T H E   S E E D   O F   E V I L

by Roberto di Meglio
translated into English by (you guess it!)
Claudia Rege Cambrin (cregecambrin@list.it) &
Marco Bizzarri (gemelli@sssup1.sssup.it).

This adventure was written for a group of characters at the beginning
of their first career. The Seed of Evil requires the use of the rules
published on KAOS 21 (Translated as WH40K-RPG), and it features the
possibility to be inserted both in a `normal' WFRP campaign and in a
campaign set in the WH40K universe.

Because of this, the adventure will be presented in a way slightly
different from the usual one. First of all, we'll give antecedent
facts, and we'll describe places and characters of the scenario; next,
we'll give information for playing, which will differ according to the
setting (fantasy or WH40K) of the campaign. Anyway, we suggest the
Game Master to read the whole adventure, for a better understanding of
what is happening.

Since on the set there are two groups of characters, one coming from
the world of WFRP, and one from the WH40K's one, in the end of the
scenario we describe fantasy and sci-fi characters which can be used
either as PCs or as opponent NPCs, run by the GM. An interesting
possibility is to play two parallel game sessions, with two GMs, in
two different rooms; the GMs of course, would have to exchange from
time to time information about what each group is doing.

ANTECEDENT FACTS

Kasperwold

Our story starts on Kasperwold, a hive planet on the borders of
imperial space. Of twelve thousands millions of inhabitants only
swirls of radioactive dust are left: the planet has been purified by
the intervention of the Imperial Inquisition.

The exact motivation of the intervention has not been released, but
the most common opinion is that the planet had become a receptacle of
daemons worshippers, and that the Governer himself was at the head of
the chaotic cult. Actually, Kasperwold has been victim of a
Genestealer invasion, horrible alien creatures which infiltrate into
the human society, breeding within it until they completely take the
control of the planet. Although a Genestealer is easily
distinguishable from an human, Hybrids born from the fecundation of
human females (which requires the intervention of an human male as the
carrier of Genestealer seed) become, generation after generation, more
and more similar to humans, until, in their fourth generation, they
pratically cannot be distinguished from them. Fourth generation
Hybrids can mate as humans, and their children can be normal humans,
Hybrids, or pure Genestealers. Once a planet has fallen victim of the
invasion of these creatures, the only possible way to extirpate them
is a definitive purge.

Among the many spaceships escaping Kasperworld, we are interested in a
shuttle stolen and piloted by Haazir Hauser, a fourth generation
Hybrid. After a blind jump into the Warp, the extradimensional space
that allows to travel faster than light, Haazir Hauser detected a
badly working Warp Gate; since this is probably the sign of the
presence of a planet in the surroundings, Haazir entered the `real'
space. The spaceship, damaged by a storm met in the Warp, could hardly
resist the passage; after emerging near the Northern Pole of the
Warhammer world, it was forced to an emergency landing after flying
South for thousands of miles. And it is in the forest of Reikwald, in
an unspecified place between Altdorf and Bogenhafen, shortly before
the dawn of a springtime morning, that the spaceship piloted by Haazir
Hauser fell to the ground.

A short time ago...

Although his vehicle is totally unusable, Haazir Hauser can thank his
lucky star; the world he has reached looks inhabitable, and, even
though the northern region was contaminated by the presence of the
broken Warp Gate, the zone he is in now looks quite thriving.
Furthermore, Haazir, by mean of psychic powers typical of his race,
detects the presence, some hundred yards away from him, of a creature
with psychic powers too. He follows that direction and so, hidden in
a bush, he sees with astonishment a house in the forest; near it, a
figure... humanoid shape... doubtlessly female!

All at once, what seemed to be a disaster turns into an unexpected
opportunity: "If this planet is inhabitated by humans" Haazir thinks,
"I can breed and establish a new large colony... Our presence here
will become a psychic lighthouse for the Tyranid fleet and I could
even become a Patriarch of my brood..."

But Haazir's thoughts are broken in an acute pain: a curve rusty sword
plunged in his back by a creature behind him: "Diedie, manthing," the
rat-man mutters rejoicing while his fellows are inciting him. The
woman, busy at cutting some wood, hears the noise. Raising her hand
and singing loudly an arcane chant, she summons a light that shows the
figures of the rat-men ready to give the final blow to Haazir Hauser.

The Skavens hesitate for a moment and then run away, muttering obscure
menaces: "We comecome back, witchthing. Manymany. Houseburn.
Witchburn."

THE PRESENT SITUATION

When the characters come to the scene these facts have happened a few
hours ago. Haazir Hauser, close to death, has been brought to the
house by the "witch", Ilsa Weisshaus. The wound was too serious for
him to survive, but in spite of this he managed to use his psychic
powers to hypnotize and fertilize Ilsa, before he died. Ilsa,
conscious of what has happened, but happy in her hearth for the being
she feels in her womb, buried Haazir in the wood, near her house, to
return then to her lonely life.

The zone where Ilsa lives, unfortunately for her, is not too
peaceful. Indeed, the shipwreck of Haazir's spaceship, that looked
like a meteor from the Chaos Wastes, attracted a Skaven band, who
erroneously believed it a warpstone meteor, a substance these
creatures mostly look after. Meanwhile, a Chaos Champion, with his
followers, is coming to the place, to realize the dark plots of the
inscrutable Tzeench.

THE PLACES

In the following we describe the places where the action takes place.
They all are in the map.

1-Haazir's spaceship
The fall of the spaceship produced a crater about 20 yards wide; the
plants in the surroundings suffered from the crash and are crushed,
burnt, broken. The night dampness of the wood prevented a large fire
to take place. The ship was almost completely destroyed, with metal
fragments bursting all around, and now it is almost impossible to
understand what it really is. In the center of the crater, however,
there is the life capsule that protected the pilot, a nearly
undestructible shell.

The capsule, now opened, is a metal egg-shaped object, approximately
two yards tall. The interior is shaped like an armchair; the fluid
protecting the pilot poured out when the capsule opened, leaving some
crimson streaks that at a first glance could be mistaken for blood. On
the right arm there is a metal disc that, if touched by human hands,
opens a panel in the shell; the panel contains a respirator (describe
it to the fantasy characters as "a hose made of leather-like, but
apparently artificial, stuff; at one end there is a small bag; at the
other end, the hose becomes wider, triangle-shaped, approximately wide
as the palm of your hand"), which allows to survive in toxic
atmospheres, provided that they hold oxygen; a sealed bottle with a
liter of water and a straw; a small airtight closure box, containing a
number of edible bars (twenty), each one substituting a complete meal;
a catether with a recycling equipment (describe it as "a very thin
hose, similar to the other one for the material; at one end the hose
widens out in a small hood, lighter and more flexible; in the centre
it widens out into a metallic spheroid; the thickness of the hose is
identical to the one of bottle straw"). Last, within the panel there
is a Boltgun (to hit +10/0, dam 4 + 1d6 [+1]) with 40 rounds, and an
additional charger with other 40 rounds; the nature of the weapon can
be easily identified even from the fantasy characters, even if it is
clear that the fire weapon is much more technologically advanced than
the ones existing in the Warhammer World. Of course, all these objects
can be easily recognized by the WH40K characters, which will
immediately understand the function and mode of employment.

Embedded in the caspule there is also an automatic ultra short wave
transmitter, which cyclically emits an help request signal. Of course,
the signal can be perceived only in the conventional space, not in the
Warp. Haazir, which isn't very familiar with the spaceship he stole,
didn't know the presence of the trasmitter, otherwise he would have
almost certainly disabled a signal able to guide on his trail possible
pursuers.

2.The house of Ilsa
The house of Ilsa is a simple wooden hut, built with great effort by
the girl, along the years, thanks also to the help of some huntsman or
of some woodsman with whom, for some time, she has shared her
loneliness. The girl notoriety, her wariness and the complete
isolation where she lives have prevented her from retaining these
bonds and, until now, she has never had childs.

Her house is divided in three rooms: in the entry room Ilsa cooks,
eats, sews up the hides and spends most of her time; it is the only
room with a fireplace, but it is enough to heat the whole house. A
small adjoining room is used as a store: here Ilsa keeps a supply of
wood for the winter, smoked meat, dried fruit, some hides and other
things indispensable to survive in the long and chilly winter of the
Reikwald. Bandages and a sheet, bloodstained, are in a basket in this
room. In the third room there's a large bed made of hides (where often
Blackeye, the cat of Ilsa, sleeps), a table where Ilsa keeps her
herbs, in dozen of small jars labelled in a way which she only
understands, and where she prepares the mixtures for her potions, and
a chest; the chest contains her poor clothes, almost all made of
leather or of fur, a bow with some arrows (which Ilsa uses to hunt)
and some bags where Ilsa keeps the components for her spells.

A larger woodshed is at the back of the house, and opposite to it
there is a wooden stumb on which an hatchet is planted. Close, at the
threshold of the wood, the body of Haazir has been buried; the soil is
recently turned, and the point can be easily detected. Between the
house and the woodshed there is also a small covered fence, where Ilsa
keeps two kids. A great number of white doves nest on the woodshed.

Ilsa Weisshaus, the witch
(Elementalist, Level I)

Banned from the village of Heiligen at the age of 13 years, when she
was suspected of wizardry, because of the rising of her uncontrolled
psychic powers, Ilsa has been living alone for ten years in the wood;
from time to time someone asks an herb or a advice of her, but most of
the time everybody avoids her. Ilsa has grown up learning to rely only
upon herself, and has developed a great strength of character and many
skills. Even though she is not beautiful, her body is thin and well
shaped, the strong face tanned by the sun; she has long brown hair,
almost always gathered up into a braid, and light golden eyes. The
loneliness has made her wary, also because people look for her only
for their self-interest; however she is a kind-hearted person, ready
to help even a stranger.

During the years, Ilsa has had many short-lived loves, with huntsmen
and woodsmen, that have always left her frustrated. She has no
children, and the desire to have a creature to share her loneliness is
immense. The only living creatures she deals with are her cat,
Blackeye, and Bebi and Debi, her two kids; she loves these creatures
immensely, as if they were human beings. In these years, she has also
improved her magickal skills, which thanks to her familiarity with the
nature spontaneously took the way of Elementalism. Even though she
hasn't had a real magickal training, her great ability has allowed her
to develop many talents. Ilsa always brings with herself a long knife,
which she can wield quite well, if necessary. She will be wary with
the PCs (she is not used to have visitors, these are dangerous places,
and her notoriety could attract some overzealous witchhunter), but not
hostile. If the PCs ask her about a visitor, her reaction will depend
on their attitude. If they are friendly, she will say them that indeed
a man has been attacked by a group of Skavens near her house; she
helped him, but he was wounded too seriously, and he died a few hours
later; from his delirium, she understood that he was chased by some
terrible enemy. She finished burying him a few time ago, near the
house. If the characters are hostile or harsh, Ilsa will deny having
seen anyone in the surroundings; if she is asked about the fight, she
will say that the killed man was her husband; she just finished
burying him and she only wants to be left in peace, quietly weeping
him. She knows nothing about the meteorite: with his husband dead,
sure she had no time for the explorations.

M WS BS S T W  I  A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
3 28 39 3 4 8 36  1  29 21  41 38 43  27

Skills: Animal Care, Arcane Language (Magick, Elementalist), Cast
Spell (Petty, Battle Magick I, Elementalist I), Concealment (rural),
Cure Disease, Follow Trail, Heal Wounds, Herb Lore, Hunting, Identify
Plants, Magick Sense, Manufacture Poisons, Reading/Writing, Secret
Signs (woodsmen), Set Traps, Silent Move (rural).

Magick Points: 21

Spells: 

Petty: Create Small Creatures (dove), Curse, Gift of Tongues,
       Sleep, Zone of Warmth.
Battle Magick I: Aura of resistance, Cure Light Injury, Immunity to
                 Poison.
Elemental I: Assault of Stones, Blinding Flash.

3.The camp of the Skavens
The Skavens left from here, last night, looking for the meteorite.
Rat-men did not light fires: the only signs of their presence are the
escrements, the traces and the carrion of an meat-stripped animal
which they ate.

Ssikitz Sshirtaz, Grey Seer
(Mage, Level I)
He has been sent in charge of a small band of Skavens to investigate
on the meteorite that hurtled in this zone; Sskitz emerged from the
subsoil hoping to find a large quantity of Warpstone to raise his
reputation, because he entered a few time ago in the ranks of the
Seers, and he's eager to make his way.

The disappointment for the failure was immense, and Sskitz is well
determined to return with some result, trying to gain some
interesting loot from the manthings which got into his clutches.
However, dying is not one of his immediate objectives, especially by
stupid manthings' hand.

M WS BS S T W  I  A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
5 48 25 4 4 9 50  1  24 34  34 28 29  24

Trappings: Sskitz does not use armour, but wears a Three Times Blessed
Copper Amulet (see WFRP, page ???). He is armed with a large staff
reinforced with metal, which he wields as if it was a two handed flail
(-20 I, -20 WS, +3 Dam, -10 Parry).

Magick Points: 16

Spells:
Petty: Curse, Alarm, Reinforce Doors, Sleep.
Battle Magick I: Aura of Resistance, Cause Animosity, Steal Mind, Wind
Blast.

Togheter with Sskitz, as his retinue, there are 5 Skavens, 4 of them
with standard profiles (see WFRP, pag. ???). One is a large black
furred Stormvermin (+10 WS, +1 S, +10 I). All the Skavens are armoured
with leather jackets, (0/1 AP Body and Arms), helmets (1 AP head), and
shields (1 AP).

4.The camp of Kurgar `the Good'.
In this point Kurgar `the Good', Champion of Tzeench, has stopped with
his gang of beastmen. A wanderer, catched on the road, has been eaten
(raw) by the beastmen, while Kurgar, more sophisticated, cooked and
ate an arm and the liver. The meat-stripped bones can be found spread
in the surroundings, togheter with the remains of a fire. The head has
been planted on an improvised pole and has been used for a spitting
contest by the beastmen.

Kurgar the Good, Champion of Tzeench
(Mage, Level I)
Kurgar the Good is a Champion of Tzeench, the Great Conspirator,
Master of Plots. Apparently, Kurgar is still completly human: indeed,
one of his mutations is an illusion of Normality, which hides his
hideousness until he enters battle. Kurgar wears an armour colored
with blue and rose geometric patterns, but he does not carry any other
visible sign of his devotion to Tzeench. The mark of Tzeench is
clearly impressed on his beastmen forehead, a symbol like a flaming
halfmoon. Kurgar, while sleeping, received a vision from Tzeench, who
ordered him to "Look for the woman of the wood, which carries a child
that will be able to have a great role in the changing of this land",
to find her and make sure she gives birth to the creature.

M WS BS S T  W  I  A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
4 52 23 5 5 12 55  2  28 45  32 33 41  29

Skills: Disarm, Dodge Blow, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Injure.

Trappings: Kurgar wears a Chaos armour, which gives him 2 AP on all
the body, and makes him immune to all the psycological effects; the
armour does not interfere with spellcasting. Moreover, Kurgar owns a
daemonic weapon, that only a follower of Tzeench can wield; the sword,
which inflicts +1 damage, sings with a shrieking and metallic voice
when it is drawn. Depending on the song, the induced effect can be
different: fundamentally, the sword can cause any psychological effect
on friends or enemies, or it can cause Drowse (see WFRP, pag. ???).
This power can be used only once a fight and victims are allowed a WP
test to resist the effects. Kurgar has also a Warpstone talisman
(which gives to its wearer the Luck skill).

Fate Points: 1

Magick Points: 15

Spells: Cause Animosity, Gift of Tzeench (it requires 1d3 magick
points; it allows the spellcaster to randomly determine a spell of
level equal or inferior to his one, which he automatically learns,
and, for the first time only, he can cast it without spending MP),
Fireball, Fly.

Mutations: When the illusion of Normality disappears, the face has the
appearance of a Flaming Skull (cause Fear when it is revealed) and his
arms have Multiple Joints (+10 I, already taken into account above).
Moreover Kurgar has the Withering Gaze, as a demon of Tzeench: anyone
who faces him in melee must roll a Cl test; if he fails, he is unable
to stare at the Champion and has a -10 penalty to hit rolls.

The gang of Kurgar is composed of 7 beastmen. They have standard
profiles (see WFRP, pag. ???) and are armed with hand weapon and
shields.

One of the beastmen has Tough hide (2 AP on the whole body), while
other two are subject to Frenzy.

			T H E  A D V E N T U R E

The development of the adventure will be different depending on
whether the GM is mastering a fantasy campaing, or he wants to play in
the WH40K universe: the prologue is completly separated (see below),
while starting from the finding of the spaceship wreck the scenario
develops pratically in the same way in both settings (see the section
"The events develop", below)


WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAY: PROLOGUE

This adventure has been written so that it can played during The Enemy
Within campaign, when the character are travelling from Aldorf to
Bogenhafen. In any case, it shouldn't be difficult to insert this
scenario within any WFRP campaign: you will only have to change the
names of the villages, adapting them to the region where you are
playing.

The night before arriving to the small village of Schlafebild, a
hamlet with about forty inhabitants (halfway between Altdorf and
Weissbruck, if you are playing The Enemy Within), the characters will
see a flaming train of a meteorite crossing the sky, from NW to SE; it
flies over the Weissbruck channel and the forest until it disappears
beyond the horizon.

At Schlafebild

If the natural curiosity of the characters is not enough for them to
decide to investigate, let them hear many stories about the apparition
of the comet, when they arrive at the next village, Schlafebild: "It
is a sign of ill omen," "When there are apparitions like these, it's
because the forces of darkness are going to hit us," "A woodsman said
that last night he was in the wood and the meteor was made of pure
gold and silver". Indeed the woodsman, Kurt Wrecker, was in the wood,
near the place where the shaceship has fallen. He felt like it was
not a simple metorite, but prey to the terror he fled without
investigating. If characters look for him and talk with him, he is
ready, for a small fee (1 GC or more), to indicate them the zone where
the metorite has fallen.

If he is asked to take them, he refuses: "It is too dangerous, going
in those places. There are bad things wandering in the wood, and these
supernatural things seem to attract them like flies. I would not
return there even if the thing that fallen was made of silver, as it
looks like. If the PCs insist, Kurt will better make clear what he
refers to: "I saw the sign of their camp. We aren't dealing with
goblins, certainly not. I know the tracks of the goblins and their
similars. Those are blasfemous things, carrying the Chaos sign. They
walk like men, but they leave footprints of beasts."

If the PCs ask Kurt, or others in the village, about someone else
living in that zone, the first answer will be: "It is deserted," even
if an Int test will allow to spot some coldness and reticence. To more
pressing questions, they will reveal that: "Well, there should be
Ilsa, the witch, who is said to have her house in that zone of the
wood. But no one has been seeing her for years..." (actually some of
the inhabitants of the village from time to time have had contacts
with Ilsa but no one will admit to know her). Further questions about
Ilsa will allow the PCs to know that she has been banned from the
village of Heiligen ten years ago, when she was just adolescent
because she was suspected to traffic with daemons.

In the wood

Every self-respecting adventurer should, now, decide to investigate
(if the PCs just continue for their way the adventure ends here... at
least until the consequences of their laziness will reappear as a
Genestealer invasion in Altdorf, some years later. If you are playing
The Enemy Within, we suggest Adolphus Kuftsos to lose temporarily the
trails of the PCs, finding them again at the end of the adventure (unless
you want to add another complication).

In the forest, heading to the zone indicated by the woodsman (or
simply trying to reconstruct the trajectory of the meteorite), the PCs
shouldn't have difficulty to locate the crash point of the spaceship,
which is about ten miles southest of Schlafebild, to the northwest of
the road connecting Altdorf to Bogenhafen.

While approaching, they will start detecting the first signs of what
has happened: bent trees with burned leaves, broken branches and
trunks along a streak some tens of meters long, which goes from the
point where the spacecraft hit the leaves of the trees to the point
where it took land. Go to the section The Events develop, below.

WARHAMMER 40,000: PROLOGUE

To play this adventure, it is necessary that at least one of the PCs
has the Warp Navigation skill (see the article from KAOS 21); if
possible, the PCs should have a small spaceship, or they should be
able to provide themselves with one.

The story starts on Kasperwold: the characters, a group of adventurers
free of any bond of fidelty or alliance, are passing on the hive world
when they hear that Hoofar Skanderberg, a local merchant, has been
robbed of one of his spaceship, a small single-seater cargo, equipped
with a Warp engine. The merchant will reward with 10000 Imperial
Credits (briefly IC) anyone able to bring him back the stolen vehicle,
worth 1 million IC. The stealing of a spacecraft in the spaceport is
quite surprising, because of the strict surveillance (Haazir used his
psychic powers to fool the guards).

The PCs are almost completly out of money and the reward is fair. By
talking with Hoofar, some information will emerge which seems to make
the task quite simple: the spaceship indeed, which he named Eclipse,
is equipped with an automatic radio beacon, which allows to identify
the position both in the Warp and in the real space (however, the
signal can't pass from the Warp to the real space, and viceversa). He
is sure that the PCs, if they move quickly, could intercept the
spacecraft during a jump. Since the spacecraft is easily identifiable,
the merchant suspects that the thief could have headed for the
oriental zone of the Galaxy, a region of the space quite unknown, out
of the routes coverd by the earth's Astronomican, the psychic beacon
guiding the navigation of the spaceships of the Empire.

In the pursuit.

If the PCs accept the job (as we hope for, because otherwise they will
be wiped out by the Purification which is going to hit the planet...),
the pursuit of the Eclipse will be quite simple: just when they
enter the Warp, the instruments of the PCs spaceship will identify the
radio-beacon signal for a short time, just before the Eclipse
leaves the normal space; a time long enough, however, to follow it in
the jump and to come out at a short distance.

Returned in the normal space, PCs are going again to identify the
position of the pursued when the stern face of an high priest of the
Adeptus Terra, shining in his youthful handsomeness (miracles of the
imperial propaganda...), appears on the display of the
video-transmitter of their spaceship "A great victory has been
achieved today by the entire human race. The Chaos rot, the heresy
menacing the foundations of the Empire, has been extirpated from the
blasfemous world of Kasperwold. The fire of the Emperor hit
Kasperwold, purging it up to its foundations from the treason lurking
there. So the enemies of Humanity die. May the Empire last forever!"

The priest disappears, substituted by an old man, which could be a
very high ranked Adeptus Arbiter. "May always be praised the Emperor
and his wisdom! Every good citizen of the Empire must engage himself
in our battle. The flail of the Chaos will be driven back into the
Void! Some traitors have fled the Fire of the Emperor. An adequate
reward will be given to anyone catching and handing over to these
infamous corruptors, enslaved by the Heresy, and any person all
togheter with them.

The power of corruption of these perverse individuals is immense: even
a brief contact with them can be enough to contaminate the unwary. Be
proud to be allowed to serve the Emperor with your own lifes. Long
life to the Emperor!"

Even though the purification of Kasperwold has been completed, the
unerring Inquisition suspects that some individuals could be escaped
from the planet in the days immediately before the attack. Because of
this, they set 5000 IC as a reward for every person coming from
Kasperwold, living or dead, and 100 IC for each person who has had
prolonged contacts with them (of course, some sort of proof or
documentation would have to be showed).

Suddently the situation of the characters undergoes a considerable
change: their reward has vanished (togheter with their employer...).

However, even the thief can be properly considerered a runaway from
Kasperwold (and even the characters could be considered in the same
way... the GM should decide the possibility that the characters are
wanted!); his capture, therefore, can bring a good reward, without
taking into account the value of the Eclipse, which has no more an
owner. Probably the PCs will decide to continue the pursue... No
problem, but the signal of the Eclipse disappears: the thief must have
jumped again in the Warp!

Once more the PCs must jump to identify it, but this time the things
are more complicated. Indeed, after a few minuts of navigation, the
spaceships starts to tremble, while the Warp becames wildy instable;
the navigation systems fail... A storm in the Warp!

The dangers of the Chaos

The Warp isn't an empty space: it is an universe of psychic energy,
ever changing and uncontrollable; it is not deserted, because horrible
unliving creatures inhabit it, beings of pure energy, who yearn for
entering in the real space, and hate all the living creatures:
entities of pure Chaos, daemons.

Even the storms of the Warp have an alien nature: they can last for
fractions of second or forever, they can spread whole regions of space
or they can be microscopic. The one the PCs run into seems to be
unforgettable: the spaceship is frenziedly shaken , the power systems
fail. The Navigator must roll three WP test to verify how it will be
able to orient himself in the storm; for each failure, one of the
following spaceship systems fails: Warp navigation sistem, Warp jump
system, main power system (even if the secondary power system is
enough for the functioning of the spaceship). Faults can be repaired,
in some hours, by a character with the Repair Vehicles skill. Until
then however, the spaceship is unable to jump out in the normal space
or to orient in the Warp.

While the storm sweeps away the spaceship, a Warp entity assails the
PCs mind. The entity can attack one PC each time: if the PC fails a WP
test, he enters in a bloodlust, and he starts attacking his fellows.
If the PC becomes unconscious or dies, the entity can try to control
another one. After 5 failed control tries, or if all the PCs succeed in
the WP test, the entity looses strength and disappears. In the
meantime they lost the signal of the radio-beacon of the Eclipse.

Soon after the attack of the entity is finished, the Navigator
detects an hole in the Warp: since it is the only way out of the
storm, the spaceship of the PCs should head for there (otherwise, you
can suppose the storm to drag it in that direction).

It is, of course, the gate over the northern pole of the Warhammer
world, where the Haazir spaceship emerged a few before. Coming out
from there in the real space, PCs will be orbiting around a world with
clear signs of life, even though the northern region is devasted and
deserted because of the influence of the gate.

Of course, PCs will not understand it is the Warhammer world, which is
out of the imperial space: describe them as it should appear to
visitors seeing it for the first time, so that the characters do not
understand where they are.

The signal of the radio-beacon of the Eclipse is no more perceived by
the instruments; after a few minutes, looking on other frequencies
they intercept a new signal; it is a may day signal automatically sent
from the Haazir spaceship after his wreck. Triangulating and locating
the source of the signal requires however a few hours; eventually, the
PCs could locate the crash point of the capsule: over an artificial
channel, with a small village on his sides, in a region full of
forests, the clearing created by the crash to the groud of the Eclipse
can be seen...

THE EVENTS DEVELOP

The development here described is the most probable, even though, of
course, it could be different because of the actions of PCs; by
taking into account the motivations of the NPCs described above, the
GM will be able to determine the alternative developments of the plot.
Where required, notes specific for each settings have been inserted,
preceded by the initials WFRP or WH40K.

Fight in the clearing.

While the PCs are approaching, secretly roll a Hear Noise test (base
30%) for each of them. If any of them succeeds in the Test, the PCs
will become aware that near, in the brush, there is someone who is
stealthly moving; otherwise, they will be surprised by the group of
Skavens led by Ssikitz Sshirataz. The Grey Seer will cast on them (if
there is an Elf and a Dwarf in the group) Cause Animosity, otherwise a
Stealmind powered with 3 MP on the mage of the group (if there is a PC
identifiable as such), or on the most dangerous looking PC. The
Skavens, now, will attack: they just realized that the spaceship is
not what they thought and, not willing to return without anything to
their clan, want to collect some other kind of loot.

If the rat-men sustain more than the 50% of casualties, they will try
to retreat in the forest; if the Grey Seer does not die, he will look
for reinforcements (1d6 more Skavens) to prepare in the following an
ambush to the characters (free choice of the GM). You could give some
hints to the PCs, if you want, as curses of the Grey Seer, like: "No
Warpstone starstone, manhead bringbring. Killkill manthings." Once
defeated the Skavens, the PCs will be able to approach undisturbed to
the crashpoint (see the section 1 - The spaceship of Haazir, above,
for the description).

WH40K - Depending on the judgement of the GM, the PCs could find
intact components useful to repair their damaged spaceship among the
remains of the Eclipse.

On the tracks of a stranger

A PC with the Follow Trail skill can easily spot the footprints of a
man (dating back approximately twelve hours, if the PCs didn't loiter)
heading out to east. The trail can be followed also by a PC without
the skill, if he succeeds in an Observation Test with a -10% modifier.
After a few hundred of meters, the trail stops: there are clear signs
of a fight (many confused footprints, a bloodstain on the grass...);
an old rusty sword left here by the Skavens lies near, bloodstained.
From here a blood trail starts, togheter with the marks of a dragged
man, heading out to a near clearing, where stands a modest little
wooden house (see the section 2 - The house of Ilsa, above, for the
description).

WFRP - The PCs, even if they do not follow this trail, could anyhow
look for the house of Ilsa, following the indications received in the
village; in this case, they will not see the signs of the fight before
arriving to the house of the witch.

A house in the wood

WFRP - At this point, what drives the PCs should mostly be the
curiosity (there is no reason why they should be hostile). It is
possible they have been told, in the village, about Ilsa as a witch,
and therefore they are wary towards her (for the reactions of Ilsa,
see the description of this NPC previously given). While the PCs are
talking, unexpected visitors will arrive... They are the group of
bounty hunters (see below the section PREROLLED CHARACTERS) which are
pursuing Haazir. The newcomers, altough human, wear clothes of unusual
style, carry unknown weapons and speak an uncomprehensible tongue; one
of them, tall and with Elven features, talks to the PCs with metallic
voice (he is using an automatic translator; otherwise, assume that
what the Eldar says is incomprehensible until a Mage or Ilsa uses the
Gift of Tongues spell) "Do not react, primitives, and we will not harm
you. We are looking for the man precipitated here last night."

WH40K - The PCs will suspect Ilsa to host a `dangerous wanted man',
therefore they will most probably be hostile or suspicious. Just when
they come to the house, they find Ilsa involved in a heated
conversation with a group of creatures armed and quite suspicious
looking. They all, of course, speak a stranger tongue: the only way to
understand it is that Ilsa or a mage uses a Gift of Tongues spell,
unless you suppose one of the PCs to have a some sort of
translator/communicator.

What will happen now depends mostly from the reaction of the PCs and
of Ilsa (which the GM should roleplay according to the information in
the description of this NPC). Quite easily, the cultural differences
between the two groups and the difficulties of comunication will bring
towards an open fight; in this case, Ilsa will use her Blinding Flash
spell to flee.

If you don't want to push the things too far, make one of the PCs
realize the grave near the house, drawing the attention of the others.

WFRP - After having exhumed the body, the bounty hunters from the
space will realize that he is the man they were looking for, and they
will interrogate Ilsa and the characters, to understand which kind of
relations they had with him. The PCs, quite probably, will not
understand anything on what is happening; the bounty hunters, while
interrogating them, will give some explanations. The creature they
were pursuing is a dangerous criminal, a perverse slave of the Chaos,
suspected to have contacts with dark creatures of the Warp. Anyone who
had contacts with him has been contaminated and cursed, and must be
neutralized.

At this moment, Ilsa will give way and will go into hysterics, crying:
"No! You will never have my child!" and, raising the arms to the
sky, she will rouse a flash of light, which, for a moment, will blind
all (her Blinding Flash spell, indeed). Ilsa will then flee running in
the wood.

WH40K - By exhumating the body of the thief, the PCs will immediately
realize which kind of creature they are facing. The sign are light,
but clear: the hyperdeveloped skull, with promiment frontal lobes, the
almond-shaped eyes, the sharp teeth... It is a Genestealer Hybrid,
likely of fourth generation. This can help the PCs to understand what
has really happened on Kasperwold (the Empire preferred to accuse the
planet of chaotic plots, because no Imperial Governor would signal the
presence of these creatures on his planets, if the methods which the
Empire employes against them were known), and they will understand the
real nature of the threat of `contamination': the Hybrid could have
fecundated a female creature or a male host, laying the foundations
for a new invasion of this planet... By using a bio-scanner, or with a
medical examination, they can ascertain that, actually, Ilsa has been
recently fecundated. Now, of course, is the PCs' business to decide
what they do.  However Ilsa, as soon as she is in dire straits, or
even just for precaution, will use her magical powers to get out of
the questions and the `attentions' of the PCs, fleeing in the wood.

When Ilsa flees, the fantasy characters and the bounty hunters will
have to decide what to do (they can cooperate, they can fight among
themselves or other, depending on how the things have gone until this
point). In any case, it will not be difficult to find the trail of
Ilsa (automatic for a character with Follow Trail skill, otherwise an
Observation test is required). The girl fled in the thick of the
forest, but she knows the place very well; the characters will reach
her only after a few minutes, but the witch is not alone...

The hand of the Chaos

Running Ilsa has straight fallen in the arms of the last protagonist
of our story, Kurgar, named `the Good', Champion of Tzeench. The
powerful figure of the Chaos Champion (see above for his description)
towers over the girl which, exhausted, has fallen to his feet.

Among the trees, all around, the presece of humanoids shapes can be
seen, lurking.

"This woman has put herself under my protection," Kurgar will say,
drawing the sword (which immediately will start singing with a
shrieking and metallic voice a lullaby; all those present must
immediately roll a WP Test or they will become Drowsy (see WFRP, pag.
???). "Does anyone of you disagree?"

WFRP - The reaction of the bountyhunters against the Chaos Champion
will automatically be hostile; the PCs, which could not soon realize
the nature of Kurar, will have to decide where to side.

WH40K - The fantasy characters seem doubtfoul about what they should
do: they have nothing against Ilsa, and this man which they do not
know wants to protect her against these strangers from the stars. If
the PCs fight Kurgar to get back the girl, the fantasy characters can
side with them or against them, depending on development of things
until now (if you're not sure, let the spokesman PC roll a Fellowship
Test).

In the following round, the beastmen of the Chaos Champion will come
out from the wood (and, at this point, the fantasy character should
have second thoughts if they sided with him).

The battle is wild; suddenly, Ilsa will try to flee only to be grabbed
and grounded by a beastmen which, at the right moment, will come out
of the brush. Kurgar isn't a fool; if he thinks to be in danger, he
will not hesitate to leave his beastmen fighting for him, fleeing to
continue to serve the cause of the Lord of Deceit.

EPILOGUE

If the PCs fought on the side of the Chaos Champion, and he is the
winner, Kurgar will turn towards them softly: "You helped me, and I
don't want to fight with you. You can join my retinue, and fight with
me the eternal battle to which I dedicated myself. Or you can go away,
and I will not stop you. But this woman, which has a role in the plots
of my Lord, remains with me." At this point, Ilsa realizes the risk
which she is taking, and implores the PCs to save her. The PCs can
try to face Kurgar, or they can desert her in the hands of the Chaos
Champion (and, in this case, the Lord of Change will invest her
inhuman spawn, when it will be born).

If the PCs leave Ilsa in the hands of the servants of the Chaos,
Kurgar could actually let them go; however, if the Champion estimates
his forces enough to eliminate the PCs in an ambush, he will waylay
along the road to the village or to the spaceship (so the Changer of
the Ways operates...).

Finally, if the PCs save Ilsa, killing or putting Kurgar to flight,
they could be in doubt on what to do: will the fantasy characters
listen to the advices of the men from the space, to their worries
about those who had contacts with Haazir? Will they force Ilsa to abort
(since the girl, psychically influenced by the fetus, will never do it
spontaneously)? Will they kill her?

If they do not interefere with the birth, Ilsa will give birth, four
months later (Genestealers have a gestation shorter than humans) to a
kind couple of twins: one is a pure Genestealer, with his four clawed
arms, the mouth full of teeth, the short tail, the indestructible
carpace; the other is an Hybrid, still able to fertilize new human
females, to give birth to new creatures... in the thick of the wood,
who will prevent them from growing and bringing elsewhere the seed of
evil?

PREROLLED CHARACTERS

Following here we give the descriptions of characters ready to be
used, as PCs or NPCs, depending on the setting you are playing.

If you instead choose to use already existing characters, make sure
that WFRP PCs have with them a Wizard Apprentice with the Gift of
Tongues spell, and that WH40K PCs have a spaceship and one of them has
the Warp Navigation skill.

WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAY

As a group of fantasy adventurers, you can use those in The Enemy Within
or those in the Oldenhaller Contract, contained in Warhammer Fantasy
Roleplaying book. To use them as NPCs, choose a number equal to those of
the PCs, making sure to keep at least a Wizard Apprentice in the group
and adding to his spells the Gift of Tongues.

WARHAMMER 40,000

The group of bountyhunters from the space, in the case you do not use
already existing characters, is composed as follows:

Marcus Apollo Karonte

Human, Male, Explorer (Settler), 36 years.

His first love is his spaceship; he is a detached and quite peaceful
man, but he doesn't feel any special bonds of loyalty or of duty
towards his adventuring fellows.

M WS BS S T  W  I  A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
5 35 22 4 3* 7 42 1  34 35  34 34 32  30

* Free advance

Skills: Astronomy, Cure Disease, Haggle, Legend Lore, Lightning
Reflexes (already considered), Luck, Metallurgy, Operate Special
Vehicles, Orientation, Pilot Aircraft, Reading/Writing, River Lore,
Sixth Sense, Warp Navigation.

Trappings: Flak Armour, Laspistol, 3d100 Credits, Spaceship with Warp
navigation system (6 people, 5 tons loading bay).

Fate Points: 3.

Erich Deckardt

Human, male, Rogue (Bounty Hunter), 41 years old. 

He is secretly an `external' member of the Imperial Inquisition, and
he knows about the incoming distruction of Kasperwold, even though he
does not know the exact motivations. He is a cold man, completely
amoral and with no scruples, but also able of unpredictable impulses
of generosity.  His only loyalty is to his mission to extirpate the
Chaos.

M WS BS  S T  W  I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
4 35 43* 2 4  7 25 1  29 31  33 35 38  34

* Free advance

Skills: Cultural Classification, Drive Byke, Dodge Ranged Weapons,
Excellent Vision, Follow Trail, Markmanship (already considered),
Shadowing, Silent Move (rural and urban), Specialist Weapon - Web
Pistol, Strike to Injure

Trappings: Bolter, Carpace Armour, Power Sword, Web Pistol.

Fate points: 3.

Gauen Perfeuen

Gauen started following the way of the Harlequin, but his way soon
separated from those of his fellows, because of a tragic event which
he does not talk about. His manners are completely alien and sometimes
almost chaotic.

Eldar, male, Academics (Harlequin Artist), 66 years old.

M WS  BS S T  W  I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
5 51* 36 3 3  5 72 1  41 37  49 52 41  41

* Free advance

Skills: Acting, Ambidextrous, Dancing, Excellent Vision, Flee!,
Lightning Reflexes (already considered), Mimic, Music, Silent
Move (rural), Singing, Sixth Sense, Taunt.

Trappings: Laspistol, Power Sword, Refractor Field.

Fate points: 2.

Jose' Cuervo

Jose' is a pirate, but the gang he belonged to has been recently
destroyed by the Adeptus Arbiter and he has found shelter on the hive
world of Kasperwold, where he managed to make his trail to be lost. He
joined the group of bounty hunters, hoping to find a way to leave
Kasperwold, since he's afraid to remain too long in the same place.

Human, male, Rogue (Space Pirate), 27 years old.

M  WS BS  S T  W  I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel
5  30 41* 4 3  7 32 1  31 33  30 27 23  27

*Free advance

Skills: Ambidextrous, Corrupt, Disarm, Flee!, Fleet Footed (already
considered), Pilot Aircrafts, Secret language (pirates), Space
Navigation, Specialist Weapon - Flame weapon, Strike Mighty Blow,
Sixth Sense.

Trappings: Bolter, Chainsword, Flak armour.

Fate points: 3.

EOF
