TEXT: BY 
  DOMINIC COVEY
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  CARTOGRAPHY: 
  DOMINIC COVEY
  EDITING: 
  Chris Van Deelen  
  LAYOUT: 
  CHRIS DAVIS
  
  2
  Another Man’s Treasure is an adventure for the 
  post-apocalyptic role-playing game, Darwin’s World 
  2nd Edition.  Another Man’s Treasure is the second 
  in a two-part adventure series in which the player 
  characters are drawn into the desperate hunt for the 
  legendary “Mount of Thorns” at the heart of the wild 
  and inhospitable Deadlands of the Twisted Earth.
  Another Man’s Treasure should take a party of four 
  characters from 6th to 8th level.
  ADVENTURE BACKGROUND
  This information was included in part one of this 
  series, “One Man’s Garbage”, and is reprinted here 
  for the GM’s convenience.
  Long believed to be mere myth, among the people 
  of the wasteland stories still circulate about the 
  Mount of Thorns, a fantastic place said to lie at the 
  heart of the dry and lifeless region known as the 
  “Deadlands”.  Whether carried on the lips of the 
  nocturnal scavenging folk around their seedy desert 
  campﬁres, or recorded in the twisted and imaginative 
  chronicles of the wasteland’s zealous pseudo-cults, 
  these stories invariably regard the Mount as a site of 
  great importance to even the Ancients - a fact that has 
  left men to wonder at what lies beneath its slopes for 
  countless generations since the Fall.
  But the vast Deadlands has long been a great void, 
  a seemingly endless dustbowl that is home only 
  to outcasts from the ﬂedgling tribes that ring the 
  region; terminal mutants, cannibals, and criminals 
  whose crimes were too vile for even the cruel people 
  of the wasteland to stomach.  According to legend 
  the Mount lies somewhere near the heart of this 
  treacherous expanse, its secrets unattainable thanks to 
  the gauntlet of savages who call the desert home, and 
  the unforgiving elements themselves.
  
  3
  Recently, however, word has spread like wildﬁre 
  through the tiny desert communities, through the 
  camps of the most primitive tribes, and even reached 
  the degenerate townships bordering the region that 
  someone, somewhere, has uncovered the key to 
  ﬁnding the fabled Mount of Thorns...
  BACKSTORY
  There is an old saying:  One man’s garbage is 
  another man’s treasure.  Nowhere is this truer than 
  the Twisted Earth, a world where the survivors of the 
  human race continue to pick over the trash and rubble 
  of a former civilization in the endless struggle of day-
  to-day survival.
  While on the Twisted Earth mere survival occupies 
  many men from cradle to the grave, some have 
  even grander goals.  Some want to be emperors, 
  some want to be “gods”, while others simply want 
  to be rich.  Often, it is the remnants of the Ancients’ 
  civilization that are seen as the tools to acquire these 
  new world dreams and aspirations.  This adventure 
  is a tale about one such remnant, a place once called 
  “Yucca Mountain”.
  Some time ago a small group of heretical zealots, 
  the “Radites”, came upon a piece of ancient arcanum 
  referring to Yucca Mountain, a place now known 
  to the survivors of the apocalypse as the legendary 
  “Mount of Thorns”.  As a splinter of the Brotherhood 
  of Radiation (a group described in Darwin’s World 
  2nd Edition), the Radites realized the signiﬁcance 
  of the document and immediately purchased it from 
  the witless desert scav who ﬁrst brought it to their 
  attention.  Once the document (dubbed the “Great 
  Arcanum”) was in their hands they immediately 
  set out to ﬁnd the mountain.  Their aim:  to open 
  the mountain and recover the “magic” beneath its 
  rocky crest, in hopes of creating their own “super-
  mutant race” to lead their faction to victory over the 
  Brotherhood of Radiation.
  WHERE THE CHARACTERS LEFT OFF
  One Man’s Garbage left off after the PCs performed 
  a clandestine raid against the Radite shrine beneath 
  the city of Copper Pit, stealing the original copy 
  of the “Great Arcanum” for the Brotherhood of 
  Radiation.  This harrowing mission was detailed 
  in part one of this series, and part two begins soon 
  after their successful acquisition of the mysterious 
  document.
  Upon returning to the safe house of their contact, 
  Gepardo, the PCs soon learn that the old man has 
  successfully deciphered the Arcanum, learning the 
  location of the Mount of Thorns.  Just as importantly, 
  he has also learned the reason why the Radite shrine 
  in One Man’s Garbage was so lightly defended:  
  the majority of the cult has already left Copper Pit, 
  striking out into the desert to ﬁnd the Mount of 
  Thorns.  With no time to waste, the Brotherhood of 
  Radiation offers to hire the PCs once more, this time 
  to get to the Mount of Thorns before the Radites!
  Once the PCs accept the Brotherhood’s offer they 
  must strike out on their own, over the barren terrain 
  known as the Deadlands, in a race against time to 
  get to the Mount of Thorns before any of their rivals.  
  Despite the inherent dangers of the Deadlands, 
  including raiders, outcasts, and roving cannibal 
  mutants, and having to avoid the gauntlet of Baron 
  Wasteland’s army patrols (which are out in force 
  looking for them), with a little luck the party may 
  manage to get to the fabled mountain in time.
  Once there, the PCs face off with an old enemy 
  - Pastor Disaster and his band of mangy scavs, the 
  “Junkyard Dogs” - in a ﬁnal showdown with the 
  treasure of the Mount of Thorns at stake.
  FINAL CLIMACTIC BATTLE?
  The ﬁnal chapter of this adventure presents a large-
  scale battle in which the PCs play only a small 
  part.  This battle assumes the coming together of 
  the Brotherhood of Radiation, the armies of Copper 
  Pit, and the Radite cult in one grand ﬁnale at the 
  foot of the mountain.  While this battle portrays the 
  desperation of each side in its bid for the mountain, 
  you can skip this scene entirely if a shorter adventure 
  is desired.
  Notes on ending the adventure in this manner are 
  given at the end of this module.
  INTRODUCTION
  Another Man’s Treasure picks up right after the 
  conclusion of One Man’s Garbage, with the PCs 
  emerging from beneath the streets of Copper Pit with 
  the Great Arcanum in hand.  Details of the city of 
  Copper Pit are to be found in part one of this series, 
  and while the PCs will soon be trading in the streets 
  of this squalid town for the wasteland outside, you 
  may ﬁnd the text in that module useful in portraying 
  the party’s experiences while in town.
  Eventually, however, the party will again make 
  contact with Gepardo, their Brotherhood contact in 
  Copper Pit.  This event is described below.
  DECRYPTION
  When the characters return to the safe house of 
  Gepardo, the old man takes the Great Arcanum from 
  them with an awed hush.  He tells them that for the 
  next day or so the safe house is theirs - he’ll be in a 
  secret room deciphering what he can from the old 
  documents.  In the meantime he will leave food and 
  medical supplies (if any meds remain) for them, 
  and asks them to keep up his laundry work - if his 
  customers don’t get their clothes cleaned, they’ll be 
  
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  suspicious of his absence.
  Resting for the next two days allows the party 
  to heal up, as well as train (if they earned enough 
  experience points from part one of this series).
  On the evening of the second day, read the 
  following:
  The past day or so has been spent in tedium; 
  either resting and nursing wounds, or cleaning 
  the ﬁlthy laundry stacked up by patrons outside 
  Gepardo’s business.  It is early evening when the 
  monotony is broken by a sudden sound.
  Upstairs there is a sharp thud, soon followed 
  by the opening of a door.  Gepardo rushes down 
  the stairs with a hobble, his eyes wide with 
  excitement.  A huge smile spreads over his face.
  “Those fools!  They’ve given us the chance we 
  need!”
  If the PCs ask, the old man is eager to explain.  He 
  takes them to his study where the Arcanum is laid 
  out, and begins ﬂipping through pages while he 
  speaks.  He eventually shows them a map - give the 
  players Handout #1.
  “I found this map among the papers; it shows 
  the location of the Mount of Thorns.  Here it is 
  known by its Ancient name, ‘Yucca Mountain’.  
  Apparently the Radite leaders who deciphered 
  the Arcanum made notes right on the very page.  
  I cannot tell exactly what these warnings mean, 
  but as you can see it appears they’ve decided 
  not to take the direct route to the mountain, but 
  instead plan to go around, to the west.  This 
  means there is a possibility that we can get to the 
  mountain before they do!”
  Are you saying you want us to do it?
  “I made contact with the Great Angel last 
  night.  I have been authorized by our mutual 
  benefactor back in the City of Lights to offer you 
  an additional 2,000 in corium or trade goods, as 
  you wish, for getting to the mountain before the 
  Radites do.  And, for that matter, before all the 
  treasure-hunters drawn to the region, should one 
  of them somehow get lucky.”
  How did you make contact?
  At this Gepardo merely taps his temple with a 
  mischievous smile.
  Handout #1
  
  5
  Once we get there, what do we do?
  “Defend it against the inﬁdels.  I don’t know 
  how you can hold out, but Fate will provide a 
  way.  Already a Brotherhood army is marching 
  northwest to distract the Copper Pit regiments 
  under Baron Wasteland (their leader) and lure 
  them away from the vicinity of the Mountain, 
  leaving the way open for you.  At the same time 
  the Brotherhood is re-directing another of its 
  armies to head towards the mountain.  They will 
  arrive some time after you’ve reached it, and 
  once there will secure it for the order.”
  “Will you accept this great task?  The future is 
  in your hands...”
  Assuming the PCs agree, Gepardo uses up all of his 
  remaining healing meds (if any) on the characters, 
  and supplies the PCs with enough food and water for 
  a week’s travel (that is, 1 3/4 lbs. of food and seven 
  gallons of water each).  He has also been authorized 
  to give the PCs a device, which they may (or may 
  not) have seen before:  a Geiger counter, attached 
  to a power beltpack.  He immediately explains to 
  the PCs that this is a “magic wand” that will begin 
  to “hum and click” the deeper they go into the 
  Deadlands.  He tells the PCs that if the noise gets 
  louder to turn around and head in the other direction.
  Finally, before the PCs are ready to set out, he 
  gives them a roughly-drawn map (Handout #2), 
  correlating information from the map taken from the 
  Arcanum as well as with information he has gleaned 
  from living in Copper Pit.  With this map in their 
  hands, he sends the PCs out to face the Deadlands 
  alone...
  THE DEADLANDS
  After having located (and extracted) the Great 
  Arcanum in the recesses of the Radite shrine beneath 
  Copper Pit, the PCs have given the Brotherhood 
  of Radiation the information they need to send an 
  expedition to the Mount of Thorns.  Gepardo has sent 
  the PCs to get to the mountain before the Radites, 
  promising to reward them well if they succeed.
  As the adventure begins the PCs are faced with 
  a challenge:  journeying across one of the Twisted 
  Earth’s most desolate and inhospitable regions, the 
  Deadlands.  Rumors abound about the Deadlands’ 
  reputation as a refuge and hideout for criminals and 
  exiles thrown out of nearby villages and settlements, 
  as well as the ghastly mutant monsters that wander 
  out from the heart of the desert, a place where the PC 
  must go if they hope to ﬁnd the Mount of Thorns.
  A map of the Deadlands is provided in this 
  adventure, to allow the GM to track the progress of 
  the party as they journey through the desert.  Each 
  hex on this map is meant to represent 12 hours of 
  travel by foot (assuming a standard movement rate; 
  PCs with faster or slower rates should have this rate 
  modiﬁed as appropriate).  Certain set encounter areas 
  are noted on this map, and are detailed later in this 
  section.
  Spotting:  To encourage the PCs to explore, 
  assume the party can “spot” set encounter sites on 
  the adventure map if they are in its hex or in any hex 
  adjacent to it.
  RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
  The Deadlands, while harsh and inhospitable to life, 
  do provide ample opportunity for encounters.  The 
  GM should roll for a random encounter every 24 
  hours; on a roll of 1 on 1D6, the PCs encounter one 
  of the events below.  Alternatively you can simply 
  plan encounters that you like from the list below, 
  having them occur whenever an increase in action is 
  called for.
  OUTDOOR SURVIVAL
  An important consideration in this part of the adventure will be the food and moisture needs of the player 
  characters.  Since they are striking out across a large part of the central Deadlands, food - and especially 
  water - will be vital to their survival.  As stated in the Darwin’s World 2nd Edition rules, characters need 
  1/4 lb. of food and 1 gallon of water each day due to the prevailing hot climate.
  A character can go without water for one play plus a number of hours equal to her Constitution score; 
  after this, the character must make a Con check each hour (DC 10, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d6 
  points of damage.  A character can go without food for three days, in growing discomfort; after this she 
  must make a Con check each day (DC 10, +1 for each previous check) or sustain 1d6 points of damage.  
  Damage from thirst or starvation cannot be recovered until the hero gets water or food, as needed.
  While characters can simply use Survival rolls to meet their food and water needs (see page 74 of d20 
  Modern), other sources of food and water are available for characters who lack this skill.  In addition 
  to stocking up with Gepardo’s help in Copper Pit, the PCs will be able to ﬁnd food and water at various 
  encounter locations along their journey.
  
  6
  D20
  Encounter
  EL
  1-2
  Nature’s Cruelty
  3
  3-4
  Patrol
  7
  5-6
  Alkali Pool
  1
  7-8
  Pool
  -
  9-10
  Criminals
  3
  11-12
  Outlaws
  9
  13-14
  Night Sounds
  6
  15-16
  Abomination
  3
  17-18
  Strange Sightings
  9
  19-20
  Bounty Hunter
  3
  NATURE’S CRUELTY (EL 3)
  Drawn by the sounds of barking and deep guttural 
  wails, coming over a dune or rocky crest the PCs 
  spot, in the next depression over, a large pack of 
  ugly mutant dogs.  The mutant pack is closing in on 
  a lone Prox beast, which struggles weakly to face its 
  adversaries.
  If the PCs do not intervene the mutant dogs 
  (ravening hounds) easily overcome the Prox beast.  
  While the majority of the pack feasts, the weaker 
  dogs (a total of three) are driven off and slink away 
  whining.  These animals may notice the party if 
  they haven’t taken precautions to hide, and will 
  immediately attack them (they are hungry, after all).
  GM’s Note:  If the PCs do intervene the ravening 
  hounds will turn on them.  The Prox will also attack 
  them if they get too close; otherwise it will attack the 
  nearest ravening hound until it has made a hole in the 
  pack’s line, at which time it will ﬂee.
  Prox Beast (1):  hp 17.
  Ravening Hounds (9):  hp 13 each.
  PATROL (EL 7)
  This encounter should only occur within four hexes of 
  the War Camp location (see Set Encounters).
  While the party is traveling through the wasteland 
  allow each character to make a Listen check at DC 
  Handout #2
  
  7
  14.  If successful they hear the sounds of armed men 
  coming down the trail, and can take appropriate 
  cover.  If not, both they and the incoming group are 
  taken by surprise in the ﬁrst round of combat.
  Coming around the bend is a band of armed 
  mutants from a nearby war camp, out patrolling the 
  desert.  These men are soldiers hailing from Copper 
  Pit, on orders to scout the desert for any sign of 
  “spies”.  Baron Wasteland, having heard the same 
  rumors of the Mount of Thorns being found, is doing 
  everything he can to capture Brotherhood agents 
  (who are bound to get involved) to interrogate - and 
  learn the location himself.
  Unless the PCs took measures not to be seen, the 
  patrol will open ﬁre on them immediately.  They will 
  continue to ﬁght either until the party surrenders, or 
  until they have lost three of their number, at which 
  time they will ﬂee.
  Development:  If the PCs are captured, the patrol 
  takes them to the War Camp (see below).
  Copper Pit Soldiers (5):  hp 20 each.
  ALKALI POOL (EL 1)
  The sun bakes the rough ground in this region until it 
  is searing hot, making heat mirages dance and ﬂicker 
  along the barren horizon.  In the bowl-like depression 
  of a nearby crag the party spots a pool of cool clear 
  water.  What’s more encouraging is the fact that no 
  other desert creatures appear to have claimed this 
  water source...
  GM’s Note:  The pool the PCs have stumbled 
  across is, in reality, poisoned with naturally occurring 
  alkali, making it toxic to consume.  Unfortunately, 
  only a Survival check at DC 18 will reveal the 
  danger; otherwise the characters may mistakenly 
  reﬁll their canteens and waterskins with this polluted 
  water.
  Treat water from this pool as a low-grade pollutant 
  (see page 169 of Darwin’s World 2nd Edition) if 
  consumed.
  POOL
  This encounter resembles the Alkali Pool (above) 
  exactly, except that when the PCs arrive there is a 
  20% chance that some form of mundane wildlife will 
  be drinking from the pool - evidence that the water is 
  probably safe to drink.
  GM’s Note:  The water here can be drunk safely 
  by the PCs; if they ﬁll their canteens they can 
  replenish their water supplies completely.
  CRIMINALS (EL 3)
  Up ahead the PCs see a miserable little camp.  A few 
  men sit outside by a low ﬁre, while from inside a 
  nearby tent can be heard an anguished moaning.
  When the men at the camp spot the PCs they gather 
  a few hand-made spears and crossbows and call 
  out to the party to “leave”.  If the party approaches 
  peacefully, the men warily accept them, but stand 
  their ground.
  There are four men, all scarred and grizzled, 
  wearing hodge-podge leather armor and armed with 
  weapons they apparently made with their own hands.  
  Each man has an ugly branding scar etched deeply 
  onto his forehead, in the shape of an “X”.  Anyone 
  making a Knowledge (Twisted Earth) check at DC 14 
  realizes the brand signiﬁes men who have been exiled 
  for a terrible crime committed against whatever 
  community they once belonged to (a second check, at 
  DC 18, identiﬁes the crime; see below).
  An opposed Diplomacy check is required to get 
  the men’s cooperation (they are currently Indifferent; 
  see pages 57-58 of d20 Modern for notes on how to 
  use Diplomacy).  Any improvement in their attitude 
  gets them to relax their posture.  Though they are 
  criminals, the men have lived so long away from 
  home that not only have they repented for their 
  crimes, they no longer hold any ill-will against 
  those who banished them.  Instead, they merely try 
  to survive, living off the land and making their way 
  aimlessly each day.
  If the party secures their friendship, the men are 
  willing to tell their story, and a little of what they’ve 
  seen in recent days.
  The men admit they were cast out of their 
  home settlement (a village on the outskirts of the 
  Deadlands) for a crime they committed (the gang 
  rape of a merchant’s daughter), but now are more 
  afraid of Baron Wasteland than any beast the 
  wasteland can spawn.  They say his armies moved 
  through here recently, and interrogated them, 
  believing them to be “lackeys of the Brotherhood of 
  Radiation - of all things”.  When the men refused to 
  confess to the bogus charge, the army commander 
  ordered they be tortured, at which time the men ﬂed.  
  One of their number was shot in the escape (hence 
  the moaning from the tent - one of their men lies 
  injured there).
  The criminals are eager for medicine for their 
  companion.  In return for any healing medicine, a 
  doctor’s attention, or even a bottle of booze to ease 
  the pain, the men will be willing to give the PCs 
  some food and water (one day of food and water for 
  each PC in the party).
  Criminals (5):  hp 13 each; one is reduced to 1 hp 
  due to wounds.
  OUTLAWS (EL 9)
  This encounter can happen multiple times.
  As the PCs wander the wasteland they hear the 
  distant roar of gasoline engines, followed by the echo 
  of gunshots.  Moments later they spot a small group 
  of men on motorcycles coming towards them (either 
  emerging from a ditch just out of sight of the trail 
  
  8
  in ﬂat country, or around the bend if they’re moving 
  in rough terrain), armed with shotguns, riﬂes, and 
  chainsaws.  The small pack of cycle-borne raiders 
  head straight for the party, kicking up clouds of dust 
  as they go.
  These men are all grizzled outlaws, driven out 
  of Copper Pit (or other desert settlements ringing 
  the Deadlands) for theft, rape, or murder.  Hunted 
  by bounty men and chased away wherever they 
  go, they are desperate for food, water, fuel, and 
  “companionship”.  The outlaws will attack the party 
  on sight, hoping to kill any male characters outright 
  while trying to subdue any women to enjoy later.
  The outlaws will remain on their cycles during 
  the battle (two to a cycle), ﬁring at range until they 
  close in.  They then move in to run the PCs down or, 
  in the case of the passenger, attack them with their 
  chainsaws.  If half of their numbers are killed they 
  will cut their losses and race off into the desert.
  Outlaws (6):  hp 24 each.
  Treasure:  In addition to their gear, there will be 
  one motorcycle per two outlaws.  These cycles are in 
  bad condition (treat them as battle cycles with only 
  1d10+10 hit points each), and are low on fuel; they 
  can be used to transport two PCs each a distance of 
  four hexes on the adventure map (in six hours) before 
  running completely out of gas.
  NIGHT SOUNDS (EL 6)
  This encounter only occurs at night.  Sometime as the 
  PCs are camping, close to midnight, the wind begins 
  to pick up.  Sand whirls around the camp and it 
  looks like the possible beginning of a sandstorm.  As 
  the PCs discuss/argue what to do about the coming 
  storm, the wind begins to howl, almost drowning 
  them out.
  As the wind continues to rage through the night, 
  allow each awake PC to make a Listen check at DC 
  16.  On a success he or she hears a strange noise, 
  even over the din of the raging wind.  A single, 
  solitary siren call, a shrill shriek that rises even above 
  the howling storm to reach their camp.  After only 
  a few moments the unbroken, solitary cry is joined 
  by another, and together the two frightening wails 
  continue to hum through the night air.
  A few minutes later the storm hits full-force; 
  anyone in the open suffers 1d2 points of damage per 
  round for 1d10 rounds (after which time damage 
  drops to 1 point per round).  If the party remains 
  under cover (which they will, if they’re wise), the 
  strange wailing continues for about ten or twenty 
  minutes, before fading into the wind once more.
  If, however, the PCs get up and expose themselves 
  to the storm to seek out the source of the wailing, 
  allow each exploring PC to make a Spot check, at DC 
  16.  If successful the character sees, in the distance, 
  the vaguely luminous forms of two humanoid 
  creatures, walking zombie-like to the east.  The sound 
  deﬁnitely appears to emanate from them.
  At this point allow the humanoid creatures - 
  screamers - to make a Spot check to notice the party’s 
  camp (DC 17).  If they succeed the two creatures 
  immediately turn as one, and begin shambling 
  towards the party’s camp.
  GM’s Note:  Screamers are a much-feared danger 
  of the Deadlands, creatures believed to be created by 
  the inherent radiation of the landscape.  Some believe 
  screamers are the animated corpses of Ancient dead, 
  but none can be sure.  In any event the two screamers, 
  once they detect the PCs, will head towards the camp 
  to attack the party.  They ﬁght until destroyed.
  Development:  By dawn the sandstorm dies out, 
  allowing the PCs to continue their travels.
  Screamers (2):  hp 48 each.
  ABOMINATION (EL 3)
  When this encounter occurs allow the PCs to make 
  a Survival (or Search) check at DC 15 to notice a 
  strange set of tracks in the sand nearby, obviously 
  made by something large and inhuman.  They can 
  follow these tracks for a while (if they have the Track 
  feat), but they eventually vanish.  If the check is 
  failed, they do not notice the tracks.
  A little while later the PCs enter a vast boulder 
  ﬁeld ﬁlling a small valley; though the sun bakes the 
  entire valley, the odd shape of the boulders and crags 
  creates deep pools of shadow in the lee of many.  
  Here, hiding among the rocks, is an abomination, a 
  grotesque mutant monster known to wander out of 
  the deep Deadlands to prey on frontier villages.  This 
  abomination originates from a small group living in 
  the Mercury Caves region (see later for details); food 
  being scarce, it was the weakest of the pack, and was 
  driven out to fend for itself elsewhere.
  The abomination is virtually starving, but it will 
  remain in the shadows of the many boulders as long 
  as it can due to its racial photosensitivity.  However, 
  if the PCs enter the rubble ﬁeld it will emerge from 
  the shadows, darting from cover to cover, in hopes 
  of catching them.  The creature is not too stealthy, 
  however, so the PCs may get momentary glimpses 
  of it or hear its heavy plodding as it scurries from 
  boulder to boulder.
  The abomination will only hunt the PCs in the 
  boulder ﬁeld, which is roughly 1000’ in diameter.  If 
  they manage to get away it will not pursue them, at 
  least not during the day.
  Abomination (1):  hp 34.
  STRANGE SIGHTINGS (EL 9)
  This encounter should be played as a string of 
  ambiguous events, intended to raise the party’s sense 
  of impending danger, while leaving them in the dark.
  
  9
  It all begins with the sighting of strange misshapen 
  footprints in the sand, or the discarded bones of 
  animals - maggot-ridden and apparently gnawed 
  upon viciously by something only vaguely human 
  in the shade of a valley boulder.  Later (hours, or 
  even days later, depending on how the adventure 
  is progressing), the strange footprints give way 
  to momentary sightings of ﬁgures shadowing the 
  PCs.  Nothing deﬁnite, just sudden movement at the 
  edge of vision, or spotting someone (or something) 
  stalking the party among the crags 100 yards or 
  so back.  Even if the PCs attempt to track, double 
  back, or outright pursue whatever it is that they 
  see (or think they see?), the effort proves futile - 
  whatever was out there gets away, or seems to vanish 
  mysteriously just as the PCs turn that last bend, or 
  scale that last rock.
  GM’s Note:  The PCs have attracted the attention 
  of a band of terminals, savage and miserable mutant 
  creatures known all too well to infest the Deadlands.  
  These creatures were once humans of a sort, thrown 
  out of their home villages for the ghastly mutations 
  that their brethren could not abide.  Whether 
  merely horrible to look at, mentally retarded, or too 
  crippled to contribute to their community, they live 
  in the wasteland pondering their outcast existence, 
  struggling with the remnants of their memories of 
  their birth communities while slowly dissolving into 
  cannibals and worse.
  The terminals (of which there is a sizeable band) 
  watch the PCs using their superior stealth, tracking 
  them through the desert.  Though the PCs don’t know 
  it, the terminals are ﬁghting amongst themselves 
  over what they should do; starving, they need food, 
  and the strongest among them are urging the band to 
  attack the PCs and consume them.  Still, some among 
  them have hesitations, either out of fear of the PCs or 
  from some lingering sense of humanity.
  The terminals should not be encountered yet; they 
  should always get away, leaving only evidence of 
  their passing (and their shadowing of the party) or 
  brief glimpses of their movements.
  Development:  After having shadowed the PCs 
  for several hours/days, the terminals ﬁnally decide 
  to strike.  Having waged war against the tattered 
  remnants of their own human natures, the cannibal 
  hunger that drives them has ﬁnally won - and they 
  move in, drawn to the party’s campﬁre, to feed.
  Ostensibly the attack takes place a few hours after 
  the PCs set up camp and go to sleep for the night.  
  The terminals watch the PCs from a distance - and 
  well out of the light of their meager ﬁre - watching 
  them as the hours pass until they all go to sleep or, 
  failing that (in the event they post watch), until only 
  one PC is awake.  Then, as a group, the terminals 
  shamble forward, sweeping into camp hoping to 
  devour the party.
  At the start of combat allow each character who is 
  not asleep to make a Listen check at DC 14.  Those 
  who succeed may act in the ﬁrst round - all others 
  are surprised.  Those who are asleep when the attack 
  occurs do not get to check, and furthermore they are 
  considered fatigued once they join the battle.
  Tactics:  The terminals are desperate, and though 
  there are quite a few of them, only the strongest move 
  into the camp to attack; the weaker numbers linger 
  behind, their hope lying in getting whatever “scraps” 
  are left over.  As a result, to any PC(s) awake at 
  the time of the attack the night seems to light up 
  with weird orange, yellow, and red eyes, but only a 
  handful of the wretched mutants really stumble into 
  camp to attack.
  The terminals attack from one direction in a 
  “wave”, with each terminal attacking the nearest 
  victim.  Terminals can (and probably will) gang up on 
  those opponents closest to the edge of camp, hoping 
  to overcome them and drag them off into the night to 
  be eaten.
  Once a terminal knocks an opponent unconscious it 
  must make a Will save at DC 12 or be forced to stay 
  put and begin eating his foe (this is a normal coup-de-
  grace attack with their claws), even if attacked.  Once 
  it has killed an opponent in this fashion the terminal 
  regains its senses and can rejoin the ﬁghting.
  All of the terminals are considered to be in a 
  homicidal frenzy (see the entry for terminals on page 
  317 of Darwin’s World 2nd Edition).
  Development:  If the PCs manage to kill more 
  than half of the terminals, the others will try to ﬂee, 
  but not before grabbing any remaining unconscious 
  characters and trying to take them to eat later.
  Terminals (7):  hp 33 each; as Terminal Strong 
  Hero (page 317 of Darwin’s World 2nd Edition).
  BOUNTY HUNTER (EL 3)
  When the PCs are navigating a particularly rocky part 
  of the desert they are alerted by the sound of a riﬂe 
  being cocked in the vicinity.  Allow each character 
  to make an opposed Spot check against the Hide of a 
  Bounty Hunter (see NPC Statistics for details).
  If the PCs do not act hostile (or ask ﬁrmly but 
  respectfully for their unseen adversary to step out 
  and identify himself), after a few moments the man 
  emerges from behind some rocks.  Standing there 
  the PCs see a scarred and grizzled bounty hunter, his 
  trade made evident in the numerous trophies worked 
  into his attire - human scalps, for example, and a 
  necklace made from severed ears.
  If the encounter remains civil the bounty hunter 
  looks the PCs over and ﬁnally decides they are not 
  his quarry.  If asked he tells the party he is a bounty 
  hunter from Copper Pit looking for Outlaws (this 
  refers to the random encounter of the same name).  
  The going bounty for outlaws is 50 corium pieces a 
  
  10
  head.  He also asks if they’ve seen any recently; if so, 
  he asks in which direction before departing.
  GM’s Note:  It may be possible for the PCs to 
  negotiate with the bounty hunter.  While he won’t 
  trade any supplies, he may be willing to strike a deal 
  with the party.  If they bump into any Outlaws during 
  their journey and return here with evidence proving 
  they were killed (i.e. their branded scalps), he’ll pay 
  them half the bounty himself so as to save them the 
  journey back to Copper Pit (he gets the rest of the 
  bounty on return to Copper Pit, of course, but he 
  considers this a fair trade).  He will also accept the 
  branded scalps of Exiles and Criminals (since these 
  can be passed off as the scalps of Outlaws)!
  If the party’s Diplomacy check results in changing 
  the bounty hunter’s attitude to Helpful (he begins 
  Indifferent), he may even offer to join the party.  
  This may be a good chance for the party to pick up 
  some extra help, but the bounty hunter will leave 
  once they’ve encountered (and killed) the Outlaws.  
  After the ﬁrst such encounter he leaves, returning to 
  Copper Pit to collect his bounty.
  Bounty Hunter (1):  hp 35.
  SET ENCOUNTER AREAS
  The following locations represent set encounters 
  that the PCs will only experience if they enter the 
  appropriate hex on the adventure map.
  SLAUGHTER
  As the PCs come over a dune they see, sprawled 
  before them in the next sandy depression, the remains 
  of a campsite.  Even now vultures pick at the bodies 
  of a dozen men, stripped nude and scattered about the 
  site.
  GM’s Note:  This is the site of one of Baron 
  Wasteland’s forward camps (set up by the men sent 
  out to ﬁnd the PCs), which Pastor Disaster and his 
  Junkyard Dogs hit a few days before moving on to 
  Copper Pit.
  A search of the site uncovers nothing of value or 
  use; apparently whoever struck took everything, 
  even the boots and socks off of the dead soldiers’ 
  feet.  A character with the Track feat who also makes 
  a Survival check at DC 17 notices that at least six 
  individuals - including a large feline - attacked the 
  camp in a surprise raid several days ago, and all of 
  the raiders apparently got away; the tracks die out 
  a few hundred yards away making it impossible to 
  follow them further.
  This encounter is supposed to make the PCs 
  nervous about traveling in the Deadlands, a place 
  where even a military camp can get massacred by the 
  stealthy raiders of the wasteland.
  EXILES (EL 5)
  As the PCs wander the desert they come across a 
  small community carved out of the rock of a hillside.  
  As they approach they are hailed by a few men 
  tending goats nearby.
  The community is a tiny settlement largely 
  unknown to outsiders.  The inhabitants, both 
  male and female, are all exiles from outside the 
  Deadlands, sentenced to banishment here for past 
  crimes (stealing water).  Like the Criminals (see 
  Random Encounters), these people are branded, 
  so a Knowledge (Twisted Earth) roll at DC 14 will 
  identify them as the pariahs that they are (a second 
  successful check identiﬁes their crime).
  Unlike the Criminals, however, these people have a 
  Friendly attitude towards strangers, and will be happy 
  to see the PCs.  Though they are mere goat herders, if 
  the PCs do not act hostile they will offer to trade with 
  the PCs in exchange for news of the outside world, 
  their homes, and recent events.  They are willing to 
  trade up to 1 lb. and one gallon of water to each PC.  
  They will also be willing to let the PCs rest in their 
  caves if they need to recuperate their wounds, but 
  other than that they have nothing to offer in the way 
  of weapons or medicines.
  If the PCs attack the exiles they will attempt to 
  ﬂee back to their caves and hold out using spears and 
  bows.
  Exiles (8):  hp 13 each; use the statistics for 
  Criminals.
  Treasure:  In addition to a few goats (which can 
  be slaughtered for a total of 8 lbs. of meat), the exiles 
  also have a total of ten gallons of water in their caves.  
  At the GM’s discretion they may have a few other 
  items as well (none with a value more than 50 cp).
  HERMIT (EL 3)
  As the PCs make their way through the rugged 
  heights, they come across a mountaintop forest that 
  seems to have been spared the barren drought of 
  the low country.  Here virgin forests of aspen and 
  mountain mahogany grow in relative abundance, 
  competing with the jagged rocks and crags for space.
  At some point the party spots a small stone hut 
  built partly into the side of the mountain.  A crackling 
  campﬁre burns low outside in the shade of the trees, 
  on which some small game appears to be cooking.  
  A man, his skin as brown as leather from the sun, 
  sits by the ﬁre tanning the hide of his meal for some 
  future use.  He seems oblivious to the party even as 
  they come close, whistling happily to himself.
  The man sitting at the ﬁre is a hermit, who has 
  lived in the hills near Copper Pit for years; if the 
  PCs ask, he even claims to have been here before the 
  city was founded.  The man is an obvious mutant, 
  but has no love of Copper Pit or its people.  Like 
  hermits throughout history, he shuns the settlements 
  of his fellow man, preferring to face the harsh test of 
  
  11
  survival alone.
  Though he doesn’t like people in general, the 
  hermit is old now and has no fear of death - and thus 
  no fear of visitors either.  His reaction to the party 
  will depend on what they do.  If they threaten him or 
  act hostile he merely laughs, answering their demands 
  with criticisms (either based on their mannerisms or 
  physical appearance) cleverly disguised as words of 
  wisdom.  If the party is friendly, and respectful, he 
  warms to them much more readily, offering them a 
  seat by his ﬁre and even some of his food.
  GM’s Note:  You can use a Diplomacy check to 
  simulate how well the PCs hit it off with the hermit; 
  roll an opposed check between the hermit and the 
  character with the highest modiﬁed Diplomacy skill.  
  This may change the hermit’s attitude towards the 
  party; note that the hermit starts Indifferent to them.  
  See pages 57-58 of d20 Modern for notes on how to 
  use Diplomacy.
  Development:  If the PCs do not manage to alter 
  the hermit’s reaction to them, the hermit merely tells 
  the PCs who he is, and how long he has lived in the 
  mountains - answering simple, direct queries.  He 
  tells them that this place provides him an excellent 
  view of both sides of the range; he often watches 
  what goes on in the valleys with amusement.  Though 
  he pretends not to be he is hungry for news from 
  Copper Pit, as he has seen the settlement grow from 
  nothing to what it is today.  If told the truth he seems 
  concerned about the takeover of Baron Wasteland, 
  and the fact that the city seems on the edge of war 
  with the Brotherhood of Radiation.
  If the PCs change his Attitude to Friendly, the 
  hermit will share with them a few things he has seen/
  knows about the area:
  1) The hermit admits he saw a large band of men 
  moving southwest, in the direction the PCs are 
  traveling, a week or so ago.  He watched them from a 
  distance, and counted at least 50 of them, with mules, 
  “strange wolves”, and lots of (digging) equipment.  
  These were Radites, heading out to locate the Mount 
  of Thorns.
  2) Patrols from Copper Pit have begun combing the 
  desert, apparently searching for something/someone.  
  The hermit spotted a patrol just a few days ago.  The 
  patrols are searching the desert hoping to intercept 
  Brotherhood agents to interrogate them about the 
  Mount of Thorns.
  3) The hermit has spotted the tracks of a band of 
  terminals in the area.  He warns the PCs to remain 
  vigilant at night, as this is the time when terminals 
  strike.  This refers to the terminals that ambush the 
  PCs in the Strange Sightings random encounter.
  4) Far to the southwest the desert sands become 
  deadly, tainted by the Red Fever.  The hermit warns 
  the PCs against going deeper into the Deadlands, 
  as it is a place from which none ever emerge.  The 
  hermit is referring to the radiated region around 
  the old Nevada Test Site, deep in the Deadlands.  
  Unfortunately, this is where the PCs must go to ﬁnd 
  the Mount of Thorns...
  If the characters manage to change the hermit’s 
  attitude to Helpful, he will supply the above 
  information and even offer to trade for food and 
  water.  The hermit has the equivalent of 3 lbs. of food 
  and 12 gallons of water which he will be willing to 
  trade; 20 cp worth of trade goods (not actual corium; 
  he has no need for the stuff) per lb. of food, and 50 cp 
  per gallon of water.
  If the party manages to change the hermit’s attitude 
  to Unfriendly or Hostile, he will simply ignore them, 
  taking his food and retreating to his hut.  Even if 
  Hostile he is not foolish enough to take on a party of 
  armed men, and will simply shun them.
  Treasure:  If the PCs kill the hermit a search of his 
  hut uncovers the food and water mentioned above (as 
  well as an equal amount which he would not trade), 
  as well as junk collected during his life including 
  numerous animal skulls, trappings (blankets, curtains, 
  etc.) made from animal fur and leather, a few wooden 
  bowls and eating implements, a decorative array of 
  reﬂective wind chimes made from scratched CDs 
  (worthless), and a shoddy but working spyglass.  
  Hidden in his hut (found with a Search check at DC 
  22) are 2-3 science ﬁction comic books from before 
  the Fall (worth 50 cp each).
  WAR CAMP
  Located in this hex is a large camp, sitting out in the 
  middle of the plain.  The format of the camp is not 
  unlike the bivouacs surrounding Copper Pit, and the 
  camp here is no less formidable.  Camping soldiers, 
  armed patrols, and even some dusty tanks rumble 
  around the place night and day.
  If the PCs come here on their own they’d be smart 
  to bypass the encampment completely; there are 
  almost 100 soldiers on site, armed and ready for 
  war.  In addition, Baron Wasteland himself if present 
  (this is his “wartime command post”), so a large 
  contingent of elite thugs from Copper Pit will be here 
  to guard the infamous wasteland warlord.
  GM’s Note:  The camp here should provide 
  a reason for the PCs to turn around and head in 
  the opposite direction; the forces here are far too 
  numerous to take on with a direct assault.  If they 
  play their cards right (i.e. don’t do anything stupid), 
  they should be able to sneak away before being 
  detected by a patrol.
  If the PCs were brought here by a Patrol (see 
  Random Encounters), however, the PCs will have no 
  choice but to pay a visit.  Captured, they will be taken 
  to a holding tent where they will be bound and kept 
  under guard for the duration of their stay.  During this 
  
  12
  time the party members are brutalized and taunted, 
  until after 2d4 hours they are paid an unexpected visit 
  - by none other than Baron Wasteland himself.
  The encounter with Baron Wasteland should be 
  role-played with some consideration of Wasteland’s 
  personality and goals; the PCs are unarmed and 
  bound, so a ﬁght is unlikely to ensue (in fact, no 
  statistics for Baron Wasteland are given here for this 
  very reason).  The PCs should get the impression that 
  they are in a lot of trouble (by the presence of several 
  well-armed bodyguards, not to mention the arrival of 
  a skilled and sadistic torturer in the Baron’s employ).
  Baron Wasteland introduces himself to the PCs 
  before informing them that he is here to “give them 
  a chance” - a chance to confess who they are, who 
  they are working for, and what they know about the 
  Mount of Thorns.  Play Baron Wasteland’s quirky 
  personality and position to the hilt; he is a larger-
  than-life character who should impose upon the PCs 
  the portrait of a man who can easily have them killed 
  if they don’t do as he says.  In addition, it is obvious 
  he, like so many others, is obsessed with the idea 
  of ﬁnding the Mount of Thorns - and will stop at 
  nothing to learn its secret location.
  The only way out of this situation for the PCs is 
  Bluff; if they tell the truth Wasteland tries to get 
  whatever he can from them, then has them executed 
  as spies to sate his hatred of the Brotherhood.
  If the PCs Bluff, allow them to make rolls but don’t 
  tell them result - at this point they’ll need a success.  
  Baron Wasteland considers their words for a few 
  moments (play up the tension), and then barges off 
  with his entourage, leaving them to the attentions of 
  his torturer.
  At this point the PCs should plot an escape.  Left 
  alone with the torturer (and only two guards outside 
  their tent), they can try to break free either with a 
  Strength check (DC 20) or Escape Artist rolls (DC 
  20).  Treat the torturer as a Copper Pit Soldier (albeit 
  with no weapons); the other men outside are also the 
  same (but armed).
  If the PCs escape capture without too much noise 
  they should be able to get away.  Finding their 
  equipment might be another story, and snooping 
  around the camp during the day should be a 
  harrowing experience (involving numerous Hide 
  checks to avoid further encounters).  If the PCs 
  escaped while making a ruckus, then the alert status 
  of the camp will be elevated, and the PCs will really 
  have to rely on their skills to avoid being re-captured!
  Development:  If the PCs do not take measures 
  to hide the map given them by Gepardo, Baron 
  Wasteland will acquire it and use it to direct his 
  armies into the Deadlands.  As a result, the Battle 
  encounter (see below) will not take place.
  Even if the PCs resist Wasteland’s interrogation, 
  he eventually learns of the Mount’s location when 
  his scouts spot the Brotherhood army moving into 
  the Deadlands (this is the army that is being sent to 
  secure the mountain).  When this happens, Baron 
  Wasteland hastily orders this camp dissolved, and for 
  his army (at a force march) to follow the Brotherhood 
  army wherever it is headed.
  BATTLE
  If and when the PCs come to this hex read the 
  following:
  Coming over the rise you see a stunning sight 
  in the broad basin beyond.  There, bathed by 
  the bright light of the mid-day sun, stand two 
  enormous armies, faced off with one another 
  across the valley.
  On the side nearest you can be seen the 
  rough and undisciplined armies of Copper Pit, 
  arranged in a sprawling mass.  Hundreds of 
  warriors are arranged in ragged formation, 
  muskets and riﬂes in hand, marching down the 
  slopes into the valley.  Here and there plumes of 
  black smoke rise from the sea of men, marking 
  the presence of the lumbering war machines 
  constructed in the foundries of that squalid city.  
  Horsemen ride alongside the army on either 
  ﬂank, carrying a motley collection of tribals and 
  mercenaries drawn to Baron Wasteland’s army 
  by the stories of the Mount of Thorns.
  Across the valley is an even more impressive 
  sight, however.
  There, dotting the slopes, are regimented 
  formations of men and women behind which 
  stand bestial giants too monstrous to describe.  
  The sea of purple robed ﬁgures stand out against 
  the desert sand, while tall banners overhead ﬂap 
  noisily in the breeze, bearing the symbol of the 
  Brotherhood of Radiation.  Unlike the masses of 
  Copper Pit that even now surge forwards into the 
  valley, they hold their ground without reaction, 
  and even from this distance the sea of slightly-
  luminous eyes - the only physical feature they 
  seem to share - can be seen sweeping over their 
  enemy in a hive-like appraisal.
  As the forces of Copper Pit reach the valley 
  ﬂoor and begin to charge up the next slope, there 
  is a sudden eruption of a weird and alien song 
  from across the valley.  As one the Brotherhood 
  army moves out, surging down the mountainside 
  to meet their enemy, spurred on by the angelic 
  voices of the hulking mutant creatures that follow 
  behind them.  Men on the valley ﬂoor begin to 
  ﬁre muskets up the slopes towards the incoming 
  enemy.  In response, gunﬁre, as well as a few 
  lasers borne into battle by the Brotherhood 
  forces like holy relics, begin showering down 
  into the valley.
  
  13
  The PCs have come across a battle being played out 
  by the Brotherhood and the people of Copper Pit.  
  The Brotherhood army has come here to provoke the 
  Copper Pit forces into a battle, hoping to draw them 
  away from the party (and thus from preventing the 
  PCs from reaching the Mount of Thorns in time).
  The battle here is too large scale to detail in full, 
  and the party will have no impact on its outcome.  If 
  the PCs decide to stay and watch, the battle goes on 
  until the sun begins to set on the distant horizon.  As 
  the sky turns red and dark shadows start to sweep 
  across the valley, the two opposing forces begin to 
  pull back.  The crack of gunﬁre, the battle cries, and 
  the angelic chorus fade into the night.  Retreating 
  from the ﬁeld, both armies scatter, preparing to return 
  at dawn.
  TRIBAL CAMP (EL 6)
  On a broad high desert plain the PCs see the smoke 
  from a small camp.  Approaching they see it to be 
  the camp of a large warband, consisting of almost a 
  dozen savage-looking tribal warriors (complete with 
  feathered headdresses, warpaint, and bone piercings).  
  When the unexpected arrival of the PCs is detected 
  the tribals suddenly become alarmed, and the camp 
  comes alive with activity.  Unless the PCs remain 
  unseen (or withdraw quickly), the tribals rush to 
  attack.
  GM’s Note:  These tribals have traveled over one 
  hundred miles to the Deadlands, drawn to the region 
  by rumors that someone has found the secret location 
  of the fabled Mount of Thorns.  Like so many others 
  drawn to the Deadlands in recent weeks, the tribals 
  are eager to get to the mountain ﬁrst or, failing 
  that, to make sure that they get a share of whatever 
  “treasure” lies beneath its slopes.
  The tribals will attempt to overwhelm the PCs with 
  a frontal attack, making sure to capture at least one of 
  their number (either by knocking him unconscious, 
  or physically restraining him with 2-3 warriors).  The 
  tribals will ﬁght until their band is brought to only 
  four warriors, at which time they will ﬂee.
  Anyone captured by the warband will be 
  questioned about who they are, what have they 
  seen on their travels, what other bands/armies are 
  in the area, and what they know about the Mount 
  of Thorns.  The leader of the tribals is a greedy and 
  paranoid brute, so no matter what they tell him he 
  won’t believe them (unless they’re brutally honest 
  about being Brotherhood agents, in which case he 
  tries to hold the PCs as hostages to make them take 
  his warband to the mountain; if this is the case the 
  GM will need to alter future encounters to reﬂect the 
  changed nature of the party’s mission!).  Seeing them 
  as potential rivals to the treasure, he orders his men to 
  execute the PCs as painfully as possible.
  Tribal Warriors (10):  hp 14 each.
  Treasure:  Having traveled a great distance the 
  tribals have exhausted most of their supplies, but 
  their attacks on other treasure-hunters in the area 
  (whom they see as rivals) has netted them some items 
  of use, including an Uzi (three rounds remaining) and 
  a language translator (no power source) - neither of 
  which they know how to use.
  RADITE CAMP (EL VARIES)
  It is unlikely the PCs will visit this site during the 
  adventure, as the camp’s current location is not along 
  the course of their journey (in fact it’s quite out of 
  the way).  As noted on the map found in the Great 
  Arcanum, the Radites appear to be wary of crossing 
  the radiated wastes of the “Nevada Test Site”, and 
  have instead chosen to go around the site altogether 
  to reach the Mount of Thorns.
  If the PCs do somehow manage to visit this site, 
  assume the camp to be similar to the War Camp (see 
  above), albeit with Radite guards and inhabitants - in 
  essence, a concentration of the greater body of the 
  whole Radite cult!
  Like before, give the party ample opportunity to 
  avoid the trouble before stumbling into it; the PCs 
  should be able to detect what this camp is from 
  a distance (any time spent in scouting will spot 
  Penitents being led around on chains and leashes by 
  Radite cultists as they patrol the perimeter, as well as 
  a strange and hollow “chanting” that drifts out from 
  the larger tents night and day), and knowing who 
  occupies it, sneak away without being detected.
  GM’s Note:  If the PCs refuse to back off, then you 
  can only reward their stubbornness with a realistic 
  - if ultimately disastrous - ﬁght.  If detected the 
  Radites engage them directly, hoping to prevent them 
  from getting away and reporting on their activities 
  in the desert.  To this end they will mobilize waves 
  of Penitents, as well as numerous patrols of regular 
  Radites with teams of Rad Wolves to track them 
  down.
  LEVIATHAN CAVE (EL 8)
  The rocky mountain trail leading through this area 
  becomes boxed in by steep cliff walls on either 
  side, leaving only a thin slip of sunny sky overhead.  
  The vegetation here is sparse, but boulders feature 
  prominently all over the landscape.  As the PCs 
  navigate this area, they suddenly come under attack.
  From either side of the path, overhead, a group of 
  tribals with bows and crossbows immediately ﬁre 
  down on the party, hoping to take them by surprise.  
  The only chance the PCs have of avoiding being 
  caught in this fashion is to make an opposed Spot 
  check against the Hide of the tribal attackers (treat 
  them as having a total of +15).
  Once the tribals attack you can describe them to 
  the PCs - a group of wiry three-legged men (and 
  
  14
  women), their entire bodies covered in what appears 
  to be gray dust, armed with bows, spears, and 
  clubs.  As they attack they chant “priz-ners, priz-
  ners” - indicating (in the old word both groups can 
  understand) they seek to capture the party!
  Leviathan Tribals (8):  hp 25 each.
  GM’s Note:  These tribals come from Leviathan 
  Cave, a natural cavern system not far from the trail 
  the PCs are on (see below).  The tribals are actually 
  a bizarre group - they worship the Brotherhood of 
  Radiation - and they recently saw a group from the 
  Radites passing through the area searching for the 
  Caliente Corridor.  Fooled by their purple robes and 
  thinking them to be “living gods” (they hadn’t seen 
  other people in decades), the tribals approached in 
  an attempt to be friendly, but the Radites attacked 
  them and drove them off.  Though initially confused, 
  the tribals have come to believe that the Radites 
  are demons, pretending to be members of the 
  Brotherhood for some nefarious purpose.
  The tribals have now taken it upon themselves to 
  ﬁnd out what the Radites are up to.  When the PCs 
  arrive the tribals assume they are also Radites and 
  attack them in hopes of knocking them unconscious.  
  If successful the tribals capture the PCs, bind and 
  gag them, and take them to their village at Leviathan 
  Cave (see below).
  If the PCs kill more than ﬁve of the tribals the 
  remainder will ﬂee (with an awkward but speedy gait, 
  thanks to their three legs) back towards their village.
  Development:  Assuming the PCs are captured 
  after the encounter above, the tribals carry them off 
  over very rugged terrain towards their home in the 
  isolated bowels of Leviathan Cave (see map).  As 
  the sun begins to set the PCs note that the dust these 
  tribal wear becomes slightly luminous, making them 
  stand out against the ever-darkening desert landscape 
  as they go (the tribals use this dust to imitate the 
  appearance of the late Brotherhood agent whom they 
  were once host to; see below for details).
  The cave lies four miles from where the PCs were 
  ambushed, at the top of a saddle mountain - a sort of 
  extended “mesa” of bare rock rising from the desert 
  ﬂoor that just happens to be the site of a large cave.  
  At the top of the saddle is the entrance to the cave 
  - a massive sinkhole (large enough for a military 
  helicopter to land in), with an almost 20 foot drop.  
  Here any conscious PCs see a few of their captors 
  shimmy down the ropes into the darkness below with 
  great agility, before they themselves are secured by 
  ropes and lowered into the cave as well.
  Once the PCs reach the bottom they ﬁnd the cave 
  system is actually relatively level.  At the sinkhole 
  bottom is the “village” communal area, a sandy cave 
  with a clear view of the evening sky above.  Here 
  women and children congregate around small ﬁres, 
  cooking the night’s meal; all gather to watch the 
  captives being brought in, poking them and chatting 
  in their garbled tongue.
  Eventually torchlight can be seen from one of 
  the two tunnels leading deeper into the mountain, 
  and soon the chief of the tribe and his following of 
  warriors emerge, having heard the news that some of 
  the “demons” have been captured.
  GM’s Note:  The PCs are in a lot of trouble.  The 
  tribals don’t speak a recognizable language (they’ve 
  been isolated far too long), but it appears they are 
  very excited to have the PCs in their hands.  After 
  being poked by a few spear points, and by the 
  escalation of excitement in the voices of the tribals, it 
  soon becomes clear what they have in mind:  the PCs 
  are to be sacriﬁced.
  Each member of the party is tied to a wooden 
  pole and carried by two tribals deeper into the cave.  
  Eventually the train of tribals reaches a sandy-
  bottomed cave deep in the rock, where they are 
  abruptly dropped onto the ground at the foot of an 
  ornate wicker throne.
  As the tribals enter the lights of their torches 
  dimly illuminate the throne - not only is it intricately 
  made of wicker and set with unworked yet strikingly 
  beautiful turquoise stones, but also sitting in its seat 
  is a desiccated corpse!  Even now the black and 
  leathery skin of the cadaver seems as hard as stone, 
  but patches of its slate-like ﬂesh seem to literally 
  “glow” in the cave’s darkness.  In one arm the corpse 
  holds a bundle of old scrolls.
  Any character who openly declares he is examining 
  the corpse recognizes that it is wearing the tattered 
  remains of a long purple robe.  Around its neck, 
  partially concealed by the folds of cloth, is a tin 
  symbol shaped like a mushroom cloud - the symbol of 
  the Brotherhood of Radiation!
  The dead body is in fact the corpse of a particularly 
  adventurous Brotherhood missionary who seemingly 
  vanished years ago.  Though most in his time 
  believed he was killed by raiders while preaching to 
  the tribes of the desert, in reality he abandoned his 
  vocation after seeing clues in the regional terrain 
  that led him to believe the Mount of Thorns was 
  somewhere nearby.  In his travels he made contact 
  with the tribals here at Leviathan Cave, and used their 
  mountain refuge as a base from which to explore the 
  nearby desert.  Though he never found the Mount 
  of Thorns, he made many notes, some of which the 
  PCs may ﬁnd useful (see The Brotherhood Scrolls 
  sidebar).
  Though often preoccupied with his search for the 
  legendary mountain, before the missionary died he 
  attempted to teach the tribals here many of the ways 
  of the Brotherhood.  When he died only a year later, 
  the tribals enshrined him here.
  The PCs may have trouble learning the truth behind 
  the corpse, especially under the circumstances, but 
  
  15
  clues should crop up in the events that unfold - the 
  reverence the tribals hold for the cadaver, the dust 
  they use to smear their skin (and to “glow”), the 
  muttering of prayers that may be familiar to the PCs 
  after having visited the City of Lights, etc.  However, 
  regardless of what conclusions the PCs draw 
  eventually the leader of the tribe will call his shaman 
  to sacriﬁce the PCs at the foot of the throne, at which 
  time the PCs better act or else!
  Negotiations:  Though this type of scene is best 
  role-played, at its most basic you can boil this 
  encounter down to an opposed Diplomacy check; 
  the tribals are, at present, openly Hostile.  The PCs 
  will need to convince the tribals that not only are 
  they not demons, but in fact they are working for 
  the Brotherhood.  In the latter case if the PCs can 
  prove their allegiance to the Brotherhood (or, that 
  they are on the same “holy quest” for the mountain 
  as the missionary apparently was), the tribals will be 
  shocked, and will see the PCs in a whole new light.
  If the result of the opposed Diplomacy check 
  results in the attitude of the tribe being changed to 
  Helpful, the PCs are immediately freed.  In addition, 
  the tribals give the party a total of 4 lbs. of food and 
  four gallons of water to help them on their “holy 
  mission”, before sending them on their way.
  If the Diplomacy check ends with any other result 
  (i.e. Unfriendly, Indifferent, or even Friendly), 
  however, the tribals aren’t convinced.  To prove 
  themselves the PCs will have to undergo a test that 
  will prove they are indeed favored by the “holy 
  ones”:  a ritual the tribe knows as the “Dance of the 
  Scorpions”.
  Dance of The Scorpions:  If the negotiations were 
  not successful the PCs have one last chance to prove 
  they are on the side of the Brotherhood of Radiation 
  - and not “demons”.  Though primitive, the tribals 
  believe a potentially lethal test must be passed in 
  order to trust the party.
  The “test” will take place immediately, and consists 
  of taking the strongest (or largest, or toughest-
  looking) party member into one of the deepest caves 
  of the complex and throwing him into a deep sandy 
  pit - unarmed and unarmored.  The entire tribe 
  gathers to watch, cheering or jeering depending on 
  how they’ve come to view the party (Unfriendly will 
  result in jeers; Friendly cheers; Indifferent will have 
  a bit of both, and certainly a lot of gambling between 
  members of the tribe on the test’s outcome!).  As soon 
  as the PC regains his feet several tribesmen open up 
  burlap sacks from above and toss no less than a dozen 
  live scorpions into the pit with the character!
  For the party to pass the test their “leader” (i.e. the 
  toughest PC) must survive being with the scorpions 
  for 30 seconds (i.e. ﬁve rounds).  During this time 
  she can try to dodge or kill the scorpions, but the 
  creatures will certainly strike at her in attempt to 
  poison her.  Conduct this scene as you would any 
  other battle, but note that the PC cannot under any 
  circumstances climb out or ﬂee (if she somehow 
  manages to the test is failed).  If she is still alive at 
  the start of the sixth round, the tribals lower a rope to 
  her and pull her out - she has passed the test.
  Scorpions (12):  hp 4 each.
  Development:  If the PCs do not pass the test they 
  will, unfortunately, be slain as “demons” at the foot 
  of the throne.  Otherwise they will earn the tribe’s 
  trust and awe, and all will immediately be freed; 
  the tribe’s attitude will also change to Helpful.  In 
  addition to being supplied with food and water (see 
  above), the tribe’s chief will give the leader of the 
  party (that is, whoever succeeded in the test) three 
  juju potions (healing 1d4+4 damage each) to show 
  his admiration.
  At this point the PCs can try to glean some 
  information from the tribe, but doing so will require 
  a Gather Information check for each item; note that 
  since the conversation relies entirely on sign language 
  or symbols drawn in the sand, a character may use 
  her Sense Motive instead.
  Gather Information DC 22.  If asked about the 
  corpse in the sandy cave the tribal chief will try to 
  explain the story of the Brotherhood missionary who 
  came to them years ago.  Though their understanding 
  of the Brotherhood is askew (they thought he was 
  some kind of “god”, not a mere missionary), it is 
  obvious these tribals worship the Brotherhood.  See 
  the text above.
  Gather Information DC 18.  If this check is 
  successful, the tribals will let the PCs take the scrolls 
  the missionary was preserved with.
  Gather Information DC 18.  The tribal chief can 
  tell the party about the tribe’s recent experience with 
  the Radites (which resulted in the Radites attacking 
  them).
  Gather Information DC 18.  The tribal chief can 
  tell the party that the Radites headed off in a westerly 
  direction (if the players ask, indicate in the direction 
  of the Radite Camp encounter).
  Gather Information DC 14.  If asked about what 
  they can expect on their journey to the Mount of 
  Thorns, the chief tells them two things - that a few 
  miles away lies a strange “road” that “emerges from 
  nothing and vanishes into nothing”.  Also, that further 
  south is the beginning of what he calls the “Cliffs of 
  Death” - a place, he says, no one in the tribe has ever 
  gone.
  Gather Information DC 18.  If asked for aid 
  the chief may agree to send one or two of his tribal 
  warriors to guide the PCs to the strange “road” he 
  spoke of (the Weird Highway encounter, below), 
  but the guides will take them no further, as beyond 
  this lies the legendary “Cliffs of Death”.  If the 
  PCs accept the guides’ help they will not run into 
  
  16
  any random encounters along the way, reaching the 
  highway without any further danger (excepting, of 
  course, the Scav & Slave encounter below).  Once 
  there, however, the guides will wordlessly depart.
  Once the PCs are given their belongings back the 
  entire tribe gathers to bless the party in a primitive 
  ceremony, before a few warriors are sent to lead the 
  PCs back to the trail and see them on their way.
  SCAV & SLAVE (EL 4)
  This encounter should only take place if the PCs 
  were captured by the Leviathan tribe, buying Pastor 
  Disaster time to catch up to the party.  Once Disaster 
  knows where the PCs are, he sends two of his 
  followers (either Bug or Canker, as well as Angel) to 
  inﬁltrate the party’s camp.
  The encounter begins as the PCs set down to camp; 
  up ahead they see two ﬁgures walking towards them, 
  one at the end of a rope.  If allowed to approach 
  THE BROTHERHOOD SCROLLS
  The scrolls left in the arm of the corpse are 
  the life’s work of the Brotherhood missionary 
  who sought the Mount of Thorns until the 
  day of his death.  Unfortunately most of the 
  scrolls are ﬁlled with pure gibberish, such as 
  elaborate extrapolations of ancient texts, which 
  the missionary believed contained hidden clues 
  pointing the way to the mountain.
  The only scroll of real use to the PCs is 
  reproduced as Handout #3.  This scroll contains 
  some of the missionary’s hand-written notes, 
  and a map showing the sites he encountered 
  during his exploration of the “Cliffs of Death”.  
  These notes may be of use to the PCs when they 
  travel to the vicinity of the Nevada Test Site.
  Handout #3
  
  17
  the two appear to be a desert scav and his slave - a 
  woman.
  The man is bundled up like a true desert survivalist, 
  with long cloak, heavy boots, and slitted goggles that 
  cover half his face.  The woman has a scarf to cover 
  her face, a tiny “bikini” made of chain links (for 
  show), while her hands are bound in front of her.  She 
  is barefoot.
  The man is Bug (or Canker, if Bug was killed), 
  while the woman is really Angel.  Both are here to 
  spy on the PCs for Pastor Disaster.  The entire time 
  the two are with the PCs they play the role of a scav 
  and his recently purchased slave girl; Bug will not 
  sell the “slave” under any circumstances (this may 
  seem odd to the PCs; see below for more on this).
  During their stay Bug engages the PCs in small talk 
  (asking what the PCs are doing out here, where they 
  are going, etc.), and even offers a few things in trade 
  (trinkets, mostly shiny metal junk), and perhaps even 
  some small amount of food and water if the PCs need 
  it (no more than 1 lb. of food and 1 gallon of water).  
  Angel remains quiet, really playing up the role of 
  a slave woman.  All the while both Bug and Angel 
  are scrutinizing the PCs, taking stock of their armor, 
  weapons, any obvious mutations, wounds, medical 
  supplies, etc.  All of this information will be reported 
  back to Disaster when they leave.
  If the party allows the two to share their camp, both 
  Bug and Angel continue the ruse well into the night, 
  departing the next day with whatever they’ve learned 
  about the party.  However, if the PCs fail to post a 
  watch that night (or if he falls asleep), Bug and Angel 
  will move to steal any items of obvious value (ﬁrst 
  weapons, then power sources, then gizmos, if given a 
  choice), and scamper off in the middle of the night.
  GM’s Note:  Keep in mind that if both Bug and 
  Canker were killed earlier in the adventure, this 
  encounter doesn’t occur.
  There is also a good chance the PCs will sense 
  that something is up.  Even though Bug and Angel 
  are both in Disguise, the party has met them before 
  (at the Border Post event as well as in the warrens 
  beneath the city, both detailed in part one of this 
  series); give the PCs a +2 circumstance bonus to their 
  Spot checks to recognize them for who they are.
  If discovered Bug and Angel will immediately 
  move to defend themselves, but will certainly try to 
  ﬂee at the ﬁrst opportunity.  They do not want to kill 
  the party off (Disaster would punish them if they did, 
  since he hopes the PCs will do all the dirty work for 
  him).
  Development:  This encounter presents the 
  party with an opportunity to capture either Bug or 
  Angel (or both, if the two agents really ﬂub up) and 
  interrogate them.  If the PCs manage to subdue and 
  capture Angel, she pretends merely to be a thief with 
  a clever scam (namely camping with Samaritans and 
  robbing them blind), and begs forgiveness, using all 
  her feminine charms to avoid their wrath.
  If Bug (or Canker) is captured, however, the 
  man cracks.  At this point the party can interrogate 
  him using either Gather Information (DC 22) or an 
  opposed Intimidate check to garner the following bits 
  of info.
  1) He admits he’s not really a scav himself, but 
  actually working for a man named “Pastor Disaster”.
  2) Pastor Disaster is a tech looter, a kind of 
  “bandit-scav” who specializes in hunting down 
  legendary treasures of the Ancients.
  3) Disaster sent them to inﬁltrate the camp to 
  assess the party’s strength and ﬁnd out what they 
  know.  He already knows they are agents working for 
  the Brotherhood, and has been following them since 
  they left Copper Pit.
  4) Disaster is looking for the Mount of Thorns; he 
  believes that whatever treasure is hidden under the 
  mountain will give whoever ﬁnds it great power - or 
  at the very least command a fortune if sold to the 
  highest bidder.
  5) Disaster is not alone; in addition to Bug and 
  Angel there are four others (“a giant, a techno-whiz, a 
  crazy woman, and her cat - a BIG cat”).
  What the PCs do with Bug and Angel is up to them; 
  if given a chance they will ﬂee and return to Disaster 
  (spinning a much different tale of their escape, of 
  course).
  Bug (or Canker):  hp 31 (or 42).
  Angel:  hp 27.
  WEIRD HIGHWAY
  At this point the rugged terrain opens into a broad 
  basin many miles wide.  Running through the dry 
  lifeless valley is what appears to be a highway, 
  stretching virtually from horizon to horizon.
  By the time the PCs descend from the high country 
  surrounding this valley, the wind has picked up 
  considerably - but it is the only sound that comes to 
  their ears.  The highway itself proves to be little more 
  than a shattered and cracked track running straight 
  through the valley, partially exposed in some spots 
  and completely reclaimed by the desert in others.  
  The faded yellow lane paint is now only barely 
  visible.
  Nearby the PCs spot a road sign still standing at 
  the side of the highway.  Approaching it they see a 
  strange design on its rusted face, vaguely depicting 
  what looks to be a ﬂying disc or saucer, emanating 
  rays that appear to be lifting a cartoonish bull into the 
  air.  Beneath the comical picture, written in Ancient 
  writing (and only understood by someone with the 
  ability to read that language), are these words:
  
  18
  Nevada 375
  Extraterrestrial Highway
  What the sign refers to is unclear.  Regardless the 
  area, while somewhat eerie, proves to be utterly free 
  of danger.  Other than the wind, nothing visits the 
  PCs while they investigate the site.
  GM’s Note:  The tribals of Leviathan Cave 
  ﬁnd this place to be very unnerving, and any who 
  accompanied the PCs will now leave.  If the PCs 
  ask the men what has them so shaken, they allude 
  (with hand motions) to “lights in the sky”, and “shiny 
  ﬂying objects” that can only be seen at night...
  What these superstitions refer to can be up to the 
  GM; they can refer to past sightings of screamers 
  (see Random Encounters) in the region, glimpses 
  of ethereal ﬂyers that sometimes come down from 
  the mountains (see Valley of Lights, below), or 
  perhaps something even more “alien”.  After all, such 
  inexplicable sightings are not new to this corner of 
  the Nevada desert...
  NEVADA TEST SITE
  The ﬁnal chapter of Another Man’s Treasure takes 
  place in the vast dry and lifeless quarter of the 
  Deadlands known only as the “Withering Mountains” 
  (or the “Cliffs of Death”) to the people of the Twisted 
  Earth.  Yet despite its formidable reputation as a place 
  of death from which none return, this region, which 
  covers approximately than 1,375 square miles in 
  some of the most inaccessible and inhospitable terrain 
  of the desert, was once an important site during the 
  time of the Ancients.  In that era, before mankind fell, 
  it was known as the Nevada Test Site.
  What remains of the Nevada Test Site is a truly 
  cursed place; nuclear tests conducted in the vast 
  reserve hundreds of years ago left much of the 
  landscape poisoned with radiation levels beyond 
  those seen even in time of war.  Surface detonations 
  and underground explosions alike, the string of 
  experiments that were carried out over the course of 
  50+ years turned this sprawling landscape into a void 
  where only the most mutated life could thrive for 
  long.
  Unfortunately for the PCs, the Mount of Thorns 
  (i.e. “Yucca Mountain”) lies on the far side of the 
  Nevada Test Site - and to get there before their foes, 
  the Radites, they’ll have to cross this dead quarter on 
  foot.
  GM’s Note:  Though the text here provides 
  an adequate description of sights and events as 
  the PCs travel through this region, this adventure 
  only begins to touch upon the truly twisted nature 
  of the Withering Mountains.  You can use this 
  entire chapter as a way to change the mood of the 
  adventure, through the sheer virtue of the unusual 
  surroundings of the Withering Mountains.  The 
  terrain is rough and inaccessible except by foot, and 
  then remains precarious even to skilled survivalists.  
  Here mundane life is non-existent, having died out 
  long ago from the radiation; natural animals now 
  instinctively give the region a wide berth.  Humans 
  (and mutant humanoids) do not come here; the 
  area is too isolated from the main trade routes and 
  settlements of the Deadlands, and legends of the 
  “wasting death” that awaits all who trespass here 
  have kept people away for generations.
  Traveling here should be a lonely and weird 
  experience for the PCs.  It is quiet except for the wind 
  and the crumbling of rocks underfoot, and the usual 
  signs of Ancient habitation are curiously missing 
  (except in a few areas, as noted).  When role-playing 
  try to instill in the PCs a sense of being in an alien 
  place (indeed, as if being on the surface of some alien 
  world), with skies of strange colors, twilights and 
  dawns lit by unusual auroras, and a perpetual sense 
  of being in a place where man was never meant to 
  intrude.
  Entering the Nevada Test Site:  While the PCs 
  may come at this part of the Deadlands from any 
  angle (depending on how they made their way 
  through the desert), the only entrance into the Test 
  Site still navigable (due to lethal zones of radiation, 
  landscapes so blasted as to be impassable, etc.) is 
  through a canyon that snakes up from the low country 
  into the Test Site itself.  This canyon is the Terrolops 
  Canyon described below.
  TERROLOPS CANYON (EL 9)
  After several days travel the PCs notice a marked 
  change in the terrain.  Though deadly and unforgiving 
  in their own right, the monotonous wastes of the 
  Deadlands seem to come to a sudden end at the foot 
  of towering mountains ahead.
  Though no sound reaches the party’s ears and no 
  life seems evident in the rocky cliff faces, the land 
  here seems somehow strange, unnatural, and alien.  
  Though it is certain to be a trick of the setting sun 
  as it paints the land in deep red colors, the shadows 
  seem to deepen too darkly around every rock, and in 
  the holes of numerous natural cave mouths that dot 
  the cliffs.  Something about the very nature of this 
  new countryside seems askew, like the face of Mars 
  or some alien planet.
  If the PCs learned of the “Cliffs of Death” from 
  the tribals of Leviathan Cave, or legends of the 
  “Withering Mountains” from rumors in Copper Pit, 
  they recognize this as the beginning of that legendary 
  part of the Deadlands.
  GM’s Note:  A map is provided of this location, 
  the only point for miles where there appears to be a 
  way up into the rocky heights (elsewhere there are 
  
  19
  only sheer sandstone cliffs).  This area appears to be a 
  canyon of sorts, winding slowly upwards.  On either 
  side, riddling the canyon walls, are all manner of 
  natural caves...
  In reality this canyon is the home of a Terrolops, 
  one of the most deadly mutant creatures of the 
  Twisted Earth.  This bizarre monstrosity lives here 
  alone on the outskirts of the Nevada Test Site; though 
  adversely affected by radiation like most creatures, it 
  is nonetheless drawn here out of some memory of its 
  race’s radiated origins.
  When the PCs arrive the Terrolops is hiding in one 
  of the caves (see map), near one of the entrances, 
  watching the party’s approach.  Cloaked in the 
  shadows created by the setting sun, as well as its 
  own innate ability to blend into its surroundings, it is 
  extremely difﬁcult to spot (i.e. it is invisible).
  When the party arrives, allow them to make a 
  Sense Motive check at DC 20; if successful, those 
  who pass sense a feeling of dread, though the source 
  is unclear.  Otherwise, if the PCs fail, they’ll have no 
  warning of the danger waiting for them!
  The Terrolops continues to watch the party as 
  they ascend the canyon, slinking back quietly into 
  the caves to scuttle to other openings and maintain a 
  constant eye on their progress.  Each time is shufﬂes 
  deeper into the tunnels allow each party member to 
  make a Spot check (rolled against its Hide); if they 
  succeed they see movement from the corner of their 
  eyes, perhaps originating from a tunnel - but nothing 
  more.
  The Terrolops continues playing hide-and-seek 
  with the party, at least until they move within 40 ft. 
  of whichever cave opening it happens to be in.  If 
  they do, it lunges from the darkness of the cave on its 
  arachnid legs, scampering to close the distance and 
  attack with its scythe-like appendages.  It will ﬁght 
  until either it incapacitates one PC (at which time it 
  will take the PC and return to the caves to feed), or 
  until it is brought to 20 hit points, at which time it 
  will ﬂee back to the safety of the unlit cave system.
  Terrolops (1):  hp 105. 
  VALLEY OF LIGHTS
  The deathly silence of this long-forgotten part of the 
  Deadlands continues well into the night.  As the sun 
  sets and the sky’s red color bleeds away to purple, the 
  PCs ﬁnd themselves navigating an unforgiving region 
  of barren mountains, their dry earthy slopes lifeless 
  and dead.
  As the last rays of sunlight vanish and the world 
  goes dark, the PCs come over the next rise to see a 
  broad valley spread out beyond.  Unlike the other 
  lifeless valleys they’ve previously crossed, this one 
  
  20
  seems very much alive.
  More than a mile away the PCs see strange lights 
  (their luminous green glow standing out against the 
  desert at night), darting about in random directions 
  as if dancing nonsensically to some unheard music, 
  along the valley ﬂoor.  It is too far away to get a good 
  look at these lights, even with binoculars.
  GM’s Note:  This valley and the surrounding 
  mountains were the site of no less than 61 
  underground nuclear tests between 1957 and 1992, 
  comprising an area that was formerly known as 
  “Area 12”.  The radiation that permeates the sand and 
  rock of this region has, like elsewhere in the Nevada 
  Test Site, driven off most life, except for the strange 
  mutated oddities seen from a distance.
  The lights the PCs see “dancing” are actually 
  ethereal ﬂyers, attracted to the high radiation of the 
  valley.  These bizarre creatures are detailed on page 
  291 of Darwin’s World 2nd Edition.
  Development:  If the PCs enter the valley 
  their Geiger counter will detect the presence of 
  extraordinary radiation levels (Severe).  If they 
  continue to descend into the valley they will become 
  affected by the radiation as normal.  Note that the 
  ethereal ﬂyers will not attack the PCs; in fact, the 
  closer the PCs approach the greater the distance the 
  creatures put between them and the party, always 
  staying just in range of vision, but far enough away 
  to remain elusive and unidentiﬁable.  They circle the 
  PCs as they travel, but always keep their distance.
  If the PCs succumb to the radiation, the ﬂyers 
  slowly tighten their circle, until they are upon the 
  dead PCs, at which time they descend to feed.
  The PCs can avoid the valley (and the radiation) 
  only by avoiding this map hex.
  CRATERS
  Coming over the next rocky crest the PCs see a weird 
  landscape on the plateau beyond.  There, among dry 
  sooty hills, can be seen a sprinkling of deep shadow-
  ﬁlled craters, some small and others almost a half-
  mile wide.  The wind sounds hollow and tinny here, 
  but this is no doubt some strange effect of the high 
  plateau.
  GM’s Note:  Though the plateau looks like the 
  surface of the moon, this was the result of numerous 
  detonations (not meteor strikes), only a handful of 
  which were of a nuclear origin.  This part of the 
  Nevada Test Site was used during Project Plowshare 
  in 1968, which hoped to ﬁnd peaceful uses for 
  nuclear weapons in large-scale excavation.
  Walking through this region exposes the party to a 
  Moderate source of radiation.
  The PCs can avoid the valley (and the radiation) 
  only by avoiding this map hex.
  MERCURY CAVES (EL 8)
  This marks a region of rolling hills and sandstone 
  mesas.  PCs making a successful Survival check (DC 
  19) notice here and there the remnants of old dirt 
  roads winding through the valleys and plains; most 
  of these vanish as soon as they appear, but at least 
  one is intact enough to follow from the banks of a dry 
  riverbed to the foot of the nearby hills.
  If the PCs follow this trail they come to a huge 
  cave opening in the side of the hills, showing signs 
  of having been artiﬁcially constructed.  The dry earth 
  here is still torn up from the tracks of heavy movers 
  from long ago, and the cave itself appears to be 
  reinforced with corrugated iron, stretching off into 
  the mountain.
  GM’s Note:  The cave here was constructed 
  during the time of the Ancients for an underground 
  detonation test; in fact, the mountains all around 
  the area are riddled with similar caves (most have 
  collapsed, however, either due to past explosions or 
  merely the passing of time).  The tunnel goes almost 
  a mile into the earth, with only two or three branches 
  leading off (these all lead to dead ends after only a 
  few dozen yards; see below).  However, unlike the 
  other remnants of tunnels dotting the region, this one 
  is home to a trio of very powerful abominations.
  A. CAVE OPENING.
  The large cave opening here leads into a cool dark 
  tunnel.  Any character making a Spot check (DC 15) 
  notices that the sand blown here by the wind covers 
  numerous gnarled and gnawed bones.  A search and 
  examination of these bones reveal that most are 
  deformed and monstrous, apparently from a vast 
  collection of unidentiﬁable mutant creatures.
  GM’s Note:  The remains here are of mutant 
  monsters dragged here by the abominations to be 
  eaten.  There is nothing of value among the remains.
  B. ALCOVE 1.  
  Only a short distance into the cave a side tunnel 
  branches off.  Exploration of this tunnel reveals it 
  ends abruptly after ﬁfty feet or so.  A large bulldozer 
  sits close to one wall, rusted and covered in sand and 
  fallen rocks.
  GM’s Note:  This alcove was dug early in the 
  excavation of the tunnel to test the surrounding 
  rock for its viability as a site for the planned test 
  explosion.  The bulldozer, which threw a track, was 
  abandoned in the tunnel - it is so old now that it is 
  completely useless.
  Development:  There is a 25% chance that the 
  weakest of the three abominations that inhabits the 
  caves will be present in this small alcove, scrounging 
  for creatures that might have wandered in from 
  
  21
  outside.  Of course it will react violently at any sign 
  of intruders, moving to kill the party as soon as their 
  lights pass over its bloated and mutated form.
  Abomination (1):  hp 48.
  C. JUNCTION.  
  This point lies about .75 miles into the mountain.  
  Here two passages branch off from the main tunnel; 
  the main tunnel itself ends a dozen yards or so away 
  (apparently the excavators gave up digging in this 
  direction).
  GM’s Note:  Since this is so far into the tunnel, 
  any potential combat at Area B will not be heard this 
  deep.
  If the weak abomination was not encountered at 
  Area B, it will be encountered here, in the tunnel.  As 
  before, once it detects the PCs it will move to attack 
  them, shrieking in a shrill and inhuman voice to call 
  the others at Area D - to feed...
  D. ALCOVE 2.  
  The tunnel that leads northeast from the main tunnel 
  ends in a rough - and apparently natural - cave (it 
  was at this point that rock-boring machines exploring 
  a possible deeper passage struck a natural abscess, 
  ending the complex’s viability as a test tunnel).  
  Sunlight ﬁlters through a massive hole in the roof, 
  created by a rockfall long ago.  In addition to a large 
  pile of sand, two squamous abominations (each of 
  inordinate size and girth) rest here in the shadows, 
  just out of the intense daylight.
  GM’s Note:  The PCs can potentially climb out 
  through the hole in the cave’s roof; the opening is 40 
  ft. overhead.
  Development:  The abominations will have 
  moved from this location to Area C if called by the 
  abomination there.
  Abominations (2):  hp 106 and 105; as Advanced 
  Abominations (see page 279 of Darwin’s World 2nd 
  Edition).
  E. TEST PIT.  
  The tunnel here ends in a dark cave, but lights carried 
  by the PCs reveal an unusual feature at its center:  a 
  large metal sphere (just larger than a man), mounted 
  on rusted metal legs, sprouting all manner of frayed 
  wires that trail off along the sandy ﬂoor to banks of 
  nearby machinery.  The sphere itself appears to be 
  “studded” with small slabs of bluish “wax”, each of 
  which is connected to a bundle of these wires.
  GM’s Note:  This test pit was bored to house the 
  experimental explosive device.  Though the object in 
  the cave resembles an actual nuclear device in almost 
  all respects, it is in fact just a dummy bomb, a mock-
  up designed to physically resemble a uranium bomb 
  for the testing of experimental high explosives.
  Though the core of the bomb only contains 
  tungsten steel (to simulate the density of the uranium 
  core for the test), the explosives on the sphere are 
  genuine.  These were, at the time of the experiment, 
  revolutionary new explosives being tested for the 
  latest generation of atomic devices.  Though ancient, 
  a few of these “slabs of bluish wax” are still intact.
  Treasure:  The PCs could conceivably salvage the 
  plastic explosives on the test device, but doing so 
  would require a Demolitions check at DC 10.  Failure 
  does not result in an explosion, of course, but it does 
  ruin the explosive.  A check must be made for each 
  explosive the PCs attempt to salvage.
  There are a total of ten blocks of C4 on the device; 
  each has a 50% chance of being useless even if safely 
  removed (i.e. the explosive is no longer functional 
  due to age).
  STRANGE SHAPES
  This large ﬂat area appears to be a great dustbowl.  
  Even as the PCs trudge over its expanse the wind 
  picks up carrying vast amounts of sand with it.  
  Footprints are erased almost as soon as they are 
  made, and the PCs get the distinct impression that 
  if they stop walking they, too, will be buried in the 
  sand.
  This entire region is dotted with strange shapes, 
  visible every mile or so.  These appear to be rock 
  
  22
  formations of a sort, little more than irregular 
  “humps” rising from the sandy wasteland.  How they 
  came to be here is unclear.
  GM’s Note:  In reality the PCs are passing through 
  the Nuclear Rocket Development Station, a part 
  of the Nevada Test Site that was once used for the 
  ground testing of engines designed for the U.S. space 
  program, many of which used experimental nuclear 
  fuels.
  The strange “rock formations” are, in fact, 
  the remnants of failed test engines and machine 
  assemblies, left to rust where they lie after their often 
  catastrophic breakdowns.
  Though nuclear fuels were often used, the area here 
  is not radiated, though the party’s Geiger counter will 
  register a higher-than-normal rad level (not enough to 
  have any game effect).
  THE MOUNT OF THORNS
  At long last the PCs ﬁnally come to their ultimate 
  destination:  the slopes of the legendary Mount of 
  Thorns.
  The region the PCs have ﬁnally come to is as 
  desolate as any they’ve seen so far, a rolling plain of 
  dry dusty hills, interspersed with prehistoric riverbeds 
  and the channels of long-extinct arroyos.  Towering 
  ridges criss-cross this landscape, and none seems 
  taller or more signiﬁcant than any other.
  As the PCs march under the withering sun, one 
  crest stands out from all the others.  There lies a 
  peculiar ridge dotted with unusual ﬂora - yucca plants 
  of a striking blue hue, spread out like a solid blanket 
  of color over its meandering slopes.  At the top of the 
  ridge, silhouetted by the rising sun (or setting, if they 
  came at night), stands a forest of enormous “spikes” 
  of basalt stone, jutting from the earth at sharp angles 
  as they reach into the sky like monoliths from the 
  prehistoric past.  This must be the Mount of Thorns!
  GM’s Note:  Climbing to the top of the ridge 
  should not take long for the party, as it proves to be 
  less than a mountain and more of a hilly crest in a 
  sea of hills.  The ground is little more than loose soil, 
  however, and so more than once one PC or another 
  should lose his footing, only to regain his step by 
  clutching onto one of the hundreds of bizarre blue 
  plants that cluster towards the top of the ridge.
  Eventually the party reaches the top of the hill, 
  with a panoramic view of the surrounding desert.  But 
  their attention is instead drawn to the structure before 
  them:
  Buffeted by the wind up on this high 
  promontory, it takes you a moment to take in 
  all of what you see before you.  At the top of 
  the hill’s crest stands a walled compound of 
  some sort, its face eroded by the winds and the 
  elements.  Standing over the walls by some sixty 
  or seventy feet can be seen the huge “thorns” 
  that give the mountain its name, massive basalt 
  rocks chiseled to a menacing sharpness by hands 
  older than recorded history.  The strange blue 
  vegetation of the mountain wanders up to the 
  walls and clings to their surface, curling around 
  the few narrow openings that lead past the walls 
  into the area beyond.
  If the PCs enter the compound they ﬁnd a strange 
  “forest” of these towering basalt spines, each casting 
  a deep shadow from the sun overhead.  They appear 
  to be placed nonsensically and at random, almost as 
  if to depict energy radiating wildly from the ground 
  itself...
  The party’s Geiger counter, if still carried, registers 
  an unusual level of radiation here, but not high 
  enough to cause immediate harm.
  A Search of this area (at DC 15, requiring 10 
  THE THORNS
  The “thorns” described in this adventure, and even the blue vegetation on top of Yucca Mountain, are 
  actual warning signs proposed during the planning of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.  These 
  physical markers were intended to serve as a “universal warning system” whose message - to stay away 
  from Yucca Mountain - would be understandable ﬁve or ten thousand years in the future.  The thorns were 
  intended to represent the radioactivity of the mountain, while the blue yucca plants were intended to show 
  that something was “not right” with the mountain, and to keep away.
  Other warning signs proposed for the site included concrete markers designed to erode after 100 years, 
  allowing the desert to reclaim the mountain; a slab of black basalt that becomes unbearably hot in the 
  sun (with expansion joints so that when hot it would seem to “undulate” unnaturally, and also allow it to 
  shed sand keeping it evident over the years); an artiﬁcial rocky landscape spread evenly over the area to 
  symbolize “a place destroyed, not made”; 25 foot stone blocks, painted black so as to get unbearably hot 
  in the sun; menacing earthworks shaped like jagged lightning-bolts radiating from the site’s center; and a 
  series of 25 ton granite monoliths adorned with screaming human faces (a la Edvard Munch’s “Scream”), 
  etc.
  
  23
  minutes per attempt) ﬁnds a sand-covered metal 
  plaque afﬁxed to the base of one of these enormous 
  “thorns”.  Brushing away the sand, any character that 
  can read the Ancient language sees the following 
  words:
  These standing stones mark an area used to bury 
  radioactive wastes.  This place was chosen to put this 
  dangerous material far away from people.  The rock 
  and water in this area may not look, feel, or smell 
  unusual but may be poisoned by radioactive wastes.  
  When radioactive matter decays, it gives off invisible 
  energy that can destroy or damage people, animals, 
  and plants.
  Do not drill here.  Do not dig here.  Do not do 
  anything that will change the rocks or water in the 
  area.
  Do not destroy this marker.  This marking system 
  has been designed to last 10,000 years.  If the marker 
  is difﬁcult to read, add new markers in longer-lasting 
  materials in languages that you speak.
  (This message is reproduced as Handout #4, which 
  you can give to any player who controls a character 
  with the ability to read the language of the Ancients).
  The PCs can make of this message what they wish.  
  Further searching reveals no more plaques, no tracks, 
  no traces of life, and nothing of interest.  Other 
  than the strange monument of spikes, the top of the 
  mountain appears barren.
  Searching for any signs of a tunnel or cave 
  entrance also proves fruitless; apparently whatever 
  excavation was used to bury the fabled “treasure” 
  here long ago was erased deliberately by the Ancients 
  centuries in the past.
  
  24
  JUST THEN...
  The PCs should be somewhat confused at this point; 
  not only because of the message, but also because of 
  their strange surroundings.
  Just as they are about to give up, the PCs hear a 
  voice, then a chorus of voices, in their minds.  The 
  voices say:
  Your enemy...
  Is coming...
  Is here...
  Looking around the PCs see no one about, just the 
  lonely mountaintop, basalt stones, and the bluish 
  vegetation.
  Just then, allow each PC to make a Listen check 
  at DC 15.  If any of them succeed, he or she hears 
  the slight sound of movement outside of the walled 
  compound - someone is here!
  GM’s Note:  If the PCs fail this check, the 
  Junkyard Dogs (see below) will have a free surprise 
  round in which to act.
  THE ATTACK (EL 12)
  Though the PCs may have been warned by a 
  mysterious benefactor, those outside don’t know 
  they’ve lost the element of surprise.  Pastor Disaster, 
  and whatever remains of his Junkyard Dogs 
  (including Bug, Canker, and Angel, if they survived 
  until now), have followed the PCs dozens of miles 
  across the wasteland to this long-forgotten spot.  
  Whipped into a lustful frenzy over the prospect of 
  being so close to the “treasure” of the Mount of 
  Thorns, he ﬁnally decides to make his move now.
  A map of the walled “compound” is given nearby, 
  and can either be duplicated on a battle map, with 
  miniatures, or photocopied to represent this bizarre 
  battleﬁeld.  The following section lists the tactics of 
  Pastor Disaster and his motley band of tech looters, 
  and describes how (under ideal conditions) they plan 
  to ambush the party.
  If they’re still alive and present, Bug and Canker 
  hope to redeem themselves by being ﬁrst up the hill.  
  Both brothers sneak up to either side of the entrance 
  to the walled area, hiding on either side just out of 
  sight.  When the ﬁghting begins they hope one or 
  more PCs will emerge, at which time they will leap 
  from hiding (don’t forget to roll their Hide checks 
  in case the PCs notice them before they strike) to 
  surprise the ﬁrst person coming through the opening.  
  Bug will be armed with his Desert Eagle, using the 
  Double Tap feat (reducing his attack roll to +3 but 
  increasing his damage to 3d8) and his Sneak Attack 
  ability (adding +1d6 damage) to do as much harm as 
  possible.  After the opponent is no longer ﬂat-footed, 
  he will resort to normal attacks (no longer using 
  Double Tap).
  If Canker succeeds in Hiding, when he emerges 
  (and catches his opponent by surprise) he opts to 
  use his Knockout Punch ability for the guaranteed 
  critical.  After that he attacks with his pistol.
  Handout #4
  
  25
  On the round before the ambush Pastor Disaster 
  uses his Plan ability to give himself and his followers 
  a bonus to attack rolls in combat.  Before the start 
  of combat make an Intelligence check for Disaster, 
  adding a +4 bonus for his Smart levels (for a total of 
  +6).  See page 27 of d20 Modern for the bonuses (if 
  any) that result from the use of this ability.
  After he’s used this ability to provide a bonus to 
  his allies, Disaster will enter combat.  As soon as he 
  gets to act he will target whichever PC (if any) is still 
  ﬂat-footed, hoping to make use of his Sneak Attack 
  (gained from his Scav and Tech Looter classes, for a 
  total bonus of +2d6).  He will also always shoot using 
  his Double Tap feat, reducing his ranged attack bonus 
  to +9 (+9/+4 if he can make a full attack; this may be 
  increased if his Plan check succeeded) but increasing 
  his damage to 3d12.
  Though he has a relatively average Massive 
  Damage Threshold, Disaster will avoid being taken 
  out early by spending his Action Points on his Scav’s 
  Survival Sense ability.  Each time he uses this ability 
  he ignores 5 points of damage suffered that round 
  (the minimum).
  Tony the Tiger will remain near Pastor Disaster 
  as long as possible, only breaking to engage those 
  who get too close to his “master” (but if the PCs start 
  shooting him or the Pastor, he will of course attack).  
  He ﬁghts with an exotic three-section staff, the 
  traditional weapon of his tribe, attacking the toughest 
  looking opponents hoping to reduce the party’s 
  overall strength so that the others have an easier time.  
  He will begin battle attacking with both ends of the 
  weapon, using his Action Points to increase his attack 
  rolls; once he is out of APs he will resort to ﬁghting 
  with only one end.  He will also use his superior 
  reach to keep the PCs on the defensive, herding them 
  away (unless they stay put and provoke his attacks 
  by using missile weapons) from Disaster and any 
  wounded comrades.
  Though lower level than the others, Tony the Tiger 
  should prove difﬁcult to hit (due to his high Defense), 
  and even more difﬁcult to kill (thanks to his Damage 
  Reduction talents).
  Wreckage approaches the compound alongside 
  Pastor Disaster and Tony the Tiger.  When the battle 
  begins he starts by ﬁring his RPG into the ranks of 
  the PCs, laughing sadistically as he does so.  Though 
  he lacks the appropriate Exotic Weapon Proﬁciency 
  for this weapon (thus reducing his attack roll to +2), 
  he is targeting an area so the Defense is 10.  Note that 
  the blast radius of the RPG’s fragmentation round, 
  when it hits, is 20 ft., so it is quite possible the ﬁrst 
  shot may get the entire party!
  Once Wreckage runs out of ammo he draws his 
  knife and runs for cover, staying out of sight.  A 
  coward, he will remain in hiding until either a PC or 
  one of his own comrades is killed, at which time he 
  will emerge to grab a new ranged weapon to use (the 
  bigger the better).  He will only use his M72A3 LAW 
  if there are no allies around (i.e. he is the last one 
  standing), since it is his “last-ditch weapon”.
  While the others attack from one direction, 
  Emora and Togor sneak around and enter the walled 
  compound from the opposite direction (ﬁnding a hole 
  in the wall, or another entrance the PCs didn’t see due 
  to the heavy vegetation).  Both will attempt to creep 
  up on the party (they have a Move Silently of +5 and 
  +12 respectively; Emora may use her APs to increase 
  her Move Silently result if she rolls abysmally), 
  moving from cover to cover.  On about the second or 
  OVERWHELMING THE PCS
  The idea here is not to overwhelm the PCs all at once, but to present them with a phased battle, with enemy 
  NPCs striking in sequence, not all at once.  Since there are a total of eight Junkyard Dogs (including Togor, 
  the lion), the PCs could very well be overwhelmed if the entire enemy group attacks at once.
  As GM, try to stick to the tactics suggested in the text, but be prepared to improvise if things don’t go 
  perfectly.  If the PCs start looking outclassed, you can turn the ﬁghting in their favor with the following 
  suggestions:
  1) Either Bug or Canker will ﬂee if the other brother is killed in combat, not to return.  Or, similarly, if 
  both brothers are brought to half their hit points, the two agree to abandon Pastor Disaster’s crazy “treasure 
  hunt” and immediately desert.
  2) Whipped up by the awesome power of his weapon (which makes a really loud “boom”), Wreckage 
  ﬁres his RPG without thinking ﬁrst.  He may ﬁre it carelessly, perhaps so that the blast radius accidentally 
  includes one or more of his own allies, in effect “helping” the PCs inadvertently.
  3) In the case above, if one of the allies injured by Wreckage happens to be either Emora or Togor, the 
  lion will enter a frenzy and leap on Wreckage, ignoring the PCs as it tries to kill him.  If the ally happens to 
  be Tony the Tiger, the giant will likewise become enraged and attack Wreckage.
  4) If either Emora or Togor is incapacitated or killed, the other symbiotic partner will ﬂee in panic.
  5) Angel could fail her Hide check from the onset, so the PCs spot her before she strikes.  Since she’s 
  relatively weak, they could take her out early on in the ﬁghting.
  
  26
  third round of combat Emora and Togor will emerge 
  to attack the PCs from the rear, taking them off guard 
  and forcing them to split their numbers.
  Since the party is likely to place its strongest 
  characters in front (with the weaker characters 
  behind) by instinct, Emora and Togor will likely be 
  facing the most fragile members of the party.
  When the ﬁghting begins Emora will delay until 
  after Togor breaks from hiding, using his Pounce 
  ability on one opponent to do as much damage as 
  possible (including his ability to Rake).  Emora will 
  then emerge and join in attacking the same foe, using 
  her claws to ﬁght and beneﬁting from her Symbiote 
  Opportunist ability (which gives her an attack of 
  opportunity against any foe hit in melee by Togor).  
  The pair will continue to ﬁght this way, moving from 
  one target to another, helping each other overcome 
  more powerful opponents.
  Note that while ﬁghting in melee Emora will have 
  a Defense of 17 against opponents engaging her in 
  melee (thanks to her Defensive Martial Arts ability), 
  and a Defense of 20 against all ranged attackers 
  targeting her (due to the feat, Elusive Target).
  Angel (if she survived the Scav & Slave encounter 
  mentioned earlier) will also sneak into the compound, 
  but she will remain hidden throughout the battle (her 
  Hide is +9; she may use an AP to increase her Hide 
  result if she rolls exceptionally low).  She only breaks 
  from cover to kill PCs who have fallen in combat, 
  moving in to use her katana in a coup de grace.  She 
  will “execute” any incapacitated or unconscious 
  characters one-by-one in this fashion, before 
  returning to the shadows created by the huge basalt 
  spikes.  If directly attacked she will defend herself, 
  but if ganged up on she will try to ﬂee.
  Bug and Canker:  hp 31 and 42.
  Pastor Disaster:  hp 64.
  Tony the Tiger:  hp 46.
  Wreckage:  hp 37.
  Emora:  hp 31.
  Togor:  hp 39.
  Angel:  hp 27.
  ONCE THE FIGHTING IS OVER
  While some of his followers might ﬂee (see above), 
  Pastor Disaster, in true tech looter fashion, is intent 
  on winning the “treasure” beneath the Mount of 
  Thorns at any cost.  He will ﬁght to the death, driven 
  like a madman by his own unreasonable greed.
  Once Pastor Disaster and his men are dealt with, 
  read the following:
  As the last of the treacherous tech looters collapses, a 
  strange sound echoes through the air, like the rustling 
  of hundreds, if not thousands, of leaves, roots, and 
  branches.  Emerging from the walled compound you 
  are stunned by what you see.
  The sea of blue plants surrounding the mountaintop 
  has shifted, shimmying up the slopes to crowd around 
  the exterior of the wall.  One on top of another, the 
  mass of dry weeds, cactus bulbs, overgrown seed 
  pods, and vibrant blue fronds crowd out the horizon, 
  presenting a solid wall that stretches in a ring 
  completely surrounding the thorny compound.
  At that moment, as the last of the plants encircle the 
  PCs; telepathic voices intrude into the minds of each 
  of the party members.
  You are the ﬁrst -
  In hundreds of years.
  Why have you come?
  Who are you?
  We have been the guardians of this mountain 
  for generations.
  The Ones Before, the Ones Who Walked On 
  Legs, impregnated the dry soil with the seeds 
  of our ancestors, in the hopes that the humans 
  of the future would see it as a warning never to 
  return.
  They believed the mountain to be cursed, that 
  the poison they buried here in their shame should 
  forever be forgotten.  But the magic they buried 
  gave us life, gave us sentience, and gave us the 
  minds that now speak to you.
  You’re plants?!?
  Yes.
  What would you have of us?
  We ask you to honor the wishes of the Ones 
  Before.  The power that they worked into this 
  mountain was a power that even they were 
  ashamed of.  We remember the time of their 
  Falling, the weapons that used their magic, and 
  have heard the Deadlands in this age echo with 
  the same sounds of war.
  Those who come here will seek to unearth the 
  power within the mountain, and harness it for 
  themselves.  For good or ill, inevitably they will 
  come to know the shame of the Ones Before.
  Let it remain forgotten.
  You helped us before by warning us - will you now 
  turn against us?
  If you do not leave this mountain...
  We will be forced to protect its secrets...
  
  27
  This is futile.  Even if we leave, others will come.  
  An army is already marching here...
  If what you say is true, then all is lost...
  An era has come to an end.  We must commune 
  amongst ourselves, to decide a course of action.
  Remain on the mountain...we will return with 
  our response.
  WAITING FOR AN ANSWER
  The PCs can obviously tell that they are vastly 
  outnumbered; though its hard to tell what exactly 
  constitutes an individual creature (the plants form a 
  sprawling mass with seemingly no beginning or end), 
  they get a sense that there are hundreds of entities 
  out there.  The plant creatures have given the party 
  some hope that a compromise can be made, however, 
  so for the time being they can only camp on the 
  mountaintop and await an answer.
  This time can be spent resting, recuperating 
  naturally or with medicines, as well as going over 
  the possessions of the dead tech looters.  If the GM 
  wishes, the PCs can also be allowed to take levels at 
  this time, if they have enough experience points to do 
  so.
  When the players are ready, read the following:
  It has been at least a day since the plants told 
  you, through some form of telepathy, to await 
  their decision.  The sun looms large in the sky, 
  and the heat as always is becoming unbearable.  
  You wonder how long they can drag this out.
  Suddenly the peace and quiet of the lonely 
  mountain is broken by the sound of marching 
  feet.  Looking out across the desert you see 
  a neat purple line snaking its way across the 
  valley, headed straight towards the mountain.  
  The Brotherhood army!
  The mountaintop comes alive with the sound 
  of rustling plants.  Coils of vine and tendrils of 
  unearthed roots begin to move, alarmed by the 
  sudden appearance of so large a concentration 
  of soldiers.  The voices return:
  They come.
  An army of men.
  We must prepare to ﬁght.
  It’s up to the PCs to try and convince the plants not 
  to attack, but to wait and see what the Brotherhood 
  does.  Allow the PCs to role-play this bit out; don’t 
  leave it to a dice roll.  The plants, convinced by the 
  party’s words, become still, pretending to be nothing 
  more than inanimate vegetation.
  As the army arrives at the base of the mountain 
  and begins to take shape as ﬁghting force, a few 
  men break off from the rest and walk up the slope 
  to the PCs.  One of them is a bald man with slightly 
  luminous eyes, recognizable by his posture as one of 
  the Brotherhood’s elite Force Masters.
  A broad grin comes over the Force Masters’ face 
  when he ﬁnally reaches the PCs.  Read the following:
  “You’ve done it...” he says in a soft voice that 
  is almost drowned out by the wind, but he cuts 
  himself off short.
  Though at ﬁrst he stares upwards towards the 
  spiky monument atop the ridge, slowly his eyes 
  pan over the entire mountaintop.  Eventually they 
  come to rest on the forest of strange blue plants.  
  He smiles.
  “Nothing more needs to be said.  Your minds 
  are open to me; I can already tell what has 
  transpired.  To the Sentinels who have guarded 
  this mountain for centuries, know that we 
  mean you no harm.  We are not here to take the 
  mountain, but to defend it.”
  A single reply, entering into all minds, 
  answers:
  By their actions you shall know them.
  Just then the clear blue sky thunders with 
  even more marching.  Breaking over the crest 
  of nearby rises; two opposing armies come into 
  view.  From the west comes a rag-tag army 
  of purple and gray robed ﬁgures, walking, 
  hobbling, and indeed crawling over the rough 
  and rocky landscape.  Their marching is 
  accompanied by a low and inhuman hum, the 
  garbled animal chant of the accursed Radites.
  Over the opposing hillside comes an even 
  larger force, this one a disorganized mass of men 
  and machines.  Tribal horsemen lead the way, 
  howling and yelping as they come, as formations 
  of musketeers from Copper Pit follow in their 
  dust clouds.  Large lumbering metal machines 
  plod along as well, adding their black smoke to 
  the crystal blue sky looming over the mountain.  
  Even now their guns begin to crack through 
  the air, striking down Radites and Brotherhood 
  acolytes without distinction.
  The Brotherhood Force Master looks to his 
  army, arrayed on the slopes below.  He calls out 
  in a singularly clear voice:
  “The time of reckoning is at hand, brothers.  
  Today we ﬁght for the future!”
  With that the ranks of the Brotherhood erupt in song, 
  as dozens of warriors begin rushing down the hill 
  to do battle.  Behind the charging line, lone men in 
  sweeping robes follow at a steady pace; though at 
  ﬁrst they seem unarmed, as they come close to the 
  
  28
  enemy each man suddenly manifests a sword of 
  pure glowing light in his hand, using these brilliant 
  weapons to reap enemy soldiers like helpless sheaves 
  of wheat.
  The army of Copper Pit responds with courage, 
  ﬁring volleys into the wave of purple robed zealots 
  descending on them from the mountain.  Attacking 
  both sides, the bestial Radites come sweeping in, 
  attacking like the rabid monsters they are at anything 
  that stands between them and the Mount of Thorns.
  THE BATTLE OF THREE ARMIES
  Since the battle unfolding on the slopes of the Mount 
  of Thorns is a large-scale one, the PCs will only 
  experience a small part of the action.  With hundreds 
  of forces arrayed on all sides, the battle is far too 
  large to detail here on a personal basis.
  Instead, an abstract system should be used to 
  determine losses as the battle unfolds.
  The system presented here is intended to allow the 
  GM to keep track of the forces arrayed on all sides of 
  the battleﬁeld (Brotherhood of Radiation, Copper Pit, 
  and the Radites), and to whittle away the dizzying 
  numbers as the battle progresses.  The system works 
  as follows:
  At the end of each combat round, mark off any 
  casualties inﬂicted by the party to whatever army 
  they are currently ﬁghting.  In addition, consult 
  the tables below.  Depending on what round it is 
  (round 1, 2, 3, etc.), roll the dice and mark off the 
  indicated number of soldiers from each army roster 
  participating in the battle.
  For example, on the ﬁrst round of battle, in 
  addition to whatever attrition the PCs do, 1d4 
  Acolytes (from the Brotherhood) will be lost, 1d6+1 
  Copper Pit Soldiers will be lost, and 1d6+2 Radite 
  Penitents will be lost.  The same rolls will be made 
  BROTHERHOOD ARMY
  Acolytes  
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
  Force Masters 
   
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O
  Illuminated 
   
  O
  again on 
  the second 
  round, 
  while on 
  the third 
  round even 
  more will 
  be lost, etc.
  These 
  losses 
  not only 
  reduce the 
  numbers 
  the PCs 
  will have 
  to ﬁght 
  (i.e. in the key battles the 
  party participates in; see 
  below), but when an army 
  loses a certain amount 
  (as described under that 
  army), the army may rout.  
  Keep in mind that this 
  applies to the Brotherhood 
  forces as well!
  BROTHERHOOD OF RADIATION
  The Brotherhood army 
  will be unaffected by 
  routing until it is down to 
  10 Acolytes and has lost 
  the Illuminated.  Once 
  these conditions are met 
  make a group Will save 
  at DC 15 (the entire army 
  is considered to have a 
  +6 Will save) each round 
  thereafter; if they fail even 
  COPPER PIT ARMY
  Copper Pit Soldiers 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
  Mercenaries* 
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
  Tanks**  
   
  O O O O
  Commanders 
   
  O O O
  * These “mercenaries” consist of tribals, bounty hunters, ex-raiders, and 
  professional guns-for-hire lured to the banner of Baron Wasteland by the 
  legends of the Mount of Thorns (and the great wealth they expect to ﬁnd 
  deep within its bowels).
  ** When a tank is destroyed, do not subtract the crew (5) from the roster 
  above; they are already considered part of the tank.
  
  29
  once, the army begins a full retreat.  On the next 
  round all allied Brotherhood warriors involved in Key 
  Battles will attempt to ﬂee.
  The PCs are the only hope to stop the rout if it 
  occurs.  One character may attempt to rally the army 
  each round with a successful Charisma check (DC 
  15); note that the Leadership feat grants a +2 morale 
  bonus to this roll.
  If the rout is prevented, the army remains on 
  the ﬁeld and no longer has to worry about routing, 
  regardless of losses.
  Round
  Brotherhood Losses*
  1-6
  1d4 Acolytes
  7-14
  1d4+1 Acolytes, plus 50% chance each round 
  of losing 1 Force Master
  15+
  As 7-14 above, plus 10% chance each round 
  of losing Illuminated
  * Add +1 to all losses if the Copper Pit army still has its 
  Tanks on the battleﬁeld.
  COPPER PIT
  Baron Wasteland’s army reacts differently 
  to catastrophic losses due to its mercenary, 
  hodge-podge nature.  Individual unit types 
  (i.e. Mercenaries, Copper Pit Soldiers, and 
  Tanks) are unaffected by losses among the 
  ranks of other units, but are still subject to 
  routing if their own ranks are depleted.
  Whenever a single unit type (except for 
  Commanders) is reduced to one-third its 
  starting numbers, that unit must make a Will 
  save at DC 15 (all units are considered to 
  have a group Will save of +3) each round 
  thereafter.  If it fails it begins to ﬂee (and 
  all soldiers of its unit type involved in Key 
  Battles will ﬂee).  Commanders never ﬂee.
  For example, enough damage is done 
  to the Copper Pit Soldiers that they have to make 
  a group Will save.  Rolling a total of 9 they fail, 
  starting a rout.  The other units - the Mercenaries and 
  Tanks - do not ﬂee, however, and continue ﬁghting.
  Once a unit routs, Baron Wasteland and his ﬁeld 
  commanders will be unable to rally them.
  Round
  Copper Pit Losses
  1-2
  1d6+1 Copper Pit Soldiers
  3-10
  1d6+1 Copper Pit Soldiers, 1d2 Mercenaries, 
  plus 50% chance each round of losing a Tank
  11+
  As 3-10 above, plus 50% chance each round of 
  losing a Copper Pit Commander
  RADITES
  The Radites will rout only if Bishop Iridium is slain; 
  otherwise their zealous nature allows them to shrug 
  off the demoralizing effects of casualties.  If Bishop 
  Iridium is killed, however, the entire army must make 
  a Will save at DC 15 (all units are considered to have 
  a group Will save of +6) each round thereafter.  If 
  they fail even once, the army begins a full retreat.  On 
  the next round all Radites involved in Key Battles 
  will attempt to ﬂee.
  Once the Radites break there is no turning back; 
  without a leader the cult army dissolves and vanishes 
  into the desert.
  Round
  Radite Losses*
  1-2
  1d6+2 Radite Penitents
  3-10
  1d6+2 Radite Penitents, 1d4 Radites, plus 50% 
  chance each round of losing a Rad Wolf
  11+
  As 3-10 above, plus 25% chance each round of 
  losing Bishop Iridium (if the PCs have not yet 
  killed him)
  * Add +1 to all losses if the Copper Pit army still has its 
  Tanks on the battleﬁeld.
  SENTINELS
  The “Sentinels” - the hive-mind plant creatures that 
  guard the heights of the Mount of Thorns - will not 
  ﬁght in the battle, but will instead watch from on 
  RADITES
  Radite Penitents  
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
  Radites  
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O 
  O O O O O
  Rad Wolves 
   
  O O O O O
   
   
   
  O O O O O
  Bishop Iridium 
   
  O
  RADITE STRATEGY
  A special consideration during the battle will be 
  the Radites, in particular due to their possession 
  of the new feat, Neural Concert.  Whenever 
  the PCs encounter Radites during the battle, 
  they will attempt to use this feat to the best of 
  their ability, amplifying the DC of their Anxiety 
  Trigger abilities.  Whether they use it on the 
  player characters or their allies, this feat has the 
  potential to demolish any resistance against the 
  Radite onslaught.
  Note that for this battle only all Radites (not 
  including Penitents or Bishop Iridium) have a 
  50% chance of being armed with a ﬁrearm of 
  some kind.
  
  30
  high.  Their role is unimportant; if the Brotherhood 
  wins they will not have needed to ﬁght, and if the 
  Brotherhood loses, all is lost for the PCs.  In either 
  case, their involvement is unnecessary.
  THE PARTY’S ROLE
  When the battle begins, the PCs decide which side 
  they personally wish to ﬁght against:  the forces of 
  Copper Pit under Baron Wasteland’s hand-picked 
  council of Commanders, or the Radites under their 
  leader, Bishop Iridium (for more on Iridium, see 
  below).  The Brotherhood army will be spread out 
  over the mountainside ﬁghting both enemy armies, 
  and of course the forces from Copper Pit and the 
  Radites will also be duking it out against each other 
  in a three-way slugfest for the mountain.
  The PCs will only experience small battles (see 
  below), but you should do everything in your power 
  to describe to them the rolling battle that is whirling 
  all around them:  Brotherhood warriors march into 
  battle against screaming heretic Radites on all sides 
  of the party, while black smoke from musket volleys 
  (care of the Copper Pit army) conceal the brutal 
  melee taking place on the slopes below.  Using 
  descriptive narratives in between rounds (or in 
  between battles, as the PCs move from location to 
  location) will help convey the sense that the party is 
  involved in something far grander than they’ve ever 
  been involved with before.
  KEY BATTLES
  During the battle the PCs can and should move from 
  area to area, ﬁghting different key engagements to 
  help sway the battle in the Brotherhood’s favor.  The 
  possible engagements are detailed below, along with 
  the effects they have on the battle’s outcome.
  Note that these battles can be played in any order.
  Random Fighting (EL Varies):  In between moving 
  from key battle to key battle, the PCs may, at the 
  GM’s discretion, become involved in some of the 
  ﬁghting swirling around them.  This constitutes 
  random ﬁghting, with no outcome on the battle other 
  than to trim the numbers of the opposing armies.
  The GM should make up the exact composition of 
  enemies in such a skirmish, but there should usually 
  only by 1-2 enemies per PC.  These battles are 
  intended to portray quick, chaotic melees, not long 
  drawn-out battles.
  Tanks (EL 8):  A short while after the battle begins 
  it becomes clear that Baron Wasteland’s forces have 
  the clear upper hand due to the heavy war machines 
  (i.e. their “tanks”) they cleverly constructed and 
  brought to the battle.  In addition to rolling over the 
  resistance and laying down machinegun ﬁre, black 
  smoke begins to churn over the battleﬁeld thanks to 
  their diesel-chugging engines, creating an artiﬁcial 
  smokescreen that makes the ﬁghting a living hell.
  The PCs will want to take out the tanks early on in 
  the battle, and if they don’t think to head there ﬁrst 
  their Brotherhood allies may suggest it early on.
  The PCs:  The four tanks Baron Wasteland 
  brought with his army are easy to spot as they rumble 
  and sputter up the slopes of the mountain, so the 
  PCs can’t miss them.  The tanks will be arranged in 
  groups of two (unless some have already been taken 
  out of commission due to random casualty rolls), 
  with each group having an infantry accompaniment 
  of three Copper Pit Soldiers and a single Copper Pit 
  Commander.
  When the party arrives on scene the tank(s) will 
  be in the middle of running over a small group of 
  enemies.  Roll randomly to determine the nature of 
  the enemy:
  D10
  Defenders
  1-5
  1d4 Brotherhood Acolytes
  6-10
  1d4 Radite Penitents + 1d2 Radites
  Depending on the defenders present, the PCs may 
  have allies or enemies on their side.  In the former 
  case the Acolytes will support the PCs, while in the 
  latter the enemy will ﬁrst concentrate on their mutual 
  enemy (the Copper Pit forces), before turning on the 
  PCs once the tanks are out of commission.
  As for the Copper Pit forces, the Commander and 
  Soldiers will engage all hostile forces (concentrating 
  on the PCs if they brought heavy weapons, such as 
  Wreckage’s RPG), until the tank can bring its MGs to 
  bear.  For the ﬁrst round there is no activity from the 
  tank, but after that the tank enters the fray (each tank 
  has two small turrets armed with the equivalent of 
  M2HB machineguns; gunners have the base statistics 
  of Copper Pit Soldiers, but replace their Alertness 
  and Armor Proﬁciency feats with Advanced Firearms 
  Proﬁciency and the Exotic Weapon Proﬁciency 
  appropriate to their heavy weapons).
  Treat Copper Pit tanks as armored trucks armed 
  with twin M2HBs, except as follows:
  TANKS IN BATTLE
  As long as the tanks are in battle, all casualties 
  among the Brotherhood and Radites are 
  increased by +1 per round, simulating 
  machinegun ﬁre and/or warriors being run 
  over by these colossal armored behemoths.  
  In more direct terms, the smoke permeating 
  the battleﬁeld from these guttering machines 
  provides a ﬂat 20% miss chance to all ranged 
  attacks over 30 ft.; this miss chance goes away if 
  the tanks are removed from battle.
  
  31
  Tank: Crew 5; Pass 0; Cargo 200; Int -4; Man -4; Spd 25 
  (2); Def 9; Hard 8; HP 36; Size H.
  An Ally In Need (EL 6):  As the battle swirls around 
  the PCs they spot, some distance down the mountain, 
  a solitary Force Master cut off from the main body 
  of Brotherhood warriors.  Surrounded by dead 
  bodies, the Force Master appears to be ﬁghting off 
  all comers, but it isn’t clear how long he can hold out 
  without aid.
  If the PCs don’t rush to the Force Master’s aid 
  immediately, add +1 to the number of Force Masters 
  killed that round (even if no other Force Masters are 
  killed).  If the PCs do decide to help, however, they 
  must ﬁght their way through the enemy ranks to get 
  to their ally; have them ﬁght 2-3 Radites on their way.
  When the PCs arrive they arrive just in time - the 
  Force Master is wounded (down to 36 hit points), and 
  creeping over the nearby rocks is a large group of 
  simpering, drooling Radite Penitents (or, if none are 
  left, just use normal Radites), intent on ripping him 
  apart and eating him.  There are two Radite Penitents 
  per PC (including the Force Master; with a minimum 
  of six in the event the PCs split up), and they will 
  attack immediately.
  This encounter will not occur if there are no Force 
  Masters left.  For the statistics of the Force Master, 
  use the Mid-Level Force Master on page 225 of 
  Darwin’s World 2nd Edition.
  Battle of Champions (EL 4):  Midway through 
  the battle, select whichever PC has been the most 
  successful in the battle so far, either through 
  leadership (for instance, if the army routed and he 
  saved the day), or through his own skill at arms.
  As that PC ﬁghts the party’s chosen enemy 
  (Radites or Copper Pit soldiers), the crowds of 
  opposing soldiers part, revealing a hulking brute 
  coming straight for that character.  As he comes he 
  bravely shouts (or hisses with a sinister, snake-like 
  voice, if a Radite) a challenge to ﬁght that PC...one-
  on-one.
  The challenger will either be a Copper Pit 
  Commander (if the PCs are currently ﬁghting the 
  army of Copper Pit), or a Radite.  In the case of the 
  Copper Pit Commander, his allies will stay back and 
  honor the terms of the impromptu “duel”, watching 
  from the sidelines (and taking the opportunity to take 
  a breather).  The Radite, however, will only pretend 
  to honor the terms of the one-on-one match, but 
  if reduced to 50% hit points will summon (with a 
  shrieking howl) 1d2 Rad Wolves to help him ﬁght (if 
  any remain).
  If the PCs survive the battle, whichever opposing 
  force lost its “champion” to the party will make 
  future routing checks with a -2 penalty.
  If no Copper Pit Commanders or Radites remain, 
  this encounter does not happen.
  Mercenary Charge (EL Varies):  At some point in 
  the battle, when the PCs appear to be winning (either 
  when all the Tanks have been taken out of action, or 
  if the forces of Copper Pit have taken at least twice 
  as many losses as the Brotherhood), the mercenaries 
  under Baron Wasteland begin to realize that the 
  fabled “treasure” - which was within their grasp at 
  the battle’s beginning - is in serious danger of being 
  snatched away from them.
  Spurred by unreasonable greed, a large band 
  of mercenaries breaks ranks from the regulars of 
  Copper Pit and begin storming up the hill, making a 
  straight line for the walled compound, slaughtering 
  everything in their path.  Radites and other Copper 
  Pit soldiers part as they rage forward, allowing them 
  through, and the only thing standing between the 
  marauding mercenaries and the mountaintop are the 
  PCs!
  Since the Mercenaries in Baron Wasteland’s army 
  consist of numerous types (tribals, bandits, scavs, 
  and a core of professional mercs), roll to determine 
  the kind of mercenary NPCs the characters will have 
  to ﬁght (or, alternatively, choose an EL that best 
  matches the party’s strength).  The statistics for these 
  are found in the chapter called NPC Statistics.
  Note that these numbers should be reduced if 
  there are only a few Mercenaries remaining (due to 
  abstracted casualties).
  D6
  Group Composition
  EL
  1-2
  6 Tribal Warriors, 3 Outlaws, 1 
  Mercenary
  11
  3-4
  4 Tribal Warriors, 4 Outlaws, 2 
  Mercenaries
  12
  5-6
  3 Tribal Warriors, 3 Outlaws, 4 
  Mercenaries
  13
   
  Bishop Iridium (EL 12):  If and when it becomes 
  clear that the Radites are losing badly (GM’s 
  discretion just when this is), the leader of the 
  Radite expedition, Bishop Iridium, will lead an 
  all-or-nothing assault on the Force Masters of the 
  Brotherhood.  Iridium’s hope is to decimate the 
  Brotherhood forces in a last push; his reasoning is if 
  the Radites can’t have the treasure, than neither will 
  their rivals, the Brotherhood.
  The PCs will be witness to this push, as Iridium 
  leads his remaining followers right into the midst of 
  the Brotherhood lines.  Luckily the PCs are along 
  Iridium’s path, and will have a chance to kill him and 
  shatter his army before it wreaks too much havoc on 
  their allies.
  For every PC in the group Iridium will be 
  accompanied by 2 Penitents, 2 Radites, and 1 Rad 
  Wolf, moving in a large and disorganized “pack” as 
  they navigate the boulder-strewn mountain slopes.  
  
  32
  The Rad Wolves run ahead of the pack attempting 
  to trip those who stand in the way, allowing the 
  Penitents to catch up and tear these prone foes to 
  pieces.  The Radites will use their Neural Concert 
  feat to up their Anxiety Trigger DCs try and reduce 
  the PCs’ ﬁghting abilities - though eventually the 
  entire battle turns into a sprawling melee.  Bishop 
  Iridium will wade through the masses, singling out 
  the leader of the party and engaging him in combat.
  Note that the PCs will have all remaining Force 
  Masters on their side for this battle.  In addition, if 
  things are going badly you can have Brotherhood 
  Acolytes show up in groups of 2 each round as 
  “reinforcements”.
  GM’s Note:  Bishop Iridium will always use his 
  neural abilities in combat if possible, usually starting 
  with Flight Trigger on the strongest opponents, then 
  following up with Mind Crush on those who don’t 
  ﬂee.  Due to his advancement, his use of Flight 
  Trigger is saved against at a DC of 16 (and lasts 8 
  rounds); his use of Mind Crush inﬂicts 5d6 damage 
  (save DC 16 for half).  He has 11 Telepathy uses per 
  day.
  In addition, any allies with Neural Concert nearby 
  may also increase these DCs.
  VICTORY
  Victory is achieved when both the Radites and the 
  forces from Copper Pit are either obliterated, or they 
  ﬂee.  In the case of the Radites, the PCs will have 
  to ﬁnd and kill Bishop Iridium to destroy the cult’s 
  willingness to ﬁght.  For Copper Pit, The PCs will 
  simply have to slug it out, hoping enough damage is 
  done to make Baron Wasteland’s army ﬂee.
  Hopefully this all can be done without losing 
  the Brotherhood army, since their very presence 
  is essential to any real success (if the PCs and the 
  Brotherhood lose, either Baron Wasteland or the 
  Radites will eventually win control of the mountain, 
  and for all intents and purposes the fate of the Mount 
  of Thorns will be sealed).
  Assuming this is the case, read the following:
  By nightfall the colorfully clad corpses of 
  all three armies litter the slopes of the Mount 
  of Thorns for as far as the eye can see.  Slowly 
  darkness begins to claim the ﬁeld, and with 
  it the winding rivers of blood turn gray and 
  colorless.  The iridescent glow of the handful 
  of Brotherhood allies still alive is dim and 
  weakened.  But you have prevailed.
  As the sun begins to dip low behind the 
  mountain, the last vestiges of golden sunlight 
  hover around the edges of the mount, silhouetting 
  its shape and the colossal thorns at its peak.
  The remnants of the Radites and Baron 
  Wasteland’s army, while in a rout, look back 
  and see the curious sight, a trick of the daylight 
  and surely a natural phenomenon.  But for a 
  moment the mountain itself seems to be glowing, 
  shrouded by the sun’s dying rays, and with that 
  last look they realize the foolishness of their 
  struggle.
  For the destiny of the mountain has been 
  fulﬁlled.
  THE FATE OF THE MOUNT OF THORNS
  Though the PCs have won the day, and the great 
  battle at the foot of the mountain comes to a close, 
  the fate of the Mount of Thorns is as unsure as it 
  was before its location was ﬁrst discovered.  What 
  happens to the mountain now is out of the party’s 
  hands, but its future - whatever it may be - may 
  become a recurring element in future adventures set 
  in the Deadlands (or involving the Brotherhood of 
  Radiation).
  Ostensibly the Brotherhood tries to secure, through 
  diplomacy, access to the mountain’s “magic”.  
  Though the “Sentinels” (the plant creatures that 
  thrive on the mountaintop) refuse any deals, it is 
  up to you what happens as a result.  Perhaps the 
  Brotherhood recognizes the Sentinels’ claim that 
  the “magic” is “cursed”, and patiently agree to hold 
  off on excavations until a better understanding of 
  the mountain, its history, and the Ancients can be 
  had.  And perhaps the Sentinels agree to allow select 
  groups of mutant pilgrims to come to the mountain 
  once each year to “beneﬁt” from the radiation 
  blighting the landscape, an arrangement that could 
  satisfy the Brotherhood nicely.
  Alternatively - and perhaps more realistically 
  - the Brotherhood might become enthralled by the 
  prospect of the mountain’s legendary power being 
  within their reach.  Seduced by their own prophecies 
  of a superior race being borne from its “magic”, 
  perhaps the Brotherhood betrays the Sentinels’ trust 
  and takes the mountain for themselves.  Once this 
  brutal task is done, over the years the mountain is 
  dug away and the Brotherhood ﬁnds what they are 
  looking for.  Using the radiated elements found under 
  its slopes, the Brotherhood digs deep tunnels under 
  the mountain to create a vast complex of radiated 
  “breeding pits”, where it begins the creation of a new 
  race of Illuminated who will lead their movement 
  towards the future they have long coveted - whether 
  it be a future of light as they promised...or one of 
  darkness.
  THE END
  ALTERNATE ENDING
  The following presents an alternative ending to 
  Another Man’s Treasure speciﬁcally designed 
  
  33
  to shorten the adventure by offering a quicker 
  conclusion.
  If time is a factor in play, you can cut out the 
  large-scale battle for the Mount of Thorns altogether, 
  shifting the climax to the battle between the PCs and 
  Pastor Disaster’s tech looters instead.  If this is the 
  case, a few modiﬁcations are suggested:
  1) Remove all references to the telepathic plant 
  entities living on the mountain (i.e. though the party 
  will see the weird blue plants, they will not hear 
  voices in their minds warning them of Disaster’s 
  impending attack).
  2) Do not use any of the suggestions offered in 
  the Overwhelming The PCs sidebar; since this is 
  going to be the climax, it should be a no-holds barred 
  encounter.
  3) Once Disaster and his followers are slain, 
  the adventure ends; do not proceed to the large-
  scale battle, or the Victory ending described above.  
  Instead, the arrival of the Brotherhood army is not 
  described; the PCs have done their part, and the 
  ensuing battles that take place (if any at all) for 
  control of the mountain will not involve the party.  
  They are free to leave, having fulﬁlled their part of 
  the bargain with the Brotherhood of Radiation.
  When all is said and done, calculate experience 
  points and award treasure.  Congratulate the players 
  on a hard-earned victory!
  APPENDIX 1:  NPC STATISTICS
  This section lists the game statistics for the various 
  creatures and characters featured in Another Man’s 
  Treasure, for ease of reference.
  An asterisk (*) denotes a new feat introduced in 
  this adventure.
  COPPER PIT SOLDIER / COMMANDER
  The statistics of the average Copper Pit soldier are 
  reprinted here from One Man’s Garbage, along with 
  the statistics of the more elite “commanders” of that 
  city’s brave (if greedy) militia.
  Copper Pit Soldier, Strong Hero 3:  CR 3; Medium-
  size humanoid; HD 3d8+6; HP 20; Mas 14; Init +2; 
  Spd 30 ft; Defense 16, touch 14, ﬂatfooted 14 (+0 
  size, +2 Dex, +2 class, +2 equipment); BAB +3; Grap 
  +4; Atk +4 melee (1d6+3, riﬂe butt), or +6 ranged 
  (2d8, 5.56mm pipe riﬂe); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; 
  SQ medical incompatibility; AL Copper Pit; SV Fort 
  +4, Ref +3, Will +2; AP 1; Rep +0; Str 13, Dex 15, 
  Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 9.
  Occupation:  Military (DW) (Intimidate).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Regenerative Capability 
  x2, Aberrant Deformity, Sensitivity (gamma 
  radiation).
  Skills:  Climb +2, Disguise -7, Intimidate 
  +1, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +0, Knowledge 
  (Streetwise) +0, Knowledge (Tactics) +0, Listen +4, 
  Spot +4, Survival +2.
  Feats:  Alertness, Armor Proﬁciency (light), 
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Post-Apocalyptic 
  Technology, Primitive Technology, Weapon Focus 
  (pipe riﬂe).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Possessions:  5.56mm pipe riﬂe, 2d6 rounds of 
  5.56mm ammo, leather armor.
  Copper Pit Commander, Strong Hero 3/Tough 
  Hero 1:  CR 4; Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d8+6 
  plus 1d10+2; HP 27; Mas 14; Init +3; Spd 30 ft; 
  Defense 18, touch 16, ﬂatfooted 15 (+0 size, +3 Dex, 
  +3 class, +2 equipment); BAB +3; Grap +4; Atk +4 
  melee (1d6+3, combat knife), or +7 ranged (2d8, 
  M4 Carbine); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical 
  incompatibility; AL Copper Pit; SV Fort +5, Ref +4, 
  Will +2; AP 1; Rep +0; Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, 
  Wis 12, Cha 9.
  Occupation:  Military (DW) (Intimidate).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Regenerative Capability 
  x2, Aberrant Deformity, Sensitivity (gamma 
  radiation).
  Skills:  Climb +2, Disguise -7, Intimidate 
  +1, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +0, Knowledge 
  (Streetwise) +0, Knowledge (Tactics) +1, Listen +4, 
  Spot +4, Survival +2.
  Feats:  Alertness, Armor Proﬁciency (light), 
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Post-Apocalyptic 
  Technology, Primitive Technology, Weapon Focus 
  (M4 Carbine).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Talents (Tough Hero):  Remain Conscious.
  Possessions:  M4 Carbine, one box of 5.56mm 
  ammo (30), leather armor, combat knife.
  RADITE PENITENT
  Radite “penitents” were originally introduced in part 
  one of this series, One Man’s Garbage.  Penitents 
  are groveling, deformed creatures, horribly mutilated 
  by their masters to reduce them to ferocious and 
  unthinking ﬁghters.
  Radite Penitent, Strong Hero 3:  CR 3; Medium-
  size humanoid; HD 3d8+3; HP 17; Mas 13; Init +1; 
  Spd 30 ft; Defense 17, touch 13, ﬂatfooted 16 (+0 
  size, +1 Dex, +2 class, +4 natural); BAB +3; Grap 
  +5; Atk +5 melee (1d6+4/19-20, bite), or +4 ranged 
  
  34
  (by weapon); Full Atk +5 melee (1d6+4/19-20, bite), 
  +3 melee (1d6+4, 2 claws), FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 
  ft; SQ medical incompatibility, claws; AL Radites; 
  SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +0; AP 1; Rep +0; Str 14, 
  Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14.
  Occupation:  Slave (Craft [structural], Handle 
  Animal).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Claws, Neural Mutation - 
  Telepathy, Protective Dermal Development, Serrated 
  Dental Development, Aberrant Deformity, Blindness, 
  Pituitary Deformation.
  Skills:  Bluff +4, Climb +5, Craft (structural) +2, 
  Diplomacy +4, Disguise -4, Gather Information +4, 
  Handle Animal +4, Hide +2, Knowledge (Mutant 
  Lore) +2, Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) +1, 
  Move Silently +2, Repair +2, Swim +4.
  Feats:  Endurance, Mind’s Eye*, Multiattack, Post-
  Apocalyptic Technology, Power Attack, Primitive 
  Technology, Super Mutant.
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Possessions:  None.
  RADITE
  The statistics of the average Radite cultist are 
  reprinted here from One Man’s Garbage.  Radites 
  are strange heretics of the Brotherhood of Radiation, 
  obsessed with mastery of the mind as well as issuing 
  in the Second End of Days.
  Radite, Tough Hero 3/Strong Hero 1:  CR 4; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d10+6 plus 1d8+2 plus 
  6; HP 36; Mas 14; Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 19, 
  touch 15, ﬂatfooted 17 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +3 class, +4 
  natural); BAB +3; Grap +5; Atk +6 melee (1d6+3, 
  bite), or +5 ranged (by weapon); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; 
  Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility, cannot move 
  x2 speed; AL Radites; SV Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +0; 
  AP 2; Rep +1; Str 15, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, 
  Cha 11.
  Occupation:  Predator (Sense Motive).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Neural Mutation - 
  Telepathy, Protective Dermal Development, Serrated 
  Dental Development, Aberrant Deformity, Pituitary 
  Deformation, Underdeveloped Organ (Lung).
  Skills:  Bluff +2, Climb +4, Concentration +6, 
  Diplomacy +2, Disguise -6, Gather Information +2, 
  Jump +3, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +2, Knowledge 
  (Streetwise) +2, Sense Motive +0, Spot +3, Survival 
  +3, Swim +3.
  Feats:  Anxiety Trigger, Neural Concert*, Post-
  Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive Technology, 
  Toughness, Weapon Focus (bite).
  Talents (Tough Hero):  Robust, Damage 
  Reduction 1/—.
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash.
  Possessions:  None.
  OUTLAW
  Like other criminals, outlaws consist of men (and 
  rarely, women) who ﬂed their communities to avoid 
  a harsh punishment for crimes they committed.  
  Driven to desperation, they band together for mutual 
  survival, preying off of other unfortunates exiled to 
  the Deadlands.
  Outlaw, Strong Hero 3/Raider 1:  CR 4; Medium-
  size humanoid; HD 3d8+3 plus 1d10+1; HP 24; 
  Mas 13; Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 18, touch 
  15, ﬂatfooted 16 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +3 class, +3 
  equipment); BAB +4; Grap +7; Atk +7 melee (3d6+5, 
  chainsaw), or +7 ranged (2d8, sawed-off shotgun); FS 
  5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility, 
  increased critical threat; AL none; SV Fort +4, Ref 
  +4, Will +0; AP 2; Rep +1; Str 16, Dex 14, Con 13, 
  Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12.
  Occupation:  Predator (Intimidate).
  Background:  Radical (Drive).
  Mutations and Defects:  Regenerative Capability, 
  Critical Vulnerability.
  Skills:  Drive +9, Intimidate +8, Jump +6, 
  Knowledge (Tactics) +3, Survival +0.
  Feats:  Armor Proﬁciency (light), Drive-By Attack, 
  Exotic Melee Weapon Proﬁciency, Personal Firearms 
  Proﬁciency, Post-Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive 
  Technology, Weapon Focus (sawed-off shotgun).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Talents (Raider):  Chaps and Chains +1.
  Possessions:  Sawed-off shotgun (or chainsaw), 
  1d6 rounds of 12-gauge ammo, leather armor, 1 
  gallon of water.
  CRIMINAL / EXILE
  The Deadlands are notorious for their outlaw 
  population, whether in the form of ruthless 
  scavengers or criminals exiled to the desert.  The 
  latter come from all manner of villages that dot the 
  outlying parts of the region, and face a lonely fate 
  once they’ve been turned out to live among the 
  hostile wastes.
  Criminal/Exile, Post-Apocalyptic Hero 2:  CR 2; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 2d8+4; HP 13; Mas 14; 
  Init +1; Spd 30 ft; Defense 15, touch 13, ﬂatfooted 
  14 (+0 size, +1 Dex, +2 class, +2 equipment); BAB 
  +1; Grap +3; Atk +3 melee (1d8+2, spear), or +2 
  ranged (1d10, crossbow); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; 
  SQ medical incompatibility, darkvision; AL none; SV 
  Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +0; AP 1; Rep +0; Str 15, Dex 
  
  35
  13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 7.
  Occupation:  Predator (Sense Motive).
  Background:  Resentful (Knowledge [Mutant 
  Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Sensitive Sight, Bilirubin 
  Imbalance.
  Skills:  Bluff -4, Climb +4, Diplomacy -4, Disguise 
  -4, Hide +5, Jump +4, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +3, 
  Listen +4, Navigate +8, Sense Motive +2, Spot +4, 
  Survival +7.
  Feats:  Archaic Weapons Proﬁciency, Armor 
  Proﬁciency (light), Great Fortitude, Guide, Power 
  Attack, Primitive Technology.
  Talents (Post-Apocalyptic Hero):  Conserve.
  Possessions:  Spear, crossbow, 10 bolts, leather 
  armor.
  THE HERMIT
  The hermit encountered in the adventure has lived in 
  isolation for years, but despite his quirky personality 
  he is hungry for news of the outside world.  With 
  skills focused on survival, he is only a marginal 
  ﬁghter.
  The Hermit, Post-Apocalyptic Hero 5:  CR 5; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 5d8+5; HP 28; Mas 12; 
  Init +1; Spd 30 ft; Defense 12, touch 12, ﬂatfooted 
  13 (+0 size, -1 Dex, +3 class); BAB +3; Grap +3; 
  Atk +3 melee (1d8, spear), or +3 ranged (1d10, 
  crossbow); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical 
  incompatibility, blindsight 10 feet; AL none; SV Fort 
  +6, Ref +2, Will +4; AP 2; Rep +1; Str 10, Dex 8, 
  Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12.
  Occupation:  Wanderer (Climb, Navigate).
  Background:  Resentful (Knowledge [Mutant 
  Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Blindsight, Gamma-Ray 
  Visual Sensitivity, Bilirubin Imbalance, Negative 
  Chemical Reaction.
  Skills:  Bluff -1, Climb +8, Diplomacy -1, Disguise 
  -1, Hide +3, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +6, Listen 
  +13, Move Silently +3, Navigate +12, Search +6, 
  Spot +13, Survival +13.
  Feats:  Alertness, Archaic Weapons Proﬁciency, 
  Filthy, Great Fortitude, Guide, Personal Firearms 
  Proﬁciency, Primitive Technology, Weapon Focus 
  (crossbow).
  Talents (Post-Apocalyptic Hero):  Wasteland 
  Lore, Survival Sense, Conserve.
  Possessions:  Spear, crossbow, 10 bolts.
  LEVIATHAN TRIBAL
  The people of Leviathan Cave have been isolated 
  in the deep Deadlands for so long that they easily 
  mistake the party for “demons”.  Individually they are 
  capable warriors, and the party will be hard-pressed 
  when they ambush them during the adventure.
  Leviathan Tribal, Strong Hero 4:  CR 4; Medium-
  size humanoid; HD 4d8+4 plus 3; HP 25; Mas 13; 
  Init +3; Spd 35 ft; Defense 16, touch 16, ﬂatfooted 
  13 (+0 size, +3 Dex, +3 class); BAB +4; Grap +6; 
  Atk +7 melee (1d8+4, spear), or +8 ranged (1d10, 
  crossbow); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical 
  incompatibility; AL Leviathan Tribe; SV Fort +3, Ref 
  +4, Will +2; AP 2; Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 16, Con 13, 
  Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
  Occupation:  Guide (Navigate, Survival).
  Background:  Tribal (Climb).
  Mutations and Defects:  Additional Limb 
  Development (leg), Negative Chemical Reaction.
  Skills:  Balance +5, Climb +8, Hide +5, Jump +4, 
  Knowledge (Tactics) +2, Move Silently +5, Navigate 
  +5, Survival +7.
  Feats:  Archaic Weapons Proﬁciency, Primitive 
  Technology, Stealthy, Toughness, Track, Weapon 
  Focus (spear), Weapon Focus (crossbow).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Possessions:  Spear, crossbow, 10 bolts, luminous 
  dust.
  TRIBAL WARRIOR
  The generic tribals in this adventure represent war 
  parties drawn to the Deadlands by the rumors that 
  claim the location of the legendary Mount of Thorns 
  has been found.  Ruthless and greedy, they hope to 
  ﬁnd the mountain and plunder its supposed “riches” 
  for themselves.
  Tribal Warrior, Strong Hero 2:  CR 2; Medium-
  size humanoid; HD 2d8+2 plus 3; HP 14; Mas 13; 
  Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 14, touch 14, ﬂatfooted 
  12 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +2 class); BAB +2; Grap +4; 
  Atk +5 melee (1d8+3, spear), or +4 ranged (1d8+2, 
  compound bow); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ 
  medical incompatibility, adrenaline surge; AL none; 
  SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +1; AP 1; Rep +0; Str 15, 
  Dex 14, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 7.
  Occupation:  Predator (Intimidate).
  Background:  Tribal (Survival).
  Mutations and Defects:  Adrenaline Control, 
  Aberrant Deformity.
  Skills:  Climb +3, Disguise -8, Intimidate +3, Jump 
  +4, Knowledge (Tactics) +2, Survival +6.
  Feats:  Archaic Weapons Proﬁciency, Armor 
  Proﬁciency (light), Primitive Technology, Toughness, 
  Weapon Focus (spear).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash.
  Possessions:  Spear, compound bow, 10 arrows, 
  leather armor.
  
  36
  BOUNTY HUNTER
  Many bounty hunters are drawn to the Deadlands 
  by the promise of quick and easy money hunting the 
  many criminals that ﬂee to the desert to avoid the 
  harsh law of the region’s frontier towns.  While some 
  bounty hunters are trustworthy, more often than not 
  they will simply kill any passerby they meet and sell 
  their scalp for a bounty.
  Bounty Hunter, Post-Apocalyptic Hero 3/
  Survivalist 2:  CR 5; Medium-size humanoid; HD 
  3d8+6 plus 2d10+4; HP 35; Mas 14; Init +1; Spd 
  30 ft; Defense 18, touch 16, ﬂatfooted 15 (+0 size, 
  +3 Dex, +3 class, +2 equipment); BAB +4; Grap 
  +4; Atk +4 melee (1d6, combat knife), or +7 ranged 
  (2d6, Calico Liberty 50); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; 
  SQ medical incompatibility, DR 2/- vs. piercing and 
  ballistic; AL none; SV Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2; AP 
  2; Rep +0; Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, 
  Cha 8.
  Occupation:  Predator (Investigate).
  Background:  Radical (Intimidate).
  Mutations and Defects:  Aberrant Endoskeletal 
  Encasing, Adrenaline Deﬁciency.
  Skills:  Climb +2, Hide +9, Intimidate +1, 
  Investigate +5, Jump +2, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) 
  +3, Listen +3, Move Silently +5, Navigate +9, Search 
  +3, Spot +3, Survival +9, Treat Injury +5.
  Feats:  Armor Proﬁciency (light), Far Shot, 
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Point Blank Shot, 
  Post-Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive Technology, 
  Track.
  Talents (Post-Apocalyptic Hero):  Wasteland 
  Lore, Conserve.
  Talents (Survivalist):  Called Shot +1d6, Way of 
  the Land.
  Possessions:  Calico Liberty 50, 1 box of 9mm 
  ammo (50), combat knife, leather armor, survival kit, 
  juju kit, ready syringe (one dose of rad-purge shot), 
  binoculars, 300 cp.
  SCORPION
  Scorpions are a common danger of the desert, and the 
  Deadlands are no exception.
  SPECIES TRAITS
  Improved Grab (Ex):  To use this ability, the 
  scorpion must hit with its claw attack.  If it gets a 
  hold, it hangs on and stings.
  Poison (Ex):  A scorpion’s sting attack is 
  poisonous (Fort DC 11, initial and secondary damage 
  1d2 Str).
  Skills:  A scorpion receives a +4 racial bonus to 
  Climb, Hide, and Spot checks.
  Scorpion:  CR 1/4; Tiny animal; HD 1/2d8+2; hp 
  4; Mas 14; Init +0; Spd 20 ft.; Defense 14, touch 12, 
  ﬂat-footed 14; BAB +0; Grap -9; Atk +1 melee (1d2-
  4, two claws) and -3 melee (1d2-4 sting, and poison); 
  FS 2 1/2 ft. by 2 1.2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.; SQ improved 
  grab, poison, vermin; AL none; SV Fort +5, Ref +0, 
  Will +0; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 3, Dex 10, Con 14, Int -, 
  Wis 10, Cha 12.
  Skills:  Climb +4, Hide +15, Spot +7.
  Feats:  Weapon Finesse (claw, sting).
  Advancement:  None.
  MERCENARY
  A few professional mercenaries have been drawn to 
  the Deadlands due to the rumors of a great treasure 
  being found in the area.  These grizzled men (and 
  sometimes women) are ruthless proﬁteers who have 
  thrown their lot in with Baron Wasteland and the 
  other treasure hunters hailing from Copper Pit.
  Mercenary, Strong Hero 3/Mercenary 2:  CR 5; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d8+3 plus 2d10+2; 
  HP 29; Mas 13; Init +3; Spd 30 ft; Defense 20, touch 
  15, ﬂatfooted 17 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +3 class, +5 
  equipment); BAB +5; Grap +7; Atk +7 melee (1d6+4, 
  riﬂe butt), or +9 ranged (2d8+2, AK-47); FS 5 ft by 5 
  ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility, DR 1/- vs. 
  bludgeoning; AL none; SV Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +0; 
  AP 1; Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, 
  Cha 12.
  Occupation:  Slaver (Gather Information, 
  Intimidate).
  Background:  Visionary Reinventor (Diplomacy).
  Mutations and Defects:  Skeletal Fortiﬁcation, 
  Immune-System Abnormality.
  Skills:  Diplomacy +4, Gather Information +4, 
  Intimidate +4, Knowledge (Current Events) +2, 
  Knowledge (Tactics) +2, Navigate +1, Profession 
  (Trader) +2, Repair +2, Survival +1.
  Feats:  Armor Proﬁciency (light), Armor 
  Proﬁciency (medium), Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, 
  Post-Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive Technology, 
  Weapon Focus (AK-47).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Talents (Mercenary):  Weapon Specialization, 
  Contacts (5%).
  Possessions:  AK-47, one box of 7.62mmR ammo 
  (30), chainmail shirt, juju potion (1d4+2).
  BROTHERHOOD ACOLYTE
  The acolytes of the Brotherhood of the Radiation 
  march fearlessly to war, driven by their glorious 
  “angels of radiation”, the Illuminated.
  Brotherhood Acolyte, Dedicated Hero 2/Fast Hero 
  1:  CR 3; Medium-size humanoid; HD 2d6 plus 1d8; 
  HP 12; Mas 10; Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 17, touch 
  
  37
  17, ﬂatfooted 15 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +5 class); BAB 
  +1; Grap +2; Atk +2 melee (1d6+1, riﬂe butt), or 
  +4 ranged (2d8, 5.56mm pipe riﬂe); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; 
  Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility, light 20 feet; 
  AL Brotherhood of Radiation; SV Fort +2, Ref +3, 
  Will +4; AP 1; Rep +1; Str 13, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 
  12, Wis 15, Cha 8.
  Occupation:  Academic (DW) (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore], Knowledge [Technology]).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Theology and Philosophy]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Neural Mutation - 
  Precognition, Photo luminescent Aural Emission.
  Skills:  Balance +3, Concentration +4, 
  Knowledge (Current Events) +3, Knowledge 
  (Earth and Life Sciences) +3, Knowledge (Mutant 
  Lore) +3, Knowledge (Physical Sciences) +3, 
  Knowledge (Tactics) +3, Knowledge (Technology) 
  +3, Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) +3, 
  Knowledge (Twisted Earth) +2, Listen +4, Sense 
  Motive +4, Spot +4, Survival +4, Treat Injury +4, 
  Tumble +8.
  Feats:  Foresight, Perceive Outcome, Personal 
  Firearms Proﬁciency, Post-Apocalyptic Technology, 
  Primitive Technology, Weapon Focus (pipe riﬂe).
  Talents (Dedicated Hero):  Skill Emphasis 
  (Concentration).
  Talents (Fast Hero):  Evasion.
  Possessions:  5.56mm pipe riﬂe, 12 rounds of 
  5.56mm ammo.
  BISHOP IRIDIUM
  The leader of the Radite expedition to ﬁnd the Mount 
  of Thorns, Bishop Iridium looks like any other 
  member of his army, clad in a moth-eaten robe of 
  faded purple cloth that conceals his gruesome and 
  deformed body.  Iridium rose to prominence in the 
  cult through his mastery of the mind, as well as from 
  his entrancing charisma.
  Bishop Iridium, Dedicated Hero 3/Psionic 6:  CR 
  9; Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d6+6 plus 6d8+12; 
  HP 56; Mas 14; Init +0; Spd 30 ft; Defense 15, 
  touch 15, ﬂatfooted 15 (+0 size, +0 Dex, +5 class); 
  BAB +6; Grap +5; Atk +5 melee (1d6-1, bite), or +6 
  ranged (by weapon); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ 
  medical incompatibility, cannot move x2 speed; AL 
  Radites; SV Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +10; AP 4; Rep +3; 
  Str 8, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 16.
  Occupation:  Academic (DW) (Knowledge 
  [Theology and Philosophy], Knowledge [Twisted 
  Earth]).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Neural Mutation - 
  Telepathy x4, Serrated Dental Development, Aberrant 
  Deformity, Pituitary Deformation, Underdeveloped 
  Organ (Lung).
  Skills:  Bluff +6, Concentration +17, Diplomacy 
  +12, Disguise -3, Gather Information +6, Intimidate 
  +9, Investigate +3, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +7, 
  Knowledge (Tactics) +7, Knowledge (Theology and 
  Philosophy) +7, Knowledge (Twisted Earth) +7, 
  Navigate +3, Sense Motive +13, Survival +7.
  Feats:  Flight Trigger, Iron Will, Leadership, Lie 
  Detector, Mental Communication, Mind Crush, Mind 
  Strike, Mind Stun, Mutation Advancement (Neural 
  Mutation - Telepathy), Neural Concert*, Post-
  Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive Technology.
  Talents (Dedicated Hero):  Skill Emphasis 
  (Concentration), Faith.
  Talents (Psionic):  Neural Specialization, Mutation 
  Advancement (Neural Mutation - Telepathy).
  Possessions:  None.
  JUNKYARD DOGS
  Pastor Disaster and his gang of thieves, the “Junkyard 
  Dogs”, are presented separately for the GM’s 
  convenience, since they will be encountered more 
  than once during the adventure.
  PASTOR DISASTER
  The man known as Pastor Disaster is something 
  of a dreaded ﬁgure throughout the Deadlands, and 
  even in other wasteland areas across the Twisted 
  Earth.  A famed tech looter, he has been driven out of 
  numerous regions for thievery, banditry, and murder, 
  and he is wanted in many civilized (and semi-
  civilized) settlements up and down the trade routes.  
  He is also the leader of the “Junkyard Dogs”, his own 
  self-made band of thieves and cutthroats.
  It’s not sure where Pastor Disaster comes from, but 
  he often acts and behaves like a gentleman, quoting 
  Scripture from a worn-out Bible he found years ago.  
  In fact, Disaster often dons the disguise of a well-
  meaning missionary, using his skill at gaff not only to 
  secure food and lodgings wherever he goes, but also 
  to gather information about legendary treasure hordes 
  and stores of technology in whichever region he ﬁnds 
  himself.
  Though he is absolutely amoral and ruthless, Pastor 
  Disaster somehow manages to engender loyalty from 
  his diverse followers, which include a range of men 
  and women (he believes in treating the sexes equally, 
  a rare quality in the wasteland) from all corners of 
  the desert.  Though he rarely punishes his followers, 
  when he does it is always corporal, and so his 
  followers never disobey him - at least not if they plan 
  on staying with the Junkyard Dogs.
  Disaster believes that the Mount of Thorns is 
  potentially the “great motherlode” of technology 
  he - and others of his kind - spend their entire lives 
  
  38
  looking for.  He will stop at nothing to get hold of its 
  “treasures” before anyone else.
  Pastor Disaster, Smart Hero 4/Fast Hero 2/Scav 
  4/Tech Looter 2:  CR 12; Medium-size humanoid; 
  HD 4d6+4 plus 2d8+2 plus 4d8+4 plus 2d10+2; HP 
  64; Mas 16; Init +3; Spd 30 ft; Defense 25, touch 
  22, ﬂatfooted 22 (+0 size, +3 Dex, +9 class, +3 
  equipment); BAB +7; Grap +6; Atk +6 melee (1d6-1, 
  metal baton), or +11 ranged (2d12, laser pistol); Full 
  Atk +6/+1 melee (1d6-1, metal baton), or +11/+6 
  ranged (2d12, laser pistol); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; 
  SQ medical incompatibility, scent, night blindness; 
  AL none; SV Fort +4, Ref +11, Will +3; AP 6; Rep 
  +2; Str 8, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14.
  Occupation:  Craftsman (Gather Information, 
  Survival).
  Background:  Visionary Reinventor (Knowledge 
  [Ancient Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Hyper Olfactory, Night 
  Blindness.
  Skills:  Bluff +14, Computer Use +8, Disable 
  Device +10, Forgery +4, Gather Information +12, 
  Hide +8, Knowledge (Ancient Lore) +10, Knowledge 
  (Current Events) +12, Knowledge (Technology) +15, 
  Move Silently +8, Repair +8, Search +14, Sense 
  Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +7, Survival +6.
  Feats:  Advanced Technology, Armor Proﬁciency 
  (light), Double Tap, Futuristic Firearms Proﬁciency, 
  Improved Damage Threshold, Leadership, 
  Meticulous, Point Blank Shot, Post-Apocalyptic 
  Technology, Primitive Technology, Radiation Sense, 
  Weapon Focus (laser pistol).
  Talents (Smart Hero):  Savant (Search), Plan.
  Talents (Fast Hero):  Evasion.
  Talents (Scav):  Scav Scan, Sneak Attack +1d6, 
  Scav Survival.
  Talents (Tech Looter):  Sneak Attack +1d6, 
  Contacts, Ancient Sense.
  Possessions:  Laser pistol, metal baton, undercover 
  vest, yellow stage IIC identity card, survival kit, 
  Geiger counter, two power beltpacks, 3d6 dehydrated 
  pills, two juju potions (1d4+4), monocle, deck of 
  marked cards, old Bible (half the pages missing), 
  1,000 cp, other trinkets.
  ANGEL
  Angel is Pastor Disaster’s wild card, a pleasure 
  android he reactivated years ago from the ruins of a 
  destroyed robot factory out in the wastes.  Since that 
  time Angel has served him well as a spy, saboteur, 
  and assassin, using her stunning good looks to fool 
  the generally depraved men of the wasteland to 
  whatever ends Disaster has in mind.  Often the Pastor 
  will send Angel into the camps of merchants or 
  raiders, usually in the guise of an escaped concubine, 
  to live with them for a time to learn about what goods 
  they carry or about legendary tech sources they’ve 
  heard of.  Once she has learned all she can, she 
  usually slips away and reports back.
  Other times Pastor Disaster simply uses Angel to 
  kill.  Using her charms to great effect, once she has 
  a group of sentries drunk (and naked) she can easily 
  overcome even the strongest guards and quickly slit 
  their throats.  Quickly and silently.
  In the past Angel suffered frequent sexual 
  harassment from the Pastor’s other henchmen, but he 
  usually lets her fend for herself.  After all, if annoyed 
  too much, the eerily-silent woman will often break 
  the offender’s nose, arm, or - in the case of repeated 
  badgering - slit his throat in the middle of the night.  
  It has happened before. 
  Angel, Fast Hero 3/Skulk 2:  CR 5; Medium-size 
  android construct; HD 3d10 plus 2d10; HP 27; Mas 
  -; Init +1; Spd 30 ft; Defense 21, touch 17, ﬂatfooted 
  20 (+0 size, +1 Dex, +6 class, +4 natural); BAB +3; 
  Grap +5; Atk +6 melee (2d6+2/19-20, katana), or +4 
  ranged (by weapon); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ 
  Critical Systems, Immunities, Repairable, Sputtering 
  Death, Robot Resurrection, Vulnerability to 
  Electricity, Command Level IC; AL Pastor Disaster; 
  SV Fort -, Ref +6, Will +1; AP 2; Rep +1; Str 15, Dex 
  13, Con -, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 15.
  Occupation:  Toy (Bluff, Gather Information).
  Background:  Advanced (Knowledge [Behavioral 
  Sciences]).
  Features and Deteriorations:  Armor Plating, 
  Human Mimicry (x2), Wild.
  Skills:  Bluff +12, Disguise +4, Gather Information 
  +10, Hide +9, Listen +4, Move Silently +9, Sleight of 
  Hand +7, Spot +4, Tumble +7. 
  Feats:  Advanced Technology, Deceptive, Exotic 
  Melee Weapon Proﬁciency, Post-Apocalyptic 
  Technology, Remove Deterioration, Stealthy.
  Talents (Fast Hero):  Evasion, Uncanny Dodge 1.
  Talents (Skulk):  Sweep, Sneak Attack +1D6.
  Possessions:  Mastercraft katana, combat knife 
  (concealed on clothes), slave clothing.
  TONY THE TIGER
  At almost seven feet, Tony is a lumbering mongoloid, 
  and also Pastor Disaster’s main enforcer.  A former 
  tribal of the Sulphur Peaks region, his people were 
  almost completely wiped out by the crusades of the 
  Foundationists.  No one knows how Pastor Disaster 
  came to recruit the quiet giant, but to this day Tony 
  follows Disaster without question, sometimes even 
  doting over the Pastor as if he was a child to be cared 
  for.  Any time someone so much raises a voice to the 
  Pastor, Tony growls and moves to kill the offender.  
  Usually Pastor Disaster must stop him and ease him 
  down, but in some circumstances he enjoys watching 
  Tony tear others apart.
  
  39
  Tony despises Wreckage, and often growls at him 
  when the two are alone.
  Tony the Tiger, Tough Hero 5:  CR 5; Large 
  humanoid; HD 5d10+10 plus 11; HP 46; Mas 18; Init 
  +1; Spd 30 ft; Defense 21, touch 13, ﬂatfooted 20 (-1 
  size, +1 Dex, +3 class, +6 natural, +2 equipment); 
  BAB +3; Grap +10; Atk +7 melee (1d10+3, three-
  section staff), or +3 ranged (by weapon); Full 
  Atk +3/-1 melee (1d10+3/1d10+1, three-section 
  staff); FS 10 ft by 10 ft; Reach 10 ft; SQ medical 
  incompatibility, cannot speak; AL Pastor Disaster; SV 
  Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +2; AP 2; Rep +1; Str 17, Dex 
  13, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 7.
  Occupation:  Furniture (Perform, Sleight of 
  Hand).
  Background:  Tribal (Intimidate).
  Mutations and Defects:  Gigantism, Protective 
  Dermal Development x2, Aberrant Deformity, 
  Attention Deﬁcit, Underdeveloped Organ (Voice 
  Box).
  Skills:  Climb +7, Concentration +0, Craft 
  (chemical) -2, Craft (electronic) -2, Craft 
  (mechanical) -2, Craft (pharmaceutical) -2, Craft 
  (structural) -2, Craft (visual art) -2, Craft (writing) -2, 
  Disable Device -2, Disguise -8, Hide -3, Intimidate 
  +6, Perform -4, Repair -2, Spot +7, Survival +7.
  Feats:  Armor Proﬁciency (light), Exotic Melee 
  Weapon Proﬁciency, Improved Damage Threshold, 
  Primitive Technology, Toughness, Track, Weapon 
  Focus (three-section staff).
  Talents (Tough Hero):  Robust, Damage 
  Reduction 1/—, Damage Reduction 2/—.
  Possessions:  Mastercraft three-section staff, 
  leather armor, two juju potions (1d4+4), bolt cutter, 
  bone necklace, tribal “medicine bag” (ﬁlled with dirt 
  and bones), other trinkets.
  EMORA
  Disaster’s other femme fatale is a lithe black woman 
  of no little exotic appeal; her crimson eyes (complete 
  with slitted pupils reminiscent of a cat) and razor 
  sharp claws - as well as her penchant for decorative 
  bones, fangs, and wearing furs - have caused many a 
  man to stop in surprise, often to his detriment.
  Raised as a slave in one of many nameless desert 
  communities, Emora’s only companion as a young 
  woman was a ferocious white lion named Togor.  
  Having developed a symbiotic relationship almost 
  from the start, Emora used her new friend to help her 
  massacre the men who kept her caged, ﬂeeing into 
  the desert together with their lives.  She has never 
  looked back.
  Emora has a deep independent streak, and only 
  really trusts Togor, who is never far from her side.  
  Still, she realizes that there is safety in belonging to 
  a group or ideal, and with Pastor Disaster she has 
  at least found a niche where she excels.  Indifferent 
  and amoral, Emora doesn’t care about the killing 
  that is often involved in Disaster’s capers.  She has 
  even come to love the sense of power it gives her, 
  and delights in the screams of her enemies when she 
  either sic’s Togor on them...or feeds them to him as 
  captives.
  Emora, Strong Hero 3/Symbiote 2:  CR 5; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d8+3 plus 2d8+2 plus 
  3; HP 31; Mas 13; Init +3; Spd 30 ft; Defense 16, 
  touch 16, ﬂatfooted 13 (+0 size, +3 Dex, +3 class); 
  BAB +4; Grap +6; Atk +8 melee (1d8+4, claw), or 
  +7 ranged (by weapon); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; 
  SQ medical incompatibility, claws, increased critical 
  threat; AL Togor, Pastor Disaster; SV Fort +5, Ref 
  +4, Will +2; AP 2; Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 16, Con 13, 
  Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 8.
  Occupation:  Slave (Handle Animal, Survival).
  Background:  Radical (Intimidate).
  Mutations and Defects:  Claws x2, Bizarre 
  Pigmentation, Critical Vulnerability.
  Skills:  Climb +8, Handle Animal +7, Hide +5, 
  Intimidate +1, Jump +6, Knowledge (Tactics) +3, 
  Move Silently +5, Ride +5, Survival +5.
  Feats:  Animal Afﬁnity, Brawl, Defensive Martial 
  Arts, Elusive Target, Post-Apocalyptic Technology, 
  Primitive Technology, Toughness, Weapon Focus 
  (claws).
  Talents (Strong Hero):  Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash.
  Talents (Symbiote):  Animal Partner, Symbiote 
  Opportunist.
  Possessions:  Furs, bone jewelry, industrial-size 
  nail ﬁle, cheap mood ring, other trinkets.
  TOGOR
  Togor was raised as the exotic pet of a Clean water 
  merchant mandarin, but over time was passed 
  over as just another beast in his “circus” of animal 
  oddities.  As a child when Emora ﬁrst laid eyes on the 
  neglected animal - an albino lion with crimson eyes 
  - she could not believe their shared appearance was 
  merely a coincidence; apparently it was not lost on 
  the cat either, as the two quickly became companions.
  Because of her long-time adoration and pampering 
  of the cat, Togor has become somewhat spoiled, 
  exhibiting a mean (even violent) temper against 
  strangers - other Junkyard Dogs included.  When he 
  is not grooming himself or doting on Emora, Togor 
  simply growls at those members of the Pastor’s 
  entourage that he does not like.
  Even though Emora dotes over Togor, he is a 
  vicious-looking animal, not some elegant feline, 
  despite what she believes.  The lion has been known 
  
  40
  to kill men just for waking him from his sleep, and 
  his muzzle is often tinged pink from the blood of 
  recent kills.
  SPECIES TRAITS
  Pounce (Ex):  If a lion leaps upon a foe during the 
  ﬁrst round of combat, it can make a full attack even if 
  it has already taken a move action.
  Improved Grab (Ex):  To use this ability, the lion 
  must hit with its bite attack.  If it gets a hold, it can 
  rake.
  Rake (Ex):  A lion that gets a hold can make two 
  rake attacks (+7 melee) with its hind legs for 1d4+2 
  damage each.  If the lion pounces on an opponent, it 
  can also rake.
  Skills:  Lions receive a +4 racial bonus to Balance, 
  Hide, and Move Silently checks.  In areas of tall grass 
  or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus improves to 
  +12.
  Togor (Lion):  CR 3; Large animal; HD 6d8+12; hp 
  39; Mas 15; Init +4; Spd 40 ft.; Defense 17, touch 
  14, ﬂat-footed 13; BAB +3; Grap +13; Atk +9 melee 
  (1d4+6, two claws) and +4 melee (1d8+3, bite); FS 5 
  ft. by 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SQ pounce, improved grab, 
  rake, scent; AL Emora; SV Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +3; 
  AP 0; Rep +0; Str 22, Dex 18, Con 15, Int 7, Wis 12, 
  Cha 6.
  Skills:  Balance +8, Hide +5, Jump +6, Listen +5, 
  Move Silently +12, Spot +5.
  Feats:  None.
  Talents (Symbiote Partner):  Bond of Friendship, 
  Evasion.
  WRECKAGE
  Wreckage wears the distinctive tatters of a brilliant 
  white uniform, and is the only pureblood human 
  among the Junkyard Dogs.  In reality he used to be a 
  member of the Foundation (see page 242 of Darwin’s 
  World 2nd Edition), but deserted his post in the 
  mountains long ago when his garrison was faced with 
  an attack by a large tribal raiding party.  Wreckage 
  knows a lot about technology and weapons, but 
  ultimately he is a coward at heart.  Pastor Disaster 
  keeps him around only because he knows a lot about 
  ﬁxing things; he is far too gutless to trust in a ﬁght, 
  unless the odds are clearly in his favor.  Wreckage 
  prefers attacking from ambush, and either disabling 
  his foes or sneak attacking them when their guard is 
  down.  In addition, he always goes for the biggest and 
  most powerful weapon available, carelessly using it 
  at a moment’s notice.  He is terriﬁed of an even ﬁght.
  Wreckage, Fast Hero 3/Skulk 2/Tinker 2:  CR 7; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d8+3 plus 2d8+2 plus 
  2d6+2; HP 37; Mas 13; Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 
  24, touch 18, ﬂatfooted 22 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +6 class, 
  +6 equipment); BAB +4; Grap +6; Atk +6 melee 
  (1d6+2, combat knife), or +6 ranged (4d6, RPG-
  7); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ none; AL Pastor 
  Disaster; SV Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +4; AP 3; Rep +2; 
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8.
  Occupation:  Repairmen (Knowledge 
  [Technology], Repair).
  Background:  Guardian (Knowledge [Ancient 
  Lore]).
  Skills:  Craft (electronic) +3, Craft (mechanical) 
  +3, Disable Device +7, Hide +10, Knowledge 
  (Ancient Lore) +3, Knowledge (Current Events) +3, 
  Knowledge (Technology) +7, Move Silently +10, 
  Repair +9, Search +3, Sleight of Hand +8, Survival 
  +2.
  Feats:  Advanced Technology, Armor Proﬁciency 
  (heavy), Armor Proﬁciency (light), Armor Proﬁciency 
  (medium), Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Post-
  Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive Technology.
  Talents (Fast Hero):  Evasion, Uncanny Dodge 1.
  Talents (Skulk):  Sweep, Sneak Attack +1d6.
  Talents (Tinker):  Jury-rig +2, Tinkering.
  Possessions:  Military combat suit, RPG-7, three 
  RPG rounds (treat as fragmentation grenades), 
  M72A3 LAW, survival kit, combat knife, two ready 
  syringes (two doses of stimshot A), basic mechanical 
  toolkit, aviator sunglasses (missing one lens), other 
  trinkets.
  BUG AND CANKER
  Bug and Canker are brothers with more than a slight 
  resemblance to each other, but unfortunately neither 
  inherited much sense from their parents.  Luckily 
  they learned a useful skill early on - blufﬁng - as two-
  bit hustlers in the distant “city” of Lil’ Vegas.  Both 
  managed to escape that town despite its lure, but 
  not before Bug had three of his ﬁngers cut off by an 
  angry guardsman who caught on to their schemes.
  Pastor Disaster ﬁnds a use for these sometimes-
  bumbling brothers, as both are unafraid of a ﬁght and 
  he recognizes their skill at lying.  He has on more 
  than one occasion used Bug and Canker as scouts 
  or moles, sending them in disguise to join merchant 
  caravans as guards and learn what they are carrying, 
  or into small desert settlements to assess their 
  “attitude” towards tech looters (i.e. looking to make 
  sure there are no outstanding bounties on his party) 
  before paying a visit.
  Bug, Charismatic Hero 2/Fast Hero 2/Skulk 
  2:  CR 6; Medium-size humanoid; HD 2d6+2 plus 
  2d8+2 plus 2d8+2; HP 31; Mas 13; Init +2; Spd 55 
  ft; Defense 18, touch 18, ﬂatfooted 16 (+0 size, +2 
  Dex, +6 class); BAB +3; Grap +3; Atk +3 melee 
  (1d6, combat knife), or +5 ranged (2d10, Remington 
  700) or +5 ranged (2d8, Desert Eagle); FS 5 ft by 5 
  ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility; AL Pastor 
  
  41
  Disaster; SV Fort +3, Ref +9, Will -1; AP 3; Rep +2; 
  Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 16.
  Occupation:  Predator (Sense Motive).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Increased Movement x2, 
  Anaphylaxis x2.
  Skills:  Bluff +14, Diplomacy +12, Disguise 
  +14, Forgery +3, Gather Information +5, Hide 
  +8, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +3, Knowledge 
  (Streetwise) +3, Knowledge (Tactics) +2, Knowledge 
  (Technology) +2, Move Silently +8, Sense Motive 
  +3, Sleight of Hand +8, Tumble +6.
  Feats:  Deceptive, Double Tap, Personal Firearms 
  Proﬁciency, Point Blank Shot, Post-Apocalyptic 
  Technology, Primitive Technology, Quick Draw, 
  Trustworthy.
  Talents (Charismatic Hero):  Fast-Talk.
  Talents (Fast Hero):  Increased Speed.
  Talents (Skulk):  Sweep, Sneak Attack +1d6.
  Possessions:  Remington 700, 20 rounds of 
  7.62mm ammo, Desert Eagle, one box of .50AE 
  ammo (18), combat knife, switchblade hair comb, 
  special gauntlet (three articulated metal ﬁngers to 
  replace those he lost), other trinkets.
  Canker, Tough Hero 4/Charismatic Hero 2:  CR 6; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 4d10+4 plus 2d6+2 plus 
  7; HP 42; Mas 13; Init +1; Spd 50 ft; Defense 15, 
  touch 15, ﬂatfooted 14 (+0 size, +1 Dex, +4 class); 
  BAB +4; Grap +7; Atk +7 melee (1d6+3, combat 
  knife), or +5 ranged (2d8, black powder riﬂe) or +5 
  ranged (2d6, Ruger Service-Six); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; 
  Reach 5 ft; SQ medical incompatibility; AL Pastor 
  Disaster; SV Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +0; AP 3; Rep +3; 
  Str 16, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14.
  Occupation:  Predator (Intimidate).
  Background:  Ritual Preservationist (Knowledge 
  [Mutant Lore]).
  Mutations and Defects:  Increased Movement x2, 
  Anaphylaxis x2.
  Skills:  Bluff +14, Climb +4, Diplomacy +4, 
  Disguise +14, Gather Information +4, Intimidate 
  +6, Knowledge (Mutant Lore) +2, Knowledge 
  (Streetwise) +2, Knowledge (Tactics) +1, Knowledge 
  (Technology) +1, Listen +0, Spot +1, Survival +3.
  Feats:  Brawl, Deceptive, Knockout Punch, 
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Point Blank Shot, 
  Post-Apocalyptic Technology, Primitive Technology, 
  Toughness, Trustworthy.
  Talents (Tough Hero):  Robust, Stamina.
  Talents (Charismatic Hero):  Fast-Talk.
  Possessions:  Black powder riﬂe, 12 shots, Ruger 
  Service-Six, 18 rounds of .38S ammo, combat knife, 
  ready syringe (with one dose of rad-purge shot), two-
  way radio, power cell, gold tooth (worth 20 cp), other 
  trinkets.
  APPENDIX 2:  NEW ADVANCED CLASS
  A new advanced class is introduced in Another Man’s 
  Treasure, the “Mercenary”, which represents a caste 
  of professional warriors that has begun to appear all 
  across the Twisted Earth.  Full game information is 
  presented here.
  MERCENARY
  The constant chaos that has ensued for nearly two 
  hundred years since the Great Fall has left many of 
  the last enclaves of humanity ruined.  Destroyed 
  in the violent wars waged by the last civilized men 
  against the jealous and nihilistic raiders of the desert, 
  or in the skirmishes of tribal folk whose villages dot 
  the wasteland like tiny fortresses separated by miles 
  of sand, these wars have left many homeless and 
  without hope.  Without a community to call their 
  own, their villages burned to the ground and their 
  people driven extinct, those who live through the 
  violence most often die alone among the dunes, their 
  tragic stories forgotten.
  Among the dispossessed, however, a few manage 
  to survive.  Some are taken as prisoners by their 
  conquerors to become concubines or slaves, while 
  others prove indispensable to their new masters 
  due to some precious skill or knowledge.  A few, 
  however, manage to escape bondage and strike out on 
  their own, defying the odds.
  The wasteland is a dangerous place; allegiance 
  to one petty lord or another is often the line that 
  separates living men from the wind-stripped 
  skeletons that dot the sands.  Despite this, a few men 
  refuse to surrender their freedom and instead make 
  their living as “warriors-for-hire”, selling themselves 
  to whoever can afford their services.  Having seen 
  war and survived it, and having no afﬁliations 
  except to themselves, these men are the last true 
  professionals in the art of warfare.
  Mercenaries are usually in great demand on the 
  Twisted Earth.  Raider princes hire these characters 
  in profusion to complement their own armies during 
  times of war, while even civilized communities are 
  forced to turn to them for aid; for poor or defenseless 
  communities, such warriors are often their only hope 
  for salvation against more powerful enemies.
  Though there is never a shortage of opportunities, 
  the Mercenary must always be vigilant.  The raiders 
  who hire them respect their skills, but will just as 
  often turn on them rather than pay them - if they 
  show any sign of weakness.  Civilized communities 
  look on Mercenaries as “roving scum”, viewing them 
  at all times as honorless thugs whose loyalty can 
  never be certain.  Only the truly poor and desperate 
  venerate them as heroes, but veneration alone doesn’t 
  
  42
  put food on one’s plate.  As such the Mercenary 
  soon learns to be as self-sufﬁcient as possible, 
  complementing his pay by trading for or stealing the 
  things he needs, ﬁnding bargains through contacts 
  everywhere he goes, and never forgetting that 
  potential enemies are everywhere.
  REQUIREMENTS
  To become a Mercenary, a character must fulﬁll the 
  following criteria.
  Base Attack Bonus:  +3.
  Skills:  Diplomacy 3 ranks, Gather Information 3 
  ranks, Profession (Trader) 2 ranks.
  Feats:  Archaic Weapon Proﬁciency (or Futuristic 
  Firearms Proﬁciency or Personal Firearms 
  Proﬁciency), Weapon Focus (any weapon).
  CLASS INFORMATION
  The following information pertains to the Mercenary 
  advanced class.
  Hit Dice:  1d10.
  Action Points:  6 + one half the character’s class 
  level, rounded down.
  Class Skills:  The Mercenary’s class skills 
  are:  Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Demolitions (Int), 
  Diplomacy (Cha), Drive (Dex), Gather Information 
  (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (mutant lore, 
  tactics) (Int), Listen (Wis), Navigate (Int), Ride 
  (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival 
  (Wis).
  Skill Points at Each Level:  3 + Int modiﬁer.
  CLASS FEATURES
  The following features pertain to the Mercenary 
  advanced class.
  Bonus Feats:  The Mercenary receives a bonus 
  feat at 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels.  The feat must be 
  selected from the following list, and the character 
  must meet the prerequisites to select it:  Advanced 
  Firearms Proﬁciency, Alertness, Burst Fire, Cleave, 
  Double Tap, Hard-Eyed, High Ready, Improved 
  Autoﬁre, Market, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick 
  Draw, Quick Reload, Reactive Shooter, Rip A Clip, 
  Room Broom, Silver Tongue, Strafe, Suppressive Fire.
  Weapon Specialization:  At 1st level the 
  Mercenary gains a +2 bonus on damage rolls made 
  with any weapon for which he has taken the Weapon 
  Focus feat.  If he has a focus in more than one 
  weapon, he must choose only one to apply this bonus 
  to.
  Connections:  At 2nd level a Mercenary’s contacts 
  allow him to purchase equipment at a 5% discount.  
  This rises to 10% at 7th level.
  Greater Weapon Focus:  At 4th level the 
  Mercenary receives a +1 competence bonus on attack 
  rolls made with the weapon he has chosen to apply 
  his Weapon Specialization bonus to.
  Flexible Focus:  At 5th level Mercenary’s 
  Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, Weapon 
  Specialization, and Greater Weapon Specialization 
  no longer apply to a speciﬁc weapon.  Instead, after 
  possessing a weapon for a week, the Mercenary can 
  transfer the bonuses from those abilities to the new 
  weapon.
  Greater Weapon Specialization:  At 8th level the 
  Mercenary does an additional 2 points of damage 
  with the weapon he has chosen to apply his Weapon 
  Specialization bonus to.  This ability increases the 
  bonus to damage rolls to +4 when using the selected 
  weapon.
  Improved Critical:  At 10th level, the threat 
  range for the weapon selected for the Weapon 
  Specialization ability increases by one.
  APPENDIX 3:  NEW MUTANT FEATS
  A few new neural feats were introduced in One Man’s 
  Garbage, and two of these are reprinted here due to 
  their relevance to this adventure.
  NEURAL CONCERT
  A mutant with this ability can unite her mind with 
  those who share the same level of neural mastery, 
  magnifying her abilities to increase the duration of 
  effect or the difﬁculty to resist.
  Prerequisites:  Telepathy.
  Beneﬁt:  Total up the number of friendly characters 
  who also have the Neural Concert feat within 30 ft. 
  (including yourself), and modify one aspect (duration 
  TABLE 1: MERCENARY CLASS
  Level
  Base Attack
  Fort
  Ref
  Will
  Special
  Defense 
  Reputation
  1
  +1
  +1
  +1
  +0
  Weapon Specialization
  +1
  +0
  2
  +2
  +2
  +2
  +0
  Connections (5%)
  +1
  +0
  3
  +3
  +2
  +2
  +1
  Bonus Feat
  +2
  +0
  4
  +4
  +2
  +2
  +1
  Greater Weapon Focus
  +2
  +1
  5
  +5
  +3
  +3
  +1
  Flexible Focus
  +3
  +1
  6
  +6
  +3
  +3
  +2
  Bonus Feat
  +3
  +1
  7
  +7
  +4
  +4
  +2
  Connections (10%)
  +4
  +1
  8
  +8
  +4
  +4
  +2
  Greater Wpn Specialization
  +4
  +2
  9
  +9
  +4
  +4
  +3
  Bonus Feat
  +5
  +2
  10
  +10
  +5
  +5
  +3
  Improved Critical
  +5
  +2
  
  43
  or DC) of any other neural feat you use this round 
  according to the table below.
  Action:  Free.
  Duration:  Instant.
  Usage:  Unlimited.
  Characters In 
  Concert
  Duration
  DC
  2
  x1.5
  +2
  3-4
  x2
  +4
  5-9
  x2.5
  +6
  10-15
  x3
  +8
  16+
  x4
  +10
  MIND’S EYE
  This feat allows a blind mutant to “see” through 
  obstacles and obstructions, using the power of her 
  mind to detect life and motion out to a certain range; 
  i.e. a kind of psychic “sonar”.
  Prerequisite:  Telepathy, Blindness.
  Beneﬁt:  You “see” all living creatures and sources 
  of motion out to a range equal to 15 feet times your 
  Charisma bonus (if positive; minimum of 15 feet) 
  as if you had 360 degree senses.  This even operates 
  through obstacles and solid obstructions.
  Action:  Free.
  Duration:  Instant.
  Usage:  Unlimited.
  
  44
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  System Rules Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; 
  Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original 
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  Covey 
  OPEN GAMING CONTENT
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