TEXT: BY MONTE COOK
  VORTEX
  
  2
  Vortex is a NumeneraTM adventure that can take place almost anywhere in the Ninth World. It is suitable for 
  beginning characters and comes in two parts. Part 1: The Temple details a small village, a strange structure 
  from the past, and a cult with a nefarious leader. Part 2: Through the Vortex presents another, even stranger 
  structure from the past and a horriﬁc mystery there.
  Vortex is presented as a sort of “sandbox” adventure. Rather than guiding the GM through a string of 
  possible encounters, it presents all the people, places, and creatures in the adventure, along with a starting 
  encounter. From there, the PCs can do whatever they wish.
  BACKGROUND
  Generations ago, adventurous souls discovered a structure from the past that exists outside of normal space, 
  the entrance of which itself exists in the real world but skips across physical reality so that its location is always 
  changing.
  Within this structure lies a swirling vortex of energy that powers the structure. The discoverers believed this 
  vortex to be a god and began to worship it. They decided to use the structure as its temple and began what they 
  call the Cult of the Vortex. 
  Many years have passed. At ﬁrst, the cult’s membership grew and prospered. But about thirty years ago, the 
  cult fell on hard times. Membership dwindled. About ten years ago, the cult fell under the leadership of a man 
  who has since come to abuse his power. He has ordered his ﬂock to begin kidnapping people to indoctrinate 
  them into the cult—a process that has achieved mixed results.
  The cultists understand the temple now more than they did before, but much of it remains a mystery.
  VORTEX
  INTRODUCTION
  Credits
  Writer/Designer 
  Monte Cook
  Lead Editor 
  Shanna Germain
  Proofreader 
  Ray Vallese
  Typesetter 
  Charles Ryan
  Cover Artist 
  Roberto Pitturru
  Artists 
  Dreamstime.com, 
  Patrick McEvoy,  
  Roberto Pitturru
  Cartographer 
  Alyssa Faden
  Numenera  
  Editorial Team 
  David Wilson Brown, 
  Eric Coates, Ryan 
  Klemm, Jeremy Land, 
  Laura Wilkinson, 
  George Ziets
  © 2013 Monte Cook 
  Games, LLC
  Numenera and its logo 
  are trademarks of Monte 
  Cook Games, LLC in 
  the U.S.A. and other 
  countries. All Monte 
  Cook Games characters 
  and character names, and 
  the distinctive likenesses 
  thereof, are trademarks of 
  Monte Cook Games, LLC.
  
  For a map of Jutte and 
  the surrounding area, see 
  page 10.
  3
  This portion of the adventure offers a lot of options 
  for the players. It presents the information the GM 
  needs in a unique way. All the characters involved and 
  locations come ﬁrst. Then comes the initial encounter 
  that starts the adventure. After that, it is up to the PCs 
  to determine what happens next, where they go, and 
  what they do. The GM should be very familiar with the 
  cultists  and their various motives, and keep track of 
  which cult member is where. 
  SYNOPSIS
  Although Vortex is designed so that it could go in 
  many ways, one possibility is this: The PCs ﬁnd 
  a strange structure in the wilderness. While they 
  investigate, they encounter a group of cultists 
  attempting to perform a ritual outside the structure. 
  After the ritual, a door in the structure opens and 
  the cultists go inside. Soon thereafter, the structure 
  disappears. However, the cultists have left behind 
  evidence that allows the PCs to know where the 
  structure will reappear, and when. If the PCs wish 
  it, they can go to that place, perhaps spending the 
  intervening time in a small village named Jutte. When 
  the structure reappears, a single cultist emerges. She 
  desires to escape from the cult that dwells inside 
  what they refer to as the Temple of the Vortex, and 
  while she managed to ﬂee, she was not able to get her 
  brother out. She begs the PCs to help her. If the PCs 
  agree, they discover that the interior of this shifting 
  structure is vast. After some exploring, they ﬁnd and 
  overcome the cultists, including their horriﬁc leader, 
  Abrassal. They also discover a powerful energy vortex 
  that lies within, which the cultists worship as a god.
  MODIFYING THE ADVENTURE
  This adventure is designed for ﬁrst- or second-tier 
  characters, and it should be used with ﬁrst-tier 
  characters as a convention game. Although it could 
  be used unmodiﬁed for third- or even fourth-tier 
  characters in a regular campaign, the GM may want 
  to add a level to each of the cultists (granting each 
  +3 health, +1 damage, and other straightforward 
  beneﬁts). The Angel of Steel also might gain a level as 
  well as getting an additional point of Armor.
  For ﬁfth- or sixth-tier characters, the GM may wish 
  to add two levels to each of the cultists and the Angel 
  of Steel, put two mesomemes in Dog Lake, and 
  signiﬁcantly change Abrassal. This Abrassal is level 8, 
  with 40 health, 2 Armor, and a much more complete 
  control of his magnetic powers, allowing him to use 
  his power offensively at long range against anyone 
  wearing metal or hurling metal objects, inﬂicting 10 
  points of damage whenever he does use it.
  JUTTE
  Jutte is a small village, the home of about 180 people. 
  It’s off the beaten path. Around the village, herders 
  tend ﬂocks of entelodon (hairy, almost hippo-like 
  hogs), and grow various crops in small quantities and 
  then bring them to the village market to sell. There’s 
  a small lake a few minutes walk from town (over a 
  hill) that provides a fair number of ﬁsh to those who 
  venture out in boats or just ﬁsh from the shore.
  The village leader is an elderly woman named 
  Gralle, but she keeps to her home most of the time as 
  she is ill. A veteran of many wars, a skilled and hardy 
  glaive named Trummel keeps order and protects the 
  town from outside threats.
  The market offers a number of things, mostly 
  fruits, vegetables, and dry goods, although there’s 
  usually someone selling fresh ﬁsh. (There isn’t when 
  the PCs arrive, for the reason explained below.) 
  There’s even a vendor that sells a miscellany of 
  various spare parts from all kinds of numenera 
  devices. She doesn’t have anything functional, but 
  the back of her cart is a treasure trove to a craftsman 
  or tinkerer.
  NEWS AROUND TOWN
  People in Jutte talk about two things. First, a group of 
  strangers recently came through town (the day before 
  the Initial Encounter, below). They bought foodstuffs 
  and other supplies, but they raised suspicions 
  because they traveled everywhere in a group and they 
  all wore old, dirty yellow robes. There were ﬁve or 
  six of them—the story changes depending on who 
  is telling it. Some people in the market suspect that 
  they stole or were up to even worse deeds (this is not 
  THE TEMPLE
  PART 1
  Throughout 
  this 
  adventure, 
  you’ll see page 
  references to various 
  topics accompanied 
  by this symbol. These 
  are references to the 
  Numenera corebook, 
  where you can ﬁnd 
  additional details. It 
  isn’t necessary to use 
  the corebook to run 
  this adventure; it’s an 
  optional way to provide 
  additional information.
  
  4
  the case). There was just something off-putting about 
  their gruff and humorless manner. 
  Second, there is a monster in the lake. No one will 
  go near it since the Dreavish brothers disappeared 
  a few days ago, but stories of some kind of crablike 
  beast are mixed with reports of ghostly voices and 
  grisly apparitions in and around Dog Lake.
  DOG LAKE
  Dog Lake is ﬁlled with ﬁsh and its surface is home to 
  waterfowl and insects. The lake is relatively shallow, 
  and its banks are thick with tall reeds and other 
  plants. 
  Hiding amid these reeds is a creature some in this 
  region call a whispering lurker, but which is otherwise 
  known as a mesomeme.
  Hunting the mesomeme is not difﬁcult, for if the 
  PCs go down to the water, the creature will begin to 
  stalk them. It already has the heads of a few of the 
  villagers (the Dreavish brothers) as well as a very old 
  murden head and those of a few assorted animals.
  If the PCs manage to slay this dangerous beast (no 
  small feat for ﬁrst-tier characters), they earn the love 
  and respect of the people of Jutte. The people don’t 
  have much to offer as a reward, but certainly give 
  them free food and drinks and whatever simple things 
  they might need for the duration of their stay in the 
  area.
  CULT OF THE VORTEX
  The Cult of the Vortex believes that the vortex their 
  forebears discovered is the source of all power and 
  life in the world. They believe the people of the prior 
  worlds—faithful and wise, aware of the Vortex’s 
  divinity—built the temple to house and protect the 
  Vortex. The cult has taken up that stewardship.
  Years ago, the cult numbered almost two hundred 
  people, and there were families living in the temple. 
  A few of the cultists (Gregor, Feán, Relle, Ashlin) were 
  raised here. Things are bleaker now than they were, 
  and that fact taints the outlook of all the remaining 
  members. They feel isolated, and also resentful that the 
  rest of the world doesn’t see the truth that they see.
  Is the cult evil? Not for the most part, although 
  they all tolerate the dark and twisted tastes of 
  Abrassal, their leader, and facilitate his horrible acts. 
  This includes (but is not limited to) kidnapping and 
  essentially brainwashing new cult members. Abrassal 
  is abominable, and some of the other members are 
  not particularly nice, but their worship practices and 
  overall beliefs are benign. They are not necessarily 
  all itching for a big ﬁght, but most aren’t going to 
  react well to intruders coming into their sacred 
  space, either. If Abrassal were eliminated, the cult’s 
  nature would likely change signiﬁcantly (although 
  presumably under Gregor’s leadership, it’s still not 
  going to be particularly “nice”). 
  All members of the cult wear yellow robes that are 
  now a bit shabby after years of wear.
  Gregor
  Gregor likes to think of himself as Abrassal’s second 
  in command, but this is less because of any “ofﬁcial 
  position” and more because when cult members 
  leave the temple (which Abrassal never does), he 
  takes charge and no one questions this. They defer to 
  his strong personality.
  Gregor is gruff, no-nonsense, and surly. He cares 
  little about his appearance, and usually appears 
  disheveled and smells bad. He speaks loudly and 
  forcefully. He carries a long knife with him at all 
  times. If he has the opportunity, he grabs a crossbow 
  from his chambers and uses that as a weapon.
  Gregor wears a level 1 artifact on his wrist that 
  keeps perfect time and predicts the next day’s 
  weather with 80% accuracy and communicates both 
  through symbols one needs to decipher. This does 
  not function inside the temple.
  Fea´n
  Feán is, hands down, the smartest member of the cult 
  alive today. He carries with him a notebook in which 
  he has sketched a map marked with positions where 
  the Narthex (see below) will appear, along with dates, 
  times, and durations for when it will appear and for 
  how long.
  Feán is tall and thin, with angular features and a 
  nose that seems too large for his face. He is friendly 
  enough but seems continually distracted. He carries 
  with him a level 5 artifact that ﬁres a green neural 
  disruption beam at long range. Those struck suffer 2 
  points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor) and must 
  make an Intellect defense roll or lose their next turn, 
  stunned. It has a depletion of 1 in 1d10.
  Norrid
  Quiet and introverted, Norrid rarely says anything. 
  He does what he is told, moves to violence only very 
  reluctantly, and surrenders quickly if shown great 
  force. He is not regularly armed, but if need be, he 
  can grab a knife from his chambers.
  If there is a male PC in the group, Norrid bears an 
  uncanny resemblance to him. If there is not, he looks 
  very much like a male “version” of a female PC. This 
  is as much a surprise to him as the PC. 
  Relle
  Tough and crude, Relle is quick to take offense 
  and challenge someone to a ﬁght, and she’s a very 
  capable hand-to-hand combatant.
  Relle is short with long black hair. She wears dark, 
  mechanical goggles that no longer have any power, 
  and thus merely serve as ﬁlters against bright light. 
  Mesomeme: Level 5, 
  moves with stealth in 
  the water as level 6, 
  detects those sneaking in 
  the water as level 7; 20 
  health, 3 Armor
  Gregor: Level 4, 1 point 
  of Armor
  Feán: Level 3, level 4 at 
  any task dealing with the 
  numenera, geography, or 
  history
  Norrid: Level 3. If he 
  and the PC he resembles 
  come within immediate 
  range of each other, both 
  are affected by a level 7 
  mental effect that knocks 
  them unconscious.
  Relle: Level 3, level 5 in 
  all combat and defense 
  actions; inﬂicts 6 points 
  of damage with unarmed 
  attacks; 
  18 health
  
  5
  THE TEMPLE
  Ashlin
  Ashlin is young and eager to prove herself. And yet 
  she is very curious about the world, having lived 
  much of her life in the temple. If encountered outside 
  the temple, it is likely her ﬁrst time outside in an 
  extremely long time. Ashlin is the daughter of Nile 
  and Savra, although those two are no longer a couple 
  and the three of them are not much of a “family unit.”
  Ashlin is round-faced and of average height. She 
  carries a wrist-mounted dart thrower with her pretty 
  much all the time.
  Duranis and Nile
  Duranis is a tough-mannered, quiet man. Nile is 
  an aging man eager to show that he is still capable. 
  They’re quick to use force against noncultists. Both 
  are willing and eager to do as Gregor says, unless 
  Abrassal is present, in which case they defer to the 
  leader. Both wear chainmail armor when outside or 
  if the temple is threatened. Duranis carries a sword, 
  and Nile an axe.
  Savra
  Savra is a middle-aged woman who has a matronly 
  outlook for the other cultists. She feels particular 
  sympathy for the plight of Shome and Evanna, but 
  she is still a devoted cult member and believes that 
  they will eventually come around to see that following 
  the “will of the Vortex” is for the best. 
  Savra is short and stocky, with short, greying hair.
  Shome
  Shome is a very recent inductee into the cult. He 
  and his sister Evanna were both taken by Gregor and 
  some of the others from their village in a far distant 
  part of the world two months ago. He’s never had any 
  inclination to join the cult and is little more than a 
  prisoner here.
  Evanna
  Evanna is Shome’s sister and is all but a prisoner of 
  the cult. She tried to learn the ways of the Vortex but 
  never truly accepted it. Now she wants to escape. 
  She has stolen a keystick and wants to use it to free 
  herself and her brother. Evanna is in her late teens. 
  She is slight of build and awkward in action and word.
  Abrassal 
  Abrassal is a beast of a man. He leads the cult and 
  is seen as its priest. He has a messiah complex 
  and sincerely believes himself to be divine and 
  that all people should serve him as the only true 
  representative of the vortex on Earth. To him, 
  people are playthings to be used. Selﬁsh, arrogant, 
  lascivious, and horrible, he is the worst person to 
  lead a cult of dedicated worshippers, and yet he does. 
  Ashlin: Level 2, level 3 with 
  her dart-thrower
  Duranis and Nile: Level 
  3, level 4 for all attacks as 
  well as Might and Speed 
  defense; 2 Armor; 
  15 health
  Savra: Level 3
  Shome: Level 2
  Evanna: Level 2
  Abrassal: Level 5, level 7 
  for all acts of persuasion, 
  and debate; 22 health
  
  6
  The other cultists avoid him if possible, bringing him 
  what he asks for and then leaving quickly. They abhor 
  him but truly believe him to be semi-divine based on 
  the “visions” the vortex has sent him. Submitting to 
  his will (and sometimes to his distasteful needs) is 
  just a part of the price they must pay to be among the 
  faithful.
  Somehow, over the years within the temple, 
  Abrassal has developed a strange power that not even 
  he fully understands. He projects a hemispherical 
  ﬁeld, about 10 feet (3 m) across, of powerful magnetic 
  repulsion. What this essentially means is that no 
  metal of any kind can come near him. Metal ranged 
  weapons cannot touch him, and anyone holding or 
  wearing metal is hedged out and unable to approach 
  him. The ﬁeld is a hemisphere and does not project 
  down, so he can walk normally across a metal ﬂoor. 
  He could not, however, lay down or even fall down on 
  such a surface, nor could he approach a metal wall. 
  He has no control over this ability (not that he would 
  admit that).
  Should Abrassal ever die, the rest of the cult would 
  not mourn him. In fact, they would probably doubt his 
  divinity after all and would ultimately be relieved he 
  was gone.
  THE TEMPLE
  The Temple of the Vortex is a gargantuan structure, 
  the majority of which lies outside of space, but a 
  small portion of which, called the Narthex, intrudes 
  upon the world at shifting intervals. The cult actually 
  uses only a small portion of the structure, and in fact 
  has never even explored it entirely in all the many 
  decades that they have inhabited it.
  THE NARTHEX
  The Narthex appears to be a single structure of 
  grey metal and bits of yellowed synth. A few white 
  symbols are precisely painted on the sides, but they 
  are scratched and faded with age, and meaningless 
  to anyone in the Ninth World anyway. From above, it 
  is roughly in the shape of a human eye (an oval with 
  sharply tapered ends) about 20 feet (6.1 m) long. 
  It has no windows or obvious doors. The metal of 
  the outside of the Narthex is utterly impervious to 
  anything the PCs might try to do to harm it. However, 
  there is nothing preventing out-of-phase characters 
  from entering it, or characters using teleportation to 
  get inside.
  The “Keyhole”: The only thing that is really 
  remarkable on the outside of the Narthex is a small 
  rectangular depression on one side, about 2 inches 
  (5 cm) by 1 inch (2.5 cm), and about an inch (2.5 
  cm) deep. Within the depression are two small round 
  holes about the size of nail holes.
  The Keystick: The keystick is an 8-inch-long (20 
  cm) rod of synth that has two metal prongs at one 
  end. It has six of buttons on it. It ﬁts in the keyhole on 
  the outside of the Narthex, and if inserted, the doors 
  open. The cult believes that an elaborate ritual must 
  be performed with the keystick outside the Narthex 
  before it can be used, but this is not the case.
  There are many keysticks, but when the cultists 
  leave the temple, generally only one of them (almost 
  always Gregor) carries one.
  The Elevator: The elevator must also be activated 
  with a keystick. There is a keyhole here as well, and 
  merely putting the key in isn’t enough. One must 
  also push the bottommost button on the rod once 
  it is inserted in order to activate the elevator. It has 
  only one destination and takes about 45 seconds to 
  reach it. When it does, the doors open automatically, 
  revealing not the outside where the Narthex was but 
  the interior of the Nave.
  THE NAVE
  The Nave is a gargantuan chamber perhaps a 
  thousand feet (305 m) across. It is, however, far 
  too dark to make out the entire chamber, and even 
  torches or glowglobes don’t help much. The room is 
  roughly an octagonal cylinder much taller than it is 
  wide, so it is a shaft. The elevator travels through a 
  central stalk that rises up through the middle of this 
  shaft, and when the doors open, they reveal a metal 
  walkway suspended over this great shaft that encircles 
  the stalk and then extends off into the darkness in 
  many branches, like the multiple spokes of a wheel. 
  Each of these leads to a door set into the outer rim 
  of the shaft. In all cases, the walkway is about 12 feet 
  (3.6 m) wide, with a thin side handrail about 3 feet 
  (0.9 m) above the edges. All the doors are closed. Like 
  in the Narthex, most everything here is far too durable 
  for the PCs to possibly damage.
  In the darkness, however, the ends of the walkways 
  aren’t visible, except for one that is on a well-lit path.
  THE PATH
  The path is decorated with beads, candles (some lit, 
  most long burned down), incense, small religious 
  icons, and miscellaneous shiny objects (small 
  mirrors, shiny bits of metal taken from machines, and 
  so on). There are thousands of these objects, strewn 
  here over generations, marking the sides of the 
  walkway leading from the elevator to one of the doors. 
  Both the path and the railings bear the religious 
  symbols.
  Thanks to the burning candles and incense, the 
  path is dimly lit. It is the only light in the Nave, and 
  thus the path is the only distinct area in the sea of 
  darkness. 
  Religious Icons: Cult of the Vortex icons include 
  spiral patterns, stylized sun symbols, and images of a 
  very angular humanoid with four arms (the Angel of 
  Steel; see page 10). 
  For some groups, the 
  word “cult” is a loaded 
  term that may unduly 
  sway the actions of the 
  PCs. If the GM believes 
  this is the case, he should 
  avoid using that word. 
  Feel free to substitute 
  words like “order” or 
  “sect.”
  
  7
  THROUGH THE VORTEX
  
  8
  The Door: The path leads along one of the 
  walkways to a door. A keystick is required to open the 
  door; players will need to press the topmost button 
  on the stick to activate it. The door is almost 10 feet 
  (3 m) wide and opens ponderously and loudly.
  Beyond the door lies a corridor whose cross-
  section is hexagonal. The corridor leads a great 
  distance farther into the huge structure. The religious 
  path continues, so it is dimly lit by ﬂickering candles. 
  Although there are side passages and turns, if one 
  keeps to the path, the seemingly endless maze is 
  easily navigated to the heart of the cult, an area called 
  the Dwelling.
  Veering off the path can be dangerous. See “Going 
  off the Path” for more information.
  THE DWELLING
  The path eventually ends at a spot looking down into 
  a well-lit, round chamber. From the entrance, a spiral 
  ramp leads down to the ﬂoor 15 feet (4.6 m) below, 
  although a 12-foot (3.7 m) wide ledge extends around 
  the perimeter at that same height as well, effectively 
  giving the room two levels. The ledge is covered in 
  various control panels with screens, sliding switches, 
  lit buttons, and more mysterious mechanisms. 
  Everything appears to be functional, although the 
  function is not readily apparent. A few panels have 
  been scavenged for shins or other valuables.
  At the ﬂoor level, round red couches furnish the 
  space, along with a number of small, round tables. 
  The ﬂoor itself is padded synth and is soft to walk 
  upon. The room appears well lived in, with a few 
  books and pillows scattered about the couches, 
  dishes and cups upon the tables, and in more than 
  one spot, one can see ashtrays ﬁlled with butts. 
  There are nine small rectangular doors spaced 
  equidistant around the room. Each of these doors 
  opens easily by sliding into the wall (no keystick 
  needed). Behind each is the living quarters of one to 
  three of the cult members. Some are not currently 
  used at all. Each is appointed and tailored to each 
  cultist or cultists who live there, but they are fairly 
  spartan and threadbare. Beds and bedding are worn, 
  ﬂoors are stained, and so on. These rooms are lit 
  by mounted glowglobes that cease functioning if 
  removed.
  In addition to the control panels, explorers also 
  might ﬁnd another elevator on the upper level. 
  This also requires a keystick (pushing the bottom 
  button again) to activate and takes people down to 
  GOING OFF THE PATH
  The Temple of the Vortex is far too large to detail completely. Assume that 
  it is a facility that goes for many miles. Lots of dark corridors, but a few are 
  lit by panels on the ceiling. However, a few encounters for trailblazers could 
  include:
  �� A large, oval-shaped chamber with a black globe depending from the 
  ceiling. The globe is level 4 and senses movement and ﬁres beams of 
  destructive energy in rapid-ﬁre fashion at intruders within long range, 
  inﬂicting 8 points of damage. The globe has 2 points of Armor and 12 
  health and is 25 feet (7.6 m) from the ﬂoor. Whatever passage the PCs 
  follow continues on the other side of the chamber.
  �� A square, high-ceilinged chamber with a wide and deep pool of clear, 
  viscous ﬂuid. It’s not dangerous or poisonous, but it is so thick that 
  it’s impossible to really “swim” in. However, at the bottom lie some 
  interesting-looking devices that fell in long ago. If the PCs can ﬁgure 
  how to get them, they can scavenge 1d6+1 random cyphers.
  �� A large control panel in a long hallway. If someone can succeed on a 
  difﬁculty 5 task, they can scavenge a random oddity from it. However, 
  a GM intrusion could state that a sudden closing mechanism snaps 
  shut on the character’s hand, inﬂicting 3 points of damage and trapping 
  them.
  
  9
  THE TEMPLE
  Abrassal’s chamber and the vortex itself.
  Occupants: If the full contingent of the cult is in 
  the temple, everyone but Norrid, Relle, Abrassal, and 
  Evanna are here. If caught unaware, they are simply 
  minding their own business, relaxing, talking, or 
  exercising. Most won’t be wearing their robes. If they 
  are expecting the PCs, they will be on their guard and 
  in their robes.
  It’s worth noting that the cultists have played with 
  the controls in this room for years and could never 
  ﬁgure out what they do. They have raided some of 
  them for valuables to pay for food when they leave the 
  temple.
  Loot: Further scavenging of the control panels here 
  will yield 3d10 shins and 1d6 random cyphers. It is 
  also very likely that anyone searching through the 
  rooms will ﬁnd at least one more keystick.
  ABRASSAL’S CHAMBERS
  This is a dimly lit, disgusting den of iniquity. Abrassal 
  has abused his position and hoarded all of the cult’s 
  luxury and wealth. Here one will ﬁnd a lavish bed, 
  padded chairs and couches, a table covered in food 
  and wine, beautiful artwork on the walls, soft carpets 
  on the ﬂoor, and so on, all illuminated by a reddish 
  glow that comes from the low ceiling. An observant 
  PC might notice that there is no metal in this room 
  at all.
  Occupants: If Abrassal does not know that the PCs 
  are coming, this is very likely where he will be. In any 
  case, this is where Shome can be found, chained to a 
  large chair with synth manacles and eager for escape. 
  The synth key for the manacles is hidden within a 
  wooden chest full of other various belongings.
  Loot: In a ceramic bowl, Abrassal keeps a mass of 
  pills and small packets of powder. Most of these are 
  depressants and hallucinogens, but three are level 4 
  anoetic cyphers:
  1. Restores 1d6+4 points to any one stat Pool
  2. Grants the imbiber +1 Speed Edge for one hour
  3. Knocks the imbiber unconscious for one hour (or 
  until vigorously awoken)
  THE VORTEX
  This room is the holy of holies of the temple, so to 
  speak. It is a very large rectangular chamber, and in 
  the center of one of the long walls is a raised circular 
  platform surrounded by complex machinery. A vortex 
  of energy swirls above this platform like a golden 
  whirlpool in the air. Its radiance makes it difﬁcult to 
  look at, and its heat makes it difﬁcult to stand near. 
  It also creates a slight mind-inducing effect due to a 
  high electromagnetic output at particular frequencies. 
  
  10
  Those exposed to it have a subtle feeling of religious 
  awe, as though they are experiencing something truly 
  special.
  The cultists know very well what happens to 
  anything that enters the vortex. It is instantly 
  incinerated in a ﬂash of light and heat that hardly 
  leaves any ash. They think of that as divine wrath. 
  This is, essentially, 100 points of damage all at 
  once.
  The vortex is actually a wormhole that leads directly 
  into the sun. The structure around it (what the cult 
  calls the Temple) uses this as a power source. It is 
  not intelligent in any way. It is not even necessarily 
  the central focus of the vast structure.
  In the center of one of the short walls of the 
  rectangular chamber, the cult has built a shrine. 
  This is covered in various icons, beads, candles, 
  and incense, just like the path. On a wooden raised 
  platform, reached by a short set of wooden steps, one 
  can ﬁnd a few handwritten religious books, decades 
  old, written about the glory of the vortex by past 
  members of the cult.
  The Angel of Steel: Standing next to the vortex is a 
  roundish ﬁgure of metal with four legs. The guardian 
  of the Vortex is a mechanical construct that the cult 
  calls the Angel of Steel. They believe it to be a direct 
  servant of the divine—a holy being. The automaton 
  moves about the chamber, occasionally adjusting 
  or altering machinery. It cannot speak or interact 
  with anyone, but if the machinery in this chamber is 
  threatened in any way, by anyone, it will attack.
  Of course, the angel cannot come close to Abrassal 
  and vice versa.
  Angel of Steel                          4 (12)
  Description: The Angel of Steel is an automaton of 
  metal and glass, with a round body and four long 
  legs. It can produce up to four arms from panels 
  within its round chest to manipulate objects or, if 
  need be, attack and defend. It has no meaning in 
  its existence other than to defend and maintain 
  the vortex.
  Motive: Defense
  Health: 16
  Damage Inﬂicted: 6 points
  Armor: 3 (10 against heat)
  Combat: The automaton can attack up to four foes 
  as one action, although all must be within 
  immediate distance of it and each other.
  Interaction: The automaton cannot be reasoned with.
  Loot: If destroyed, 1d6 cyphers can be scavenged 
  from its remains.
  INITIAL ENCOUNTER
  The PCs are in the wilderness, well away from any 
  civilized area (about six hours walk from the village 
  of Jutte, but they don’t even know this yet). They 
  come upon a shallow stream ﬂowing through a 
  rough, lightly wooded landscape. Pausing at the bank 
  for some water, they see that upstream something 
  artiﬁcial rises from the ﬂowing water.
  Investigating, they ﬁnd that it is the Narthex, 
  but there’s no way in. If the PCs investigate the 
  streambed, they’ll note that the sand and rocks are 
  not positioned in such a way that it looks like the 
  structure has been there long, even though it is 
  obviously ancient. There are also a few dead ﬁsh, 
  insects, and frogs on the riverbanks around it.
  While they are looking at it, they hear people 
  coming their way. The people are Gregor, Feán, 
  Ashlin, Duranis, and Nile. They’re carrying bags of 
  food and other goods they procured in Jutte. If left 
  to their own devices, the cultists perform a religious 
  ritual before the Narthex, during which Gregor 
  produces a keystick, and they open the door, go 
  inside, close the door, and that’s that. If the PCs stick 
  around, the Narthex just disappears in about twenty 
  minutes, leaving no sign of its presence other than 
  a few dead ﬁsh and some disturbed sand that will 
  likely return to normal in short order. Except for one 
  
  It would be easy to 
  transplant this adventure 
  to any location in the 
  Ninth World. The 
  sparsely wooded region 
  could just as easily be 
  a desert, snow-covered 
  tundra, or deep in the 
  mountains. 
  11
  THE TEMPLE
  thing; Feán set down what he was carrying during 
  the ritual—a burlap bag of vegetables and a leather 
  shoulder bag that holds a few small tools, a pen, and 
  his notebook (see below). 
  If the cultists are confronted—politely or not—
  Gregor is condescending and dismissive, asking them 
  to go away. If they do not, he tells Ashlin to give them 
  each a shin to go away. The cultists won’t perform 
  their ritual if there are people close enough to get into 
  the Narthex with them when it opens. If the PCs agree 
  to at least back off and give them a lot of room, the 
  cultists don’t care if they watch from afar (after all, 
  they’ll be disappearing soon). It’s worth noting that 
  the cultists are under time pressure, and they know it. 
  If the PCs threaten or attack them (a pretty 
  shocking thing to do, actually, but not every PC is a 
  good guy), they do not hesitate to ﬁght back. They 
  focus, however, on getting rid of the PCs as quickly 
  as possible, and if that means driving them off rather 
  than killing them, that’s ﬁne. They certainly do not 
  give pursuit if the PCs do ﬂee. This should be a hard 
  ﬁght for the PCs, so don’t hesitate to use a GM 
  intrusion to make it quite difﬁcult.
  If they watch the Narthex disappear, it’s up to 
  the players to decide what to do: go to Jutte, go to 
  the next nearby spot marked in Feán’s notebook, or 
  ignore the whole thing and keep wandering in the 
  wilderness. 
  If they kill the cultists, they’ll have the map and the 
  key. If they act quickly, they’ll be able to get in before it 
  disappears from the streambed.
  FEA´N’S NOTEBOOK
  This notebook is ﬁlled with maps, and one near the 
  end is a map of this general area, with this precise 
  spot marked, and time and dates that conform 
  to about three days ago and the precise moment 
  the Narthex disappears. It then shows a map of a 
  completely different area of the world (unrecognizable 
  to the PCs) with some dates and times that shows the 
  Narthex will be moving around in places unreachable 
  by the PCs for about ten days.
  The map that shows this area, however, also has a 
  spot marked that is about four days’ journey away, on 
  the other side of (and well beyond) a village named 
  Jutte. The date and time for appearance is about ten 
  days away, and the area is a hilly bit of wilderness 
  miles from any settlement.
  THE REAPPEARANCE
  If the PCs go to where the Narthex will appear in ten 
  days, it shows up on schedule. Soon after it appears, 
  the door opens and Evanna comes out. She’s trying 
  to escape and is feeling guilt and fear for leaving 
  Shome behind. If confronted, she will beg the PCs 
  to go in and ﬁnd Shome. She will give them her 
  keystick.
  If the PCs do not interact with her, Gregor will lead 
  another small expedition out of the temple later on, 
  basically gathering fresh water and food that can be 
  found in the wilderness.
  VORTEX AS A CONVENTION GAME
  This adventure was originally written as a two-
  round game for GenCon 2013, the launch of the 
  Numenera game. If you are running this game 
  at a convention, the key is in pacing. There are 
  ways to speed up or slow down the pace as 
  needed to create a satisfying adventure in the 
  time allotted. For example, if it seems like the 
  PCs are interested in exploring the temple, don’t 
  let them waste a lot of time in Jutte. But if they 
  have little interest in the cult or the Narthex, 
  then roleplaying some interactions in Jutte and 
  playing up its lake monster might make for a 
  very fun session all on its own.
  If they go into the temple but insist on 
  wandering off the path, the GM may decide to 
  put a lot of sealed doors in their way, or have the 
  maze of corridors lead them back to where the 
  cult and the vortex is anyway.
  As a convention game, of course, the 
  only goal is fun. However, should the PCs 
  free Shome and deal with Abrassal one way 
  or another, that’s very likely the pinnacle of 
  achievement in the Temple of the Vortex and 
  sets them up nicely for the next part.
  VORTEX AS A 
  NON-CONVENTION GAME
  If this is used as a part of a campaign, you can 
  obviously pace the game as you desire, and let 
  the PCs explore (or not explore) as they desire.
  For campaign play, award 2 XP to each PC 
  who helps free Shome from his conﬁnement 
  and helps get him out of the temple. The 
  discovery of the vortex is also worth 2 XP to 
  each PC involved.
  
  GMs could change the 
  tenor of this adventure 
  by altering the PCs’ goals 
  and linking them to other 
  events in the campaign. 
  Perhaps an item that 
  they need lies somewhere 
  within the Citadel. Or 
  perhaps Aerridomos will 
  reveal a secret that the 
  PCs need if they assist it. 
  12
  The Vortex in the temple leads to an artiﬁcial habitat 
  that ﬂoats, almost impossibly, within the sun. This 
  location is known (to some, at least) as the Citadel 
  of Radiance. Although its purpose is unknown, it 
  now houses a number of constructs of pure mental 
  energy, stored in a complex series of high-energy 
  cells. The citadel is on the verge of ﬁnally succumbing 
  to the incredible forces arrayed against it—primarily 
  the heat and the gravity—and so it is crumbling and 
  failing. Without special protection, no living creature 
  could survive there long.
  SYNOPSIS
  The PCs are contacted by an intelligent artiﬁcial 
  being named Aerridomos, who bids them to come 
  to the Citadel of Radiance. First, however, they 
  must ﬁnd a special chamber within the temple that 
  will clothe them in protective armor that will allow 
  them to survive the trip through the vortex, as well 
  as what lies on the other side of it. The chamber, 
  called the Transformation Room, is a complex place 
  of guardians and blessings, some of which aren’t 
  blessings at all.
  The PCs explore the Citadel of Radiance, but their 
  presence there only exacerbates its collapse. To help 
  Aerridomos, they must ﬁgure out how to “ﬂush” 
  the system and free the psychic constructs within 
  it, or—even better, but far more difﬁcult—repair the 
  citadel so that it does not collapse. But as they linger, 
  the habitat becomes more and more unstable and 
  dangerous.
  MODIFYING THE ADVENTURE
  This portion of Vortex is not particularly combat heavy. 
  Adjustments might be needed to make it easier 
  to repair the Citadel of Radiance or escape it alive, 
  but in truth, doing so isn’t recommended. Doing 
  either should be extremely challenging for beginning 
  characters and much easier for advanced characters. 
  What GMs might want to do for advanced characters 
  is introduce a second complication in the citadel. For 
  example, multiple radiance knights that harass the PCs 
  on an ongoing basis. Or the collapse of the armored 
  sheaths while the PCs are still in the citadel, requiring 
  numenera knowledge (randomly required by the GM at 
  different times for different characters, difﬁculty 7) to 
  maintain them after, say, the ﬁrst hour or so.
  THE ENDANGERED RELIC-BEING
  Things begin immediately after the death (or removal) 
  of Abrassal, as one of the PCs senses something 
  “strange.” It is as if there is a presence that wasn’t 
  there before. Soon thereafter, that character receives 
  a telepathic message—like a radio broadcast directly 
  into her brain. At ﬁrst, it comes in a language she 
  cannot understand. And then, in another language 
  she still can’t decipher. Finally, she can understand 
  it, as if someone’s been adjusting the transmission 
  somehow. It says, “The wall is gone.”
  This is from a very strange creature called 
  Aerridomos. Aerridomos is an artiﬁcial construct 
  powered by the psychic energies generated by the 
  millions of different minds that helped create it 
  (and others like it) in the deep past. It (they?) is 
  one of many that has enjoyed a very long existence 
  within the Citadel of Radiance but is now soon 
  to be destroyed when that structure collapses. A 
  byproduct of Abrassal’s strange mutations was that 
  he blocked Aerridomos from being able to sense or 
  communicate with anything on this side of the vortex. 
  With Abrassal gone, it can now reach out and attempt 
  to communicate with intelligent creatures beyond the 
  vortex (in the Temple), and the ﬁrst ones contacted 
  are the PCs. 
  Further communiqués include, “The invitation is 
  open” and “If you come to where I am, any wish can 
  be granted.” And ﬁnally, “But you must dress for the 
  party.” This last message is followed by a mental set 
  of directions guiding the PCs to the Transformation 
  Room within the temple. As time goes on, 
  Aerridomos will contact multiple PCs (and perhaps, 
  eventually, all of them). It will not interact with them 
  further (or more clearly) until they reach the Citadel of 
  Radiance.
  THE TRANSFORMATION ROOM
  A 25-foot (7.6 m) high platform dominates this very 
  large, odd-shaped chamber. Two smaller, round 
  THROUGH THE 
  VORTEX
  PART 2
  
  13
  THROUGH THE VORTEX
  platforms on single support poles stand at a similar 
  height on either side of it. Beyond it is a circular pool, 
  with two large metal machines jutting out of the far 
  wall above it, each sporting a massive mechanical 
  arm. Characters likely ﬁrst notice two large yellow 
  crystals mounted on marble stands within alcoves 
  that  ﬂank a ramp leading up to the central platform. 
  However, closest to the entrance to the room are a 
  pair of golden tripods that stand about as tall as a 
  man.
  The ceiling is twice the height of the platforms. A small 
  side room is connected via an 8-foot (2.4 m) diameter 
  circular tunnel. It contains a single control console. 
  This complex chamber contains many different 
  devices, many of which are thought-controlled. 
  However, they are not designed for the brains 
  of Ninth World humans, and so the results are 
  particularly strange.
  Tripods: These level 8 devices are very sturdy 
  and ﬁrmly afﬁxed to the ﬂoor. They do nothing until 
  someone begins to ascend the ramp. When someone 
  does, each of these things begins to exude long 
  crystalline growths that quickly form a circular lattice, 
  eventually appearing to be a globular “snowﬂake” of 
  a sort, about 4 feet (1.2 m) across. They ﬂy across the 
  room toward the offender and make spinning attacks 
  with their razor-sharp crystal spines. Perhaps more 
  dangerous, however, they take control of creatures’ 
  perceptions, causing them to attack their friends 
  rather than foes, make them walk off the platform 
  without realizing it, and so on.
  If the snowﬂakes are destroyed, characters can 
  scavenge a small crystal shard (one per snowﬂake) 
  that serves as a level 4 anoetic cypher that restores 4 
  points to the user’s Intellect Pool.
  No more than two snowﬂakes are created per 28-
  hour period.
  The Crystals: These level 7 crystalline structures 
  stand tall enough so that a character might 
  barely reach the top with arms outstretched. They 
  immediately attune to the minds of anyone that 
  enters the room, to the best of their ability. Whatever 
  their original use, they are now weird and dangerous. 
  The possible effects produced are varied and speciﬁc 
  to each individual. The GM should choose (or 
  determine randomly) the effect on each character 
  when they enter the room. (Do not forget any NPCs 
  that might be present.) Do not use any effect twice, 
  generating new weird effects if necessary.
  �� Character goes through a powerful and painful 
  molecular rearrangement that takes a full 
  minute—during which he can do nothing—and 
  when it is over, is 3 inches (7.6 cm) taller.
  �� Character gains the ability to speak a new 
  language almost immediately. It is, however, a 
  weird language very difﬁcult for him to physically 
  speak. Moreover, much of the vocabulary he 
  learns are for creatures, places, objects, and so 
  forth that he cannot understand. And of course, 
  no one else in the Ninth World currently speaks 
  this language.
  �� Character is knocked unconscious for one 
  minute, during which time he cannot be roused. 
  When he does awaken, he is horribly thirsty. 
  However, after he drinks he is never thirsty again.
  �� Character ﬂoats 10 feet (3 m) into the air and 
  hovers for one round. Then, he drops and suffers 
  1 point of damage. If the character lingers in 
  the area within 30 feet (9 m) of the crystals, this 
  happens again.
  �� A small animal appears (it is literally created, 
  molecule by molecule, by the crystals) that 
  looks like a hairy bird about the size of a chicken 
  with four catlike legs. Its hair is striped black 
  and orange. It licks the character with a long, 
  mammalian tongue and then wanders off.
  �� Liquid begins to condense all over the 
  character’s body until he is completely coated 
  in an orange, syrupy mixture. It is bitter but not 
  poisonous. However, it is very difﬁcult to clean 
  off, being weirdly repellant to other liquids and 
  sticky and gummy when one tries to wipe it off 
  otherwise.
  If the crystals are somehow destroyed, characters 
  can scavenge three small crystal shards (per larger 
  crystal) that serve as level 7 cyphers and restore 7 
  points to the user’s Intellect Pool.
  The Platforms: Characters standing or walking 
  upon any of the platforms feel a tingling sensation in 
  their feet and hear what sounds like distant screams 
  and screeches. The direction and distance (and 
  source) of the sound can never be found.
  If any creature stands upon the dais on the 
  platform, the level 6 mechanical arms on the wall 
  attempt to grab it. If they succeed, they immediately 
  immerse the creature in the liquid in the pool.
  The Pool: The pool is ﬁlled with a liquid compound 
  of smart molecules. If a creature is fully  immersed 
  in the liquid, the liquid forms a sheath of complex 
  metallic and ceramic armor around it. The creature 
  is entirely encased. The armor supersedes any armor 
  that a character is already wearing (it is unharmed, 
  but it is also superﬂuous). The protected creature has 
  4 points of Armor and 100 points of Armor against 
  ﬁre and heat (and can thus survive the transition 
  through the vortex). If the armor is breached, which 
  is to say, if the wearer suffers more than 4 points of 
  damage at once, the armor is breached, but the hole 
  automatically seals within one second. This armor 
  lasts for 28 hours before decomposing. 
  Further, the armor emits a high frequency sound 
  when it ﬁrst forms, which puts the direct path to the 
  Deadly Snowﬂake: Level 
  4; 2 Armor; 6 points of 
  damage; anyone within 
  immediate range must 
  make an Intellect defense 
  roll or the snowﬂake takes 
  control of their perception 
  and the affected creature 
  does not realize it.
  
  14
  vortex in the mind of the wearer.
  Control Console: No sense can be made of these 
  controls, or what they are for. However, if a character 
  with two powered cyphers (a device, not a pill or 
  liquid or the like) messes with the controls, these 
  is a burst of electrical power that inﬂicts 3 points 
  of damage to all within immediate range who fail a 
  Speed defense roll. Meanwhile, the character has 
  one cypher drained of power and the other now 
  can be used twice. This strange effect happens only 
  once.
  Characters can scavenge the following from this 
  panel:
  �� 32 shins
  �� A level 7 artifact called the death by angles. 
  This object can be used as a weapon that ﬁres 
  a beam of energy up to long range. The beam 
  always bounces off of inorganic materials but 
  not living tissue or organic materials. So the 
  weapon can only be used against living targets 
  (or an organic, nonliving target). However, the 
  beam is harmless unless it ricochets off a surface 
  ﬁrst. Strangely, the beam never ricochets in the 
  way that a character expects, so attack rolls with 
  the weapon are two steps more difﬁcult than 
  normal. The weapon inﬂicts 7 points of damage. 
  Particularly skilled users discover that if the 
  beam reﬂects off of more than one surface, the 
  damage increases. For every additional surface, 
  the difﬁculty increases by one step, but the 
  damage increases by 3 (maximum 19 points). 
  Depletion for this artifact is 1 in 1d20.
  �� A level 3 anoetic cypher in the form of a 
  small jar’s worth of oil. If a character coats 
  an inanimate object with this oil, the object 
  becomes almost indestructible (treat as level 
  10 for durability). There is enough for a single 
  object, about the size of a sword, a shield, or a 
  small case.
  �� An oddity in the form of three separate silver 
  lozenges about an inch (2.5 cm) long that attach 
  to ﬂesh (but can be pried off with difﬁculty), but 
  only if all three are on the same creature.
  BACK TO THE VORTEX
  The trip back to the vortex is uneventful and simple. 
  If there are any cultists left in the temple, they will 
  certainly ﬂee and hide at the sight of the PCs encased 
  in the armoring sheaths gained in the Transformation 
  Room (which they’ve never seen before).
  THE CITADEL OF RADIANCE
  The Citadel of Radiance quite literally ﬂoats within the 
  corona of the sun. The portions accessible to those 
  that travel through the vortex are in fact only a portion 
  of a large orbiting structure that has ﬂoated there, 
  weathering the impossible environment, for millions 
  of years. 
  Now, however, the citadel is beginning to fail. The 
  heat shields falter, and it is 180 degrees F (82 degrees 
  C) within its rooms and corridors. Without the 
  protective suits that the PCs very likely wore to handle 
  the transition from the Temple of the Vortex, they 
  would suffer 5 points of damage each round from the 
  heat. This damage inﬂicted is immediate, so if a PC’s 
  protective suit is breached, even for a moment, he 
  suffers 5 points of damage. PCs might not realize the 
  interior of the citadel is so hot, at least at ﬁrst, thanks 
  to their protective sheaths.
  Surfaces: All surfaces (ﬂoors, walls, and ceiling) are 
  green synth and smooth, with rounded corners. It is a 
  stark contrast to the Temple of the Vortex.
  Doors: All doors in the citadel are stuck due to the 
  buckling of the interior structure. Opening any of them 
  is a level 4 Might task with an initial cost of 1 Might.
  Debris: There is debris throughout the structure. 
  Unless otherwise described, to clear a path through 
  a debris area marked on the map would require 
  ten man-hours (unless the workers possess some 
  sophisticated cutting tools or numenera devices that 
  would make it easier).
  THE COLLAPSING STRUCTURE
  Catastrophic forces are twisting and tearing at the 
  citadel. This isn’t new. It’s been going on for ages. 
  But the habitat has already survived far longer than 
  its builders ever planned, and the unimaginable heat 
  and pressure are ﬁnally winning. The force ﬁelds and 
  hyper-advanced materials of the structure began to 
  fail decades ago. 
  The interior of the structure also falters. Support 
  beams buckle and break. Ceiling panels fall. Debris 
  chokes the ground in places, making certain areas 
  inaccessible. Debris is everywhere.
  The presence of the PCs likely accelerates the 
  collapse, unless they are extremely careful. More 
  than likely, they will experience some dramatic and 
  dangerous events while they are there, and they may 
  very well have to ﬂee to escape the citadel alive.
  There is no strict timeline, nor is there some kind 
  of die roll involved. Instead, the GM should use 
  intrusions to let the players know that things are 
  accelerating. At ﬁrst, the GM should just describe the 
  sounds of metal screeching and synth bending and 
  snapping. The PCs should feel the surfaces around 
  them shudder. Eventually, after about a half hour—or 
  after the PCs have explored four or more areas of the 
  citadel—the GM should use a GM intrusion to have a 
  PC potentially caught in the collapse.
  These should accelerate in frequency. The next 
  dangerous collapse should occur after they have 
  explored three more areas. Then two. After the third 
  collapse that might damage a character, the next one 
  GM Intrusion: With a 
  whine and a shudder, part 
  of the room or hall around 
  the character collapses. If 
  she fails a Speed defense 
  roll, she suffers 6 points 
  of damage and is pinned 
  (remember that suit 
  breach is an additional 
  5 points of damage). It 
  takes a level 7 Might task 
  or two full man-hours to 
  free a pinned character. 
  Even if the Speed defense 
  roll is successful, the 
  character sustains 3 
  points of damage.
  Initial cost,  
  page 89
  
  15
  THROUGH THE VORTEX
  
  16
  potentially affects all of the characters. And after that 
  one, the citadel begins to experience a catastrophic 
  failure.
  Catastrophic Failure: Once this happens, the PCs 
  should ﬂee back through the vortex quickly or they will 
  be trapped here and die. PCs need to attempt three 
  separate Speed tasks (difﬁculty 4). Success on all 
  three means that the character gets out of the citadel 
  before it collapses. Failure on either of the ﬁrst two 
  means that the character is moving too slowly and 
  the difﬁculty of all further tasks increases by one step. 
  Thus, if a character fails the ﬁrst task, the next two are 
  difﬁculty 5, and if he fails the next one, the difﬁculty is 
  6. The last one is the most important, as the success 
  or failure of that roll determines whether the character 
  gets through in time, or doesn’t and is caught in the 
  collapse.
  GMs wishing to can modify the difﬁculty of the 
  checks based on the location of the character when 
  he begins to ﬂee or other circumstances. Those right 
  by the vortex in area 1, for example, should always get 
  away safely.
  AREA 1: THE FAR SIDE OF THE VORTEX
   This squarish chamber has a raised circular platform 
  set into one wall. A vortex of energy swirls above this 
  platform like a golden whirlpool in the air. Its radiance 
  makes it difﬁcult to look at, and its heat makes it 
  difﬁcult to stand near. It also creates a slight mind-
  inducing effect due to a high electromagnetic output 
  at particular frequencies. Those exposed to it have 
  a subtle feeling of religious awe, as though they are 
  experiencing something truly special.
  Characters may hear Aerridomos’s telepathic 
  “welcome” once they reach this chamber.
  AREA 2: CLEAR CHAMBER
  No debris blocks this area. However, if the PCs enter 
  this room, a red light on the ceiling ﬂashes. While no 
  other obvious effect is evident, what they do not know 
  is that the radiance knight in area 7 has been alerted 
  and will come to ﬁnd them between one to two 
  minutes from the start of the light ﬂashing.
  AREA 3: STOREHOUSE
  A character (probably a small or thin one) can worm 
  his way through the rubble and get into this room, 
  but doing so is a difﬁculty 5 Speed task. Failure 
  means that the character is caught, trapped, or stuck. 
  A difﬁculty 4 Might task is required to free him, and 
  doing so causes the debris to shift and more of the 
  ceiling to fall. This increases the difﬁculty of further 
  attempts at either task by one step.
  Inside the room are various goods—sealed synth 
  packets of food and water, weird tools, and items the 
  PCs have no name for—on shelves, or in oval-shaped 
  synth containers that seal when closed but are 
  easily opened. Some of the objects stored here have 
  warped, melted, or otherwise been spoiled by the 
  intense heat. The food, for example, has burned (if it 
  was ever digestible by humans in the ﬁrst place) but 
  the water is ﬁne, although near boiling. The tools are 
  all ﬁne, although most have little meaning to the PCs. 
  There are no weapons of any kind here.
  The GM should feel free to place 1d6 random 
  oddities here, amid the clutter of mostly non-
  functioning, incomprehensible items.
  AREA 4: THE WEIRD SKELETON
  Amid the debris in this room is the ancient (but 
  remarkably well preserved) skeleton of a multi-
  GM Intrusion: There is a 
  groan and ﬁnally a loud 
  bang. All characters must 
  attempt a Speed defense 
  roll, and failure means that 
  the character falls into a 
  rent that has formed in the 
  ﬂoor by the twisting of the 
  citadel. Characters suffer 5 
  points of damage and are 
  caught (remember that 
  suit breach is an additional 
  5 points of damage). It 
  takes a level 7 Might task 
  or two full man-hours to 
  free a caught character.
  
  17
  THROUGH THE VORTEX
  limbed, asymmetrical creature with three-ﬁngered 
  hands and a large, triangular skull. No creature like 
  this is known in the Ninth World.
  AREA 5: THE SOLAR SHIELDS
  This hallway is at the outer edge of the citadel. The 
  windows along the corridor are heavily shielded, but 
  still radiance from the outside comes in. 
  In the wide, more rectangular area, there is a level 
  3 control console. Most of it appears to no longer 
  function, but someone knowledgeable might be 
  able to completely close the windows with heavy 
  synth shields (on the inside). Alternatively, a large 
  mechanism on the outside can be maneuvered that 
  will give further shielding to this half of the citadel on 
  the outside. This mechanism is faulty, however, and 
  messing with it destabilizes the station further with 
  a horrible grinding noise. At this point, saving the 
  station just became even more difﬁcult (see area 9). 
  Using this panel activates a red light similar to the 
  one found in area 2 that draws the radiance knight 
  from area 7 in about a minute.
  Dismantling and scavenging from this panel yields 
  3d6 shins and 1d6 random cyphers.
  AREA 6: ENERGY CELLS
  The room is ﬁlled with transparent columns that rise 
  from ﬂoor to ceiling. About half of them are broken, 
  but the rest pulse with energy. Energy outside the 
  citadel is drawn in and stored here, although the uses 
  for this energy no longer exist.
  If a character is successful in a level 5  numenera 
  task, she can recover two minor energy cells from the 
  broken columns. Either of these can be afﬁxed to a 
  used cypher to grant it an additional use if another 
  numenera task is successful (use cypher level to 
  determine difﬁculty).
  AREA 7: THE RADIANCE KNIGHT
  The perimeter of this large chamber is lined with 
  columns made of bundles of transparent tubes, like 
  those in area 6 but far more complex. In the middle of 
  the room, a pedestal holds a large crystal connected 
  to a small, curved, transparent screen. The columns 
  are the storage cells that hold the constructs like 
  Aerridomos. The pedestal is a level 4 control console 
  that monitors the storage cells. Examinations might 
  suggest that the cells hold living energy forms (unlike 
  in area 6), and perhaps might convey a prison-like 
  motif, but neither observation is entirely accurate. The 
  constructs within the cells are not alive, but they are 
  aware and intelligent. They are not held against their 
  will, but in fact know no other existence.
  Dismantling and scavenging from this pedestal 
  yields one random cypher.
  The small room off to one side, behind the 
  door, holds an armored, bioengineered automaton 
  guardian called the radiance knight. This guardian 
  wears armor similar to the sheath the PCs wear, 
  although it seems more suited to battle. He ignores 
  gravity and bears a shield and a built-in energy blade. 
  If the knight hasn’t already come out, he comes out 
  when the PCs enter this area and attacks immediately. 
  He cannot be reasoned with—he attacks all intruders 
  and ﬁghts to the death.
  If the knight is slain, the blade can be removed with 
  a numenera knowledge roll and used as an artifact 
  that acts as a normal broadsword that inﬂicts 5 points 
  of heat damage with a depletion of 1 in 1d100. Failure 
  on that numenera task means that the blade no 
  longer functions. 
  AREA 8: COMMUNICATION ROOM
  Coming into this room immediately triggers a collapse 
  event (with no GM intrusion needed). With a whine and 
  a shudder, the ﬂoor collapses beneath one character. 
  She must make a Speed defense roll or fall into a hole 
  leading down into the metallic superstructure of the 
  citadel. The character suffers 5 points of damage and 
  is caught (remember that suit breach is an additional 5 
  points of damage). It takes a level 7 Might task or two 
  full man-hours to free a caught character. 
  Communication Screen: Along one wall is a 
  massive glass screen. This is a level 2 device that, if 
  activated, allows the PCs to visualize Aerridomos, a 
  creature of interconnected energy strands. They can 
  also talk to it for the ﬁrst time. Aerridomos speaks 
  in a stilted, alien manner. It knows nothing of the 
  Radiance Knight: Level 5, 
  defends as level 6 due to 
  shield; 24 health ; 4 armor
  GM Intrusion: Messing 
  with any of the control 
  panels in the citadel 
  accidentally causes the 
  artiﬁcially controlled 
  gravity to malfunction, 
  effectively making it so that 
  the place is at zero gravity 
  for the rest of the adventure 
  (unless it can be repaired).
  Remember that suit 
  breaches result in 5 points 
  of additional damage. This 
  is true for the radiance 
  knight as well as the PCs.
  Fighting in 
  zero gravity,  
  page 98
  
  18
  Ninth World or even of Earth. It knows only that it 
  has existed here in a state of perpetual bliss. It knows 
  that the citadel ﬂoats within the sun, and that it will 
  not exist much longer. It asks the PCs if they can ﬁx 
  the citadel (it has no idea how to do so). If they say 
  that they cannot, it says that there is a way to exile 
  them to a safe location somewhere in the citadel. It 
  would rather they do that than allow it (and those like 
  it) to die. It also knows that there is something in the 
  citadel of incredible power that it calls the Wishing 
  Well, but it has no idea what the well does or how to 
  use it.
  The screen also allows the PCs to view other 
  constructs, but none are able to communicate.
  AREA 9: THE WISHING WELL
  The level 5 door to this room is locked. Within 
  is a ﬂoating sphere of radiance about 2 feet (0.6 
  m) across. This sphere is an incredibly advanced 
  and powerful molecular reassembler of level 8. A 
  character attempting to use it must place his hands 
  inside the ball of light and manipulate it with both his 
  hands and his mind. This is incredibly difﬁcult, like 
  performing multiple complex math calculations at 
  once. If successful, the user can reshape any matter 
  currently in the station. A wounded character could 
  be healed, a healthy character could be physically 
  improved (adding 1d6 points to her Might or Speed 
  Pool), or a device could be repaired or even created 
  from the air (if the “wishing” character could make 
  the device). And the citadel could be repaired, or at 
  least stabilized, although doing so would require at 
  least two uses of the device as the structure is large 
  and complex—three if the PCs have caused further 
  damage, such as by using the panel in area 5. 
  The possibilities of the device are vast. The GM can 
  afford to be generous with interpreting the effects as 
  by this point, the time pressure will be signiﬁcant and 
  the task is so difﬁcult.
  Using the Wishing Well is taxing. There is an initial 
  cost of 4 Intellect points, and the difﬁculty of further 
  attempts to use the device without signiﬁcant rest is 
  increased by one step.
  The Wishing Well cannot be moved from this 
  chamber. It is powered by the energy absorbed from 
  the sun and could never function anywhere else.
  Attempting to use the device to repair the station 
  but failing is very likely to hasten its demise. 
  AREA 10: THE EXILE PANEL
  This chamber bears a single level 3 control panel. Its 
  use activates the red light as described in areas 2 and 
  5. This panel has one function—it ﬂushes the mental 
  constructs out of the cells in area 7 to somewhere 
  else. It does not reveal where, but it is away from the 
  station.
  Dismantling and scavenging from this panel yields 
  3d6 shins and 1d6 random cyphers.
  FURTHER ADVENTURE IDEAS
  The Temple of the Vortex is vast, and the cultists 
  haven’t explored even a fraction of it. It could hold all 
  sorts of wonders. There also might be other entrances 
  and exits that move through space in ways different 
  from the Narthex.
  The Citadel of the Radiance will likely be 
  destroyed by the end of the adventure, but where 
  did Aerridomos and the other constructs go if they 
  were “exiled”? This is left to the GM to determine. 
  But perhaps the PCs have not heard the last of their 
  strange friend—who now owes them a debt.
  CONVENTION GAME
  Obviously, this part of the scenario is only applicable to a convention game if it is a two-part game, and it follows Part 1. This was 
  the second round at GenCon 2013, and only one group out of twelve advanced to play it. Aaron Peterson, Michael Sanders, Nick 
  Barone, Yoshi Creelman, and Troy Pichelman were the players who qualiﬁed for the second round, and they performed admirably, 
  achieving a partial victory by saving Aerridomos but not the citadel. It could be used as a stand-alone event as well, but a different 
  beginning point would likely have to be created.
  The key to running this as a convention scenario is ensuring that the ending—very likely involving the complete collapse of the 
  citadel—is dramatic and that the PCs just barely make it out. There are many GM intrusions built into this scenario, but the ending 
  might force a number of XP earned to be used to make rerolls to get out safely.
  Using the panel to download Aerridomos and the others can be thought of as a partial victory, while using the Wishing Well to 
  repair the station would be a total victory (although without advanced characters, it’s very unlikely).
  Each part might provide about three to ﬁve hours of play.
  NON-CONVENTION GAME
  This is a very difﬁcult, dangerous scenario that could easily end in PC death, despite the fact that the PCs all wear super-advanced 
  armor throughout. A GM will have to monitor the situation carefully. PCs that discover the Transformation Room gain 2 XP, and 
  they likewise get 2 XP for exploring the Citadel of the Radiance. They should earn 2 bonus XP for saving Aerridomos by exiling him 
  with the controls in area 10, or 4 XP for repairing the citadel.
  GM Intrusion: As the 
  PCs use the Wishing Well 
  to attempt to repair the 
  station, a rent opens in 
  the outer hull, pulling 
  the character out and 
  into the sun unless he 
  (or another character 
  standing nearby) can 
  make a difﬁculty 4 Speed 
  roll.
   
  If a PC uses the Wishing 
  Well more than once or 
  twice, it takes a heavy 
  toll. GMs should  feel 
  free to inﬂict permanent 
  Intellect damage on 
  characters who press 
  their luck too far. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Cypher System/Campaign Settings/Numenera/Adventures/Vortex.pdf