Revels of the Damned

A 2D6 Science-Fiction Adventure

For 2D6 Science-Fiction games, including Cepheus Engine
and the Original Classic Science-Fiction Roleplaying Game.

Sallerin Philippe (order #24129631)

 Revels of the Damned

Michael Brown

Sallerin Philippe (order #24129631)

 Publisher: Michael Brown
© 2017 Michael Brown
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Cepheus Engine and Samardan Press are the

trademarks of Jason “Flynn” Kemp. The author is
not affiliated with Jason “Flynn” Kemp or Samardan
Press™

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 Revels of the Damned is a short adventure for Cepheus Engine and the Original
Science Fiction Roleplaying Game (OSFRPG.) No special skills or equipment are
necessary for the adventure, although Recon skill may be useful.

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.

Referee’s Overview

The PCs accept an invitation to attend events at a Pleasure Guild during a local
festival. The night following their visit, however, the team suffers from
nightmares and disrupted sleep, which seems to worsen the more they visit the
Pleasure Guild. The Guildmother is also acting oddly, and a reporter chasing a
story has begun snooping around. The heroes eventually discover that the
cause of the growing mental problems is an ancient artifact that is slowly
corrupting the minds of all those who encounter it, and which seems impossible
to stop.

Players' Information

The heroes are in port in time for a huge local festival similar to Terra's Carnival.
The natives inform curious PCs that for the next two weeks, a spirit of fun and
revelry can be found almost anywhere they look, day or night. Parades, parties,
street festivals, and entertainment of all shapes, sizes and venues are in the offing.
As advertisement and enticement to the many entertainment venues, the starport
concourses are packed with entertainers and events of every stripe. Booths are
set up offering samples of the local cuisine, directions to other, larger festivities,
and various entertainers.

Near the exit gate, one colorful booth catches the heroes’ eye. The owners have
pulled out all the stops, incorporating the latest in cutting-edge audiovisual
techniques (including holograms, if the local Tech Level allows it), exotic dancers,
and samples of rare delicacies, all offered by gorgeous youths dressed in tastefully
risqué fashion. A huge crowd makes it nearly impossible to get to the gate. The
display is the work of the Pleasure Guild, an organization of entertainers,
performers, and merrymakers dating back almost to the founding of the planet.
Pleasure Guild parties are memorable events, featuring almost any activities the
team can imagine (and perhaps a few they can’t), from the mentally sublime to the
physically scandalous. The representatives hand out free invitations to a huge
celebration at the Pleasure Guildhall; the team is heartily encouraged to also
attend.

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 The Guildhall — actually, more like a resort — is near the city center. When the
heroes arrive, the place is abuzz. It seems that a significant percentage of the city’s
population is within the Guildhall boundaries. New arrivals are taken in groups to
a reception area just inside the main gates by Guild representatives, who perform
a short ritual of purification, request a small donation, and brief the newcomers on
the few rules of the guild (which basically amount to “An ye harm none, do as thou
wilt.”)

The natives’ reports of Pleasure Guild festivities were on the mark; almost anything
the crew can imagine that can be defined as “fun” is going on somewhere in the
Guildhall. The team is free to take part in whatever guild activities spark their
interest — the players and the referee must supply the definition of "guild
activities.”

However long the adventurers are willing to stay and party, they should grow
fatigued at some point and need to retire for the night (or day). This is where the
trouble begins…

Later that night, after the travelers have gone to bed, any of them who attended
events at the guild have trouble sleeping, awakening several times during the night
just as they enter REM sleep. Over subsequent days, they suffer from particularly
vivid and frightening nightmares and then terrifyingly realistic visions during the
day. The problems compound the next night and the next, seemingly growing
worse each day. A neurological examination reveals that the team's brainwaves
have been severely disrupted, an indication of traumatic neurological imbalance.
If the cause is not found and dealt with, the condition will lead to insanity and
permanent brain damage.

The problems apparently started when the team attended festivities at the
Pleasure Guild. Inquiries will reveal that other guests of the guild are having the
same problems; reports of sleeplessness, nightmares and hallucinations are
frequent, and Neila Renn, the Guildmother, has been reported to at times act in a
strange manner.

Undoubtedly the cause of the trouble is centered on the guild.

Referee's Information

The cause of all the problems is a Precursor device (see background and abilities
below), hidden in the Guildhall's basement. At its direction, Neila had it unearthed
and placed in a storeroom. Using technology far above anything the interstellar
government can yet conceive, it’s been “rewriting” every mind it encounters.
Shutting the machine down ends its mind-warping effects, but it is tough to do so
(see The Artifact, below).
The night after the visitors leave the guildhall, the Referee should secretly throw
INT 9+ for each of them. Failure indicates the immediate but temporary loss of a
point of INT. This damage is unnoticeable at first. Each subsequent night, affected

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 characters should throw INT 9+, losing another point each time. Successfully
making a throw only stops the loss for one night.

Intelligence losses affect the characters per the detailed benchmarks below. As
each affected PC hits the indicated benchmark, they suffer the following effects.
Of course, such losses also affect the visitors’ skills and technical prowess. The
Referee should keep the changes subtle for as long as possible, not letting the
players know too quickly what is going on. All effects are cumulative.

INT Loss Physical Effects

Interrupted REM sleep, fatigue, irritability.
0
All social interactions at DM –1
Interrupted REM sleep, fatigue, irritability, mental dullness.
–10%
All social interactions at DM –2
As above, plus increased physical fatigue and severe mental fatigue
–25%
–1 END
As above, plus vivid nightmares
–50%
Additional –1 END (total –2 END)
As above, plus daytime hallucinations
–75%
–1 DEX, additional –1 END (total –3 END)
As above, plus increasing psychosis
–90%
No further physical effects.

Once psychosis begins, physical degradation stops, but from that point forward,
the afflicted character must throw vs. his or her unmodified INT or the damage
becomes permanent.

The hallucinations and nightmares mentioned above all have one theme: being
threatened by a manifestation of an evil being. This image is highly individualistic;
natives of the planet insist that the visions are of Ka, the local mythological god of
evil. Terrans or humans of Terran descant may perceive images of the Devil.
Members of other races see their dominant figure of evil.

Anyone falling to INT 0 at any stage becomes basically a puppet under the control
of the Artifact. This individual is permanently brain-damaged, as above, and can
no longer resist.

Psionic PCs are affected differently: as above, the referee should secretly throw
the psi’s INT 9+. Failure indicates no change; but success means an INT increase
of 1. This change is also not painful or noticeable at first. Each night after the first,
affected characters should make another INT 9+ throw, increasing by another point
with each success. Failure has no ill effect; it only means no INT increase that
night. As it is doing with their fellows, the Object is also “rewriting” the psionic
brains, but with the effect of improving them.

INT increases bring other benefits triggered at the levels outlined below. As the
psi’s INT hits the indicated level, (s)he immediately gains the indicated perk. As

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 with their shipmates’ mental degradation, the Referee may wish to keep the
changes subtle for as long as possible.

Level Effect
Initial Pleasant dreams and a sense of community
All social interactions with non-psi are at -2, but interaction with other
INT+1
psi are at +1.
The psi’s mental faculties are noticeably increased, and perceived
INT+2 mental distinctions become sharper. Add a further +2 to social
interactions with other psi.
The blissful dreams become pleasant waking visions. The psi may
take on a beatific aspect. If (s)he’s also a telepath, add 2 to Psionic
INT+3
Strength for telepathic use only, and (s)he begins preferring
telepathic contact over speech.
The psi gains 2 levels in any Science skill, even if such skill has not
been previously gained. (S)he also gains Telepathy even if such skill
INT+4
is not possessed, or +2 to PS for Telepathy as above (maximum of
F, of course.)
The psi gains a further 2 levels of Science skill and intuitively
INT+5
recognizes and uses any Precursor devices (s)he may encounter.

Under the influence of the Artifact, the psi may even exceed the upper limit of 15
(F) in his or her INT. This increase only lasts for the duration of this adventure,
however.

Resolution

The heroes might simply move out of the area of effect; the Artifact’s influence only
has Very Long range. Moving farther away than that is sufficient to avoid the above
effects, but the affected person must stay at that distance to allow healing to begin.
Once he or she returns to the proximity of the Guildhall, the effects begin once
more.

If the team successfully stops the Artifact, the minds it affected can begin the
healing process. If INT losses totaled less than 4, neural functions heal over the
course of one week per point of INT lost. Those reaching INT–4 need professional
psychological treatment, adding another 1D6 weeks to the recovery process; those
at INT–5+ must have neurosurgery to repair physical trauma, if the throw vs.
unmodified INT was not failed, and an additional 3D6 weeks of healing.

Neila was exposed to the effects longer and more intensely than anyone else, with
far more extensive neural damage. Sadly, her prognosis is poor.
The team should receive suitable rewards for their efforts. The acting guild leader
is certainly willing to allow the group to stay for a week or two gratis for their trouble,

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 and the Artifact is worth a lot of money to the interstellar governmental authorities,
especially if it’s still functional.

Psionic heroes who enjoyed extra abilities during the adventure soon lose them in
the reverse order they were gained, however the “rewrite” allows them to keep one
point of INT and a level of the Science skill gained as a permanent “upgrade.”

The Artifact

The cause of the mental problems is a Precursor communications device. Millennia

ago, a small research outpost was located on the site now occupied by the
guildhall. The base featured a main computer whose functions included keeping
the staff telepathically linked through a system of psibertronic interfaces. During
the Precursors’ mysterious decline, one of the interfaces ended up in a geological
fissure, where it lay undisturbed for millennia, damaged but able to — very slowly
— repair itself.

The presence of sentient minds recently awakened the Artifact. It attempted

telepathic contact, but in its still-damaged state deduced that the minds it
encountered were Precursors that had been altered somehow. Thus, it’s using
abilities not yet understood even by interstellar government science to "rewire" the
minds present to Precursor specs. Unfortunately, increasing madness and brain
damage is the typical result.

One of the Artifact's first targets was Guildmother Neila Renn. It’s rewired her
extensively after determining that she held a position of authority. She now
displays aberrant behavior (see above) and zealously guards the Artifact while
keeping its existence secret.

The Artifact used Neila to lure 2D6+2 individuals it determined were particularly
susceptible to psionic manipulation to the basement, where they were subjected
to conditioning that rendered them effectively mindless. The device uses these
individuals as guards; two are "on duty" near it at any given time, and it can
summon the others as needed, which it does if it takes damage of 50% or more of
its total hits. As a last resort, it can defend itself using Assault, although this drains
its ready energy stores.

The Artifact can be attacked physically and psionically, as though it were another
sentient combatant. It’s easier to fight psionically, as Precursor materials are
usually far tougher than anything humans can create. A massive amount of
physical or energy damage must be dealt the thing before it ceases to function,
and even more to destroy it. A psi might force it into shutdown mode through a
psychic contest.
Referees should adjust the Artifact’s capabilities to reflect the heroes’, making it
weaker for adventurers who aren’t up to the task, or tougher against a well-
prepared group with a solid attack plan and overwhelmingly powerful weapons.

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 The Artifact’s true form is an iridescent sphere 60 cm in diameter, but since it
operates on a neural frequency, it manifests on an individual basis. For example,
one individual may perceive it as something innocuous, like a bowl of fruit or a
work of art; another might see a weird, amorphous, but obviously artificial shape.
Still another may carry the theme of the dominant evil figure to its conclusion and
picture the Artifact as this being on its throne, laughing at the puny mortals who
dare oppose it.

INT 14 (D), EDU 28 (U), PSI 9; Mass: 25 kg, Hits: 25/59, AR: 27
Physical Traits: Eidetic Memory, Regeneration
Psionic Talents: (Telepathy; Special [Mental Domination, Mindwipe,
Neural Rewrite, Telepathic Link, Multiple Targets])

NPCs

Neila Renn 668287 (originally 668A87), Age 42

Entertainer (6 terms), Cr170000
Admin-1, Carousing-3, Gambling-1, Liaison-1, Lingusitics-1

Neila is the popular and genial leader of the Pleasure Guild and primary hostess
at its most memorable festivals. She’s a striking woman with long hair, wearing
abbreviated haute couture, and adorned with expensive-looking but always stylish
jewelry. She was the first to unknowingly encounter the Artifact and has been the
most affected by it, having had her brain extensively altered, although she can put
up a false front of lucidity despite being under total thrall. Her low INT score reflects
the Artifact’s tampering and the resulting diminished capacity for creative thought.

Artifact Drones, Hits 7/14

Melee-0
As noted above, two of these dupes always guard the Artifact. 1D6+1 others can
be summoned as needed, arriving in 2D6 combat rounds. They’re effectively
mindless zombies, unresponsive to pain and attacking until they’re dead or their
opponents are dead or leave the area.

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Revels of the Damned, © 2017; Author: Michael Brown
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All of the text in this document is designated as Open Gaming Content, except for the titles of
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Please Note: This Product is derived from the Traveller System Reference Document and other
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content from products published by either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future Enterprises. This
Product is not affiliated with either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future Enterprises, and it makes no
claim to or challenge to any trademarks held by either entity. The use of the Traveller System
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