TEXT:  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SF2: Concluding THE VOLTURNUS ADVENTURE 
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  STAR FRONTIERS, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, and the WIZARDS OF THE COAST logo are 
  trademarks belonging to Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used 
  here without permission. © 2001 Wizards of the Coast. All Rights Reserved.  The free distribution 
  of this revised edition of the out-of-print game system is not intended to detract income from 
  Wizards of the Coast. 
   
   
   
  SF2: Concluding THE VOLTURNUS ADVENTURE 
   
  Last Revision: 2.28.2007 
  
   
  1 
   
   
   
   
  The Sathar fleet is bound for Volturnus to wreak 
  destruction on the entire world. The only hope for survival 
  lies with you. You and your fellow adventurers must unite 
  the quarreling races of Volturnus and lead them to victory 
  against the Sathar! 
   
  This module is the conclusion of the Volturnus series of 
  modules for the STAR FRONTIERSTM game. It can be 
  played separately or as a sequel to the other Volturnus 
  modules. This module contains "The Great Game of the 
  Ul-Mor", an encounter that is a replayable game by itself. 
   
  This is the final module in the Volturnus series of STAR 
  FRONTIERSTM modules, which also includes the modules 
  CRASH ON VOLTURNUS and VOLTURNUS, PLANET OF 
  MYSTERY. It is strongly recommended that players who 
  have not played the previous modules should play them 
  before beginning play of this adventure. However, this 
  module can be played without prior play of SF 0 and SF 1. 
   
  In STARSPAWN OF VOLTURNUS the player characters will 
  face the ultimate challenge on this forbidding planet: a 
  battle to the death with the dreaded Sathar for control of 
  the lives of five intelligent races, and the future of an 
  entire world! Adventure beckons! 
   
  STOP! If you are going to be a player in this adventure, do 
  not read any further. The rest of the material in this 
  booklet is for the game referee only. 
   
   
  ALPHA Section 
   
  
   
  2 
   
   
   
  ALPHA SUBSECTION 1:  
  MODULE BRIEFING 
  This module is designed for play by 4-8 player characters. 
  If your players have not played SF 0 and SF 1, they 
  should create new characters. The referee should use the 
  Optional Introduction section to give these characters 
  some briefing about Volturnus and their mission there. If 
  you are playing this as the conclusion to the Volturnus 
  series, players should use the characters they used in SF 
  1. If one or more of your players' characters were killed 
  by the end of SF 1, allow them to roll up new characters. 
  These characters may appear as reinforcements sent by 
  the government of Truane's Star in response to the 
  messages sent by the player characters during the course 
  of play in module SF 1. They may be introduced just 
  before play begins. 
   
  In the course of this module, the player characters will 
  meet, fight, and hopefully convince the Mechanons to join 
  the Volturnus alliance against the Sathar, and then 
  perform a special service for each of the other three races 
  in order to persuade them to put aside their differences 
  and unite against the common foe. Finally, if they 
  successfully complete these tasks, the player characters 
  will lead the united forces of Volturnus into battle against 
  the Sathar invaders. 
   
  In order to referee this module, it is essential that you 
  read it thoroughly before beginning play. Take the time to 
  become familiar with all the maps that will be used, and 
  with the major encounters the player characters will have. 
  The referee must pay special attention to the ZETA 
  SECTION of this module which is the battle with the 
  Sathar. 
   
  ALPHA SUBSECTION 2:  
  PLAYER'S 
  BACKGROUND 
  At the end of module SF 1, the player characters learned 
  that a Sathar battle fleet would be arriving in about two 
  weeks to attack Volturnus. They also learned that no 
  friendly fleet would be able to arrive in time to either help 
  them fight the Sathar or get them off Volturnus before the 
  attack takes place. 
   
  In the two days that have passed since the end of module 
  SF 1, the Eorna have searched for a way to counter the 
  Sathar threat. The Great Mission of the Eorna was to 
  develop a race on Volturnus capable of defeating the 
  Sathar. The Ul-Mor, the Kurabanda, and the Edestekai are 
  the results of Eorna genetic experiments. As yet, none are 
  capable of single-handedly defeating the Sathar. However, 
  the Eorna have devised a plan that seems to present the 
  only possible hope of saving Volturnus and its inhabitants 
  from destruction at the hands of the Sathar.  
   
  The plan is to unite the races of Volturnus in a common 
  effort against the Sathar. Although the races are 
  suspicious of each other, it is possible that you, as 
  impartial aliens, could overcome these suspicions and help 
  them to fight the Sathar.  
  If your party is willing to go to the Mechanons, the Ul-Mor, 
  the Kurabanda, and the Edestekai and convince them to 
  fight the Sathar, the Eorna will offer the following 
  assistance: 
   
  The Eorna will contact the Ul-Mor, The Kurabanda, and the 
  Edestekai and persuade them to listen to the proposals 
  you will bring. However, it will be up to you to convince 
  these races to join the anti-Sathar coalition. The Eorna are 
  not yet prepared to allow their true nature to be known to 
  the races involved in the Great Mission. 
   
  The Eorna will provide you with a complete map of 
  Volturnus, showing the probable location of the Mechanon 
  complex. The Eorna once built a planetary defense system 
  to defend against attack from space. It is not known how 
  much of this system is still operative, but the system's 
  master control is in the hands of the Mechanons. You will 
  have to determine how to activate the system once you 
  enter the Mechanon complex, since the Mechanons may 
  have modified the equipment. 
   
  The Eorna will equip each of you with a polyvox 
  programmed for the languages of the Ul-Mor, the 
  Kurabanda, and the Edestekai. 
   
  The Eorna will supply you with enough jetcopters to carry 
  your entire party, if you do not already have sufficient 
  jetcopters. 
   
  While you are gone, the Eorna will build what weapons 
  they can and will also capture and take cybernetic control 
  of various dangerous beasts who can be used in the battle 
  against the Sathar. 
   
  Once you have succeeded in uniting the races of 
  Volturnus, the battle will be fought near the ruins of the 
  city of Volkos. As the only center of advanced civilization 
  on the planet, the Eorna complex must be protected. 
   
    
  Optional Introduction  
  Read the following material to players who have not 
  played in the entire Volturnus series of modules. 
   
  You have been recruited by the government of Truane's 
  Star and sent to Volturnus as government agents. Your 
  mission: render any assistance possible to the inhabitants 
  of that planet in light of the fact that the Sathar will 
  definitely attack the planet within a short time period. You 
  should plan on having no more than two weeks on 
  Volturnus before the Sathar attack is launched.  
   
  You may expect no further assistance before the attack, 
  as the friendly battle fleet is still being assembled and 
  cannot possibly arrive at Volturnus before the Sathar do. 
   
  The government has a strong interest in defending this 
  planet and doing everything possible to maintain good 
  relations with all the inhabitants. Under no circumstances 
  are you to provoke combat among the races of Volturnus 
  or commit acts of aggression. You can, of course, defend 
  yourself if attacked. 
   
  
   
  3 
   
   
   
   
  You know that Volturnus is a relatively unexplored world. 
  It is believed to be a dangerous planet for adventurers, 
  filled with hostile terrain and many dangerous creatures. 
  It is known that there are four intelligent races living on 
  this planet: the Ul-Mor, the Kurabanda, the Edestekai, and 
  the Eorna. 
   
  An Ul-Mor looks something like an octopus 1.2 meters tall. 
  The Ul-Mor are known to be tribal desert nomads. They 
  live a harsh life, and value property and above all, water. 
  They are believed to have some type of philosophical 
  religion which teaches that all things are part of "The 
  One." Technologically, they are quite primitive, preferring 
  the spear as their major weapon. 
   
  The Kurabanda are a forest dwelling race of intelligent 
  creatures somewhat similar to monkeys in appearance. 
  These creatures have a crude form of tribal organization. 
  They are known to have very primitive religious jokes. 
  Vengeance for wrongs done to themselves or their kin 
  seems to be an important part of their culture. Kurabanda 
  prefer to fight using the bow and arrow. They have also 
  developed, and use, a primitive form of a hang glider. 
   
  The Edestekai are a mysterious race of three-legged 
  creatures. The Edestekai have an advanced social 
  organization run by their priests. Religion is the dominant 
  factor in Edestekai life, and their religion tends to be very 
  ritualistic. The Edestekai have over 60,000 gods or other 
  beings which they believe influence the course of events. 
  Although not warlike, the Edestekai do have cadres of 
  trained warriors who fight with long spears. The Edestekai 
  warriors usually fight in formations of massed spearmen. 
   
  The Eorna are a highly advanced race evolved from the 
  Volturnian dinosaurs. A typical Eorna is about three 
  meters tall and is covered with fur. The Eorna possess 
  highly advanced technology and have powers of hypnosis 
  and mind control which are not presently understood. The 
  Eorna population is now only a few hundred because their 
  race was devastated in the distant past by a Sathar 
  attack. It is believed that the Eorna are the dominant race 
  on the planet and are in fact controlling to some extent 
  the evolution of the other three races. 
    
  You will travel to Volturnus in a fast scout ship which will 
  patrol the outer reaches of the Zebulon system until the 
  fleet arrives. Once on the planet, you will be there until 
  after the Sathar attack. The Truane's Star government 
  has equipped your expedition as follows: each of you is 
  armed with a laser rifle, laser pistol, vibro knife, and an 
  albedo screen. you each have one power backpack (100 
  SEU) and two power belt- packs (50 SEU) to power your 
  weapons and screen. Each of you also has adequate 
  rations and water, and any toolkits your skills require.  
   
  Your party has been provided with one gyrojet rifle and 3 
  clips, 
  6 
  doze 
  grenades, 
  6 
  tangler 
  grenades, 
  4 
  fragmentation grenades, and 4 charges (200 gms.) of 
  tornadium explosive. You have two fully fueled jetcopters 
  to carry yourselves and your equipment. 
   
  Render all assistance possible to the native population. 
  Resist the Sathar at all costs. You will be picked up by 
  shuttles from the battle fleet when it arrives. Good luck! 
   
   
   
  Tell the players that upon landing on Volturnus, their 
  characters are met by a delegation of Eorna who quickly 
  take them to the Eorna installation deep beneath the ruins 
  of the city of Volkos. (The location of these ruins is given 
  on the color map of a large section of Volturnus which 
  came in the STAR FRONTIERSTM boxed set.) At this point, 
  give them the relevant information from the regular 
  introduction above. 
   
   
  ALPHA SUBSECTION 3:  
  RUNNING THE  
  ADVENTURE 
  The party's encounters with the Mechanons, the Ul-Mor, 
  the Kurabanda, and the Edestekai may be played in 
  whatever order the party decides to attempt them. 
  However, the adventurers in ZETA SECTION and ETA 
  SECTION cannot be played until the party has attempted 
  to unite the four races against the Sathar. The ZETA 
  SECTION must be played as the next to last set of 
  encounters, and the ETAS SECTION must be played as the 
  last set of encounters. The player characters may visit the 
  three races and the mounds of the Mechanons in any 
  order they choose. 
   
  Throughout the course of this adventure, the referee 
  should continually remind the players that they have a 
  very limited amount of game time in which to accomplish 
  their objectives, two weeks at most. Also remind them 
  that if they fail, they will certainly die on Volturnus at the 
  hands of the Sathar. This will add a great deal of tension 
  and excitement to the play of the various encounters. 
   
   
  PLAYER CHARACTER'S MAPS 
  In order to speed up play, you may allow your players to 
  use the full color map of Volturnus included on the cover 
  of CRASH ON VOLTURNUS. Tell them that the map was 
  provided by the Eorna in order to help them accomplish 
  their mission. There should be no need for the players to 
  make maps during the play of this module except in BETA 
  SECTION, when the player characters will have to make 
  their own map of the interior of the Mounds of the 
  Mechanons. 
   
  
   
  4 
   
   
   
  In this section of encounters, the player characters must 
  go to the strange mounds in the southwest portion of the 
  desert to contact the Mechanons, a strange race that 
  evolved from robots. The player characters' primary goal 
  is to convince the Mechanons to join the other races in 
  resisting the Sathar. They must also find the controls for 
  the automated planetary defense system of the Eorna and 
  activate the system before the Sathar battle fleet arrives.  
   
  BETA SUBSECTION 1:  
  PLAYERS' 
  INTRODUCTION 
  The Eorna have told you that there existed at one time a 
  system of planetary defenses designed to repel an 
  attacking fleet and prevent an enemy from bombarding 
  the planet. The Eorna do not know how many of the 
  system's automated weapons survive, but if the party can 
  find the controls of the system, they can activate 
  whatever remains of it. The Eorna know that the controls 
  are located somewhere beneath the strange mounds in 
  the southwest of the desert. They are able to provide you 
  with a map to the most likely general location of the 
  planetary defense controls.  
   
  The Eorna also know and have told you that there are 
  some creatures living beneath the mounds known as the 
  Mechanons. The Mechanons apparently evolved from the 
  few robots that were left after the great Sathar attack in 
  the distant past. As far as the Eorna know, the Mechanons 
  also build other robots, so the robot population in this 
  area may be very large. It is possible that the Mechanons 
  are unfriendly; the Eorna have not had contact with them 
  for many years. 
   
  After traveling to the general area of the mounds, you find 
  the area shown on the Eorna map. It appears to be a 
  section of desert with occasional outcroppings of scrub 
  vegetation. In fact, near the mounds, this vegetation 
  becomes heavier and in many places it is dense enough to 
  provide some cover. It appears that finding an entrance- 
  way into the mounds will require some searching. 
   
  BETA SUBSECTION 2:  
  REFEREE'S NOTES 
  The mounds are located in the southwest area of the 
  Volturnian desert. The party may safely travel to the area 
  of the mounds by jetcopter. They will have no encounters 
  on the way. The party could have obtained a jetcopter by 
  playing SF 1. If they did not play SF 1, provide them with 
  an Eorna jetcopter modified for use by player character 
  races. The hex the player characters will be exploring may 
  be any one of the mound hexes of the referee's choice. 
   
  This portion of the adventure is played using the map 
  labeled "The Mounds of the Mechanons" included in the 
  pullout section in the center of this module. There is no 
  map provided for the player' use; if your players want a 
  map of the mounds they must draw one, based on your 
  verbal descriptions of the mounds. 
   
  Before playing this section, be certain that you, as 
  referee, are thoroughly familiar with the information in the 
  Intelligent Alien Update File concerning the Mechanons. 
   
  The corridors within the Mounds of the Mechanons are 
  oval tubes 2 meters wide by 3 meters high. All doors will 
  slide open automatically whenever anyone approaches 
  within 1 meter of them unless specifically noted otherwise 
  in the text. 
   
  BETA SUBSECTION 3:  
  PLANNED 
  ENCOUNTERS 
   
  1. ATTACK BY THE YERNOIDS  
  (MV Slow; IM/RS 5/50; STA 70; ATT 40; DM 1-10; SA 
  None; SD None) 
   
  After the player characters begin searching the mound 
  area for clues to the entrance, they will be attacked. 
   
  Suddenly you hear loud shrieking sounds. A large number 
  of Human-sized, two-legged, lizard-like creatures are 
  running toward you, screaming, and attempting to beat 
  you!  
   
  The Yernoid pack will contain 20 individuals. They will hide 
  in the scrub vegetation around the mound and attack the 
  party near the area marked "1" on the referee's map for 
  this section. The Yernoids see the party as challenging 
  their dominance of this area. If they succeed in beating 
  the party senseless, they will leave, having proved their 
  superiority. If, however, the party kills or knocks out five 
  or more Yernoids, the remainder will flee in panic. 
   
   
  BETA Section 
  
   
  5 
   
   
   
   
   
  2. THE ENTRANCE 
  You see that along the side of the mound there is a large 
  pile of common rocks, possibly the remains of a rockslide.  
   
  The entrance to the mound is behind the large pile of 
  rocks at location "2" on the referee's map. It will take the 
  party about one hour to clear the debris from the 
  entranceway. Once the debris is cleared away, the party 
  can see a corridor leading to a large metal door. The 
  corridor is littered with rocks and mud all the way to the 
  door. 
   
  3. SECURITY DOOR 
  You have gone down the corridor a distance of eight 
  meters and reached the large metal door. The door fills 
  the entire wall in front of you. It has no visible hinges. Its 
  metallic surface is studded with glowing yellow crystals.  
   
  This is a security door erected by the Mechanons to seal 
  off this entranceway to their underground complex. It is a 
  Level 3 security device. Technician characters have a -20 
  modifier on attempts to deactivate the security device. 
  The door will open automatically if deactivated. 
   
  Unless a Technician successfully deactivates the door's 
  security devices, the first person who attempts to open 
  the door will suffer 3-30 points of damage from tiny laser 
  blasts from the crystals in the door. 
   
  4. ROBOT GUARD  
  (MV 90m; IM/RS 5/50; STA 100; ATT 50; DM 4-40; SA 
  None; SD None) 
   
  As you pass through the doorway into the corridor running 
  right and left in front of you, you hear a strange, rather 
  loud humming sound, such as might be made by some 
  large machine. The corridor itself is illuminated with a blue 
  glow which seems to come from blue crystals which are 
  embedded in the corridor wall randomly.  
   
  At a distance of 4 to 6 meters off to your right, you see an 
  alien machine on tracks. It has four metallic limbs which 
  seem capable of extension. It is moving toward you 
  slowly. As it approaches, it gives off strange rhythmic 
  electronic sounds, which might be some kind of music. 
   
  The machine is a 2nd Level Mechanon security robot. Its 
  mission is to prevent any non-robot from entering the War 
  Room (5). Prevent is defined as ordering to halt, and then 
  firing with a gyrojet weapon concealed in one of its left 
  arms if the warning does not work. Non-robot is defined 
  as any being who does not give the standard Mechanon 
  recognition signal when approaching within 4 meters of 
  the door. The robot will fight until destroyed. It has a full 
  clip with 10 rounds of ammunition, and will melee when it 
  is out of ammo. After it has fired one shot, the robot will 
  begin to produce a loud, siren sound which is an intruder 
  alarm. This sound can be heard in rooms 5 and 6, and all 
  robots there will respond by sending one robot from each 
  room to reinforce the security robot, and then securing 
  rooms 5 and 6.  
   
  Characters with Robotics skill may work on this robot, 
  using the -20 modifier which applies to all work on alien 
  robots. 
   
  5. THE WAR ROOM 
  The description the referee should give of this room will 
  vary, depending upon whether or not the party managed 
  to get past the security robot at 4 above without the robot 
  sounding an alarm. The description below assumes the 
  normal state of the room. If the alarm has been sounded, 
  the referee should assume that all robots are armed and 
  ready for combat and that the sliding door has been 
  secured with a Level 4 lock. 
   
  As the sliding door opens, you see before you a huge 
  hexagonal (six-sided) room. The room is 12 meters 
  across. There is another door directly across the room 
  from you. 
   
  On the northwest side of the room is a large computer 
  bank. Two bizarre-looking machines that appear to be 
  robots are seated in front of this computer bank, 
  performing various functions. The robots have heads 
  made of three large green crystals which jut out of their 
  metallic bodies. Each has one limb plugged directly into a 
  socket in the computer bank, while another limb at the 
  back of the machine hangs free. This free limb has 
  extensor-like fingers on the end. It is not immediately 
  apparent how these machines move, if they move at all. 
   
  To you left are three television-type screens which show 
  pictures of various areas of Volturnus. On one screen you 
  see an aerial view of the ruins of Volkos. A second screen 
  shows what is left of Slave City One, and the third 
  appears to be scanning deep space. Three more of the 
  robot-like machines sit in front of each screen. In the 
  center of the room is a large metal table with six small 
  stools arranged around it. The walls of the room are 
  covered with maps. Some of the maps you immediately 
  recognize as being sections of Volturnus. All the maps are 
  covered with strange lines, arrows, and other symbols. As 
  you stand in the doorway (or enter) the strange machines 
  turn toward you. 
    
  These machines are Level 3 robots. Their mission is to 
  monitor the viewing screens and constantly feed data 
  from the screens into the computer banks. These are their 
  only functions, other than self-defense. The self-defense 
  function is triggered whenever a non-robot enters the War 
  Room. The robots will then attempt to move at fast speed 
  through the nearest unblocked door. They will attempt to 
  reach Security Central (12). 
   
  The computer in the room is a Level 4 computer with a 
  Level 6 Information Storage, Level 6 Analysis and Level 6 
  Computer Security program. It is linked to the main 
  computer in room 15, but will automatically shut down if 
  its Security program is violated.  
   Characters that succeed in getting into the Information 
  Storage program will learn that the computer has a 
  complete catalogue of maps of Volturnus, including 
  military, geo- logical, weather, and detailed terrain maps. 
  Also stored in this program are data concerning all 
  movements 
  of 
  large 
  populations, 
  the 
  numbers 
  of 
  Kurabanda and Edestekai in the various settlements, 
  
   
  6 
   
   
   
  details concerning the numbers of space pirates who had 
  tried to set up mining operations on Volturnus, and other 
  data about the Eorna population.  
   
  Monitor Robot (MV 30m; IM/RS 6/60; STA 100; ATT 60; 
  DM 2-20 melee) 
   
  6. THE LIBRARY 
  The referee should remember that this room will be sealed 
  off with a Level 4 lock if the robot at 4 above has sound 
  an alarm. 
   
  You see before you a square room 10 meters across. The 
  room has doors in the south and west walls. This room is 
  filled with tables, on which are crystals in a variety of 
  colors, many with fine wires wrapped around them in very 
  dense coils. Against the north wall of the room are a 
  number of machines. There are other robot-like machines 
  in this room. They appear to be studying something in the 
  machines against the north wall. As you approach, they 
  turn around. You see that two of them appear to be some 
  strange type of service robot, built to look like a small 
  Eorna. The third robot is much larger. It looks like a large 
  metal cube embedded with glowing crystals of many 
  colors. As it turns toward you it is extending a long tube 
  from the front of its body.  
   
  The two smaller robots are Level 4 service robots. Their 
  mission is to provide services to other robots using the 
  library. They have Self-Defense programs, and will melee 
  if attacked. 
   
  The larger robot is a Level 4 heavy duty combat robot. 
  The long tube it is extending is the barrel of a heavy laser. 
  It is programmed for Self-Defense, Attack/Defense and 
  Search and Destroy functions. It is also equipped with an 
  albedo screen. The robot has enough power for five shots 
  with the laser gun. This robot will attack the party on 
  sight, and will not stop until destroyed. 
   
  This room itself is the Mechanons' library. The crystals and 
  coils are their form of information storage. The crystals 
  and coils can be "read" by being placed in one of the 
  machines against the north wall. Characters that spend 
  one full hour in this room with a poly-vox plugged into one 
  of these machines will be able to learn all the information 
  about the Mechanons contained in the referee's Intelligent 
  Alien Update File. 
   
  Service Robot (MV 30m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; ATT 70; 
  DM 2-20 melee) 
   
  Combat Robot (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 500; ATT 70; 
  DM 20-200 laser; 2-20 melee; SA Heavy Laser) 
   
  7. ASSEMBLY ROOM 
  Upon entering this area you see a large, circular room, 10 
  meters in diameter, filled with a variety of robots. Some 
  of the robots are hard at work. Others appear to be lying 
  on tables or workbenches. Some of the ones lying about 
  are complete, others are obviously incomplete. Many tools 
  of various kinds are scattered about on the work tables. 
  There are two other doorways in this room. 
     
  This is the Mechanons' assembly area, where worker 
  robots assemble new Mechanons. There are 10 Level 3 
  worker robots in this room. When the party enters, the 
  referee should roll 1d10. The result is the number of 
  worker robots that will notice the party's entry. One of the 
  workers will immediately leave and go to Security Central 
  to report the intrusion. The remainder will not attack, but 
  will instead continue with their work. If attacked, the 
  worker robots will defend themselves in melee.   
   
  Worker Robots (MV 30m; IM/RS 6/60; STA 100; ATT 60; 
  DM 2-20 melee)  
   
  8. PARTS STORAGE  
  The door slides open to reveal a pentagon (five-sided) 
  shaped room. The room is filled with rows of shelves. On 
  the shelves are all types of mechanical devices; some of 
  them resemble body parts made out of metal.  
   
  The Mechanons store robot parts here until they are 
  needed in Assembly (7). Not immediately seen by the 
  party are a robot brain and two standard combat robots. 
  They are behind two rows of shelves to the left. The brain 
  is checking some inventory, and the combat robots are 
  providing the brain with security escort. The mission of 
  the combat robots is to protect the robot brain. Protect is 
  defined as attacking any target designated as hostile by 
  the robot brain. These are Level 4 combat robots. The 
  brain is a Level 6 robot with a heavy duty body. It has an 
  albedo screen powered by a 50 SEU beltpack.  
   
  The combat robots will attack as soon as they are aware 
  of the party. The brain will stay back, as it is unarmed 
  except with its two limbs which may be used in melee 
  combat. If the combat robots are destroyed, the brain will 
  activate its link to the central computer in room 15, and 
  will attempt to talk its way past the party back to security 
  central. This conversation will actually be carried on by 
  the computer.  
   
  As soon as the radio link to the computer is activated, the 
  computer will send four more combat robots from security 
  central to the area by the shortest possible route, with 
  orders to destroy the intruders.  
   
  Robot Brain (MV 30m; IM/RS 9/90; STA 500; ATT 90; DM 
  6-60 melee)  
   
  Combat Robot (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; ATT 70; 
  DM 3-30 rifle, 2-20 melee, SA gyrojet rifle) 
   
  9. MANUFACTURING  
  There is a horrible din coming from this area, even above 
  the constant humming sound which fills all the corridors. 
  As the door slides open you see seven huge machines 
  which fill up the roughly 8 meter square room. These 
  machines are apparently fully automated; there are no 
  robots or other beings in the room. Along the east side of 
  the room is a large rack filled with robot parts. From time 
  to time an arm will extend from the nearest machines and 
  place a new robot part on the rack.  
   
  This is one of the Mechanon's manufacturing areas. These 
  automated machines turn refined metal into robot parts.  
   
  
   
  7 
   
   
   
   
  10. THE EORNA PLANETARY  
  DEFENSE CONTROL ROOM  
  As you round the corner in the corridor, you see before 
  you a large, irregularly constructed door. In front of the 
  door stand three combat robots. They are completely 
  motionless. They carry sonic disruptors, and you can see 
  laser rifles slung over their shoulders.  
   
  These robots are elite Mechanon guard robots. They have 
  been posted here to prevent anyone or anything from 
  entering Room 10. They are controlled by direct radio link 
  with the central computer. As soon as the player 
  characters are in sight, they will alert the central 
  computer, which will send four more combat robots from 
  security central by the route through room 10 and the 
  temple (16). All three of the elite robots will open fire with 
  the sonic disruptors at a range of 2 meters.  
   
  Elite Guard Robots (MV 120m; IM/RS 9/90; STA 100; ATT 
  90; DM by weapon, 2-20 melee; SA Sonic disruptor or 
  laser rifle)  
   
  Security Central Robots (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; 
  ATT 70; DM by weapon, 2-20 melee; SA Laser rifle)  
   
  The door to this room is made of some unknown yellow 
  metal. The door is a special Level 6 security door. Close 
  inspection will reveal a number of tiny, needle-sized holes 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  door's 
  surface. 
  Unless 
  a 
  Technician 
  successfully deactivates the door's security devices, any 
  character trying to open it will receive 3-30 points of 
  damage from electrical shock. In addition, a burning, 
  jelly-like fluid will be forced through the tiny holes at high 
  pressure, covering the victim, who will receive an 
  additional 6-60 points of burn damage per turn until the 
  flames are extinguished. If the door is deactivated by a 
  Technician, it will swing open.  
   
  When the door opens, the referee should roll a Logic 
  check for each character looking through the doorway. 
  Those who pass the check will see a small, three-sided 
  room containing an Eorna computer and some small Eorna 
  machines. Those who fail the check will see an illusion of 
  deep space, with galaxies far off in the distance. Lunging 
  at them out of the void of space will be a horrible beast 
  the size of a huge dragon. These characters will panic and 
  run in randomly determined directions for five turns or 
  until stopped by other player characters. The effect is 
  caused by an Eorna hypnosis machine. The effect will last 
  for five turns. 
   
  Player characters that safely enter this room will recognize 
  the Eorna equipment. Using the directions that the Eorna 
  gave them, the player characters will be able to activate 
  the planetary defense system. 
   
  11. LAB; ACCESS CENTER TO  
  LOWER LEVELS AND MINES 
  This area serves two functions: in the normal play of the 
  module, it is a laboratory area staffed by Mechanons. The 
  adventure in the Mechanon mounds can be expanded by 
  including an elevator in the north wall of this room. This 
  elevator would lead to lower levels of the Mechanon 
  complex where most Mechanon social life takes place. It 
  would also lead to a complex of tunnels beneath Volturnus 
  which the Mechanons use to travel the planet and mine 
  the metals they need to make more Mechanons. This 
  expansion of the adventure is entirely optional and left to 
  the referee's discretion. 
   
  This room is rectangular in shape, 6 meters wide by 10 
  meters long (north to south). Along the southwest wall is 
  a large computer bank. Near the center of the room is a 
  large desk, behind which sits a being unlike any you have 
  seen before. This creature appears to be a collection of 
  crystals held together by metal struts and a number of 
  wires. The crystals are yellow and are glowing as if some 
  type of energy were being passed through them. Along 
  the southeast wall is an obviously dead Ul-Mor lying on a 
  table. Two robots are examining the Ul-Mor. The other 
  walls of the room are covered with shelves which hold jars 
  of various types of biological specimens.  
   
  The strange creature behind the desk is a higher level 
  Mechanon, a mechanical being far more advanced than 
  any robot. Although technically a machine, the creature is 
  self-programming, capable of independent thought and 
  even 
  imagination. 
  It 
  cannot 
  be 
  deactivated 
  or 
  reprogrammed, even by characters with Technician skill. 
  As soon as the door opens it will notice the party and push 
  a button on its desk to summon two combat robots from 
  Security Central (12). It will then go about its normal 
  business at its desk, ignoring the party. 
   
   
  
   
  8 
   
   
   
  If the party speaks to the Mechanon, it may delay having 
  the party destroyed long enough to find out what the 
  party wants. Characters with Psycho-Social skill may even 
  be able to persuade it to delay their execution until the 
  poly-vox has translated the Mechanon language, making 
  communication possible. If this happens, the party will be 
  disarmed by the combat robots and kept as prisoners in 
  room 17. A Level 3 service robot will be sent to the 
  prisoners to speak Mechanon into the poly-vox until it is 
  translated. The player characters will then be sent to 
  appear before the Mechanon council. (This is encounter 18 
  below.) 
   
  If the party attempts to attack the creature, it will sound a 
  full security alert, bringing 16 combat robots from 
  Security Central in 10 turns. These robots will spread out 
  in pairs to cover the area complex until the intruders are 
  found and destroyed. The Mechanon will defend itself with 
  a laser pistol until the robots arrive.  
   
  Mechanon (MV 60m; IM/RS 9/90; STA 150; ATT 90; Dm 
  4-40 laser, 2-20 melee; SA laser pistol with 20 SEU clip) 
   
  Combat Robot (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; ATT 70; 
  DM 4-40 laser, 2-20 melee; SA laser rifle) 
   
  12. SECURITY CENTRAL 
  This is circular room, 10 meters in diameter. As the door 
  slides open, four combat robots inside the room open fire 
  on you with laser rifles!  
   
  This area is the central security area for the entire 
  complex. There will always be four combat robots on 
  guard inside, no matter how many other robots have been 
  sent elsewhere. The instant these robots see the party, 
  they will alert the central computer in room 15 and 
  attempt to destroy the party. 
   
  If the party does fight its way into this area, the 
  characters will see that the center section of the floor can 
  be lowered. It is in fact an elevator platform which goes to 
  a lower level where more combat robots are stored, ready 
  for immediate activation. Once the party has left the 
  room, activated robots will arrive by elevator, at the rate 
  of four per minute. These robots will seek out the party 
  and attack until the party or the robots are destroyed. 
  These attacks will cease automatically if the central 
  computer is destroyed or the attacks are ordered stopped 
  by the Mechanons. The player characters will not be able 
  to operate or damage the elevator. 
   
  Combat Robot (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; ATT 70; 
  DM 4-40 laser, 2-20 melee; SA laser rifle) 
   
  13. POWER CENTRAL 
  As soon as you enter this area it is obvious that this is a 
  central power generator. There are no robots or other 
  beings in this room.  
   
  Disconnecting 
  the 
  power 
  generator 
  will 
  cause 
  all 
  illumination in the complex to go out. All machines except 
  the central computer and the robots will stop functioning. 
  The darkness will not affect the Mechanons; it will affect 
  the player characters unless they have infra-red goggles. 
   
  14. SECURITY TRAP 
  This area is a trap to prevent any non-robot or non-
  Mechanon from reaching the central computer. As the 
  characters approach this area, by any route, tell them that 
  they see a visual scanner lens over the doorway, pointed 
  down the corridor toward them. No matter what action the 
  player characters take, the lens will have spotted them 
  and activated the trap, even if the lens is shot out by the 
  player characters. Room 14 appears to be nothing but an 
  empty area. As soon as the party is inside, however, all 
  the doors will seal shut and the room will drop through a 
  pneumatic tube which runs underground to room 17. 
  When the doors open, the player characters will see 
  themselves confronted by twice as many standard combat 
  robots as there are player characters. These robots are all 
  armed with laser rifles. They will disarm the player 
  characters and place them in chains. If the party resists, 
  the robots will fight until the resistance ceases. 
    
  15. COMPUTER CENTRAL 
  You see before you a door of strange design. It is made of 
  a strange yellow metal.  
   
  If the party has been to room 10, tell them that the door 
  to this room seems to be made of the same metal as the 
  door to room 10. 
   
  All doors to this area are identical to the door to room 10 
  and function in exactly the same manner. This room 
  contains the central computer for the Mechanon complex. 
  There is no need for computer operators here; the 
  computer operates itself and is in constant radio contact 
  with all the Mechanons and all Level 6 robots. 
   
  The computer itself is a Level 6 computer. It has a Level 6 
  Computer Security program, a Level 6 Analysis program, 
  a Level 6 Installation Security program, a Level 4 Industry 
  program, a Level 6 Robot Management program and a 
  Level 6 Language program. 
   
  Any character who is able to break or bypass security and 
  operate this computer can obtain any information desired 
  about the Mechanons. The referee can give the player the 
  information contained in the Intelligent Alien Update File. 
  The computer contains the information gathered by the 
  monitor robots in the War Room. The character will also 
  be able to learn that the Mechanons have been planning 
  for some time to launch an attack on the Eorna 
  underground complex, but that this attack is not 
  scheduled to take place for at least another year. Finally, 
  by reprogramming the robot control program, the 
  character will be able to bring a robot brain and up to 
  eight standard Level 4 combat robots to the room, with 
  instructions to provide security for the player characters! 
   
  However, once these robots arrive, they will be followed 
  by three Mechanons proper. The Mechanons will introduce 
  themselves, in a rather arrogant way, and order the party 
  to accompany them to a meeting of the Mechanon High 
  Council. If the party refuses, or attacks the Mechanons, 
  the Mechanons will use their built-in radio capacity to 
  summon one warbot after another until the party 
  surrenders. 
   
  
   
  9 
   
   
   
   
  Mechanon (MV 120m; IM/RS 9/90; STA 150; ATT 90; DM 
  2-20 melee). The Mechanons are not bearing weapons. 
   
  Warbot (MV 120m; IM/RS 9/90; STA 500; ATT 90; DM 
  20-200 laser, 6-60 melee). The warbots are Level 6 
  warbots armed with heavy lasers set for 20 SEU per shot. 
  Each warbot has enough power available for five shots. 
   
  16. THE MECHANON TEMPLE 
  The ceiling here is a full 20 meters high, and it needs to 
  be, because in the center of the area is a huge, 10 meter 
  high metallic and crystal structure which looks something 
  like a bipedal robot. In one huge hand it holds a laser 
  gun; in the other it holds an enormous crystal wrapped 
  with a golden wire coil. There are 12 worker robots in the 
  area around this central figure. They appear to be doing 
  nothing but staring at it.  
   
  This area is a Mechanon temple. The huge figure in the 
  center of the room is an image of the Mechanons' concept 
  of a god. It is not a functional robot, although the player 
  characters have no way of knowing this. The worker 
  robots will pay no attention to the party unless they are 
  attacked. They will then defend themselves in melee 
  combat. They have no ranged weapons available. Worker 
  Robot (MV 30m; IM/RS 4/40; STA 100; ATT 40; DM 2-20 
  melee). All the worker robots are Level 2 robots.  
   
  17. PRISON AND SPECIMEN STORAGE 
  The door to this area appears to be a normal sliding door, 
  but actually has a Level 4 security lock on it. The lock can 
  be detected normally by characters with Technician skill. 
  The door can be opened only from the outside; if the 
  party is imprisoned here they will not be able to open the 
  door. When the party enters the room, read them the 
  following description: 
   
  This large, drab room is obviously a prison cell. There are 
  three prisoners chained to the wall of this room; an Ul-
  Mor, a Kurabanda and an Edestekai. All appear to be in 
  poor physical condition, although there is nothing to 
  indicate that they have been beaten or ill fed.  
   
   
   
  The prisoners have been taken by the Mechanons for 
  biological studies. As representatives of the three different 
  races, they find it almost impossible to get along together. 
  All three, however, will have heard of the player 
  characters (if the players have played in CRASH ON 
  VOLTURNUS and VOLTURNUS, PLANET OF MYSTERY) and 
  will be eager to help the player characters and themselves 
  escape. They will have no knowledge of the Mechanon 
  complex beyond what is already known by the player 
  characters. 
   
  THE PRISONERS 
  Name 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  Ummo U-M 
  50/40 
  60/60 
  70/50 
  40/50 
  Tulomo  K 
  40/50 
  70/50 
  85/65 
  30/40 
  Evlon     E  
  85/85 
  70/60 
  30/40 
  45/55 
  U-M = Ul-Mor     K = Kurabanda     E = Edestekai 
   
  The area marked "A" on the referee's map shows the area 
  where the pneumatic tube from (14) opens into the prison 
  cell. 
   
  COUNCIL OF THE MECHANONS  
  The player characters will certainly end up at the Council 
  of the Mechanons. They will arrive at this encounter in one 
  of three ways: By being captured in the complex, by being 
  taken in the trap in room 14, or by being contacted by the 
  Mechanons if they ever reach room 15. 
   
  The council will be held in War Room (5). Attending will be 
  six high level Mechanons, protected by four standard 
  Level 4 combat robots armed with sonic disruptors. The 
  party members may bring with them to the council any 
  functioning 
  robots 
  they 
  have 
  succeeded 
  in 
  reprogramming; 
  the 
  Mechanons 
  believe 
  this 
  will 
  demonstrate to the party members how hopeless their 
  situation is. 
   
  At the beginning of the council, the leading Mechanon will 
  turn on a poly-vox type machine and address the party. 
  His speech should be emotionless and mechanical. He 
  should detail all the actions of the party as crimes against 
  the Mechanons. He should then assert that as biological, 
  rather than mechanical units, the party members have no 
  right to live. He will then offer them an opportunity to 
  speak. 
   
  This is the party's one chance to convince the Mechanons 
  to join the alliance against the Sathar. Player characters 
  who speak may use any Psycho-Social skills they have 
  except hypnosis. The Mechanons are immune to hypnosis. 
   
  If the party makes reasonable arguments for joining the 
  alliance, the Mechanons will reluctantly decide to help 
  fight the Sathar. Reasonable arguments (from the 
  Mechanon point of view) would include pointing out that 
  the races currently on Volturnus pose no immediate threat 
  to the Mechanons, whereas the Sathar will certainly either 
  kill or enslave them. 
     
  
   
  10 
   
   
   
   
   
  If the party, in the judgment of the referee, fails to make 
  any good argument for joining the alliance, or behaves in 
  a totally disrespectful manner, the Mechanons will release 
  the party, giving them free escort out the way they came 
  in. The party may take with them any robots they have 
  reprogrammed, or any sent to them by the central 
  computer. The Mechanons will let the party get outside, 
  and then send 10 warbots after them to destroy them. 
  (No use having a messy battle inside, according to the 
  Mechanons' way of thinking.) These warbots will be 
  identical to that described in encounter 15 above. They 
  will attack before the party gets back to their jetcopter or 
  other means of transportation. 
   
  If the Mechanons agree to join the alliance, the party will 
  be asked to give back any reprogrammed robots and 
  leave immediately to convey the news of the alliance to 
  the Eorna. 
   
  BETA SUBSECTION 4:  
  AWARDING 
  EXPERIENCE 
  It is now time to award experience points. Characters who 
  survived the adventure but did not contribute a great deal 
  to the party's successes should receive one experience 
  point. Characters who did an average job should receive 
  two points, while characters who played outstandingly 
  should receive three experience points. 
    
  
   
  11 
   
   
   
   
  In this section of the module the player characters will at- 
  tempt to earn the right to lead the Ul-Mor into battle 
  alongside their ancient rivals the Kurabanda and the 
  Edestekai. To win the respect of the Ul-Mor, the 
  characters learn that they must participate in what the Ul-
  Mor call "The Great Game." This event is held only once 
  per year. The fiercest warriors from every Ul-Mor tribe 
  compete in the Great Game. The winner of the game has 
  the coming New Year named after him, and is allowed to 
  have the sacred vision during the "Time Of Oneness," the 
  annual Ul-Mor festival of mating.  
   
  The referee should note that if the players played CRASH 
  ON VOLTURNUS they are already members of one Ul-Mor 
  tribe, having proven themselves in the Ritual of Manhood. 
   
  THE UL-MOR SETTLEMENT 
  The party will arrive safely at the Ul-Mor settlement and 
  will be greeted by Athru, an Ul-Mor chieftain. In the 
  discussions that follow, the referee will play the part of 
  Athru, speaking for the Ul-Mor. 
   
  If the party has played CRASH ON VOLTURNUS, Athru will 
  explain to them their good fortune in arriving in time to 
  witness the Great Game, one of the most important rituals 
  of the Ul-Mor. Athru will also point out the new forms of 
  The One assumed by tribal members who have finished 
  their existence as Ul-Mor. This sort of talk will continue for 
  some time. When  
   the player characters begin to explain the importance of 
  their mission, Athru will ask them to wait until a council of 
  Ul-Mor elders can be assembled.  
   
  If the player characters have not played SF 0, they will 
  have great difficulty communicating with the Ul-Mor, even 
  by poly-vox. Eventually, Athru will request a mind-link 
  with a player character. If a character agrees, Athru will 
  insert his ninth tentacle into the character's spine, 
  establishing a mind-link that functions without any form of 
  spoken communication. 
   
  GAMMA SUBSECTION 1:  
  PLAYERS' 
  INTRODUCTION 
  Once full communications has been established with 
  Athru, the mind-linked character must explain the nature 
  of the Sathar threat and that the Ul-Mor must join with 
  the other races of Volturnus in order to combat it. The Ul-
  Mor will be able to understand and sympathize with the 
  character's hatred for the evil Sathar, although space 
  travel and the use of advanced technology is beyond the 
  Ul-Mor's understanding. Prior to the party's arrival, the Ul-
  Mor received a similar story from the Eorna. The Ul-Mor 
  have decided that the Eorna are distant ancestors who 
  have taken a new form of The One. 
   
  During the character's communication with Athru, the 
  referee must not allow other players to interrupt. The 
  communication between Athru and the mind-linked 
  character is unspoken; the other player characters would 
  not know what is being communicated. 
   
  Once the character has explained the situation to Athru, 
  he will break the mind-link and confer with the other Ul-
  Mor elders. From the characters' viewpoint, it appears as 
  follows: 
   
  Athru breaks the mind-link, and goes over to the other Ul- 
  Mor elders, who have been waiting patiently as Athru 
  communicated with you. The Ul-Mor wave their tentacles 
  about, in what may be a series of elaborate gestures. 
  Athru utters some kind of chant which your poly-vox 
  cannot translate, and the Ul-Mor elders establish mind 
  links themselves. After a debate, during which all the 
  elders seem to become highly excited, Athru returns and 
  communicates the following:  
   
  "We have heard of the great danger from the sky. Our 
  ancestors with the long tails have told us. Truly it is a 
  mystery why The One would take such an evil form. The 
  Ul-Mor are strong! The Ul-Mor will fight the evil. 
   
  But we do not fight with silly Kurabandas beside us. We 
  do not fight with arrogant Edestekai beside us. Ul-Mor 
  fight alone! We do not like silly Kurabanda and proud 
  Edestekai. 
   
  All the elders of all Ul-Mor tribes have met, for the 
  ancestors have requested that we fight alongside these 
  others. The request of ancestors is not a thing to be taken 
  lightly. This is our decision. We will fight with you, and 
  with the silly Kurabanda and proud Edestekai only if one 
  of you proves worthy to lead us. To do this, you will take 
  part in the Great Game as representatives of the tribe of 
  Athru!" 
   
  Athru will further explain that there are five Ul-Mor tribes 
  represented in the Great Game, each with four warriors 
  participating. If one of the four player characters does not 
   
  GAMA Section 
  
   
  12 
   
   
   
  win, it will bring great dishonor to the tribe. However, to 
  prove worthy of leadership in battle, it is not necessary 
  that a player character win the Great Game. It is only 
  necessary that one of them remain mounted at the end of 
  the game. Finally, Athru will ask the players if they would 
  rather ride lopers, as the Ul-Mor do, or strange beasts 
  called horses, which were sent by the ancestors for the 
  player characters' use. The horses are fitted with saddles 
  appropriate for the members of the party. Of course, the 
  player characters will have no idea of what the Great 
  Game is, or why they would need lopers or horses. Ahtur 
  will not answer any questions about this until the Great 
  Game begins. The player characters will know, however, 
  that they have almost no chance to ride a loper 
  successfully, especially in competition with the Ul- Mor. 
  The Ul-Mor can control their lopers by direct mind link! 
   
  GAMMA SUBSECTION 2:  
  SPECIAL RULES  
  FOR THE GREAT  
  GAME 
  The Great Game encounter is played on the special map 
  pro- vided on the module folder. After playing the 
  encounter as part of your campaign adventure, you may 
  want to replay it as a game by itself. 
   
  To play the Great Game encounter, you will need the two 
  page map printed on the module folder, four counters 
  from the boxed STAR FRONTEIRS set to represent four of 
  the player characters, the eight Ul-Mor counters from the 
  boxed set, and the eight loper counters from the boxed 
  set. You will also need the game dice. 
   
  HOW TO SET UP  
  THE ENCOUNTER 
  The player characters participating in the Great Game 
  place their counters in any square on the east edge of the 
  map. The player characters may place their counters next 
  to one another if they wish, but no more than one counter 
  may be placed in each map square.  
   
  After the player characters have placed their counters, 
  place the eight Ul-Mor counters and eight loper counters 
  on the remaining east map edge squares, one counter per 
  square. The 16 counters all represent Ul-Mor mounted on 
  lopers. Each counter represents exactly the same thing. 
   
  Place one sand shark counter in the square marked "M" in 
  the middle of the map. Place any spare counter in the 
  square marked "Ball Star." This counter represents the 
  ball. The game is now ready to play. 
   
  In the following rules, the Ul-Mor and the player character 
  counters will sometimes be called rider counters, to 
  distinguish them from the ball and sand shark counters. 
   
  During the play of the Great Game, the referee will control 
  all the Ul-Mor and the sand shark, while the four player 
  characters will control their own counters. The players 
  themselves should decide which four player characters will 
  take part in the Great Game. It is suggested that the 
  player characters chosen be those with the highest 
  Dexterity scores. One of the major differences between 
  the Ul-Mor and the player characters is that the Ul-Mor 
  are each out to win the Great Game individually while the 
  player characters' only real goal is to have at least one of 
  their side finish the game still mounted while having made 
  a real attempt to win. Thus, the referee will often be 
  playing Ul-Mor against other Ul-Mor. The sand shark, of 
  course, must be played against all the others in a 
  completely neutral fashion. 
   
  RULES OF THE GREAT GAME 
  These are the simple rules used by the Ul-Mor when they 
  play the Great Game: 
   
  1. Spectators are not normally allowed to participate in 
  any way in the Great Game. However, if the sand shark 
  attacks a dismounted player character, any player 
  character spectators can attack the sand shark in order 
  to save the endangered player character. 
   
  2. The object of the game is to ride from behind the first 
  stake to the other end of the filed, go around any of 
  the three stakes at that end, come back down the field, 
  pick up the ball, and carry the ball back behind the first 
  stake. 
   
  3. The winner of the game is the first rider to get the ball 
  back behind the first stake. However, in order to win, 
  that rider must at some time during the game have 
  ridden around one of the three stakes at the far end of 
  the filed. 
   
  4. The ball can be taken from the set-up square only by a 
  rider counter who rides around one of the three stakes 
  at the west end of the filed before touching the ball. 
  After the ball has been taken from the set-up square, 
  any other rider counter may handle the ball without 
  first riding around the stakes at the west end of the 
  filed. 
   
  5. Riders are permitted to knock other riders off their 
  mounts, but riders are not allowed to use any kind of 
  weapon against other riders. Weapons can be used 
  when necessary to defend against the sand shark. Ul-
  Mor riders are armed with spears; player characters 
  can carry any weapons they wish. 
   
  6. Any rider who is knocked off his mount is out of the 
  game. 
   
  7. If all riders are knocked off their mounts, the last rider 
  to hit the ground is declared the winner.  
   
  8. If the rider carrying the ball is knocked off his mount, 
  any other rider may pick up the ball. The ball may 
  change pos- session any number of times. 
   
  9. The game ends the instant any player gets behind the 
  first stake with the ball and wins. 
   
  TURN SEQUENCE 
  The activities of each game turn are performed in the 
  following sequence. This sequence is similar to, but 
  
   
  13 
   
   
   
   
  slightly different from the usual STAR FRONTIERS turn 
  sequence. 
   
  1. Initiative determination: The player character with the 
  highest IM score rolls initiative for all the player 
  characters. The game judge rolls initiative for all the 
  Ul-Mor as a group. The Ul-Mor have an IM of 5 for the 
  purposes of this die roll. 
   
  2. The side with initiative decides whether to move first or 
  second. 
   
  3. The side which is moving first moves its counters. The 
  Ul- Mor counters are moved in a definite order as 
  explained below. 
   
  4. The side which moves second moves its counters. 
  Counters which begin the move stacked with counters 
  of the other side cannot move. 
   
  5. All combat actions are resolved. 
   
  MOVEMENT 
  The following rules govern movement of counters: 
   
  1. All counters have the movement rate given on the 
  Movement Chart. 
   
  MOVEMENT CHART 
  Type of Counter 
  Movement Rate 
  Ul-Mor (on loper) 
  9 
  Player Character on loper* 
  9 
  Player Character on horse 
  7 
  Player Character galloping** 
  12 
  Sand shark 
  9 
   
  * Note: player characters that choose to ride lopers 
  must check every other turn beginning on turn 2 to see 
  if they fall off. Such characters have a chance equal to 
  their Dexterity score to remain mounted. 
   
  ** Note: player characters on horses may gallop for 
  three turns. The three turns do not have to be 
  consecutive. After the third turn of galloping, the player 
  character's horse is winded and its movement rate is 
  reduced to 3 for the rest of the Great Game encounter. 
   
  2.  Counters are moved by the player controlling them. 
  Each player controls his own character's counter. The 
  referee controls all other counters. A player characters 
  counter does not have to be moved if the player 
  character does not wish to move. 
   
  3.  Counters may move in any direction or combination of 
  directions, including diagonally. 
   
   4.  The first diagonal move made by a counter costs one 
  extra move. Any number of additional diagonal 
  movements may be made with no additional penalty. 
  For example, if Ul-Mor counter "B" moves one square 
  ahead, then one square diagonally, the counter has 
  used 3 moves and has 6 moves left. These 6 moves 
  may all be made diagonally.  
   
  5.  There is a definite order in which the counters on a 
  side may be moved. The Ul-Mor/Loper counters are all 
  lettered from "A" through "H". When the referee 
  moves the Ul-Mor and loper counters, he must move 
  Ul-Mor counter "A" first, counter "B" second, and so 
  on. After all eight Ul-Mor counters are moved, the 
  referee then moves the eight loper counters in the 
  same order. 
   
  6.  Player character counters may be moved in any order 
  the players choose. If the players cannot agree on an 
  order of movement, the referee should have them roll 
  initiative among themselves. 
   
  7.  Counters for the side which moves first may always 
  move, even of they are stacked with a counter of the 
  other side at the beginning of their move. Counters of 
  the side which moves second may not move if they 
  are stacked with a counter of the other side at the 
  beginning of their move. If two Ul-Mor/Loper counters 
  begin a move stacked together, both counters may 
  still move. 
   
  8.  The sand shark counter always moves last in the turn. 
  It must move toward the nearest mounted Ul-Mor or 
  player character on the game map. If two or more 
  mounted Ul-Mor or player characters are an equal 
  distance from the sand shark, the referee must 
  randomly determine the direction of the sand shark's 
  movement. 
   
  9.  When moving the Ul-Mor, the referee must attempt to 
  move each Ul-Mor counter as far as possible by the 
  shortest route which does not contain squares 
  occupied by terrain obstacles or other counters. If 
  equally short routes would cause the Ul-Mor to enter 
  another counter's square or to choose between two 
  terrain obstacles, the referee should determine which 
  space the Ul-Mor will enter. Ul-Mor who have not yet 
  ridden around any one of the three stakes at the west 
  end of the field will always attempt to move toward 
  the ball. In this case, they will enter the square 
  containing the ball carrier if possible. 
   
  10. There can never be more than two rider counters in a 
  square. There can never be more than 1 player 
  character in a square. The sand shark may enter any 
  square regardless of the number of rider counters in 
  the square. 
   
  TERRAIN AND OBSTACLES 
  There are a number of terrain features and obstacles 
  shown on the Great Game map. These have the effects 
  noted in the following summary. 
   
  HILL: It takes any counter one extra move to climb up or 
  down the hill. Movement from one hill square to another is 
  normal. 
   
  POOL: It costs three moves to enter a pool square. Each 
  turn a counter enters any pool square a special check 
  must be made to see if the character involved falls off his 
  swimming mount. Ul-Mor will fall off on a roll of 01-30 on 
  d100. Player characters will be dismounted on a roll of 01-
  50 on d100. 
  
   
  14 
   
   
   
     
  HEDGEHOG: The hedgehog is a special obstacle made of 
  Ul-Mor spears. Any rider entering a hedgehog square will 
  be dismounted on a roll of 01-70 on d100. With a roll of 
  01-30 on d100, that dismounted rider will fall on the 
  spears and receive 6d10 points of damage.  
   
  SAND PILE: The sand pile slows a mounted character's 
  movement to one square per turn. On a roll of 01-30 on 
  d100 per turn, any mounted character entering or in a 
  sand pile square will become dismounted. (This is the 
  chance the mount will lose its balance in the soft sand and 
  accidentally throw its rider.)  
   
  WALLS: Walls do not slow 
  movement down, but are hard 
  to jump. On a roll of 01-50 on 
  d100, any player character 
  jumping a wall with his mount 
  will fall off. With a roll of 01-60 
  on d100, an Ul-Mor will fail to 
  make such a jump success- 
  fully. 
  Diagonal 
  movement 
  between squares at the ends of 
  walls is not allowed. See the 
  diagram at right.  
   
  A wall restricts a counter's diagonal movement. While a 
  counter could normally move from square C to square A, 
  as shown in the diagram, a counter could not move from 
  square A to square B until it attempted to jump the wall.  
   
  MELEE  
  Melee must occur whenever two Ul-Mor or one Ul-Mor and 
  one player character (or the sand shark and any rider 
  counter) occupy the same square at the conclusion of all 
  movement.  
   
  1. A player character's base chance to hit in melee is one- 
  half the character's DEX score or one-half the 
  character's STR score (player's choice). No modifiers 
  are applied to this score.  
   
  2. All Ul-Mor will hit in melee on a roll of 01-55 on d100. 
  Their DEX score is also 55. An Ul-Mor can make one 
  melee attack per turn during the Great Game.  
   
  3. During a melee, a rider may try to do one of the 
  following: attack to dismount another rider, defend 
  himself from being dismounted; attack the sand shark.  
   
  4. Riders on the side that has the initiative for the turn 
  may make all their melee attacks before the other side 
  can attack. For example, if the Ul-Mor won initiative on 
  a turn, they could make all of their melee attacks 
  before the player characters could make any melee 
  attacks. If an Ul-Mor dismounted a player character, 
  the player character would not get to make an attack 
  on the Ul-Mor. 
   
  5. A rider dismounts an opponent by rolling a normal "to 
  hit" using the base melee score. A hit indicates that the 
  target of the blow is knocked off his mount, unless the 
  target chose to defend that turn.  
   
  6. Riders who choose to defend themselves may make a 
  roll against their melee score when they are hit by an 
  opponent in melee. If the check is successful, the 
  defending rider is not dismounted.  
   
  7. If two Ul-Mor are in the same square, and thus must 
  melee, the Ul-Mor who would normally move first has 
  initiative for the purposes of that melee combat.  
   
  8. Ul-Mor will never choose to defend themselves in 
  melee. They will always choose to attack their 
  opponent instead. The one exception to this is the ball 
  carrier. An Ul-Mor who has the ball will always defend 
  himself in melee, never attack.  
   
  9. Melees with the sand shark are resolved after all other 
  melee actions. If the sand shark is stacked with two 
  riders, it will attack on of them chosen randomly. The 
  sand shark's attacks are always resolved first; if the 
  attacked rider has taken no other action that melee 
  round, it may attack the sand shark. Player characters 
  armed with ranged weapons may elect to shoot the 
  sand shark at point blank range rather than melee 
  attack it. Such shots are resolved immediately before 
  the sand shark's melee attack.  
   
  OTHER RULES  
  DISMOUNTED RIDERS: Riders who become dismounted 
  must move as quickly as possible toward the nearest edge 
  of the map, and then get off the map, paying one move to 
  exit. Dismounted characters are out of the Great Game. 
  They may do nothing except move each turn toward the 
  edge of the map. Dismounted characters do not count for 
  stacking purposes, and do not interfere with the 
  movement of mounted characters. Indicate that a 
  character is dismounted by turning his counter face down.  
   
  PICKING UP THE BALL: Any rider who enters, leaves, or 
  moves through the space containing the ball during the 
  movement part of the turn may attempt to pick up the 
  ball. The rider announces the attempt and rolls a Dexterity 
  check. A successful check means that the rider has the 
  ball. An un- successful check means that the rider has 
  failed. Once one rider has the ball, no other rider may pick 
  up the ball until it is dropped or passed.  
   
  PASSING THE BALL: Only the player characters may 
  pass the ball. (The Ul-Mor have not yet invented the 
  forward pass.) Passing the ball requires two Dexterity 
  checks, one for the passing character and one for the 
  character catching the ball. If either fails the check, that 
  character has dropped the ball.  
   
  DROPPING THE BALL: A rider drops the ball whenever 
  he is dismounted in melee or whenever he fails a 
  Dexterity check when passing or catching the ball (player 
  characters only). When the ball is dropped, the referee 
  rolls 1d10 and consults the Dropped Ball Table.  
     
  Die Roll 
  Result 
  1-3 
  Ball bounces 1 square away 
  4-6 
  Ball bounces 2 squares away 
  7-9 
  Ball Bounces 3 squares away 
  10 
  Ball remains in same square 
  
   
  15 
   
   
   
   
   
  If the ball bounces, the referee must roll again to 
  determine the direction of the bounce, consulting the 
  Dropped Ball Direction Diagram. 
   
  This diagram shows the direction 
  the ball will bounce from the 
  square it occupies. On a roll of 
  "1", the ball will bounce in the 
  direction of square 1, on a roll of 
  "2", in the direction of square 2, 
  and so on. Rolls of 9 or 10 are 
  ignored and the referee should 
  roll again. 
   
   
  GAMMA SUBSECTION 3:  
  THE OUTCOME 
  If any player character manages to stay mounted 
  throughout the Great Game, the Ul-Mor as a whole will be 
  greatly impressed and agree to join the alliance against 
  the Sathar. If a player character should actually win the 
  Great Game, the Ul-Mor will name their new year after 
  him as "The Year of (player characters Name)." 
   
   
  The referee should note that the Ul-Mor will not be 
  impressed favorably if the player character who remained 
  mounted did not make any effort to win the game, but 
  merely "stayed out of the way" and did not take any 
  active part. 
   
  If no player character manages to at least stay mounted 
  at the end of the game, the Ul-Mor will not be impressed 
  and will not join the alliance against the Sathar. Their 
  counters may not be used in the "Battle of Volturnus" 
  encounter in the ZETA SECTION of this module. 
   
   
  GAMMA SUBSECTION 4:  
  EXPERIENCE 
  POINTS 
  Player characters receive one experience point for 
  attending the Great Game. Those who participated in the 
  Great Game and did well receive two points. Spectator 
  player characters who help kill the sand shark receive two 
  points. Any player character who did an outstanding job in 
  the Great Game receives three experience points. A player 
  character who wins the Great Game receives four points. 
   
   
  
   
  16 
   
   
   
  In this portion of the adventure, the player characters will 
  travel to the Kurabanda village in the forest to enlist the 
  aid of the Kurabanda against the Sathar. The major 
  encounter of the section is the player characters' attempt 
  to retrieve the Sacred Idol of the Kurabanda, without 
  which the Kurabanda will not join the battle.  
   
  DELTA SUBSECTION 1:  
  SPECIAL 
  BACKGROUND ON  
  THE KURABANDA 
  If you and your players have played SF 1, you are already 
  familiar with the Kurabanda and their chief, Auramada. If 
  not, the following additional background material will be 
  useful for the referee. 
   
  The Kurabanda build their villages in the branches of the 
  bachanda trees in the forests of Volturnus. These huge 
  trees often reach a height of 200 meters. The trunks of 
  bachanda trees have a diameter of 15 meters. The trees 
  produce large, flat branches, beginning at heights of ten 
  meters or more. These branches can be as much as 5 
  meters wide, and form a kind of natural highway far 
  above the forest floor. This is fortunate, for the bachanda 
  trees also produce thorny vines around their bases of such 
  density that travel across the forest floor is literally 
  impossible. 
   
  The Kurabanda build their villages in the branches of the 
  bachanda trees. They themselves are natural climbers, 
  vine swingers, and leapers; they are very well adapted for 
  this kind of forest existence. 
   
  The Kurabanda are more like Humans than any of the 
  other races on Volturnus. Play them as if they were a 
  primitive jungle people. They are fond of practical jokes. 
  They are easily offended, however, especially by the 
  giving of gifts, which they perceive as an attempt to imply 
  that the recipient is inferior to the giver. They will take 
  revenge for such insults, sometimes planning their 
  vengeance for years in advance. 
   
  DELTA SUBSECTION 2:  
  THE KURABANDA  
  VILLAGE 
   
  THE JOURNEY TO THE VILLAGE 
  The player characters will be able to fly safely to the 
  Kurabanda village without incident. 
   
  The village is located on the Volturnus map from the 
  boxed set in the hex three hexes due west of the pirate 
  outpost (Hex 1) and then three hexes straight northwest. 
  The hex containing the village has an "Unusual Tree" 
  symbol in it. 
   
   
   
  DELTA Section 
  
   
  17 
   
   
   
   
   
  THE MEETING WITH  
  CHIEF AURMADA 
  Upon arrival at the Kurabanda village, the player 
  characters will be met by a party of 10 Kurabanda 
  warriors. If the player characters played in SF 1, this 
  greeting should be a friendly one, as the warriors and 
  player characters will know one another. If not, the 
  warriors will be extremely tense and guarded. In any 
  case, they will escort the player characters immediately to 
  Chief Auramada. 
   
  After some initial chat, Auramada will demand to know 
  why the player characters are here. It is up to the player 
  characters to explain the Sathar threat and the plan for 
  combating it. During this discussion, the referee must play 
  the part of Auramada. The chief tries to display his 
  wisdom and authority whenever possible. He dislikes 
  being told what to do, or being made to seem ignorant. Of 
  all the Kurabanda, he is the most easily insulted. On the 
  other hand, the battles with the space pirates in SF 1 have 
  taught him that there are "demons" that come from the 
  stars and must be destroyed. This is how he will interpret 
  what the player characters tell him of the Sathar. 
   
  Once the player characters have made known their 
  request, Auramada will pause, consider the situation for a 
  while, and then render this decision: 
   
  "It is much that you ask of us. The Ul-Mor were our 
  enemies long ago. The Edestekai are no friends of ours. 
  Yet you suggest we should trust them as allies in battle. 
  No sane chief would accept such a proposal. There is, 
  however, one way for you to get what you want. That is to 
  retrieve the Sacred Idol. For he who holds the Sacred Idol 
  is chosen by the gods to lead the Kurabanda in battle. 
   
  The Sacred Idol was stolen many years ago by a demon in 
  the form of a large bird. It was taken to the Demon's 
  Temple in the forbidden area. If you go there and bring 
  back the Sacred Idol, I and all my people will do as you 
  ask." 
   
  Auramada will offer the party a guide to the "forbidden 
  area' and such food and other assistance as the 
  Kurabanda can provide. No matter what other action the 
  player characters take, the Kurabanda will not fight in the 
  Battle of Volturnus unless the player characters retrieve 
  the Sacred Idol. 
   
  DELTA SUBSECTION 3:  
  THE CRATER OF  
  THE DEMON-BIRD 
  If the party plans to fly to the forbidden area, Auramada 
  will object strongly. He will explain that flying over the 
  area is extremely dangerous; this is one of the reasons 
  the area is forbidden. All Kurabanda who have tried to 
  hang glide in the area have been killed by the Wind of the 
  Demon, a strange disturbance of the air which upsets any 
  type of flying device. 
   
  TRAVEL THROUGH THE FOREST 
  The player characters may journey to the craterland with 
  their 
  Kurabanda 
  guide, 
  a 
  pleasant 
  fellow 
  named 
  Kulamonda, on foot. If they do go on foot, Kulamonda will 
  take them by the shortest route through the bachanda 
  forest. The large craterlands area is marked on the color 
  map of Volturnus included in the STAR FRONTIERS boxed 
  set. During the course of this journey, the player 
  characters will have no random encounters as long as 
  they remain with their Kurabanda guide. Their rate of 
  movement will be two hexes per day. 
   
  If the player characters for some reason lose or abandon 
  their guide, the referee should check for a random 
  encounter in each hex entered. An encounter is indicated 
  by a roll of 1 on 1d10. When an encounter is indicated, 
  roll on the Bachanda Forest Random Encounter Table for 
  the exact type of encounter. 
   
  BACHANDA FOREST RANDOM ENCOUNTERS 
  Die 
  Roll Encounter 
  1-3 
  4-40 Winged rippers attack the party 
  4-6 
  2-20 Strangler chutes begin grazing in the treetops 
  occupied by the party 
  7-9 
  1-5 Queequegs attack the party 
  10  
  The party is walking on a branch infested by 
  parasitical insects known as hollowers. The first 
  party member to proceed without carefully 
  inspecting the branch will fall through it to the 
  forest floor, taking 1d5+30 points of damage. 
   
  Winged Rippers (MV Fast; IM/RS 6/55; STA 30; ATT 60; 
  DM 1-5 beak; SA None; SD None) 
   
  Strangler Chutes (MV Slow; IM/RS 3/25; STA 150; ATT 
  None; DM 3 points/turn; SA Accidental attack; SD 
  Electric- al shock stuns for 1-10 turns if touched) 
   
  Queequegs (MV Fast; IM/RS 6/60; STA 180; ATT 50; DM 
  3-30 harpoon; SA Harpoon can strike victim 5 meters 
  away; SD Treat exoskeleton as skeinsuit) 
   
  Hollowers (MV None; ATT None; SA Causes fall from 
  bachanda tree; SD None) 
   
  TRAVEL BY AIR 
  If the player characters attempt to fly to the craterland in 
  their jetcopters, use the following description: 
   
  You first spot the huge crater from a distance of about 5 
  kilometers. It is indeed huge, extending to the horizon. As 
  you fly nearer to the rim of the crater, you see some 
  enormous explosions in the air ahead of you, over the 
  crater itself. These explosions appear as sudden flashes of 
  fire which last only a few seconds. They seem to be 
  occurring randomly.  
   
  If the player characters fly directly over the crater, there 
  is a 5% chance per turn, cumulative, that the jetcopter 
  will be caught in an explosion. If an explosion does occur, 
  the jet- copter receives 20-200 points of damage. When 
  determining how long the party is over the crater, simply 
  count the number if turns from the time they pass the rim 
  
   
  18 
   
   
   
  till they fly out, keeping track of distance traveled each 
  turn. Remember that the scale on the Volturnus map is 8 
  kilometers per hex.  
   
  When the party reaches the crater, they will spot the 
  Demon's Temple spoken of by Auramada. If the party is 
  traveling with Kulamonda, he will point it out from a 
  vantage point in the bachanda trees on the crater's rim. 
  Characters airborne in a jetcopter will see the Demon's 
  Temple when they fly over the crater. 
   
  You see near the center of this huge crater that there is 
  an even deeper crater, a crater within a crater. In the 
  very center of this second crater, a rocky pinnacle, stands 
  towering toward the sky to a height of more than 100 
  meters. The rock tower itself does not appear to be more 
  than 10 meters in diameter at the top; at the bottom it is 
  much larger.  
   
  If your player characters have attempted to fly over the 
  crater and avoided being hit by an explosion, you should 
  tell them that the explosions nearby, along with the 
  dangerous up and down drafts their pilot notices, make it 
  impossible to get all the way to the rocky pinnacle and 
  back by air. This expedition will have to be made on foot. 
   
  DELTA SUBSECTION 4:  
  THE CRATERLAND  
  ENCOUNTER 
   
  MAPS 
  This encounter is played using both the hex map of 
  Volturnus and the "Crater" map included in the large set 
  of maps in the boxed STAR FRONTERSTM game. 
   
  CRATERLAND BACKGROUND  
  AND ENCOUNTER DATA 
  The Craterlands were formed ages ago by the impact of 
  an enormous meteorite. This giant chunk of rock had on it 
  a few spores of an alien fungus. Then, in time, a stream 
  worked its way down into the crater, the fungus began to 
  grow. 
   
  This fungus is called quickfungus. It covers the entire 
  surface area of the craterlands, except for a few 
  outcroppings of rock and the rocky pinnacle in the deeper 
  crater hole in the center. To the player characters' eyes, 
  the entire bottom of the craterlands appear to be a sea of 
  large toadstools. The fungus itself is rooted in the mucky 
  bottom of the craterland, where the stream eventually 
  empties itself, creating soft, muddy bog. Any character 
  who steps into the quickfungus is in serious trouble. The 
  fungus gives way and the character begins to sink into the 
  muck, just as if it were quicksand. Characters that pass 
  both an RS check and a DEX check will be able to throw 
  themselves onto their bellies or their backs and float for 
  1d10 minutes before being swallowed by the muck. 
  Characters who fail either of these checks will feel tendrils 
  winding around their feet. They will be pulled completely 
  under in one minute (6 turns). Characters pulled under 
  the quickfungus will drown. 
   
  Quickfungus is not based on an oxygen/carbon dioxide 
  cycle. Instead, this fungus gives off two gasses as a result 
  of its metabolism. The first is hydrogen, which forms into 
  huge pockets as it rises in the atmosphere. This free 
  hydrogen is the reason for the explosions which occur 
  frequently and randomly in the craterlands area. While 
  player characters are in the craterlands, there is a 10% 
  chance every minute (6 turns) that they will be caught in 
  such an explosion. These explosions do 20-200 points of 
  damage. Any player character that fires a laser weapon, 
  gyrojet weapon, or projectile weapon will automatically 
  cause such an explosion. These explosions have a blast 
  radius of 30 meters. The second byproduct of quickfungus 
  is nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. As soon as 
  the player characters enter the craterlands area, the 
  referee should secretly roll a Stamina check for each 
  character. Those who make the check may ignore the 
  effects of the nitrous oxide. Those who fail will become 
  intoxicated. At first, the intoxicated characters will notice 
  nothing; they will simply feel very quiet and peaceful. 
  After 10 turns, they will begin to giggle. Anything anyone 
  says or does, in fact, anything that happens, will seem to 
  them to be hilarious. Intoxicated characters have their 
  DEX and RS scores halved for all purposes. The effects of 
  intoxication will last as long as the character is in the 
  crater- lands and for 30 minutes after the character 
  leaves.  
   
  There are occasional outcroppings of small rocks scattered 
  among the fungus on the crater floor. These rock 
  outcroppings occur every 10 or 20 meters. The rocks are 
  solid and will support the weight of any two characters 
  before starting to sink in the muck. The rocks are one 
  means of crossing the craterlands floor. 
   
  The underground rivers which flow through the area 
  bubble to the surface in narrow streams, about 8 meters 
  wide at their widest point. These streams follow the 
  course of the rivers shown on the map. The current is 
  slow and will carry an unpowered raft about 4 kilometers 
  per hour. There is a 10% chance each hour that the raft 
  will be attacked by a poisonous water snake (MV Medium 
  on land / Fast in water; IM/RS 7/70; STA 20; ATT 80; DM 
  1-5; SA Poison S10/T3; SD None). 
   
  THE CENTRAL CRATER 
  The center crater is shown on the "Crater" map from the 
  boxed set. When the player characters reach the central 
  hex of the craterlands, the one marked with a high 
  elevation point, read them the following description: 
   
  You have reached the central crater, an even deeper pit in 
  the middle of this weird area. As you stand on the rock 
  ledge which forms the rim of this deeper, central crater, 
  you see that its bottom is covered with the same fungus 
  you have seen throughout the rest of the craterland. Also 
  scattered about are a few outcroppings of rock. Here and 
  there, there are a few hardy but obviously dying bachanda 
  trees . In the center of this crater stands the rock spire. 
  Somewhere on or in that shaft of rock is the Sacred Idol 
  of the Kurabanda, and perhaps the creature who stole the 
  idol is there as well.  
   
  The rocky outcroppings in this area are treated just like 
  those in the craterlands as a whole. The bachanda trees 
  
   
  19 
   
   
   
   
  are indeed dying, and there is a 15% chance that any 
  branch tried will give way and break under the weight of a 
  character. 
   
  The chances for hydrogen explosions are exactly the same 
  as those given for the craterlands area in the previous 
  section. 
   
  THE ROCK PINNACLE 
  You have reached the base f the rock which holds the item 
  you seek. You see that the rock appears to be quite solid. 
  Its surface is rough and uneven, and there are many hand 
  and foot holds for climbing. The rock is approximately 120 
  meters high.  
   
  The party can climb up or down the rock in 1 hour. The 
  party will be in no danger from the hydrogen explosions 
  while climbing up or down the rock pinnacle. However, 
  each character must make a DEX check in order to climb 
  the rock successfully. Those who fail the check will fall into 
  the quickfungus below and drown, unless secured by a 
  rope, cord, or other means. Characters must rest for one 
  minute after every ten minutes of climbing.  
   
  While the characters are climbing the rock, there is a 1 in 
  10 chance that the Volturnian giant eagle that roosts 
  beneath a ledge on top of the tower will notice the 
  approach of the characters and swoop down to attack. The 
  eagle will attack one character per turn at random. If the 
  eagle tries to carry away a character secured by ropes, 
  the character will not be carried away, but will fall 1d10 
  meters. That character will suffer 1d5 points of damage 
  plus 1 point for every meter he falls, from scraping along 
  the face of the rock. If the eagle carries away an 
  unsecured character, the character will be flown to the top 
  of the rock pinnacle, where the eagle will try to finish him 
  off. 
   
  When the characters reach the top of the tower, the eagle 
  will attack immediately if it did not attack while the party 
  was climbing. The eagle fights ferociously to defend its 
  nesting area. The creature's nest is beneath a rocky ledge 
  at the top of the rock. In the nest are two large eggs and 
  a strange statue carved from crystal. This statue is the 
  Sacred Idol of the Kurabanda. 
   
  Volturnian Giant Eagle: (MV Very Slow on land / Fast in 
  air; IM/RS 6/58; STA 80; ATT 45; DM 4-40 talons; SA 
  20% chance it will grasp human or smaller creature in 
  claws and fly away; SD None, counts as "Large" creature 
  target). 
   
  LEAVING THE CRATERLANDS 
  Characters must face the hazards of the fungus and the 
  hydrogen explosions when leaving the craterlands. After 
  the part leaves the craterlands, they will safely reach the 
  Kurabanda village. Aurmada will agree to meet them for 
  the battle with the Sathar, bringing his warriors and their 
  hang gliders which can be used for special attacks on 
  enemy units. 
   
  DELTA SUBSECTION 5:  
  EXPERIENCE 
  POINTS 
  Characters who performed exceptionally receive three 
  experience points. Characters who did an average job 
  receive two points. Characters who did not play well 
  receive one point. 
   
  
   
  20 
   
   
   
  In this section, the player characters will have a chance to 
  meet the High Priest of the Edestekai. After listening to 
  the player characters' explanation of the Sathar threat 
  and the need for a united effort to combat them, the High 
  Priest will reluctantly agree to a deal. He and the 
  Edestekai will join the alliance against the Sathar only if 
  the player characters will perform a service for the High 
  Priest. The player characters must capture alive an 
  Edestekai "god of justice," better known as a quickdeath.  
   
  EPSILON SUBSECTION 1:  
  REFEREE'S 
  BACKGROUND 
  The major encounter in this section is the player 
  characters' attempt to capture a live quickdeath and 
  return it to the Edestekai High Priest. However, the 
  referee and the players may enjoy some preliminary 
  adventures in the Edestekai village and temple complex. 
  This section will also provide suggestions for such 
  encounters. However, the referee must develop these 
  encounters if he or she desires to include them. 
   
  All encounters take place in the Edestekai Holy City, in the 
  same hex as the Crystal Stonehenge on the hex map of 
  Volturnus. If the characters are extremely foolish and 
  begin to fight with the Edestekai, inform the player 
  characters that after a fierce fight they are captured by 
  the Edestekai and staked out to be eaten by a quickdeath 
  (the usual Edestekai punishment for causing a riot in the 
  Holy City). 
   
  The referee must bear in mind at all times that the High 
  Priest of the Edestekai is held in holy awe by most of the 
  population and is accustomed to being treated with 
  deference and great respect. He may very well withdraw 
  his offer of a deal if the player characters attempt to 
  deceive him. 
   
  SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL  
  ENCOUNTERS 
  These are ideas that can be used by the referee in play, or 
  as examples of additional encounters. In either case, the 
  referee will have to develop the details of the encounter 
  before they can be played. 
   
  1. Ritual of Welcome: When the player characters first 
  arrive at the Edestekai village, the Edestekai approach 
  them, forming a circle about them. Then the Edestekai 
  will begin singing and dancing, while waving and 
  clicking their limbs in their peculiar way. An Edestekai 
  priest will throw a handful of grain at the party. This 
  ritual is the traditional welcome for strangers. The 
  newcomers are expected to sing and dance in return. If 
  they do not, the Edestekai will be greatly offended. 
   
   
  EPSILON Section 
  
   
  21 
   
   
   
   
  2. Ritual of Purification: This ritual must be performed by 
  anyone who wants an audience with the High Priest. 
  The persons to see the High Priest must make a 
  donation to the temple, and then bathe in a specially 
  prepared water and oil mixture. Finally, black ashes are 
  smeared on the body as a sign of submission to the 
  High Priest's authority. 
   
  3. Street Peddler: An Edestekai street peddler will 
  approach and follow the player characters, pestering 
  them to buy items which are of no use to them. 
    
   
  EPSILON SUBSECTION 2:  
  PLANNED 
  ENCOUNTERS 
  When the player characters inquire about meeting the 
  High Priest, they will be directed to a temple official. He 
  will arrange an audience for them in the supreme temple 
  of Edesti. Upon arriving at the temple, the player 
  characters will be directed in the Ritual of Purification by a 
  temple official. He will instruct them to state their 
  business clearly, and very politely, when they meet the 
  High Priest. 
   
  You are led by a temple official into the center of a unique 
  outdoor structure, the Crystal Stonehenge. The structure 
  is made entirely of crystals that constantly reflect sun and 
  moonlight, splashing rainbows of color in all directions. 
  The High Priest is standing in the center of the circle of 
  crystals, facing you. After a slight pause he speaks:  
   
  "We have heard from the Messengers of the Gods that you 
  were coming, and were ordered to listen carefully to all 
  that you say. You may speak." 
    
  When 
  the 
  player 
  characters 
  have 
  finished 
  their 
  explanation and request for an alliance to combat the 
  Sathar, the High Priest will signal for his counselors to 
  enter and stand around him. After talking with them, the 
  High Priest turns to face the player characters.  
   
  "We have listened carefully, yet it is difficult to believe 
  that we should fight alongside god-killers, such as the Ul-
  Mor, in any battle. Now hear our decision: We will fight by 
  your side only after you have proved that you are worthy 
  of our trust and are blessed by the gods. To do this, you 
  must perform a quest for our Temple."  
   
  At this point, the High Priest gestures to the sides, and 
  four Edestekai enter the area, bearing something covered 
  by a large gold-colored cloth. At the High Priest's signal 
  the cloth is removed to reveal the body of a quickdeath. 
   
  "As you see," he says, "the spirit of the god of justice has 
  left this body and now inhabits another. You must bring us 
  another such creature, whole and alive with the spirit of 
  the god of justice. f you do so, then we will do as you ask 
  and join this alliance." 
   
  The High Priest turns and walks away, indicating that the 
  audience is ended. 
    
  If the player characters do not yet understand what has 
  happened, the referee should explain to them that they 
  are now expected to capture a live quickdeath, without 
  maiming it, and return it to the High Priest. 
   
  Referee's Note: If the player characters have not learned 
  about quickdeaths from playing in SF 0 and SF 1, you may 
  have an Edestekai priest explain to them the nature of the 
  quickdeath and where they can be found. The most likely 
  site is The Place of True Warriors, the ritual ground of the 
  Ul-Mor.  
   
  CAPTURE OF THE QUICKDEATH  
  (MV Very Fast; IM/RS 8/75; STA 180; ATT 70; DM 6-60; 
  SA See below; SD See below) 
   
  The player characters may take any actions they desire in 
  their efforts to capture a quickdeath. To complete their 
  mission successfully the quickdeath must have at least 50 
  stamina points remaining after capture. 
   
  Attempts to track a quickdeath and capture it while it is 
  asleep will fail; the beasts always roam in mated pairs, 
  and one stands watch while the other sleeps. There is no 
  way to tame or befriend these creatures, as they will 
  always attack on sight. 
   
  SA: Poisonous tail dart, ATT 60, Range 10/20/30/40/50, 
  DM 1-10 and poison, S10/T3; grapple with tentacles and 
  maw, ATT 70, DM 10 points per turn 
   
  SD: Immune to needlers, half damage from thrown 
  spears, lasers, and projectile weapons, ranged weapons 
  attack against it made at -25 due to speed. 
   
   
  EPSILON SUBSECTION 3:  
  EXPERIENCE 
  POINTS 
  Characters who performed exceptionally receive three 
  experience points. Characters who did an average job 
  receive two points. Characters who did not play well 
  receive one point. 
  
   
  22 
   
   
   
  This series of encounters is the climax of the entire 
  Volturnus series of modules. These encounters take place 
  during the great Battle of Volturnus, the showdown 
  between the Sathar and the forces of the (hopefully) 
  united races of Volturnus.  
   
  ZETA SECTION 1:  
  REFEREE'S NOTES 
  This section includes four encounters that take place 
  during the battle. The encounters that involve player 
  characters are the crucial parts of the battle, and will 
  determine whether or not Volturnus will survive. The 
  encounters should be played in the order they are 
  numbered. 
   
  The players may not play in any encounter that includes a 
  race not present at the battle. Any race that the player 
  characters failed to convince to join the alliance against 
  the Sathar will refuse to appear at the battle. 
   
  THE BATTLE MAP 
  This module includes a map for the referee's use showing 
  the Sathar forces and the Volturnus forces deployed for 
  battle. The encounters involving the player characters are 
  shown on the map as arrows indicating the direction of 
  each attack. The deployment map shows all the races of 
  Volturnus participating in the battle, although it is possible 
  that the party failed to convince some races to fight the 
  Sathar. If this is the case, ignore all references on the 
  map regarding a race that is not participating in the 
  battle. 
   
  The purpose of the map is to show the referee the overall 
  course of the battle so that the four encounters can be 
  more easily described and run. Because it is a strategic 
  and not a tactical map, no map scale is needed.  
   
  ENCOUNTER FORMAT 
  For the ease of the referee, each encounter is presented 
  using the following format: 
   
  ENCOUNTER NUMBER AND TITLE 
  Player's Description: A description to be read to the 
  players at the start of the encounter.  
   
  MAP AND MAP SCALE: This will detail the maps to be used 
  and the scale for interpreting the maps (5 meters per 
  square, 10 meters per square, etc.) 
   
  COUNTERS: This section will list all counters to be used 
  and what the counters represent. 
   
  SITUATION: This section explains the overall battle 
  situation at the time of the encounter. 
   
  PLAYER CHARACTER GOALS: This section outlines exactly 
  what the player characters should be trying to accomplish 
  during the encounter. 
   
  SET-UP: This section describes how to set up the maps 
  and counters for the encounter. 
   
  REINFORCEMENTS: 
  This 
  section 
  explains 
  how 
  reinforcements 
  are 
  brought 
  into 
  play 
  during 
  the 
  encounter.  
   
  SPECIAL NOTES: This section provides any special notes 
  the referee may need to run the encounter. 
   
  DESCRIPTION: This section describes the encounter in 
  detail and provides statistics for all NPCs involved in the 
  encounter. 
   
  ENDING THE ENCOUNTER:  This section explains the 
  possible endings for each encounter. 
   
  SPECIAL ENCOUNTER OPTIONS  
  FOR THE VOLTURNUS FORCES 
  There are two special options available to the player 
  characters when playing the following planned encounters. 
  These options should be made known to the players. The 
  Ul-Mor charge option may be used in any encounter 
  except number 4. The charge is already built into 
  encounter number 4. The Kurabanda air attack option 
  may be used in any encounter except encounter 1.  
   
  THE UL-MOR CHARGE OPTION: At the beginning of any 
  turn during any encounter except encounter number 4, 
  the player characters may call for a charge by their Ul-Mor 
  reserves. The number of Ul-Mor available to charge will 
  vary from 4 to 8, according to the Ul-Mor Charge Table: 
   
  Dice Roll 
  Number Of 
  Ul-Mor Available 
  01-20 
  4 
  21-40 
  5 
  41-60 
  6 
  61-80 
  7 
  81-00 
  8 
   
  ZETA Section 
  
   
  23 
   
   
   
   
   
  Note that this option may be used only once. If this option 
  is used, deduct the number of Ul-Mor who charge during 
  use of the option from the number available to charge in 
  encounter number 4. 
   
  The statistics for the charging Ul-Mor and their lopers are 
  the same as those given in encounter number 4. 
   
  THE KURABANDA AIR ATTACK OPTION: This option 
  may be used only if the Volturnus forces succeeded in 
  destroying 
  or 
  capturing 
  the 
  automatic 
  cannon 
  in 
  encounter number 1. 
   
  To use this option, the player characters may, at the 
  beginning of any turn during any encounter except 
  encounter number 1, call for the Kurabanda air attack. 
  The Kurabanda will launch themselves from the tops of 
  the ruins overlooking the battlefield and attempt to glide 
  over enemy units, drop- ping hand grenades as they fly 
  over. They will attempt to land behind the enemy units 
  and then open fire with their bows and arrows. 
   
  Gliding Kurabanda will arrive over the encounter map 3 
  turns after being called for. They will move 50 meters on 
  the map that turn, and land at the end of the move. They 
  may drop their hand grenades over any one enemy 
  counter their own counter passes over during their flight. 
  The turn after they land, the Kurabanda will be quite 
  helpless, as they must remove their hang gliders and 
  prepare their bows and arrows. 
   
  A total of 8 Kurabanda will come when this option is used. 
  These Kurabanda all have second level weapons skill with 
  bows and thrown weapons. Their statistics are: 
    
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS IM 
  RW 
  M 
  40/50 
  60/40 
  45/45 
  50/50 
  2 
  4 
  30 
  30 
   
  Note that dropped grenades have the usual chances for 
  scatter. Each Kurabanda drops four grenades all at once 
  from a special pack. These are fragmentation grenades 
  which will explode on impact. 
   
  PLAYER CHARACTERS AND  
  THE FORTUNES OF WAR 
  The fate of the player characters during each encounter 
  will have an impact on the rest of the battle. Consult the 
  following table for directions after each encounter is 
  played. 
   
  All characters remain alive.  Continue with the next 
  encounter.  
   
  All the player characters are killed.  Do not play any more 
  encounters. Proceed to the WINNING THE BATTLE section. 
  Consider all encounters not played as lost. If the battle is 
  won, inform the players that through their heroic self-
  sacrifices, Volturnus has been saved. If the battle was lost, 
  inform the players that despite their efforts, Volturnus was 
  lost to the evil worms.  
   
  All the player characters are captured.  Player characters 
  that are captured cannot free themselves. Do not play any 
  more encounters. Proceed to the WINNING THE BATTLE 
  section. Consider all encounters not played as lost. If the 
  battle is won, inform the players that through inspiring efforts 
  the Volturnus forces rallied and overran the Sathar lines, 
  rescuing the player characters. If the battle was lost, tell the 
  players despite their efforts before being captured, the Sathar 
  overwhelmed the Volturnus defenders, and the planet was 
  lost. The player characters, of course, died horrible deaths at 
  the hands of their Sathar captors.  
   
  Some of the player characters are captured while 
  others are not.  Player characters that are captured cannot 
  free themselves. Free player characters will not be able to 
  rescue captured player characters because in the confusion of 
  the battle it is impossible to determine where they are being 
  held. Free player characters should continue with the next 
  encounters. If, after finishing the encounters, the battle is 
  lost, inform those players whose characters were captured 
  that they died horribly at the hands of their Sathar captors. If 
  the battle is won, the captured player characters will be 
  liberated by the victorious Volturnus forces.  
   
  The last encounter is played.  Proceed to the WINNING 
  THE BATTLE section.  
   
   
   
  WINNING THE BATTLE 
  The overall goal of the player characters in this section of 
  the module is to win the great Battle of Volturnus against 
  the Sathar. After playing the encounters in this section of 
  the module, the referee must determine whether or not 
  the player characters and the allied races of Volturnus 
  have actually won the battle. The percent chance of the 
  Volturnus forces defeating the Sathar is equal to the 
  number of Volturnus races present at the battle plus the 
  number of battle encounters successfully completed times 
  10. Thus, for example, if the player characters unite all 
  the races of Volturnus and successfully complete all four 
  encounters in this section, they have a 90% chance of 
  winning the battle (5 races + 4 encounters = 9 x 10 = 
  90). Remember that there are five races on Volturnus: the 
  Eorna, the Ul-Mor, the Kurabanda, the Edestekai, and the 
  Mechanons. Any encounter not played is considered lost. 
   
  The referee should consult ZETA SUBSECTION 4 to 
  determine the battle's final outcome. 
   
   
  
   
  24 
   
   
   
  ZETA SUBSECTION 2:  
  PLAYER'S 
  INTRODUCTION 
  All that can be done has been done to prepare the planet 
  for defense against the hideous worms. The initial reports 
  arriving at the Eorna complex beneath the ruins of Volkos 
  are good; the Eorna planetary defense batteries have kept 
  the Sathar fleet at bay, and many of the Sathar shuttles 
  have been destroyed attempting to land ground troops on 
  the planet.  
   
  The successful landing of a large Sathar army has been 
  detected. After scanning the planet, the Sathar advanced 
  in the direction of Vokos. They should arrive in full battle 
  array sometime tomorrow morning. They number at least 
  30,000 plus robots and other weapons! 
   
  Knowing the terrain better than anyone else, the Eorna 
  determined that the best place to stop the Sathar drive is 
  along the ancient abandoned road which runs along the 
  east side of the dry canal toward Volkos. It is clear that if 
  the Sathar penetrate the Eorna complex below Volkos, 
  Volturnus is doomed. 
   
  The following are the Volturnus forces. They are brave but 
  poorly armed. 
   
  Referee's Note: Be sure to omit from this list any forces 
  from a race not successfully brought into the alliance by 
  the player characters. 
   
  Yourselves, with such weapons as you have gathered on 
  Volturnus. 
    
  150 Eorna, armed with laser rifles, to be used as an elite 
  skirmishing force. They also have some cybernetically 
  controlled megasauruses. 
   
  4,000 Ul-Mor cavalry mounted on lopers and eager for 
  battle. 
   
  12,000 Edestekai armed with pikes and spears. 
   
  6,000 Kurabanda armed with hang gliders. They are 
  hidden in the ruins overlooking the battlefield. They are 
  armed with bows and arrows and also with four 
  fragmentation 
  grenades 
  each. 
  The 
  grenades 
  were 
  discovered by the Eorna in an old, long abandoned 
  armory. 
   
  1,000 Mechanon combat robots. 
   
  You have no choice except to fight, as the Sathar are 
  totally 
  merciless 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  negotiate. 
  You 
  are 
  outnumbered by an enemy better armed than yourselves. 
  The morning will decide the fate of a world, and probably 
  your own destinies as well. 
   
  Referee's Note: The following description assumes that 
  the player characters have succeeded in uniting all the 
  races of Volturnus. If some races are not present for the 
  battle, the races present are assumed to stretch their line 
  to fill the line shown on the Battle Map. However, the only 
  encounters played are those involving the races present 
  for battle. 
   
  As morning dawns, your forces are drawn up for the grand 
  battle. Your left flank, anchored by a tiny oasis, is held by 
  the Mechanon forces. The center is defended by the 
  masses of Edestekai pike. On the right, strung out over a 
  long front, is the all-too-thin skirmish line of the Eorna. 
  Supporting the Eorna are a small group of Megasaurus; 
  the Eorna have captured some of these beasts during your 
  absence and implanted control devices in their brains, 
  turning them into at least partially controllable fighting 
  cybots.  
   
  The Ul-Mor cavalry, evenly distributed along the line of 
  battle, are in reserve. The hidden Kurabanda are ready to 
  leap from the ruins above to soar over the enemy forces, 
  dropping hand grenades on them. The Kurabanda will 
  then land and pour archery fire into the rear of enemy 
  units. 
   
  You, also, have been requested to stand by in reserve, 
  ready to provide crucial help as the battle develops. 
   
  You can sense the tension rising in your allies as they wait 
  for the attack. In distance to your far left and over a small 
  ridge, a brilliant flash of sunlight reveals the gleaming 
  body of a Sathar warbot! The Battle of Volturnus has 
  started. Your first request for help comes in from the 
  Mechanons on the left flank. There is just enough time to 
  get to the Mechanons before the warbots hit them. 
   
  ZETA SUBSECTION 3:  
  PLANNED 
  ENCOUNTERS 
  Again, these encounters should be played in sequence. Do 
  not play any encounter that includes a race not present at 
  the battle. When you finish each encounter, consult the 
  PLAYER CHARACTERS AND THE FORTUNES OF WAR 
  section. 
   
  1. THE ATTACK ON  
  THE MECHANON FORCES 
  As you arrive at the left flank, the Mechanon forces are 
  about to be heavily attacked all along the line. A strange 
  new Sathar automatic cannon is wreaking horrible 
  damage among the Mechanons. This gun must be 
  destroyed, or the Kurabanda air troops will never be able 
  to join the battle; the cannon would massacre them in the 
  air!  
   
  MAPS AND MAP SCALE: This encounter should be played 
  on the Desert map included in the STAR FRONTIERSTM 
  boxed set. The sporadic floater root vegetation on the 
  desert map does not influence movement or combat, 
  although it can be burned, producing dense black smoke. 
  The map scale for this encounter is 5 meters per square. 
   
  COUNTERS: The player character forces should have the 
  following counters: 
   
  
   
  25 
   
   
   
   
  1 counter for each player character 
  4 security robot counters 
  4 maintenance robot counters 
  Glijet counters A and B 
   
  The robot counters all represent Mechanon combat robots. 
  Glijet counter A represents a heavy laser. Glijet counter B 
  represents a recoilless rifle. Both of these weapons were 
  part of the defenses of Slave City One in module SF1. If 
  the player characters played SF1 and took the weapons 
  from the city, they may use them in this battle. If the 
  characters did not take these weapons from Slave City 
  One prior to the Battle of Volturnus, they cannot use these 
  weapons. 
   
  The attacking Sathar forces have the following counters: 
   
  2 warbot counters 
  4 combat robot counters 
  2 cybot counters 
  1 robot brain counter 
  2 Sathar counters 
  Glijet counter C 
   
  These counters represent Sathar versions of the type of 
  robot shown. The cybots are living beings that have 
  mechanical bodies. Glijet counter C represents a special 
  automatic cannon which can be fired as an anti-aircraft 
  weapon or fixed directly at targets on the ground. 
  Statistics for all the participants in the battle are given 
  below. 
   
  SITUATION: This is the first Sathar attack. They have 
  decided to begin the attack with a probe of the allies' left 
  flank. They will attempt to destroy the Mechanon forces if 
  possible, thereby causing the allies to lose their most 
  potent 
  fighting 
  force 
  immediately. 
  As 
  the 
  player 
  characters arrive, they notice that the automatic cannon, 
  especially, is doing heavy damage to the Mechanon 
  forces. 
   
  PLAYER CHARACTER GOALS: The player characters must 
  capture or destroy the automatic cannon if the Mechanons 
  are to stand. They must also be told that unless the 
  automatic cannon is destroyed, the airborne Kurabanda 
  forces will refuse to enter the battle, as the automatic 
  cannon would massacre any airborne attack. 
   
  SET-UP: Place the Desert map so that the printing at the 
  bottom faces you normally. The top of the map is the 
  north edge. Allow the player characters to set up their 
  forces any- where within 6 squares of the north edge of 
  the map.  
   
  Set up the Sathar forces anywhere within two squares of 
  the south edge of the map. Do not allow any stacking by 
  either side during the initial set-up, with the exception of 
  the two Sathar. They must be stacked with the automatic 
  cannon (Glijet counter C).  
   
  REINFORCEMENTS: The Sathar forces receive four new 
  combat robots whenever all four of the combat robots on 
  the board have been destroyed. These reinforcements 
  enter the south side of the map the turn after the fourth 
  combat robot is destroyed. Once the automatic cannon is 
  destroyed, 
  the 
  Sathar 
  forces 
  receive 
  no 
  more 
  reinforcements of any kind. 
   
  The Volturnus forces receive four new Mechanon robots 
  whenever a total of four of the Mechanon robots are 
  destroyed. These new robots enter from the north edge of 
  the map. 
   
  SPECIAL NOTES: Because the Volturnus forces have the 
  advantage of higher terrain, and can thus see clearly what 
  most of the Sathar forces are doing, allow the Volturnus 
  forces to automatically win the initiative every turn. Begin 
  play of the encounter with the declaration step of the first 
  combat turn. 
   
  DESCRIPTION: The encounter continues until the player 
  characters have destroyed or captured the automatic 
  cannon, or until the player characters are all killed or un- 
  conscious, or until they retreat off the north edge of the 
  map (if the characters retreat before the cannon is 
  destroyed, they lose the encounter.) 
   
  If the player characters destroy the automatic cannon, the 
  Sathar forces must immediately retreat, moving as quickly 
  as possible toward the south edge of the map and off the 
  map. The Sathar forces may fire weapons as they retreat, 
  provided they remain faced in the proper direction at the 
  time of fire. 
   
  ENDING THE ENCOUNTER: The encounter ends when all 
  player 
  characters 
  or 
  all 
  Sathar 
  forces 
  are 
  dead, 
  unconscious, captured, or have retreated from the 
  battlefield. 
   
  Important Note: The Sathar forces will never allow any 
  Sathar to be captured alive. They have orders to shoot 
  any Sathar who is taken prisoner. In addition, each Sathar 
  carries a poison capsule in its mouth. If escape is 
  impossible, the Sathar will bite the capsule and die 
  immediately. 
   
  
   
  26 
   
   
   
   
  SATHAR FORCES  
  • 2 warbots  
  (MV 120m; IM/RS 8/80; STA 500; ATT 80; DM 5 heavy 
  laser shots for 20-200 per shot, 10 machine gun bursts 
  for 10-100 per burst) 
   
  • 4 combat robots  
  (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; ATT 70; DM 20 laser 
  rifle shots at 4-40 per shot) 
   
  • 2 cybots  
  (MV 90m; IM/RS 8/80; STA 100; ATT 80; DM 10 gyrojet 
  rifle shots at 3-30 per shot) 
   
  • 1 automatic cannon  
  (MV 60m, treat as light vehicle with 60 structure points, 
  manned by 2 Sathar crewmen; ATT 70, fires once per 
  turn; DM 24d10 in square hit, characters in adjacent 
  squares must make STA check or be stunned for 1-10 
  turns, Robots are never stunned) 
   
  • The 18 Sathar have the following statistics: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS 
  IM 
  RW 
  M 
  40/40 
  40/40 
  45/45 
  45/65 
  2 
  4 
  20 
  20 
   
  The automatic cannon may not move and fire in the same 
  turn. The Sathar crew must be present to fire the 
  automatic cannon. The crewmen are slightly exposed, and 
  should be treated as a hard cover target. The crewmen 
  are also armed with laser rifles with one full clip each. 
   
  VOLTURNUS FORCES 
  • 8 combat robots  
  (MV 120m; IM/RS 7/70; STA 100; ATT 70; DM 20 laser 
  rifle shots for 4-40 each) 
   
  At least one player character must man the heavy laser 
  and the recoilless rifle if they are being used. Ammunition 
  for these will be determined by the amount of ammunition 
  the player characters were able to bring to the battle. At 
  the referee's discretion, the heavy laser and the recoilless 
  rifle may be plugged into the Eorna computer complex by 
  a direct link. In this case, the player character would 
  target the gun on a specific target, but the computer 
  would finalize the aim. Each gun would then have a 90% 
  base chance to hit. 
   
  2. THE EDESTEKAI  
  MEET THEIR GODS 
  The center lines, defended by the Edestekai pike are the 
  next Sathar target. Armed only with pikes, the Edestekai 
  need all the help and firepower you can give them.  
   
  MAPS AND MAP SCALE: This encounter is played using the 
  Crater map in the boxed STAR FRONTIERSTM set. The 
  map is here used to represent a small ridge line (the 
  slope) being held by the Volturnus forces. Treat the 
  fungus/swamp as desert terrain, the rocks and special 
  terrain as large rocks which provide cover, and the dying 
  trees as the floater root described in encounter 1. Ignore 
  the stream for the purposes of this encounter. The map 
  scale for this encounter is 5 meters per square. 
   
  COUNTERS: The Volturnus forces use the following 
  counters: 
   
  8 Edestekai counters 
  1 counter for each player character 
   
  The Sathar forces use the following counters: 
   
  10 Sathar counters 
  2 quickdeath counters 
  2 slither counters 
   
  The Edestekai counters each represent two Edestekai, one 
  standing directly behind the other. When one Edestekai in 
  a position is killed, turn the counter over face down to 
  indicate that it now represents only one Edestekai. All 
  other counters represent one of the type of creature 
  shown on the counter.  
   
  SITUATION: After opening the battle by an attack on the 
  left flank, the Sathar are attempting to use a surprise 
  weapon against the Volturnus forces' center. Advancing 
  against the Edestekai, the Sathar have brought with them 
  a number of quickdeaths hidden until they are very near 
  the Edestekai front ranks. They will then release these 
  beasts, hoping that the Edestekai will run away, fearing 
  that one of them is their "god of justice." 
   
  PLAYER CHARACTER'S GOALS: The player characters must 
  prevent the Edestekai from running away and inflict as 
  much damage as possible on the Sathar. In order to 
  convince the Edestekai that these quickdeaths (and their 
  Sathar masters) are not gods, the player characters will 
  have to kill at least one of these beasts and two Sathar as 
  well. 
   
  SET-UP: The Volturnus forces are set up first, by the 
  player characters. They may be placed in any slope 
  squares. Edestekai counters may be stacked two per 
  square if the player characters wish. The Sathar forces are 
  then set up by the referee within two squares of the edge 
  of the map across from the slope (the east edge). Only 
  one counter may be placed per square. The quickdeath 
  counters should be set up behind the other counters so 
  that the quickdeaths cannot be seen. There must be a 
  Sathar counter adjacent to (or in front of) each 
  quickdeath counter. 
   
  REINFORCEMENTS: As soon as any five Sathar are killed, 
  five more Sathar will appear on the east map edge as 
  reinforcements. 
   
  As soon as an Edestekai counter is removed (both 
  Edestekai have been killed), the counter may re-enter 
  play 
  representing 
  two 
  more 
  Edestekai. 
  These 
  reinforcements enter from the west edge of the board. Up 
  to eight new Edestekai counters (16 Edestekai) may be 
  brought into play in this manner. The referee must keep 
  track of the number of reinforcements brought in. 
   
  SPECIAL NOTES: Again, the Volturnus forces have the 
  advantage of higher terrain. Therefore they should 
  automatically win initiative each round. The Edestekai are 
  armed with pikes (long spears) which give them the 
  advantage of being able to fight two ranks deep. The two 
  
   
  27 
   
   
   
   
  Edestekai represented by a single counter may both 
  attack the same enemy counter in melee. 
   
  The Edestekai counters must, whenever possible, be kept 
  in a line formation, with no more than one empty square 
  between counters. Basically, this should be a line in which 
  all the counters face the same way, although the 
  Edestekai facings can be adjusted to accommodate for 
  natural turns or curves in the line due to terrain or 
  combat. 
   
  DESCRIPTION: The Sathar will advance across the desert, 
  keeping the quickdeaths hidden until they have reached a 
  point no more than 10 squares away from the Edestekai 
  line. At this point the Sathar will send the two quickdeaths 
  rushing at the line. 
   
  When the quickdeaths hit the Edestekai line, all Edestekai 
  must make a special morale check. The referee should roll 
  this check secretly and note the results. Any roll of 70 or 
  less means that the counter has failed its morale check. 
  Counters that fail this morale check will run away after six 
  turns unless the player characters have killed at least one 
  quickdeath and two Sathar. Edestekai attacked by the 
  quickdeaths will defend themselves, but will not actually 
  attack any quickdeath. After the player characters have 
  killed a quickdeath and two Sathar, the Edestekai will 
  realize that the Sathar attack was a sacrilegious trick and 
  will fight with fanatical frenzy. Give them a +10 "to hit" in 
  melee from this point on.  
   
   
   
  ENDING THE ENCOUNTER: The encounter ends when all 
  player 
  characters 
  or 
  all 
  Sathar 
  forces 
  are 
  dead, 
  unconscious, captured, or have retreated from the 
  battlefield. The Sathar will do whatever is necessary to 
  prevent the capture of live Sathar. 
   
  SATHAR FORCES 
  • 10 Sathar, with these statistics: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS 
  IM RW 
  M 
  40/40 
  40/40 
  45/45 
  45/65 
  2 
  4 
  20 
  20 
  These Sathar are armed with laser rifles and one full 
  clip each. 
   
  • 2 quickdeaths (MV Very Fast; IM/RS 8/75; STA 180; 
  ATT 70; DM 6d10; SA Poisonous tail darts (S10/T3), 
  Range 10/20/30/40/50; ATT 60; DM 1-10; grapple 
  with tentacles and maw, DM 10 points per turn; SD 
  Immune to needler weapons, takes only half damage 
  from laser or projectile weapons; ranged attacks are at 
  -25) 
   
  • 2 slithers (MV Slow; IM/RS 5/45; STA 400; ATT 30; DM 
  6-60; SA Can attack two creatures per turn; SD None) 
   
  VOLTURNUS FORCES  
  • 16 Edestekai armed with pikes. All have second level 
  skill with pikes. Their statistics are: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS IM RW 
  M 
  50/50 
  75/65 
  70/50 
  40/40 
  3 
  47 
  38 
  38 
  All reinforcements have the same statistics as the 
  Edestekai they replace. 
   
  3. CYBO-DEATH FOR THE EORNA 
  As soon as you return from the center lines you receive 
  word via an Ul-Mor rider, that the Eorna skirmish line on 
  your right flank is in serious trouble. Some new monsters 
  have been unleashed by the Sathar, and the Eorna are 
  totally unable to stand against them. Already they are 
  dying and retreating. Soon these monsters will turn the 
  flank of the Edestekai, unhinging the entire line of your 
  army! The Eorna desperately need your help.  
   
  As you approach the scene of the crisis, you are able to 
  see several of the huge monsters. They are enormous 
  cybots, apparently part reptilian, part robot. They are 
  rampaging through the Eorna front. This hideous creation 
  of the Sathar has a huge metallic head with eyes that 
  blaze firth laser beams. Flames shoot from its "mouth" 
  which is full of horrid metallic teeth. The creature's 
  appearance suggests the name: cybodragon! 
   
  While 
  you 
  are 
  dispatching 
  a 
  desperate 
  call 
  for 
  reinforcements, you see a Sathar ground vehicle roar up 
  behind one of the cybodragons. Two Sathar technicians 
  emerge from the vehicle and the cybodragon comes to a 
  halt. The technicians slither up the sides of the now stilled 
  beast and remove a plate from the back of its head. An 
  object is removed from inside, and another inserted in its 
  place. The technicians get back into their vehicle and the 
  monster continues its attack. The technicians head for the 
  next cybodragon. 
   
  It is obvious that the power required by such a creation is 
  enormous. That Sathar vehicle holds the supply of extra 
  power packs! The only way to halt the cybodragon attack 
  is to destroy or capture that truck immediately. 
   
  
   
  28 
   
   
   
  MAPS AND MAP SCALE: This encounter is played on the 
  mountains map from the STAR FRONTIERSTM boxed set. 
  In this case the mountains represent a series of ridges in 
  the desert, and the mountain peaks on the map stand 
  instead for high rocks providing hard cover. Assume there 
  is 10 meters difference between the various elevation 
  levels. The road on the map is the ancient road to Volkos. 
  The map scale for this encounter is 5 meters per square. 
   
  COUNTERS: The Volturnus forces will use the following 
  counters: 
   
  1 counter for each player character 
  6 Eorna counters 
   
  The Sathar forces will use the following counters: 
   
  1 cybodragon counter 
  10 Sathar counters 
  1 ground truck counter 
   
  Each counter represents one creature of the type pictured 
  on the counter. 
    
   
   
  SITUATION: The Sathar have attacked the weakest point 
  of the Volturnus forces' line with their cybodragons. At 
  this instant, the cybodragon nearest you has ceased 
  attacking, awaiting new power packs from the Sathar 
  mobile supply unit (the ground truck). Of course, there is 
  still sporadic firing, and the cybodragon is still a 
  formidable foe, for it retains its flame thrower and melee 
  capabilities. Once recharged, its laser weapons will also 
  function again. 
   
  PLAYER CHARACTER'S GOLAS: The player characters must 
  destroy or capture the mobile supply unit. This will 
  prevent the Sathar from providing new power packs for 
  the cybodragon. It will also give an example to the other 
  troops, for it enough such trucks can be knocked out, the 
  Sathar forces will soon be out of ammunition! 
   
  SET-UP: The player characters set up the Volturnus forces 
  first. They must be placed one per square in any square 
  on the map except squares of the lowest elevation terrain. 
  The referee sets up the Sathar forces. The cybodragon 
  should be placed in the eighth road square from the north 
  edge of the map. The ground truck may be placed in any 
  square of the lowest elevation, as may the Sathar. Two 
  Sathar must begin stacked with the ground truck. Other 
  Sathar forces must begin unstacked. 
   
  REINFORCEMENTS: The Volturnus forces will receive one 
  extra Eorna when an Eorna is killed. This continues up to 
  a maximum of six additional Eorna. The Sathar forces may 
  receive five new Sathar when the first five Sathar are 
  killed. The Eorna enter the map from any south edge 
  square, the Sathar from any north edge square. 
   
  SPECIAL NOTES: The ground truck is of Sathar design. 
  The player characters may not be able to drive it, unless 
  they have a character with Technician skill. Such a 
  character has the normal chance to operate this 
  machinery. The truck contains 50 Sathar power packs of 
  100 SEU each. 
   
  DESCRIPTION: The Volturnus forces automatically have 
  initiative each turn. Begin with the first combat turn. The 
  two Sathar technicians must move toward the cybodragon 
  and spend four consecutive turns stacked with it to 
  replace its power pack. Once the power pack is replaced, 
  the cybodragon is fully operational. Until then, it may not 
  use its laser weapons. The cybodragon may use all its 
  other capabilities before being recharged, but it must be 
  still for four consecutive turns in order for the new power 
  pack to be implanted. 
   
  Once the cybodragon is again operational, the Sathar 
  technicians will get back into the ground truck and drive 
  off the north edge of the map. 
   
  ENDING THE ENCOUNTER: This encounter ends when all 
  player 
  characters 
  or 
  all 
  Sathar 
  forces 
  are 
  dead, 
  unconscious, captured, or have retreated from the 
  battlefield. The Sathar forces will do whatever is needed 
  to prevent the capture of live Sathar.  
   
  Referee's Note: If your players have played in the 
  preceding modules of this series, tell them after the 
  encounter that they find the dead body of Lieutenant 
  Colonel 
  Louis 
  V. 
  Jameson 
  on 
  the 
  battlefield. 
  He 
  volunteered to fight alongside the Eorna and was killed 
  while fighting at the opposite end of the Eorna skirmish 
  line. 
   
  SATHAR FORCES 
  • 10 Sathar, with the following statistics: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS 
  IM 
  RW 
  M 
  40/40 
  40/40 
  45/45 
  45/65 
  2 
  4 
  20 
  20 
  These Sathar are armed with laser rifles and one full 
  clip each. 
   
  • 1 cybodragon  
  (MV Fast; IM/RS 8/75; STA 500; ATT 80; DM 10-100 
  from bite, claws, and metallic tentacles; SA Two laser 
  eyes that fire 5 shots each, 10d10 damage per shot, 
  flamethrower breath for 3d10) 
   
  • 1 ground truck (120 structural points) 
   
   
   
   
  
   
  29 
   
   
   
   
  VOLTURNUS FORCES 
  • 6 Eorna with the following statistics: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS 
  IM RW M 
  40/40 40/40 45/45 45/65 
  2 
  4 
  20 
  20 
  Each has a laser rifle with one full clip 
   
  All reinforcements have the same statistics as the original 
  forces. 
   
  4. THE CHARGE OF THE UL-MOR 
  NOTE: If the players have successfully completed the 
  previous encounter, use player description "A" below. If 
  they have not been doing well, use player description "B" 
  below. 
   
  Player Description A 
  The tactic of knocking out supply trucks has turned the 
  Sathar attack into little more than a holding action. A 
  glance down the battle line shows that the Volturnus 
  forces are now holding their own quite well against 
  sporadic fire and attacks by the main body of the Sathar 
  army. The Sathar appear to be surprised and disoriented 
  by this turn in the battle; or they are cunningly awaiting 
  resupply from their shuttles.  
   
  It is quite possible that an offensive move by the 
  Volturnus forces now might just turn the entire battle 
  around and put the worms on the run. The Ul-Mor loper-
  mounted cavalry is the only option for such an offense. If 
  the Ul-Mor could survive the laser fire they would endure 
  while closing on the Sathar, their heavy lopers charging 
  through the Sathar masses would surely cause heavy 
  damage, probably enough to force the Sathar to retreat. 
  The grim Ul-Mor leadership agrees that this is the last 
  chance to save the day. 
    
  As they prepare to attack, the advance troops of the 
  Sathar are observed setting up strange new devices in 
  front of them. They appear to be generating some kind of 
  force field or shield. As the devices are out into place, the 
  Ul-Mor leaders press for permission to charge. However, 
  everyone realizes that the Sathar devices will have to be 
  investigated and knocked out before the attack can begin.  
   
  Player Description B 
  The situation now appears desperate. Only immediate 
  action could hold the weakening Volturnus line against the 
  steady advance of the worms. A surprise counter attack 
  by the Ul-Mor loper-mounted cavalry against the densely 
  packed troops in the Sathar center appears to be the only 
  chance to rout the worms.  
   
  The grim Ul-Mor leadership agrees that this is the last 
  chance to save the day. As they prepare to attack, the 
  advance troops of the Sathar are observed setting up 
  strange new devices in front of them. They appear to be 
  generating some kind of force field or shield. As the 
  devices are put into place, the Ul-Mor leaders press for 
  permission to charge. However, everyone realizes that the 
  Sathar devices will have to be investigated and knocked 
  out before the attack can begin. 
    
  MAPS AND MAP SCALE: This encounter is played on the 
  Desert map, the same map used for encounter 1. The 
  map scale for this encounter, however, is increased to 10 
  meters per square. 
   
  COUNTERS: The Volturnus forces will use the following 
  counters:  
   
  1 counter for each player character 
  8 Ul-Mor counters 
  8 loper counters 
   
  The Sathar forces will use the following counters: 
   
  10 Sathar counters 
  8 Alien counters 
  3 Glijet counters 
   
  The Ul-Mor counters and loper counters represent an Ul- 
  Mor mounted on a loper. For purposes of this encounter 
  there is no difference between an Ul-Mor counter and a 
  loper counter. The 8 Alien counters are used to represent 
  additional Sathar. The 3 glijet counters are used to 
  represent the special devices being set out by the Sathar. 
   
  SITUATION: The Sathar are expecting a counterattack at 
  some point along the line, and are preparing a nasty 
  surprise for the Volturnus forces. The three devices 
  generate an electrical field that causes damage to any 
  living or mechanical creature which attempts to cross it. 
  The Ul-Mor charge will be doomed unless this electric field 
  can be shut down. 
   
  PLAYER CHARACTER'S GOALS: Investigate and deactivate 
  this unknown force field, so the Ul-Mor charge can be 
  made. 
   
  SET-UP: The referee sets up the Sathar forces first. One 
  glijet counter should be placed on the west map edge 
  square, five squares north of the south map edge. A 
  second glijet counter should be placed on the east map 
  edge directly across from the first, and the third counter 
  should be placed in the middle of the map in the same 
  row as the other two. The 18 Sathar should 
   then be placed anywhere within four squares of the south 
  edge of the map.  
   
  The player characters enter the northern edge of the map 
  on Turn 1. The Ul-Mor will enter later. 
   
  REINFORCEMENTS: There are no reinforcements for this 
  encounter. 
   
  SPECIAL NOTES: The Sathar electric field extends across 
  the map in a straight line from glijet counter to glijet 
  counter. Any creature entering any square in this line 
  except those squares occupied by the glijet counters will 
  receive 10d10 points of electrical damage. The electric 
  field is a Level 4 security device, and may be deactivated 
  in 5 turns by any character with Technician skill. These 5 
  turns must be consecutive, and the character may do 
  nothing else while deactivating the field. The entire field 
  may be deactivated at any one of the three devices 
  (represented by glijet counters). Each electric field 
  
   
  30 
   
   
   
  generator has 30 structure points. If any of the three 
  generators is destroyed, the field is deactivated. 
   
  DESCRIPTION: Approaching the field will require all of the 
  player's ingenuity, for every normal type of weapon can 
  be fired through it, except electrical weapons. Remember 
  that first, of course, the players must figure out what the 
  force field is and what it does! 
   
  Begin the encounter with the player characters entering 
  from the north edge of the map. (Remember that initiative 
  in this encounter is determined normally!) The Ul-Mor are 
  assumed to be just off the map to the north. They will 
  charge when they receive the pre-arranged signal. (The 
  referee should suggest that the player characters set up 
  such a signal with the Ul-Mor). 
   
  Note that an Ul-Mor mounted on his loper is considered a 
  hard cover target, and receives the benefits of a moving 
  animal target as well. The Ul-Mor are allowed four attacks 
  per turn. The Lopers may also attack.  
   
  Lopers which are charging pay no terrain penalty for 
  moving up and down the desert hills or over floater root. 
   
  ENDING THE ENCOUNTER: The encounter ends when all 
  player 
  characters 
  or 
  all 
  Sathar 
  forces 
  are 
  dead, 
  unconscious, captured, or have retreated from the 
  battlefield. The Sathar will not allow themselves to be 
  captured alive. 
   
  SATHAR FORCES 
  • The 18 Sathar have the following statistics: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS 
  IM 
  RW 
  M 
  40/40 40/40 45/45 45/65 
  2 
  4 
  20 
  20 
  These Sathar are all armed with laser rifles with one 
  full clip apiece. They all have second level beam 
  weapons skill. 
   
  VOLTURNUS FORCES 
  • 16 Ul-Mor with second level melee weapons skill, all 
  mounted on lopers. These are their statistics: 
  STR/ 
  STA 
  DEX/ 
  RS 
  INT/ 
  LOG 
  PER/ 
  LDR 
  PS 
  IM 
  RW 
  M 
  40/40 50/50 60/60 40/60 
  2 
  5 
  25 
  25 
   
  • 16 lopers (MV Fast; IM/RS 5/41; STA 300; ATT 40; DM 
  4-40; SA None; SD Immune to needle weapons) 
   
  ZETA SUBSECTION 4:  
  THE AFTERMATH 
  What happens after the battle depends a great deal on 
  who has won the battle. Hopefully, the player characters 
  and the forces of Volturnus have won. If they have, you 
  may tell them that the day after the battle the Mechanon 
  monitoring system reports that scattered Sathar troops 
  are regrouping and reporting to shuttles for transport back 
  to the orbiting battle fleet. Additional shuttles are being 
  destroyed by the still functioning Eorna planetary defense 
  system. At this point, the referee should move the 
  adventure along quickly to the ETA SECTION below.  
   
  If the forces of Volturnus have lost the battle, the referee 
  has a trickier problem. Tell the players that the battle is 
  lost, but that the war need not yet be over. They can 
  either surrender to the Sathar, which means certain 
  torture and death, or they can continue resistance with 
  the few troops left, struggling to keep the Sathar out of 
  the Eorna complex below the ruins of Volkos with its 
  hospital, computers, and other necessary advanced 
  technology. There is just barely a chance that the 
  resistance can last until the battle fleet being sent by 
  Truane's Star arrives. 
   
  If your players choose to fight it out to the bitter end with 
  the Sathar, use the following guidelines to create your 
  own scenarios. 
   
   
   
  BASIC SITUATION: The player characters must now 
  prevent the Sathar from finding the Eorna complex 
  beneath the ruins of Volkos before the battle fleet from 
  Truane's 
  Star 
  arrives. 
  Fortunately 
  for 
  the 
  player 
  characters, the Sathar do not know the exact location of 
  the complex, nor do they know where the entrance can be 
  found. 
   
  The battle fleet from Truane's Star will arrive in 2-20 
  days. The referee should make this dice roll secretly, as 
  the player characters should not know exactly when to 
  expect the arrival of the fleet. During each of these days, 
  the Sathar will send armed patrols into the ruins, 
  searching for the entrance to the Eorna underground 
  complex. The player characters must prevent these 
  patrols from finding the entrance by fighting a kind of 
  urban commando war until the battle fleet arrives. 
   
  The Mechanons will know immediately when the battle 
  fleet arrives, and will get word to the player characters of 
  this event through the Eorna. Rather than face the battle 
  fleet the Sathar will abandon Volturnus, and the referee 
  can then move the adventure to the ETA SECTION, 
  beginning with paragraph three of the player's description. 
   
  PICKING THE ENTRANCE: If the players have played 
  module SF 1, you will already know where the entrance to 
  the Eorna complex can be found on the Ruins map in the 
  STAR FRONTIERSTM boxed set. If your players did not 
  participate in SF 1, the referee should simply pick one of 
  the buildings on the Ruins map and say that the entrance 
  to the Eorna complex is in this building. 
   
  EORNA RESOURCES: For the duration of the adventure, 
  the referee should assume that the Eorna complex 
  contains enough food, water, power packs, and other 
  supplies to keep the characters equipped for normal 
  operations. Outrageous requests for equipment should be 
  denied. The referee should decide which requests are 
  unreasonable. 
   
  
   
  31 
   
   
   
   
   SATHAR PATROLS: The Sathar will send a number of 
  patrols into this section of the ruins shown on the Ruins 
  map each day. The number of patrols will vary from 1 to 
  3. Roll percentage dice at the start of each day. A roll of 
  01-33 indicates one patrol, 34-67 indicates 2 patrols, and 
  68-00 indicates three patrols. Multiple patrols will be 
  staggered throughout the day (morning, noon time, 
  evening).  
   
  To determine the composition of a Sathar patrol, roll 1d10 
  on the Sathar Patrol Table. 
   
  SATHAR PATROL TABLE 
  Die 
  Roll 
  Patrol Composition  
  1-2 
  5 average Sathar with laser rifles. 
  3-4 
  10 average Sathar with laser rifles. 
  5-6 
  5 average Sathar, 2 with laser rifles, 1 with 
  gyrojet rifle, 2 with sonic disruptors and laser 
  pistols. 
  7-8 
  5 average Sathar with laser rifles plus one 
  standard combat robot with a laser rifle. 
  9 
  10 average Sathar with laser rifles plus one 
  standard warbot with heavy laser and machine 
  gun. 
  10 
  10 Sathar with laser rifles plus one cybodragon.  
   
  All patrols will move at a walk, slowly, with robots or the 
  cybodragon keeping pace with the Sathar until the patrol 
  is attacked. Patrols will enter the map from random 
  locations, and proceed to search buildings for survivors 
  (who will be shot) and the entrance to the Eorna complex. 
   
  PATROL RESULTS: If any patrol does locate the entrance 
  to the Eorna complex, the Sathar will attack in 
  overwhelming force. The referee should simply tell the 
  players, "The Sathar mount an attack in great force 
  against the complex. After heroic resistance, you are 
  killed, and Volturnus is effectively losing the Battle of 
  Volturnus! 
   
  If the player characters prevent the Sathar patrols from 
  locating the entrance before the arrival of the Truane's 
  Star battle fleet, the player characters have saved the 
  planet, despite losing the Battle of Volturnus! 
   
  REFEREE'S DISCRETION: The referee may decide to allow 
  fighting inside the buildings in the ruins. This will require 
  the preparation of a set of maps detailing various building 
  interiors. A sample map of an Eorna crystal building is 
  included in this module. This may be used by the referee 
  during play, and serve as examples for any additional 
  maps that the referee may wish to make. 
   
  SATHAR PRISONERS: It is extremely important that 
  throughout this entire section of the adventure the player 
  characters not be allowed to take any Sathar prisoners. 
  The nature of the Sathar race should not be revealed to 
  players in your campaign yet. If the capture of a live 
  Sathar seems unavoidable, the referee should have the 
  Sathar commit suicide by using a special vial of poison 
  concealed in its mouth for just such an emergency. No 
  medicines known to the player characters will counteract 
  this poison. 
   
   
  ZETA SUBSECTION 5:  
  EXPERIENCE 
  POINTS 
  Characters who performed exceptionally well during the 
  Battle of Volturnus receive three experience points. 
  Characters who did an average job receive two points. 
  Characters who did not play well receive one point. 
   
   
  
   
  32 
   
   
   
  This section contains no action encounters. It is rather an 
  epilogue to the entire Volturnus series. The epilogue should 
  be read to the player characters, assuming that they won in 
  the Battle of Volturnus.  
   
  After the epic battle, the victorious allies retired to the Eorna 
  stronghold to celebrate the victory, tend the wounded, and 
  wait for the Sathar's next move. Everyone expected them to 
  send more troops and attack again, and worried that, this 
  time, there wouldn't be enough left to stop them.  
   
  But that next Sathar move never came. The Eorna equipment 
  showed the Sathar shuttles taking their wounded and 
  stragglers back to the fleet, and after three days that fleet 
  headed for deep space and the stars beyond. For now, at 
  least, Volturnus is safe from the Sathar menace. Through 
  your actions, you have saved an entire world! 
   
  In another week, the alliance is breaking up. The Edestekai 
  are eager to return to their religious rituals. The Kurabanda 
  are longing for their forest home, (which is perhaps just as 
  well, for their antics are trying everyone's patience), and the 
  Ul-Mor state simply that it is time for them to return to the 
  desert.  
   
   
  As they are bidding you farewell, a long awaited welcome 
  sight appears in the distance above the desert: a shuttle from 
  a Truane's Star warship! 
   
  The Eorna confirm your happy news. The friendly battle fleet 
  has finally arrived with orders to transport your party back to 
  Truane's Star! 
    
  There is however, one more piece of news; the battle fleet 
  found an ancient orbiter still revolving in a very wide orbit 
  around Volturnus, which, upon investigation, appeared to be 
  some type of alien craft. A boarding party found no crew, but 
  rather some 50,000 eggs of some type, still fully preserved in 
  cryogenic storage!  
   
  The Eorna are ecstatic! They deduce that these eggs, which 
  are indeed fertile Eorna eggs, were launched in desperation 
  during that black day long ago, the day of the first Sathar 
  devastation of their world. All records of the orbiter were lost 
  in the destruction that followed. But now, there will be 
  thousands of Eorna to repopulate their world, oversee the 
  development of the more primitive races, and carry on the 
  Eorna devotion to Beauty and Life! 
   
   
  ETA Section 
   
  
   
  33 
   
   
   
   
  There are many additional adventures which player 
  characters could have on Volturnus at a later time in the 
  referee's campaign. These would have to be designed by 
  the referee. However, some suggestions include:  
   
  1. Tracking down any Sathar survivors of the great battle 
  of Volturnus. There are bound to be a few of the 
  vicious creatures who missed that shuttle, and are 
  hiding in the rocks and hills. Who knows what evil plots 
  they may be hatching? 
   
  2. Pursuit of the Star Devil. Players who have played the 
  entire Volturnus series may very much enjoy an 
  adventure involving tracking down the Star Devil from 
  clues which may yet be found on Volturnus. There are 
  undoubtedly a few of the pirates left, perhaps hiding in 
  the Mist Mountains.... 
   
  3. Solving the mystery of Lizard Head rock. This strange 
  rock formation is shaped like a giant lizard's head. The 
  Eorna have always wondered about it, what it is, where 
  it came from, who made it, etc. They have heard that 
  there are large numbers of Yernoids in that area, but 
  have never investigated these reports.  
   
  4. The Ul-Mor left the sea to live on shore; they have 
  legends of other peoples like themselves who did not. 
  There may be an entire race of sea-dwelling Ul-Mor 
  who are as intelligent as their land living cousins. They 
  would be of enormous assistance in any deep sea 
  mining operations.... 
   
  5. The history of Volturnus is so varied, and areas of it 
  have been purposely left so blank, that any number of 
  other adventures of the referee's own making could be 
  fit onto this bizarre planet. 
    
  This concludes module SF2: THE STARSPAWN OF 
  VOLTURNUS, and the Volturnus series of modules. 
   
   
   
  THETA Section 
  
   
  34 
   
   
   
  THE MECHANONS  
   
  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 
  Based upon limited intelligence reports, the Mechanons 
  appear to be highly advanced robots. It is not known how 
  many varieties of Mechanons exist. 
   
  Their form is roughly humanoid, though many have a 
  large metallic tail which is apparently used for balance and 
  other functions. A Mechanon's head is a cluster of various 
  colored crystals. These crystals are in some way 
  connected with the electronic circuitry of the machine. 
  Although unverified, it is widely believed that the 
  coloration of the crystals which form a Mechanon's head 
  are also an indication of the Mechanon's exact position in 
  its society. 
   
  CULTURE 
  The Mechanons evolved from Eorna robots. A large 
  number of robots, including robot brains, survived the first 
  Sathar attack. Some were linked to self-programming 
  computers. Without Eorna guidance, groups of these robot 
  brain / computer teams began building new robots. 
  Improvements were added bit by bit, and eventually a 
  group of self-programming super robots evolved. Over a 
  long period of time, and with more and more refinements, 
  these became the Mechanons. The robots used every day 
  on the Frontier worlds are to the Mechanons what 
  opossums and tree shrews are to humans: there is a 
  certain similarity between them, but the differences are 
  far more important. 
   
  The Mechanons are loosely classified as an intelligent 
  race, even though they are, as far as it is known, actually 
  machines. Nonetheless, they meet several of the major 
  qualifications for intelligence: organizing and controlling 
  their environment, utilization and transformation of 
  energy, and purposeful behavior. 
   
  The society seems to be organized into a strict caste 
  system that does not allow for advancement from a lower 
  status to a higher one. The lower classes are assumed to 
  be workers, but the exact details of the Mechanons society 
  are unknown. 
   
  What is known of the Mechanon culture is unified by one 
  dominant theme: machine life is superior to biological life 
  and must eventually replace it. Biological life must be 
  tolerated for the time being, but the day will come when it 
  can be exterminated and the world made safe for rational 
  machines. 
   
  This drive toward aggression supports the hierarchy of 
  Mechanon culture, which includes a reverence for both 
  brains and brawn. Extremely intelligent Mechanons are 
  regarded with something approaching awe by more 
  standard models, just as Humans feel that there is 
  something awesome and mysterious about a genius of 
  their own kind. The top leaders of the Mechanon society 
  are referred to simply as "the brains." 
   
  Only slightly lower in status than the brains are the 
  warriors. These are special Mechanons built for combat. 
  They are considered an elite group, by themselves and the 
  other Mechanons. 
   
   
   
  Mechanons use standard types of robots to perform a 
  variety of tasks, just as Humans and others do. It is not 
  known whether this practice is, in their view, a form of 
  slavery or domestication. One must always distinguish 
  carefully between Mechanons and ordinary robots.  
   
  Mechanon society does contain a number of oddities due 
  to the Mechanons' limited basic knowledge of the 
  universe. Their high technology is based upon crystals and 
  electronics; 
  they 
  obtained 
  this 
  through 
  the 
  early 
  computers and their own experimentation. However, their 
  understanding of the nature of the solar system was 
  gained only by direct observation, and is rather crude. 
  They do not have any concept of the vastness of the 
  universe, and are inclined to think that Volturnus is the 
  center of all things, that the rest of the universe is simply 
  there to provide a setting for their own activities. 
   
  Beliefs such as these have led the Mechanons to a religion 
  of sorts. Here, too, the Mechanons are somewhat limited. 
  They have lost all memory or record of their own creation 
  and the creation of the robots and computers that 
   
  Intelligent Species 
  
   
  35 
   
   
   
   
  preceded them. They believe that a machine god has 
  created them to do its will. Its will is to exterminate 
  biological life and replace it with Mechanons. 
   
  Mechanons have no sense of private or public property; 
  supplies simply exist and are used as needed. The 
  Mechanons have no families; new Mechanons, like new 
  robots, are created fully functional, and with complete 
  memories. 
   
  There are no laws as such in Mechanon society; every 
  Mechanon is given certain behavioral directives by its 
  programmers during construction. There are many fewer 
  limitations upon the warrior and brain Mechanons than 
  there are imposed upon other Mechanons. These elite 
  Mechanons are programmed to do anything that will 
  further the cause of mechanical life, keeping in mind the 
  need for curtailing some short term actions in order to 
  maximize gains in the long run. 
   
  It is entirely possible that at some time in the future the 
  Mechanons could present a tremendous threat to the 
  Frontier Worlds. 
   
  REACTION TO PLAYER CHARACTERS 
  The Mechanons will react to the player characters as they 
  react to all specimens of biological life: the same way a 
  scientist working on a new insecticide reacts to the insects 
  he is trying to kill. Some player characters will be taken 
  alive and used as objects of study, while those deemed 
  useless will be disposed of. 
   
  If the player characters manage to communicate with 
  them, the Mechanons will understand that the Sathar 
  could pose a major threat to their own plans, which are to 
  begin with the take-over of Volturnus. 
    
   
   
  
   
  36 
   
   
   
  The Alien Creatures Update File lists and describes the new 
  creatures encountered in this module. Most plants are not 
  listed because of their relatively infrequent usage in the 
  encounters.  
   
   Cybodragon 
   
  Type Giant Cybernetic Omnivore 
  Number 1-2 
  Move Fast 
  IM/RS +8/75 
  Stamina 500 
  Attack 80 
  Damage 10d10 bite, claws, metal tentacles 
  Special Attack 10d10 laser eye, 10d10 laser eye, 3d10 
  flamethrower 
  Special Defense None 
  Native World Volturnus – all terrain except 
  mountains and dense forests 
   
  DESCRIPTION: Cybodragons are huge lizards that have 
  been cybernetically altered. Many parts of their bodies have 
  been replaced by machinery. Each of their two eyes have 
  been replaced by the Sathar equivalent of a laser rifle set on 
  10 SEU. Each eye has 5 shots before its power pack must be 
  recharged. The cybodragon uses other sensing machines to 
  serve the same functions as normal eyes.  
   
  Cybodragons were given their name because they have 
  flamethrowers 
  installed 
  inside 
  their 
  mouths. 
  The 
  flamethrower has 10 charges. Each charge does 3d10 points 
  of damage on a successful attack. The ranges for a 
  flamethrower are 10 meters = point blank, 20 meters = 
  short, 30 meters = medium, 40 meters = long, and 50 
  meters = extreme. In melee, the cybodragon uses its claws, 
  bite, and various metal tentacles to do 10d10 points of 
  damage on a successful attack.  
   
  Cybodragons are made by the Sathar who use the 
  Cybodragons to support their combat troops. Cybodragons 
  are also often found guarding Sathar installations. 
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Giant Eagle 
   
  Type Large Omnivore 
  Number 1-2 
  Move Slow on land, Fast in air 
  IM/RS +6/58 
  Stamina 80 
  Attack 45 
  Damage 4d10 claws 
  Special Attack 20% chance carry off foe 
  Special Defense None 
  Native World Volturnus – mountains, remote regions 
   
  DESCRIPTION: The Giant Volturnian Eagle is a very large 
  bird of prey with strong talons and hooked beak. It will 
  defend its nesting area with ferocity.  If found in pairs, they 
  will be a mated pair, with a 15% chance that young will be 
  within 1d100 kilometers of the point of attack. 
     
   Yernoids 
   
  Type Medium Omnivore 
  Number 1-50 (d100/2) 
  Move Slow 
  IM/RS +5/50 
  Stamina 70 
  Attack 40 
  Damage 1d10 
  Special Attack 30% likely to be armed with clubs 
  Special Defense None 
  Native World Volturnus 
   
  DESCRIPTION: Yernoids are man-sized bipedal dinosaurs 
  which have developed a rudimentary intelligence, similar to 
  an ape's. These creatures usually roam in hunting bands, 
  seeking prey. They are territorial; the strongest Yernoid 
  always leads the group. 
   
  Creatures 
  
   
  37 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  38 
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  39 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  This diagram shows the interior of a typical crystal building in the Eorna city of Volkos. The building has 
  only one floor, with a ceiling height of 50 meters. The furniture is designed to fit creatures 3-3.5 meters 
  tall. The building is lit by sunlight shining through the crystal walls. All furniture is moveable, and the 
  room can be subdivided by rearranging the crystal partitions. 
   
  In addition to its other furnishings, the building is decorated with plants, a fountain, and an art display. 
  The entire building shows the Eorna love of art and beauty. 
   
  
   
  40 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  41 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
  42 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SF2: Concluding THE VOLTURNUS ADVENTURE 
   
  Two weeks to save a world... 
   
  Since you crash-landed here, Volturnus 
  has been a planet of constant surprise 
  and peril.  You defeated the Star Devil’s 
  pirates and made contact with four 
  intelligent races native to the planet.  
  Your adventures with them made clear 
  that these aliens would be valuable 
  members of the UPF – if they manage 
  to survive. 
   
  The vicious Sathar are on their way to Volturnus with a fleet 
  powerful enough to destroy all life on the planet.  The survival of the 
  planet is in your hands.  You must organize the defenses of 
  Volturnus.  You must unite the races of Volturnus and lead them to 
  battle against the Sathar.  The outcome: victory, or death for an 
  entire world! 
   
   
  STARSPAWN OF VOLTURNUS is the conclusion of the Volturnus 
  series of modules for the STAR FRONTIERSTM game.  It can also be 
  played as a separate adventure.  STARSPAWN OF VOLTURNUS 
  contains maps and referee’s notes, including information on new 
  creatures and intelligent races.  The module also contains “The Great 
  Game of the Ul-More,” an encounter that can be used as a re-
  playable game. 
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Star Frontiers (osr)/Star Frontier 1st Edition/Adventure/SFAD - Adventure - Alpha Dawn - SF2 Starspawn of Volturnus.pdf