sculpted cliff; the main floor is fully exposed on top of the cliff.
Also on the
Filch
©2011, 2017 Michael Brown
An exotic woman hires the heroes to steal a jewel-encrusted statuette from
a minor crime figure.
Referee’s Overview
A woman formerly involved with a minor crime figure hires the PC to
recover her personal property from him: a small valuable statuette. The
statuette secretly has an unusual property: one of its jewels is actually a
data crystal, filled with information on various criminal enterprises
elsewhere in the sector. The PC infiltrates a party given at the criminal’s
estate to get the statuette, but must also deal with the efforts of a rival
thief, a team of assassins after the data crystal, and sudden amorous
attention.
Filch is a one-page, no-frills adventure for Cepheus Engine and other
tabletop RPG science fiction games using a 2D6 mechanic (including The
Original 2D6 Science Fiction Game) starring characters of varied career
backgrounds. No special skills or equipment are required for the
adventure, although skills and equipment that facilitate stealth might be
useful. The adventure is best suited for 1-2 PCs. If more participate, the
Referee should adjust the number and capabilities of the NPCs.
Throw Notation: "Throw [Skill or Characteristic] [x]+" means "throw 2D6
and add the skill level (and/or Characteristic Modifier); a result of [x] or
better is a success." 8+ is considered Routine difficulty. For example:
Recon 8+, EDU 7+. The referee may adjust the throw (for range, difficulty,
etc.) as needed.
Players’ Information
Katrin DeVries is an exotic woman that moves with a feline grace and
devours the adventurer with eyes that seemingly miss nothing.
Underneath the sleek exterior, however is a subtle trace of menace.
However, Katrin is all business as she explains to the adventurer why she
has made contact. Until recently, she was romantically involved with
Iikesh Hendento, a local businessman with rumored ties to organized
crime. The relationship ended badly, and resulted in Katrin's ouster from
Hendento's estate amid veiled threats on her life.
Unfortunately, Katrin wasn't able to retrieve all of her belongings;
Hendento still has in his possession a small silver statuette she describes
as a family heirloom. Obviously, she can’t simply show up and demand its
return, and Hendento not only has little fear of the police, he has highly-
paid lawyers with fearsome reputations. That leaves only illicit means to
retrieve her statue. She offers Cr5000 for the PCs to do it.
Hendento is throwing a big party in several days. Katrin suggests the hero
use it as cover to locate and recover the item. While she has the
necessary skills to do it herself, the guards especially on the lookout for
her, and can see through any disguises she might use. Plus, she’s taking
Hendento’s threats seriously.
Katrin can supply the location of Hendento's residence, as many details
about it as she can recall, and a forged party invitation. She suggests that
the PC case the house beforehand and report back to her, so she can
advise on any changes.
Referee’s Information
Hendento lives on a small mountain estate. The road to the area is well-
known and marked; a long private road leads off the main thoroughfare to
the estate grounds and ends at a gate with an occupied gatehouse. The
guard inquires as to the visitor’s business and communicates with the
main house for instructions before admitting entry. (Depending on the local
tech level, the gatekeeper may be a computer or a robot.)
The road isn’t the only access to the estate, but other forms of access
involves more risk: Hiking overland takes 2D6 hours and at some point,
involves climbing: DEX 10+, equipment gives DM+2, failure means a fall
for 2D6 damage. Flying over in a small vehicle: –2 DM for mountain winds;
spotted by the guards on 6+ and fired upon on 4+.
The main dwelling is built facing planetary sunrise and appears as a series
of flat cylinders stacked one atop another, jutting out of the face of a
Cepheus Engine and Samardan Press are the trademarks of Jason "Flynn" Kemp. The author isn’t affiliated with Jason "Flynn" Kemp or Samardan Press™.
Sallerin Philippe (order #24129631)
grounds atop the cliff are a garage for ground vehicles, a small storage
area/workshop and a generator sufficient to power the entire estate. The
entire affair is surrounded by a 3m high wall made of local materials.
According to Katrin, the floors of the tastefully-appointed main house, from
largest/top to smallest/bottom contain the following rooms:
• Top Floor: reception area, formal dining room, master (Hendento’s)
bedroom, guest bedrooms, living room, kitchen.
• Second Floor: Recreation room (takes up most of this floor and has a
glassteel face with breathtaking views of the mountains), bar,
breakfast nook.
• Third Floor: servants’ quarters.
• Fourth Floor: library/study.
• Fifth Floor: Air/raft garage (holds three air/rafts).
Each floor is accessible both by staircase and elevator/lift shaft. Each floor
has at least one bathroom or lavatory and small storage spaces.
The grounds have surveillance cameras placed at strategic locations but
none in the house; anyone sneaking onto the estate is spotted on 8+. The
cameras are supplemented by a security team of six guards, including the
gatekeeper.
Hendento’s bedroom is where Katrin last saw the statuette. Also,
stereotypically set into the wall behind a picture, is a wall safe with cash
and valuables worth Cr100000 and Hendento's personal papers, which
have all kinds of incriminating information.
Some information on Hendento is in the local datanet. He’s the owner of
an import/export company who has made as many local news headlines
for alleged dealings with local crime figures as he has a willingness to
donate to charities. He’s been indicted but so far not convicted in the past
for various minor crimes.
If the adventurer meets with Katrin again to compare notes, (s)he receives
a blanket DM of +1 to any actions securing the statuette for the rest of the
adventure.
Unfortunately, Katrin isn’t completely forthcoming. She was indeed
involved with Hendento for a time, but the statuette isn’t a family heirloom
— and doesn’t actually belong to her at all. It’s 30cm tall, made of precious
metals, bejeweled, and worth perhaps Cr50000 on the open market. But
one of the jewels is actually a sophisticated data crystal. When hit by a
laser of the proper frequency, the crystal projects a holographic
representation of several bordering subsectors, complete with locations
and information on numerous major criminal organizations. Using this
data, law enforcement could deal a serious blow to organized crime in the
sector; criminals would go to war with one another to get the information.
Hendento doesn’t know about the crystal, and doesn’t care about the
statue’s worth; he only keeps it to annoy Katrin. Katrin knows of the crystal
and would willingly part with the entire statue just to get it. Why she wants
it is anyone’s guess.
The party begins on schedule. There are 9D6 party guests and one
servant, many of them hired for the evening, for every three guests. A
complication sets in once Hendento meets the PC; he falls in love with him
or her on 10+ and spends as much time as possible around him or her
over the course of the evening.
Worse, a rival thief has heard of the statuette and has also infiltrated the
party trying to steal it. She doesn’t know about the data crystal, but tries to
worm her way into Hendento’s good graces to gain access. Worst of all,
organized crime figures have discovered the existence of the data crystal;
a team of assassins are on the way to seize the statuette and eliminate all
witnesses. Katrin learns of the assassination team on 10+; she tries to
warn the PC once she does.
If the hero is successful in retrieving the statue, Katrin pays off as
promised and lets him or her keep anything else they got out of
Hendento’s house, but in that case Katrin advises a hasty exit offworld as
his thirst for revenge is deep.
NPCs
Iikesh Hendento, 64798A, Age 40
Rogue (5 Terms), Rank 1 (Associate), Cr115000
Bribery-1, Broker-2, Recon-1, Streetwise-1

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