselves 
  without fear, no one would deny the characters their 
  right to walk the boughs of the world tree.
  Friends In Low Places
  The Norse gods immediately suspect their long-
  buried foes have poisoned Yggdrasil’s roots. Several 
  malicious spirits of great power are trapped down 
  there, they say, entangled in a living prison. As for the 
  gods, within their own ranks it’s Loki, god of trickery, 
  who is the most likely culprit.
  Yggdrasil’s roots are no longer the home of the 
  great god-spirits Odin imprisoned ages ago. Long 
  escaped, they’ve left the roots to be haunted by hungry 
  spirits of the unworthy dead – those who nearly made 
  it into Valhalla but in the end fell short. Most of them 
  are peaceful, if depressing, but those who’ve been 
  tainted by the mystery disease are willing to strike en 
  masse to end their agony. 
  No one in the roots knows what’s going on 
  with the sickness, but they know about all sorts of 
  disturbing rumors. Damage to Yggdrasil’s extremities 
  has forced roaming tribes of giants to cross into 
  zones populated by peaceful spirits, for instance. The 
  characters may decide that it needs their attention, or 
  choose to continue investigating the disease.
  Interviewing Loki isn’t much more useful. He 
  won’t admit poisoning the world tree, but that proves 
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  nothing. In truth, he has little to gain by destruction 
  of Odin’s realm. He’d have to set up his own realm, 
  and that’s too much like hard work (unless you fancy 
  the idea of Loki setting up a hidden realm where all 
  the morally dubious gods of all the pantheons meet, 
  in which case you should check out our Set Rising 
  book for a similar idea made real).
  Close investigation of a diseased segment 
  of Yggdrasil is a good chance for science-skilled 
  characters to show their worth. Naturally, the best 
  samples are found smack in the middle of formerly 
  thriving settlements that are now home to hordes of 
  shambling plague Vikings.
  Analysis of the rot reveals that the cause is 
  biological in nature: a super-virus that sucks the Pulse 
  out of enhanced plant life and transmits it elsewhere. 
  The rot and plague Vikings are a side effect of the 
  tree’s weakened state; as the world tree struggles to 
  stay alive, it sucks up the next closest source of Pulse: 
  its inhabitants. 
  There are myriad ways of halting the virus, but 
  it always returns unless stopped at its source. The 
  virus seems to proliferate when it senses a particular 
  psychic signal, at which point it drains Pulse from 
  its surroundings and channels it back along the 
  path of the signal. Following the signal will lead the 
  characters through several dangerous areas of the 
  Maelstrom before they finally arrive on the 94th level 
  of the Realm of the Pure Mages.
  The Greater Good
  Each of the realms of the Pure Mages is built 
  around a central riddle or scientific quandary. The 
  guiding quandary of the 94th level is whether true 
  altruism can exist in sentient life. One cabal of 
  initiates seeking to become full-fledged Pure Mages 
  has pursued the question with such vigor that they’ve 
  descended into villainy in the name of science.
  The Greater Good, as these virologists have styled 
  themselves, argue that the fatal flaw with altruism is 
  that ego gets in the way. Only by eliminating ego and 
  self-interest can pure altruism be isolated and studied. 
  The first step to eliminating ego is to eliminate 
  differences: Q.E.D., all beings must be made level 
  before the theory can be adequately tested.
  In most respects, the 94th level resembles a 
  sprawling university campus. Robed students discuss 
  esoteric theories underneath the watchful gaze of 
  somber statues. The primary oddity is that everyone 
  wears a complex breathing apparatus; the region is 
  so inundated with viral experiments that travelling 
  unfiltered is a death sentence – or worse.
  Infecting the world tree and sucking the Pulse 
  from everything in Odin’s realm guarantees that all 
  beings will eventually become equally weak. At that 
  point The Greater Good will observe to see whether 
  the Norse gods are willing to sacrifice themselves to 
  save the other residents of the realm.
  It’s time for the characters to teach a little lesson 
  in ethics to these Pure Mage wannabes.
  Plague Vikings
  There is nothing left of these brave warriors’ 
  spirits. They have been absorbed into the world tree 
  as fertilizer, leaving the diseased husks to shamble 
  from conflict to bloody conflict.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d8
  Skills: Boating d6, Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, 
  Swimming d6
  Pace 6 Parry 7(1) Toughness 9(1) Pulse 5
  Edges: Berserk
  Gear: Sword (Damage: Str+d8), Shield (+1 
  Parry, +2 Armor vs. ranged attacks), Fur And Leather 
  Armor (+1 Armor, all locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Undead Spirits: Cannot manifest. Plague Vikings 
  follow all normal rules for undead.
  Underworld Spirits
  Underworld spirits come in two varieties for 
  the purpose of this Savage Tale: the wry, gloomy 
  observers, and the infected. The infected will attack 
  with the barest provocation, while the former observe. 
  They’ve seen it all, or at least they like to think so.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
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  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
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  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, 
  Persuasion d6+2, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Streetwise 
  d6+2, Taunt d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 10 Charisma 
  +2
  Edges: Charismatic
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Spirit: Cannot manifest, but don’t need to since 
  they’re in the roots of a Maelstrom realm and 
  will never find their way anywhere else.
  Giants
  The giants of Odin’s realm are similar to ogres, 
  but much larger. The ones detailed here are the tiny 
  ones – named giants in the Norse realm can be as tall 
  as mountains, but fortunately they’re all sleeping.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d12+5, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Swimming d6, 
  Throwing d6
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 13 Pulse 15
  Gear: Big Hittin’ Stick (Damage: Str+d12)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +7: Attacks against these guys get +2 on 
  account of their size..
  • 
  Reach: Not only can giants beat up anyone 
  standing adjacent to them, they can also bash 
  foes up to 1 inch away.
  • 
  Vitality:  A giant automatically Soaks the first 
  Wound in any encounter. The damage gets 
  through, but he simply ignores it - it doesn’t 
  count as a wound and the giant isn’t Shaken.  
  • 
  Spirit: These giants could manifest if they found 
  themselves in the mortal realms. It would cost 5 
  Pulse for 1 hour then 1 Pulse per additional hour 
  after that.
  Greater Good Security Team
  The 94th level of the Realm of the Pure Mages 
  takes its campus security seriously. Each member of 
  the force is a campus alum as well as a crack-shot with 
  raw autoimprobability. Some are spirits of science, 
  others mortals who’ve entered the realm by travelling 
  across the Veil to pursue their scientific study in the 
  ultimate lab.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d10, Notice 
  d12, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6+2
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 13(8) Pulse 10
  Edges: Noble, Improved Arcane Resistance, 
  Indomitable, Iron Inside
  Gear: Autoimprobability Accelerator (Ranges: 
  15/30/60, Damage: 3d6, AP 6), Targeting Array (+2 
  on Shooting rolls), Comms Kit, nSpace Dispersal 
  Personalware (+8 Armor, all locations)
  Greater Good Masterminds
  The masterminds of The Greater Good have 
  reacted poorly to Yggdrasil’s energy as it gets 
  channeled back through the Maelstrom to their level 
  of the Realm of the Pure Mages. Their mortal forms 
  have been shredded by its vast power, replacing 
  flesh with vegetable matter seemingly at random. 
  Many have installed cybernetics to regulate the 
  transformation, making each one a patchwork of 
  flesh, glittering metal, and rough, bark-like scales. 
  Despite this setback, they all believe that increasing 
  the siphoning process will provide the proper data 
  and justify the plan.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: 
  Fighting 
  d6, 
  Knowledge 
  (The 
  Unfathomable) d12, Notice d12, Persuasion d10, 
  Shooting d6
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Edges: Indomitable
  Gear: The most advanced clipboard in the 
  universe and a lab coat.
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  Thought Is The Mindkiller
  Realm: Maelstrom, Realm Of The Pure Mages.
  Here’s another reason for the characters to enter 
  the Realm of the Pure Mages, under very different 
  circumstances than in the previous Savage Tale 
  though. A Pure Mage mimetic killer is on the loose! 
  The Delilah Protocol (or DL-475P) is a sentient 
  thought-form that infects people’s minds, turning 
  them into unwitting agents of its will. Over time, the 
  symptoms become physical, causing new nodes to 
  grow in the targets’ brain. The consumed identities are 
  prone to hyper-violent mania, refusal to compromise, 
  and slavish loyalty to the products and technologies 
  of the 34th layer’s Yoyodyne Research Corp.
  The characters first hear about the problem 
  through a private memo delivered by a grim, 
  innocuous-looking man in a double-breasted gray 
  suit. This Mr. Johnson is a Pure Mage of some 
  standing, and refuses to change his wardrobe based 
  upon the “backwater customs” of whatever realm he’s 
  visiting. According to an agreement between the old 
  gods and the Pure Mages, if ever a time arrived when 
  the Pure Mages invented something they could not 
  control, it would become the job of a team of duly 
  appointed divine trouble-shooters to intervene. The 
  characters are demigods at this stage of their epic 
  career, and it just became their job to deal with DL-
  475P.
  Don’t Think About It
  Mr. Johnson has evidence showing that several 
  pilgrims to the 34th layer of the Realm of the Pure 
  Mages have been infected with the Delilah Protocol. 
  Six of them are about to solve the riddle of the layer 
  and proceed to the next stage of the cosmic puzzle-
  cube. If this happens, it will be a catastrophe. The 35th 
  layer is a crossroads sub-realm where visitors from 
  across the Maelstrom meet to engage in high-stakes 
  trade. If the Delilah Protocol gets there, 73.152% of 
  Maelstrom residents will be infected in the next five 
  years.
  DL-475P wasn’t insane, just more effective than 
  anyone could have guessed. Much like the splinter 
  of a song that gets lodged in the minds of everyone 
  who hears it, conventional protection was useless. 
  Even worse, consciously not thinking about it only 
  hastened its eventual victory. In an effort to protect 
  the characters from the same fate, he refuses to tell 
  them anything more. It’s the sort of Maelstrom logic 
  that the characters will get a lot during their time as 
  heroes and demigods.
  The 34th layer of the Realm of the Pure Mages is 
  known as Technotopia to its residents. Its civilization 
  is centered in a region much like the Sol starsystem 
  where Earth is situated. The largest of the planets in 
  the 34th layer is owned and operated by the Yoyodyne 
  Research Corp., a privately funded think-tank that 
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  programmers who’ve kept themselves off the grid. 
  As the characters get closer to their goal, the 
  Delilah Protocol will begin to notice them. Any 
  attempt to erase it will be met with heavily armed 
  squads of Technotopian soldiers and attempts to 
  infiltrate key resistance points. Without a decisive 
  plan, this could quickly turn into a war of attrition. 
  God speed!
  Infected Soldier
  These are regular soldiers from the near-endless 
  pool of Technotopia soldiers. Have as many dozens 
  as you like. They’re all infected, which is bad news for 
  the characters.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d10, Notice 
  d12, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6+1
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 11(6) Pulse 10
  Edges: Improved Arcane Resistance, Indomitable, 
  Iron Inside
  Gear: 
  Plasma 
  Focusing 
  Array 
  (Ranges: 
  10/20/40, Damage: 3d6, AP 4), Tactical Computers 
  (+1 on Shooting rolls), Headspace Communications 
  (telepathic link between squad members up to 
  24 inches), Celestium Flex Armor (+6 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Infected: If dealt Fatigue from mental or spiritual 
  sources such as Taunt or Intimidation, the 
  researcher undergoes a terrible transformation 
  increasing Strength and Vigor to d12+2 and 
  gaining the Berserk Edge. The Protocol can be 
  reversed with a successful, opposed Persuasion 
  check.
  Zax Ranjet and Phil Swetter 
  Ranjet and Swetter deserve some kind of 
  science prize for being the biggest geniuses 
  in a realm of geniuses. Sadly, they’re infected by 
  the Delilah Protocol and as soon as they help the 
  characters (and maybe before then), their life 
  expectancy is shockingly short.
  exists to train residents in the esoteric math necessary 
  to solve the scientific conundrum that defines the 
  realm. Along the way, Yoyodyne branched out into 
  space travel and consumer goods, making it the de 
  facto governing body of the 34th layer sub-realm. 
  Any investigation into the Delilah Protocol will 
  eventually take the characters to Yoyodyne’s central 
  offices in the Tower of Progress. Dark-suited men 
  and women with tight, anachronistic hair keep the 
  building humming 28 hours a day, 374 days a year. 
  The data on their pocket computers and the insight in 
  their heads are equal parts enlightenment and rational 
  schemata. Whatever problems are occurring in the 
  city below, the corporate suits are cool, collected, and 
  above all, professional.
  Keep up the ruse for as long as you can, but 
  eventually someone should figure out that all of the 
  researchers are infected. So is anyone on the planet 
  who has had access to television or the computer 
  networks in the past five days. The only uninfected 
  inhabitants of the realm are in deep-sea research 
  arcologies or in outer space.
  The Delilah Protocol is not a physical creation, 
  nor is it a spirit. It can only be defeated by eradicating 
  it from the memory of every infected being. Corporate 
  espionage will tell the characters as much. They can 
  do this one at a time with opposed Persuasion rolls 
  or by programming an alternate thought-form with 
  less dangerous properties and spreading it through 
  the media.
  They probably won’t have the skills to do this on 
  their own. Luckily, the pilgrims who they had been 
  sent to stop have just learned the sum of Technotopia’s 
  knowledge and are itching for a chance to show it off. 
  Assuming the characters treat Ranjet and Swetter 
  with the respect due to prize-winning academics who 
  have willed themselves a third of the way to godhood, 
  this does not have to turn into a battle. They will help 
  the characters storm the Sentient Thought-Form 
  Labs on the 253rd floor and develop a counter to DL-
  475P. Given that they’re vain and already infected, 
  any disagreement will cut their aid short. 
  Chances are good that the characters will have 
  to complete the thought-form and broadcast it on 
  their own. This will require travel to the most isolated 
  reaches of the realm to confer with scientists and 
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  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
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  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12+2, Spirit d10, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Knowledge (Algorithms Of 
  The 34th Layer) d12, Notice d12, Persuasion d10, 
  Shooting d4
  Pace 6 Parry 5 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Edges: Indomitable
  Gear: Cranial Implants (project all manner of 
  lovely holographic displays around them with real 
  time data scrolling past at a very impressive speed).
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Infected: If dealt Fatigue from mental or spiritual 
  sources such as Taunt or Intimidation, the 
  researcher undergoes a terrible transformation 
  increasing Strength and Vigor to d12+2 and 
  gaining the Berserk Edge. The Protocol can be 
  reversed with a successful, opposed Persuasion 
  check.
  Delilah Protocol Researcher 
  Welcome to Yoyodyne! Can I help you today? 
  Splendid, please ho—RRRRARGH!
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d6, 
  Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: 
  Fighting 
  d4, 
  Knowledge 
  (Delilah 
  Protocol) d12+2, Knowledge (Mimetic Principles) 
  d12+2 Notice d12, Persuasion d6, Shooting d6
  Pace 6 Parry 4 Toughness 5 Pulse 10
  Edges: Scholar
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Infected: If dealt Fatigue from mental or spiritual 
  sources such as Taunt or Intimidation, the 
  researcher undergoes a terrible transformation 
  increasing Strength and Vigor to d12+2 and 
  gaining the Berserk Edge. The Protocol can be 
  reversed with a successful, opposed Persuasion 
  check.
  The Delilah Protocol
  The Protocol lacks a physical or spiritual form, 
  making it very difficult to deal with. It is a dispersed 
  sentience. The only way to engage it is to inflict Fatigue 
  until it can take no more. The Delilah Protocol has 
  d12 in any Trait it might need to roll and a d10 Wild 
  Die. Its only weakness is that a simultaneous hit with 
  enough stimuli in multiple locations would cause the 
  multi-action penalties to cripple it. This results in 
  information overload.
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  Angelic Throwdown
  Realm: Maelstrom, Realm Of Archangels.
  We know you’ve been itching for it, that big 
  scene where the players’ demigod characters get to 
  use every trick they’ve learned, that huge battle scene 
  that gives them the ultimate challenge. Alright. Brace 
  yourselves. It’s time for the Lords of Order Angelic 
  Throwdown….
  The endless battle between Trinity’s angels 
  and the forces of the Dark One have swung in an 
  unexpected direction. Fiendish beasts reach higher 
  on the Archangels’ alabaster spires daily. If the 
  reports can be believed, they’ve even occupied the 
  lower levels of Grace Pinnacle. Unwilling to risk 
  losing their landmark, the Pinnacle’s attendants have 
  called upon the Lords of Order to aid them.
  The Archangels have fought on the side of the 
  Lords of Order in the past, but every alliance has 
  ended with disagreements and the vow that it will 
  never happen again. Both pantheons fight for order 
  and justice, but of vastly different stripes. The Lords 
  of Order flourish under a strict command structure, 
  valuing hierarchy and protocol; the Archangels are 
  more egalitarian, able to approach most situations 
  from multiple angles. In order to prevent the 
  squabbles of campaigns past, one of the forces has 
  asked the characters to act as go-betweens.
  Unless the characters have visited the Realm of 
  Ascendant Order before, take some time to introduce 
  them to its rigid precepts of discipline (see page 68). 
  Give everyone the evidence they need to decide for 
  themselves whether the Lords of Order are free-will-
  smashing fascists or stern, honorable warriors. Better 
  yet, shatter that dichotomy and show how both views 
  have some element of truth in them.
  Yagyu Tomoe of the 7th Band of Heavenly 
  Youth is waiting for the characters to arrive. Despite 
  her small stature, she’s all arrogance and business. 
  Although protocol demands a feast before proceeding 
  with talk of battle, she enjoys the sumptuous banquet 
  very little. Talk of battle excites her though, especially 
  details about demons; she has never fought any 
  demons. 
  Grace Pinnacle
  As soon as Tomoe’s warriors breach the sealed 
  portal into the Realm of Archangels, the Archangel 
  Ramel sends a messenger with his battle plan: the 
  Heavenly Youth charge first, striking the defenses 
  at Grace Pinnacle from all angles. His hosts hang 
  back, striking with their bows at targets of tactical 
  importance. When Ramel gives the signal, his highly 
  mobile troops will sweep in and seize the Pinnacle for 
  the glory of Trinity. 
  It’s a good plan, but treats the Heavenly Youth 
  as cannon fodder. Yagyu Tomoe’s counter proposal 
  reverses the roles: the angels, who know more about 
  hand-to-hand with demons strike first, while her 
  own forces gather their chi for a tower-cleansing 
  blast of purity. She relates her plan to the characters, 
  hoping they will approve of it without change. This is 
  their chance to speak up, argue with Yagyu Tomoe, 
  and craft a brilliant battle plan of their own devising. 
  Getting Ramel in on the conference will require 
  crossing contested airspace, but wouldn’t trigger an 
  all-out charge.
  Once a plan has been negotiated (and keep 
  reminding the characters that time is ticking, with 
  demons crawling all over sacred places while they 
  have their conference of war), it’s time to turn the 
  plan into reality. Overall, the forces are evenly 
  matched and it’ll take a few demigods to make all the 
  difference – the massed battle is a background for the 
  characters’ commando action. The enemy forces have 
  a battery of terrifying grub cannons overlooking the 
  battlefield. If left unmolested, they could tear both 
  sides into meaty chunks. Only the characters see this 
  threat as the forces of Good start their assault on the 
  Dark One’s hordes… time to get involved!
  Withdraw The Troops
  After Grace Pinnacle is retaken with the 
  characters’ help, Ramel hopes that Yagyu Tomoe and 
  her force will pack up and go home. No such luck. 
  Flashing the signet of the Great Spirit of Order, she 
  informs the gathered forces that she has the authority 
  to set up a forward staging ground for any and all 
  future actions against the Dark One. In effect, it is 
  authorizing an armed garrison in the heart of Trinity’s 
  capital. 
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  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
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  Ramel is furious at her gall; his displeasure 
  shatters columns and echoes to the depths of the Pit. 
  She remains unmoved. All of the posturing comes 
  to a head when one of them strikes first. It may be 
  an honest mistake or an over-reaction to a defensive 
  gesture. If the characters don’t think fast, a second 
  battle will blossom from the first, leaving the Dark 
  One laughing heartily at the inevitable outcome.
  The best way to defuse the situation is one that 
  draws the Great Spirit of Order’s attention elsewhere. 
  Starting a crusade against a different, more active evil 
  would do the trick. The evil doesn’t even need to be 
  real; an illusory attack on the Realm of Order would 
  result in all foreign outposts being called home to 
  defend the realm. 
  Of course, there’s no rule saying the characters 
  need to back the Archangels. They may feel their 
  time’s better spent convincing the followers of Trinity 
  to accept the new outpost. If handled carefully, it 
  needn’t be the start to a full-scale colonization – and 
  everyone could use a few more well-armed friends. 
  Both of these options may take several sessions to 
  navigate, but the alternative of doing nothing would 
  be worse.
  Ramel, Trinity’s Thunder 
  Marked as the Archangel of hope by Trinity, 
  Ramel is more often these days the Archangel 
  of hope in battle, having been put in charge of the 
  defense of the realm from the Dark One’s demons. 
  As the first among the angelic host, he leads from 
  the front, inspiring those around him with his total 
  fearlessness in the face of any evil and any odds.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12+2, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d12+2, Intimidation d12+2, 
  Knowledge (Battle) d10, Persuasion d10+4, Notice 
  d8, Shooting d12, Streetwise d8+4
  Pace 6 Parry 9 Toughness 15(6) Pulse 35 
  Charisma +4
  Edges: Attractive, Charismatic, Command, 
  Fearsome Presence: Improved, Fervor, Hold The Line, 
  Inspire, Improved Tough As Nails, Improved Sweep, 
  Living Standard, Natural Leader, Quick Draw, Steady 
  Hands, Stutter, Trait Perfection: Demigod (Fighting)
  Gear: Thunderblade (Damage: Str+d8+4, AP 2, 
  emits a thunderclap whenever a foe is taken down, 
  Shaking all enemies adjacent to the victim), Soul 
  Bow (Ranges: 24/48/96, Damage: 2 Spirit dice, AP 2)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Celestial Aura: +6 Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Flight: Flying speed of 6 inches, climb of 3, can 
  ‘run’.
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants Ramel all 
  the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank characters, 
  i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to recover 
  from being Shaken, +2 Karma for his own use, 
  enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  Angelic Host
  The host of angels may look all peaceful when 
  they’re sitting around preening their wings, but they 
  can be mighty tough when it’s time to draw swords. 
  Almighty tough, no less.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d12+1, Persuasion d8+4, Notice 
  d8, Shooting d12, Streetwise d6+4
  Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 13(6) Pulse 30 
  Charisma +4
  Edges: Attractive, Combat Reflexes, Charismatic, 
  Improved Frenzy, Quick Draw, Steady Hands, Trait 
  Perfection: Heroic (Fighting)
  Gear: Trinity Sword (Damage:  Str+d8+2, AP 
  2, grants owner +4 arcane resistance against evil 
  beings), Soul Bow (Ranges: 24/48/96, Damage: 2 
  Spirit dice, AP 2)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants an angelic 
  host all the perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, 
  i.e. +1 on Soak rolls and checks to recover from 
  being Shaken, +1 Karma for their own use, enhanced 
  recovery rates, and so on.
  • 
  Celestial Aura: +6 Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Flight: Flying speed of 6 inches, climb of 3, 
  can ‘run’.
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  Yagyu Tomoe 
  Commander of the 7th Band of Heavenly Youth, 
  Yagyu Tomoe was once a normal mortal from the 
  Lord of Satsuma’s entourage. In medieval Japan the 
  Great Spirit of Order’s recruitment spirits found 
  her. Fast forward a dozen military campaigns and 
  she’s one of the finest leaders in her realm, hugely 
  respected by allies and enemies alike.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d12+2
  Skills: Fighting d12+2, Knowledge (Battle) d12, 
  Persuasion d10, Notice d8, Shooting d12
  Pace 6 Parry 9 Toughness 15(4) Pulse 35
  Edges: Command, Fervor, Hold The Line, 
  Inspire, Improved Tough As Nails, Improved Sweep, 
  Living Standard, Natural Leader, Pulse Armor: 
  Improved, Quick Draw, Stutter, Trait Perfection: 
  Demigod (Fighting)
  Gear: Two Heaven Katana (Damage: Str+d8+6, 
  AP 60, HW), Armor Of Order (+4 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants Yagyu 
  Tomoe all the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank 
  characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for her 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  Ishikawa Hideki, The Silent Wave 
  Yagyu Tomoe puts great faith in her right 
  hand man. The Silent Wave is another 
  Japanese recruit, but from quite a different realm – he 
  faithfully served in the Imperial army in the 1940’s, 
  willing to die for the Japanese way of life. He became 
  a hero in those days and joined the Great Spirit of 
  Order on his first visit to the Maelstrom.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d12, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d10, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12+2, , Knowledge (Battle) 
  d12+2, Knowledge (The Way) d12+2, Persuasion 
  d10, Notice d8, Shooting d12
  Pace 6 Parry 9 Toughness 14(4) Pulse 30
  Edges: Command, Fervor, Hold The Line, 
  Inspire, Improved Tough As Nails, Improved Sweep, 
  Pulse Armor, Quick Draw, Scholar, Trait Perfection: 
  Demigod (Fighting)
  Gear: 
  Cooling 
  Breeze 
  Katana 
  (Damage: 
  Str+d8+6, AP 6), Armor Of Order (+4 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants Ishikawa Hideki 
  all the perks enjoyed by Heroic rank characters, 
  i.e. +1 on Soak rolls and checks to recover 
  from being Shaken, +1 Karma for his own use, 
  enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  Heavenly Youth Defenders
  Picture samurai warriors in force armor as tall as 
  two normal men. Wings like dragonfly wings let them 
  fly, but are far less maneuverable than the angels’. The 
  Heavenly Youth Defenders believe in order above all 
  else and are blinded by their youth from any other 
  way of life.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d12, 
  Strength d12+4, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12+2, Persuasion d10, Notice 
  d8, Shooting d12, Throwing d8
  Pace 6 Parry 9 Toughness 17(4) Pulse 30
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Improved Sweep, 
  Pulse Armor, Quick Draw, Trait Perfection: Heroic 
  (Fighting)
  Gear: Heavenly Youth Katana (Damage: 
  Str+d10+4, AP 4), Armor Of Order (+4 Armor, all 
  locations)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Size +5: These are big boys and girls.
  • 
  Heroic Entity: This ability grants the Heavenly 
  Youth Defenders all the perks enjoyed by Heroic 
  rank characters, i.e. +1 on Soak rolls and checks 
  to recover from being Shaken, +1 Karma for 
  their own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so 
  on.
  • 
  Flight: Flying speed of 5 inches, climb of 2, 
  cannot ‘run’.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  192
  Irygthon The Foul 
  For all the mythic names fighting for the good 
  side, there has to be a bad guy worthy of all 
  that glorious ability. Irygthon the Foul is that demon, 
  the perfect foil for any one of the battle leaders lined 
  up against his demonic swarm. He isn’t twice the size 
  of normal men. He isn’t a multi-tentacled horror. He 
  is pure evil, though, evil so strong that it sustains 
  him and has turned him into the Dark One’s most 
  important war knight.
  Irygthon unspectacular appearance should be 
  deeply unsettling to anyone who watches him during 
  the battle, as he walks casually from target to target 
  and destroys their very essence with a single strike 
  of his flail.
  Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12+2,  Intimidation d12, 
  Knowledge (Battle) d8, Persuasion d8, Notice d8, 
  Shooting d12, Streetwise d8, Taunt d8
  Pace 6 Parry 9 Toughness 13(5) Pulse 35
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Improved Nerves Of 
  Steel, Improved Sweep, No Mercy, Penetrating Strike: 
  Improved, Quick Draw, Stutter, Trait Perfection: 
  Demigod (Fighting),
  Gear: Serrated Flail (Damage: Str+d12, ignores 
  bonuses from shields, Shakes an opponent on a hit 
  irrespective of damage, 2 Handed)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants Irygthon 
  the Foul all the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank 
  characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for his 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  • 
  Demonic Foulness: Seeing Irygthon the Foul, 
  even through a telescope at great distances, 
  requires a Spirit check at -2. That’s how evil he is.
  • 
  Dark Hide: Toughened by bathing in corrupt 
  souls and provides +5 Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Vile Caress: By making a successful touch attack 
  Irygthon can make an opposed Spirit check 
  (which gets an additional d6 added to his total 
  if the touch attack scored a Raise) on the target. 
  Irygthon inflicts a level of Fatigue for a success 
  and for each Raise on the check. This Fatigue can 
  kill. This ability costs 2 Pulse which must be paid 
  after every successful touch attack.
  Leaper Spawn 
  The forces of good aren’t the only ones with 
  powerful champions at their beck and call. 
  Irygthon the Foul has a pair of leaper spawn assassins 
  on his side, and unleashes them at the start of battle. 
  They orders: to find and eliminate all the Wild Cards 
  fighting on the other side. In case we need to spell it 
  out, that might mean the characters having to save 
  Ramel, Yagyu or Ishakawa (at a really inconvenient 
  time when they already have plenty to deal with, 
  of course). It might also make the characters the 
  primary target!
  Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
  Skills: Fighting d12+2, Intimidation d12, 
  Persuasion d8, Notice d8, Shooting d12, Taunt d8
  Pace 6 Parry 9 Toughness 15(4) Pulse 35
  Edges: Berserk, Combat Reflexes, Flight Of The 
  Ascendant: Improved, Improved Frenzy, Improved 
  Sweep, No Mercy, Penetrating Strike: Improved, 
  Quick Draw, Stutter, Trait Perfection: Demigod 
  (Fighting)
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants Leaper 
  spawn all the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank 
  characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for their 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  • 
  Spawn Form: +3 Toughness and +4 Armor, all 
  locations.
  • 
  Brachiation: Can climb at their Pace normally, 
  and “run” while climbing.
  • 
  Spawn Claws: (Damage: Str+d12, AP 8)
  • 
  Vitality:  Leaper spawn automatically Soak the 
  first wound in any encounter. The damage gets 
  through, but they simply ignore it - it doesn’t 
  count as a Wound and the spawn isn’t Shaken. 
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  193
  • 
  Improbably Hooked Guns… …that fire explosive 
  shot!: (Ranges: 24/48/96, Damage: 2d10+2, 
  Medium Burst Template)
  Witching Spheres
  Floating globes containing the dregs of witch 
  souls, witching spheres hum with an air of malice. 
  Each witch made an infernal pact to live beyond 
  death, and this is the form the Dark One chose for 
  them.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Shooting d8, 
  Stealth d8, Witching d12
  Pace 6 Parry 6 Toughness 5(2) Pulse 20
  Edges: Improved Dodge
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Small: Attacks against witching spheres suffer a 
  -2 penalty
  • 
  Infernal Pact: +2 Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Flight: Flying speed of 6 inches, climb of 6, 
  cannot ‘run’.
  • 
  Witchfire: For 2 Pulse a witching sphere can 
  unleash a blast of Pulse (Ranges: 3/6/12, 
  Damage: 2d10, ignores armor unless the armor 
  is magical in nature).
  • 
  Witching: As an action using the Witching 
  skill a witching sphere can cast Boost Trait or 
  Deflection. Each costs only 1 Pulse (lasting 
  5 Rounds plus 1 Pulse for every 2 Rounds 
  thereafter) and has double the normal effect. i.e. 
  Boost Trait increases a Trait by 2 step normally, 
  4 with Raise. Deflection gives attacks -4 to hit or 
  -8 with a Raise.
  Grubcannons
  The Dark One’s hidden ace in the battle is a 
  battery of grubcannons he’s been obfuscating from 
  that fool of an Archangel, Ramel, and all those Great 
  Spirit of Order lackeys. Grubcannons are huge living 
  siege weapons, bred in the depths of the Pit for this 
  moment – to scythe down the ranks of angels and 
  Heavenly Youth Defenders as they charge forward, 
  oblivious to their imminent doom. Mwahahahaha.
  Lucky for the forces of Good, the characters 
  manage to get a glimpse past the Dark One’s veiling 
  magic and have a chance to destroy the grubcannons 
  before they spring their trap. The Dark One wouldn’t 
  make an assault on the grubcannons easy, and neither 
  should you.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, 
  Strength d12+8, Vigor d12+4
  Skills: Fighting d4, Notice d4, Shooting d10
  Pace 4 Parry 9 Toughness 29(8) Pulse 35
  Edges: Marksman, Feel My Pain: Improved
  Special Abilities
  • 
  Demigod Entity: This ability grants a grubcannon 
  all the perks enjoyed by Demigod rank 
  characters, i.e. +2 on Soak rolls and checks to 
  recover from being Shaken, +2 Karma for its 
  own use, enhanced recovery rates, and so on.
  • 
  Size +9: +4 to hit these easy targets.
  • 
  Gargantuan
  • 
  Pestilential Persistence: +2 Toughness and +8 
  Armor, all locations.
  • 
  Grubcannon: A living weapon, and every bit as 
  vile as it sounds – it spits shells filled with demonic 
  maggots. (Ranges: 48/96/192, Damage: 4d10+2, 
  AP 20, HW, Large Burst Template, cannot be 
  fired at targets closer than 20 inches).
  • 
  Claw: Used as a stabbing implement to rid itself 
  of unwanted guests, it wouldn’t be effective 
  except for the creature’s great size (Damage: 
  Str+d4).
  • 
  Putrescent Webs: For defense grubcannons can 
  secrete webs of liquefied, rotting flesh. Moving 
  through an area sown with webs counts as 
  difficult terrain and once a victim enters a patch 
  of web it grows teeth and chews at the victim as 
  they pass, each scrape and tearing noise vexing 
  the soul of the target with moments of personal 
  weakness. Each inch moved through requires a 
  Spirit check, failure results in a level of Fatigue. 
  This can Incapacitate but not kill.
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
  Cody Forrester (order #5643974)
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/Suzerain/Savage Worlds - Suzerain.pdf