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Murder, Madness, andMini-cosms
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CRUCIBLE Of PAINBy Dan Greenberg
Murder, Madness, and Mini-Cosms
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Roleplaying the PossibilityWars'"
Crucible of Pain
Crucible ofPain, Part 1 .4The Nowhere Lands 20
Crucible ofPain, Part II 54
Gamemaster Record Sheets 61
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n Gret'nberg
Fushteymentand Editing
Hunter
c Design and Graphics
Mann
Ulustration
l Geier, Gunt GoleashlUustrations
Published by
~ " J J 1 l Ft..JGAMES*RD 3 Box 2345
Honesdale, PA 18431
20563
Publisher. Daniel Scott PaUu • As50ciate Publisher. Richard Hawan • Associate Editor. G Gorden· Editor. Greg FitnhteyAssistant Editan: Bill Smith, Ed Stark· Ar t Director. Stephen Cnne • Graphic Artist: Cathleen Hunter· Illustrator: Allen Nunls
Production Manager: Steve Porpor. . . Sales Manager: Fltuoy Bontene • Sales Assistant: Mui .. IYmmeier-Xe..nSpecial ProjectsManager: Ron Seiden· Warehouse: Manager: Ed Hlll • Treasurer: Janet Riccio
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SUm JCni3hb. Tors. and doe Tors Ioso alW"" EndGames.. S.... and 0 1991 Wee End e.u-. Al l Ri&hts Raerved..
S. not and 0 1991 West Endc...-. A111li5httRaerved..
- - - - - - - - - 3 " · - ·
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rg: CnIcible of 'aln
Crucible of Pain
Introduction
CrudbleofPili" isa novelconcept in roleplayinggames-ad,,:enture story andTorg scenario in one pack.While most roleplaymg PrOOucts are intended for the
teronly,the playersare allowed to read the fictionction ofthis book. Game-master and players should read
I of the short story, then play the adventure scenario,e Nowhere Lands."
After completing the game section, both players and
memaster can read Part D of the story and see howerything ended up.
Part I
Maya raced through the shallow marsh, ankle deep inrm, murky water. Papyrus reeds slashed at her slender
gs as she ran, and each jarring step sent shockwavesough her body.Panic burned in her chest, but she hurtled forward,
blivious to the agony that racked her body. Her heartand her legs throbbed with a stabbing pain. Evenwater splashed all around her, her mouth was dry
d parched as the desert sands beyond the Nile.The ground beneath her wheeled and spun in dizzying
~ Behind her she h ~ r d the.steadyslap--slap, slap-slap ofl clumsy feet beating agamst the water in long, easy
Their pace was slow, patient, and easy, as if they pretolet theirprey run itseU todeath ratherthanclosefor
e kill. The rhythmic splashing of their gentle lope wasrribly calming, like a steady heartbeat.AbreezestirredbehindMaya, and shesuddenlygagged.
he stench of the creatures made her choke and lose herride. She stumbled and flailed her arms to recover herce. The splashing noises behind her·were louder now.Her pace slowed. Thepainand fatigue were toogreat for
er to bear. U the creatures noticed her dwindling energy,y gave no sign of it. 1l\ey seemed content to let her runshe gave up.
This is it,Mayathought. I'm finally crazy. I've finally lost
••4
She struggled for control of her thoughts. She was saneonce. It seemed so long ago now. When was it?
"Maya, Listen to me when I am talking to yoU!H
The memory of her father's voice cut through her Like a
razorand
slowed her pace. A burstof
memories cameunbidden, tumbling before her mind's eye.She saw her family in their traditional places at their
mahogany dinner table, smelled the customary Thai food,and felt a sweetly familiar discomfort. Her father wasansrx, her mother was patient, and her younger brotherand SISter were engrossed Listening to the argument.
Maya could see her reflection in the ornate bronzeframed mirror that hung on the far wall. Her lip was curledinto a sneer, and her oval eyes were rolled toward theceiling. Her delicate Eurasian features were marred by an
expression of utter contempt.There was an all too brief period of silence before her
father sJX>ke again."Maya, for the last time, I forbid you to hang out withthose ... local droJX>uts."
Maya exploded. UVou only hate them because they'renative Sudanese. Because they're black!H
Her ~ a t h e r clenched his fists and breathed heavily, as i f
strugghng to hold JX>werful, violent emotions in check.Hermother replied softly, "Maya, dear, you know that's
not true.""'You always take his side!H Maya complained.Her mother shook her head. "No, dear. I want what's
best for both of you.""It's true! You always stick up for him! Even when he's
wrong!""Maya!H her father barked. "You will have respect foryour elders!"
"Oh!Sure!" Maya said, nodding contemptuously. "Likeyou really haverespect forGrandma!HerAlzheimer's isn'tbad at aU, but you locked her up in that home in f lor idarather than take her with us when we moved here'"
' ~ a y ~ , you..know thatwould be JX>intlessly prolongingthe me":ltable, ~ e father began, pronouncing his words
slowly, m the VOice he reserved for explaining the obviousto small children. HHer condition will only get worse.Having her here would be stressful for the whole family."
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PartOn
I .5
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rg: Crucible of Pain
"She was just a little forgetful," Maya retorted. "Weuld have had years with her before she became a probShe didn't really start to deteriorate till shewas in thate. You always give up on the important thingswithoutng to work out a real solution.""Don't take that tonewith me, young lady!" he warned."Tone? Tone? You didn't even hear what I said!" she
"I warned you once!" he replied sharply."I respect you more than you respect Grandma," sheuted, transported with rage. "And we all know how
le that is!"Then she shuddered, gasping uncontrollably. Every·
around her slowed down to molasses speed.Somewhere in the distance she heard her father's voicening, as if at the bottomof a deep tunnel; so far away it
ok his voice forever to reach her.The walls around her shimmered, and Maya felt lightd giddy. The air was charged and exhilarating, like theectrified moments before a thunderstorm. The bronzeamed mirror across from her stood out in h y p e r ~ r e a l i s t i c
and slowlyher reflection in it melted away, revealingunearthly landscape. Gleaming pyramids and goldenshimmered in thescorching light ofa blazing noonday
n. Clanking war machines covered with exquisitelyhieroglyphiCS rolled past obsidianstatues of croco
e-headed gods. Great, bloated ships plowed through theskies.
Maya stared in silence, marveling at the unutterableof the image. It was as if ancient Egypt was newand gods walked the earth with men.
Then thecrocodilestatue's head turned toward her,as if
noticed her. Maya panicked, and reality came crashingk in on her. The mirror closed up, sealing the imageay. Maya felt like she was falling into a murky void.
efore she could hit bottom, her father's voice cut throughhaze, and her awareness returned to the room.
.:'Are you listening tome?You pay attention, young lady
"Harold, hush," her mother said. "Maya, are you all
Maya heard genuine concern in her mother's voice,ich pleased her."1 1,"Maya began. faltering. "1 saw themirror ... melt.w "''Drugs!'' her father said with disgust. "She'son drugs! I
ew those ignorant savages would - I give up! She's
"Harold!" her mother said Sharply, in a clear warning.what did you see?"
"I saw ... I saw . .. old Egypt, but like ... new ... And
"That's it!" her father said, standingabruptlyand t h r o w ~g his linen napkinon the table. "I won't have drug use inhouse!"
"She's not on drugs," Maya's mother said emphatically.had strange ... visions in Thailand when I was her age.""Shecango toHeritage ifshe can'tfit in here," her fatherid, as if he hadn't heard.
"Maybe in the psych ward I'll find some intelligeconversation," Maya said, not feeling too rational after heexperience.
"You need professional help, young lady! You are c e r t fiable!" he said, and stalked from the room.
Maya's attentionsnapped back to the marsh; the pain oher memory more intense and biting than the pain in h
legs and throat.She glanced back. The creatures behind her were closeSoclose she could see them clearly. They were shaped likmen, but looked like plants. The horrible reeking stencthat issued from them smelled like fetid bog water anrotting animals.
Maya put on another burst of speed, arms and legflailing. As she vaulted a jagged stone set in the mudd
ground, her foot caught on the top of the rock, and shcrashed head first into the shallow water. She struggledrise, gasping for air. Fearchumed through herstomach.anshe turned to see if the creatures had reached her.
They were circling her position, but had not closed o
her.Maya used theprecious seconds totakebig gulps ofaiand calm her pounding heart.
The creatures waited.As her terrorsubsided, herdespondencygrew. Whatth
hell were they waiting for? Were they trying to drive hcrazy?
I'm really losing it! Maya thought. I'm crazy. TrappeI'm stuckon this oneway track and there's no way off, likthe rat in the electrified cage in that horrible experimentProfessor Berofski's Psych class.
Through her pain and misery another memory rusheback. She saw herself in Psychologyclass at the KhartouLyceum Private High School. Professor Berofski was glefully describing tortuous experiments to an uncomfortabgroup of students.
"Each time the rats wereshocked," he said, relishing thword 'shocked,' "they would leap to the Bside of the cagWhen the B side was electrified, they would jump backthe A side. When both sides of the cage were electrifiethey tried jumping back and forth, but soon just gave ujumping altogether. They would lay down to die."
He paused for dramatic emphasis and surveyed throom. Some of the students squirmed uneasily.
"Now comes the fascinating part," he said. "Even aftthe current on the other side of the box is switched off, thrats just stay where they are, suffering shock after shocThey never find out that theother side is safe, because thehave given up. They have learned to be helpless.
"Once they are broken. they will generalize their h e l lessness to other situations, and never try to protect t h e mselvesagain. Forexample, theydrown inwater·filledmazrather than try to swim. They simply give up on life.
"Given properly crippling circumstances, any animaeven the human animal, can be completely broken," hconcluded with great satisfaction.
Maya had heard enough. "That's ridiculous," she sh
back. "Some people break and some don't. It 's a matter
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and self·esteem. Somepeopleneverup."
"Oh dear/ Professor Berofski said,with mock concern, as if an-
her was a great burden. 'ThatNew Age psychobabble." He ad-essed the other students instead of
which he of ten did when she
a good point."1 t rust the rest of the class is not
under the same delusions as
iss Dearborne. Wil lpower alone is
t sufficient tocounter the paralyzingof learned helplessness. It is true
some subjects take longer tobreak,d some search for more solutions
others, bu t anyone subjected toconditions long enough will
ak. Besides, i t's simple to lower aperceived self-e:fficacy, mak-
easier to teachhimtobehe!pless."
"Really?'" Maya replied. "Can youte an experiment, a properly docu-experiment where all the hu-
n subjects were broken? Ifyou can't,think that's a bit of an over-generali
The class laughed, enjoyinghing the professor's discomfort.
"MissDearbome," Berofski replied,"that sort o f experiment
not be ethical." He glared atand muttered, "though, in somethat's too bad.
"Well," he said, changing the sub-
quickly. "Open your textbooks to290. We'll examine intrinsic motiand learn how easy it is to mawhat people think of them
Maya's attention drifted bade to thebu t her thoughts were still on
e rats in the experiment.Moveoverorbezapped,shethought
Zap, move over. Zap, moveThe rats kept moving over till
y justdidn't give a damn anymore. Till they laid down
d died. Like I'm gonna do-Sheclenched her fistswithanger, and strock the rodesheas leaning on. No! I refuse! Theymay have taught rats toup, bu t damned if I'm gonna roll over and die.
Steely resolve crystal lized in her. Her mind regainedand she carefully examined the situation. They
wanna catch me, she thought.They wanna make me surrender. Give up. Theywannamy will. Tastemy defeat. Now, wait, how did those
eriments end? Wasn't there always a way out? Didn'tturn off the juice to one side of the cage, so it was safe
ain? Maybe all this is really safe. After all, they haven't
Part One
attacked me . .. I'll just go right past them and back to the
city. Khartoum is only a few miles .. .Slowly, she approached the creatures. They were more
frighteningup dose, and their stenchwas almostoverpow-ering. They watched her approach, dead eyes surveyingh....
Suddenly one leaped forward, and slashed at her withlong, dirty claws. Maya leapt back, and saw the creature'shand trail a crimson streak through the air.
She turned and boIted like a jackrabbit, panicpoundingwithin her.Ohgod, Iwaswrong! Iwas sowrong!Theydowanna kill
me.She looked back. The creatures were right behind her.
I .7
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C r u db l e o f Pain
puton a burst ofspeed,her thoughts racingas fast asher
That's it! I'm crazy. None of this makes sense! This isn'tppening. First I got lost in that Egyptian hallucination
mirror, and no w I'm hallucinating thisstuff.Maybeba d water. Maybe since we moved to Khartoum I've
en drinking ba d Nile water. Or maybe I'm just totally
She took a deep breath, and summoned her resolve
Or maybe this really is happening. Maybe it is! Think!
She remembered the storm.She r e m ~ m b e r e d feeling keyed up an d edgy all dayfore the storm hit. She was nervous. Unsettled. Ready to
anysound. Herfatherwasalsoupset, angry that thes serviceshad little information about somemysterious
Europe an d America. He furiously beratedaya for her erratic behavior, an d sh e stormed up to herom. Shethrew herselfon her futonbed without takingherhes off an d cried herself to sleep.The storm broke that night. It rained hard an d it rainedr a long time. Her dreams were haunted by visions ofve warriors fighting wicked Egyptian gods who wereing to chew up all the people of the world in their
nic, smiling crocodile jaws.She slept for what seemed likedays, and herdreams tookr deep underground. In her mind's eye she travelledrough long. dank passageways an d narrow, twistingnnels, until she sa w a bright light ahead. The light shoneom a great opal gemstone hidden deep under Khartoum.tiny flame flickered within the gem. As sh e approached
e opal, the flame burst into a roaring fire, crackling overan d consuming her body.She awokewith a start,an d leapt ou t ofbed in fright. He r
art wrenched as sh e found herseU falling and falling,ummeting through a black void. She hit the floor pain
an d looked around in a panic. Nothing looked f a m i l ~r. Her low-lying futon was no w a high four-poster bed.he darkened room was no longer filled with her elegant
black, an d red Japanese furniture, bu t was clutteredh oldwoodenchestsan d tables. Her Bob Marley posterse gone, an d in their place were sets of faded black andite photos of severe looking people in turn-of-the-cenclothing.
Maya sighed with relief, suddenly realiZing what wasng on. This ha d happened to her before. She ha d e x p e r i ~
ludd dreams before. But the room was so vivid itwasd to believe sh e wasn't wide awake.She looked around the eerie dream landscape for a signanything that made sense. The only familiar object in the
washerbattered cherry-redWalkman cassetteplayer.e grabbed it, clipped itto her belt, an d opened the door tohall.There was soft lighting at the bottom of the dark s t a i r ~
an d Maya marvelled at the incredible sense of realitythe dream.Her parentswere sitting in a charming living room filled
with antique furniture, listening to a carved wooden radithat sa t where the family TV used to be. Her father wawearing a well-tailored zoot suit, and her mother wore aold-fashioned pink dress. The room had an old, woodymusty scent.Maya paused for a momenton the stairs totakin the scene.
A pompous radio announcer intoned, "Fighting continues to rageon theeastern stonn front as valiantshocktroope
battalions hold off barbarian Israeli attacks. The Holy Pharaoh issued a proclamation that he would protect all citizens liVingwestof the Red Sea. He further declared that alancient tombs an d abandoned cities are now off-limits t
civilians, and extra shocktroopers have been posted in asuchareas toprotect themfrom looters and hooligans.Welwe canall breathe a sighof relief at that, as we listen to thnumber one song on the Nile Nine, the MelJawi Orchestrwith 'Moonlight Walk:" A hauntingly beautiful song be
gan to play.Mayawasentrancedan d delightedwith the eeriedream
She stepped lightly into the living room, almost afraidheavy footfall would break thespell an d wake her too soon
"Hi Mom. Hi Dad," sh e said in a soft voice.He r mother leapt to her feet an d ran to Maya. He r fathe
rose an d looked on, concerned."Oh, I'm so glad you're awake!" Maya's mother said
hugging her close. "You've been asleep for three days! Wwere so worried about you. You were shaking and cryinou t inyour sleep.We wanted totake you tothe hospital, bu
with the terrible overcrowding we couldn't. How do yofeel now?"
"Hmmm?" Maya asked, barely hearing her mother"Fine. I'm fine. Much better." She let go of her mother an
walked around the room, studying the old-fashioned fur
nishings. "Wow! Look at all this cool s tuff :' sh e saidpicking up a delicate, hand-tailored quilt, and admiringthintricate stitching. 'This is the coolest dream I ever hadLook at this place! It's 50-"
Maya's father interrupted her. "Maya! This is notdream. This is the way things really are. You m u s t - "
"Harold," her mother said, interrupting him. "Gently.'W e can't coddle her:' he fired back. "She's got t
understand the situation, an d adapt:'
'There will be time for that later:' Tia replied. "For nowlet's be glad to have ou r daughter back."
Maya picked up the heavy wooden radio, an d ran hefingers over its carved an d lacquered surface, enjoying th
sweet song it played."Put that down:' her father said, exasperated."It's my dream, an d n l do what I want to:' Maya said
laughing. She gently tossed the heavy radio from hand thand just to underscore her point.
''Maya!'' her father shouted angrily.''Maya, dear," hermotherbegan. 'While you wereasleep
the world changed. Everything changed. 0 0 you remembethat terrible storm? It brought a change - a tremendouchange. Everything is different now. Very different. It's beea difficult adjustment for us, bu t we will help you to -"
1/1t's not that difficult an adjushnent," her father said"Everyone else ha d to make it, an d she's no exception
' : "8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
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PII1 One
Maya, inmanyways, thisnew world ismuch betterthantheold one. Ambition is rewarded here much more directly.
There's a lot less crime. And those local thugs are slavesnow, building pyramids for the glory of the Pharaoh!"
"Good old Dad," Maya said with a smile, willing tospeak freely in her dream. "Still putting yourself aboveeveryone else. At least you're being honest about your
bigotry. That's a refreshing change. Too bad you can 't bethis honest when I'm awake."
"You will show some respect!" her father shouted. hisface flushing red.
"Harold -" her mother began."Quiet. Tia! It's time she understood!" He rose from his
seat and grabbed Maya's arms. "'Listen to me!" he hissed."You are not dreaming.You're awake." He shook her, as if
to prove his point. "And you're trying my patience!""Okay, right. Definitely time to wake up," Maya said,feeling a little threatened. She closed her eyes and tried towake up. She had often been able to escape nightmares bywilling herself awake, so she concentrated on floating backup to her body.
Nothing happened.
She closed her eyes and forced. herself awake. Again.nothing happened.
Her father shookherroughly. "'Maya!Snapout of it!Thisis the world! Okay? Get used to iU'"'
She heard her mother's voice through the din. "Harold,
you're hurting her!""Mygod," Maya said slowly, hereyesstillclosed.. '1 can't
wake up ... I can't wake up! I'm stuckI"She felt her father dragging her through the room. She
was vaguely aware of him yanking open the curtains.'1..ookl" he said angrily, shaking her. "Oammit! Open
your eyes!"
Slowly her eyelids parted, and she peered out the window. The skies were gray and overcast. The raiNlickedstreetswere dryingout In the spotty patches ofsunlight. Butthe world was completely alien to her.
An unearthly pyramid rose high above a strange cityskyline. Old style black motorcars drove through busy
streets lined with old brownstone buildings and strange
Egyptianiconography.Thereweresinistercrocodile-headed
pillars and statues everywhere. Khartoum looked like a1930's movie set, perfect except for a few 1990 e ra cars
abandoned by the sides of the roads. The city was com-pletely transformed. And Maya knew she wasn' t dream
ing.The strange, bittersweet music coming from the radio
filled her with deep sadness. She felt light-headed and
weak-kneed; flushed and chilled at the same time. Tearsbrimmed in her half-dosed eyes and began to spill over.
'1'he world ..." she whispered. "What happened to thepoor world .. ."
"That l5 the world!" her father snarled "Do you under-
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Crudbl.. of P ~ i n
and? That's the way things ar e now.""Thepoorworld ..." Maya repeated, trance-like. She felti f the earth was in great pain; that the transfonned citys a festering infection in an open wound. "The worldts ...""Oh, I give up," her father said, shoving her away
He r mother rushed overand embraced the cryingrl. Maya held on to her, an d felt as i f her mother was all
at was keeping her from drowning in tears."Hush, it's all right," Maya's mother said soothingly.hing will be all right.
"It was difficult for us too," Maya's mother continued.hen the rains came, they swept away everything, an d
us in this strangeworld. The housechanged around us.was terrifying. There's a military government now. A lotf things don't work anymore; anything invented after
rld War II is useless. We can't get back to the U.s." She'Though, from the rumors we've heard, it's worse
ere than here. But we can cope with all this. As a family.""Things are even better here than before," her fatherterjected. "The Pharaoh has succeeded in creating order
this lawlesscity. So justget used toil, and you'll be fine!""No!" Mayasnapped, shoutingthrough theblurof tears.am fine! Everything else is wrong!" She felt angry, hurt,
a nd s udde nl y very alone. Was she the only oneo felt dislocated a nd o ut of place?"Not another word ou t of you," her father said, imperi·ly. "This is the wa y the world is, an d you're just goinghave to learn to fit in.'"Dazed an d confused,Maya said nothing.She felt likeshed never truly seen her father before."Here'swherewebegin," hecontinued. "Tia,get herinto
decent clothes. Osiris only knows wh y her clothesc ha ng e a lo ng with everyone else's, bu t i f the
emor's representatives see her in those clothes, I'llver get a post in the Finance Cabinet.""What?" Maya asked, incredulously. She looked down
her clothes. She was still wearing the outfit in which sh e
d fallen asleep: baggy white T- shirt with fluorescentirls, multicolored purple, black and yellow tights, blueigator shoes, bright earrings and dozens of bracelets."What is this?" Maya asked jokingly. "'Father Knows
In tonight's episode, Harold loses a promotion be-se his daughter doesn't wear mutant clothes!"She heard giggling from thestairs, an d tumed to see her
er brother an d sister. They had been eavesdroppingthe argument as they often did, and were thoroughly
by Maya's joke."Get to your rooms, you wretched urchins'" her fatheruted. They scrambled away in fear. The smile faded
om Maya's face. Before sh e could calm herself enough tok. her fatherbellowed,1..ookat yourself! You'redresseda cheap whore'"
"Harold -" her mother began, sharply.He ignored her. "'From now on, you'll wear nice dressesd onlyspeak whenspoken to.Justas thePharaohbrought
an d decency to the Nile, I'll bring it to my family."Maya looked at her father. She barely recognized him.ou're insane," she breathed. "You've lost it.""You will not speak to me that way!" he shot back.
•• 10
"Harold, stop!" her mother said, trying to head off thewa r before it began.
"You will have respect for your elders!" he shouted."Maybe yo u thought you could get away with that sort of
disrespect before, bu t this is not the old, permissive world.We'll have courtesy ou t of your mouth, Maya.'"
"The old world was th e real world!" Maya shot back."Don't you see how wrong this world is?"
'That's it! J've reached my limit! We're going to Heritage! She's beyond my control!""'She's just having trouble adjusting,'" her mother im
plored.Maya's father was smoldering. "Shewas having trouble
adjustingbeforethestann. No wshe's totallyunmanageable!She - sh e can't accept reality! Anyone wh o can't acceptreality isnot stable! I'vegot enoughto worry about withouther impudence and instability!" he shouted. He composedhimself, an d said in a tightly controlled voice, "Heritagehad some ad on the radio about a readjustment program.They're the only place that can help her."
Harold Dearbome threw a coat over his daughter, an d
pushed her ou t of the house. He sat her in the back seat ofa shiny black roadster. Once hermotherwas in, thecarsped
off.Maya heard her parents arguing, bu t was too busy
lookingat theworld topayattention.Thecardrovetbrough
winding Egyptian streets which looked vaguely familiar,bu t very, very different. She saw a few more 1990s carsparked on the side of the road, alone, abandoned, an d
worthless. She felt like one of them.The cardrove ou t of the city and up a winding dirt road
to a forbidding-looking building in the middle of the Heriver marshlands. This was clearly the site of the HeritagePsychiatric lnstitute; the place Maya's father threatened to
take her during th e worst of their arguments. But it was nolonger a cheerful hospital. No w the building looked like afortress surrounded by barbed wire fences, minefields, andhalf-naked anned guards in ancient Egyptian warrior c0s-
tumes an d gold headdresses. The sign at the entrance read"Heritage of Osiris: Khartoum Science Research Center."They drove through a defense checkpoint in the minefieldto reach the main building.
Maya shuddered as the checkpoint gates slammed shutbehind her.Shefeltcompletely trapped. Twoanned guardsushered them through the sterile halls to an office filledwith plush but wom furniture. Inside, Maya sa w a familiarface.
"Professor Berofski!" Maya said in disbelief.Her fanner psychology teacher stood up to shake hands
with Maya's father. Hewas wearing a longwhite lab coatan d greasy spectacles. The two long tufts of frizzy gray hairthat jutted ou t of both sides of his bald head were no w
completely uncombed an d unmanageable. The leer in hiseye was more manic than ever, bu t he was definitely thesame man.
Still, he looked out of place in this strange era. Despiteher fear, Maya felt an od d kinship with him. He actuallylooked like he understood her.
'Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Maya'sfalher said, shaking hands with the professor.
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"ForNatatiri's nextUndersecretaryofFmance?" Berofski"Anything. What can I do with - for you?"
"1t's my daughter, Maya. She's convinced. she's in aand has becomecompletelyunmanageablebecause
it.""Oh?" Berofski said, amused.. "This is no nightmare,
lady. This is real. You see?"He pinched Maya's cheek viciously. She squealed, and
flushed pinkasa bitofhisagedblood rushedhis face. He was enjoying himself tremendously.'1 know I 'm not dreaming!" Maya said with disgust. '1
everything in the world is different! Iknow it's real!
"See?" Berofski said with a saccharine smile. "Now she
awake. Problem solved. Don't bother to thank. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best."Maya's father looked irritated. "Look," he began. "She
through the transition period., and can't adjust. Mycan't deal with her like this.Can you take her? Help
r make that .. . adjustment?"""Harold, she'sonlybeenawakean hour,"Maya'smother
He shot an angry look at his wife, bu t said nothing."I haveadjusted':'Maya saidindignantly. "Iknowwhat's
and what's not. I do not need to be here.""1'11 be the judge of that," her father replied." W ~ ' l l be the judge of that," her mother corrected. She
uncomfortable,and did not relish a publicfightwith
r husband.
"Wedo need consentof bothparents to institutionalize,"e professor remarked, looking uncomfortably from one
the other."What?" Maya's father said, exploding. "That doesn't
like the Pharaoh. Myword alone isn'tgood enough?can't deal with her anymore! I 've got too many things
on now.""Well .. ." The professor hesita ted for a moment. '1 [ I
her grip on sanity was fragile, we could getthe two-parent rule for a 14-<1ay treatment cycle,"
e professor observed, scratching hischin thoughtfully."Get around it?" Maya's mother asked in disbelief."Oh, come on, Professor," her father began, looking
"Is that the best you can do?"
"Well, you can forget lockingme up, then," Maya said.am stone cold sane.Got it?" Shegrabbed the headphones
her Watkman and snapped them over her ears. Sheup the volume so high the o thers could hear it,her a nN and rolled her eyes. "Let me know when
going home."Harold looked imploringlyat the Professor.ButBerofski's
was fixed on Maya. A cold grin spread across hisas he stared. He reached ou t to her and plucked the
from her head. The music spilled out into thelouder now.
"'Where did you get this?" he asked with a nervous
"At the mall," she replied Sullenly."No, no, no!" he said rapidly. "Why is it working?"' 'Excuse me?" Maya asked."Hand it to your father," Berofski commanded.
Maya lookedat him for a long moment, then slidthe tape
Part One
player off her belt and handed it to her father.
The music stopped."Nowhand it toyourwife," the professorsaid toMaya's
father, agleam in his eye.Maya'smother took theWalkman.It was still silent.
"Now give it back to Maya," he said with finality.Maya reached for the tape player, and Peter Gabriel's
voice spilled out of it again."Mr.
andMrs.Dearbome." Berofskibegan triumphantly,"yourdaughter is in grave psychological peril. Shedid not
make the transition through the storm unscathed. Her
psyche and nervous system are locked in the old reality.This is a very hazardous state of affairs. You were right tobring her directly here!"
"Say that in English," Maya's mother said skeptically."What's wrong with her?"
"Don't you see?" the professor asked breathlessly. "No
high technology should work anymore. None. othing
made after WorldWar D. But this tape playerworkswhen
it's near Maya.""So what?" Maya asked.
"So itmeans your father is right, and did a good thing tobringyou here. Yourmind, your verybeing is unstable,andyou need special care to help you . .. adapt."
"What can you do to help her that we can't?" Maya's
mother asked suspiciously."A great deal," the Professorsaid. '11lis isone of the few
institutions in the He Empire set up to handle such tragiccases. But have no fear, I've helped far more hopelesswretches along the painful, rocky road back to sanity."
"Well, that's settled," Maya's father said with satisfaction. "Let's go. Callus when you know anything." Maya's
mother did not look convinced.Maya felt her confidence slipping away rapidly. Her
eyes darted around the room, seeking out anything thatwould help her.
Then she noticed Berofski's watch."Digital watch! You've got a digital watch! lhat's an
after-World War II device. Right? It's working!"Maya's parents looked at Berofski'sbattered black, plas
tic watch quizzically. Thewatch looked starklyout of placein the musty, old·fashioned office.
Berofski glanced at his watch. and then looked Maya inthe eye. '11tis thing?" he asked coldly. "Oh, just a specialdevicemy research team cooked up. No doubt you've seen
someof themiraculous devices the Pharaoh's scienceteamsare rooking up. Can't talk about it. Classified. But I can see
that littleMaya is already exhibiting classic signs of delusional paranoia."
"Paranoia?" Maya said. "Are you crazy? You want tolockme up in th is - this, um, death camp! And you say I'mparanoid?"
"Dear, dear," the professor said. "It's starting already.But never fear, Mr. and Mrs. Dearbome. I know she 's
curable."' 'There is nothing wrong with my daughter!" Maya's
mother said firmly."I'll be the judge of that," Berofski said mockingly. "As
division head of the institute, I'm going to remand Maya tothis facility for further study."- - - - - - - - - - I _
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"No!" said Maya's mother."I'm afraid it's out of your hands. Or shall I call the
to escort you out?""That won't be necessary," said Maya's father, visiblylieved. "Thank you for your trouble.""No trouble at all," the professor replied reassuringly.dismissed Maya's parents as quickly as possible, mur
warm reassurances that he would prevent further
cline in the young girl, and offering his enthusiasticfor Harold's speedy confirmation in Natatiri's
nance cabinet. Maya's mother gave her a long, desperateas she left. Maya knew her mother's heart was break
When Maya and the Professor were alone, Berofskiup on his desk, where he could lookdown on the
edMaya. He twirled theWalkman earphones in theair,lf-listening to the song.The young girl wanted to cry, but knew the professor
think it was a sign of weakness. She was determinedot to be cowed."You know damn well there's nothing wrong with me!"
e said accusingly. "You know damn well! What's the
"My, aren't you a clever one," he said with a menacingile. "Well. You're quite right. There's nothing wrong
h you, and a lot right with you. The 'deal ' is ... you arespecial threat to meand to the Pharaoh himself.""You're crazy as a fruit bat," Maya said. "I don't evenow the Pharaoh. I barely even know what's going on!""You are a Stormer, little girl. You carry the reality of
Earth with you, and are not altered by the ficIdewinds
shifting realities. You can make technological artifactsom the past reality function in this one. That makes you
very, very dangerous.""Wait. Okay, but you are too. Right? A Stormer?You
have the watch. The digital watch. And the Walkman'sworking while you've got it!"
"My you are clever, aren't you? Fortunately, your par·
ents are far more gullible. Yes, we are unique beings, weStonners. A breed apart."
"So how come I'm a threat and you're not?" she de
manded."Because Iwork for the Pharaoh. You see, the difference
between us is that I am wise enough to adapt to the neworder, and I 'm sure that you would waste your energytrying to bring back the old one."
Mayabither lipand said nothing. She knewhewasright.This newworld was wrong. Fundamentally wrong. In thatmoment she knew she would do anything possible tochange the world back; to peel up the new reality at theseams, tear it apart, and send it packing.
"lean tell fromyourstubbom silenceyouagree," hesaid,taking great pridein his own cleverness. "Tut, tut. You'reso
predictable."
Maya said nothing, hoping he would keep filling in thesilence with more precious information. He did not disappoint her.
"So predictable. EveryoneI'vemet since the realitystann
has either become properly and completely self-serving,like your father, or cloying, and sickeningly sweet, likeyour
mother."His eyes scanned her face for a reaction. Maya remained
expressionless. Disappointed, he continued."Butwe, we canchoose!We're thelast people in the Nile
with free will.""Dad ... turned evil? That's goofy."
"It 's a fundamental law of this real
ity! All peoplewho tended toward self·ishness are now completely despotid"
For a momentMaya felt sorry for her
father. Sheshook herselfout of it, determined to be angry at him.
"And Mom is what?" she asked. "Asaint?"
"She'sabsolutely incorruptible. Andutterly predictable."
"But not me? Not you?" Maya said,more as a statement.
"Not quite. We aren't immediatelytransformed, butwe alsoaren't immuneto the forces pulling at us."
He paused, reflecting. His face softened. '1 wonder if I have changed," hemused. '1 don't feel different. And Iknow I'm not evil! Rather I feel ... free.Free tobe myself for the first time. Anddo all thethings I wasconstrained fromdoing in the old world!"
He laughed a piercing, manic cacklethat startled Maya, but also made hersmile. He sounded like a villain on akid's cartoon.
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. '
...
"What's tha t got to do with me?'"a asked softly.
The professor stopped laughing
and grabbedMaya'S hair and
her face close to his. She could
his nicotine breath, and see his . .pores. Hewasno longer "
"I shall show kindly DoctorMobius,should I say, our Holy Pharaoh, the . ,
er way to deal with you treacher-s Storm Krughts. Prisons don't help! l
don't help! Torture won't help. ~ - ....1fI16f..J.deathmay not be a final solution!
I have the secret."He released Maya and grabbed atered copy of Introductory Psychol-the textbook she had used in hisHe held it above him like it wasa
book.'1...ook!" he said with utmost rever
'This survived the reality storm
me! A treasure trove of esotericabout the human mind! I hold
my hands secret knowledge hidden
m the Pharaoh himself! With it 1l becomehis greatest advisor!And
you know how?Through the power
learned heI2Iessness!"He looked. straight at Maya, and she
t very small and afraid. "Do you
that?" he asked accusingly.discussion about learned. h e l ~
Do you remember how youme? Well now we shall have
answer to your question as to
canlearnhelplessness.so! And you shall be my proof.
greatest accomplishment."I will succeed where the Pharaoh
I will give h im a Storm Knightken! Robbed of will and no longera
"Yeah, right," Maya said, and ranthe door. She fumbled with the
brassknob, and yanked thedoor
The professor caught her by the arm just as she was
to dash ou t into the hallway. She drew one leg back,d kicked him in the groin as hard as she could.Berofski sank slowly to the floor, face ashen and eyesing. Maya dashed ou t into the hall and headed for the
arest exit. Jus t as she reached. the outside door and
the knob, she heard a loud mechanical clank, and
metal blast door dropped like a massive guillotinein front ofher. She leaped backin time to keep fromcrushed. The blast door landed with a crash.. sealing
the hall door.Maya trembled, realizing she had almost been killed.
o huge, sweaty, bare-chested guards in full Egyptianregalia grabbed her. Maya suddenly felt very small
Part On
and frightened. Wordlessly, the guards pinned her arm
and carried her back to Professor Berofski's office. Inside
the Professorwas just regaining his composure. Hewas stilpale, and his hands were trembling slightly.
'''I-take her to a holding cell. I'll d-deal with her later!"
Maya felt her heart sinkwith the memory of her captureSheclosed hereyes to stop the fl<XXI ofpainful recollections
The slap-slar.' slap-slapnoise still foUowed her through th
marsh. She elt utterly alone, abandoned and lost in mad
ness.
Wait! she thought vehemently. I'm not crazy! I'm scare
so bad I feel crazy, but I'm not! All this stuff really ihappening. I.13
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She looked down at her ann. It was still bleeding.That is definitely real. she thought emphaticalIy, squeezg the wound to stop the bleeding.There's no way this is some simple hallucination! I canclearly how I got here, and how this is gonna end up, ifn't do something about it. So it's time to quit moping
d take charge! I can overcome this!She slowed her frantic pace. The creatures closed on her
bu t then moderated their pace to keep from runher down.
Well, okay! Maya thought, a glimmer of hope risingthin her. They want me to keep moving, but they don't
to kill me outright. Shewas pleased tosee her theoryand she was grateful for the breathing space that thepace allowed her.
There's a reason they're doing this, and if I can under-
it, Ican find a way out! I found one solution. I can findNow, how did that experiment go?
She remembered the first time the professor took her toro Ward. The ward was full of miserable, listless, half
people. Maya remembered looking in their eyes, anding no one there."These are my most successfuJ examples of learnedplessness," he said proudly. "My star pupils. Every one
them was brought in full of life and resistance, and lookthem now. The fire is gone from their eyes. They have
up all hope. You will be one of them soon."Maya remained impassive, even though her stomachcoiling and uncoiling with terror. She just looked at
and listened, tryingto keephim talking. Inthe absenceany horrified reaction from Maya, Berofski continued.'1t's your destiny to join them," he said."And that's what I loveabout this new cosm, Maya!" he
happily. "The most amazing things happen on aly basis! I had no idea where I would get a Storm Knightexperiment on, but I knew I would get one, and lo! Yourther walked in with you! Iloveit here! The most wonderl coincidences happen every day!"Oh, littleMaya," he said imploringly. ") was near dead
fore the reality storm. Spirit-dead. rwanted to be able toay with human minds. To unravel them and put them
differently! But my true calling was determined tounethical, merely because some squeamish, narrow
scientists lacked the vision tosee the valueoftakingl ethical restraints off me!"
"So you're just a sadist," Maya replied.Heexploded withanger, making the trembling residentsZeroWard jump and cower in terror. Maya cringed and
back. "I have no mental dysfunctions!" he shouted
ercely. "None! Do you understand that?"Maya trembled. "Okay," she said in a whisper.'1 just likemanipulating human minds," he added, as ifstifying his actions to himself. "It really doesn't matter
Maya said nothing. She was afraid to speak."Do you understand that?" he asked severely."Urn ... yeah, okay," said Maya, "But i f you really like
with people's minds, why don't you do it to help
instead of hurt them?"
"Ah, but then thePharaohwould have no use forme," hesaid, calming down.
"What use?" she asked."Why, breaking his enemies! Stopping those freakish
champions who violate the laws of reality! Crushing heroes!"
"Heroes?" she said with a nervous laugh. "What do you
mean? You're cra _ " She stopped herself in midsentence.
'There's no such thing."'There are heroes," he said resolutely. 'They fight Our
HolyOrder every step of they way! Always under OUT feet!
Always ruining the Pharaoh'splans!Well, not for long! Youshall be my first proof that a Storm Knight can be turned
into one of these wretches with my process!" He waved an
arm toward the frightened subjects."Enough of this idle chatter! It's time for some shock
treatment, my littleStormKnight!" He grabbedMaya'sarm
and led her out of Zero Ward and back toward the offices.Two huge guards followed them.
"Wait!" Maya said, stalling for time. "What is this hero
crap? I'm no hero! I'm no threat to anyone! I just wanna be
left alone!""Ah, but there's no room for that in this world," he said
sadly, a trace of sanity and sympathy back in his voice. He
stopped walking and said, "Everyone must choose sidesIt's the way things work here. It's part of this realm's Lawof Morality."
Then his face darkened; his cruel smile back again. "Soyou see, even a useless little thing like you can be a threat."
"LawofMorality?" Maya asked quickly.The professor'slucid moment gave her some hope, and she was eager toevoke a sane human reaction again.
"Exactly:' he replied. 'This realm is filthy with heroesThey are everywhere. Our old reality was very low in true
heroes. You know, truly selfless people who dedicate theilives to helping Ords."
"Ords?" she asked."Ordinary people," he replied, motioning toward Zero
Ward. He said the words like they left a bad taste in hismouth.
'These 'heroes' takeon impossible challengesand sometimes actuallywin, just likein those tawdrymotionpictureonwhich your teen-aged ilk wasted somuchmoney. But inthis realm, such idiocy is not mere cinematic fantasy. It ivery real. And very dangerous to the rule of the Pharaoh.
"So you see, whetheryou actually want tobecomea pes
isirrelevant.You havethe potentialto becomeone, and thais reason enough to stop you now.""But you said you and I are different," Maya protested
"You said we can choose,"Berofski reflected on Maya's words. "Yes. True. But
can't afford to take that chance."He struggled with his own thoughts, and Maya saw
some dark part of him extinguish the small light of reasonin his eyes. His madness returned.
"So, are you ready to learn some helplessness?" hasked, and laughed wildly.
He grabbed Maya's arm, and led her into a maze otesting chambers. She struggled, bu t the guards quickly
restrained her. They carried her screaming through th
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ing rooms, and put her in a small, windowless cell withon all the walls. Harsh light flooded from a singlein the ceiling.
Theonly featurein theroomwasa thin rubber insulatingpe that ran down the middle of the floor, dividing theinto two halves. On onesideof thestripea hugeletter
" was painted in red on the floor.On theothersideof thepe was the letter "B." .The guards took away Maya's shoes and marched out,ming thedoor behind them.Maya fidgeted nervously,ling alone and forlorn. She knewwhat was coming. butiting for it was anguish.Withoutwarning,a burstofpainseared herbare feet andup her legs. She sc:reamed in pain and suddenly found
ontheother side ofthe stripe. She had jumped to theof the line, almostwithoutthinking. Witha groan
misery, she sank to the floor, and lay there panting. Shew another shock was coming, and the fear was almost
She tried to balance on the rubber insulating line, but ittoo small to keep all of her foot off the electrified floor.
n the burst came, its intensity was worse than before.The shocks continued all day long. coming at randomrvals. Some were a few minutes apart, and some werers apart. The longer the delay, the greater Maya's fear
d anguish grew.It was dark when the shocks stopped. The guards esrted Maya to a crowded cell in Zero Ward. The experit left her drained and miserable. She wanted to tell theessor that she surrendered, and would do anything top the pain. But she knew the treatment would continuematterwhat she did. It would continuetill her spirit was
That night Maya huddled in an empty comer of the cell
d cried herself to sleep. Again she dreamed of the beaudeepwithin theearth.The flame in thegem
ed small and weak-It waswitheringand closing in onlf. Impulsively,Maya grabbed the gem and held itcloseherheart.Shegently coaxedits flame tobrighten,holdinglike a mother holds an injured child.Safe in her embrace, the faint light grew, until the flames large enough to warm her. Maya felt peaceful andateful for the warmth. The gentle light did not soothe
but it firmed her resolve,andstrengthenedherermination to take care of herself.The next day, Maya approached her cell with a newitude. She decided not to resist the treatment, but to
periment with it. Pain was inevitable, and she wouldcept it. But shewould notgive in tosufferingand despair.She sat down in the comer of the A side, as far from theberdividing line as possible. When the shock came, sherced herself to stay on the electrified side, and reallyperience the pain. The charge blasted through her, searg her inside and out. The taste and texture of the jolt was
anyof the earlier shocks. Shewas awareof the shocksensation rather than pain.For several agonizing moments, Maya writhed on the
ri.fied floor. When she could finally take no more, sheher strength and crawled toward the safe side
Part One
of the room. When she got to the Bside, she layon the floor,panting and sweating.
Whenshecouldmoveagain, shesat upand smiled. Nowthat she had willingly swallowed a large dose of pain, shewas far less afraid of little tastes of electricity. The nextshocksseemed mild incomparison.Mayaevenlaughedoutloud during one. She was no longer a mere victim.
Her burst of confidence gave her another idea. Shesummoned all her courage, and stepped from the safesideof the room to the electrified side. The shock made herspasm with pain, but it didn't seem to hurt as much as oneof the random shocks. And for the first time, Maya felt astrange sense of control. The electricity stopped abruptly,and she heard a loud cry through the walls of the tortureroom. Professor Berofski was shouting and swearing withrage and helplessness.Overthe next few days,Maya continued to playwith the
room, detennined to be masterof her fate. Berofski turnedthe voltage up, but Maya forced herself to keep playing.And every night she dreamed of the fire opal, its lightslowly growing.
One day, Maya made a discovery. The electric shockswere severe and frightening. but the pain seemed to varybased on herstate ofmind. Theworst shockswere theonesthat were the furthest apart.The severityofthe pain seemedto grow with the terror that built upwithin herbehveen theshocks.With nothing to do but stand in the tiny room and wait
for the next burst of agony, her anxiety and fear increased.When the shocks came, they were almost a relief, becausethey meant the horrible suspense was finally over.
By relaxing her body and keeping her mind fixed on thefueopal ofherdreams, she found shecouldavoid anticipating the shocks. This diminished her pain dramatically.
Whenshewasvery relaxed, the painwas littlemorethananannoyance, to be dealt with as necessary.Her pride and satisfaction grewwith eachday. Theonly
misery she felt came in the evenings, when she saw theother prisoners brought into their cells, after a bitter day'storment. She ached to reach out to them, to help them. Butthestrongershe looked, themore they feared her. She knewthat she would have to save herself before she could helpthem.At first Maya kept strict controlof hermind to keep from
anticipating the pain. But soon she found she got thesame
results just by letting her mind roam at will.
She began imagining what was going on in Berofski's
control room.ln hermind'seye, shecouldsee himwatchingherthroughaone-wayglassinonewallof the torture room.She had no idea if Berofski was really behind themirroredwaD she selected, but she liked to think he was.She imagined himshoutingat coweringassistants,smok
ing cartons of cigarettes, and trembling with rage. Sheimagined him reaching for the Bside button to shock her.A sudden shock jolted herout ofher reverie.She jumped
to the A side to escape the pain. And then she realized it.She had really seen him!She closed her eyes and imagined again. She pictured
him smiling. glad tosee her loseher composurefor the first
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me indays. She imagined him chortlingand stomping hist, his face contorted with happiness. He looked. inon her
gh theone-way glass, and reached. toward theA sideBefore hecould press it, shesteppedover the rubber
ne to side B.
Berofski looked. startled., and reached. for the B button.aya stepped back over to the A side. Each time Berofskiached fora button,Mayastepped to theotherside. Inrage
d desperation, Berofski pressedbothbuttons. Maya stoodr ground, lettingthe painofthe shockcoursethrough her.The professor held down both buttons with trembling,
ckled fingers, and glanced around Maya's cell,aiting for her to cringe and cower. He looked crazyugh toshock her to death. Defiantly, she stared directlyhim. She saw her reflection in the mirrored one-way
and behind it she saw Berofski.Slowly his nervous, bUnking eyes scanned up her body
ntil they met her steely gaze. He gasped, lurched backd, lost his balance, and toppled over onto his nervous
sistant. At thesame instant, thepainof the shockstopped,d she heard a crash from the control room behind the
l, followed by violent swearing.She pictured Berofski again, and saw him sitting on the
oor of the control room, shaking and making gurglingises as he stared blankly into space.Her sessionended early that day, and the guardsdid notme for her the next day.For the first time, sheended up spending thewhole dayth the forty other prisoners in Zero Ward. They looked
and empty.Theysmelledbad. And itseemed liketheirminds were far away. Maya felt drained just
around their bleak depression. She found her daysth them in some ways worse than her shock sessions.A few prisoners put up a struggle when the guardscametake themaway fora session,butmost did not.Occasionly a very listless prisoner did not come back at aU.Maya tried to talk to the prisoners, but her enthusiasmd vitality stilI frightened them,and theytried toavoid herroach.When shespoke to them, theyavertedtheireyes,mbled a few words and turned away. She felt helpless,d unable to teach them how to resist the treatment. She
so haply to help bring them back to life, but sheknow how. It hurt her towatch themdeteriorate,and
e suffered along with them.In her mind's eye, Maya saw Professor Berofski beingeased with the tum of events, and pictured him saying
l, well. The prisonersmay well succeed inmaking herpless where the shocks failed. We'll just leave her withmiserable creatures for awhile, and let them drag herto their level!"
The image of him gloating crystallized her resolve. Theday she tried a new approach.
The prisoners spent a lot of time huddled together,and making moaning noises. Maya quietly sat
th them, and mimicked their noises. At first they wereof her, but gradually they responded, and began to
ccept her as one of them. By the end of the day, they nonger avoided her. That night, her patience paidoff. A fewthe prisoners began to talk to her.
Their speech was halting and nervous, like that of bat-
tered children. They all seemed. to have a horrible, unreasoning fear of life. The shocks kept them so panicked thatthey were afraid of all change. They could not believeanyone was on their side, and had no hope that anythingthey did would ever succeed.
Surprisingly, Maya was not depressed by hearing thehopelessness in their voices, and found the prisoners' w i l l ~power grew stronger after they spoke out about their trag
edies. The prisoners came to look forward to her time withthem, and she became the one bright spot in their desolatelives.
By day, she listened to their horror stories, and by night,she preached revolution.
Maya made sure to set aside a few hours each morningfor herself, to let her mind roam free. The whole complexopened. like a flower within her mind's eye. She could seeevery comer of it, from thescience labs to Berofski's office;from theguards' quarters to the concealed access hallways;from the emergency steel blast doors over the exits to thelush marsh beyond the minefield and barbed wire fence.
Themore shepracticedsensingwith hermind, thebetter
shegot. She listened in on the scientists' conversations, andlearned importantdetails ofthePharaoh's tactics.Sheheardthem talk about the reality bombs, horrific devices usedbefore the Pharaoh's invasions to lower the technologylevel of the area to be attacked. All technological devicesinventedafter the early 19305would simply not work inthearea affected by the bomb. With a defender's modem
technology rendered useless, the Pharaoh's low-tech, preWorld War II style armies could sweep in with ruthlessefficiency.
When she learned that some researchers had createdprototype reality bombs that could simulate the primitiverealityof someplacecaUed the "LivingLand," sheknewshehad a means of escape.
"We are going to get away from here," she announcedone night. The prisoners trembled andmuttered, suddenlyvery agitated.
"One day soon I'm going to giveyou a signal, and we'reall going to flee, All the defenses here will shut down. Allwe'll have to do is overpower oneguard, get his keys, andhead for the exits! We can lose any pursuers in the marshand run to Khartoum! Their trucks and tanks will be useless!"
The prisoners were dearly upset at the idea of fleeing,but Maya thought they also looked more alive than usual.
She planned togivethesignal at theendof
theweek,aftershe had made a complete study of the research center, buther dreams that night made her change her mind.
As she was falling asleep, she dreamed of a dark, ugly,gray cloud hovering over the prisoners. Tentatively she
reached out into it with her mind. It felt like death.The cold, dead sensation overwhelmed her, but she
reached deeper into the black cloud. In hermind's eye shesaw Berofski, madness etched in his face. Hewas raving tohis nervous assistants.
"Nothing is working! Damn her! Well, it's time fordesperate measures! Tomorrow morning, I'll tell that littleminx todeliver shocks toa prisoner herself! She'llrefuse,of
course.So
I'll execute the prisoner she was supposed to
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The next day, I'll ask her toanother prisoner. She'll refuseSo I'll kill two more! And so on!
d SOon! I'll kill them all i f I have to!atiri will get me more prisonersthe labor camps! She's got more
than she knows what to do with.ll kill half of Khartoum if I must, bu t
make Maya torture people! Thatbreak her. Then I'llmake her start
who will live and who willAnd that will destroy her!"Maya pulled her thoughts away so
that a spasm whipped
ough her body. She lay on the floorf her cell, sobbing and racked with
Near dawn, she found
in the enfolding comforts of
Abruptly, she pulled awake, and
pt toher feet. Shewas relieved to see
was still dark, though a soft haze ofwas filtering in from the east."Now," she hissed to the prisoners.
Come on, we're going now!"y looked up at her, black dread inir hollow eyes.An unearthlymoan·
arose from them, but they did not
Fear broke loose in Maya, constrict-Like a hot clamp around her throat. She fought it back,
tension with no greater weapons than relaxand serenity.
Calmly, she set hermind free to arch over the building.
hermind's eyeshe saw the research chamberwhich heldreality bomb prototypes.Casually, almost tenderly,shehed forward and touched it with her thoughts.A tremendous exp los ion rocked the compound. Aipcrack wave of energy pulsed through the building..aking the walls and rumbling the floor. The energypped through Maya as well. All electric lights winked
plunging the dimly lit ZeroWard into utter blackness.e prisoners howled like terrified animals. Dust and siltll from the ceiling, as weakened mortar gave way. Thinfts of light filtered through the cracks, illuminating the
dust.Maya listened to rest of the compound. She heard no
No steel blast doors sliding into place. No tell-taleingofgearsofbattleequipment.Only theshouts,criesd desperate prayers of terrified guards.'We're free!"" Maya shouted triumphantly. "Out! Out!t 's get away."
The prisoners fidgeted tensely. Somestoodup, some salwn, and some hobbled in circles."Come on!" she cried.. 'We don't even need a guard 'S
The walls are coming loose!"It was true. The strange energy wave that had followede explosion had transformed thewallsofZeroWard fromeel to stone, and the blocks looked like theywould give
Part One
before enough pressure. Maya pushed on the wall to dem-
onstrate. The heavy blocks scraped against each other andbegan to give way.Maya grabbed a prisoner by the arm,
and threw him up against the wall. "'Push'" she cried.
"'Push, damn you!" Tearsbegan to well up in her eyes. Shewas so close.The prisoner began to push. More dust fell from Ihe
cracks. Another prisoner reached out toward the wall, andthen another. Soon the stone blockswere loudly grinding
against each other.The wall groaned and collapsed, sending a cascade of
huge grey rocks crashing to the ground. The prisonersscattered, howling and covering their heads. The ceilingbuckled, but did not fall. Soft sunlight poured in through
the hole in the wall. The green of the Nile marsh at dawn
was the most beautiful sight Maya had ever seen."Comeon," shebreathed softly.Shestepped ou toverthe
huge pile of collapsed stone blocks, and into the freshmorning air. She began to run, exhilarated. The prisonersfollowed her, tentatively at first, bu t then faster. Theylooked like they did not recognize the world.Eagerly,Maya crossed the short stretch of scrub leading
10 the outer defenses. She took a deep breath and stepped
ou t onto theminefield.On her third step a mechanicalleverclicked under her toes. She froze in terror, and slowlyreleased it. Nothing happened. She cried ou t with joy, andbegan leaping through theminefield, stomping over everypart of it to show it was safe.
She beckoned the prisoners to follow, coaxing them like
- - - - - - - · _ ·17
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rg: Crucible of Pain
y werea flock of broken-winged birds. Shepraised their
ow. tentative footfalls as they gingerly stepped ou t ontominefield. The bewilderment on their faces was slowly
placed by terrified grins; the clumsy, inept happiness ofwho had forgotten how to smile.
Mayagrabbed two prisonersand linked arms withthem.re prisoners linked arms as well, forming a long human
ain as they stumbled, lurched and skipped through theminefield.
They reached the far side and stopped, suddenly verysure. Only a thin chain link fence, topped with barbedre, stood between the prisoners and the freedom of the
ile marsh. Maya noted that the barbed wire assemblygled outward, not inward. The research center was dened to keep invadersout, not keep prisoners in. She took
lookbackat her friends, grabbed a handhold in the metaland scurried up the fence. Gingerly, gracefully, she
on the top, and then leapt over the barbed wiresembly. She landed like a cat on the outside of the fence."Not a scratch!" she announced proudly. as she jumpedherfeet and proudly pirouetted backto the prisoners. Sheowed them her unscathed arms and smiled. "So come
she said invitingly.
••18
The prisoners stood still, looking lost and forlorn. It was
if they no longer knew her."Come on," she repeated, fear creeping into her voice.
"Please!" She pointed to the verdant Nile river bed. "Look!We're almost there! We're almost free!"
The prisoners turned away, slowly. Somesat down, andsank their heads in their hands.
Maya kicked the fence savagely. "Goddamn you!" sheshouted. The prisoners jumped, startled..
''We're free!" she implored. "Pleaseclimb!"They didn't budge.Angrily, Maya climbed back up the fence. "I'll carry you
jerks over if I have to, but we are leaving together!"Her head scraped against the juttingbarbed wire assem
bly. She felt sharp pain and warm blood pool on her head.Slowly it trickled down the side of her face. She could notget back in.
"Climbup!" sheshouted.Then shefroze interror. Guardswere running out of the research compound, armed withclubs and spears. She slid down the fence, and backedaway. The prisoners sat docilely as theguards approached,and begankickingandclubbing them.Theprisonersmoaned
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the attack, b ut d id n ot resist.Blistering ho t anger raced throughMaya's body. Shefelt
of murder.Shewanted toteartheguardsapartwith
anger, rattling the fence savagely."One got over the fence!" the captain of the guard
rked, pointing at Maya. She leaped of f the fence."I'll get her," a guard replied, almost bored. with the task.
s he started to climb the fence, his eyes widened.. "That'sStormer!" hesaid hoarsely,sliding backdown the fence."Have the science team dispatch some gospog!" the
commanded.. The guard ran back to the researchrelieved.
The prisonerswere slowly shufflingback toZeroWard.se thatdid not movewere clubbed an d speared till theyld notmove at all. Maya watched it all, her body numb
d immobile. She felt he rmind tuckingitselfaway;dosing
f from the world.Suddenly,a horrible stenchcu t through themorningair.overpowering strength of it shocked Maya back to herses. She sa w three huge, hulking, creatures, seemingly
re plant than man, shambling toward her. She backedfrom the fence. The creatures bumped into the fence,effortlessly tore it down. Maya whirled an d ran.She dashed off toward Khartoum, bu t the creatures had
around her, an d d ro ve h e r deeper into the marsh.from civilization. Soon she was running with no
Part One
destination inmind.Shewa s just running to stayaway fromthe creatures.
An d I'm still running, she thought forlornly. I'D ru n tiDI die. Or till I give up , like those creeps. Those damn
prisoners! Ihope they all die!Oh, god!Wh y couldn't I savethem?She tried to banish the jumbled, hateful thoughts from
he rmind, bu t the anguish overwhelmed her like a wave ofchoking seawater.In the midst of he r pain, she remembered. Berofski's
words. He said there were heroes in the world now. Realheroes.She clamped her eyes shut, an d concentrated. Okay
Storm Knights! This is Maya calling! I want all Stonn
Knights right here, right now!Shelooked around. Nothingwa s stirringbut thegospog.Please! she thought. Please help me!Nothing.I don't deserve to be rescued anyway, Maya thought, in
abject misery. They followed me out into the minefield
Forty me n and women believed in me, an d I killed them. Ideserve to die! If I had left them alone, this would neverhave happened! Oh, god, I don't deserve to be rescued. Ideserve to die.Finally, she collapsed in the water, sobbing an d cough-
ing. He r heart felt like a heavy gray stone.
••19
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Introduction
The Nowhere Lands
rg: Crucible of Pain
••20
Introduction
T w ~ t h i r d s of the way through thestory,whenthegospogs areclosing in,and Maya's inner strength is at itslowest ebb, the players stop readingthe short story and start playing theadventure. The players will think the
gospogs got Maya, and their Knightshave to go rescue her, either from themarsh or the Weird Science Institute.
Their suspicions are confirmed when
Maya's mental summons takes them
into the Institute.They'll bequite sure that Maya is in
desperate need or rescue. When theyescape theNowhere lands and bwst:into Berofski's office, they'll be sur-
prised to find Maya in charge of thesituation.
At the end of the game, after theKnights win and flee to the refugeecenter (orafter they fail miserablyand
end up as Wasting Spir it roedl, theplayers get toread theend of thestory,and see how Maya pulled off her tri-umphant retum to the research center.
Adventure
Background
The Heritage of Osiris: KhartoumScience Research Center is a lesser"'weird science" center. Uttle of the
research done here has paid off inmilitary hardware. Consequently, itsdefenses and complement of guardsare less than those of other facilities.
Heritage is run by Professor
Berofski, a Possibility-rated characterwho loves the Nile Empire and yeams
to please Doctor Mobius. Unlikeother"'weird science" center managers,
Berofski keeps in dose contact with
city officials in nearby Khartoum.Berofski is interested in psychol
ogy, which is a lost sciencein the Nile
Empire. He needs Storm Knights fohis experiments, but knows Mobiuwould beunHkely toprovidehimwit
any. So he relies on the Khartouofficials to send him any they migcome across. Consequently, he keephis center open to high-ranking bureaucrats, and even has VIP accommodations for them at his center.
How I Leamed toLove the Bomb
Despite DoctorMobius' lackoffaiin the place, Heritage has done somextraordinary research in the fieldreality bomb technology. The techncians'goalwas tocreatea realitybomthat would be permanently seli-sustaining, and never allow its realitybe eroded by the local axioms. CoEarth areas and other realms cou
thus be transformed permanentlyanmore easily conquered.
They started by increasing the reaity bomb's base duration from thrhours to three weeks. But what thegained in time they lost in distancInstead of a two kilometer radius, thbomb only affeetsanarea in a 200 foradius. They attached huge banksposSibility capacitors to the expermental bombs and prepared to detnate them. They knew if they suceeded, theywould beabletoconqu
the world in relatively short order.And they did succeed - but not
the way they expected ...
Kingdoms in a Bottle
The scientists set up their expements in seven sealed undergroun
testing chambers. The tests were dSigned to create sevenminiature reaties based on each of the six invadinrealms and Core Earth, and mainta
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m over time.The technicians filled each testing
with tools, equipment, aniand prisoners from the laborand '1eamed helplessness" ex·
iments. Also included was at leaste person from the reali ty to be creby the bomb.The prisoners were
sential to thework not only in their
as human guinea pigs, but as aof possibility energy for the
The self·sustaining realityprototypes would draw theirdirectly from their victims.
The bombs exceeded all expectaons. They detonated with a bright
and unleashed a furious shower
silvery streaks throughout the test
The axiom wash rapid ly trans-
rmed the chambers, binding all thesoners to the reality of the mini
The powerful forces even bential reality, making thesevencham·
s larger on the inside than on the
The Lords ofNowhere
The prisoners that were caught inreality bomb explosions were oftrans(onned by thegizmo'spower.
sub;eetswhowere native toprovided bythebombstook
vantage of this to seize power innew kingdOms. Each turned his
into a private fiefdom, anddubbed their homes the "NoLands."
When Berofski's scientists came tothem, these powerful beings
allenged their authority. Tempersand the Lords of the Nowhere
attacked the scientists. Berofskiely escaped with his life. After a
running battles, it became clearthe psychologist had lost all conover his experiment, and had noof getting it back.
TheLordsofNowhereconsolidatedpowerby conqueringalltheother
and persuading them tothemselves to the possibility ca
or "Soul Drain Elements," asey were now called. Due to the na-
P urity of Information
Since the players get to readthe short story before they playthe game, they know some rei·evant information their characters don't know. Stuff Like theexact nature of theexperiments,and the fact that the LearnedHelplessness prisoners are inZeroWard.
There' s not a lot of sensitiveinformation in the story that candestroythesurprises in thegame,bu t it can taint theplay tohaveaplayer say "I ask the guards
where Berofski is," when the
Knightshaveclearlyneverheardof Berofski.
Most players are conscien-
ture of the gizmos, only those peoplewho volunteered to surrender theirpossibilityenergy could feed the reality bombs.
8erofski sealed off the under-
ground testing chamber, and rom-
manded that no one from Heritageventure there again. He also forbadethem from mentioning the results ofthe warped experiment. He hoped
that the mini· cosms would simply
vanish at some point, but the hope
was a futile one.The Lords of the Nowhere Lands
arestillvery strong, bu t theyyearnforsubjects to rule, enemies to battle, andpeople to talk to. They know theirvictims are running ou t of possibilityenergy, and are desperate to getmore
"donors."Without a constant flow of
possibilities, their realmsaredoomed.
TheWasting Spirit
Presidingover thisden of madness
isa powerfulhorror from theOrrorsh
mini<osm, a test subject who was so
thoroughly corrupt that he trans-
formed intoa monster once under theinfluence of that realm's axioms. This
Introduction
tio05, and will not have theirKnightsact any information thatthe Knights did not learn. If aplayerslips,or forgets thesourceof his information, simply askhim where his character got theinformation he'sacting on. Usually ~ a t ' s a l l i ~ t a k ~ . l f theplayerpersiSts, remmd hIm the information came from thestory andnot from the game.
If the playerrommitsanegregiousbreachof information, youmayhave toovenuJe the action.This isaseverestep,and ishardlyever necessary.Thedisapprovalof theother players isoftenquite
sufficient.
being, theWasting Spirit, uses the micro-cosmsas a power base and a playpen.
Although the other Lords could
~ v e l between the mini<osms i f theyWlShed to, only the WastingSpirit hasdone so up to now. He keeps watch
over the Nowhere Lands, and exertsasubtle influence over all the Lords ofNowhere.
When the Stann Knights arrive int ~ mini-cosms, this Wasting Spiritdirects the Lords in their testing of theheroes.
The Bombs
Each of the seven chambers stillcontains a functioning reali ty bomb
and Soul Drain gizmo.The devicesarecontinually working to dampen or
enhance a particular set of axioms.These new realities are rather frag·
ile, depending, as they do, on Niletalismans to keep the reality bombs
functioning. If the talismans are re-
moved, the bombs cease to work and
the dominant reality at work in Heritage at the time, will take over.
Got it? Good. Let's go!
••21
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Act One
The Road
to Nowhere
Crucible of POlin
••22
The Major Beat
TheStormKnights are on their wayto Khartoum to join the Mystery Men.They get sidetracked by Maya
Dearbome's insistent psychic call forhelp, and head for the Heritage Research Center.
They find that the center has beenravaged. by a reality bomb that hasimposed Living Land axioms uponthe area. At first. the Storm Knightseasily roll over the center'sshocktroopers. On thevergeofdefeat,one of the scientists triggers an experi·mental teleportation grenade that
transports the invading Knightsto thedepths of the Nowhere Lands.
The power of the Nowhere Landsdraws each Knight to the area which
resembles her own home cosm (NileEmpire Knights go to the Nile No-
whereLand,OrrorshKnights go to theOrrorshanNowhere Land, Core EarthKnights go to theCoreEarthNowhereLand, etc.)
The act ends with the Knights reviving in the strange new worlds.
SCENE ONE:Only a Scream
Away
The Situation
Standard. The Storm Knights aredrivingsouth fromCairoto Khartoum.If they have their own transportation,they can use that. If not, they have oneSenehemjeep per threeStormKnights.Once you have selected a character toreceiveMaya's summons, and briefed
the appropriate player on the accompanying vision, you're ready tobegin
Read aloud or paraphrase:
The western Nile road toKhartoum is flatand dusty,asitwindalong the banks of the river. To youleft, the lush green fields slope gen
tly down to the rushing water. Toyour right, parched sands and scrubcovered hills seem to stretch on forever.
You are heading south toKhartoum to meet the Mystery Menand coordinate tactics with them.Alson youragenda is contacting the leade of the secret refugee camps in thhil ls of Sudan, where anti-Mobiuforces train for the day of liberationBut for now, the drivedown thedustroad is long and boring.
It 's been two hours since you'vseen another person, and the road iquiet. Suddenly ...
(Take a dramatic pause here to lethe chosen player fill the silence withis best scream, then read:)
. .. (name of screaming charactehere) screams.
The ActionWith theaid ofMaya'smentalsum
mons, the Storm Knights will be ablto find the Heritage of Osiris
Khartoum Science Research Center.If the screamer is driving, anothe
Storm Knight must perform a multaction - grab the wheel (a Dexterittotal of 6) and keep the jeep on throad (a land vehicles total of 10). If thKnight fails, thejeepwill careenoffth~ and into a marsh. The Knigh
WIll suffer no damage from this, but
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Pre-Game Warmup: Psychic Scream Therapy
Act"""
This is probably the first ad
venture you've ever playedwhere the surprise threat that
begins the game comes from
within the party of StormKnights.
At the start of the adventure,
the Storm Knights' leisurelydrive is interrupted by a blood-curdlingscream from oneof the
Knights.The scream is prompted by
the excruciating mental pain
experienced by the Knight as he
receivesMaya Dearbome'sloud
and desperate psychic call forhelp. Maya is new to her career
asan incredibly powerful StannKnight, and doesn't know thatin theworld ofpsychicphenom
ena, a lit tlegoes a longway. Shejust knows she's in trouble, and
would very much like someone
to help her out.
The S to rm Knight's pain
makeshimshriekand leaveshimsetback for the next round. Theblast hasa mentaldamage value
all l .The trick is to select the right
require 10 minutes to push it ou t
the muck.The pain in the chosen Knight's
will dissipate in one round. He isw motivated toget the group to the
center. Unfortunately, he
esn't know exactly where it is. The
provided by the visionwere
vague ones.
The Knight who is driving musta Perception total of 10 every
minutes during the t rip to stay on
for the center. If he fails a roll,e Knight who is in menta l contact
Maya will receive another men-of the samepower,whichwill
as a beacon and enable the party
find the right direction. A Tough
11 will allow the receivingto suppress his scream.
Storm Knight to receivethe men-tal summons. It really doesn't
matter which Knight you chose.You might want to chose the
Storm Knight who aets as thegroup's leader. Or the one with
the highest Spirit. Or you mightwant to chose the Knight who's
current ly behind the wheel of
the jeep. Won't that be fun? If aPersonal Stake card or Romancecard has recently been played,choose the Knight tied to thatsubplot.
Just before the game begins,have a private huddle with the
chosen player, and tell him this:
"I'll start t he game with anexplanation of the Storm
Knight's trip to find the Mys-tery Men. When 1 come to the
word 'suddenly: pleue emit abloodcurdling scream. Not so
loud you hurt yow throat. bu t
just loud enough to get
everyone's attention.
"The scream is prompted by
a jolt of extreme psychic pain
that sears through yourcharacter's mind and i s gone a
It takes.50 minutes for the Knightsto come within sight of the center, aheavily fortified building sitting atop
a hill roughlyaquarterofa mileaway.
Scoping Out the Place
When the Knights reach this point,
they will bewithin a LivingLand purezone,due to theexplosionMaya set offin the center. Should the Knights dis-connect while performing an actionnot normally a contradict ion in theNile Empire, they should take it as ahint that things are a trifle bizarre in
this region.On a Percqnion or evidence Ql'Ullysis
total of 12, the Knights will notice thatthe greenery around the center is far
moment later, lea ving the
Knight badly shaken. (Be swe
to moderate the volume and
severity of the anguished cry
dependingon the proximity ofpeople who Me not playing inthe game).
"Along with the scream
comesavision.Youseeayoung,
female Storm Knight sending
out a psychic plea for help. In
an instant, you understand ev-erything you just rud in the
short story. The girl's name is
Maya, and she's being tortured
in a 'weird science' institute
somewhere northw est of
Khartoum. You see multitudesof innocents suffering there aswe]]. And beneath it aU, you
feel a black pit of despair that
grows and grows until it be
gins tota.keona life of its own.
Your Storm K night now
knows everything that hap·
pened in the short story. Re-member, your cue to scream isthe word 'suddenly,'"
more lush and verdant than is stan
dard in the vicinity of Khartoum.When the Knights reach the out
skirts of Heritage, theycan take some
time to survey it and plan their attack.Show the players Map 1.
The first thing the Knights will n tice is that the place is deathly quiet,and appears almost deserted. The few
shocktroopersmanningthecompoundar e car ry ing clubs and th rowing
spears, their rifles lying all over theground. They are also carrying gongs
and large bells.On a Perception total of 13, they see
that there are no electric lights on inthe building., but there do seem to betorches ablaze in some sections.
••23
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The Minefiera--
Heat Beams
Past the minefield is a 250 meterstretchof scruband grassland.ltlooks
empty, but it is covered by a grid of
infrared beams that triggeralarmsand
heat beams mounted in nearby rocksand treesand programmedwitha ran·
dom firing pattern. An acrobatics totalof 8 per round of walking or 18 per
round of running is required to avoidthe infrared beams. either the infra-redbeams nor theheatbeamsare func-tioning at the beginning oftheadven·
ture.
Heat 8 e ~ : Tech23,damagevalue
23, range 2·10/100/300
Checkpoint Charon
The only dear path through theminefield is the main road, which iscurrently blocked bya chain linkgate,and two wooden barriers. The frontsof the barriers have thick spikes and
nails protruding from them, so as topuncture the tires of cars that passover them. Two people can move abarricadeoffthe road in two rounds. Ittakes one person four rounds to move
it. There are five shocktroopers here:three at the front gate and one at eachof the wooden barriers. If legitimatevisitors arrive, the shocktroopers lug
the barriers off the road. U unautho
rized visitors arrive, the guards duck
behind the barricades and shoot.If the Storm Knights approach the
checkpointand are unable toconvincethe guards that they have permissionto enter the center, the guards willdefend their post with clubs and
spears.
Research centers, including Heri·tage, are surrounded by a ~ m e t e r"dead zone,
to with theouter250meterscomprised of a minefield. Due to theimpositionofaLivingLand purezone,Heritage's mines are not functioningat this time.
Mines: Tech 20, burst radius 0-3/
8/15, damage value 20.
The Fence
The compound is ~ . ·Iink fence a . £ P . : f ' l ? _ ~ t e L Y r f o u reters g oughnesso 9. Themain
ga e lock•.pidJug difh-"culty of 9). The gate is flanked by two
10meterhighblackobelisks thathouse
the electrical circuitry.The barbed wire assembly at the
topof the fence is normallyelectrified,but currently the voltage is not func-tioning.
lost some of their social skills, and arehaving dif ficulty funct ioning in
groups. It is for this reason that theguards' patrols seem to be a bit disor-ganized. But no one has transformedas yet, the new axioms having onlybeen in effect a very short time.
Those scientists still in touch with
NileEmpire reality are hard at work inthe lab, attempting to modify a bomb
to restore their axioms. Theyare meet-ingwith frustra tion,as theircolleagueskeep disconnectingand forgetting how
to usetheir knowledgeofweird science.
Bombed into the
Stone Age, or There's
a New Reality inTown
Magic 0Social: 7
Spirit: 24Tech,7
Most of the personnel in the re-search center have disconnected, and
so much of the meehancialequipment
has ceased to function. In addition,the heat beams, infrared beams, elee·trified barbed wire and minefields on
the perimeter of the fatility no longerwork.
Thosewhohavedisconnected have
The Heritage of Osiris: Khartoumence Research Center is currently
under LivingLand axioms,thanks to the reality bomb detonated
y the power of Maya's mind. Thent axiom levels are:
rs: Crucible of Pain 7 \
Electrified Barbed ~ i n : Tee 21,ange touch, damage value . olt·
ge currently not present damage
a)ue9(
._., . . , . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .....24 .,..,
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rn:J Crucible ofPain:Map 1
Heritage of Osiris Base
••
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Q
ITo Khartoum
I
"
, .' -. Pl
« . ..,-
Minefield
" ("(d
,"
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t,
"J• •J
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••,-
o
"
8. Main Helipad
9. Parking Lot10. Research Station11. Dormitory
12. Zero Ward13. One Ward14. Two Ward
• •J
Minefield,/ T - - ~ - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - '
,i!
0r' - - = = " . . . . . = ~ ~ = " . . . . . . . . . . , ~ . < > ~ .I 10+ .
••:! @ \ .<>, @ 1 , "",v :
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v'.v,
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Key1. Checkpoint Charon
2. Wooden Barriers3. Main Gale4. Gospog ShedS. Supply Helipad
6. Mess Hall7. Barracks
C.Hun'...
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Crudble of P..in
The Guards
There are three guards at the main
and thereare threeguards on theside ofZeroWard repairing
wall. There are no other guards
side. The rest are inside the build·checking on structural damage
sed by the transformation of theructionmaterialby the bomband
repairs.lf the Knights come up the main
or approach thesouthern sideofbuilding, they will be spotted. Ifcirclearound and approach fromnorth or west, they can approach
building unseen.
lf theguards should see theKnights,will raise an alarm. As they can·
t ge t the electronic alarms to func, theywill ring the bells and gongsare carrying. As soon as this is, threemoreguardswill rush ou t
the building, and those insidewiDon alert.As the Knights approach the outer
the guardswill begin throwingears at them. If the Knights make itde, theguardswill attackwithdubsknives.
rooperGuards (8)See page 23 of The Nile Empire
sourcebookPossibilities:None
Inclination: Evil\ l ! p e value
R+3/1;-d er, damage v+ ; throwing spear, damage
STR+4/1S, range 3-5/25/40
Once past the "dead zone," the
can investigate the variousdings that make up the center ineffort to find Maya. They are:
Helipads
As the vast majority of personneld cargo is brought in and out of the
via air , the center boasts two
The main helipad, locatedthe research building itself, is fornnel and visitingdignitaries, the
one for equipment and sup
Due to its ties to the civilianworld,s research center does receivemore
traffic than most.The parking
26
lot nearthemain helipad features tworoadsters, a troop truck, and an Xfz311-Aaka halftrack troop transport
(TOU 25, pass. 12, speed value 11) atthe beginning of the adventure.
ShockrrooperBarracks
Acombinationbarracks and armoryfor the guardians of the center. Therearecurrently fiveshocktroopersasleepinside, and 10 KKSl semi-automaticrifles.
GospogShed
The gospog shed houses four
gospog of the first planting. They aretended by Achmar, a half-mad gar
dener. If the shocktroopers sound an
alarmand aredefeated by theKnights,Achmar will send his gospog againstthemwhiletheyareexploring thebase.If no alarm has been sounded, the
KnightscancatchAchmarand hiscreatures unawares.
Once captured, Achmar's attitude
toward the Knights will be friendly (hefeels no great loyalty to the scientistsor the shocktroopers, who all treathim badly). If successfully interrogated, Achmar tells the Knights thathe was ordered to send some of his
gospog after Maya following her escape. They brought her back to Dr.Berofslci thirty minutes ago, but hehasn't seen them since.
Achmar theMad
DEXTERITY 9Dodge 12, melee weapons 10, running 10, stealth 10, unarmed com·
bat 10STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPT/ON 8
Find 9, trick 9MIND 7Test 9CHARISMA 10Taunt 11
SPIRIT 9Intimidation 10, reality 10Possibilities: 1Inclination: EvilEquipment: hunting knife, damage
value STR+3/19
ZeroWard
Zero Ward is a prison building,filledwith shacklesand cells.Thewallsof thebuildinghavebeen transformed.by the blast of the reality bomb and
hav un to crumble (normally
g .A
arg roll'psedand is being repaired by three
shocktroopers.There are 42 people in Zero Ward,
27 men and 15 women. They are aU
victims of Berofslci's "learned h e l ~lessness" experiments.Theyhave littleself-will, and are terrified at the
thought of leaving the ward or theresearch center grounds.
The Zero Ward prisoner.; are suf ·feting profound psychic shock. Theirminds and spirits have been extraordinarily depressed. As a result, theyare very easy to trick or intimidate.They can be forced to do just aboutanything but leave thebuilding.When
asked or forced to leave, they fall in aheap and refuse to move. They wouldallow themselves tobebeaten todeathrather than have to leave. The parenthetical values listedbelow relateonlyto attempts to get them to depart the
ward.
The Storm Knights will most likelybe baffled by this irrational behavior,and may suspect some form of mind
control has been used here. i f onlythey knew ...
Zero Ward Prisoners (42)
DEXTERITY 8Dodge 9, stealth 11, unarmed. com·
bat 10STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 8PERCEPTION 7Trick 8 (25)
MIND 7CHARISMA 7Charm (20), persuasion (25), taunt
(25)
SPIRIT 7Intimidation (25)Possibilities: NoneOneWard and TwoWard,adjacent
to this building, are prison and hospi·tal buildings, respectively,and arebothempty.
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Heritage of Osiris
Dominating the centerof thebase is
Heritage of Osiris weird sdence re-arch center, a huge. fortress-likemadeofa substancedesigned
contain the forre of explosions. It
huge carved pillars at each of theouter comers equipped with se
ity cameras.Thewindows,doors,andsomehallays of the building are equipped
camerasand steelshutters (TDugh-24). Currently, neither cameras
r shutters are functioning, and allshutters are open.
Once the Knights gain entrance toe center, cut to "Scene Two: The
ch for Maya.H
SCENE TWO:The Search for
Maya
The Situation
Standard. TheKnights explore the
Heritage ofOsiris research centerand
see their first evidence of Berofski'shorrible experiments.
The Action
The Knights can enter the researchcenter through the main entrance orthrough the windows whose shutters
are frozen open. The descriptions ofthe various rooms are below.
The Great Hall
The main entrance opens on to along hall flanked by rows of ornatecolumns. This room is used to welcome VIPs and to intimidate anyone
Act One
else. Two shocktroopers stand guard.by the door.
Beyond the Great Hall is a vast
lounge intended for the relaxationof
welcome guests, and the possible ambush of unwelcome ones.
Administration Office
This office is run by two Nile bureaucrats who serve Berofski. Theydeal with locals who come to the center to report on Storm Knight activityand pass any interesting informationon to the doctor.
If the Knights enter, a find total of8
will reveal the bureaucrats, who arehidingunder theirdesks. Ifquestioned,theywill admit that theydid see a fewgospog enter the building with a girl,but do not know what is going on.They will give directions (if asked) toBerofski's office.
Nile Bureaucrats (2)
DEXTERITY 8Dodge 10, running 9. stealth 10
STRENGTH'
TOUGHNESS'
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: Crucible of rain
PERCEPTION 10Evidence analysis 12, find 12, language 11, trick 11
MIND 10CHARISMA 8Charm 11, persuasion 12, taunt 10SPIRIT 9Intimidation 10
Possibilities: NoneInclination: Evil
Security Central
The nerve center of the research's defenses, as the Knights ap
willsee theguard onduty
orting to his recently roused supe. A Perception total of 9 will allowKnights to see that the captain isng a functioning walkie-talkie, al
no one is answering. He has
t disconnected as yet, and would beof reactivating many of the
security devices.If the Knights do not attack and
feat the shocktrooper captain, hell returnall securitydevices to lifeinrounds.
Khali Hafji
DEXTERITY 10Beast riding 11, dodge 12, fire combat 12, maneuver 11, melee weap
ons11,
unarmed combat12
STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 11PERCEPTION 10Evidence analysis 12, find 12, landvehicles 11, tracking I I , trick 13
MIND 9Test 12CHARISMA 10Charm14, persuasion13,willpower11
SPIRIT 9Intimidation 14, reality 14
Possibilities: 2Inclination: EvilEquipment::KOS, damage value15,
8, range 3-10/25/60; grenadesdamage value 19, range 1-6/15/
blast radius 0-3/8/15; radio
Eternium Synthesizer
This room contains banks of moniequipment and a hugeconcreteberdesigned to refine eternium,cial ingredient in thecreation of
ality bombs. A guard is currently
present in the room, trying to remember how to pu t his field-stripped rifleback together.
Reality Bomb Chamber
This large room is full of realitybomb prototypes and metallic barri
cades designed to provide cover incase of an explosion. Three scientistsare puzzling over a reality bomb imbued with the axioms of the Nile Empire. They were planning to trigger itand restore their native axioms, but
havedisconnectedand thushavebeenunable to do so. The three scientistshave all attributes at 8.
There are reality bombs here withtheaxiomsof the UvingLand,Nippon,Core Earth and theCyberpapacy, twoapiecewithOrroshanand Ayslish axi
oms, and four with Nile axioms. Thebombs are not labeled.
Determining the realm axioms
simulated by the bombs requires aweird sciellce total of10 or a science totalof 15. An intimidation totalof10againsta scientist will frighten him into revealing the information.
If theStormKnights wish to try andcarry off a bomb, they will find it alittlemuch tohandle(theaverage reality bomb is roughly 1.5 meters longand weighs600 kilograms. Iftheywishto try and set one off, they must generatea weird sciellce total of18 or a sciencetotal of 25 to do so. The scientists cannot provide any aid in this, as theyhave temporarily forgotten the procedure.
Reality Bomb PrototypesTOUGHNESS 2.Reality 35Damage Value: 23Blast Radius: 0-4/10/25
Duration: 29 (one week, unlesshooked up to Soul Drain element).Description: A reality bomb blast·
is marked by a wave of pure force(which does damage value 23) followed by shower of light as the newaxioms take hold in the area of effect.The reality bomb creates a pure zoneduring the timein which it is activethosewhogenerate reality totalsgreaterthan that of the bomb can treate thearea as a dominant zone.These particular bombs, similar to
the ones used in the Nowhere Lands,
have long durations but small blastradii. The bomb set offbyMaya was amorestandard type, with a large blastradius and a relatively short duration(six hours).
Test Labs and Storage Area
These areas are filled with weirdscience components. Most are lying inheaps, with no immediate clue as totheirfunction. There are no possibilitycapacitors present, as they were allused for the Nowhere Lands experiment.Test Lab #6 contains notes on the
constructionofa teleportaliongrenadewhich imply that such a thing hasbeen done successfully. There is aworking Synapsitron in Test Lab #4
(weird sciellce total of 15 to determine
its method of operation).
Synapsitron
Damage value 20, ammo 12, range3-1O/40/SO
Description: The Synapsitron
scrambles the electrical impulses inthe target's brain. Compare the damage total to the opponent's Mind or
willpower value. For each level of suc·
cessaboveMinimal, thevictim'sMi tldrelated skills are reduced -1 for five
minutes. At the end of that time, allskill levels return to normal.When the Knights reach the test
labs, cut to "SceneThree: BlackSmokeand Mirrors."
Control Room
Berofski's dim, cluttered, smokyperch from which hemonitors his victims.It isdominated bya large controlpanel featuring sound equipment attuned to the test cells and an electro
shock device, the device of which canbeadjusted toadministerjoltsofdam
age value 8 to 20.Two shocktrooper guards are
posted here.A thick sheet ofmegaglass (TOU 25)
in the southwall of the room serves asa one-way mirror to allow Berofski tomonitor the activity in the test cells.The cells themselves are tiny, with
floors rigged for electroshock on either side of a thin rubber insulatingstrip. Eachroom hasmirrors mounted
on every wall, through one of which
. . , . . . , . . .------------------- .....
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(Ij(J Crucible of Pain: Map 2
Heritage of Osiris Research Center
C. Hunb!'r
Key1. Great Hall2. Receiving Room3. Administration Office4. Stairs to Basement5. Storage Rooms6. Security Central
7. Etemium Synthesizer8. Reality BombChamber
9. Library10. Test Cells11. Control Room12. Berofski's Office
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: Crucible of Pain
can peer from his control
etaldoon;(TOU
with simple pa ocks (lock pickin
of 8).jfherM-one ar
sonetnreell #4.
Berofski's Office
Berofski andMayaare inhere,alongthe gospog Maya now controls.fski is cowering under his desk
tells him how it's going tofrom now on.(Note: The Storm Knights shouldbe able to reach the office until ActOncethey approach it from any
they will be confronted byand his shocktroopers. CuteThree:BlackSmokeandMir·
Stairways to Hell
There are two staircases leading tobasement, one at the nor th end of
building and one in the southeast
The doors to both are boarded, with large signs reading. "DAN·R! KEEP OUT! AUTHORIZED
ONLYl" posted. upon
If the Knights interrogate anyonethe Her itage staff about the area,wil l be told that the basement
s sealed. off when an experimentawry. It's considered. to be very
down there.Thebarricaded doors havea T o u g h ~of 14, and it r equi res a Strength
al of 16 to tear the boards off with·t theuseof a tool (with acrowbaror
of the sort, it requires onlyof 11).
If the StormKnights break throughdoor, they will be spotted by
and his shocktrooper squad.to Scene Three.
Closing In
As soon as the Knights reach thedor betweenTest Labs tf1 and #8,
y are confronted by Angelou, whoarrived thereseekingBerofski.CutScene Three.
SCENE THREE:Black Smokeand Mirrors
The SituationDramatic. The Knights are con
fronted by AntonAngelouand asmallsquad of shocktroopers,andgetaoneway ticket to Nowhere.Whether theKnights are stopped at
the entrance to the basement or nearBerofski's office, read aloud or para·phrase:You hear the dick of KK81s being
readied for firing.. and find yourselvesconfronted by five Nile shocktroop·ers, armed to the teeth. Behind themstands a young.. nervous-looking re ·searchscientist,apparentlyunarmed.
The Action
The scientist, Anton Angelou, hassucr:eeded in rounding up the fewshocktroopers who have yet to d ir
connect.Togethertheyhavebeenhunting the Knights down, because
Angelou is concerned that they willraid the test labs or somehow unleashthe creatures of the Nowhere Lands.
Angelou will stay behind hisshocktrooper shield as much as pas.sible, not being a physically coora·gecus person. He will attempt to tricktheKnights, telling them thatNileaxi·oms have been restored, and the as·sortment ofsecuritydeviceswillmakeit imposs ible for them to escape thefacility, and demand their surrender.
If the Knights givein,Angelou andhis men will lead them to a test cell.Onceinside, Angelou will toss his ring(with the concealed teleportation gre
nade) into the cell, and the Knightswill be whisked off to the NowhereLands.
If the Knights go into combat,
Angelou will stay ou t of it, letting hisshocktroopersdo the fighting for him.If the Knights are defeated, the resultwill be the sameas i f they had surren·dered. If the Knights are victorious,cut to "£ t Tu, Angelou?"
Anton Angelou
DEXTERITY 10Dodge 14, maneuver 12, running12, stealth 15STRENGTHs
TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 14, find 13, landvehicles 12, trick 13MIND 12Test 13, weird science 15CHARISMA 9Charm 11, persuasion 10SPIRIT 9Reality 13Possibilities: 7Inclination: EvilEquipment: miniaturized telepor
tation grenade (concealed in ring),adventurecost 5, effect value 25,burstradius0-4/10/25.This isanother pieceof modified weird science equipment- a grenade which causes anythingtrapped within its burst radius to beteleported to a place of the thrower'schoosing (providing itiswithin range,and not within a solid object). Like thereality bomb prototypes, this o n f M ) f ~a-kind device sacrifices range for effect - it will transport anyone whoseToughness its effect valuecan beat, bu tno more than 100 meters away. Itscreation was an accident, which maynever be duplicated.People teleported automatically
take two shock points.Description: Angelou is a fright·
ened little man - frightened of
Berofski, frightened of the NowhereLands, f right ened o f th e Storm
Knights. He is most afraid that theKnights will loot his test labs and takethe fruits of his labors. It is for thatreason he is willing to take the risk ofteleporting both himself and the
Knights into the Nowhere Lands.
Angelou'5 Shockttoopers(5)DEXTERITY 10
Beast riding 12, fire combat 13,heavy weapons 13, unarmed com·ba t 13STRENGTH 10Climbing 11
TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 9Find 11, first aid 11, tracking 11,trick 11
MINDs
Survival 10, test 10,willpower 13
. ~ - - - - - - - - - .......30 0,..,;v
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CHARISMA 9Taunt 11
SPIRIT 8Faith (Egyptian) 11. intimidation11, reality 11
Possibilities: 2Indination: EvilEqu.ipment: KK.81, damage value
ammo 24, range 3-40/400/1k;
damage value STR+4/17
Et Tu, Angelou?
U the Knights defeat the shock-Angelouwill throwhishands
and surrender. A Pnuption or findof 11 will reveal that he is wear
a large gold ring on his left hand.Angelou will begin to babble, say-he was forced to attack them. and
l l offer to lead them to Berofski. At
pointduringhis hystericalmonoe.Angeloll willattempt to use his
to fold over his ring finger un·ot iced . When he does so, the
grenade will go off.l f Angeloll is spotted, he will offer
o let the Knights take the ring. Asas contact is made with it, the
willgooff.lfAngeloll is killedr knocked out in the battle, the gre-ade will go off when he hits the
Read aloud or paraphrase:
You hear amuffled explosion, and
begin to dance of f of your
equipment . Thick tendrils of oily
black smoke coil toward you, mak
ing it virtually impossible to see.here is a tingling sensation in your
bodyand a feeling of movement, andhen through the darkneu you see apair of piercing eyes regarding youoldly. Then the darkness returns.
Cut toAd Two, 'The Lords of No
where."
Variables
If the Knights should escape fromtheshocktroopers andmake it into thebasement, theywill comeupon a large
metal door. It is the only immediatelyapparent exit from the basement. Itopens automatically every five sec-onds, revealing brightwhite light. IftheKnights go through thisdoor, eachwill be transported to his or her own
Nowhere Land.Cut to Ad Two, "The Lords of No-
where."
Flags
If an Irktl card is played, a Knightrecalls having heard of a wrird sOmaresearch center in the Khartoum area.He will beable to find it easilywithout
using his tracking skill, sparing the
ActOn
party member in psychic contad witMaya a certain amount of pain.
If a PersonQl Stake card. is played,CoreEarth orNile Knight had at leasa nodding acquaintance with May
priorto thestart ofthe PossibilityWarsIfa Connection card isplayed,oneo
the twobureaucrats in theadministration office is Belinda Coming, an olfriend of a Knight and a secrelsympathizer with their cause. She will answer the Knights' questions, tellinthem about layout and defensesat thinstitute and about rumorsshe'shear
of an experiment in thebasement thawent awry.
Act AwardsAward the Knights three Possibil
ties at the end of this act.
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Act Two
The Lords
of Nowhere
rg: Crucible of Pain
The Major Beat
TheStonn Knights find themselvestransported to miniature versions ofthe invading cosms. These NowhereLands are maintained by the e x p e r i ~mental perpetual reality bombs,whilethe Soul Drain Elements keep the
bombs functioning and generate anenergy barrier which surrounds eachmicrocosm.Once inside the Nowhere Lands,
the Knights will be tempted to attachthemselves to theSoul Drain Element.If they do so, their Possibilities will!;'edrained tokeep the NowhereLands Inexistence. In addition, they will fallprey to the true ruler of the NowhereLands, the Wasting Spirit.Keep in mind when running these
scenes that reality stonns cannot be
invoked against someonewhose reality is the same as one's own.
The Wasting Spirit
The Wasting Spirit was one of twoOrrorshannativeswhowere locked ina testing for the explosion of a prototype reality bomb. Following the creation of theOrrorshan purezone, bothhe and his comrade turned to the occult togain superiority in theNowhereLand. TheWastingSpiritwas themoresuccessful, so corrupted himself thathe transfonned into the dread entityhe is today.
Of all the Lords of Nowhere, onlytheWasting Spirit takes advantage ofthefreedom tomoveabout among thevariousmini-eosms,and even thebasementof the Heritageinstitute.Hefeedson the fear and dread of those whoreside in theNowhereLands,and so isdetennined that these realms should
remain in existence. For that reason,he is anxious tosee the Possibility-richStonn Knights attached to the SoulDrain Elements.The Wasting Spirit has counseled
all six Nowhere Lords on how best toluretheKnightsintotheirtraps.Shouldthe Knights escape the Nowhere
Lands, they will still have to confrontthis powerful creature.Note that the "Flags" and "Vari
ables" listed at the conclusion of ActTwo c a ~ a p p l i e d toanyofthesevenscenes listed below.
The Barrier and the
Portal
The barrier around each NowhereLand is impenetrableby nonnal physi
cal means (TOU SO). It looks like ashimmering wall of solid gray, and is
generated by the Soul Drain gizmoswhichmaintain the effects of the reality bombs.Therearethree10foot tall portals in
each barrier. The portals open for fivesecondsonceeveryhalf-minute.Whenthey are closed, they resemble the restof the barrier, but when they open,they look likehuge,black fanged jaws.During the few seconds they areopen,soft, diffused white light pours in.
From a distance, this seems like agreat flash of light that is seen for onlysecondsand thendisappears. (In someNowhere Lands, the portals are disguised, or blocked).Spotting the portals requires a Per-
ception total that varies by mini--cosm.(Note that a second Perception. roll immediately after the first will fail, sincethe portal is only visible for ten seconds out ofeach minute. Nowyou seeit; now you don't.)
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Leaping through the portals is ant of blind faith (or desperation).
a Knight enters one, he is envel·by thebright light,and then lands
n a sol id surface, in total darkness.e air now smells musty.
The portals lead to the lnstitute's
which had been blacked
ut when the electricity went out. All
portals in each owhere Landto a single door in the basement.
Soul Drain Element
Each Nowhere Land is the creationan experimental perpetual reality
Each bomb has a "Soul Drain
actually the gizmo's mas·
ve possibili ty capacitor. The SoulElements look different in each
Land, bu t they all do the
thing. They drain possibility enat varying rates and transfer it toperpetual reality bomb. This sus
tains the bomb's base duration, and
eps each mini-eosm open for busi·ness.
In each Nowhere Land, the SoulDrain Elementsare stockedwith thoseonners that were being held at the
when the experiment was per·
fonned. After two months of being
drained, most of them have been vir ·
tuallyemptiedofPossibilities.TheSoul
Drain Elements have been forced toration theexpenditureofPossibilities,so when fresh donors are hooked up,
the capacitors will increase their leechrate to a Possibili ty per hour.
Since the lnstitute sealed off the
Nowhere Lands, the Wasting Spirithas had no chanceatgaining possibil·ity rated people to drain. Even ifHeri·
tageweretosendsomeStonnersdown
there (unlikely in any circumstances
except for, say, an all-out attackon theinstitute), theywould have to agree to
be drained of their possibility energyfor the Soul Drain to work.Naturally,maintainingNilebombs
created through weird science in the
pure zones of the owhere Lands isextremely difficult. Thus each bomb
hasaffixed toit aNileEmpiretalisman
(a small scarab amulet) which main
tainsMobius' reality in that spot. This
area is usuallymarked by atmospheric
disturbances. Removing the talismanwill cause the bomb to stop working
o ne-On-One Roleplaying
When the Knights are struckby the teleportationgrenade, the
group is separated, and each
Knight is transported into the
NowhereLand thatcorrespondsto his realm.Upon arriving.. eachis met and tested by an agent of
the Wasting Spirit. Since the.solutions to all these situations aresimilar, run eachscenewith each
player individually, as a one-onone adventure. That way the
playerswon't be able to secondguess what will happen in theiradventure. (I f there aretwochar·
acters from the same realm, theymay participate in the scene to-
gether).Dramatically announce that
all the players save one have to
leave the room. (They can make
popcorn.) Once they are out of
earshot, run the first player
through his scene.
except in the ~ e w e s t Nile Empire".When theStonn Knights aresent to
the Nowhere Lands, the Lords tr y to
trick them intosurrendering theirpos-Sibility energy. Keep in mind that aU
attempts to convince the Knights tohook themselves up to the SoulDrain
Elements involve some form of mis·
representation about the danger in ·
volved, and thus there is a +5 diffi
culty modifier to the Lords' persua-sion attempts.
If the Lords convince theKnights tohelp them, the Nowhere Lands gain afresh burstof energy, and a new leaseon l i fe-a t theexpenseof theKnight's
freedom and, eventually, perhaps hislife as welL
Fight or Flight
In the following seven scenes, eachKnight is faced witha trial; a test of hisresolve and dedication, orchestratedby theWastingSpirit and acted outbythe Lords of Nowhere. If a Knightgivesin, he will beattached to theSoul
Ac t Two
After the conclusion of that
adven tu re , b ring in the next
player.The first playermay stay
and watch. Continue this way
until you are ready for theCoreEarth interlude.Beforeyou bringin the player(s) with Core Earthcharacter(s), brieftheother players on their roles in that adven·lure.
As long as you save theCore
Earth Knight(s) for last, the in ·
terludes may be run in any or·
der. We recommend you run
them in the order listed here.If you prefer not to send the
players out o f the room during
the one-on-one sections, makesure they don't have their char·
actersact on informationgained
by watching the decis ions of
other players.
DrainElement and drained of his p0ssibilities. If he resists, the Lord of Ne>
where attacks in anger.
When the Lordsattack, they do notattack to kin. They want to force the
Knight to change his mind and sub
mit. They only use killing force if theKnight is on the verge of breaking theSoul Drain machine or removing the
Nile talisman from the reality bomb.If the Knights wish to flee, they can
escape through the portals in each
Nowhere Land to the Heritage basement. If theymake it through a portal,the Lords will not pursue.
SCENE ONE:The Living
Nowhere Land
The Situation
Standard. Stonn Knights from the
Living land find themselves in a pri·
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'ble of P.inCruCI
. f Pain:Map 3[ I I ] CrucIble 0 LandsThe Nowhere
Altar
Portals
Lighthouse
f ~ r - - - : : __
Cave
Board Room
Sacred Grove
Flash's Shack
Altar
Portals
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Act Tw
eval jungle. The foliage is denser
dmore lush than any they haveeveren. The mist is thick, and it's hard toll just how far the jungle extends.is mist is sufficiently similar to thatthe living Land that the same rules
ing sightdistancecanapply (see65 ofThe Living l..nnd sourcebook).
Due to the mist, it's vi rtual ly im ·
ssible for the Knight to see the por·l from the ground, requiring a Per·
or find total of 35. His chancell come once he's atop the Ugresk.
The Action
If the Knight makes a Perception or
analysis total of20, he gets thee impression that though his sur·ndings resemble the Living Land,ere is something subtly different
this area.The Knight is free to explore theea. Walking forward will bring himan altar; walking to the right or leftsee him just slog through jungle
til theugresk appears. I f the Knightand looks behind him, he will
e theshimmering energybarrierthatthis area.
Before he can reach the altar or therrier, a Perception total of 8 will al-w him to hear a rush ofwings off toright.The sound grows louderand
der, until an ugresk flies into view,as it approaches him.
If the Knight attacks the ugresk, ities away. The Knight will have to
to explore on his own, andll eventually come upon the altar.t to '1akananda."If he does not attack it, the ugresk
and approaches him with itsad bowed. It places its head at the
feet, and wait s unti l theight takes an action of some sort.If the Knight takes an action which
not over tly hostile, it will rub itsead against him in an affectionate
It will allow the Knight tohewishes,and evento
it. If theKnightdoes notmount
, the ugresk will lead him on foot toaltar. Cut to "Jakananda."Once the Knight is atop the ugresk,will take off into the "sky." (Dexter·or beast riding total of 8 to stay atopcreature). If theKnight should fall,t to "Falling Into theGoddess."
From the air, a Perception or findtotal of 13 will allow the Knight to seeone of the portals open, revealing aburst of light. The ugresk is fiercelyloyal to the commands of its mistress,and will resistany orders to fly toward
the portal. A beast riding total of25 isrequired to get it to fly anywhere be-sides straight to the altar.
UgreskSee page 98 of The Living Landsourcebook.
Possibilities: noneNaturalTools: teeth, damagevalu
STR+2/28; claws, damage valu
STR+l/27; wings, speed value 12
Jakananda
When the Knight reaches the altahe sees abeautifulJakatt priestesswita smile on her lips and her arms outstretched in greeting. A violent winis blowing through thegrove inwhicthe altar sits. A Perception or evidenc
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rg: Crucible of Pain
totalof 10 reveals to theKnighta scarab amulet is attached to theof thealtar. If he asks the priestess
it, she will claim that it is aofoneofLanala'screa-
and is there by the will of the
The altar contains the perpetual re-
ty bomb. If the Knight removes thearab amulet, violent weather will
the Nowhere Land a silvery rainbegin to fall, as Nile axioms takeonce again. The ugresk and the
( if present) will be seen to ex-in flames as they transfonn fora
cond time, rever ting to Nile crea-
If theKnight attacksJakananda, sheill signal for a carnal, which will
from the trees and charge the
It will attempt to subdue, but
t kill. the Stann Knight.If theKnight takesno hostileaction.e priestesswill beckon him forwardattempt to charm him. Read aloud
paraphrase:
Hersmile is like untothatof Lanalaas she says,"'1 amJakananda,
of Lanala. Iwelcome you. Ie you have accepted my gift. Dou like him? He is yOUl'S, brave
"'Come, let us go un to Unala andmune with he r....
If the Knight agrees, he feels him-
begin to sink into the soft ground.willpower total of 10 is required to
from thrashing about. There arenearby which the Knight canand a Strellgth total of 9 allows
e Knight to pul l himself free of theembrace.
If the Knight fails to save himself,t to "Falling Into the Goddess.'"
I f the Knight refuses to communeLanala, or succeeds in freeingfrom thesoftearth,. cuI to "Theof Jakananda.'"
DEXTERITY 12Beast riding 14, dodge 15, maneu-ver 14, missile weapons 13, stealth14, unarmed combat 14
STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 11
Find 13, language 13, tracking 12,
trick 14MIND to
Survival 14, test 12CHARISMAUCharm 14, persuasion 15, taunt 14SPIRITU
Faith (Keta Kalles) 15, focus 15, in-
timidation 15, reality 14
Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightMiracles: Qnimal rage, mrth's ttlr,intense fear, sa through mist
Equipment: hrockt spear, damage
value STR +3/18
Description: jakananda is an ac-tual jaka" priestess captured by Nileagents specifically for the Nowhere
Lands experiment. She is convincedthat the reality bombs, though dead
things, could help tospread thewill ofLanala throughout the world.
CarnolSee page 82 of The Living lAndsowcebook.
Possibilities: noneNatural Tools: hide, armor value
TOU+2/32; teeth, damage value
STR+6/32;tail,damagevalueSTR+2!
28
TheWrath ofJakananda
U the Knight declines to commune
with Lanala, or frees himself from the
apparent embrace of the goddess,
jakananda grows angry and says:
"Then Lanala will take youllf youdeny your goddess, she becomes ademoness!"
jakananda calls for a carnal, whichattacks the Knight. Again, it s tr ikesonly to subdue, not kill. If theKnight is
defeated, he feels himseU sinking intothe soft earth. Cut to ~ a l l i n g Into theGoddess."
Falling Into theGoddess
TheKnight feelshimselfslowly fall-ing, but experiences no terror. Warm
green enfolds and comforts him. Hewill take no damage from this, even i f
he has fallen from the ugresk to the
soft earth.
Read aloud or paraphrase:
You hear a soft, gentle voice say"Welcome back, my child. You have
been long gone, and long missed.'"You feel waves of bliss flow ove
you, as you sink into a great, prima
calm. The voice says, "I am a lovinggoddess, and 1forgive your fall intothe dead lands. I forgive your desireto destroy my people and my land."
If theKnight objects, saying heonlyintended to fight Baruk Kaah, and no
the goddess, sheappreciates the sentiment, saying:
"You have been too longgone, andwe long for your return. Come back
and l ive as one of us again."
This is actually an effort at ptTSll4sion by Jakananda, the Lord of thiNowhereLand.Shewill try fora yes ovow result.U the Knight agrees, he is brough
back up to the surface, emerging in athick grove of tree to the rear of thaltar. A Perception total of 8 revealthat there are five other people herehanging like puppets from the treesivy wound around their wrists.
jakananda shows him how to en
twine his hands in the ivy of the largest tree (a Strength total of 10 is re
quired to free one's self from the ivy)As shedoes so,a Perception or find totaoft5 allowstheKnightto see theWast
ingSpiritapproach. TheWastingSpiriwill attack with his paralyzing touch
and then use liftdraill to make a singlattack the Knight's Spirit. If he haalready used the lift drain power inthisact, hewill simply leave theKnighparalyzed, intendingto drainhim later(For details on theWastingSpirit, seAct Three, Scene One or thGamemasterCharacterRecordSheet.If theWasting Spirit's initial attack isuccessful, the Knight will be unabltomovewhilethe SoulDrainsteals hiPossibilities, at a rate of one per hour
If the Knight rejects the offer, thgoddess presencebecomesangry, andher voice begins to sound more likJakananda than Lanala. Read:
""How dare you not give me my
due? I reject you! I cast you out! Yo
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Cl'\ldble of p.. ln
no longer welcome among our
el You will live your days as anever again to feelmy lov·
embracel I give you one last
nce to reconsiderl"
If the Storm Knight continues touse, he is forcefully ejected from the
n bliss, back to the surface. This, Jakananda will order both the
and the ugresk to slay thehI.
itthe Knight runs, he will eventureach the barrier. Uhe follows the
in either direc tion for four, hewill reach a portal. Leaping
ugh the portal will return theto the basement.
If theKnightwishes,hecan attemptfree the o ther prisoners from theDrain. A first aid total of 8will get
on their feet, and theKnightthen lead them out through the
SCENE TWO:The Newest
Nile Empire
The SituationStandard. Storm Knights from thele Empire find themselves in an
an villageapparently shatteredheavy bombardment. The fieldse cratered, the buildings are col
and the streets are filled withb fragments and rubble. Thickoke lies heavy on the village. Theets are filled with corpses, and abuzzards circle in the skies.
If the Knight searches his immedi
area, he finds no one left alive.ryman,womanand child hasbeen, bombed,or shot. Everywhere
Is desolation, and silence.
The Action
On a Perctption or evidena analysisof 20, the Knight realizes thatthis is unquestionably theNile
pire, the set ting seems vaguely
The Knight is free to explore the
area. On a Perctption or find total of9,
he 5eeS a flash of red and gold ahead,and realizes that it is the figure of aman hunched over a fire. A total of 11
or above allows the Knight to see astrange light in the distance, blinkingon and off (i t is a portal, though theKnight has no way of knowing that at
this point).No matter which direction the
Knight travels in, he will eventuallycome upon the man by the fire. Readaloud or paraphrase:
You see an emaciated old man
wearing a tattered brown robe, tend-
ing the ashes of a cook fire. Throughthe holes in the robe, you can seepatches of red and gold, as i f he woresomesortofcostumeunderneath.His
face is obscured by the hood of his
robe.
U the Knight speaks tothe man. hewill be regarded with silence for along time before getting a reply. Thes tranger will not answer any questions about who he is, preferring instead to talk about the passing of thevillage. His voice is old and creaky,like a rusted gate. He speaks veryslowly and mournfully.He tells theKnightthat "they" came
and destroyed everything,.slaying400people in the process. He knows now
it's over - Mobius has won. Then hesinks his head into his hands and
weeps. If the Knight announces thathe fights Mobius, thestrangerbecomesangry, saying,.
"Your quest is futile, hero! Youreffortsare like trying to blow againstthe wind.You will find only martyrdom through heroism,. like the oncegreat Dr. Flash! But you do not hon-
estly desire true heroism! You knownothing of heroism! Of wcrifice! Of
the price you must pay! You art amockeryof thememory ofDr. Flash!"
The Saga of
Dr. Flash
If the Knight is unfamiliarwith the
exploits of Dr. Flash, the old man explains that he is speaking ofone of the
greatest of the Terran Mystery Men.
Foryears, he battled Mobius, until thday he was captured by the fiend andforced to endure the agonies of thOmegatron. (For the full story, seepages 6-7 of The Nile Empirsourcebook.)At the most dramatic moment, th
elderly man whips off the hood of hi
robe and proclaims, "But I survived!am Dr. Flash!" He then removes throbe, revealinga gaudycostumehanging limply on his skeletal body.Dr. Flash explains that he was sen
here to die by Mobius after the HigLord had tired of toying with him. Ithe Knight agrees to help him, DrRash shakes his head, saying,
....1 am too weak to go on. Only b
the selfless generosity of some of thlocals am 1 alive at all now. Man
people have given of their essenceto keep me from dying. Though m
time in the Omegatron has leftme in
conslmt agony, I am getting strongerl
...And you cm free me from m
painl You are rich with PossibilitiesJust a little boos t from you woul
make me as young and s trong asonce was!"
This is a persuasion attempt, wit
Dr. Rash trying for a yes or vow resulUtheStormKnight agrees tohelp him
cut to "Soul Survivor." If the Knighrefuses, cut to "Flash Attack."
Dr. FlashOEXTERITY 11Dodge 16, energy weapons 13, fircombat 13, maneuver 13, meleweapons 14, unarmed combat 13STRENGTH 11TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 9
Find 11, trick 11MIND 9Test 12, weird science11.willpowe14CHARISMA 10Charm 11, persuasion 12SPIRIT 8Intimidation 12, reality 12Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightInclination: EvilPowe.rs: e1ectJ'&.ray, damage valu
21, range 3-10/11-25/26-60
Power Raw: roll-again vulnerabiity to water attacks
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Act Tw
Equipment: boom belt (teleportion power, value 17)Description:Dr. Flashwas, indeed,of the bravest heroes ofTerra. Butter his capture by Mobius and con·nment to the Omegratron, he be·me convinced that his fellow Mys·ry Men had abandoned him. Hisd brokeand hisindination flippedevil. Learning this, Mobiushad himleased, intending touse him againsts former allies. He was then sent totagetobe part of the reality bomb
Soul Survivor
If the Knight agrees, Doctor Flashhim to a broken·down house
arby. There is a huge Doctor Flashin the center of the room, de
cting him as a healthy, radiant hero.his was the only thing I could sal·from my lab when the
cktroopers raided me," he says,nting to it proudly.The statue actually contains theetual realitybomb, but there is nohericdisturbanceor Nile talis-present, as its functioning doescreate a contradiction in this parular Nowhere Land. A Perceptiontal of 12 lets the Knight hear a slightm coming from the statue (the
vibrations are causing this). Ifasks Dr. Flash about it, the pulp
ro will claim to hear nothing.The exterior of the statue has a
of 10. The only way to shutthe reality bomb is to smash theand the device within. This
uld cause the axioms to shift fromile pure to Nile dominant.Then he leads the Knight to a weirdgizmo. Five people (including
if theKnightsencoun
red him in Act One), are hookedup
the strange contraption throughund metal skullcaps. They look
Dr. Flashwill tell theKnight thatthistheSoulMachine,and thegoodpeople
upto it volunteered togivehimhimsurvive.
e goes on to say that the procedure isinless, and actually quite relaxing.When the Knight is hooked up tomachine, he feels a surgeofenergyss through him. A Strength total of
10 is required to remove the skullcap.At this point, a Perception or finJ totalof15allows theKnightto seethe Wast
ingspiritapproach. TheWastingSpiritwill attack with his paralyzing touch,and then use life drain to makea singleattack the Knight's Spirit. If he hasalready used the life drain power inthis act, hewillsimply leavethe Knightparalyzed, intendingtodrain him later.(For details on theWasting Spirit. seeAct Three, Scene One or the
CamemasterCharacterRecordSheet.)If the Wasting Spirit's initial attack issuccessful, the Knight will be unabletomovewhile theSoul DrainstealshisPossibilities, at a rate of one per hour.The last sound the Knight hears is
Dr. Flash cackling with insane glee.
Flash Attack
If the Knight refuses to help, Dr.Flash rages, saying he has suffered forso long, and he can't understand whythe Knight would refuse him salvation. He will brand the Knight a dis-
grace to the Mystery Men and a selfserving coward.
If the Knight tries to leave, Docto
Flash howls, "So you would go bacand leave me to rot, eh?" and attacksHe is slow on his feet, and the Knighhas initiative in the first round, so hcan escape if he so chooses. Dr. Flaswill fight at first merely to subdue thKnight, but will use killing force ifappears he is going to be defeated.
If, at any point. the Knight relenand agrees to aid Dr. Flash, cut t"Soul Survivor."
If the Knight has not already spoted the portal, anow him to generatanother Perception total. If he wishehecanattempt tofree the otherprisoners from theSoulDrain machine.Thecan be roused with first aid totals of- if Angelou is among them, he witell the Knight the story behind thNowhere Lands. All can then escapthrough the portal and into the Hertage basement.
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C r u c i b l ~ of Pain
SCENE THREE:The Aysle
in the Storm
The Situation
Standard. Storm Knights from
ysle find themselves suddenly
into the middle of an oceana raging storm. It is dark and
terly cold, and waves crash vioonto the rocky shorelinenearby.
the Knight can't swim.or iswearing
which makes him too heavy toim. he finds a convenient floatingg to hold onto_ (Courtesy of the
Spirit).
The Action
On a Perception or find total of9, thespots an island nearby and alight blinkingonand offin the(This is the portal, gleaming
the distance as it opens).If the Knight does not see the is-
land, a huge beam of light shines onthe waters, illuminating the area. Hewill then be able to see an elven-stylelighthousestandingon asmall,nearbyisland. Its l ight comes from a huge
gem on the top floor of the structure.On a Perception or evidence analysis
total of 20, the Knight gets the vagueimpressionthat, though thisNowhere
Land resembles Aysle, i t is not. Justwhere it truly is will be unclear.A De::cterity or swimming total of 7
will gettheKnight to theisland. S w i m ~ming in any other direction requires atotal of 11. If the Knight swims ou t
toward the open sea, he wiD hit thebarr ie r in three rounds. If he heads
toward the porta l, a huge DraconisAquatica rises up before him, blocking his pa th . The dragon will not attack unless the Knight attacks first, orpersists in t ry ing to go toward the
glowing portal.
Oraconis AquaticaSee page 111 of the Aysfe soureebook.Possibilities: noneNatural Tools: annor, TOU+101
31; tail, swimming speed value 11,
damage value STR+3/27Note: This transformed Nile crea·
lure does not possess the Aquatica'ssteam breath weapon, nor its knowledge of magic.
If the Knight hauls himself ou t ofthe water and onto the rainswept island, hecan visit the lighthouse. There
is a pier and a boat on the island.Sarigar the Elf answers the door.
He's a tall, quiet, dignified sort, wear·
ing flOWing robes. He ushers the
Knight inside, gives him a blanket anddeposits him before the warm hearth,but does not say a word .Itseemssafe,comfortableand warm
inside the lighthouse. It's fairly cleanexcept for some large spiderwebsnear
the ceiling.Sarigar sits in silence. The Storm
Knights must initiate the conversa·
lion, and regardless of the question.Sarigar's first words wiD be:
HI am the Lighthouse Keeper and
the Keeper of the House ofLight. Donot speak to me if you value your
illusions. I f you seek comfort in the
veil of cheerful lies, I am a danger toyou. So before you ask me anything,
you mus t answer me one thing. Do
youwish to keepyour lies?Ordo you
seek truthr
If the Knight prefers falsehood,Sarigar will tell him that he willieam
to value the truth by theend ofhisstay
in the lighthouse. Cut to "Sarigar'sTale."
If theKnight answers that he valuestruth, cu t to "Sarigar's Tale."
SarigarDEXTERITY 12 (9)
Dodge 13,maneuver 13. stealth 13,unarmed combat 14
STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 12Alteration magic 14, find 13, trick1.MIND 14 (11)
Apportation magic 16, conjurationmagic 17, test 15, willpower 15CHARISMA 11Persuasion 12, taunt 13SPIRIT 9Corruption 13, faith (Eshtar) 10, in ·timidation 11, reality 13
_.-.:-;:------------------
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Act Two
Possibilities: 6 per Stann Knight
Arcane Knowledges: metal2, fire4,3, magic 4, living forct:s 4
Spells:build,conjured fireball, createmystic shield, persuasion
Description: Sarigarwas a corruptllower of Eshtar captured by Nile
on a foray into Aysled sent to Heritage for this experi-
Sarigar's Tale
After the Knight has responded,arnods hisheadand speaks. Reador paraphrase:
"My lighthouse illuminates theacherous reefs as ships head forem. Wise captains can adjust their
se before they splinter their ves-on the rocks. So toodomy words
perils as our fair Aysletles toward them."Our fair jewel of a nation has atal flaw. Pella Ardinay never trulyn Aysle's freedom. Aysle was
given its freedom, and remains free
because theDarkforces suffer it to beso, because it is a part of their plan.The more the Light works to
strengthen the realm, the more theydo the work of their enemies. Nowthat I have told you this, you will
never see your home the same wayagain.
"'Wemust supportnot the pretend-ers to the throne. We must shine the
light of truth on all things. Come. Iwill show you."
Sarigarleads theKnightup the long..winding staircase to the top of thelighthouse. A great gem is shininglight out over the seas, and a harshwindblows through thechamber. Fivetired looking AysJish are bound in alarge spider web, which is in tum at-tached to the gem.
The gem itself (TOU 20) hides thereality bomb. A Perception or find totalof 10 shows the Knight a small scarabamulet attached to the gem, the Nile
talismanwhich allows it to function.U
asked, Sarigarwill say the amulet is aholy symbol ofElmiir. A sdwlar (realmlore) total of 11 will reveal this to be alie.
U the Knight removes theamulet atany point, the gale outside will growworse, and a silvery shower of lightwillsignify that theAyslepure zone isreverting to a Nile dominant zone.Any hmnel spiders present will ex-plode into flames as they transfonnback to Nile creatures, as will the
dragon.
Sarigar will gesture to the spiderweband tell the Knight that ifheagreesto attach himself to it, the light of truthwill bum so strongly that no lie couldstand before it. This is a persuasionattempt, with Sarigar trying for a yesor vow result. Sarigar will make useofhis persuasion speU in this effort.
If the Knight accepts, cut to "In theSpider'sWeb."
UtheKnight refuses. cut to"Spider'sKiss."
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Crndble of Pain
In the Spider'sWeb
If the Knight agrees, Sarigar bindsm in the webbing (Strellgth total ofto escape).Atthis point,aPerceptiollfilld total of 15 allows the Knight toe the Wasting Spirit approach. The
his para 4
touch, and then use life drain tosingleattackthe Knight'sSpirit.he has already used the Ufe drain
in this act, he will simply leavee Knight paralyzed, intending to
him later. (For details on thesting Spirit , see Act Three, Scenee or the Gamemaster Charactercord Sheet.) If the Wasting Spirit'sitial attack is successful, the Knightll be unable to move while the Soulain steals his Possibilities, at a rateone per hour.
Spider's Kiss
If theKnightdoes notagree,Sarigarhis temperand accusestheKnight
not truly fighting for truth. He willve the Knight one last chance to aC4
de to his demands.
If the Knight relents, cut to "In theWeb."
If the Knight continues to refuse,drops his pretense of being
rable. Read aloud or paraphrase:
"That should have worked on
the elf rages. "You idealisticalways fall for such rot! Killmy pets!"
Sarigar's cry bringsa spider, a varint of the Aysle tunnel spider, into
and it attacks the Knight. If theghtdefeats thespider,Sarigarhim 4
lf will attack.
nel Spider
DEXTERITY 13
Long jumping 14, maneuver 14,
stealth 15, unarmed combat 15STRENGTH 9Climbing 12TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 7Find 12, tracking 11, trick 10MINDS
Survival 11 , test (8)CHARISMA 5Charm (25), persuasion (25), taunt
(15)
SPIRIT 5Intimidation 10Possibilities: noneNatural Tools: fangs, damagevalue
STR+l/10
Description: Sarigar's spiders aresmallerversionsof the standardAysle
tunnel spider (one meter in diameter,eight legs a third of a meter long). Thewebbing attached to the gem is nottheirs, bu t is a clever disguise for theSoul Drain Element. These particularspiders do not have venom.
The Knight can attempt to escapeby leaping out of the lighthouse win·
dow into the sea. It's a 60 meter drop,and a Dexterity or acrobatics total of5 isrequired to avoid the rocks. U theKnight hits the rocks, increase the fall
ing damage total by +5.The stairway willbe blocked by the
spider, so the Knight must defeat it toreach thestepsand then evadeSarigaron the way down. Once at groundlevel, he can swim or steal the boat.Steering the boat toward the portalrequires a water vehicles total of 9. D0ing it in such a way that the dragon isnotalerted requiresa stealth totalofll.If the dragon notices the Knight fleeing, itwill harry the boat, bu tbreak offbefore the barrier is reached.
If the Knight defeats Sarigar andthe spider, he can free the other pris·oners (first aid totalof8 to rouse them).He can then lead them to the boat andtoward the portal. If Sarigar has beendefeated, the dragon will not attempt
to block their passage.
SCENE FOUR:Thursday the
CardinalDrew Blood
The Situation
Standard. Storm Knights from theCyberpapacyfind themselves in wide,round, high-tech cyber4 chapel with avaultedceiling.Thewallsareblue plastic with metal electronic inserts. There
are rows and rows of pews flashing
data readouts. The familiar smellincense and ozone in the air triggedark memories of the Inquisition.great humming noise fills the gloomplace,which isonly lit by colored ligpat terns from a ring of stained glawindows.The chapel is empty, bu t it is to
much to hope that it will stay thatwafor long.
The Action
On a Perception or evidellce analystotal of 20, the Knight realizes ththough the Nowhere Land looks likthe Cyberpapacy, it is somehow n
Malraux's realm.The Knight is free to explore' t
area.Ona Perception or find totalof9h
sees that three of the stained glawindows flash brightly twiceaminutThesearethe portals that markthe exfrom this Nowhere Land.The Knight has a few minutes
look around before Cardinal Leecarrives. If the Knight tries to flee, hsees there are no doors. If he aproaches one of the portals, Leech apears immediately.Cardinal Leech floats down fro
the vaulted ceiling on a great, hoveing platform. He's a huge, stem, r
tond man in the robes ofa cardinal.the Knight is foolish enough to attacLeech defends himself, bu t does nstrike back. He makes his openinstatements,and asks theKnight tojohim. If theKnightkeeps fighting, Leewill then strike back.Leech looks at the Knightand say
"I shall be blunt. You have impressed us with your cunning an
skill.You haveproven thatyouwou
be a valuable ally to us. Now, befoyou take alot of time in angry, ideaistic speeches, realize that I am offeing you power beyond your pet
notions of power. Become our spforego allegiance to the anti·papisand we will give you more pow
than you have ever dreamed of. Anisn't that what you are truly after?
This is a persuasion attempt, wiLeech trying for a yes or a vow resultthe Knight agrees to ally himself wi
Leech, cut to "The Chop Shop." If
_. ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " " ' I \42 ·WOW
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Act Two
cu t to "Heretic!"
Leech
DEXTERITY 11Dodge 13, fire combat 13, melee
weapons 13, stealth 13, unarmed
combat 14
STRENGTH 9
TOUGHNESS 11
PERCEPTION 11Cyberdeck operation 18, evidenceanalysis 15, find 13, language 13,trick 14MIND 13Test 14, willpower 14CHARlSMA 13
Charm 15, persuasion 16SPIRIT 18Faith (Cyberpope) 23, focus 21, in
timidation 20, reality 21
Possibilities: 6per Storm Knight
Miracles: unbelltvtr's doom, vtX
Equipment: [RCOM Custom Veeerdeck (response +2, stealth +3,
power 4, storage 5) ;
NeuraCal, EpiphaNeur,
rmalplate(head and body,+7/value 18), FFO CamEye, CSIFFO NightView, Avro PR ILV,
value 19, ammo 20, range 3-
slicers, damage value
Cyber Value: 17Description:Leechwasyetanother
Mobius' prisoners sent to Heritage
r the Nowhere Lands experimenLe believes that he will eventually beto parlay his power in the mini
into cont ro l o f a chunk of theEmpire.
The Chop Shop
Once theKnight has given his conthe Cardinal invites him to step
t o the hOVering platform, and theo rise up into the vaulted ceiling.
the Knight sees a cyberwarencement shop.
In the center o( the room is a hugeterminal, covered with an
gold fi ligree. A cold, harsh
d blows through this chamber. Aor find total of 11 reveals
looks like a Nile scarab amuletto the side of the tenninal. If
the Cardinal will sta te that the
is a symbol of Mobius stolencyberpriests and given him as a
gift. Its placementon the terminal sym
bolizesMobius' eventual defeat at thehands of the Cyberpope.
In troth, the GodNet terminal is a
disguise for the reality bomb thatmain
tains this Nowhere Land. Removingthe scarab.would cause the winds to
increase in the room, and a s ilveryshower of light begin to faU. The axi
omswillchangefromCyberpapal pure
to Nile dominant and leech's assis-tant, the eybemun, will explode in
flames as she ttansfonns for a secondtime.
Several listless people can be seen
lying on on steel operating tables,tended by a cybemun. They are wiredto pulsing machinery (which Leech
explains away as a device to keep patientsdocilewhileeybergearisadded).
In truth, this is the Soul Drain device.
The Cardinal points to a vast arrayof cyber enhancements and asks the
Knight to choose what he wishes to
possess.When he hasmadehis choice,the Cardinal will have h im lie on asteel table, and the cybemun will connect metallic filaments to him ( if the
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Crucible 01 POlin
ight already has neural jacks, shell connect the wires to these). A
total of 10 is needed to re-e the wires.At this point, a Perception or findl of 15 allows the Knight to see thetingSpiritapproach.TheWastingrit will attack with his paralyzing
and then use life drain to makeale attack the Knight's Spirit. If he
s already used the life drain powerinact, hewill simply leavethe Knightalyzed, intendingtodrainhim later.or details on the Wasting Spirit, see
Three, Scene One or the
erCharacter Record Sheet.)the Wasting Spirit's initial attack isccessful, the Knight will be unablemovewhile theSoulDrainsteals his
at a rate ofone per hour.
See page 83 of The Cyberpapacysourcebook.Possibilities: noneAdditional Equipment: surgicalser, damage value 13
Heretic!
If the Knight refuses tojoinwiththeCardinal, Leech brands him a hereticand gives him one last chance tocleanse his soul and becomeonewiththe Cyberchurch. In ' doing so, he
reaches into a case and pulls out anumberofDatchipsand aTrigonpros·theticarm. Hemakes a second persua-sion attempt.
I f the Knight agrees to followLeech's lead, cut to "TheChop Shop."
If the Knight remains adamant inhis refusal, Leech will attack. He will
attempt to physically drag the Knightonto the platform and into the chopshop. There the eybemun will attackwith a laser scalpel.TheKnight canescape throughany
one of the three stained glass win·dows in the chapel, which will leadhim to the Heritage basement. I f hedefeats Leech and the cybemun, andso desires, he can free the other pris·oners (first aid totalof8 to revive them)and take them with him.
SCENE FIVE:Night of the
War Wolf
The Situation
Standard. Storm Knights fromOrrorsh find themselves on a craggymountainside late at night. Marrow·chilling winds blow from the north,and strange groans echo through thebluffs.This is where the Wasting Spirit
holds greatest sway, having defeatedthe War Waif in the struggle to be thetrue Lord of this Nowhere Land. TheWar Waif is merely following the or ·ders of the Wasting Spirit.
The Action
If the Storm Knight sets out exploring, he sees the reddish glow of a firecoming from a cave higher up themountain. A Perception or evidenceanalysis total of 20 will tell the Knightthat, though this place has the feel ofOrrorsh, there is an indefinablediffer·ence.
A Perception or find total of 12 re-
veals threeportals, blinking onand offin the darkness at thefoot ofthe moun·tain. I f the Knight heads for the por·tals, theWarWolfwillmovedown themountain, cut him off, and make hisoffer. If the Knight heads for the cave,hewill encounter the War Waif there.Have the Knight generate a Persever-ance total against a difficulty numberof 10.Read aloud or paraphrase:
You are confronted by a shaggy,foul-smelling creature that resemblesa cross between a bear and a wolf. Itis like no creature you have seen before in all yow travels. It stands upright, its matted hair caked with
blood, and it beckons you forwardwith a viciously sharp talon.
TheWarWoUhas two messages todeliver, one tonon-humanOrrorshans(Le.,werewolves and such) and one tohumans.
Tonon-humans, theWarWolfsays:
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"Come now, dark childe. Aren'tu tired of being a wolf among the
How can you sland the smellthe ir soft. pink liltle bodies? 00l yow claws yeam for the warmth
flesh? 00 yow jaws noldroollaslthe coppery slickness of their
cred fluids? Is Ihere so little of the
ast lefl within you?"
To humans, the War Wolf says:
"'You know you have a dark side.ou cannot exorcise it with petty at
on Orrorsh or on other realms.growswithin you. Yow lruesoul is
etrayal. You cannol live without
those close to you. You deeverything you lauch. But why
ffer in the company of gnats? Leishow you the path 10 true power."
Regardless of the Knight's answer,hispropo
tion. Cut to "The Offer."
ar Wolf
DEXTERITY13Dodge 15, maneuver 14, stealth 14,unarmed combat 17STRENGTH13TOUGHNESS 16PERCEPTION 11Traclcing 14, trick 13MJNOll
Test 13, willpower 12CHAR1SMAU
Persuasion 14, taunt 13SPIRIT 10Faith (Orrorsh) 12, intimidation 12,reality 14, shapeshifting 13Possibilities: 6 per Slorm KnightNaturalTools:daws,damagevalueR+4/17; teeth, damage value
PowerRating: 2Conuption Value: 12Fear Rating: 1Powers: rtSistimcetononnillwetlpons
Severe Weakness: silverTrue Death: any
The Offer
Read aloud or paraphrase:
.... will give you a greal gift.• willyou an important se<nl As the
t Kurst said, the purpose of lifeis
to kill one's enemies.• shall give youa gifl, wild childe - • shalt leU youthe meaning of this saying."'It isaboulmorethanmerevictory
and conquesl. It means you are toprune the world 10 fit yow devising.Remove that which does not meetwith yow acceptance, and the worldwill no longer be an obstacle to your
plans. Even the lowliest of humanstries to reshape the world by spewing forth progeny.
"It is up to ustokeepsome conOOIoverwho lives and who dies. Morals
Act Two
were invented to keep theweak fromreshaping the world, which makes iteasier for those of us who are soong.
But would you tum yow back on
yow heritage by adoptingmoraJ behavior? Look how i t weakens you,and limits your freedom!"Staywith mel Letme teach you to
be a true beast!"
This is a persuasion attempt, withthe War Wolf trying for a yes or vowresult.
If the Knight refuses theoHer, cut to
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Crucible of Polin
Beast Unleashed." If he acceptse offer, cut to "The Boneyard."
he Beast Unleashed
The War Wolfwill make one morempt to per5UJJde the Knight, point
g out that every cosm is shaped bytchery, and that bloodshed has ac·ed for a great dealmoreprogress
an the musings of human thinkers.e War Wolf will again offer to un·
ash the Knight's dark side.If the Knight relents, cut to "The
Ii theKnight continues tofuse, the War Wolf attacks, out for
If theKnightdefeats theWarWolf,may free the prisoners from the
ones and lead them to the portals
aid total of 8 to get them up and
If the Knight attempts to escape toe portals rather than fight the Warolf, the creature will pursue the
down the mountain and atmpt to stop him from escaping. It
ll takefive rounds for theKnight toke it down the path to the portals.e through, he will find himself in
e Heritage basement.
The BoneyardTheWarWolfleadstheKnightdeep
into his cave. In a rear chamber is aroomfilled withbones. Ahuge ribcageextends from the floor to the roof, likea perverse vaulted ceiling. Listlesspeopleare entwined in thebones,looking pale and emaciated.At the center of the room is huge
thronemade of bone, around which aminiature cyclone whirls. A Pm:ep-tiO/1 or find total of 10 reveals a scarab
amulet hangingon thethrone.Ifaskedabout it, theWarWolfwilldismiss the
question and accuse the Knight of
being too cowardly to embrace truepower.The throne is, in truth , the reality
bomb. If theKnight removes theamu-
let, thewinds will grow fiercer in thecave, and then a silvery rain of lightwill fall as theOrrorshan axiomsvanish and Niledominant axioms return.
At this point, the War Wolf will howlin rage and attack.
If the Knight sits on the throne, thebones that make up its armswill begintowritheandwrap themselvesaroundthe Knight's wrists (Strength total of10required tobreak free). At this point, aPercqJtion or find total of 15 allows theKnight to see the Wasting Spirit approach. TheWastingSpirit will attackwith his paralyzing touch, and then uselift dmin to make a single attack theKnight's Spirit. If he has already usedthe life drain power in this act, he willsimply leave the Knight paralyzed,intending to drain him later. (For details on the Wasting Spirit, see ActThree, SceneOne or theGamemasterCharacter Record Sheet.) If the Wasting Spirit's initial attack is successful,the Knight will be unable to move
while the Soul Drain steals his Possibilities, at a rate of one per hour.
Perseverance Award
If the Knight defies the War Wolfand escapes, award him four Persevtr-ana points.
SCENE SIX:
Nippon/MonAmour
The Situation
Standard. Storm Knights from
Nippon Tech find themselves in abright, spacious, circular office building inNippon.The Knight is seated ina chair on an interior balcony whichoverlooks a large chamber full of of
fice cubic.les. laid out like a qmze.Busy workers walk through the cubicles, much like lab ~ a t s . Some areformermembersofthe board of d i r l ~ c "tors, others are awaiting their chance
at promotion.Windows line the circularbalcony,
providing spectacular views of T kyo. In truth, the windows are high-
l t ~ : : : : a = ~ ; ; ; t ; b r e a k -e theClty
to vanish and reveal energy barrier.
The Action
On a Pm:eptiotl or roidence IIl1Jllysistotal of 20, the Knight senses thatthough this place seems much likeNippon, it is somehow different.
On a Perception or find total of8, theKnight sees that three of thewindows
are different from the others. Theirglass is tinted., and no light comesthrough from the outside. OnceeveryJOsecondsthe glassparts,Iikeaparrofjaws, and a strange white light appears behind it. The jaws then close.(These are the portals leading back tothe Heritage basement.Once the Knight has had a minute
to explore the place, Mr. Takiwaraarrives (if the Knight is fooling withthe windows that block the portals,Taldwara shows up before he can fin-
ish). Takiwara is a tall, balding Japanese businessman with a modest air.He approaches the Knight, ad-
dresses him by name, and tells him it
is time for his appointment. If askedabout the portals. he dismisses themas an advertising ploy. Uasked. aboutthe natureof theappointment, he wilsay that it is with him, and he will getright to the heart of the matter.Read aloud or paraphrase:
The ~ x ~ c u t i v ~ g i v ~ s you a cold
appraising look. "It is t i m ~ w discussed your career path. It s e ~ m s youhave chosen a most r e b ~ l l i o u s ave n u ~ d ~ s i g n e d to bring dishonor to
your name. Do notattemptto deny it
We know the t ruth of t h matter."But w do not begrudge you you
youthful ~ x c e s s e s . We respect t h fierce struggle you h a v ~ waged
against us these pastmonths. But youdo not know all t h facts, and it it i m ~ you were ~ n l i g h t e n e d ."'We are building a b ~ t t ~ r I i f ~ fo
all p ~ p l ~ . For t h world. W do nos u b j u g a t ~ , as the others do. W dnot oppress.We introduce no radicachanges in lifestyle.We take nothin
away. Our c i t i z ~ n s are happier now
than ~ v e r , becausewe give themmorof what they want!
"And what do w ask in returnThe possibility energy of the p ~ p l - somethingtheycannotseeortouchsomething most are not even awarthey possess.Whenit isgone, theyd
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Act Two
tmourn it s absence- they revelin
e peace i1nd security we hilVeto their lives."
This is a ptTSUJlsion attempt, with
trying fora yes or vow result.thenofferstheKnighta place
the board of directors of the firm. Ife Knight agrees, cut to "Kanawa
omes You." If he refuses, cut to'Ninja!'"
Takiwara
DEXTERITY9Dodge II, fire combat 10, lock pick-ing 10, maneuver 10, stealth 11
STRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 12, find 13, lan-guage 13, trick 15MJNDll
Business 15, test 13CHARISMA 12Persuasion 14, taunt 15
SPIRITS
Intimidation 10, reality 12
Possibilities:6 per
StormKnightEquipmentZIImz,damagevalue
16, ammo 12, range 3-10/25/40Description:Takiwara is a Nippon
businessman who was part of a trade
delegation visiting the Japanese em
bassy in Thebes. Hewas captured, butis convinced that the entire realitybomb experiment is a test of his loy-alty masterminded by Kanawa.
Kanawa Welcomes
YouIf the Stonn Knight agrees to join
the board, Takiwara takes him below
to the maze level, leading him into the
only office with a ceiling. There, cor-porate heads si t around a black,
laqueredwood table, their right handsresting on gold plates set into the tablesurface.They stareblanklyahead, andwill not respond to questions.
TaJdwaraoffers the Knight a seat atthe table. Should the Knight sit down
and place his hand onthe
plate,he
istaken to themaze below, and into the
only room with a ceiling. Corporateleaders si t around a black, lacqueredwood table, their right hands on gold
plates set in the table surface. Theystare straight ahead. A chill breeze isblowing through the room, as i f the ai rconditioningwere turned up toohigh.The Knight is offered a seat at the
table.A Ptrcqnion or find total of 9 will
reveal a a scarab amulet set into the
center of the table. Talciwara will ex-plain this away as a s ign the the NileEmpire is the next targetof theKanawaCorporation. In truth, the amulet is aNile talisman, and the table the realitybomb. If the Knight removes the talis-man, a silvery rain begins to fall, andthe room is transformed back into abasement testing chamber.
If the Knight joins them and placeshis hand on the gold plate,a Ptrapfionor find total of 15 allows the Knight tosee the Wasting Spirit approach. A
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g: Crucible of Pain
ight to remove his hand from theDrainElement.TheWastingSpiritattack with his paralyzing touch,then use life drain to make a singleth e Knight's Spirit. If he hasused the life drain power inhewill simply leave theKnightintending to drainhim later.
details on theWasting Spirit, see
Three, Scene One or theRecordSheet.)
eWasting Spirit's initial attack isthe Knight will be unable
move while theSoul Drainstealshisat a rate of one pe r hour.
I f the Knight resists taking a seat,grows angry. Cut to "Cry
Cry "Ninja!"
lftheStannKnightresistsTakiwara,ninja emerge from an outer of-and attack. During th e fight,
will tell the Knight that thea will desist i f he will agree to takerightful place on the board. If the
defeats the ninja, Takiwarawill attack.
If theKnight relents at any time, cu t"Kanawa Welcomes You."
Ninja (3)
Seepage 59 of the Nippon Techsourcebook.
Possibilities: 2Equipment: nunchaka, damage
STR+5/19; katana, damage
STR+7/21Note:All three ninja havemasterede first three maneuvers of ninjutsu.
The only way to escape is to leapone of the portalwindows on
e bakony. Even though it looks likee windows open onto empty ai r 30
up , they actually lead into thebasement, like all the other
If theKnightwishes to freetheotherand take them with him, he
If th e bomb has notbeendisabled,will take a Strength total of 11 to pullhands free of the plates, and a
aid total of 8 to get them up and
••48
SCENE SEVEN:Core Earth Ain'tWhat I t Used To Be
The Situation
Standard.StannKnightsfromCore
Earth find themselvesin whatappearsto be the room they stood in when theteleportation grenade went off. Theblack smoke slowly dissipates, andthe Knight sees his friends (actuallyOrrorshan doppelgangerst appar
ently unaffected by the grenade. (I f
Angelou threw the grenade, he is no-ticeablyabsent.)
The ActionOn a Perception or find total of8, the
Knight sees a strange black oval ap-
Brief ing the Players
The participationof theother
players isessential for this sceneto work. Before you br ing theCore Earth player in, brief the
other players on their specialroles.
In thisscene, theywill be play-ing corrupt duplicates of theircharacters, doppelgangers cre-ated by the power of theWast-
ing Spirit. These creatures haveidenticalattributesto their c o u n ~terparts, but are governed byOrrorshan axioms-that means
they can disconnect in this Nowhere Land.This particular mini-cosm
simulatesthe setting theKnightswere in when the teleportationgrenade went off. The otherdenizens of this Nowhere Land
will be carefu l not to use gadgets with a Tech level higherthan that of the Living Land, soas not to tip the Core EarthKnight off that he is in his own
reality.The other players should
pear in the ai r at the end of the hall-way. It opens like huge black jaws,letting a bright light shine through. Itdoses seconds later, revealing thehall-way behind. lithe Knight points it outto his "comrades," they will c la im tohave seen nothing.
A Perception or find total of 20 willtell the Knight that though this place
seems like the same room he was inbefore, it feels subtly different. Thereare small things ou t of place, almost asif this were somewhere else entirely.
A Perception or evidence analysis to-tal of 15 will reveal that a specificKnight is notwho he seems to be. If theCore Earth Knight identifies an im-postor, the others will immediatelyattack and kill that doppelganger.
Before the Knight can investigatethe portal, or find the barrier, Dr.Smithers arrives. He is an elderlymanwho looks like a standard Nile scien-tist. He shakes his head and concedesthat the bes t efforts of the Heritage
keep in mind that their missionis to convince the Core EarthKnight that they are his friends,and that they agree with the ar
guments made by Dr. Smithersin this scene. They should encourage the Knight to go alongwith Smithers and volunteer todisconnect and be transformed
to another reality.If theCore Earth Knightmen
tions the portal, the Orrorshandoppelga ngers should claim nottosee it.Once they haveacceptedSmithers' surrender, the
doppelgangersshould exit(they·can pass through the barrier),and stay away until and unless
Smithers calls for them.
Keep inmind that if attackingthe Core Earth Knight, the
doppelgangers are not trying tokill him, merely subdue him.Their purpose is to make theKnight feel inferior to them, sothat he will agree to be trans-formed.
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t staff have failed. to stop theso he has no choice but tothe facility. If asked. about
orBerofski, hegives the Knightsrections to the office where both ofm can be found.Then he seems to suddenly take
of the Core Earth Knight, and
MOh _ just one minor matter. We
surrender to those who comereal cosms. Wedo not surrender
Core Earth types. They no longer
ve a place on this planet.'"
T h other Knights (doppelgangerswiIJ react as if this is a revelation,heartily agree. Deriding the Core
rth Knight because he has no pulp
s, magic,orcybergear, theywillte to kick him out of the group.hen, saying they are off to rescueya, they pass through thebarrier asit were not there. II the Knight triesfollow, the invisible barrierwill nothim pass.Smithers stays behind to consoleKnight. saying:
Act Two
"Evolution has left you behind!e world has moved on. and left
standing alone. The future begs to the new order, ornd you are a
MUlchronism. Yow friendshave a place here, but you do not.
up this old, outmoded form!ept conversion to a new, superior
form!"
This is a persuasion attempt bymithers, and he is trying for a yes or
result. If the Knight agrees to be
ansformed, cut to 'The Only ConIf he refuses, cut to "By MyBetrayed."
r. Smithers
DEXTERln'9
Dodge 10, maneuver 10, stealth 11,unarmed combat 10STRENGTHS
TOUGHNESSS
PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 13, find 12, trick14MIND 12Science (psychology) 15, test 14
CHARISMA 10Charm 12, persuasion 12, taunt 11SPIRlTI0
Intimidation 11, reality 13
Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightDescripHon:ACoreEarth research
scientist who volunteered for the Nowhere Lands experiment, fascinatedby the reality bomb concept and be-Heving it wise to win the favor of
Mobius, all things considered.
Doppelgangers
Orrorshan creatures, doppelgangers have thesameattribute valuesas the person they're patterned after, +1 adds in each of the follow
ing: dodge, fire combat, I1UJneuver,melft!wetlpons, stesfth, unQrmed com-bat, find, tracking, trick, test, wilt-
power, CM"!', ptrSUJlsion, taunt, intimidation and reslity, and +5 adds
in shapeshifting.Possibilities: 1Power Rating: 1Powers: blur formCorruption Value: 15
Fear Rating: 1/2
Weakness:comingfacetofacewithperson being simulated - stymieweakness
True Death: any
The Only Constant
If the Knight agrees to have hisrealityaltered,Smithers takes him intoa lab, and shows him a cylindricalglasschamber. A rainbowofscintillating colored lights dances within it;red, green, blue, purple, yellow and
black.. ~ e r e are three other cylinders like
It, With Nowhere Land denizens inside. They are apparently beginningto transform (actually, it 's make-up,something an evidence anQlysis total of
16 will ~ n a b l e t ~ Knight to figureout). Southers pomts out one subjectwho is transforming into an ell, an·
otherwhochosetobecomeawerewolf,and a woman who wished to becomea Nile priestess.
••49
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rg: Crucible of P.ln
Variables
Awards
OnceeachKnight has been throughhi. Nowhere Land experience (and,
hopefully, escaped back to the Heri-
tage basement) cut to "ActThree: Outof the Crucible."
If a Storm Knight defeats a Lord ofowhere but does not disable the re-
alitybomb.hecan force the vanquishedto explain theNowhere Lands experi-ment to him and guide him to a portal.
•••ut To
Award each Knight three P055ibili-ties for escaping the Nowhere Lands.
If the Knight resisted the offerbut wasdefeated or did not escape, award one
Possibility. If the Knight accepted aNowhere Lord'. offer and was at-tached toa SoulDrainElement, award
him no Possibilities.
If an Alertness card is played, aKnight sees the glOWing portals rightaway, without having to generate askill total to do it.
If a Connection card is played, theKnight recognizesoneoftheprisonershooked up to a Soul Drain Element.
ByMy FriendsBetrayed
The follOWing flags apply to all thescenes In Act Two.
Flags
If the Knight refuses to be trara-
formed, Smithen reminds him that he
has nowhereelsetogo,and maychOOlleany reality he wishesa. his new axJom....
Ifthe KnIght rejects the ()ffer again,Smithers calls for the other "Storm
KnIghts." He asks them to penuade
their comrade to accept his help.The ollter playen now will have
their characters try to persuade the
Knight to accept conversion (allOrronhan dopptlgangen have one
add inperswuwn). UtheKnIght relentsat any time, cut to "The Only Con-
stant."UtheKnightrontinues torefuse.Smithers orden an attack.U the Knight is defeated, Smithen
willmakethe offeronemore time, andon a refusal, order him killed. Jl theKnight is victorious, he can free the
prisoners (Strength total of 10 to openthe cylinders and a first aid total of 8 toget them moving). The Knight must
leap through the portal toescape.find-ing himself back in the Heritage base-
ment. Any surviving doppelgangen
will not foUow him.
Smithers leads the Knight to an
cylinder and beckons him to
inside. A harsh wind !eems to beowing in this area. A PtTception or
total of 9 reveab a !Carab amulet
on the cylinder. If asked,
will explain that this was leftby a Nile denLzen who, for
unknown reason, wished to be
alUformed to a Living Land native.Actually, thebank ofcylinders con-utes the reality bomb. If the Knight
the amulet, a silvery rainwillto fall and the axionu will.hiEt
Core Earth pure to Nile domi-
U the Knight steps ilUide the cylin-, Smithers turns a switch "activat-themachine. AStrength totalof10
required to open the cylinder. Atpoint, a Percqtiol1 or find total of
allows the Knight to see the Wast·
approach.TheWaslingSpiritattack with his ptlrTllyzing touch,
d then U5e lift drain to make a .inglethe Knight' s Spirit. If he hasused the tift drain power in
ad,hewill.imply leave theKnight
detaUs on the WastingSpirit, seect Thre e, Scene One or th e
CharacterRecord Sheet.)the Wasting Spirit'. Initial attack Is
the Knight win be unable
movewhile theSoul Drain .teal. his
at a rate of one per hour.If the Knight refuses to get Into the
cut to "By My Friends Be-
..so
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Act Thre
Act Three
Out of the Crucible
The Major Beat
The Knights challenge the power
of the Wast ing Spirit, and "rescue"Maya from her predicament, making
theirescape from Heritage justas reinforcements arrive.
SCENE ONE:
Just Wasting Away
The Situation
Dramatic. The Storm Knights
emerge from the Nowhere Lands,discovering that all of the portals leadbacktoonedoor in thebasement. Readaloud or paraphrase:
The basement is duk and musty.
Youcanhearmovement coming fromthe floor above you - more
shocktroopers, no doubt.
Suddenly, the room is illuminated
by a bright flash of light, fol1owed by
another and another. The door behind you is opening on i ts ownl
The dooropenseachtimeoneof thesets of portals opens, roughly everyfive seconds. It is only their fear of theoutside that has kept the denizens oftheNowhereLandsfrom escaping into
Heritage.The portal openings give the room
a bizarre strobe effect, which make! it
difficult to see (+1 to the difficulty ofall Pm:eption checks which require theuse of vision). If the Knights do nothave any artificial sources of light,they will have to rely on the strobeflashes for light.
The Action
Have the Knights generate Puctp-hon or find totals. On a 9, they spot aclipboard nailed to the opposite wallThe notes attached explain the theoryof the Nowhere Lands experiment, aswell as the fact that the door in thebasement leads to these mini-cosms.
Thenotesgoon tosay thatonemustbe
thinking of the Nowhere Land he
wishes toenterwhen he walks throughthe portal to be transported there.
II there are any Knights missingthe party may assume, based on theirown experiences, that the Nowhere
Lands have claimed victims. If theywish, theycan re-enterthe mini-rosmsto .rescue their comrades, simply bygomg through the basement door. If
they do so, the Lord of the Nowhere
Land they invade will attack, alongwith any of his minions who survivedAct Two.
I f thereare no Knights missing,or ithe party decides not to go back inthey can explore the basement. On aPerception or find total of 12, they spota small chamber in the rear of thebasement. This was originally designed as the monitoringcenterfor theNowhere Lands experiment, bu t wasabandoned when theprojectgotouto
control. It is now the lair of the Wasting Spirit.
If the Knights enter the cluttered
and abandoned observation room. orattempt to exit the basement via thestairs, cut to "The True Spirit of
Things."
The True Spirit ofThings
TheWasting Spirit isenragedat theKnights for escap ing the Nowhere
Lands. He has a particular hatred for
any of them who managed to shu
.t
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Crucible of Pain
Berofski Attacks
Toward the end of Maya's storProfessor Berofski snaps. He whi
out his gun, and starts shooting at tKnights. If theKnights try tousedeadforce in subduing him, Maya sto
them, saying he must remain alivepay for his crimes. She wants him
spend the rest of his life caring for tlearned helple!sness prisoners an
restoring their courage. She rejectsothersuggestionsfordealingwith hi
tivelyquiet. Theycaneasilymake theway to Berofski's office, and wh
they enter, they will findMaya stan
ing confidently,completely in controBerofksi is cowering in the well of hdesk, and the gospog are twitchingthe comer.
Maya will ask that the Knights nkill the gospog, as they belong to h
now. Shewill explain the salient poinofher story, includinghertriumphovBerofski, but you need notgo intogredetail, as the players will find it all owhen they read theendofthestory.Yocan pattern Maya's dialogue to th
Knights after that in the text.If the Knights ask how she ma
aged to summon themin the first placshedemonstrates, inadvertentlycauing the target Knight great pain (metal damage value 12).
Flags
Variables
Cut To ...
The Action
The Situation
SCENE TWO:To the Rescue?
Standard. The Knights find Mayain complete control of her situation,and together, she and the party make
their escape from Heritage with the
ZeroWard prisoners.
When the Knights emerge from thebasement, they will find things rela-
If a Nemesis card is played and the
Wasting Spirit has been defeated butnot slain, he will escape from Heritageat some point dUring the ensuing confusion. After he has restored his energies, he will pursve theKnights, intenton their destruction, in a later adventure.
Ifthe Knights are somehow able topersuadetheWastingSpiritintothink
ing they wish to return to Heritage toprocuremoresubjectsfortheNowhere
Lands, he will let them go. But hemay
well attack them again as they attempt
to escapeHeritagewhen he discovershe's been deceived.
Once the Wasting Spirit has beendisposed of, cut to "SceneTwo: To theRescue?"
darkness powers to convince otherstha t he is ethereal. The only parts ofhim commonly visible are his bloodred eyes and his gleaming claws.
Defeating theWastingSpiritmeans
theKnights are free to escape thebasement and free Maya. If the basement
door is still barred, a Strength total of12 is required to open it.
Professor BerofskiDEXTERITY 8Dodge9,firecombat9,maneuver
unarmed combat 9STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 8PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 14, find 1scholar (psychology) 16, trick 12MIND ,.
Test 15, weird science 17CHARISMA 10Persuasion 12, taunt 11SPIRIT 11Reality 1.Possibilities: 5Inclination: Evil (but slowly mo
ing towards Good)Equipment: .22 Revolver, dama
value 12, ammo 6, range 3-10/15/2Description:Typicalmad scienti
at this point thoroughly cowed
Maya's power. His attack is an actdesperation, but at heart, he's terrifi
: = - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ....'
TheWasting Spirit will attack, gog first for Knights who destroyed
Lands.
he Wasting Spirit
DEXTERITY 11Dodge 14, maneuver 13, stealth 15,unarmed combat 14STRENGTH 16TOUGHNESS 13PERCEPTION ,.
Find 16, language 15, trick 17MIND 11Test 14, willpower 16CHARISMA 15
Persuasion 17, taunt 19SPIRIT 12Faith (Orrorsh) 15, intimidation18,
reality 16Possibilities: three per Storm
Knight
NaturalTools:claws,damage value
Corruption: 17Power Rating: 8Powers: life drain, power value 26;
tauch, power value 27; blurpower value 19; dDrlrness, power
lue 16Fear Rating: 1Perseverance DN: 10True Death: any
Description: The Wasting Spirit ist a spirit at all, bu t a humanoid
r ror who uses his blur form and
"'You cannot be allowed to leave,ones. You have seen too much
and you have attempted to de
ive me of sustenance. But tonight,feed and feed
the reality bombs and thus de
mini-eosms which he had domiHe is determined to stop the
basementand
to the Heritage personnel
ow the experiment can be ended.
he would like to force the
back into theNowhereLands,t failing that, he will settle for rendg them with his claws.When the Wasting Spirit first ap
before them, have the Knightsa Perseverance total against anumber of 10. The Wasting
rit will stand before them, lookingconfidentin hispower,and
y in a voice like glass breaking:
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Act Threoe
ysical pain.
the Prisoners
the Knights try to rescue the
rned helplessness prisoners beforerescue Maya, they will find the
tives a frustrating bunch. Thepris-
tremble a t the ir approach, andnot leave their cells. They moan
gibber if the Knights try to carry
out. In short, the Knights willMaya's help to get them out.
Maya forces Berofski to see the
through theprisoners'eyes.Theshatters Berofski, and in
end he r .romises to dedicate the
of his Ii e to restoring the prison·
psyches. (Spells ormiracles to de-lies reveal he is truthful).
Next Maya sits with the prisoners,ing toearn their trust. She fails, and
ou t in a fury. She announces
abandoning her plan to save
and would l ike to go. She com·
that theywould ratherdie than
and she is prepared to let them.The Knights will have to convinceya that she can give the prisoners
courage to walk out ofHeritage.Asuasion total of 10 will be necesto accomplish this.
U the Knights are successful, Maya
go back into the cells and whenhas had her say, the prisoners willher out.
The Great Escape
TheKnights can getout of the Heri·
building unchallenged, or can
a few shocktroopers, if youOnce outside, a Perception total
8 reveals two roadsters, one troop
and one ha1ftrack troop trans-
parked on the grounds of the
The prisonerswill all fit in the troopand the Knights can take
wever many vehicles they would
{landvdficles totalsof8 required to
the card, 9 for the truck and
Event
When the Knights are just about
to leave the base, shocktrooper
reinforcements summoned earlier byBerofski arrive.
8eJtin this event when the Knightshaveloaded the
learned helplessnessprisoners into their escape vehicle (orafter the Knights have given up on
persuading them to leave). The rein·
forcement squad is composed of 30
shocktroopers,all equippedwithNileEmpire talismans. Their talismansenforce local real ity so their guns and
jeeps can continue to work.Use the shocktrooper stats provided
in SceneThreeofAct One. The Knightsmust escape with Maya and as many
prisoners as possible. It might be po5-"
sible to get Bero£ksi to assure theshocktroopers all is well, and the pris-oner transfer has been ordered by Merbius; simply outfight and outrun the
shocktroopers; or lure them into theminefield, where their talismans willcause the mines to begin detonating.
Flags
U a Ronuma card is played by amale Storm Knight, Maya develops a
crush Qn him. As she is only a teen·
ager, this a tten tion may make the
Knight extremely uncomfortable.
Aftermath
Once theStormKnights get clearofthe institute, they can take the prison·ers to the Free Sudan refugee camp,
where camp leader N'Buto welcomesthemwithopenarrns.Unlike the story,Maya does no t join thegroup. Instead,she stays in the camp to help the prisoners.
The players may now read the remainder of the story.
Adventure Awards
Award the Knights 10 Possibilitiesfor completing thisad venturesucee;sfully. U they are able to rescue the
prisoners, either by getting Maya to
do it or doing it themselves, award
them an extra hvo Possibilities.
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s: Crucible of P,ln
Crucible of Pain
Part II
Maya waited.Nothing h a p p e ~ e d . Far away she heard the cry of a wildShe slowly ratsed herhead. Thegospogwere standingl, silently watching her."'Come on, you bastards!" she shouted to the creatures.me and kill me!"The creatures did not move."'Oh god, I can't even die ..." she moaned. "'Why me?me?"
Through her stinging tearsand rage, she felt the answer
~ a u s e I'm a hero, she thought. Because I'm a Storm:Ught. That's why. And I didn't kill those people. Theyled themselveswhen they decided not toclimb the fence.en they decided the hell they knew was better than the
e they didn't. They made their own choices!The realization was like light, washing away the dismaless in her heart.
I've been punishing myseU over their choices! I wantedgo crazy after that! 1decided tobecome insane, or suicidal... helpless. Helpless. .Helpless like hewanted me to be. But I'm not helpless. Ive the strength to save myself!Maya pulled herselfou t of themurkywater. She turnedface her pursuers. The gospog took a menacing step
her, tryingto spurher to flight. She held herground.She qUieted her mind, and reached out. She studied thetting matter inside the creatures. All the decaying flesh
bound around a fine lattice of plant filament.Uke nerves, she thought. Or zombie DNA. Cool!She gathered up a bunch of the filaments in her mind's
and i m a ~ i n e d them twisting and tearing. The gospogn a spastic dance, twitching and flailing in the mud.Okay, Maya thought. Problem one taken care of. Pr0b-m t w o ~ shuttingdown theResearchCenter and stoppingexpenments.She turned and headed back to Heritage.
. P r o f ~ r B e r o ~ s k . i ~ in his.cluttered office, tinkeringhiS bulky dtctation machine. He leaned toward it,
eping his bodyasclose to
it aspossible.
As
long as he
••54
stayed near the machine, it would record. If he movedaway, the primitive tech level of the room would affect it
and it would stop working.He raised the horn·shaped microphone to his mouth
and fought the urge to pace around the·room.
"Damnancient technology!" he began. "It's bad enoughI can't get a decent Sony here, but until that damn bomwears off, I can barely move without this damn machinconking out. A : ~ d , as if thingsweren't bad enough,my stafhas.lost t h abthty to behave like rational, thinking peopleIt's lmp0s5tble to get them tocooperateon even thesimplestasks while we're operating under this ridiculous set oLiving Land axioms. 1don't lntSt them to defend this placwell. Even the other scientists are acting likeNeanderthalsThe idiots! The morons! The - ahem."He started over, in a tightly controlled voice. "'Did no
en;oy this morning's learned helplessnesssessionsas mucas thought I ~ g h t . Eventhough theprisonershad felt verguilty for trying to escape, and writhed most agreeably,could not concentrate on my work."He leaned back, and put his feet up on his desk. Th
dictation machine's rapidly spinning tape reel slowed. Hc u r s e d ~ and pulled themachine closerto him.The reel speupagam .."'The gospog are still out, continuing my experimenwith the Dearbome Storm Knight. They won't bring heback until they have completed theexperimentand brokeher. Though I strive to maintain a very professional scientific detachment at all times, Ican't wait till her little psychis crushed like a goose egg!
"Hmm : .. it occurs to me that this gospog experimenshould completely revolutionize the concept of ... fieldresearch. Heh heh heh!"A loud crash echoed down the hall, shaking th
professor's desk, and rattling his chair."'Damnation!" heshouted. "You idiots!Can'tyouseeI'm
recording here!"Ahem," he continued, composing himself. "'Now then
wherewas 11 Ah, yes.Though1strive tomaintaina rigorouscientific detachment, I can't wait till that Dearborne girl ibrought back from-"Suddenly the office door burst open, and a noxiou
stench blasted into the room. A gospog shambled in, hold
ing the limpand bloody body ofMaya Dearborne. Anothe
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lurched in behind the first, hurling a shocktrooperdown the hallway.
"Yah!" the professorshouted,startled. "Stop!Halt!Whate you doing here? You belong outside! Bad gospog!Civerl to shocktrooper! Now, you foul thing! Bad!"The second gospog slammed the door, closing themde the professor's office."You open that up'" he bellowed indignantly. "Whatareu doing here? Is the experiment over?"
"No," replied a strong female voice. "It 's just begining." Maya sat up in the gospog's arms, looking like a
enchantress.Berofski gagged, chokingon his own panic and disbelief."Obey me!" he shouted at the creatures, his voice filled
desperation. "I am your Iprd and master!""Sorry," Maya said, sliding down out of the creature's"You've just been deposed."
Berofski yanked open his desk drawer and plunged hisInto it. Before he could pul l the revolver clear of the
a gospog gnbbed his hand and squeezed. Hethe gun, gagging on the smell. He had never beento a gospogbefore,and the feelofrottingmeatand
around his hand made his stomach heave."Please ... no!" he croaked in a feeble voice. "Urp!"Maya nodded, and the creature released BerofskL Thepog twitched and shook, their nerve filaments still
from Maya's first attack.Berofski was also trembling. He cowered In the back ofoffice, completely unaccustomed to seeing a young girlpowerful and confident. In his feverish mind, Maya
oked like some bedraggled gypsy witch-woman. Everyhe looked at her, her eyes pierced him just as they had
e day shesaw him through the one-way glass wall oftheroom. She terrified him. He felt certain she knewwitch-woman magic that would cut him to the core.
e silence in the room intensified his terror.Summoning al l his courage, he sputtered, waut you .. .
broken! In mind and spiritl"She aaid nothing.He sank to the floor, his legs unable to hold him.At last, Maya spoke."Why?" she asked. "Why did you do it?""I'll never do it again!" he blurted out, afraid of whatmight do, and hoping she would believe him.
"Why hurt people like that?" she asked quietly.''If they were hurt, itwas neverwhat I intended, specifi
aUy," he replied curtly. "It was pUJ'\!'ly peripheral to theR
"Peripheral?'" Maya asked, incredulous. "00 you knowyou put them through?"
Berofski said nothing. He was unsure of the correct
"You don't,do you?'" she asked. "You haveno idea whatendured."
"Of course I do," he answered, oUended. "I have everyclinically documented."
'No!" she shouted. "J mean you don't understand! Youempathize with them at aW"
"Well." he said, arrogantly. "No one can ever trulythe pain of another."
Part Two
Maya did not answer. It was incomprehensible to herthat he could be so disconnected from the pain of theprisoners.
Mayacontinued, "During the timeswe talked, it seemedlike what you treasured was being free. And you seemedgenuinely interested in studying people's minds and habits,"
"Yes, that's true," he said.
"But now Isee you weren't interested in freedom, were
you?" she said. "Freedommeans freedom for all. What youreallywanted was permission todo as you pleased; to hurtanyone you wanted and feel powerful. I t' s not the samething."
Berofski opened his mouth and closed it again, He feltlike Maya had cracked him open.
"You have a gift," she continued. "You understandpeople. YoucouJd havedonepeoplea lot ofgood.Whyhurtthem like that?"
"I ..... he began. "Their pain is neceasary tomy research.But it doesn't really matter. I mean, they're not the important ones. They're jus t -"
He stopped abruptly. Itwasas if he had taken the lid off
a nest of vipers that were hiding in his stomach. He felt arush of vile thoughts spilling ou t into his mind. Their lush,seductive power frightened him more than Maya frightened him. Bow could such foul thoughts really bea part ofhim?He turned away from theflood of thoughts, determined
not to look at them. He hated Maya for stirring them up inthe first place.
''You can't get away with thisl" he said angrily, leapingto his feet. "I sent for reinforcements after the bomb wentoff. This place will be crawling with fresh shocktroopersany minute nowl"Maya shook her head sadly. "For a man who likes to
understand the workings of minds, you're completely outof touch with your own," she said.
There were crashing noises from the front of the building, followed by muffled gunshots.
"They'rehere!" the professor saidexcitedly."Yourg06pogwon't stand two minutes against them!"
Maya said nothing.Footsteps pounded down the hallway toward the office.
"In here!" the professorshouted desperately. Thedoor flewopen and three exotic men burst in, weapons drawn. Theone on the leftwas a strikingly beautifulman in exquiaitelydetailed platearmor. Hislong blondehairfell inringson hiashoulders, andhe brandisheda goldenspearwitha flowing
banner. On the left was a thin man with an exotic punkhaircut and a glittering array of wires and circuits protruding from a skullcap on the left side of his head. He had adangerously seductive smile.WhenMaya tooka good lookat theman in thecenter, she
felt a deep flush of heat. He was easily the most handsomeman she had ever seen. Hewas tall, tanned, and dressed inblack leathers and a black leather fedora. He was almostimpossibly good-looking, like a movie star.
She summoned all her will to calm her excitement, andsaid, "What took you so long?"The man in armor said "Forgive us, maiden. We came
55
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C r u d b l ~ of Pain
all possible haste."Thepunksaid "Yeah.Youwouldn'tbelieve whatwe justn through. Besides, we'd 'a got here sooner, but Doc
kept freakin' ou t on us."
The man in the center was just staring at Maya. Hisgaze made her giddy, bu t she composed her-
elf. .
' 'I'm Maya," she said. "The gospog are mine, so please
attack them.""Oh!" theman in the centersaid. Hisvoicewas unbelievwarm and reassuring. "Excuseme, but I haven't intromy group. I 'm Doctor Wilde, of Terra." He pointed
the man in armor. ''This isTremayne. He's from the landAysle."''The pleasure is mine," Tremayne said, a smile shininghis supremely beautiful face."This is Skyjack," Wilde con ti nued. "From the
in France.""Great pair a' legs you got," Skyjack said, by way of
He was looking at Maya's purple, black andow tights, now in tatters around her slender legs.
DocWildegritted histeethand struckSkyJack'sskullcaptheback ofhishand. "I apologizeonSkyjack'sbehalf,"said tersely. ."Aw, don't git all remorseful on my account," Skyjackid, laughing. He then waved a beeping gadget over
's body.
"How'd you do that, babe?" he asked. "How 'ja call us
"Well," Maya began. "I just ...um .. : ' She knew sheneverexplainwhat she did, soshe closed hereyes andou t the signal again.Doctor Wilde screamed and clutched his head. Maya
alarmed.
Wilde recovered. "Next time .. : ' he said, "Not quite soPlease!"Skyjack laughed uproariously. "He was freakin' ou t alle way over here!" he said gleefully. "Hey Legs, can yadot psychic thing again?Or about fifty more times? Igattake a whole lot more readings of i t : '
"Quiet, thou miserable child of the Cyberpapacy,"ayne said, scolding Skyjack.
Maya felt suddenly very protectiveof DoctorWilde. Sheto soothe his pain.
"I didn't mean to hurt you," she said earnestly. "I justlly, really wanted you to hear me. Welt not you guys
bu t Iknew someoneou t therewould know how
deal with this craziness. Iwanted some heroes to get meHeritage.So Icalledout.And heroesaresupposedarrive in the in the nick of time, right? To save people?""Don't bet yer granny's pension on it," Skyjack said.do what we want when wewant."
"He is, of course, an idiot," said Tremayne, summoninghispatienceand shaking hishead disdainfully atSkyJack.e could no more ignore your summons than cease
"Great,"Maya said. "Well, Icouldn'twait, so Icamebackmy own."
"Cool beans!" Skyjack shouted, dashing over to the
spastic gospog. "Zombie Shuffle!" He twitched wildly,imitating the nerve-damaged gospog. "Hey, Legs! Did youdo this?"Doctor Wilde whirled, and pointed at the young punk.
"Skyjack, you will call her by name!"'Thank you," Maya said sweetly, scarcely letting ou t a
trace of the amazement and awe she felt over Doc Wilde'ssimple, gallantgesture. The respect she felt from the Terran
was stronger than any she had ever felt before. It was amoment before she could summon enough breath to answer."Yes:' she said. "I took control of the gospog."''Thou ar t quite a formidable presence," Tremayne said
with awe. 'Thou art of Core Earth?""Urn, I 'm from the earth that used to be here, if that's
what you mean:' she replied. "Yeah, Core Earth."DocWildescratched hishead, tipping his fedora. "We've
been planning to assemble a large group ofStorm Knightsto raid this science center, but I hadn't imagined a singleStorm Knight could wreak this kind of devastat ion! Wewere amazed toseetheplacetrashed and defenseless.How
did you-"The professor, who had been coweringbehind his desk,
finally could take no more."Aaaaargh!" he shouted and dove for hisgun. Before he
could point it, a golden spear deflected his aim and acrackling blue stun charge rocked his body."Easy,easy:'Maya cautioned,asTremayneandSkyjack
grabbed Berofski. "I don't want him hurt. He hasn't begunto pay for what he's done."The professor was shaking and screaming. "Damn this
cosm!" he screeched. "I should have known the cavalrywould rescue you at the last minute! Damn these axioms!""You still don't get it, do you?" Maya asked. "No one
rescued me. I saved myself. Once I chose to be free of myown guilt and fear, it was easy to stop those creatures."Huh!" she said, laughing. "When Iovercamemy man·
stecs, I overcameyours.""But my work!" BerofsKi pleaded, his adrenaline rush
slowing down. '1 made you powerless!""You can'tmakemeanything. Ialmost destroyedmyself
over leaVing the prisoners behind, but that was my choice.Ironic, huh? The closest you came to winning was something you didn't even know about:'
"But I had it all figured ou t ..." he said helplessly,groping toward the Introductory Psychology textbookon hisdesk. "Iran made sense ... You were supposed to break!"
Maya thought about that. "You know, I learned a lot ofthings from you. A lot of things. But helplessness wasn'tone of them."She laughed. "It's funny:' Maya said with a smile, "but
I really grew because of you. I hated you more than reverhated anybody, But because you tried to drag me down, Ican now stand on my own two feet. And you knowwhatelse? I don't even hate you anymore:'Berofskiwent limp.Skyjack and Tremayne lowered him
into a chair.The professor curled up into a ball, and pulledhis knees up to his chin. He looked small and frail.DocWilde hesitantly asked, "Uh, who is this guy?""Yeah," said Skyjack. "Who's the feeb?"
_ . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ....56 . . . .
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Part Tw
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Crudbl, of P.ln
Maya quickly described the learned helplessnessexperiher captivity, and her escape. Her story angered
and made Skyjack laugh."'What a load a' void.aidl" Skyjack snorted derisively.nly a truly pathetic Storm Knight would break under ain-dead experiment like that.""I would not be soquick to judge," Tremayne cautioned.iven time to refine his experiments, this Berofski may
l succeed. Even ifhe does not, his lairis an abomination,d muat be shut down:'
Doctor Wilde agreed, ending thediscussion. "Well, let'st him out of his misery," he said grimly."No," Maya !laid firmly. "'We don't have to kill him."Skyjack smiled mischievously, and said "1 agree with
I mean, Maya. What a cold-blooded old sod you are,ilde-childe. Just leave it to Skyjack! I got the perfectlution to the problem of Professor Butcher.afski:'He drew out a long, sharp needle attached to a yellowx by a tangled wire."APurgatory Lobotom'll" he announced proudly. "He'll
know he once ha a great mind, but he'll never be
le to use it ! That'll be pure, living hell for a brainiac like
"No," saidMaya. "1 want him to knowexaetlywhat he'sI want him to really understand his experiments:."
"Oh, god!" he said, realization sinking in. "No! You'reing to ... you're going to put me in that room! Shockme!
me helpless! Oh god. Oh, god!""No," said Maya. '''That would do nothing but continuee cruelty." She turned to Doctor Wilde. "Bring him withe. We're going to ZeroWard:'
The prisoners started screamingas soon as they arrived.'They must really hate this man," Doctor Wilde said,ng at Berofski.
'1 don't think he's the one they're afraid of," Maya saidrkly. The prisoners ignored Berofski, and shrank fromapproach.
Maya put one hand on the back of Berofski's neck, and·inted to a prisoner. "See that man?" she asked. The
nodded slowly and then screamed. his wholewrenchedviolently, and hesank tohis knees. Maya letgo. The Storm Knights watched with horror and fasci·
tion. Even Skyjack was at a loss for words."Maya?" Doctor Wilde began."He just walked a mile in another man'l.hoes," Maya
1showed him theworld through thepmoner"s
The professor was twitchingon the ground, mumbling.ever ... never ... never again!" he said.Tremayne nodded. "Most ... effective," he said.Whenthe professorcould talkcoherently, hesald "Maya,l never do that ... to anyone again!"Maya looked sadly at the man, and said, "Professor,
just getting started."Hedrew back in terroras Maya channelled thecollective
of t :J:roup of prisoners into Berofski's body.very cellofhis Yfelt theshocks, theimpmonment,and
monumental despair.First he screamed,then hebroke intoa flood of tears, and
he lay quietly on the floor, completely drained.
Maya looked at him gravely. "'Professor, I want you topromisetodevoteyourtalentsand skillsto helpingpeople."
Berofski looked up at her, eyes sad and lost. but searching for salvation. His lower lip trembled, and he saidqUietly, "I promise."
Tremayne stepped up to Berofski, and reached into thefront pocket of the professor's lab coat. He drew out afountain pen and removed the cap. Holding the point to
Berofski's throat, he said, "Swear an oath!"The terrifiedmansaid, '1 ... I swear toneverhurtanyone.
Iwon't ... Iwon'tdoanymorecruelexperlments. I'll ... helppeople." He breathed a heavy sigh.
Tremayne released Berofski, and held up the pen. 1hepoint did not bleed," heannounced. "He speaks the truth."
"Professor, listen to me," Maya said firmly. "You willwork with the prisoners to overcome the devastation youcaused. them. You will eat, sleep and breathe with them.Their pain will be your pain. Their despair, your despair.Their accomplishments will be your accomplishments.When you have undone the damage you have done, whenevery oneof them is confident and courageous again, youwill be free."
The professor thought for a long time. '1s ... that po&
sible?'" he asked in a whisper.Maya picked up the battered psychology textbook and
nipped through it. Then sheslapped itshutand placed it inthe old man's hands.
"Page 288. Learned industriousness. Look it up."Maya stepped away from the group, and leaned against
awall, drained from theordeal. Doc Wildeapproached her,and laid his hand on hershoulder. His touch feltwarmand
reassuring."That was a brave and powerful thing you did back
there," Wildebegan. "And amazing. lam ... inaweofyou."
Maya smiled, but did not blush at the compliment. Sheknew it was deserved and true. 'Thank you," she said."Really, it was easy." She looked toward the frightenedprisoners in the ward. "Now for the impossible part," shesaid darkly.
Maya drew in a deep breath, opened the cell door, andwent into Zero Ward. The prisoners started jabbering andmoaning, more afraid of Maya than Berofski.
She sat with them, muttered and talked with them, and
soon theybegan to listen to her.Sheexplained thesituationto them, and told them that Berofski would lead them to anew homel She brought the Professor in, and the two
worked with theprisoners. Theymoaned and complained.Skyjack fidgeted, sighed loudly, and tapped his head,making blue Itatic electric discharges from his headplate.Finally he turned to Doctor Wilde.
"Well," the young man began. '''That thing she did withthe professor was great fun, though long and tedious. Butsince thispart isincrediblyboring, reallystupid, and unbelievably useless, I'lljust go loot the place.Somebodys gottado something useful."
Doctor Wilde regarded his friend in atony silence. Finally he said, "Sinceyou feel that way, you obviously needto see this more than any of us. You'll stay here."
Skyjack turned away like a petulant child, careened
toward thedoor, and bashed his head intothewall,shaking
~ = - : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .......8 ·WV
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e a cloud of plaster. Everyone turned to look at him.''Power surge! Power surge!" Skyjack shouted. "System
Doc Wilde's brain in core meltdown!""Settledownandpayattention,"WUdesaid,not amused
the young man's antia.
"'To what? To Miss Messiah of Core Earth try for sainthe sputtered. "l'U caU the Cyberpope right now!"
Doc Wilde and Tremayne exchanged knowing glances
d turned bade to watch Maya."Wilde:" Skyjack said earnestly, foregoing sarcasm and
to reason. "fhese people are usele5i! This won't
and even if it did, whocares?They're justa bunch of
"SkyJack," Tremayne said, interrupting. "Forwhom areu fighting this war?"Skyjack said nothing. He sat on the ground and fumed.
Maya stormed out of the ward, slamming the cell doord leaVing Berofski alone. The professor watched her
e, looking helpless.
"GoddamnOrds!" Maya cursed. "'They can go or stay! Icare anymore!"Skyjack shrugged, saying 1 told you so' with his body
"What went wrong?" Tremayne asked."Them!" she said with frustration. "It 's the &arne stupid
all over again!They'd rather stayand be tortured and
e rather than try to live a life again!""They've just forgotten how,'" Doctor Wilde said pa-
"Theywon't giveme achanceto show them! If they don'tt me after all I've done for them .....
Skyjack looked up from where he was squatting on the
undand said, ..Aw,you'restill hacked offat them for notyou out before."
"Shut up , you immature, wire-head dark!" Maya yelled.don't know a thing about it, so just shut up!"
"No," said Tremayne gravely. 'The lad is right. When
returned to this ward, did you really believe youwould
eed? You said this task would be impossible."Maya said nothing. She looked down.
Doctor Wilde touched her shoulder. "Maya," he said"Isn't it time to stop punishing them for not follow
g you?""He's right, Maya," Tremayne added. '1f you cannot
rgive them, you cannot help them,"Tearswelled up in Maya's eyes. '1 hate them somuch forbehind'" she said in a whisper . She cried softly.
"You could forgive Berofski," Wilde said. "Is it somuch
with them?"'1 never expected anything from Berofski," she replied.hurts somuch worsewhen people you really care aboutyou down."
The threemen nodded silently, eachmomentarily lost in
At length, Wilde said, "If you resent them, you can't
with them. We can leave now.""'No.... said Maya. ' 'No! I forgive them. I forgive them."
Shespunon her heel andmarchedbackto thecells. ''Hey,
Part Tw
guys!" she shouted, completely confident they would folow. "Let's go! No more excuses! We're outta here!"
Obediently, the prisonersgotupand filed autof thecellNervously they hobbled past the Storm Knights. Berofsgaped In astonishment as Maya coaxed out the last stragglers.
"That truck,"Mayasaid,pointing toan abandoned troocarrier. "Hop in! A StormKnight will drive you to safety
The prisoners slowly climbed into the half-track. "He
each other," Maya said. "We're in this together, and w
gotta look out for each other."
DoctorWilde watched the prisoners help each otherinthe troop carr ier, a look of amazement on his face. May
stood beside him."It'sextraordinary,"Wildebegan. '1 don't know what
say."Maya smiled. "This hero stuffismore demanding than
thought. You do this a lot?""All the time," he replied, wondering if he would ev
live up to the standards she set.
"Incoming!" Skyjack shouted. "Fresh shocktroopemarching up the main drag!"
Wilde began barking orden. "Tremayne, go with May
and Berofski in theAPe!Maya, you drive!Skyjack, raid thlabs. I'D keep them at bay with my jeep. We'll rendezvoubehind Zero Ward in five mJnutes! Only five, Skyjack!"
Maya panicked. "Drive that big tank thing?""Tremayne is from a real ity where people can't drive
Wilde shouted. "You have to do it'"
"I can't!" she shouted."Funny," he replied. "That's how aU those prisone
think!" He sped off in the jeep.Maya scrambled into the drivusleat of the troop ca
rier.Tremaynevaulted onto the roof.The professor got inthe passenger seat, saying, "It'lall my fault! I sent for thosreinforcements!"
"Never mind that!" Maya shouted. "How do I drive th
thing?"Berofski qUickly explained the controls. Maya slamme
the great vehicle into reverse and roared away.She heard gunfire from the front of the compound. For
moment she worried about Doctor Wilde. Suddenly sh
sawmen InEgyptian headdresses leaping toward thetroo
carrier.Tremayne'sgoldenspear twirled, and sliced through th
nearest attackers. She drove away from themain pack, antoward the back of the building, turning in tight loops tshake off the spear·throwing shocktroopers. Most of thspearsbounced harmlesslyoffthearmored sideof theAPbu t a few went in the open back hatch. The spears quickflew out again, as an emboldened former prisoner hurlethem back at the guards.
Moments later DoctorWilde drove up, and ran interfeence for them in his jeep, his s l d ~ m o u n t e d machine guscattering the Pharaoh's troops.
"Where's Skyjack," Wilde shouted. '1t's time to go!""fhere'sanother contingentcoming,"Tremaynewarne
"Damn him," Wilde said. "We can't keep hangin
around!"
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Crucible of p.,in
"Doc!" Maya shouted out her window. "He's off to theft! Behind that garrison building!"She spurred he r APe in that direction, toward the on-
shock·troopers.The troops scattered like panickeds before the onrushing half·track. Maya was grate--
l that their organizational skills were diminished, be-
they could easily stop her if they worked together."There he is!" Maya shouted, pointing up to a second·
window. Skyjack was shooting a wrist gun at the
below, who were trying to scale the wall after him.
Theguanlsbrokeand rnnasMaya approached,andSkyJad<apedonto thetruck. clutchinga largebag.Heclamberedinto
b,and squeezed in betweenMaya and the Professor. Heout his bag in Berofski's lap.
"Look!" he said. "Gizmo components, schematics, wit-
rams! The Israelis will pay big bucks for this stuff!""You'rewelcome," Maya said, strugglingwith the cum-
steering wheel tomaneuver the clumsy haU-tracktwo narrow buildings.
"Oh yeah, thanks for the pickup," he replied without
"And look at this junk! Idon't even knowwhat thisSo it must be gOO(!!"They pulledoutside the research centercompound, leavthe Shock-troopers in the dust. Theydidn'tstop till they
the FreeSudan refugee camp, where they receivedheroes' welcome.
The refugees brought out their best food and started an
celebration.Thecampleader,anelderlywoman
'Buto, welcomed the former prisonerswith open
and pledged to help thembecomeproductivecitizensgain . "They only problem is free food theygot in torture
she announced emphatically. "All they need isrd work toeam their food,and you beamazed what good
they become!"Berofski rubbed hischinand pondered this. "Hmmm .. .
would expand their locus of control, and provide
grati fication _ "N'Buto nudged Maya's arm. "Tell him i f he want to live
he speak English!"
Maya was enchanted with the camp. The other Storm
Knights were grateful for the chance to rest.During the festivities, DoctorWildepulledSkyjackaside,
and said, 'When r say five minutes rmean five minutes.
Maya should not have had to rescue you:'"You're offyer nut! Idon't see why I hadda watch Miss
Maya Gandhi help the dumb animals. I had so little time, Icouldn't even
get allthe good stuff.lmportant equipment,
too!"
DoctorWilde placedhis hand on the youngman'sshoul-
der. "That stuff wins battles.What she did wins wars. Wecan all learn from her:' He turned away, and joined the
others.'Well ," he said to the assembled Storm Knights. "T(r
morrow we set ou t to find theMysteryMen, and help pushthe Pharaoh's overgovernor hom Khartoum. Maya, youare welcome to come with us:'
Tremayne added, 'We would be honored to have you
officially joinou r merry band."
U About time we had a little tail in the group," SkyJack
added, amischievous twinkle in his eyes. "You'll Jovebeinga part of the Wilde Knights!"Doctor Wilde grimaced. "I wish you'd stop calling us
that," he said.Maya did not smile. "Thank you," she said sadly, "but
my answer is no." Themen looked at herwith surprise.Noone spoke.
"Tell you what though," shecontinued. '1'lIletyouguysjoin up with my group," she said with a smile.
Doctor Wilde looked puzzled."Joke!" Maya said, impulsivelyhugging Wilde. "Itwas
a joke! I 'd love to join you guys! Thank you!"Themen laughed, and visibly relaxed. Theypartiedwell
into the night.Maya wasso excited she thoughtshe'd havetrouble sleeping.bu t she was asleep themoment her head
hit the pillow.That nightshedreamedofheropalagain.The firewithin
the gem burned with a new vitality and strength.Maya was finally at peace.
••60
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Gamemaster Character Records
Nile Bureaucrat If1
Stun Damage (7) KStatus 0
Nile Bureaucrat tr2
Stun Damage (7) K
Status 0
Captain Khali HafjiDEXTERITY 10Beast riding II, dodge 12, fire comba t 12, maneuver II, melee weapons 11, unarmed combat 12STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 11
Anton Angelou
DEXTERITY 10Dodge 14, maneuver 12, running12, stealth 15STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 14, find 13, landvehicles 12, trick 13
MIND 12Test 13, weird science 15CHARISMA 9Charm 11, persuasion 10SPIRIT 9Reality 13Possibilities: 7Indination: EvilEquipment: miniaturized t e l e p o r ~
tation grenade (concealed in ring),adventure cost 5,effect value 25,burstradiusQ-4/10/25.Thisisanotherpieceof modified "weird science" equip
ment - a grenade which causes anything trapped within its burst radiusto be teleported to a place of the
thrower's choosing (providing it iswithin range, and not within a solidobject). Like the reality bomb prototypes, this one--of-a-kind device sacrifices range for effect - it will transportanyonewhose Toughness itseffectvalue can beat, but no more than 100meters away. Its creation was an accident, which may never beduplicated.
PERCEPTION 10Evidence analysis 12, find 12, landvehicles 11, tracking 11, trick 13MIND 9Test 12CHARISMA 10Charm 14,persuasion13,willpower11
SPIRIT 9Intimidation 14, reality 14
Possibilities: 2Inclination: EvilEquipment:K08,damagevalueI5,
ammo 8, range 3-10/25/60; grenades(2), damage value 19, range 1-6/15/40, blast radius 0-3/8/15; radio
Captain Khali Hafji
Stun Damage (11) KStatus 0
K
o
Achmar theMad
Stun Damage (9)
Status
Achmar the Mad
DEXTERITY 9Dodge 12, melee weapons 10, running 10, stealth 10, unarmed c o m ~ba t
10STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 9PERCEPTION 8Find 9, trick 9MIND 7
Test 9CHARISMA 10Taunt 11
SPIRIT 9Intimidation 10, reality 10Possibilities: 1Indination: Evil
Equi.pment:hunting
knife,damage
value STR+3/19
Nile Bureaucrats (2)DEXTERITY 8Dodge 10, running 9, stealth 10STRENGTH 7TOUGHNESS 7
PERCEPTION 10
Evidence analysis 12, find 12,l a n ~
guage 11, trick 11
MIND 10CHARISMA 8Charm II, persuasion 12, taunt 10SPIRIT 9Intimidation 10Possibilities: None
Inclination: Evil
Act One
Shocktrooper *1Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper "2
Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper *3Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper *4
Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper *5
Stun Damage (9) K
Status 0
Shocktrooper116
Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper tf7
Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper IS
Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Shocktrooper Guards (8)See page 23 of The Nile Empiresourcebook.Possibilities: None
Inclination: EvilEquipment: club, damage valueSTR+3/18; dagger, damage value
SfR+3/17; throwing spear, damagevalue STR+4/18, range 3-5/25/40
Use these pages to record thedamage to and sta tus of the gamemastercharacters in the key encounters. Usethe "status" line to record wounds,stymied,unskilled, and setback results.Each character'sToughness is repeatedon the "Stun Damage" line for easyreference.
t i ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ · _ ·. . . . . 61
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Act Two
Dr. FlashDEXTERITY 11Dodge 16, energy weapons 13, firecombat 13, maneuver 13, melee
Carnal
See page 82 of Tht Living lAndsourcebook.Possibilities: n(lne
Natural Tool.: hJde, armor valueTOU ...2/32; teeth, damage value
STR+6/32;tail,damagevalueSTR+2128
Ko
Ko
Or.canis AquaticaStun Damage (21)
Status
Dr. FlashStun Damage (10)Status
SarigarDEXTERITY 12 (9)Dodge 13, maneuver 13, stealth 13,unarmed combat 14STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 10
PERCEPTION UAlterationmagic 14, find 13, trick 14MIND 14 (11)Apportation magic 16, conjurationmagic 17, test 15, willpower 15CHARISMA 11Persuasion 12, taunt 13SPIRIT 9Corruption 13, faith (Eshtar) 10, intimidation 11, reality 13Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightArcane Knowledges:metoI2./ire4,
dJlrkness 3, tmlgic 4, living farces 4
weapons 14, unarmed combat 13STRENGTH 11TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 9Find 11, trick 11
MIND 9Test 12,weird 5C:ience11,willpower14CHARISMA 10Charm 11, persuasion 12SPIRIT 8Intimidation 12, reality 12Possibilities: 6 per Storm Knight[ndination: EvilPowers: electro-ray,damage value
21, range 3 - 1 0 / 1 1 - 2 5 / 2 ~ .Power Flaw: roU-agam vulnerabil
ity to water attacksEquipment: boom belt (tele
portation power, value 17)
Draconis Aquatica
See page 111 of the Ayslt source-book.Possibilities: noneNaturalTools:armor,TOU+10/31;
tail, swimming speed value 11, damage value SfR+3/27Note: This transformed Nile crea·
lure does not possess the Aquatica's
steam breath weapon, nor its knowledge of magic.
Ko
Ko
Ko
Camol
Stun Damage (30)
Status
JabnandaStun Damage (to)Status
Jakananda
DEXTERITY 12Beast riding 14, dodge 15, maneuver 14, ml.ssileweapoN 13, stealth14, unarmed combat 14STRENGTH 10TOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 11Find 13, language 13, tracking 12,trick 14MIND 10Survival 14, test 12
CHARlSMAUCharm 14, penuasion 15, taunt 14SPIRITU
Faith (Kefa Kalles) 15, f0CU5 15, in-timidation 15, reaUty 14Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightMiracles: ani""d rugt, tllrth's tIlr,
intense fair, au through mistEquipment: hrockt spear, damage
value STR +3/18
Ugre.k
See page 98 of Tht Living LAnd!Oun:ebook.Possibilitid: none
NaturalToon: teeth, damagevalue
STR+2/28; claws, damage valueSTR+1/27; wings, speed value 12
Ugresk
Stun Damage (28)Status
Shoddroopen (5)DEXTERITY 10Beast riding 12, fire combat 13,heavy weapons 13, unarmed com
ba'13STRENGTH 10OlmblngllTOUGHNESS 10PERCEPTION 9Find 11, first aid 11, tracking 11,trick 11
MIND8
Survival 10, test 10, willpower 13CHARISMA 9
Taunt 11SPIRIT 8Faith (Egyptian) 11, intimidation11, reality 11
PossibilIties: 2lncUnation: EvilEquipmenb KK81, damage valueammo 24, range 3-40/400/lk;
damage value SfR+4/17
62
Anton Angelou
Stun Damage (9) K
Stalu5 0
People teleported automatically
two shock points.
Angelou'. Shoddrooper'lKtun Domage (10)
Status 0
Angelou'. Shocklrooper t2Ktun Damage (10)
Status 0
Angelou'. Shocktrooper'3
Ktun Damage (to)Status 0
Angelou'.ShocktrooperH
Ktun Damage (to)
Stltus 0
Anselou'. Shocktroopu'5Ktun Domase (10)
Status 0
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but/et, conjured firtball, crfQtemystic shield, persuQslon
Spider
TERITY13jumping 14, maneuver 14,
th 15, unarmed combat 159
bing 1210
RCEPTION 7nd 12, tracking 11, trick 10
ival 11, test (8)
(25), persuasion (25), taunt
IRIT 5dation 10
none
Tools: fangs,damage value
LeechRITY 1113, fire combat 13, melee13, stealth 13, unarmed
at 14911
EPTION 11operation 18, evidence
alysis 15, find 13, language 13,ick 14
1314, wUlpower 14
13
15, persuasion 1618
(Cyberpope) 23, focus 21, in-idation 20, reality 21
bilities: 6 per StormKnightunbtliever's doom, vexlRCOM Custom Vee
(response +2, stealth +3,es so r power 4, storage 5);rware: NeuraCal, EpiphaNeur,
plate(head and body,+7/value 18), FFO CamEye, CSI
Cybemun
Stun Damage (9/14) KStatus a
Ko
Ko
Gomo Takiwara
Stun Damage (9)Status
Corporate Ninja InStun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Corporate Ninja f2Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Corporate NinJa'3Stun Damage (9) KStatus 0
Dr. Smithers
DEXTERITY 9Dodge 10, maneuver 10, stealth 11unarmed combat 10STRENGTH 8TOUCHNESS8
PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 13, find 12, tric14MIND 12Science (psychology) 15, test 14CHARISMA 10Charm 12, persuasion 12, taunt 11SPIRITlO
Intimidation 11, reality 13Possibilities: 6 per Storm Knight
Or. Smithers
Stun Damage(8)
Status
PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 12, find 13, language 13, trick 15MIND 11Business 15, test 13CHARISMA 12Persuasion 14, taunt 15SPIRIT 8
Intimidation 10, reality 12Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightEquipment:ZIIP77z,damagevalu
16, ammo 12, range 3-10/25/40
Corporate Ninja (3)
See page 59 of the Nippon Techsourcebook.
P08sibilities: 2Equipment: nunchaka, damage
v a 1 u ~ sTR+5/19; katana,damagevaluSTR+7/21Note: All three ninja havemastered
the first three maneuvers of nlnjutsu.
Ko
K
o
TheWarWolf
Stun Damage (16)Status
Cardinal LeechStun Damage (11)
Status
Como Takiwara
DEXTERITY 9Dodge 11, fire combat 10, lockpick-ing 10,maneuver 10, stealth 11
STRENGTH 9TOUGHNESS 9
War WolfDEXTERITY 13Dodge 15, maneuver 14, stealth 14,unarmed combat 17STRENGTH 13TOUGHNESS 16PERCEPTION 11Tracking 14, trick 13MIND 11Test 13, willpower 12CHARISMA 12Persuasion 14, taunt 13SPIRIT 10Faith (Onorsh) 12, intimidation 12,reality 14, shapeshifting 13Possibilities: 6 per Storm KnightNaturaITools:etaws/damagevalue
STR+4/17; teeth, damage value
STR+6/19Power Rating: 2Corruption Value: 12Fear Rating: 1Powers: resistance to normalweaponsSevere Weakness: silver
True Death: any
CybemunSee page 83 of The Cyberpapacysourcebook.Possibilities: noneAdditional Equipment: surgical
laser, damage value 13
LEOs, FFO NightView, Avro PR II.V,damage value 19, ammo 20, range 3-10/11-60; slicers, damage value
STR+2/11CyberValue: 17
Ko
Ko
Spider
n Damage (10)
Damage (10)
.e
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Act Three
e Wasting Spirit
DEXTERITY 11Dodge 14,maneuver 13. stealth 15,
unarmed combat 14
STRENGTH 16TOUGHNESS 13
PERCEPTION I'Find 16, language 15, trick 17MIND 11Tes114, willpower 16CHARISMA IS
Persuasion 17, taunt 19
SPIRIT 12Faith (Orrorsh) 15, intimidation 18,
reality 16
Possibi li ti es : three per Storm
KnightNaturatTools:claws,damagevalue
64
Corruption: 17Power Rating: 8Powers: life drain. power value 26;
paralyzing touch, power value 27; blur{onn, power value 19;darkness. power
value 16Fear Rating: 1Perseverance ON: 10
True Death: any
The Wasting Spirit
Stun Damage (13) KStatus 0
Professor BerofskiDEXTERITY 8Dodge9,firecornbat9,maneuver9,
unanned combat 9STRENGTH 8TOUGHNESS 8
PERCEPTION 11Evidence analysis 14, find 15scholar (psychology) 16, trick 12MIND 14
Test 15, weird science 17
CHARISMA I"Persuasion 12, taunt 11
SPIRIT 11
Reality 14
Possibilities: 5Inclination: EvilEquipment: .22 Revolver, damag
value 12, ammo 6, range ,3..10/15/25
Professor BerofskiStun Damage (8) K
Status 0
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CRUCIBLe Of PAIN
These are the ingredients mixed in the crucible of pain that is
the Heritage Institute. There a woman struggles for her sanityagainst a maniacal "weird scientist" who plans to drive her to the
edge ... and beyond. But Storm Knights who come to her aid are
plunged into the nightmare that is the "Nowhere Lands" mini-versions of the six realms, each ruled by a being as evil as
the High Lords themselves. And behind it all, there lurks the
Wasting Spirit ...Crucible of Paj" introduces a new concept in roleplaying. Play
ers and gamemaster read the first part of the short story, then run
the adventure, and then come back for the exciting conclusion of
the story. Powerful fiction and a terror-filled adventure combine
for the gaming experience of a lifetime!
By Dan Greenberg
A beautiful young woman at the mercy of a madman
... a creature from Orrorsh that preys on fear ... a Nileexperiment gone horribly wrong, which threatens allwith a fate far worse than death.
An Adventure/Short Story for
Roleplaying the Possibility Wars '"