ESTUDIOS BIOINFORMÁTICOS

An ingenious device meant to extract gems from the ice without damaging them, the sonic pick resembles a typical miner’s pick but

with a few augmentations. Made of high-grade metal and designed to withstand the extreme cold on Scintilla, the sonic pick emits a tightly focused, high-frequency sonic vibration from the tip of the tool (damage +1D+2). The end result is that the more fragile ice surrounding valuable gems shatters with less application of force by the miner, while still breaking the gems free for extraction. Every miner on Scintilla is outfitted with a sonic pick, which can be used to carve new tunnels in the ice caves just as easily as it can break the ice around valuable gems. Price: Moderate (445 credits).

Tenebrous

Tenebrous is known as the “Twilight Planet” because of its pecu- liar orbit, which leaves it bathed in perpetual darkness. Locked in a concentric orbit with its sister planet, Saurian, Tenebrous is blocked from the rays of the sun. At its brightest, there’s barely as much light as the planet Earth receives from a full moon. Because of this unusual condition, the planet is overrun with fungi of all kinds, some of which grow as large as Earth shrubs. These fungi shrubs are some- times cut down and used in a variety of foods and medicines.

Tenebrous is the smallest inhabitable world in the Amatsumara System, but that and its shadowy nature have not dissuaded colo- nists from establishing a number of cities on the surface.

There are few mountains, with the majority of the landscape being flat and desolate, save for small bunches of trees or oversized fungi. Where mountains are found, deep labyrinthine caves lead into the bowels of the planet, with reports of lost seas and hidden passageways being very common.

The first colonists wondered if Tenebrous might be a haunted place, as the wind sometimes howls like a ban- shee over the fields of clay. Even now, decades after being first colonized, there remains a feeling to the planet like humanity is just a visitor here, guests who will check out as suddenly as the first arrived.

Tenebrous is not lacking in technology, though it’s seen as just another commodity to be bought and sold like anything else. Most tech-heads who come to the planet do not stay, because doing so usually leads to addiction to one thing or another, making any kind of lucrative career go up in smoke. Lantern-like street lamps are found on most corners, though the seedier parts of the planets are lacking in these amenities. Without the lamps, some areas are so dark that it’s almost impossible to see more than a few meters.

The temperature on Tenebrous is fairly cool, ranging from an average high of 20 degrees Celsius to a low of five degrees Celsius in the dead of night. There are some who joke that summer never comes to Tenebrous. This is untrue, of course, but since the summers are the raini- est part of the year, there’s little respite from the ele- ments when the temperature warms slightly. For most of the year, rain comes in small showers lasting 10 to 15 minutes in duration. It’s not uncommon for three or four such showers to fall each day. In the summer, the storms last much longer, sometimes stretching over sev- eral days. Since the sun never truly rises on Tenebrous, this leaves the planet in a constant state of moistness, giving muddy stains from the dusky-red clay to almost

everything and providing a potent breeding ground for both fun- gus and moss. Many people who live on Tenebrous for any length of time develop pallid complexions, with fingertips that are perma- nently stained a light orange from the clay that surrounds them.

There are five continents on Tenebrous, though only two are cur- rently inhabited. At the northernmost pole lies Scato, a harsh land of ice and snow. No human has yet set foot on this continent, but enough ships have flown over its landscape to paint a desolate picture of the place. The south pole is located on Dimfain, which is warmer by far than its northern cousin, but still lacking in amenities. The “continent” is made up of thin plates of ice resting on the surface of the planet’s largest ocean, the Ebon Sea. An early scientific research team barely made it back alive after the thin ice gave way beneath them. A dozen men and women, along with their equipment and raptors, were lost in the depths of the freezing waters.

The last of the uninhabited continents is Sceadu, located not far north of Dimfain. Sceadu was once home to a bustling town known as Penser Falls, one of the earliest settlements on Tenebrous. Penser Falls was famous for being a bit more inviting than most Tenebrous cities, with a nearby set of waterfalls that sprayed onlookers with a thin film of exhilaratingly cold water. The town’s mayor, Battlin’ Frank Seaver, served one term as senator but retired after that, saying that he wanted to spend more time in his favorite place in the galaxy — Penser Falls. The idyllic nature of the place took a sinister turn one harsh winter’s night, however, when a Ranger station located on the edge of town picked up a distress signal from the mayor’s house. There was no message attached, just a repeating automated call for help. When the Rangers arrived on the scene, they found Penser Falls deserted. There was no trace of any man, woman, or child, nor of their raptors or other livestock. Doors had been left ajar, warm food still sat on dinner tables and children’s toys lay scattered about, as if they been in use when the emergency had occurred. The Rangers scoured the area but found no trace of the town’s 856 inhabitants, and the mystery remains unsolved to this day. There exits only one clue to what may have occurred — in the mayor’s office, where the automated distress signal was activated, there was a word painted in blood on the wall: Sepulcher. The meaning has yet to become clear and the area has been mostly abandoned in the wake of the mass disappearance. Locals have come up with a wide range of possible solutions to the case, ranging from slavers stealing away the town’s populace in the middle of the night to some sort of Ranger cover-up of a mission gone terribly wrong.

Cities & Starports

Skotos

The largest continent on Tenebrous is Skotos, which has three major communities: Saturnine, Graytown, and Dusk.

Saturine

Saturnine is the capital city of Skotos and is home to the planet’s most influential senator, Halcyon Onus. The city features a wide array of people and places, but it’s primarily noted for its thriving drug trade. A fungus found on Tenebrous has gained the popular nickname shroom and has become a problem throughout Amatsumara. The effects of the drug vary from person to person, but in its most hard- core users, it produces horrible mental and physical scarring. This

has not detracted from the drug’s popularity, however, and many ingesters end up in Saturnine, where the shroom is plentiful. Rangers have established two large bases within the con- fines of the city, but their efforts to stop the distribution of shroom have been mostly unsuccessful. Worse, shroom is hardly the only drug to be found, unfor- tunately. Virtually any illicit substance desired can be pur- chased somewhere on Tenebrous, but it’s definitely shroom that has become the drug of choice.

Silhouette Point is the city’s starport and is located on the edge of town. A number of addicts have claimed the station as their living space and workers

have all but given up driving them away from the place. Visitors to Tenebrous are thus greeted by the immediate sight of shroom addicts lying in every available chair, shaking as they come down from their latest high. Many others are waiting just outside the station, eager to sell themselves or their belonging in exchange for enough money to score more shroom. Stanley Wayne, the manager of Silhouette Point, has worked with a few local religious groups to build some halfway houses where shroom addicts can kick their habit, but the rooms are disappointingly empty most of the time.

As with most cities on Tenebrous, Saturnine is home to a num- ber of criminal organizations and cults, some of which double as both. Across the street from the dry goods store (Hop-Along Pete’s Goods and More) is a Church of Synchronicity chapel. The chapel has a number of placards out front offering warm meals and beds to any who seek sanctuary, but its focus is on the young and attrac- tive. These youths are brainwashed into believing they are the chosen ones who will be lifted up into power after the arrival of the Crimson Lords, chaos-powered demons who supposedly reside in the system’s black hole. This is actually a front for a far-reaching slavery and pros- titution ring, sending its victims to buyers on a number of worlds. The chapel is careful not to lose control of its members before they have been leeched dry of all their belongings.

Hop-Along Pete’s Goods and More is managed by Pete Morsi and his wife, Nancy. They run an honest business, which is tough to

do in Saturnine. Their daughter, Ellie, is considered the town beauty, and they watch over her like hawks.

Pete’s cousin Walter operates a raptor stable two blocks from the dry goods store. It’s home to a number of raptors that can be rented or purchased. Walter also stables the raptors of visitors for a mod- est fee and a promise that the strangers will recount any interesting adventures they’ve had.

The Dark Place is the most well-known saloon in the city. It’s owned by Senator Onus, who lives upstairs when he’s on planet. The Rangers are aware that the place is a meeting area for shroom push- ers and their addicts, but they are rarely able to prove anything. A group known as the Silent Peace also meets here, but their agenda is as mysterious as their group’s name would suggest. The fact that they have the senator’s blessing is apparently enough to ensure that no one crosses their paths, however.

Graytown

Graytown is situated some 60 kilometers to the west of Saturnine and is a perfect example of frontier ingenuity. Due to the fact that lumber is hard to come by on Tenebrous, much of it’s imported from Verdant. The cabins that are built tend to be sturdy, if visually unimpressive, structures that can withstand a great deal of punish- ment. Most homes are one-story, though some have converted lofts into bedding areas, accessible via small ladders. While dirt floors are common, some wealthier citizens have put down carpets or tile. Wells are the typical source of water, though members of the upper crust sometimes have machines that purify theirs before it’s drunk or used for bathing.

The Rangers who first came to Graytown were surprised to see that a local law enforcement group was already in place, run by Sheriff Jake Benson. Benson was a sturdy man who had drafted

several like-minded men into forming a local militia of sorts. The group was effective in dealing out frontier justice in many cases, but the Rangers still saw them as vigilantes who could undermine their own authority. Benson was drafted into service by the Rangers, becoming the first Amatsumaran resident to join the group after their arrival.

Graytown was the original home of Eddie Lee’s criminal operation and he still main- tains control of the city’s drug trade, but the Rangers believe he has moved his central base off planet. One of his chief lieutenants, Jose “The Reaper” Stinson, still lives here, how- ever. The Reaper is a suspect in over 13 murders commit- ted in Graytown over the past three years, but Benson has been unable to prove it.

Molly Mills is another prominent resident of Graytown. The attractive brunette woman is in her late twenties and unmarried, but it not simply her beauty that makes her so well known. She founded the Mills School six years ago, inviting children from all over Tenebrous to come and learn how to read and write. The school has proven so successful that she’s been forced to invite other teachers to come to the school and has split the student body into three classes, broken up by age. Molly knows that many of her charges are in danger of falling prey to drugs and cults, so she puts special emphasis on teaching the kids about self- respect. This hasn’t proven to be enough, however, and she’s sought out the help of Sheriff Benson in putting a stop to the dealers who lurk about on school grounds.

Dusk

The third major city on Skotos is Dusk, situated near a large grove of fungi and a lake whose bottom has never been found. Fathom Bay, a small starport, is based in Dusk and is used primarily for mov- ing supplies to and from Tenebrous. The chief export, of course, is shroom, though it’s frequently hidden within other, more legitimate materials. Carl Boone is a local shaman of sorts, running a bar called the Open Curtain. The Curtain features one of the more risqué shows in the system, but it’s the shroom-friendly atmosphere that attracts many visitors. Although the Rangers have attempted to shut down the saloon on many occasions, local power brokers have proven resistant to such a move. Boone argues that shroom is a local substance that enhances one’s consciousness, in the same way that psiron is said to do the same for others. If one substance is legal, he argues, shouldn’t the other be as well?

The Open Curtain is notable also for its regular gambling tour- naments, several of which are considered lead-ins to the big Royal Flush Casino event held in the city of Helium on Luminous. A local

poker player named Fezlow has acquired a reputation for being the best around, but he’s held off entering the high-stakes event on Luminous so far. Fezlow is a figure that pops up in a great number of local scandals, and he’s a bit of an outsider among both the Rangers and the criminal element.

Dusk is also home to a branch of the Church of Synchronicity, but their numbers are fairly small. Of greater concern are the Undertakers and the Mo’hawks. Undertakers are exactly as their name implies — they work in the death industry, providing hand- carved coffins and officiating at many funerals. The original under- takers in Amatsumara were hard-working men and women who sought to provide a valuable public service. They’ve been pretty much run out of business by the cultists who have usurped their duties, however. The Undertaker cult is fairly secretive about their agenda, but it definitely seems that they take great enjoyment in their work and they’ve begun appearing on other planets, as well. Wherever a gunfight might break out, an Undertaker will be there.

The ultra-violent Mo’hawks (which have usurped an Earth name) tend to dress in leather vests and pants, patrolling the streets while looking to enforce what they consider “justice.” This usually means striking down anyone they don’t like and beating them within an inch of their life. Rumors sometimes fly that their beatings aren’t quite as random as they might appear, but for now, most people aren’t willing to risk their lives by investigating.

Nocturne

The other inhabited continent on Tenebrous is Nocturne, which has one city and one village. Nocturne is an oddly shaped stretch of land, being very long and narrow. A river, Styx, runs the length of the continent, and both human settlements are built along its banks. The first and largest of these is New Penser, named in honor of the Penser Falls settlement that disappeared years ago. New Penser is home to several saloons, so many in fact that some outsiders wonder if the town’s residents do anything besides ingest shroom and drink beer.

Lila Porterfield is the local Ranger in the area, and she’s been growing increasingly concerned by a number of disappearances that have been plaguing the town. While the large number of addicts makes it likely that some of these disappearances are the result of suicide or accidental death, Lila believes that some are foul play. The most likely source of these murders might be Sweeney Tom, an overweight butcher who owns a barbecue and taxidermy shop just outside New Penser. Sweeney lives alone and has gained a reputa- tion for oddness.

Also in the city is Clara Belle’s Tea House, where the ladies of the town gather when the men folk are drinking in one of the saloons. The tea served here is quite good, and Clara Belle is willing to add a bit of whiskey to the contents if asked.

On the opposite side of town from Sweeney Tom’s property is Darkreign Prison, home to criminals who aren’t quite vile enough for Scintilla but too vicious to keep close to “respectable” citizens. Darkreign has gained a reputation for harshness and many of its less-dangerous prisoners are “rewarded” with the opportunity to go on supervised work duties in the town, picking up trash and cutting down the larger fungi so that it can be used in food and medicine.

A small town has recently been established to the east of New Penser. Dubbed Night’s Gate by its founder, Henry Gates, the town has fewer than 200 residents at present. The community was meant to be a haven for those who wanted to escape the rampant drug and

alcohol abuse that has plagued the rest of the planet, but these hopes have mostly been dashed. Shroom addiction is on the rise here, and Henry Gates is considering a run for Senate in the hopes that he can have the substance outlawed entirely.

A number of criminals, attracted by the lack of Ranger activity in the area, have begun making Night’s Gate their home. One of their local moneymaking exercises has been taking personal jungle skim- mers from Verdant and replacing the usual fuel source with special psiron engines. These modified vehicles, known as psi-skimmers, are used in races, but their unstable nature has led to numerous accidents.

Wildlife

Nighthawk

These avians are jet black in color, with eyes that glow a soft yel-