Hey all!

This coming weekend, I'm going to have some of my players (who are currently stumping around Footfall) pay a visit to The Pit of Voices and The Xenosium.

A few details were given about these places, but does anyone have any suggestions for further details I might be able to use or that you have used?

I hope to ramp up the creep factor, even past their uber-weird meeting with The Liege and brutal encounter with The Red Schola.

L-

For the Xenosium you might have it be like a holiday Inn for the inhuman. That is numerous chambers for sustaining lifeforms that don't breath the standard human oxygen atmosphere, odd devices that could be either torture devices or T.V. remotes, and lots of weird smells.

You don't even need it to be inhabited by anything to make it creepy, just staff it with specialized servitors, and maybe a Kroot butler.

If you were going to populate it with xenos I'd make it something they're not familiar with. Perhaps a Sluagth from Dark Heresy, or a beasty from your own imagination. I also wouldn't have more than one or two species in attendance, thus giving the entire thing that abandoned haunted house feel on top of the alien oddities.

For what reason are they are going to visit the place? Anyway....

The out-of-control divinational gyro [Pit of Voices]
As the pc move through the maze of corridors, they come to an intersection of five corridors, touchinig there from different angles. The gravplating on the floor of the intersection is engraved with strange runes and signs [ Scholastic Lore (Occultismn)+10 reveals that these are runes for divination]. A gyro swirls, dances and spins erratically over the surface, like a little, mad, mechanical dervish.

This arrangement can be used for Divinations (+10 on the test; the movement of the gyro is interpreted), but if somebody touches the gyro the dreaded little thing jumps out of the manipulated gravity fields and ricochets of the wall (Dexterity+20 or the pc is hit by the gyro, suffering 1d10+1 damage with the PEN:1 and the tearing quality). Then, the gyro clutters to the ground outside of the circle and the pc grow very uncomfortable (each of them loses one temporary fate point).

Message for you [Pit of Voices]
As the pc pass through the pit of voices, an Astropath approaches them. The figure is skin as a skeleton. In fact, the pc are able to count his rips as his tattered brown monk robes only fits his body loosely and reveal much of his chest. Long needles protrude from the back of his neck and from his empty eyesockets. The figure wavingly strides towards them, crowing "Wait! Wait!" as he comes clother.

Ennaen (so is his name) claims that he has a message for the pc (or one of the pc), one that reached him a couple of days ago. The message was deluded, so he did not know for whom it was, until he... "saw" them here. If the pc ask for the message, the Astropath begins to tell them something interesting (a life sign of somebody long forgotten, a request for a meeting by somebody the pc know, a warning or something similiar). But before he goes on, he asks for a fee... and half of it in illegal and rather rare hallocinogenes (which the pc need to aquire first!).

Of course, all of this could be just a lie. There is a reason why those Astropaths are outcast.

Andros, the Severed [Pit of Voices]
Whatever the pc want in the Pit of Voices, for some reason
or the other they need to talk to the Astropath named Zandros.

He is of a squad build with a huge chin and a dark skin teint, walking
around with his robes stripped down to the waist.
His cheeks and shoulders show ritual scars while his back is a mess of scars.
Obiviously a result of the use of the flail dangling from a leather belt
he uses to raft his robe. His right underarm and some diggits of the fingers
of his left hand are missing.

The Astropath is quiet mad. If somebody approaches him that still has
all of his limbs in place (no missing finger diggits, lost limbs etc) he
will start shouting " You are whole! YOU ARE WHOLE! WHAT? WHY are YOU whole?
You arrogant bastard! Do you deserve this? DO YOU THINKG YOU DESERVE THIS!"
Likewise, he will turn violently upset if somebody with a mutation approaches
him. Calling him filthy, sin-ridden thing and the like. He will not stop
his tantrum or start any meaningfull conversation as long as amont those
approaching him is somebody "whole" or "sin-ridden".

Needles to say, he is insane and does not get along well with the rest
of the Astropats. Having the a removeable prosthetic and the Talent
(Peer: The Insane) does help a lot to get along with him.

The Ecckrean Dome [Xenosium]
Inside the Xenosium lies the Ecckreaon Dome. Or so it is called. It is one of many sealed demisphere contstructs inside the Xenosium, seemingly made of triangles of a golden material in a framework of something looking like stained copper. At several points, airlocks lead in and out. Old environmental suits can be found in the airlocks. They are moist and dirty, perhaps covered in fungus. One is better off bringing his own suit with him:

The occupation of the Ecckrean Dome goes back to an RogueTrader namen Cornelia Kirvin , a very non-flameboyant (for an RT!!) Lady-Captain newn as a seeker of knowledge and Xenos lore. From one of her Journey, she brought back a member of the Xenos race she called "the Ecckrean" and brought it into the Dome. She stay in Footfall for nigh a year and was known to spend days in the Dome. Even among her crew, rumours started to circulate and some of the crew left her ship, the Unblossemd Rose for good. Then, after more then a year she spend on Footfall without doing much besides consulting the xenos and doing minor dealing not worth a RogueTrader, she suddenly assembled a crew once more, took proviant for 6 month and proclaimed she would be back with price that would redeem all the losses she had suffered doing her abstinence from the far void.

This was more then thirty years ago. The Unblossemd Rose was never seen again. But the xenos she brought to Footfall is still in the Ecckrean Dome, so it is told. Power is still provided, as is lifesupport. Members of the Black Brotherhood guard the entrances ever since, and demand a very high"fee" from those who want to go in. On behalf of the Liege of Footfall, so it is said. Some pay and do go in. And some do not return at all.

Some of those who returned they that there is nothing inside at all. Just misty atmosphere and a strange, rotting xeno-flora of some swamp from far beyound the Light of the Emporer. Some say that after they have waited for hours, they were attacked by hydeous wyrm creatures. And fleed. Some that waited for longer tell of a monstrous giant wyrm errupting from the murky waters and demaning a sacrifice for answers of the secrets of the Universe.
Some say that his is all but lies, that they were greated by humanoid fog the very hour after they entered the doom that exchanged knowledge for knowledge and secret for secret. Other tell that everyting they heared was a voice in there head that demaned them to jewels into the mud and where offered curse for their diseases in return. And others again claimed that three large beetles welcomed them and wished for nothing but several tons of a certain plant in exchange for advise....

Inside the Dome (The Secret of the Ecckrean)
The inside of the large doom is a misty landscape of knee high mud, mirk and water. Strange plant, reminding of a cross of fungus, weeping willow dwell here. In the water, there are bugs, reptiles AND some very dastardly predator-worms (make up your own suiting your needs!). But all these where just "accidently" transfered into the Dome as Cornelia Kirvin moved the Ecckrean into this place. The xenos in here is a gestalt of the plant life: the very fungal trees found throughout the Dome. The Ecckrean does not recognize moving beings, since it is slow and stable. One must remain in one place for at least 30min to be recognized as something to be adress. Otherwise, the trespasser will just be recognized as something fleering about..and be ignored by the strange alien mind.

As soon as anybody remains still, the Ecckrean will adress ALL members of the same specis (human, ork, kroot) as the one standing still. It treats the rest as part of the "whole". It switches from "Dormant" (which is barely recognizeable by psykers. Psniscience -30) to "active" and will start to search the mind of the species for a "form". As a GM, you are encouraged you choose a form the majority of the present pc (or just one present pc) seems to expect.
In addition, the Ecckrean lock in the minds of the pc what they deem valuable. Again, this will be what the pc either prepared to give (or something similiar) or what he feared/expected the xenos to demand. A mind focused on values might be asked for such, somebody afraid of a xenos demanding human flesh will be asked for just that. A scholar mind will be asked for knowledge.

But the Ecckrean will haggle. They will always want MORE then the pc where willing to offer to begin with. And the pc will need a psyker to truly haggle with the Ecckrean. Since they cannot really understand "words" a mind forms. Just concepts. Unless a telepath is presenting them to the Ecckrean.

In return, the Ecckrean offers either knowledge or a biognetic change. If somebody spend enough time laying nacked in the mood, the Ecckrean can bring about genetic modifications and/or healing (as the GM sees fit). The Ecckrean knows very much about other races. As the first star-travelling race found it´s home world, it asked for part of itself to be transfered to other worlds. There, the part stayed until it asked to be brought back. It is able to guide a Navigator (or to share the route with it). But it will only do so with a "union" it trusts. None that will try to plunder or destroy it homeworld. Perhaps, the pc will once be the one "union" to bring it back home so it can be part of the whole again. To share its knowledge and the "souvenirs" it found, once it reroots with the rest of itself and becomes one again.

The missing visitors?
Well... remember that some of the crew of the Unblossomed Rose left Lady-Captain Kirvin for good? Some of an assasine cult where among them. They believed that this xeno thing had changed the Captain. They had forlorn their belove Lady Cornelia, the one they were loyal to. But they sweared that his would not spread further. Some remained with the Unblossomed Rose , hellbent on sabotizing the ship in mid-warp. Some others are still on footfall and try to kill those who counsel the thing. They do not get everyone, they do not even manage to attack everyone. They are few in numbers and can neither be everywhere at once nor are they so suicidal to take down a target cleary above there abilites. But more often then not, they give it a try. Mostly, they are taken for normal robbers or a rivals attempt of assasination. If captured, they tend to role with the blow. Telling that "it was just business". Funny how many RT are so much into profit that they reall believe this to be the prime reason for a man to kill another men...

But they never enter the Dome. They fear the corrupting influence of the Xenos to be far to great to stand a chance. Once they tried to destroy the Dome with explosive, but this fiasco was close to wipinig them out interely. They had to stay down for years to avoid being wiped out by the Liege (or other powergroups bend on keeping mad bombers from going about there destructive business in THEIR base of operation).

Holy Jeebus!

Thanks, both of you guys! A solid chunk of ideas!

And Gregorius, I will be using those suggestions in one way or another for the next dozen freaking sessions! Thank you for passing on that spark of creativity/insanity! :-)

L-

HPLustcraft said:

Thanks, Lustcraft. I am always happy to share some ideas. Anyway, if you can tell us for what exact reason your group is visiting the Xenosium and/or the Pit of Voices, us forum-guys will be more able to tailor any further ideas to your specific needs.

Traders of Suffering [Xenosium]
The Ceramin. The building looks like a tower, but each story is smaller then the first one. Four stories in total, each of it containing several arches opening up the walls in irregular intervals and sizes. The surface looks like pale-green ceramics, the arches are framed by irregular stone bubbles reminding of ember. Webs of cracks blossom at the points where crude iron nails where hammered into the surface. Additions of the latest occupants, hooks for the application of barbed wire and eerie wind chimes to the walls. The imperial eagles and gargoyles have been defaced with hammer strikes, carefully maimed by disregarding hands.

In the passages around the Ceramin (and some say. in the seedier quarters of f ootfall) shrouded figures hob, drag and dither along. Victims and vassals to the xeno court in the tower. The Flock of Tearings .

These Eldar where brought in on Invitation, on whose only the late Liege knows. For he tolerated it. As the actual Liege still does. For now. The name of the Tutors are only whispered in this matter, for those talking to loud get their throat cut.

Ezelzia Ahana Tolcha (as she tells the Mon-Keigh to name her in lack of the ability to spell her name correctly) is holding court in the nigh dark inner halls of the Tower, on a divan bed of fine skins. With her entourage of beings grotesque and deranged and a vanguard of scantly clad but many-bladed Eldar. Curious she is, always expressing her wondering for what she could do for the Mon-Keigh visitor.
Most come for a suggestion on how to avoid the attention of her raider brethren. Which she is willing to give advice on. For a price in human slaves. So she can´t guarantee that her advice means a save passage. It is always best, so she says, to cross the predators grounds if it has preyed on something else recently. Wine is offered then, the topic is changed. On how the Mon-Keigh persuits are going. In general. What the competitors are doing. If they founded new colonies. Some day later, a suggestion is made at which day it is best to start the journey. And of course, there is still a price to pay for the counselling.

The court of the Flock of Tearings is tolerated by the actual Liege. At the moment. Things might change. And if they do, it will be in the span of a night.

Gregorius21778 said:

Very nice and creepy! I will definitely be using this one right away...My players have no exposure to the Eldar (Dark or otherwise) yet, so this will be a nice splash of cold-ass water for them!

The players have already made some 'purchases' from The Tutors, so this would tie in well with that. Well, 2 of 4 have, the other 2 disapprove of slavery and have not found out...yet.

L-

Mind-Theft [The Pit of Voices]
The center of the Pit of Voices is a scary place. Not for the unreal ancles in which the grav-plated walls are arranged, because void-farers grow used to this. Not for all the gargoyles and other strange "furniture" the Astropath assambled among them. No, that´s bomb that would only impress a child or a green fleet cadette.

It´s the Astropath. Their eyeless stare that follows you. The stare of dozens of them. On a bad day, you can hear them whispering about you, at the corner of your mind. So many. All of them dismissed or banned from the ranks of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Or even rogues to begin with. All those fallen-from-grace telepaths...

As the pc conduct business, one of the Astropaths crossed the line. He tries to read the mind of the RT or one of his retinue. The attempt is not that subtle, he might notice and will be able to oppose this with a willpower test. As the pc start to go and cry a hue about it, it will stop and the whisper of the present minds turns into the angry buzzing of a swarm of wasps. Will they believe the RT? If they do, the present Astropath will be under suspicion. Tracing the attacker among allthose psykers-in-business is not an easy task (-40 or -50). It is a repeatable one, so, if the target keeps it quiet and the RT crew have a psyker of their own present.

If the RT raises the matter loudly, the council of oldest (or such a thing) will take the RT aside. They fear for the reputation and offer some free services if the RT is willing to be quiet about that matter. The RT might bargain, but if he refuses the deal the council will make it clear that this leave the Astropath no choice but to contest the claim.

The RT -might- bring about a change of politics regarding the Astropath or their leaders. Perhaps an "inner purge". But those psykers will not forget and he will be make his life miserable.