Constructive Criticism on an Investigative Sci-Fi Module Format

[LordEntrails]

Modules: Made to Read vs Made to Run? has really gotten me curious about how I organize my modules. As such, the next adventure in my FrontierSpace campaign I'm putting together I've decided to try a new format. I've also rarely done an investigative module (and never to what I would think is satisfactorily) and so I've tried a new format and would like your feedback. By no means is it at the level of being publishable, but it's also probably more detailed that I would use if I was only setting up play for my own campaign.

You are welcome to comment on the content itself, but what I'm really interested in is discussion about the format for this type of adventure. Is there too much prose? Not enough? Is the information easy to find? Is it organized into a logical manner? What shines? And what needs to be improved (both for running at home and if I were to publish it)?

Campaign Premise​

The Asimaar Prelacy stands at a crossroads of fear and control. What began as scattered riots in the streets has been reframed by the government as a crisis of civil unrest. Beneath this veneer of order, however, lies a darker truth: citizens suspected of psychic abilities are being rounded up, detained, and quietly disappeared. Families vanish overnight, records are altered, and the official narrative insists these measures are necessary to preserve stability. Most of the populace remains unaware of the psychic dimension to the crackdowns, believing only that agitators and criminals are being suppressed.
The party enters this volatile landscape as investigators, operatives, or reluctant heroes. Their path leads them into a web of disappearances, secret medical facilities, and factional power struggles that stretch from the streets of the Prelacy to hidden laboratories in distant systems. Evidence points to a chilling collaboration between government officials and alien entities, where psychics are subjected to experimentation and autopsies under the guise of “progress.” The deeper the party digs, the more they uncover the scale of the conspiracy — and the moral compromises required to confront it.
Factional tensions simmer beneath the surface. Reformists within the government whisper of change, while hardliners tighten their grip with the support of the Sanctum Concordat’s religious edicts. The Military Directorate and Internal Security Bureau enforce order with ruthless efficiency, while underground networks and the Nexus Syndicate struggle to protect psychic families from persecution. Every choice the party makes — whether to expose evidence, sabotage operations, or broker alliances — shifts the balance of power and determines whether the Prelacy fractures, reforms, or descends further into authoritarian control.
For the party, motivations are as varied as the paths before them. They may seek to protect psychics from persecution, smuggling families to safety and dismantling detention networks. They may aim to incite political change, leveraging evidence and alliances to sway reformists and destabilize the regime. Or they may pursue the most unsettling thread: linking the abductions to alien experiments, uncovering the truth of psychic exploitation and deciding whether to confront or bargain with forces beyond human control. Each motivation offers a different lens on the conflict, but all converge on the same question — how far will the party go to reshape the destiny of the Asimaar Prelacy?

Plot Synopsis/Structure​

Adventure Hooks​

• Assuring Safety: The rescued child is safe off-world, but their extended family and friends remain in the Prelacy. The party must reassure them, keep them hidden, and prevent arrests that could expose the child’s existence.
• Evidence of Atrocity: The party has proof of alien autopsies but not yet of the Prelacy’s involvement. Linking the evidence to missing citizens could sway sympathetic officials or ignite public outrage.
• Alliance Building: The underground network of smugglers and sympathizers may have ties to the Nexus Syndicate. The party can strengthen this alliance to coordinate resistance and protect psychic families.
• Military Facility Infiltration: The on-planet military transfer hub is the choke point where psychics vanish. Infiltrating it could yield transport logs, prisoner manifests, or direct proof of collusion.
• A rogue Archivist of the Sanctum Concordat leaks records showing psychic children were once considered divine vessels.
• A Concordat edict declares a reformist administrator spiritually impure — triggering a purge.

Clues & Leads​

• Transport Logs: Show detainees moved under “medical quarantine” orders.
• Alien Evidence: Autopsy footage and surgical tools recovered, but not yet tied to Prelacy citizens.
• Family Testimony: Friends of the rescued child know of arrests and disappearances, offering leads but risking exposure.
• Whistleblower Officials: Sympathetic bureaucrats or scientists who could be persuaded with proof.

Play Options​

• Protective Path: Safeguard the extended family and prevent arrests that could expose the rescued child.
• Investigative Path: Link alien autopsy evidence to missing citizens and present it to sympathetic officials.
• Infiltration Path: Break into the military transfer facility to secure hard proof of collusion.
• Political Path: Persuade factions within the government to turn against the conspiracy, using evidence and alliances.

Key Locations​

• On-Planet Military Facility: Central hub for psychic transfers. Contains prisoner manifests, transport logs, and alien-linked contracts.
• Ministry of Order Archives: Redacted files hint at “special detainees.” Evidence here could connect arrests to transfers.
• Safehouses of Extended Family: Locations where the party must protect or relocate friends of the rescued child.
• Riot-Torn Districts: Chaotic backdrops for covert ops, cover for smuggling, or rallying citizens.

Factions​

GM Tips

• Each faction has one supporter, one dissenter, one conflicted figure — giving you levers for intrigue.
• Supporters = antagonists, Conflicted = persuasion targets, Dissenters = allies.
• Mix them into missions: riots, infiltration, courtroom drama, or political maneuvering.
• The party’s evidence of alien autopsies becomes the key bargaining chip across factions.
• Each seed can be run as a scene module: riot, trial, infiltration, or clandestine meeting.
• Mix supporters (antagonists), conflicted figures (persuasion targets), and dissenters (allies) to keep tension high.
• Evidence of alien autopsies is the universal bargaining chip — use it to sway conflicted NPCs or expose collaborators.
• Riot districts and military facilities make excellent dynamic backdrops for multiple seeds.
• Use the Nexus Syndicate as a powerful ally — they can provide resources, intelligence, or political cover.
• Keep the extended family subplot personal and urgent, grounding the conspiracy in human stakes.
• Present government factions as morally complex: some complicit, some ignorant, some reform-minded.
• Let players decide whether to go public with evidence or keep operations covert.

Faction	Public Role	Hidden Agenda	Party Interaction
Council of Administrators	Civil governance and bureaucracy	Divided: some ignorant, some complicit	Persuade sympathetic members with evidence of alien autopsies
Internal Security Bureau	Secret police and intelligence	Tracks psychic families and suppresses leaks	Evade surveillance, plant false leads, or turn agents into double informants
Judicial Tribunal	Courts and legal oversight	Some judges secretly approve “special detentions”	Present evidence to reform-minded judges or blackmail corrupt ones
Military Directorate	Manages planetary defense and logistics	Operates the transfer facility funneling psychics off-world	Stealth missions, sabotage, or covert surveillance of transports
Ministry of Order	Oversees arrests and riot suppression	Directly complicit in psychic detentions	Infiltrate archives, bribe officials, or expose falsified records
Ministry of Science & Progress	Oversees research and technology	May be aware of alien experiments but frame them as “advancement”	Expose their complicity or recruit dissenting scientists as whistleblowers
Nexus Syndicate	Almost unknown; Fringe libertarian off-world group	Protects psychics, coordinates underground escapes	Sponsors, supplies, leads
Sanctum Concordant	Religious advisors	Internally disconnected as to if psychics are prophetic or dangerous	Allies or enemies
Underground Network	Rumored safehouse alliance	Smuggles families, leaks data, supports resistance	Safehouses, personnel, leads

Council of Administrators (Civil Governance)​

Summary​

GM Description:
The Council governs civil affairs, policy, and public messaging. It’s fractured: some members are ignorant of the psychic suppression, others are complicit, and a few quietly oppose it. The Council is a political battleground where evidence and persuasion can shift the tide.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Council manages day-to-day governance, resource allocation, and public messaging. It is composed of dozens of administrators, each overseeing a district or ministry. While some are seen as pragmatic and reform-minded, others are viewed as corrupt or complicit in recent crackdowns. The Council’s internal divisions are increasingly visible, with policy clashes spilling into public view.

NPCs​

1. Administrator Jorven Pell – Ignorant Loyalist
   • Believes arrests are for sedition only, unaware of psychic suppression.
   • Naïve, but influential in public messaging.
   • Party Hook: Could be swayed with evidence to become a vocal reformer.
   • Encounter Seed: Pell gives a public speech blaming “agitators.” The party can disrupt the event with evidence, sway him privately, or use the crowd as cover.
   • Choices: Public exposure, private persuasion, or covert sabotage.
2. Administrator Kaelen Vey – Corrupt Collaborator
   • Secretly aligned with Void Enclave, profits from contracts.
   • Smooth-talking, manipulative, hides behind bureaucratic jargon.
   • Party Hook: Exposing him could destabilize the Council and reveal collusion.
   • Encounter Seed: Vey hosts a lavish dinner with Void Enclave contacts. The party can infiltrate as guests, eavesdrop, or confront him with proof.
   • Choices: Social infiltration, blackmail, or assassination.
3. Administrator Selene Arros – Reform Advocate
   • Opposes persecutions, wants transparency.
   • Works quietly to protect families through bureaucratic loopholes.
   • Party Hook: Ally who can provide political cover if given proof.
   • Encounter Seed: Arros meets secretly with dissidents. The party can join her circle, provide evidence, or protect her from Internal Security raids.
   • Choices: Alliance, protection, or political maneuvering.

Internal Security Bureau (Secret Police & Intelligence)​

Summary​

GM Description:
The Bureau is the Prelacy’s secret police and intelligence service. It monitors psychic families, suppresses leaks, and hunts dissenters. Paranoid and ruthless, it’s the backbone of the suppression effort — but even here, cracks exist.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Bureau handles counterintelligence, informant networks, and threat suppression. Its agents operate in plain clothes and are rarely acknowledged publicly. Citizens know little about its structure, but many fear its reach. Recent disappearances and intercepted communications suggest the Bureau is targeting not just agitators, but whistleblowers and reformist officials.

NPCs​

1. Director Kael Vorrin – Paranoid Spymaster
   • Supports persecutions, obsessed with rooting out psychic “traitors.”
   • Ruthless, manipulative, uses surveillance to crush dissent.
   • Party Hook: Main antagonist in covert ops, always one step ahead.
   • Encounter Seed: Vorrin sets a trap, baiting the party with false intel. The encounter becomes a cat-and-mouse chase through surveillance-heavy districts.
   • Choices: Outwit, escape, or confront.
2. Agent Tessa Rynn – Conflicted Operative
   • Follows orders but disturbed by targeting families.
   • Keeps a secret list of detainees she believes innocent.
   • Party Hook: Could be turned into a double agent if convinced of the truth.
   • Encounter Seed: Rynn shadows the party but hesitates to report them. They can recruit her as a double agent or expose her hesitation.
   • Choices: Persuasion, intimidation, or recruitment.
3. Analyst Bren Korr – Quiet Dissenter
   • Opposes persecutions, secretly feeds intel to Nexus Syndicate.
   • Nervous, but skilled at covering digital tracks.
   • Party Hook: Valuable ally for hacking or surveillance missions.
   • Encounter Seed: Korr arranges a secret data drop. The party must retrieve it while evading Internal Security patrols.
   • Choices: Stealth, protection, or deception.

Judicial Tribunal (Courts & Oversight)​

Summary​

GM Description:
The Tribunal oversees legal proceedings, detentions, and sentencing. Some judges rubber-stamp psychic arrests under secret directives, while others resist the erosion of due process. The Tribunal is a key leverage point for legitimizing or suppressing evidence.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Tribunal serves as the legal backbone of the Prelacy, interpreting law and issuing rulings on civil and criminal cases. Judges are revered for their impartiality, though recent high-profile decisions have sparked debate about political influence. Some citizens believe the Tribunal is being pressured to legitimize controversial detentions, while others see it as the last bastion of justice.

NPCs​

1. Judge Malrik Dorn – Authoritarian Jurist
   • Supports persecutions, rubber-stamps detentions.
   • Believes psychics are “illegal anomalies.”
   • Party Hook: Could be exposed or pressured to reveal secret rulings.
   • Encounter Seed: Dorn presides over a trial of suspected rioters. The party can intervene with evidence, sway the jury, or sabotage the proceedings.
   • Choices: Legal argument, covert disruption, or intimidation.
2. Judge Elira Vonn – Sympathetic Magistrate
   • Opposes persecutions, disturbed by lack of due process.
   • Uses her position to quietly delay trials and free detainees.
   • Party Hook: Ally who can legitimize evidence if convinced of its authenticity.
   • Encounter Seed: Vonn requests a secret meeting, offering to legitimize evidence if the party protects her from retaliation.
   • Choices: Escort, alliance, or betrayal.
3. Judge Corven Hask – Pragmatic Opportunist
   • Neutral, bends rulings to whichever faction holds power.
   • Sees trials as bargaining chips.
   • Party Hook: Can be manipulated with bribes or promises of influence.
   • Encounter Seed: Hask offers to “sell” favorable rulings. The party can negotiate, expose him, or manipulate his greed.
   • Choices: Bribery, blackmail, or exploitation.

Military Directorate (Transfers & Logistics)​

Summary​

GM Description:
Tasked with planetary defense and logistics, the Military Directorate operates the transfer facility where psychics are quietly funneled off-world. While some officers remain unaware of the true nature of these transfers, others are deeply complicit, viewing psychics as strategic threats or experimental assets.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Military Directorate oversees planetary defense, logistics, and strategic transport. Its armored convoys and orbital assets are a common sight near government facilities. Though not directly involved in civil enforcement, the Directorate has recently deployed personnel to assist with “riot containment” and “special transfers.” Their neutrality is questioned by reformists, who suspect deeper involvement in internal affairs.

NPCs​

1. Colonel Harvek Strann – Complicit Commander
   • Supports persecutions, oversees the transfer facility.
   • Believes psychics are weapons that must be controlled or destroyed.
   • Party Hook: Direct antagonist; infiltration missions may cross his command.
   • Encounter Seed: Strann inspects the military transfer facility. The party can infiltrate during his visit, overhear incriminating orders, or sabotage transports under his nose.
   • Choices: Direct confrontation, stealth infiltration, or sabotage.
2. General Mira Teylan – Conflicted Officer
   • Knows psychics are being shipped off-world but fears speaking out.
   • Torn between loyalty to the Directorate and conscience.
   • Party Hook: Could be persuaded to leak transport schedules if convinced the party can protect her.
   • Encounter Seed: Teylan hesitates during a transfer operation. The party can exploit her doubts, convincing her to leak schedules or stall shipments.
   • Choices: Persuasion, intimidation, or covert alliance.
3. Logistics Officer Renn Talvos – Quiet Dissenter
   • Opposes persecutions, disgusted by falsified records.
   • Keeps hidden copies of prisoner manifests.
   • Party Hook: A valuable informant, but paranoid and hard to gain trust.
   • Encounter Seed: Talvos hides duplicate prisoner manifests in a secure office. The party must earn his trust or break in to retrieve them.
   • Choices: Social manipulation, stealth theft, or alliance-building.

Ministry of Order (Arrests & Riot Suppression)​

Summary​

GM Description:
The Ministry of Order is the Prelacy’s primary domestic enforcement arm, responsible for riot suppression, civil detentions, and maintaining public discipline. Beneath its bureaucratic exterior lies a brutal apparatus for psychic persecution, with select officers coordinating arrests and transfers under the guise of anti-riot operations.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Ministry of Order is responsible for maintaining civil peace and enforcing Prelacy law. Its officers patrol riot zones, monitor public gatherings, and ensure compliance with curfews and speech codes. While officially tasked with protecting citizens, rumors persist that the Ministry has expanded its mandate to include “preemptive detentions” and covert surveillance. Most citizens fear their presence but accept it as necessary in turbulent times.

NPCs​

1. Marshal Veyra Korrin – Hardline Enforcer
   • Supports persecutions, sees psychics as destabilizing threats.
   • Cold, efficient, believes order must be maintained at any cost.
   • Party Hook: Could be blackmailed with evidence of brutality, or confronted directly in riot zones.
   • Encounter Seed: During a riot crackdown, Korrin personally leads troops. The party can confront her in the chaos, attempt to protect civilians, or shadow her to discover where detainees are taken.
   • Choices: Fight, evade, or gather intel on her command structure.
2. Inspector Dalen Rusk – Career Bureaucrat
   • Neutral, follows orders without question.
   • More concerned with paperwork and quotas than ideology.
   • Party Hook: Can be bribed or manipulated into leaking prisoner manifests.
   • Encounter Seed: The party finds Rusk in his office, buried in paperwork. He’s indifferent but holds prisoner manifests. A bribe, forged order, or subtle intimidation could secure access.
   • Choices: Persuade, deceive, or steal documents.
3. Captain Liora Sen – Sympathetic Officer
   • Opposes persecutions, disturbed by the arrests of families.
   • Secretly passes information to the underground network.

• Party Hook: Potential ally who can provide riot intel or safe passage.
• Encounter Seed: Sen discreetly approaches the party in a riot-torn district, offering safe passage for psychic families. She risks exposure if caught.
• Choices: Accept her help, protect her from discovery, or test her loyalty.

Ministry of Science & Progress (Research & Technology)​

Summary​

GM Description:
This ministry oversees research, technology, and scientific collaboration — including covert partnerships with alien entities. Select officials justify psychic experimentation as “advancement,” while dissenting scientists leak data to reformists.
Player-Facing Summary:
Charged with advancing Prelacy technology and medicine, the Ministry of Science operates research labs, medical centers, and dragon research teams. Publicly, it is seen as a beacon of progress. However, whispers from former staff suggest that certain departments have been repurposed for classified experimentation — especially involving mystical phenomena and off-world biology.

NPCs​

1. Director Veyla Marris – Scientific Collaborator
   • Supports persecutions, frames alien autopsies as “progress.”
   • Coldly rational, believes psychics are resources to be studied.
   • Party Hook: Antagonist whose research could be sabotaged or exposed.
   • Encounter Seed: Marris unveils “research” justifying psychic detentions. The party can sabotage her presentation, steal her data, or expose alien collaboration.
   • Choices: Public disruption, covert theft, or assassination.
2. Researcher Halden Krynn – Conflicted Scientist
   • Knows of alien autopsies but fears reprisal.
   • Keeps hidden data logs of experiments.
   • Party Hook: Could provide damning evidence if protected.
   • Encounter Seed: Krynn hides experiment logs. The party can persuade him to hand them over, or break into his lab.
   • Choices: Persuasion, stealth, or coercion.
3. Dr. Lena Petrova – Whistleblower
   • Opposes persecutions, horrified by alien collaboration.
   • Secretly leaks research files to the underground network.
   • Party Hook: Ally who can connect the party to scientific proof.
   • Encounter Seed: Petrova arranges a clandestine meeting, offering proof of alien autopsies. The party must protect her from Internal Security agents tailing her.
   • Choices: Escort, combat, or misdirection.

Nexus Syndicate​

Summary​

GM Description:
An anti-corporate libertarian intelligentsia operating off-world, the Nexus Syndicate opposes authoritarian control and psychic persecution. They helped the party smuggle a psychic child to safety and maintain ties to the underground network.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Nexus Syndicate is known in fringe circles as a radical, off-world group that opposes corporate and government overreach. Most citizens dismiss them as idealists or smugglers. Their role in protecting psychics is secret — known only to trusted allies.

NPCs​

1. Draven Korrin – Syndicate Strategist

• Frames psychic extractions as liberation from corporate tyranny.
• Calculating, pragmatic, always weighing risk against ideological gain.
• Party Hook: Ally who can provide mission intelligence and faction connections.
• Encounter Seed: Draven proposes a joint operation to intercept a Prelacy convoy. The party must decide whether to commit resources, risk exposure, or walk away.
• Choices: Full collaboration, limited support, or refusal (risking Syndicate trust).

2. Selai Veyra – Propaganda Architect

• Crafts underground posters, memes, and broadcasts to sway public opinion.
• Charismatic, playful, thrives on turning information into rebellion fuel.
• Party Hook: Ally who can amplify the party’s successes or cover their failures with spin.
• Encounter Seed: Selai asks the party to supply footage of a raid to use in propaganda. The party must decide how much truth to reveal.
• Choices: Provide raw footage, edit for impact, or refuse (risking morale).

3. Kaelen Dros – Syndicate Quartermaster

• Manages weapons caches and smuggling routes.
• Gruff, practical, distrustful of outsiders.
• Party Hook: Potential supplier of rare gear — if the party earns his trust.
• Encounter Seed: Kaelen offers equipment in exchange for help moving contraband past a Ministry checkpoint. The party must balance risk against reward.
• Choices: Escort the shipment, bribe guards, or steal supplies outright.

Sanctum Concordat​

Summary​

GM Description:
The Sanctum Concordat is a high-order religious institution embedded within the Prelacy’s bureaucratic structure. It provides spiritual guidance to government officials, sanctifies state decisions, and interprets divine will through ritual, scripture, and sanctioned prophecy. Though officially apolitical, its influence subtly shapes policy, especially regarding purity, loyalty, and the treatment of psychics.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Sanctum Concordat provides spiritual guidance to government officials and sanctifies major state decisions. Its clergy perform oaths, blessings, and moral audits across the Prelacy’s ministries. While officially apolitical, the Concordat’s edicts often align with hardline policies, framing them as divine necessity. Reformists accuse it of enabling persecution under the guise of spiritual purity.
Core Beliefs

• The Doctrine of Celestial Harmony: All governance must reflect the divine order — hierarchy, obedience, and cosmic balance.
• The Veil of Providence: Psychic abilities are either divine gifts or heretical mutations, depending on Concordat interpretation.

Influence on Government

• Policy Vetting: Major decisions (e.g., psychic detentions, alien research) must be reviewed for spiritual alignment.
• Moral Justification: The Concordat provides theological rationale for controversial actions, including persecutions.

NPCs​

1. Hierophant Vessan Korr – Spiritual Enforcer

• Endorses psychic persecutions as divine purification.
• Stern and ceremonial, speaks in scripture and absolutes.
• Party Hook: High-ranking antagonist whose edicts legitimize detentions.
• Encounter Seed: Korr delivers a public sermon condemning psychic “impurity.” The party can disrupt the ritual, expose contradictions in doctrine, or steal sacred texts.
• Choices: Public challenge, theological sabotage, or infiltration of temple archives.

2. Liaison Lirae Thenn – Embedded Dissenter

• Quietly opposes psychic suppression, believes in divine plurality.
• Gentle, introspective, often found counseling conflicted officials.
• Party Hook: Potential ally within the regime, can leak Concordat secrets.
• Encounter Seed: Thenn offers sanctuary to a psychic child. The party must protect her from Internal Security or help her escape.
• Choices: Escort mission, diplomatic leverage, or covert extraction.

3. Archivist Jalen Vos – Prophetic Heretic

• Believes psychics fulfill ancient prophecy, keeps forbidden records.
• Obsessive, reclusive, speaks in riddles and visions.
• Party Hook: Wild card NPC whose knowledge could destabilize the Concordat.
• Encounter Seed: Vos invites the party to a hidden vault beneath the temple. They must decide whether to trust him, steal the prophecy, or silence him.
• Choices: Collaboration, theft of relics, or containment.

Underground Network​

Summary​

GM Description:
A loose alliance of smugglers, sympathizers, and psychic families operating within the Prelacy. They coordinate escapes, hide detainees, and leak information. Some members have ties to the Nexus Syndicate, while others operate independently.
Player-Facing Summary:
The Underground Network is not publicly acknowledged. Citizens may hear rumors of “safehouses” or “ghost families,” but most dismiss them as urban legends. Only those close to psychic families or involved in resistance efforts know they exist.

NPC’s​

Here are three NPCs for the Underground Network, formatted for GM use with clear hooks, encounter seeds, and player-facing choices — including one covert informant embedded within the resistance:
1. Kessa Varn – Smuggler Coordinator

• Oversees safehouse logistics and psychic family extractions.
• Wry, resourceful, always two steps ahead of surveillance.
• Party Hook: Ally who can provide transport, intel, or gear — for a price.
• Encounter Seed: Kessa offers to smuggle a psychic child out of the city, but demands help rerouting a convoy first. The party must choose how far they’ll go to earn her trust.
• Choices: Bribe, sabotage rival route, or escort mission through riot zones.

2. Brother Halin Vos – Underground Preacher

• Delivers coded sermons to inspire resistance and hide psychic truths.
• Charismatic, poetic, revered by many in the Network.
• Party Hook: Cultural leader whose influence can sway public opinion or incite action.
• Encounter Seed: Halin plans a mass gathering disguised as a funeral. The party must help secure the location, protect attendees, or intercept Internal Security agents.
• Choices: Public defense, covert rerouting, or propaganda amplification.

3. Taren Sol – Embedded Informant

• Poses as a courier for the Network, secretly reports to Internal Security.
• Quiet, observant, always asking “just enough” questions.
• Party Hook: Hidden antagonist whose betrayal could unravel the resistance.
• Encounter Seed: Taren volunteers to guide the party through a checkpoint. If they trust him, they risk exposure; if they suspect him, they must act without proof.
• Choices: Trust and proceed, test his loyalty, or eliminate the threat.

Investigative Arcs​

GM Integration

• Cross-Arcs: NPCs can appear in multiple arcs (e.g., evidence from Investigative Path strengthens Political Path).
• Player Choice: Let players decide whether to pursue one arc fully or weave between them.
• Dynamic Riots: Use riots as backdrop across all arcs — cover for infiltration, pressure on officials, or chaos during family protection.
• Evidence as Currency: Alien autopsy proof is the universal bargaining chip, usable in every arc.
• Use cross‑arc consequences: success in Investigative Path makes Political Path easier, failure in Protective Path raises difficulty in Covert Ops.
• Consequences ripple across arcs — failure in one can raise stakes in another.

Arc 1: Investigative Path — Uncovering the Truth​

Goal: Link alien autopsy evidence to missing citizens and expose government collusion.

Key NPCs & Seeds:​

• Inspector Dalen Rusk (Ministry of Order): Bribery or theft of prisoner manifests.
• Logistics Officer Renn Talvos (Military Directorate): Hidden duplicate records.
• Researcher Halden Krynn (Ministry of Science): Secret experiment logs.
• Judge Elira Vonn (Judicial Tribunal): Legitimize evidence in court. Progression:

1. Secure prisoner manifests → 2. Cross-reference with alien autopsy data → 3. Gain scientific corroboration → 4. Present evidence to sympathetic officials/judges. Outcome Options:

• Evidence sways reformists → riots evolve into organized resistance.
• Evidence suppressed → conspirators tighten control, forcing covert escalation.

Mission Beats & Skill Checks:​

1. Paper Trail — Inspector Rusk’s Office
   • Scene Setup: Dusty archives stacked with prisoner manifests. Rusk mutters about quotas, barely looking up.
   • NPC Cues: Pedantic, distracted, cares more about paperwork than morality.
   • Skill Checks:
     1. WIL + Diplomat (Routine +10) → Convince him to “misplace” files.
     2. AGL + Thief (Challenging -10) → Sneak into restricted cabinets.
   • Consequences:
     1. Success: Gain manifests showing “special detainees.”
     2. Failure: Internal Security alerted; surveillance increases.
2. Hidden Records — Officer Talvos
   • Scene Setup: A secure office with locked cabinets. Talvos nervously guards duplicate manifests.
   • NPC Cues: Paranoid, distrustful, but disgusted by corruption.
   • Skill Checks:
     1. WIL + Diplomat (Normal) → Earn his trust.
     2. PER + Thief (Hard -20) → Spot and steal hidden files.
   • Consequences:
     1. Success: Obtain duplicate records linking transfers to alien autopsies.
     2. Failure: Talvos panics, alerts military guards.
3. Scientific Corroboration — Krynn’s Lab
   • Scene Setup: Dim lab with alien surgical tools. Krynn hides logs in encrypted files.
   • NPC Cues: Nervous, conflicted, wants protection.
   • Skill Checks:
     1. INT + Scientist (Hard -20) → Decode logs.
     2. WIL + Diplomat (Normal) → Persuade Krynn to cooperate.
   • Consequences:
     1. Success: Logs confirm alien autopsies.
     2. Failure: Krynn retracts, evidence destroyed.
4. Courtroom Drama — Judge Vonn
   • Scene Setup: Tribunal chamber, tense atmosphere. Internal Security agents watch closely.
   • NPC Cues: Calm, principled, but under pressure.
   • Skill Checks:
     1. WIL + Diplomat (Very Hard -30) → Present evidence convincingly.
   • Consequences:
     1. Success: Evidence legitimized, reformists gain traction.
     2. Failure: Case dismissed, party marked as agitators.

Encounter Map Suggestions:​

• Rusk’s archive: narrow corridors, locked cabinets, surveillance nodes.
• Talvos’ office: secure room with biometric locks, panic button.
• Krynn’s lab: surgical tables, alien containment tanks.
• Tribunal chamber: elevated judge’s bench, public gallery, security exits.

Branch Outcomes:​

• Evidence legitimized → sparks reform movement.
• Evidence suppressed → forces covert escalation.

Arc 2: Covert Ops Path — Sabotage & Infiltration​

Goal: Infiltrate the military transfer facility and disrupt psychic disappearances.

Key NPCs & Seeds:​

• General Harvek Strann (Military Directorate): Oversees transfers; direct antagonist.
• Colonel Mira Teylan (Military Directorate): Persuadable officer who can leak schedules.
• Director Kael Vorrin (Internal Security): Sets traps; surveillance-heavy encounter.
• Analyst Bren Korr (Internal Security): Ally who can provide hacking support. Progression:

1. Gain intel on transfer schedules → 2. Infiltrate facility during operation → 3. Sabotage transports or free detainees → 4. Evade Internal Security countermeasures. Outcome Options:

• Successful sabotage → disrupts Void Enclave pipeline.
• Failure → party exposed, hunted by Internal Security.

Mission Beats & Skill Checks​

1. Intel Gathering — Colonel Teylan
· Scene Setup: Transfer yard at night. Teylan hesitates as detainees are loaded.
· NPC Cues: Conflicted, loyal but uneasy.
· Skill Checks:
o WIL + Diplomat (Challenging -10) → Persuade her to leak schedules.
· Consequences:
o Success: Gain intel on transfer times.
o Failure: She reports suspicion to Internal Security.
2. Facility Infiltration
· Scene Setup: Military hub with checkpoints, guards, scanners.
· Skill Checks:
o AGL + Thief (Hard -20) → Sneak past guards.
o CRD + Pilot (Normal) → Fake credentials with transport.
· Consequences:
o Success: Access facility interior.
o Failure: Alarm triggered, combat encounter.
3. Sabotage Operation
· Scene Setup: Transport hangar humming with activity.
· Skill Checks:
o INT + Technician (Very Hard -30) → Disable ships.
o STR + Warrior (Normal) → Physically sabotage equipment.
· Consequences:
o Success: Disruption of transfers.
o Failure: Explosion or exposure; party hunted.
4. Cat-and-Mouse — Vorrin’s Trap
· Scene Setup: Surveillance drones swarm, Internal Security closes in.
· NPC Cues: Vorrin is smug, manipulative, taunting over comms.
· Skill Checks:
o PER + Explorer (Doubtful -40) → Evade pursuit.
· Consequences:
o Success: Escape cleanly.
o Failure: Vorrin identifies the party, escalating danger.

Encounter Map Suggestions​

• Transfer yard: landing pads, guard towers, drone patrols.
• Hangar interior: fuel lines, cargo lifts, control terminals.
• Surveillance grid: rooftops, alleyways, drone nests.

Branch Outcomes​

• Successful sabotage → disrupts Void Enclave pipeline.
• Failure → party exposed, hunted by Internal Security.

---

​

Arc 3: Political Path — Swaying the Government​

Goal: Persuade factions within the Prelacy to oppose persecutions.

Key NPCs & Seeds:​

• Administrator Jorven Pell (Council): Naïve but influential; sway with evidence.
• Administrator Kaelen Vey (Council): Corrupt collaborator; expose or blackmail.
• Administrator Selene Arros (Council): Reform advocate; ally for political cover.
• Judge Corven Hask (Judicial Tribunal): Opportunist; rulings for sale. Progression:

1. Present evidence to naïve officials → 2. Expose corruption in Council → 3. Rally reform advocates → 4. Secure judicial legitimacy. Outcome Options:

• Government factions split → civil war or reform movement.
• Reformists silenced → authoritarian crackdown intensifies.

Mission Beats & Skill Checks​

1. Public Speech — Administrator Pell
· Scene Setup: Rally with citizens chanting. Pell blames “agitators.”
· NPC Cues: Naïve, pompous, but influential.
· Skill Checks:
o WIL + Diplomat (Challenging -10) → Insert evidence into speech.
· Consequences:
o Success: Citizens begin questioning official narrative.
o Failure: Crowd turns hostile, party exposed.
2. Lavish Dinner — Administrator Vey
· Scene Setup: Ornate hall, Void Enclave guests mingling.
· NPC Cues: Smooth, corrupt, hides behind etiquette.
· Skill Checks:
o AGL + Thief (Hard -20) → Infiltrate unnoticed.
o WIL + Diplomat (Normal) → Blackmail or expose him.
· Consequences:
o Success: Gain proof of collusion.
o Failure: Security alerted, guests suspicious.
3. Secret Council — Administrator Arros
· Scene Setup: Hidden chamber, reformists whispering.
· NPC Cues: Determined, principled, but vulnerable.
· Skill Checks:
o STR + Warrior (Normal) → Defend against raid.
· Consequences:
o Success: Reformists survive, alliance strengthened.
o Failure: Arros captured, reformists scattered.
4. Judicial Bargain — Judge Hask
· Scene Setup: Private chambers, Hask counting bribes.
· NPC Cues: Opportunistic, greedy, pragmatic.
· Skill Checks:
o WIL + Diplomat (Routine +10) → Negotiate favorable rulings.
· Consequences:
o Success: Secure rulings for reformists.
o Failure: Hask betrays party to Internal Security.

Encounter Map Suggestions:​

• Public plaza: stage, crowd zones, riot barriers.
• Vey’s estate: dining hall, servant corridors, encrypted terminals.
• Hidden council chamber: underground vault, escape tunnels.

Branch Outcomes​

• Council fractures → reform movement gains traction.
• Reformists silenced → authoritarian crackdown intensifies.

Arc 4: Protective Path — Safeguarding Families​

Goal: Protect the extended family and friends of the rescued psychic child.

Key NPCs & Seeds:​

• Captain Liora Sen (Ministry of Order): Sympathetic officer offering safe passage.
• Agent Tessa Rynn (Internal Security): Conflicted operative shadowing the party.
• Dr. Lena Petrova (Ministry of Science): Whistleblower needing protection.
• Marshal Veyra Korrin (Ministry of Order): Leads raids against families. Progression:

1. Secure safehouses → 2. Evade raids and surveillance → 3. Escort families to safety → 4. Protect whistleblowers during evidence handoff. Outcome Options:

• Families protected → strengthens Nexus Syndicate alliance.
• Families captured → exposes child’s existence, escalating danger.

Mission Beats & Skill Checks​

1. Safehouse Sweep — Marshal Korrin’s Raid
· Scene Setup: Families huddled in dim safehouse. Korrin’s troops approach.
· NPC Cues: Ruthless, cold, efficient.
· Skill Checks:
o STR + Warrior (Hard -20) → Defend families.
o AGL + Explorer (Normal) → Relocate them stealthily.
· Consequences:
o Success: Families safe.
o Failure: Families captured, child’s existence exposed.
2. Shadowed by Security — Agent Rynn
· Scene Setup: Party notices a tail in crowded streets.
· NPC Cues: Conflicted, hesitant, morally torn.
· Skill Checks:
o PER + Thief (Challenging -10) → Detect surveillance.
o WIL + Diplomat (Normal) → Recruit her as double agent.
· Consequences:
o Success: Gain Internal Security insider.
o Failure: Rynn reports party movements.
3. Whistleblower Escort — Dr. Petrova
· Scene Setup: Petrova flees through alleys, agents in pursuit.
· NPC Cues: Nervous, desperate, clutching data files.
· Skill Checks:
o AGL + Explorer (Hard -20) → Evade pursuit.
· Consequences:
o Success: Petrova delivers evidence safely.
o Failure: She is captured, evidence lost.
4. Family Exodus — Nexus Syndicate Evacuation
· Scene Setup: Syndicate smugglers prepare convoy past checkpoints.
· NPC Cues: Libertarian, anti‑corporate, resourceful.
· Skill Checks:
o CRD + Pilot (Very Hard -30) → Smuggle families through.
· Consequences:
o Success: Families escape, Syndicate alliance grows.
o Failure: Convoy intercepted, Syndicate compromised.

Encounter Map Suggestions​

• Riot district: burning barricades, rooftop escape routes.
• Alley chase: tight corners, surveillance drones overhead.
• Convoy route: checkpoint gates, Syndicate transport pods.

Branch Outcomes​

• Families protected → Nexus Syndicate alliance strengthens.
• Families captured → child’s existence exposed, escalating danger.

---

​

Sidebars & GM Notes​

Tone & Atmosphere

• Use riot noise as ambient tension: distant shouting, drone hums, propaganda broadcasts.
• NPCs should feel morally complex — even collaborators may be redeemable.
• Let players leverage evidence across arcs: logs from Krynn can sway Arros or blackmail Vey.

Cross-Arc Integration

• Success in Investigative Path lowers difficulty in Political Path.
• Failure in Protective Path raises stakes in Covert Ops (more surveillance).
• Internal Security agents may appear across arcs as recurring antagonists.

Escalation Triggers

• If two arcs fail, the regime tightens control: curfews, mass detentions.
• If two arcs succeed, reformists gain momentum: protests turn into organized resistance.
• Final confrontation can occur in any arc — choose based on player focus.