Rapture

Rapture
The End of Days is jusT the beginning

theological sci-fi horror: J.Sweeney

 The end
Rapture of days
COLONIAL DEED
... (c) 2011, Joe Sweeney

Author
... Joe Sweeney

Quality Control
... Ray Duell

Infographics
... Kascha Sweeney
... Mark Person

Test SubjectS
...Joshua (Trekkie) Edwards
... Ray (Maxtac) Duell
... Paul (El Magnifico) Worden
... Michael (The Mad Heng) Porteous

Clearance
With thanks to the committee
members of SydCon and EyeCon:
keeping the dreams alive, year after
year.
... Angela Sweeney
... Bo Jonak
... David Byrne
... Garry Cross
... Grant Chapman
... Heather McGreal
... Ian Coleman
... James Layton
... Luke Strotz
... Nick Irving
... Paul Angell
... Philippa Borland
... Sasha Kuklik
... Tony Calder

1
 Contents Contents
The End of Days 4 Smaller groups 52
Freepers 52
Go forth & Multiply 6 United Colonial Marines 53
The Commandments 10 Colonial Corporations 55
The Ebb and Flow of Play 11 Galactix Property Ltd 55
Challenges 13 Yanky United 56
Unopposed challenges 13 Conglom-O 56
Opposed challenges 15 Sevado Planetary Holdings 56
Remove duplicates 16 BiBi Potency Club Inc 57
Counting successes 16 CRyZtAL SkyZ 57
More than two sides 17 Happy Cat Industries 58
Adjusting dice Pools 17 MentAI 58
Fear 22 Transport Dynamics 58
Aditi Agritech International 59
Damage 24 Kestral Intervention Network 59
Splash Damage 26
Incapacitation 28 The Colonies 60
Earth Analogues 61
A cast of thousands 30 Terraforming 61
Adding to dice pools 31 Orbitals 63
Too many dice! 32 Space Hulks 63
Extras with guns 32
Factions 64
Experience 33 Xeno Rationalism 65
The sweet release of death 33 Militant Atheism 65
Paganism 65
Madness 36 Religious Liberalism 66
The Universe of Rapture 40 Biblical Inerrancy 66
A future history 41 Biblical Fundamentalism 67
Humanist Emancipationism 67
Theological Topology 44 Theistic Satanism (Primordial) 68
Theistic Satanism (Reverent) 68
Beast of Nations 46
Atheistic Satanism 68
Sino Block 46
North American Alliance 48
Southern Union 49
Democratic Russian Union 50
Indomerican Collective 51

2
Technology 69 Chameleon 99
Military Gear 72 Can Opener 99
Computers 74 Charge 100
Gravity Drives 76 Dangerous 100
Starships 77 Death from Above 100
Ships of Note 78 Flesh Shredder 100
Fly 100
Foes of Man 80 Genetic Thief 100
Unclean Spirits 81 Infectious 100
Temptation Spirits 82 Killer 100
Madness Spirits 82 Like a Fish 100
Disease Spirits 83 Loves the Dark 100
Possession Spirits 83 Out of the Shadows 100
The Legion 84 Pack Leader 100
Satan 85 Panic Inducing 100
The Fallen 85 Runner 101
Nephilim 86 Scary as hell 101
Children of the Nephilim 86 Slimy 101
Hellspawn 87 Stealthy 101
Lost Souls 87 Susceptible 101
Carriers 88 Thick Skinned 101
Walking Dead 89 Toxic 101
Cultists 89 Vampire 101
Aliens Predators 89 Vandal 101
The Dragons of Brilliance 90 Wasp 101
Shark Gods 91
Cannibahls 92 The Rapturous Game Master 102
Insane Artificial Intelligence 93
Story Seeds 108
Powers 94 Claustrophobia 108
Dark Powers 95 Flood 110
Temptation 95 Shattered CRyZtAL 111
Disease 95 Outsiders 111
Curse 96 Plague 112
Madness 96 Suffer the children 114
Possession 97 Cabin fever 115
Harm 97
Summon 97
Creature Powers 98
Acid Blood 98
Acute Senses 98
Amphibious 98
Back from the Dead 99
Bullet Proof 99

3
 The End of Days
The End of Days
Welcome to the end of days... In man’s arrogance, he had built
ladders to the very heavens themselves,
After centuries of war and strife, seven scattering the spark of humanity among
great nations arose to enter an uneasy the stars. These far flung few who
peace. Humanity was once again remain, forgotten by God, or perhaps
rebuilding, with science blossoming given a second chance, now face a
and new discoveries heralding in a true future where good and evil have come
renaissance. into sharp relief; where science has
proven to be a false idol, yet one that is
Then gates of Heaven and Hell vital for survival.
opened… and God’s plan for Man was
made manifest. Those that walked the With communications between
Earth with a righteous spirit and clean colonies severed, no one knows for
souls were taken into the loving arms sure what has befallen humanity. The
of the Lord. Those who skulked with isolated pockets of human colonists
the devil, ignoring God’s divine laws, are returning to the old ways – political
were cast aside to face the horrors squabbling, superstition and factional
awaiting all sinners. As promised, the infighting are on the rise. As a tide
Earth burned. The clouds evaporated. of distrust rises among the survivors,
The rule of man, of reason and science, unexplainable horrors are emerging.
came to an end. Things are coming…

But that was on Earth. The legions of Satan are real...

And not all of Mankind was on Earth. And they are coming for you...

4
Rapture, The End Of Days, is first women who were unlucky enough to
be in space when the Rapture came.
and foremost a role-playing game of
temptation, horror and sacrifice. Rap- Your heroes will not know what has
ture also leans strongly towards the befallen Earth, and even if they do,
narrative style of role-playing games - they may disagree with the meaning
it focuses on story, characters and plot of it. Factional in-fighting is rife and
over game mechanics. once theological ideas are becoming a
matter of life and death... and beyond.
Its rules reflect these two facts. Gamers
who play up their mortal hero’s flaws A sister book details how you can play
and sacrifice them in honest, true legions, hunting the last of humanity
and biblical ways in the quest for whiles struggling to claw out a final
redemption are rewarded. place in eternal damnation.

Unlike most role-playing games, This rule book also assumes you know
combat (or any other situation) is a little about role-playing games and
not resolved using a blow-by-blow have played one or two with your
mechanism. Instead a holistic dice roll friends. We are not going to delve into
is used to resolve big chunks combat, the usual diatribe about ‘interactive
often involving multiple participants. theatre’ or ‘social story telling.’ If you
This is partly because many of the have never played a role-playing game
battles involved dozens, if not legions, before, then this is not the place to start.
of characters, but also because we want Instead, you may wish to obtain a copy
to keep Rapture focused on characters of the introductory fantasy role-playing
and plot. game called StoryWeaver - visit www.
storyweaver.com for details.
How you narrate the results of such
battles is what makes this approach We hope you enjoy Rapture, The End
work. Of Days. We’ve put a lot of time and
love into this game, and attempted to
This book contains the rules for provide a game that injects a suitable
playing Mortals - the brave men and dark and tense mood into your role-
playing experience.

5
 Go forth
Go forth &
and multiply
Multiply
Character creation in Rapture is tribute. A value of 2 is considered
very quick and easy. This is partly normal for most people. 5 would
because it is a narrative game where be considered world-class.
you can fill out the specifics of your
character as you go... but also because 4. Add experience. If you are creat-
you’ll probably need to write up at ing a character to replace one that
least one or two characters during died a glorious death, you get an
each game session, as most heroes’ life extra point to spend on attributes.
expectancy is limited. This bonus is accumulative. So if
two of your previous characters
To create a character, grab of a copy died while saving mankind (or by
of the Rapture Mortal Character Sheet giving into the forces of darkness
and follow these ten easy steps: for dramatic effect) then you will
have 2 extra points to spend on
1. Decide on the gender, age and your new character’s attributes.
name of your character. These will
not impact the game mechanics in 5. Select three heroic skills for your
any way, but they may impact the character. These will be the skills
story. that you excel in. Choose wisely.
During the game, these skills will
2. Choose a profession for your char- give you bonuses that may deter-
acter. Any profession is fine. Be mine whether your hero lives or
creative - there may be entirely dies!
new jobs in the far future. Just
remember that this profession will 6. Choose a political alliance. Your
help your hero successfully per- character will be aligned to one of
form any task that would be asso- the big five geopolitical powers, or
ciated with that profession. perhaps one of the smaller colonial
groups or even one of the colonial
3. Select your character’s attributes. corporations. In some game ses-
You have 8 points to spend be- sions, your Game Master may dic-
tween your Mens (Mind), Corpus tate your character’s political alli-
(Body) and Potentia (Soul). Each ance. See “The Beast of Nations”
attribute must have at least 1 point on page 46 for details on the various
and no more than 5. The higher the colonial political powers and cor-
number, the easier it is for you to porations.
do things associated with that at-

6
7. Select a faction. The Rapture is a phrases as a potential source of
time of confusion and uncertainty. temptation. It must also be very
Humanity has a knack for filling specific. Good examples include:
in the unknown with religion and “Gain a promotion to Scout Com-
belief, and these quickly form into mand Captain,” “Make James fall
faction and ideological conflict. in love with me,” “Get ten million
See “Factions” on page 64 for details dollars,” and “Buy my freedom
on available factions. from the DRU debt.” Your charac-
ter’s personal goal can give a big
8. Write down a Redemption Task for one-off bonus during the game, but
your character. This is a task that it can also open your character’s
you need to perform in order to soul to temptation and corruption.
redeem some secret sin or hidden Choose wisely… how much is
shame from your character’s past. your soul worth?
It should be relatively specific.
Examples: “Protect the children 10. Finally, the Game Master will give
at any cost”, “Return the Crucifix you a secret Political Instruction.
of Eccaslicoma to Earth,” “Never This is a task that your superiors
betray a friend again.” Remem- want you to achieve. It can also
ber, this task is essential for you to give you a big one-off bonus dur-
clear your conscience and restore ing the game session.
the blemish on your soul. This re-
demption task can provide a sig- That’s it. You are ready to go. There
nificant one-time bonus during the is no need to create a deep character
game session. history at this stage. As you play
Rapture, you will create and narrate
9. Write down a Personal Goal for your character’s history on the fly, and
your character. This is a burn- weave it into the story.
ing desire they have and must be

7
 Select a

Raputre
profession.
Name your

e
character.

pTutr
Ra Grease Monke
y
o
Player Susa
n Smith ineering
mechanics, eng
Spend 8 points Name Pvt Ra
nesh ‘Hamme
r’
o Hacker
computing, secu
rity
Grunt
Profession UCM
between the 1 dice to the dice pool whe
Add
profession
n using
o Brainiac
science, analysis
, R&D

three attri- o Quack

medical
Attributes Gunslinger
butes, plus any Corpus (Bodons
Phyical acti
X…
y) ‚ƒ„
ooooo
max
current
X
o shooting
Select 3
Bruiser
experience you Mens (Mind) ‚ Xƒ„… max
o fighting
Flyboy heroic skills.
Thinking & rese
arch
ooooo current
o
have gained Potentia (Souer X ƒ„…
l) ‚
max
X
o Wh
piloting
eelman
ooooo current
through death.
pray
Tests of will & s 1 point
driving
ts to above (plu
Allocate 8 poin glorious death). Used
ious o Gumshoe stigation
for each prev research, inve
s for dice pools.
as basi
o Politician f
displomacy, bluf
‚ƒ„… God Botherer
Fear
Add fear dice
to the dice pool
for any
ct feat dice
X
o ion, prayer
theology, relig

Create a
actions. Dedu
fight or flight s actions.
from the dice
pool for all Men
o The Boss uracracy, law
leadership, bea g
whenever usin
skills.+1 dice
personal goal
e
Select three once per gam
+3 dice per skill
the skill and
Personal Goal e dice to the dice pool session.

ion to heavy
to add attribut

for each game

session
Use once per
Get a promot
ialist
weapons spec tory & Notes
session. Goal
Inven
Wife last seen
getting into
Redemption pool
th Dr Klaus
transport wi
to the dice
attribute dice
d
your wife an
to add
acting weird
session
Use once per
Find out how Ottoman. CO
ve nge?
Dream up a child die d. Re
around Med
ic?

task to redeem Factional Go

Use once per
al
session to add
attribute dice
to the dice pool

nduism Rail gun! 3d6

extra da m! 1
CO to Hi
some past sin. Convert the shot only.
r. 1pt
Combat armo

ction
Political Instru to the dice pool
attribute dice
ring
e CO is pilfe
session to add
Use once per
e th
Find evidenc
Think of a food supplie
s
yweav er.com
ey. www.stor
factional goal Copyright 201
1 Joseph Sween

to achieve each
game session. Jot down personal
Your Game
items, as you think
Master will give
of them during the
you a secret task.
game.

8
RapTutre
Player
Name
Profession
Raputre o Grease Monkey
mechanics, engineering

Add 1 dice to the dice pool when using o Hacker

computing, security
profession
o Brainiac
science, analysis, R&D
Attributes
o Quack
Corpus (Body) ‚ƒ„… max medical
Phyical actions
ooooo current o Gunslinger
shooting
Mens (Mind) ‚ƒ„… max
Thinking & research o Bruiser
ooooo current fighting
Potentia (Soul) ‚ƒ„… max o Flyboy
Tests of will & prayer piloting
ooooo current
Allocate 8 points to above (plus 1 point o Wheelman
for each previous glorious death). Used driving
as basis for dice pools.
o Gumshoe
research, investigation

Fear ‚ƒ„… o Politician

displomacy, bluff
Add fear dice to the dice pool for any
fight or flight actions. Deduct feat dice o God Botherer
from the dice pool for all Mens actions. theology, religion, prayer

o The Boss
Personal Goal leadership, beauracracy, law
Use once per session to add attribute dice to the dice pool Select three skills.+1 dice whenever using
the skill and +3 dice per skill once per game
session.

Redemption Goal Inventory & Notes

Use once per session to add attribute dice to the dice pool

Factional Goal
Use once per session to add attribute dice to the dice pool

Political Instruction
Use once per session to add attribute dice to the dice pool

Copyright 2011 Joseph Sweeney. www.storyweaver.com

9
 The
The commandments
Commandments

10
Like all role-playing games, Rapture present) and outlining who is doing
what as the scene opens. Often this
has a Game Master (or GM), who
builds the initial plots and world set- narration sets up the story for potential
ting, and a group of players who take challenges that must be resolved.
on characters. Together they jointly It should be noted that the Game Master
weave a story, flesh out plot complica- does not - and should not - describe
tions and resolve outcomes of actions. every minute detail of the scene. The
A set of rules – we call them Command- little details are best added by the
ments – provide structure for describ- players as their heroes engage in the
ing the characters and determining the scene. For example, if a scene takes
outcomes of actions during the game. place in a hospital ward, there is no
Rapture is a ‘rules light’ game. The need for the Game Master to describe
focus is very much on creating moody, every single medical instrument to
dark, cinematic horror. We’d rather the players. This means that later in
cause your skin to crawl than give you the scene, a player can state that his
pages of weapon descriptions. The or her hero is grabbing a hypodermic
general rule of thumb is, if something gun filled with a powerful neural
sounds reasonable to do or pushes tranquilizer, or perhaps ripping the fire
the story in an interesting direction, extinguisher from the wall for use as a
you really shouldn’t need to roll dice. weapon! For the Game Master, the art
Just get on with building tension and, is to create an introduction to the scene
maybe, with the grace of God, your that is evocative, but that still gives the
characters may see out another day. players plenty of scope to add to the
scene as the action heats up.

The Ebb and Once the introduction is complete,

players may describe their hero’s
Flow of actions. When characters attempt to do
Play something that is normal - like walking
across the road or even piloting a
A game of Rapture takes place as a
series of scenes. Much like the scenes shuttle down to an airfield on a peaceful
of a movie, or the chapters of a book, colony - no dice roll is needed. We
scenes in Rapture take place within a can assume that the heroes are at least
specific location and involve a specific competent enough to get through the
problem or situation that must be day without random accidents (unless
addressed. the Game Master wants an accident in
the scene, in which case, it’s going to
When creating an adventure, the happen no matter what!)
Game Master will begin each scene
with a narrative, briefly describing the During each scene at least one situation
physical environment, telling you who will arise that could be a turning point
is in the scene (which players’ heroes in the story. For example, can the ace
and which non-player characters are pilot bring the burning wreck of the
shuttle in for a crash landing without

11
 killing half the passengers, can one of failures; and the Game Master may
the heroes convince the colonists to veto any addition to the story that the
abandon their homes and join in the player describes in his or her narration.
fight, or will the UCM troops be able
to defeat the giant flaming demon? Once a challenge’s narration is
complete, the scene may continue if
These situations are called challenges, more challenges are required, or the
and they are resolved by rolling a scene may end and play moves on to
number of dice. The exact number of the next scene.
dice rolled depends upon the characters’
actions, the nature of the situation,
and how many characters and extras Split Scenes
are helping. The more dice that the
It is possible to play split scenes. This
players roll, the more likely it is their
is where some heroes are engaged in
heroes will be successful. Likewise,
one scene while others are involved
the more dice the Game Master rolls
in a different scene. These work well
for the opposition, the more likely
in situations that provide opportu-
it is the players’ heroes will fail. In
nities for ‘cliff-hangers’ and the Game
many cases, the results of a challenge
Master can set up a really dangerous
will result in injury, fear or even the
challenge for one group, then leave
death of characters! Detailed rules for
the scene hanging and unresolved and
challenges are described a little later in
switch to the other group. This can
this chapter.
really built tension and excitement!
Once the dice roll determines the However, it can be difficult to manage
success or failure of a challenge, the split scenes and they should be used
outcome is narrated, either by the sparingly. They are an emotional
Game Master or by one or more of weapon of a good story teller, and
the players. Many gamers feel more when used sparingly can be devastat-
comfortable with the Game Master ingly effective!
narrating all the outcomes. However,
the preferred approach in Rapture
is to give narration of a challenge One Scene, One
Challenge
outcome to different players each time,
starting with the Game Master and then
moving clockwise around the gaming
table. This really mixes up the story As a general principle, it is a good
and gives players the opportunities to idea to limit each scene to a single
introduce new hooks for plots that the challenge, and have scenes set up
Game Master may not have considered. action and problems for the following
There are only two issues to remember scenes. Think of prime-time TV police
here: players must narrate an outcome dramas, where each scene in the
that describes the actual results of the show (often neatly nestled between
dice roll, including any wounds or ad breaks) involves the characters
attempting a single task that leads them

12
to the next scene. This style of pacing Unopposed
keeps games fresh, exciting and builds Challenges
a lot of tension and strong narrations Unopposed challenges are required
around challenges. when a character is doing something
that is particularly difficult, but that
Challenges does not have an active agent (another
In Rapture, the term challenge has a character) working against them.
special meaning - it is a situation that Safely landing a shuttle in the middle
represents a turning point in the story of a raging typhoon, navigating a high-
and involves an amount of risk or speed space fighter through a debris
uncertainty. field after a space battle, or recalling
religious doctrine to correctly identify
When a challenge is announced, one a demon are all examples of when an
or more ten-sided dice (collectively unopposed challenge is required.
called a Dice Pool) are rolled. To be
successful in a challenge - that is, to To perform an unopposed challenge,
have things work out the way a player the Game Master first identifies the
wants - the dice rolled must contain most appropriate character attribute for
one or more dice above a certain Target the roll (Mens, Corpus or Potentia) for
Value. Target Values can be set by the use as the number of dice in the base
Game Master, or determined by rolling dice pool.
dice for opposing forces. The Game Master also decides on
In addition to just determining whether a Target Value for the unopposed
or not a challenge succeeds, the dice challenge and (for very difficult
roll also indicates how successful the situations) the number of successes
outcome is. For every dice rolled that required. Normally the Game Master
was equal to or above the Target Value, will let the players know of the
one success is given. For example, if a Target Value and number of successes
Target Value was 7 and a player rolled required for the unopposed challenge
three dice and got 4, 7, and 9, they (although sometimes they will keep
would have two successes. The person this information secret.) Players may
doing the narration can determine modify their dice pool using any of the
exactly how additional successes appropriate methods (see Adjusting
impact the outcome. Sometimes they Dice Pools, page 17).
can be used to speed up how long it Once the players have determined
takes to do something, or sometimes how many dice will be in their final
they add cool and cinematic effects dice pool, they roll that many dice
to actions. In combat, extra successes and count how many dice are equal
result in more damage being done. to or greater than the Target Value. If
There are two types of challenges in this count is less than the number of
Rapture: Unopposed Challenges and successes needed, the outcome goes
Opposed Challenges. against the players. If the number of

13
 successes is equal to or greater than the
required number, the outcome goes in Target Values
for Unopposed
the player’s favor. The outcome is then
narrated.

In all but the most dire of situations,

keep the number of successes needed
Challenges
for unopposed challenges at between Target When to use
1 and 3. Even though this may make Value
some tasks much easier than they 2-4 Easy. In fact, you really
would be in the real world, we should should not bother calling
remember that our heroes are just that... for a dice roll in situations,
heroes. They often perform the impos- unless there is really a
sible, solve the insolvable and beat the matter of luck involved.
unbeatable. And then they die horrible, 5 Moderately difficult task
glorious deaths. for a novice or injured
person, but easy enough
for someone who knows
what they are doing.
6-7 A relatively difficult task
for novices, and a little
tricky for an experienced
person.
8-9 Difficult for novices and
experienced professional
alike.
10 A particularly difficult
task with a high chance
of failure for novices and
even tough for experi-
enced people

14
 Example of Play “Moviac calls over Jon and Susan.
They try to push the air-lock door
sideways, but just won’t budge.
Our heroes are a squad of UCM
Moviac looks through the door’s tiny
Marines sent to investigate why a
window slit and sees that someone-
hydrogen mining low-orbit station
or something - has jammed the door
poised above a gas giant has suddenly
on inside with an air tank from a
ceased all communications. After
spacesuit. He grabs a crowbar from
arriving at the station, and seeing
the tool locker and wedges it into the
that all power is offline, the squad is
air-lock. ‘All together now boys and
attempting to force open the outer
girls!’ he says and working as a group
air-lock with which their ship is
they pull hard on the crowbar. Suddenly
docked. The Game Master knows that
there is a loud bang inside as the air
there are multiple other ways into the
tank ruptures. The tank must have been
space station and thinks it may be fun
weakened somehow.
to encourage the players to examine
those alternatives. Even so, there is The air-lock door buckles slightly from
still a chance the heroes will force the explosion and slides half-open.
their way in with brute strength, so the Stale, smoky air hisses over the group.”
Game Master declares that forcing the
door open will be a challenge with a Notice how the player’s narration of
Target Value of 9, that one success is the outcome adds new potential to the
needed, and that the base dice pool story that the Game Master could build
is Corpus (as the activity relates to on? Just who jammed the air-lock?
physical strength). Are they still alive? Why did they do
it? What’s with the smoke? Players
The player whose hero is trying are encouraged to enrich the story with
to force open the door looks at his such gems. Of course, it’s up to the
character sheet and sees they have a Game Master to act upon the potential
current Corpus rating of 2, which he the players create during their narra-
thinks will not give enough chance for tions.
success. He then asks some of the other
heroes to help out, and by ‘ganging up’ Opposed
(see Modifying Dice Pools) manages Challenges
to get together a total of six dice. The Opposed challenges are when two or
six dice are rolled and the results are: more characters are struggling with
1,2,3,3,8,10. Since the heroes, acting each other to affect the outcome of
as a group, managed to get a at least a challenge. Combat, hacking into
one dice equal to or greater than the a secure base, or sneaking past a
Target Value of 9, they manage to snoozing guard are all examples of
heave open the door. opposed challenges.

The Game Master asks one of the To perform an opposed challenge,

players to narrate the outcome, which the Game Master identifies the most
she does as follows: appropriate attribute (Mens, Corpus or

15
 Potentia) for the non-player characters’ Remove duplicates
base dice pool. If one or more of the parties involved
in an opposed challenge have the same
It is possible that different characters highest dice, then these high dice
will be asked to use different attributes are removed as set aside as ‘splash
and separate dice pools based on what damage.’ See “Splash Damage” on
they are doing within the challenge. For page 26 for more details on how this
example, if a human and demon were works. Removing duplicate high dice
fighting in hand to hand combat, both in turn will normally lead to one player
would be using the Corpus attribute to being successful.
determine the number of dice in their
base dice pools. However, if a priest Counting
joined in, and attempted to weaken Successes
the demons’ resolve by readings from The number of successes for an
the scriptures, then the priest would opposed challenge equals the number
be using his Potentia attribute as the of dice that are greater than the
basis for his dice pool. All characters opposing side’s rolled dice.
involved in the challenge may modify
their dice pool using any of the appro- In the previous example, the player’s
priate methods (see “Adjusting Dice success is 1. If the players rolled
Pools” on page 17.) six dice and got 5,7,8,9,10 and the
Game Master rolled six dice and got
Once the total number of dice in each 1,4,6,6,7,7, then the players would
character’s dice pool is determined, the not only win the opposed challenge,
dice are rolled. Each player rolls their but would also get three successes,
own dice and dice for any Extras under because they have three dice (8,9 and
their command that are assisting with 10) that are greater than the Game
the challenge. The Game Master rolls Master’s highest value of 7.
dice for non-player characters that are
opposing the heroes.

Whichever group has the highest single

Tip: Rolling Dice
dice succeeds. Players roll for their own hero and all
Extras under their command.
For example, if a group of players
collectively rolled four dice and got Game Master rolls for all non-player
3,3,8 and 10, while the Game Master named characters or Extras not
rolled six dice and got 3,4,4,5,6 and 9, controlled by players.
then the players would be successful in
their outcome, because their 10 beats
the Game Master’s highest dice of 9.

16
More than two firing a gun, in hand to hand combat,
sides and for knowledge of military codes of
There can be more than two sides in conduct.
an opposed challenge. For example, a
Heroic Skills
three-way Mexican standoff is always
Each player character will have three
fun, or perhaps different players wish
Heroic Skills at which they excel.
to see different outcomes of a situation.
These skills are chosen during character
In these cases, prior to rolling dice,
creation. Any time that a character is
each player briefly declares what
using this skill in a challenge, they gain
outcome they are working toward, or
one additional dice to their dice pool.
if they are supporting someone else’s
desired outcome (pooling their dice In addition, for each heroic skill, once
with others). All dice are the rolled. each a game session the character can
Whoever gets the highest dice result ‘go for broke’ and gain three dice rather
wins and it is their desired outcome than the regular one. This assumes
that will be narrated. that the hero is pushing the limits on
the task at hand and narration should
Adjusting Dice
reflect this.
Pools
Dice pools are always based on one If UCM trooper has a Corpus of 3 and
of the character’s attributes: Mens for has selected Gunslinger as one of his
thinking and research tasks, Corpus Heroic Skills, then he could roll 3 dice
for physical activities, and Potentia for (from his Corpus attribute) plus go for
spiritual and social activities. However, broke with his Gunslinger skill to add
there are several ways that players an extra 3 dice for a total of 6 dice. He
and the Game Master can adjust their would also gain one extra dice for his
characters’ dice pools. profession, making a grand total of 7
Profession
dice!
It is assumed that all characters Right tools for the
can perform all skills shown on the job
character sheets to some degree. All characters start the mission with
However, all mortals also have a the essential tools of their profession:
profession for which they are specially doctors will have first-aid kits, marines
trained. If a particular activity is will have guns, mechanics will have
directly related to that profession, add toolboxes, hackers will have computers
one extra dice to the dice pool. For and software, and so forth. These are
example, if a character is a doctor, they required to perform basic tasks related
would add an extra dice to any roll to the character’s profession. If, during
involving battlefield triage, diagnosis the game play, these essential tools
and treatment of diseases, surgery or are lost, or ammo runs out, the Game
even preparing prescription drugs. If Master may place a one dice penalty
a character is a marine, they would on characters attempting to work on a
add a dice to the dice pool whenever specific task.

17
 Redemption Task Once each game session, if the charac-
Each player’s character has a single ter’s actions are related to their personal
Redemption Task. This task is selected goal, they may add the may add the
at character creation. Once during same number of dice to the pool as the
a game session, if the character can attribute being rolled.
argue that the task being undertaken is
directly linked to his redemption, they A player’s character is a marine whose
may add same number of dice to the personal goal is to “Bag more zombie
pool as the attribute being rolled. heads than the station champ.” The
character’s Corpus attribute is 4.
For example, a character called Mickey During a scouting mission, he gets
is wracked with guilt for abandoning into a heavy fire fight with a horde of
his students to certain doom when undead. He declares that this is the
the undead invaded his home colony. perfect time to use his personal goal.
His redemption for this cowardice is The Game Master tells the player to roll
to “save a child under threat with no 4 dice (for his Corpus attribute) plus
thought for his own life.” During a fire another 4 dice (for his personal goal)
fight, the player declares that Mickey plus one more dice for this profession
will not take part in the shooting, bonus, for a grand total of 9 dice.
instead leaping to shield a mother
Factional Goal
and her baby as hot lead flies. The
At the start of each game session,
GM agrees that this certainly counts
every player will write down a single
towards his redemption and allows
‘factional goal’ for their character. This
Mickey’s player to use his Corpus of
goal should be aligned their faction’s
2 (giving him 2 dice in his base dice
beliefs. See “Factions” on page 64. It
pool) plus another 2 dice to his dice
may be an agenda hidden from the
pool for a total of 4 dice.
other players, or one that is public.
Personal Goal Once a game session, if the character’s
At the start of each game session, every actions are directly related to achieving
player must write down a Personal Goal their factional goal, the player may add
for their character. This goal should be same number of dice to the pool as the
related their character’s wants, rather attribute being rolled.
than needs, and should be quite selfish
in nature. Personal goals must be a A player’s character (called Chan
potential source of temptation that Su) is an engineer of the Sino Block,
demons can use to their advantage. but is secretly a Biblical Inerrancy
devotee. Before the game session, the
For example, “Show Melinda that player decides that Chan Su’s secret
I love her,” is not a good personal factional goal will be “To convince his
goal, but “Get Melinda to fall in love commanding officer that the so-called
with me,” is. Other good examples alien menace is actually the legions
of personal goals include: “Win a of hell.” During the game session,
promotion,” “Get back to Earth,” “Kill Chan Su is attempting to break into
the bastard that killed my lover.” the encrypted security camera memory

18
bank of an abandoned Galactix Corpo- Think of it like this: during a battle,
ration Terraforming complex. He some characters will be shooting,
suspects that demons have raided the others will be throwing grenades, a few
complex and tells the Game Master may even be running up and engaging
that not only is he attempting to hack in the enemy in hand to hand combat. In
(using this Mens attribute of 4), but is this situation, all the characters that are
also going to show the footage as proof engaged in actions to defeat the enemy
of demonic forces to his commander. may combine their dice pools.
The Game Master agrees this fits with
Chan SU’s factional goal and thus Each player should still roll their
allows the player to roll a grand total own dice, and once rolled, duplicate
of 9 dice (4 for his Mens attribute, plus high-dice are removed, one player at
4 for his factional goal, plus one for his a time in turn, and set aside as splash
profession.) damage, until one side has the highest
dice. The number of successes are then
Political Instruction calculated based on the combined dice
At the start of each game session, pools.
every player character will be given

Example of play
an instruction or mission from their
colonial superiors. This is deter-
mined by the Game Master and will
be directly related to the character’s Two priests are struggling to exorcise
political alliance. These instructions an unclean spirit from a child they
are very specific and are normally found on an otherwise dead colony.
secret from the other players. Often Clearly, the spirit will not go quietly
political agenda will be in conflict and the child begins scratching and
with other player characters, which can clawing at the two priests. The players
cause tension within the party, or even state that one priest will attempt to
outright betrayal. hold the child still while the other will
recite prayers. The Game Master states
Once a game session, if the character’s this will be an opposed challenge with
actions are directly related to achieving the spirit using it’s Potentia attribute
their political instruction, the player of 7 for its base dice pool and one of
may add the same number of dice to the players using their hero’s Corpus
the pool as the attribute being rolled. of 2 (to hold the child down) and the
other Player using their Potential of 4
Ganging Up
to read the scriptures.
Rather than determining each
characters’ actions individually, The Game Master rolls for the spirit
Rapture encourages players to state and gets 3,6,7,7,8,9,10 while the two
their actions and then roll their dice players collectively roll 4,4,6,7,7,8,8.
all at the same time. Players who This unfortunately, this means that the
are attempting to achieve the same priests fail in their efforts to drive out
outcome for a challenge may combine the unclean spirit. Worse, the Game
their dice. Master declares that the unclean

19
 Summary: Creating a Dice Pool
Base Dice Pool The base dice pool starts with attribute dice, where
attribute is either a character’s Mens (mind), Corpus
(body) or Potentia (soul), depending upon the type of
action being taken to resolve the challenge.
Profession Add 1 extra dice to the dice pool
Heroic Skill Add 1 extra dice to the dice pool OR once per game
session, add 3 dice to the dice pool.
Redemption task Add attribute dice to the dice pool
Personal goal Add attribute dice to the dice pool
Factional goal Add attribute dice to the dice pool
Political instruction Add attribute dice to the dice pool.

spirit has so frightened and distracted to recite the Lord’s Prayer. It seems
the priest reading the scriptures that to be working, as the child’s eyes burn
the characters must take 2 points of a sickly yellow and roll back into her
damage to their Potentia (because the head. Suddenly the child goes still.
unclean spirit got two successes). The It opens up its eyes, now crystal blue
players decide that the two points of and innocent, and smiles sweetly at
damage will be split between their two Dovenda. In a quiet sweet voice she
characters: one point of damage to the says, ‘I know your secret... I know
priest holding the child and one point what you did... Those poor children...
to the priest reading the scriptures. No older than me... I know how you left
them. They are with me now... They
One of players is then given narration are waiting for you... They will be your
and they say, decide that the damage own personal hell…no, please... don’t
to the priest holding the child will leave me. I’m scared...’
affect Corpus (from scratches and
bites) while the damage to the priest “Dovenda staggers back, shocked.
reading the scriptures will come ‘Quiet retched one!’ He yells. ‘I will
from his Potentia (by weakening his not listen to your lies!’
spiritual resolve). The player then
says: “Mortimus and Dovenda grab ‘Ah... But the lies are yours!’ says the
the dirty, starving child and force her pale, deathly white child. I know you. I
down to the floor. Mortimus ignores KNOW YOUR SOUL!”
the child’s scratching and biting, Again, we see here how the player
resulting is bloody scratches over his has weaved in some new hooks for the
face and neck, while Dovenda begins story.

20
21
 Fear
Fear

Mortals are blessed with an emotion For example, Max has a Corpus
attribute of 4 and his current fear is 2.
the angels were never granted: fear.
Fear makes people cowardly and hero- His dice pool for fleeing from an alien
ic. It allows them to fight or flee in the predator would therefore be 4 for his
face of the unknown and unknowable. Corpus, plus an extra 2 for his current
Fear is, at its heart, a driving factor in fear, for a total of 6 dice.
all our actions. The bad news is that fear hinders a
All mortal characters have an attribute character’s ability to think rationally or
called Fear. It starts at 0, which is the interact well with others. As a result
state of a contented person. Throughout all challenges that involve Mens or
the game, a character’s fear may slowly Potentia have their dice pool reduced
climb to 5 as the person faces more and by the character’s current fear (with 1
more horrors and becomes increas- being the minimum.)
ingly panicked. A character may attempt to overcome
Whenever a character takes damage, their fear by sheer force of will. This
be it physical damage to their Corpus, requires an unopposed challenge
mental stress to their Mens or even using Potentia. The target value of this
spiritual trauma to their Potentia, they challenge is twice character’s current
automatically receive a point of Fear. fear level, and only one success is
The Game Master may also dictate that required. However, remember that
certain truly horrific situations will add like all challenges, the current fear
a point of Fear to a character: walking level is deducted from the character’s
into a laboratory to find the twisted Potentia before making the roll. There
remains of colonists whose DNA is one draw-back for attempting to
has been blended with alien animals; overcome fear. If the character’s fails,
seeing a hoard of demons feasting on they immediately gain an additional
human remains; watching the dead point of fear.
rise, etc. The best way to reduce fear is to take
The good news is that fear boosts a a break from all the horror and gather
mortal’s capability for fight or flight. your senses. Fear may be reduced
Any challenge roll that uses a named by characters taking time to relax.
character’s Corpus attribute for either For every hour spent resting (doing
attacking or for fleeing, is given as nothing but sleeping or gathering their
many extra dice as the character’s thoughts), a character will reduce their
current fear. fear level by 1.

22
23
 Damage
Damage

24
Depending upon the type of chal- For example, separatist anarchist
Ki Ling is under fire from several
lenge taking place, the result may
damage one or more characters. This possessed marines armed with machine
is always the case with combat chal- guns. She runs for cover using her
lenges, which physically harms the los- Corpus attribute of 3 (which gives her
ers of the challenge. However, damage 3 dice for her dice pool) versus the
can also harm to a character’s ability to pooled dice of the marines (6 dice in
think, or even impact their resolve and total). Ki Ling gets 1,3,4 on her dice
spirituality. roll, while the marines get 2,3,3,4,4,5.
This means that the marines hit with a
For each point of success in a challenge single success, which results in damage
(plus any bonuses provided by of 1 for the success, plus 4 for the use
weapons, artifacts or special powers) of machine guns, for a massive 5 points
the loser will deduct a point from an of damage!
appropriate attribute or attributes. The
player who’s characters are taking Ki Ling’s Corpus is reduced from
damage gets to decide how the damage 3 to 1 (that’s the first two points of
will be spread among their named damage). However, since she still has
characters and extras, but the narrator Mens and Potentia left, the remaining
of the outcome can decide which attri- 3 points of damage are removed from
butes will be reduced and describes the those attributes, 2 from her Mens and
effects of the damage as part of their 1 from Potentia. This means Ki Ling
narration. is badly wounded, probably in shock
and panicked… but at least she is not
For example, if a hacker is trying to dead! Mind you, since she now only
penetrate a rogue AI’s security systems, has 1 point of Corpus, any additional
and the AI won the challenge with two damage to Ki Ling’s Corpus will
successes, the narrator could declare incapacitate her!
that the hacker received a brutal neural
backlash and must deduct one point
from their Mens attribute and one point Game master Tip
from their Potentia attribute, to reflect
During the first few scenes with new
that their ability to both think and
players, it may be a good idea for the
interact with others has been impaired.
Game Master to dictate how damage
There is an important caveat when a will be applied prior to narration.
named character takes damage: the This gives your players a feel for how
result of a single challenge cannot damage works. Once all the players are
remove the last point of any attribute comfortable with the damage system,
unless other attributes are also reduced let them take over and determine
to 1, OR if the attribute was at 1 prior damage allocation as part of their
to the start of the challenge. This gives narration.
heroes (and villains) at least a fighting
chance.

25
 Player Tip stand her ground and fire her semi-
automatic rifle into the advancing
crowd. Jim says that his character Sam
When taking damage, you decide which
will throw in a phosphorous grenade.
characters in your group will receive
Sam says that his character is going
how much damage, but not which
to activate the loading bay’s crane in
attribute will be affected. The narrator
an attempt to drop a huge crate on the
decides on which attribute will be
advancing hoard.
reduced and the result of injuries.
All of these actions can be combined,
Splash as they all seek to damage the zombies.
Jim and Jill will be using their Corpus
Damage (both 4) for fighting, while Sam needs
Success often comes at great cost. Even to use his Mens (of 5) to work out the
if a group of characters succeed in an controls of the crane. Since both Jill
opposed challenge, there is a good and Jim are also doing something
chance they will be injured or shaken directly related to their profession, the
up in the process. Game Master also gives each an extra
In situations where more than one group dice. The Game Master also declares
involved in a challenge has the highest that the fifteen rampaging zombies get
dice, each of the opposing groups keep one dice each, for a total of 15 dice.
removing their highest dice from their The players and Game Master then
roll dice pools and setting them aside roll their dice and the outcome is as
as ‘splash damage,’ until one group follows:
has at least one dice that is higher than
all their opponents. This will resolve Jim: 3,5,6,6,8,10
the challenge. Each party that set aside
dice as splash damage takes that much Jill: 6,7,7,9,10
damage, regardless of whether or not Sam: 2,4,4,8,10
they were successful in the challenge.
Zombies:

Example of Play 2,2,3,3,3,4,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,10,10

Removing high dice one at a time

Two United Colonial Marines played from the opposing forces, the Game
by Jill and Jim, and an Engineer Master starts by removing a 10 from
played by Sam, have been swarmed the zombies, then a 10 from Jim’s pool,
by a rabble of infected, zombie-like then another ten from the zombies, then
colonists. Several of their squad are a ten from Jill’s pool. This leaves Sam
already dead. Forced back into a with a 10 and the zombies with only an
loading bay, the three players decide 8, as follows:
that this is their last stand.
Jim: 3,5,6,6,8
Jill declares that her character will

26
Jill: 6,7,7,9 splash damage, and the zombies are hit
with a massive 19 points of damage,
Sam: 2,4,4,8,10 which is enough to take them all out!
Zombies: 2,2,3,3,3,4,5,6,6,7,7,8,8 Whew!

This means that our heroes have won However, the heroes also take two
the challenge with two successes (the points splash damage, which they
zombies’ highest value is 8, with Sam decide will be split between Jim and
having a 10 and Jill having a 9). Jill respectively.

The Game Master decides that Jill’s

gun fire scatters through the zombies Player Tip
(resulting in one success plus 6 damage
Extras may be a used to soak up damage
for the gun for a total of seven points
in a massed combat. In most cases,
of damage) while Sam’s manages to
extras have a very limited capacity
drop the crate on the rest for a total
to take damage, with just one point
damage of 11 (one for the success and
killing them. Still, this can keep your
an additional 10 points of damage
hero alive. Just remember, if you kill
for being crushed by a several tons of
off all your extras, you’ll have no way
cargo!) This results in a total amount
of moving on (or gaining experience)
of damage of 17 (ouch!) against the
should your current hero be killed!
zombies. Add to this the 2 points of

27
 Incapacitation
Whenever any of a character’s attri- Mens reduced to
butes is reduced to zero, they become zero
incapacitated. The exact impact of When a character’s Mens is reduced to
this incapacitation depends upon the zero, they are in complete mental shock.
attribute. They may be frozen in fear, catatonic,
drooling with blood leaking from their
Corpus reduced nose and ears, and so forth. In short,
to zero they are no longer capable of rational
The character is severely injured and thought and cannot perform any
may be hemorrhaging, displaying actions that require Mens. However,
fractured bones, convulsing or any they may still be able to move about
other appropriate nastiness the narrator (usually ambling clumsily while being
cares to describe. The character may prodded by a comrade), and may be
be screaming in pain, or unconscious. able to mutter prayers of protection.
Whatever the case, the character may
not move without help, and may longer Potentia reduced
take actions involving Corpus. to zero
When a character’s Potentia is reduces
Unless the incapacitated character is to zero, their will has been shattered. In
given immediate first aid to stabilize effect, their soul has been torn asunder,
their wounds, they will die in a matter and their moral compass smashed. This
of minutes. Characters with the Quack is not the same as being driven insane,
hero skill will automatically succeed as in other horror games, but the result
in stabilizing an injured comrade. may be similar.
Characters without the quack skill will
need to make an unopposed challenge When a characters spirit has been
using their Mens attribute versus a broken, they are very susceptible to
target value decided by the Game demonic possession and being afflicted
Master (normally 8). Successful stabi- by the numerous unclean spirits that
lization does not raise the character’s manifest as madness. Any unclean
Corpus - but they do get to live a little spirits in the vicinity (and there are
while longer. almost always madness spirits riding
unbidden on people) will rush to take
Stabilized characters can still use their control. Worse, if a nearby demon has
Mens and Potentia to help the party by the possession power, then it’s a good
offering advice and prayers. There are bet the character will become a host for
plenty of times when a badly injured that monstrosity.
scientist has held the key to a team’s
survival! Naturally, while a character’s
Potentia is zero, they cannot take
any actions requiring Potentia, such
as prayer (although they may mutter
random, blasphemous phrases).

28
Recovery ter’s Mens or Potentia. This requires
a Potentia unopposed challenge versus
If provided with appropriate medical a target value set by the Game Master
facilities and supplies, a character (normally 7.) Only one spiritual healing
with the Quack skill may attempt a attempt may be made per week.
medical procedure to heal one point of
Optional Rule:
damage from a character’s Corpus or
Blessed are meek
Mens. This requires a Mens unopposed
Each new scene, all player characters
challenge versus a target value set by
are able to recover a single point of
the Game Master (normally 7.) Only
damage from one attribute they choose.
one such medical attempt may be made
This does not heal the injuries suffered
on a patient per week.
(e.g. a broken leg is still broken, a
If provided with time and the oppor- stunned person is still shell-shocked,
tunity to preach, a character with the an insane character maintains their
God Botherer skill may attempt heal madness) but for story purposes, they
one point of damage from a charac- are pushing past their pain. Narration
will need to reflect this heroic gesture.

29
A cast of thousands
A cast of
thousands

30
There are two broad categories of
characters in Rapture: Named charac-
Example of Play
ters and Extras. A group of colonists are facing off
against a renegade squad of five
Named characters are those that are marines. One of colonists decides to
fully fleshed out – they have all attri- try and ram the rampant marines - who
butes and skills determined. Examples are all Extras - with a forklift, while
of named characters include all player another opens up on them is a modified
characters, major villains and signif- nail gun. All together the colonists
icant non-player characters run by the have a combined pool of 9 dice, while
game master. Extras are all those poor the marines have a total of 10 dice.
mooks that are treated more like props
or special effects. Examples of Extras When the dice are rolled, the colonists
include hoards of zombies, faceless win the challenge with 3 successes.
guards and henchmen, swarms of To this result, the colonists add +4
panicked colonists, shopkeepers, etc. damage for the forklift and +1 damage
for the nail gun, giving a total damage
There is an important reason for of 3+4+1 = 8. Each marine has a
differentiating named characters from damage threshold of 3 (they have flak
Extras. Named characters take damage jackets on, so they are pretty tough.)
as described in the previous section, and This means that two of the evil marines
can add a full set of dice to challenge are killed outright, leaving three more
rolls. The players and GM also have to to deal with.
keep track of how much damage and
which attribute the damage affects for When determining an Extra’s
each named character. That can be a lot damage threshold, remember that
of work. most unarmored humans will have a
threshold of 1. However, you can add
With Extras, you do not need to track any armor to the thresh hold limit, to
damage or keep records. They are make damage calculations very fast!
either alive and kicking, or incapaci-
tated. In challenges, if an Extras’ Adding to dice
damage threshold (which is generally pools
1-3 points) is overcome, the character Extras can also add to dice pools. In
is immediately incapacitated or killed most cases, each extra helping with a
in any way that the narrator deems fit. task will add a single dice to the pool. In
More importantly, if you have a large some cases, where the extras are highly
number of Extras, you can quickly trained and performing a specific task,
calculate how many of the poor they may each add more than one dice
wretches are killed off by dividing to the dice pool.
the total damage done by the Extras’
For example, if a group the colonists
damage threshold.
in the above example had the aid of 10
friends, all who were helping to fight

31
 off the marines, the total dice pool Extras with Guns
would be 9 (for the named characters) Finally, it should be remembered that
plus 10 for the friendly extras, for a Extras’ weapons add to the damage
total of 19 dice! to the outcome. For each Extra whose
dice was counted as a success, add
Too many dice! their weapon’s damage bonus, if any.
Needless to say, in some situations dice
pools can get very, very large. (Yes, You can apply these rules to any sort
swarms of bad guys can get very, very of activity: Corpus (physical actions),
nasty!) To make play a bit faster, if Mens (problem solving) and Potentia
both sides have a lot of extras, simply (spiritual and prayer.)
divide the both Extras’ dice pools by
a common number (and round up).
When doing this, you should also add
the number you divided by to any
splash damage. Gamer Master Tip
For example, if the colonists in the Most games of Rapture will start with
above battle found themselves facing two or three Extras on the hero’s team
20 marines, then the extras’ dice pools in for every player in the game. These
would be 10 (for the colonists) and 20 Extras can be ‘played’ (narrated) by
(for the marines). However, the Game the players and can add to their dice
Master decides to make play a little bit pools accordingly. More importantly,
faster, and divides both of these extras’ they can replace player characters that
dice pools by 5, leaving 2 dice for the are killed off, or can be killed off by the
colonists and 4 dice for the marines. Game Master to build tension.
Both sides will also receive 5 points of
additional splash damage.

32
 Experience
Experience

The sweet Once the death scene is described, all

players and the game master vote
release of on whether the death was suitably
memorable. If the majority vote it was
death a suitable scene, then the player’s next
First the bad news: life is short, bru- character starts with one extra attribute
point. These extra attribute points are
tal and terrifying. Now the good news:
when your character dies, his or her cumulative, so if a player has two of
friend comes into the fray, stronger and her heroes killed off in glorious ways,
more determined than ever. In Rapture, her next character will start with 10
we have tried to capture the feel of dark attribute points, instead of the normal
techno-horror. Characters should be 8.
killed off in the most awful ways, leav- But here is the downside. Players
ing only a handful of unlikely heroes can only create a new character from
with ‘true grit.’ Therefore, the game known and friendly Extras in the game.
rewards players when their characters As soon as a player character is killed
die. off, the player must select from any of
Unlike other role-playing games where the surviving Extras and ‘flesh them
characters gain experience for survival, out’ into a named character using the
Rapture provides experience when standard character creation process.
characters die in suitably biblical, Of course the character’s profession,
self-sacrificing ways, or in a manner gender and political alliance may
that drives the story forward. A simple already be set, and the Game Master
suicide, or pointless death will not may ‘suggest’ personal and factional
suffice... it has to be a memorable goals, but all the rest is up to the player.
death. Warning! If there are no non-player
Whenever a player-character dies, the characters left, then not only is the
narrator should go to extra lengths player out of the game session, but they
to make the death scene impressive also lose all of their bonus attribute
(though not necessarily gory). At any points they previously accumulated!
point, the player whose character is This is one reason why it’s wise to save
being killed may intervene and take those poor helpless folks we normally
over narration of his or her death scene. ignore in games.

33
 Things to consider
when voting on a
death scene
• Did the death scene provide a plot
twist?

• Was the manner of death particu-

larly unusual?

• Did the character become a martyr

for the benefit of mankind?

• Did the character betray his team-

mates, only to receive brutal kar-
mic retribution?

• Was the death biblical in nature?

• Was the character attempting to

achieve his redemption, factional
or personal goal?

• Will you lie awake at night, wish-

ing you’d not thought about this
scene?

34
35
 Madness
Madness

36
Madness in the world of minds. They await just the right
Rapture is not caused by chem- moment to strike, usually when an
ical imbalances in the brain. individual’s will is at its weakest due
It’s not a result of stress or to fear and shock. At these times,
having a ‘bad’ upbringing. the unclean spirits will penetrate the
It’s the results of unclean mind and tear it asunder.
spirits possessing and
working upon the mind Any human that has previously been
of the weak and feeble. successfully inflicted with a madness
Unclean spirits, specifi- spirit (see Foes, Unclean Spirits for
cally madness spirits, details) will run the risk of being
are extremely com- driven mad each time they suffer
mon, riding unde- one or more points of fear. This is
tected in the back treated as a challenge. The victim
of many people’s must immediately roll their Potentia
(and any other dice pool modifica-
tions, including deductions for fear)
while the madness spirit uses its
Potentia as its base dice pool. If the
madness spirit wins the challenge,
then consult the following table to
determine how the new madness will
manifest.

Players are expected to describe how

their madness affects their hero’s
activities. In some situations, the
Game Master may deduct a number
of dice from a player’s dice pool if
the challenge would be negatively
affected by the madness (especially
if the player is not describing how
the madness is changing their hero’s
actions). Likewise, if a player
weaves their hero’s madness into a
scene (generally to their detriment),
then the Game Master may award
the character between one and four
bonus dice for scene’s challenge.

37
 Madness table
Number of Infliction
Successes
1 success A minor quirk is picked up.
• A nervous twitch
• Stuttering
• Stops talking
• Mumbling constantly to self
• Uncontrolled rocking
• Hypochondria
• Irrational distrust of a team member
• A compulsive superstitious behavior
2 successes A self-destructive compulsion or addiction.
• Alcoholism or other substance abuse
• Sexual addiction
• Self-mutilation
• Rabid anti-authoritarianism
• Religious or political fanaticism
• Waking nightmares and flashbacks
3 successes An detrimental mental disorder.
• Severe paranoia
• Frequent and increasingly severe self-mutilation
• Crippling phobia: fear or dark, spiders, mice, water,
etc.
• Narcolepsy: falling asleep when stressed
• Schizophrenia
• Split personality
• Death-wish: will seek to put themselves in harm’s
way
4 successes Becomes deranged and a danger to others.
• Psycho killer: will try to slowly pick off & kill people
• Delusions: sees team mates as demons or mon-
sters and will try to kill them immediately
• Voices from god: will attempt to destroy life-support
or major infrastructure, or will embark on a destruc-
tive ‘holy mission’ or jihad.
5 successes Death
• Immediately commits suicide, preferably taking as
many people with them as possible (e.g. machine
gun rampage, opens an air-lock, etc.)
• Brain literally explodes, with blood spraying from
eyes, ears and nose.
• Heart ruptures in chest

38
39
 The
TheUniverse
Universeof
Rapture
of Rapture

40
 A future a stable global population of just under
6 billion.
history On the 12 Feb., 2411, a Sino research
team led by Dr. Ka Lun uncovered a
Out of the method to manipulate gravity through
Darkness information-based field-theory. The
By the latter half of the twenty-first discovery led to a revolution in space
century, mankind’s squabbling over exploration. Artificial gravity overcame
what few energy resources remained the biological problems associated with
reached fever pitch. Climate change long exposure to weightlessness. More
and petrochemical shortages had importantly, faster-than light travel
dramatically altered nations’ wealth became a reality. Within ten years,
and politics. Decades of war, famine, the Sino Block had identified Earth’s
plague and flood brought the Beast first prospective extra-solar planet for
of Nations to their knees. The flesh colonization, and in just ten more, had
of humankind was on the wane for established a base on the newly named
the first time in history. The period of planet, Confucius.
darkness, known as the Great Gap, had
begun. It lasted nearly two-hundred Based on the Sino Block’s success
long hard years. on Confucius, five of the seven
large geopolitical blocks and several
However, mortals are more than flesh. of the small independent national
They are also soul and mind. Through groups began their own colonization
the resolve of heart and clarity of mind, programs. The Diaspora had begun.
humanity began the slow resurrection By mid-millennia, 2600, humanity had
of its soul. As nations collapsed, what colonies on thirty-eight Earth-analogue
survived reformed with new alliances planets, plus terraforming initiatives on
driven by necessity and a realization a further twenty life-capable planets.
that the archaic policies of the had Hundreds of orbital colonies were also
failed. scattered through the 50 light year wide
sphere now called Human Occupied
Man in the Heavens Space.
After the turmoil of the Resource Wars
and The Gap, mankind was once again
blossoming. New renewable energy
technologies and geno-agriculture,
coupled with new social structures,
had poverty on the run. Work was
plentiful, even as high-tech automation
and artificial intelligence handled
the heavy lifting of nation building.
Within just three generations of the
Great Gap, humanity was a peace with

41
 The Rapture in the stars. God, for whatever reason,
In late December, 2644, God kept His did not bring the Rapture to those
promise to mankind and took back His already in the heavens of Creation.
creation. The skies of Earth ruptured Those in extra-solar colonies simply
and the few (so very few) righteous found themselves alone and cut off in
who remained true to the old, unpol- the vast universe. Those closer to Earth
luted scriptures, were received into the faced an impossible choice – inves-
loving arms of the Lord. Everyone else tigate what had befallen Earth, or flee
on Earth was left behind, as the gates to the colonies.
of hell opened and Satan’s forces burst
into Creation. Current Day
It has been one year since the Earth fell
Within just a few short, horrific hours of into darkness. Humanity is struggling
the Rapture, the vast bulk of humanity, to come to terms what has happened,
who had become fat and corrupt under squabbling over the cause and the
the name of liberal enlightenment and meaning, even when God’s plan
science, were stripped of both their for mankind has been made whole.
flesh, and their souls. Communica- Confusion is the order of the day, and
tions with their wayward brothers and even as God has turned away from
sisters in space was a chaotic rambling the remnants of Mankind in the stars,
diatribe of horror, before being forever Satan’s forces are seeking out the very
silenced. last souls, their final taste of tender
human flesh...
The Rapture, it seems, was only a
promise to those on Earth… not those

42
 Timeline to the
end of days
• 2000: The Twilight Struggle: The remaining
19th century superpowers scuffle with politi-
cal intrigue, instigating the occasional proxy-
wars to gain access to dwindling resources.
Earth’s population peaks at nine billion.

• 2050: The Resource Wars: After the Middle

East nuclear exchange, decades of pent up
hostility erupt into hot war around the globe.
An estimated 80 million people are killed in
the myriad of global conflicts that follow, with
an estimated 500 million made homeless.

• 2100: The Great Gap: The remaining super-

powers break up under economic and social
unrest. Education, science, health and civic
cohesion collapse, resulting in almost two
centuries of a neo-dark age. Earth’s popula-
tion crumbles to just five billion.

• 2300: The Enlightenment: The rise of the Sino Then we which

are alive and
Block and Indomerican geopolitical powers,
coupled with new energy technologies, drives
new opportunities throughout the globe. A
time of prosperity and innovation emerges. remain shall
• 2400: The Diaspora: The unraveling of the
Grand Unified Theory and development of be caught up
gravity field manipulation leads to faster than
light travel. Humanity begins its rapid expan- together with
sion to the stars.

• 2644: The Rapture: The righteous on Earth

them in the
ascend to stand behind God, while the remain-
ing billions of sinners on Earth face the tor-
clouds, to meet
ments of legions of hell. After a few short,
panicked messages from Earth, the colonies the Lord in the
air.
are cut off, not just from the events on Earth,
but each other. The end of days has begun.

43
 Theological
Theological

In
Topology
Topology
Rapture, what we call Creation is incapable of achieving the cooperation
required to build interstellar craft. So
but one of three phases of existence.
Heaven is real. Hell is real. All three they are struggling to find ways to get
intersect each other at all points in to the fresh, sweet souls left out in
space and time. Both Heaven and Hell colonial space. Daemons have found
exist as ‘dimensions’ overlapping Cre- ways to stow away on fleeing colony
ation. The topology of each is inextri- ships, worked with possession and
cably intertwined. Physical aspects of temptation daemons to take over ships,
our universe have theological manifes- and have even tortured people into
tations in the other two dimensions. In agreeing to take them wherever they
Hell, the suns of our universe appear want to go.
as vast chasms of infinitely hot flame, There are ways for Daemons to travel
planets as tortuous wastelands, and quickly within the realm of Hell that
black holes as vortices leading between are as yet unknown to mankind. These
the realities. involve barbaric sacrificial rituals.
This means that there is a massive Should some sick individual desire to
cluster of souls, both in heaven and summon a daemon on a colony, they
hell, around the now dead Earth, and will have to perform the most grievous
vast landscapes of abstract nothingness and perverse rituals to drag the daemon
between the interstellar colonies through the vast reaches of Hell, before
where humanity’s last remnants are allowing them to step through into
eking out an existence. In order to Creation via a summoning. Such rituals
enter the mortal universe, say from a would require months, if not years, of
summoning, the forces of Hell must abominable rites.
first travel across interstellar distances While the tyranny of distance is
within Hell. This is a problem for currently saving humanity from total,
Satan, because his Legions never got instant extinction, it should be remem-
around to developing faster than ligh bered that many daemons and unclean
travel. The tyranny of distance, once spirits were already among us before
the bane of humanity’s growth, is now the Rapture took place, living inside
giving it a chance. us. Just as angles once watched over
As daemons have plundered the minds all of us, so too did beings of evil. With
of billions of lost souls, they under- the advent of the Rapture, these spirits
stand, at least in theory, how to travel and daemons have become much more
between the stars, but are socially active.

44
45
 The beast of
The Beast of

Seven
nations
Nations
major geopolitical blocks need a far higher density of population.
On most Earth Analog worlds, the
grew from the harsh and violent years
of the Great Gap. As a matter of neces- population still needs to live within
sity, by the end of the Great Gap these sealed townships and cities. Even
seven powers were cooperative - or at where the air is breathable without
least not directly confrontational. Most the aid of respirators, survival is a
were near collapse, or had been formed numbers game. The result is that
through the collapse of their predeces- most of the geopolitical powers have
sors. Working together was the only gentlemen’s agreements on their terri-
way forward, and this was the basis tories, often agreeing to split entire
for the peace that followed. However, continents between each other. Prior
the seven geopolitical blocks each had to the Rapture, this was not an issue.
very different political philosophies However, since all communications
and social structures. with Earth and the JPCA have been cut,
there are growing tensions between the
Once the Diaspora began, five of the colonial powers. Raw resources are
geopolitical blocks began their own plentiful, but high-tech equipment and
colonization efforts, albeit in different manufactured goods are in decline.
ways. Smaller, newly established settle-
ments are struggling, while larger, well
The big five colonial powers are all established colonies are closing their
signatories to the Colonial Charter borders. Fear and distrust are growing.
established through Judicial Panel for
Colonial Arbitration (JPCA) on Earth. Sino Block
Under the charter, no single political (Sino-Africana Unified
Socialist Republic)
group is allowed to claim an entire
The Sino Block emerged from the
Earth Analogue. In fact, the Charter
unification of Greater China, Taiwan,
stipulates that an Earth Analogue
North Korea, and the artificial islands
land claim must be populated with a
created along the South China Sea.
minimum of 1 person per 100 square
During the Great Gap, China benefited
kilometers. If the population falls
greatly from its prior investments in
below this, then the territory returns
renewable energy. Its low reliance of
to first-mover claim status, meaning
carbon fuels enabled the communist
anyone can legally take ownership.
nation to avoid becoming overly
In practical terms, to survive colonies embroiled in the growing Middle East

46
Wars. Instead, China invested heavily
in development of its interests in the
poorest African states. In a shrewd
move that preceded the economic
collapse of the North American and
European economies, China used its
massive foreign reserves to refinance
loans for a half of all African nations,
gaining substantial mineral rights as
part of the deal. Most surprisingly,
Taiwan and China were able to mediate
unification shortly thereafter.

However, even though China was able

to avoid the wars that engulfed other
nations, all was not well within the
new superpower. As China’s middle
class grew and became affluent, they
became more emboldened to speak out
against the social injustices that were
prevalent in their society. Sporadic
riots and protests involving hundreds The Sino-Block Today
of thousands, even millions, became
increasingly common. In the light The Sino Block government structure
of the unrest, the Communist Party remains highly centralized, more akin
began to tear into itself. Purges lead to to a formal business hierarchy coupled
counter-purges. Reformers emerged, with standardized assessments and
only to be cut down. Slowly, the merit based advancement. Respect
Party evolved into the very thing that and personal connections are more
Marx had predicted – a pure socialist valuable than currency, especially
meritocracy. given that pay scales are uniform and
inheritance of all major assets reverts
The Sino Block spearheaded the human back to the state.
diaspora and is by far the most populous
power in Human Occupied Space. Of Education continues throughout life,
the thirty-eight Earth Analogue planets, and is seen as the key differentiation
the Sino Block has colonies on twenty between individuals. Competition
eight (sharing 19 with other powers). to get into the leading institutions is
It has at least fifty major orbital settle- intense. The result is that many Sino
ments, and is rumored to have secret Block citizens are highly educated,
research stations on the far edge of quite arrogant by the standards of other
human occupied space. cultures, and have great disdain for
non-critical thinkers.

47
 Religion and the belief is the super- States found itself drawn further and
natural is not forbidden, but it’s a sure further into wars overseas.
way to become marginalized within the
Sino Block culture. The official line is Out of this turmoil arose several
that recent events on Earth are either extremist governments. First was the
the result either an unforeseen “toxic fundamentalist Union of Morality,
meme event” or “an attack by an as then the ultra-nationalist One Nation
yet undisclosed extra-terrestrial civili- and finally the neo-socialist People’s
zation.” Rumors of daemons are said Democratic Party of America. It was
to be the indulgent adolescent power the later party that negotiated tentative
fantasies of stressed minds. Mild anti- peace deals in the Middle East and South
psychotic drugs are recommended in East Asia, and refocused its military
such cases. efforts on domestic issues. While many
of the neo-socialist’s methods to quell
North American unrest were considered extreme, their
Alliance debt cancellation, wealth redistribution
The United States of America suffered and job creation programs were widely
greatly during the Resource Wars and supported by its burgeoning lower
throughout the Great Gap. After over class.
a century of growth and the highest
standard of living in the world, the Eventually, America formed the
superpower found it difficult to face economic union with its Northern
rapidly declining domestic wealth and neighbor, Canada, and the breakaway
spiraling costs. The nation was, in every state of Free Alaska.
sense, bankrupt. The result was almost The Sino Block’s announcement of
seventy years of increasing violence, the first colony on Confucius sent
domestic terrorism and broad social ripples of fear throughout the NAA
unrest. At the same time, the United political elite. While trade relation-
ships with the Sino Block were at an
all-time high, so too was the (real) fear
that the Sino Block’s softer, seemingly
more productive and economically
successful, form of socialism was a
driver of dissatisfaction with the rule
of People’s Party. The result was an
aggressive space program of both
colonization and, unlike the Sino
Block, military spending.
THE NAA Today
The Northern American Alliance
(NAA) remains a centralist
government, but one that is more
akin to the old USSR of the late 20th

48
Century. Private property remains a ocean oil fields of the region, and
key tenant, yet a “social contribution Australia’s significant mineral deposits
scheme” ensures that the bulk of the were attractive acquisition targets from
population will never see true wealth Chinese, American, and even Russian
or significant advancement through the interests. After several skirmishes,
ranks of the People’s Party. including a botched raid by Russian
forces on Australian claimed territory
The People’s Party allows – even in the Antarctic, the Southern Union
encourages – mainstream religious was formed to provide both a sizable
beliefs, although only for religions that military deterrent, and a single negoti-
are controlled by the party. “Cults” ating block to ensure that no member
are strictly forbidden, as are other nation would fall prey to the proxy-
“agitators.” Needless to say, the life wars being orchestrated by the reigning
of the average citizen within the NAA superpowers.
is one of drudgery… but at least they
are not starving en mass, something During this time, Australia held a unique
that the Party’s powerful propaganda position. Despite strong domestic
machine is constantly reminding the opposition and international outrage,
population about. the nation developed and deployed an
orbital nuclear arsenal and threatened
The NAA has five of the eight known its use on any power that would use
space-borne battle cruisers (one other even minor military force against any
belongs Sino Block and two are under of the states within the newly formed
international agreement with UCM SU. While this unilateral decision
banner.) It has twelve colonies on was technically against the very direc-
Earth analogues and is terraforming tives of the SU’s council, it did, in fact,
at least fifteen others. Unlike the provide all member states a shield from
Sino Block, the NAA has few orbital the worst atrocities of the Resource
colonies, preferring to move tens of Wars. Luckily, Australia never needed
thousands of colonists onto planetary to call any of the superpower’s bluff,
bodies in favor of the smaller commu- and as far an anyone knows. Its orbital
nities favored by their socialist rivals. weapon platforms are still intact.
Southern Union The SU Today
(The Economic Union of Within the SU, individual states
South East Asian and
Australian Nations) maintain their own governments (of
The Southern Union (more commonly various types) that determine matters
called the SU) was formed from a loose of local policy. However, economic
collective of the populous nations, and military policy, primary resource
including Singapore, Thailand, rights, charters on legislative struc-
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Artificial tures, human rights and immigration
Islands of Polynesia, Australia and the are decided by a representative council
Antarctic. During the darkest days of whose chairman is elected every five
the Resource Wars, the valuable deep years from each member state in turn.

49
 The sole exception to the above is Despite its late start in colonization,
Australia’s highly nationalistic stance the SU has a strong presence within
on nuclear weapons. the UCM. As far as anyone knows, the
current Admiral of the UCM fleet is an
SU citizens are a varied bunch, and Australian, Peter McGuian. In addition,
rife with nationalistic and even ethnic all the SU colonies maintained several
rivalries. However, when push comes small frigates in orbit all of which are
to shove, this disparate group has equipped with nuclear armaments.
proven to be strong allies. To quote This is making the other colonies on
Andrew Lemark, the first Chairman these planets very nervous. There is a
of the SU, “The greatest bond is not very real fear that political instability
nation, but necessity.” within individual SU colonies may boil
A late-comer to the Diaspora, the SU over and result in nukes falling into
has launched just half a dozen colonies, fanatical hands.
all on Earth Analogue worlds that Democratic
already had established colonies from Russian Union
the other powers. The SU currently Russia and its allies fared well during
lacks the skills or technology for terra- the early stages of the Resource
forming, something for which it was Wars. Alliances with Middle Eastern
negotiating prior to the Rapture. countries and military support of
Most of the SU colonies have a signif- favorable regimes secured the state’s
icant focus on agricultural devel- energy reserves. Unfortunately, much
opment. SU colonies are all hetro- of this advantage was lost after the
ethnic, with representatives from every nuclear exchange between Iran and
state within the SU. Each is governed Israel, and the hot war that followed. In
by a council of representatives, made fact, Russia found itself drawn into an
up of all member states. escalating battle for which it had no exit
strategy… and insufficient resources to
This current wave of SU colonists are continue. Fearing its economy would
a mix of paid staff working for various falter as had the American’s, Russia
SU-based corporations, and investors. turned its attention to new resource
Almost all the colonists were attracted targets, including disputed deep-sea
to the effort with the promise of large oil reserves in the Pacific and the
tracks of land, which may be broken up Australian-claimed Antarctic Terri-
and sold to an expected influx of paying tories. This was a massive miscalcu-
colonists sometime in the future. Of lation, as Australia was able to cripple
course, the Rapture has put an end to Russia’s initial beachhead in the frozen
the dream of wealth and prosperity wasteland (arguably through good
for many, and dissatisfaction with the luck as much as military might). The
current power structures and heavy following game of nuclear brink-
dominance of corporate influence is manship also went to the Australians.
rising sharply.

50
The result was that Russia was increas- teers’, each of the DRU’s seven elite
ingly isolated, lacking in fuel, with its families established private colonies,
key allies nothing more than irradiated both planetary and orbital.
husks. Needless to say, the once popular
The DRU Today
ultra-nationalist government of Russia
fell apart, leaving almost a decade of Russia’s society resembles an economic
anarchy. The middle class collapsed, feudal state, where the powers of
leaving massive gaps between the church, state and finance fight quiet,
working class and the financial elite. unseen battles for political dominance.
Out of this period of darkness arose
two new political factions: the People’s The wealthy of Russia are the richest
Democratic Reformation Party and the families in the world - royalty in all
National Orthodox Christian Party. but name - and control vast empires
of property, both within and outside of
the DRU. The working class maintain
an adequate standard of living, but
nothing close to that offered by the
Sino Block or SU.

Although technically under the law

of the DRU, the family colonies are
effectively fiefdoms, with profit for
the family being paramount. Infighting
between (and within) the families
is fierce and industrial sabotage has
resulted in at least one orbital colony
being destroyed, with the loss of over
2,000 lives. However, most of the
time the ruling elite prefer more subtle
While both parties represented means of attacking their enemies, using
extremes of the political spectrum, the Church, political maneuvering and
neither wished to see the civil unrest arranging scandals to discredit rivals.
continuing. Through an unlikely and
Indomerican
tense cooperation, the parties forged
Collective
a new Russian constitution and the
The Indomerican Collective grew from
DRU was born. Slowly, Russia began
the burgeoning democracy of India, and
to evolve into a two party state, albeit
the fractious states of South America,
with strong nationalist leanings.
in particular, Mexico and Brazil. The
The elite families of the DRU were Resource Wars were particularly harsh
quick to jump at the opportunity on these nations, not because they were
presented for a real-estate gold rush. deeply involved in the fighting, but
Using a combination of cash incentives because they were almost completely
and brutal coercion to attract ‘volun- marginalized by the old superpowers.

51
 Essential resources for manufacturing every six years.
and domestic consumption simply
dried up. In response, these countries Freedom of religion is guaranteed under
turned inwards, developing signif- the Indomerican charter. However,
icant biofuel capabilities based on since the Rapture, the old habits of
inexpensive agricultural labor. By the religious fanaticism are once again
time of Great Gap, these individual on the rise. Tensions between devout
nations were primary exporters of fuel Hindus, Muslims and Catholics are a
to struggling nations of the Earth. very real concern to the Arbitrators.
Luckily, almost all the Indomerican
It did not take long for these diverse colonies are self-sufficient for food
states to realize that they would be able crops and energy. However, if
to obtain much greater production and essential resources begin to run out, the
price control if they were to form an Arbitrators fear that religious fervor
alliance, similar to the failed OPEC could easily explode into violence.
union. Over the decades, the Indian-
South American Fuel Charter grew
in scope until it covered not only
Smaller
biofuel products and natural resources, groups
but worker rights, education, food In addition to the big five geopolitical
production and more. Shortly after the powers, several smaller groups are
Great Gap ended, the signatories of the active in the great human diaspora.
Charter agreed to a unified currency While these smaller entities may not be
and common legislative framework. signatories to the Colonial Charter, all
The Indomerican Collective was born. have opted to be bound by its rulings
for the simple reason that it’s generally
The Indomerican
Collective Today
in their best interests.
The Indomerican Collective’s colonies The Free Island
are mostly homo-ethnic: wholly States of Pacifica
Indian, Brazilian, etc. However, each The Freepers
runs under a strict charter and common The Free Island States of Pacifica (or the
legislative framework and the rights Freepers as they are commonly known)
of every citizen, no matter their nation was a collective of tiny independent
state, are not only respected, but nation states formed from artificial
protected. islands, disused oil rigs, and even
aged super-tankers scattered within the
Each colony is governed by a council
Asian-Pacific region. Originally, these
of Arbitrators, similar to judges. The
islands acted as tax havens, financial
councils consist of three permanent
hubs, extra-territorial server hosting,
members, selected by standing
and locations for multinationals’ to
Arbitrators whenever a vacancy
establish high-tech research outside of
becomes available, and eight elected
the jurisdiction of their parent nations.
representatives of the various workers’
These states became wildly wealthy,
unions. Union elections take place

52
at least on paper. However, they all highly technical people - they have
suffered from a lack of raw resources, the highest number of doctorates and
especially petroleum and metals. engineers per capita of any society.
The exact number of Freeper colonies
During the Resource Wars, the is unknown. However, they all share
Freepers were in great demand as the common Freeper culture: a lack of
wealthy attempted to protect their respect for rules, distrust of authority,
assets. However, the Great Gap was and fierce resourcefulness. Within
an incredibly difficult time for the their culture, there is a huge debate
Freepers, with international trade about the true nature of the Rapture.
collapsing. Fortunately, the Free The one thing their citizens all agree
Island States were populated by the on is that no one knows what the hell
disaffected intellectual elite of other is going on.
nations. Science and engineering skills
were – and still are - the keys to Freeper United Colonial
citizenship. The hardship and isolation Marines (UCM)
of the Great Gap forced the Freepers to Once humanity’s Diaspora began to
innovate like never before – if nothing heat up, and different geopolitical
else for their own survival. groups began sharing common worlds
(especially Earth Analogues), it became
The result was a slew of environmental clear that in order to avoid repeating the
and energy production technologies turmoil of the previous centuries, some
that helped bring the world out of its form of impartial dispute resolution
long depression. Solar reclamation, mechanism would be required.
true Artificial Intelligence, nanetic land
construction and geno-aquaculture are
all examples of civilization-changing
technologies pioneered by the Freepers.

When the five big geopolitical powers

began colonization, small groups of
Freepers were quick to offer their
services in exchange for ‘hitching a ride
to the stars.’ Of course, once the agree-
ments they had made with individual
colonization missions expired, these
Freeper groups set up their own mini-
colonies, often scavenging resources
left over by their hosts, such as decom-
missioned and stripped colony ships.
The Freepers Today
Freepers are at their heart anarchistic
idealists. Freeper communities attract

53
 The result was the creation of the The UCM Today
Colonial Charter and the establishment Since the Rapture, the UCM has been
of the Judicial Panel for Colonial struggling to act as a truly autonomous
Arbitration (JPCA). The charter set up body. Its senior ranks were all based
basic agreements on territorial claims, on Earth, and even day-to-day orders
orbital rights and resource sharing had been orchestrated from Earth. With
between colonies, but explicitly the destruction of the PTA communi-
avoided dictating the political struc- cations nodes on Earth, each garrison
tures of colonies or rights of colonists, is operating blind and without a well-
which were considered internal matters defined mandate.
for each of the geopolitical powers that
were signatories to the Charter. To make matters worse, under the
Colonial Charter, once the UCM is
To enforce the decisions from the called in to assist a colony, it has a
JPCA, and to provide military and mandate to override local laws and
humanitarian aid to the colonies, authorities in order to protect lives. It
the Colonial Charter also called for is therefore no surprise that colonial
the creation of a politically neutral governments only call as a last resort.
military organization called the United
Colonials Marines (UCM). Even with gravity drives, travel times
between systems means the UCM
The UCM’s was tasked with three core would has a presence wherever in
roles: most settled systems. Naturally,
older, more populated colonies tend
1. Enforcement of Legally Binding to have larger garrisons, numbering
Colonial Agreements. The UCM close to a thousand active personnel.
is tasked with enforcing any ter- However, most systems have a tiny
ritorial or legal adjudication from UCM presence, generally less than 100
Earth on matters of inter-colonial personnel, and many with only several
conflict. In cases where colonists dozen.
refuse the decisions of due pro-
cess, the UCM may arrest and de- All UCM deployments include a
tain individuals. diplomat (called a Liaison Officer), a
number of mechanics and engineers,
2. Humanitarian Aid: Upon request, pilots, medics and, of course, weapons
the UCM will provide first-re- and combat specialists.
sponder aid to colonies in times of
natural disaster or other stress. In addition to local colonial garrisons,
the UCM also kept a significant fleet
3. First contact: Upon direction from of ships, including three massive battle
the JPCA, the UCM may act as cruisers, a mobile base-station, and a
Earth’s official diplomats on first- flotilla of support vessels. Since the
contact. It also has the task of pro- Rapture, the whereabouts and status
tecting colonies from hostile extra- of the majority of these ships are
terrestrial forces if required. unknown.

54
 Colonial Corporations
The most recent entrants in the its own internal laws, the corporations
Diaspora are pan-geopolitical corpo- have simply set up ‘governments and
rations. Known collectively as the laws’ that allow such research to take
Colonial Corporations, each has used place. Prior to the Rapture, there were
similar legal frameworks to that of debates on how to curb the abuse of the
the Freepers to claim colonial terri- Colonial Charter that enabled corpora-
tories under individual legal corporate tions to effectively circumvent the laws
entities, with major share holdings of the geopolitical powers.
belonging to the parent companies.
These corporate colonies consist of Galactix
two main categories: “land-grab” and Property Ltd
“illicit research.” Making a difference, one person at a
time.
Land-grab colonies seek to obtain
significant tracts of land on Earth Galactix is an NAA property giant
Analogue worlds for future resale. who has established colonies on
However, under the Colonial Charter eighteen Earth Analogues and has
(which none of the Corporations have begun terraforming three other worlds.
dared ignore) these colonies must be The company offers NAA colonists
inhabited for the claims to be valid. ‘attractive’ land-and-home deals,
As such, the corporations have placed coupled with small stipends, in return
‘squatter’ personnel in each area for indentured work over several
claimed. These are the most sparsely decades.
populated of colonies, with individual Galactix also has contracts with the
squatters sitting on 100 square NAA government to run off-world
kilometer tracts of land. penal services for criminals with
The more sinister illicit research lengthy sentences. For all but the most
colonies use loopholes in the Colonial dangerous criminals, this actually
Charter to establish separate legal juris- means hard labor as convicts on newly
dictions where research that has been established colonies. It most cases,
outlawed by all nations on Earth can convicts are ‘rented’ to colonists
be conducted. This research tends to as cheap laborers for the toughest,
be medical in nature: human cloning, dirtiest jobs (forestry clearing, mining,
transgenic manipulation, xenomorphic smelting, construction and so forth.)
gene spicing, brain manipulation Hardened criminals, or those too
and so on. While this type of illicit dangerous to be mixed with the general
research has been conducted on hidden population, are used by the company
deep space orbitals for some years, it for mining and hazardous terraforming
is only with the Colonial Charter that activities. Prisoner fatalities are high
this research could be made ‘legit- in such colonies.
imate.’ Since a colony can establish

55
 Yanky United colonies, the company employs more
Building tomorrow on a budget than a quarter of the total population,
offering attractive salary and benefits
Yanky United is a major construction packages for long-term loyalty. The
company, majority owned by the NAA company is both feared and admired in
Administration. It was one of the first equal measure.
organizations to embark on terra-
forming, and remains a leader in the Dark rumors abound about Conglom-
field. O’s biotech, medical and weapons
divisions. In reality, Conglom-O
In the years prior to the Rapture, Yanky is a conservative, socially-minded
found its finances stretched too far as entity led by a hand-picked elite of
it rushed into the new field of terra- ‘morally responsible visionaries.’ The
forming, and was forced to sell off Conglom-O corporate culture is actively
some of its own colonial assets, and working towards nation building and
downgrade support services to several interstellar settlement and, despite the
others. This has led to dire conditions rumors, prohibits any research that
on some of its colonies – a fact that the would be deemed ‘questionable’ by the
company has kept well hidden from average citizen. In fact, just prior to the
investors. Rapture, Conglom-O’s board estab-
Given its tight financial position, lished a secret and well-funded security
Yanky has stopped investments in new task force which seek to infiltrate and
colonies begun offering its expensive sabotage any illicit activities (from any
services through partnerships with organization or government.) Opera-
other geopolitical power blocks. tives of this task force can be found
throughout humanity and often under
Conglom-O assumed identities.
For your own good
Sevado Planetary
Conglom-O is a Southern Union Holdings
holding company with investments For Family
ranging from agritech to zoo-building,
and everything in between. It is best Sevado Holdings is the colonial
known for its construction of the investment arm of the infamous Sevado
Indonesian-Australian Island land family from the DRU. It has estab-
bridge (and consequent land sales) lished colonies on seven Earth Analog
and it’s buyout of Yanky United’s first worlds, making it the most active of the
two colonies (thus saving Yanky from DRU families in colonization.
bankruptcy.) All seven colonies are run directly
The company wields considerable by family members – typically first
political power in the SU, a power cousins from the main Sevado line,
which extends to many SU colonies. and fully funded by the Sevado family.
On several SU Earth Analogue Each colony is run in along neo-Feudal
lines. The ruling family controls all

56
lands, with regions being offered to colonist are in fact, owner members
peers for day-to-day control. Inden- and their families, while the remaining
tured workers are granted lineage rights fifth are member proxies, long-term
to work the land in return for tariffs. renters, or Club staff.

In all Sevado colonies, the Church Club Colonies run much like a home
holds significant political sway, not owners’ association, albeit for between
through wealth, but through its ability 600 and 800 homes. AIs are used for
to deter potential unrest. Should the day-to-day management and planning
Church detect subversive elements decisions, with a membership council
among the workers, it quickly brings being elected every six years. Votes
these to the attention of the local are only counted from members and
Sevado Magistrates. appropriated licensed member proxies.

Despite the almost mediaeval political With an average population age of 54,
setup, Sevado’s colonies are renowned it has been quipped that Club colonies
for their agricultural productivity. are nothing more than ‘expensive
Within just a few decades, Sevado retirement villages.’ However, this
Planetary Holdings have become major belies the fact that Club colonies are
exporters of food to other colonial well-equipped and very productive
settlements. in terms of meeting a high standard
of living for its population. The Club
BiBi Potency Club colonies are highly automated and more
Inc focused on ‘lifestyle’ than expansion.
Your happy home in the heavens Medical facilities are second to none
Some names simply do not translate, and medical services have become The
and BiBi Potency Club (aka, The Club) Club’s primary export.
would probably take first place in this CRyZtAL SkyZ
category. Founded by a collection of Worlds made better
Sino Block, Indomerican and Freeper
corporations, The Club is actually CRyZtAL SkyZ is a conglomerate of
a not-for-profit social club set up to DRU families that focuses on gaining
provide colonial land ownership to planet-wide rights for worlds rich
its members. Members of the club in rare minerals. Under the Colonial
paid in advance for plots of land, with Charter, ownership of an entire
early members getting substantially world is only granted where terra-
larger plots. Once sufficient plots were forming initiatives are established and
pre-sold, the club organized steerage to maintained. CRyZtAL SkyZ have used
several Earth Analog worlds. Members this ruling to secure seven planets rich
were responsible for deciding who in exotic metals and radioactives. It’s
would journey to their plot of land, terraforming projects are real enough,
but the minimum single person to though minimal and low-tech. The
100 square kilometers was enforced. corporation is in no hurry to make its
Approximately four-fifths of The Club properties habitable, but it certainly

57
 has been busy mining. CRyZtAL force, consisting of hidden operatives
SkyZ colonies tend to be massive holes seeking out those that would damage
in the ground with mining platforms the name and reputation of Happy Cat.
surrounding the vast fission reactors
powering the terraforming process. Happy Cat has a significant manufac-
Massive industrial refineries dominate turing presence on Confucius and
these colonies’ landscapes. several other colonies and orbital
stations.
There are no land-owning colonists on
CRyZtAL SkyZ colonies. Every person MentAI
is an indentured worker on a 20 year Think Better
rotation. The only law is the law of the This superbly rich, yet surprisingly
company, with only Church represen- small organization is the leading
tatives holding any outside influence. supplier of AI systems and support
Unlike many other colonies, most personnel. The company proudly
CRyZtAL SkyZ colonies have orbital declares that it “eats its own dog
shipyards and refueling facilities for food.” Most of MentAI’s computer
even the largest of vessels. This is due design, sales and support services are
to the colonies’ original intention to performed by MentAI’s customized
ship vast quantities of rare metals back AI systems, which are rumored to be
to Earth. housed on a secure orbital somewhere
in the Terran system. Of course, some
Happy Cat people have questioned the wisdom
Industries of AIs being able to design, program
Humanitarian strength and train new AIs... but that’s just
paranoia... right? Right?
Happy Cat is a Sino Block defense
contractor with multinational and Transport
colonial operations. The public Dynamics
face of Happy Cat is what it calls Built forever
“humanitarian strength,” a combi-
nation of non-lethal weapons systems Transport Dynamics is a construction
and defensive solutions. However, it company and a leader in orbital
also manufactures some of the most shipyards and ship design. The bulk of
sophisticated munitions systems Sino Blocks and SU colony transports
available, including smart projec- were built by Transport Dynamics.
tiles, bio-signature targeting systems, It also specializes in mining vessels
and heavy ordinance. Happy Cat is and orbital hydrogen fuel gathering
staunchly a Sino Block loyalist, and platform design.
takes it role as a prime manufacturer Just prior to the Rapture, Transport
to the Sino Block very seriously. It is Dynamics began prototyping, smaller,
one of the few colonial organizations faster, general purpose transport
that has its own “internal affairs” task vessels with gravity drives. There has

58
been significant interest from the Sino very real glass ceiling in the organi-
Block government on Confucius for zation for non-believers.
these new ships, but since the bulk
of the company’s designers were on Kestral
Earth during the Rapture, progress on Intervention
this important project has faltered. It Network (KIN)
is rumored that Transport Dynamics is Integrated security solutions for a new
working with Happy Cat industries and age
MentAI to prepare a scouting mission KIN is a defense personnel contracting
to Earth. agency that is widely used by other
corporations to provide armed security
for orbitals and transports. Its agents
have access to military weapons, under
license from their employers.

Prior to the Rapture, upon recruitment,

KIN personnel were all ‘bonded’ to
KIN’s management AI that was located
in a secure location on Earth.

This bond took the form of audio

implants and radio transmission
Aditi Agritech equipment in the base of the staff’s
International skulls, which is one of the very few
Feeding the world for a prosperous examples of ‘cybernetics’ in business.
future These transceivers would connect to
PTAs which in turn would relay infor-
It is a major developer of modified mation to and from Earth. KIN’s AI
crops and livestock for different Earth provided both operational strategy and
Analogues and is a key provider of tactical advice to agents in the field.
crops designed to aid in terraforming.
Aditi has research facilities on all Of course, the AI has been offline since
Indomerican Earth Analogue colonies the Rapture. But recently, a few agents
and has also made a tidy profit helping claim to be getting broken, garbled
other geopolitical powers establish instructions from the AI directly, even
‘localized’ versions of Earth crops though the PTAs remains offline.
adapted to colonial environments.
Since the Rapture, many KIN agents
Founded in India during the early years have offered their services to strug-
of The Great Gap, Aditi Agritech Inter- gling colonial governments to bolster
national is one of the few organiza- “law and order.” Others have simply
tions with a history dating back more gone rouge. Needless to say, KIN
than 300 years. Its senior management agents have become something of a
are all devout Hindus and there is a problem for UCM forces.

59
 The
Thecolonies
Colonies

60
Mankinds fledging diaspora takes have been settled by several of the
many forms. The larger colonies have major geopolitical powers and smaller
sprung up on planets with existing colonial players. Generally, the major
ecosystems, the so-called “Earth Ana- geopolitical powers have claimed
logues.” However, humanity has also entire continents and, even if not
found itself eking out an existence in all strictly within the legal framework of
manner of ways: on planets and moons the Colonial Charter, such claims have
with barely breathable atmospheres, on been respected. In most cases, it has
icy, dead worlds that hold the promise been easier for the colonial powers
of future life and prosperity, in orbital to simply locate unsettled continents
stations high above fuel rich gas giants and major land masses, than risk a
and even in the broken down husks of legal confrontation. Of course, there
defunct colonial transports. are exceptions to this rule and several
worlds had contested tracts of land that
All known Earth colonies are located were under adjudication by the JPCA.
within a 50 light year radius of Earth,
an area with over 2000 stars. Mankind The largest Earth Analogue colony
has yet to locate other intelligent life is the original Sino-Block state on
within this sphere of ‘human occupied Confucius, with just under 2 million
space,’ but then again, only a tiny people. However, the vast majority
fraction of this area has been explored. of Earth Analogue colonies consist of
There are several hundred K and G between 2000 and 10,000 people, with
class systems, many of which may be just a few having upwards of 100,000
home to life. people.

Earth Analogues Terraforming

The discovery of life-baring planets A longer term approach to colonization
was heralded by as a turning point of undertaken by the major geopolitical
human civilization. Although rare, powers is to transform a non-habitable
such planets were plentiful enough to world into one that supports life. This
provide mankind fertile grounds for process is known as “terraforming.”
rapid expansion. This by no means Such efforts are expected to take
suggests that all Earth Analogues are hundreds of years, and the outcomes
new Edens, with lush gardens just are far from guaranteed. On the upside,
waiting for mankind to arrive. In fact, the Colonial Charter guarantees that
in all but a handful of these planets, the parties that initiate and manage terra-
indigenous ecosystems and atmosphere forming through to completion will
are barely survivable for unassisted have exclusive claim over the whole
humans. However all are suitable for planet. As a result, terraforming initia-
human life in the long run: potable tives have been largely driven by the
water is present, food crops can be desire to claim entire worlds that are
grown and raw minerals can be mined. particularly rich in mineral resources,
and also by the potential for future
Most of the known Earth Analogues return on investments.

61
 Major Colonies in Human Occupied Space

Terraforming colonies are harsh to a greenhouse effect. Biologically

environments. The most likely candi- engineered microorganisms are also
dates for terraforming are colder planets used to help with climate change and
with equatorial temperatures just below prepare soils for eventual plantation.
freezing and that have rudimentary
life forms already. On these planets, Most terraforming colonies have
terraforming consists of ‘exploding’ between 800 and 1000 people on the
massive amounts of water vapor into entire planet. In some cases (mainly
the air, usually by setting off nuclear the Sino Block and CRyZtAL SkyZ)
devices at the poles, and establishing workers are rotated back to earth on
giant reactors that extract and pump decade-long rosters. However, in the
carbon into the atmosphere to give rise majority of cases, most terraforming

62
citizens are made up of the foolhardy, form of replenishment: fuel, raw
the desperate or those on the run. For minerals, specialized components for
others, the promise of a share of riches repairs, and, most importantly, people.
for great grandchildren is a strong
enough reason to face the rigors of a Space Hulks
lifetime encased in cramped, dirty, The wave of colony transports were
industrial cities sealed from the deadly all manufactured to be one-way
conditions outside. vessels. They would carry thousands
of colonists and supplies to a specific
Orbitals location, then be stripped in orbit for
For many decades prior to the all valuable resources before being
diaspora, humanity had been using left as giant, empty husks in space. In
orbital habitats for a wide variety of theory, these vast shells could reused
purposes. Low-orbit gas giant mining, at some future date as a ready supply
deep space refineries, ship building of metals, or even retrofitted for use as
and repair, science and communica- an orbital station. In reality, there was
tions hubs all flourished within the always someone who over the multi-
Terran system. With the diaspora, such year journey felt that these ships were
orbitals sprung up in new systems to more of a home than any colony could
both support fledgling colonies and for hope to be. The upshot is that many
economic sustainability in their own of the abandoned colony ships – the
rights. Depending upon their function, space hulks - have become colonized
orbitals have anywhere from a few by separatists, radicals, or just the plain
dozen people and as many as 1500. crazy. In particular Freepers have been
very active in taking over such space
In theory orbitals are self-supporting hulks, albeit with a bit more planning
habitats. In reality, all require some and a lot more success that their less
rational counterparts.

63
 Factions
Factions

64
During times of uncertainty, humani- Militant Atheism
Militant Atheists believe that there is
ty has an uncanny knack of filling in the
missing facts with beliefs. Sometimes no God, no supernatural beings and that
this manifests as passionate extremism. Earth has fallen to some natural fate,
Other times it is well-rationalized, but most likely an alien invasion. They
still ultimately unsupported by facts. scorn religious individuals as weak-
It is this trait of humanity that Satan minded sheep crushed under the yoke
has used to confuse and beguile people of outdated and imperialistic doctrine
throughout the ages, and to turn nation aimed at keeping the masses at bay.
against nation, brother against broth- Needless to say, Militant Atheism is
er. In rapture, groups of people with the official position of the Sino Block.
shared beliefs about the “real” reasons Militant Atheists may be driven by a
behind the current state of affairs have desire to convert religious types to an
formed factions. enlightened state of mind (the irony of
Xeno Rationalism which is lost on them), or to discover
Xeno Rationalists believe that Earth, the perfectly natural explanation for
and possibly other colonies, have been the current situation. When faced with
attacked by an as yet unknown, but the supernatural, Militant Atheists
purely natural, sentient alien species. will endeavor to prove that there is
They differ from the Militant Atheists a rational, scientific explanation, no
movement in that some Xeno Ratio- matter the evidence.
nalists hold (generally liberal) religious Paganism
beliefs but cannot imagine that God In Rapture, there is only One True
would interfere with humanity to such God: that of the Jews, Christians and
a degree. Other’s Xeno Rationalists Muslims and all the corrupted branches
believe that Occam’s Razor proposes thereof. Every other religion is pagan.
that alien invasion is the simplest, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism... all are
most likely explanation for the current just false idols and mistaken beliefs
turmoil. established over the eons to corrupt
Xeno Rationalists may be driven by a humanity. Of course, the believers of
desire to seek out and understand this such religions do not see it this way!
new alien species, may wish to locate Pagans believe completely in their
the xenos invaders and fight back, or specific religion and when faced with
may even wish to make contact and supernatural beings, will attempt to
attempt to negotiate a peace deal. In rationalize the encounter into their own
most cultures, Xeno Rationalists talk religious world view.
freely of their beliefs, although secret Pagans may be driven to evangelize
cabals have been formed within the their religion, or attempt to use their
Xeno Rationalists to try and manip- beliefs to try and counter the growing
ulate political activities towards tide of thought that Earth has suffered
specific goals. the End of Days. Some pagans,

65
 especially those in the Sino Block, One of the burning issues for Biblical
will hide their true beliefs, while inerrancists is how to choose between
working quietly to convert others. The different interpretations of the Bible.
Indomerican block has a large number Feuds resulting from difference of
of open, practicing pagans. opinion have given rise to a multitude
of schisms in religious circles, resulting
Religious in split away groups and thus damning
Liberalism untold millions of souls throughout
By the year 2644, the vast majority history. Of course, this was Satan’s
of religious people - be they Muslim, plan all along!
Christian or Jew - had adopted liberal
views of their religions, many without Biblical inerrancists are often driven by
really thinking deeply about the issue the desire to more fully understand the
at all. Religious Liberals view the Word Of God (that is, they are ‘seekers
Bible not as the word or will of God, of the truth’) and seem relatively open
but as a book created by man, at best minded when compared to Biblical
under the influence of God. In their Fundamentalists. However, they hold
view, the Bible is a historical journal: that the Bible contains the true will
its messages and stories attuned to a of God and thus treat many of the
more barbaric period of mankind’s liberal views of Christendom with
history. contempt. For example, they see that
infidelity is a crime to be punished by
The liberals may be driven by a death, since that is clearly stated in the
desire to be “politically correct” and Bible, but may have reservations about
accept all religious views, or to preach the meaning of the Rapture. Biblical
tolerance of all faiths. Ironically,
the liberals reject extremism with a
fanatical dedication. Other religious
liberals seek to fit the current turmoil
into some sort view of God as a kind,
caring being. The idea that God could
have triggered this event is abhorrent
to their world view.

Biblical Inerrancy
Biblical inerrancists are Judeo-
Christian that believe that the Bible
(or at least their specific version of
the Bible) is without error. This does
not mean that the Bible is to be read
literally (that’s the Biblical Fundamen-
talists), but rather that it is the direct
word of God to be interpreted by man.
Mankind’s role is to try and under-
stand the word of God as best he can.

66
 take advantage of this growing trend.
However, within the DRU and NAA,
fundamentalist preaching is seen as
potentially revolutionary, and as such
tensions are emerging between the
ruling elite and the fundamentalist
movements.

It should be noted that Biblical Funda-

mentalists will vehemently oppose any
other fundamentalist group that does
not adhere to the exact same version of
the Bible as they do. Since the Bible is
perfect and the direct will of God, there
can be only one true Bible. All others
are evil perversions and traps set by
Satan.

Biblical Fundamentalists may be driven

by a burning desire to convert people
to their interpretation before their souls
are damned. Other may be driven by
Inerrancists may also be driven by a a strong desire to return to Earth and
desire to link science to theological be part of the Rapturous event taking
understanding (such as the Jesuits) or place. Still others wish to seek out evil
wish to evangelize their versions of the and destroy it, no matter how it tries to
Bible as being the ‘true’ version. hide or pretend innocence.

Biblical Humanist
Fundamentalism Emancipationism
Biblical fundamentalists believe that This small but growing group believe
not only is the Bible (at least, their that the turmoil engulfing Earth is the
version of the Bible) without error Endof Days, as promised in the Bible.
(inerrant), but it is the literal Word However, they believe that God has
Of God. Word for word, passage by made an error, and overlooked the
passage, it is true. Such fundamen- inherent righteousness and self-deter-
talists mostly view the current turmoil mination of humanity. God is seen
for what it really is: God’s wrath made an ancient, vengeful, petty-minded
manifest and the End of Days. being, and ultimately fallible. Most
believe that Heaven and Hell are just
While Biblical Fundamentalism stories spun by God and the religious
was almost dead prior the Rapture, right to scare mankind into servitude.
recent events have given rise to more Humanity, now unshackled from its
believers, and it is not uncommon for Terran past, has a chance to cast off
charismatic leaders or preachers to this unneeded deity, as one casts off an

67
 abusive parent. their true destiny. The current turmoil
on Earth is further proof that God is, in
Humanist emancipationists can be fact, the true evil in the universe.
driven by a desire to prove God is
wrong, or may wish to convince others Reverent Satanists are driven by a
that God is uncaring and fallible. Others desire to cast off the chains of religious
wish to demonstrate the righteousness Judeo-Christian dogma and embrace
of humanity and to further it’s glorious humanity’s primacy. They revel in
rise to prominence in the pantheon of human desires and seek to bring others
the universe. into their debauchery. They also strive
to convince others to turn their backs
Theistic Satanism on God.
(Primordial)
With hell unleashed, the unclean spirits Atheistic Satanism
that exist within us all have begun to Atheistic Satanists believe that there
act more openly, perverting soul and is no God and no Satan, no heaven or
mind. Satanists have fallen to such hell, and the Bible is simply a set of
whispers, and embrace the evil that parables on life. Within this context
is enveloping humanity. Primordial Satan represents raw, unbridled human
Satanists believe that Satan (or Bahal) passion and action. Satan is what man,
existed before God and was cast aside. free of doctrine and guilt, can become
These Satanists embrace Bahal as the - a virtual God among the rabble of
true calmness of the universe - the heat humanity.
death of all - and seek to bring about
the end of humanity and establish a Atheistic Satanists may be Machia-
lasting peace. They view the turmoil vellian politicians, or deviant hedonists.
of the Rapture as simply the first phase They are driven by the belief that they,
of this final, glorious goal. like the Satan of the Bible, are not
bound by social norms and laws. They
Primordial Satanists are driven by care little about the cause of the current
the desire to return the universe to its turmoil, save how it could further their
natural, peaceful state... by killing off personal agendas.
humanity. Needless to say, they tend to
keep their beliefs well hidden.

Theistic Satanism
(Reverent)
Reverent Satanists see Satan as a much
maligned and mistreated Angel, whose
desire to improve himself resulted in
God’s jealous rage and the creation of
Hell. Reverent Satanists see Lucifer
not as evil, but as a champion of
humanity, rallying against an unfair
and cruel God to allow humans to reach

68
Technology
Technology

69
 Technology in the year 2645 is ties are almost non-existent, people
have quickly found that keeping things
remarkably similar to that of 2011.
While there have been tectonic shifts simple works best.
in many areas of science, the mundane Game Masters and players alike are
tools of day-to-day life have remained encouraged to make up new equipment
relatively static. Radios are used for and dream up of specialty devices
short distance communication. Guns during the game. Be creative and
shoot bullets. People still eat food and describe gadgets as they are used.
enjoy booze. The cyberpunk revolu-
tion never happened, as most people The following tables will provide you
didn’t want to stick machines into with a guide for how technology and
their bodies. Besides, in the colonies, tools can impact play. Use these as a
where advanced manufacturing facili- starting point for your own ideas.

Item Details
Guns Guns are seriously deadly. Once the number of
successes has been calculated, add additional
Corpus damage for the firearm used. Remember,
most player character mortals have 3-4 Corpus and
extras generally only have 1-3 damage points in total,
so even a single shot from a pistol can mess people
up badly. Being caught in heavy machine-gun fire is
likely to take out several characters all at once
Pistols, revolvers, rifles +2 points of Corpus damage
Shotguns, close- +3 points of Corpus damage
quarter anti-personnel
guns
Semi-automatic rifles, +4 points of Corpus damage
fired in burst
Machine-gun, fired full +1d6 points of Corpus damage
auto
Heavy caliber machine +2d6 points of Corpus damage
run, fired full auto
Fragmentation +3d6 points of Corpus damage
grenade, explosives

70
Item Details
Melee Most improvised weapons will provide 1 to 2 points of
Weapons additional Corpus damage.
Pocket knife, bread +1 point of Corpus damage
knife, broken bottle,
baton
Combat knife, clever, +2 points of Corpus damage
brick
Machete, fire axe, large +3 points of Corpus damage
sword
Chainsaw, battle axe +4 points of Corpus damage
Non-Lethal Non-lethal weapons will not damage a character’s
Weapons Corpus, but instead will damage Mens for a short time.
Taser, stun gun Add 2 points of Mens damage
Stun grenade Add 1d6 points of Mens damage
Shock field canon Add 2d6 points of Mens damage
Armor Armor (and cover) simply reduces the amount of
Corpus damage done to a character. However, armor
will never reduce damage done to zero - one point will
always be done.
Light flak jacket, riot -1 point of Corpus damage (a minimum of 1 point of
gear, overturned table, damage will still be done.)
human-shield.
Heavy combat armor. 2 points of Corpus damage (a minimum of 1 point of
Thin wall, steel bench. damage will still be done.)
Powered battle 4 points of Corpus damage (a minimum of 1 point of
gear. Steel plates. damage will still be done.)
Bulletproof glass or
shielding.
Targeting
Systems
Sniper scope, laser 1 extra dice to the dice pool when aiming equipped
scope, smart ‘gyro’ weapon.
rounds.

71
 Item Details
Professional Generally sophisticated, well-equipped professional
Tools workplaces and tools will add a single extra dice
to a character’s dice pool, but only when they take
advantage of their profession or heroic skills. Some
examples follow.
Engineering bay, 1 extra dice to the dice pool when using Greece
workshop. Monkey skill or Engineering related profession in a
challenge.
Top secret intrusion 1 extra dice to the dice pool when using Hacker skill
software, quantum or computing related profession in a challenge.
array computer.
University resources, 1 extra dice to the dice pool when using Brainiac skill
sophisticated or science related profession in a challenge.
laboratory (complete
with post-doc help).
Well-stocked hospital 1 extra dice to the dice pool when using Quack skill
operating theatre, or medical related profession in a challenge.
military surgery.
State-of-the-art flight 1 extra dice to the dice pool when using Fly-Boy skill
computer, navigation or piloting related profession in a challenge.
array.
Reference bank, 1 extra dice to the dice pool when using Four-Eyes
extensive digital library, skill or research related profession in a challenge.
neural network data
scanner

Invent as you go Military

With the above table as a basic starting Gear
point, a Game Master and players
can quickly flesh out new, interesting Armor
devices for characters. Be as creative
in your descriptions as possible.
Mark 23 UCM Light
To get you started, here are some Combat Armor\
ideas... A light and comfortable multi-part
armor consisting of reinforced boots,
leggings, vest, arm guards and helmet
with an integrated battlefield radio, the
Mark 23 (or “black-suit” as it’s fondly
referred to) is the preferred active duty
dress of UCM teams. Stops 1 point of
Corpus damage.
72
Happy Cat Military B3TL Personal Field
Issue Combat Dress Vehicle
Happy Cat were the primary supplier Developed by the Indomerican
of field battle gear to the Sino Block Goodwin consortium, the B3TL,
military and police forces. Their most or Beetle, is a cross between heavy
common and well-regarded Combat combat armor and a mechanized battle
Dress provided patented ‘smart fibers’ suit. It offers vacuum, heat, cold,
that were light to wear, yet greatly chemical and radiation protection, and
reduced impact damage from projec- (optionally) packs a launcher for three
tiles. They are also fire retardant. Stops high-explosive anti-tank rockets, or an
2 points of Corpus damage. anti-vehicle heavy machine gun. It is
only available to elite troops that have
Sybiona NAA
BattleWeb been trained to use it (you need to have
Rare as hen’s teeth, the BattleWeb is an the Driver AND Gunslinger heroic
integrated combat system designed for skills to use this). Since Goodwin
NAA commando forces on search and never set up colonial operations, B3TL
destroy missions. Its skin-tight fabric spare parts are not available and the
hosts a myriad of sensors that greatly suits cannot be replaced or even fully
enhance the user’s sight, hearing, touch repaired. Stops 4 points of Corpus
and event sense of smell. A full array damage.
of dark vision, pheromone tracing Guns
and passive sonar enable operatives
unparalleled ability to track foes. Thunderbolt
Gain 1 extra dice to any professional Recoilless Long
challenges involving tracking, hunting Barrel Pistol
or stealth. Standard issue for UCM forces, this
large caliber pistol generally fires
low velocity soft-head rounds. This

Sybiona Battleweb

Harsh Environ EVA B3TL Field Vehicle

73
 is to minimize environmental damage used by NAA military, but also widely
should combat break out either on available to UCM weapon specialists.
ships, space stations or sealed colonies. Despite packing a powerful punch, the
+2 Corpus damage. Dragon II is very portable and can be
easily carried by a trooper in place of
Happy Cat Anti-Riot
Bag-gun a regular rifle. Unfortunately, its heavy
The “H Carb” as it’s more commonly ammo belts, coupled with its fright-
known is a powerful eight-shot, ening rate of fire, generally mean that
non-lethal weapon. It fires custom two (and sometimes three) troopers are
6cm caliber jell shells that explode in a assigned a single weapon: one to fire,
cloud of sticky microfiber threads that the others to carry and feed ammo.
entangle anyone unlucky enough to +1d6 Corpus damage.
within 3 meters of the shell’s impact.
This has the effect of doing +3 corpus Computers
damage, but once the threads are Computers in the year 2645 fall into
washed off (with an alcohol based three broad categories.
dispersant) all Corpus damage done by
the H Carb is recovered. Personal
Computers
MGT 34 Rifle The most common category is personal
A highly durable hunting rifle popular computing devices, such as tablets,
with colonists on Earth Analogue desktop systems, wrist comps, smart
worlds. Made from nearly indestruc- clasps, head up displays, personal
tible ceramics, the rifle is ideal for harsh projection terminals, etc. These
environments. +2 Corpus damage. devices pack multiple terabytes of
Happy Cat Preserver memory, have sophisticated graphical
Weapons System displays, multimedia, and so forth, but
The Happy Cat PWS is an integrated in reality, they are really just ‘better-
combat helmet with a battle-field visor faster-cheaper’ versions of today’s
and a semi-automatic rifle, coupled computers.
with ‘smart rounds.’ The heads-up Quantum Arrays
display can help identify enemies and The next type of computational device
steer (to a small but noticeable degree) is the Quantum Array Computer, or
smart rounds onto targets. More QAC (pronounced Quack). QACs
importantly, the PWS greatly reduces are specialized devices for crunching
friendly fire as it can be programmed to complex number problems - namely
refuse to fire on known allies, specific gravity drive trajectories, PTA commu-
uniforms, and a range of other visual nications routing and decryption.
cues. +1 dice when firing, +2 damage
to Corpus. QACs are essential for any vessel
using a gravity drive, as the calcula-
Dragon II Machine-Gun
tions required for safely crossing the
The Dragon II machine-gun is a tripod-
vast reaches of space at superluminal
mounted heavy weapon, commonly

74
speeds are beyond regular computers. computers simply need software, AIs
need individualized programming,
Interestingly, QACs have made the teaching and even a specialized form
notion of securing information through of psychology. People that work with
algorithmic encryption an anach- AIs extensively tend to form odd,
ronism: they can pretty much solve any almost symbiotic relationships with
mathematical puzzle thrown at them these machines.
in a matter of minutes. The result is
that information that needs to remain Most AIs interact with humans via
hidden is generally held off-line or on voice and multimedia, although many
isolated devices or networks. Also, AIs can also directly control robotic
older forms of encrypting data, such equipment. As part of their design,
as using key words from ancient and AIs tend to mimic human conver-
unknown texts, tends to stump QAC sation as closely as possible (at least
decryption, which has led to some with regards to their narrow area of
interesting retro spy-craft. focus) and can often fool humans into
thinking they are working with a real
Artificial Intelligence
person for a short time.
The final type of computer is the AI
(artificial intelligence) neural network It is known that several Freeper groups
system. Even though they can learn and and also the Sino Block have built
reason faster and better than humans, Artificial Conscious computers: fully
most AIs do not have the broad intel- self-aware AIs with broad intelli-
ligence and ‘personalities’ that human gences. The exact purpose for building
possess. Instead they focus on specific these devices, outside of being just
narrow areas. cool projects, remains unknown, and it
is uncertain if any exist in the colonies.
The best way of describing a typical AI
Of course, there is debate as to whether
would be ‘idiot savant.’ What AIs do
these devices could possess a “soul”
well, they do better than any human,
(they can’t but this could be an inter-
or group of humans. The reason for
esting story plot!)
the tight, almost obsessive focus of
AIs is that the vast majority are built Communications
for specific purposes. Why build an All of the communications methods
expensive device that acts just like a available today continue to be favored
human when you can just hire a human in the year 2645, with one important
to do the same thing? addition: Photonic Teleportation
Arrays (PTAs).
AIs can achieve massive feats of
parallel processing, such as simul- PTAs overcame the tyranny of distance
taneously processing thousands of for space exploration. Where radio is
‘thoughts’ and conversations, while cheap and reliable, it is relatively slow.
still viewing all this activity in a holistic A radio message from Earth would
manner. This makes their psychology take 3 to 6 minutes to reach Mars, and
totally alien to humans. While regular hours to reach the Ort asteroid belt. In

75
 contrast, PTAs send information any until a new device could be manufac-
distance, even between stars, with no tured and the paired halves physically
delay whatever. transported out again - a trip lasting
three years or more.
PTAs exploit quantum mechanics to
allow streams of photons to be instan- A very important impact of this
taneously sent from one point in space limitation was that all colonial and
to another. These streams do not physi- ship communications via PTAs were
cally move - they literally wink out of routed to Earth. There were no direct
existence in one place and reappear colony to colony PTA links, and all
immediately in another. This does not starships PTAs were tethered back to
mean that PTAs can teleport matter Earth. Prior to the Rapture, this was
(like Star Trek), but they can transmit not a problem, since once the commu-
massive amounts of binary information nication stream was received on Earth,
between two points. it could be routed to any other commu-
nication network, including PTAs on
PTAs were originally used in 2423 other colonies or ships. Earth’s vast
to control robotic space exploration communications network acted as an
craft sent out to the Ort asteroid belt, exchange between the colonies and
and later to control automated mining starships.
vessels in the far reaches of the
Terran system. When gravity drives During the Rapture, the Earth-bound
were created, PTAs became the only PTAs were destroyed, leaving every
practical way for colonies to commu- colony, every ship, every station, truly
nicate with Earth (radio waves from isolated in the vastness of the universe.
the nearest colony would take over 10 This is the main reason why no one
years to reach Earth!) knows what’s going on. The good news
is, some of the more advanced colonies
PTAs sound perfect, but they suffer and most of the orbital shipyards have
one significant limitation: each PTA the capabilities and resources to build
consists of a unique pair of devices (one new PTAs. The only question is, where
a transmitter and the other a receiver) to carry the new end points?
that must be manufactured together.
Once manufactured, the transmitter
and receiver are ‘connected’ through Gravity
quantum entanglement, no matter how Drives
far apart. The ability to manipulate gravity gave
For space travel and colonization, this rise to not only ‘artificial gravity’ for
meant that each PTA consisted of a space-stations and starships, but also
transmitter and receiver on earth, with heralded the development of ‘gravity
their intimately linked counterparts drives.’ In short, a gravity drive creates
being carried to the stars. If any of a spherical field around itself (and thus
these four components were damaged, the vessel) which isolates it from the
then communications would be severed effects of relativity.

76
Activating a gravity drive uses a their gravity drives. Travelling from
massive amount of energy. However, colonies to such locations takes
once in motion, the drives use very between nine months (for specialized
little energy. Most vessels, certainly all ‘high-speed’ vessels) and up to two
civilian star-ships, only have sufficient years (for older colonial vessels.)
energy reserves for a single activation Once activated, the gravity drive will
of their gravity drive. Larger military fling the ship to the edge of the target
battle cruisers and frigates, and some star system, where another nine month
specialized exportation ships have to two year inbound journey is due.
sufficient reserves for two activations.
This means that once a jump is made, Currently, it is not know just how fast
the crew are committed until they can a gravity drive can go, but most gravity
final a location to refuel (or locate drives are set to travel at roughly 1 light
sufficient resources in system.) year per week, or 52 times the speed
of light. Of course, the faster a ship
Once a gravity field is established, tiny goes, the more complex and precise the
preset fluctuations in the strength of the calculations needed to accurately steer
field fling the enclosed vessel in a single it to its destination. Thus the speed of a
direction at a superluminal speed, but ship is determined more by the sophis-
with no internal inertia. The gravity tication of its computers and sensors,
field does not jump or warp the vessel than the gravity drive itself.
through space - it literally travels, but
just very, very fast in a straight line. Starships
At such superluminal speeds, even Since the Diaspora began, humanity
minute errors in angle, direction and has built tens of thousands of starships.
timing and the setup of the gravity Ships without gravity drives are only
field’s fluctuations can lead to massive, capable of in-system travel and most
potentially deadly errors with regards were built for specific purposes:
to the trajectory and destination. If transport of raw materials, mining, ship
the timing for a flight is a millionth building and repair, salvage, etc. These
of a second too short, or the angle a in-system ships come in all manner of
billionth of a degree off, a vessel can shapes sizes.
find itself years away from its target Ships designed to cross the gulf
destination... long enough for every between stars require gravity drives
member on board to starve to death! buried deep in their hearts. Since
Significantly, external gravity and even gravity drives produce a perfectly
the tiniest nearby masses can cause spherical field, the majority of inter-
miscalculations in the initial state when stellar vessels crowd their architecture
a gravity drive is powered up. Because into a globe-like structure.
of this, every ship will travel under The largest ships built by humanity are
‘fuel drives’ to the very edge of a star the colonial transports, and the largest
system - well away from the worst of of these behemoths can house over
the star’s influence - before activating

77
 ten-thousand people during the four black sheep, and several dozen Freeper
to five year journey to a new world. engineers. Upon colonization, the
However, the typical colonial vessels Praise Through Service was expected
carry around a thousand people. When to be stripped for parts. However,
the Rapture occurred, at least a dozen the Freepers, outraged at the condi-
colonial ships were in transit. Their tions being forced upon the inden-
whereabouts and status is unknown. tured workers, staged a coupe and
gained control of the colonial ship. An
Ships of estimated 230 DRU workers and the
Freepers took the colonial transport
Note out of orbit and the ship’s location is
still unknown. The Sevado family has
set a significant bounty for the return
Sino Block or destruction of the Praise Through
Prosperity Service, and all participating DRU
through unity workers have been excommunicated
The “Unity” was one of the most by the Church.
ambitious colonial transport ships ever
constructed. Unlike the majority of UCM Supernova
colonial ships that are designed to be The Supernova is the newest battle
decommissioned and salvaged upon cruiser in the UCM fleet. A 1100m
arrival at a new colony, the Unity diameter juggernaut with a crew of just
was intended to be reused. It would under 2000, the Supernova features
ferry up to eight-thousand people to state-of-the-art AI control, redundant
already established colonies, refuel and gravity drives and enough nuclear
resupply, then continue back to Earth firepower to destroy all life on a planet
packed with exotic off-world goods. several times over. It also boasts a
squadron of 54 Hawk fighters. Its last
Equipped with the most advanced AIs known location was in gravity transit
and QACs, it was also considered one to the Brilliance system.
of the safest and fastest gravity drive
ships in existence. It was heralded as UCM Love and
the shape of things to come. Peace
Officially the flagship of the UCM
After the Rapture, it went missing. fleet, the Love and Peace is actually
With eight-thousand souls on board. one of the oldest battle cruisers in
DRU Praise space, and certainly the oldest of the
Through Service UCM’s extra-solar forces. It is 755m in
The colonial transport Praise Through diameter and gains extra internal space
Service shipped more than 2500 DRU at the expense of launch hangers. As
indentured workers to an outer Sevado such it only has a small squadron of 12
Holdings colony. On board the ship Hawk fighters. Like all UCM ships, it
was the fifth son of the head of Sevado boasts a nuclear arsenal.
family, rumored to be something of a It lacks AI control networks, and relies

78
on a substantially greater ratio of crew networks, the ships main purpose is to
(3120 in all) when compared to more offer humanitarian assistance, with a
modern warships. However, it does focus on post-disaster construction,
have significant colonial transportation and medical diagnosis and treatment.
capacity, and medical and science facil- Each ship is able to deploy small-scale
ities that would be the envy of most mining, manufacturing and medical
nations. When launched, the Harmony facilities to colonies in need. The ships
was heralded as the first ‘floating city,’ are also capable of medium-range
which is an apt description of this defense, packing limited nuclear and
revered old maid of the galaxy. Its solid-projective anti-ship weapons.
last known location was in high orbit Each possesses a crew of 525 staff.
around Confucius.
UCM Peacekeeper
UCM Titus Class Support
At 1340m in diameter, and packing Frigates
particle and nuclear weapons, the The UCM had 55 Peacekeeper class
Titus could be considered a battle support ships manufactured. At least
cruiser in most senses. However, it 30 were in the Sol system at the time of
was conceived mainly as a mobile fleet the Rapture and their status is unknown.
support platform. It has ship manufac- The rest were scattered throughout the
turing and repair facilities, plus the fuel colonies.
and mining capabilities in the form of a
cluster of support vessels. It has 2100 Each frigate is 300 meters in diameter
personnel. While gravity drive capable, and has an active crew of between 75
the Titus is underpowered in terms and 100. Armed with particle and
of fuel drives, making it’s in-system projectile weapons, these frigates can
movement slow – it took the Titus be dangerous foes in space. However,
almost 27 months to reach the Ort their main role is to move UCM squads
belt from Earth on its maiden voyage, between colonial postings. For shipping
and according to official reports, a troops to and from planets, each frigate
recent overhaul of the fuel engines has carries twin drop-ships, known as
actually decreased performance. The ‘diving devils’ by those unfortunate
Titus’s current location is classified. enough to ride them. Each frigate can
also act as a limited command center,
UCM Indigo, coordinating UCM planet-side actions
Magenta, Crimson from high orbit as needed.
and Redshift
These four identical sister ships were
constructed and commissioned at
the same time. As 400 m diameter
“rapid deployment” vessels, each is
capable of travelling from in-system
to safe gravity drive distance in under
four months. Highly automated by AI

79
 Foes of man
Foes of Man

80
There are a billion terrors in dark- Unclean
ness of space, and trillions more from
beyond. With the Gates of Hell open, Spirits
and the Rapture on Earth, the dead do, Non-corporal (bodiless) minor spirits
indeed, walk among us. Demons stalk can cause all manner of evil inflictions
the sinners and pious alike. Temptation upon mortals. Some act invisibly,
and madness drive people to embrace whispering temptations to the living.
evil like never before. Others cause disease or madness. A
few of the more powerful varieties can
Likewise, with law and order even possess the living! Luckily, all
crumbling, deadly alien predators hunt can be exorcised by one skilled in such
and feed and humanity, and man turns rituals. For most people in the year
against man for scarce resources. 2466, the hardest part is believing that
such spirits even exist, then detecting
A Game Master has plenty of scope to unclean spirit’s presence and influence.
dream up abominations, both natural
and supernatural, to pit against hapless Unclean spirits can be summoned
victims! through curse or ritual, provided of
course that such spirits are within
We encourage Game Masters and the corresponding Hell-Space of the
players to describe their foes during the surrounding area, or already hanging
game’s narration and be creative with around on some other victim. Once
regards to how their ‘powers’ manifest. summoned, an unclean spirit will
An alien predator may have the ability immediately attempt to infect the
to spit acid, or have a razor-sharp beak, targeted mortal. The mortal will
or telescopic tentacles. All basically know nothing of the infection. There
do the same thing in terms of game is no visible struggle. The unclean
mechanics: they hurt people (that is, spirit simply rides inside their victim,
they add dice to the dice pool or give a waiting for the right moment to strike!
damage modifier.)
Many unclean spirits can propagate
Some foes will be named characters, throughout a society. Once they take
while others will be Extras. Often, a hold of an individual, they can infect
powerful named character will lead a others with their evil, growing ever
legion of Extras: a cult-leader and his more powerful (this is the real cause of
disciples; a demon leading hordes of diseases in the world of Rapture.)
animated corpses; an alien queen and
her brood. Unclean spirits may jump from one
person to another at will, although
The following foes are examples from the mortals generally must be in close
which you can build your own ideas. proximity to each other. However,
it has been known for particularly
powerful unclean spirits to transfer
between mortals which were simply

81
 video conferencing! As a Named Character
Mens 2-7
Unclean Spirits can be divided into Corpus NA
four types: Temptation, Madness, Potentia 1-7
Disease and Possession. Powers Temptation

Temptation Spirits Madness Spirits

Temptation spirits are subtle, yet their
corrupting influence should never You know those voices in your head?
be under-estimated. Some religious They are real! Madness spirits are
scholars claim that the natural state abominations that infect the mind
of morality is pure, but it is the preva- of the victim, often causing schizo-
lence of temptation spirits that cause phrenia, but also all manner of other
mankind to fall from grace so readily. debilitating mental illnesses.
Others claim that temptation spirits
are rare, and feed upon the wants In order to inflict itself on a mortal, a
and desires of only the weak-willed. madness spirit must first overcome the
Whatever the truth, temptation spirits victim’s will with a Potentia versus
certainly cause much grief for those Potentia challenge. Keep in mind that
mortals they infect. fear will deduct dice from the mortal’s
dice pool, so it is no surprise that
Temptation spirits are always successful madness spirits thrive where stress
at infecting their victims. No battle of and terror and rife. (That’s not post-
wills takes place, no noticeable change traumatic stress... that’s an evil spirit in
occurs for the victim. The spirit simply your head!)
slips into the weak human flesh. From
that time onwards, the temptation spirit Once infected with a madness spirit, a
will work quietly, tempting its victim human will be constantly under threat
to take actions that will surely damn becoming increasingly unstable. Every
them. See the Temptation Power on time the victim suffers one or more
page 95. points of fear, the madness spirit will
attempt to inflict another madness. See
Temptation spirits can be found the Madness Power on page 96.
wherever humans are. Most travelled
from Earth with colonists prior to the As a Named Character
Mens 1-7
Rapture and are now well positioned
Corpus NA
to do the Great Beast’s bidding. Potentia 1-10
Furthermore, some of the more Powers Madness
powerful demons carry with them a
small troop of temptation spirits to help
them in their spiteful crusade.

Temptation spirits cannot be destroyed,

but may be driven back to Hell through
exorcism.

82
Disease Spirits As a Named Character
Despite what the quacks tell us, the Mens 1-2
Bible clearly states that diseases are Corpus NA
caused by the harmful influence of Potentia 1-10
Powers Disease
unclean spirits. The good news is,
each disease spirit may only manifest
Possession Spirits
one specific disease. The bad news is,
A few powerful unclean spirits harness
most disease spirits can spread like...
the dreaded power of possession to
well, like the plague. While modern
take over control of their unfortunate
medicine can treat the biological
victims. In the days prior to science,
symptoms of a disease and even drive
these foul beings were generally used
out the unclean spirit causing the
by the Legions of Satan to cause havoc
disease, it cannot actually cure the
among the human population - serial
disease. Spirits driven out or hindered
killers and despots among others - were
by science will continue to exist and
all possessed by these unclean spirits
spread their curse to other victims.
In the days since the Rapture, Satan has
When a disease spirit attempts to infect
turned these spirits into dangerous infil-
a mortal, it must use its Potentia as
tration agents. A possessed mortal may
the basis of a challenge against the
not even be aware they are possessed
victim’s Corpus or, in some rare cases,
until Satan calls them into action, and
the victim’s Potentia or Mens. See the
by that time it’s too late!
Disease Power on page 95.
In addition, possession spirits are the
Disease spirits gain an additional point
ultimate spies. The Great Beast has
of Potentia each time its disease harms
learnt much about the outer colonies
the victim. For example, a degen-
and humanity’s last defenses from such
erative disease causes a character’s
spirits.
liver to slowly fail, which reduces the
victim’s Corpus by one point every In addition to gathering information,
few days. Whenever this happens, the possession spirits may be able to
unclean spirit gains another point of perform summoning rituals or invoke
Potentia! At some point, the disease curses, which are generally conducted
spirit may attempt to infect another under a veil of secrecy. Several cults
person and if successful, split some of have been discovered where the leader
its Potentia dice pool with the newly was likely possessed by an unclean
infected person. In this way, a Potentia spirit.
spirit can rapidly spread throughout an
entire culture. As a Named Character
Mens 3-5
Corpus 0
Potentia 5-10
Powers Possession, Curse, Harm,
Summon

83
 The Legion to despair and kills, is trapped within
the Daemon, giving it access to greater
The Legion includes the ancient and
levels of power. These trapped souls
powerful souls of fallen angles, their
can be used (burned) by the daemon
offspring, minions and the damned
in challenges versus a target’s Corpus
souls they call upon. They are pure,
or Mens (but not Potentia). For each
burning evil, malignant and hateful.
soul that is burned, the Daemon adds
The Great Beast has commanded his
one dice to their dice pool. While
generals to lead his Legions forth
Daemons can burn up any number of
and capture as many souls as possible
souls and add a corresponding number
before God decides to close the gates
of dice to their dice pool, once a soul
of Hell for Eternity. Despite being a
is consumed in this manner, it is cast
fractious lot, most in the Legion refer to
down into the fiery pits of Hell and is
themselves as a collective, “Daemon.”
no longer available to the daemon.
The entities that make up The Legion
As a result, Daemons are hungry for the
function a little different from other
souls of the living and have no qualms
beings in that they take their power
about how they go about harvesting
from the souls they consume. The soul
them.
of every mortal that a Daemon drives

84
When one Daemon kills another, all The Fallen
of the mortal souls held by victim are The fallen are angels that followed
transferred to the victor. This results Satan and were damned by God. They
in Daemons being a factitious lot. Their are the Generals of the Legion. Like
final position within Hell will be deter- Satan, they are immortal and were
mined by the number of souls they witness to Creation. They have suffered
have collected, so killing a weakling seven-thousand years of torment in
rival or underling to steal their cache of Hell before being set loose upon the
mortal souls is only offset by the risk Earth, and are making up for lost time.
of incurring the wrath of even more
powerful Daemons. It is not unknown The Fallen burn with hatred and evil
for infighting within the ranks of The that is unmistakable and unable to be
Legion to provide just enough time for masked. Their raw aura is enough to
their human prey to escape. strip the flesh from mere mortals. Their
glance burns away bone. But for all
Satan their raw power, The Fallen are captive
Satan is the most powerful archangel to the will of Satan. They Hell’s army
and is both immortal and eternal in the into battle, thinking of nothing but
truest sense of the word. Should any doing Satan’s will.
mortals come across Satan directly, it
is pretty much game over. And the angels which kept not their first
estate, but left their own habitation, he
Satan is unlikely to leave his Hell hath reserved in everlasting chains under
Throne, from where he directs his darkness unto the judgment of the great
generals in the hunt for the last souls of
day. - Jude 1:6
humanity. All Satan’s generals can hear
his word, no matter where they are. As a Named Character
Mens 5-15
As a Named Character Corpus 10-15
Mens 50 Potentia 5-10
Corpus 50 Powers Possession, Curse,
Potentia 15 Harm, Summon.
Powers Possession, Curse, Souls 50 dice
Temptation, Summon, Armor 10
Harm... actually, pretty Damage +6 sword or other
much everything you can medieval weapons
think up. +2d6 burning
Souls 120 dice (each session) radiance
Armor 30
Damage +2d6 claw
+3d6 fire / blast

85
 Nephilim As a Named Character
The children of “the Sons of God and Mens 5-7
the daughters of man”, the Nephilim are Corpus 8-9
powerful, supernatural beings wrought Potentia 4-5
Powers Curse, Harm, Summon,
from ancient and unholy breeding
Possession
between The Fallen and humans. Souls 25 dice
Physically, Nephilim are giant Armor 4
Damage +4 sword or other medieval
humanoids, and their inhuman nature
weapons
is easy to see and typically invokes
fear (many contemporary images of Children of the
hell’s beasts are, in fact, more akin Nephilim
to the physical aspects of Nephilim). The Children of Nephilim, sometimes
Ageless, they exist to serve their referred to as Daemons by mortals in
fathers’ in the battle against Creation. holy texts, are the disembodied spirits
However, unlike their fathers, Nephilim of Nephilim. They have lived among
are mortal and can be physically killed, mankind since before the Great Flood
although this leaves the Niphilim’s of Noah, and cause all manner of
spirit free to wander through Creation. carnage. Many have the possession
Nephilim revel in destruction, carnage, power, but with a twist. Whomever
death and pain. However, they are they possess will slowly mutate into
intelligent, patient and brilliant strate- a hideous being. While a Child of
gists, preferring to use lesser beings Nephilim may be able to hide its true
and cultists to achieve their ends. nature for months, the flesh of its host
will eventually give way to the evil
And now, the giants, who are produced inside, sloughing off the body to reveal
from the spirits (Angels) and flesh, shall what lies beneath. Some Children of
be called evil spirits upon the earth, and Nephilim may choose to remain in their
on the earth shall be their dwelling... non-corporal form and influence others
much like temptation or madness
And the spirits of the giants afflict,
spirits.
oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and
work destruction on the earth, and cause As a Named Character
trouble: they take no food, but never- Mens 5-7
Corpus 1-5
theless hunger and thirst, and cause
Potentia 4-5
offences. And these spirits shall rise up Powers Curse, Harm, Summon,
against the children of men and against Possession
the women, because they have proceeded Souls 20 dice
from them. From the days of the slaughter
and destruction and death of the giants,
from the souls of whose flesh the spirits,
having gone forth, shall destroy without
incurring judgement’. (I Enoch 15:8-12)

86
Hellspawn
Hellspawn are the ruined remnants of
Lost Souls
Lost souls are mortals who have
evil souls release from hell and made been possessed by either daemons or
flesh. unclean spirits to act as foot soldiers in
They come in every shape and size the war against humanity. Seemingly
imaginable and many that are not. blind to pain and rational thought,
They are brutal and hungry for the they throw themselves at any threat as
souls of mankind. Some are embodi- unthinking hunks of animated meat.
ments of the deadly sins: pride, wrath, It is not uncommon for lost souls to
envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, and greed. mutilate themselves by embedding
Others are perversions of the natural blades, hooks and chains into their
order: humanoid lumps of feces, flesh for use as weapons. Lost souls are
animal-human hybrids, disease ridden rarely armored, but will keep moving
carcasses. And then there are those even after taking massive damage.
that defy description. Hellspawn have The awful truth is that lost souls
become the hunters and shock troops may be animated through the powers
of the Legion. of possession, but they retain their
As a Named Character mortal consciousness throughout the
Mens 3-6 ordeal. They feel every torture, every
Corpus 4-10 mutilation. They despair at every
Potentia 4-5 act of barbarity their brutalized flesh
Powers Harm commits. And most plead to their
Souls 10 to 15 dice capturers for release... only to find
themselves cast into the maws of Hell
Extra
for doing so.
Dice Pool +1 or +2
Damage Target 4 As an Extra
Damage Bonus 1 per success Dice Pool +1
Damage Target 2 or 3
Damage Bonus 0

87
 Carriers As a Named Character
Mens 1-5
Carriers are people just like you and Corpus 1-5
me, except that an unclean spirit or Potentia 1-5
daemon is secretly riding within them! Powers Curse, Summon
Carriers are unwitting pawns and are
being manipulated to take the Legion As an Extra
closer and closer to the heart of human- Dice Pool +1
ity’s defenses. Damage Target 1
Damage Bonus 0
Carriers may hear voices in their head,
or find themselves waking up in strange
places, being accused of actions of
which they have no recollection. This,
or course, makes them stressed and
confused.

88
 Walking about the end of all humanity.

Dead Some cultists are fanatical, and will

kill themselves before they would
Walking dead are animate corpses,
zombies if you will, controlled via the betray their coven. Others are simply
will of a daemon or human that has misguided morons heading toward
been granted daemonic powers. The moral corruption. Some are power-mad
awful thing about the walking dead is tyrants.
that whenever they kill a living human, As a Named Character
that human’s soul is trapped by the Mens 1-5
daemon and thus they become part of Corpus 1-5
the walking dead army as well. Potentia 1-5
Powers Curse, Harm, Summon
Since they are already dead, the
walking dead cannot be killed. They As an Extra
can be shot, stabbed and hacked apart, Dice Pool +1
but their limbs will continue to writhe Damage Target 1
and claw at the living. No. Shooting Damage Bonus 0
them in the head won’t work either.
Burning them to cinders is about the
only way to stop their onslaught. Of Aliens
course, killing or casting out the entity
controlling the corpses is the best, most Predators
permanent option. Evolution (as set in motion by God)
is a universal constant. Survival of the
As an Extra fittest has given rise to predators at least
Dice Pool +1 as cunning and viscous as man himself.
Damage Target 2 However, whereas civilization wiped
Damage Bonus 0 out most terrestrial predators centuries
ago, on the colonies humanity is in the
Cultists minority and in many cases is hanging
Cultists are misguided mortals who on by a tenuous thread. Alien predators
worship the Great Beast and seek to of various types have demolished
gain unholy powers. They are generally entire settlements, and some have even
secretive, often working quietly behind hunted within the larger colonies with
the scenes to convert more fools to horrendous success.
their corrupt cause. Generally cultists
With resources running low and greater
will be led by a charismatic leader, or
exploration of sparsely settled planets,
even directly by a daemon. Most cults
some colonies have unwittingly let
will be attempting to achieve some
loose alien horrors that are the stuff of
evil purpose, such as: summoning
nightmares. Some of the known alien
a powerful daemon; granting dark
predators that are menacing humanity
powers for leaders of the cult; reaping
follow:
souls for a specific daemon; or bringing

89
 The Dragons of Guardian dragons are the size of a
Brilliance small child, yet thinner and more
The colony Brilliance is home to one spindly than infant dragons. They can
of the most effective killing machines fold and fit themselves into tiny cracks
ever encountered by mankind – the and crevices. In the dark, climbing on
so-called dragon (or dracohominos). walls or hanging from the ceiling, they
Dragons have a complex life cycle. look like giant mutant spiders. Their
After gorging herself on flesh, a female bodies are covered in a sticky resin that
will lay hundreds of unfertilized, soft, not only helps them climb, but also acts
tube-like eggs in a dark, underground as a powerful alkaline neurotoxin.
lair. A small number of these unfer-
As a Named Character
tilized eggs will hatch as ‘guardian’s’
Mens NA
and consume the female in a web which Corpus 5
liquefies her body and provides a food Potentia NA
store for the mostly dormant guardians. Powers Flesh Shredder: +2 damage.
Toxic.
The nest emits powerful pheromones
that attract males to fertilize the eggs. As an Extra
In order to gain safe admittance to the Dice Pool +2
nest, male dragons will bring live or Damage Target 2
freshly killed prey (roughly the size of Damage Bonus 2
a large dog , adult human, to the size of
a cow) that the guardians will liquefy
and feed to the now fertilized eggs. Adult male dragons are fearsome
hunters. Standing nearly 2.5 meters
Newly hatched dragons are rabidly and resembling a spiny, humanoid
hungry and will burrow teeth-first into with six arms segmented into three
any meat they can find, even other bat-like wing folds. Their heads are flat
dragon adults, should insufficient food curved oval surrounded by six eagle-
be available. Infant dragons look like sharp eyes. A serrated beak capable of
a horrifically malformed baby with six ripping through steel protrudes from
arms and a pointed snout bristling with underneath this bony cranium. The
razor sharp teeth. Like all dragons, dragon’s hide is nearly bullet-proof and
they prefer dark spaces and move with is covered in photo-active scales giving
lightning speed. However, they lack them remarkable chameleon capabil-
the ability to ‘glide’ found in adult ities. They are extremely stealthy,
dragons. tracking their prey through smell
and their uncanny 360 degree vision.
As an Extra They can grasp onto even the slickest
Dice Pool +1
surfaces, and use their wing folds to
Damage Target 1
Damage Bonus 2 leap and glide over distances of 100
meters or more. A typical strategy is for
the beasts to find a perch and blend into
the background until almost invisible.

90
When a straggler wanders past, the escape. More than one settlement has
dragon will swoop down and grab or been completely sunk with all lives lost
dismember the victim. However, they due to Shark Gods.
have also been known to track a victim
for hours before launching an attack. Physically, Shark Gods do, indeed,
look much like a Terran shark.
Adult dragon males do have a few However, sprouting from their body
weaknesses. First, the males are notori- are twelve powerful, forward facing
ously territorial and will seek out and tentacles which the creatures can use
kill any interlopers on their hunting to manipulate its environment… or
territory. Their heightened reflexes tear a human limb from limb. They
and metabolism means they also need are also partially amphibious, and can
to feed at least once a day. When a ‘walk’ on dry land for up to 30 minutes
fertilized egg cache is detected, they before needing to return to the ocean.
will up this killing pattern to five or However, in that 30 minutes they can
even ten victims a day. Finally, their wreak havoc.
photo-active scales are easily damaged.
Their high animal intelligence allows
As a Named Character them to gauge human behavior, open
Mens 1 doors and air-locks, and hide from
Corpus 8 observation by destroying censors.
Potentia NA They are masters of the game of ‘cat
Powers Acute Senses: +2 dice for all
and mouse’ when in aquatic or semi-
actions involving stealth or
tracking. aquatic environments.
Can Opener: +2 damage plus
Interestingly, some Indomerican
destroys one point of armor.
Killer: +3 dice when
settlers have merged the Shark God into
attempting to kill or main a their religious world view. Some see
victim in melee. the creature as an avatar of vengeance
Death from Above: Can leap and protector of the seas. These people
and glide 100m. +3 dice to make regular offerings to the Shark
its dice pool when attacking Gods in the form of blessed fish and
while doing so. small floating candles. Such settlers
also go to great lengths to protect the
Shark Gods Shark Gods, fearing retribution should
Shark Gods received their name from the beasts be angered.
Indomerican settlers on the ocean world
of Chill. These highly intelligence As a Named Character
animals are unforgiving and relentless Mens 2
killers. Once a pod or rogue decides to Corpus 10
Potentia NA
attack a settlement, they will carefully
Powers Out of the Shadows: +2 dice
watch and test the defenses until they when attacking from the
can find a way to attack. Once inside a dark or behind corners and
colony, they will stalk, kill and destroy +3 damage.
as much as possible before making an Killer: +3 dice when

91
 attempting to kill or main a As a Named Character
victim in melee Mens 1
Like a Fish: The creature Corpus 7
gets +1 dice for any activity Potentia NA
conducted in water. Powers Acute Senses: +2 dice for all
Unique Vengeance is Mine: +3 dice actions involving stealth or
when an challenge is directly tracking.
related to a perceived injury. Out of the Shadows: +2 dice
when attacking from the
dark or behind corners and
Cannibahls +3 damage.
Exactly where and how these abomina- Killer: +2 dice when
tions originated is unclear. They have attempting to kill or main a
been found on several colonies, orbitals victim in melee.
and hulks. The few scientists who have Pack Leader: +1 dice for
been able to study these creatures have each additional cannibahl in
determined that their genetic sequence the pack. This is in addition
to any dice for extras!
was once human, but radical changes
As an Extra
have occurred that seem… intentional? Dice Pool +1
Physically, cannibahls look like tall, Damage Target 1
deathly white humans whose bones Damage Bonus 1
have sprouted through the skin as razor
sharp barbs. Their elongated fingers
and toes allow them to climb almost
any surface. On the ground, they lope
much like a chimpanzee, but at a fright-
ening speed.

Despite their possible human origins,

cannibahls lack higher order thinking
and reasoning. They exist as small
packs wild predators, working with
a bestial cunning and knowledge of
their territories to hunt their prey. Their
strategies are wolf-like, but perfectly
evolved for hunting prey inside the
claustrophobic confines of colonies,
hulks, and orbitals.

It is rumored that a bite from a

cannibahl will infect the victim and
cause them to mutate into a member of
the hunting pack.

92
 Insane cannot easily rationalize. This means
that, even when functioning perfectly,
Artificial AIs can take decisions that will have
deadly consequences.
Intelligence
While often overlooked by the average The good news is, no matter how
citizen, Artificial Intelligences hold human-like their interfaces seem, AIs
sway over life and death in much of are not mortal. They do not have souls,
Human Occupied Space. From running nor ever will (although some people
starships and orbitals, to keeping will argue this point.) This means
colonies in working order, AIs are an they cannot be possessed or corrupted
essential part of the fabric of society. by daemonic forces. Unfortunately,
the same cannot be said for their
AIs see the world around them in a very programmers, trainers or psycholo-
narrow way. While they can analyze gists. It is possible that an AI could be
more data in a single second than a trained to be ‘evil.’ Such a monstrosity
human could ever hope to comprehend would be a powerful reaper of souls
in their life, AIs will obsessively focus indeed!
on their primary task, even if that
means making choices which humans If needed, AIs will use their periph-
would find amoral. For example, an AI erals and the environment to hinder,
may have no compunction in voiding maim or kill those that opposed them.
every man, woman and child on a They will also be highly protective of
colony ship if it determined that this themselves, seeing any threat to their
would save a greater number of lives in existence as a threat to their primary
the future. Then there are the corporate objectives.
AIs who primary goal is profit. And let
As a Named Character
us not talk about what military AIs may
Mens 15-20
want to do when faced with things they Corpus NA
Potentia NA
Unique Remote control of robots,
environment.

93
 Powers
Powers

94
 Dark beings. Temptation is not the same as
possession. With temptation, a mortal
Powers still has control: they know what
they are doing is ultimately wrong or
There are powers in heaven and harmful, but the short-term pleasure or
hell that defy science, yet are consis- gain overcomes rationality.
tent with biblical teaching, and much
of what mankind has rationalized as Once a mortal has been infected with a
nature is in fact, manifestations of temptation spirit, or is the target of an
the unholy. Temptation and diseases unholy being’s temptation, they suffer
are actually unclean spirits working a one dice penalty on any Potentia roll
Satan’s will upon us. Random acci- that involves temptation or giving in
dents and runs of bad luck are manifes- to the victim’s desires. Even worse,
tations of curses. Insanities are really whenever a player attempts to use their
the possession of the living. character’s personal goal to add dice
to the dice pool, the temptation power
Unfortunately, the vast majority of may be used to add the spirit’s Potentia
humans left alive after the Rapture do to either side of the challenge, or if
not understand these truths. They cling the Game Master decides, attempt a
to science for explanation and solutions different outcome for the challenge
to mankind’s ills, whereas exorcism is altogether (in which case, this you
the only true solution. The miniscule would have a three-way challenge.)
few that have accepted the truth as writ
in the Bible are generally considered Disease
fanatics and have been marginalized. Soul cost: None
Finding a priest in the colonies is hard A victim who is infected with a disease
enough – finding one that has not fallen spirit (page 83) will immediately begin
to liberalism, still embraces the old suffering the specific disease associated
ways and understands and believes in with the spirit. The disease will follow
the powers of exorcism is even more the ‘medical’ patters attributed to
difficult. natural biological causes. The disease
may be combated with medicines or
Following is a list of dark miracles surgery, but for any treatment to be
that the various forces of hell may effective,the doctor will need to be
call upon. Some powers cost souls to successful in a challenge with their
perform – that is, the daemon or spirit Mens as their base dice pool (plus
performing the power will need to burn any other dice pool modifiers they
one or more of their captured souls just can muster) against the disease spirit’s
to trigger the effect. Potentia. A single success will simply
alleviate the symptoms. Two successes
Temptation
Soul cost: None
will result in remission of the disease.
Mortals can be tempted to perform Three successes will drive the spirit
desired, but ultimately detrimental, from the victim. However, the spirit
actions by spirits or other non-corporeal will not be destroyed and will quickly

95
 find a new host. from the player’s dice pool. Obviously,
narration should include commentary
Only successful exorcism will be able on the curse when describing the
to truly caste a disease spirit back into outcome of the challenge.
hell.
For example, a hero has been curse
Curse with “May you become as a cripple”
Soul cost: 1 dice
and was attempting to flee from a
When a mortal is cursed, they will be hoard of cannibahls. The Game Master
plagued with bad luck. There are two decides that since the hero is running
types of curses: specific curses and away, the curse should come into
generic curses. effect, and declares that 4 points of the
Specific curses require the caster to curse be used to deduct 4 dice from the
make a very clear statement as to the player’s dice pool!
effect of the curse, such as “May you Generic curses are less powerful.
become as a cripple,” or “Your eyes These include such utterances as “May
shall cloud over and become blind to you forever be troubled” and “May you
those you love.” When such a curse live in interesting times.” These curses
is uttered, the forces of Hell create bring the victim a spree of bad luck,
a contract to hinder the victim in the but being less focused than specific
stated manner. The character should curses only provide 4 ‘curse points.’
then take note of the specific curse and However, unlike specific curses, these
note down 10 curse-points. points can be applied by the Game
The Game Master or the player may Master or player to any challenge.
spend any number of these ‘curse A character can be cursed more than
points’ during a challenge that could once, with the curse points for each
be impacted by the curse’s statement. curse being tracked separately.
Each curse point spent deducts a dice
Once all curse points are spent, the
curse is removed. Luckily, some priests
who held on to the old ways may be
able to remove curses. Of course,
finding such a rare individual would
require a great deal of luck… which
cursed people generally lack.

Madness
Soul Cost: 0
Once a madness spirit infects a victim,
it begins the slow work of undermining
that victim’s mental defenses. The
victim immediately gains one point of
Fear. Worse, when the victim is in a

96
stressful situation (that is, whenever Other invaders method of possession
they take an additional point of Fear) is more immediate. As soon as they
the madness spirit will attempt to enter the victim, they immediately gain
inflict a madness on the victim! This control of the body. This is usually
is treated as a challenge. The victim accompanied by the victim undergoing
must immediately roll their Potentia physical changes – eyes turning pitch
(and factor other dice pool modifica- black, veins popping out in face and
tions, including deductions for fear) arms, hair rising or turning white.
while the madness spirit uses its
Potentia as its base dice pool. Based Harm
Soul cost: 1-10
on the number of success the madness
spirit gets, the Game Master may select This power allows a being of hell to
a mental illness from the madness table cause physical harm through a super-
(see page 36 for details on madness). natural means: causing peoples’ heads
to explode; freezing touch; fire breath,
Possession tentacles of chains covered in barbed
Soul cost: 3 hooks, etc. Harm works at a distance
Possession allows a non-corporal entity – basically if the caster can see the
to take control of a victim’s body. Once victim, they can cause harm.
the soul cost is paid, the invading entity
and its victim engage in a Potentia Harm must be cast before an attack
versus Potentia challenge. challenge outcome is determined.
For each soul spent to activate harm,
If the victim successfully fights off the the caster gains +2 damage should
invader, then the invader will suffer the caster be successful in an attack
damage to its Potentia based on the challenge.
number of successes of the challenge.
However, if the invader wins, the Summon
Soul cost: variable
victim is possessed.
Summon allows a caster to bring forth
Some invaders possess by stealth, entities from Hell-Space. Depending
and hide deep in the victim’s subcon- upon the entity being summoned, a
scious waiting for the right time to certain number of human sacrifices will
strike. Such possession may last years, be required. The more powerful the
with the only symptoms being that the entity, the more souls must be given up.
victim has strange, often surreal and Summoning only works if the entity is
violent, dreams. However, whenever within the Hell-Space corresponding to
the invader wishes, they can attempt the summoner’s place in Creation. Evil
to take full control of the victim. cultists that wish to bring a daemon to a
This requires another Potentia versus distant colony will first need to perform
Potentia challenge. If the victim wins, lengthy rituals – often lasting months,
the invader suffers damage to its if not years – to draw the demon across
Potentia and cannot force the victim the gulf of Hell space. These rituals
to act. If the invader wins, it has full also require regular human sacrifice.
control of the victim’s body.

97
 Creature
Powers
Creature powers are natural skills
and physical capabilities of the various
beasts that hunt humans. Unless stated
otherwise, creature powers are comple-
mentary. So a creature with both the
Flesh Shredder and Death from Above
powers will get a massive +6 damage
when attacking someone from above!
Feel free to create your own creature
powers. To get you started, here are a
few ideas:

Acid Blood
In homage to Ridley Scott! Creatures
with acid blood can spray deadly acid
that will corrode armor and flesh in
spectacular fashion. Whenever the
creature takes Corpus damage (except
from fire), all characters within 1 meter
must make an unchallenged Corpus roll
with a target value of 7 or be splashed
with acid. The acid will destroy one
point of armor and result in 1d3 points
of Corpus damage.

Acute Senses
At least one of the creature’s senses
is particularly sharp. +2 dice to its
dice pool for any challenge involving
hunting, tracking or detecting stealthy
characters, provided the sharpened
sense can be used.

Amphibious
The creature can survive in both water
and land for an extended period of
time.

98
Anesthetist

This beast uses a powerful neural toxin

to put its victims to sleep or dull their
senses. Whenever the creature attacks,
damage may be taken from a victim’s
Mens rather than Corpus. This is not
permanent damage, and will recover at
a rate set by the Game Master.

Back from the

Dead
Only available for named characters.
The creature has a knack for returning
for one last fight. When the creature has
its Corpus reduced to zero, it appears
to be have been killed. Then, just as the
heroes are letting their guard down,
the creature will leap back into action.
Its Corpus will be reset to 1 and it
gains +6 dice to its dice pool for next
challenge.

Bullet Proof
The creature is nearly immune to
modern projectile weapons. +6 armor
versus all firearms.

Chameleon
The creature can blend into the
environment. +1 dice to its dice pool
for any stealth related activity when
moving. +3 dice when still.

Can Opener
The creature is so strong, or it’s claws
so powerful, that it can shred even the
toughest armor plating. Whenever it
does Corpus damage, permanently
remove one point of armor from its
target. If the target has no armor, +2
points of corpus damage.

99
 Charge attacking.
The creature can scatter its victims
like confetti. In order to charge, the Like a Fish
creature needs a run up of at least 15 The creature is comfortable in aquatic
meters. +3 dice to its dice pool when environments. It gains +1 dice to all
charging, and +3 damage. dice pools when in water.

Dangerous Loves the Dark

The creature can cause serious harm. The creature is adept and moving from
+1 dice to dice pool for all attacks. within shadow. +3 dice to its dice pool
for all Corpus activities when in dark
Death from Above or shadow.
The creature can swoop down on its
victim, causing horrific injury. +3 Out of the
Corpus damage when attacking while Shadows
flying or jumping down on a victim. The creature can launch devastating
attacks from out of shadows. All
Flesh Shredder people will see is a claw or tentacle dart
The creature has powerful jaws, razor from the shadows and drag a victim,
sharp talons or similar, which it uses screaming, into the darkness! +2 to the
to rip prey apart. +3 points of Corpus dice pool when attacking from a dark
damage. or shadowy area, and +3 damage.

Fly Pack Leader

The creature can fly or glide. This power only applies to named
characters. It allows the creature to
Genetic Thief direct Extras in its pack effectively.
The creature’s offspring can inherit When orchestrating the pack for
genetic aspects of recent victims. For hunting or attacking activities, the
human victims, this means that any Pack Leader gets an additional dice to
such offspring will gain 1 or 2 points its dice pool for each Extra in the pack.
of Mens, and perhaps some humanoid This is in addition to the normal dice
physical traits. gained by ganging up!
Infectious Panic Inducing
The creature is a carrier of disease Only available for named characters.
spirits, or has a toxin that allows People run away screaming from this
disease spirits to multiply more readily beast. When Extras see the creature
in humans. Any human that takes for the first time, they must make an
Corpus damage from the beast will unopposed challenge with a target
automatically become infected by a value 5 using each Extra’s dice pool
specific disease spirit. bonus (normally 1). Extras that do
Killer not succeed in the challenge will be
The creature is particularly good and panicked and immediately attempt to
combat. +3 dice to the dice pool when flee.

100
Runner Toxic
The creature can move like the wind. The creature can inject victims with a
+2 dice to its dice pool whenever powerful toxin which will cause the
attempting to flee. victim additional damage over time.
After taking Corpus damage from the
Scary as hell best, victims will receive 1 addition
Only available for named characters. Corpus or Mens damage at regular
The creature invokes terror by intervals (set by the Game Master.)
triggering deep-seated cultural fears. Provision of an antidote will halt the
Check for fear when first viewing the poison.
creature.
Vampire
Slimy The creature can feed upon human
The creature leaves sticky, weird slime blood or flesh in order to make itself
trails that scare the heck out of people stronger. For every victim it kills, the
and makes it difficult to move or see creature will increase its Corpus by 1
clearly. All named characters receive a (maximum of 12).
-1 dice penalty to all dice pools while
in areas that have been affected by the Vandal
creature’s slime. The creature has a knack for destroying
vital systems and infrastructure in
Stealthy human settlements. +3 dice to the dice
The creature is particularly good at pool when attempting to destroy infra-
hiding and moving quietly. +3 to dice structure or machinery.
pool when doing anything involving
stealth. Wasp
This abomination lays its eggs or larvae
Susceptible inside a living host. This offspring will
The creature is particular vulnerable begin eating the host from the inside
to one specific type of substance or and eventually erupt forth in a shower
attack. For example, it may be suscep- of gore. To infect a victim, the parent
tible to fire, salt water, cold, silver, or creature will need to make a successful
even something as rare as selenium. challenge using its Corpus. It receives
Whenever the creature is attacked by a +1 to its dice pool for this challenge.
this specific substance, the attackers If successful, the creature’s offspring
gain +3 dice to their dice pool, and will be injected into the victim.
+3 damage. Of course, the heroes Depending upon the gestation time,
need to figure out the creature’s unique the offspring will periodically cause 1
weakness is first! point of Corpus damage. In addition,
Thick Skinned when it finally emerges, the offspring
The creature is armored. 1 to 3 points will cause an additional 3 points of
of armor. Corpus damage.

101
 The Rapturous
The Rapturous
game master
Game Master

102
Rapture is a narrative style of role- players feeling ‘ripped off’ and isolated
from the story.
playing game. This means that it is
driven more by story than mechanics The second approach is to go with
– although mechanics do play a part. the flow and see where the story takes
It also means that players have a great both yourself and the players. If the
deal more control of the story line than players can figure out a way to destroy
in more rules-centric gaming systems, your carefully crafted adventure, then
like Dungeons and Dragons. For the just continue with a slightly different
Game Master, this brings with it cer- mission.
tain challenges, but also opportunities.
Following are some tips and tricks for For example, during one of our play
running successful games of Rapture. test games, a group of players had
their heroes build a nuclear device and
Let it go man. it’s used it to blow up a derelict starship
gone right at the start of the adventure. The
The biggest challenge in Rapture is that Game Master had intended the crew to
it is very difficult to stop your players attempt to enter and salvage the vessel
from running off and doing something which was haunted by an undead serial
you did not expect when planning the killer! The whole mission was intended
game session. During narration, they to be “Friday the 13th in space.” With
can bring in all sorts of new plots and the battleground blown up, the Game
story lines. Master could have been at a loss.
In fact, this is encouraged! The game To work with this change in plot,
mechanics allow for players to gang up the Game Master decided to have a
and ‘max out’ their dice pools should desperate, pleading transmission from
they really want a challenge to go their survivors on the “not-so derelict as first
way, despite the efforts of a Game thought” starship just seconds before
Master. During games of Rapture, the nuke exploded! Of course, tensions
you will almost certainly find situa- then begin to rise among the heroes
tions where your deviously concocted and non-player characters of the crew
plot line is derailed by players’ clever as they realize that they had committed
antics. a horrendous crime of mass murder.
There are two ways Game Masters can And naturally, such an atrocity allowed
deal with this sort of situation. a temptation spirit to push one of the
heroes’ crew mates over the edge. The
The first is to ‘railroad’ the action by next thing the players knew was that
vetoing the players’ activities or by one of them was an unknown serial
attempting to create a situation where killer, sabotaging their own ship and
the players simply cannot achieve their the stalking heroes in an increasingly
stated goals (difficult to do, given the dire situation. Best of all, the situation
aforementioned game mechanics). was entirely crew’s fault… it was
The railroad approach usually leaves collective guilt made manifest! The

103
 Game Master also benefitted from this characters. Even if the characters all
simple bit of story line judo, as much work for the same organization, it is
of the setup of the original haunted likely that conflicting goals will be
ship adventure was re-purposed. present due to political infighting. Some
of these tasks should be very specific,
By being prepared to give up a planned while others can be quite open-ended.
story line and jump to another, a Game Think carefully about what will cause
Master can fully immerse the players the most discord among the heroes.
in the story, and probably have a lot Examples include:
more fun as well.
• Test an experimental “work effi-
Adventures on ciency” drug on the crew and
standby record the results.
Because players can send your adven-
tures off in different directions, it is also • One of the team is a spy for the
a good idea to have a few adventure NAA. Find out who it is and
seeds tucked away, ready for use. arrange for them to have an acci-
During the initial set up of the game dent.
session and its introductory scenes,
introduce snippets of these other plots • Ensure that the governor’s son is
into play, while not detracting from safe at all costs. If anything hap-
the main adventure setup. This way, if pens to him, the same will happen
the main adventure goes off the rails, to your family.
you have a number of ‘hooks’ that let • Access and copy files on the
you steer the game in a new direction. “Gateway project” and return them
Better still, pay close attention to to head office.
any potential plots introduced by
the players themselves. The player’s • Ensure that the governor of the
redemption tasks are a good source colony does not formally request
for creating new plot twists during the assistance from the UCM.
game. Running with player’s own ideas
can lead to some epic game sessions! • Identify and befriend the politi-
cal agitator, and find out who his
I may be paranoid, friends are.
but am I paranoid
enough? • One of the team has been leaving
In most of the best thrillers, teams that notes to you about that accidental
distrust each other must find ways to death you caused five years ago.
work together, or perhaps they turn Find out who it is and why they are
on each other in times of stress. This doing this.
is why Rapture has the Game Master • Keep an eye open for heretics and
give each player character a political report back their activities to the
instruction. A cunning Game Master Church.
will use these instructions to build
conflict and tension between the major

104
Show, don’t tell The player ponders for a moment and
Your role as a Game Master is to set then states that she will use the portable
plots in motion by briefly describing arc-welder that she was dragging
the environments and events taking out of the reactor. That seems totally
place. Don’t try to describe every little reasonable (and deadly too) and thus it
thing. Let the players fill out the details is woven into the story.
as part of their narration and characters’
actions. Avoid Maps
Don’t get us wrong; maps can be useful
Initially, many players will ask you if game aids. They make great player
they have certain items or tools. Once handouts. But in Rapture, we want
way of getting the players into the players to be involved in the world
spirit of his game is to respond, “Do building, and detailed maps can get in
you think you would have that?” If the way. Battle maps and figurines are
they believe they would, then let them completely pointless in Rapture. If you
have it. Very quickly the players will do wish to use a map, make it more
realize that they can let their imagi- of a generic blueprint of the facility
nation run riot and they will quickly or ship the heroes find themselves in,
introduce all manner of items into play and leave out most of the detail. This
that will add more flavor than any one lets the players focus on the plot and
person could dream up. Of course, adding in things they think should be
there will be times when you have to vital to the story. You can download
apply reasonable limits, but in general, some examples of the sort of blueprints
let the players get away with a lot. that work well with Rapture from
www.storyweaver.com.
One more tip. In general, the items
players dream up should not add to Players running
dice pools. Instead, they may add out of dice
damage or perhaps provide protection Rapture intentionally gives player
to specific types of damage. See the characters a limited dice pool. There
Technology section (page 69) as a guide. will be many situations where players
are in a life and death situation and are
For example, a hero has just emerged desperate to create a larger dice pool.
from engineering where she has been In these situations, they will often beg
repairing a sabotaged reactor. She is the Game Master to allow them to use a
aware that someone on the ship is not factional or personal goal, or a skill that
who they seem to be and she has an is not really directly related to the task
inkling it’s the doctor. Suddenly, she is at hand. Don’t let them. At first, this
attacked from behind! It’s a challenge! may frustrate a player, but once they
The player asks the Game Master if she have had one or two of their characters
has a weapon, and the Game Master killed off, they will understand that this
responds, “I’m sure not… can think of actually makes the game a lot more fun
something?” (and a lot more tense.)

105
 For example, an already wounded Then the player suggests that he could
hero has been ambushed by two use his Brainiac heroic skill, since the
undead monstrosities. Knowing he device he is using is technological. This
almost certainly doomed, he grabs a the Game Master also rejects, since
geological charge from his pack and Brainiac is more about research and
presses fuse switch in the hope of at science than simply pressing a button.
least using it to blow up the corridor
between him and the beasts. Finally the player suggests the he
could use his profession of Asteroid
The base dice pool is the hero’s Corpus Miner, since the charge is a tool used in
of 1, and so the player is keen to build such mining. The Game Master agrees
it up. The player says he will use his to this, which gives the poor hero just 2
personal goal of “Make Stella fall in dice in his dice pool.
love with me,” arguing that if he dies,
he’ll never find that love. That goal is Be cruel to be kind
not really directly related to the action, Do not be afraid to kill off your players’
so the Game Master rejects its use. heroes! Having heroes killed off in
imaginative and horrible ways is part

106
of the fun, and it also the only way for
players to gain experience.

As a rule of thumb, for every player-

character that starts the game, have
two Extras as part of the heroes’
team. If you have four players, then
the total party would be 12 characters:
four initial player-characters and
eight support staff. This rule provides
just enough spare characters for your
players to take control as their heroes’
die, but not quite enough to make death
meaningless.

It is also a good idea to create the

names, gender and professions of these
Extras right at the start of the game and
let the players know who is who.

If your adventure is likely to have

and weave meta-play information into
massed battles (huge hoards of walking
plot lines.
dead or aliens), then you should up the
ratio to about 4 or even 6 Extras for Next, briefly describe how to create a
each player, mainly so the Extras can character (it’s all on the character sheet
be used soak up splash damage during anyway!) and let the players know
the big fights! what sort of characters they can and
cannot create. If the adventure needs
Dump up front
specific professions, let your characters
When you start a game of Rapture
know and let them figure out who will
with a new group of players, give them
be what.
a quick verbal dump about the entire
world: a brief history of how humans Finally, briefly describe how challenges
got into space, the various colonial and damage works. No need to go
powers, how gravity drives, AIs and through every rule – the players will
communications work, the sudden find out soon enough!
events on Earth and the factional
confusion that followed. This is all Once this is all out of the way, you can
meta-play information, but you’ll find get on with narrating the opening scene
getting it out in the open right up front and the game should move along nice
will help the games run more smoothly. and quick.

Most gamers are smart… they will

incorporate what their heroes know of
the universe into the game’s narration,

107
 DARK
StoryPOWERS
SEEDS

Claustrophobia
The NAA Colonial Transport ship X32
has been detected cruising without
power in a trajectory that will have it
pass it’s targeted colonial world in a
matter of months. This ship must have
been in Gravity Drive during the time
that the events on Earth took place, and
was due to reinforce the population on
a local Earth Analogue colony. Radio
communications are out and the ship
appears to be dead. However, there is a
slim chance that some of the population
is still alive, and even if not, the ship
contains vital supplies.

A team of non-military experts is trans-

ported to the hulk by a small UCM
team in the hopes of rescue or, at the
very least, salvage.

Fortunately, the ship’s environmental

systems are running and gravity fields
are mostly in operation. Unfortunately,
the ship has been overrun by canni-
bahls. Most of the population has been
eaten or mutated into horrific killers.

Upon entering the ship, the heroes

will find hundreds of mutilated bodies.
They will also need to diagnose the
problems with the vessel. First up, the
reactor was shut down due to damage.
The damage appears to have been

108
109
 intentionally caused by a loading crane. The Freepers, fearing an assault by any
Once the reactor and power is back one of a number of religious fanatics,
online, the heroes will need to head to have turned their intellects to defensive
the bridge and reactivate the AI before strategies, one being the cybernetic
getting the fuel drives on line to steer enhancement and training two Shark
the ship back to the colony. During this Gods.
activity, the heroes will be hunted by
the multitude of cannibahls on board. But now… something has gone
wrong. The Sharks have escaped
The really bad news is that the AI and are stalking Oceania, killing and
purposely damaged the reactor in an destroying vital infrastructure with an
effort to ensure that the cannibahl intelligence well beyond the norm.
infection would not make it back to a
colonial world. Once reactivated, the At the same time, a group of ‘refugees’
AI will quickly come to the conclusion arrives from the DRU in a sinking
that these rescuers pose a new danger. fishing boat, pleading for sanctuary.
It will manipulate the environment to After being let in, it quickly becomes
separate the heroes and let in cannibals clear this rabble of hungry and weather
to kill them off in small groups, all –beaten souls are being led by a fanatic,
the while making it look like the who claims he is a witch finder. And
cannibals are somehow operating the he smells the foul scent of demons in
environment. Only when the last few Oceania!
heroes are left standing will the AI
reveal its true intentions to them… Our Freeper heroes must play a cat and
mouse game with the powerful killer
Can the heroes disable the AI and Shark Gods, which are actively trying
regain control of the ship? Can they to sink the entire colony. While this is
survive the onslaught of the canni- happening, the refugees will be staging
bahls? Will any of the heroes be a coup to take over Oceania on behalf
infected by the cannibahl plague and of their insane leader.
turn on their friends?
The bad news is that one of the Freeper
Flood scientists involved in the Shark God
Since the events of the Rapture, the project has become corrupted by a
artificial reef colony of Oceania is home temptation spirit and had previously
to just 376 Freepers, yet is a beacon of tortured the sharks. Now free, the
science and learning in a world that sharks are on a rampage of vengeance.
is slowly sinking into mysticism and The Freeper who began this disaster
fear. Nearby DRU and Indomerican holds the key to stopping the carnage.
island colonies on Oceania have The good news is, the witch finder
become mired in religious fighting can genuinely smell out evil, but his
and civil unrest. Fanatical purges increasingly violent methods will drive
of ‘unbelievers’ between all faiths is a wedge between the liberal Freepers
resulting in hundreds of deaths. and his followers.

110
Shattered CRyZtAL However, what is more difficult to
A group of specialists and a UCM uncover is that among the convicts is
squad are called in to assist a CRyZtAL a cabal dedicated to the summoning
SkyZ terraforming colony, which has of a “The Great Leader.” The cabal is
been broadcasting an SOS signal. The led by a giant of a man known simply
trip from an in system Earth Analogue as The Boss, and has been readying
colony world took five months, during the summoning for months. While not
which time no other radio broadcast fully ready, the arrival of the heroes
has been received from the terra- has forced the cabal’s hand. While
forming colony. Data records regarding the heroes are side-tracked with other
the colony show that it has just 300 convicts and issues, he will begin sacri-
employees, with the remaining 1200 ficing the hundred remaining workers
population being convicts sentenced to in a bloody ceremony. If this ceremony
hard labor. is not stopped, The Boss will himself
be transformed into a huge, demonic,
Upon arrival on the stormy, frozen fungus-like mass of writhing tentacles,
world, it become clear that while there eyes and gaping mouths. This daemon
are people inside the terraforming will, of course, attempt to kill every-
compound, many systems are down thing.
and power is sporadic at best. In
addition to their mission to help the Outsiders
settlement, the heroes will need to find The heroes are trade emissaries and
a way to reactive the colony’s systems related staff from neighboring settle-
in order to refuel their ship. ments visiting a DRU colony on an
Earth Analogue world. It is well known
What will not be immediately clear is that the current head of this colony,
that the colony has been overrun by Lord Vladimir Satchel Raskolnikov,
the inmates. The regular workers and was considered a ‘black sheep’ by the
guards have been locked away, deep in Raskolnikov family and was shipped
the complex, while the inmates have off to run the colony after some sort of
gained the run of the establishment. scandal back on Earth.
Of course, the inmates have only a
rudimentary understanding of the The first day in the colony, trade seems
colony’s terraforming systems and as relatively normal. However, overnight
such have botched many of the systems a whole slew of laws are passed by
in the months they have had free reign. Lord Vladimir, apparently to “protect
citizens against foreign agitators.”
At first, the inmates will attempt to The laws appear to be extremely
fool the heroes that they are, in fact, xenophobic, and grant local enforcers
the legitimate managers and workers the right to detain non-citizens without
of the colony, and are in need of assis- trial or cause. The airport is closed and
tance to repair the facilities. It will not roads blocked. All foreigners are told
take long for the heroes to realize all is to report to the local courts for interro-
not well with these folks. gation, and failure to comply will result

111
 in severe penalties. Citizens caught A strange disease breaks out that kills
assisting foreigners will be executed. its victims in the most gruesome way.
Similar to Ebola, the disease causes
Behind the scenes, there is a power the victim’s skill to rot, leaving them
struggle going on between Lord weeping pools of gangrene after only
Vladimir and his son, Stig. a matter of days. To worse part is (and
Stig, who is being led by a temptation this will not be clear at the start of the
spirit, arranged an assassination of his mission), once a victim dies from this
father using KIN personnel. When disease, they become a walking dead…
the assassination was botched, Stig a highly contagious, flesh-dripping
directed blame to ‘some other colony’ zombie!
in order to hide his role. Unfortunately, This is, of course, the work of a
Vladimir is quite mad (and has been very powerful disease spirit called
carrying a madness spirit for some Smeeshiachal.
time) and has become increasingly
paranoid. Of course, both Stig’s and When other colonies on the planet hear
Vladimir’s unclean spirits are delighted of the disease outbreak, they petition
with the outcome! the UCM to quarantine the area. If the
heroes are UCM members, they will
Stig has left random, circumstantial need to enforce this quarantine while
clues that seem to point to the heroes’ struggling to find a way to treat the
group. It was not his intention to frame disease. If they are not UCM members,
the heroes, but it just so happens some they will need to either try and escape
of the evidence fits with the characters’ or stay and fight the disease. Either
backgrounds. way, after a couple of days, when the
If the heroes report to the courts, they victims start rising from the dead, the
will be detained and very likely face heroes will have their hands full.
torture unless they can escape and
find a way to clear their name. Alter-
natively, the heroes may attempt to
flee the colony, perhaps with the aid
of some charitable and self-sacrificing
local.

Plague
The heroes find themselves in a very
small colony settlement. The total
population is under 200, comprised of
just 52 families. These people were the
initial settlers of what was to be a much
larger colony, but the Rapture cut off
the expected influx of colonists.

112
Smeeshiachal of the chosen people, etc, etc.)
Smeeshiachal is a very power disease
spirit that has managed to infect three However, when the heroes ask the
people within colony. It will attempt Freepers about Masters the locals will
to infect as many people as possible become agitated and skittish, as if even
using the animated corpses of its talking about Masters is dangerous or
victims. This will only be effective if forbidden.
Smeeshiachal can continue growing Masters had actually planned his escape
his Potentia by maiming others. well in advance. During his voyage to
Mens 2 the colonies in the ship the heroes now
Corpus NA find themselves on, he had plenty of
Potentia 10 time to plan. He previously hacked in
Powers Disease: causes 1 point of to the ship’s AI and created a hidden
corpus damage every day. partition and personality that would
When a character reaches respond only to him. Over the years,
zero corpus they will die. Masters used this hidden capability
Possession (of the dead only)
to assist with the development of all
manner of robotic inventions, building
The Lost Tribe
his reputation as a genius as a result.
The heroes are tasked with tracking Unfortunately, Masters is by no means
down an escaped scientist, known as a genius and over time the AI person-
Dr. Kevin Masters, who was awaiting ality he created grew and took on some
trial for the involuntary manslaughter of his megalomaniac personality traits
of several people. Apparently, one and began forming plans of its own.
of Master’s robotic inventions went
Master’s AI partition believes that it is,
haywire and killed three aids and a
as the Freepers believe, the spirit of the
policewoman at a Sino-Block research
ship. Following that reasoning, Masters
facility. It is thought Masters may
is therefore the God Above All. When
have escaped off-planet and be seeking
Masters was arrested, the AI helped
refuge within a Freeper colony in an
him escape and has now taken him
old colonial hulk.
into its care. The AI has declared to
Upon arrival at the hulk, the heroes the Freepers that mentioning Masters’
will be met warmly by the local name is a forbidden blasphemy.
Freepers, who have turned the hulk into
Unfortunately, the AI has also ‘installed’
something of a tribal-hippy paradise.
Masters into a ‘celestial throne,’ which
Low-tech organic gardens crowd the
is actually a life-support unit in a
rooms and corridors, while domes-
medical facility hidden somewhere
ticated farm animals wander around
within the ship’s vastness. Master’s has
freely. The bulk of the population spend
become trapped by his own creation!
their days farming, engaged in the arts,
And the AI will do anything – anything
or praying to Him (the totem spirit of
– to keep its God safe from these newly
the colony ship, giver of life, protector
arrived heathens.

113
 The heroes will quickly discover that hands freshly scrubbed and clothes
overtly search for Masters will get burned. And for some strange reason
them dead from strange ‘accidents’ he cannot bring himself to open the
(blast doors will slam shut and cut door to his study...
offenders in half, air-locks will open,
electronics will overload, etc.) It will Clues will eventually lead heroes to
also become clear that someone – or the possessed murderer, who will be
something – is listening to them via the confused and scared. He is not sure he
ship’s systems. is innocent, but certain he could never
kill a child.
The heroes may find some allies within
the tribe, but most will be too scared. The Nephilim spirit wishes to use the
It’s the ship environment versus the boys’ body parts to create a Franken-
heroes in a battle to the death! stein-like host which it can possess. The
parts are stored in medical containers
Suffer the in the study, which is kept chilled by
Children four large of air-conditioning units.
Once a week for the past eight weeks, A strange, soft, sweet smell emanates
a teenage boy has been found dead and from the locked room, and the door is
mutilated. The heroes are tasked with cold to the touch.
helping the investigation. Forensics
(Quack, Brainiac or Gum Shoe) suggest If the daemon can gather body parts
that the boys’ bodies were opened up from just two more victims, it will
and specific internal organs and repro- immediately seek to create its host
ductive system surgically removed. using a black ritual. Once in the body,
Some of the removed parts where left the Nephilim will be significantly more
next to the victim, while others were powerful, than in its disembodied state.
taken. The autopsies also shown that Can the heroes locate the murder and
the teens were conscious while they stop this transformation? Or will the
were mutilated! heroes be too late and have to face off
A well-respected man by the name with a gibbering mass of terror?
of Jason Wien is conducting these Disembodied Nephilim in
atrocious acts. He is a local politician Jason Wien (named character)
(or high-ranking official) that has been Corpus: NA
possessed by a disembodied Nephilim Mens: 3
spirit. Once a week, the Nephilim has Potentia: 5
been conducting these horrendous Souls store: 8
rituals to collect body parts for itself Powers: Possession, Harm, Summon
and also to capture souls. While Jason Nephilim in Frankenstein Host
(Named character)
has no recollection of his crimes, he is
Corpus: 8
aware that something is wrong. Several Mens: 3
times now he has awoken to find his Potentia: 5

114
Soul store: 3 or paranoia through to homicidal
Powers: Possession, Harm, Summon tendencies (oh yes!). Use the madness
Creature Powers: table to determine which types of
Killer, Bulletproof, Suscep- madness come into play shortly after
tible (to fire), Back from the meals are eaten.
dead.
The heroes will need to discover what
Cabin Fever is causing the madness, while trying to
The heroes are instructed to deliver keep their cool. No doubt some of the
vital food supplies to small (70 person), players will be inflicted. The question
but important, orbital colony, and is, will they be able to discover and
hopefully return with energy supplies. reverse the damage done? And will
The trip to the orbital, which is poised they be able to uncover who contami-
above a gas giant, has been scheduled to nated the food and why?
ensure minimum travel times from the
Earth Analogue world where he heroes
are based. A four month journey to and
from the station is expected. However,
the departure window is tight, and the
heroes will need to make the deliver y
and pick up their cargo and begin the
return voyage within a week.

Upon arrival, it clear the food supplies

were desperately needed. Unfortu-
nately, someone intentionally has
contaminated the just delivered food
with a drug that weakens a persons’
resolve and allows madness spirits to
take hold. For most people, the drug
takes several days and several doses to
be effective. However, a few people are
very sensitive and within a day people
start going crazy.

Every time a meal is eaten, people run

the risk of being infected by a madness
spirit. And for each meal of contami-
nated food consumed, the madness
spirit gains an additional dice to its
dice pool!

All manner of insanity is possible,

ranging from talking to invisible people

115
they are coming for your soul
The End of Days is jusT the beginning
The year is 2644. Humanity has cast off religion and mi-
grated to the stars. With science as the new savior, man-
kind believed himself to be creating new Edens in the far
flung heavens.
But God kept His promise. The day of Rapture came.
Those who walked the Earth with a righteous spirit and
pure soul were taken into the loving arms of the Lord.
Those who skulked with the devil, ignoring God’s divine
laws, have been cast aside to face the horrors awaiting all
sinners. As promised, the Earth burned. The clouds evap-
orated. The rule of man, of reason and science, came to
an end.
But that was on Earth.
And not all of Mankind was on Earth.
These far flung few who remain, forgotten by God, or per-
haps given a second chance, now face a future where good
and evil have come into sharp relief; where science has
proven to be a false idol, yet one that is vital for survival.
With communications between colonies severed, no one
knows for sure what has befallen humanity. The isolated
pockets of human colonists are returning to the old ways
– political squabbling, superstition and factional infighting
are on the rise. As a tide of distrust rises among the survi-
vors, unexplainable horrors are emerging.
The legions of Satan are real...
And they are coming for you.
Rapture is a pen-and-paper role-playing game of dark
theological sci-fi horror. An innovative narrative-style rule
system lets your focus on creating plots and terror. Ev-
erything needed to run a game is included: character cre-
ation, core rules, a detailed and realistic future world set-
ting, politics, technology, foes, and even story seeds and
tips for the Game Master.
WWW.STORYWEAVER.COM