After much forum lurking and reading of the books my group are finally plunging into the depths of DH and starting our first session tomorrow.

We will be starting with Edge of Darkness which I have prepared to the best of my ability but I have a couple of niggling doubts, one specific and one more general, about this published adventure and wondered if anyone had any suggestions.

First issue is that one of the characters has Knowledge (cults). Therefore I see every reason to allow him to use this after Sand has delivered his briefing about the body of Saul Arbest. I want to reward those characters who have chosen knowledge skills but I am concerned that if he rolls well then he will pretty much confirm that they are looking for a Logican cell. That early in the game just seems to detract from the mystery slightly.

Second issue is more general, in that I was slightly dissapointed in the investigative mystery elements. After years of playing D&D and Star Wars this style of play really drew me to DH and from my reading of EoD you really don't need to be Hercule Poirot to work out that the Alms House is where it is all going on. Go and speak to Lili Arbest, go and speak to Saul's drunk mate in the temple and bingo your knocking on the door of the Alms House; hardly murder on the Nile is it? Just wondered if anyone thought similar, or totally disagrees or perhaps added/removed some elements to make the clues a little less obvious?

Thanks for any thoughts.

WARNING!!! HEAVY SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

Talking Locigcians and Forbidden Lore (Cult)
First, I would not let him roll "per se". If he asks "do I know about an cult that works this way?" I would allow him to make a check. This is my personal rule to make the players think instead of getting them rodded in direction by their skills.

Second, does this organ-thing and the surgery really point to the Logicians? They cannot be the only Hereteks in the sector. In addition, does surgery automatically point to Hereteks? Xenos or a Xenos cult could use surgery as well. Not for "knowledge" or "improvement of the human body" but for "using it as a hot-bed for parasite-organs that will take over the whole human and will turn him into a half-one of us".

If the pc in questions ask, allow him a check. If he succecds, tell him about some heretek organizations known to experiment of humans. . And of smuggler rings and xenos cults. Tell him he knows of a over a dozen. And only hand him a list if the states that his chars puts them down. So, their is no way for just one roll to out-guess a plot.

Talking clues
Well, I kinda do not remember the "trail", but perhaps you can improve it.

So, they guy was a worker gone missing
He spent lots of hours in the "Workers Union"

Where else did he went? Perhaps the workers union knows that he was visiting a prostitut once a month? Perhabs they know that he started doing narco a while ago? And that he was in trouble affording it.

Story change:
The poor victim believed that he was selling one of his kidneys or something else to an illegal organ trade ring. He did not went missing right out of the blew. He went to the alms house. Alright. But the almshouse is believed to be a spot where "organ merchants" simply happen to hang around. The poor are desperate, right?

Day X
The victims starts visiting a prostitute, once every 2 weeks. His drinking pals know but keep their mouth shut
Three month later
Victim gets into money problems. He heared rumours about organ seller agents at the alms house. He cuts a deal and gets cut. Signs ill for three days. Claims to his wife that he got into a knife fight with some narco addicts. Thinks he lost some organs, but he was used as a "hot bed".
Three month and 2 days
Pain is to much. He uses some of the money to buy some narco from the gang at the union
Three month and 5 days
He buys some more. this time, it is not about the pain
Three month and a week
Visits prostitute again. On his way home, the machines of surgeon caputre him "for harvest"

Rumors are
that he is missing since he was seen buying from the narco twice a weak. Hence nobody knowed about his organ-deal,
his peers expected him that he was indepted to the gangs and in trouble. The only one to set this right are the narco gangs, but who are they to know?
The prostitute knows about the cuts and that he left her a fine tipp the last time. She knows what this cuts are -really- all about...or at least she believes to be that smart ("he must have sold his organs!"). She did not no nothing about his new-found addiction
The wife believes in what she was told.
The Narco gang could not care less...would there be this "changes in power".

Of course, everyone asking around about "organ deals" could find out (investigation) that there are people lingering around the alms house

Just because the PCs journey to the Alms House doesn't meant that they've entered the end game. If they go during the day they may well find nothing suspicious. If Moran's alerted to the presence and activities of the acolytes then he'll have come up with a suitable story about where Saul went. The acolytes should be suspicious of course, but try and sell Moran as the petty, detached bureaucrat he's posing as rather than an ice-cold mercenary. That could wrong foot them enough that they might decide the Alms House is only a stopping point for Saul in his last night in Coscarla.

I am about to run the same senario this weekend, and i thought the same thing you did. I was doing some more reading lastnight and I thought to myself "this senario could be completed in as little as 2 sessions if the players smart enough and make a couple of good rolls". I've been thinking about adding something to the senario to help throw them off the trail. I was thinking that maybe the ever present atmisphere of fear and suspision that fills the sector has drawn the attention of a rogue physker or a minor deamon (like the people dont have enough troubles). This recent developement could throw up some smoke and send the players off in the wrong dirrection. This, i figure, could easly add another 1-2 sessions. I plan on hammering out the details for this after work today. I'll try to post what i come up with before the game starts for anyone that is interested. I would also appreciate anyones thoughts on the subject.

Thanks for the posts. I'be been doing some final prepping and decided use some material that is already in the adventure, but isn't emphasised enough, to throw in some red herrings. It is not that it not a good adventure I just feel there is a lack of other suspects included. As it stands everything is pointing at something fishy going on at the Alms House and this can quickly be discovered.

I am going to place more emphasis on the big black hole (mentioned by the locals) that has opened up that leads into the underhive, surely this will then be the obvious source for the nasty things that coming out at night? I am going to play Moran as a more up front charitable worker. When they knock on the Alms House door he will readily admit that Saul knocked on his door late that night seeking medical attention for the knife wound. He will swear on the Emperor that he treated the wound best he could and sent him on his way.

Hopefully this will get them thinking about alternatives rather than immediately focusing on the Alms House.

Thanks for all the feedback.

for me, this scenario lasted 5 sessions of about 3-4 hours each. I had a number of experienced Cthulhu players investigating. What took up the time was 2 frightening combats with Body Snatchers (Flayed One minis were great) and assorted skirmishes with gangers and derelicts. The way things developed, the players began to distrust everyone in Coscarla- Magistratum, narco-gangers, They even found the priest in a Church wanting when he confessed to not being as brave as the others - and there was some discussion about executing him for lack of faith.

The Alms House isnt as obvious as you think, since Lili may well send the PCs to the Union. How they handle the gangers and Boss Chord is the critical part- handled wrongly (as my lot did) this can lead to a low level guerrilla war instead of a clear clue to the Alms House.

SJE