TEXT: By Stan!
  A Short Urban Arcana Adventure for Four 12th-Level Characters
  THE DEAD
  OF WINTER
  As the days remaining on the calendar dwindle, it
  seems as though life does, too. The days grow shorter,
  the wind grows colder, and all around us the land-
  scape turns stark and barren. Trees take on the
  appearance of skeletons, and the bright leaves of
  autumn are buried under freshly fallen snow.
  The world becomes even more chilling when its
  metaphorical death is accompanied by murder most
  macabre. Bodies have begun to turn up all around the
  city—bodies that have been mauled by some fero-
  cious beast until they are practically unrecognizable. 
  The Dead of Winter sends the heroes in pursuit of
  the monster behind these grisly killings. Can they
  solve the case before this blood stains the pristine
  promise of the coming new year?
  LEVELS
  You, the Game Master (GM), need a copy of the d20
  MODERN Roleplaying Game and a copy of the URBAN
  ARCANA Campaign Setting to run this adventure. To get
  started, print out the adventure (including the map)
  and read it through. Familiarize yourself with the var-
  ious GM characters and their individual motives and
  abilities. Then make sure you are familiar with the
  rules for combat, movement, and cover from Chapter
  5 of the d20 MODERN Roleplaying Game. You should
  also be familiar with the rules for casting magic spells
  and performing incantations (found in Chapter 10 of
  the d20 MODERN Roleplaying Game and Chapter 3 of
  the URBAN ARCANA Campaign Setting, respectively). 
  The Dead of Winter is a short scenario for four
  12th-level heroes. With slight modifications, you can
  make it suitable for heroes at other levels, or for
  groups as large or small as you’re comfortable adjudi-
  cating. See the Scaling the Adventure sidebar for
  guidelines on adapting it for other groups. 
  The text that appears in shaded boxes should be
  read aloud or paraphrased for the players. Opponents’
  statistics are provided in abbreviated form.
  
  d20MODERN
  2
  This adventure can be set in any large city. A map showing
  the major encounter areas is provided. With a little work, the
  locations presented in the adventure could be adapted for
  any locale.
  BACKGROUND
  The events in this adventure are clear and self-contained. The
  primary GM characters, Nicholas St. Andrew and Audrey
  Petersen, are the leaders of an occult religion. In order to
  achieve a specific goal, they have been abusing the trust
  placed in them by their fanatical followers.
  If you are running The Dead of Winter as a stand-alone
  adventure, the story requires no deeper meaning. The plot
  that Nicholas and Audrey have devised is based simply on
  their desire for personal power and their occult religious fer-
  vor. However, if you are running this adventure as part of the
  Heartless campaign, the heroes should gain some insight into
  how their recent cases interconnect and what challenges still
  lie ahead.
  The Children of Chaos
  The Children of Chaos is a religious cult whose members
  worship the elemental force of chaos as embodied by the
  Roman god Janus. They pray for power, deliver “sacrifices”
  in the form of random acts of destruction and violence, and
  publicly profess their belief in magic and the occult. In
  truth, they are easily manipulated individuals gathered into
  a loose coalition by the cult’s founder, Nicholas St. Andrew,
  who regularly takes advantage of their gullibility. But
  thanks to the loyalty St. Andrew inspires in his followers, no
  connection between him and the cult has ever been proven
  in a court of law. The Children of Chaos are so fanatically
  devoted to their leader that, when captured, they refuse to
  do anything other than mouth random words of devotion
  or make oblique threats to society as a whole. To date, not
  one of them has ever implicated St. Andrew in any of the
  cult’s activities.
  Over the years, cult members have committed numerous
  acts of vandalism, obstruction of justice, destruction of
  property, and occasionally petty theft. Recently, however,
  they have stepped up their criminal activities. In the past few
  months, groups of these cultists have instigated a hostage
  crisis, a candy-tampering emergency on Halloween, and a
  magical attack on a food bank on Thanksgiving. (If the heroes
  played through The Petersen Counterstrike, Blood Sugar, and
  The Final Feast, they aided in resolving those incidents; oth-
  erwise, the details are unimportant.)
  The cult’s usefulness to Nicholas St. Andrew is nearly at an
  end. He plans to use its members one final time in a way that
  will dissolve the Children of Chaos forever.
  Bringing in the Flock
  The Children of Chaos have not yet realized that Nicholas St.
  Andrew formed the cult for the sole purpose of gaining a
  source of expendable manpower. He needed people he could
  use, abuse, and even kill with impunity. The Children of
  Chaos filled that role admirably, willingly doing anything he
  asked of them, no matter how self-destructive it was. 
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Scaling the Adventure
  The situations described in this adventure are suitable
  for heroes of any level. To tailor The Dead of Winter for
  your game, make the following adjustments.
  • In The Sewer: The various encounters in the sewer can
  be adjusted simply by increasing or decreasing the
  number of GM characters present until the EL is
  appropriate for the heroes.
  • The Beast: For lower-level parties, begin by reducing
  the number of Hit Dice that Nicholas St. Andrew has
  added using the delego vitae spell. If that technique
  does not decrease the challenge rating enough, use a
  dire tiger (from the D&D Monster Manual) or an ordi-
  nary tiger (from the d20 MODERN Roleplaying Game)
  instead of the beast. For higher-level parties, increase
  the number of levels St. Andrew has magically added
  and choose a tougher base creature, such as a gren-
  delspawn queen or a young dragon, for the beast.
  • Nicholas St. Andrew: If St. Andrew is too tough for
  your heroes, redefine him at a character level at least
  2 higher than the party’s average. (You may also need
  to rationalize how a lower-level acolyte could cast
  the high-level spells that St. Andrew uses before and
  during the adventure if you make this adjustment.) If
  you need to make St. Andrew a more difficult chal-
  lenge, advance him using Tough hero and/or
  Ecclesiarch levels until his character level is at least 2
  higher than the party’s average.
  A Heartless Tale
  The Dead of Winter can be used as a stand-alone adven-
  ture. You can place it in your campaign anywhere you
  see fit—particularly if you used the information in the
  Scaling the Adventure sidebar to modify the opponents
  for your campaign. The scenario requires neither previ-
  ous knowledge on the part of the heroes, nor any under-
  standing of a larger plot on your part.
  However, The Dead of Winter is also the fourth in a
  series of five adventures that, when strung together,
  become a more complex and detailed tale of deception,
  murder, and lust for power. This series constitutes a
  campaign entitled Heartless. The first three install-
  ments—The Petersen Counterstrike, Blood Sugar, and
  The Final Feast—are available as free downloads from
  the d20 MODERN section of the Wizards of the Coast
  website.
  The Dead of Winter features components such as
  spellcasting, magic items, and supernatural creatures. As
  the series concludes, though, its elements will become
  even more fantastic. As a result, you may wish to wait
  until all five chapters of Heartless have been released
  before deciding whether to use the storyline as it is pre-
  sented or adapt it into something that better suits your
  campaign.
  
  d20MODERN
  3
  By and large, the cult is composed of loners and out-
  siders—people who had few friends before joining and few
  contacts outside the group afterward. In other words, they
  are unlikely to be missed, and if they turn up dead, the
  police probably won’t devote much effort to investigating.
  Dozens of murders happen every day in a large city, so the
  death of someone nobody cares about isn’t usually a high-
  priority case.
  Before he can undertake the final rite and gain access to
  the supernatural power he craves, St. Andrew must per-
  form many smaller ceremonies. The most horrendous of
  these involves killing six people via a ritual in which he
  must harvest their still-beating hearts. St. Andrew plans to
  use the remaining members of the Children of Chaos for
  this purpose. 
  His biggest worry is that the removal of so many hearts is
  likely to attract the attention of the authorities and the
  media, even if the victims themselves are unimportant. While
  the police might overlook several deaths from random vio-
  lence or unfortunate accidents, deaths that appear to be the
  work of a psychotic serial killer would surely become 
  front-page news. Thus, he realized early that he needed a
  way to hide the truth about what he was doing and ensure
  that any investigators made false deductions. 
  The Beast
  The answer to Nicholas St. Andrew’s dilemma came in the
  form of a spell. In the course of her studies, Audrey Petersen
  came across a spell that would summon a great beast to do
  the caster’s bidding. As long as it was fed human flesh at least
  once per day, it would remain a loyal servant. St. Andrew
  immediately realized that such a creature could simply feed
  on the corpses of the ritual victims when he was finished
  with them. Not only would that arrangement keep it prop-
  erly fed, it would also help to mask the details of the crimes.
  Investigators who examined the remains the creature left
  behind would be hard pressed to notice that the heart was
  missing from every victim, let alone realize that it was
  removed before the mauling attack.
  Because the victims’ hearts had to be removed in a special
  way and then stored in a particular manner, St. Andrew knew
  he could harvest no more than three hearts in a single day.
  Thus, he would need a base of operations where he, Petersen,
  and the beast could live unseen for a period of several days.
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Nicholas St. Andrew
  Nicholas St. Andrew considers himself one of the
  world’s leading experts on the occult and pagan folklore.
  Most recognized authorities in those areas, however,
  consider him nothing more than a charismatic confi-
  dence artist and an accomplished thief. Some also sus-
  pect that he is the leader of the cult known as the
  Children of Chaos, but thus far no one has been able to
  prove more than a tenuous connection between St.
  Andrew and the cult.
  For years, Nicholas has passed himself off as a legiti-
  mate scholar and funded his occult projects by convinc-
  ing gullible, rich patrons to subsidize his research into
  ancient mysteries. Most of his benefactors believe that
  Nicholas is trying to recover Noah’s Ark, locate
  Solomon’s Mines, or pursue some other archeological
  pipe dream. In truth, he has used his patrons’ donations
  to bankroll the theft of various occult artifacts. In this
  way, Nicholas has amassed an extensive collection of
  sacrificial daggers, several stone and ivory altars, and a
  library full of scrolls and tomes.
  During the course of his occult research, Nicholas
  stumbled onto what he believes is a method of gaining
  godlike powers. (He is uncertain of exactly what those
  powers might be, but he is greedy enough to covet them
  all the same.) At the beginning of the Heartless campaign,
  the pair of idols necessary to perform the complicated
  ritual was in the care of Department-7. Thus, St. Andrew’s
  first challenge was to find a way to acquire them.
  To that end, he developed a connection with Audrey
  Petersen, the wife of Department-7’s archive curator, and
  together they planned a way for several members of the
  Children of Chaos to “liberate” the idols. Once St.
  Andrew had them in his possession, he used other mem-
  bers of his cult to activate them via rituals that prepared
  the way for his great ascension. These events are detailed
  in the previous installments of the Heartless campaign.
  Audrey Petersen
  Audrey Petersen is the wife of Professor Grant Petersen,
  curator of Department-7’s occult archives. But Audrey,
  an intellectual in her own right, became jealous of her
  husband’s position, which she felt made her seem to be
  second best. In fact, Audrey resented her husband
  deeply for rendering her little more than a “trophy wife”
  by not giving her credit for the work she did with him.
  Thus, she was ripe for recruitment by St. Andrew.
  Audrey helped Nicholas plan and execute the theft of
  Barrik the Glutton and Ventyr the Emaciated, the two
  ancient idols he needed for his plan. At first, she didn’t
  believe in magic and the occult; she wanted only to
  embarrass and discredit her husband. Since then, however,
  she has been studying and training with St. Andrew, learn-
  ing the occult secrets he has uncovered and helping him
  plan the final stages of his bid for supernatural power.
  No one has seen or heard from Audrey since the night
  of the theft. Even the Department-7 officials, with all
  their resources, can only surmise that she is with St.
  Andrew. There remains some uncertainty as to whether
  Audrey is a willing accomplice or another of the cult
  leader’s duped followers. The authorities have a great
  many questions to ask Audrey about her role in the recent
  criminal activities perpetrated by the Children of Chaos.
  The truth is that Audrey knows exactly what she did.
  She helped St. Andrew plan multiple cold-blooded mur-
  ders, and she would do it all again just for the thrill of
  being taken seriously at long last. St. Andrew is the first
  person in years who has entrusted her with real power
  and responsibility, and she loves the feeling. Nevertheless,
  Audrey is canny enough to play the uncertainty angle for
  all it’s worth, since that tactic might turn out to be the key
  to avoiding jail time if the plan doesn’t go well.
  
  d20MODERN
  4
  He began by securing a hideout in the city’s sewer system—
  an abandoned maintenance garage. The sewer passages con-
  nected with subway tunnels and the basements of municipal
  buildings all over the city, allowing the two to travel unseen
  wherever they needed to go. And after their work was done,
  they could get back into the sewers through any manhole. 
  The next step was to summon the beast. When it
  appeared, St. Andrew augmented its power with life force
  “borrowed” from a willing Petersen via another spell. That
  same night, St. Andrew performed the first two murders. The
  cultists were so honored to receive a visit from their “High
  Priest of Disorder” that they allowed him to approach freely.
  St. Andrews gave them injections of sodium pentathol to
  render them unconscious, then performed the ceremony to
  harvest their hearts. When the rite was complete, he allowed
  the beast to feed on the bodies. 
  The next morning, the newspapers were filled with stories
  about monsters roaming the streets. Those reports drew the
  attention of Department-7.
  SYNOPSIS
  The adventure begins when the heroes are assigned to inves-
  tigate several maulings that have taken place in the city
  recently. Though the attacks have occurred in different parts
  of town, they appear to have been performed by the same
  monstrous creature, which has torn its victims apart sav-
  agely and consumed part of each one. No eyewitnesses to
  the killings have stepped forward thus far, but wherever
  such a death has taken place, several people have simulta-
  neously reported seeing some sort of monster prowling the
  neighborhood.
  Through investigation, the heroes discover that all the vic-
  tims were secretly members of a cult known as the Children
  of Chaos. Shortly thereafter, another body is discovered, but
  this one has not been so thoroughly mauled. In fact, the
  remains reveal that the victim was probably ritually mur-
  dered before the corpse was savaged. 
  Forensic evidence soon provides the heroes with a way to
  locate the beast’s lair. When they find it, they also find the crea-
  ture’s master, the evil acolyte Nicholas St. Andrew. They manage
  to interrupt him in the midst of performing an occult ritual
  designed to bring him great power. The adventure concludes
  when the heroes defeat St. Andrew and his magical beast.
  Character Hooks
  As GM, you know best how to involve your players and their
  characters in an adventure. This scenario is constructed
  specifically for heroes employed by Department-7 in its role
  as an officially sanctioned investigative agency. This arrange-
  ment allows the heroes access to the types of information
  that police or federal agents would have. If Department-7
  fills a different role in your campaign, use some other agency
  that fills the appropriate role and modify the references in
  the adventure accordingly.
  If the heroes are not employees of Department-7, a simi-
  lar organization, or an appropriate investigative agency, you
  can use the following adventure hooks to spur your imagina-
  tion, modifying them as necessary to make them appropriate
  for the characters’ interests.
  • One of the beast’s first victims was a relative or friend of
  the heroes. They probably had no idea that he was a mem-
  ber of the Children of Chaos, but his personal foibles are
  of no consequence to them. Their loved one is dead, and
  they want answers as to why.
  • The heroes find the first victim. Stumped for a good expla-
  nation, the police try to pin the crime on the heroes. In this
  kind of setup, self-interest should spur the heroes to seek
  out the real culprit on their own. 
  • A zoological society believes the beast is a rare—perhaps
  previously unknown—species of predator that has made
  its way into the city because “game” is so plentiful there.
  The members of this organization know that the police
  intend to simply kill it, so they hire the heroes to find the
  beast first and at least try to capture it for study.
  BEGINNING THE ADVENTURE
  The Dead of Winter is a freeform investigative adventure
  with a site-based resolution. Encounters A and B describe a
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Idol Rumors
  The second and third installments of the Heartless cam-
  paign featured Barrik the Glutton and Ventyr the
  Emaciated—the idols that Nicholas and Audrey stole.
  Each is inscribed with a short verse that cryptically
  explains its powers. But the idols are a matched pair, and
  their inscriptions work together to provide insight into
  the power that they can unlock when used jointly. If the
  two idols are held side-by-side and the lines of verse
  read directly across the pair, the combined inscription is
  as follows.
  Sugar and meat makes
  the blood of a man boil in
  Vengeance . . . Hunger.
  Feeds the Spirit. Leaving Him empty
  So that He may return after death
  to do his chores with the power of
  Unholy Gods.
  While each idol holds its own power, the true purpose
  of the pair can be achieved only by using them in tan-
  dem. Any person who performs the proper rituals using
  the two idols together discovers how to perform a third
  ritual—one that unlocks a supernatural conduit to even
  greater power. This power is St. Andrew’s true goal; the
  events of Blood Sugar and The Final Feast were merely
  diversions to mask the activation of the two idols.
  Nicholas wanted Department-7 to believe that he was
  merely advancing the cult’s agenda of spreading chaos
  so that its agents would not delve deeply enough to dis-
  cover his actual goal.
  Nicholas now has the means to perform the final rit-
  ual, and the events of this adventure are the direct result
  of his attempt to put it to use.
  
  d20MODERN
  5
  series of grisly murders and the avenues that the heroes may
  take to investigate them, and Encounters C and D detail the
  lair of the culprits. Heroes who have played through the pre-
  vious adventures in the Heartless campaign may already have
  some insights into the character, methods, and goals of the
  primary villain, Nicholas St. Andrew (see sidebar). If not,
  allow the heroes ample opportunities to discover relevant
  background information if they so desire. The adventure can
  be completed without such details, but the resolution may
  be more satisfying for the players if their heroes at least par-
  tially understand the motives of their opponent.
  Before beginning play, you must decide at what point to
  bring the heroes into the investigation. You can draw out the
  tension and extend the playing time by having them assigned
  to the case just after the first murders, but the information
  provided in encounter A is sketchy at best and requires more
  research on their part (see the Ongoing Investigations side-
  bar).
  Alternatively, you can bring the heroes in at the point
  when the occult connection becomes apparent—when a
  body with glyphs and runes carved in its flesh is found. This
  avenue makes for a shorter, more focused adventure, since
  the heroes actually start with enough information to locate
  the beast’s lair.
  In either case, the adventure begins when a senior officer
  from Department-7 calls the heroes into a briefing room. Use
  the appropriate introductory material below.
  In From the Start
  If the heroes are assigned to the case at the very beginning,
  read aloud or paraphrase the following when they get to the
  briefing room.
  The folder contains very little information. The police had
  only just begun their investigation when it became apparent
  that these cases were not ordinary murders. The police chief
  immediately sealed the scenes and called for aid from
  Department-7. 
  The reports provide the following information.
  • Both killings happened during the night, one at approxi-
  mately 10:00 PM, and the other at about 3:00 AM.
  • The victims were found on opposite ends of the city, and
  neither set of remains appears to have been moved.
  • Both victims appear to have been mauled by a carnivore of
  exceptional size. The claw and bite marks are larger than
  any of the investigating officers have ever seen before. 
  • Beyond the fact that both were male, there is no apparent
  connection between the victims. One seems to have been
  a middle-aged Caucasian, and the other a Latino in his late
  teens or early twenties.
  Once the heroes ask any questions they have and gather their
  gear, continue with encounter A, below.
  Joining an Investigation in Progress
  If the heroes join the investigation after clues indicating an
  occult connection have been found, read aloud or para-
  phrase the following when they enter the briefing room.
  Each hero receives a folder containing all the evidence police
  have gathered from the various attacks. Reading it reveals the
  following information, plus any additional details you wish
  to include from encounter A, below.
  “I’m sure,” the senior officer says without preamble,
  “that you’re all aware that the police have been investi-
  gating a series of animal attacks lately. Standard mun-
  dane violence—probably a cougar that escaped from
  the zoo—not our sort of case, right?” She glances about
  the room, then slams her fist on the table. “Well, it turns
  out that we’ve got a clever perp on our hands. Lights!”
  The room goes dark, and the click of the slide projec-
  tor is followed by the appearance of a black-and-white
  image on the wall. It depicts a man’s torso missing its
  left shoulder and arm. The upper chest has been bru-
  tally ravaged, evidently by the claws and teeth of some
  fearsome predator. The sternum, however, has been split
  evenly, and the skin on the right side of the chest is
  marred by a series of small incisions.
  “These marks are part of a warding spell,” she says,
  indicating the pattern of incisions. “This particular set
  seems to be from a purification ceremony. In other
  words, some sicko has been ritually killing these citi-
  zens, then covering his tracks by having a pet chow
  down on the evidence. Lights!”
  The overhead fluorescent bulbs pop to life again.
  “Animal Control hasn’t had much luck figuring out what
  sort of animal was responsible,” she continues. “But now
  we know that the net should be cast a little wider.
  Department-7 is taking over the investigation immedi-
  ately, and I want this one closed fast. Too many people
  have died already because the cops were out of their
  depth and we sat around saying “not our thing.” So let’s
  give everyone an early holiday present and wrap this up.”
  From the grim silence that fills the room and the look of
  absolute concentration on the supervisor’s face, it’s not
  hard to deduce that today’s assignment is extraordinary.
  After everyone is seated, she immediately launches into
  her briefing.
  “There were two killings last night,” says the supervi-
  sor in a tone that brooks no interruption. “Bad ones.
  Open the files on the table and you’ll see what I mean.”
  Inside the manila folders are preliminary police
  reports and a handful of grisly crime scene photos
  showing two bloody heaps that are not immediately
  recognizable as human bodies.
  “The media have been told that one of these cases
  appears to be a dog attack and the other is being inves-
  tigated as a robbery and potential hate crime.” She
  places both fists on the table, and her gaze takes on a
  steely quality. “You should have two days at most
  before some reporter makes a connection between
  them—if there aren’t any more incidents.”
  She lets the weight of those words hang for a
  moment. “Let’s close this one quickly, folks,” she says,
  picking up a folder. “The holidays are coming up, and the
  last thing we need is a bloody New Year.”
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  
  d20MODERN
  6
  • Six attacks have taken place over the last four days at var-
  ious different places in the city. All been virtually identical
  except this one.
  • The most recent attack was apparently interrupted by a
  pizza delivery van. The driver reported seeing a “giant tiger
  on steroids” tearing the arm off the body and a man
  dressed in a long, black coat holding a softball in his hand.
  The man called to the tiger, and they both fled into the
  night.
  • No one witnessed any of the other attacks, but several
  people have reported seeing a large creature roaming the
  surrounding neighborhood.
  • Different witnesses have described the creature as a lion, a
  dragon, a werewolf, and a sabertooth tiger.
  • The victims have been from all races and walks of life, but
  all were loners and outcasts. Other than that, no discern-
  able pattern has emerged.
  When the heroes have collected their gear, continue with
  encounter B, below.
  A. BODY COUNT
  The first section of the adventure is investigation. You can
  stage this portion as a series of encounters in which the
  heroes get to poke and prod around the crime scenes, or as
  a fast overview in which you simply provide them with the
  important information that can be gleaned from the evi-
  dence on site.
  The First Victims
  On the first night, Nicholas and his beast claimed two vic-
  tims. The body of the first, a middle-aged white male named
  Percival Evans, was found on one of the docks where he
  worked as a longshoreman. The last time anyone saw him, he
  was sitting by himself in a local dive and drinking more than
  his usual amount of whiskey. The police examiner reports
  that Evans was killed at approximately 10:00 PM—about 15
  minutes after he left the bar). He was never reported missing,
  though his employer was aware that he had not shown up for
  work that day.
  The second victim was a 19-year-old Latino male named
  Emilio Sanchez. His body was found in an alley behind the
  condemned building in which he had been squatting.
  Although the neighborhood is home to several major gangs,
  not one of them has ever claimed this young man as a mem-
  ber. Still, everyone seems to know him as “that loco.” Sanchez
  was killed at approximately 3:00 AM. Between 2:45 and 3:15
  AM, local police received several complaints from residents
  who claimed that they heard wild animals growling and
  snarling in the neighborhood. The police found no animals,
  but they did come across Emilio’s body.
  Significant Clues
  Depending on how thoroughly they investigate the crime
  scenes and interview the officers who handled the prelimi-
  naries, the heroes may turn up any or all of the following
  facts and clues.
  SPOT OR GATHER
  INFORMATION DC
  INFORMATION GGAINED
  10
  Both victims still had their wallets, keys,
  and other personal items.
  15
  The wounds on the bodies indicate that
  the creature responsible had claws at
  least 6 inches long.  It also had a bite
  radius of more than 12 inches. 
  15
  Similar or identical fur was found on and
  around both bodies. Preliminary lab tests
  indicate that the animal is some kind of
  predatory feline. 
  18
  Most of the marks on the bodies were
  bites, indicating that either the victims
  put up very little resistance or the animal
  had some way of subduing them while 
  it ate.
  20
  The bodies appeared to be lying where
  they first fell. They had not been not
  dragged or carried elsewhere.
  20
  Approximately 75 pounds of flesh from
  each body were consumed. One corpse
  was missing its left arm and a significant
  portion of its chest and abdomen. The
  other had been torn in half and was miss-
  ing most of its torso plus several strips of
  flesh from its right arm and leg.
  Police and federal records reveal nothing about the victims’
  connection to the Children of Chaos. However, if the heroes
  run either name through Department-7’s database, some
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Heartless Insight
  Heroes who have been through the earlier installments
  of the Heartless campaign may have greater insight into
  the situation than those who have not. In particular,
  characters who have performed exhaustive research on
  the spell fetishes found in Blood Sugar and The Final
  Feast may have gained some insight into what Nicholas
  St. Andrew is planning.
  In particular, the heroes may suspect that the cult
  leader plans to perform a ritual designed to grant him
  enormous supernatural power. If they have deduced this
  much, allow each hero to attempt a DC 25 Knowledge
  (arcane lore) check to discover that the dark rite requires
  several human hearts harvested according to a particu-
  lar ritual. 
  As GM, you may decide that the heroes’ past inquiries
  would have prepared them for the current situation. If
  they are putting clues together in insightful ways, you
  may allow each of them to attempt a DC 25 Knowledge
  (current events) check. On a success, the character real-
  izes that no matter what other parts of the body are rav-
  aged by the beast in an attack, the chest cavity is always
  torn open, and the heart is always one of the organs that
  is missing in its entirety. 
  Alternatively, you may decide that other Department-
  7 researchers have unearthed information pertaining to
  St. Andrew and his plans. In this case, the Department-7
  archivist can provide any of the information you want
  the heroes to have from the Background section above.
  
  d20MODERN
  7
  affiliation with the cult (known member, suspected member,
  cell leader, or the like) is revealed. However, there is no indi-
  cation that the two men belonged to the same cult cell or
  had any interactions with one another.  
  The Next Victims
  Over the next few nights and days, three more victims turn
  up in different parts of the city. The location where the body
  is found is always reasonably close to the place where the
  victim lived or worked. 
  Each body is in more or less the same condition as the first
  two—that is, severely mauled by some large predator, but
  with no other discernable wounds. In some cases, witnesses
  claim to have seen a person on the scene, but no one can
  provide any helpful information in that regard.
  Significant Clues
  Specific details and misleading evidence are left for you to
  create as needed. Thorough investigation, however, turns up
  the following information with the appropriate checks.
  INVESTIGATE OR 
  GATHER
  INFORMATION
  INFORMATION DC
  GAINED
  10
  All the significant clues from the section
  above (The First Victims) apply to these
  victims as well.
  15
  Tests on fur found at most of the crime
  scenes indicate that the creature is a rel-
  ative of the tiger, though its exact breed
  is unknown to modern science.
  20
  Forensic analysis indicates that all the
  victims were attacked by a creature of
  the same species, and in all likelihood
  the same animal.
  25
  Lab work reveals that several victims had
  high levels of sodium pentathol in their
  bloodstreams. Based on how thoroughly
  the drug had pervaded the bodies, the
  forensics experts speculate that it was
  administered several minutes before
  each mauling. Thus, the victims were
  probably unconscious when the actual
  attacks took place.
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Ongoing Investigations
  If you plan to let the heroes investigate this mystery
  from the very beginning, you must be flexible with the
  storyline. The players may hit upon the right solution
  after the heroes find only a few clues, or they may get
  caught up in all the wrong details. As GM, your job is to
  keep the story moving at an appropriate pace and find a
  way to make sure the heroes are in the right place at the
  right time (in this case, in Nicholas St. Andrew’s sewer
  hideout before he completes the dark rite that will bring
  him untold power).
  Unusual Suspects
  Once the heroes discover that all the victims were mem-
  bers of the Children of Chaos, they are likely to suspect
  Nicholas St. Andrew immediately. The downside to this
  situation is that some heroes may run off in pursuit of St.
  Andrew with their guns blazing. Such a resolution makes
  for a short adventure and one that is perhaps less satisfy-
  ing than a mystery with more depth.
  There are no red herrings to distract them from St.
  Andrew in the adventure as presented. However, you
  can make it more challenging for them by adding one or
  more additional suspects if you wish. If you can manage
  to present reasonable alternatives to Nicholas St.
  Andrew as a suspect, the heroes are more likely to
  behave in a sensible, civilized manner. The following
  groups can provide the heroes with more avenues to
  investigate.
  • Blood Moon Revival: This cult has had violent clashes
  with the Children of Chaos in the past. About a year ago,
  the leader of BMR died suddenly. A coroner’s inquiry
  determined that the man had had an undiagnosed heart
  condition, but the cult members believe that Nicholas
  St. Andrew killed him using black magic. The BMR has
  been known to keep panthers and other large cats as
  objects of worship.
  • Bring Order from Chaos’s Heart: Ostensibly a support
  group for parents whose sons and daughters have
  joined the Children of Chaos, this group has
  attempted to assassinate representatives of the cult
  who have been captured and put on trial. BOCH has
  even gone so far as to spread the word through the
  prison system that it will pay a $5,000 bounty to any-
  one who kills a member of the cult. The fact that the
  cult member slain for that reward could easily be one
  of their own children is an irony lost on these
  bereaved parents.
  • Antoine de LaMer: Antoine is an eco-terrorist whose
  claim to fame is a book stating that man has usurped the
  top spot on the food chain from the large predators. He
  claims that forged metal and gunpowder are unnatural
  inventions and that humans should go back to carrying
  only weapons of wood and stone. He was arrested in
  1993 for kidnapping executives from a Pittsburgh steel
  company and making them fight lions in his version of
  the Roman Coliseum.
  Significant Clues
  The key to making these unusual suspects work is to pres-
  ent the clues in such a way that they support both the cor-
  rect resolution and the intended alternative one. For
  example, allowing the heroes to find hairs from the beast
  and identify them as some sort of tiger can help them
  determine what tactics should work against the creature
  when they find it. However, that piece of evidence may
  also cast a shadow of suspicion on both the Blood Moon
  Revival and Antoine de LaMer. 
  
  d20MODERN
  8
  The Big Connection
  Once the heroes realize that all the victims were members of
  the Children of Chaos, they should be able to deduce that
  Nicholas St. Andrew is involved. (There may or may not be
  other suspects as well, depending on your use of the infor-
  mation presented in the “Ongoing Investigations” sidebar.)
  Exactly when the heroes acquire this information is up to
  you. You can reveal it in response to an especially high
  Investigate or Research check result, or after a particular
  number of bodies have been found, or simply when the play-
  ers need a helpful hint to keep them on the right track.
  Through Department-7’s resources, the heroes can easily
  get a list of other known members and ex-members of the
  Children of Chaos cult. With that information in hand, they
  can begin to function a little more proactively, perhaps by
  maintaining surveillance on or providing protection for
  potential targets. Such activities may help the players feel
  that their characters are finally in control of the situation,
  rather than scrambling to keep up with events that are mov-
  ing faster than they can handle. Regardless of their efforts,
  however, one more murder occurs shortly after this revela-
  tion. Proceed to encounter B when you are ready to give the
  heroes another important clue.
  B. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
  This encounter revolves around a killing that began like all
  the others but was not completed in the usual way. This time,
  the killer was interrupted and left his business unfinished.
  Although the victim is still beyond help, his body provides a
  good deal more information than the others did because it
  was not completely devoured. In addition, there is a witness
  who can offer more complete descriptions than the previous
  ones could.
  How It Went Down
  This victim was a white male in his early twenties named
  Philip Juneau. He worked as a 3rd-shift lineman for the phone
  company and was responding to a report of intermittent
  service outages at the time of his death. Philip had gone into
  an alley, intending to enter the sewer system and check one
  of the junction stations there (area D3). He was quite sur-
  prised to find the High Priest of Disorder waiting for him in
  the alley.
  St. Andrew approached Juneau and subdued him in the
  same way as he had the other victims. He performed his foul
  ritual, carving runes into the man’s flesh and then removing
  his heart. But just as he had set the beast to consuming the
  remains, a pizza delivery van pulled into the alley. The driver
  had an extra pizza and a six-pack of beer that he wanted to
  enjoy in peace, so he had sought out what he thought would
  be a private place. Instead, his headlights shone directly on
  the victim and the beast and outlined St. Andrew in stark sil-
  houette. The driver immediately put the vehicle in reverse
  and fled the scene. Before the van even hit the street, he had
  dialed 911. 
  St. Andrew decided to take the beast back to his lair
  before any more company could arrive. However, since it had
  not yet eaten its fill, he had to struggle to get it to follow
  him. In doing so, he stepped in the victim’s blood and left
  tracks—something he had been careful never to do at any
  previous crime scenes.
  Significant Clues
  Exactly what information the heroes get from this crime scene
  depends on what questions they ask and how good their
  investigative skills are. Depending on how thoroughly they
  investigate the crime scene and interview the witness, the
  heroes may turn up any or all of the following facts and clues.
  SPOT OR GATHER
  INFORMATION DC
  INFORMATION GGAINED
  10
  The driver describes the beast as a “giant
  tiger on steroids” and the man as “a guy
  dressed in a long black coat holding a
  softball.” (The “softball” was the victim’s
  heart.)
  10
  The left half of the body has been
  mauled in exactly the same fashion as
  the corpses of the previous victims. Most
  of the left lung is missing, as are the left
  shoulder and arm. 
  15
  The flesh of the victim’s chest has been
  marked with a series of arcane symbols.
  The chests of previous victims have
  always been thoroughly mauled or
  missing entirely, obliterating any such
  disfigurement.
  15
  The ribcage has been cut open using a
  sharp, heavy instrument that seems to
  have been designed specifically for that
  purpose.
  18
  Footprints in the puddled blood lead to
  a nearby manhole cover.
  20
  The heart has been removed with surgi-
  cal precision. Examination of the aorta
  and other major blood vessels reveals
  that they have been cut cleanly.
  20
  Throughout the sewer system are access
  halls where the phone company and
  other utilities have been allowed to
  place materials that they do not want
  accessible to the general public. 
  Following Up
  There will be no more killings after this one. Philip’s heart was
  the last one that Nicholas St. Andrew needed before begin-
  ning his final ritual.
  The most expedient way to solve the case is for the heroes
  to follow the bloody footprints into the sewers. If they miss
  or choose to ignore this clue, allow them to proceed with
  their investigation in any way they choose. 
  Other ways to get the heroes into the sewers include the
  following.
  • Psychic Friends: Department-7 employs many different
  types of investigators. One or more of the organization’s
  reliable psychics can inform the heroes that their target is
  underground and will not come up again.
  • Noises in the Pipes: Police dispatchers inform the heroes
  that they have received a number of complaints about
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  
  d20MODERN
  9
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  roaring and growling sounds coming from sewer grates in a
  specific part of town.
  • Sensitive Spellcasters: Characters who have sensitivity to
  divine auras (such as acolytes and other divine spellcast-
  ers) can feel the beginnings of Nicholas St. Andrew’s final
  ritual. The emanations are powerful enough to lead them
  to his hideout. 
  C. INTO THE SEWERS
  Once the heroes head into the sewers, they have more to
  contend with than just Nicholas St. Andrew and his beast.
  Many dangerous people and creatures make their homes in
  the fetid pipes below the city streets.
  Most people imagine that a sewer system is made up of
  expansive metal tubes, but that impression is often false. This
  particular city’s sewer was built long ago and consists of
  numerous interconnecting brick and cement passages. Some
  are filled with several feet of fetid water carrying all manner
  of waste and garbage. Other sections serve as conduits for
  runoff from rainfall, so they are relatively dry. Some tunnels
  are 20 feet tall; others are so small that adults must crawl
  through on their hands and knees. At irregular intervals, sev-
  eral tunnels meet in a roaring waterfall several stories high. In
  particularly large sections of the system, railed walkways line
  either side of the tunnel, allowing workers to pass through
  even when the sewer water is running high.
  The sewer ceiling is lined with pipes that bring fresh water
  into buildings and dump waste water onto the tunnel floors.
  Gratings, manholes, and occasionally even freight elevators
  lead to the surface. Doors, garage-style gates, and
  portcullises lead into building basements, access hallways,
  and storage spaces.
  Getting lost in this maze of sewers is quite easy because
  the passageways often do not follow the same layout as the
  streets above. A DC 20 Navigate check is required to accu-
  rately determine where in the city a given spot in the sewers
  lies. A hero with the Emergency Services starting occupation
  receives a +5 competence bonus on this check.
  Random Sewer Encounters
  Before the heroes find the lair of the beast, they may
  encounter one or more of the obstacles on the following
  table. Either roll on the table after they enter the sewer, or
  simply choose the obstacles you wish them to encounter.
  D%
  ENCOUNTER
  01–07
  Alligators
  08–22
  Gang meeting
  23–38
  Gas leak
  39–54
  Rats
  55–75
  Survivalists
  76–00
  No encounter
  You can also add some nonthreatening encounters, such as a
  lost child, one or more homeless people, or a dead body that
  has nothing to do with the current adventure. (This corpse
  could, however, serve as a segue into whatever you have
  planned for the heroes next.)
  C1. Alligators (EL 10)
  In a part of the sewer where the water is at least 3 feet deep,
  the heroes encounter several creatures that are usually con-
  sidered urban myths—sewer alligators.
  Brought home as pets from tropical vacations, these alli-
  gators were flushed down toilets as babies when they proved
  difficult to raise in an urban environment. The hardiest man-
  aged to survive and banded together to form a thriving
  colony. The alligators usually eat refuse, rats, or household
  pets that have wandered or fallen into the sewer system, but
  they are more than willing to make a meal of trespassing
  humans as well.
  GM Characters: Six full-grown alligators live in this section
  of the sewer.
  Alligators (6): Use the Huge Crocodile statistics found in
  Chapter 8 of the d20 MODERN Roleplaying Game for these
  creatures.
  Tactics: One or two alligators float in plain view, while the
  others swim quietly in from the rear and sides, trying to sur-
  round the intended victims.
  C2. Gang Meeting (EL 12)
  Several of the city’s street gangs have staked out “turf” in the
  sewer system. The police don’t look for them there nearly as
  often as they do in the streets and alleys, so the gangs can do
  just about anything they like without fear of prying eyes.
  They are just as protective of their subterranean turf as they
  are of the areas they claim in the city proper, and intruders
  must pay a heavy toll in either cash or blood. 
  In this encounter, the heroes stumble onto a meeting of
  one of the gangs. Read or paraphrase the following aloud
  when they approach the group.
  GM Characters: There are 1d4+6 gang members attending the
  meeting. 
  Gang Members (1d4+6): Use the Mid-Level Thug statistics
  from Chapter 8 of the d20 MODERN Roleplaying Game for the
  gang members.
  Tactics: The gang members allow the heroes to walk into
  their presence, but several of them surreptitiously circle
  around to trap the intruders while they talk to the others.
  The gang members are full of bravado and threats, but if the
  heroes approach respectfully, show no fear, and have enough
  firepower to defend themselves, the gang members are will-
  ing to talk and open to making a deal for “safe passage.”
  If the heroes do not show them proper respect on their
  home turf, the youths attack and fight to the death. If the
  heroes manage to chase the kids off after such a fight, the
  gang seeks vengeance on them from that day forward.
  Development: If the heroes manage to establish peaceful
  communications with the gang, its members can offer the
  following information in answer to the right questions (no
  check needed). 
  A light shines from just ahead, illuminating a group of
  youths dressed in identical jackets. Most are sitting on
  the floor around a Coleman lantern, but a few are stand-
  ing, lounging against the tunnel walls. The smell of cig-
  arette smoke permeates the air.
  
  d20MODERN
  10
  • They have seen Nicholas St. Andrew and his beast coming
  and going from time to time. 
  • So far, they have not given him any trouble because they
  don’t know how they would deal with the beast, which
  they describe as “a damn big cat.” 
  • They can describe exactly where the cultist makes his
  home.
  A hero who offers the gang some tangible reward and makes
  a successful Diplomacy or Intimidate check can convince its
  members to lend a hand in taking St. Andrew down.
  Appealing to their sense of civic responsibility is not enough
  because they don’t feel any. 
  C3. Gas Leak (CR 8)
  The ground beneath the city is honeycombed with pipes, tunnels,
  and conduits that carry water, waste, and power. Often, several
  services run along the same path, which is convenient for con-
  struction but also dangerous when something goes wrong. In this
  encounter, the heroes pass through a section of tunnel where one
  of the pipes carrying natural gas has sprung a leak. The gas poses
  two dangers to the heroes: asphyxiation and explosion.
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  
  d20MODERN
  11
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  When the heroes enter the affected stretch of tunnel,
  each of them can attempt a DC 15 Spot check. On a suc-
  cess, the hero notices the smell of gas in the air. Any hero
  who fails the check may try again once per round until he
  succeeds.
  Asphyxiation: Any hero who is not wearing some kind of
  artificial breathing apparatus (such as an oxygen tank or gas
  mask) must attempt a Fortitude saving throw (DC 12 + num-
  ber of rounds of exposure to the gas) each round that she
  spends in the area of the gas leak. If the saving throw fails,
  the hero takes 1d2 points of damage and 1d4 points of
  Constitution damage. Once the hero can breathe clean air
  again, the Constitution damage heals at a rate of 1 point per
  10 minutes.
  Explosion: If the heroes are carrying anything that pro-
  duces an open flame, electrical spark, or other ignition
  source and they do not extinguish it during their first round
  of exposure to the gas, it ignites the gas the following round.
  The resulting explosion deals 8d6 points of damage to every-
  one in the tunnel (Reflex DC 15 half). Furthermore, the explo-
  sion blows a hole in the street above and damages all the
  other conduits in this section of the sewer (including other
  natural gas pipes and electrical power lines). Thus, every
  minute after the first, there is a 10% chance that another
  identical explosion will occur. This situation persists until the
  gas is cleared.
  Fixing the Leak: To eliminate the danger of explosions,
  the heroes must shut off the flow of gas through the
  pipeline and ventilate the tunnel. Finding the correct
  valve to turn off the gas requires a successful Knowledge
  (technology) or Craft (structural) check (DC 12 for either).
  Because the valve is located within the affected stretch of
  tunnel, the heroes must still make the normal saves
  against the effects of the gas while looking for or manip-
  ulating it.
  Once the heroes find the valve, they must turn it off.
  Doing so without the proper tools requires a DC 10 Strength
  check. Success means the gas is shut off, but it puts even
  more strain on an already shaky pipeline. If a permanent
  repair is not made by a team of experts within 12 hours, the
  pipes explode as described above. No one discovers this
  danger unless the heroes themselves remember to report
  the leak.
  Clearing the Gas: To ventilate the tunnel, the heroes need
  only open a few of the manhole covers in the tunnel ceiling
  to let in the fresh air. You may make this task as easy or dif-
  ficult as you prefer.
  C4. Rats (EL 5)
  In this encounter, the heroes may mistake the lair of some
  sewer rats for that of the beast they seek. Read or paraphrase
  the following aloud when they reach this area.
  Each hero may attempt a DC 10 Investigate, Search, or
  Handle Animal check to determine that the bloodstains are
  too small to have been made by the creature the group is
  hunting. Each hero may also attempt a DC 12 Listen check to
  hear rustling and squeaking noises in the darkness behind
  the fissure.
  Creatures: Hundreds of rats inhabit this area. Rather than
  attacking individually, they function as three swarms (see the
  Swarm entry in the URBAN ARCANA Campaign Setting for
  details).
  Rat Swarms (3): CR 2; Medium animal (swarm of Fine ani-
  mals); HD 3d12; HP 13; Mas 10; Init +2; Spd 15 ft.; Def 12, touch
  12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex); BAB +0; Grap —; Atk swarm (2d4,
  swarm); Full Atk swarm (2d4, swarm); FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Reach 0
  ft.; SQ swarm, distraction, low-light vision; AL none; SV Fort
  +3, Ref +5, Will +2; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 2, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 2,
  Wis 12, Cha 2.
  Skills: Balance +7, Climb +7*, Swim +7*.
  Feats: None.
  Possessions: None.
  *A rat swarm uses its Dexterity instead of its Strength
  modifier for Climb and Swim checks.
  Tactics: If disturbed (by removal of the refuse, bright
  light, or a foreign object), the rat swarms hiding in the dark
  fissure panic and burst from their den in an attempt to get
  away from the heroes. They swarm over anything and any-
  one in their way, then move on into the darkness. They have
  no interest in a sustained encounter. Each swarm moves
  independently of the others and may head off in any direc-
  tion it likes.
  C5. Survivalists (EL 12)
  Afraid of nuclear war, anthrax, global warming, or some other
  threat too large to protect themselves from in the normal
  ways, two survivalists have gathered a mass of supplies and
  built themselves a bunker in the sewers. The pair has staked
  out a territory that they defend as “private property,” and
  they have no qualms about shooting trespassers. 
  GM Characters: The two survivalists living here are para-
  noid recluses who have no interest in negotiating with the
  heroes—they just want the group to leave their territory.
  They do not recognize any governmental authority and are
  not deterred by badges or declarations of official status. 
  Survivalists (2): Use the statistics given for the High-Level
  Terrorist in Chapter 8 of the d20 MODERN Roleplaying Game.
  Tactics: If the heroes attack the survivalists or fail a
  Diplomacy or Intimidate check against them, the two attack. 
  Development: If the heroes manage to talk their way
  into the pair’s good graces with a successful Diplomacy
  check, they can gain some information about the beast,
  and perhaps some aid for any future adventures in the
  sewer. The survivalists know the underground tunnels like
  the backs of their hands and are familiar with everything
  that happens here. They know about Nicholas St. Andrew,
  Audrey Petersen, and the beast and have seen them all on
  numerous occasions. They consider St. Andrew and com-
  pany to be good neighbors—the kind who mind their own
  business. But if the heroes convince them (with a success-
  ful Diplomacy check and a few facts) that their neighbors
  are murderers who cannot be trusted, the survivalists are
  more than willing to divulge the exact location of St.
  Andrew’s hideout.
  Partially hidden behind a pile of refuse is a large gap in
  the sewer wall. There are bloodstains on the wall and
  floor around the entrance, and a musky smell emanates
  from the fissure.
  
  d20MODERN
  D. LAIR OF THE BEAST
  Once the heroes locate the hideout that Nicholas St. Andrew
  has built for himself, Audrey Petersen, and the beast, they
  have the opportunity to solve the string of grisly murder
  cases. The following sections describe the area in and around
  St. Andrew’s base.
  D1. Sewer
  This stretch of sewer is more or less identical to several oth-
  ers that the heroes have passed through. Read or paraphrase
  the following when the heroes arrive.
  The heroes may have received directions or other guidance
  to help them locate this particular stretch of sewer (from
  Department-7 operatives, members of a street gang, or the
  sewer-dwelling survivalists). But even if they haven’t, several
  clues here should be enough to make them suspicious.
  Upon entering this area, each hero may attempt a DC 20
  Spot check to notice dried blood spattered here and there
  along the walkway. The trails of bloodstains lead from both
  directions on the pathway but are thickest by the door. The
  blood came from the human hearts that St. Andrew carried
  here and from various other body parts the beast carried
  here from the crime scenes for later snacking.
  Entrances: The door is made of steel and locked. It leads
  to the access hall (area D2). The gate is locked from the inside
  (which may indicate to especially bright heroes that there is
  another other way into that space). It leads to St. Andrew’s
  lair (area D4).
  Door: Hardness 10, hp 120, Break DC 35. 
  Gate: Hardness 10, hp 75, Break DC 35.
  Development: If the heroes pick the lock or break through
  the door, no one inside the lair hears the noise. However, if
  they even test the gate, it makes a loud grating noise that
  reverberates through the lair, alerting St. Andrew to the pres-
  ence of strangers outside his hideout. Perhaps more impor-
  tantly, it also startles the beast, which lets out a loud roar
  and smacks the grate with its paw.
  D2. Access Hall
  This short, dimly lit hallway leads to the lair and to a regional
  junction room maintained by the telephone company. Read
  aloud or paraphrase the following when the heroes
  approach.
  There is nothing of interest here.
  D3. Junction Boxes
  This room is a junction for all the local telephone lines.
  Phone company workers can come here to test the equip-
  ment, make changes to service, and even monitor usage.
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following when the heroes
  enter.
  The cabinets are junction boxes, each containing 120 small
  pairs of wires. Each pair corresponds to a specific physical
  location that has a telephone connection in one of the build-
  ings above. 
  Development: The boxes do not break easily, but if the
  heroes persist, they can pull out a pair of wires (Str DC 15)
  or even pull a box entirely off the wall (Str DC 25). Doing
  either completely disrupts telephone service for the loca-
  tions that have been disconnected. A telephone company
  worker arrives on the scene in 10d6+30 minutes to investi-
  gate the problem.
  D4. Lair (EL 16)
  This area is Nicholas St. Andrew’s hideout. He has been living
  here with Audrey Petersen and the beast while committing
  the terrible murders that the heroes have been investigating.
  Read aloud or paraphrase the following when the heroes
  reach this area.
  This large, L-shaped room smells of motor oil, feces, and
  freshly spilled blood. It is difficult to make out details
  because the only sources of light are dozens of squat,
  black candles spaced around the perimeter of the room. 
  A woman sits on the floor in the left rear corner,
  apparently unconscious. Her arms are manacled to the
  wall above her lolling head.
  The other corner is partially blocked from view, but a
  bed of straw is visible. Deep growling noises emanate
  from farther back in that direction.
  More or less in the center of the room, a pentagram
  inscribed within a circle has been painted on the floor.
  The design is centered around a drain that must lead
  even deeper into the bowels of the city. At each point
  of the star is a human heart. Perhaps it is only a trick of
  the flickering candlelight, but all five hearts seem to be
  beating of their own accord.
  The walls of this narrow room seem to be covered with
  gray metal cabinets. There is no overhead lighting, so
  only the boxes nearest the open door are visible. Each
  cabinet has a notation indicating a series of addresses
  that are evidently somewhere in the blocks above. 
  The door opens onto a dank hallway. The three dim bulbs
  overhead seem to be better at casting shadows than pro-
  viding light. The walls have been painted in two tones of
  gray—darker on the bottom and lighter on the top—but
  they are otherwise unadorned. At the far end of the hall-
  way are two single steel doors, one on either wall.
  This section of sewer is one of the wider passages,
  with raised walkways on both sides. About 3 feet of
  brackish water flows through the passage, and the
  smell is horrible. Every footstep echoes loudly, min-
  gling with the sound of rushing water and noise from
  the street above.
  Along one wall is a steel door and a garage-style,
  sheet-metal gate. Both are covered in years worth of
  graffiti, but they also bear official markings. A sign on
  the door reads “Access 247-D: Authorized Personnel
  Only.” The handgrip at the base of the gate is engraved
  with the words, “Municipal Maintenance Station 38.”
  12
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  
  d20MODERN
  13
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  GM Characters: The man is Nicholas St. Andrew. He has actu-
  ally finished performing his dark rite and expects at any
  moment to be filled with unholy energy. 
  The woman is Audrey Petersen. She is unconscious
  because earlier in the day St. Andrew used her to power a
  delego vitae spell (see New Spells, below) to boost the
  beast’s vitality. The two have often used this technique to
  power up the beast, and it has always been their practice to
  chain Audrey up during the process. That way, should the
  authorities ever discover the lair, she could claim to have
  been held captive. In truth she has always been a willing par-
  ticipant, but these two specialize in covering up their actions.
  Nicholas St. Andrew (Dedicated Hero 3/Acolyte
  10/Tough Hero 1): CR 14; Medium-size human; HD 3d6+3 plus
  10d8+10 plus 1d10+1; hp 74; Mas 12; Init +4; Spd 30 ft.; Defense
  18, touch 18, flat-footed 18 (+8 class); BAB +9; Grap +9; Atk +9
  melee (1d6/18–20, sword cane) or +10 ranged (2d6, Glock 17);
  Full Atk +9/+4 melee (1d6/18–20, sword cane) or +10/+5
  ranged (2d6, Glock 17); FS 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SQ combat
  casting, divine skills, divine spells, maximize spell, rebuke
  magical beast, rebuke outsider, rebuke undead, spontaneous
  casting; AL evil; SV Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +15; AP 7; Rep +9; Str
  10, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 19, Cha 16.
  Occupation: Religious (bonus class skills: Decipher
  Script, Knowledge [arcane lore], Knowledge [theology and
  philosophy]).
  Skills: Balance +2, Concentration +16, Craft (visual art) +18,
  Decipher Script +21, Knowledge (arcane lore) +22, Knowledge
  (theology and philosophy) +14, Listen +10, Profession +20,
  Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +12. 
  Talents:
  Faith, remain conscious, skill emphasis
  (Concentration).
  Feats: Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Archaic Weapons
  Proficiency, Attentive, Educated, Focused, Improved
  Initiative, Iron Will, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Renown,
  Simple Weapon Proficiency, Studious.
  Acolyte Spells Prepared: (6/6/6/5/5/3; save DC 14 + spell
  level) 0—cure minor wounds, haywire (2), light, read magic,
  resistance; 1st—bane, cause fear, command, instant identify,
  obscuring mist, sanctuary; 2nd—darkness, daylight, enhance
  ability, hold person, resist energy, shatter; 3rd—bestow
  curse, dispel magic, searing light, shutdown, vampiric touch;
  4th—cure critical wounds, greater magic weapon, freedom
  of movement, tongues, via negativa; 5th—flaming wrath, wall
  of stone.*
  * Nicholas St. Andrew has already cast one 5th-level spell today—
  delego vitae.
  Possessions: Holy symbol (a pendant inscribed with a pen-
  tagram), sword cane, Glock 17 (9mm autoloader), 2 spare clips
  of ammunition, various small personal items.
  The Beast: CR 14; Large magical beast; HD 22d10+132; hp
  253; Mas 23; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; Def 17, touch 11, flat-footed 15
  (–1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural); BAB +22; Grap +37; Atk +32 melee
  (2d4+11, claw); Full Atk +32 melee (2d4+11, claw) and +26 melee
  (2d6+5, bite); FS 10 ft. by 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SQ damage reduc-
  tion 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., improved grab, improved
  natural attack, low-light vision, pounce, rake 2d4+5, resist-
  ance 10 to cold and fire, smite good, spell resistance 21; AL
  none; SV Fort +19, Ref +15, Will +14; AP 0, Rep +0; Str 33, 
  Dex 15, Con 23, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 10.
  Skills: Balance +6, Hide +7 (+9 in tall grass or undergrowth),
  Listen +6, Move Silently +11, Spot +7, Swim +14.
  Feats: Alertness, Run, Stealthy, Weapon Focus (claw).
  See New Monster section for explanations of special
  qualities.
  Tactics: If the heroes do not leave immediately, St. Andrew
  orders the beast to engage them in melee combat and keep
  them as far away from him as possible. From a safe distance,
  he casts spells to disable and distract his opponents. When
  he runs out of effective distance spells, he begins shooting at
  them with his Glock. If the heroes succeed in engaging him in
  melee combat, St. Andrew starts converting some of his pre-
  pared spells to inflict spells, which he can deliver by touch.
  He and the beast both fight to the death.
  Development: Once the heroes have defeated Nicholas
  and the beast, they can “rescue” Audrey Petersen. No matter
  with they try, she remains unconscious for another 2 hours.
  See encounter E for her responses to interrogation.
  D5. Sanctum
  This area is Nicholas St. Andrew’s personal library. He and
  Audrey Petersen have shared this space since moving into the
  hideout. Read aloud or paraphrase the following when the
  heroes enter.
  The pillows served as bed, reading chairs, meditation pads,
  and every other type of furniture that St. Andrew and
  Petersen required. 
  Development: A successful DC 15 Search check of the
  mound of pillows reveals the arcane tome that details the rit-
  ual St. Andrew used. The book is hand-bound in leather and
  consists of 96 pages of handmade paper. Four pages were torn
  out at some point during the centuries since it was written. 
  The book is written in a bastardized version of Sanskrit
  that was used by an ancient group of sub-Saharan alchemists
  and diablerists. If the heroes have played through the
  Heartless campaign and clsely examined the two idols, they
  recognize this language as the one used for the inscriptions
  on Barrik the Glutton and Ventyr the Emaciated.
  Bookcases line the walls of this chamber, their shelves
  heavy with thick, leather-bound tomes. Small stone and
  jade idols to nameless gods and censers burning pun-
  gent incense fill the niches between books. In the cen-
  ter of the room is a heaping mound of red satin pillows,
  and three ornate candelabras filled with red candles
  provide the only light.
  Standing over the drain in the center of the design is
  a tall, gaunt man with thinning hair and a goatee shaved
  to severe angles. In one outstretched hand, he holds a
  sixth human heart. His other hand is poised over it,
  allowing blood to flow onto the heart from an open
  wound on his palm. As his blood flows over and into the
  heart, he squeezes it regularly in a mockery of the sinus
  rhythm it maintained in life. His blood finally trickles
  out the bottom of the heart and swirls down the drain.
  “You are too late!” the man cries. “The final rite is
  nearly complete. Soon the power of the dark gods shall
  be mine! Run, fleas, while you still can!”
  
  d20MODERN
  14
  Any hero who manages to translate the book discovers
  that it contains the spells delego vitae and Shere Khan’s
  boon, as well as the incantations used by the Children of
  Chaos in Blood Sugar and The Final Feast, the previous two
  installments of the Heartless campaign. It also has full
  instructions for activating the two idols used in those adven-
  tures. At your option, the book may also contain any other
  spells or arcane information that you want the heroes to be
  able to access.
  Forensic examination of the pillows reveals more than a
  platonic relationship and should throw suspicion onto any
  claims that Petersen was merely a captive.
  The bookcases contain numerous other tomes, magic
  items, and artifacts of your choice. The resolution of The
  Dead of Winter can be used as a springboard to many more
  occult-themed adventures.
  E. RESOLUTION
  If all goes well, the heroes can defeat Nicholas St. Andrew in
  this adventure. Both the cultist and his beast are likely to die in
  the final battle, since the beast knows nothing but bloodlust
  and St. Andrew prefers death to ignominious defeat. The heroes
  should, however, be able to take Audrey Petersen captive. 
  The Beast
  If the heroes turn the body of the beast over to the police or
  other mainstream authorities, scientists from all over the
  world study it closely. They eventually conclude that it is a
  heretofore unknown species related to the tiger. Scientific
  organizations spend a great deal of time and effort thereafter
  trying to determine exactly where it originated, how
  Nicholas St. Andrew came to own it, and whether more spec-
  imens are likely to exist in the wild. 
  If the heroes turn the beast over to Department-7, how-
  ever, that organization’s scientists quickly determine that the
  beast had extraordinary origins. Thereafter, they help to keep
  the secret from getting out to the media by feeding promis-
  ing but inaccurate information to their mundane counter-
  parts as needed.
  Interrogating Audrey
  The disposition of Audrey Petersen depends entirely on your
  plans for the heroes. If you plan to continue the Heartless
  campaign, she steadfastly claims to have been Nicholas St.
  Andrew’s captive and not a willing participant in his plans.
  The police do not believe her story, and they are planning to
  charge her with several counts of murder, as well as several
  other crimes associated with the events in the previous three
  installments.
  If you are playing The Dead of Winter as a stand-alone
  adventure, Audrey is considerably more forthcoming. Though
  at first she insists that she was an unwitting dupe of Nicholas
  St. Andrew, she eventually breaks down under questioning
  and admits that she was a partner in the whole process. In
  hopes of gaining leniency when she is brought to trial for the
  murders of all these people, she freely answers any questions
  the heroes have about what St. Andrew was doing, the
  details of the various crimes, and the goal he had in mind.
  Heartless Resolution
  If you plan to continue with the next installment of the
  Heartless campaign, you should make sure that the heroes
  gain as much of the following information as you deem
  appropriate.
  • Nicholas St. Andrew claimed to have “nearly finished” the
  dark rite he was performing, but according to the book in
  his sanctum, the ceremony was completed the moment his
  blood washed down that drain.
  • The dark rite was supposed to give St. Andrew power from
  an unholy entity known as the Khor’dyl, though the book
  never explains exactly who or what that entity is. (The
  nature of the Khor’dyl will be explained in the final chap-
  ter of the Heartless campaign.)
  • Barrik the Glutton and Ventyr the Emaciated were integral
  parts of the ritual. If either idol has been destroyed, the
  dark rite can never be performed again.
  REWARDS
  The heroes gain the standard experience and wealth awards
  for the encounters in this adventure. In addition, you may
  wish to award bonus experience for their investigative work
  at the beginning of the scenario. Depending on how well
  they were able to piece together the clues on their own, you
  can award experience for up to a CR 12 obstacle.
  The “beast killings” were big local and national news sto-
  ries. Depending on how public their actions were, and
  whether or not Department-7 allows them to take credit for
  the work they have done, the heroes could gain a significant
  amount of publicity. Such publicity could result in the char-
  acters becoming media celebrities, an increase in the amount
  of work (or rate of pay) that they receive, or—if things went
  badly—in public vilification.
  CONTINUING THE ADVENTURE
  The resolution of The Dead of Winter does not leave much
  room for further adventures outside of the Heartless cam-
  paign. However, if the two idols (Barrik the Glutton and
  Ventyr the Emaciated) remain whole, someone else might
  steal them and start the whole grisly process over again.
  Alternatively, you could build an adventure around the
  mystery of the four pages torn from St. Andrew’s spellbook.
  Were they torn out recently or centuries ago? The answer
  makes no difference in the context of this adventure, but you
  could use the content of those pages as the foundation for a
  whole new scenario. They might describe how to summon
  the Khor’dyl without the idols, or they could contain other
  potent spells.
  Furthermore, the very existence of a creature as exotic as
  the beast might motivate a zoological society to hire the
  heroes to procure another specimen for study. Alternatively,
  a rich big game hunter, wishing to test his mettle against such
  a beast, could hire a spellcaster to summon one for him to
  hunt. If such a beast managed to escape, tragedy would
  surely ensue. 
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  
  d20MODERN
  15
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Continuing Heartless
  The Heartless campaign concludes next month with the free
  online adventure Resolutions.
  NEW SPELLS
  The following new spells are available for use in any d20
  MODERN adventure.
  Delego Vitae
  Necromancy
  Level: Divine 5; Components: V, S, F; Casting Time: One full-
  round action per HD transferred; Range: Touch; Target: Two
  creatures touched; Duration: 2 hours per HD transferred;
  Saving Throw: Will negates; Spell Resistance: Yes
  Delego vitae allows you to transfer life energy from one
  target to another. The two targets must be connected by a
  length of rope, twine, or thread, and you must touch them
  both throughout the casting. When the casting is complete,
  the subject donating the life energy gains 1 negative level,
  and the one receiving it gains one additional Hit Die of its
  racial type and a +1 bonus to both Strength and
  Constitution for the duration of the spell. The extra Hit Die
  confers all the normal benefits except additional feats and
  skill points.
  If you maintain contact with both subjects until your next
  action, you may attempt a DC 15 Concentration check to
  transfer more life energy. If you succeed, the two subjects are
  once again affected as above, and the negative levels and
  benefits stack. You may continue to transfer life energy in
  this manner until your contact with either of the subjects is
  broken, or until the donating subject has only 1 Hit Die left,
  or until you have transferred a number of levels equal to one-
  half your own character level, rounded down.
  When the transfer is completed, the subject that was
  drained of energy must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10
  + the number of negative levels gained) or fall unconscious
  for the duration of the spell.
  When the spell ends, the subject that received the energy
  becomes fatigued and must attempt a Fortitude saving throw
  (DC 10 + the number of Hit Dice gained) or fall unconscious
  for 8 hours.
  Focus: A length of rope, twine, or thread that connects the
  two targets.
  Shere Khan’s Boon
  Conjuration (Summoning)
  Level: Arcane 5, Divine 5; Components: V, S, M; Casting Time:
  Full-round action; Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels); Effect:
  One summoned creature; Duration: See below; Saving Throw:
  None; Spell Resistance: No
  This spell summons a fiendish dire tiger—a powerful creature
  from a dimension beyond our own (see New Monster sec-
  tion, below). The tiger appears where you designate and acts
  immediately, attacking your enemies unless you give it other
  orders. You can mentally direct the creature not to attack, to
  attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions you
  designate. The fiendish dire tiger can perform any action that
  a normal tiger could and is subject to the same limitations.
  The tiger remains with you for 24 hours. At the end of
  that time, it dissipates into nothingness unless you feed it 10
  pounds or more of human flesh. As long as you keep feed-
  ing the tiger every day, it remains with you as a completely
  obedient pet.
  Material Component: A vial of human blood.
  NEW MONSTER
  The following new monster is available for use in any d20
  MODERN adventure.
  Fiendish Dire Tiger
  This animal is similar to the modern-day tigers common to
  zoos and circuses, but it is more muscular, meaner, and
  tougher. A fiendish dire tiger measures more than 12 feet long
  and can weigh up to 6,000 pounds. Though similar creatures
  may have roamed the earth at the dawn of time, these crea-
  tures have survived in a land somewhere beyond the veil of
  Shadow. They are the subjects of a powerful half-
  human/half-tiger entity that calls himself Shere Khan, and
  they exist to do his bidding.
  Species Traits
  Pounce (Ex): If a fiendish dire tiger leaps upon a foe during
  the first round of combat, it can make a full attack even
  though it has already moved.
  Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the fiendish dire
  tiger must hit with a claw or bite attack. If it gets a hold, it
  can make two rake attacks (see below). See the Improved
  Grab entry in Chapter 8 of the d20 MODERN Roleplaying
  Game for additional information.
  Improved Natural Attack: A fiendish dire tiger’s claw and
  bite attacks deal damage as if the creature were one size cat-
  egory larger than it is.
  Rake (Ex): A fiendish dire tiger that establishes a hold
  on its target can make two rake attacks (+12 melee) with
  its hind legs, dealing 2d4+8 points of damage each. If
  the fiendish dire tiger pounces on an opponent, it can
  also rake.
  Skill Bonuses: A fiendish dire tiger receives a +4 species
  bonus on Balance, Hide, and Move Silently checks. In areas of
  tall grass or heavy undergrowth, this bonus improves to +9.
  Smite Good (Su): Once per day, the fiendish dire tiger can
  make a normal melee attack to deal 16 extra points of dam-
  age against a foe with an allegiance to Good.
  Damage Reduction (Su): A fiendish dire tiger has dam-
  age reduction 10/magic. Each time a foe hits with a
  nonmagical weapon, the damage dealt is reduced by 10
  (to a minimum of 0). Magic weapons, however, deal full
  damage.
  Resistance to Cold and Fire (Su): A fiendish dire tiger
  ignores the first 10 points of cold or fire damage dealt in any
  attack.
  Spell Resistance (Su): An opponent casting a spell that tar-
  gets a fiendish dire tiger must exceed 21 with a caster level
  check (1d20 + caster level) to affect the creature.
  
  d20MODERN
  16
  Fiendish Dire Tiger: CR 10; Large magical beast; HD 16d10+48;
  hp 136; Mas 17; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; Def 17, touch 11, flat-footed
  15 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural); BAB +16; Grap +28; Atk +24
  melee (2d4+8, claw); Full Atk +24 melee (2d4+8, 2 claws) and
  +18 melee (2d6+4, bite); FS 10 ft. by 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SQ dam-
  age reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., improved grab,
  improved natural attack, low-light vision, pounce, rake 2d4+4,
  resistance 10 to cold and fire, smite good, spell resistance 21;
  AL evil; SV Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +11; AP 0, Rep +0; Str 27, Dex
  15, Con 17, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 10.
  Skills: Balance +6, Hide +7 (+9 in tall grass or undergrowth),
  Listen +7, Move Silently +11, Spot +7, Swim +11.
  Feats: Alertness, Run, Stealthy, Weapon Focus (claw).
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  Stan! has been publishing fiction, cartoons, and games pro-
  fessionally since 1982. He has served as a graphic designer
  and line editor for West End Games, an editor and designer
  for TSR, Inc., and an author, senior designer, and creative
  director for Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Stan! is currently the
  Creative Vice President for The Game Mechanics, Inc.
  <http://www.thegamemechanics.com>. His recent projects
  include the URBAN ARCANA Campaign Setting for Wizards of
  the Coast and the Modern Player’s Companion for Green
  Ronin. In what he laughingly refers to as his spare time, Stan!
  writes and illustrates the Bolt & Quiver and Table Talk comic
  strips.
  Stan! lives in Renton, WA, where he eats nothing but meat
  and cheese. Visit him online at  <http://www.stannex.com>.
  THE DEAD OF WINTER
  Credits
  Design:
  Stan!
  Editing:
  Penny Williams
  Typesetting:
  Nancy Walker
  Cartography:
  Rob Lazzaretti
  Creative Direction:
  Christopher Perkins
  Web Production:
  Julia Martin
  Web Development:
  Mark A. Jindra
  Graphic Design:
  Cynthia Fliege, Sean Glenn
  This d20™System game uses mechanics developed for the new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
  game by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, and Peter Adkison.
  This game also uses mechanics developed for the Psionics Handbook by Bruce R.
  Cordell, the Call of Cthulhu® Roleplaying Game by Monte Cook and John Tynes, and
  the Star Wars® Roleplaying Game by Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
  d20 MODERN, D&D and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS are registered trademarks, and d20 and
  the d20 System logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary
  of Hasbro, Inc. All Wizards characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses
  thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America.
  Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
  prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations,
  places, or events is purely coincidental.
  This Wizards of the Coast game product contains no Open Game Content. No
  portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To
  learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 System License, please visit 
  <www.wizards.com/d20>.
  ©2003 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  All rights reserved.  Made in the U.S.A.
  Visit our website at
  <www.wizards.com/d20modern>
  
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