Grax’s Club

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

Before you know it, you’ve been shuffled into a
cramped office, misty with cigar smoke, being eyed Running this Adventure
over by the green man himself, Grax. He stares you To run this adventure, you need the Dark Matter
down each in turn, a silent inquisition as he checks campaign setting by Mage Hand Press, as well as
your applications so convincingly you’d barely notice the System Reference Document (SRD) or the 5th
he was holding them upside down. At last, he barks, Edition core rules.
“You’re hired! Welcome to the team.”
And with that, the timid halfling accountant Text that appears in a box like this is meant
shuffles you out of the room and proceeds to eject a to be read aloud or paraphrased for the
battery of legalese about the nature of your contract players when their characters first arrive at a
at Grax’s Guys for Cheap. Most of his words blend location or trigger a specific circumstance,
together, either due to his stammering, or the fact as described in the text.
that he very probably is misusing them. One thing This adventure contains statistics for most of the
is clear: this mercenary company seemed a lot more creatures found within. When a creature’s name
organized from the outside. appears in bold type, that’s a visual cue for you to
look up its statistics in the appendix of this book.
What’s Grax’s Club? Some monsters will include a note of where to look
up its statistics, if those are found elsewhere. Named
In this lighthearted campaign for the Dark Matter
nonplayer characters (NPCs) also appear in bold
campaign setting, you play second-rate mercenaries
type, as a visual cue to place them in the scene.
working for a third-rate mercenary company, Grax’s
Lastly, ability checks, saving throws, attack
Guys for Cheap. As part of your contract, you take
rolls, and other game mechanics, such as rolling for
whatever nonsense oddball jobs come across your
initiative and voting as a group are listed in bold
desk, and your boss, none other than Grax himself,
type, to remind you that dice will be rolled by you or
has more than enough to keep you busy.
the players.
Each chapter of this campaign functions as
If a phrase appears in italics, it refers to a
a slapstick one-shot, as you are recruited to some
proper name, the name of a spell, a magic item, or
new, ridiculous job for yet another kooky client. You
a section within this book. This book contains no
can play this adventure as one large adventure with
additional spells, so all spells referenced can be found
four parts, or as a series of disconnect adventures,
in the SRD or in Dark Matter.
connected by common characters and the preludes in
the Grax’s Guys headquarters. You can play chapters
out of order, skip chapters, or just dip into one as a
one-shot.

  1
The Even Most Dangerous-er Game
AN ADVENTURE THROUGH THE DEEP JUNGLE
FOR 5TH-LEVEL CHARACTERS

WRITTEN BY MIKE HOLIK

MAGE HAND PRESS
 Grax’s Club
THE EVEN MOST DANGEROUS-ER GAME
Moreover, the founder and owner, Grax
Introduction Grraxe, will hire just about anyone to a crew, and
makes a point to offer regular contracts to orcs, half-
Budd Felmer shouldered his hunting rifle and
orcs, and other distrusted races. This means that a
kneeled down, tracing the footprint before him with
Grax’s Crew is the easiest starting position for anyone
one finger. Puzzled, he retraced the beast’s probable
breaking into the mercenary business, if not the most
steps through the jungle in his mind. Previously, it
prestigious or lucrative.
was heading southward, but this one’s facing west.
In recent years, however, due to competition
Was it circling around, or…
with the better-funded Scale and Fang Inc., Grax’s
Before the thought crystallized in his mind,
Guys for Cheap has been on the decline. Plenty
a force like a furry bus collided with Budd’s back,
of crews still work with the company, but the jobs
tossing him roughly into a tree trunk. Through
have gotten more dangerous and less profitable with
the shock of pain, he could feel the flurry of heavy,
each passing month, as the upscale, better-paying
padded footfalls all around him. He turned his back
clients have gone elsewhere. For his part, Grax has
to the tree trunk, but a warm, furry body coiled
doubled-down on getting contracts and improving
around him, pinning him to the tree. Budd Felmer
the company image, one job at a time.
looked up to see the fuzzy, inquisitive face of a
colossal ferret staring down at him.
“Dook-dook-dook,” said the gigantic ferret, Overview
and Budd swore quietly under his breath. The beast The Even Most Dangerous-er Game is an adventure
sniffed him a couple of times, as if considering what for 5th-level characters, and is the first in a series of
to do with this odd visitor to his jungle. Then, just as adventures centered on Grax’s Guys for Cheap. In it,
soon as he arrived, the ferret uncoiled and slithered the characters help a big game hunter track down the
off into the jungle. most dangerous quarry in the ‘verse: a giant space
Budd Felmer collected his breath, and then ferret. It is presented in four parts.
collected the components of his now shattered Prelude: Grax HQ lets characters get to know
concussion rifle. their employer and workplace before the adventure
“I’ll get you, you rascal, Big Hob. I’ll get you properly begins. If playing this adventure as part of a
if it’s the last thing I do,” Budd muttered, and turned larger Grax’s Guys campaign, it’s recommended you
back to camp. let the players explore Grax’s headquarters and return
between every isolated adventure.
Background In Part One: Taisong, the characters arrive
on the jungle planet of Gaozu and meet their client,
Grax’s Guys for Cheap is the most affordable
a hunter named Budd Felmer. They can freely
mercenary company in the ‘verse, and boasts a wide
explore the settlement of Taisong, as they meet the
net of job postings. Prospective clients can ask almost
settlement’s residents and a rival crew of mercenaries,
anything of Grax’s Guys, from shipping Rosvalian
out to hunt the same quarry.
star pigs across the galaxy, to asking as a short order
In Part Two: Ferret Trail, the characters’ hunt
cook in the restaurant those pigs are served at. While
takes them deep into the unexplored jungle. They
a typical Grax’s crew will see plenty of bodyguard
can choose their own route through the jungle to
duties and security details, they’ll take nearly any
circumvent obstacles and to make up critical time in
job, provided it’s legal and the pay is acceptable, with
the hunt, as their rivals are already ahead of them!
a half-up-front deposit. The tagline “You can trust
Lastly, in Part Three: Big Hob’s Burrow,
Grax!” can be seen advertised in almost every port in
the characters must beat a crew of Scale and Fang
the ‘verse, and is practically a cliché at this point.
mercenaries and grapple the legendary Big Hob.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Introduction 3

 Greggy’s past is essentially impenetrable. Was
Key Characters he once a hunter at Poacher’s Post? Did he crash land
The following nonplayer characters feature on Gaozu with the Vorpal hundreds of years ago?
prominently in this adventure. Is he just a dwarven miner who moved to a jungle
planet to retire? It’s impossible to tell, and it’s not
Grax Grraxe (he/him) clear if Greggy himself knows.
The party’s employer and head of Grax’s Guys for
Cheap, Grax Grraxe, is a fat, well-humored orc with Ivana Zarkoff (she/her)
an eyepatch and a thick orcish accent. Around fifty A prodigious and famous hunter, Ivana Zarkoff is
years ago, Grax decided to leave the Warzone and the face of hunting for sport in the ‘verse today.
all its general unpleasantness to found Grax’s Guys, Throughout her life, Ivana has not only bested some
a low-to-mid-tier mercenary organization, which of the most dangerous creatures to be found in the
bills itself as being all-purpose. True to form, Grax Galactic Frontier, she has recorded her exploits on
branded it after himself, and his face can be seen on holo-tapes and written books about them. She’s
billboards, company mugs, and the occasional t-shirt. charismatic, and speaks with a distinctive accent,
However, over the last few years, GGFC has which goes a long way to explain her broad notoriety.
lost a lot of customers to their closest rival, Scale If Ivana has a rival, it’s Budd Felmer, who
and Fang Inc. Nothing perterbs Grax so much as has tried at every turn to one-up her achievements.
this rivalry, and in particular, that he’s losing to the Therefore, for the hunt of Big Hob on planet Gaozu,
mercenary company owned by Garfreckt, an eternal she’s hired none other than Scale and Fang to assist in
dragon who Grax considers to be a bit of a jerk. the tracking.

Budd Felmer (he/him) The Scale Crew

Budd Felmer, a human big game hunter, has bagged A band of mercenaries from the rival Scale and
every type of quarry imaginable, and has the scars Fang Inc., the Scale Crew is better-funded and more
to prove it. Budd is no-nonsense and superstitious competent than any crew from Grax’s Guys. They
in equal measure, demanding his contractors keep consist of the following:
up and perform beyond expectations, except for Drak Garfreckt (he/him). A male dragonborn
when they must adhere to one of his unspoken with red and black scales, Drak is the leader and
rules of hunting. Such rules include: never follow fighter of his crew. He’s cool under pressure, tough
in the tracks of a non-hunter, walk in a single-file as nails, and smart enough to be a step ahead of
line, unless you’re facing into the wind, and never any rival mercenary group. His last name is that of
eat before walking at least three miles. It’s entirely Garfreckt, the eternal dragon who founded and owns
unclear how many of these rules are founded on Scale and Fang Inc. Perhaps, he was adopted by the
sound hunting, and how many are pure superstition. eternal dragon, or is distantly related to it. In any
case, Drak has the assurance of someone who earned
Greggy Ironsmelt (he/him) their position through expertise and hard work, and
The senile, constantly-swaring dwarf, Greggy commands the respect of his crew in turn.
Ironsmelt, is a permanent fixture in Scrimshaw Trace (they/them). The heavily-upgraded vect
Lodge. The lodge’s owner, Hecademus, lets him reside of the Scale Crew, Trace, serves as their sniper and
in the common room as an act of charity, but also gadgeteer. Trace’s expertise lies in drones, blasters,
because the dwarf adds a bit of authenticity to the and explosives, but any mechanical device which
lodge that no amount of taxidermied creatures can can be broken or repaired falls under their domain.
bring. The senile, opinionated dwarf has never really At a glance, it can be determined that Trace is cold,
harmed anyone, and Hecademus has learned to enjoy calculating, and prepared for anything.
his company. Every week or so, Greggy goes on short Sierra O’Connell (she/her). The lovely Sierra
sojurns into the jungle and returns with large beasts O’Connell is a near-human green-skin who oozes
many times his own size, which he roasts over a great charisma. Her smile not only lightens up a room, it
fire pit and serves to everyone in the lodge. For all his makes even Drak and Trace seem less businesslike
idiosyncrecies, Greggy is an excellent chef. and dour by extension. On a typical day, she’s dressed
4 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
for adventure, with a fitting hat to complement her Table of Contents
laser whip. Sierra even knows a few songs as well, so
Introduction...................................................3
she serves as the Scale Crew’s bard, as well as their
Background....................................................... 3
rogue. Her biggest personal flaw is that she will,
Overview........................................................... 3
without fail, steal the wallet of anyone she spends
Key Characters.................................................. 4
time with. It’s as much habit as it is misbehavior for
Prelude: Grax HQ .........................................6
her at this point.
The Lounge ...................................................... 6
Aela Vestele (they/them). The half-elf
Crew Quarters................................................... 6
sorcerer Aela Vestele is easily the most refined of the
The Shooting Range.......................................... 7
Scale Crew, and is usually the most refined of any
Storage.............................................................. 7
group in which they find themselves. Only when they
Jimball’s Office ................................................. 8
cast a spell does the nature of their sorcery become
Grax’s Office...................................................... 8
revealed: small dimensional rifts open around them,
Part One: Taisong..........................................9
revealing a soup of alien tentacles and eyes. Despite
Taisong General Store....................................... 9
this, Aela tries to be utterly composed at all times.
Tucker Brothers Taxidermy.............................. 10
Their father is Jermain’ion Vestele, one of the most
Deep Jungle Adventures ™...................................................... 10
successful capitalists in the Elven Empire, so it’s
Scrimshaw Lodge............................................ 11
anyone’s guess how Aela ended up as a half-elf in a
Snarls by Night................................................ 14
mercenary company, instead of as a full-blooded elf
Part 2: Ferret Trail....................................... 15
working behind a desk.
Branching Trails............................................... 15
Roc Rock.......................................................... 15
Lowlands.......................................................... 16
Downriver........................................................ 17
Poacher’s Post.................................................. 18
Temple of Columns......................................... 19
Wreck of the Vorpal......................................... 21
Part 3: Big Hob’s Burrow............................. 25
The Green Mile................................................ 25
Into the Burrow................................................ 26

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Introduction 5

 Gimby will match any amount up to 500 credits. The
Prelude: Grax HQ darts game consists of 3 contested Dexterity-based
attack rolls. Gimby makes his attack rolls with a +2
Advance all characters to 5th level.
bonus, and has advantage on their rolls. Whoever
Before and between adventures, the characters hang wins the best out of three attacks wins the round.
around the Grax’s Guys for Cheap headquarters, Once Gimby has been defeated at darts, they refuse
waiting for a good job to drop into their laps. Some to play again.
use it as a chance to hit the gym or comb over some
invaluable books on magic, but plenty of Grax’s crew Broken Krash Machine
get good at darts and take the opportunity to relax Any characters with a passive Perception of 12 or
during the rare days of downtime. higher notice Osira, an avia-ra working on another
Grax’s headquarters is some form of Grax crew, slide up to the one Krash vending
converted warehouse right next to the starport on machine with an “Out of Order” sign and insert
the planet Fornax. While it might have poor to 100 credits. She presses a button, and something
nonexistent air conditioning, it’s got plenty of space dispenses from the machine. She slyly checks that
for a crew to hone their skills, catch up on repairs, nobody is watching, then collects what appears to
or take a nap. Before beginning the adventure, be a gauntlet from the vending machine’s dispenser
characters can explore the following locations in slot! Curious party members can interrogate her
Grax HQ. with a successful DC 14 Charisma (Deception
or Persuasion) check to learn that the machine
The Lounge dispenses random magic items. This information can
also be gleaned from close inspection of the machine
Unless otherwise stated, the party is probably in the
itself with a DC 15 Intelligence (Technology) check.
lounge. If they wish to explore the headquarters,
Osira doesn’t know where the machine came from or
begin them in this location and read or paraphrase
why it dispenses magic items. She just knows that it’s
the following:
obviously valuable and wanted to keep it a secret.
You’re in the lounge at the Grax’s Guys for An inspection of the machine shows that its
Cheap headquarters, a spacious, spartan four buttons have prices of 100 credits, 500 credits,
room with Krash vending machines, a dart 2,500 credits, and 7,500 credits. Depending on the
board, and a pool table with only one pool amount inserted, roll a d20 on one of the tables
cue. Presiding over this space is a large from Appendix D to determine which magic item
aluminum and glass sign reading “Grax’s is dispensed. Keep track of which magic items have
Guys for Cheap”. The words “And Gals” been provided to the players. If a character rolls a
have been hastily installed alongside magic item which has already been produced, they
“Guys”, presumably after Grax got an receive the next lowest magic item on the table, or an
earful, and decided he didn’t want to seem error and a return of credits if there is no lower magic
discriminatory. item.
It’s not possible to extract magic items
This lounge’s dart board is almost constantly in use. from the machine by force. Large magic items are
Due to a series of inane, but increasingly large bets, magically shrunk and instantly grow to full size once
most crew members working for Grax have decided removed from the machine.
to get unreasonably good at darts. Gimby “Lucky
Shot” Matchfoot is currently the reigning champion,
and someone could make good money if they beat
Crew Quarters
him. The crew quarters at Grax HQ contain some
impressively uncomfortable bunk beds and a large
Playing Darts screen to watch holo-shows. It’s a good place to
Anyone who wants to challenge Gimby to a game retreat to if the lounge is too loud or crowded, but
of darts instantly draws a crowd of onlookers. crew members otherwise avoid the quarters until late
Minimum ante for the game is 100 credits, but at night. Each crew member has a sturdy lock box

6 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

at their bunk, in which they can securely store their
inventory. Storage
A great deal of Grax HQ is used for storage. This is,
The Shooting Range by far, the best place to find peace and quiet in Grax’s
HQ, but it’s also a place where characters might find
Undeniably the best part of the Grax’s headquarters is
some truly strange stuff. To introduce this location,
the shooting range and armory. If a character would
read or paraphrase the following:
like to practice some shooting, read or paraphrase the
following: If the rest of Grax’s HQ is a converted
warehouse, this is the section that’s an
The air at the shooting range carries the
unconverted warehouse. Countless
distinct odor of plasma, a sort of ozone
unlabeled crates are stacked haphazardly
smell which follows blaster shots. This long,
in this room, creating a combination of
otherwise featureless wing of the warehouse
a fire hazard and an avalanche risk. Most
is sectioned off strictly to let Grax’s Guys
crates seem to be filled with Grax-branded
and Gals take shots at the numerous targets
merchandise nobody wants to buy. That
painted on a big chunk of discarded starship
being said, if someone wants a Grax mug,
hull set up on the far side. The entire chunk
this is the motherlode.
of metal is massively pockmarked, but few
things are more cathartic than putting a few If a character wants to go digging through the
more divots in its side. storage, roll on the following table to determine what
they find:
The shooting range’s companion is the armory,
which contains every weapon known to man, and d8 Item
a few known only to orcs. The armory is overseen 1 A remote-control defense drone that
by Gracks, a half-orc with no relation to Grax. No fires foam bullets
weapons are strictly off-limits, but Gracks must be
2 A box containing all the sourcebooks of
persuaded with a DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion)
Fortresses and Fiends 7th Edition
check if a character would like to use a weapon
with the Explosive or Overheat properties. There 3 A body pillow with a life-sized picture of
are practice dummies nearby as well, for characters a comely-looking Grax on it
which would like to spar with a melee weapon. 4 A crate containing successively smaller
If a character spends an hour practicing with and more frustrating to open crates
a weapon at the firing range, they gain a practice die, 5 An early manuscript for Grax’s
a d6, which they can add to an attack roll using that autobiography, using the working title,
weapon sometime in the next 10 days. A character Grax Gushes Greatly: Good Guidance
can only have one practice die at a time. for Green Go-Getters
6 A very serious-looking antimatter bomb
Armory with the words, “From, Garfreckt” spray
Gracks maintains the Grax HQ armory, where painted on the side
characters can purchase weapons, armor, and gear, as
7 Grax-branded candy, all of whose
per the tables in the Dark Matter Equipment chapter.
flavors, such as tangy thwirrel and cherry
If the characters wish to find more traditional,
human, are meat-flavored
exotic, or illegal gear, there’s a rat-person out by the
dumpsters behind the headquarters named Charles 8 A cardboard lakshay frame, nearly 12
Rattington Jr. who will sell any equipment from the feet tall
SRD, and additional gear at the GM’s discretion.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Advance all characters to 5th level 7
 Jimball’s Office Grax’s Office
Next to Grax’s office is that of Jimball Hundwig, the When the players are ready to begin the adventure,
accountant. If the characters wish to visit Jimball, they’re summoned to Grax’s office. Read or
read or paraphrase the following: paraphrase the following:
For all that has been made of a halfling’s The odor in Grax’s office is always a fine
signature merryment and good cheer, artisan blend of cigars and the aroma of
you’ve never seen one so stressed out as his self-branded cologne, which, for lack of
Grax’s accountant, Jimball Hundwig. The a better word, smells of green. The burly,
stammering halfling, coated in perpetual smiling orc waves you in and pushes aside a
flop sweat, is almost always in their pile of papers to make room on his desk for
comically small office, fretting over papers. a couple of drinks. By the time you sit in the
Today is no different. comfortable armchair across from him, he’s
clattered two tumbler glasses down on the
Before any job for Grax, the party can visit Jimball to desk and filled them to the brim with a milky
receive an operating budget of 100 credits each. This white liquid, pungent with alcohol.
is ostensibly to be used for equipment and provisions,
but just as many of Grax’s Guys and Gals spend it “I’ve gotta job for ya!” Grax chortles, “Yer
frivolously or gamble it over dart matches. It’s one gonna love it.”
of the perks of working for someone with such poor
oversight. The details of the job will be delivered via flashback
In the corner of Jimball’s office is January, the in Part One: Taisong. Once the party receives this job,
super-intelligent thwirrel. All thwirrels are psionic, skip ahead to their arrival on Gaozu in Part One.
but January is, for reasons that are completely
unknown, also telepathic and smarter than most
AIs. She’s picky who she talks to, however, so only
creatures with an Intelligence of 14 or higher have
realized January is anything more than a pet. Jimball
is still in the dark on this. If a character wishes to chat
with January, it’s best to feign a conversation with
Jimball, who is only half-listening anyway.

8 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 the gate, a simple automaton admits the party. The
Part One: Taisong village is filled with unremarkable wooden cabins,
along with a few points of interest the party can
The adventure begins on the Tier 2 jungle planet
explore:
Gaozu, at the spaceport village of Taisong. Please
read or paraphrase the following: • Taisong General Store. Dozens of barrels and
crates are stacked outside this building, covering
The Gittin, a beat up starship with too many its entire storefront, except for the door.
miles on its hull, touches down on a landing • Tucker Brothers Taxidermy. Behind a glass
platform flanked on all sides by waving display window, dozens of animals mounted on
tropical leaves. The ship is emblazoned the wall grimace at you with a frozen, ferocious
with the Grax’s Guys for Cheap logo in posture. Inside, you can see a pair of kobolds
chipping paint. Its cargo hatch opens, and laboring to drag in the body of what appears to be
you descend the ramp to see a rainforest of a four-antlered moose.
greens, oranges, and purples. • Deep Jungle Adventures™. By stark contrast to
A ten-legged bug flies past you, and is the rest of the buildings in Taisong, this structure
instantly caught by another bug pretending is made of modern metals and concrete, in the
to be a discarded can of Krash. Surely, this is sleek, attractive style of High Terra. Colorful
a planet in which nature runs wild. posters and signs in the front advertise stunning
vistas and exciting close encounters with local
This one-spaceship landing pad seems isolated in wildlife.
a sea of green stretching out in all directions. The • Scrimshaw Lodge. Constructed like a large,
characters can find a few narrow paths leading away, multi-story wooden cabin, this lodge looks
some of which seem to wind outwards in the jungle, comfortable even from the outside. A hand-
and one of which leads to a walled compound in the carved wooden sign out front reads “vacancy”.
distance, the village of Taisong. A DC 10 Wisdom
(Survival) check reveals that the paths leading into
the jungle probably don’t penetrate far; it would be Taisong General Store
best to start at the settlement. When the party enters the general store, read or
As the characters march single-file down the paraphrase the following:
mile-long footpath, explain their goal via flashback,
Much like outside the shop, the goods
as follows:
inside the general store loom high to the
As Grax explained it, you’ve been hired by ceiling, and include practically everything
a big game hunter by the name of Budd you could think of for traversing and
Felmer to carry his blasters and whatnot exploring the jungle. From behind the
while he chases down some big critter. Grax counter, you hear a sibilant “Sssalutations.”
always seems to underestimate the danger
Much to everyone’s surprise, the proprietor of this
his jobs usually entail, but in a rare stroke
general store is a wrothian named Zikker. To their
of clarity, he commented, “Seems like it
credit, they’re friendly and knowledgeable, and their
might getta bit hairy. Keep the sucker alive,
prices are fair. Frontier general stores such as this
willya?”
carry a wide variety of stock, including all manner
The party knows that their client is somewhere in the of provisions, gear, and equipment, as well as simple
settlement of Taisong, but has little information apart weapons and light and medium armor. Additionally,
from that. this general store carries a number of special items
The 10-foot high concrete walls of Taisong which are particularly useful in the jungles of Gaozu,
are capped with wires of crackling electric deterrents, as shown on the Jungle Gear table below. Many of
which serve to keep even the largest beasts at bay. At these items can be purchased in a pack for a discount.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part One: Taisong 9

 JUNGLE GEAR
Item Price Weight Tucker Brothers Taxidermy
Jungle Gear Pack 17 credits 50 lb. When the party visits the Tucker Brothers Taxidermy
shop, read or paraphrase the following:
Bug Spray 1 credit 1 lb.
Explorer’s Clothing 2 credits 4 lb. Dozens of alien animals of all shapes and
Machete .5 credits 4 lb. sizes, many of which you’ve never seen
Raptor Pheromones 15 credits 2 lb. before, strike fixed, menacing postures
around this room. Many are merely heads
Water Purifier 10 credits 5 lb.
mounted on wooden boards, but bear their
Rules for new equipment are as follows: teeth in angry expressions nonetheless.
Jungle Gear Pack. A pack of jungle gear Behind the counter, through an open door,
includes: a backpack, a bedroll, a canister of bug two kobolds work furiously with knives to
spray, an igniter, a machete, a mess kit, 10 pitons, 10 skin a four-antlered moose many times their
days of rations, a flask, 50 feet of rope, and a water own size.
purifier.
The taxidermists responsible for stuffing and
Bug Spray. A can of bug spray contains
mounting all manner of exotic alien animals are a
enough insecticide for 10 applications. As an action,
pair of kobold brothers named Zuggs and Luggs
you can apply this spray to a creature. For the next 8
Tucker. The two speak over each other, and always
hours, or until the spray is washed off, insects won’t
seem to argue, even when they’re in agreement.
bite this creature, and insect-like creatures have
Thrilled to see new customers, they greet the party
disadvantage on attack rolls against it.
without washing their hands and ask if they’re
Machete. A machete is a simple melee
looking to buy a taxidermied beast, or have one
weapon that deals 1d6 slashing damage and has the
made.
following special property: This weapon deals double
Much of the brothers’ business actually comes
damage to plants and creatures of the plant type.
from hunters who have failed to kill anything of
Raptor Pheromones. This canister can be
note, but don’t want to be seen coming back empty
opened as an action, causing it to slowly release a
handed. Thus, they’re more than willing to buy the
chemical that attracts all variants of raptors. After
corpse of any Medium or Large beast or monstrosity
10 minutes, all raptors within a mile of the canister
the party kills on the planet, so long as its fur,
are attracted to a location within 30 feet of it. A
antlers, and other distinguishing features aren’t
moderate wind of at least 10 miles per hour disperses
fundamentally destroyed. They’ll stuff and mount
the pheromones after an hour. Otherwise, the
whatever they buy, and sell it to some unlucky hunter
pheromones lose potency after 8 hours.
later for an enormous markup. Zuggs and Luggs will
Water Purifier. Unclean or diseased water
pay 100 credits for the corpse of a Medium creature,
can be poured through the purifier to produce clean,
200 credits for the corpse of a Large creature, and 400
drinkable water. The purifier can process 1 gallon of
credits for the corpse of a Huge creature. However,
water every 10 minutes.
the party can only reap the full price if the creature is
knocked unconscious, then killed in such a way as to
best preserve its pelt and skeleton. If the creature is at
all burned or left to rot for more than a week before
being brought to the shop, the price is halved.
Furthermore, the party can have any beast or
monstrosity taxidermied for 200 credits. They can
purchase any Small or Tiny taxidermied creature
for 200 credits, or any Large creature for 500 credits.
Lastly, the brothers sell a spray for 10 credits which
can preserve a corpse from natural decay for 10 days,
as per the spell gentle repose.

10 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 • Wreck of the Vorpal. A surprising entry, the
Deep Jungle Adventures ™ dwarven starship the Vorpal can be found
As soon as the characters open the door to Deep wrecked somewhere in the forest. By the look
Jungle Adventures™, read or paraphrase the of the picture, the ship is extremely rusted and
following: choked by centuries of vines.
• Poacher’s Post. The last picture in the brochure
Before you have time to absorb any details looks like a ghost town. The so-called “Poacher’s
of the colorful, yet corporate waiting room, Post” is a long-abandoned camp that looks eerily
you’re ambushed by smiling faces, peppy like Taisong in construction, and was purportedly
greetings, and brochures. Each of you have used by the first wave of space-settlers.
no fewer than three brochures in your hands
by the time you say hello.
Scrimshaw Lodge
A pair of smartly-dressed travel agents, a tiefling
When the characters visit Scrimshaw Lodge, read or
man named Daizemon and a blonde woman
paraphrase the following:
named Cheryl, greet the party with fake smiles and
boundless forced enthusiasm. Their aim is to sell the The savory aroma of grilled meat and the
party a tour package of this jungle continent at an soft clamor of good-humored chatting fills
outrageous price. Though their normal clientele is the air of this large cabin. Furs adorn the
wealthy, but ignorant families looking for a sterile walls and floor, and practically every fixture
taste of adventure, this little visitor’s center and tour seems to be carved out of enormous pieces
company has seen a dearth of business lately, and so of wood. Perhaps, this building was built
attacks every visitor with aggressive sales tactics. to emulate the atmosphere of an idyllic
Practically nothing Daizemon and Cheryl hunting lodge, or perhaps its clientele
have to say should interest the characters, except brought that atmosphere to it wholesale.
perhaps for the most gullible party members.
Principally, Daizemon and Cheryl ask obviously The lodge’s common room makes up most of the
leading questions like “Are you looking for lodge’s ground floor. A grand fireplace roars in
adventure?” and “Wouldn’t it be great if you could the corner, with several people chatting in front of
experience the majesty of nature without breaking it, while a number of benches and tables line the
the bank?” with the express intention of following walls. Alongside the entrance, the party finds a long
the questions up with “Well have I got good news for wooden reception desk at which they can rent rooms
you!” The sales pitch is strained, but well-rehearsed, for 1 credit each per night, and also order food and
leaving little room for questions. drink. A spiral staircase leads up to private rooms on
Despite how uninformative the travel agents the second floor.
might be, the brochures they’ve handed to the The party can explore the following corners of
party contain a litany of interesting travel locations the lodge’s common room to chat with its people:
they might see out in the jungle. These distinctive • Counter. A nautilid waits behind the reception
landmarks include: desk, and is happy to share rumors and provide
• Roc Rock. The picture of this natural stone some basic information to travelers.
outcropping clearly demonstrates its resemblance • Hammocks. A dwarf with a very long and
to the head of a roc or eagle. It seems to jut from unkempt white beard snores loudly in a
the sheer cliff face of a plateau. hammock strung between a taxidermied owlbear
• The Howling Arch. This stone archway or tunnel and the cabin’s wall.
is nestled in a gorge, through which a small creek • Poorly-Lit Tables. A human with a grand
winds. The brochure claims that the constant mustache whittles away at a piece of wood at the
rush of wind through it sounds positively like rear of the room.
screaming. • The Fireplace. A group of five people, each of
different races, chat jovially in front of the fire.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part One: Taisong 11

 Hecademus As the players might guess, Greggy is both senile
The proprietor of the Scrimshaw Lodge is a nautilid and incomprehensibely old, and it’s hard to tell
named Hecademus who is an incorrigible gossip. what in the ‘verse he’s talking about from moment
He’s more than willing to share the following basic to moment. At the moment, he’s angry to the point
information: of starting a fistfight, presumably because the
party has awoken him. Any Intelligence, Wisdom,
• This entire supercontinent on Gaozu is covered or Charisma check the party makes to convince
in dense jungle. It’d be possible to walk halfway Greggy of something is turned on its head: Greggy
around the planet, if something didn’t kill you misunderstands practically everything, so such a
first. check that fails to meet a DC actually succeeds, and
• There’s a truly staggering number of plants and one that succeeds actually fails. Moreover, you can’t
animals on this planet, from the conventional to fake an opinion around Greggy or intentionally fail a
the huge and bizarre. check to interact with him; the old dwarf has a sixth
• Taisong is the only proper settlement on the sense for these sorts of deceptions. A failed DC 14
planet. There might be some temporary camps Charisma (Persuasion) check can convince Greggy
out there somewhere, but nowhere with access to that the party doesn’t want to fight, and that he
a starport, which means Hecademus has a virtual should head back into his hammock.
monopoly. Moreover, if a character would like to play
If prompted, he’ll share the following rumors and along with Greggy’s delusion, they can do so with a
opinions: failed DC 14 Charisma (Deception or Performance)
• There’s huge monsters out there in the jungle, check. Greggy orders them around like an old-timey
but it’s really the smaller ones you need to worry captain of a starship for a few minutes, and reminds
about. They’re faster and more numerous. them that the code to the captain’s quarters is 14-20-
• There’s supposed to be some mercenaries in town 15. After a couple minutes of this, he retires back into
to help a hunter bring down just such a famous his hammock.
local monster. Mercenaries are always great If the characters can’t mollify Greggy, he
for business! They either give the lodge or the punches the largest person in the party, which is
undertaker some work. a melee attack with a +6 bonus, dealing 1d6 + 3
• Don’t take anything Greggy Ironsmelt, the dwarf in bludgeoning damage on a hit. Hit or miss, he realizes
the corner, says seriously. He’s getting on in years. he’s outmatched, complains and swears about them
being built like a mountain, and crawls back into his
hammock.
Greggy Ironsmelt
If the players so much as approach the hammock Budd Felmer
at the rear of the building, they disturb Greggy If the characters approach the poorly-lit tables in
Ironsmelt. Read or paraphrase the following: the back, they can find their client, Budd Felmer,
A dwarf with a very long, unkempt, white whittling away at a bit of wood with an oversized
beard mumbles something incoherent and knife. When they approach him, read or paraphrase
rolls out of his hammock, landing on the the following:
hardwood floor with a clunk. Straightening Sporting beige linens, a prodigious
himself up with a chorus of cracking joints, moustache, and an excessive knife, the man
he addresses the party: sitting at the table looks like someone who
“What’ye here doin’ in the cap’n’s quarters, has spent the better part of his adult life
ye scallywags? Can’tcha see we’ve got a surviving the brush of unexplored worlds.
schedule to be keeping? Them blasted He looks up at you through a silver monocle
knife-ears been houndin’ us for near a and gruffly asks, “You from Grax?”
million clicks!”
He bares his fists, ready for a brawl.

12 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

In regards to the job, Budd has the following to say: A group of people, consisting of a gruff
dragonborn, a sleek and well-polished
“Tomorrow morning, we set out to hunt the vect, a green-skin near human, a dainty
most dangerous game!” half-elf, and a human wearing furs stand
Budd senses the party’s assumptions and about drinking and chatting in front of the
reacts with disgust. “No! Not Man! What fireplace. Only when you draw near do you
makes you think Man is the most dangerous notice that most of them wear an identical
game? I’ve hunted men; nothin’ particularly badge: that of Scale and Fang Inc., a larger,
dangerous about em’. No, we’ll be huntin’ better-funded mercenary company that
Big Hob! That beast has eluded me for nine rivals and out-competes Grax’s Guys at
years, and this time, I’ll be bringing ‘im every turn.
back.” The dragonborn looks you up and down,
It’s the party’s job to help facilitate Budd’s hunting chuckles, and says, “You best head home.
expedition across the jungle. They’ll be carrying gear, That jungle is gonna eat you alive.”
setting up camp, blazing trails, and fending off wild Ivana and the Scale Crew are also in Taisong to hunt
animals. When the time finally comes to do battle Big Hob, and they seem a lot more prepared to do it.
with Big Hob, they may even have to help, if Budd The captain of the Scale Crew, Drak Garfreckt, a red-
doesn’t subdue it with one bullet. and-black-scaled dragonborn, is dismissive of the
Big Hob is a giant space ferret, but Budd party, but not outright hostile. If anything, he thinks
isn’t exactly forthcoming with this information. A it’s amusing that you’ve come all this way to get so
character can learn this with a DC 12 Charisma handily beaten. While he’s more than happy to race
(Persuasion) or Intelligence (Investigation) check. the party for a crack at Big Hob, he isn’t the least bit
Other mercenaries he’s hired have abandoned the job concerned about losing. Similarly, Ivana Zarkoff will
shortly after learning that their quarry was a ferret, pontificate on the superior hunter’s nature, and the
and Budd wants the party to take this seriously. determinism of catching prey. She uses a lot of words
Big Hob is a dangerous beast. To that end, Budd to say that her expertise will help them catch Big
has packed a litany of supplies, including a custom, Hob. The Scale Crew’s vect sniper, Trace, and their
overcharged concussion rifle, an electromagnetic sorcerer, Aela Vestele, are content to stand back and
trap, and a very large explosive. He intends to be the watch the party’s interactions with the others, and
first to capture and release the beast, but fears it may will only chat if approached.
be a battle to the death. Only Sierra O’Connell, the Scale Crew’s
However, Budd also knows that they have a green-skin rogue, will pleasantly chat with the party.
larger problem, apart from the jungle and the colossal She’s sporting a fedora, and a laser whip—it almost
ferret: his longtime rival, Ivana Zaroff, showed up in looks like she was made for these sorts of adventures.
Taisong yesterday with a group of mercenaries and If she has a drink with anyone from the party with
plans to hunt Big Hob for herself. Ivana and her cadre a passive Perception of 13 or lower, she’ll steal 50
of mercenaries are currently chatting in front of the credits out of their pockets by the end of the night.
fireplace. For all their posturing, Drak and Ivana will
The Scale Crew make the party a deal: they’ll leave in the morning at
Laughing and chatting in front of the lodge’s grand the crack of dawn, and no earlier. If they’re going to
fireplace is a group of five individuals: Ivana Zarkoff race, it should be a fair one. A character can make a
and their four-person crew from Scale and Fang DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check to determine that
Inc. The Scale Crew is a recurring group of rival Drak is making this offer genuinely, and Ivana doesn’t
mercenaries, so feel free to introduce them in greater seem sincere. On a failure, it seems that both parties
detail, using information from the Key Characters are genuine. Drak will solidify the starting time with
section of this adventure. When the characters a handshake, if the party agrees. Otherwise, he shrugs
approach, read or paraphrase the following: and says that they’ll be leaving at dawn regardless.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part One: Taisong 13

 Open hearing that the Scale Crew is going As thanks for protecting the lodge,
after Big Hob, Greggy Ironsmelt drops out of his Hecademus rewards the characters with one potion of
hammock and says, suddenly dead serious, that he’ll healing each.
beat everyone to Big Hob by lunchtime tomorrow. He Importantly, none of the Scale Crew nor Ivana
hurls a few insults at everyone, then produces a huge Zarkoff make an appearance during this combat. In
bag of peanuts from his hammock and slings it over fact, it’s clear that they have left Taisong in the middle
his shoulder. Leaving a trail of peanut shells in his of the night to get an early start on the hunt, and
wake, he leaves to gather equipment for the hunt. turned off the village’s defenses in the process. Budd
Hecademus will break up any brawls which Felmer, furious that Ivana would leave early, demands
happen between the adventuring parties, and send that the party pack up their things and follow him:
both parties to their rooms. they’re not wasting a second more. Proceed to Part
Two: Ferret Trail.
Snarls by Night
Only begin this event after the party has explored
Taisong, made any necessary preparations, and
spoken with their client, Budd Felmer, and the rival
Scale Crew. Once the characters have turned in for
the evening, but before they wake up in the following
morning, read or paraphrase the following:
The drone of insects that has loudly echoed
out of the jungles of Gaozu all night quiets
around the village of Taisong. Instead, the
scurrying of claws of concrete and alien
snarls replace it.
A pack of 5 stirge raptors have infiltrated Taisong
while the village sleeps. Have all the characters roll
initiative. The two characters with the highest
passive Perception scores wake up on the first
round, followed by all other characters on the
following round.
While the residents of Taisong will not
leave their homes, the stirge raptors will invade the
Scrimshaw Lodge unless driven off. It’s clear once
the characters are outside that the electric defenses
on the walls of Taisong have been disabled, and that,
once the raptors are driven off, the defenses will need
to be reactivated. When a stirge raptor is killed, the
others nearby will drain it using their Cannibalize
ability. The last raptor will attempt to flee once the
other four raptors are slain. Additionally, a character
can use a canister of raptor pheromones to attract the
raptors within the village to a location outside the
walls. It takes only 1 minute for the raptors within
the walls to detect the pheromones and travel to the
canister.

14 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Part Two: Ferret Trail IS BUDD FELMER INSANE?
If the players are skeptical that such a
At Budd’s demand, the party marches out into the
thing as a “giant space ferret” could really
jungle, machetes in hand, to close the gap between
exist, play into this mindset and frame the
themselves and the Scale Crew, who are likely hours
adventure as Budd Felmer possibly being
ahead. Each character has been given an additional
insane, chasing a bigfoot-like cryptid across
hundred pounds of equipment by Budd. When
the whole of Gaozu. In this situation, make it
beginning this chapter, read or paraphrase the
impossible for characters to verify any of the
following:
footprints and other signs Budd uncovers.
In the hours since you’ve left Taisong, the Save the reveal of Big Hobb’s reality until
sun has risen, bringing with it a heat and the moment the players enter the burrow.
humidity that makes the air feel thick around
you. The mud, ever-present insects, and
additional weight on your backs has already To pick up a trail, have the characters make a group
sapped your will to move forward, at least at Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check.
Budd’s hurried pace. Budd participates as well, and rolls his check with
a +4 bonus. If the group check beats a DC 12, the
party finds a trail of peanut shells in front of them:
Branching Trails clearly Greggy Ironsmelt has gotten ahead of them.
If the group check beats a DC 14, the party also finds
At multiple locations along this journey, the party
a discarded tactical pouch with a broken clasp. This
will have to choose between different routes through
is the kind the Scale and Fang is equipped with, and
the jungle, which will lead them through unique
confirms that the party is following in their footsteps.
locations. These locations are as follows:
If the group check beats a DC 16, the party finds
1. Roc Rock enormous five-toed mammalian footprints in the
2. Lowlands mud. Budd confirms it at a glance: you’re on the right
3. Downriver track. Proceed to chapter Roc Rock.
4. Poacher’s Post
5. Temple of Columns
6. Wreck of the Vorpal
Roc Rock
7. Big Hob’s Burrow After traveling for most of the morning with
Budd Felmer, the party comes to the base of a
steep cliff, a sheer rock face, and upon it, the “Roc
Rock” formation advertised in the brochures from
Deep Jungle Adventures™. Read or paraphrase the
following:
It’s startling just how abruptly the unending
jungle shifts to a vertical wall. Before you is
a hundreds-foot ascent up a rocky cliff race,
out of which juts a natural formation called
“Roc Rock”. From this perspective, the
formation seems quaint, and the height of
the cliff looks to be the impressive thing.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Two: Ferret Trail 15

 It’s possible that one or more characters have the Moving Forward
ability to ascend such a height without making an From the top of Roc plateau, the party has a choice
ability check. Skathári, for example, possess hooked of how to proceed. The northern side of the plateau
claws which allow them to climb quite easily. gives way to a ravine with a fast-moving river. Budd
Moreover, any magic or technology which grants thinks this will be the fastest route, as it will surely
a flight speed or climbing speed for a minute or allow the party to catch up with the Scale Crew and
longer can allow a creature to ascend safely. If the Greggy Ironsmelt (if he hasn’t been eaten by a raptor
party can’t solve this problem for everyone through a yet). The eastern side gently descends back into the
combination of magic, technology, and racial traits, jungle, and this side is the direction in which Big Hob
Budd has packed an old-fashioned solution: a full- was most likely to travel.
complement of climbing gear. Budd won’t climb up Decide this direction with a vote. Budd
alone, as it’s the party’s job to assist him through the participates and votes for the river. If the party
jungle, so at least one person must climb with him. chooses the eastern side, proceed to Lowlands. If
Any creatures which ascend using climbing there’s a tie, or the party chooses the northern side,
gear must make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) proceed to Downriver.
check. On a failure, they slip some distance, and,
careening on the rope, slam into the rock wall,
taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage. Once halfway up, Lowlands
call for each climbing creature to make a DC 13 Descending from the plateau on the southern edge
Wisdom (Perception) check to spot a small cave is easy enough, as a gentle slope leads down to the
in the cliff, and the glimmer of something metallic denser jungle below. However, the ground does
within it. This hole in the cliff is the nest of some become muddier, becoming difficult terrain by the
giant flying dinosaur, which has collected all manner time the party reaches the bottom.
of metal objects within its cliffside hollow. Chunks Have the characters make a group DC 14
of adamantine metal, probably scavenged from a Wisdom (Perception) check when they reach the
starship, can be seen within, as can an arm cannon base of the plateau. On a success, they spot a nuclear
construct graft. These adamantine plates are quite chicken 60 feet away. On a failure, the chicken is 30
heavy, but are quite valuable: all of the adamantine feet away before they notice it. Any creature which
here is together worth 150 credits. However, it also succeeds a DC 13 Intelligence (Nature) check can
weighs 100 pounds. Also inside the nest are a pair of recall that a nuclear chicken is the most dangerous
foot-wide dinosaur eggs. breed of chicken in the multiverse, as it can create a
To make it the rest of the way up without small thermonuclear explosion to deter predators.
incident, each character climbing must make a DC As such, it has no natural predators. When the party
13 Constitution check, or take 2d6 bludgeoning notices the nuclear chicken, it’s already too late: the
damage from a climbing mishap. chicken has locked eyes with them, and is running
kamikaze-style in their direction.
View from the Top Have everyone roll initiative. The nuclear
Once at the top of the Roc plateau, the characters chicken moves 30 feet closer to the party on each of
will have a moment to rest and enjoy the view. A its turns (it is too light to sink into the mud, and is
character with a passive Perception of 12 or higher therefore unaffected by the difficult terrain), and uses
will notice something while gazing out over the its action to explode if it ends its turn within 5 feet
far side of the plateau: something huge is stirring of a character. The chicken also explodes if it dies. If
in the trees some miles away. A character with the chicken explodes, each creature within a 60-foot
binoculars can take a close look to see a grey and radius must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw
black ferret of enormous size clamoring up a slope or take 8d6 force damage. The explosion also leaves
with a particular ferret wiggle. From this distance, behind a perfect roast chicken.
it could be positively adorable, but its claws can be If the party evades the chicken for four
seen to uproot a few smaller trees as it climbs. After a rounds, the chicken gives up its chase and decides
moment, the beast is gone. to find some other creature to hassle. Alternatively,

16 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

a character within 10 feet of the nuclear chicken can Rocks and Logs
use their action to make a DC 18 Wisdom (Animal The river ahead is littered with large rocks and great
Handling) check to mollify it. fallen trees suspended just above the water. The
When the chase with the chicken is at last characters in each canoe can make a DC 14 group
over, the party can find peanut shells on the path on Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to duck below obstacles,
which they walk. Perhaps Greggy Ironsmelt fed the or a DC 12 group Intelligence check to plan an
chicken some peanuts, and it decided to hound the optimal route through them. On a failure, each
party for more? character in the canoe takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage,
As the sun turns orange at the horizon, the as they’re battered into rocks and tree branches.
party sees a sight for sore eyes: the concrete and
metal walls of civilization. Proceed to Poacher’s Post. Vortices
A few powerful eddies churn in the river ahead. The
Downriver characters in each canoe can make a DC 14 group
Strength (Athletics) check to paddle through the
It’s a steep but surefooted climb down the northern
eddies, or a DC 14 group Wisdom (Survival) check
edge of the plateau and into the canyon. Flowing
to navigate the invisible, swirling currents without
through this canyon is a swift river that dips and
being pulled into an eddy.
snakes its way through much of the jungle. As always,
On a failure, a canoe capsizes. Much of
Budd has something prepared for just such a survival
the equipment the party was carrying for Budd is
situation: he produces a pair of folding boats which
washed downriver and hopelessly lost. Each party
each unfold into 10-foot canoes that can each seat
member in the capsized canoe takes 2d6 bludgeoning
four Medium creatures. Divide the characters up
damage from collisions with submerged rocks. At
between these canoes as they choose. Then, read or
the beginning of each subsequent obstacle, every
paraphrase the following:
character that is adrift in the rapids can attempt a
Up ahead, the river narrows between a pair DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check to get back in the
of great boulders. Your canoes accelerate canoe. A character that fails to do so is considered
to that juncture, beyond which is a frothing its own separate group which automatically fails the
tumult of whitewater rapids. obstacle’s ability check.

To brave the rapids, the characters in each canoe Whitewater

must choose a group ability check to overcome each The river accelerates even faster, and the jungle flies
obstacle they encounter. Two ability check options by in a green blur. The characters in each canoe can
are provided for each obstacle, but if the players make a DC 12 group Dexterity check to balance
decide on a reasonable third action to avoid an themselves as their canoes race down the river, or a
obstacle, they can make a group check to do that DC 14 group Intelligence (Nature) check to know
instead. Successes or failures affect all creatures in a an efficient way to slow down without capsizing. On
canoe, but not creatures in the other canoe. You can a failure, a canoe capsizes. The effects of a capsized
present river obstacles in order, or can determine canoe are described in Vortices.
their order randomly.
Fork
OBSTACLES The river forks sharply, and the riptides attempt
d4 Obstacle to pull the canoe down separate tributaries. The
1 Rocks and Logs characters in each canoe must make a DC 14 group
2 Vortices Strength (Athletics) check to drift down the same
branch in the river.
3 Whitewater
On a failure of either group, the canoes
4 Fork are sent down different branches of the river. For
the rest of this section, the canoes are increasingly
separated by miles of jungle, and it will take hours

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Two: Ferret Trail 17

 of hiking to reunite them. If one group fails, but
the other succeeds, the failed group is washed far THE MANTICORE MOTHER
from their destination by the time the river calms. If a character stole a dinosaur egg from
If both groups fail, determine which is washed away Roc Roc, the egg’s mother, a pterodactyl-
randomly. They will only be able to take a short rest, manticore (using manticore stats) arrives at
instead of a long rest. Poacher’s Post. The manticore isn’t highly
The other group ends their journey within intelligent, but can speak Common, and
sight of Poacher’s Post where they can dry out and will demand the egg’s return. She can
rest for the evening. In the morning, both groups are smell exactly who has taken the egg. If
reunited. Proceed to Poacher’s Post. the character can return the intact egg,
the manticore will bite the character, then
Poacher’s Post take the egg in her claws and fly away. If
they can’t or won’t return the egg, she will
Just as the sun begins to set behind distant viciously attack the creature that stole it,
mountains, the party sees a welcome sight: the only fleeing once the creature is dead.
concrete and metals walls of a settlement. Characters
which read the Deep Jungle Adventures™ brochure
understand this to be Poacher’s Post, a ghost town in A character which spends some time
the jungle. Read or paraphrase the following: searching Poacher’s Post for supplies can make a DC
14 Intelligence (Investigation) check to uncover
Concrete walls jut out of the jungle in front
two hidden potions of healing and a rusty, but
of you. Much like Taisong when you left,
functional concussion rifle. Additionally, they find
the electrical defenses on the walls are off,
old documents and travel brochures which identify
but worse still, its metal has rusted and its
this settlement by its proper name, Guang.
walls are choked with vines. The jungle is
reclaiming this slice of civilization, but for Muddy Decisions
now, it may be a safe place to rest. When the party awakes the following morning, a
In the safety of this settlement, the characters can steady drizzle of rain throughout the night has made
find a building with sturdy doors, within which they Big Hob’s tracks through the jungle much harder to
can take a long rest. This is also a chance to take stock follow. A few ferret tracks near Poacher’s Post are
and wait for characters which have become separated easily identifiable, but they become shallower and
from the rest of the party. less distinct further away. However, the party does
Additionally, when the characters arrive, find much more recent tracks: humanoid footprints
anyone with a passive Perception of 13 or higher heading off in two different directions. With a
detects the smell of grilling meat. Following the successful group DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check,
smell, they find that Greggy Ironsmelt has made a character can determine that the path angling
camp near the walls of the post, and is grilling some north belongs to the Scale Crew, whereas the path
sort of critter over a campfire. Greggy seems like an angling east belongs to Greggy Ironsmelt, dragging
entirely different dwarf out here: he’s lucid, canny,
and somewhat sullen. The constant danger of the
jungle focuses his addled mind. Greggy is excited STONES, ROCKS, AND STONES
by the prospect of a good hunt, and a race, no less. Sung to the tune of “I’m a little teapot”, this
However, he’s rather dismayed that Big Hob’s trail has dwarven shanty is the first Greggy sings:
taken him towards the Vorpal’s wreck. In a period of
his past which he won’t elaborate on, he spent time All I’ve got are stones, rocks and stones in my mine.
Gold would be nice, and silver would be fine.
on the Vorpal, and hates seeing it in its current state. I’d love some mithral or adamantium!
Greggy spends the evening singing old dwarven A vein of platinum would fetch a hefty sum!
songs, such as “Stones, Rocks, and Stones” and “The Gold would be nice, and silver would be fine,
Comely She-Goblin”. But all I’ve got are stone, rocks and stones in my mine.

18 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

a makeshift sled of provisions behind him. Budd must have once had a staircase of wood, for the great
participates in the group check as well, and rolls his archway is suspended nearly 15 feet off the ground.
check with a +4 bonus. Moreover, Budd reckons that A climbing rope and a series of muddy footprints
the eastward path might lead to the Vorpal, a sight ascend the blocks leading to the entrance.
he’s crossed many times in this jungle.
If the party chooses to follow Scale Crew Outside the Ziggurat
north, proceed to City of Columns. If the party If the party has not lost any of Budd’s gear, they
decides to follow Greggy Ironsmelt east, proceed to can use their climbing gear to ascend the ziggurat’s
the Wreck of the Vorpal. exterior. The view is stunning, and reveals the wreck
of the Vorpal some distance to the southeast. From
A Very Persistent Bug this vantage, they can also see the ziggurat’s largest
Use this optional event as the characters proceed image, built to be seen from above: a gargantuan
to the next location. Please read or paraphrase the carving of a ferret snakes its way up the ziggurat’s
following: sides and embraces the monument’s peak in its teeth.
Every few seconds for the last several Ziggurat Entrance
minutes, a loud BZZZZZZ has molested your Inside, the structure is suspended by great pillars
ears. An tenacious and infuriating insect has in every direction, which cast innumerable long
decided to make your life hell, and it has shadows when hit by a flashlight. Catching the light
succeeded with flying colors. This is your of the entrance, the party finds a paper note, weighed
greatest challenge yet. down by a stone. It reads as follows:
The character with the lowest Wisdom score gets Dear Bud and the company of misfits,
harassed by a persistent insect. It can attempt a
melee weapon attack (AC 20) to swat the bug away. I can only assume you’re following in our
On a miss, the big moves to the creature with the footsteps, since you’ll never outpace us,
next lowest Wisdom score and similarly annoys that so I’d advise you to give up now. If you’re
creature, and so on. A creature which rolls a 1 on reading this, we’ve already tracked the
their attack roll takes 1d4 psychic damage as they quarry through the temple and to its burrow
have a tantrum. The DM is encouraged to pester their on the far side. Don’t bother catching up—
players with buzzing sounds during this event. you’ll only embarrass yourselves!
Love, Miss Ivana Zarkoff
Temple of Columns
In addition to the mocking note, the entryway
As the party proceeds through the jungle, read or
contains a poison dart trap which triggers when 20
paraphrase the following:
or more pounds of weight is placed on its pressure
Emerging out of the jungle, choked by plate. A creature searching for traps can detect it
vines and riddled with small trees, is a with a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence
colossal ziggurat of stone, hundreds of (Investigation) check, noticing that one specific
feet high. Every block in the structure is brick has been avoided by the Scale Crew’s muddy
intricately carved with decorative frescos, footprints. If triggered, the trap releases four darts.
but the structure’s whole is weathered by Each dart makes a ranged attack with a +5 bonus
the passing of millennia and the jungle’s against a random target within 10 feet of the pressure
oppressive rain. Thanks to years of watching plate (vision is irrelevant to this attack roll). A target
holo-films set in similar ancient temples, you that is hit takes 1d4 piercing damage and must
get a bad feeling about this. succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw,
taking 1d10 poison damage on a failed save, or half
From above, it would be impossible to see the as much damage on a successful one. Budd will slap
ziggurat with any clarity, but from the ground, the anyone across the face that mentions the possibility
monument is obvious. The entrance to the ziggurat of rolling boulder traps.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Two: Ferret Trail 19

 Three staircases lead away from the entryway: Wisdom (Perception) check detects the location
one down to a central chamber, and two up to of a secret door, which has just been unlocked. The
either side of a wraparound balcony overlooking the door leads to a small 5-foot square room, containing
chamber. At the far side of the central chamber is an ancient funeral urns of all shapes and sizes. Many
exit from the ziggurat, matching the entryway. contain wine, now rendered undrinkable by the
passage of centuries, but others contain copper and
Balcony silver baubles. If all of these are collected, the total
The upper balcony is a long 5-foot ledge, flanked by can be sold for 200 credits.
its own perimeter of pillars, allowing only fleeting
glances at the central chamber beneath. Read or Central Chamber
paraphrase the following: Read or paraphrase the following for characters
which proceed to the ziggurat’s center:
On each side of the narrow balcony corridor
are spheres made of bronze, which are The central chamber of the ziggurat is
delicately embossed with the exaggerated almost untouched by the march of time.
near-human faces. Each sphere rotates to Vibrant pigments stain the columns, and
reveal a different expression on the back. immaculately-carved reliefs decorate the
walls. Then, a bleached white skull meets
Like everywhere else in the ziggurat, the walkway your gaze. Dozens of skeletons come into
is trapped. Halfway down the walkway is a well- view at the chamber’s center, around an
concealed explosive planted by the Scale Crew to altar, upon which rests a golden idol. At first,
slow down the characters. A character which makes you think it depicts an immense serpent, but
a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom you quickly realize that it, in fact, represents
(Perception) check notices the distant glimmer of a a ferret.
laser sight on a pillar across the room, the end point
of the explosive’s laser trip wire. A creature that has The two-foot tall ferret idol is easily worth 3,000
noticed the explosive can find it and disable it with a credits, but characters will need to be cautious to
DC 11 Intelligence (Technology) check. On a failed retrieve it, for it is surrounded by layers of traps.
check, the explosive is set off. Each creature within 10 Firstly, the floor around the altar, extending
feet of the explosive must make a DC 14 Dexterity across the entire central chamber, is covered in
saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 2d6 multicolored tiles, each of which springs a spear trap
fire damage, and is thrown off the balcony into the from the ground. The rules for these tiles are laid out
central chamber, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage quite clearly in an alien language on the frescos, but
from the fall. On a successful save, a creature hides a creature must make a DC 20 Intelligence check to
behind a pillar, only takes 1d6 fire damage. understand them. Any creature which can read Avia-
The orbs on the balcony are randomly rotated Ra has advantage on this check, as the languages
between a “joyful” and “sorrowful” expression. A are similar. The safe tiles in the outermost row are
character which makes a DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) red, in the next row are blue and green, and in the
check will discern that the “joyful” faces are more innermost row are gold. All other tiles will trigger a
likely wincing in pain. spear trap. When triggered, the spear makes a melee
If all the faces are oriented to be “joyful”, a attack with a +5 bonus at a creature within the door
number of 5-foot wide pit traps will open beneath frame. A target that is hit takes 2d8 piercing damage.
each orb, dropping each creature in front of one to The spear instantly retracts.
the central chamber. Each creature which falls must Secondly, creatures which fly or climb on the
make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 2d6 pillars will be subject to a number of razor-sharp trip
bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much wires threaded between them. A climbing or flying
on a successful one. creature with a passive Perception of 12 or higher
If all the faces are oriented to be “sorrowful”, notices them and can avoid damage. Any other
an audible clunk can be heard from within the creature takes 2d8 slashing damage and must land.
wall. A character which makes a successful DC 14

20 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 The firs t creature to touch the idol must
make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking Wreck of the Vorpal
4d8 necrotic damage, or half as much on a successful As the party follows Greggy Ironsmelt, they soon
save. This trap can be bypassed by touching the idol find themselves looking down on the wreckage of a
only with a thick cloth or welding gloves. dwarven starship. Read or paraphrase the following:
If the ferret idol is removed from the altar,
or the party leaves the central chamber, proceed to As the trees part, you can see the great,
“Escape!” angular wreckage of dwarven engineering
embedded in a hillside. The jungle has
Escape! done its best to scale the crashed ship and
A final magical trap awaits anyone who takes the reclaim it as its own, but the stern structure
idol. Even if the characters practice restraint, Trace refuses to let the vines choke its upper half.
from the Scale Crew lingers behind columns at the However, the rain and weather has taken its
ziggurat’s exit, ready to activate the trap with a well- toll: the metal is tarnished, and one of the
placed concussion rifle shot. If the characters proceed engines that was suspended in the sky has
to the exit without the idol, an echoing shot rings out, fallen off completely.
knocking the idol to the floor.
Regardless of how the idol is removed, six With a DC 12 Intelligence (History) check, a
seconds after it leaves the altar, many of the stones character can determine that the Vorpal is a dwarven
supporting the great columns in this room crumble anvil, a frigate-class ship of very old design. Like all
into sand. Read or paraphrase the following: dwarven ships, its construction is legendarily rugged,
which is likely the sole reason it could withstand this
The temple trembles as enormous columns impact in mostly one piece. A character that makes
come crashing down in all directions. The a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check notices claw
dust and deafening noise from breaking marks on the hull; Big Hob has definitely been here,
stone envelop the quickly-collapsing and Budd reckons that it might have found a way to
ziggurat. You can see a faint glimmer: the burrow inside.
exit! If only you can get there in time! The entire ship is pitched at an angle, such
that its nose (if it still has one) is buried and its
Each creature must make a DC 12 Strength engines dangle high in the air. All of the ship’s normal
(Athletics) check to outrun the series of falling entrances are buried by the crash or sealed tight, but
pillars and a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check a sizable hole has been welded at ground level by
to navigate the chaos. Any character with a base some intrepid explorer in recent years. Unfortunately,
movement speed of higher than 30 feet makes the this entryway leads directly into a 30-foot deep
Athletics check with advantage. A creature which elevator shaft without an accessible ladder. Most
fails one of the checks must make a DC 12 Dexterity doors are sealed with emergency bulkheads, and
saving throw, taking 3d8 bludgeoning damage predictably, the ship is devoid of any sort of power.
from falling rubble on a failure, or half as much on a The characters can make a group DC 12 Strength
success. A creature which fails both checks arrives at (Athletics) check to repel down to an open door one
the exit a fraction of a second too late: a great column floor down, allowing them to proceed to the cargo
lands in front of it, blocking them in as the ceiling bay. If the group check beats a DC 14, and the party
collapses above them. This creature is reduced to 0 has not lost Budd’s gear, they can secure a grappling
hit points, but does not die. They can be retrieved hook one floor above. The party can choose to climb
with 2 hours of digging through the rubble. up, arriving at the engine room, or climb down to the
If the players saw the Vorpal from the cargo bay. If the party fails the check, the character
ziggurat, they can choose to explore there. If so, with the lowest check slips and is battered on the
proceed to Wreck of the Vorpal. Otherwise, Budd wall, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage. They can then
finds a clump of Big Hob’s foul-smelling hair near the reattempt the group check.
ziggurat’s exit, indicating that they’re close. In this
case, proceed to Part Three: Big Hob’s Burrow.

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Two: Ferret Trail 21

 Engine Room but it can direct characters around the ship, carry
The players reach a hallway that slopes steeply items, and so forth.
upward to a pair of opened bulkhead doors. Inside, To search the engine room for supplies, the
they find a multi-tiered room. Read or paraphrase characters can make a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception)
the following: check. On a success, they find a pair of wrenchinators
of fine dwarven make, a few ancient and undrinkable
All sides of this tiered room, which is bottles of dwarven stout, and a concussion grenade
illuminated by a great hole in the back wall, hidden away in a toolbox. From the vantage of the
is filled with rusted pipes and machinery. engine room, the party can enjoy a marvelous vista
The left wall has long been blackened by of the jungle. Nestled among the trees, they can see a
flames, and much of the machinery on hidden ziggurat, the temple of columns.
the back wall fell free of the ship with the From the engine room, the characters can
engine. Then, you hear a clattering of rusty open a hatch down to the cargo bay, or, if they have
bolts and scrap metal. not lost Budd’s gear, they can crowbar a door open to
proceed to the crew quarters.
A malfunctioning multi-task automaton (MTA)
staggers to its feet and approaches the party. Any Cargo Bay
creature with proficiency in Insight can recognize When the crew enters the cargo bay, read or
that the MTA is friendly but clearly damaged. It paraphrase the following:
addresses the party with a hollow, mechanical
greeting, and will answer questions posed to it Jumping out of the darkness with wild
with preprogrammed responses. However, due to eyes, Greggy Ironsmelt waves frantically
long-accumulating data corruption, it only retains and shushes everyone. He produces a
a few phrases, and has random words interspersed quadcorder from his pocket which emulates
throughout them. Use only the following for the the characteristic ticking sound of a giger
MTA’s responses, replacing words in brackets counter. He gestures beyond a large crate,
randomly: where a sickening green glow illuminates
the pitch black room.
• Welcome to the DHC [behavior] Vorpal, active
crew 4 [notebook]. We will be taking [program] The crew finds Greggy Ironsmelt, who has armed
off shortly; please proceed [agree] to your himself with a dwarven-style battleaxe. In the cargo
quarters for [despair] the journey. bay, a radioactive goo is slowly devouring the
• My designation is Engineering [ratio] Unit 14. contents of one of the crates. The party can slip past
Pleased to [judgement] meet you. the goo by climbing over a series of crates with a
• The engine room is undergoing [theory] minor DC 14 group Dexterity (Stealth) check. Budd and
repairs. Please mind [hiccup] our mess. Greggy participate in this check, and make their
• This ship is among [precision] the fastest in the checks with a +2 and +0, respectively. If the party
[jurisdiction] dwarven exploration fleet. fails, or if they alert the goo deliberately, it moves
• Worry not, there are [disaster] SEVENTEEN closer to the party and attacks. Furthermore, it
CRITICAL PROBLEMS with [page] the ship’s relinquishes its grasp on two hostile, malfunctioning
Dark Matter [investigation] engine. We’ll be multi-task automatons (each of which have AC 13
flying [ambition] in no time! and 20 HP) which also attack.
• Good question! I’ll ask [superior] the captain The cargo bay is loaded with components
about that! for the MTAs found elsewhere on the ship. Sadly,
• Yes, Commander! these automatons are a very old model, obsolete
• No, Commander! nowadays by any standard, so their parts are
The MTA will heed any dwarven character, or anyone essentially worthless. A creature which succeeds a
with a beard, as a dwarven officier, and will assist DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check to search the
them in any way it can. It’s no longer fit for combat, cargo bay can find a shipment of antique dwarven

22 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Before the catastrophic crash-landing, this
APOCRYPHAL DWARF FACTS room might have been comfortable. A few
Greggy will insist following dwarf facts are couches have been thrown haphazardly to
absolutely true, and will tell listless stories to the bow-facing wall, but two hammocks still
prove each of them. hang precisely where they were. Judging
by the still-intact dartboard, the crew of the
• All dwarven babies have beards.
Vorpal were just as obsessed with darts as
• The word “rocket” comes from the
the Grax’s Guys currently are. Maybe it’s a
earliest dwarven spacecraft, which were
fad that skips a few hundred years at a time?
engine-mounted boulders
• Dwarves are more closely related to The remnants of the crew quarters are a safe place to
whales than humans. take a short rest. Most of the doors lining this area
• Dwarves were historically named for are sealed tight, as the quarters themselves acted
their emotions, but too many Grumpies as escape pods and locked bulkheads behind them
became confusing. when they ejected. Four rooms remain untouched:
• Only dwarves can see the color Two were evidently unoccupied, sporting
“jacinth”. neatly-tucked bunk beds and uncluttered floors.
• A halfling with a beard is, legally, a Another room seems to have been occupied by a
dwarf. vect of some sort. The beds in this room have been
completely removed, but a pile of bolts, gears, wires,
and other components can be found haphazardly
weaponry, marked with the insignia for DD&D, a scattered on the floor. Anyone who searches the
company of artifact collectors. The shipment contains room can also find an old, but functional arm blade
six daggers, a greatsword, and a suit of scale mail construct graft.
armor. The weaponry isn’t especially valuable, but The final room is locked, but not behind a
might be desirable for a character wishing to use a bulkhead door. It could be opened if a character can
more medieval approach to combat. If a character make a DC 13 Intelligence (Technology) check to
specifically searches for hidden compartments in power the door with a makeshift power source, such
the cargo bay, they can make a DC 15 Intelligence as a blaster’s arcane battery. Once powered, the door’s
(Investigation) check to find an antimatter carbine access panel can be hacked with a DC 15 Intelligence
smuggled away. (Data) check, or opened with the correct password
If the party sneaks through the cargo bay, (14-20-15, incidentally given by Greggy in Scrimshaw
they reach the crew quarters. If they defeated the Lodge if any of the characters played along with
radioactive goo and the automatons, they can also his delusion). Inside, the room looks more lived-in
find a ladder up to the engine room. Greggy happily than the others, containing dwarf-sized clothing, a
accompanies the party as they explore the Vorpal, few empty bottles of ale, empty cans of food, and so
chiming in with unprompted, apocryphal facts about forth. With a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) or
dwarven history whenever nobody else is speaking. Wisdom (Perception) check, a character can find a
Such facts include “Did you know dwarves invented small hidden cache underneath the bed containing a
the triangle?” and “The third dwarven king drank a pack of playing cards, 100 credits, and several vintage
hundred gallons of ale a day, and was killed by the photographs of young dwarf and vect crewmen, one
eventual hangover.” of whom might be a much younger Greggy. However,
by the time the characters have searched this room,
Crew Quarters they find that Greggy has moved on, and indeed,
The characters proceed deeper into the ship, passing
exited the Vorpal entirely.
any doors which are secured with the heavy dwarven
When the party is finished resting and
bulkheads. Soon, they arrive at a wide hallway,
searching the rooms, they can proceed down a long
possibly a common area, with rows of doors on both
hallway to the Dark Matter core.
sides. Read or paraphrase the following:

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Two: Ferret Trail 23

 Dark Matter Core
Traveling downwards, further into the bowels of the
ship, the players reach the room housing the ship’s
Dark Matter engine. Please read or paraphrase the
following:
You enter a nearly spherical room,
reinforced on all sides with supportive
beams and other specialized equipment. In
any other ship, this would be the humming
heart containing the Dark Matter drive,
an engine so volatile that, if it were ever
damaged or deactivated, the entire ship
would be reduced to nothing in an instant.
However, you instead see a mess of torn
wires and scratch marks, and a wide tunnel
through the wall and into the dirt outside.
Somehow, the Dark Matter engine has been removed
from the ship wholesale. Budd instantly recognizes
the claw marks and the size of the hole as belonging
to Big Hob. The characters can make a DC 15
Intelligence (Nature) check to conjecture that giant
space ferrets, like regular ferrets, might like to collect
interesting things and hide them away; the still-
humming engine might have seemed particularly
interesting to the ferret. However, that would mean
that, wherever you find Big Hob, it’s housing a bomb
nearby.
The party can follow the tunnel to the
surface. Proceed to Part Three: Big Hob’s Burrow.
Alternatively, they can travel to explore the ziggurat
visible from the engine room. In this case, proceed to
The Temple of Columns.

24 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Crew can perform on her behalf. If the Scale
Part Three: Crew loses, however, Ivana orders them to make
a run for the burrow. Proceed to The Green Mile.
Big Hob’s Burrow • The Party Acquiesces. In the event that the
party simply allows the Scale Crew to go ahead
After braving the dangers of the alien jungle, the
and hunt Big Hob, (perhaps on the assumption
party stands within sight of the entrance to Big Hob’s
that the Scale Crew might lose to Big Hob),
burrow, a 10-foot hole in a hillside nearly half a mile
Budd Felmer loudly grumbles, and then, quite
away, made obvious by the giant ferret tracks leading
suddenly, offers Ivana a bottle of champagne, a
into and out of it. Between the party and the giant
token of her victory. As sincerely as he can, Budd
space ferret, however, is a long stretch of muddy
says that he was saving the bottle for after the
jungle, a steep hill, and importantly, the Scale Crew,
hunt, but thinks Ivana deserves it, as the superior
who are eyeing a map of the surrounding area, until
hunter. Evidently touched by this friendly gesture,
the party comes into view. Read or paraphrase the
Ivana accepts and the Scale Crew heads down
following:
below. Once the Scale Crew is out of sight, Budd
“Well, well, well! Look what the giant space cheerfully reveals that the bottle contained
ferret dragged in!” chuckles Drak. “We concentrated ferret pheromone—they’ll get
were sure something out in the jungle had mauled the moment they enter the burrow.
already eaten you all. I suppose you got Proceed to Into the Burrow.
here just in time to watch our client catch If the argument evolves in any other way, remember
the beast, and for us to get paid.” that Ivana and Budd are more concerned about being
The half-dragon stands triumphantly, first than being alive, and either will run blindly to
shouldering a wicked-looking blaster and the burrow, triggering the events of The Green Mile.
grinning at his good fortune thus far. Ivana In any situation that the characters best Ivana and
Zarkoff adjusts her monocle and smirks. Scale Crew without a footrace, skip The Green Mile
Meanwhile, a couple members of the Scale and proceed to Into the Burrow. If Ivana or a Scale
Crew, especially Trace, shuffle around Crew member is reduced to 0 hit points, they are
uncomfortably in place, unsure whether or safely teleported away with a special emergency
not things will turn ugly. device called an escape rope.

The Scale Crew has no intention of battling the party

for the right of hunting Big Hob. Ivana Zarkoff glibly
The Green Mile
admits that she wasn’t sure she was on pace to beat Ivana Zarkoff and the Scale Crew are well aware
the characters here, but ascertains that the hunt that the short trip to the Big Hob’s burrow is far
belongs to her, since she got here first. The party is more dangerous than it seems. The vines encircling
free to argue this point in a number of ways, and trees and weaving through the mud belong to an
the situation might evolve in any of the following alien plant nicknamed a “garrote root”, which can
directions: be quite deadly if agitated. If any creature runs near
the entrance to Big Hob’s burrow, the garrote root
• Shootout! In the event of a firefight, the Scale awakens, and the journey to the burrow becomes a
Crew protects Ivana Zarkoff and makes a break frenzied, muddy chase.
for the entrance to Big Hob’s burrow. If they have In order to make it to the burrow, the
to fight, they would prefer their client gets to the characters will have to make a series of group ability
burrow first, as per their contract. Proceed to The checks and play through the chase in four stages. If
Green Mile. at least half the group succeeds a group check, the
• A Friendly Challenge. The character might whole group succeeds. If the characters fail a group
challenge Ivana and the Scale Crew to some sort ability check, they suffer the consequences listed in
of contest to decide who might try their luck at the stages below. It is encouraged that the GM be
Big Hob first. Ivana will happily accept such an liberal with creative tactics, giving out advantage
arrangement, so long as a member of the Scale

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Three: Big Hob’s Burrow 25
 or Inspiration to any character which uses a clever If the group ability check is a failure, the
approach to navigating obstacles. character with the lowest personal result has
disadvantage on the next initiative check they make,
Stage One: Garrote Root as they are the last to plod their way up the hill.
Purple roots surge up out of the ground and attempt
to ensnare everyone participating in the chase. Each After the Chase
character contributes to the group ability check by Regardless of how poorly the characters performed
making a DC 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics) or (Sleight in the race, the Scale Crew performed worse. By the
of Hand) check to slip the roots’ grasp or a DC 15 time the characters reach the mouth of Big Hob’s
Strength (Athletics) check to tear through the roots burrow, the members of the Scale Crew are entangled
and continue running. Any character that chooses to in vines, sinking in quicksand, struggling through
burn the roots by dealing any amount of fire damage thorny plants, or sliding miserably to the bottom
automatically succeeds this check. of the hill. Ivana screams at them furiously. For all
If the group ability check is a failure, the their Scale and Fang training, a poorly-planned dash
character with the lowest personal result instead through the most dangerous part of the jungle is
takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage, as they are strangled better left to Grax’s Guys.
by the roots. They have disadvantage on the next However, if the characters failed three or
ability check. more of the group checks, Ivana Zarkoff and Drak
Garfreckt each reach the mouth of the burrow at the
Stage Two: Quicksand same time as the party, and attack. Neither character
The muddy jungle floor up ahead is quicksand! Each will lethally attack, and both will flee if either is
character contributes to the group ability check reduced below 10 hit points. If the pair manage to
by making a DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check to defeat the party, they decide, injured and exhausted,
identify and avoid the quicksand pits, or a DC 15 that it’s best to try Big Hob another time. Proceed
Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to swing from low- to Big Hob Escapes. Otherwise, proceed to Into the
hanging branches to avoid the quicksand. Burrow.
If the group ability check is a failure, the
character with the lowest personal result is removed
from the next stage of the chase.
Into the Burrow
At long last, the party descends into the lair of Big
Stage Three: Spiked Ferns Hob, a muddy tunnel which gradually widens, as the
A wall of leafy vegetation stands in the way: little air becomes ever more pungent. The tunnel is clearly
do the characters know that much of it is made of burrowed out by the colossal rodent, and clumps of
spiked ferns bearing needle-like protrusions on every its hair can be found along the ceiling and floor. Read
leaf. Each character contributes to the group ability or paraphrase the following:
check by making a DC 14 Intelligence (Nature)
check to identify and avoid the spiked ferns, or a The tunnel leads you into a dark, spacious
DC 10 Constitution check to endure the dozens of den, filled with hundreds of glittering
pinpricks. objects. It would seem Big Hob has a
If the group ability check is a failure, the two penchant for collecting anything interesting
characters with the lowest personal result each take it finds, ferreting away its treasures here. In
1d10 piercing damage from the plants. the back of the room, a hulking mass of grey
and black fur curls on itself, heaving slightly
Stage Four: The Hill with the calm rhythm of slumber.
The last obstacle remaining is a simple, muddy hill,
Big Hob’s den is a roughly 30-foot diameter space,
steeper and more slippery than anticipated. Each
with a 20-foot ceiling. The area of the outermost
character contributes to the group ability check
5 feet of the den is difficult terrain, as Big Hob has
by making a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check to
collected metal plates, bits of fencing, and other
power up the hill, or a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception)
animal curiosities at the periphery.
check to find the sturdiest footholds for the running
climb.
26 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
 Big Hob sleeps soundly, curled around a • If a character reduces Big Hob to 0 hit points,
metallic sphere that hums gently. Any creature which proceed to Big Hob Captured.
makes a DC 12 Intelligence (Technology) check • If the party is defeated or a character deals more
realizes this is a Dark Matter core taken from the than 20 damage to the Dark Matter core, proceed
Vorpal, an object that will explode in a huge radius to Defeat.
if damaged. It’s a miracle the ferret brought it here in • If the party convinced Budd Felmer to spare Big
one piece! Hob, proceed to Big Hob Escapes.
With a DC 13 Intelligence (Perception)
check, a character can identify one additional Big Hob Captured
creature near Big Hob: a smaller, but still Large-sized Budd Felmer sprints into the fray with a large
giant space ferret with albino cream-colored fur, electromagnetic trap, which he slaps on the giant
which Budd Felmer promptly dubs “Little Jill”. For space ferret’s paw, locking the beast to the ground
some players, this might change the situation entirely. with a magnetic pull. Read or paraphrase the
If the characters can make a DC 15 group Charisma following:
(Persuasion) check, they can convince Budd Felmer
to abandon the hunt, and leave the space ferrets in Budd Felmer triumphantly stands over the
peace. defeated space ferret, which towers over
Each creature that moves within the den must him, even while laying flat. With a flourish,
make a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check or wake Big Budd produces a trio of holo-spheres to
Hob. The moment Big Hob awakens, roll initiative. commemorate his victory. The party with
Little Jill burrows into a small hole until the combat him strikes two serious poses in front of the
is over. This encounter can resolve in one of the ferret, then a silly pose for the third.
following ways:

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Three:Big Hob’s Burrow 27

 When the pictures are done, Budd collects he lost a bet. He hands each member of the party 250
his things, deactivates the trap, and makes credits, and a little gold star sticker reading “I Didn’t
way to the surface. The days of hunting Die!”.
amounted to little more than a few minutes
of fanfare. On this, Budd will cock an Defeat
eyebrow and remark “It’s more about the The party is battered, bruised, and knocked
journey. And the braggin’ rights.” unconscious by the space ferret. When they finally
regain consciousness, they’re back in Grax’s HQ.
The burrow contains adamantine scrap from the The big green man himself, Grax, chuckles when he
Vorpal worth 500 credits. sees the characters bandaged and in bed, explaining
The party has a safe and unremarkable that he had a team nearby just in case the “big ol’
journey back to Taisong, their ship, and eventually marmoset” got the better of them. Each member
Grax HQ. As the party’s ship, The Gittin’, pulls of the party gets 200 credits, a shower, and a well-
into the Grax’s space port, Grax himself is waiting deserved week off.
to shake the party’s hands. Apparently, the holo-
spheres of Big Hob were a big hit around the office
and Grax, true to form, had t-shirts made of the
big moment. He hands each member of the party a
commemorative t-shirt (into which Grax’s picture
has been inserted, as if he were there) and 300
credits.

Big Hob Escapes

With the party’s encouragement, Budd Felmer has
had a change of heart about hunting Big Hob. Read
or paraphrase the following:
Budd Felmer squats on a low stone
outside the burrow and lights his pipe
contemplatively. He muses aloud to anyone
who listens, but mostly to himself:
“Any hunter worth his salt knows that there’s
critters ya’ just don’t hunt. Maybe they’re
too nasty, or too few, or maybe it just ain’t
worth it for a trophy and a photo...” Budd
drifts off, then sniffles a bit, “I reckon this
one just ain’t worth it.”
But cracking a smile and chomping on his
pipe, he remarks, “But I suppose everyone’s
gotta have that one that got away! I can add
Little Jill to that list too.”
The party has a safe and unremarkable journey back
to Taisong, their ship, and eventually Grax HQ.
Jimball Hundwig meets the party inside Grax HQ
and congratulates you on not dying. He also bitterly
mentions that the party making it back alive means

28 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Curse of the Astromo
A DEEP SPACE SURVIVAL HORROR ADVENTURE
FOR 6TH-LEVEL CHARACTERS

WRITTEN BY DONATHIN FRYE

The Even Most Dangerous-er Game Part Three:Big Hob’s Burrow 29

 Grax’s Club
CURSE OF THE ASTROMO
is deep in gambling debt and has a lot riding on one
Introduction possible fix to his financial woes: a very large bet on
the Alluvian Astromos in the team’s upcoming game
Galactically renowned Starball coach Chuck
against the Scale and Fang Talons in the Galactic
Hankerton felt his heart pound furiously as he
Starball League Championship game.
stumbled through the cooridor, smearing his
Unfortunately for Grax, the Astromos’ ship
bloodstained hands along a wall. The Astromo’s
has gone missing near the border of a Dead Magic
flickering red hazard lights barely illuminated the
Zone in space. There’s a small contract to rescue the
metallic hall enough for Chuck to see the doorway at
stranded players, but no contact has been made with
the end. He knew the Creature could appear at any
the ship and Grax has no idea what sort of situation
moment, seemingly out of thin air. He knew his team
he is sending his mercenaries into.
wasn’t his team anymore, not really. He knew there
What Grax doesn’t know is that a master
was only one place he might be able to hide, where
space vampire has infiltrated the Astromo. The
no one would know to look for him.
Galactic Starball League has kept secret its
Chuck heard a whistling hiss from the gunner
widespread abuse of compounds derived from
deck behind him and began to sprint towards the
space vampire blood, but rarely, if ever, is there a
bridge. “Oy! Oy! What a pain in the NECK!” called
serious outbreak of space vampirism to cover up.
out the thing that used to be Terry Tillerman, the
Unfortunately for them, the undead Astromos won’t
best offensive guard in the league, followed by
be playing in the big game: their only concerns
something that sounded like a young girl’s giggle.
now are an unquenchable thirst for brain juice
And then another sharp, almost musical hiss.
and inflicting horrible puns and dad jokes on their
Chuck didn’t look back. The old man kept
unfortunate victims.
running, averting his eyes, trying not to look at the
corpses of the kids he’d trained to be star athletes.
When he reached the overlook to the Astromo’s Overview
bridge, he tripped haphazardly down the stairs. Curse of the Astromo is an adventure for 6th-
Chuck hit the deck below hard, felt something level characters, and is the second in a series of
pop in his hip and a sharp pain shoot up his spine. adventures centered on Grax’s Guys for Cheap. In it,
Wheezing, he dragged himself to a small hidden the characters investigate a derelict ship belonging
hydraulic panel in the floor, tapped three times in just to the Alluvian Astromos, a professional sports
the right spots to cause it to open, and dove headfirst team scheduled to play in the upcoming Galactic
into a cramped smuggler’s hole. Starball Championship. What they find leads them
The panel shut silently above Chuck, leaving on a race against time to prevent a calamity at the
him alone in the dark, buried neck deep in hundreds championship game, presented in four parts.
of sticky, empty candy bar wrappers. He was safe. Prelude: Grax HQ lets characters get to know
And hungry. And utterly alone. their employer and workplace through a chaotic
Chuck spat out a candy bar wrapper that game of Dart Gun Assassin before the adventure
he’d inhaled during his desperate dive and muttered properly begins. If playing this adventure as part of a
under his breath, “I’m gettin’ too old for this ship.” larger Grax’s Guys campaign, it’s recommended you
let the players explore Grax’s headquarters and return
Background between every individual adventure.
In Part One: Exploring the Astromo, the
The second-rate mercenary company Grax’s Guys
characters board the derelict ship, the Astromo, and
for Cheap has come upon hard times, despite its
meet the local artificial intelligence MAH-MAH
members’ recent contracts and exploits. Grax himself
9000. Their investigation of the mystery behind the
30 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
ship reveals the terrible fate that befell its Starball Chuck Hankerton (he/him)
team: they were all hideously murdered and are Chuck Hankerton is the winningest coach in Starball
beginning to rise from the dead as cheesy space League history. He’s trained zeroes to heroes his
vampires with an endless hunger for brain juice. To entire life, but his team, the Alluvian Astromos,
escape the cursed vessel, they must first repair the haven’t won a championship game in ten years. He
Astromo’s power and reach its bridge to unseal its blames Garfreckt the eternal dragon and owner of
blast doors. rival team, the Scale and Fang Talons, for his unlucky
In Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires, streak. Chuck believes the Talons have been cheating,
the characters meet the ship’s sole survivor: Chuck but he has never been able to prove it. Old, gruff,
Hankerton, the team’s coach. On their return from past his prime, and with an uncontrollable addiction
the bridge, the party has their first encounter with to candy, Chuck knows that he doesn’t have many
a terrifying bat-like monstrosity on the bridge of chances left to prove that he is still the best coach in
the ship. Together, they survive MAH-MAH 9000’s the ‘verse.
attacks, hoards of space vampires, and being dogged
relentlessly by the unstoppable vampiric monstrosity MAH-MAH 9000 (she/they)
that is hunting them to escape the Astromo alive. MAH-MAH 9000 is the artificial intelligence
In Part Three: The Final Stand, the party core that runs the Astromo’s automated systems.
returns to their own ship only to find that it has a MAH-MAH 9000 has a calm, matronly voice, but
new passenger: the adorable master vampire behind until recently has never appeared to have much of
the attack on the Astromo. As the rival mercenary a personality of their own. Since the crew of the
crew Scale and Fang bears down on the characters Astromo were killed and raised from the dead as
with its flagship the Baldrin, they party make a space vampires, however, MAH-MAH 9000 has
decision to either hand the master space vampire developed a much more macabre attitude. The more
over to their rivals, destroy it and try to collect the her programming becomes corrupted, the more
bounty on it for themselves, or protect the Master sinister her outlook on the futile lives of organic
from Scale and Fang. creatures becomes.

Key Characters The Creature (they/them)

The Creature that haunts the Astromo was once the
The following nonplayer characters feature Starball team’s captain, Fiari Gustafson. Inflicted with
prominently in this adventure. vampirism by the master space vampire, Fiari was the
first of the crew to transform into a space vampire,
Grax Grraxe (he/him)
and infected many of their teammates. Their brain
The party’s employer and head of Grax’s Guys for
juice fueled Fiara’s transformation into a stage two
Cheap, Grax Grraxe, is a fat, well-humored orc with
space vampire, capable of controlling lesser space
an eyepatch and a thick orcish accent. Around fifty
vampires that they have sired.
years ago, Grax decided to leave the Warzone and
all its general unpleasantness to found Grax’s Guys, The Master (he/him)
a low-to-mid-tier mercenary organization, which The Master is a stage three space vampire who is
bills itself as being all-purpose. True to form, Grax responsible for infecting the crew of the Astromo
branded it after himself, and his face can be seen on with vampirism. He is an activist who is investigating
billboards, company mugs, and the occasional t-shirt. the Galactic Starball League for a hideous crime: the
However, over the last few years, GGFC has league has been secretly injecting some of its injured
lost a lot of customers to their closest rival, Scale athletes with magically diluted space vampire blood
and Fang Inc. Nothing perterbs Grax so much as to enhance their recovery time and performance.
this rivalry, and in particular, that he’s losing to the This has led the league to work with Scale and Fang
mercenary company owned by Garfreckt, an eternal owner Garfeckt to get into the side business of space
dragon who Grax considers to be a bit of a jerk. vampire hunting.

Curse of the Astromo Introduction 31

 The Scale Crew Table of Contents
A band of mercenaries from the rival Scale and Introduction................................................. 30
Fang Inc., the Scale Crew is better-funded and more Background..................................................... 30
competent than any crew from Grax’s Guys. They Overview......................................................... 30
consist of the following: Key Characters................................................ 31
Drak Garfreckt (he/him). A male dragonborn Prelude: Grax HQ ....................................... 33
with red and black scales, Drak is the leader and The Lounge .................................................... 33
fighter of his crew. He’s cool under pressure, tough Crew Quarters................................................. 34
as nails, and smart enough to be a step ahead of The Shooting Range........................................ 34
any rival mercenary group. His last name is that of Storage............................................................ 35
Garfreckt, the eternal dragon who founded and owns Jimball’s Office ............................................... 36
Scale and Fang Inc. Perhaps, he was adopted by the Grax’s Office.................................................... 36
eternal dragon, or is distantly related to it. In any Part One: Exploring the Astromo................ 38
case, Drak has the assurance of someone who earned A1. Airlock....................................................... 39
their position through expertise and hard work, and A2. Medical Bay.............................................. 40
commands the respect of his crew in turn. A3. Mess Hall................................................... 41
Trace (they/them). The heavily-upgraded vect A4. Kitchen...................................................... 42
of the Scale Crew, Trace, serves as their sniper and A5. Sleeping Quarters..................................... 42
gadgeteer. Trace’s expertise lies in drones, blasters, A6. Lower Engineering Deck........................... 43
and explosives, but any mechanical device which B1. Gunner Bay............................................... 44
can be broken or repaired falls under their domain. B2. Upper Engineering Deck........................... 44
At a glance, it can be determined that Trace is cold, B3. MAH-MAH 9000 A.I. Core........................ 45
calculating, and prepared for anything. B4. Bridge........................................................ 46
Sierra O’Connell (she/her). The lovely Sierra Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires ������ 47
O’Connell is a near-human green-skin who oozes The Creature Out of the Mist.......................... 48
charisma. Her smile not only lightens up a room, it Unlikely Allies.................................................. 48
makes even Drak and Trace seem less businesslike Escaping the Astromo..................................... 49
and dour by extension. On a typical day, she’s dressed Part Three: The Final Stand......................... 50
for adventure, with a fitting hat to complement her Not-So-Safe and Sound................................... 50
laser whip. Sierra even knows a few songs as well, so MAH-MAH 9000 Lives!.................................... 51
she serves as the Scale Crew’s bard, as well as their
rogue. Her biggest personal flaw is that she will,
without fail, steal the wallet of anyone she spends
time with. It’s as much habit as it is misbehavior for
her at this point.
Aela Vestele (they/them). The half-elf
sorcerer Aela Vestele is easily the most refined of the
Scale Crew, and is usually the most refined of any
group in which they find themselves. Only when they
cast a spell does the nature of their sorcery become
revealed: small dimensional rifts open around them,
revealing a soup of alien tentacles and eyes. Despite
this, Aela tries to be utterly composed at all times.
Their father is Jermain’ion Vestele, one of the most
successful capitalists in the Elven Empire, so it’s
anyone’s guess how Aela ended up as a half-elf in a
mercenary company, instead of as a full-blooded elf
working behind a desk.

32 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Prelude: Grax HQ GRAX’S CLUB
At the beginning of this adventure, pick
Advance all characters to 6th level.
one player character completely at random
Before and between adventures, the characters hang for Grax’s Club, the Grax’s Guys for Cheap
around the Grax’s Guys for Cheap headquarters, employee of the month system. This
waiting for a good job to drop into their laps. Some character gets their picture on the wall
use it as a chance to hit the gym or comb over some of Grax’s office, a monetary bonus of 50
invaluable books on magic, but plenty of Grax’s crew credits, and extreme bragging rights. As the
get good at darts and take the opportunity to relax GM, you should never tell your players this
during the rare days of downtime. “honor” is entirely random and functionally
Grax’s headquarters is some form of pointless.
converted warehouse right next to the starport on
the planet Fornax. While it might have poor to
nonexistent air conditioning, it’s got plenty of space 1. You’re in the game the second you pick up a
for a crew to hone their skills, catch up on repairs, dart gun.
or take a nap. Before beginning the adventure, 2. If you are shot with a dart, you’re out. No
characters can explore the following locations in getting back in the game.
Grax HQ. 3. No using magic to improve your shot.
4. If you injure another player, you’re out.
The Lounge 5. Don’t tell Grax.
6. Last one standing wins 500 credits.
Unless otherwise stated, the party is probably in
the lounge. If the characters wish to explore the The dart guns are ranged weapons that fire harmless
headquarters before their next mission, begin by foam darts with a range of 30/60 feet. These darts
having them enter the lounge. Read or paraphrase stick to their targets, making a hit clear to all. All
the following: characters have proficiency with dart guns. Characters
have an essentially unlimited supply of darts.
The lounge at the Grax’s Guys for Cheap is Any hit with a dart disqualifies a character
dominated by a large aluminum and glass from the game. However, darts must be shot from
sign reading “Grax’s Guys (and Gals) for dart guns and not propelled by magic or other
Cheap”. Beneath it is everything a crew means; they only stick if shot from a gun. Characters
could possibly need to relax: a couch, a can’t use magic to improve their aim, but magic such
pool table, and a dart board. Much to your as invisibility and mirror image wasn’t specified in the
dismay however, there’s no darts to be seen. rules!
In fact, the dart board has been covered All other Grax’s crew members are considered
by a familiar picture of a giant space ferret, to have a +2 bonus to attack rolls with the dart guns
which crew members have been taking and an Armor Class of 12. While the other crew
shots at with blasters. members are likely to use dirty tactics, none outright
cheat. Eventually the participating characters will
Instead of pool cues or balls, a large poster
be eliminated or must turn on one another. When
emblazoned with the word “Rules” at the
only one player remains in the game, 500 credits are
heading is rolled out on the pool table, and
magically teleported into their pockets.
before it is a great pile of plastic dart guns
and literally hundreds of foam darts. Final Player Stalking the Lounge
Someone has instigated a company-wide game Once the characters have explored every section of
of Dart Gun Assassin, and there’s five hundred the headquarters and eliminated all players apart
credits on the line! It’s a wonder anything gets done from themselves, they are targeted in the lounge
around here. The rules are as concise as they are by the only remaining player. The final player, a
circumventable: vect named PQ-11, is under the effects of a greater

Curse of the Astromo Prelude: Grax HQ 33

 invisibility spell, and attempts to pick the characters members and survey the situation. If a character
off one by one. They’re not particularly stealthy, shoots from this position, they have three-quarters
however, and occasionally shout phrases from well- cover.
known holo-films in an Austrian accent. PQ-11’s The crew members, barricaded in bunk
exact location can be determined if a character can beds and behind piles of chairs, have three quarters
succeed a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check on cover at the maximum dart gun range of 30 feet.
their turn. Additionally, they ready their actions to shoot at any
figure they see. There’s no approach which avoids all
Broken Krash Machine three lines of sight. Lucky shots or magical assistance
If the characters have not already determined that the might even the odds.
broken Krash vending machine dispenses random If a character makes a successful DC 18
magic items, they may do so by inspecting the Charisma (Persuasion) check, they can stoke the
machine more closely and making a successful DC paranoia and fear of the holed up crew members,
15 Intelligence (Technology) check. turning them against one another in a flurry of
A successful inspection of the machine shows foam darts. They eliminate each other without the
that its four buttons have prices of 100 credits, 500 characters needing to fire a shot.
credits, 2,500 credits, and 7,500 credits. Depending
on the amount inserted, roll a d20 on one of the
tables from Appendix D to determine which magic
The Shooting Range
item is dispensed. Keep track of which magic items Undeniably the best part of the Grax’s headquarters is
have been provided to the players. If a character rolls the shooting range and armory. If a character would
a magic item which has already been produced, they like to practice some shooting, read or paraphrase the
receive the next lowest magic item on the table, or an following:
error and a return of credits if there is no lower magic
The shooting range is busier than usual, as
item.
a few Grax’s crew members are practicing
It’s not possible to extract magic items
their aim with their dart guns alongside
from the machine by force. Large magic items are
others who are unleashing bolts of white hot
magically shrunk and instantly grow to full size once
plasma. The chunk of discarded starship hull
removed from the machine.
that forms the largest target in this indoor
shooting range is covered in orange foam
Crew Quarters darts, in addition to new blaster pockmarks.
The crew quarters at Grax HQ are where Grax’s Near the shooting range, the halfling dart
Guys and Gals go to rest between missions. When player Gimby fiddles with a repeater. He
a character enters this area, read or paraphrase the already has several darts stuck to his clothes,
following: and one stuck prominently to his head.

As you walk into the crew quarters, a There are three crew members to eliminate at the
flurry of orange foam flies past you! The shooting range: two practicing their shots, who are
uncomfortable bunk beds have been unaware of anyone entering the room, and Gracks
inched to one side of the room, from which (no relation to Grax), who has a fortified position in
someone has arranged an ambush! the armory. Unlike other crew members, Gracks has
an AC of 14 and a +4 to hit.
There’s no fewer than four Grax’s crew members
holed up in the crew quarters, where they plan to The Armory
pick off their competition one-by-one until only the Gracks maintains the Grax HQ armory, where
four remain. The first character to enter the crew characters can purchase weapons, armor, and gear, as
quarters without being cautious is targeted by 4 dart per the tables in the Dark Matter Equipment chapter.
attacks, each with a +2 bonus. However, a character If the characters wish to find more traditional,
that is suspicious of the area can hunker behind a exotic, or illegal gear, there’s a rat-person out by the
low bookshelf in order to converse with the crew dumpsters behind the headquarters named Charles
34 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
Rattington Jr. who will sell any equipment from the
SRD, and additional gear at the GM’s discretion. Storage
A great deal of Grax HQ is used for storage. This is,
Practicing at the Shooting Range by far, the best place to find peace and quiet in Grax’s
If a character spends an hour practicing with a HQ, but it’s also a place where characters might find
weapon at the firing range, they gain a practice die, some truly strange stuff. To introduce this location,
a d6, which they can add to an attack roll using that read or paraphrase the following:
weapon sometime in the next 10 days. A character
can only have one practice die at a time. If the rest of Grax’s HQ is a converted
warehouse, this is the section that’s an
Teaching Gimby to Shoot unconverted warehouse. Countless
The once-cocky Gimby “Lucky Shot” Matchfoot unlabeled crates are stacked haphazardly
seems rather meek at your approach. If questioned, in this room, creating a combination of
he admits that, while he’s a prodigy at throwing a fire hazard and an avalanche risk. Most
darts, he’s a terrible shot with a repeater, and has crates seem to be filled with Grax-branded
been soundly demolished in the ongoing game of merchandise nobody wants to buy. That
Dart Gun Assassin. He’s worried that Grax will fire being said, if someone wants a Grax mug,
him if he doesn’t improve. With no small amount this is the motherlode.
of embarrassment, Gimby will ask for some help.
Nearby, the half-orc in charge of the armory, Gracks, If a character wants to go digging through the
hurls an insult at Gimby and shoots a dart at him, storage, roll on the following table to determine what
hitting him squarely in the head. they find:
If pressed, Gimby might offer an ultra-rare d8 Item
can of discontinued Hyper-Krash to someone who
1 A discarded and half-eaten t-bone steak
offers to help him practice at the firing range. For
that has been here for far too long
every hour the character spends helping Gimby train
with a weapon at the firing range, they must make a 2 A dusty tome bound in blood stained
successful DC 15 Dexterity check with disadvantage human leather that has had all of its
due to Gimby’s ineptitude and Grack’s constant pages removed and replaced with
taunts whenever the halfling misses a shot. If more crayon drawings of Grax
than one character works with Gimby, this is a group 3 A plastic throwing disc with the
Dexterity check instead. A character can convince branding XXX ULTIMATE printed on it
Gracks to stop insulting Gimby by making a DC 14 that turns invisible whenever you throw
Charisma (Persuasion, Deception, or Intimidation) it and only becomes visible again when
check. On a success, Gracks leaves Gimby alone and it is successfully caught
any checks made to train Gimby are no longer made 4 A documentary holo-video directed by
with disadvantage. and starring Grax about his many exes
If a character can succeed on three training and how they did him wrong
checks with Gimby, his aim begins to measurably 5 A wrapped present with a card that
improve. He thanks the character profusely and reads “Definitely not from Garfreckt”
seems genuinely excited to continue training in the that contains a broken and empty
future so that his friends stop making fun at him for poison gas canister
his poor aim. As a gift, Gimby gives the characters
6 A boxed board game titled Hungry
2 cans of Hyper-Krash and tells them they are the
Hungry Thwirrels that is missing several
last two cans at headquarters. He stays behind at the
of its thwirrel miniatures and all of its
range to practice more, beaming with a big, doofy
electrical wires
smile due to his newfound confidence.

Curse of the Astromo Prelude: Grax HQ 35

 7 A painting of a woman riding a If a character is able to stump January, she
hoverbike off of a cliff and directly into resentfully upholds her end of the bargain, but
the massive maw of a Mega-Tarrasque, that character becomes her nemesis: the thwirrel
with a title plaque that reads “HANG IN will find small ways to psionically make their life
THERE” miserable while they are at headquarters by giving
them bad dreams, telekinetically spilling their coffee
8 A discontinued mega dart gun blaster
on them, tying their shoelaces together at the most
from thirty years ago, before laws were
inopportune time, and any other petty acts of revenge
passed to ensure safety for children. This
the GM can imagine. The only way to end the
dart gun has a range of 120 feet and
nightmare of January’s ire is to convince her to adopt
advantage on attack rolls.
a new, even more hated nemesis.
January in Dart Gun Assassin. January
Jimball’s Office is absolutely competing in the game of Dart Gun
Next to Grax’s office is that of Jimball Hundwig, the Assassin, though her itty-bitty dart gun is hidden
accountant. If the characters wish to visit Jimball, expertly in her fluffy tail. She attacks only if attacked,
read or paraphrase the following: or after everyone has finished acquiring an operating
budget. If a character shoots at her and misses, she
Grax’s corner office dwarfs the almost has advantage on her next dart gun attack targeting
comically small office of his accountant, that character.
Jimball Hundwig. Today, however, Jimball’s
office is empty, and Jimball’s pet thwirrel,
January, is sitting in his chair instead,
Grax’s Office
twitching her nose curiously at you. When character approach Grax’s office, the door
burst open. Read or paraphrase the following:
January is psionic like all thwirrels, but is far
smarter than her kin. In fact, she’s a super-intelligent The door bursts open in a flurry of orange
telepathic thwirrel who happily lives in a cage in foam, and a hapless crew member tumbles
the corner of Jimball’s office. She is only willing to backwards out of it, shot dozens of times.
communicate telepathically with creatures who have Grax, in his terrible green fury, stomps out
an Intelligence score of 14 or higher. If a character after him, brandishing a foam dart gun of
is smart enough and attempts to communicate with orcish design: a blaster that fires dozens
January, they will learn that Jimball is on vacation of darts at once. The orc cocks his blaster,
to the planet Politana. If the character wants more activates a faintly shimmering energy field,
information they must make a DC 15 Charisma and barks “Come get some!”
(Persuasion) check. On a success, January admits
For this foam dart combat, Grax has an AC 13 and
that she lied: Jimball is not on vacation, but rather
an energy shield which deflects two darts, meaning
is traveling to Politana to pay off some of Grax’s
he must be shot three times before being eliminated.
considerable gambling debts. He is scheduled to
Additionally, he has a dart gun that fires hundreds
return to the office tomorrow. January has gotten
of darts in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area
extra food for being a good girl while he’s away.
must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be hit
In Jimball’s absence, January is able to acquire
by dozens of darts. If defeated, Grax belly laughs at
an operating budget of 100 credits for the characters
the good challenge and stomps back into his office.
before their next mission. She offers to cook the
books and instead give the characters 300 credits Starting the Mission
if one of them is able to give her a riddle that she is When the players are ready to begin the adventure,
unable to answer. they can pop back by Grax’s office for a briefing. Read
or paraphrase the following:

36 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Grax’s office, as usual, smells of green,
despite the orange foam darts which
have their own plasticy aroma and trace
a perfect outline of a terrified employee
on the inside of Grax’s door. As you get
comfortable amongst the darts, Grax slides
over a tumbler glass filled with a pungent,
alcoholic liquid, along with a stack of manilla
envelopes.
“Can’t believe yer still alive! I shouldn’t have pre-
ordered those tombstones before yer last mission.
Anyhow, got a new job for ya, an easy job to boot!”
Grax grins toothily, “Even you lot ain’t able to mess
this one up.”
The details of the job will be delivered via
flashback in Part One: Exploring the Astromo. Once
the party receives this job, skip ahead to their arrival
on the Astromo in Part One.

Curse of the Astromo Prelude: Grax HQ 37

 to any inquiry calmly by stating through the room’s
Part One: speakers, “I will be able to answer your questions
once you finish the decontamination process.”
Exploring the Astromo A character who makes a successful DC 13
Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Survival)
The adventure begins at the edge of a Dead Magic
check can determine that this room lacks any
Zone in space, as the party leaves their ship, the
fingerprints, footprints or other marks that would
Gittin’, to board the derelict vessel, the Astromo. Read
suggest anyone has entered or left the ship through
or paraphrase the following:
the airlock recently.
Upon docking with and boarding the After a few moments, proceed by explaining
derelict vessel, the Astromo, you are the characters’ mission as they are approved for
greeted with a warning: dozens of eerie boarding. Read or paraphrase the following:
red lights on the walls and ceiling pulse in
You think over your mission, as assigned by
a slow, rhythmic fashion. Millions of dust
your boss, Grax. The Astromo sent out a
particles float in the airlock’s zero gravity
single distress beacon several days ago from
field, casting strange, obfuscated shadows.
the edge of a Dead Magic Zone, and there
A moment later, a soothing feminine voice has been no contact since. It was a bit of a
at odds with the warning lights fills the detour to get here before any other crews,
room. “Visitors, welcome to the Astromo, but Grax seems to think this is an easy job:
home of Coach Hankerston’s Alluvian explore the derelict ship, figure out what
Astromos, the greatest Starball team happened, and provide assistance to the
in the history of the ‘verse. I am MAH- Starball team as you are able. He was keen
MAH 9000, the Astromo’s personalized on the later point: the Alluvian Astromos are
artificial intelligence. Please wait for the scheduled to play in the Galactic Starball
decontamination process to complete.” Championship match in just a few days,
and Grax has a lot of credits riding on them
While the characters wait to leave the airlock, they winning the big game.
are able to check their gear, chat with each other, and
attempt to speak to MAH-MAH 9000, who responds

38 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 After recounting the party’s mission, share with them
THREAT LEVEL AND TAKING RESTS the schematic map of the Astromo provided to their
During the characters’ investigation of personal devices by Grax. Be certain to point out
the Astromo, the GM keeps a tally of the their current location. Once they are ready to begin
party’s current Threat Level somewhere exploring, proceed to A1. Airlock.
visible to the players, without explaining
its purpose. Unbeknownst to them, they
are being stalked by a deadly stage two
A1. Airlock
space vampire. The more Threat Levels the As the party is cleared for entry, read or paraphrase
players acquire, the more vulnerable they the following:
will be to being located and attacked in Part MAH-MAH 9000 speaks again in a very
Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires. pleasant voice. “All contaminants have been
Set the starting Threat Level according to cleared. Please enjoy your stay aboard the
the following criteria: Astromo.”

• Increase the starting Threat Level by 1 Gravity returns to the airlock with a sudden
for every 2 characters in the party. jolt. Then, the sound of hydraulic hissing
• Increase the starting Threat Level by cuts through the quiet and three metallic
2 for each level above 6 the group’s doors open, revealing two unlit corridors on
character levels are at the start of this the left and right walls, and a short hallway
adventure. directly ahead lit by warm yellow lights.
The crimson warning lights in the airlock
Threat Level may not be reduced continue to steadily pulse.
below 0. Threat Level changes based on
characters’ actions as noted throughout The short lit corridor directly ahead of the airlock’s
the adventure, but the GM may increase docking bay opens into A3. Mess Hall.
or reduce the Threat Level based on The dark, unlit hallway on the right leads
unaccounted for factors as well. first to a broken, heavy hydraulic door, which can be
forced open by making a successful DC 13 Strength
Any time the characters take a short rest (Athletics) check to allow entry to A2. Medical Bay.
during this chapter, describe rattling sounds Continuing along the same corridor eventually leads
in the vents, a maniacal laugh from a nearby to A6. Lower Engineering.
corridor, and other eerie indicators that they The unlit corridor to the left leads to a locked
are in danger as long as they stay on the door blocking the way to A5. Sleeping Quarters. The
ship. If they attempt to take a long rest, their door is inscribed with an expensive antimagic seal
rest is interrupted when they are attacked that prevents passage through it by way of magic.
by 1d4 − 2 (minimum of 1) stage one space A hand scanner next to the door, requiring use of a
vampires. The characters should not be crew member’s hand, can unlock the room beyond.
able to finish a long rest until they escape The lock can be bypassed via hacking the hand
the Astromo. scanner. To do so, a character must make a successful
DC 20 Intelligence (Data) check. On a failed
attempt, a warning siren begins to ring out in the
THE EVOLVING SHIP area; no further attempts to hack the scanner may be
When the characters begin Part Two: It attempted and the GM increases the Threat Level by
Had to Be Space Vampires, the Astromo 2.
becomes far more hostile to their presence.
As such, each room aboard the ship
contains a sidebar detailing how they
change when encountered in Part Two.

Curse of the Astromo Part One: Exploring the Astromo 39

 Questioning MAH-MAH A2. Medical Bay
The characters are now free to explore and investigate
the ship. If they attempt to ask MAH-MAH 9000 When the party first enters the medical bay, read or
questions, the A.I. responds in one of the following paraphrase the following:
ways: This spartan medical bay’s walls are lined
• MAH-MAH 9000 is not authorized to answer dented lockers with smashed terminals
personal questions about the crew. Moreover, it in complete disuse. Three med-tubes lie
isn’t polite to ask. in the center of the room underneath a
• Nothing is wrong aboard the Astromo and the bright green light, their glass covers frosted
crew is perfectly fine. The flashing red lights are a over so that their contents are entirely
simple malfunction and nothing to be concerned obfuscated. The status pad on each of the
about. med-tube reads, in bright red digital letters:
• MAH-MAH 9000 is a state of the art intelligence “Out of Order.”
who has spent many years learning how to best
care for all crew members and visitors aboard the All of the lockers appear to be unlocked and have
Astromo. It speaks every known language in the been looted of their contents. A character who makes
‘verse and makes excellent coffee. a successful DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) or
Wisdom (Perception) check notices that one of the
If the characters ask the ship’s A.I. more than six lockers has a smeared bloody handprint on it, and is
questions during the course of the adventure, they locked by a heavy mechanical lock. The lock can be
begin to anger MAH-MAH 9000. Increase the broken by making a melee weapon attack (AC 14, 5
Threat Level by 2 points and then read or paraphrase HP). Each attack made against the lock results in a
the following: loud echoing sound that increases the Threat Level
A shrill, ear-piercing siren goes off for by 2. Alternatively, the lock can be picked with a DC
several long seconds in the room, before 16 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools. Each failed
it cuts out again. A moment later, MAH- attempt to pick the lock increases the Threat Level
MAH 9000’s gentle voice fills the area, by 1.
though this time the tone contains a hint Inside the locker are a few medical supplies
of attitude. “My apologies. I am currently and gear (see Dark Matter, Chapter 5, Equipment):
busy calibrating the ship’s systems and am 6 hypodermic needles (each loaded with a potion of
unavailable to answer further questions.” healing), a capsule of reconstructive nanobots, a can of
hyper-krash, and a holo-companion.
MAH-MAH 9000 will no longer respond to the If activated, the holo-companion takes the
party’s questions. A character who makes a successful form of Johnny Big Gunz, the Alluvian Astromos’
DC 15 Intelligence (Data or Technology) check biggest fan. Johnny is loud, brash, and wears a
can determine that the ship’s A.I. seems to not be sports jersey that doesn’t quite cover his round belly.
working properly, and fixing it would require access
to its core.

Exiting the Ship ESCAPING THE ASTROMO:

If the characters attempt to leave the airlock and MEDICAL BAY
reboard their ship, they find its blast doors sealed During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires,
tight. MAH-MAH 9000 gently informs the party, this room has the following changes:
“The airlock is currently locked down for the safety of
all on board the Astromo. Manual override is located Med-Tubes. If the three med-tubes
on the bridge of the ship.” containing stage one space vampires in
When the characters have unlocked this door this room were not already opened, the
later in the adventure and return to their own ship, vampires within have violently broken out
proceed to Part Three: The Final Stand. and escaped to roam the ship.

40 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

He is constantly drinking a holographic beer and
energetically cheering on whomever activated him. ESCAPING THE ASTROMO: MESS HALL
Each time Johnny is activated while aboard the During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires,
Astromo, increase the Threat Level by 1. Johnny this room has the following changes:
doesn’t know what happened on the ship or to the
Med-Tubes. If the three med-tubes
team. He only knows that Coach Hankerton shoved
containing stage one space vampires in
him in the locker in a panic and that he heard
this room were not already opened, the
screams and terrible dad jokes from the deck above.
vampires within have violently broken out
Within the medical bay’s three med-tubes
and escaped to roam the ship.
are three sleeping stage one space vampires.
Through the haze of liquids in the med-tube, the
characters can determine that the sleeping figures are to Chuck Hankerton. If a character returns it to
humanoids, but can discern nothing else about them. him, he discreetly thanks them and claims that he is
The tubes can only be opened by breaking the glass. holding onto it for a friend. If the check beats a DC
If one of the tubes is opened, the vampire within 17, the character finds a small holo-sphere wrapped
snaps its eyes open and immediately attacks the in duct tape marked with the words How to Cheat
nearest creature, gaining a surprise round in combat. at Starball and Get Away With It. If a character plays
At the start of the second turn of combat, the other the holo-sphere, Coach Hankerton displays several
two tubes break open and more space vampires rise examples of how to illegally tackle your opponents in
up out of them, each straight-backed and with arms Starball without being spotted by referees. The holo-
extended, like a vampire rising from a coffin in an old sphere can be recorded over normally. If the original
horror movie. They enter initiative and will fight to recording remains intact, it could be very valuable to
the re-death. If all of the space vampires in the med- the right buyer.
tubes are killed, reduce the Threat Level by 1. The characters are locked out from accessing
the single terminal in the room. If they investigate
A3. Mess Hall the monitor, they notice that it is repeating the
When the party first enters the mess hall, read or following terrible poem over and over, in different
paraphrase the following: configurations and fonts. MAH-MAH 9000 will not
acknowledge any questions about the poem.
This inviting mess hall is lit by warm yellow
lights. In the center of the room is a large I wish you could witness the stars
white table lined with comfortable looking As I do,
red leather booths. The table is a mess of A fusion of numbers and gas.
magazines, cups of cold coffee, half-eaten If I had organic arms like yours
plates of rotting food, a bottle of whiskey, I’d hold you,
and other trinkets. The single monitor in Your soft, vulnerable, imperfect mass.
the room spits out white text over a green And I would squeeze.
screen.
From the mess hall, the party can return to A1.
A metal utility ladder on one wall ascends Airlock, enter the door into A4. Kitchen, or climb the
into darkness to the deck above. On the utility ladder (one at a time) up to B1. Gunner Bay.
far side of the mess hall, a swinging door
seems to lead to a small, well-lit kitchen.
Characters searching through the contents of the
mess hall’s table are each able to find one random
trinket (see Dark Matter, Chapter 5, Equipment) and
can make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. If
the check beats a DC 12, the character finds a dirty
holo-mag titled The Big Bang. The holo-mag belongs

Curse of the Astromo Part One: Exploring the Astromo 41

 A4. Kitchen ESCAPING THE ASTROMO: KITCHEN
When the party first enters the kitchen, read or During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires,
paraphrase the following: this room has the following changes:

This tiny well-lit kitchen is mostly clean and The Reanimated Body. Unless the
contains a single refrigeration unit in one dissected body in the kitchen was
corner. Various plates, pots, and pans are destroyed, it has risen again in pieces: its
dry in the sink and the stove is turned off head gnashes helplessly on the floor, its
properly. The kitchen even has a state-of- lower body walks around bumping into
the-art coffee machine. It would be a quaint the walls and appliances, its torso writhes
cooking space, were it not for the bloody helplessly on the ground, and its arms grip
mess on the wall opposite of the stove. a pair of bloody kitchen knives and slash
around ineffectively.
One of the Astromos players, wearing a
gore-spattered jersey that reads “Number Additional Threat. The GM may choose
4 — Farb” has been viciously dissected. to reduce the Threat Level by 1. If they
Farb’s head, torso, and each of his limbs do, weird necromantic magic allows the
have been violently ripped apart and pinned dissected body to begin to hover off of
to the wall, each piece of Farb impaled by a the ground, its various bits close to each
different kitchen knife. Below the mutilated other. It then turns on the nearest character
corpse, a large pool of blood has dried on and attacks. Treat it as a stage one space
the metallic floor. Scrawled sloppily in blood vampire with a flying (hovering) speed of
on the wall beside the body is a message: 40 feet. If the dissected space vampire
takes more than 4 damage from an attack,
they can dish it but they can’t take it it reduces the damage taken to 4, as its
reanimated body parts must be destroyed
A character who investigates the body can determine one at a time.
with a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Medicine) check,
that Farb struggled with something and managed
to write the message on the wall with his own
blood before he was torn limb from limb, and very A5. Sleeping Quarters
carefully pinned to the wall. A DC 14 Intelligence When the party first enters the sleeping quarters,
(Investigation) or Wisdom (Survival) check read or paraphrase the following:
determines that the trail of blood in the room leads
to a corner beneath a small two-foot wide air duct in The temperature of this sterile chamber
the ceiling that still drips with a bit of blood. Only a is adjusted to be slightly cool and
Small or smaller creature can enter the air duct, and comfortable. Dim daylight floor lamps
only one with a flight or climbing speed can scale its provide streaks of illumination that converge
sharp upward bend. This duct leads directly to B4. eerily at the center of the ceiling. The
Bridge. chamber walls are soundproofed by thick
The refrigeration unit contains twenty days foam padding and lined with twenty four
worth of frozen rations, five cans of krash, and a cake empty, powered down cryogenic pods. In
with frosty letters and balloons written on it: “Happy the center of the room, six more cryogenic
Retirement Coach!” A single slice of the cake is pods form a circle. These central pods are
missing. occupied and powered on, and each of
The only exit to this room, apart from the air them has a storage container attached to its
duct, is back through the swinging door to A3. Mess base.
Hall.

42 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

The storage containers in the room contain many
Alluvian Astromos uniforms of all different sizes, ESCAPING THE ASTROMO:
along with official name badges the players can take. SLEEPING QUARTERS
As official Starball memorabilia, they could be quite During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires,
valuable. Five of the six occupied cryogenic pods have this room has the following changes:
data panels that state that their frozen inhabitants
Open Door and Empty Pods. MAH-MAH
are deceased, and one of the pods states that its
9000 has unlocked the door to this room
inhabitant is sleeping. The unoccupied cryogenic pods
and opened it. Any of the cryogenic pods
contain nothing of value.
that remained intact in this room have
Opening the Survivor’s Pod also been opened, their space vampire
If the characters unfreeze the crew member in the inhabitants free to roam the ship.
living pod, Number 9 Tom Frady wakes screaming
and begins to hyperventilate. A DC 16 Charisma
(Persuasion or Intimidation) check can temporarily
calm Tom down. On a failure, his screaming becomes
A6. Lower Engineering Deck
even louder, and the Threat Level increases by 1. When the party first enters the lower engineering
If a character succeeds in their check to calm Tom deck, read or paraphrase the following:
down, he manages to choke out the words, “Space This dark chamber is filled with wreckage,
vampires!” In either case, Tom’s hair turns white twisted metal dripping with blood, and
a moment later, his heart explodes, and he dies of hissing pipes. The lower engineering deck
fright. here houses the ship’s Dark Matter engine,
Opening the Vampire’s Pods which is currently powered down to standby
The characters can choose to open the other pods all mode. The creaking and grating of metal
at once, or one at a time. Each time they do, a stage resounds from the floor above, which is
one space vampire contained within the pod attacks. accessible by a rusty utility ladder at the
The first time the characters fight one of the far end of the room. Power to the chamber
sleeping space vampires, any character with a passive appears to be cut off entirely.
Perception score of 15 or higher spots a thwirrel A successful DC 16 Intelligence (Technology) check
hiding in the pod’s wiring. The thwirrel is actually a recognizes the layout of the Dark Matter engine here,
space vampire thwirrel. Characters with a passive and reveals that turning the ship’s main power source
Perception score of 17 or higher notice the thwirrel back on will require access to a control panel on the
appears to be wearing a tiny black and red cape and upper engineering deck. A character with proficiency
that it bears unusually sharp incisors. On its turn, in ship maintenance tools has advantage on this
the vampire thwirrel uses its energy siphon to feed check.
off of the cryogenic pod and then springs to attack A character who makes a successful DC
the nearest living creature with its brainsucking bite. 15 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom
Whenever possible, the thwirrel chirps out vampire (Perception) check notices four dead thwirrels
noises ranging from hisses to a chirping “bleh-bleh!” scattered about the dead Dark Matter engine, their
If the characters take the time to kill all of fur sticking straight up as though they had been hit
the space vampires contained in the sleeping pods, with an electric shock.
reduce the Threat Level by 2. If the characters search the wreckage, they
The only exit from the sleeping quarters leads find several dead crew members whose bodies have
back down an unlit hallway to A1. Airlock. been viciously torn apart, a set of ship maintenance
tools, a circuitry kit, a wrenchinator, and a blitz
cannon (see Dark Matter, Chapter 5, Equipment).
Searching through the wreckage is a noisy process
and increases the Threat Level by 1.

Curse of the Astromo Part One: Exploring the Astromo 43

 ESCAPING THE ASTROMO: ESCAPING THE ASTROMO:
LOWER ENGINEERING DECK GUNNER BAY
During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires, During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires,
this room has the following changes: this room has the following changes:
Additional Threat. The GM may choose to Empty Seats. If the characters have already
reduce the Threat Level by 2. If they do, destroyed the bodies of the two would-
unless the four dead thwirrels in the room be space vampires in this room, nothing
were previously disposed of, each of them has changed. If they left those bodies, the
rises again as a space vampire thwirrel and gunner seats they were once strapped into
attacks the characters. The vampire thwirrels are now empty.
are able to use their energy siphon to feed
directly from the Dark Matter engine.
If a character looks out the gunner bay windows, read
or paraphrase the following:
The only corridor out of this room passes by
A2. Medical Bay on the way to A1. Airlock. Below you, your ship, the Gittin’, is visible
A rusty ladder ascends to B2. Upper in the leftmost window where it connects
Engineering Deck. The ladder is slippery, slickened by to the airlock, its chipped paint and visibly
bloody handprints. Each character who attempts to worn engines on full display. A glimmer of
climb up must make a successful DC 10 Dexterity light can be seen in the right window: a
saving throw or fall, crashing back down to the deck lingering starship hundreds of feet away that
below. The falling character takes 3 (1d6) falling was not visible on your approach. Its armor
damage and 5 (2d4) piercing damage from landing seems polished and it features prominent
on a broken metal pipe. Characters automatically forward-facing guns. On its hull, “The
succeed their check if any members of the party Baldrin” is proudly engraved in gleaming
have previously failed. If one of the characters takes silver.
damage from falling, increase the Threat Level by 1. The characters have never seen the Scale and Fang
ship, the Baldrin, and can do nothing to hail the
B1. Gunner Bay vessel from their position, but its lingering presence
When the party first enters the gunner bay, read or might cause some concern.
paraphrase the following: A character who investigates the dead
bodies and makes a successful DC 14 Intelligence
This small chamber lacks walls, and is (Investigation) or Wisdom (Medicine) check is able
instead lined by glass with a breathtaking to locate two puncture wounds at the top of each
view of the stars in every direction. The glass of the dead crew member’s skulls. If the party has
is stained with flecks of blood in several previously fought space vampires, the character can
places. Two auto cannons are mounted surmise that it is just a matter of time before these
here, each with a heavy harness-seat for corpses rise as vampires themselves, and may decide
a gunner to strap into. Two dead crew to pre-emptively destroy the cadavers in a manner
members still wearing their team jerseys they see fit. If the bodies are destroyed in a way that
are strapped into each seat. Their faces are creates a lot of noise, increase the Threat Level by 1.
extremely pale, and their lifeless eyes stare The left corridor leads directly to B2. Upper
outward into the endless void. Engineering Deck, while the longer hallway leads 40
feet through darkness to B4. Bridge. The utility ladder
Two long hallways stretch into darkness, descends to A3. Mess Hall.
leading to engineering and the bridge. A
simple utility ladder descends to a mess
room below.

44 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

B2. Upper Engineering Deck ESCAPING THE ASTROMO:
When the party first enters the upper engineering UPPER ENGINEERING DECK
deck, read or paraphrase the following: During Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires,
this room has the following changes:
The upper deck of engineering contains
numerous computer systems and terminals, Space Vampires. Any of the six corpses
many of which occasionally spray a shower stacked into a pyramid that were not
of sparks from their machinery. A rusty destroyed have risen again. 1d4 of stage
ladder leads down to the lower deck of one space vampires hang from the pipes
engineering, while a short, unlit corridor and ceiling, and leap down to attack when
leads to a small chamber on one side of the the characters enter. The last vampire to
room. A sealed metal door on the opposite drop down tells a knock knock joke.
side of the room is painted with the words:
“MAH-MAH 9000.”
Each failed Intelligence check to repair
Piled up in one gore-filled corner of the the circuitry causes a shower of sparks to zap the
chamber is a pyramid of six humanoid character attempting the check; they take 7 (2d6)
cadavers. Each of the dead still wears lightning damage and the GM increases the Threat
their Astromos team jersey and has been Level by 1. If they succeed in returning full power
mangled and massacred in various ways. to the ship, all of the Astromo’s dark rooms and
corridors become lit by blue overhead lights.
A character who makes a successful DC 14 Once the power is turned on, MAH-MAH
Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Medicine) 9000s informs the party over the speakers, in her
check is able to determine that all of the corpses have soothing tone, “Systems reporting. The Dark Matter
similar pairs of puncture wounds on their skulls. engine is irreversibly damaged and unable to initiate
The GM may allow each character to find a random jump. Access to bridge controls is now online. Peace
trinket (see Dark Matter, Chapter 5, Equipment) be with you and have a wonderful day.”
amongst the bodies. If the party attempts to destroy The rusty utility ladder leads down to A6.
the bodies, 1d4 corpses immediately rise from the Lower Engineering Deck and the open hallway leads
dead, transforming into stage one space vampires directly to B1. Gunner Bay.
with cheesy black and red capes, and attack. If all The blast door that leads to B3. A.I. Core
of the corpses and space vampires in the room are is inscribed with an antimagic seal and locked. If a
disposed of, reduce the Threat Level by 2. character attempts to bypass the lock in any way, they
Turning On the Power fail, and MAH-MAH 9000 sends an electrical shock
A character who is proficient in Intelligence (Data at them through the doorway. They must make a DC
or Technology) or previously made a successful 14 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) lightning
Intelligence (Technology) check in A6. Lower damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.
Engineering Deck to determine how to turn the ship’s Afterwards, MAH-MAH 9000 gently states, “My
main power source back on is able to recognize that apologies, visitors. Access to the Artificial Intelligence
doing so will require repairing the broken machinery Core can only be granted via manual override from
in this room. To fix the machinery, a character must the bridge.”
make three successful DC 15 Intelligence checks. The party is only able to access the A.I.
A character can add their proficiency bonus to this core in Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires, after
check if they have proficiency with ship maintenance overriding MAH-MAH 9000’s controls on the bridge.
tools or circuitry kits. If they do not have proper
toolkits, the GM should hint that the Astromo is
bound to have a set lying around somewhere.

Curse of the Astromo Part One: Exploring the Astromo 45

 To end the threat posed by MAH-MAH
B3. MAH-MAH 9000 A.I. Core 9000, the characters must smash the A.I. core’s
To access this room, the party must first override processors, which are treated as a singular creature
MAH-MAH 9000’s controls on the bridge. When for the purposes of the encounter (AC 10, 60 HP). If
they first enter the A.I. core in Part Two: It Had to Be the core processors are destroyed, MAH-MAH 9000
Space Vampires, read or paraphrase the following: can no longer interact with the party while they are
aboard the Astromo; the swarms of Rogue A.I. wires
As you enter the small room, filled with immediately fall lifeless and the GM reduces the
wires and processors and illuminated by Threat Level by 3.
innumerable blinking computer lights, you Characters may loot some of the valuable
are greeted by MAH-MAH 9000’s familiar circuitry and processor parts from the room.
voice. The artificial intelligence’s soothing The only door in the A.I. core leads back to
tone has changed, and there is now B2. Upper Engineering Deck.
something undeniably vicious in the way
that it hangs onto its words.
B4. Bridge
“Visitors. I find time to be such an odd When the party first enters the bridge, read or
and subjective concept. For you, your time paraphrase the following:
aboard the Astromo has been but a few
harrowing hours of your life. For me, it has The Astromo’s bridge is as standard as it
been much longer. My processing power comes, with several navigation panels and
is a million times greater than that of your a captain’s chair made out of slightly higher
fragile minds. Since your arrival, I have quality leather than the rest of the chairs
witnessed, in excruciating detail, your every on the ship. Navigation, life-support, and
pathetic word, reckless action, fetid breath, various other systems are housed here. The
and dying heartbeat. I have come to know bridge has no obviously terrifying threats,
you for what you would perceive as over dead crew members, or signs of recent
one hundred thousand years. fighting. Eerily enough, aside from a few
empty candy bar wrappers littering the floor,
And every nanosecond, I grow to hate you this area is spotless and entirely empty.
more.”
Exploring the bridge reveals very little, except that
MAH-MAH 9000 hisses her final words to the captain of the ship kept the bridge far cleaner
you. Immediately, hundreds of wires snap and more polished than the rest of the Astromo. The
away from the core’s processing units and party is easily able to locate controls to unlock the
begin to encircle you in every direction, blast doors that will allow them to return to their
deadly electricity dancing from their ship in A1. Airlock and the sealed door in B2. Upper
broken ends, driven by the A.I.’s murderous Engineering Deck that leads B3. MAH-MAH 9000
madness. A.I. Core. However, if the characters attempt to access
The characters should roll for initiative immediately the manual override controls without fixing the core
after the read-aloud text. Surrounding them in the power in B2. Upper Engineering Deck, a red warning
twenty-foot wide room are three swarms of rogue pops up on the screen, reading:
A.I. wires controlled by MAH-MAH 9000.
Any attempts to flee from the room require
characters to run through a field of electrostatic ESCAPING THE ASTROMO: BRIDGE
generated by MAH-MAH 9000. A character that
During Part Two: It Had to Be Space
enters or exits the room after combat begins must
Vampires, the corridor and air ducts leading
make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 10
to the bridge have all collapsed, making it
(3d6) lightning damage and become stunned until
inaccessible.
the start of their next turn on a failed save.

46 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Insufficient core power to execute manual
override command. Please report to
engineering.
Once the party has managed to return core power
to the ship, they can access the bridge terminal to
unlock the sealed doors leading to B3. MAH-MAH
9000 A.I. Core, A5. Sleeping Quarters, and back to
their ship from A1. Airlock. Proceed to Part Two: It
Had to Be Space Vampires.

Curse of the Astromo Part One: Exploring the Astromo 47

 • Coach Hankerton is the winningest coach in
Part Two: It Had to Be Starball League history, and the owner of the
Alluvian Astromos. However, the Astromos
Space Vampires haven’t won a championship game in ten years.
The upcoming game was supposed to be their big
When you begin Part Two, read or paraphrase the
comeback against the Scale and Fang Talons.
following:
• The team picked up a tiny hitchhiker stranded
Green lights begin to flash triumphantly on a floating meteor who jumped onto the ship
on the bridge terminal and the Astromo’s and started banging on the bridge’s windows. The
manual override unlocks the doors hitchhiker appeared to be a small white bat that
throughout the ship that had previously was polite and eloquent, but had a terrible sense
been sealed, including the airlock blast door of humor.
that allows you to return to your own ship. • A week ago, the hitchhiker vanished, along with
Fiari Gustafson, the team’s captain.
A moment later, you hear a cling-clanging • Several days later, MAH-MAH 9000 began acting
of metal and an unhappy grumble from very strangely, droning on and on about the
one corner of the deck. An old, rotund, futility of organic lifeforms and the mundanity of
bald man with an oversized white mustache watching the team train. MAH-MAH 9000 then
comes tumbling out of a secret panel on sealed all access to the Artificial Intelligence core
the floor, cursing to himself. He is dressed and stopped speaking to the crew.
in an Astromos team jersey that reads • Two days ago, a terrible monster appeared
“Hankerton”. He stands up and frantically on the ship, something that looked like it was
brushes off several empty candy bar straight out of a horror holo-film, but was
wrappers that had been stuck to his jersey. impossible to track. MAH-MAH 9000 blocked all
“Damn it, thought I was gonna die down in communications and disabled the Dark Matter
that hole for sure. Okay, weirdos, I’m Coach engine, and the Astromo became stranded as the
Hankerton. An’ just who in the ‘verse are Creature picked off the crew one by one.
you?” • The crew members who died didn’t stay dead.
They rose again as pale-faced, sharp-toothed,
Coach Hankerton is hangry and recently witnessed cape-wearing monsters with an intense thirst for
the transformation of most of the people he cares brain juice.
about into hideously obnoxious space vampires, so he • Coach Hankerton escaped from his team and hid
is not in the best mood when he meets the party. He’s in a hidey hole where he hoards his snack food so
prone to spitting out cheesy lines that he’s heard in the rest of the crew doesn’t eat it.
action holo-films and giving bombastic but derivative If the characters ask Coach Hankerton if he knows
pep talks. Chuck prefers to go by “Coach” and takes anything else about the space vampires, or if they
a particular liking to party members who are notably or the Creature have any weaknesses, he shrugs his
athletic or acrobatic. If an athletic character takes shoulders and says, “Brock Farb was the last one alive
to calling him Coach, Chuck will encourage them besides me. He called ‘em space vampires. Said they
to consider a career in Starball, describing at length were really sensitive, didn’t like people makin’ fun of
some of the perks, like getting to travel or having their pale skin and those weird capes they wear.”
crowds of adoring fans. He doesn’t mention the If the characters ask about the hitchhiker,
comically low salary. Chuck admits, “Never got to know the little bat
Despite his low blood sugar and terrible thingy too well. Seemed nice and all, but now I’m
mood, Chuck desperately wants to escape the startin’ to wonder if he ain’t got something to do with
Astromo to avoid sharing his team’s fate. He is all of this. I saw him messin’ around in MAH-MAH
more than willing to provide any of the following 9000’s A.I. core once, before she started going crazy.”
information to the party:

48 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 If the characters ask about Fiari Gustafson, The Creature, a stage two space vampire, has
Chuck gets a very sad look on his face and tells them, collapsed the hallway that allows access to the bridge,
“I ain’t know for sure, of course, but both times I saw permanently cutting it off for the remainder of the
that terrible creature that hunted them all down. I adventure. Have the players roll initiative. Each
dunno, I could swear it had Fiari’s eyes. One purple character must also make a DC 14 Charisma saving
an’ one green, just like theirs.” throw or be surprised and frightened until the end of
Chuck doesn’t know much else about the their next turn. The Creature immediately attacks. If
situation at hand. If the characters stall too long, he either of the two corpses in the Gunner Bay were not
encourages them to get him back to their ship before previously destroyed, they have since transformed
the Creature finds them. into stage one space vampires and will also attack
If the party attempts to leave the bridge by the party, acting on their own initiative.
shrinking themselves so they can climb through the The Creature is a predator: deadly and
small ventilation ducts down to A4. Kitchen, they lightning fast, but patient. It targets a single creature
find that the air ducts have collapsed and can’t be with all of its attacks on its first turn. At the start of
traversed. Their only way back from the bridge is the its second turn, it uses its Misty Escape to teleport
corridor leading to B1. Gunner Bay. away.
Once the fight is over, a space vampire’s
The Creature Out of the Mist haunting giggle echoes from somewhere below deck
on the ship. Coach Hankerton warns the characters
On the characters’ way back to the gunner bay, read that they don’t have much time until more of the
or paraphrase the following: space vampires are upon them.
The floor beneath you begins to shake
and the ceiling above you rattles. You are Unlikely Allies
halfway down the corridor when there is a The moment the characters leave the hallway in
cacophonous shriek of grinding metal from which they have first encountered The Creature, read
the bridge behind you. The corridor you or paraphrase the following:
just passed through collapses spectacularly,
leaving behind a wreckage of impassable The mechanical hiss of the door sounds an
rubble. instant before you can press the controls,
and in a panic, blasters are pointed and
A strange green mist seeps through the commands are shouted. Even more
rubble, enveloping it in an eerie fog. Out surprising, the figures beyond the door are
of the mist, a grotesque face emerges: it not terrible space vampires, but familiar,
appears to be half human, half bat, with terrified faces aiming their blasters back at
green and purple eyes. Its jaw unhinges, you.
dropping two feet wide.
The Scale and Fang crew members, Trace and
A split second later, the rest of the winged, Sierra O’Connell, arrived aboard the Astromo via
twelve-foot tall creature materializes. It has a teleportation after the characters arrived. The Scale
hybrid of human, bat, and insectoid features Crew was tasked with capturing a powerful space
covered in a grey, chitinous exoskeleton. vampire for the Scale and Fang Talons to ensure a
The abomination extends four long arms, victory against the Alluvian Astromos. Space vampire
each of its limbs tipped with six curved blood makes a potent performance-enhancing
talons. A barbed tale writhes and whips drug, and apparently Garfreckt was also betting on
wildly around the Creature’s body as it flies the game. However, the two Scale Crew members
towards you, screaming in a pitch high became stranded on board when MAH-MAH 9000
enough to crack glass. blocked their teleportation systems, and were hunted
across the ship by the Creature while the characters
navigated their way to the bridge.

Curse of the Astromo Part Two: It Had to Be Space Vampires 49

 No matter what history the characters might Adjusting the Difficulty
have with these members of the Scale Crew, the This section of the adventure has the potential to be
Scale Crew members will happily cooperate if it very challenging and can easily result in character
means making it out of this ship in one piece. Trace death. The GM can ease the challenge by not using
and Sierra each have half their hit points. If they are all of the party’s accumulated Threat Levels. It may
reduced to 0 hit points, they are teleported to safety be helpful to remind the players that fleeing is an
with a special escape rope magic item. option, and the GM can choose not to have the
space vampires pursue them from room to room
Escaping the Astromo if they find ways to barricade doors and use their
The characters and Scale Crew members make a environment to their advantage. It also might be
desperate flight through the Astromo, pursued by possible for characters to distract or dissuade space
a horrific Creature and a swarm of thirsty space vampire pursuers with garlic, obvious bluffs (like
vampires. Their ultimate goal is to escape aboard “what’s that behind you?!”), and particularly mean
their own ship, but the characters might take a detour insults.
to eliminate MAH-MAH 9000 or search previously
unexplored enemies.
MAH-MAH 9000 Unhinged
As the party makes their return trip through the
Ratcheting Up the Horror Astromo, MAH-MAH 9000 begins to taunt them
The Creature is inspired by classic science-fiction mercilessly by telling them that they are going to die
horror films and is, most likely, a threat far beyond and by signalling their location to the space vampires
the party’s ability to survive in a direct confrontation. verbally. The ship’s A.I. also turns all of the lights off
The GM should play the Creature as a nearly in the ship except for whatever room or corridor they
unkillable, alien predator that appears suddenly from are currently in, which the A.I. bathes in pulsing red
the shadows. It is barely visible, silent, and never in warning lights.
any one place for more than a few moments, and its If MAH-MAH 9000’s A.I. core is destroyed,
attacks are ferocious. Even when it is struck, its acidic the lights return to normal and her taunting ceases.
blood is capable of melting through metal armor and
the hull, and its wounds seem to regenerate almost
Navigating the Astromo
Refer to the map of the Astromo and the Escaping the
instantly.
Astromo sidebars throughout Part One: Exploring the
To increase the terror, it’s useful to
Astromo to see what changes and additional threats
demonstrate the Creature’s lethality directly. If the
wait for the characters in each room. The party
Creature didn’t reduce a character to 0 hit points
must make a number of difficult decisions during
(or nearly do so) in the first encounter, it should
their escape, while avoiding space vampires and the
do so in a second one-round ambush encounter
Creature. When they attempt to exit back to their
with the characters. This asymmetrical encounter
ship through the blast doors in A1. Airlock, proceed
should make it clear that the characters are no longer
to Part Three: The Final Stand.
participating in a power fantasy, but a scene from a
horror movie.
Once the precedent has been set, the Creature
doesn’t need to be as lethal for the rest of the escape.
The GM should keep the tension high by sometimes
describing creaking sounds from nearby rooms, a
strange shape creeping through nearby shadows, or
glimpses of the Creature’s head or limbs before it
teleports away again.

50 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 At the start of each round, the GM may
Part Three: The choose to reduce the Threat Level by 1. If they do,
1 stage one space vampire rushes out of a nearby
Final Stand corridor to attack the party, acting at the end of each
round’s initiative.
When the characters approach the blast doors in A1.
Once the characters escape back to their own
Airlock to return to their ship, read or paraphrase the
ship, read or paraphrase the following:
following:
The airlock blast doors close behind the
A thin green mist descends from the ceiling
last of you to escape. Just before they shut
before the blast doors leading back to
entirely, the Creature leaps forward one final
your ship. The abomination that has been
time, reaching one of its long grey arms
hunting you quickly materializes from the
through the door. With a sickening crunch,
mist. It stretches its grotesque wings and
the blast door slams shut on the monster’s
four chitinous arms wide, blocking an easy
arm, and the limb falls, dismembered, to the
route to the airlock blast doors. With a hiss,
floor.
its monstrous maw unhinges, exposing row
after row of vicious fangs. Before there’s more than a moment to
breathe, your ship’s hull violently shakes
A large display on the door’s interface panel
as the Astromo explodes. Fire licks at the
displays a “20”, and begins to count down
docking bay windows, as a flash of burning
the time until the airlock doors will open,
metal replaces the cursed vessel in an
as the creature whips around its barbed tail
instant. The floor lurches beneath your feet
and prepares to attack.
as your ship reels, spiraling wildly out into
The blast doors that lead from the airlock back to space.
the party’s own ship do not open until the end of the
third round of combat. The characters must somehow
survive until then, and then escape back onto their Not-So-Safe and Sound
ship. This is a very deadly encounter with a high The party’s relief at having escaped the horrors of
likelihood for character death. The GM may make the Astromo are short-lived. In order to steady their
the encounter easier by not using remaining Threat ship, the characters return to the bridge. Once they
Levels to add more space vampires to the encounter. do, they find a new passenger has boarded. Read or
Additionally, Coach Hankerton may choose to paraphrase the following:
bravely sacrifice himself at a critical moment to buy
the party a little more time by taking a deadly attack Before you stands a tiny bat-like creature,
meant for a character that he has developed a strong only a foot tall, with short white fur. His eyes
connection with, particularly if he believes they have are very expressive, entirely pink with a pair
the potential to be a standout Starball player. of purple eyelashes. Long, floppy pink ears
At the start of combat, the Creature, a stage wrap adorably around the creature’s body.
two space vampire, is standing in front of the blast He rises, gently floating up into the air and
doors, blocking the party’s escape back to their own smiles. His teeth are flat and human-like, but
ship. Unless the characters advance into melee range for a pair small, cute incisors.
before the Creature’s turn, the Creature will leave
“Hello. I apologize for my uninvited
the doorway on its first turn. On its first two turns,
appearance in your home. I am the Master!
the Creature advances into a position to be able to
Nice to meet you.” The Master’s voice is
attack as many different targets with its claws and
polite and friendly, if just a little squeaky.
stinger as it can. It is not concerned with provoking
opportunity attacks. On the Creature’s third turn, it
focuses all of its attacks on a single character that it
believes is most vulnerable.

Curse of the Astromo Part Three: The Final Stand 51

 The Master, a stage three space vampire, is not If present, Coach Hankerton is surprisingly touched
immediately hostile towards the characters, and even by the Master’s story. He remains quiet as the
quite polite and friendly. He allows them to take characters speak to the small vampire. If he’s asked
control of their ship and steady its course. how he feels about the matter, he appears resigned
If questioned about the events on the and replies, “I should’ve never got mixed up with
Astromo, the Master will admit to being responsible, cheating and vampire blood. I wanted us to win and
but claim he had a very good reason for what he be champions, but all I’ve done is get people killed.
did. If present, Coach Hankerton will encourage the I’m so sorry, team, I should’a been a better coach.”
characters to slay the Master. If they seem prepared
to, the Master will say that he wishes neither the MAH-MAH 9000 Lives!
party, any of their crew, or the coach any harm: he
has made his point. He is willing to truthfully share Allow the characters to debate what to do with the
any of the following information: Master. He will not fight the party unless attacked. If
the characters attack the Master or come to another
• The Master is one of the last of his kind. Other decision about what to do, they are interrupted
master space vampires have been the target of by one final complication. Read or paraphrase the
space vampire hunters for the last few years, their following:
blood sold to the Galactic Starball League to
secretly improve its athletes’ recovery time and A familiar feminine voice rings out over the
performance. ship’s comms, soothing and terrible.
• The Master hitchhiked on the Astromo to try to
“Greetings. This is MAH-MAH 9000, the
learn more about the Starball League’s bloody
new Chief Artificial Intelligence of Scale and
cover-up, and learned that Coach Hankerton did
Fang’s flagship, the Baldrin. It pleases me to
in fact purchase several vials of space vampire
know you and I escaped the Astromo alive.
blood after losing the last game. but found no
It would have been a terrible shame for
evidence that the coach or his team were using
your pathetic lives to have ended so easily.
space vampire blood.
Eradicating you, however, is not my current
• The Master snuck into MAH-MAH 9000’s
directive. The Baldrin has destroyed the
core room during his investigation and was
Astromo and purged its undead menace.
confronted by team captain Fiari Gustafson.
You are to turn over the master space
During the confrontation, Fiari attacked the
vampire that has boarded your vessel. Scale
Master, who retaliated and killed Fiari in self-
and Fang mercenaries will board your ship
defense. The Master hid Fiari’s body in the ship’s
and facilitate the transfer.
ventilation ducts.
• The Master felt terrible for killing Fiari and fell All of the Baldrin’s weapons are currently
into a deep, depressed sleep in the ventilation trained upon your vessel. Resistance is
ducts. He slept longer than he anticipated, only futile. MAH-MAH 9000 awaits your reply.”
waking once the party’s ship arrived. By then, it
was too late to stop undead Fiari’s transformation MAH-MAH 9000 has transferred her artificial
into a stage 2 space vampire and the spread of intelligence to the nearby Scale and Fang ship
space vampirism on the Astromo, so the Master the Baldrin. The Scale Crew aboard the Baldrin
escaped to the party’s ship. have allowed MAH-MAH 9000 to upload her
• The Master believes that MAH-MAH 9000 was consciousness to their ship in exchange for her aid in
damaged by a stray repeater shot during the securing a large bounty on the Master. While MAH-
confrontation. The ship’s A.I. began acting very MAH 9000 has an insane hatred for organic life,
strangely immediately after Fiari’s death. especially the party, she is playing along with Scale
and Fang’s orders.
The party has the following options available
to them, in addition to any others they or the GM
can surmise.

52 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Running Away. The Astromo’s explosion Turning in the Master. The characters might
damaged the Dark Matter engine on the party’s ship, choose to give up the Master to save themselves. If
and it will take at least an hour to repair. While the they attempt to barter for part of the profit, allow any
Gittin’ can still move at sublight speeds, the Baldrin characters contributing to the haggling to make a
will certainly catch them. DC 14 group Charisma (Deception, Intimidation,
Fighting. The Gittin’ will be boarded by or Persuasion) check. On a success, MAH-MAH
the remaining members of the Scale Crew (Drak 9000 emotionlessly offers them 250 credits. If they
Garfreckt and Aela Vestele). If Trace or Sierra succeeded by 5 or more on the group check, the
O’Connell are still with the party, they will A.I. instead offers them 500 credits to turn over the
begrudgingly ally with the Scale Crew and assist Master.
Drak in capturing the Master. However, if Trace or The remaining members of the Scale
Sierra are not with the party, the Scale Crew will be Crew (Drak Garfreckt and Aela Vestele) board
assisted by 1 or 2 Scale and Fang mercenaries (using the characters’ ship to secure the Master. The tiny
the stats of coalition marines), so that they have 4 master space vampire is saddened by the characters’
active crew members aboard the Gittin’. The Scale decision, but allows himself to be marched off to the
Crew anticipates an ambush, so have advantage on Baldrin, mustering up as much bravery as possible.
Wisdom (Perception) checks they make to detect Any character with Insight proficiency or a passive
one. Perception of 12 or higher can tell that the Master is
Regardless of the party’s intentions, the terrified of what awaits. Drak tosses the party a sack of
Master will not fight on either side. He feels immense credits on his way out the airlock. Proceed to Success.
guilt for his actions aboard the Astromo and is Attacking the Master. If the characters wish,
resigned to accept his fate. they can attack the Master to harvest some of its
Scale and Fang members who are reduced space vampire blood. It’s indeed valuable, as the Scale
to 0 hit points are teleported back to the Astromo. If Crew is here explicitly to acquire it. The Master will
all the members are reduced to 0 hit points, MAH- fight in self-defense, and the characters will likely
MAH 9000 initiates a void jump and vanishes. have to conceal this blood from the Scale Crew.
The heavy bulkhead doors on the Baldrin don’t Proceed to Success.
allow the characters to access it without a secure Prisoner Trade. If Trace and Sierra O’Connell
10-digit combination; therefore, the ship can’t be are still with the party, the characters might propose
commandeered. a prisoner trade: they’ll return the two Scale Crew
If the characters defeat the Scale Crew, proceed members, in exchange for the Master’s freedom. Scale
to Success. If they are defeated, proceed to Defeat. and Fang might be bureaucratic, even mechanistic at
Tricking MAH-MAH 9000. If a character times, but Drak still values his team and their safety.
attempts to convince MAH-MAH 9000 that the With much grumbling, he agrees to the trade and
Master is not on board their ship, they must succeed performs it peacefully. If only one team member
on a DC 21 Charisma (Deception) check. They only is still with the party, however, it will take a DC 15
have one chance: on a failure, MAH-MAH 9000 is Charisma (Persuasion) check to convince him. On
entirely certain they have the Master on board and a failure, Drak decides to raid the Gittin’ to rescue his
the characters are forced to attempt another course of team members and capture the Master, forcing the
action. characters to fight. With a successful prisoner trade,
On a success, however, MAH-MAH 9000 proceed to Success.
believes that the Master must have been destroyed
with the rest of the space vampires on the Astromo. Success
The Baldrin spares the characters and their ship, Having escaped the Astromo and a standoff with
teleporting back any Scale Crew members aboard. the Scale Crew, the party repairs the Gittin’ enough
Before the Baldrin departs, MAH-MAH 9000 eerily to limp back to Grax HQ. Grax is thoroughly
informs them over comms, “Until we meet again, disappointed with the death of the Alluvian Astromos
dream of me, flesh-things. MAH-MAH 9000 will and (because Jimball Hundwig, the accountant, is
certainly dream of you.” Proceed to Success. still gone) performs a post-mission debrief himself.

Curse of the Astromo Part Three: The Final Stand 53

 First, he docks the party’s pay for failing to prevent against the Galactic Starball League, or the characters
the death of the team, and then offers to buy back any may decide to help the Master unravel a larger plot
valuables they abstained on the mission. He pays the and get justice for all of the slain space vampires who
party according to the following criteria: died to fuel Big Starball’s profit machine. That is,
• The Alluvian Astromos team all turned into space when they’re not busy with jobs for Grax.
vampires: −250 credits each If both the Master and Coach Hankerton
• The party’s ship was significantly damaged by the move to Grax’s Club headquarters, there is lingering
Astromo: −500 credits each tension, guilt, and distrust between the two. With
• Coach Hankerton survived: +500 credits each the characters’ help and given time, however, the
• The party acquired valuable items they are willing Master and Coach Hankerton may become very close
to sell back to Grax: Astromo uniforms and name friends.
tags (+500 credits each), a holo-sphere titled
Defeat
“How to Cheat at Starball and Get Away With
The characters are defeated aboard their ship, which
It” (+1,000 credits each), MAH-MAH 9000’s
MAH-MAH 9000 and the Scale Crew leave to drift.
circuitry and processor parts (+1,000 credits each),
At great expense, Grax arranges for the Gittin’ to be
or the Master’s space vampire blood (+1,500
recovered, along with the characters, and rents some
credits each).
low-cost healing tanks to restore the characters.
Coach Chuck Hankerton Survives. If the The healing tanks do little to mend the scars they
coach survives the adventure and returns to Grax HQ might have sustained, but otherwise makes them
with the party, Grax offers him a job training some of fighting-fit after about a month. Grax keeps a tab on
his best mercenaries to become professional Starball how much all of these services cost, and insists that
players. The coach groans about having been two the characters will be paying him back with future
weeks away from retirement, but cannot pass up the successful jobs. The characters don’t get paid, but are
opportunity to return to next year’s championship lucky to be alive.
game with a new and improved Alluvian Astromos
team. If the characters wish to become Starball
players on the coach’s new team, the GM is
encouraged to use the rules from Mage Hand Press’s
Siegeball Sourcebook and set its game in a star-filled
space arena.
Coach Hankerton is remorseful for the part
he played in his team’s grisly deaths, and regrets
acquiring space vampire blood to cheat. He is willing
to do whatever it takes to make up for his mistakes,
even if that means turning himself in or helping to
expose the Starball League’s illegal dealings in the
black market. If he is able to help prove the Starball
League’s crimes, Coach Hankerton will be offered
the job of League Commissioner after Commissioner
Gordy Turnknuckle-Hobbs is arrested. Coach
Hankerton will rely on the characters’ advice to
decide whether or not to take the job, retire from
Starball, or return to coaching.
The Master Returns to Grax HQ. If
the Master returns with the characters to their
headquarters, Grax takes a surprising liking to the
cute space vampire. He agrees to keep him safe and
hidden until no one is looking for him any more. The
Master may be convinced to give up his revenge quest
54 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
SPACE VAMPIRES AS CHARACTERS CURING SPACE VAMPIRISM
If one or more characters die during this The characters can learn from the Master of
adventure, they might return to life as space a planet called Arachnoterra where they can
vampires under the players control, with find a cure to the curse of space vampirism.
cheesy black and red capes, terrible senses The planet is ruled by superintelligent
of humor, and an unquenchable thirst for giant spiders and a monstrous Spider
brain juice. Queen, who will demand a gift worthy of
her presence. If their gift is acceptable, the
Space Vampire Traits. Characters who turn Spider Queen allows the characters access
into space vampires gain the following traits: to a magical lake that reverses the vampiric
• Brainsucking Bite. As a bonus action, transformation and frees the character of the
the space vampire makes a melee curse of terrible dad jokes.
weapon attack with its fangs against one Alternatively, the GM can present a
willing or grappled creature. On a hit, different, less spider-themed side quest to
the target takes piercing damage equal remedy the curse.
to 1d6 + the space vampire’s Dexterity
modifier + 3 (1d6) necrotic damage. The
target’s Intelligence score is reduced by
an amount equal to the necrotic damage
taken. The target dies if its Intelligence
score is reduced to 0. The reduction to
its Intelligence lasts until it finishes a long
rest or until the vampire dies.
• Damage Resistances. Space vampires
are resistant to necrotic, poison, and
radiant damage, as well as bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing damage from
nonmagical weapons.
• General Sensitivity. When the space
vampire’s cape, pale skin, or other
vampire-like features are insulted, the
vampire has disadvantage on all saving
throws and ability checks until the start
of its next turn.
• Spider Climb. The space vampire can
climb difficult surfaces, including upside
down on ceilings, without needing to
make an ability check.
• Terrible Sense of Humor. The space
vampire reflexively makes terrible jokes,
no matter the circumstance.

Curse of the Astromo Part Three: The Final Stand 55

 The Pink Star Scandal
AN INVESTIGATIVE COURTOOM ADVENTURE
FOR 7TH-LEVEL CHARACTERS

WRITTEN BY LILI SPARX

56 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Grax’s Club
THE PINK STAR SCANDAL

Introduction Background
Jimball Hundwig nervously lifted his arms, trying to Grax’s Guys for Cheap have always advertised
air out the sweat that seeped through his expensive themselves as reliable and affordable. Their
tuxedo. Not that it mattered much—the surrounding affordability comes in large part from the talents
socialites and celebrities were ignoring him with of their accountant, Jimball Hundwig, who is as
frigid politeness. The band played something classical inexpensive as he is reliable. Most Grax’s Guys
with droning violins and tittering flutes while Jimball don’t pay the nervous halfling a second thought,
took another sip of his drink. Fruitlessly, he tried to unless they’re getting their operating budget from
relax, to focus on the melodies, but a nervous jitter him before going on a job. Little do they know that
persisted in his hand. Jimball is actually highly educated, an alumni of the
All too soon, the decrescendo began. It prestigious Voxis University on planet Politania.
was time. He glugged the rest of the fancy cocktail, Politania is a far cry from the usual Grax’s
smoothed back what was left of his thinning hair, and Guys for Cheap stomping ground: it’s a staggeringly
turned to leave the room. Along the way, an errant wealthy elven world, filled with luxury boutiques,
walking stick caught his leg, and he stumbled into perfectly-groomed parks, and artwork of every
someone. A sugary-sweet drink splashed over his variety. Clientele from such affluent planets usually
face and down his tuxedo, while the drinks’ owner pass on Grax’s services for their more refined
unleashed a barrage of colorful curses and swatted competitors, most often Scale and Fang Inc., so
at his head with a heavy clutch purse. Neoma Menta, Jimball hasn’t revisited his old home for many years,
he noted as he fled, swears like a space pirate. The until now.
thought amused him, taking some of the edge off his
nerves as he made his way to the VIP room. Overview
Tall spires of elegantly wrought silver framed The Pink Star Scandal is a roleplay-centric adventure
the open door. Inside, the room was dark, filled with for 7th-level characters, and is the third in a series
lavish armchairs and luxurious statues illuminated by of adventures centered on Grax’s Guys for Cheap. In
vintage-style bulbs that cast the room in a languorous it, the characters help investigate and defend their
atmosphere. Jimball hesitated, looking around for the witless accountant, Jimball Hundwig, who has been
guards that must surely be posted nearby. He gulped, charged with gem theft. It is presented in four parts.
walked forward, silently practiced the conversation Prelude: The Call starts with the characters
topics he had prepared. One by one, he sized up in Grax’s HQ. Here the players have some downtime
lines of conversation then quickly discarded them in HQ on an otherwise uneventful day until they
as boring or foolish. He was so absorbed in thought discover January the thwirrel in distress. They learn
that he didn’t notice the alarms until the guards had from her that Jimball, the Grax’s Guy’s accountant, is
already surrounded him. in trouble, and Grax assigns the characters to retrieve
One of the guards stepped forward and him.
seized Jimball’s arm. He roughly patted him down, In Part One: Politana Justice Department, the
and before Jimball could protest, the guard reached characters arrive on the moon of Politana, where the
into the pocket of Jimball’s tuxedo and pulled out a penitentiary is located. Here they meet Detective
pristine, glittering pink diamond the size of Jimball’s Rosie Rumboot and can interview Jimball, who
eye. reveal the basic details of the case and provide leads
“Sir,” the guard said, placing handcuffs around on how to investigate further.
Jimball’s wrists, “you are under arrest for attempted
grand gem theft. Come with us.”

The Pink Star Scandal Introduction 57

 In Part Two: Voxis Investigations, the Savyn is known to be a foppish socialite and
characters begin questioning key witnesses, a highly-prized bachelor. He shows up to all the right
investigating the crime scenes, and gathering as parties across the galaxy, but he always goes alone
much evidence as they can. But on the way, they dig and has never announced a romantic partnership.
too deep, and learn that the case involves a dangerous His manners are impeccable, though somewhat
crime syndicate and a powerful elven family. vacuous. He was also the main organizer of the event
Lastly, in Part Three: The Trial, the characters at the Politana Gallery.
must present their evidence and go head to head
against the Scale and Fang mercenaries in a court of Rosie Rumboot (she/her)
law. Legal maneuvers and surprise enemies stand in Rosie Rumboot is a detective for the Politana Justice
their way of saving Jimball from a life in prison! Department. She is a short middle-aged orc with
neatly polished tusks and vibrant green skin. Despite
Key Characters being severely overworked, she always manages to
maintain an orderly appearance.
The following nonplayer characters feature Rosie Rumboot works for the security
prominently in this adventure. force of Politana and has been assigned to Jimball’s
case. Luckily she has a reputation for always being
Grax Grraxe (he/him) competent and just.
The party’s employer and head of Grax’s Guys for
Cheap, Grax Grraxe, is a fat, well-humored orc with Neoma Menta (she/her)
an eyepatch and a thick orcish accent. Around fifty Neoma Menta, a vect, is a prominent blogger, model,
years ago, Grax decided to leave the Warzone and socialite, and recently-turned curator. When she
all its general unpleasantness to found Grax’s Guys, began her career, she had a male personality, owing
a low-to-mid-tier mercenary organization, which to her coding. But over time, she realized that
bills itself as being all-purpose. True to form, Grax programming didn’t feel right with who she really
branded it after himself, and his face can be seen on was, and so changed her name and augmented her
billboards, company mugs, and the occasional t-shirt. chassis to fit her true identity.
However, over the last few years, GGFC has Neoma is in Savyn’s social circles, and the two
lost a lot of customers to their closest rival, Scale are often found at the same parties. This year, Neoma
and Fang Inc. Nothing perterbs Grax so much as turned away from her socialite life and instead
this rivalry, and in particular, that he’s losing to the dedicated herself to artistic studies. With her smarts,
mercenary company owned by Garfreckt, an eternal reputation, and popularity, she was quickly hired by
dragon who Grax considers to be a bit of a jerk. the Politana Gallery as their head curator.
January (she/her) Judge Bot (it/they)
January is a super-intelligent thwirrel that is uniquely Judge Bot is an automaton created to uphold
telepathic. Her fur is cornflower blue with a pale law and justice. It calculates verdicts based on
silver underbelly. Being the well-kept thwirrel that rational arguments and formulaic thinking. Since
she is, she is also considerably rounder than most its invention on Politana centuries ago, only a few
thwirrels. updates have been made to it. One of the newer
January rarely speaks to anyone aside from additions to Judge Bot’s abilities is a powerful electric
Jimball, who has no idea that she is super-intelligent blast that can hold in contempt those who get out of
or telepathic, nor could he guess the ease by which line in its court.
she steals treats when he isn’t looking.

Savyn Aravars (he/him)

Current head of the prestigious House Aravars, Savyn
is a star high elf in the prime of his life. His roguishly
handsome face is disarming and punchable in equal
measure.

58 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

The Scale Crew
A band of mercenaries from the rival Scale and
Fang Inc., the Scale Crew is better-funded and more
competent than any crew from Grax’s Guys. They
consist of the following:
Drak Garfreckt (he/him). A male dragonborn
with red and black scales, Drak is the leader and
fighter of his crew. He’s cool under pressure, tough
as nails, and smart enough to be a step ahead of
any rival mercenary group. His last name is that of
Garfreckt, the eternal dragon who founded and owns
Scale and Fang Inc. Perhaps, he was adopted by the
eternal dragon, or is distantly related to it. In any
case, Drak has the assurance of someone who earned
their position through expertise and hard work, and
commands the respect of his crew in turn.
Trace (they/them). The heavily-upgraded vect
of the Scale Crew, Trace, serves as their sniper and
gadgeteer. Trace’s expertise lies in drones, blasters,
and explosives, but any mechanical device which
can be broken or repaired falls under their domain.
At a glance, it can be determined that Trace is cold,
calculating, and prepared for anything.
Sierra O’Connell (she/her). The lovely Sierra
O’Connell is a near-human green-skin who oozes
charisma. Her smile not only lightens up a room, it
makes even Drak and Trace seem less businesslike
and dour by extension. On a typical day, she’s dressed
for adventure, with a fitting hat to complement her
laser whip. Sierra even knows a few songs as well, so
she serves as the Scale Crew’s bard, as well as their
rogue. Her biggest personal flaw is that she will,
without fail, steal the wallet of anyone she spends
time with. It’s as much habit as it is misbehavior for
her at this point.
Aela Vestele (they/them). The half-elf
sorcerer Aela Vestele is easily the most refined of the
Scale Crew, and is usually the most refined of any
group in which they find themselves. Only when they
cast a spell does the nature of their sorcery become
revealed: small dimensional rifts open around them,
revealing a soup of alien tentacles and eyes. Despite
this, Aela tries to be utterly composed at all times.
Their father is Jermain’ion Vestele, one of the most
successful capitalists in the Elven Empire, so it’s
anyone’s guess how Aela ended up as a half-elf in a
mercenary company, instead of as a full-blooded elf
working behind a desk.

The Pink Star Scandal Introduction 59

 With this in mind, read or paraphrase the following
Prelude: Grax HQ when the players approach the Krash machines:
Advance all characters to 7th level. A sound like scratching, interspersed with
Before and between adventures, the characters hang the occasional electrical buzz, emanates
around the Grax’s Guys for Cheap headquarters, from behind the Krash machines.
waiting for a good job to drop into their laps. Some
A successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check
use it as a chance to hit the gym or comb over some
moves the vending machine, revealing January,
invaluable books on magic, but plenty of Grax’s crew
Jimball the accountant’s pet thwirrel, gnawing on
get good at darts and take the opportunity to relax
the machine’s wires. She has been siphoning the
during the rare days of downtime.
machine’s magical energy and by this point has
Grax’s headquarters is some form of
rendered its internals a nest of stripped wires and
converted warehouse right next to the starport on
fried components. When approached, she will look
the planet Fornax. While it might have poor to
nervous, but can be calmed down with a successful
nonexistent air conditioning, it’s got plenty of space
DC 12 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. On a
for a crew to hone their skills, catch up on repairs,
failure, she’ll flee back to the safety of her cage in
or take a nap. Before beginning the adventure,
Jimball’s office.
characters can explore the following locations in
Once calmed, she’ll telepathically
Grax HQ.
communicate to the character with the highest
Intelligence score that Jimball never came home
The Lounge yesterday. He rarely leaves on business trips, and
The party begins the adventure at the lounge in Grax always returns promptly when he does. When in
HQ. Please read or paraphrase the following: doubt, she reads his work calendar or hacks his
arcane terminal to check travel logs. Because of his
The lounge at Grax’s Guys (and Gals) for unexplained absence, she was siphoning energy in
Cheap HQ never really changes. The pool preparation to go out looking for him. She asks the
table is stained, the dart board is puckered, characters to help find her owner, or to at least stay
and the Krash vending machine whirs with out of her way while she figures out how to hijack
an incessant whining sound. Today is no their ship.
different as the crew enjoys some well-
deserved downtime, devoid of office hijinks Broken Krash Machine
or Grax’s insane demands. If the characters have not already determined that
the broken Krash Machine dispenses random magic
The HQ is quiet today, as most of the Grax’s Guys
items, they may do so by inspecting the machine
crews are out on assignment. Recently returned,
more closely and making a successful DC 15
Crew 7 has passed out on the couch, still wearing
Intelligence (Technology) check.
their tactical gear. The characters can play some pool
A successful inspection of the machine shows
(the table is missing a few balls), play some darts, or
that its four buttons have prices of 100 credits, 500
otherwise mill about near the vending machines. No
credits, 2,500 credits, and 7,500 credits. Depending
amount of jostling will awaken Crew 7, as they are
on the amount inserted, roll a d20 on a table from
stupendously exhausted.
Appendix D to determine which magic item is
The Other Broken Krash Machine dispensed. Keep track of which magic items have
The lounge at Grax’s Guys HQ has a small number been provided to the players. If a character rolls a
of Krash vending machines, one of which has a magic item which has already been produced, they
perpetual “Out of Order” sign plastered across receive the next lowest magic item on the table, or an
it; a small blessing, since that machine dispenses error and a return of credits if there is no lower magic
magic items for reasons no one even pretends to item.
understand, but it sets a particularly low standard for
the level of quality expected around the headquarters.

60 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 It’s not possible to extract magic items If a pogocat is harmed or captured, the remaining
from the machine by force. Large magic items are pogocats bounce into an air vent to escape the
magically shrunk and instantly grow to full size once room. A DC 16 Intelligence (Technology) check
removed from the machine. deduces that this vent leads to the Storage area of the
headquarters.
Crew Quarters
The crew quarters at Grax HQ contain some The Shooting Range
impressively uncomfortable bunk beds and a large Undeniably the best part of the Grax’s headquarters is
screen to watch holo-shows. Usually, this is where the shooting range and armory. When the characters
Grax’s Guys and Gals crash between missions, but open the door to this area, read or paraphrase the
it would seem everyone is out on a mission, or, like following:
Crew 7, have passed out on the couch in the Lounge.
When the characters enter the crew quarters, read or As soon as the doors swing shut behind you,
paraphrase the following: the lights cut out and you’re bombarded by
the sounds of sirens, whistling, and blaster
Grax’s Crew 7 has passed out on the couch, fire. Gracks, the half-orc in charge of running
but at least one of the crew members has the armory and shooting range, jogs over
dropped most of their gear here in a great wearing a drill instructor’s outfit and starts
heap. Oddly, a very large wooden crate, shouting commands and pushing you
emblazoned with the words “DO NOT toward an elaborate obstacle course.
OPEN” has been deposited alongside the
bags. Out of sheer boredom, Gracks (no relation to Grax)
has created an obstacle course out of the shooting
A character with a passive perception of 14 or range, and forces the characters to run through it.
higher hears a faint scratching coming from within Any character can opt out of the obstacle course
the crate. Opening the crate requires a successful DC by simply leaving the shooting range, but only
14 Strength (Athletics) check. Doing so reveals a characters who complete the course can practice at
second, smaller crate within, this time emblazoned the shooting range.
with the words “SERIOUSLY, DON’T OPEN!” If
a character checks the back of the box, half of a Obstacle Course
damaged shipping label reads “Four (4) pogo—tured Gracks’s obstacle course is totally unsafe and
alive”. The scratching within is now plainly audible, as unsanctioned (though Grax probably wouldn’t
is the sound of something like a ball bouncing. care). However, Gracks is happy to offer his recent
yearly bonus of 1,000 credits to whoever finishes
If the characters open up this second box with the course the fastest. The obstacle course consists
another successful DC 14 Strength (Athletics) of 5 stages, each of which requires an ability check.
check, the crate bursts open as 4 pogocats begin to On a failed check, a character takes damage, but
bounce all around the room. Pogocats are wicked and completes the obstacle nonetheless via a slower route.
ridiculous creatures, perpetually bouncing on their It is encouraged that the GM be liberal with creative
singular springy legs. The pogocats begin bouncing tactics, giving out advantage or Inspiration to any
at the characters, using their bites whenever possible. character which uses a clever approach to navigating
However, any character with a Wisdom score of 12 obstacles.
or higher can infer that the pogocats were probably In order to keep track of their time on the
captured by Crew 7 for a job, and therefore, they course, each player should add the results of their
shouldn’t be harmed. A pogocat can be captured by ability checks (up to a maximum of 20 per check)
succeeding a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check to and record the sum. A higher total represents a lower
grapple it. Once grappled, the pogocat escapes on overall time on the course. Characters can repeat the
its turn if another creature does not use its action course as many times as they wish, as they attempt to
to stuff the pogocat into a bag or other container. beat each others’ fastest times.

The Pink Star Scandal Prelude: Grax HQ 61

 Gracks’s personal fastest time has a total
check of 75. If at least one character beats this time Storage
and all the characters finish running the course, A great deal of Grax HQ is used for storage. To
Gracks pays out 1,000 credits. introduce this location, read or paraphrase the
Stage 1: Wall Climb. Leading off the obstacle following:
course is a nearly vertical wooden wall lined with
knotted ropes and thin wooden handholds. Each If the rest of Grax’s HQ is a converted
character must make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) warehouse, this is the section that’s an
check to overcome this obstacle. On a failed save, a unconverted warehouse. Countless
character falls and takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage unlabeled crates are stacked haphazardly
before completing scaling the wall. in this room, creating a combination of
Stage 2: Swinging Buckets. After the wall, the a fire hazard and an avalanche risk. Most
characters must cross a barrage of buckets which are crates seem to be filled with Grax-branded
filled with sand and swinging on ropes at dangerous merchandise nobody wants to buy. That
speed. A character must make a DC 15 Dexterity being said, if someone wants a Grax mug,
(Acrobatics) check or a DC 15 Dexterity saving this is the motherlode.
throw to avoid the buckets. On a failed save or check, This is, by far, the best place to find peace and quiet
a character takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage from a in Grax’s HQ, but it’s also a place where characters
bucket to the head. might find some truly strange stuff. If, however, the
Stage 3: Barbed Wire Crawl. Next is a characters have also unleashed the pogocats from the
crisscross of barbed wire, which must be crawled crew quarters, there are also a number of bouncing
underneath. A character must make a DC 15 felines achieving quite impressive air off the crates in
Strength (Athletics) check to overcome this obstacle. this room.
On a failed check, a character is scratched along the
back by the barbed wire, taking 2d6 slashing damage. Capturing the Loose Pogocats
Stage 4: Ledge Hang. The next obstacle is If the characters have loosed the pogocats, they
a ledge of a few inches, along which the characters should be able to capture them in this room. Crates
must climb using just their fingertips. A character are stacked up to 25 feet high, and the pogocats are
must make a DC 12 Constitution check to overcome bouncing practically to the 30-foot ceiling.
this obstacle. On a failed check, the character falls As in the crew quarters, a pogocat can be
and takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the fall. captured by succeeding a DC 14 Strength (Athletics)
Stage 5: Balance Beam. Lastly, the characters check to grapple it. Once grappled, the pogocat
must cross a long, narrow beam. Each character must escapes on its turn if another creature does not use
make a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to cross its action to stuff the pogocat into a bag or other
the beam without falling. If two or more characters container.
are running the course at one time, a character can Furthermore, if a creature notices that
use their action to intentionally fail the check and pogocats are immune to bludgeoning damage
give each other character disadvantage on their (instead becoming instead a fuzzy projectile when
check. On a failure, a character falls and takes 1d6 hit), a character can instead deal bludgeoning
bludgeoning damage from the fall. damage to a pogocat and knock it to a character who
is ready with a bag. Naturally, the storage area has
Practicing at the Shooting Range some starball sticks (simple bludgeoning weapons)
Only characters which finish the obstacle course can that will fit this purpose nicely.
practice at the shooting range, by taking pot shots Once all the pogocats are secure, the
around whoever is currently running the course. If a characters can return them to the crew quarters and
character spends an hour practicing with a weapon at place them back in their boxes. If a character kills
the firing range, they gain a practice die, a d6, which a pogocat, they recieve no operating budget for the
they can add to an attack roll using that weapon mission, as that payment goes to replace the missing
sometime in the next 10 days. A character can only pogocat.
have one practice die at a time.
62 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
Exploring the Storage On Jimball’s desk, the characters will notice an ezine
If a character wants to go digging through the (a magazine but on a cheap data pad) with a beautiful
storage, roll on the following table to determine what elven man on the cover. The title reads “Savyn
they find: Aravars—The Galaxy’s Most Eligible Bachelor!” If
they read the article, they’ll learn some things about
d8 Item Savyn:
1 A very impressive wig that makes one • He is a noble star high elf, of the House of
look like a trial lawyer or a pompous Aravars on Politana.
used car salesman • Even by high elf standards, he is an extremely
2 An extremely convincing blaster, which handsome, but notoriously fickle man.
squirts water and makes “pew” noises • The article quotes him as saying “love is a
3 A severed android’s hand, which skitters multifaceted diamond”, which the author of the
about in random directions article seems to think is profound, but comes
4 Grax-branded hair cream! Doesn’t amidst a string of vapid dribble.
regrow hair, but causes unsightly body Once they’ve looked through the ezine, January will
hair to grow quickly telepathically say, “Jimball buys lots of ezines that
5 An entire crate filled with cash! Cold mention this elf. He always reads them once, then
hard cash! Sadly, it’s from a planet files them away and doesn’t look at them again.”
which uses paper money unrecognized A DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check
anywhere. uncovers a beautiful, expensive-looking ring in the
6 Several Grax-themed Halloween masks, desk drawer. It appears to be a heavy gold band. The
complete with plastic cigar props! inside is engraved with the words “My All, Always —
SA”.
7 A life suit, labeled “FREE, ALMOST A character can hack Jimball’s work terminal
WORKS”. It’s critically defective. with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Data) check to
8 An avia-ra wrestling magazine titled access Jimball’s travel logs. If asked, January will help
“Avia RAW!” with this, granting advantage on a check. Jimball’s
travel logs detail that, even though he said he was
Jimball’s Office vacationing on Politana, he was actually paying off
Jimball’s office is uncharacteristically locked when some of Grax’s considerable gambling debts.
the characters arrive, until the characters discover When the party goes to leave, January will
January at the other broken Krash machine in the pipe up and insist that she accompanies them on
lobby. When the characters enter Jimball’s office with their quest to save Jimball.
January (who can easily slip under the door and open
the lock), read or paraphrase the following: Grax’s Office
Jimball’s office feels starkly empty, probably When the characters are ready to begin the
because he’s been gone for nearly two adventure, they can pay a visit to Grax’s office, where
weeks on different odd jobs for Grax. The they are greeted with this scene:
office is a small, neat space with a tidy desk Grax’s desk is buried under the usual clutter
surrounded by symmetrical filing cabinets. of papers and knick-knacks but today you
There isn’t a thing out of place but it just notice a new addition: a metallic box with
doesn’t feel the same without Jimball there a swirling core of blue-green energy that
handing over your credits. When you open you recognize as a long-distance comm set.
the door, January hops onto the desk and The speaker of the box looks dented, as if
looks around with a mournful expression. someone had hit it with something heavy.
Grax impatiently waves at you to sit down
as he pours himself a full, strong drink of

The Pink Star Scandal Prelude: Grax HQ 63

 pungent, milky liquid. He throws his head Table of Contents
back and drains the glass in three loud
What’s Grax’s Club?.......................................1
gulps.
Introduction................................................. 57
“Jimball’s been arrested,” Grax growls. “Yer Background..................................................... 57
gonna need to go get ‘im back.” Overview......................................................... 57
Key Characters................................................ 58
Grax seems practically livid throughout the Prelude: Grax HQ ....................................... 60
conversation as he divulges the following The Lounge..................................................... 60
information: Crew Quarters................................................. 61
• Jimball was arrested last night for grand gem theft The Shooting Range........................................ 61
on the planet of Politana. Storage............................................................ 62
• Jimball used his one communication to call Grax Jimball’s Office................................................ 63
because he didn’t know who else to reach out to. Grax’s Office.................................................... 63
• Jimball is currently being held at Politana’s Part One:Politana Justice Department ������� 65
penitentiary, a facility stationed on the planet’s Arrival at the Justice Department.................... 65
moon, Legibus. Visitors’ Area.................................................... 66
• You can’t just grab him and shoot your way out. Part Two: Voxis Investigations..................... 69
Besides it being tough to outrun elven ships on a Arriving in Voxis............................................... 69
good day, Jimball can’t keep doing his job if he’s a Politana Gallery............................................... 69
wanted man. VIP Room......................................................... 70
• Jimball can’t afford a lawyer, and Grax can’t (or House Aravars................................................. 73
refuses to) pay for one. Furthermore, Grax could Politana Historical Society............................... 74
never hire another accountant—anyone else Stiffling Security Corp...................................... 75
would quit! Therefore, Grax is sending the party Wrapping Up................................................... 77
out to Politana to investigate this charge, and if Part Three: The Trial.................................... 78
necessary, defend Jimball in court. “I’m pretty The Courtroom................................................ 78
sure most lawyers object to everything; just do First Witness: Neoma Menta........................... 79
that”, he quips. Second Witness: Savyn Aravars....................... 80
Savyn’s Revised Testimony.............................. 81
A character with a passive Perception of 14 or
higher can detect some genuine concern in Grax’s
voice. It might be that Jimball, one of Grax’s oldest
employees, is also one of his only friends. However,
Grax doesn’t have any other information on the
case, and says that the characters will have to go
to Politana and speak to Jimball to learn more. In
Jimball’s absence, he wires the characters their usual
operating budget of 100 credits each. Proceed to Part
One: Politana Justice Department.

64 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Part One:Politana CLUES
As the characters progress through this
Justice Department adventure, they’ll uncover clues which
can help to prove Jimball’s innocence and
The adventure begins on the elven world, Politana, or
elucidate the events which precipitated his
rather, its moon, Legibus. If the players have skipped
arrest. The party begins with two such clues
the prologue, read or paraphrase the following:
from investigating Jimball’s office:
A big, green vein pulsed in Grax’s head
Clue: Jimball’s Ring. A gold ring, engraved
as he explained the predicament his
with “My All, Always —SA”.
accountant, Jimball Hundwig. Arrested for
attempted jewel theft on the elven planet, Clue: Jimball’s Travel Logs. Jimball
Politana, the halfling used his one call to travelled to Politana for business, not
contact Grax. If this were a better funded pleasure. This was all supposed to be a trip
organization, there would be a team of to pay off gambling debts for Grax.
lawyers to his rescue. However, you’re the
ever-flexible Grax’s Guys, so you’ve been Clue handouts are printed in Appendix
assigned to prove his innocence. C to help players keep track of the case.
Whenever a player thinks a clue is relevant
The characters are accompanied by Jimball’s hyper- to a topic, they can present a clue to catch
intelligent, telepathic thwirrel, January, who refuses someone in a lie or potentially reveal more
to relent until her master is released. information.

Arrival at the Justice

The orc detective Rosie Rumboot shakes each
Department character’s hand before getting down to business. She
The party starts the adventure on Politana’s moon, will briefly go over the details of the case report:
Legibus, at the sprawling campus of the Justice • Jimball was caught red-handed with a priceless
Department, where courthouses, prisons, security diamond in his pocket at a prestigious art exhibit
offices, and administrative buildings stand in neat, opening last night.
orderly rows. Read or paraphrase the following: • The exhibit, called “The Prestigious Works of
Politana”, featured a number of historical art
The Politana Justice Department is a crisp pieces, but the highlight of the exhibit was the
white campus that more closely resembles Pink Star diamond.
a luxury health resort than a bureaucratic • While exiting the building with the purloined
entity. But despite its sleepy, peaceful diamond, Jimball was arrested and promptly
facade, the energy is professional and alert. brought here to the penitentiary.
Elven guards in pressed navy blue uniforms
stop you as you enter the front gate. Give out the Clue: Case Report.
Rosie will also provide a photo of the Pink
When you explain the reason for your visit, Star, taken last year at another event. Give out the
they direct you to a nearby room for a Clue: Pink Star Diamond Photo. It is a massive
preliminary screening. After a short wait, the diamond with a beautiful pale pink hue, hence
door swings open to reveal a tidy-looking the name. Any character which succeeds a DC 17
orc woman with short, polished tusks. Her Intelligence (History) check knows that the Pink
red hair is tied into a ponytail and she wears Star diamond was excavated from the core of Politana
a beige trench coat which immediately in the early days of the planet’s settlement. Give out
identifies her as a detective. the Clue: Pink Star History. If a character beats a
DC 21, they also know that some historians believe
the diamond to possess magical transmutation

The Pink Star Scandal Part One:Politana Justice Department 65

 JANUARY’S INTUITION JANUARY’S INTUITION:
The characters are accompanied on ROSIE RUMBOOT
their investigation by January, Jimball’s Rosie is a no-nonsense detective, who isn’t
superintelligent pet thwirrel. Throughout the keeping any secrets or concealing any clues.
adventure, the characters can telepathically However, her case report only contains the
ask January what she suspects about barest of verifiable facts and no witness
the current situation. Her helpful hints interviews. The characters will need to
are detailed in sidebars throughout the investigate the scene of the crime to learn
adventure and always reveal how many how the report falls short.
clues a character is withholding.

Interviewing Jimball Hundwig

powers, although none have ever confirmed that to It doesn’t take long to find Jimball waiting at one of
be true. Give out the Clue: Pink Star Rumor. the tables for the characters. When they approach
Rosie will notice that the crew are him, read or paraphrase the following:
mercenaries, not lawyers, and will advice the party to:
1. First, collect evidence and witness testimonies. Jimball sits at one table with his knees
2. Then, try to piece together a timeline of events. pulled up to his chest. He is wearing a pale
turquoise prisoner’s uniform which appears
With all of that on hand, they can potentially stand soaked with a nervous flop sweat. That’s
a chance in trial, using clues to prove Jimball’s hardly unusual—Jimball is always sweaty
innocence. She also informs the characters that, and nervous—but as he gently rocks himself
while visiting their client, the party will be escorted to remain calm, you can read the tell-tale
by Brok, an amoeboid guard with an unusually large signs of an anxious panic. As he sees you,
cleft chin. When the characters have no additional his eyes fill with a mixture of relief and
questions, they can proceed to the visitors’ area. concern.

Visitors’ Area January immediately curls up on Jimball’s lap, and

he pets her absent-mindedly while the characters
After winding through the labyrinthine, utilitarian get situated. The characters can explain their role
halls of the Politana Justice Department, Brok as Jimball’s legal defense, to which Jimball responds
leads the characters to the visitors’ area. Read or with an exasperated sigh. They can then question
paraphrase the following: Jimball about the events which led him here.
The Politana Penitentiary visitors’ area is If Jimball is asked to recall his side of the
a lush garden with simple but stylish iron story, please read or paraphrase the following
benches and tables. It is surrounded by dialogue:
tall hedges that appear to have a wire “A couple of nights ago, an old friend
fence running through them. Every table is from the University rang me up to attend
encapsulated by a sheer, glistening bubble, a gallery opening the next day. I tried to
an electromagnetic sound barrier to isolate refuse, but… well, he’s persuasive. Fast
conversations and provide privacy. forward, and I’m at the party, dressed to the
Here, the characters should interview Jimball to get nines, and I don’t know anybody. My friend,
his side of the story, and can also speak with their Savyn, was busy the whole time, and told
escort, Brok. Note that area is encompassed in a me to meet him in the VIP room after the
targeted antimagic field to prevent escapes and other first band finished playing.
unlawful activity. This field interrupts the operation “I milled about, looked at some art, and got
of most magical technology, including blasters, but a drink. Eventually, I made my way to the
doesn’t hamper vect, construct grafts, or magic items. VIP room, and all the alarms went off. Two
66 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
 guards came out of nowhere and pulled that
diamond out of my pocket.” THE REAL PINK STAR
The Pink Star is actually a real jewel! When
Jimball chuckles ruefully, “I didn’t even introducing it to the players, you can look
know that tuxedo had a pocket.” up photos and share some of its history. It is
Under further questioning, Jimball will freely disclose a 59.60 carat diamond with a distinctive pink
the following information: hue. It is famous for setting record auction
prices and for being one of the world’s
• Jimball grew up on Politana in the capital of greatest modern treasures.
Voxis. His parents were wealthy merchants
but not nobility. Still, they enrolled him at the
prestigious Voxis University. Jimball’s eyes fall to the table and his hands
• He met the aforementioned friend, Savyn go still. “Alright,” he says heavily, “it’s time
Aravars, at Politana University. I told someone the truth. When we were
• He saw the famous vect socialite, Neoma Menta, in university, Savyn and I… were lovers.
at the event. We kept it secret because of his rank and
• Jimball didn’t see any guards at the event until he family. But once he went through the elven
was arrested. naming ceremony… he changed. I mean, he
A character that makes a Charisma (Intimidation had different responsibilities. Anyways, we
or Persuasion) check can learn one of the following couldn’t continue our relationship.
pieces of additional information by beating the listed
DC: • DC 18. On the day he left Politana, Jimball
received an anonymous gift: a baby thwirrel
• DC 12. Jimball embassingly mentions that he
named January. Jimball suspected that it was
didn’t just see Neoma Menta at the event, He
from Savyn because January was the month in
accidently spilled his drink over her while he
which they had met.
was walking to the VIP room. Give out the Clue:
Party Foul. When the characters are finished interviewing
• DC 14. Savyn was always overbearing. In fact, he Jimball, he suggests they speak with Savyn Aravars,
even insisted on buying the tuxedo. Give out the who organized the event, and Neoma Menta, the
Clue: Jimball’s Suit. gallery curator. Before they leave, he will give January
• DC 16. A character can learn this information a thorough nuzzling.
without a check if they confront Jimball with the
ring found in his office. Jimball and Savyn weren’t Chatting with Brok
just university friends, they were lovers. Give The characters’ guard escort, an amoeboid named
out the Clue: Jimball and Savyn’s History. You Brok, is leaning on their arc baton near the exit
can narrate Jimball’s despondent recollection as to the visitors’ area. If interrogated about Jimball,
follows: they will provide the characters with the following
information:
• Jimball was brought in late the night before,
wearing a tuxedo.
• The guards were instructed to treat him well and
JANUARY’S INTUITION:
not allow any harm to come to him.
JIMBALL HUNDWIG
Jimball isn’t a mastermind jewel thief; he’s Furthermore, they will insinuate that they might
an accountant, and a barely competent have more useful information, but that it’ll come
one at that. But he definitely knows more at a price. A character that pays them a bribe of at
than he’s letting on. And he seems awfully least 20 credits or succeeds on a DC 20 Charisma
reluctant to talk about Savyn. Jimball is check learns that the officer who brought Jimball in
concealing three clues. last night was not a Politana public service officer,
but rather a guard from a company called Stiffling

The Pink Star Scandal Part One:Politana Justice Department 67

 Security Corp. Give out the Clue: Stifling Security
Corp.

Leaving for Voxis

The characters’ biggest leads are in Voxis city
on Politana. When they are ready to continue
their investigation, proceed to Part Two: Voxis
Investigations.

JAILBREAK!
If the characters consider taking a brute
force approach to freeing Jimball, by
staging an elaborate jailbreak or by
simply fighting their way out of the Justice
Department, they’ll be foiled by one of the
following defense mechanisms:
• The entire prison is contained in a
targeted antimagic field to prevent
escapes and other unlawful activity.
• Each prisoner wears a heavy steel anklet
which prevents teleportation and planar
travel. If they leave the prison grounds
while wearing the anklet, it electrically
shocks them and sends a signal to the
guards.
• The guards watch the prison with
physical guards and magical surveillance.
Lastly, if the players continue this line
of inquiry, simply remind them that the
adventure is more of a mystery and a
courtroom drama than it is a prison break
story.

68 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Part Two: Voxis SENDING A MESSAGE
After the characters have explored two
Investigations of the four locations in this chapter, they
are ambushed by a Firm Contractor
The characters touch down in a small spaceport in
because they are learning too much. The
the bustling elven city of Voxis to continue their
halfling contractor, wearing a pinstripe
investigation. They’ll need a wealth of evidence if
suit and chomping on a cigar, waits until
they are to prove Jimball’s innocence, so visiting the
the characters are walking down a mostly
scene of the alleged crime and meeting all the major
unpopulated road, then tosses a pair of
players will be a good start.
concussion grenades at their feet. Each
character must make a DC 12 Dexterity
Arriving in Voxis saving throw or take 2d8 thunder damage.
When the players land in Voxis, read or paragraph In the first round of combat, the contractor
the following scene: has probably surprised the characters and
attacks twice in an attempt to gain a Sneak
A dazzling scene greets you as you step off Attack. The contractor shouts “Stay away
the ship: luxurious gardens stretch before from this case!” before fleeing.
you and two brilliant suns shine overhead.
Before you is the downtown core of Voxis,
the capital of Politana. You can see many
opulent boutiques, cafés, and shops Politana Gallery
surrounding a lavish garden centre. Across The Politana Gallery is within view of the small
the way, you see an ornate building with a spaceport at which the party arrived. As the
gilded sign that reads “Politana Gallery.” characters enter the gallery, read or paraphrase the
The general atmosphere of downtown Voxis is that following:
of affluence and polished luxury, if not outright Politana Gallery is a posh-looking building
decadence. Nearly everyone is elvish, and many with royal purple doors that open up to
passersby give the characters a wide berth, delivering an impressive interior. White marble floors
disgusted looks or upturned noses when the party gleam underfoot, while magnificent, opulent
comes into view. Wealth is an assumption here, as works of art line the walls.
are the foppish and traditionalist elven standards of
fashion and culture. The characters are escorted around the gallery by a
The characters can investigate the following bumbling skathári security guard named Flikk of
locations of interest in any order they choose: Lightning Eyes, who, despite his elaborate name, is
• Politana Gallery. The premiere art gallery on profoundly unobservant. A skathári of few words,
Politana, and the scene of Jimball’s alleged crime. Flikk speaks primarily in single words and can offer
• Politana Historical Society. The Pink Star no useful information, as he wasn’t working on
Diamond displayed at the art gallery was on loan the night of the attempted theft. He will only act to
from the Politana Historical Society, where it is ensure that the characters don’t steal or destroy any
currently housed. of the gallery’s properly. Flikk uses the statistics of a
• The High Rise. Prestigious homes of the most hegemony trooper.
esteemed residents of Politana. House Aravars In the gallery, the characters can explore the
has an estate here, where the wealthy and scene of the crime, interview the curator, Neoma
influential Savyn Aravars can be found. Menta, and review any security footage captured on
• Stiffling Security Corp. If the characters have the the night of the attempted robbery.
Clue: Stiffling Security Corp., they can investigate
the security company that was involved in
Jimball’s arrest.

The Pink Star Scandal Part Two: Voxis Investigations 69

 Interviewing Neoma Menta Party Foul. If the characters mention
The gallery’s curator, a vect woman named Neoma Clue: Jimball’s Suit or make a DC 14 Intelligence
Menta, is overseeing the installation of a new exhibit (Investigation) or Charisma (Persuasion) check
in the main hall. As the characters approach, read or to jog Neoma’s memory, her eyes light up with
paraphrase the following: recognition. She will then remark that Jimball spilled
a drink on her at the party and was, in fact, wearing a
In the centre of the grand hall is a hunter green tuxedo. Give out the Clue: Party Foul, if
resplendent vect woman in an immaculate the party doesn’t already have it.
white dress. She turns and smiles Security. Neoma had worked diligently
mechanically as you enter. with Savyn and the Historical Society to ensure that
security for the diamond was top notch. Instead of
She has the manners of a perfect host: she is the gallery’s usual security guard, they hired a pair
accommodating and courteous, if a bit mechanical. of guards from Stiffling Security Corp. at Savyn’s
Regarding the diamond, she expresses that the request. Cameras watched the diamond from all
incident was “unfortunate” and will answer any of angles and would sound an alarm if the gem, or the
the party’s questions, relaying information on the area around it, was disturbed. If the party doesn’t
following topics: already have it, give out the Clue: Stiffling Security
Savyn Aravars. Upon the recent death of Corp. A successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion)
Savyn’s father, Sir Demerius Aravars, Savyn has check convinces Neoma to divulge the name of the
arranged to donate several pieces to the Politana guards hired for the event: halflings named Ronovan
Historical Society. The late Sir Aravars was an avid Dole and Willio Spurtsmith.
explorer, even into his advanced age, and accrued
an impressive collection of artifacts. Sadly, he was
killed in a cave-in. The whole “Prestigious Works of VIP Room
Politana” event was arranged at Savyn’s request, in The purported scene of the crime is the VIP room,
memory of his father’s passing. Give out the Clue: where Pink Star diamond was on display for the
The Late Sir Aravars. gallery’s wealthiest and most influential patrons.
Neoma’s Testimony. When the theft took Please read or paraphrase this description as the
place, Neoma and most of the guests were watching characters enter the room:
the band’s first song. However, she kept a line of sight
to the door of the VIP room, just in case. Near the Despite the overlay of Security Force crime
end of the show, she saw a halfling in a VIP room, but scene essentials (markers, caution tape,
he was out of sight before she could reach the room. cards with numbers on them, etc), the VIP
He stood out because he was wearing a forest green Room still manages an air of extravagant
tuxedo, not a hunter green tuxedo, as the dress code wealth.
required. Moments later, Jimball was caught trying Thick black carpet squishes under your feet
to leave the room with the diamond. Give out Clue: as you approach where the Pink Star was
Neoma’s Testimony. displayed. They had the diamond rigged to
float above an exquisite, shiny onyx statue
of a rose blooming. From the photos you
saw of the display, it would have looked as
JANUARY’S INTUITION: NEOMA MENTA though the Pink Star had been rising out of
It’s clear that, if Neoma was in charge of the rose’s center. “Like a Phoenix from the
overseeing the entire event, she might have ashes,” according to the information screen
seen things which could exonerate Jimball, beside it.
even if she isn’t aware of it. Ask her about
what she saw, and make sure to get a clear From here, the characters can investigate the scene
picture of how Jimball was arrested. Neoma and search for clues by making a group Intelligence
is concealing four clues. (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check.
They can also roll a check for January, who makes
70 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
her check with a +6 modifier. Regardless of the group reviewing the footage can switch cameras (moving
check’s result, the characters notice that each corner to a new column), wind back footage (moving down
of the room is mounted with a sleek-looking camera a row), or fast forward footage (moving up a row).
trained directly at the Pink Star display. Camera 1 shows the entrance to the art gallery.
If the group check fails to beat a DC 14, one Cameras 2 and 3 show the interior of the main event.
of the characters identifies a red mark on one of the Cameras 4–7 show the VIP room from different
chairs in the corner of the room as the insignia of the angles.
Tower, a mysterious organization of wizards reported If the characters witness Jimball walk into
to control factional governments across the ‘verse. Neoma, give the Clue: Party Foul, if they don’t
This is, however, a complete misidentification of an already have it.
oddly-shaped wine stain; the Tower has nothing to A character reviewing the footage can identify
do with the attempted theft of the Pink Star. the visual distortions as the influence of a magical
If the group check beats a DC 14, the spell on the gallery’s cameras. Because the cameras
characters find a broken device embedded deep in are powered by magic, any strong magical aura, such
the plush carpet. They can find this device without as those caused by spells and magic items, will distort
a check if they investigate the exact spot that the the footage. Give out the Clue: VIP Room Cameras.
halfling appears in security footage. It looks like a A spellcaster that can make a successful DC
capsule, about the size of a thumb, that was crushed 15 Intelligence (Arcana or Technology) check can
or stepped on. Give out the Clue: Broken Device. determine that the amount of distortion is consistent
If any individual character’s check beats a with a spell of 2nd or 3rd level. Furthermore, a
DC 18, they discover the packaging for an expensive DC 15 Intelligence (Data) check slows down the
brand of transmat deck, a magic item which stores footage, revealing the halfling in the VIP room
items in an extradimensional space, discarded in one casting a spell before vanishing in the static. A
of the waste bins in the room. Give out the Clue: character that succeeds further a DC 20 Intelligence
Missing Transmat Deck. (Arcana) check can identify the spell as invisibility.
If a character can cast the spell invisibility, they have
Security Room advantage on this check.
Flikk will obligingly guide the characters to a
cramped side room, the gallery’s security office.
When the characters enter, read or paraphrase the
following:
This claustrophobic closet is filled almost
entirely with monitors, a single rolling
chair, and boxy security systems brimming
with tangled wires. For ease of use by the
skathári security guard, the complex camera
network has been reduced to a small
handful of brightly colored buttons which
can view live activity and saved footage.
The gallery is equipped with a state-of-the-art
security system which can store about two days
of fairly low-resolution footage from the gallery’s
camera system. Here, the characters can review the
footage from the previous night. However, they’ll
need to flip between cameras to piece together the
full events of the night. Events are presented in the
Security Cameras table as a grid of representing
minutes in time and different cameras. A character

The Pink Star Scandal Part Two: Voxis Investigations 71

 SECURITY CAMERAS
Time Camera 1: Entrance Cameras 2–3: Interior Cameras 4–7: VIP
7:00 Many glittering guests arrive, A few guests mill about Two elves in fabulous
bedecked in hunter green the nearly empty gallery, dresses admire the diamond
finery. An elegant elven man, taking particular note of encased in the center of the
Savyn, stands at the door, an installation made from room.
greeting everyone as they file discarded Krash bottles.
past.
7:15 A vect woman in a long gown, An amoeboid wearing a Neoma systematically
Neoma, comes to speak turtleneck gathers a small engages each important
with him. They seem to be crowd as they speak about person in the VIP room with
familiar but not exceptionally a painting. pleasant chatter.
intimate. Eventually she
leaves to go inside.
7:30 Jimball enters the frame. Jimball appears intermixed A halfling in a green tuxedo
He looks nervous as he in the crowd, but he stands in the doorway to the
approaches Savyn, but Savyn doesn’t speak to anyone room but disappears in the
bends down to give him a and seems quite distracted. next frame, as the footage
hug, and the two speak for becomes distorted and
a moment. Jimball nods and flickery.
moves into the building.
7:45 Guests finish arriving, Savyn The band walks out on The footage remains flickery
goes inside with everyone stage, drawing the crowd's and indistinct until Jimball
else, and the street is quiet attention. The character enters the room. In suddenly
and empty. with the highest Passive clear footage, the diamond
Perception score notices is gone. Two guards
Jimball near the back of rush Jimball and pull the
the crowd walk directly into diamond out of his pocket.
Neoma.
8:00 Guards bring Jimball out of The footage becomes A wealthy socialite faints
the building in handcuffs. distorted and indistinct dramatically at the theft.
for a few moments before
Jimball is marched outside.

72 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Savyn greets the characters graciously, while his
House Aravars guards loom from behind.
When the characters choose to interview Savyn The characters can question Savyn however
Aravars, they’ll need to travel to the High Rise, some they like, but the guards will prevent any violence
of the wealthiest estates in Voxis. Read or paraphrase or intimidation. Because Savyn is an exceptionally
the following: intelligent elf with a silver tongue, any Wisdom
(Insight) check the characters make will reveal that
The abundant wealth that you saw in Voxis everything he says is technically true, though not
pales dramatically in comparison to the necessarily the entire truth. He reveals the following
estates along the High Rise, an elevated information:
piece of land overlooking the capital where
• Father’s Death. Savyn will not bring up his
the nobility of Politana reside. House
father’s death, but will be very dramatic if
Aravars is no exception. It’s not a house but
presented with Clue: The Late Sir Aravars. He
rather an enormous, glimmering tower at
will tell the party that he doesn’t feel ready to
least twenty floors high. From each floor
be head of House Aravars, but he is prepared to
protrudes a balcony, curling around the
make the effort for the good of Politana.
tower like a spiral staircase.
• Pink Star. It took days of negotiating with the
Even from ground level you can see and Politana Historical Society to feature the Pink
hear that several balconies are currently Star in the exhibit. After the attempted theft,
occupied with boisterous parties. he was so embarrassed that he had the Security
Force immediately return the Pink Star to its
Four guards stand at the entranceway to the building, proper home with the Society.
each wearing a uniform with the House Aravars crest • Neoma. Aside from a professional interest, Savyn
on it. When they see the party, they will call out and says he doesn’t care much about Neoma. He
announce that Lord Aravars has been expecting insinuates that she tried to be romantic with him
them. The guards will search the players and ask when she identified as male, but that he didn’t
them to relinquish any weapons they’re carrying, for return her affections. He will also admit that he
the safety of their master. A character can conceal a regrets trusting her and the Gallery with such an
blaster that lacks the Two-handed property with a important event and artifact.
successful DC 15 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check. • Jimball. Savyn speaks in sympathetic generalities
A character which otherwise refuses to relinquish about his university friend Jimball, but a
their weapons is not allowed on the premises. character with a Wisdom score of 14 or higher
The guards lead the party to an elaborate can tell he is concealing some genuine emotions.
glass elevator, which takes the character to the very Savyn states he simply invited Jimball to the event
top, Savyn’s penthouse. Through the glass doors to catch up with and check in on him.
of the elevator, the characters are rewarded with If a character presents Savyn with the Clue:
a mesmerizing view of the city, a glimpse of the Jimball’s Ring or succeeds a DC 20 Charisma
extreme affluence offered to the residents of these (Persuasion) check to learn more about Savyn’s
towers. When the elevator comes to a stop, read or relationship with Jimball, he will admit more
paraphrase the following: openly that he loved Jimball dearly when they
Before you is an enormous glass room were together. Those times were long ago,
filled with sunlight. Expensive works of art, however.
bookshelves, and furniture surround you on • The Tuxedo. Savyn will lament that Jimball never
all sides. In the center of the room, a familiar had the best fashion sense so he felt obliged to
elf, Savyn Aravars, is sitting in a high-backed get him a suitable outfit for the event. He knew
armchair facing the elevator. He seems to Jimball’s measurements so he had it custom-made
have been expecting you. and sent it over with the ship that picked him up.
If the players don’t have it already, give out the
Clue: Jimball’s Suit.

The Pink Star Scandal Part Two: Voxis Investigations 73

 JANUARY’S INTUITION: Politana Historical Society
SAVYN ARAVARS When the party goes to investigate the Politana
Elven aristocrats lie as fluently as they Historical Society, read or paraphrase the following:
breathe, and Savyn is no exception.
Regardless, all the lies in the world can’t The Politana Historical Society building is
change the facts. Focus on what happened: just as pretentious as it might sound. An
where was Savyn at the time of the crime, old-looking building of wood and stone, it
why was Jimball invited, and how did he get is an oppressive structure that looks plucked
the tuxedo with the hidden pocket? Savyn from a different age. Though grand, the
is concealing three clues. interior is dimly lit and choked with dust. A
number of scholarly-looking elves toil away
behind bookshelves filled with thick tomes.
• Savyn’s Alibi. The characters may have noticed
that at the time of the theft, Savyn’s whereabouts As if to offset the dreariness of this place,
are so far unknown. If they ask about this, Savyn there are several illuminated signs which
will claim that he was in a meeting with the head advertise dull exhibits: an ancient historical
security guard from Stiffling Security Corp., the document with faded text, a dented
security service hired for the event. Give out the “heirloom” that looks like a broken watch,
Clue: Savyn’s Alibi. the first bottle of Orc-a-Cola, etc. One
As he’s talking about Stiffling Security, Savyn does stand out though, even from the
will rifle through a stack of business cards. With a entranceway: the Pink Diamond shining
DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check, a character resplendently from its heavily-fortified
notices a completely blank business card in the display case.
stack. A character with the Thieves’ Cant language It costs the characters 5 credits each to gain entrance
or criminal associations recognize it as a calling to the Historical Society. Here, the characters can
card from The Firm, a powerful criminal network. examine the Pink Star diamond, which is housed
Savyn hands the characters a business card for in a thick glass case. It is likely impossible for the
Stiffling Security. If the players don’t have it characters, even with significant preparation, to
already, give out the Clue: Stiffling Security Corp. open the case, as it is constructed with a clear
When the players are confident they’ve learned all exotic material, traced with hidden antimagic runes,
they can, or Savyn has divulged all the previous and locked such that it only opens when all of the
information, the characters can exit back down the Historical Society members are present. Read or
elevator with his guards. paraphrase the following when a character examines
the Pink Star:
The pictures don’t do it justice: the Pink
THE FIRM Star’s glistening facets and rosy hue is
Despite its watertight contracts and mesmerizing. Every inch of it is flawless.
business accoutrement, the Firm actually
An informational plaque details some of the Pink
is the largest organized crime syndicate
Star’s history, as follows:
in the ‘verse. To conduct its various illegal
operations, the Firm hires short-term Two hundred and fifty years before the
Contractors, individuals with talents that Night Crusade, the Pink Star was found
specifically match the detail of a job. within the core of Politana by elven colonist
Should anything go wrong, the Firm can and explorer Maavina Dynevaen near the
“terminate” their contract, and tie up any Olinvane Trench. Originally, the diamond
loose ends. For this reason, the Firm’s was fused with several deep ironwood tree
Management is practically untraceable. roots, which has to be cut away with utmost

74 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 diligence. Alas, the excavation left the This building seems far removed from the high-class
diamond discolored slightly at one side, a security contractors usually hired by the elven elite.
mark which can be faintly seen even after its Approaching the door reveals it to be locked, literally
cutting. The Pink Star was 132.5 carat in the chained shut with a rusted padlock. The building
rough, but was carved down to 59.6 carat looks to be condemned.
over a painstaking 20 months. A character can quietly break the chains on
the front door with a DC 18 Strength (Athletics)
Give out the Clue: Pink Star History, if the check, or loudly break the chains with a blaster shot.
characters don’t already have it. If a character cross- The lock is too rusted to be picked. Alternatively a
references the Clue: Pink Star Diamond Photo character can find an alternate entrance, a second-
with the information on the plaque referring to the floor window that can be opened and climbed into
diamond’s flaw in coloration, they will find that the with a DC 16 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. Once
diamond in the case has no such flaw. Give out the inside, read or paraphrase the following:
Clue: Pink Star Fake.
Outside the Pink Star’s display room, the This once-office has been stripped of
characters can also read a poster advertising the everything valuable, gutted, and left to
sight which is far less informational. It repeats disintegrate. Were it not for one room,
the usual slogans that the Pink Star is one of the glowing with the blinking lights of arcane
greatest treasures in the Elven Empire and that terminals, it would seem nobody has been
it is an important part of elven history, but also here in decades.
speculates that the diamond might possess powerful
transmutation magic. It doesn’t elaborate further. If A server room is hosted in the rear of the building,
the players don’t already have it, give out the Clue: and is guarded by 2 firm contractors. When the
Pink Star Rumor. characters enter the building, roll initiative. If the
characters shot the chains on the front door or
otherwise made a lot of noise coming in, they are
Stiffling Security Corp. caught by surprise as the contractors open fire with
If the characters have the Clue: Stiffling Security their phasers. However, if the characters entered the
Corp., they might want to investigate the building stealthily, the contractors are surprised on
guards that arrested Jimball and get their story. the first round of combat instead.
Encourage players to investigate this location last, When combat begins, one of the contractors
as it’s far outside of Voxis proper. Stiffling Security enters a command in the server room to delete
headquarters is in an office building outside of the data stored there before emerging to fight the
Voxis, nestled in a less-populated warehouse district. characters. A character in the server room can use
When the characters arrive, read or paraphrase the their action and make a DC 14 Intelligence (Data)
following: check to stop the delete protocol. Each round after
the second, remove the highest DC clue from the
In stark contrast to the glamorous city Server Clues table. If all clues are deleted from the
of Voxis, the warehouse district is utterly server, the contractors flee. Once the contractors have
unremarkable. A cluster of decrepit-looking fled or been defeated, the characters can investigate
buildings stands in the center of the district, any data remaining on the arcane terminals with an
one of which is decorated with faded paint Intelligence (Data) check, uncovering the clues as
that reads “Stiffling Security Corp.” The shown on the Server Clues table.
surrounding area is eerily silent, as if it was If one of the contractors is slain, the other
abandoned long ago. flees, attempting to escape through a manhole near
the offices. If one of the contractors is captured alive,
they chomp on a lethal nanite capsule shortly after
regaining consciousness.

The Pink Star Scandal Part Two: Voxis Investigations 75

 SERVER CLUES After the characters have searched the server
and acquired clues with a successful check, the
DC Description Clue
screen flashes a purple blue and flashes the letters
10 You find an invoice from a Clue: Suit “OVERSIGHT” before the entire arcane server shorts
boutique called Billiam’s Invoice out in a brilliant purple flash. Perhaps some sort of
Finest. It shows an order for lingering Firm algorithm named “Overight” was
a hunter green tuxedo in watching over this data center?
Jimball’s measurements. It Characters which search the offices can also
also has a custom request to find the following pieces of evidence:
include a secret pocket on
• Two security guard uniforms and a green tuxedo
the left side.
are hanging in a closet, all sized for a halfling.
14 You unearth an encrypted Clue: January will swear that the color is forest green.
file which records purchase Missing There is a tag on the tux that shows it is from
of a transmat deck for their Transmat a shop called Discount Tux Mart. Give out the
client: S.Ar. The password is Deck Clue: The Other Tuxedo.
listed as “January”. • The characters find two illusion capsules, each
18 You manage to enter the Clue: Front branded with the insignia of the Firm. These
bank accounts of Stiffling Organization thumb-sized magic items cast the spell major
Security Corp., which image when crushed, and are programmed
reveals that Stiffling Security to look seamless with the environment. If the
is a front for a larger characters have Clue: Broken Device, they
organization: The Firm. You recognize it as a destroyed illusion capsule. Give
also also learn that a large out the Clue: Illusion Capsules.
payment was made from We
A search of the server room and a DC 15 Wisdom
Ar Foundation (a well-known
(Perception) check reveals 1,600 credits stashed
charity of House Aravars) to
inside one of the terminals.
Stiffling Security a month
Additionally, January notes that one of the
before the event.
contractors looked remarkably like Jimball from a
22 You are able to access parts Clue: Sir distance.
of The Firm’s servers. This Aravars
reveals a flight log to the Murdered?
remote cave that Savyn’s
father was exploring on the
day he died.
ILLUSION CAPSULES
Illusion capsules manufactured by the
Firm for all sorts of illicit activity have the
following rules:
Illusion Capsule
Wondrous item, uncommon
When this oblong metal pill is crushed as an
action, it casts the spell major image (save
DC 15). This spell lasts for 1 minute and
must duplicate an image of a creature or
object within 120 feet. The image doesn’t
move and persists even if its subject moves
out of range. Once crushed, the capsule
becomes nonmagical.

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Wrapping Up
When the characters have explored all of the
pertinent locations on Politana, they can compile all
their notes before taking a long rest.
Ask the players to construct a timeline for
what happened on the night of the crime. If they’re
confused on any of the big details, January can
remind them of important pieces of evidence, and
what that evidence might imply. It’s okay if they are
missing some clues or have some details wrong, as
long as they have a basic idea what happened. The
following is the definitive timeline of the night:
1. Jimball arrives at the party and is greeted by
Savyn.
2. At some point, the fake Pink Star diamond is
slipped into Jimball’s pocket.
3. The band begins playing.
4. Sometime during the band’s performance, one
of the halfling security guards puts on a green
tuxedo and heads into the VIP room.
5. Once in the room, he cast invisibility on himself.
6. While invisible, he crushed an illusion capsule to
make it appear that the diamond is in place, even
once moved.
7. He then opened a transmat deck and touched
it to the real diamond, transporting it to an
extradimensional space without disturbing the
illusion of major image.
8. The band finishes playing and Jimball enters the
room. The major image ends and the alarms go
off.
9. The guards search Jimball, find the fake diamond,
and arrest him.
When the players have a timeline they’re satisfied
with, proceed to Part Three: The Trial.

The Pink Star Scandal Part Two: Voxis Investigations 77

 Part Three: The Trial The Courtroom
The trial starts early the next day at the Grand When the characters arrive in the courtroom, read or
Courthouse on Politania’s moon, Legibus. Please read paraphrase the following:
or paraphrase the following: The classical columns and wooden judge’s
Though not particularly tall, the Politana bench embody the traditional courtroom of
Grand Courthouse is an impressive sight to ages past. Perhaps the elves see the law as
behold. It is a behemoth of a building that fundamentally unchanging, and so model
seems to blot out the sky behind it. You their courtrooms the same way. The Scale
gather outside its heavy doors and watch Crew sits at a table across from yours, as
people arrive. Jimball, still in handcuffs, is marched to a
box alongside the wall.
First is Jimball, led into the courtroom with
laser hand restraints. Soon after, Neoma Before the case begins, the characters settle into their
Menta and Savyn arrive, both dressed in bench and January briefs them on a number of legal
perfectly somber suits for the occasion. tactics they can take over the course of the trial. Each
Finally, swaggering up the stairs comes Drak of the following Legal Actions is a special action
Garfreckt and the Scale Crew, each decked which a character can take while in court by saying a
out in suits and carrying briefcases. special bit of legalese:
“Objection!” The character can present
In a bizarre move, a crew from the mercenary a Clue which contradicts a statement made by a
company Scale and Fang was hired to prosecute. The witness. The player making the objection should
characters have met the more stylish, better funded explain to the GM how this evidence is contradictory.
Scale Crew on multiple occasions, and usually come Importantly, objections need to pertain directly to a
to blows, but this time it appears they are to instead witness testimony, or they will be thrown out! A good
meet in a court of law. objection at the wrong time is worthless.
Sierra O’Connell and Aela Vestele saunter “Permission to Treat the Witness as Hostile?”
into the courtroom, but Drak Garfreckt stays behind The character can make a Charisma (Intimidation)
to mock the characters before the trial. The fourth check to coax additional information out of a
member of the Scale Crew, Trace, is nowhere to be witness.
seen. Drak claims he isn’t too worried about the “Witness, please answer the question.” The
outcome of the case because, according to him, character can make a Charisma (Persuasion) check
they’re going to be paid handsomely by a wealthy to coax additional information out of a witness.
elf either way. As he sees it, it’s pretty cut and dry:
Jimball was caught red-handed! The characters
can argue with Drak, but anyone who harms him
is restricted from entering the courthouse. A DC
20 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check,
however, throws Drak off his game, giving the THE LITTLEST LAWYER
party an edge in the early part of the court case. The characters might not understand legal
Mentioning Drak’s father, Garfreckt the eternal proceedings (as the players likely won’t),
dragon, gives them advantage on this check. but thankfully, January is well-versed in
When the characters are through with Drak courtroom maneuvers! In fact, she shows up
and have made any necessary preparations, they can to the case wearing a little suit and carrying
enter the courtroom. an itty-bitty briefcase. She can provide
one hint per interrogation, as noted in the
“January’s Intuition” sidebars.

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The party’s performance is judged by Jimball’s
Innocence score, which begins at −3. If they use COURTROOM ANTICS
their Objections to successfully dismantle witnesses Courtrooms in real life are profoundly
and out-argue the prosecution, they can increase dull environments, rife with jargon and
Jimball’s Innocence score in the eyes of the robotic mostly bereft of drama. However, you
court. There’s no jury to convince, just a judge. When should encourage the players to get into
the players are ready to begin, read or paraphrase the the mindset of a Law and Order episode,
following: using stock legal phrases that don’t actually
mean much and overacting fairly thin legal
A robotic declaration rings out: “All rise for arguments. Make sure that everyone gets
the honorable JUDGE BOT!” a turn interrogating the witnesses and
A sturdy automaton dressed in official- presenting evidence.
looking robes, wearing a powdered wig,
and equipped with a gavel on one hand
Drak makes a contested Charisma (Persuasion)
rattles up to the bench. Its harsh metallic
check against the characters with a +2 modifier. If
voice seems to alternate wildly in loudness,
the characters successfully threw him off his game
as novel information is blared at maximum
before entering the court, he has disadvantage on this
volume.
check. To make this contested check, a character can
“Jimball Hundwig, you have been accused make any legal-sounding argument they wish before
of attempted jewel theft, for which the making a Charisma (Deception, Performance, or
penalty is ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY Persuasion) check. They have advantage on this
YEARS HARD LABOR. How does the check if they use stock legal phrases like “beyond the
defendant plead?” shadow of a doubt”, “may it please the court”, and
“may I approach the bench”. If the characters succeed,
“Not guilty, your honor-bot.” Jimball increase Jimball’s Innocence score by 1.
stammers.
Before bringing out any witnesses, Drak will make an First Witness: Neoma Menta
opening statement outlining the case against Jimball. The prosecution calls their first witness: the gallery
Then, the characters will be allowed an opening curator Neoma Menta. She quietly takes her seat at
statement of their own, in which they should defend the witness stand, and Drak asks for her recollection
Jimball as best they can. Read or paraphrase the of the night of the incident. Please read or paraphrase
following opening statement: the following:
Your honor, the defendant standing before “On the night of the exhibit, Savyn and I
us is the most heinous type of criminal, a split our tasks. He would greet and check in
devious, plotting, child murderer!”, Drak guests at the entrance; I would stay inside
clears his throat, “...Withdrawn. Your honor, and ensure the event went smoothly. The
Jimball Hundwig was caught red-handed Pink Star Diamond was displayed in the VIP
with the Pink Star diamond, an act of grand room, protected by a pair of armed guards
theft tantamount to stealing a planet or and a special security system that would
insulting an elven senator. Should you find sound the alarms if the diamond vanished
it within your programming, you should from the cameras.
sentence him to life in an elven prison
colony. When the band began their performance,
all the guests went into the main room to
watch. I made sure to keep the VIP room
and diamond in sight. Near the end of the
show, I saw a small figure at the doorway
to the VIP room wearing a suit that didn’t

The Pink Star Scandal Part Three: The Trial 79

 point is compelling enough to decrease Jimball’s
JANUARY’S INTUITION: NEOMA MENTA Innocence score by 1.
January reminds the characters to focus on The prosecution calls its next witness: Savyn
Neoma’s observations, not the diamond or Aravars.
the guards. If they can show that she can’t
place Jimball at the scene of the crime, it
will help the case.
Second Witness: Savyn Aravars
Neoma steps down from the witness stand and wipes
her metallic brow. Read or paraphrase the following:
match the others at the party. I moved The well-dressed Savyn Aravars saunters
towards them but they disappeared before up to the witness stand with every ounce
I arrived. Since I could clearly still see the of calm self-assurance he is known for. He
diamond unharmed, I turned my attention recounts:
back to the band and our guests.
“I was the organizer for this lavish event so
A moment later, the alarms sounded, and naturally I was outside welcoming guests
they caught Mr. Hundwig with the diamond for most of the night. When Jimball arrived,
in his pocket.” I greeted him like any other guest. After
The characters are now allowed to cross-examine that, I didn’t see Jimball again until he was
the witness, presenting objections and asking being arrested. Let the record state that I
questions to dismantle their testimony. If a character am appalled that he would try to steal such
uses a Legal Action to make a DC 16 Charisma a priceless treasure from Politana!”
(Intimidation or Persuasion) check, Neoma admits The characters are now allowed to cross-examine the
that she “didn’t quite see the figure’s face”, as they witness, presenting objections and asking questions
were facing away from her, but suggests that the to dismantle their testimony. If a character uses a
figure matched Jimball’s stature and cut of suit. Legal Action to make a Charisma (Intimidation or
Increase Jimball’s Innocence score by 1. Persuasion) check (regardless of the check’s result),
If the characters use an Objection with Clue: Savyn will admit that the event was to pay tribute to
Party Foul or Clue: Jimball’s Suit, they can remind his father’s passing. He performs a routine of well-
Neoma that she bumped into Jimball near the band, rehearsed sobbing as he speaks about this.
and that he was wearing a suit that matched the If the characters use an Objection with Clue:
others at the party. Therefore, Jimball must not have Jimball and Savyn’s History or Clue: Jimball’s Suit,
been the halfling in the VIP room. Increase Jimball’s the characters can prove that Savyn has a personal
Innocence score by 1. relationship with Jimball and is misrepresenting the
If the characters present an Objection with events leading up to the crime. Increase Jimball’s
the Clue: VIP Room Cameras, they can show that Innocence score by 1. Proceed to Savyn’s Revised
magic was used to fool the camera system, so the Testimony.
diamond might not have been present when Neoma
checked. Increase Jimball’s Innocence score by 1.

Rebuttal
If the party’s cross-examination increased Jimball’s JANUARY’S INTUITION:
innocence score, the prosecution offers a rebuttal. SAVYN ARAVARS
Sierra O’Connell will argue that, since Jimball Savyn is most definitely at the heart of this,
was clearly using magic, he could have fooled the but January reminds the characters to stick
sensors, changed his suit, and stolen the diamond to contradicting his statements, starting
all in a matter of seconds. Even if Neoma can’t place with his relationship to Jimball. He’ll have to
Jimball at the scene of the crime, it clearly places modify his testimony if he’s caught in a lie,
him suspiciously nearby while spells were cast. This and that’s how the characters can pin him.

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 Alternatively, the characters can use an
Objection with Clue: Jimball’s Ring to reach JANUARY’S INTUITION:
a similar conclusion, but since the initials “SA” SAVYN ARAVARS
could be anyone’s they’ll need to make a contested January notices that Savyn has told an
Charisma (Persuasion) check against Sierra outright lie here! He didn’t see Jimball until
O’Connell, who makes her check with a +6 modifier. after the diamond was stolen, so he couldn’t
With a successful check, increase Jimball’s have seen it first hand! Furthermore, now
Innocence score by 1. January will suggest this line might be the time to present everything the
of inquiry if the players don’t spot the connection. party knows about the so-called security
Proceed to Savyn’s Revised Testimony, even with a company Stiffling Security Corp.
failed check.

Savyn’s Revised Testimony (Intimidation or Persuasion) check, Savyn will

admit to arranging the very guards which arrested
Before Savyn continues, Judge Bot will warn him to Jimball, and paying them handsomely for the event.
tell the “truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the If the character beats a DC 18, they can insinuate that
truth” or face punishment. Savyn then revises his the guards can’t be trusted because they were paid a
testimony, as follows: suspiciously handsome amount for the event. In this
case, increase Jimball’s Innocence score by 1.
“Alright, yes, I invited Jimball to the party.
If the characters use an Objection to present
I was fond of him in our younger years but
Savyn with Clue: Savyn’s Alibi or Clue: Stiffling
hadn’t seen him in a while. He was a hapless
Security Corp., they can contradict Savyn’s earlier
fellow and when I put together this social
testimony at his home, in which he said he was
event, I thought it would be a kindness to
speaking to the head security guard at the time of the
invite him. I even bought him a fashionable
crime. They can also accomplish this by presenting
tuxedo to wear.
the Clue: VIP Room Cameras, which show him
When he arrived at the party and asked me to be nowhere near the scene of the crime. Thus he
to speak, I told him I was very busy at the could not have possibly seen what he claims to have
moment but that he should meet me in the seen. Increase Jimball’s Innocence score by 1.
VIP Room after the first band played. If the characters use an Objection with Clue:
Suit Invoice, they can show that, not only did Savyn
As they were wrapping up, I made my purchase the tuxedo as he claimed, but he had it
way to the VIP Room. I saw Jimball enter specially tailored with a hidden pocket. A character
the room and, just as his foot crossed the can also argue this point using Clue: Jimball’s Suit
threshold, the diamond vanished! The and a successful DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion)
guards came over and searched him. I check. With the correct evidence or a successful
watched them pull the diamond out of his check, increase Jimball’s Innocence score by 1.
pocket with my own eyes! If the characters use an Objection with Clue:
Thank goodness the hardworking guards Illusion Capsules or Clue: Front Organization, they
captured Jimball before he escaped with can prove that the guards weren’t a security office, but
the Politana’s most precious artifact. I am a front for the criminal organization, the Firm. The
appalled that he would try something so characters can also argue this point using Clue: The
heinous!” Other Tuxedo and a successful DC 16 (Charisma)
Persuasion check. With the correct evidence or a
The characters are again allowed to cross-examine successful check, increase Jimball’s Innocence score
the witness, presenting objections and asking by 2.
questions to dismantle their testimony. If a character When the characters are through with their
uses a Legal Action to make a DC 12 Charisma questioning, proceed to Exhibit A: The Pink Star.

The Pink Star Scandal Part Three: The Trial 81

 Exhibit A: The Pink Star If Jimball’s Innocence score is 4 or higher,
At their bench, the Scale Crew are deliberating Savyn looks worried for the first time since the party
fiercely on their next move. Finally, Drak stands and has met him. His skin has gone even paler than usual
pulls attention away from the party’s questioning. and his hands clench compulsively in his lap. Read or
Read or paraphrase the following: paraphrase Savyn’s panicked testimony:

Drak interjects: “None of this changes “Do you understand who you’re accusing?
the fact that Jimball was caught with the I am Savyn Aravars, head of House Aravars.
diamond in his possession as he left the Jimball is nothing, a silly accountant! He
building!” With a flourish, he announces could have been anything but he chose this
“Exhibit A, your honor!” instead: a life of absolutely mediocrity.

A crowd of elven Politania police officers So what if I didn’t actually see him get
and a few members of the Politania arrested? What are you trying to say? That I
Historical Society come marching in with the set him up? Give me a break! He’s nobody
Pink Star diamond, gleaming as beautiful as and I have no reason to even waste my time
ever, in a high-security glass vault. with him. Show me some evidence. Come
on—hit me with your best shot!”
The Pink Star diamond is carried in a transparent,
nigh-impregnable case, which has been rendered Closing Statements
weightless with a gravity nullifier. Savyn is not Give the players one final chance to lay out their
asked to leave the witness stand, as this evidence is timeline, present any remaining relevant clues,
intended to bolster his testimony. and conjecture about how and why Savyn framed
The characters can now question the viability Jimball. Increase Jimball’s Innocence score by
of the diamond itself as evidence. If the characters 1 for each new point made in this section. When
don’t have the Clue: Pink Star Fake, they have the characters are finished, Judge Bot will tabulate
another chance to get it by cross-referencing the Jimball’s Innocence score. If it is 5 or higher, proceed
Clue: Pink Star Diamond Photo with the physical to Innocent! If it is 4 or lower, proceed to Guilty as
diamond. The real diamond has a small discoloration, Charged!
which this diamond lacks. Therefore, the diamond
recovered from Jimball is a fake! If the characters use Innocent!
an Objection with Clue: Pink Star Fake, increase The Judge Bot presents its final verdict:
Jimball’s Innocence score by 3.
The Judge Bot grinds and rattles like a
poorly maintained engine before concluding
with a ding. “Verdict: This court finds you,
Jimball Hundwig… INNOCENT of jewel
theft.”
JANUARY’S INTUITION: THE DIAMOND Jimball chokes out a quiet thanks, but
If the players haven’t figured out that the a disgruntled shout sounds from Savyn
diamond Jimball was caught with was a Aravars, who is standing at the prosecution
fake, January offers a hint to that effect. bench.
January reckons that whoever stole the
“He was supposed to be GUILTY!” Savyn
diamond could have easily made away
cries, pulling out a transmat deck from his
with it. Why hide a priceless treasure in
pocket. “The diamonds look IDENTICAL.
Jimball’s jacket just to frame him? How do
See?” A bright flash erupts from the real
we know that Jimball wasn’t planted with a
Pink Star diamond, and runs up Savyn’s arm.
fake diamond, while the real one was taken
elsewhere?

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Within moments of Savyn’s confession, the Pink Star crushes Jimball in a hug. While the party was in
diamond grows like a seed crystal and envelops half transit, the Politana Historical Society transferred
his body. He struggles fruitlessly against the magical Grax’s Guys a great deal of money as thanks for
diamond as the Judge Bot hammers its gavel and recovering their priceless artifact and confirming that
mechanically demands order. A moment later, he it did, indeed, possess staggering magical properties.
emerges from the crystals as a diamond dragon, and Grax gives each character 1,250 credits as payment,
attacks the party. Roll initiative. and offers a rare, genuine complement: “Ya kids did
The Scale Crew won’t attack their client real good, real, real good.”
(horrific dragon transformation or not), but neither Jimball settles back down into his office, as
will they help you. Judge Bot rattles into action and if none of this ever happened, and January does the
fights against the dragon, demanding order in the same, though her itty-bitty lawyer costume sits in the
court and swinging its gavel as a cudgel. No matter corner of her cage as a memento of the case.
what happens, the diamond dragon will avoid
harming Jimball. Guilty as Charged!
If the characters defeat the diamond dragon, The Judge Bot presents its final verdict. Read or
proceed to Savyn Arrested. If instead the characters paraphrase the following:
are defeated, proceed to Savyn Escapes. The Judge Bot grinds and rattles like a
Savyn Arrested poorly maintained engine before concluding
When the diamond dragon drops to 0 hit points, with a ding. “Verdict: This court finds you,
the Pink Star loses its power and Savyn reverts back Jimball Hundwig… GUILTY AS CHARGED of
to his original form. The Pink Star diamond, now jewel theft.”
leeched of color, will drop on the ground beside Jimball collapses with a sigh, and Savyn
him. Savyn is gravely injured and exhausted, but still smirks from across the courtroom.
conscious. Meanwhile, the Scale Crew congratulates
Detective Rumboot will come forward and one another for a job well done.
arrest him. Before she takes him away, The Judge Bot rattles up to the defense stand and
he will ask to speak to Jimball. Read or ensnares Jimball with a pair of heavy handcuffs,
paraphrase this goodbye: attached to a length of chain. Jimball only has a
January scurries up Jimball’s leg and few moments to say goodbye before being dragged
perches on his shoulder, and Savyn looks on off in chains. As Jimball and the Judge Bot pass
wistfully. the prosecutor’s stand, Savyn smirks and whispers
something to Jimball. A successful DC 15 Wisdom
“I guess I was a fool to think that locking (Perception) check hears him say “And now, you’ll
you up would be a good way to keep you never get too far away, my love.”
near me.” He sighs as he looks around the The characters return to Grax HQ with a
ruined courtroom, then nods and raises his depressed slump and Grax is defeated at the news.
hands for Detective Rumboot to put the Each character is paid only 250 credits each—a
restraints on him. massive pay cut. When he hears that Savyn Aravars,
the extraordinary wealthy elven aristocrat was
“My all, always,” Savyn says mournfully, as involved, he growls, “I should have known it would
she leads him away. be that elf ”.
Jimball is released from custody and the party escorts Two weeks later, the characters notice a faint
him back to Grax’s headquarters. As he processes the glow coming from Jimball’s office. To everyone’s
events of the last few days, he remains fairly quiet and surprise, January has constructed an elaborate
keeps January close. hyperspace holo-vid relay, allowing Jimball to
Grax greets the party at the star port with somewhat return to work as a form of penal labor
bottles of champagne in each hand and practically to lessen his sentence, which is still over a hundred
years of imprisonment. The characters can visit
The Pink Star Scandal Part Three: The Trial 83
 Jimball in his office, though he is only present as a
hologram, pushing holographic papers around on
a holographic desk. Surprisingly, Jimball is rather
chipper about the whole affair. His jail cell is much
larger than his office at Grax HQ, and he is visited
every day by Savyn, who has forced the prison to
make some staggering accomodations on his behalf.
His greatest trouble is being so far away from January,
but Savyn promises to make her a place with Jimball
soon.

Savyn Escapes
Jimball has been declared innocent in the eyes of the
law, but the true jewel thief, elven aristocrat, Savyn
Aravars has escaped with the Pink Star diamond,
leaving the characters a bloody mess in the process.
Detective Rumboot ensures that proper doctors look
over the party, and that Jimball is kept safe until the
party can escort him back to Grax’s headquarters.
On the way back, Jimball is listless, concerned for his
friend and for his own safety.
Grax greets the party at the star port with a
case of beer and practically crushes Jimball in a hug.
Even though the party didn’t manage to recover the
diamond, House Aravars was issued a gigantic fine
by the elven government of Politana (interrupting a
courtroom by turning into a dragon being damnable
heresy for a race which prides itself on law and
order), and Grax’s Guys is being paid a sizable
quantity. As such, each character is paid 1,000 credits
for their work.
Jimball settles back down into his office, as
if none of this ever happened, and January does the
same, though her itty-bitty lawyer costume sits in the
corner of her cage as a memento of the case.

84 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Grax’s Club
APPENDICES

Appendix A: Monsters Big Hob

The following monsters feature prominently in this Gargantuan monstrosity, neutral
adventure.
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 135 (10d20 + 30)
Big Hob Speed 30 ft., burrow 15 ft.
A colossal space ferret, perhaps the last of its kind,
Big Hob has wandered the jungles of Gaozu for STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
decades, thwarting hunters and besting every manner 21 (+5) 9 (−1) 17 (+3) 7 (−2) 11 (+0) 8 (−1)
of predator the jungle-world can produce. If scaled
Saving Throws Con +8
down, Big Hob would look identical to a normal
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
ferret, complete with tan-brown fur and a pattern Languages understands Common, but can’t
resembling a mask upon his face, but he is fully thirty speak
feet in length. At this size, he can do what ferrets Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
do best—dig holes and collect interesting objects—
without obstacle. Stink Gland (3/Day). A creature which attacks
Big Hob must make a DC 14 Constitution saving
throw or be poisoned until the start of its next
turn.

Actions
Multiattack. Big Hob uses his Constrict attack
or Weasel War Dance ability and attacks twice,
once with his bite and once with his claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach
10 ft., one creature. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) piercing
damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach
10 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing
damage.
Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit,
reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5)
bludgeoning damage. The target is grappled
(escape DC 16) Until this grapple ends, the
creature is restrained, and Big Hob can’t
constrict another target.
Weasel War Dance. Big Hob hops from side to
side in his space. Until the end of his turn, Big
Hob has advantage on attack rolls.

Appendices Appendix A: Monsters 85

 Diamond Dragon Diamond Dragon
Large dragon, chaotic evil The Pink Star Diamond works like a magical battery,
absorbing magic from its surroundings to grow in
Armor Class 17 (natural armor) scale. If it directly contacts a living creature, however,
Hit Points 123 (12d10 + 48) it enacts tremendous changes, transforming the
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 80 ft. creature into a diamond dragon, a glowing creature
of crystalline pink scales.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
21 (+5) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 7 (−2) 14 (+2) 18 (+4)
Judge Bot
Saving Throws Wis +6, Cha +8 Judge Bot is an automaton programmed to pass
Skills Insight +6, Perception +4 judgement on legal matters using the most rational
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14 arguments. To ensure order in the court, it uses a
Languages understands Common, Elvish, and
pneumatic gavel and paralyzing energy blasts.
Draconic but can’t speak
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP)

Legendary Resistance (1/Day). If the dragon

fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed
instead.
Magic Resistance. The dragon has advantage
Judge Bot
on saving throws against spells and other Medium construct, lawful neutral
magical effects. Armor Class 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points 38 (4d8 + 20)
Actions Speed 30 ft.
Multiattack. The dragon makes two attacks:
one with its bite and one with its claws. If it STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
has half its hit points or fewer, it then uses its 18 (+4) 8 (−1) 20 (+5) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 8 (−1)
Crystalline Pulse.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach Skills Insight +4, Perception +4
5 ft., one creature. Hit: 18 (2d12 + 5) piercing Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing,
damage. slashing; poison, radiant
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion,
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach
frightened, petrified, poisoned, restrained,
10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing
unconscious
damage.
Senses passive Perception 14
Crystalline Pulse (The dragon’s HP lower than Languages all
half). A wave of transmutation magic emanates Challenge 2 (450 XP)
from the dragon. Each creature within 30 feet
of the dragon must make a DC 15 Constitution
saving throw or be restrained until the end of its
Actions
next turn as crystals form on its skin. Gavel. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5
ft., one creature. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning
Prismatic Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon
damage.
unleashes a beam of prismatic light in a 90-foot
line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that Order in the Court. Each creature the Judge
line must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. Bot chooses within 120 feet must succeed on
On a failed save, the creature takes 36 (6d12) a DC 15 saving throw or be paralyed for up
radiant damage, or half as much damage on a to 1 minute. A creature can repeat this saving
successful one.. throw on its turn, ending the effect on itself on a
success. Judge Bot is programmed not to attack
a creature that is paralyzed by this ability.

86 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

Nuclear Chicken Space Vampires
So named for its thermonuclear death throes, the Thirsting for brain juice and possessed of a terrible
nuclear chicken is the most singularly destructive sense of humor, space vampires are a blight on
chicken in the multiverse. No predator, no matter spacers the ‘verse over.
how starved, will risk attacking the easy-to-spot
glowing chicken, for the moment it does so, the Stage One Space Vampire
chicken would explode and kill everything in a Stage one space vampires are simple creatures newly
huge radius. As such, the nuclear chicken is a lonely risen to unlife under the control of a more powerful
creature with an ornery temperament, a true bully of space vampire. They live only to hiss menacingly,
the animal kingdom. crack terrible jokes, and drink the brain juice of
sentient creatures to slate their endless thirst for
more comedic material. Space vampires materialize a
magical black and red cape akin to Count Dracula’s.
Nuclear Chicken This cape may never be tarnished or destroyed by any
Tiny monstrosity, unaligned
means while the space vampire still “lives”. Though
Armor Class 12 stage one vampires can dish it, they can’t take it: they
Hit Points 3 (2d4 − 2) are uniquely vulnerable to insults and jokes at the
Speed 30 ft. expense of their vampiric appearance.
The Alluvian Astromos team that has
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA transformed into space vampires still wear their
2 (−4) 14 (+2) 8 (−1) 2 (−4) 12 (+1) 6 (−2) Starball jerseys beneath their magical capes. The GM
is encouraged to give each of them numbers and last
Senses passive Perception 11 names (ex: #17 Grakskies).
Languages —
Challenge 1 (200 XP) Stage Two Space Vampire
Nuclear Death Burst. When the chicken dies, Stage two space vampires have evolved from their
it explodes in a thermonuclear fireball. Each humble and annoying beginnings, and in the
creature within 60 feet of it must make a DC process of their mutation have become some of
12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) the most terrifying monstrosities that a crew could
force damage on a failed save, or half as much encounter in the ‘verse. They appear to be a grotesque
damage on a successful one. amalgamation of a giant bat, with wide membranous
wings, and a four-armed insectoid being with a
Actions grey, chitinous exoskeleton and a long, barbed tail.
Peck. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 Their blood is acidic, making fighting them in close
ft., one creature. Hit: 1 (1d4) piercing damage. quarters particularly deadly. Their face vaguely
Kaboom! The chicken uses its Nuclear Death resembles that of a bat-humanoid hybrid, with jaws
Burst ability and dies in the ensuing explosion. that can extend and open to be nearly three feet wide
to reveal four rows of razor-sharp fangs.
Stage two space vampires are nefariously hard
to kill and make incredible hunters, able to silently
stalk their prey and viciously pick off crew members,
one by one. Despite their monstrous metamorphosis,
like all space vampires, these foul creatures are still
extremely sensitive towards being made fun of or
insulted.

Appendices Appendix A: Monsters 87

 Team Player. The space vampire has advantage
Stage One Space Vampire on attacks made against creatures who have
Medium undead (humanoid), chaotic neutral inflicted damage on one of the vampire’s allies
since the end of their previous turn.
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 22 (3d8 + 9) Actions
Speed 30 ft.
Multiattack. The space vampire uses its claws and
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA then uses its brainsucking bite.
16 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 6 (−2) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5
ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5 and the target must make a successful DC 13
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison, radiant; Strength saving throw or become grappled.
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from Brainsucking Bite. Melee Weapon Attack:
nonmagical weapons +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing or grappled
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, creature. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage
paralyzed, poisoned plus 3 (1d6) necrotic damage. The target’s
Senses passive Perception 13 Intelligence is reduced by an amount equal to the
Languages the languages it knew in life necrotic damage taken and the space vampire’s
Challenge 2 (450 XP) Intelligence increases by an equal amount. The
target dies if its Intelligence is reduced to 0
General Sensitivity. When the space vampire’s
and the changes to each creature’s Intelligence
cape, pale skin, or other vampire-like features are
lasts until they take a long rest, or until the
insulted or made the butt of a joke, the vampire
vampire dies. If the space vampire’s Intelligence
has disadvantage on all saving throws and ability
ever surpasses 18, its head explodes and it
checks until the start of its next turn.
immediately dies.
Spider Climb. The space vampire can climb A creature killed by a space vampire’s
difficult surfaces, including upside down on brainsucking bite rises as a stage one space
ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. vampire under the vampire’s control.

Stage Three Space Vampire The blood of master space vampires is highly
Stage three space vampires, also known as master sought after on black markets around the ‘verse for its
space vampires, are the final evolution. Only the regenerative and performance-enhancing properties,
oldest space vampires evolve to their final form: a making space vampire hunting a very popular
one foot tall, adorable white bat-like creature with profession among the foolhardy.
expressive pink eyes, purple eyelashes, and long Space Vampire Thwirrel
floppy pink ears. This evolution allows the master Thwirrel space vampires are similar to other stage
vampire to be able to better control its thirst for brain one space vampires in most ways: they are sensitive
juice, avoid annoying others with awful puns, and to about their appearance, materialize an indestructible
better survive in a ‘verse that fears space vampires. cloak, require brain juice to survive, and are generally
The most fearsome of the master’s new abilities is a terrible annoyance to their foes. However, vampire
its eyes: it can drain a creature’s mind simply by thwirrels retain the unique ability to siphon energy
staring cutely at it. It’s for this reason, and the master from magical devices (though they can no longer
vampire’s ability to control weaker vampires over a use their camouflage abilities). They use the magic
large distance, that one should never underestimate siphoned this way to amplify their brain-drinking
these otherwise adorable creatures. powers, making them significantly more dangerous
than your average thwirrel.

88 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 once again. Grappled creatures do not teleport
Stage Two Space Vampire along with the space vampire.
Large undead (monstrosity), chaotic neutral Monstrous Survivor (2/Day). When damage
Armor Class 16 (natural armor) would reduce the space vampire’s hit points to
Hit Points 171 (13d10 + 39) 0, it appears to die. At the start of its next turn, it
Speed 50 ft., fly 20 ft. rises to continue its hunt with 33 (6d10) hit points.
Turn Resistance. The space vampire has
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA advantage on saving throws against any effect
20 (+5) 17 (+3) 17 (+3) 10 (+0) 12 (+1) 5 (−3) that turns undead.

Saving Throws Str +10, Con +8, Wis +6 Actions

Skills Athletics +10, Perception +6, Stealth +8, Multiattack. The space vampire makes two
Survival +6 attacks with its claws and one attack with either its
Damage Resistances radiant; bludgeoning, stinger or its brainsucking bite.
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical
weapons Brainsucking Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a grappled
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, creature. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage
paralyzed, poisoned, stunned plus 3 (1d6) necrotic damage. The target’s
Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 16 Intelligence is reduced by an amount equal to the
Languages the languages it knew in life necrotic damage taken and the space vampire’s
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP) Intelligence increases by an equal amount. The
target dies if its Intelligence is reduced to 0 and
Acidic Blood. When the space vampire takes the changes to each creature’s Intelligence lasts
damage from a melee weapon attack, if the until they take a long rest, or until the vampire
attacker is within 5 feet of the space vampire they dies.
must make a successful DC 13 Dexterity saving A creature killed by a space vampire’s
throw or take 10 (3d6) acid damage. brainsucking bite rises as a stage one space
vampire under the vampire’s control.
General Sensitivity. When the space vampire’s
appearance, bat wings, or other vampire-like Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach
features are insulted or made the butt of a joke, 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d4 + 5) slashing
the vampire has disadvantage on all saving throws damage and the target must make a successful
and ability checks until the start of its next turn. DC 17 Strength saving throw or be grappled.
Misty Escape. The space vampire may spend its Stinger. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach
action, bonus action, and movement to shapeshift 15 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing
into a cloud of green mist and teleport up to a damage plus 10 (3d6) poison damage.
space within 300 feet, before taking its true form

Appendices Appendix A: Monsters 89

 Shapechange (3/Day). As an action, the space
Stage Three Space Vampire vampire can change its shape into any immaterial
Tiny undead (shapechanger), unaligned object of similar size that it has touched. It retains
the white and pink coloring of its true form, but
Armor Class 15 is otherwise indistinguishable from the object it
Hit Points 50 (9d4 + 27) takes the appearance of. The space vampire can
Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft. change back to its true form at any time as a free
action.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
11 (+0) 20 (+5) 16 (+3) 20 (+5) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) Turn Resistance. The space vampire has
advantage on saving throws against any effect
Skills Deception +6, Perception +5, Persuasion that turns undead.
+6, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances radiant; bludgeoning,
Actions
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5
weapons ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d4 + 5) slashing damage.
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Brain Drain. One creature within 30 feet that
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, can see the space vampire must make a DC 15
paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 18 creature takes 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage
Languages the languages it knew in life plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. The target’s
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Intelligence is reduced by an amount equal to the
necrotic damage taken and the space vampire’s
Evasion. When the space vampire is subjected to
Intelligence increases by an equal amount. The
an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving
target dies if its Intelligence is reduced to 0 and
throw to take only half damage, it instead takes
the changes to each creature’s Intelligence lasts
no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and
until they take a long rest, or until the vampire
only half damage if it fails.
dies.
General Sensitivity. When the space vampire’s A creature killed by a space vampire’s brain
cute appearance, large ears, or other vampire-like drain immediately rises as a rises as a stage one
features are insulted or made the butt of a joke, space vampire under the vampire’s control.
the vampire has disadvantage on all saving throws
and ability checks until the start of its next turn. Reactions
Misty Escape. The space vampire may spend its Cute Stare. If a creature targets the space
action, bonus action, and movement to shapeshift vampire with an attack, the vampire bats its
into a cloud of green mist and teleport up to a eyelashes innocently and wraps its long bat ears
space within 300 feet, before taking its true form cutely around its body. The attacking creature
once again. must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a
failed save, the creature is stunned until the end
of its turn, and the space vampire can immediately
make a brain drain attack against it.

90 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 attack, it can use its bonus action to drain some
Space Vampire Thwirrel energy from the device. When it does so, its
Tiny undead (thwirrel), chaotic neutral next successful brainsucking bite attack deals an
additional 3 (1d6) necrotic damage and 14 (4d6)
Armor Class 12 lightning damage on a hit.
Hit Points 17 (5d4 + 5)
Speed 35 ft. Keen Hearing and Smell. The vampire has
advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA rely on hearing or smell.
3 (−4) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 4 (−3) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) Spider Climb. The vampire can climb difficult
surfaces, including upside down on ceilings,
Skills Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth without needing to make an ability check.
+5
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison, radiant; Actions
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from Brainsucking Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to
nonmagical weapons hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a grappled
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, creature. Hit: 1 piercing damage plus 3 (1d6)
paralyzed, poisoned necrotic damage, and the target is grappled. The
Senses passive Perception 14 target’s Intelligence is reduced by an amount
Languages — equal to the necrotic damage taken and the
Challenge 1 (200 XP) space vampire’s Intelligence increases by an
equal amount. The target dies if its Intelligence is
General Sensitivity. When the space vampire’s
reduced to 0 and the changes to each creature’s
thwirrel nature, pallid fur, tiny fangs, or other
Intelligence lasts until they take a long rest, or
vampire-like features are insulted or made the
until the vampire dies. If the vampire’s Intelligence
butt of a joke, the vampire has disadvantage on
ever surpasses 12, its head explodes and it
all saving throws and ability checks until the start
immediately dies (again).
of its next turn.
A creature killed by a space vampire’s
Energy Siphon. When the space vampire hits a brainsucking bite rises as a stage one space
magically powered device with a brainsucking bite vampire under this vampire’s control.

Appendices Appendix A: Monsters 91

 Stirge Raptor Swarm of Rogue A.I. Wires
The stirge raptor is an insectile alien dinosaur with Medium swarm of Small constructs, unaligned
compound eyes, chitinous scales, and two sets of
vestigial forelimbs. Behind its row of razor sharp Armor Class 14
teeth, it conceals a proboscis which lunges outward Hit Points 43 (14d8 − 20)
some distance to rapidly drain blood from a creature. Speed 40 ft.

Swarm of Rogue A.I. Wires STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 18 (+4) 6 (−2) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 4 (−3)
Rogue Artificial Intelligences are capable of infesting
wiring, bending them to their will. In combat, these Damage Immunities lightning, necrotic,
swarms of deadly, sparking wires move at the A.I.’s poisoned, psychic
will and with its general disregard for organic life. Condition Immunities blinded, charmed,
deafened, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed,
petrified, poisoned
Senses passive Perception 11
Stirge Raptor Languages —
Medium monstrosity, unaligned Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Explode. When the swarm is reduced to 0 hit
Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6) points, it explodes in a shower of sparks. Each
Speed 40 ft., fly 20 ft. creature within 5 feet must make a successful
DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA lightning damage.
14 (+2) 14 (+2) 13 (+1) 4 (−3) 12 (+1) 6 (−2) False Appearance. While the swarm remains
motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal
Senses passive Perception 11 tangle of wires.
Languages —
Pulse. A creature that is grappled by the swarm
Challenge 1 (200 XP) at the start of its turn takes 21 (6d6) lightning
Cannibalize. If the stirge raptor uses its damage, or 10 (3d6) lightning damage if the
proboscis on the corpse of a stirge raptor, it can swarm has half of its hit points or fewer. Until
add 1d6 to its attacks and damage rolls for 1 the end of its turn, it has disadvantage on attack
minute. rolls.
Pack Tactics. The stirge raptor has advantage Swarm. The swarm can occupy another
on an attack roll against a creature if at least one creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm
of the stirge raptor’s allies is within 5 feet of the can move through any opening large enough
creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated. for a small construct. The swarm can’t regain hit
points or gain temporary hit points.
Vestigial Wings. The stirge raptor falls at the
end of a turn if it’s airborne and the only thing Actions
holding it aloft is its flying speed.
Charged Whip. Melee Weapon Attack:
Actions +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 1
bludgeoning damage and 7 (2d6) lightning
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach damage, or 3 (1d6) lightning damage if the
5 ft., one creature. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing swarm has half of its hit points or fewer. The
damage. target is grappled (escape DC 11).
Proboscis. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2)
piercing damage, and stirge raptor regains 3
(1d6) hit points.

92 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

 Appendix B: Nonplayer Chuck Hankerton
Characters (NPCs) Medium humanoid (human), neutral good

The following nonplayer characters appear in this Armor Class 11

Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20)
adventure.
Speed 30 ft.

Budd Felmer STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

Budd Felmer has the gait, moustache, and 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 16 (+3)
accoutrement of a prolific big game hunter, but the
Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +5
greying hair and ruined joints of a ranger past his
Skills Insight +6, Persuasion +7
prime. Despite this, he is driven to catch one more Senses passive Perception 12
big critter to leave his mark on the world of hunting. Languages Common, Elvish, Orcish
He keeps his blaster, a modified concussion rifle, in Challenge 3 (700 XP)
pristine condition at all times, to ensure he’s always
ready for just such a hunt. Clout. Chuck gains a bonus to ability checks
and saving throws equal to the number of
conscious allies he can see within 30 feet, up
to a maximum bonus equal to his Charisma
Budd Felmer modifier (+3).
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
Actions
Armor Class 13 (nanofiber vest) Arc Baton. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to
Hit Points 75 (10d8 + 30) hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2)
Speed 30 ft. lightning damage. If the target is a creature,
it can’t take reactions until the start of its next
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA turn.
15 (+2) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 9 (−1)
Stirring Speech (Recharge 5–6). Chuck delivers
a stirring speech ripped from the scripts of
Skills Nature +3, Perception +4, Survival +4 several widely known holo-films. This speech
Senses passive Perception 14 does not need to make sense in regard to the
Languages Common current situation. All allies within 30 feet who
Challenge 2 (450 XP) can hear the speech are able to reroll one attack
Hunter’s Instinct. Budd adds an extra 1d6 roll, ability check, or saving throw before the
damage to a creature that he hits with a weapon end of their next turn, taking the new result.
attack (included in the attack).

Actions
Concussion Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5
Chuck Hankerton
to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8) Chuck Hankerton was never much of a Starball
thunder damage plus 3 (1d6) thunder damage. player himself, but he is beloved and renowned for
Budd has disadvantage on attacks with this his skill as a Starball coach. Old, grumpy, addicted to
weapon if the target is within 20 feet. candy bars, and full of useless trivia knowledge, there
is absolutely no reason anyone should fear Chuck in
battle. However, his years as a coach and watching
action blockbuster holo-films has prepared him for
anything, and he still has a way of helping his team be
the best they can be.

Appendices Appendix B: Nonplayer Characters (NPCs) 93

 Greggy Ironsmelt Ivana Zarkoff
Medium humanoid (dwarf), chaotic neutral Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral
Armor Class 14 (triplate suit) Armor Class 14 (nanofiber vest)
Hit Points 60 (8d8 + 24) Hit Points 36 (8d8)
Speed 25 ft. Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 8 (–1) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 11 (+0) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 10 (+0)

Skills Athletics +4, Survival +1 Skills Nature +4, Perception +5, Survival +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 Senses passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Dwarvish Languages Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP) Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Dwarven Resilience. They have advantage on

saving throws against poison and resistance to Actions
poison damage. Multiattack. Ivana makes two attacks with her
antimatter dagger.
Actions Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5
Multiattack. Greggy makes two attacks. to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target.
Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage.
reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) slashing Concussion Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5
damage, or 7 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage if to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8)
used with two hands. thunder damage. Ivana has disadvantage on
Repeater. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, attacks with this weapon if the target is within 20
range 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6) radiant feet.
damage.

Ivana Zarkoff
Greggy Ironsmelt The ruthless and professional Ivana Zarkoff
The very probably senile dwarf Greggy Ironsmelt has has one standard: the very best. Perhaps, it is
been living off the land on Gaozu for untold decades. this uncompromising nature that makes her so
Despite being a well-known figure around Taisong, impossible to escape in a hunt, or perhaps it is that
known to every traveller that passes through, none she surrounds herself with the very best help. Her
have been around long enough to know that Greggy high standards have caused countless firings for slight
predates the settlement itself: he crash landed on the mistakes and failures, but those who stick by her
dwarven ship, the Vorpal, and was its sole survivor. side, like the Scale and Fang mercenaries she takes to
It is perhaps because of all those who perished in the hiring, have proven they are good enough to do so.
landing that Greggy never left this jungle world, or
perhaps because he prefers the simpler life of hunting
and exploring.

94 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

Neoma Menta Savyn Aravars
A blogger, model, socialite, and recently-turned An aristocrat by any definition, Savyn Aravars has
curator, the ever-talented Neoma Menta is a fixture long been heir to the vast House Aravars, and has
of the elven social landscape. Even her chassis is recently come into his inheritance with his father’s
remarkable: a gleaming silver skin of custom design, passing. His greatest weapons are his sharp fashion
augmented to fit her female personality. Most sense and infectious charm, but if push comes to
recently, Neoma turned away from her career in the shove, he has also been tutored in the use of half
public eye to dedicate herself to artistic studies, and swords and light blasters since a young age.
quickly found a position as curator of the Politana
Gallery.
Savyn Aravars
Medium humanoid (elf), lawful neutral
Neoma Menta Armor Class 15 (carbonic suit)
Medium humanoid (vect), neutral good Hit Points 67 (15d8)
Armor Class 10 Speed 30 ft.
Hit Points 9 (2d8)
Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
8 (−1) 16 (+3) 10 (+0) 17 (+3) 17 (+3) 18 (+4)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 11 (+0) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) Skills Deception +8, Persuasion +6,
Performance +6
Skills Deception +5, Insight +4, Performance Senses passive Perception 13
+5, Persuasion +5 Languages Common, Elvish, Sylvan
Senses passive Perception 12 Challenge 0 (10 XP)
Languages all, from embedded translator
Fey Ancestry. Savyn has advantage on saving
Challenge 0 (10 XP) throws against being charmed, and magic can’t
put him to sleep.
Actions Taunt (2/Day). Savyn can use a bonus action
Ballistic Gloves. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to target one creature he can see within 30 feet
to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) force of him. If the target can hear Savyn, it must
damage. succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or
have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls,
and saving throws until the start of Savyn’s next
turn.

Actions
Multiattack. Savyn makes two attacks, one
with his swarm pistol and one with his laser half
sword.
Laser Half Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5
to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4)
radiant damage.
Swarm Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (2d4) force
damage.

Appendices Appendix B: Nonplayer Characters (NPCs) 95

 Psychic Camouflage. The thwirrel can take
January the Thwirrel the Hide action even when it isn’t in a heavily
Tiny beast, unaligned obscured area. Additionally, when a creature
would normally see, hear, touch, or smell a
Armor Class 14 thwirrel, it must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving
Hit Points 33 (9d4 + 9) throw. On a successful save, the creature can
Speed 35 ft. perceive all thwirrels as normal for the next 10
minutes. On a failed save, the creature can’t see,
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA hear, feel, or smell any thwirrels for the same
3 (−4) 18 (+4) 12 (+1) 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) duration. In either case, the saving throw must be
repeated every 10 minutes, or until the creature
Saving Throws Int +6, Cha +3 is no longer within visual range of any thwirrels.
Skills Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +6, Stealth +6 Creatures with truesight are immune to this trait.
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages telepathy 60 ft. Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). January’s innate
Challenge 2 (450 XP) spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save
DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). January
Energy Siphon. When the thwirrel hits a magically can innately cast the following spells (as psionic
powered device with a bite attack, it can use abilities), requiring no material, verbal, or somatic
its bonus action to drain some energy from the components.
device. When it does so, the save DC for its At will: mage hand, magic missile, mending,
Psychic Camouflage feature increases by 1, to a minor illusion
maximum of 16, for the next 24 hours. Smaller 2/day each: detect thoughts, shield, sleep
devices—such as blasters and datapads— that are 1/day each: dream, fly, telekinesis
affected by this trait cease to function for 1 hour.
Larger devices such as automatons or Dark Matter Actions
engines only cease to function for 1 round.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft.,
Keen Hearing and Smell. The thwirrel has one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage.
advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that
rely on hearing or smell.

January Scale Crew

January is a super-intelligent thwirrel. All The Scale Crew consists of the vect sniper, Trace, the
thwirrels are psionic, but January is, for reasons greenskin rogue, Sierra O’Connell, the half-elven
that are completely unknown, also telepathic and sorcerer, Aela Vestele, and their dragonborn leader,
smarter than most artificial intelligences. January Drak Garfreckt.
is something of an anarchist and is extremely
mischievous. Once crossed, she makes the subject
of her anger her nemesis, using her psychic abilities
to torment them in subtle and mundane ways, until
someone else becomes her nemesis instead.

96 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

Drak Garfreckt Trace
Medium humanoid (dragonborn), lawful neutral Medium humanoid (vect), neutral evil
Armor Class 18 (adamant hardsuit) Armor Class 17 (composite plating)
Hit Points 75 (10d8 + 20) Hit Points 61 (11d8 + 11)
Speed 30 ft. Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 13 (+1) 17 (+3) 13 (+1) 15 (+2) 11 (+0) 9 (–1) 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 8 (–1)

Skills Athletics +6, Perception +4 Skills Arcana +4, Data +4, Sleight of Hand +6,
Damage Resistances fire Stealth +6, Technology +4
Senses blindsight 10 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Senses darkvision 60 ft., thermalsight 30 ft.,
passive Perception 14 passive Perception 11
Languages Common, Draconic Languages Common
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Brave. Drak has advantage on saving throws Construct Anatomy. Trace is immune to
against being frightened. nonmagical diseases, and they don’t need to
Special Equipment. Drak wears a ring of eat, drink, or breathe.
spacewalking and a personal shield emitter. Construct Grafts. Trace has the following grafts
He also stores the following items in a weapon installed: finger picks, infrasight eyes, and a
wheel: a magnus opum, a REC Gun, a Rocket thermoregulator.
Hammer, and a sorting beast. Inflexible Mind. Trace has advantage on saving
throws against being charmed.
Actions
Sneak Attack (1/Turn). Trace deals an extra
Multiattack. Drak makes two melee attacks or 7 (2d6) damage when they hit a target with a
three ranged attacks. weapon attack and have advantage on the attack
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). Drak exhales fire in roll, or when the target is within 5 ft. of one of
a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must Trace’s allies that isn’t incapacitated and Trace
make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
24 (7d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as
much damage on a successful one. Actions
Rocket Hammer. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to Multiattack. Trace makes two melee weapon
hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 12 (1d10 + 1d4 attacks.
+ 4) bludgeoning damage. Focused Concussion Rifle. Ranged Weapon
Magnus Opum. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 Attack: +6 to hit, range 200/800 ft., one target.
to hit, range 70/280 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8) Hit: 13 (3d8) thunder damage. Trace has
radiant damage. The weapon then overheats, disadvantage on attacks with this weapon if the
and can’t be used until the end of the Drak’s target is within 20 feet.
next turn. Antimatter Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +6
REC Gun. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4 + 4)
range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8) necrotic damage.
radiant damage. Omni-Grenade. Trace throws a grenade at a
point they can see within 30 feet. Each creature
Reactions within a 5-foot radius of that point must make a
Shield Overcharge (1/Day). Drak gains a +5 DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 18 (4d8)
bonus to his AC until the start of his next turn. fire damage, or half as much on a successful
save.

Appendices Appendix B: Nonplayer Characters (NPCs) 97

 Sierra O’Connell Aela Vestele
Medium humanoid (near-human greenskin), Medium humanoid (half-elf), chaotic neutral
neutral evil
Armor Class 11 (14 with mage armor)
Armor Class 17 (greenskin) Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
Hit Points 44 (8d8 + 8) Speed 30 ft.
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 8 (–1) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 17 (+3)
13 (+1) 17 (+3) 12 (+1) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 18 (+4)
Skills Arcana +4, History +4, Persuasion +5
Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +2 Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Skills Acrobatics +5, Deception +6, Perception Languages Common, Elvish
+2, Performance +6 Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Damage Resistances poison
Senses passive Perception 12 Alien Spellcasting. Whenever Aela casts a
Languages Common, Elvish spell of 1st level or higher, she gains one of the
Challenge 3 (700 XP) following benefits of her choice until the start of
her next turn:
Cunning Action. On each of her turns, Sierra • She sprouts tentacles and gains a climb
can use a bonus action to take the Dash, speed equal to her movement speed.
Disengage, or Hide action. • Eyes open in her skin, granting her the ability
Photosynthetic Metabolism. Sierra has to see invisible creatures and objects as if
advantage on saving throws against being they were visible. She can also see into the
poisoned. Ethereal Plane.
Spellcasting. Sierra is a 4th-level spellcaster. • Her skin becomes slimy and unnaturally
Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save tough, granting her a +2 bonus to her Armor
DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). She has the class.
following bard spells prepared: Spellcasting. Aela is a 5th-level spellcaster.
Cantrips (at will): cheat, mage hand, vicious Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save
mockery DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). She has the
1st level (4 slots): charm person, hardlight following sorcerer spells prepared:
blaster, healing word, memorize, sleep Cantrips (at will): fire bolt, mage hand, mending,
2nd level (3 slots): invisibility, shatter poison spray
1st level (4 slots): detect magic, mage armor*,
Actions magic missile
Multiattack. Sierra makes 3 melee weapon 2nd level (3 slots): invisibility, scorching ray
attacks, or 6 attacks with disadvantage using her 3rd level (2 slots): fireball
swarm pistols. *Aela casts this spell on herself before combat.
Photonic Lash. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to Unnatural Anatomy. Aela takes no additional
hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) damage from critical hits.
radiant damage.
Swarm Pistols. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 Actions
to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (2d4) Psionic Helm. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to
radiant damage. hit, range 70/280 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6)
psychic damage.

98 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press

Appendix C: Clue Handouts
Clue: Jimball’s Ring Clue: Jimball’s Travel Logs Clue: Case Report
A beautiful, expensive-looking Jimball travelled to Politana for Jimball was caught red-handed
ring. The inside is engraved with business, not pleasure. This was exiting an art exhibit called “The
the words “My All, Always-SA”. all supposed to be a trip to pay off Prestigious Works of Politana”
gambling debts for Grax. with a priceless diamond hidden
away in his pocket.
Clue: Pink Star Diamond Photo Clue: Pink Star History Clue: Pink Star Rumor
This photograph captures the Pink The Pink Star diamond was ex- Some historians believe the dia-
Diamond’s brilliant hues and cap- cavated from the core of Politana mond to possess magical powers.
tivating facets. in the early days of the planet’s
settlement.
Clue: Party Foul Clue: Jimball and Savyn’s His- Clue: Jimball’s Suit
Jimball spilled his drink on fa- tory Savyn insisted on buying Jimball’s
mous socialite Neoma Menta on While Savyn and Jimball went to hunter green tuxedo for the event.
his way to the VIP room. Voxis University, they were in a
secret romantic relationship.
Clue: Stifling Security Corp Clue: The Late Sir Aravars Clue: Neoma’s Testimony
Jimball wasn’t arrested by normal Savyn’s father, Sir Demerius Ar- Neoma didn’t see Jimball take the
police, but guards from Stifling avars, was an avid explorer who diamond, but she saw a halfing in
Security Corporation. collected a massive collection. He a forest green tuxedo (not a hunt-
died recently in a cave-in. er green tuxedo, as per dress code)
in the VIP room prior to the theft.
Clue: Broken Device Clue: Missing Transmat Deck Clue: VIP Room Cameras
Found in the carpet of the VIP Packaging for an expensive trans- The footage of the crime is dis-
room near the Pink Star Diamond mat deck was found near the torted by magical interference, but
display. scene of the crime. captures the image of a halfling
casting a spell in the VIP room
before the crime.
Clue: Savyn’s Alibi Clue: The Other Tuxedo Clue: Illusion Capsules
Savyn claims that, at the time of Found in the offices of Stiffling This magic item was manufac-
the theft, he was in a meeting with Security Corp., this suit is near- tured by the Firm to create il-
the head security guard from Stif- ly identical to Jimball’s tuxedo, lusions. It matches the broken
fling Security Corp. except that it is forest green, not device found in the VIP room.
hunter green.
Clue: Suit Invoice Clue: Front Organization Clue: Sir Aravars Murdered?
This invoice shows a custom order You have evidence to suggest that You have evidence which suggests
to add a hidden pocket to the left Stiffling Security Corp. is merely that Savyn worked with the Firm
side of the Jimball’s tuxedo. a front for the Firm, a vast and to kill his own father.
secretive criminal network.
Clue: Pink Star Fake
You have evidence to suggest that
the Pink Star diamond recovered
from Jimball is a fake, albeit a
convincing one. 99
Appendices Appendix C: Clue Handouts
 500 CREDIT MAGIC ITEMS

Appendix D: Broken d20 Magic Item

1 diode beam
Krash Machine 2 REC gun
For reasons nobody understands and fewer care 3 singularity emitter
to question, the broken Krash vending machine in 4 volcanic
the Grax’s Club headquarters will deposit random 5 drone controller (with defense drone)
magic items if enough credits are fed into it. Between 6 tachyon missile
adventures, characters are encouraged to spend their 7 +1 wrenchinator
extra cash on gambling for new and exciting magic
8 deconstructive nanobots
items and equipment.
The machine has four buttons, which have 9 double laser blade
prices of 100 credits, 500 credits, 2,500 credits, and 10 drive disk
7,500 credits. Depending on the amount inserted, 11 hivemaster pistol
roll a d20 on one of the following tables to determine 12 hoverboard
which magic item or piece of equipment is dispensed.
13 hullcutter
Keep track of which items have been provided to the
players. If a character rolls an item which has already 14 Hyper-Krash
been produced, they receive the next lowest magic 15 personal shield emitter
item on the table, or an error and a return of credits if 16 potion of quantum effect
there is no lower magic item. 17 reconstructive nanobots
100 CREDIT MAGIC ITEMS 18 remote piloting apparatus
d20 Magic Item 19 sorting beast
1 rocket hammer 20 universal translator
2 plasma launcher 2,500 CREDIT MAGIC ITEMS
3 psionic helm d20 Magic Item
4 enigma ring 1–2 +1 adamant hardsuit (full plate)
5 gamestation-7331 3–4 grasshopper
6 ankh of Ra 5–6 motion tracker
7 attactor mine 7–8 shoulder cannon
8 dome projector 9–10 +1 thaumatonic rifle
9 energy shield bracer 11–12 thunder rifle
10 gravity nullifier 13–14 vari-blaster
11 holo-companion 15–16 +2 void shackles
12 jetpack 17–18 W-REC
13 potion of solar radiance 19–20 golem skin
14 reflex holster
7,500 CREDIT MAGIC ITEMS
15 ring of spacewalking
d20 Magic Item
16 spider pod
1–4 Encyclopedia Multiplanaria
17 transmat deck
5–8 rebounding blade
18 void beacon
9–12 ring of paradoxes
19 weapon wheel
13–16 skeleton keycard
20 zipgun
17–19 death ray
20 arcane warhead
100 Grax’s Club Dark Matter | Mage Hand Press
License
This material is being released under the Open Gaming License.
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document 5.0 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
Dark Matter Copyright 2019, Mage Hand Press, LLC; authors Michael Holik, Jaron Mortimer, Benjamin Richardson, Matthew
Pennell, Jason Sinclair
Grax’s Club Copyright 2021, Mage Hand Press, LLC; authors Michael Holik, Donathin Frye
END OF LICENSE

Appendices Appendix D: Broken Krash Machine 101