cavaliers of mars quickstart

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Credits Authors: Russell Bailey and Audrey Whitman

Wushu System: Daniel Bayn

Editor: Elizabeth Greenberg

Art Director: Richard Thomas

Art: Chris Huth

Graphic Design: Richard Thomas

Special Thanks: Benjamin Baugh, Daniel Bayn, Jeff Mikoni

LinksThis wouldn’t have been possible without Daniel

Bayn’s Wushu system. Find out more at http://danielbayn.

com/wushu/. Wushu is supported by a wiki at http://wiki.

saberpunk.net/Wushu/.

You can always find the latest on Cavaliers of Mars at

http://www.cavaliersofmars.com. And while you’re at it, why

not read “The Apprentice’s Tale,” an in-character setting explo-

ration at http://blog.fantasyheartbreaker.com/2012/03/04/

the-apprentices-tale/ ?

© 2012 Onyx Path Publishing LLC All rights

reserved. Text and illustrations are the property of

Russell Bailey. Reproduction without the written

permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden,

except for the purposes of reviews, and one printed

copy which may be reproduced for personal use

only. The mention of or reference to any company

or product in these pages is not a challenge to the

trademark or copyright concerned. This book usesthe fantastic for settings, characters and themes. All

mystical and supernatural elements are fiction and

intended for entertainment purposes only. This book

contains mature content. Reader discretion is advised.

http://danielbayn.com/wushu/


http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/


http://www.cavaliersofmars.com/

http://blog.fantasyheartbreaker.com/2012/03/04/the-apprentices-tale/












































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tabLe of Contents

introduCtion

r uLes

sampLe CharaCters

adventure

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9

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Return now to dying Mars in its last age of glory. A planet

of flashing swords and choking sands, of winking courtesans

and lantern-lit canal cities. Mars, where fortune and deathare two sides of the same obsidian chit, where lost cities and

dry oceans stretch between the last bastions of civilization.

Where the First Martians, the monument-builders, are but a

haunted memory. Where the Red Martians become decadent

and reckless in their last days. Where the Green Martians

rule the wastes, remembering a history whose weight would

crush a lesser people.

Find yourself dashing across the towered crypts of Vance,

digging desperately for treasure in the lost tombs of Chiaro,

spitting defiance at the Roundhead priests of wild Ziggur.

Lock steel with the Princess Invincible, even as your handreaches towards your flintlaser for insurance.

Live, fight, and love on Mars, a world of red death and

strange mystery, a world of savagery and romance.

Welcome to the quick start for Cavaliers of Mars, a

roleplaying game of swashbuckling adventure on a dying

world. This book includes sample characters, the Wushu

rules which power the game, and an action-packed adventure

to introduce the setting.

Introduction



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Cavaliers of Mars is based on the Wushu gaming system,

which rewards vivid descriptions by using them to make

characters’ actions more successful. By awarding more dice for

better descriptions, Wushu encourages quick back-and-forth

and high-flying stunts. This is perfect for the swashbuckling

world of Cavaliers of Mars, with its death-defying duels in

the bellies of atmosphere processors and dizzying chases

across crumbling rooftops.

Core ConCeptsdesCription

The heart of Cavaliers of Mars is description. The more

detail a player describes her character’s actions in, the more

likely those actions are to help her succeed.

Descriptions are measured in Details. A Detail can be

anything from a wicked sword thrust, to a lightning fast

dodge, to an atmospheric moment like a weapon plummet-

ing downward into a canal. Details can even be negative;

a player can describe how her character’s ear is nicked by

a barely-dodged slash with a knife. For each Detail a player

describes, she receives a die.

Generally, there will be a maximum number of dice

that can be earned by Details in a given round. This cap

ranges from 3-5 for fast-paced, gritty scenes to 6-8 for more

epic confrontations. The cap is set by the GM.

Descriptions are empowered by the Principle of Narrative

Truth, which states that an action occurs when the player

describes it, exactly as the player describes it. Compared to

some other roleplaying games, there’s a lot less “I try” and

a lot more “I do.”

The exceptions to the Principle of Narrative Truth are

Vetoes and the Resolution rule. If any player at the table feels

a Detail is inappropriate, he can call for a Veto. The Detail

is put up to a quick vote; if it passes, the Detail goes into the

fiction as normal. If if fails, the narrating player replaces or

reworks the detail to be acceptable to everyone. Vetoes tend

not to be a big deal, and happen rarely if players stay on the

same page with regards to tone and style.

The Resolution rule is that the player who resolves a situ-

ation mechanically gets to narrate the end of that situation.

That means that you can’t use a Detail to resolve something

that’s still being arbitrated. For example, if your character is

facing down the Fourth Son of Phobos in a Conflict, you can’t

simply narrate that your character chops off his head until

you’ve depleted his Vitality and hence ended the conflict.

traitsTraits are short descriptions of a character’s background

and abilities. Each has a number. When dice are rolled against

a Trait, any dice that come up lower than the Trait number

are successes. Successes can be used to harm enemies, defend

against attacks, or prepare for future dangerous situations.

vitaLity Vitality measures a character’s abilit y to stay involved

in a Conflict. Depending on the type of Conflict, it might

represent anything from physical wounds to a character’s

reputation or credibility. When a character dips below 0

Vitality, they can no longer act in the scene... and are likely wounded, captured, or in deadly danger. Vitalit y refreshes

between scenes.

appLause diCe When a player describes something particularly enter-

taining, whether inside or outside of a situation in which dice

are normally rolled, another player at the table may invite

them to “take a die.” This Applause Die can be saved until

the receiving player decides to add it to a roll. An Applause

Rules



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Die can be added to any pool, regardless of whether the die

cap has already been reached with description. A player can

accumulate any number of Applause Dice, but may only

spend one at once and may only keep them until the end of

the game session.

r esoLution There are two types of resolution: Chance Rolls and

Conflicts.

ChanCe r oLLsShizri the Silent sneaks into the palace of the prince.

Hardrada tries to intimidate a “client” into coming across

with his loan money. Chance Rolls are used when player

characters are attempting something and the outcome is in

doubt, but there isn’t enough danger or opposition to call

for a full Conflict.

In a Chance Roll, any players whose characters are

involved take turns narrating, either before or after the

GM describes circumstances which might interfere. Each

participant, including the GM, counts Details. Then every-

body rolls their dice. The players roll against relevant Traits;

the GM rolls against a Difficulty Number (from the chart

below). The participant with the highest number of successes

is the winner and narrates the outcome. If the GM wins,

the outcome is usually negative for the player characters; if

a player wins, it is usually positive.

Difficulty Numbers

Number Difficulty

1 Trivially Easy

2 Relatively Easy

3 Challenging

4 Difficult

5 Extremely Hard

Example:

The dice cap is three. Shizri is using her Expert Climber

(3) Trait. The GM declares the situation Relatively Easy (2).

Shizri’s player describes: Shizri bluffs her way past the

outer gate with a falsified pass. / Once inside, she pulls a

wicked-looking grapple from her pack, and throws it into a

tower window. / Swiftly, she climbs the attached rope. (3)

The GM describes: Unfortunately, the guard at the

gate was a little suspicious. / He rings a bell to tell the other

guards to be alert as they patrol the yard. / His job done, he

yawns and sits back at his post. (3)

Shizri’s player rolls 1 success; the GM rolls none. Her

player describes how Shizri successfully infiltrates the tower,

and finds herself in an opulent bedroom.

ConfLiCts A young urchin finds herself surrounded by boys de-

manding her water. Dema Tuzak finally catches up to Skar, who killed her father. Conflict s blossom when characters are

in danger. Mechanically, the characters risk Vitality, which

is an abstract measure of their health, reputation, or other

ability to stay in the Conflict.

Conflicts come in two types: Challenges, where the dan-

ger comes from many or impersonal sources, and Confronta-

tions, where the danger comes from single foes. A mob or a

fire might be a Challenge; a showdown with an archenemy

is a Confrontation. Both Challenges and Confrontations

take place over a number of rounds.

ChaLLenges

A Challenge has two components: a Threat Rating and

a Danger Rating. The Threat Rating measures how many

Attack successes the player characters must accumulate to end

the challenge. This is usually (4 * number of player character

participants * average number of rounds the GM wants the

Challenge to last). The Danger Rating measures how many

Vitality the player characters will lose each round if they can’t

defend themselves. Usually, this is 1; under particularly dire

circumstances it might be 2 or 3.

In each round of a Challenge, players take turns describ -

ing and collecting dice for each Detail, just as they would

in a Chance Roll. The difference is that when they’re done

describing, they split their pool into Attack and Defense dice. Attack dice go towards resolving the Challenge; Defense

dice are used to mitigate the effects of the Danger Rating.

The GM describes the hazards involved in the Chal-

lenge, but does not build a dice pool from the description.

Once everyone has described their character’s actions,

they roll their dice. Each Defense success blocks one point

of Danger Rating; any unblocked Danger is subtracted from

the character’s Vitality.

Each Attack success is subtracted from the Challenge’s

Threat Rating. When the Threat Rating reaches 0, the GM

describes how the Challenge ends.

If the round ends and the Threat Rating remains above

0, the Conflict continues into another round, where the

process of description and rolling begins again.

Example

The Apprentice is surrounded by a gang demanding her

water, and potentially her life a long with it. The dice cap is 4,the Threat Rating is 3, and the Danger Rating is 1.



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The Apprentice’s player describes: “Our heroine picks

out the obvious leader of the gang, a kid too young for the

knife-scar that twists his predatory grin. / She taunts him,

combining the few words she knows of the local language

into what’s sure to be an insult to his mother. / He growls

and rushes her. / She dodges to the side and brings down

her elbow on his back, sending him clattering to the rockypavement. (4)”

The player splits her 4 dice evenly between Attack and

Defense. She’s rolling against the Apprentice’s Survivor Trait

of 4. She scores 1 Defense success, avoiding any Vitality

loss. She also scores 1 Attack success, reducing the Threat

Rating to 2.

Confrontations

Confrontations occur between player characters and

major Antagonists, usually one on one. These Antagonists

are built similarly to player characters; they typically have

three Traits (one at 5, one at 4, and one at 3) and between

1 and 5 Vitality.

In a Confrontation, the GM and players take turns

describing the action, each building a dice pool from their

Details. Usually, it works well to do this blow-by-blow, with

a player describing one or two Details and the GM then

countering with another couple. This back and forth is the

stuff of which great action scenes are made.

Players split their dice into Attack and Defense, just

as with Challenges. In this case, the GM also splits her

Antagonist’s dice into Attack and Defense. Successes on the

GM’s Attack dice are treated just like the Danger Rating ina Challenge, each being countered by one player Defense

success. Similarly, each of the player’s Attack successes are

countered by the GM’s Defense successes, with any left over

being subtracted from the Antagonist’s Vitality.

Rounds continue until the Antagonist has run out of

Vitality, at which point the player narrates his ultimate defeat.

Remember the Resolution rule: a player cannot narrate

the defeat of the Antagonist until the Antagonist has run

out of Vitality.

Example

Dema Tuzak is finally facing down Skar. Dema is rely-ing on her long years of training as a Soldier (4), while Skar

is counting on his Roguish Bladework (5). The die cap is 3.

Skar taunts Dema: “I’ll cut you down like I did your

mongrel father.” (1)

Dema pretends to be drawn in by the taunt, swinging

wildly for Skar’s head / distracting from the more deliberate

thrust she makes with her dagger. (2)

Skar pulls out of the way barely in time / but the sparkle

never leaves his eyes. (3)

Dema just grins and closes in again. (3)

Dema’s player goes all out on her Attack, rolling 3 dice.She gains 2 Attack successes. The GM playing Skar is a tad

more conservative. He puts 2 dice into Defense and only one

into Attack. He rolls 1 Attack success and 1 Defense success,

losing 1 Vitality point to Dema and costing her 1 in return.

ganging up

The default assumption is that one player character

will face off against one Antagonist. Other characters may

watch from the sidelines, fight their own Antagonists, or

face Challenges like hordes of henchmen. If more than one

player wishes to join in the assault, then those players should

take turns narrating, up to the established die cap. So, for

example, if Ja Li and Dema are both fighting Skar and the die

cap is 5, then their total Details should add up to no more

than 5 before rolling. They may divide these dice between

Attack and Defense as normal.

If an Antagonist is facing multiple opponents, then the

GM should divide Attack successes among those opponents

after the dice have been rolled.



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kseniya maLaya

kiLLer of thoughts Vitality 3

Trappings: Subtle poisons, books of forbidden lore,

letters to be lost forever.

Weapons: Many small blades, hook and line.

Vance, Slum Rat 3: I was a dock daughter, fishing for

rich men’s trash; too ambitious to stay.

Assassin 4: My sharp eyes won me a patron, who taught

me her ways.

Scholar 3: My skill won me another, who taught me

his reasons.

Patient 3: A good plan requires care and diligence to

see it through. I’m more careful than most.

Member of a Secret Society 4: Now and then I take a

contract to kill knowledge, and not just its bearer. Zillah and

I frequently work together for a mutual client.

“sunny” LuCiobitter young soLdier

Vitality 3Trappings: Soldier’s greatcloak, lock-picks, a charming

smile.

Weapons: Stolen bastard sword of Deimos steel, forged

with a foreign family’s crest.

Chiaro, Tailor’s Son 3: I grew up in the terrible shadow

of the great Cydonian tombs.

Soldier 3: I fancied that so much majesty would make

me brave and strong.

Sample Characters Thief 3: But not even a lord’s soldiers can make him

pay his due.

Entertainer 3: His city will love your picture of glory,though; and stories are safer than battles.

Sharp Eyes 3: Spot the arrow with your number, or pick

a mark; but you best keep an eye out.

Grudge Against Vancian Nobility 4: I turned to the

street because one of them thought he was too good to pay me.

sisera ipatodesert CavaLier

Vitality 3Trappings: An abandoned estate and tomb, a broad

black hat, a faded child’s drawing.

Weapons: Short sword and knife, nicked and stained

with blood.

Vance, Noble House of Ipato 3: I was born into a house

of merchant lords, fat with water.

Noble 3: And so I might have remained; a lawyer with

a proper wife and a legion of children.

Cavalier 4: Until I heard the call of the desert, and

never stopped walking.

Perfect Direction 3: All cavaliers can navigate the shift-ing sands; I have never lost my way.

Broken Home 4: The sand has ground away my feel-

ings for a life abandoned, but I cannot say the same for the

family I left behind.

Note: Sisera’s Cavalier Trait enables him to navigate f law-

lessly and ride any beast. It also lets him “ride” other unlikely

things, like falling chunks of masonry or kites and airships.



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ZiLLahthe r ising fifth

Vitality 3

Trappings: Charts of the heavens, maps of the Prince’s

court, a list of names.

Weapons: A cold and uncanny look, hard-edged as

any knife.

Vance, Merchant Class 3: I am the fifth daughter of a

fecund but unremarkable accountant.

Adept 4: And I’ve had the gift as long as I can remember.

Astrologer 3: It wasn’t long before I began using it to

track the heavens.

Numerology 4: I know the best days, now. For starting

a journey, for meeting a lover, for ending a life. Each day is

full of little threads, and I know just where to cut each one.Unreliable 3: So much time spent looking inward has

left me less attentive than others. Without a guiding hand,

I’m apt to get distracted.

Note: Zillah’s Adept Trait allows her to read the surface

thoughts from other people’s minds, determine people’s

general attitude and honesty, and telekinetically move up to

her own body weight. Her Astrology and Numerology Traits

can be rolled as part of Chance Rolls, with the added bonus

that if she wins, any successes on the roll can be applied as

bonus dice to attempts to use the information she gained.

geirar ightfuL property of the Late magister marCeLLus tertias

tegaLLianus Vitality 3

Trappings: Greases and tinctures, a lifetime’s worth of

beatings, forged papers

Weapons: A heavy wrench and powder of sleep.

Vance, Indentured Servant 3: I grew up in the Magister’s

house, for all the good it did me.

Servant 3: There, I learned that I would be free when

I paid for the clothes on my back.

Fixer 3: I learned how to dodge, and how to put a house

back together after a night of drinking.

Physician 3: And how to put people back together too.

Secret Murder 4: But I was just a kid, who was I to stop

it? Ipazia had been good to me, though, and saw no harm

teaching a little girl to mix herbs. I couldn’t save her, but I

made sure it couldn’t happen to another young wife.

On the Run 3: Vance is a big city, and I left the clothes.

But I can’t hide forever.

Note: Geira’s Fixer Trait allows her to repair and gain

information from machines and structures. It’s a general

purpose engineering ability that verges on the uncanny.



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the City of vanCeIn the central portion of the Red Kingdoms, Vance lies

at the intersection of several canals. It is thus rich in Mars’

most valuable commodity: water. The city is actually built

on top of the canals. At the surface, this creates a network

of sub-canals. These carry freight and people like roads.

The city is monumental in scope, carved from huge

blocks of red and white rock. It reaches nearly a dozen

stories towards the sky. The locals enjoy shade, sweet water,

and the produce of the farms along the canals. Trade also

brings exotic goods and great wealth by canal and caravan.

At night, the city is lit with many-colored lanterns, ac-

cording to a superstition deeply held but long since forgotten.

Windows are made from glass salvaged from the Prismatic

Wastes, fit together into intricate patterns.

Vance does not possess a sky-navy as such, though its

greatest scholars are working long and hard at the problem

and have perfected other means of short term flight. The

city does have several towers with sky docks for visiting dig-

nitaries from Zodiac and Illium. A few merchant houses own

sky-yachts, but so far none have replicated the technology.

The Prince of Vance is chosen from among the merchant

houses. The city employs a regular and professional fighting

force, the Prince’s Hounds. The master of this force is the Dog

of Vance, who is nearly as powerful as the Prince himself. In

matters of war, his power becomes supreme. However, since

companies of Hounds are sponsored by the merchant houses,

their loyalty quickly returns to the commercial establishment

when peace begins again.

Many con-men, mercenaries, and outright thieves people

the lower quarters of Vance; such people flock to wealth. It

is not unusual to see an urchin loosening the pockets of a

group of Red cavaliers who are drinking alongside a Green

tribe chief.

Adventure The crypts in the city are in its highest towers. Soldiers re-

fer to watching from the towers as “crypt-watch,” and civilians

sometimes use the term to refer to a tedious nocturnal task.Poor or criminal dead are placed in the outgoing canals

to be swept away forever.

festivaL in the pLaZathe pLaZa

The Plaza Arez is never quiet at night. The famous songs

of the gondoliers echo throughout the forest of bronze statues,

muffled slightly against the small, expensively maintainedtrees -- some of the last on Mars.

Never quiet, but always dark. The Plaza, built to com-

memorate a long-forgotten achievement, is famously danger-

ous at night. It is ill-lit, as the buildings that surrounded it

tower ever upwards, and forgotten. It is a dark pit at the

heart of the city where only thieves and the unwary walk...

on any night but tonight.

Tonight, lanterns of every color fill the Plaza to celebrate

the Small Moon festival, when the moon Deimos passes

closest to the surface. On the outskirts of the city, youths

hang by kites to try and reach the moon. They are lured by

the thought of easy riches waiting for the brave and strongin Deimos’s mines. Not even the best sky-ships of Illium and

Zodiac can breach the atmosphere, but children everywhere

have heard of the Dawn Runners -- the foolhardy pilots who

fling rattletrap ships toward Deimos tonight, bringing back

precious metals and the men mad enough to mine them.

Tonight, the Plaza is fil led with people of every descrip-

tion. Throngs of Red Martians of every social class, a drunken

party of ape-like Zaius on route back from Chiaro... and a



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lone plant-woman from the Wyeth rainforest who simply got

caught up in the crowd.

All are gathered to witness the brightest night of the

year, and all are masked. Some wear simple yummock-leather

domino masks, others ornate woven facades covering all

but the merest hint of the owner’s form. At the end of the

Small Moon festival, the year’s slate is wiped clean, and noone need know who you were last year. Tomorrow fresh star

charts will be drawn, and new treaties will be signed; but

tonight Vance says goodbye to last year’s secrets.

Among the richer attendees are the Lady Aldonza

Arez, whose old-blooded family sponsored construction of

the statues and the Plaza itself, and her consort, the Prince

of Coronal. Coronal is a smaller city-state to the north of

Vance which controls a number of radium mines. The affair

between Lady Aldonza and the Prince has potentially far-

reaching consequences for the balance of power among the

Red Kingdoms. But like so many others in the plaza, Lady

and Prince play the part of young lovers tonight, intoxicatedby the freedom afforded them in the last hours of an old year.

the aCtion Depending on your group’s playstyle, the characters can

either spend some time socializing and generally attending the

party or you can skip straight to the assassination attempt.

enjoying the party

Socially, the characters might do any of the following:

Join the drunken philosophical argument among theZaius.

Acquaint themselves with the Wyeth Woman and

discover what brings her to Vance.

Hob-nob with the upper class. On this occasion, even

the highest aristocrats are likely to talk to their lessers, par-

ticularly if they are well-complimented.

Engage in one of the contests of skill being waged around

the square, such as tightrope-walking between the statues.

Find a glass of cool wine and a perch from which to

people-watch and listen for gossip.

After everyone’s sett led into their character, abruptlymove on to the assassination attempt.

the assassination attempt

Among all this color and festivity, there is a small con-

tingent of men in black cloaks embroidered with fanciful

golden designs. They sport black-and-gold masks to match,

and have casually integrated themselves into the mob around

the Lady and the Prince.

Approaching the Prince of Coronal just as he drains his

glass, they shout “Vance for Vance!” and draw their knives

to attack him. As the Lady Aldonza fumbles for her sword

(entangled in the elaborate sash she wore over her gown),

they stab him several times and then move to escape.

There are cries of murder and general chaos erupts.

Within seconds, the Plaza is on the verge of a riot.

The Detail cap is 5.

CharaCter hooks

Kseniya Malaya

I didn’t know about this. An assassination that I’m not

part of could mean I’m getting edged out of the business, or

that other players are entering the field. Either way, I have

to know who they are.

“Sunny” Lucio

There’s no doubt that most royal-types deserve as much,but they didn’t look like any soldiers I know. And if the lady

isn’t grateful? I know men who could use a cloak like that.

Maybe a rich man can do a poor man a service tonight after all.

Sisera Ipato

They’re killing civilians; I can’t stand for that. It’s ter-

rible when a man dies for no reason; worse when one dies

simply for being in the way.

Zillah

The stars spell disaster if a Prince dies tonight. And they

weren’t thinking about Vance at all. Who would benefit from

altering the map of Vance’s heavens?Geira

I can’t let someone else die just because I’m afraid. The

lady can’t have seen me more than once in the Magister’s

house. She won’t recognize me. If I can just see the blade,

maybe I can save him.

r evoLutionary assassins/r iot

Threat Rating: 8 * Number of Players

Danger Rating: 1

The revelers in the Plaza are on the verge of a riot, andthe black-and-gold assassins are trying to make their escape,

killing anyone in their way.

Dangers:

The Prince is unconscious and dying. His shallow wounds

might be treatable with a supply of healing gum from the

Wyeth rainforest, but someone would have to find it and get

it to him. Worse, the knives were poisoned. Unless someone

finds out what was on those blades, he could die at any time

in the next few minutes or hours.



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The crowd is fighting and stampeding. People are being

crushed underfoot. Characters trying to make their way across

the scene might be better served to run across the forest of

statues, or even atop the heads and shoulders of the crowd.

The assassins themselves are sparing no violence in

making their escape. They’re headed for the widest nearby

canal, which is filled with boat traffic. Once there, they’llleap across and crash through gondolas, merchant boats, and

pleasure barges on their way towards the Dredge.

The characters can attempt to subdue the assassins or

kill them outright. If they’re captured, the Lady Aldonza

will have her personal guard come to collect and interrogate

them, and will be furious and indiscreet enough to do it in

public. Rattled by the events, she won’t be visibly grateful

to the characters, but will distractedly commend them for

their loyalty to the city.

If some of the assassins survive, they can be persuaded

to reveal the poison used. Whether captured or killed, one

of them will, with his last words, reveal that they were hiredin the Dredge.

The Lady never directly requests assistance, but she

implies that someone who happened to uncover a traitor

would be well-rewarded.

searChing the dredgethe dredge

Through some quirk of the architecture of the Vanciancanals, the waters in the Dredge move slowly and murkily.

Boats float sluggishly through the muddy waters, and the

gondoliers here sing lower, more ominous songs. The area

rarely sees the sky, having been covered over by other con-

struction in the centuries since the canals were built. In many

ways, it resembles a great, dark tunnel-- one with hundreds

of people packed inside.

The Dredge covers slightly more than a square mile.

Living in the area is considered less than desirable, so

the population tends to be mostly laborers, servants, and

unestablished immigrants. The district is near some of the

city’s major barracks, meaning that off-duty soldiers comehere to drink... and often end up hired as improvised secu-

rity officers. The result is something between a depressed

residential area and a raucous red-light district, choked by

the stinging miasma of the filthy and slow-moving waters.

the aCtion The characters have their work cut out for them,

looking for someone who might have seen the assassins be

hired. The Dredge is always rowdy; but at festival time, it’s

downright chaotic.

This segment of the story is designed for investigation.

It’s a good opportunity for both Chance Rolls and plain old

question-and-answer storytelling. There are also a number

of locations within the Dredge that stick out as places to go

for information.

investigation hooks

If your players are stuck for investigation tactics, suggest

some of the following.

Zillah and Kseniya are used to working as a unit. They

take up an inconspicuous location, arguing over dice, while

Kseniya picks out targets for Zillah to read. Kseniya keeps

Zillah on task by challenging her to find the best moment

to read a given target. Zillah relies on Ksenyia’s familiarity

with the Dredge and superior grasp of their surroundings

to keep her out of harm’s way.

Sunny has friends in this neighborhood and a few cloaks

to sell. (Sunny can be moved by other former soldiers, and

will give up cloaks to men and women who look like they

could use something to keep off the chill of night.) Sunny

is not, by nature, subtle; he will showboat as much as other

characters let him, and is prone to concocting stories that

exaggerate his skill or accomplishments. But his chummy

bonhomie will hold the attention of a shop-owner long

enough for him to get a solid look around and pick out any

details of interest.

Sisera has been away from Vance for a long time; but a

cavalier is easy to spot from a distance, and most people willassume he is looking for work. If he indulges this assumption,

he can find out which noble houses have been hiring ki llers

lately and how well that’s turned out for them. He may also

be called upon to calm down a dyspeptic beast and learn

more about its former owner.

Geira is paranoid about being recognized, but a servant

knows another servant. She asks after the Masters of other

servants and their doings of late, injecting enough gossipy

humor and exaggerated secrecy to pass as currently in the

service of no one at all important. Most important to her is

what houses may have employed whom recently, and who

makes their balms to hold body and soul together. She mayoffer by way of explanation that her Master has been com-

plaining about the taste of her medicine, and she is hoping

for advice from an expert.

the truth

Ultimately, the characters will find out that a man called

Ruvar the Blue recruited the assassins from the area. He’s

planning on going to a particular tower crypt tonight in



14

order to somehow make his escape. They can find this out

using their own methods, such as those suggested above, or

they might find information at the following establishments.

estabLishments

the Winking Lapis

Khaamat Ist ra knows what the body wants and the soul

fears. Her large two-story house caters to both. The front

door is flanked by two blue torches: in Khaamat’s native

Chiaro, these are said to keep ghosts and the dreaded tomb

stalkers at bay. Blue lights and paints appear throughout the

house. They play to the common fear of of Earth, the blue

star of ill-omen, and of the blue dust halo the sun shows at

dawn and dusk.

The Winking Lapis is a fortune teller’s shop, where all

the fears of ancestors and looming mortality can be con-

jured and put to rest. Most of the first floor is devoted to

Khaamat’s reading chambers, where she slashes palms, leavesash marks, and performs the rituals of divination. Many a

soldier dreading his next campaign will stop the night before

to see Madame Khaamat.

Yet fortune telling is not the only service on offer. The

Winking Lapis is also a brothel. That same soldier might

stop to enjoy one last embrace with one of Khaamat’s Chi-

aran prostitutes. The Winking Lapis is a place of sex and

death, a place where any kind of catharsis can be had for a

few obsidian chits.

Trouble: Madame Khaamat is gracious to visitors, but

not at the expense of her strange trade. If the characters

come looking for information too unsubtly, or address heras a charlatan or whore, they will find she is also a potent

adept. Her calm demeanor conceals a deadly temper. (Threat

Rating: 2 * Number of Characters; Danger Rating: 2)

Information: One of Khaamat’s employees believed that

one of the assassins would marry him. He was being taken

advantage of, but he did learn that the apparent revolutionar-

ies were in the pay of the city-state of Illium.

the Cavern

The Cavern is, literally, a hole in the wall. Cracked ma-

sonry between two abandoned buildings allows entrance intoa small network of cloisters. These tiny chambers, once open

to the sky, are all that are left of a star cult that flourished

in the area a hundred Princes ago.

Now the chapel and cloisters host devotees of a differ-

ent sort. The Cavern is a drug den, where a tall, pudgy man

named Azanza plays host to those who find themselves in

need of untroubled sleep or unending wakefulness. He allows

his customers to stay on the premises out of an odd streak of

mercy: he knows that many of them have nowhere else to go.

At any given time, the cloisters are temporarily occupied

by a dozen addicts. Some of these are destitute and simply

need a place to spend the night; others ply different illicit

trades in a place where few would care to follow.

With the festival at its height tonight, nearly three dozen

people are packed into the Cavern, including six soldiers.

The air is thick with sweat. At least two people are rutting

somewhere in the cloisters.

Trouble: The addicts and revelers in the Cavern just

want to be left to enjoy their highs (or lows, as the case may

be). They’ll quickly turn rowdy if they suspect the characters

of being dangerous; Azanza will incite them if he thinks he’s

being investigated by authorities or suspects the characters

are there to muscle in on his business. (Threat Rating: 3 *

Number of Characters; Danger Rating: 1)

Information: A mysterious new customer showed up just

last week. He was most recently seen yesterday, mentioning

something about a meeting in the sky crypts during the festival.

bariLLa’s

When people are down on their luck, they come to

Barilla. And they bring the things they prize most. His pawn

shop is among the few buildings in the Dredge that are well-

kept. In fact, it’s immaculate. Even most wealthy shopkeepers

can’t boast a shop as clean as Barilla’s. The walls are lined

with objects that once meant everything to someone. Jewels,

swords, stone cameos of loved ones... it’s all here.

Barilla hires off-duty soldiers as security, and he keeps at

least three of them around at any given time. He’s well aware

that his valuable merchandise is in a dangerous place. Still,

the soldiers don’t see too much action. At least two usually

play cards out front on any given night. Tonight, however,

they play inside, and with the door barred.

Trouble: Barilla isn’t seeing customers - - or anyone else

-- tonight. Unfriendly attempts to enter will be met with force

by his soldiers. (Threat Rating: 3 * Number of Characters;

Danger Rating: 1)

Information: Barilla recently accepted an object even

he had some reservations about: a bas relief clearly chiseled

off of a tower crypt. Enough of the inscription was even left

to make out that the crypt belonged to Magister Marcellus

Tertias Tegallianus. Barilla’s had a lot of second thoughts

about keeping the item. Everyone knows that wealthy men

leave the most dangerous curses.



15



16

Cornering r uvar the bLuethe Crypts

In the highest towers of city rest the bodies of Vance’s wealthiest citizens. To be interred close to the sky is a sign

of status.

The ornate tombs haunt the city’s skyline. Their archi-

tecture is intricate, by turns baroque and gothic, chiseled

with great and precarious care out of the white rock from

which so much of the city is built.

The crypts have also been put to practical use. Most

nights, soldiers keep watch from the towers over the sur-

rounding canals and desert, alert for any danger. Particularly

fleet-footed messengers have also been known to leap across

the crypts as shortcuts to other high points in the city.

As a result of these activities, as well as ongoing con-struction, the grand tombs are connected by ropes, narrow

bridges, and scaffolding. Traversing the tombs is quite pos-

sible, if vertigo-inducing.

the aCtion Tonight, the mausoleum-towers are almost empty of

watchmen. The Small Moon festival is a compelling distrac-

tion, and the dutiful few who remain are easily persuaded by

Ruvar’s cruel reputation and his naked efforts at bribery. A

few truly honest soldiers have crawled into the tombs of the

wealthy, preferring to share a dead man’s bed rather thanface the blade of one of the traitors.

Ruvar is secretly in the employ of Illium, and a personal

agent of that city’s Princess Invincible. He plans to escape

before the Hounds of Vance can be mobilized to track

him down. Knowing that Vance’s few sky docks are more

thoroughly guarded than the crypts, his plan is to meet an

Illium sky-ship atop the crypt of the recently dead Magister

Marcellus Tertias Tegallianus (coincidentally, the man Geira

murdered). From there, he will make his escape.

Ruvar is accompanied by a small group of trusted agents.

Their motivations range from Ill ium’s coin to personal loyalty

to Ruvar. These men and women have accompanied Ruvaras security only; once he has made his escape alone, they

will fade back into the Vancian population, wait ing to be

activated again later.

Ruvar and his agents are surprised by the characters,

but they wouldn’t have been t raveling in force if they weren’t

ready for trouble. After any initial surprise attacks, they rally

and take on the characters.

Ruvar and his agents battle the characters simultaneously.

Treat characters fighting the agents as involved in a Chal-

lenge, and those engaged with Ruvar as in a Confrontation.

When Ruvar’s Vitality has been depleted by three, his

sky-ship arrives. While it appears to be one of the yachts

sometimes sold to rich Vancian merchants, it is actually a

military craft, appropriately armed and armored. Unable toboard via the usual gangway, Ruvar will attempt to leap atop

the craft. One of the characters might follow him and continue

the duel on a sky-ship thousands of feet above the ground.

If Ruvar is killed or captured, most of his men scatter

and run. Drop the threat rating by 15.

The Detail cap is 8.

r uvar the bLue

A handsome man, almost young, with unsettl ingly

blue eyes.

Vitality 5

Trappings: A single-shot flintlaser, a rapier of the finest

Deimos steel

Master Swordsman 5: Once a man has seen my blade,

he has seen his last day.

Sure-footed 4: Even at the greatest heights, I can leap

and fight.

Turncoat Soldier 3: Before I was tempted by Illium’s

radium coins, I served the Dog of Vance.

r uvar ’s agents

Threat Rating: 10 * Number of Players

Danger Rating: 2

Dressed as a group of common ruffians, but actually

highly trained soldiers and assassins. They fight primarily

with militar y-issue rapiers, with a few carr ying flintlasers.

One is a Zaiu, and his ape-like physique allows him to carry

a massive, repeating projectile weapon.

Dangers:

The agents fight as a group. While one might engage a

single foe, his fellows will be ready to trip or backstab that

enemy.

The fight takes place high above the city. Characters must

utilize all their agility to stay atop the crypts and bridges,

though they may also use the great heights and precarious

positioning to their advantage.

More agents might spring from within the crypts or

drag their enemies inside to fight among the brown bones

and funerary jewels.



17

Each one has spent time climbing the crypts, and each

is ready to fence on narrow bridges or kick enemies down

from towers.

Even carrying his massive weapon, the Zaiu is capable

of leaping from tower to tower without using the intervening

bridges and ropes. The bullets he fires can shatter the very

stone on which the characters (or his fellow agents) stand.

r esoLution The sun rises with its eerie blue halo, and the city begins

to put itself back together. Hangovers are nursed. Masons

and other craftsmen go to work repairing the results of the

night’s excesses.

The characters have thwarted a plot aimed at the very

heart of Vancian power, and they have rescued (or avenged)

the Prince of a smaller state. While the merchant houses

aren’t going to be throwing any parades in their honor,the characters are likely to receive quiet offers of lucrative

employment, and not a few admiring glances.

With the traitor identified, the Lady Aldonza seems more

confident and openly grateful. She offers honorary commis-

sions with the Hounds sponsored by her house. While these

are little more than titles now, they carry potential pensions

and property rights in the future. She’s also likely to consider

the characters trusted agents in future endeavours... including

in possible covert retaliation against Illium.

CustomiZing the adventure

We expect you’ll tailor this adventure to your group:

none of us ever runs a published adventure just as written.

This particular story focuses mainly on swashbuckling ad-

venture, with a dash of investigation. The web of intrigues

that occupy the Red Kingdoms are only hinted at, but could

be expanded. Particularly, consider what the Lady Aldonza’s

family might think of her dalliance with a foreign prince,

and whether some factions might ally themselves with actual

revolutionaries, such as the Mongrels or the Twelve Dead Men.

It’s also a relatively linear story: this works well for a crash

course in the setting, but you might want to try something

a little broader. In this case, we recommend expanding the

portion of the adventure that begins in the Dredge. Give

the players freedom in their investigation, and give them the

chance to catch Ruvar the Blue and his henchmen in ways

other than the set piece finale we provide. With the fullgame, you might take the action to the Hangman’s Garden

or chase them across Mars and into the Labyrinth of Night.

You could also consider different ways of tying the char-

acters into the adventure. Perhaps the Prince of Coronal has

important diplomatic business under the cover of the party,

and being left indisposed has jeopardized it. Now, one of

the characters must don his mask and take on his persona.

Or maybe you’d like to play it from the other side. The

characters could very well be the assassins themselves, fac-

ing off against the guards and soldiers of House Arez and

Coronal. Are they true revolutionaries, or are they, too, in

the pay of Illium?

However you choose to run it, we hope you have an

evening’s fun getting to know our Mars. We’d love to hear

what you think; you can e-mail [email protected] with

your thoughts. We’ll see you again atop Chiaro’s pyramids,

or perhaps Illium’s perch on the Radium Plateau. In the

meantime, hold your sword close, your flask closer, and keep

an eye out for the full game!

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