TEXT: ™
  PART III OF THE 
  HAARLOCK’S LEGACY TRILOGY
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  ROLEPLAYING IN THE GRIM
  ROLEPLAYING IN THE GRIM
  DARKNESS OF THE 
  DARKNESS OF THE 41
  41ST
  ST MILLENNIUM
   MILLENNIUM
  ™
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  2
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  Introduction
  Introduction
  3
  Contents
  Contents
  Introduction
  What the Acolytes Should Know about the Legacy 
  6
  The Revelations of the Haarlock Legacy .............8
  Game Master’s Brieﬁ ng ..........................................9
  Beginning Dead Stars .............................................9
  Dramatis Personae .................................................11
  The Icy Hand of Death ........................................12
  Ice Station Mara ....................................................13
  Overview of the Complex ...................................13
  Surface Structures ..................................................14
  The Subsurface Complex .....................................14
  The Mine levels  ....................................................16
  Chapter I: Burning Heavens 
  By the Writ of the Holy Ordos ...........................18
  Interlude in the Void.............................................19
  Arming for the Apocalypse ..................................21
  Arrival in the Mara System ..................................22
  Return to Realty ....................................................23
  Chapter II: Ice Station Mara 
  Nightmare Labyrinth ............................................26
  The Three Elements ..............................................26
  Enemies and Allies ................................................28
  Forging Alliances ..................................................29
  The Horrors of Mara ............................................29
  Winning the Race .................................................30
  Arriving at the Ice Station....................................31
  Descent Through Fire ...........................................31
  Encounters in the Ice Station  .............................32
  The Encounters .....................................................33
  Part III: The Blind Tesseract 
  Entering the Tesseract ..........................................44
  The Chamber of the Machine .............................45
  One door closes and another opens…  ..............47
  Creating Additional Encounters ..........................47
  The Shades of History ..........................................48
  Echoes of the Future .............................................49
  Example Encounters in the Blind Tesseract .......49
  Part IV: The Last Eclipse 
  Vanishing Point .....................................................54
  Dark Star Rising ...................................................56
  Resolution and Rewards .......................................57
  Appendix I: NPCs and Antagonists 
  Major NPCs ...........................................................58
  The Masses  ...........................................................65
  Appendix II: Player Handouts .............................68
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  4
  Introduction 
  “And now the veil rent and the key turned, 
  Of bloody gyre ﬂ owing wide and lamented stars murdered cold,
  What rough beast, its hour come round at last, draws near to 
  be born…” 
  –Attributed to The lost apocrypha of Yyat Darktongue
  D
  EAD STARS is the ﬁ nal part of the Haarlock Legacy 
  campaign. Set amid the haunted icy world of Mara, 
  a gate to nightmares past, present, and future awaits 
  and the Haarlock Legacy’s deadly mystery is ﬁ nally revealed 
  in full. The fate of the Calixis Sector rests on the shoulders 
  of the Acolytes. 
  The third part of a trilogy, DEAD STARS could conceivably 
  be run on its own with any party of sufﬁ ciently experienced 
  Acolytes. However, it is far better served as the climax of the 
  Haarlock Legacy Campaign. If this is the case, the player-
  characters will have played in either (or preferably both) 
  TATTERED FATES and DAMNED CITIES. Additionally, they 
  might have played the Legacy’s ‘prologue’ adventure, The 
  House of Dust and Ash, which can be found in the supplement 
  DISCIPLES OF THE DARK GODS as well as any additional 
  Legacy-related adventures of the GM’s devising. 
  Although connected with its predecessors by its subject 
  matter (the dark mystery of the Haarlock Legacy itself ), 
  and featuring returning elements and adversaries from the 
  Trilogy’s past adventures, DEAD STARS offers a departure in 
  storyline and style of play for this deadly climax. While the 
  previous Legacy adventures have been largely based in or 
  around a single location and have featured a focus on survival 
  and intrigue, DEAD STARS is instead an odyssey in the classical 
  sense; a journey into the dark beyond, following Haarlock’s 
  footsteps, and a murderous race against others who would do 
  the same. 
  The adventure begins with the Acolytes being placed in 
  charge of an inquisitorial mission to the forbidden world of 
  Mara, an ill-storied place of nightmarish fear and slumbering 
  horror, in search of the ﬁ nal answer to the mystery of the 
  Haarlock Legacy. Once on Mara, they quickly realise that 
  they are not alone, but are instead part of a race against 
  ruthless enemies who are also in search of the Legacy. After a 
  battle in orbit, they must make planetfall on Mara in less than 
  desirable circumstances and then  make their way into the icy 
  depths of Mara’s hell-haunted and abandoned mining station. 
  There, they must locate the Blind Tesseract, a malevolent 
  nexus of reality, nightmare, past and future that forms Mara’s 
  dark heart. From here, the Acolytes must confront doorways 
  to many different realities before ﬁ nding the one through 
  which Haarlock himself stepped and from which he may 
  yet return—A doorway that leads to the infamous world of 
  Dusk, to an audience with its legendary Hag, and to a terrible 
  decision they must make as the Tyrant Star rises. 
  Can the Acolytes survive travelling Haarlock’s path? And 
  if they can, can they prevent the traveller’s return? Should 
  they even try? It is for them to decide. 
  PLAYING FOR KEEPS
  The purpose of DEAD STARS is to serve as a powerful climax 
  to the Haarlock Legacy campaign. In the grim darkness of 
  the 41st millennium, that epic quality must be met with an 
  equally powerful set of threats and challenges to confront 
  the player-characters. Dangers that would kill a lesser person 
  abound, and character fatalities (not to mention maiming, 
  insanity, soul stealing and other unmentionable fates) are a 
  very deﬁ nite possibility. This is right and proper; the Acolytes 
  are by now senior servants in the Inquisition and are no doubt 
  marked for ascension in the service of the Holy Ordos should 
  they prove successful. 
  DARK HERESY is, after all, a game of dark investigation 
  and horror. Without risk, threat, and tension, the rewards of 
  completing a campaign with these themes are unsatisfying at 
  best. While casually wiping out the player-characters is just 
  as undesirable, it is left to the GM’s  judgement where to 
  draw the line. DEAD STARS offers both an arsenal of potential 
  threats and a few ‘get out of gaol’ cards as well. First, the 
  Acolytes have some assistance on hand in the form of the 
  Maccabian Janissaries (see page 20). 
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  5
  In addition to providing the Acolytes with some extra 
  manpower and ﬁ re support, these elite troopers can also be 
  used as sacriﬁ cial lambs if needs be. If the Acolytes manage 
  to keep one or two alive, they can also be used as last minutes 
  substitutes for a player-character whose Acolyte has come to an 
  untimely end. Similarly, a rogue member of the Amaranthine 
  Syndicate (see page 66), or even one of the Dusk natives (see 
  page 67) can act as a stand-in if needs be in order to keep one 
  or more of the players involved to the end. 
  MARA, DUSK, AND POINTS ELSEWHERE
  While running this adventure, the GM should keep in mind 
  that the backdrop against which it is set changes radically at 
  several different stages. 
  From the conﬁ nes of the warship Sigillite’s Word to the 
  icy wastes of Mara’s surface; from the nightmarish darkened 
  tunnels of the station mine to the dark and steamy swamps 
  of Dusk, each location should be unique, jarring and sharp in 
  the player’s minds. 
  To ensure that each of these exist ﬁ rmly as separate and 
  striking, a GM should achieve both a sense of something 
  shocking and unusual. He should strive for a feel of vast 
  distance and travel, and help achieve a sense that something far 
  removed from the run-of-the-mill inquisitorial investigation 
  is going on, even for the events of the Haarlock Legacy!
  In order to help the GM in this, detailed descriptions and 
  ‘read aloud’ text has been included to get things started in 
  each of the relevant sections.
  TIME, THE WARP, 
  PARADOX, AND NIGHTMARE
  DEAD STARS deliberately blurs the line between reality 
  and unreality, past and possible future and the mind-
  churning horrors of the warp beyond. Hopefully, both 
  Mara’s reputation and the events of past Legacy adventures 
  have prepared the Acolytes for this somewhat. Haarlock’s 
  fascination with clockwork, with literally capturing and 
  turning back time; his indomitable will and readiness to 
  risk anything; his bitter vengeance; his mastery of alien 
  technology and occult lore; even the fact that where 
  Haarlock has walked, the dead do not seem to rest easy; 
  none of these should be much of a surprise to the Acolytes. 
  The concepts of reckless, ruthless and nearly unlimited 
  power, of Haarlock ‘knowing things man was not meant 
  to know,’ and the horrors that surround him should all be 
  familiar to the Acolytes and emphasised during play. The 
  reason for this is simple: Haarlock’s potential return should 
  be a cause for excitement and quite likely dread for the PCs, 
  as  the consequences of such are shattering and on their 
  heads should they fail to do what must be done. As to just 
  what that is, is for them to decide. 
  USING THIS ADVENTURE
  DEAD STARS is intended to take ﬁ ve to seven play 
  sessions to complete and has been deliberately designed 
  as a deadly and highly challenging adventure for four 
  to six player-characters of around 7th or 8th Rank. 
  It features a number of powerful opponents, a nerve-
  wracking series of events in a number of locales, and a 
  wide variety of ways to die! However, it also provides 
  the PCs with some front-loaded help in the form of 
  extra gear, and with backup in the shape of a platoon 
  of troops to assist them. If the group has more than six 
  Acolytes, or are of higher Rank than suggested, the 
  GM should adjust the lethality and threat level of the 
  combat encounters and rival factions accordingly.
  DEAD STARS can be scaled to accommodate a group 
  of fewer than four, or less experienced PCs, but this 
  involves some work on the GM’s part, particularly 
  in order to reduce the lethality and the somewhat 
  unforgiving nature of some of the encounters contained 
  within. One potential solution is to simply have fewer 
  combative encounters, and leave out the ‘higher end’ 
  threats such as the Slaugth Harvesters from the Blasted 
  City encounter in the Blind Tesseract (see page 50). 
  However, it is recommended that the GM not strip 
  away too much as this lessens both the impact and 
  the enormity of the danger DEAD STARS is meant 
  to represent.
  As with other parts of the Haarlock Legacy trilogy, 
  the GM is actively encouraged to add new encounters, 
  intrigues, and NPCs to DEAD STARS as they see ﬁ t, as well 
  as to modify or ignore the ones presented here if it better 
  ﬁ ts his game. As the culmination of the Haarlock Legacy 
  campaign, the effects and impact of what transpires 
  here should be directly tied to the player-characters’ 
  own experiences, triumphs, and tragedies from 
  previous games.
  This means that DEAD STARS requires a little more 
  work on the GM’s part ahead of time in order to suitably 
  expand on what is presented here with the GM’s 
  campaign. This is easily done by adding in familiar 
  events and themes, not to mention old enemies from 
  the Acolytes’ past adventures. The rewards of doing so 
  should be a truly memorable and very personal climax 
  to the Legacy campaign. This can also serve as an 
  excellent springboard for the Acolytes to continue on 
  to higher things in the Inquisition’s service or perhaps 
  to pursue unanswered questions beyond the stars of 
  Imperial space. 
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  Introduction
  6
  WHAT THE ACOLYTES 
  COULD AND SHOULD 
  KNOW ABOUT THE LEGACY
  Based on their previous adventures, there are a number of facts 
  or theories the PCs might have regarding Haarlock, the Legacy, 
  and their reasons for being on Mara. Much of this information 
  is expanded upon during the course of this adventure and in 
  Appendix III (see pages 68-72). For the sake of clarity, the 
  most important and prominent of these are listed here:
  VITAL INFORMATION 
  ABOUT THE LEGACY
  The Acolytes should know the following information about 
  the Haarlock Legacy by now, preferably through their own 
  experiences, investigations and deductions. If any of these 
  facts are not in the Acolytes’ possession for some reason (or 
  they have not fully realised their signiﬁ cance), they should be 
  reiterated in their brieﬁ ng during the adventure’s prologue. 
  • Erasmus Haarlock was an infamous Rogue Trader of 
  frightening power who hunted down and exterminated 
  the surviving members of his bloodline in a bloody purge 
  more than a century and a half ago. 
  • In the years after the destruction of his family, Haarlock 
  pursued an obsessive and secret quest that remained 
  unknown to outsiders; a quest that took him to both his 
  family’s ancient domains and the far-ﬂ ung reaches of deep 
  space, leading him to become one of the most shadowy 
  and powerful ﬁ gures in the Calixis Sector in the process. 
  • After not returning from some secret voyage for many 
  years, he was ﬁ nally declared lost more than a century ago  
  in 703.M41. Without an heir, his Legacy—both in terms 
  of his domains and his family’s Rogue Trader warrant, a 
  thing alone worth a hive world’s ransom—fell into the 
  interminable wranglings of the Chancellery Court on 
  Solomon and was never resolved. In the century since then, 
  Haarlock’s estates and property within the Calixis Sector 
  either were appropriated, fell into ruin, or were shunned, 
  and Erasmus Haarlock became a ﬁ gure of dark legend. 
  • At an ill-omened hour around a year and a half ago all 
  across the Calixis Sector, past domains, devices and 
  forgotten sins of the Haarlock line stirred in their slumber. 
  In doing so they unleashed a chain of mysterious, unnatural 
  and deadly events. These matters and their often bloody 
  consequences drew the attention of the Holy Ordos of the 
  Inquisition, as well as a number of dark factions and cults, 
  to what became known as the ‘Haarlock Legacy’ and what 
  it portended. 
  • Through analysis of the evidence of the Legacy’s strange 
  happenings and the involvement of the Acolytes, the Holy 
  Ordos has learned that the ﬁ nal key to unlocking the 
  mystery of Haarlock Legacy is an utterly forbidden locale 
  known as the Blind Tesseract. This place, hidden deep 
  beneath the ice of Mara was Haarlock’s last destination, 
  where he is believed to have ‘gone beyond’ and from 
  where he will soon return. 
  OTHER CLUES 
  AND LORE ABOUT THE LEGACY
  The following represents information the Acolytes could 
  have gleaned about Haarlock and the Legacy depending on 
  how successful they have been and the adventures they have 
  undertaken. All offer useful insights and pieces of the puzzle, 
  but none are vital alone. 
  The Haarlock Warrant is ancient; awarded to the line 
  following the dark days of the Age of Apostasy. During 
  centuries past, Erasmus’s ancestors were involved in what 
  DEATH OF ACOLYTES AND 
  REPLACEMENTS
  DEAD STARS is a particularly dangerous adventure for many 
  Acolytes, and it is likely that many Acolytes will burn Fate 
  Points along the way. Some Acolytes may indeed be slain. 
  In this case, the Game Master has a number of options for 
  the player to bring a new character into the adventure.
  OPTION 1: THE DARK PACT
  The bleak surface of Mara, the haunted world of Dusk, and 
  the interior of the Blind Tesseract are all locations where 
  the barrier between the warp and the material world is 
  thin. It is thus likely that some denizen of the warp may 
  be willing to offer a dying Acolyte a way to return to 
  life—indeed, perhaps even to a hale and vibrant level of 
  health that itself may be suspect. Naturally, many Acolytes 
  may not be willing to accept “No, really, I’m ﬁ ne!” as an 
  explanation in these cases...
  OPTION 2: THE MACCABIAN JANISSARIES
  The Janissaries provide a number of options for the Game 
  Master in DEAD STARS, and one important example is as 
  a source of new characters should an Acolyte be slain. A 
  Guardsman character is a natural ﬁ t, but almost any Career 
  could be represented as a member of the Janissaries. In 
  addition, the two named Sergeants (Childres and Makrade) 
  are also good options for a new player character.
  OPTION 3: INQUISITOR HERROD’S RETINUE
  Inquisitor Herrod has brought his own set of Acolytes 
  and retainers along on his investigation of the Haarlock 
  Legacy. It would be very easy for a new character to 
  have come from this retinue and subsequently separated 
  or dispatched by Herrod’s own orders to accompany the 
  player characters.
  OPTION 4: THE TIDES OF TIME
  The alternate future that the Acolytes encounter in Part III 
  (see pages 50-51) is a very interesting alternative source for 
  a replacement player character. Naturally, the GM should 
  think carefully before allowing a character to time-travel 
  back from that alternate future, and the dark shroud of 
  that future’s fate will no doubt add plenty of Insanity and 
  Corruption Points. It could even be an alternate future 
  version of one of the existing Acolytes themselves!
  
  Introduction
  7
  would become the Calixis Sector,  and have played an important, 
  mysterious and often bloody role at various parts of the sector’s 
  history.
  Erasmus Haarlock possessed a genius-level intellect, and over 
  time, he developed mastery of both Xenos science and Warp 
  Sorcery. He also studied and collected many secrets and artefacts 
  gathered by his bloodline across the millennia.
  Haarlock’s private war of extermination began when the 
  patriarch of the Haarlock Rogue Trader household, Albrach 
  Haarlock, uncle to Erasmus (himself then a young man), died 
  without naming a successor—as was the clan’s tradition. In the 
  bitter conﬂ ict that followed, Erasmus Haarlock lost his beloved 
  wife and only daughter. He later hunted down and killed every 
  member of his family, their families, friends, allies, and all that 
  stood in his way to avenge the deaths of his loved ones and 
  become the last Haarlock. It is said that he took great pains 
  to inﬂ ict upon his blood family the same kind of loss he had 
  sustained before their ﬁ nal destruction.
  The one thing that Erasmus Haarlock desired after the death 
  of his wife and daughter was to undo what had happened to 
  them; to make them live again and return to the life that they led 
  before they were slain. This became his abiding obsession, and 
  Haarlock was willing to pursue any means to this end. In pursuit 
  of this goal, he went beyond the realms of sanity, morality and 
  mortal ambition. 
  Haarlock’s ancient domains are strange and deadly places 
  where time and space often do not seem to ﬂ ow normally, 
  ancient horrors lurk and the dead do not rest peacefully. 
  • On Solomon, where Haarlock’s ancestor—after whom 
  the planet is named—kept his stronghold, is a place 
  called the House of Dust and Ash. There, amid various 
  ancient artefacts of Haarlock’s travels and conquests, a trap 
  was sprung by his servants to capture and kill any of the 
  Haarlock bloodline that might have escaped Erasmus’s 
  purge, and any of those foolish enough to claim his 
  Legacy. A strange bound entity-machine called the Gilded 
  Widow proclaimed Haarlock’s return before the house was 
  consumed in ﬁ re and death. (See The House of Dust and 
  Ash in DISCIPLES OF THE DARK GODS.) It is possible that 
  this heir has escaped the trap (depending on the GM’s 
  discretion) and may be out amongst the populace—or even 
  one of the Acolytes themselves!
  • On the opulent and wicked world of Quaddis, at the heart 
  of the legendary Festival of Tattered Fates, a nightmarish 
  servant of Haarlock’s attempted to use an occult device 
  known as the Steel Clock to escape the bonds of its servitude 
  by calling forth the apparition of the dreaded Komus, the 
  Tyrant Star. The agents of a blasphemous Chaos Cult 
  intervened and attempted to wrest the machine’s power for 
  themselves, and many great nobles of the sector died as a 
  result. (See The Haarlock Legacy Part I: TATTERED FATES.)
  • On the blighted world of Sinophia, a Daemon that Haarlock 
  had trapped between two mirrors and left imprisoned has 
  subverted and corrupted the local Arbites’ precinct. It used 
  the corrupted Arbites and daemonically-infused walking 
  dead to carry out a chain of thefts and murders that sparked 
  near civil war on Sinophia in the process, all simply in order 
  to be free before Haarlock could return. (See The Haarlock 
  Legacy Part II: DAMNED CITIES.)
  • Note that the Acolytes involvement (or lack thereof ) may 
  well have modiﬁ ed the outcome of these events. If they 
  have not played in them, assume the worst: The House 
  of Dust and Ash on Solomon burned, taking all with 
  it, including a team of Inquisitorial acolytes; the Festival 
  of Tattered Fates left Quaddis ravaged with hundreds of 
  thousands dead and the governance of much of the sector 
  threatened; and Sinophia tore itself apart in bloody civil 
  strife that is still ongoing.
  THE FINAL TRUTH
  (IF YOU ARE NOT THE GM, 
  LOOK AWAY NOW!)
  It’s a trap. No, really…
  When Haarlock opened the gateway into the heart of 
  Komus, the Tyrant Star, or perhaps through it, or perhaps 
  to something else far worse, all that remained of Erasmus 
  Haarlock that was human and mortal was destroyed, and 
  something unfathomably dark and terrible remained. 
  This unknown entity is still driven on by Haarlock’s 
  indomitable will, and it wants to come back. Fortunately 
  for the Calixis Sector, and indeed humanity itself, 
  Haarlock cannot return easily. The Blind Tesseract can 
  only be opened from one side, and its doorway has long 
  since closed behind him, the Tyrant Star moving on in 
  its inscrutable and otherworldly course. Until now. 
  Long ago set in motion, Haarlock’s plan to return 
  unfolded over the span of years with the intricacy and 
  precise movement of the clockwork of which in mortal 
  life he was so fond. The plan was to awaken his servants 
  and destroy any enemies that remained, to bring them 
  here to Mara to the Blind Tesseract, and for a human 
  agent, willing or unwilling, to walk in his footsteps 
  and activate his device and open the doorway to Dusk 
  again as Komus blots out its sun at the appointed hour. 
  Unfortunately things have not gone entirely according 
  to Haarlock’s plan, thanks largely to the Acolytes’ 
  prior involvement. Many of Haarlock’s servants who 
  could have performed the last minute calibrations to 
  the device, such as the master of the House of Dust 
  and Ash and the Widower of Xicarph have been killed, 
  committed suicide or have ﬂ ed, and many of Haarlock’s 
  former domains have been deﬁ led or destroyed. Most 
  importantly of all is that the keystone of the Steel Clock, 
  itself vital to activating the Tesseract device, is in the 
  hands of strangers with their own agendas. 
  As things stand, if anyone (Acolytes included!) activates 
  the Tesseract Device (something of an inevitability given 
  the adventure’s setup), a chain of events is set in motion 
  that frees Haarlock. However, thanks to the rogue 
  elements that the Acolyte’s actions have introduced, 
  there is a window of opportunity to either stop entirely 
  or subvert what is to pass. This may also lessen the scope 
  for the Acolytes if they take matters into their own hands 
  to judge the consequences of their actions. 
  T
  (
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  8
  THE REVELATIONS OF THE 
  HAARLOCK LEGACY IN 
  DEAD STARS
  DEAD STARS offers the ﬁ nal pieces of the Haarlock Legacy 
  puzzle, the details of which, in whole or in part, can be 
  found out by a number of means in Mara’s environs, which 
  still psychically echo and reverberate with the aftermath of 
  Haarlock’s last actions before he passed into the beyond. These 
  details are also known in full to the Dusk Hag in Chapter IV: 
  The Last Eclipse (see page 54).
  The last fragments of Haarlock’s dark story are as follows: 
  • Erasmus Haarlock’s beloved family was slaughtered by 
  his own kin in a vicious war for the inheritance of the 
  Haarlock Rogue Trader warrant. This single event drove 
  Haarlock to slaughter all others of his line and to seek a 
  means of undoing the past and subverting reality itself. 
  This has been the cause of untold suffering and death left 
  in his wake ever since, and may one day doom the entire 
  Calixis Sector to an eternity of darkness.
  • The endless search for a means of achieving this insane 
  desire drove Haarlock on, and he left no art of warp-craft, 
  xeno-lore, or ancient technology unplumbed to little avail. 
  He was left with failed experiments, bloody disasters, and 
  empty daemon-whispered lies. However, Haarlock’s will 
  would not countenance failure, even in so impossible a 
  task, and after many unholy sacriﬁ ces, nightmarish quests, 
  and disasters, he ﬁ nally found what he believed was the 
  answer: the Blind Tesseract. 
  • A strange and unnatural chamber deep beneath the terrible 
  warp-haunted icy wastes—a remnant perhaps of some long 
  forgotten pre-human race where past and future were one 
  and the same and distance was meaningless—the Blind 
  Tesseract seemed at last to afford the means to achieve his 
  insane ends. Haarlock attained this forbidden place and 
  mastered its secrets—no human had ever before managed 
  to build an intricate and impossible engine of clockwork 
  and blood to control its shifting portals—but he still found 
  himself thwarted. Although he could travel to the past, 
  he could not change it. Instead, he was doomed to watch 
  helplessly again and again as all he desired and loved was 
  taken from him, and the laughter of thirsting gods echoed 
  in his mind. 
  • His soul burned into a cold cinder, he still would not relent, 
  and Haarlock played his last card and used the Tesseract 
  to ﬁ nd a place where he could learn the ﬁ nal means to 
  achieve his desire: Dusk, and an audience with the fabled 
  Dusk Hag who had eluded him in the past, a creature that 
  was no mere myth but a being of appalling power and 
  forbidden knowledge from which any answer could be 
  attained for a price. 
  • What price Haarlock paid is unknown, but he had the 
  Hag’s mocking answer: His family had found the means 
  long ago but failed to understand what it was. At Tanis, his 
  bloodline had even captured the memory of its radiance 
  but remained ignorant of its truth and power, and by their 
  misunderstood lore he had used its shadow and echo in 
  his devices without understanding their full implications. 
  His answer lay in that thing which mankind called Komus, 
  the Tyrant Star. Only that baleful wanderer had the power 
  to end his desires she said, and to it he must go, though 
  in doing so he would be utterly destroyed. Haarlock 
  laughed at her. Had he not already sacriﬁ ced all? Was he 
  not Haarlock Kinslayer, master of deamons, enslaver of the 
  alien, the night traveller? Did not the death of a hundred 
  worlds already blacken his soul? And so Haarlock returned 
  to the Blind Tesseract and conﬁ gured his monolithic 
  device to plot a course to where no man had dared before, 
  opened the doorway to darkness, and stepped though. 
  FINDING OUT THE ANSWERS
  The answers to many questions in DEAD STARS can be gleaned 
  from the accursed navigator Nostromo (see page 36). Other 
  avenues may include visions beheld in the warp-touched 
  darkness of things past and the contents of the control cabin 
  of The Clockwork Auger (see page 40). Also, items the 
  Acolytes have brought with them connected to the Legacy 
  take on new signiﬁ cance. Should the Grey Skin Psalter be in 
  the Acolytes’ possession the gibberish of its pages begins to 
  resolve into legibility within Mara’s dark embrace. Similarly, 
  the mutterings of the increasingly lucid fragment of the 
  Widower of Xicarph also begins to make a deal more sense 
  if it is present. 
  The GM is encouraged to impart any further information 
  he wishes about what’s going on by any means he 
  feels necessary. 
  
  Introduction
  9
  GAME 
  MASTER’S 
  BRIEFING
  D
  EAD STARS plunges the Acolytes into the ﬁ nal 
  moments of the race to unlock the secret of the 
  Legacy of Erasmus Haarlock, and puts them in the 
  position to decide the fate of worlds and uncounted souls in 
  the ages yet to come. 
  The following is a breakdown of the adventure’s 
  chapters:
  PART I: BURNING HEAVENS
  This section details the Acolytes’ preparation for the mission 
  ahead, their brieﬁ ng and outﬁ tting, as well as their journey to 
  Mara itself. It culminates in a sudden and unexpected battle 
  above the planet as the Acolytes’ ship exits the warp amid 
  a furious space battle between the Imperial blockade ships 
  and those of the rival factions hunting for the Legacy. The 
  prologue ends and the adventure proper begins with the 
  Acolytes’ planet fall under ﬁ re and the abrupt destruction of 
  their escape route. 
  PART II: ICE STATION MARA
  The ﬁ rst part of this grand ﬁ nale to the campaign is a deadly 
  competition to discover the key to ﬁ nding and entering the 
  Blind Tesseract in the warp-tainted labyrinth of Ice Station 
  Mara. The Acolytes should have something of a head start 
  thanks to their past experiences investigating the Legacy, but 
  they face rivals of several different stripes, while Mara has its 
  own very real and extreme dangers. In order to prosper, the 
  Acolytes must discover exactly where and how they can gain 
  access to the Blind Tesseract from clues left within the Ice 
  Station, and by combining three separate elements to ﬁ nd the 
  key to what they seek. What they cannot glean themselves, 
  they have to take by force or guile from the others who also 
  desire the Legacy.
  PART III: THE BLIND TESSERACT
  In this penultimate part of DEAD STARS, the Acolytes 
  encounter the secret of the Blind Tesseract, a treacherous 
  place formed from a twisted knot of warp power, where the 
  laws of time and space do not hold. In the Blind Tesseract, 
  the Acolytes encounter a machine of Haarlock’s making, and 
  the entity that controls it: the Iron Daughter. Using it, they 
  must pursue Haarlock himself through doors between past, 
  present and possible future. Here they are forced to live with 
  the consequences of Haarlock’s return or of stopping it, and 
  uncover secrets from the past. 
  PART IV: THE LAST ECLIPSE
  In an abrupt shift of locale, the Acolytes ﬁ nd themselves in 
  the swamps of the accursed world of Dusk, far away from 
  Mara on the eve of a great and terrible event: the eclipse of 
  Dusk’s sun by the Tyrant Star, and Haarlock’s return, and 
  with a momentous decision to make. 
  BEGINNING DEAD STARS
  DEAD STARS begins with the players dropped into the adventure 
  already on their way to Mara and assumes that they already 
  know or have been told much about the dire history of the 
  place and that it is where the Blind Tesseract may be found. The 
  events leading up to the start of the adventure, however, have 
  been left up to the GM to bridge in to his ongoing campaign as 
  he sees ﬁ t, although some suggestions have been provided (see 
  the Bridging into The Adventure sidebar on page 19).
  THE RIVALS FOR THE LEGACY
  Over the course of the Haarlock Legacy, numerous factions 
  and powers have been drawn, some unwittingly, into the 
  unfolding events. Some have eagerly pursued it for their own 
  ends and at great cost, not least of all the Holy Ordos, whose 
  agents the Acolytes have been. Some have prospered, others 
  have fallen by the wayside or been destroyed utterly like 
  moths drawn into a ﬂ ame. 
  DEAD STARS assumes that other than the Acolytes, only 
  three rival factions have made it to this last act of the Legacy: 
  The Pilgrims of Hayte, The Amaranthine Syndicate and the 
  agents of the Tenebrae Collegium. (Details of the personalities 
  involved and their game characteristics can be found in the 
  Dramatis Personae on page 11 and Appendix I: NPCs & 
  Antagonists respectively).
  The Tyrantine Shadow Agents
  The Tyrantine Cabal, a division of the Holy Ordos of the 
  Calixian Inquisition, is obsessed with the secret lore related to 
  the phenomenon known as the Tyrant Star. The Cabal’s masters 
  have long suspected that there was some secret knowledge 
  about the Tyrant Star possessed by the ancient Haarlock line. 
  Recent events surrounding the Legacy have fanned the ﬂ ames 
  CHANGING THE CAST
  These rival factions for the Legacy are subject to change 
  should the GM wish, to better reﬂ ect the events of 
  his own campaigns. The GM can choose to bring in 
  additional factions, reduce the number listed here or 
  simply swap the involvement of one faction for another 
  as he sees ﬁ t, although it is recommended for the 
  consistency of DEAD STARS’ narrative structure that the 
  presence of the agents of the Tyrantine Cabal is kept. As 
  far as multiple factions go, the tangled ‘haunted house’ 
  maze of Ice Station Mara can easily accommodate more 
  victims and can swallow armies whole if needs be, and 
  merely arriving there ﬁ rst is no guarantee of success. 
  
  Introduction
  10
  of that suspicion, and at least one splinter faction within the 
  Collegium Tenebrae has moved its own agents into place to 
  seize control of the ‘Haarlock matter’, regardless of any other 
  inquisitorial involvement in the affair. Its shadow agents 
  will stop at nothing, up to and including eliminating other 
  inquisitorial agents, to accomplish this. 
  The Collegeium’s shadow agents are relative late comers 
  to the game, but have already suffered losses, including the 
  destruction of an elite spectre cell of agents on Sinophia. 
  Thanks to their secret network of informants and agents within 
  the Inquisition’s ranks, they received the information about the 
  involvement of the Blind Tesseract on Mara at around the same 
  time as the Acolytes. They have raced ahead of the Acolytes to 
  reach the ice station, only to ﬁ nd that the Syndicate has beaten 
  them by the slimmest of margins. During an orbital battle 
  with the Amaranthine ships, the Collegium forces put down 
  a small team on the surface via a dangerous teleport drop (a 
  risky proposition using rare and arcane technology) and were 
  holding their own until the arrival of The Spear of Destiny. 
  The Shadow Agents on Mara are an elite retinue of acolytes 
  under Inquisitor Herrod. They are there foremost with the 
  intention of capturing if possible, or killing if necessary, Erasmus 
  Haarlock and any allies or devices that may be concerned with 
  the Tyrant Star at any cost. Under Herrod’s command, they act 
  cautiously but remorselessly, and while highly able, they have 
  relatively little true or ﬁ rsthand information about Haarlock 
  to go on. Now trapped in the ice station, they cannot solve 
  the riddle of the Tesseract on their own. Once this becomes 
  apparent they are willing to countenance temporary alliances 
  with any other factions in extremis (except for the Pilgrims or 
  any other clearly diabolic cult), but always with the ultimate 
  intention of achieving their own ends and leaving no witnesses 
  alive afterwards. 
  More information about the Collegium Tenebrae can be 
  found in THE INQUISITOR’S HANDBOOK while an example of 
  their earlier involvement with the Haarlock Legacy can be 
  found in The Haarlock Legacy Part II: DAMNED CITIES. 
  The Amaranthine Syndicate
  The Amaranthine Syndicate is primarily an interstellar 
  criminal conspiracy of smugglers, corrupt merchants, slavers 
  and renegades operating out of the Hazaroth Abyss region 
  of the Calixis Sector. What is far less widely known, even by 
  those who deal in secrets, is that the Syndicate’s true masters 
  are a nightmarish xenos species of carrion-eaters known as 
  the Slaugth. The Amaranthine’s hidden principals have been 
  watching the unfolding events of the Legacy, largely from the 
  shadows, and waiting for their time to strike. While the human 
  agents of the syndicate believe they are tracking Haarlock to 
  acquire the Rogue Trader’s many valuable secrets and artefacts, 
  their masters have an entirely different agenda. Their cold 
  intellects have encountered Erasmus Haarlock and his ancestors 
  before and see him as a very deﬁ nite danger to their own future 
  plans for the Calixis Sector, and would see that threat ended.
  The Slaugth gained the information about the Blind Tesseract 
  recently by devouring the mind of a Tyrantine Shadow Agent. 
  They have managed to advance ahead of their fellows by 
  utilising their vast wealth to hire mercenary ships and raiders 
  from nearby systems to deliver a single Slaugth Overseer to 
  Mara and to hold off the opposition long enough to reach the 
  Tesseract. The Slaugth’s goal is to reach the Blind Tesseract and 
  kill Haarlock or otherwise prevent his return permanently. 
  The Amaranthine Syndicate’s presence on Mara is limited to 
  a Slaugth masquerading as a human going by the name of Miss 
  Book and a sizable force of mercenaries and Hereteks it has 
  brought with it. Aside from these few operatives, the loyalty 
  of the Slaugth’s hirelings is dubious at best. Given the high 
  fatality rate the ice station is likely to engender and the true 
  nature of their master, they are likely to go rogue, seek more 
  human allies, attempt to ﬂ ee, or go mad. 
  More information about the Amaranthine Syndicate can 
  be found in DISCIPLES OF THE DARK GODS while an example 
  of their earlier involvement with the Haarlock Legacy can be 
  found in the adventure The House of Dust and Ash also in 
  that book. 
  The Pilgrims of Hayte
  The Pilgrims of Hayte are a murderous Warp cult with an 
  apocalyptic creed that has long been a thorn in the side of 
  the Calixis Sector and a threat to the souls and sanity of the 
  Imperium. Nihilistic and malign, the cult’s masters, the false 
  prophets, despise and scorn even the powers of Chaos and 
  daemon kin they entreat with to grant them power enough 
  to tear down the Imperium and plunge humanity into a new 
  dark age of blood and misery. 
  The cult’s interest in Haarlock is simple; his return has 
  featured prominently in the crimson-visions and nightmare 
  prophesies of their warp seers and daemon-possessed 
  MASTER NONESUCH
  If the Acolytes previously encountered Master Nonesuch 
  during the events of The House and Dust and Ash and 
  he survived (or even if he apparently didn’t; the Slaugth 
  are after all very, very hard to kill) the GM should feel 
  free to exchange Miss Book, the Slaugth Overseer used 
  here for him, or add him to her party (particularly if the 
  Acolytes are a powerful group), as doubtless the players 
  will enjoy another chance at taking down this monster. 
  THE BELOVED
  If the Acolytes have encountered the Pilgrims of Hayte 
  before, their methods and savagery need no introduction. 
  In addition, they may well have encountered the false 
  prophet known as The Beloved (see The Haarlock Legacy 
  Part I: TATTERED FATES). Should he have survived those 
  events, the GM may wish to use him again in DEAD 
  STARS, either as a replacement for Ghast Priestkiller, 
  the surviving false prophet lost in the depths of the ice 
  station, or as one his predecessors. If this is the case, the 
  Beloved’s frozen and mutilated body can be a salutary 
  example of the price of failure, and could also serve as a 
  host for the psycheneuein in part II (see page 33).
  
  Introduction
  11
  11
  11
  augers, and his reputation as an individual with many arts of 
  destruction and steeped in dark lore is well known to them. 
  Although far from a uniﬁ ed or even coherent group, several of 
  the false prophets, in their insane ambition and overwhelming 
  arrogance, desire to seize or corrupt the Haarlock Legacy for 
  their own, diabolic purposes. Although the results of their 
  labours so far have born little signiﬁ cant fruit, the destruction 
  and terror that the Legacy has sown so far has been pleasing 
  to their eyes. 
  Through their dark arts, the pilgrims came into the 
  knowledge of the Blind Tesseract’s involvement and 
  importance in the Legacy (if not its true nature and role) far 
  earlier than other factions, and have already lost several parties 
  to Mara’s icy depths without a trace. When the Acolytes land, 
  the surviving bloody remnants of the most recent group 
  from the pilgrims are lost in the dark cold, slowly being 
  toyed with and destroyed by the haunted labyrinth and its 
  unnatural denizens. 
  More information about the Pilgrims of Hayte can be 
  found in DISCIPLES OF THE DARK GODS, while an example 
  of their earlier involvement with the Haarlock Legacy can be 
  found in The Haarlock Legacy Part I: TATTERED FATES. 
  DRAMATIS PERSONAE
  The following is a brief rundown of the principal characters 
  found in DEAD STARS and their role in the adventure. More 
  details about them can be found where they appear or in 
  Appendix I: NPCs and Antagonists on page 58. 
  INQUISITOR SILAS MARR
  A shadowy and powerful ﬁ gure connected to the Calixian 
  Conclave of the Inquisition, it is by Marr’s agency and 
  authority, and the co-operation of their own Inquisitor, that 
  the Acolytes are dispatched to Mara. 
  FLAG CAPTAIN XAIL
  A Battleﬂ eet Calixis ofﬁ cer, he is the commander of the 
  Sigillite’s Word, the warship by which the Acolytes are sent 
  to Mara. 
  SERGEANTS CHILDRES AND MAKRADE
  Childres and Makrade are the sergeants commanding 
  the Maccabian Janissary squads assigned to the Acolytes’ 
  personal command for their mission to Mara. Trained killers 
  and faultlessly loyal, they do their utmost to ﬁ ght for the 
  Acolytes and lay down their own lives if needs be in the God 
  Emperor’s service.
  ASTROPATH SILINUS
  An experienced Astropath of senior years and servant of the 
  Holy Ordos, this brittle, haughty but powerful Psyker has 
  been assigned to the Acolytes’ authority, although she quietly 
  resents it.
  SIRE CALIUM SAMIEL
  A battle-psyker and agent of the Inquisition, he has been 
  assigned to assist the Acolytes in their mission to Mara.
  NOVATOR BENHAMIN NOSTROMO
  Once Erasmus Haarlock’s Navigator, Nostromo is now a 
  cursed and mysterious relic, damned to an endless existence 
  of suffering within the bounds of the ice station. He knows 
  much and can be of great help to any who wish to ﬁ nd the 
  Blind Tesseract, but is likewise a doomed ﬁ gure and dangerous 
  to trust.
  INQUISITOR HERROD, 
  LEGATE OF THE TYRANTINE CABAL
  Inquisitor Herrod is a cybernetically resurrected monster who 
  serves as a living weapon for the Tenebrae Collegium. Once a 
  lauded and famous Inquisitor, his existence is now little more 
  than a dark and hollow echo of his former glory, and largely 
  secret even from others in the Holy Ordos. He has come to 
  Mara with a retinue of shadow agents with the express purpose 
  of capturing Haarlock and anything he might have pertaining 
  to the Tyrant Star. He will stop at nothing to accomplish this, 
  including deceiving or even murdering fellow agents of the 
  Inquisition in order to do so.
  Herrod is accompanied by a retinue of chosen Acolytes 
  sworn to his service. Those surviving are: Quin Valentine, 
  a gunslinger; Alianna Switch, a former gang enforcer; Junt 
  Yaeger, a naval armsman; and Darkly Hand, an assassin. 
  MISS BOOK 
  Miss Book is the name taken by the human skin-suit form 
  worn by a Slaugth Destructor of the Amaranthine Syndicate 
  sent to Mara. Coldly analytical in intelligence and utterly 
  ruthless, her (or rather its) mission is to destroy Haarlock or 
  otherwise permanently prevent his return. If the situation 
  warrants, she bargains with other factions or negotiates a 
  temporary truce as long as it expedient to do so in search of 
  her goals. Ultimately, however, she seeks to destroy any that 
  cross her path. Most of her servants have no clue about her 
  true nature and will recoil in horror when they discover it. 
  SPECTRE CELL 17
  If the Acolytes have encountered the Shadow Agent 
  group Spectre Cell 17 before, and any of them survived, 
  one good idea is to choose one of them and add him to 
  Herrod’s retinue to increase this adventure’s continuity 
  with the past. That survivor, in the right circumstances, 
  can also relate the story of just how the Amaranthine 
  Syndicate came to know of the Tesseract’s existence!
  
  Introduction
  12
  12
  12
  CAPTAIN AEDRIK 
  Aedrik is an Amaranthine raider captain, heavily built and 
  well-skilled in combat. Fully aware of just what he serves, he 
  has long been dead inside; a creature without hope or passion 
  and fatalistic, but obedient to his ‘mistress.’ Aedrik does as 
  he is told, without fear or contradiction, knowing well the 
  dreadful price of disobedience. Kill or negotiate, torture or 
  save, it doesn’t matter to him, and he happily serves as a 
  go between for his mistress and the Acolytes if need be, or 
  executes any mercenaries who turn on their masters.
  KORT LUTHER 
  Luther is a mercenary and reclaimator hired by the Syndicate 
  for their mission to Mara. Lured by a fat purse and the 
  chance to see the forbidden world, he is already regretting 
  his decision. Luther has already parted company with his 
  previous employers when the Acolytes encounter him and 
  may join up with the Acolytes, if they let him, as the ‘sanest’ 
  option available to him. 
  GHAST ‘PRIESTKILLER’ 
  A false prophet of the Pilgrims of Hayte, bloodthirsty 
  and insane, Ghast is stranded in the haunted cold hell of 
  Mara after his own faction failed its attempt to seize the 
  Haarlock Legacy for its own. Slowly being killed by the 
  warp-predator larvae in his brain, he remains a savage and 
  dangerous sorcerer.
  THE IRON DAUGHTER
  Another of Haarlock’s victims, the Iron Daughter is a soul 
  condemned and bound to Haarlock’s great machine in the 
  Blind Tesseract. 
  QUENEAS STILES
  An Imperial Preacher, he is the last honest soul on Sinophia 
  Magna in a future given over to a battle against the shadows.
  FIHAD CONSTANTINE
  A former ally of the Acolytes and future servant of the Holy 
  Ordos and traitor, he is encountered in a place and time that 
  may yet come to pass.
  EPHRAM RYDER
  Clan Father of the Ryder Holdfast on far Dusk, he is a 
  potential friend or foe at the end of the line.
  THE DUSK HAG
  A being of dark and ancient power.
  ERASMUS HAARLOCK
  Infamous Rogue Trader and master of the Haarlock Legacy. 
  The night traveller returning.
  THE ICY HAND OF DEATH
  Although the ice station is located in the planet’s most 
  habitable zone, the cold on Mara is as likely to kill the 
  unwary and unprepared as any horror lurking in the dark. 
  To represent the dangers of exposure to the extreme cold of 
  Mara apply the following rules:
  • Clothing and armour that provides protection from 
  extreme cold include: very warm furs, sealed armour, 
  or other heated clothing. Any hit location that is not 
  covered in this way by protective clothing designed to 
  withstand extremely low temperatures is considered to 
  be ‘exposed.’ 
  • When on the surface of Mara any character who has any 
  location exposed to the cold must make an immediate 
  Challenging (+0) Toughness Test. The Resistance 
  (Cold) Talent and other similar Talents or Traits apply to 
  this test. If the character fails the test, he suffers 1d5+1 
  (E) Damage and a level of Fatigue. The GM should use his 
  discretion for how often an exposed character must Test 
  again (usually once per Round). Note that the Critical 
  Tables for energy damage should be suitably modiﬁ ed to 
  reﬂ ect the fact that the damage is being done by extreme 
  cold rather than extreme heat or burning chemicals. 
  When inside (within the Ice Station and mines) or away 
  from artiﬁ cial warmth or life support, any character that 
  has a location that is exposed for more than twenty 
  minutes must test as above.
  • Any character with the Survival Skill can be assumed to 
  know the above once he has seen and felt the conditions 
  on Mara. The character may also make a Challenging 
  (+0) Survival Skill Test when another character is 
  taking damage from exposure to the cold. If he succeeds, 
  he reduces the damage the character takes by an amount 
  equal to his Intelligence Bonus. Reducing damage in this 
  way has no effect on the Fatigue inﬂ icted by exposure 
  to the cold.
  ENCOUNTERS WITH MISS BOOK
  Miss Book and her agents of the Amaranthine Syndicate 
  are not placed in any one area for an encounter—instead, 
  they are intended to represent a “roving threat” and 
  opportunity for the player characters. Miss Book carries 
  a Grey Skin Psalter, a key element to the adventure. 
  However, an encounter with her and her retainers could 
  be quite deadly for the Acolytes. Therefore, the Game 
  Master should use his discretion as to when and where 
  the Acolytes end up in a confrontation with Miss Book. 
  Below are listed a number of suggestions for a likely 
  moment for Miss Book to make an appearance:
  • The Sentries at the Gate (see page 31)
  • Crossﬁ re (see page 35)
  • Turncoat (see page 38)
  • The Eaters of The Dead (see page 50)
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  13
  13
  Ice Station 
  Mara
  T
  he following represents an overview of the ice station 
  complex. Based on what the Inquisition knows (or 
  guesses) about this place and its current status, the GM 
  should feel free to relate it either in whole or in part to the 
  players as well as use it for general reference. The information 
  within this section becomes less accurate and detailed the 
  farther down it explores Mara’s depths.
  OVERVIEW OF THE 
  COMPLEX
  Ice Station Mara is an abandoned and empty place with a dark 
  past and darker secrets waiting to trap the unsuspecting and 
  punish anybody that would mock its dangers. It is a cursed 
  maze of steel, rockcrete and ice with a twisted mind and soul 
  of its own; oppressive, spiteful and watching. It is dead and 
  cold, and its very nature kills the unprotected and the unwary. 
  However, the real danger lies in what lurks waiting unseen in 
  the shadows. 
  While some of the station’s structures exist above ground, 
  its bulk lies buried below the ice crusted surface, sunken into 
  the subsurface ice ﬂ ows and dense rock. The Ice Station was 
  founded as a penal colony for the worst recidivist elements in the 
  sector and it is by the labour of thousands of these condemned 
  souls that the vast subterranean complex was created. Many 
  died in the dark and cold for the mining operation to survive 
  under the iron ﬁ st of the Adeptus Arbites. Now it is an echoing 
  warren of tunnels, shafts, cells, machine rooms and forgotten 
  chambers where unseen and unhallowed creatures born of 
  nightmares crawl.
  The warp is thin and fractured on Mara, radiating outwards 
  from its empty heart, and the structure of the Ice Station shifts 
  and reconﬁ gures itself in dimensions beyond the sight of mortal 
  vision. As a result, time and space do not always function as 
  they should; rooms submerged in darkness and biting cold 
  suddenly spring to life and power without seeming cause or 
  explanation, only to be plunged back into abyssal chill without 
  warning. On many occasions ghostly signals and lost voices 
  have been reported to be heard in its empty corridors and 
  vox-waves. Other warp-related phenomena, often of a more 
  dangerous type, have also been frequently encountered. 
  To this shadowy and abandoned half-world have been 
  drawn terrible predatory things that dwell in the Warp and 
  look on the minds of mortals as bloody ﬂ esh oozing gore 
  into the water that they move through. These predatory, often 
  mindless entities are no less dangerous for their lack of purpose 
  and are drawn to feast on the ﬂ esh and souls of the living with 
  frenzied, carnal abandon. 
  
  Introduction
  14
  14
  14
  SURFACE STRUCTURES
  Only a small proportion of the station exists above ground. 
  Most of the Ice Station, which once held up to ﬁ fty thousand 
  inmates, exists below ground. What does exist above ground 
  are the structures required for the supply of the station and its 
  governance in the Arbitrator’s Fortress Tower. The Ice Station 
  has long been abandoned and all of its structures are ice-
  caked, half buried in drifting snow and many bear scars of 
  violence and battle (see Map I: The Mara Complex (Surface)  
  on page 71).
  THE OUTER WALLS
  The surface elements of the Ice Station are ringed by a high 
  wall made of rockrete and steel, topped by great barbed spikes 
  that curve inwards. The wall has no major gate, only a series 
  of heavily armoured sally ports, most of which stand open 
  and half clogged with ice drifts. The wall has been broken in 
  several places (though these breaches are the work of violent 
  events of the past), and has been worn down by the wind. In 
  places, the frozen ice drifts have mounted against it so that it 
  is almost completely submerged.
  THE LANDING PADS 
  & CONTROL COMPLEX
  The Landing Pads are a sequence of large octagonal sections 
  of prefabricated metal, each about twelve metres across, 
  rising four metres into the air atop closed metal towers built 
  to receive landing craft and prison shuttles from orbit. The 
  petals of armour fringing their edge are hung with icicles as 
  long as an arm. Surrounding them are support towers and 
  crane units that once contained the hoists that would take 
  supplies to and from the landing pad into the levels beneath 
  the ground; these mechanisms have long since iced over 
  into an unmoveable mass. Nearby, on a raised area of rock, a 
  small control complex sits, complete with a badly damaged 
  uplink transceiver dish. Within the complex is a shambolic 
  mess of half-repaired and crudely re-routed systems, the signs 
  of conﬂ ict and damage both old and relatively recent. The 
  complex has a barely functional life support system and had 
  clearly been used by some past expeditions to Mara as a base 
  of operations. Service tunnels leading from the complex snake 
  their way into the sub-levels of the station in the general area 
  of the utility section.
  THE FORTRESS TOWER
  The Fortress Tower is an arcing blade of black rockcrete that 
  rises high into the skies of Mara. This darkened sentry, its 
  ﬁ ring slits shuttered by metal, looms above the surrounding 
  structures of the surface compound dominating the scene. 
  This tower was the controlling heart of the Ice Station, 
  where the arbiter garrison lived separated from the subsurface 
  complex by blast hatches. Its control rooms, dormitories and 
  armouries are still, silent, and icy, mostly deserted and stripped 
  bare apart from the remnants of the Ice Station’s last watch. 
  Those brave souls who volunteered to act as rearguard during 
  the evacuation remain at their posts. Desiccated corpses still 
  clutching weapons lurk in the shadows and eyeless skulls 
  stare at blank and lifeless pict-screens.
  The lower levels of the Fortress Tower lead down to the 
  Panopticon. 
  THE ENGINARIUM STORES
  This cluster of rounded hanger-like buildings and control 
  towers were used as warehouses to store equipment: both that 
  needed to keep the surface compound clear of ice and snow 
  and machinery supplies for the ice station. Broken and open 
  to the elements, these buildings are now echoing caverns 
  ﬁ lled with the half-seen shapes of machines and storage crates 
  covered in thick layers of drift ice. Close inspection shows 
  them to have been ruptured from within by explosive charges 
  some years ago. 
  THE SUBSURFACE 
  COMPLEX
  The subsurface levels of Ice Station Mara are reached through 
  access points beneath the landing pad control complex and 
  the Fortress Tower. Beyond the armoured blast doors, air 
  locks and portcullises of the surface buildings, the Ice Station 
  descends downwards in layers of ever increasing darkness 
  WHY IS THE ICE STATION VIEWED 
  AS A CURSED PLACE?
  The empty darkness at the heart of the ice world is 
  old beyond the life of many stars in the region and has 
  existed long before the penal colony was founded by 
  the Adeptus Arbites. Scholars of the obscure within the 
  Holy Ordos have known of the strangeness of Mara 
  since the founding of the sector, but it was not until 
  the penal colony was attacked that the full potential 
  threat was revealed to them. Mara has always been a 
  very bad place, and many stories surround it, passed on 
  secretly in the Calixis sector, particularly amongst the 
  void born. Their tales say that the Warp is thin around 
  Mara, like a skim of ice over a pool of water ﬁ lled with 
  ripper ﬁ sh. When the ﬁ rst explorations were made of 
  Mara, they were beset by misfortune: disappearances, 
  strange phenomena and visions. It was, some say, the 
  mine workings beneath the Ice Station that stirred the 
  nightmare to life and truly made Mara a cursed place. 
  The sealed records of Inquisitor Ark Ashtyn theorised 
  that the population of malcontents, and the violence 
  that surrounded them in the penal colony, reached a 
  kind of ‘critical mass’ of psychic malice that shredded 
  the thin membrane of reality and let ancient and 
  slumbering horrors through. Regardless of the truth, 
  the stories have persisted both among the superstitious 
  void born and those who serve the Holy Ordos for 
  decades, and in some cases centuries.
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  15
  15
  and disorder. The upper portions, those closest to the surface, 
  contained the cells of the penal workforce, as well as medical 
  facilities, refectories, service vaults, and the machinery used in 
  the processing of the raw ore mined from deep below. Many of 
  these areas still retain some trickle of power to maintain their 
  emergency lighting and sustainable life support, but others are 
  plunged entirely into cold darkness. As the levels descend and 
  begin to give way to the mine itself, the iron-like order slowly 
  gives way to the tangled, icy decay of half-collapsed ruins and 
  wreckage. While the upper levels have walls and chambers clad 
  in rockcrete or metal, the lower levels are made up of tunnels and 
  caves of undressed rock, propped with rusting metal stanchions 
  and clad in corrugated metal sheeting. The hoarfrost of frozen 
  atmosphere and the signs of violent disorder and bloodshed 
  can be found everywhere. The very fabric of the place seems 
  twisted and unwholesome. Corridors begin to be cut off by 
  sudden deadfalls, collapsed gantry ways, unexpected dead ends 
  and impenetrable black voids into which no lights shine. No 
  reliable map exists of the shifting labyrinth of the lower levels, 
  and any attempt to create one is doomed to failure. Map II: The 
  Mara Complex (Below Ground) on page 72 provides a general 
  idea of the Ice Station’s layout.
  THE CELL BLOCK LAYERS
  The cells which housed most of Ice Station Mara’s vast 
  population of prisoners are small, with barely space to 
  lie down. Each one is closed by a solid door of armoured 
  metal. Ten identical layers of cells splay out from the central 
  Panopticon beneath the Fortress Tower on the surface. Each 
  layer holds banks of ﬁ ve hundred cells and is distanced from 
  the Panopticon by a kilometre-long corridor of rockcrete 
  and barrier doors that could be sealed as tightly as any tomb 
  should the need arise. On each cell layer, sub-complexes 
  stretched out like the spokes of a wheel, equipping each layer-
  block with its own laundry, sanitation, ablution, and refectory 
  areas along with bleakly stern chapels where the nature of 
  sin and redemption through toil would be hammered into 
  the prisoners. Unlike most of the rest of the complex, the 
  cell-layers were heated by thick pipes threaded through the 
  rockcrete-lined walls from one cell to another and back to 
  the great stream reservoirs held beneath the Station’s plasma 
  reactors. Each cell block could be isolated and cut off at 
  will; condemning the inmates to a chill death should the 
  authorities wish it. 
  
  Introduction
  Introduction
  16
  16
  THE PANOPTICON
  At the centre of the subsurface levels, at the hub of the 
  endless corridors of cells, sits an open shaft into which the 
  great corridors to the cell-layers open. This shaft houses the 
  only means of entering the cell corridors—caged hoists that 
  lift prisoners to the mouth of a corridor and then pull away. 
  This is the only exit from the mines below. Down the centre 
  of the shaft hangs a slender tower like an iron stalactite. 
  Mirroring the Fortress Tower on the surface above, this 
  inverted tower housed banks of pict-screens and vox-thief 
  relays linked to every cell and chamber above the mines. This 
  is the Panopticon. From here, Arbitrator gaolers and banks of 
  slaved servitors saw and heard everything that passed in the 
  Ice Station and controlled access to the lower levels. 
  THE UTILITY COMPLEX
  Set aside from the cell blocks and the Panopticon and 
  accessible both from the Fortress Tower and the landing 
  control buildings on the ice station’s surface, this tangled 
  conglomeration of metal and concrete chambers, corridors 
  and landings once housed the sub-level’s maintenance and 
  victual stores, inﬁ rmary and air reprocessing facilities. Of 
  all the upper levels it bears the greatest visible scars, having 
  been heavily marked by weapon damage and gutted by ﬁ re 
  at least once in the past. There are relatively few bodies here, 
  however. Some areas show signs of more recent habitation, 
  but are once more abandoned, their occupants seemingly 
  vanished without trace.
  THE MINE LEVELS 
  The mines of Mara extend down in a vast, unmapped warren 
  where reality itself bends and buckles around any that 
  walk there. Tunnels of gouged and blasted rock slope ever 
  downward—in some places so wide that ten men could walk 
  abreast, in others so narrow that anyone passing through 
  them must stoop and edge forward—joining together a web 
  of vast natural caverns and galleries inside which a Titan 
  could walk upright. This maze-like web of tunnels was dug 
  out of the cold rock of Mara by prisoner labourers who died 
  in their thousands to rip the ore from the ﬂ esh of the planet. 
  Those few that have descended this far since the station’s 
  abandonment report that the mine’s drilling machinery can 
  be found in places, sometimes looming over impenetrable 
  and fathomless pit-shafts like great dead beasts of metal, their 
  carcasses left to freeze. Great smooth-bored shafts pass from 
  these irregular tunnels to barred openings on the surface 
  where vast fans circulated the freezing air through the mine. 
  In many places, the mine tunnels have collapsed and in others 
  they are unstable and dangerous. Nothing lives in the mines: 
  no hardy vermin, lichen or fungus thrives. The only organic 
  matter is the shredded and frozen corpses found amongst 
  their discarded tools and wrecked machinery. 
  THE GENERATORIA COMPLEX
  Somewhere deep in the mine levels is the complex of plasma 
  reactors and hydrothermal engines that kept the ice station 
  supplied with vital, life-giving heat and power. Their location 
  is now lost; old technical readouts of the station schematics 
  no longer trustworthy on the matter. 
  THE DARK GALLERIES
  The lowest mine levels of the ice station complex were vast, 
  open shafts bored into the depths of the planet from huge 
  vaulted cavern galleries discovered more than a kilometre 
  below the surface, penetrating far into the dead rock of Mara. 
  Since the massacre and the abandonment of the ice station, 
  no expedition recorded by the Inquisition sent to ﬁ nd these 
  lowest levels has ever returned.
  SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF 
  ICE STATION MARA
  When standing on the surface of Mara, all one can 
  hear is the roaring wind and the soft, mufﬂ ed crunch 
  of ice beneath one’s feet. All around, a cold white 
  landscape stretches into the distance; its wind sculpted 
  ice dunes cast dark shadows from the harsh pale light 
  of the sun that burns without warmth when the sky 
  is clear. When the sky is shrouded, it is usually by an 
  all-encompassing ice storm in which nothing can be 
  seen beyond an arm’s length and the wind driven ice 
  crystals patter against armour like needle points. 
  The Ice Station itself is a bleak, maze-like warren 
  of dark tunnels, empty rockcrete rooms, bare rock, and 
  metal gantries. It was designed as an Imperial prison, 
  its very architecture created to enforce obedience and 
  instill fear in its inmates. It was dreaded long before the 
  horror took it and the decades of darkness, cold and 
  neglect followed. It is universally either claustrophobic 
  or cyclopean in design—cold and shrouded for the 
  most part in darkness. Bodies, usually frozen and 
  dry, are scattered throughout the rooms and tunnels. 
  Everything is still and silent; any noise sounds many 
  times louder. Occasional noises of static like buzzing 
  and mufﬂ ed half-heard words can be perceived from 
  around corners only to fade to silence when the source 
  is sought. The deeper one goes, the stranger and more 
  unnatural things get; at times doors and corridors 
  seem to have re-arranged themselves when a traveller 
  wishes to double back, objects move without human 
  intervention, lightless voids are found where once open 
  rooms stood, and power and heat suddenly ﬂ ares up 
  without explanation only to die away just as suddenly. 
  The GM should play up the feeling that the Acolytes 
  are interlopers in an unnatural hunting ground. The 
  longer they stay, the more they attract attention to 
  themselves and the greater the sense that whatever 
  lurks in the deep dark heart of Mara wakes and comes 
  for them.
  S
  I
  
  BURNING 
  BURNING 
  HEAVENS
  HEAVENS
  BY THE WRIT OF THE 
  HOLY ORDOS
  •
  INTERLUDE IN THE VOID
  •
  ARMING FOR THE 
  APOCALYPSE
  •
  ARRIVAL IN THE MARA 
  SYSTEM
  •
  RETURN TO REALITY
  
  I: Burning Heavens
   Burning Heavens
  18
  18
  Chapter I: 
  Burning 
  Heavens
  “Emperor, we abjure thee guard our souls; from the jaws of the 
  Kraken, from the terror by night, from the void’s cold kiss and the 
  daemon’s false light…”
   
  –Calixian Void Prayer
  D
  EAD STARS begins with the Acolytes invested with the 
  authority of the Holy Ordos, given command of an 
  Inquisitorial combat mission and dispatched on a fast 
  warship to the secret location of the Blind Tesseract in the 
  depths beneath the frozen surface of the ice world Mara. This 
  forbidden place is important to Erasmus Haarlock in his plans to 
  undo his cursed past. The Acolytes mission is simple: discover 
  the ﬁ nal secret of Haarlock’s Legacy and prevent others who 
  are seeking it from claiming its power for themselves. Imbued 
  with holy purpose and armed as paragons of war, the Acolytes 
  arrival into the Mara system ﬁ nds them amidst a battle 
  between the vessels of rival seekers of Haarlock’s Legacy. The 
  destruction of their ship and the words of a dying ally cause 
  the Acolytes, and the Inquisitorial forces they command, to 
  descend to the icy surface of Mara through a rain of ﬁ re and 
  wreckage tumbling from the dark skies.
  BY THE WRIT 
  OF THE HOLY ORDOS
  For the players, DEAD STARS begins with them already en 
  route to Mara aboard the warship Sigillite’s Word. It is up to 
  the GM on how this ﬂ ows into the ongoing events of his own 
  campaign. The Acolytes should be sent on this mission with 
  the full blessing of their Inquisitor (whoever that may be and 
  if they serve one), and under the authority of a mysterious and 
  powerful ﬁ gure within the Holy Ordos named Inquisitor Silas 
  Marr. GMs may wish to create an additional special encounter 
  with the Acolytes’ usual superiors within the Inquisition; 
  brieﬁ ng them in secret and in detail about the mission ahead 
  and what is expected of them. 
  As a part of this brieﬁ ng the following information, as well 
  as the brief planetary reference for Mara, a writ of authority 
  of Inquisitor Marr and a sealed Inquisitional report are given 
  to them. They are also informed that these should be regarded 
  as ‘untrustworthy’ (See Player Handouts I, II, and III on pages 
  68-70).
  • The Acolytes are being dispatched, with full writs of 
  authority, to Mara, known by secret lore within the 
  Holy Ordos to be the location of the so-called ‘Blind 
  Tesseract.’
  • The Blind Tesseract has been identiﬁ ed as the locus of 
  what has become known as the ‘Haarlock Legacy’ (most 
  likely by the Acolytes’ previous efforts), and the last 
  known location of Erasmus Haarlock.
  • Transit to Mara is forbidden by order of the Conclave 
  Calixis, usually even to the servants of the Inquisition. 
  The Acolytes, along with their subordinates have been 
  granted access due to the seriousness of the matter.
  • Mara was the site of an Imperial mining penitentiary 
  which was overrun and abandoned due to a growing 
  series of warp incursions resulting in the deaths of more 
  than twenty thousand inmates in 768.M41. During this 
  catastrophe, Inquisitor Ark Ashtyn, who was called in 
  during the incursion, theorised that the human presence 
  on Mara formed some kind of psychic ‘critical mass’ 
  which, in combination with local conditions, created a 
  spiralling implosion of nightmarish unreality, involving 
  the predations of Psycheneuein Warp entities. 
  • Since the massacre, the ice station has been an empty 
  ‘haunted’ shell, noted for periodic warp disturbances and 
  reality incursions. The state of ‘activity,’ although largely 
  unpredictable, appears to worsen the more that living 
  creatures are within its vicinity and the more violence 
  and negative emotion that are visited within its conﬁ nes.
  
  I: Burning Heavens
   Burning Heavens
  19
  19
  • After the abandonment of the penitentiary on Mara, a 
  bombardment squadron was dispatched to shatter the 
  planet’s crust using cyclonic torpedoes in the hope of 
  ending the potential threat. The squadron disappeared 
  under unknown circumstances and since then, the 
  Inquisition has declared the world forbidden and 
  maintained a blockade of the outer Mara system. Small 
  expeditions have successfully travelled to Mara and 
  reported various mysterious and often contradictory 
  phenomenon and ongoing danger. Larger landings, both 
  deliberate and accidental (such as the infamous incident 
  of the troopship Vervilix which made a forced landing 
  on Mara in 810.M41; see page 34 of the INQUISITOR’S 
  HANDBOOK for more details), have all met with utter 
  disaster. 
  • The Acolytes’ authority has been granted directly under 
  the seal of Lord Inquisitor Caidin, master of the Conclave 
  Calixis himself, at the request of Inquisitor Marr who has 
  taken a special interest in the Haarlock matter. 
  • The matter is to be pursued with great dispatch, and the 
  warship Sigillite’s Word has been placed at their disposal 
  to ferry them to Mara.
  • The eyes of the Holy Ordos are upon them; failure is not 
  an option. 
  • The Acolytes are also furnished with information on 
  what is known about Mara and the Blind Tesseract as 
  part of a writ from Inquisitor Marr (See Appendix II: 
  Player Handouts on page 69).
  HAARLOCK CONNECTION
  It is likely that players coming into DEAD STARS have played 
  Acolytes involved in investigating the Haarlock Legacy in 
  one of its previous episodes (The House of Dust and Ash, 
  TATTERED FATES, or DAMNED CITIES); they may even be lucky 
  enough to be playing the same Acolytes as they were when 
  they began the campaign. If this is the case, the Acolytes 
  (and by extension the players) may already know much of 
  Erasmus Haarlock and have uncovered the fact that he could 
  only ﬁ nd the key to what he desired by venturing to the Blind 
  Tesseract on Mara (see The Blind Tesseract and the Climax of 
  the Campaign section on page 70 of DAMNED CITIES). In this 
  case, it can be assumed that it is these discoveries that have 
  moved the Acolytes’ master to send them to Mara and to give 
  them such aid as he can. 
  If the Acolytes have, for whatever reason, not been involved 
  in the Haarlock’s Legacy campaign, then they are dispatched 
  to Mara to bring the whole affair to a close following the 
  demise of another Acolyte team, perhaps on Sinophia or 
  following the events surrounding the destruction of the 
  House of Dust and Ash on Solomon. The GM is encouraged 
  to work in the results of any previous adventures having to do 
  with Haarlock’s Legacy.
  INTERLUDE IN THE VOID
  When ready to have the events aboard ship begin, read aloud 
  or paraphrase the following:
  “You are aboard the strike frigate Sigillite’s Word, sent with 
  all speed to the long-forbidden world of Mara, a world of ice, 
  secrets, and death. You have been sent because it has been discovered 
  that the long-vanished Erasmus Haarlock sought a place called the 
  Blind Tesseract in the process of pursuing his one true desire. Some 
  among the Inquisition have long known of the Blind Tesseract and 
  that its entrance lies far below the surface of the cursed ice world 
  of Mara. The mysterious and powerful Inquisitor Marr is one of 
  these few, and through him, your own Inquisitor has learned of it. 
  You can still remember his face growing grim as he talked of the 
  Blind Tesseract as a place of lost knowledge where time and space 
  are bound by strange devices. 
  Under High authority, you have been given power and 
  command over a mission: to discover what Haarlock’s designs 
  were and prevent his secrets from falling into the hands of any 
  other who would discover them. Your master tells you that he can 
  trust no other hand to this task, and if he or others of prominence 
  within the Ordo were to make the journey, even in secrecy, the risks 
  would be all the greater. So it is ordained that you must succeed if 
  the Haarlock’s dread legacy is not to bring ruin on all.”
  BRIDGING INTO THE ADVENTURE
  When tying the start of the adventure into his own 
  campaign, the GM can simply have the Acolytes be 
  assigned the mission of going to Mara as presented here, 
  or make the discovery of the information leading to Mara 
  a small adventure in itself. While the fact that the Blind 
  Tesseract was Haarlock’s ultimate destination can be 
  learned at the end of the adventure DAMNED CITIES, but 
  the Blind Tesseract’s presence on Mara is known to very 
  few, and most of those are members of the Holy Ordos of 
  the Inquisition, but this need not be either the Acolytes’ 
  own Inquisitor or even the mysterious Inquisitor Marr. 
  Obtaining this information of their own accord could 
  be well within the means and desires of an independently-
  minded group of player-characters. Once they know that 
  they need to go to Mara for the answers they seek, they 
  can present the information to their chain of command, 
  who then gives them the resources and authority they 
  need to pursue their lead.
  WHO IS INQUISITOR MARR?
  Marr is a shadowy ﬁ gure at best, a powerful Inquisitor 
  who, it is said, never strays from the centre web of 
  information gatherers and spies situated in the Halls of the 
  Chancellery Court on Solomon. Dubious of repute and 
  only tentatively connected with the Calixian Conclave, 
  it is known that many powerful factions within the Holy 
  Ordos fear and respect him, however grudgingly.
  Although he is not involved ‘in the ﬂ esh’ in this 
  adventure, Acolytes who took part in the affair of the 
  House of Dust and Ash on Solomon have already met 
  Marr and likely formed their opinions accordingly.
  
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   Burning Heavens
  20
  20
  Once the Acolytes have been told where they are, and 
  why, they have a two day voyage onboard a very fast warship 
  of the Calixian Battleﬂ eet, bound to the Holy Ordos by oaths 
  of allegiance and loyalty. In real terms this brief interlude of 
  travel in the void should take no more than half an evening’s 
  play, and is there to give the players a chance to remind 
  themselves of the pertinent points of the campaign, talk over 
  the information provided in their brieﬁ ngs and to prepare. 
  Though the Acolytes cannot stray beyond the hull of the 
  ship, this time can be used to study information and for the 
  GM to seed whatever additional information or plot threads 
  he sees ﬁ t before the turbulent events into which the Acolytes 
  are being thrust begin in earnest. 
  The GM should use this time to give the players 
  information and allow them to ﬁ nd out more about where 
  they are going and why. It is worth making sure that the 
  players are informed and clear about what is going on and 
  why at this point. Information about the Haarlock Legacy, 
  what has happened, and who else is involved in pursuing 
  it, is particularly important. The GM should also take some 
  time to prepare what he needs regarding the three elements 
  that are needed to ﬁ nd and interact with the Blind Tesseract. 
  See page 26 for information on the three elements and their 
  signiﬁ cance.
  The atmosphere that the GM should be trying to create 
  while the Acolytes are on board the Sigillite’s Word is one 
  of calm purpose, with an emphasis on everything being in 
  tight control on the ship. The players (and their Acolyte alter 
  egos) should feel that they have the initiative and are being 
  giving an opportunity to make sure they have everything they 
  need. This state is, of course, a lie: the feeling of everything 
  being under control serves to make the sudden change of 
  pace and circumstances a more enjoyable effect when the ship 
  reaches Mara.
  AUTHORITY AND SUBORDINATES
  The Acolytes are in charge: they have been given authority 
  from the Inquisition to seek out anything related to Haarlock 
  on Mara and are granted a ceremonial Inquisitional Rosette 
  to show they act with the conclave’s blessing. They have also 
  been charged with leading the mission to bring the affair to 
  a successful close and the responsibility for this rests on their 
  shoulders. What this amounts to is an overwhelming sense 
  of duty, and a number of things have been given to them to 
  aide them in their task. These resources include the warship 
  Sigillite’s Word to carry them, and two other experienced 
  Acolytes with ten elite soldiers under their direct command to 
  take down to the surface with them. (If they ask about more 
  troops, tell them that the total number of their party matches 
  that of the largest ever group known to have made planetfall 
  since the death of the colony and survive to tell the tale, and 
  Marr’s orders on the matter take precedence.) 
  The two other Acolytes, Silinus and Samiel, and the ten 
  elite Maccabian Janissaries joined the player-characters when 
  they embarked on the Sigillite’s Word. Give broad outlines of 
  the character and nature of these subordinates to the players 
  once it is appropriate. 
  The Maccabian Janissaries
  The Acolytes have command of a ten strong force of elite 
  troopers drawn from the renowned Janissary Cadres of the 
  Imperial Guard. These regiments are raised from the arid planet 
  of Maccabeus Quintus, a place of ﬁ erce and stoic people and 
  iron-strong puritan faith in the Imperial Creed. The Conclave 
  Calixis has oath bonds with the ﬁ fth Maccabian regiment and 
  has called on the honour debts owed to them to procure the 
  services of ten of the most resolute and effective soldiers in 
  the sector, lead by two experienced NCOs. The Janissaries are 
  tough and battle-hardened men and women who are bound 
  by oaths made in seven shrines on Maccabeus Quintus. They 
  see serving the Emperor’s will as a sacred duty and have a 
  grim attitude; they are not given to frivolity or humour. They 
  spend much of their time preparing for their mission, either 
  performing combat drills or weapons maintenance, in prayer 
  or studying information on the environment and situation of 
  the station on Mara. 
  They are respectful and deferential to the Acolytes, who 
  they see not only as their commanders but as instruments 
  of the Golden Throne’s divine will. They are not, however, 
  mindless, and in particular do not countenance overtly 
  blasphemous or heretical behaviour in their presence without 
  difﬁ culties. Commanding the squad’s two ﬁ ve-man sections 
  are the imposing and iron-hard sergeants Childres and 
  Makrade, both combat veterans with experience in ﬁ ghting 
  at the Inquisition’s side.
  The names of the other Janissaries are; Gaius, Helenith, 
  Kraven, Arco, Sufal, Nauls, Cars’son, and Janaad. 
  
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  21
  21
  21
  Astropath Kessa Silinus
  Silinus is a proud and haughty woman of many years 
  experience serving the Imperium and recently the Holy Ordos 
  of the Inquisition. Slightly stooped and in her late middle 
  years, she has yellow parchment-like skin stretched across her 
  thin frame, but is nevertheless exceptionally mentally tough. 
  The gaze of the dark pits where her eyes were burnt out as 
  she was soul bound to the power of the God Emperor are not 
  easy to meet. Her manner is impatient and she is intolerant of 
  inefﬁ ciency. Her hard demeanour is given an edge by the fact 
  that she clearly thinks that she should not be in a subordinate 
  position to the Acolytes, and her obedience to their orders, 
  while formal and correct, is grudging at best.
  Calium Samiel
  Samiel is a smooth, professional, and clearly cultured and well 
  educated man, whose friendly demeanour belies the fact that he 
  is a potent battle-psyker who has been killing enemies of the 
  Imperium for over three decades. He is a lean and muscular man 
  of middle years with dark receding hair and his careful manner 
  is more like that of a noble administrator than a professional 
  killer. Friendly and dedicated to serving the Inquisition, he is the 
  primary conduit of additional information from their master to 
  the Acolytes and is happy to spend time with them, spar in the 
  armoury or simply be used as an information resource during 
  the voyage. One of the reasons why Samiel has been assigned 
  to the mission is that he has past combat experience against 
  the Psycheneuein (although not on Mara), believed to be one 
  of Mara’s principal dangers, and knows the basic facts of their 
  abilities and feeding habits. (The GM should free to use some of 
  the descriptive text rather than the proﬁ les presented on page 353 
  of the DARK HERESY Rulebook as a basis of his knowledge).  
  When presenting and playing Samiel it is helpful if the Acolytes 
  form a good impression of him (the contrast to the cynical and 
  proud Silinus can be helpful in creating this impression). The 
  reason that it is important that the Acolytes like him is that it 
  increases the effect when Samiel makes a sudden fatal exit at 
  the end of the prologue (see the Last Words entry on page 24 in 
  this section).
  THE SIGILLITE’S WORD 
  The ship which has been put at the Acolytes’ disposal for 
  their mission, and on board which they begin this adventure, 
  is the Tempest Class Strike Frigate Sigillite’s Word. It is a small 
  (comparatively speaking), very fast warship which is part of 
  Battle Fleet Calixis and has a distinguished history and many 
  battle honours. It has frequently been used for operations of 
  “special circumstance” by the Inquisition as part of a long-
  term understanding between certain Inquisitors and senior 
  ofﬁ cers of Battleﬂ eet Calixis. The Sigillite’s Word is under 
  the command of Captain Abner Xail, a relatively young but 
  experienced and highly capable naval ofﬁ cer whose star is 
  on the rise thanks to his extreme competency commanding 
  a warship, good family and easy charm. The ship itself is a 
  kilometre long dart of armour, bristling weapons ports, and 
  roaring engines ﬁ lled with thousands of souls whose single 
  purpose is to make it an instrument of the Emperor’s wrath. 
  The Sigillite’s Word is a ﬁ ne ship and it has also beneﬁ tted 
  from the service it has done the Holy Ordos. In return for its 
  service, and with the understanding that it may be called upon 
  to serve the needs of the Inquisition again, it has received a 
  number of reﬁ ts under the supervision of the Lathe-Magos of 
  the Adeptus Mechanicus. Additionally, it always receives the 
  most experienced crew and ﬁ nest ofﬁ cers as well as the very 
  best navigators. Sleek and deadly, it is one of the ﬁ nest ships 
  of war of its rating within the Calixis Sector. 
  The interior spaces of the Sigillite’s Word are vast, with 
  hundreds of crew cells, enginarium halls, armouries, launch 
  bays and chambers dedicated to every task that keeps the 
  metal beast of war alive. On the lower decks it is a maze of 
  tight passages; stained metal ﬁ lled with the reek of engine oil 
  and human living. On the higher decks, closer to the bridge 
  and governing functions of the ship, the rawness of existence 
  on a warship is less, but everywhere one can feel the fabric 
  of the ship hum to the thrust of its engines and creak in the 
  ephemeral tides as it passes through the Warp.
  The Acolytes and all their subordinates are quartered in 
  ﬁ ne style close to the ship’s bridge and the captain’s quarters. 
  All their needs are seen to by junior ofﬁ cers and blue robed 
  servitors, with their every request being dealt with to the 
  utmost extent possible. At some point in the course of their 
  passage to Mara, Captain Xail invites the Acolytes to formally 
  dine with him in his quarters. This episode can be dealt with 
  in as brief or detailed a fashion as preferred; it can act as a 
  perfect context in which to impart and discuss the information 
  that the players should have before they reach Mara and to 
  perhaps have Xail relate void tales of the haunted system. 
  Two things that Xail says should, however, be emphasised 
  to the Acolytes. First, the Navigators are going to attempt 
  to put them further in system than would be normal; this is 
  only attemptable because of the outstanding ability of the 
  Navigators assigned to the Sigillite’s Word. He wants to ensure 
  that once they are in real space they can reach Mara itself as 
  quickly as possible. As Mara is very close to the edge of its 
  star system, this should only take a matter of hours after they 
  exit the warp. Second, the reason for this aggressive approach 
  is that he thinks it likely that enemies and rivals may already 
  be there when the Sigillite’s Word arrives. 
  Part of Xail’s own mission brieﬁ ng has been the possibility 
  of hostile ships of unknown type and speciﬁ cation willing 
  to contest their attempt to land the Acolytes and their 
  subordinates on the planet. The captain, however, exhibits 
  conﬁ dence that they will succeed saying that, “The Word has 
  bested many enemies of the Golden Throne, and in this service, she 
  shall not fail.” 
  ARMING FOR THE 
  APOCALYPSE
  The Acolytes are commanding an Inquisitorial combat 
  mission and are heading into more trouble than they have ever 
  encountered. Mara is a place of nightmare and death that is 
  quarantined by the Imperial Navy for a reason. Even without 
  the involvement of a series of dangerous rival groups or the 
  inﬂ uence of the infamous Erasmus Haarlock, an expedition 
  
  I: Burning Heavens
  22
  22
  22
  to Mara is a death trap, haunted by ghosts and infested with 
  malign warp entities. While the Acolytes may not fully grasp 
  the fearsome situation they are going into, their Inquisitor 
  is all too aware. As such, he has given them free access to 
  material and equipment to an extent that should give them 
  pause in itself.
  Each Acolyte is given a hooded environmental bodyglove 
  and respirator to sustain them in Mara’s harsh conditions. 
  Their chosen body armour (or if no armour is worn, 
  their environmental bodyglove) is ritually infused with 
  Hexagramatic Ward upgrades. Additionally, they receive 
  twenty rounds of Blessed Ammunition for a projectile weapon 
  of their choice. (See pages 189 and 190 in The Holy Ordos 
  chapter of the INQUISITOR’S HANDBOOK respectively). If they 
  do not possess such a weapon, a best quality stub revolver is 
  gifted to them at the same time (See page 130 of the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook).
  Between the quartermasters of the Holy Ordos and the 
  Master of Arms on the Sigillite’s Word, the Acolytes have 
  reasonable access to all arms, armour and relevant equipment 
  with an availability rating of up to and including Rare from 
  the Armoury chapter of the DARK HERESY Rulebook and 
  INQUISITOR’S HANDBOOK. This equipment is supplied at no 
  cost in Thrones and should be limited only by the bounds 
  of common sense: what can be located in the time allowed 
  before departure, what might be useful and what they can 
  carry, bearing in mind that rough ground and physical 
  hardship is to be expected of the journey ahead. 
  Each Acolyte may also request and receive a single relevant 
  personal item with an availability rating of Very Rare of their 
  choice, again under the proviso that it could be reasonably 
  obtained by the Holy Ordos in the time span allowed. They 
  may also try to obtain additional Very Rare items, but should 
  roll for each Very Rare item they request. There is a roughly 
  25% chance that the item they request can be supplied to 
  them in time, diminishing by 1d5% per subsequent attempt 
  per character. 
  To many GMs (and certainly to most players), this largesse 
  might seem shockingly excessive, but it is both needed and 
  useful. It is needed because what Mara and the rest of DEAD 
  STARS has to throw at players is every bit as dangerous as 
  can be imagined. It also is useful for creating the correct 
  atmosphere; the Acolytes are in charge and trusted. As soon 
  as they know that they have free access to the big guns, they 
  should start to wonder what that implies about what they are 
  going into. This last point is worth playing up with a few 
  remarks about whether they are really sure they have all they 
  need (up to what they can feasibly carry and use).
  ENEMIES, RIVALS AND FOOLS
  The Acolytes are furnished with information about the current 
  efforts of the other factions known to be involved in the 
  pursuit of Haarlock’s Legacy. The GM should decide on what 
  details (if any) of their activities to appraise the Acolytes of. 
  While this should reﬂ ect the Acolytes’ past experiences, the 
  GM should feel free to sow some false leads and should not 
  reveal exactly what’s going to be waiting for them. Further 
  information on some of the factions contesting the Legacy 
  can be found in the campaign guide on page 9. When giving 
  information to the players on other factions, it is important 
  to emphasise that it is believed that more than one of them 
  knows the signiﬁ cance of Mara to the secret of Haarlock’s 
  Legacy and intends to reach it be any means they can. 
  THE QUARANTINE BLOCKADE
  The Mara system is under an Inquisition imposed naval 
  quarantine, and no vessel is allowed to approach or enter 
  the system without authorisation from the Conclave Calixis. 
  The quarantine itself is enforced by a squadron of system 
  monitor craft and an assigned ship of the line; usually a light 
  cruiser, which make unscheduled sweeps of the system’s outer 
  reaches periodically, minimizing their exposure to danger. 
  Formidable though this quarantine force is, its position 
  relative to the planet of Mara can vary as they have the 
  entire system to patrol. The Sigillite’s Word has been given 
  Inquisitorial clearance codes that grant it authority to breach 
  the quarantine; clearance codes that they transmit once the 
  quarantine ﬂ eet responds to their presence. However, as a 
  bridge ofﬁ cer wryly comments, it is likely to be some time 
  after the Sigillite’s Word has reached Mara and the Acolytes 
  mission has made planetfall. Unfortunately as matters turn 
  out, things are not going according to plan.
  Arrival in the 
  Mara System
  F
  or the ship’s exit from the Warp into the Mara system, 
  the Acolytes are invited to be present on the bridge by 
  Captain Xail and are accompanied by their subordinates 
  Silinus and Samiel. To give the Acolytes a sense of the bridge, 
  read or paraphrases the following:
  “The bridge is a cavernous vaulted chamber, with huge arced 
  viewports that are sealed for the journey through the warp 
  by thick metal shutters. The atmosphere on the bridge is like 
  that of a temple of war; the sides are lined by niches, housing 
  system controlling servitors that are lit by the green glow of the 
  instrument panels they tend. Ofﬁ cers in the deep blue uniforms 
  of Battleﬂ eet Calixis pace between control lecterns, and the air 
  is thick with incense and the muttered prayers of robed priests. 
  Raised above all, on an armoured throne, the captain commands 
  his ship.”
  The Captain and the bridge crew appraise the Acolytes 
  about the progress towards exiting the warp into the Mara 
  system and about preparations for the approach to the planet. 
  Progress and state of readiness is excellent and transition 
  from the warp is expected to occur within no more than ten 
  minutes from the Acolytes’ arrival on the bridge.
  
  I: Burning Heavens
   Burning Heavens
  23
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  RETURN TO REALITY
  Once the Acolytes have been on the bridge for a few minutes, 
  activity amongst the crew increases as ﬁ nal preparations are 
  made to exit the warp and return to real space. The captain 
  orders that all sections be put on alert and that the weapons 
  be readied for use. He also orders the guncutter assigned to 
  transport the mission team to the surface be made ready for 
  immediate launch. If asked why, he smiles and says that the 
  Emperor rewards those who have not only faith but caution. 
  Once the ship is about to exit the Warp, read aloud or 
  paraphrase the following:
  “The air is suddenly thick with a sickening greasy feeling, 
  alarms sound and lights ﬂ icker, and ﬂ ight servitors intone ritual 
  prayers of safe passage from their vox-grills. The ship shudders 
  as if it were a creature suddenly plunged into cold water, and then 
  there is a moment of calm as the clammy feeling of translating 
  from the Warp to the physical realm passes. An ofﬁ cer turns 
  from the glowing readouts on his lectern and begins to apprise the 
  captain of the ship’s post-translation status in rapid void-cant. 
  Without warning the deck bucks beneath you, and the entire 
  ship shudders as if it were a bell struck by a god. Sirens scream, 
  the servitors begin a frantic chattering of data, and the incense-
  ﬁ lled air turns red with the glow of warning lights as ofﬁ cers 
  shout demands for information and bark out orders. The deck 
  shakes again and the cacophony rises in intensity like rain falling 
  harder and harder beneath the oncoming storm. A voice clear and 
  ﬁ rm rises above the chaos of noise:
  “Raise Void Shields! Show me!” booms the voice of captain 
  Xail, and a sheet of colour and light opens on the vast screen 
  hung in the arches of the bridge’s ceiling. It shows a magniﬁ ed 
  image of ﬁ re and debris blooming around a pale orb hanging 
  in the darkness like a blind eye. Icons and fast scrolling data 
  in red, green and blue spring up, overlaying the shifting images 
  of streaking weapon discharge and the dagger-like forms of 
  starships. Xail blinks at the tactical data for a second and rattles 
  off a stream of orders. Pausing, he glances down at you and then 
  back at the display. “It appears we are late for this particular 
  feast, but fear not, I will get you down to Mara safely though all 
  the Traitors of the Eye were to block our path!”
  The vessels doing battle around the planet in bloody free-
  for-all include the Imperial blockade monitors and those of 
  the rival factions, although just what ship belongs to which 
  faction (aside from the blockade ships) is unknown at this time. 
  The number of other spacecraft should be varied depending 
  on the number of competing factions the GM intends to use 
  in the adventure, but in particular the Syndicate has brought 
  several pirate and mercenary vessels and Herrod’s Tyrantines 
  have a lithe and lethal looking cruiser of unusual design (the 
  better to hide their identity) that’s holding its own against the 
  rest single-handed. 
  Captain Xail explains to the Acolytes that his intention is to 
  punch through the ships embroiled in battle above Mara, and 
  hold off whatever enemies turn their attentions to the Sigillite’s 
  Word while the Acolytes make the descent to the Ice Station 
  on the surface. He then intends to ﬁ ght his way free and hope 
  to circle back and ﬁ nish off any remaining vessels and extract 
  the Acolytes later. Any Acolyte with knowledge of tactics or 
  naval warfare, such as Knowledge (Tactica Imperialis), realises 
  that this plan is extremely risky to the survival of the ship once 
  it is close to the planet and trapped between it and its enemies. 
  Should the Acolytes argue against the captain’s bold but 
  dangerous plan he ﬁ rmly dismisses any objections, saying: 
  “To get you onto that planet is my sacred oath made in the 
  name of the Golden Throne and worth this ship and the lives of 
  every soul on it. I do not know why it is so, but understanding is 
  not required, only duty and obedience.”
  FIRE AND DEATH
  From the moment that the Sigillite’s Word is in the Mara system 
  and aware of the battle raging between rival forces above the 
  planet, the GM must keep the pace of events fast and relentless. 
  The sense of danger and urgency must be palpable and the 
  players should not be given time to react to what is going on. 
  Small details of frantic activity on the bridge and the looming 
  image of the battle might be appropriate, but nothing more. 
  The GM may also try to keep the player-characters involved 
  by making skill tests to work out the details of the faction’s 
  ships, stand in for the Sigillite’s Word’s gunners and so on (see 
  Gaming the Space Battle, above).
  It does not take long at full speed to close with Mara and 
  the heart of the battle. When this happens, read or paraphrase 
  the following:
  GAMING THE SPACE BATTLE
  Rather than getting bogged down in minutia or risking 
  making the players feel too much like bystanders during 
  the valiant attempt by the Sigillite’s Word to complete its 
  mission, the GM can have them take on the role of the 
  ship’s gunners and helmsmen and make a few simple 
  tests on their behalf. The ship’s combined ‘score’ being 
  tested is 70.
  • Making a run to planetary orbit: Challenging (+0)
  • Evading enemy ﬁ re: Difﬁ cult (–10)
  • Engaging enemy ships: Challenging (+0)
  • Final Approach: Difﬁ cult (–10)
  While the GM can use the results of these tests to 
  describe what’s going on (good success engaging enemy 
  ships can blow up an attacker, etc.), what it should be 
  used to determine is the state that the Sigillite’s Word is in 
  when the Acolytes make planetfall. Note the net of the 
  players’ total degree of successes and failures for all the 
  tests. A combined total of seven degrees of success or 
  more means the ship manages to pull away, damaged but 
  intact, from Mara’s orbit and escape The Spear of Destiny’s 
  wrath. Less than this spells its ﬁ ery death shortly after 
  the Acolytes’ guncutter makes it clear.
  
  I: Burning Heavens
   Burning Heavens
  24
  24
  “The ship is being rocked and buffeted by the blast waves and 
  weapon impacts all around it, and the main pict-viewer is now 
  ﬁ lled with the pale face of Mara, crossed with bright slashes of 
  ﬁ re and the looming shapes of warring space craft. 
  “All batteries, independent ﬁ re! Rig for planetary approach! 
  Put us in geostationary orbit above the Ice Station!”
  Without warning you feel bile rise in your throats, the bridge 
  ﬂ ickers impossibly between light and darkness for a long second, 
  and you stagger as if physically struck. The servitors, in their 
  instrument niches, fall silent one after another and then speak as 
  one in a choir of cracked voices: ‘The Traveller shall return and 
  the stars shall die. His servants come. The key turns.”
  Any psyker, including Silinus and Samiel, feels a massive 
  disturbance in the warp, and after a moment, the servitors 
  return to function and begin spewing out clamourous streams 
  of data. After giving the player-characters a few moments to 
  react, continue to read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “Something both dark and yet pale as a corpse passes across the 
  view screen; a warship, Imperial in aspect but seemingly fashioned 
  from cracked bone and granite-grey stone, iron-hard but at the 
  same time insubstantial, like a reﬂ ection cast in dark water.
  Data begins to scroll frantically across the view screen in livid 
  red runes. The captain gazes at it, his jaw open, until he looks at 
  you and says as if he cannot believe his own words:
  ‘It is The Spear of Destiny! It is Haarlock’s ship!’ 
  Sickly lightning stabs out from the ghost ship and touches one 
  of the warring vessels, which detonates in a massive explosion. 
  The Sigillite’s Word is rocked by the blast. In the void beyond, 
  gun-tracers and missiles home in on the fearful interloper, which 
  sails through them unscathed, lashing out and dealing destruction 
  on every side.
  Standing before his command throne, Captain Xail looks down 
  at you and shouts, “Go! Get to the guncutter. We will get you as 
  close to the planet as we can. Go! Do not argue! I will see my 
  duty done!”” 
  What then follows for the Acolytes is a headlong rush through 
  the ship to the hanger decks; a terrifying journey through a 
  ship that is ripping itself apart with every passing minute. 
  Bulkheads are slamming shut as the Acolytes pass, frantic 
  crewmen block corridors in frenzied and panicked packs. 
  The air is ﬁ lled with shouts, the grinding scream of tortured 
  metal and the terrifying sound of burning. The GM may go 
  into the ﬂ ight through the dying ship in more detail—for 
  example, allowing the Acolytes to grab extra gear from their 
  quarters by being nimble, well organised, and clever—but 
  it is generally best to give the players an impression of the 
  frantic chaos of a ship that is being destroyed and to keep the 
  pace of events fast. 
  LAST WORDS
  Once the players reach the hanger deck where their guncutter 
  is kept, read or paraphrase the following:
  “The vast metal chamber of the hanger deck is ﬁ lled with noise 
  and ﬁ re. Smoke is pouring up to the ceiling and spreading across 
  it in a thick black pall. Everywhere are knots of panic as crew try 
  to load and launch craft into the vain safety of the void. Only one 
  craft remains devoid of the chaos, its blunt, hunched form ringed 
  by silver masked Maccabian Janissaries, their guns levelled. 
  As soon as you emerge onto the deck, one of them turns and 
  signals to four more, who run to you ring you in a close guard 
  and hurry you towards the lowered rear hatch of the guncutter, the 
  engines of which are ﬂ aring with restrained power. As you reach 
  the ramp the Janissaries are already boarding at a run. 
  The deck lurches and you can hear the conﬂ agration bells 
  begin to sound as a howling roar of ﬁ re rises and heat washes the 
  backs of your necks. Before the hatch is closed or the last trooper 
  on board, the guncutter is already rising from the deck, the blast 
  doors to the void in front of it opening with a thunder of rushing 
  air vented into the cold black. You can feel the power of the engines 
  building, ready to push it into the void. 
  As the last trooper jumps onto the ramp, you can see ﬁ re falling 
  in sheets beyond the closing hatch and just beyond that, the ﬁ gure 
  of Samiel is standing upright and still, his robes covered in a 
  spreading layer of frost his eyes rolled back into his head, white 
  and sightless.
   “The key turns. The traveller returns. Lest all be lost” he 
  intones in a cracked voice that is not his own. 
  The hatch slams shut and with a roar the engines ﬁ re the 
  guncutter forwards towards the void. The last thing you glimpse 
  through the viewport is Samiel standing amidst a sea of ﬁ re and 
  howling air, his hand raised as if in farewell.”
  Those who escape the ship should include the Maccabian 
  Janissaries, the Astropath Silinus, and the two navy crewmen 
  piloting the guncutter. On board with the Acolytes are their 
  special equipment chosen for the mission and some additional 
  supplies loaded by sergeants Childres and Makrade (see the 
  Readied for the Cold entry on page 31 for details of these 
  additional pieces of equipment). 
  Depending on the circumstances (and if the Players made 
  a few skill roles for the crew how well they did) The Sigillite’s 
  Word is completely consumed by ﬁ res within minutes of 
  the guncutter departing and explodes in a star-bright ball 
  of plasma, or manages to break away, spewing ﬂ ames and 
  trailing debris, her engines burning ﬂ ank speed away from 
  the orbital carnage above Mara. The guncutter begins the 
  descent through Mara’s atmosphere towards the location of 
  the Ice Station and the ﬁ nal act of the Haarlock Legacy.
  
  ICE STATION
  ICE STATION
  MARA
  MARA
  NIGHTMARE LABYRINTH
  •
  THE THREE ELEMENTS
  •
  ENEMIES AND ALLIES
  •
  FORGING ALLIANCES
  •
  THE HORRORS OF MARA
  •
  WINNING THE RACE
  •
  ARRIVING AT THE ICE 
  STATION
  •
  DESCENT THROUGH FIRE
  •
  ENCOUNTERS IN THE ICE 
  STATION
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  26
  26
  Chapter II: 
  Ice Station 
  Mara
  “There are dark pitted corners of our universe that have bred the 
  most unfathomable horrors and blasphemies that would burn and 
  blind the sanest man. Fortunately sanity has never been a prerequisite 
  of membership in the Holy Ordos”
   
  –Inquisitor Silas Marr
  T
  he bulk of this adventure takes place in the accursed and 
  abandoned Ice Station on Mara. Viewed in the abstract, 
  the Acolytes have the role of explorers and treasure-
  seekers, and the Ice Station itself can be rightly seen by the GM 
  as a particularly deadly ‘haunted house’ which serves to provide 
  a harsh backdrop against which the player-characters must race 
  to ﬁ nd what they seek: the entrance to the Blind Tesseract by 
  combining three elements to ﬁ nd its location. Along the way 
  the Acolytes must survive not only the perils of the Ice Station 
  itself (which are many), but must also best their rivals who also 
  desire the Legacy and to uncover Mara’s secrets. 
  The unnatural and Warp-tainted nature of the Ice Station 
  complex and the realm below it reveals itself the deeper the 
  Acolytes go within it. These secrets must be discovered by 
  exploring the complex, and also, potentially, by interacting with 
  the other factions who have come as their rivals. Of the other 
  factions, some are outright enemies, some can be bargained 
  with, and some may become allies, however temporary or 
  untrustworthy. 
  Once they Acolytes ﬁ nd the entrance to the Blind Tesseract, 
  they face a ﬁ nal test of courage and resolve. If they pass, they 
  ﬁ nd themselves within the Blind Tesseract and facing the many 
  choices it presents. How quickly the Acolytes gain access to 
  the Blind Tesseract, and how effectively they have dealt with 
  the other factions, determines whether they reach the Blind 
  Tesseract ﬁ rst or whether others have reached it before them 
  and are thus closer to reaching the ﬁ nal secret of Haarlock’s 
  Legacy than the Acolytes.
  NIGHTMARE LABYRINTH
  To reach the entrance to the Blind Tesseract, the Acolytes 
  must journey deep into the lower levels of the Ice Station’s 
  generatoria sub-complex. Unfortunately, the ice station extends 
  far down into the permafrost and rock of Mara and the further 
  one goes down into its depths, the more of a labyrinth it 
  becomes. This is a labyrinth not simply in a physical sense that 
  exists in only three dimensions, but also where time, space, and 
  the beyond become increasingly twisted and dangerous. The 
  different parts of the Ice Station and mines beneath it exist out 
  of phase with each other in the Warp-fractured reality of Mara: 
  walking down the same passage twice does not always lead to 
  the same place at the other end, and the same two chambers are 
  not always connected to each other. It is possible to unwittingly 
  shift from one splintered fragment of space and time to another 
  simply by passing through chambers, passages, and doors in a 
  different order or while holding different objects. This effect 
  of constant, unnatural reconﬁ guration gets worse the deeper 
  one goes into the station and mines, and somewhere within the 
  tangle of possibilities is the entrance to the Blind Tesseract. All 
  the Acolytes have to do is ﬁ nd it... 
  THE THREE ELEMENTS
  Although it may be possible to ﬁ nd the entrance to the Blind 
  Tesseract by chance, given Mara’s deadly and confusing nature 
  it is almost certain than anyone trying this approach will be 
  dead long before success is likely. This is Haarlock’s game, 
  however, and Haarlock wanted the Tesseract to be found and 
  activated again by those who would come after him. So, he 
  has provided a ‘trail of breadcrumbs’ of sorts for others to 
  follow in the shape of three different kinds of ‘elements,’ that 
  in combination allows the correct path to be chosen. Haarlock 
  left these elements, some of which are physical objects and 
  some of which are information or secrets, scattered across his 
  domains and former works (which either the Acolytes or their 
  rivals have with them), while others may be found on Mara 
  itself. The possession of one of each type of element leads 
  those who hold them to the Tesseract should they survive the 
  journey. These elements are as follows:
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  27
  27
  • A Pattern: A course to follow in the labyrinth below the 
  ice station to ﬁ nd the entrance to the Blind Tesseract.
  • A Guide: An individual to interpret the Pattern and 
  provide instruction of what must be done inside the 
  Blind Tesseract.
  • A Talisman: A physical object attuned to Haarlock’s 
  power to be used as a key to activate Haarlock’s engine 
  in the Blind Tesseract. 
  None of these things are exactly what they seem; the 
  Pattern, for example, is not a simple physical map of rooms, 
  but a pattern of movements and actions within the ice station 
  and mines. While the Guide may be a speciﬁ c individual, it 
  can also be a revelation on the part of one or more of the 
  Acolytes. Although each may exist in different forms, this 
  adventure details one element of each type fully, with the GM 
  free to add in or modify his own. 
  It is important to note that there are many different 
  potential elements, some of which the Acolytes may never 
  have had access to or may be found in other hands. Thus, it is 
  possible for their rivals to access the Blind Tesseract as well as 
  the Acolytes by using a different set of elements. DEAD STARS 
  is a race between different factions and it is possible for the 
  Acolytes to succeed in ﬁ nding the Blind Tesseract, but do so 
  after their rivals depending on how they have performed (see 
  Winning the Race on page 30).
  ELEMENT 1: A PATTERN
  The Pattern represents the physical steps that the Acolytes 
  must make through the shifting environment of the Ice Station 
  in order to reach the Doorway to Darkness, the chamber that 
  provides the entryway to the Blind Tesseract itself. It is not 
  a map of the physical layout of the Ice Station and mines. 
  Rather it is a pattern of actions that must be performed in a 
  certain order. If done correctly (with the correct guidance and 
  accompanying key), it culminates in the entrance to the Blind 
  Tesseract. The Acolytes do not need to be able to understand 
  or interpret the Pattern themselves; the Guide (see below) does 
  so itself. Without the Guide, the Pattern cannot be used. 
  The Grey Books of Haarlock
  Haarlock gave the Pattern physical form by creating copies 
  of his ancestor Solomon Haarlock’s encrypted logbooks and 
  imprinting the Pattern within them by occult means. These 
  imprints each take the form of a battered but sizable prayer 
  book of archaic style and design, bound in unidentiﬁ able grey 
  skin. Within their pages are a string of strange symbols and 
  diagrams accompanying long stanzas of apparent nonsense 
  (which read along the lines of “the three lords look and 
  turning their eyes do burn, and burning to seize the cup”), 
  that cover many pages. Anyone looking at the text who is 
  able to read High Gothic and who has Knowledge (Imperial 
  Creed) realise that it is gibberish, with words and phrases that 
  are in the entirely wrong order and that some famous prayers 
  and litanies contained within are rearranged in blasphemously 
  satirical and mocking ways. 
  Each book is a two-edged deception. Hidden within the 
  ﬁ rst ‘layer’ of encryption is some secret but highly valuable 
  set of otherwise mundane information, such as secret void 
  navigation charts, technological schematics or blasphemous 
  lore. The real secret of the Pattern is contained within the 
  seeming gibberish that hides what is written within.
  This artefact may well be familiar to players who have 
  played The House of Dust and Ash. They may already have 
  encountered, or be in possession of, one of these books: 
  the Grey Skin Psalter obtained from the House of Dust and 
  Ash on Solomon (see page 218 of DISCIPLES OF THE DARK 
  GODS). Importantly, this is not the only copy of the Pattern; 
  others exist including the one Erasmus took with him when 
  he vanished. One additional copy is in the possession of the 
  Amaranthine Syndicate faction on Mara on the person of the 
  Slaugth that goes under the guise of ‘Miss Book’. If the GM 
  wishes, the Pattern may be changed to a different object if, 
  for whatever reason, the Grey Skin Psalter cannot be used, or 
  he would prefer to use something else. 
  ELEMENT 2: THE GUIDE
  While the Pattern gives the Acolytes a path to tread to the 
  Blind Tesseract, it is a far from easy and fraught with shifting 
  perils, so that it requires a Guide who can interpret it and 
  steer past the greater dangers on the way. The guides know 
  how to interpret the Pattern through bitter experience: they 
  have previously had Mara’s insane nature revealed to them 
  by Haarlock’s doing, or they have some manner of unnatural 
  insight into the Warp. If shown the Pattern, the Guide is able 
  to instantly recognise it for what it is and to steer the correct 
  path through the shifting possibilities of the Ice Station with 
  considerable accuracy. 
  The Damned Navigator
  The Guide presented here is the half-mad Navigator Benhamin 
  Nostromo; a damned soul and former servant of Erasmus 
  Haarlock, now cursed to haunt the ice station’s environs 
  (see page 36). Nostromo has his own conﬂ icted reasons for 
  aiding the Acolytes, and while he may be trusted, he is only 
  interested in furthering his own goals. If Haarlock returns, he 
  secretly believes he is free to ﬁ nally die or at least escape; a 
  condition the Acolytes may have encountered before in the 
  Rogue Trader’s erstwhile servants. The GM may choose a 
  different NPC to be the Guide based on the circumstances 
  that exist for the Acolytes coming into DEAD STARS or simply 
  add them to the roster of available help.
  Other potential Guides are the Remains of the Widower 
  from TATTERED FATES and the Daemon of the Mirror from 
  DAMNED CITIES.
  The Blood of the Scion 
  It is possible, depending on the story elements and adventures 
  played previously, that one of the Acolytes or other NPCs 
  present on Mara may be a member of Haarlock’s bloodline, 
  and bound to the strange fates and dark destiny of the 
  Haarlock line. If this is the case, then they are a guide, 
  
  II: Ice Station Mara
  28
  28
  28
  whether they know it or not, as the temporal and psychic 
  resonances of Mara and Haarlock’s passing sing in their very 
  blood. The deeper the character goes into Mara, the more it 
  feels strangely familiar to them, with a mounting sense of 
  déjà vu and impending dread. The GM should grant them 
  nightmarish dreams (should they sleep) where the blood of 
  thousands is on their hands, and ﬂ eeting waking visions no 
  one else can see of a gaunt ﬁ gure striding half seen ahead of 
  them, the sounds of weeping and dark fearful whispers of the 
  Haarlock name. Nostromo, immediately upon meeting them, 
  recognises them for what they are and seeks to help them, 
  wavering between servility and resentment to the character. 
  While searching for the Tesseract, a gut feeling points them 
  in the right direction.
  ELEMENT 3: THE TALISMAN
  The Talisman is an object of power needed to activate the 
  arcane engine that Haarlock constructed to activate and control 
  the Blind Tesseract. Of all the elements it is the most vital, for 
  without one, the Blind Tesseract can be reached but it cannot 
  be made to work. A Talisman is a part of the Blind Tesseract’s 
  engineering and made from a rare and exotic substance vital 
  to the warp-resonances generated by the Tesseract chamber, 
  which is why it has this effect and binds its use to Haarlock’s 
  followers or would be usurpers. 
  The Keystone 
  This artefact formed the vital component of the infamous Steel 
  Clock of Gabriel Chase (see page 56 of TATTERED FATES). 
  In physical form, it is an irregularly shaped lump of heavy 
  black stone the size of a man’s ﬁ st. This keystone begins the 
  adventure in the hands of one of the factions present in the 
  ice station, quite possibly the Acolytes themselves. 
  There are other strange artefacts Haarlock made using this 
  otherworldly substance (see the campaign guide on page 6), 
  including the Black Sun amulet found in the House of Dust 
  and Ash. At the GM’s discretion, one of the factions may have 
  a Talisman of their own. 
  FINDING THE ELEMENTS
  The location of the various elements at the beginning of 
  DEAD STARS depends on the events of previous adventures 
  and how the GM wishes to set up the challenge of the Ice 
  Station for the Acolytes. The Pattern and the Talisman may 
  both be in the possession of the players at the beginning of 
  DEAD STARS, but if they are not, it is best to have each one in 
  the possession of a different rival faction that is also searching 
  for the entrance to the Blind Tesseract. 
  The Guide, in the form of Benhamin Nostromo, does 
  not begin in the possession of any faction and is there for 
  the Acolytes to claim as they explore the Ice Station. From 
  Nostromo, the Acolytes learn of the existence and importance 
  of the other elements. They will thus either realise the 
  importance of what they have, or learn that they have to take 
  them from their rivals by fair means or foul, hunting them 
  through Mara’s icy halls.
  ENEMIES AND ALLIES
  It is up to the GM to bring out the nature and the actions of 
  the Acolytes’ rival factions during the adventure within the 
  Ice Station, as well as to decide what’s happening with them 
  ‘off camera’ as the adventure progresses. Each has their own 
  motivation and methods but a single goal: gain access to the 
  Blind Tesseract and claim the Haarlock Legacy for their own. 
  More on the various factions and their leaders can be found 
  elsewhere in this book (see pages 9-12), but bear the following 
  in mind when working out what they are up to: 
  THE PILGRIMS OF HAYTE
  Arriving considerably before the others and in large numbers, 
  they have taken substantial losses and left corpses and 
  signs of their recent passing all over the lower levels. What 
  remains of them are about a dozen scattered bands that can 
  be encountered in twos and threes across the upper and mid 
  levels. Half berserk and erratic, they are all the more dangerous 
  for their condition, and have already reverted to cannibalism 
  and killing each other when the desire takes them. They 
  can neither be bargained nor reasoned with, and they attack 
  anyone or anything they meet. 
  The Pilgrims’ surviving leader, a false prophet who goes 
  by the name of Ghast Priestkiller (see page 12), is a shattered 
  wreck of his former self, his brain slowly being devoured from 
  within by Psycheneuein larvae. He has made a bloody lair for 
  himself in the mid levels of the ice station (see the Pilgrim’s 
  Rest encounter on page 38) where he is encountered unless 
  drawn out by the death of his servants, over which he now 
  has only partial control thanks to his growing madness and 
  weakened state. Ghast is every bit as deranged as his former 
  ﬂ ock, and is likely to kill on sight anyone he crosses. In a 
  more lucid moment, he may attempt to abduct or possibly 
  even bargain for a psyker from a large and powerful group, in 
  order to perform a sacriﬁ ce to his dark gods in the hopes of 
  improving his condition.
  THE AMARANTHINE SYNDICATE
  There is one (or possibly a handful of ) Slaugth in the Complex 
  (Miss Book and possibly Master Nonesuch, see page 10), 
  disguised for the moment as human. Descending into the 
  ice station with them are twelve well-armed mercenaries and 
  Aedrik, a loyal Amaranthine ship captain. Having made landfall 
  shortly before the Acolytes, they proceeded directly into the 
  complex and are attempting to move to the lower levels in a 
  methodical manner. They attempt to take prisoners of anyone 
  they encounter, for questioning if possible, and efﬁ ciently 
  slaughter anyone that resists or stands in their way. As matters 
  progress the Slaugth attempt to overcome obstacles with a 
  mixture of reasoned analysis and force, but lose the willing 
  assistance of their hired help once their true nature is revealed. 
  The Slaugth, being in communication with an orbital sensor 
  drone, are also in possession of the information that The Spear 
  of Destiny has driven off or destroyed all the other vessels in 
  orbit and is now sitting in geostationary position above the Ice 
  station as if waiting for something. 
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  29
  29
  HERROD AND THE TYRANTINES
  An Inquisitor has teleported directly into the complex during 
  the battle. This risky move has already attracted the attention 
  of the warp-predators and cost Inquisitor Herrod (see page 
  58) several members of his team to their frenzied attack. 
  Herrod is now operating cautiously, mindful that another 
  serious attack by the warp predators may ﬁ nish his chances of 
  getting the answers he seeks about Haarlock and the Legacy. 
  He does not seek out armed confrontation with the other 
  factions unless cornered or in an advantageous position. 
  Herrod sets up a base of operations in the deeper parts 
  of the Utility Complex and sends his agents out to stealthily 
  survey the area and plant observation devices about the 
  complex (although their efﬁ cacy is badly affected by the 
  prevailing conditions on Mara).  They move on and evade 
  the other groups unless cornered, in which case Herrod 
  unleashes the full might of both himself and his retainers on 
  his opponents without a qualm.
  FORGING ALLIANCES
  Given the supreme danger that simply being in the ice 
  station represents, the Acolytes and their erstwhile enemies 
  (with the notable exception of the Pilgrims of Hayte) may 
  well be drawn into tentative alliances, particularly once they 
  start getting reduced in numbers by the dangers around 
  them. Such alliances may be arrived at over armed standoffs, 
  communications on hastily repaired vox equipment or the 
  simply expediency of coming to each others aid when Mara 
  shows its true face. But bear in mind neither the Tyrantines 
  nor the Syndicate can be trusted, and the closer to the prize, 
  the more likely the double cross becomes. 
  THE HORRORS OF MARA
  Mara itself is a lurking horror, a nightmare waiting to be 
  realized, quite apart from the Haarlock Legacy and outside the 
  control of even Erasmus Haarlock or any that have come to seek 
  him. Mara, bathed in the spectral light of its murderous star, is a 
  place that should not be, with ﬁ ssures in the fabric of its reality 
  like cankerous worms writhing through a rotting corpse. The 
  Blind Tesseract can be accessed via this tangled web of Warp-
  incursions, but is not in fact their cause, and beneath the thin 
  skin of Mara’s reality a myriad of mindless horrors seethe and 
  hunt remorselessly. When living minds and violent acts grow 
  strong enough in Mara’s realspace, they swarm like sharks to 
  bloody water, overcoming the thin barrier between the physical 
  and the beyond with terrifying ease. 
  Astral Spectres, Unclean Sprits and more, in particular the 
  dread Mara strain of Psycheneuein which were named for 
  this place, lurk unseen and hungry, close under the surface of 
  things, skimming reality as if it were no more than a ﬁ lm of 
  water. For normal minds, there is a near-relentless feeling of 
  being watched, as if something fearful and horriﬁ c was waiting 
  around every corner. For psykers, however, Mara is worse. What 
  others might dismiss as phantom fears are for them stark truths; 
  they know that the place teems with unseen horrors just waiting 
  to scent blood and that beyond them are the chill echoes of vast 
  and alien intelligences too terrible to contemplate. 
  MISPLACED ELEMENTS 
  FROM PREVIOUS ADVENTURES
  It may be that through the course of the Haarlock’s Legacy 
  Campaign, the Grey Skin Psalter and the Keystone of the 
  Steel Clock have been lost, taken by rivals, handed over 
  to higher authorities or left somewhere else far away from 
  where they are needed. What if, for example, the Psalter 
  was left in the House of Dust and Ash and apparently 
  destroyed? What if the Acolytes recovered the Keystone 
  of the Steel Clock but very properly handed it over to be 
  kept under lock and key by the Inquisition? The answer is 
  simple; their rivals have them.
  Anything lost in the House of Dust and Ash may well 
  be in the hands of the Amaranthine Syndicate (the Slaugth 
  are very, very hard to kill after all), or any of the other 
  factions encountered during this adventure, who may have 
  plotted and killed to acquire them. 
  Anything left in the secure vaults of the Tricorn Palace 
  on Scintilla or in Sinophia may have been stolen by the 
  Collegium Tenebrae and is now in Inquisitor Herrod’s 
  possession, a factor that can tip the Acolytes from the 
  beginning to inquisitorial involvement. 
  The Keystone or the Widower Fragment, if taken by the 
  Pilgrim’s of Hayte on Quaddis, is now held by one of their 
  diminishing band in the sub-levels of the ice station, or at 
  least waiting to be found on the bodies of their dead.
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  30
  30
  Just when to unleash Mara’s hidden nightmare inhabitants 
  is for the GM to decide, depending upon the moment and just 
  what the Acolytes can cope with, although some are included 
  within the encounters that follow. As a guideline, the Warp 
  Entities are drawn to protracted incidents of violence such as 
  lengthy gun battles, ﬁ ghts where blood is shed and anything 
  more deliberate such as torture within the ice station, which 
  provides the impetus needed for them to break through. If a 
  Psyker’s powers are involved, this is all the more likely.
  THE MARA EFFECT
  The weak fabric of reality that pervades Mara has several 
  deleterious effects. Long exposure over days and weeks can 
  drive the strongest mind to the brink of insanity (although 
  the Acolytes are unlikely to remain for anywhere near this 
  long, one way or another). Additionally, it has the following 
  effects in game terms:
  • +10 to any result rolled on the Psychic Phenomena 
  table.
  • The difﬁ culty of all Psyniscience tests in increased by 
  one stage (note that this has already been included in 
  tests speciﬁ cally described in this adventure).
  • Any Perils of the Warp result that indicates a daemon 
  or spirit is summoned unleashes 1d5 adult Mara 
  Psycheneuein in the area instead. 
  • All psychic attempts at divination or truth-saying 
  are impossible here, the myriad of possibilities and 
  fractures in reality make deﬁ ning any one true path 
  impossible here. 
  WINNING THE RACE
  Depending on how quickly the Acolytes ﬁ nd out what they 
  need to do, and then how well they actually do it, should 
  be used by the GM to judge whether they have done well 
  enough to reach the Blind Tesseract ﬁ rst, or whether a rival 
  faction has arrived there ahead of them. This is important 
  because who enters the Blind Tesseract ﬁ rst determines the 
  state of play at the beginning of Part III: The Blind Tesseract. 
  There are three broad options for the GM:
  THE ACOLYTES GET THERE FIRST BY A 
  CLEAR MARGIN
  If the Acolytes managed to quickly assemble the elements 
  required, and dealt with the threats they have faced decisively, 
  then they can be assumed to have reached the Blind Tesseract 
  well in advance of any of the other factions. These factions 
  may, depending on their losses, be reintroduced at a later 
  stage (see The Hunter or The Hunted on page 45). They have 
  their own elements and discovered the Door into Darkness 
  some time after the Acolytes passed through it.
  Another option is that the Acolytes are the only surviving 
  faction to reach the Blind Tesseract, in which case they need 
  not fear being beaten to the ﬁ nish line or be concerned with 
  pursuit close behind them. 
  THE ACOLYTES GET THERE JUST IN 
  FRONT OF OR BEHIND THEIR ENEMIES
  If the Acolytes have spent too much time obtaining the 
  elements and have not dealt with their rivals, but avoided or 
  ﬂ ed from them, then those rivals are literally one step behind 
  them as they reach the Door into Darkness. Following the 
  Acolytes may even have been the way that their rivals discover 
  the Door into Darkness. Alternatively, the rival faction could 
  be just one step ahead of the Acolytes and meet them head 
  on in the Tesseract.
  THE ACOLYTES GET THERE WELL BEHIND 
  THEIR ENEMIES
  If the Acolytes have dawdled, not acted decisively to secure the 
  elements, or suffered grave setbacks, then even if they obtain 
  all three elements and reach the Door into Darkness they have 
  done so after at least one of their rivals. This means they arrive 
  at the Tesseract to ﬁ nd Haarlock’s engine running and must 
  pursue their enemies as swiftly as they can or lose everything. 
  FINDING THE UNSCRIPTED 
  SOLUTION
  The solution to the labyrinth of Mara presented here is 
  intended to give the players a clear set of steps towards 
  achieving their ultimate goal of ﬁ nding their way into the 
  Blind Tesseract via the Door into Darkness. They have 
  to struggle to achieve each of those steps, but ultimately 
  there is a solution to their predicament that they can work 
  towards without the players having to have personal 
  moments of insight. It is, however, possible that the players 
  may reach their own conclusion about the nature of the Ice 
  Station and form a brilliant and original theory of how to 
  solve the labyrinth that has not been catered for on these 
  pages. If they do this, go with it! 
  For example, a group of Acolytes that have been 
  through many Haarlock’s Legacy Adventures may decide 
  that they need to make thirteen turns down passages and 
  then step through the mirrored surface of a frozen wall, or 
  that a scion of the Haarlock line amongst their number can 
  guide them if they listen to the whispers of the dead. If it 
  is a good idea that it would be more fun in the game and 
  for the players than the solution presented here, then make 
  it the true solution.
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  31
  31
  Arriving at the 
  Ice Station
  H
  aving escaped the battle in orbit, the pilot of the 
  guncutter carrying the Acolytes makes an immediate 
  descent to the surface of Mara, aiming for the location 
  of the Ice Station. As the guncutter approaches, it is hit by 
  missile ﬁ re (although they won’t know this immediately for 
  sure) from within the compound and has to make a crash 
  landing. The Acolytes and their subordinates must then 
  prepare themselves to face the lethal environment of Mara 
  and ﬁ ght their way into the Ice Station surface compound. 
  From there, their exploration of the secrets and perils of Mara 
  truly begins.
  DESCENT THROUGH FIRE
  Once the players have had a chance to brieﬂ y discuss their 
  situation, read or paraphrase the following;
  “Through the armoured glass of the guncutter’s small view 
  ports, you can see the sky burning behind you with plasma 
  explosions and vaporizing debris. The ﬁ res of the ships’ deaths 
  burn so bright that the stars seem swallowed up by the fury of 
  the inferno. 
  The guncutter begins to shudder as it descends through Mara’s 
  Atmosphere. The temperature within is oven hot and all around 
  comets are falling, trailing plumes of greasy ﬂ ame through the 
  thin skin of air around the ice world. 
  “Ice station Mara arrival in sixty seconds!” the co-pilot 
  shouts over the comms system, and even as he ﬁ nishes, you can 
  hear the insistent chimes of targeting alerts. 
  The pilot does not have enough time to produce an oath 
  before an explosion blows ﬁ re and debris through the interior 
  of the guncutter and the outside air howls in, bringing with it 
  an instant shrieking cold. Looking forward helplessly from your 
  crash-frames, you can see that the co-pilot and the cockpit canopy 
  glass have both disappeared in a mist of blood, splinters and bone 
  fragments and the craft begins to spin as if hurled like a discus.”
  As with the battle in space, you may wish to involve the 
  players by testing for the pilot to control the guncutter’s 
  descent, or if any of the Acolytes have a relevant piloting 
  skill, encourage them to struggle to the controls and crash 
  land the ship, rewarding such bravery with XP. Safely crash 
  landing the guncutter without injury to those on board is a 
  Hard (–20) Pilot (Spacecraft) Skill Test. The surviving 
  pilot’s skill total is 53. 
  “The pilot is screaming and bleeding. His hands are still on 
  the controls when the guncutter impacts into the icy surface of 
  Mara with a thunderous crack. 
  The fuselage rolls slowly; shedding debris with every turn, 
  until it suddenly is still and the only noise you can hear is the 
  hiss of vaporised ice and the whistle of an icy wind through the 
  rents in the fuselage.”
  The condition of survivors depends on whether the 
  Acolytes have been passive or active in the descent and 
  how well it was handled on the way down. Either all the 
  passengers are largely unharmed by the crash, though the 
  pilot and co-pilot are very dead, or if the crash went badly the 
  Acolytes themselves may have sustained minor injuries (1d5 
  Wounds bypassing armour and TB, avoided with a Difﬁ cult 
  (–10) Toughness or Agility Test), and 1d5 Janissaries are 
  also dead. (Note that regardless, the guncutter still crash lands 
  largely intact, otherwise this would make for a rather short 
  adventure!)
  After the crash, the guncutter itself is a wreck and provides 
  only limited shelter from the killing-cold wind that is now 
  streaming in through its punctured hull. 
  READIED FOR THE COLD
  The Maccabian Janissaries have come prepared for the cold; 
  under their armour they are encased head to foot in a skin 
  tight environmental body glove. They have also brought 
  two additional medipacks (see page 148 in the Armoury 
  Chapter of the DARK HERESY Rulebook) and two spare sets 
  of Environmental Bodygloves (see page 150 in the Frontier 
  and Void Chapter of the INQUISITOR’S HANDBOOK) for any 
  who do not have proper gear for the cold or whose suits 
  become badly damaged. 
  REACHING THE ICE STATION
  The Acolytes’ guncutter has crashed only three hundred 
  metres beyond the outer wall of the Ice Station compound. 
  It is night and the sky is dark and clear, with light provided 
  by the stars and the burning wreckage of the battle in the 
  void above. 
  THE SENTRIES AT THE GATE
  The ground between the guncutter and the compound is open, 
  and as they approach close to the walls the Acolytes come 
  under attack by a groups of ﬁ ve Syndicate Mercenaries (see 
  page 66 in Appendix I: NPCs and Antagonists) positioned in 
  the gantry frames of the main wall of the surface compound. 
  One is armed with a rocket propelled grenade launcher with 
  three krak, two ﬂ are, and ﬁ ve frag grenades in addition to his 
  standard equipment, while one carries their remaining one 
  shot surface-to-air-rocket tube (which cannot be ﬁ red against 
  ground targets). 
  
  II: Ice Station Mara
  32
  32
  32
  The mercenaries are under orders to hold their position, 
  and are even now watching to see if any survivors get out of 
  the wreckage of the guncutter and make it within the walls. 
  Their visibility is poor however, and so they have to pass 
  a Challenging (+0) Awareness Test to spot the Acolytes 
  and their companions, even if they are not trying to be 
  particularly stealthy. 
  If the retainers do not spot them as soon as they clear the 
  wreckage and come into line of sight, then they test again for 
  every 100 meters closer the Acolytes approach towards the 
  compound. Once they know where the Acolytes’ forces are, 
  they begin ﬁ ring. 
  The mercenaries are behind the rockcrete battlements 
  of the wall and are at a (–30) penalty to hit, though the 
  mercenary with the RPG must stand and expose his body to 
  ﬁ re it dropping his cover to (+0). Should the Acolyte team 
  include a good sniper, the threat posed by the retainers can 
  be eliminated swiftly. Likewise, the wall is not intact and a 
  stealthy attacker or attackers can outﬂ ank them.
  INTERROGATING THE RETAINERS
  Should any of the retainers be taken alive by the Acolytes, a 
  successful Difﬁ cult (–10) Interrogation or Intimidation 
  Test will reveal that they are part of a much larger team of 
  hired mercenaries accompanying a group of merchants and 
  traders who have descended into the complex below leaving 
  them and two others to ensure that no one else lands and 
  enters the compound. Passing by more than one degree 
  of success also reveals that they have not had any contact 
  from the two others left to guard the control complex by the 
  landing pad when the main group descended into the ice 
  station about an hour ago. More than two degrees of success 
  reveals the presence of a booby trap device on the syndicate 
  ﬂ yer and the truth that only Captain Aedrik and the syndicate 
  ‘principals’ (i.e., Miss Book and any other Slaugth in the 
  syndicate’s team) have the accessor key required to ﬂ y the 
  syndicate lander.
  An examination of the compound’s surroundings reveals 
  a black-hulled armoured lander sitting on one landing 
  platform, a little larger in size than their former guncutter, 
  but clearly rigged for speed rather than combat. It is powered 
  down and sealed. Getting onboard requires a Difﬁ cult (–10) 
  Security or Hard (–20) Tech-Use Test. Failure triggers an 
  electrocution trap that inﬂ icts 2D10 E damage to whoever 
  is trying to pick the lock (armour and toughness bonuses 
  count as normal). The lander’s ﬂ ight and weapons systems 
  are hardwired to an accessor codekey and cannot otherwise 
  be used. It does however have working life support, food 
  stores and a usable medical bay, and thus makes a viable and 
  relatively safe base of operations should the Acolytes wish. 
  If the GM intends on having additional rival factions 
  (beyond the Amaranthine Syndicate and Inquisitor Herrod 
  and his retinue), there should also be obvious signs that 
  more than one group has already arrived. Tracks in the snow 
  coming out of the snow wastes, the wreckage of another 
  transport, or fresh corpses of those killed by the Amaranthine 
  Syndicate when they arrived may well be present.
  Encounters in 
  the Ice Station 
  I
  ce Station Mara is a vast complex that extends above and 
  below ground in many kilometres of tunnels, passages, 
  chambers and rooms. Rather than detail the exact layout 
  of the Ice Station room-by-room and passage-by-passage, it is 
  presented here as a series of encounters that can act as a toolkit 
  for the GM to create the Ice Station experience that the players 
  will most enjoy. 
  The encounters provided for, or created by, the GM should 
  be strung together as needed to create the illusion of a vast 
  and intricate location without requiring an equally vast map 
  and pages of location notes (GMs who have run TATTERED 
  FATES will recognise this as a similar technique to that used 
  to create the vast maze of the Red Cages), although a basic 
  layout map has been included to assist the GM in visualising 
  the Ice Station (see pages 71-72). In particular, it has been 
  left up to the GM to ﬂ esh out the more ‘mundane,’ (if no 
  less sinister) series of rooms, gantries, chambers, and corridors 
  between encounters.
  Each encounter has been marked as Upper Levels, Mid 
  Levels or Deep Levels as a guide to where each encounter is 
  best used. GMs are advised and encouraged to invent their 
  own encounters and details to further ‘ﬁ ll out the map’ and 
  re-position the encounters in accordance with the path the 
  Acolytes choose to take. It can be useful to create a note-map of 
  which encounter has been used, where and in what order (that 
  the Weeping One was used just before the Frozen Slaughter 
  for example) for reference. Most importantly, remember that 
  the Ice Station and mines constantly reconﬁ gure their physical 
  space when no one is looking (woe betide the Acolyte group 
  that splits up too much on Mara!), and discontinuity between 
  physical locations is part of the style of the labyrinth element 
  in this part of DEAD STARS. Don’t worry if the layout does not 
  make sense to the players. In fact, the GM should make sure 
  that the farther down the Acolytes go into the ice station’s 
  dark embrace, the harder it is for them to ﬁ gure out where 
  they are. 
  CLASHES AND AMBUSHES
  Fighting the other factions that are pursuing the ﬁ nal prize of 
  Haarlock’s Legacy is a central part of the Acolytes’ experience 
  of the Ice Station. At the very least, Inquisitor Herrod and 
  his agents are hunting for the keys to Haarlock’s location in 
  secret, and the xenos-enthralled Amaranthine Syndicate are 
  also loose in the Ice Station, methodically trying to explore 
  it and eliminate the opposition. Besides these there may be 
  others who have managed to reach the Ice Station and are 
  pursuing the clues to the ﬁ nal secret with every weapon 
  they possess (i.e., the Pilgrims of Hayte and any other faction 
  of the GM’s choosing). 
  Given this, and the fact that one or more of the elements 
  to solving the labyrinth (see page 26) may be held by 
  different factions, there is going to be blood and violence 
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  33
  33
  before the Acolytes reach the Door into Darkness and gain 
  entrance to the Blind Tesseract. These battles may be a chance 
  encounter between rival forces that come face to face in a 
  chamber or tunnel, or a planned ambush by one on another. 
  Ambush encounters  between factions are also included (see 
  the Hanging Gallery on page  39 for an example), but it is 
  up to the GM to create other interactions as needed; both 
  in response to the player-characters’ actions and to what the 
  other factions are doing in particular circumstances and as the 
  adventure progresses. 
  REST STOPS 
  AND OTHER HUMAN WEAKNESSES
  The Acolytes may be on Mara for some time, in which case 
  they must take breaks to eat, rest, re-arm, submit to the call 
  of nature, undergo medical attention, and even sleep—all of 
  which can be as perilous or disturbing as the GM wishes. 
  Sleep in particular on this accursed world is dangerous and 
  ﬁ lled with ravening, vivid nightmares, the exact details of 
  which ﬂ ee the most disciplined of minds within moments 
  of waking but leave a lasting dread and horror staining 
  the soul. 
  Anyone without some form of the Untouchable trait who 
  sleeps for more than four hours or so (enough to actually 
  rest) must succeed a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test on 
  waking aided by any talent that protects against the effects of 
  fear, or suffer 1 point of Insanity.
  THE ENCOUNTERS
  The following detail the potential encounters the Acolytes can 
  have within the ice station’s environs, depending on where 
  they travel within it, in a rough order of likelihood. Only the 
  encounter with Nostromo and the Door to Darkness are vital. 
  Because these list only ‘active’ situations, the GM should bear 
  in mind that the vast bulk of the ice station is utterly empty 
  and devoid of life, silent and cold as the proverbial grave, 
  except where he chooses to make it otherwise.
  THE EMPTY HOUSE (SURFACE LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/LANDING COMPLEX)
  Gaining entry to the landing complex buildings is as simple 
  as activating the manual winch control on the outer lock door. 
  Within is a looted and ramshackle mess of damaged corridors 
  and burnt out chambers, lit, perhaps surprisingly, by weak 
  ﬂ ickering lumen globes. The air, while still cold, is warmer 
  than the outside and there is sluggish movement through the 
  ventilation systems thanks to hasty repairs. There are some 
  signs of recent squalid occupation: At the end of the corridor 
  facing the entry doorway, behind an improvised barricade, is 
  a new and recently cleaned (and loaded) compact auto-carbine 
  lying on its side as if abandoned. Beside it, a half-burned and 
  still smouldering Lho stick rests propped on a ledge. There is 
  no sign whatsoever of the smoker in the building, nor of any 
  other life whatsoever. 
  Detailed investigation and searches of the complex building, 
  using appropriate skills at a Difﬁ cult (–10) modiﬁ er, reveals the 
  disturbing evidence of half-ﬁ nished meals, rumpled bedding, 
  abandoned equipment, half-ﬁ nished repair work and other 
  WHERE DARKNESS HAS LEASE
  As a rule, the initial encounters experienced by the 
  Acolytes should be high on tension and low on actual 
  violence or horror. Show them the slaughtered remains 
  of a syndicate retainer with his brains eaten, have debris 
  move without anyone touching it, have corridors lead 
  back on themselves, have them hear strange noises or 
  see things out of the corner of their eyes and the like. 
  Mara is best thought of as a hyper-violent haunted 
  house, and the full array of murdered spectres, dreadful 
  apparitions, unseen horrors made of darkness, and 
  disembodied ghastly screams are all appropriate to the 
  station’s icy corridors. Do not go all out with daemons 
  and warp-animated corpses yet: wait and let the setting 
  build the tension. The Acolytes also have enough 
  mortal enemies wandering the upper halls to contend 
  with in any case. Only once the ﬁ res of apprehension 
  and lurking terror have been stoked should Mara be let 
  off the leash, regardless of how dainty or well-behaved 
  the Acolytes have been. Unleash the Psycheneuein or 
  some other warp-spawned horror (a selection of these 
  are presented in Appendix I: NPCs and Antagonists), 
  but be warned; the whole setup from the darkened 
  labyrinthine station to the murderous environment 
  outside is all designed to isolate the players and leave 
  them with nowhere to run!
  
  II: Ice Station Mara
  34
  34
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  signs that someone has tried to make this complex some sort of 
  living area or base on different occasions. All have seemingly 
  vanished in the midst of what ever they were doing, as if 
  snatched into thin air, just as it would seem happened to the 
  two syndicate mercenaries no more than an hour or so ago. 
  Acolytes with the Forbidden Lore (Inquisition) skill who 
  make a Challenging (+0) Awareness Test notice a hidden 
  Ordo Malleus sign left in the burned ash in several of the 
  rooms of the landing complex whose presence indicates a 
  ‘static’ but unknown danger. 
  What happens should the Acolytes wish to linger too long 
  here is left to the GM to decide. 
  THE CHAMBER OF THE DEAD (UPPER 
  LEVEL ENCOUNTER/UTILITY SECTION)
  The door to this chamber opens with a squeal of rusted metal 
  that seems shockingly loud in the silence. It is a broad octagonal 
  chamber perhaps ten metres in diameter. Empty packing cases 
  and scattered machine parts litter the ﬂ oor and all is frosted 
  with ice. There are signs that power and heat were restored at 
  some point after the Ice Station was abandoned. The darkness 
  seems thick, almost solid. There are barricades against the 
  opposite door; a crude conglomeration of crates and wreckage 
  and just beside it, propped up in a seated position, is a body. 
  The corpse looks relatively fresh, or at least well preserved by 
  the cold. The sunken ﬂ esh of the face is yellowed like wax, and 
  beneath the thick layer of frost is a poor quality void suit. There 
  is a frozen, crystallised gash of red on the bare right forearm 
  propped up on the barricade, and the glittering of blood that 
  turned into a crimson icicle as it ﬂ owed. 
  There is writing on the wall above the body, a smeared, dark 
  stain that can only be blood as well. It reads, “Make it Go Away, 
  Crawling, Crawling in my Head.” 
  Further investigation reveals eight more bodies around the 
  room; all have the backs of their heads blown out and in some 
  cases the muzzle of their gun is still between their frozen jaws. 
  After a few moments in the chamber, characters who fail a 
  Challenging (+0) Willpower Test hear the sound of dripping, 
  even though everything in the chamber is quite frozen. At this 
  moment a single member of the Maccabian Janissaries turns to 
  one of his comrades and shoots him at point blank range, killing 
  him instantly. He then turns on all other members of the party, 
  howling uncontrollably. In the following combat a buzzing and 
  noise of insect wings permeates the room until the Janissary 
  is dead.
  DYING TO GET OUT (UPPER LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/CORRIDOR SPACE)
  A partly jammed bulkhead door blocks the Acolytes’ path. 
  On the other side is a body; it appears to be an inmate of the 
  former penitentiary. Clad in grey prisoner’s coveralls and ink-
  branded on the cheek with an Arbites mark and prisoner code, 
  the body appears impossibly recent, with no signs of freezing 
  or decay having taken place. The prisoner’s face is contorted 
  with fear, but aside from bloody and broken ﬁ ngernails where 
  he has been scrabbling to get through the bulkhead door, 
  there is no sign of a cause of death or evidence of violence 
  on the body. A few minutes after its discovery, in a span of 
  mere moments, the body rapidly putreﬁ es and decays, blind 
  white ﬁ brous worms rupturing from its innards. So violent 
  are their struggles, the corpse judders and ﬂ ops around, and 
  so disturbing is the strange bubbling and hissing sound the 
  rapidly multiplying and swelling worms make that witnessing 
  this event is enough to cause a Fear (1) Test in its onlookers. 
  If the Acolytes fail to burn or otherwise dispose of the 
  worms and the body, the worms swarm off hissing into the 
  dark and rapidly begin to grow. 
  A BLOODY AFTERMATH (UPPER LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/UTILITY SECTION)
  This large open chamber, formerly a cargo access loading area 
  for ore and crystals, is now heavily rimed with frost. It was also 
  the site of the ill-fated arrival by teleport of Inquisitor Herrod’s 
  party to Mara and the warp-predator attack it triggered. There 
  are considerable signs of recent violent death and gunplay in the 
  chamber—plus two bodies. 
  Any Psyker entering the chamber should immediately make 
  a Routine (+20) Psyniscience Test. Success reveals that the 
  air still echoes with the aftershocks of a very recent breach in the 
  Warp in the space. More than three degrees of success reveals 
  the impression of a predatory psychic stench still permeating 
  the room.
  The ﬁ rst body is a decapitated ﬁ gure laid out on the frosted 
  ﬂ oor, the red arterial spray from the neck fanning out vividly 
  across the ice-crystal-caked ﬂ oor. Closer examination reveals 
  bloody Administratum robes of high rank over an environmental 
  body glove, and a signet ring bearing the emblem of the Hetaireia 
  Lexis—a noted university on Scintilla with reputedly radical 
  leanings—easily recognisable to any Adept or other character 
  with scholarly skills. The corpse’s webbing belt also reveals 
  numerous notebooks, data-slates (all encrypted) and a laspistol 
  with an overcharge pack and two spare power cells. There is no 
  sign of the dead savant’s head.
  Decoding even the most basic of the dead man’s notebooks 
  is a Difﬁ cult (–10) Logic Test and takes at least an hour’s 
  uninterrupted and patient work. Success reveals some basic 
  details on Mara that correspond very closely to the information 
  the Acolytes already possess. Two degrees of success reveals 
  further that the ciphers are very similar to those used by the Holy 
  Ordos, and three or more degrees of success reveals a notation 
  made in the margin of a page of hastily written symbol code that 
  reads, “Herrod has been assigned, will I live through this?”
  The second body is fused with a mangled lump of what 
  appears to have been machinery, the metal framework of which 
  has crumpled and run like candle wax exposed to a blowtorch. 
  There is little to be discovered in what remains of the body; a 
  head with its features seared off, connected to a molten ﬂ eshy 
  lump, fused with scorched metal and ceramite shards that might 
  have once been powered armour. A successful Challenging 
  (+0) Forbidden Lore (Archeotech) Test or a Hard (–20) 
  Tech-Use Test identiﬁ es this smouldering mess as the result of 
  a botched teleportation transit. 
  
  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  35
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  Use of any Psychic power within this chamber attracts the 
  attention of a Dybuk Render (see page 65), which arrives 1d5 
  rounds after the power is used. It is immediately drawn to 
  attack the individual who manifested the power. Subsequent 
  power uses do not provoke this response.
  THE VOICE ON THE WIRE (UPPER 
  LEVEL ENCOUNTER/CORRIDOR SPACE)
  This encounter can be located in any corridor, empty 
  chamber or guard post. Awareness tests can be made at some 
  distance away to hear a soft, repeated sound coming from a 
  damaged vox-terminal mounted on a wall. Alternatively, the 
  noise can start up as the Acolytes pass the terminal itself, in 
  which case, no tests are required to hear it. The voice from the 
  terminal will be a faint, static-shrouded refrain of “Help me” 
  repeated slowly over and over again. No amount of tech-lore 
  will discern the source of the signal, nor can Psyniscience or 
  other psychic means distinguish its cause beyond Mara’s own 
  background disturbance. If anyone puts their ear to the sound 
  or states that the voice is a recording, vary it with “Help me 
  {Acolyte’s Name}” for a single time. Destroying the vox-
  terminal is the only way to end the voice. 
  CROSSFIRE (UPPER LEVEL ENCOUNTER/
  PRISON CELLS AREA)
  The sound of a protracted gun battle can be heard further 
  ahead somewhere in the complex. If the Acolytes wish 
  to advance toward this to ﬁ nd out what’s going on, then a 
  succession of Ordinary (+10) Awareness Tests are needed 
  to successfully locate the area of the ﬁ ght in the icy echoing 
  corridors and rooms with speed. 
  The sounds of the gunﬁ ght lead on to a large refectory 
  chamber around ten metres wide by twenty metres long, 
  with numerous entrances and exits and a mezzanine balcony 
  surrounding it. Many of the wire cage sheets that protected the 
  mezzanine level have collapsed to the ground or hang partly 
  away from their mountings, while much of the refectory ﬂ oor 
  is still covered by bolted down metal tables and benches. These 
  two factors of terrain, when combined with the frosted air and 
  the dim illumination provided by a few failing lumen globes 
  set in the ceiling, make for a perfect murderous playground of 
  confusion and cover for the ongoing exchange of ﬁ re. 
  There should be at least two sides involved: a numerically 
  superior force on the ground and a numerically inferior force 
  holding the higher ground on one side of the mezzanine. The 
  GM should modify these two forces and the area the Acolytes 
  have entered from (which can of course serve to catch them 
  in the crossﬁ re at worse or let them mount an easy ambush 
  as desired) to suit the size of the Acolytes’ group. A suggested 
  number for the surviving combatants is to have the larger 
  group’s manpower at around half the Acolytes’ group size 
  and the small group at about a third (rounding up). There 
  should also be a few recent casualties dotted around for 
  good measure.
  Example: The Acolyte group has seven members (including 
  Janissaries), so the opposition could involve four Pilgrims of 
  Hayte (as the larger group) and two Syndicate Mercenaries 
  (the smaller group.)
  For added danger, the GM can have the guns fall silent 
  just as the Acolytes near the chamber, as the two sides seek an 
  advantage stealthily in the lull. 
  For every fatality occurring in the combat there is the 
  chance of psychic phenomena occurring in the room of 
  the GM’s choice, up to and including the arrival of Mara’s 
  Warp-predators should the violence prove particularly bloody 
  (see the Antagonists and NPCs section on page 58 for some 
  suggestions.) 
  This encounter serves to give the Acolytes something 
  tangible to ﬁ ght, and to display the multiple factions present 
  in the ice station. It also illustrates the danger of too much 
  bloodshed attracting the attention of the things that lurk in 
  its environs. Savvy Acolytes can also use this encounter to try 
  and capture some prisoners or even lay the ground work for 
  negotiation or alliance, as well as resupply where needed from 
  the fallen.
  THE PANOPTICON (UPPER LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER)
  At the centre of the ﬁ rst sub-level, the Acolytes ﬁ nd a great 
  iron-clad spiral staircase leading down into the inverted tower 
  at the centre of the Panopticon. After many turns, the staircase 
  passes through the roof of a cylindrical chamber the sides of 
  
  II: Ice Station Mara
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  36
  which are lined with niches accessed from the staircase. At the 
  bottom is a circular landing around which are horizontal slits 
  at eye height. From these slits there is a view into an open 
  shaft which seems to surround the circular chamber; the walls 
  of the shaft are lined with hundreds of dark openings. The 
  niches that the Acolytes pass house banks of pict-screens and 
  vox speakers. Before each is a servitor, its eyes and ears linked 
  to the machinery by cables. All are long dead. 
  As the Acolytes move around the inside of the chamber, have 
  them make occasional Challenging (+0) Awareness Tests. If 
  they pass, they think they see one of the dead servitors move 
  slightly, or hear a snatch of voices coming from the vox speakers. 
  After a while, the sound of voices becomes louder and then all 
  the servitors jerk in their niches and every pict-screen jumps to 
  life, showing views of all parts of the Ice Station complex. 
  This is an opportunity for the GM to show the Acolytes 
  what other factions are present in the complex and what they 
  are doing brieﬂ y, as well as any amount of strange phenomena 
  or echoes of events past. After a few minutes the screens begin 
  to cut out and become fogged with static. Finally, they all go 
  blank at the same time as the vox-speakers blare out distorted 
  sounds which last for a second and then fall utterly silent. 
  At the centre of the Panopticon is a cluster of ﬁ ve armoured 
  metal cage elevator cars, each large enough to carry around 
  twenty men at once. At some point in the past, since the station 
  was abandoned, these have been repaired and spliced to an 
  energy cell supply about a third of which remains unused. 
  The elevators traverse down a great open shaft into the frozen 
  black heart of Mara and the mid levels, and show signs of 
  recent use.
  THE MAROONED NAVIGATOR 
  (UPPER LEVEL ENCOUNTER/PRISON 
  CELLS AREA)
  This is the pivotal encounter between the Acolytes and the 
  abandoned Navigator of Erasmus Haarlock. It can occur at 
  any point while the Acolytes are exploring the Ice Station but, 
  it is best to introduce it relatively early in their explorations as 
  the information that it gives them is vital for the rest of this 
  part of the adventure. The Acolytes see a half closed door 
  with ﬂ ickering light coming from around it. 
  When they enter the room read or paraphrase the following 
  based on their actions:
  You push open the heavy door. Beyond is a sizable room 
  crudely furnished with scraps and detritus seemingly scavenged 
  from all over the complex. It is ﬁ lled with the ﬂ ickering light of 
  wicks burning in bowls of machine oil and the air is thick with 
  the cloying scent of their smoke. In the centre of the room, there 
  is an improvised stove made from machine parts that is glowing a 
  deep red. Sitting on a stool next to it is a hunched ﬁ gure swathed 
  in many ragged layers of clothes. As you step forward, a low 
  chuckle comes from the ﬁ gure and then a low rasping voice:
  “I see you have come at last. I knew you would.” As he speaks, 
  he turns to you, his ﬁ nger and thumb looped together to form 
  the shape of an eye which he holds up and looks through as if 
  through an imaginary lens. His ﬂ esh is pale and hairless, his 
  eyes are an ivory white and his forehead is wrapped in a grubby 
  band of white silk woven with stars and symbols. “I am Novator 
  Benhamin Nostromo, Navigator to Erasmus Haarlock.” He 
  laughs and bids you welcome.
  One time Novator of House Nostromo and personal 
  Navigator to Erasmus Haarlock, this ragged and damned man 
  was left behind by his master on Mara when Haarlock went 
  through the Doorway into Darkness. If they react violently 
  to him, Nostromo cowers, and if they injure him, he ﬂ ees at 
  the ﬁ rst opportunity. 
  WHO IS NOSTROMO?
  Nostromo was Erasmus Haarlock’s Navigator and one of his 
  most loyal comrades; he accompanied Haarlock on all of 
  his ventures both great and terrible and knows many of his 
  secrets. He is also the Guide that can lead the Acolytes to the 
  entrance of the Blind Tesseract should they ask. 
  His talents were used by Haarlock to ﬁ nd the entrance to 
  the Blind Tesseract in the ﬁ rst place, and when Haarlock at 
  last departed, he left Nostromo bound by occult means to 
  the Warp-suffused hell of the Ice Station to aid his eventual 
  return. Nostromo claims that he has survived by building up 
  a sensitivity to Mara’s perils and by his understanding of the 
  Warp fractured reality of the ice station and that for him the 
  long decades since Haarlock abandoned him have passed as 
  if they were only a few months. If questioned, he says as 
  much freely, but the full truth is of a darker hue. Nostromo 
  is trapped here, his life force and very being splintered in the 
  folds of time and damned by the Warp. He cannot leave, nor 
  can he truly die, but lives even now an empty and accursed 
  half-life for as long as his master bids it. If questioned about 
  what he is doing here, Nostromo freely admits his master 
  ‘abandoned him’ here, but says nothing of the curse he lives 
  under, nor of Haarlock’s true intent.
  He is quite mad, and his disturbance of mind makes him 
  easily distracted. He is given to mutterings and rants that make 
  little sense, alternated with moments of shocking clarity and 
  sly wisdom. He is well disposed to the Acolytes (particularly 
  if offered food) unless they harm him, and shares information 
  with them freely; his attitude is friendly and familiar. If he 
  accompanies the Acolytes (which he does willingly if asked), 
  he talks as if he knows the Acolytes already; using their 
  EXPENDABLE SUBORDINATES
  The Maccabian Janissaries have been included in this 
  part of the adventure partly because they allow highly 
  lethal encounters to still be survivable by the Acolytes, 
  and to put them on an approximately equal footing 
  with the other factions. They also allow the GM to 
  indulge in a few (or more than a few) horriﬁ c deaths. 
  The Acolytes’ subordinates should, in the GM’s eyes, 
  be seen as completely expendable, and killing a few, 
  possessing one, or having one go mad is not only 
  permissible, it is what they are there for! 
  
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  names before being told, knowing their habits and tastes, and 
  is puzzled if asked how he knows them. If violence ensues, 
  he disappears seemingly without trace when others’ backs are 
  turned, only to re-appear once the worst is over. Note that 
  Nostromo is more than he appears and restraining him for 
  any length of time is all but impossible; see his proﬁ le on page 
  61 for more details. 
  Vital Information: The Existence of the 
  Three Elements
  The key information that the Acolytes must gain from 
  Nostromo is the solution to the Labyrinth and the existence 
  of the elements (see pages 30 and 26, respectively). Use the 
  following points to guide responses to the Acolytes’ questions, 
  or if they are not forthcoming with questions, interjections by 
  Nostromo:
  • In reference to the changing nature of the Ice Station: “It 
  is shifting through the many folds of reality. Like the turning of a 
  clock’s wheels and gears, it moves and changes with every instant 
  and at every glance; it is a labyrinth of both this world and that 
  which lies beyond.” 
  • In reference to how to ﬁ nd the entrance to the Blind 
  Tesseract: “I led the way once for my master, making a path 
  through the turning cogs of possibility and reality. I could do so 
  again but it requires that I have the Elements of Passage to guide 
  me past the worst perils.”
  • In reference to what the other elements are: “To pass to 
  the Door into Darkness that leads to the Blind Tesseract we must 
  bear one of his black talismans, fragments of the dead stars he 
  paid for in the blood of thousands. If you do not, what you seek 
  will be no more than suicide, and there will be no way out again. 
  The shifting path can be found in one of the grey books. Without 
  that, there is nothing but death for you along the way, but with it, 
  at least a chance of life, oh yes, a chance.” 
  If the Acolytes do not get the hint that if they do not have 
  the other elements, then a rival faction present within the 
  Ice Station might, the GM may want to add in a comment 
  that if they have not brought the elements with them, others 
  seeking the same end might have them in their position.
  OTHER INFORMATION
  Nostromo knows a lot about Erasmus Haarlock and can 
  reveal much information about his intentions and Legacy if 
  asked (see below), but does not deliberately put it forward. 
  He leaves out the ﬁ nal truth that for Haarlock to return it is 
  necessary for someone to follow in his footsteps and activate 
  the Tesseract. No amount of questioning can pry this last 
  secret out of him. 
  A summary of what he knows of what Haarlock wanted 
  and is willing to tell is as follows:
  • Haarlock lost his wife and daughter in a battle for 
  succession within his family. This event drove him insane 
  and he became obsessed with avenging himself on his 
  surviving family and with ﬁ nding a way to undo this 
  dreadful event. 
  • Though insane and impossible, this goal led Haarlock 
  to pursue all manner of forbidden knowledge and he 
  learned by torturing secrets from daemonkind that by 
  passing through the Blind Tesseract he could ﬁ nd what 
  he desired. Haarlock found the entrance to the Blind 
  Tesseract, but why he has not returned, Nostromo does 
  not know. 
  • The ship in orbit is The Spear of Destiny, the dread vessel 
  on which Nostromo once stood as Haarlock’s Navigator. 
  A dark fusion of Imperial and xenos technology and 
  occult lore, Nostromo can feel its malevolent presence 
  hanging over Mara, waiting for its master’s return.
  • There are others come to the complex: Some arrived a few 
  weeks ago with the reek of blood and daemons on them. 
  Nostromo hid from them as they searched, and waited 
  as they slowly fell victim to Mara’s greater darkness and 
  tore each other apart in fear and madness. Now only a 
  scattered handful remains. Others came down about the 
  same time as the Acolytes and the battle in orbit, and 
  have since been playing ‘murder in the dark’ as he calls 
  it. He does not know for certain how many or who they 
  are, save that one group is led by a thing without a soul 
  that he cannot see but as a fearful shadow. 
  • Mara wakes; the battle in orbit and the coming of so 
  many bright and violent souls has stirred it from its dark 
  dreams. The mind killers begin to gather on the edge 
  of the sight and any that linger here will beg for death 
  before the end. 
  
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  38
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  THE TURNCOAT (MID LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/CORRIDOR)
  While negotiating a series of machine rooms and access 
  corridors the Acolytes clearly hear a cry for help from down 
  a side corridor. Should they choose to investigate and proceed 
  down the passageway, they come across a partially collapsed 
  area which shows signs of a recent explosion having taken 
  place. Trapped by his legs under a fallen support girder is a 
  man covered in concrete dust and streaked with blood wearing 
  light carapace armour. Buried beside him is the form of another 
  man, not stirring. 
  The trapped man is Kort Luther, a mercenary and reclaimator 
  who has come here with the Amaranthine Syndicate, and hired 
  for his technical skills (his proﬁ le can be found on page 63), 
  although he owed them no love or loyalty beyond the large 
  sum of Thrones they offered him. When the Acolytes approach, 
  he waves his hands in the air saying, “I mean you no harm, and 
  Throne blind me, although I know it is too much to expect from this hell 
  hole, a little help would be appreciated?”
  Luther has only superﬁ cial injuries but cannot move the 
  girder on his own; several other hands and leverage enables 
  this to be done easily.
  Luther claims to have parted company with the syndicate by 
  slipping away while the others were distracted breaking into a 
  power room, the deal having soured in his eyes after it became 
  clear that Mara was a death trap. It also became apparent to 
  him that no amount of bloodshed was making “them” leave 
  without what they were after, and that both he and the other 
  mercenaries were all utterly expendable to their masters. What 
  “ﬁ nished it” for Luther was when he saw one of the “ red 
  madmen” (one of the ambushers) strike the mercenaries’ leader, 
  “calls herself Miss Book she does,” full in the face with a chainripper 
  and, “She didn’t as much as ﬂ inch, just punched her hand through his 
  chest and I swear she broke his spine with her ﬁ ngers. Then after, she 
  held her hand to her face and the wound just mended, but I swear I saw 
  something writhing underneath before it closed. Mercenary and sinner 
  I may be but I’m no warp-dabbler or xenos-lover either, so I made my 
  mind up to ﬂ ee when I saw the chance.”
  If offered or promised aid or assistance, Luther is more 
  than forthcoming with all he knows and offers to swear fealty 
  to the Acolytes or asks to be set free and pointed toward the 
  surface. “Better to freeze with the open stars in my eyes than die down 
  here trapped with the damned!”
  Luther is a ruthless, somewhat reckless, and completely 
  self-serving rogue. However, he is charming and can provide 
  detailed information on the syndicate presence here (as far as he 
  knows it); their numbers and weapons. He also tells them that 
  the lead Amaranthine (either Miss Book or Master Nonesuch) 
  is carrying a “tattered grey book” she keeps looking at, and 
  that she is making them search methodically for “a glistening 
  black stone the size of a man’s ﬁ st” and “any strange machinery 
  that looks out of place.” They’ve also encountered half-starved 
  madmen and “walking cold dead things like that one.” He points to 
  the body next to him. “Damn thing had me pinned and wouldn’t fall 
  down no matter how many times I shot it. Had to throw a Frag behind 
  it and hope for the best!”
  How the Acolytes deal with Luther is up to them. How loyal 
  he remains if they allow him to join them is left to the GM.
  THE PILGRIM’S REST (MID LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/GENERATORIA)
  This encounter involves the Acolytes stumbling on where the 
  Pilgrims of Hayte have been lairing in one of the huge capacitor 
  chambers in the ice station’s power generation complex. If the 
  Acolytes are planning to put an end to the pilgrim’s threat 
  in the ice station, or recover captives or elements of Mara’s 
  puzzle from them, this chamber is where such a deed should 
  be done. 
  The area the cultists chose for their base of operations is 
  a large roughly circular chamber of open space that extends 
  hundreds of metres down into the void of the dark galleries 
  below and ascends another ﬁ fty metres into a bell-like copper-
  plated ceiling. Hung in the centre of this empty space are 
  three enormous tubular power capacitors, each strung with 
  a patchwork of cable connectors, heat sinks and arc vanes. 
  Two of them are blackened and dead, while the ﬁ nal one still 
  thrums quietly with power. The central level of this chamber 
  is spanned by a series of platforms and metal-meshed gantries, 
  which the pilgrims have made theirs. 
  This inhabited area has been decorated and partly barricaded 
  with a variety of detritus and scavenged materials, and its ﬂ oor 
  is thick with broken and gnawed bones where the remaining 
  pilgrims have been devouring their own to survive. Skull 
  capped posts, torches, and ﬂ ayed skins stretched between wire 
  frames are placed at various points around the perimeter of 
  the area and inscribed with foul symbols in a partly successful 
  attempt to keep this area free from Warp predators. 
  Among the foul wreckage of the Pilgrim’s wake, numerous 
  human remains can be found, mostly from the large contingent 
  of cultists that descended to the base weeks ago, as well as any 
  prisoners and equipment that they have taken since. If any of 
  the Elements were in the Pilgrim’s possession, they should be 
  found here. 
   THE MID LEVELS
  It is on the mid levels of the ice station that 
  the true nature of Mara should begin to become 
  apparent. Rooms and corridors do not seem to connect 
  as they should, maps fail and things seem to shift out 
  of sight. Neither the cold nor the power levels are 
  consistent here, and a room plunged into ice might be 
  found next to one that seems to be operating under full 
  life support without apparent cause or reason, while 
  much is corroded, crumbling and ruined. Doubling 
  back and trying to retrace your steps here simply 
  doesn’t work on some occasions, and what was an open 
  passage is now blocked off as if it had never been. Any 
  who pause long enough in silence begin to hear the 
  echoes of screams, muttered words and the droning 
  buzz of insect wings on the edge of their hearing. 
  An overwhelming sense of malice and brooding fear 
  permeates everything. 
   
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  The Bitter Dregs
  The amount of opposition they might confront here depends 
  on just how engaged the pilgrims have been in the earlier parts 
  of the adventure, and how many losses the GM determines 
  they have sustained ‘off camera.’ Likely inhabitants of the 
  area include Ghast Priestkiller and at least four surviving 
  pilgrims. Bound by staked chains within a tangle of mutilated 
  corpses near the rear, is the form of a Dybuk Render which is 
  unleashed should violence occur. Should Priestkiller and the 
  Dybuk be killed, the threat of the pilgrims in the ice station 
  is broken—those few that remain, shorn of their protection, 
  soon fall prey Mara’s dangers. (See page 65 of the NPCs and 
  Antagonists section for more details on these opponents.)
  THE HANGING GALLERY (MID LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/MINE WORKINGS)
  This encounter should be used if the Tyrantine Shadow agents 
  have not yet been encountered properly and still survive. 
  The Acolytes enter a large chamber with a high ceiling 
  from which hang hundreds of heavy duty environmental suits, 
  each suspended by a cable that runs through pulleys to cleats 
  bolted to the walls. There are two entrances to the chamber; 
  the one the Acolytes used to enter and a second one on the 
  opposite side. 
  Once the Acolytes have been in the chamber for a few 
  seconds, they should make Very Hard (–30) sight based 
  Awareness Tests. If they are successful, they make out the 
  outline of a ﬁ gure hanging amongst the environment suits 
  and the glint of a blade edge. This is Darkly Hand, assassin 
  Acolyte to Inquisitor Herrod. Whether they spot him or not, 
  he drops down without a sound and lands in a perfectly poised 
  position, swords drawn out to cut off the Acolytes escape. At 
  that point, Inquisitor Herrod and the rest of his retinue arrive 
  out of the other entrance. If the Acolytes spot Hand, they may 
  act on their normal Initiative; if not, they have been surprised 
  (see page 187 of the DARK HERESY Rulebook). 
  Herrod immediately demands the Acolytes surrender 
  themselves to his authority as an Inquisitor and hand over any 
  captives, information and materials relating to the Haarlock 
  Legacy without further delay. Should overawing the Acolytes 
  not work, Herrod quickly changes tactics to acknowledge 
  their independence and negotiate in the hopes of learning 
  more. He even makes them an offer to join forces to ﬁ nd 
  and destroy the keys to Haarlock’s secret should they trust 
  him. Should this discussion not go well, the Acolytes not be 
  swayed, or violence ensue, neither Herrod or his entourage 
  want to kill the Acolytes. Even if attacked, they ﬁ ght to 
  disable, disarm and detain them unless sorely pressed—at 
  which point, they ﬁ ght back with every resource they possess 
  and without mercy. 
  THE FROZEN SLAUGHTER (MID LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/MINE WORKINGS) 
  Entering a huge vaulted enginarium chamber more than 
  ﬁ fty metres across, part artiﬁ cial and part natural cavern, the 
  Acolytes are greeted by the sight of hulking and wrecked heavy 
  machinery covered in thick layers of ice, lit faintly by gloomy 
  emergency lighting set high in the vaulted ceiling. At the far 
  side is a broad set of cargo elevator platforms leading down. 
  The ﬂ oor is covered in a solid layer of smooth dark ice which 
  is in fact frozen blood. Lying on and around the machinery are 
  dozens of corpses of men and women in crude environmental 
  protection suits, with mining tools and a few rusted ﬁ rearms 
  scattered around them. All have been the victims of horriﬁ c 
  violence and all are frozen solid, their features obscured by 
  thick rinds of bloody ice. Many of the bodies have been partly 
  devoured. Close examination, by any character with military 
  knowledge, reveals that some form of desperate last stand was 
  fought and lost here.
  Shortly after the Acolytes enter the room, any character 
  with the Psyniscience Skill should make an Ordinary (+10) 
  Psyniscience Test. If he passes, he feels things stir in the Warp 
  all around and tastes a feeling of predatory hunger. 
  If the Acolytes cross the chamber, the air rapidly fogs with 
  extreme cold, growing heavy with the stench of blood and 
  ozone. The corpses that ﬁ ll the room crack and shatter their icy 
  bonds and begin to creak to their feet, their frozen eyes glowing 
  with a blue ghost-light like that of a dying star. The frozen 
  animate corpses are the Cold Dead (see page 66) and there are 
  three plus the number of Acolytes and Janissaries present. They 
  attack and pursue the Acolytes’ party without relent until they 
  kill them all or are destroyed. If the Acolytes scatter or otherwise 
  evade the Cold Dead, they walk the ice station’s halls looking 
  for fresh life to extinguish in their chill embrace.
  
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  Should the Acolytes best or escape the Cold Dead, a 
  Routine (+20) Tech-Use Test is sufﬁ cient to restore power 
  to the cargo lift controls and descend to the deep levels 
  without trouble. Otherwise, they may go down via one of a 
  number of rough steep sloping tunnels made by the passage 
  of crawler-drills back when the mines were in operation, but 
  these make for an arduous and potentially dangerous climb.
  THE CLOCKWORK AUGER (DEEP LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/MACHINE WORKINGS)
  Entering a vast stone cavern, the Acolytes can see an 
  illuminated complex of prefabricated metal cabins set on 
  risers and illuminated by a faint pool of light within an 
  abyssal sea of darkness. The irregularly shaped cavern seems 
  almost impossibly vast to ﬁ t into the space beneath the ice 
  station and although the walls and ceiling cannot be seen, 
  an impression of a limitless gulf surrounds them, and a cold, 
  guttery wind blows through it. Ancient, corroded machinery 
  and mining vehicles (long since completely dead) loom 
  blackly in the darkness of the cavern, while the ﬂ oor cracks 
  beneath the Acolytes’ feet with gritty ice. 
  If the Acolytes are accompanied by Nostromo, he 
  immediately points at the illuminated cabins and gestures 
  excitedly shouting, “I know that place, I know that place!” and 
  rushes off in the dark towards them. 
  The cabins themselves were once an assay and control 
  centre, and any character with knowledge of the Adeptus 
  Mechanicus immediately recognises the signs and symbols 
  used on the building that denote this was once the dwelling 
  place of a tech-adept assigned to the mine workings. Outside, 
  lumen globes set on stanchions sway slowly in the cold wind, 
  and from within, lights still ﬂ icker and faint pulses of static 
  can be heard. 
  Inside is a scene of disorder and chaos; much of the control 
  consoles and machinery within seems to have been repaired 
  and modiﬁ ed, spliced together in strange ways and additional 
  instrumentation and clockwork apparatus obviously not 
  part of the original machinery have been added seemingly 
  haphazardly. The machinery is powered and intermittently 
  ticks over, registering data on its pict-screens, the print-
  styluses scratching in response. Much of the spare wall space 
  and other surfaces have been covered in a riot of parchment 
  diagrams of strange mechanisms, occult diagrams, data 
  readouts and star charts. 
  Getting any sense from the tangle of instruments and 
  parchment requires about an hour of study and is a Hard 
  (–20) Tech-Use Test. If the character making the test also 
  has either the Forbidden Lore (Warp) or (Archeotech) Skill at 
  +10 or better, or help from another character that does, the 
  test difﬁ culty drops to Challenging (+0). Information gleaned 
  from this can be found on Table 2-1: The Clockwork Auger, 
  with any high result also yielding the information learned 
  from lower results.
  This area is also useful, should the GM wish it, as a place 
  to add any further clues that the Acolytes may have missed 
  previously or to reinforce information they have with more 
  corroborative ﬁ nds. Additionally, equipment such as climbing 
  gear, clip harnesses, multi-tools, sacred machine oil, distilled 
  water ﬂ asks, and medi-packs can all be found in storage 
  lockers in the cabins as the GM sees ﬁ t. 
  Watching the Watchers
  Should the Acolytes linger past an hour in this place, the 
  clockwork auger registers a spike of power in their immediate 
  vicinity. Shortly after, all the pict-viewers in the cabin ﬂ icker 
  and display a grainy static image of a face. It is the face of 
  Calium Samiel, the Acolyte killed in the escape from the 
  Sigillite’s Word. He appears terriﬁ ed and mouths frantic shouts 
  and warnings but no sound can be heard. Suddenly a black-
  gloved hand wraps itself around his face and drags it back into 
  shadow. The screen blackens and a burning pair of white eyes 
  ﬂ ares into existence in the view and an overwhelming presence 
  of dread ﬁ lls the room. All who see the eyes must succeed at 
  a Difﬁ cult (–10) Willpower Test or fall to their knees. An 
  instant later the screens return to normal. 
  THE WEEPING ONES (DEEP LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/DARK GALLERIES)
  The Acolytes begin to hear the sound of weeping echo down 
  passages, and no matter which way they turn, it grows louder. 
  Eventually they enter a rough cave-like chamber that has been 
  hewn from the rock. Its walls glitter with veins of metallic ore 
  and crystal as well as what seem to be ancient patches of worked 
  stone. Its ﬂ oor is strewn with broken fragments of rock. The 
  crying is coming from the far edge of the room where a ﬁ gure 
  is hunched against the wall. The ﬁ gure is wrapped in rags and 
  ice crusted furs, and lank and dirty hair falls about its shoulders. 
  The weeping gives way to sobbing and anguished muttering of 
  which the phrases, “the cell opens, the path is walked again…. 
  THE DEEP LEVELS
  Once the Acolytes descend to the deep levels, 
  they no longer tread wholly in the real universe, 
  but stand instead on the precipice of the nightmare realm 
  of the Warp. Any wrong turn sees them lost, body and soul. 
  Entering these levels without a guide is virtual suicide, and 
  even with one the dangers present in the midnight black 
  chambers and twisted angles of the deep levels are likely 
  to be greater than any the Acolytes have ever faced before. 
  The physical nature of the place, on the surface, is of rough-
  hewn and high-sided tunnels and great, cathedral-like 
  galleries of sheer and unyielding rock. Here and there the 
  rock surfaces are iced over with frozen water vapour and 
  glittering blackly with seams of minerals and crystalline 
  deposits. The hulks of dead and abandoned machinery 
  loom like the fossilised remains of metal beasts over open-
  abyssal shafts wide enough to swallow a guncutter whole. 
  In places, the husks of desiccated and torn bodies hang 
  from rusted gantries. The darkness is a tangible thing, 
  inky and ﬂ uid, fathomlessly deep and pressing against any 
  source of light as if trying to overwhelm it. 
  T
  O
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  round and round…the messengers of the Traveller approach,” 
  can be discerned. As the Acolytes approach the ﬁ gure suddenly 
  turns around and reveals that it has no face, only a deep red and 
  wet void in the hollow skull of its head. 
  An unnatural scream ﬁ lls the room, and from the thing’s 
  yawning maw, it vomits a mass of thick black vapour that 
  separates and curdles into dark ﬁ gures that resemble distorted 
  shadows of congealed blood and darkness. The ﬁ gure in rags 
  is a Dispayre (see page 352 of the DARK HERESY Rulebook) 
  and the shadow-like ﬁ gures are a trio of Splinter Shades (see 
  page 66) and an Astral Spectre (see page 350 of the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook). The Splinter Shades attack bodily while 
  the Dispayre and Astral Spectre unleash psychic powers against 
  the Acolytes and scream in guttural voices, “He shall not return!” 
  After a round of combat, the Astral Spectre attempts to possess 
  a member of the Acolytes’ party (see the Possession rules on 
  page 331 of the DARK HERESY Rulebook, not forgetting that 
  the –10 to Willpower tests caused by the entity’s Daemonic 
  Presence apply to the attempt to resist possession). 
  THE TIMELESS ENGINES (DEEP LEVEL 
  ENCOUNTER/GENERATORIA)
  Moving into a high-vaulted gallery area marked by dozens 
  of great whirling turbines the size of hab units, the air is 
  noticeably warmer, reeks of ozone, and is lit by a dim ghostly 
  amber light. Progressing through this area, the discordant 
  throbbing of the turbines should become increasingly grating 
  and unnerving, and any NPC with the Acolytes who has 
  previously suffered fear or insanity should become increasingly 
  frayed and agitated. 
  About halfway through, the amber light thickens and sight 
  and sound distorts appallingly as if the Acolytes had been 
  plunged into a sickening hall of mirrors. Each character must 
  take a Challenging (+0) Awareness Test to stay on their 
  feet as this effect occurs. 
  Select one expendable NPC with the Acolytes and have 
  them suddenly cry out and age to death in seconds, their 
  bodies decaying to dust while their screams echo in the air 
  long after their remains are gone to nothingness. 
  The only way to escape this distortion is to crawl or stagger 
  away to the other side of the chamber. This takes either a 
  Challenging (+0) Strength or Willpower Tests over a 
  number of turns to do, with a total of four degrees of success 
  needed (which can be achieved over several turns). Each turn 
  an Acolyte remains in the area of distortion, they suffer 1 
  Insanity point. (Note that anyone going irrevocably insane 
  because of this simply crumbles to dust.)
  Nostromo, if he is with the Acolytes, remains entirely 
  unaffected, but screams and rants loudly through the whole 
  thing and even helps pull the worst affected to safety. It is 
  up the GM to determine how this area affects any other 
  NPC companions of the Acolytes, but most should make it 
  across safely.
  Once the area of time distortion is exited, roll 1d5 for any 
  Acolyte that was already physically injured. On a roll of a ‘1,’ 
  their wounds have re-opened, causing an additional 1 wound 
  to be lost. On a ‘5,’ they have healed as if time has passed, 
  restoring them to full health (this effect may also heal any 
  ‘old’ or pre-existing injuries, at the GM’s discretion). 
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  Acolo yte gains all the previous information listed on this table and the certain coonv
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  IIII: Ice Station Mara
   Ice Station Mara
  42
  42
  THE DOOR INTO DARKNESS (FINAL 
  ENCOUNTER/UNIQUE CHAMBER)
  Once the Acolytes have the three elements of the Talisman, 
  Guide, and Pattern, and have brought them together, they 
  now know the way to the Doorway into Darkness. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “Yes here, here the way is here! Thirteen by Thirteen as the 
  clock marks,” Nostromo shouts excitedly.
  Taking up the grey book, he removes the sash covering his 
  forehead to expose the dark orb of his warp eye, and gazes at the 
  lines of apparent gibberish scrawled across the book’s pages, his 
  ﬁ nger running across passages and his lips muttering rapidly. 
  Then, not taking his gaze from the book, he begins to walk 
  swiftly. Following him, you pass through doors and down 
  corridors, sometimes entering a room only to back out into a 
  room or corridor entirely different from the one you came from. 
  Sometimes, you pause in a place while Nostromo counts and 
  mutters strange phrases before continuing to lead you through 
  the steps of your strange dance through the broken reality of the 
  Ice Station. 
  Finally, you pass through a circular arch and ﬁ nd yourself 
  on a metal gantry that spans to a dead end over a wide shaft 
  that ascends out of sight above and plunges into darkness below. 
  Nostromo jerks as if waking suddenly from sleep and motions 
  at the abyss beneath your feet, his gaze ﬁ xed determinedly at 
  anything other than the darkness in its depths. 
  “There is your ﬁ nal door. I cannot and will not go to that place, 
  my master made sure of that, lest I escape my doom.” Without a 
  further word, he shambles back to the circular archway leading 
  into the rest of the labyrinth. He turns and tosses the grey-skinned 
  book onto the gantry at your feet. 
  “The key turns. Be seeing you,” he says and raises his circled 
  ﬁ ngers to his now covered Warp-Eye and fades from sight as if 
  swallowed by the dark.”
  The only way to pass through the Doorway into Darkness 
  and reach the Blind Tesseract is to jump from the gantry into 
  the waiting abyss; a leap of faith. Once they have passed 
  through, this part of DEAD STARS is over and the adventure 
  moves to Part III: The Blind Tesseract.
  Who Reached the Blind Tesseract First?
  Based on whether the Acolytes or their rivals reached the 
  Door into Darkness ﬁ rst (see Winning the Race on page 30 
  of this chapter), the GM should vary the circumstances in 
  which the Acolytes reach the Door into Darkness. The above 
  description assumes that the Acolytes have arrived ﬁ rst by 
  a clear margin. If, however, their enemies are right on their 
  heels, they may enter the shaft behind the Acolytes even as 
  they are looking down, and the Acolytes have to jump into 
  the darkness while ﬁ ghting. Alternatively, if their rivals have 
  reached the Door into Darkness before them, then they may 
  have left a rear guard that the Acolytes must defeat before 
  passing through to the Blind Tesseract. 
  THE UNFORTUNATE FATE 
  OF ASTROPATH SILINUS
  Astropath Silinus does not respond well to being on Mara. 
  From the moment she sets foot on the planet, Silinus looks ill, 
  her normally straight back hunched, her empty eye sockets 
  gently weeping blood. When she is within the Ice Station and 
  mine complex, she is utterly terriﬁ ed and keeps talking about 
  “the buzzing” and “the voices”. 
  After a violent encounter of the GM’s choice, she is found in a 
  corner, curled into a ball, weeping blood. If questioned she says, 
  “A moment of weakness, I tried to manifest my powers and this 
  place…this Emperor-cursed place denied me…” 
  Unknown to the rest of the party she has been attacked by a 
  Mara Strain Psycheneuein which has laid its eggs inside her: she 
  has become one of The Infested as per page 353 of the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook. While she appears to recover her nerve, she 
  speaks little and listlessly follows the rest of the Acolytes. She does 
  not show fear from this point, though she often seems confused 
  and suffers from short term lapses of memory. 
  From the moment of her infestation, she is a walking time 
  bomb. Her death or ill advised use of psychic powers should 
  be used by the GM to unleash Mara Strain Psycheneuein on 
  the Acolytes (they are on Mara after all). When this eventually 
  happens, she staggers to her feet and laughs uncontrollably before 
  reaching her ﬁ ngers into her empty eye sockets and pulling off 
  her face and upper head with a wet, splintering crack. Within the 
  bloody mess inside, the Psycheneuein are staring out.
  
  THE BLIND 
  THE BLIND 
  TESSERACT
  TESSERACT
  ENTERING THE 
  TESSERACT
  •
  THE CHAMBER OF THE 
  MACHINE
  •
  ONE DOOR CLOSES AND 
  ANOTHER OPENS
  •
  CREATING ADDITIONAL 
  ENCOUNTERS
  •
  THE SHADES OF HISTORY
  •
  ECHOES OF THE FUTURE
  •
  ENCOUNTERS IN THE 
  BLIND TESSERACT
  
  III
  III: The Blind Tesseract
   The Blind Tesseract
  44
  44
  Part III: 
  The Blind 
  Tesseract
  “It is only by mankind’s narrowness of vision, by the beauty of our 
  ignorance and the purity of our faith that we endure.”
   
  –Goge Vandire, Sermons Vol. CXVI
  T
  his penultimate chapter of DEAD STARS represents the 
  Acolytes’ ﬁ nal trial and shows the possible consequences 
  of their actions and role in the Haarlock Legacy. In the 
  Blind Tesseract, they are confronted by Haarlock’s machine, 
  a device next to which others they may have previously 
  encountered elsewhere have been mere prototypes of this 
  ﬁ nal great work. The device itself embodies one of Haarlock’s 
  many victims, the Iron Daughter, bound to serve his will, 
  and is able to answer many of their questions and provide a 
  means to reach their goal. In order to meet this ﬁ nal hurdle, 
  the Acolytes must face a ﬁ nal trial by ﬁ re, a walk in Haarlock’s 
  footsteps through twisted reﬂ ections of the past and fearful 
  futures that may never be. At the end, should they survive, 
  they arrive at Haarlock’s ﬁ nal point of departure (and soon 
  to be the place of his return), with a ﬁ nal decision to make: 
  to allow Haarlock to return—or thwart him and leave him 
  exiled in the beyond. 
  ENTERING THE TESSERACT
  The Acolytes enter the Blind Tesseract having jumped into 
  the abyss of the Door into Darkness. At this point read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  “You are swallowed by darkness and silence, you have no 
  sensation of falling and time seems to elude perception so that it 
  could have been seconds or years since you last saw light, heard 
  sound or touched solid matter. 
  Then, an image rises before your eyes, as if slowly coming into 
  focus through clouded and darkened glass: A wide chamber of 
  greenish stone, its walls soaring upward to a dark sky in which 
  you can see bright stars, the livid bruises of nebulae and drifts 
  of glittering stellar dust. In the centre of the room sits a great 
  globe-like machine of tangled metal, dials, an insane profusion 
  of looping tracks with cogged teeth, countless gears, and wheels 
  and a glittering array of crystal lenses. 
  Suddenly the image of the chamber is no longer drawing 
  nearer; it surrounds you. You can hear the crackling and spitting 
  of energy and the air is sharp with the smell of ozone.”
  
  III
  III: The Blind Tesseract
   The Blind Tesseract
  45
  45
  What happens after the Acolytes are within the chamber 
  depends on whether they have arrived before, after or at the 
  same time as one of the other factions pursuing the Legacy (if 
  indeed any still survive). 
  THE HUNTER OR THE HUNTED
  All the factions wish to beat their rivals to what they believe 
  is the ﬁ nal resting place of Haarlock’s Legacy. Depending 
  on whether the Acolytes arrive before, after or at the same 
  time as the other factions determines who is chasing who 
  through the many doors of the Blind Tesseract. It should be 
  clear whether the Acolytes have gotten to the Blind Tesseract 
  ahead of their rivals or not (see Winning the Race on page 
  30). 
  If the Acolytes are in the lead at this point, then the 
  chamber is unoccupied and they have time to examine its 
  features thoroughly before passing through a door into the 
  manifold possibilities of the Blind Tesseract. Their rivals only 
  begin to catch up with them some time after they are already 
  moving towards the ﬁ nal goal. 
  If the Acolytes arrive with their rivals snapping at their 
  heels, they have little time to explore the chamber and have 
  to do battle as they open a door. In this circumstance, their 
  rivals constantly threaten to overtake them. If the Acolytes 
  are just behind their rivals, then the situation is the same 
  but the positions reversed, and perhaps the machine is 
  already active.
  If the Acolytes are well behind their rivals, they ﬁ nd the 
  chamber occupied by a rear guard of forces left to prevent 
  them following through one of the doors. They also have 
  to work hard to catch up with the rivals who already have a 
  head start. 
  THE CHAMBER OF 
  THE MACHINE
  The chamber is a thirteen-sided space, some twenty meters in 
  diameter. Its walls are made of a greenish stone; each contains 
  a high arched blank curved space of solid stone, surrounded 
  by myriad of graven images, human and inhuman, with an 
  endless variation of expressions: screaming, smiling, eyeless, 
  mouthless, sneering, crying, laughing and snarling. 
  At the centre of this area is a huge globe-like machine 
  of insane intricacy, a lunatic conglomeration fashioned of 
  clockwork steel and silver, stone counterweights and crystal 
  lenses. Mounted on a plinth at the foot of the machine is an 
  iron-grey statue of a young woman’s torso, arms and head, 
  streaked with rust like bloody wounds. The statue’s hands 
  are held out at its sides, one is open as if waiting to receive 
  something, the other holds an empty gilded chalice engraved 
  with the symbol of a spider. The face is veiled; the sculpture 
  is so exquisite that the folds of the veil hiding her face seem 
  as if they have just settled.
  Player-characters who have taken part in either The House 
  of Dust and Ash or TATTERED FATES recognise much of this 
  device’s construction as being similar both to the Steel Clock 
  of Gabriel Chase and the Gilded Widow of Solomon. 
  The high sides of the chamber arc upwards and open on to 
  a cold night sky. Any character with the Navigation (Stellar), 
  or Scholastic Lore (Astromancy) can make an Ordinary (+10) 
  Test to conclude from the visible stars that the Acolytes’ 
  current location is not within the Calixis Sector. 
  NO WAY IN, NO WAY OUT
  The Acolytes are now within the Blind Tesseract, outside of 
  normal time and space. Other than the machine, there is no 
  way in or out. The sky above them is unreachable, and aside 
  from the action of powerful dark arts or ancient malignant 
  science, neither of which are likely to be at the Acolytes’ 
  disposal, the operation of the machine is the Acolytes’ only 
  way out, just as Haarlock intended. 
  THE IRON DAUGHTER
  To activate the Iron Daughter, the entity bound within the 
  statue, one of two things must ﬁ rst be done. Either a Talisman 
  (such as the Keystone) must be placed in the statue’s empty 
  hand or a quantity of the blood of the Haarlock line must 
  be spilled into the chalice. If this is done, the machine rises 
  up and expands, baleful lights playing across its surface, 
  continuously rotating and reconﬁ guring, seeming to expand 
  constantly without ever actually reaching the conﬁ ning walls 
  of the chamber. The statue becomes animate, radiating an 
  aura of intense cold, the metal veil suddenly ﬂ uid and the lips 
  moving softly beneath as it speaks. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “The statue rises up as the machine whirls above its head, 
  crackling energy beginning to play across its surface. 
  “Welcome.” The statue speaks, “I am the daughter of iron, 
  bound here by my master’s wrath to look with blind eyes into that 
  which was and that which shall be.”
  “You have turned the key and opened the gate, and lo, he 
  comes. You have sought what he has sought, walked his path and 
  done his bidding know it or not. Ask and be answered, pursue the 
  future or wait for doom, it is yours to decide. It begins.”
  A pulse like sheet lighting ﬂ ares from the machine and the 
  blank stone alcoves ﬂ icker like mirrors. While twelve fade, one 
  mirror remains, its surface pulsing like silver water only to fade 
  and be replaced by another shining light in another doorway 
  while a great echoing ticking sound begins to emanate from the 
  machine.”
  The machine cannot be harmed or interfered with as it 
  exists partially out of phase with reality. There is no force the 
  Acolytes or the others involved can bring to bear to destroy 
  it before its course is run.
  If the Acolytes choose to question the Iron Daughter, she 
  coldly answers in truth, but volunteers nothing; the Acolytes 
  must say the words. This entity knows all of the information 
  about the Legacy presented in this adventure’s introduction 
  including Haarlock’s last secrets and the lore of the Blind 
  Tesseract (see pages 6-8). 
  
  III
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   The Blind Tesseract
  46
  46
  Additionally the following facts are within her realm of 
  knowledge, which the GM can paraphrase as appropriate:
  Q: What are you?
  A: “I am the dead. Once I was Epiphany Belasco, stepchild to 
  Morgan Haarlock, orphaned and slain, a damned soul among many 
  slaved to Erasmus Haarlock’s will. Now I am the voice of mute metal, 
  the blinded eyes of the clock face.”
  Q: What is this place?
  A: “This is the Blind Tesseract, a place where past and future 
  collide and cut each other bloody with cause and causality, a rip in the 
  fabric of reality, a wound in the ﬂ esh of the Warp.” 
  Q: What is this Machine/What does it do?
  A: “This is Haarlock’s great engine, his triumph and his folly. This 
  is his legacy. With this, he deﬁ ed gods and sought to master time itself, 
  only to be betrayed by existence itself. By it he was victorious, and by it 
  he was defeated, by its portals he passed and by them he shall return.”
  Q: What are these strange portals and what lies beyond 
  them?
  A: “They are doors to futures unborn, to histories strangled and 
  paths unwalked. To pass through them is to become a shadow within 
  shadows; it is to follow in his wake.”
  Q: Where has Haarlock gone?/What did Haarlock do 
  here?
  A: “He walked the past to change what was, but found only ghosts 
  and twisted reﬂ ections. He walked the future and saw the threads of 
  destiny dark and silent, and from there he passed beyond the sight of 
  my blind eyes into the dead star. “
  Q: Will he Return?
  A: Such was his will. His legacy was to lure others to follow his 
  path, to tread where he trod, to kill and claim dominion, to turn the 
  key and wind the clock so that he might be free. So you have done, so 
  it will be. 
  Q: What happens now?
  A: The gears turn, the doors open, the conﬁ guration is set; soon the 
  dead star rises over the place of his last mortal footfall, and in the light 
  of that black eclipse he will walk again with earthly ﬂ esh. 
  GHOSTS WALKING THE 
  CORRIDORS OF TIME
  Once through the mirror doors, the player-
  characters experience realities both familiar and 
  shockingly strange, and while what they experience 
  is completely real (they can for example be hurt and 
  die, except in the echoes of actual history with which 
  they cannot interact), they are outside of time and 
  dangerously so. They appear strangely dim and faded 
  even to their own eyes, cast only a hazy reﬂ ection and 
  leave only a blurred image in any device or scanner 
  that registers their presence. They do not feel hunger 
  or fatigue nor do extremes of heat or cold bother them. 
  For whatever reason, if an Acolyte might become 
  utterly lost or left behind as others move on, they are 
  doomed and eventually fade, becoming one more lost 
  soul screaming in the Warp. 
  
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  Q: How can we stop it?
  A: The future is not set, even by one such as he. Go where only he 
  dared go, learn what only he dared learn. Tarry not, for to tarry is to 
  be lost. Walk his path from mirrored door to mirrored door, then, at 
  the end of his road, break the pattern, slam shut the door. 
  The Acolytes are free to discourse with the Iron Daughter 
  as long as they like, but quite literally behind her the clock is 
  ticking, counting down to the end. Their options are simple, 
  wait for certain death or take a step beyond. 
  THE MIRROR-DOORS
  Examination of the mirrored surfaces in the alcoves reveals 
  a scene beneath each one like a pict-screen image, rippling 
  in the light. Beyond each door, the scene is different and 
  changes each time it ﬂ ickers in and out of existence. Perceptive 
  Acolytes may divine that they contain images of past and 
  future, unknown vistas and strange and terrifying sites with 
  suitable Characteristic or Skill Tests. Once the players pass 
  through, they discover one of the encounters detailed below 
  or one of the GM’s own devising, and then another and 
  another until the end of their journey on Dusk. 
  ONE DOOR CLOSES AND 
  ANOTHER OPENS… 
  Once the Acolytes have gone through a mirror-door, they 
  pass through a string of encounters representing the path of 
  Erasmus Haarlock’s quest to alter time and the effects of the 
  Haarlock Legacy itself. The order of these encounters is not 
  set and can occur in any order the GM wishes. There can also 
  be as many or as few in number as the GM feels appropriate, 
  although a minimum of the three presented further on in this 
  section is recommended. 
  After the Acolytes have entered into an encounter, the 
  mirror-door closes behind them. Next, they experience a set 
  of events, make choices and perform actions, and then pass 
  on to the next encounter, signalled in turn by the opening of 
  another mirror-door somewhere nearby. 
  Each encounter can be seen as a puzzle, one that the 
  Acolytes must solve as quickly as they can. Some are puzzles 
  which require getting a particular response from an NPC; 
  others are solvable by might of arms or surviving long enough 
  to reach the other side. Success is signiﬁ ed in each case by 
  another mirror door opening before them. 
  If other factions have reached the Blind Tesseract, they 
  are passing through a similar string of challenges. Depending 
  on whether they are in front of or behind the Acolytes, and 
  how quickly they move from door to door with the Blind 
  Tesseract, determines whether they catch or are caught by 
  their enemies. Of course the bizarre nature of the paths 
  through the Blind Tesseract means that their rivals might be 
  going in the opposite direction through an encounter. 
  Once the GM determines the Acolytes have learned all 
  they shall, and the paths of the past and future have been run, 
  a last mirror door offers them passage to a ﬁ nal conﬁ guration, 
  leading them to Dusk as the Tyrant Star rises, and to Part IV: 
  The Last Eclipse. 
  The Traveller’s Shadow
  One linking thread the GM can use between these encounters 
  in different spaces and times is a shadowy half seen ﬁ gure, 
  dark coated and lean, advancing in the distance before them, 
  leading them on; Haarlock’s shadow. As long as the Acolytes 
  dog this shadow’s footsteps, although they can never catch 
  up to the ﬁ gure (it is after all only an after-image trapped in 
  time), they will not go far wrong.
  CREATING ADDITIONAL 
  ENCOUNTERS
  The GM should create additional encounters for the Acolytes 
  to experience within the Blind Tesseract. While a number 
  of events have been presented here to show the possibilities 
  that this part of DEAD STARS presents, and to inject a few that 
  are important for the conclusion of the Haarlock’s Legacy 
  Campaign, these are by no means exhaustive or exclusive. 
  Given the nature of the Blind Tesseract, almost anything can 
  happen within it, and any path can be explored. If the GM 
  wishes to include something that there would be no other 
  opportunity to, this is the opportunity to do so. Secrets may 
  be revealed and new mysteries and plot threads set up for 
  later use.
  When creating an encounter for inclusion in the Blind 
  Tesseract there are a few things that are worth bearing in 
  mind: 
  • Each Encounter is linked to Haarlock: It was Erasmus 
  Haarlock that built the machine and his desires that 
  worked their will on it. All that passes beyond the mirror-
  doors is an echo of what he searched for or what he 
  would become, including the different intersecting lives 
  of those who would become involved in his Legacy and 
  plot to return, including the Acolytes.
  • Each Encounter needs a solution or a revelation: The 
  encounter should: have a way for the Acolytes to progress 
  to the next encounter; require some effort on their part; 
  and provide something that can be solved quickly or 
  slowly depending on the Acolytes’ actions. For some 
  encounters it is enough for them to witness an event of 
  signiﬁ cance or merely survive!
  • Different Encounters should require different qualities to 
  solve: Encounters should involve the use of various types 
  of interaction, from combat in some cases, to personal 
  interaction in others so that all the Acolytes have an 
  opportunity to shine. 
  While the range of possible encounters within the Blind 
  Tesseract can stretch to almost anything, the GM may ﬁ nd 
  it helpful to consider the possibilities offered by the past, 
  present and future.
  
  III: The Blind Tesseract
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  The Shades of 
  History
  T
  he Blind Tesseract can show the shades of what has 
  been: ﬂ ickering images and experiences from across 
  the sector and beyond, all swept up in the vortex of 
  Erasmus Haarlock’s designs and desires, all steps along the 
  road to the present. Of all the places that the Tesseract may 
  take the Acolytes, it is only this true path in which they are 
  helpless and unseen bystanders to what was. In this, they can 
  witness the source of Haarlock’s seething rage: that even after 
  all he had sacriﬁ ced and accomplished and the price he had 
  paid, he could not change the past. 
  The strongest ‘echo’ the acolytes may encounter is detailed 
  as an example; the pivotal moment in Haarlock’s life; the death 
  of his wife and daughter (see Domino Effect on page 49.) 
  Should the GM wish, the Acolytes may also ﬁ nd themselves 
  as ﬁ rst hand witnesses to momentous events of the past such 
  as a climatic battle, the launching of the Angevin Crusade 
  from Sinophia or the founding of one of his great demesnes 
  in centuries past; all things in which the Haarlock bloodline 
  played a part. They could even ﬁ nd themselves privy to 
  moments from the secret history of their rival factions.
  HAARLOCK’S FOOTFALL
  The point of the Acolytes experiencing different possible 
  futures is to show them what may come to pass if Haarlock 
  returns or if he does not return. It is vital that this theme is 
  inserted into encounters and that it is clear to the players. The 
  consequences of Haarlock’s return should be ambiguous rather 
  than obvious. It might be that Haarlock returning will have 
  terrible consequences, but it might be that the consequences of 
  him not returning are worse. If Haarlock returns for example, 
  he unlocks terrible weapons, the secrets of which he has 
  hoarded for just such a moment—worlds will die and billions 
  burn. If he does not return, the Inquisition, with no single 
  overwhelming threat to unify them, might in their disunity 
  cause the Calixis Sector to be plunged into anarchy and be 
  consumed by an apocalyptic war. In showing the Acolytes 
  these ambiguous consequences of Haarlock’s return (or lack 
  thereof ), they are forced to make the choice of whether to let 
  him return or stop him with some foreknowledge of what the 
  consequences their decision may be.
  Illustrated later in this section are two such potential 
  futures: one that sees the sector capitol of Scintilla in desolate 
  ruins and another in a dark time where even the stars are being 
  swallowed. Which may be true and which is the outcome of 
  their own success or failure here is not easily apparent (see The 
  Blasted City on page 50 and Shadow Play on page 51).
  TWISTED REFLECTIONS 
  It is not only true history the Acolytes can encounter in the 
  Tesseract, but twisted and dangerous fragments of what could 
  have been; half ﬁ nished distortions of reality that are among 
  the most immediately dangerous and nightmarish things they 
  may encounter. 
  As the Acolytes pass through the Blind Tesseract, they may 
  step into circumstances that they have already experienced once 
  except that now, in the Tesseract, things are following a different 
  line of possibility and are somewhat different than the way 
  things were, often in nightmarish and twisted ways. In essence, 
  this type of encounter can be created by taking a particularly 
  memorable or enjoyable event from previously in the campaign, 
  or some ﬁ ght or endeavour that the player-characters got away 
  with by the skin of their teeth and make them re-live it again 
  with a macabre and horriﬁ c twist, with the world around them 
  seeming half-ﬁ nished or vague and familiar faces suddenly 
  distorted and loathsome. Of all the pathways they might follow, 
  these are the most obviously ‘wrong’ and should be the briefest 
  in terms of time and area, mere splinters of reality rather than 
  full-blown versions of the past or future. 
  For example, the Acolytes might ﬁ nd themselves once again 
  in the Slaughter Pit of the Red Cages (see pages 16 to 20 of 
  TATTERED FATES for more details), except that this time it is 
  slowly ﬁ lling with blood and Heron Mask is laughing at them 
  from the pit’s lip. They may ﬁ nd themselves once again facing 
  the Daemon in the Mirror (see page 23 in DAMNED CITIES), 
  but this time they are trapped within the mirror with spectral 
  creatures while the Daemon looks at them from outside the 
  mirror, or confronting distorted and malformed versions of 
  themselves crawling from the shuttle wreck on the surface of 
  
  III: The Blind Tesseract
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  49
  Mara. Such murderous ‘doppelgangers’ of things past should 
  not be as strong or swift as the ‘real thing’ so to speak (reduce 
  the Wounds, Strength Bonuses, and Agility Bonuses on their 
  proﬁ les by around a third). However, they should still be 
  dangerous, with the worlds around them slowly unmaking 
  themselves as they die, revealing a way out.
  ECHOES OF THE FUTURE
  In passing through the Blind Tesseract, the Acolytes 
  experience the future as it might be. These encounters are not 
  prophecies, or guarantees of what will come to pass. Instead, 
  they are possibilities; paths that events might take down the 
  ever branching roads of time. One of the best ways to begin 
  creating these types of encounters is to ask the question ‘what 
  if?’ and then consider how to show the results of the answer in 
  a single encounter. For example, what if the Pilgrims of Hayte 
  gained control of Haarlock’s secrets and using them opened 
  a Warp Rift on Sepheris Secundus? It would be overrun by 
  daemons of the warp in an orgy of horror, bloodshed and 
  sorcery. This could be shown by an encounter in the last 
  bastion manned by a few desperate survivors, surrounded by 
  rank upon rank of daemons massing for a ﬁ nal assault. 
  EXAMPLE ENCOUNTERS IN 
  THE BLIND TESSERACT
  The following are three detailed examples of encounters that 
  the Acolytes may have while passing through the mirror-
  doors of the Blind Tesseract.
  ENCOUNTER: DOMINO EFFECT 
  (THE PAST)
  In this encounter, the Acolytes bear witness to the single 
  event that has caused all they have endured and created an 
  obsession that has spanned centuries and cost uncounted 
  lives: the death of Erasmus Haarlock’s wife and daughter.
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “The mirror door opens on to a wide domed corridor, 
  decorated opulently in polished white marble and hung with 
  drapes of deep blue velvet. Along one side of the corridor are 
  a series of wide crystal-glass windows overlooking the void of 
  space. Hung majestically against the black, illuminated in the 
  turbulent light of a boiling white star, is a mighty ﬂ eet of vessels 
  at gravity anchor, many Imperial in design others strange and 
  unique to the eye. At the centre of this ﬂ eet is a mighty Battleship, 
  decked out in ivory and brass, dwarﬁ ng all the other vessels 
  around it, its armoured prow mounted with the heraldic arms of 
  a great golden spider. 
  Without warning the livid tracery of weapons ﬁ re and 
  explosions bloom in the void as allies become treacherous enemies 
  and the ships try to get underway and scatter before sudden 
  onslaught from their neighbours.”
  Although the Acolytes may not realise it, they are now 
  aboard The Spear of Destiny as it was more than a century 
  ago, mere seconds before the moment of Haarlock’s greatest 
  tragedy and the cause of so much death and suffering since; 
  the moment when his wife and daughter are taken from him. 
  Alarm claxons sound and a door behind them opens. 
  Rushing through it, and indeed through them as if they were 
  not there, comes a stern-looking but beautiful young woman 
  in a bustled dove-grey gown and a high collar of black ﬁ ligree 
  lace, leading by the hand a raven-haired young girl in her early 
  teens dressed in white, clearly her daughter by the resemblance 
  in their faces. Beside them whirs a silver-plated servo skull 
  which suddenly crashes to the ground and is still, cutting off 
  their conversation and stopping them in their tracks as brass 
  shutters roll down over the crystal windows and cut of the 
  view of the ﬁ ery battle outside. 
  At this time, the Acolytes should discover that they are in 
  this place as insubstantial shadows, and can neither be seen 
  nor heard. Nor can they affect what is about to happen in any 
  way, and in this are as cursed and powerless to change what 
  has happened as Haarlock was.
  In short order, the air at the far end of the corridor ripples 
  and a featureless female form, glistening like oil on water 
  appears, moving forward like lighting, a shimmering grey 
  blade in her hand. Lady Haarlock stands her ground, shielding 
  her daughter and dies in futile bravery, crimson blossoming 
  across her dress. The girl turns and runs, making it perhaps as 
  far as the helpless Acolytes before the assassin claims her life 
  mid-step. 
  
  III: The Blind Tesseract
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  50
  The assassin fades again from view and from nowhere there 
  is an immense howl of rage, more felt than heard; its passing is 
  enough to dim the light and steal the breath from the Acolytes’ 
  lungs. A mirror-door appears in front of them as time seems 
  to speed up. The shapes of naval armsmen and servitors ﬂ ow 
  around them, moving at blurring speed, as a lean and indistinct 
  ﬁ gure in a long ﬂ owing cloak moves with glacial slowness 
  between them, its shoulders slumped as it cradles the girl’s body 
  in its arms and staggers towards the mirror-door unseeing. 
  “I deny this, I deny this, I deny this.” The whispered words seem 
  to hang in the thinning air. 
  ENCOUNTER: THE BLASTED CITY 
  (ALTERNATE FUTURE)
  In this encounter the Acolytes are confronted with an uncertain 
  and deadly future for the Calixis Sector in the desolate ruins 
  of a once great city. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “As you pass through the ﬂ ickering cold light of the mirror-
  door you are greeted immediately by warm and cloying air, reeking 
  of burnt plastek and a greasy unpleasantness like overcooked fat.
  All around you, and for as far as the eye can see, are the 
  broken ruins and tangled wreckage of a once mighty hive city. 
  The skeletal remains of soaring spires and lofty buttresses jutting 
  like blackened carcass bones, their bases clogged with mountains 
  of rubble and fallen masonry. A soft fall of grey snow is settling, 
  blanketing everything from a turbulent, storm laden sky. As it falls 
  and powders on your clothes, you realise it is not snow at all, but 
  cinder ash.
  An immense dark shape appears through the boiling clouds and 
  the blasted city around you vibrates to a deep discordant drone, 
  breaking what you now realise was an utter, deathly silence. The 
  cyclopean shape in the sky resolves to a obsidian-like disk, slowly 
  revolving and ﬂ ickering with a baleful crimson glow at its centre; 
  a vessel of some kind perhaps more than kilometre across and 
  utterly alien. 
  As the dark vessel passes through the sky it is joined by another 
  and another, and their progress casts a pall of deeper darkness 
  over the dead city.”
  Although the Acolytes should not immediately realise it, 
  they are standing in the shattered ruins of Hive Sibellus on 
  the sector capital world of Scintilla. They have arrived in a 
  particularly dark time yet to come and are in grave danger. 
  In this future, the Calixis sector has slid into anarchy 
  and ceaseless war, ripped apart by division within and civil 
  conﬂ ict that allowed far more terrible enemies from beyond 
  Imperial space to have their way. Scintilla is a dying world 
  and the carrion crows have come to feed. The black disks the 
  Acolytes have seen in the skies are Slaugth Intruders and even 
  now, their harvester constructs are patrolling the blasted ruins 
  looking for the last morsels to gather up for their masters’ 
  table. The Acolytes are quite real here and may affect their 
  environment just as it may effect them.
  Exploring the Ruins
  As the mirror door closes behind them, the Acolytes have 
  little choice but to explore this post-apocalyptic landscape, 
  which the GM should endeavour to convey as a blasted waste; 
  once grand and terrible, now utterly desolate and lonely. As 
  the Acolytes journey across it, the GM should reveal details 
  of what’s going on slowly, ﬁ rst conﬁ rming that this is indeed 
  a former Imperial city with fallen statuary, broken Aquilas and 
  so on (perhaps led on by a glimpse of a shadowy, hurrying 
  ﬁ gure in the distance). It appears to have been destroyed by 
  bombardment and ﬁ restorm, but not so long ago, as attested 
  to by still smouldering ﬁ res. Its layout may seem strangely 
  familiar to the Acolytes and circumstantial evidence or indeed 
  the intuition of one or more of the Acolytes may reveal this 
  to be Hive Sibellus. One other factor that is also apparent in 
  the waste-scape is a relative absence of bodies. That is until 
  mass graves are found in blast craters ﬁ lled with great piles of 
  what appear to be scorched and gnawed-on skeletal remains, 
  all missing heads. Nearby on some available ﬂ at surface, a 
  spiralling, vortex-like symbol has been burned as if by acid.
  The Eaters of the Dead
  The Acolytes are not alone in the dead city. Silently patrolling 
  the ruins, looking for a ﬁ nal crop of survivors, are a number of 
  Slaugth Harvester constructs (see pages 66-67), nightmarish 
  living machines with no thought but to hunt and kill. It is 
  up to the GM to determine how (and indeed if ) they are 
  encountered directly, and it may be that the Acolytes might 
  come across their handiwork or even one or more of these 
  creatures pursuing some hardy but doubtless now insane 
  quarry ﬁ rst.
  If Miss Book or some other Slaugth from Mara has by 
  some means found her way to the Tesseract before or after 
  the Acolytes, then they are doubly dangerous in this dark 
  future, able to call the harvesters to do their bidding and obey 
  them. A direct assault on the Acolytes here amid the rubble 
  of the city is very likely, with the Slaugth in question happy 
  to glory that, “Our time has come here, and we feast on the carcass 
  of your worlds!”
  The Signal
  Once the Acolytes have been making their way on foot for 
  a while, they pick up an encrypted signal on an Inquisition 
  frequency, very faint but deﬁ nite. This signal leads them 
  inexorably to what they recognise with shock as the blasted 
  ruins of the Tricorn Palace, the headquarters of the Calixian 
  Inquisition on Scintilla. The signal leads them to the 
  overturned wreckage of a Rhino APC in the rubble of the 
  palace and a decayed and partly burned body which appears 
  to have died by its own hand. Pick one of the Acolytes; this 
  is their body. 
  The realisation of the body’s identity, which can be 
  gleaned from personal effects that include a full Inquisitorial 
  Rosette, should have the effect of a Fear (1) Test on the 
  individual whose future corpse this is. Grasped in the corpse’s 
  hand is a black containment cylinder ﬁ tted with purity seals 
  and intricate locks and wards of the most powerful kind and a 
  
  III: The Blind Tesseract
  51
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  golden spider clasp. A personal recording can be accessed on 
  an encrypted data-slate, accesses naturally enough with the 
  dead individual’s personal cipher or voice print. The data is 
  badly degraded but some sense can be gleaned from it.
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “I leave this recording, my last testament to whomever may 
  ﬁ nd it amongst my peers in the Holy Ordos… the guilt was 
  ours, the sins were ours… hubris… came to dust… We grew 
  arrogant, grew complacent, after we stopped Haarlock on Mara, 
  after the... Hayte were purged at last… Gallowglass we believed 
  ourselves invulnerable… civil war… Tyrantine Caba… 
  within… Haarlock, it all came back to the legacy, we were so 
  blind… never realised just what he… dead now, all dead… 
  city burning… I… from the deep vault.. but its too late… my 
  legs are shattered I cannot get out… all that remains is to pass 
  judgement on myself… cannot let the worms have my mind…”
  Just after the recording ﬁ nishes a loud drone ﬁ lls the air 
  as one of the huge black-disk vessels begins to draw down 
  from the skies and a mirror door opens in a ruined arch of the 
  Tricorn Palace wreckage. 
  Should they take the cylinder, it contains a ﬁ ne red 
  crystalline dust. 
  ENCOUNTER: SHADOW PLAY 
  (ALTERNATE FUTURE)
  In this encounter, the Acolytes confront another possible 
  future, see the potential consequences of their failure to stop 
  Haarlock, meet an old ally and discover everything they have 
  been told is not as it seems. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “The shimmering mirror-door opens and you ﬁ nd yourselves 
  in a broad street, lined with cracking plaster-faced walls and 
  gambrel roofs tiled in deep reds. Twilight is falling swiftly, the 
  air is heavy with the scent of a salt sea, and up and down the 
  street you can hear the echoing sounds of doors being bolted 
  and shutters banged closed. The streets are empty and for all the 
  seeming normality of the scene a heavy weight of palpable dread 
  seems to ﬁ ll the air.”
  Any player-character Acolyte having previously played 
  DAMNED CITIES should almost immediately recognise where 
  they are; the city of Sinophia Magna on the border world 
  of Sinophia, in the edge of the Commerica district (see page 
  13 of DAMNED CITIES.) Those who have not played this 
  adventure can still work this out by rusted metal signs over 
  closely shut and secured buildings belonging to off-world 
  trading cartels and the like. Most alarmingly, particularly for 
  those that have been here before, the city streets are deserted. 
  Where once there was nightlife and bustle amid the decay, 
  there is nothing; they encounter no-one as they walk, every 
  house either stands vacant and abandoned, is boarded up and 
  sealed, or is locked down as tight as a fortress and opens its 
  doors to no authority or plea. 
  Should the Acolytes barge or break their way into 
  a dwelling, they ﬁ nd only a handful of paranoid, half-
  starved souls driven to the brink of madness in terror. These 
  maddened souls mistake the Acolytes for the “servants of the 
  great masters” and attempt to endear themselves by general 
  grovelling, pleading for their lives, offering up their weakest 
  members as “tribute,” spitting on the Aquila and other such 
  abasements. They convey little or no useful information other 
  than to conﬁ rm that this is Sinophia Magna and it is seventeen 
  years after the date the Acolytes know to be the present. 
  Successful Awareness Tests reveal that most of this activity 
  to board up and secure the buildings seems recent. Here and 
  there anti-imperial grafﬁ ti has been plastered and statues of 
  saints and the sign of the Aquila has been recently defaced 
  in many places, often with a strange scratched symbol like 
  a downward pointing, three-pronged claw. Succeeding at a 
  Difﬁ cult (–10) Awareness Test for those that have been 
  to Sinophia Magana before also reveals one further but very 
  disturbing fact—half the stars of Sinophia’s night sky are 
  missing, replaced in the heavens by empty, black voids. 
  Eyes in the Night
  The longer the Acolytes spend walking Sinophia’s empty 
  alleyways, the greater the chance their movements will be 
  observed and shadowed from the darkened rooftops. Spotting 
  their observers, who are Twilight Stalkers (see page 67 of 
  the NPCs and Antagonists appendix), is a Very Hard (–30) 
  Awareness Test, as these creations are silent and almost 
  invisible against the night. If attacked, the stalkers retreat, 
  and other stalkers attempt to follow them. They do not attack 
  until the Acolytes either reach the bridge of cruciﬁ xion or 
  until they are eventually ambushed by the traitor (see further 
  on) if they lose their way.
  The Last Faithful Man
  After some time wandering the streets and alleyways of 
  Sinophia Magna looking for answers, the Acolytes hear the 
  sounds of a man’s voice shouting drunkenly in the night. 
  Following this voice to its source is an easy matter, and by 
  the foot of an old statue to Saint Drusus, a ragged looking 
  middle-aged man is shouting out doom upon the city, calling 
  its inhabitants “foul heretics” and singing jumbled snatches of 
  Imperial Psalms. 
  The ﬁ gure wears the torn cassock of an Imperial preacher 
  and has been badly beaten. He has a ragged, wild appearance 
  and one of his cheeks has been badly burned very recently. He 
  reeks of cheap spirits and a half-empty bottle of Gorsk Gyn 
  is clutched in his trembling hands. This man, who is indeed 
  an Imperial preacher called Queneas Stiles, a former Imperial 
  Guardsmen from Baraspine and now itinerant preacher. In a 
  lamentable condition both in body and mind, Stiles is very far 
  gone; half-starved, tortured and driven to the edge of sanity 
  by fear, he has sought solace in drink on what he believes 
  to be his ﬁ nal night of life. Getting any sense out of him 
  
  III
  III: The Blind Tesseract
   The Blind Tesseract
  52
  52
  is a tricky task, as he is not so much unwilling to talk as 
  he is incoherent and rambling, but the right questions and 
  responses illicit useful answers. 
  Charm Tests made against Stiles are at a base difﬁ culty 
  of Challenging (+0), while Interrogation and other forceful 
  means are Very Hard (–30). However, if the questioner is a 
  Cleric or clearly has extensive religious knowledge they can 
  bring into play, the difﬁ culty of either drops by one level. 
  The GM should feel free to have Styles tell them what 
  he will, while Table 3–1: Stiles’ Tale, should be used 
  for guidance.
  The longer the questioning goes on the more voluble and 
  agitated Stiles becomes, eventually spluttering, “Go to the 
  bridge, the saint’s bridge, there you will see what becomes 
  of those who remain loyal! Go if your faith is strong enough, 
  you are needed there!” Stiles ﬁ nishes by ﬂ inging his arm in the 
  direction of a large bridge over a broad canal in the distance, 
  before collapsing insensible to the ground in a mixture of 
  exhaustion and mental collapse.
  The Bridge of the Cruciﬁ ed
  The area of Sinophia Magna’s great Sabbatine Bridge has 
  been turned into an execution yard for those who would not 
  bow to the will of their new masters. This large and ornately 
  decorated bridge across the sea inlet is now covered with a 
  tangled profusion of crude metal ‘X’ beams, on to which men 
  and women have been bound with coils of barbed wire. Most 
  of them are now dead, but a few still moan and cry out into the 
  unforgiving night. At the foot of the bridge beneath a (literally) 
  defaced statue of the Beati Saint Sabbat, between two great 
  stone bowls that burn with white ﬂ ame, a hooded and cowled 
  ﬁ gure awaits the Acolytes, an old friend to greet them. 
  This ﬁ gure should be an individual from the Acolyte’s 
  past and a former ally. Presented here, this traitor is Fihad 
  Constantine—a once loyal Arbitrator encountered as an 
  ally in the adventure DAMNED CITIES. If this adventure has 
  not been played (or, for example, Constantine died during 
  its events), the GM should replace him with another former 
  ally of the player-characters, now several years older and far 
  more malign. Particularly vicious GMs may wish to make the 
  traitor the Acolytes meet their own Inquisitor gone over to the 
  other side. 
  Once the Acolytes approach, the ﬁ gure loses the cowl 
  covering his face, clearly showing his identity; a former ally 
  now older by some decade, his features grown gaunt and 
  deathly pale. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following: 
  “The shades showed me who had come, but I had to see you 
  with my own eyes to believe it. You died, all those years ago on 
  Mara; at least so we all believed. But no matter if you are still 
  Mara’s puppets, or if it is Haarlock you now serve! 
  Do you imagine that old spider had defeated us? That he had 
  won? We shall have our revenge yet, we are not defeated! Look 
  above you and see the dead stars circling at our will! But you will 
  not live to see our victory!”
  At this point, Constantine’s jaw opens impossibly wide 
  and he lets out an inhuman bass roar. Twilight Stalkers scuttle 
  up from the sides of the bridge and leap from the rooftops 
  behind the Acolytes and they are caught in a desperate 
  struggle for their lives. The number of Twilight Stalkers in 
  the ambush should equal the number of surviving Acolytes 
  and their NPCs allies +1, and they and Constantine’s proﬁ les 
  can be found in the NPCs and Antagonists section. Note that 
  if the GM is using another character in place of Constantine 
  as the traitor, his Shadow Shrouded trait should be added to 
  the new NPC’s proﬁ le (see page 64). 
  Should the Acolytes be victorious over their former ally, a 
  mirror-door appears in the carven archway base of the plinth 
  of the desecrated statue of the saint. 
  Table 3–
  3 1 Stililles
  es’ ’ Ta
  Ta
  Ta
  Taale
  le
  le
  le
  l
  Degree of f Su
  S cces
  ess
  Re
  Re
  Re
  Resu
  su
  su
  sultltltlt
  One
  “C
  “C
  “Cam
  am
  am
  am
  a e e inininin o oon n a rerererefufufufufuf ge
  ge
  ge
  ge
  gee e e sh
  shh
  sh
  sh
  s ipipip 
  frfrom
  om
  omm B
   BB
   B
   Bararararasasa pipine
  ne. . Fa
  Fa
  Fa
  Faallllllllen
  en
  en
  en
  en i iintntnttn o o o
  he
  herereereresysysysy, , , , da
  da
  da
  damn
  m ed
  ed aa aalllllllll  o o oof f f f thththththem
  em
  em
  em
  em, , , 
  da
  da
  damn
  mn
  mn
  mn
  m ed
  ed
  ed
  ed a a aapo
  po
  po
  po
  p ststs atatesese , , , tututuuturn
  rn
  rn
  rn
  rned
  ed
  ed
  ed
  edd 
  ththeieir r r ba
  ba
  ba
  ba
  back
  ck
  ck
  cks s on
  on
  on
  on tthe
  he
  he
  he
  h  G
   GG
   GGod
  od
  odd
  od
  od 
  Em
  Empe
  pe
  peerorororor r r an
  an
  an
  and d d wh
  whisisi pe
  peeriririririr ng
  ng
  ng
  ng
  ng t tt o o o o
  sh
  shad
  addow
  ow
  ow
  owws,s,s,s,s  w
   w
   w
   who
  ho
  hole wwor
  orr
  orldldld g g g ggon
  on
  on
  on
  one e e
  ov
  ov
  ovverere  n nnow
  ow
  ow
  ow
  o . . . StStSttStarara teteed d slsllow
  ow
  oww
  oww, , , wa
  wa
  wa
  waar,r,r,r,, 
  rurumo
  moururururu  oo oof f f wa
  wa
  wa
  warsr , , stststtarararars s s dy
  dy
  dy
  dyinininining,g,g,g
  liligh
  ghtstss g g g ggoioioioio ng
  ng
  ng
  ng o outut.”.”
  Two
  “T
  “The
  he
  he
  he f ff ffoo
  oo
  oo
  oo
  oolslslslsls h h h havv
  av
  av
  ave e stststrurururuck
  ck
  ck
  ck
  ck aa aa 
  ba
  ba
  ba
  ba
  b rgrgrgrgrgaiaiaiaiain n n n wi
  wi
  withthththh t tthe
  he
  he
  h  s sererva
  va
  va
  va
  vantntntntnts s s s s ofofofof 
  ththe e da
  da
  dark
  rk
  rk
  rk
  r , , so
  so
  so
  soldldld tthe
  heirir s ssou
  ou
  ou
  ouu
  o lslslslsl  f ff f ffor
  or
  or
  or
  o  
  em
  emptpty y y y lililieseses, thththe e Qu
  Quor
  or
  orrum
  um
  um
  um
  u  w
   w
   w
   wwasasasas 
  ﬁ ﬁrsrst t t ann
  an
  an
  and d d d ththththe e rerereststs  f ffolololollololololowe
  we
  we
  wed,d,d,d,d,d,
  an
  an
  an
  a d d no
  no
  no
  no
  n w 
  w 
  w 
  w we
  we
  we
  we d d dd dieiei  e eeve
  ve
  ve
  veryryryryryy n nn nnigigigigighththththth , , 
  slslslsllow
  ow
  ow
  ow
  ow, , crcrcrcraw
  aww
  awliliing
  ng
  ngg dd ddea
  ea
  ea
  eathththththth, , no
  no
  no
  no
  no 
  mo
  morereree tt tha
  ha
  ha
  ha
  h n we
  we
  w  a allll d d d ddesesessererererve
  ve
  ve
  vee!”!”!”!”
  Three
  “T
  “The
  he
  he
  hey y y y y be
  be
  be
  beatatatat mme,e, t ttor
  or
  or
  ortututurererered d d d me
  me
  mee 
  an
  an
  and d d sh
  sh
  sh
  sh
  show
  ow
  ow
  owed
  ed
  e  m
   me e e ththththheieieieir r r trtrtrtrue
  ue
  ue 
  faface
  ce
  cees,s,s,s  b b b butututut II wwou
  ou
  ou
  ouldldldl n’n’n’n’t t t fofofofof rsrsrsrsak
  ak
  ak
  akke e e
  my
  my
  my ff ffaiaiaiaithththth; ; thththey
  ey
  e  c ccou
  ou
  ou
  ouuldldldldn’n’n’n’n’n t t t
  ma
  ma
  ma
  make
  ke
  ke
  ke mm
   m
   mme e e a a trtrraiaiaitototot r.r.r.r B
   B
   BBrarararaand
  nd
  nd
  nd
  nded
  ed
  edd
  edd
  e
  me
  me
  me
  me wwititi h h thththheieieieir r r ma
  ma
  ma
  ma
  mark
  rk
  rk
  rk
  r  b b bbututut I I II 
  bu
  bu
  bu
  bu
  burn
  rn
  rn
  rned
  ed
  edd i iit t t aw
  aw
  aw
  away
  ay
  ay
  ayy. . I I I I sh
  sh
  sh
  shhalalalalall l l no
  no
  no
  no
  not t t t 
  didididie e ap
  ap
  a os
  ostatatat tetete! ! ! Th
  Th
  Th
  The e e e Em
  Em
  Em
  E pe
  pe
  pe
  pe
  pe
  perororororor r r r
  pr
  p ototec
  ec
  ectststst !”!”!”” 
  Fo
  Fo
  F ururur o oor r r Mo
  Mo
  Mo
  Morereree
  “A
  “A
  “AAfrfrfrfraiaiaiaid,d,d,d, a a a aallllllllll a a aafrfrfrrfraiaiaiaiaid,d,d,d,d, t t t t t thr
  hr
  hr
  hr
  hr
  hr
  h on
  on
  on
  onne e e
  ag
  ag
  aggen
  en
  en
  entststs f ffou
  ou
  ough
  gh
  gh
  gh
  gh
  g t t t thththhththhem
  em
  em
  em
  emm o ooffffffffff oo o oon n n n
  Ma
  Ma
  Ma
  Malﬁlﬁlﬁlﬁ    thththhey
  ey
  ey
  ey
  e  s ssay
  ay
  ay
  ay
  ay b b bbututututu  w
   w
   wwen
  en
  en
  en
  ent t t t no
  no
  no
  no
  noo 
  fufufufuf rtrtrtrthe
  he
  he
  he
  h r.r.r E
   E
   EEve
  ve
  ve
  v n n n thththththririririice
  ce
  ce
  ce
  c -c-cc-ccurururru sesesesesesed d d d d d
  Ha
  Ha
  Ha
  Ha
  Haarararararrlololooloock
  ck
  ck
  ck
  ck
  ck
  ck w
   w
   wwon
  on
  on
  on
  onn’t’t’t’tt’tt s s s ssav
  av
  av
  av
  av
  ave e e e e e us
  us
  us
  us
  us
  u , , , , no
  no
  no
  no
  no
  no
  no
  no
  n t t t t t
  lililililil ke
  ke
  ke
  ke
  ke
  ke h h hhe e e e stststststs op
  op
  op
  op
  op
  oppe
  pe
  pe
  pe
  pe
  pe
  pe
  p d d d d d d thththththththht em
  em
  em
  em
  em
  em
  emm
  em o oo o oon n n n n n
  So
  So
  So
  So
  So
  Solololololomo
  mo
  mo
  mo
  mon.n.n.n.n  Y
   Y
   Y
   YYea
  ea
  ea
  ea
  ea
  ea
  e rsrsrsrss a aa aago
  go
  go
  go
  go
  g  t t t t the
  he
  he
  he
  he
  he
  hey y y y y totototototot rererererer  
  do
  do
  do
  do
  do
  down
  wn
  wn
  wn
  wn h h h hhisisisisisis t t t tt t tow
  ow
  ow
  oww
  ow
  ow
  ow
  ow
  o ererererererererer yy y yy yyou
  ou
  ou
  ou
  ou
  ou
  o  s s ss s ssee
  ee
  ee
  ee
  ee
  eee
  e , , , , an
  an
  an
  an
  an
  ann
  and d d d d
  no
  no
  no
  no
  no
  now 
  w 
  w 
  w 
  w 
  w he
  he
  he
  hee
  he
  h  w
   wwon
  on
  on
  on
  on
  on
  onn
  o ’t’t’t’t’tt’t’t’t’tt h h h hh hhelelelelellelellp p p p p p us
  us
  us
  us
  us
  us, , , , , no
  no
  no
  no
  noo
  noo
  n ne
  ne
  ne
  ne
  ne 
  ofofofoffofo  t t t tt the
  he
  he
  he
  he
  h m 
  m 
  m 
  m 
  m 
  m wi
  wi
  wi
  wi
  wi
  wi
  wi
  wi
  willllllllllllllll, , , , , , pu
  pu
  pu
  pu
  pu
  pu
  puu
  puu
  pu
  puu
  pu
  p ninininininininin sh
  sh
  sh
  sh
  sh
  sh
  sh
  sh
  s me
  me
  me
  me
  me
  me
  me
  me
  me
  me
  m ntntntntntntntntnt f f ff ff ffor
  or
  or
  or
  or
  or
  or
  or
  or
  or
  or
  o  
  ou
  ou
  ou
  ouu
  ou
  ou
  o r r r r r pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  pr
  p idididididididi e e e e e an
  an
  an
  an
  ann
  ann
  a d d d d d d d d ou
  ou
  ou
  ou
  ouu
  ou
  ou
  ou
  o r r r r r r sisisisisisiins
  ns
  ns
  ns
  ns
  ns.”.”.””.”.”
  
  THE LAST 
  THE LAST 
  ECLIPSE
  ECLIPSE
  VANISHING POINT
  •
  DARK STAR RISING
  •
  THE FINAL 
  CONFRONTATION
  •
  RESOLUTION AND 
  REWARDS
  
  IV
  IV: The Last Eclipse
   The Last Eclipse
  54
  54
  Part IV: The 
  Last Eclipse
  “The future is no more or less than the hell we fashion for ourselves 
  in the present and gift to our children.”
   
  –Inquisitor Arnulf Gentry, Notes on the Ninth 
  Adrantian Trade War.
  W
  hen the GM determines that the surviving Acolytes 
  have walked Haarlock’s path enough, and learned 
  of past and possible future, a ﬁ nal mirror-door 
  opens before them leading to the ﬁ nal stop in the present on 
  Dusk as the Tyrant Star begins to rise. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following; 
  “As you walk through the shimmering gate, you know 
  something is different immediately. You shudder at your core as if 
  something has trodden on your grave, and the hot air hits you like 
  a gust from a furnace. Your ﬁ nd yourself on a blasted, withered 
  hilltop where nothing grows, while at the hill’s foot is a dense 
  forested swamp that goes on as far as the eye can see through 
  the dim hazy light. In the heavily clouded sky above you, a sun 
  burns faintly as if setting, although it is clearly at the height 
  of noon on another world, while nearby it lurks a deeper and 
  unsettling shadow. 
  Behind you, you realise with a shock that the mirror-door 
  has not disappeared but now remains imprisoned between two 
  rough posts of deep black stone that jut from the hill’s crest. The 
  mirror-door shivers and ﬂ uxes angrily, pale arcs of ghostly force 
  rippling across its surface. Beyond it you can faintly make out the 
  shape of the Blind Tesseract, Haarlock’s machine, and the Iron 
  Daughter, her hands covering her face as if she were weeping.”
  If any of the Acolytes are natives of this infamous world or 
  have travelled here before they know immediately that they 
  have set foot on Dusk, a feral world on the very edge of 
  known space. They are also confronted with the fact that they 
  are again fully real; tiredness washes over them (everyone 
  gains a level of Fatigue) and they become acutely aware that 
  they are extremely hungry and thirsty and of the stiﬂ ing 
  warmth and weight of the gear they are wearing to combat 
  Mara’s climes. 
  VANISHING POINT
  Any objects brought with them from the different worlds 
  and possibilities shown them by the Tesseract seem to rapidly 
  tarnish, becoming faded and brittle before crumbling to dust 
  in scant minutes; energy cells found there die in seconds, 
  organics decay and data vanishes into static fog, never to be 
  recovered. Living creatures brought through from the other 
  side that did not walk through from the Blind Tesseract on 
  Mara at the start of the journey sicken after a few moments 
  on Dusk before dissolving soundlessly into smoke and 
  vanishing, leaving only an empty pile of rapidly decaying 
  cloth and corroded metal. 
  Of the Acolytes’ walk though the corridors of eternity, 
  only battle scars and memories remain. 
  THE WELCOMING PARTY
  As the Acolytes take stock of their situation on the hill at what 
  they can assume is their journey’s end, the GM should allow 
  them to get their bearings and piece together what they have 
  discovered. Although they can hear ominous animal sounds 
  from the swampland below the hill, they remain unmolested 
  for the time being, and now is as good a time as any for 
  them to rest, recuperate a little, and work out their next plan 
  of action. 
  Attempts to further investigate the still open mirror 
  door or the two posts that bind it in place, reveals that a 
  crackling pulse of ghostly light ﬂ ares whenever something 
  draws close to its aperture. Anything hurled into it comes 
  out in rapidly disintegrating fragments on the other side. 
  The posts themselves are made of the same dark material as 
  the keystone.
  Above them, the ominous shadow behind the clouds is 
  slowly moving ever closer to the sun.
  After some time (an hour or so, or as soon as the Acolytes 
  decide they might move off the hill), lantern light appears at 
  the edge of the forest and a party of a dozen men enter the 
  clearing at the foot of the hill. These are natives, Ephraim 
  Ryder and some of the men folk of the nearby settlement of 
  Night Rising. They have been ‘asked’ by the Dusk Hag (who 
  they refer to only as “the Ol’ Lady”) to bring them to her in 
  return for her continued protection during the period of the 
  Tyrant Star’s presence in Dusk’s star system (a rare but hardly 
  unknown event on Dusk the locals know as the ‘Witchin’ Dark’ 
  which comes every generation or two to this benighted world). 
  Although visibly well-armed, Ephraim and his people make no 
  aggressive moves and only ﬁ ght if they are attacked or if the 
  Acolytes ﬂ atly refuse to come with them. For the natives, even 
  though the Acolytes’ group is visibly far more powerful than 
  they are, the alternative to carrying out their mission (based on 
  whose behalf they have been sent) is worse than anything the 
  Acolytes have to offer by way of threat. 
  Read aloud or paraphrase Ephraim’s request as needed.
  “The Ol’ Lady sent us to fetch you. She wants a word or two 
  with you and it don’t do to keep her waiting. Said you were to come 
  now as time was pressing and the Witching Dark comes soon. She 
  says you could come with us, or stand around and wait while what 
  you’d seen comes to pass… she said you’d know what she meant.”
  Ephraim and his people remain taciturn at best, but answer 
  earnestly to say they are doing what “she” wants to keep their 
  kin safe in the coming time. 
  
  IV
  IV: The Last Eclipse
   The Last Eclipse
  55
  55
  The Natives
  Ephraim and his men are dressed in well-made and maintained 
  leathers and rough spun silks. Several carry heavy hooded 
  lanterns on poles, all are armed with blades and hatchets and 
  several carry black powder weapons or steel-tillered crossbows. 
  With them is a young woman with deep blue ribbons tied around 
  her hands and hair and ornate facial tattoos. Characters with 
  Psyniscience, on passing a Routine (+20) Test, immediately 
  recognise her as a fairly powerful but untrained native Psyker. 
  AN AUDIENCE WITH THE DUSK HAG
  Following Ephraim and the party (after a few short twists and 
  turns through the mist-shrouded swampland) brings them to 
  the entrance of the Dusk Hag’s abode, so unexpectedly that 
  even Ephraim and his party are startled, if not surprised. (Any 
  lengthy excursion into the swamp without a guide ﬁ nds the 
  Hag, although after a much rougher journey to get there—
  this is, after all, the Hag’s will).
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
  “The tangled swamp opens before you into a moss-strewn 
  clearing centred around what appears to be the ancient wreck of a 
  space craft. Its belly is torn open and a strange dwelling bedecked 
  in all manner of hanging totems and trinkets has been created 
  within. The shadows of this place are utterly impenetrable, like 
  a rip torn open in the world to an abyss beyond, and a heavy 
  silence rests upon the place. 
  At the centre of the open-fronted dwelling on a rickety chair 
  sits an immeasurably old woman of imperious bearing, her 
  withered skin the colour of dirty ivory and her hair wild and 
  matted. Under one hand lays a broken servo-skull and a narrow 
  steel canister which she is caressing absently with her long black 
  ﬁ ngernails, while behind her chair something reddish-black and 
  sinewy coils too deep in the shadows to make out.
  “We brought them as you asked Ol’Lady.” Ephraim calls out 
  nervously.
  The old woman nods slowly and pronounces in a voice that 
  sounds like broken glass over a tombstone, “So you did, Ephraim 
  Ryder, so you did, now go back to your kin.”
  “So,” the old woman speaks “That blind fool Haarlock ﬁ nally 
  found himself some more fools to walk in his path, eh? Well 
  congratulations, you made it through the corridors of time alive, 
  and ahead oh’him coming back, the choice is yours now.”
  The Dusk Hag wants no more than to look them in the 
  eye, and see the events that she herself has set in motion 
  come to fruition. The Hag is a dark power of the Warp on 
  its chosen ground, and the Acolytes are best inclined to not 
  try her patience. Any display of force or aggression is met 
  with a scornful display of just what she can do: weapons 
  turn to serpents in the user’s hands, bones shatter at her 
  whim and a psyker’s powers are turned back on themselves. 
  Should something more be needed to graphically illustrate 
  such folly, the thing around her chair uncoils; Acolytes who 
  were involved in the Sinophian affair represented in DAMNED 
  CITIES will recognise this baleful entity as the daemon in the 
  mirror (use the daemonhost proﬁ le on page 358 of the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook if needed). The daemon eagerly attacks 
  unruly Acolytes to the point where they are more inclined to 
  civility, and is careful not to kill any of them.
  If the Acolytes have any remaining questions about 
  Haarlock and the Legacy she answers them mockingly. 
  She also happily relates to them exactly what’s about to 
  happen next:
  “He came to me when everything else he tried failed, and even 
  then, his pride would not let him beg. No, not that one. Will of 
  iron enough to overturn the universe if he could, heh! He’d walked 
  the past and found he could change ‘nuthin, walked the future 
  and found nothing that wouldn’t turn to dust in his hands.
   ‘What can I do?’ he asked me ‘Where can I ﬁ nd the power?’ 
  Hah! ‘Hag tell me!’ he demanded!
  “ He paid my price,” she says, tapping the canister beneath her 
  nails before carrying on, “So I told him. I told him the only place 
  that would end his desires would be the black star, and that’s 
  where he went and that’s where he’s reckon’ to return from. Only 
  what’ll walk back wearing his face, not even I knows.”
  
  IV: The Last Eclipse
  56
  56
  56
  “But he needed someone on this side you see, needed a link of 
  blood and desire to turn the key of his machine, a beacon to light 
  his way across the abyss beyond the Warp, to come back where 
  no-one had come back from before, and you lit that beacon up 
  for him! You an’ the others with your murderin’ and your lying 
  and struggle, all callin’ him back across.”
  “Now the dark star is rising over this world, blotting out its 
  own sun, just as it did the day he walked into its embrace, and on 
  that hill his foot’s gonna fall again.”
  If the Acolytes haven’t worked it out yet, the Hag supplies 
  their answer, for a price: an immortal soul, a Psyker’s gifts, 
  a gunﬁ ghter’s right hand; she’ll take what the asker most 
  values. The answer: destroy the soul trap—the stone posts 
  on Haarlock’s hill—and Erasmus can’t put footfall back in 
  the Blind Tesseract and return to this reality. Let events take 
  their course and he returns to this waiting world and his ship 
  waiting for him to board it. 
  The Acolytes leave the Hag with her laughter sounding 
  in their ears, and in mere moments are back at the foot of 
  Haarlock’s hill as the edge of a black shadow starts to cut 
  across the face of Dusk’s muted sun. 
  DARK STAR RISING
  The Acolytes have come to the ﬁ nal crossroads of a single 
  decision: to stop Haarlock’s return by destroying the Soul 
  Trap or to stand by and allow it to happen. They have only 
  minutes as Dusk’s Sun is swallowed by the Tyrant Star to 
  make the decision. 
  This is a decision that much they have seen might have 
  left them in two minds about, and the consequences of 
  either outcome for the Calixis Sector are both uncertain and 
  potentially dire. But here and now, they are the only authority; 
  only they can make this choice and decide the future fate of 
  billions. In this, they are the hand of the Holy Ordos, the ﬁ nal 
  word is theirs. 
  DESTROYING THE SOUL TRAP
  Destroying the soul trap is not so quick or easy as it may look, 
  a fact they quickly discover for themselves. Alternatively, if 
  they have met the Hag’s price, she informs them just what 
  needs to be done. 
  The stone posts themselves are all but invulnerable to harm 
  (50 AP and 25 Wounds each) but the ground in which they 
  are set is not. The mirror-door can be freed by knocking one 
  of the posts out of alignment by more than 30˚ or so. This 
  can be done by a lot of frantic and heavy digging (the posts 
  descend about 35cm into the ground where they join into 
  natural stone sockets) and then levering one of them out of 
  alignment, an act which requires three successes or more on 
  a Hard (–20) Strength Test using a levering object, or they 
  can use an explosive charge of some sort (a couple of Frag 
  grenades do the trick) on the base. 
  QUICK, BLOW IT UP!
  Having come through, the Acolytes may well 
  spontaneously come to the decision to destroy the 
  stone posts holding the mirror-door in place. This 
  is absolutely the right choice, even though doing so 
  without the Hag’s knowledge is not an easy thing to 
  do (see Destroying the Soul Trap on this page). Should 
  they succeed they still prevent Haarlock’s return and 
  the GM can have them meet the Hag anyway to 
  provide them with some answers.
  THE FINAL CONFRONTATION: GHOSTS ON THE HILL
  This is an optional encounter if the GM feels that the pacing of the adventure would beneﬁ t from a climactic battle to add 
  emphasis to the Acolyte’s difﬁ cult choice in this ﬁ nal scene. Should the Acolytes seek to stop Haarlock from returning, 
  a ﬁ nal trap left behind by Haarlock’s dark arts is triggered, and gibbering spectres from the past are summoned to 
  the attack.
  In this encounter, the Game Master should judge which of the previous adversaries connected to the Haarlock’s Legacy 
  (including any he may have created himself) would make the best opponents for the Acolytes. In many cases, this means 
  selecting a foe that had been a particularly annoying thorn in the group’s side (offering them another chance to take him 
  down!). Alternatively, the GM may also select the opponent that the group enjoyed defeating before.
  Whatever the GM’s choice, each selection should then be given the alterations suggested below.
  FINAL CONFRONTATION ENEMY PACKAGE
  Wounds: The creature reduces its wounds by half, rounding down.
  Traits: The creature gains the Phase and Warp Weapon Traits.
  Below is a list of suggested opponents to return as vengeful ghosts in the ﬁ nal confrontation:
  • Greel (see page 226 in DISCIPLES OF THE DARK GODS)
  • Marshal Skarman (see page 58 in DAMNED CITIES)
  • The Daemon in The Mirror (see page 58 in DAMNED CITIES)
  • The Widower (see page 61 in TATTERED FATES)
  • Heron Mask (see page 58 in TATTERED FATES)
  • Jackal Mask (see page 58 in TATTERED FATES)
  
  IV: The Last Eclipse
  57
  57
  57
  There is another option the acolytes may have to take if 
  time presses, and it is an option the Hag gleefully offers them; 
  a solution more certain but also requiring sacriﬁ ce: short out 
  the mirror-door. In order to do this a living being must stand 
  half in the gate and take their own life. The resulting psychic 
  release shorts out the connection and destroys the soul trap. 
  If either of these is done, the mirror-door is torn apart in 
  a spectacular haze of silver light and a thunderclap of noise, 
  and the posts shatter explosively, showering the area with 
  fragments (inﬂ icting 2d10 R damage to everything within 5 
  metres of the hill’s summit.)
  Moments later, as the eclipse arrives and Dusk is plunged 
  into cold darkness, the image of the black sun forms with the 
  furious outline of a contorted human face with blazing white 
  eyes. A howl of rage and frustration echoes across the surface 
  of Dusk as hurricane-force winds rip through the swamps and 
  forests, scattering the witnesses to the ground with the force 
  of the turbulence in the air. The face fades and the eclipse 
  passes as lighting and thunder break on the horizon. 
  Haarlock has been thwarted and his Legacy ended. 
  THE TRAVELLER RETURNS
  It may be that, through conscious choice to allow it to come to 
  pass or because the Acolytes fail in their efforts at the last, the 
  eclipse reaches its zenith and Haarlock comes through. 
  Should this happen, moments after the eclipse becomes 
  total a pall of darkness descends on Dusk. A silver grey tracery 
  ﬂ ows down from the heavens, carrying with it a hazy, blurred 
  shape, as if it was a form made of smoke, to the edge of the 
  mirror-door. The Acolytes cannot move or act; it is as if they 
  were moving with glacial slowness while the world speeds on 
  around them.
  With no further fanfare or display, the vaporous form pauses 
  a second at the door and turns to the Acolytes. It raises an 
  indistinct hand, foreﬁ nger and thumb together in a circle, to 
  the grey shadow of its face where its right eye would be, then 
  steps through the opening. On the other side, a tall, dark coated 
  ﬁ gure with a pallid bald head and a black ebony walking stick 
  topped with a golden spider, steps into the chamber of the 
  Blind Tesseract, and the mirror-door shuts off behind him. 
  On Dusk, the light of the Tyrant Star shines down, and the 
  swamps and forest resound to the unnatural cries of predators 
  and worse things awoken from their slumber. The Acolytes, 
  once more in control of their faculties, are left alone with the 
  truth of what they have done. 
  Resolution
  A
  s DEAD STARS concludes, the Acolytes are left stranded 
  on Dusk with the consequences of their actions, and 
  getting off the planet again and reporting what has 
  transpired to the Holy Ordos (and chances are that’s quite a 
  lot to report!) are further adventures in themselves, left to the 
  GM to determine. 
  If they have stopped Haarlock, they can console themselves 
  that they have prevented a major threat to the Calixis Sector 
  from occurring, but should be left with grim forebodings of 
  what the future may hold. 
  If this is the case, they may recover (remove) 1D5 Insanity 
  Points and gain a Fate Point. If the Acolyte has successfully 
  completed at least three Haarlock Legacy adventures they also 
  gain the special elite advance Haarlock’s Bane (see below). 
  If they allowed Haarlock to return, they must live with the 
  knowledge that they have unleashed a terror on the Calixis 
  Sector that it is ill-prepared for and that dark days are ahead, 
  but for what ultimate good or evil only time will tell. 
  If this is the case they gain 1d5 Insanity Points and gain a 
  Fate Point. If the Acolyte has successfully completed at least 
  three Haarlock Legacy adventures, they also gain the special 
  elite advance Marked by Dark Fates (see below). 
  Regardless of the outcome, all surviving acolytes who 
  played through DEAD STARS should receive XP rewards for 
  their efforts. This award is left in large part for the GM to 
  decide based just on how much the player-characters did, 
  and what odds they faced. Broadly speaking a reward of 100 
  to 200 XP per game session is appropriate for sufﬁ ciently 
  challenged, engaged player-characters, with +200 XP 
  rewarded for each rival faction the Acolytes had the primary 
  role in defeating. In addition, any Acolyte that took an active 
  role in the adventure’s conclusion, both in terms of making 
  the decision and carrying it out, should gain +250 XP. 
  HAARLOCK’S BANE
  The Acolyte has travelled far, seen terrible things and had a hand in stopping a plot to release a great evil from beyond 
  space and time. Such events cannot help but change a person.
  Effect: The Acolyte counts Fear ratings for Warp entities as 1 level lower than they actually are (so Fear 4 
  becomes Fear 3 for example), and has a +10 to all Awareness tests to notice localised Warp disturbances and time 
  distortion phenomena. 
  MARKED BY DARK FATES
  The Acolyte has seen the dark underbelly of the Calixis Sector, experienced the tangled and arcane horrors that may 
  represent its future and perhaps has been instrumental in bringing them closer to fruition. In doing so, his soul has been 
  marked by darkness. 
  Effect: The Acolyte reduces any Corruption damage caused by Warp Shock by –1 per instance, and 
  whenever he spends a Fate Point while in combat with a Warp Entity, roll 1d10. On a roll of 7+, the Fate Point is 
  immediately recovered. 
  
  AppendiX
  AppendiX
  58
  58
  Appendix I: 
  NPCs and 
  Antagonists
  T
  his appendix is divided into two parts. Major NPCs 
  describes the other characters that play an important 
  role in the plot of DEAD STARS. As such, they are each 
  detailed individually. The people and creatures listed in the 
  Masses section instead reﬂ ect less focal types of NPCs that 
  may be encountered in the course of events.
  All of the NPCs in this section have had their strength 
  bonus (plus any other bonuses) included in the proﬁ les for 
  applicable weaponry and equipment. It is also important to 
  note that NPCs are not necessarily bound to follow the same 
  strictures for their proﬁ les as player characters.
  MAJOR NPCS
  INQUISITOR HERROD—LEGATE OF THE 
  TYRANTINE CABAL
  Inquisitor Herrod is a cybernetically resurrected monster 
  who serves as part of the secret inner circle of the Tyrantine 
  Cabal. Herrod was once a handsome, energetic and brilliant 
  Inquisitor who was held in high esteem by his peers. This 
  vibrant and dashing Herrod is long dead, and most within 
  the Holy Ordos think that he perished utterly at the hands of 
  the Vile Savants. In truth, however, Herrod lives: through the 
  patronage of hidden masters within the Adeptus Mechanicus 
  what little of him that remained was given the blessing of a 
  resurrection to a second life of metal, pistons and gears. A 
  hunched ﬁ gure swathed in a black cloak and hood, Herrod 
  retains no ﬂ esh and only the thinnest semblance of humanity. 
  His face is a death mask of yellow ﬂ esh pulled over steel and 
  brass, while his voice is a nightmare patchwork of phonic 
  sounds gathered from recordings of the Inquisitor’s voice 
  before he died for the ﬁ rst time.  
  Inquisitor Herrod Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (8)
  (8)
  58
  39
  48
  48
  26
  55
  37
  58
  21
  Movement: 2/4/6/12  
   
   
  Wounds: 25
  Skills: Awareness (Per)+10, Ciphers (Acolyte, War Cant, 
  Inquisition) (Int) +20, Command (Fel) +20, Common Lore 
  (Adeptus Arbites, Administratum, Ecclesiarchy, Imperial 
  Creed, Imperial Guard, Imperium) (Int) +20, Common Lore 
  (Machine Cult, Tech, War) (Int), Deceive (Fel) +10, Evaluate 
  (Int), Forbidden Lore (Cults, Heresy, Inquisition, Ordos, The 
  Tyrant Star) (Int) +20, Forbidden Lore (Psykers, Warp) (Int) 
  +10, Forbidden Lore (Daemonology) (Int), Inquiry (Fel) +10, 
  Interrogation (WP) +20, Intimidate (Str) +20, Literacy (Int) 
  +20, Logic (Int) +10, Navigation (Surface) (Int), Scholastic 
  Lore (Archaic, Bureaucracy, Cryptology, Legend) (Int) +20, 
  Scholastic Lore (Imperial Creed, Judgement, Philosophy) 
  (Int) +10, Scrutiny (Per) +20, Search (Per) +10, Secret 
  Tongue (Acolyte, Administratum) (Int) +20, Secret Tongue 
  (Ecclesiarchy) (Int) +10, Secret Tongue (Military) (Int), Speak 
  Language (High Gothic, Low Gothic) (Int) +20.
  Talents: Ambidextrous, Armour of Contempt, Autosanguine, 
  Basic Weapon Training (Bolt, Las, SP), Binary Chatter, 
  Blademaster, Blind Fighting, Chem Geld, Combat Master, 
  Fearless, Counter Attack, Crippling Strike, Crushing Blow, 
  Disarm, Disturbing Voice, Feedback Screech (ignore 
  perquisite), Furious Assault, Into the Jaws of Hell, Iron 
  Discipline, Iron Jaw, Mental Fortress, Nerves of Steel, Pistol 
  Training (Bolt, Flame, Las, SP), Prosanguine, Resistance 
  (Cold, Heat, Poisons, Psychic), Strong Minded, Touched by 
  the Fates (2 Fate Points), True Grit, Two Weapon Wielder 
  (Melee).
  Traits: Dark Sight, Sturdy, Unnatural Strength (x2), Unnatural 
  Toughness (x2).
  Armour: Armour plated body (Head 7, Arms 7, Body 7, 
  Legs 7).
  
  Appendix
  Appendix
  59
  59
  Weapons: Integral Hand Flamer built into left forearm (10m; 
  S/–/–; 1d10+4 E ; Pen 2; Clip 3; Rld na; Flame), two Lathe 
  forged mono-sabres (see page 147 of THE INQUISITOR’S 
  HANDBOOK) (1d10+12 R, Pen 5; Balanced, +10 to WS 
  Tests), Bolt Pistol (30m; S/2/–; 1d10+5 X; Pen 4; Clip 8; 
  Reload Full, Tearing), with three clips of Psycannon Bolts 
  (see page 191 of THE INQUISITOR’S HANDBOOK).
  Gear: Heavy vulcanised black robes, Good quality Cybernetic 
  body reconstruction (includes Dark Sight system, micro bead, 
  full life support, 3x doses of de-tox with implanted injector), 
  several data slates, Seal of ofﬁ ce as Inquisitor.
  Herrod’s Retinue
  The following characters are agents in the service of Inquisitor 
  Herrod: Quin Valentine, Alianna Switch, Junt Yaeger, and 
  Darkly Hand.
  QUIN VALENTINE
  Quin Valentine is a quiet spoken man whose immaculate 
  appearance, gaunt features and drawling wit belie the fact 
  that he is one of the ﬁ nest gunslingers that Gunmetal City 
  has ever born. Clad in a dark, high collared coat woven with 
  impact reactive mesh, and carrying only a single pistol, he 
  prefers to kill with a single shot from his custom forged 
  duelling las. 
  Quin Valentine Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  33
  58
  31
  30
  51
  38
  41
  35
  42
  Movement: 5/10/16/30  
   
  Wounds: 11
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +20, Common Lore (Imperium) (Int), 
  Concealment (Ag), Dodge (Ag) +20, Drive (Ground Vehicle) 
  (Ag), Inquiry (Fel) +10, Interrogation (WP), Shadowing (Ag), 
  Silent Move (Ag), Speak Language (High Gothic, Gunmetal 
  City Hive Dialect, Low Gothic ) (Int).
  Talents: Crack Shot, Deadeye Shot Hip Shooting, Marksman, 
  Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), Marksman, Quick Draw, 
  Rapid Reaction, Rapid Reload, Resistance (Fear, Heat, Psychic 
  Powers), Nerves of Steel, Pistol Training (Bolt, Las, SP), Rapid 
  Reaction Sharpshooter. 
  Armour: Mesh woven coat and carapace chest plate (Arms 3, 
  Body 6, Legs 3).
  Weapons: Khayer-Addin Duelling Las (30m; S/–/–; 
  1d10+4 E; Pen 4; Clip 1; Reload Full; Accurate, Tearing), 
  Hand Cannon (35m; S/–/–; 1d10+4 I; Pen 2; Clip 5; Reload 
  2 Full).
  Gear: Slick clothing, 12 duelling las re-loads, 1 Hand Cannon 
  Clip loaded with Blessed Ammunition, envirosuit.
  ALIANNA SWITCH
  Alianna Switch is a hardened killer who learned her skills in 
  the furnace pits of one of the worst Hives in the sector. Her 
  custom combat gear and years of service to Inquisitor Herrod 
  have not removed the mocking humour from her words, or 
  the kill tattoos and bright ﬂ are of dyed hair that speaks of the 
  gaudy murder gangs of Magnagorsk.
  Alianna Switch Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  38
  41
  37
  36
  43
  37
  41
  44
  32
  Movement: 4/8/12/24 
   
   
  Wounds: 13
  Skills: Athletics (S) +10, Awareness (Per) +10, Climb (S) 
  +10, Concealment (Ag) +10, Ciphers (Acolyte) (Int) +10, 
  Dodge (Ag) +20, Common Lore (Underworld) (Int) +20, 
  Forbidden Lore (the Inquisition) (Int) +10, Literacy (Int), 
  Secret Tongue (Acolyte) (Int) +10, Security (Ag) +10, Silent 
  Move (Ag) +10, Speak Language (High Gothic) (Int), Speak 
  Language (Low Gothic) (Int).
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (SP, Las, Bolt), Crack Shot, 
  Melee Weapon Training (Primitive, Power), Peer (Underworld) 
  Pistol Training (Bolt, SP, Las), Sharpshooter.
  Armour: Hardened Body Glove (Arms 3, Body 3, Legs 3).
  Weapons: Overcharged Long Las (150m; S/–/–; 1d10+4 E; 
  Pen 1; Clip 20; Reload Full; Accurate, Reliable) ﬁ tted with a 
  Red-Dot Sight, Hand Cannon (35m; S/–/–; 1d10+4 I; Pen 
  2; Clip 5; Reload 2 Full), Power Sword (1d10+8 E; Pen 6; 
  Balanced, Power Field). 
  Gear: Photo-contacts, respirator, micro bead, 3 long las clips, 
  envirosuit.
  TOUCHED BY THE FATES (TALENT)
  Prerequisites: Non Player Characters only; they 
  must have free will. This talent may not be applied to 
  Daemons and other non-living creatures.
  The NPC has a number of Fate Points equal to half their 
  Willpower Bonus (rounding up). They may use these 
  Fate Points in exactly the same way as Player Characters 
  and may even “burn” a Fate Point to survive death and 
  destruction (if possible), although this should always 
  happen “off camera.” In any situation where they would 
  be defeated and the scenario resolved in the Acolytes 
  favour, they simply return another day (probably for 
  revenge!) In addition, the rules for Righteous Fury also 
  apply to this NPC. 
  IMPROVED NATURAL WEAPONS 
  (TRAIT)
  This creature’s attacks are powerful enough to crush 
  plasteel or punch through armour. The creature’s 
  natural weapons no longer count as Primitive.
  
  AppendiX
  AppendiX
  60
  60
  JUNT YAEGER
  Junt Yaeger is a slab-ﬂ eshed former naval armsman who has 
  seen too much by far, and has taken wounds to his mind that, 
  if they were to his body, would have left him as a broken 
  puppet of ﬂ esh and bone. Though not entirely stable or 
  predictable, he has proven himself loyal to Herrod; a virtue 
  the resurrected Inquisitor has always prized, and has been 
  rewarded with continued opportunities to ﬁ ght the enemies 
  of the Imperium in what ever secret war his master wishes.
  Junt Yaeger Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  38
  46
  45
  54
  31
  34
  37
  25
  35
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
   
  Wounds: 16
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Carouse (T), Ciphers (Acolyte) 
  (Int ), Climb (S), Common Lore (Imperium) (Int), Common 
  Lore (War, Imperial Guard) (Int) +10, Drive (Ground Vehicles) 
  (Ag) +10, Forbidden Lore (the Inquisition) (Int), Intimidate 
  (S) +10, Literacy (Int), Secret Tongue (Acolyte) (Int) +10, 
  Speak Language (Low Gothic) (Int).
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (SP, Las, Bolt), Hatred 
  (Daemons), Iron Jaw, Jaded, Melee Weapon Training (Chain, 
  Primitive), Paranoia, Pistol Training (Las, SP), Rapid Reload, 
  Resistance (Psychics), True Grit.
  Armour: Storm Trooper Carapace (Head 6, Arms 6, Body 
  6, Legs 6).
  Weapons: Meat Hammer Scattergun (30m; S/–/–; 2d5+6 
  X; Pen 0; Clip 1; Reload 3 Full, Scatter, Tearing), Hand 
  Cannon (35m; S/–/–; 1d10+4 I; Pen 2; Clip 5; Reload 2 
  Full), Chainsword (1d10+6 R; Pen 2; Balanced, Tearing), 2x 
  Frag Grenades (12m; S/–/–; 2d10 X; Pen 0; Clip 1; Blast (4), 
  2x Blind Grenades (12m; S/–/–; Clip 1; Smoke), 2x Krak 
  Grenades (12m; S/–/–; 2d10+4 X; Pen 6; Clip 1).
  Gear: Infra-red goggles, photo-contacts, respirator, micro 
  bead, 24 shotgun shells, 5 hand cannon clips.
  DARKLY HAND
  Darkly Hand is an assassin who has no life beyond the 
  execution of his craft and no emotion other than devotion to 
  the master that created him. His name erased, his personally 
  cleaned, and his identity overwritten, Darkly Hand is a tool 
  of death held in the hand of Inquisitor Herrod. A master of 
  death encased in body ﬁ tting night black armour, Hand is a 
  strangely forgettable: one could look directly into his face, 
  study it in minute detail and yet the second one looked away 
  no feature could be recalled.
  Darkly Hand Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  55
  38
  38
  41
  53
  41
  49
  59
  15
  Movement: 5/10/15/30  
   
  Wounds: 15
  Traits: Untouchable (see page 28 in DISCIPLES OF THE DARK 
  GODS).
  Skills: Acrobatics (Ag) +20, Awareness (Per) +20, Ciphers 
  (Acolyte) (Int ), Climb (S) +20, Common Lore (Imperium) 
  (Int) +10, Concealment (Ag) +20, Dodge (Ag) +20, Deceive 
  (Fel) +20, Literacy (Int), Security (Ag) +20, Shadowing (Ag) 
  +20, Silent Move (Ag)+20, Secret Tongue (Acolyte) (Int), 
  Speak Language (Low Gothic and High Gothic) (Int), Tech-
  Use (Int), Tracking (Int) +10.
  Talents: Assassin Strike, Basic Weapon Training (Las, SP, 
  Primitive), Blade Master, Fearless, Combat Master, Disarm, 
  Heightened Senses (Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Hearing), 
  Leap Up, Lightening Attack, Melee Weapon Training (Chain, 
  Primitive, Power, Shock), Pistol Training (Bolt, Las, SP, 
  Primitive), Step Aside, Swift Attack, Unremarkable.
  Armour: Synskin coated Xeno mesh (Head 6, Body 6, Arms 
  6, Legs 6).
  Weapons: Two Power Swords (1d10+8 E; Pen 6; Balanced, 
  Power Field), Custom Needle Pistol (30m; S/–/–; 1d10 R; 
  Pen 4; Clip 7; Reload Full; Accurate, Toxic). 
  Gear: Clip Harness, Multikey, Rebreather, Photo-Visor, 2x 
  Needle Clips. 
  SERGEANTS CHILDRES AND MAKRADE
  Childres and Makrade are the sergeants commanding the 
  squads assigned to the Acolytes’ authority for their mission to 
  Mara. Both are the product of years of training and hardening 
  on the battle ﬁ elds of the Margin Crusade and in the Soot 
  Warrens of Tranch. Childres is tall, dark skinned and lean, 
  with the predatory features of the deep desert nomads of 
  Maccabeus Quintus, while Makrade is a muscular giant whose 
  clean shaven head and face are covered in tattooed ﬂ owing 
  lines of sacred script. Both speak little unless spoken to but 
  are highly devoted servants of the God-Emperor and serve 
  and obey the Acolytes to their last breath. 
  Sergeants Childres and Makrade Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  43
  45
  38
  40
  30
  35
  35
  42
  26
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
   
  Wounds: 14
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Ciphers (War Cant) (Int) +10, 
  Climb (S), Command (Fel), Common Lore (Imperial Guard) 
  (Int) +10, Common Lore (Imperium, War) (Int), Intimidate (S) 
  +10, Literacy (Int), Navigation (Surface) (Int), Secret Tongue 
  (Military) (Int), Speak Language (Low Gothic) (Int), Swim (S).
  y
  uldldldldl  b b b be e rereeca
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  ed
  edd.
  
  Appendix
  61
  61
  61
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Bolt, Las, SP), Insanely 
  Faithful, Iron Discipline*, Into the Jaws of Hell*, Melee 
  Weapon Training (Primitive), Nerves of Steel, Pistol Training 
  (Bolt, Las, Plasma, SP), Resistance (Cold, Heat, Fear)
  Armour: Storm Trooper Carapace (Head 6, Arms 6, Body 
  6, Legs 6)
  Weapons: Sollex “Death Light” Lasgun (80m; S/3/–; 
  1d10+5 E; Pen 2; Clip 18; Reload Full), Autopistol (30m; 
  S/–/6; 1d10+2 I; Pen 0; Clip 18; Reload Full), Plasma 
  Pistol (30m; S/–/–; 1d10+6 E; Pen 6; Clip 10; Reload 4 
  Full; Recharge, Overheats ), Mono-Sword (1d10+3 R; Pen 
  2, Balanced), 2x Frag Grenades (9m; S/–/–; 2d10 X; Pen 
  0; Clip 1; Blast (4)), 1x Photon Flash Grenade (9m; S/–/–; 
  Special; Pen 0; Clip 1) 
  Gear: Uniform, 2 spare Lasgun Clips, 1 Plasma Flask, Micro-
  Bead, Respirator, Photo-Visor
  *The effects of Childres and Makrade’s Iron Discipline and Into the 
  Jaws of Hell talents only apply to Maccabian Janissaries under their 
  command.
  ASTROPATH SILINUS
  Silinus is an experienced Astropath of senior years, who has 
  served the Inquisition on many occasions though seldom in 
  harms way. She is tall, thin and her skin is aged to the colour 
  of dry parchment and wrinkled around the empty pit of her 
  eyes. Despite her age, Silinus holds herself rigid with pride, 
  and conducts herself in a commanding way, with every word 
  implying that everyone else is a fool. She believes that she 
  is the most experienced, capable person on the mission, and 
  while she does submit to the command of her master, to serve 
  these other Acolytes of his, it rankles with her. Her pride and 
  condescension hide a will that is weaker than both she and 
  her master believe, and when confronted with the true horror 
  that waits on Mara, it may be her undoing.
  Astropath Silinus Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  10
  15
  20
  30
  27
  44
  38
  35
  20
  Movement: 2/4/6/12 
   
   
  Wounds: 10
  Skills: Common Lore (Imperium) (Int), Forbidden Lore (the 
  Warp) (Int) +10, Psyniscience (Per) +20, Speak Language 
  (High Gothic, Low Gothic +10), Secret Tongue (Acolyte).
  Talents: Meditation, Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), 
  Power Well, Psy Rating 3.
  Psychic 
  Powers: (Telepathy): Enhance Phenomena, 
  Precognition, Projection, Resist Possession, Sense Presence, 
  Telepathy.
  Traits: Blind, Soul-bound.
  Weapons: Staff (1d10+2 I; Balanced, Primitive).
  Gear: Hooded green robes.
  NOVATOR BENHAMIN NOSTROMO
  Benhamnin Nostromo is an old man. Painfully thin and 
  hunched by his years, his skin is so pale as to be almost 
  transparent, he moves with a strange shufﬂ ing gait and his 
  manner is strange and unworldly. Once the principal of a 
  great lineage of Navigators who served Erasmus Haarlock, 
  Nostromo was one of his closest conﬁ dents and most trusted 
  allies. Abandoned on Mara after his use was spent, he is 
  now a half-mad hermit clad in stinking rags and furs. Yet 
  his abandonment and cracking mind has not removed the 
  power of his mind or his skill in reading the tides of the 
  warp. Thanks to Haarlock’s curse he lacks the luxury of death. 
  Even if slain, he sooner or later returns to life somewhere in 
  the conﬁ nes of Mara’s Ice station to spend his eternity in the 
  cold darkness. 
  Novator Benhamin Nostromo Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  20
  20
  25
  25
  28
  45
  62
  50
  20
  Movement: 2/4/6/12  
   
   
  Wounds: 9
  Skills: Awareness (Int), Common Knowledge (Imperium) (Int) 
  +20, Forbidden Knowledge (Warp) (Int) +20, Forbidden Lore 
  (Mutants, Psykers) (Int), Logic (Int) +10, Navigation (Stellar, 
  Warp) (Int) +20, Pilot (Civilian Craft, Spacecraft ) (Ag), 
  Psyniscience (Per) +20, Scholastic Knowledge (Astromancy, 
  Interstellar Cartography) (Int) +20, Speak Language (Low 
  Gothic, High Gothic) (Int) +10, Secret Language (Navis 
  Nobilite) (Int) +10. 
  Talents: Favoured by the Warp, Mediation, Jaded, Psy Rating 
  2, Resistance (Fear, Psychic) Strong Minded, Pistol Training 
  (Las).
  Psychic Powers: Precognition, Psychometry, Resist Possession, 
  Sense Presence, Weaken Veil, White Noise.
  Traits: Warp Eye, Phase (at will).
  Armour: Concealed mesh vest (Body 4).
  Weapons: none
  Gear: Hooded robes, ice caked furs and scavenged clothing, 
  threadbare hooded veil, familial seal, personal encrypted 
  com-link (corroded beyond use).
  ACCURSED (SPECIAL RULE)
  It is Nostromo’s curse that he has become bound, body 
  and soul, to the Blind Tesseract and cannot escape 
  its shadow, alive or dead. If he physically leaves the 
  conﬁ nes of the ice station he slowly fades from existence 
  in a matter of hours and returns there. Likewise, should 
  he die, his body fades and after enduring a few hours 
  of agonizing oblivion, Mara’s dark shadows spit him 
  out whole again. 
  
  AppendiX
  62
  62
  62
  Warp Eye: All true Navigators posses the warp eye, which 
  manifests most often as a third physical eye (although in 
  some cases trepanation and a shutter implant is needed). The 
  eye is the focus of the Navigator’s gift and psychic potential. 
  The warp eye acts as a Psy-Focus (see page 151 of the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook).
  Staring into this eye unveiled is to stare unprotected into the 
  reﬂ ected light of the warp. Such a gaze has dire consequences 
  to the sanity of the onlooker and may even prove fatal. Those 
  that look directly into a Navigator’s warp eye may suffer 
  its effects. This only occurs within point blank range (three 
  metres or less) and a victim who is aware of the danger can 
  make an Opposed Agility Test to avoid this† (or may opt 
  effectively to Fight Blind beforehand). The victim must enter 
  into an opposed Willpower contest with the Navigator. If the 
  victim loses, he suffers 2d10+5 points of Energy damage. 
  This damage is not reduced by armour or Toughness. Anyone 
  taking damage from this power is also Stunned for 1d5 
  rounds and gains 1d5 Insanity Points. Any sentient creature 
  suffering damage from looking into the Warp Eye must make 
  an immediate Difﬁ cult (–10) Toughness Test or be slain. If 
  he passes, he suffers 1d10 Insanity points.
  †This presumes that the Navigator wants the “victim” to look directly 
  into the third eye.
  MISS BOOK
  Miss Book is, in fact, a Slaugth Destructor; a member of that 
  noisome xenos species that has dedicated itself to the art 
  of destruction above all other pursuits. In her human guise, 
  she is a severe looking young woman with bleached white 
  hair drawn back in an elaborate wave of ringlets, wearing 
  unadorned dark crimson merchant attire over an environmental 
  bodyglove. Her real form is a nightmarish semi-humanoid 
  mass of ghastly writhing white worms dripping corrosive 
  blue-white ichor.
  Miss Book Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (8)
  (18)
  (10)
  53
  48
  47
  60
  56
  55
  53
  78
  26
  Movement: 5/10/15/30   
  Wounds: 40
  Skills: Barter (Fel), Chem-Use (Int) +10, Climb (Ag), 
  Concealment (Ag), Common Lore (Int) Imperium, Deceive 
  (Fel), Dodge (Ag), Evaluate (Int), Forbidden Lore (Xenos) 
  (Int) +10, Logic (Int), Intimidation (S) +20, Medicae (Int), 
  Security (Ag), Shadowing (Ag) Silent Move (Ag), Tech-Use 
  (Int) +10 and any others appropriate.
  Talents: Ambidextrous, Disarm, Leap Up, Rapid Reaction, 
  Swift Attack, Xeno Weapons Proﬁ ciency, Touched by The 
  Fates.
  Traits: Dark Sight, Fear Rating 3 (Horrifying), Unnatural 
  Toughness (×3), Unnatural Intelligence (×2), Unnatural 
  Strength (×2), From Beyond, Strange Physiology and 
  Regeneration (recovering 2d5+5 Wounds).
  Special Rules
  Elasticity: The Slaugth can ﬂ atten their bodies down or 
  stretch them out to over three times their normal length, 
  increasing their reach and providing a +20 bonus on Grapple 
  and Climb Tests).
  Untouchable: The Slaugth are soulless beings who cast no 
  shadow in the Warp. Their mere presence acts to inhibit and 
  disrupt psychic energy to such an extent that even humans 
  with no psychic ability whatsoever grow uncomfortable and 
  fractious around them. 
  Psychic Invulnerability: The creature is completely immune 
  to Psychic Powers, psychic energy and effects directed against 
  them (as well as warp powers, possession, sorcery, Corruption 
  from warp shock etc.) Also, they cannot be detected by means 
  of Psyniscience, Sense Presence or similar abilities. Powers 
  with wider areas in which they are caught simply fail to affect 
  them—although the power may affect other people normally, 
  subject to their disruption effect.
  Psychic Disruption: All Psychic Powers and abilities 
  manifested in the immediate area (a radius equal to the 
  Untouchable’s Willpower Bonus in metres) have their 
  Threshold increased by 10. Additionally, any associated Test 
  by the psyker (such as Willpower Tests etc.) has its Difﬁ culty 
  increased by –20. Entities subject to Warp Instability suffer 
  double damage from its effects while in this area.
  Necrotic: At will, Slaugth are able to exude a necrotic ﬂ uid 
  from their body tissues. This bile is ﬁ lled with ﬂ esh-eating 
  bacteria and molecular acids that liquefy ﬂ esh and even burn 
  through metal. Anyone inﬂ icting a Critical Hit on a Slaugth 
  in close combat has a 25% chance of being splashed with the 
  creature’s necrotic ﬂ uids, suffering 1d10 R Toxic Damage. 
  This splash may be Dodged but not Parried.
  Consume Memories: By devouring the cranial matter of 
  an intelligent creature, the Slaugth can absorb the victim’s 
  memories, knowledge and experiences. Such memories are 
  often a jumbled morass and the Slaugth must make a successful 
  Intelligence Test at an appropriate level of Difﬁ culty to select 
  particular information. 
  Armour: Pulse Field (all ranged attacks striking her reduce 
  their damage by 10 points, Pen does not apply against this 
  effect, close combat attacks are unaffected).
  Weapons: Necrotic grasp (1d10+9 R; Tearing, Toxic), 
  Ghostlight Bracers (30m; S/–/6; 2d10 R; Pen 0; Clip 
  unlimited; Rld N/A, Warp Weapon), Antimatter Imploder* 
  (5d10 (x3) E, 25m blast radius, one use).
  *This device must be placed like an explosive charge and has a timer 
  with a minimum 5 second delay)
  Gear: Miss Book carries an encrypted vox, a data-slate, a 
  lander codekey, and one of Haarlock’s grey psalters—a huge 
  book covered in grey, leathery skin. 
  n.n. 
  
  Appendix
  Appendix
  63
  63
  CAPTAIN AEDRIK
  Aedrik is a raider captain; a human renegade that has thrown 
  his lot in with the Amaranthine Syndicate at the price of his 
  soul and freedom. He is utterly cold blooded and ruthless, 
  and follows any orders given by his Principals to the letter.
  Captain Aedrik Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  46
  42
  38
  35
  35
  31
  35
  42
  23
  Movement: 3/6/9/18  
   
  Wounds: 17
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Barter (Fel) +10, Command (Fel) 
  +10, Ciphers (Free Trader) (Int), Carouse (T) +10, Common 
  Lore (Imperium, Tech, Mercantile, Hazeroth Abyss) (Int), 
  Deceive (Fel) +10, Forbidden Lore (Xenos) (Int), Gamble (Int), 
  Interrogation (WP), Inquiry (Int), Literacy (Int), Navigation 
  (Stellar) (Int), Pilot (Ag) (Civil Craft, Spacecraft) +10, Speak 
  Language (Low Gothic, Trade Cant, Ship Cant) (Int), Tech-
  Use (Int), Trade (Merchant Captain) (Int), Survival (Int).
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (SP, Las, Bolt), Disarm, Jaded, 
  Melee Weapon Training (Primitive, Power, Chain), Pistol 
  Training (SP, Las, Bolt, Plasma), Nerves of Steel. 
  Armour: Carapace and Mesh (Head 5, Arms 4, Body 6, 
  Legs 5).
  Weapons: Bolt pistol (30m; S/2/–; 1d10+5 X; Pen 4; Clip 
  12; Rld Full, Tearing), compact laspistol (15, S/–/–; 1d10+1 
  E; Shots 15; Rld Full; Reliable), Power Fist (2d10+7 Power 
  Field, Unwieldy).
  Gear: Respirator, personal encrypted vox bead, 2 bolt clips, 2 
  las clip, environmental bodyglove, lander codekey.
  KORT LUTHER
  A mercenary and heretek reclaimator, Luther is a dangerous, 
  charming and skilled individual, but is neither a fanatic nor 
  particularly loyal to anything but the thrones he can earn. 
  Luther’s other prime motivation is self-interest, but he is no 
  coward and is more than willing to kill if needs be.
  Kort Luther Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  30
  38
  55
  45
  30
  41
  38
  35
  40
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
  Wounds: 14
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Carouse (T), Charm (Fel), Climb 
  (S), Common Lore (Imperium, Tech) (Int) +10, Dodge (Ag), 
  Drive (Ground Vehicle) (Ag), Intimidate (S) +10, Pilot (Civil 
  craft, Skimmer) Ag, Secret Tongue (Malﬁ an Underworld) 
  (Int), Speak Language (Low Gothic, Void Cant) (Int), Survival 
  (Int), Swim (S), Tech-Use (Int) +10, Tracking (Int). 
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Las, SP), Disarm, Melee 
  Weapon Training (Chain, Primitive) Pistol Training (Bolt, 
  Las, SP), Touched by the Fates (1 fate point).
  Armour: Worn and mismatched ﬂ ak and carapace gear (Head 
  3, Arms 3, Body 5, Legs 3)
  Weapons: Hand Cannon with Dumdum bullets (35m, S/–
  /–; 1d10+6 I; Pen 3; Clip 5; Rld 2Full), Mono-Knife (3m; 
  1d5+3 R; Pen 2),
  Gear: Environmental body glove, respirator, photo visor, 
  hand vox, multitool, data-slates and a rad detector, 1 clip for 
  hand cannon. 
  GHAST PRIESTKILLER—FALSE PROPHET
  Tall and gaunt, Ghast’s ﬂ esh hangs from his once ample frame. 
  He wears patchwork robes made from those of murdered 
  pilgrims, and over this he is clad in armour of beaten metal. 
  On his face is a crude brazen mask in the shape of a snarling 
  hound. Barely able to contain his rage and bloodlust, Ghast 
  is none the less skilled in warp craft and able to summon the 
  dark energies of the warp even when consumed by a killing 
  frenzy. Thanks to the psycheneuein eggs infecting his brain, 
  he is a pallid echo of his former might.
  Ghast Priestkiller Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  38
  30
  41
  42
  30
  21
  33
  56
  11
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
  Wounds: 18
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Command (Fel) +20, Common 
  Lore (Ecclesiarchy, Imperial Creed, Imperium, Underworld) 
  (Int) +10, Deceive (Fel) +20, Dodge (Ag), D, Forbidden 
  Lore (Daemonology, The Warp) (Int) +20, Forbidden Lore 
  (Heresy) (Int) +10, Intimidate (S) +20, Invocation (WP) +20, 
  Psyniscience (Per), Scrutiny (Per), +10, Secret Signs (Occult) 
  (Int) +10, Secret Tongue (Pilgrims of Hayte) +20, Speak 
  Language (Low Gothic, High Gothic) (Int) +10.
  Talents: Berserk Charge, Battle Rage, Consumed by Spite, 
  Crushing Blow, Favoured of the Warp, Fearless, Frenzy, 
  Melee Weapon Training (Primitive, Chain), Mental Rage, 
  Pistol Training (SP, Las), Psy Rating 4, Resistance (Psychic), 
  Touched by The Fates.
  CONSUMED BY SPITE (TALENT)
  The soul and mind of a Pilgrim of Hayte has been so 
  damaged and consumed by bitterness and malice that there 
  is room for little else. Physical suffering has little meaning 
  to one, other than the pleasure of inﬂ icting it on others. 
  Those with the Talent receive a +10 bonus to resist Fear 
  and any attempt to directly control or inﬂ uence their minds. 
  In addition, they receive a +30 bonus to resist the effects of 
  Intimidation and Interrogation. They may also ignore the 
  effects of being Stunned with a successful Difﬁ cult (–10) 
  Willpower Test.
  
  AppendiX
  64
  64
  Psychic Powers: Fearful Aura (9), Inﬂ ict Pain (10), Spasm 
  (9), Touch of Madness (13), Fire Bolt (13), Fire Storm (16), 
  Holocaust (25) 
  Armour: Carapace and ward-stitched hide (Head 4, Body 6, 
  Arms 3, Legs 5) 
  Weapons: Autopistol (30m; S/–/6; 1d10+2 I; Pen 0; Clip 
  18; Rld Full), Chain Axe (1d0+10 R, Pen 2, Tearing).
  Gear: Ragged red and black robes, 1 spare auto pistol clip, 
  the served hands of a dozen priests (counts as a Psy-Focus).
  THE TRAITOR FIHAD CONSTANTINE
  Once an ally of the Acolytes and a stalwart upholder of 
  Imperial law as an Arbitrator, Constantine has fallen to 
  darkness and has become a servant of a dark and otherworldly 
  master. All that remains of his former character is seething 
  malice and cold ambition.
  Traitor Fihad Constantine Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  36
  41
  38
  38
  41
  43
  38
  48
  30
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
   
  Wounds: 18
  Skills: Athletics (S) +10, Awareness (Per), Charm (Fel), 
  Dodge (Ag), Drive (Ground Vehicle) (Ag), Common Lore 
  (Adeptus Arbites) (Int) +10 Common Lore (Underworld) 
  (Int), Forbidden Lore (Heresy, Warp) +10, Interrogation (WP) 
  +10, Literacy (Int) +10, Scholastic Lore (Judgement) (Int) 
  +10, Scrutiny (Per), Silent Move (Ag) +10, Speak Language 
  (Low Gothic, High Gothic) (Int) +10, Swim (S).
  Traits: Shadow Shrouded.
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Bolt, SP), Disarm, Fearless, 
  Melee Weapon Training (Shock), Pistol Training (Bolt, SP), 
  Takedown, Touched by The Fates (2 Fate Points).
  Armour: Carapace (Arms 6, Body 6, Legs 6).
  Weapons: Bolt Pistol (30m; S/2/–; 1d10+5 X; Pen 4; 
  Clip 8; Reload Full, Tearing), Mono-Knife (3m; 1d5+3 R; 
  Pen 2).
  Gear: Micro-Bead, 3 bolt pistol clips. 
  EPHRAIM RYDER
  Ryder is a hunter and clan-father of the settlement of Night 
  Rising on Dusk. He is a hard man, made so by a hard 
  world, but loyal to his kin and surprisingly subtle and quick 
  of mind. 
  Ephraim Ryder Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  37
  33
  35
  41
  36
  34
  36
  46
  31
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
   
  Wounds: 15
  Skills: Carouse (T), Common Lore (Imperium, Dusk, Clan 
  History) (Int) +10, Deceive (Fel), Speak Language (Low 
  Gothic, Dusk Cant) (Int), Forbidden Knowledge (Warp), 
  Silent Move (AG) +10, Survival (Int) +10, Tracking (Int).
  Talents: Die Hard, Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), Basic 
  Weapon training (Primitive), Nerves of Steel.
  Weapons: Serrated Knife (3m, 1d5+3 R; Primitive), Hatchet 
  (1d10+2 R; Primitive, Unbalanced) and double barrelled 
  musket (Basic; 30m; S/–/–; 1d10+2 I; Pen 0; Clip 2; Reload 
  5 Full; Primitive, inaccurate, unreliable) .
  Armour: Leather Jack and boots (2 AP body, legs, primitive)
  Gear: Gris-gris charm, water ﬂ ask, 12 bolts or powder and 
  bullets for 12 shots.
  SORCERY! 
  Though not a true psyker, Ghast Priestkiller can wield the 
  power of the Warp through incantation and sorcery. To 
  reﬂ ect the eldritch and esoteric methods he employs, all his 
  powers need a full action to employ and have a threshold 
  +2 higher than they would have had for a psyker. Also, 
  the practice of the dark arts is far from safe, even compared 
  to the use of a psyker’s abilities, and he must add +5 to the 
  results of any Psychic Phenomena and Perils of the Warp 
  he incurs.
  SHADOW SHROUDED (NEW TRAIT)
  The shadows seem to gather around the character, 
  even in broad daylight, and the black blood in his 
  veins carries strange and potent healing properties.
  The character gains +10 to all Concealment and 
  Silent Move Tests and regenerates 1 lost Wound per 
  combat round while still alive. 
  
  Appendix
  65
  65
  The Masses 
  T
  his section details rules for the other creatures and 
  NPCs that form a crucial part of DEAD STARS, unnamed 
  though they are. Also, many of the NPCs listed in the 
  DARK HERESY Rulebook are perfectly usable and useful in 
  this setting. Most particularly the Astral Spectre, Dispayres, 
  and Unclean Spirits are suitable to the sections in the Ice 
  Station and mines, while the Mutant, Dusk Stalker, and 
  Nightwing may be useful in the sections that take place on 
  Dusk. Most particularly, the GM should make reference to the 
  Mara Strain Psycheneuein found on page 353 of the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook, as no doubt these monsters will make an 
  appearance over the course of the adventure!
  Critical Damage and the Masses: When you are running 
  a combat involving NPCs and antagonists from the following 
  section, it is recommended that you apply rules for Sudden 
  Death Critical Hits (see page 201 of Chapter VII: Playing the 
  Game in the DARK HERESY Rulebook for details).
  MACCABIAN JANISSARY 
  The Maccabian Janissaries are an elite cadre with the Imperial 
  Guard regiments, raised from the planet of Maccabeus 
  Quintus; a dry arid planet of miracles and dust, which is also 
  one of the most holy places within the Calixis Sector. Chosen 
  from the most fanatical members of the Drusian sect of the 
  Imperial creed, the Janissary Cadres are highly trained, well 
  equipped and fanatically devoted to the service they do for 
  the God Emperor of mankind. Their training and doctrines 
  are based on the so called Drusian Trident of endurance, 
  devotion and sacriﬁ ce and the black clad and silver masked 
  Janissaries embody all three to the utmost.
  Maccabian Janissary Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  38
  40
  38
  40
  30
  30
  35
  39
  20
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
   
  Wounds: 12
  Skills: Awareness (Per) +10, Climb (S), Common Lore 
  (Imperial Guard) (Int) +10, Common Lore (Imperium, War) 
  (Int), Intimidate (S) +10, Literacy (Int), Navigation (Surface) 
  (Int), Secret Tongue (Military) (Int), Speak Language (Low 
  Gothic) (Int), Swim (S).
  Talents: Basic Weapon Training (Las, SP, special weapon 
  troopers also have either Flamer or Plasma), Insanely Faithful, 
  Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), Nerves of Steel, Pistol 
  Training (Las, SP), Resistance (Cold, Heat, Fear).
  Armour: Storm Trooper Carapace (All 6).
  Weapons: Sollex “Death Light” Lasgun (80m; S/3/–; 
  1d10+5 E; Pen 2; Clip 18; Reload Full), Autopistol (30m; 
  S/–/6; 1d10+2 I; Pen 0; Clip 18; Reload Full), Mono-Knife 
  (3m; 1d5+3 R; Pen 2), 2x Frag Grenades (9m; S/–/–; 2d10 
  X; Pen 0; Clip 1; Blast (4)), 1x Photon Flash Grenade (9m; 
  S/–/–; Special; Pen 0; Clip 1). 
  One squad member also carries a Plasma Gun (90m; S/2/–; 
  1d10+6 E; Pen 6; Clip 20; Reload 8 Full; Recharge, Overheats 
  ), one carries a Flamer (20m; S/–/–; 1d10+4 E; Pen 3; Clip 
  3; Reload 2 Full; Flame)
  Gear: Uniform, envirosuit, 2 Lasgun Clips, Micro-Bead, 
  Respirator, Photo-Visor, the special weapon troopers also 
  have a single spare Plasma Flask or two spare Fuel Canisters.
  DYBUK RENDER
  Dybuk, or lesser daemonhosts, are created by the Pilgrims of Hayte 
  from humans. A few include predators and animals mutilated and 
  bound with daemonic essences. They are distorted and unnatural 
  things, half-animal and half living nightmare, with blazing pits of 
  unholy ﬁ re for eyes; their torn ﬂ esh rippling with glowing sigils 
  and ward-bindings.
  Dybuk Render Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (8)
  (10)
  38
  —
  45
  54
  30
  17
  30
  40
  ––
  Movement: 6/12/18/36  
   
  Wounds: 19
  Skills: Awareness (Per), Climb (Ag) +30, Silent Move (Ag) 
  +10, Swim (S), Tracking (Int) +10.
  Traits: Bestial, Daemonic (TB 10), Fear 2, From Beyond, 
  Improved Natural Weapons., Unnatural Speed, Unnatural 
  Strength (x2).
  Talents: Dark Sight, Berserk Charge, Die Hard, Frenzy, 
  Furious Assault, Heightened Senses (all), Swift Attack.
  
  AppendiX
  AppendiX
  66
  66
  Armour: Ward-Stitched ﬂ esh (All 3). 
  Weapons: Savage fangs and hooked claws (1d10+9 R, Pen 
  3, Tearing).
  THE PILGRIMS OF HAYTE
  The remaining Pilgrims of Hayte, of which there are about 
  twenty left scattered throughout the ice station (from more 
  than a hundred when they arrived), have devolved in to a 
  savage, cannibalistic rabble and can be represented with 
  either the Cult Zealot or Cult Magus entries in the DARK 
  HERESY Rulebook, with the addition of the Consumed by 
  Spite talent (see page 63). Several are also better armed with 
  the following:
  Chain Axe (1d10+7 R; Pen 2; Tearing), or Electro-Flail 
  (1d10+5 I; Flexible, Shocking), Autopistol loaded with 
  Manstoppers (30m; S/–/6; 1d10+2 I; Pen 3; Clip 18; Rld 
  Full), 3x Frag Grenades (9m; 2d10 X; Pen 0; Blast (4)) 
  SPLINTER SHADE
  Splinter Shades are daemons formed in the warp from the 
  shattered reﬂ ections of malicious thoughts, and concealed 
  hatreds that are born in the dark reaches of the mind. When 
  they manifest, they take the form of a shifting mass of ragged, 
  solidiﬁ ed shadow with edges like hooked teeth of darkness. 
  Splinter Shades are particularly drawn to places of brooding 
  malcontent and spiteful violence. 
  Splinter Shade Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (8)
  25
  —
  35
  40
  20
  15
  25
  40
  ––
  Movement: 2/4/6/12 
   
   
  Wounds: 16
  Skills: Psyniscience (WP).
  Talents: None.
  Traits: Amorphous, Daemonic (TB 8), Dark Sight, Daemonic 
  Presence, Fear 3, From Beyond, Improved Natural Weapons, 
  Strange Physiology, Warp Instability.
  Daemonic Presence: All creatures within 20 metres take a 
  –10 penalty to Willpower Tests.
  Weapons: Shadow barbs (1d10+3 R; Pen 3; Tearing).
  THE COLD DEAD
  The animated dead found in Ice Station Mara are frozen 
  corpses possessed by infernal spirits, lesser daemons, and 
  other creatures of the warp. Thanks to the thinness of the 
  barriers between reality and the beyond on Mara they are 
  terrifyingly powerful and difﬁ cult to stop. Covered in frost 
  and displaying horriﬁ c wounds frozen solid, the dead move 
  in with slow, creaking movements towards any living being 
  whose life they can devour. The deadly chill of their grasps 
  can leech the souls from their victims.
  The Cold Dead Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (10)
  (8)
  25
  —
  55
  45
  15
  15
  15
  35
  ––
  Movement: 1/2/3/6 
   
   
  Wounds: 15
  Skills: Awareness (Per).
  Talents: Resistance (Psychic), Melee Weapon Training 
  (Primitive).
  Traits: From Beyond, Fear 2, Dark Sight, Improved Natural 
  Weapons (Frozen dead hands and teeth), Unhallowed, 
  Unnatural Strength (x2), Unnatural Toughness (×2) and 
  Walking Dead.
  Armour: Remains of heavy envirosuits (Head 2, Arms 2, 
  Body 2, Legs 2).
  Weapons: Dead Hands (1d10+10 I). Additionally, any living 
  target struck (regardless of whether or not they are wounded) 
  must pass a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or suffer 
  1d10 Toughness Damage. Hexegramatic Wards and similar 
  defences reduce this Test’s difﬁ culty to Routine (+20). 
  Gear: None.
  Unhallowed: Blessed and Holy weapons inﬂ ict double 
  damage after the effects of armour are taken into account.
  Walking Dead: These creatures do not need to breathe; they 
  do not tire and are immune to poisons and diseases, as well as 
  many environmental hazards. They do not suffer the effects of 
  being Stunned or the penalties for being injured. In addition, 
  only Damage suffered to the Head or Body is counted; any 
  suffered to an Arm or Leg is simply disregarded other than a 
  critical which just renders the limb useless.
  SYNDICATE MERCENARY
  Use the Heretek or Kill Squad Trooper proﬁ le on pages 340-
  341 of the DARK HERESY Rulebook, adding an envirosuit 
  and respirator to the listed equipment. 
  SLAUGTH HARVEST CONSTRUCT
  A Slaugth Harvest Construct is an amorphous mass of rippling 
  wet ﬂ esh the size of an armoured vehicle that ﬂ oats silently 
  above the ground, searching for sentient matter for its masters 
  to consume with near mindless persistence, never tiring or 
  relenting. Once it ﬁ nds a victim, it purses him relentlessly, 
  sweeping him up in fat metallic tendrils tipped with pincers; 
  an obscene lamprey like mouth enveloping the victims’ head 
  and decapitating him. The heads are preserved in a semi-
  transparent ﬂ eshy sack on the creature’s back for the Slaugth’s 
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  Appendix
  Appendix
  67
  67
  Slaugth Harvest Construct Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (6)
  15
  —
  41
  33
  32
  10
  18
  38
  ––
  Movement: 2/4/6/12 
   
   
  Wounds: 35
  Skills: Awareness (Per).
  Talents: Fearless.
  Traits: Amorphous, Brutal Charge, Bestial, Enormous, From 
  Beyond, Hoverer (4), Toxic, Necrotic, Strange Physiology, 
  Undying, Unnatural Toughness (x2), Unnatural Senses. 
  Undying: A Slaugth Harvest Construct cannot be harmed by 
  diseases, poisons or toxic effects and may regenerate as long 
  as their bodies remain undestroyed. They have no need to 
  breathe and may survive unaided in vacuum. 
  Necrotic: Anyone inﬂ icting a Critical Hit on a Slaugth 
  Harvest Construct in close combat has a 25% chance of being 
  splashed with the creature’s necrotic ﬂ uids, inﬂ icting 1d10 R 
  Toxic Damage. This splash may be Dodged but not Parried.
  Armour: None.
  Weapons: Acid-dripping pincers (1d10+4 E; Pen 6, Toxic).
  TWILIGHT STALKERS
  The Twilight Stalkers are Dusk Stalkers (see page 347 of 
  the DARK HERESY Rulebook), vicious predatory creatures 
  that have been captured and ﬁ tted with servitor augmetics 
  and control systems in order to turn them into peerless 
  night terrors under the control of the dark force that has 
  gained control of Sinophia Magna. Their bodies resemble a 
  frightening hybrid of a withered elderly human and an insect 
  plated in black iron with multiple optic units glowing in the 
  sockets of their eyes.
  Twilight Stalker Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  (8)
  (10)
  40
  30
  43
  40
  53
  21
  46
  28
  18
  Movement: 5/10/15/30  
   
  Wounds: 20
  Skills: Awareness (Per), Climb (S) +20, Concealment (Ag) 
  +20, Deceive (mimic voices and sounds only) (Fel) +20, 
  Dodge +10, Silent Move (Ag) +20.
  Traits: Armour Plating, Dark Sight, Fear 2, Machine (4), 
  Improved Natural Weapons (Bone Spars), Shadow Shrouded, 
  Unnatural Strength (x2), Unnatural Agility (x2). 
  Talents: Catfall, Hard Target, Swift Attack.
  Armour: None (All 6).
  Weapons: Bladed Spars (1d10+10 R), implanted Bolas 
  Launcher (30m; S/–/–; —; Pen 0; Clip 4; Reload Full; 
  Inaccurate, Primitive, Snare).
  Gear: None.
  DENIZEN OF DUSK
  The human population of Dusk is a small and ragged 
  collection of extremely hardy individuals touched, some say, 
  by dark forces. 
  Denizen of Dusk Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  32
  26
  35
  38
  30
  25
  31
  40
  25
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
   
  Wounds: 12
  Skills: Carouse (T), Common Lore (Imperium) (Int), 
  Deceive (Fel), Speak Language (Low Gothic, Dusk Cant) 
  (Int), Forbidden Knowledge (Warp), Silent Move (AG) +10, 
  Survival (Int) +10, Tracking (Int).
  Talents: Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), Basic Weapons 
  Training (Primitive).
  Weapons: Knife (3m, 1d5+2 R; Primitive), Hatchet (1d10+2 
  R; Primitive, Unbalanced) and crossbow (Basic 30m; S/–/–; 
  1d10 R; Pen 0; Clip 1; Reload 2 Full; Primitive)
  Armour: Leather Jack and boots (2 AP body, legs, primitive)
  Gear: Gris-gris charm, water ﬂ ask, 12 bolts.
  CURSE MAKER
  Curse makers are the witches, seers, and prophets of  Dusk. 
  These low grade, unsanctioned psykers are relatively common 
  on Dusk and the harvest of the Black Ships rarely manages to 
  ﬁ ne them. The curse makers live on the margins of settlements 
  on Dusk, at the same time feared and cherished by Dusk 
  dwellers. They can see things that others cannot, warn against 
  danger, speak for the dead and weave curses. 
  Curse Maker Proﬁ le
  WS
  BS
  S
  T
  Ag
  Int Per WP Fel
  21
  24
  26
  33
  37
  31
  38
  46
  31
  Movement: 3/6/9/18 
   
  Wounds: 11
  Skills: Blather (Fel), Common Lore (Dusk, Clan History) 
  (Int), Deceive (Fel), Deceive (Fel) +10, Forbidden Lore 
  (Daemonology, Psykers, Warp) (Int), Medicae (Int), 
  Psyniscience (WP) +10, Secret Signs (Occult), Sleight of 
  Hand (Ag), Speak Language (Low Gothic, Dusk Cant) (Int), 
  Trade (Int) (Soothsayer, Healer) +10, Survival (Int) +10, 
  Tracking (Int).
  Talents: Melee Weapon Training (Primitive), Psy Rating 2, 
  Resistance (Fear, Psychic Powers). 
  Weapons: Twisted Staff (1d10+2 I; Balanced, Primitive)
  Psychic Powers: Call Creatures, Fearful Aura, Healer, Inﬂ ict 
  Pain, Whither.
  Armour: None
  Gear: Charms and trinkets (counts as a psi focus), primitive 
  healer’s kit, water ﬂ ask, hard spirits. 
  
  AppendiX
  AppendiX
  68
  68
  Appendix III: Player Handouts
  PLAYER HANDOUT I: MARA PLANETARY DATAFAX
  CLASSIFICATION: DARK OMEGA
  +++Warning! If you are viewing this record without authorisation 
  report immediately to your nearest Holy Ordos Ofﬁ cio for summary 
  judgment+++
  +++Hexegramtical Encryption Engaged+++ 
  ++File Record Begins+++
  DATE/STAMP: 5945815.M41
  SUBJECT: Mara
  Population: None –Mara V (also simply known as Mara) is classiﬁ ed as a Dead 
  World, and the whole system declared off-limits to legitimate Imperial trafﬁ c by 
  Inquisitorial Edict. 
  Inquisitorial access available ONLY by special writ of Conclave (see ordnance 
  lamda-extris-9)
  Formerly: Arbites Penal Colony: 743.M41-768.M41: pop approx 32,000, 78% 
  Casualties/planet abandoned
  Formerly: Independent Mining Settlements Circa 980.M40-191.M41: population unknown, lost without trace. 
  Tithe Grade: None 
  Geography/Demography: Mara V is an ice-world not capable of sustaining Terran life forms without artiﬁ cial 
  assistance due to the extreme cold and this atmosphere. During the planet’s day cycle, high levels of surface radiation 
  owing to solar wind bombardment are likewise inimical to long-term survival on the planetary surface. The majority 
  of the planet’s surface is covered by permanent glaciations up to a depth of several kilometres in some areas. Ambient 
  temperature seldom rises sufﬁ ciently to allow water to exist in a gaseous state other than by cryomagna irruption. 
  The only structures evident are those of the former penal colony; the primary installation (Station M-Alpha) was 
  constructed atop an ice plateau in the planet’s geologically stable equatorial zone and remains largely intact. The status 
  of thirty-plus mining rigs and prospector bases located elsewhere on Mara’s surface that were also abandoned during the 
  world’s desertion remains largely unknown.
  Governmental Type: None, but the Mara system is still nominally held as a protectorate of the Calixis Sector Adeptus 
  Arbites. 
  Planetary Governor: Lapsed/None Current. Title formerly held by the ofﬁ ce of the First Keeper (the highest ranking 
  penitentiary marshal).
  Adept Presence: None
  Military: Trade/Economy/Addendum: Former penal colony designated 
  as Ice Station Mara has been abandoned for more than ﬁ fty years owing 
  to {SEALED/DELETED}. During the period of its operation the station’s 
  inmates conducted mining and prospecting operations for valuable trace 
  metallic elements and high-pressure formed crystal strata in direct tithe 
  to the subsector government. Under direct Arbites oversight, deep core 
  excavations based upon ancient tunnel systems and cave networks extant 
  sub-surface.
  Passage to the Mara system is forbidden. Due to the nature of the moral 
  threat perceived to long-term residents in the system, no close blockade 
  is maintained; a distance patrol piquet is maintained at regular intervals. 
  No legitimate Imperial commerce or shipping takes place on or 
  around Mara. Renegade or outlaw trafﬁ c to the system is rare but not 
  unknown.
  The Mara system is qualiﬁ ed as a Class Mu danger to shipping/navigation 
  in the region.
  Thought For The Day: Fates worse than death are the just reward of 
  the curious.
  Final Transmission from Prison Colony
  
  Appendix
  69
  69
  69
  Loyal Acolytes,
  You are requested and required forthwith under the authority of the God-
  Emperor of Mankind to submit to this writ and order and serve the most Holy 
  Ordos of His Inquisition, by my writ and the codicil of the most honoured 
  Caidin, Lord Inquisitor-General of the Conclave Calixis. 
  Firstly I congratulate you. By the dint of your faith, ability and will to 
  survive, you have brought unto our attention a most perfidious threat to the future 
  safely of the Imperium of Man. The events of the Haarlock Legacy, of which 
  you have been a part, I believe poses as grave a risk as the Holy Ordos has 
  seen in the Calixis Sector in many years. It is only by your blood and skill that 
  a greater tragedy has not come to pass. 
  Proceed now to Mara and finish this matter. The world is forbidden and 
  perilous, but somewhere beneath the haunted corridors and chambers of the forsaken 
  penitentiary mine you may find the Blind Tesseract (See Addendum), the ancient 
  door by which it now seems certain Haarlock left and will soon return. Stop him, 
  and prevent others from taking his secrets for their own. 
  You must go swiftly, and act with conviction. My agents inform me that others 
  who seek the Legacy are now also aware of the truth and a strong possibility 
  exists that the Holy Ordos’ own numbers have been compromised over this matter, 
  although from within or without remains yet to be seen.
  Go in the Light of the Golden Throne, serve us honourably and return in 
  victory from the darkness.
  Inquisitor Silas Marr
  M
    PLAYER HANDOUT II: INQUISITOR MARR’S LETTER
  
  AppendiX
  AppendiX
  70
  70
  +++ SEALED RECORD ADENDUM—GIMEL OBSIDIAN SUB CLUSTER ANNEX+++
  CLASSIFICATION: EBON OMEGA
  SUBJECT: Compiled report on the activity of Solomon Haarlock on planet designate 
  Mara—Calyx Expanse 
  DATE OF ENTRY: 7646.734.M36
  Initial reports from our agents hidden within the close circle of Rogue Trader 
  Solomon Haarlock report that the ﬁ fth planet of the star system within the 
  unexplored Calyx Expanse (see attached co-ordinates) indicates traces of structures 
  constructed sub-surface of planetoid; constructions ﬁ rst believed to be natural by-
  products of (now extinct) volcanism, However, investigation and later discoveries 
  proved this to be false. The origin of these constructions is unknown, but our agents 
  relay the opinion of Haarlock’s Savant Magister that they predate not only the 
  Imperium, but in all likelihood organic life in this part of the galaxy. These structures, 
  combined with the radiation from the system’s violent and anomalous sun and very 
  unusual crystalline mineral deposits, have a profound and unpredictable effect on 
  the fabric of Realspace in the locale of the planet; not only creating ﬁ ssures though 
  which the energies of the Warp can seep unassisted, but also on localised space-
  time. A recent expedition into the largest discovered cave system deep below 
  the surface of the planet has accessed the largest and most unusual structure to 
  date. Haarlock himself is reported to have completed the last stage of this descent 
  accompanied only by his trusted Navigator Hilas-Set Nostromo. 
  On his return, Haarlock seemed very shaken by his experiences (which, given his 
  character, is an extremely noteworthy event) and the navigator Nostromo was 
  violently distressed as if overcome by fear. Both talked to Haarlock’s secret inner 
  circle of seeing the threshold of a ‘twisted labyrinth of possibility’; a ‘Blind Tesseract’ 
  as it was put by Nostromo, although other details I have been unable to ascertain. 
  Haarlock committed his observations, and those of Nostromo, to his personal 
  ciphered journals in one of his encrypted ‘Grey Psalters’ and banned all talk of the 
  structures beneath the planet before ordering an immediate full withdrawal from 
  the system. As a ﬁ nal note, it is worth mentioning that the name Haarlock has 
  given to the new system in his charts is ‘Mara,’ originating in this case from one of 
  the ancient Terran root-tongues of which he is so fond, meaning I believe, ‘hell’ or 
  ‘daemon’ or ‘an evil dream’….
  ++Note++ Inquisitor Ark Ashtyn’s analysis of incident reports from the Reality 
  Incursion of 743.M41 links the epicentre of the disturbances to an area of new 
  expansion in the station’s genetoria complex sub-levels. The area of the plateau they 
  occupy may well tally with Haarlock’s discoveries millennia before++ 
  +++END OF SEALED RECORD ADDENDUM+++
    PLAYER HANDOUT III: SEALED HOLY ORDOS REPORT
  
  Appendix
  Appendix
  71
  71
    MAP I: THE MARA COMPLEX (SURFACE)
  
  AppendiX
  AppendiX
  72
  72
    MAP II: THE MARA COMPLEX (BELOW GROUND)
  
  ™
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  of Mara and the haunted planet of Dusk.
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