Girkekaashur the field agent and Lareyne is the handler.

In order to
pass information to one another without detection, they
©2016 Michael Brown have assumed cover identities as lovers and rare book
enthusiasts. The books are actual publications, but the
Synopsis/Objective “love letter” is a complicated cryptographic key designed
The heroes face mystery and danger when they agree to call attention to specific passages in the work,
to deliver an old book. building secret messages by hiding in plain sight.
Unfortunately for the agents, Syndicate Thugs have
Overview become suspicious of Marlowe and have been following
A lovestruck young man hires the adventurers to him to discover how he’s getting messages out. They
transport a package -- a first edition of Girkekaashur, a find him with the heroes, and overhear the plan to
work by a renowned ancient playwright -- to his fiancée deliver the book. Marlowe soon leaves to fetch the
in the next system over. Unknown to the PCs, the man package; the ruffians ambush agent and adventurers
is actually an intelligence agent using books to secretly alike as soon as he returns. The adventurers and
send coded messages to a fellow agent about a vicious Marlowe must fight off (n+3) armed assailants, led by a
criminal syndicate the two are investigating. The PCs Syndicate Lieutenant (see below.)
are in danger not only from the mob, but the local
political leader who has been taking payoffs from them If the enemies win, they kill the PCs and kidnap
to prevent legislation aimed against them. Marlowe for questioning. If the PCs and Marlowe win,
the lieutenant drops a small communicator during the
Girkekaashur is designed for science fiction games fight (or the heroes confiscate it afterward). Tracing the
using a 2D6 mechanic, starring a group of characters of device or its signal back to its origin (10 or greater on
varied career backgrounds assumed to have been 2D before skills/modifiers) reveals the location of the
traveling and working together before the adventure. No regional crime boss. He’s holed up in a plush penthouse
special skills or equipment are necessary for the in the world’s capital city, and surrounded by n+6 goons
adventure. at all times, armed and armored as below. In addition,
30% of them have
To determine the number of enemies during the submachineguns.
indicated portions of the adventure, n is used as the Any survivors of
Birin Marlowe
number of PCs. Example: n+4 is the number of PCs the previous
Marlowe has been a top agent
plus four. fracas with the
for his security service for
nearly 20 years. He is very agile heroes will be
Monetary amounts are expressed as dollars ($). The
and intelligent, but slightly less among this
GM should adjust for his or her chosen game world.
healthy for his age (34). He puts number. In
Players’ Information on an act of a flighty dilettante addition, as soon
Birin Marlowe, a debonair, impeccably dressed fellow; but he’s a professional with a as he’s able, the
makes the PCs’ acquaintance. Over pints in the starport strong sense of justice and Boss activates a
bar he trades tales of the PCs’ exploits for some of his competent with a gun and domestic security
own. But it’s clear that his favorite topic of discussion is martial arts. computer program
his fiancée Lareyne, a young woman who lives on a to facilitate a quick
world one parsec over. The young man is clearly Syndicate Thug getaway.
smitten, and explains to anyone who’ll listen about how These are goons, pure and If the PCs win,
they met over a mutual love of rare books, especially simple; strong and tough but not Marlowe insists on
those few existing millennia-old tomes that make it into too bright. They know the searching the
this part of charted space. streets and are good in a fight, dwelling for
Recently, Marlowe came across a First Edition copy of though. Armed with handguns. evidence. In a
Girkekaashur, a play by an ancient playwright who lived hidden safe (12
on a world near what is now the empire’s core. The Syndicate Lieutenant before
book is well over 2,000 years old, and Marlowe admits More dangerous than his skills/modifiers)
he paid a lively credit for it. He knows Lareyne would soldiers, but probably not a they find the
very much enjoy having it, and plans to give it to her as direct match for the PCs. Armed organization’s
a gift. with a handgun. financial
documents,
Marlowe wants to pay the crew $15,000 to deliver the $300,000; and
book to Lareyne and make sure it gets into her hands perhaps the most explosive find of all: documents
without damage or delay. He agrees to supply a special linking the mob to a prominent local political leader.
carrier for the tome and includes a rather syrupy love Apparently the legislator has been taking bribes from
note. the Boss in return for scuttling legislation designed to
Referee’s Information bring the organization down. Taking down this individual
earns the team several attempts on their lives by
Marlowe and Lareyne are actually agents assigned to
professional assassins.
monitor the activities of a brutal syndicate. Marlowe is

Sallerin Philippe (order #11411160)