TEXT: BY SAIF ANSARI
  HEART OF 
  NIGHT
  ADVENTURE PATH
  
  VELSTRAC TORMENTOR    
  TIER 9
  Medium transport
  Speed 8; Maneuverability average (turn 2); Drift 1
  AC 27; TL 26
  HP 100; DT —; CT 20
  Shields medium 120 (forward 30, port 30, starboard 30, aft 30)
  Attack (Forward) heavy laser cannon (4d8), summoning torpedo launcher (3d10 plus special)
  Attack (Aft) light plasma cannon (2d12)
  Attack (Turret) linked light plasma cannons (4d12)
  Power Core Arcus Maximum (200 PCU); Drift Engine Signal Basic; Systems basic long-range sensors, crew quarters (common), mk 3 duonode computer, 
  mk 8 armor, mk 8 defenses; Expansion Bays arcane laboratory, brig (Starfinder act Worlds 153), life science lab, medical bay, tech workshop
  Modifier  +3 any two checks per round, +2 Computers (sensors only); Complement 5 (minimum 1, maximum 6)
  CREW
  Captain Bluff +17 (9 ranks), Computers +14 (9 ranks), Engineering +14 (9 ranks), gunnery +13, Intimid te +17 (9 ranks), Piloting +14 (9 ranks)
  Engineer Engineering +17 (9 ranks)
  Gunners gunnery +15
  Pilot Computers +15 (9 ranks), gunnery +14, Piloting +17 (9 ranks)
  Science Offic  Computers +17 (9 ranks)
  SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
  Summoning Torpedo Launcher Some velstrac starships are armed with hybrid torpedo launchers that can cause terror and havoc on enemy ships. 
  A summoning torpedo launcher is a heavy tracking weapon with long range, a speed of 12 hexes, and the limited fi e 5 special property. Once per 
  starship combat, when a summoning torpedo deals Hull Point damage to an enemy vessel, it can be triggered to call forth a corporeal horror on 
  board that vessel that plays on its crew’s fears (see page 14). This weapon is available only for velstrac starships.
  Built from cold, dark metals found exclusively on the Shadow Plane, velstrac Tormentors are mobile bases of operations providing their crews 
  with all the resources necessary for experimentation and torture of any creatures that cross their paths. Any other ship outfitted this way could 
  be mistaken for an emergency vessel, but one look inside the Tormentor’s medical bay or life science lab is enough to reveal its intended purpose.
  Manacles, chains, and custom restraints line the corridors, while more hang overhead, stowed away for later use. The ship’s systems function 
  mechanically, but the interfaces are masochistic and painful to use, often requiring crew to sit in chairs that resemble torture instruments 
  or to deliberately insert their hands into razor-lined gauntlets in order to interact with controls. Heavily armored and bristling with weapons 
  intended to wreak havoc on enemies, the Tormentor makes an impression when it appears; its winged exterior spreads wide, like a barb 
  launched from a titanic weapon, and it trails long, hooked chains that chase after it like tendrils behind a jellyfish
  
  ON THE COVER
  CONTENT WARNING
  The Signal of Screams Adventure Path contains typical Starfinder action and adventure, but be warned that it also presents scenarios 
  in which horrifying things happen to the PCs and the NPCs around them. The events presented in this Adventure Path fall into the 
  realm of body horror and psychological horror, which can include disfigurement, mutation, parasitism and disease, self-mutilation, 
  injury, and the aftermath of such unpleasantness. Before you begin, understand that player consent (including that of the GM) is the 
  most important thing to consider. GMs should talk with their players about the horror elements included and obtain everyone’s 
  consent to the inclusion of these topics. It’s also a good idea to include a method for players to indicate whether the game’s content 
  has gone too far during play. More instruction about running horror campaigns responsibly and ensuring that all players have fun is 
  included in the article “Horror Campaigns” in Starfinder dventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain.
  Paizo Inc.
  7120 185th Ave NE, Ste 120
  Redmond, WA 98052-0577
  paizo.com
  HEART OF NIGHT
  PART 3 OF 3
  HEART OF NIGHT 
  2
  by Saif Ansari
  CONTINUING THE CAMPAIGN 
  38
  by Tracy Barnett
  THE SHADOW PLANE 
  44
  by Thurston Hillman
  ALIEN ARCHIVES 
  54
  by Saif Ansari, Stephen Glicker, and James L. Sutter
  CODEX OF WORLDS: NODETHE 
  62
  by Owen K.C. Stephens
  STARSHIP: VELSTRAC TORMENTOR INSIDE COVERS 
  by Saif Ansari
  This book refers to several other Starfinder products using the following abbreviations, yet these 
  additional supplements are not required to make use of this book. Readers interested in references to 
  Starfinder ha dcovers can find the complete rules of these books vailable online for free at sfrd.info.
  This product is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with Starfinder or the Pathfinder
  Roleplaying Game.
  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, 
  Section 1(e), and are not Open Game Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper nouns (characters, deities, locations, etc., 
  as well as all adjectives, names, titles, and descriptive terms derived from proper nouns), artworks, characters, dialogue, locations, 
  plots, storylines, trade dress, the historical period called the Gap, the terms kishalee, sivv, skyfi e, Dreamer (the officia Open Game 
  Content term for which is “dreaming barathu”), and the Drift (the officia Open Game Content term for which is “hyperspace”). 
  (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content, or are exclusively derived from previous Open Game 
  Content, or that are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)
  Open Game Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo game 
  product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(d). No portion of this work other 
  than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
  Starfinder Adventure Path #12: Heart of Night © 2019, Paizo Inc. All Rights Reserved. Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem logo, 
  Pathfinde , the Pathfinder logo, Pathfinder Society, Starfinde , and the Starfinder logo are registered trademarks of Paizo Inc.; 
  Pathfinder Accessories, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Adventures, Pathfinde  
  Battles, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Cards, Pathfinder Combat Pad, Pathfinder Flip-Mat, Pathfinder Flip-Tiles, 
  Pathfinder Legends, Pathfinder Map Pack, Pathfinder Module, Pathfinder Pawns, Pathfinder Player Companion, Pathfinde  
  Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Tales, Signal of Screams, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Combat Pad, Starfinder Flip-Mat, 
  Starfinder P wns, Starfinder oleplaying Game, and Starfinder Society a e trademarks of Paizo Inc.
  Printed in China. To light a candle is to cast a shadow.
  We finally get a good look at the sinister Dr. Lestana 
  Gragant in this gruesome illustration by artist Ignacio 
  Bazán Lazcano.
  Development Leads • Jason Keeley and Chris S. Sims
  Authors • Saif Ansari, with Tracy Barnett, Stephen Glicker, 
  Thurston Hillman, Owen K.C. Stephens, and James L. Sutter
  Cover Artist • Ignacio Bazán Lazcano
  Interior Artists • Michele Giorgi, Mark Molnar, Moh Z. Mukhtar, 
  Alexander Nanitchkov, and Firat Solhan
  Page Border Design • Graey Erb
  Cartographer • Damien Mammoliti
  Creative Directors • James Jacobs, Robert G. McCreary, and 
  Sarah E. Robinson
  Director of Game Design • Jason Bulmahn
  Managing Developers • Adam Daigle and 
  Amanda Hamon Kunz
  Organized Play Lead Developer • John Compton
  Developers • Eleanor Ferron, Jason Keeley, Luis Loza, 
  Ron Lundeen, Joe Pasini, Michael Sayre, Chris S. Sims, and 
  Linda Zayas-Palmer
  Starfinder Design ead • Owen K.C. Stephens
  Starfinder Society D veloper • Thurston Hillman
  Senior Designer • Stephen Radney-MacFarland 
  Designers • Logan Bonner and Mark Seifter
  Managing Editor • Judy Bauer
  Senior Editor • Christopher Carey
  Editors • James Case, Leo Glass, Lyz Liddell, Adrian Ng, 
  Lacy Pellazar, and Jason Tondro
  Art Director • Sonja Morris
  Senior Graphic Designers • Emily Crowell and Adam Vick
  Production Artist • Tony Barnett
  Franchise Manager • Mark Moreland
  Project Manager • Gabriel Waluconis
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Chief Operations Offic  • Jeff ey Alvarez
  Chief Financial Office • John Parrish
  Chief Technical Offic  • Vic Wertz
  Director of Sales • Pierce Watters
  Sales Associate • Cosmo Eisele
  Vice President of Marketing & Licensing • Jim Butler
  Marketing Manager • Dan Tharp
  Licensing Manager • Glenn Elliott
  Public Relations Manager • Aaron Shanks
  Organized Play Manager • Tonya Woldridge
  Accountant • Christopher Caldwell
  Data Entry Clerk • B. Scott Keim
  Director of Technology • Raimi Kong
  Web Production Manager • Chris Lambertz
  Senior Software Developer • Gary Teter
  Webstore Coordinator • Rick Kunz 
  Customer Service Team • Katina Davis, Virginia Jordan, 
  Sara Marie, Samantha Phelan, and Diego Valdez
  Warehouse Team • Laura Wilkes Carey, Will Chase, 
  Mika Hawkins, Heather Payne, Jeff Strand, an
  Kevin Underwood
  Website Team • Brian Bauman, Robert Brandenburg, 
  Whitney Chatterjee, Erik Keith, and Andrew White
  ADVENTURE PATH
  ADVENTURE PATH
  Alien Archive 
   
  Alien Archive 2 
   
  Armory 
  AA 
  AA2 
  AR
  
  2
  HEART OF NIGHT
  HEART OF NIGHT
  PART 1: THE SHADOW OF VERCES 
  3 
  Stranded on the Shadow Plane, the PCs must work with worshippers of Zon-
  Kuthon to retrieve a version of their starship.
  PART 2: STARLESS SKIES 
  13
  To reach the shadow version of New Elysium, the PCs must fight velstrac raiders 
  and navigate the chambers of a massive structure shaped like a human heart.
  PART 3: TERMINAL FREQUENCY  
  24
  The PCs explore the memories of Dr. Gragant brought to life to finally confront 
  the twisted scientist and put an end to her schemes.
   
  The PCs begin this adventure at 
  11th level.
  The PCs should reach 12th level 
  while they are exploring the 
  Heartgate.
  The PCs should be 13th level by 
  the end of the adventure.
  “Heart of Night” is designed for four 
  characters.
  ADVANCEMENT TRACK
  12
  13
  11
  
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  3
  Some stories are tales of grand moves in an endless game 
  of strategy between players of unfathomable power. Others 
  are simple tragedies sparked by everyday trauma. The history 
  of Dr. Lestana Gragant falls into the latter category. As a 
  teenager, Lestana saw her parents suffer unbearable agony 
  in the final months of their lives, each claimed by a diffe ent 
  malady incurable by science or magic. The experience planted 
  a noble if fl wed ambition in the young woman: to eliminate 
  all pain.
  This goal eventually led Lestana Gragant down a dark and 
  twisted path. After she spent her early career performing 
  medical research without producing practical applications, 
  her financing dried up. But before she could declare her life’s 
  work a failure, she was approached by a corporation called 
  Eclipse Innovations, which was looking for new ways to 
  withstand the attacks of the Swarm. Eclipse set up a facility 
  for Dr. Gragant in a remote asteroid in the Diaspora that 
  was the site of a former mining operation, tasking her with 
  creating a method to immunize soldiers against pain. 
  As the years passed, Dr. Gragant made no further progress, 
  and as pressure from Eclipse’s board of directors mounted, 
  she began to grow desperate. She turned to mysticism 
  as her experiments slid into amorality. She and her team 
  performed unspeakable atrocities—torture, vivisection, and 
  prolonged death—on unwilling subjects, all in search of an 
  elusive answer.
  One day while in a melancholy humor, Dr. Gragant devised 
  a thought experiment: Instead of blocking or eliminating pain, 
  what if it could be transformed into another experience? If 
  pain could become something the body craved rather than 
  feared—pain perceived as pleasure—such a procedure would 
  serve the same purpose as an inoculation. Dr. Gragant 
  threw herself into this new avenue of research, using some 
  of the arcane techniques she had recently learned. She was 
  certain she was on the right track, but Eclipse’s patience had 
  grown thin and the corporation threatened to shut down the 
  project if it didn’t produce concrete results. Dr. Gragant’s 
  understanding of sensory transformation and the magical 
  techniques involved were still in their infancy, but the fear 
  of failure had soaked into her consciousness, driving her to 
  recklessly test her theories on the subject she knew best: her 
  own body. The procedure failed catastrophically and tore a 
  rift in reality, transforming Dr. Gragant into a terrible fiend
  and trapping her on the Shadow Plane while killing everyone 
  else on the asteroid.
  As far as Eclipse Innovations knew, a massive explosion 
  in Dr. Gragant’s facility resulted merely in a devastating loss 
  of life. The corporation shuttered the project and moved on, 
  but Dr. Gragant continued her experiments on the Shadow 
  Plane for the next 13 years. She continued to alter her own 
  physiology, which she soon discovered was connected to a 
  mote of shadow energy. She also attracted the attention of 
  several Shadow Plane denizens, including a few velstracs, 
  who helped her learn to blend pain and pleasure until she 
  could no longer tell the diffe ence.
  In addition, she fostered her connection to the shadow 
  mote, which allowed her to sense and affect living creatures 
  at nearby locations on the Material Plane. Using her 
  knowledge of engineering, she crafted a machine around the 
  mote to amplify this power. Similar to a subauditory signal, 
  the psychic energy the mote projected onto the Material 
  Plane could subtly affect the portions of a subject’s brain that 
  experience pain and pleasure, warping these sensations until 
  the victim experiences unreasonable urges to inflict pain on 
  themself and others.
  Over the years, Dr. Gragant affected multiple Material 
  Plane victims with her shadow signal, all the while refining
  her techniques and continuing her experiments. She came 
  to believe that she had solved the question that plagued 
  her all her life, and that it was her duty to share the answer 
  with the galaxy. Her crusade began when a company built a 
  luxury resort on the asteroid that used to hold her research 
  facility. Eventually, she warped the mind of a visiting Eclipse 
  Innovations executive named Kaeon Rhyse, making him 
  her most loyal acolyte. The two worked to take over the 
  corporation and set up the first test of Dr. Gragant’s shadow 
  signal on a wider basis: the corruption of all the resort’s 
  guests and staff t once.
  Though the PCs escaped New Elysium, Dr. Gragant felt 
  the test was a success. The same PCs thwarted a similar 
  procedure using Eclipse’s Penumbra app on Verces, where 
  they also put an end to Kaeon Rhyse, but Dr. Gragant doesn’t 
  give up easily. She is already plotting other means of bringing 
  her message of pain as pleasure to the galaxy. Unless she is 
  stopped, she will eventually succeed, bringing freedom from 
  pain in the form of an exquisite, masochistic ascension for all 
  living creatures.
  At the end of the previous adventure, the PCs should have 
  taken down Kaeon Rhyse at the Eclipse Innovations black site 
  on Verces’s Darkside and learned that Dr. Lestana Gragant, 
  the creator of the corrupting signal, is trapped in the Shadow 
  Plane version of New Elysium. In returning to Cuvacara, the 
  PCs likely realized that they too are now stranded on the 
  Shadow Plane.
  While on the Shadow Plane, the PCs cannot communicate 
  with any allies or associates on the Material Plane (if they 
  have any), and any attempt to pass back to the Material Plane 
  PART 1: 
  THE SHADOW OF VERCES
  ADVENTURE 
  BACKGROUND
  
  VEYLA
  fails due to their shadow corruption. A PC who succeeds 
  at a DC 26 Mysticism check realizes they are bound to the 
  Shadow Plane with no obvious way to return to the Material 
  Plane or purge themselves of the shadow corruption. The 
  PCs most likely want to pay a visit to Dr. Gragant in 
  order to get answers, but to do that, they need to 
  find a starship in order to return to the Diaspora. 
  The Shadow Plane counterpart of the Cuvacaran 
  spaceport will probably be the first place the PCs 
  look for one.
  For more information about the planar traits 
  of the Shadow Plane, see “The Shadow Plane” 
  on page 44.
  THE KAYAL ENCLAVE
  The Shadow Plane lacks color, but its 
  close approximation of the Material 
  Plane makes the diffe ences all the 
  more stark. Wandering through 
  the 
  shadow 
  version 
  of 
  Cuvacara 
  should 
  be 
  melancholy 
  and 
  disorienting. It is eerie, 
  quiet, and illuminated by 
  a dim ambient light that 
  does more to deepen 
  the shadows than to 
  illuminate any open spaces. Tall buildings 
  throw dark, long shadows as black as the Abyss, and other 
  strange shadows seem to move between the many pools of 
  darkness with no apparent physical object to define their 
  source. Distant whispers of an indeterminate language hang 
  in the air.
  The bullet trains that normally traverse the city are silent 
  and unmoving, making it difficul to reach the Cuvacaran 
  spaceport, but from the shore, the PCs can see no vessels 
  approaching or leaving the area. In fact, the landing pads and 
  hangars appear to be completely bereft of starships. However, 
  there seem to be signs of life nearby in the private residential 
  district known in Cuvacara as the Gloaming. 
  What seemed to be writhing columns of shadows turn 
  out to be tendrils of smoke rising between the dark houses 
  of the Gloaming. Approaching that area, the PCs first arrive 
  in one of the neighborhood’s open parks, though much of 
  the greenery is gray and stunted. Several humanoid figu es 
  in dark cloaks move through the central area, while several 
  small generators smoke as they provide power to many of 
  the nearby luxurious houses and a handful of lights that 
  attempt to illuminate the area.
  These kayals are attempting to eke out an existence here 
  after many of their kind living in the city entered into a deal 
  with Kaeon Rhyse and Eclipse Innovations, offering to work 
  Dr. Gragant’s will on Shadow Verces in exchange for her 
  blessings and protection, should her plans come to fruition. 
  The less morally bankrupt kayals have established a camp 
  in the Gloaming while fighting a silent war against their 
  former companions.
  Unless the PCs make extreme attempts to be stealthy 
  (such as by being invisible), a pair of kayal guards soon 
  spots them and demands to know their business, 
  weapons drawn. If the PCs are stealthy, watch over 
  the settlement for at least an hour, and succeed 
  at a DC 24 Sense Motive check, they can tell that 
  the kayals are paranoid but peaceful beings just 
  trying to survive, and that they might know 
  more information about the PCs’ predicament. 
  If the PCs make themselves known, the kayal 
  guards issue the same demand.
  If the PCs are honest about their intentions 
  and one of them succeeds at a DC 27 Diplomacy 
  check, the guards lower their weapons and allow 
  the PCs to enter the enclave. The PCs can 
  see that several of the kayals bear recent 
  wounds and that the mood is quite poor. 
  A somber vendor named Hanmu (N 
  male kayal) is willing to trade with 
  the PCs, offering a small selection 
  of level-appropriate gear from 
  the Starfinder Core Rulebook. He 
  pays in UPBs instead of credits 
  for anything the PCs want to sell 
  to him, though he does accept credits 
  for anything the PCs buy. In response to any questions, 
  the guards and Hanmu suggest the PCs speak with the 
  community’s leader, Veyla.
  If the PCs fail this Diplomacy check, the guards keep their 
  weapons trained on the PCs and send a runner to fetch to 
  Veyla, who arrives shortly to interrogate the PCs.
  Veyla (LN female kayal) dresses in unadorned armor, with 
  white hair pulled into a snug bun and long, spindly limbs 
  that move similar to a spider’s legs. Her eyes are yellow pools 
  without irises, and her white skin seems to almost glow with 
  a green luminescence. She sees the PCs as potential tools 
  but remains wary of them due to their shadow corruption. 
  Veyla puts the interests of her people first, however, and she 
  will negotiate or deal with anyone to ensure their safety. 
  She is not amoral; rather, she sees herself as a pragmatist 
  doing whatever is necessary for the continued existence of 
  her community. 
  Veyla has an initial attitude of indiffe ent to the PCs, 
  but she can be made friendly with a successful DC 27 
  Diplomacy check. If the PCs mention working against 
  Eclipse Innovations in their initial explanation of who they 
  are and what they are doing on the Shadow Plane, they gain 
  a +4 circumstance bonus to this Diplomacy check. If Veyla’s 
  attitude is made friendly or helpful, she will answer the PCs’ 
  questions. The following are some topics of conversation, 
  along with Veyla’s responses.
  4
  
  Who are you? Do you know about the Material Plane? 
  “We are kayals. Our ancestors were humans from the 
  Material Plane who fled to the Shadow Plane millennia 
  ago, and we have since adapted to this plane and spread 
  throughout the galaxy. Travelers from your plane sometimes 
  find their way here, and we aid them as best we can… Or we 
  used to, at least. You are welcome to remain here as long as 
  you trade fairly and without violence.”
  Can you help us return to the Material Plane? 
  “Unfortunately, I am unaware of any nearby planar portals. 
  Our community used to be in contact with a Material Plane 
  corporation named Eclipse Innovations for a little over a 
  year, trading information and occasionally goods, but the 
  influence of those foul vultures turned our own people 
  against us.” If the PCs mention their travels to the Eclipse 
  black site, Veyla continues, “And from your stories, I suppose 
  any connection Eclipse had to the Shadow Plane has since 
  been destroyed.”
  Can we get off this planet? “Yes, with a starship, you can 
  go pretty much wherever you like. Distances are… diffe ent 
  here on the Shadow Plane. What might be a several-day 
  journey on foot on the Material Plane takes only a few hours 
  here. I am told the same is true for trips between planets.” 
  Veyla sighs. “However, the majority of starship travel to 
  and from Shadow Verces is regulated by the cultists of 
  Zon-Kuthon who control Skydock.” A PC who succeeds at a 
  DC 20 Culture check knows about Skydock, a massive space 
  platform anchored in Verces’ Ring of Nations that dates back 
  to long before the Gap. If no PC succeeds at this check, Veyla 
  can tell them about Skydock. “I have not dealt much with the 
  Skydock Kuthites, but I know that though they are religious 
  fanatics, they aren’t… unreasonable.”
  Your people look injured and dispirited. What’s going 
  on? “A group of kayals who used to be our neighbors and 
  cousins were… enticed by promises of wealth and power 
  from Eclipse Innovations, who seemed to be doing something 
  sinister on Darkside. They have declared us to be weak and 
  are threatening to destroy us. They have even recruited a few 
  of the more aggressive Shadow Plane natives to their side. 
  However, Cuvacara is our home, and we know its ways. We 
  have retreated to this section of the city and have suffe ed 
  losses, but I have resisted calls to leave completely. The 
  journey to another city would be perilous, with no guarantee 
  of safety wherever we might go. But if the attacks continue, I 
  might have no choice.”
  Veyla hasn’t heard the names “New Elysium” or “Dr. 
  Lestana Gragant,” though she has heard whispers of a shadow 
  queen from those kayals who sold out to Eclipse Innovations. 
  She assumed it was a ploy by Eclipse to get the Cuvacaran 
  kayals on their side. After speaking with Veyla, the PCs can 
  trade with Hanmu (as noted on page 4) and rest for the night. 
  The kayals don’t charge them for a room in one of the many 
  houses nearby, but they do ask them to pay for food (at the 
  standard rates).
  Story Award: If the PCs successfully changed Veyla’s 
  attitude to friendly or better, award them 6,400 XP.
  EVENT 1: A LONG SHADOW (CR 13)
  At some point while the PCs are resting, just before they are 
  about to retire for the night or when they’re about to leave the 
  kayal enclave, read or paraphrase the following.
  A bellow cuts through the stillness of the dim city. 
  “Weaklings!” The unknown voice shouts. “Time for a lesson 
  in pain!” The enclave erupts in chaos and sounds of distress 
  as a large figure comes into view between the buildings. A 
  massive spiked chain slams into a fleeing kayal, knocking her 
  to the ground and tearing strips of flesh from her back. The 
  intruder, dressed in slate-gray armor edged with blood-red 
  accents, strides into the park, swinging the chain at anyone 
  in reach.
  Creature: A shadow giant—a cruel native of the Shadow 
  Plane—allied with the kayals in Eclipse’s employ has hunted 
  down Veyla’s enclave. He intends to kill them all. If the PCs 
  don’t seem interested in engaging the shadow giant, Veyla 
  begs them for assistance before she is knocked unconscious 
  by a swipe of the shadow giant’s chains.
  SHADOW GIANT 
  CR 13
  XP 25,600
  HP 227 (see page 56)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The shadow giant lashes out with his 
  shadow chains at any PC who dares get close to him. 
  If he is somehow disarmed of his melee weapon, the 
  shadow giant draws his rifle or hurls debris ripped from 
  the nearby houses.
  Morale Abandoning his task would besmirch the shadow 
  giant’s reputation, so he fights to the death.
  Development: Once the giant is defeated, the kayals calm 
  down and begin to salvage their community, aid the injured, 
  and dispose of their dead. Veyla, bloodied and bandaged, 
  takes the PCs aside to thank them for their help. Read or 
  paraphrase the following.
  “This giant has been hounding my people for months,” Veyla 
  says. “Thanks to you, he will bother us no more. I am sorry 
  we can’t help you any further, though you are still welcome 
  to rest here and recover from your wounds or trade with 
  our merchants, if you wish. But I think we can’t stay here 
  much long after. I think we will have to find another place 
  to live, perhaps within Fullbright. As desolate as it is, the 
  other kayals will likely not harass us there. Perhaps, in 
  time, after realizing their patrons at Eclipse are gone, they 
  will be willing to treat peacefully with us and our lives can 
  return to normal.”
  5
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  FATHER GLOOM
  If the PCs made Veyla friendly earlier, she gives the PCs a 
  gift as thanks.
  After hesitating for a second, Veyla draws a weapon from 
  within her cloak, weighing it heavily in her hand before 
  passing it over. “I do not have much to offer, but this is a 
  weapon my mother and her mother before her used to 
  keep our clan safe from the monsters that prowl the 
  shadows. I prefer my pistols these days and have no 
  more use for this. Perhaps it will serve you better 
  than it has me.”
  After Veyla hands over the weapon—an evil 
  outsider–bane ultrathin dagger—she departs to 
  begin the process of leading her community’s 
  efforts to salvage any portable equipment, pack 
  up their wounded, and depart for a new location.
  JOURNEY IN THE DARK
  Shadow Skydock is only 2 days’ journey 
  from Shadow Cuvacara, which is 
  far less time than it would take 
  to walk between those two 
  locations on the Material 
  Plane. An almost overbearing 
  pall of darkness hangs over 
  the countryside, becoming 
  pitch black if the PCs stray too close to 
  the planet’s Darkside. Even Fullbright seems dim and overcast 
  from their vantage point.
  Veyla can point them in a generally northern direction if 
  needed, and after a few hours, the PCs begin to see Skydock 
  on the horizon, an ominous tower vanishing into the dark 
  sky, radiating waves of shadow like the shimmer of heat. 
  A PC can attempt a DC 22 Survival check to not get lost 
  with the Skydock in sight. A PC who succeeds at a DC 27 
  Perception check notices that there is a strange absence of 
  traffi approaching or leaving the Skydock, which is unusual 
  both for the Material Plane Skydock and for its Shadow Plane 
  equivalent described by Veyla.
  EVENT 2: RETALIATION (CR 11)
  At the end of their first day of travel, the PCs will need to make 
  camp. While no place on Shadow Verces feels particularly 
  safe, the PCs can easily find a clearing to set up tents or lay 
  down sleeping bags (or just stretch out under the dark sky). 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 32 Survival check can find a more 
  secluded locale, such as against a low rise or under a shelf 
  of sheltering rock. This grants the PCs a +4 circumstance 
  bonus to Perception checks to notice the encroaching kayal 
  assassins (see Creatures below).
  Creatures: While the PCs fought the shadow giant at the 
  kayal enclave, they were being watched from afar by the 
  kayals allied with Eclipse. As an attempt to take revenge 
  for killing their shadow giant enforcer, four kayal assassins 
  strike against the PCs during a moment of weakness. The 
  kayal assassins attempt Stealth checks opposed by the 
  Perception checks of any PCs who are on watch to get close 
  enough to the party to engage them in melee. Wearing 
  sleek, dark armor and wielding weapons provided by Eclipse 
  Innovations several months ago, these kayals try 
  to complete their mission of murder quickly 
  and quietly.
  KAYALS (4)  
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 each
  HP 100 each (see page 57)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The kayals use trick 
  attack every round to deal the most 
  damage to their targets. If the PCs seem 
  to be competent melee fighters, two of the 
  kayals pull back to fire their pistols.
  Morale If two or more of the kayals are 
  reduced to fewer than half their Hit 
  Points or at least two of the kayals fall, 
  the assassins attempt to retreat into 
  the darkness. These kayals accept 
  defeat and don’t harass the PCs 
  any further.
  Development: If the PCs capture any 
  of these kayals, the prisoners don’t say much. However, a 
  PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Diplomacy or Intimidate check 
  can get at least one kayal to talk. The kayal prisoner explains 
  her relationship to Kaeon Rhyse and Eclipse Innovations, 
  noting that they aren’t the only Shadow Plane residents 
  the corporation had recruited lately (the PCs have already 
  met at least one of them: Avigdis the svartalfar). The kayal 
  says that Kaeon paid them to secure as much as Shadow 
  Cuvacara as possible in preparation for a massive power 
  play by the verthani’s boss, whom the kayal knows only 
  as “Dr. Gragant.” These kayals are unaware of the shadow 
  signal or its effects on people, and they certainly can’t tell 
  the PCs anything about their shadow corruption—they are 
  simply guns for hire.
  ARRIVING AT 
  SHADOW SKYDOCK
  With the assassins defeated or run off, the PCs can continue 
  on to Shadow Skydock with no other incidents.
  Over the years, a collection of buildings has been built 
  around the base of Skydock, providing amenities and lodging 
  for arriving visitors, as well as housing for those who work 
  on the space platform. Approaching Shadow Skydock 
  through the reflection of this makeshift city is eerie, as, like 
  Shadow Cuvacara, it seems almost entirely devoid of life. A 
  giant structure coated in vibrating darkness rises above it 
  6
  
  all, its thrumming radiation filling the air with a rustling, dry 
  wind that does little to ease the palpable tension.
  Due to ancient technology—built when the humans of 
  Golarion were struggling to master iron and steel but verthani 
  soared among the stars in elaborate aetherships—whenever 
  a starship lands on the Material Plane version of Verces, the 
  computers of Shadow Skydock scan the vessel through thin 
  spots in the planar barrier and record its schematics in a 
  vast database. Skilled engineers (first consisting of those 
  who programmed the computers here and later the kayal 
  workers of today) can then craft a copy of such a vessel out 
  of shadowstuff, which they usually sell to those who need 
  to travel through Shadow Plane space. Shadow Skydock is 
  currently controlled by a large contingent of worshippers of 
  Zon-Kuthon and has been for several years. Their leader is 
  Father Gloom (LE male kayal mechanic/mystic).
  A gifted engineer and a priest in service to Zon-Kuthon, 
  Father Gloom runs Shadow Skydock with a deft hand and acute 
  business acumen. He doesn’t worry about where his clients’ 
  payments come from so long as no one tries to cheat him. On the 
  rare occasion that someone tries to swindle him, Father Gloom 
  doesn’t pursue violence against the offending party. He instead 
  bides his time and prepares a methodical revenge, springing it 
  when the cheat has likely forgotten about the incident. This 
  nonconfrontational attitude extends to other aspects of his life, 
  steering him to favor diplomacy over bloodshed.
  The majority of Shadow Skydock’s workers also follow 
  Zon-Kuthon, considering the chance to work with such rare 
  and unusual materials a gift from their god. When business 
  is slow, the engineers craft devices of exquisite pain and 
  undergo rituals of self-modific tion and self-mutilation. Such 
  services are also offe ed to customers, though only few ever 
  take them up on it. Nevertheless, Shadow Skydock doesn’t 
  hurt for business.
  All of that changed several days ago when Kaeon Rhyse 
  shunted the Eclipse black site onto the Shadow Plane, which 
  took an incredible amount of planar energy. Herembour, 
  one of Father Gloom’s acolytes, was undergoing his nightly 
  communions with Zon-Kuthon at the same time, and the 
  surge of power afflicte
  him with a unique echo of the 
  shadow signal. It mutated within his heavily augmented 
  body and spread into Shadow Skydock’s computer systems, 
  eventually becoming a system-wide infection. As Shadow 
  Skydock’s mechanical systems began to turn against their 
  operators, Father Gloom called for a retreat to the space 
  elevator’s ground floors. His divinations are of little use, 
  and all attempts to access remote camera feeds show only 
  images of hideous violence perpetrated on those who were 
  left behind, mutilated kayals left dead or dying. Lacking the 
  security resources to retake Shadow Skydock, Father Gloom 
  is looking for someone to deal with the traitorous acolyte so 
  he can return to business. 
  As the PCs approach the central district near the base of 
  Shadow Skydock, read or paraphrase the following.
  The towering structure is enveloped in layers of shimmering 
  shadow, as if wreathed in untold volumes of smoke. A 
  few humanoid creatures roam the streets around it in an 
  erratic, listless patrol. From a nearby building, a small figure 
  emerges, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace.
  His glowing yellow eyes and skin the color of storm 
  clouds are enough to mark him as a kayal. Entirely bald, 
  he bears a number of ritual scars, tattoos, and dozens 
  of piercings in symmetrical design across his head. The 
  markings continue down his neck and disappear under his 
  clothes, emerging from his sleeves to extend to the tips 
  of his fingers. Flat studs pierce the backs of his arms in 
  what seem to be agonizing inch-wide, bone-deep piercings, 
  and bits of metal seem to have been forced under the nails 
  of his left hand, giving him wicked, painful-looking claws. 
  He’s dressed in ordinary, oil-stained mechanic’s overalls, 
  and various tools hang from his belt. When he talks, his 
  split tongue and chipped teeth move eerily, belying the 
  sweetness of his voice.
  “Ah, some well-armed travelers!” he says. “Praise 
  the Midnight Lord! My name is Father Gloom, and 
  Shadow Skydock is run by me and mine. Well, it was 
  until recently. One of my former acolytes turned on us, 
  infected the machines with some kind of virus, and has 
  claimed the place for his own. It all happened so suddenly, 
  we barely got out with our lives. Looking at you, I am 
  sure Zon-Kuthon sent you to help us deal with our little 
  problem. Shadow Skydock has tremendous resources, 
  and I’m sure we can come to some agreement about what 
  we can do for you, hm?”
  Despite his unsettling appearance, Father Gloom is friendly, 
  hoping that the PCs will be able to aid him. If the PCs have 
  questions for him, he is willing to answer them before he 
  shows the group a way to reach his corrupted acolyte. Below 
  are some likely questions the PCs have, along with Father 
  Gloom’s responses.
  Who are you? What is this place? “I’m Father Gloom, 
  head engineer of Shadow Skydock. Though it might seem 
  merely a reflection of Verces’s famed space elevator, 
  Shadow Skydock is not unimportant. Our computers scan 
  all the starships that land on Verces, enabling us to create 
  shadow copies… for a price, of course. But don’t worry—the 
  process leaves the original ship as it is. We simply make a 
  simulacrum of it here in the Shadow Plane.”
  What’s going on here? “Several days ago, we picked up a 
  surge of planar energy from Darkside to the southeast. This 
  caused one of my acolytes, Herembour, who was already 
  prone to experimenting with the darker aspects of our religion, 
  to lose his grip on reality. I have seen similar incidents before, 
  and eventually the victims do fatal harm to themselves, but 
  Herembour somehow transferred this corruption to Shadow 
  Skydock’s mechanical devices and turned the whole place into 
  a meat grinder. Oh, such suffering I witnessed—hydraulics 
  7
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  puncturing torsos, torque threads ripping limbs from bodies, 
  fuel injectors ballooning fleshuntil it ruptures—but one doesn’t 
  like to see his life’s work ruined. Hopefully you can help.”
  What can we do? “Surely you are no strangers to violence! 
  Though nearly all of our manufacturing facilities are 
  dangerous to pass through, we know that Herembour has 
  retreated to a specific hangar connected to a maintenance 
  shaft untouched by the rogue machinery. My mechanics are 
  no match for Herembour in his current state, so we have been 
  praying for aid. And here you are!”
  Can you make a copy of our ship? Father Gloom checks 
  his comm unit. “Yes, we have the schematics on file. An 
  impressive vessel! Unfortunately, with our facilities in such 
  turmoil, we can’t help you. Perhaps if you help us, I can even 
  throw in a few upgrades, hm?”
  Can you tell us anything about our corruption? “I thought 
  I felt something interesting about you.” Father Gloom hovers 
  around the PCs for a few moments, his brow furrowed 
  in concentration. “I sense a distinctly velstrac fl vor, but 
  there’s something off about it. It isn’t purely spiritual—there’s 
  a mechanical taste to it, as if there’s a metal hook buried in 
  your flesh somewhere keeping it in place, hm? Someone’s 
  tampering with some fundamental forces. Very fascinating. 
  I’d be glad to cut you open and look about inside, if you like. 
  Oh, it wouldn’t kill you; I’m quite skilled at vivisection. None 
  of my patients die unless I want them to.” Father Gloom gives 
  a crooked grin.
  Can you get rid of it? “That isn’t how that usually works. 
  However, if you follow the chain attached to that hook inside 
  you to the source and destroy it, then you might have a 
  fighting chance”
  What does all this have to do with Zon-Kuthon? “Nothing, 
  really. Our religion is our own, with no relation to Shadow 
  Skydock’s business. I don’t require any sort of conversion 
  from anyone. The Midnight Lord wants only passionate 
  devotees who find their own ways to the worship of pain. 
  Though if you’re interested, I’ll be happy to introduce you to 
  some introductory meditations.”
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 20 Mysticism check or a DC 
  25 Culture check can recall the basics about Zon-Kuthon, the 
  lawful evil god of darkness, envy, loss, and pain (Starfinder
  Core Rulebook 492). A PC who already worships Zon-Kuthon 
  succeeds at this check automatically. Such PCs also know that 
  while Zon-Kuthon (and most of his followers) are evil, they 
  tend to keep their word on most matters and usually aren’t 
  wanton killers. The rituals of pain and mutilation performed 
  by followers of the Midnight Lord are generally performed on 
  willing participants.
  HELPING THE KUTHITES
  If the PCs agree to help Father Gloom, he leads them into 
  Shadow Skydock. The platform hangs in a starless sky, eerily 
  silent and still above the tidally locked planet. The sun is a 
  dull gray orb in the far distance, only its corona occasionally 
  flashing a weak, pale color. Handfuls of injured people, mostly 
  kayals but with a few other humanoids mixed in, crowd among 
  the buildings at the space elevator’s base. These people sit 
  around containers turned into makeshift tables, fiddling with 
  spare equipment or cleaning a few, meager weapons intended 
  more for self-defense than launching an attack. Most appear 
  to be in mechanical overalls or other practical outfits, with 
  a few travelers clad in more exotic gear, and are pacing the 
  area nervously.
  Those with only minor injuries tend to machinery 
  seemingly patched into the strange substance forming 
  the space station’s shadowy sheath. The more seriously 
  wounded are laid out on the ground, tended by various 
  medics of the Kuthite faith. They all barely notice the PCs 
  and Father Gloom as the group passes by.
  Eventually, Father Gloom and the PCs come to a nondescript 
  elevator door. The kayal mystic points out that this service 
  elevator remains untouched by the corruption and will take 
  the PCs to a service shaft that leads to Herembour’s hangar. 
  He gives them a security code to access that shaft, explaining 
  that it will open into a storage room in the hangar. As the 
  doors close on the PCs, Father Gloom says, “Herembour 
  is unlikely to be alone, as he has bent many of our most 
  dangerous machines to his will. May you play a symphony of 
  pain upon the heretic’s flesh”
  As the elevator rises, the PCs can catch occasional glimpses 
  of the planet below, possibly engendering moments of nausea 
  and vertigo even though the surface is nearly lost in shadow. 
  The pull of gravity begins to lessen and the air becomes 
  thinner. After nearly an hour, the PCs reach the lower levels 
  of Shadow Skydock, a cluster of workshops and hangars. 
  Father Gloom’s directions lead the PCs to a claustrophobic 
  maintenance tunnel. The code he gave to the PCs opens this 
  dim corridor that looks ready to diminish any illumination 
  to a pathetic glow waiting to gutter and die. The PCs walk 
  down the cramped tunnel for several minutes, and just when 
  it seems as though the corridor will stretch on forever, they 
  reach the unsecured hatch in the ceiling above that opens into 
  area A1.
  A. SHADOW SKYDOCK HANGAR
  This small hangar is one of many around Shadow Skydock 
  used by Father Gloom’s engineers and mechanics to repair 
  and upgrade parts of the shadow vessels created in larger 
  shipyards. Herembour was working here when the shadow 
  corruption fully overtook him, so he considers it a holy 
  place of rebirth. He has returned to this area after wreaking 
  destruction across the rest of Shadow Skydock to reflect upon 
  his new form and his future goals. 
  The hangar is cast in dim light from the flickering,
  malfunctioning electronics. Due to its location in Shadow 
  Verces’ upper atmosphere, it is an area of low gravity. The 
  ceilings in areas A1 and A3 are 20 feet high, but the ceiling 
  in area A2 stretches up to 40 feet in height. The hangar 
  8
  
  doors along the southern wall of area A2 are blocked with 
  debris but open out directly into the atmosphere, several 
  miles above the planet’s surface.
  A1. StorAge (Cr 11)
  A number of shelves line the walls of this square room. 
  Various components of computer boards, engine boosters, 
  gyroscopes, shielding panes, and stabilizers lie abandoned 
  on the floor or sit forgotten on the shelves. The clutter is 
  the thickest in the northwest corner of the room, across 
  from a circular hatch in the floor. A wide door exits to 
  the east. 
  This chamber is one of many storage areas attached 
  to Shadow Skydock’s hangars, used to hold remnants of 
  starship systems in case they can be used on other vessels. 
  If left here long enough, most equipment dissolves back 
  into shadowstuff.
  Creature: A dismantling robot moves about the room, 
  its four limbs moving erratically and stabbing randomly at 
  the junk around it. It occasionally releases small bursts of 
  static and garbled white noise. Its corrupted programming 
  considers all objects as targets for deconstruction, from inert 
  mechanical devices to living beings. The robot fumbles about 
  for 2 rounds after the PCs enter the room, and then it attacks 
  anyone within reach.
  DECONSTRUCTOR 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  N Medium construct (technological)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +20
  DEFENSE
  HP 180
  EAC 24; KAC 26
  Fort +11; Ref +11; Will +8
  Defensive Abilities electrostatic charge; Immunities 
  construct immunities
  Weaknesses vulnerable to critical hits
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee pneumatic claw +24 (4d6+19 P plus grab) or
  pneumatic hammer +24 (4d6+19 B)
  Offensive Abilities shattering cone 
  TACTICS
  During Combat The deconstructor tries to grab at a PC with 
  its pneumatic claw to begin the combat. On the second 
  round, it unleashes its shattering cone to catch as many 
  PCs as possible and then returns to using its melee attacks. 
  Morale The deconstructor fights until it is destroyed.
  A1
  A2
  A3
  A. SHADOW SKYDOCK
  HANGAR
  1 SQUARE = 5 FEET
  NORTH
  9
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con —; Int —; Wis +3; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +20, Computers +20, Engineering +25
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue (can’t speak 
  any language)
  Other Abilities mindless, unliving
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Electrostatic Charge (Ex) Any creature that deals 
  damage to the deconstructor with an unarmed strike 
  or melee weapon takes 2d6 electricity damage (Reflex 
  DC 18 half). 
  Shattering Cone (Ex) The deconstructor can emit a 
  cone of sonic energy to break down physical objects 
  once every 1d4 rounds. All creatures and objects in 
  the 15-foot cone take 12d6 sonic damage (Fortitude 
  DC 19 half). 
  Treasure: A PC who spends a few moments searching the 
  shelves and succeeds at a DC 28 Perception check finds an 
  articulated appendage that can function as a single cybernetic 
  arm augmentation. Father Gloom is happy to install this 
  augmentation on a PC if the group successfully completes 
  their mission.
  A2. HAngAr Floor (Cr 12)
  The hangar floor is a wide, open space with heavy blast 
  doors to the south. A large section of a damaged starship 
  occupies the center of the area, surrounded by portable 
  industrial machinery attached to generators that chug 
  and strain. Long chains—some barbed, others ending 
  with hooks—hang from the ceiling, some wrapped around 
  the machines or simply dangling loosely. The mutilated 
  remains of several people are scattered across the floor, 
  some even draped across the starship section. Blood is 
  everywhere, accompanied by the smell of ozone and 
  gasoline. Doors lead into two self-contained rooms to the 
  east and west.
  The bodies here are of Herembour’s coworkers, who were 
  butchered before they could flee. A PC who succeeds at a DC 
  30 Medicine check can tell that these unfortunate people 
  were torn apart with various mechanical tools. The hangar 
  floor is slippery with oil and blood, increasing the DC of 
  Acrobatics checks to balance and tumble by 2. 
  Creatures: Not all the victims of Herembour’s 
  rampage were ripped to pieces; he strangled a few 
  with chains. Due to the Shadow Plane’s proximity 
  to the Negative Energy Plane and the hangar’s 
  position in the thin atmosphere, these four 
  murdered kayals rose again as nihilis with 
  a burning hatred for all living things 
  (though they have a healthy fear of 
  the corrupted Herembour). These 
  undead hide on the darkened ceiling 
  and attempt to creep down the chains, 
  attacking as the PCs examine the 
  starship section and bodies.
  UNDEAD MECHANICS (4)  CR 8
  XP 4,800 each
  Kayal nihili (see page 57, 
  Starfi der Alien Archive 82)
  NE Medium undead
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 
  60 ft.; Perception +16
  Aura gravity well (5 ft., DC 18)
  DEFENSE 
  HP 125 EACH
  EAC 20; KAC 22
  Fort +11; Ref +11; Will +10
  Immunities undead immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
  10
  DECONSTRUCTOR
  
  Melee slam +19 (2d6+12 P)
  Offensive Abilities decompression gaze (15 ft., DC 18, 
  1d10+6 B)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Each undead mechanic chooses a different 
  PC to attack, focusing its slam attacks on that PC and 
  relying on its decompression gaze to affect that PC and 
  any others who dare to get too close.
  Morale The undead mechanics fight until they 
  are destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +6; Dex +4; Con —; Int +2; Wis +0; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +21 (+29 to climb), Engineering +16, 
  Stealth +16
  Other Abilities unliving
  A3. tool room (Cr 12)
  Several tools have been pulled from their cabinets along 
  the walls and are arranged on the floor in a horrific display. 
  A halo of gore-covered drill bits lies around a handheld 
  electric drill. An automatic hammer drips a line of blood 
  that snakes around an unidentifiable, pulped organ. A 
  circular saw spattered with an unidentified liquid leans 
  against a short stack of clean saw blades. Spools of wire 
  and other fasteners are scattered everywhere. A metal 
  sink in one corner of the room appears to be filled with a 
  mixture of blood and oil. A door leads west.
  A barely living kayal mechanic lies twitching on the floo  
  among the tools. He is on his stomach, almost completely 
  dissected and partially dismembered. The exposed muscles 
  of his fl yed back throb in time with his slowing heartbeat. 
  Copper wire has been threaded into his skin in places, 
  connecting to his detached right arm a foot away from the 
  cauterized stump. He occasionally lets out a pained moan 
  as Herembour’s sheer force of will keeps him at the edge 
  of death.
  Creatures: Herembour, wrapped in a sheet of bloodstained 
  plastic and carrying a pair of gory tools, stands over the kayal 
  mechanic. Hooks pierce Herembour’s shoulders, attached 
  to chains that reach up to the ceiling and disappear into 
  darkness; these chains rustle of their own accord and grant 
  the kayal a flight speed. When the PCs enter the room, 
  Herembour speaks.
  “Pain, she told me, can inspire prophecy, but all this one 
  does is scream.” The sinister figure says, his voice distant 
  and cold. “I heard her whispers in a dream. She said you’d 
  come. She told me to violate your routine.” He shrugs out of 
  the plastic tarp as robots standing frozen in the corners of 
  the room suddenly jerk back to life with spastic motion. The 
  chains attached the former kayal engineer come alive, lifting 
  him into the air, as blood runs down his limbs in red rivulets. 
  He wields a nail gun in one hand and a drill in the other that 
  begins spinning with shrill, metallic sound. “Tell me, have I 
  ruined your day yet?”
  Herembour and a trio of corrupted repair robots attack at 
  this point. The robots seem to take delight in causing pain to 
  living creatures, even though they have no faces to express 
  such an emotion. 
  CORRUPTED REPAIR BOTS (3) 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 each
  N Small construct (technological)
  Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +14
  DEFENSE 
  HP 100 EACH
  EAC 19; KAC 20
  Fort +5; Ref +5; Will +9
  Immunities construct immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +16 (1d8+12 B)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Each robot moves toward the nearest PC 
  and attacks with its sturdy appendages.
  Morale The robots fight until they are destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +5; Dex +4; Con —; Int +2; Wis +0; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +14, Computers +19, Engineering +19, 
  Physical Science +19
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue (can’t speak 
  any language)
  HEREMBOUR 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  Male variant kayal (see page 57)
  LE Medium outsider (native)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +19
  DEFENSE 
  HP 145
  EAC 23; KAC 25
  Fort +11; Ref +9; Will +13
  Defensive Abilities shadow blending; DR 8/good or silver; 
  Resistances cold 5, electricity 5
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 20 ft. (Su, average)
  Melee carbon drill +21 (2d10+18 P)
  Ranged nail gun +19 (3d6+10 P)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Herembour remains near the ceiling, 
  approximately 20 feet from the ground, and fires his 
  nail gun from the shadows for several rounds. On the 
  fourth round, he lands near the PC who has taken the 
  most damage and asks them to join him in suffering. 
  He activates his velstrac rejuvenation after taking a 
  11
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  critical hit or being reduced to fewer than 100 Hit Points, 
  whichever comes first.
  Morale Driven insane by his corruption, Herembour fights 
  to the death and dies with a smile on his face.
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con +1; Int +3; Wis +0; Cha +1
  Skills Acrobatics +24 (+32 to fly), Bluff 19, Engineering 
  +24, Sleight of Hand +19, Stealth +24
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue
  Other Abilities shadow blending, shadow manifestations 
  (painful clarity*, pain refuge*, velstrac durability*, 
  velstrac rejuvenation*)
  Gear estex suit III, carbon drill (functions as a ripper 
  spined bladeAR) with 1 battery (20 charges), nail gun 
  (functions as an elite semi-auto pistol) with 20 nails
  *See “Corrupted by Shadows” in Starfinder Adventure Path 
  #10: The Diaspora Strain
  Treasure: Before he was corrupted, Herembour was 
  tweaking a pair of weapons to be installed onto a starship 
  for security purposes. These weapons—an anharmonic dirge 
  cannon (Starfinder Armory 23) and a white star plasma 
  caster—can be spotted on a work table.
  Development: When the PCs kill Herembour, the tortured 
  kayal engineer on the floor expels a final shuddering 
  breath and then dies. The chains fall limp with a clatter, 
  signaling the beginning of the end of the corruption’s 
  effects on Shadow Skydock. Father Gloom and his workers 
  arrive soon after to take control of the facility and clean 
  up the place. 
  SHADOW REWARDS
  Father Gloom is generally pleased with how the PCs handled 
  the problem and is prepared to supply them with a shadow 
  copy of their starship, even throwing in some upgrades for 
  their trouble. 
  It takes 2 days for the kayal workers to get Shadow 
  Skydock cleaned up and fully back online. Father Gloom 
  offers the PCs a comfortable place to rest in the city below. 
  He also gives them a datapad with which they can design 
  a tier 11 version of their starship, which the kayals build at 
  no cost and in 1 day once the facility is online. This version 
  of the PCs’ starship exists only on the Shadow Plane, and 
  any upgrades don’t apply to the one on the Material Plane, 
  so the PCs should feel free to make as many alterations as 
  they please. For instance, since they won’t be able to use 
  their Drift engines on the Shadow Plane—a fact Father 
  Gloom can tell them), they can spend those Build Points on 
  other equipment. 
  In addition, if the PCs have been negotiating with Father 
  Gloom in good faith, he will make an offe . Read or paraphrase 
  the following. 
  Father Gloom speaks softly. “I’m grateful for your help, 
  and I’m sure you have suffered somewhat on this journey. 
  I understand you are afraid of the corruption within 
  you—sleeping in some, raging in others—but there are ways 
  to master this power without giving into it. If you wish, I 
  can perform a ritual and grant you the Midnight Lord’s 
  blessing to allow you to overcome some of the drawbacks 
  of the shadow living inside of you. Beware, though, this will 
  not cure your corruption—it might even tempt you closer 
  to allowing the shadow to swallow your soul. In addition, 
  the ritual requires you to endure the smallest taste of 
  12
  HEREMBOUR
  
  pain—merely a gift to take with you as a reminder of your 
  time here with us.” He smiles.
  If any PC wishes to accept Father Gloom’s offe , he leads 
  them to a stark and disturbing chapel of Zon-Kuthon, where 
  they receive a painful piercing or tattoo (their choice). Each 
  participating PC must then attempt a Fortitude save (DC = 
  10 + half her level + the number of manifestations she has). 
  On a success, the PC can ignore the drawbacks of one their 
  manifestation’s stains for as long as they keep the piercing or 
  tattoo. A PC can undergo this ritual and attempt this saving 
  throw only once.
  With an upgraded shadow starship, the PCs can leave 
  Shadow Skydock and make their way to the Diaspora. 
  The journey takes 1d4+2 days, as the PCs must use their 
  conventional thrusters. However, the light from stars 
  in other systems doesn’t penetrate very far into Shadow 
  Plane space, making it difficul to tell how much progress 
  is being made. The PCs should feel like they are floating in 
  an infinite expanse of darkness, and even though they are 
  within the Shadow Pact Worlds, their sensors are partially 
  occluded by the shadowstuff that makes up the plane. 
  Enforce the unsettling loneliness of the journey, though the 
  PCs might enjoy this quiet interlude before they reach Dr. 
  Gragant’s lair.
  EVENT 3: SCREAMS IN THE DARKNESS (CR 11)
  Partway through the journey to New Elysium, the PCs’ ship’s 
  sensors detect a single vessel moving quickly toward them. 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 32 Computers check can tell 
  the other ship’s intentions are hostile before it is upon them, 
  much faster than should be possible, allowing the starship 
  combat to start as normal. Otherwise, the velstrac vessel 
  can take a free pilot action to establish its position before 
  starship combat truly begins. A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 
  Mysticism check understands that this is because, even in 
  space, distances on the Shadow Plane are compact compared 
  to their corresponding distances on the Material Plane.
  The starship broadcasts the following message to the PCs 
  as combat begins.
  “Welcome to the Shadow Plane, unknown vessel. We invite 
  you to partake of carnal experiences never before known to 
  your kind. Lower your shields and be embraced.”
  13
  PART 2: 
  STARLESS SKIES
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  SUMMONED HORROR
  Starship Combat: The PCs face the Screamer, a velstrac 
  Tormentor-class vessel. Though unrelated to Dr. Gragant’s 
  machinations, the velstrac crew of the Screamer don’t look 
  kindly on what they see as the PCs’ intrusion onto the Shadow 
  Plane. They want to capture the PCs and “enlighten” them to 
  the ways of velstracs. If the PCs do lower their shields, the 
  Screamer fi es one of its summoning torpedoes at their ship 
  and moves away to a safe distance, confident the torpedo’s 
  payload will take care of the PCs (or at least soften them up 
  for easier conquest later).
  If the PCs fight the Screamer attempts to wear down 
  their shields in one quadrant to prime them for a summoning 
  torpedo. The velstracs grow a little more desperate if their 
  vessel is reduced to half its Hull Points, firing torpedo after 
  torpedo at the PCs’ vessel, hoping one will deliver its deadly 
  payload. Once they have hit and dealt Hull Point damage 
  with a summoning torpedo, the Screamer then backs off from 
  the fight, possibly feigning surrender to give time for the 
  summoned horror to strike.
  THE SCREAMER 
   
  TIER 9
  Velstrac Tormentor (see inside front cover)
  HP 100
  Development: If the PCs’ vessel is reduced to 0 Hull Points 
  before the velstracs can deliver a successful summoning 
  torpedo attack, they do so at this point and move their vessel 
  away. Continue to Event 4, and if the Screamer is still nearby 
  when the PCs defeat the heretic velstracs, the velstrac crew can 
  see they are no match for the PCs and don’t engage them again.
  Story Award: For defeating or driving off the Screamer in 
  starship combat, award the PCs 12,800 XP.
  EVENT 4: HULL BREACH (CR 12)
  Once the Screamer backs away (or is destroyed), 
  the PCs can assess the damage done to their 
  own vessel. A PC who succeeds at a DC 26 
  Computers or Engineering check discovers 
  that one of the torpedo hits from the 
  velstrac starship caused a minor 
  hull breach—and detects a new 
  life-form on board!
  Creature: The summoning torpedo 
  has called forth a dangerous creature 
  to menace the PCs. To inflict the 
  most terror, velstracs infuse their 
  summoning torpedoes with minor telepathic 
  abilities, enabling them to quickly scan the 
  inhabitants of an affected ship and manifest their fears. Due 
  to the PCs’ recent adventures on Verces, the summoned 
  horror appears as a 12-foot-tall musclebound verthani with 
  malfunctioning cybernetic implants, vicious claws, and 
  sharpened canines. Tiny red pinpoints glow in the center of the 
  horror’s eyes, and its hair flo ts around its head as if underwater. 
  When it is summoned, it begins roving through the PCs’ vessel, 
  searching for the party in order to inflict torment on them  
  SUMMONED HORROR 
  CR 12
  XP 19,200
  LE Large outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful)
  Init +4; Senses blindsense (life) 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; 
  Perception +22
  14
  
  Aura frightful presence (30 ft., DC 19)
  DEFENSE 
  HP 200
  EAC 26; KAC 28
  Fort +14; Ref +14; Will +13
  Defensive Abilities ferocity; DR 10/good or silver; 
  Resistances cold 10
  Weaknesses light blindness
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee bite +26 (6d4+20 P) or
  claw +26 (4d6+20 S)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  TACTICS
  Before Combat The summoned horror creeps through the 
  corridors of the PCs’ starship and attempts to ambush a 
  lone PC who strays from the rest of the party.
  During Combat The summoned horror is a straightforward 
  combatant, tearing into a single opponent with its claws 
  and fangs. It growls detailed threats of the terrible 
  violence it intends to inflict upon the PCs, though its 
  mouth moves strangely when it does so, as if it is unused 
  to speaking aloud.
  Morale The summoned horror fights until it is destroyed, 
  whereupon it dissolves into a cloud of thick black smoke. 
  The cloud lingers for a moment before being sucked into 
  the ship’s ventilation systems.
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +4; Con +5; Int +3; Wis +2; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +27, Intimidate +22, Stealth +22
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue
  Development: After defeating the intruding outsider, the 
  PCs can continue of their way to the Diaspora and New 
  Elysium, though you should endeavor to keep them on their 
  toes, mentioning other unusual vessels just out of range that 
  appear to be tracking their movements.
  HEART OF NIGHT
  As they sleep while their vessel approaches the Diaspora, 
  the PCs are tormented by horrible nightmares of being 
  strapped to an altar of solid shadow while a winged humanoid 
  figu e stands over them. The fell ritual reaches a climax of 
  high-pitched cries and shrieks, and the winged figu e plunges 
  a wicked-looking dagger into the dreamer’s chest, causing 
  that PC to suddenly awaken with a sharp pain in that same 
  area. Multiple PCs can have identical dreams simultaneously, 
  and they all end the same way.
  When the PCs are within hours of New Elysium, their 
  ships’ sensors pick up unusual readings: the shadow signal 
  that caused their corruption can be heard loud and clear 
  on their receivers, as if a normal wireless broadcast were 
  somehow stretching out into space. The shadow signal is 
  a jumble of screams, whispering voices promising untold 
  pleasures, bursts of static, and sounds of the grinding of 
  rusty gears and churning of pistons. If the PCs listen long 
  enough, an intelligible female voice begins to cut through 
  the clamor.
  “You hold such uncompromising adherence to your sense 
  of self when I can shred your consciousness and reveal 
  vistas unimaginable to your sleeping eyes! Why do you 
  get in the way of your own liberation? Let me purify you 
  from the slavery stitched in your flesh. Let us give you 
  ultimate freedom!”
  At your discretion, a PC who listens to the shadow signal 
  for an extended period of time might have to attempt a Will 
  saving throw to avoid advancing their shadow corruption 
  (see “Corrupted by Shadows” in Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #10).
  Whether or not the PCs listen to the shadow signal, their 
  vessel eventually reaches the coordinates of the Shadow 
  Plane reflection of New Elysium. However, what the PCs 
  see when they arrive might surprise them: where the 
  resort asteroid should be is a titanic human heart, flo ting 
  incongruously in space. A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 
  Computers check using their ship’s scanners can determine 
  that New Elysium’s asteroid (as well as the source of the 
  shadow signal) is at the center of the heart. It is impossible 
  to get specifics about anything that has changed about 
  the resort or if there are any life-forms on it, as the heart 
  seems to be giving off massive amounts of strange energy. 
  The same check also reveals an opening on the surface that 
  leads into the heart, near a relatively fl t space where a 
  starship can land.
  If the PCs fi e on the heart with their starship weapons, 
  they quickly find that it is impenetrable. The heart is also 
  warded with powerful magic that prevents any teleportation 
  into or out of it. The PCs will have to brave the tunnels of 
  the Heartgate if they want to reach Shadow New Elysium 
  and Dr. Gragant.
  B. HEARTGATE
  In addition to helping her learn how to control and amplify 
  the shadow signal, Dr. Gragant’s velstrac allies taught her 
  to harness her force of will to manipulate the essence of 
  the Shadow Plane. This has allowed her to create several 
  tableaus of her memories and experiences, excising them 
  from her consciousness in the process (see area C) while 
  also forming a morbid defensive structure around the entire 
  asteroid: a massive beating human heart. However, such an 
  endeavor has a cost, though it is one Dr. Gragant was more 
  than willing to pay. The heart is essentially constructed from 
  several of the doctor’s more positive emotions: compassion, 
  gratitude, love, and serenity. These feelings are housed in 
  several chambers known as the Heartgate, and accessing 
  them allows passage to the asteroid. Several sentient 
  beings (many of whom were drawn to the Shadow Plane 
  15
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  from the Material Plane) were drawn to the Heartgate 
  by the seductive pull of Dr. Gragant’s shadow signal, and 
  though they might not know the doctor personally, they 
  instinctually guard the area.
  As the PCs land their starship near the sole passage into 
  the heart and step out onto the surface, they can feel the 
  warmth radiating from the heart tissue. It is slightly elastic 
  (like real flesh) and moves slightly in a rhythmic pattern, 
  as if the heart were beating. Minutes after the PCs touch 
  down, tendrils of tissue begin snaking their way onto the 
  PCs’ shadow starship, tethering it to the surface. If the PCs 
  stick around long enough, they witness their starship slowly 
  turning into an organic extension of the heart, the exterior 
  plating becoming flesh, the wires turning into veins, and the 
  various rooms transforming into shapeless chambers. This 
  process is inevitable (and doesn’t affect the real version 
  of the PCs’ ship on the Material Plane), though it doesn’t 
  prevent the use of the vessel. Though the ship seems to 
  bleed and groan in pain if it is torn from the heart, it slowly 
  reverts back to its normal state in a matter of hours in 
  deep space.
  The passage into the heart slopes downward for several 
  hundred feet before coming to area B1. The tunnels of the 
  Heartgate are 12 feet high, while most of the chambers 
  stretch up to 30 feet in height. The walls, ceilings, and 
  floors of the Heartgate are made from the same fleshy 
  material as the surface and are as impervious to the 
  PCs’ weaponry as the exterior of the heart was to their 
  starship weapons. The atmosphere within the tunnels and 
  chambers is breathable, but the air is warm and humid 
  (though not so hot that the PCs must attempt Fortitude 
  saves to avoid nonlethal damage). The gravity within the 
  Heartgate is normal. Like most places on the Shadow 
  Plane, the interior of the Heartgate glows with a dim light 
  from unknown sources.
  B1. HeArtgAte entrAnCe
  The tunnels here stretch off in multiple directions, while 
  the western passage leads upward to the heart’s surface. 
  The tunnels constrict somewhat with a simple rhythm, as 
  if trying to push blood along, though this doesn’t impede 
  movement through them. A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 
  Perception check hears a series of droning chants coming 
  from the southern passage.
  B2. tHe ACCeptAnCe oF SelF (Cr 11)
  Two ten-foot-tall, free-standing, L-shaped walls stand in the 
  center of this room, each lined with hundreds of shards of 
  mirrors—some larger than others—that face inward. The 
  mirrors reflect one another in a dizzying display of infinity. 
  The other sides of these structures appear to be made from 
  B2
  B1
  B4
  B3
  B5
  B6
  B. HEARTGATE
  NORTH
  1 SQUARE = 5 FEET
  16
  
  rusting and bloodstained steel that pierces the red flesh of 
  the floor.
  The “seed” of this chamber was harvested from Dr. 
  Gragant’s sense of serenity: the peaceful acceptance of her 
  self-image. As Dr. Gragant often saw herself as a failure, 
  especially in her professional career, and has spent the last 
  decade modifying her physical form, she had no difficul  
  cutting this emotion out of herself. 
  The dim light reflected by the mirror shards has been 
  magically amplified to form an area of bright light between 
  the two walls. A PC who steps into this bright light can clearly 
  see images of themself in the many shards, though many of 
  them are subtly wrong: showing a slightly diffe ent hair color 
  or a scar where there is none, for instance. A PC who looks 
  too closely at these incorrect reflections risks becoming too 
  enthralled by them (see Trap below). However, looking into 
  the mirror shards is necessary to gain part of the key that 
  allows them to exit the Heartgate (see Development below).
  Trap: A PC standing in the area of bright light and looking 
  into the mirror shards for more than a few moments (1 round) 
  triggers the trap for themself. Failing the Will saving throw 
  means that PC begins to see more and more drastic changes 
  in their reflections and becomes fascinated with examining 
  and pointing out these alterations. Each round spent doing 
  so drains that character’s life force (which doesn’t break the 
  fascination effect), but the PC can attempt a new saving 
  throw each round to break free. The trap affects each PC 
  in the bright light separately, unless the trap is disabled or 
  more than half the PCs succeed at their saving throws against 
  the trap, whereupon the bright light fades to dim light for 10 
  minutes, after which the trap resets. 
  A PC who isn’t affected by the trap can aid an ally who is 
  by succeeding at a DC 32 Diplomacy check, or by physically 
  shaking that PC (though remember that any PC who enters 
  the bright light might be affected by the trap, even if they 
  earlier succeeded at the saving throw to break free). A PC who 
  closes their eyes while stepping into the bright light can’t be 
  affected by the trap, but must succeed at a DC 30 Perception 
  check (with a –4 penalty) each round to find the ally they 
  want to shake. An aided PC gains a +2 circumstance bonus to 
  their saving throw to break free for 1 round.
  SELF-REFLECTION TRAP 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  Type magical; Perception DC 36; Disable Mysticism DC 31 
  (disrupt mesmerizing effect)
  Trigger location; Reset 10 minutes; Bypass close eyes
  Initial Effect fascinated; Will DC 21 negates; multiple 
  targets (all intelligent creatures in the area of 
  bright light); Secondary Effect drained (2d12 negative 
  energy damage per round until fascinated condition is 
  removed); any target with the fascinated condition in the 
  area of bright light
  Treasure: With the trap disabled or overcome, the mirror 
  shards offer normal reflections. However, the first PC to 
  succeed at a DC 32 Perception check while glancing into the 
  safe mirrors notices one of their reflections hold up a glowing 
  crystal and then place it in one of their pockets or containers. 
  That PC then realizes that they have a mk 3 ability crystal in 
  their possession. The memories held in this crystal seem to 
  be of alternate-reality versions of the PCs. Only one PC can 
  obtain this crystal.
  Development: If the PCs disable or overcome the trap, a 
  small white stone appears on the ground in the center of the 
  chamber. This stone has a magic aura and can be identifie  
  as part of a mystical mechanism with a successful DC 30 
  Mysticism check. It is one of four keys required to open 
  the center of the Heartgate in area B6 to reach Shadow 
  New Elysium.
  B3. love’S emBrACe (Cr 12)
  An enormous head formed from bone and sinew juts from 
  the southwestern wall of this chamber, its features casting 
  a beatific gaze downward at a square stone altar. The altar 
  bulges at the top, showing a hemispherical surface that 
  is jagged and pitted. The air here smells of cinnamon and 
  freshly baked bread.
  This area was born from the love within Dr. Gragant’s 
  heart, an emotion that for all practical purposes died with her 
  parents. Throwing herself into her research, Dr. Gragant never 
  felt the need to pursue romantic relationships. Though she 
  had a few friends (mostly other scientists in her field) before 
  her accident, she never truly felt close to any of them. She 
  hasn’t missed this particular emotion in the years she has 
  been trapped on the Shadow Plane.
  The head is an image of Dr. Gragant before her 
  transformation, but the PCs most likely couldn’t recognize 
  her. A PC who succeeds at a DC 20 Wisdom check notes the 
  figu e in the shared nightmare the PCs had at the beginning 
  of “The Penumbra Protocol” bears a passing familiarity to the 
  titanic head, even though that figu e was mostly draped in 
  shadow. The statue is immune to all damage as long as the 
  draelik idolaters (see Creatures below) are still alive, but it 
  doesn’t radiate a magical aura. 
  Creatures: Four draeliks passing through the Pact 
  Worlds several months ago were affected by Dr. Gragant’s 
  shadow signal, and while they avoided becoming tainted 
  by corruption, they nevertheless fell under the scientist’s 
  sway. However, instead of becoming obsessed with the 
  line between pleasure and pain, they came to worship Dr. 
  Gragant as a god. They soon discovered a way to slip onto 
  the Shadow Plane and subsequently found this chamber. 
  Despite never having met her, the draeliks’ adulation of Dr. 
  Gragant caused the gigantic statue of her face in the wall 
  to manifest, as well as the altar, which they occasionally 
  17
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  use to sacrifice pieces of themselves to her. After the 
  draeliks feel that Dr. Gragant has accepted their offering  
  they then consume the amputated limbs and pieces of flesh  
  The power of their adulation and the malleable nature of 
  reality within the Heartgate cause the draeliks to slowly and 
  painfully regenerate, an effect that they draeliks believe is 
  a sign of Dr. Gragant’s favor. In reality, she is unaware of 
  these devotees.
  When the PCs enter this chamber, the draeliks have just 
  finished one of their many rituals and are preparing to offe  
  their flesh to Dr. Gragant. They look up from the altar and 
  greet the PCs with friendly smiles and open arms.
  “Welcome! Have you come to show your love for the Blessed 
  Lady?” The draelik gestures toward the large, gruesome 
  effigy. “She gathers all in her embrace and asks for so very 
  little in return.”
  The draelik idolaters are happy to answer questions 
  about “the Blessed Lady,” but that epithet is the only name 
  they know for Dr. Gragant. They explain they were drawn 
  to this place by a religious fervor and have spent the past 
  few months worshipping their new god. They don’t find it 
  odd that they no longer have to sleep, eat, or drink, and if 
  asked about it, they say they barely recall the base urges 
  of the flesh anymore. From the draeliks’ description of the 
  subliminal call that brought them to the Shadow Plane, the 
  PCs should be able to determine that Dr. Gragant is the 
  one responsible.
  However, the draeliks can’t be convinced that Dr. Gragant 
  is evil and needs to be stopped. If the PCs insist that the 
  draeliks stop worshipping her or state outright that their 
  goal is to destroy Dr. Gragant, the draeliks become incensed 
  and ready their shadowstaves to attack with cries of “For the 
  Blessed Lady!” 
  On the other hand, the PCs might want to keep their 
  intentions to themselves and participate in the idolaters’ 
  ceremony. The draeliks are pleased to bring in new potential 
  converts and explain that they are about to make their daily 
  offerings. As the PCs watch, one of the draeliks pulls out a 
  razor-sharp knife and slices off one of his fingers, letting it 
  fall onto the altar. He then holds the knife out to one of the 
  PCs, stating, “the Blessed Lady wishes to taste of your flesh  
  newcomer.” The PC is likely to refuse to mutilate themself, 
  which upsets the idolaters. If the PCs attempt to leave at 
  this point (or if they try to leave before the offerings begin), 
  the draeliks ready their weapons in a menacing manner and 
  insist that the PCs participate. Any further refusals lead 
  to combat.
  If any PC wishes to cut themself, they must deal 1d8 
  slashing damage that is taken directly from their Hit Points, 
  slicing off a sliver of flesh or the tip of an appendage. This 
  might not seem so horrifying to the PCs, but after all of the 
  idolaters have made their offerings, there follows several 
  minutes of silent prayer. Then, one of the draeliks claps 
  his hands together and says, “The Blessed Lady is pleased. 
  Praise be. And as always, she bids us to be whole again.” 
  That draelik picks up the piece of flesh offe ed by one of the 
  PCs and pops it into his mouth and chews with gusto. The 
  PCs are directed to do the same, and refusal is seen as an 
  aff ont that leads to combat.
  In the unlikely event the PCs participate in the entire 
  ceremony, they find themselves compelled to stay in this 
  chamber and continue to worship the Blessed Lady. Over 
  time, the offerings become more and more bloody until the 
  PCs are removing whole limbs (which eventually grow back 
  in an agonizing process). At any point, a PC can attempt a DC 
  18 Will saving throw to break free of this compulsion, only to 
  discover several days have passed in a haze of self-mutilation 
  and cannibalism. A PC who has their wits about them can 
  shake an ally to prompt the same Will save or attack the 
  draelik idolaters; such a violent, nonloving act frees the other 
  PCs from the spell. 
  DRAELIK IDOLATERS (4) 
   CR 8
  XP 4,800 each
  Male and female draeliks (Starfi der Alien Archive 36)
  LE Medium humanoid (draelik)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
  DEFENSE 
  HP 115 EACH
  EAC 20; KAC 21
  Fort +7; Ref +9; Will +11; +2 vs. necromancy effects
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee shadowstaff +15 (2d6+10 B, P, or S)
  Ranged shadowstaff +17 (2d4+8 C)
  Offensive Abilities touch of autocannibalism (DC 18)
  Draelik Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; melee +15)
  1/day—wisp ally
  At will—fatigue (DC 15), ghost sound (DC 15)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Two draelik idolaters begin combat by using 
  their touch of autocannibalism ability on two of the 
  closest PCs. They follow that up with fatigue and melee 
  attacks. The other two draelik idolaters move a short 
  distance away and cast wisp ally, followed by using the 
  ranged capabilities of their shadowstaves to shoot any 
  obvious spellcasters. 
  Morale The draelik idolaters fight to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str +2; Dex +6; Con +2; Int +0; Wis +4; Cha +0
  Skills Acrobatics +16, Bluff 21, Diplomacy +16, Mysticism +21, 
  Stealth +21
  Languages Aklo, Common
  Gear advanced lashunta tempweave, shadowstaffAA with 1 
  clip (40 charges)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Touch of Autocannibalism (Su) As a standard action, a 
  18
  
  draelik idolater can attempt to touch a single target 
  (making a melee attack against the target’s EAC). A 
  struck target must attempt a DC 18 Will saving throw. 
  If successful, the target is staggered for 1 round as it is 
  briefly wracked with pangs of hunger. If unsuccessful, 
  the target is overcome with a compulsion to eat its own 
  flesh, causing it to be staggered for 8 rounds. Each 
  round, the target can bite its own exposed flesh as a 
  standard action, dealing an amount of piercing damage 
  to itself equal to 1d6 + its Strength modifier. If it does 
  so, the target loses the staggered condition. However, 
  if it doesn’t continue to chew at its own 
  flesh (and the duration of the effect 
  hasn’t ended), it gains the staggered 
  condition again at the beginning of its 
  next turn.
  Development: Once the draeliks have 
  been defeated, the PCs can get a closer look 
  at the altar in the center of the chamber. 
  It consists of an unusual translucent but 
  dark stone that is composed of solid 
  shadowstuff. A PC who succeeds at a 
  DC  25 Mysticism or DC 32 Perception 
  check while examining it can see a small, 
  more solid stone in the center of the altar. 
  While the altar can’t be broken with physical 
  force, the application of any positive energy (such as 
  from a mystic’s healing touch ability or a mystic cure spell) 
  melts the shadowstuff like flame applied to a block of ice. 
  The same occurs if a PC touches the altar with both hands, 
  concentrates on feelings of love and empathy, and succeeds 
  at a DC 30 Diplomacy check. 
  When the altar disappears, the head of Dr. Gragant begins 
  to crumble. After a few moments, only a featureless oval 
  remains in its place.
  The small black stone has a magic aura and can be 
  identified as part of a mystical mechanism with a successful 
  DC 30 Mysticism check. It is one of four keys required to 
  open the center of the Heartgate in area B6 to reach Shadow 
  New Elysium.
  B4. DeBt oF grAtituDe (Cr 11)
  The northern and southern walls of this chamber are 
  lined with cylindrical machines, each with single large 
  opening in the front covered by a clear plastic door. A 
  single touch sensor is situated above each of the doors. 
  A smaller cylindrical machine is to the east, with a wide 
  maw at the top and a hopper at the bottom. A rectangular 
  fountain, currently devoid of water, sits in the center 
  of the room; it is a display of abstract forms and 
  shapes made from a cartilaginous material. Several 
  holographic signs are posted on the walls.
  This chamber was created from Dr. Gragant’s gratitude, 
  her ability to feel thankful for actions performed by others 
  on her behalf. She was initially appreciative of Eclipse 
  Innovations for giving her the chance to work on her 
  research when all others seemed to abandon her, but after 
  years of funding with no concrete results, the corporation 
  began to hold this debt over her. As they pressured Dr. 
  Gragant to produce, she began to resent Eclipse more and 
  more, her gratitude fading to nothing. She excised what 
  sliver was left to place here.
  19
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  DRAELIK IDOLATER
  
  The holographic signs display messages in a shifting variety 
  of languages, cycling to Common most regularly. The signs 
  offer platitudes such as “Be thankful for what you receive, 
  and return the generosity in kind” and similar passages.
  The six devices to the north and south are essentially 
  vending machines. A PC needs only to touch the sensor on 
  one of them, and the machine quickly creates an appropriate 
  item that the PC is likely to want. The machine to the east is 
  a recycler, which reduces items to UPBs equal to 10% of their 
  cost. A PC who succeeds at a DC 28 Engineering check can 
  recognize the function of all of the devices here.
  Before the PCs enter this chamber, you should figu e out 
  at least one appropriate item that a machine might offe  
  each PC. If a PC hasn’t upgraded their weapon or armor 
  recently, the machine creates one that would be suited for 
  them. Otherwise, the machine makes a magic or hybrid item 
  that would interest that PC (perhaps one the PCs has been 
  talking about purchasing when they get enough credits). 
  Avoid offering the PCs augmentations, as they take some 
  time to install and the PCs are approaching the end of the 
  Adventure Path. An offe ed item should be 12th level or 
  lower (but not lower than 10th level, if possible). Each PC 
  can get only one of these items, and taking the item has 
  the possibility of triggering the trap (see Trap below). If you 
  have enough items prepared, you can decide that a PC can 
  refuse to take the item and touch the sensor again to get 
  a diffe ent item, though the first item vanishes in a puff 
  of smoke.
  Trap: The signs in this chamber should be enough to warn 
  the PCs that the gifts they receive from the machines aren’t 
  exactly free. If a PC takes a proffe ed item from a machine, 
  they get the feeling that they should give thanks. They have 
  approximately 1 minute to surrender a diffe ent item to the 
  recycling machine in the eastern end of the room. The item 
  the PCs surrenders must be a non-consumable item of at 
  least 9th level to protect that PC against the room’s curse; 
  anything else placed in the recycling machine is immediately 
  turned into an amount of UPBs equal to 10% of the item’s 
  value (which the PCs can take) and the feeling that the PC 
  has that they should give thanks remains. If the PC offer  
  an appropriate item, the recycling machine emits a pleasant 
  tone (but does not provide any UPBs) and the compulsion 
  toward gratitude dissipates.
  If a PC decides to return the proffe ed item, they can 
  attempt a DC 32 Bluff or Diplomacy check to feign gratitude 
  for being given a gift without accepting it. A successful 
  check bypasses the trap for that PC, but this success doesn’t 
  count toward the number of PCs needed to activate the 
  fountain (see Development below).
  If a PC doesn’t surrender an appropriate item within 
  the 1-minute time limit, the feeling of needing to express 
  gratitude is replaced by one of shame, and all their hybrid 
  and magic items, including the gifted item, are affected by 
  the curse trap here. A cursed hybrid or magical item imparts 
  a –4 penalty on attack rolls or skill checks for which it is used, 
  or a –4 penalty to AC if it is a suit of armor. Alternatively, if 
  the item doesn’t fit into any of these categories, it instead 
  functions only 50% of the time, consuming charges or 
  daily uses even if it doesn’t function. This curse remains 
  until removed by remove afflicti
   or similar magic or if a 
  character succeeds at a DC 40 Mysticism check that takes 
  10 minutes for a single item.
  THANKLESSNESS TRAP 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  Type magical; Perception DC 36; Disable Mysticism DC 31 
  (dispel curse)
  Trigger touch (a proffered item); Reset 1 round; Bypass 
  surrender an item (see above)
  Effect curse (hybrid and magical items malfunction; this 
  is a curse effect); Will DC 20 negates (items of 12th 
  level or above only; lower-level items receive no save); 
  multiple targets (all hybrid and magical items carried 
  by creature who doesn’t surrender an item in exchange 
  [see above])
  Development: When at least half of the PCs express the 
  appropriate gratitude for the gifts given to them (or the 
  trap has been disabled), the fountain in the center begins to 
  function with a spray of cool, clear water. A small blue stone 
  then flo ts to the surface of the water. This stone has a magic 
  aura and can be identified as part of a mystical mechanism 
  with a successful DC 30 Mysticism check. It is one of four 
  keys required to open the center of the Heartgate in area B6 
  to reach Shadow New Elysium.
  B5. tHe CompASSion oF DeAtH
  A tunnel opens up onto a small glade of skeletal trees with 
  bony, leafless branches spreading into a canopy overhead. 
  A half-circle of quiet tombs rises beneath them. Each small 
  structure is delicately carved from red stone and bears 
  loops and whorls of exquisitely carved calligraphy. Four are 
  sealed, while a fifth stands open. A battered sword leans 
  next to the yawning doorway, and scraps of rusted metal 
  armor are scattered nearby.
  This chamber was formed out of Dr. Gragant’s 
  compassion—a quality that could have been considered one 
  of her strongest positive traits given her study of medicine, 
  but it atrophied soon after she was forced to accept Eclipse 
  Innovation’s funding, which turned her research to focus more 
  on its military applications. However, this chamber is still the 
  most powerful of all the areas of the Heartgate. 
  The trees here are, in fact, composed of bone and sprout 
  from the fleshy ground in a mockery of nature. The material 
  of the tombs appears to be hardened muscle, as heavy and 
  as solid as actual worked stone. Upon closer inspection, the 
  20
  
  DIVANIA
  writing on each tomb is confused and jumbled, forming no 
  actual words or decipherable iconography.
  Creature: An ancient-looking woman with stringy, gray 
  hair and wrinkled skin is carefully carving images into 
  the lintel above the open door of the fifth tomb. 
  She is wearing the remnants of Steward 
  armor, something a PC can recognize with 
  a successful DC 15 Culture check. She is 
  muttering to herself and doesn’t notice the 
  PCs’ approach.
  This is Divania (LN female human soldier), 
  a human Steward agent who, along with 
  several team members, took their starship 
  out on a mission several years 
  ago and never returned. They 
  were accidentally pulled into the 
  Shadow Plane while investigating 
  a disturbance linked 
  to Diasporan space 
  pirates driven mad 
  by Dr. Gragant’s shadow 
  signal. The Stewards’ vessel crashed 
  on the heart after a heated battle with 
  velstrac 
  ships. 
  Divania’s 
  comrades 
  perished in the crash, and blinded by 
  grief, she dragged them here to this 
  chamber of the Heartgate and attempted to memorialize them. 
  Unfortunately, due to the proximity of the shadow signal 
  generator and the unusual nature of the Shadow Plane, she has 
  not been successful.
  While Divania has resisted the effects of shadow 
  corruption, her mind is not still whole. She has aged 
  considerably faster than the few years she has been in the 
  Heartgate would suggest, though she no longer needs to eat, 
  drink, or sleep, as her life force has been linked to the act of 
  compassion she attempts to perform for her fallen comrades. 
  Divania cannot die until she finishes the fi e tombs, but until 
  she recognizes that the final resting place is for herself, she 
  will continue this effort for eternity. She knows in the back 
  of her mind that something isn’t quite right but tries to solve 
  this problem by continually tearing down the last tomb and 
  building it up again.
  When the PCs get Divania’s attention, her initial attitude 
  depends on the depth of the PCs’ corruption. If there are two 
  or more PCs with three or more manifestations, her attitude 
  is unfriendly. Otherwise, she is indiffe ent. Unless the PCs 
  deliberately sneak up on her, Divania grabs her sword as a 
  precaution. She is not a real danger to the PCs in her current 
  state, and any attack that hits an AC of 10 strikes her, but 
  any damage she takes is transferred to the tombs, making 
  the stones bleed and crack. This causes Divania to scream 
  out in grief and abandon any combat to fix the damage
  Regardless of her initial attitude, she asks the PCs why 
  they have come here to interrupt her search for closure. 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 27 Diplomacy check (or DC 32 
  if she is unfriendly or hostile) can improve Divania’s attitude 
  and get her talking. If questioned about her actions, she 
  doesn’t realize that she is trapped here and can only ask 
  for help. 
  “I have waited for so long to finish my 
  companion’s tombs, but I can never manage to 
  do it right. I always find some small flaw in the 
  craftsmanship and have to start over again. 
  I don’t know if you can help me, but maybe 
  you’ll see what my tired eyes can’t.”
  Directly questioning Divania yields few 
  answers; she has lost many of her memories 
  in the intervening years, recalling only 
  that her close friends have died and 
  that she must lay them to rest. 
  If the PCs point out where 
  she is and the unusual nature 
  of her building materials, she 
  looks horrified for a brief moment but 
  then returns to her work. She refuses 
  to leave the chamber with the PCs, 
  and if they somehow manage to knock 
  her unconscious and drag her from the 
  chamber, her body begins to thrash and writhe until it 
  eventually shakes itself to literal pieces, which fall to the 
  ground and are absorbed. The PCs find Divania once again 
  if they return to this grove later, though she has forgotten 
  meeting them; the PCs will need to succeed at another 
  Diplomacy check to change her attitude.
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 28 Culture check or a DC 34 
  Perception check while examining the tombs can see that four 
  of them were completed several years ago, but that the fifth
  one (which currently stands empty) has been torn down and 
  rebuilt several hundred times. If asked who the tomb is for, 
  Divania stares blankly, as if she couldn’t hear the question and 
  repeats that some aspect of the fifth tomb remains unfinished
  and once again asks for the PCs’ help. A PC who succeeds at 
  a DC 32 Mysticism check can sense the connection between 
  Divania and the tombs and surmise that the final tomb should 
  be her resting place.
  If a PC suggests that the only way for the fifth tomb to be 
  completed is for Divania to take her place inside, she seems 
  reluctant at first. The PCs can convince her that they will 
  take care of the tomb’s final preparations by succeeding at 
  a DC 27 Diplomacy check; a character with the priest theme 
  gains a +4 circumstance bonus to this check. If Divania 
  agrees, she steps within the tomb and quietly lays on the 
  bier inside. As she does, her skin begins to slowly flake away, 
  revealing the muscle and bones underneath. However, she 
  seems calm and accepting of this fate and actually breathes 
  a sigh of relief. The PCs can then close the tomb door and 
  21
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  say a few words of blessing over it with a successful DC 22 
  Culture or Mysticism check.
  Treasure: Divania leaves her sword behind when she steps 
  into the tomb. Though it is nicked and worn, it is a perfectly 
  serviceable zero-edge longsword. It only takes a few minutes 
  to clean off and polish, whereupon it seems to shine with its 
  own internal light, though it is not magical. 
  Development: Once Divania has been successfully laid 
  to rest, the dead branches above suddenly bloom with red 
  fl wers, dripping with blood. As the first of these drops the 
  blood touches the ground, it transforms into a small red stone. 
  This stone has a magic aura and can be identified as part of 
  a mystical mechanism with a successful DC 30 Mysticism 
  check. It is one of four keys required to open the center of the 
  Heartgate in area B6 to reach Shadow New Elysium.
  Story Award: If the PCs successfully put Divania to rest, 
  grant them 9,600 XP.
  B6. gAping WounD (Cr 13)
  A gaping wound in the flesh of the floor occupies the 
  center of this room. It is ringed by a circle of dark metal 
  and electronics that seem to keep the bloody tear open and 
  project a nearly invisible field of force over it. The rest of this 
  chamber is dotted with slowly spinning columns of obsidian 
  embedded with nails, spikes, and other sharp objects and 
  draped with rusting chains. A low moan—it is impossible to 
  whether it is one of pain or pleasure—echoes throughout the 
  area, its source indeterminable.
  This nightmarish room is the center of the Heartgate 
  and a gateway that leads to Shadow New Elysium, where 
  Dr. Gragant continues her experiments and maintains 
  the shadow signal. The passage forward is blocked by a 
  technomagical force field that is more conceptual than real. 
  A PC who succeeds at a DC 28 Mysticism check can tell that 
  some kind of arcane key or keys are needed to shut down 
  the force field  
  A PC who examines the ring of metal encompassing 
  the open wound notices four small slots, one at each of 
  the cardinal directions. Each slot is ringed with a piece of 
  diffe ently colored metal: black, blue, red, and white. The 
  slots are approximately the same size and shape as the small 
  stones found in the other chambers of the Heartgate. When 
  the PCs place the stones in the appropriately colored slots, the 
  floor rumbles and the force field dissipates. See Development 
  below for a description of what happens when the PCs pass 
  through the gaping wound.
  The slowly rotating pillars pose no danger to careful 
  PCs, but they provide the room with a strange and creepy 
  atmosphere and could possible provide cover. At your 
  discretion, if a character is forced into the same square as 
  one of the pillars, they might take 4d8 piercing damage if 
  they fail a DC 18 Refl x saving throw.
  Creatures: A strix named Komarta was hired by Eclipse 
  Innovations to provide “certain spiritual services” for the 
  corporation and its employees shortly after Dr. Gragant 
  subsumed the will of the majority of the board. In truth, Kaeon 
  Rhyse met her on the streets of Cuvacara during the takeover 
  of the company and saw in her the potential to help advance 
  the doctor’s goals on the Material Plane. Komarta, already 
  a practiced hand in breaking minds in exchange for money, 
  accepted the new job but soon found herself witnessing 
  strange occurrences and terrible tortures performed in the 
  name of a shadowy benefactor she had never met.
  Slightly uncomfortable with the level of cruelty and 
  the bizarre nature of her work, a few weeks ago Komarta 
  demanded of Kaeon Rhyse that she be released from her 
  contract. The verthani executive was none too pleased to 
  hear this and, after consulting with Dr. Gragant, concocted 
  a method to send Komarta to the Shadow Plane along with 
  two other Eclipse operatives who had displeased him. 
  The three have been trapped within this chamber of the 
  Heartgate for at least 2 weeks and were told that their only 
  chance at freedom is to stop any intruders who attempt to 
  pass through here. Frightened but practical, they attack the 
  PCs as they enter, believing anyone who would come to this 
  place must be dealt with.
  Even though Komarta and the operatives fight with gusto, 
  a PC who succeeds at a DC 32 Sense Motive check while 
  fighting the strix realizes that she is not entirely acting of 
  her own accord. She isn’t being mentally controlled, but she 
  does seem reluctant to be in this place. 
  ECLIPSE OPERATIVES (2) 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400 each
  Male and female verthani operative (Starfi der Alien 
  Archive 118)
  LE Medium humanoid (verthani)
  Init +9; Senses low-light vision; Perception +23
  DEFENSE 
  HP 135 EACH
  EAC 22; KAC 23
  Fort +8; Ref +11; Will +12
  Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny agility
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
  Melee tactical knife +17 (2d4+10 S)
  Ranged red star plasma pistol +19 (1d8+9 E & F; critical 
  burn 1d8)
  Offensive Abilities debilitating trick, trick attack +5d8, 
  triple attack
  TACTICS
  During Combat The Eclipse operatives move about the 
  battlefield, using trick attack each round to deal the 
  most damage. The operatives aren’t afraid to end their 
  movement adjacent to PCs who appear to fight mainly 
  with ranged weapons, but they try to stay away from 
  melee combatants.
  22
  
  Morale With no real way to return to the Material Plane, 
  the Eclipse operatives fight to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +6; Con +0; Int +4; Wis +3; Cha +0
  Skills Acrobatics +23, Athletics +23, Culture +18, Sense 
  Motive +18, Stealth +23
  Languages Aklo, Common, Infernal, Shadowtongue
  Other Abilities operative exploits (uncanny shooter), 
  specialization (daredevil)
  Gear advanced lashunta tempweave (haste circuit), red 
  star plasma pistol with 2 batteries (20 charges each), 
  tactical knife
  KOMARTA 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  Female strix mystic (Starfi der Pact Worlds 214)
  LE Medium humanoid (strix)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +25
  DEFENSE 
  HP 153 RP 5
  EAC 23; KAC 24
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +14; +2 vs. illusions
  Defensive Abilities share pain (11 damage, 
  DC 20)
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft., fly 30 ft. (Ex, average)
  Melee ultrathin dueling sword +17 (3d6+11 S)
  Ranged elite semi-auto pistol +19 (3d6+11 P)
  Offensive Abilities backlash (11 damage), mental 
  anguish (DC 20), sow doubt (5 rounds, DC 20)
  Mystic Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th)
  At will—mindlink, telepathic bond
  Mystic Spells Known (CL 11th; ranged +19)
  4th (3/day)—enervation, mind thrust (DC 22)
  3rd (6/day)—bestow curse (DC 21), dispel magic, 
  slow (DC 21), synaptic pulse (DC 21)
  2nd (at will)—hold person (DC 20), inflict pain 
  (DC 20)
  Connection mindbreaker
  TACTICS
  During Combat Komarta takes flight above combat and 
  relies on spells such as bestow curse and mind thrust to 
  hamper the PCs. She regularly spends Resolve Points to 
  use her share pain ability when shot by any of the PCs. If 
  it seems like the PCs are constantly resisting her spells, 
  she turns to using her pistol while remaining in the air.
  Morale Hoping that pleasing Dr. Gragant will secure 
  her release from the Heartgate, Komarta fights to 
  the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +5; Con +0; Int +0; Wis +8; Cha +3
  Skills Culture +20, Mysticism +25, Piloting 
  +25, Sense Motive +20
  Languages Aklo, Common, 
  Infernal, Shadowtongue
  Gear white carbon carbon skin, elite semi-auto pistol with 
  40 small arm rounds, ultrathin dueling sword, mk 3 ring 
  of resistance
  Development: If the PCs manage to knock Komarta 
  unconscious, restrain her during the fight, or otherwise stop 
  23
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  KOMARTA
  
  her from fighting, they can question her. Some of the PCs’ 
  questions and Komarta’s replies are found below.
  Who are you? What is this place? “My name is Komarta, 
  and I am somewhat a prisoner here. I have been tasked 
  with guarding this portal as punishment from my former 
  employers at Eclipse Innovations. They said it would be only 
  a matter of days before the galaxy was ready to accept their 
  new way of thinking and then we would be allowed to leave, 
  but I’ve lost track of time.” She shakes her head sadly. “I 
  suppose this is a fitting end for me”
  Why do you think you deserve this? “I was not a nice 
  person back in Cuvacara. I was an enforcer for hire, and I 
  worked for any slimeball corporation that had the credits 
  to pay me. It didn’t matter to me who got hurt as long as I 
  got paid. Figures that when I started to grow a conscience, it 
  landed me here.”
  What do you know about Dr. Gragant? “Only enough to 
  know that Kaeon Rhyse practically worshipped her. The way 
  he spoke of her genius was a little sickening, frankly.” Her 
  eyes focus on a distant point. “And the stuff he did in her 
  name… chilling. I told him I didn’t want any part of it, and 
  here I am.”
  How do we get through here? “I’m not even sure how 
  I got here! All I was told through a message on my comm 
  unit when I woke up here was that we had to protect this… 
  hole.” She gestures at the gaping wound. “It looks like 
  it leads deeper into this disgusting place, so I don’t know 
  why anyone would want to go down there. But orders are 
  orders, especially when you don’t have any choice but to 
  follow them.”
  Komarta doesn’t know how the force field works, and she 
  isn’t keen on accompanying the PCs either to other chambers 
  of the Heartgate or through the portal itself. She insists on 
  remaining in this spot, no matter how much the PCs cajole 
  her into accompanying them. She tells the PCs that she 
  believes they will probably get killed if they proceed and that 
  her previous employer will eventually release her from this 
  captivity as promised.
  When the PCs place the four colored stones within the 
  metal ring around the gaping portal (see page 22), they 
  can pass into the wound. There is a sensation of terrible 
  vertigo and a brief moment of mental anguish as the PCs’ 
  personalities are temporarily stripped away, after which the 
  PCs arrive on Shadow New Elysium, completely intact both 
  physically and spiritually.
  Passing through the portal in the Heartgate, the PCs arrive 
  on  Shadow New Elysium, a dim reflection of the once-
  luxurious resort the PCs recently spent several days at. 
  The whole area feels like the PCs are stepping through a 
  half-formed idea. The resort’s many rooms appear no more 
  real than set pieces from a theatrical production. There is 
  no power, though the Shadow Plane’s ever-present dim 
  illumination prevents the area from being completely dark. 
  Color has been drained from all surfaces and objects, making 
  it a disquieting and lonely place, even though shadows 
  without sources flit around corners and through doorways 
  as the PCs approach. 
  WELCOME BACK
  The Heartgate portal deposits the PCs in a gray version 
  of Green Fields, the foliage stunted and colorless, and the 
  artificial river now a dry, rocky bed. There appears to be 
  no way to return to the Heartgate or their ship. From here, 
  the PCs are free to move about Shadow New Elysium as 
  they please, though there isn’t anything to discover except 
  for an ominous feeling of being watched. As the PCs 
  explore, feel free to reuse the maps on pages 13 and 16 of 
  Starfinder Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain. The 
  PCs might remember the remnants of labs converted from 
  mining facilities deep beneath the asteroid’s surface and 
  might suspect (correctly) that Dr. Gragant performed her 
  original experiments in those chambers. If the PCs don’t 
  make a beeline toward the mine entrance located past the 
  New Elysium’s employee facilities, they feel a tugging in 
  their minds leading them there. Any PC with two or more 
  manifestations feels this pull the strongest—it is almost 
  impossible not to succumb to.
  The large metal door that separated the resort from the 
  old mining tunnels on the Material Plane isn’t present. 
  Instead an empty doorway opens out onto what appears 
  to be the asteroid’s surface. The sky is the deep red of 
  heart tissue, and several dozen feet away, a pair of 
  prefabricated buildings stands next to a cave entrance in a 
  stony hillside. By sticking their head through the doorway, 
  a PC can determine that the environmental conditions are 
  relatively safe (see below).
  C. SHADOW LAB
  The accident that trapped Dr. Gragant on the Shadow Plane 
  13 years ago also twisted and weakened the planar barriers, 
  allowing Dr. Gragant to learn how to mold this area of the 
  Shadow Plane to her will. While some of the chambers 
  here are direct reflections of Material Plane counterparts 
  that existed before the explosion, she has altered many of 
  them. With the help of several mementors—fey creatures 
  with the ability to alter memories—she has created a 
  museum of sorts to her history of pain. 
  This area has a normal gravity and a breathable 
  atmosphere, though the temperature is uncomfortably 
  cold (though not below O° F). The asteroid’s surface, 
  the freestanding buildings, and the lab interiors are all 
  illuminated by dim light.
  24
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL FREQUENCY
  
  C1. StorAge SHeD (Cr 10)
  As the PCs step out of the resort and onto the asteroid’s 
  surface, they hear unusual scraping noises drifting out from 
  this small, squat building. Its only entrance is an airlock, faint 
  blue light leaking from the door’s edges. While the airlock 
  is unnecessary, it must still be cycled to enter the building 
  proper. Cycling the airlock alerts the vespers hound inside to 
  the PCs’ presence (see Creatures below).
  The atmosphere of this storage shed is oppressive and 
  hazy, as if the environmental controls are malfunctioning. 
  Thin bands of lighting run just under the ceiling, barely 
  illuminating the forms of a human, a shirren, and a 
  sarcesian shackled to the wall by chains hooked into their 
  bodies, leaving gruesome wounds. A large bloodstain on 
  one wall above a grotesque pile of chunks of flesh hints at 
  the presence of a fourth body. A large airlock door exits to 
  the east.
  This storage shed is a copy of one of many used by the 
  dwarven miners of Ulrikka Clanholdings when they worked 
  on the asteroid, but Dr. Gragant has turned this one into a 
  feeding chamber. 
  A few days ago, a quartet of space pirates on the Material 
  Plane landed on New Elysium, looking to rob the place. 
  Considering themselves lucky to have slipped past the usual 
  security vessels that patrol the space around the asteroid, they 
  soon found themselves walking among the carnage caused 
  by the corrupted guests and staff. Greed got the better of 
  them, and they didn’t immediately flee. The barriers between 
  planes already thin thanks to the successful testing of the 
  Keys to Elysium app, Dr. Gragant was able to corrupt these 
  space pirates and pull them into the Shadow Plane, hanging 
  them in this room to slowly be driven mad and perish at the 
  claws of the creature she sealed in the chamber with them.
  The interior of this shed is illuminated by dim light.
  Creatures: The sarcesian, named Zunar, remains the only 
  prisoner still alive. He is gravely wounded, unconscious, and 
  helpless, hanging in the northwest corner of the room from 
  hooks embedded in his torso. He occasionally twitches in 
  pain—the only sign of life. Any area effect has the danger of 
  completely snuffin out his life. His gear has been stripped 
  away and destroyed.
  However, there is another creature in the room: a vespers 
  hound, locked in here by Dr. Gragant to torture and eat the 
  imprisoned pirates. After consuming three of the captives, 
  it has grown bored and is now angrily pacing the floo . It 
  occasionally scrapes the metal walls with one of its claws, 
  producing loud noises that can be heard outside of the shed. 
  When it hears the airlock cycling, it hides in the southeast 
  corner of the room, waiting to attack anyone who enters. 
  The PCs can attempt Perception checks opposed by the 
  vespers hound’s Stealth check, unless they blindly barge 
  into the chamber when they spot the half-alive Zunar.
  25
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  C. SHADOW LAB
  NORTH
  C8
  C7
  C6
  C5
  C4
  C3
  C11
  C10
  C9
  C1
  C2
  1 SQUARE = 5 FEET
  26
  
  ZUNAR 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  Male sarcesian cybercommando (Starfi der Alien 
  Archive 98)
  HP 105 (currently 5)
  STATISTICS
  Gear none
  VESPERS HOUND 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  HP 165 (see page 61)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The vespers hound begins 
  by using its prison of chains ability 
  against the clumsiest-looking 
  PC, preferably an envoy or 
  spellcaster. It then uses its slip 
  through the shadows ability to engage a 
  character in melee combat from an 
  unexpected direction. 
  Morale Knowing it can’t leave the shed on its 
  own, the vespers hound fights to the death.
  Treasure: Though the space pirates have been stripped 
  of their gear (much of which was disposed of), a PC who 
  succeeds at a DC 30 Perception check can find a single mk III 
  serum of healing discarded in a corner under some oily rags.
  Development: If Zunar survives the PCs’ fight with the 
  vespers hound, he can be awoken with any amount of healing 
  or a successful DC 25 Medicine check. He is able to answer 
  the PCs’ questions about how he got here, though some of 
  his memories are hazy. However, Zunar doesn’t know that 
  he has been pulled into the Shadow Plane, and he doesn’t 
  understand that he has contracted shadow corruption. He 
  can recall only disjointed images of Dr. Gragant, whom he 
  describes as “a woman cloaked in shadows with a voice like 
  the sound of metal scraping on metal, but also very soothing.” 
  He knows that she did something to him and his crew, but he 
  doesn’t know any specifics. He believes that he and his fellow 
  pirates are being punished for their crimes, albeit in a very 
  cruel manner. He begs for the PCs’ help.
  Zunar doesn’t accompany the PCs into the labs and will 
  come out of the storage shed only when the PCs assure him 
  the way to New Elysium’s space docks is clear. However, 
  his ship, the Stone Skipper, is on the Material Plane. When 
  he doesn’t find it in the docks, he believes it was stolen or 
  destroyed and he becomes despondent. He then refuses to 
  leave that area. If the PCs destroy the shadow signal generator 
  and open a portal to the Material Plane, they can bring Zunar 
  along through with them, where the grateful sarcesian gives 
  them a ride in his ship to wherever they like (see Concluding 
  the Adventure on page 36).
  Story Award: If the PCs rescue Zunar, award them XP as if 
  they had defeated him in combat.
  C2. veHiCle BAy (Cr 10)
  A small vehicle bay stands open to the asteroid’s thin 
  atmosphere, attached to a fully enclosed garage with no 
  windows and only one door leading in. The floor of the 
  vehicle bay is stained with oil and machine grease, while 
  several unwieldy pieces of drilling equipment and asteroid 
  crawlers hang on the walls.
  This vehicle bay and garage is a copy of a structure built 
  by the dwarven miners of Ulrikka Clanholdings when 
  they worked on the asteroid. Dr. Gragant has left 
  it pretty much alone, though she stored some 
  ZUNAR
  27
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  trifling objects in the garage as bait for the injudiciously 
  curious (see Trap below). 
  Both the vehicle bay and attached garage are functional 
  structures of the classic dwarven practical architecture. The 
  sturdy door between the bay and the garage opens quietly 
  with an easy pull. The garage contains a tool chest and a pair 
  of workbenches that are devoid of tools. Except for constant 
  dim illumination and lack of color, the whole area seems to 
  be resistant to the taint of the Shadow Plane. The PCs can 
  return to the garage as a safe place to rest when exploring the 
  underground shadow labs, if need be.
  Trap: The metal tool chest that stands opposite the door into 
  the garage is trapped. Knowing this would be a tempting target 
  for intruders who approached her shadowy lair, Dr. Gragant 
  warded the tool chest with a magical trap. When anyone tries 
  to open it, several lengths of barbed, shadowy chains appear 
  and lash out at anyone standing close to the chest.
  CHEST OF CHAINS TRAP 
   CR 10
  XP 9,600
  Type magical; Perception DC 35; Disable Mysticism DC 30 
  (disrupt the ward)
  Trigger touch; Reset 1 day
  Effect shadowy chains +21 melee (8d10 C); multiple targets 
  (all targets within 10 ft. of tool chest)
  Treasure: Inside the tool chest, the PCs find four batteries, 
  three high-capacity batteries, and two super-capacity batteries.
  C3. tunnel entrAnCe (Cr 11)
  Behind the two freestanding buildings, 
  a large white gate has been installed 
  into the brittle, gray stone cliffs of the 
  asteroid. The gate is controlled from 
  inside, so a PC must succeed at a DC 32 
  Engineering check to open it from this 
  side. As the gate slowly rises into the stone over the course 
  of 6 rounds, the PCs are attacked by the strange creature 
  lurking nearby (see Creature below).
  Creature: A shodrav, a beast native to the Shadow Plane, 
  was drawn to the asteroid after Dr. Gragant’s accident due 
  to the tearing of the planar barriers between the two planes. 
  Dr. Gragant keeps the creature fed as best she can, although 
  she been toying with the idea of dissecting it to discover the 
  source of its shadow jaunt ability if her current plan falls 
  to pieces. In turn, the shodrav acts as a kind of guard dog 
  and attacks anyone who tries to enter the tunnels unless Dr. 
  Gragant accompanies them. It hides out in the hills above the 
  entrance and attempts to ambush the PCs.
  SHODRAV 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800 
  HP 180 (see page 59)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The shodrav maintains its superior position 
  above the tunnel entrance for as long as it can, striking 
  out with its shadow tendril at any PC it can target.
  Morale The shodrav attempts to flee when it is reduced 
  to fewer than 30 Hit Points, jumping into the Material 
  Plane. Depending on how long the PCs remain on 
  the shadow asteroid, it might return later to attack 
  them again. 
  Development: Once the PCs have entered the tunnel 
  read or paraphrase the following.
  28
  THE PATIENT
  
  Dim illumination from an unknown source casts shifting, 
  unsettling patterns on the stone floor of this chamber, while 
  the curved metal panels forming the walls and the ceiling 
  seem distant, ephemeral, and unnatural, as if struggling to 
  hold their shape. A large white gate exits to the south, and 
  a smaller tunnel heads west, sealed by a smaller white door. 
  This chamber serves as the entrance to the series of labs 
  that serve as Dr. Gragant’s lair and a tribute to her twisted 
  memories. A PC who succeeds at a DC 33 Mysticism check 
  can sense that beyond this point, the area is composed of 
  repurposed ephemeral energy and planar material under the 
  control of a powerful being, and that things might not be 
  exactly as they seem.
  C4. HoSpitAl room (Cr 11)
  This chamber looks like a filthy hospital room. The tiles of 
  the walls and floor are cracked and broken, stained with 
  blood and various fluids. A foul medicinal smell hangs in 
  the air, and two badly damaged medical devices flank a 
  central hospital bed, where a heavy white sheet conceals 
  a misshapen lump. The machines spark, smoke, and leak 
  fluids in shallow puddles. Various images projected on 
  the walls show a teenage human girl. She often appears 
  calm, but occasionally, the images show her weeping 
  uncontrollably or laughing nervously. A female voice fills 
  the room over a static-filled broadcast, chanting in a cold, 
  disassociated manner, “Monday—two blue pills. Tuesday—the 
  red ones. Wednesday—both red and blue. Thursday—just 
  the green. Friday—the injection. Saturday—collect a sample. 
  Sunday—holiday,” before beginning again.
  The first instances of true pain Lestana Gragant experienced 
  were as a child in a hospital where her parents, both wracked 
  with diffe ent terminal diseases, underwent painful medical 
  procedures to try to save their lives. These memories have 
  been concentrated and memorialized in this chamber, 
  though they have been distorted and twisted. 
  A few moments after the PCs enter this room (but before 
  they get a chance to remove the sheet on the hospital bed), 
  the girl’s voice turns to an angry shout: “No more doctors, no 
  more procedures, no more pain!” The medical devices emit a 
  cacophony of high-pitched beeps and electronic feedback, and 
  the creature on the bed sits up, revealing its horrid form (see 
  Creature below).
  Creature: The Patient is a composite creature, looking like 
  two grotesque adult humanoids in tattered hospital gowns 
  were fused together, back to back, their skin cracked and 
  flaking like dried chalk. Bones protrude from the skin of the 
  limbs, their eyes burn with an inner light, and smoke leaks from 
  their mouths. This terrifying being is a construct made from 
  the shadowstuff of the Shadow Plane and wants to share its 
  suffering with any living being who stumbles into this oom.
  THE PATIENT 
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  LE Medium construct (magical)
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +17
  DEFENSE 
  HP 145
  EAC 22; KAC 24
  Fort +9; Ref +9; Will +6
  Immunities construct immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +19 (4d6+15 B plus shift)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Being made out of the same shadowstuff, 
  the Patient is partially connected to the medical device 
  traps. It attempts to reposition PCs into the proximity 
  of these traps to trigger them while avoiding the 
  traps itself.
  Morale The Patient fights until it is destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +6; Dex +4; Con —; Int —; Wis +0; Cha +3
  Skills Athletics +22
  Languages Common (can’t speak)
  Other Abilities mindless, unliving
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Shift (Ex) If the Patient hits with its slam attack, it deals 
  normal damage, but if the attack roll successfully hits 
  the target’s KAC + 4, the creature also automatically 
  repositions the target as a free action. The Patient can 
  move the target an additional 5 feet for every 5 by which 
  its attack roll exceeds the target’s KAC + 4, but the 
  target must remain within the Patient’s reach.
  Traps: Despite the fact that they are obviously 
  malfunctioning, the two medical devices in this room look 
  like those found in a typical hospital: they are built to 
  monitor the life signs of the patient they are hooked up to, 
  as well as provide intravenous fluid and medicine. However, 
  closer inspection reveals several small oddities: wires that 
  look like barbed chains, tiny fanged mouths at the ends of 
  tubes, and layers of blood just under the monitor’s glass. 
  When combat starts, roll initiative for the devices. A 
  device can do nothing on its initiative count unless one of 
  the PCs is adjacent to it, whereupon it explodes, scorching 
  creatures adjacent to it with a blast or fi e and shrapnel. 
  MEDICAL DEVICE TRAPS (2) 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 each
  Type magical; Perception DC 30; Disable Engineering 
  DC 25 (shut down device) or Mysticism DC 25 
  (unravel shadowstuff)
  Trigger proximity; Init +12; Reset none
  Effect explosion (6d12 F); Reflex DC 17 half; multiple targets 
  (all creatures adjacent to device)
  29
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  Treasure: A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 Perception check 
  (or who simply looks under the hospital bed) discovers 
  four nanite hypopens (three green and one red; Starfinde  
  Armory 106).
  Development: When the Patient is destroyed, the room 
  suffers a power failure. Any medical device traps that 
  haven’t been triggered explode whether or not anyone is 
  standing next to them. The girl in the images screams in 
  agony, and the room is plunged into darkness. When light 
  returns, the room contains only the emaciated remains of 
  two humans stitched together on an old, rusting hospital 
  bed, all wrapped together in chains and barbed wire.
  C5. BoArDroom (Cr 13)
  This chamber appears to be a modern, corporate 
  boardroom after a fire raged through it. Framed pictures 
  hang on the walls, but their subjects are unrecognizable 
  due to damage from the fire. A long table bisects the room, 
  though its surface is charred and fragmented. Six statues 
  of businesspeople in expensive suits cast from some pitted 
  metal stand around the table, pointing at each other with 
  furious expressions. A woman’s voice ricochets around the 
  room like an echo bouncing back and forth, growing louder 
  and softer, “I’m sorry, I need more time. I can finish it, the 
  research is sound. I just need more money—you have to 
  be patient. You don’t understand, you can’t understand, 
  please, listen, listen, LISTEN!”
  Perhaps more than any personal failure, having to serve 
  at the pleasure of Eclipse Innovations sent Dr. Gragant 
  down a path of darkness. The status meetings she had to 
  attend were like the rungs of a ladder, each one leading her 
  further down a well of bitterness and resentment. Board 
  members who barely even understood the point of her 
  research questioned her methodology, suggested useless 
  deviations, and disregarded her answers to pursue each 
  other’s inane suggestions all for the sake of being involved. 
  Petty interpersonal politics and squabbling delayed simple 
  approvals for days or weeks at a time.
  When Dr. Gragant couldn’t produce satisfactory results 
  for the Eclipse Innovations’ board, she turned to unethical 
  scientific
  practices and dabbled with the dangerous 
  mysticism that eventually led to the explosion that forever 
  changed her destiny. She has had years to stew over these 
  decisions, and part of her has become convinced that she 
  might have accomplished her goal of eliminating pain if not 
  for the board’s meddling. However, it means little to her now, 
  as she has established a new method to achieve a version of 
  that goal. This room is a monument to those who stood in her 
  way on the Material Plane.
  Creature: Standing on the north side of the table between 
  two statues is a figu e that could almost be mistaken for 
  human at first, though its featureless, pitted face and 
  insectile wings quickly dismiss that assumption. It is bent 
  over a book that it studies in detail, tracing the writing 
  with a claw. This creature, a shadowy fey known as a 
  mementor, acts as a curator for Dr. Gragant’s museum of 
  painful memories, constantly tweaking and refining each 
  experience. It knows the PCs are intruders here and attacks 
  when they enter the room.
  MEMENTOR 
  CR 13
  XP 25,600
  HP 190 (see page 58)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The mementor casts haste on itself in the 
  first round of combat. It then attempts to keep the table 
  between itself and the PCs in order to use more of its 
  spell-like abilities, especially greater synaptic pulse and 
  mind thrust. If forced into melee combat, the mementor 
  isn’t afraid to use its claws.
  Morale When reduced to 40 Hit Points or fewer, the 
  mementor attempts to flee to area C8, where it then 
  fights alongside the creatures there. It leaves its 
  book behind.
  Development: If the mementor is killed in this room, 
  the boardroom table splinters and breaks in half, and the 
  statues deteriorate into piles of rusty iron flakes in the blink 
  of an eye. 
  The book the mementor was consulting is a detailed 
  history of Dr. Gragant’s life and a blueprint of sorts for these 
  rooms, though it is written in a shorthand of arcane formulae 
  unique to this mementor. The book’s leather cover is warm 
  to the touch, as if the object were alive. The pages are made 
  out of a material almost as thin as spider webs, but they 
  can still hold the unusual ink that seems to squirm in the 
  dim light. A PC can understand the general gist of the tome, 
  which appears to be written from an omnipresent point 
  of view, by casting comprehend languages or tongues and 
  succeeding at a DC 33 Mysticism check. Reading through 
  the entirety of the book takes about 6 hours; though it 
  might give the PCs some clues as to the nature of the rooms 
  they are passing through, the text strains the mind, and the 
  reading PC must succeed at a DC 18 Will saving throw or 
  take 1d6 Wisdom damage.
  C6. exploDing lAB (Cr 12)
  Passing through into this room is like walking into an 
  explosion in a laboratory frozen in time. Shattered glass vials 
  and liquid hang in midair and arcs of electricity flicker from 
  exploding machines. A flurry of half-burned papers covered 
  in diagrams and formulae are suspended throughout 
  the laboratory. The smell of ozone floods the room, and a 
  constant, low rumble assaults the ears. Doors exit to the 
  north and east.
  30
  
  Though her intentions were good, Dr. Gragant experienced 
  a good deal of failure in her research. The mockery from her 
  peers and the many public humiliations when her requests 
  for research grants or public lectures were openly questioned 
  eventually filled a deep well of anger and pain inside her. This 
  ever-raging storm of impotent anxiety within her has been 
  turned into another partially living display.
  Creature: A haggard and mutilated figu e stands in the 
  middle of the room, its body wounded and bleeding from 
  paper-thin cuts, its coat smoking from acid or chemical burns, 
  and its arms run through with scalpels and glass. This is a 
  snapshot of Dr. Gragant at her most frustrated, exploding 
  with all the pent-up anxiety she was never able to release in 
  life. The Failed Doctor is a mindless construct made from 
  the shadowstuff of the Shadow Plane, and though it can 
  speak Common, it does so only to vent Dr. Gragant’s anger 
  with accusations of sabotage and insults. It doesn’t listen to 
  reason and attacks any intruders who enter the room.
  THE FAILED DOCTOR 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  LE Medium construct (magical)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light 
  vision; Perception +20
  Aura slowing aura (10 ft., DC 20)
  DEFENSE
  HP 155
  EAC 23; KAC 24
  Fort +8; Ref +8; Will +12
  Immunities construct immunities, electricity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +18 (2d10+11 B)
  Spell-like Abilities (CL 11th; melee +18, 
  ranged +20)
  1/day—overload systems (DC 22), 
  rewire flesh (DC 22)
  3/day—arcing surge (DC 21), discharge 
  (DC 21), displacement, irradiate 
  (DC 21)
  At will—caustic conversion, inject nanobots 
  (DC 20)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The Failed Doctor begins 
  by casting displacement on itself, 
  and then it attempts to affect two 
  random targets with overload 
  systems and rewire flesh. It then 
  relies on damaging spells to take 
  out the PCs.
  Morale The Failed Doctor fights 
  until it is destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +3; Con —; Int —; 
  Wis +8; Cha +5
  Skills Acrobatics +25
  Languages Common 
  Other Abilities mindless, unliving
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Slowing Aura (Su) A field of mystical energy that slows 
  time to a crawl extends in a 10-foot radius around the 
  Failed Doctor. A creature that enters this area must 
  succeed at a DC 20 Will saving throw or be slowed, as 
  per slow, for as long as it remains in the aura and for 1 
  round after it leaves.
  Trap: As soon as the Failed Doctor begins to attack, one of 
  the pieces of malfunctioning scientific equipment 
  flo ting in midair behind it emits painful jolts 
  of electricity each round until it is disabled or 
  destroyed. Each round it targets one creature in 
  the room at random (including the Failed Doctor, 
  though the construct is immune to electricity). 
  A successful Perception check is required to 
  notice which of the suspended devices is 
  causing the surges of electricity. The 
  surging device has EAC  21, KAC 25, 
  hardness 5, and 125 Hit Points. It 
  counts as an object for the purpose of 
  spells (but has a bonus of +9 for all 
  saving throws if needed).
  SURGING DEVICE TRAP CR 9
  XP 6,400
  Type magical; Perception DC 27; 
  Disable Engineering DC 28 (shut 
  down device) or Mysticism DC 28 
  (unravel shadowstuff)
  Trigger location; Init +15; Reset 
  1 day
  Effect surge of electricity +22 
  (8d12 E)
  Treasure: Though the room is in 
  shambles, the PCs can find a few 
  working pieces of equipment with a 
  thorough search and a successful DC 
  30 Perception check. Tucked away in 
  a partially burned cabinet are a flas  
  shield generator (Starfinder Armory 103) 
  and a pair of synaptic link headbands 
  (Armory 108)
  Development: When the Failed Doctor 
  and the trap are defeated, time seems 
  to return to normal in the room. The low 
  rumble resolves itself to be a massive 
  explosion and all the flo ting debris 
  crashes to the ground. It then becomes 
  eerily quiet here.
  31
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  THE FAILED DOCTOR
  
  C7. Surgery (Cr 13)
  The room looks like an operating theater, though some kind 
  of biological life has infected the walls and floor, causing 
  strange growths of flesh, skin, and organs. The room is 
  brightly lit with overhead lights that flood the place with 
  sterile, white illumination, though the room smells of rot and 
  disease. A table on the north side of the room appears to be 
  caked with layers of blood. Doors lead north and south.
  In the months leading up to the fateful accident, Dr. 
  Gragant grew more and more desperate to produce results 
  with her research. Rather than give up, she became convinced 
  that the answer would be found through procedures that 
  were both magical and surgical. She committed fully to this 
  path, performing dozens of operations on unwilling test 
  subjects—sometimes without the use of anesthesia. When 
  some her assistants began to blanch at such experiments, Dr. 
  Gragant began to use a modified surgical d one to aid her.
  The door to the north is locked from the other side, 
  requiring a successful DC 40 Engineering check to open.
  Creature: The rituals and incantations Dr. Gragant employed 
  not only hastened her own downfall but also infected her 
  surgical drone. The accident that trapped Dr. Gragant on the 
  Shadow Plane pulled the drone along with her, granting it a 
  form of sentience that made it think it was in part a biological 
  entity. Using its surgical tools and the bodies of those who 
  didn’t survive the explosion, it attempted to make this belief 
  a reality. It clumsily installed misshapen teeth into its ports, 
  but thanks to its twisted understanding of anatomy, the teeth 
  are useless.
  The influence of the Shadow Plane and the energies that 
  keep Dr. Gragant trapped within this complex further 
  twisted the drone—now referred to as “the Surgeon“ 
  by the doctor and her velstrac allies—and this room, 
  spontaneously forming masses of biological material 
  on the walls, floo , and ceiling that are connected to 
  the drone. The Surgeon spends its days performing 
  useless procedures on this flesh, experiencing 
  both the agony and the pleasure of exacting 
  that pain.
  When the PCs enter this room, they might 
  mistake the Surgeon for a dormant, if grotesque, 
  piece of equipment. The Surgeon waits until at least 
  one PC is within reach of its scalpels and needles 
  before striking. The Surgeon is very slow, and if the 
  PCs don’t wish to fight it, they might be able to fle  
  the surgery after unlocking the northern door. 
  THE SURGEON 
  CR 13
  XP 25,600
  NE Large construct (magical, technological)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +28
  DEFENSE 
  HP 210
  EAC 27; KAC 28
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +14
  Immunities construct immunities
  OFFENSE
  Speed fly 10 ft. (Ex, clumsy)
  Melee scalpel +25 (6d4+21 S plus distraction [DC 21]; 
  critical 1d6 bleed)
  Ranged surgical laser +23 (2d10+13 F; critical 1d4 burn)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  32
  THE SURGEON
  
  Offensive Abilities anesthesia cone (15-ft. cone, see below, 
  DC 21, usable every 1d4 rounds), distraction (DC 21) 
  TACTICS
  During Combat The Surgeon sprays its anesthesia cone 
  as often as possible in an attempt to knock out PCs. 
  If the Surgeon is ever left alone in the room with only 
  unconscious creatures, it drags one of them onto 
  the table, where it can strap them down and begin a 
  painful vivisection.
  Morale The Surgeon fights until it is destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +6; Con —; Int +4; Wis +2; Cha +0
  Skills Computers +23, Life Science +28, Medicine +28, 
  Mysticism +23
  Other Abilities unliving
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Anesthesia Cone (Su) As a standard action, the Surgeon 
  can spray a 15-foot cone of anesthetic liquid that seeps 
  through targets’ armor and into their skin. A living 
  creature caught within the cone is sickened for 1d6 
  rounds unless it succeeds at a DC 21 Fortitude save. If a 
  living sickened creature fails its save against this effect, 
  it gains the fatigued condition, and a living fatigued 
  creature is rendered unconscious for 6 hours on a failed 
  save. An unconscious creature can be awoken by any 
  amount of magical healing or by a spell or effect that 
  removes the fatigued condition.
  Treasure: A PC who searches the area and succeeds at a 
  DC 32 Perception check discovers a cache of nanite hypopens 
  (three white and two green; Starfinder Armory 106) and two 
  mk III serums of healing in a plastic crate under one of the 
  surgical tables. 
  Development: Once the Surgeon is destroyed, the flesh  
  material covering the room deteriorates rapidly, the biological 
  matter sloughing off into disgusting piles of slimy goo  
  C8. ventilAtion SHAFt (Cr 13)
  A massive, slow-spinning fan occupies most of the floor in 
  this stark chamber. It creates a gentle draft here on which 
  float the smell of fresh blood, a few wisps of gray smoke, 
  and the faint, distant screams of unknown creatures. The 
  fan is surrounded by four bulbous devices made of glass, 
  metal, and plastic. The machines glow strangely from 
  within, shifting from one end of the color spectrum to the 
  other. A small door exits to the south.
  The laboratory complex seemingly dead-ends here in at 
  the top of a dark ventilation shaft. The sounds and smells 
  emanating from the shaft are illusory, created by Dr. Gragant’s 
  interactions with the Shadow Plane. At a glance, the shaft 
  seems bottomless, and dropping an item into it makes no 
  sound. The fan blades move slowly and are easy to dodge, 
  though they make lowering a rope down the shaft impossible. 
  A PC who flies, flo ts, or falls down the shaft for more than 
  100 feet must succeed at a DC 20 Will saving throw or 
  become panicked with the gnawing certainty that the shaft 
  goes on forever and if they don’t leave it immediately, they 
  will never be able to return to the surface. A PC who succeeds 
  at this save can continue downward, but must attempt the 
  same save every 100 feet they travel. The shaft is 200 feet 
  deep and has smooth walls, requiring a PC to succeed at a DC 
  30 Athletics check to climb.
  The machinery in this room are only decoration and have 
  no actual function, a fact a PC can determine by succeeding at 
  a DC 22 Engineering check.
  There is a 10-foot-diameter hatch in the northeast corner 
  of the room. This hatch opens onto a smooth, dark tube that 
  leads 100 feet down to area C9. A successful DC 25 Athletics 
  check is required to climb down the tube without falling.
  Creatures: A pair of shodravs prowl through this room 
  between the strange machinery. However, the presence of the 
  PCs sends them into somewhat of a frenzy over the prospect 
  of more interesting prey.
  SHODRAVS (2) 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800 each
  HP 180 each (see page 59)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The shodravs begin by striking with their 
  shadow tendrils while moving within reach of the PCs. 
  Each shodrav attacks a different PC.
  Morale The shodravs fight hungrily until one is killed or 
  both are reduced to fewer than 25 Hit Points. In either 
  case, any surviving shodrav flees to the Material Plane 
  using shadow jaunt.
  C9. mining tunnelS (Cr 13)
  The tube from the ventilation shaft area leads to a bunch of 
  twisting tunnels in the stone of the asteroid. These tunnels 
  should seem familiar to those the PCs explored in “The 
  Diaspora Strain,” but several subtle diffe ences lead to a 
  sense of unease. A PC who inspects any of the tunnel walls 
  closely can see tiny striations in the rock that resemble 
  lengths of chain. Though the passageways are illuminated 
  by dim light, the PCs constantly see menacing shadows just 
  around the next corner that disappear as they approach.
  The tunnels are shifting and confusing, and to navigate 
  them, a PC must succeed at a DC 34 Survival skill check or 
  an appropriate Profession check (such as archaeologist or 
  miner). If they fail, the PCs get a bit lost and turned around, 
  allowing the velstracs hiding within the side rooms (see 
  Creatures below) to ambush them. 
  Creatures: During her time on the Shadow Plane, Dr. 
  Gragant has gained the loyal support of several velstracs, 
  some of whom see her as a delightful new form of life and are 
  interested in seeing how far she can take her plans. The two 
  33
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  heretics and their pet vespers hounds here are eager to fight
  any intruders in brutal confrontation, seeking no quarter and 
  offering none in eturn. 
  HERETICS (2) 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800 each
  HP 125 each (see page 60)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The heretics remain at range, firing their 
  laser rifles at the most vulnerable-looking PCs.
  Morale The heretics fight to the death.
  VESPERS HOUNDS (2) 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600 each
  HP 165 each (see page 61)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The vespers hounds use their slip through 
  the shadows ability to appear amid the PCs and begin 
  attacking with their claws, usually making full attacks 
  unless a particular PC is difficult to hit. In such a case, 
  a vespers hound targets that PC with its prison of 
  chains ability.
  Morale The vespers hound fight until they are killed.
  C10. enD trAnSmiSSion (Cr 15)
  This large, square space has twenty-foot-high ceilings, and 
  the walls are tiled with five-foot-wide square steel panels. 
  Several glass cylinders line the walls in regular intervals, 
  each filled with a dark fluid in which floats unmoving forms 
  that defy classification, only parts of the contents visible at a 
  time as they bob gently within. The center of the room holds 
  a thirty-foot-wide pool of thick, opaque liquid. A totemic 
  obelisk rises from a small square island in the center of the 
  pool, a disquieting structure of living flesh and machine parts 
  wired together. Skinned faces are stretched over monitors, 
  their lips moving without making a sound. Limbs reach out 
  from tangles of cables, and whole dismembered torsos hang 
  twitching from transmitters. 
  The mechanical monstrosity in this room is the generator 
  and prime transmitter for Dr. Gragant’s shadow signal. See 
  Hazards on page 35 for more information on how it affect  
  the room. The liquid in the pool is 10 feet deep, and the light 
  level under the surface of the pool is complete darkness. 
  Though it might look strange and dangerous, the liquid 
  is harmless.
  The secret door to the south can be discovered with a 
  successful DC 35 Perception check, though certain notes on 
  the signal generator’s computers hint at its existence (see 
  Development on page 35).
  Creatures: Dr. Gragant, wearing a white lab coat with dark 
  leather armor underneath, stands on the eastern side of the 
  pool. She appears human at first glance, but she is a unique 
  outsider, and her supernatural abilities will soon become 
  apparent. She idly holds a dagger in her left hand while 
  examining the readings on her computer screens. Read or 
  paraphrase the following.
  The woman looks up. “At last, you’re here,” she calls out. Her 
  voice conveys a cold but human callousness with hint of a 
  machinelike tone underneath it. “You’ve made a mess of my 
  research project, but then again, the signal tends to incite 
  violence at first. If you live with it long enough and accept 
  the changes, that’s when your new body can show you what 
  it’s capable of. I can help you make that leap—to become 
  immune to pain like I am. You’ve suffered so much already. 
  Let me free you, and together we can transmit the signal 
  across the galaxy. What can be more philanthropic than to 
  free all worlds from the tyranny of pain itself?”
  If the PCs haven’t yet figu ed out that this is Dr. Lestana 
  Gragant, she introduces herself at this point and repeats 
  her offe . The PCs might simply attack her and the signal 
  device at this point, or they might agree to her proposal as 
  a bluff to get closer to her. However, she demands proof of 
  their sincerity.
  “Before your glorious ascension, you must provide a 
  sacrifice. You’ve seen what I’ve had to suffer through in 
  order to get here, and I understand your mortal reluctance 
  to truly lose something of meaning and taste the horror 
  of loss. But it is necessary. All I require is that you cut off 
  your nondominant hand. What you receive in return will 
  more than make up for that loss. If you’re unwilling to make 
  that small sacrifice, then I’ll settle for the soul of any one of 
  your number. Just pick someone and murder them. It doesn’t 
  matter who you choose.”
  A PC who honestly accepts Dr. Gragant’s offer immediately 
  succumbs to shadow corruption and becomes an NPC. Saving 
  that PC from Dr. Gragant’s influence is beyond the scope 
  of this adventure, but killing the doctor and destroying her 
  signal generator should be the start of such efforts
  Should the PCs refuse or attack Dr. Gragant, she attacks at 
  range with her spells and commands two of her “subjects” to 
  come forth: a trio of vespers hounds that were hiding within 
  the pool. 
  VESPERS HOUNDS (3) 
  CR 10
  XP 9,600 each
  HP 165 each (see page 61)
  TACTICS
  During Combat The vespers hounds leave the pool 
  by using their slip through the shadows ability. 
  Each attacks a different PC, hoping to keep them in 
  one place to allow Dr. Gragant to use her spell-like 
  abilities unhindered.
  34
  
  Morale These beasts are the most loyal to Dr. Gragant’s 
  cause and fight to the death.
  DR. LESTANA GRAGANT 
  CR 13
  XP 25,600
  LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +28
  DEFENSE 
  HP 190
  EAC 26; KAC 27
  Fort +12; Ref +12; Will +18
  Defensive Abilities insubstantial; Immunities cold; 
  Resistances electricity 15
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee ultrathin dagger +23 (4d4+13 P)
  Offensive Abilities look of pain (60 ft., DC 19)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th; ranged +20)
  1/day—synapse overload (DC 24), unwilling guardian 
  (DC 24)
  3/day—dimension door, mind thrust (4th level, DC 23), 
  resilient sphere (DC 23), rewire flesh (DC 23), 
  At will—arcing surge (DC 22), displacement
  TACTICS
  During Combat Dr. Gragant begins combat by using 
  displacement on herself. She targets any obvious melee 
  fighters with unwilling guardian and sets them to 
  protecting her from other melee fighters while casting 
  dimension door to stay out of range of anyone trying to 
  pin her in place. She targets a PC injured by a vespers 
  hound with mind thrust or synapse overload to finish 
  them off nd uses resilient sphere to trap the PC who is 
  causing her the most trouble. 
  Morale Dr. Gragant fights until she is reduced to 0 Hit 
  Points, though this might not mean her destruction (see 
  Development below).
  STATISTICS
  Str +0; Dex +6; Con +2; Int +8; Wis +4; Cha +2
  Skills Bluff 23, Computers +23, Life Science +28, 
  Mysticism +28
  Gear estex suit IV (gray force field [20 HP], mk 3 
  electrostatic field, mk 1 spell reflector), ultrathin dagger
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Insubstantial (Su) Dr. Gragant’s corporeal form occasionally 
  flickers into insubstantial shadow. She has a 50% chance 
  to ignore (treat as a normal hit) extra damage and critical 
  hit effects from a critical hit from any weapon, unless 
  that weapon has the ghost killer fusion or can otherwise 
  affect incorporeal creatures normally.
  Look of Pain (Su) As a standard action, Dr. Gragant can 
  cause terrible pain in a living target that she can see. If 
  the target fails a DC 19 Fortitude save, it is stunned for 
  1 round. This is a mind-affecting pain effect. A creature 
  that succeeds at its saving throw against this effect is 
  immune to it for 24 hours.
  Hazard: The signal generator in the center of the room is 
  connected to Dr. Gragant’s growing power on the Shadow 
  Plane. The mystical core of the device was formed during 
  the accident that trapped Dr. Gragant, and she has been 
  modifying it in gruesome ways over the past decade. This 
  is the source of the shadow signal that has plagued the PCs 
  throughout this Adventure Path, and destroying it is the 
  only way the PCs can hope to cleanse the stains on their 
  souls. While the signal generator is active, if a hound or 
  Dr. Gragant scores a critical hit against a PC, that PC must 
  attempt a saving throw against their shadow corruption. This 
  effect can be suppressed for 1d3 rounds if a PC succeeds at 
  a DC 30 Engineering check made as a standard action while 
  adjacent to the signal generator. The signal generator has 
  EAC 21, KAC 25, hardness 20, and 100 Hit Points. If the PCs 
  destroy the signal generator while Dr. Gragant is still alive, 
  it re-forms 2d4 rounds later.
  Development: When defeated, Dr. Gragant lets out an 
  extended scream of pleasure and ecstasy, as she finds an 
  ultimate joy in the agony of death. She collapses to the 
  ground, and if the signal generator hasn’t been destroyed, 
  wisps of shadowstuff begin coalescing around her fallen 
  form. A PC who succeeds at a DC 30 Mysticism check 
  realizes that Dr. Gragant and the device are connected, 
  and that destroying both is the only method to purge their 
  own shadow corruption. If the PCs don’t destroy the signal 
  generator, Dr. Gragant resurrects in 1 hour, at full health and 
  with her full complement of spells.
  The physical statistics of the signal generator are provided 
  in the Hazard section above, but the PCs can also cause the 
  signal generator to overload and destroy itself by succeeding 
  at three consecutive DC 34 Engineering checks, each of which 
  takes 10 minutes to attempt.
  While one PC fiddles with the signal generator’s 
  mechanical parts, another PC can examine the device’s 
  computer systems to learn more about Dr. Gragant’s plans 
  and history. With a successful DC 28 Computers check, 
  the PCs can find the detailed journal she kept on the 
  computer, which will fill the PCs in on any information from 
  the Adventure Background they might not yet know (and 
  possibly give them context for the encounters the PCs have 
  experienced up to now). This journal also hints at a nearby 
  secret laboratory where Dr. Gragant is conducting another, 
  more personal experiment, away from the prying eyes of her 
  outsider allies. This grants the PCs a +5 circumstance bonus 
  to find the sec et door that leads to area C11.
  If a PC succeeds at a second DC 28 Computers check while 
  perusing the system, they can download the schematics of 
  the signal generator onto their comm unit, granting a +4 
  circumstance bonus to attempts to overload its system. This 
  information also reveals that destroying the signal generator 
  will cause the pool of liquid to transform into a temporary 
  portal to the Material Plane. This portal will last for 4 hours 
  and lead back to New Elysium. While this isn’t long enough 
  35
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  for the PCs to fully rest up, it does give them an opportunity 
  to poke around area C11 or fetch Zunar before they lose 
  their chance to escape the Shadow Plane.
  C11. HiDDen lAB
  A seemingly conventional medical lab stands in stark 
  contrast to the strangeness of the other areas in the rest 
  of the facility. Near the center of the room rests a shiny, 
  gray metal hemisphere approximately five feet in radius, 
  with no apparent way of opening it. The hemisphere’s 
  segmented panels reflect the sterile surroundings. 
  Various monitoring devices, computers, and screens line 
  the walls.
  This chamber holds Dr. Gragant’s most personal 
  experiment, and perhaps her most disturbing secret—one 
  she kept hidden even from her Shadow Plane allies out 
  of fear they would want her to destroy it. Even after 
  her transformation, some small part of her saw the road 
  of depravity that lay ahead. She still could not deny her 
  lifetime of commitment and proceeded with the creation 
  of the shadow signal, her humanity weakening with 
  every passing day. However, in the back of her mind, she 
  wondered whether, had she grown up without the specter 
  of pain hanging over every moment of her life, she could 
  perhaps have become someone else.
  This sweet echo of a daydream eventually transformed 
  into a jagged knot. Dr. Gragant’s scientific mind would not 
  allow for this potential scenario to remain unexplored, so 
  she began to grow clones from the human parts of her 
  DNA that still existed. With the help of the mementors, 
  she distilled much of her early memories and implanted 
  them in the copies, whom she aged to 13 years. She then 
  placed them inside the hemisphere—a complex virtual 
  reality simulator—to live out accelerated versions of 
  various scenarios: ones in which her parents did not die, or 
  died naturally and quickly in less painful ways and she was 
  adopted by loving family or foster parents. She varied the 
  parameters and permutations, but each invariably came 
  back with some form of pain or another.
  Her clones encountered pain in the form of heartbreak, 
  rejection, loss, and loneliness. Even lives that went on 
  for decades and were full of love and companionship 
  invariably faced pain at the end, as existential dread began 
  to set in and partners and friends began to die. Rather than 
  accept pain as part of the human condition, Dr. Gragant 
  kept tweaking the parameters, trying to find a perfect life 
  without pain.
  Dr. Gragant has run thousands of these experiments, 
  disposing of each clone as it descended into pain and grief. 
  One last clone remains within the dome, only recently 
  inserted into the program. This 13-year-old version of 
  Lestana Gragant believes herself to have lived a normal life 
  without parents at all and is waiting to be taken into the 
  custody of a foster care system on Absalom Station.
  The PCs can learn all this by examining Dr. Gragant’s 
  notes on the computer terminals here. The computers here 
  are unsecured and require only a DC 10 Computers check 
  to access. Once a PC has this access, they can watch the 
  terabytes of video memory showing the thousands of clones 
  that lived and died before this one. A termination protocol 
  is readily available, which will reduce the clone within the 
  hemisphere to a protein sludge that can be used to grow the 
  next clone. A PC can also release the clone, though freeing 
  clone from the simulation without jarring her mind requires a 
  successful DC 28 Computers check.
  The 13-year-old Lestana Gragant is pleasant and has 
  a sharp, analytical mind. Temporarily gaining her trust 
  requires a PC to succeed at a DC 25 Diplomacy check while 
  offering a reasonable explanation of where she currently 
  is and what has happened to her. While telling her the 
  truth momentarily shocks her, she does appreciate the 
  PCs’ candor; this grants a +2 circumstance bonus to the 
  Diplomacy check to earn her trust. If the PCs succeed, they 
  can escort the teenage Lestana Gragant back to the Material 
  Plane, where they can find a foster care organization on 
  Absalom Station or most other Pact Worlds willing to care 
  for her. Alternatively, they can become her guardians and 
  raise her themselves. She shows a keen interest in the field  
  of science and engineering and could eventually become a 
  valued member of any crew. However, she does occasionally 
  have nightmares about a shadowy version of herself calling 
  her to perform dark deeds.
  With the signal generator destroyed and Dr. Gragant dead, 
  the small island in the center of the pool in area C10 sinks 
  under the surface of the liquid, which begins to churn and 
  bubble. After a moment, the pool becomes still, though 
  instead of reflecting the room, it shows an image of Green 
  Fields on New Elysium, the carnage that occurred in “The 
  Diaspora Strain” still present. A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 
  Mysticism check can sense a new aura surrounding the pool, 
  recognizing it as a one-way portal that can take them back 
  to the Material Plane.
  The PCs (and whoever they bring with them) can step into 
  the pool, which transports them back to the asteroid resort. 
  The signal-infected guests and staff have all perished, and 
  while the facility is disturbing, it is no longer dangerous. 
  Zunar can direct the PCs to his starship, the Stone Skipper, 
  docked at the resort’s bays. If the PCs failed to save Zunar, 
  they can easily find the sarcesian-style freighter and get its 
  engines running by succeeding at a DC 22 Engineering check. 
  36
  CONCLUDING 
  THE ADVENTURE
  
  Either way, the PCs can travel wherever they want in the Pact 
  Worlds, though they probably want to return to Verces to find
  their own starship parked where they left it.
  The PCs might want to keep the facts of their ordeal to 
  themselves, or they might want to go to the authorities 
  to report what happened at New Elysium. While they 
  likely had little luck in that regard in the past, they are no 
  longer pressed for time and can wait for the Stewards (or 
  another policing organization) to fully examine the asteroid 
  resort. Though many are skeptical, the Stewards eventually 
  believe the PCs’ story and ensure them they don’t have to 
  fear prosecution for their actions on New Elysium or on 
  Verces during their investigation of Eclipse Innovations. The 
  Stewards do insist, though, that the PCs submit to a few 
  rigorous physical examinations and suggest that the PCs 
  speak with qualified therapists to learn how to cope with 
  their experiences. 
  However, if Paradise Resorts gets wind of the incident 
  and the PCs’ return, they ask them to remain quiet about 
  their experiences so they can open New Elysium once again. 
  If the PCs corroborate a fanciful tale of an attack by space 
  pirates that led to all the fatalities, they are recognized as 
  heroes for driving the marauders off and are paid handsome 
  sums of credits that will keep them in living in luxury for 
  the rest of their lives. However, they will have to live with 
  the guilt of lying to the victims’ families, though some PCs 
  might take comfort in the belief that the truth would be 
  much more traumatizing to hear. 
  The final side effect of stopping Dr. Gragant is that the PCs 
  are purged of their shadow corruption... if they wish to be. 
  By stepping through the portal to the Material Plane, each 
  character feels a heavy weight being lifted from their chest 
  as the shadow corruption washes away like dirt in a shower. 
  They lose all their manifestations as their bodies and souls 
  return to normal. They cease noting unusual sensations and 
  stop having disturbing nightmares. Depending on how far 
  their corruption progressed, they begin to feel connected to 
  the world again and their emotions are no longer deadened. 
  Such a PC might even be temporarily overwhelmed by this 
  resurgence of feelings.
  Alternatively, if a player seems interested in having their 
  character retain the gifts of their shadow corruption, you can 
  describe how that PC is visited in the night by a humanoid 
  figu e draped in rustling chains. The mysterious entity offer  
  the PC a chance to “explore the limits of their physical form” 
  in a whispery voice. The only thing the figu e asks in return 
  is that the PC forsake all their close relationships and to 
  accept a tiny magitech implant into their brain. If the PC 
  agrees, they feel a sudden, sharp pain in the base of their 
  neck as the figu e nods in approval. They then regain their 
  manifestations Where such a bargain takes that PC in the 
  future is up to you!
  37
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  CONTINUING THE CAMPAIGN
  CONTINUING THE CAMPAIGN
  “On behalf of Eclipse Innovations, I apologize to those 
  directly a�
  ected by the malware event on New Elysium, 
  as well as to their friends and families. We found the 
  problem, and we eliminated it. To facilitate the healing 
  process, we’re covering all expenses incurred due to this 
  incident. Paradise Resorts has also reached out to o�
  er 
  complimentary stays to a�
  ected individuals and guests 
  they would like to accompany them. Our customers can 
  also rest assured that the new version of the Penumbra 
  Operating System will meet their needs, without fail.”
  —Kreshnara Jaan, VP of Public Relations for 
  Eclipse Innovations 
  38
  
  T
  he Signal of Screams Adventure Path ends when 
  the PCs defeat Dr. Gragant and end her signal. But 
  as in any horror scenario, the defeat of one horror 
  can lead to another and to more adventure.
  Diffe ent Screams: Dr. Gragant’s laboratory contained a 
  number of alternative experimental carrier signals, each of 
  which produces a diffe ent psychological shift related to 
  pain, causing happiness, love, joy, camaraderie, and so on. 
  Unknown to others, Dr. Gragant set up a failsafe that only she 
  could deactivate. A short time after her defeat, the failsafe 
  goes off, releasing these experimental signals in a cascading 
  series transmitted to various infospheres. The PCs must 
  trace the digital code of each signal to keep Dr. Gragant’s 
  experiments from running amok, producing various horrors 
  across the Pact Worlds.
  Newer Elysium: As a settlement for their pain and 
  suffering, the PCs receive the deed to New Elysium. Though 
  they can use the facility as they see fit, they also become 
  responsible for restoring it to its previous state. All the pain 
  and suffering that occurred there left scars. Spirits of those 
  who died due to Dr. Gragant’s signal linger, and it’s up to the 
  PCs to help these unquiet spirits find rest. In addition, it’s 
  anyone’s guess what dangers remain in the Ulrikka mines 
  underneath the facility. If the velstrac Teodhor survived, or 
  even if he didn’t, the PCs might find darker residents have 
  set up shop in the resort.
  Overzealous Cleansing: The corruption unleashed by the 
  Signal of Screams became so widespread that the forces of 
  good dispatched the angel Kallis to cleanse this taint from the 
  galaxy. The PCs handled the problem first, but the signal left 
  its marks on those who encountered it, turning some to evil. 
  Kallis, bent on eradicating the corruption completely, seeks 
  out and destroys anyone affected by the signal, including the 
  PCs. If the PCs don’t want to stop Kallis with violence, they 
  might have to appeal to higher authorities in the celestial 
  bureaucracy to rein in the angel. PCs who do resort to force 
  might need to justify their actions to other celestials sent to 
  discover Kallis’s fate.
  Shadow Hacktivists: The PCs receive a message from the 
  hacktivist Chop Collective, located in Cuvacara, asking the 
  PCs to help them aid victims of the fallout of the Penumbra 
  Protocol. However, the PCs soon discover that it’s not the 
  Penumbra Protocol’s aftereffects that are plaguing those 
  whom the Collective wishes to help, but instead a group 
  of kayals taking advantage of the chaos. Members of the 
  Collective aren’t equipped to deal with extraplanar threats, 
  so it’s up to the PCs to hunt down the kayals’ nest on the 
  edge of the Shadow Plane and either eliminate or placate 
  them so their victims can begin to find some peace
  Shadow Incursion: Velstracs from the Shadow Plane raid 
  the Material Plane, kidnapping and transforming colonists 
  and other isolated groups to continue learning more about 
  how to gain glimpses of the sublime. The PCs first face the 
  mystery of these disappearances, but upon discovering the 
  fiendish truth, they must find the incursion’s source. A mighty 
  velstrac named Astri is using harvested flesh to build herself 
  an army and augment her body. The only way to stop her 
  ascension is to face her within a velstrac enclave she controls.
  Shadowed Star: A large chunk of the Shadow Plane has 
  exchanged places with parts of a star system in the Vast. The 
  Material Plane star and some of its attending planets have 
  been replaced by their shadow counterparts. When the PCs 
  investigate, they discover the system’s only habitable world, 
  home to a nascent society of sapient aliens, is slowly dying 
  in the dark and facing domination from a group of shadow 
  giants—and it is the giants who control the artifact that 
  caused this shift to occur. The PCs must assault the giants’ 
  fortress and destroy or deactivate the artifact to return all 
  aspects of both star systems to their rightful planes.
  Skein of Corruption: Shadow corruption still lingers in 
  the PCs’ souls. To free themselves, the PCs learn they can 
  travel to a dead exoplanet on the Shadow Plane. Karn, a 
  spirit who dwells there, teaches the PCs a ritual that allows 
  them to sequester the corruption from their souls in the fles  
  at the surface of their body, which can then be cut away. 
  After several torturous cycles of treatment and healing, the 
  afflicte
  PCs are well. However, they discover that Karn is 
  using the scraps of corrupted flesh to form a physical body 
  it can use to travel the Shadow Plane. This mysterious being 
  seeks and harvests more corrupted skins to increase its 
  power and knowledge.
  Velstrac Virus: Dr. Gragant’s signal had unintended 
  consequences. On a macro scale, it caused sapient species 
  to break with reality and embrace pain. But on a micro scale, 
  it mutated a normally harmless virus that is now infecting 
  people on Verces. The virus affects the central nervous 
  system, changing the host into a bizarre cross between 
  a velstrac and a zombie. Most of the infected have been 
  reduced to a state where they are little more than ravenous 
  beasts. Some, however, retain a low cunning, believing that 
  everyone they see embraces pain as pleasure. These higher-
  minded infected lead their lesser kith to maim and torture, 
  thinking only that they are helping their victims. To stop this 
  budding plague, the PCs must obtain a pure sample of the 
  mutated virus so an antigen can be produced to save as many 
  infected beings as possible.
  What If the PCs Lose? If Dr. Gragant isn’t stopped, she 
  eventually manages to activate her Signal of Screams and 
  unleash her corrupting influence on the Pact Worlds. The 
  transmitter’s activation opens a portal to the Material Plane, 
  freeing Dr. Gragant to leave her laboratory on the Shadow 
  Plane. She uses her fiendish might and influence to leverage 
  newer and more dangerous technologies, as well as recruit 
  velstracs to her cause as a self-made exemplar of their kind. 
  If left unchecked, she pursues her goal for personal and 
  universal enlightenment, pushing the galaxy toward a dark 
  age of violence as more and more sapient beings embrace 
  pain as pleasure.
  39
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  40
  A
  t least several weeks after they defeat Dr. 
  Gragant, PCs receive a message from Kreshnara 
  Jaan, Vice President of PR for Eclipse Innovations. 
  The CEO of Eclipse, Pret Ayinger (N agender verthani) wants 
  to meet with the PCs to discuss a sensitive security breach 
  in Eclipse systems. Kreshnara has been sent to contact 
  the PCs because, ultimately, this issue can only push the 
  corporation’s image further down, especially following its 
  recent debacles.
  The PCs receive a retainer to return to Cuvacara on 
  Verces and meet with the CEO. There, Ayinger sees the PCs 
  in a lush rooftop apartment at the top of one of the city’s 
  skyscrapers. The meeting is private, off the books. Several 
  bodyguards accompany the highly augmented Ayinger, who 
  isn’t sure they trust the PCs after all that has happened.
  Ayinger tells the PCs that a rival company called Bonus 
  Chance, a gambling syndicate, stole the source code for Keys 
  to Elysium, the technology Dr. Gragant’s Signal of Screams 
  subverted. Ayinger isn’t sure how Bonus Chance plans to 
  use the software, but they are certain Bonus Chance can’t 
  be trusted with this harmful tech. If the PCs press, Ayinger 
  reveals the stolen software is still infused with a subdued 
  version of Dr. Gragant’s carrier signal, which Eclipse kept 
  “for study and safekeeping.”
  The PCs are hired, with a generous retainer and the 
  promise of further payout, to infiltr te the Bonus Chance 
  headquarters in Cuvacara and inject the rival’s system 
  with a worm designed to hunt down copies of the errant 
  software. If the PCs push hard enough, Ayinger agrees 
  to destroy Eclipse’s copies of the corrupted code as part 
  of the PCs’ payment. In any case, the CEO warns the PCs 
  that if they are captured, Eclipse Innovations will deny any 
  involvement in the plot.
  Ayinger suggests the PCs use the public tours that Bonus 
  Chance offers as cover to scout their facility. If they agree, 
  the PCs pose as tourists, and they can learn about the 
  layout and security measures. If they aren’t careful during 
  this operation, however, they might tip off Bonus Chance 
  security to be on the lookout for corporate espionage. 
  Alternatively, the PCs can take whatever opportunity they 
  have to sneak away from the guided tour to infiltr te the 
  building. In any case, they learn that Bonus Chance keeps 
  its most important data on upper levels in the offic of the 
  company’s CEO, Asher-34.
  Asher-34 first thought that the Eclipse Innovations 
  technology might prove to be a useful addition to his 
  gambling dens scattered across the galaxy. A savvy 
  technocrat, Asher-34 began to personally dissect the 
  software when it arrived, at which point the embedded 
  carrier signal sparked shadow corruption in the evil 
  android. Until now, he had embraced his artificial nature 
  and subdued physical sensations as weaknesses, but the 
  corruption revitalized his living side, allowing him to feel 
  physical sensation through his synthetic frame for the firs  
  time in many decades. Sensation was a revelation. Since 
  acquiring the corruption, Asher-34 has been experimenting 
  with diffe ent sensations, his systems interpreting pain 
  as pleasure. He has begun testing his tolerances, scraping 
  off his artificial flesh and applying heat, cold, and acid to 
  portions of his body.
  In addition, the android has begun trials using his 
  employees. The Bonus Chance complex is essentially an 
  arcology, a self-sufficien
  facility designed to minimize 
  ecological impact and allow employees live onsite in a 
  way that requires them to rarely leave. Asher-34 has been 
  recruiting employees to see exactly how their bodies can 
  be improved. He has also begun to hear the whispers of 
  velstracs, driving him to seek the same sort of perfection.
  To keep any news from escaping, Asher-34 initiated 
  an automated employee ID initiative, which provided the 
  opportunity to embed control devices in the right temples of 
  all employees. These employees act mostly normal but have 
  occasional lapses where they stare off into space or move 
  about almost mindlessly, especially if asked about unusual 
  goings-on in the facility. PCs might notice something is 
  off about the employees with whom they interact and 
  can make the connection through roleplaying and Sense 
  Motive checks (DCs in the 20 to 30 range) about the bizarre 
  behavior. It takes 1 minute to examine an employee and 
  a successful DC 30 Medicine check to find the embedded 
  device. A successful DC 30 Computers, Engineering, or 
  Medicine check is enough to identify the true nature of the 
  “ID” device.
  The security forces in most of the facility are little 
  challenge for seasoned adventurers, but the players should 
  be reminded that these are people doing their job and it is the 
  PCs who are breaking and entering. Once it becomes clear 
  there has been a security breach, hardened soldiers take over 
  security operations, such as the mercenary commandos and 
  mercenary technomancers found on page 175 of Starfinde  
  Pact Worlds, along with tougher security constructs, such 
  as the AHAV on page 8 or robots on pages 94–95 of the 
  Starfinder Alien Archive (advanced in CR), or the golems on 
  pages 66–67 of Starfinder Alien A chive 2.
  On the upper levels near Asher-34’s office and quarters 
  are secure labs containing pain-racked employees on whom 
  he has experimented. Also in this horrific place are complicit 
  scientists, monstrous beings (perhaps using the rebuilt 
  template graft found on page 60 of Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #5: The Ruined Clouds), and Asher-34’s elite personal 
  security force, his enforcers (fanatically loyal LE mercenaries 
  with the shadow-marred template graft;  see  page  41). 
  CORPORATE CORRUPTION
  40
  
  41
  Security countermeasures activate as soon as a threat is 
  detected, and the labs have strange hybrid devices, such 
  as higher-level traps from page 413 of the Starfinder Core 
  Rulebook, that could threaten interlopers.
  When the PCs reach their goal, they have to hold the 
  computer room long enough to inject the worm. To escape, 
  they must face Asher-34 and a few of his lackeys. It’s also 
  possible that Ayinger either informs the proper authorities 
  or pulls a double-cross, sending in a black-ops team to finis  
  off the PCs. In either case, these developments happen after 
  the PCs implant the worm in Bonus Chance’s core system.
  ASHER-34 
  CR 16
  XP 76,800
  Male android envoy
  NE Medium humanoid (android)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +29
  DEFENSE 
  HP 280 RP 6
  EAC 30; KAC 31
  Fort +14; Ref +19; Will +16; +2 vs. disease, 
  mind-affecting effects, poison, and sleep
  DR 5/good or silver; Defensive Abilities fast healing 10; 
  Immunities pain effects; SR 22
  OFFENSE
  Speed 60 ft.
  Melee gravity battleglove +26 (5d10+18 B)
  Ranged advanced gyrojet pistol +28 (4d12+10 B; critical 
  knockdown) or
   
  parallax optical laser +28 (4d6+20 F; critical burn 2d6)
  STATISTICS
  Str +2; Dex +7; Con +2; Int +5; Wis +0; Cha +10
  Skills Bluff 34, Computers +34, Diplomacy +29, 
  Engineering +29, Profession (corporate professional) +29, 
  Sense Motive +34
  Languages Akitonian, Castrovelian, Common, Elven, 
  Triaxian, Vercite
  Other Abilities constructed, envoy improvisations 
  (improved get ’em, hidden agenda, improved hurry, not in 
  the face), flat affect, upgrade slot (mk 2 magic resistorAR)
  Gear bespoke echelon fashion, gravity battleglove 
  with 1 battery (20 charges), advanced gyrojet pistol 
  with 20 mini-rockets; Augmentations backup lobeAR, 
  cloaking skinAR, mk 2 force solesAR, parallax optical 
  laserAR, speed suspension (complete)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Pain Inspiration (Su) The first time Asher-34 takes 
  Hit Point damage in a given encounter, for 
  1 round he can roll attack rolls, saving throws, 
  and skill checks twice and use the better 
  result. He can do so again first time he 
  drops below half his Hit Points 
  in a given encounter.
  SHADOW-MARRED 
  TEMPLATE GRAFT (CR 3+)
  The process that forms a shadow-marred creature can 
  happen to a member of almost any species. Use the following 
  template graft to create such a creature of any CR.
  Alignment: Alignment changes to any evil.
  Traits: Darkvision 60 ft. (or increased by 30 ft.), low-light 
  vision; DR 5/good or silver; fast healing equal to half the 
  creature’s CR; immune to pain effects; pain inspiration (see 
  Asher-34’s statistics).
  41
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  ASHER-34
  
  42
  F
  rom his palace on the Shadow Plane, the Fortress of 
  Absolute Transformation, the velstrac demagogue 
  Vevelor had taken an interest in Dr. Gragant’s work 
  with pain. So many beings on the Prime Material balk at the 
  idea of discomfort, much less agony. Gragant’s work in helping 
  those on the Material Plane accept pain as the pleasure it is 
  fascinated the velstrac. Sadly for him, she was not worthy 
  of ultimate ascension at his side: after all, she was defeated.
  Vevelor observed Gragant up to her downfall at the PCs’ 
  hands, and learned their identity when he watched them 
  fight the doctor. Vevelor became fascinated with the PCs, 
  especially any among them touched with shadow corruption, 
  as anyone who could bring about the ruin of one so innovative 
  as Gragant must be worthy of attention and, possibly, of 
  ascension in her stead.
  As the PCs move on from Gragant’s destruction, Vevelor 
  reaches out to attempt to convert them into his followers. He 
  starts by offering tempting rewards in their dreams. Vevelor 
  can provide small boons to those who revere him, such as 
  staving off the final doom of shadow corruption or changing 
  manifestations to those a new disciple prefers, especially 
  those that lead to velstrac transformation. If a PC accepts 
  willingly, Vevelor honors them with gifts and tutelage, all but 
  ensuring their final descent into darkness
  Offers Vevelor makes are deeply personal and horribly 
  tempting. Take what you know about each player and PC, 
  and craft Vevelor’s proposals to match. Vevelor’s bargains also 
  center around his core conceits, such as ultimate freedom and 
  lack of patterns. Vevelor despises uniformity.
  If a PC refuses these overtures three times, 
  Vevelor instead inflicts nightmares on them. This 
  ability works like the nightmare spell (Starfinder
  Adventure Path #10: The Diaspora Strain 52). 
  However, in addition to that spell’s effects,
  a PC who fails the initial saving throw 
  treats their maximum Hit Points and 
  Stamina Points as 10 lower until able 
  to take an undisturbed 8-hour rest. In 
  these dreams, the PCs are tortured, 
  losing that which is most dear to them. 
  They see what they could have been 
  at Vevelor’s side in a vision where they 
  appear 
  as 
  their 
  perfect 
  ideal, 
  compared 
  to 
  the 
  ruined, imperfect creatures 
  they become after Vevelor’s 
  tortures.
  At some point, probably when the 
  PCs are weak and exhausted from 
  lack of rest, Vevelor gives up his 
  attempts to influence them. He resigns 
  himself to losing the PCs as disciples 
  and instead sends his servant Ylenka, 
  the 
  Contemptuous 
  Freedom, 
  to 
  destroy them.
  Like Vevelor, Ylenka disdains 
  boundaries and set rules. She believes 
  that true liberty is unconstrained by 
  the limits of the physical form. She 
  toys with the PCs in a similar manner 
  to Vevelor’s; however, her methods 
  are not as focused as the demagogue’s. 
  Though she also sends nightmares, 
  hers center on dissolution through misused autonomy. In 
  each nightmare, the PCs prove unworthy of their potential, 
  despairing in failure after failure.
  NIGHTMARE INVITATIONS
  42
  YLENKA
  
  43
  Ylenka’s powers allow her not only to travel between the 
  Shadow Plane and the Material Plane, but also to peer from 
  one plane to the other. She spies on her targets, learning their 
  patterns and waiting until they stay in one location for a time. 
  There, on the parallel site on the Shadow Plane, she sets up a 
  “training facility,” a macabre torture chamber with a few of her 
  velstrac allies on guard. (If need be, this base is on a velstrac 
  starship.) She moves into the Material Plane when one of the 
  PCs is alone or asleep. If she can, she kidnaps PCs one at a time. 
  When she does so, she tortures her victim, preaching the creed 
  of the velstracs and the value of learning from Vevelor. Ylenka 
  uses modify memory to ensure her captives remember their 
  “lesson” but not their abduction or subsequent return. When 
  possible, she returns her subject to the exact spot they were in 
  prior to the abduction, such that the entire experience seems 
  like more nightmares.
  Ylenka avoids a direct confrontation until she has taught 
  multiple lessons. The PCs might need to stalk and corner her to 
  confront her directly. Even then, if she drops to fewer than half 
  her maximum Hit Points, she flees, recovers, and returns later 
  to continue her tormenting tutorials.
  YLENKA, THE CONTEMPTUOUS FREEDOM 
  CR 18
  XP 153,600
  LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, velstrac, lawful)
  Init +10; Senses blindsight (vibration) 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft., 
  low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +31
  DEFENSE 
  HP 350 RP 6
  EAC 32; KAC 33
  Fort +16; Ref +18; Will +20
  DR 15/good and silver; Defensive Abilities share pain; 
  regeneration 15 (good and silver); Immunities cold, fear 
  effects, nonlethal damage, pain effects
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft., fly 90 ft. (Su, perfect)
  Melee chain claw +31 (6d8+20 S plus grab; critical bleed 6d6)
  Multiattack 3 chain claws +25 (6d8+20 S plus grab; 
  critical bleed 6d6)
  Ranged chain barbs +31 (8d6+18 S plus entangled [DC 25]; 
  critical bleed 6d6)
  Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (20 ft. with chain claws)
  Offensive Abilities agony of defiance, evisceration, 
  unnerving gaze (30 ft., DC 25)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th)
  1/day—interplanetary teleport, shadow walk
  3/day—control machines (DC 24), mind thrust (5th level, 
  DC 24), psychic surgery, unwilling guardian (DC 24)
  6/day—modify memory (DC 24), telekinesis (DC 24)
  At will—mind probe (DC 23), nightmare (DC 22), 
  rewire flesh (DC 23), telepathic bond
  Constant—true seeing
  STATISTICS
  Str +2; Dex +6; Con +2; Int +5; Wis +8; Cha +11
  Skills Acrobatics +31, Bluff 36, Intimidate +36, 
  Mysticism +31, Sense Motive +36
  Languages Common, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
  Other Abilities planar peering, shadow phase
  Gear freebooter armor V (mk 2 spell reflector, teleportation 
  unitAR, vibration sensorsAR)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Agony of Defiance (Su) Whenever a creature succeeds at 
  a Will save against one of Ylenka’s spells or abilities, 
  negating its effect, the creature takes 15 nonlethal 
  damage. This is a mind-affecting pain effect.
  Chain Barbs (Su) Ylenka can make ranged attacks with 
  her chain barbs with a range increment of 60 feet and 
  a maximum range of 300 feet. These weapons have the 
  entangle special property.
  Evisceration (Ex) Ylenka is capable of performing swift 
  surgical operations upon targets that are helpless or that 
  she currently has grappled. Against such a target, any hit 
  with Ylenka’s chain claws counts as a critical hit with the 
  severe wound critical hit effect (although she can choose 
  the bleed effect instead) with a save DC of 25. If Ylenka 
  actually scores a critical hit against such a target, she rolls 
  the damage three times instead of twice, and the save DC 
  increases to 27. When Ylenka uses this ability to wound 
  a target, the lost flesh immediately grafts to her body, 
  restoring 3d8+11 Hit Points and removing one condition 
  affecting Ylenka.
  Planar Peering (Su) As a full action that provokes attacks 
  of opportunity, Ylenka can peer across the boundary of a 
  plane she is on into the coterminous area on another plane. 
  For instance, she can use this ability to peer from the 
  Ethereal Plane or Shadow Plane into the connected area 
  of the Material Plane, or vice versa. While she peers into a 
  conterminous plane, Ylenka’s attention is focused on that 
  plane. She is only dimly aware of her actual surroundings 
  and takes a –10 penalty to Perception checks related to 
  occurrences there. By using a full action each round to 
  concentrate, Ylenka can maintain this ability indefinitely.
  Shadow Phase (Su) Ylenka can oscillate her form between the 
  Shadow Plane and Material Plane while moving, allowing 
  her to pass through material objects other than corporeal 
  creatures. She must start and end her turn outside any 
  such object. In addition, attacks made against her while 
  she’s moving have a 20% miss chance.
  Share Pain (Su) Whenever a creature damages Ylenka, she 
  can spend 1 Resolve Point to reduce the damage by 20, 
  up to the attack’s total damage. If Ylenka does so, the 
  creature that dealt the damage must succeed at a DC 25 
  Will save or take the damage Ylenka didn’t take due to 
  using this ability. This is a mind-affecting pain effect.
  Unnerving Gaze (Su) A creature that succumbs to Ylenka’s 
  unnerving gaze becomes confused for 1 round as its 
  mind floods with the possibilities of the past, present, 
  and future, unbridled by restraint. This is a mind-
  aff cting eff ct.
  43
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  THE SHADOW PLANE
  THE SHADOW PLANE
  “Never again. When I signed on for this mission, I thought 
  it would be a simple job: travel to the designated place and 
  threaten some people with our guns, maybe shoot them 
  if they got out of line. Easy. I was wrong. I should have 
  known something was up when a Kuthite ship delivered 
  us to our target. Let me be clear, the reason I surrendered 
  had nothing to do with you. Your security is mediocre, at 
  best. I knew we’d have to use that ship to return, and 
  there’s no way I’m going back to whatever hell-dimension 
  the Kuthites pulled us through.”
  —[REDACTED], [REDACTED] mercenary, 
  upon surrendering to Frozen Trove 
  security on [REDACTED]
  44
  
  45
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  J
  ust as most creatures cast a shadow, the Material 
  Plane has a dark, connected reflectionin the Shadow 
  Plane. This plane, itself buffe ed in the Ethereal 
  Plane’s mists, serves as a barrier against and a material 
  expression of the Negative Energy Plane, a realm of entropy 
  and dissolution. Because of its nature, the Shadow Plane is 
  a twisted mirror of the Material Plane, bearing a likeness of 
  most Material regions and worlds but distorted in form. What 
  the Shadow Plane reproduces emphasizes darkness, tedium, 
  decay, and abnormality.
  EXPLORATION
  The Shadow Plane has consistent properties that distinguish 
  it from other planes. Unless indicated otherwise in the 
  following sections, elements of the plane function as they do 
  on the Material Plane.
  LIGHT
  Bizarre dim illumination covers the Shadow Plane, its source 
  never apparent and always unstable. This changeable gloom 
  creates shifting shadows everywhere. Light sources can 
  brighten this dimness, but the range of any light source is 
  halved. This half-light pervades in outer space, which seems 
  like a starless void of perpetual shadow. But this appearance 
  is false; in fact, dark stars burn in the distance, shedding 
  faded twilight on the planets that circle them.
  MAGIC
  Shadow effects (Starfinder Core Rulebook 270) are enhanced 
  on the Shadow Plane. When you cast such a spell on the plane, 
  treat your caster level as 2 higher. Conversely, spells that use 
  or generate light or fi e are impeded within the Shadow Plane. 
  To cast such a spell, you must attempt a caster level check 
  (DC = 20 + the spell’s level). Failure indicates the spell fails to 
  function, but you still expend its spell slot. On a success, the 
  spell functions normally within the other limitations of the 
  Shadow Plane.
  NAVIGATION
  Like the Material Plane, the Shadow Plane is an immeasurable 
  domain, expanding out in every direction. For every area that 
  exists within the Material Plane, a Shadow Plane reflection
  exists, although these versions might be in slightly diffe ent 
  places and unrecognizable as the counterparts they are. 
  However, the Shadow Plane continually shifts as it fl ws into 
  other planes of existence. Creating a precise map of the plane 
  is difficult, despite the esence of landmarks.
  Certain magic, such as shadow walk, allows creatures to 
  take advantage of the plane’s shapable nature. Because of this 
  aspect of the plane, before the advent of the Drift, some species 
  flirted with using the Shadow Plane as a means of achieving 
  faster-than-light travel. The shadow drives of velstracs and 
  those who serve Zon-Kuthon were among the most prevalent 
  of these technologies. Some remain in use to this day, especially 
  among velstracs. Such engines transition a starship from the 
  Material Plane to the Shadow Plane, replicating the effects of 
  the shadow walk spell on an interplanetary scale. 
  Starships that use shadow drives travel at incredible speeds, 
  though they are slower than vessels that use Drift engines, 
  especially over vast distances. In-system shadow-drive travel 
  takes 1d4+2 days. For other shadow-drive travel, use the Drift 
  travel times found on page 291 of the Core Rulebook, but 
  double the results. Shadow drives grant no special advantage 
  for travel to Absalom Station, as shadow drive travel is based 
  on how far a vessel actually is from the station.
  HAZARDS
  On the Shadow Plane, dangers unseen on the Material Plane 
  lurk in unexpected places. Some of these hazards exist in 
  shadow space, putting even those who think themselves safe 
  inside starships at risk.
  Sapping Nebulae: Darker clouds in the darkness of shadow 
  space, small regions of sapping nebulae can doom travelers 
  with apathy and life-sapping negative energy. These hazards 
  are charted in well-traveled areas of shadow space, allowing 
  astrogators to avoid them. However, in the Vast of shadow 
  space, the draining energies of sapping nebulae can penetrate 
  starships and cause living creatures to give up on life itself. 
  This ennui doesn’t kill directly. Most victims die of their own 
  apathy and detachment from reality.
  SAPPING-NEBULA ENNUI
  Type disease (contact); Save Will DC 15
  Track mental and physical (special); Frequency 1/day
  Effect no latent state; the victim takes all penalties from 
  progressing on both tracks; when physically impaired, the 
  victim must succeed at a Will save rather than Fortitude 
  save to act, and failing the save results in the victim 
  becoming dazed for 1 round rather than nauseated. The 
  worst possible physical stage is debilitated, and the worst 
  possible mental state is disassociated.
  Cure The victim must benefit from two successful castings 
  of remove affliction within 1 minute.
  SHADOWTONGUE
  Speaking creatures on the Shadow Plane often know 
  Common. The Shadow Plane also has a twisted echo 
  of that shared language, called Shadowtongue. Natives 
  and longtime inhabitants of the Shadow Plane typically 
  know Shadowtongue. Velstracs are a notable exception 
  to this general rule. Although velstracs have resided on 
  the Shadow Plane for eons, they are transplants from 
  Hell. Many velstracs hold themselves above a language 
  that has no part in their heritage and that, they claim, 
  is younger than their species. Velstrac telepathy also 
  affo ds them the luxury of eschewing polyglotism. 
  
  46
  Voidboils: The Shadow Plane’s proximity to the Negative 
  Energy Plane can be inimical to life. Normally, this influenc  
  is, at its worst, a source of negative emotions and a lack 
  of vigor in living beings. However, the relationship between 
  these two planes can result in direct leaks of negative 
  energy called voidboils. These leaks seem to be attracted 
  to the living, especially living creatures native to the 
  Material Plane. Voidboils take various forms and can occur 
  even on starships traveling shadow space. A voidboil can 
  be predicted, however, by the dark, tumorlike growths that 
  appear on objects moments before the phenomenon erupts.
  Voidboils are hazards that can have almost any CR. Such a 
  hazard usually has a radius equal to 5 feet × the hazard’s CR. 
  The following stat block shows a typical voidboil.
  VOIDBOIL 
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  Type magical; Perception automatic; DC 32 Mysticism 
  to identify the initial dark tumorous growths in time 
  (including on reset); Disable Mysticism DC 27 (shunt  
  the negative energy back to its plane)
  IXCALIAD
  Trigger proximity (life, 40 feet); Reset each round, for 1d4 
  rounds, the voidboil has a 25% chance of resetting.
  Effect negative energy (40-foot-radius spread); 10d6 
  damage to living creatures (Fortitude DC 18 half);  
  undead regain 5d6 Hit Points.
  DENIZENS
  The Shadow Plane has a peculiar ecology, much of it a 
  twisted version of that found on the Material Plane. This 
  generality is especially true about simpler life forms, such as 
  vermin and plants. Flora and fauna of the plane emphasize 
  its entropic nature, so fungi and similar agents of rot are 
  especially prominent. Sentient species also exist here, some 
  native and others as interplanar exiles or immigrants. The 
  following creatures are some of the Shadow Plane’s most 
  common or well-known sapient species. Countless other 
  beings dwell on the plane, many still awaiting discovery in 
  the depths of shadow space.
  D’ZIRIAKS
  A species of humanoid termites, d’ziriaks have a 
  civilization on the Shadow Plane, with numerous hive 
  cities. Each d’ziriak has a unique and intricate glowing 
  pattern across their exoskeleton, and the light from 
  this display is unaffected by the Shadow Plane’s gloom. 
  Similarly, d’ziriak cities rise from underground layers in 
  illuminated spires that act as beacons in the sinister 
  dimness that pervades the Shadow Plane. Most 
  d’ziriaks are content to remain in the city into 
  which they were born, but these creatures are 
  willing to converse and trade with travelers 
  to their native plane. They craft and sell 
  intricate luminous items, from the practical 
  or martial to the merely decorative. This light 
  art extends to d’ziriak starships, which have 
  radiant plating and ample lighting to better 
  detect hidden threats within shadow space.
  IXCALIADS
  The ixcaliad species of outsiders seems to have arisen 
  during the Gap. Even their name remains a mystery—no 
  Shadow Plane native remembers or has records of where 
  these creatures come from. Lacking a standard form, an 
  ixcaliad is an assembly of gelatinous goo binding together 
  an assemblage of eyes interconnected by violet veins. 
  An ixcaliad has no fi ed form and is instead capable of 
  reshaping its body into diffe ent configur tions depending 
  on the task that lies before it. Ixcaliads appear in regions of 
  the Shadow Plane to pursue inscrutable ends that involve 
  exploration and confrontation, and these mysterious 
  errands occasionally have violent outcomes. To date, no one 
  has managed to successfully communicate with this species, 
  learned what their goals are, or determined why ixcaliads 
  appear when and where they do.
  
  47
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  SHAES
  Humanoid-shaped outsiders of wispy shadowstuff, shaes 
  claim they were once humanoids who have since transcended 
  fi ed form. They consider themselves superior to beings 
  that have not similarly ascended and wear masks and form-
  fitting clothing to interact with other humanoids, who might 
  otherwise have a hard time discerning a shae. Some shaes 
  use their mystique to gather humanoid followers who hope 
  to learn the shae secret of transformation into living shadow. 
  Shaes once had a primary citadel within the Shadow Plane, 
  but this place disappeared with Golarion during the Gap. Most 
  shaes now live within a shadow star system they call Sheth, 
  where few non-shaes are allowed. From there, shaes travel 
  shadow space in elegant starships, seeking new pleasures 
  and novelties.
  WAYANGS
  Ancient historical records state this species of small 
  humanoids once thrived on the Shadow Plane before 
  undertaking an exodus to the Material Plane. After the Gap, 
  however, it was revealed that several tribes of wayangs had 
  returned to the Shadow Plane and, apparently, created a 
  civilization on Yutanah, a hidden world within the Vast of 
  shadow space. Wayangs still express their spiritual beliefs 
  through ritual scarific tion and bleaching their gray skin, 
  and they love bright clothing and jewelry. Unlike their 
  reclusive ancestors and kin, though, some wayangs now 
  travel the stars on both the Shadow and Material Planes 
  in elaborate festival starships crafted to house and amuse 
  guests on long-term voyages. Travelers looking for safe and 
  entertaining passage through shadow space can rarely do 
  better than wayang festival ships, so wayangs charge a 
  premium for the privilege.
  OTHER DENIZENS
  Numerous other species exist within the Shadow Plane. 
  Kayals (see page 57) have spread throughout shadow 
  space, like their human counterparts on the Material Plane, 
  to become one of the most populous sapient beings in the 
  shadow version of the Pact Worlds. Svartalfars (Starfinde  
  Adventure Path #11: The Penumbra Protocol 60) were exiled 
  long ago from the fey First World, and they now dwell on the 
  Shadow Plane, hoarding wealth and knowledge, especially 
  of their former home. Shadow giants (see page 56) also 
  inhabit the Shadow Plane, and they have long relied on 
  alliances with evil humanoids to advance their technology 
  and standing.
  The most infamous of the Shadow Plane’s inhabitants 
  are the velstracs, who left Hell eons ago for the darkling 
  plane. They have far more interest in those who dwell on 
  the Material Plane than in the native species of the Shadow 
  Plane. These flesh artists travel shadow space and the 
  Material plane in baroque vessels, hunting for victims and 
  dark enlightenment. For more information on the velstracs, 
  see “Fiends of Shadow” in Starfinder Adventure Path #11. 
  Examples of these fiends appear in Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #10 and #11, as well as in this book and on pages 128–
  129 of Starfinder Alien A chive 2.
  Alongside the velstracs on the Shadow Plane are the 
  mutilated. Once a dead mortal’s soul has been judged, it 
  becomes a being known as a petitioner, an outsider with 
  only vestiges of its former personality and memory. Those 
  souls deemed to be aligned with the values of velstracs 
  travel to the Shadow Plane and are known as the mutilated. 
  Through torment, velstracs aim to transform the mutilated 
  into new velstracs. Those that fail in this transformation are 
  used by velstracs as labor, currency, and raw material for 
  fiendish objects and pets
  LOCATIONS
  With the advent of Drift travel, the breadth of the galaxy 
  now lies open to exploration. But in the Shadow Plane, such 
  exploration has long been available. The distances between 
  stars are vastly reduced thanks to the plane’s shifting nature, 
  and in fact pre-Drift space exploration led to the discovery 
  of countless worlds. The dangers of such travel, however, 
  mean that Material Plane exploration is already outpacing 
  previous discoveries within and through the Shadow Plane.
  ABBEY OF NEVERS
  Led by the elder velstrac Aroggus, the velstracs left 
  Hell ages ago. They traveled to the Shadow Plane, where 
  Aroggus built the Abbey of Nevers. The abbey is a physical 
  structure partly composed of shifting shadowstuff and fille  
  with phantasmagoric pleasures and nightmares. Although 
  velstracs have spread across the Shadow Plane and beyond, 
  Aroggus remains, in spirit form, in his refuge. He can take 
  physical form in various constructs within the abbey, 
  preferring an ornate suit of powered armor some consider to 
  be the prototype of the kyton bloodsuit (Starfinder Armory 
  78), but the reality is that the abbey itself is Aroggus’s body 
  and mind.
  ATHARAXUM
  A Shadow Plane copy of a remote world in the Material 
  Plane, Atharaxum is a place of deep black oceans. Jellyfish
  like alien fauna flo t within these repressive seas, each 
  providing dim beacons for explorers to follow. Underwater 
  complexes of transparent aluminum and hardened glass 
  lie hidden within the depths, administered by shaes. These 
  mysterious beings specialize in genetic engineering and the 
  development of biotech, a science incompatible with their 
  own shadowy forms. Transports sporadically pick up cargo 
  from these facilities, taking sealed containers to drop-off 
  points across the Shadow Plane. Only Atharaxum’s shaes 
  know the goal of their research, but it’s clear that these 
  shaes require a secluded locale to keep their work concealed 
  from outside eyes.
  
  48
  DEPOSITORY OF TRUTHS
  Disciples of Eloritu maintain the Depository of Truths in 
  the center of a portion of shadow space where six stellar 
  anomalies, each a stable portal to the Negative Energy 
  Plane, exist in synchronous orbit with one another. The 
  depository is a space station surrounded by magically 
  reinforced outer shielding, and the scholars and crew who 
  operate it rarely admit outsiders. Countless relics, and much 
  veiled information pertaining to magical secrets and specifi  
  magical rituals, reside within the depository. Many of the 
  texts and items kept within the depository are dangerous, 
  and the facility’s staff remains vigilant against intrusion; 
  the priestly technicians of the depository are committed to 
  preserving the secrets in their charge against any breach 
  in security. A final failsafe exists that will deactivate the 
  station’s stabilizing fields and allow the entire complex to 
  tumble into one of the nearby portals. It’s believed that the 
  Depository of Truths is one of the few places in the universe 
  to hold secrets unavailable on the Material Plane’s fabled 
  library world of Athaeum.
  EXECUTIONERS’ NEST
  Traversing the open expanse of shadow space, the 
  Executioners’ Nest is a capital-class starship that rarely 
  docks. Worshipers of Lao Shu Po run the starship as a training 
  ground for assassins. Elder assassins use communion with 
  their deity and other divination methods, as well as direct 
  observation, to select candidates from across the Shadow 
  and Material galaxy alike. Potential assassins receive an 
  invitation to a rendezvous on the Shadow Plane. Those 
  who accept the invitation and survive the rigorous journey 
  face a final test before induction into the assassin clan. 
  Meditative seminars expanding on the best practices for 
  infiltr tion, poisoning, sabotage, and undetectable murder 
  are routine within the confines of the ship’s interior. In rare 
  circumstances, the Executioners’ Nest and its crew of master 
  assassins use derivative shadow engine technology to travel 
  to other planes of existence via plane shift, deploying in 
  force on missions of extreme importance to Grandmother 
  Rat’s interests.
  The one-eyed Silent Strike (N male ysoki operative) 
  commands the Executioners’ Nest and is the most notorious 
  of its master assassins. The venerable ysoki teaches 
  only three students every 6 years, and his teachings are 
  thought to be some of the most brutal murder techniques 
  known to mortal followers of Lao Shu Po. Upon completing 
  their instruction, the students receive a final mission to 
  assassinate their two fellow apprentices. The winner of this 
  final task is allowed the honor of returning to whatever life 
  they wish, now further enriched by Silent Strike’s teachings. 
  It is known among the ship’s residents and students that 
  Silent Strike is in possession of a leaking water barrel, which 
  nears empty. The rumor is that once the barrel empties, Silent 
  Strike will call upon his surviving students and orchestrate 
  a contest to assassinate him. Whoever succeeds takes the 
  title of Silent Strike and control of the Executioners’ Nest.
  GLACIAL STAR
  Luminous suns are few and far between in shadow 
  space, but the Glacial Star is one. This blue-white sun is a 
  navigational beacon, known for a pulsating light that most 
  starship sensors can spot even in shadow space and use as 
  a guide. Upon closer inspection, though, the star bears little 
  resemblance to the burning masses found on the Material 
  Plane. Instead, the Glacial Star is a sun transposed from the 
  Material Plane and frozen by some now-forgotten magical 
  event. The resultant ice is harder than diamond, though 
  light still fla es through, simultaneously refracted by the icy 
  surface and bounding through countless tunnels that lead 
  into the star’s interior. 
  At the heart of the Glacial Star, among portals to the 
  Positive Energy Plane, is a permanent portal to the Plane 
  of Fire, the result of powerful wish-crafting orchestrated by 
  efreet of the Dominion of Flame. The frozen sun acts as a 
  gulag of sorts, where political prisoners and other dissidents 
  EXECUTIONERS’ NEST
  
  49
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  are sent to live out their days. Warden Jhezzala (LE female 
  efreeti soldier) runs the prison with a literal iron fist, a 
  prosthetic forced upon her for some previous failure. Jhezzala 
  knows her position is just a glorified exile, but she enjoys her 
  position of power, meting out punishment upon those 
  who defy her strict laws. The warden has spent the 
  last few decades preparing for an eventual return to 
  her home plane, offering access to the planar gateway at 
  the heart of the star for exorbitant prices.
  JUBILANT ARGOSY
  The flotilla of the Jubilant Argosy is one of 
  several wayang festival fleets that ply 
  the silent void of shadow space. 
  Under the leadership of Iurgilli 
  “Gilli” Kivot 
  (N 
  gender-flui  
  wayang envoy), the “party armada’s” 
  wayangs hold ceaseless and 
  sometimes ritualistic revelries 
  within their ships, and these 
  events somehow repel the 
  depressing atmosphere and 
  native predators of the Shadow Plane. Paying passengers are 
  welcome, and goods from the Material Plane also command 
  a high price here. However, despite the relative safety of 
  wayang vessels, some passengers have gone missing. The 
  Jubilant Argosy is also notorious for inconsistent manifest 
  reports. Many believe that the missing people become part 
  of the ongoing festivals, willing or otherwise. Conspiracy 
  theorists posit the wayangs use ritual sacrifice to maintain 
  the security of their fleet th ough occult means.
  NEEDLE COPSE
  The Needle Copse is a shadow fey hideout located on the 
  Shadow Plane counterpart of Castrovel. The site specificall  
  covers the wilderness of the Material Plane’s Ukulam 
  continent. A refuge for fey seeking to escape the rampant 
  rise of technology, the Needle Copse is a vast, gray-leafed 
  forest replete with thorny underbrush; some of these thorns 
  are over a foot in length. Shadow-infused fey, particularly 
  svartalfars, caper within the copse and maintain dozens 
  of minor settlements. Thanks to unique magic, the copse 
  enhances non-neutral colors, making them glow vibrantly. 
  Blood that falls to the forest floo , for instance, forms a 
  glowing trail that malicious fey can follow.
  PALACE OF BOUNDLESS 
  ELEVATION
  The Palace of Boundless Elevation is home to Quareez, the 
  Razored Word, a mighty and alien velstrac in service to the 
  even more alien velstrac Anyalaritus, who rose to power 
  during the Gap, possibly even to the status of demagogue. 
  Countless structures cover the surface of the moon, which 
  orbits a world, named after the Razored Word, in the Shadow 
  Plane’s Vast. Inanimate material on the moon is mutable, 
  allowing Quareez to control the Palace of Boundless 
  Elevation at a microscopic level. The moon also glows, despite 
  the dimness of the nearby star. To the velstracs, mutilated, 
  and creatures held captive on the world below, the shifting 
  nature of the moon manifests as the facial tics of a maimed 
  face continually 
  staring down at them. Quareez collects 
  the greatest of the mutilated and other 
  hostages, those most willing to pursue 
  the velstrac way, and transitions them 
  into new velstracs using methods 
  known to only the Mouths of 
  Anyalaritus (see pages 50–51 of 
  Starfinder Adventure Path #11: 
  The Penumbra Protocol).
  SHADOW 
  ABSALOM 
  STATION
  As Absalom Station travels 
  the orbital path of old Golarion 
  in the Material Plane, Shadow 
  Absalom Station does the same on the Shadow Plane. 
  Shadow Absalom isn’t a similarly unified structure, though. 
  Instead, the station is an amalgam of space debris, asteroids, 
  and collided starships that somehow form a functional living 
  space. How exactly they do so is a mystery lost to the Gap. 
  The station got its name after the Gap from reports of its 
  counterpart on the Material Plane, and as an homage to the 
  pre-Gap Shadow Plane city of Shadow Absalom. In the same 
  way that its counterpart on the Material Plane serves as a 
  major hub, this space station is a primary center for trade 
  and relative safety on the Shadow Plane.
  Similar to the Shadow Absalom of old, the central mass 
  of Shadow Absalom Station is a vast orb of radiance 
  contained within a cathedral of blackened stone. This light, 
  known to locals as the Glare, is thought to actively repel 
  the spreading miasma of the nearby realm of Xovaikain. 
  The Glare also provides a unique effect in that creatures 
  passing through it return to their plane of origin at the 
  location where they first entered the Shadow Plane. The 
  advent of the Drift has muddled this formerly reliable form 
  of travel. Now, a few of those who pass through the Glare 
  end up in a habitable section of the Drift instead of on their 
  home plane.
  The Cultured Assembly, consisting of the wealthiest trade 
  moguls of the station, regularly convenes to govern Shadow 
  Absalom Station. Most of these council members are 
  business-savvy and excessively rich kayals or the leaders of 
  d’ziriak hive corporations. Other beings fill out the remainder 
  of the roster, including a coven of hags, a shadow dragon, 
  several intelligent undead, a few outsiders from the Shadow 
  Plane and various other parts of the Great Beyond, and 
  some creatures native to the Material Plane. The Cultured 
  SHADOW ABSALOM CREST
  
  Assembly ensures the stability of the station by deciding 
  on everything from mutual defense to taxation. Assembly 
  plutocrats ensure laws are enforced, but they favor trade, 
  making the station a good place to acquire goods that might 
  be less than legal elsewhere.
  SHADOW ABSALOM STATION
  LN space station
  Population 1,200,000 (55% kayals, 22% d’ziriaks, 
  11% Material Plane humanoids, 6% intelligent 
  undead, 6% other)
  Government plutocracy (the Cultured Assembly)
  Qualities cultured, financial center, insular, notorious, 
  technologically average
  Maximum Item Level 20th
  SHADOW VESKARIUM
  The worlds of the Veskarium exist within the Shadow 
  Plane just as the Pact Worlds have their own shadowy 
  counterparts. Individual worlds are dark mirrors of their 
  Material Plane versions, but with space travel, some 
  inhabitants have spread across the plane. Monochromatic 
  creatures resembling the Veskarium’s skittermanders are 
  notorious for infesting starships that ply shadow space. 
  These hairless mockeries bear none of the drive for 
  communal teamwork or willingness to help that the 
  Material Plane’s skittermanders possess. Instead, 
  these creatures have more in common with fey 
  gremlins, combining boundless energetic activity 
  with the belief that only by hindering others can 
  you truly help them.
  URZHASH-DUUR
  In the distant past of a forgotten planet, the rulers of that 
  world employed giants to perform extensive underground 
  mining. They delved too deep. A cataclysm ripped the planet 
  apart, leaving it a shattered husk only half its original size. 
  This event destroyed the Material Plane world, but its 
  Shadow Plane version survives as a collection of neighboring 
  planetoids and asteroids tumbling through shadow space. 
  Shadow giants (see page 56) rule this debris. Though the giants 
  once sought war and conquest, their leader Kahagan Duur 
  (LE male shadow giant) made his people rich by broadcasting 
  blood sports throughout shadow space. are Extensive training 
  grounds and gladiatorial combat zones cover the world, and 
  some of them span multiple asteroids in order to allow for 
  three-dimensional battle games; combatants come from all 
  over the planes to prove themselves against Shadow Plane 
  natives. The giants, now grown indolent off the success of 
  their media empire, are content to focus their efforts on 
  improving the appeal of their gladiatorial vids.
  XOVAIKAIN
  This place was once the mountain-fortress of the deity 
  Zon-Kuthon, based on shadow Golarion. After Golarion’s 
  disappearance, Xovaikain expanded to become a planet-sized 
  nebula of darkness that occupied the same orbital space that 
  old Golarion once occupied on the Shadow Plane. Tendrils 
  of smoky shadow reach into the surrounding space, while 
  fie ce but muted lightning storms rage deep within. Inside 
  the greatly expanded Xovaikain, devout mortal Kuthite 
  followers, shadow giants, and other terrifying creatures pay 
  homage to Zon-Kuthon or hunt across motes of tortured 
  landscape, including vile asteroids and artificial structures 
  tethered in the clouds of madness. Xovaikain’s tendrils have 
  50
  SHADOW MYSTIC
  
  numerous areas that act as sapping nebulae. Only Shadow 
  Absalom Station prevents the expansion of Zon-Kuthon’s 
  fluid domain, since the light at the station’s center acts as 
  some sort of gatekeeper or ward.
  PLAYER OPTIONS
  Just as the Negative Energy Plane bleeds onto the Shadow 
  Plane, the Shadow Plane affects the Material Plane. Ever since 
  the planes first settled into their current configur tion, the 
  Shadow Plane’s energies have seeped into the Material Plane 
  and affected its inhabitants through supernatural infections, 
  tainted bloodlines, and the like. Some natives of the Material 
  Plane have learned to harness shadow magic, some taught by 
  visitors from the Shadow Plane and others through an innate 
  connection to shadow from some other source.
  MYSTIC CONNECTION: SHADOW
  As a mystic, you’ve lived your life in and around the 
  shadows and learned to cover yourself in them as a second 
  skin. Others shun the shadows, afraid of what lurks in them, 
  but you are that lurker. Knowledge can be found or hidden 
  within the shadows, and you’re adaptable enough to use 
  either option to suit your needs. Whether you hide your 
  secrets or strike from safety, your bond with shadows grants 
  you the supernatural ability to bend them to your will.
  Associated Deities: Eloritu, Lao Shu Po, Zon-Kuthon
  Associated Skills: Intimidate and Stealth
  Spells: 1st—gloom mote1, 2nd—paranoia2, 3rd—umbral 
  tendrils1, 4th—shadow jump1, 5th—shadow body2, 6th—
  shadow walk
  1 These spells appear in this article.
  2 These spells appear on page 52 of Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #10: The Diaspora Strain.
  SHADOW INFUSION (SU) 
  1st Level
  You gain darkvision with a range of 60 feet. If you already 
  have darkvision, its range increases by 30 feet. In addition, 
  if the concealment that allows you to attempt a Stealth 
  check to hide comes from dim light or darkness, you can 
  double the bonus you receive from your channel skill mystic 
  feature. Finally, add Stealth to your list of class skills.
  SHADOW SHROUD (SU) 
  3rd Level
  As a move action, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to shroud 
  yourself in dim light for 1 minute. Darkvision provides no 
  benefit against this gloom, and nonmagical light can’t 
  change this light level. Magical light can change this light 
  level only if from a source with a CR or level higher than 
  yours. You can dismiss this dim light as a move action, and it 
  ends automatically if you lose consciousness.
  SHADOW WEAVER (SU) 
  6th Level
  If you have concealment from dim light or darkness, you 
  can become invisible as a standard action. This invisibility 
  lasts for a number of minutes per day equal to your 
  mystic level. This duration needn’t be continuous, but it 
  must be used in 1-minute increments. You can dismiss this 
  invisibility as a move action, and it ends automatically if you 
  lose consciousness.
  SHADOW PUPPET (SP) 
  9th Level
  While you are invisible from shadow weaver or shrouded in 
  shadow from shadow blend, you can cast holographic image 
  (spell level 3rd or lower). You can do so twice per day, but 
  you can spend 1 Resolve Point to cast the spell again after 
  expending those uses. Any hologram you create using the 
  3rd-level version can include intelligible speech, if you wish.
  SHADOW BLEND (SU) 
  12th Level
  If you are hidden or invisible in dim light or darkness, other 
  creatures cannot use blindsense, blindsight, or sense through 
  to locate you. In addition, if you’re benefiting from this feature 
  and make noise that could reveal you, including speaking, 
  creatures become aware of your presence in the dim or dark 
  area you’re in but not your specific location. If you attempt 
  to bully or demoralize a creature while benefiting from this 
  feature, you can double the bonus to Intimidate you receive 
  from your channel skill mystic feature.
  SHADOW DECOY (SU) 
  15th Level
  When you take damage while in dim light or darkness, as a 
  reaction you can spend 1 Resolve Point to conjure a shadowy 
  clone while you fade into the shadows. If you do so, you take 
  only half the damage, as the clone appears in your space. 
  You must then move 5 feet, but you can move up to half your 
  speed. You can attempt a Stealth check to remain hidden 
  after you move, and the shadowy clone disappears. Reduce 
  your movement on your next turn by the amount you moved 
  when you used this ability. 
  SHADOW ONSLAUGHT (SU) 
  18th Level
  Once per day, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to create a 
  swirling cloud of monstrous shades within a 60-foot-radius 
  spread centered on you. The cloud lasts up to 1 round per 
  mystic level you have. If you create this cloud on the Material 
  Plane, you and creatures in the spell’s area slip into an identical 
  battlefield on the Shadow Plane. You and other creatures in 
  the effect can’t leave the area while it lasts. Each round, the 
  shadows deal 3d6 bludgeoning damage and 3d6 cold damage 
  to creatures hostile to you in the area. A target can attempt 
  a Fortitude save to halve this damage. In addition, each time 
  a creature takes damage, it can attempt a Will saving throw 
  to disbelieve the shadowy illusion and take only half damage 
  from it for the remainder of the effects duration. A creature 
  that succeeds at both saves takes only one-quarter the effects 
  damage that round. You can dismiss the effect as a move 
  action. When the effect ends, any creatures it transported to 
  the Shadow Plane return to the Material Plane.
  51
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  
  52
  SOLDIER FIGHTING STYLE: 
  GLOOM GUNNER
  A gloom gunner has an eldritch connection to the Shadow 
  Plane. By choosing this style, you create this link and use 
  it to infuse your weapon attacks with the dark dimension’s 
  uncanny magic. As your martial skill increases, so does your 
  bond to the Shadow Plane. This stronger union with shadow 
  allows you to become a frightening combatant with any 
  armaments you wield.
  A couple of these features add bonus fusions to a 
  weapon you wield. No weapon can gain a fusion it already 
  has. However, these bonus fusions don’t count toward the 
  maximum total level of fusions the weapon can have at once.
  GLOOM WEAPONS (SU) 
  1st Level
  Due to your connection with the Shadow Plane, any weapon 
  you wield is infused with planar power. Your melee and 
  ranged attacks count as magic for the purposes of bypassing 
  damage reduction and other situations, such as attacking 
  incorporeal creatures.
  SHADOW FUSION (SU) 
  5th Level
  Weapons are considered to have the ominous fusion (Core 
  Rulebook 194) while you wield them. A creature that gains the 
  shaken condition from your bonus ominous fusion can gain 
  that condition again from the same weapon, even if 24 hours 
  haven’t passed.
  OMINOUS POWER (SU) 
  9th Level
  If you score a critical hit with a weapon you wield, you can 
  apply the critical hit effect of the ominous fusion in addition to 
  one other critical hit effect the weapon has. When you render 
  a target shaken, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to change that 
  condition to frightened for the same duration. In addition, 
  once per day when you fail a saving throw against a mind-
  affecting effect, ou can reroll that saving throw.
  SHADOW SECRETS (SU) 
  13th Level
  Weapons are considered to have the ghost killer fusion (Core 
  Rulebook 194) while you wield them (this is in addition to the 
  ominous fusion granted by your shadow fusion ability). In 
  addition, you can use your connection to the Shadow Plane 
  to add one of the following benefits to a weapon you wield. 
  These benefits cause bizarre visual distortions when you use 
  them because they’re made possible by your manipulation 
  of the spatial incongruities between the Shadow Plane and 
  the Material Plane. A chosen benefit lasts until the end of 
  your turn.
  • As part of the action you use to attack, increase your reach 
  with the weapon by 5 feet.
  • As part of the action you use to attack, double the weapon’s 
  range increment.
  • When you hit a creature, you can use a swift action to 
  perform a dirty trick combat maneuver against it.
  • As part of the action you use to attack, damage from the 
  weapon you are using ignores hardness equal to your 
  soldier level.
  SHADOW ATTACK (SU) 
  17th Level
  As a standard action, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to make 
  an attack against a creature you are aware of, ignoring all cover 
  and concealment (including total). If the attack is a ranged 
  attack, the target must be within your weapon’s first range 
  increment. The attack affects only your selected target, even if 
  it normally affects an area or multiple targets. You still have to 
  roll to hit your target, and an attack that misses has no effect
  FEATS
  A PC can gain the following new feats by embracing dark 
  personality aspects, or through significant interaction with 
  the Shadow Plane or its corrupting elements.
  CORRUPTION’S GIFT
  You have embraced your corruption.
  Prerequisites: One or more corruption manifestations 
  (see pages 40–45 of Starfinder Adventure Path #10: The 
  Diaspora Strain).
  Benefit  Choose one of your manifestations and make its 
  gift permanent. If you’re ever cured of your corruption, you 
  lose the stain but not the gift. You can take this feat multiple 
  times, making a diffe ent gift permanent each time you do so. 
  Each instance of this feat counts as a manifestation you have 
  for calculating the save DC for corruption.
  GREATER SHADOW INFUSION
  The energy of the Shadow Plane suffuses your body, mind, 
  and spirit.
  Prerequisites: Improved Shadow Infusion, Shadow Infusion, 
  character level 13th.
  Benefit  As a reaction when you take damage, you can become 
  insubstantial and reduce nonmagical kinetic damage you take 
  by 100% and magical or energy damage you take by 50%. This 
  benefit can’t reduce damage from effects that deal full damage 
  to incorporeal creatures. You can use this benefit once per day. 
  After that, you can expend 1 Resolve Point to use it again. If 
  your attempt to use this ability fails to reduce the damage you 
  take, you don’t expend its use or the Resolve Point.
  IMPROVED DEMORALIZE
  You are skilled at quickly demoralizing your foes.
  Benefit  You can use the Intimidate skill to demoralize as 
  a move action.
  IMPROVED SHADOW INFUSION
  Your connection to the Shadow Plane has grown stronger.
  Prerequisites: Shadow Infusion, character level 7th.
  Benefit  As a swift action, you can shroud yourself in 
  shadow for 1 round. While shrouded in this fashion, you have 
  
  53
  SIGNAL OF 
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  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  concealment, even in areas of normal or bright light, against 
  creatures that have no ability to see or otherwise sense you 
  through darkness. You can use this feat for 1 round per day per 
  character level you have. These rounds need not be consecutive.
  SHADOW INFUSION
  After enduring contact with the Shadow Plane, you have 
  become infused with its energies.
  Prerequisites: You must spend a significant time on the 
  Shadow Plane or otherwise become infused with its energies, 
  such as by dying there or gaining shadow corruption. The GM 
  determines whether you qualify for this feat.
  Benefit  You gain low-light vision and darkvision to a range 
  of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, you gain the see in 
  darkness ability (Alien Archive 156).
  SPELLS
  Each of the following new spells has a connection to the 
  energies of the Shadow Plane.
  BORROW CORRUPTION 
  4  
  4
  School transmutation
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Range touch
  Target willing creature touched
  Duration 1 round/level (D)
  Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
  You touch a willing creature with at least one manifestation 
  from corruption (see pages 40–45 of Starfinder Adventure 
  Path #10: The Diaspora Strain) and expend 2 Resolve Points. 
  If you do so, you temporarily gain any stains and gifts that 
  corruption grants to the target, and the target retains them. If 
  a gift you gain has limited uses, you can use the gift only by 
  expending 1 Resolve Point for each use.
  GLOOM MOTE 
  1  
  1
  School conjuration (creation, shadow)
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Range medium (100 ft. +10 ft./level)
  Effect a mote of darkness
  Duration 1 round/level (D)
  Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
  You draw forth the energy of the Shadow Plane and form it 
  into a flo ting mote of gloom. The mote creates dim light in a 
  5-foot radius. It also lowers the light level within 20 feet of 
  it by one step, down to dim. As a move action, you can move 
  the mote up to 60 feet in any direction. The mote winks out 
  if the distance between you and it exceeds the spell’s range. 
  You can have only one gloom mote spell active at a time. If 
  you cast this spell while another gloom mote of yours is still 
  in effect, the p evious casting is dispelled.
  SHADOW JUMP 
  4  
  4
  School conjuration (shadow, teleportation)
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
  Targets you and touched objects
  Duration concentration, 1 round + 1 round/3 levels (D)
  Saving Throw none, Will negates (object); Spell Resistance 
  no, yes (object)
  Your body forms a connection to the Shadow Plane, allowing 
  you to teleport through it, rather than the Astral Plane, with 
  ease. While this spell is active, as a move action, you can 
  teleport to any area of dim light or darkness you can see 
  within range. If you leave a threatened space, you have 
  concealment (20% miss chance) against any foe that makes 
  an attack of opportunity against you.
  SLITHERING CHAIN 
  1  
  School conjuration (summoning) [emotion, fear, 
  mind-affecting]
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Effect a chain (or chains) sharpened at one end
  Duration instantaneous 
  Saving Throw Will partial, see text; Spell Resistance no
  You call forth a chain from the Shadow Plane, causing it to 
  burst out from the ground and attempt to hinder a target 
  within the spell’s range. The chain attempts a trip combat 
  maneuver against the target; its attack bonus is equal to 
  your base attack bonus + your key ability score modifie  
  + 4. If the chain successfully trips the target, that target 
  must attempt a Will saving throw or become shaken for 
  1d4 rounds.
  You can cast this spell as a full action. If you do, you 
  summon two chains instead of one. Each chain attempts 
  its combat maneuver separately and they must attack two 
  diffe ent targets within the spell’s range. 
  UMBRAL TENDRILS 
  3  
  School illusion (shadow)
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
  Area 20-ft.-radius spread
  Duration 1 round + 1 round/3 levels (D) 
  Saving Throw Will half, see text; Spell Resistance yes
  You summon a vision of a writhing mass of shadowy tendrils 
  to assault creatures within 10 feet of the ground in the area. 
  This area is difficul terrain. The first time a creature enters 
  the area (including when the effect appears) on its turn, and 
  each round the creature remains there, the creature takes 
  4d6 bludgeoning damage and becomes entangled. If the 
  tendrils are in dim light or darkness, the DC of the Will save 
  increases by 2. A creature that succeeds at a Will saving 
  throw halves the damage it takes and avoids becoming 
  entangled. The same casting of this spell can’t render such 
  a creature entangled again. By succeeding at subsequent 
  saves, such a creature reduces damage it takes from the 
  same casting of the spell to one-quarter normal.
  
  54
  ALIEN ARCHIVES
  ALIEN ARCHIVES
  Patient #4519 was brought in with only superficial wounds, 
  but an impaired mental state. She had no recollection of her 
  name, her house, her position, or even what planet she was 
  on. She expressed a childlike fascination with every medical 
  instrument brought in to examine her. However, this 
  wonderment turned to terror when she glimpsed a set of 
  extraction forceps, crying out, “The mantis! Don’t let its 
  claws touch me again!” She then lapsed into a catatonic 
  state for several hours. When she regained awareness, she 
  had no memory of her outburst... or of anything that had 
  happened to her since she arrived at the hospital.
  —From the notes of Dr. Zandibar Karash from the Black 
  Door Hospital on Apostae
  
  N Large ooze
  Init +2; Senses blindsight (vibration) 60 ft., sightless; 
  Perception +14
  Aura sickening cloud (20 ft., DC 15)
  DEFENSE 
  HP 117
  EAC 18; KAC 20
  Fort +11; Ref +7; Will +4
  Immunities ooze immunities
  Weaknesses vulnerable to remove affliction 
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee slam +17 (2d6+11 B plus ooze plague)
  Ranged plague spore +15 (2d8+7 B plus ooze plague)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Offensive Abilities ooze plague, trample (2d6+11 B plus 
  ooze plague, DC 15)
  STATISTICS
  Str +4; Dex +2; Con +5; Int —; Wis +0; Cha –4
  Other Abilities mindless
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Aucturn)
  Organization solitary, pair, or epidemic (3–6)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Ooze Plague (Ex) Contact with a plague ooze can cause an 
  affliction called ooze plague.
  Plague Spore (Ex) A plague ooze can fling plague spores, 
  which are bits of disease-ridden matter, with a range 
  increment of 20 feet.
  Sickening Cloud (Ex) A creature that fails the save against 
  the aura becomes sickened for 1 round. A creature that 
  remains sickened in this way for 2 consecutive rounds 
  becomes fatigued.
  Vulnerable to Remove Affliction (Ex) If a plague ooze is 
  the target of a remove affliction spell, the ooze takes 
  7d10 damage and loses its ooze plague and plague spore 
  abilities for 1d4+1 rounds. With a successful Fortitude 
  saving throw, the ooze halves the damage and regains its 
  abilities after only 1 round.
  OOZE PLAGUE
  Type disease (contact or injury); Save Fortitude DC 15 
  Track mental and physical (special); Frequency 1/day 
  Effect A creature that has this disease, even in its latent 
  state, is contagious and can transmit the ooze plague 
  through contact with others; the victim takes all 
  penalties from progressing on the physical and mental 
  disease tracks; at the impaired state and beyond, 
  penalties from the weakened state become permanent 
  until the victim benefits from a remove affliction or 
  restoration spell; death from this disease causes the 
  corpse to transform into a plague ooze 24 hours later.
  Cure 2 consecutive saves
  A plague ooze is disease given predatory form. Such oozes 
  live in the wilds of Aucturn, but rumor holds that cultists 
  of Urgathoa created and released the first specimens. What 
  these creators intended might never be understood, but they 
  ensured the creatures’ propagation. Not only can plague oozes 
  convert Aucturn’s fleshy substances into more of their kind, 
  but they can also hunt other life forms to spread ooze plague. 
  Without an immediate cure, victims without symptoms 
  become carriers who, absent quarantine, infect others. 
  Proliferation of plague oozes then continues as 
  a ghastly epidemic, even long after the 
  source ooze was destroyed. Because 
  of this mode of procreation, plague 
  oozes have been found on 
  worlds far out into the Vast.
  55
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  PLAGUE OOZE
  CR
    7
  XP
    3,200
  
  LE Large humanoid (extraplanar, giant)
  Init +3; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +28
  DEFENSE 
  HP 227
  EAC 27; KAC 29
  Fort +17; Ref +12; Will +15
  Defensive Abilities shadow cloak; Immunities ability 
  damage, ability drain, cold, negative levels
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee ecclesiastic shadow chains +26 (9d4+21 C plus 
  energy drain; critical bind)
  Ranged tomb-class void rifle +23 (2d10+13 C; critical 
  suffocate [DC 19]) or
  hurled debris +23 (6d6+13 B plus energy drain)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with shadow chains)
  Offensive Abilities crush (3d12+21 B), energy drain (1 level, 
  DC 19)
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +3; Con +6; Int +0; Wis +4; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +23, Intimidate +28, Stealth +23
  Feats Deadly Aim, Improved Combat Maneuver (bull rush)
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue
  Gear superior iridishell, ecclesiastic shadow chainsAR, tomb-
  class void rifleAR with 1 high-capacity battery (40 charges)
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary, gang (2–5), family (6–13 plus 1 shadow 
  giant mystic and 1 shadow giant soldier), or company 
  (14–33 plus 1 shadow giant soldier)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Energy Drain (Su) A shadow giant inflicts its energy 
  drain attack no more than once per round via its first 
  successful melee attack or via hurl debris.
  Hurl Debris (Ex) See page 62 of Starfinder Alien Archive 2.
  Shadow Cloak (Su) As a move action in any illumination 
  other than direct sunlight, a shadow giant can cloak 
  itself in moving shadows that grant it concealment 
  (20% miss chance) for 1d6+6 rounds. It can use this 
  ability three times per day.
  Members of an ancient species that has long 
  inhabited the Shadow Plane, shadow giants 
  are laconic and tend keep to themselves. They 
  emerge from obscurity rarely and only to gather 
  victims for sacrifice in profane rites. These 
  elaborate religious ceremonies are 
  led by shamans on stepped obsidian 
  pyramids and inevitably conclude in 
  a bacchanal of bloody sacrifice. An 
  average shadow giant stands 15 
  feet tall and weighs 2,400 pounds. 
  Most have gray skin and pale hair. 
  By 
  tapping 
  into 
  ancient 
  agreements, beings with connections 
  to the Shadow Plane can bind shadow 
  giants to certain tasks. Often set upon 
  enemies, used as shock troops in wider conflicts, or 
  tasked to guard important places, shadow giants find these 
  pacts a source of comfort, and, driven by pride and a sense of 
  duty, they doggedly strive to complete their contracts. 
  56
  GIANT, SHADOW
   
  CR
    13
   
  XP
    25,600 
  
  Kayal operative
  N Medium outsider (native)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +15
  DEFENSE 
  HP 100
  EAC 19; KAC 20
  Fort +6; Ref +9; Will +10
  Defensive Abilities evasion, shadow blending, uncanny 
  agility; Resistances cold 5, electricity 5
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee tactical knife +15 (2d4+8 S)
  Ranged red star plasma pistol +13 (1d8+7 E & F; critical 
  burn 1d8) or 
  triple focus rifle +13 (3d4+7 F; critical burn 2d4)
  Offensive Abilities debilitating trick, trick attack 
  +4d8
  Kayal Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th)
  1/day—disguise self (humanoid only)
  STATISTICS
  Str +1; Dex +5; Con +1; Int +4; Wis +0; Cha +2
  Skills Acrobatics +20, Bluff 20, Mysticism +15, 
  Sleight of Hand +15, Stealth +20, 
  Survival +15
  Languages Common, Shadowtongue
  Other Abilities operative exploits (bleeding 
  shot, cloaking field), specialization 
  (ghost)
  Gear d-suit II, red star plasma 
  pistol with 2 batteries 
  (20 charges each), 
  triple focus rifleAR 
  with 1 high-capacity 
  battery (40 charges), 
  tactical knife
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary, hunting party (2–6), or 
  collective (7–20)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Shadow Blending (Su) Attacks against a kayal in 
  dim light have a 50% miss chance instead of 
  the normal 20% miss chance. This ability does 
  not grant total concealment; it just increases 
  the miss chance.
  Also known as fetchlings, kayals are descendants of 
  humans trapped on the Shadow Plane millennia ago. The 
  ambient essence of shadow has long since permeated 
  their forms, making them their own unique species. 
  Their time spent without direct access to light has 
  left them bleached of color. Dark, pale, 
  or gray of skin tone, with white or pitch-
  black hair and yellow eyes, kayals have 
  tall, lithe bodies that seem to blend in 
  and out of darkness effortlessl . Some 
  kayals are said to be able to command 
  the shadows themselves, manipulating 
  their appearance or using them as a 
  conduit to travel across space and even 
  between the planes.
  Kayals have spent hundreds of 
  centuries dealing with creatures native 
  to the Shadow Plane, which requires 
  a certain amount of moral ambiguity. 
  As a result, they have made 
  deals and agreements with 
  creatures that most other 
  species would consider 
  dangerous or evil. For 
  kayals, these agreements were a matter of simple 
  survival—the pragmatic decision is always the 
  right one, even if it involves shaking hands with 
  those others might consider to be monsters.
  Kayals on the Material Plane tend to conceal 
  their appearances with hooded cloaks or masks, 
  even though they are not sensitive to bright 
  light. These kayals hide themselves either out 
  of fear of prejudice from those who had bad 
  dealings with their ancestors or because they 
  are embarking on nefarious deeds and don’t 
  wish to be recognized by local authorities.
  RACIAL TRAITS
  Ability Adjustments: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, –2 Wis
  Hit Points: 4
  Size and Type: Kayals are Medium outsiders with the 
  native subtype.
  Kayal Magic: Kayals can use disguise self once per day 
  as a spell-like ability; the caster level of this effec  
  is equal to the kayal’s level. Kayals can assume only 
  the form of a humanoid creature using this ability. 
  Kayal Vision: Kayals have darkvision with a range 
  of 60 feet and low-light vision, 
  meaning they can see in dim light 
  as if it were normal light.
  Shadow Blending: See the stat block.
  Shadow Resistances: 
  Kayals 
  have 
  cold resistance 5 and electricity 
  resistance 5.
  57
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  KAYAL
   
  CR
    7
   
  XP
    3,200
  
  NE Medium fey (extraplanar)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; 
  Perception +23
  DEFENSE 
  HP 190
  EAC 26; KAC 27
  Fort +14; Ref +14; Will +16
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (Ex, average)
  Melee claws +21 (4d6+16 S and memory theft; critical 
  confuseAR [DC 21])
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th)
  1/day—greater synaptic pulse (DC 24), modify memory 
  (DC 24)
  3/day—confusion (DC 23), discern lies (DC 23), 
  haste, mind probe (DC 23)
  At will—hologram memory (DC 22), mind thrust (3rd level, 
  DC 22)
  STATISTICS
  Str +3; Dex +6; Con +0; Int +3; Wis +5; Cha +4
  Skills Acrobatics +23, Bluff 28, Culture +23, Sense 
  Motive +28, Stealth +28
  Languages Common, First Speech; truespeech
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary or convocation (2–4)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Memory Theft (Su) A creature that takes damage from 
  a mementor’s claws must succeed at a DC 21 Will 
  save or suffer memory loss that takes the form of a 
  cumulative –1 penalty to Intelligence-, Wisdom-, 
  and Charisma-based ability checks and skill 
  checks, as well as to the DCs of spells 
  and special abilities based on those 
  ability scores. If this penalty ever reduces 
  a spellcaster’s key ability score modifier to +0 
  or lower, the spellcaster can no longer cast their 
  highest level of spells. When the penalty reduces 
  a creature’s ability modifier in any affected ability 
  score to –5, the creature is immediately affected as if 
  by the feeblemind spell. A creature that doesn’t arrive at 
  the feeblemind stage can recover from the penalty as if 
  each –1 increment were a temporary negative level. The 
  restoration spell works on each –1 increment as if it were 
  a permanent negative level, but psychic surgery can 
  cure the entire penalty at once. Mindless creatures are 
  immune to this effect.
  Skeletally slim, a mementor is like a humanoid mantis with 
  chitin of various hues. The creature also has mantis-like 
  wings, which it drones, shimmers, and vibrates in specific
  patterns to create its confusion spell-like ability, and which 
  it snaps to create its greater synaptic pulse.
  Mementors are fey embodiments of the horrors of 
  memory loss. They consume memories, causing lasting 
  amnesia in their victims. Such prey can end up in a 
  permanent state of infantile wonder, fear, or bewilderment.
  Though fey, mementors are native to the Shadow Plane 
  and tied to Count Ranalc, one of the Eldest. Some scholars 
  believe they manifested from the count’s fear of or rage at 
  being forgotten. Others say mementors arose as a byproduct 
  of the Gap. Unscrupulous corporations and governments 
  employ mementors as memory assassins to wipe knowledge 
  from targets without killing them. Mementors of this sort 
  often work with a team of mortal mercenaries.
  A mementor stands 6 feet tall but weighs just 100 pounds.
  58
  MEMENTOR
   
  CR
    13
   
  XP
    25,600
  
  NE Large outsider (evil, extraplanar)
  Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, 
  planar sight; Perception +20
  DEFENSE 
  HP 180
  EAC 24; KAC 26
  Fort +13; Ref +13; Will +12 
  Weaknesses light blindness
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee bite +24 (4d6+19 P) or
  shadow tendril +22 (see text; 3d8+11 P; critical 
  bleed 2d6)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (50 ft. with shadow tendril)
  Offensive Abilities create darkness, shadow jaunt, 
  surprise action
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +3; Con +5; Int –3; Wis +2; Cha –1
  Skills Athletics +20, Stealth +25
  Languages Aklo
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Planar Sight (Su) A shodrav can see 
  from the Shadow Plane into any 
  coterminous plane, and 
  vice versa.
  Shadow Jaunt (Su) A 
  shodrav can move from 
  the Shadow Plane to any 
  coterminous plane, and 
  vice versa, using 10 feet 
  of movement.
  Shadow Tendril (Su) A 
  shodrav’s shadow tendril 
  targets EAC.
  Surprise Action (Ex) A 
  shodrav that can act during 
  a surprise round can take its 
  full round of actions.
  A shodrav resembles a bizarre 
  theropod with three oval 
  eyes and long flaps of skin 
  dangling to each side of its 
  fanged 
  mouth. 
  Countless 
  tendrils of semitangible shadow 
  weave through the shodrav’s pallid body, 
  leaving tubular openings like the burrowing 
  of worms through flesh. These tendrils can cause similar 
  wounds in a shodrav’s prey, sucking away life force before the 
  shodrav devours the flesh
  While prey bleeds from wounds dealt by a shodrav’s tendrils, 
  anyone looking through such a wound from either the Material 
  Plane or the Shadow Plane sees the corresponding area on the 
  opposite plane. These bizarre openings remain should a victim 
  die from its injuries. Unscrupulous scholars and Kuthite zealots 
  seek corpses that bear these windows to the Shadow Plane, 
  harvesting the affected parts to c eate magic items.
  Native to the Shadow Plane, shodravs distort the 
  boundary between their home plane and other planes when 
  they continuously inhabit areas where the Shadow Plane 
  borders another. As the barrier thins, other creatures might 
  inadvertently cross between the planes. In time, the veil can 
  cease to exist altogether, with the Plane of Shadow’s features 
  overwriting those of the corresponding area on the bordering 
  plane. Older and stronger shodravs can affect greater areas, 
  but only rarely an area wider than a large structure.
  Shodravs prefer prey from the Material Plane, and often 
  make lairs in Shadow Plane regions that border it, remaining 
  until their native territories have displaced the Material 
  Plane counterparts. Before the transformation is complete, 
  a shodrav’s hidden presence can be inferred by mysterious 
  disappearances or the unexplained presence of other 
  creatures from the Shadow Plane. If a shodrav leaves its 
  lair for an extended time, the region slowly returns 
  to normal as the dimensional barriers re-form.
  The average shodrav is 8 feet tall and 15 feet 
  long, counting its tail. It weighs 750 pounds.
  59
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  SHODRAV 
   
  CR
    11
   
  XP
    12,800 
  
  LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful, velstrac)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
  DEFENSE 
  HP 125
  EAC 20; KAC 22
  Fort +10; Ref +10; Will +9
  Defensive Abilities integrated weapons, regeneration 5 
  (good or silver); DR 2/—; Immunities cold
  OFFENSE
  Speed 50 ft.
  Melee integrated singer velstrac flenser +20 (2d6+14 S & 
  So; critical 1d8 bleed)
  Ranged integrated aphelion laser rifle +17 (3d6+8 F; critical 
  1d6 burn)
  Offensive Abilities unnerving gaze (30 ft., DC 16)
  STATISTICS
  Str +6; Dex +2; Con +4; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +0
  Skills Athletics +21, Intimidate +16, Stealth +16
  Languages Common, Infernal
  Gear aphelion laser rifle with 2 high-capacity batteries 
  (40 charges each), singer velstrac flenserAA2 with 2 
  batteries (20 charges each); Augmentations accelerated 
  datajack, mk 2 dermal plating, respiration compounder, 
  standard speed suspension, vocal modulator
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization section (2–5), squad (6-12), or platoon (13-25)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Unnerving Gaze (Su) A heretic’s visage causes viewers 
  to doubt all of their most deeply held convictions. A 
  creature that fails a DC 16 Will saving throw against 
  this gaze is confused for 1 round. This is a mind-
  aff cting eff ct.
  From a distance, heretic velstracs resemble humanoids 
  enhanced with cybernetic weapons and other augmentations, 
  but a closer look removes all doubt about the nature of these 
  outsiders. Their cybernetics seem to twist their flesh, even 
  splitting it open in places to expose muscle and bone. Most 
  heretics have dark leather plates sutured onto their flesh  
  while pitted iron masks with holes for eyes are 
  riveted onto their faces. Heretics integrate their 
  weapons into their bodies; usually, one arm is 
  replaced by a velstrac flense , and a laser rifle is 
  attached to a shoulder on an articulated chassis, 
  allowing the weapon to pivot in all directions. 
  To other velstracs, heretics are seen as crude 
  butchers lacking finesse and subtlety. Heretics 
  consider the consensual exchange of pain to be 
  the weakest form of torture and despise it for its lack 
  of true danger, preferring to engage in what they refer 
  to as “vital combat” with their victims. It is rare to find a 
  heretic on its own, as they tend to form close-knit bands that 
  seek out intruders to the Shadow Plane and deliver righteous 
  pain unto them.
  Once every few centuries, a velstrac demagogue reveals 
  themself to a platoon of heretics and charges them with a vital 
  “holy mission” that involves the outsiders traveling to a world 
  on the Material Plane and cleansing it of all life. These targets 
  aren’t chosen randomly; they are usually ones inhabited by 
  sentient creatures whose souls are mostly stained with 
  corruption and whose deaths will create more velstracs. 
  60
  VELSTRAC, HERETIC
   
  CR
    8
   
  XP
    4,800 
  
  LE Medium outsider (extraplanar)
  Init +5; Senses blindsight (vibration) 60 ft.; Perception +19
  DEFENSE 
  HP 165
  EAC 23; KAC 25
  Fort +12; Ref +12; Will +11
  Defensive Abilities faceless, regeneration 5 (good or silver); 
  Immunities cold
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee claw +23 (2d10+18 P; critical 1d6 bleed)
  Offensive Abilities prison of chains
  STATISTICS
  Str +8; Dex +5; Con +2; Int +0; Wis +0; Cha +3
  Skills Acrobatics +19, Athletics +24, Intimidate +19, 
  Stealth +24
  Languages Common, Infernal (can’t speak any language)
  Other Abilities slip through the shadows
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Shadow Plane)
  Organization solitary or clutch (2–5)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Faceless (Ex) A vespers hound has no discernible facial 
  features. It is immune to sense-dependent effects, as 
  well as effects that target standard senses, such as 
  gaze attacks. 
  Prison of Chains (Su) As a standard action, a vespers hound 
  can attempt to trap a single creature within 30 feet by 
  lashing out with the length of chain that makes up its 
  spine. The target must succeed at a DC 19 Reflex saving 
  throw or become entangled and knocked prone. At 
  the beginning of each round the target is entangled, 
  the chains try to strangle the target, dealing 2d8 
  bludgeoning damage. A trapped victim can 
  attempt a DC 30 Acrobatics check to end the 
  entangled condition. Alternatively, an adjacent 
  ally can pull the chains off he victim with 
  a full action that requires no check. The 
  vespers hound can’t move more than 30 feet 
  from a target it entangles in this way until the 
  trapped victim escapes or is set free, or 
  until the vespers hound releases the 
  victim as a move action. 
  Slip through the Shadows 
  (Su) As a standard 
  action, a vespers 
  hound can travel 
  between 
  shadows, as dimension door. The vespers hound must 
  begin and end this movement in areas of dim light or 
  darker, and it cannot bring any other creatures with it. It 
  can jump a total of 100 feet per day; this amount can be 
  split among many jumps, but each jump less than 10 feet 
  counts as a 10-foot jump for the purpose of this total.
  No one is sure what these Shadow Plane beasts originally 
  looked like before velstracs began to surgically alter, breed, 
  and train them, giving them the name “vespers hounds.” Some 
  think velstracs removed the creatures’ faces and grafted on 
  a fifth limb, but stranger creatures have been noted to thrive 
  on distant worlds and unusual planar environments. However, 
  most scholars agree that the length of spiked chain that runs 
  along a vespers hound’s back and seems to serve as its spine 
  is definitely a velstrac addition. Those who witness a vespers 
  hound extending that chain to envelop a nearby victim (and 
  survive to tell the tale) are doubly certain about this theory.
  Instinctively able to sniff out places where corruption and 
  suffering have taken root, vespers hounds are sometimes 
  used by velstracs as tracking beasts and faithful pets. Their 
  presence seems to exacerbate dormant shadow corruption 
  festering within mortals, and though vespers hounds don’t 
  need to eat, they seem to enjoy tearing into such mortals’ 
  flesh. A vespers hound is approximately 5 feet long, stands 
  about 3 feet high at the shoulder, and weighs 140 pounds.
  61
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  VESPERS HOUND
   
  CR
    10
   
  XP
    9,600 
   
  
  62
  CODEX OF WORLDS
  CODEX OF WORLDS
  NODETHE
  World of Waking Dreams
  Diameter: ×1; Mass: ×1
  Gravity: ×1
  Location: The Vast 
  Atmosphere: Normal
  Day: 25 hours; Year: 360 days
  Fourth world in the Orphene star system, and the only world 
  in the system that isn’t a gas giant, Nodethe is at first blush a 
  typical habitable world. It has ice caps at the poles; over half 
  its total area is covered in oceans; and it bears the normal 
  mix of deserts, forests, mountains, plains, and swamps. The 
  weather is windy, with rainstorms more likely to be heavy 
  and dust clouds more likely to last for days, compared to 
  most worlds. However, the breathable atmosphere, broad 
  mix of edible and domesticable flora and fauna, and wealth 
  of useful minerals near the surface of its crust made 
  Nodethe an extremely appealing target for colonization. At 
  some point during the Gap, a fleet of massive, slower-than-
  light ships left what was then known as the Golarion system 
  and eventually reached Nodethe. No one is sure how these 
  colonizers knew to head to this new world or what their 
  intent was, but by the time history became reliable again, 
  Nodethe already had nearly a dozen stable colony cities with 
  elf, formian, lashunta, and human citizens.
  The colony-states of Nodethe are independent, and though 
  they compete economically and for control of the planet’s 
  natural resources, conflictsamong them have never blossomed 
  into full-fledged war. Each has worked to earn status as a 
  protectorate of the Pact Worlds since communication was 
  established. Unfortunately, their refusal to combine under 
  a planetary government and Nodethe’s unusual secondary 
  existence have limited officia recognition to little more than 
  embassies and trade deals.
  In a poorly understood phenomenon, Nodethe is 
  connected to an entirely separate world, Oneirian, which can 
  be accessed only while sleeping. The geography, flora, and 
  fauna of Oneirian are similar to that of Nodethe. However, 
  Oneirian has a separate array of cities, each showing signs of 
  being millennia older than the colony-states of Nodethe and 
  populated by a much broader array of species. Anyone who 
  arrives on Nodethe travels to Oneirian upon falling asleep, 
  disappearing from one reality and moving about freely 
  and with all the energy of a full night’s rest in Oneirian’s 
  environment. They return to Nodethe when they sleep 
  once again. Those born on Oneirian similarly travel to and 
  from Nodethe when they sleep, but only once or twice each 
  month; the exact logistics of this timing are still a mystery.
  Although the night sky of Oneirian has a dreamy and 
  starry quality, the heavens around it are actually devoid of 
  stars. Travelers report that nearby space accessible from the 
  planet is entirely empty and that attempts to travel to other 
  planes while on Oneirian always fail. An Oneirian native 
  that visits Nodethe and leaves the planet appears 
  to disappear forever upon falling asleep rather 
  than returning to Oneirian’s reality. Similarly, 
  a Nodethe visitor to Oneirian who 
  dies in that realm is never seen 
  again in Nodethe’s reality.
  The 
  most 
  common 
  theory about the planet 
  suggests that Oneirian 
  might be linked to the 
  Dimension of  Dreams. 
  References found in 
  oldest ruins mention 
  other locations on that 
  demiplane, such as the 
  Dreamlands and Leng. 
  Scholars have recently 
  discovered 
  an 
  ancient 
  mural in an Oneirian cave 
  that seems to indicate a coming 
  calamity—one that will merge the 
  two planets and kill any who inhabit 
  them at the time.
  
  63
  SIGNAL OF 
  SCREAMS
  HEART
   OF NIGHT
  PART 1:
  THE SHADOW
  OF VERCES
  PART 2:
  STARLESS
  SKIES
  PART 3:
  TERMINAL
  FREQUENCY
  CONTINUING
  THE CAMPAIGN
  THE SHADOW 
  PLANE
  ALIEN
  ARCHIVES
  CODEX OF
  WORLDS
  FIRE STARTERS
  By James L. Sutter
  At the opening of the Dawn of Flame Adventure Path, a 
  magical portal to the Plane of Fire disappears into the sun. 
  An overwhelming telepathic burst from within the star 
  quickly follows, and a scientist recruits the heroes to find out 
  what’s going on. The mission takes the heroes to the Burning 
  Archipelago and Asanatown to meet another researcher who 
  can help. But before that meeting can happen, the recent 
  psychic disturbance leads radicals among the lashuntas to 
  take matters into their own hands, and they seal Asanatown 
  off from the rest of the city. Trapped, the heroes must rescue 
  their contact and return power to the proper authorities 
  before they can escape!
  ASANATOWN
  By Jason Tondro
  Soon after the Burning Archipelago’s discovery, lashuntas 
  traveled to the city in the sun. More sought a new life there 
  after the end of the formian-lashunta war on Castrovel. 
  However, a psychic foreboding erupted from somewhere 
  within the star nearly two decades ago. Those who endured 
  became paranoid isolationists, and social tensions eventually 
  led the lashuntas of the Burning Archipelago to form their 
  own enclave, Asanatown. 
  THE CHURCH OF SARENRAE 
  By Patrick Brennan
  Followers of Sarenrae discovered the Burning Archipelago, 
  and the faith remains a central fixture in the bubble-city’s 
  society. Learn more about Sarenrae’s worship, as well as 
  details on the gear Sarenites favor.
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
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  System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors: Jonathan 
  Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave 
  Arneson.
  Starfinder Core Rulebook © 2017, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, 
  Amanda Hamon Kunz, Jason Keeley, Robert G. McCreary, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, 
  Mark Seifter, Owen K.C. Stephens, and James L. Sutter, with Alexander Augunas, 
  Judy Bauer, John Compton, Adam Daigle, Crystal Frasier, Lissa Guillet, Thurston Hillman, 
  Erik Mona, Mark Moreland, Jessica Price, F. Wesley Schneider, Amber E. Scott, and 
  Josh Vogt.
  StarfinderAdventure Path #12: Heart of Night © 2019, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Saif Ansari, 
  with Tracy Barnett, Stephen Glicker, Thurston Hillman, Owen K.C. Stephens, and 
  James L. Sutter
  NEXT MONTH
  
  Battle or befriend more than 100 exotic and alien life-forms in this creature collection for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game!
  • Rules and ecological information for creatures from across the known worlds
  • Exotic alien gear
  • Sixteen new playable races let YOU be the alien
  • Complete magical polymorphing rules, and more! 
  Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem logo, Starfinder, and the Starfinder logo are registered trademarks 
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  AVAILABLE NOW! 
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  ALIEN ARCHIVE 2
  paizo.com
  
  MAP KEY
  1. Captain’s quarters
  2. Life science lab
  3. Arcane laboratory
  4. Medical bay
  5. Lift (to airlocks)
  6. Bridge
  a. Captain’s chair
  b. Science office s station
  c. Engineering station
  d. Gunnery station
  e. Pilot’s station
  7. Torture chamber
  8. Crew quarters
  9. Tech workshop
  10. Armory
  11. Brig
  12. Main engineering
  13. Power core
  VELSTRAC TORMENTOR
  1  SQUARE = 5 FEET
  FORWARD
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  d
  a
  c
  b
  e
  8
  9
  10
  12
  13
  11
  7
  
  Trapped on the Shadow Plane, the heroes find their only hope of returning home is to find and 
  defeat Dr. Lestana Gragant, the twisted scientist who is attempting to broadcast a maddening 
  signal throughout the galaxy. If the PCs can make their way past shadowy foes and terrifying 
  obstacles, they might be able to wash the stain of corruption from their souls!
  This volume of Starfinder Adventure Path concludes the Signal of Screams 
  Adventure Path and includes:
  • “Heart of Night,” a Starfinder ad enture for 11th-level characters, by Saif Ansari.
  • Advice on how you can continue your campaign past the final encounter and
  details on the horrors to come should the heroes fail, by Tracy Barnett.
  • An exploration of the creepy Shadow Plane, as well as numerous player
  options for those connected to that plane, by Thurston Hillman.
  • An archive of alien frights, including a memory-stealing fey and a
  faceless beast, by Saif Ansari, Stephen Glicker, and James L. Sutter.
  • Statistics and deck plans for a velstrac starship, by Saif Ansari, plus a 
  glimpse of a world of waking dreams, by Owen K.C. Stephens.
  SHADOW OF A DOUBT
  paizo.com/starfinder
  Printed in China. PZO7212
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Starfinder [multi]/Adventure Paths/SF10-12 Signal of Screams/Signal of Screams - 03 - Heart of Night v2.pdf