So, after reading some threads here about the various Haarlock Legacy adventures I've decided to finally give it a try. We've generated Rank 4 characters that have worked, unwittingly, for the Inquistion for quite some time.

We have the following characters:

Scum (Gunslinger)

Adepta Soriatas

Arbitrator

Psyker (this player chose the Mind Cleansed background because he was too lazy to create a real background, so I'm making him one of the Haarlock Scions. )

Assassin

I have one weekend coming up where a player will not be able to attend (the Scum PC), so I decided I want to run a prelude to the adventure. My idea was that the PCs are sent to rescue the Scum PC, who has been captured by Belasco. Belasco has learned (before most everyone else) that the Haarlock Legacy is "in play". In addition he has a dataslate with a list of the auctions contents. The Scum character had gotten into Belasco's organization at the lowest levels and learned about the Legacy before being discovered and imprisoned. Belasco knows that the Scum PC is working for someone powerful, but is not sure it is the Inqusition. So for now he is imprisoned awaiting torture.

I've decided to have Master Nonsuch be a high ranking associate of Belasco (who is aware of his nature). Nonsuch will be present at the facility where the Scum PC is being held but I don't plan on having them get into a real fight with him.

So, my general idea is for the PCs to infiltrate the place where their ally is being held so they can extract him and the evidence. Any ideas on how to make this more interesting and how to better tie it in to the Legacy adventures?

Thanks in advance,

SS

Hi Spawn,

somehow, good old Belasco seems to come up a lot peoples mind if they thing "person behind the auction. Anyway..

Just a short piece of time:
As your player is only missing one evening, you should not develope much of an affair. I found my players spending whole evening only winding down three or four scenes. Keep that in my with whatever you plan to do. Best advice: develope only five scenes till they "get to the prisoner" and make the final one a fight (these tend to take a lot of time). In addition, prepare some "flight scenes" so if your pc are quicker then expected, youc can "stale for time" until your scum "recovers from being passed out"

Location:
Since you want to mix the Slaught with Belasco, the start for the "missing agent search" should be on Solom. Their, the missing agent was to infiltrate a merchant operation that is believed to be involved into the "human trafficking". They specialised into smuggling out people wanted by imperial law, and the your groups inquisitor is interested since they seem to have "dispatched" some of his forma target (thereby the "last lead to them")

The merchant house is helping people to doge justice and has networks on several worlds. But the operation belongs to Belasco who is in liege with the Slaugth. A fair share of the criminals (mostly those not or not any longer attached to an organization) end up serving the more visceral needs of Tobias Belasco or his new business associates. Solomon has become a "final destination" for those unfortunates refugees and the pc is actually kept in a facility that has the main purpose of providing the Slaught with rotten brains and raw material for their Constructs and Tobias with some "choice meals". He himself is not on the premisses nor are any Slaught. But a special agent of Tobias is seizing up all those "new entries".

Scene One: The merchant front
Since this front was the officail employer, the pc might want to start searching their. The records claim that their scum switched job and is now working on a jump trader of the Amarathine Syndicate heading rimward. But this is obviously not true but an excuse for him being not their. If the group sneaks in past the security, shadows some people higher up to interrogate them later or following the delivers of the "goods" the merchant house buys and sells via space port, they will get lead to an "Transfer & Re-packing Facility".

Scene Two: The Facility
Here business is going on. The merchant house isn´t really knowing anything besides that they are paid far to good and that they therefore must be involved in a crime... and that they are not to open any containers handled by Line Trader Captain Melchinian Roeheim (Amaranthine Syndicate).... and to sensure that no-one else does (bribes, etc.) Besides other stuff, the delivery of Captain Roeheim contains "frozen premium organic material for high quality food bar production" . In side of this nearly-waste-grade-bio-mass refugees are smuggled in cryosleep (with a pretty risk of permanent damage to their health..but better then getting executed!).
The Facility is heavily guarded and has a seperate wing for the de-cryozation of the "organic mass". Here, mainly servitors work in freezing conditions...together with some criminal Tech-Adepts/Hereteks which get the refugees out of Cryo-Sleep. A fair number of armed criminals are inside this facility as well. Once re-animiated, the refugees are given breathing gear and are plunged into tube of warmed up "bio mass" (to further concil them from scanners) to the "Food processing Facility". They are told that their they will stay for a couple of days "to get back to health" and to forge some new personas for them.

Scene Three: Final Facility
In this nearly completely servitor operated facility, food bars are produced. And in a cellar, hideous bio-constructs of the slaught. The heavy build fabric facility is very much like a fortress. It receiving "materia"l form Solomon as well. While the "get well rooms" for the refugees who are deemed to be kept alive are in the highest floor, the holding cells and torture chambers for those who will meet an unsaviour end are in the cellar. Have one or two Slaught (weaker ones!) their..together with some Bio-Constructs

Hope this is inspirational to you!

Brilliant! That's just the king of direction I was hoping for. I had already decided to involve the Amaranthine Syndicate and the Slaugth with Belasco, so it really fits in well with what I wanted to do.

I'm debating on having a Slaugth present or not, I kind of want them to experience an encounter with one before Nonsuch, but I'm not sure. Maybe I'll just have them see Nonsuch leaving the area so that when they see him again at the House of Dust and Ash, a connection is made.

Shadowspawn said:

Hi Spawn,

I would say "have a Slaught there", but do not give away Master Nonsuch. After knowing that Slaught are involved, the heavy robbed and cowled figure of Nonsuch will be a dead give-away...unless you manage to incorporate some more of those types in the retinuee of others as well. The wanna-be RT would be good idea here.

Anyway, giving away Nonsuch before Dust&Ash would be kinda spoiling and boring. But in order to make Bioconstructs on side, you need a slaught there. But unless your group is very powerfull (our knows when to run away!) make him less powerful. Perhaps he is very young or old or ill or some kind of slave caste. Who knows?

Gregorius21778 said:

I`ll add a supporting voice to what Gregorius suggested. Don´t reveal Nonsuch at this stage. Adjust the stats and power of the resident Slaught to match your group. A full strength "regular" Slaught is something that can easily overpower an unprepared group. They have Regeneration, Unnatural Tougness, cause Fear and whatnot . When I took part in a campaign last year, we run afoul of two of the buggers. We were reasonably skilled and equipped at that time and even had some advance warning that some Xenos were involved. They smeared us. Absolutely smeared. Our psykers offensive powers were more or less useless. Two PC;s started babbling because of the Fear. The reast, as they say, is history .

Yeah, their stats do seem to be a bit on the extreme side of things. Perhaps what I will have is a Slaugth scientist overseeing the complex, he won't be nearly as tough as a standard stats imply.

What about Nonsuch at House of Dust and Ash? Am I looking at a possible party kill if they tangle with this guy? We have Rank 4 characters and they've got some okay equipment, but I'm afraid it would be really hard to hurt that guy.

Shadowspawn said:

Well, keep in mind that Nonsuch isn´t attending for killing the pc. Whatever he wants, it was about the auction to begin with. Thereby, their is no need for the pc to go toe-to-toe with Nonsuch. If they attack him, he will respond. If they flee, he could reasonably let them be and go back to "how to get out of here & survive".

If, however, your pc is the only Scion of the Haarlock bloodline around... he better knows how to get away!

Additional suggestion: If you think of Nonsuch as a problem, how about turning the two Bloodsworn into having a contract on Nonsuch`? Yes, they can impossibly have a "Blood Contract" on him...but perhaps they are working one "on the side" for an enemy of the Amaranthine Syndicate or Belasco (if the enemey of Belasco knows that he´s is in leage with Nonsuch... at that this guy cannot be a normal Joe... perhaps gained through sending less-seasoned killers after him to no avail...)

Another one: Have a Slaught at the Station..make his stats a little weaker... but he is more into "not get seen / caugth" then anyting else. Thereby, if the pc start conforting the figure in the strange cowled robes in this fleshfactory, it will turn to flee...as they attack, they will be in for a NASTIE surprise if their weapons do not seem to make damage...and the trail is not BLOOD but Maggots...

Nonesuch is unlikely to start a fight with the PCs. If the PCs (like my players) make the choice of turning an observation-mission into a "let's kill 'em all, they're all probably filthy heretics, and who needs proof anyway" mission and proceed to attack him....

... well, they deserve any and all punishment that comes their way

I'm gonna run thismodule for my Rank 8 acolytes. I've heard it's rather dangerous as it is, and yet mostly investigative challenges. If they do decide the "butn them all" approach they'll likely succeed

But is there anything I should change based on my powerful party?

The easiest way would be to limit their equipment. IIRC House of Dust and Ash is highly investigative, with the PCs wandering around sussing things out before everything goes ****-up in the short space of a finale. As such, it shouldn't take too much convincing for the party to off their lascannon (for example) for the time being.

The problem, however (I've found this with a rank 7 party with a heavy focus on melee combat) comes with things like powerweapons and bolt/plasma pistols, which are as much status symbols as they are powerful weapons. I really couldn't penalise my players for rocking up to the House of Dust and Ash, which from my memory is meant to be a pretty "srs business'" type of meeting, wanting to look like they aren't to be trifled with.

Of course, this is assuming you think this is a problem, and not just an excuse to throw things more powerful at them.

Given their elite status (rank 7 does come with its perks, I suppose) and obvious capabilities, I'd just tighten some of the slack the adventure would normally cut the PCs. If they have a time limit, halve it. If someone they need to persuade initially gets on well with the PCs, make them an asshat and force them to bend over backwards for them. If something gives them a second chance, give them a burnt Fate Point instead.

Basically, up the ante a little to force them to feel a little fear again. Force them to actually appreciate all those super special advances they've got if you feel taking them away is unfair.