Meanwhile, a group of Storm Knights followed up on a lead to the whereabouts of Mobius' father, Amat-Ra. Find out more in these adventures, which were not played at GenCon. Amat-Ra was found, having changed Inclination to Good, and he had been curing Comaghaz victims with the Egyptian miracle Great Heal. After bringing Amat-Ra to the Akashans, Rotan Ulka made this speech:
"You have done my people the ultimate service," says Rotan Ulka. "Now, with the help of Amat-Ra and his followers, we can return to our galaxy with the cure we swore to find. His Gods will become a welcome part of our world."
"I know that many of your people resent our lack of action against the High Lords that have invaded your world. I understand your feelings and offer my condolences for the loss of so many lives."
"But we had to take this course, to appear more paralyzed by the Comaghaz than we truly were, because your enemies would expect us to act against the False Pope Jean Malraux and his realm. We could not do this, because Malraux has done more to save your Earth than you could possibly imagine."
"The man you know as the Cyberpope was once a stormer, a great hero for his world. Like most stormers, he was slain in battle against a High Lord. But his soul was sent to drift through the Cosmverse until he was reborn on the world called Magna Verita. Confused by his journey, he was approached by the Darkness Device before he regained his memory. He began a High Lord and caused a greal deal of suffering across many worlds."
"But one day, when the Nameless One came and threatened to destroy all, a lost part of him was touched by the one called Bryce with the Heart of Coyote. He released his possibility energy gained through countless conquests and it was duplicated infinitely, changing the one cosmverse into the Infiniverse."
"We knew that one day, Jean Malraux must finish what he has begun. If we avoided him, his paranoid comrades would take notice and assassinate him."
"I have given the matter a great deal of thought, and I hereby decree that our Reality trees cannot be used to save your world. Your world is not prepared to accept them, and they would be the ultimate downfall of your biosphere. Your people will be saved another way. I know this fact, although I cannot know the means."
"Now the last days of this conflict have arrived, and we must do our part in it. All Akashans and the client races are ordered to their lightships immediately, to prepare for departure."
With this, Rotan Ulka leaves the hall. People start scrambling around to gather their posessions and travel to the ship. The Nazca lines throughout Peru and the Reality trees at Cuzco pulse with activity as Akashans teleport to their lightships. On his command, a psychic signal is send out and all reality trees are destroyed. The Jakatts in South America are protected as they revert to Core Earth, due to the possibility energy spread to them by storytellers.
After a harrowing journey, the Storm Knights who journeyed to Orrorsh report back via the Group Power herald. They tell that the liberators are actually the Army of Light. They are spreading the (true) tale that Honor has redeemed a monster from Corruption and that others can also be freed. The Ecology of Fear has collapsed in civil war as some monsters defected to the side of light, and the Storm Knights had a hand in destroying Heketon's dimthreads to other cosms, its survival strategy. Tolwyn's army is beginning a campaign towards the Maelstrom bridge to Magna Verita, on the way to a final confrontation with the Warrior of the Dark.
Dramatic. The Storm Knights in South America are informed that they must deliver an evacuation signal to French Resistance fighters in Avignon. The Knights from Los Angeles or Tharkold pick up this information over StormNet and make their way to Babel Central.
The Knights must make a GodNet run through the Holy Exchanges, or even a Cathedral to rescue the Cyberpope himself. A dimensional portal can be opened to let the entire party storm the GodNet. Use the map of the GodNet, with some characters trying a frontal assault and/or others making runs through less guarded exchanges.
No Conflict. Within hours, the lightships lift off simultaneously. As Ulka gives the signal, the nose of the lightship begins to crackle with energy. A pulse of light lances from the ship and disappears over the horizon. Moments later, the party receives word from Cyberfrance that the electromagnetic pulse was reflected through Firmament (destroying it) and down to Avignon, completely destroying the GodNet.
Intelligence reports that the Darkness Device has been destroyed. Then the lightships rise into space and begin the journey home.
"Ebenescrux!" Malraux screams. "I remember now! You deceived me, and for my blind ambition entire worlds have been devoured! No more!” His VX image leaps at the cross and grapples it. Malraux is derezzed and the DD cannot move, or everyone vanishes in a flash of white light.
Cut to outside the GodNet, where Mara holds a scrap of brown cloth in her flesh hand. She remembers tearing it from Malraux's robe as she pressed the experience chip into his flesh. "I'm sorry," she says as she concentrates and pulls Malraux's soul into the Void with the Send power. Malraux will appear at the end, but will not be able to return to Kadandra with Mara. Instead, his soul will wander the Void, looking for a new host.
Dramatic. The destruction of the GodNet has major repercussions throughout the rest of “cyberspace”. Somewhere in Paris, “the Hunchback of Notre Dame”, a Kanawa Agent, dies in the VX reality and his body is a vegetable, just like hundreds of other CyberFrench casualties. His death triggers an electronic “last will and testment”. This is just one of several copies of a special program written by the Hunchback (most of them were destroyed with the GodNet).
This program resides on the StormNet, however, and within seconds it is propagating itself to all users of the Net.
StormNet Item #9999ZZ
The following is a detailed financial statement of Kanawa Financial Services. This statement contains forecasting information that indicates a clear intent to undermine the economy of a client market, which is a violation of Triad Directive 2831 Article C.
This information was provided by the head of Hantu Limited, who has been collaborating with the Guildmaster to operate throughout the world. A long list of financial data follows.CONFIDENCE: <
>
STORMNET SECURITY HAS BEEN BREACHED. INITIATING SHUTDOWN IN 60 SECONDS.
Skill: business
Difficulty: 18
Any Result: There is enough financial information here to completely expose 3327s illegal junk bond scheme. When word of this evidence gets out, the Japanese economy completely collapses and for the first time in history there are uncontrolled riots on the streets of Tokyo.
Each Storm Knight has one chance to decipher the item and forward it to the authorities on Marketplace (through a clandestine Kashi link to StormNet) before 3327 completely shuts down all communications over the Maelstrom Bridge. Although 3327 controls the other two members of the Triad, by law they will have no choice but to arrest all of 3327’s clones and force him to make restitution for the entire economy of Japan, untold trillions of yen, or be executed. The law is the law.
Storm Knights searching the Kanawan information services (remember, StormNet is about to shutdown) will locate a video feed of one of 3327’s clones in the penthouse office of the Kanawa building. As 3327 is shredding hardcopy and corrupting his optical drives with a hand laser, the elevator doors across the room open and 3326 enters the room. As a prop, open up a Torg comic book to a picture of Genichi Nishio.
“It is over, brother.” Says 3326. “Come with me and you can still escape. But you must leave that accursed computer behind. You can never achieve balance until you are free of it.”
“Ungrateful bastard!” declares 3327. “I protected you for years. I arranged a high-paying position with no work, no deadlines, no competition. But you betray me and work against me.
“I did not betray you, brother.” Says 3326. “I kept Shinjaro from revaling your secret because I wanted you to see reason before it is too late. Now we can never return to the world where we were born. We, the two most powerful people in this country, are now homeless.”
Enraged, 3327 screams “LIAR!” and lunges for the drawer. He pulls out an automatic pistol just as his brother produces one himself. They both open fire in a wild, untrained manner. Shards of body armor are torn away from each man as they are sent sprawling by the bullets, but they get up and continue firing.
3326 runs out of bullets first and his brother charges him, yelling. 3326 kicks 3327’s gun away and jumps up on the table while still reloading. 3327 follows him and 3326 sidesteps, jams the gun into his brother’s abdomen and fires repeatedly. Giving up on this clone, 3327 is knocked through the window and plunges over a hundred stories to the street below.
The Land Above is also be pushed back below, but this is a small victory as it becomes evident that Baruk Kaah's stelae are not burned-out as it was believed. The mountains surrounding the realm begin to lower, and lightning springs from the mountaintops into the roiling cloudbanks, dancing across the clouds toward a single point in the realm.
The energy focuses over Kaah and his Darkness Device, as he releases the possibilities from the Ohibi shard himself and combines the physical energy with his own perverted faith in Lanala. Lanala is summoned forth, and everyone in the Realm (or any Storm Knight with Faith) is struck by the vision of Lanala's appearance before Kaah. "Come to me, my love!" commands Kaah. "We will be one, with dominon over worlds uncounted!"
People see a young girl in the corner of their eyes, but Kaah is blinded by ambition. The girl is holding a leaf in her hands. As Kaah reaches out and his claws touch Lanala's ethereal form, the girl tears the leaf in half. In the ultimate double-cross from beyond the grave, 3327 knew and did not tell Kaah that he could not sort the possibilities himself, to assure his success. Kaah's body and soul is consumed in flame, and the uncontrolled possibilites are spread through the realm, comsuming Rec Pakken and the stelae and saving the transformed people of the realm.
Storm Knights who make a faith or reality total of 15 notice a teardrop of blood roll down the girl's cheek just before the vision ends.
Standard. Read the following to the players:
You arrive just as the sun is rising over a field north of Avignon. Mist flows across the field until dispersed by the light. Birds can be heard singing, belying the tension in the air.
The Army of Light has the high ground, having marched down the Maelstrom Bridge from Magna Verita and liberating the city. The bridge was destroyed and the Grand Cathedral of Avignon has been sacked by a more modern group of French Resistance fighters. Archbishops and Cardinals have been taken prisoner, to stand before a war crimes tribunal. Now Tolwyn of House Tancred looks over the army she has led across two worlds to this place, for a final confrontation with her mortal enemy.
Kurst is with her, looking more distinguished in a khaki tunic and pants than you expected. The former servant of the Gaunt Man seems to have truly been rescued from the eternal cycle of Corruption. Kurst has a placid but slightly sad look on his face as he stands beside Tolwyn.
The Storm Knights may discuss war plans with Tolwyn and Kurst. The Army of Light numbers almost 100,000, including recruits from Gaea and Magna Verita. Scouting parties estimate the approaching Army of the Dark at 80,000 to as high as 150,000. A more accurate estimate is unavailable because Core Earth reconaissance satellites were giving data to Kanawa; satellites passing over this area were destroyed in a sharp orbital battle.
There is also the issue of air superiority. The Wild Hunt has suffered many casualties and Wotan has removed his support of the Warrior of the Dark, returning to his own plane of existence on Aysle. But NATO leadership is locked in a fierce dispute over whether or not to provide assistance. While Germany and some other countries want to bombard the Dark forces, England and France want both armies eliminated as a threat to their stability. There are some more enlightened types in the French Resistance, however, and they have given a gift to the Storm Knights: four hand-held Stinger surface-to-air missiles. The armies of Tharkold and the Cyberpapacy have been defeated, but if any aircraft survived they would be undetectable by Core Earth radar. The Knights will have to be alert for airstrikes. The area remains under Cyberpapal reality until the stelae can be found and removed.
First you hear a faint sound in the distance. Then the first line of the Army of the Dark appears over the horizon. Gnolls, orcs, goblins, and other half folk make up the line, wearing hides and carrying spears. Then you see the cavalry; knights in black armor on ebony horses, as if the Wild Hunt had returned. Metal carriages, for the war mages, and cannon roll behind them, and in the center of it all rides the Warrior of the Dark, a woman dressed in black armor and riding a massive war mount. She seems to be towering above even the tallest giant, though surely that must be a trick of your eyes.
The entire procession rolls forward with a deafening clamor, over the rolling hills toward the army. When they come within a few hundred yards, they slowly come to a halt. The Warrior of the Dark rides forth and passes through the line. Tolwyn and Kurst ride out to meet her, and they stop at a hundred feet from each other. You can see a small pack, filled by something, on the Warrior's steed. The field is absolutely silent.
"Tolwyn, Knight Protector of House Tancred! Your Queen demands your service!" shouts the Warrior of the Dark.
"I recognize thee not as my Queen!" retorts Tolwyn. "I recognize only House Ardinay as the rightful ruler of my people!"
"Then you shall recognize me, for I am the last of House Ardinay!"
"You lie!" says Tolwyn. "You have no house and no name!"
"You are wrong. The People's House was not completely destroyed, and now I am the last of the line," declares Ardinay as she reaches into the pack. From it, she pulls the head of the last Speaker of the People, Pella Ardinay. "I have returned to reclaim my house, my lands, and to unite our world under the agreement you swore to uphold five centuries ago." A crown appears on Ardinay's head, made of obsidian.
Tolwyn is stunned and confused. Before she can reply, an anti-tank rocket streaks out towards the High Lord (unless a player wants to take some action, in which case you may hold off the attack). She is knocked from her mount (killing the horse) but absorbs the blow and the battle begins. Drakanacus directly imposes its reality on the area, cutting off her and Tolwyn (Storm Knights must make a reality total of 15 to pass through the storm front into the pure zone) and putting the battlefield in a Dominant zone of Ayslish reality, cutting it off from the outside world for now.
The Storm Knights can join in the fighting outside (make up some attacks to throw at them each turn) or penetrate the inner storm and fight the High Lord. Tolwyn only fights to defend herself unless the Knights can persuade her to doubt Ardinay. This fight is to the end, with Kurst fully expecting to fulfill his destiny from the third novel: dying while fighting alongside a friend. The High Lord is telling the truth, of course; there wouldn't be any drama otherwise.
Regardless of the outcome, Tolwyn and Kurst have a child safely hidden away on Aysle cosm, with as much right to rule as Queen Ardinay. Get ready for another War of the Crowns.
As the Warrior of the Dark is killed, her body rapidly decomposes into nothing and the crown falls to the ground. The reality storm dissipates and the forces of the Dark fall into disarray. Suddenly, one of the Storm Knights gets a call from a now-functioning radio: two Fighter-bombers are closing in on the battleground. Any attack now would slaughter both Light and Dark forces.
The players have 6 turns to accomplish a Dramatic Skill resolution, steps A, B, with a heavy weapons check of 12 each time, to ready each Stinger missile and fire. The pilot ejects from a plane that is hit; they are renegade English pilots flying F-4 Phantoms. If a plane is missed, each group of characters is hit on a 1-5 (1-9 if both planes make their run) for a damage value of 26 plus or minus a Bonus number.