Outpost Hotel

The old Aeon Society for Gentlemen outpost on Aresia was abandoned over two centuries ago but still intact, built to last through the worst environmental conditions near-indefinitely. Powered by a geothermal tap into the dying world, with multiple high-depth wells and water recyclers to reduce its environmental impact, it was inexplicably abandoned by the Aeon Society around the mid-1930s and left there indefinitely, powering and fueling the city of Hilven, once a beacon of culture and art. Later, several wars and raids by Grey Aresian pirates combined to defeat Hilven's defenses, leaving the city as a Grey Aresian pirate outpost ever since. But the outpost itself, undiscovered, stayed intact. This is what you have inherited from their work.

The real reason for the abandonment was the split between Michael Daemon Dhonigal and Maxwell Anderson Mercer, in terms of whether intervention or non-intervention was the right idea, as both of them were intelligent enough and had enough resources to predict World War II and the potential horrors to fall out from another Great War. Mercer was for allowing humanity to grow on its own and only shape society when necessary to keep it from catastrophic collapse, while Dhonigal believed that they had not just a right, but a god-given duty, to shape society however they wanted, with the powers they had been gifted. The two former friends presumably had more than just a falling-out, considering all history past that, and hints in the Aeon Society archives of some sort of shadow war fought by Aeon loyalists against its former members, which killed more than a few famous adventurers.

The historical books and journals give no idea of whether Mercer knew of the Holocaust, or if Dhonigal knew of the beneficial role to world peace that the end of World War II and the use of the atom bomb would have brought.

Layout

The desert sands and erosion destroyed the aboveground parts of the embassy and exploratory outpost decades ago, but the underground areas, shielded by thick metal doors treated with chemicals to prevent rust or fatigue, have endured intact for more than two hundred years. The sprawling underground base is set up as three floors, cooled by a powerful air conditioning system that is still running even today.

Even though the dry desert sands and overwhelming heat are in full force outside, the inside of the underground facility is quite comfortable.

Floor 1

The first floor was primarily where Aresian guests and their entourages were allowed to stay, as well as where many of the Aeon outreach and educational programs were held in. On the floor there was a large cafeteria, multiple guest rooms of varying levels of opulence, from the spartan to the palatial, a classroom where Aresian students could be educated in the sciences and academics of the strange alien world that the adventurers had come from, and a library full of imported Earth books. The cafeteria served various forms of native food most of the time, with Sunday brunches serving exotic imports from Earth. Some less-dangerous trinkets were also placed on the first floor, to impress and gift Aresians with.

The first floor is decorated in a faux-Aresian style, with murals and engravings on almost every inch of wall, and the classic rounded ceilings and high arches of Aresian architecture, no doubt to ensure a feeling of familiarity and acceptance. Although most of the murals and engravings have faded with age, the architecture has not.

It is clear that Aeon hoped, at one point, to integrate the two worlds, but this effort ended up being stymied.

Floor 2

The second floor was used by the adventurers of Aeon to store what they worked for, and as such is smaller than either the first or third floor, sealed off by heavy armored doors that could stop a charging Aresian War-Lizard or almost any creation of the diabolical villains of Earth, guarded with various gun turrets and traps. Inside were opulent bedrooms, a study where partially typed copies of an atlas of Aresia, among other informative works, were stored, and a storage full of potentially useful Aeon artifacts, whether native or found on Aresia.

Finally, set off a few dozen meters and similarly sealable is a laboratory, a then-cutting edge facility with the latest in microscopes, X-Rays, and other equipment. Although advanced for its time, the years have not been kind to it and its equipment is quaint at best, absolutely worthless at worst.

Floor 3

The third floor was where servants, workers, terrestrial guests, and other functionaries who needed for the day-to-day functioning of the facility or were just there to be impressed by the strange alien world, with comfortable if slighty cramped berthing for over 100 men and women. The third floor is where the outpost's medical clinic is, a small facility with a dozen beds and an iron lung machine, as well as cabinets of long-since expired medicines, some of which were actually beneficial to the health of the patient. The medical clinic was mostly stocked with Aresian tools and medicines, their medical technology having been more advanced than all but the most paradigm-shifting (read: super-science) medical techniques available at that time.

The third floor also has a now-inactive travel gate, which seems to lead to a room in Maxwell Mercer's mansion in Chicago, long since preserved as a historical site and museum. Much larger than the one in the party's current possession, this one would allow significantly heavier materiel such as medium armor to be moved through into Aresia, if properly relocated.

Floor 4

The fourth and largest floor of the outpost is where the machinery that maintains it chugs along. A powerful electrical turbine system, running off of a combination of geothermal energy and atomic power, fuels the outpost's power needs, and additionally provides power to the neighboring city. Although certainy primitive-seeming, the design is sound and the metallurgy used for its systems and spare parts are top-notch, and the powerplant stil easily has a century of life behind it without significant maintenance. A large desalinization and water purification plant is nestled right next to it, drawing water from the Aresian sewers and the plumbing of the base, purifying it to drinkability. Finally, taking up the remaining space is a factory facility. Built by the Geary-Wexlers, their Automatronic Factory is an extremely primitive automated factory, capable of constructing most mechanical devices with minimal retooling, from firearms to spare parts to automatons.

It has been mostly inactive for the past 200 years, ony building spare parts when systems in the outpost failed, loyally awaiting the return of the Aeon Society for Gentlemen. However, it could easily be reactivated and reprogrammed (to some extent, none of you are familiar with mechanical computers) to produce more equipment, maintenance automatons, and the like. Unfortunately, its completely incompatible technologies and mad science bent make it virtually impossible to update.

Defenses

With the existence of the Yellow and Gray Aresians, defenses were necessary for the outpost. Not only were there guards and thick metal doors, but clever and fiendish traps such as Cutting-Light Fences (laser traps), Automated Pillboxes (machine gun turrets) and gas blowers were installed on the second and third floors of the facility to prevent access to the artifacts that Aeon had collected and stored in this area. These defenses are enhanced by the presense of various automata created by the automated factory, mainly maintenance robots, although their brute strength and size is sufficient to make them a reasonable defense against most attacking foes.

Although many of the defenses have been deactivated by age or your overenthusiastic assault, they are easily repaired, or even better, replaced by modern equivalents with superior accuracy, intellect, and firepower.

Robots

Small Automata:

Strength 8/Dexterity 1/Stamina 8

Perception 2/Intelligence 1/Wits 1

Might 5, Brawl 2, Engineering (Repairs) 5, Awareness 2 (Mechanical Problems + 3)

Drill: Damage 12L AP:3, Smash: Damage 14B

HLs -0 x 10/Destroyed, Soak 10B/10L/0A

Automata: Initiative is (Dex + Wits + 1)

Gear

Order of The Illuminated Scholars

The Order was a highly capable group of inspired terrorists and saboteurs, dedicated to the exploration of their nascent psychic powers for advancement of their own self-interests. Armed with their powerful psychic abilities, they fought the heroes of the Aeon Society and Branch Nine to a standstill multiple times, and slew several of the best agents of both groups.

The Illuminated Scholars had many interesting devices which amplified the effects of their mesmerist leaders or gave their minions minor psychic powers. Many of their rituals require knowledge of Enochian, which is a constructed language and is not taught in most schools.

Ritual of Awakening The Mind's Hand

Grants a neutral or mesmerist the Psychic Hand knack (alllows a force of (Willpower + Inspiration) kg*m/s to be exerted to move objects, creates a psychic shield giving +(Inspiration) B/L soak, may be used up to (Stamina + Endurance/2) turns in a scene, pay 1 Willpower to extend duration to 1 entire scene). Neutrals are considered to have Inspiration 1 for the purposes of the knack. Psions gain Telekinesis 1 instead.

A book of mystical rituals that provide the user the ability to manifest weak telekinetic abilities, undergoing the ritual of awakening the mind's hand empowers the subject's mind to move objects with a mere thought. The ritual itself requires a large room, ornate decorations, and many expensive or difficult to acquire components, but after the transformation the ability gain is permanent. To complete the ritual requires 20 total successes on an Int + Academics (Mythology) or Academics (History) roll for the ritual setup, and the ritualist must speak Enochian. Each setup roll takes 1 hour and the ritual itself takes another 4, and the gadget is consumed during the ritual. The interesting question is that this gadget was intended to be used on neutrals and mesmerists, but in theory it would have far, far more powerful effect on what the Illuminated Scholars called the "Ascended Ones" which they sought to create.

Ritual of Mental Servitude

+2 Willpower, Devotion (subject of Devotion chosen by ritualist).

A book of mystical rituals that provide a subject an iron will and steely devotion to something the ritualist chooses, this ritual requires an Enochian-speaking ritualist, 1 hour to finish, and 5 total successes on Int + Academics (Mythology) or Academics (History) rolls (with each roll taking 30 minutes). All of the true henchmen of the Scholars were bonded by this ritual.

Ritual of Ascension

Transforms a Mesmerist into a full-fledged Psiad. Inspiration becomes Psi, Inspiration points become Psi points, all knacks are refunded and converted into equivalent Psionic modes. Stalwarts and Novas are instantly and horrifically killed, Paramorphs/Daredevils are immune.

The Ritual of Ascension was the last development of the Illuminated Scholars, fortunately coming far too late to save them from their defeat. Whether by accident or divine providence, they had stumbled upon the potential inherent in noetics and developed a method to jumpstart this in psions. However, initial experiments on captured agents of Branch 9 and the Aeon Society proved fatal to many, causing them to only experiment on captured prisoners, leading to their downfall when the Ascension ritual was successfully applied to one Whitley Styles. The ritual itself takes 100 total successes on an Int + Academics (Mythology) or Academics (History) roll, and requires that the ritualist speak Enochian and Sanskrit.

Psycho-Converter Gun

Accuracy (Willpower + Perception), Damage (Intelligence + Wits)B, AP:(Psi), Range (Willpower * 10)m, RoF (Wits * 2), Magazine N/A, Guided.

This super-scientific rifle, embedded with crystals capable of picking up and amplifying human thought, focuses the emotions and will of the user into a deadly psychic blow, causing headaches, mental trauma, and even death. The weapon is "aimed" via Willpower + Perception, and deals (Intelligence + Psi) bashing damage, which is soaked by the opponent's Willpower. Protection against mind-affecting powers, such as Mental Shield or Invulnerability, adds 1 to soak for every automatic success on resistance rolls they grant. This weapon completely ignores all other defenses. The Devotion merit adds +2 to damage and accuracy if applicable, as the weapon synchronizes with the user's near-superhuman determination.

Cerebral Barrier

Gives (Willpower) Bashing/Lethal soak, costs 1 Psi/Quantum to use per action.

This device fastens nicely to the head of the subject, and can be hidden by the hood of a robe or a helmet. The result, of course, is that the subject's mind is empowered to deflect attacks, turning sheer willpower into a nigh-invulnerable aegis that stops almost any small arms. Of course, that was in the 1930s. 22nd century small arms tend to have a little more punch, but the Barrier is still quite useful.

Professor Franklin Dixon's Wonderful Devices

Professor Franklin Dixon was one of the Aeon Society's top scientists, who made many innovative and powerful super-scientific gadgets for the Society, some of which still survive to this day.

Tellion Cells

Stores up to 5 Psi, Quantum, or Inspiration for use (the type of power it stores is selected at construction and cannot be changed). Recharges at the rate of 1/24 hours. This power may only be used to power bioapps or gadgets. Fully draining a cell destroys it.

"Telluric-Ionic" batteries capable of storing an extensive amount of "Telluric Energy", as the 20th century posthumans called the quantum and subquantum forces, these batteries are quite useful for powering super-science gadgetry of any form. Originally, the power concentrations these batteries were intended to store and output were extremely low, and it is only due to Professor Dixon's ingenuity that their throughput can be boosted to levels effective for powering modern bioapps or quantum gadgets. However, this has left the cells fragile and too much drain will destabilize and destroy these expensive artifacts.

Professor Dixon's Electric Rifle

Accuracy +0, Damage 2L + 10B, Range 10 (max range is 20), RoF 1, Magazine 1. Dealing bashing damage adds +2 difficulty to all actions for the next hour.

Built as a more humane alternative to guns (which have an unfortunate tendency to kill people when used to halt a crime in progress) Dixon's Electric Rifle fired a low-velocity dart attached to a spool of wire and a powerful capacitor. When discharged, the electric shock would temporarily paralyze the skeletal muscles of whatever it hit. This weapon was later fictionalized and used by a "Thomas Swift", which led to the acronym "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle"-the Taser.

Professor Dixon's Adventurer Wear

Soak 2B/4L, Penalty -0, Destruction 30, Mass 1, +1 Endurance

Cloth treated with a special compound that hardened the fibers to a toughness superior to steel, these outfits come in most 1930s styles. Their protection is easily equivalent to heavy 20th century body armor against bullets and blades and they provide excellent temperature regulation, yet they look identical to standard clothing and are only slightly heavier.

Doctor Smith's Equipment

Dr. Smith's Infiltration Suit

Soak 3B/3L, Penalty -0, Destruction 25, +3 Stealth, +1 Dexterity

Used by the remarkable Dr. Smith in travelling places woman was not meant to go. This slim black outfit blends in with shadows, muffles noise and is remarkably resistant to damage. It was much treasured by Dr. Smith until her retirement due to the many miraculously lucky escapes it saw her through.

Dr. & Dr. Smith's Dinner Jacket and Evening Gown

Soak 2B/4L, Penalty -0, Destruction 20, Mass 1, +1 difficulty to rolls to detect hidden/concealed weapons

A matched pair, designed for high-society functions that may suddenly involve ninjas breaking in through the windows or robotic assassins bursting out of the cake. In addition to being significantly more protective than they appear, they can conceal weapons significantly more effectively than one would expect.

Dr. Smith's Incredible All-Environment Excursion Suit

Soak 8B/8L, Penalty -4, Destruction 50, Mass 50

Used by the remarkable Dr. Smith in travelling places man was not meant to go. This rugged yellow outfit including diving helmet and air supply proofed Dr. Smith against all environmental hazards, from Venusian poison spore clouds to the insidious danger of space air. The suit provides 24 hours of air supply, environmental protection for anything from the bottom of the ocean to hard vacuum, and excellent protection against weapons, at the cost of being exceptionally difficult to move around in for all but the strongest adventurers.

Miscellaneous Artifacts

The Vita-Chamber of Dr. Erskine

Heals all wounds and physical/mental flaws, gives 1-10 temporary Taint per use (roll 1d10). Novas gain temporary taint instead of permanent, Stalwarts, Psions/Mesmerists, and Daredevils are immune to the negative effects.

The good Doctor Erskine was a friendly part to Aeon, which provided them many medical inventions and published several of his texts under their banner. The vita-chamber was one of his few failed experiments, which worked wonderfully on his own biology and his few test subjects (all Inspired). However, when offered to the rich and famous, its results were unpredictable, with inexplicable physical mutation occuring on all of the subjects treated with it. Rarely, the mutation was purely beneficial, and more often the mutation and alteration was minor.

Dr. Zod's Plutonium-Based Intellect Improvers

+1 Intelligence/month (max +3), gives you cancer and mental illnesses (the latter also at 1/month, max 3)

The wonders of radioactivity were an obsession for Dr. Zod, and when he unlocked its infinite potential, he decided to go into business. These pills grant a character who takes them on a daily basis +1 Intelligence a month, an expanding cranium to fit the swollen brain, mental instability, and an ever-increasing likeliness of terminal brain cancer.

Martian Equipment

These weapons are supposedly taken from a long-lost and then dying martian civilization. Given that several members of the Unity crew have been to Mars and found zero signs of a hyper-advanced civilization-and certainly, the Mars colonies have found no such ruins, this is probably somewhat unlikely.

Martian Disintegrator Ray

Accuracy +0, Damage 10A, Range 50, RoF 1, Magazine 10, Mass 2, Min. Str 0

This retro-futuristic raygun has poor sights and cannot be effectively aimed, but disintegrates targets, dealing aggravated damage. The weapon seems to recharge its own magazine at the rate of 1 shot/minute, and has no provisions for replacing the battery. It emits a noticeable but extremely low teratogen count, akin to an extremely weak Nova gadget.

Martian Reintegrator Ray

Accuracy +0, Damage -2L, Range 10, RoF 1, Magazine 5, Mass 2, Min. Str 0

A reversed disintegrator ray, the reintegrator ray deals negative damage, i.e. it heals the people it shoots. A target may only heal up to (Stamina) levels of damage from exposure to this device before complications, often involving cancerous tumors and other unwanted growths, arise.

Martian Psi-Gems

+2d to use of psychic powers (Psionic Telepathy modes, Telepathy, Domination, Mental Blast, etc.)

Beautifully cut gemstones that can be inlaid in various jewelry, these gems were often used by Aeon's mesmerists to further improve their mental ability.

Shield Belts

10 HL shielding, regenerate 1 HL/round

Retrofuturistic 1930s shield belts. Can fit most people.

Shielding Bracelets/Earrings

5 HL shielding, regenerate 1 HL/3 rounds (~10 seconds), +1 Style

Smaller, more compact versions of the shield belt, derived from the same principles. Quite fetching, and can be easily disguised when wearing formal wear.

The Sultanate of Kajsa

Recovered from an overthrow of an evil sultan whose mastery of the dark arts was without peer (or an unjust coup motivated by imperialism, whichever you wish to believe), these weapons are quite inexplicable in their capability.

Blade of Shadows

Accuracy +3, Defense +0, Damage (Str + 8L), AP:3, Mass 3, Min. Str 2, Max. Str 30

A blade forged from an unknown alloy and treated with a special alchemical elixir which causes it to drink up the light from the room, hiding its wielder. Blades of shadows add +2 to Stealth rolls.

Darts of Death's Fatal Kiss

Accuracy +0, Damage (Str - 1L), AP:3, Mass 0.1, Thrown Weapon

These darts are treated with a deadly alchemical poison that deals 1 level of aggravated damage per turn for 20 turns unless the target succeeds on a difficulty +8 Stamina + Resistance roll. As an Inspired poison, not even Adaptability provides immunity, although a Nova with Adaptability may pay 1 Quantum point every turn in lieu of taking damage.

The Mechanical Legion's Tools

The brilliant but completely insane Doctor Francis Girard has created several mechanical tools to arm and equip his legions of Great War veterans, allowing them to take vengeance on the governments that cruelly abandoned him. Although his armored war-zepplins and other tools, such as the Iron Spiders, have not been stored in the outpost, some of his small arms and other examples of his inventions have.

Mecha-Armor

Replaces user's physical attributes with Strength 10, Dexterity 1, Soak 10B/10L, 5 Health Levels

Inbuilt HMG: Accuracy +0, , Damage 10L [2], Range 300, Rate 30, Magazine 300, AP:3

These imposing steel-plated suits of armor were used by his soldiers, allowing them to fight against half-tracks and even light tanks without difficulty, especially when armed with his special rocket bullets.

Clockwork Prosthetics

+1d to relevant attributes when in use (so a clockwork arm would provide +1 Strength and Dexterity for the use of that arm and hand, etc).

His army were often missing body parts, and so these crude mechanical prosthesis were critical for providing them function. Extremely primitive compared to mid-late 21st or 22nd century advances in prosthetics, they did provide his soldiers with some semblance of enhanced physical ability.

Rocket-Bullets

Range +50%, Damage +2, AP +1

Rocket propelled tungsten-cored bullets, these have been built in just about every 1930s caliber.

The City of Hilven

Once a glittering metropolis and one of the richest city-states, Hilven is now an abandoned ghost city, empty save the large number of Grey Aresian pirates who have taken it and turned it into their home base.

The Spires

Nearly a hundred meters tall, these spires are a combination of mooring for airships and temple, decorated beautifully in precious metals and gemstones, with every inch of their surface carefully embossed and engraved. The spires were the most beautiful part of Hilven, and now most of them have fallen, save the largest one in the center, which is still intact despite the worst nature has thrown at it.

The Sewers

The sewers of Hilven were later linked to Outpost Hotel to take advantage of the latter's recycling facilities, and an Aresian one was half-completed when the city was abandoned. In theory, if the second facility was brought fully online and drought-resistant agriculture brought along (or more exotic closed-cycle systems such as greenhouses), despite the arid conditions of the lands nearby, Hilven could be rendered fully inhabitable.

Sofia Valley

A dozen or so kilometers away from Hilven is Sofia Valley, an enclave of perhaps a few hundred Greens. Before the city's abandonment, pilgrims and scholars sought the Greens out for advice and knowledge, sometimes coming back with an epiphany, sometimes empty-handed, sometimes not coming back at all. The valley is still active today, almost inexplicably, avoided by the pirates and keeping to themselves. Like all other Green enclaves, they have a Mindstone which allows communication over planetary distances between telepaths, and plenty of Abassi-gem psionic amplifiers.