TEXT: Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  CHARACTERS OF THE EDGE
  Edited by Jonathan Tweet
  Friend or Foe?
  
  	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  OVER THE EDGE, OTE, AL AMARJA, CHARTING NEW REALMS OF IMAGINATION and the Atlas Games logo are trademarks of John A. Nephew.  Copyright ©1994, 2010 John 
  A. Nephew.  All rights reserved.  The following is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
  ATLAS GAMES • SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA • WWW.ATLAS-GAMES.COM
  DIGITAL EDITION VERSION 1.0
  Credits
  Design:		Richard	Bark	(Bekker,	Hienzen,	Montague,	Dr.	Morpheus	and	his	weird	science,	Red	Hawk,	
  Veedot),	Steven	Cook	(Adoko,	Al-Samman),	Bryant	Durrell	(Fat	Benny),	John	Janek	(Silk),	Thomas	
  M.	Kane	(Barron	&	Midas	Hotel,	Bennett,	Hun),	Walter	Ladwig	(Garret,	al-Masha),	Robin	D.	
  Laws	(Bereszowsky	&	Melmoth,	Crowley,	Duplat,	Economou,	Nee-Oowo	&	CPC,	Razutis,	Ven-
  zor),	John	Nephew	(Hamati,	Zuhar),	Anthony	S.	Polito	(Arenel),	Greg	Stolze	(Coogan,	Dobson,	
  Georno,	Kismet,	Zilch),	Bruce	R.	Turner	(Felder,	Nariga),	Jonathan	Tweet	(Mohammad,	Pork,	
  AIDS	on	Al	Amarja).
  Development & Editing:		Jonathan	Tweet
  Editorial Assistance:	Zara	Lasater
  Product Management:	John	Nephew
  Artwork:	Cheryl	Mandus
  Layout:	John	Nephew
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  Contents
  Introduction	..........................................................................................................................4
  Kyemba	Adoko	......................................................................................................................4
  Arenel	...................................................................................................................................6
  Nordica	Barron	......................................................................................................................7
  Midas	Hotel	........................................................................................................................................................ 9
  Rixa	Bekker	.........................................................................................................................0
  Center	for	Paranormal	Control	............................................................................................................................
  Alexandria	Bennett	..............................................................................................................
  “Springheel,”	Jack	Coogan	...................................................................................................5
  Anastasia	Crowley	...............................................................................................................6
  Chateau	Melmoth	...............................................................................................................................................8
  Elaine	Czarny	......................................................................................................................9
  Gordon	“Whiny”	Dobson	...................................................................................................0
  Gerard	Duplat	.....................................................................................................................
  Mesut	Economou	................................................................................................................
  Fat	Benny	............................................................................................................................5
  Denise	Felder	......................................................................................................................7
  Andrew	Garret	....................................................................................................................8
  Federico	Georno	..................................................................................................................9
  Giorgos	Antonio	Hamati,	Ph.D.	...........................................................................................0
  Geoffry	Hienzen	..................................................................................................................
  Hun	Ku-Gong	.....................................................................................................................4
  Commander	Kismet.............................................................................................................6
  Ishaq	al-Masha	....................................................................................................................8
  John	Krishna	Mohammad	....................................................................................................40
  City	Government	in	the	Edge	.............................................................................................................................4
  Finola	Montague	.................................................................................................................4
  Dr.	Morpheus	......................................................................................................................44
  Dr.	Morpheus’s	Fringe	Tech	...............................................................................................................................45
  Michiko	Nariga	...................................................................................................................46
  Anima	Nee-Owoo	...............................................................................................................47
  “Pork,”	Veritas	Salomi	.........................................................................................................49
  Keewatin	Razutis	.................................................................................................................5
  Tony	Red	Hawk	..................................................................................................................5
  El-Hajj	Hamid	al-Samman	..................................................................................................5
  Silk	......................................................................................................................................54
  V.,	aka	Veedot	One	.............................................................................................................55
  Guillermo	Venzor	................................................................................................................56
  AIDS	on	Al	Amarja	............................................................................................................................................57
  The	Mysterious	Dr.	Zilch	....................................................................................................58
  Butheina	Zuhar	...................................................................................................................59
  Appendix:	GMC	Locations	.................................................................................................6
  
  4	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Introduction
  by Jonathan Tweet
  Over	the	Edge™	runs	on	the	strength	of	
  fictional	personalities.		Whole	game	sessions	can	
  be	driven	not	by	a	plot	or	a	group	goal	but	simply	
  by	the	interactions	among	the	eccentric	PCs	and	
  GMCs	that	populate	Al	Amarja.
  What	follows	are	dozens	of	personalities	to	
  include	in	your	series.		They	fulfill	a	variety	of	
  functions.		Some,	such	as	Anastasia	Crowley,	il-
  luminate	some	interesting	aspect	of	the	Edge	that	
  has	not	been	previously	detailed.		Others,	such	
  as	Denise	Felder,	demonstrate	how	much	high	
  weirdness	can	lurk	under	a	mundane	surface.		But	
  the	main	role	that	these	GMCs	serve	is	that	they	
  are	people.		They	have	backgrounds,	personali-
  ties,	and	goals.		Every	time	one	of	these	characters	
  comes	on	stage,	Al	Amarja	becomes	more	real,	
  not	because	these	characters	have	any	firm	con-
  nection	to	reality	as	we	know	it,	but	because	they	
  remind	the	players	that	there	is	more	going	on	in	
  this	shared	world	than	what	they	see,	or	even	than	
  what	concerns	them.
  The Asterisk
  Traits	whose	die	ratings	are	marked	with	an	
  asterisk	(e.g.,	“*	dice”)	are	technical	or	fringe	
  traits.		The	average	character	would	have	no	dice	
  with	this	trait.		
  Kyemba Adoko
  Information Broker
  In	97,	Idi	Amin,	commander	of	Uganda’s	
  army,	deposed	Milton	Obote	and	began	an	eight	
  year	reign	of	terror.		Pulling	himself	right	up	
  along	with	Amin	was	Kyemba	Adoko.		A	member	
  of	the	Ugandan	portion	of	the	Kakwa	tribe,	Idi	
  Amin’s	chief	power	base	during	his	reign,	Adoko	
  used	his	tribal	connections	and	position	as	a	tank	
  driver	in	the	Ugandan	Army	to	land	himself	a	job	
  at	the	State	Research	Bureau.
  Far	from	the	innocuous	scientific	organiza-
  tion	that	its	name	suggests,	under	Amin,	the	State	
  Research	Bureau	acted	as	both	bodyguards	and	
  killers.		Hunting	down	and	torturing	Amin’s	real	
  and	imagined	enemies,	Adoko	and	the	rest	of	the	
  State	Research	Bureau	reached	a	level	of	sickening	
  violence.		Disembowelment,	burning,	the	forced	
  killings	of	prisoners	at	the	hands	of	other	prison-
  ers,	and	even	more	depraved	methods	were	used	to	
  punish	those	who	opposed	Amin.
  Adoko	worked	hard,	kept	a	low	profile,	and	
  ascended	in	the	Bureau.		Siphoning	off	money	
  from	covert	funds,	he	built	up	quite	a	nest	egg.		In	
  978,	he	got	bad	feelings	about	the	strength	of	
  Amin’s	regime.		In	December	of	that	year,	with	
  over	$00,000	in	US	currency	and	deeds	to	sev-
  eral	pieces	of	property	overseas,	he	walked	out	
  of	Uganda,	supposedly	on	a	covert	mission.		He	
  never	returned.		In	979,	Amin’s	government	fell	
  to	the	return	of	Milton	Obote.
  Adoko’s	first	step	was	to	enter	Zaire,	where	
  large	numbers	of	his	Kakwa	tribe	live.		Then,	
  with	a	false	passport,	Adoko	fled	to	England.		By	
  investing	his	money	in	several	legally	and	morally	
  questionable	business	ventures,	he	amassed	a	small	
  fortune.		Still	worried	that	he	might	be	recognized	
  by	a	Ugandan	or	foreign	official,	he	moved	to	Al	
  Amarja,	where	he	had	been	told	that	extradition	
  was	rare	and	identities	were	cheap.
  For	the	past	seven	years,	he	has	been	living	
  in	Al	Amarja.		Initially	wary	of	growing	involved	
  with	politics,	he	realized	that	in	Al	Amarja,	life	
  is	cheap	but	power	is	dear.		Seeing	information	as	
  probably	the	safest	route	to	gaining	some	form	of	
  power,	he	began	to	work	as	an	information	broker	
  and	deal	maker.		His	money	has	bought	him	spies	
  in	many	corporate	and	government	offices,	and	he	
  has	collected	secrets	that	point	to	the	actions	of	
  various	conspiracies.		The	only	conspiracy	whose	
  existence	he	has	deduced,	however,	is	the	Net.
  Adoko	is	a	cruel,	cold	man.		The	concepts	of	
  honor	and	kindness	simply	seem	non-essential	to	
  him.		Although	he	has	acquired	a	reputation	for	
  being	honest	with	those	in	his	pay,	he	would	not	
  hesitate	to	go	back	on	a	deal	if	he	thought	some	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  5
  measure	of	profit	could	be	gained	and	he	felt	he	
  could	get	away	with	it.		Not	formally	educated,	
  he	is	nonetheless	a	highly	intelligent	man,	and	has	
  been	known	to	launch	preemptive	strikes	on	those	
  who	are	about	to	double-cross	him.
  Adoko	lives	in	Broken	Wings,	and	his	dealings	
  in	information	take	him	to	Golden,	Four	Points,	
  and	Flowers.		He	can	also	sometimes	be	found	in	
  Justice,	where	he	keeps	a	lover.
  Ugandan	black	man,	age	5,	88	cm,	0	kg.		
  Fat,	closely	cropped	hair	going	to	gray,	dark	brown	
  eyes,	dark	skin,	three	vertical	marks	on	temple	
  (tribal	scars).		Dresses	in	well-tailored	suits.
  Languages:	Luganda,	English,	some	Swahili
  Attack:		dice	+	penalty	die
  Defense:		dice	+	penalty	die
  Hit points:		(large)
  Traits
  Connected,	4	dice	—	Adoko	has	an	impres-
  sive	number	of	contacts	in	the	Al	Amarjan	popu-
  lace,	the	government,	various	corporations,	and	
  criminal	groups.		Given	long	enough	and	enough	
  money	to	spread	around,	he	can	probably	ferret	
  out	information	known	to	these	groups.		He	also	
  knows	some	embarrassing	secrets	regarding	covert	
  connections	to	Amin’s	regime,	allowing	him	to	call	
  in	favors	from	or	put	pressure	on	U.S.,	English,	
  and	Israeli	secret	intelligence	agencies,	though	
  he	doesn’t	dare	overuse	this	edge.		(Calls	various	
  people	by	their	first	names)
  Torturer,	*	dice	—	Adoko	has	an	impressive	
  knowledge	of	ways	to	make	human	beings	feel	
  pain.		He	hasn’t	used	this	knowledge	in	years,	but	
  it’s	just	like	riding	a	bicycle...		With	a	few	house-
  hold	tools	and	a	lighter,	he	could	have	the	average	
  person	confessing	to	killing	John	Lennon.		(Aura	
  of	menace)
  Intuition,	*	die	—	Although	canny	and	pos-
  sessed	with	a	decent	knowledge	of	strategy,	Adoko	
  has	been	proved	correct	far	more	often	when	he	
  played	on	hunches.		Whether	this	is	some	sort	of	
  supernatural	power	or	just	some	heavy	subcon-
  scious	thinking	is	unknown.		(Carries	a	copy	of	
  the	Racing	Form)
  Fat	—	Adoko’s	years	of	easy	living	have	taken	
  a	toll	on	his	physique.		He	suffers	a	penalty	die	on	
  physical	actions.		(Fat)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Adoko’s	attempts	to	figure	out	who	the	real	
  movers	and	shakers	are	on	the	island	could	
  lead	to	a	full-fledged	attempt	to	silence	him	
  by	the	Movers,	the	Kergillians,	or	practically	
  any	other	secret	group.		Adoko’s	money	and	
  contacts	make	him	a	difficult	target.		The	PCs	
  could	take	either	side	in	the	conflict.
  )	 An	African	or	an	international	journalist	pres-
  ent	in	Uganda	during	Amin’s	regime	recog-
  nizes	him,	prompting	an	“extradition”	attempt	
  (also	known	as	a	kidnapping).		If	this	fails,	
  certain	groups	may	try	to	arrange	an	execu-
  tion	without	the	benefit	of	a	trial.		Thousands	
  of	people	died	during	Amin’s	reign;	many	of	
  their	families	may	bear	grudges	against	Adoko.
  
  6	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Arenel
  Child Time Surfer
  Arenel	has	almost	completely	lost	touch	with	
  reality.		The	reason?		His	mind	is	not	firmly	in	
  place	with	our	time	frame.		Instead,	it	wanders	the	
  time	stream,	often	retreating	to	his	happiest	times,	
  those	when	he	was	still	in	his	mother’s	womb.
  Arenel,	whose	real	name	is	Steven	Miles,	
  was	sent	to	Al	Amarja	by	his	father	when	he	
  was	nine.		The	Movers,	who	wanted	to	study	the	
  child,	conned	Mr.	Miles	into	believing	that	the	
  D’Aubainne	Asylum	would	be	the	best	place	to	
  send	his	son	for	treatment.		Steven	was	sent	to	the	
  Asylum,	but	the	Movers	transferred	him	to	their	
  own	research	facilities.		A	year	ago,	when	they	
  finally	decided	he	wasn’t	worth	anything	to	them,	
  the	Movers	dumped	him	onto	the	streets	of	Al	
  Amarja.
  Since	then,	Steven	has	somehow	managed	to	
  survive.		He	has	been	more	or	less	“adopted”	by	
  several	artists	in	Flowers.		They	give	him	food	
  and,	having	discovered	he	likes	to	draw,	the	occa-
  sional	paper	and	pencil.		They	have	been	helping	
  him	out	for	a	year	or	so,	and	have	no	idea	where	
  he	came	from.		They	don’t	know	anything	about	
  him,	and	have	nicknamed	him	“Arenel.”		When	
  not	crashing	at	an	artist’s	place,	Arenel	lives	on	
  the	streets,	normally	staying	within	Flowers.		He	
  can	be	found	wandering	around	the	Great	Men	
  Barrio.
  The	artist	closest	to	Arenel	is	Vahe	Joheno,	
  an	Al	Amarjan	man	who	paints	fantastic	and	
  repellent	scenes	with	super-realistic	technique.		
  Joheno	gave	Arenel	his	nickname	(the	only	name	
  by	which	he	is	known).		Image	Akbar,	a	mediocre	
  sculptor	who	constantly	invents	new	styles	(her	
  latest	is	“Neo-Surrealistic	Classical	Statuary”),	
  also	looks	after	Arenel.
  US	Jewish	boy,	age	,	4	cm,	6	kg.		Pretty,	
  silent,	ghostlike.		Dirty	clothes	and	body	indicate	
  that	he	lives	on	the	street.		Darts	about	furtively.
  Languages:	None	(says	one	word	on	occa-
  sion,	“gubbish”)
  Attack:		die	+	penalty	die
  Defense:		die	+	penalty	die
  Hit Points:		8	(small)
  Traits
  Time Psychosis,	*	dice	—	Arenel’s	psychosis	
  allows	him	to	see	into	the	future.		His	vision	of	
  the	future	world,	however,	is	warped,	as	Arenel	
  is	a	warped	boy.		The	visions	present	a	decaying,	
  destroyed,	and	violent	future.		The	worst	part	is	
  that	if	people	learn	what	Arenel	sees,	then	it	will	
  happen.		Therefore	Arenel’s	talent	may	prove	to	
  be	a	liability	for	anyone	who	tries	to	use	it.		His	
  abilities	manifest	in	various	ways.		He	sometimes	
  draws	pictures	of	his	visions.		In	addition	he	
  instinctively	knows	when	something	bad	is	going	
  to	happen,	but	this	is	very	difficult	for	anyone	else	
  to	realize	as	it	is	next	to	impossible	to	communi-
  cate	with	him.		Finally	he	can	sometimes,	under	
  special	circumstances,	draw	people	into	his	world.		
  PCs	can	try	to	resist	by	rolling	against	his	power.		
  (Characters	with	any	history	of	insanity	or	psychic	
  sensitivity	receive	a	penalty	die	on	the	resistance	
  roll.)		If	a	character	fails	to	resist,	he	finds	him-
  self	in	a	warped	and	twisted	vision,	probably	of	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  7
  the	near	future.		Actions	that	the	PC	undertakes	
  in	this	vision	do	not	affect	the	real	world	for	they	
  are	not	really	in	the	past	or	future,	just	in	a	vision	
  of	it.		(In	other	words,	if	the	PC	kills	his	grand-
  parents,	that	doesn’t	change	anything	once	he’s	
  back	in	normal	time.)		Should	a	player	die	or	be	
  seriously	injured	in	this	vision,	he	comes	back	to	
  the	present	unharmed.		(Darts	about	quickly,	as	
  normal	time	is	slow	to	him)
  Out of  touch	—	Arenel	gets	only	one	die	when	
  dealing	with	perceptions	in	the	real	world.		He	has	
  to	be	dealt	with	very	slowly	for	him	to	understand	
  what	is	going	on.	(Stares	off	into	nowhere)
  Attractive,		dice	—	For	a	boy	his	age	Arenel	is	
  rather	pretty.		His	most	striking	feature	is	his	face.	
  (Attractive	face)
  Filthy	—	Arenel	lives	on	the	street.		He	is	also	
  completely	detached	from	reality.		The	only	people	
  who	care	for	him	at	all	are	his	artist	friends,	and	
  they	rarely	clean	him	up.		Because	of	this	he	is	
  normally	filthy.		This	gives	him	a	penalty	die	when	
  dealing	with	people	who	are	concerned	with	such	
  matters.		(Distinctive	smell)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Arenel	hands	a	PC	a	drawing	of	the	PC	in	
  the	near	future.		It	is	a	picture	of	the	PC	in	
  the	middle	of	a	fight.		A	few	hours	later,	the	
  fight	occurs	much	like	the	drawing	showed.		If	
  the	PCs	investigate,	they	find	Arenel	just	as	
  he	is	being	abducted	by	someone	who	knows	
  Arenel’s	talents	and	hopes	to	be	able	to	use	
  them.
  )	 A	fringe	scientist	dedicated	to	time	travel	
  learns	of	Arenel’s	talents.		He	hires	the	PCs	to	
  help	abduct	Arenel,	and	then,	when	he	thinks	
  he	can	use	Arenel	to	transport	people	in	time,	
  to	come	along	as	bodyguards	into	a	journey	to	
  the	near	future.		The	future,	of	course,	is	hor-
  rible	and	the	players	find	themselves	caught	in	
  a	nightmare	until	they	either	find	a	way	out	or	
  die	and	return.
  )	 Andrew	Miles	has	discovered	how	bad	the	
  D’Aubainne	Asylum	really	is.		However	when	
  he	tries	to	get	his	son	back	he	discovers	Arenel	
  is	no	longer	there.		Now	he	wants	his	son	
  returned	to	him,	and	may	hire	the	PCs	to	find	
  Arenel	and	to	discover	what	happened	to	him.
  4)	 Arenel	can	help	the	player	characters	learn	
  more	about	the	Throckmorton	device,	though	
  communication	with	him	is	difficult.
  Nordica Barron
  Black Marketeer
  Nordica	Barron	is	a	woman	with	connections,	
  both	on	and	off	Al	Amarja.		She	can	buy	or	sell	
  almost	anything,	and	call	on	countless	well-placed	
  people	for	favors.		The	Net	considers	her	an	asset	
  and	individual	grifters,	conspirators,	criminals,	
  agents,	and	undercover	Peace	officers	depend	upon	
  her.		Barron’s	skills	at	procuring	useful	items	make	
  her	a	noteworthy	figure	in	the	underworld.		She	
  uses	this	prestige	to	her	best	advantage,	serving	
  as	a	broker	during	negotiations	between	powerful	
  factions.		Barron	operates	from	a	three-story	stone	
  townhouse	in	the	Great	Men	barrio.		City	directo-
  ries	identify	her	as	a	dealer	in	art	and	antiquities.		
  Indeed,	relics	and	rare	art	objects	form	a	signifi-
  cant	part	of	her	trade.
  Barron’s	work	keeps	her	constantly	busy	and	
  constantly	scheming.		She	fuels	herself	on	jumped	
  coffee,	sleeping	three	or	four	hours	at	a	time.		A	
  lifetime	of	dealing	with	shadowy	people	has	
  taught	Barron	the	art	of	politics.		She	knows	how	
  to	cajole,	how	to	command,	how	to	bargain	and	
  how	to	make	herself	popular.		However,	she	has	
  grown	weary,	bitter	and	forbidding.		When	Barron	
  deals	with	those	more	powerful	than	herself,	she	
  behaves	respectfully.		She	also	treats	her	friends	
  well.		However,	she	maintains	an	intimidating	
  air,	brooding	by	herself	and	silencing	people	with	
  sharp	glances.	
  Barron	cultivates	a	friendship	with	Gerard	
  Blanque,	proprietor	of	the	Midas	Hotel,	a	promi-
  nent	establishment	in	the	Golden	Barrio.		Blanque	
  has	the	mannerisms	of	an	archetypical	French	
  gentleman,	with	a	flair	for	dressing	and	a	taste	for	
  fine	wine.		The	two	of	them	attend	theater	per-
  formances,	dine	at	expensive	restaurants,	and	tour	
  the	more	interesting	parts	of	Al	Amarja.		There	is	
  
  8	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  only	a	touch	of	romance	in	Barron’s	relationship	
  with	Blanque.		Barron	feels	slightly	old-fashioned	
  about	sexual	relations,	does	not	want	a	torrid	fling,	
  and	does	not	want	a	risky	commitment	either.		As	
  for	Blanque,	he	enjoys	nightly	conquests	with	
  beauties	in	his	hotel.		He	knows	that	Barron	would	
  not	tolerate	that	in	her	own	lover.		Therefore,	he	
  enjoys	keeping	her	on	her	own	terms,	as	one	of	the	
  only	women	who	he	considers	a	friend	and	not	a	
  target.	
  The	relationship	between	Barron	and	Blanque	
  serves	each	of	them	well.		Barron	uses	Blanque	to	
  keep	her	reputation	from	becoming	too	seedy.		He	
  can	also	launder	money	and	find	wealthy	clients.		
  Blanque,	in	turn,	can	make	Barron’s	services	
  available	to	customers.		He	also	likes	to	“invest”	in	
  shady	transactions,	purchasing	weapons	or	stolen	
  art	in	hopes	of	later	selling	it	at	a	profit.
  Despite	her	success,	Barron	does	her	best	to	
  remain	obscure.		She	considers	herself	a	hunted	
  woman,	and	this	was	the	stimulus	which	brought	
  her	to	Al	Amarja.		Barron	grew	up	the	daughter	
  of	Preston	Barron,	a	British	college	professor	who	
  acted	as	an	undercover	operative	for	a	control-
  ling	agent	who	called	herself	“Lucky.”		He	always	
  assumed	that	he	was	doing	something	moderately	
  heroic,	probably	for		MI-5,	or	at	least	the	CIA.
  By	the	time	Nordica	reached	her	teens,	she’d	
  become	an	active	partner	on	her	father’s	missions,	
  using	the	advantage	of	her	youth	and	appear-
  ance	of	innocence.		During	this	period,	she	began	
  building	her	network	of	contacts.		A	few	of	these	
  friends	vanished	after	they	came	to	Lucky’s	atten-
  tion	and	Nordica	Barron	began	to	suspect	that	her	
  father’s	patron	was	more	sinister	than	he	realized.
  When	Nordica	Barron	was	4,	someone	poi-
  soned	and	killed	her	father.		Considering	herself	at	
  risk,	she	broke	ties	with	Lucky	and	fled.		Her	path	
  eventually	led	to	Al	Amarja.
  Barron	takes	every	means	she	can	to	protect	
  herself;	she	can	fight	viciously.		Before	arriving	on	
  Al	Amarja,	Barron	had	killed	twice,	favoring	the	
  Ingram	M-0	submachine	gun.		Now,	unable	to	
  carry	firearms,	she	carries	her	taser	everywhere	
  and	trains	at	Kuan	Tun’s	Black	Belt	Academy	to	
  learn	better	techniques	using	a	knife.		She	wears	
  body	armor	at	all	times.		Barron	keeps	a	chemical-
  defense	poncho	nearby	whenever	she	can.		Once,	
  while	in	Japan,	she	saw	people	wearing	surgical	
  masks	to	screen	out	pollution	and	bacteria.		Barron	
  took	the	idea	a	step	further.		She	wears	a	half-face	
  oxygen	mask	as	part	of	her	regular	attire.	
  Barron’s	preoccupation	with	protection	from	
  gasses	is	an	obsession	but	not	a	compulsion.		If	she	
  has	a	reason	not	to	wear	her	gear	somewhere,	she	
  leaves	it	behind.		Barron	never	wears	it	to	social	
  functions	with	Blanque.		However,	in	the	Edge,	a	
  person	with	her	sort	of	influence	can	usually	get	
  away	with	eccentric	behavior.		In	fact,	this	is	a	sec-
  ondary	reason	why	Barron	likes	her	oxygen	mask.		
  It	offers	her	a	subtle	way	to	flaunt	her	power,	to	re-
  mind	people	that	they	have	to	treat	her	respectfully	
  even	if	her	behavior	seems	paranoid	or	bizarre.
  Barron	has	an	oval	face	and	lustrous	hair.	
  Her	developed	muscles	give	her	a	sturdy	appear-
  ance.	She	dresses	casually	but	well,	often	wearing	
  a	leather	jacket	to	cover	her	body	armor.		Many	
  would	describe	Barron	as	quite	attractive.		Howev-
  er,	Barron	has	no	affectations	about	her	appearance	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  9
  and	seems	completely	unconscious	of	the	fact;	her	
  oxygen	mask	hides	her	face	in	any	event.
  British	Nordic	woman,	age	6,	70	cm,	75	kg.		
  Solid	build,	gray	eyes,	light-brown	hair	in	pony-
  tail.		Usually	wears	a	half-face	oxygen	mask.	
  Languages:	English,	Al	Amarjan	patois,	
  French,	German,	Japanese
  Attack:		dice,	X5	(stun	only)	with	taser	or	X	
  with	knife
  Defense:		dice
  Hit Points:	
  Traits
  Contacts,	4	dice	—	Barron	can	buy	unusual	
  or	illegal	things,	find	information,	locate	missing	
  people,	secure	loans,	arrange	for	dirty	work	to	be	
  done	discreetly	and	negotiate	underworld	bargains.		
  She	is	also	a	skilled	broker	in	art	and	antiquities.		
  (Can	get	into	exclusive	clubs)
  Self-Defense,		dice	—	Barron	is	a	crack	shot	
  with	a	pistol.		On	Al	Amarja,	she	quickly	honed	
  her	skills	with	tasers	as	a	substitute.		She	can	also	
  brawl	hand-to-hand	at	three	dice,	and	was	recently	
  acquainted	with	a	knife.		(Solid	build)
  Manipulation,		dice	—	To	keep	up	her	busi-
  ness,	Barron	must	be	at	turns	personable,	persua-
  sive,	and	forceful.		To	maintain	all	these	skills,	she	
  must	also	be	something	of	an	actress.		Barron	may	
  use	this	three-dice	skill	for	bargaining	or	keeping	
  up	a	pretense.		(Confident	air)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Barron	offers	a	useful	resource	for	PCs	who	
  are	looking	for	sensitive	information,	special	
  devices,	or	rare	materials;	or	who	are	looking	
  to	profit	from	recent	acquisition	of	the	same.
  )	 Barron	hears	word	that	Lucky’s	agents	are	
  active	on	Al	Amarja.		She	does	not	wish	to	
  staff	itself	can	eavesdrop	on	these	machines	
  through	“taps”	wired	into	the	circuitry.)
  Despite	the	modern	equipment,	this	build-
  ing	has	a	lovely	antique	decor.		The	vaulted	
  stucco	ceilings	and	statuary	recall	a	grand	hotel	
  of	the	Victorian	period	or	earlier.		The	restau-
  rant	offers	the	finest	foods	of	many	nations,	
  all	served	on	elegant	porcelain	or	silver.		Ivory	
  chopsticks	accompany	Far	Eastern	dishes.		This	
  hotel	also	has	a	series	of	private	rooms	for	spe-
  cial	entertainment,	some	of	them	soundproofed.		
  The	Midas	Hotel	generally	has	some	form	of	
  special	attraction	for	guests,	which	may	range	
  from	an	appearance	by	some	noted	entertainer	to	
  an	authentic	séance.
  Midas’s Prices
  Single:	$00	(per	night)
  Double:	$400
  Suite:	$500-,500
  Room	Service:	Expensive
  Special	Services:	Very	Expensive
  Phones:	75¢	per	local	call
  Midas Hotel
  Type:	Hotel
  Rep:	A	swank	place	with	an	upper-class	atmo-
  sphere,	able	to	satisfy	unusual	needs.
  Brief:	The	Midas	Hotel	offers	rooms	and	en-
  tertainment	for	the	more	refined	element	of	
  society.		Through	its	connection	with	Nor-
  dica	Barron,	it	can	cater	to	the	tastes	of	the	
  eccentric	rich,	along	with	the	special	needs	
  of	those	who	have	acquired	their	fortune	in	
  questionable	ways.	
  Address:	050	Point	West,	Golden	Barrio
  The	hotel	is	an	ancient	structure	of	damp	
  stone	surrounded	by	a	fence	of	wrought	iron.		
  Its	doors	are	flanked	by	massive	columns.		A	
  courtyard	contains	a	fountain,	with	a	polished	
  copper	statue	of	Neptune.
  One	can	find	every	modern	convenience	
  within	this	establishment.		Bathrooms	are	luxu-
  rious.		Rooms	have	fax	machines	and	personal	
  computers	and	guests	may	set	their	own	secret	
  access	codes	to	these	machines,	to	ensure	priva-
  cy.		(Rumors,	of	course,	maintain	that	the	hotel	
  
  0	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  investigate,	for	fear	of	leading	assassins	to	her.		
  Therefore,	she	hires	the	PCs	to	quietly	find	
  out	the	truth.		Lucky	turns	out	to	work	for	the	
  Russian	secret	intelligence	service	(the	descen-
  dant	of	the	KGB).		Her	operatives	are	here	to	
  develop	a	network	of	agents	on	Al	Amarja.		
  Decide	for	yourself	which	Al	Amarjan	per-
  sonalities	the	secret	agents	discover	first,	and	
  whether	they	end	up	as	dangerous	intruders	
  or	hapless	burger.		In	either	event,	once	the	
  spies	discover	Barron,	they	will	certainly	wish	
  to	eliminate	her	unless	she	works	with	them.		
  Therefore,	the	party’s	next	adventure	may	
  involve	destroying	these	agents.	
  )	 Barron	constantly	needs	exotic	items	for	cus-
  tomers.	PCs	who	enjoy	acquiring	these	things	
  in	creative	ways	may	find	her	a	ready	patron.	
  Rixa Bekker
  CPC Hound
  Rixa	Bekker	came	to	Al	Amarja	for	a	vaca-
  tion,	but	ended	up	staying	after	being	hired	by	
  the	Democratic	Bureau	of	Investigation.		As	a	
  part	of	her	“routine”	Customs	and	Immigration	
  interview,	Bekker	was	screened	for	paranormal	
  abilities.		The	results	indicated	that	she	was	sen-
  sitive	to	psychic	phenomena.		While	she	toured	
  the	Edge,	Bekker	was	carefully	monitored	by	
  Bureau	agents	to	determine	her	motives	and	to	
  ensure	her	suitability	as	a	DBI	agent.		As	she	was	
  preparing	to	leave	the	island,	she	was	contacted	
  by	an	agent	and	offered	a	position	working	for	
  the	Bureau.		Bekker	had	become	enchanted	with	
  Al	Amarja	and	jumped	at	the	chance	of	staying.		
  After	passing	through	the	standard	indoctrina-
  tion	and	training	programs,	Bekker	was	assigned	
  to	the	Center	for	Paranormal	Control,	working	
  under	a	man	named	Shadrach	—	who	is	secretly	
  a	Vornite	Mover.
  Bekker’s	role	with	the	CPC	is	to	circulate	
  through	the	Edge	to	pick	up	psychic	phenomena	
  and	report	them	to	Shadrach	for	further	investiga-
  tion.		Personally,	Bekker	is	dedicated	to	her	job	
  and	believes	that	she	plays	a	key	part	in	ensur-
  ing	Al	Amarja’s	safety.		She	considers	herself	on	
  duty	at	all	times	and	always	exhibits	a	professional	
  attitude.		Bekker	can	be	encountered	just	about	
  anywhere	in	the	city,	looking	out	for	psychic	mani-
  festations.		She	has	an	office	in	the	CPC	building,	
  but	it	is	collecting	dust	because	she	is	rarely	there.		
  Bekker	prefers	not	to	let	her	work	come	to	her,	
  rather	she	seeks	it	out.		She	is	tenacious	and	will	
  track	a	phenomenon	until	she	has	found	its	source.		
  She	resides	in	one	of	the	single	women’s	dorms	in	
  the	Arms	Barrio.
  Like	all	CPC	inspectors,	Bekker	has	a	built-in	
  crystal	trap	in	her	badge.
  German	woman,	age	,	70	cm,	70	kg.		Short	
  brown	hair,	brown	eyes.		She	dresses	in	casual	
  clothing	to	better	fit	into	her	surroundings.		She	
  always	acts	professionally.
  Languages:	German,	English,	Al	Amarjan	
  patois
  Attack:		dice,	X	unarmed,	X4	with	9mm	
  automatic	pistol
  Defense:		dice
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  Center for Paranormal 
  Control
  Type:		State	security	arm
  Rep:		Mysterious	and	sinister
  Brief:		The	agency	assigned	to	keep	track	of	
  paranormal	activity	and	neutralize	it	when	it	
  threatens	the	state
  Address:		Plaza	of	Arms
  The	CPC,	a	special	branch	of	the	Demo-
  cratic	Bureau	of	Investigation,	is	housed	in	an	
  old-fashioned	rectangular	brick	building	in	the	
  Plaza	of	Arms.		Its	mundane	appearance	belies	
  the	great	fear	the	organization	inspires	in	every-
  day	residents	of	the	Edge.		It	is	well	known	that	
  the	building	houses	a	powerful	coven	of	sorcer-
  ers	and	vampires	ready	and	willing	to	destroy	
  enemies	of	Monique	D’Aubainne.		As	usual,	
  the	truth	is	somewhat	less	dramatic.
  The	CPC’s	mission	is	to	identify	any	visi-
  tors	or	citizens	who	possess	paranormal	powers,	
  and	to	notify	them	that	such	powers	are	illegal	
  on	Al	Amarja.		In	order	to	escape	prosecution,	
  wielders	of	psychic	or	magical	abilities	are	
  required	to	sign	a	loyalty	oath	which	provides	
  for	severe	penalties	should	the	signer	ever	be	
  caught	acting	against	the	interests	of	the	state,	
  as	defined	by	the	state.		This	includes,	but	is	
  not	limited	to,	crimes	committed	using	para-
  normal	abilities.
  The	teeth	for	this	agreement	are	supplied	
  by	the	enforcement	end	of	the	CPC,	the	agents	
  who	inhabit	the	top	two	floors	of	the	building,	
  the	ones	whose	shades	are	always	pulled.		It’s	
  staffed	around	the	clock	by	mighty	(i.e.	5	dice	
  in	their	main	paranormal	ability)	wizards	and	
  mindworms.		Their	job	title	is	“Chesspiece.”		
  Although	they	exercise	great	mystic	powers,	
  these	folks	are	basically	bureaucrats.		They’ve	
  retired	from	active	participation	in	the	vicious	
  wars	of	the	occult	underground,	and	have	
  found	a	way	to	draw	a	nice	paycheck	while	pro-
  tecting	themselves	from	up-and-coming	spell-
  slingers	out	to	make	reps	for	themselves.		They	
  while	away	their	on-duty	time	playing	cards	
  (very	interesting	when	all	participants	have	
  extrasensory	capabilities),	knitting,	reading,	
  watching	televised	sports,	or	doing	crossword	
  puzzles.		They’re	paid	to	wait.		What	they’re	
  waiting	for	is	a	Code	Astral.
  When	the	Center	for	Paranormal	Con-
  trol	receives	a	report	of	paranormal	activ-
  ity	—	which	can	come	from	any	number	of	
  sources,	from	concerned	citizens	to	government	
  cloaks	and	stoolies	—	Intelligence	Analysts	on	
  the	second	floor	of	the	CPC	building	quickly	
  determine	how	to	categorize	it.		The	minority	
  of	cases	are	categorized	Code	Astral	—	reports	
  from	completely	reliable	sources	of	fringe	ac-
  tivity	immediately	dangerous	to	the	State.		
  However,	the	vast	majority	of	reports	are	
  much	less	clear,	whether	they	be	vague	descrip-
  tions	of	luminous	objects	in	the	sky	or	possibly	
  paranoid	complaints	of	harassment	from	ghosts	
  or	demons.		These	are	classed	as	Code	Ethereal	
  cases.		At	least	ninety-five	percent	of	these	ac-
  counts	are	due	to	misperception,	delusion,	or	
  hallucination,	of	which	the	drug-hazed	island	
  gets	more	than	its	fair	share.		The	CPC	assigns	
  inspectors,	who	have	the	full	arrest	powers	of	
  Peace	Force	officers,	to	interview	complainants	
  and	do	whatever	other	legwork	is	required	to	
  separate	the	valid	cases	from	the	bogus.		Inhab-
  iting	the	first	floor	of	the	building,	these	walk-
  ing	BS	detectors	are	the	unglamorous	backbone	
  of	the	department.
  The	inspectors’	secondary	mission	is	to	
  remind	the	public	that	magic	doesn’t	really	
  exist,	just	psychic	powers.		Psychic	powers	can	
  fit	into	a	materialist	paradigm,	whereas	magic	
  operates	on	the	level	of	meaning	and	symbol,	
  which	just	isn’t	scientific.		The	government’s	
  official	line	is	that	what	people	call	“magic”	
  is	simply	a	primitive	and	superstitious	use	of	
  psychic	power.	
  PCs	who	are	thought	to	have	undeclared	
  paranormal	powers	will	most	likely	deal	with	
  an	inspector,	like	Rixa	Bekker	or	Anima	Nee-
  Owoo.		Only	if	they’re	actively	using	their	
  talents	to	wreak	obvious	havoc	in	public	will	
  the	Chesspieces	show	up	with	magic	wands	
  blazing.
  
  	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Hit Points:		(conditioned)
  Traits
  DBI Training,		dice	—	This	trait	includes	
  criminology,	interrogation,	subterfuge,	Al	Ama-
  rjan	law,	cutting	through	red	tape,	and	spotting	
  trouble.		(Professional	attitude)
  Psychic Awareness,	*	dice	—	This	trait	allows	
  Bekker	to	sense	when	a	psychic	event	is	tak-
  ing	place	or	when	a	psychic	talent	is	being	used	
  nearby.		It	does	not	point	out	who	is	causing	the	
  manifestation,	so	she	must	rely	on	her	DBI	train-
  ing	to	identify	the	source.		Bekker	suffers	tremen-
  dous	headaches	after	detecting	a	psychic	manifes-
  tation.		(Carries	a	big	bottle	of	aspirin)
  Self  Defense,		dice	—	Bekker	has	been	trained	
  in	basic	self	defense	tactics	and	firearm	skills.		As	
  an	agent	of	the	DBI,	she	carries	a	Heckler	&	Koch	
  9mm	pistol	and	uses	it	when	the	situation	war-
  rants.		(Slight	bulge	under	her	left	arm)
  Story Ideas
  )	 The	PCs’	actions	have	inadvertently	disrupted	
  one	of	Shadrach’s	secret,	Vornite	plans.		He	
  assigns	Bekker	to	follow	the	PCs	and	report	
  her	findings.		She	follows	them	carefully	and	
  if	not	discovered,	she	reports	as	ordered.		The	
  PCs	are	then	set	up	for	a	fall,	if	possible.		If	
  Bekker	is	spotted	and	questioned,	the	PCs	
  can’t	get	much	out	of	her,	but	they	are	at	least	
  alerted	to	the	fact	that	somebody	in	the	gov-
  ernment	is	eyeing	them.
  )	 Bekker	has	recently	become	suspicious	of	
  Shadrach’s	true	motives.		If	the	PCs	were	in-
  nocent	(in	Bekker’s	eyes)	and	they	are	set	up	
  by	Shadrach,	Bekker	tries	to	intervene	on	the	
  PCs’	behalf.		This	could	result	in	Bekker	being	
  fired	from	the	Bureau	(or	killed)	or	in	Bekker	
  and	the	PCs	joining	up	to	remove	Shadrach	
  from	the	Bureau.
  )	 If	any	PC	exhibits	a	psychic	ability	or	unusual	
  power,	Bekker	eventually	tracks	him	down.		
  What	happens	next	depends	on	how	sadistic	
  you	want	to	be.
  Alexandria Bennett
  Independent Doctor
  The	world	fascinates	Bennett,	and	she	makes	a	
  study	of	everything	in	it.		Her	curiosity	about	sci-
  ence	and	the	human	body	led	her	to	the	study	of	
  medicine,	although	she	never	obtained	her	license	
  to	practice.		She	has	also	always	felt	a	passionate	
  interest	in	Alexander	the	Great,	not	so	much	for	
  his	military	conquests	as	for	his	scientific	experi-
  ments,	his	personal	courage,	and	his	conviction	
  that	he	was	a	god.	
  When	an	obscure	archeological	journal	
  reported	the	discovery	of	a	manuscript	in	Al-
  exander’s	hand	on	Al	Amarja,	she	immediately	
  went	there	to	see	it.		Details	on	the	exact	owner-
  ship	of	the	manuscript	were	sketchy,	and	Bennett	
  has	yet	to	hear	another	word	on	the	subject.		She	
  has,	however,	thrived	on	the	island.		Her	pleas-
  ant	good	humor	has	allowed	her	to	make	friends	
  and	her	medical	talents	have	allowed	her	to	make	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  a	living.		Nobody	considers	her	obsessions	out	of	
  place	here	and	she,	in	turn,	overlooks	most	ec-
  centricities	in	others.	
  Bennett	performs	minor	surgery	and	admin-
  isters	drugs	for	all	who	come	to	her.		Many	of	her	
  clients	come	to	her	without	money,	either	due	to	
  poverty,	or	due	to	Powerful	Individuals	pursu-
  ing	them.		Therefore,	she	accepts	their	thanks	in	
  gifts.		She	has	an	enormous	collection	of	weap-
  ons,	strange	artifacts,	books,	and	other	presents	
  from	clients.
  Bennett	still	lives	in	her	apartment	in	the	
  Sunken	Barrio,	but	she	has	moved	her	storefront	
  clinic	to	Justice.		She	spends	much	of	her	time	
  at	performances	in	the	Flowers	Barrio	or	on	the	
  campus	of	D’Aubainne	University,	continuing	
  her	studies.
  US	white	woman,	age	,	58	cm,	5	kg.		
  Light	brown	hair,	round	face,	small	nose.		Wears	
  casual	sweatshirts	and	jeans,	often	wears	a	baseball	
  cap	and	runs	her	long	hair	through	the	band	used	
  to	tighten	it.
  Languages:	English,	Al	Amarjan	patois
  Traits
  Medicine,	*	die	—	While	not	as	well-trained	
  or	well-equipped	as	a	doctor	at	the	D’Aubainne	
  Hospital,	she	can	take	care	of	the	routine	prob-
  lems,	including	flesh	wounds	and	minor	illnesses,	
  that	make	up	90%	of	doctor	visits.		(Washes	hands	
  scrupulously)
  Alexandrian Lore,		dice	—	Bennett’s	knowl-
  edge	extends	not	only	to	lore	specifically	per-
  taining	to	Alexander,	but	to	the	wide	variety	of	
  subjects	which	interested	him.		That	includes	
  botany,	astronomy,	anatomy,	the	ocean,	foreign	
  cultures,	and	military	strategy.	(Talks	animatedly	
  on	all	these	topics)
  Story Ideas
  )	 One	of	Bennett’s	clients	gives	her	a	gift	—	a	
  Styrofoam	package	cradling	a	computer	chip	
  —	and	promptly	expires.		Shortly	thereaf-
  ter,	she	receives	mysterious	telephone	calls	
  demanding	the	chip.		Bennett	asks	the	PCs	to	
  find	out	why	people	want	the	chip	and	to	help	
  her	take	appropriate	measures.		She’s	a	good	
  friend	to	have,	and	she	can	also	pay	them	a	
  share	of	the	profits	if	they	end	up	selling	the	
  chip.
  	
  The	chip	contains	circuitry	allowing	a	vehicle	
  to	navigate	in	non-Euclidean	dimensions.		An	
  oppenheimer	working	for	the	D’Aubainne	
  International	Airport	invented	it	to	control	
  cleaning	crew	motor-carts	within	the	Termi-
  nal.		The	chip	may	have	more	significant	uses	
  in	time	travel,	faster-than-light	spacecraft	de-
  sign,	and	the	creation	of	artificial	intelligence.
  	
  Kergillians,	other	oppenheimers,	followers	
  of	Throckmorton,	and	others	all	might	have	
  reasons	to	kill	for	the	chip.		They	also	might	
  pay	well	for	it.		The	PCs	must	help	Bennett	
  decide	what	to	do.		Of	course,	if	they	sell	the	
  device	to	the	wrong	people,	they	may	later	
  regret	the	decision.
  )		 Bennett	still	wants	to	find	the	book	of	Al-
  exandrian	lore	that	first	lured	her	to	Al	
  Amarja.		She	may	ask	the	PCs	to	assist	her,	
  possibly	offering	some	interesting	equipment	
  as	payment.		She	may	also	consider	informa-
  tion	from	the	book	essential	to	saving	some	
  important	GMC’s	life.
  	
  The	book	belongs	to	the	Pharaohs,	who	con-
  sider	it	a	moderately	useful	source	of	mystic	
  inspiration.		However,	they	are	quite	upset	
  to	learn	that	news	of	the	book’s	existence	
  not	only	leaked	out,	but	spread	to	the	world	
  beyond	Al	Amarja.		Pharaoh	operatives	at-
  tempt	to	manipulate	PCs	into	tracking	down	
  the	source	of	this	leak,	allowing	the	adventur-
  ers	to	believe	that	this	is	their	only	hope	of	
  finding	the	book.		If	the	party	goes	ahead	and	
  locates	this	person,	the	Pharaohs	may	simply	
  try	to	exterminate	everyone	involved,	but	
  they	also	may	reward	cooperative	characters	
  with	the	book.	
  
  4	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Tomek Bereszowsky
  Vegetarian Lycanthrope
  Tomek	Bereszowsky	is	representative	of	the	
  crowd	of	mystic	s—	types	who	form	Anastasia	
  Crowley’s	circle	of	companions.		Like	the	oth-
  ers,	he	whiles	away	his	leisure	hours	at	her	table	
  in	the	Chateau	Melmoth’s	Wooden	Plate	restau-
  rant.		The	group	gossips,	laughs,	smokes,	drinks,	
  and	generally	has	a	good	time.		Unlike	the	others,	
  Tomek	avoids	the	delicious	veal	cordon	bleu;	he’s	
  a	strict	vegetarian.		This	is	because,	not	in	spite	of,	
  the	fact	that	he	becomes	a	werewolf	on	the	nights	
  of	full	moons,	solstices,	and	equinoxes.		Since	he’s	
  closer	to	the	animal	kingdom	than	most,	he	feels	
  queasy	about	eating	his	brothers	and	sisters.
  Bereszowsky	became	a	lycanthrope	about	sev-
  en	years	ago	during	a	visit	back	to	his	native	Po-
  land.		(He	had	been	living	in	France	at	the	time.)		
  His	great-grandfather,	unknown	to	the	rest	of	the	
  family,	had	been	a	lycanthrope	for	years.		The	two	
  of	them	were	lost	together	in	the	woods,	hunger	
  overcame	the	old	man,	and	the	rest	is	history.		
  Initially	appalled	by	his	new	condition,	he	sought	
  out	the	mystic	s—	community	of	the	Edge	and	
  received	advice	on	handling	his	new	state.		These	
  days	he’s	come	to	terms	with	the	beast	within,	and	
  is	able	to	control	it	quite	well.		Even	in	werewolf	
  form	he’s	a	solid,	well-behaved	citizen	who	would	
  never	think	of	taking	a	bite	out	of	anybody.
  By	trade,	Bereszowsky	is	a	radio	engineer.		He	
  works	at	KRAK	radio;	few	people	there	suspect	
  the	true	nature	of	his	secret	life,	though	they	
  know	he’s	a	friend	of	Anastasia	Crowley’s	and	
  interested	in	the	occult.		He	continues	to	hang	out	
  with	Crowley	and	company	because	they	helped	
  him	when	he	was	in	trouble,	and	he	enjoys	their	
  friendship.		By	instinct,	he	avoids	getting	caught	
  up	in	mystic	s—	power	struggles,	but	would	prob-
  ably	come	to	Crowley’s	aid	if	she	found	herself	in	
  danger	she	couldn’t	handle.					
  He’s	a	big	strapping	fellow	with	a	bellowing	
  laugh	and	a	rowdy,	back-slapping	manner.		His	
  voice	is	deep	and	gravely	in	human	form,	but	curi-
  ously	squeaky	as	a	werewolf.		He	can	really	put	
  away	the	beer.
  Polish	man,	age	9,	90	cm,	0	kg.		Very	
  hirsute,	reddish	hair	turning	gray	at	the	temples,	
  stubby	fingers.		Dresses	casually.
  Languages:		French,	English,	rusty	Polish
  Attacks:			dice	(X	damage	in	werewolf	
  form)
  Defense:			dice
  Hit Points:		7	(big	bruiser)
  Traits
  Werewolf	—	During	the	nights	of	full	moons,	
  solstices	and	equinoxes,	he	turns	into	a	hair-cov-
  ered	humanoid	with	a	wolf’s	head.		These	days	
  he	finds	it	quite	simple	to	maintain	his	normal	
  happy-go-lucky	personality	in	this	form,	though	
  this	wasn’t	always	so.		As	a	werewolf,	he	gains	
  X	damage	in	combat	with	claws	or	bite,	and	is	
  impervious	to	attacks	made	by	anything	other	
  than	magic	or	silver.		In	this	form,	he’s	also	highly	
  allergic	to	wolfsbane:		his	sinuses	congest,	caus-
  ing	a	very	painful	headache	and	a	penalty	die	on	
  all	actions	requiring	mental	concentration.		(Hairy	
  palms)
  Bruiser,		dice	—	Bereszowsky	is	a	big	guy	
  who	loves	to	wrestle	and	horse	around.		The	few	
  times	muggers	have	hassled	him	in	Al	Amarja	
  have	ended	with	an	exhilarating	victory	for	him.		
  (Massive	frame)
  Radio Engineer,		dice	—	Prides	himself	on	
  smooth	efficient	work	on	the	job.		(Winces	when	
  he	hears	an	engineering	mistake	on	the	radio)
  Former Murderer	—	Before	he	came	to	Al	
  Amarja	and	learned	to	control	his	wolf	side,	
  Bereszowsky	committed	several	outstanding	
  murders	in	France,	which	are	still	unsolved	cases.		
  Someday	a	homicide	detective	or	vengeful	relative	
  could	come	after	him.		(Blasé	about	his	lycanthro-
  py,	but	won’t	talk	about	his	early	werewolf	days)
  Story Ideas
  )	 If	Anastasia	Crowley	befriends	some	PCs,	
  she	introduces	them	to	Bereszowsky	and	
  other	low-level	supernatural	beings.		Oth-
  ers	include	Marcella	Infiorati,	who	claims	to	
  channel	the	spirit	of	Delacroix;	and	Middle	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  5
  Husmali,	who	says	he’s	a	reptile	sorcerer,	
  whatever	that	means.		They	exist	primar-
  ily	to	show	that	such	things	are	taken	to	be	
  a	normal	part	of	life	at	least	among	some	on	
  Al	Amarja,	and	that	such	individuals	carry	
  on	normal	lives.		Only	under	extraordinary	
  circumstances	does	this	group	get	involved	
  in	dangerous	activities.		Only	Crowley	has	
  ambitions	of	power;	the	rest	are	content	to	
  pursue	their	everyday	activities	while	gossip-
  ing	about	those	with	grander	occult	agendas.
  )	 Once	he	gets	to	know	the	PCs	and	realizes	
  that	they’re	involved	in	some	kind	of	trouble	
  with	the	island’s	conspiracies,	Bereszowsky	
  comes	to	them	with	a	disturbing	report.		He	
  was	attending	a	meeting	of	a	new	vegetar-
  ian	organization	hoping	to	get	some	new	
  bean	recipes.		Instead,	he	discovered	a	vio-
  lent	terrorist	cell	planning	to	firebomb	local	
  restaurants	in	the	name	of	animal	rights	and	
  someone	named	LeThuy.		The	lycanthrope’s	
  tip	can	lead	the	group	either	towards	a	direct	
  confrontation	with	the	LeThuys,	or	win	them	
  points	with	the	Peace	Force	if	they	pass	the	
  word	along.
  “Springheel,” 
  Jack Coogan
  The Bionic Freshman
  Dr.	Wilhelm	Martin	took	an	interest	in	
  bionics	when	his	young	son,	Jack,	lost	both	legs	
  in	an	automotive	accident.		Jack	Martin	has	
  used	a	wide	variety	of	prostheses	for	almost	
  all	of	his	life,	eventually	finding	that	nothing	
  compares	with	the	Springheel	Mark	IV	Bionic	
  Legs.		There’s	just	one	small	problem	with	them;	
  they’re	stolen.		Wilhelm	Martin	is	in	jail,	and	
  his	son	(now	going	by	the	alias	Jack	Coogan)	has	
  enrolled	at	D’Aubainne	University	to	hide	out.		
  He’s	accepted	a	track	scholarship,	though	he’s	
  reluctant	to	draw	attention	by	excelling.
  Jack	spends	a	lot	of	his	time	playing	pinball	
  at	Morrie’s	Arcade	in	Science.		He	can	also	be	
  found	at	track	practice	many	evenings,	or	hang-
  ing	around	his	dormitory	playing	cards.		Jack	is	
  genial	without	being	outgoing,	so	he	might	tag	
  along	with	students	anywhere	in	the	city.		He’s	
  been	known	to	barhop	with	Federico	Georno	on	
  Friday	nights.
  US	white	man,	age	8,	85	cm,	80	kg.		Very	
  thin,	limp,	straw	colored	hair;	thin	face.		Wears	
  baggy	sweat	pants	most	of	the	time.		Nervous.
  Attack:		dice	X	with	fists,	or	5	dice	X	
  with	kick
  Defense:		dice	or	4	dice
  Armor:	4	dice	on	legs.
  Hit Points:	4
  Traits
  Bionic Legs,	Upside	—		Built	by	his	dad	for	
  the	U.S.	division	of	Investigative	Cybernetics,	the	
  Mark	IV	Springheels	are	tireless	and	incredibly	
  strong.		Jack	can	jump	4m	straight	up	and	8m	
  horizontally	from	a	standing	start.		With	a	good	
  run	he	can	cover	5	horizontal	meters.		Land-
  
  6	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  ing,	however,	is	dangerous	for	leaps	over	6m	and	
  life-threatening	if	over	m.		His	top	running	
  speed	is	70	km/h,	but	his	safe	running	speed	is	
  50	km/hr.		(Olympic	class	sprinting	is	about	5	
  km/h.)		Reinforced	with	depleted	uranium,	the	
  Springheels	do	X	damage	with	kicks,	and	their	
  incredible	strength	and	speed	make	them	vicious	
  weapons	(5	dice	attack).		After	two	kicks	from	
  them,	however,	Coogan	takes	a	penalty	die	on	
  attacks	because	he’s	not	a	trained	fighter,	and	his	
  usual	attacks	of	kicking	low	or	jumping	up	and	
  kicking	the	head	become	predictable.		He	can	also	
  use	them	to	jump	out	of	the	way	of	attacks	(4	
  dice	defense,	but	only	when	escaping	the	fight).		
  (Wears	baggy	pants,	even	while	competing)
  Athletics,		dice	—	Coogan’s	upper	body	is	
  athletic.		He	needs	to	be	in	good	shape	to	be	able	
  to	use	his	bionic	legs.		(Good	muscle	tone)
  Art,		dice	—	Coogan	wants	to	be	an	artist,	
  and	he’s	got	some	talent	and	some	training.		His	
  artistic	tendencies	make	him	an	outsider	from	the	
  jock	crowd,	and	his	track	scholarship	makes	him	
  an	outsider	from	the	art	crowd.		(Has	his	own	
  paintings	on	his	wall)
  Bionic Legs,	Downside	—		He	can’t	go	through	
  a	metal	detector	without	a	lot	of	explanation.		The	
  legs	are	terribly	heavy	(about	0	kg	each)	and	not	
  completely	convincing	if	viewed	up	close.		He	has	
  a	few	canisters	of	spray-on	“flesh”	in	his	room.		
  Plus,	I.C.	is	still	on	his	tail.		(Secretive)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Someone	from	I.C.	hires	the	PCs	to	investigate	
  Jack	Coogan.		If	they	can	get	their	employer	
  his	fingerprints	or	some	other	proof	of	his	
  identity,	they’ll	be	hired	to	kidnap	him	(with-
  out	being	warned	about	the	legs,	of	course	
  —	that	would	be	a	breach	of	security).
  )	 One	night	Jack	runs	into	(and	immediately	out	
  of)	some	trouble.		Stories	abound	about	an	“Al	
  Amarjan	wild	man”	who	can	jump	two	stories	
  straight	up	and	escape	across	the	rooftops.		A	
  “bigfoot	hunter”	offers	a	big	reward	for	the	
  capture	of	the	“creature.”
  Anastasia Crowley
  Small-time Prophet and/or Wizard
  Anastasia	Crowley	is	one	of	the	Chateau	
  Melmoth’s	permanent	residents.			She	purports	to	
  be	the	granddaughter	of	Aleister	Crowley,	though	
  this	is	unlikely.		She’s	the	social	center	of	the	mys-
  tic	s—	community	on	Al	Amarja,	and	is	always	
  the	first	to	approach	a	burger	who	seems	to	exhibit	
  genuine	mystical	powers.		Such	folks	are	intro-
  duced	to	her	other	cronies,	and	given	dire	warn-
  ings	about	other	magical	operators.		In	particular	
  she	fears	Sir	Arthur	Compton,	and	urges	caution	
  in	all	dealings	with	him.		
  Crowley	is	without	doubt	a	player	in	the	
  Edge’s	magical	power	games.		The	question	is	
  whether	she’s	won	her	position	through	true	occult	
  prowess,	or	mundane	means.		She’s	a	voracious	
  accumulator	of	relevant	gossip,	and	a	networker	
  without	equal.		She	casually	claims	to	have	the	
  ability	to	detect	fluctuations	in	the	arcane	energies	
  surrounding	the	island.		This	might	mean	that	she	
  possesses	true	sorceress	prowess,	or	simply	that	
  she’s	good	at	gleaning	relevant	gossip	and	passing	
  it	off	as	the	result	of	clairvoyance.		Whether	she	is	
  truly	potent	or	not,	many	believe	that	she	is,	and	
  this	gives	her	power	and	influence.
  You	might	find	it	convenient	to	make	Crow-
  ley	a	genuine	mentor	in	magical	matters,	or	a	fake	
  looking	for	a	real	magician	to	con	into	serving	her	
  ends.		Therefore,	you’ll	find	below	two	alternate	
  versions	of	her	traits.		You	may	want	to	wait	until	
  the	last	possible	moment	in	the	storyline	to	decide	
  which	set	is	valid.
  Whatever	her	true	status,	Crowley	is	a	charm-
  er.		She	projects	the	image	of	a	helpful	and	caring	
  friend,	and	is	almost	always	available	to	provide	
  advice	to	the	mystic	s—	newcomer.		Her	basic	
  advice	is	sound:		Don’t	mess	with	Compton	and	
  don’t	alert	the	Neutralizers	or	Center	for	Para-
  normal	Control	by	obviously	manifesting	fringe	
  powers	in	public.		More	specific	counsel	may	or	
  may	not	be	valid,	depending	on	the	role	you	want	
  her	to	play.		She	can	often	be	found	holding	court	
  at	the	Chateau	Melmoth’s	restaurant,	the	Wooden	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  7
  Plate,	where	she	is	always	ready	to	pull	up	another	
  chair	to	let	another	person	in	on	the	gossip.
  English	woman,	age	,	60	cm,	50	kg.		Very	
  pale	skin,	long	auburn	hair.		Effects	Edwardian	
  dress.
  Languages:		English,	can	read	but	not	speak	
  Latin	and	German
  Traits	(both	versions)
  Networker,		dice	—	Supplements	whatever	
  mystic	knowledge	she	possesses	with	scuttlebutt	
  and	rumor	gleaned	from	dining	with	the	Wooden	
  Plate	regulars.		Has	accumulated	network	of	mys-
  tically	powerful	friends	who	believe	she’s	the	real	
  article	and	are	willing	to	do	things	for	her.		(Al-
  ways	willing	to	trade	info)
  Impressive,		dice	—	Maintains	an	image	of	
  herself	as	dazzlingly	beautiful,	smart,	well-con-
  nected,	and	mystically	powerful.		(Always	hints	at	
  yet	another	layer	of	knowledge)
  Traits (as poseur)
  Minor Prophet,	*	dice	—	Receives	flashes	of	
  insight	about	the	secret	reasons	behind	current	
  events,	and	of	possible	future	events.		The	scope	
  of	these	can	be	worldwide,	but	must	pertain	to	
  magic	in	some	way	—	psychic	or	physical	events	
  are	beyond	both	her	powers	and	her	interest.		
  Other	than	this	uncontrollable	information	gather-
  ing	ability,	her	claims	to	great	mystic	power	are	a	
  sham.		(Prophetic	power	triggered	by	physical	sen-
  sation	—	whenever	she	eats	toast	with	marmalade)
  Poseur,	penalty	die	—	In	any	negotiation	or	
  personal	interaction	with	a	genuine	wizard,	she	
  suffers	a	one	die	penalty	because	she	fears	that	he	
  might	see	through	her	act.		(Intimidated	by	real	
  power)
  Traits (as sorceress)
  Ritual Magic,		dice	—	In	contrast	to	her	
  enemy,	Sir	Arthur	Compton,	Crowley	relies	on	a	
  general	knowledge	of	magical	principles	instead	of	
  mastering	specific	spells.		She	has	a	wide	range	of	
  occult	books	in	her	personal	library	in	her	Mel-
  moth	room,	and	consults	these	when	she	wishes	
  to	create	a	particular	magical	effect.		This	means	
  that	she	can’t	spontaneously	pop	off	a	spell	when	
  surprised,	for	example.		Instead,	she	has	to	figure	
  out	the	ritual	required	(necessitating	a	die	roll)	and	
  then	spend	time	creating	the	ceremony.		No	ritual	
  takes	less	than	an	hour;	some	take	days.		The	mean	
  time	for	ritual	casting	is	three	hours.		Crowley	
  requires	a	second	roll	to	successfully	complete	a	
  successfully	researched	ritual.		Most	rituals	deal	
  with	information	gathering,	the	strengthening	
  or	weakening	of	human	emotional	connections,	
  or	the	acquisition	of	wealth.		Smiting	an	enemy	
  from	a	distance	is	also	ever	popular.		Many	require	
  successful	negotiation	with	good	or	evil	spirits	to	
  complete	—	in	effect	the	ritual	compels	the	spirit	
  to	use	its	own	power	to	create	the	desired	effect.		
  This	approach	trades	off	speed	and	certainty	for	
  greater	versatility.	(Wears	charm	bracelet	with	a	
  key,	a	wand,	a	pyramid,	and	a	clear	vial	of	white	
  milky	fluid.		Occultists	may	recognize	these	as	
  symbols	of	Aleister	Crowley’s	elemental	control	
  magic)
  Trusting,	flaw	—	Crowley’s	need	for	social	
  contact	and	gossip	have	exposed	her	should	
  Compton	or	another	enemy	decide	to	move	deci-
  sively	against	her.		Her	whereabouts	at	the	Melmo-
  
  8	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Chateau Melmoth
  Type:		Hotel
  Rep:		Creepy	hangout	for	evil	mystic	s—	types
  Brief:	Charming	hangout	for	benign	mystic	
  s—	types
  Address:	777	John	Dee	Lane,	Sunken	Barrio
  The	Chateau	Melmoth	is	an	impressive,	
  if	slightly	decayed,	structure,	tucked	away	in	a	
  twisting	lane	way.		Owner	Nicolai	Nemeth	runs	
  the	place	with	efficiency	and	Old	World	grace.		
  Room	service	is	expensive	but	quick.		Physically,	
  the	hotel	rooms	are	a	reminder	of	an	earlier	time.	
  Flocked	wallpaper,	velvet	curtains,	mahogany	
  fixtures,	and	four-poster	beds	all	contribute	to	
  the	atmosphere.		Strangely,	there	are	no	mirrors	
  in	any	of	the	rooms,	including	the	washrooms.		
  If	requested,	room	service	will	bring	up	a	small	
  mirror	and	hold	it	up	for	the	patron’s	use.		Then	
  they’ll	promptly	return	it	to	storage.
  Rooms	are	all	named	after	a	well-known	
  figure	in	the	Romantic	or	Gothic	movements	
  —	mostly	English	writers	and	European	com-
  posers,	such	as	Lord	Byron,	Percy	Bysshe	Shel-
  ley,	Mary	Wollstonecraft	Shelley,	Bram	Stoker,	
  Hector	Berloiz,	and	Richard	Wagner.		Rooms	
  are	never	referred	to	by	number,	only	by	name,	
  and	full	name	at	that.		It’s	“the	Carl	Maria	von	
  Weber	room,”	never	“the	Weber	room.”
  The	hub	of	activity	at	Chateau	Melmoth	is	
  The	Wooden	Plate,	its	restaurant,	which	special-
  izes	in	Hungarian	cuisine.		Many	diners	recom-
  mend	the	veal	cordon	bleu	with	dumplings	in	
  sauce,	but	the	legendary	Transylvanian	Wooden	
  Plate	is	always	an	epic	challenge	for	a	deter-
  mined	dining	party.
  The	Wooden	Plate	is	a	gathering	place	for	
  the	Edge’s	sorcerers,	witches,	occultists,	and	
  mystic	dabblers.		Satanists	avoid	the	place	be-
  cause	here	they	tend	to	be	treated	with	amused	
  condescension,	which	drives	them	crazy.		Stan-
  dards	of	decorum	are	enforced	with	strict	peer	
  pressure:		poltergeists	restrain	themselves	from	
  dropping	the	silverware,	and	vampires	restrict	
  themselves	to	items	on	the	menu.		Magic	use	
  in	the	dining	room,	aside	from	the	occasional	
  cantrip	to	light	a	cigar	or	reheat	one’s	espresso,	
  is	a	major	faux	pas.		Gossip	is	the	main	medium	
  of	expression	here,	though	its	content	may	be	
  incomprehensible	to	the	uninitiated.
  A	small	magical	device	built	into	the	dining	
  room	chandelier	is	triggered	by	hostile	thoughts.		
  When	triggered,	it	casts	a	mild	charm	on	the	
  aggressor,	giving	him	the	feeling	that	he’s	about	
  to	do	something	very	stupid.		If	anyone	were	to	
  start	a	fight,	physical	or	otherwise,	in	the	Wood-
  en	Plate,	the	assembled	diners	would	no	doubt	
  be	able	to	put	him	out	like	a	damp	cigarette.
  Watchtowers	have	been	built	into	the	
  Chateau’s	roof,	and	two	guards	are	constantly	
  on	watch,	manning	modern	whaling	harpoons.		
  They’re	there	to	assure	no	Empties	get	closer	
  than	00m	from	the	hotel	entrance.		(John	
  Mohammad	helped	the	Chateau	get	permission	
  to	install	the	harpoons.		Since	they	are	bolted	in	
  place,	they	pose	little	threat	to	Her	Exaltedness,	
  and	their	presence	is	allowed.)
  Any	veterans	of	the	mystic	s—	scene	at	the	
  Melmoth	will	be	registered	with	the	CPC	and	
  have	signed	the	required	loyalty	oath.		They’ll	
  advise	new	arrivals	to	do	the	same.		These	folks	
  carry	on	their	business	too	openly	to	be	anything	
  but	law-abiding	Al	Amarjans.		Most	are	vocifer-
  ous	defenders	of	the	D’Aubainne	regime	—	in	
  public,	anyway.		They	appreciate	the	safe	haven	
  she’s	created	for	those	who	inhabit	alternate	
  paradigms.
  Prices
  Single:	$50	(per	night)
  Double:	$75
  Room	Service:	Expensive
  Phones:	Spotty	service;	50¢	per	local	call
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  9
  th	are	widely	known	in	the	mystic	s—	community,	
  and	she	might	easily	be	duped	by	a	plant	posing	as	
  a	naïve	newcomer	to	the	local	scene.		(Holds	court	
  at	Wooden	Plate)
  Story Ideas
  )	 If	PCs	ask	about	a	mystical	hangout	on	the	
  island,	even	normies	know	that	the	Chateau	
  Melmoth	is	the	place	to	go,	although	they	may	
  dismiss	its	clientele	as	a	pack	of	wackos.		Once	
  they	arrive	at	the	hotel,	Anastasia	approaches	
  them	when	they	show	any	signs	of	true	mysti-
  cal	power.		She	buys	them	dinner	and	offers	
  her	advice,	subtly	drawing	as	much	informa-
  tion	as	possible	from	them.		If	your	PCs	are	
  typical,	they	soon	become	dependent	on	her	
  freely	offered	aid.
  )	 A	lonely	PC	picks	up	Little	Scratches	to	read	
  the	following	ad:		“Slim	white	female,	,	
  seeks	individual	for	one-time	sexual	encounter.		
  Strict	guidelines	must	be	followed.		Gender,	
  attractiveness	not	relevant.		Contact	Box	5.”		
  It’s	Crowley,	looking	for	a	partner	for	a	sex	
  magick	ritual.		If	the	PC	responds,	he	or	she	
  has	an	unsettling	encounter	with	her	in	a	ritual	
  context.		If	you’re	using	the	genuinely	sorcer-
  ous	Crowley,	and	she	fails	her	roll	during	the	
  ritual,	a	gate	is	opened	between	the	astral	plane	
  and	the	subject’s	mind.		Over	the	next	few	
  months,	a	hostile	elemental	entity	possesses	
  the	PC	at	inopportune	moments.		Its	interests	
  lie	in	vandalism	and	other	acts	of	petty	de-
  struction.
  Elaine Czarny
  One Tough Gal
  Czarny	teaches	karate	at	Kuan	Tun’s,	and	
  serves	as	a	fight	coach	for	several	fighters	at	Sad	
  Mary’s.		She	has	a	nasty	reputation	as	being	ill	
  tempered	and	vicious;	once	Gordon	Dobson	tried	
  to	“score”	on	her	at	Sad	Mary’s.		It	took	four	Ar-
  ies	gangsters	to	kick	her	out,	but	not	before	she’d	
  knocked	one	gangster	out	and	had	staved	in	three	
  of	Gordon’s	ribs.
  Czarny	has	a	secret	in	her	past.		She	claims	to	
  be	the	sister	of	Eric	Czarny,	a	moderately	success-
  ful	kickboxer	of	about	eight	years	ago.		She’s	not;	
  she	is	Eric	Czarny,	who	had	a	sexuality	crisis	and	
  decided	he	was	a	lesbian	trapped	in	a	man’s	body.		
  Since	he	was	a	disturbed	man,	not	a	true	transsex-
  ual,	the	only	institution	that	would	give	him	sex	
  change	treatments	was	the	D’Aubainne	Hospital	
  and	Trauma	Center.	
  She’s	really	a	very	unhappy	woman.		It	was	the	
  guilt	she	felt	as	a	man	that	made	her	want	to	disso-
  ciate	herself	from	masculinity,	but	she	still	feels	an	
  intense	attraction	for	many	aspects	of	machismo	
  (obviously).		The	tension	between	her	idealization	
  of	the	feminine	and	identification	with	the	mascu-
  line	(and	usually	the	worst	aspects	of	that)	leaves	
  her	edgy,	irritable,	and	miserable.		
  She	can	most	often	be	found	at	Kuan	Tun’s	
  or	watching	the	fights	at	Sad	Mary’s.		She	has	an	
  apartment	in	the	same	building	as	Kuan	Tun’s,	
  where	she	lives	with	her	girlfriend	(who	is	ex-
  tremely	fragile,	quiet	and	feminine).
  U.S.	white	woman,	70	cm,	7	kg.		Short	
  black	hair	in	a	bob,	small	breasts,	pale	skin,	sulky	
  expression.		Usually	wearing	all	black	leather	and	
  carrying	a	matched	pair	of	daggers	at	each	hip	
  (plus	one	in	the	boot).
  Languages:	English
  Attack:	4	dice,	X	with	knife
  Defense:	4	dice
  Hit Points:	8	(impervious)
  Armor:		die	plus		point	(leathers,	and	kote	
  ate)	against	blows,		point	(leathers	only)	against	
  stabbing	or	cutting	attacks.
  Traits
  Butt Kickin’,	4	dice	—	Czarny	has	studied	a	
  broad	number	of	martial	arts,	and	has	synthesized	
  them	into	something	that	looks	remarkably	like	the	
  techniques	of	a	superb	street	fighter	—	only	a	little	
  prettier.		Technically	she’s	a	san	dan	in	Shorei	Ryu	
  Karate.		(Sullen	manner)
  Kote Ate,		die	—	Kote	ate	is	a	discipline	
  known	as	“body	hardening”	in	the	West.		It	
  consists	of	hitting	things	really	hard	with	your	
  body,	and	then	hitting	your	body	with	really	hard	
  
  0	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  things.		Eventually,	the	bones	develop	extra	layers	
  of	calcium,	the	skin	becomes	desensitized	to	pain	
  and	bruises	less	easily,	while	tough	calluses	devel-
  op	on	the	striking	surfaces.		Her	routine	includes	
  dropping	a	shot	put	on	the	tops	of	her	feet,	doing	
  full	power	punches	and	kicks	against	concrete,	
  and	having	guys	from	the	dojo	try	to	break	two	by	
  fours	against	her	tensed	stomach.		It	gives	her		die	
  of	armor	against	blunt	attacks.		(Does	not	change	
  expression	when	struck)
  Disturbed,	penalty	die	—	Czarny	is	sullen,	
  inarticulate,	and	possessed	of	an	enormous	mean	
  streak.		She’s	baffled	by	the	damaged	communica-
  tion	between	genders	and	takes	out	her	frustration	
  on	anyone	who	offers	her	the	slightest	excuse.		
  (Sullen)
  Story Ideas
  )	 The	PCs	learn	of	Czarny,	either	by	observa-
  tion	or	reputation.		One	late	night	in	Justice,	
  they	see	her	beat	the	tar	out	of	a	bunch	of	
  Otto’s	Men	to	keep	them	from	tormenting	
  a	drunken	drag	queen.		Curiosity	piqued	by	
  this	display	of	uncharacteristic	chivalry,	they	
  investigate	her	and	find	out	that	she’s	secretly	
  going	to	an	encounter	group	of	the	“sexually	
  confused.”
  )	 If	the	PCs	are	annoying	Dr.	Nusbaum,	he	
  might	threaten	to	reveal	Czarny’s	sex	change	
  secret	unless	she	puts	a	little	fear	into	the	PCs.
  )	 Czarny’s	girlfriend	breaks	up	with	her,	and	the	
  PCs	see	Czarny’s	inarticulate	pleas	for	her	to	
  return	in	Little	Scratches.		Then	the	girlfriend	
  turns	up	dead,	and	Czarny	is	arrested	for	the	
  crime.		Perhaps	the	PCs	know	who	really	did	
  it,	or	have	befriended	Czarny	and	must	prove	
  her	innocence.
  Gordon “Whiny” 
  Dobson
  “Social Guide”
  Dobson	is	from	Seattle,	Washington,	by	way	
  of	Perth,	Australia.		In	one	city	he	left	behind	a	
  pregnant	girlfriend	—	a	convicted	arsonist’s	girl-
  friend,	to	be	exact;	in	the	other	—	massive	credit	
  card	debts	under	the	name	“Leonard	Gluck.”		
  Deficient	in	class,	morals,	and	money,	Dobson	(or	
  “Whiny”	to	his	acquaintances)	works	as	a	guide	
  for	Al	Amarjan	tourists.		Dobson	makes	a	perfect	
  addition	to	any	PC	group	—	seemingly	worth	
  enough	to	go	out	on	a	limb	for,	but	unreliable	
  enough	to	infuriate	even	the	kindest	PC.
  Dobson	lives	in	a	cruddy	apartment	in	Great	
  Men,	but	spends	most	of	his	time	at	the	Terminal	
  trying	to	sell	his	services	to	tourists.		He	can	also	
  be	found	in	the	bar	at	Cesar’s,	or	Sad	Mary’s	if	
  Cesar’s	kicks	him	out.
  US	white	man,	age	0,	70	cm,	66	kg.		Un-
  kempt,	worn-looking,	crooked	teeth.		Shabby,	
  wears	sunglasses.		Smokes	constantly.
  Traits
  Ingratiating,		dice	—	Copious	bootlick-
  ing	skills	have	kept	Dobson	alive	and	whining.		
  They’ve	also	provided	him	with	some	street	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  contacts	—	he’s	tolerated	most	everywhere,	knows	
  where	to	find	whatever	delights	his	employers	
  seek,	and	can	persuade	people	that	he	knows	the	
  town.		At	the	first	meeting,	play	him	in	such	a	
  way	that	the	PCs	will	respond	favorably.		(Lots	of	
  people	know	him)
  Sneaky,		dice	—	The	other	stilt	supporting	
  Whiny’s	life.		Dobson	knows	when	to	chicken	out	
  of	a	fight,	when	to	stand	someone	up	when	they	
  need	him	most,	and	how	to	decide	between	saying	
  “I	just	found	it	there,	Officer!”	and	“You	know,	
  there’s	more	than	enough	for	two	here...”		(Wears	
  sunglasses	to	conceal	constantly	shifting	eyes)
  Trouble Magnet	—	For	some	reason,	trouble	
  just	finds	him.		Although	he	doesn’t	know	it,	he’s	
  begged	for	his	life	from	(at	various	times)	Neutral-
  izers,	Movers,	and	Throckmorton	operatives.		This	
  is	a	guy	who,	when	confronted	with	a	bar	full	of	
  women,	will	head	straight	for	the	karate	black	belt	
  who’s	on	a	mean	drunk	streak	and	ineptly	hit	on	
  her	(see	Elaine	Czarny).		(Constantly	complaining	
  about	his	string	of	bad	luck)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Dobson	makes	himself	useful	to	the	PCs	and	
  guides	them	around.		Then,	while	on	his	own,	
  he	steals	a	briefcase	from	a	Quisling.		While	
  begging	for	his	life,	he	tells	the	Quisling	that	
  the	PCs	hired	him.		By	this	time,	someone	else	
  has	the	briefcase...
  )	 The	PCs	need	a	spy	or	informant,	and	Dobson	
  is	recommended	to	them.		He	either	makes	up	
  whatever	story	he	thinks	they	want	to	hear,	or	
  gets	caught	in	the	act	and	fingers	the	PCs.
  )	 The	Peace	Force	suspect	Dobson	witnessed	
  something	extremely	dangerous	to	them	
  —	evidence	that	Monique	D’Aubainne	bought	
  a	Soviet	nuclear	sub,	for	instance.		He	van-
  ishes,	and	everyone	he’s	been	seen	with	is	
  questioned.		A	large	reward	is	offered	for	his	
  capture.
  Gerard Duplat
  Dealer in Rare Animals
  The	liberal	import/export	laws	of	Al	Amarja	
  make	it	a	haven	for	businessmen	whose	product	
  lines	are	illegal	elsewhere.		These	include	drug	
  runners,	brokers	in	stolen	art	and	antiques,	por-
  nographers	—	and	men	like	Gerard	Duplat,	who	
  sells	endangered	animals	to	a	worldwide	network	
  of	collectors.		Surprisingly,	the	large	international	
  market	for	rare	creatures	includes	many	highly	
  respectable	institutions	like	research	universities	
  and	zoos.		In	any	area	where	demand	for	a	com-
  modity	exceeds	the	supply,	there	are	people	willing	
  to	meet	that	demand	—	even	if	the	commodity	is	
  a	species,	and	the	demand	ends	up	destroying	it	
  forever.
  Gerard	Duplat	avoids	thinking	of	the	conse-
  quences	of	his	actions.		He	thinks	of	himself	as	
  an	animal	lover	—	at	the	drop	of	a	hat	he	extols	
  the	beauty	of	any	rare	animal	at	enraptured	
  length.		From	elaborately	feathered	bird	to	hairy	
  spider,	Duplat	adores	the	complexity	and	won-
  der	of	nature’s	creations.		Like	any	collector,	he	
  must	possess	the	things	he	loves.		He	well	under-
  stands	the	psychology	of	his	clients	because	he	
  
  	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  shares	their	passion.		And	if	their	hobby	drives	
  the	odd	species	to	extinction	in	the	wild,	Duplat	
  can	always	shrug	his	shoulders	and	hope	one	of	
  his	clients	sets	up	a	breeding	program	with	the	
  specimens	he	sold	them.
  Gerard	Duplat	Import	Services,	as	his	com-
  pany	is	called,	is	one	of	a	number	of	businesses	
  on	the	second	floor	of	a	converted	tenement	in	
  the	Plaza	of	Great	Men.		Physically	unimpres-
  sive,	with	plywood	fixtures,	Duplat’s	operation	
  consists	of	a	counter,	a	back	room	for	working	on	
  the	books	and	making	phone	calls,	and	an	open	
  holding	area	with	enclosures	ranging	in	size	from	
  small	terrariums	for	lizards	and	bugs	to	a	large	
  cage	suitable	for	a	mountain	gorilla.		Gerard	takes	
  pride	in	the	health	of	his	animals	and	the	quality	
  of	his	service;	his	operation	depends	on	repeat	
  business	and	he	takes	no	chances	when	it	comes	
  to	keeping	the	clientele	happy.
  All	of	the	“merchandise”	present	awaits	
  pickup	by	clients;	Duplat	keeps	nothing	in	stock.		
  When	he	receives	an	order,	Duplat	then	contacts	
  one	of	the	many	groups	of	specialist	poachers	
  from	around	the	world.		He	offers	no	guaran-
  tees	as	to	delivery	time;	obviously	rare	animals	
  are	hard	to	find	and	catch.		On	average	orders	
  take	six	months	to	a	year	to	fulfill.		Some	clients	
  have	had	standing	orders	with	Duplat	for	years,	
  requesting	incredibly	rare	creatures	or	even	those	
  thought	to	be	extinct,	like	the	Tasmanian	Ti-
  ger	or	thylacine.		Sometimes	a	poacher	contacts	
  Duplat	after	having	bagged	a	coveted	animal,	and	
  Duplat	searches	his	customer	base	for	a	likely	
  buyer.
  Common	animals	with	export	restrictions	
  cost	a	couple	of	thousand	dollars	apiece;	rarer	
  beasts	can	go	for	up	to	$00,000.		Those	with	
  known	populations	of	less	than	a	thousand	can	
  net	five	times	that	amount.		
  French	man,	age	57,	68	cm,	7	kg.		Par-
  tially	bald,	well-trimmed	dark	hair	on	the	sides.		
  Dresses	in	expensive	casual	clothes,	wears	a	gold	
  Rolex	and	glasses	with	designer	frames.
  Languages:		French,	English,	Bantu
  Traits
  Business contacts,	4	dice	—	Duplat	has	a	large	
  client	base	and	knows	how	to	maintain	it	through	
  efficient	service.		He	also	keeps	careful	tabs	on	
  the	shadowy	world	of	his	suppliers	—	knowing	
  who’s	in	jail,	who	has	the	heat	on	him,	and	who	
  operates	in	the	clear.		Now	and	then	he	sup-
  plies	bail	money	to	a	reliable	supplier	or	helps	
  fund	bribes	for	wildlife	officials.		He	also	keeps	
  his	protection	payments	to	the	Net	in	order,	and	
  through	them	knows	smugglers	capable	of	mov-
  ing	contraband	animals	into	most	major	markets.		
  (Carries	little	black	book	in	front	pocket)
  Amateur Naturalist,		dice	—	Although	he	
  has	no	formal	training,	Duplat’s	years	of	obses-
  sive	reading	on	the	subject	has	made	him	an	
  expert	on	most	of	the	animal	kingdom.		His	
  business	includes	a	sideline	on	rare	plants,	so	he	
  knows	a	little	about	these,	too	—	though	they	
  don’t	arouse	his	personal	interest	the	way	animals	
  do.		(Speaks	knowledgeably	about	animal	anato-
  my	and	behavior)
  Wealthy,		dice	—	Duplat’s	business	allows	
  him	to	charge	a	hefty	markup	on	each	item	sold,	
  and	he	lives	in	serious	comfort,	if	not	splendor,	
  in	a	villa	on	the	side	of	Mt.	Ralsius.		It	is	well-
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  protected	with	security	and	houses	his	striking	
  personal	collection	of	rare	animals.		(House	is	pa-
  trolled	by	Larry,	Duplat’s	pet	jaguar,	who	serves	
  as	a	very	intimidating	watchdog)
  Hates travel,	flaw	—	Duplat	dreams	of	seeing	
  his	beloved	animals	in	the	wild,	but	is	terrified	
  of	flying	and	becomes	sick	on	long	car,	train,	or	
  boat	rides.		(Jealously	inquires	about	the	travels	
  of	others)
  Story Ideas
  )	 PCs	are	likely	to	encounter	Gerard	if	they’re	
  into	mystic	s—.		Many	spells	and	ritual	
  magicks	require	plant	or	animal	parts	as	
  props	or	sacrifices.		Many	black	magic	theo-
  rists	contend	that	the	rarer	the	animal,	the	
  more	potent	its	mystic	charge	is	—	either	be-
  cause	the	act	of	destroying	the	animal	is	more	
  evil,	or	because	rare	animals	possess	a	much	
  higher	proportion	of	the	spiritual	essence	of	
  their	species,	as	there	are	fewer	individuals	
  to	share	it	with.		Others	heatedly	contend	
  that	the	use	of	endangered	species	in	magic	
  is	a	mere	affectation	with	no	apparent	mysti-
  cal	benefit.		Though	he	has	no	opinion	on	
  the	matter	—	and	doesn’t	really	believe	that	
  sorcerers	can	do	half	of	the	things	they	claim	
  —	Duplat	is	happy	to	part	budding	mages	
  from	their	hard	currency.
  )	 On	the	other	hand,	Duplat	would	be	a	good	
  outlet	for	the	disposal	of	any	weird	crea-
  tures	or	entities	the	PCs	end	up	acquiring	in	
  the	course	of	their	adventures.		Even	if	he’s	
  never	heard	of	or	seen	the	thing	in	ques-
  tion	—	say	it’s	a	captured	Betelgeusan	(see	
  the	description	of	E-Z	Sleep	in	OTE)	—	he	
  can	find	someone	eager	to	pay	big	money	
  for	it.		Duplat	pays	his	suppliers	0%	of	the	
  final	purchase	price.		He’d	even	be	unethi-
  cal	enough	to	arrange	for	the	sale	of	sentient	
  aliens	or	non-human	entities.		Since	some	
  PCs	may	fit	these	categories,	he	might	end	up	
  paying	mercenaries	to	capture	them	for	resale	
  to	a	collector.
  Mesut Economou
  Dealer in Arcane Tomes
  When	a	burger	with	an	interest	in	mystic	
  power	arrives	in	Al	Amarja,	he	usually	makes	a	
  beeline	for	The	Golden	Bough	in	the	Plaza	of	
  Flowers.		Though	its	stock	is	no	better	than	that	of	
  a	New	Age	bookstore	in	any	major	city,	the	cachet	
  of	buying	a	copy	of	The Tibetan Book of  the Dead	
  in	Al	Amarja	keeps	the	Bough	in	business.
  But	when	someone	really	in	the	know	seeks	
  out	a	magical	text,	he	doesn’t	bother	with	the	
  Bough.		He	leaves	word	with	the	man	who	has	
  been	reliably	providing	the	straight	goods	to	the	
  Edge’s	mystic	s—	community	for	nearly	two	
  decades	—	Mesut	Economou.		Economou	does	not	
  maintain	a	regular	shop	as	the	transactions	he	spe-
  cializes	in	are	better	off	without	walk-in	custom-
  ers.		He	generally	works	on	a	special	order	basis,	
  though	he	has	a	few	select	volumes	in	his	private	
  collection	that	he	would	be	willing	to	sell	given	the	
  correct	price.		He	also	does	not	advertise,	but	relies	
  completely	on	word	of	mouth	for	his	clientele.		If	
  one	is	not	sufficiently	trusted	by	the	M.S.	crowd,	
  one	does	not	find	out	about	Economou’s	services.		
  He	has	no	time	or	patience	to	deal	with	the	many	
  poseurs	and	lunatics	who	gravitate	towards	Al	
  Amarja	in	the	hopes	of	finding	mystic	enlighten-
  ment.		He	deals	only	in	rare	antique	books;	even	
  if	he	sells	a	mere	handful	a	year	he	gets	enough	in	
  commissions	to	live	comfortably.
  To	contact	Economou,	one	must	leave	a	
  message	for	him	at	the	front	desk	of	the	Chateau	
  Melmoth.		Economou	does	not	live	at	the	Mel-
  moth,	but	wishes	his	residence	to	remain	unknown	
  for	security	reasons	—	a	burglar	once	made	off	
  with	an	edition	of	Kardek’s	The Book of  the Spirits	
  with	margin	notes	penciled	in	by	the	author,	and	
  Economou	does	not	wish	to	repeat	the	loss.		He	
  visits	the	Melmoth’s	famous	Hungarian	restau-
  rant,	The	Wooden	Plate,	on	a	biweekly	basis,	at	
  which	time	he	picks	up	his	messages.		He	does	not	
  come	on	any	particular	day	or	hour,	so	as	to	avoid	
  being	ambushed.
  
  4	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Books	of	the	sort	Economou	specializes	in	
  take	a	while	to	arrive	once	ordered,	as	they’re	often	
  scarce	or	even	unique	items.		Economou	contacts	
  known	owners	of	the	book	in	question	and	in-
  quires	as	to	the	asking	price.		He	then	contacts	his	
  client	and	suggests	a	bid.		Actually,	he	is	selling	his	
  knowledge	and	contacts	more	than	he	is	the	books	
  themselves	—	and	therefore	refuses	to	name	buy-
  ers	or	sellers	in	the	transactions	he	arranges.		His	
  list	of	contacts	and	possessors	of	books	is	his	stock	
  and	trade,	and	he	shares	it	with	no	one.		Econo-
  mou	takes	an	undisclosed	commission	on	the	
  purchase	price	of	every	item	sold.		He	also	works	
  as	a	broker,	facilitating	the	sale	of	magical	texts	
  that	are	offered	to	him.		He	has	a	lengthy	stand-
  ing	order	list	of	clients,	both	in	Al	Amarja	and	
  throughout	the	Continent,	who	wish	to	purchase	
  given	books	should	they	become	available.		When	
  he	receives	a	tome	from	a	client	wishing	to	sell,	he	
  contacts	everyone	he	knows	who	he	thinks	would	
  want	an	opportunity	to	buy,	and	allows	them	to	
  bid.		He	is	quite	skilled	at	jacking	up	the	price	of	
  items	sold	in	this	manner.		Sir	Arthur	Compton	
  once	accused	him	of	creating	nonexistent	bidders	
  to	drive	up	the	price	of	a	manuscript	he	ended	up	
  buying.		But	even	the	dangerous	Compton	avoids	
  antagonizing	Economou,	as	his	ability	to	sniff	out	
  and	acquire	essential	volumes	is	unparalleled.
  Economou	is	a	reserved	man	who	reveals	little	
  of	himself	during	transactions.		He	speaks	in	
  short,	clipped	sentences,	and	provides	no	infor-
  mation	unasked.		He	especially	refuses	to	engage	
  in	the	gossip	and	speculation	that	is	a	staple	of	
  mystic	s—	conversation.		Similarly	out	of	bounds	
  are	questions	about	his	past	or	how	he	came	into	
  this	line	of	work.
  Yemenite	man,	age	57,	68	cm,	76	kg.		Thin-
  ning	white	hair,	nut-brown	skin.		Green-lensed	
  sunglasses,	fraying	gray	suits.
  Languages:		Arabic,	English.		Can	read	but	
  not	speak	Latin,	Ancient	Greek,	French,	German.
  Traits
  Bookseller,	4	dice	—	Specializes	in	rare	occult	
  books;	carefully	tracks	the	current	whereabouts	
  of	all	known	copies	of	such	volumes.		Knows	all	
  collectors	in	the	field,	can	spot	forgeries	and	stolen	
  merchandise,	drive	up	prices	to	enhance	his	com-
  mission,	repair	damaged	books,	and	provide	prov-
  enance	for	books	in	his	field.		This	has	tangentially	
  made	him	an	expert	in	the	history	of	the	occult,	
  though	he	professes	little	knowledge	or	interest	in	
  the	actual	contents	of	the	books.		He	loves	them	
  for	their	histories,	and	their	physical	manufacture.		
  (Smells	old	books	for	their	bouquet,	like	a	wine	
  taster)
  Synesthetic,		dice	—	Although	blind,	Econo-
  mou	can	see	with	his	skin;	he	can	slowly	read	by	
  running	the	tips	of	his	fingers	along	the	page,	or	
  identify	the	contents	of	a	photograph	by	pressing	
  it	against	the	skin	of	his	bare	chest.		He	also	smells	
  sounds,	and	hears	tastes.		Aside	from	his	sight,	all	
  other	senses	can	work	normally	as	well	as	synes-
  thetically.		(Reads	with	his	fingers)
  Mesmerism,	*	dice	—	If	sheltered	from	
  distractions,	Economou	can	put	trance-susceptible	
  individuals	into	a	hypnotic	state	through	the	sound	
  of	his	voice	alone.		He	finds	little	use	for	this	talent	
  and	practices	it	rarely.		(Soothing	voice)
  Blind	—	Blind	since	birth,	Economou	is	pretty	
  good	at	navigating	around	familiar	areas	of	the	
  city.		His	other	senses	do	compensate	to	a	great	
  degree,	especially	with	their	synesthetic	enhance-
  ments	—	it’s	hard	to	sneak	up	on	him,	for	exam-
  ple.		But	still	there	are	situations,	like	combat,	in	
  which	he	suffers	a	penalty	of	one	or	even	two	dice.		
  (Carries	white	cane)
  Story Ideas
  )	 The	PCs	find	an	old	book	sitting	on	a	park	
  bench.		Though	written	in	what	looks	like	
  archaic	French,	its	diagrams	make	it	clear	that	
  it	is	a	work	of	demonology.		They	take	it	to	a	
  friend	at	the	Chateau	Melmoth,	who	recom-
  mends	that	they	contact	Economou	in	order	
  to	sell	it	at	a	good	price.		Economou	examines	
  the	book,	running	his	hands	rapturously	across	
  its	pages.		Then	he	stops,	the	color	draining	
  from	his	face.		The	demon	that’s	supposed	to	
  be	illustrated	there	is	missing;	only	a	white	
  silhouette	outline	remains.		Economou	tells	
  them	that	the	book	could	fetch	them	up	to	
  $00,000	from	one	of	several	possible	custom-
  ers.		But	that	they	must	first	catch	the	demon	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  5
  and	return	him	to	the	book	—	until	then	it	is	
  worthless.
  )	 Once	he’s	come	to	know	and	trust	them,	either	
  as	suppliers	or	buyers,	Economou	comes	to	the	
  PCs	to	hire	their	services.		He’s	been	trailed	
  by	unknown	individuals	—	who	he	of	course	
  can’t	describe	visually	—	on	four	separate	oc-
  casions	in	the	last	week.		He	wants	the	group	
  to	find	out	who’s	following	him	and	then	drive	
  them	off.		It	turns	out	that	a	Hermetic	Cell	
  Mover	is	trying	to	throw	an	enemy	off	his	trail	
  by	diverting	suspicion	to	Economou.		The	en-
  emy,	a	shell-shocked	survivor	of	the	Lebanese	
  civil	war,	is	convinced	that	the	Movers	exacer-
  bated	the	conflict	that	killed	his	family.		He’s	
  in	fact	a	dupe	of	a	Pharaoh	quisling.		However,	
  he’s	very	dangerous	and	a	real	threat	to	Econo-
  mou	if	not	put	back	on	the	right	track.
  Fat Benny
  Gargoyle Fence
  Gargoyles,	of	course,	are	real.		They’re	a	small	
  race,	in	number,	and	have	been	for	a	very	long	
  time.		They	very	rarely	leave	the	cathedrals	they	
  call	home.		Based	on	silicon	rather	than	carbon,	
  they	exist	by	a	slow	photosynthesis,	and	although	
  they	have	the	innate	ability	to	change	their	shapes,	
  most	are	content	to	remain	hidden	among	the	
  inanimate	stone	sculptures	with	which	they	share	
  their	lofty	perches.		
  They	lead	quiet	lives.		Most	gargoyles	are	con-
  tent	to	spend	their	time	in	aimless	silent	commu-
  nion	with	the	sky	around	them	and	the	birds	that	
  fly	past.		Sometimes	they	turn	to	conversation,	
  and	at	these	times	great	philosophical	structures	
  are	spun	which	lead	to	nothing	and	are	forgotten	
  the	next	day	for	the	joy	of	recreating	them	all	over	
  again.
  Their	lives	are	as	content	as	they	are	quiet.		It	
  is	the	rare	gargoyle	who	wants	for	much.		They	
  believe	that	if	there	is	a	God,	He	(or	She)	has	not	
  chosen	to	manifest	Him	or	Herself	to	them,	and	
  that	if	the	time	is	ever	right	God	will	send	to	them	
  a	Jesus	of	the	Gargoyles.
  When	the	sun	goes	down,	they	sleep.		With-
  out	sunlight,	they	cannot	function.		There	are	no	
  natural	predators	of	gargoyles,	and	as	such	no	
  evolutionary	pressure	that	might	force	them	out	of	
  this	strict	diurnal	pattern.		It	is	rare	that	a	gargoyle	
  is	born	(although	they	choose	mates	much	as	hu-
  mans	do,	if	more	slowly)	and	equally	rare		that	one	
  dies;	those	who	do	are	those	who	fail	to	take	proper	
  care	against	falling,	or	who	simply	do	not	wish	to	
  live	any	longer.		A	gargoyle	who	is	only	injured	
  heals	quickly,	able	to	shift	the	rocky	substance	of	
  his	or	her	body	to	repair	the	damage.		At	worst,	
  the	injured	gargoyle	becomes	slightly	smaller	due	
  to	loss	of	tissue.
  This	inertia	to	bodily	change	extends	to	the	
  various	substances	that	affect	a	human’s	bodily	
  chemistry.		Most	drugs	have	no	effect	on	a	gar-
  goyle;	UV	radiation	and	heat	are	their	stimulants	
  of	choice.		It	would	be	possible	to	design	drugs	
  that	affect	a	gargoyle’s	silicon	chemistry,	but	no	
  gargoyle	has	ever	wanted	to	and	no	human	has	
  ever	realized	it	might	be	worthwhile.
  
  6	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Gargoyles	very	rarely	leave	the	cathedrals	
  where	they	are	born.		The	last	gargoyle	to	leave	his	
  home	(before	Fat	Benny)	was	known	by	humans	as	
  the	Phantom	of	the	Opera.
  Benny	is	young	for	a	gargoyle,	about	50	
  years	old.		He	left	Winchester	Cathedral	sim-
  ply	because	he	was	bored.		He’d	heard	a	lot	of	
  the	younger	humans	in	the	congregation	talking	
  about	the	modern	world,	and	felt,	with	good	rea-
  son,	that	the	other	gargoyles	were	far	too	willing	
  to	live	in	the	past.
  Unsurprisingly,	given	his	unusual	nature	and	
  yen	for	observing	interesting	events	and	people,	
  he	wound	up	on	Al	Amarja.		As	a	fence,	he	finds	
  that	some	of	the	most	interesting	items	on	the	is-
  land	pass	through	his	hands	on	their	way	to	some	
  of	the	most	interesting	people.		This	fascination	
  has	not	gone	unnoticed,	but	most	people	mistake	
  his	fascination	with	the	outré	for	a	love	of	power;	
  “Fat”	refers	to	this	perceived	desire	rather	than	to	
  his	weight.
  He	can	be	found	every	morning	at	the	Break-
  neck	Cafe	on	the	Plaza	of	Flowers,	sipping	coffee	
  (the	heat	is	enjoyable	even	if	the	caffeine	has	no	
  effect)	and	doing	business.		Generally,	he	remains	
  in	the	Breakneck	for	most	of	the	day,	with	oc-
  casional	side	trips	to	do	business	with	various	
  people.		He	is,	of	course,	never	out	during	the	
  night.
  He	lives	in	the	Flowers	Barrio	in	a	small	
  walk-up	apartment	that’s	generally	messy.		The	
  astute	observer	might	notice	that	his	bed	is	un-
  usually	sturdy.
  Apparently	an	Irish	man,	age	5	(actually	
  54),	67	cm,	4	kg.		Compactly	built	but	doesn’t	
  look	overweight,	bald,	brown	eyes,	dark	pock-
  marked	skin.		Dresses	casually.
  Languages:	English,	Latin,	Al	Amarjan	
  patois
  Attack:		dice,	X	damage	in	stone	shape
  Defense:		dice
  Hit Points:		(built	to	last)
  Psychic Pool:	4	shots
  Traits
  Fence,		dice	—	He’s	an	experienced	fence,	
  talented	at	negotiation,	price	estimates,	and	sales-
  manship.		(Refers	to	objects	by	their	values,	e.g.,	
  “Let	me	grab	my	ten	dollar	noose.”)
  Limited shape shift	—	Although	he’s	limited	
  to	one	human	form,	he	can	change	into	any	form	
  made	of	stone	and	of	the	same	mass.		This	ability	
  is	always	successful,	although	it	takes	about	ten	
  minutes	to	transform	completely.		(Rough	cast	to	
  his	skin)
  Tough Internal Structure,		dice	—	Due	to	the	
  silicon	nature	of	his	body,	even	when	in	human	
  shape	he’s	very	hard	to	damage.		(Doesn’t	notice	
  small	jolts,	bumps)
  Immobile at Night	—	Gargoyles	cannot	move	
  about	unless	the	sun	is	out	or	they	are	exposed	to	
  UV	light.		(Keeps	a	tanning	booth	in	his	apart-
  ment	for	emergency	situations)
  Fascinated by the Unusual	—	He	has	a	very	
  difficult	time	refusing	any	opportunity	to	meet	
  unusual	people,	witness	unusual	events,	or	fence	
  unusual	things.		(Shows	people	odd	knickknacks	
  he	carries	around	with	him)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Fat	Benny	discovers	that	he	rather	enjoys	some	
  of	the	things	money	can	bring	him,	perhaps	
  becoming	addicted	to	some	human	drug.		
  Unfortunately,	his	fencing	isn’t	bringing	in	
  enough	money	to	keep	him	in	his	newfound	
  vices.		In	desperation,	he	begins	to	fence	him-
  self,	in	various	stone	shapes,	as	“rare	statues.”		
  After	the	buyer	makes	the	pickup,	Benny	waits	
  until	he’s	alone,	reverts	to	human	form,	and	
  escapes.		PCs	might	be	hired	by	an	accomplice	
  to	help	Fat	Benny	escape	from	a	more	than	
  usually	well-guarded	gallery,	or	by	someone	
  who’s	considering	buying	a	statue	from	Fat	
  Benny	to	guard	the	statue.		If	your	PCs	aren’t	
  the	types	to	get	hired,	a	PC	or	a	friend	might	
  get	burned	by	Fat	Benny’s	scam.
  )	 The	secret	ingredient	needed	to	modify	
  Nusbaum’s	plastic	surgery	(see	New Faces)	
  is	gargoyle	blood.		Either	Dr.	Rodriguez	has	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  7
  used	up	his	supply	of	gargoyle	blood	and	is	
  looking	for	more,	or	poor	Fat	Benny	has	been	
  the	source	all	along.		PCs	could	be	hired	to	
  find	Fat	Benny	by	any	number	of	people,	
  including	Dr.	Rodriguez,	who	need	a	source	
  of	blood;	Dr.	Nusbaum,	wanting	to	stop	Dr.	
  Rodriguez;	or	just	someone	who	wants	to	do	
  business	with	Fat	Benny	and	can’t	find	him.		
  Alternatively,	Fat	Benny	could	hire	them	to	
  find	out	who’s	the	blood	source.
  )	 Fat	Benny	has	a	brother	named	Samuel.		
  Samuel	would	never	have	left	the	cathedral	by	
  himself	—	indeed,	he	doesn’t	even	like	to	lis-
  ten	to	those	silly	humans.		However,	he	misses	
  his	brother	Benjamin	enough	to	want	to	go	
  visit	him.		Samuel	does	not	understand	human	
  ways.		(“But	where	do	you	worship	if	there	
  is	no	cathedral	here?”)		The	PCs	may	run	
  into	him	in	the	course	of	their	daily	business,	
  while	he’s	asking	everyone	in	sight	if	they’ve	
  seen	his	brother,	or	they	may	be	hired	by	Fat	
  Benny	to	guard	him	while	he	visits.
  Denise Felder
  Snake Dancer
  Denise	Felder	started	out	as	a	slightly	frumpy	
  research	librarian.		Then	she	met	Dr.	Jamaranathy	
  Panil,	of	her	university’s	Asian	Studies	depart-
  ment.		Dr.	Panil	was	interested	in	certain	obscure	
  Indian	religious	texts	that	had	to	be	painstakingly	
  reconstructed	from	various	fragments,	and	he	
  hired	her	to	do	the	legwork.		Tracking	the	sources	
  down	took	Felder	months.		Slowly,	the	photo-
  copied	pages	and	borrowed	volumes	trickled	into	
  her	office,	where	she	helped	Dr.	Panil	reassemble	
  the	original	and	translate	it.
  Then	Felder	started	to	notice	the	changes.		
  They	came	on	so	gradually	that	at	first	she	paid	
  them	no	heed.		Then	she	could	barely	help	but	
  notice.		Her	blood	started	to	bubble,	telling	her	
  of	the	wondrous	things	that	could	be	had	in	the	
  world,	the	glories	that	could	be	hers.		She	began	
  skipping	work,	making	feeble	excuses	to	her	col-
  leagues,	and	throwing	herself	into	exhibitionistic	
  frenzies.		Much	to	her	surprise,	her	co-workers	
  accepted	her	explanations	without	hesitation.
  One	morning,	Felder	was	singing	loudly	in	
  the	shower	when	she	felt	something	odd	touch	her	
  nose.		She	checked	in	a	mirror,	and	screamed.		Her	
  tongue	had	become	long	and	forked,	like	that	of	a	
  snake.		She	ran	to	Dr.	Panil’s	office,	only	to	find	it	
  abandoned.		She	found	that	he	had	left	the	country	
  weeks	ago,	taking	the	translation	with	him.		At	the	
  time,	she	hadn’t	even	noticed.
  Since	then,	Felder	has	gone	where	her	“inner	
  demon”	has	taken	her.		Along	the	way	she	has	
  made	some	effort	to	locate	Dr.	Panil,	hoping	that	
  he	knows	exactly	what	has	happened	to	her.		She’s	
  been	in	Al	Amarja	for	a	couple	of	years,	after	
  hearing	rumors	that	Dr.	Panil	had	joined	the	facul-
  ty	of	D’Aubainne	University.		She	hasn’t	managed	
  to	find	the	time	to	really	check	the	rumors	out	yet,	
  though.		She	has	a	flat	in	Sunken	Barrio,	and	will	
  often	sublet	a	room	to	anyone	she	figures	she	can	
  soak	for	money.		She	works	as	an	exotic	dancer	in	
  whatever	bars	and	clubs	will	have	her	when	she	
  needs	money,	which	is	all	the	time.		(Sad	Mary’s	
  
  8	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  is	a	favorite	of	hers.)		The	rest	of	the	time,	she	is	
  either	out	on	the	town	looking	for	new	things	to	do	
  or	asleep.
  US	white	woman,	age	9	(looks	much	younger	
  with	makeup),	7	cm,	59	kg.		Hair	dyed	fiery	red	
  (naturally	black),	long	legs,	black	forked	tongue.		
  Dresses	racily.
  Languages:	English,	badly-accented	Arabic,	
  scraps	of	several	dead	languages	(written	only)
  Hit Points:		(quick	on	her	feet)
  Traits
  Forked Tongue,	4	dice	—	Felder’s	“inner	
  demon”	(as	she	calls	it)	is	a	sybaritic	creature,	ac-
  customed	to	luxury	and	pleasure.		It	has	given	her	
  an	aptitude	for	lazy	lies	and	untruths	to	avoid	un-
  pleasant	realities.		Felder	doesn’t	really	understand	
  how	it	works	(though	some	drunken	intellectuals	
  have	theorized	that	the	ends	of	her	tongue	may	
  give	off	pleasing	vibrations),	but	people	she	speaks	
  to	tend	to	believe	her	lies,	and	even	regard	her	as	a	
  friend	and	confidante	for	no	good	reason.		(Forked,	
  snakelike	tongue)
  Exotic Dancer,		dice	—	Felder’s	specialty	is	
  erotic	dancing,	but	she’s	fairly	good	at	other	forms	
  as	long	as	they	aren’t	too	structured.		Her	inner	
  demon	isn’t	interested	in	dancing	as	an	art.		She	
  prefers	dancing	as	an	excuse	to	glory	in	her	body	
  and	the	ways	it	can	move.		Plus,	it	gives	her	a	good	
  way	to	show	off.		(Muscular	legs)
  Library Research,		dice	—	Felder	was	once	a	
  good	researcher.		She	specialized	in	finding	unusu-
  al	books	and	assisting	in	academic	research.		Now	
  she	has	a	lot	of	trouble	using	these	skills,	most	
  often	taking	a	penalty	die	when	using	them.		She’d	
  like	to	be	able	to	use	them	to	track	down	Dr.	Panil,	
  but	can’t	be	bothered	just	now.		(Subscribes	to	
  esoteric	literary	magazines,	but	never	reads	them)
  Sybarite	—	Felder	is	at	the	mercy	of	her	in-
  ner	demon	when	it	comes	to	entertainment.		Her	
  attention	span	is	practically	nil	and	her	appetite	
  is	endless.		She	can’t	stand	hard	work	or	anything	
  requiring	concentration,	and	will	do	whatever	it	
  takes	to	avoid	them.		Fortunately,	her	ability	to	
  exploit	those	around	her	gives	her	a	ready	supply	
  of	excuses.		She	has	reached	the	point	where	she	
  even	uses	them	when	there’s	no	need.		She’ll	gen-
  erally	take	a	penalty	die	when	trying	to	accomplish	
  anything	difficult	or	unpleasant,	if	her	efforts	to	
  avoid	it	somehow	fail.		(Hisses	occasionally,	lies	all	
  the	time)
  Story Ideas
  )	 A	PC	needs	a	place	to	stay,	and	an	acquain-
  tance	(preferably	one	who	spends	a	lot	of	
  time	in	bars)	suggests	that	Felder	might	have	
  a	room	open.		If	the	character	is	at	all	appeal-
  ing	to	her,	she’ll	agree	instantly,	even	if	she’s	
  already	got	a	roommate.		Her	idea	of	a	good	
  roommate	is	someone	who	pays	all	the	rent	
  and	the	bills	and	stays	out	of	the	way	when	
  she’s	having	fun,	and	she	assumes	that	pretty	
  much	anybody	can	fit	this	description	until	
  proven	otherwise.		She	brings	people	home	all	
  the	time,	holds	wild	parties	(catered,	because	
  she	can’t	be	bothered	to	prepare	food),	and	
  justifies	it	all	with	a	string	of	frighteningly	
  plausible	untruths.
  )	 When	Felder	talks	about	her	“inner	demon,”	
  she	thinks	she’s	kidding.		What	if	she’s	not?		
  Thus	far,	the	creature	has	been	absorbed	by	
  the	less	offensive	pleasures	of	the	flesh.		It	
  could	acquire	a	more	vicious	sense	of	amuse-
  ment	quite	easily,	especially	when	a	hidden	
  sorcerer	prods	it	in	that	direction.		Felder	
  comes	to	the	characters,	blood	streaking	her	
  body,	and	begs	them	to	help	her	with	all	her	
  usual	snaky	charm.		It	quickly	becomes	clear	
  that	she	has	been	taking	up	torture	as	a	recre-
  ational	activity,	and	is	also	prone	to	frenzied	
  outbursts	of	violence.		Meanwhile,	the	sorcerer	
  is	drawing	upon	the	pain	energy	she	produces	
  to	further	his	own	nefarious	schemes.		For	
  purposes	of	this	story,	when	the	demon	comes	
  out	Felder	should	be	able	to	use	her	“Forked	
  Tongue”	trait	to	fly	into	violent	frenzies,	giv-
  ing	her	4	dice	to	attack	(but	not	to	defend)	and	
  +0	hit	points.
  )	 A	shrunken,	old	Indian	man	approaches	the	
  characters	and	introduces	himself	as	Dr.	
  Panil.		He	has	heard	of	a	particular	American	
  working	in	the	Edge	as	an	exotic	dancer,	and	
  he’d	very	much	like	to	meet	her.		Perhaps	the	
  characters	could	arrange	an	introduction...?
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  9
  Andrew Garret
  Brainwiped CIA Agent
  Andrew	Garret	(not	his	real	name)	was	a	
  crack	CIA	agent	doing	undercover	work	on	Al	
  Amarja.		His	current	mission	involved	penetrat-
  ing	one	of	the	local	Mover	cells.		He	was	doing	
  well,	and	managed	to	gain	the	good	favor	of	his	
  Mover	superiors	before	he	made	a	big	mistake.		
  Garret	relied	on	what	he	thought	was	a	loyal	de-
  livery	boy	to	pass	a	message	to	his	CIA	contact.		
  As	it	turned	out	the	delivery	boy,	Ping,	also	does	
  part	time	gopher	work	for	Madam	Vylaska	(see	
  the	Bienvenidos	Hotel	description	in	OTE).		Ping	
  mixed	up	the	packages	and	the	CIA	memo	was	
  accidentally	given	to	one	of	the	Madam’s	girls.		
  Garret’s	cover	was	quickly	blown.		The	Movers	
  tried	to	interrogate	him,	but	his	years	of	CIA	
  training	prevented	him	from	giving	in.		Instead,	
  they	completely	wiped	his	memory	and	left	him	
  in	the	Edge.
  Since	his	brain	wipe	a	week	ago,	he	has	got-
  ten	a	job	at	Scoopmeisters	as	a	counter	worker,	
  and	a	room	at	Rooms	for	Men.		He	also	has	a	
  room	at	Cesar’s	that	contains	all	his	spy	gear,	but	
  he	doesn’t	know	about	it.		When	not	working,	
  Garret	can	be	found	wandering	the	Flowers	and	
  Great	Men	Barrios.
  When	encountered,	Garret	seems	distant,	as	
  if	preoccupied.		He	acts	very	much	like	a	small	
  child:	trusting,	naive,	and	confused	by	large	
  words.		If	anyone	befriends	him,	Garret	follows	
  him	around	and	tries	to	be	helpful.		He	realizes	
  that	he	has	no	knowledge	of	his	past	and	will	do	
  what	he	can	to	restore	his	memory	if	given	the	
  opportunity.		Certain	spy	related	phrases	(e.g.,	
  “CIA,”	“the	Company,”	“wet	work,”	etc.)	or	ac-
  tivities	(sneaking	around,	breaking	and	entering)	
  may	help	him	recall	certain	aspects	of	his	former	
  career.
  US	white	man,	age	5,	85	cm,	85	kg.		Close	
  cut	brown	hair,	well	muscled,	vacant	look	in	eyes.		
  Dresses	in	an	apron	and	hat	from	Scoopmeisters.
  Attack:			dice,	X	unarmed
  Defense:			dice
  Hit Points:		0	(hardened)
  Traits
  Fighting,			dice	—	As	a	CIA	operative,	Garret	
  was	a	trained	martial	artist.		His	brainwashing	has	
  caused	him	to	lose	some	of	his	technique,	but	his	
  instincts	are	far	above	an	average	person’s.		(Well	
  muscled)
  Stealth,	4	dice	—	Garret’s	neurons	retain	some	
  of	the	techniques	he	learned	when	he	was	with	
  the	“Company.”		He	can	sneak	and	hide	almost	
  without	a	thought.		(Light	step)
  Brainwashed	—	Garret	has	been	stripped	of	all	
  his	memories	at	the	hands	of	the	Movers.		(Vacant	
  look	in	eyes,	wanders	around	aimlessly)
  Story Ideas
  )	 If	the	PCs	are	in	the	market	for	a	job,	they	
  could	be	approached	by	CIA	operatives	who	
  need	the	assistance	of	people	steeped	in	the	
  local	culture	to	help	track	down	their	missing	
  agent.
  )	 PCs	investigating	the	Movers	come	across	
  Garret’s	name	in	a	secret	communiqué.		They	
  may	wish	to	track	him	down	and	try	to	bring	
  back	some	of	his	memory.
  )	 Garret’s	credit	at	Cesar’s	runs	out,	and	the	
  staff	cleans	out	his	room,	dumping	his	spy	
  gear	into	the	trash.		The	PCs	stumble	across	
  it,	possibly	as	it’s	being	sold	as	second	hand	
  junk	in	the	Plaza	of	the	Four	Cardinal	Points.		
  Then	other	cloaks	get	word	that	some	burger	
  have	sensitive	information	and	advanced	es-
  pionage	gear...
  Federico Georno
  Sophomore Lothario
  Federico	grew	up	penniless	in	a	Catholic	
  orphanage	in	southern	Italy,	but	has	worked	hard	
  and	gotten	a	scholarship	to	D’Aubainne	Univer-
  sity.		He’s	very	grateful,	because	he	doesn’t	really	
  feel	he	earned	it.
  
  0	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  There	are	two	important	things	Federico	
  doesn’t	know.		One	is	that	he’s	half	glug,	the	
  child	of	a	“sower”	(see	the	description	of	glugs	in	
  OTE).		The	other	is	that	he	was	recruited	to	the	U	
  by	a	professor	who	recognized	his	heritage.
  Since	coming	to	the	island,	Federico	has	
  become	very	busy.		Most	of	his	days	are	spent	in	
  the	biology	labs,	trying	to	keep	up	with	his	more	
  talented	classmates.		Nights,	he	goes	wherever	
  there	are	women;	he	attends	the	Sommerite	meet-
  ings	steadily	(but	not	religiously),	spends	a	lot	of	
  evenings	at	Sad	Mary’s,	and	attends	every	Sigma	
  Ep	function	he	can.
  Al	Amarjan/Italian	man,	age	,	80	cm,	68	
  kg.		Crooked	teeth,	ridge	on	skull.		Wears	cheap	
  clothes.
  Attack:		dice,	X	damage	unarmed
  Defense:		dice
  Hit Points:		(tough)
  Traits
  Tough,		dice	—		This	is	the	typical	glug	
  toughness.		(Parties	long	into	the	night)
  Scrap Fighting,		dice	—		They	didn’t	have	
  many	toys	in	the	orphanage,	so	they	just	fought	
  each	other.		(Scar	reaching	from	base	of	neck	down	
  his	back	along	the	spine)
  Psychic Resistance,	5	dice	—		Glug	trait.		
  (Doesn’t	believe	in	the	paranormal)
  Other Glug Traits	—		Strange	taste	in	food,	
  sensitive	to	stimulants,	addictive	sex,	ridge	on	
  skull.		(Ridge	on	skull)
  Womanizer	—		Since	leaving	the	Sisters	of	
  Perpetual	Sorrow	Orphanage,	Federico	has	learned	
  that	he	can	attract	many	women	to	have	sex	with	
  him.		He	has	yet	to	learn	that	these	women	will	get	
  increasingly	desperate	for	his	favors.		(Roommate	
  complains	frequently	about	Federico’s	loudness	
  and	“terrible	body	odor.”)
  Story Ideas
  )	 A	PC	is	romantically	attracted	to	a	woman,	
  but	she	tells	him	she	“just	can’t	forget”	Fed-
  erico	—	even	though	he	won’t	give	her	the	
  time	of	day	anymore.		
  )	 Federico	turns	up	missing	when	his	professor	
  decides	to	try	a	few	involuntary	experiments	
  on	him	to	extract	those	valuable	pheromones.
  Giorgos Antonio 
  Hamati, Ph.D.
  Intellectual Radical and Mover 
  Ideologue
  “Under	Communism,	every	man	could	
  imagine	that,	were	he	only	free,	he	would	
  be	among	the	Special	Few;	and	reality	
  would	not	challenge	him.		Now	we	must	
  build	new	strata	to	perpetuate	this	vital	
  delusion.”
  —	Professor	Hamati
  A	“post-Marxist	cynic,”	Professor	of	Politi-
  cal	Science	G.A.	Hamati	has	been	labeled	racist,	
  sexist,	communist,	fascist,	insane,	and	(most	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  often)	insignificant.		To	most	people	he	is	just	
  another	loopy	professor,	spouting	nonsense	at	
  D’Aubainne	U.		Just	about	the	only	people	who	
  get	riled	up	about	him	anymore	are	the	Uni-
  versity’s	“progressive”	student	societies,	Delta	
  Epsilon	Theta	(“Neanderthal	revisionist!”	they	
  scream)	and	especially	Alpha	Rho	Tau	(“patri-
  archal	hate	monger!”	they	howl).		Their	efforts	
  over	the	years	to	have	his	tenure	revoked	have	
  included	charges	from	harassment	to	treason	
  —	and	have	always	failed.
  What	does	Dr.	Hamati	say	to	upset	these	
  people?		The	thrust	of	his	political	theory	is	this:	
  Most	people	are	just	not	go-get-’em,	aggres-
  sive	types.		These	are	the	great	majority	who	see	
  the	wealth	capitalism	brings	some,	while	they	
  struggle	to	get	by;	who	see	the	beauty	that	com-
  mercialism	and	the	media	promise,	while	they	
  suffer	homeliness;	and	who	look	at	the	walls	of	
  the	Ivory	Tower,	which	they	cannot	understand.		
  In	a	competitive	society,	it	is	the	rule	that	some,	
  indeed	most,	must	be	losers.
  If	one	really	values	each	and	every	individual	
  —	if	one	is	concerned	with	their	unique	welfare,	
  not	utilitarian	notions	of	the	greatest	good	for	
  the	greatest	number	(a	goal	for	which	many	may	
  suffer	hugely),	one	should	promote	a	socio-politi-
  cal	system	in	which	either	(a)	no	one	can	surpass	
  her	peers,	or	(b)	people	are	given	their	places	in	
  life	by	obvious	chance	and	events	outside	of	their	
  control,	and	an	individual’s	duties	have	no	neces-
  sary	relation	to	his	competence	to	perform	them.
  Thus,	in	Hamati’s	view,	communism	offered	
  the	best	society	to	date.		“Getting	ahead”	under	
  communism	had	nothing	to	do	with	talent;	in-
  deed,	real	talent	would	get	in	the	way	by	inspir-
  ing	jealousy	among	superiors.		Oriental	societies	
  have	generally	bested	the	West	in	meeting	this	
  ideal,	Hamati	has	argued,	whether	in	the	form	
  of	India’s	caste	system,	China’s	modern	com-
  munism,	or	the	self-negating	ideals	of	Buddhism.		
  (Nirvana,	to	Hamati,	is	the	state	of	ideal	worldly	
  mediocrity.)
  This	much	does	Hamati	speak	in	public,	
  and	it	incenses	a	great	many	people.		After	all,	it	
  rationalizes	all	sorts	of	unpopular	“isms,”	from	
  racism	and	sexism	to	classism	—	it’s	better	for	
  people	to	be	convinced	that	“the	system”	won’t	
  let	them	get	ahead,	rather	than	to	have	to	accept	
  failure	at	face	value	when	they	try	and	don’t	suc-
  ceed.		They	may	then	be	resentful,	but	they	can	
  also	maintain	their	dignity	(or	at	least	righteous	
  indignation).
  Of	course,	someone	needs	to	be	behind	a	
  system	—	controlling	without	their	control	being	
  known.		This	was	the	place	of	the	Nomenkla-
  tura	in	Soviet	Russia,	or	Milovan	Djilas’s	“New	
  Class”	in	old	Yugoslavia.		And,	more	insidiously,	
  it	is	the	place	of	the	Movers.		While	“Matter”	
  should	languish	in	blissful	mediocrity,	the	Mov-
  ers	must	be	conscious	of	what	they	are	—	and	the	
  terrible	power	of	free	will	and	total	responsibility	
  that	falls	in	their	hands.
  This	“secret	lore”	Hamati	shares	only	with	
  the	most	promising	students	—	those	whom	he	
  may	ultimately	induct	into	the	Movers.		Hamati	
  is	generally	held	(by	those	“in	the	know”)	to	be	
  a	powerful	member	of	that	conspiracy;	perhaps	
  even	a	Leader.		(His	power	derives	mainly	from	
  
  	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  having	taught	and	influenced	so	many	future	
  Movers	over	the	past	few	decades;	and	he	knows	
  many	secrets...)		Sometimes	he	has	claimed	to	be	
  a	key	member	of	Cell	Z;	other	times	he	denies	
  being	a	Mover	at	all,	but	casts	himself	as	a	mere	
  “friend”	who	provides	connections	to	those	who	
  would	help	spread	his	ideas.		
  Al	Amarjan	man,	age	47,	7	cm,	67	kg.		
  Peppered	black	hair	with	white	sideburns,	pocked	
  cheeks,	goatee.		Dresses	conservatively.
  Languages:	Al	Amarjan	patois,	English,	
  Italian,	German,	Russian,	French
  Traits
  Intellectualizing,	4	dice	—	Dr.	Hamati	could	
  argue	with	the	Devil	as	well	as	Daniel	Webster.		
  Most	people	are	too	intimidated	by	his	forceful-
  ness	to	confront	what	he	says;	they	either	believe	
  or	dismiss	it	outright.		Those	who	are	confident	
  in	their	own	intellectual	prowess	may	find	Hama-
  ti	a	pleasant	interlocutor;	among	peers	he	speaks	
  more	genially,	and	even	entertains	others’	views.		
  (Smokes	a	pipe	and	holds	it	in	his	mouth	while	
  considering	someone’s	point)
  Moving Oratory,		dice	—	Using	techniques	
  common	among	Mover	operatives,	Hamati	is	a	
  powerful	lecturer.		While	many	“politically	cor-
  rect”	students	are	repulsed	by	his	views,	others	
  throng	about	him	as	disciples.		(Rich	voice	with	a	
  vaguely	exotic,	yet	clear,	accent)
  Political Science,	4	dice	—	Hamati’s	academic	
  specialty;	he	has	read	hundreds	(maybe	thou-
  sands)	of	books	in	the	field,	and	written	several	as	
  well.		(Wears	an	ancient	“I	Like	Ike”	button)
  Been Around,	bonus	or	penalty	die	—	Hama-
  ti’s	exposure	to	so	many	diverse	people,	ideas,	
  and	events	over	the	years	makes	him	almost	
  invulnerable	to	the	strange,	sick	and	bizarre	
  —	from	the	atrocities	of	the	Khmer	Rouge	to	
  paranormal	phenomena.		On	the	upside,	weird-
  nesses	that	might	stun	other	people	are	less	likely	
  to	make	Hamati	flinch	(bonus	die	against	horror,	
  fright,	etc.);	on	the	downside,	he’s	more	likely	to	
  be	apathetic	and	“academic”	even	in	a	crisis	(pen-
  alty	die	when	quick	action	is	required).		(Often	
  raises	eyebrows	nonchalantly)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Student	PCs	at	D’Aubainne	University	may	
  take	one	of	Hamati’s	courses.		If	they	make	a	
  strong	impression	on	him,	he	may	introduce	
  them	to	the	Movers	through	a	front	organiza-
  tion.		(Indeed,	the	loose	collection	of	his	“dis-
  ciples”	might	be	considered	a	Mover	front	of	
  sorts.)
  )	 As	a	member	of	the	intelligentsia,	Hamati	is	
  found	at	many	island	events	of	“high	cul-
  ture”	—	poetry	readings,	art	exhibits,	and	so	
  forth.		There	he	contacts	the	PCs	on	behalf	
  of	a	former	student	(or	maybe	only	in	ap-
  pearance,	and	the	errand	is	ultimately	his,	
  but	he’s	concealing	his	position	in	the	Mover	
  hierarchy.)
  )	 PCs	who	take	a	profound	dislike	to	Hamati’s	
  ideas	may	try	to	silence	or	humiliate	him.		
  This	would	bring	out	his	allies...Alternately,	a	
  group	of	irate	first-year	students	start	a	radi-
  cal	gang	with	the	goal	of	removing	him	per-
  manently	from	his	teaching	position	—	and	
  the	PCs	must	stop	them.
  Geoffry Hienzen
  The Weed Man
  In	his	own	words,	Geoffry	Hienzen	says	with	
  a	sad	smile,	“All	the	losers	of	the	world	need	
  somebody	to	look	up	to,	a	leader	of	some	sort;	I’m	
  that	guy.”		Hienzen	has	a	fatalistic,	but	humor-
  ous	outlook	on	life;	he	has	to	because	he	has	the	
  uncanny	ability	to	attract	the	worthless	and	useless	
  people	of	the	world.		Hienzen	calls	them	“weeds.”		
  “They’re	like	weeds,	you	know.		No	matter	where	
  you	go,	there	they	are,	sticking	up	through	the	
  cracks	of	the	world.		You	get	rid	of	one	batch,	
  more	of	them	spring	up	to	take	their	place.”		He	
  doesn’t	know	where	this	ability	comes	from	or	
  how	to	control	it,	but	Hienzen	has	found	that	
  these	weeds	will	do	anything	for	him.		Hienzen	is	
  extremely	charismatic,	but	only	when	it	comes	to	
  weeds.		For	some	reason,	they	find	it	important	
  that	Hienzen	likes	them	and	they	will	do	anything	
  to	be	in	his	good	favor.		
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  
  To	his	credit,	Hienzen	is	a	very	amiable	person	
  and	hasn’t	taken	advantage	of	his	ability,	yet.		He	
  gets	along	well	with	normal	people	and	desperately	
  wants	to	live	a	normal	life.		He	once	tried	to	drive	
  the	weeds	away	by	reviling	or	ignoring,	but	after	
  several	months	he	found	that	he	could	not	keep	
  up	the	effort,	and	a	new	batch	of	weeds	attached	
  themselves	to	him	in	short	order.
  Hienzen	moved	to	Al	Amarja	for	two	reasons.		
  The	first	is	that	if	Hienzen	can	find	someone	who	
  can	counteract	his	ability	nowhere	else,	he	may	
  find	it	in	the	Edge.		Secondly,	in	the	Edge	his	af-
  fliction	goes	mostly	unnoticed	among	the	other	
  oddities.		The	only	person	who	has	taken	a	real	no-
  tice	of	Hienzen’s	ability	is	Mr.	Tramh	LeThuy.		It	
  seems	that	Hienzen’s	ability	works	even	on	people	
  who	have	been	injected	with	LeThuy’s	genes.		
  LeThuy	despises	Hienzen	because	they	share	the	
  same	human	resources	and	Hienzen’s	influence	
  disrupts	LeThuy’s	plans.		Hienzen	is	oblivious	to	
  this	and	isn’t	even	aware	of	the	LeThuys.		
  Currently,	Hienzen	lives	in	a	modest	house	
  in	the	Great	Men	Barrio,	where	many	of	the	dirt	
  poor	and	hopeless	idolize	him.		He	is	attended	
  by	a	group	of	followers	who	go	out	and	perform	
  actions	on	his	behalf	(a	poor	man’s	bennies).		The	
  weeds	are	very	enthusiastic	about	doing	things	for	
  Hienzen	and	are	not	easily	deterred.		He	has	set	up	
  on	the	plaza	a	small	store	specializing	in	games	and	
  books,	but	it	barely	makes	a	profit.		Those	entering	
  Regal	Games	and	Books	find	the	store	to	be	termi-
  nally	messy	with	a	sparse	selection	of	product	and	
  crowded	with	weeds.
  German	man,	age	,	74	cm,	8	kg.		Large	
  nose;	weak	chin;	short,	blondish	hair.		Usually	
  dressed	in	jeans	and	a	t-shirt.
  Languages:	German,	English,	Al	Amarjan	
  patois
  Traits
  Weed Magnet,	*	dice	(upside)	—	Hienzen	
  possesses	a	tremendous	charisma	with	regards	
  to	the	losers	of	the	world.		They	unconsciously	
  recognize	him	as	the	king	of	their	kind	and	follow	
  any	reasonable	order	he	gives.		The	vast	majority	
  of	these	followers	are	male,	but	it	is	the	females	
  who	are	the	most	devoted.		In	game	terms,	
  Hienzen’s	ability	allows	him	to	call	on	the	aid	of	
  low	lifes,	zeroes,	and	some	dispirited	mutants.		
  (Dogged	by	losers)
  Joketelling,		dice	—	In	order	to	keep	from	
  going	completely	insane,	Hienzen	has	developed	
  a	keen	sense	of	humor.		He	is	skilled	at	telling	
  jokes,	solving	riddles,	making	puns	and	turning	a	
  phrase.		(Tells	jokes)
  Weed Magnet,	(downside)	—	Hienzen’s	ir-
  resistible	charisma	means	that	wherever	he	goes,	
  Hienzen	is	followed	by	losers.		He	rarely	has	a	
  moment	of	peace	and	is	continually	surrounded	
  by	losers	and	idiots.		He	hasn’t	been	on	a	date	in	
  years	because	no	decent	woman	wants	to	be	seen	
  with	a	man	who	has	such	lame	friends.		(Dazed	
  look	in	his	eye)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Hienzen	has	decided	to	use	his	control	over	
  weeds	to	get	something	out	of	life.		With	his	
  
  4	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  army	of	losers,	Hienzen	is	slowly	gathering	
  power	and	assuming	control	of	the	Great	Men	
  Barrio.		At	first	his	motives	seem	noble	as	he	
  intimidates	the	Glorious	Lords,	but	his	plans	
  include	the	eventual	control	of	the	Edge.		Can	
  the	PCs	stop	this	madman?
  )	 Hienzen’s	power	comes	from	a	strong	phero-
  mone	or	uncontrollable	mental	ability.		Dr.	
  Nusbaum	wants	Hienzen	for	testing,	which	is	
  sure	to	be	painful.		Can	the	PCs	bring	Hien-
  zen	in	or	can	they	save	him	from	trouble?
  )	 Hienzen	is	getting	desperate;	he	needs	to	go	
  out	with	a	real	woman.		He	contacts	the	PCs	
  and	asks	them	to	run	interference	while	he	
  enjoys	the	first	date	he’s	had	in	years.		(If	the	
  PCs	have	made	a	reputation	for	themselves,	it	
  may	be	easy	for	you	to	introduce	this	plotline.		
  Otherwise,	introduce	Hienzen	as	a	background	
  character	prior	to	running	this	story.)
  4)	 The	Mr.	LeThuys	are	fed	up	with	Hienzen’s	
  ability	to	interfere	with	their	carefully	laid	
  plans.		LeThuy	is	going	to	make	sure	that	the	
  Hienzen	“problem”	is	fixed,	permanently.		
  Will	the	PCs	be	able	to	save	the	only	man	who	
  can	counteract	LeThuy’s	evil?
  5)	 Is	there	a	loser	among	the	PCs?		If	so,	he	may	
  become	enamored	with	Hienzen.
  Hun Ku-Gong
  Immortal Warrior
  The	people	of	the	Edge	know	Hun	as	a	brood-
  ing,	dangerous	man	who	sells	his	services	as	a	
  warrior.		He	does	not	fight	for	money	alone.		He	
  has	a	taste	for	worthy	causes	and	doomed	heroics,	
  which	has	earned	him	the	nickname	of	“Chinese	
  Paladin.”		Yet	rumors	whisper	that	his	sense	of	fair	
  play	is	less	than	honorable.		Certainly,	Hun’s	abil-
  ity	to	take	the	underdog’s	side	and	survive	proves	
  that	he	is	not	naïve.		Few	people	really	understand	
  this	man,	with	his	impenetrable	reserve	and	his	
  narrow,	glittering	eyes.		He	seldom	tells	the	story	
  of	his	past.	
  Hun	has	followed	the	warrior’s	path	longer	
  than	anyone	can	guess.		His	career	began	before	
  the	birth	of	Christ,	in	a	cavalry	detachment	of	the	
  Chinese	Emperor	Han	Wu.		He	won	a	reputation	
  not	only	for	his	bravery	but	also	for	his	cun-
  ning	pragmatism.		Therefore,	the	Son	of	Heaven	
  summoned	him	for	a	more	special	task:	steal	the	
  Dragon	Cinnibar	Elixir	from	the	wizard	Wang	
  Chi-Jen	and	bring	it	back.		The	Elixir	was	said	to	
  grant	immortality.		Hun	sneaked	into	the	wizard’s	
  hut	while	he	was	away,	defeated	the	guard	dogs	
  and	magical	wards,	and	found	the	Elixir.		In	ad-
  dition	to	taking	a	flask	for	the	Emperor,	however,	
  Hun	ladled	a	healthy	draught	for	himself.
  The	Dragon	Cinnabar	Elixir,	like	all	draughts	
  of	eternal	life,	contained	the	most	lethal	poisons.		
  Hun	Ku-Gong	collapsed	after	one	sip	and	lay	
  helpless	on	the	edge	of	death	until	Wang	returned.		
  Wang	cursed	Hun,	saying,	“Life	you	shall	have,	
  everlasting.		But	death	you	shall	seek,	for	others	
  and	for	all	you	know.		Yea,	there	are	but	so	many	
  years	in	a	man’s	allotment,	and	to	live	beyond	
  them	is	a	burden	which	drives	the	strongest	to	
  madness!		When	all	that	you	love	has	perished,	
  and	all	that	you	know	has	changed,	you	shall	kill	
  like	a	ravening	beast	and	you	shall	seek	death	from	
  all	the	things	which	deal	it.		But	you	shall	succeed	
  in	killing	only	others,	never	yourself,	for	there	is	
  but	one	antidote	to	this	Elixir	and	I	alone	know	the	
  secret	of	it.”
  Wang	Chi-Jen	poured	the	remaining	elixir	
  upon	the	ground.		Then	the	wizard	departed,	and	
  was	not	seen	in	China	again.		
  Hun	Ku-Gong	has	spent	ten	centuries	trying	
  to	prove	the	wizard	wrong.
  This	warrior	traveled	Europe,	Asia,	and	the	
  Americas	over	the	centuries.		He	has	learned	the	
  skills	and	acquired	the	tastes	of	many	eras.		His	
  six-shooters	come	from	the	Arizona	Territory	of	
  the	late	800s	and	his	reserve	of	gold	coins	comes	
  from	the	treasury	of	the	Tsars.	
  Hun	has	also	had	many	friends	but	lost	them	
  all.		
  Before	the	Elixir,	Hun	was	caught	up	in	the	
  day-to-day	excitement	of	a	warrior’s	life,	in	win-
  ning	on	the	battlefield	and	in	his	ambition	for	rank	
  and	station.		Now,	he	faces	the	challenge	of	finding	
  something	of	enduring	meaning.		Should	Hun	fail	
  at	this,	he	fears	that	the	wizard’s	curse	shall	come	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  5
  true,	he	shall	despair	of	the	world,	and	he	shall	go	
  insane.		Hun	has	found	himself	forced	to	become	a	
  reflective	man.		
  Hun	finds	himself	torn	between	several	paths,	
  and	hence,	several	personalities.		His	quest	for	the	
  worthwhile	impels	him	to	fight	for	causes	he	con-
  siders	just.		This	is	his	warrior	self,	quiet,	deter-
  mined	and	fatalistic.		But	Hun	also	feels	he	must	
  enjoy	himself,	in	case	simple	pleasure	can	stave	off	
  madness.		Therefore,	he	occasionally	plunges	into	
  debauchery	with	all	the	determination	he	devotes	
  to	any	other	duty,	ignoring	the	impossibility	of	
  having	fun	on	demand.		Those	who	know	him	as	a	
  silent	warrior,	almost	ascetic	in	his	practices,	find	it	
  shocking	to	see	him	in	this	configuration.
  Hun	also	has	a	dark,	depraved	side.		Over	
  time,	he	sees	how	his	causes	ultimately	fail,	and	
  his	friends	inevitably	die.		From	time	to	time,	this	
  leaves	Hun	in	a	state	of	sheer	frustration.		Then	
  Hun	forgets	his	sense	of	compassion	and	philoso-
  phy.		He	seeks	revenge	upon	his	latest	enemies	in	
  particular	and	the	universe	in	general.		This	has	
  led	to	rumors	about	his	cruelty.		These	bouts	of	
  despair	and	cruelty	terrify	Hun,	because	in	them,	
  he	sees	Wang’s	curse	coming	true.
  Hun	shares	a	house	with	three	graduate	stu-
  dents	in	the	Science	Barrio.		He	performs	occa-
  sional	work	as	a	mercenary	in	addition	to	lecturing	
  on	ancient	cultures.		
  Hun’s	name	means	“Spirit	of	Sad	Toil.”
  Chinese	man,	apparent	age	7	(b.	40	B.C.),	
  66	cm,	70	kg.		Lean	build,	glittering	brown	eyes,	
  hair	in	topknot.		Dresses	carefully.
  Languages:	Hun	speaks	nearly	all	major	lan-
  guages	of	the	past	ten	centuries,	though	he	is	rusty	
  with	most	of	them.
  Attack:	4	dice	with	both	archaic	and	modern	
  weapons
  Defense:	4	dice
  Hit Points:	8
  Armor:			die	(Immortality)
  Traits
  Immortality,	*	die	—	The	effects	of	the	
  Dragon	Cinnibar	Elixir	have	left	Hun	able	to	re-
  cover	from	wounds	and	disease	of	almost	any	sort,	
  and	to	resist	damage	in	the	first	place.		Upon	suf-
  fering	a	wound,	Hun	may	roll		die,	the	equivalent	
  of	armor.		This	roll	does	not	keep	Hun	from	being	
  cut	or	bashed;	it	just	represents	his	ability	to	shrug	
  off	small	wounds.		He	also	heals	at	double	the	nor-
  mal	rate.		Hun	does	not	age,	and	damage	caused	
  to	him	by	bacteria,	viruses,	and	cancers	inevita-
  bly	reverses	itself.		Despite	his	ability	to	survive	
  injuries	and	to	avoid	minor	damage	entirely,	Hun	
  feels	pain	normally,	and	can	suffer	incapacitation	
  from	wounds	or	illnesses	until	they	heal.		Hun	can	
  regrow	lost	limbs	and	heal	even	massive	burns,	
  although	this	requires	one	year	for	each	limb	or	
  major	organ.		Complete	regeneration	of	his	body	
  would	require	as	much	as	a	full	century.		(Not	
  scarred)
  Skilled Fighter,	4	dice	—	Hun	seeks	excellence	
  in	everything	he	attempts,	and	he	finds	particular	
  satisfaction	in	the	mastery	of	martial	arts.		He	
  learned	to	use	the	sword,	the	bow,	the	three-piece	
  rod,	and	the	iron	whip	even	before	attaining	im-
  mortality.		In	his	long	journey	through	history,	
  he	has	also	mastered	the	rapier	and	main-gauche,	
  the	aboriginal	throwing	stick,	and	trick-shoot-
  ing	with	a	six-shooter.		Hun	owns	a	pair	of	87	
  vintage	revolvers	acquired	in	the	Arizona	Terri-
  tory.		Although	he	cannot	carry	them	on	the	street,	
  he	has	managed	to	retain	possession	of	them	on	
  Al	Amarja.		This	involves	both	judicious	bribery	
  and	extreme	discretion.		Hun	frequently	visits	
  Blackfire	Entertainment’s	offshore	shooting	range	
  to	practice	with	pistols.		(Calm	in	face	of	danger,	
  attempts	tricky	maneuvers)
  Philosophy,	4	dice	—	Hun	meditates	deeply,	
  trying	to	learn	what	things	in	the	world	are	worth-
  while.	He	feels	that	if	he	fails	to	discover	these	
  truths,	Wang’s	curse	will	eventually	catch	up	to	
  him	and	drive	him	mad.		Therefore,	Hun	not	
  only	studies	philosophy	but	does	not	hesitate	to	
  act	upon	it.		He	is	as	interested	in	the	insights	of	
  friends	and	strangers	as	in	the	writings	of	classical	
  philosophers.		(Pauses	to	reflect	on	things,	quotes	
  sayings	he	finds	meaningful)
  Wealth of  Experience,		dice	—	Hun	has	a	
  keen	memory,	and	has	spent	thousands	of	years	
  filing	away	useful	skills	and	facts.		Just	as	a	nor-
  mal	person	gets		dice	with	most	skills,	Hun	gets	
  
  6	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  	dice.		(Can	talk	about	ancient	history	and	speak	
  from	experience.)	
  Curse	—	Whatever	Hun	becomes	attached	to	
  eventually	decays,	and	whoever	he	grows	fond	of	
  inevitably	dies	or	turns	against	him.		Sometimes,	
  this	process	takes	place	slowly,	so	that	it	be-
  comes	scarcely	indistinguishable	from	the	normal	
  ravages	of	time.		On	other	occasions,	the	curse	
  strikes	almost	at	once.		This	curse	manifests	itself	
  only	through	seemingly	natural	developments.		
  His	friends	do	not	irrationally	turn	on	him;	they	
  drift	away	for	valid	reasons.		His	causes	do	not	
  mysteriously	fail;	they	succumb	to	pressure	from	
  enemies	or	internal	factions.		It	is,	therefore,	
  possible	to	reverse	any	individual	manifestation	
  of	the	curse.		Hun’s	ultimate	destiny,	however,	
  remains	unchanged.		Hun	is	not	sure	whether	
  Wang’s	“curse”	was	a	magical	spell	that	ruins	
  his	life	or	merely	an	accurate	prediction	based	on	
  Wang’s	knowledge	of	the	world.		Is	this	curse	su-
  pernatural,	or	is	it	simply	the	way	of	the	world?		
  (Reserved)
  Story Ideas
  )	 In	his	search	for	solace	and	stability	within	
  the	ever-changing	world,	Hun	discovers	the	
  Sommerites.		No	sooner	does	he	develop	an	
  interest	in	that	religion	than	his	curse	comes	
  into	play.		Hun	comes	to	the	attention	of	
  Deborah	Childe,	a	notable	Sommerite	whose	
  own	singing	ability	gives	her	hypnotic	pow-
  ers,	who	attempts	to	dominate	him.		Childe	
  is	an	insecure	woman	who	can	boost	her	own	
  ego	only	by	killing	or	horribly	punishing	those	
  who	threaten	her,	emotionally,	physically,	
  or	politically.		She	begins	directing	Hun	to	
  kill	these	enemies.		The	PCs	find	themselves	
  called	in	by	one	of	the	intended	victims	to	stop	
  the	murders.		Good-hearted	PCs,	especially	
  those	with	Sommerite	connections,	may	try	
  to	redeem	Hun	and	show	him	the	true	mean-
  ing	of	Sommers’s	music.		This	may	solve	the	
  problem	for	the	moment,	but	it	may	lead	to	far	
  more	serious	dissension	within	the	Sommerite	
  church	in	later	years.
  )	 Hun	is	one	of	the	few	people	on	Al	Amarja	
  capable	of	taking	up	a	cause	for	the	sheer	
  righteousness	of	it.		He	therefore	makes	a	
  useful	patron	to	send	PCs	on	missions	without	
  clear	gain	for	one	faction	or	another.		Hun	has	
  discovered	the	Kergillians,	and	finds	them	a	
  particularly	satisfying	target	for	himself	and	
  his	followers.		The	Pharaohs	and	Movers	may	
  soon	appear	on	his	enemies	list.
  )	 The	Pharaohs	are	in	a	unique	position	to	find	
  out	Hun’s	secret.		They	may	have	met	him	in	
  person	several	times	over	the	millennia.		He	is	
  likewise	in	a	unique	position	to	find	out	about	
  them.		Alternately,	Hun	could	be	a	target	of	
  Movers	who	suspect	he	is	a	Pharaoh.		In	any	
  case,	you	can	use	Hun	as	the	means	by	which	
  the	PCs	first	get	the	straight	scoop	on	who	the	
  Pharaohs	are.	
  Commander Kismet
  The Ultimate Remote Control
  “The	future	(or	at	least,	one	possible	future)	
  is	a	kind	and	gentle	society.		Nonetheless,	human	
  nature	being	what	it	is,	criminals	exist	in	the	year	
  6.		Some	criminals	are	so	heinous	that	they	
  simply	cannot	be	allowed	to	continue	to	interact	
  with	other	humans,	and	so	cunning	that	they	
  cannot	safely	be	imprisoned.		Rather	than	kill	
  them	(which	is	unethical	and	socially	disruptive),	
  the	rulers	have	come	up	with	a	final	solution.		
  An	agent	has	been	sent	back	in	time	to	prevent	
  the	births	of	the	ten	worst	criminals	of	the	last	
  century.		Elaborate	computer	simulations	indi-
  cate	that	at	one	juncture	their	timelines	can	all	
  be	truncated	with	minimum	disruption	to	future	
  history.
  “Now	is	that	juncture.		I	am	that	agent.”
  That’s	the	story	Commander	Kismet	tells.		
  Sadly,	due	to	the	power	requirements	of	moving	
  mass	against	the	time	flow,	less	than	a	kilogram	
  of	matter	could	be	sent	back	to	our	present.		The	
  personality	of	their	best	agent	was	read	into	a	
  computer	and	hidden	in	a	shell	representing	the	
  most	innocuous	of	0th	century	artifacts:	the	
  remote	control.
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  7
  An	almost	identical	remote	control	called	
  Destiny	Master	has	also	been	sent	back,	charged	
  with	thwarting	or	destroying	Commander	Kis-
  met.		Destiny	Master	claims	that	Commander	
  Kismet	was	sent	to	destroy	the	forces	of	enlight-
  enment	that	opposed	a	rising	tyranny.		Destiny	
  Master	has	red	lettering	on	his	keys,	while	Com-
  mander	Kismet	has	blue	and	white.		Otherwise	
  they	are	identical	—	the	same	personality	was	
  programmed	into	each.
  Commander	Kismet	and	Destiny	Master	
  both	need	humans	to	carry	them	around	and	do	
  much	of	their	“dirty	work.”		Note	that	though	
  both	claim	to	be	from	benevolent	governments,	
  neither	will	shy	away	from	bribery,	blackmail,	
  and	theft	to	attain	their	goals.		Still,	the	same	
  ethic	that	prevent	the	future	government	from	
  executing	the	criminals	prevents	Commander	
  Kismet	and	Destiny	Master	from	murdering.
  Commander	Kismet	has	ten	goals,	five	of	
  which	are	listed	here.		The	other	five	can	be	tai-
  lored	to	your	needs	(or	may	be	years	in	the	future	
  and	not	relevant	to	the	series).		It’s	also	possible	
  that	Commander	Kismet	has	secret	tasks	that	
  even	he	doesn’t	know	of,	or	additional	tasks	he	
  may	recall	once	the	first	ten	are	complete.
  Tasks
  •	
  Angela	Reyes	(OTE	p.	87)	and	Federico	
  Georno	will	meet	at	a	party	and	later	have	
  sexual	intercourse	in	his	dorm	room.		Prevent	
  it.
  •	
  Dr.	Nusbaum	(OTE	p.	80)	will	have	a	lab	ac-
  cident	which	sparks	a	bizarre	idea.		This	idea	
  leads	to	another,	which	must	be	prevented.
  •	
  Dmitri	Vatsavos	(OTE	p.	88)	must	never	
  reproduce.
  •	
  A	man	named	Vassily	Karpov	will	be	in	
  the	Terminal,	disguised	as	a	fat	woman	in	a	
  flowered	dress,	trying	to	flee	the	island.		He’ll	
  spontaneously	combust	(though	he	has	no	his-
  tory	of	Blue	Shock	use).		Stop	it.	
  •	
  Julio	and	Esther	Nurami	have	been	happily	
  married	for	seven	years	and	are	trying	to	have	
  a	baby.		They	must	never	do	so,	though	a	
  recent	medical	development	makes	it	possible.
  Dogo	Mamanan	is	the	name	of	the	agent	
  whose	personality	was	used	as	the	template	for	
  both	remotes.		It’s	his	image	and	voice	that	come	
  through	TVs	and	radios	(though	of	course	he	can	
  change	both	to	fit	his	own	designs).		Dogo	is	of	
  an	indeterminate	race,	with	a	black	crew	cut,	a	
  long	face,	and	deep	sunken	eyes.		He	never	smiles,	
  laughs,	or	jokes,	maintaining	a	dour	expression	
  at	all	times.		His	uniform	as	Commander	Kismet	
  is	green	with	red	epaulets	and	a	high,	buttoned	
  collar.		As	Destiny	Master,	his	uniform	is	blue-
  black	with	bright	silver	buttons.		Both	have	several	
  ribbons	and	medals.
  Neither	remote	really	“identifies”	with	Dogo,	
  always	referring	to	him	in	the	third	person	if	ques-
  tioned	about	him.		Both	are	completely	serious	at	
  all	times	and	will	do	other	tasks	only	in	return	for	
  assistance	in	their	own	missions.		
  Both	remotes	are	very	powerful	and	totally	
  ruthless	(though	they	never	kill).		If	it	serves	their	
  purposes	to	abandon	the	PCs	(or	abandon	another	
  character	for	the	PCs),	they	do	so	without	remorse	
  or	regret.		They	have	no	vices	to	exploit	or	human	
  weaknesses	to	appeal	to;	the	only	way	to	get	them	
  to	do	anything	other	than	advance	their	mission	is	
  to	offer	to	do	something	they	can’t	in	exchange	for	
  a	favor.		Though	their	powers	are	great,	they	are	
  stingy	in	using	them,	citing	their	need	for	“mini-
  mal	temporal	disruption”	and	leaving	unspoken	
  their	need	to	keep	the	players	dependent	on	their	
  good	will.
  Either	remote	could	“materialize”	anywhere	
  on	the	island.		Their	bearers	might	be	anywhere,	
  and	persons	of	any	social	class	or	position.
  Hit Points:	40	to	destroy	(built	to	last).
  Traits
  Database,	4*	dice	—	Commander	Kismet’s	
  data	storage	method	is	incredibly	compact.		He	
  can	speak	English	fluently,	and	almost	every	other	
  human	language	adequately.		He	can	access	facts	
  about	all	aspects	of	0th	century	life	and	st	
  century	technology	and	history.		This	includes	
  knowledge	that	could	enable	him	to	blackmail	
  many	prominent	people	(though	some	can’t	be	
  blackmailed	yet	because	they	haven’t	done	it	yet.)		
  Another	likely	use	is	to	generate	money	through	
  gambling.
  
  8	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Note	that	while	he	has	the	knowledge	to	
  design	extremely	powerful	and	advanced	ma-
  chines,	there	are	barriers	to	building	them.		The	
  materials	required	may	be	inaccessible	(unless	the	
  PCs	happen	to	have,	for	instance,	weapons	grade	
  plutonium	on	hand).		He	may	simply	refuse,	
  citing	“unpredictable	disruption	of	the	future.”		
  The	techniques	of	assembly	may	require	skills	or	
  tools	beyond	what	the	PCs	have	access	to.		Final-
  ly,	there’s	the	question	of	time:	“Wait	a	minute	
  Commander.		You	mean	we	have	to	fabricate	this	
  rare	material	so	we	can	build	a	micro	manipula-
  tor	fine	enough	to	build	the	guidance system	for	
  this	device?”		“Correct.		It	should	take	about	six	
  months,	so	you’d	best	get	cracking.”		(Speaks	in	
  the	past	tense	of	future	events)
  Remote Control,	4*	dice	—	This	is	Com-
  mander	Kismet’s	big	power.		If	a	device	operates	
  with	electronics	and	silicon,	he	can	make	it	do	
  pretty	much	whatever	he	wants.		This	is	how	he	
  communicates,	by	“possessing”	TVs	and	radios.		
  He	can	also	post	fake	messages	over	Peace	Force	
  bands,	make	cash	machines	spit	out	money,	get	
  free	phone	calls,	infiltrate	computer	systems,	etc.		
  He	gets	4	dice	to	impersonate	any	person’s	voice	
  and	image	on	electronic	media,	as	well.		The	re-
  mote	can	only	control	a	maximum	of	six	devices	
  at	once.		(Only	speaks	through	electronics)
  Strange Perception,	*	dice	—	The	remotes	
  can	only	“see”	and	“hear”	what	happens	for	
  about	0	meters	around	them,	but	they	do	have	
  60	degree	vision.		Additionally,	they	are	aware	
  of	any	and	all	electronic	devices	active	within		
  kilometers.		They	can	only	tell	what	one	device	at	
  a	time	is	actually	doing	within	a		km	range,	by	
  concentrating	their	perception	on	it.		If	an	elec-
  tronic	device	is	within	00	m,	they	automatically	
  know	what	it	is	and	what	it’s	doing.		(Cocks	head	
  at	odd	times)
  Story Ideas
  )	 A	PC	gets	a	weird	message	through	phone,	
  TV,	or	radio,	guiding	him	to	pick	up	a	small	
  remote	control.		The	same	voice	keeps	of-
  fering	him	money	and	other	rewards	if	he’ll	
  complete	some	simple	tasks.	
  )	 The	PCs	see	someone	shuffle	up	to	a	cash	
  machine,	point	a	remote	control	at	it,	and	get	
  money	without	putting	a	cash	card	in.	
  Plot Twists for Crafty GMs
  •	
  Why	does	a	remote	need	be	carried	around	
  at	all?		It	might	just	tell	its	agent	to	obtain	
  a	small	video	camera	for	it	to	“see”	through	
  and	a	microphone	to	operate	as	its	“ears.”		In	
  this	fashion	the	seat	of	the	intelligence,	the	
  actual	remote	casing,	can	remain	safe	else-
  where.		The	limit	to	this	tactic	is	the	range	
  of	perception	and	control,	which	cannot	be	
  extended	without	at	least	a	year	of	high	tech	
  fabrication.
  •	
  There’s	nothing	preventing	one	remote	from	
  masquerading	as	the	other;	given	that	they’re	
  both	based	on	Dogo,	it	might	just	be	a	matter	
  of	changing	uniforms.		The	remote	that	the	
  PCs	work	for	might	get	around	this	by	asking	
  them	for	a	password	for	it	—	but	they	would	
  have	to	careful	to	never	use	that	password	
  around	any	electronic	perception	media.
  Ishaq al-Masha
  Occultist Mover
  Ishaq	al-Masha	is	the	proprietor	of	Forbid-
  den	Words,	a	dusty	old	bookstore	that	specializes	
  in	the	occult.		Many	scholars	and	collectors	visit	
  his	shop	as	they	look	for	rare	books.		However,	
  few	people	that	visit	his	store	know	of	his	true	
  occupation:	an	operative	of	the	Movers	(Her-
  metic	Cell).		Almost	all	of	the	books	in	Forbid-
  den	Words	have	some	occult	connections,	though	
  they	are	not	of	any	great	significance.		Every	so	
  often,	al-Masha	gets	an	authentic	occult	tome	or	
  item.
  Compared	to	some	of	the	other	cells	on	the	
  island,	al-Masha’s	operation	is	relatively	small.		
  (But	when	it	comes	to	the	Movers,	who	can	ever	
  be	sure	about	the	other	cells?)		He	has	a	couple	of	
  hired	toughs	in	his	employ,	who	perform	menial	
  and	leg-breaking	tasks	for	him.		They	have	no	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  9
  idea	that	they	are	connected	with	the	Movers	or	
  any	kind	of	conspiratorial	organization.		Al-Ma-
  sha	has	had	contact	with	Madam	Vylaska	and	
  knows	all	about	her	operation,	though	she	thinks	
  he	is	a	Vornite.
  Al-Masha’s	general	mission	is	to	make	magic	
  seem	frightening	to	Matter.		In	this	way,	the	Her-
  metic	Movers	see	to	it	that	only	the	daring	and	
  the	deviant	explore	magic.		The	daring	may	then	
  be	recruited	and	the	deviant	exploited.		He	uses		
  tone	of	voice,	muttered	words,	leers,	and	body	
  language	to	give	people	the	creeps	when	they	visit	
  his	shop.		If	he	does	it	right,	visitors	to	the	shop	
  think	they’re	being	spooked	by	the	books	and	
  pictures,	not	by	the	“harmless	proprietor.”
  When	not	working	at	his	shop	in	the	Great	
  Men	Barrio	or	conducting	Mover	operations,	al-
  Masha	likes	to	unwind	by	watching	the	fights	at	
  Sad	Mary’s	or	the	operations	at	the	D’Aubainne	
  Hospital	and	Trauma	Center.		He	also	enjoys	
  eating	at	Sequins	and	never	misses	a	party	thrown	
  by	Sir	Arthur	Compton.		Al-Masha	lives	in	an	
  apartment	above	his	shop.
  When	dealing	with	someone	in	his	shop,	
  al-Masha	effects	the	persona	of	a	bumbler.		
  Beneath	this	exterior	al-Masha	is	cold,	calculat-
  ing,	and	thoroughly	evil.		He	plans	everything	
  thoroughly	before	making	a	move,	taking	into	ac-
  count	all	options	and	possible	courses	of	action.		
  This	results	in	elaborate	and	diabolical	schemes	
  that	are	almost	foolproof	when	put	into	action.	
  When	he	was	a	boy,	al-Masha	had	a	pet	
  jackal,	which	was	run	down	by	a	car	when	he	
  was	eleven.		Since	that	time,	he	has	always	had	
  a	soft	spot	for	wayward	animals	and	a	hatred	for	
  animal	abusers.
  Saudi	Arabian	man,	age	4,	77	cm,	68	kg.		
  Black	hair,	small	pointed	beard.		Wears	strange	
  occult	trinkets.
  Attack:		dice,	X	with	knife
  Defense:		dice
  Hit Points:	9
  Astral Pool:	9	shots
  Traits
  Moving,	4	dice	—	Al-Masha	has	worked	his	
  way	up	through	the	ranks	and	now	has	become	
  chief	of	one	of	the	Hermetic	cells	on	the	island	
  (or	so	he	thinks).		He	is	skilled	at	manipulation.		
  (Keeps	an	eye	on	customers)
  Fighting,		dice	—	Although	he	prefers	to	let	
  his	hired	muscle	duke	it	out	for	him,	al-Masha	
  works	out	and	hones	his	fighting	skills	whenever	
  he	gets	a	chance.		(Carries	a	knife	at	all	times)
  Occult,	*	dice	—	Al-Masha	has	studied	
  many	books	of	forbidden	knowledge.		(Has	
  strange	symbols	on	his	tie)
  Wards,	*	dice	—	Al-Masha	is	familiar	with	
  wards	to	protect	him	from	evil	spirits,	spells,	and	
  the	like.		If	he	tries	to	dispel	or	block	a	malign	
  spell,	compare	his	roll	to	the	spell’s	level	or	the	
  caster’s	roll.		(Wears	strange	amulet	and	charms)
  Partially Insane	—	Long	hours	of	pouring	
  over	ancient	occult	tomes	and	participating	in	
  black-magic	rituals	have	left	al-Masha	a	bit	men-
  
  40	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  tally	unbalanced.		(Prone	to	delusions	of	gran-
  deur;	cruel,	has	little	regard	for	human	life)
  Lecherous	—	Al-Masha	loves	women	in	all	
  forms	and	makes	no	secret	of	this	when	dealing	
  with	the	opposite	sex.		(Charming)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Al-Masha	has	used	his	Mover	resources	to	
  tap	into	the	History	of	Magic	exhibit	at	the	
  D’Aubainne	Museum	of	Modern	Life.		Now	
  any	time	a	magical	visitor	sets	off	the	alarm,	
  he	is	notified	too.		He	also	has	a	contact	at	the	
  Center	for	Paranormal	Control,	and	can	access	
  their	information.		He	may	therefore	learn	
  about	magical	or	psychic	PCs	before	they	learn	
  about	him.
  )	 Alternately	the	PCs	encounter	al-Masha	
  through	Forbidden	Words.		He	may	have	a	
  book	or	occult	item	they	want	to	buy,	or	they	
  may	have	a	moldy	tome	they’re	looking	to	
  unload.
  )	 Al-Masha	takes	part	in	a	larger	Mover	plot	
  with	the	PCs	either	working	for	him,	or	
  against	him.
  John Krishna 
  Mohammad
  City Manager of the Edge
  In	the	heterogeneous,	shifting,	fast-moving	
  environment	of	the	Edge,	it	takes	an	exceptional	
  person	to	bring	order	and	encourage	progress.		
  John	K.	Mohammad	is	one	such	person.		Pos-
  sessed	of	a	vision,	stubborn	or	yielding	as	the	
  situation	warrants,	energetic,	personable,	and	
  experienced,	he	has	guided	the	Edge	for	fourteen	
  years	as	its	City	Manager.
  On	the	surface,	his	goal	is	to	coordinate	the	
  growth	of	the	city.		He	talks	developers	into	erect-
  ing	apartment	complexes	where	he	thinks	there	
  ought	to	be	apartment	complexes,	settles	“turf	
  wars”	between	competing	businessmen,	paves	the	
  way	for	European	businesses	to	open	confidential	
  branches	in	the	Edge,	and	keeps	the	city’s	exclu-
  sive	tourism	industry	safe	and	profitable.		Most	
  business	leaders	in	the	Edge	respect	his	guidance	
  and	help.
  Mohammad	powers	his	vision	partly	with	per-
  sonal	ability	and	partly	with	an	extensive	amount	
  of	industrial	espionage.		He	oversees	an	elite	force	
  of	spies	who	steal	information	from	uncooperative	
  entrepreneurs	and	hand	it	to	“team	players.”
  Unknown	to	most,	Mohammad	is	a	Dionysus	
  Mover,	though	he	belongs	in	order	to	further	his	
  career,	rather	than	to	subordinate	his	career	to	the	
  Movers.		His	elite	industrial	spies	have	compiled	
  dossiers	on	various	conspiracies	on	the	island,	
  especially	other	Movers.
  Mohammad	has	stepped	on	Constance	
  D’Aubainne’s	toes	on	more	than	one	occasion,	
  though	neither	of	them	mention	it	in	public.		If	
  pushed	too	hard,	Constance	D’Aubainne	could	
  topple	Mohammad,	but	he	could	do	some	dam-
  age	to	her	on	the	way	down.		Adding	to	the	
  hostility	between	Constance	D’Aubainne	and	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  4
  Mohammad,	he	is	a	closet	Sommerite.		(He	keeps	
  this	secret	to	maintain	his	reputation	as	an	unbi-
  ased	man,	and	because	he	considers	spirituality	to	
  be	a	private	matter.)
  An	even	deeper	secret	is	that	Mohammad	
  has	a	vision	of	the	Edge	which	comes	to	him	in	
  fragments	when	he	dreams.		In	his	waking	hours,	
  he	tries	to	shape	the	Edge	to	match	the	city	he	
  visits	at	night.		He	may	stubbornly	insist	that	
  roads	follow	certain	routes,	that	a	new	build-
  ing	include	more	zinc	in	its	construction,	or	
  that	Asians	be	encouraged	to	live	along	a	certain	
  street.		The	conspirators	and	businessmen	who	
  try	to	influence	Mohammad	all	assume	that	he	is	
  acting	under	the	direction	of	their	competitors;	
  they	never	imagine	that	he	has	his	own	reason	for	
  these	strange	demands.		What	will	happen	when	
  Mohammad	finally	completes	this	project?		Take	
  your	pick.
  •	
  The	Edge	becomes	a	physical	manifestation	
  of	a	modern	mental	structure.		Any	Pharaoh	
  who	comes	to	the	Edge	gets	lost	in	the	“all	
  too	human”	construction	and	loses	the	will	
  and	ability	to	command.
  •	
  The	inhabitants	of	the	Edge	are	slowly	
  transformed	into	inhabitants	of	Mohammad’s	
  “dream	Edge.”		The	dream	Edge	is	the	real-
  ity	that	“should”	have	been	(and	would	have	
  been	without	the	Edge’s	numerous	reality-
  warpers),	and	it	re-asserts	itself	into	exis-
  tence.
  •	
  The	minds	of	the	inhabitants	conform	to	a	
  greater	pattern	and	act	as	the	city’s	nerves,	
  neurons,	and	muscles.		The	Edge	becomes	
  the	first	truly	“living”	city,	and	groups	of	citi-
  zens	are	sent	to	“fertilize”	other	cities.
  •	
  The	Edge	becomes	a	conduit	through	which	
  the	Old	Magic	returns	to	the	world.
  •	
  The	Edge	becomes	a	giant	navigational	com-
  puter	to	guide	Starship	Al	Amarja	on	endless	
  journeys	through	space	and	time.
  Mohammad’s	office	is	in	Arms,	but	he’s	usu-
  ally	wheeling	and	dealing	in	Broken	Wings	or	
  Golden.		When	he	relaxes,	he	blows	thousands	at	
  Sequins	or	spends	time	at	home	in	Broken	Wings	
  with	his	four	wives	and	eleven	kids.		(Three	other	
  children	are	grown	and	abroad.)
  City Government 
  in the Edge
  Every	year,	one	of	the	Edge’s	seven	city	
  council	members	comes	up	for	re-election.		
  The	election	is	city-wide	and	generally	non-
  partisan.		Since	the	single	incumbent	is	often	
  running	against	several	competing	candidates,	
  a	majority	vote	is	rare,	and	there	is	usually	a	
  run-off	between	the	number	one	and	number	
  two	candidates.		The	incumbent,	who	has	had	
  seven	years	to	do	favors	since	the	last	elec-
  tion,	usually	wins;	but	those	seven	years	are	
  also	spent	making	enemies,	so	victory	is	rarely	
  assured.		Anyone	of	adult	status	and	with	a	
  permanent	address	can	vote,	but	it	costs	$5	(to	
  cover	the	costs	of	the	election).		The	homeless	
  are	disenfranchised	and	the	poor	rarely	vote.	
  The	seven	council	members	see	to	the	
  day-to-day	needs	of	the	city,	including	road	
  construction	and	repair,	fire	protection,	and	
  sewage.		The	Peace	Force,	however,	is	not	
  under	their	jurisdiction.		It	is	a	branch	of	the	
  Al	Amarjan	government.		(When	it	needs	to,	
  the	council	can	appeal	to	the	Peace	Force	to	
  enforce	its	rulings.)		The	main	task	the	council	
  has	is	hiring	and	overseeing	the	City	Manager.		
  The	terms	of	the	City	Manager’s	contract	are	
  open	to	negotiation.
  The	current	City	Manager,	John	K.	
  Mohammad,	works	as	a	negotiator,	mediator,	
  and	ombudsman	for	the	city.		He	encourage	
  businesses	to	build	and	develop	according	to	
  his	undefined	plans,	and	throws	the	support	of	
  the	city	behind	those	who	play	ball.
  The	issues	that	the	council	raises	affect	
  everyone,	but	only	the	wealthy	have	the	re-
  sources	to	influence	the	council.		The	council	
  members	are	almost	all	drawn	from	Broken	
  Wings,	and	they	serve	the	community	from	
  which	they	come.		City	services	are	all	much	
  better	in	Broken	Wings	and	Golden	than	in	
  other	barrios.		Arms	and	Sunken	also	get	more	
  than	their	share	of	the	council’s	attention.
  
  4	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Mohammad	has	a	crystal	trap	set	in	one	of	his	
  gold	rings.
  Al	Amarjan	man,	age	54,	7	cm,	69	kg.		
  Light	brown	skin;	broad	nose;	very	short,	black	
  hair;	broad-shouldered.		Dresses	in	a	suit	with	a	
  silk	noose,	wears	several	gold	rings,	smokes	cigars	
  constantly.
  Languages:		Al	Amarjan	patois,	English,	
  passable	Arabic
  Traits
  High-Power Managing,	4	dice	(plus	bonus	die)	
  —		Experience	has	polished	Mohammad’s	natural	
  gifts.		Few	are	as	talented	as	he	when	it	comes	to	
  negotiating,	bargaining,	mediating,	and	perform-
  ing	the	other	tasks	of	his	position.		(Expensive	
  suits	and	cars)	
  Moving,	*	die	—	He’s	picked	up	some	Mover	
  techniques	but	hasn’t	gotten	much	formal	practice	
  with	them.		These	skills	give	him	his	bonus	die	
  with	high-power	managing.		(Takes	“moment	of	
  silence”	before	a	negotiation,	a	technique	that	the	
  Movers	taught	him)
  Mental Integrity,	4	dice	—	While	in	the	dream	
  Edge,	Mohammad	met	a	woman	who	taught	him	
  how	to	protect	his	mind	from	the	influences	of	
  others.		This	ability	works	against	mundane	and	
  fringe	influence,	replacing	the		dice	roll	that	a	
  character	gets	by	default.		(Stays	serene	in	crisis)
  The Vision	—	The	strength	of	this	vision	and	
  Mohammad’s	commitment	to	it	give	him	a	bonus	
  die	on	most	tasks	related	to	bringing	his	vision	
  to	reality.		It	also	makes	him	irrational	when	he’s	
  pursuing	the	vision.		Whether	this	is	a	gift	or	a	
  curse	depends	on	what	happens	once	the	vision	is	
  made	real.		(Gazes	long	over	the	city	when	he	can	
  get	a	good	view)
  Story Ideas
  )	 If	the	PCs	attract	Mohammad’s	attention,	
  he	may	arrange	a	meeting	with	them	to	see	
  whether	he	can	bring	them	in	line	with	his	
  goals.		PCs	who	are	wealthy	or	powerful	may	
  be	courted,	complimented,	and	helped.		PCs	
  who	are	disrupting	tourism,	threatening	the	
  city’s	progress,	or	causing	trouble	may	be	
  threatened,	chided,	warned,	or	(if	the	situation	
  warrants)	killed.		Mohammad	fills	the	role	of	
  a	politically	powerful	person	that	the	PCs	can	
  work	with	or	oppose,	someone	less	overwhelm-
  ing	than	the	D’Aubainnes.
  )	 A	business	owned	by	the	PCs	or	by	friends	of	
  the	PCs	is	in	the	way	of	Mohammad’s	vision.		
  He	thinks	there	should	be	a	greenhouse	in	that	
  location.		Stopping	Mohammad	from	putting	
  that	greenhouse	there	may	be	impossible,	but	
  tough	bargainers	may	be	able	to	squeeze	prof-
  itable	concessions	from	Mohammad	as	part	of	
  a	deal.
  )	 Business	enemies	of	Mohammad,	perhaps	
  secretly	backed	by	Constance	D’Aubainne	
  herself,	hire	the	PCs	to	investigate	him.		His	
  ties	to	the	Movers	and	secret	Sommerism	may	
  be	enough	to	satisfy	the	employers,	but	PCs	
  may	also	stumble	onto	sketches	of	“the	Edge	
  to	be.”		While	these	sketches	may	be	mere	
  doodles	to	Mohammad,	a	PC	or	ally	may	
  recognize	their	true	significance,	and	suddenly	
  take	the	plot	to	a	much	deeper	level.
  Finola Montague
  Freelance Photojournalist
  Finola	Montague	was	born	to	an	Irish	mother	
  and	French	father	in	strife-torn	Belfast.		At	an	
  early	age	she	became	accustomed	to	scenes	of	
  destruction	and	violence.		While	growing	up,	she	
  became	interested	in	photography	and	when	she	
  was	eighteen,	she	took	some	spectacular	photos	of	
  an	IRA	mortar	attack	on	a	police	station.		These	
  photos	caught	the	attention	of	veteran	photojour-
  nalist	Josh	Vincent.		Vincent	offered	to	purchase	
  Montague’s	pictures,	but	she	made	a	counter	offer.		
  Seeing	a	chance	to	escape	Belfast,	she	asked	him	
  to	take	her	on	as	an	apprentice.		Her	stubbornness	
  paid	off	and	Vincent	accepted.		
  Traveling	the	globe	with	Vincent,	Montague	
  was	exposed	to	even	more	violence	and	destruc-
  tion,	but	the	air	of	danger	was	an	intoxicant	for	
  her.		She	found	herself	craving	the	dangerous	
  assignments	that	she	and	Vincent	took.		As	they	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  4
  traveled	together,	the	two	became	close	friends.		
  Their	friendship	was	cut	short,	however,	during	
  the	Gulf	War.		Vincent	was	killed	after	Montague	
  insisted	they	break	off	from	the	reporter	pool	and	
  see	some	of	the	real	action.		She	blamed	herself	
  for	Vincent’s	death	and	made	a	rash	decision	to	
  stop	covering	the	dangerous	assignments.		After	
  a	year	of	covering	safe	stories,	Montague	found	
  herself	craving	the	rush	that	comes	from	being	in	
  a	dangerous	situation.		The	name	of	a	little	known	
  Mediterranean	dictatorship	named	Al	Amarja	
  caught	her	attention	and	Montague	bought	a	one	
  way	ticket.		
  Since	her	arrival,	Montague	has	been	cover-
  ing	the	seedier	side	of	the	Edge	as	a	freelance	
  journalist	for	Al Amarja Today.		So	far,	she’s	done	
  features	on	fixed	hospital	betting,	the	MDA-cubed	
  epidemic,	and	a	photo-essay	on	Otto’s	Men.		She	
  has	three	projects	in	the	works:	a	photo-essay	on	
  the	fighters	from	Sad	Mary’s,	an	interview	with	
  members	of	the	Cut-Ups,	and	an	interview	with	
  Sir	Arthur	Compton.		
  Montague	has	an	apartment	in	Justice	that	
  also	serves	as	her	darkroom.		When	covering	a	
  story,	Montague	is	all	business.		She	prefers	to	
  work	alone	since	the	incident	involving	Vincent’s	
  death	has	left	a	deeper	scar	than	she	likes	to	admit.		
  However,	when	she	is	not	working,	Montague	
  enjoys	touring	the	Edge’s	nightclubs	and	having	
  a	good	time,	in	a	futile	attempt	to	forget	Vincent.		
  Montague	has	a	portable	police	scanner	that	she	
  keeps	handy	for	tracking	down	stories	and	drives	
  through	the	city	in	a	dilapidated	land	rover.
  Irish	woman,	age	5,	67	cm,	64	kg.		Medium	
  length	auburn	hair,	green	eyes,	pale	skin,	moder-
  ately	good	looking.		Dresses	in	utilitarian	clothes,	
  always	has	a	camera	handy.		Has	an	air	of	danger	
  about	her.
  Languages:	English,	Al	Amarjan	patois
  Attack:		dice,	X	with	fist,	X	with	knife
  Defense:		dice
  Armor:		point	(leather)
  Hit Points:		(in	shape)
  Traits
  Photojournalism,		dice	—	Taking	good	
  pictures,	writing	articles,	asking	prying	ques-
  tions,	selling	photographs,	etc.		(Camera	bag	over	
  shoulder)
  Streetfighting,		dice	—	Growing	up	in	Belfast	
  and	traveling	the	world’s	danger	spots,	Montague	
  has	learned	how	to	defend	herself.		(Carries	a	
  knife)
  Nose for News,	*	dice	—	Montague	has	an	
  uncanny	ability	to	be	in	the	right	place	at	the	right	
  time	for	covering	a	story.		It	works	best	for	draw-
  ing	her	to	dangerous	situations,	but	it	also	allows	
  her	to	tell	when	somebody	is	giving	her	the	brush-
  off.		(Fearless)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Montague’s	contact	at	Al	Amarja	Today	is	a	
  member	of	a	major	conspiracy	(take	your	pick:	
  Kergillians,	Movers,	Pharaohs,	whatever)	who	
  wants	information	on	the	PCs.		She	contacts	
  
  44	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Montague	and	tells	her	that	a	story	on	the	PCs	
  would	bring	Montague	some	money.
  )	 If	the	PCs	have	made	a	name	for	themselves	
  or	are	very	public	about	their	goings	on,	Mon-
  tague	is	among	the	first	to	show	up,	camera	in	
  hand,	asking	questions.
  )	 Montague	has	taken	some	incriminating	
  pictures	of	the	PCs	which	she	is	planning	
  to	sell	to	the	paper.		To	protect	herself,	she	
  has	ensured	that	if	she	dies	or	is	harmed,	the	
  photos	will	be	released.		Can	the	PCs	convince	
  her	not	to	publish	the	pictures?		Alternately,	
  the	PCs	could	be	hired	to	retrieve	the	incrimi-
  nating	photos	for	an	important	person	on	the	
  island	or	they	may	be	contacted	by	Montague	
  to	protect	her	from	somebody	who	wants	the	
  pictures.
  4)	 If	the	PCs	become	involved	with	the	Kergil-
  lian/MDA-cubed	conspiracy,	Montague	could	
  be	introduced	as	an	ally	since	she	has	done	
  some	investigation	of	her	own	while	looking	
  into	the	MDA-cubed	epidemic.
  Dr. Morpheus
  Fringe Gadgeteer
  Dr.	Morpheus	is	an	enigmatic	scientist	with	
  a	private	laboratory	located	just	on	the	south-
  eastern	edge	of	the	Burbs.		He	spends	most	of	his	
  time	working	on	new	experiments	and	perfect-
  ing	old	ones.		Dr.	Morpheus’s	laboratory	is	the	
  template	on	which	all	the	“B”	grade	science	fiction	
  movie	laboratories	were	modeled.		It	is	an	Art	
  Deco	styled	basement	filled	with	noxious	fumes,	
  smoke-blackened	beakers,	bubbling	chemicals,	
  Tesla	coils,	vacuum	tubes,	and	so	on.		
  While	he	is	familiar	with	traditional	mechan-
  ics,	engineering,	and	chemistry,	Dr.	Morpheus’s	
  real	talent	lies	in	“weird	science.”		Among	Dr.	
  Morpheus’s	accomplishments	are	the	Morpheus	
  Perpetual	Energy	Device	(MPED),	the	Morpheus	
  Force	Field	Generator,	and	the	Morpheus	Anti-
  Gravity	Boots.		(See	boxed	text.)
  Dr.	Morpheus	has	two	loyal	bennies.		Nina	
  is	a	scrawny	4	year	old	pube	with	a	talent	
  for	scrounging.		She	can	swear	a	blue	streak	
  that	would	make	a	sailor	blush.		Imzon	is	Dr.	
  Morpheus’s	chauffeur,	an	excellent	driver	and	a	
  competent	practitioner	of	an	Egyptian	martial	
  art.		He	learned	this	fighting	style,	predominantly	
  sharp	kicks	and	punches,	on	the	street	and	does	
  not	know	whether	it	is	a	defined	system	or	merely	
  a	collection	of	techniques.
  When	not	working	on	his	projects,	Dr.	Mor-
  pheus	travels	in	the	Edge	with	his	two	bennies	
  in	a	suped-up	9	Lincoln	touring	car.		Nina	
  and	Imzon	prowl	through	the	refuse	sold	in	Four	
  Points	while	Dr.	Morpheus	often	visits	Dmitri’s	
  Fix-It	Shop,	where	he	talks	to	Dmitri	about	things	
  mechanical.		Dr.	Morpheus	is	very	careful	about	
  these	conversations	because	he	has	realized	that	
  Dmitri	is	doing	something	special,	and	he	doesn’t	
  want	anyone	else	to	find	out	about	it,	nor	does	he	
  want	Dmitri	to	realize	just	how	extraordinary	his	
  talents	are.		Their	conversations	are	held	in	Greek.
  Dr.	Morpheus	has	frequently	encountered	
  Molly,	Queen-Mother	of	Baboons,	at	Dmitri’s	
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  45
  Fix-It	Shop,	and	neither	wants	to	have	anything	to	
  do	with	the	other.	
  Hungarian	man,	age	69	(appears	to	be	in	his	
  late	50s),	7	cm,	8	kg.		Muscles	turning	soft;	
  thinning,	gray,	unkempt	hair.		Wears	a	stained	lab	
  coat.
  Languages:	Hungarian,	German,	French,	
  passable	Greek,	passable	English
  Attack:		dice	+	penalty,	X	with	fist
  Defense:		dice	+	penalty
  Hit Points:		(guts)
  Traits
  Fringe Gadgeteer,	*	dice	—	Dr.	Morpheus	
  is	extremely	adept	at	creating	useful	items	out	
  of	useless	junk.		With	the	proper	tools,	he	can	
  fix	anything,	modify	any	existing	item,	or	build	
  something	new	and	strange.		(Always	fiddling	with	
  things)
  Strong,		dice	—	In	his	prime,	Dr.	Morpheus	
  was	a	man	of	superior	strength.		While	the	muscle	
  is	still	there,	he’s	getting	older	and	slower.		(Big	
  and	burly)
  Storytelling,		dice	—	A	master	storyteller,	
  Dr.	Morpheus	can	spin	a	yarn	a	mile	long.		He	has	
  done	some	amazing	things	in	his	time;	just	give	
  him	the	chance	and	he’ll	tell	you	all	about	them.		
  When	he’s	done	telling	his	tale,	it’s	hard	to	pick	
  out	where	fact	ended	and	fiction	began.		(Fre-
  quently	begins	sentences	with:	“Why,	once	I	was	
  lost...”)
  Dr. Morpheus’s Fringe Tech
  Dr.	Morpheus	has	created	three	major	devic-
  es	that	might	have	some	impact	on	your	series.		
  The	first	is	the	Morpheus	Perpetual	Energy	
  Device	(MPED).		The	MPED	is	a	backpack-
  mounted	conglomeration	of	gears,	circuits,	and	
  wires.		Dr.	Morpheus’s	explanation	of	how	it	
  generates	perpetual	energy	is	torturous	and	filled	
  with	pseudo-scientific	neologisms,	which	con-
  ceals	the	fact	that	Dr.	Morpheus	himself	isn’t	
  sure	how	it	works.		In	reality,	it	circumvents	the	
  laws	of	thermodynamics	by	creating	order	(and	
  thus	energy)	on	the	physical	level	while	caus-
  ing	more	disorder	on	the	personal	level.		The	
  MPED	causes	marital	stress,	clumsiness,	struc-
  tural	weakness	in	bridge	supports,	computer	
  glitches,	and	other	kinds	of	entropy	all	across	
  Al	Amarja	while	creating	less	entropy	(and	thus	
  perpetual	energy)	within	the	device	itself.		These	
  effects	are	scattered	across	time	and	space,	mak-
  ing	it	nearly	impossible	to	correlate	increased	en-
  tropy	with	the	MPED’s	operation.		The	energy	
  created	is	an	invisible	field,	which	Dr.	Morpheus	
  has	learned	to	manipulate	in	several	ways.
  The	next	device	is	the	Morpheus	Force	
  Field	Generator	(MFFG):	a	metal	box	with	
  one	plastic	button.		The	MFFG	is	worn	on	a	
  belt	and	is	connected	to	the	MPED	via	two	
  thick,	non-insulated	wires.		When	the	button	is	
  pressed,	these	wires	guide	the	MPED’s	energy	
  field,	creating	an	invisible	vibratory	resonance	
  field	around	the	wearer.		The	field	bestows		dice	
  of	armor	with	no	movement	penalty.		While	the	
  field	makes	no	noise,	it	does	interfere	with	sound	
  waves	(giving	the	wearer	a	penalty	die	on	hear-
  ing	rolls).		Using	the	MFFG	for	more	than	three	
  minutes	causes	it	to	burn	out,	its	innards	shaken	
  to	pieces.		Pressing	the	button	again	turns	off	
  the	MFFG.
  The	third	device	is	the	Morpheus	Anti-
  Gravity	Boots	(MAGB):	a	pair	of	boots,	each	
  with	a	cable	connecting	it	to	the	MPED.		The	
  boots	create	an	anti-gravity	field.		Using	a	hand	
  held	joy	stick	controller,	the	wearer	can	raise	or	
  lower	himself.		The	boots	are	restricted	to	verti-
  cal	movement	only.		Horizontal	movement	is	
  created	by	pushing	against	a	stable	surface	(like	
  the	wall	of	a	building).		With	sufficient	practice,	
  the	wearer	can	manipulate	gravity	to	the	extent	
  that	he	can	“run”	with	leaps	and	bounds	just	like	
  the	men	on	the	moon.
  It	should	be	stressed	that	all	of	Dr.	Mor-
  pheus’	devices	are	designed	more	for	function	
  than	looks.
  
  46	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Aging,	penalty	die	—	Dr.	Morpheus	is	no	
  longer	the	young	man	he	used	to	be	or	thinks	he	is.		
  He’s	slowing	down	in	his	old	age	and	doesn’t	react	
  as	quickly	as	he	used	to.		(Muscles	softening)
  Story Ideas
  )	 The	PCs	have	found	a	weird	piece	of	equip-
  ment	and	need	it	identified.		Perhaps	the	
  enigmatic	Dr.	Morpheus	can	help.
  )	 Dr.	Morpheus’	arch	enemy,	Professor	Von	
  Krieg,	has	arrived	on	Al	Amarja	and	the	good	
  Doctor	has	decided	to	settle	their	feud	once	
  and	for	all.		The	Edge	trembles	as	these	two	
  mad	doctors	battle.		Of	course,	either	one	
  could	use	the	PCs’	help.
  )	 A	visit	to	Dmitri’s	Fix-It	Shop	proves	stranger	
  than	normal	as	Dr.	Morpheus	is	present,	dem-
  onstrating	one	of	his	new	devices.		Here’s	a	
  chance	for	the	PCs	to	hook	up	with	an	inter-
  esting	and	powerful	patron.
  Michiko Nariga
  Outré Pollster
  Michiko	Nariga	spent	years	working	for	a	
  prominent	market-research	company	in	Tokyo,	
  growing	steadily	more	proficient	but	never	gain-
  ing	much	responsibility.		Slowly	she	realized	that,	
  due	to	her	gender,	she	was	never	going	to	attain	
  any	more	status	than	that	of	a	junior	office	work-
  er	no	matter	how	long	or	hard	she	worked.		Find-
  ing	this	utterly	unacceptable,	she	left	to	search	for	
  alternatives.		She	found	one:	Al	Amarja.
  For	the	last	few	years,	Nariga	has	been	the	
  president	and	guiding	light	of	her	“market	
  research”	company,	Needle	Research.		From	her	
  office	suite	in	Golden,	she	looks	out	over	the	life	
  and	soul	of	the	Edge.		Her	company	performs	all	
  sorts	of	polls	and	surveys	on	behalf	of	the	oddest	
  clients.
  Nariga	is	an	exceptional	pollster	mostly	
  thanks	to	her	almost	supernatural	ability	to	know	
  what	questions	to	ask	and	what	populations	to	
  target.		Almost	any	research	firm	could	determine	
  what	locations	in	Broken	Wings	would	be	best	
  for	a	new	pharmacy.		Nariga	is	the	one	people	go	
  to	when	they	want	to	find	out	what	pseudonyms	
  the	pharmacists	should	put	on	their	name	tags	to	
  instill	trust	and	devotion	among	the	customers.
  Nariga	knows	that	the	Net	has	become	a	reg-
  ular	customer	of	hers;	she	deduced	its	existence	
  from	the	questions	their	agents	wanted	answered.		
  Since	then,	she	has	carefully	cultivated	a	public	
  life,	to	make	it	more	difficult	to	“disappear”	her.		
  She	recognizes	that	other	conspiratorial	organiza-
  tions	have	used	her	services	(especially	when	she	
  is	asked	to	assess	the	effect	a	new	brand	of	dental	
  floss	has	on	people’s	opinions	of	airplanes,	or	
  something	similar),	but	doesn’t	really	know	who	
  she’s	worked	for.		She	really	doesn’t	want	to	know.
  Nariga	employs	a	fair	number	of	people	in	
  her	office	as	secretaries	and	low-grade	assistants,	
  but	most	of	her	polling	is	done	by	temporaries	
  or	contract	workers,	especially	when	she	wants	
  unusual	questions	asked	of	unusual	people.		She	
  refuses	to	hire	any	analysts	other	than	herself.		
  Even	though	her	waiting	list	is	often	quite	long,	
  she	only	works	for	one	client	at	a	time.		To	work	
  for	more	would	conflict	with	her	linear	organiza-
  tional	style.
  Nariga	spends	long	hours	in	her	office	in	
  Golden	Barrio,	only	occasionally	returning	to	her	
  orderly	townhouse	in	Broken	Wings.		She	has	a	
  social	calendar	regular	enough	to	set	a	clock	by,	
  with	emphasis	upon	the	fancier	clubs	and	restau-
  rants	in	Golden	and	Broken	Wings.
  Japanese	woman,	age	4,	7	cm,	55	kg.		
  Graying	hair	cut	short.		Wears	a	militaristically	
  severe	business	suit.
  Languages:	Japanese,	functional	English
  Traits
  Pulse of  the People,	4	dice	—	She	can’t	ex-
  plain	how,	but	she	knows	what	the	great	mass	
  of	humanity	is	thinking.		She	doesn’t	spontane-
  ously	come	up	with	useful	information.		Rather,	
  she	knows	what	questions	need	to	be	asked	(and	
  sometimes,	which	ones	ought	not	be	asked).		Just	
  like	anybody	else,	she	must	harass	the	population	
  with	nagging	phone	calls	and	irritating	pollsters,	
  but	the	results	of	her	surveys	can	be	surprising.		
  (Predicts	radio	talk	show	topics)
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  47
  Organization,		dice	—	Nariga	learned	her	art	
  in	one	of	the	most	strictly	organized	nations	in	
  the	world,	and	her	current	practices	reflect	that.		
  With	her	disciplined	employees	and	well-struc-
  tured	office,	successfully	carrying	out	compli-
  cated	projects	on	time	and	under	budget	is	not	a	
  problem.		The	fact	that	the	assistant	office	boy	
  was	caught	using	nonstandard	paper	in	the	copier	
  is.		(Desk	is	spotless)
  Obsessed With Detail	—	Nariga	can’t	stand	
  disorganization.		“Everything	in	its	place,	and	
  a	place	for	everything”	is	a	phrase	she	overuses	
  dreadfully.		This	served	her	quite	well	back	in	
  Japan,	where,	as	a	harried	underling,	she	was	
  expected	to	worry	about	details.		It	isn’t	quite	so	
  helpful	to	her	as	a	budding	entrepreneur	in	the	
  Edge.		She	takes	a	penalty	die	whenever	she	is	
  faced	with	something	she	hasn’t	planned	for	or	
  anticipated.		(Clothes	fit	with	military	precision)
  Demands Respect	—	One	thing	Nariga	can	
  never	get	enough	of	is	praise.		She	never	got	it	
  back	in	her	homeland,	and	now	regards	it	as	her	
  due.		If	a	client	is	not	sufficiently	appreciative	of	
  her	efforts,	or	if	a	date	doesn’t	compliment	her	
  appearance	appropriately,	she	becomes	testy	and	
  irritable.		She	also	doesn’t	take	criticism	from	
  her	underlings	overwhelmingly	well.		(Displays	
  diplomas	prominently	in	office)
  Story Ideas
  )		 Nariga	constantly	needs	people	to	go	out	into	
  the	Edge	and	actually	ask	her	questions	for	
  her.		Many	times,	she	needs	people	to	go	into	
  unpleasant	or	dangerous	parts	of	the	Edge	to	
  do	this.		She	only	rarely	explains	exactly	what	
  she’s	looking	for	because	that	might	bias	the	
  results	of	the	survey.		This	time,	she	needs	
  people	to	go	into	Justice	Barrio	and	ask	a	hun-
  dred	males	the	following	questions:	
  	
  “Do	you	believe	in	life	on	other	planets?”
  	
  “Do	you	think	lemurs	would	enjoy	wearing	
  denim	jackets?”
  	
  “How	do	you	feel	when	you	dress	up	in	
  women’s	clothing?”
  	
  “If	your	house	could	talk	to	you,	what	would	
  it	say?”
  	
  “Name	three	brands	of	deodorant	you	dis-
  like.”
  	
  Can	the	PCs	hack	it?
  )	 The	PCs	get	access	to	a	series	of	surveys	
  undertaken	by	Nariga’s	company.		They	show	
  that,	over	the	past	three	years,	public	opinion	
  has	been	unifying	on	a	wide	variety	of	seem-
  ingly	unrelated	topics.		Is	someone’s	mind	
  control	experiment	proving	to	be	successful?		
  Is	the	Throckmorton	Device	finally	tipping	its	
  hand?		Nariga	might	know	the	answer,	but	she	
  seems	to	have	disappeared...
  )	 Moritz	Vetter	(OTE	p.	4),	the	President	of	
  Al	Amarjan	Investments,	is	one	of	Nariga’s	
  most	regular	customers.		Lately,	he	has	been	
  unable	to	hire	her;	her	waiting	list	has	grown	
  suspiciously	long.		He	knows	about	her	only-
  one-client-at-a-time	policy,	and	wants	to	know	
  what	she’s	spending	so	much	time	on.		He	
  chooses	the	PCs	as	agents	to	find	out...
  
  48	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Anima Nee-Owoo
  CPC Inspector
  Anima	Nee-Owoo	is	a	CPC	inspector.		(See	
  “Center	for	Paranormal	Control.”)		She	likes	the	
  job	because	it	lets	her	get	out	in	the	fresh	air	and	
  meet	new	people.		Her	wry	sense	of	humor	is	a	big	
  contributing	factor	to	her	positive	attitude	because	
  many	of	the	people	she	meets	are	a	little	cracked.		
  Although	she’s	seen	some	high	weirdness	in	her	
  time	(much	of	it	in	the	top	floors	of	her	own	work	
  place),	Nee-Owoo	operates	from	the	assumption	
  that	reports	of	the	paranormal	are	almost	always	
  mistaken.		She’s	gained	an	instinct	over	the	years	
  for	which	cases	will	need	to	be	referred	upstairs	
  and	which	will	get	dumped	in	the	false	claims	da-
  tabase.		CPC	inspectors	end	up	dealing	with	some	
  delusional	people	on	a	regular	basis;	Nee-Owoo	
  treats	them	with	bemused	affection.
  Like	many	low-level	officials	of	Her	Exalted-
  ness’	administration,	Nee-Owoo	has	a	fair	bit	of	
  discretion	in	exercising	her	duties.		If	she	runs	
  across	wielders	of	undeclared	fringe	powers	who	
  seem	to	be	minding	their	own	business	and	posing	
  no	threat	to	the	State,	she’d	sooner	help	them	fill	
  out	the	appropriate	forms	and	backdate	them	than	
  go	to	the	trouble	of	running	them	in.		She’s	seen	
  too	many	law-abiding	channelers	and	dowsers	shot	
  down	by	untrained	Peace	Officers,	who	tend	to	get	
  nervous	in	the	presence	of	a	known	mindworm.		
  When	she	does	find	herself	face	to	face	with	a	
  genuine	hostile	entity,	she’s	no	cowboy	—	she	dis-
  engages	and	calls	for	“Chesspiece”	backup.
  Like	all	CPC	inspectors,	Nee-Owoo’s	badge	
  contains	a	built-in	crystal	trap.
  Ghanaian	woman,	age	8,	65	cm,	58	kg.		
  Short	hair,	gold	nose	ring.		Wears	white	or	orange	
  cotton	jumpsuits,	carries	a	clipboard.
  Attack:			dice,	X	unarmed
  Defense:			dice
  Hit Points:			(rugged)
  Traits
  Investigator,	4	dice	—	Good	at	legwork,	
  patient	about	asking	questions,	has	manner	that	
  puts	nervous	witnesses	at	ease,	instinct	for	tell-
  ing	whether	people	are	lying	or	delusional.		(Stock	
  phrase:		“Okay,	now	let’s	run	through	this	just	one	
  more	time...”)
  DBI Combat Training,		dice	—	Like	all	
  DBI	officers,	CPC	inspectors	are	given	the	basic	
  combat	training	and	periodic	refresher	courses.		
  Includes	firearms	training,	though	she	carries	her	
  9mm	automatic	pistol	only	when	her	superior	gets	
  on	her	back	about	it.		(Adopts	combat	stance	when	
  threatened)
  Pirate History,	4	dice	—	Nee-Owoo’s	hobby	
  is	reading	up	on	the	great	Age	of	Piracy.		She	has	
  theories	about	the	location	of	several	sunken	galle-
  ons	in	the	Bermuda	Triangle	and	hopes	one	day	to	
  attract	investors	and	take	a	leave	of	absence	to	go	
  search	for	them.		(Calms	distraught	witnesses	by	
  boring	them	with	irrelevant	historical	anecdotes)
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  49
  Story Ideas
  )	 PCs	are	most	likely	to	meet	Nee-Owoo	if	they	
  unwisely	exhibit	paranormal	abilities	in	public	
  in	front	of	witnesses.		Once	she	determines	
  that	there’s	some	validity	behind	a	witness’s	
  report,	she’ll	patiently	track	down	the	clues	
  until	one	day	she	finds	herself	knocking	on	the	
  PC’s	door.		She	flashes	her	badge,	introduces	
  herself,	and	starts	asking	questions	about	the	
  incident	in	question.		Roll	her	4	dice	in	Inves-
  tigation	against	any	attempts	to	fool	her.	If	she	
  decides	that	the	fringe	power	PC	is	a	possible	
  threat	to	the	State,	she’ll	end	the	interview	
  without	letting	on	that	she	suspects	anything	
  of	his	unnatural	abilities.		Then	she’ll	call	for	
  a	squad	from	the	Upper	Floor,	who	come	ac-
  companied	by	a	team	of	Loyal	Defenders	to	
  handle	any	resistance	on	the	material	plane.
  	
  If	she	figures	that	the	PC	does	have	paranor-
  mal	powers	but	is	no	real	threat,	she	arranges	
  to	fudge	the	paperwork	to	keep	him	out	of	
  trouble	and	gives	him	advice	on	keeping	a	low	
  profile	with	his	weird	abilities.
  )	 After	having	fixed	the	paperwork	on	behalf	
  of	a	fringe-powered	PC,		Nee-Owoo	runs	
  into	him	at	a	party.		After	chatting	for	a	while	
  about	the	mysterious	Oak	Island	treasure,	she	
  notices	something	that	concerns	her	—	the	PC	
  has	a	pattern	of	birthmarks	behind	his	left	ear	
  that	she’s	seen	before	on	other	“strangely	en-
  dowed”	individuals.		Later,	she	calls	back	and	
  offers	to	give	the	PC	the	names	of	the	others,	
  who	are	also	concerned	by	the	mystery.		When	
  the	PC	meets	the	other	paranormal	types,	they	
  find	nothing	in	common	to	explain	why	they	
  all	have	identical	birthmarks.
  	
  Actually,	the	“birthmarks”	are	the	result	of	
  a	Pharaoh	campaign	to	identify	paranormals.		
  Quislings	have	been	releasing	a	chemical	into	
  the	Al	Amarjan	air	through	the	exhaust	pipes	
  of	specially	modified	jitneys.		Some	individu-
  als	with	innate	psychic	or	mystical	powers	
  (as	opposed	to	those	who	have	learned	magic	
  intellectually)	spontaneously	gain	this	new	
  “birthmark,”	though	the	chemical	is	not	fool-
  proof	yet.		An	investigation	with	the	proper	
  scientific	equipment	could	lead	to	the	exposure	
  of	the	quisling	operation.		When	the	chemical	
  dissipates	from	Al	Amarja’s	air	several	months	
  later,	the	telltale	birthmarks	vanish	as	well.
  “Pork,” 
  Veritas Salomi
  Caseworker for Guiding Hand
  Roaming	about	Four	Points	and	Justice,	a	
  meek-looking	but	confident	young	woman	visits	
  the	poverty-stricken.		A	name	tag	identifies	her	as	
  a	caseworker	for	Guiding	Hand,	a	prominent	Al	
  Amarjan	charity.		Her	job	is	to	see	to	it	that	the	
  poor	get	the	help	they	need,	and	to	make	sure	that	
  they	are	following	the	strict	guidelines	of	behavior	
  that	qualify	them	for	the	hand-outs.		Since	recipi-
  ents	of	Guiding	Hand’s	help	know	that	they	can	
  be	blacklisted	for	“moral	intemperance,”	and	they	
  know	that	their	caseworker	can	write	them	up	for	
  misbehavior,	they	resent	her	while	they	depend	
  on	her	good	will.		The	caseworker,	known	to	all	as	
  “Pork,”	doesn’t	care	what	her	clients	think	of	her;	
  she’s	above	all	that	emotional	stuff.
  Pork	was	born	to	parents	who	believed	that	
  Mr.	Spock	represented	the	ideal	to	which	humans	
  should	aspire,	and	they	taught	her	to	disregard	
  emotions	and	to	live	life	by	logic.		As	a	result,	she	
  has	dysfunctional	emotions.		Unknown	to	herself,	
  she	took	the	job	as	caseworker	so	she	could	expose	
  herself	to	emotional	people,	such	as	those	who	
  become	furious	or	suicidal	when	she	informs	them	
  that	aid	from	Guiding	Hand	is	to	be	terminated.		
  At	home,	in	private,	she	relives	these	emotional	
  scenes	in	heady,	ecstatic,	overpowering	daydreams.
  “Camel”	Czersky,	a	superior	at	Guiding	
  Hand,	has	convinced	Pork	that	the	charity	has	a	
  secret	goal	of	spreading	rational	enlightenment,	
  and	that	she	has	been	chosen	as	an	operative	
  for	this	secret	branch	of	Guiding	Hand.		He	is	
  coaching	her	in	personal	manipulation	and	has	
  sent	her	on	some	fact-finding	missions.		Czersky	
  himself	believes	that	he	works	for	a	German-
  based	international	criminal	organization	called	
  Die	Familie,	but	he	actually	works	for	the	Mov-
  
  50	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  ers	who	have	infiltrated	and	taken	over	Guiding	
  Hand.		They	use	the	“charity”	to	glean	money	
  from	the	wealthy	and	to	compile	data	on	the	
  needy.
  Guiding	Hand	is	a	popular	charity	among	Al	
  Amarja’s	wealthy.		It	provides	assistance	to	the	
  needy,	but,	more	important	to	the	donors,	it	de-
  mands	that	they	conform	to	standards	of	behav-
  ior.		Assistance	to	families,	for	instance,	is	cut	off	
  after	the	birth	of	a	third	child,	or	if	the	marriage	
  breaks	up.		On	paper,	these	policies	encourage	the	
  poor	to	stay	married	and	have	few	children.		Con-
  tinued	unemployment,	criminal	convictions,	and	
  class-consciousness	are	also	grounds	for	blacklist-
  ing.		These	policies	convince	the	rich	that	they	
  are	giving	their	money	to	the	“deserving	needy.”
  Pork	earned	her	nick-name	in	arguments	with	
  Muslims	over	dietary	norms.		Her	stock	phrase	is,	
  “Pigs	are	wonderful	animals;	very	similar	to	hu-
  mans,	you	know.”		The	nickname	does	not	endear	
  her	to	Muslims,	but	she	considers	that	to	be	their	
  problem,	not	hers.		She	only	uses	her	given	name	
  for	official	records.
  Since	her	job	sends	her	into	dangerous	areas,	
  Pork	wears	a	large	digital	watch	that,	when	
  struck,	lets	out	a	piercing	shriek	and	alerts	Safe	’n	
  Sound.		Safe	’n	Sound	agents	can	home	in	on	her	
  as	long	as	the	signal	continues.		(She	can	shut	off	
  the	shriek	without	shutting	off	the	radio	signal.)	
  Al	Amarjan	woman,	age	,	6	cm,	60	kg.		
  Dark	brown	hair	cut	in	page-boy	style,	big	nose.		
  Modest	clothes,	photo	ID	name	tag.
  Languages:		Al	Amarjan	patois,	poor	Eng-
  lish,	some	Arabic	words
  Attack:		dice	plus	penalty	die,	X	damage	
  unarmed
  Defense:		dice	plus	penalty	die
  Hit Points:			(soft-looking)
  Traits
  Observing the Human Animal,		dice	—	Her	
  experience	as	a	caseworker	and	her	training	under	
  Czersky	give	her	the	ability	to	size	up	people	and	
  families.		(Asks	open-ended	questions)
  Manipulation,		dice	(plus	penalty)	—	Nei-
  ther	she	nor	Czersky	know	enough	to	call	it	
  “Moving,”	but	that’s	what	it	is.		She	suffers	a	
  penalty	when	trying	to	manipulate	people	be-
  cause	she	understands	emotions	very	poorly.		
  (Has	a	small	notebook	for	recording	successful	
  and	failed	manipulations,	in	a	simple,	personal	
  code)
  Science Fact/Science Fiction,		dice	—	Her	in-
  terest	in	science	and	logic	led	her	to	an	interest	in	
  science	fiction.		She	is	familiar	with	both	science	
  and	science	fiction,	and	she	criticizes	popular	sci-
  ence	fiction	for	its	scientific	errors.		This	interest	
  makes	her	especially	susceptible	to	cover	stories	
  dealing	with	science,	space	aliens,	or	related	top-
  ics.		(Reads	sci-fi	paperbacks	while	eating)	
  Physically Incompetent,	penalty	die	—	Her	
  parents	taught	her	to	hold	things	of	the	body	in	
  contempt,	so	she	has	neglected	her	body’s	need	
  for	exercise	and	play	her	whole	life.		She	takes	a	
  penalty	die	on	all	physically	demanding	actions.		
  (Looks	soft)
  Unemotional,	penalty	or	bonus	die	—		She	has	
  a	hard	time	imagining	herself	experiencing	the	
  emotions	that	others	experience,	so	she	does	not	
  understand	others’	emotions	well.		She	suffers	a	
  penalty	die	in	most	interpersonal	interactions,	but	
  she	gains	a	bonus	die	when	resisting	emotional	
  temptation	or	manipulation.		(Thoughtlessly	
  cruel)
  Story Ideas
  )	 When	the	PCs	are	nosing	around	Justice	or	
  Four	Points,	they	may	run	into	Pork.		In	a	bar-
  rio	of	suspicious	schemers,	she	may	be	a	very	
  useful	source	of	information,	and	a	pleasure	to	
  speak	to.		Of	course,	she	expects	information	
  as	well,	though	she	may	not	come	out	and	ask	
  for	it.
  )	 If	you	can	convince	the	players	that	Pork	is	
  just	“local	color,”	all	the	better,	because	her	
  reports	to	Czersky	may	arouse	his	interest.		
  Die	Familie	may	order	him	to	ask	her	to	get	
  more	information	on	the	PCs.		She	may	also	be	
  ordered	to	feed	them	misinformation.		If	the	
  players	don’t	suspect	her,	she	could	really	hose	
  the	PCs.
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  5
  )	 If	any	PCs	seem	amenable,	Pork	may	be	or-
  dered	to	initiate	them	into	the	“secret	branch”	
  of	Guiding	Hand	and	its	stated	goal	of	bring-
  ing	rationality	to	humanity.		Alternately,	she	
  may	be	ordered	to	use	a	cover	story	to	involve	
  PCs	that	are	not	interested	in	spreading	ratio-
  nality,	creating	yet	another	layer	of	deception.
  Keewatin Razutis
  Unhelpful Clerk
  Keewatin	Razutis	is	the	desk	officer	of	the	
  Al	Amarja	Hall	of	Records	in	the	Arms	Barrio.		
  The	Hall	of	Records	contains	all	of	the	public	
  documents	of	the	D’Aubainne	regime	—	“pub-
  lic	document”	meaning	something	different	here	
  than	in	other	democracies.		The	Hall	of	Records	
  is	a	moneymaking	venture;	anyone	seeking	access	
  to	documents	must	pay	a	fee	of	$.50	per	page.		
  Most	documents	are	triple-spaced	with	extremely	
  wide	margins,	for	an	average	of	50	words	per	
  page.		This	can	get	quite	steep.		Available	docu-
  ments	include	deeds	to	property,	business	licenses	
  and	registrations,	copyright	and	trademark	infor-
  mation,	and	so	forth.		Secret	government	docu-
  ments	are	sometimes	sent	to	the	Hall	of	Records	
  in	error,	or	at	the	behest	of	conspiratorial	moles,	
  but	it’s	very	difficult	to	find	what	you	want	in	this	
  category.
  Especially	with	Razutis	on	duty.		He’s	become	
  quite	expert	at	spotting	burger,	and	when	one	ap-
  proaches	he	makes	a	great	show	of	being	the	most	
  bored	public	servant	in	the	universe.		With	burger,	
  he’s	always	smoking,	yawning,	looking	at	the	
  clock,	flossing	his	teeth	on	duty,	and	just	gener-
  ally	looking	unprofessional.		When	they	request	
  any	piece	of	information,	no	matter	how	trivial,	
  he’ll	refuse	it.		He	alternates	between	the	following	
  excuses	for	refusal:
  )	Al	Amarjan	privacy	laws	prevent	the	release	
  of	this	vital	information.
  )	Your	security	clearance	does	not	permit	it.
  However,	Razutis	is	very	amenable	to	bribes,	
  though	he	is	too	careful	to	propose	one	himself.		If	
  offered	$0	per	search,	he	will	happily	pop	back	
  and	find	the	documents	himself.		He	also	knows	
  where	all	of	the	secret	documents	that	shouldn’t	
  be	here	are	stored	—	in	fact,	he’s	invented	a	secret	
  filing	system	to	organize	them.		These	he	prices	
  individually	based	on	perceived	value,	with	a	start-
  ing	price	of	$50	a	document.
  Razutis	lives	a	nice	suburban	existence	in	
  Traboc	with	his	wife	and	teenage	daughters;	he	
  won’t	do	anything	to	endanger	himself	either	with	
  violent	types	or	his	unforgiving	employers.
  Canadian	white	man,	age	45,	64	cm,	78	kg.		
  Bloodshot	green	eyes,	nicotine	stained	fingers.		
  Olive	polyester	suit,	bright	orange	tie	with	monkey	
  print	pattern.
  Traits
  Judge of  Character,	4	dice	—	Can	size	up	
  people	right	away,	dividing	them	into	those	he	can	
  hose	and	those	he	cannot.		Can	sense	when	some-
  one	is	disguising	his	identity	or	has	something	
  weird	going	on	under	a	mundane	surface	appear-
  ance.		(Hard	to	tell,	but	his	tired	eyes	actually	
  never	leave	you)
  Filing,		dice	—	Knows	where	everything	
  in	the	Hall	of	Records	is	and	can	find	it	quickly.		
  (Makes	beeline	to	correct	shelf)
  Creative Tax Accounting,		dice	—	Successfully	
  hides	the	source	of	his	additional	income	from	
  the	government.		(Fave	saying	—	“Well,	there’s	
  how	you’re	supposed	to	do	it,	and	how	it’s	really	
  done.”)
  Story Ideas
  )	 A	PC	comes	to	the	Hall	of	Records	for	a	basic	
  piece	of	information,	whether	it	be	the	owner-
  ship	of	a	particular	property	to	a	simple	street	
  map	of	the	city.		Razutis	refuses	the	request	
  as	he	yawns	and	watches	the	clock.		He	won’t	
  initiate	a	bribe	unless	he’s	certain	the	PC	won’t	
  squeal;	otherwise	he’ll	filibuster	all	day	or	wait	
  till	the	PC	proposes	an	additional	“defraying	
  of	expenses.”
  )	 If	a	PC	becomes	a	regular	enough	customer	
  that	Razutis	knows	his	name	and	phone	num-
  ber,	he’ll	get	a	late	night	call.		“It’s	Keewatin	
  
  5	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Razutis,	from	the	Hall	of	Records.		We	just	
  got	a	misfiled	document	that	was	supposed	
  to	go	to	the	DBI.		Your	name	is	prominently	
  mentioned.		In	these	misfiling	cases	I’m	sup-
  posed	to	send	it	on	to	the	proper	department,	
  but	I	could	make	a	mistake	and	give	it	to	you	
  —	of	course,	I’ll	need	my	expenses	defrayed.”
  	
  If	the	PC	comes	to	get	the	document,	it’s	a	
  legitimate	item.		You	can	make	it	a	plot	point,	
  if	you	wish,	revealing	what	the	government	
  knows	about	the	PC’s	involvement	in	a	cur-
  rent	plotline.		Or	it	can	just	be	the	DBI’s	basic	
  file	on	him.
  Tony Red Hawk
  Private Investigator
  Tony	Red	Hawk	is	a	Lakota	Sioux	private	eye	
  who	was	working	on	a	case	that	had	a	trail	of	clues	
  leading	to	Al	Amarja.		Tony	never	solved	the	case,	
  and	has	been	living	in	the	Edge	ever	since.		(The	
  details	of	this	case	are	for	you	to	decide.)		Tony	
  currently	works	out	of	a	small	office	that	doubles	
  as	his	living	space	in	the	Four	Points	Barrio.		With	
  his	marketable	skill	as	a	private	investigator,	and	
  semi-regular	advertisements	in	Opportunities	on	
  the	Edge,	Tony	stays	busy,	and	he	has	come	to	
  like	the	fast-paced	and	unusual	action	that	makes	
  living	in	the	Edge	so	unique.		Although	Tony	isn’t	
  aware	of	this	fact,	he	has	done	some	investiga-
  tive	work	for	a	few	of	Al	Amarja’s	conspiracies.		
  Groups	such	as	the	Movers,	the	Net,	and	the	Neu-
  tralizers	have	hired	Tony	for	various	cases.		Each	
  time,	he	was	contracted	through	a	third	party	that	
  reported	back	to	a	contact	within	the	conspiracy.
  Tony	spends	most	of	his	time	in	his	office,	
  waiting	for	the	phone	to	ring	or	for	some	desper-
  ate	soul	to	come	crashing	in,	demanding	to	pay	
  Tony	large	sums	of	money	to	solve	a	very	simple	
  case.		The	latter	has	yet	to	happen.		Tony	gener-
  ally	charges	$5	a	day,	plus	expenses.		His	fee	is	
  slightly	less	than	his	competitors,	but	he	makes	up	
  for	it	by	padding	the	expense	account.		
  When	not	in	his	office,	Tony	can	be	seen	driv-
  ing	around	the	Edge	on	a	battered	World	War	II	
  era	motorcycle	with	a	club	strapped	to	the	handle-
  bars.		When	on	a	case,	Tony	dresses	in	casual	
  clothing.		The	only	notable	feature	of	his	costume	
  is	the	armadillo	skin	cowboy	boots	he	wears.		Tony	
  is	also	a	regular	customer	at	the	Last	Supper	in	
  Justice.
  Amerindian	man,	age	7,	8	cm,	8	kg.		
  Clean	shaven,	scar	on	face,	coppery	skin,	long	
  black	hair	pulled	into	a	single	braid.		Wears	arma-
  dillo	skin	boots,	a	noose,	and	a	large	Bowie	knife.
  Languages:	Sioux	(Lakota),	English,	Al	
  Amarjan	patois
  Attack:		dice,	X	with	club	or	knife
  Defense:		dice
  Hit Points:		(wiry	strength)
  Armor:		die,	armored	jacket
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  5
  Traits
  Private Investigation,	4	dice	—	Tony	knows	
  the	ins	and	outs	of	being	a	private	dick;	he	can	tail	
  people,	pick	locks,	spot	clues	and	trouble,	engage	
  in	subterfuge,	take	incriminating	photographs,	and	
  pad	the	expense	account.		(Hands	out	business	
  card)
  Brawling,		dice	—	Growing	up	on	a	reserva-
  tion	taught	Tony	how	to	defend	himself	at	an	early	
  age.		With	a	knife,	a	club,	or	bare	fists,	Tony	can	
  handle	himself	in	a	fight.		(Scar	on	face)
  Cool,		dice	—	Tony	has	had	a	lot	of	practice	
  and	knows	how	to	keep	his	wits	about	him	even	
  when	he	is	in	way	over	his	head.		(Always	speaks	
  calmly)
  Story Ideas
  )	 The	PCs	need	some	information	but	lack	
  either	the	time	or	the	abilities	to	get	it.		Tony	
  Red	Hawk	is	talented,	he	doesn’t	charge	much	
  money,	and	his	name’s	in	the	phone	book.
  )	 The	PCs	have	been	poking	around	where	
  they	don’t	belong.		Through	an	intermediary,	
  somebody	has	hired	Tony	to	follow	them	and	
  gather	information	about	them.		Using	this	
  information,	the	“client”	will	later	attempt	to	
  bump	the	characters	off.
  )	 After	busting	the	heads	of	some	conspiracy’s	
  operatives,	the	PCs	find	Tony’s	card	on	one	of	
  the	bodies.		What	information	does	Tony	have	
  that	the	PCs	need?
  El-Hajj Hamid 
  al-Samman
  Record Label Owner
  As	bassist	for	the	near-legendary	punk	band	
  Mugwump,	al-Samman	spent	most	of	the	late	’70s	
  and	early	’80s	crashing,	grinding,	and	generally	
  blaring	out	music	calling	for	a	revolution.		The	
  revolution	never	came.		After	the	death	of	lead	
  vocalist	Richard	“Buzzsaw”	Wheeler,	the	band	fell	
  apart.		Al-Samman	spent	several	years	in	a	lesser	
  band,	Express,	before	realizing	that	his	time	was	
  past.		People	didn’t	want	to	listen	to	him;	they	
  wanted	to	listen	to	the	next	big	thing.		If	his	music	
  was	no	longer	a	tool	to	shape	attitudes,	he	could	
  still	work	from	behind	the	scenes.		In	986,	he	
  used	his	savings	to	start	Fifth	Column	Records.
  Fifth	Column	created	a	buzz	in	the	alternative	
  music	scene,	and	continues	to	do	so	years	later.		
  Using	his	own	ear,	al-Samman	was	able	to	pick	out	
  music	that	just	needed	a	slight	push	to	make	it	big.		
  Despite	the	constant	defection	of	bands	from	his	
  label	to	major	record	companies,	Fifth	Column	is	
  still	making	money	and	letting	young	bands	shine.		
  Moreover,	as	a	dedicated	Muslim,	he	is	able	to	find	
  bands	able	to	communicate	his	message	of	social	
  activism	and	positive	change.
  Fifth	Column	has	an	office	in	Flowers,	where	
  al-Samman	also	rents	a	warehouse	apartment.
  Egyptian	man,	age	4,	85	cm,	65	kg.		Thin	
  frame;	small,	neatly	trimmed	mustache;	shoulder	
  length,	black	hair.		Dresses	neatly	but	casually,	
  wears	a	noose	and	wire-rim	glasses.		Smokes	unfil-
  tered	cigarettes
  Traits
  Ear for Music,		dice	—	Al-Samman	wrote	
  most	of	Mugwump’s	best	songs;	he	has	a	natural	
  gift	for	music	and	he	knows	it.		Previously	he	used	
  this	gift	as	a	bassist,	now	he	applies	it	to	his	scout-
  ing.		Given	two	decent	bands,	he	can	decide	which	
  is	really	good.		Note	that	“good”	doesn’t	always	
  mean	“profitable.”		(Discusses	flaws	in	music	on	
  the	radio)
  Businessman,	4	dice	—	Fifth	Column	has	
  stayed	afloat	longer	than	most	independent	record	
  labels	for	two	reasons:	al-Samman	knows	music,	
  and	he	knows	business.		Rather	than	leave	pro-
  motion	and	marketing	to	underlings,	he	takes	an	
  active	hand	himself	in	most	of	the	company’s	day-
  to-day	operations.		He	also	knows,	unlike	many	
  managers,	when	to	leave	things	to	the	experts.		
  (Reads	record	industry	trade	journals)
  Social activist	—	Mugwump	differed	from	
  most	punk	bands	in	the	late	’70s	by	suggesting	
  channeled	anger.		The	system	should	be	torn	
  down,	their	music	shouted,	but	help	should	also	
  be	given	to	those	who	need	it.		Whether	through	
  
  54	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  benefit	concerts	or	donating	to	charity,	al-Samman	
  continues	to	help	make	a	difference.		He	also	takes	
  the	Muslim	duty	of	alms-giving	very	seriously.		
  (Wears	AIDS	awareness	button)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Any	characters	or	important	GMCs	involved	
  in	the	music	trade	are	naturals	to	come	into	
  contact	with	al-Samman.		Record	contracts	
  and	tours	could	offer	whole	new	realms	of	
  exploration	off	of	Al	Amarja.
  )	 Al-Samman’s	social	activism	has	made	him	a	
  target	of	off-island	intelligence	agents.		They	
  want	to	end	his	attacks	on	the	support	of	
  right-wing	governments	in	Asia	and	Latin	
  America,	and	they	undertake	a	campaign	of	
  intimidation	and	character	assassination.		Al-
  Samman	could	hire	the	PCs	to	clear	his	name,	
  or,	if	they	are	slightly	less	concerned	about	
  being	the	good	guys,	the	agents	could	hire	the	
  PCs	to	silence	him	permanently.
  )	 Who	says	that	Buzzsaw’s	death	really	was	a	
  drug	overdose?		Your	favorite	conspiracy	could	
  have	killed	him	for	any	number	of	reasons.	
  Here’s	your	chance	to	let	the	characters	play	
  Sam	Spade.
  Silk
  Exceptional DJ
  Silk,	or	Raquel	Laffitte,	was	born	to	a	very	rich	
  and	eccentric	family.		In	her	teen	years,	she	fell	in	
  with	a	“bad	crowd,”	stopped	going	to	church,	and	
  starting	going	to	night	clubs.		A	few	years	ago,	she	
  flew	with	a	group	of	friends	to	the	Edge	where,	at	
  the	conclusion	of	their	trip,	she	slipped	into	a	back	
  alley	and	disappeared	into	the	shadows.		She	is	
  officially	missing	in	France,	and	her	parents	have	
  offered	almost	ten	thousand	dollars	to	anyone	that	
  has	information	leading	to	her	location.		
  Of	course,	she	didn’t	want	to	go	back,	and	she	
  assumed	the	name	“Silk.”		At	first	she	worked	as	a	
  courier	for	an	organization	that	was	(unknown	to	
  her)	a	Mover	front,	but	her	natural	ability	to	pick	
  out	good	music	from	bad	soon	landed	her	a	job	as	
  a	DJ	in	a	nightclub	on	the	fringe.
  She	gained	fame	quickly	and	was	soon	playing	
  private	parties,	even	playing	a	party	on	the	Red	
  Orca	once.		Her	fame	on	the	island	continues	to	
  grow,	and	already	she’s	been	asked	to	play	parties	
  in	various	locales	around	the	world.
  Her	only	weakness	is	the	very	thing	that	
  brought	her	all	this	fame.		Her	moods	depend	
  mainly	on	what	type	of	music	she’s	playing	at	the	
  time,	or	what	music	someone	else	is	playing.
  French	woman,	age	,	65	cm,	58	kg.		Shoul-
  der	length	white	hair	(bleached).		Wears	colorful	
  clothes.
  Languages:		French,	passable	English,	some	
  Spanish
  Attack:		dice
  Defense:		dice
  Hit Points:		(trained	to	fend	off	pain)
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  55
  Traits
  Street-fighting,		dice	—	During	her	adven-
  tures	on	the	fringe,	Silk	has	picked	up	a	mish-
  mash	of	offensive	and	defensive	moves.		Her	
  fighting	style	is	unique,	and	those	that	have	seen	
  her	fight	say	it	definitely	works.		(Muscular	legs)
  Music Composition & Mixing,	4*	dice	—	Ever	
  since	she	was	young	Silk	has	had	a	talent	for	music	
  and	how	to	make	it	even	better.		She	has	improved	
  this	talent	while	on	Al	Amarja	to	the	point	where	
  she	is	the	best,	period.		(Looks	through	record	
  store	windows	at	new	releases)
  Streetwise,		dice	—	Yet	another	trait	Silk	
  picked	up	on	the	fringe.		She	has	contacts	every-
  where,	which	has	kept	her	out	of	jail	numerous	
  times.		She	also	can	get	access	to	illegal	weapons,	
  drugs,	equipment,	etc.,	if	need	be.		(Always	meet-
  ing	with	“shady”	people)
  Influenced by Music	—	Silk	is	emotionally	
  unstable	and	thus	easily	influenced	by	the	type	of	
  music	currently	playing.		Under	the	right	circum-
  stances,	this	penalty	might	translate	into	a	bonus.		
  (Tries	to	stay	near	up-tempo	music)
  Story Idea
  )	 An	oppenheimer	learns	of	Silk’s	weakness	and	
  beams	music	directly	into	her	brain,	effectively	
  changing	her	mood	at	a	whim.		He	uses	her	
  as	an	agent	in	a	plot	of	his,	taking	advantage	
  of	her	fame	to	get	her	into	places	that	another	
  agent	could	never	get	into.		The	PCs	find	
  themselves	opposing	Silk,	but	can	they	find	
  their	real	enemy	before	Silk	is	permanently	
  damaged	or	killed	by	this	plot?
  )	 While	unwittingly	working	for	the	Mover	
  front,	Silk	stumbled	onto	an	apparently	mean-
  ingless	datum.		Now	that	datum	has	become	
  vital	to	certain	underground	agent	wars,	and	
  Silk	is	being	pursued.		She	hires	the	PCs	to	
  protect	her,	or	the	Movers	hire	them	to	capture	
  her	so	she	can	be	hypnotized	and	forced	to	
  recall	what	she	knows.
  V.1, aka Veedot One
  Biological Simulacrum
  Veedot	One	takes	his	name	from	the	official	
  military	designation:	“Biological	Simulacrum,	
  V..”		He	was	created	by	a	group	of	fringe	U.S.	
  military	scientists	working	in	secret.		He	was	to	be	
  the	ultimate	fighting	machine,	hardwired	with	ex-
  tensive	combat	training	and	tactical	programming.		
  The	project	was	independently	funded,	and	the	
  government	knows	very	little	about	the	project’s	
  success.		Thanks	to	the	efforts	of	an	anti-military	
  radical	who	erased	his	slave	programming,	Veedot	
  was	able	to	escape	from	the	installation	after	de-
  stroying	the	data	needed	to	create	more	beings	like	
  himself.		
  Externally,	Veedot	appears	to	be	a	tall,	well	
  muscled	human;	however,	internally	he	is	quite	
  different.		In	addition	to	having	two	hearts,	
  Veedot’s	internal	organs	have	been	re-arranged	for	
  better	combat	survival	and	his	body’s	soft	spots	are	
  protected	by	a	cartilaginous	armor.		Veedot	has	no	
  navel,	of	which	he	is	painfully	aware.		He	goes	to	
  great	lengths	to	keep	his	belly	hidden.		
  After	being	freed,	Veedot	hunted	down	and	
  killed	the	scientists	responsible	for	his	creation	
  to	insure	that	no	more	super-soldiers	are	created.		
  Veedot	has	tracked	the	two	remaining	scientists	
  who	worked	on	the	project	to	Al	Amarja.		Shortly	
  after	arriving	in	the	Edge,	Veedot	applied	for	a	
  job	with	the	Peace	Force,	but	left	when	he	was	
  told	that	he’d	have	to	submit	to	a	complete	physi-
  cal.		Since	then,	he	has	become	a	fighter	at	Sad	
  Mary’s,	where	he	makes	decent	money	and	is	able	
  to	keep	a	finger	on	the	pulse	of	the	city.		He	lives	
  in	the	Flowers	Barrio,	and	when	he	is	not	fighting,	
  Veedot	spends	his	time	methodically	searching	the	
  city	for	clues	that	will	lead	him	to	the	last	of	the	
  oppenheimers	who	created	him.
  US	black	man,	88	cm,	08	kg.		Heavily	mus-
  cled,	clean	shaven	with	military	crew-cut.		Dresses	
  in	combat	boots,	fatigue	pants,	black	sweatshirt,	
  and	a	leather	bomber	jacket.
  Languages:	English,	Al	Amarjan	patois
  Attack:	4	dice,	X	with	fist,	X	with	knife
  
  56	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Defense:	4	dice
  Hit Points:	4	(inhuman	constitution)
  Armor:		die	+		point.		Internal	armor,	plus	
  leather	jacket
  Traits
  Biological Simulacrum	(upside)	—	Veedot	One	
  is	not	human;	he	is	a	biological	robot	designed	
  specifically	for	combat.		His	mind	is	actually	an	
  artificial	intelligence,	and	his	body	is	naturally	
  armored	and	combat-worthy.		(No	navel)
  Commando Training,	4	dice	—	Veedot	One’s	
  artificial	brain	has	been	programmed	with	many	
  forms	of	hand	to	hand	combat,	stealth,	and	basic	
  first	aid.		(large	and	muscular)
  Heightened Senses,		dice	—	All	his	senses	have	
  been	designed	to	perform	better	than	a	normal	
  human’s.		(Eyes	gleam	green	in	the	dark)
  Biological Simulacrum	(downside)	—	Veedot	
  One	is	not	human	and	he	knows	it.		His	program-
  ming	makes	it	hard	for	him	to	think	about	things	
  other	than	combat.		Furthermore,	he	fears	some-
  one	will	discover	he	is	not	human	and	thus	avoids	
  doctors	and	hospitals	at	all	costs.		(Shuns	hospi-
  tals)
  Story Ideas
  )		Perhaps	one	of	Veedot	One’s	creators	is	the	
  PCs’	patron.		They	must	protect	their	patron	
  from	Veedot’s	revenge.
  )		Veedot	One	fights	at	Sad	Mary’s	and	thinks	
  fondly	of	Portia.		Any	PC	that	becomes	a	
  fighter	at	Sad	Mary’s,	or	who	takes	a	hankering	
  to	Portia,	eventually	meets	Veedot.
  )		Veedot	One	is	hired	by	Armorguard.		When	a	
  PC	needs	to	hire	a	bodyguard,	they	get	some-
  one	who’s	exceptionally	skilled,	Veedot	One.
  4)		Veedot	One	gets	messed	up	badly	enough	that	
  he	needs	a	doctor,	and	he	looks	up	Alexandria	
  Bennett,	hoping	that	she	will	be	discreet.		Ben-
  nett	then	hires	the	PCs	to	observe	Veedot	One	
  and	report	back	to	her.
  Guillermo Venzor
  AIDS Activist
  Guillermo	can	often	be	seen	outside	such	
  notorious	party	venues	as	Sad	Mary’s	or	Den	of	
  Thieves	handing	out	AIDS	awareness	literature	
  and	free	condoms.		Nobody	in	Al	Amarja	likes	to	
  be	reminded	of	the	potentially	catastrophic	conse-
  quences	of	too	much	sexual	abandon;	he	is	often	
  ignored	for	his	troubles.		But	Guillermo	soldiers	
  on,	determined	to	save	at	least	a	few	people	from	
  his	own	fate	—	he	was	once	a	notorious	king	of	the	
  party	circuit	himself,	and	isn’t	sure	whether	he	got	
  HIV	from	unprotected	sex	or	a	shared	needle.	
  Since	his	diagnosis,	Guillermo	is	a	changed	
  man,	pouring	all	of	the	energy	he	once	directed	
  towards	debauchery	into	organizing	a	support	
  network	for	Al	Amarjans	with	the	disease	and	an	
  educational	campaign	for	those	at	risk	of	getting	
  it.		He	speaks	a	mile	a	minute,	his	eyes	burn	with	
  intensity,	and	he	soon	steers	any	conversation	back	
  towards	the	only	topic	that	matters	to	him	—	the	
  treatment	and	prevention	of	AIDS.
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  57
  Al	Amarjan	man,		years	old,	79	cm,	70	
  kg.		Dark	hair,	well-coifed,	small	ears,	blunt	nose,	
  round	chin.		Dresses	neatly.
  Languages:		Al	Amarjan	patois,	English
  Hit Points:			(weak	from	AZT	treatments)
  Traits
  Connections,	4	dice	—	His	organizing	efforts	
  have	put	him	in	touch	with	a	surprising	range	
  of	people.		From	Lydia	Goodman	to	Monique	
  D’Aubainne	herself,	Guillermo	shows	the	surpris-
  ing	ability	to	pick	up	the	phone	and	get	in	almost	
  immediate	touch	with	virtually	any	of	the	island’s	
  heavy	hitters.		(Always	jotting	phone	numbers	in	
  his	notebook)
  AIDS Education,		dice	—	Follows	devel-
  opments	in	the	politics	and	medicine	of	AIDS	
  worldwide,	becoming	better	and	better	at	getting	
  his	message	through	to	the	unreceptive	audience	
  of	Al	Amarja.		(Hands	out	leaflets)
  Drug Lore,		dice	—	Extensive	experience	in	
  the	old	days	have	made	Guillermo	a	non-practic-
  ing	expert	in	any	exotic	pharmaceutical	you	care	to	
  name.		(Uses	slightly	outdated	drug	slang)
  HIV Positive,	penalty	die	—	Though	he	
  doesn’t	suffer	from	full-blown	AIDS	as	of	yet,	
  Guillermo’s	AZT	treatments	have	left	him	rather	
  weak,	costing	him	a	penalty	die	on	all	physical	ac-
  tions.		(Pale,	moves	slowly	at	times)
  Story Ideas
  )	 As	the	PCs	head	into	a	busy	nightclub,	Guill-
  ermo	is	handing	out	condoms	and	shouting	
  reminders	about	safe	sexual	practices.		He	
  hands	supplies	to	the	party	members,	should	
  they	accept	them.		The	next	time	one	of	them	
  engages	in	a	liaison	with	a	GMC,	see	if	he	
  makes	a	note	of	pointing	out	that	his	charac-
  ter	is	taking	precautions.		If	not,	the	GMC	
  later	approaches	the	PC	and	tells	him	she’s	
  just	tested	HIV	positive.		You’ll	probably	
  want	to	make	this	just	a	scare	for	the	PC	—	or	
  this	could	start	a	plotline	devoted	to	a	fringe-
  power	search	for	a	cure.		Should	such	a	cure	
  be	found,	Giuseppe	Raimondi	(OTE	p.	05)	
  would	be	very	interested.
  )	 If	the	PCs	are	receptive	to	Guillermo	and	
  help	him	out	—	either	by	passing	out	leaflets	
  or	driving	off	some	threatened	fools	subject-
  ing	him	to	harassment	—	he	gives	them	a	card	
  and	tells	them	to	call	if	they	ever	need	help.		
  Though	they	might	well	write	him	off,	Guill-
  ermo	can	secure	just	about	any	bit	of	info	or	
  arrange	any	sort	of	meeting	for	the	group.		He	
  will	require	additional	favors	to	the	cause	if	
  the	PCs	call	on	his	aid	a	second	time.
  AIDS on Al Amarja
  Proximity	to	Africa,	an	active	sex	tourism	
  industry,	and	ties	to	the	U.S.	combine	to	make	
  Al	Amarja	a	center	for	the	incubation	and	
  transmission	of	HIV.		Of	course,	that’s	not	
  what	Her	Exaltedness	would	have	you	believe.
  In	an	effort	to	bolster	tourism,	the	city	
  council	of	the	Edge	authorizes	doctors	to	
  declare	brothels	“HIV-Free.”		Of	course,	a	
  brothel	whose	employees	are	HIV-free	one	day	
  may	be	infected	the	next,	so	these	“HIV-Free”	
  designations	must	be	frequently	renewed	to	be	
  worth	anything.
  Superstition	and	rumor	in	regard	to	AIDS	
  abound	on	Al	Amarja.		A	dozen	crack-pot	
  theories	about	the	cause	of	AIDS	appear	for	
  every	legitimate	medical	advance	in	the	treat-
  ment	of	the	disease.		Superstitious	Al	Amar-
  jans	are	more	likely	to	“protect”	themselves	by	
  burning	their	Freddie	Mercury	records	than	by	
  practicing	safe	sex.
  Meanwhile,	the	D’Aubainne	Hospital	and	
  Trauma	Center	makes	a	mint	by	using	outra-
  geous	treatments	to	“help”	wealthy,	desperate	
  AIDS-sufferers,	who	come	from	around	the	
  world	to	get	treatments	that	are	unproven,	il-
  legal,	or	discredited	in	other	countries.
  
  58	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  The Mysterious 
  Dr. Zilch
  Fringe Neurologist and Patron
  Zilch	is	one	of	the	most	dangerously	unpre-
  dictable	of	conspirators	—	because	he	is	motivated	
  solely	by	curiosity.		
  He	can	(rarely)	be	seen	walking	purposefully	
  through	the	Science	or	Arms	barrios,	but	has	been	
  reported	as	far	afield	as	Flowers	and	Great	Men.		
  He	keeps	no	schedule,	but	his	alter	egos	make	
  periodic	appearances	—	Lance	Nuer	can	be	seen	
  wandering	through	the	University	library,	Craig	
  Mendohlsson	shows	up	at	an	art	gallery	opening	
  or	party,	Marilys	Roan	might	drop	in	at	a	café	
  for	a	few	hours,	or	Shane	Philburn	is	seen	talking	
  importantly	to	a	group	of	suits	at	a	restaurant	in	
  Golden.
  Zilch’s	cane	contains	a	device	he	calls	a	“brain-
  jammer.”		It	shoots	out	a	disruptive	energy	beam.		
  Roll		dice	versus	the	target’s	roll;	if	successful,	it	
  stuns	the	victim	for	-6	rounds.		It	delivers	6	shots	
  before	it	has	to	be	recharged.		(No	one’s	quite	
  sure	why	Zilch	is	immune	to	it.)		He	also	carries	
  a	knife	coated	with	a	paralytic	poison	and	a	bottle	
  of	chloroform.		
  Austrian	man,	age	44,	70	cm,	68	kg.		Brown	
  hair	worn	straight	up.		Usually	carries	a	cane.
  Languages:		German,	Italian,	English,	some	
  Arabic
  Traits
  Rich and Powerful,		dice	—		He	has	connec-
  tions	at	all	levels	of	society.		(Wears	a	beeper)
  Neurology,	4*	dice	—		If	it	affects	the	brain	
  in	any	way,	shape,	or	form,	Zilch	is	interested.		
  (Wears	a	lab	coat)
  Paranoid,		dice	—		A	virtue	in	his	biz.		No	
  matter	what	the	surprise,	there’s	a	chance	Zilch	is	
  prepared.		(Wears	dark	glasses)
  Quick Change,		dice	+	bonus	—	Zilch	is	an	
  expert	at	completely	altering	his	appearance	and	
  demeanor	instantly.		He	can	raise	or	lower	his	
  shoes,	changes	clothes	and	personal	story	with	
  equal	speed,	and	carries	wigs	and	inflatable	body	
  bulges.		The	bonus	is	from	the	expense	he	puts	
  into	his	disguises.		(Often	has	a	striking	appear-
  ance)
  Rumors About Dr. Zilch
  He	broke	the	Slo-Mo	recipe.
  He	doesn’t	exist.
  He	secretly	controls	all	drug	trade	on	Al	Amarja.
  He’s	a	front	for	________	(insert	conspiracy,	or	the	
  D’Aubainnes).
  He	owns	Total	Taxi.
  He	hates	Total	Taxi.
  He	can	inflict	madness	on	his	enemies.
  His	constant	attempts	to	boost	his	own	brain	
  power	have	eroded	his	persona,	until	even	he	
  isn’t	sure	who	he	is.
  He	has	built	psychic	detection	devices	for	the	
  CPC.
  He	invented	Blue	Shock/Wings/Zoroaster.
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  59
  Dr. Zilch’s Alter Egos
  Lance	Nuer	—	laid-back,	blond	college	student.
  Craig	Mendohlsson	—	stylish	freelance	writer	who	
  lives	in	Flowers.
  Marilys	Roan	—	plain	woman	who	owns	(in	ab-
  sentia)	Clark’s	Café	in	Sunken.
  Shane	Philburn	—	middle-aged,	overweight	free-
  lance	structures	advisor	with	an	office	in	the	
  Golden	Barrio.
  Bennies and Cloaks
  Felicia	Carleton	—	computer	hacker.
  Alfredo	Pirelli	—	cabbie	and	brawler,	keeps	his	ear	
  to	the	ground.
  Hans	Schmidt	—	paranoid	cat	burglar	and	sus-
  pected	vampire.
  Francine	Francisco	—	the	kind	of	nice	gal	that	a	
  guy	would	like	to	take	home	to	Mom.
  Story Ideas
  )	 The	characters	need	some	psychoactive	chemi-
  cal	analyzed,	and	a	contact	promises	to	hand	it	
  over	to	“Dr.	Zilch.”		It	could	be	the	real	doc-
  tor,	or	just	a	con	artist	using	his	name.
  )	 The	PCs	see	an	ad	in	the	paper	for	“confiden-
  tial	agents.”		If	they	answer	it,	Zilch	sends	
  them	on	some	bizarre	mission	to	test	them	out	
  as	possible	bennies	and	cloaks.
  )	 Zilch,	posing	as	one	of	his	alter	egos,	is	the	key	
  witness	to	a	crime	or	paranormal	event.		The	
  PCs’	hunt	for	the	alter	ego	is	fruitless,	unless	
  they	can	crack	the	Zilch	mystery.
  Butheina Zuhar
  Palestinian Terrorist
  A	refugee	from	the	occupied	territories	in	
  Israel,	Butheina	fled	to	the	United	States	as	a	
  teenager.		She	arrived	on	a	tourist	visa,	but	had	no	
  intention	of	leaving	when	it	expired.		Life	proved	
  difficult,	however,	especially	as	tighter	immigra-
  tion	laws	in	the	later	80’s	made	it	more	difficult	for	
  illegal	aliens	to	find	legitimate	work.
  Then	she	found	what	seemed	to	be	a	prom-
  ising	job.		With	other	young	women	from	the	
  Middle	East,	Butheina	would	be	paid	to	drink	and	
  converse	with	businessmen	and	others	who	wanted	
  to	learn	or	polish	their	knowledge	of	Arabic.		She	
  didn’t	like	drinking	(the	Koran	forbids	alcohol),	
  but	the	money	was	good	—	and	she	desperately	
  needed	it.
  One	night	a	businessman	with	whom	she’d	
  been	speaking	offered	her	a	ride	home.		She	ac-
  cepted.		Once	on	the	road,	he	suggested	they	stop	
  by	his	place	for	one	more	drink.		Butheina	became	
  afraid,	but	didn’t	know	how	to	turn	him	down	
  without	making	a	scene.		He	took	her	to	his	condo-
  minium	and	raped	her.		The	next	morning	he	told	
  her	not	to	tell	anyone	or	file	charges.		He	warned	
  that	if	she	did,	not	only	would	she	be	laughed	out	
  of	court;	she	would	find	herself	arrested	for	being	
  an	illegal	alien,	for	working	without	a	green	card,	
  and	for	prostitution.		The	businessman	had	gov-
  ernment	connections,	he	said,	and	could	make	sure	
  this	happened.		He	laughed,	called	her	a	“sand-
  nigger	whore,”	and	dumped	her	out	on	the	street.
  This	disillusioning	experience	gave	Butheina	a	
  new	view	on	the	West,	and	in	particular	its	regard	
  for	women.		Once	she	thought	Western	culture	
  was	“liberating”;	now	she	realizes	that	the	only	
  liberty	it	confers	is	the	freedom	to	be	abused	and	
  enslaved	by	vice	and	evil	men.		It	was	a	mistake	for	
  her	to	forsake	the	Koran	by	drinking	and	having	
  commerce	with	strangers.		Now	she	knows	better	
  —	but	the	price	of	this	knowledge	was	more	than	
  any	woman	should	pay.
  Butheina	has	since	become	involved	in	radi-
  cal	Muslim	groups,	struggling	against	Western	
  secularism	and	Zionism,	and	trying	to	established	
  strict	Islamic	law	in	the	lands	of	Believers.		She	has	
  been	trained	in	Iran,	Libya	and	the	Sudan,	and	has	
  been	active	in	Lebanon,	Jerusalem’s	West	Bank,	
  Egypt	and	Algeria.
  In	Butheina’s	eyes,	this	is	a	feminist	cause,	to	
  preserve	women’s	dignity	under	the	Law	of	the	
  Prophet.		When	actually	enforced,	it	will	rein	in	
  the	predatory	nature	of	men.
  
  60	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Al	Amarja	is	a	meeting	ground	and	base	for	
  several	Islamic	terrorist	cells	(and	plenty	of	non-
  Islamic	ones!).		With	its	libertarian	(indeed,	almost	
  non-existent)	immigration	policy	it	is	a	welcom-
  ing	shore	for	Palestinians	and	other	expatriates.		
  Butheina’s	missions	often	bring	her	to	the	Edge,	
  where	she	may	encounter	player	characters.		Her	
  cause	may	bring	her	to	cooperate	with	or	struggle	
  against	them.
  Butheina’s	connections	on	Al	Amarja	have	
  been	left	deliberately	vague.		Given	the	back-
  ground	of	Over the Edge,	it	is	likely	that	whatever	
  organization	she	works	for	is	in	some	way	infil-
  trated,	manipulated,	or	dominated	by	some	other	
  force	for	which	religion	is	one	of	many	fronts.		Her	
  terrorist	cell	might	unknowingly	serve	the	Movers	
  (for	whom	terrorists	are	a	valuable	tool),	the	Mr.	
  LeThuys	(who	like	the	chaos	and	fear	generated	
  by	terrorist	acts),	or	even	the	Throckmortonians	
  (whose	control	freak	nature	helps	them	get	along	
  with	almost	any	religion’s	zealots).
  Whether	a	sister	in	arms	or	an	implacable	foe,	
  Butheina	is	not	a	character	to	be	slighted,	nor	eas-
  ily	distracted	from	her	chosen	path.
  Palestinian	woman,	age	7,	75	cm,	60	kg,	
  black	hair,	deceptively	gentle,	large	brown	eyes.		
  Dresses	in	“street	camo”	(Western	garb)	on	
  operations;	otherwise	prefers	traditional	Muslim	
  women’s	garb.
  Languages:	Arabic,	English.
  Attack:		or	4	dice,	X	damage	(knife)
  Defense:		or	4	dice
  Hit Points:	4	(resolute)
  Traits
  Anti-Western	—	Bitterly	opposed	to	American	
  hegemony	and	Western	materialism.	(Refers	to	
  USA	as	“the	Great	Satan”)
  Devoted Muslim,		dice	—	Knows	the	Koran	
  and	Shari’a	intimately,	as	well	as	the	writings	of	
  many	great	Islamic	thinkers	from	Ibn	Sina	to	
  Khomeini.		(Wears	traditional	garb	except	when	
  on	missions)
  Terrorist,	4	dice	—	Familiar	with	guns,	knives,	
  explosives,	security	systems,	and	basic	espionage	
  skills	(eluding	pursuers,	debugging	rooms,	con-
  ducting	surveillance,	etc.).		(Carries	a	concealed	
  knife	at	all	times)
  Good Physical Conditioning,		dice	—	Butheina	
  follows	a	strict	dietary	regimen	and	exercises	fre-
  quently,	to	maintain	superior	physical	form.		(Lean	
  and	muscular,	although	this	is	often	concealed	by	
  her	clothing)
  Self-Reliant,	bonus	die	—	Butheina	knows	
  she	can	only	depend	on	herself.		No	Western	men	
  are	to	be	trusted,	and	even	her	comrades	are	of	
  dubious	value	—	most	of	them	are	soft	and	mor-
  ally	corrupted	by	the	insidious	and	far-reaching	
  tendrils	of	satanic	Western	culture.		In	a	desper-
  ate	situation	(GM’s	judgement),	Butheina	should	
  receive	a	bonus	die	on	crucial	rolls	as	she	calls	on	
  her	inner	reserves	of	strength	and	faith.		In	effect,	
  this	works	much	like	PCs’	experience	dice.		(Un-
  shakeably	calm)
  Story Ideas
  )	 Butheina	comes	to	Al	Amarja	to	make	contact	
  with	an	Algerian	terrorist	cell.		Along	the	way	
  she	learns	of	the	Scarlet	Palace	(the	brothel	
  described	in	Wildest	Dreams,	p.	4),	and	
  resolves	to	bring	the	righteous	wrath	of	Allah	
  down	upon	it.		She	invites	sympathetic	PCs	to	
  join	her	effort.		If	they	help	her,	she	may	re-
  turn	the	favor	with	future	aid.		(If	plots	should	
  take	the	PCs	through	the	Middle	East’s	under-
  world,	Butheina’s	contacts	may	be	invaluable.)	
  )	 Plans	of	the	PCs	go	awry	when	an	important	
  contact	turns	up	dead.		It	turns	out	this	man	
  was	Butheina’s	rapist,	and	she	has	scored	grue-
  some	vengeance	upon	him.
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  6
  Appendix: 
  GMC Locations
  On	the	following	pages	are	the	“encounter	
  charts”	for	Friend or Foe?.		They	list	the	GMCs	
  described	above	by	location	so	that,	in	the	middle	
  of	a	game	session,	you	can	look	for	the	PCs’	
  current	location	and	see	whether	any	promising	
  GMCs	are	usually	found	there.		There	are	no	
  random	rolls	to	determine	who	the	PCs	encounter	
  because	that	should	be	up	to	you.		If	you	have	
  other	GMCs	you’d	like	to	introduce,	scribble	their	
  names	onto	these	lists	as	well.
  Anywhere
  Rixa	Bekker,	CPC	Hound
  Fat	Benny,	Gargoyle	Fence
  Commander	Kismet,	the	Ultimate	Remote	Con-
  trol
  Finola	Montague,	Freelance	Photojournalist
  Anima	Nee-Owoo,	CPC	Inspector
  Tony	Red	Hawk,	Private	Investigator
  Butheina	Zuhar,	Palestinian	Terrorist
  Barrios
  Arms
  Rixa	Bekker,	CPC	Hound
  John	K.	Mohammad,	City	Manager	of	the	Edge
  Anima	Nee-Owoo,	CPC	Inspector
  Broken Wings
  Kyemba	Adoko,	Information	Broker
  John	K.	Mohammad,	City	Manager	of	the	Edge
  Michiko	Nariga,	Outre	Pollster
  Flowers
  Kyemba	Adoko,	Information	Broker
  Arenel,	Child	Time	Surfer
  Andrew	Garret,	Brainwiped	CIA	Agent
  El-Hajj	Hamid	al-Samman,	Record	Label	Owner
  Silk,	Exceptional	DJ
  Four Points Barrio
  Kyemba	Adoko,	Information	Broker
  Dr.	Morpheus,	Fringe	Gadgeteer	(possibly	with	
  bennies)
  Pork,	Caseworker	for	Guiding	Hand
  Tony	Red	Hawk,	Private	Investigator
  Golden Barrio
  Kyemba	Adoko,	Information	Broker
  Nordica	Barron,	Black	Marketeer
  John	K.	Mohammad,	City	Manager	of	the	Edge
  Michiko	Nariga,	Outre	Pollster
  Great Men
  Arenel,	Child	Time	Surfer
  Gerard	Duplat,	Dealer	in	Rare	Animals
  Andrew	Garret,	Brainwiped	CIA	Agent
  Geoffry	Hienzen,	the	Weed	Man
  Ishaq	al-Masha,	Occultist	Mover
  Justice Barrio
  Kyemba	Adoko,	Information	Broker
  Finola	Montague,	Freelance	Photojournalist
  Pork,	Caseworker	for	Guiding	Hand
  Science Barrio
  “Springheel”	Jack	Coogan,	the	Bionic	Freshman
  Federico	Georno,	Sophomore	Lothario
  Giorgos	Antonio	Hamati,	Intellectual	Radical
  Hun	Ku-Gong,	Immortal	Warrior
  Sunken Barrio
  Gordon	“Whiny”	Dobson,	“Social	Guide”
  Denise	Felder,	Snake	Dancer
  Dr.	Zilch,	as	Marilys	Roan	
  
  6	
  over the edge 
  Friend or Foe?
  Businesses
  Breakneck Cafe
  Fat	Benny,	Gargoyle	Fence	(every	morning)
  Cesar’s
  Gordon	“Whiny”	Dobson,	“Social	Guide”	(at	the	
  bar)
  Chateau Melmoth
  Tomek	Bereszowsky,	Vegetarian	Lycanthrope	(din-
  ing)
  Anastasia	Crowley,	Small-time	Prophet	and/or	
  Wizard	(dining)
  Mesut	Economou,	Dealer	in	Arcane	Tomes	(drop-
  ping	off	or	receiving	messages)
  D’Aubainne Hospital
  Ishaq	al-Masha,	Occultist	Mover	(placing	bets)
  D’Aubainne International Airport
  Gordon	“Whiny”	Dobson,	“Social	Guide”	(scam-
  ming)
  Dmitri’s Fix-It Shop
  Dr.	Morpheus,	Fringe	Gadgeteer	(chatting)
  Hall of Records
  Keewatin	Razutis,	Unhelpful	Clerk	(being	unhelp-
  ful)
  KRAK Radio
  Tomek	Bereszowsky,	Vegetarian	Lycanthrope	
  (working)
  Kuan Tun’s
  Elaine	Czarny,	One	Tough	Gal	(teaching)
  Last Supper
  Tony	Red	Hawk,	Private	Investigator
  Rooms for Men
  Andrew	Garret,	Brainwiped	CIA	Agent	(zoning)
  Sad Mary’s
  Elaine	Czarny,	One	Tough	Gal
  Gordon	“Whiny”	Dobson,	“Social	Guide”
  Denise	Felder,	Snake	Dancer
  Federico	Georno,	Sophomore	Lothario
  Ishaq	al-Masha,	Occultist	Mover
  Finola	Montague,	Freelance	Photojournalist
  Silk,	Exceptional	DJ
  Guillermo	Venzor,	AIDS	Activist
  Scoopmeister
  Andrew	Garret,	Brainwiped	CIA	Agent	(working)
  Sequins
  Ishaq	al-Masha,	Occultist	Mover	(drinking)
  John	K.	Mohammad,	City	Manager	of	the	Edge	
  (gambling)
  Plazas
  Plaza of Flowers
  Arenel,	Child	Time	Surfer
  Alexandria	Bennett,	Independent	Doctor
  Fat	Benny,	Gargoyle	Fence
  Denise	Felder,	Snake	Dancer
  Andrew	Garret,	Brainwiped	CIA	Agent
  Guillermo	Venzor,	AIDS	Activist
  Hun	Ku-Gong,	Immortal	Warrior	(debauching)	
  Plaza of the Four Cardinal Points
  Dr.	Morpheus,	Fringe	Gadgeteer	(with	bennies)
  Pork,	Caseworker	for	Guiding	Hand
  Plaza of Gold
  John	K.	Mohammad,	City	Manager	of	the	Edge
  Dr.	Zilch,	as	Shane	Philburn
  
  Friend or Foe? 
  over the edge	
  6
  Federico	Georno,	Sophomore	Lothario
  Finola	Montague,	Freelance	Photojournalist
  El-Hajj	Hamid	al-Samman,	Record	Label	Owner
  Silk,	Exceptional	DJ
  Guillermo	Venzor,	AIDS	Activist
  Party
  Gordon	“Whiny”	Dobson,	“Social	Guide”	(crash-
  ing	it)
  Denise	Felder,	Snake	Dancer
  Federico	Georno,	Sophomore	Lothario
  Silk,	Exceptional	DJ
  Scientific Event
  Rixa	Bekker,	CPC	Hound	(if	it’s	fringe	science)
  Alexandria	Bennett,	Independent	Doctor
  Dr.	Morpheus,	Fringe	Gadgeteer
  Anima	Nee-Owoo,	CPC	Inspector	(if	it’s	fringe	
  science)
  Pork,	Caseworker	for	Guiding	Hand
  Veedot	One,	Biological	Simulacrum	(looking	for	
  those	he	wants	to	kill)
  The	Mysterious	Dr.	Zilch,	Fringe	Neurologist	and	
  Patron
  Sommerite Happening
  Federico	Georno,	Sophomore	Lothario
  John	K.	Mohammad,	City	Manager	of	the	Edge	
  (incognito)
  Silk,	Exceptional	DJ
  Other Locations
  Burbs
  Dr.	Morpheus,	Fringe	Gadgeteer
  Traboc
  Keewatin	Razutis,	Unhelpful	Clerk
  Plaza of Great Men
  Geoffry	Hienzen,	the	Weed	Man	(in	his	store)
  Plaza of Justice
  Pork,	Caseworker	for	Guiding	Hand
  Tony	Red	Hawk,	Private	Investigator
  Plaza of Science
  Alexandria	Bennett,	Independent	Doctor
  “Springheel”	Jack	Coogan,	the	Bionic	Freshman
  Federico	Georno,	Sophomore	Lothario
  Sunken Plaza
  Guillermo	Venzor,	AIDS	Activist
  General Locations
  Art Happening
  Arenel,	Child	Time	Surfer	(with	artist	guardian)
  Alexandria	Bennett,	Independent	Doctor
  Fat	Benny,	Gargoyle	Fence	(as	statue)
  Finola	Montague,	Freelance	Photojournalist
  Dr.	Zilch,	as	Craig	Mendohlsson
  Intellectual Event
  Alexandria	Bennett,	Independent	Doctor
  Giorgos	Antonio	Hamati,	Intellectual	Radical
  Library
  Alexandria	Bennett,	Independent	Doctor
  Finola	Montague,	Freelance	Photojournalist
  Dr.	Zilch,	as	Lance	Nuer
  Musical Event
  El-Hajj	Hamid	al-Samman,	Record	Label	Owner
  Silk,	Exceptional	DJ
  Night Club
  “Springheel”	Jack	Coogan,	the	Bionic	Freshman
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Over the Edge/Over The Edge [2nd ed]/Friend or Foe [oef].pdf