TEXT: AFTERMATH
  Robin D. Laws
  
  BOOK THREE
  AFTERMATH
  
  Publishers: Simon Rogers and Cathriona Tobin
  Designed, Written, and Produced by: Robin D. Laws 
  Cover Art: Jessica TC Lee
  Interior Art: Jessica TC Lee 
  Document Art: Dean Engelhardt
  Graphic Design: Christian Knutsson
  Copyediting: Colleen Riley, Cathriona Tobin
  Indexing: Cathriona Tobin
  Playtesters:
  Vincent Bill, Yosefka Bill, Alizée Bleue, Hugh Coates, Susan Davis, 
  Toorte Dot, Jonathon Dyer, Holly Easter, Joshua Flora, Nicole Gardella, 
  Jurie Horneman, Chris Huth, Paul Jackson, Shel Kahn, Brett Longworth, 
  Tamsyn Michael, Justin Mohareb, Arka Neirda, Dean Newman, Charlie 
  Nicholson, Sydney Jones, Zachary Joyner, Jake Prewitt, Scott Wachter.
  Copyright © 2018 Pelgrane Press Ltd. 
  The Yellow King RPG and GUMSHOE Quickshock are trademarks of Pelgrane Press Ltd.  
  Pelgrane Press is co-owned by Simon Rogers and Cathriona Tobin.
  
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  FROM THE ASHES                         4
  Weirdness Level 
                5
  CHARACTERS  
   
  7
  A Key Detail 
   
   
  7
  Investigative Kits 
   
  7
  General Abilities 
   
  9
  Heritage and Identity  
  9
  Drive  
   
   
  9
  Parallels 
   
              10
  Worst Memory 
              10
  Goal  
   
              10
  New Investigative Ability     
  Descriptions 
   
              13
  Absent Abilities 
              16
  New General Abilities             17
  RULES ADJUSTMENTS              19
  Relative Challenge Table            19
  Post-Revolutionary Shocks       20
  TWISTED HISTORY 
              21
  The Slip Before the Fall             22
  The Castaigne Dynasty             25
  The Struggle and  
     the Overthrow     
              28
  Where Are They Now?             30
  Much to Rebuild 
              30
  Next Door to America             31
  NOW WHAT? 
                            33
  America in Recovery 
              33
  The New Cops                           35
  Factions and Issues 
              39
  Interacting with Factions          41
  Pursuing the Goal 
              43
  Scenario Elements 
              48
  Sweet Victory                            52
  Government Lethal  
     Chamber FAQ                            54
  TECHNOLOGY                           54
  Weapons of the Old Regime   58
  Political Leaders 
              65
  PEOPLE 
   
              65
  The Press 
   
              67
  Peers  
   
              67
  Criminals 
   
              68
  Cops  
   
              71
  Business Interests 
              71
  Regular Folks  
              72
  Tags  
   
              77
  FOES 
   
   
              77
  Foe Profiles 
   
              78
  Crisis  
   
              95
  The Alien Truth 
              95
  Opportunity 
   
              95
  Risks  
   
              95
  Cast of Characters 
              95
  SLEEPING DOGS 
              95
  Timeline 
   
              96
  Scenes 
   
              96
  Denouement  
           121
  Additional Antagonist  
     Reactions 
   
            121
  CARDS  
   
            124
  Shock cards 
   
            124
  Injury cards 
   
            129
  Chit cards 
   
            140
  Hit cards 
   
            149
  APPENDICES 
   
            157
  Welcome to  
     the Aftermath  
            159
  REFERENCES      
            162
  Relative Challenge Table        162
  Foe Difficulties 
            162
  Post-Revolutionary Shocks    163
  Investigative Ability  
     Worksheet 
   
            165
  INDEX  
   
            166
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  4
  a hidden population of unearthly 
  creatures remain. Even as they 
  fade from memory, their covert 
  existence complicates to task of 
  rebuilding America.
  Though intent on taking part 
  in this noble effort, the player 
  characters soon discover they 
  can’t entirely set aside the skills 
  they honed as anti-regime 
  guerrillas. When the minions and 
  monsters of the Yellow Sign stir, 
  they investigate—often finding that 
  what they learn aids them in their 
  greater political objective.
  Cases they encounter  
  might include:
   •  murder at the People’s Congress, 
  committed by regime sorcerers 
  intent on reopening the gates
   •  the disappearance of explosives 
  from a rebel supply cache, 
  pointing to a counter-
  revolutionary cell led by the 
  ghost of a Carcosan noble
   •  someone knocking off 
  munitions shipments headed 
  for disposal facilities
   •  sabotage against 
  damaged utilities
   •  an ally learns that a contract 
  has been taken out on her 
  life—and the assassin is the 
  inhuman former interrogator 
  who once tortured one of 
  In the third sequence of 
  The Yellow King Roleplaying 
  Game, players portray former 
  partisans who helped topple an 
  authoritarian government backed 
  by Carcosa.
  In the present day, but in the 
  same alternate timeline seen 
  in The Wars, the totalitarian 
  dynasty known as the Castaigne 
  regime took over America in a 
  1920 coup. Aided by the King in 
  Yellow, its kleptocratic Emperors 
  suppressed dissent, spied on 
  citizens and monopolized 
  industry. Its protectionist cronyism 
  enriched a small elite, slowing 
  economic development and 
  scientific innovation. As a result, 
  post-Castaigne America looks like 
  a brutalist 1950s with more or less 
  1980s technology.
  After five years of accelerating 
  protest and insurgency, 
  culminating in outright civil war, 
  the Castaignes were driven from 
  power. The freedom fighters’ 
  final strikes shut down the gates 
  allowing free traffic between 
  worlds. The aliens who happened 
  to be on this side when they blew 
  are now trapped here, and anxious 
  to return home. They may have 
  lost their grip on covert power, 
  but lingering occult energy and 
  FROM THE ASHES
  From the Ashes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  5
  the PCs nearly to death
   • people who knew the 
  weird secrets of a genetic 
  research facility start 
  losing their memories
   •  people keep disappearing in 
  a rubble-filled neighborhood 
  and local kids swear that one 
  of the condemned apartment 
  structures has come to 
  life, and grown hungry
  Weirdness Level
  When preparing your Aftermath 
  game, choose the Weirdness Level 
  that most appeals to you, and 
  that you think will most appeal to 
  your players. The Weirdness Level 
  describes the extent to which the 
  general population understands 
  the existence of Carcosa and 
  the supernatural, and its role in 
  bringing about and sustaining the 
  Castaigne regime.
  Overt
  Everyone knows about Carcosa, 
  the Yellow King, and the existence 
  of supernatural beings. People may 
  want to forget, but they can’t—in 
  part because a population of 
  monsters remains at large, still 
  endangering the lives of ordinary 
  folks. Sighting a shade or harbor 
  master (see “Foes”) is like running 
  across an unexploded bomb: 
  extremely distressing, but 
  entirely within the bounds of 
  accepted reality.
  This choice lends your game 
  an urban fantasy vibe in which 
  abnormal powers and beings 
  become just another factor of 
  ordinary life.
  Fading
  A mental fog surrounds the role 
  of the supernatural in the world, 
  especially in connection to the 
  Castaigne regime. Only a few 
  key insurgents, like the player 
  characters, fully remember the 
  presence of Carcosan entities in 
  the world. Even they sometimes 
  feel these events, which they 
  directly experienced, fading from 
  memory. Only when they confront 
  the uncanny again do the full 
  recollections come flooding back. 
  External records of what happened 
  are also vanishing: photos blur, 
  electronic files corrupt themselves, 
  paper documents go missing. 
  Reality seems to be rewriting 
  itself back to a normalcy free of 
  Carcosan influence. Or is that 
  effect itself a new trick on the 
  part of the King and his court, an 
  attempt to erase the evidence to 
  let humanity lull itself once more 
  into a vulnerable ignorance?
  Covert
  Only an unlucky few ever 
  came to accept the existence of 
  the supernatural. The Castaigne 
  regime kept it its otherworldly 
  secret weapons just that—secret. 
  As key members of the resistance, 
  the player characters learned 
  about Carcosa and its creatures. 
  Like the rest of the movement 
  they took great pains to protect 
  the general population from this 
  mind-destroying knowledge. The 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  6
  provisional government continues 
  that policy today.
  For the average person the 
  sighting of a supernatural being 
  profoundly shocks both the senses 
  and one’s assumptions about 
  what can exist in the world. Once 
  seen, a sphyx or shatterling can’t 
  be forgotten—but good luck 
  convincing friends, family, or co-
  workers of what you saw. Most 
  witnesses to such events keep 
  it quiet, realizing that they’ll 
  be treated as delusional if they 
  come forward.
  The difference between Fading 
  and Covert lies in the expected 
  response of the characters to 
  knowledge of Carcosa. Here, 
  both they and their enemies try to 
  keep it concealed. In a game of 
  Fading Weirdness, they’re trying 
  to preserve information before it 
  vanishes, and may go so far as to 
  attempt to awaken people to the 
  truth of what happened. 
  From the Ashes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  7
  CHARACTERS
  As with each new setting, 
  character creation for Aftermath 
  adds a few wrinkles to the now-
  established pattern.
  Start by introducing the premise 
  to the players, paraphrasing the 
  material from the introduction. 
  Prior to your first game session, 
  send them the “Welcome to the 
  Aftermath” introductory handout 
  (see “Appendices,” p. 159). Head 
  to pelgranepress.com for our page 
  of YKRPG resources: there you’ll 
  find a PDF booklet version of the 
  document including additional 
  pages of art seen elsewhere in 
  this book.
  A Key Detail
  A particular detail of this reality 
  comes up during character 
  creation: the Government Lethal 
  Chambers. First installed in 1920 
  just before the Castaigne takeover, 
  these suicide booths remain in 
  service in city parks and other 
  convenient locations throughout 
  the USA.
  One of the characters was a 
  Government Lethal Chamber 
  repair technician before the 
  revolution and has (probably 
  reluctantly) returned to the job in 
  the months since the regime fell. 
  When that fact comes up, your 
  players will likely have many 
  questions. This provides a device 
  that allows you to illuminate 
  details of this horror-inflected reality 
  in an interactive Q&A format.
  When the questions break out, 
  flip to p. 54, where a FAQ 
  awaits.
  Once they run out of questions 
  about the world and their 
  characters’ experiences, it’s 
  time to start marking up those 
  character sheets.
  Investigative Kits
  Investigative kits for this 
  sequence are as follows, 
  distinguished by each character’s 
  civilian role or occupation.
  When carrying on from The 
  Wars, find the player whose 
  previous character had the highest 
  Mechanics ability. Resolve ties 
  with a die roll if necessary. That 
  player takes on the role of the 
  Lethal Chamber Technician.
  Assign the other roles according 
  to the chart below.
  Once those roles are assigned, 
  give the remaining kit to the player 
  who just played the Lieutenant. If 
  more than one kit remains, have 
  the player choose.
  Start with the assumption 
  that the characters held these 
  occupations before the war and 
  are now returning to them. Remain 
  open to suggestions from players 
  on what they might be doing now 
  instead of their old jobs.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  8
  The Wars
  Aftermath
  Character with highest Mechanics 
  ability (resolve ties with die roll)
  Lethal Chamber Technician
  Writer
  Journalist
  Merchant
  Marketing Coordinator
  Peasant
  Waiter
  Medical Student
  Doctor
  Photographer
  Photographer
  Sergeant
  Security Guard
  Lethal Chamber Technician
  Counterinsurgency
  Interrogation
  Leadership
  Technology 
  Journalist 
  Bullshit Detector
  History
  Inspiration 
  Research
  Marketing Coordinator
  Accounting
  Bureaucracy
  Psychology
  Negotiation 
  Waiter
  People Person
  Intuition
  Occultism
  Trivia
  Doctor
  Forensics
  Medicine 
  Science
  Reassurance 
  Photographer
  Architecture
  Art History
  Flattery
  Photography
  Security Guard
  Cop Talk
  Intimidation
  Law
  Streetwise 
  Characters
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  9
  General Abilities
  Each player gets 46 points to 
  allocate to General ability pools 
  in Horror mode, or 52 points 
  in Occult Adventure mode. 
  Abilities available in this sequence 
  are:
  Athletics (Physical)
  Composure (Presence)
  Driving (Physical)
  Fighting (Physical)
  First Aid (Focus)
  Health (Physical)
  Insurgency (Focus)
  Mechanics (Focus)
  Morale (Presence)
  Network (Focus)
  Politics (Presence)
  Preparedness (Presence)
  Sense Trouble (Presence)
  Sneaking (Focus)
  Players building characters for 
  survival will want to invest  
  6–10 points apiece in Composure 
  and Fighting.
  Heritage and Identity
  The Castaignes’ America 
  remained isolationist until the 
  1960s, when it reluctantly 
  welcomed a wave of immigration 
  from the rest of the world. 
  Characters of any heritage or 
  background can appear in the 
  game as PCs, and will appear as 
  GMCs.
  As always players can assign the 
  orientations and gender identities 
  of their choice to their characters. 
  While one could logically posit 
  that a regime like the Castaignes’ 
  would scapegoat LGBT people, 
  you can either emphasize or 
  ignore that point in your game, 
  depending on your group’s desire 
  to bring emotionally challenging 
  themes to the gaming table.
  Drive
  By default, the characters in 
  this sequence all share the same 
  Drive that sends them toward 
  supernatural danger when most 
  others would run the other way: 
  Duty. As former partisans, they 
  may have turned to civilian life, 
  but still feel obligated to protect 
  ordinary people from threats that 
  can only be put down with the 
  sorts of skills they learned during 
  the struggle.
  That said, it’s more fun and 
  varied if everyone treats that 
  as a given and also chooses an 
  additional Drive. Invite players 
  to define their own Drives. Use 
  the examples below to help them 
  hone their ideas into pithy one- or 
  two-word descriptors.
  Danger Junkie: “I’m not 
  supposed to feel this way, but 
  life has been boring since the 
  shooting stopped. This—well, this 
  ain’t boring.”
  Destiny: “I just feel like we’re 
  supposed to do this. Maybe  
  do it over and over, until we get  
  it right.”
  End the Cycle: “During the war 
  I realized that we’re somehow 
  repeating a series of events set in 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  10
  motion by others. Whatever this is, 
  it’s time to put an end to it, once 
  and for all.”
  Nagging Visions: (appropriate 
  to a Fading or Covert setting) 
  “This freaky situation brings back 
  visions from the rebellion that I 
  told myself couldn’t be real. I gotta 
  finally understand who or what 
  has been messing with my head.”
  Political Cachet: “Public feats 
  of heroism will earn us sway in the 
  People’s Congress.”
  Redemption: “When the war 
  got hairy, I did something terrible. 
  Protecting the people from weird 
  threats helps me look myself in 
  the mirror.”
  Scientific Inquiry: “Supposed 
  occult powers must be studied and 
  subjected to the rigorous analysis 
  of science. I must know more.”
  Writing Fodder: “I’m a 
  journalist, and this is a scoop.”
  Vendetta: “The Castaignites are 
  behind this. And even though I 
  killed a lot of Castaignites for what 
  they did to my family, there’s still 
  more that need killing.”
  Parallels
  Skip this step if your players 
  haven't played a Wars sequence.
  Tell the group that their 
  characters discovered a book 
  during the rebellion. All of 
  them read it, found it strangely 
  fascinating, and perhaps 
  also found an idea or two to 
  use against the regime. They 
  stumbled across it while planning 
  an operation. Published in 
  English by a small press called 
  Editions Melotte, it was called 
  Recollections of The War 
  Against Carcosa in the European 
  Theater. It was written by the 
  Writer character from The Wars. 
  (Assuming that makes sense—pick 
  a substitute if needed. In playtest, 
  our Writer bought it in the final 
  session of The Wars, so I dangled 
  the implication that he penned his 
  memoir from beyond the grave.)
  As their guerrilla activities 
  accelerated, each PC found a 
  weird Parallel between the events 
  described in the book and what they 
  were doing to fight the Castaignes.
  Ask the players in turn to briefly 
  describe this connection.
  Worst Memory
  Now, in a different order, ask 
  each player to describe their 
  Worst Memory of the rebellion, 
  summarizing it in a few words on 
  their character sheet.
  Goal
  This step applies to long-term 
  Aftermath games. Skip it for one-
  shots and abbreviated series. 
  Where the action depends on 
  a group Goal, as it does in the 
  Sleeping Dogs scenario at the end 
  of this book, assign them the Goal 
  “Banish the Supernatural.” This 
  fits well as a default, though of 
  course you can substitute another 
  Goal that happens to work for 
  your particular purpose.
  Explain to the players that 
  Characters
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  11
  their characters will be using the 
  connections and information they 
  gather as unofficial investigators 
  into Carcosan intrigue to pursue a 
  political Goal. 
  Review with them the political 
  Goals, which they have seen 
  already if you provided a copy of 
  the “Welcome to the Aftermath” 
  player setting introduction (p. 
  159); or grab a visually expanded 
  version from us online) prior to the 
  first session.
  Quickly summarize the various 
  Goals now, so they can keep them 
  in the back of their minds as the 
  initial session introduces them to 
  the setting’s alternate history.
  When the time comes, knowing 
  the patience and focus level of 
  your group, you might invite 
  them to hash out their choice in 
  person, as a prelude to the second 
  scenario, or ahead of time, via the 
  group collaboration platform you 
  all work well on.
  Goal cards include tags, 
  describing the emotional or 
  abstract impulses associated with 
  an agenda. Tags interact with the 
  text on certain Chit and Hit cards, 
  as described starting on p. 43.
  The Likely Allies and Possible 
  Adversaries entries list political 
  factions that may ally with or 
  impede the players, respectively. 
  Faction descriptions start on p. 41.
  SHUT DOWN 
  GOVERNMENT LETHAL 
  CHAMBERS
  Public, Order
  For nearly a century the Castaignes 
  used their public suicide boxes, 
  installed in major parks in every city, 
  to relieve social pressure that would 
  otherwise threaten them. A decent 
  society doesn’t encourage people 
  to kill themselves—it helps them 
  overcome their desperation.
  Likely Allies: Guardians, Initiators
  Possible Adversaries: Originalists, 
  All-For-Ones
  PRESERVE GOVERNMENT 
  LETHAL CHAMBERS
  Private, Freedom
  The one good thing the Castaignes 
  did was establish the machinery for 
  humane self-euthanasia. Personal 
  autonomy includes the right to end 
  your life, when you have come to 
  the sane and rational conclusion that 
  you wish to do so. We need to give 
  people other choices, too, but GLCs 
  must remain an option.
  Likely Allies: Originalists, All-For-Ones
  Possible Adversaries: Commercials, 
  Renouncers
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  12
  TRUTH AND 
  RECONCILIATION
  Public, Trust
  Under the Castaignes lots of people 
  did terrible things. We must learn 
  what happened, so it never happens 
  again. But we will never truly heal 
  our wounds unless we find a way 
  to go on together. A Truth and 
  Reconciliation Commission will do 
  both, put the past where it belongs—
  behind us.
  Likely Allies: Renouncers, All-For-Ones
  Possible Adversaries: Guardians, 
  Originalists
  PRESERVE ORDER
  Public, Order
  The period after a revolution can be 
  as dangerous to the ordinary person 
  as the time of tyranny that preceded 
  it—if not more so. We didn’t fight the 
  Castaignes to see them replaced by 
  criminals and corrupt oligarchs. We 
  must write a constitution that gives 
  the authorities the powers they need 
  to make the streets safe, and keep 
  coercion the sole preserve of the state.
  Likely Allies: Guardians, Mercantilists
  Possible Adversaries: All-For-Ones, 
  Commercials
  WAR CRIMES TRIALS
  Private, Vigilance
  The Castaignes might be gone, 
  but many who abetted them in 
  oppressing, torturing, and killing 
  innocent people remain. To bring 
  closure to those they harmed, they 
  must be rooted out, interrogated, and 
  made to face the people’s justice. 
  We must fight for war crimes trials. No 
  punishment can reflect the enormity of 
  what they did—but we sure can try.
  Likely Allies: Guardians, Originalists
  Possible Adversaries: Renouncers, 
  All-For-Ones
  REINSTATE FREEDOM
  Private, Freedom
  The Castaigne regime taught us to 
  obey. Now we must learn how to 
  live. We must write a constitution 
  that protects the rights of individuals 
  to earn a living, love who they 
  want, worship in the manner of their 
  choice, read whatever pleases them, 
  and speak their minds without fear of 
  official censorship.
  Likely Allies: Commercials, All-For-
  Ones
  Possible Adversaries: Guardians, 
  Mercantilists
  BANISH THE 
  SUPERNATURAL
  Public, Vigilance
  The Castaignes held onto power 
  as long as they did because of the 
  help they got from another realm. 
  We can’t let the monsters and aliens 
  come back to rule us again. We must 
  fight to find them out and banish 
  them for once and all.
  Likely Allies: Guardians, Commercials
  Possible Adversaries: Renouncers, 
  Mercantilists
  HARNESS THE 
  SUPERNATURAL
  Private, Freedom
  The otherworldly beings who helped 
  the Castaignes were evil. But the 
  magic they wielded is just an alternate 
  technology, neither good or bad in 
  and of itself. In the right hands, it can 
  heal, innovate, and bring prosperity to 
  a devastated nation. We must ensure 
  that qualified people like us retain the 
  legal right to investigate, understand, 
  and master the strange science of 
  parageometry, for the benefit of all.
  Likely Allies: Renouncers, Mercantilists
  Possible Adversaries: Guardians, 
  Commercials
  Characters
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  13
  Player-Created Goals
  Players may read these choices 
  and instead suggest an alternative 
  of their own. Provided that… 
  1.  you can envision a series of 
  varied, engaging obstacles to 
  place between them and their 
  Goal, and 
  2.  it deals with the theme of 
  reconstructing after tyranny
  …encourage them to write it up 
  in a similar fashion to the above.
  Assign two tags to their Goal. 
  These interact with the Chit and 
  Hit cards that mark their progress 
  in pursuing their chosen objective 
  (p. 43.) The tags come in three 
  pairs. Assign at most one tag from 
  each pair.
  Public or Private: Public Goals 
  relate directly to the good of society 
  as a whole. Private Goals take care 
  of individuals first, figuring that this 
  will wind up indirectly benefiting 
  everyone eventually. 
  Trust or Vigilance: A Goal based 
  on Trust sees hope, openness, and 
  risk-taking as essential antidotes 
  to the oppressive paranoia of the 
  Castaigne years. A Goal based on 
  Vigilance looks at the evil still left 
  in the world and says that what 
  the people really need is to be 
  protected from it, which requires 
  strength, wariness, and caution.
  Freedom or Order: A Goal in 
  pursuit of Freedom wants to see 
  people break from the stultification 
  of the Castaigne regime in favor 
  of life, liberty, and pleasure. A 
  Goal that maintains Order fears 
  that the country is ready to careen 
  from cruel authority to an equally 
  damaging chaos, in which only 
  the strongest will prosper. 
  New Investigative 
  Ability Descriptions
  Bureaucracy (Interpersonal)
  Officialdom, from previous 
  sequences, renamed. It pertains 
  as much to the runaround you 
  might get in a large corporate 
  office as the chaotic halls of the 
  transitional government.
  GET ELECTED
  Public, Order
  Abstract arguments about 
  government come and go. Enough 
  of ideology! We had that with the 
  Castaignes! If you leave government 
  to people driven by fancy opinions, 
  common sense goes out the window. 
  During the rebellion, we learned 
  to fix problems, preconceptions 
  be damned. We need to bring that 
  wisdom to public life and get one of 
  our team elected.
  Likely Allies: whoever you butter up 
  Possible Adversaries: whoever dislikes 
  the people you butter up
  BUILD A BUSINESS
  Private, Freedom
  You know what people need now? 
  Money. We sure do, and so do our 
  families. Time to use our accumulated 
  know-how to provide something 
  people need. With the economy 
  devastated, the best thing we can 
  do for the people is employ some 
  of them. Our only involvement with 
  politics should be in making sure they 
  don’t turn over all the opportunities 
  to sharpers and hacks, the way the 
  Castaignes did.
  Likely Allies: Commercials, Initiators
  Possible Adversaries: Mercantilists, 
  All-For-Ones
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  14
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  15
   •  spot the best places to lie in wait, 
  with or without a sniper rifle
   •  look at a location, see how 
  you would attack it, and 
  describe both how the 
  assault would go down and 
  what you’d do to stop it
   •  spot supposedly casual 
  onlookers who are in fact sizing 
  up the area, just like you are
  Spend a Counterinsurgency 
  Push to get a favor from a fellow 
  member of the movement.
  Forensic Anthropology 
  (Technical)
  You perform autopsies on 
  deceased subjects to determine 
  their cause of death. In the 
  case of death by foul play, your 
  examination can identify:
   •  the nature of the weapon 
  or weapons used
   •  the position of the victim 
  relative to the attacker when 
  injuries were inflicted
   •  the presence of intoxicants 
  or other foreign substances 
  in the bloodstream
   •  the contents of the 
  victim’s last meal
   •  a rough time of death (perhaps 
  aided by an examination of 
  the insects who have fed on 
  and laid eggs in the corpse)
  People Person 
  (Interpersonal)
  “Hey, I think my sister works 
  with your aunt!”
  You can make a new 
  acquaintance from any walk of 
  life feel like your new best friend. 
  Cop Talk (Interpersonal)
  You know how to speak the 
  lingo of police officers and make 
  them feel confident and relaxed 
  in your presence. They note the 
  paramilitary swagger you brought 
  forward from the rebellion and 
  identify you as a kindred spirit. 
  Cops might even mistake you for 
  an off-duty officer, presumably 
  from another precinct. You can:
   •  sense whether a cop’s career 
  dates back to the Castaigne 
  era, or if you’re dealing with 
  a partisan turned officer
   •  in the first case, you can subtly 
  intimidate them, as Castaigne 
  cops fear having their pasts 
  dug up and used against them
   •  coolly ply cops for 
  confidential information
  Spend a Cop Talk Push to get 
  excused for minor infractions, or 
  misdemeanors in which, by cop 
  standards, the vic probably had  
  it coming.
  Counterinsurgency 
  (Technical)
  As a former insurgent yourself, 
  you can now turn the tables and 
  read scenes of sabotage and 
  terrorism for clues leading to 
  the perpetrators. That’s helpful, 
  because these days the rebels are 
  Castaignite dead-enders who want 
  to bring back the old dictatorship.
  You can:
   •  identify the munitions or 
  weaponry used to stage an attack
   •  tell whether a gun has 
  been recently fired
   •  find hidden weapons and bombs
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  16
  You chat with folks, learn their 
  stories, and file them in your 
  ever-expanding memory vault. You 
  foster a comfort level that leads 
  them to talk without even realizing 
  that they’ve let their guard down. 
  You can:
   •  recall gossip and details about 
  prominent but non-famous 
  people, including details of 
  their careers, romantic lives, 
  and connections to the old 
  regime or People’s Congress
   •  deduce details of a 
  person’s biography from 
  the way they speak, dress, 
  and hold themselves
   •  reliably intuit whether an 
  otherwise unknown individual 
  you’re meeting in person 
  for the first time fought for 
  or against the Castaignes, 
  or sat the revolution out
   •  observe a group of people 
  and see who hates who, 
  who’s sleeping with who, 
  and who wishes they were 
  sleeping with who
   •  divine the nature of a 
  person’s ambitions from 
  innocuous small talk
  Spend a People Person Push to 
  get practical assistance, rather than 
  information, from someone you 
  just met.
  Streetwise (Interpersonal)
  This is the ability formerly 
  known as Demimonde and then 
  Low Life, renamed for a more 
  modern world.
  Technology (Technical)
  You’re familiar with mechanical 
  and electronic devices, from 
  phones and garbage disposal units 
  to automobiles and Government 
  Lethal Chambers. You can:
   •  identify the purpose of an 
  unknown piece of machinery
   •  tell whether a breakdown 
  can be attributed to normal 
  wear or sabotage
   •  name the make and 
  model of a vehicle from 
  examining its tire tread
   •  reel off the rarity of a mechanical 
  device, its approximate price 
  on the secondary market, and 
  the availability of its parts
  Spend a Technology Push to add 
  4 points to your Mechanics pool. 
  Use as an Interpersonal ability 
  when dealing with mechanics 
  and engineers, establishing a 
  kinship you can then utilize to get 
  information out of them.
  Absent Abilities
  This timeline still runs on card 
  files, paper documents, slide rules, 
  and perhaps a sapient scroll or 
  two. No computers yet. Thus no 
  Computer Use.
  The laws of the Castaigne regime 
  have been suspended, and the 
  new laws of the land are still 
  being written. Instead of Law, 
  use Bureaucracy to figure out the 
  ad hoc procedures the confused 
  administrators of America 
  currently follow.
  Characters
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  17
  Investigative Ability Master List
  Accounting (Academic)
  Architecture (Academic)
  Art History (Academic)
  Bullshit Detector (Interpersonal)
  Bureaucracy (Interpersonal)
  Cop Talk (Interpersonal)
  Counterinsurgency (Academic)
  Flattery (Interpersonal)
  Forensic Anthropology (Technical)
  History (Academic)
  Inspiration (Interpersonal)
  Intimidation (Interpersonal)
  Intuition (Technical)
  Leadership (Interpersonal)
  Medicine (Technical)
  Negotiation (Interpersonal)
  Occultism (Academic)
  People Person (Interpersonal)
  Photography (Technical)
  Psychology (Academic)
  Reassurance (Interpersonal)
  Research (Academic)
  Science (Academic)
  Streetwise (Interpersonal)
  Trivia (Academic)
  New General Abilities
  Aftermath brings three fresh 
  new General abilities into your 
  YKRPG game.
  Insurgency (Focus)
  This ability incorporates Traps 
  and Bombs from The Wars, plus 
  the following:
  Before attacking human (or 
  strongly human-like) targets in a 
  location you have the opportunity to 
  case in advance, you can devise the 
  most efficient plan of attack, dealing 
  maximum harm at minimum risk. 
  Make an Insurgency test with a 
  Difficulty keyed to the location: 
  4 for most civilian targets, 5 for 
  a secure military target, 6 for an 
  ultra-secure installation.
  On success with a margin of 2 or 
  less, all combatants on your side 
  get a +1 Fighting bonus. A higher 
  margin nets a +2 bonus for all.
  This also allows you to defend 
  against attackers using guerrilla 
  tactics against a position you have 
  had time to hunker down in. Here 
  the Difficulties flip: 6 for a civilian 
  location, 5 for military, 4 for ultra-
  secure. When defending you can 
  make a Counterinsurgency Push 
  for a +4 bonus on your roll.
  Insurgency tests take the place 
  of extended planning sessions 
  in which players manage the 
  tactical details of an assault, just 
  as Preparedness skips the part in a 
  classic RPG experience where you 
  dutifully note in advance every item 
  you’re carrying around with you.
  After a successful Insurgency 
  test, ask the player, abetted by 
  anyone else in the group who 
  likes to describe skirmishes in 
  loving Tom Clancy-esque detail, 
  to describe the clever plans 
  they’ve laid for their soon-to-be-
  attacked targets. In the ensuing 
  Fighting test, they can describe 
  them working to superb effect (if 
  the group wins), or the GM can 
  describe them being countered by 
  a victorious foe.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  18
  Network (Focus)
  You know somebody, probably 
  but not necessarily from your 
  days in the resistance, who can 
  help you with a tricky, but no 
  more than moderately dangerous, 
  logistical problem. Test this ability 
  not to solve the main problem you 
  currently face, but a secondary 
  dilemma that would otherwise 
  distract you from the main 
  problem. They don’t do things for 
  you; they make it easier for you to 
  do things.
  With Network you might:
   •  tap a couple of experienced 
  operators to protect a 
  witness while you continue 
  your investigation
   •  find a sniper to fire a well-timed 
  round that will drive opponents 
  into your ambush, (and then 
  slip away, leaving you to risk 
  your skin in the actual fight)
   •  know an absolutely discreet 
  chop shop where you can get 
  the vehicle you used in an 
  operation quickly disassembled, 
  no questions asked
   •  borrow restricted weapons
   •  gain access to a vault 
  where you can stash the 
  evidence you’ve collected
   •  get that priest who used to 
  shelter dissidents to make his 
  cathedral available as neutral 
  ground for a secret meeting
  Politics (Presence)
  Politics tests allow you to win 
  over allies and fend off rivals as 
  you pursue the group Goal that 
  runs as a subplot in parallel with 
  your investigation into a scenario’s 
  central mystery. For more, see 
  “Pursuing the Goal,” p. 43.
  Characters
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  19
  A few tweaks to the rules give 
  Aftermath its own distinct feel.
  Relative Challenge Table
  Used to skulking in the shadows 
  as opportunistic hit-and-run fighters, 
  Aftermath characters are better at 
  escaping than their counterparts 
  from other sequences.
  RULES ADJUSTMENTS
  Relative 
  Challenge
  Difficulty 
  (Escape)
  Difficulty
  (Other)
  Difficulty 
  (Kill)
  Toll
  Weak 
  1
  3
  3
  0
  Tough but 
  Outmatched
  2
  3
  4
  0
  Evenly 
  Matched 
  2
  4
  5
  0
  Superior 
  2
  5
  6
  1
  Vastly 
  Superior 
  3
  6
  7
  2
  Overwhelming 
  3
  7
  8
  2
  Too Awful to 
  Contemplate
  3
  8
  10
  3
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  20
  Situation
  Difficulty
  Minor
  Major
  A Revolutionary Hero 
  Turns Out to Be a 
  Heel
  4
  Dammit, Man
  Seriously, Dammit
  You Interpret 
  Something Innocuous 
  as Extremely Alarming
  4
  False Alarm
  The Yips
  You Meet, But Can’t 
  Strike Against, a Foe 
  from the Old Days
  4
  Forehead Vein
  It Eats You Up
  You Remember Being 
  Tortured
  5
  Grim Flashback
  You Know You 
  Broke
  You Ally with a War 
  Criminal
  5
  Sullied
  Expedience
  You Remember 
  Committing Torture
  5
  Spasm of Guilt
  The Monster 
  Inside
  You Remember the 
  Terrible Thing You Did
  4
  Twinge
  Spasm of Guilt
  You Use a Castaignite 
  Weapon
  4
  Pang of Doubt
  Lines Get Muddy
  Post-Revolutionary Shocks
  The violence and upheaval of civil war leave their mark in the form of the 
  following new mental hazards. Shock cards appear in the back of the book.
  Rules Adjustments
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  21
  The events your group played 
  out in Paris and The Wars are 
  history now—a buried history, 
  which perhaps the new crop of 
  PCs will uncover in their own 
  investigations.
  Also defining this alternate 
  reality are the events of the 
  Chambers story “The Repairer of 
  Reputations.” 
  Sort of.
  The story depicts an attempt on 
  the part of its narrator, Hildred 
  Castaigne, to become Emperor 
  of America, spurred on by the 
  grotesque eccentric Mr. Wilde. 
  Wilde, the eponymous Repairer 
  of the title, has amassed a secret 
  army of sinister investigators and 
  blackmail victims. United by 
  the Yellow Sign, these will form 
  the basis of a coup installing 
  Castaigne, a literal descendant 
  of the tattered King, as the first 
  Emperor of America. The plot 
  goes awry when one of Wilde’s 
  unwilling pawns kills him 
  rather than go through with an 
  assassination attempt. Meanwhile, 
  Castaigne has slit the throat of the 
  doctor who committed him to an 
  insane asylum for four years after 
  a head injury sustained during 
  a fall from a horse. The story, 
  written in 1895, takes place in 
  what was then the speculative 
  future of 1920, and now reads 
  to us as an alternate reality, with 
  government-sponsored public 
  suicide chambers, a grand 
  religious melding, a Haussmann-
  esque remodeling of New York 
  City, and off-kilter reconciliations 
  with the nation’s black and native 
  populations.
  The ending heavily indicates 
  that the story should be read as the 
  protagonist’s delusional ravings. 
  What level of reality underlies his 
  account remains open to question. 
  Did he kill his doctor, or imagine 
  that he did? Did he really read The 
  King in Yellow? Is he even writing 
  in 1920, or is he having delusions 
  of his future after injuring himself 
  in 1895?
  A reference to “the awful fate 
  of young Castaigne” in another 
  Chambers story, “The Yellow 
  Sign,” supports the last possibility. 
  Though set in New York, it never 
  references the futuristic aspects 
  from “Repairer.” It stars Jack Scott, 
  who also appears as a secondary 
  character in “The Mask,” which 
  takes place in Belle Époque Paris. 
  At one point he walks past the 
  statue of Garibaldi in Washington 
  Square Park—which in “Repairer” 
  is said to have been replaced. In 
  “Repairer” Hildred’s year of birth 
  is given as 1877, which would 
  TWISTED HISTORY
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  22
  make him 43 in 1920—hardly a 
  “young” man. Thus in the overall 
  continuity of these stories, pretty 
  much everything in “Repairer,” 
  except for the fact that Hildred 
  Castaigne read the play, should be 
  interpreted as imaginary.
  Except in the timeline of The 
  Wars and Aftermath. Here, 
  some of the events in “Repairer” 
  literally took place. But instead 
  of ending with the slaying of Mr. 
  Wilde, and Castaigne’s death in a 
  mental ward, Wilde and Castaigne 
  somehow win.
  During Paris, you may have 
  followed a subplot suggestion 
  (see “Setting Up Aftermath,” p. 
  81) establishing that the first set of 
  PCs played a role in Castaigne’s 
  reading a copy of the play. In 
  Aftermath you might reveal that 
  something they did created the rift 
  in reality that made the difference 
  between Castaigne imagining the 
  alternate failed 1920 putsch, and 
  his participating, while still a young 
  man, in the successful 1920 coup. 
  With or without these 
  connections to past game sessions, 
  Hildred takes over the America of 
  1920 with its reconstructed New 
  York. He and then his successors 
  rule over it, buttressed by the 
  power of the Yellow Sign, for 
  nearly a century.
  The Slip Before the Fall
  Even before the Castaigne 
  takeover, the America of this 
  timeline diverges considerably 
  from our own. By 1920 a seeming 
  utopia has emerged—one that 
  promises peace, prosperity, and 
  a new age of reason. Examined 
  more closely, these assumptions 
  reveal themselves as symptoms 
  of a placid madness. Carcosa has 
  been hard at work shaping the 
  USA for about a generation—since 
  the original eruption of Yellow 
  Sign effects in the 1890s.
  From 1912 to 1920, the 
  Winthrop administration instituted 
  a series of ambitious so-called 
  reform measures, laying the 
  groundwork for Castaignism:
   •  Concentration of power in 
  the executive: The inexorable 
  flow of power away from 
  Congress and into the 
  office of the President gets 
  rolling much earlier in this 
  timeline than in ours.
   •  The closing of the economy: 
  Winthrop somehow manages 
  a grand accord between labor 
  and business, known as the 
  Labor and Tariff Conference. 
  Unions gain statutory rights. 
  Business and government enact 
  a protectionist trade policy.
   •  Anti-immigrant measures 
  accompany the shift to a 
  managed economy. Jews and 
  non-Europeans face work 
  and travel restrictions and 
  cannot become naturalized 
  citizens. This economically 
  disastrous policy remains in 
  force until the early ‘60s.
   •  The National Academy 
  of Design, modeled on 
  the Académie des Beaux-
  Arts, establishes acceptable 
  Twisted History
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  23
  parameters for architecture 
  and industrial design. It 
  embarks on a training program 
  to inculcate its methods and 
  aesthetic principles in a new 
  generation of practitioners. 
  After a grandfathering process 
  to admit existing designers, 
  only graduates would be 
  licensed to create plans for 
  buildings, infrastructure, or 
  consumer goods. A Ministry 
  of Fine Art, considered unwise 
  even at the time and soon to 
  become a historical footnote, 
  briefly opened its doors.
   •  A Congress of Religions 
  promoted ecumenicism, putting 
  an end to interfaith conflict.
   •  The National Mounted Police, 
  nicknamed the Hussars and 
  modeled on the Canadian 
  RCMP, funneled upper-class 
  young bravos of the recent 
  German-American war into a 
  glorious peacetime militia. Its 
  officers solved crimes, battled 
  evildoers, drank sherry, courted 
  debutantes, and investigated 
  early outbreaks of Carcosan 
  weirdness. In the west, they 
  were augmented by the Indian 
  Cavalry, a byproduct of a 
  general reconciliation with 
  America’s indigenous peoples. 
  These gallant officers showed 
  an equally grand fashion sense 
  and eye for occult danger.
   •  The rebuilding of Chicago: 
  In 1917, Chicago burns again, 
  giving Winthrop a chance to 
  order its rebuilding in a splendid 
  neoclassical manner, eliminating 
  all those nasty meat-packing 
  plants, breaking up the ethnic 
  neighborhood structure that 
  in our timeline would grant 
  cohesion to organized crime 
  outfits, and forever preventing 
  the scourge of deep-dish pizza. 
  Surely Carcosa took some role 
  in the setting of that fire.
   •  New York City’s underground 
  roadways: Smoggy, dingy, and 
  infested with rats and worse, this 
  tunnel network takes the place 
  of public subways from our NYC 
  timeline. In a hint of things to 
  come, the arched ceilings are 
  lit with a twinkling recreation 
  of the heavens, including the 
  Hyades and Aldebaran.
   •  And, of course, you can’t 
  talk Winthrop administration 
  achievements without 
  mentioning the Government 
  Lethal Chambers. These 
  warrant their own section, 
  starting on p. 54.
  If a scenario delves back into the 
  period between 1895 and 1920, 
  the heroes’ historical research 
  may uncover the activities of the 
  Paris characters after the events of 
  your game, when they returned to 
  America.
  What did they bring back 
  with them? Did it kickstart 
  Winthropism and lead to 
  Castaignism? An old mystery 
  might lead investigators to some of 
  those answers.
  In my game, I broke in the 
  middle of Aftermath for a one-shot 
  featuring middle-aged versions 
  of the Paris characters cracking 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  24
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  25
  an occult mystery in Chicago 
  as the 1917 influenza epidemic 
  raged. Needless to say, the session 
  concluded with the city on fire. 
  Those events then became clues 
  PCs had to uncover in the following 
  week’s Aftermath scenario.
  The Castaigne Dynasty
  Hildred Castaigne reigned over 
  an America comprising the eastern 
  seaboard, midwest, and Pacific 
  Northwest from his ascension in 
  1920 to his death from cerebral 
  hemorrhage at age 73, in 1950.
  His earless, variously deformed 
  and mutilated chief advisor, Mr. 
  Wilde, predeceased him. The 
  official story has him succumbing 
  to cancer in 1927. Persistent 
  rumors say that he fell down the 
  stairs at the White House, tripping 
  over a cat.
  Hildred I established the 
  ideology, structures, and informal 
  power relationships that defined 
  Castaignism. He appeared in 
  public only for ceremonial 
  occasions, instead preferring to 
  project a mythic, distant image 
  through his propaganda machine.
  The second Emperor, Hildred 
  II, started his regime promising 
  modernization, if not a retreat from 
  official repression. After the New 
  Jersey Incident, a brief uprising 
  eighteen months after his accession, 
  he stopped trying to be popular 
  and increased the pervasiveness of 
  secret police surveillance.
  Hildred II died in 1964, after 
  eating a toxic clam. His younger 
  brother Holt Castaigne took over 
  the imperial throne, passing over 
  Hildred’s minor son. Holt broke 
  with tradition by staging frequent 
  media appearances, including a 
  weekly television show in which 
  he shared his folksy thoughts with 
  the nation. He took a keen interest 
  in government entertainment 
  channels and propaganda, directly 
  creating such cultural icons as 
  the Castaigne Kids’ Club. This 
  scouting movement, promoted by 
  a morning kids’ show, groomed 
  generations of youngsters as future 
  informants. Even many staunch 
  revolutionaries still feel a pang 
  of affection for its mascot, the 
  Dream Clown. In the Kids’ Club 
  continuity, he visited sleeping 
  children to protect them from 
  nightmares in exchange for 
  information on their parents’ 
  subversive utterances.
  In a bid to combat economic 
  stagnation, Holt Castaigne 
  reversed the anti-immigrant 
  measures introduced in the 
  Winthrop years. Officers of a 
  newly enlarged Citizenship 
  Ministry tested applicants for skills, 
  wherewithal to invest in American 
  businesses, and susceptibility to 
  the Yellow Sign. Oddly, people 
  came, scarcely deterred by the 
  grimness of 1960s America. Many 
  arrived with eyes already glassy, 
  and a Yellow Sign already among 
  their personal effects.
  Strangely, Holt also died from 
  eating ill-prepared seafood, in 
  1970. His daughter Hilda served 
  as dowager empress for two years, 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  26
  ceding the throne to her son 
  Hannibal in 1972.
  Hannibal ruled in a cautious, 
  unsentimental manner, out-
  calculating many rivals. He died 
  five years ago. By the time of 
  his death, the cracks in his long-
  maintained stability had already 
  opened up. 
  This timeline works as of our 
  publication date, but if you’re 
  playing this long after 2018, you 
  may need to slot in an additional 
  Castaigne or two.
  The last Emperor, indifferent and 
  spoiled scion Hadrian Castaigne, 
  took office as economic stagnation 
  spread discontent beyond the 
  longstanding underground to the 
  man on the street. 
  Castaignism
  Hildred’s reign set the template 
  for his successors, establishing an 
  authoritarian surveillance state 
  enforced by the Department of 
  Internal Security, or DIS. Its first 
  director, Mr. Wilde, formed the 
  DIS around the institutional bones 
  of the National Mounted Police, 
  after purging its top leadership. 
  Along with the Indian Cavalry, 
  they had resisted the coup and 
  were thereafter hunted down and 
  secretly executed by the new 
  DIS. Wilde filled the depleted 
  ranks of the renamed force with 
  his blackmailed army of Yellow 
  Sign operatives, putting them in 
  adapted versions of the dashing 
  NMP uniforms. Wilde encouraged 
  the public to use the beloved 
  old nickname, Hussar, for his 
  secret policemen. As the DIS 
  showed its repressive face, the 
  name remained, but the meaning 
  flipped from admiration to fear 
  and contempt. Today’s insurgents 
  refer to former regime officials as 
  Hussars, or “the Huss.”
  To live under Castaigne was to 
  know that anyone could be spying 
  on you, reporting your words and 
  actions to the Hussars. Or falsely 
  implicating you, if they wanted to 
  take over your apartment or exact 
  revenge for a slight.
  Families connected to the 
  Castaignes won lucrative 
  monopolies and enjoyed enough 
  pull to conduct themselves as 
  they pleased—provided they kept 
  sedition off their list of vices. State-
  licensed monopolies led to high 
  prices, shortages, and crummy 
  products. Post-Castaigne America’s 
  biggest import, for example, is 
  beer, as the Castaigne brand 
  lagers were famously foul. Right 
  now, everyone has gone crazy for 
  Belgian beers.
  Castaignism promoted loyalty, 
  order, honor, and love of the 
  imperial crown. It celebrated 
  the royal pedigree of its leaders 
  without quite explaining where 
  the bloodline originated. Its 
  propaganda featured the Yellow 
  Sign. Its mystical influence lulled 
  people into quiescence. Without 
  that supernatural boost the empty 
  ideology of Castaignism would 
  never have survived a century of 
  half-competent rule.
  Twisted History
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  27
  Imperial Government
  Hildred I abolished the House of 
  Representatives and transformed 
  the Senate into an appointed body, 
  which he stacked with cronies 
  and supplicants. Government ran 
  by edict, as enforced by cabinet 
  secretaries, appointed by the 
  Emperor without the need for 
  senatorial approval. Senators 
  became privileged rubber-
  stampers who got to wear 
  uniforms and periodically meet 
  to hobnob and strike insider 
  business deals.
  The Emperor continued much 
  of the existing federal government 
  bureaucracy, leaving many agency 
  names and structures in place.
  Governors of states also 
  served by imperial decree. They 
  appointed their state legislatures, 
  usually collapsing bicameral 
  houses into one body. Like their 
  federal counterparts, state senators 
  strutted around in beribboned 
  uniforms and smoked cigars in 
  drawing rooms filled with fellow 
  members of a useless elite. A 
  wealthy family might purchase a 
  state senatorship for a son (or, in 
  recent decades, daughter) as a 21st 
  birthday present.
  Municipalities continued to 
  elect mayors and councilors, 
  but these could be replaced as 
  needed by appointees selected 
  by state governors.
  Hildred Castaigne tore down the 
  White House, replacing it with a 
  gaudy golden neo-Baroque building 
  called the Imperial Palace. 
  The Castaignes warped 
  Winthrop-era institutions to their 
  own ends. The Department of 
  the Arts morphed into an organ 
  of censorship and propaganda. 
  The National Academy of Design 
  tightened its grip on architecture, 
  initially mandating a gaudy, gilded 
  style with eerie Carcosan filigrees. 
  As the years wore on and the 
  economy stifled, the rules shifted 
  to demand imposing, low-cost 
  edifices of utilitarian concrete. 
  These gray monstrosities rose across 
  America’s cities, throwing both the 
  neoclassicalism of the Winthrop era 
  and the alien Baroque of the ‘30s 
  and ‘40s into shadow.
  Principals of the Congress of 
  Religions were suborned into the 
  Interfaith Advisory Council. This 
  federal agency broke through the 
  wall between church and state 
  to monitor the nation’s churches 
  and synagogues for signs of 
  anti-government rhetoric. The 
  Castaignes created their own faux-
  Christian denomination, led by the 
  Imperial Chaplain, to cloak their 
  public appearances in an incense 
  cloud of theatrical sanctity. Only 
  the private rituals of its inner 
  circle incorporated masks and the 
  worship of the yellow god.
  Any federal agency worthy of 
  a budget appropriation operated 
  a secret office devoted to the 
  exploitation of Carcosan energies. 
  The Castaignes allowed this in a 
  spirit of competition, believing 
  that conflict between them would 
  foster sorcerous innovation. 
  Notable occult sub-agencies 
  included the DIS’s Department 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  28
  of Parageometrical Inquiry and 
  the standalone alien genetic 
  research agency at the Bronx Park 
  Zoo. Some were covertly headed 
  or advised by actual Carcosan 
  nobles. Others used the aliens’ 
  otherworldly science, dubbed 
  parageometry, while keeping 
  the mask-faced entities at arm’s 
  length.
  The Struggle and 
  the Overthrow
  Your game is set in the present 
  year, whatever that is when  
  you start.
  A decade ago, scattered 
  dissident movements gained new 
  strength. Centers of resistance 
  sprang up in New York, Chicago, 
  and the Pacific Northwest.
  Government crackdowns fueled 
  public outrage and dissent. The 
  supernatural mojo ebbed.
  Five years ago, the death of 
  Hannibal Castaigne and his 
  replacement by his much less 
  competent son Hadrian upped 
  the revolutionary ante. An 
  armed democratic insurgency, 
  to which the player characters 
  belonged, kicked off a campaign 
  of sabotage, assassination, and 
  destabilization aimed at exposing 
  the weakness of the regime and 
  inspiring the populace at large to 
  rise up and fight. They called this 
  effort the Struggle.
  Partisans both did and didn’t 
  understand the role of the 
  supernatural in propping up 
  the regime. Members of the 
  underground learned to recognize 
  one another with a “fuck the 
  Yellow Sign” hand signal 
  indicating allegiance to the cause. 
  But few directly encountered 
  Carcosans or alien creatures from 
  their world.
  About a year and a half ago, 
  the full Uprising began, with 
  battles between rebel and 
  government forces breaking 
  out in and around major cities, 
  mostly in the northeast.
  Six months back, the final fight 
  took place in Washington, with 
  a battle royale occurring at the 
  Imperial Palace itself. During this 
  climactic engagement, called the 
  Overthrow, rebels closed the gates 
  between Earth and Carcosa. How 
  they did this remains unknown 
  even to many top insurgents.
  The King, along with Cassilda 
  and Camilla, can still move 
  between worlds making their own 
  gates as desired. But any other 
  aliens still present in America 
  when the Overthrow went down 
  are now stranded here, and deeply 
  unhappy about that.
  Various mortal parageometrists 
  and mad scientists have gone to 
  ground, hiding out and looking 
  for ways to reopen the gates. A 
  single revanchist conspiracy could 
  coalesce one day, just as many 
  independent insurgent cells fused 
  together when civil war broke out. 
  For the moment, former members 
  of the regime’s competing occult 
  sub-agencies operate in isolation.
  Twisted History
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  29
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  30
  Where Are They Now?
  At some point the players will 
  likely ask what happened to the 
  Castaignes on and after O-Day. 
  O-Day is of course the day they 
  were driven from office, with the 
  O standing for Overthrow.
  The players might have already 
  established this themselves, when 
  they described what they were 
  doing when the old regime fell; 
  see p. 7.
  If this remains an open question 
  when it comes up, invite players to 
  define the setting by choosing one 
  of the following options:
  1.  Hadrian Castaigne and all 
  of his adult successors were 
  killed. Ask the players to 
  describe the cause or causes of 
  their deaths.
  2.  Castaigne and his family 
  vanished, but no one expects 
  them to come out of hiding any 
  time soon.
  (a) Weirdness Level Overt: 
  They escaped through 
  a gateway into Carcosa, 
  which then closed forever. 
  Or so everyone hopes. Ask 
  the players to decide if the 
  appearance of the gateway 
  caused an implosion in the 
  Imperial Palace.
  (b) Weirdness Level Fading: 
  Something odd happened, 
  allowing them to escape. 
  But don’t worry, no one 
  expects their return.
  (c) Weirdness Level Covert: 
  The players may know 
  that the Castaignes 
  escaped with Carcosan 
  assistance. According to 
  the official story, they fled 
  to Switzerland.
  3.  Castaigne was arrested 
  alongside most of his top 
  officials and awaits trial for 
  crimes against humanity.
  Much to Rebuild
  The People’s Congress, 
  convened to hammer out a 
  new constitution, also serves 
  as a provisional administration. 
  They’ve taken down the Yellow 
  Signs and the imperial flags. 
  Senatorial uniforms and the 
  ceremonial swords that go with 
  them litter the surplus stores.
  When the heroes deal with 
  a federal or state agency, they 
  encounter a mix of holdover 
  officials who have yet to be 
  accused of serious offenses, 
  balanced by former dissidents 
  and partisans inserted into 
  supervisory roles.
  One day the constitutional 
  wrangling will conclude, followed 
  by elections and a restructuring 
  of all agencies to fit the new 
  democratic order. Then will come 
  the regulations and procedures 
  on which all bureaucracy turns. 
  Until then everyone’s following 
  the old rules that make sense and, 
  when none of those fit a situation, 
  inventing new ones.
  Between revolutionary bombings, 
  destruction of documents by soon-
  to-be-defeated Castaigne loyalists, 
  and fires set during the final 
  fighting, huge swathes of paperwork 
  Twisted History
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  31
  from the bad old days have been 
  lost. Sometimes the investigators 
  will find that a file they need was 
  squirreled away for a rainy day by 
  a former pencil-pusher. At least 
  as often they’ll have to shrug their 
  shoulders and accept that the piece 
  of paper that would have cracked 
  the case has been destroyed.
  Next Door to America
  Castaigne’s Imperial America 
  encompasses less territory than the 
  USA you know.
  California
  For reasons he would never 
  explain, Mr. Wilde regarded 
  California as unsuitable ground for 
  the spread of the Yellow Sign. It 
  became a protectorate of the US, 
  retaining democracy but unable 
  to significantly buck the wishes of 
  the empire. Pro-Castaigne coups 
  in 1925, 1940, and 1956 taught 
  the people not to exercise their 
  franchise too freely. 
  When the revolution began, 
  California existed as an illiberal 
  pseudo-democracy run by an 
  offshoot of the Castaigne family, 
  the Richardsons. The day after the 
  Castaignes fled the Imperial Palace, 
  a bloodless coup in Sacramento 
  ousted them. California’s 
  new government applied for 
  readmittance to the United States, 
  sending delegates and deputies to 
  the People’s Congress.
  Suanee
  In August of 1918, an 
  unprecedented, unnaturally 
  inspired relocation occurred 
  throughout the deep south, 
  including Florida. Whites suddenly 
  abandoned homes and property en 
  masse. In vehicles or on foot, they 
  clogged the roads feeding to the 
  north, west, and midwest, silent 
  and glassy-eyed. Reporters who 
  asked migrants what they were 
  doing either got no response or 
  heard barely intelligible mutterings 
  about the glory of the Sign and the 
  promise of the Hyades.
  The black Americans they left 
  behind remember this inexplicable 
  event as The Night the White 
  People Went. In fact, the 
  migration took place over several 
  months, but the stunning first night 
  of the migration is what the citizens 
  of Suanee commemorate. Say “the 
  Night” in Suanee and people know 
  which one you’re talking about.
  This unprecedented act of 
  self-exile impoverished both the 
  departing southerners and the 
  communities they swamped. 
  This crisis threw the otherwise 
  majestically confident Winthrop 
  administration into confusion.
  Meanwhile, the black 
  citizens of the south seized the 
  opportunity to reverse their 
  historical disenfranchisement. 
  Civil rights organizations and 
  their church group allies quickly 
  drew up articles of independent 
  government to present to President 
  Winthrop. Eager as always to 
  promote his sense of mastery, 
  Winthrop decided it would 
  be wiser to take credit than to 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  32
  expend nonexistent resources 
  opposing the creation of this new 
  sovereign nation. After a hasty 
  negotiation of a treaty of alliance 
  and mutual nonaggression, the 
  Republic of Suanee was born, its 
  borders encompassing the states of 
  Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, 
  Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, 
  and Louisiana, an area somewhat 
  smaller than that affected by the 
  mass outward migration.
  Students of parageometry have 
  long debated the Suanee question. 
  Why would the cruel and uncaring 
  King in Yellow promote the 
  creation of a majority black nation 
  state on the American continent?
  One theory holds that the 
  Yellow Sign effect works most 
  powerfully on the Anglo-European 
  mind. The psychic vertigo induced 
  by the play, and Carcosa in 
  general, attacks the mental fragility 
  of people who regard themselves 
  as inheritors and upholders of 
  eternal civilized values.
  People accustomed to hearing 
  so-called civilized values 
  invoked to justify their bondage 
  and oppression harbor no such 
  illusions. They lack the naiveté the 
  play's decadent, alien second act 
  uses to crack open the minds of 
  vulnerable readers. 
  The Carcosans behind Mr. 
  Wilde may have regarded the 
  life experiences of Suanee's 
  future citizens as an immunizing 
  factor against parageometrical 
  influence. According to the theory, 
  they engineered The Night the 
  White People Went in order to 
  concentrate those most vulnerable 
  to the Yellow Sign in one area of 
  the continent.
  Key framers of the Suanean 
  constitution, concerned that 
  the weird effect of the Night 
  could be reversed by whatever 
  uncanny force let it loose, sought 
  a consultant versed in such 
  matters: the Martiniquean master 
  finder of lost persons, Julien 
  Alerte. Aware of the machinations 
  of Carcosa since his encounter 
  with an unpredictable group of 
  American art students in Paris 
  in 1895, Alerte warned the 
  early Suaneans of future danger. 
  The King in Yellow had not 
  engineered the Night to benefit 
  them. If future generations weren’t 
  careful, they would be caught 
  up in their own homegrown 
  version of the hidebound thinking 
  that makes minds vulnerable 
  to Carcosa. Alerte convinced 
  the framers to adopt an open-
  door policy, welcoming peoples 
  from around the world to weave 
  their cultures into the Suanean 
  fabric. Taking a professorship at 
  the University of New Orleans, 
  Alerte taught multipolarism, a 
  philosophy he developed to train 
  the mind against rigid beliefs and 
  assertions of inherent superiority. 
  The framers emblazoned a 
  favorite Alerte slogan, “A Free 
  State, Not an Ethnostate,” on 
  the national seal. It appears on 
  every denomination of Suanee’s 
  paper money. Alerte’s portrait has 
  occupied the hundred-dollar bill 
  since 1956.
  Twisted History
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  33
  In its constitution, ratified in 
  1919, the framers proclaimed 
  a Right of Diasporic Shelter. 
  This doctrine encouraged black 
  citizens of the US, California, 
  and Canada to settle within 
  their borders, where they were 
  allocated a share of abandoned 
  land and housing. By 1925 80% 
  of the continent’s black population 
  called Suanee home. 
  In accordance with multipolar 
  principles, Suanee took up 
  America’s discarded mantle as 
  a haven for immigration. Today 
  North America’s largest Jewish, 
  Japanese, and South Asian 
  communities are found in Suanee.
  Despite external pressures from 
  Castaignite America, it held fast to 
  democracy over the last century. 
  Its universities and technical 
  institutes now number among the 
  best in the world.
  Its first generations of leadership 
  devoted themselves to hunkering 
  down and avoiding unwanted 
  attention from Imperial America. 
  As cracks began to show in 
  Castaignite power, with historical 
  memory of past injustice fading, 
  a movement arose at the turn of 
  our century proposing greater 
  aid and outreach to democratic 
  elements in America. Controversial 
  volunteer brigades from Suanee 
  crossed the border to assist the 
  Struggle. Although most Suaneans 
  cheered the downfall of the 
  Castaignes, older folks regard the 
  prospect of closer ties to the new 
  America with suspicion.
  In Aftermath scenarios, the ex-
  partisans embark on investigations 
  along two intertwined paths.
  As per usual in YKRPG, they 
  uncover weird mysteries related to 
  the lingering influence of Carcosa 
  on the world.
  Also, in this sequence’s distinct 
  pattern of play, they accumulate 
  political capital to change the 
  world, realizing the Goal they 
  chose in the coda to their first 
  mystery (p. 10.)
  This chapter shows you how to 
  create and run these political subplots.
  America in Recovery
  The Castaigne Regime fell six 
  months ago. Since then, the 
  characters have had time to 
  recover from their wounds, relax 
  back into the lives they led before 
  they took up the gun, and take 
  stock of their personal situations. 
  Then they got bored or restless or 
  NOW WHAT?
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  34
  even altruistic and reteamed to 
  achieve their Goal.
  During that time America has 
  been slowly coming to life, as well.
  The Interregnum 
  Administration
  In the hours and days after 
  O-Day, victorious dissidents 
  cobbled together a document 
  striking down the most egregious 
  Castaigne-era laws and outlining 
  the structure of a provisional 
  government. The Interregnum 
  Administration, or IA, consists 
  mostly of mid-level bureaucrats 
  elevated to top roles, under the 
  supervision of a committee of 
  People’s Congress members. 
  IA bureaucrats barely keep 
  the machinery of everyday 
  government going. Dealing with 
  them requires epic patience, a 
  tolerance for chaos, and of course 
  the Bureaucracy ability. They’re 
  supposed to act as simple caretakers 
  but since they actively control the 
  levers of power, they can wield 
  great unsanctioned influence.
  The People’s Congress
  The real power will lie with the 
  elected government—as soon as 
  the newly installed, quasi-elected 
  deputies of the People’s Congress 
  finalizes its shape. This body must 
  arrive at a new constitution in time 
  for a round of elections to replace 
  the IA in nine months. Unless that 
  deadline gets kicked down the 
  road again.
  Members of the Congress are 
  called People’s Deputies. The 
  Revolutionary Council, self-
  composed in the wake of the 
  Overthrow by its chief insurgents 
  and dissidents, voted to choose 
  56 deputies, from their own ranks 
  and elsewhere. After protests 
  from less populated areas where 
  residual pro-regime sentiment 
  still smolders, the deputies then 
  approved 435 delegates, from 
  a list chosen with geographical 
  distribution in mind. Delegates 
  can speak on the floor of the 
  Congress, putting forward motions 
  regarding the constitution, but 
  can’t vote or speak to matters of 
  provisional administration.
  Congress meets in New York 
  City, in the bullet-spackled 
  marble confines of a structure 
  now renamed the People’s Hall. 
  Located on 5th Avenue, where 
  the Guggenheim Museum stands 
  in our timeline, the hall was 
  previously known as the Institute 
  for Broader Understanding. Under 
  this bland title Carcosan nobles 
  oversaw the looting of American 
  taxpayers and businesses on behalf 
  of the King and his daughters. 
  The charred remains of its gate to 
  Carcosa can be found on Sub-
  Basement B, but you have to get 
  past the security guards if you 
  want to gawp at it.
  The distinction between federal 
  and state governments has gone by 
  the wayside since the revolution. 
  The Congress is expected to 
  reinstate this, but agreement 
  on how much power to divide 
  between the two levels has 
  proven elusive.
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  35
  The New Cops
  Every horror-mystery game 
  grapples with the question of 
  why the main characters choose 
  to handle problems themselves 
  instead of going to the police.
  Like other GUMSHOE games, 
  YKRPG uses Drives to put the 
  answer in the players’ hands. They 
  specify why they head toward 
  danger, including the risk of 
  dealing with matters themselves 
  without bringing in the authorities.
  They may contact police officials 
  to gain information or help them 
  wrap up after the scenario’s central 
  problem has been squared away, 
  but they don’t step aside to let 
  supporting characters fulfill their 
  role in the story for them.
  In this sequence, the setting 
  provides an additional answer 
  to the question: months after the 
  overthrow of the Castaignes,  
  with the People’s Congress in 
  session and the constitution up 
  for grabs, the cops who do remain 
  on duty occupy a disarrayed, 
  provisional position. 
  The Changing Face  
  of Internal Security 
  The arms of government most 
  implicated in oppressing the 
  populace were rigorously weeded-
  out. The Department of Internal 
  Security has been disbanded. The 
  first decree passed by the People’s 
  Congress replaced the Hussars 
  with a skeleton bureau, called 
  the Provisional Federal Police, or 
  PFP. Unlike local police agencies 
  it includes very few holdovers. Its 
  politics revolve not around who 
  did what in the past, but who 
  controls the future. Competing ex-
  partisans vie for turf in whatever 
  the PFP will become once the 
  government regularizes itself.
  As far as the law goes, its special 
  agents mostly make it up as they 
  go along. Aside from bureaucratic 
  infighting, the PFP tackles 
  whatever major crimes its top 
  brass decides to grab jurisdiction 
  over. A few glory hogs might try 
  to sweep in and try to muscle the 
  PCs out of a case, making the job 
  of finding out what’s really going 
  on harder. 
  Most prefer to let expendable 
  freelancers like the PCs take the 
  risks of getting mixed up with 
  leftover Carcosan nonsense. When 
  the smoke has cleared, they may 
  take credit for whatever parts of 
  the case can be placed in the 
  public record. They might even 
  admit that they owe the crew who 
  really put their butts on the line a 
  favor or two.
  The PFP’s best known division 
  investigates, tracks, and arrests 
  suspected war criminals. They 
  work with the Tribunal, a civilian 
  body chosen by the Revolutionary 
  Council to process war crimes 
  defendants. It can send defendants 
  to trial; some of these get bail 
  while the worst cool their heels 
  in custody. The Tribunal may 
  suspend a case without prejudice, 
  meaning that the defendant is not 
  charged with a crime but might 
  be in the light of later evidence. 
  Or it can clear suspects entirely, 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  36
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  37
  allowing them freedom from future 
  prosecution and granting them 
  clearance to work in government.
  A skeleton crew operation 
  unimaginatively called 
  Interregnum Administration 
  Security protects the People’s 
  Congress and performs whatever 
  counterintelligence work it can 
  with next to no resources.
  Civilian Police Agencies
  Local police forces have been 
  oriented away from political 
  cases to crime-fighting and the 
  enforcement of non-controversial 
  infractions, like traffic offenses. 
  Most citizens suspect anyone 
  in uniform of having wielded a 
  truncheon in riot actions against 
  the people. Establishing trust will 
  take more than a few months.
  The provisional government 
  has left the names and structures 
  of local police forces intact. The 
  NYPD patrols the streets and 
  investigates crimes in the city of 
  New York. Outer boroughs may 
  be under the jurisdiction of city or 
  county police forces. State police 
  patrol the highways.
  Any police agency that still 
  exists, from municipal police forces 
  to county sheriff’s departments, 
  operates despite internal tension 
  between longstanding officers and 
  their recently installed overseers 
  and colleagues.
  Any cops serving prior to 
  the Overthrow to some degree 
  compromised themselves. 
  Even the lowliest patrolman on 
  occasion had to collar someone 
  on sedition charges or look the 
  other way while the Hussars 
  barged in and started roughing up 
  a prisoner.
  The most egregious dirty cops 
  have been relieved of duty, if not 
  imprisoned on war crimes charges. 
  Still, plenty of commanders and 
  officers who kept their heads 
  down, quietly supporting the 
  regime’s law and order mantra 
  without blotting their records too 
  severely, remain in place. They 
  fear the sweeping purges that 
  will ensue should the retribution 
  crowd triumph over the forces of 
  reconciliation. Were a realistic 
  chance of counter-revolution to 
  present itself, some present cops 
  would jump on it. But most figure 
  they’re going to have to lay low for 
  at least a generation, until a spiral 
  into disorder leaves the population 
  begging for relief from their so-
  called liberators.
  Meanwhile, former partisans 
  have been parachuted into 
  command roles. Experience 
  as outlaw freedom fighters ill-
  prepares them to administer the 
  departments they used to run from. 
  Uncomfortable in the uniforms 
  they once despised, they now 
  must not only maintain order and 
  investigate crimes but also root 
  out the unreconstructed regime 
  holdovers in their midst.
  The schism between holdovers 
  and ex-guerrillas allows plenty of 
  latitude for freelancers to handle 
  cases on their own. Situations 
  involving the supernatural 
  definitely fall in this category. 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  38
  Career-minded officers who don’t 
  want occult crap clogging up 
  their personnel evaluations steer 
  the player characters in the right 
  direction and maintain plausible 
  deniability.
  In any given scenario the cop the 
  team deals with could be:
   •  A former partisan, happy to 
  assist against regime elements 
  but reluctant to move against 
  revolutionaries gone bad.
   •  A rookie excited that it’s his 
  turn to stick his nose in the 
  trough. He might protect 
  the new criminal networks 
  now springing up, planning 
  on a long and fruitful 
  relationship of bribe-taking.
   •  A poorly motivated chair-
  warmer, interested in doing the 
  minimum possible in exchange 
  for a paycheck. The economy 
  hasn’t really jump-started yet, 
  so the promise of a steady job 
  brings in plenty of people who 
  would be better off in a less 
  demanding line of work.
   •  A holdover and quiet 
  Castaigne sympathizer, who 
  throws them off track when 
  they’re investigating war 
  criminals but gladly supplies 
  evidence when partisans 
  have been up to no good.
   •  A holdover with a get-along 
  attitude, ready to act in 
  accordance with the current 
  political winds, if the risks 
  seem small enough.
  The Ex-Files
  When the tide of revolution 
  turned definitively against them, 
  powerful regime figures made sure 
  the most incriminating records of 
  their crimes went up in smoke. 
  Police captains with jurisdiction 
  over sedition and state security 
  destroyed evidence with frantic 
  abandon. With many files and not 
  much time, they also ordered the 
  destruction of files and evidence 
  boxes pertaining to a host of 
  non-political crimes, from murder 
  on down. As a result, many 
  killers either went free, or will be 
  released once their cases come up 
  and the evidence can’t be located. 
  This also means that you can justify 
  the nonexistence or existence of any 
  police file older than six months, as 
  your mystery requires.
  Some files slated for destruction 
  may have instead gone missing—
  either randomly diverted from 
  the incinerator during the chaos 
  of the Struggle, or squirreled 
  away by honest cops eager 
  to protect them for later use. 
  Finding these may prove key to 
  the heroes’ latest case.
  The Law
  State and federal prosecutors’ 
  offices have been purged of 
  Castaigne cronies. Their roles 
  have been taken over by a mix 
  of lawyers from civilian life, 
  including many former defense 
  attorneys, and a select few 
  holdovers. This last group focused 
  on criminal cases and left political 
  prosecutions to the Hussars.
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  39
  At present the sections of the 
  Castaigne legal code pertaining 
  to dissent and sedition have been 
  declared null and void by the 
  People’s Congress. Yet it holds 
  hundreds of Castaignite political 
  prisoners on an off-the-cuff basis, 
  with legislation holding them 
  accountable for their past abuses 
  still pending.
  When the team suggests to a 
  district attorney that someone 
  ought to be arrested, they can 
  expect tough words and a slow 
  walk. DAs want evidence, and 
  lots of it, before putting someone 
  behind bars for crimes that haven’t 
  been written up yet.
  Nor has jurisdiction between 
  state and federal levels been 
  cleared up. A DA wanting to 
  get the team off her back might 
  bounce them to a rival at the other 
  level, who then looks to palm 
  them off on yet another office.
  That said, top prosecutors 
  suspect that they’ll soon have to 
  get elected to remain in office. 
  They like high-profile cases but 
  hate any whiff of the supernatural. 
  They either have personally come 
  to disbelieve in it or understand 
  that growing public amnesia will 
  turn those cases into unproductive 
  rabbit holes.
  This provides another reason for 
  the PCs to pursue political clout: it 
  makes prosecutors more attentive. 
  Allies of the Guardian faction 
  can expect the best reception. 
  Prosecutors may also sympathize 
  with the Originalists, whose 
  plan to revert to pre-Castaigne 
  law offers greater stability than a 
  square-one rewrite of the criminal 
  statutes. Since most law school 
  graduates hail from moneyed 
  backgrounds, many prosecutors 
  have personal connections to the 
  Mercantilist faction.
  Factions and Issues
  America has been a one-
  party state since 1920. Political 
  scientists say that contending 
  political parties could re-emerge 
  soon. So far, the Congress consists 
  only of informal factions, who ally 
  with one another on certain issues 
  and part company on others.
  All-for-Ones
  Agenda: A radical redistribution 
  of wealth and the abolition of 
  the old class system. Though 
  loosely inspired by an obscure 
  19th century German called 
  Karl Marx, they call for a 
  decentralized system where 
  the state does little but prevent 
  the concentration of economic 
  power. Favorite slogan: “The 
  Castaigne regime was capitalism 
  carried to its logical extreme!” 
  Composition: Students, ex-
  partisans, and labor.
  Unflattering Nickname: In a 
  timeline where no nation ever 
  adopted Communism, they aren’t 
  called Commies or Reds or any 
  familiar epithet. Instead their rivals 
  call them Cloud Cuckoos, which 
  shortens to Kooks.
  Sympathies: Public, Trust.
  Antipathies: Private, Vigilance.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  40
  Commercials
  Agenda: The reinstatement 
  of rights to engage in business 
  activity, free from official 
  meddling. 
  Composition: Ambitious would-
  be entrepreneurs shut out by the 
  Castaignes’ crony capitalism.
  Unflattering Nickname: 
  Merchers
  Sympathies: Freedom, Private.
  Antipathies: Vigilance, Public.
  Guardians
  Agenda: A strong security state 
  to hunt down criminals of the 
  old regime, and to establish a 
  bulwark against a reactionary 
  wave of Carcosan infiltration. 
  Composition: The cops, 
  prosecutors, and military officials 
  who turned on the Castaignes at 
  the last minute tend to be heavy 
  Guardians.
  Unflattering Nickname: Coats 
  (refers to the uniforms many of 
  them wear, but also short for 
  “turncoat”).
  Sympathies: Order, Vigilance.
  Antipathies: Trust, Private.
  Homelords
  Agenda: To restrict the 
  government’s power to the 
  public square only. No 
  government agency may intrude 
  into the affairs of people on their 
  own property. Nothing a person 
  does on property he owns 
  or co-owns can be deemed 
  illegal, unless it harms another 
  co-owner of the property, or 
  someone outside the property. In 
  the first case the civil suit is the 
  only remedy.
  Some Homelords also argue for 
  a return to gold currency or the 
  barter system. 
  One might think that with 
  their aversion to all things 
  governmental they would 
  not show up to petition the 
  People’s Congress or attend 
  other political events. But one 
  would be spectacularly wrong, 
  as their bullhorns, bullet-pointed 
  presentations, and placards 
  covered in microscopic hand-
  printing attest. Even so they are 
  not so much political players as 
  a wild card force, and sometimes 
  a weapon of confusion one 
  faction can steer over to mess 
  with another.
  Composition: A small 
  number of loud but heavily 
  armed hermits, recluses, and 
  supernatural encounter survivors. 
  Unflattering Nickname: Coots.
  Sympathies: Private, Vigilance.
  Antipathies: Public, Trust.
  Initiators
  Agenda: “The old constitution 
  failed. Only a novel democracy, 
  rethought from the ground up, 
  can respond to the demands of 
  the 21st century.”
  Composition: Coming from 
  a younger generation than 
  the Originalists, they were 
  able to take a more direct role 
  in the Overthrow, because 
  fewer of them were in prison. 
  Disproportionately from the west 
  coast.
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  41
  Unflattering Nickname: Doos, 
  short for Do-Over.
  Sympathies: Freedom.
  Antipathies: Order.
  Mercantilists
  Agenda: Maintain economic 
  continuity by keeping the 
  franchise system that ensures 
  stability and justice for 
  corporation and consumer alike.
  Composition: Business people 
  who succeeded under the 
  Castaignes without getting their 
  hands too obviously dirty, they 
  represent themselves as having 
  the know-how to get the economy 
  running fast. Opponents call them 
  would-be oligarchs who merely 
  want to take over the franchises 
  left open by the downfall of pro-
  Castaigne business leaders. 
  Unflattering Nickname: Garks 
  (short for oligarch).
  Sympathies: Order, Public.
  Antipathies: Freedom, Private.
  Originalists
  Agenda: A return to the 
  American constitution and 
  governmental structure of 1919. 
  Or possibly 1910, just to be safe.
  Composition: Older academic 
  dissidents from Washington, 
  New York, and Chicago, some 
  of whom spent decades as 
  political prisoners. 
  Unflattering Nickname: 
  Footnotes.
  Sympathies: Order.
  Antipathies: Trust.
  Renouncers
  Agenda: Restore civil society by 
  the only means that will truly heal 
  it: forgiveness and reconciliation. 
  People are tired of being spied on. 
  The strong security state others 
  desire will inevitably turn into 
  Castaignism with different buttons 
  on its uniform.
  Composition: College students, 
  liberal clergy, and artists.
  Unflattering Nickname: 
  Flowers.
  Sympathies: Trust.
  Antipathies: Vigilance.
  Interacting with Factions
  The factions split on several 
  grounds: constitutional 
  (Originalists vs. Initiators), 
  economic (Commercials vs. 
  Mercantilists vs. All-For-Ones), and 
  justice (Guardians vs. Renouncer). 
  How a given politician feels about 
  the constitution may or may not 
  inform her stance on the economy 
  or justice. Eventually these 
  tendencies settle out into more-
  or-less stable coalitions, and then 
  further harden into institutionalized 
  parties. Some beliefs will die out, 
  others will adapt themselves to 
  fusion between power blocs. In 
  retrospect that consolidation will 
  seem inevitable. But right now, it’s 
  all up for grabs.
  Each faction’s description 
  includes the Goal tags it 
  sympathizes with and which 
  it opposes. Player characters 
  will find natural allies for its 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  42
  agenda among the factions who 
  sympathize with their Goal tags.
  The group pursues the Goal 
  “Shut Down Government Lethal 
  Chambers,” which carries the 
  tags Public and Order. Looking 
  at the Sympathies columns on 
  the diagram above, we can see 
  which factions are connected to 
  those two tags. These will be the 
  ones most amenable to this Goal. 
  Connecting the dots, you invent 
  reasons for these predispositions.
  Mercantilists: Suicide 
  chambers breed despair and are 
  thus bad for business!
  All-For-Ones: The people 
  must save each other from self-
  murdering despair!
  Originalists: The installation 
  of the GLCs in 1920 marked the 
  shift from the true, free America 
  to the Castaignes' hideous 
  bastardization of it!
  Guardians: Suicide isn't a 
  victimless crime—it inflicts a 
  terrible wound on the loved ones 
  left behind. It must be banned, 
  not celebrated.
  SYMPATHIES
  PUBLIC
  MERCANTILISTS
  ALL-FOR-ONES
  PRIVATE
  FREEDOM
  ORDER
  VIGILANCE
  TRUST
  ANTIPATHIES
  COMMERCIALS
  HOMELORDS
  INITIATORS
  COMMERCIALS
  ORIGINALISTS
  MERCANTILISTS
  GUARDIANS
  GUARDIANS
  HOMELORDS
  ALL-FOR-ONES
  RENOUNCERS
  COMMERCIALS
  ALL-FOR-ONES
  GUARDIANS
  COMMERCIALS
  ALL-FOR-ONES
  RENOUNCERS
  MERCANTILISTS
  COMMERCIALS
  HOMELORDS
  INITIATORS
  ORIGINALISTS
  GUARDIANS
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  43
  Pursuing the Goal
  Amid this ferment, the ex-rebels 
  pursue their chosen Goal as 
  civilians. To recap, from p. 11, 
  this might be:
   •  Shut Down Government 
  Lethal Chambers
   •  Preserve Government 
  Lethal Chambers
   •  Truth and Reconciliation
   •  War Crimes Trials
   •  Preserve Order
   •  Reinstate Freedom
   •  Banish the Supernatural
   •  Harness the Supernatural
   •  Get Elected
   •  Build a Business
   •  A Goal created by the players
  When constructing scenarios, 
  you interweave two elements:
  1.  the mystery of the current 
  scenario
  2.  scenes that further the 
  overarching narrative in which 
  the team moves toward, or 
  is pushed back from, the 
  achievement of their Goal
  Ask your players to describe 
  a milestone that will feel like a 
  major victory in their pursuit. 
  Depending on how many sessions 
  you decide to run, this might be 
  a stepping stone toward a bigger 
  win, or a complete triumph that 
  solves their problem for good.
  In this last case, if they achieve 
  final victory but want to keep going 
  with this sequence, they would 
  then choose a new Goal. It would 
  probably be one they create, in 
  which their conclusive success 
  reveals their next objective.
  For one-shot play, or a series 
  intended to last for only a few 
  weeks, drop the political empire-
  building angle. Ignore Chit and 
  Hit cards. You may still want to run 
  a mystery in which politics features 
  as a subplot. If that plot requires 
  that the characters have a particular 
  Goal, assign it to them along with 
  the pre-generated characters.
  Goal Points
  The group reaches its Goal, and 
  either concludes the sequence 
  or moves on to a new Goal, 
  when it receives a predetermined 
  number of Goal points. They gain 
  Goal points by scoring political 
  successes, represented by Chit 
  cards. Less frequently, they may 
  temporarily lose Goal points 
  when they take on Hit cards, 
  representing political setbacks.
  For a series of around seven to 
  nine scenarios, use a Goal point 
  total of 7. 
  For a shorter series, use 5 or 
  even 4.
  For a somewhat longer series, 
  bump it up to 8 or 9.
  For an epic-length series just 
  of Aftermath mysteries, keep the 
  target at 7 and have them reset to 
  a new Goal each time they reach 
  it, until you hit the point where 
  you want to wrap up.
  Chits
  As they investigate mysteries, the 
  player characters get opportunities 
  to advance their subplots. If 
  they succeed or make the smart 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  44
  choice, they gain a Chit—a card 
  representing a favor or benefit they 
  can later leverage toward their Goal.
  They are never forced to choose 
  between solving the mystery 
  and gaining a Chit. Instead these 
  elements dovetail—often by 
  solving the mystery, they earn the 
  gratitude of a person with clout, 
  represented by the Chit.
  The name reminds the group of 
  the event that gave them the card.
  The label identifies the card as a Chit.
  The flavor text provides a more 
  detailed reminder of the card’s story 
  significance.
  The rules text describes any 
  mechanical effect the card exerts, 
  in addition to the Goal points it 
  awards. It may include a benefit that 
  the group gains by discarding the 
  card. Chits can be discarded only 
  with unanimous agreement from 
  all players present. When a card is 
  discarded, the Goal points it awards 
  go away.
  YOUR FIRST PATRON
  Chit
  Now that you have one powerful 
  person to show you the ropes, 
  your entry into the political world 
  has begun.
  Discard to get misdemeanor 
  charges against any single person 
  dismissed.
  Discard to discard any Hit card.
  NAME
  Chit
  Flavor text.
  Rules text.
  1
  Value
  Unlike Injuries and Shocks, 
  Chits go to the entire group. 
  The Chit provides a number 
  of Goal points. The number of 
  points a Chit provides may vary 
  depending on their Goal’s tags, 
  or some other variable.
  Chit cards look like this, with 
  blank formatting on the left and a 
  sample card on the right.
  The value tells you how many 
  Goal points it awards: usually 1, 
  never more than 2.
  The rest of the Chit cards appear 
  at the end of the book, starting on 
  p. 140.
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  45
  Hits
  With competing ambitions, 
  beliefs, and cold hard money on 
  the line, politics presents a myriad 
  of setbacks to its ever-shifting cast 
  of activists and operators. Failures 
  or unwise decisions made during 
  a scenario’s political subplot can 
  saddle the group with Hit cards. 
  Like Chits, they are held by the 
  entire group. As you have already 
  guessed, they reduce their  
  Goal points total, and perhaps 
  exert additional negative 
  mechanical effects.
  The value of a Hit is never more 
  punitive than -1, but its rules 
  text may specify a condition that 
  imposes another -1 penalty, for a 
  total possible penalty of -2.
  Hit cards appear at the back of 
  the book, after the Chit cards.
  Who Rolls?
  Some Chit and Hit cards call for 
  the roll of a die. The GM decides 
  which of the players rolls. Pick the 
  one whose character feels most 
  tightly connected to the situation 
  at hand.
  Hit Cards as Opening 
  Challenges
  While the characters receive 
  Chit cards as a reward for 
  successes, Hit cards might show 
  up regardless of what they do. 
  This fits the way things happen 
  in the real world: problems can 
  come out of nowhere, not because 
  you screwed up or deserve to 
  be punished, but because lots 
  of other people are out there 
  following agendas of their own, 
  with unpredictable results. And 
  sometimes chaos just happens.
  Make it clear to players that Hit 
  cards are fair in the way life is fair, 
  which is to say: not really. 
  You might start a scenario, or the 
  first scene of its political subplot, 
  by handing them a Hit card. This 
  becomes an additional dilemma 
  they have to deal with alongside the 
  central mystery. The actions they 
  take to counter it may lead them to 
  the mystery. By solving it, they then 
  get to discard the Hit card.
  You decide that the Soft 
  Man, a serial killer (and former 
  secret policeman) the group 
  caught and turned over to the 
  cops in a previous episode, 
  should return for a sequel. 
  You give the group the card 
  “Shocking New Evidence” and 
  describe them receiving the 
  news that he's been set free on 
  bail. Castaignites hidden inside 
  the judiciary have conspired 
  to let him go, using Carcosan 
  magic to destroy key evidence. 
  The group can discard the card 
  by investigating and exposing 
  the Soft Man's covert allies.
  Along the way the group might 
  find some completely unrelated 
  way of getting rid of the card. 
  Reward their creativity by letting 
  them do that.
  Use this as only one of several 
  ways to introduce a scenario. 
  Set up the scenario so that the 
  group has a chance to pick up 1 or 
  2 Chits, as well as the opportunity 
  to dispose of the Hit card. 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  46
  Avoid a one-step forward, two-
  steps back rhythm where any 
  progress toward 7 Goal points 
  feels illusory.
  Narrating Cards
  The titles and flavor text entries 
  on the cards provided here are 
  kept general. This allows each 
  of them to fit a range of different 
  story situations.
  Just as you narrate the situation 
  in which you give a player a Shock 
  or Injury card, you describe what’s 
  happened in the game world to 
  justify why the group got a Hit or 
  Chit.
  The group blows up a 
  research facility without 
  investigating far enough to 
  realize that its lower level 
  contains a menagerie of hostile 
  Carcosan life forms. Now freed, 
  they rampage across the area. 
  You mark the setback for the 
  group by giving them the “Havoc 
  Unleashed” Hit card. “Over the 
  next few days, you see the streets 
  empty, and read newspaper 
  articles in which terrified citizens 
  say they're afraid to leave the 
  house,” you say, elaborating in 
  response to player actions and 
  questions.
  Likewise, see to it that the 
  players understand what’s going 
  on in the story when they discard 
  one of these cards. Often the 
  game’s fictional events make the 
  reasons behind the loss of an 
  advantage or the overcoming of 
  a disadvantage perfectly evident. 
  Now and then you may have to 
  furrow your brow a bit to account 
  for the shift.
   After they round up the most 
  destructive of the freed creatures, 
  you figure the team has earned 
  themselves a Chit—“Never 
  Complacent.” According to the 
  rules text of “Havoc Unleashed,” 
  they can discard it when they 
  take a risk that makes up for a 
  lapse in vigilance. Making this 
  register in the story, you describe 
  a scene in which neighborhood 
  residents once again feel safe 
  enough to gather outside.
  Reskinning Cards
  Make a stronger impression on 
  players by rewriting titles and 
  text for Hit and Chit cards. Here 
  you tailor a card to the specifics 
  of the scenario, while leaving the 
  rules text as is. This makes the 
  events they’re tied to easier for 
  players to remember.
  Designing New Cards
  When creating cards with new 
  mechanical effects, follow these 
  principles:
   •  Most Chit cards have a 
  Goal points value of 1. 
   •  Some may provide a bonus of 
  +1 Goal points under a restricted 
  condition that reflects a choice 
  by the players, either one they 
  have already made, or one 
  they must make in the future.
   •  Chit cards with a value of 2 
  include a tempting benefit 
  that the group can gain by 
  discarding the card. Deciding 
  whether to keep the points or 
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  47
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  48
  cash in the benefit should be a 
  tough decision. The choice can 
  become a no-brainer, which 
  is undesirable, if the benefit 
  is either too weak to bother 
  with or so strong the loss of 
  the Goal points doesn’t hurt.
   •  Create cool but not earth-
  shaking positive benefits for 
  a Chit with a value of 1.
   •  Alternately you can 
  create a strong benefit 
  with a downside risk.
   •  Hit cards carry a value of -1, 
  with perhaps an additional 
  penalty under conditions 
  the characters can avoid by 
  making reasonable choices.
   •  Additional negative effects 
  should bite just enough to 
  add flavor and distinctiveness 
  to the situation. Avoid 
  wildly punitive effects.
   •  Discard conditions of Hit cards 
  should impel characters to 
  take risks, expend resources, 
  tackle difficult obstacles, 
  or otherwise enter into 
  memorable and entertaining 
  conflicts within the story.
  What If My Players Hate 
  Politics?
  Aftermath makes politics 
  accessible to players who like to 
  plan and build. The card collection 
  mechanism turns the process 
  into a measurable, resource-
  collecting exercise, amping up 
  its gamer appeal. The setting 
  removes the annoyances of real-
  world partisanship by presenting 
  the ideologies and issues of 
  an alternate world. Finally, the 
  political angle helps set Aftermath 
  apart from the other sequences.
  Even with all that, you may be 
  certain that this bit won’t work for 
  your particular group.
  It’s modular, so you can drop 
  it without disrupting any other 
  element of the sequence.
  If you want to have politics still 
  crop up from time to time in your 
  mysteries, without the running 
  subplot in which they pursue a 
  concrete objective within the 
  system, leave the rules as they are.
  To completely eliminate all 
  political interaction, drop the 
  Politics General ability and reduce 
  the number of General build 
  points each player spends during 
  character creation by 3.
  Scenario Elements
  A default Aftermath scenario 
  contains the following elements:
  Crisis: The group gets wind of 
  a problem that suits its set of ex-
  partisan skills, and a lead or leads 
  that get them started investigating it.
  Alien Truth: Behind the obvious 
  problem lies a sinister secret 
  tied to Carcosa, the King, or the 
  Yellow Sign. 
  Opportunity: Along the way 
  they discover a connection, direct 
  or tangential, allowing them the 
  chance to gain Chit cards taking 
  them closer to realizing their Goal.
  Risks: As the series develops, 
  political problems rear their 
  heads, threatening the group 
  with Hit cards that imperil their 
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  49
  Goal. These may arise from the 
  investigation or pop up to interfere 
  with it.
  Antagonist Reactions: Along 
  with the usual countermeasures 
  and aggressive actions undertaken 
  by antagonists connected to the 
  central mystery, the squad must 
  sometimes break from the main 
  action to deal with moves against 
  their Goal by political rivals. They 
  might wind up having a direct 
  connection to the central mystery. 
  Alternately, they might invoke its 
  theme while being unrelated on a 
  literal level.
  Wheeling and Dealing
  While the other three 
  components of a scenario carry 
  over from previous sequences, 
  Opportunities and Risks drop in 
  as a new distinguishing feature 
  lending Aftermath its distinctive 
  flavor. Here’s how you prepare 
  them and bring them into play.
  Preparing Opportunities
  The system assumes that the 
  players gain 1 Chit card per 
  scenario. You might create a 
  scenario to:
   •  grant one specific Chit
   •  allow the players to gain one 
  of several Chits, as determined 
  by the choices they make
  Theoretically you could 
  withhold a Chit from the group 
  if they spectacularly fail to 
  solve the mystery or botch the 
  opportunity arising from it. That’s 
  a rare occurrence in a GUMSHOE 
  game, which instead assumes 
  that the protagonists eventually 
  crack the case, though sometimes 
  at a cost. When things go badly 
  you’ll see that it basically always 
  makes more sense to award a Chit, 
  but also saddle the group with a 
  countervailing Hit.
  For early scenarios, choose or 
  create Chit cards that suggest the ex-
  partisans are paying dues and laying 
  groundwork for later alliances.
  “Your First Patron” is tailor-made 
  for any introductory scenario, and 
  appears as such in the adventure 
  supplied on p. 95.
  Other Hits particularly suited 
  for early scenarios include the 
  ones that mark allegiance to a 
  faction or leader: “Commercial 
  Alliance,” “Mercantilist Alliance,” 
  “Originalist Alliance,” “Renouncer 
  Alliance,” “Guardian Alliance,” 
  “Initiator Alliance,” “Friends in 
  the Ramirez Camp,” or “Friends in 
  the Palmer Camp.” Alliance cards 
  allow the players to match the tags 
  on their Goal card to a faction 
  with the same affinity. Friends 
  cards might be gained by solving 
  a case in a way that benefits one 
  of the two likely presidential 
  candidates. (“Homelord Alliance” 
  is an oddball case that can pop up 
  whenever and does not establish 
  much of a political base.)
  Once the heroes have a stake in 
  the maneuvering at the People’s 
  Congress, you can start to either:
  1.  choose Chits that fit the theme 
  of the mystery
  2.  use Chits to find a premise for 
  the mystery
  Examples of the first technique:
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  50
   •  Mystery: A dissident finds a 
  skeleton buried on his property. 
  The heroes will discover that the 
  dissident has been replaced by a 
  dupe (p. 82), and the remains 
  are that of the real person he 
  replaced. Fitting Cards: The 
  case requires investigation 
  into the DIS, so might yield 
  “Window Into the Hussars.” 
  Figuring out what to do about 
  the dupe and the Hussar who 
  had him made requires finesse 
  that might be rewarded by 
  “Reputation for Efficiency.”
   •  Mystery: The group looks 
  into weird manifestations in a 
  cemetery containing the graves 
  of early Castaigne supporters. 
  Fitting Cards: The landlords of 
  nearby tenements may show 
  their thanks for ending the 
  haunting with the “Housing Ties” 
  card. Word of the team’s help to 
  the working-class people who 
  live there can be represented by 
  “Champion of the Underdog.”
  Examples of the second:
   •  Inspiring Card: “Mob Ties” gets 
  you thinking of a case where 
  the team encounters former 
  colleagues who have decided 
  to use their training to establish 
  themselves as gangsters. 
  Mystery: Old-line criminals 
  have been using a Carcosan 
  wetworker (p. 80) to take out 
  their new ex-revolutionary rivals. 
  The team gets involved when 
  they look into the death of an 
  erroneously targeted bystander. 
  The colleagues-turned-crooks 
  offer covert political support 
  as a reward for dealing with 
  this menace: if the players 
  say yes, they get the card.
   •  Inspiring Card: “Scapegoats 
  Exonerated” suggests a plotline 
  in which the group clears 
  someone wrongly accused. 
  Mystery: You put an Aftermath 
  spin on this familiar story 
  seed by making the accused 
  members of a support group 
  for former political prisoners, 
  the victims the ex-Hussars who 
  tormented them, and the real 
  perpetrator a vengeful spirit.
  Building Risks
  After the heroes have started to 
  build a network of allies and have 
  something to lose as they move 
  toward their Goal, you can start 
  introducing political obstacles in 
  the form of Risks.
  Risks fall into two categories, 
  those that arise:
   •  from the current mystery 
  and the team’s choices 
  as they deal with it
   •  as arbitrary, unrelated threats 
  to their allies and resources
  In the first case, you can build 
  them into your scenarios as you 
  would Chit cards. You can either 
  start with the mystery and find 
  the Hit that fits it or use the Hit as 
  inspiration for the mystery. In this 
  last case, you would then build in 
  the available Chit(s) by finding cards 
  that best fit the scenario premise.
   •  Mystery: A nephew of a 
  People’s Deputy the group 
  has been lobbying is found in 
  the sewer system, raving in an 
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  51
  alien tongue and covered in 
  a rash shaped like the Yellow 
  Sign. Fitting Card: While 
  looking into the case, the group 
  uncovers financial irregularities 
  connected to the pol they hope 
  to bring on board. If they fail 
  to deal with these delicately, 
  he becomes an enemy instead 
  of an ally, marked by the card 
  “Wrong Foot to Tread On.”
   •  Inspiring Card: “Body Count” 
  suggests a mass killing. Mystery: 
  The team investigates what 
  caused the previously peaceful 
  perpetrator to rampage. They 
  find a copy of The King in 
  Yellow in her apartment. But 
  who put it there, and why?
  In the second case, develop 
  an already established political 
  subplot in a way that might lead 
  to a Hit card. Or just pick a Hit 
  at random: politics is, after all, 
  mostly about handling the sudden 
  eruption of revelations, scandals, 
  and catastrophes.
  The group has been pursuing 
  its “Banish the Supernatural” 
  Goal by arguing for the creation 
  of a specialized agency that 
  fights Carcosan influence. Last 
  session they offended the head 
  of the NYPD police union. 
  This time he moves against 
  them by lobbying allies at the 
  People's Congress to keep such 
  investigations within police 
  jurisdiction.
  You randomly pick “Silly 
  Season” to be this week's 
  possible Hit card. Checking your 
  social media feed, you find the 
  dumbest political controversy 
  currently in progress. Adapting 
  it to the alternate reality of 
  Aftermath, you explain that 
  fascination with that nonsense 
  has caused massive no-shows at 
  a press conference the group has 
  called to advance its agenda.
  Hit cards don’t necessarily 
  require prep, especially if your 
  group has a way of messing 
  things up without you throwing 
  additional obstacles at them. Wait 
  for them to embark on an iffy 
  course of action and fail. Then find 
  the Hit card that best represents 
  the consequences. You’ll note 
  several Hit cards are tuned to 
  familiar roleplaying cock-ups.
  Zara decides to deal with a 
  former Hussar agent by planting 
  a bomb in his garage. When 
  her player, Noelle, fails her 
  Insurgency test, you decide that 
  the explosion takes out every 
  window on a nearby commercial 
  street. “Bull in a China Shop” 
  seems like a fine choice for a Hit 
  card if they fail the Politics test to 
  smooth this all out.
  Hit cards are meant to feel like 
  setbacks but shouldn’t completely 
  stall the group’s progress toward 
  the Goal. The threat of a Hit, or 
  a Hit which is gained and then 
  efficiently disposed of, is just as 
  emotionally effective as one that 
  hangs around forever. In my test 
  game, the group fended off many 
  Hits, gaining only 1 for any length 
  of time.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  52
  Bringing in Opportunities
  When the team fulfills the 
  conditions in the storyline to 
  acquire a Chit card, they simply 
  get it, no tests required.
  Bringing in Risks
  When confronted by a Risk, 
  again narrate the specific situation 
  and ask the players how they’re 
  going to counter the problem.
  Based on the apparent 
  challenge of executing their 
  plan, and the magnitude of the 
  dilemma, set a Difficulty and call 
  for a Politics test. They take the 
  Hit only if they fail.
  Returning to the example of 
  a street's worth of shop windows 
  being blown out by an ill-judged 
  explosive, you decide that 
  this is a crisis of manageable 
  proportions. No one was killed, 
  and the retailers just want the 
  damages covered. You set the 
  Difficulty of the Politics test at 4. 
  The player of the group's smooth 
  talker describes her chatting 
  with the shop owners, spends 2 
  Politics, rolls a 2, and succeeds, 
  keeping the Hit card out of the 
  group's collective possession.
  Sweet Victory
  When the group has collected 
  Chit cards giving them 7 Goal 
  points (or the adjusted target you 
  have chosen) the present scenario 
  concludes with a special coda. 
  Lead the players in describing 
  exactly how they achieve 
  their Goal. Encourage them 
  to incorporate the story points 
  represented by their Chit cards 
  into their narration—with the 
  Chit that takes them over the top 
  playing a pivotal role. 
  Example: The group pursues the 
  Goal “Shut Down Government 
  Lethal Chambers,” which carries 
  the tags Public and Healing.
  As they begin a new scenario, 
  in which they investigate 
  disappearances along a lonely 
  stretch of highway, they have 
  6 Chits already in hand, each 
  of which confers 1 Goal point: 
  “Heroic Coverage,” “In Good with 
  the Cops,” “Respected Across the 
  Aisle,” “Revanchists Exposed,” and 
  “Grace Under Pressure.”
  They’ve managed to mostly rid 
  themselves of prior Hit cards, with 
  only one, “Havoc Unleashed,” still 
  in hand. Its -1 value places the 
  group’s current Goal points at 5.
  At first the group attributes the 
  disappearances to a pack of riot 
  dogs they encounter near the 
  road. Investigating further, they 
  begin to wonder if the Monument 
  Alley Irregulars, a partisan group 
  they remember coordinating with 
  during the rebellion, are somehow 
  involved. Looking for the scoop 
  on their current activities, they 
  seek out a recurring supporting 
  character, Desirae Oaks. Oaks, a 
  deputy to the People’s Congress 
  who speaks for many ex-partisans, 
  urges them to tread lightly—any 
  revelation calling any partisan 
  group into disrepute could lose 
  her allies in the Congress.
  Now What?
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  53
  The team discovers the Irregulars 
  have indeed succumbed to evil. 
  They force kidnapped prisoners to 
  battle one another in a fight club 
  run for the benefit of voyeuristic 
  Carcosans. Their clients reward 
  them by excreting gold dust from 
  their bodies.
  In your exciting climax, the team 
  frees the prisoners, who turn on 
  their tormentors, leaving no bad 
  guys left alive.
  If the group decides to help 
  themselves to the gold dust, you 
  give them the “Sometimes Money 
  is Its Own Reward” card. That 
  takes them to 6 points.
  But their Hit card has a 
  reasonably easy discard condition: 
  they just have to spend a 
  Reassurance Push on a reluctant 
  ally. Doing so would bring them to 
  7 Goal points.
  Fortunately, Gianni, whose 
  character Grant has the 
  Reassurance ability, has kept 
  a Push in reserve for just this 
  moment. Gianni goes to Desirae 
  Oaks; in a dialogue exchange 
  between Grant and you, as 
  Desirae, he assures her that any 
  potentially damaging evidence 
  will go to the grave alongside 
  the late, unlamented members of 
  the Monument Street Irregulars. 
  He spends the Push, fulfilling the 
  discard conditions of the “Bull in a 
  China Shop” Hit card. That brings 
  the group’s Goal points total to 7.
  Still in character as Desirae, you 
  inform the group that the final 
  vote to declare Lethal Chambers 
  unconstitutional is about to come 
  before the Congress. She’s counted 
  the votes, and she’s sure she can 
  push it over the top. 
  You describe the group 
  watching the vote in the Congress 
  hall, then flash forward to another 
  scene in which they stand by for 
  the dismantling of New York’s 
  Lethal Chamber.
  Then you decide whether that 
  marks a transition into This Is 
  Normal Now, or if they’ll stick 
  around in this setting for a while, 
  picking a new Goal to pursue as 
  the next scenario commences.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  54
  The business history of this 
  world also differs from ours. 
  Brands that died off in our 
  timeline may still be cranking out 
  products today. In this reality, 
  Studebaker remains a major auto 
  maker, manufacturing  ‘70s- and 
  ‘80s-looking sedans, compacts, 
  and utility vehicles. 
  Government Lethal 
  Chamber FAQ
  When they hear about 
  Government Lethal Chambers, 
  which probably happens during 
  character generation, your players 
  will likely have questions. Answer 
  them by paraphrasing the following. 
  This is not an in-world 
  document, but a series of answers 
  a person familiar with the issue 
  might give to someone who has 
  gone through life without thinking 
  much about it.
  How long have these existed?
  Government Lethal Chambers 
  were instituted in 1920, under 
  the administration of the last 
  democratically elected president, 
  Harold Winthrop.
  Why haven’t these horrible 
  devices been decommissioned yet?
  The right to an efficient 
  and painless suicide remains 
  Advances we take for granted 
  in our present have been 
  systematically stifled in this one. 
  In matters of dress, manners, 
  technology and the arts, the 
  Aftermath world resembles 
  a blend of the mid-1970s 
  underpinned by a supernatural 
  twist on Orwell’s 1984.
  Except for the tools of war and 
  repression, technology in this 
  world lags behind our own by a 
  couple of generations. 
  People have been to Carcosa, 
  but not to the moon.
  When an item of technology is 
  not specified here, and it post-
  dates the 1970s in our world, 
  it probably doesn’t yet exist in 
  this one. (Unless you need it to, 
  because you’re the boss.)
  The groundwork for a 
  technology may languish 
  somewhere in the dusty 
  notebooks of some disregarded 
  engineer, with no one to develop 
  it or bring it to market.
  On the bright side, decreased 
  social freedom prevented certain 
  epidemics. The ‘80s in Castaigne 
  land might have been crawling 
  with alien freaks, but nobody 
  knows what AIDS is, or has figured 
  out how to treat cocaine to make 
  it affordable for all.
  TECHNOLOGY
  Technology
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  55
  Fields
  Exists
  Doesn’t Exist
  Communications
  Television, radio, 
  film, microfiche, vinyl 
  records, 8-track tapes, 
  early mobile phones 
  (mid-1908s equivalent)
  Consumer video, the 
  Internet, commercial 
  satellites, cassette tapes, 
  CDs, digital music, 
  portable music players
  Forensics
  Ballistics, gunshot 
  residue testing, 
  fingerprinting by visual 
  inspection, voiceprinting
  DNA identification, 
  automated fingerprint 
  searching, automated 
  footwear searches, facial 
  recognition
  Computing
  Large mainframes, 
  punched card coding, 
  paper records
  Miniaturization, bar 
  codes, scanners, 
  personal computing, 
  smartphones, tablets, 
  digital documents
  Transportation
  Blocky cars, trains, 
  monorails, commercial 
  air travel
  Aerodynamic ground 
  vehicle design, space 
  travel, electric cars
  Medicine
  Vaccines, organ 
  transplants, beta 
  blockers, artificial 
  hearts, cochlear 
  implants, insulin pumps, 
  liposuction
  Laser eye surgery, 
  MRI scanners, statins, 
  animal cloning (non-
  supernatural), stem cell 
  therapy, telesurgery, lab-
  grown organs
  Weapons and armor
  Kevlar
  Laser-guided targeting
  Recreational drugs
  Heroin, powder cocaine, 
  amphetamines, LSD, 
  marijuana
  Crack, bath salts, ecstasy, 
  MDMA
  Food
  Steak, potatoes, iceberg 
  lettuce salad, shrimp 
  cocktail, baked Alaska
  GMOs, molecular 
  gastronomy, fusion 
  cuisine, organic food 
  movement
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  56
  deeply ingrained in the public 
  consciousness. Although a 
  growing movement wants to see 
  them shut down, at least half 
  of the population takes them 
  for granted as a key amenity 
  of a free society. Many of your 
  fellow revolutionaries agree with 
  that. If GLCs were a Castaigne 
  innovation, it would be easier to 
  organize against them.
  How do they work?
  The customer simply approaches 
  the machine. A dial device on 
  the door, like those seen on some 
  washroom stalls, tells you whether 
  it’s available or occupied. The 
  machines sometimes break down, 
  as the Lethal Chamber Technician 
  can attest. If so, it probably has an 
  Out of Service sign on it—likely 
  put there by the PC. 
  Assuming the unit is open and 
  working, you walk in, stand on 
  a footprint applique on the floor, 
  and reach out to touch a large 
  black button about four feet off the 
  ground on a central brass column. 
  Then a complex network of blades 
  scythes out of the column to 
  instantly reduce you to—
  What? Wait a minute, blades? 
  Shouldn’t it be gas or something?
  This is a popular misconception 
  that the authorities, both in the 
  Winthrop day and now, make little 
  effort to dispel. Poison gas would 
  pose an enormous risk to bystanders 
  in the event of malfunction. 
  Be assured, each blade device 
  was exquisitely engineered and 
  assembled to guarantee the fastest 
  possible demise.
  Isn’t that unspeakably messy?
  Not if everything works properly. 
  An automated self-cleaning system 
  and drainage gate are supposed 
  to clear away the remains entirely, 
  leaving nothing untoward for the 
  next customer to see.
  I think that answer had some 
  qualifiers in it.
  Well, clearly marked signage 
  warns people with metal pins or 
  artificial bones or breast implants 
  not to use the device. Those break 
  or clog the blades, requiring a visit 
  from the service technician. Each 
  booth contains an automated alert 
  system triggering a phone call to 
  the technician on duty.
  Is clean-up as awful as I’m 
  imagining?
  Yes. The worst part is the tooth 
  tray, which is hidden in the wall 
  and needs to be periodically 
  emptied even when no one has 
  damaged the machine.
  Surely the ready presence of 
  the machine must increase the 
  suicide rate.
  The official answer has 
  always been that the machines 
  very slightly decrease the rate 
  of suicide. Suicide by other 
  methods has been vanishingly 
  rare for a hundred years. Troubled 
  people meaning to send only 
  the proverbial cry for help are 
  less likely to accidentally kill 
  themselves with a GLC than with 
  pills or a razor blade.
  Way more people approach the 
  machine and then back away than 
  actually open its door and step in. 
  The prospect of punching a button 
  Technology
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  57
  to absolutely guarantee instant 
  death has a way of reviving one’s 
  survival instinct.
  That’s the official answer. 
  What’s the unofficial one?
  Nobody knows for sure, because 
  so many functions of government 
  have been suspended since the 
  revolution, but people who live 
  near GLCs will swear that the rate 
  has gone way up in the last six 
  months. Everybody claims this, 
  nobody has any proof, and no two 
  witnesses offer the same theory. 
  Are former regime agents opting 
  for suicide instead of execution 
  or a life sentence? Are ordinary 
  people who turned informant 
  killing themselves before the 
  humiliating facts come out? Or 
  has a malaise struck those who 
  hoped the Overthrow would 
  change everything but still 
  aren’t happy? It’s all rumor and 
  speculation right now.
  Is there a way to find out for sure?
  The regime either never kept 
  records of how often the machines 
  were used or disposed of them 
  when they burned plenty of other 
  sensitive documents.
  Aren’t people afraid that 
  families will pressure old or sick 
  relatives they no longer want to 
  support into using the machines?
  That is a common fear, but of 
  course if people do this they don’t 
  broadcast it. 
  For its many grievous flaws, the 
  regime took relatively good care 
  of old people, its most vociferous 
  supporters and informants. 
  Should the welfare state fail 
  to rematerialize, you might be 
  looking at a worse problem.
  Did the regime use the machines 
  to cover for political killings?
  Yes, which would explain why 
  they possibly destroyed records. 
  Thousands of families were told 
  that their missing dissident loved 
  ones suddenly and willingly 
  decided to step into a GLC.
  Could the machines be automated 
  to keep a record of how many 
  times they’re turned on?
  That’s a solvable technical 
  problem. But until the People’s 
  Congress decides whether to keep 
  or decommission them, there’s 
  no one to fund or institute such a 
  project. And there would be no 
  historical data to compare it to. 
  The Castaignes were not big on 
  polling or social science research.
  With so many other government 
  services on hold, why didn’t the 
  People’s Congress temporarily 
  take the machines offline while 
  debating whether to keep them?
  They voted down a motion to 
  that effect, with some objecting 
  on procedural grounds and others 
  arguing that this was no time to 
  deprive citizens of a key service so 
  many still desire.
  Which political factions 
  openly argue for the machines’ 
  continuance?
  Support for the machines 
  crosses ideological boundaries—
  or splits nearly every faction, 
  to look at it the other way 
  around. As radical individualists, 
  almost all Homelords argue 
  for the continuance of GLCs—
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  58
  though some say they should 
  be privatized. Originalists are 
  more likely to support GLCs than 
  Initiators; Mercantilists more than 
  All-For-Ones, Guardians more than 
  Renouncers. But you can never 
  predict a deputy’s position on this 
  from faction allegiance alone.
  Then what’s the best way to 
  guess without asking?
  The biggest indicator is whether 
  someone in a deputy’s family used 
  the machine. If yes, that person is 
  probably against it.
  How easy are they to sabotage?
  You can’t turn on the mechanism 
  from the outside, but a skilled 
  mechanic could find a way 
  to take a unit offline until the 
  technician comes. When the 
  saboteur is the mechanic, the 
  device might remain inoperable 
  for weeks before a superior at the 
  public works department gets a 
  complaint about it and calls up 
  demanding action.
  Is it easy to find parts?
  The factory that manufactured 
  them was bombed eighteen 
  months ago. A technician without 
  parts in stock can hand-tool 
  replacements, but that takes time.
  Do you find them only in  
  big cities?
  Any town with a population 
  of 10,000 or more has one in 
  its central square or in a large 
  park. A machine in a less densely 
  populated area is more likely to be 
  out of order. A technician might 
  serve as many as eight or ten 
  towns, all a good distance from 
  the others.
  How are GLCs connected to 
  Carcosa and the Yellow Sign?
  The movement to create them 
  coalesced just as Mr. Wilde’s 
  conspiracy was ramping up. This 
  might mean that the ambient 
  influence of the Sign influenced 
  their creation. Or it could be pure 
  coincidence.
  Can the Yellow Sign be found 
  anywhere on the machine or its 
  parts?
  No.
  Do other countries employ 
  Government Lethal Chambers?
  No, it’s strictly an American 
  thing. Even Canada, our friendly 
  neighbors to the north who still 
  live under a Castaigne-installed 
  dictatorship, don’t use them.
  Did the Yellow King or others 
  maybe feed on the misery and 
  terror of the machine’s victims?
  With magic, or alien technology, 
  or whatever it was, anything could 
  be possible. But do we really 
  believe in that stuff anymore?
  Weapons of the 
  Old Regime
  Technologies of repression 
  developed during the Castaigne 
  years litter post-revolutionary 
  America. In public, everyone 
  says that they should be gathered 
  up and melted down. In private, 
  some former rebels turned security 
  officers argue that they might be 
  needed when diehard Castaignites 
  make their inevitable move to 
  restore the regime. 
  Technology
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  59
  When the weird weapons of 
  Aftermath first appear in your 
  game, ask the players to describe 
  their characters’ attitudes toward 
  them. Are they:
   •  tools like any other, useful 
  when deployed in the name 
  of order and justice?
   •  inherently corrupting 
  implements of tyranny?
  Characters openly wielding 
  these weapons may face 
  pushback ranging from withdrawn 
  witness cooperation to stones 
  and garbage pelted their way by 
  furious bystanders.
  Needler
  Needle guns fire glass darts 
  containing a potent cocktail of 
  neurotoxins. Though classed as 
  nonlethal, a direct hit on a major 
  vein or artery from a needler may 
  cause a fatal heart attack. They 
  grant +1 to PCs who are fighting to 
  Render Helpless.
  Needlers come in pistol, rifle, 
  and scattergun configurations. 
  No one manufactures the 
  ammunition any more. Even the 
  stashes of ammo held by the 
  provisional government predate 
  the uprising. Eventually some 
  risk-taking company will, one 
  assumes, step forward to propose 
  limited manufacture, but that 
  hasn’t happened yet. As with any 
  rare and desirable black-market 
  item, prices for needs, as the glass 
  bullets are known on the street, 
  have skyrocketed.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Grazed by 
  a Needler; Shot by a Needler
  Mangler
  Mangler guns fire neurotoxic 
  rounds that explode on impact. 
  When characters die as the result 
  of a mangler hit (by taking a final 
  Injury card), that means the toxin 
  has immediately and fatally shut 
  down their nervous systems. A 
  nonlethal dose causes a range of 
  neurological and psychological 
  symptoms depending on 
  the health of the victim and 
  the location of the bullet 
  wound. These include nausea, 
  paranoia, anxiety, and auditory 
  hallucinations.
  Mangler rounds can be fired 
  by large, unwieldy handguns 
  or a long gun that looks like a 
  shotgun. Like needler rounds they 
  are no longer manufactured and 
  command a high price on the 
  black market.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Grazed by 
  a Mangler; Shot by a Mangler
  Pain Baton
  Routinely issued to the riot 
  troops of the old regime, this 
  hand-to-hand weapon delivers 
  a debilitating shock. A grazing 
  hit sends most opponents into 
  instinctive, unthinking flight. A 
  full-on strike buckles the knees, 
  then drives the fallen target into 
  the fetal position.
  The Interregnum Administration 
  has forbidden the use of this hated 
  weapon by today’s police. Only 
  licensed users may own them, and 
  the government isn’t issuing any 
  licenses quite yet. Though most 
  await destruction, a few remain 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  60
  in covert circulation. Player 
  characters can happen to have 
  one on a Difficulty 6 Preparedness 
  success, but will also be aware of 
  the criminal penalties for openly 
  carrying or using it.
  They grant a +2 to Fighting 
  when the objective is Drive Away, 
  +1 on Render Helpless or Gain 
  Surrender, and -2 on Kill.
  Pain batons only work on foes 
  with the Human tag.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Pain 
  Baton Tap; Pain Baton Hit
  Cambuk
  This hard resin whip was 
  used by riot police to command 
  obedience. About a yard long, 
  it contains a metal coil which 
  generates a neuro-disruptive jolt 
  powered by a battery in the handle.
  America remains littered with 
  cambuks. Police no longer use them. 
  Anyone openly carrying one 
  risks being spat on in the street, 
  or worse.
  It only works on foes with the 
  Human tag and grants +1 Fighting 
  when the objective is Render 
  Helpless or Gain Surrender, and -2 
  to all other objectives.
  Characters may make free 
  Intimidation or Interrogation 
  Pushes on people they’ve hit with 
  a cambuk.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Cambuk 
  Zap; Cambuk Slash
  Brainstopper
  This modified grenade emits 
  energy waves that deal a disruptive 
  neural shock. Castaignite riot 
  troops could be immunized 
  from its effects by intense mental 
  training. This allowed them to 
  wade through hostile crowds 
  dropping grenades that had no 
  effect on them.
  Like other weapons of the old 
  regime, these are illegal and 
  expensive black-market items now. 
  Post-regime officials have 
  yet to fully crack the secrets of 
  the anti-brainstopper training. 
  They do know that it involved 
  heavy meditation on the form 
  and meaning of the Yellow Sign, 
  so maybe it can’t be taught to 
  anyone you don’t intend to turn 
  into a psychopath.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Knocked 
  Out; Neural Hemorrhage
  Forget-Me-Do
  The specialized toxin known as 
  Forget-Me-Do can be delivered 
  via a needler dart or in capsule 
  form. When slipping it someone’s 
  drink, the user typically opens 
  the capsule and lets it dissolve. 
  It works best in a sweetened 
  drink, as the powder has a strong, 
  cloying taste.
  As the name suggests, Forget-
  Me-Do floods the brain’s memory 
  centers, rooting out and destroying 
  recently formed recollections.
  Acronym-fanciers among the 
  DIS preferred to call them FMDs.
  Unusually, they test Composure 
  (Difficulty 4) but result in an Injury.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Forget-
  Me-Do; Forced Amnesia 
  Technology
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  61
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  62
  Aversion Bracelet
  Looking like a single handcuff, 
  this device, when locked onto a 
  wrist, alters the subject’s behavior. 
  It induces a dizzying anxiety 
  whenever the wearer sees a Yellow 
  Sign. A reliable blindfold counters 
  the effects of an aversion bracelet, 
  which is fine in situations where 
  you don’t need to see. Aversion 
  bracelets do not work on the 
  visually impaired.
  Unusually, they test Health 
  (Difficulty 4) but result in an Injury.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Aversion 
  Bracelet I; Aversion Bracelet II
  Loyalty Chip
  As the name suggests, the 
  regime used this device to compel 
  obedience from its operatives. A 
  chip implantation device installs 
  a penny-sized yellow ceramic 
  version of the Yellow Sign in the 
  subject’s fatty tissues. It sometimes 
  breaks apart, leaving fragments 
  that can take multiple attempts to 
  fully extract.
  This device can only be 
  administered on a willing, 
  restrained, or helpless victim.
  Unusually, they test Health 
  (Difficulty 4) to avoid a Shock.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Loyalty 
  Chip (Broken); Loyalty Chip (Intact)
  Goodbye Bomb
  This explosive device consists 
  of a clay-like material, triggered 
  by an electrical impulse delivered 
  by a battery and a pair of lead 
  wires. It sits inside a housing 
  that falls apart on detonation, 
  dispersing the active material as it 
  transforms from solid to gas. Any 
  organic being fully enveloped by 
  the gas dissolves into an organic 
  goo. Partial contact results in 
  disintegration of affected areas. 
  The gas dissipates quickly, creating 
  a very small area of total impact. 
  Its range is about the same as a 
  letter bomb: it might kill the one 
  target in an office, wound the 
  person sitting at the next desk, and 
  do nothing to anyone further away. 
  Partially exposed victims may 
  survive for a while, impaired but 
  alive, but then later dissolve when 
  the gas, now in a liquid state, 
  accumulates in the liver.
  The organic goo evaporates over 
  a period of days but leaves behind 
  a greasy residue identifiable with 
  Science and a lab test.
  Receiving either of the cards below 
  as a final Injury card means that the 
  character liquefies on the spot.
  In Aftermath, investigators avoid 
  injury from any bomb with an 
  Insurgency test (Difficulty 4 by 
  default) to spot it before it goes off 
  and disarm it.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Goodbye 
  Gas Exposure; Goodbye Gas Contact
  Witnessing a death by goodbye 
  bomb calls for a Difficulty 4 
  Composure test: Minor Shock: The 
  Shudders; Major: Shaken.
  Readball
  The spherical, levitating readball 
  is about the size of a fist. Bright 
  yellow in color, it appears to bear 
  a black Yellow Sign when viewed 
  from any angle. 
  Technology
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  63
  To operate a readball, one must 
  maintain a Carcosan mental state 
  by reciting key excerpts from the 
  second act of The King in Yellow 
  at least once a week. 
  The operator removes it from 
  its stainless steel carrying case 
  while forming a mental image 
  of a person he has met face-to-
  face within the last three days. 
  The readball then travels through 
  the air at a speed of 65 kph 
  and maximum altitude of 75 m, 
  navigating ably around obstacles 
  until it unerringly locates the 
  chosen target. Once within 30 m, 
  it spits out fibrous, thumb-sized 
  projectiles that look and feel like 
  yellow spheres sculpted from 
  coconut husks. The projectiles 
  strike with the force of bullets. 
  The readball records the short-
  term memories of any victim 
  struck by a readball bullet, 
  transmitting them instantly to the 
  operator via a telepathic link. 
  The user gains total recall of the 
  last six hours of a GMC victim’s 
  memories, including sensory 
  input and internal monologue. 
  It provides no additional context 
  beyond those specific thoughts 
  and sensations.
  Player characters make Athletics 
  tests to avoid being hit by readball 
  fire. When the combined margins 
  of all successes exceeds 4, invite 
  one of the successful players to 
  describe how they destroy the 
  readball.
  On failures, the operator gains 
  one hour’s worth of memories for 
  each point of margin. 
  Minor/Major Injuries: Readball 
  Graze; Readball Hit
  Awareness of readballs varies by 
  Weirdness Level:
   •  Overt: Everyone remembers 
  and fears these supernatural 
  weapons. They regularly appear 
  in peoples’ nightmares.
   •  Fading: They show up in bad 
  dreams, but folks mostly regard 
  them as an urban legend spread 
  as propaganda by the regime.
   •  Covert: Only a few dissidents 
  ever saw them in use. 
  Regime parageometrists 
  know they existed but aren’t 
  talking about them.
  Tuner
   During the final years of the 
  insurgency, Castaigne scientists 
  invented the tuner as a way to turn 
  raw recruits into effective hand-
  to-hand fighters. It consists of set 
  of brass knuckles that harmonizes 
  with a large black plastic earpiece 
  powered by a watch battery. In 
  close combat, the tuner takes over 
  the user’s voluntary muscle system, 
  puppeting their bodies through 
  a sequence of moves that reacts 
  to and anticipates an opponent’s 
  blows and feints. A tuner user 
  moves in an obviously awkward, 
  jerky fashion but nonetheless 
  lands surprisingly effective kicks 
  and punches. The often-surprised 
  expression of the user provides 
  a further tip-off to the tuner’s 
  presence. Any experienced 
  partisan will know what the brass 
  knuckles and earpiece combo 
  portends, even if they’ve never 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  64
  directly seen them in action.
  Tuners upgrade any humanoid 
  foe from Weak or Tough but 
  Outmatched to Evenly Matched. 
  Substitute these Injuries for the ones 
  they’d normally deal in combat.
  Minor/Major Injuries: Enhanced 
  Punch; Ultra-Beatdown
  A player character with a 
  Fighting rating of less than 8 can 
  refresh Fighting at the beginning 
  of a combat by donning a tuner 
  and the accompanying earpiece. 
  At the end of the fight they 
  must test Composure against a 
  Difficulty equal to 4 + 2 for each 
  time they’ve used the tuner in 
  a previous fight. On a failure, 
  Minor/Major Shocks are: Tuner 
  Dislocation; Tuner Habit.
  Technology
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  65
  quickly and rarely backs down. 
  Sanda divides her time between 
  politics and music, fronting a band 
  that shocks even avid hotjazz fans 
  with its use of electric guitars.
  Heavyset Christia Latham favors 
  pinstriped suit jackets, big cigars, 
  old whiskey, and free market 
  solutions. She runs Mystic Oil, a 
  once-marginal energy company 
  that never found favor with the 
  Castaignes. Christia represents the 
  Commercial faction with a blunt 
  humor calculated to put you on 
  the defensive.
  Gaunt, white-haired Lane 
  Cushing runs the massive 
  accounting and computing firm 
  Echo Inc. People assume his 
  corporation’s prosperity during the 
  Castaigne years had to be tied to 
  corruption. So far no one has dug up 
  conclusive evidence against him. 
  Patrician and composed, Cushing 
  pours on the old-school charm on 
  behalf of the Mercantilists.
  Ex-guerrilla Rhiannon Zeller is 
  still getting used to the expensive 
  suits her fellow All-For-Ones want 
  her to wear, to attract respect from 
  other delegates. She distractedly 
  fidgets as if expecting to have to 
  throw a grenade at any moment. 
  Though you’d think she’d consider 
  Sanda Mancini a natural ally, 
  PEOPLE
  This chapter presents supporting 
  characters to incorporate into your 
  scenarios. Adapt them as needed 
  to fit your mystery and/or the 
  ongoing political subplot.
  Political Leaders
  Factions aren’t formal political 
  parties. Not yet, anyhow. As such, 
  they have no official heads. The 
  following characters can either 
  be presumed future leaders or 
  prominent members of their 
  respective factions.
  Rumpled, irascible legal 
  historian Clarence Ponder 
  stomps around the People’s Hall, 
  allergic to its mold infestation 
  and perpetually blowing his nose. 
  Pig-headed as only a man who 
  knows more about his subject 
  than any other person alive can 
  be, Clarence fulminates for the 
  Originalist cause. With Castaignite 
  stooges thrown out of their posts at 
  the University of Chicago, he has 
  regained his professorship there.
  Thin, androgynous campus 
  radical Sanda Mancini makes 
  impassioned speeches for the 
  Initiators. Famous for an image in 
  which she stands on the Seattle 
  barricades lighting a gasoline 
  bomb, she escalates arguments 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  66
  Zeller regards her as a poseur who 
  talked big but never had to kill.
  Blake Ness listens to others 
  talk with a dead-eyed, unmoving 
  air of indifference. If Hadrian 
  Castaigne died during the 
  Overthrow, it was Ness, former 
  head of his security detail, who 
  gunned him down. Without 
  Blake’s help, the regime might 
  not have fallen. Some remain 
  unforgiving about his career before 
  the turn. Ness regards the qualms 
  of others with contemptuous 
  indifference. He carries his burly 
  physique with all the hardness 
  you’d expect from the leading light 
  of the law-and-order Guardians.
  Anglican minister Markita Elliot 
  wants you to think she’s a nice 
  older lady, until she pulls the 
  dossier out of her quilted purse 
  and reveals that she has the goods 
  on you. She didn’t survive decades 
  as a political prisoner in the 
  women’s wing of the notorious, 
  Castaigne-expanded Sing Sing 
  prison by folding under pressure. 
  As patron saint of the Renouncers, 
  she’s more than willing to leverage 
  her moral authority to win 
  concessions. If her suffering is to 
  mean anything, she says, it must 
  bring about reconciliation.
  Homelords are too antisocial 
  to become delegates or deputies. 
  The one you’re most likely to 
  encounter is inveterate protester 
  Myrtice Poe, who dresses either 
  in combat fatigues or a bloody 
  butcher smock and patrols the 
  building’s steps with her ever-
  present placard. If your Weirdness 
  Level is Covert or Fading, she 
  knows more about Carcosans and 
  the Yellow King than any fully sane 
  person. In an Overt Weirdness 
  Level, she nurses some other weird 
  theory about them: she might 
  consider them UFO aliens, angels 
  who fell from a corrupted heaven, 
  or a mass hallucination caused by 
  food adulterants.
  The two most popular delegates 
  hold themselves above the 
  haggling of the factions. They owe 
  their followings not to their policy 
  positions but to heroics as top 
  leaders of the rebellion. They’re 
  seen as the most likely candidates 
  for the presidency. (Assuming 
  that’s what the Congress winds 
  up calling the executive branch.) 
  Former comrades who now only 
  speak through intermediaries, they 
  can doom a resolution before the 
  Congress merely by spreading 
  discreet word of their disapproval.
  Of the two, Stephanie Ramirez 
  most convincingly portrays herself 
  as disinterested in high office 
  after the Congress finishes its job. 
  She led the east coast partisan 
  network. When the fight shifted 
  from guerrilla tactics to open 
  rebellion, she mobilized the 
  people with inspiring rhetoric. 
  During the storming of the 
  Imperial Palace she lost her right 
  leg and has suffered from health 
  complications ever since. Rivals 
  whisper that she plays up her 
  injury to cloak herself in an aura 
  of virtue. Many patriots would 
  punch you in the face for saying 
  that about her.
  People
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  67
  Jack Palmer led the insurgency 
  in the Pacific Northwest. He 
  rose to prominence fast with 
  a series of hard-hitting strikes 
  that took no great care to avoid 
  civilian casualties. Palmer’s 
  tough persona, enhanced by the 
  shrapnel scarring across the right 
  side of his face, appeals to those 
  who expect trouble in the new 
  America. Supporters admire him 
  as someone willing to exert the 
  ruthlessness needed to protect its 
  hard-won freedoms.
  The Press
  Reporters can assist the investigators 
  by trading info for the promise of 
  a scoop. Or they might become 
  obstacles by sniffing out scandals 
  that threaten the group or its Goal.
  When she speaks, New York 
  Times reporter Roselyn O’Leary 
  emphasizes points by waving 
  around her prosthetic hand. The 
  regime’s security police cut off the 
  original. Roselyn has had a hole 
  drilled in the plastic forefinger to 
  hold her ever-present cigarette. 
  (This timeline isn’t so big on 
  cancer awareness.)
  Washington Post columnist 
  Ivana Beals hustles to establish 
  the same chummy rapport with 
  People’s Deputies she once 
  enjoyed with cabinet secretaries 
  of the old regime. Give her a 
  couple of vodkas and she might 
  hint that the Castaignes had some 
  good ideas. Despite the disdain 
  many revolutionaries hold her in, 
  she’s accumulated an inventory of 
  potent behind-the-scenes gossip. 
  Rumors accuse her of hoarding 
  dirt from old secret police files she 
  has squirreled away somewhere.
  Burly, fearless photojournalist 
  Fred Colby misses the days of 
  open street fighting. His nose 
  for visually compelling trouble 
  takes him far from the corridors 
  of power, out into the twilight 
  spaces where the Yellow Sign still 
  holds sway. Where weirdness is 
  not openly acknowledged, he 
  complains that editors refuse to 
  run his best photos. You know, the 
  ones with the masked-faced men 
  and shimmering night creatures.
  In a Covert or Fading Weirdness 
  Level, handsome, fast-talking 
  Raymond Willis publishes Fate 
  Magazine, a once-censored, now-
  revived digest-sized periodical 
  devoted to the paranormal. He 
  prints the real scoop on Carcosa, 
  to the disbelief and disdain of all 
  but a few. Willis may show up 
  as a snoop who complicates the 
  squad’s investigations, a source 
  of occult truths few are ready 
  to handle, or both. In an Overt 
  Weirdness Level, his fearless 
  investigative reporting for ABC 
  News earns him high ratings, a 
  penthouse apartment, and a closet 
  full of expensive suits.
  Peers
  Other ex-partisans may appear 
  in your storylines as sources of 
  information, victims in need of 
  assistance, or once-heroic figures 
  gone bad.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  68
  Gray-haired, cleft-chinned 
  Nathan Mason was fighting 
  the regime a generation before 
  the characters were born, a 
  comparison he drops at the 
  slightest opportunity. Crusty and 
  cynical, he just got diagnosed 
  with pancreatic cancer. “Which 
  means I ain’t got nothin’ to lose.” 
  Other ex-insurgents acclaim 
  him as a master planner of raids 
  and extractions.
  Crystal Fields never let the 
  horrors of war overwhelm her 
  midwestern positivity. Now she 
  wants nothing more than to return 
  to Madison, Wisconsin to marry 
  her childhood sweetheart and 
  raise a passel of kids. Yet one last 
  obligation—perhaps a role as a 
  deputy to the Congress—keeps 
  her in the big city. She respects 
  the player characters but politely 
  refuses to be sucked back into 
  their world, especially if that 
  means coming to terms with the 
  supernatural. During the war she 
  showed a knack for identifying 
  double agents and turning them 
  back against their Hussar handlers.
  Bald, bull-headed Cesar Valdez 
  nurses a grievance from the 
  struggle, possibly tied to a PC’s 
  Worst Memory. He cares more 
  about settling this personal score 
  than about rebuilding the country 
  he helped to save from tyranny. 
  Cesar won fame as a relentless 
  fighter with both gun and knife.
  Unlikely rebel Maurice Wheeler 
  aided the cause with jury-rigged 
  technical solutions. His owlish 
  glasses, checked shirts, and ever-
  present slide rule identify him as 
  a perfectly harmless fellow, not at 
  all the sort of person who knows 
  six different ways to blow up your 
  house. Focused on the electrical 
  engineering firm he recently 
  founded, he’s reluctant to engage 
  with anything eerie or violent. 
  Still, he might find a sufficiently 
  tantalizing scientific mystery too 
  tempting to ignore.
  Tami Akana pursues her duties 
  as a deputy to the Congress with 
  fiery dedication. She has already 
  announced plans to run for office 
  when the first election happens. 
  A favorite of her fellow ex-rebels, 
  she promises to stand up for their 
  rights. She may seek a political 
  favor from the group or point 
  them toward the next person they 
  need to win over to achieve their 
  own agenda.
  Criminals
  The Castaignes secretly 
  sanctioned certain criminal gangs 
  in exchange for a percentage 
  of the spoils. Since the fall of 
  their regime those crooks have 
  expanded their operations. For 
  legacy gangsters, the current 
  lawless environment cuts both 
  ways. It gives them wider latitude 
  to act, but also opens up the world 
  of crime to new competitors, 
  including former insurgents 
  looking for new and profitable 
  uses for their deadly skills.
  The investigators may deal 
  with underworld denizens as 
  secondary threats, hired muscle 
  People
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  69
  for unscrupulous rival political 
  factions, shady sources of funding 
  for their own agenda, or as 
  informants who know more than 
  they’d ever tell the cops.
  Down-on-her-luck socialite 
  Gladys Ford used to supply elite 
  Castaigne cronies with their drugs 
  of choice, mostly heroin and 
  amphetamines. With her clients 
  in jail, on the run, or pretending 
  to be upstanding citizens, she 
  now has to hustle for every dime. 
  Her little black book contains all 
  sorts of incriminating info on war 
  criminals and their pals.
  Felipe Daniel could pass for 
  a male model in a dimly lit 
  nightclub. A gigolo and small-time 
  swindler under the Castaignes, 
  he has moved quickly to 
  assemble a network of ambitious 
  crooks looking to rule the city’s 
  underworld. Legend has it that he 
  chainsawed a regime torturer during 
  the rebellion. In truth the victim was 
  a rival would-be crime boss.
  Not yet entirely out of the 
  picture is pro-Castaigne crime 
  boss Ivan Nichols, a once-
  vigorous man shrunken by stress 
  and old age. Half-Russian, half-
  cockney, he still speaks with a 
  trace of his childhood London 
  accent. Nichols knows where 
  several top Castaignites are hiding 
  out, because he helped them 
  get away. He hopes to parlay 
  that information into a deal with 
  the federal police, trading their 
  whereabouts for the right to keep 
  operating—squealing on his rivals 
  all the way.
  Hit man Floyd Cooper used to 
  work with Nichols but suspects 
  that he’s planning to flip and has 
  gone into supposed retirement. 
  A bland-faced man who looks 
  more like a shoe salesman than 
  a prolific murderer, he might be 
  lured back into the game for the 
  right fee. In the meantime, he 
  keeps his ear to the ground, and 
  may reveal scuttlebutt about open 
  contracts to investigators he trusts.
  Insurgent leader Curt Moran 
  went blood simple during the 
  revolution. Peacetime already 
  bores him. He and his equally 
  war-hardened crew aim to cash 
  in, and not with their people 
  skills. The team may encounter 
  Curt when he acts as freelance 
  enforcer to a scenario’s human 
  antagonists. Leg-breaking gigs 
  are only a stepping stone to Curt; 
  he’s looking for a vulnerable 
  criminal gang to take over and 
  then expand. Play him as sullen, 
  laconic, and smarter than he lets 
  on.
  Club owner Courtney Harrison 
  barely counts as a crook herself 
  but needs to stay connected to 
  both gangsters and bent cops to 
  maintain her nightlife empire. 
  With the yoke of the old regime 
  lifted from them, plenty of people 
  want to party hard, and Courtney 
  wants to keep that spirit going 
  as long as she can. She supports 
  politicians willing to stand 
  up for personal freedom and 
  against busybody government. 
  Rumors that she keeps tapes of 
  influential folks misbehaving on 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  70
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  71
  her premises might be just that. Or 
  not. A character with Streetwise 
  knows that she doesn’t like to be 
  reminded of her days as a teen 
  pop star, or her single chart hit, 
  “Black Car, White Sky.”
  Cops
  Acting Director of the 
  Provisional Federal Police 
  Reginald Greer fought in the 
  insurgency. Before that he served 
  as a local cop until he was fired 
  for refusing to arrest political 
  prisoners. Greer hopes the next 
  government will keep him in 
  place, as he trusts no one else to 
  take a hard line against Carcosan 
  re-infiltration. Even in a Covert 
  Weirdness Level Greer knows full 
  well what agents of the Yellow 
  Sign did and could do again. Once 
  plainspoken, he has learned fresh 
  caution, presenting himself as a 
  safe compromise figure at a time 
  of shifting power. This requires him 
  to speak in hints and platitudes, 
  especially about the unnatural.
  For an everyday contact within 
  the federal police, the team might 
  contact Janice Rodriguez. A 
  single mother of two who worked 
  Homicide before the revolution, 
  she has been cleared by the IA 
  of any known involvement in 
  political repression. Now she 
  reluctantly hunts fugitive regime 
  leaders, complaining to whoever 
  will listen that she’d rather be 
  back solving honest murders. As 
  apolitical as ever, she shows zero 
  interest in the group’s activist 
  agenda. She may swap info, 
  however, if it might lead to an 
  arrest for her. Janice carries around 
  a paper bag full of marshmallow 
  banana candies, offering them to 
  friends and perps alike.
  Rookie city beat cop Dominic 
  Park feels like he missed out when 
  he failed to see any violent action 
  during the rebellion. Star-struck by 
  true partisans, he’ll blatantly trade 
  info for war stories.
  Gravel-voiced veteran homicide 
  detective Paula Cummings doesn’t 
  like it when civilian busybodies 
  complicate her cases. No matter 
  how many times the squad proves 
  their usefulness to her, they’ll 
  have to win her over anew each 
  time. She also snorts derisively at 
  politicians, reporters, so-called 
  war heroes, and pet owners.
  Business Interests
  Characters like this come into 
  play when a corporation figures 
  in the primary mystery, or the 
  team’s Goal poses either threat or 
  opportunity to moneyed interests.
  Cam Ragan’s square, big-jawed 
  head looks like he’s spent a 
  lifetime breaking his opponent’s 
  hands by encouraging them to 
  punch his face. Pugnacious and 
  blunt, he describes himself as “a 
  bit of a cowboy.” He came up 
  from nowhere to make a killing 
  in an industry relevant to your 
  storyline—no easy feat in the 
  crony capitalist Castaigne years.
  Surprisingly young for a business 
  heavy-hitter, Michaela Guarnieri 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  72
  was a nobody a year ago and 
  has cornered a large slice of a 
  burgeoning market in the months 
  since the Overthrow. Pick the 
  type of business your story needs 
  or make her an importer of beer 
  and liquor from newly accessible 
  foreign suppliers. Michaela speaks 
  in an alluring whispery quaver, 
  flattering people by pretending 
  they’re as clever and determined 
  as she is.
  Alma Salgueiro carries herself 
  with the no-nonsense attitude of a 
  woman who raised six high-spirited 
  sons and prevented all but one of 
  them from dying in the war. The 
  remaining five work alongside her 
  in the family business. All but the 
  overconfident eldest, Pete, visibly 
  deflate in her presence. She built 
  her business with Castaigne blessing 
  but jumped to the rebel side at a 
  key moment. Rumor has it that Pete 
  pushed her into it and now won’t let 
  her hear the end of it. If your story 
  doesn’t care what business she’s in, 
  she runs a trucking empire.
  Her hair bleached blond by 
  her West Texas home, Lizzie 
  Moss conducts business at the 
  thoroughbred stables she owns, 
  discomfiting rivals by shoveling 
  the stalls as she negotiates. 
  She loves nothing more than a 
  folksy saying cutely describing 
  city dwellers as idiots. Public 
  records contain no evidence of 
  her claimed participation in the 
  rebellion. Depending on your 
  needs, she might be a media 
  tycoon, entertainment mogul, or 
  retail titan.
  Spiky-haired and sneeringly 
  good-looking, 27-year-old 
  Boyd Upham has taken over as 
  corporation CEO from his father 
  Barney. As Upham senior, currently 
  under house arrest, prepares for trial 
  on charges of collusion with the old 
  regime, Boyd prepares a variety of 
  contingency plans. He’s intent on 
  shielding company assets from his 
  father’s legal troubles. In confidence, 
  he might admit to the investigators 
  that his father ought to get what’s 
  coming to him. By default, he’s in 
  the insurance business.
  Regular Folks
  Assign occupations and roles in 
  your mystery to these civilians as 
  needed. They might be witnesses, 
  bureaucrats, or imminent victims. 
  Many of these entries suggest a 
  side narrative, which you can 
  leave unspoken if your session 
  doesn’t have time for subplots. At 
  the very least dealings with these 
  characters can reveal particular 
  small details that separate this 
  2017 from ours.
  Middle-aged Nate Seldon looks 
  like a divorced dad who forgot 
  to shave the last two mornings. 
  One of his azure blue eyes doesn’t 
  move. Intuition suggests that this 
  happened when he saw something 
  damn peculiar years ago. He 
  has suppressed all memory of 
  this event, which might be a red 
  herring or an old incident tied to 
  the present case.
  Jaded teen Dani Phelps rolls 
  her eyes and impatiently answers 
  People
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  73
  any questions posed to her as 
  if they’re the stupidest things 
  anyone ever said. Attempt to 
  pressure her, and she informs the 
  team that her father is a delegate 
  to the People’s Congress.
  Adwin Warner lost his left foot 
  in the war and is hoping to earn 
  enough money for a prosthesis 
  before moving back to Suanee, 
  where he was born. A look at his 
  stump with Forensics suggests that 
  the foot was bitten off, but Adwin 
  remembers no such thing.
  Shawn Whitmer can’t help 
  but laugh maniacally at any 
  unnerving statement. Though this 
  makes him look as sketchy as 
  hell, Assess Honesty shows that 
  he’s nothing more than an utterly 
  freaked-out bystander.
  Sullen, round-faced ten-year-
  old Norton Lindsey says he saw 
  everything and will tell the team 
  all about it for a hundred bucks. 
  He may seem like a foul-mouthed 
  jerk until he casually mentions that 
  he saw both of his parents shot 
  down in the street for publishing 
  an anti-regime pamphlet.
  Kenny Olson has a bushy white 
  beard that puts Santa Claus’ 
  facial hair to shame. He lives 
  on the street now, but claims to 
  have once been a mathematics 
  professor. He promises to 
  cooperate if the team will find 
  someone to help him regain his 
  lost department chairmanship. 
  As they did to other dissidents, 
  the secret police punished 
  Olson by removing all records 
  of his existence from the system, 
  rendering him an unemployable 
  non-person. Or maybe he’s just 
  delusional.
  Inanna Fowler is late for a 
  modeling audition and doesn't 
  have time for whatever the team 
  wants. Her perfect cheekbones 
  and dazzling azure eyes make 
  her a natural for her chosen 
  career. She mentions that she’s 
  interviewing at the Walker Agency, 
  which the character with Cop Talk 
  knows to be shady in the extreme.
  Curly-haired Raffaela Curtis is 
  relentlessly jovial, except when 
  she’s yelling at her girlfriend Viola, 
  who’s fussing with something 
  annoying in the background, 
  Raffaela talks the team’s ears 
  off, filling her answers to their 
  questions with irrelevant detail.
  Amanda Barker has clearly 
  had recent facial reconstruction 
  surgery. She explains if asked: the 
  secret police mistook her for an 
  activist named Mandy Baker and, in 
  the process of torturing her, splashed 
  acid in her face. She says this is 
  ironic, as she had until that point 
  been an unquestioning supporter of 
  the Castaigne government.
  Megan Holland, a young blond 
  who dresses like a cowhand, 
  carries a pistol in a shoulder 
  holster. She says her father gave 
  it to her during the rebellion and 
  told her she should keep it on her 
  until he told her otherwise. Her 
  dad, Elijah, disappeared during the 
  fighting. One day, he’ll be back, 
  she’s sure of it, but until then, the 
  gun stays right where it is.
  The team remembers snaggle-
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  74
  toothed, squeaky-voiced Clint 
  Arnold from before the uprising, 
  when they suspect he informed 
  on them to the secret police. 
  Clint protests that, to the contrary, 
  he gave the pigs misleading 
  information, to keep them safe. 
  They didn’t get arrested, did they?
  Something about gray-haired, 
  weather-beaten Eric Lancing 
  screams “sleaze.” Maybe it’s that 
  weird, smug expression that stays 
  on his face no matter where the 
  conversation goes. He acts like 
  he knows something unpleasant 
  that affects the team but isn’t about 
  to spill it.
  Beefy and bleary-eyed Stephen 
  Leight clearly used to be a 
  formidable hunk of manhood in 
  his day. Now he has a life of heavy 
  drinking and probably other age-
  accelerating habits written all over 
  his face. He’s the kind of smarmy 
  guy who puts his arm around you 
  when he talks. If the investigator 
  dealing with him treats him like 
  he’s charming, Leight offers them a 
  greasy opportunity. This might range 
  from a toot of cocaine to a chance 
  to pick up a few bucks performing 
  an errand of uncertain legality.
  Big-boned Misti Brooks talks 
  loud and laughs louder, keeping 
  at bay the people who would 
  treat her unkindly on account 
  of her weight. She’s aggressively 
  flirtatious until someone seems 
  ready to take her up on it, at 
  which point she beats a hasty 
  retreat. The one partner she let 
  past her defenses disappeared 
  during the fighting.
  Elderly and beaten down 
  by worries, Guillermo Serna 
  blames whatever scary thing the 
  investigators are asking him about 
  on the chaos of the revolution. 
  “I used to hate the Castaignes, 
  but at least they kept the streets 
  safe, if you kept your head down 
  and didn’t make trouble.” If the 
  squad hasn’t mentioned anything 
  frightening, he tells them that 
  ghosts come out of his furnace at 
  night to steal his things.
  Tousle-haired trumpet player 
  Elvis Tanner has heard of the 
  characters’ work as insurgents 
  and wants to swap war stories. 
  His bragging about his own 
  revolutionary exploits sets off the 
  Bullshit Detector ability. He seems 
  only slightly embarrassed if called 
  on it, suggesting a narcissistic 
  ability to let unhappy truths 
  bounce right off him.
  Antar Singh, Public Works 
  middle manager in charge 
  of underground highway 
  maintenance, won rapid 
  promotion after a bombing 
  killed most of his superiors. He 
  maintains a veil of snark between 
  him and his survivor’s guilt. Antar 
  wanted the regime gone, but 
  not at the cost of his colleagues’ 
  lives. Whenever he succeeds 
  at work, he remembers that his 
  path was cleared by tragedy. Like 
  any practicing Sikh, Antar wears 
  a turban and carries a kirpan 
  (ceremonial dagger).
  Like many middle-aged men in 
  a world where John F. Kennedy’s 
  fashion choices never held sway, 
  People
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  75
  Moe Negley would not dream 
  of being seen outdoors in public 
  without a hat. However, like 
  the rest of him, it is now badly 
  rumpled and smells strongly of 
  cheap scotch. When the PCs meet 
  him, he is completely drunk and 
  doing his unsubtle best to pretend 
  otherwise. In better days, he was 
  the top Bible salesman in the state. 
  But that was before the Castaignes 
  confiscated the firm he worked 
  for and put it under the control of 
  idiots who ran it into the ground. 
  Harried middle manager Cassie 
  Mana doesn’t have time to answer 
  questions and says whatever she 
  thinks will let her get away from 
  the investigators and move on with 
  her day. She pulls out and threatens 
  to use a canister of mace on the 
  investigators if pushed too far.
  Rush Newman’s most notable 
  physical feature is his large, 
  unlined, shiny forehead. He agrees 
  to answer whatever questions the 
  characters have for him but keeps 
  diverting his answers to the need 
  for comprehensive life insurance, 
  especially for those who sacrificed 
  key income-earning years to 
  the revolution. He considers it 
  a deep failure to leave any new 
  acquaintance without forcing one 
  of his business cards upon them.
  Society matron Dorothy 
  Williams just wants everything to 
  be calm and normal so she can 
  successfully host a big fundraiser 
  scheduled for tomorrow night. Her 
  hospital charity was needed under 
  the Castaignes and is still needed 
  now. The mere presence of the 
  investigators visibly flusters her, 
  as she begins to imagine a link 
  between their connections and 
  potential disaster for her event.
  Mousy, bow-tied Carleton 
  Chapman used the chaos of the 
  uprising to commit a serious 
  crime. Maybe he stole a shipment 
  of cash. Perhaps he keeps cement-
  encased corpses in his basement. 
  Whatever it is, he fears that the 
  investigators are onto him. Unless 
  their questions tell him that their 
  inquiries have nothing to do with 
  his terrible secret, he’ll try to steer 
  them into some convenient danger 
  he happens to know about.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  76
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  77
  FOES
  This chapter presents adversaries, 
  human and not so human, of the 
  Aftermath setting.
  Tags
  Some game effects apply to 
  creatures bearing particular 
  identifiers, or tags. In Aftermath 
  these are:
  Carcosan: The being hails 
  from Carcosa, either directly or by 
  descent.
  Warspawn: A supernatural 
  creature that came into being on 
  Earth during the Castaigne years. 
  Though it relied on the malign 
  background energy of Carcosa to 
  manifest, it is not native to that 
  alien world.
  Hybrid: An artificial being 
  created on Earth, but with the aid 
  of Carcosan magical technology. 
  Most hybrids originated in the 
  secret corridors of the Bronx 
  Park Zoological Society. 
  During the utopian years of the 
  Winthrop Administration this 
  scholarly institute-slash-tourist 
  attraction organized a series of 
  expeditions to scour the earth for 
  cryptozoological specimens.
  They disguised these secret 
  activities in part by arranging 
  for the publication of a series of 
  whimsical stories. In these tedious 
  tales, buffoonish fictional explorer 
  Percy Smith makes a fool of 
  himself hunting frozen mammoths 
  and giant minnows, and losing 
  romantic rivalries to younger, 
  handsomer men. 
  When the Castaignes took 
  power, the good scientists of the 
  BPZS were ordered to launch a 
  breeding program to produce 
  creatures, some of them sapient, to 
  serve the regime. 
  During the fighting, 
  revolutionaries attacked the 
  Bronx Park Zoo, thinking it an 
  armory. This released the most 
  viable hybrids into the wild, with 
  repercussions the team may well 
  find itself investigating.
  Human: Your basic off-the-rack 
  homo sapiens.
  Relict: A cryptozoological 
  creature, perhaps held at the 
  Bronx Park Zoological Society, in 
  its original, non-hybrid state.
  Veteran: A person or sapient 
  entity that fought during the uprising 
  or in another armed conflict.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  78
  Foe Profiles
  Foe
  Difficulty
  Minor Injury
  Major Injury
  Argus
  Escape 2, Other 3, Kill 4
  Roughed Up
  Stab Wound
  Cancer Bag
  Escape 1, Other 3, Kill 3
  Spore Exposure
  The Yips
  Carcosan 
  Wetworker
  Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6
  Shattering 
  Hand Strike
  Razor Hand 
  Strike
  Carrier 
  Escape 2, Other 3, Kill 4
  Zapped
  High Voltage
  Dupe
  Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5
  Wrenched 
  Neck
  Dupe Bite
  Explosionist
  Escape 1, Other 4, Kill 4
  Scratched
  Ticking Time 
  Bomb
  Harbor Master
  Escape 1, Other 3, Kill 3
  Fin Scratch
  Jostled
  Lawn Folk 
  Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5
  Knife Slash
  Deep Stab
  Reanimate
  Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6
  Throat Squeeze
  Breastbone-
  Piercing Punch
  Revanchist, Elite 
  Insurgents
  Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6
  Grazed by a 
  Mangler
  Shot by a 
  Mangler
  Revanchist, 
  Goons
  Escape 2, Other 3, Kill 4
  Knock to the 
  Head
  Gunshot Wound
  Revanchist, 
  Insurgents
  Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5
  Grazed by a 
  Needler
  Shot by a 
  Needler
  Riot Dog
  Escape 2, Other 3, Kill 3
  Riot Dog Bite
  Riot Dog 
  Mauling
  Shade
  Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6
  Soul Shook
  Commandment 
  from the Grave
  Shatterling
  Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5
  Neuropathic 
  Swipe
  Neuropathic 
  Disequilibrium
  Sleeper 
  Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6
  Superhuman 
  Blow
  Superhuman 
  Smash
  Sphyx
  Escape 3, Other 6, Kill 7
  Surprise Kidney 
  Stab
  Surprise Throat 
  Slash
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  79
  Foe
  Difficulty
  Minor Injury
  Major Injury
  Thermosaur
  Escape 3, Other 7, Kill 8
  Dinosaur 
  Wound
  Dinosaur Bite
  Ux
  Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6
  Puncturing 
  Beak
  Rending Beak
  Argus
  Named after the many-eyed 
  giant of Greek myth, the argus 
  (plural: argus) is a variant human 
  species, homo enamati, that 
  survived to the modern day in the 
  Florida Everglades. Deviations 
  from modern human morphology 
  include coarse, long body hair, 
  a greasy skin secretion that 
  grants buoyancy underwater, and 
  powerful lungs that allow it to 
  survive for more than an hour 
  on a single full gulp of air. Most 
  dramatically, the argus has a single 
  eye in the back of its skull.
  Provided an argus keeps this 
  extra eye hidden under its coarse 
  mop of hair, it can pass for an 
  odd-looking ordinary person, but 
  will still provoke an instinctive 
  revulsion. Argus are fully capable 
  of speech, complex learning, and 
  abstract reasoning. 
  Argus posing as ordinary 
  people may give themselves 
  away by yielding to instinctive 
  hunting behavior. In the wild, 
  argus dine chiefly on wild birds. 
  They may be unable to resist 
  pouncing on and immediately 
  devouring a tempting-looking 
  pigeon, crow, or duck.
  Unless she wears a helmet or 
  some other item preventing use 
  of her extra eye, the Difficulty of 
  Sneaking up on an argus is never 
  less than 6.
  Though strong and agile, argus 
  are scarcely superhuman. Change 
  up their Injury cards to reflect 
  whatever weapons you want them 
  to wield.
  Argus are held, bred, and 
  experimented upon by the Bronx 
  Park Zoological Society and bear 
  an understandable grudge against 
  their captors. Most extend their 
  loathing to humanity in general. 
  Having fled the facility in the 
  fighting, they may appear in your 
  scenarios as:
   •  vengeance-seeking killers
   •  furtive figures who kill 
  to keep their secret
   •  innocent victims pursued 
  by former zoo officials
   • Some percentage of Bigfoot 
  sightings, especially those of 
  Florida’s skunk ape, may in 
  fact be argus encounters.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Tough but 
  Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 3, 
  Kill 4)
  Difficulty Adjustments: +1 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  80
  if the group has suddenly and 
  unexpectedly realized the 
  presence of the argus’ third eye; 
  -1 if the group knows it has a 
  third eye; +2 if the group failed a 
  Sneaking attempt against the argus
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Relict
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Roughed Up/Stab Wound
  Cancer Bag
  This genetically modified 
  Carcosan carnivore resembles a 
  burlap sack capable of locomotion. 
  Adult specimens reach the size 
  of a large dog. Ropy fibers inside 
  its outer sac allow it to move with 
  surprising speed. It tissues look and 
  smell like rotting mushrooms. The 
  cancer bag’s alien DNA matches 
  nothing from our planet.
  The creatures sweat highly 
  carcinogenic, spore-like micro-
  nodules. Regularly exposed victims 
  contract exotic, fast-acting cancers 
  within a few months of initial contact.
  Cancer bags can’t do much but 
  move from place to place, attack 
  small prey animals, and defend 
  themselves from threats. Castaigne 
  scientists altered them so that 
  they obey the mental commands 
  of individuals who concentrate 
  heavily on them while in visual 
  range and holding a Yellow Sign 
  emblem. DIS officials used them 
  as delayed-reaction, hard-to-detect 
  murder weapons. Simply impel a 
  cancer bag to hide in a dissident’s 
  home, and by the time you next 
  file a quarterly report, you’ve taken 
  care of your subject.
  A mystery involving a cancer 
  bag probably has the investigators 
  seeking the perpetrator who sent 
  one to infest a victim’s home or 
  office. The investigators could 
  solve the case by learning the truth 
  about cancer bags, learning who 
  has access to them, and tracking 
  them down. In the process 
  they might want to discover 
  the antidote that shielded their 
  users from the creatures’ cancer-
  causing effects.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Weak (Escape 1, 
  Other 3, Kill 3)
  Difficulty Adjustments: -1 if 
  characters wear protective masks; 
  +2 if fighting in hazmat suits
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Warspawn
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Spore Exposure/Precancerous
  Carcosan Wetworker
  Certain courtiers of the Yellow 
  King preferred the powers they 
  enjoyed as covert political officials 
  on Earth to the ennui of life as 
  nobles in his grim castle. Left on 
  this side of reality when the gates 
  blew up, they scheme to sabotage 
  the new government and lay the 
  groundwork for counter-revolution.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Superior (Escape 2, 
  Other 5, Kill 6)
  Toll: 1
  Tags: Carcosan
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Shattering Hand Strike/Razor 
  Hand Strike
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  81
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  82
  Carrier
  Persons infected by a Carcosan 
  parasite that takes control of 
  consciousness and motor function 
  become carriers. While bearing 
  the parasite, the carrier performs 
  covert actions targeting either 
  the new regime or former rebels 
  who have entered civilian life. 
  These can include assassination, 
  kidnapping, espionage, or 
  sabotage. The parasite houses the 
  intelligence and recollections of 
  a specific dead Carcosan, making 
  its carrier as capable of these 
  actions as a well-trained security 
  officer. This includes the ability 
  to change plans in response 
  to new conditions and to act 
  opportunistically to further the 
  counter-revolution.
  The parasite can move from 
  one host to another after as few 
  as ten seconds of skin contact. 
  The transmission doesn’t always 
  take, depending heavily on the 
  new host’s mental and physical 
  conditioning. For this reason, the 
  parasite prefers to enter the bodies 
  of the vulnerable: the sick, the old, 
  the homeless. 
  Given no better option, a 
  parasite may attempt to take over 
  a player character. This will fail, 
  because losing all control of your 
  PC always sucks, but at a possible 
  cost. Treat this as a Difficulty 6 
  Composure mental hazard. Minor/
  Major Shocks: Mental Probe; It 
  Licked Your Mind.
  In combat the parasite grants 
  the carrier the ability to generate 
  an electrical shock. In low light 
  conditions a light blue aura can be 
  seen around the host.
  Once the carrier is rendered 
  helpless the parasite can be found 
  and removed (Difficulty 6 First Aid 
  test). The wise medic remembers 
  to wear rubber gloves, avoiding 
  attempted parasitization. 
  Isolated from the host’s tissue, the 
  parasite consists of a mass of fibrous 
  muscle in the shape of the Yellow 
  Sign, about the size of a dime.
  Carriers remember what they 
  did while infected by the parasite 
  but cannot explain the reasons 
  for their actions. They often suffer 
  long-term trauma and may later 
  attempt suicide.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Tough but 
  Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 3, 
  Kill 4)
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Human
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Zapped/High Voltage
  Dupe
  After executing political 
  prisoners, the DIS had a range of 
  disposal options to choose from. 
  They could allow the body to be 
  discovered, dispose of the corpse 
  secretly, or cruelly deliver the 
  remains to the victim’s family. 
  In some cases, they instead 
  commissioned the lab to create 
  a sapient, artificial substitute for 
  the prisoner, to be returned to 
  unsuspecting family and friends. 
  By replacing a dissident with a 
  defeated, compliant duplicate, or 
  dupe, they could slow and confuse 
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  83
  the anti-regime movement. 
  Those close to the victim 
  always noticed a change: dupes 
  are invariably slower, duller, less 
  motivated, and more forgetful than 
  the originals. However, the effect 
  was never so pronounced that 
  anyone suspected the real truth. 
  Some families believed a persistent 
  rumor that the secret police 
  injected prisoners with a drug 
  causing long-term senility. Most 
  attributed the newfound grayness 
  of freed dissidents to the rigors of 
  their imprisonment, interrogation, 
  and torture.
  The duplication process infused 
  the dupes with the memories of 
  the copied victims. Though they 
  feel these less intensely than a 
  real person would, as if recalling 
  their pasts as a series of faded 
  home movies, they remember 
  enough to convince not only 
  others but themselves that they’re 
  the real thing.
  That’s the brilliance of the 
  deception: the dupes truly believe. 
  Most go to their graves thinking 
  they’re the originals. Testing 
  doesn’t help. Take a tissue sample 
  from a dupe, evaluate it using any 
  forensic technique available in this 
  reality, and it comes up as a match 
  for the copied murder victim.
  Certain traumatic events can 
  awaken a dupe’s buried memories 
  of being built, bone by bone, 
  muscle layer by muscle layer, in a 
  laboratory full of weird Carcosan 
  equipment. This shock drives them 
  to a mania they can only suppress 
  by engaging in acts of murder. A 
  quarter of them go on maniacal 
  killing sprees, intending to be 
  gunned down by cops. The rest 
  continue to live in their copied 
  identities, but become methodical 
  serial killers.
  They might attack their victims 
  using conventional weaponry 
  or using their newly discovered 
  inhuman ability. An awakened 
  dupe can cause its facial 
  musculature to detach from the 
  skull, transforming into dozens 
  of elastic appendages. In the 
  creature’s classic attack, these 
  burst forth, grab the victim’s 
  head, and pull it toward the 
  dupe’s mouth. With super-hard, 
  unobtrusively sharpened teeth, the 
  dupe tears out the victim’s throat.
  Murders alleviate a dupe’s 
  profound identity anxiety. The 
  dupe does not entirely forget 
  its inhuman nature but after a 
  satisfying bout of slaughter can 
  push that horrifying thought 
  into the emotional background. 
  It can then go on as normal for 
  weeks or months before jonesing 
  for another killing. This interval 
  shortens when the dupe undergoes 
  stress. Knowing that investigators 
  are going to find out that you’re a 
  monster can be very stressful.
  As your sequence starts, the 
  existence of the dupe program 
  remains an undiscovered secret 
  of the old regime. When the 
  squad finds out about it, thorny 
  questions arise:
   •  How much will it hurt 
  public morale to learn that 
  certain former dissidents are 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  84
  arcane duplicates of people 
  slain by the Castaignes?
   •  If knowledge of dupes goes 
  public, will more of them 
  realize who they are, triggering 
  a serial murder epidemic?
  When describing an attack 
  resulting in the Wrenched Neck 
  attack, narrate the dupe grabbing 
  the victim with its facial muscle 
  appendages and twisting the neck.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Evenly Matched 
  (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5)
  Difficulty Adjustments: +1 if 
  using its inhuman attack against a 
  character who thought it was human
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Hybrid
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Wrenched Neck/Dupe Bite
  Explosionist
  This Carcosan scientist looks 
  like a tall, gaunt human wearing 
  a surgical mask. On close 
  inspection, the mask turns out to 
  be a fibrous tissue covering its 
  mouthless face. The tip of each of 
  its index fingers retracts to reveal a 
  modified fingernail with a needle-
  like tip. When it jabs a human, 
  a toxin held in a reservoir in the 
  explosionist’s finger bone enters 
  the victim’s bloodstream. 
  Over a twenty-four-hour period 
  the victim’s body chemistry 
  alters. The brain reshapes itself 
  to obey the explosionist’s mental 
  commands. At the end of this time, 
  impelled by the explosionist, the 
  victim finds a public place full of 
  people and wanders into its center. 
  The victim then explodes with a 
  force strong enough to kill dozens 
  of innocents.
  When the explosionist is killed, 
  or becomes separated from the 
  victim by a hundred miles or 
  more, the victim regains control 
  of his actions. The subject, now 
  suffering an intense fever, may not 
  know what is about to happen to 
  him. If he does, he can choose to 
  find a remote location in which to 
  explode before the clock runs out.
  Overt Weirdness: More likely 
  he seeks medical attention. 
  The best treatment for this toxin 
  succeeds nine times out of ten and 
  requires a blood transfusion. For 
  obvious reasons this procedure is 
  not performed in busy hospitals. 
  Instead a specialized bomb 
  disposal medical unit (SDMU) 
  takes the victim to a safe place 
  and attempts the treatment. This 
  new protocol is new, expensive, 
  and requires particularly dedicated 
  professionals and so remains 
  unavailable in many areas.
  Covert/Fading Weirdness: The 
  treatment remains a military 
  secret, but the group can draw on 
  its resistance connections to gain 
  access to it.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Weak (Escape 1, 
  Other 4, Kill 4)
  Adjust to Other Sequences: 
  Drop Kill by 1
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Carcosan
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Scratched/Ticking Time Bomb
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  85
  Harbor Master
  The Bronx Zoological Society 
  facility hybridized humans with 
  the aquatic dwellers of Hali to 
  produce harbor masters. The 
  resulting beings were deployed by 
  the regime in spying and sabotage 
  operations in swamps and coastal 
  areas. Covered in rubbery, dolphin-
  like gray skin and staring at the 
  world with unblinking fish eyes, 
  harbor masters breathe through 
  large gill structures in their throats. 
  Their distended red gills produce a 
  disturbing purring sound. 
  Due to weak musculature and 
  skeletons composed mostly of 
  cartilage, harbor masters fight 
  poorly as aggressors. The same 
  features do make them freakishly 
  hard to hurt or kill, though. Their 
  bodies absorb the force of most 
  blows, including the killing impact 
  of bullets.
  Having escaped their cruel 
  regime controllers, harbor masters 
  would leave humanity alone 
  were it not for their romantic 
  yearnings. Beautiful people 
  of any gender may become 
  the focus of their sentimental 
  obsessions. Harbor masters show 
  neither interest in, nor capacity 
  for, physical congress with their 
  human crushes. This proves only 
  some consolation when they take 
  a person to their subterranean 
  grottoes, feeding them fish and 
  gazing at them from a besotted 
  distance. Clumsy and none too 
  bright, they may accidentally 
  harm their targets in the process 
  of capturing them.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Weak (Escape 1, 
  Other 3, Kill 3)
  Difficulty Adjustments: +5 if 
  striking with non-bladed weapons 
  (and objective is not Escape)
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Hybrid
  Injuries, Minor and Major: Fin 
  Scratch/Jostled
  Lawn Folk
  These sapient stone beings get 
  their names from their unpleasant 
  resemblance to garden gnomes. 
  They were created from inorganic 
  matter taken from Parisian 
  gargoyles and formed in military 
  labs with the aid of Carcosan 
  rituals. Whether brightly painted 
  or left to their natural granite 
  coloration, lawn folk always boast 
  one common feature: a wide, 
  sinister grin.
  Lawn folk enjoy entering 
  people’s homes at night. A 
  few choose to menace victims 
  physically. Most prefer to subtly 
  distort a victim’s personality over 
  a series of visits. They do this by 
  touching their stone hands to the 
  target’s forehead, establishing a 
  psychic link permitting them to 
  remove or alter memories. They 
  can even implant completely 
  false recollections.
  During the regime some worked 
  for the security apparatus, using 
  their mental powers to turn 
  dissidents into loyal mouthpieces 
  of Castaignite ideology. Though 
  most did this out of general 
  malignity, a few miss the days of 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  86
  widespread oppression and take 
  an active part in the revanchist 
  underground movement. Others 
  blackmail victims to perform 
  amusingly humiliating or destructive 
  acts in exchange for the safe return 
  of their stolen memories.
  When required to fight 
  physically, lawn folk prefer 
  switchblades or combat knives.
  A lawn folk can dole out its 
  Shock cards either to a helpless 
  character, or in place of a 
  combat Injury.
  Any foe with the Carcosan tag 
  can sense the susceptibility of a 
  character with the “Stolen Loyalty” 
  Shock card.
  The original lab only turned out 
  specimens that looked like male 
  garden gnomes. Recent sightings 
  of sinister-cutesy fairy princess 
  versions suggest that someone has 
  started making a new batch.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Evenly Matched 
  (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5)
  Difficulty Adjustments: +1 for 
  each opponent holding either of 
  its Shock cards (below)
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Warspawn
  Injuries, Minor and Major: Knife 
  Slash/Deep Stab
  Shocks, Minor and Major: 
  Stolen Memory/Stolen Loyalty
  Reanimate
  Favored state security officers 
  netting high psych test scores 
  for determination, ingenuity, 
  and cruelty were revived after 
  death by a top-secret program 
  run out of the Pentagon. Those 
  that survived the process became 
  even more extreme versions of 
  their former selves. Some retook 
  their old positions, while others 
  were reassigned as assassins and 
  enforcers. Reanimates can be 
  identified from their pallid skin, 
  glowing eyes, and fast-growing 
  yellow fingernails. Those who 
  arrived at the military morgue 
  in heavily wounded condition 
  were refurbished with cyborg 
  enhancements, including artificial 
  bones and body armor plates. 
  Open up a reanimate’s chest 
  and you find a buzzing battery 
  pack where the heart ought to 
  be. A port between the shoulder 
  blades allows them to plug into 
  an electrical outlet to regenerate 
  damaged tissue. The earliest 
  reanimates can also heal by 
  eating human flesh. Program 
  administrators phased out this 
  feature not because it worked 
  poorly but because it frightened 
  their bosses.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Vastly Superior 
  (Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6)
  Toll: 2
  Tags: Warspawn, Veteran
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Throat Squeeze/Breastbone-
  Piercing Punch
  Revanchist
  Not all former state security 
  officers want to wait patiently 
  to be arrested and tried for the 
  crimes they committed in the 
  name of the Castaigne regime. 
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  87
  Some have stashed away 
  weapons, vehicles, and other 
  resources they intend to use to 
  destabilize the new government.
  Revanchists are immune to the 
  effects of brainstopper grenades 
  (p. 60); characters trying to use 
  them take a -2 Fighting penalty.
  Former Goons
  Numbers: Number of PC 
  combatants
  Difficulty: Tough but 
  Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 3, 
  Kill 4)
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Veteran, Human
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Knock to the Head/Gunshot 
  Wound
  Insurgents
  Numbers: Number of PC 
  combatants
  Difficulty: Evenly Matched 
  (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5)
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Human, Veteran
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Grazed by a Needler/Shot by a 
  Needler
  Elite Insurgents
  Numbers: Number of PCs minus 1
  Difficulty: Superior (Escape 2, 
  Other 5, Kill 6)
  Toll: 3
  Tags: Human, Veteran
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Grazed by a Mangler/Shot by a 
  Mangler
  Riot Dog
  Police dogs trained to maul 
  rioters took on even more overtly 
  supernatural qualities during 
  the rebellion. Engineered with 
  Carcosan parabiological breeding 
  techniques in covert facilities, 
  they became faster, smarter, and 
  stronger than ordinary canines. 
  They look like hybrids of German 
  shepherds and hyenas, combining 
  the determination of the former 
  with the canniness of the latter.
  When they bite, riot dogs inject 
  a psychoactive poison that causes 
  victims to relive their most devastating 
  experiences. State security officers 
  used to have them savage prisoners 
  to soften them up for interrogation.
  Since the Overthrow these 
  creatures have become a rapidly 
  expanding invasive species. They 
  breed with rat-like fecundity and 
  show zero fear of man. When riot 
  dogs move into a neighborhood 
  people have to stay in their homes 
  until Animal Control officers can 
  complete a sweep, which can 
  take days.
  Covert/Fading Weirdness: 
  Everyone knows about the dogs, 
  but believes they were created by 
  purely scientific means.
  Numbers: Double the party
  Difficulty: Tough but 
  Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 3, 
  Kill 3)
  Adapt to Other Sequences: 
  Drop Kill by 1
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Hybrid
  Injuries, Minor and Major: Riot 
  Dog Bite/Riot Dog Mauling
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  88
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  89
  Shade
  The souls of people slain 
  by Carcosan beings still roam 
  America’s streets, hoping to 
  reconnect with loved ones or 
  exact vengeance on their former 
  tormentors. They manifest as 
  roughly human-shaped clouds of 
  ever-swirling shadow. To people 
  who never encountered them in 
  the flesh, that’s all they look like. 
  But to those who knew them, their 
  faces occasionally resolve into 
  a smoky image of their original 
  facial features before twisting 
  back out of shape again. Shades 
  can speak in a whispery, distorted 
  version of the voices they had 
  while alive. 
  Shades harm the mind but not 
  the body. They may use the threat 
  of their presence to impel a human 
  target to do something physical 
  on their behalf. Most commonly 
  they seek the demise of those who 
  tortured them for the dictatorship 
  or shot them during the uprising. 
  When PCs kill them in combat, 
  shades merely disperse for a day. 
  To destroy one permanently, PCs 
  must attack it with the object 
  that mattered most to the shade 
  when it was alive. Identifying 
  the item requires, you guessed it, 
  investigation.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Evenly Matched 
  (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5)
  Difficulty Adjustments: -3 if you 
  have the significant item 
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Warspawn
  Injuries, Minor and Major: Soul 
  Shook/Commandment from the 
  Grave
  Shatterling
  Shatterlings coalesce from the 
  interaction of residual Carcosan 
  energy and the brainwaves of a 
  distressed human mind. These 
  thought forms appear in locations 
  where people become susceptible 
  to negative suggestion, such as 
  haunted houses, graveyards, 
  prisons, and murder scenes. They 
  take the apparent shape of a horror 
  an agitated person unconsciously 
  fears or expects to encounter. 
  Plucking a template from the mind 
  of a tormented onlooker we’ll call 
  an experiencer, they may look like 
  classic ghosts, night hags, or UFO 
  aliens. When their experiencers 
  are ex-revolutionaries, they may 
  manifest as faceless torturers 
  wearing DIS uniforms, grotesquely 
  distorted riot cops, or the twisted 
  spawn of Castaignite laboratories.
  Once a shatterling appears, 
  others can see and interact with 
  it, perceiving it as its experiencer 
  envisioned it. Although it 
  possesses no physical reality and 
  can’t be photographed, it seems 
  entirely solid to anyone meeting 
  one, especially if it’s hacking at 
  you with a scythe or machete.
  Shatterlings act according to 
  their experiencers’ assumptions, 
  but without independent thought 
  or volition. This may tie them to a 
  location, or allow them to appear 
  anywhere the experiencer, or 
  anyone else who fears them, travels.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  90
  Pseudo-entities who manifest 
  by belief can be destroyed by it 
  as well. If an investigator thinks 
  a shatterling has a physical 
  form, that investigator can kill it. 
  However, as soon as an individual 
  encountering one concludes that 
  it’s unreal, it becomes nearly 
  impossible to destroy—for that 
  person, at least. Inconvenient!
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Evenly Matched 
  (Escape 2, Other 5, Kill 6)
  Difficulty Adjustments: +3 for 
  each PC combatant who knows it’s 
  a shatterling or thinks it’s unreal
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Warspawn
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Neuropathic Swipe/Neuropathic 
  Disequilibrium
  Sleeper
  During their years in power 
  the Castaigne regime infected 
  hundreds of unknowing 
  experimental subjects with a 
  subliminal mental trigger. Once 
  exposed to the Yellow Sign, these 
  sleepers obey pre-programmed 
  orders to commit acts of mayhem 
  against opponents. Orders differ 
  from one sleeper to the next. One 
  set of instructions might send the 
  sleeper looking for an authority 
  figure to strangle; another could 
  command an act of sabotage 
  against infrastructure.
  The activation also triggers a 
  physical transformation, juking 
  the victim’s strength, stamina, 
  and capacity for healing to 
  inhuman levels.
  Sleepers retain their conscious 
  personalities and ability to 
  communicate even as the 
  instructions force them to perform 
  actions that horrify them. They beg 
  for help and mercy even as they 
  crush the throats of their foes or 
  tear their way through opponents.
  In your mystery involving the 
  sleepers, the operative activating 
  them may know which specific 
  individuals he’s looking for and 
  what orders they carry. Or he 
  might just go around flashing the 
  Yellow Sign at possible candidates 
  hoping to instigate random chaos. 
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Superior (Escape 2, 
  Other 5, Kill 6)
  Toll: 1
  Tags: Human
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Superhuman Blow/Superhuman 
  Smash
  Sphyx
  The Bronx Park project’s 
  most valued contribution to 
  the Castaigne regime remains 
  an uncovered secret—until the 
  investigators cross paths with it.
  A BPZS expedition located 
  a non-mammalian humanoid 
  species in the Florida Everglades 
  in the early ‘20s. Decades later 
  its research scientists imbued 
  human subjects with the DNA 
  of the now-deceased captured 
  specimens. The experimental 
  subjects were called sphyx, the 
  same name given to the originals.
  The hybridization process 
  allows subjects to turn invisible 
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  91
  at will. The only way to see a 
  sphyx who has chosen to remain 
  unseen: cover them with a visible 
  substance that sticks to human 
  skin. As if that weren’t enough, 
  sphyxes also read olfactory 
  information with the acuity of 
  a pollen-seeking insect. To do 
  this, they unfurl antenna-like 
  feelers located on the tops of 
  their skulls. Given a scent sample 
  they can use their thousands of 
  chemoreceptors to zero in on a 
  target’s location from miles away. 
  Sphyxes can detect traces of a scent 
  up to a week old. When within 10 
  m of a target, they can assess its 
  hormonal profile, mood, recently 
  ingested foods, and general state of 
  health. They can perform chemical 
  analyses on inanimate objects 
  as well, allowing them to keenly 
  identify substances ranging from 
  accelerants to explosives, toxins, 
  bacteria, spores, and perfumes.
  Their invisibility and heightened 
  senses made them superstar 
  secret police, bodyguards, and 
  assassins. Sphyx abilities thrilled 
  and frightened successive 
  Castaigne regimes. Fearing that a 
  large population of them would 
  inevitably rise up and supplant 
  humankind, they strictly rationed 
  the number of hybridization 
  procedures performed.
  The process is only possible 
  during the first 12 months of 
  human life. BPZS researchers 
  chose orphans, sometimes of 
  dissidents murdered by the regime, 
  to undergo the transformation.
  The process also gave its 
  recipients classically ideal physical 
  proportions. No matter what they 
  eat, their physiques display the 
  perfected musculature of Greek 
  statues. Their facial features 
  likewise project an intimidatingly 
  handsome or beautiful symmetry. 
  A sphyx may decide that this is 
  the greatest power of all, setting 
  aside the dangerous invisibility 
  and weird antenna thing to go into 
  politics or entertainment. These 
  types will want to preserve the 
  secret of their birth at all costs, up 
  to and including murder.
  Sphyx who have learned that 
  their parents were regime victims 
  may now use their powers to 
  track down and kill anyone who 
  had a hand in their hybridization. 
  They could just as easily stalk 
  post-revolutionary America as 
  homicidal revanchists, working to 
  instate a new tyranny, with a sphyx 
  elite in command. Or they might 
  act as freelancers, selling their 
  services to whoever pays the most.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Vastly Superior 
  (Escape 3, Other 6, Kill 7)
  Difficulty Adjustments: -2 if 
  rendered visible by some kind 
  of coating; -1 if near a source of 
  an overwhelmingly awful smell; 
  +1 if the sphyx’s presence was 
  unsuspected before the fight began
  Toll: 2
  Tags: Hybrid
  Injuries, Minor and Major 
  (while invisible): Surprise Kidney 
  Stab/Surprise Throat Slash
  Injuries, Minor and Major (while 
  visible): Laceration/Stab Wound
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  92
  Thermosaur
  While exploring what remains 
  of the Bronx Park Zoological 
  Society complex, the team may 
  come across the bones and scales 
  of a thermosaur. These are not 
  fossils, but the preserved remains 
  of a specimen found dead at the 
  beginning of the last century. 
  A fully aquatic relative of the 
  spinosaurus, the thermosaur is 15 
  m long and equipped not only 
  with front and back legs but a set 
  of bat-like wings protruding from 
  its shoulders. Though evocative 
  of a dragon, the thermosaur used 
  these to propel itself through 
  the water, not for flight. The 
  thermosaur requires warm 
  waters and was presumed by the 
  paleontologists who captured 
  it to be traveling along with the 
  gulf stream.
  An encounter with a live 
  thermosaur suggests a scenario 
  with an adventurous, pulpy tone, 
  perhaps as a break from creepy 
  reality horror.
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Overwhelming 
  (Escape 3, Other 7, Kill 8)
  Toll: 2
  Tags: Relict
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Dinosaur Wound/Dinosaur Bite
  Ux
  During the early decades of the 
  Castaigne regime, the Bronx Park 
  Zoological Society undertook a 
  program of reverse evolution to 
  resurrect prehistoric creatures. 
  Aided by Carcosan science they 
  attempted to backward-engineer 
  extinct animals from the genetic 
  material of their closest surviving 
  evolutionary relatives. Despite 
  their best efforts they never grew 
  the stegosaurs Hildred II craved. 
  However, they did succeed in 
  breeding ux (plural uxen), a near-
  replica of the pracrax, a relative 
  of the terror birds that took on the 
  apex predator role in the Americas 
  33 million years ago. Nine to 
  ten feet tall, equipped with an 
  enormous, flesh-rending beak, 
  the ux can out-run a car, then rip 
  its roof off to get at the delicious 
  humans inside. Unlike more 
  familiar flightless birds like the 
  ostrich and emu, they do not use 
  their clawed feet as weapons.
  Though uxen were put on 
  display at Bronx Park in the ‘30s, 
  and photographs of them can 
  be found in archives, few today 
  believe they exist. The insurgents 
  who unwittingly freed a breeding 
  pair from the Bronx Zoo’s covert 
  enclosures could attest to that, had 
  they survived.
  Like most hybrids from this 
  project, uxen are presumably 
  susceptible to control and 
  influence by supernatural 
  intelligences.
  Numbers: 1-2
  Difficulty: Superior (Escape 2, 
  Other 5, Kill 6)
  Toll: 1
  Tags: Hybrid
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Puncturing Beak/Rending Beak
  Foes
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  93
  Other Monster Birds
  Records of the Bronx Park Zoo 
  describe two monstrous flight-
  capable birds that survived at 
  least until the beginning of the last 
  century. Both the ekaf-bird and the 
  ool-yllik hunted the thermosaur, 
  nipping gobbets of flesh from 
  between its scaled armor plates as 
  it swam the gulf stream. 
  Numbers: 2-3
  Difficulty: Evenly Matched 
  (Escape 2, Other 4, Kill 5)
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Relict
  Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Puncturing Beak/Rending Beak
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  94
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  95
  In this introductory scenario, 
  the team’s first foray into politics 
  leads them to the murder of a 
  fellow ex-partisan turned People’s 
  Deputy. The killing leads them to 
  a continuation of the old regime’s 
  riot dog program, and a monstrous 
  case of prewar guilt.
  Crisis
  The team investigates the 
  murder of a charismatic politician, 
  after his head is found in the 
  wastebasket of his office at the 
  People’s Congress.
  The Alien Truth
  The killer deposited the head 
  there in a panicked attempt to 
  misdirect from the real murder 
  scene—Hank’s garage, in a nearby 
  bedroom community. Evidence 
  there points to a riot dog attack. 
  The apparent involvement of these 
  savage creatures, bioengineered by 
  the old regime, may send the ex-
  partisans nosing around Gevaudan 
  Industries, a company with sinister 
  ties supposedly dedicated to 
  eradicating them. The Hussar past 
  of its CEO and chief researcher, 
  Dr. Thomas Frenet, may put him at 
  the top of their suspect list.
  But the truth lies elsewhere: 
  exposure to an old Frenet 
  experiment has turned one of 
  Hank’s old freedom fighter cell 
  members into a lycanthrope. A 
  spasm of guilt led to a terrible 
  transformation, and his former 
  leader’s slaughter.
  Opportunity
  Solving the case impresses the 
  group’s political contact, turning her 
  into their first key ally. They gain the 
  Chit card “Your First Patron.”
  Risks
  This is the group’s first rodeo, 
  so they do not yet have a political 
  power base to put in peril. No 
  Risks occur in this scenario.
  Cast of Characters
  Hank Knight: The victim. 
  The group remembers him as a 
  dashing colleague. Until his death 
  he was the leading exponent of 
  a political movement compatible 
  with, but not exactly the same as, 
  the team’s agenda.
  Tami Akana: The group’s political 
  contact, also a People’s Deputy.
  Dr. Thomas Frenet: Former 
  SLEEPING DOGS
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  96
  head of the DIS riot dog program, 
  now head of Gevaudan Industries. 
  He’s up to something, but it’s not 
  this. (Where applicable, rename 
  this character to make him the 
  descendant of an intelligence officer 
  or similar shadowy GMC from The 
  Wars sequence you just played.)
  Dave “the Cat” Katz: The real 
  killer, Hank’s former right-hand 
  man, with riot dog DNA coursing 
  through his veins.
  Other members of Hank’s cell:
  Kimberley Block, “The Block”: 
  The cell’s combat expert.
  Alec Dowden, “Sneaker”: The 
  infiltration specialist.
  Nancy Thaler, “Gears”: The 
  resident mechanic.
  Harvey Eckhouse, “Money”: The 
  logistics and finance guy.
  Hank’s political rivals, who the 
  group will likely want to rule out 
  as suspects:
  Mercedes Marshall: An apparent 
  political adversary of Hank’s who 
  was having a secret affair with him.
  Penny Ross: A genuine political 
  adversary.
  Timeline
  Thursday 7:00 pm: Hank is last 
  seen in his office
  Friday 8:00 am: Hank puts the 
  pork shoulder in the slow cooker.
  Friday 8:30 am: Leaving the 
  garage to head for work, Hank 
  is confronted by Dave Katz. 
  Dave unexpectedly turns into 
  monstrous riot dog form and kills 
  him. Panicking, he improvises a 
  cover for what really happened. 
  After stealing his keys, he saws 
  off Hank’s head, puts it in a 
  duffel bag, and drives to the 
  Congress building.
  Friday 10:15 am: Dave sneaks in 
  and deposits the head in Hank’s 
  wastebasket. He drives home to 
  his apartment.
  Friday 3:15 pm: Carla finds the 
  head and the team  
  becomes involved.
  Saturday evening: Time Hank 
  had set for his party.
  Scenes
  Prologue
  Have players, if needed, 
  introduce their characters to one 
  another, describing their pre-
  revolutionary occupations, Drives, 
  Parallels, and Worst Memories.
  If you haven’t already 
  established the Goal, as discussed 
  on p. 10, this is where you do 
  that.
  Once the investigation is 
  underway the characters may react 
  to certain GMCs depending on 
  their receptivity or hostility to their 
  Goal. They discover that Hank 
  would likely have supported them, 
  and that Mercedes and Penny 
  disapprove of their agenda.
  The GMCs’ attitudes toward 
  potential group Goals are  
  listed below.
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  97
  Shut Down Government Lethal 
  Chambers
  Hank: Guardian; regarded GLCs 
  as a source of moral decay and 
  thus a threat to public order.
  Mercedes: Originalist; “GLCs 
  were an innovation of the 
  Winthrop administration, and 
  should not be thrown out with the 
  Castaigne bathwater.”
  Penny: All-For-One/Renouncer; 
  “People are free to do what they 
  want, which includes autonomy 
  over their own demise.”
  Preserve Government Lethal 
  Chambers
  Hank: Originalist; never spoke 
  of them one way or the other but a 
  rollback to the Winthrop era would 
  presumably leave GLCS in place.
  Mercedes: Commercial; “No 
  new business wants to locate 
  near a GLC. It’s time for hope 
  and enterprise, not resignation 
  and death.”
  Penny: Renouncer; “Too many 
  former members of the regime 
  are using the chambers, when 
  they should be coming forward, 
  confessing what they did, and 
  earning their forgiveness.”
  Truth and Reconciliation
  Hank: Mercantilist; feared 
  that too many people who were 
  unwillingly complicit with the 
  regime would be tried and executed 
  if war crimes trials went forward.
  Mercedes: Originalist; “The 
  Castaignes spat on the constitution 
  for a hundred years. Tyrants will 
  rise again if we don’t exact a 
  punishment for the ages.”
  Penny: Guardian; “Criminals 
  must pay for their crimes, and that 
  goes double for mass murderers.”
  If the team pursues any Goal 
  other than this one, Hank may 
  or may not have additional 
  sympathies but is always an 
  advocate of war crimes trials. 
  Passages in the scenario text 
  assume this to be true, but then 
  tell you how to handle this option 
  in a parenthetical note tagged 
  Variant Hank.
  SKIPPING THE GOAL
  When running Sleeping 
  Dogs as a one-shot, you can 
  either:
   •  Describe the group as 
  pursuing the “Banish 
  the Supernatural” Goal 
  (rather than expending 
  precious time asking the 
  group to choose one).
   •  Drop the Goal angle 
  entirely, substituting some 
  other personal reason for 
  the group to investigate. 
  The most obvious hook: 
  Hank saved their bacon 
  once, during the Struggle. 
  They’re at the People’s 
  Congress to give boring 
  testimony to an even more 
  boring subcommittee when 
  they learn of his death. 
  Feeling an obligation to a 
  fallen comrade, they leap 
  into investigative mode.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  98
  War Crimes Trials
  Hank: Guardian; wanted 
  criminals held accountable.
  Mercedes: All-For-One; “Enough 
  with prisons and electric chairs. 
  The state must not kill.”
  Penny: Renouncer; “Without 
  forgiveness, we will devour 
  ourselves in a cycle of revenge 
  and reprisal.”
  Preserve Order
  Hank: Originalist; believed that 
  strong policing was also a feature 
  of the democratic era.
  Mercedes: Commercial; “We 
  can’t be strangled by government 
  regulations.”
  Penny: All-For-One/Renouncer; 
  “When you give cops too much 
  power, they instinctively use it on 
  behalf of the wealthy.”
  Reinstate Freedom
  Hank: Initiator; believed in new 
  ways of doing things, which meant 
  giving people choices.
  Mercedes: Mercantilist; “The 
  Castaignes had a lot of bad ideas 
  but their business regulations kept 
  the economy going.”
  Penny: Guardian; “Every crook 
  and scam artist talks of freedom. 
  What people really want after all 
  the bloodshed is safety.”
  Banish the Supernatural
  Hank: Guardian; fought 
  supernatural beings during the 
  revolution and considered them a 
  significant threat.
  Mercedes: All-For-Ones; “If 
  magic really does exist, we should 
  find out how to use it to heal our 
  fractured society.”
  Penny: Mercantilist/Renouncer; 
  “We can harness Carcosan 
  technology to rebuild our 
  shattered economy.”
  Harness the Supernatural
  Hank: Mercantilist; grew 
  up wealthy and knows some 
  people who used Carcosan 
  technologies innocuously.
  Mercedes: Guardian; “Magic is 
  the weapon of the enemy and must 
  be banished from this reality.”
  Penny: Commercial/Renouncer; 
  “We need healthy business 
  competition, not a monopoly by 
  practitioners of alien ritual.”
  Get Elected
  Hank: Guardian; was all for 
  electing as many ex-partisans  
  as possible.
  Mercedes: Mercantilist; “Ex-
  partisans should leave elected 
  office to people who understand 
  the economy. We need them as 
  cops and soldiers.”
  Penny: Renouncer; “Hank 
  wanted to elect ex-partisans, who 
  are too harsh in their thinking.”
  Build a Business
  Hank: Commercial; was all for 
  ex-partisans making some green.
  Mercedes: Mercantilist; 
  “Existing businesses will bring 
  the economy back to life without 
  hordes of meddling amateurs 
  getting in the way.”
  Penny: All-For-One; “A 
  revolutionary who trades on past 
  glories to rake in a buck is an 
  opportunist of the worst kind.”
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  99
  Lobbying Tami
  Scene Type: Introduction
  Lead-Out: The Head in the 
  Office
  The scenario begins in the 
  People’s Congress, in the office 
  of Tami Akana. Like most 
  bureaucratic environments 
  in this timeline, it combines 
  grim coloring and fixtures 
  with cheaply constructed, 
  deteriorating utilitarian design. 
  Tami has attempted to liven up 
  the place with a print of a colorful 
  Impressionist painting. If it isn’t 
  a work by either the Paris-era 
  Landscape or Portrait Painter PC, 
  it’s Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday 
  Afternoon on the Island of La 
  Grande Jatte,” just as famous in 
  this timeline as in ours.
  Then describe the group’s 
  relationship to Tami Akana. 
  During the war she coordinated 
  between them and the non-violent 
  dissident side of the anti-Castaigne 
  movement. The group likes and 
  trusts her. If desired, ask one or 
  more players to briefly describe the 
  incidents where she won this trust. 
  SLEEPING DOGS
  Lobbying Tami
  SCENE ZONE DIAGRAM
  INTRODUCTION
  The Head in 
  the Ofﬁce
  CORE
  Hank’s Aide
  CORE
  Hank’s Place
  CORE
  The Next Murder
  ANTAGONIST REACTION
  Riot Dogs
  CORE
  Gevaudan 
  Industries
  CORE
  Hank’s Old Crew
  CORE
  The Sidetrack
  HAZARD
  The Confession
  CONCLUSION
  Hank’s Toughest 
  Rival
  ALTERNATE
  Hank’s Best Enemy
  ALTERNATE
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  100
  Characters with Politics ratings 
  above 0 know:
   •  That she keeps above 
  the factional fray. 
   •  When parties start to form, all 
  of them will try to recruit her. 
   •  Although they haven’t heard 
  her directly endorse whatever 
  Goal they’re pursuing, she’s 
  never spoken against it, either. 
  In short, she’s their obvious 
  first stop as they try to orient 
  themselves as rookies in the new 
  world of post-Castaigne politics.
  Tami greets them warmly and 
  mentions that she was just thinking 
  of that time when they saved 
  her life, along with several other 
  activists, when all hell broke 
  loose at the Bronx Park Zoo. She 
  asks what brings them down to 
  the Congress hall and how she 
  can help.
  This gives the players the 
  chance to pitch their agenda 
  to her. She responds to it as a 
  worthy aim, if not particularly 
  her number one priority at the 
  moment. Give the impression 
  that Tami is a behind-the-scenes 
  facilitator type who wants to 
  maintain unity between ex-
  revolutionaries as long as she 
  can. Her worst fear is that the 
  factions will spin away from each 
  other, miring the constitutional 
  process in factional squabbles 
  that create room for a return to 
  authoritarianism.
  In response to player questions, 
  she supplies the basic scoop on 
  the budding political situation, 
  describing the factions and the 
  conflicts that divide them, as given 
  starting on p. 41.
  (core, The Head in the Office) 
  As interest in this general exposition 
  starts to flag, tell them that a terrified 
  shriek pierces the thin walls of 
  Tami’s office. Something terrible is 
  happening nearby.
  The Head in the Office
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-In: Lobbying Tami
  Lead-Outs: Hank’s Best 
  Enemy, Hank’s Aide, Hank’s 
  Toughest Rival
  It is 3:15 pm on a Friday.
  The scream emanates from a 
  nearby office, its marbled glass 
  inset window marked with the 
  gold-painted inscription Hank 
  Knight, People’s Deputy.
  Custodial staffer Carla Vargas, 
  a heavy-set woman in her 
  fifties, stands over a nondescript 
  metal wastepaper basket, 
  hyperventilating. She stares down 
  into it, transfixed.
  Reassurance calms her down 
  enough to tell what little she 
  knows, and to step aside so  
  that the group can look inside 
  the basket.
  It contains a severed head. 
  Difficulty 4 Composure test 
  to avoid Shock—Minor: The 
  Shudders; Major: Shaken.
  Both Carla and Tami can confirm 
  that it is Hank Knight, former 
  leader of a revolutionary cell 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  101
  much like the one the investigators 
  belonged to.
  Any group member who wants 
  to stipulate that they’ve briefly 
  met or dealt with Hank before 
  or after the regime change may 
  do so. (In a one-shot, you may 
  want to establish this regardless, 
  supplying the group’s motivation 
  to investigate.)
  Physical Clues
  Forensics: The head was severed 
  postmortem, by a serrated blade, 
  most likely a hacksaw. The 
  wastebasket contains very little 
  blood, suggesting that some time 
  elapsed between the decapitation 
  and the discovery of the head.
  No blood spatter can be  
  seen here.
  Science: Nor does it show up 
  under a black light test.
  Forensics: The head has not 
  been decomposing for much more 
  than twenty-four hours.
  On a search of the office in 
  general or the desk in particular: 
  A drawer in the desk contains 
  an olive-green duffel bag. Half 
  the group owns or has owned 
  exactly the same model of duffel 
  bag, purchased from a Cas-Mart 
  department store.
  Like many ex-partisans with 
  enemies, Hank kept his home 
  address confidential. 
  Talking to Carla
  Carla had been cleaning the 
  office for the last half an hour, 
  leaving the wastebasket as one of 
  her final tasks. The thought that 
  she was in there with that… that… 
  for so long causes her to panic 
  and shudder all over again. Each 
  deputy’s office gets cleaned three 
  times a week, so the head can’t 
  have been there more than a few 
  days.
  She liked Mr. Knight, who 
  always took time to acknowledge 
  her and ask after her family. She 
  can’t think who in particular who 
  would want to hurt him. Since he 
  was a hero of the revolution, she 
  guesses the killer was mostly likely 
  an ex-Hussar. She used to work 
  in this building back when it was 
  Hussar headquarters and all of 
  them were beasts.
  (core, Hank’s Aide) She begs the 
  group to be gentle in breaking 
  the news to his aide, Susan 
  Manos, who left the room for 
  the Congressional lounge when 
  she came in to clean. Susan 
  was sweet on him, she hints. If 
  pressed to back this up, Carla 
  just says that she can always can 
  tell, no matter how much people 
  kid themselves. (Carla believes 
  this but it isn’t true.)
  Talking to Tami
  Tami is also visibly distressed, 
  especially if the group lets her see 
  the severed head.
  She says that Hank had lots of 
  enemies.
  He was spearheading the 
  charge for war crimes trials. Any 
  collaborator with the old regime 
  who has reason to fear a firing 
  squad might strike against him.
  (Variant Hank: Lots of people 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  102
  want the killers of their families 
  and friends dealt with harshly. 
  As a fighter who now calls for 
  forgiveness, Hank received 
  voluminous hate mail accusing 
  him of cowardice, treachery,  
  and worse.)
  If asked about political rivals, 
  Tami mentions two who come 
  immediately to mind:
  (alternate, Hank’s Best Enemy) 
  Mercedes Marshall frequently 
  clashed with him in private 
  meetings and during sessions  
  of Congress.
  (alternate, Hank’s Toughest 
  Rival) Though Penny Ross showed 
  little personal animus toward him, 
  she strongly opposed his policies.
  (core, Hank’s Aide) Like many 
  ex-partisans with enemies, Hank 
  wasn’t exactly free with his home 
  address. His aide, Susan Manos, 
  probably has it.
  Hank’s Aide
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-In: The Head in  
  the Office
  Lead-Outs: Hank’s Place, 
  Hank’s Toughest Rival
  Susan Manos’ severe business 
  attire includes a sharp-shouldered 
  suit jacket and thick-heeled black 
  shoes. She smokes pensively and 
  speaks in clipped, direct sentences. 
  News of Hank’s death hits her like 
  a quick electric shock before she 
  reverts to her brusque demeanor.
  Counterinsurgency, used as an 
  Interpersonal ability, convinces 
  Susan that the team can be trusted 
  as unofficial investigators into her 
  boss’ murder. She doesn’t trust 
  the cops to get it right. They’re 
  riddled with regime sympathizers 
  who feared prosecution under the 
  tough war crimes tribunals Hank 
  was fighting for.
  (Variant Hank: Half the force is 
  made up of former revolutionaries, 
  who mostly hate the idea of 
  a Truth and Reconciliation 
  Commission.)
  Susan last saw Hank when he left 
  the office around 7:00 pm last night.
  (core, Hank’s Place) She supplies 
  his home address, a two-story 
  home in the bedroom community 
  of Dobbs Ferry.
  (alternate, Hank’s Toughest 
  Rival) Asked who would have him 
  killed, she says it had to have been 
  Penny Ross. Ross blocked him at 
  every turn. 
  Manos claims that Ross 
  receives funding from former war 
  criminals, who easily have the 
  skills and connections to pull off 
  an assassination. The head in the 
  wastebasket? Has to be a warning 
  to others to abandon the tribunals.
  (Variant Hank: Manos says that 
  Ross gets her funding from the 
  most radical ex-partisans, who 
  care more about revenge than 
  building a society that can hold 
  it together.)
  Despite Hank’s effort to conceal 
  it from her, Susan knows that 
  he and Mercedes Marshall 
  were having a fling. Though she 
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  ROBIN D. LAWS
  103
  disapproved of the dalliance with 
  an opponent, Susan doesn’t want 
  to see either of them embarrassed 
  and so does not mention Mercedes 
  unless the team brings her up. Then 
  she affirms whatever Tami had to say 
  about her while trying to steer them 
  back toward Penny Ross.
  She bristles if anyone brings up 
  Carla’s theory that she had a crush 
  on Hank. Susan keeps her work 
  and private life strictly separate.
  Hank’s Toughest Rival
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: The Head in the 
  Office, Hank’s Best Enemy
  Lead-Out: Hank’s Best 
  Enemy, Hank’s Old Crew
  Slight, white-haired, and 
  professorial, Penny Ross reacts 
  to the news of Hank’s death with 
  either detached surprise (if this 
  scene immediately follows The 
  Head in the Office and she is 
  learning the news cold) or with 
  composure and platitudes.
  She says she admired Hank as a 
  revolutionary war hero but feared 
  what would happen if he got what 
  he wanted in politics. Then she lays 
  out her philosophical objection to 
  his politics, earnestly attempting to 
  sway the investigators to the merits 
  of her cause.
  The thought that Hank’s 
  followers will be able to make a 
  martyr of him and push his agenda 
  through fills Penny with dread. She 
  might offer her support for their 
  agenda, if they bring it up and it 
  does not conflict with hers, should 
  they find and release evidence 
  undermining Hank’s image. In the 
  unlikely event that they follow 
  through on this, the “Your First 
  Patron” Chit card they get for 
  completing the scenario would 
  refer to her rather than Tami.
  (alternate, Hank’s Best Enemy) 
  Asked to name a prime suspect, 
  Penny mentions Mercedes 
  Marshall. Last week she stepped 
  onto an elevator, encountering the 
  two of them together. She realized 
  she was interrupting a heated 
  exchange of some kind. Penny 
  doesn’t know what it was about, but 
  Mercedes’ rage was unmistakable. 
  (Penny is misreading a lover’s 
  quarrel as a political conflict and 
  prelude to murder.)
  (core, Hank’s Old Crew) If the 
  group wins her trust by seeming 
  ready to discredit Hank or makes 
  use of an appropriate-seeming 
  Interpersonal ability, Penny reveals 
  that she received a tip regarding 
  past improprieties by his old cell. 
  One of them, a man named Harvey 
  Eckhouse, may have siphoned 
  money from Castaigne-related 
  businesses. The anonymous tip 
  mentioned the place where Hank’s 
  gang hangs out: a bar off Highway 
  287 called The Trough. She was 
  about to hire an investigator to 
  check this out, but maybe the team 
  wants to take a look…
  Should the group push back 
  on this, Penny concedes that the 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  104
  tip could well be groundless. For 
  all she knows it comes from an 
  ex-Hussar source, rather than a 
  principled believer in Truth and 
  Reconciliation.
  Hank’s Best Enemy
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: The Head in the 
  Office, Hank’s Toughest Rival
  Lead-Outs: Hank’s Place, 
  Hank’s Toughest Rival
  Mercedes Marshall can be found 
  in her office. Tall, with long wavy 
  hair and bright red nail polish, she 
  speaks plainly and with passion.
  Is she a Mercantilist? She wears a 
  subtly tailored, perfectly fitting suit.
  Otherwise: She wears a boxy 
  suit in a military shade of olive.
  Her demeanor varies 
  depending on when the heroes 
  choose to talk to her. 
  Does this scene occur 
  immediately after The Head in 
  the Office? They find her pacing 
  around her desk, rehearsing a 
  speech. She has not yet heard that 
  Hank has been killed. When they 
  tell her the news, she collapses 
  into her rickety desk chair as if 
  punched in the gut. All color 
  drains from her face.
  Otherwise: She sits at her desk, 
  stunned and withdrawn.
  Psychology: Her grief over 
  Hank’s demise exceeds that of an 
  acquaintance or rival.
  If urged to tell all she knows 
  about Hank for the good of 
  the republic (Inspiration) or 
  assured that what she tells them 
  will remain totally confidential 
  (Reassurance) she tells them that, 
  despite their political differences, 
  she and Hank were secretly seeing 
  each other. She wants whoever did 
  this caught and punished.
  (core, Hank’s Place) She supplies 
  Hank’s address and says that they 
  met there occasionally. The last 
  time they were together was at 
  his home, three days ago. Since 
  then they’ve passed each other 
  in the corridors here but kept it 
  cool. News of their relationship 
  would cause problems for both of 
  them—a price neither was ready 
  to pay yet.
  (alternate, Hank’s Toughest 
  Rival) Mercedes assumes they’ll 
  want to rule out Penny Ross as 
  a suspect. She blocked Hank at 
  every turn and might be capable 
  of anything under that bloodless, 
  dispassionate goody-two shoes 
  persona of hers.
  Mercedes stresses, if asked, 
  that neither Susan nor Tami could 
  possibly do such a thing.
  She also leaps to the obvious 
  conclusion that someone from his 
  revolutionary past, she figures. 
  Just about anyone who had reason 
  to fear a war crimes tribunal 
  could benefit from his removal—
  provided they could keep their 
  hands clean. Mercedes has no 
  specific names to suggest, though.
  (Variant Hank: Some former 
  insurgents assume anyone 
  opposed to war crimes trials is in 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  105
  the pocket of the Hussars. One 
  time he found a threatening note 
  to that effect, pinned to the front 
  door of his house.)
  Confronted with Penny’s elevator 
  story (see previous scene), she 
  flushes and…
   •  (if she has admitted the affair) 
  Says that it was an argument 
  over Hank’s lack of caution 
  in concealing their fling.
   •  (otherwise) Calls it a political 
  argument that got personal. 
  Any denial of the affair triggers 
  Bullshit Detector.
  Hank’s Place
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Hank’s Aide, 
  Hank’s Best Enemy, Hank’s 
  Old Crew
  Lead-Outs: Hank’s Old 
  Crew, Riot Dogs
  Hank lived in a two-story home 
  in Dobbs Ferry, New York. A 
  wheezing commuter train, leaving 
  from the crumbling, war-ravaged 
  hulk of Grand Central Station, 
  connects it to the downtown core.
  Both the front and back door are 
  locked and booby-trapped. The 
  pull-down aluminum garage door 
  is closed but not locked.
  Counterinsurgency gets 
  the group safely through the 
  doors, disarming the bombs. 
  They recognize the jury-rigged 
  workmanship as typical guerrilla 
  tradecraft.
  As the group enters, they smell the 
  irresistible aroma of cooking meat.
  Does the group take this in 
  stride? Keep going.
  Do one or more players instead 
  react with thewwledge that they’re 
  playing a horror game and assume 
  that this might be burnt human 
  flesh? Difficulty 4 Composure test to 
  avoid Shock —Minor: False Alarm; 
  Major: The Yips.
  The tantalizing/alarming smell 
  comes from a pork shoulder in 
  a slow cooker. It has finished 
  cooking but is now on the warm 
  setting.
  Trivia: Slow cookers like this 
  one have timers, so it could have 
  started after Hank was killed. 
  Science: But not too long after, 
  as you can’t leave meat out 
  at room temperature for long 
  before you start to risk bacterial 
  contamination.
  The home’s interior radiates the 
  disorder of a busy guy who doesn’t 
  worry too much about cleaning 
  up. No pigsty, but far from 
  immaculate.
  Around the kitchen the team 
  spots signs of party planning: 
  cases of beer, bags of potato chips, 
  plastic drinking cups.
  (core, Hank’s Old Crew) On the 
  fridge a yellow sticky note bears a 
  phone number and the scrawled 
  words “The Trough.” If the group 
  calls the number, the bartender, 
  Rico Portabiles, confirms that 
  Hank placed a liquor order 
  through them. Rico indicates that 
  Hank and his crew are his pals, 
  and regulars at his place.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  106
  The real evidence lies behind 
  Hank’s garage door. When the 
  group pulls it up, they find the rest 
  of his body, wedged upright in his 
  1963 Castabolt convertible. This 
  vehicle passes for a classic sports 
  car in this reality.
  Sticky blood covers the concrete 
  garage floor. A crimson-slicked 
  hacksaw lies near the car. 
  Forensics: The decapitation 
  occurred post-mortem. The 
  wounds that killed him look like 
  those from a dog mauling. But not 
  an ordinary dog: something bigger 
  and much more savage.
  (core, Riot Dogs) 
  Counterinsurgency: This could 
  easily be the work of riot dogs, 
  bioengineered animals deployed 
  by the old regime against 
  dissidents and freedom fighters.
  Hank was fully dressed for 
  work in a suit and tie when he 
  was attacked. His wallet remains 
  in his pocket, but his keys—
  which the team might correctly 
  presume to include his office 
  key—are missing.
  Canvassing the Neighborhood
  None of Hank’s neighbors saw 
  any sign of a riot dog or anything 
  else untoward recently.
  All however were invited to 
  Hank’s party on Saturday night.
  (Should the team check back 
  with them, none of Hank’s 
  colleagues or co-workers in the 
  Congress building knew about the 
  party. It was for the neighborhood, 
  and for Hank’s old running 
  buddies.)
  Names and profiles of neighbors 
  to use as needed:
   •  Paul Ku, a roofer and amateur 
  weightlifter who thought 
  Hank was a solid guy.
   •  Geoffrey and Regina Reilly, 
  easily frightened retirees, who 
  predicted that Hank would bring 
  trouble to the neighborhood.
   •  Cecelia Boone, flute player 
  for the New York Symphony, 
  who had heard of Hank but 
  never interacted with him.
  Calling the Cops
  Jurisdiction over this part of 
  the crime scene belongs to the 
  Westchester County Sheriff’s 
  Department. If called, blond, 
  blandly handsome Sheriff Jordan 
  von Sommer shows up with 
  several of his deputies.
  Von Sommer got his job from his 
  family connections and projects 
  a sweet-natured dumb guy vibe. 
  He affably agrees with whatever 
  theories the team puts forward and 
  seems content to let them do his 
  legwork for him.
  Trivia: The von Sommers are a 
  rich family with Mercantilist ties. 
  Jordan’s job as a sheriff suggests 
  that he comes from one of the 
  large clan’s less wealthy branches.
  A Cop Talk Push establishes a 
  previous relationship to him.
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  107
  Riot Dogs
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-In: Hank’s Place
  Lead-Out: Gevaudan 
  Industries
  The team can use a mix of 
  abilities to draw on their own 
  knowledge of riot dogs. Or they 
  can seek out a willing expert, 
  who supplies the points below in 
  response to specific questions. 
  In my game, the group looked 
  up the town’s veterinarian. Other 
  players might seek a zoologist or 
  other academic expert.
  Whatever her background, let’s 
  call her Tracy Gillen. Play her as 
  well-informed, concerned about 
  the riot dog menace, and pleased 
  to cooperate in a case that might 
  involve the creatures.
  Details here include material 
  from the creature description on 
  p. 87, restructured for easy 
  exposition (so you needn’t look 
  that up as well).
  History: Riot dogs began as 
  police animals bred through 
  ordinary means for additional size, 
  strength, and ferocity.
  Counterinsurgency: A generation 
  ago regime scientists started using 
  secret technology to make them 
  even smarter, faster, and more 
  dangerous.
  Science: Canines are well known 
  for genetic plasticity, a quality that 
  allows many different shapes and 
  sizes from the same root species.
  Counterinsurgency: Riot dogs 
  look like hybrids of German 
  shepherds and hyenas.
  Counterinsurgency: State 
  security officers used to have them 
  savage prisoners to soften them up 
  for interrogation.
  Counterinsurgency: When 
  they bite, riot dogs inject a 
  psychoactive poison that causes 
  victims to relive their most 
  devastating experiences.
  History: When the regime fell, 
  someone let them loose. Since 
  then they’ve been breeding like 
  rats. They sometimes swarm into 
  a neighborhood, requiring people 
  to hide behind closed doors until 
  heavily armed Animal Control 
  officers complete a sweep, a 
  process that can take days.
  Science: Their population 
  uncontrolled by the DIS’s science 
  wing, the creatures now mutate 
  at a rapid rate. The latest whelps 
  could be capable of anything.
  If asked to examine the body, 
  Tracy confirms that the injuries 
  show the classic signs of riot  
  dog mauling.
  (core, Gevaudan Industries) 
  People Person: A coffee shop 
  acquaintance—you remember, 
  good old Phil, with the aunt up 
  in Canada—once told you about 
  a riot dog invasion his sister’s 
  landscaper witnessed. Ordinary 
  Animal Control officers couldn’t 
  get them out of a wooded area 
  near a rich enclave. Its residents 
  had to pool resources and hire 
  Gevaudan Industries, located in 
  nearby Mount Pleasant, New York.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  108
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  109
  With Accounting and time to 
  conduct a search of business 
  records, the team learns that the 
  founder and CEO of Gevaudan 
  Industries is Dr. Thomas Frenet, a 
  notorious member of the Hussars’ 
  science wing.
  Counterinsurgency: People 
  suspected of far less serious war 
  crimes than Frenet rot behind bars. 
  Yet somehow, he is not only free, 
  but running a company.
  Business: His funding 
  comes from several prominent 
  Mercantilist families.
  (These last clues may instead 
  surface during Gevaudan 
  Industries, below.)
  Gevaudan Industries
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-In: Riot Dogs, Hank’s 
  Old Crew
  Lead-Out: Hank’s Old 
  Crew, The Confession
  Signage clearly marks the 
  location of Gevaudan Industries. 
  It occupies three refurbished 
  buildings in an otherwise war-
  ruined industrial park. From 
  its brown brick to its boxy 
  construction, it projects an image 
  of anonymous blandness.
  Gatekeepers
  Nervous receptionist Della Sims 
  serves as the first layer of defense 
  against people walking in and 
  trying to get to Frenet. She tries 
  to find out what they want and 
  eventually calls on a higher-up to 
  deal with them.
  Depending on how they present 
  themselves, the person she calls, 
  cool and composed company 
  official Krista Russell is either 
  Gevaudan’s Media Relations 
  Officer, or its Head of Security.
  Russell provides these answers 
  to the group’s questions:
   •  Dr. Frenet is a busy man and 
  can’t fit in an impromptu 
  meeting with random drop-ins. 
  (Like Frenet himself, Krista uses 
  an Americanized pronunciation 
  of his French family name: FREN-
  net not Fren-AY. If you’re using a 
  name from your Wars sequence 
  for this character that can be 
  likewise Americanized, do that.)
   •  Gevaudan Industries performs 
  an important service, both 
  in the near-term efforts of 
  its containment unit, and 
  in the farther-reaching aims 
  of its research division.
   •  Containment supervises 
  the teams who go out 
  to eradicate riot dog 
  infestations as they occur.
   •  It continues to expand as the 
  riot dogs increase their range, 
  spreading from the original 
  point of release in New York 
  across the eastern seaboard.
   •  The company is in talks with 
  the Canadian government to 
  expand its containment units 
  north of the border, where 
  they are sorely needed.
   •  If you sight riot dogs, do not 
  approach them. Call this number 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  110
  and we’ll send Containment. 
  (On this note Russell proffers 
  her own business card, and 
  one with the emergency 
  number for Containment.)
   •  The Research Division seeks a 
  cure for riot dogs—a means of 
  eliminating this AIS entirely.
   •  “Oh, AIS? Yes, yes, a bit of 
  jargon we use around here. 
  Artificial Invasive Species.”
   •  Dr. Frenet heads research, 
  taking personal charge of the 
  various research programs.
   •  Yes, it is true that Dr. Frenet was 
  required by the old regime to 
  work on their riot dog program. 
  The knowledge gained through 
  that regrettable association can 
  now be put to positive use.
   •  The identity of the individual 
  who released the dogs during 
  the final days of the revolution 
  is of great interest to Gevaudan. 
  Perhaps it means nothing—or 
  maybe it provides a vital clue 
  to their eventual eradication.
  Though she tries her best to 
  deflect them, when the team 
  makes it clear that they’re not 
  going to relent until they talk to 
  Frenet personally, Krista screws 
  up her features and agrees to 
  see if he can squeeze them in. 
  A player can choose to win her 
  over immediately and without 
  fuss by spending an Intimidation, 
  Leadership, or Inspiration Push.
  Dr. Frenet
  Frenet is a short, compact man 
  with a shining bald pate. He wears 
  a white lab coat over a black shirt 
  and black slacks and peers at the 
  investigators through small-lensed, 
  round glasses with thick black 
  plastic frames.
  He wants potentially influential 
  ex-partisans like the PCs to 
  believe, or at least reluctantly 
  accept, that he has gone straight 
  and wishes to be of maximum 
  service to the new America. 
  When rattled, flashes of his 
  old self, the coolly efficient 
  torturer, disrupt his placid self-
  presentation. In response to 
  questions he says the following:
   •  He does not know Hank Knight. 
  (Bullshit Detector: Judging from 
  his facial twitch, he sure does.)
   •  The riot dog problem is bad 
  and will only get worse. Like 
  humans but unlike other 
  animals, the riot dog population 
  can expand exponentially.
   •  Without control entire cities 
  might have to be abandoned to 
  the creatures for generations.
   •  Frenet was only too happy to 
  take on the responsibility of 
  undoing this ecological disaster.
   •  Though of course if it had been 
  up to him the dogs would 
  never have been released in 
  the first place. That fault lies 
  squarely on the shoulders of 
  unnamed revolutionaries—
  perhaps now members of 
  the People’s Congress.
   •  The riot dog program started 
  more than 30 years ago. He 
  joined it 15 years ago and 
  ran it for the seven years 
  before the revolution.
   •  Yes, sadly, he was required 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  111
  to use the dogs to both to 
  hunt suspected dissidents 
  and to terrify them during 
  interrogations.
   •  He never directly loosed 
  them on demonstrators, 
  but was, unfortunately, 
  required to authorize their 
  use for that purpose.
   •  During the old days riot 
  dogs always returned to their 
  trainers after completing their 
  missions. They were bonded 
  to particular handlers, who 
  they obeyed as their alphas.
   •  Even if they were let loose by 
  hostile operatives, as happened 
  once, the trainers could find 
  and recover the dogs.
   •  The problem with the final 
  release of the dogs was that 
  many of the trainers had 
  already been killed or gone 
  AWOL in the fighting. With no 
  human alphas to call them to 
  heel, they went feral, reverting 
  to their pack instincts.
   •  Of the possible cures for the riot 
  dog problem, the most promising 
  one is a new friendly, non-
  aggressive strain now being bred 
  in the lab. He hopes to engineer 
  a propensity for gentleness as a 
  dominant trait. When the strain 
  is perfected, Gevaudan will 
  release it into the wild to mate 
  with the existing population, 
  eventually resulting in a docile 
  animal that presents no threat 
  to people or other creatures.
   •  (core, Hank’s Old Crew, if 
  shown the photos of The Trough 
  from his desk drawer; see 
  Sneaking In, below) Those are 
  from an abandoned research 
  effort to uncover the identity of 
  the persons responsible for the 
  riot dog release. Frenet had a 
  private investigator determine 
  the whereabouts of the former 
  insurgent cell he suspects of 
  having committed this shameful 
  crime. They hang out at this bar.
    
  – Frenet gave this up his 
  inquiry when the head of the 
  cell, Hank Knight, achieved 
  political prominence. 
    
  –  Also, he had to accept 
  that no one other than him 
  particularly wants to pursue 
  the fighters who released the 
  dogs. The populace excuses 
  the deadly blunders of one 
  side and excessively punishes 
  those by the other.
    
  – (leveraged clue, The 
  Confession) Frenet suspected 
  Hank’s crew because they 
  released the dogs once before. 
  But back then trainers were 
  able to recover the animals, 
  with only a handful of civilian 
  casualties.
    
  – How many casualties? Oh, 
  less than a dozen deaths. 
  The dogs got into a tenement 
  building and hit a rec room 
  where children were playing.
   •  Frenet does his best to 
  convince one or more team 
  members to pay a supervised 
  visit to one of the new, tame 
  riot dogs; see below.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  112
  Who’s a Good Boy?
  Frenet ushers any investigators 
  willing to meet one of the new 
  dogs into a containment chamber 
  in the complex’s laboratory 
  building. The walk there takes 
  them past plexiglass walls, behind 
  which dogs of various sizes 
  gestate, suspended in artificial 
  amniotic fluid. Frenet advises 
  them to empty their pockets of 
  any food products. He declines 
  to join them inside the chamber. 
  When they enter, its door 
  seals shut after them. Then an 
  electronically operated doggie 
  door in corrugated metal slides up, 
  allowing the dog to visit them.
  Wagging is misshapen tail, the 
  monstrous hyena-dog sniffs at 
  them cautiously, then bounds over 
  to jump up on them and attempt 
  to lick their faces.
  Build this up for maximum 
  ominous effect.
  If they let the dog bound up 
  onto them and shower them with 
  affection and saliva, nothing bad 
  happens.
  Should they flinch, the dog drops 
  onto its haunches and growls.
  A Reassurance Push or Difficulty 
  5 Morale test calms the dog.
  An Intimidation Push causes 
  it to back down, treating the 
  character as its alpha.
  Absent that, to Frenet’s obvious 
  chagrin, it attacks. Enclosed in 
  the visitation chamber, Escape is 
  not possible.
  Solo Riot Dog
  Numbers: 1
  Difficulty: Weak (Escape N/A, 
  Other 3, Kill 4)
  Difficulty Adjustments: +1 if 
  a combatant PC has expressed a 
  love of dogs; +1 if a combatant PC 
  has expressed a fear of dogs; -1 if 
  a combatant PC has expressed a 
  dislike of dogs
  Toll: 0
  Tags: Warspawn
  Injuries, Minor and Major: Riot 
  Dog Bite/Riot Dog Mauling
  Sneaking In
  Either before or after talking to 
  Frenet, the group may choose to 
  break into the complex after hours 
  to gather additional information.
  A character casing the joint 
  with Counterinsurgency notes 
  that security is tighter around 
  the lab building than the office 
  and administrative structures. 
  (Though they may or may not 
  know by this point what goes 
  on in each building.) Also: the 
  guards are employees of a separate 
  security firm, meaning that a) 
  they’re probably not the toughest 
  opponents, and b) they’re probably 
  regular working stiffs, not fanatical 
  members of an evil organization.
  Difficulty 4 Sneaking gets the 
  group into the building housing 
  Frenet’s office. Difficulty for the 
  lab area is 6.
  A failure might pit them against 
  security guards or put them in a 
  room with angry riot dogs.
   • Riot dogs are Tough but 
  Outmatched (Escape 2, Other 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  113
  3, Kill 4; Toll 0, Injuries, 
  Minor and Major: Riot Dog 
  Bite/Riot Dog Mauling).
   • Security guards are Weak 
  (Escape 1, Other 3, Kill 3; Toll 
  1, Injuries, Minor and Major: 
  Pain Baton Tap/Pain Baton Hit).
  In Frenet’s office the group might 
  find documentation providing 
  information given in previous 
  sections of this scene, perhaps in 
  less slanted fashion. 
  (core, Hank’s Old Crew) In his 
  desk they find a sheaf of black and 
  white photos of people going in 
  and out of a bar called The Trough. 
  Frenet’s response, if confronted 
  with this, appears in the sub-
  section detailing his interview. If 
  the group has already met Hank’s 
  crew they see that the photos are 
  of them, plus assorted random 
  bar patrons.
  The character with Sneaking 
  can open the small safe in 
  Frenet’s office. 
   •  It mostly contains folders full 
  of raw scientific data. Science: 
  It’s hard to parse the numbers 
  without context but they square 
  with a genetic research project.
   •  The only valuables in the 
  safe are a series of envelopes, 
  each containing $1,000 in 
  small bills, each labeled with 
  a month, starting with next 
  month. There are four envelopes 
  in all. (These contain Frenet’s 
  upcoming payoffs to Dave.) 
  Hank’s Old Crew
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Gevaudan 
  Industries, Hank’s Toughest 
  Rival, Hank’s Place
  Lead-Outs: Hank’s Place, 
  Gevaudan Industries, The 
  Sidetrack
  The Trough is your basic roadside 
  drinking hole. Everybody knows 
  your name but they’re damn well 
  not gonna spill it to outsiders.
  Streetwise: This working-class 
  bar is for serious drinkers, mostly 
  male. They’re rough and can 
  probably handle themselves. 
  Customers here might know a 
  guy who knows a guy but won’t 
  be directly criminal themselves. If 
  the group starts a fight inside, the 
  locals and bouncers will probably 
  join in, and not on your side. On 
  the other hand, a fight that heads 
  properly to the parking lot will be 
  treated as nobody’s business but 
  those involved.
  Counterinsurgency: Even if 
  the group hasn’t seen images of 
  Hank’s crew yet, it’s easy to clock 
  the crew that’s been in the shit. 
  They have that veteran, guarded 
  hunch to their shoulders and have 
  picked the most defendable table 
  in the event of a firefight.
  Hank’s people are: 
   •  Kimberley Block aka The Block, 
  their broad-shouldered scrapper. 
    
  – Counterinsurgency: You can 
  tell she’s retired from active 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  114
  combat because she’s let her 
  ashen blond hair grow long 
  and keeps it in a ponytail—a 
  dangerous handhold for a 
  hand-to-hand opponent.
   •  Alec Dowden aka Sneaker, 
  a mousy-looking fellow in 
  his fifties, dressed in a gray 
  hoodie and tight dungarees. 
  His threads are old and 
  therefore all drab items from 
  Castaigne-era government-
  run department stores.
   •  Nancy Thaler aka Gears, keeps 
  her hair close-cropped and has a 
  bit of a beakish nose. Oil stains 
  under her fingernails give away 
  her occupation as a mechanic.
   •  Dave Katz, aka the Cat, has 
  chestnut-colored curly hair 
  and wears a satin bomber 
  jacket embroidered with 
  the logo of the Fiery Five, a 
  popular hotjazz combo.
    
  – Counterinsurgency/Cop Talk: 
  He has a .38 jammed into 
  his waistband at the small of 
  his back, another in an ankle 
  holster on the right-hand side, 
  and a long knife taped to the 
  opposite calf.
   •  Harvey Eckhouse aka Money, 
  the only one with any fashion 
  sense or an apparent budget 
  for clothes. Looks like a silver 
  fox businessman type.
    
  – Forensics: A close look at his 
  hands shows that someone 
  once broke all of his fingers.
  How the scene goes down 
  depends on whether the group 
  headed here quickly or have taken 
  care of other business first. 
  If the team has only completed 
  the scenes at the Congress and 
  Hank’s Place, they’ll be the ones 
  breaking the news of Hank’s death 
  to his comrades. A Psychology 
  spend (requested by the player; do 
  not prompt) reveals that Dave Katz 
  appears momentarily less shocked 
  than the others. 
  Otherwise, they’ve learned this 
  already and are pissed that the 
  team is only just now coming to 
  them. +1 Difficulty to the parking 
  lot rumble, if it happens. Pushes 
  can’t be used to avoid the rumble.
  Whether just taking on the fact 
  of Hank’s death or angrily waiting 
  for the investigators to approach 
  them, his crew figures they’re 
  the ones who should be looking 
  into his murder and bringing the 
  culprits to swift vigilante justice. 
  They insist that the team turn over 
  the case to them. When they resist, 
  they offer to settle the matter with 
  a brawl in the parking lot. They 
  are really itching for this fight and 
  are sufficiently grief-stricken not to 
  care that the PCs aren’t the fittest 
  target for their rage. They agree 
  to ground rules: no weapons, no 
  intentional fatal blows.
  Medicine/Streetwise: They’ve 
  already put away quite a few 
  shots, so they’ll be easier to take 
  than if you caught them at their 
  best.
  Psychology: They’re looking 
  to blow off steam, not to do any 
  permanent harm.
  In that context, the crew counts 
  as Evenly Matched: (Escape 2, 
  Other 4, Kill 5; Toll 0, Injuries, 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  115
  Major and Minor: Roughed Up/
  Blow to the Head). 
  If your group devotes great 
  effort to avoiding a physical 
  confrontation and will feel a sense 
  of accomplishment after doing so, 
  let this work.
  Even if Hank’s gang wins 
  (unlikely), the scrap clears the 
  air. They concede that maybe 
  someone with distance would do a 
  better job of finding the killer. They 
  still want in on the justice-dealing 
  part, though.
  Now they’re ready to answer 
  questions:
   •  They didn’t leave too many 
  enemies on the board by 
  the end of the revolution. If 
  someone killed Hank, it was 
  probably one of his political 
  opponents. Like someone who 
  fears war crimes tribunals.
   •  Harvey gives them a list of 
  Castaignites they helped bring 
  in. As far as he knows they’re 
  all still in jail and isolated from 
  the outside world. But maybe 
  the team wants to double-check. 
  (Should they do that, they find 
  that all of those people remain 
  imprisoned. Dispense with this 
  dead end as briskly as you can.)
   •  Anyone asked about Frenet 
  or riot dogs denies any first-
  hand knowledge of them. 
  Whoever’s talking, this 
  pings Bullshit Detector.
   •  If asked for suspects, all start by 
  assuming it’s some revanchist 
  cell striking out against key 
  people in the push for war 
  crimes trials. When pressed 
  for second choices, each has 
  a different culprit—while 
  insisting that they have no 
  specific information and are 
  only making educated guesses.
    
  – Kimberley says they should 
  treat Penny Ross as a suspect. 
  No one can be as goody-
  goody as her image. She’s 
  probably taking revanchist 
  money under the table.
    
  – Harvey tells them to check 
  out Mercedes Marshall. Once 
  they dig into her, they’ll know 
  why.
    
  – Alec says he doesn’t trust that 
  Tami Akana character. She’s 
  too well-connected, and never 
  takes a stand.
    
  – (alternate, The Sidetrack) 
  Dave says they should look 
  into Renny Perkins, a runner 
  for several resistance cells. 
  Hank’s crew dropped him 
  after coming to suspect 
  that the Hussars had turned 
  him. A few weeks ago, 
  Hank mentioned receiving 
  threatening messages that 
  might have been from Renny, 
  who maybe feared that he’d 
  be swept up as a traitor to the 
  revolution.
  Running a scene where a group 
  of GMCs meet the team all at 
  once can be tricky. Avoid having 
  characters you play talk to each 
  other; if you can’t, summarize 
  what they’re saying instead of 
  staging dialogue with yourself.
  Do the characters close out 
  the joint alongside Hank’s crew? 
  They can watch them get into their 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  116
  respective vehicles and drive off. 
  Everyone is completely smashed 
  and drives terrifyingly well all the 
  same. The players may find this 
  remarkable, but the characters 
  don’t. Drinking and driving 
  wasn’t all that taboo during the 
  Castaigne years, and folks care 
  about it even less in these heady 
  days of freedom.
  Should a player ask, their 
  vehicles are:
   •  a customized jeep, 
  commandeered from the 
  riot police, with insignia 
  painted over (Kimberley)
   •  an old brown sedan (Dave)
   •  a luxury sedan (Harvey)
   •  a mustard colored 
  compact (Nancy)
   •  a battered red convertible (Alec)
  Should the team contemplate 
  following any of the crew, 
  Counterinsurgency tells them that 
  with skilled operators like these 
  they can’t expect to get far. At best 
  you’d manage to find out where 
  they live, and, as hammered as 
  they all are, they’ll know they 
  were followed. Quickly dispense 
  with this dead-end lead if the 
  players persist.
  The Sidetrack
  Scene Type: Hazard
  Lead-In: The Confession, 
  Hank’s Old Crew
  Lead-Out: The Confession
  Bureaucracy or Cop Talk turn  
  up the address of Renny Perkins:  
  a decaying bungalow on  
  Staten Island.
  Should the player with 
  Counterinsurgency ask, that 
  character remembers Perkins. He 
  used to perform support tasks, like 
  message delivery and materials 
  scrounging, for a couple of crews. 
  On a Push, the character also 
  recalls his paranoid streak and 
  fondness for talking shop about 
  door-mounted boobytraps.
  Perkins has sunk into half-
  justified paranoia and has trapped 
  every entrance to his home, which 
  he rarely leaves. He is present 
  when the team arrives.
  Getting in without an explosion 
  requires a Difficulty 6 Insurgency 
  test; -2 to Difficulty with the above 
  Push. On a failure, the character 
  making the test takes the Injury 
  card “In the Blast Radius;” anyone 
  nearby takes “Thrown Free of the 
  Explosion.”
  Perkins, a shaggy-haired guy 
  wrapped in a plaid blanket, bits of 
  cheese powder in his beard, pops 
  up with a shotgun. A Difficulty 4 
  Fighting test disarms him.
  He assumes that the team has 
  come to assassinate him, on 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  117
  account of those rumors about 
  being a double-crosser.
  At first, he insists that it was all 
  a bum rap, but Interrogation or 
  Intimidation get him to admit that 
  they backed him into a corner, 
  giving him no choice to turn 
  informant. But he mostly only 
  confirmed to the DIS what they 
  already knew. When he could 
  get away with it, he’d feed them 
  disinfo. He doesn’t deserve no 
  war crimes trial, he pleads, and 
  certainly no summary execution.
  Renny splutters a shocked denial 
  if asked about Hank’s murder. 
  He’s on the defense here. No way 
  would he risk going anywhere 
  near Knight. And march into the 
  chamber of deputies with a head 
  in a bag? That’s a triple no way! 
  (If the team hasn’t mentioned this 
  detail, he heard it on the news.) 
  Bullshit Detector calls this as 
  panicked but truthful.
  He has no idea why Dave would 
  finger him as Hank’s killer. 
   •  He did see the Cat a couple 
  weeks back, at an informal 
  swap meet where materiel 
  gets bought and sold. 
   •  The Cat was selling some 
  guns and didn’t get very 
  much for them.
   •  Renny was picking up some 
  C-4—fat lot of good that did 
  him, he complains, looking at 
  the exploded bomb that failed 
  to keep the heroes at bay.
    
  – “Did he see me buying 
  explosives? Sure, and then I 
  got a bad feeling and hauled 
  ass out of there.”
   •  (alternate, The Confession; a 
  player must ask specifically 
  about this) Yeah, Hank and the 
  gang had a run-in with riot dogs. 
  Before the revolution, Hank 
  and Gears got picked up by 
  the Hussars, who interrogated 
  them using the dogs. Renny 
  remembers from the grapevine 
  that something bad happened, 
  but if there were more details 
  he never heard them.
  The Next Murder
  Scene Type: Antagonist 
  Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Hank’s Old Crew
  Lead-Out: The Confession
  Triggering Condition: When the 
  group a) has run out of leads or b) 
  your pacing requires a jolt…
  …they find out that Alec 
  “Sneaker” Dowden has been slain 
  in his apartment, apparently by a 
  riot dog.
  You may decide to reward 
  efficient investigation that gets to 
  The Confession quickly, skipping 
  this scene.
  Convey the news to them in the 
  most efficient manner possible 
  given the current situation. They 
  might see it on a televised news 
  bulletin or get word from Susan 
  Manos or someone else they 
  talked to at the People’s Congress.
  Ideally this happens after they’ve 
  met Hank’s crew and know who 
  the victim is.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  118
  Alec lives in a forbidding 
  concrete tenement in Queens, 
  on a street lined by similarly 
  oppressive apartment towers.
  His apartment remains an 
  active crime scene; Cop Talk 
  gets the group in the door to talk 
  to the homicide detective who 
  caught the case. From his bleary 
  expression to his coffee-stained 
  teeth, everything about droopy-
  mustached Detective Derek 
  Goodwin announces his yearning 
  to write this off as an accidental 
  death and keep it off his desk.
  Depending on the believability 
  of the timing, Alec’s body is either 
  still on-site or has been taken to 
  the morgue, leaving the group to 
  rely on crime scene photos.
  Goodwin tells it like this:
   •  The wounds are absolutely 
  consistent with a riot dog 
  mauling. They already had a guy 
  in from the zoo to confirm it.
   •  Obviously the vic had to 
  have left his door ajar for a 
  random corridor-prowling 
  animal to go wandering in.
    
  – Counterinsurgency: That’s not 
  something a professionally 
  paranoid partisan, even a 
  retired one, does.
   •  The dog must have wandered 
  into the foyer through its front 
  door, which neighborhood kids 
  often leave propped open. Then 
  it could have gotten up the stairs 
  and sniffed around till it found 
  the open apartment door.
   •  No one saw the dog.
   •  Why did it come into the 
  building in the first place? The 
  zoo guy said it could have been 
  attracted by cooking smells. 
  But, hey, those things were 
  bred to be much smarter than 
  ordinary animals. Who knows 
  what goes through their minds?
  News outlets are all over this 
  story; it bleeds and therefore leads. 
  It warrants media attention not 
  because the victim enjoys any 
  great fame, but because fear of riot 
  dogs is growing and this represents 
  a horrifying escalation. They can 
  get into apartments now? 
  Canvassing the Neighborhood
  If the team looks for people 
  who might have seen the riot 
  dog go in or out of the building, 
  they find Ada Schultz, an elderly 
  woman who frequently watches 
  the comings and goings at its front 
  entrance. When I ran this, the 
  players canvassed the apartment 
  building across the way; put Ada 
  wherever the team seeks a witness.
  A self-appointed citizen 
  watchdog mostly concerned about 
  the area’s burgeoning reefer trade, 
  Ada calls the police once or twice 
  a week to inform on suspicious-
  looking folks headed in or out 
  of the tenement. (A frustrated 
  Detective Goodwin, if asked, 
  writes her off as a nuisance and a 
  crank.)
  One way the PCs can get her 
  to open up is to use Cop Talk to 
  promise to get the police to pay 
  more attention to her reports. 
  Let any other credible-seeming 
  approach work.
   Ada says she saw a man come 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  119
  stumbling out of the building, 
  as if drunk, an hour before the 
  police arrived. He had blood on 
  his jacket and shoes—and maybe 
  elsewhere too. He was medium 
  height, medium build.
  Pressed for further details, she 
  admits that she doesn’t see too 
  good these days.
  Anyhow, he stumbled down the 
  sidewalk until he got to a vacant lot 
  up the street, where he had parked 
  a brown sedan, and drove away. To 
  the west, she adds, if asked.
  (core, The Confession) That’s 
  a basic description, but fits only 
  one remaining member of Hank’s 
  crew—the Cat. 
  If they stayed to watch Hank’s 
  crew leave The Trough but didn’t 
  ask about vehicles at the time, 
  a Push allows an investigator to 
  retroactively recall Dave getting 
  into a brown sedan.
  The Confession
  Scene Type: Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: The Next Murder, 
  The Sidetrack
  Bureaucracy or Cop Talk 
  yields Dave’s home address, an 
  apartment above a rug store in 
  Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 
  Dave wearily answers the door 
  when they knock. 
  Until they confront him with 
  their evidence, he sticks to the 
  attitude he displays in Hank’s 
  Crew. Has he steered them to The 
  Sidetrack yet? If not, he tries to do 
  that now.
  But if they know about the run-
  in with the riot dogs (from The 
  Sidetrack) or the figure leaving the 
  scene of Alec’s killing and getting 
  into a brown sedan (The Next 
  Murder), his shoulders slump and 
  he stops resisting their efforts to 
  pry the truth from him.
  Unless otherwise situated 
  by the players, he sits himself 
  behind the card table where he’s 
  been playing solitaire.
  Trivia: That’s spider solitaire, 
  played with two decks.
  In response to their prompts, his 
  story goes like this:
   •  He screwed up on an 
  operation to bomb a Hussar 
  police academy. The others 
  got away, but he and Hank 
  were arrested and taken to 
  an interrogation center.
   •  There the both of them 
  were savaged by riot 
  dogs. He got bit, bad. 
   •  Did Renny Perkins say it was 
  Gears and Hank who got 
  caught, not Dave and Hank? 
  If confronted on this point, 
  Dave admits that he told 
  a not entirely true version 
  of the story to Perkins and 
  probably some others.
   •  The dogs used their weird power 
  to make them relive their most 
  devastating experiences.
   •  Dave was about to crack and 
  spill everything he knew about 
  any resistance cell when an 
  explosion rocked the complex.
   •  Alec, Kimberley, and the 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  120
  others had undertaken a high-
  risk extraction mission.
   •  As a distraction, they blew 
  up the door to the riot 
  dog pen. A bunch of the 
  animals escaped, into the 
  surrounding neighborhood.
   •  The DIS officers chased down 
  the escaping dogs, and he 
  and Hank were rescued.
   •  But before the Hussars 
  could round them up again, 
  the dogs charged into a 
  tenement building. They killed 
  two kids and permanently 
  maimed several more.
   •  The crew agreed to never speak 
  again of the screw-up that 
  led indirectly to the riot dog 
  attack on innocent civilians.
   •  But ever since then it has 
  torn at Dave’s guts.
   •  Whenever he gets too worked up 
  about it, and starts to visualize 
  what the dogs did to those kids, 
  his body begins to change.
   •  Every time it happens, the 
  response gets weirder and bigger.
   •  He couldn’t believe it when, 
  in the wake of the revolution, 
  Frenet somehow got himself 
  permission to not only 
  remain free, but to set up 
  a new riot dog facility.
   •  Dave went to him to demand 
  treatment for his condition.
   •  Frenet agreed, and even offered 
  to pay him a monthly stipend. 
  But to get it, he had to submit 
  to tests—and stay quiet about 
  what the bite had done to him.
   •  Later he developed the 
  suspicion that Frenet was slow-
  walking the treatment, because 
  something in his altered cells 
  had some kind of use in his 
  riot dog pacification project.
   •  That’s when he went to tell 
  Hank all about this, catching 
  him getting ready to leave for 
  the chamber of deputies.
   •  But as he began to explain, 
  his adrenaline shot up through 
  the roof and he found himself 
  changing completely—part 
  man, part dog, all monster.
   •  When he regained his senses, 
  Hank was dead. He panicked 
  and came up with a half-baked 
  scheme to hide what he’d done. 
  It wasn’t the fear of getting 
  caught so much as the shame of 
  what he’d done—coupled with 
  that other shame from before.
   •  So he cut off Hank’s head and 
  left it in his office to make it 
  look like a political vendetta.
   •  Afterwards he realized how 
  crazy it was and tried to tell 
  the others but couldn’t.
   •  The animal was inside him, 
  and with it, the survival 
  instinct of an animal.
   •  He figured he could 
  risk revealing himself 
  to Alec, especially if he 
  got loaded enough.
   •  But again, as he started 
  to unburden himself, the 
  beast came out… and 
  they know the rest.
  The standard thing to do next 
  would be to have Dave start to 
  transform, so that the group has to 
  fight the monster at the end. To do 
  that, borrow the Beast of Gévaudan 
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  121
  profile from A Feast for Wolves 
  (see The Wars, p. 109), perhaps 
  adjusting the strength up or down as 
  seems dramatically appropriate.
  Do that if you think your group 
  will be disappointed to avoid a 
  climactic monster fight.
  Otherwise, Dave concludes by 
  reaching for his gun. When the 
  players react by miming their own 
  drawn guns, he puts his hands up, 
  and assures them that his bullets 
  aren’t for them. He can’t finish 
  himself—the animal consciousness 
  inside him won’t allow it—but 
  maybe they can do it for them.
  Having him start to transform 
  makes the decision easy. Do that if 
  your players hate moral dilemmas.
  A character who does blow him 
  away in cold blood tests Difficulty 
  4 Composure to avoid Shock —
  Minor: Hardened; Major: Dead-
  Eyed Stare.
  Denouement
  The group achieves its initial 
  entrée into the political world 
  by letting Tami know that the 
  apparent political assassination 
  was instead a horrible instance of 
  manslaughter. By default, they get 
  the Chit card “Your First Patron.” 
  You may instead substitute a 
  different Chit that more directly 
  relates to your players’ choices in 
  the scenario.
  They might decide to break 
  it to the remaining members of 
  Hank’s crew, perhaps when sadly 
  attending the joint funerals for 
  Hank, Alec, and Dave.
  Blowing Up Gevaudan 
  Industries
  Even though Frenet is not 
  implicated in Hank’s murder, your 
  group may choose to sabotage his 
  company on general principles. 
  (Mine sure did.)
  A Difficulty 5 Insurgency 
  success allows them to specify 
  that they blow up the complex in 
  the middle of the night, with no 
  serious casualties.
  Adjust the Difficulty depending on 
  what the team wants to accomplish.
  This choice leaves you with 
  a potential political scandal to 
  surface in a future scenario. With 
  Gevaudan sidelined, the spread 
  of riot dogs across the eastern 
  seaboard explodes. A pack of the 
  animals attacks attendees at an 
  amusement park. An ill-trained 
  animal control company lacking 
  Gevaudan expertise cannot avert 
  carnage and a terrible front-page 
  story. Public hearings threaten to 
  uncover the team’s role in taking out 
  Gevaudan, and hence their partial 
  responsibility for the tragedy.
  Additional Antagonist 
  Reactions
  When your pacing calls for a 
  danger injection, consider these 
  alternatives.
  Feral Riot Dogs
  Triggering Condition: You 
  need to throw some arbitrary but 
  thematically appropriate danger at 
  the PCs.
  Dave’s scent attracts and enrages 
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  122
  regular wild riot dogs. They may 
  show up and then attack the team 
  whenever they’re poking around 
  in a location he has visited over 
  the course of the case. This can 
  justify a riot dog incident at Hank’s 
  home, The Trough, or around the 
  scene of the first murder.
  The riot dog foe profile appears 
  on p. 87.
  Gevaudan Reprisals
  Triggering Condition: If the 
  players give Frenet reason to think 
  that they’re gunning for him.
  Frenet dispatches a security 
  team to ambush them. A character 
  might also return home to find a 
  team tossing the place for intel. 
  Use the Revanchist, Insurgents or 
  Revanchist, Elite Insurgents foe 
  profile on p. 86.
  Sleeping Dogs
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  123
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  124
  FOREHEAD VEIN
  Shock
   
  +1 to Fighting tests.
  After you take part in a 
  fight and win, discard.
  PANG OF DOUBT
  Shock
   
  The next time the GM calls for a 
  Composure test, roll a die first. Odd: 
  -1 on your test. Even: discard.
  IT EATS YOU UP
  Shock
  Discard by conclusively 
  striking against an old foe. 
  If still in hand at end of scenario, roll a 
  die. Odd: becomes a Continuity card.
  LINES GET MUDDY
  Shock
   
  -1 to Focus and Presence tests.
  Discard when you take an Injury card.
  CARDS
  Shock cards
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  125
  FALSE ALARM
  Shock
   
  -1 to Sense Trouble tests; 
  +1 to Composure tests.
  On your next Composure failure, lose 
  1 Composure and discard this card.
  DAMMIT, MAN
  Shock
   
  -1 to Focus tests.
  Discard by paying a price 
  to gain redemption.
  TWINGE
  Shock
   
  -1 on Focus tests. 
  After a failed Focus test, discard as 
  recipient of 1-point Morale spend.
  Use In: W, A
  THE YIPS
  Shock
   
  x = the result of a die roll, plus 1.
  Lose x Composure.
  Discard as recipient of an 
  x-point Morale spend.
  Use In: W, A
  SERIOUSLY, DAMMIT
  Shock
   
  -2 to Focus tests.
  Discard by doing something 
  redemptive that hurts you politically.
  Use In: A
  SPASM OF GUILT
  Shock
   
  -2 to Focus tests.
  Discard by taking a risk to 
  atone for your past.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  126
  GRIM FLASHBACK
  Shock
   
  -1 to Morale tests.
  Discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 4 Morale success.
  Use In: W, A
  THE MONSTER INSIDE
  Shock
   
  Roll a die: lose Morale 
  equal to the result.
  Use In: W, A
  EXPEDIENCE
  Shock
   
  -2 to Presence tests.
  Discard by doing the right thing, even 
  though it will hurt you politically.
  YOU KNOW 
  YOU BROKE
  Shock
   
  Roll a die: lose Morale 
  equal to the result.
  On a Fighting success, roll 
  a die. Even: discard.
  Use In: W, A
  SULLIED
  Shock
   
  -1 to Presence tests for each 
  Shock card you hold.
  Spend 1 Morale and roll a die. 
  Even: discard. Odd: trade for 
  “A Diverting Indiscretion Will 
  Put This in Perspective.”
  Use In: W, A
  LOYALTY CHIP 
  (INTACT)
  Shock
   
  Discard by taking a risk to 
  significantly aid an enemy.
  As recipient of Difficulty 4 First Aid 
  success, trade for “On the Mend.”
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  127
  LOYALTY CHIP 
  (BROKEN)
  Shock
   
  Discard by taking a risk to 
  significantly aid an enemy.
  As recipient of Difficulty 4 First 
  Aid success, roll a die and gain the 
  Injury card “Draggy.” Even: discard.
  TUNER HABIT
  Shock
   
  When you fight without using 
  a tuner, make a Difficulty 4 
  Composure test. On a failure, also 
  gain the Shock card “Distracted.”
  When you have “Distracted” and 
  fight with a tuner, roll a die. Even: 
  discard this and “Distracted.”
  IT LICKED YOUR MIND
  Shock
   
  -1 to Focus and Presence tests. 
  Discard when the parasite 
  is destroyed.
  TUNER DISLOCATION
  Shock
   
  At end of each interval, roll a die. 
  Odd: lose 1 point from a Focus ability 
  of your choice. Even: discard.
  MENTAL PROBE
  Shock
   
  Roll a die. Even: -1 to your next Focus 
  test, then discard. Odd: -1 to your 
  next Presence test, then discard.
  STOLEN MEMORY
  Shock
   
  -1 to Focus tests. 
  Discard when you destroy or help to 
  destroy the being who did this to you.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  128
  STOLEN LOYALTY
  Shock; Continuity
   
  When a GMC flashes the Yellow 
  Sign at you, you must make a 
  Difficulty 4 Composure test 
  to avoid obeying that person’s 
  simple commands (unless they are 
  immediately self-destructive). 
  Discard when you destroy or help to 
  destroy the being who did this to you.
  COMMANDMENT 
  FROM THE GRAVE
  Shock
   
  Effect comes into play when the 
  shade gives you an order: if at the 
  end of an interval you have taken 
  no action to obey the shade, lose 1 
  Health, 1 Athletics, and 1 Fighting. 
  Discard by fulfilling the order 
  to the shade’s satisfaction.
  SOUL SHOOK
  Shock
   
  Lose 1 Health each time you 
  make a Presence test. If your 
  Health is 0, lose 1 Athletics.
  Discard after scoring a Presence 
  success with a margin of 3 or more.
  THE SHUDDERS
  Shock
   
  Roll a die; lose that number of 
  Composure points, noting the 
  number lost. If your Composure 
  is already 0, trade for “An 
  Image Seared in the Mind.”
  Discard after a night’s sleep. When 
  you discard, roll a die. Even: regain 
  those lost Composure points.
  SHAKEN
  Shock
   
  -1 to Composure tests.
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  129
  RATTLED
  Shock
   
  Your next test takes a -1 
  penalty. Then discard.
  HARDENED
  Shock; Continuity
   
  When you make a ruthless 
  choice that saves a life, spend 
  3 Composure to discard.
  DISTRACTED
  Shock
   
  -1 to Focus tests.
  After a Focus failure, spend 
  1 from the pool of any Focus 
  ability to discard this card.
  DEAD-EYED STARE
  Shock; Continuity
   
  Once per session, you may 
  make a free Intimidation Push. 
  All PCs lose 2 Composure.
  When you make a ruthless 
  choice that saves a life, roll a die. 
  Even: trade for “Hardened.”
  GRAZED BY A 
  NEEDLER
  Injury
   
  Lose 2 Athletics. Discard as recipient 
  of a Difficulty 4 First Aid success.
  SHOT BY A NEEDLER
  Injury
   
  Physical tests automatically fail with 
  a margin of 3. After two intervals, 
  you may discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 5 First Aid success.
  Injury cards
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  130
  GRAZED BY A 
  MANGLER
  Injury
   
  Lose 3 Composure. Discard 
  as recipient of a Difficulty 
  4 First Aid success.
  PAIN BATON TAP
  Injury
   
  -2 to tests for 30 minutes of 
  game time, then discard.
  SHOT BY A MANGLER
  Injury
   
  Composure pool drops to 0. Presence 
  tests automatically fail with a 
  margin of 3. After two intervals, 
  you may discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 6 First Aid success.
  PAIN BATON HIT
  Injury
   
  -6 to tests for 15 minutes of game 
  time, -2 to tests for following 
  15 minutes, then discard.
  CAMBUK ZAP
  Shock or Injury 
  (player chooses)
   
  -4 to Composure tests when 
  in view of the Yellow Sign. 
  Discard after two intervals.
  CAMBUK SLASH
  Shock; Injury
   
  -4 to Composure tests when 
  in view of the Yellow Sign. 
  After two intervals, you 
  may discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 4 First Aid success.
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  131
  KNOCKED OUT
  Injury
   
  You fall unconscious and can 
  take no further actions for 30 
  minutes of world time. 
  Then wake up and discard.
  If you wake up as a prisoner, and do 
  not get an opportunity to gain key 
  information as a result, you may then 
  discard a non-Continuity Shock card.
  FORGET-ME-DO
  Injury
   -1 to Presence tests.
  x = your failed margin plus a die roll.
  Everything that happened to you 
  in the past x hours (world time) 
  seems like an unreliable blur, 
  with actual events and dream-like 
  impossibilities tangled up together.
  After one interval, discard and 
  roll a die. Odd: the memory 
  confusion persists permanently.
  NEURAL 
  HEMORRHAGE
  Injury
   You fall unconscious and can 
  take no further actions. After 30 
  minutes of world time, you wake 
  up, trading this card for your choice 
  of the Injury card “On the Mend” 
  or the Shock card “Rattled.” 
  If you wake up as a prisoner, and do 
  not get an opportunity to gain key 
  information as a result, you may then 
  discard a non-Continuity Shock card.
  FORCED AMNESIA
  Injury
   
  Everything that happened to 
  you in the scenario so far seems 
  like an unreliable blur, with 
  actual events and dream-like 
  impossibilities tangled up together.
  Discard by finding definitive 
  external proof of the event 
  you were meant to forget.
  AVERSION BRACELET I
  Injury
   
  When you can see a Yellow Sign 
  from 12 or fewer meters away, -1 to 
  tests, and this becomes a Shock card. 
  Effects last for one hour (world time).
  Discard as recipient of a Difficulty 
  4 Mechanics success.
  AVERSION 
  BRACELET II
  Injury
   
  When you can see a Yellow Sign from 
  24 or fewer meters away, -1 to tests, 
  and this becomes a Shock card. Effects 
  last for three hours (world time).
  Discard as recipient of a Difficulty 
  4 Mechanics success.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  132
  GOODBYE GAS 
  EXPOSURE
  Injury
   
  -1 to Physical test.
  On a Difficulty 4 Health success, 
  or as recipient of a Difficulty 4 
  First Aid success, roll a die. On a 
  1, trade for “Precarious Recovery.” 
  Otherwise, trade for “Draggy.”
  READBALL GRAZE
  Injury
   
  An enemy knows everything you 
  perceived and thought for the 
  last x hours. x = your margin on 
  the test to avoid this Injury.
  Discard as recipient of a Difficulty 
  4 First Aid success. If the First Aid 
  test fails, trade for “Draggy.”
  GOODBYE GAS 
  CONTACT
  Injury
  -2 to Physical tests. 
  If received with no other Injury cards 
  in hand, counts as 2 Injury cards. 
  On a Difficulty 6 Health success, 
  or as recipient of a Difficulty 6 
  First Aid success, roll a die. Even: 
  trade for “Goodbye Gas Exposure.” 
  Odd: trade for “On the Mend.”
  If still in hand at end of scenario, 
  you dissolve into goo and die.
  READBALL HIT
  Injury
   
  An enemy knows everything you 
  perceived and thought for the last 
  x hours. x = your margin on the 
  test to avoid this Injury, times 2.
  Discard as recipient of a Difficulty 
  6 First Aid success. If the First 
  Aid test fails, trade for “Shot.”
  ENHANCED PUNCH
  Injury
   
  Roll a die. Even: lose 2 Health. 
  Odd: -1 to Physical tests.
  Discard at end of interval.
  ULTRA-BEATDOWN
  Injury
   
  -2 to tests. 
  Trade for “Patched Up” as 
  recipient of a 3-point First aid 
  spend and a 2-point Morale spend 
  (can be from different PCs). 
  If still in hand at end of scenario, 
  gain “Permanent Injury.”
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  133
  ROUGHED UP
  Injury
   
  Lose 1 Composure. 
  Discard after any Physical success, 
  or by spending 1 Athletics.
  SPORE EXPOSURE
  Injury
   
  At end of next interval, make a 
  Difficulty 4 Health test. On a 
  failure, trade for “Precancerous.” 
  On a success, discard.
  STAB WOUND
  Injury
   
  -1 to all Physical and Focus tests. 
  Discard after a Physical 
  or Focus success.
  PRECANCEROUS
  Injury; Continuity
   At the end of every scenario after 
  this one, roll a die. Even: lose 1 point 
  of your Health rating; you may 
  not increase your rating through 
  improvement while holding this 
  card. Odd: after a final speech to 
  comrades, your character dies.
  Discard by finding a Carcosan healing 
  potion. (Your GM will provide a plot 
  or subplot making this possible.)
  SHATTERING 
  HAND STRIKE
  Injury
   
  You can’t take tests or make Pushes. 
  Every hour (game time) you 
  may make a Difficulty 4 Health 
  test. Success: discard.
  RAZOR HAND STRIKE
  Injury
   
  You can’t take tests or make 
  Pushes, or do anything but lie 
  on the ground bleeding out.
  Every hour (game time) you 
  may make a Difficulty 5 Health 
  test or receive a Difficulty 5 
  First Aid test. Success: trade for 
  “Shattering Hand Strike.”
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  134
  ZAPPED
  Injury
   
  -3 on Athletics and Fighting tests vs. 
  beings like the one who zapped you.
  After an hour of world time, 
  discard by spending 1 Health.
  WRENCHED NECK
  Injury
   
  Lose 1 Health each time you 
  make a Physical test. If your 
  Health is 0, lose 1 Composure. 
  Discard on a Physical success 
  with a margin greater than 1.
  HIGH VOLTAGE
  Injury
   
  -2 to your next Physical test, -1 
  to the Physical test after that. 
  Then trade for “On the Mend.”
  DUPE BITE
  Injury
   
  Receive a Difficulty 3 First Aid 
  success within 15 minutes of world 
  time or die. Each PC can try First 
  Aid on you once during that time.
  SCRATCHED
  Injury
   
  -1 on tests. 
  At end of interval, spend 2 
  Health to discard. If you don’t 
  have the Health to spend, trade 
  for “Ticking Time Bomb.”
  TICKING TIME BOMB
  Injury
   After 24 hours of world time, 
  you feel a compulsion to find 
  a crowd and wander into it, at 
  which point you explode and die, 
  killing everyone within 50 m.
  Discard as recipient of a special 
  blood transfusion from a Specialized 
  Bomb Disposal Medical Unit. 
  Your GM will make this possible 
  in the story, though maybe at 
  some cost or risk to the group.
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  135
  FIN SCRATCH
  Injury
   
  At next interval, pay 1 
  Health and discard.
  If you have no Health to spend, 
  discard after two intervals.
  KNIFE SLASH
  Injury
   
  After a successful Physical test, 
  pay 1 Health to discard.
  JOSTLED
  Injury
   
  At next interval, pay 1 Health 
  and 1 Athletics and discard.
  If you don’t have the points to 
  spend, discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 3 First Aid success.
  DEEP STAB
  Injury
   
  Counts as 2 Injury cards. You can’t 
  make tests or spend Pushes. After 
  an hour of world time, trade for 
  “On the Mend,” as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 5 First Aid success.
  KNOCK TO THE HEAD
  Injury
   
  Discard as recipient of a 
  1-point First Aid spend.
  GUNSHOT WOUND
  Injury
   
  -2 to Physical tests. 
  Trade for the card “On the 
  Mend” as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 6 First Aid success. 
  If still in hand at end of scenario, you 
  succumb to your injuries and die.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  136
  THROAT SQUEEZE
  Injury
   
  -1 to Physical and Composure tests. 
  Discard as recipient of a First Aid 
  test. Difficulty starts at 6 and drops 
  by 1 at the start of each new interval.
  RIOT DOG BITE
  Injury
   
  -2 to Composure tests. 
  Discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 4 Morale success.
  BREASTBONE-
  PIERCING PUNCH
  Injury
   
  -2 to Physical and Composure 
  tests, -1 to all other tests. 
  As recipient of a Difficulty 6 First Aid 
  success, trade for “On the Mend.”
  RIOT DOG MAULING
  Injury
   
  -2 to Composure tests. 
  After a Composure failure, 
  discard as recipient of a 
  Difficulty 5 Morale success.
  SUPERHUMAN BLOW
  Injury
   
  Roll a die. Even: Health drops to 
  0. Odd: Athletics drops to 0. 
  Discard as recipient of a Difficulty 4 
  First Aid test. If the margin is greater 
  than 2, refresh the affected pool. 
  SUPERHUMAN SMASH
  Injury
   
  Health, Athletics, and 
  Fighting drop to 0. 
  As recipient of a Difficulty 4 First Aid 
  success, trade for “On the Mend.”
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  137
  NEUROPATHIC SWIPE
  Injury; Shock
   
  Trade for “On the Mend” as recipient 
  of a Difficulty 5 First Aid success.
  SURPRISE 
  KIDNEY STAB
  Injury
   
  -2 to tests.
  As recipient of a Difficulty 5 First 
  Aid success, roll a die. Even: discard. 
  Odd: trade for “On the Mend.”
  NEUROPATHIC 
  DISEQUILIBRIUM
  Injury
   
  If this card and the next Shock 
  card you receive are still in hand at 
  the end of the session, the Shock 
  card becomes a Continuity card.
  When you discard a Shock card, 
  make a Difficulty 4 Composure test. 
  On a success, discard this card too.
  SURPRISE THROAT 
  SLASH
  Injury
   
  You can’t take tests or make Pushes, 
  or do anything but lie on the ground 
  bleeding out. Any PC seeing you 
  take your injury must succeed at 
  Composure vs. Difficulty 5, or 
  take the Shock card “Rattled.”
  As recipient of a Difficulty 5 First 
  Aid success, trade for “Laceration.”
  LACERATION
  Injury
   
  When called on to make a 
  Physical test, you may choose 
  to take a -2 penalty on the test 
  and then discard this card.
  FLESH WOUND
  Injury
   
  -1 to non-Focus tests. Trade 
  for “Laceration” after on 
  a non-Focus success.
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  138
  DINOSAUR WOUND
  Injury
   
  -2 to Physical tests.
  After an hour or more of world time, 
  as recipient of a Difficulty 5 First 
  Aid test, roll a die. Even: discard. 
  Odd: trade for “On the Mend.”
  PUNCTURING BEAK
  Injury
   
  If you have 3 Fighting to lose, lose 
  3 Fighting. Otherwise, -1 to tests.
  Receive a Difficulty 4 First Aid 
  success to discard after any failure.
  DINOSAUR BITE
  Injury
   
  Counts as 2 injuries. You 
  can’t make tests.
  After a day or more of world 
  time, as recipient of a Difficulty 6 
  First Aid success, roll a die. Even: 
  trade for “On the Mend.” Odd: 
  trade for “Dinosaur Wound.”
  RENDING BEAK
  Injury
   
  You can’t make tests or spend Pushes. 
  As recipient of a Difficulty 
  5 First Aid success, trade 
  for “Puncturing Beak.”
  BLOW TO THE HEAD
  Injury
   
  -2 to Sense Trouble tests.
  IN THE BLAST RADIUS
  Injury
   
  -2 to Physical tests. Counts as 
  2 Injury cards. Trade for “On 
  the Mend” as recipient of 
  Difficulty 6 First Aid success.
  If still in hand at end of scenario, 
  trade for “Permanent Injury.”
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  139
  DRAGGY
  Injury
   
  Choose one General ability type: 
  Focus, Physical, or Presence. 
  -1 to tests of that type.
  After any failure, discard if you 
  have no other non-Continuity 
  Shock or Injury cards.
  PRECARIOUS 
  RECOVERY
  Injury
   
  -1 to Physical tests.
  On a Physical failure, roll a 
  die. Odd: trade for the card 
  you traded this card for.
  Discard on a Physical success 
  with a margin of 3 or more.
  ON THE MEND
  Injury
   
  -1 to all tests. Trade for “Still 
  Hurting” on a Physical success.
  SHOT
  Injury
   
  -2 to Physical tests. Counts as 
  2 Injury cards. Trade for “On 
  the Mend” as recipient of 
  Difficulty 6 First Aid success.
  If still in hand at end of scenario, you 
  succumb to your injuries and die.
  PATCHED UP
  Injury
   
  -1 to tests.
  Trade for “Recovering” on a 
  salient Physical success.
  PERMANENT INJURY
  Injury; Continuity
   
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  140
  Chit cards
  YOUR FIRST PATRON
  Chit
  Now that you have one powerful 
  person to show you the ropes, 
  your entry into the political world 
  has begun.
  Discard to get misdemeanor 
  charges against any single person 
  dismissed.
  Discard to discard any Hit card.
  HEROIC COVERAGE
  Chit
  Media coverage celebrates your 
  success, and the risks you took 
  for it.
  +1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Vigilance.
  Spend to discard 2 Hit cards, if one 
  of them penalizes Private Goals.
  SOMETIMES MONEY IS 
  ITS OWN REWARD
  Chit
  This much-needed cash will keep 
  you going for a while at least.
  +1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Private.
  Spend to discard 2 Hit cards, if one 
  of them penalizes Freedom Goals.
  OFFICIAL EXONERATION
  Chit
  This evidence proves that you did 
  not in fact abuse the public trust.
  +1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Public.
  Spend to discard 2 Hit cards, if 
  one of them penalizes Trust Goals.
  TO HELL WITH 
  JACKBOOTS
  Chit
  Your actions show that freedom 
  never comes out of the business 
  end of a riot baton.
  +1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Freedom.
  Spend to discard 2 Hit cards, if one 
  of them penalizes Public Goals.
  BEHIND BARS
  Chit
  You proved the skeptics wrong. 
  Sometimes ordinary citizens do 
  get the help they need.
  +1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Order.
  Spend to discard 2 Hit cards, if one 
  of them penalizes Vigilance Goals.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  141
  THE SYSTEM WORKS
  Chit
  You proved the skeptics wrong. 
  Sometimes ordinary citizens do 
  get the help they need.
  +1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Trust.
  Spend to discard 2 Hit cards, if one 
  of them penalizes Order Goals.
  PUBLIC ACCLAIM
  Chit
  They’re chanting your names! 
  After making an Interpersonal 
  Push, the player rolls a die. Even: 
  refresh a General ability pool of 
  your choice.
  IN GOOD WITH THE COPS
  Chit
  Word will get around that you 
  did the right thing for the boys 
  and girls in blue.
  After making a Cop Talk Push, 
  the player rolls a die. Even: gain 
  a Push.
  GOOD PRESS
  Chit
  This one goes in your clip file.
  Choose a character to receive +1 
  to Politics tests. Bonus remains in 
  effect as long as you hold this card.
  HARD KNUCKLE 
  REPUTATION
  Chit
  This will show people not to mess 
  with you.
  After making an Intimidation 
  Push, the player rolls a die. Even: 
  gain a Push.
  YOUR STORY SPREADS
  Chit
  ou might be reluctant to talk 
  about your role in the rebellion. 
  But now that the word is out, you 
  might as well leverage that into 
  something positive.
  After making an Inspiration Push, 
  the player rolls a die. Even: gain 
  a Push.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  142
  RESPECTED ACROSS 
  THE AISLE
  Chit
  You’ve demonstrated to the 
  dealmakers that you know how 
  to bargain.
  After making a Negotiation Push, 
  the player rolls a die. Even: gain 
  a Push.
  MOB TIES
  Chit
  Don’t think of yourself as corrupt. 
  It’s more like, uh, corrupt adjacent.
  After making a Reassurance 
  Push, the player rolls a die. 
  Even: gain a Push.
  SLUSH FUND
  Chit
  If you have no cash, you can’t make 
  change.
  At end of session, spend 2 Politics per 
  player. (Any number of PCs can spend.) 
  If you can’t make the spend…
  …and your Goal is Public, trade for the 
  Hit card “Money Scandal.”
  …and your Goal is Private, trade for the 
  Hit card “Shakedown.”
  The group may choose to discard “Slush 
  Fund” at the beginning of any session.
  KINDLY PRESENCE
  Chit
  People find you soothing.
  After making a Reassurance Push, 
  the player rolls a die. Even: gain 
  a Push.
  ON A ROLL
  Chit
  In politics, perception is 
  everything. And when you look at 
  yourselves in the mirror, you see 
  a bunch of winners.
  Once per session, you may 
  choose to roll a die. Even: discard 
  a Hit card. Odd: discard this card, 
  and a Hit card.
  SCAPEGOATS 
  EXONERATED
  Chit
  Your investigation disproved false, 
  bigotry-fueling allegations.
  +1 to Politics if your Goal is 
  tagged Trust.
  1
  1
  2
  1
  0
  1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  143
  REVANCHISTS EXPOSED
  Chit
  Your investigation led to the 
  apprehension of unrepentant 
  Castaignites.
  +1 to Politics if your Goal is 
  tagged Justice.
  AGAINST HALI
  Chit
  Your investigation prevented 
  the further dissemination of that 
  reality-destroying play.
  +1 to Politics if your Goal is 
  tagged Order.
  GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
  Chit
  n a tough spot, you kept it 
  together. People respect that.
  If your Goal is tagged Trust, you 
  may, once per scenario, refresh all 
  characters’ Composure pools. 
  WEIRD IS GOOD
  Chit
  Your efforts protected freedom 
  of expression against the forces 
  of paranoia. Not all shocking art 
  invokes the Yellow Sign.
  +1 to Politics if your Goal is 
  tagged Freedom.
  OLD TRICKS
  Chit
  You found a good use for the 
  skills you learned during the 
  rebellion.
  If your Goal is tagged Freedom, you 
  may, once per scenario, refresh all 
  characters’ Insurgency pools. 
  WELL-OILED MACHINE
  Chit
  People envy the way you work 
  together.
  If your Goal is tagged Order, 
  characters may transfer their 
  Morale points to other characters’ 
  Fighting pools. 
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  144
  NEVER COMPLACENT
  Chit
  You’ve shown that you’re never 
  going to let down your guard.
  If your Goal is tagged Vigilance, 
  you may, once per scenario, 
  refresh all characters’ Sense 
  Trouble pools. 
  INITIATOR ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve won support from the 
  faction that wants to rewrite the 
  constitution from scratch—and 
  the annoyance of those who 
  prefer the 1919 version.
  -2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the Originalist faction. 
  +1 when swaying Initiators.
  Discard if you antagonize 
  Initiator leaders.
  MERCANTILIST ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve won support from the faction 
  calling for a well-regulated economy, 
  and suspicion from the free-
  marketers and redistributionists.
  2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the Commercial faction, 
  -1 with All-For-Ones, +1 with 
  Mercantilists.
  Discard if you antagonize Mercantilist 
  leaders.
  ORIGINALIST ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve won support from the 
  faction that wants to restore the 
  pre-Castaigne constitution—and 
  the annoyance of those who don’t.
  -2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the Initiator faction. 
  +1 when swaying Originalists.
  Discard if you antagonize 
  Originalist leaders.
  COMMERCIAL ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve won support from 
  Congress’ free market faction, 
  and sideways looks from their 
  opponents. 
  -2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the All-For-One 
  faction, -1 with Mercantilists, +1 
  with Commercials.
  Discard if you antagonize 
  Commercial leaders.
  ALL-FOR-ONE ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve won support from the 
  faction that wants redistributed 
  wealth and decentralized 
  government. That earns you the 
  scorn of business interests.
  -2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the Mercantilist faction, 
  -1 with Commercials, +1 with All-
  For-Ones.
  Discard if you antagonize All-For-
  One leaders.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  145
  GUARDIAN ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve gained support from the law 
  and order faction, and the distrust 
  of those who’ve had enough of 
  surveillance and uniforms.
  -2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the Renouncer faction. 
  +1 when swaying Guardians.
  Discard if you antagonize 
  Guardian leaders.
  HOMELORD ALLIANCE
  Chit
  Heavily armed paranoid shut-ins 
  trust no one—except you, for some 
  reason.
  Once per scenario, you may specify 
  that a wild-eyed crackpot shows 
  up anywhere this might credibly 
  occur, usefully disrupting the current 
  situation. At end of scene, roll a die. 
  On a 1-2, discard this card. On a 
  3-4, gain Hit card “Bull in a China 
  Shop.”
  FRIENDS IN THE 
  PALMER CAMP
  Chit
  Allies of partisan leader and 
  possible presidential candidate 
  Jack Palmer owe you a favor.
  +1 Goal points if you have at 
  least one other Chit that grants a 
  benefit keyed to the Vigilance tag.
  RENOUNCER ALLIANCE
  Chit
  You’ve gained support from 
  the faction seeking nationwide 
  reconciliation, and the sneers of 
  law and order types.
  -2 to Politics tests when swaying 
  members of the Guardian faction. 
  +1 when swaying Renouncers.
  Discard if you antagonize 
  Renouncer leaders.
  FRIENDS IN THE 
  RAMIREZ CAMP
  Chit
  Allies of partisan leader and 
  possible presidential candidate 
  Stephanie Ramirez owe you a 
  favor.
  1 Goal points if you have at 
  least one other Chit that grants a 
  benefit keyed to the Trust tag.
  REPUTATION FOR 
  EFFICIENCY
  Chit
  People in the know know your 
  know-how.
  Spend, narrating a sloppy last-
  ditch effort to prevail, to specify 
  that you succeeded at any test, 
  with a margin of 4.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  146
  SCANDAL DEBUNKED
  Chit
  Irrefutable evidence emerges 
  clearing you of those false 
  accusations..
  When you receive a Hit card, roll 
  a die. On a 1, discard that Hit 
  card immediately.
  LAB COAT CONNECTIONS
  Chit
  Seeing how science types operate 
  will help the next time you need 
  to deal with them.
  After scoring a Network success 
  to have a contact in the scientific 
  or technological world, a player 
  may roll a die. On an even result: 
  refresh Network.
  HOUSING TIES
  Chit
  You helped someone who can 
  put roofs over peoples’ heads.
  Once per scenario, you can find 
  a temporary place to live for 
  someone who needs it. Discard to 
  make the arrangement permanent.
  WINDOW INTO 
  THE HUSSARS
  Chit
  What you’ve learned about the 
  way the DIS worked will help you 
  when dealing with state security 
  agents in future cases.
  After spending an Investigative Push 
  on a GMC who used to work for 
  the Castaigne security apparatus, a 
  player may roll a die. On an even 
  result: regain the Push.
  TRANSPORT TIES
  Chit
  You know what real magic is? The 
  power to summon a fleet of trucks.
  Once per scenario, you may 
  dispense with a problem that can 
  be solved with the application of 
  transportation resources.
  WATCHFUL PRESENCE
  Chit
  You can call on reliable folks to 
  keep an eye on things for you.
  Once per scenario, you can 
  place volunteer guards in a 
  location to visibly deter trouble. 
  Works against non-supernatural 
  adversaries who can’t risk a fuss.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  147
  TECH SUPPORT
  Chit
  You earned a favor or two 
  from people who know how to 
  repair stuff.
  Once per session, treat a 
  Mechanics failure as a success 
  with a margin of 1.
  FOLLOW-THROUGH
  Chit
  People believe that when you say 
  you can do something, you will.
  Once per scenario, a single PC may 
  make a free Reassurance Push.
  When a GMC fears retribution 
  or blowback, you may discard 
  this card to ensure that it won’t 
  occur. (Doesn’t protect against 
  supernatural forces.)
  SHADOW MOVES
  Chit
  You’ve learned to act without 
  being seen to act.
  Once per scenario, you can specify 
  that no one attributes the results of 
  a Politics success to your actions.
  FRIENDS IN THE 
  DA’S OFFICE
  Chit
  A happy prosecutor is a helpful 
  prosecutor.
  Once per scenario, you 
  may shield a character from 
  prosecution for a misdemeanor.
  PRESS TIES
  Chit
  If you’re not spinning, you’re 
  being spun.
  Once per scenario, you may 
  arrange for a story favorable to 
  you or your agenda to appear in 
  the media.
  DIVERT THE NARRATIVE
  Chit
  Bullshit thrives on the desire  
  to believe.
  Once per session, a player may 
  make a Difficulty 6 Politics test. 
  On a success, discard a Hit card.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  148
  CULT OF PERSONALITY
  Chit
  One of you has gained traction in 
  the public imagination.
  When you gain this card, choose 
  a player. All other players gain 
  +1 on Politics tests if that player 
  is present for the current session. 
  Discard this card if the player’s 
  character leaves play after taking a 
  Final Card.
  CARES ABOUT 
  PEOPLE LIKE ME
  Chit
  It’s the people in the middle who 
  swing elections.
  When you gain this card, choose 
  a character. That character gains 
  +1 to Politics tests and +2 to 
  Network tests when interacting 
  with members of the middle class.
  STAR POWER
  Chit
  One of you has that indefinable 
  quality that makes people like 
  and trust you.
  When you gain this card, choose a 
  character. That character gains +2 to 
  Politics on any action bolstered by a 
  public or media appearance.
  Discard when character leaves play 
  after taking a Final Card.
  UPPER ECHELON
  Chit
  Wealth has taken a look at you 
  and likes what it sees.
  When you gain this card, choose 
  a character. That character gains 
  +1 to Politics tests and +2 to 
  Network tests when interacting with 
  members of the moneyed class.
  CHAMPION OF THE 
  UNDERDOG
  Chit
  People who never get a break 
  look at you and feel a measure 
  of hope.
  When you gain this card, choose 
  a character. That character gains 
  +1 to Politics tests and +2 to 
  Network tests when interacting with 
  members of the working class.
  1
  1
  1
  1
  1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  149
  SMEAR CAMPAIGN
  Hit
  The truth doesn’t matter when 
  the lie feels good.
  -1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Public.
  FEAR EATS THE SOUL
  Hit
  Scared people don’t trust easily.
  -1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Trust.
  LURE OF THE ARMBAND
  Hit
  Some people just want to march 
  around saluting somebody. The 
  worse the somebody, the more 
  they like it.
  -1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Freedom.
  UNDER A CLOUD
  Hit
  The way your opponents tell  
  it, your actions sound  
  downright shady.
  -1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Private.
  COMFORTABLY NUMB
  Hit
  The people have grown 
  complacent.
  -1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Vigilance.
  THE CENTER DOES 
  NOT HOLD
  Hit
  Mere anarchy is loosed upon the 
  world.
  -1 Goal points if your Goal is 
  tagged Order.
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  Hit cards
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  150
  GOING SOFT
  Hit
  The way your rivals tell it, 
  you’ve lost the uncompromising 
  spirit that got you through the 
  rebellion.
  Discard by winning a fight that 
  gets positive press coverage.
  BLUE WALL
  Hit
  The cops used to think you were 
  on the level. But you pushed it too 
  far, and now they’ve chalked you 
  up as just another bunch of suits.
  Characters can’t make Cop Talk 
  Pushes unless they also spend 2 
  Politics.
  Discard by taking a risk or making 
  a sacrifice to help the police.
  TOO SMOOTH BY HALF
  Hit
  Once lost, trust can be tough to 
  recapture.
  During the first half of any 
  session, discard by spending 
  a total of 6 Politics, which can 
  come from the group in any 
  combination. Sell your GM on this 
  by describing credible efforts to 
  repair your reputation.
  BULL IN A CHINA SHOP
  Hit
  Coming off as unpredictable only 
  works for the players at the top. 
  And you’re not there yet.
  Discard by seeking out a nervous 
  political ally and making a 
  Reassurance Push.
  YESTERDAY’S NEWS
  Hit
  The story that brought you to 
  prominence is getting stale. Time 
  to find a new schtick. 
  -1 to Politics tests.
  Discard by solving a case in a 
  way you can publicize to your 
  advantage.
  UNREASSURING
  Hit
  You make people nervous.
  Characters can’t make 
  Reassurance Pushes unless they 
  also spend 2 Composure.
  Discard when your solution to a 
  mystery brings calm to the public.
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  151
  IT’S NOT THE CRIME, 
  IT’S THE COVER-UP
  Hit
  If news of this gets out, you can 
  take everything you’ve built and 
  kiss it goodbye.
  At the beginning of each session, 
  if you have 2 or more Chit cards, 
  roll a die. On a 1, discard all of 
  your Chit cards and trade this card 
  for “Under a Cloud.”
  MONEY SCANDAL
  Hit
  The first rule in scandal reporting 
  is “Follow the Money.” Someone 
  did that… to you.
  -2 to Politics tests.
  Trade this and any Chit card for 
  the Hit card “Under a Cloud.”
  RIPPLE OF UNEASE
  Hit
  Your mistakes have given 
  ammunition to people who want 
  to give more powers to the police.
  -1 to Politics tests if your Goal is 
  tagged Freedom or Trust.
  Discard by taking a risk to foster 
  freedom or trust.
  SHAKE-UP
  Hit
  Your allies have fallen from grace. 
  The new power brokers don’t 
  much care for you.
  Discard a Chit card of the group’s 
  choice when you get this card. If you 
  have no Chit cards, the next one you 
  get is instead discarded.
  Discard on a Difficulty 4 Politics 
  success applied to one of the new 
  people in charge, with a penalty 
  equal to your number of Hit cards.
  SHAKEDOWN
  Hit
  The wise guys who’ve been funding 
  your operation show up, expecting 
  some quid for their quo.
  Enforcers for the mob demand a 
  risky and ethically compromising 
  favor. They’ll keep coming around, 
  drawing unwanted attention, until 
  you comply.
  If you do comply, trade for the Chit 
  card “Slush Fund.”
  AND THEN IT ALL 
  WENT NUTS
  Hit
  Your mistakes caused a riot.
  -1 to Politics tests if your Goal is 
  tagged Order.
  Discard by taking a risk to bring 
  about order.
  0
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -2
  -1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  152
  HAVOC UNLEASHED
  Hit
  Your mistakes let the monsters out.
  -1 to Politics tests if your Goal is 
  tagged Vigilance.
  Discard by paying a price to make 
  up for your lapse in vigilance.
  ANGRY VETERANS
  Hit
  Your fellow ex-partisans say you 
  sold them out. And all for a whiff 
  of power.
  -2 to Politics and Network 
  tests when dealing with former 
  revolutionary fighters.
  GAFFE
  Hit
  You said the wrong thing in the 
  absolute perfect way—for the 
  other side.
  The GM designates a character. -1 
  to Politics tests in sessions when that 
  character is present.
  Discard by also discarding any of the 
  following Chit cards: “Star Power,” 
  “Divert the Narrative,” “Good Press,” 
  “Cult of Personality.”
  SHOCKING NEW 
  EVIDENCE
  Hit
  One of your past cases threatens 
  to unravel, putting an enemy 
  back on the streets.
  -1 to Politics tests if your Goal is 
  tagged Order.
  Discard by exposing the bad guys 
  behind this false exoneration.
  WRONG FOOT TO 
  TREAD ON
  Hit
  Someone powerful now has 
  reason to remember your names. 
  And it’s not a good one.
  When you succeed at a Politics 
  test, roll a die. Odd: reroll the die 
  used in the test.
  CLASS WARRIOR
  Hit
  Rich people regard you as 
  dangerous radicals.
  -1 to Politics tests when 
  interacting with members of the 
  moneyed class.
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  153
  OUT OF TOUCH
  Hit
  Regular folks see you as either 
  too sympathetic to the rich, 
  criminals, or both.
  -1 to Politics tests when 
  interacting with members of the 
  middle class.
  OPPO RESEARCH
  Hit
  A scandal from your past returns 
  to haunt you.
  Whenever a shady story from any 
  PC’s past becomes public, roll 
  a die. Odd: discard a Chit card. 
  When that happens, a Difficulty 
  4 Politics success allows you to 
  discard this card.
  DEBACLE
  Hit
  Your negligence endangered the 
  public.
  When you solve a case, any 
  combination of players may spend 
  3 Pushes to discard.
  BOUGHT AND SOLD
  Hit
  People who have the odds 
  stacked against them see you as 
  part of the problem.
  -1 to Politics tests when 
  interacting with members of the 
  working class.
  SLEEPING DOGS
  Hit
  No one wanted to remember the 
  thing you just dug up.
  -1 to Politics and Network tests 
  when your Goal has any apparent 
  connection to the supernatural.
  CAN'T CATCH A BREAK
  Hit
  You just seem… unlucky, 
  somehow.
  -1 to Politics and Network tests 
  when dealing with People’s 
  Deputies and other members of 
  the political class.
  -1
  0
  -2
  -1
  -1
  -1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  154
  MARKED BY THE SIGN
  Hit
  That haunted look in your eyes 
  makes it hard to strike political deals.
  Characters apply the number of 
  Shock cards they have in hand as 
  penalties to Politics, Insurgency, 
  and Network tests.
  COMPLICITY
  Hit
  You accepted a favor from 
  someone with a closet full of 
  skeletons.
  Once per scenario, the GM will 
  call for a Difficulty 4 Politics test.
  On a failure, the value of this 
  card becomes -1, as a scandal 
  connecting you to the favor-giver 
  breaks out and drags you in as 
  peripheral figures.
  UNFIT FOR CAMERAS
  Hit
  When you show up to the People’s 
  Congress bandaged and bloody, it 
  sets tongues to wagging.
  Treat 6s rolled on Politics tests 
  as 1s.
  At end of session, check to see if 
  any players hold non-Continuity 
  Injury cards. If the answer is no, 
  discard.
  BODY COUNT
  Hit
  For political operatives, your 
  activities sure stack up a lot of 
  corpses.
  At end of each session, check to 
  see if any GMC deaths arose from 
  the action this time out. If the 
  answer is no, you may spend a 
  Push to discard.
  FEATHER BEDDING
  Hit
  A spending scandal brings an ally 
  or associate into disrepute.
  -1 to Politics tests.
  When you solve a case, make an 
  Accounting spend and roll a die. 
  Even: discard.
  OUT-SPENT
  Hit
  Your adversaries are raising more 
  funds than your allies. You need 
  to show you can contribute.
  Discard by taking a risk to gain 
  the ongoing support of a deep-
  pocketed donor. 
  -1
  0
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  Cards
  
  ROBIN D. LAWS
  155
  LOSING IT
  Hit
  A top figure among your allies 
  shows symptoms of Carcosan 
  mental influence.
  Discard by finding and 
  eliminating the source of baneful 
  influence.
  GRUDGE
  Hit
  You’ve crossed the wrong person 
  and now await the promised 
  political revenge.
  Discard by digging up discrediting 
  information on the one who has 
  sworn to bury you.
  SILLY SEASON
  Hit
  A nonsense controversy has 
  embroiled the People’s Congress, 
  stealing the attention you need to 
  make progress.
  Discard by taking a risk to prove 
  that your real problem matters 
  more than this fake one.
  OR GET OFF THE POT
  Hit
  You refuse to be beholden to 
  anyone. In politics, that means 
  you can’t be trusted.
  Discard by definitively aligning 
  with a major faction.
  BACKSTABBED
  Hit
  A supposed ally now works to sink 
  your plans, and you don’t know why.
  If a Chit card represents your 
  relationship to your ally, it is 
  discarded. If not, the value of this 
  card is -1.
  Discover the secret reason behind 
  the betrayal to repair the relationship 
  and discard this card. Regain the 
  previously discarded Chit, if any.
  COUNTER-NARRATIVE
  Hit
  Your opponents have been 
  making a persuasive case, 
  decreasing public support for 
  your agenda.
  -1 to Politics and Network tests.
  Discard by discrediting their 
  arguments with the public.
  -1
  -1
  -1
  -1
  0
  -1
  
  The YELLOW KING RPG:  Aftermath – 
  156
  
  157
  APPENDICES
  APPENDICES
  
  AFTERMATH
  Athletics (Physical)
  Composure (Presence)
  Driving (Physical)
  Fighting (Physical)
  First Aid (Focus)
  Health  (Physical)
  Insurgency (Focus)
  Mechanics (Focus)
  Morale (Presence)
  Network (Focus)
  Politics (Presence)
  Preparedness(Focus)
  Sense Trouble (Presence)
  Sneaking (Focus)
  CHARACTER SHEET
  INVESTIGATIVE ABILITIES
  PUSHES (2): 
  GENERAL ABILITIES
  Name
  Player
  Parallel
  Worst Memory
  Drive
  Occupation
  
  159
  APPENDICES
  Welcome to the 
  Aftermath
  It is the present day in an 
  alternate reality.
  Six months ago, you and your 
  teammates toppled the Castaigne 
  regime, the authoritarian 
  government of Imperial America. 
  After more than a century in 
  power, it, and the shadowy figures 
  behind its throne, has gone.
  You aim to use the skills you 
  developed as revolutionaries to 
  help rebuild your shattered nation.
  But weird mystery has always 
  had a way of finding you, and you 
  suspect that it hasn’t done with 
  you yet.
  Everyday Life
  You’ve gone back to the job you 
  had during the Struggle. 
  The economy was already 
  stagnant when the final push 
  against the regime began. 
  Recovery is just around the corner, 
  you hope. You might not be getting 
  paid your full salary. Somehow 
  though, everyone muddles on.
  At night you gather with the rest 
  of your crew at a favorite hangout, 
  maybe one where lots of other 
  former insurgents gather.
  You listen to hotjazz, the exciting 
  new music form that’s sweeping 
  the nation, now that a totalitarian 
  agency no longer controls culture 
  and entertainment.
  You probably drink Belgian 
  beers—a huge craze now that 
  protectionist trade regulations have 
  gone out the window and anyone 
  with the dough can import anything.
  The old monopolies, given out 
  to cronies by the Emperor and 
  his family, fight to survive against 
  sudden competition. Everyone 
  wonders if a soft drink competitor 
  will rise to replace the freshly 
  privatized Casta-Cola Company.
  Brands that died out in our 
  reality continue in this one. 
  Studebaker is a major car 
  manufacturer. 
  Look and Feel
  Grim, utilitarian concrete towers 
  fill the streets of your home, New 
  York City.
  They lie atop a grander layer of 
  now-grimy, once-white structures 
  built during the optimistic 
  19-teens. During this period 
  the famed reformist President 
  Winthrop leveled the city’s vibrant, 
  ramshackle neighborhoods 
  for monumental façades of 
  neoclassical columns teeming 
  with Greek and Roman influences.
  In place of a subway system, 
  New York boasts the underground 
  highways, major thoroughfares that 
  rumble beneath the surface, under a 
  light display of artificial stars.
  For fashion and design, think late 
  ‘50s or early ‘60s.
  Technology has advanced to 
  what we would think of as a 1980s 
  level, at best. Forget video tape, 
  the Internet, sophisticated DNA 
  testing, personal computers, or 
  digitized documents.
  The government’s weird 
  weapons of oppression remain on 
  the street. From needle guns and 
  obedience whips to mind-warping 
  
  160
  APPENDICES
  gases and implants, the science of 
  oppression is one area where the 
  Castaignes excelled.
  Weirdness
  The eerie realm of Carcosa kept 
  the Castaignes on the throne. The 
  final battles of the Overthrow 
  somehow closed the gates between 
  worlds. The minions of the King and 
  his court can no longer freely come 
  here. But some of them, and the 
  monsters spawned with their alien 
  discipline of parageometry, remain 
  on this side.
  The role of the unnatural in the 
  last hundred years of history might 
  be common knowledge to the 
  average person, a secret few know, 
  or a strangely fading memory. 
  Ask your GM about your game’s 
  Weirdness Level.
  Government
  Elections haven’t been held yet. 
  The Interregnum Administration 
  promises them soon, but first the 
  People’s Congress, an appointed 
  body dominated by former 
  dissidents, has to settle on a 
  new constitution. Parties haven’t 
  formed yet; some hope they never 
  will. Instead various factions tussle 
  for influence.
  As a group, you will choose a 
  political agenda and try to bring it 
  into being. Choose from this list, 
  or make up one of your own:
   •  Shut Down Government Lethal 
  Chambers: The Winthrop 
  government installed suicide 
  machines throughout the 
  country. Now that the world 
  has gone sane again, you 
  want these closed down.
   •  Preserve Government Lethal 
  Chambers: The chambers 
  remain a popular symbol 
  of self-determination. You 
  support the individual right to 
  choose and want to protect 
  the GLCs from those who 
  would shut them down.
   •  Truth and Reconciliation: 
  You think that society can 
  only be healed by exposing 
  the crimes of the past, and 
  then forgiving them.
   •  War Crimes Trials: The 
  Castaignes might be gone, 
  but many who abetted them 
  in oppressing, torturing, and 
  killing innocent people remain. 
  To bring closure to those they 
  harmed, they must be rooted 
  out, interrogated, and made 
  to face the people’s justice. 
   •  Preserve Order: The period after 
  a revolution can be as dangerous 
  to the ordinary person as the 
  time of tyranny that preceded 
  it—if not more so. Only with 
  safe streets and tough justice 
  can civil society flourish. 
   •  Reinstate Freedom: The 
  Castaigne regime forced people 
  to obey. You want a constitution 
  that protects the rights of 
  individuals to earn a living, 
  love who they want, worship 
  in the manner of their choice, 
  read whatever pleases them, 
  and speak their minds without 
  fear of official censorship.
   •  Banish the Supernatural: The 
  Castaignes held onto power 
  
  161
  APPENDICES
  as long as they did because 
  of the help they got from 
  another realm. You can’t let 
  the monsters and aliens come 
  back to rule humanity again.
   •  Harness the Supernatural: The 
  otherworldly beings who helped 
  the Castaignes were evil. But 
  the magic they wielded is just 
  an alternate technology, neither 
  good or bad in and of itself. 
  In the right hands, it can heal, 
  innovate, and bring prosperity 
  to a devastated nation. 
   •  Get Elected: If you leave 
  government to people driven by 
  fancy opinions, common sense 
  goes out the window. During 
  the rebellion, you learned to 
  fix problems, preconceptions 
  be damned. Time to bring 
  that wisdom to public life!
   •  Build a Business: You intend 
  to use your accumulated 
  know-how to provide 
  something people need—
  jobs and opportunities.
  Meet the New Cops
  The Interregnum Administration 
  kept police forces running by 
  flushing out the worst regime 
  stooges and replacing them with 
  trusted revolutionaries.
  When you go to the cops, you 
  will run into some old allies, but 
  also officers who worked under 
  the Castaignes. The first group 
  distrusts the second, and vice 
  versa. With sedition laws struck 
  from the books, local forces now 
  focus on crime and public order, 
  leaving politics aside.
  Prosecutors’ offices still function, 
  enforcing the laws they think will 
  remain on the books. Expecting 
  any convictions gained now to be 
  appealed when a new criminal 
  code comes in, they’re reluctant 
  to move on any case that isn’t 
  absolutely solid.
  The Provisional Federal Police 
  hunt for war criminals to put 
  before the Tribunal. Activists 
  opposed to this process, knowing 
  that one in four people informed 
  to the old Department of Internal 
  Security, instead argue for a Truth 
  and Reconciliation Commission.
  Whether they’re destined for 
  forgiveness or imprisonment, 
  folks still fear the old secret 
  police, popularly known as 
  Hussars, or the Huss. They used 
  to hunt you down. Now the 
  tables have turned.
  Shrunken Empire
  The USA doesn’t stretch from sea 
  to shining sea. To the south lies 
  the independent nation of Suanee, 
  a majority black nation that has 
  managed to keep learning and 
  democracy alive in an otherwise 
  bleak time for the continent. 
  California, once a breakaway 
  republic, now considers union 
  with the new, democratic America.
  Further Reading
  For more atmosphere, world-
  building, and a template for 
  adventure in the world of 
  Aftermath, check out the novel 
  The Missing and the Lost, also 
  from Pelgrane Press. 
  
  162
  APPENDICES
  Relative Challenge
  Difficulty 
  (Escape)
  Difficulty
  (Other)
  Difficulty 
  (Kill)
  Toll
  Weak 
  1
  3
  3
  0
  Tough but 
  Outmatched
  2
  3
  4
  0
  Evenly Matched 
  2
  4
  5
  0
  Superior 
  2
  5
  6
  1
  Vastly Superior 
  3
  6
  7
  2
  Overwhelming 
  3
  7
  8
  2
  Too Awful to 
  Contemplate
  3
  8
  10
  3
  REFERENCES
  Relative Challenge Table
  Strength of Opposition
  Difficulty 
  (characters’ 
  objective ≠ kill or 
  render helpless)
  Difficulty 
  (characters’ 
  objective = kill or 
  render helpless)
  Toll
  Weak Foes
  3
  6
  1
  Tough but  
  Outmatched Foes
  4
  7
  2
  Evenly Matched Foes
  5
  8
  2
  Superior Foes
  6
  9
  3
  Vastly Superior Foes
  8
  12
  5
  Overwhelming Foes
  9
  13
  5
  Too Awful to 
  Contemplate
  12
  16
  6
  Foe Difficulties
  
  163
  APPENDICES
  Situation
  Difficulty
  Minor
  Major
  A Revolutionary Hero 
  Turns Out to Be a 
  Heel
  4
  Dammit, Man
  Seriously, Dammit
  You Interpret 
  Something Innocuous 
  as Extremely Alarming
  4
  False Alarm
  The Yips
  You Meet, But Can’t 
  Strike Against, a Foe 
  from the Old Days
  4
  Forehead Vein
  It Eats You Up
  You Remember Being 
  Tortured
  5
  Grim Flashback
  You Know You 
  Broke
  You Ally with a War 
  Criminal
  5
  Sullied
  Expedience
  You Remember 
  Committing Torture
  5
  Spasm of Guilt
  The Monster 
  Inside
  You Remember the 
  Terrible Thing You Did
  4
  Twinge
  Spasm of Guilt
  You Use a Castaignite 
  Weapon
  4
  Pang of Doubt
  Lines Get Muddy
  Post-Revolutionary Shocks
  
  164
  APPENDICES
  Player
  Character
  Civilian 
  Occupation
  Drive
  Worst Memory
  Parallels
  Group Matrix
  
  165
  APPENDICES
  Investigative Ability Worksheet
  Player name
  Character name
  Accounting (A)
  Architecture (A)
  Art History (A)
  Bullshit Detector (I)
  Bureaucracy (I)
  Cop Talk (I)
  Counterinsurgency (A)
  Flattery (I)
  Forensics (T)
  History (A)
  Inspiration (I)
  Intimidation (I)
  Intuition (T)
  Leadership (I)
  Medicine (T)
  Negotiation (I)
  Occultism (A)
  People Person (I)
  Photography (T)
  Psychology (A)
  Reassurance (I)
  Research (A)
  Science (A)
  Streetwise (I)
  Trivia (A)
  
  Index
  A
  Accounting (Academic)  17
  Alerte, Julien  32
  Alien Truth (scenario element)  
  48
  All-for-Ones (faction)  39
  Antagonist Reactions (scenar-
  io element)  49
  Architecture (Academic)  17
  Argus (foe)  79–80
  Art History (Academic)  17
  Athletics (Physical)  9
  Aversion Bracelet (weapon)  
  62
  B
  Banish the Supernatural (goal)  
  12
  Brainstopper (weapon)  60
  Bronx Park Zoo (genetic 
  research agency)  28, 77, 
  92–93
  Build a Business (goal)  13
  Build points  9
  with no politics  48
  Bullshit Detector (Interperson-
  al)  17
  Bureaucracy (Interpersonal)  
  13, 17
  C
  California  31
  Cambuk (weapon)  60
  Camilla  28, 34
  Cancer Bag (foe)  80
  Carcosa  48
  closing the gate to  28
  ruined gate to  34
  Carcosan (foe tag)  77
  Carcosan Wetworker (foe)  80
  Carrier (foe)  82
  Cassilda  28, 34
  The Castaigne Dynasty  25–26
  where are they now?  30–31
  Castaigne, Hadrian  26
  Castaigne, Hannibal  26
  Castaigne, Hilda  25–26
  Castaigne, Hildred (Hildred 
  I)  21–26
  Castaigne, Hildred (Hildred 
  Danger Junkie  9
  Destiny  9
  End the Cycle  9–10
  Nagging Visions  10
  Political Cachet  10
  Redemption  10
  Scientific Inquiry  10
  Vendetta  10
  Writing Fodder  10
  Driving (Physical)  9
  Dupe (foe)  82–84
  Duty (Drive)  9
  E
  Editions Melotte (publisher)  
  10
  Ekaf-bird (foe)  93
  Emperor of America  21. 
  See The Castaigne Dynasty
  End the Cycle (Drive)  9–10
  Explosionist (foe)  84
  F
  Factions  39–42
  antipathies  42
  interacting with  41–42
  sympathies  42
  Fading (weirdness level)  5
  Fighting (Physical)  9
  First Aid (Focus)  9
  Flattery (Interpersonal)  17
  Flowers (Renouncer faction)  
  41
  Foe profiles
  Argus  79–80
  Cancer Bag  80
  Carcosan Wetworker  80
  Carrier  82
  Dupe  82–84
  Explosionist  84
  Harbor Master  85
  Lawn Folk  85–86
  Other Monster Birds  93
  Reanimate  86
  Revanchist  86–87
  Shatterling  89–90
  Sleeper  90
  Sphyx  90–91
  Thermosaur  92
  Ux  92
  II)  25
  Castaigne, Holt  25
  Castaigne Kids’ Club  25
  Castaignism  26–27
  Character generation  7–18
  Characters
  build points  9
  carrying on from The Wars  7
  generating  7–18
  Chicago (alternate history)  23
  Chit cards  43–44
  designing new  46–48
  examples from the text  
  140–148
  narrating  46
  reskinning  46
  Citizenship Ministry  25
  Cloud Cuckoos. See Kooks 
  (All-for-One faction)
  Coats (Guardian faction)  40
  Commercials (faction)  40
  Composure (Presence)  9
  Congress of Religions  23, 27
  Coots (Homelord faction)  40
  Cop Talk (Interpersonal)  15, 
  17
  Counterinsurgency (Academ-
  ic)  17
  Counterinsurgency (Technical)  
  15
  Covert (weirdness level)  5–6
  Crisis (scenario element)  48
  D
  Danger Junkie (Drive)  9
  Department of Internal Secu-
  rity  26
  Department of Parageo-
  metrical Inquiry (occult 
  sub-agency)  27–28
  Department of the Arts  27
  Destiny (Drive)  9
  Difficulty
  Relative challenge table  19
  Doctor (Investigative Kit)  8
  Doos (Initiator faction)  40–41
  Do-Over. See Initiators (fac-
  tion)
  Dream Clown (mascot)  25
  Drives  9–10
  
  167
  APPENDICES
  Foes  77–93
  profiles  78–79
  tags  77
  Footnotes (Originalist faction)  
  41
  Forensic Anthropology (Tech-
  nical)  15, 17
  Forget-Me-Do (weapon)  
  60–61
  Fuck the Yellow Sign (hand 
  signal)  28
  G
  Garks (Mercantilist faction)  
  41
  General Abilities
  descriptions  17–18
  master list  9
  Genetic research agency  28
  Get Elected (goal)  13
  Goal (campaigns only)  10–13
  Goal points  43
  victory condition  52–53
  Goal points  43
  Goal tags  11–13
  interacting with factions  
  41–42
  Goodbye Bomb (weapon)  62
  Government Lethal Chamber  
  7, 23, 54–58
  Guardians (faction)  40
  H
  Harbor Master (foe)  85
  Harness the Supernatural 
  (goal)  12
  Hazards
  mental  20
  Health (Physical)  9
  History (Academic)  17
  Hit cards  45–46
  as opening challenges  45
  designing new  46–48
  examples from the text  
  149–155
  narrating  46
  reskinning  46
  Homelords (faction)  40
  Horror mode
  General abilities  9
  Human (foe tag)  77
  Hussars. See National Mount-
  ed Police
  Hybrid (foe tag)  77
  I
  Imperial Chaplain  27
  Imperial Government  27–28
  Imperial Palace  27
  Indian Cavalry  23
  Initiators (faction)  40–41
  Injury cards  129–139
  Inspiration (Interpersonal)  17
  Institute for Broader Un-
  derstanding (Castaignite 
  agency)  34
  Insurgency (Focus)  9, 17
  Interfaith Advisory Council 
  (agency)  27
  Internal Security  35–37
  Interregnum Administration  
  34
  Interregnum Administration 
  Security (counterintelli-
  gence agency)  37
  Intimidation (Interpersonal)  
  17
  Intuition (Technical)  17
  Investigative Abilities
  descriptions  13–16
  master list  17
  Investigative Kits  7–8
  J
  Journalist (Investigative Kit)  8
  K
  Kids’ Club  25
  The King in Yellow (play)  21, 
  51, 63
  The King in Yellow (antago-
  nist)  4, 28, 32, 34, 48
  Kooks (All-for-One faction)  
  39
  L
  Labor and Tariff Conference 
  (accord)  22
  Lawn Folk (foe)  85–86
  The Law  38–39
  Leadership (Interpersonal)  17
  Lethal Chamber. See Govern-
  ment Lethal Chamber
  Lethal Chamber Technician 
  (Investigative Kit)  8
  Loyalty Chip (weapon)  62
  M
  Mangler (weapon)  59
  Marketing Coordinator (Inves-
  tigative Kit)  8
  “The Mask” (story)  21
  Mechanics (Focus)  9
  Medicine (Technical)  17
  Mental hazards  20
  Mercantilists (faction)  41
  Merchers (Commercial fac-
  tion)  40
  Ministry of Fine Art  23
  Morale (Presence)  9
  Multipolarism (philosophy)  32
  N
  Nagging Visions (Drive)  10
  National Academy of Design  
  22–23
  National Mounted Police  23
  Needler (weapon)  59
  Negotiation (Interpersonal)  17
  Network (Focus)  9, 18
  New Jersey Incident (uprising)  
  25
  The Night the White People 
  Went  31
  NYPD  37
  O
  Occult Adventure mode
  General abilities  9
  Occultism (Academic)  17
  O-Day  30. See also The 
  Overthrow (rebel victory)
  Oligarchs. See Mercantilists 
  (faction)
  Ool-yllik (foe)  93
  Opening challenges  45
  Opportunity (scenario ele-
  ment)  48–52
  preparing  49–50
  Originalists (faction)  41
  The Overthrow (rebel victory)  
  28
  Overt (weirdness level)  5
  
  (story)  21–24
  Republic of Suanee  31–33
  Research (Academic)  17
  Revanchist (foe)  86–87
  The Revolutionary Council  34
  The Richardsons (Castaigne 
  offshoot)  31
  Right of Diasporic Shelter 
  (doctrine)  33
  Riot Dog (foe)  87
  Risks (scenario element)  48
  building  50–51
  Rules
  Adjustments  19–20
  Relative challenge table  19
  S
  Scenarios  48–53
  opening challenges  45
  Science (Academic)  17
  Scientific Inquiry (Drive)  10
  Scott, Jack  21
  Security Guard (Investigative 
  Kit)  8
  Sense Trouble (Presence)  9
  Shade (foe)  89
  Shatterling (foe)  89–90
  Shock cards  124–129
  Shut Down Government Le-
  thal Chambers (goal)  11
  Sleeper (foe)  90
  Sneaking (Focus)  9
  Sphyx (foe)  90–91
  Streetwise (Interpersonal)  16, 
  17
  The Struggle (armed insurgen-
  cy)  28
  Studebaker (car manufactur-
  er)  54
  Suanee, Republic of  31–33
  Suicide booth. See Govern-
  ment Lethal Chamber
  T
  Tags
  foe  77
  goal cards  11–13, 41–42
  Technology  54–64
  Technology (Technical)  16
  Thermosaur (foe)  92
  This Is Normal Now
  transitioning into  53
  Timeline
  creating  22–24
  The Tribunal (war crimes judg-
  es)  35–36
  Trivia (Academic)  17
  Truth and Reconciliation 
  (goal)  12
  Tuner (weapon)  63–64
  Turncoat. See Guardians 
  (faction)
  U
  Underground roadways (NYC)  
  23
  The Uprising (revolution)  28
  Ux (foe)  92
  V
  Vendetta (Drive)  10
  Veteran (foe tag)  77
  Victory condition  52–53
  W
  Waiter (Investigative Kit)  8
  War Crimes Trials (goal)  12
  The Wars
  characters from  7
  parallels to  10
  Warspawn (foe tag)  77
  Weirdness level  5–6
  Welcome to the Aftermath 
  (player handout)  159–161
  Mr. Wilde  21, 25, 32
  Winthrop administration  
  22–23
  Winthrop, Harold (former 
  president)  22–23, 54
  Worst Memory  10
  Writing Fodder (Drive)  10
  Y
  The Yellow Sign  4, 21–22, 
  25–26, 30–32, 48
  and Suanee  32
  and the DIS  26
  “The Yellow Sign” (story)  21
  P
  Pain Baton (weapon)  59–60
  Parallels (to The Wars)  10
  Parasite. See Carrier (foe)
  Paris
  connecting to  23
  People  65–75
  Business Interests  71–72
  Cops  71
  Criminals  68–71
  Peers  67–68
  Political Leaders  65–67
  The Press  67
  Regular Folks  72–75
  People Person (Interpersonal)  
  15–16, 17
  The People’s Congress  30–31, 
  34
  People’s Deputies (Congress 
  members)  34
  The People’s Hall  34
  PFP. See Provisional Federal 
  Police (PFP)
  Photographer (Investigative 
  Kit)  8
  Photography (Technical)  17
  Police Agencies  37–38
  Political Cachet (Drive)  10
  Politics (Presence)  9, 18
  removing  48
  Preparedness (Presence)  9
  Preserve Government Lethal 
  Chambers (goal)  11
  Preserve Order (goal)  12
  Provisional Federal Police (PFP)  
  35–36
  Psychology (Academic)  17
  R
  Readball (weapon)  62–63
  Reanimate (foe)  86
  Reassurance (Interpersonal)  17
  Recollections of The War 
  Against Carcosa in the Euro-
  pean Theater (book)  10
  Redemption (Drive)  10
  Reinstate Freedom (goal)  12
  Relative challenge table  19
  Relict (foe tag)  77
  Renouncers (faction)  41
  “The Repairer of Reputations” 
  
  THE EMPEROR HAS FLED, 
  BUT THE KING REMAINS
  It is the present day in an alternate America. The dictatorial 
  Castaigne regime, which has ruled the nation since 1920, has 
  finally been defeated. Thanks, in no small part, to your hardbitten 
  crew of ex-revolutionaries.
  Now ready to resume your civilian lives and consign the traumas 
  of civil war to the past, you discover that you can’t forget your old 
  skills yet. The supernatural power that elevated the Castaignes has 
  been weakened, but not destroyed.
  To put an end to it once and for all, you investigate uncanny 
  mysteries and join the effort to rebuild democracy. Your sacrifices, 
  and those of your fallen comrades, must not be in vain.
  This volume contains:
   • Character generation, including new abilities key to 
  the aftermath.
   • An array of Shock cards specific to post-insurgent life.
   • The twisted history that haunts you.
   • A setting guide to the challenges that freedom brings. Find out 
  who you trust, who you fight for, and who stands in your way.
   • How to choose and further your political agenda, with rules 
  and cards to track your progress.
   • Alternate world technologies, from the omnipresent and 
  still oddly popular Government Lethal Chambers to dread 
  weapons of the old regime.
   • People, from former comrades turned cop and politician to the 
  war criminals and regime sorcerers you haven’t caught yet.
   • Foes to hunt and fight, from former secret policemen to 
  the secret spawn of parageometrical hybridization labs.
   • A complete scenario, Sleeping Dogs. Sink your teeth into it!
  PELGY04
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/The Yellow King/Book 3 - Aftermath.pdf