TEXT: White Death
  Chad Bowser
  A Science Fiction  & Espionage Mystery 
  For
  
  Developed and Written By
  Chad Bowser
  Additional Material by Pete Nash and Lawrence Whitaker
  Editing
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  Cover: Dan MacKinnon
  Alien Portrait: Earl Geier, ©2015, Earl Geier, used with permission. All rights reserved
   
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  White DeaTh
  
  White Death
  2 
  Introduction
  W
  hite Death is a scenario for mythras and  
  mythras ImperatIve combining 1980s espionage 
  thrillers with B-Movie horror. Agents are tasked 
  with a reconnaissance mission to an abandoned Soviet Arctic 
  research base before it sinks, and encounter much more than 
  they bargained for.  The 1980s setting is deliberate: first of 
  all is the concept of a monolithic enemy in the form of the 
  Soviet Union. Propaganda, jingoism, and sabre rattling on 
  both sides of the Iron Curtain created a highly volatile world 
  – in the early1980s the Doomsday Clock plummeted to two 
  minutes to midnight, a low not seen since the 1950s. This can 
  create a paranoid atmosphere where one does not know who 
  to trust. 
  Secondly, the 1980s are limited in terms of ready com-
  munications. The Internet is only a research tool, the World 
  Wide Web is something for the future, and cell phones are a 
  rarity for the rich and powerful.  This disconnected state can 
  force the agents to think of alternate paths to success and 
  help create a feeling of isolation. The 1980s are also the early 
  days of Coast to Coast AM radio with its unique takes on 
  science, history, politics, ancient astronauts, extraterrestrials, 
  and everything in between. 
  Thirdly, the 1980s fits with the default year for the Luther 
  Arkwright supplement, and this adventure can easily be used 
  as a Valhalla mission to investigate an anomaly on a parallel 
  that is similar to the real-world 1980s.
  This is a deadly scenario. The characters are only human 
  agents without access to advanced healing. And, they’re going 
  up against three dangerous opponents. The first is the envi-
  ronment. The harsh climate of the Arctic can easily lay an 
  agent low. Then, there is the remaining, but crazed Soviet 
  operative and a later force of Spetsnaz. Guns are deadly to 
  both sides in a fire fight. Finally, there are the extraterrestrial 
  Saurids with their plasma weapons. Nothing says deadly like 
  searing a hole in somebody’s chest.
  This scenario can be a one-shot using the pre-generated 
  characters or be the launching point for several intercon-
  nected scenarios or maybe even a campaign.
  The Agency
  With the exception of the notes provided if this scenario is 
  being used with Luther Arkwright (see page 4), details on the 
  Agency the characters work for are left deliberately vague. 
  It could be the CIA, MI6, Mossad, or even a secret, special-
  ist international agency that operates beyond governmental 
  boundaries. Games Masters should choose.
  Drift Stations
  Drift stations, a specific type of Arctic research base, have 
  been in use since the 1930s to gather geological and meteoro-
  logical data. Even with the advent of satellites and the wealth 
  of data they can provide, man-made bases are still commonly 
  used for many types of research. Drift stations are transitory 
  bases built on ice floes to record geological and atmospheric 
  data, conduct experiments, and possibly listen in on the 
  enemy. As the ice floes move, drift stations eventually break 
  free and move into warmer waters, where they melt and sink.
  US, British and Norwegian intelligence are aware that the 
  Soviet Union operates several drift stations. On the surface 
  the bases appear as normal scientific research operations. 
  However, a few tantalizing breadcrumbs have been uncov-
  ered that GRU personnel may be manning some stations. 
  Now, one station – codenamed White Death, by the Agency – 
  has broken loose from the floe and is drifting, its crew having 
  been rescued, presumably. Here is the Agency’s opportunity 
  to slip in and find out what the Soviet Union is up to.
  An Alien Heat...
  What the various intelligence agencies do not suspect is that 
  White Death is a Soviet chemical and bacteriological war-
  fare research station operated by the Biopreperat, the Soviet 
  Union’s bioweapons agency. However,  the station’s research 
  uncovered the existence of an extraterrestrial craft buried 
  beneath the ice. Breaking into the alien ship has awoken its 
  crew who, confused and alarmed, have retaliated. Surviving 
  
  White Death
  3 
  Biopreparat researchers are now prisoners on the ship, or hid-
  ing out on the ice floe.
  Meanwhile, the research base has missed several check-ins 
  and the Politburo is getting worried. A nuclear-powered ice-
  breaker, the Sibir, has been despatched with Alfa Team agents 
  aboard to cut a path to the drift station and investigate. The 
  Sibir will arrive in two days. Of course, no one is aware of all 
  this activity and the drift station is believed to be abandoned, 
  supposedly making this an easy reconnaissance. Things will 
  get very interesting for the characters very quickly.
  The Saurids
  In 1912, an alien spacecraft, crewed by a reptilian species, 
  hurtled into the Earth’s atmosphere, the ship in considerable 
  distress. Automated systems ejected the ship’s leaking reactor 
  core which took a different trajectory to the interstellar vessel. 
  The reactor core went critical and exploded above the Stony 
  Tunguska River in the Yeniseysk Governorate of Siberia, 
  blasting high-intensity radiation over the entire area, leading 
  to the deaths of reindeer and abandonment of the Tunguska 
  region by the local herders. It also left unique transuranic iso-
  topes scattered across the taiga; elements impossible to pre-
  atomic science.
  The alien vessel managed to make a controlled crash-land-
  ing in the Arctic ice, its trans-stellar stasis systems preserving 
  the crew. The ship was subsequently buried under accumulat-
  ing snow and ice, so that over the intervening years the impact 
  site has all but vanished. The isotope contamination of the 
  crash site however is still very much in evidence, albeit weaker 
  than the vapourised remnants of its original power core.
  A year ago, the Biopeperat established a research facil-
  ity at the drift station Eskya, ostensibly to develop biological 
  and chemical weapons in arctic conditions well away from 
  the prying eyes of enemy operatives or risk of inadvertent 
  pathogen release. Routine tests detected unusual radiation 
  signatures from part of the ice floe; these were reported to 
  Moscow, and when checked, it was discovered that the signa-
  tures were an exact match for those detected in Tunguska. A 
  subsurface survey of the ice floe was ordered, whereupon the 
  Biopreperat scientists encountered the hull of the buried Sau-
  rid ship. Against orders, the science team breached the hull, 
  triggering the safety systems that control stasis and returned 
  the crew to consciousness.
  The Saurids are an inherently xenophobic and antagonis-
  tic species, and being awoken in such an abrupt manner was a 
  recipe for violence: things have not gone well for the scientists.
  This is where the characters come in, not long after the 
  Saurids and Soviets have encountered each other, and may-
  hem has ensued on the drift station.
  Using The 
  Scenario
  White Death is a scenario designed for three to six agents. 
  It works best with a mixed cell of operatives, some geared 
  toward combat with others toward research and investiga-
  tion. This scenario is very much modelled on the survival 
  horror genre. Agents need their wits and a little bit of luck. 
  Nobody is getting out of White Death; at least not the same 
  as when they went in.
  Because of the survival horror influences in this scenario, 
  the agents are entering a situation that they are probably ill-
  equipped to handle and everything from the enemies to the 
  environment will slowly winnow away what material, physical, 
  and mental resources the agents have to draw upon. This mis-
  sion is a sandbox; it presents the agents with numerous clues, 
  but does not lead them from point A to point B. The agents 
  are free to investigate as they see fit and follow up whatever 
  clues they may find, albeit within a limited geographic area.
  Language
  The agents are investigating a Soviet research facility and so 
  at least one of them should be fluent in Russian. If not use the 
  pregenerated characters found on pages 25 to 27, to ensure 
  that at least one of the characters has some capacity with the 
  Russian language, or provide a non-player character to act as 
  an interpreter. 
  Sanity
  While they are optional, we recommend using some form of 
  Sanity rules for this scenario. The Luther Arkwright supple-
  ment has its own, and these are reproduced on page 28 in 
  a slightly modified form for convenience. Alternatively, the 
  sanity rules from other well-known percentile games could be 
  used instead, or simply call for a Willpower roll. Each failed 
  Willpower roll incurs 1d6 Insanity Points and, when these 
  Insanity Points exceed POW, the character is considered 
  mentally unstable to some degree and incapable of function-
  ing in a meaningful way. Thus maintaining sanity will be as 
  much a challenge as avoiding unnecessary combat.
  Maximising Horror
  The setting for White Death is an isolated research base above 
  the Arctic Circle during the long night. Since this is a survival 
  horror scenario, it helps to stress the limitations of the agents 
  GRU
  GRU is an acronym for Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye 
  Upravleniye, which translates as the ‘Main Intelligence 
  Directorate’. The GRU is Russia’s largest foreign intelligence 
  agency and is an extensive network of  operatives encompassing 
  spies, scientists and Special Forces (Spetsnaz) troops.
  
  White Death
  4 
  given their surroundings. Here are some tools a Games Mas-
  ter can use to heighten the tension the players experience. 
   
  Ѳ Communication With the Outside World. If the 
  players jadedly expect their agents to have no lifeline 
  to the wider world, they’ll never try to use it. Surprise 
  them. Do not cut the agents off entirely, reserve those 
  silences for the proper effect; such as when the Saurid 
  are closing in. Instead, some contact should go through 
  unhindered. Other attempts should be interrupted at 
  the worst possible time. Still others might pick up on 
  garbled transmissions from the Saurid ship, filling their 
  tactical radio with guttural cries and horrifies screams. 
  It might even confound the agents to occasionally pick 
  up chatter from a Russian research station or vessel. Of 
  course, they’re too far away to help, but they can offer 
  false hope, promising to send help that will arrive too 
  late. Most importantly, remember that the weather not 
  only plays havoc with any communication the agents 
  attempt to establish with the outside world, but any 
  communications between agents as well. The shrieking 
  wind can make it tough for agents a hundred feet away 
  to hear other agents.   
   
  Ѳ Absence of Daylight. During the three hour ‘day’ the 
  available light is comparable to deep twilight. Every-
  thing is cast in a bluish tinge, and even if there is no 
  snow in the air, vision is still reduced. Once the brief 
  day passes into evening, pitch black prevails, with no 
  ambient light. And man-made light sources do not illu-
  minate very far, and do more to reduce a person’s vision 
  than extend it. Flashlights only illuminate a narrow 
  beam and provide an excellent target. In the darkness, 
  play on what lurks in the shadows. Flashes of move-
  ment might be a Saurid, a sudden wind gust kicking up 
  snow, or nothing but the agents jumping at their own 
  shadows.
  Using With Luther Arkwright
  If using White Death as part of a Luther Arkwright cam-
  paign, the following information supplements the background 
  as presented here.
  Unbeknown to the Politburo, the head of the GRU, Vla-
  distak Kozak, is a Disruptor Knight who has been guiding 
  the Soviet Union along an increasingly aggressive course in 
  the hope of sparking a conflict with the USA on this parallel 
  (61.19.61). Most of the senior positions in the GRU are filled 
  with Disruptor Pawns, and the Biopreparat, Kozak’s baby, is 
  supplemented by Disruptor science – the same science that 
  helped discover the Saurid remains in Tunguska. Kozak 
  wants to uncover intact Saurid technology with the express 
  purpose of antagonising the USA and undermining Secre-
  tary Andropov, the Chairman of the Communist Party, who 
  has taken a more conciliatory stance towards relations with 
  the west than his predecessors.
  Kozak’s main goal to is depose Andropov and take con-
  trol of the Soviet Union himself. If he succeeds, the war in 
  Afghanistan (which Andropov opposes) will be accelerated, 
  along with new attacks against Poland and dissidents in 
  Chechnya. These hostilities will cause tensions between east 
  and west to rise significantly, bringing the world to the brink 
  of war.
  Valhalla suspects Kozak is a Disruptor agent, and 
  W.O.T.A.N has detected anomalies in the Arctic as the GRU 
  investigates the stricken Saurid ship. The agents can be local 
  field agents on this parallel, or be a taskforce despatched 
  by Valhalla Nova (as part of Mjollnir Section perhaps - see 
  Parallel Lines) to investigate and prevent further Disruptor 
  exploitation of whatever the Russians have found.
  Pregenerated Agents
  Starting on page 25 are six pre-generated agents for use with 
  this adventure. They have a variety of complementary skills 
  and diverse backgrounds.
  If an added complication is desired, Games Masters could 
  consider making one of either Farraday, Flint, Mathison or 
  Tarr a Soviet double agent. Their job will be to hamper the 
  agents, collaborate (secretly) with the GRU, and generally 
  promote Soviet interests. This double agent is aware that the 
  ice floe hosts a Biopreperat base, but should have no knowl-
  edge of the Saurids. How they interact with the others is up 
  to the player controlling the double agent, and the Games 
  Master.
  
  White Death
  5 
  Briefing
  P
  roceedings begin with a briefing by whatever Agency 
  the characters belong to. 
  An unprecedented opportunity has emerged. A 
  U-2S surveillance aircraft, monitoring Russian naval opera-
  tions in the Baltic, changed course as the result of an Agency 
  directive and captured imagery of a seemingly abandoned 
  drift station that has broken free from the ice floes but has 
  not yet sunk. Photographs taken by the spy plane showed an 
  overturned snowmobile and other debris, indicating a likely 
  abandonment. As drift stations can sink in a matter of days 
  after separating from the main floe, time is of the essence.
  It is late December and the Arctic Desert is an inhospita-
  ble place. This is the time of polar twilight; the sun remains 
  below the horizon, and even the so-called ‘days’ are merely 
  deep blue gloaming. Heavy winds whip the snow, reducing an 
  already limited visibility. Normally, the crews of drift stations 
  hunker down during this time of year to make it through the 
  long night. However, a sudden crack in the ice floe can make 
  an emergency evacuation necessary.
  A group of Agency specialists is going to travel to the site 
  to gather any intelligence they can find. Now is the chance to 
  discover what interest the GRU has in this drift station. With 
  any luck, the Soviets have been forced to leave equipment 
  behind in their hurry to escape. Agents will parachute onto 
  the ice, gather what they can, and be extracted by skyhook in 
  two days.
  Departure
  The characters are ordered to Thule Air Base in Greenland 
  to begin preparation for a critical mission. Thule Air Base is 
  north of the Arctic Circle, and this is a hint of what the agents 
  can expect in terms of weather. It also plays an important role 
  in US Space Command, so the agents do not have free rein of 
  the base regardless of their clearance.
  The investigators are gathered in an empty office and pre-
  sented with a quick briefing by Captain Mitch Doerding, a 
  member of the Agency stationed at Thule.
  Doerding imparts the following information:
   
  Ѳ Diligence on the part of some data crunchers coupled 
  with some luck from Mother Nature has provided the 
  Agency with an unprecedented opportunity.
   
  Ѳ The GRU have been operating an espionage outpost 
  disguised as a climate research drift station. 
   
  Ѳ The base has broken free of the floe and is drifting 
  south toward open waters. It appears to be abandoned. 
  Once it reaches warmer waters, the ice floe will sink, 
  taking the base and everything in it to the bottom of 
  the ocean. 
   
  Ѳ A major cold front prevents traditional helicopter inser-
  tion of the agents, so the skyhook is being dug out of 
  the attic.
   
  Ѳ Agents will parachute in, gather what information they 
  can, and then be extracted by skyhook in 48 hours. Two 
  additional skyhooks are being provided for any equip-
  ment the agents might be able to recover from the base.
   
  Ѳ The agents take off in the morning. In the meantime, 
  they’ll be shown how the skyhook works.
  Doerding answers any questions to the best of his 
  knowledge.
   
  Ѳ He does not know what the agents will find at the 
  research station. Maybe the intel is incorrect, but there 
  is a duty to investigate nevertheless.
   
  Ѳ Communication will be patchy. Even though military 
  radio comms are very reliable under normal circum-
  stances, heavy aurora activity means the signal will 
  
  White Death
  6 
  attenuate and calls and database queries may be inter-
  rupted or fail altogether.
   
  Ѳ The weather is abysmal. When it is not dark, it is twi-
  light. And the wind whips up snow and ice, further 
  reducing visibility. The temperature is averaging -30°C. 
   
  Ѳ The agents are to use their discretion in determining 
  what is and is not useful.
   
  Ѳ In the unlikely event that the floe sinks out from under 
  them, a life raft and individual locator beacons are pro-
  vided with their gear. 
   
  Ѳ The skyhook, despite its age, is the best available option 
  given all circumstances.
  If the agents pull strings and access some satellite surveil-
  lance, it reveals the same information as the U-2: an aban-
  doned research station. Archival data shows the base was 
  populated at least eight days ago. It also reveals scattered 
  equipment about 1,000 yards north of the camp. However, 
  the base was not a high priority target, so it was not watched 
  every day, just when the satellite happened to fly overhead. 
  Thermal images from the satellite reveal that the station 
  is cold, reinforcing the belief that it is now derelict. If any of 
  the characters want to study the various reports, photographs 
  and image readouts from the U2S and the satellite, a critical 
  (and only a critical) success on an appropriate skill roll (such 
  
  White Death
  7 
  as Sensors or a Science skill) prompts the checking of satellite 
  radiation images which have picked up a very faint trace of 
  the transuranic isotopes in the atmosphere downwind of the 
  drift station: fresh leakage from the inside of the alien vessel.
  There are no other clues on the base. Doerding is doing 
  his best to keep this mission as compartmentalized as possible. 
  Even the C-130 crew has not been read into anything beyond 
  what they need to know to accomplish their immediate tasks.
  Gearing-Up
  Each agent has their own complement of personal gear which 
  includes arctic clothing, a sidearm, parachute, skyhook, and 
  survival gear. Each agent is expected to take what is needed 
  and nothing more. It is expected to be a short mission and 
  with entry via paradrop, there will not be a lot of room for 
  extraneous gear. If the agents can think of an excellent justi-
  fication for bringing along personal items, there’s no reason 
  to deny them. They just need to remember that they’re drop-
  ping out of a plane with it strapped to them and have to carry 
  it around for the duration of the mission.
  The Flight
  The agents leave USAF Base Thule in Greenland aboard 
  a C-130 outfitted with a skyhook. Given the severe weather 
  conditions and time-sensitive nature of this mission, Agency 
  is dusting off this old, but tried-and-true, technology.
  The flight is rough because of high winds and blowing 
  snow over the arctic. The flight is horrendous, especially since 
  the C-130 is not designed with creature comforts in mind. 
  Agents with no military flight experience should make one 
  Endurance check during the flight as the turbulence increases 
  and the winds buffet the plane’s frame causing everything not 
  tied down, including people, to bounce around. Failure means 
  the agent becomes nauseous and suffers a level of Fatigue.
  The Drop
  The agents manage to make their jump in a temporary lull 
  in the storm; however, a twilight drop in jittery arctic winds 
  is still difficult. Agents must pass an Athletics check to land 
  on target. A failure means the agent either lands 1d3 x 100 
  metres off target and must hike in to the station, or take 1d3 
  points of damage to a random body part from a bad landing. 
  An agent who hikes in must succeed at an Endurance roll or 
  suffer a level of Fatigue from fighting the whipping, Arctic air.
  The Fulton Skyhook
  Developed by the CIA, the Fulton Surface-to-Air Recovery System, 
  otherwise known as Skyhook, uses a harness built into a special-
  ised suit, much like a flight suit or overall. The system includes a 
  self-inflating balloon that carries an attached lift line. The retriev-
  ing aircraft lowers the retrieval apparatus from its cargo bay doors, 
  engages the line with its V-shaped yoke and the wearer is reeled 
  on board. Red flags on the lift line guide the pilot during daylight 
  recoveries; lights on the lift line are used for night recoveries.
  In game terms, a successful Pilot roll is all that is needed for the 
  safe operation of  Skyhook, bringing the occupants back on board. 
  The system is designed to retrieve up to two occupants at a time, 
  so several passes by the aircraft will be necessary to retrive all the 
  members of  a team. All a character needs to do is remain still and 
  prepare for the wrench of  the pick-up. Call for an Athletics roll; if  
  failed, the pick-up is still successful, but retrieval is jarring, and 
  the character sustains 1d3 points of  damage to the chest or arms.
  
  White Death
  8 
  Drift Station
  T
  he station is on a piece of ice about three and half 
  square kilometres in size. See the map on page 12. 
  The base is a collection of five pre-fabricated 
  buildings just south of a fractured runway of packed snow. 
  This runway is where planes previously supplied the camp, 
  but as the ice floe began to break up, the runway became 
  unusable. The shifting and grinding floe sundered it in half 
  and there’s not enough snow moving equipment to clear and 
  repair it by the time the pickup flight returns.
  There are numerous clues in the camp about the Bio-
  preparat agents’ activity, what happened to the researchers, 
  and what the researchers found.
  Weather
  The temperatures stay well below freezing both during the 
  day and night. Agents caught in the cold without a parka, 
  hood, balaclava, and other heavy clothing require a Sur-
  vival roll (or Hard Endurance if they do not have Survival) 
  every 15 minutes. Failure means the agent suffers one level 
  of Fatigue. If the agent fumbles the roll, then paradoxical 
  undressing sets-in – a condition where the sufferer becomes 
  confused, disoriented, and combative. The hypothalamus 
  begins to malfunction and the victim actually believes he or 
  she is overheating, and so begins removing clothes and vio-
  lently resists all attempt at restraint. A successful Medicine 
  roll can recognise the symptoms of paradoxical undressing 
  and how to help the person by calming the agent and warm-
  ing the core temperature slowly. Provided the character has 
  not fallen to Incapacitated, recovery is guaranteed.
  The ice floe is also prone to sudden shifting and creaking 
  as it breaks up, aided in part by the shifting weight of the Sau-
  rid vessel on the southern end of the floe. At first the ice floe 
  should tremor ominously, but not enough to cause extreme 
  concern. By the end of the first day a few cracks start crossing 
  the floe. Once the storm strikes, these begin to open up as 
  crevasses at inopportune moments. See page 12 for additional 
  rules concerning the danger they pose.
  The Station
  The five buildings are in a rough circle near the middle of 
  the fractured ice floe with what remains of the runway to the 
  north. The door to each one opens on the centre of the camp. 
  Despite any other damage, the pre-fab buildings provide a 
  measure of protection against the blowing wind. 
  A quick sketch map of the camp should be sufficient for 
  the Games Master to convey any important relational data 
  about the camp. Each building is numbered and named, for 
  ease of reference, but the buildings are not marked in the 
  camp itself. The researchers knew where they had to go and 
  what they had to do.
  The buildings are pre-fabricated, constructed for the arctic 
  environment. Each is well insulated and has a raised floor. All 
  of them, except the lavatory, have one window on each long 
  wall. The lavatory has a window with frosted glass to provide 
  some privacy.
  All the buildings are freezing cold. There are two genera-
  tors (one main generator and a redundant spare) that provide 
  power to the camp, one behind the main research building 
  and the other behind the barracks. Power cords run from the 
  generators to the other buildings. Both generators are now 
  crusted in ice; they can be cleaned off, their tanks topped off, 
  and restarted with minimal effort - or at least one of them 
  can. The redundant generator refuses to function. If opened 
  for investigation, it is found to have been almost completely 
  stripped, leaving only an empty casing. The Saurids have 
  done this, using the generator parts for emergency repairs 
  to their craft, although this won’t be evident until the agents 
  investigate the ship.
  The generators also provide power to a trio of portable 
  Bulldog metal halide lights; there were four, but one of the 
  lights has been hit by gunfire and is unusable. Each 1000-watt 
  light is on a small carriage and can be wheeled around.
  
  White Death
  9 
  1. Research
  This building is divided into two: a cramped general study 
  area, and an air-locked laboratory where the biochemical 
  experimentation of the Biopreparat was undertaken. The 
  general area contains a prototype SM-1600 mini-computer 
  and two terminals, modified with Elma bubble memory chips 
  on which encrypted data is stored. Piles of research notes and 
  data are stacked across the tables. Two biohazard suits hang 
  on one wall and a lab with microscopes, centrifuges, and sev-
  eral isolation boxes occupy the far wall.  A kerosene heater 
  with several hours of fuel sits unlit in the corner. 
  On another wall is a large map of northern Europe, 
  marking all Soviet territories and a large number of US and 
  NATO bases of operations.
  The laboratory is accessed via an airlock operated from a 
  simple console next to the heavy outer door. Unless the power 
  is on, the airlock is closed and cannot be opened. The viewing 
  panel is made from reinforced glass and requires an explosive 
  charge to break through.
  There are numerous clues in and around the research 
  building.
   
  Ѳ Decrypting the information on the computers requires 
  restarting the electricity and a Formidable Computers 
  roll. If successful, the agents find a huge amount of 
  research data regarding climate, especially about the 
  effects of global warming on prehistoric viruses and 
  contagions, and the feasibility of reconstituting them.
   
  Ѳ There are several data transmissions of interest, which 
  have been reproduced as handouts (see page 20).
   
  Ѳ In amongst the papers are readouts and reports detail-
  ing transuranic trace signatures found at Tunguska and 
  here. This information confirms that the scientists at 
  the base were looking for something in addition to their 
  primary research, and may possibly have found it. The 
  reports do not refer to Tunguska directly; instead they 
  refer to the Yeniseysk Governorate, but any agent suc-
  ceeding at an Insight roll might think to check the wall 
  map where they will find the governorate and the Stony 
  Tunguska river clearly marked.
   
  Ѳ A box of slides have samples of several different, large 
  viruses. They appear inert.
   
  Ѳ A very basic topographic map of the ice flow indicating 
  the base camp; the now ruined runway a few hundred 
  metres away; the first core sample site, about a thou-
  sand metres to the north; and a lone question mark 
  indicating a second site, on the ice pressure ridge to the 
  south.  
  2. Satellite Dish
  Outside the research building are three snowmobiles 
  and a microwave frequency satellite dish for reliable 
  
  White Death
  10 
  communications. Both the snowmobiles and dish are frozen 
  over and will need to be freed from the rime ice before they are 
  useful again. In addition, the Saurid severed the lines between 
  the dish and building. Those lines will need to be repaired 
  before satellite communications can be re-established. Get-
  ting the satellite dish working is a task taking 1d3+1 hours, 
  and requires rolls against Mechanisms (to locate and fix the 
  break), Electronics (to reboot the system), Sensors (to align the 
  dish), and Comms (to find a working frequency).
  3. Barracks
  The largest of the buildings. Four large gashes about a metre 
  long and several centimetres apart puncture the southern 
  wall. Snow and ice is accumulating in the building. If power 
  is restored, within half an hour, a pungent, earthy odour per-
  meates the room. The room is a shambles; beds are upturned 
  and personal belongings are strewn everywhere. If cata-
  logued, there are 10 beds and footlockers; however, only six 
  of the footlockers appear to have been used. A successful Per-
  ception roll unearths several clues:.
   
  Ѳ Blood frozen to one of the overturned beds and spat-
  tered across a wall.
   
  Ѳ A claw shredded parka with what appears to be frozen 
  slime covering the fabric (see Mess for details).
   
  Ѳ 20 or so 9mm shell casings along the back wall.
   
  Ѳ The gun locker on the west wall had its hinges torn off.
  4. Supplies
  The storage building for the camp. Its interior is lined with 
  wooden shelves filled with food, sacks of fibrous pellets, solar 
  blankets, shovels, crampons, dynamite, a few hundred metres 
  of nylon rope, ice axes, spikes,  goggles, snow masks, stick 
  flares, flare guns, metal halide bulbs for the portable lights, and 
  a portable rotary saw. There are also materials for processing 
  Super 8 cine film. One wall holds empty animal hutches. A 
  fuel storage tank half-filled with kerosene sits under an over-
  hang outside the building. Closer examination reveals more:
   
  Ѳ A locked glass fronted cabinet, isolated at the back of 
  the building by a tight fitting plastic sheet, is filled with 
  26 black boxes, each marked with an orange biohazard 
  symbol. Inside each box are 16 vacutainers of yellowish 
  liquid, most half empty and labelled with a date from 
  the past 12 months. One box contains only 15, rather 
  than 16 like the others. These hold samples of bio-war-
  fare strains worked on by the scientists. See The Bio-
  preparat Pathogens, above. 
   
  Ѳ Next to the kerosene tank stand several polyurethane 
  barrels with screw down lids. Opening one of the 
  plastic drums reveals that it is filled with dead rabbits, 
  individually shrink-wrapped and sealed in medical bio-
  hazard bags, marked with Cyrillic codes. Each is frozen 
  in a rictus with lips pulled back from prominent teeth, 
  their fur matted with frozen fluids including blood. The 
  multitude of twisted corpses is disturbing.
  5. Mess
  This combined kitchen and dining hall is sparsely decorated. 
  All is in disarray with several tables flipped on their side by 
  the kitchen, forming what looks to be a barricade. At least a 
  hundred shell 9mm casings litter the floor behind the table 
  and back into the kitchen, and numerous walls are peppered 
  The Biopreparat Pathogens
  The Biopreperat science team has been experimenting with 26 different strains of  pathogens. Samples Y-14, Y-21, and Y-25 are the only 
  seriously debilitating ones. All the others function as a minor cold; they have an airborne vector, Potency between 30 and 60, and cause Fever, 
  Nausea, or both at the Games Master’s discretion.
  Y-14 holds promise if  weaponized to target the North American Caucasian population. It is an airborne Strength 60, resisted by Endurance. 
  Failure results in paralysis of  the limbs for 1d4 hours. Onset time is 1d2 hours.
  Y-21 has limited, non-lethal effects on humans, but in laboratories in Kazakhstan has proved to be somewhat effective against animals. It will 
  work on the Saurids. Exposure to Y-21 results in no side effects or symptoms for humans. For reptiles, it is a Potency 70 disease with a contact 
  vector and is highly contagious. On Saurids it causes severe burning and inflammation, which causes surface bleeding and inflicts a level of  
  Fatigue every hour until an antidote is applied. On a human, the skin merely turns a bright, mottled red. Onset time is 1d4 minutes.
  Y-25 is potentially an extinction-level disease. Its Potency is 85 with airborne and contact vectors. It is terminal and highly contagious. Symp-
  toms include haemorrhaging from orifices, confusion, and extremely painful muscle cramping. An Endurance check is required to fight off  the dis-
  ease, a successful roll results in the following pathology. On day one, the victim suffers Agony and Exhaustion. On day two, maiming to the body 
  part associated with contact or inhalation. From that point forward, characters who succeeded at their Endurance checks start to heal normally. 
  For everybody else, though, it gets worse. Each subsequent day, the maiming increases. Not only is another point lost from the previously maimed 
  location, but it spreads to another hit location. Each day, this process continues resulting in a cascade failure. The bright side is that, unless the 
  virus is frozen, it cannot survive without a living host for more than 4 hours. Pathologically, it is similar in construction to Y-21, so in theory will 
  also affect reptiles. Unfortunately this assumption is wrong. It only affects warm-blooded creatures. Onset time is 1d6 hours.
  
  White Death
  11 
  in bullet holes. The walls of the kitchen are sprayed in blood 
  and the stove is overturned. Spilled over the floor are the con-
  tents of a cooking pot. If thawed, the frozen brown lumpy 
  mixture can be identified as a rabbit stew. 
  If the mess is closely investigated, several less obvious clues 
  can be discovered. 
   
  Ѳ Several holes about four inches in diameter are burned 
  through the wall about chest height. Examination 
  reveals that it entered either the north or the south 
  end of the building and passed out the other side. The 
  scorch marks are minimal, almost as if it cauterized 
  itself. A successful Engineering or Science roll indicates 
  that the holes were caused by a brief, intense heat of 
  several thousand degrees.
   
  Ѳ Anyone checking the kitchen closely with a Perception 
  test notices the wall next to where the stove now lays 
  is dented and there’s a huge blood smear behind it. 
  Moving the stove requires a Brawn test. Revealed is a 
  human arm and hand, still gripping a Makarov. The 
  flesh, bone, and clothing around the shoulder are torn, 
  not cut.
   
  Ѳ If heating is restored, a thick, viscous fluid drips down 
  some of the walls and puddles on the floor. It has an 
  earthy, pungent odour. Touching this substance with 
  bare skin triggers exposure to the Saurid’s cold-resisting 
  drug. See Saurids and the Cold, below.
  6. Latrines
  The latrines have a trio of chemical toilets on one wall and 
  two standing shower cubicles on the other. A male body 
  slumps against the far wall. His skin suffers from severe frost-
  bite and his body is frozen. Dried, frozen blood covers his face 
  where it ran from his eyes, nose, and mouth. Stumbling across 
  the body is a Mild intensity event for sanity purposes.
   
  Ѳ A Medicine roll or indicates his neck was snapped with 
  a great deal of force.
   
  Ѳ His shattered, self-winding wrist watch shows the date, 
  implying he’s been dead for about four days.
   
  Ѳ An ID badge in one pocket identifies him as Timur 
  Melschoiovog with the Biopreparat Sciences Division.
   
  Ѳ One of his hands is clenched in a fist. If pried open, a 
  shattered vacutainer is within. The vacutainer has the 
  label, “Sample Y-25.” It is an infection risk if warmed.
  On The Ice
  As the agents go about their mission collecting what infor-
  mation they can about the Soviet’s research project, there are 
  several locations and events the Games Master can spring on 
  unsuspecting agents. If the agents become complacent on the 
  ice, use one or more of these to make sure they realize just 
  how dangerous it can be at the roof of the world, especially 
  with extraterrestrials and enemy agents running around.
  Saurids and the Cold
  Despite being cold-blooded, the Saurid can function in the cold through advanced scientific knowledge. Saurid scientists have a drug that inhibits 
  the synthesis of  ATP (adenosine triphosphate - the most commonly used energy currency of  cells for most organisms) in the body and the energy 
  normally produced by this process is expunged as heat. It greatly raises the body’s core temperature, allowing the Saurid to operate in arctic condi-
  tions without needing to seek an external heat source. The Saurid’s gel environment suits carry an 8 hour supply of  the drug that is continuously 
  supplied via dermal receptors. When the drug is running low, the suit informs the Saurid and it returns to the ship to replenish the supply.
  A human exposed to the Saurid drug almost immediately starts to sweat, flush, and suffer heart palpitations. Aggression increases and reason 
  decreases. After a short period of  time, the person’s organs start to overheat and death quickly follows. The drug is so powerful when introduced 
  into a human system that even a tiny amount has the same results. Thus, donning a Saurid environment set is effectively lethal for humans, unless 
  it is substantially recalibrated for hominid physiology.
  Treat the drug as a narcotic with Potency 60. Regardless of  whether or not the agent fails an opposed check of  his Endurance against the drug’s  
  Potency, the basic effects of  increased body temperature, flushed skin, heightened aggression, and decreased reason sets in immediately. The drug 
  lasts 1d4 hours. While under its influence, the agent’s core temperature is heightened enough that the frigid artic feels like a cool spring day. If  the 
  Endurance roll succeeded, three levels of  Fatigue are gained on expiry of  the drug. If  the Endurance roll failed, he or she gains the three levels of  
  Fatigue but also suffers organ damage represented by losing 1d3 hit points from the head, chest and abdomen. Repeated use of  the drug increases 
  its Potency by 10 on each use after the first.
  When a human is under the effects of  this drug, Endurance checks become Easy, Damage Modifier improves one step, and Initiative increases 
  by 5. However, all mental and communication skill checks become Formidable. Values return to normal when the drug expires as detailed above.  
  Note that the Saurid slime found in various parts of  the base contains enough of  the drug to trigger its effects, if  touched by bare skin. 
  
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  12 
  Northern Drilling Site
  This was the first area selected for survey by the Biopreparat 
  scientists. The route can be covered on foot or, if the agents 
  can get them working, the Biopreparat’s snowmobiles. 
  The seismic activity and drifting of the floe has opened 
  several fissures in the ice. These cracks run almost the entire 
  length of the floe, creating what amounts to separate floes 
  travelling together. Each fissure is about 2 metres wide and a 
  3 metre drop down to the frigid water below, and the chasm 
  must be bridged somehow if the expedition is to continue. 
  There are numerous tools in the camp, such as the ropes and 
  spikes, and spare corrugated wall sections that can be used 
  as makeshift bridges. Reward creativity on the part of the 
  players. 
  It is possible for an agent to jump the gap, but the run up is 
  slippery and incurs an extra level of difficulty on an Athletics 
  test. Truly impatient agents might try to jump the fissure on 
  a snowmobile, which requires a Formidable Drive roll. If the 
  roll fails, the vehicle plunges into the fissure, tipping the rider 
  into the water below. 
  Unless the agent is hopped up on the Saurid ATP drug, 
  the water is freezing and hypothermia occurs almost imme-
  diately. The agent’s wet clothes only compound the problem, 
  forcing the cold water to stay close to the body. 
  Agents who fall in immediately suffer two levels of Fatigue, 
  plus 1d4 damage to a random hit location from being crushed 
  by the shifting fissure. Penalties to skill checks remain until 
  the agent warms up. Those agents on the drug lose the hit 
  points, but do not suffer from the Fatigue loss or skill penalty. 
  Agents might also suffer from paradoxical undressing, which 
  is covered in the Weather section, on page 8.
  Once the agents make it to the northern drilling site, they 
  find the remnants of a camp. The core drilling equipment 
  has been moved to the southern site, but several tattered tents 
  still flap in the wind. A pair of empty specimen cases and an 
  abandoned geiger counter are inside one tent, which looks 
  as though it has been torn and ripped by a serrated blade (in 
  actual fact, a Saurid, scouting the floe after awakening, found 
  the tent and tore it apart with its claws).
  Multiple core samples are laid out next to the second tent, 
  refrozen into a pyramid of cylinders. Many of the widespread 
  drill holes have started to fill in and ice-over since the Bio-
  preparat left the camp. Observant agents taking a little time 
  to study these ice cores notice that each contains a narrow 
  (no more than 2mm), yet distinct greyish-green strata about a 
  third of the way along the core length. If subjected to inves-
  tigation at the Research Hut back at the base (a successful 
  Biology or Chemistry roll, after 1d3 hours of analysis), this 
  strata contains a very strange mix of radioactive materials 
  and burned organic remnants of a type unfamiliar to science. 
  All this is evidence of the crashed ship and is the source of the 
  transuranic isotope signature suffusing the ice floe. 
  Of immediate interest to the agents is the fact that the 
  second tent appears to have been used recently, and contains 
  a sleeping bag, camping stove and several torn open boxes of 
  9mm ammunition. Outside, indistinct footprints have crusted 
  over in the snow, but are still visible. A Hard Track test can 
  be used to follow the footprints due south where they meet up 
  
  White Death
  13 
  with several other sets of similar prints. The tracks are lost 
  at the fissure. The footprints are not distinct enough for the 
  agents to determine who (or what) left them, but it was clearly 
  not snow boots.
  Information on the southern drilling site is included in the 
  section on the anomaly, page 14.
  An Alien Threat...
  Having been awoken, the Saurids seek rescue and were busy 
  re-engineering the station’s microwave satellite dish to send 
  out an emergency broadcast. Naturally enough the agents’ 
  arrival on the ice floe was detected, so they have retreated into 
  their ship to monitor the situation. The Saurids are content 
  to remain in hiding, but may use the blizzard (see below) as 
  cover to venture out and continue their work on the satel-
  lite dish. The Games Master can use their sortie as a way of 
  ramping-up tension. Stop short of a full encounter between 
  humans and Saurids, but perhaps leave enough evidence for 
  the agents to realise that they may not be alone on the ice and 
  the threat might not be human.
  If they do emerge, the Saurid operate in pairs for mutual 
  protection. Like the agents, they are hampered by poor vis-
  ibility from wind-whipped snow. But, their low-light vision 
  means they are not slowed by the darkness, so the agents are 
  at a disadvantage, as well as being outmatched in terms of 
  technology and physique. 
  Note that the Saurids, while aggressive, are not murderous 
  and need to have a good reason for butchering the agents. 
  Communicating with the Saurids outside their ship is not 
  possible, but if the agents locate the ship and make their way 
  inside, this changes – but in a most unexpected and gruesome 
  way.
  Unless there is a good reason for it, encountering a bipedal, 
  clearly sapient creature, equipped with advanced weaponry 
  and technology, counts as a Disturbing event from a sanity 
  point of view (see page 28). If a Condition results from an 
  encounter, roll on the Fear column of the Condition table for 
  any immediate or lasting effects.
  Last Man Standing
  Pyotr Zhilin has spent the last few days hiding from the Sau-
  rids, raiding the drift station for supplies and catching brief 
  snatches of sleep at the northern drill site. He does not know 
  that several of his Biopreparat team members survive, nor 
  what the creatures from under the ice are. 
  Zhilin’s sanity has been shaken, and he is suffering from 
  the Obsessed Condition (see page 31), believing that anyone 
  other than his fellow operatives on the base are in league with 
  these alien monsters and must be destroyed. Unless he can be 
  calmed, Zhilin is initially a bigger threat than the Saurids. He 
  has his pistol and an ice axe at the ready, and is not hesitant 
  about attacking.
  In his paranoia, Zhilin stalks the agents. He watches from 
  the shadows of the buildings and uses his knowledge of the 
  base to move around stealthily, watching, waiting, and timing 
  attacks to strike lone agents from hiding. Use Zhilin’s stealth 
  attacks and ambushes to build tension as the agents investi-
  gate the camp. If any agents are left alone while others go 
  off to explore, use it as an opportunity for an attack. Should 
  Zhilin be forced into the open, which is an option that ought 
  to be timed to follow at least two sneak attacks, the agents 
  find themselves confronted by a half-mad, wild-eyed, desper-
  ate Russian who has clearly witnessed things that have driven 
  him to the edge of insanity. To capture him, the agents have 
  to incapacitate the man in some way. 
  If successfully restrained, he screams obscenities and 
  accuses the Agency of colluding with the ‘monsters’ to 
  destroy this base and perform horrendous experiments on 
  his colleagues. After this outburst, he collapses with nervous 
  exhaustion, losing consciousness for 2d6+12 hours. When he 
  recovers, his mind has broken and he is uncommunicative, 
  staring into the middle distance and occasionally mouthing 
  something indistinct. If the agents try to take him to the 
  southern drilling Site, Zhilin’s rage emerges once more and 
  he fights with renewed strength to get away.
  Zhilin can be used, at the Games Master’s discretion, as a 
  potential saviour should things go badly wrong and the agents 
  need assistance. Recovering just enough of his sanity to see 
  that the Saurids, and not the agents, are the common enemy, 
  Zhilin can initiate a rescue attempt, cause diversions, or even 
  sacrifice himself to help the agents escape. These should be 
  last resort options though, and only used if things appear 
  hopeless.
  The Blizzard 
  For most of the first day, the snowfall is light, occasionally 
  exacerbated by high winds. During the first night, however, 
  blowing winds and increased precipitation lead to the onset 
  of a blizzard. Visibility is reduced to less than a metre, even 
  with a flashlight. Cover is needed, forcing the agents to take 
  shelter in one of the base’s buildings. 
  As the wind howls, Perception rolls reveal guttural noises 
  coming from outside. At the Games Master’s discretion, these  
  might be Saurids recommencing their work on the satellite 
  dish, a wayward polar bear looking for food, or even the dron-
  ing of an aircraft performing weather studies. But the charac-
  ters should not know for certain unless they take a risk and go 
  look. If the agents insist on bunkering in, the Games Master 
  should have no qualms about throwing something against the 
  building, even if it is just wind tossing around an unsecured 
  piece of equipment. If anyone ventures outside, ramp up the 
  tension. Whatever is out there is hiding or camouflaged; sud-
  den movements in the darkness heighten anxiety. A Saurid 
  will not attack, but a polar bear will. For a polar bear, use the 
  statistics for a bear on page 230 of Mythras.
  
  White Death
  14 
  If the disturbance is Saurid activity on the satellite dish, 
  then the evidence of work is plain should the agents investi-
  gate that area. Not only is clear that someone has been tinker-
  ing with the electronics of the dish, but there are more tracks 
  in the snow - once again indistinct, but obviously not snow-
  boots. Conversely if a polar bear has been nosing around the 
  camp, the tracks it leaves are quite clear.
  Once started, the blizzard waxes and wanes for the next 48 
  hours, making escape by skyhook impossible.
  Seismic Activity
  Starting the first morning after the agents arrive, the seismic 
  activity gradually increases. At first, it is only minor trembles, 
  but it builds once the storm hits. Science (Geology) or Sur-
  vival can be used to understand that the ice floe is in danger 
  of breaking up sooner than expected, and possibly within 
  the next three days.  When the seismic activity is at its worst, 
  agents need to succeed at either Hard Athletics or standard 
  Acrobatics tests to stay on their feet. Even the Saurids need to 
  roll to remain upright.
  An agent can use a formidable Perception or standard 
  Navigation toll to locate the epicentre of seismic activity to 
  the south. Near the drill site, a very faint but almost constant 
  vibration can be detected. This comes from the stolen gen-
  erator the saurids are running to provide emergency power 
  to their systems. The larger tremors are a different matter 
  entirely. Due to stresses inflicted by the inclined ship, the ice 
  pressure ridge is slowly cracking apart, causing the alien ves-
  sel to grind and lift that section of the floe as its propulsion 
  section settles deeper.
  Chatter
  Although military tactical radios are rendered nearly useless 
  by the severe weather and intense geo-magnetic surges, they 
  sometimes spring to life. When they do, they are filled with 
  the sounds of guttural cries and roars. In their efforts to get 
  their ship running, the Saurid communications suite occa-
  sionally powers up, flooding the airwaves with enough chatter 
  for the agents’ devices to pick up.
  On some occasions, a female scream can be heard in the 
  background, sometimes begging to be released and other 
  times vowing revenge. It is obviously the voice of a human 
  woman and she sounds in intense pain. 
  Electronics or Comms could be used to rig up a device 
  capable of tracking the signal. The designer will have to can-
  nibalise several different devices in the base, including a com-
  bat radio handset to do so. If successful, the signal is found to 
  be coming from the south, and the jury-rigged device can be 
  used to track it to its source.
  The Anomaly
  An ice pressure ridge covers the section of the Saurid ship 
  that rises above the flow at the southern drilling site. When 
  the Biopreparat first encountered drilling resistance, they 
  knew they had struck something strange, because it would be 
  impossible to encounter a rock layer. Small charges were used 
  to clear the ice revealing the Saurid ship, and one edge of 
  a hatch. Accessing the ship is via a 4m cylindrical shaft one 
  metre in diameter. A rope ladder has been anchored to the 
  rim, making climbing down the inclined shaft to the anomaly 
  below easy. 
  Around the shaft opening the snow is stained dark brown 
  from dried, frozen blood. A half buried snowmobile is flipped 
  on its side, its track torn. Core drilling equipment is scattered 
  around the site, obviously thrown about. Closest to the hatch 
  are signs that the snow melted and refroze. Numerous boot 
  and extraterrestrial prints crisscross the site, making it impos-
  sible to follow any one set.
  Behind one of the snowbanks is a Super 8 cinecamera, 
  covered in dried blood. Its film can be processed and played 
  back using the processing materials in the Supplies building. 
  The footage is captured in the green pall of low-light vision. 
  Initial material is life in camp, showing the scientists laugh-
  ing, joking, and going about their daily routines. More foot-
  age shows a person riding a snowmobile up to the drilling 
  site. The men dismount and don biohazard suits, hurrying 
  over to an opening in the ice. The camera focuses on one 
  man’s face through his plastic helmet, also catching his name-
  badge – Petrushkin. Then it pans down the aperture in the 
  ice and to the exposed hatch. Petrushkin climbs down the 
  shaft and looks back up at the camera. The camera bobs as if 
  the holder nods, and then Petrushkin readies an HK MP-5, 
  and pulls on the hatch. A blast of steam fills the ice shaft and 
  fogs the camera. It clears as Petrushkin leans into the open-
  ing. Suddenly he screams as something grabs his head and 
  pulls him in. There is another rush of steam which freezes 
  on the lens and something is dimly seen scaling the ice wall 
  and grabbing the camera man. The camera tumbles through 
  the air, catching the sound of a horrifying gurgle and snap 
  before it comes to rest on the snow. The rest of the footage is 
  just the whiteness of an icy panorama as the camera battery 
  slowly drains.
  Accessing the Ship
  The hatch is rectangular and 2.5 metres in length. A control 
  panel of clearly non-human design is located close by, and a 
  Formidable Electronics roll can be used to quickly open the 
  hatch, or the agents can spend 1+1d3 hours rigging a bypass 
  system using parts cannibalised from the camp. Inside, it is 
  clearly an airlock, with an inner hatch, operated similarly to 
  the outer hatch, affording access to the interior of the ship.
  
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  15 
  There is noticeable bullet damage to the airlock controls, 
  and this has, fortunately, disabled the alarm systems that 
  would otherwise alert the Saurids to intruders using the air-
  lock. The damage has miraculously not impaired the opening 
  mechanisms though, luckily for the agents. From herein the 
  agents will need to remain stealthy.
  The Saurid ship is warm and stinks of 
  improperly burnt kerosene. Emergency envi-
  ronmental controls in engineering keep 
  the air humid and at a near-constant 30 
  degrees Celsius; however, the elevated 
  concentrations of carbon monoxide 
  (which the Saurids can easily tolerate) 
  will, in the absence of breathing 
  apparatus, cause humans to feel 
  dizzy and nauseous after about 45 
  minutes, and, after an hour, hal-
  lucinate. Treat such exposure as 
  an Unsettling event for sanity 
  purposes with any conditions 
  rolled on the Fear column of 
  the Condition table.
  For game purposes, the 
  ship does not have a set 
  layout. The Games Mas-
  ter is urged to assemble 
  the ship in whatever 
  order makes sense for 
  the game. If a room seems 
  uninteresting, just omit it.
  To make things difficult, when the ship 
  crashed, it did not come to rest in a proper orientation. It 
  is listing to starboard at a 30 degree angle, meaning that 
  large parts of the ship jut beneath the ice floe into the ocean. 
  The pitched deck should give agents some pause as they try 
  to negotiate their way through the ship, but not slow them 
  down too badly. The Saurid have become accustomed to it 
  and have adapted, using their claws to hang on and climb 
  the walls when necessary. Agents 
  might need to jump (Athletics 
  roll) to access rooms that are 
  above them.
  The ship is ovoid in shape, 
  and about 100 metres in diam-
  eter. The rooms radiate off 
  a central, narrow hallway 
  about 2.5 metres across. 
  Almost all the doors to 
  the various rooms are 
  open, and closing them is 
  a manual operation from 
  consoles positioned near to 
  the portals. There is insuf-
  ficient power to operate 
  the doors in a centralised 
  fashion from the Command 
  and Control area. Some of the 
  rooms are multi-level.
  The Saurids are keeping the 
  door to research closed to muffle Tanya 
  Kirbuck’s screams. The door can be hacked with either 
  Mechanisms or a Hard Computers roll. 
  Saurids do wander the ship and will respond to any intrud-
  ers they discover. Their first priorities are to protect the stasis 
  chambers and command and control. They will attempt to 
  drive enemies from the ship. Not all aboard are engaged with 
  repairs, in fact only two engineers have been brought out of 
  Saurid Technology
  As a star-faring race the Saurids have developed very good AI systems that include excellent language processing algorithms allowing for transla-
  tion between the Saurid language and human tongues. Saurid translators are built into the ship’s computer and communications can be broadcast 
  over an internal PA system. However, the Saurids need a data source to create a lexicon, and the source they are using is the jury-rigged head of  
  Petrushkin (see page 18), which has been patched into their ship’s computers, the Saurid AI steadily learning the Russian language. Any com-
  munication with the aliens therefore needs to be via Petrushkin’s decapitated head, which is a Disturbing intensity sanity event, with Conditions 
  triggered on the Madness & Psionic Trauma column of  the Condition Table. 
  The gel suits worn by the saurid deliver up to 8 hours of  ATP drug (see page 11) when they are forced to leave the confines of  the ship. Weapons 
  are sonic and plasma based, combined into single hand units, that can be used to deliver non-lethal ultrasonic blasts, or lethal bolts of  energy. 
  These are powered by nano-generators contained in the gel environment suits, meaning that the weapons cannot be used by humans unless a gel 
  suit set to the human physiology is being worn.
  While susceptible the the intense cold without their drugs and suits, the Saurids are able to easily tolerate temperatures close to boiling point, and 
  have a naturally tough skin that offers 4 Armour Points. The gel suits are capable of  absorbing and redistributing kinetic energy when struck by 
  a projectile (such as a bullet or shrapnel), halving damage from firearms and explosives. When not warn, the suits collapse to a slimy, vaguely 
  greyish, translucent jelly about the size of  a human fist. It takes 1 Combat Round for a Saurid to don a gel suit, with the jelly being slapped onto 
  the skin of  the wearer, which then forms across the entire body within a few seconds.
  
  White Death
  16 
  stasis. Those not assisting the technicians are assigned with 
  identifying human artefacts or other mundane tasks.
  Despite the stench of kerosene, the interior is suffused with 
  another chemical odour; this is simply one of the ambient 
  smells of the gel technology used in the Saurid environment 
  suits (the Saurids themselves are practically odourless). Cor-
  ridors and rooms are dimly lit with a mixture of amber and 
  pale green lights, creating an eerie, otherworldly ambience. 
  Saurid writing – a fluid, geometric script that is not unlike 
  Arabic – is everywhere. Saurid writing runs vertically, rather 
  than horizontally, and is a combination of mathematical and 
  iconographic symbols.
  Command and Control
  This room is two levels, the upper level taking up only half 
  the floor space of the lower level. The lower floor is 20 metres 
  wide by 30 long. The upper level is 20 metres wide by 15 long.
  The upper level is accessed via stairs on either side of the 
  upper floor. The upper half-floor is for the pilot and flight 
  engineers and has the necessary consoles for those tasks. The 
  lower floor is for operations, life support, and weapons. It has 
  the appropriate consoles for these functions, although the 
  agents are going to have to guess at which is which; it is not 
  evident from the controls what any position does.
  At least four Saurids are always in command and control, 
  working at the computer interfaces in an attempt to get the 
  ship up and running again. The commander of the expedi-
  tion, Ktath, is always on the upper floor, directing the repair 
  operations.
  Engineering
  Engineering is a long room that runs forty metres down one 
  side of the ship. The room is twenty feet deep and only a 
  single floor. Databanks line the walls and engineering stations 
  covered in broken parts cover five tables spread across the 
  room. Three Saurid are in the room working on a machine 
  patched into the ship via a small maze of strange tubes, pipes 
  and cables. A successful Mechanics roll identifies fuel intakes, 
  exhausts connecting to what looks like a ventilation duct, 
  high tension electrical bus-bars and so on. This is the missing 
  generator taken from the base, powered by kerosene. If the 
  Saurid crew complete their task, the generator will provide 
  enough electrical power to completely reengage life support. 
  Sparks are flying and plasma cutters are creating a loud drone 
  as they slice through the metal. 
  A second unfathomable object several meters in height is 
  also being worked on; this is actually the framework for a new 
  power core, which will be lowered down through a hatch into 
  the reactor below. Having accessed Petrushkin’s mind, the 
  aliens know that a nuclear powered vessel is on its way to the 
  ice floe, and thus, when the Sibir arrives (see The Sibir Arrives, 
  page 18), the Saurids will have access to fissile material that 
  they can use to effect a new power core and escape Earth 
  completely - assuming they can overwhelm Alfa team, which 
  the Sibir carries of course.
  Petrushkin
  On the far side of the room, the agents can see what appears 
  to be a human male looking over a table at them. If the Sau-
  rids are not aware of the agents’ presence, he makes eye con-
  tact, but says nothing. Upon closer inspection, the agents find 
  this is a decapitated head with a nest of wires emerging from 
  the base of the skull and connecting to one of the databanks.  
  The head has been neatly detached from the body just below 
  the neck, leaving the vocal chords still intact. A small cylin-
  der is attached to the neck with several tubes that feed air to 
  the neck so that the vocal chords can operate. The head is 
  still alive, and the eyes suddenly swivel to look at one of the 
  agents. This is as Shocking event, sanity-wise, with any result-
  ing Condition being rolled on the Horror column. 
  The head introduces itself as Biopreparat Operative 
  Petrushkin. He, much against his will, has been helping the 
  Saurids learn more about the nature of the base and their 
  immediate environment. As a result, the Saurids know that 
  another vessel, the Sibir, is en-route to the base with a much 
  larger force aboard. The Saurids intend to capture the Sibir 
  and use its reactor core to repower their ship and leave Earth. 
  Saurid Objectives
  The Saurids have a plan, formulated with the help of  Petrushkin’s 
  severed head.
  1. 
  Restore full power to life support, power up Command & 
  Control to gain partial access to sensors and comms, then 
  start awakening other members of  the crew. The genera-
  tor’s output is currently insufficient for anything else.
  2. 
  Use the base satellite dish to lure the Soviet icebreaker 
  Sibir into docking with the floe (the existence of  which was 
  gleaned from Petrushkin).
  3. 
  Aggressively assert control over the Sibir and cannibalise 
  one of  its reactors for the fissile material needed for a new 
  power core.
  4. 
  In case of  a stand off, the crew of  the Sibir will be nego-
  tiated with using the life of  Tanya Kirbuck in exchange for 
  fissile material.
  5. 
  Use humans to load highly radioactive fissile material into 
  the replacement core, then flee to orbit where further repairs 
  can be carried out in relative safety.
  If  the agents surrender to the Saurids, the aliens will accept any 
  help they can offer (using them as a Trojan horse to gain access 
  to the Sibir, for example). While they appear amoral in terms of  
  human ethics, the Saurids are not malicious; they are merely para-
  noid and wish to escape Earth by the most efficient means possible.
  
  White Death
  17 
  He also knows that Kirbuck is still alive somewhere in the 
  vessel: “I can hear her screaming,” he says.
  Petrushkin’s not sure where his body is, but would very 
  much like to die. Disconnecting the wires or delivering 3 
  points of damage to the head fulfils his wishes.
  Stasis Chambers
  There are two stasis chambers, one on either side of the cor-
  ridor. These rooms are 20 metres by 20 metres with twenty 
  stasis tubes in each room as well as the equipment to keep 
  stasis functioning independent of main power. The rooms are 
  unguarded.
  Fifteen of the tubes still have Saurids suspended in fluid. 
  Displays on the front of each tube show various biological 
  values in the Saurid language. The numbers fluctuate slowly, 
  monitoring the entropic-suspended Saurids. The displays on 
  four of the tubes with Saurids inside are blank. These Saurids 
  are merely recuperating between work shifts; agents notice 
  the extraterrestrials’ lidless eyes slowly following them as they 
  cross the room.
  There are numerous ways the agents can shut down stasis: 
  the tubes can be shot or smashed; the tubing that circulates 
  the fluid in each tank can be cut. An Electronics test pro-
  vides the agent with basic understanding of the controls and 
  enough knowledge to power down the backup energy sup-
  ply. A Formidable Electronics test can provide an agent with 
  enough understanding to release the creatures held in stasis.
  The stasis system is geared to the Saurid physiology and 
  extensive research and reprogramming is necessary to con-
  figure it for human systems. It would take many months, but 
  it is possible, and thus, if anyone can take this ship intact, the 
  means for interstellar travel are at hand. Yet the stasis tubes 
  are essential not just for interstellar travel at faster-than-light 
  speeds, but also for general acceleration/deceleration at high 
  stellar velocities.
  Laboratory
  Female screams or whimpers can be heard coming from 
  inside this room as the agents pass by.
  Many of the Saurid aboard this ship are scientists. This 
  room is multi-tiered, similar to a lecture room. Cabinets 
  full of Saurid stealth technology, genetic modifications, and 
  astro-navigation tools line the walls. Several samples of mega-
  fauna are stored in drawers. There are no Saurid in the room; 
  They’ve grown tired of Kirbuck’s screams. However, one 
  Saurid comes by to check her vitals every half-hour or so.
  In the centre of the 40 metres long by 20 metres deep 
  room are two large research benches surrounded by smaller 
  tables. Strapped to one table is Tanya Kirbuck. On the other 
  is the headless torso of Petrushkin. Petrushkin’s body has 
  been forensically dissected and then stitched back together. 
  Kirbuck’s torso is similarly cut open from her clavicle to 
  her navel and many of her internal organs spread across 
  the surrounding tables, all of them attached to her via tub-
  ing, sensors, and other technology similar to that keeping 
  Petrushkin’s head alive in the Engineering area. Viewing 
  what’s become of Kirbuck is a Disturbing event with Horror 
  Conditions. 
  Saurid technology allows them to completely suppress 
  Kirbuck’s pain while keeping her mind fully conscious. Her 
  screams are cries of anger and frustration, not pain. It is clear 
  that the Saurids have used Kirbuck as a study in human anat-
  omy. Kirbuck confirms that it was their intrusion into the 
  ship that awoke the Saurids, provoking a hostile response. 
  She was severely injured in the ensuing confrontation with 
  the Saurids, and she has no idea why they are keeping her 
  alive while Petrushkin has been killed (she does not know of 
  Petrushkin’s head in the Engineering section). As noted in the 
  Saurid Objectives section on page 16, the Saurids intend to 
  use her as a potential bargaining tool with the crew of the 
  Sibir, although capturing one or more of the agents increases 
  their bargaining capabilities. Unlike Petrushkin, Kirbuck very 
  much wants to live, despite what has been done to her body. 
  She also wants vengeance on the Saurids. She implores the 
  agents to find a way of destroying the ‘monstrous scum’, no 
  matter what the cost.
   If any Saurids return to the room while the agents are 
  present, they attempt to capture as many of the agents as they 
  can, securing any prisoners in empty Stasis Units. If attacked, 
  they defend themselves, and will use lethal force if necessary, 
  but they know that living humans will prove useful in getting 
  what they most want – the means to leave Earth.
  Cargo
  The cargo room is 60 metres long by 20 metres deep. It is 
  filled with metal crates filled with food, water, and other 
  non-scientific supplies. This room doubles as the armoury 
  and numerous Saurid plasma claws in various states of repair 
  are hung on the wall.
   The ambient temperature inside the ship is provided by a 
  kerosene heater taken from the barracks building. The fumes 
  are poisonously thick and spending more than 1d4+1 min-
  utes in the cargo area without breathing apparatus leads to 
  death from carbon monoxide poisoning, there being no fresh 
  air being brought into the ship.
  Propulsion
  The propulsion area contains the ship’s drives. It is accessed 
  from the Stasis Chambers, but this is unwise as much of the 
  area is beneath the ice and has multiple leaks caused by the 
  crash. Each time the main airlock is opened, the drop in 
  atmospheric pressure allows more liquid to enter, so that the 
  compartment is now half flooded with frigid sea water. It is 
  also the reason the ship is beginning to drag down the ice floe.
  Several Saurid in their gel suits are currently trying to 
  patch the holes to prevent the vessel from sinking entirely. 
  
  White Death
  18 
  Their presence plus the water will likely place the propulsion 
  section off-limits to the agents.
  The Sibir 
  Arrives 
  The GRU is already en-route to the ice floe and arrives two 
  days after the agents begin their reconnaissance of the base. 
  Their vessel, the Sibir, is an Arktika Class icebreaker, powered 
  by a pair of 171 gigawatt nuclear reactors. The Saurid’s aim 
  is to get the satellite dish operational and signal the Sibir using 
  Petrushkin’s severed head (but with instructions controlled by 
  the ship’s AI) to lure the crew to shore with a false sense of 
  security. From there, more of the Saurid crew will be awoken 
  and a stealth assault made on the Sibir to take the vessel and 
  plunder it for the reactors and fissile material needed to make 
  their own ship space-worthy again.
  The Sibir has a crew of 140 and a cadre of 18 Alfa Team 
  Spetsnaz soldiers trained and equipped for arctic deploy-
  ment. Their mission is to free the alien ship from the ice, neu-
  tralise and quarantine any hostile life forms, and lift (or tow) it 
  back to the USSR. While the Sibir is on alert, they’re clearly 
  not banking the grotesque turn of events at the base and, 
  unless warned, are walking into a potential trap. The Saurids’ 
  gel suits allow them to withstand the intense cold of the arc-
  tic water and access the icebreaker from whatever positions 
  along its hull they desire, meaning that a sneak underwater 
  assault while the GRU soldiers are investigating the base will 
  leave the Sibir vulnerable.
  Of course, the GRU isn’t expecting agents from a foreign 
  power to be present, and the first reaction of the special forces 
  will be to capture at least one of these spies for interrogation 
  and potential hostage exchange with the west. But if things 
  are going badly, the GRU won’t hesitate to kill the agents if it 
  proves to be the most expedient course of action.
  The GRU can be negotiated with, although they will, at 
  first, be sceptical of any warnings that they’re walking into 
  an ambush against a technologically superior foe. Any rolls 
  the agents make to try to persuade or convince the GRU of 
  the true situation should be at either Hard or Formidable; 
  however, the GRU are not completely unreasonable. If the 
  agents can offer proof of the true situation on the ice floe, 
  then there is a chance that the GRU will form a temporary 
  alliance with the agents, and grant them leave to escape the 
  base when the Skyhook returns for them. But this should not 
  be an easy task: the GRU are committed to their own cause 
  and the west is an enemy. Make negotiations with the GRU 
  difficult, but not impossible.
  The Saurids also intend to use Kirbuck as a bargaining 
  tool. The GRU are prepared to go along with this to a point, 
  but only in order to gain the upper hand and seize control 
  of the Saurid ship. The Biopreperat team is considered 
  expendable and the GRU really doesn’t care what happens 
  to Kirbuck or Petrushkin. There is no way for the agents to 
  help Kirbuck, given her medical state, and any Alfa team sol-
  dier coming across her body will likely kill her out of mercy 
  anyway.
  Attempting to tackle the soldiers is folly. They are well 
  trained and better equipped than the agents. While a few 
  sneak attacks might kill a few of the Spetsnaz, getting into any 
  kind of fire fight with them is suicide. This tactic might work 
  to cause a temporary diversion for the Saurids to complete 
  their own plans, but obviously everything hinges on how the 
  agents react to what they’ve encountered on the ice floe and 
  how they plan to get out of it.
  Options
  While it’s impossible to account for all the options a creative 
  team of players can come up with, some obvious options for 
  how the scenario ends are presented below. Much depends on 
  the characters’ attitudes to an impossible situation and their 
  levels of altruism.
  1. Sit tight and wait for rescue. The agents can try 
  to hide in the base until the Skyhook returns, leaving 
  the Saurids and GRU to battle it out. The Saurids are 
  more intent on capturing the Sibir than wasting time 
  and resources tracking down and killing the agents – 
  unless, of course, the agents’ liberty would compro-
  mise the Saurids’ plans.
  2. Destroy the Saurid ship. It is possible to rig the gen-
  erator or kerosene heater to explode, causing enough 
  internal damage that repairs are no longer feasible. 
  More importantly, it shakes the ship free from the ves-
  tigial ice,  which then sinks to the depths of the Arctic 
  Ocean, dragged down by its flooded propulsion com-
  partment. Whether or not the agents survive such an 
  operation depends on their demolitions ability and a 
  breakneck run for safety if timed detonators are used 
  to trigger the explosion. In true B Movie style, it might 
  be necessary for someone to physically activate the 
  explosion; this could be one of the agents, Zhilin, or 
  even Kirbuck.
  3. Side with the Saurids. The agents might decide to 
  side with the aliens and help overwhelm the GRU and 
  help them take the Sibir. The Saurids will need to be 
  convinced of the agents’ desire to help, and this will 
  not be easy. They are xenophobic and as distrustful of 
  humans as humans are of the Saurids. The most likely 
  outcome here is that the Saurids allow the agents to 
  provide diversionary tactics against the GRU, but are 
  considered expendable. The Saurids really do not 
  have any intention of joining the west in a war against 
  
  White Death
  19 
  the east, and neither are they keen on taking any curi-
  ous humans into space.
  4. Kill the Saurids and secure the ship. The west will 
  want the spaceship just as much as the Soviets, but 
  such a plan isn’t likely to succeed. While the Saurids 
  could be killed using one of the pathogens found in 
  the base, the Sibir is carrying a much superior force 
  that will easily be able to secure the ice floe and cap-
  ture the ship. The agents are a reconnaissance team 
  and they lack the resources to secure and hold an alien 
  starship against the might of Soviet Special Forces.
  5. Side with the Soviets. This is a possibility, if the 
  GRU can be convinced that the agents can help. If the 
  agents have been inside the ship, or have any informa-
  tion on Saurid capabilities, then they are useful to the 
  Russians. The GRU isn’t going to waste any chance 
  of gaining the upper hand, especially when the Sau-
  rids’ combat capabilities are better understood. If the 
  agents do assist the GRU, their commander can be 
  convinced to let them return to the west when the 
  Skyhook arrives: after all, who would believe their 
  story, and would a western government even dare to 
  make public what has been found on the ice floe?
  Ultimately the conclusion of the scenario is in the hands 
  of the characters and the Games Master. It should be thrill-
  ing, it should be tense, and it should be dramatic. The agents 
  are outmatched by both aliens and GRU, but keeping their 
  wits about them (assuming they have any left after witnessing 
  what’s happened to Petrushkin and others) gives them a rea-
  sonable chance of survival if they act sensibly.
  
  White Death
  20 
  Handouts
  Journal Entries
  Excerpts from the mission log of Tanya Kirbuck, Biopreperat 
  Mission Leader. These excerpts are from a hand-written jour-
  nal kept in a desk drawer in the research building.
  <dated six months ago>
  Phase 2 of  Operation Snegurochka has officially commenced. The 
  laboratory strains from Moscow will be subjected to polar condi-
  tions for this stage of  the test. Once complete, we should have a 
  decent array of  samples, resistant to most climatic conditions, for 
  full production.
  The cargo plane has taken off  and we’re on our own. The crew 
  has begun construction of  the shelters and the installation of  the 
  laboratory.
  <dated four months ago>
  Xenia Stepanovna fell on the ice and shattered her hip and we lack 
  the facilities to care for her, so we need to get her off  the ice. The 
  runway is already treacherous, but we’ll risk an extraction. I’m 
  sending the radiation reports with her; some interesting readings that 
  we can’t explain. It might be nothing.
  <dated two weeks ago>
  Communication from HQ: we are to halt our testing programme 
  and focus on the radiation readings. So it IS something. Very like 
  Yeniseysk Governorate, and we’ve been told to record all surveys 
  and findings. The whole ice floe is giving readings in the transura-
  nic range, some areas stronger than others. What have stumbled 
  on here?
  <dated 12 days ago>
  We’ve drilled north of  the base. The ice samples show the source of  
  the radiation readings. A distinct layer. Tough to date it, the cores 
  suggest over seventy years ago, but that would date it from before the 
  great patriotic war. We can’t be certain of  origin. I’ve never come 
  across anything like it.
  <dated 10 days ago>
  We’ve shifted drilling from north of  the camp to the south, near the 
  pressure ridge. The crew is getting more agitated. We’ve been here 
  two months, and while the resupply drops are welcome diversions, 
  they do not take away from the fact that we’re stuck on a sheet of  ice 
  in the arctic, under a communications lockdown imposed by HQ. 
  Kadnikov is becoming increasingly agitated. He might need to be 
  rotated off  duty for a period.
  <dated nine days ago>
  Petrushkin, Zhilin and Gorov were drilling today when the drill 
  struck something solid. Following protocol, they set off  a controlled 
  explosive. Once the ice was cleared they found a metal hull. A God 
  damned metal hull! Have the Yanks lost one of  their subs? Waiting 
  for instructions to come through, but we’re all on edge right now. 
  <dated six days ago>
  We’ve been ordered not to open the thing. Petrushkin, the stupid 
  bastard, is all for blowing the hatch but I’ve convinced him to wait, 
  the order comes from the top. The Sibir is on its way, probably filled 
  with soldiers and a nuclear depth charge, so he is worried that this 
  might be our only chance to bring a scientific perspective to all of  
  this. Shit, after the alloy analysis I’m scared. If  this is what we 
  think it is - what the top brass fears it is - then it changes everything.
  Computer Entries
  If an agent can restore power to the building and crack the 
  password protection on the computer, they can find the fol-
  lowing documents.
   
  Ѳ Reams of meteorological and climatological data
   
  Ѳ Radiation readings indicating the transuranic nature of 
  the local background radiation signatures
   
  Ѳ A folder containing documents confirming that Oper-
  ation Snegurochka is intended to research pathogens 
   
  Ѳ Communications Log: a record of electronic commu-
  nications between the research station’s computer and 
  somewhere in Russia. There are a series of coded log 
  entries dating back 321 days:
  <log entry from Station569 to a587223>
  Check-in
  <log entry from a587223 to Station569>
  Acknowledged
  Similar entries continue in pairs until six days ago when they 
  suddenly stop. Other entries of note are:
  <log entry dated sixteen days ago from Station569 to 
  a587223>
  Confirming abnormal background radiation readings. 
  Details in attached file.
  <log entry dated 15 days ago from a587223 to 
  Station569>
  Priority mission override. Operation Snegurochka sus-
  pended. Mission priority to investigate radiation sources. 
  See attached file K-FFZ-7-05. Summary: take readings 
  and drill where strongest. Do not transmit data. Restrict 
  communications to check-in until further notice. Confirm 
  acceptance .
  
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  21 
  <log entry dated eight days ago from Station569 to 
  a587223>
  During drilling procedures near the southern end of  ice floe 
  uncovered vessel buried in the ice, 4 metres down. Radiation 
  signatures identical to Yeniseysk. Awaiting orders.
  <log entry dated six days ago from a587223 to 
  Station569>
  Acknowledged. Icebreaker NS Sibir despatched to your posi-
  tion. ETA to be confirmed, Scientific team from Operation 
  Snegurochka ordered to search for biological contaminants, 
  but NOT access object. Proceed with extreme caution. 
  Repeat: Internal access of  Object forbidden. Investigate 
  possible bio-residues around Object and record external fea-
  tures. Repeat: Proceed with extreme caution.
  <log entry dated one day ago from a587223 to 
  Station569>
  Request check-in Station569, you are overdue. If  no reply 
  is received, efforts to sanitise area will commence with 
  arrival of  NS Sibir. Thereafter Alfa Team has command. 
  Repeat: Alfa Team has command.
  
  White Death
  22 
  Characters
  Tanya Kirbuck
  An early middle-aged woman with short, greying hair, Tanya 
  Kirbuck is the field leader of Project Snegurochka, a joint 
  GRU-Biopreperat initiative to research weaponised viruses. 
  A brilliant scientist, Kirbuck holds doctorates in paleobiology, 
  chemistry, and geology. She also served in the Soviet North-
  ern Fleet. Those two factors made her the Biopreparat’s top 
  candidate to lead this mission.
  Kirbuck is naturally cautious, somewhat amoral, and 
  wholly unprepared for what has been discovered beneath the 
  ice. Her innate caution leads some of her team, like Petrush-
  kin, to question her authority, and this insubordination has 
  led to the ensuing disaster for the scientists.
  Subjected to a horrific, living vivisection, it is amazing that 
  Kirbuck’s mind has not snapped. She can confirm that it was 
  Petrushkin’s insubordination that led to the current predica-
  ment, but as head of the team accepts final responsibility for 
  all that has gone wrong. She has no idea that she is to be used 
  as a bargaining tool and if this comes to light, demands to be 
  killed so that she does not have to suffer further indignities. 
  Her hatred for what the Saurids have done to her is palpable, 
  but she also understands that it was probably inevitable. She 
  studies and manipulates microbes for the purposes of weap-
  onisation; why should the aliens view her any differently to 
  the way she views diseases?
  The statistics opposite depict Kirbuck before her inju-
  ries. For all intents and purposes, she is incapacitated and 
  if removed from the Saurid machines, will die within 15 
  minutes.
  Kirbuck
  Attributes
  STR: 10
  Action Points: 2
  CON: 15
  Damage Modifier: None
  SIZ: 15
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 7
  Initiative Bonus: +12
  INT: 17
  Armour:  None
  POW: 12
  Tenacity: 10 (reflects sanity losses)
  CHA: 12
  Skills
  Athletics 40%, Customs 75%, Deceit 40%, Drive (snowmobile) 50%, Endurance 
  70%, Evade 34%, Influence 73%, Insight 64%, Mechanic 30%, Native Tongue 
  (Russian) 95%, Perception 44%, Science (Chemistry) 75%, Science (Geology) 85%, 
  Science (Paleobiology) 85%, Stealth 40%, Survival 58%, Unarmed 47%, Willpower 
  95%
  Passions
  Loyalty (Soviet Union) 85%, Hate Saurids 90%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/6
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/6
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/7
  10–12
  Chest
  0/8
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/5
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/5
  19–20
  Head
  0/6
  Combat Style: Soviet Officer (Sidearms) 59%
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range
  Pistol
  L
  1d6
  50/100/200, 8 round clip
  
  White Death
  23 
  Pyotr Zhilin
  Pyotr Zhilin is the security officer and muscle of the team. A 
  veteran of the Soviet army and GRU, he’s seen more than his 
  fair share of scrapes. Although this mission was not supposed 
  to be dangerous (at least not in the sense that requires armed 
  security), Zhilin was assigned just in case.
  Although classified as security, Zhilin is an intelligent man 
  and performed many of the basic scientific duties on the site; 
  he therefore has a working knowledge of the base’s operations 
  and quite a few of the techniques being used in the study of 
  the various pathogens.
  Zhilin and Kirbuck led the group that went to rescue 
  Petrushkin. When the small team was quickly overwhelmed 
  and Kirbuck captured, Zhilin managed to hide and make his 
  escape. His sanity is shaken both by what he has seen and how 
  his courage has failed him.
  Spetznaz Alfa Team
  These Alfa Team operatives are carried aboard the Sibir, a 
  nuclear powered icebreaker. The soldiers are trained for arctic 
  conditions, well armed, and prepared for something strange 
  in the ice. Their objective is to secure the base, deal with any 
  immediate threats, and maintain security while an additional 
  science and technology team, also aboard the Sibir, works on 
  freeing the crashed alien ship and either getting it aboard the 
  icebreaker or rigging it to tow back to Murmansk.
  Leading the Spetznaz is Major Gregorovitch, a grizzled 
  veteran of a dozen conflicts and a brutally efficient tactician. 
  Faced with the prospect of Kirbuck being used as a bargain-
  ing piece, he’s prepared to play along until he can secure his 
  own advantage, but he has no problems in sacrificing any 
  member of the Biopreparat in pursuit of the success of his 
  mission, and safety of his own men.
  Gregorovitch has the same skills as listed below, but 
  increase Lore (Military Tactics), Willpower, and Survival by 
  20%. He also speaks some English (36%). While he dislikes 
  any agents he comes across, he has a grudging respect for 
  military operatives, which comes across in his demeanour.
  If using this scenario with Luther Arkwright, Gregorovitch 
  is a Disruptor Knight, and is armed with a hand flamer. The 
  spetznaz troops he commands are not intended to be Disrup-
  tor Rooks, but the Games Master can make them such if so 
  wished.
  Zhilin
  Attributes
  STR: 17
  Action Points: 2
  CON: 16
  Damage Modifier: +1d4
  SIZ: 14
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 14
  Initiative Bonus: +15
  INT: 16
  Armour:  None
  POW: 10
  Tenacity: 5 (reflects sanity losses)
  CHA: 10
  Skills
  Athletics 40%, Brawn 57%, Conceal 54%, Customs 75%, Deceit 72%, Drive 
  (snowmobile) 61%, Endurance 70%, Evade 34%, Influence 53%, Insight 
  44%, Mechanic 50%, Native Tongue (Russian) 75%, Perception 44%, Science 
  (Climatology) 45%, Sleight 48%, Stealth 40%, Survival 58%, Unarmed 67%, 
  Willpower 46%
  Passions
  Loyalty (Soviet Union) 85%, Hate Saurids 80%, Paranoid 80%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/6
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/6
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/7
  10–12
  Chest
  0/8
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/5
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/5
  19–20
  Head
  0/6
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  Pistol
  L
  1d6
  50/100/200, 8 round clip
  Ice Axe
  S
  1d6+1d4
  Can Impale
  Combat Style: Soviet Soldier (Sidearms, Assault Rifle, Ice Axe) 75%
  Spetznaz
  Attributes
  STR: 15
  Action Points: 3
  CON: 16
  Damage Modifier: +1d4
  SIZ: 15
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 16
  Initiative Bonus: +12
  INT: 14
  Armour:  Arctic Body Armour (4 points torso and head)
  POW: 12
  Tenacity: 12
  CHA: 12
  Skills
  Athletics 70%, Brawn 70%, Endurance 90%, Evade 50%, Lore (Military Tactics) 
  60%, Native Tongue (Russian) 75%, Perception 70%, Stealth 40%, Survival 60%, 
  Unarmed 60%, Willpower 50%
  Passions: Loyalty (Soviet Union) 75%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/6
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/6
  07–09
  Abdomen
  4/7
  10–12
  Chest
  4/8
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/5
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/5
  19–20
  Head
  4/6
  
  White Death
  24 
  Saurids
  The Saurids are bipedal, standing, on average, a shade under 
  2 metres tall. Their skin is a light grey with mottling around 
  the eyes and mouth, small amber eyes equipped with a nic-
  tating membrane, and slightly flared nostrils. Their tongues 
  are thin but not forked, and their hands and feet have three 
  fingers and a fourth, opposable digit. The hands are long and 
  slender; perfect for complex tasks requiring fine manual dex-
  terity. Saurids are omnivorous, and do not cook their food.
  The Saurid psychology is one of amoral curiosity: while 
  they recognise humans are a civilised and technologically 
  developing species, they do not view them as feeling, fully sapi-
  ent creatures. This perception is similar to the one humans 
  have towards insects or rodents; the Saurids are quite ready to 
  experiment with, and exploit, this strange, fleshy, vulnerable 
  species if it aids their own survival.
  Saurids are driven to attack and subdue first, minimising 
  any personal danger. This leads to initially aggressive tactics, 
  followed by curious investigation. They are clever and cun-
  ning, knowing how to stalk and lure enemies into positions of 
  weakness or vulnerability. When they strike they strike hard, 
  but they also know mercy and do not commit wanton slaugh-
  ter unless utterly necessary. They are, nevertheless, aggres-
  sive opponents, as their handling of the Biopreparat team 
  demonstrates.
  On average, Saurids are stronger, tougher, and smarter 
  than humans, but not outrageously so. They can see per-
  fectly well in low-light conditions and their gel suits help them 
  function in hostile environments. If using Luther Arkwright, 
  the Saurids have the following Traits: Brutal, Null-Psionic, 
  Enhanced Balance (Luther Arkwright, page 41).
  Saurid plasma claws are both a ranged and close-quarter 
  weapon. If using their natural talons, the nails of the fingers 
  are allowed to extend beyond the confines of the gel suit.
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  Pistol
  L
  1d6
  50/100/200, 8 round clip
  AK-47
  L
  2d6+1
  600/1000/3000, 30 round clip
  SVD Sniper 
  Rifle
  L
  2d8+4
  900/1500/500, 10 round clip
  Grenade
  L
  3d10
  5/10/20
  Combat Knife
  S
  1d4
  Can be thrown: 5/10/20
  Combat Styles:  
  Special Forces (Pistol, Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Grenade) 88% - Ranged 
  Marksman Trait
  Hand to Hand (Unarmed, Knife) 84% - Do or Die Trait
  Saurid
  Attributes
  STR: 2d6+9 (16)
  Action Points: 3
  CON: 2d6+9 (16)
  Damage Modifier: +1d4
  SIZ: 2d6+9 (16)
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 3d6 (11)
  Initiative Bonus: +14
  INT: 2d6+9 (16) 
  Armour:  Natural Scale & Gel Suit (3 points total)
  POW: 3d6 (11)
  Tenacity: 11
  CHA: 2d6 (7)
  Abilities: Cold Blooded, Night Sight
  Skills
  Astrogation 65%, Athletics 70%, Brawn 70%, Comms 75%, Computers 80%, 
  Endurance 90%, Evade 50%, Knowledge (Military Tactics) 80%, Mechanics 
  95%, Native Tongue (Saurid) 75%, Perception 70%, Pilot (Spaceship) 75%, 
  Science (Biology) 80%, Sensors 70%, Stealth 40%, Survival 60%, Unarmed 70%, 
  Willpower 50%
  Passions: Loyalty (Saurids) 85%, Hate (Enemies) 70%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  1–3
  Tail
  3/6
  4–5
  Right Leg
  3/6
  6-7
  Left Leg
  3/6
  8-10
  Abdomen
  3/7
  11-14
  Chest
  3/8
  15-16
  Right Arm
  3/5
  17-18
  Left Arm
  3/5
  19-20
  Head
  3/6
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  Plasma Claw
  S/L
  2d6+2
  30/100/300
  Claws
  M
  1d4+1d4
  Bleed, Sunder
  Combat Style: Saurid Warrior (Plasma Claw, Unarmed) 70%
  
  White Death
  25 
  Pre-Generated 
  Agents
  Farraday
  Grayson ‘Gray’ Farraday is a veteran agency man with a 
  jaded but pragmatic view of Soviet culture and the Cold War. 
  He hopes this is his last assignment before he can retire early 
  to his family’s Montana ranch. Starting as an analyst and 
  translator in the Agency, he became a field agent in the early 
  1970s, with assignments in Berlin, Stockholm and London 
  before returning to Washington in the early 1980s. Farraday 
  is cool under pressure, considered, measured, but still ruthless 
  when the assignment calls for it.
  Flint
  Desmond Flint is suave, charming, debonair, egotistical and 
  likes to portray himself as an aesthete and intellectual. Born 
  Hyram Gostinska in the Bronx, he’s managed to cultivate a 
  West Coast persona that successfully masks his humble Pol-
  ish-Jewish heritage. Despite the casual bravado, Flint is an 
  effective agent. A whizz with technology, he was quick to 
  understand that computers would be the future for the intelli-
  gence services and studied hard to ensure he would be ahead 
  of the curve.
  Farraday
  Attributes
  STR: 10
  Action Points: 2
  CON: 15
  Damage Modifier: None
  SIZ: 15
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 7
  Initiative Bonus: +12
  INT: 17
  Armour:  None
  POW: 12
  Tenacity: 12
  CHA: 15
  Skills
  Athletics 49%, Brawn 59%, Bureaucracy 62%, Comms 63%, Conceal 38%, 
  Courtesy 51%, Customs 47%, Dance 57%, Deceit 39%, Drive 51%, Endurance 
  53%, Evade 35%, First Aid 34%, Gambling 39%, Influence 84%, Insight 78%, 
  Language (German) 90%, Language (Russian) 80%, Locale 40%, Lore (Cold War 
  Relations) 84%, Mechanics 46%, Navigation 50%, Oratory 68%, Perception 77%, 
  Pilot 57%, Sensors 62%, Stealth 44%, Streetwise 73%, Survival (Wilderness) 62%, 
  Unarmed 43%, Willpower 84%
  Passions
  Dislike Communism 74%, Loyalty to Agency 81%, Recount Anecdotes 66%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/6
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/6
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/7
  10–12
  Chest
  0/8
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/5
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/5
  19–20
  Head
  0/6
  Combat Style: Small Arms (Sidearms) 66%
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  9mm Pistol
  L
  1d6+1
  50/100/200, 10 round clip
  Flint
  Attributes
  STR: 14
  Action Points: 2
  CON: 16
  Damage Modifier: +1d2
  SIZ: 17
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 9
  Initiative Bonus: +12
  INT: 14
  Armour:  None
  POW: 12
  Tenacity: 12
  CHA: 17
  Skills
  Art (Art Appreciation) 44%, Athletics 39%, Brawn 55%, Conceal 46%, Computers 
  88%, Craft (Machinist) 60%, Customs 61%, Dance 56%, Deceit 77%, Drive 56%, 
  Electronics 66%,Endurance 60%, Engineering 83%, Electronics 72%, Evade 
  41%, First Aid 46%, Gambling 60%, Influence 71%, Insight 55%, Locale 54%, 
  Mechanics 88%, Perception 56%, Stealth 42%, Streetwise 51%, Survival (Urban) 
  59%, Unarmed 79%, Willpower 57%
  Passions
  Art and Fashion 81%, Hate Dirt & Grime 64%, Loyalty to the Agency 80%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/6
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/6
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/7
  10–12
  Chest
  0/8
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/5
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/5
  19–20
  Head
  0/6
  Combat Style: US Marine (Sidearms, Assault Rifle) 71%
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  9mm Pistol
  L
  1d6+1
  50/100/200, 10 round clip
  M16 Carbine
  L
  2d6+1
  500/900/2000, 30 round box
  
  White Death
  26 
  Gale
  Katherine Gale is British, born into a comfortable middle 
  class background and recruited to the Agency from university 
  due to her aptitude for languages. She has served in London, 
  Paris, Berlin, and Moscow. Despite her cut-glass accent and 
  fondness for tea, salmon and cucumber sandwiches, and the 
  cricket scores, Gale is a top-notch operative and an expert in 
  cyphers. She worked undercover in Moscow and succeeded 
  in penetrating several top-level Soviet research bureaus before 
  her cover was blown by a double-agent.
  Mathison
  Caroline Mathison is from Chicago and serves the Agency 
  just as her father did. She has a lot to live up to; her father was 
  celebrated, and many feel Mathison’s rise up the ranks is the 
  result of Agency favouritism. Truth is, she is extremely com-
  petent but also a risk-taker who doesn’t always think-through 
  the consequences. She is also a heavy drinker, although she 
  has managed to keep this quiet. Mathison does not suffer 
  fools of any kind, but also yearns for acceptance among her 
  peers. Mathison is a skilled bio-chemist with an interest in the 
  Soviet’s Biopreperat activities.
  Mathison
  Attributes
  STR: 12
  Action Points: 3
  CON: 12
  Damage Modifier: None
  SIZ: 11
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 12
  Initiative Bonus: +14
  INT: 16
  Armour:  None
  POW: 13
  Tenacity: 13
  CHA: 11
  Skills
  Athletics 49%, Brawn 44%, Craft (Forgery) 58%, Conceal 61%, Customs 52%, 
  Deceit 77%, Drive 64%, Endurance 45%, Evade 41%, First Aid 86%, Influence 
  36%, Insight 61%, Language (Russian) 68%, Locale 36%, Perception 59%, 
  Research 87%, Science (Biology) 80%, Science (Chemistry) 80% Stealth 47%, 
  Unarmed 42%, Willpower 41%
  Passions
  Addicted to Alcohol 74%, Guilt Complex 76%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/5
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/5
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/6
  10–12
  Chest
  0/7
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/4
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/4
  19–20
  Head
  0/5
  Combat Style: Small Arms (Sidearms) 62%
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  9mm Pistol
  L
  1d6+1
  50/100/200, 10 round clip
  Gale
  Attributes
  STR: 12
  Action Points: 3
  CON: 15
  Damage Modifier: None
  SIZ: 10
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 16
  Initiative Bonus: +15
  INT: 13
  Armour:  None
  POW: 15
  Tenacity: 15
  CHA: 15
  Skills
  Athletics 64%, Brawn 41%, Bureaucracy 42%, Conceal 58%, Courtesy 74%, 
  Customs 58%, Dance 34%, Deceit 82%, Drive 55%, Endurance 71%, Evade 88%, 
  First Aid 40%, Influence 57%, Insight 63%, Language (German) 100%, Language 
  (Russian) 99%, Locale 74%, Lore (Cyphers) 88% Perception 81%, Stealth 79%, 
  Streetwise 55%, Unarmed 77%, Willpower 65%
  Passions
  Do Everything by the Book 70%, Hate Traitors 86%, Loyalty to Agency 81%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/5
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/5
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/6
  10–12
  Chest
  0/7
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/4
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/4
  19–20
  Head
  0/5
  Combat Style: Small Arms (Sidearms) 44%, Judo 78% (Mancatcher Trait)
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  9mm Pistol
  L
  1d6+1
  50/100/200, 10 round clip
  
  White Death
  27 
  Tarr
  Richard ‘Dicky’ Tarr is another Brit; an experienced military 
  man who served with the Parachute Regiment’s 2nd Battal-
  ion (‘2 Para’) in Northern Ireland. His exemplary undercover 
  work and skills with demolitions led to his recruitment by the 
  Agency following the events of the Warrenpoint Ambush in 
  1979. Tarr is hard-bitten, laconic, and a chain-smoker. He 
  acts as the muscle for the group and is unconcerned with the 
  finer aspects of the operation; he knows what he is – an effi-
  cient killer who can easily slip into the shadows while others 
  do the ‘brain-work’, as he calls it.
  Warren
  Aaron Virgil Warren hails from Baton Rouge and distin-
  guished himself during the Vietnam war, receiving the Medal 
  of Honor from Richard Nixon, one of only 20 African Amer-
  icans to be decorated at this level from the Vietnam conflict. 
  He was recruited to the agency as part of a drive to better 
  represent African Americans in the intelligence community, 
  and he has continued to distinguish himself in covert service, 
  helping to root out and convict two Soviet double agents who, 
  posing as husband and wife, had been active in the US intel-
  ligence services for close to a decade.
  Tarr
  Attributes
  STR: 16
  Action Points: 3
  CON: 11
  Damage Modifier: +1d4
  SIZ: 15
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 18
  Initiative Bonus: +15
  INT: 12
  Armour: None
  POW: 11
  Tenacity: 11
  CHA: 8
  Skills
  Athletics 62%, Brawn 83%, Comms 46%, Conceal 45%, Customs 60%, Deceit 
  65%, Demolitions 95%, Drive 85%, Endurance 78%, Evade 53%, First Aid 39%, 
  Influence 41%, Insight 40%, Locale 58%, Lore (Squad Tactics) 66%, Navigation 
  57%, Parachuting 85%, Perception 56%, Sensors 36%, Stealth 72%, Streetwise 
  81%, Survival (Urban) 66%, Unarmed 57%, Willpower 55%
  Passions
  Hate IRA 80%, Chain Smoker 65%, Loyalty to Agency 53%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/6
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/6
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/7
  10–12
  Chest
  0/8
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/5
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/5
  19–20
  Head
  0/6
  Combat Style: Parachute Regiment (Sidearms, Assault Rifle, Knife) 89%
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  9mm Pistol
  L
  1d6+1
  50/100/200, 10 round clip
  M16 Carbine
  L
  2d6+1
  500/900/2000, 30 round box
  Combat Knife
  S
  1d4+1d4
  Can be thrown: 5/10/20
  Warren
  Attributes
  STR: 17
  Action Points: 3
  CON: 14
  Damage Modifier: +1d4
  SIZ: 17
  Movement:  6 metres
  DEX: 13
  Initiative Bonus: +13
  INT: 13
  Armour:  None
  POW: 9
  Tenacity: 9
  CHA: 10
  Skills
  Athletics 47%, Brawn 82%, Conceal 49%, Customs 51%, Dance 39%, Deceit 
  41%, Drive 41%, Electronics 50%, Endurance 60%, Evade 61%, First Aid 43%, 
  Influence 36%, Insight 86%, Locale 50%, Lore (Squad Tactics) 35%, Mechanics 
  63%, Perception 76%, Stealth 51%, Survival (Jungle) 55%, Unarmed 79%, 
  Willpower 54%
  Passions
  Love Guns 73%, Act Fearlessly 76%, Loyalty to Agency 78%
  1d20
  Location
  AP/HP
  01–03
  Right Leg
  0/7
  04–16
  Left Leg
  0/7
  07–09
  Abdomen
  0/8
  10–12
  Chest
  0/9
  13–15
  Right Arm
  0/6
  16–18
  Left Arm
  0/6
  19–20
  Head
  0/7
  Combat Style: US Army (Sidearms, Assault Rifle) 78%
  Weapon
  Size/Force
  Damage
  Range/Notes
  9mm Pistol
  L
  1d6+1
  50/100/200, 10 round clip
  M16 Carbine
  L
  2d6+1
  500/900/2000, 30 round box
  
  White Death
  28 
  Sanity
  S
  anity explores psychological damage from a variety 
  of sources. For the most part characters are sane and 
  mentally healthy; however characters are sometimes 
  are exposed to events and circumstances that can shake their 
  sanity, affect their mental well-being, or directly attack their 
  grip on reality. This section provides rules for sanity, its loss, 
  and its effects.
  Measuring Sanity
  A character’s sanity is measured in two ways: Tenacity Points 
  and Conditions experienced when sanity is shaken (represented 
  by a loss of Tenacity Points)
  Tenacity Points
  A character’s Tenacity Points represent mental or psychologi-
  cal Hit Points. They can suffer damage and be reduced in the 
  same way locational hit points can be reduced through physical 
  damage. Tenacity Points are equal to POW, which represents 
  the base mental strength of the character. As Tenacity Points 
  are reduced, the character becomes more vulnerable to certain 
  Conditions. When Tenacity Points reach a negative value, any 
  Conditions gained through exposure to traumatic, horrifying, or 
  sanity-shaking events become permanent. When Tenacity Points 
  reach a negative value equal to their starting value then the char-
  acter is considered permanently insane or incapable of any fur-
  ther mental function.
  Conditions
  Conditions result from exposure to events that invoke fear, horror, 
  or sanity-shaking events. They are akin to the Conditions associ-
  ated with poisons and disease (see Mythras page 74). Examples 
  are phobias, mania, and paranoia; Conditions are temporary 
  while a character’s Tenacity Points are positive, but when they 
  reach a negative value, Conditions become permanent unless 
  treated through sophisticated methods such as antipsychotic 
  drugs, intense psychotherapy, or even magic.
  Losing Grip
  Five things can cause an individual to lose Tenacity Points and 
  potentially gain a Condition:
   
  Ѳ Exposure to Fear (for example, fleeing for one’s life, 
  pursued by relentless, implacable enemies)
   
  Ѳ Exposure to Horrific Events (for example, witnessing a 
  gruesome murder)
   
  Ѳ Exposure to Madness (for example, coming into con-
  tact with phenomenon that defy all rational explana-
  tion and are shocking to contemplate)
   
  Ѳ Torture, which, despite also causing physical damage, is 
  intended to break the will of the victim
   
  Ѳ Psionic or Magical trauma, caused by deliberate psionic 
  attacks or powers – such as a Wrack (Sanity) spell .
  Although these five events can be very different, they are 
  handled in much the same way.
  Level
  Intensity
  Skill Grade
  Typical Tenacity 
  Loss
  0
  Mild
  Standard
  1 point
  1
  Unsettling
  Hard
  1d3
  2
  Disturbing
  Formidable
  1d6
  3
  Shocking
  Herculean
  1d10
  4
  Devastating
  Hopeless
  1d20
  
  White Death
  29 
  Intensity
  Any of the five events – Fear, Horror, Madness, Torture, or 
  Psionic Trauma – is assigned an Intensity. Intensity is an adjective 
  and corresponds with a skill difficulty grade, as follows:
  Whenever a character is faced with a psychological event, 
  a Willpower roll is made at the skill grade corresponding with 
  the event Intensity. If the Willpower roll succeeds, then there 
  are no ill-effects. If the roll fails, then Tenacity is lost, accord-
  ing to the Typical Tenacity Loss for the Intensity. Specific 
  effects depend on the degree of success of the Willpower roll:
  Critical
  The character is unaffected by the event. Furthermore, exposure 
  to a similar event in the future is handled at one level of Intensity 
  less (so a potentially Shocking event would be handled as Dis-
  turbing, for example).
  Success
  No ill effects. No Tenacity lost – usually. The Games Master 
  might rule that a event is still so profound that even a successful 
  Willpower roll results in the loss of 1 Tenacity Point.
  Failure
  Tenacity is lost at the rolled value.
  Fumble
  The full Tenacity Loss value is incurred. For example, undergo-
  ing a Shocking level of Torture with a fumbled Willpower roll 
  results in the loss of the full 10 Tenacity Points.
  The exception is Psionic or Magical Trauma. Some 
  assaults, such as a Wrack (Sanity) spell, inflict damage directly 
  on Tenacity Points. In such cases the Tenacity Loss is the dam-
  age inflicted by the attack, rather than the event’s intensity.
  Luck Points
  Luck Points can be used to reduce the Intensity of an event by 1.
  Tenacity Loss
  Losing Tenacity may result in gaining a Condition. A Condition 
  is gained if a character loses half or more of current Tenacity 
  points. If half or more of the Tenacity Points are lost in one go, 
  then the Condition is Immediate. If the Condition is incurred 
  through incremental Tenacity Point loss, then the Condition 
  is Deferred. Immediate Conditions take place there and then; 
  Deferred Conditions emerge over time and after the event.
  To determine the Condition’s nature, the character rolls 
  on the Immediate or Deferred Table (page 30), referring to 
  the column corresponding with the type of event.
  Where Torture is the source of the event, all Conditions 
  are considered Deferred. The Immediate response by the vic-
  tim is the physical suffering the torture inflicts; mental effects 
  always come after the fact.
  If a character’s Tenacity Points fall to a negative value, 
  Conditions are always rolled on the Deferred Table but are 
  also treated as being permanent, requiring extensive help to 
  cure them (see Curing Psychological Conditions on page 31). 
  Note that even while into negative points, additional Con-
  ditions can be accrued. So, at –4 points Anna would, in our 
  example, be subject to another Condition and any current 
  Conditions are considered permanent until properly treated.
  Conditions
  Amnesia 
  To protect the character’s sanity, the character’s mind suppresses 
  memories related to a traumatic event, although such memories 
  may eventually be recovered. Babbles Incoherently — The char-
  acter’s mind is overwhelmed, and he is unable to do anything 
  except babble incoherently. If attacked or threatened he will flee 
  in terror.
  Catatonia 
  The character is stupefied and unable to take any wilful actions 
  of his own, though he may be led or forced to perform simple 
  actions. Catatonic characters may repeat seemingly meaningless 
  phrases or mindlessly repeat words spoken to them.
  Delusional 
  The character begins to believe that he is something that he 
  is not. The character effectively assumes a new identity and 
  Anathaym’s Saga
   
  Anathaym has 7 Tenacity Points and a Willpower of  55%, which 
  she has manage to develop with years of  adventuring. Investigating 
  the ruined manse of  a Badoshi Warlord torturer, she makes her way 
  from room to room and stumbles across the corpse of  a previous 
  Meerish warrior who had also been sent to investigate. The corpse 
  has been tortured and so horrifically mutilated that it is impossible 
  not to be affected by the sight. The Games Master rules that this 
  counts as an Unsettling Horrific event. Unsettling means that Ana-
  thaym’s Willpower roll is at Hard, or two-thirds of  55%, which is 
  36%. She rolls and scores 32, which means she loses no Tenacity.
  However, when she finally reaches the dungeon of  the Badoshi 
  fiend, she finds the torture chamber used by these cruel enemies to 
  interrogate and break their prisoners, especially Meeros’s Scarlet 
  Spears. The place is stocked with hooks, chains, and all manner of  
  ghastly devices designed to inflict pain slowly and intensively. Sev-
  eral victims have been dumped in an antechamber and their bodies 
  are broken in many hideous ways. The Games Master rules that 
  this is another Horrific event, but this time at Shocking. Anathaym’s 
  Willpower roll is now at one tenth (Herculean), so she must roll 6 
  or less to avoid Tenacity loss. She rolls 94 – not bad enough for a 
  fumble, but she loses 1d10 Tenacity. The Games Master rolls 8: 
  Annathaym is reduced to 0 Tenacity: to her horror, she recognises 
  several of  the horribly mutilated victims…
  
  White Death
  30 
  possibly personality, with a corresponding distorted view of his 
  own capabilities.
  Demoralized 
  The character is overcome with feelings of hopelessness and 
  helplessness; these symptoms collectively increase the difficulty 
  of most rolls by one grade.
  Disgusted 
  The character is revolted at the awful sights he has seen, render-
  ing him unwilling to approach or even remain within their pres-
  ence. If forced to do so, the difficulty of most rolls in increased 
  by one grade.
  Disturbed 
  The character begins to suffer from panic attacks, insomnia and 
  a persistent feeling of nervousness, disquiet, and unease. Anxiety 
  causes physical symptoms like dizziness, rapid pulse, sweatiness, 
  restlessness, and nervous twitches; these symptoms collectively 
  increase the difficulty of rolls involving social interaction by one 
  grade.
  Enraged 
  The character flies into a murderous rage intent on utterly 
  destroying the object of that rage (treat as Berserk — Mythras, 
  page 183).
  Faints 
  The character faints. Recovery is within 1d4 minutes.
  Flees 
  The character flees in terror. Characters unable to flee, if cor-
  nered for example, may attempt to defend themselves but such 
  actions are one difficulty grade harder.
  Fugue
  The character begins to experience blackouts while under stress, 
  during which his conscious mind has no control over, or memory 
  of, his actions. When the character is subject to extreme stress 
  he must make a Willpower check or he will temporarily black-
  out. During the fugue the GM will control the character’s actions 
  until the character regains consciousness.
  1d20
  Fear
  Horror
  Madness & Psionic Trauma
  1-2
  Demoralised for 1d8 rounds
  Babbles Incoherently for 2d12 rounds
  Babbles Incoherently for 2d6 rounds
  3-6
  Demoralised for 2d6 rounds
  Disgusted for 1d6 rounds
  Babbles Incoherently for 2d12 rounds
  7-9
  Faints for 1d6 rounds
  Enraged for 2d6 rounds*
  Enraged for 2d6 rounds
  10-12
  Flees in terror for 1d8 rounds
  Faints for 1d6 rounds
  Faints for 1d6 rounds
  13-15
  Flees in terror for 2d6 rounds
  Flees in terror for 2d6 rounds
  Faints for 1d8 rounds
  16-17
  Paralysed in fright for 1d2 rounds
  Paralysed in fright for 1d4 rounds
  Flees in terror for 2d6 rounds
  18-20
  Paralysed in fright for 1d4 rounds
  Sickened for 1d6 rounds
  Paralysed in fright for 1d4 rounds
  1d20
  Fear
  Horror
  Madness & Psionic Trauma
  1-3
  Disturbed for 1d4 weeks
  Suffers Amnesia for 1d12 months
  Suffers Amnesia for 1d12 months
  4-6
  Disturbed for 1d6 months
  Disturbed for 1d6 months
  Suffers Catatonia for 1d12 weeks
  7-8
  Suffers Nightmares for 1d6 weeks
  Disturbed for 1d12 months
  Becomes Delusional for 1d6 months
  9-10
  Suffers Nightmares for 1d4 months
  Suffers Nightmares for 1d4 months
  Suffers Fugue for 1d12 months
  11-12
  Suffers Nightmares for 1d12 months
  Suffers Nightmares for 1d12 months
  Suffers Hallucinations for 1d6 weeks
  13-14
  Develops Paranoia for 1d6 weeks
  Obsessed for 1d12 months
  Suffers Melancholia for 1d6 months
  15-16
  Develops Paranoia for 1d4 months
  Obsessed for 1d4 years
  Obsessed for 1d12 months
  17-18
  Develops Phobia for 1d12 months
  Develops Phobia for 2d12 months
  Develops Paranoia for 1d12 months
  19-20
  Develops Phobia for 1d4 years
  Develops Phobia for 1d4 years
  Develops Phobia for 1d4 years
  Condition Tables
  Immediate Conditions
  Deferred Conditions
  
  White Death
  31 
  Hallucinations
  The character begins to see things that aren’t there or to see 
  things as they are not. The hallucinations are usually focused 
  on a common theme, typically related to the thing that caused 
  the derangement. Characters suffering from hallucinations are 
  furthermore unable to deal rationally with what they are seeing; 
  the hallucinations always elicit a strong emotional response from 
  the character, be it terror, entrancement, or obsession.
  Hardened
  The character’s psyche is strengthened by the experience, lower-
  ing the difficulty level of future Fear, Horror, or Madness checks 
  against similar stimuli by one grade.
  Melancholia
  The character begins to suffer from feelings of worthlessness, 
  hopelessness, guilt, lethargy, and apathy often leading to thoughts 
  of suicide; these symptoms collectively increase the difficulty of 
  most Willpower rolls by two grades.
  Nightmares
  When the character next sleeps he begins to have horrific night-
  mares in which he relives his traumatic experiences and worst 
  fears. Characters suffering from nightmares soon grow weary 
  and exhausted from lack of restful sleep.
  Obsessed
  The character becomes fixated upon a specific object, person, 
  idea, or activity, usually relating to his trauma. The obsession 
  becomes the focus of the character’s very existence, frequently 
  disrupting other facets of his life.
  Paralysed
  The character is paralyzed in fright, completely unable to react. 
  Paranoia — This causes the character to be suspicious of every-
  one and everything. As a result of his suspicious nature, the dif-
  ficulty of rolls involving social interaction are increased by one 
  grade. Conversely paranoid characters are frequently harder to 
  surprise, deceive, ambush, or manipulate.
  Phobia
  The character develops an overwhelming, unreasoning fear of 
  something. The object of fear is typically related to the expe-
  rience that caused the derangement to develop. Whenever the 
  phobic character encounters the object of his fear he must make 
  a Willpower check, or be overcome by the effects of a failed Fear 
  or Horror check.
  Sickened
  The character is sickened at the awful sights he has witnessed, 
  rendering him unable to act except in self defence.
  Recovering 
  Tenacity
  Tenacity Points are regained at the character’s Healing Rate in 
  Hours, if at 0 or a positive level, and in Days if negative (and 
  until they reach 0 where the gain then changes to Hours). Recov-
  ering Tenacity requires the character to rest, avoid stress, and 
  desist from using psionic powers. In Anathaym’s example, she 
  recovers her Tenacity Points at her Healing Rate of 2 in Hours, 
  meaning that, after a decent night’s sleep, she should be back to 
  full strength.
  Any deferred Conditions remain for the noted period irre-
  spective of Tenacity Point recovery (and, if Conditions were 
  incurred while Tenacity Points were negative, then the Con-
  ditions are permanent until treated).
  Games Masters are free to adjust the rate of Tenacity 
  Point recovery according to circumstances and other game 
  events. For example, Anna needed a drink following the inves-
  tigation of the Disruptor basement. The Games Master rules 
  that Anna downs several large glasses of wine as a result of 
  her Alcohol Dependency and so her Tenacity Point recovery 
  is delayed until the following day, owing to her inebriation.
  Curing 
  Psychological 
  Conditions
  Deferred Conditions last until they have run their course or 
  until help is sought. In the case of permanent Conditions, the 
  only recourse is professional help, in the form of clinical treat-
  ment and psychotherapy. Of course, such things might not exist 
  in some settings, so Games Masters must use appropriate dis-
  cretion. Contemporary and Science Fiction settings may have 
  exceptional facilities for dealing with mental illness and emo-
  tional breakdowns, but this will be largely dependent on the time 
  period, attitudes towards mental health, and the degree to which 
  such sciences have been actively explored.
  Where and when it is available, treatment requires time 
  and patience. Very few psychological disorders are cured 
  swiftly; drugs and therapy might bring them under control 
  in the short term, but proper treatment requires months and 
  even years. For simplicity, consider that every permanent, 
  deferred Condition requires a minimum of 4d6 months of 
  treatment. This can be increased by 1d6 months for each level 
  of Intensity of the event that resulted in the Condition, if the 
  Games Master wishes - so a Phobia resulting from a Shocking 
  event might require 7d6 months (between 7 months and 3.5 
  years) of treatment and therapy. Access to advanced, magical, 
  or superior resources may reduce this time by a third; poor 
  or inexpert facilities might double it. Again, Games Master 
  discretion applies.
  
  White Death
  32 
  It is assumed that the early stages of the treatment – at 
  least the first month – will be intensive, requiring either con-
  finement or daily therapeutic sessions. This may well take a 
  character out of active participation for this period of the 
  treatment. Thereafter, treatment is less intensive – perhaps a 
  couple of times per week, dropping to a couple of sessions per 
  month over time. The character can participate actively but 
  remains susceptible to the Condition until treatment formally 
  ends and he or she is cured.
  If a Condition is temporary then it can run its course with-
  out treatment; however seeking treatment halves the duration 
  of the Condition (for example Nightmares for 1d6 weeks 
  would last for 1d3 weeks instead).
  
  White Death
  An abandoned Russian 
  drift station in the 
  Arctic ocean. What was
  its purpose? Where are
  the personnel? The Agency
  needs to know, and it is
  sending a team to 
  sending a team to 
  investigate. What they
  discover will change the
  world. 
  Forever.
  White Death is a Science Fiction and Espionage scenario for Mythras and other
  percentile roleplaying systems. Fully compatible with Luther Arkwright, or usable
  in any modern day espionage campaign, White Death includes rules for Sanity
  and six pregenerated characters. 
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  ahtnarolgestercore
  TDM123
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Mythras (d100)/Mythras - SF Adv - White Death.pdf