Gears of Empire

by Isaac Stone

  Dirty Secrets Lunatic Eight and the Conductors know that a Vergence is coming, a moment when the presence of Wormwood causes major changes in the tellurian. The first Vergence was the initial appearance of the Wormwood Star, which brought about the emergence of sorcery, pscionics, and the beginning of the Green Age. The second occurred when the mutant races of the skaas, railith, hurdu, and the bestial gath were spawned in the wilderness of the Green Age, no other new races have evolved since that Vergence. The third Vergence has been heralded by the appearance of the stigmata in recent centuries, and will culminate very soon. Lunatic Eight is trying to shape the Vergence into bringing about the Tarrasque in order to fulfill what it believes to be the true purpose of the Wormwood Star, which is the birth of the Rampaging God. It keeps its city and its people constantly exposed to the mutagenic light of Wormwood in the hopes that the Vergence will occur within its own realm. Lunatic Eight can sense the nearness of the event, and is constantly pushing its own limits of magic and pscionics in the pursuit of the knowledge of when and where the Tarrasque will emerge.

  The Conductors are using slyphstone-based pscionic gathering machines on the railways to draw power into the rail-matrix at the center of the Torque. The more living beings that use the trains the more pscionic energy that can be gathered. They use their psi-tech to create massive pscionic power silos built into the structure of the train stations, the primary node of this artificial pscionic network is the central rail hub in Uroborous, the Torque. They strive to gather enough power to ward the entire region from the Wormwood Star using the rail system as the physical glyph for the grand ward. They race against time to complete their great work while trying to maintain the balance of power in the region, as an open war, revolution, or uprising could damage the rail ways and disrupt their network of power. This is the reason for their often pragmatic and often preemptive approach to politics and conflict, they are far from neutral and will fight to fulfill their plans and maintain their rail system.

  The Lychking of Mar-Keth is slowly building an army of Grave Guards, battle zombies, and necromancers. He plans to drive his armies across the wastelands and conquer the Zel Triumvirate. He knows that the Triumvirate is about to launch a major clandestine offensive in Uroborous, and though he suspects that cells of enemies exist within his own city walls, he has yet to find them. His agents presently wage a war with those of the Triumvirate in the streets and alleyways of Uroborous. The Zel Triumvirate, while ignorant of the impending undead siege, knows that the Lychking is attacking their agents abroad, and are aware that he knows of their plans to throw Uroborous into a civil chaos that will wreck the city from the inside. They hope to distract him with the chaos in Uroborous from their real target, the industrial wealth of Relish. The Zel-Khan and his Guild advisors believe that their vision of a region-wide untainted republic will only be possible if they can capture the technological might that resides in the bowels of Relish. Pursuant to this plan they have raised an army of troops, have placed agents within the Relish work force, and will use the chaos in Uroborous as a diversion to their massive tunneling project through the bowels of Uroborous. Once they complete their tunnel system they will trigger the civil upheaval in Uroborous, and while the Lychking, Bureaucracy, and local factions are busy fighting each other street to street the army will assault the Torque. Though the current Zel-Khan does not see the irony of the situation, the Zel invaders will be accompanied by a large mob of starving and frenzied gath, which will be released into the city as a further diversion to the assault on the Torque. According to their battle plans, once the Torque is captured the Zel army will use the rail lines to invade the city of Relish in force, disabling the train and marching straight into the city. When the invasion begins agents within the Relish population will begin a planned uprising, capture the Relish train station, and direct invading troops to key points in the city in order to overwhelm the pittance resistance given by the city’s meager militia. The fact that Relish has relied upon its importance to the region’s economy has made it weak in a military capacity, and will not be prepared for invasion from their dearest ally of Uroborous, though it will be Zel troops spilling blood that day. Though the Zel-Khan’s plan is genius, he will be quite unprepared for the horrible army that will besiege his walls and the hard fighting that will result even as he achieves victory abroad.

  Persons of Interest in Uroborous

  Angrin Var- He is a railith faction leader, and the mention of his name conjures both respect and fear in those who hear it. His personal history is a mystery, though his exploits as one of the most successful and ruthless faction leader make him a legend in his own time. He controls less territory in Uroborous than other equally powerful factions, though his influence over what ground he does claim is more potent than any of his rivals. In his districts there are agents on every corner and in every place of business, every citizen in those districts either works for him or knows someone who does. He is the bogeyman and his minions are legion. He and his warriors are fearless in battle and rarely take prisoners, though work hard to prevent conflict within their own territory, preferring to use preemptive strikes instead of counterattacks. Angrin Var gives as he gets, and many citizens in his territories occasionally find gifts of coin and goods when business is especially profitable. This not only shows his people that he is generous and understands that their support is necessary to his success, but it also shows that he keeps a close watch on those living under his influence. They are not only gifts, but also subtle warnings.

  Kelkis Morturi- The Conductor known as Kelkis Morturi was once a young skaas male who had grown up in the slums of Uroborous. As his life progressed be became adept in the arcane arts and his exploits as an associate of some of the local factions attracted the attention of his soon to be mentor, Kelkis Dahanx. The young skaas was taken to Blackwater Station, where he excelled in his studies and quickly earned his place in the ranks of the Conductors. As the years past the Conductor known as Kelkis Morturi developed a keen interest in the plight of the less fortunate members of Uroborous, and began to act as a shepherd of sorts. These days, when not attending to his other duties, Kelkis Morturi spends its time wandering about the streets of Uroborous, sometimes simply observing, others giving advise, offering fleeting moments of protection, and even at times meting out retribution to those who prey upon the weak and desperate. Though to Morturi this philanthropy is more of a hobby than a crusade, its activities have attracted people’s attention, for better and for worse.

  Thadius Glick- He is a Bureaucrat. This is the guiding principle of both his lifestyle and personality. His daily life is fairly routine in that he awakens early, signs off on a myriad of building projects and legal documents, reviewing intelligence reports on politics and faction conflicts, then spends the rest of the day attending the convoluted board meetings, committees, and public speaking events that keep the city of Uroborous running as smoothly as can be hoped. In the evenings he treats himself to fine dining and high priced prostitutes at various locations in the better parts of the city. Only occasionally is his daily routine interrupted with reports of fact.

  Sol Hatar- She is a Harrowmarsh desert dweller that came to Uroborous to seek her fortunes away from the coarse realm of Bet-Arda. She and her brother had come together, though he was killed several years ago when the two of them were caught up in a faction skirmish late one evening. The fact that she, and her brother before he was struck down, turned the tide of battle in the favor of the faction local to the area ensured her place in Uroborous. Though she had lost a brother, she soon found herself with the gratitude of Angrin Var, and while she has repeatedly refused his offers of employment has come to live in one of the districts loyal to his faction. She has found a quite lucrative career as a bodyguard for the more wealthy members of society, and having the beautiful barbarian attached to one’s retinue has become something of a status symbol in the upper echelons of high society. Sol also bears the stigmata, her tongue is nearly two feet l
ong and has small suckers on one side. Due to her upbringing in the Harrowmarsh she does not feel shame, but instead takes it as a fact of life.

  Orin- He is a desperate hurdu mercenary who has fallen on hard times, he killed the wrong man a few years ago and hasn’t been able to find work since. How was he supposed to know that the guy was the son of Yagmar Bloat, the most notorious faction leader ever to rule the streets? At least the crime boss had allowed Orin to escape with his life, so there must be at least some honor amongst the wicked. Though being blacklisted in the whole of Uroborous meant that there was nobody willing to risk Yagmar’s wrath by hiring him for the one thing he was good at, fighting. Orin is too unruly and well, hurdu, to find work in a factory or labor camp. So he did the only thing he could think of, go underground as a Guttermark. He is good at his job, though is generally the muscle of the squad to which he belongs, as command tactical decisions are not his forte, though when trouble starts he is at the front making the sorts of decisions his race excel at, who lives and who dies.

  Bastas Helfel- She is a Zel missionary living in the ghettos of Uroborous. While she originally came to the city a zealous patriot with a large coin purse and the deed to a small building purchased incognito by the Zel Triumvirate, she is now a much different person. Life in the tempest that is Uroborous has left its mark upon her, she is less outspoken in the name of the republic, and much more devious in her schemes. She has come to believe that only through coercion and social upheaval can the dream that is the republic be brought into the hives of this infernal city. In the pursuit of this goal she has begun a soup kitchen for the homeless and destitute of the city, though requires that each person who eats in her building first sit through a lecture on the virtues of the Zel republic before eating. Though it may seem only superficial, her kitchen serves three meals a day, and gives lectures to hundreds of city dwellers every week. Some are even coming back for the lectures without the promise of food, and these are the ones she targets for induction into the ranks of her supporters, an underground organization that is growing quite rapidly.

  The Homeless Man- This man is a middle-aged vagrant, homeless and desperate. He spends his days begging for food and money, all the while trying not to get caught up in the street fights and skirmishes of the factions. His personal history is one of regret, loss, heartbreak, and desolation. So long has he been a man of the streets that he has little in the way of personality or social ability, his soul has been crushed by grinding poverty and life on the mean streets of Uroborous. Recently, despite living in the city his entire life, he has developed the Wormwood stigmata. It has manifested as a change in his skin color, turning him from dirt caked brown to dirt caked and scaly yellow. His fingers have elongated and he has gained a degree of muscle mass that is disproportionate to his near total lack of nourishment. He is plagued with paradoxical nightmares of carnage and primordial wisdom, leaving him restless and fearful. Despite the rumors of the dangers of squatting so near the Torque, he often seeks shelter underneath the station. He is a man alone, and suffers the same. When and if the Vergence occurs, an event left up entirely to the game master, the Homeless Man will painfully and rapidly transform into the Tarrasque. When this happens he will be positioned right below the Torque, though by no means putting a stop to the massive street battles taking place, if anything the beast’s presence will intensify the conflict. The Zel invaders will have already wrested the station from the Conductors after a spectacular and bloody struggle, and will be proceeding along the Relish line to attack the island city when the Tarrasque rises. Whether or not the Tarrasque takes the time to thwart the Zel invasion is left up to the discretion of the game master. The Tarrasque will begin rampaging through the city, destroying anything in its path, and devouring much of what lies before it. It heads directly out of the city, and as it does inadvertently pulls down the magical wards that protect the city from Wormwood’s light. It will then proceed towards the stone building in which Lunatic Eight resides. It will pass directly through the pitched battle being waged at the walls of the Zel Triumvirate’s most southern city-state. The Tarrasque will destroy much of both the Lychking’s army and the Zel defenders, as well as tear down the magical wards of that city’s walls as it continues on its way into the Harrowmarsh. Lunatic Eight will have anticipated this and has commanded that the city of Bet-Arda be emptied. The Tarrasque will diminish in size as it nears the green stone building. When it finally enters the open doorway it will be small enough to fit inside. Once inside the building it rapidly begins to meld with the stone as it walks, slowly being consumed by the building itself. Lunatic Eight witnesses this event from inside the building and is not attacked.

  Bestiary

  Tarrasque, the Rampaging God- The Tarrasque makes it lair in the stone building that forms the central building of Bet-Arda and the primary residence of Lunatic Eight. The beast only emerges infrequently, usually no more than once a century, beginning after its emergence in this campaign. Instead of leaving its lair to attack at random, the beast’s pattern is much more straightforward. It will spontaneously appear from within the body of a living being, much in the same way as is done in the campaign, and once manifested it will move directly towards the building in Bet-Arda. The Tarrasque will not deviate from its path unless sufficiently distracted, though even that will not last long, as the beast’s primary motivation is destroying and eating everything in its path towards Bet-Arda. Each time it returns to its resting place, Lunatic Eight will be there to bear witness as both it and the Tarrasque fulfill their cosmic roles.

  Gath- Some argue that the gath are not actually a mutant race, but are more akin to a particular strain of mutated beast, though the gath do display a physiological cohesion and similarity with other mutant races that prevents most scholars from dismissing them as merely products of the wilderness. The gath have pale gray skin and in the fashion of the other mutant races are long of limb disproportionate to their body weight. Their arms are several feet in length and have a second elbow, allowing them a much wider range of movement that most other bipeds. Their arms end with three wide fingers, the insides of which are filled with sharp spines. The gath typically move in bands of two to three individuals, though there are tales of adventurers seeing as many as a dozen acting as a group to bring down an unusually large beast in the wastelands. They are highly aggressive though tend to hunt beings much smaller than themselves, though in times of great hunger or stress they will kill much larger prey. Their primary method of attack is to ambush their prey, catching them up with their long spiked arms and holding them close while they strip flesh from the captive with their wickedly toothed maw. Size: Medium, Hit Dice: 5d8+3, Initiative: +4 (Improved Initiative), Speed: 30ft, climb 10ft, AC: 17 (+1 Dex, +6 natural), Attacks: 2 arm grasping attack, +6 melee, Damage: grasp attack 1d4+3, bite attack 1d4, Reach: 6ft by 6ft/9ft, Special Attacks: bite if grasp attack damaged in previous round 2d6+1, Saves: Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +4, Abilities, Str 16, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 5, Wis 13, Cha 7, Skills: climb +10, hide +5, spot +10, Feats: Haste, Improved Grab (only instead of constrict, it allows for the special bite attack).

  Clockwork Zombies- These undead constructs are the products of the fusion of technology and necromancy within the bowels of the necrotic factories of the Lychking of Mar-Keth. First the king’s necromancers take a cadaver and hollow it out, removing the vital organs and replacing them with a paste made from a mixture of magical plants, metals, and a small sliver of slyphstone. Once the cadaver is full of the paste, the necromancer affix a small coal burning motor into the center of the chest, the paste rapidly hardens around the engine, holding in place. Then the corpse is sewn closed as more enchantments are said over its body, activating the now hardened magical material inside the cadaver, as the magic flows into the substance it connects with the bones, muscle fibers, and nerve tissues of the corpse. When engine is turned on and has coal to burn the energy from the fuel is transformed by the magical substance into a useable form for the body of the
zombie, thus animating it into a clockwork servant. If not given instructions the clockwork zombie will simply stand erect until its engine runs down, then it will collapse. Instructions are transmitted to the zombie in the form of a very primitive punch card system. The necromancers and engineers of Mar-Keth have devised a cogitator that is incorporated into the coal burning engine, and using flat metal punch cards that have specific task instructions etched into them, the user is able to in effect “program” the zombie for a particular task. When a customer purchases the clockwork zombie it comes with a packet of several punch card instructions, usually simple tasks like janitorial duties, manual labor, or courier service. New punch cards can be created by persons not connected to the factories of Mar-Keth, though these people are often difficult to find and provide their services at a high price. Clockwork zombies can be programmed for any simple task, provided it is one that does not require fine motor skills, critical thinking, or the ability to rapidly respond to changes in the task. There are gladiatorial zombies and other more specialized constructs, all of which operate on a similar principle. Though when a person needs a zombie that is capable of combat, instead of paying the exorbitant prices for war-zombies in Mar-Keth, most people simply affix an assortment of hooks and blades to their labor zombie and use their ‘sentry’ punch card. Imagine the carnage that would result from a labor zombie bedecked in sharp blades being told by a terrorist to ‘guard’ a busy intersection from intruders. As to the game mechanics of the clockwork zombies, they are usually medium size, and function like zombies as shown on page 192 of the 3rd Edition Monster’s Manual. The one modification of the zombie is that unlike the Monster’s Manual version, clockwork zombies may take full actions, and only suffer the standard partial action disadvantage if they are particularly decomposed before being turned into undead constructs. Their method of combat is also as presented in the manual, though additional damage modifiers should be applied for whatever blades or hooks are affixed to the construct should its owner choose to do so.