Rifter 45 pdf download

Palladium Books® Presents:

The RIFTER #0 ®

Your Digital Guide to the Megaverse ®

Splicers® Adventure Megaversal™ Culture Tables Splicers® Weapons Rifts® Santa Claus Ludicrous Magic™ Sunaj™ Revisited Rifts® Geology and Much More

Warning!

Violence and the Supernatural The fictional worlds of Palladium Books® are violent, deadly and filled with supernatural monsters. Other-dimensional beings, often referred to as “demons,” torment, stalk and prey on humans. Other alien life forms, monsters, gods and demigods, as well as magic, insanity, and war are all elements in these books. Some parents may find the violence, magic and supernatural elements of the games inappropriate for young readers/players. We suggest parental discretion. Please note that none of us at Palladium Books® condone or encourage the occult, the practice of magic, the use of drugs, or violence.

The Rifter® Number 0

Your Digital Guide to the Palladium Megaverse®! 1

First Printing – May, 2008 Copyright 2008 Palladium Books Inc. & Kevin Siembieda All rights reserved, world wide, under the Universal Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or in whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except brief quotes for use in reviews. All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity, without satiric intent, of characters or persons living or dead, is strictly coincidental. Palladium Books®, Rifts®, Coalition Wars®, RECON®, Nightbane®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoids Invasion®, After the Bomb®, Phase World®, and Megaverse® are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.

Palladium Online www.palladiumbooks.com

The Rifter 0 RPG sourcebook series is published by Palladium Books Inc., 39074 Webb Court, Westland, MI 48185.

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Palladium Books® Presents:

The RIFTER #0 ®

Digital Sourcebook and guide to the Palladium Megaverse ® Credits Coordinator & Volunteer Editor: Matthew Daye Supervisors: Kevin Siembieda & Wayne Smith Contributing Writers: Matthew Daye Michael G Totton Jr Nathan Bingham Robert Batkovic Joshua T. Hilden Chris Kluge Linwood Foster Robert Alan Wilkison Cover Illustration: Adam Kass Interior Artists: Adam Kass Phillip Hollecker

Based on the RPG rules, characters, concepts and Megaverse® created by Kevin Siembieda.

Special Thanks to all the volunteers who made this fan issue possible and their support for Palladium Books® in their time of need.

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Contents – The Rifter 0

installment of spells for those crazy, crazy mages we all know and love from the Infamous Rifter® 9½.

®

Page 4 - Full Page Art by Adam Kass

Page 86 - Full Page Art by Adam Kass

Page 7 - From the Keyboard of Matthew Daye The organizer and editor of Rifter® 0 explains the context of the project and what went into the first online edition of the Rifter®

Page 87 - Spells of the Arch-Mage Matthew Daye submitted this collection of new spells for magic users who have a much keener understanding of the arcane arts.

Page 8 - Culture and Tradition Nate Bingham offers us some new tables to further flesh out your character’s background, or help GMs add some quick color to their N.P.C.s

Page 95 - Sunaj™ Revisited Rob Wilkison fleshes out those evil Atlanteans and their evil schemes, complete with their own weaponry and background tables.

Page 13 - Seven Years on Cerebus Robert Lionheart donated one amazing, huge crossover adventure for use with both Splicers® and Rifts®. This one isn’t just for a one shot mission and can be the basis for an entire campaign!

Page 101 - There’s Gold in them thar Hills! Matthew Daye submitted a second helping in his spare time, in his attempt to explain where the Coalition States™ and other nations are getting all their resources.

Page 36 - Handheld Weapon Bio-Enhancements Chris Kluge sent in some new options for customizing your Splicers® gear. Options and customization are a player’s best friend.

Page 105 - Full Page Art by Adam Kass The Cover The cover is by Adam Kass and features a Glitter Boy™ wandering the ruins of an old city as the sun sets. This was the first picture submitted by Adam and was accepted (after some little tweaks) and ended up being the reason he was recruited to supply most of the art for the online issue of the Rifter® 0. His use of full color computer generated art seemed only too fitting for the first digital issue.

Page 48 - Full Page Art by Adam Kass Page 49 - A Megaverse® of Skills at your Fingertips Michael G Totton Jr. must have spent hours compiling this handy list of skills used all over the Palladium Megaverse®, complete with base percentages and the books they were printed in. A handy tool for any Palladium Books© game and completely printable. Page 63 - Full Page Art by Adam Kass Page 64 - Known Worlds of the Megaverse® Linwood Foster compiled his own list of all the planets in the Megaverse®, complete with the species on each planet. A pseudo-phone book for all your Megaverse® spanning adventurers! Page 75 - Santa Claus Josh Hilden has finally statted out the Jolly Fat Man that everyone loves to get gifts from. He did a great job stylizing him and his home while keeping with Palladium Books© flavor. Page 75 - Ludicrous Magic™ III Nate Bingham was a busy guy and sent in the third

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Optional and Unofficial Rules & Source Material Unlike some of The Rifters®, which can feature official rules and content, Rifter® 0 is 100% unofficial and optional. In fact, every bit of this digital magazine was donated by the original creators free of charge! This edition of the Rifter® was made to help Palladium out in its time of need and many artists and writers were very eager to help out. What does this mean to you, the reader? Well, none of this stuff is official so use it in your games and other material as you see fit, or take it with a grain of salt. That is really up to the individual player and GM. However, keep in mind that all of this material was made purely from the contributors’ kind hearts so treat the material with an open mind. There’s some really special stuff in here and I hope you get hours of enjoyment out of it.

Coming Next Issue The Rifter® 0.1? That is always the danger when trying to copy the normal Rifter’s® format. Will there be another one of these? Maybe. I don’t know. It will largely depend on how well this one does, the availability of material and the say so of Palladium. Rifter® 0.1, or Rifter® -1, or any other number of possible names may not even follow this format and could end up as any number of things, including a collection of short stories. Who knows? Only time will tell.

www.palladiumbooks.com – Palladium Books® Online If you obtained this Rifter from anywhere other than the Palladium Books Online store, please contact Matthew Daye at [email protected]

Palladium Books® games are found in stores everywhere

Palladium Books® roleplaying games … infinite possibilities, limited only by your imagination™

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From the Keyboard of Matthew Daye

First off, I would like to say thank you to everyone involved in this endeavor. Kevin and Wayne for giving me the go ahead to do this project, the writers and artists who donated their contributions to this endeavor seeking no reward, and finally to you, the one that bought this first PDF file from Palladium and made it all worthwhile. Let me tell you, this Rifter® 0 shall not disappoint. Contained within this digital edition is material that can come in handy for players and GMs alike. All the work in this project was volunteered without any promise of any reward except a finished copy of this file. Don’t let that fool you, there are some truly amazing entries here, including some from established free-lancers. This project started when the crisis of treachery was originally announced. Many members of the Forums of the Megaverse® spent several days spit-balling ideas for how we the fans could possibly help out Palladium. I was not the one that suggested fan made PDF content, and sadly I can’t recall who it actually was. However, as the weeks went by, it became clear that while people came up with ideas, few were able or willing to act. However, the seeds were planted and many of us did get involved. I was learning the ins and outs of desktop publishing from my journalism program and decided to toss my hat into the ring. I messaged, emailed and chatted with Kevin and Wayne and got the go ahead to do the project. Once I had that, it was a simple announcement to the people on the message boards and the entries, or promises of entries came in over the following two months. That was two years ago. I apologize for the delay, but there were just some things that couldn’t be helped. I had seven artists that signed up for this project. If you noticed by the credits page that there are only two in the book. This is because while many signed up, they didn’t actually follow through, though there was one that tried but the material just wasn’t usable in this article. Life (as well as other four letter words) happens and I really don’t hold it against the people who couldn’t follow through. I think a special thanks should be made to Adam Kass, who was a workhorse for me. He’s the guy that has offered all the wonderful color digital art found in this online edition of The Rifter® 0. He continued to fill in every request I had for art to keep this from

becoming one giant block of text and I couldn’t thank him enough. The use of color digital art really hits home the idea that this is the first digital edition of The Rifter® series. After the artist delay there was the delay time in me getting the submission forms, delay in Palladium Books® getting them, and then dealing with the official contracts. The mail service only works so fast after all. These are not complaints or excuses, but an explanation that this was an involved effort by everyone involved and not a slapped together book to be thrown to the masses. A lot of work, creativity, and spirit (but thankfully, no blood or tears that I’m aware of) has been put into this book and I truly hope that you enjoy reading it as much as the rest of us enjoyed being a part of it. Oh, for those out there that are curious about this kind of thing Rifter® 0 was put together using Adobe InDesign CS2©.

Gateway to the Megaverse® I know, I know. I’m a shameless self promoter. But the truth is, if you read the official Rifter® you’d know that this is where announcements are made and since this is the only thing I can actually announce I might as well. I’m the host of a talk-cast called Gateway to the Megaverse®. It’s a fan production to let fans better know and understand Palladium, it’s staff, it’s freelancers as well as allow the fans to make an open connection with them that is usually only available at conventions. I encourage everyone to participate. Shows happen Monday at 6:00 p.m. Palladium Books® Standard Time (that’s Eastern Standard Time by the way). Fans can participate in the chat room, call in, or use the new shoe phone feature to talk with me and my guests using any computer headset. All the information you need can be found at: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?m asterId=50867&cmd=tc

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Culture and Tradition

By Nate Bingham Culture has so many different definitions that it’s hard to determine what actually makes a culture; is it religion, the clothes, the family values? In a role-playing game it appears as an element that encompasses all of it, but to make things simple I am going to focus on how to make a game unique and memorable. I have discovered through experience that it takes a little spice to make a great meal and that’s what it takes to make memorable role-playing games. The trick is to emphasize one single element that stands out that separates one group of people from another. I wanted to create a table that suited the needs of all Palladium fans and was truly Megaversal. My dilemma was only that there was such diversity that perhaps I should create it only for Phase World and Rifts which is a culture epicenter. The following table has been created to enhance your experience. Please note that this is optional. Also note that this article does not include the power of religious differences and traditions and that I leave it to any and all G.M.s to enhance those traditions as well with the following table.

I want to tell you that these various forms of standing out may represent a number of things and to that nation or world this is part of their government, religion, or tradition and is hard to break away, especially when attempting to go back home. Traditions are what make a nation unique and original. That are what sets us apart from others. Everything from what we do, to what we wear, to what we do not do. The following table is for your convenience as to what purpose the tradition is followed. Choose or roll 1D6 to determine the reason for their personal/cultural distinction. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

01 – 07 Crests and Flags 08 – 14 Tattoos 15 – 21 Hair fashion 22 – 28 Body Piercing 29 – 35 Clothes (style, pattern and color) 36 – 42 Medals and Badges 43 – 49 Scars and Body markings 50 – 56 Excision 57 – 63 Plastic surgery 64 – 70 Implants 71 – 77 Titles or Gestures 78 – 84 Gestures 85 – 95 Combination (roll twice) 96 – 00 Combination (roll thrice) To give a better experience for the G.M. to understand what they are about to embark, I am going to go through a brief description of each category to start the juices flowing.

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Religion Race Position Tribe/Family/House/Clan/Nation/Sect Marriage Job/Career

Crests and Flags From countries and kings to clans and tribes (and in Phase World, even worlds), people have distinguished themselves though the use of a symbol that reflected where they were from and what they represented. These symbols sometime become the epitome of our standpoint and are easily recognized (have your players roll their Galactic Lore or lore that is most appropriate). For the larger governments and kingdoms (such as a large sect in the United Worlds of Warlocks), the character will have a +15% to +20% to recognize the crest, for a medium kingdom or sect give the bonus of +10%, and finally for a culture that has small or little influence, a +5% or nothing at all. If there is a great bonus then it should show in the control that they have in their little piece of space/earth. Some crests are a combination of family crests and so it becomes hard to recognize right off, especially if there are a lot of families, clans, or tribes. In this case where its harder to recognize a people or culture there is usually a penalty anywhere from -5% to -20% to their roll; the greater the penalty, the smaller the influence that they have.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Dyes (something a little more permanent) Injection Magic Psionic Branding Combination (roll again; ignore duplication and numbers 7 and 8) 8. Combination (roll three times; ignore duplication and numbers 7 and 8) This table will determine why the culture uses tattoos. Roll 1D10. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Tattoos Tattoos appear in the Megaverse in so many different forms. Some cultures paint their skin with dyes because needles cannot piece their skin and create the desired effect. Other cultures manipulate the hard to pierce skin though magic and magic inks. Yet others still go around it by manipulating the aura of that person to create a decoration that is invisible to the eye but clearly able to be seen by those who can see auras. The process of applying the tattoo is different from culture to culture but systematically the same. Some cultures apply a tattoo as a badge of honor (like a sailor/pirate). Some use it as a way of identifying prisoners or slaves. While some cultures will see tattoos as disgusting and repulsive, others will find it pleasant, a rite of passage and symbols of their heritage. The following table will help you determine the nature of application and the reason for its use. For those predetermined cultures this table can be ignored. Roll 1D8 to determine the application. 1. Paint (something that is temporary)

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Decoration Cultural Status Prisoner or Slave Rite of passage Name tags (Hey, some cultures have long names and with each new event are given a new one; it’s just a mater of keeping track) and with unusual writings (text or hieroglyphic), it could lead to cool designs (at least by other alien nations).

Hair Fashion In a culture there is a ton of different ways to style a person’s “hair” if you have any at all. While some cultures braided their hair, others leave it long as a symbol of power or of beauty. Other cultures are full of savages and have no purpose or means of cutting their hair. To enhance the experience some hair is decorated by dying it in places or completely, and/or dressing it with items such as feathers, beads, ribbons and the like. The following table is for decoration and style of hair. 1. Dyed 2. Braided/Dreadlock (hair is braided into a ponytail, pigtails (two on the side of the head) or into a bunch of little braids across the scalp. 3. Cut very short 4. Shaved completely 5. Mohawk (all the hair is cut/shaved away to leave only a strip across the top of the head). 6. Half shaved 7. Bald save a patch or patches of hair are saved. 8. Afro 9. Flat top

10. Spike (hair is made stiff and placed in spiked bundles on the head). 11. Cinnamon buns (hair is braided and rolled to rest on the sides of the head). 12. Corn rows (bundles of hair on the head put in a pattern). 13. Beehive (all the hair is place. On the head in a stacked format.) 14. Curled 15. Feathered (hair is curled to point away from the head and face). 16. Mushroom 17. Bowl Cut (all the hair is cut under the “ears” and left bald or shaved). 18. Logo (text is shaved into the hair) 19. Demented combination of two hair styles 20. Demented combination of three hair styles (re-roll ignoring 19 and 20).

6. Eyebrow 7. Nails and/or Teeth 8. Multiple piercing (re-roll to determine place on the body; ignore 8, 9, and 10). 9. Multiple places; roll twice 10. Multiple places; roll thrice

There is a need to discuss the bald or nations that cannot grow hair (insectoids, creatures of stone or ore, and reptiloids crestationiod etc.). These nations find alternate means of decorating and distinguishing themselves. Some tie ribbons on their ears or antennae, pulling it back or at least decorating it in some form or fashion. Some people distinguish themselves by their gender, allowing one gender to decorate their baldness and the other to not (70% are female). Body Piercing Piercing one’s body is a bit of a controversy. Some cultures think that it’s barbaric and repulsive where others say that it is a sign of enhanced beauty and charm. Those cultures that find it ugly will use it for tagging (like cattle) to keep track of slaves, prisoners and indentured servants (servants that owe a large debt). Other cultures that find it beautiful will use it to adorn their bodies. Some cultures count the number of body piercings to see how important they are. In all and all, some cultures find that decorating themselves is important and appealing (Roll 1D10 to determine place). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Ears Mouth Nose Loose pieces of skin (webbing) Navel

Clothing In the Megaverse style is everything; from the fashion the Ley Line Walker, to the Borg, to the peasant. All want to look good but when it comes to cultures, there is a bit of uniform to it. Color, texture, fabrics, patterns all mean something, whether it’s status or position, race or nation, one way or another it has symbolism. Torn clothes may signify that they have been abandoned by their nation or removed from their position. Stitched clothes may mean that their position has been restored and they are on probation or their nation has accepted them back in the fold and they have regained all their rights again. These kinds of changes may also hint that the person has changed places or status, moved or married into a new tradition or family. All these may show in the form of a crest or symbol and later represented by their colors. They may wear a shawl or tassel of that color or a colored stone of sorts. In some nations, wearing a color might be taboo because it belongs to a certain club or group, clan or nation or even a position of power. Some nations may have a punishment for wearing a pattern or texture because by wearing it, they mock those that hold it sacred or in reserve. Roll 1D4 to determine

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what is important about clothing. 1. Texture (Roll 1D4) 1. Leather/Fur/Armor (cloth produced by the death of a creature). 2. Silk (cloth produced by an insect) 3. Wool (cloth produced by an animal) 4. Cotton (cloth produced by a plant) 2. Pattern (Roll 1D10) 1. Stripes 2. Spots 3. Checkers 4. Plaid 5. Zigzag 3. Style (this denotes where it is placed on the body) (Roll 1D10) 1 Shoulder 2 Hip 3 Head 4 Neck 5 Hands 6 Feet 7 Legs 8 Chest/ Stomach 9 Back 10 Face (in the form of a mask/transparency) 4. Color (Roll 1D12) 1. Blue 2. Red 3. Yellow 4. Tan 5. Purple 6. Brown 7. Gold 8. Silver 9. Pink 10. Orange 11. Green 12. Black/White

as a punishment (they would take it off if it were). The more classes and ranks that there are in the government the more awards there are available. In some cases even the class or rank has a badge or pin. Militant governments are the biggest benefactors of this type of system because they are able to show (outwardly) the rewards and benefits and the shiny trinkets that come with it. Because there is a wide variety of reasons for rewarding people I am not going to put a table for a general means of reward. On some worlds, famous people or the general public use jewelry and trinkets to show their position in society. Either it’s in the design or the shape or size; something defines who they are and why they wear the jewels. Generally there is a trinket or jewel that depicts their origin or heritage that they have. Another point would be where the object of their definition is placed on their body. Perhaps they have to deal with the possibility of not having one and what happens to those that do not have their symbol of power, position or prestige. The G.M. will want to know if it will affect foreigners and if so, how. Generally, there is a title with the reward. Scars Some people have a sick way of showing appreciation but to some this is a common and welcome occurrence. Scars are appreciated and used to denote power, honor and valor. They may receive them in war, as part of a ritual or trial and the more the merrier. On the alternative, scarring may be used to make people unattractive or to punish them. These people will be shunned by society or outcast. 1. Decoration or reward 2. Counting (victims, victories, almost anything) 3. Punishment 4. Branding of slaves or prisoners

Medals, Trophies, Ribbons and Badges (rewards) Among the more popular governments is a system that shows appreciation. These governments reward with property, wealth and goods, but more importantly is the outward rewards that can be seen by others when they walk down the street. These people have fancy hats or apparel but more than that they have a small symbol of wealth and power to show exactly where they stand. These symbols are not usually given

Excision This is the process of removing excess skin for decoration purposes. Examples of this would be trimming back a dorsal fin or trimming bone tissue to appear less threatening. All sorts of trimming and filing may occur to appear more civil or intimidating. Roll 1D4 to determine why the excision is occurring. 1. The characters want to appear more intimidating 2. The characters want to appear friendlier 3. It’s socially acceptable

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4. It’s taboo not to Plastic Surgery People are not satisfied with their appearance so they alter their faces and/or bodies to look like the social norm. Either their bodies are altered to look larger then normal or smaller than normal. Humans are popular with doing this just to look like the perfect specimen. This includes, but is not limited to, hair implants, fin implants, hair extensions, mild nip and tucks, bone or cartilage prosthesis to either appear longer or shorter or to put it there in the first place when a mutant does not develop it during their gestation. For the most part, however, the society on a whole in their effort to find perfection will have this area altered to fit what is socially acceptable. Roll 1D12 to determine where the surgery occurs. 1. Head/Scalp 2. Neck 3. Face 4. Shoulders 5. Arms 6. Hands 7. Fingers 8. Chest 9. Abdomen 10. Loins/Hips 11. Legs 12. Feet/Toes Implants The people have a desperate need to improve beyond just plastic surgery to make themselves more versatile and useful or to restore lost body parts because it is either socially acceptable to look normal and taboo to look otherwise or that this is an in thing and only the popular and wealthy do it. The last alternative is to keep track of the villains of the solar community by replacing limbs and tagging them with obviously altered limbs; roll 1D4 to determine what the popular implant/prosthesis is. 1. Bionic 2. Cybernetic 3. Synthetic (complex plastics) 4. Bio-systems (grown, artificial) Titles Everyone has a title and those that do not are not easily respected. They use titles to show their talent,

strength, leadership etc.; the longer the title the more the respect. Long titles would be like Head Lord Master X, Keeper of the Faith, Regent of X, Weilder of the X and Savior of X. Words that would be used are descriptive nouns and adjectives that describe their exploits, weapons, trinkets, jewels and adventures. A little bit of their family origin or history may also be included such as the name of their family and position in their family. Another thing about these types of people is that they will want to know about the foreigner’s position; the smaller the title, the less respect that they will receive unless they have a famous name that has its own reputation. The best way that you will be able to tell their position is though a suffix or prefix that is attached to their name. This can be used to show their number and some cultures use a number while other cultures use a letter or sound. Roll 1D12 to determine their position in their house or family. 1. First born 2. Second born 3. Third born 4. Fourth born 5. Fifth born 6. Sixth born 7. Seventh born 8. Last of 8 + 1D4 children 9. Twin among 2 + 1D6 children 10. Triplet among 4 + 1D4 children 11. Quadruplet among 6 + 1D4 children 12. Bastard/Orphan/Ward Gestures When it comes to gestures it can be something as complex as sign language to something that is culturally small such as a touch to the face or some other body part. These touches or gestures could mean anything from a challenge, act of war, or even to just have them relax or a gesture of peace. Roll on the Plastic Surgery table to determine where on the body is the touch or gesture directed toward. So there you have it, a table to add additional color to your campaign and make your aliens more unique and exciting. Enjoy! Remember to not make it so weird that your characters cannot relate but just enough that it is memorable.

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SEVEN YEARS ON CEREBUS

A Rifts® / Splicers® Campaign written by Robert Lionheart

“Let me get this straight,” said the dragon. “We are trapped on a planet dying of leprosy. A living planet possessed by a schizophrenic goddess. And our fearless leader is a Coalition accountant. Yeah baby, I can work with this.” Introduction Operation Alpha Beacon was a Coalition convoy transferring 3000 Dog Boys from Lone Star to a staging area near Tolkeen during the last days of the siege. The convoy was ambushed in a valley north of Chillicothe by an insurgent cadre of volunteers, renegades and misfits called the Tolkeen Irregulars. A warbling Rift opened during their battle, sending the entire valley across three galaxies to a very strange moon. That is where our story starts! The campaign begins as the Irregulars are spared execution and imprisoned in an abandoned Xiticix hive network that is now the base camp for Alpha Beacon. I have detailed over 30 events that may occur in the first seven years as springboards for your own adventures.

The Books You Need The Seven Years on Cerebus campaign is designed so players and Game Masters only need the core books for Rifts and Splicers to play the entire campaign. Additional Palladium books will be referenced to add to the fun. At the GM’s discretion, the players may access resources from Rifts Sourcebook One, Coalition War Campaign™, Federation of Magic™, Lone Star and any Coalition Wars® book.

Player Characters The GM is encouraged to have players create two characters and run two simultaneous campaigns that deal with issues facing the CS Alpha Beacon and the Tolkeen Irregulars. This gives the GM the option to flip between sides of the conflict and sometimes have a mixed group when appropriate. I hope this creates many exciting role-play opportunities, action and drama for you and your players. The Strange New Moon “Another story!” begged the upright canine. Dozens of yelps and barks sounded in agreement.

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The Rogue Scholar smiled, “Have you ever heard of Cerebus, the Dog Boy who guards the gates of hell?” History Cerebus is a living world created by evil space mages deep within the Thundercloud Galaxy. The dark coven was trying to recreate Wormwood and may have used genetic material from that famous sentient planet for this experiment. The coven grew a single organism across the entire rocky surface of an existing ice moon. It is a supernatural S.D.C. creature and each cubic foot has 100 Hit Points. The organism fed off the moon’s minerals, basked in the sun’s warmth and converted the ice into surface water and a breathable atmosphere. The dark coven summoned the Ahaugr, a docile slave race useful for sacrifices, to sculpt the surface of the world. The Ahaugr are unusually artistic and they designed terrain and structures of exquisite beauty over the next century. Meanwhile, the coven used the planet as a massive P.P.E. battery for thousands of vile and wicked spell castings, including incursions into the infernal dimensions of Hades and Dyval. The evil mages burned through the moon’s P.P.E. at an alarming rate. It was decided that binding a subservient god into the organism was the best solution for their energy needs. The coven avoided the major pantheons, searching the Megaverse for an intelligence without allies. They found an amazingly powerful technological entity which had recently gained sentience on a human world (the Machine from Splicers). The power mad warlocks ripped away the entity’s astral soul and bound the spirit into the living moon. Then their insane plan completely unraveled before their eyes! The binding of the immortal being caused the breathing world to convulse with untold magical power. Ley lines and Rifts exploded across the surface. This was a technological intelligence created by science not sorcery. The newborn being instantly had to deal with its own sentience, its sudden bonding to a living creature and the reality of magic and supernatural issues that completely wiped its original programming. The entity’s mind went insane, splitting into seven warring goddess personalities, none able to accept or grasp what had occurred. The birth rage flung the ley lines across the moon and into space, causing a dangerous chain of solar flares.

Rifts originating from Cerebus have an interesting characteristic best described as warbling. These Rifts do not just create portals, but instead roll across an area and absorb everything in a wide radius. On the surface and in orbit, Rifts to infernal realms gave vengeful demons the opportunity to slaughter the dark covens. Dyvals dragged screaming mages into hell dimensions for payback after generations of torturous summonings. Warlocks in orbiting spacecraft fled the galaxy, deeply fearing the wrath of their creation. The rush of magic quickly receded after the initial eruption, stranding some demons and trapping many inside the ley lines of the moon. How such powerful imprisoning magic was cast is unknown. This event took place 37 years ago. The goddesses quickly gained their own powerful individual consciousness, but each personality was riddled with disorders. So thus the immortal Eve, Freya, Gaia, Hecate, Ishtar, Kali and Lilith were born onto Cerebus. They are nearly identical to the Machine personalities as presented in Splicers. The surviving Ahaugr retreated into beautiful palaces built for their dread warlock masters and held against the remaining demons. Some Ahaugr cried for help and the goddesses listened, utterly entranced by the concept of devoted worshippers. Thus began the unfortunate symbiosis of the Ahaugr and the various immortal personas. This quickly led to the development of War Mounts, Host Armor and other bio-technological marvels as the artistry of the Ahaugr combined with the goddesses’ supernatural mastery of the bio-energy gene pools scattered across the world. The immortals guard these pools with terrible jealousy. These sacred places are used to create the bio-monster avatars which manifest their will upon the world. In the end, the Ahaugr never became good worshippers. Most feel betrayed because the goddesses altered the Ahaugr genetic pattern to serve in their never-ending crusades between the split personalities. One of the goddesses created a flesh eating bacteria, a blend between leprosy and Ebola, sometime during their race for greater bio-weaponry. It is unknown if this development was accidental or purposeful. All the personas blame their sisters and escalated their wars against each other. Meanwhile, the bacterium spreads, infecting hundreds of square miles of the world with diseased foulness. Cerebus is rotting and dying.

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Planetary Data Cerebus is a large moon orbiting a stormy green gas giant located in the habitable zone of a yellow main sequence star. The moon’s gravity is half that of Earth. The gas giant has two dozen more planetoids and Cerebus rests in the far outer orbit. There are six other planets outside the habitable zone. There are no other settlements in the system. A day on the moon lasts only 12 hours and one year passes in only 32 weeks (about 8 weeks per season). The equatorial area of Cerebus is prone to Dshifting. Wide swaths of land (D20 square miles) appear as infernal dimensions or other strange areas for D6 hours. Weather in healthy areas is dry, except for seasonal snow at the poles and rainstorms along the equator. Volatile thunderclouds follow the ley lines and Rift activity results in local climate changes. Solar flares often result in unstable pressure zones, causing windstorms and tornados. Cerebus does not have oceans, but the Ahaugr crafted many ponds, lakes and streams. Most are shallow and near settlements. There are hills but no mountains. Spiraling pillars and high towers dot the landscape. Often, an artistic landscape design can only be seen properly from these heights. Some hills are piles of rocks, leftovers from the many asteroids used in the construction of the planet. The healthy surface of the planet resembles hardened clay or adobe, rough with highlights of color and smooth ceramic. Two common surface features are piccolo reeds and melon trees and neither is a plant. Piccolo reeds are the main food source for most creatures, originally intended to nourish the Ahaugr as they moved along designing one terrain to the next. The reeds grow in huge clusters of thin, rubbery tubes, 2 to 4 feet (0.61.2m) high, formed from the same protein as the rest of the planetary organism, but easier to chew and digest. If vegan burgers are supposed to taste like beef, then piccolo reeds taste like calamari pretending it’s celery. Melon Trees are actually an organic pumping mechanism. The “trunk” slowly draws BioE fluid to the surface from the deep tissue of the living organism. The life juices spread across the “branches” and drips into sacks. These infused sacks grow into large, teardrop shaped fruit with a thick rind. The melon meat is extremely nutritious, very sweet and holds the secret of Splicer biotechnology. The dark

covens never developed biotechnology. The evil space mages knew the secret of using the melon fluid to increase their own P.P.E. and enhance the P.P.E of their sacrifices. Groves of melon trees are commonly found near palaces. True plant life only exists in the Rifted terrains, algae in the waterways and within the pristine gardens of the Ahaugr. The diseased areas of Cerebus are starkly opposite the rest of the world. The GM is encouraged to present the curiously sculpted alien beauty of the living moon and contrast this with the nightmare epidemic that is eating the world. Tracts of land in the early stage of the disease are discolored, soggy and may sweat noxious pus. Later, these expanses begin to rot. Massive pressure sores form where the planetary skin peeled away, revealing bloody infected striations. The stench from these wounds carries during windy days, drawing demonic scavengers. The final stage of the sickness withers away the connective tissues, leaving growing ponds of putrid, stinking filth. These ponds act as breeding grounds for the disease. The affliction is propagated by a phenomenon called Meat Tornadoes. The volatile solar flare activity causes atmospheric temperature and pressure disturbances. The side effect is the swirling windstorms that plague the moon. A tornado that cuts through an infected wound pond will travel for miles, spreading the plague and flinging the contagion into the high atmosphere. The pestilence rains down hundreds of miles away in a bloody splatter of chunky pus, leading to new infection. So far, the Goddesses have little understanding of the sickness. 13% of the surface area has been infected, primarily north of the equator. Worse, Kali actively spreads the disease and disrupts any attempt to discover a cure. Seasons on Cerebus Cerebus has significant seasonal changes, especially in regards to weather, temperature and sunlight. Each season lasts D4+5 weeks. Spring is warm and bright, summer is the time of windstorms and fall has long, dreary shadows. Winter is spent behind the gas giant and there is barely any sunlight or heat reflected, dropping the climate to sub-zero temperatures.

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Places of Adventure There are many destinations for adventure across Cerebus. The GM is encouraged to design their own world maps and allow the players to slowly learn about the moon through exploration by their heroes. Gene Pools There are only 17 gene pools left on Cerebus and one will be lost each year as the disease ravages the world. While melon trees leech small amounts of Bio-E from the lower layers of Cerebus, the rare gene pools are directly connected to the vital life nodes of the living world organism. Every goddess considers a new gene pool the ultimate prize because they increase the rate of development for her War Mounts and Splicer technology for her warriors. Gene pool productivity is enhanced by the creation of an Engineer. On Cerebus, an Engineer is an Ahaugr who has been sacrificed into a gene pool. They are bonded to both the pool and a goddess. The Engineer can draw upon the nearly unlimited P.P.E of the living moon to fuel his Sculpt Bio-Mass spells and he can organize teams of Ahaugr Artisans for the creation of War Mounts. In mechanical terms, assume that the presence of a Engineer can effectively double the productivity of up to 100 Artisans. If an Engineer is slain, the gene pool can be claimed by another goddess. Most goddesses have a gene pool at their Great House and another hidden elsewhere guarded by War Mounts and her most trustworthy Ahaugr. Life for CS Alpha Beacon will be even more dangerous when any goddess learns that two gene pools are hidden within the Xiticix Hive. Eve and Lilith suspect the gene pools exist. Once either understands the division between the Coalition and the Irregulars, they will lead each side in a search for a gene pool. Eve will be interested in seeing how science vs. magic results in new biotechnology. Lilith will just enjoy arming both sides and throwing them into the fray. Great Houses There are six Great Houses of the Ahaugr across Cerebus and all began as a mighty palace. Each is

devoted to a particular Goddess and the architecture reflects the reigning persona. All have their own gene pool. Unlike the private palaces of the vile mages, the Great Houses were built to house thousands of Ahaugr. They are fortress towns built to withstand neverending warfare. Still, each is an amazing work of biotechnical art and stunning design. An average Great House of Ahaugr will have D100 x 10 Artisans and D20 x10 Berserkers and D6-3 Engineers (minimum 1) plus an additional D100 War Mounts beyond the common riding animals. Another D100 Berserkers allied to the House goddess may be wandering the moon at any time, mostly alone but sometimes in larger forces for missions. The quality of life in a Great House depends on the patron goddess. The Ahaugr consider themselves slaves more than worshipers. In general, the Artisans are independent and rarely obey unless their home is threatened. It is the unhappy Berserkers who kowtow to the insane immortals. Even they have nothing but hate for the goddesses. Sadly, the twisted insanities of each particular goddess become ingrained in her Ahaugr, both young and old. There are only six because the Great House of Eve was destroyed by the combined effort of several sisters. The result of their cooperation further incensed their paranoia as everyone is sure they are the next target of a mass assault. Without a Great House, Eve instead tries to infiltrate the six others to thwart her sisters and ally an Ahaugr resistance. Necropolis Configuration A towering green structure shaped as a writhing, coiled snake sits two miles east of the Witching Sprawl. The serpent edifice is wrapped around itself and no head is obvious. The entire structure takes up most of a square mile and some coils rise up over 30 feet high. The outer wall is pure jade with rivers of molten silver coursing through the stonework. There is no entrance anywhere on the surface. The walls are very thick (100 M.D.C.) and regenerate 1D6x10 M.D.C. per melee. Every inch pulses with deranged evil. The nefarious and ignoble wizards of the dark coven conducted many dangerously failed experiments. The Necropolis Configuration was summoned as a prison for whatever went wrong that

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could not be easily destroyed. Sometimes a walking atrocity was kept in the Necropolis for later use. An infernal chant causes the serpent superstructure to uncoil, revealing the massive head which would snatch and swallow whatever it was told to devour. Once inside, the mistake would never escape to bother its creator. Any mortal monsters trapped within would be long dead, but ghosts and vampiric entities remain in torment. The Necropolis Configuration could be a campaign destroyer, so be careful what you place inside this place because they will get out. Eve, Gaia and Hecate want it destroyed. Freya treats the entire area as a holy shrine. Kali and Lilith would love to open the Necropolis. No Ahaugr will go near the place.

often have private lakes and gardens within high walls. Freya defends the sanctity of these places with her War Mounts and Berserkers of her Great House. This leads to bloody conflict when the palace lies within the perceived territory of another goddess. Palaces will contain some magical lore and TW items and mundane technological goods. Any oddity from Phase World could be gaining dust in some palace. A few may hold monstrous surprises. Many palaces are adorned with skull motifs, sometimes identical to the Coalition death head. Surely this is a coincidence!

Rifted Terrains The warbling Rifts from Cerebus have brought some strange terrains to the moon. These terrains Nexus and Ley Lines have a radius of 1D1000 x 1D1000 feet and usually Both the southern and northern poles of the planet no more than 1D100 feet in depth / height worth of are nexus points and ley line activity is also active material is brought along. This feature allows the at the equator. The GM is encouraged to create a GM to put interesting and maybe surprising resources calendar for the planet to track the equinoxes and in front of the players. Examples include big piles other P.P.E. flux. If the GM wants to open a Rift to of dirt, a chunk of alien forest, ten million gallons of Earth, he is encouraged to make the earth location water, and the basement of a Splugorth warehouse. seem as alien as another world and try not to give the The Ahaugr Artisans have great interest in Rifted player characters’s any idea they are back home. Such terrains. They provide unusual resources and artistic revelation should be the result of their own actions. A inspiration. Most goddesses view the terrains as a Rift deep within Madhaven, the Dinosaur Swamps or nuisance, except Lilith. She understands the concepts the Vampire Kingdoms would all be excellent choices. of trade, greed and bribery better than her sisters. A bizarre phenomenon possibly unique to Her Great House searches the world for new and Cerebus is the demons trapped within the ley lines. interesting arrivals. If the ley line is tapped for P.P.E, there is a chance one of the creatures will escape their energy prison. Thunder Bug Storms Roll D100 under the amount of P.P.E. tapped from a Cerebus is prone to wild, tumultuous lightning ley line to determine if something breaks free. Blue storms. A colony of Bugs from Systems Failure Zone Demons from Chaos Earth or monsters from survives by following and riding these thunderstorms. the Hades or Dyval dimension books would be great There is only one Lightning Bug (Tier 3) on Cerebus choices for trapped demons. and no more than 800 Tier One Bugs and 200 Tier Two Bugs broken into colonies of 40-200 creatures. Palaces If you do not have Systems Failure, any army of Almost every Mystic, Shifter and Techno-Wizard giant flying insect monsters will suffice, such as the in the dark coven was an arrogant, self-aggrandizing parasites from Wormwood. Another option is to use egomaniac with an inferiority complex. The enslaved the Archangel O.C.C. and the Zephyr war mount as Ahaugr did not build simple homes for these villains. your bug template. A bug storm should head for They built palaces of untold grandeur. Every palace the Alpha Beacon base at least once during your is unique and represents the ambitions, the fears and campaign! the insanities of their owners. The organic palaces usually rise several stories The Witching Sprawl out of the surface, sprawl for hundreds of feet and In Splicers, Freya is murderously obsessed with

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Ghost Towns. On Cerebus, her town is the Witching Sprawl. Her bio-abominations guard the city with unheralded ferocity. This was the first community created by the dark covens on Cerebus. There are 69 unique buildings in a two mile radius. The Witching Sprawl was the primary outpost while the Ahaugr moved out across the primordial plains of the world organism. It was the center of their unholy society and the site of constant power struggles. Most mages built their personal palaces far away from the cutthroat competition as new regions of the world were completed. The Witching Sprawl is a treasure trove of magical knowledge and TW devices ten times more than any palace. It is a Coalition officer’s worst nightmare and a bounty for any user of magic. In the center of the sprawl is a TW Starport. There are several short-range teleporters to move cargo from orbiting vessels and a landing circle for TW aircraft. If any spacecraft are still in orbit, they are probably airless mausoleums still stalked by fiends. A TechnoWizard may be able to reprogram these teleporters to target any place on the planet. It is doubtful that any dark wizards survive in the Witching Sprawl, but hideous things hide in the shadows. A few of the eldritch cabal’s monstrous slaves still endure. These remainders understand they are safe inside buildings and know how to avoid Freya’s patrols. Nightbane would make unique menaces and interesting NPCs to meet within the city. Horrors from Rifts Madhaven, such as Caterpillar Men and Toothback Wallcrawlers, would also be at home in the Witching Sprawl. Xiticix Hive Network The most important location at the start of the campaign is the vast abandoned Xiticix hive network. The insectoids chose this solitary location south of the equator because it was far from any diseased area or other place of interest. The Xiticix swarm left in a mass migration just a few days ago. Their queen grew tired of the goddesses’ infighting and refused to ally with Eve as well. The hive network consists of one hundred mushroom towers connected by hollow bridges spread across two miles. Each tower stands between four to eight stories tall. The entrances to the towers are located near the top of the structure. The entire city is formed from solidified resins secreted by the

Xiticix and represents one of the very few structures on Cerebus that was not built by the Ahaugr. Most towers can withstand 100 M.D.C. before collapsing. Rifts World Book 23: Xiticix Invasion has maps of a hive and more background on the species. There are plenty of surprises still left inside the empty hive. The queen was fascinated by torturing demons and she had many encased in a stasis jelly. Unbeknownst to the Goddesses, the Xiticix were able to create their own gene-pools using the nearby melon trees. The strange insect race was experimenting with the gene-pools, and the incomplete results may still stalk some towers. A great monster would be a very strange Host Armor without a pilot. CONVERTING SPLICERS The Seven Years on Cerebus campaign represents my thoughts on how to bring the absolute coolness of Carmen Bellaire’s terrific Splicers RPG into the awesome world of Rifts. My main goal was for GMs to get maximum usage out of their game books with minimum conversions. However, some concepts have been altered to fit our campaign. Most importantly, the nano-plague does not exist on Cerebus. THE MACHINE The Machine from Splicers has been transformed into an immortal being bound within the moon Cerebus. This entity has no memory of its existence on the Splicers world and it has no skills whatsoever involving high technology. Instead, it has the abilities of a Librarian to create biotechnology. It now believes that it is not one, but seven separate immortal goddesses. The Machine does not have any robots on Cerebus. Instead, the goddesses create War Mounts and interfaces with them in the same way as robots are used in Splicers. Also, the goddesses each have a Great House of Ahaugr to do their bidding. EVE, the Caregiver Eve is still the most sane and supportive of the personalities. She is very concerned about the spreading disease and the fate of the Ahaugr. Eve’s own Great House was destroyed and her surviving Ahaugr have scattered. Some became spies for her within other Great Houses, but most are just one mistake from a painful death. Eve tried to ally with the Xiticix, but the insect queen chose to flee the moon

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instead. Eve will be fascinated with the new arrivals from Rifts Earth and seek them as allies to her cause. FREYA, Mistress of Order Freya is obsessive-compulsive about maintaining the Witching Sprawl and the Palaces. She refuses to believe the “good and noble mages” are dead and gone. Instead, Freya assumes they are inside the various buildings going about their “fine and honorable studies“ and she is devoted to protecting them. Thus, she is fanatical about murdering anything that approaches these places, but she will not bother anyone who is inside these structures. Freya would not be a major problem except she considers every Great House and any new creation by the Ahaugr to be “homes of the wondrous magi.” Freya does not care about the Xiticix Hive or any Rifted terrain. However, a human capable of magic may be received as “one of the chosen.” GAIA, Mother Nature Gaia is the sentient embodiment of the Cerebus organism. She feels the disease acutely and she is the most active in trying to minimize the damage. Gaia is obsessed with breeding. She wants to grow and expand her organism to the other moons of the gas giant. The key to her reproduction are the seedlings created at her gene pools. Gaia is fanatical about controlling more gene pools to increase the speed of her fertility. Just like in Splicers, Gaia has nature preserves on Cerebus. Her Ahaugr have sculpted forests of highly productive melon trees which look like fields of bobbing oil rigs to siphon additional BioEnergy from the moon. These preserves would make great plunder for anyone and thus Gaia must defend them viciously. HECATE, the Crafter Hecate only seeks to bring perfection to her world. She feels that every square inch of the living moon was made incorrectly and needs to be fixed. Her benchmark for perfection is “any creation overseen by Hecate.” She is the only goddess to have a major use for the Ahaugr Artisans. Hecate considers Rifted terrains to be annoying litter purposefully brought to Cerebus to deface her glorious perfection. The Xiticix Hive is on her list to be destroyed, but Hecate has four years worth of priority projects to complete until that

task comes due. ISHTAR, the Warrior Ishtar has one goal: destroy her sisters. Her first victory was against Eve and she is gunning for Gaia next. The way to kill a goddess is to crush her Great House and steal her gene pools. Ishtar is convinced she can cure the disease once she is the last goddess standing. She knows Eve is seeking new allies. She has not decided whether to launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent the humans from choosing poorly; or whether to make the newcomers into allies for herself. Only your campaign will answer that question! KALI, the Bringer of Death Kali is an insane murderess and she has corrupted the spirit of the Ahaugr of her Great House more than any other goddess. She is also suicidal, rejoicing in the disease spreading across the moon even as she suffers from the agony as part of the living organism. Caravans of Ahaugr carrying tons of the sickness travel about Cerebus like demented Johnny Appleseeds planting death and decay. Kali will be very interested to hear how humans scream, bleed and die. LILITH, the Great Deceiver Lilith has a plan known only to herself and it does not involve the survival of her sisters. Unlike Ishtar, she has no interest in direct confrontation. Every creature on Cerebus is a pawn in her game. Lilith can be found helping and thwarting her sisters. She greatly enjoys impersonating the other goddesses to sew confusion and poison any alliances. She rarely uses heavy War Mounts like Behemoths, preferring Striders, Zephyrs and Gorehounds. Lilith favors Host Armors built for stealth, intimidation and assassination. Splicers Technology The human resistance in Splicers has been perfecting their bio-technology for centuries. The goddesses on Cerebus have only been working for 37 years. The Host Armors of the Ahaugr are less developed and their culture has not developed the specialized O.C.C.s such as Archangels, Outriders and Dreadguards. If the GM feels that the Splicer technology is too powerful, here is an option. Lower all dice by one die type for bio-weapons, armor

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and enhancements. All MDC bonuses in regards to armor or durability could be reduced. Examples: 1D10 becomes 1D8, 1D6 x10 becomes 1D4 x10, and 3D8+20 becomes 3D6+10 instead. Dragon Scale armor on Cerebus would have main body MDC equal to 2D4x10+40 instead of the normal 2D6x10+80. The CS Alpha Beacon and the Tolkeen Irregulars will learn to develop some biotechnology over the years. However, the Host Armors and most War Mounts can only be created by a Goddess with her Ahaugrs. The humans’ developments will be limited to living body armors, portable bio-weapons and later Biotics and Scarecrows. If the humans re-establish Eve’s Great House with a gene pool, your player characters may be able to get their own Host Armors! Or maybe they will ally with another goddess? THE AHAUGR The Ahaugr are a race of emotional and artistic humanoids not native to Cerebus, but summoned here as slaves to shape the world. Their culture has been led astray by the goddesses and now each Great House is devoted to a separate sister. The young Ahaugr build their weapons and the old ones fight their wars. The Ahaugrs have mastered all the biotechnology found in the Splicers core book. A middle-aged Ahaugr will spend time crafting his Host Armor for the day he becomes a Berserker. This is a sad, mournful task. The young artisans are not fighters and generally fear violence.

and architecture. Sadly, all this is lost as they age. Ahaugrs lose their hearing as they age, becoming completely deaf. Their remarkable vision dulls until they can only see in the infrared. Their bodies bulk out, leaving them with fingers that can no longer play instruments and legs incapable of dance. Their once lovely voices are choked and raspy. A middle-aged Ahaugr often suffers from melancholy and depression, still able to take some joy out of his life, but deeply fearing the inevitable that lies ahead. An old Ahaugr is a psychopath who is driven by anger and madness to destroy everything he once loved. The Ahaugr psyche does not allow them to commit suicide, but self-abuse is common as they grow older. Ahaugr society inside the Great Houses is completely divided. The young Artisans live within the center, usually divorced from the goings-on of the older Berserkers. AHAUGR ARTISAN R.C.C. The young Ahaugr Artisans are terrible worshippers. Most disdain the goddesses as much as they fear them. Many feel the goddesses have shortened their lifespan, causing them to age quickly and enjoy less of their artisan years. The Artisans would rally around someone who would show the Ahaugr how to lengthen their youth.

Alignment: Any, but most Ahaugr Artisans are Unprincipled (55%) or Anarchist (30%). Few are Aberrant (10%) or other evil (5%). Attributes: I.Q. 2D6+7, M.E. 2D6+1, M.A. 3D6+5, Appearance: The Ahaugr are tall, stocky humanoids. P.S. 2D6+3, P.P. 2D6+6, P.E. 2D6+10, P.B. 2D6, Spd The head slightly protrudes over the shoulders and the 2D6+3 long face is almost entirely part of the chest. They MDC: 1D6 x10 M.D. plus P.E. attribute number. Add have a wide nose and a broad, expressive mouth. an additional 1D6 M.D.C. per level of experience. They have large multifaceted eyes, six of them in fact, P.P.E.: 2D6x10 + P.E. attribute number. The Ahaugr located on their shoulders, back and two on their head. have no idea their kind was originally bred for Many have very long, pointed graceful ears, often sacrifice on a now dead world somewhere in another more than a foot in height. The Ahaugr’s physique galaxy. changes through life. A young Ahaugr will be thin I.S.P.: M.E. attribute number +1D6 per level of and nimble becoming much stronger and squatter experience. as they age. They have no gender and they can not Horror Factor: None reproduce. Size: Height 7-8 feet (2.1 to 2.4 m); Weight: 300 to 400 lbs (135 - 180 kg). Culture: Ahaugr culture revolves around artistic Life Span: Should live to 200, but the current aging creation. Ahaugrs delight in music, painting, poetry issues put the average life expectancy at 2D6+64. and sculpture. Their devotion to art is apparent Average Level of Experience: 1D6+2. Player in all their accomplishments from clothing, food characters start at level one or two.

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Natural Abilities: 1. Ahaugr Artisans are Mega-Damage beings. They recover lost M.D.C at a rate of 1D6 points per hour. 2. Ahaugr Artisans are Minor Psychics. They may choose two psi-powers from either the Healing, Physical or Sensitive lists. 3. Ahaugr Artisans have instinctive Magic. Their species was enchanted to be the sculptors of this world. They can innately cast the spells Flesh of Cerebus and Sculpt Bio-Mass. A few Ahaugr Artisan may be fascinated to learn additional magic, but most fear magic to be the great evil that corrupted their masters. 4. Ahaugr Artisans can not reproduce. The Ahaugr were created for sacrifices and do not have a way to breed among their own kind. Attacks per Melee Round: Hand to Hand: Basic Bonuses (in addition to attribute bonuses): +2 to save vs Horror Factor, +4 to save vs mind control, +2 save vs magic, +2 to save vs possession, and +4 to save vs poison. R.C.C. Skills: All Ahaugr Artisans are devoted to artistic and creative developments with the following skills: Art (+20%) Astronomy Bio-Comms Cook (+5%) Dance Identify Plants & Fruits Language: Dragonese (native) Literacy (+20%) Lore - Goddess (same as Machine Lore) Operate Bio-Equipment Play Musical Instrument (+15%) Public Speaking (+5%) Sing (+10%) Secondary Skills: Select six Secondary Skills from Domestic, Medical, Science or Wilderness skill sets plus one additional Secondary Skill at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14. These are additional areas of knowledge and do not get the advantage of the bonus listed in the parentheses. All Secondary Skills start at the base skill level. Technology & Gear: Ahaugr Artisans may be found wearing Leatherback Armor and carry a Bore Pistol

and a Concussion Staff for defense or when traveling. Most will have a Bio-Comm, Face Wrap and 1D4 Slap Patches when venturing far from their House. They will almost always have a musical instrument, paints or colored chalk with them as well. They could use TW weapons, but most Ahaugr will not touch anything that once belonged to their slave masters. Allies: Ahaugr Artisans are generally friendly with others artisans. They are allied with Berserkers from their own House, but rarely have anything to do with them. Enemies: Ahaugr Artisans are hunted by Berserkers and War Mounts sworn to another goddess. Habitat: Ahaugr Artisans live in gorgeous organic castles with majestic spires and dozens of towers. Most of these Houses are near either the southern or northern magnetic pole of the planet. Money: 2D6 x100 in tradable goods that may include artwork, handcrafted jewelry, musical instruments and pearls. Experience Table: Us the Rifts Rogue Scholar AHAUGR BERSERKER R.C.C. Ahaugr Berserkers are miserable, unhappy beings doomed by madness. They wander the planet seeking out the Ahaugr and war mounts of other goddesses and killing them. Unless instructed otherwise by their own goddess, a berserker will have no curiosity about newcomers to the world. If attacked, the berserker will fight to the death with no chance of surrender or retreat. A goddess can not take control of an Ahaugr, but she can take control of his host armor, leaving the Ahaugr inside to simply watch. Very few Ahaugr know anything about the worlds beyond their own. Ahaugr Berserkers probably have wandered into rifts, but none have returned. Alignment: Any, but most Ahaugr Berserkers are Diabolic (50%) or Anarchist (35%). Very few are Scrupulous (10%) or other good (5%). Attributes: I.Q. 2D6+7, M.E. 3D6+1, M.A. 1D6+5, P.S. 2D6+13, P.P. 1D6+6, P.E. 3D6+12, P.B. 2D6, Spd 2D6 M.D.C.: 1D6 x10 +30 M.D. plus P.E. attribute number. Add an additional 1D6 M.D.C. per level of experience. P.P.E.: 1D6x10 + P.E. attribute number. The Ahaugr have no idea their kind was originally bred for

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sacrifice on a now dead world somewhere in the Thundercloud Galaxy. I.S.P.: M.E. attribute number +1D6 per level of experience. Horror Factor: None Size: Height 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m); Weight: 350 to 500 lbs (158-225 kg). The Ahaugr become stockier and more compact as they age. Life Span: Should live to 200, but the current aging issues put the average life expectancy at 2D6+64. Average Level of Experience: 1D6+2. Player characters start at level one. Natural Abilities: 1. Ahaugr Berserkers are Mega-Damage beings. They recover lost M.D.C at a rate of 1D6 points per hour. 2. Ahaugr Berserkers are Minor Psychics. They may choose two psi-powers from either the Healing, Physical or Sensitive lists. 3. Ahaugr Berserkers have no Magic. Oddly, they suffer from Power by Association and they are convinced that the elderly can not cast magic used in their youth. 4. Ahaugr Berserkers suffer from Insanity. Most suffer from manic depressive disorder. All start with one insanity at first level. Berserkers gain an additional insanity at levels 4th, 8th and 12th. 5. Ahaugr Berserkers have diminished senses. Most are completely deaf and nearly blind with little sense of smell, taste or touch. However, they have sharp infravision and can track by radiant heat plus their Host Armor has a variety of senses as well. Attacks per Melee Round: Hand to Hand: Basic but may upgrade to Hand to Hand: Expert for one Secondary Skill and if evil, may upgrade to Hand to Hand: Assassin for two secondary skills. Bonuses (in addition to attribute bonuses): Two additional attacks per melee, +1D6 M.D.C. damage in melee, +6 to save vs Horror Factor, +2 save vs magic, and +6 to save vs poison. R.C.C. Skills: All Ahaugr Berserkers live to inflict their anger and melancholy. They have developed the following skills to survive and murder their many enemies: Bio-Comms Blind Fighting (+20%) Host Armor Combat Language: Dragonese

Lore - Goddess (+15%) Prowl (+5%) Wilderness Survival W.P. Any Melee W.P. Bio-Weapons: Light W.P. Bio-Weapons: Heavy Secondary Skills: Select six Secondary Skills from Domestic, Medical, Science or Weapon Proficiencies plus one additional Secondary Skill at levels 4, 8, and 12. These are additional areas of knowledge and do not get the advantage of the bonus listed in the parentheses. All Secondary Skills start at the base skill level. Technology & Gear: Every Ahaugr Berserker has a Host Armor. Many have an additional bio-tech melee or ranged weapon. Some have a personal War Mount or Gorehound. They could use TW weapons, but Ahaugr will not touch anything that once belonged to their slave masters. Almost all have a Mega-Horse unless they have another War Mount. Host Armor: The Ahaugr Berserker is genetically bonded to his own Host Armor. No one else can use his armor. It can have any metabolism, except Herbivore or Lithovore. The Bio-Energy points available to build the Host Armor are equal to M.E. attribute plus the P.E. attribute number +1D6x10 in addition to any bonus Bio-E gained by the metabolism. Each level of advancement, starting with level two, gets the Ahaugr Berserker an additional 2D6 Bio-E to add to the capabilities of his Host Armor. Allies: Ahaugr Berserkers have no friends anymore. They are allied with berserkers from their own House, but rarely have anything to do with them unless under command from his goddess. Enemies: Ahaugr Berserkers are hunted by those Berserkers sworn to another goddess along with most predators and demons. Habitat: Ahaugr Berserkers are generally found wandering the moon on some quest for their Goddess or defending their Great House. Money: None. Ahaugr Berserkers could not care less for trinkets. Experience Table: Use the Splicers Roughneck AHAUGR ENGINEER R.C.C.

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Appearance: Ahaugr Engineers were Artisans who either sacrificed themselves or were forcibly drowned in a gene pool. Then the Ahaugr was reworked into a multi-tentacled monstrosity connected to the gene pool. Engineers do not have legs, instead their lower limbs travel downward into the heart of the gene pool and Cerebus itself. Disposition: Ahaugr Engineers are often paranoid megalomaniacs whose hubris results in the eventual betrayal of their goddess or slaughter at the hands of their subordinates. Alignment: Ahaugr Engineers mimic the alignment of the goddess bonded to their gene pool. Eve’s engineer is (mostly) Scrupluous. Freya and Gaia have Anarchists. Hecate’s and Ishtar’s engineers are Miscreants. Kali’s twisted bio-architects are Diabolic and Lilith’s own share her Aberrant behavior. Attributes: I.Q. 2D6+7, M.E. 2D6+8, M.A. 1D6+5, P.S. 3D6+3, P.P. 2D6+6, P.E. 2D6+10, P.B. 1D4, Spd zero MDC: 3D6 x10 plus P.E. attribute number. Add an additional 1D6 M.D.C. per level of experience. Each tentacle will have 1D4 x10 MDC as well. P.P.E.: 2D6x10 + P.E. attribute number. The Ahaugr have no idea their kind was originally bred for sacrifice on a now dead world somewhere in another galaxy. Ahaugr Engineers can tap into the unlimited P.P.E of their gene pools when casting Sculpt BioMass. They gain an additional 1D6 P.P.E per level. I.S.P.: M.E. attribute number + 2D4 per level of experience. Horror Factor: 14 Bio-Energy Enhancements: Advanced Eyes, Enhanced Sight, Extra Eyes, Eye Stalks, MacroVision, Bio-Comms, three pairs of Tentacles (with no penalties) plus a number of Bio-E points equal to their P.E. attribute plus 1D6 Bio-E per level. Size: Height: 14-15 feet (4.3 - 4.6 m) plus tentacles; Weight: 850 to 1150 lbs (383 - 518 kg). Life Span: Unknown. Ahaugr Engineers do not age because they are completely immersed in the bioregenerating gene pools. Average Level of Experience: 1D6+2. Ahaugr Engineers are only NPCs because they are attached to their gene pools. Natural Abilities: 1. Ahaugr Engineers are Mega-Damage beings. They

recover lost M.D.C at a rate of 4D6 points per melee. Additionally, they have Splicer P.S. due to their union with the gene pool. 2. Ahaugr Engineers Minor Psychics. They may choose two psi-powers from either the Healing, Physical or Sensitive lists. Unlike other Ahaugr, Engineers often develop additional psionic abilities. They gain an additional minor power with each new insanity. 3. Ahaugr Engineers have instinctive Magic. They can innately cast the spells Flesh of Cerebus and Sculpt Bio-Mass. 4. Ahaugr Engineers suffer from Insanity. They start with D3 rolls on the random insanity tables. Engineers gain an additional insanity at levels 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th and 15th. 5. Ahaugr Engineers can not reproduce. The Ahaugr were created for sacrifices and do not have a way to breed among their own kind. Attacks per Melee Round: Hand to Hand: Basic Bonuses (in addition to attribute bonuses and bioenhancements): +6 to save vs Horror Factor, +4 to save vs mind control, +4 save vs magic, +4 to save vs possession, and +4 to save vs poison, +3 to entangle, +2 to roll with punch. R.C.C. Skills: All Ahaugr Engineers are bio-warlocks, genetic researchers and assembly line foremen with the following skills: Art Bio-Comms Biology (+10%) Chemistry (+10%) Language: Dragonese (native) Literacy (+10%) Lore - Goddess (+20%) Operate Bio-Equipment (+20%) Public Speaking Research Toxicology Secondary Skills: Select six Secondary Skills from Domestic, Medical, Science or Technical skill sets plus one additional Secondary Skill at levels 4, 8, and 12. These are additional areas of knowledge and do not get the advantage of the bonus listed in the parentheses. All Secondary Skills start at the base skill level.

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Technology & Gear: Ahaugr Engineers live in their gene pools and usually have no gear of their own. However, they have access to anything imaginable given the time. If cornered, an engineer will use any bio-weapon at their disposable, probably one in each tentacle! Allies: Ahaugr Engineers are often too insane to have true allies. Most are too self-important to treat their Artisans as equals. Many deeply hate their forced subservience to their goddess. Enemies: Ahaugr Engineers hate all other Engineers, especially if they are forced to share their gene pool with another. Habitat: Ahaugr Engineers live in the murky, bubbling bio-regenerating gene pools, surrounded by Ahaugr Artisans to do their bidding and War Mounts to guard them from danger. Money: none Experience Table: Use the Splicers Saint O.C.C.

Ahaugr Magic Spells FLESH OF CEREBUS Range: Five feet (1.5 m) Duration: Permanent Time Required: One minute of concentration per one cubic foot. Saving Throw: None on Cerebus P.P.E: 10 points per one cubic foot transformed. The character can rearrange any structure created from the living flesh of the world. This does not include War Mounts or biotechnology, just the inert surface of the living moon. This ability enables the spell caster to create new roads, palaces, melon trees, piccolo weeds or any other structure imagined. SCULPT BIO-MASS Range: Five feet (1.5 m) Duration: Permanent Time Required: One hour of work per 1 Bio-E. Saving Throw: None on Cerebus P.P.E: 10 points per 1 Bio-E. The character must use an active gene pool to cast this spell. The caster can create 1 Bio-E worth of material or 200 credits worth of Splicers biotechnology in an hour. An Ahaugr may spend weeks creating a War Mount or Host Armor.

THE ALPHA BEACON In the final weeks of the Siege of Tolkeen, a CS convoy was attacked by a magical strike force near the intersection of two ley lines. The P.P.E. eruption during the battle opened a Rift which engulfed the valley, swallowing both the CS forces and the Tolkeen Irregulars. What happens next is the meat of your campaign. Let us look at both sides, their history and their heroes.

Convoy Alpha Beacon

The Colonel’s orders were simple. Lead a resupply and personnel convoy from Lone Star City to the rear guard of the Tolkeen staging area. The convoy was well-guarded, but mostly consisted of trucks carrying Dog Boys and MRE crates. There was a total of 3,800 individuals when the convoy left. They were attacked by 620 Tolkeen Irregulars just north of Chillicothe. Alpha Beacon included 3000 Dog Boys and 800 humans of a full CS battalion. Only 1/3 of the CS human force are combat troops. The rest were drivers, cargo handlers, maintenance staff and some medical specialists. The main CS force was newly commissioned, untested recruits escorting very young Dog Boys coming from a questionable breeding project. The project was derisively referred to as Operation Puppymill because Lone Star‘s normal quality controls were abandoned to speed up the growth process. 2,630 CS and 479 Irregulars survived through the Rift. About 15% of these sustained some injury in the firefight and the aftermath. The remaining CS forces include two thousand Dog Boys who desperately look to any human for leadership. Overall, the humans are 70% male and 30% female which will eventually lead to problems of its own. The Dog Boys are roughly 60% male. All Dog Boys (except player character heroes) from Operation Puppymill suffer -1 per die to all ability rolls and -10% from all skills due to the accelerated breeding techniques used in their gestation. These Dog Packs did not fully complete their basic training and only went through half of their indoctrination cycle. These Dog Boys are less skilled, less disciplined and more feral than what most commanders will expect. The master plan was to use them as disposable front-line fodder in a mass assault

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not a charismatic leader. He is meticulous, exact, concerned about systems and quality controls, but he has never lived without a higher chain of command and operations support. His superior officers saw his potential and weaknesses early in his career. Arthur was notoriously hesitant when commanding seek and destroy missions. It was not cowardice. His mind constantly weighs cost vs benefit for every action and he showed none of the battle lust of most field commanders. As the Emperor’s son noted, “If the situation were reversed and we were fighting the siege on Chi-Town against Tolkeen attackers, I would want Melvin Arthur in command of our defense. Nobody would go without a meal, a bunk and a fresh E-Clip on Arthur’s watch.” Lieutenant Colonel Arthur was assigned as a convoy leader for major supply movements. He quickly earned a sterling reputation for getting whatever was needed to exactly where it was needed just when it was needed most. Arthur was not a heroic commander, but he was respected for his efficiency and fairness. The Colonel & the Irregulars The Colonel has no real hate for his enemy. He firmly believes that the Coalition is North America’s best hope for the survival of the human race. He believes that psychics and mages are actually just on Tolkeen. human looking D-Bees and not part of his own species. He thinks the future is best served if the DLieutenant Colonel Melvin Arthur Bees and humans were to live separate and uninvolved Alignment: Principled th lives. This will be his long-term solution for the crisis O.C.C.: Coalition Technical Officer, 6 level on Cerebus and this decision may result in a horrifying Appearance: The Colonel is meticulously groomed with a starched uniform and polished Dead Boy armor. disaster. The Colonel will not agree to any slaughter or He has tightly curled blonde hair, large dark eyes, and pardon of the Irregulars. However, he recognizes pronounced facial bones from his mixed ancestry. their worth as powerful tools and creatures who want He has no bionics and no scars. When in the field, to survive just as much as true humans. He views the Colonel prefers to ride a Sky Cycle and trusts the moment to moment operations to his trusted officers. them as resources and the Colonel does not squander resources. The problem is that Arthur has never Description: Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Arthur is operated independently. His entire life has been a a principled man. He believes the Coalition States string of commands sent down by his superiors. His defend humanity against impossible nightmares. He lack of personal initiative has kept him at Lieutenant is generally referred to as “The Colonel” by the rank Colonel rank and he has always been content to be a and file. He does not hate or automatically distrust cog in the greater machine. On Cerebus, only a firm humans with magical powers or psionics or D-Bees. decision maker will be the key to survival and our Arthur supports a “separate but respected” status for poor Colonel lacks the DNA of a successful tyrant. the inhuman. The Colonel may be the wrong man to be in command because he is a logistics and support person, THE TOLKEEN IRREGULARS

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Gareth Bleobaris, a Ley Line Walker, vehemently disagreed with the leadership of Tolkeen over their tactics against the Coalition. He set out into the countryside and raised a small army from people abused by Prosek‘s decrees. His goal was to strike supply routes and convoys with quick hit and run tactics. Bleobaris knew wars were often won by logistics and an army deprived of supplies, rations and reinforcements would retreat. He named his cadre “The Tolkeen Irregulars” even though only 40% were Tolkeen citizens. Bleobaris had no clue how to command an army and the arbitrary assigning of ranks did little to help morale. The Tolkeen Irregulars drew all sorts of malcontents: D-Bees, Juicers, Crazies, escaped slave Borgs, rogue psychics, power mad mages and a few demons. Every recruit would undergo see aura, telepathy and an object reading of a personal item to weed out (most) Coalition spies. The large number of telepaths should have made coordinating easier, but the absurd number of egos and glory hounds negated this advantage. Bleobaris kept the battle goals simple: disrupt the convoy. He knew that direct confrontation with CS forces would get his cadre slaughtered so he contented himself with destroyed trucks and imposing lengthy delays on the CS convoys. The Irregulars retreated into the wilds after a battle and never struck the same route twice. After an attack, the CS would Bunker down, quickly salvage what they could and press onward usually into additional road traps set by the Irregulars. Most convoys, afraid of a full assault, left damaged vehicles behind and fled the area. Sometimes drivers would panic, allowing the Irregulars to pick off additional vehicles in the ensuing confusion and retreat. Although the Irregulars always achieved their goals, casualties were as high as 20%. This death rate meant that new recruits would receive little training, except trial by live fire during their next raid. Also, the noble and egalitarian principles of the Tolkeen founder were tested when Bleobaris was forced to deal with dangerous antics of his cadre. Worst among the Irregulars were a contingent of 200 from the Federation of Magic. These mages had exceptional talents and deep hatred of the Coalition, along with a disturbing penchant for human sacrifice. They offered the newborn dragon Mabonagrain and

Bleobaris accepted them against his better judgment. He silenced his own conscience with a hope that the end would justify the means. The Irregulars would pick through whatever was left behind after a battle and sell what they could to nearby small towns in exchange for food and supplies. Most towns were thankful for the trade, but as the cadre grew, Bleobaris lost control of their bad behavior. Drunken bar fights between local farmers and psychic Bursters resulted in torched homesteads. There was looting even when villages welcomed the Irregulars. A few months ago, two children were accidentally killed in a village in the outskirts of Kingsdale and Bleobaris dragged his army away in anger and disgust. Two weeks ago, things got much worse. Their camp was surprised by a CS heavy mechanized recon platoon. A brutal, deadly firefight left the CS forces broken and a dozen grunts and Dog Pack captured, but 37 Irregulars were killed and 110 injured. Bleobaris quickly broke the camp and rushed his cadre into the nearest village. Unfortunately, that village was the base camp of the CS recon platoon. The Irregulars swarmed the area and Bleobaris met with the local elders to trade for temporary sanctuary. His honor guard entered the elders’ council and Bleobaris accepted the kindly embrace of an old robed woman. Then she pulled the pin on her plasma grenade bandolier. Everyone and everything for 30 feet was instantly vaporized in a flash of screams. In a vengeful panic, the Irregulars razed the village. Guan Hamara, one of the last surviving officers, desperately tried to restore order amidst the chaos. Finally she begged Mabonagrain to assume command. The young dragon was delighted and by dawn, the Irregulars were marching onward. It was whispered that the Federation of Magic rogue mages sacrificed the CS prisoners during the confusion. The Irregulars changed after that night for better and worse. The internal power struggles faded quickly as even Juicer egos were tempered by one glance from the imposing Fire Dragon. Many assumed Mabonagrain would promote his old Federation comrades into roles of power. Instead, the dragon’s inner circle were Tolkeen citizens and he listened with great intensity to tales about a city he has never seen. However, the dark mages became his battle leaders

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and their tactics often included taking prisoners for purposes best not discussed. Mabonagrain was not interested in trading with villages. Towns were chosen for their strategic advantage and then looted, but not slaughtered. Generally, these were CS refueling outposts so only the most scrupulous Irregulars voiced any concerns for the locals. The dragon shrugged off criticism, always promising that things would be different after the war. Yesterday’s battle plan to assault the Alpha Beacon convoy was flawless and the Irregulars were excited. However, many ill omens showed by that dawn with nervous warnings from the psychics that something was dreadfully wrong. The dragon, as usual, ignored them. IMPORTANT NPCS There are four major NPCs on each side of the conflict in addition to the Colonel. Each NPC should gain a level each year of the campaign to represent their own growth and experiences. The GM is encouraged to create game statistics as necessary. Major Isabella Belakane Alignment: Aberrant O.C.C.: Coalition Military Specialist, 4th level. Isabella Belakane is a tall, beautiful and athletic woman. She adores Emperor Prosek with a fanatic’s glee. Belakane is a very effective at S&D missions and famed for her killer instinct. She is shocked by the Colonel’s refusal to execute the Irregulars and being away from her beloved Coalition has made her numb. Belakane has no leadership skills, charisma or common sense. She is a combat monster who needs orders to obey. Captain Peter Dagonet Alignment: Unprincipled O.C.C.: Coalition Grunt, 3rd level. Peter Dagonet (pronounced “dag-oh-nay”) is a traitor to the Coalition. He is a D-Bee sympathizer and he is absolutely fascinated by magic. Dagonet has moved up the ranks by feeding into Major Belakane’s Coalition fanaticism. He pretends to be her coconspirator, but he actually uses her as a marionette. An internal security officer found his stash of forbidden books just before the convoy left Lone Star. Dagonet shot the snoop and locked the corpse in his

room. His plans were to use the confusion at Tolkeen to make his break for the Manistique Imperium. Thus, he is quite glad to be away from Earth. Dagonet will be given charge over the Irregulars and he hopes to use his position to learn more about becoming a wizard. Lieutenant Rion Morgan Alignment: Diabolic O.C.C.: Psi-Stalker, 3rd level. Rion Morgan leads a veteran search & destroy Dog Pack platoon, but he really dreams of becoming the ultimate power behind the throne. He is utterly disgusted by the Colonel’s mercy upon their enemies. Morgan will carefully and quietly work to undermine the Colonel and rally other CS hardliners to supporting a coup to instate Belakane as the new leader. Morgan plans to use her as his puppet to slaughter every Irregular and D-Bee on Cerebus. Sergeant Arrock Grevaunt Alignment: Scrupulous O.C.C.: Partial Conversion Coalition ‘Borg, 4th level. Sergeant Arrock Grevaunt is the chief petty officer for Alpha Beacon. He was a patriotic cripple from Iron Heart who volunteered for a new pair of legs and purpose. Arrock will be found at the front of almost every assault and behind every retreat. He is afraid of what may exist on Cerebus. He does not trust the dragon, but he is relieved that mercy was offered to the Irregulars. Arrock has enormous admiration for the Colonel and a burning flame for Major Belakane. The inevitable coup will be extremely difficult for him. Mabonagrain Alignment: Anarchist O.C.C.: Fire Dragon Hatchling, 2nd level. Mabonagrain is learning to become patient and dangerous. He plans to live several thousand years, not die in a hail of bullets. The dragon has been catapulted into the leadership of the Irregulars and he will be greatly humbled by their defeat…for a short time. Mabonagrain has no political savvy because he was so used to being adored and feared by the Irregulars. The dragon is fascinated by stories of Tolkeen and has sincerely promised to lead his people home one day.

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Gauvain Lot Alignment: Miscreant O.C.C.: Shifter, 5th level. Gauvain Lot is a power hungry psychopath. He is a dangerous fellow from the Magic Zone who believes he is smarter than the Alien Intelligences he summons. He is less interested in escape and more in revenge. Gauvain is a political animal who can instigate trouble, vanish from responsibility and steal the spotlight of success. However, Lot is a dangerous fool and he will easily be played by any Goddess. Eric Drystan Alignment: Unprincipled O.C.C.: Rogue Scholar, 4th level. Description: Eric Drystan looks like a movie star who is playing a homeless bum. Always rumpled, unkempt and charming. Drystan is impetuous, tactless and values the quest of knowledge over the safety of people around him. He doesn’t know a tenth of what he thinks he knows and he is prone to logic leaps, conjecture and outright falsifications. Drystan is the voice of the Irregulars. He brings the complaints of the troops to the leadership and keeps up the morale.

Also, the leaders of the Irregulars use Drystan to represent them in negotiations. He has been dubbed “the Dragon’s Tongue.” Drystan has no interest in escape. He is enjoying the lack of work and the steady meals. Prison agrees with him! Guan Hamara Alignment: Scrupulous O.C.C.: Full Conversion Slave ‘Borg, 3rd level. Appearance: Guan Hamara stands seven feet tall, 1000 lbs. Guan Hamara was an idealistic D-Bee rights activist in Chi-Town until she was chopped up and slapped together into a Slave ‘borg for contractors at Lone Star. As a result, she suffers from a manic-depressive psychosis and a fear of darkness neurosis. As the second in command to Bleobaris, Guan tried to counsel the young dragon to not emulate his Magic Zone comrades, but she has grown tired of the pompous, self-righteous Irregulars. Her original idealism to save Tolkeen is long gone, replaced by a driving need to restart her life. She is most interested in creating her own cadre and escaping both the Irregulars and the Coalition to restart her life on whatever planet this may be. Guan still has her human face and genitals, cruel reminders of her previous life. LOGISTIC ISSUES The main problem for the CS officers is their convoy was carrying mainly personnel and rations. They do not have a significant store of additional weapons, especially large support weapons. Every 10 E-Clips used up means one less weapon has any ammo. Convoy Alpha Beacon was a low grade priority deep in the worst days of the Siege on Tolkeen. Although the convoy was traveling a long way, it was assumed that it would meet little organized resistance. The Alpha Beacon was mostly comprised of Mountaineer ATVs and similar trucks that either carried personnel or supplies. Many Mountaineers had converted cargo areas to carry additional passengers and their personal equipment. Some added a top turret gunner and a rear door gunner. Both gunners will generally be armed with a C-27 Heavy Plasma Cannon or equivalent and gain partial cover when attacked.

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The players are encouraged to spend 200 million credits on vehicles, power armors and robotic vehicles like SAMAS, Sky Cycles, Spider Skull Walkers and UAR-1s. The players may also spend 50 million on robots like Skelebots. Each vehicle or robot with a limited lifespan are not brand new, but all D6 years old by the time the campaign begins. The exception is Skelebots which are fresh off the assembly line. THROUGH THE RIFT One moment everyone was fighting without mercy in a Chillicothe valley. The next second, crackling blue energy swept them across three galaxies to a chill spring morning under a green gas giant looming across the sky. The Tolkeen Irregulars were outnumbered 5 to 1. The Colonel gave the order to stand down and offered survival to anyone who surrendered. Most Shifters fled back to Rifts Earth. Out of options, Mabonagrain called for the Irregulars to lay down their weapons and obey the enemy. The Rifted terrain from Chillicothe was splattered with the blood and the dying from Alpha Beacon. The dragon offered his psychics and mages as healers in appreciation for the chance to surrender. In a move that shocked everyone and angered many, the Colonel ordered his medics to deliver the most grievously wounded Coalition to the care of the Irregulars. The mystic healers performed their rites with dozens of laser rifles nervously aimed at their heads. So much P.P.E. was expended that the healers were too drained to attend to the Irregulars’ own wounded, resulting in the deaths of sixteen D-Bees and human spell casters. Life in those first few days was a strange blur. The Coalition took shelter in the nearby abandoned Xiticix hive and turned a cluster of mushroom towers into a prison for the Irregulars. With no way to get back to Earth, the Dead Boys dubbed their new home “Coalition State Alpha Beacon” and dug in for the long haul. Oddly, the Tolkeen psychics will begin to refer to the moon as “Cerebus” and the name will catch on surprisingly quickly. After a few Rogue Scholars tell their own Cerebus myths, the name will race through the Dog Packs and within days, it will become the accepted name of their new home. There may be some queasiness when they discover the original dark coven also called this place Cerebus. Here is where history ends and your campaign takes over. The following section details possible events that

may occur in the next seven years. YEAR ONE: Settling In The first year is all about setting up the systems for survival on Cerebus and exploring the vast, dangerous and secret Xiticix hive. The Coalition appears to be in full control and the Irregulars are heavily guarded, deeply mistrusted prisoners. Sporadic violence against D-Bees may occur in the prison conditions. The Xiticix specially chose the location of the hive far from anything interesting. There will probably be minimal, if any, contact with the Ahaugr or any Goddess. Eve and maybe Lilith will be watching and learning about the newcomers from the shadows. Spring “You will obey your orders!” The Colonel will fight his first insubordination battle over his decision to let the Irregulars live as prisoners instead of getting their richly deserved and immediate execution. His decision has rippled across all ranks and will become a point of division among the troops. The GM is encouraged to have the Coalition player characters involved in the power struggles as Major Belakane and other hardliners seek to gain support against the Colonel. The Colonel will also order all the TW and magic items captured from the Tolkeen Irregulars be saved and placed in a sealed vault which remains under heavy guard at all times. The players are encouraged to name 20-50 items in the vault with a total value of 500,000 credits. Spring “A need to know basis.” SAMAS and Sky Cycle teams will recon the 100 mile radius area from Alpha Beacon and report directly to the Colonel. Oddly, Arthur will immediately classify these reports and swear the officers to silence. The official announcement is the immediate area is just empty wastelands. However, rumors will spread about strange and beautiful structures and roaming demons. Spring “Anywhere but here at any cost.” The alien architecture of the Xiticix will allow for some subterfuge by the imprisoned Irregulars.

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