TEXT: “Boiling Point”
  
   1                     Boiling Point                       
  Writing
  Federico E. Sohns
  Cover Art
  Alexey Tretyakov
  Proofreading & Editing
  Matt Timm
  Layout
  Federico E. Sohns
  Prologue
  Boiling Point is a short Nibiru adventure, set in the 
  Penumbraic city of Suruptu. It starts off half a cycle 
  after a merchant finds the PCs, unconscious, gravely 
  ill, and at the verge of death. As they get back on their 
  feet, they start to learn about a strange series of events, 
  seemingly tied to the machinations of several political 
  and economic interests, inside and outside of Suruptu. 
  This adventure deals in themes of environmental crisis, 
  of how poorest people always deal with the worst of 
  said crisis’ fallout, and of the ways organizations take 
  advantage of these to advance their agendas. The 
  Vagabonds might have traversed the tunnels under 
  Suruptu for a while, having walked into the labyrinthine 
  corridors below for a while. The story is an ideal kick-
  off point for a longer series centered around the struggle 
  for power and liberation across Penumbra. 
  If you intend to play this adventure, do not read 
  further! The text is only for the Narrator's eyes. 
  Before we Start
  As with other adventures, this booklet will describe 
  the way in which action may develop as the story is 
  narrated. We will embolden certain actions to imply 
  there should be a roll, at the same time suggesting that 
  roll’s Action Type. We also give indications to narrators 
  in orange. If this is your first foray into Nibiru, you 
  should read the material found in the Nibiru Corebook, 
  so that you become familiar with the setting and the 
  rules of play!
  Narrators Only!
  Questions & Answers
  Who is involved in this story?
  The characters are saved from the tunnels by 
  Ugurnaszir, who takes them into his barge and cares 
  for them. They are then driven into their search by 
  Kinaa, a doctor who works under the Boundless Med 
  Treaty, as they all discover that her clinic (which had 
  the medicine the Vagabonds needed to be treated) 
  has been sabotaged by an unknown enemy. 
  What’s The Bigger Picture? 
  The pollution the Vagabonds were affected by is also 
  affecting nearby towns, creating a crisis that pits the 
  Council of Suruptu against other towns and peoples 
  of the region. The way in which the city exhausts its 
  toxic produce, however, can be reconfigured if one 
  knows how to “speak to the station”. 
  Who’s Behind the Attack? 
  A small number of Antumbran Silu, who do not 
  want to see Suruptu forming an alliance with other 
  Penumbraic towns —which would threaten the 
  already weakened Antumbran position in the region. 
  They’ve managed to locate a local air purification 
  control point, which they’ve accessed with the help 
  of a Vagabond of the Machine.
  
  The story starts in the Torus, at the base of the Suruptu 
  Trench, in the Song of Arseen. You can read the 
  following as a short way to introduce the way in which 
  the Vagabonds were found:
  You’re unsure as to when exactly you passed out, your 
  companions and you gasping for air as they made a last 
  effort to emerge from the tunnels. You open your eyes as 
  you spit the black particles out, coughing along with every 
  step your own benefactor takes. As your limp body hangs 
  over their back, you notice your hearing is still deafened 
  by the roaring of monstrous extractors, which stand above 
  you in lines along the Torus, like a procession of giants.  
  Their savior carries them into a barge, and the deafening 
  noise from the outside is sawn-off by the closing hatch. 
  Not even the blinding light from roof keeps them from 
  closing their eyes once again.
  You can now go on to explain that the story starts about 
  half a cycle (a month and a half) after the rescue. Help 
  the players figure out what they’ve been doing to get 
  back into shape from that time, bearing in mind they’re 
  still quite affected by whatever illness is ailing them. Ask 
  them about what has helped them recover, whether if 
  it’s something their savior (who goes by the name of 
  Ugurnaszir) did, or something in the barge (see page 
  47 of the Corebook) they’ve found useful. Award their 
  input with a Memory/Influence Point —their choice. 
  Scene 1
  Tour of Suruptu 
  The first scene starts at the barge’s dining area. Everyone 
  is chatting, with Ugur making conversation about music 
  in Suruptu and asking the Vagabonds about music in 
  the place they grew up in, while one or two of the PCs 
  are Cooking something for lunch (the roll result will 
  inform how the rest reacts once taking a bite).
  The purpose of these initial exchanges is to establish 
  Ugur’s personality, so that the players can empathize 
  and form an opinion on him.
  While they lunch, one of the PCs coughs after taking 
  their first bite. Ugur might make a funny remark about 
  the cooking before stating the fact that they should 
  go to town to visit a doctor. He pulls up his MAT and 
  searches for a name to recommend. He skips through 
  some of the entries, and finally settles for a doctor under 
  the name of Kinaa, who’s located at the Noose. Ugur 
  gives them directions as well as water bottles for each.
  The group departs through a long tunnel, leaving 
  the noise from the docks behind to welcome that of 
  the PL03, with hundreds toiling under labyrinthine 
  pipe systems and massive, screeching oil pumps. An 
  automated ramp elevates the Vagabonds out of the 
  platform, past the sound-proof roof structure, and 
  spitting them out into the narrow streets of the Noose.
  Players might Smell the difference between the docks 
  and the Noose. Those that do will realize that this is 
  a particularly polluted locale in town. As they follow 
  Ugur’s directions, they see residential corridors covered 
  with a transparent plastic sheet. Below it, a steel grid 
  has been put into place. Each house along the way has 
  let fungi grow from their facades and into the grid, 
  slowly forming a very pretty and surreal dome of 
  glowing blue fungal growth. If the players don’t arrive 
  to the conclusion shortly thereafter, the Smell reveals 
  that—while the corridors are way more moist, and 
  the humidity is pretty noticeable—the air seems much 
  cleaner there.
  A couple of twists and turns afterwards, they arrive 
  at Kinaa’s house; a repurposed container on a vertical 
  configuration, its entrance guarded by a small yet 
  enviable garden. After knocking, Kinaa will welcome 
  them in, serving tea and inviting them to sit down.
  “I’m glad you found your way. The Suruptu Network had 
  just integrated our address into the database, so I wasn’t 
  sure if the info they had was right. How can I help?”
  Kinaa will hear the PCs explain their situation and will 
  point out, with a troubled-yet-confident face, that more 
  and more people, particularly from nearby settlements, 
  are developing symptoms such as these and coming to 
  get treatment. She suggests they join her at the clinic to 
  see treatment options.
        Boiling Point                     2
  MAT
  A flexible, foldable mat made out of steel and fungi 
  weave, MATs (Member Access Terminals) are as 
  essential to life in the Skyless World as smartphones are 
  in ours. Usually worn around the forearm, MATs depend 
  on the local Network of their city-state to function, and 
  are utilized for everything ranging from checking the 
  news, to keeping up with the work cycle, from instant 
  messaging to entertainment.
  
  Scene 2
  The Flaming Noose 
  The group follows Kinaa along, as she asks the group 
  about where they are from, and if they had any issues 
  with pollution back in their hometowns (at which point 
  they might remember Ugur saying they shouldn’t state 
  they have no memory of it all). She goes on to state that:
  “The clinic was initially a wandering chapel that came 
  with the Assyrian immigrants into town. It got set up in 
  a pretty accessible spot, and when people started to get ill 
  due to the PL03, it got designated as an emergency clinic. 
  The community worked to protect itself from pollution by 
  doing cleanup work and building the blue roofs you’ve 
  seen along the corridors, but even after that the chapel 
  stayed as a clinic, and after arrivals started to dwindle we 
  got the permission to use it”.
  The “we” Kinaa refers to here is the community of 
  doctors that operates under the Boundless Med Treaty. 
  It’s an initiative to make medical care in Suruptu free, 
  since, until its implementation, all doctors required 
  credit payments directly from the patients treat them. 
  As they approach the location, the group will see that 
  the corridors open up into wider, more crowded roads. 
  A group of kids blast past them, almost knocking down 
  one of the PCs, and they hear other people shouting, 
  while a large hauler tries to maneuver past the crowds. 
  It’s clear that the area is overflowing with activity, and 
  then a single detail seems to throw Kinaa off: A smoke 
  cloud, that rises from the site of the clinic.
  She increases the pace, and the PCs follow along. A 
  small group of people are standing near the building, 
  and Kinaa rushes past them. She then turns to the PCs 
  and tells them to help her go in and find her supplies. 
  She hastily and desperately explains how there are a 
  series of green boxes with a specific symbol, and that 
  they shouldn’t remain inside for more than a minute.
  Once inside, they notice that most of the smoke is 
  coming from the upper floor. The group hears Kinaa 
  telling them to come up. Heading there, they see her 
  trying to put out th fire, which seems to be localized in a 
  storage room. Kinaa asks anyone who’s feeling like they 
  can’t breathe to step out. Characters can Search around 
  to find any boxes that resemble Kinaa’s description. 
  They can also help her extinguish the fire.
   
  The group has only one shot at rescuing whatever they 
  can. Suddenly, they see windows shattering around 
  them, as several Skitterbot AI limbs (Corebook, page 
  172) land on the floor, rolling in unison towards the 
  fire and spitting antiflame foam. Outside, the crowd has 
  grown, as the noise from several hovering Skitterbot 
  AIs and the smoke attract people to the area.
  After this, the local task force asks Kinaa and the PCs 
  a few questions, and recommend to return later on 
  for results on an investigation. Kinaa, still in a bit of 
  a shock, tells the group that she wants to make sure 
  they are alright after having gone inside the burning 
  building. She offers to conduct the check at her place.
  Back there, Kinaa gives them a breather with a special 
  extract paleweed, and gives them breathing masks just 
  so that they get some extra protection. After that’s done, 
  Kinaa states the following:
  “I’m going to be honest with you all. The boxes we rescued 
  had some pretty critical emergency supplies, as well as 
  processed paleweed and high value medicine. However, I 
  had to go to my personal stash to find the medicine specific 
  to your ailment. There are about ten storage rooms in that 
  clinic, and I’m more than a bit surprised about the fire 
  being localized there. Case in point; it seems targeted. The 
  medicine you needed was sabotaged.”
  She will then ask them if they have any enemies. If 
  anybody knew of the fact that they were ill and heading 
  to visit her. Let the players have a chat about this. Ugur 
  might come into mind, but that wouldn’t make much 
  sense at first or second thought (though they might 
  still want to ask him). Kinaa will seem really bothered 
  by this thought, and so the characters might want to 
  Reassure her that the attack isn’t related to them (feel 
  free to give them extra dice if they do even a small effort 
  at roleplaying this).
  Failing this will result in her inviting them to leave, so 
  that she can clear her thoughts. Success, however, means 
  that she will ask them to help out. She will first tell them 
  they need to get more supplies of the paleweed extract 
  they have, and will give them a note to get it from any of 
  the other Boundless Med doctors in town. 
   3                     Boiling Point                       
  
  There are three other doctors operating under the 
  Boundless Med Treaty in the Noose. These are Ettu, 
  Awiseen, and Hano. Upon heading to their respective 
  clinics, the group finds that all of them have been 
  attacked in the same manner. It’ll be hard to reach out 
  to the affected, yet at least two of them will open up to 
  talk to the group, stating that their paleweed extract 
  breathers were sabotaged.
  You might want to remind the PCs, if they’re being too 
  forward in how they approach these situations, that 
  they might arise suspicion in the local task forces—and 
  that their Vagabond condition should remain secret.
  When told of this, Kinaa tells them that yes; she was 
  just informed of it all. It’s in this moment that you really 
  want to get her and the PCs involved in a conversation, 
  about why this might be happening. Investigating via 
  the local network will shed light on the fact that it was 
  particularly all of these clinics, which were all part of 
  the Boundless Med Treaty, that got sabotaged. They 
  will also find out that these clinics were receiving, over 
  the past cycle, an increased number of patients with 
  symptoms affecting their lungs.
  It’s important to give the PCs some space to discuss 
  this. Specially, making them think over the situation by 
  having Kinaa ask them questions linked to the moment 
  when they became ill, such as: 
  Where and when exactly did they experience the first 
  symptoms of the illness?
  Do they remember if the area was highly poluted? 
  Do they recall how much time they spent there?
  The plan that follows could be conjured up by the players 
  themselves, which would be ideal. Yet, they might come 
  up with their own course of action, or they might not 
  come up with anything at all. If the players have issues 
  finding the answers to any of the above questions, let 
  them know that they can spend a Memory Point to have 
  their PCs suddenly recall the answer. 
  After that, Kinaa thinks it over a few minutes, and then 
  she turns to tell them that she has a plan. She first asks 
  them if she can run a blood test on any of them. If asked 
  as to why, she will state that she wants to know if there’s 
  anything in their blood that might be related to their 
  illness. 
  While she runs the analysis, she says the following: 
  “Given the lack of proof we have of, well... anything at 
  the moment, I think it’s best to do as follows. While I run 
  tests, I’d like you to get particle samples from the PL03’s 
  exhaust pipes. These are past their transit perimeter, so 
  you’ll have to sneak in.”
  If asked about this, Kinaa explains that the PL’s exhaust 
  pipes tend to handle different kinds of waste, and that 
  matching the kind of harmful particle to whatever 
  might be in the Vagabonds’ blood could tell them about 
  the cause of the illness.
  If they don’t agree with the plan, Kinaa will understand. 
  In that case, you should continue with the events on 
  Scene 4. If they do agree, continue to Scene 3.
  Scene 3
  Dirty Business
  Kinaa tells the group that to get samples, they‘ll have 
  to get to the base of each pipe, and slide in one of the 
  three samplers she gives them (there are three pipes she 
  wishes to target). 
  She states that the hardest part might be to get past the 
  perimeter, and that the best way to do that is to pass as 
  science students (since there’s a lot of R&D going on at 
  the PL). With that in mind, she gives each one of them 
  a doctor’s coat, and tells them to say they’re in “for the 
  waste disposal tech seminar.”
  After Kinaa gives them some directions, the group is off 
  to the PL03. They go down the ramp and past the roof 
  of the platform, and enter the central hub, from where 
  they can access the docks and the rest of the PL. Here’s 
  where the entrance to the operations perimeter lies; a 
  simple entrance, with no barriers, just two members of 
  security watching who goes in and out.
  The group will have to Stay Cool so not to arouse any 
  suspicions. If they succeed, they basically go in without 
  being called out. However, if one of them fails, they’re 
  be approached by the security personnel. Whoever 
  failed their roll will be asked what they come for, and 
  will need to Impersonate one of the local students. 
  Only then failure will entail real problems; security will 
  check the records and, upon realizing that there’s no 
  scheduled waste disposal seminar, and that the students 
  do not carry IDs, they will call the local task force.
        Boiling Point                     4
  
  At each of the three sites, they slide in the sampler and 
  quickly move on. After the work is done, you should 
  reward them with an Influence Point each. Once back at 
  Kinaa’s place, she studies the sample and says:
  “Seems like whatever’s being dumped into the Eastern 
  pipe found its way to your bloodstream. I’m pretty sure 
  that pipe runs close to the Torus. Maybe it’d be a good 
  idea to check with your friend, see if he can give us a lift?”
  Scene 4
  Entrenched 
  Ugur receives the group with a worried face; seems like 
  he has learned of what happened at the clinics. He asks 
  if they’re okay, and thanks Kinaa for the care provided.
  Persuading Ugur to take them back to the Torus won’t be 
  simple. He asks about why they want to go back, raising 
  the point that it could really worsen their situation. 
  That it’s important for them to get better, and to do that 
  fast. Normally, players would roll only two dice for this 
  test, given the fact that Ugur seems staunchly against 
  returning. However, if the players roleplay through this, 
  and make an effort, let them know that they’ve earned 
  an extra die before rolling.
  Whoever has been the quietest during the session might 
  Read the Subtext of how Ugur is making his case. If they 
  do so accurately, they’ll understand that his emphasis 
  on getting better FAST speaks of Ugur’s priorities; he 
  wishes them to get better fast, so that they leave. Then, 
  reward that player with a Memory Point, as they reflect 
  on how Ugur has grown steadily-yet-subtly distant over 
  the past few lapses, as if preparing to see them off.
  If Ugur isn’t convinced by the PCs, Kinaa intervenes, 
  stating that this is important for the Boundless Med 
  Treaty and their research, and he begrudgingly agrees 
  to take them. He tells them to head over to the dining 
  area while he preps to put the barge into motion.
  This might be a great moment for players to describe 
  what their living quarters at the barge are like. You can 
  always refer to page 47 of the Corebook for guidance. 
  Ask them about any particular thing they keep by their 
  bunk, any memory of with their time with Ugur. 
  After Ugur sets the barge off to reach the Trench, he 
  finds and talks to one of the PCs. He states something 
  along the lines of:
  “Maybe it was a mistake to send you over to one of the 
  docs from Boundless for treatment. What I’ve seen in the 
  Network certainly doesn’t look good. Should have given 
  you some credit, tell you to go see the Arku...”
  Ugurnaszir voices his distrust in Suruptu’s health 
  initiative. In truth, he has made up his mind 
  during the time the Vagabonds left the barge: He 
  has contacted a nexus from Enki’s Covenant, and 
  requested them to come to the barge. This is the true 
  reason why he is upset about having to take them to 
  the trench.
  The point of this is to establish a slight suspicion 
  on the part of the players. On the one hand, they’ve 
  shared moments of good natured talk with Ugur, 
  but the recent perception they’re getting from him 
  should throw them off a bit. Make sure to get a feel for 
  how they react to it all, to keep them from acting rash.
  A few minutes later, Ugur will take the helm, 
  maneuvering the barge down onto the surface. The 
  barge shakes as it descends into the shadow, landing 
  in between two colossal wind turbines. Ugur informs 
  them that they can now descend through the hatch. At 
  the threshold, Kinaa tells them she found a few more 
  supplies, gives them two inhalers & gas masks, telling 
  them to take turns sharing them if those aren’t enough.
  As the group looks around, they should be able to 
  Notice, either because of the smell or the shape of a 
  rising smoke pillar, that the entrance to the place where 
  they were found is close (if they don’t, let them know 
  that they take a while to find it, eventually getting there 
  while they take in a fair number of breaths with the 
  inhaler). The smoke comes from a deep shaft, which 
  they can climb down through a simple metal ladder. 
  Down there, the only light comes from a series of 
  emergency bulbs that signal towards a narrow tunnel.
  Following the tunnel, the group finds a metal door, with 
  a tiny compartment and a strange looking lock. A closer 
  Technical Inspection will reveal that the lock seems to 
  be unlike anything mass produced across the Skyless 
  World, though even knowing its origin wouldn’t matter, 
  since the mechanism has been broken and replaced with 
  what seems to be a standard use lock system. Further 
  examination (which you should state as an option to 
  the players) will, if successful, reveal that the lock is of 
  Assyrian manufacture, though it doesn’t seem to have 
  the identifier used by government issued tech. It comes 
  from a private factory.
   5                     Boiling Point                       
  
  Those who speak the Lost Tongue might talk to 
  it, triggering its mechanism. This will result in the 
  door overriding the human-made lock and granting 
  immediate access, to the shock of whoever is on the 
  other side. Whether the group knocks at the door or 
  not, a voice will speak from the other side.
  “Please place the medicine into the compartment before 
  stepping in to claim your credit.”
  It should be pretty clear that the Vagabonds will have to 
  drop the inhalers into the compartment to go in.
  “Thank you for your contribution.”
  The door opens, revealing a small compartment with 
  a weird machine at the center. The way it contorts, 
  its lines and overall design; it all seems to resemble 
  the aesthetics of that strange lock. There’s a clamp-
  like contraption wrapped around it, with a large 
  module on top full of blinking lights. A projector spits 
  faint blue light on a spheric receiver—which should 
  serve as an interface to interact with the machine. 
   
  A Service AI seems to be sitting in a chair, plugged 
  by at least a dozen connections into the previously 
  mentioned module. It speaks with the same voice that 
  spoke to them before:
  “Please insert a valid credit tag to claim your credit. Your 
  balance is of 200 Assyrian Honors”
  At this point, you should offer the players to inspect the 
  machine. It’s safe to assume that at least one of them 
  should take you up on going through a Technical 
  Inspection. If successful, give them details on how the 
  machine seems to also be of unknown origin, though its 
  purpose seems to be linked to the local air purification 
  systems. Whether they succeed or not, they note that 
  there is a datachip, half inserted on the side of the 
  machine, labeled as “CONFIDENTIAL”.
  Consider, too, that asking questions to the Service AI 
  will be quite useless, as it’s mainly been repurposed to 
  take care of the place and process transactions. It will, 
  however, attack the group if they step out of line. There 
  are, essentially, two ways in which this might continue. 
  Either...
  ...the PCs leave, knowing that there seems to be a 
  strange medicine black market operation happening, 
  which is in some way linked to Ashur.
  ...the PCs leave with the datachip, prompting the AI to 
  attack them. Remind the players that it’s better to run 
  in this case, since the AI needs to unplug itself from the 
  frame to chase after them, while if they stay and fight 
  it will use the very cables that tie it to the module to try 
  to seize them.
  Either way, they’ll return to the barge in a bit of a 
  dramatic run, as without the inhalers they will feel the 
  fumes burning their lungs. This will take them down a 
  Body step. Once they reach the hatch, they’ll climb up 
  and be off.
  During the flight, they’ll likely speak to Kinaa about 
  what they saw. If they have a datachip, they’ll be able to 
  render its contents into the projector aboard.
  The datachip reveals that the location the had just 
  visited (nicknamed Boiling Point in the rendered 
  map) was host to a central facility of Nibiru, which 
  controls the air purification machinery of the region. 
  The datachip has coded instructions to reroute 
  Suruptu’s waste disposal onto the nearby villages 
  and hamlets. In short; it seems like someone within 
  the Assyrian high echelons wants to trigger an 
  environmental crisis, pitting Suruptu against the 
  other people inhabiting the region.
  The barge land, and knocks are heard at the barge’s main 
  door. Kinaa states that “she’ll get that” as Ugur walks in 
  and asks the PCs about the datachip.
  The noise from the opening door screeches across the 
  interiors of the barge, and a loud bang is heard, followed 
  by the sound of something dropping to the floor.
  The session ends immediately—as Enki’s Covenant 
  barges in, weapons in hand, to search the vessel.
  On the Run
  The next episode can take many different shapes, with 
  the group either making an escape from the barge, or 
  defending themselves and taking over it, allowing them 
  to make a run along the Torus. It should leave your 
  players wanting for more, and it’s advisable to ask them 
  about how they liked the story so far, and what they’d 
  like to see in the follow up. The premise of Assyrian 
  elements pushing for a divided Penumbra alone should 
  set you up for a great story arc!
        Boiling Point                     6
  
  The barge arrived, yet just in time. With the sequels of their ailment still 
  lingering, the Vagabonds seek help. But the strange events that will unfold 
  during their search hint at the causes of their illness, and at hidden forces 
  trying to take control of the City of Suruptu. Will they find the cure?
  Boiling Point is an adventure set in the city of Suruptu. It deals with 
  themes of interventionism and environmental crisis, and with the twisted 
  ways in which hidden forces exert control over the peoples of Penumbra. 
  It is an ideal starting point for any Nibiru chronicle.
  Remember Your Past. Secure Your Future.
  Nibiru is a Science Fiction Roleplaying Game of Lost 
  Memories. Players take on the role of Vagabonds: amnesiacs 
  lost in a massive space station, home to millions, where stories 
  of drama and struggle are written on a daily basis.
  
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