I have finally managed to lay my greedy paws on a copy of Tattered Fates and read it in one go .. I think it's a good adventure, that promises a lot for the entire Haarlock Trilogy, with great atmosphere and good NPCs. Maybe a few chunks here and there (for example does the Heron Mask's plan make any sense to you? Does he really draw out the Widower? And why does the story wants him to try to befriend the PCs during their ordeal in the gladiator pit if a few pages later the dying Inquisitor tells them flat out he is not to be trusted...)

But anyways the thing that put me off a bit, is that it is essentially the same story as in House of Dust and Ash in Disciples of the Dark Gods:

- both are centered about power groups trying to gain access to the Haarlock legay
- both are about scions of the Haarlock bloodline needing to be killed
- both are about a countdown to anarchy
- both are set in a confined space (Xicarph or the House, both essentially domed prisons)
- both feature an insanely powerful 'Wido(er)' protagonist
- both are heavily themed with the 13th hour

it's almost as if House of Dust and Ash is the draft version of Tattered Fates. As if they found the adventure that good (and it is!) that it should not be just in Disciples but warrants its own book.

It's as if they re-examined the material and thought 'hmm we should have handled this differently' ... and made it the first part of the epic Haarlock trilogy. It happens more that themes and names are recycled; for example the Ashtear spaceport on Xicarph has a name that comes too close to the Ashen Tear assassins that the Logicians use, also in Disciples

Curious to your opinions!

I'll admit they are similar but lets fae it; in the next 2 Haarlock books it's gonna be similar stuff. Did you read the Haarlock legacy campaign section and the Dark Patterns side bar? They blatantly mention if you're inventing your own Haarlock stuff to use the number 13, bloodlines of old haunting the present, dark science and bitter revenge along with waking servants.

It seems the whole campaign is going to have strange "Widows" and death traps. It would seem to me that Erasmus is alive and is quite eccentric and mad, having set up several elaborate schemes to trap and hunt down all other remaining members of his line. I'm guessing the 3rd book he'll think they're all dead and kick off his suber evil genius plan to which only a scion can stop him... and enter the Acolytes.

I have to say though I dread running TF and my plyers going "the Gilded Widows back?!?" the difference this time is they can simply wander off anywhere on the planet if they choose instead of being trapped in a building but their the heros so have to stay and fight I guess.

What I find interesting though is TF gives us the effects of the mysterious Tyrant Star and it would seem the Haarlock line is connected or after it.

I think using the mentioned themes is one thing, but designing the same story arc twice is a bit ... meh.

I am curious though to the next two episodes!

The most confusing part is the overlap between the Beast House and the Pilgrims of Hayte. Do or don't the Pilgrims worship Korhne? If Disciples portrays the Beast House as such a bad *ss cult that the Inquisition can barely put a dent in their operations, how is it the Pilgrims are able to subvert their Quaddis branch so easily?

Sun Stealer said:

it might be easier to infiltrate an underground criminal organisation if you're card carrying evil monsters yourselves from the get-go, with full credentials. Having said that, they didn't "subvert" the beast house, they merely tricked them by giving them a job, and not explaining honestly what the job was. considering the beast house's motives are largely mercenary, it's no big.

The pilgrims definitely don't worship Khorne, at least not exclusively, read DotDG. In fact, read the adventure, they're lead by a sorceror. The pilgrims are seemingly equal opportunities, worshipping chaos, death and destruction in general. The False Prophet merely whips up a giant frenzy in the populace, preparing them for an orgy of torture, murder, ****, and destruction, and has usually vanished by the time the holocaust kicks off in full. The Pilgrims will throw themselves onto the imperial defenders, dying fearlessly to a man, and causing untold destruction, while the escaped False Prophet migrates across the galaxy to start over.(and over,and over...)

Yeah the Beat House is not subverted, but merely lured into a deal that they feel has gone sour for them.

But still ... the Pillgrims want to flush out the Widower with the Haarlock blood, but tihis never really occurs in the adventure. And the Widower taking the role of Jackal Mask is also a weird and sudden plot twist that leads nowhere.