Ten thousand years ago, a vibrant and enlightened civilization grew on a planet much like Earth. The people of that realm were much like the denizens of Earth would one day become, humanoid in form and blessed with intelligence and ingenuity.
The people of that world grew and learned, developing science and technology, and tapping into the magic of their world to pursue the mystical arts. In time this pursuit fused into one discipline, not the awkward arts of Technowizardry or the parasitic Biowizardry of today, but a pure and enlightened way of altering the world around them.
The first and greatest pursuit of this new art was that of prophecy, for much like humanity, this nation had a burning interest in knowing its future. Like the man of legend, the price of seeing their future was the loss of hope, for their future was bleak indeed.
They saw that they were doomed to die, to be destroyed as a people. A ravenous cybernetic life form would descend on them and their technological magic would not save them. Their planet, their history, everything that had made them what they were would be lost.
Alone amid this grim precognition was a solitary glimmer of hope. Some day, long in the future, a planet would be marked out, identified for the ages. That planet would have a need, and they would fill it. The way of this was revealed to them, and knowing that their destroyers grew near, they laboured to bring it to fruition.
Long ago, before the first humans gathered in the first cities, the
marauding alien life form humanity came to know as the Mechanoids found that
race and destroyed them utterly, as they had foreseen. Nothing of them
remained -- nothing, save a remnant, a last piece dispatched through time
and space to await the coming of the Heralded World.
Ten thousand years later, a limited nuclear exchange in south america began a devastating transformation which would see the Earth reborn. The fragment of that ancient nation was called, pulled by the turbulent fluctuations and distortions of the death and rebirth of Earth, wrenched from its netherspace waiting to a planet in the throes of change.
Through the dark ages, as mankind withered and alien life flourished, the last legacy of that long since lost nation waited, watching. The sign had come, and the Earth had shown itself to be the Foretold Planet; now all that remained was to choose the time.
Slowly, at first, the remainder worked its arts. It began by pulling
in a solitary human here, a wandering wilderness scout there, and
invigorating them with its message from ten thousand years of antiquity.
Now, as time passes, it works its way towards the destiny foreseen by it
by a long dead race, gathering humans and marking them for its own. The Ashar Kiel (Tools of Fate) are those humans modified by the
fragment of the ancient nation whose name is now lost. Heavily modified,
granted great powers, these humans wander the earth, uncertain of who
they are and heavily changed.
The subjects are seemingly chosen at random, and know as little of their
transformation as anyone else. They simply awake, miles from where they
had been and weeks later, heavily modified. They feel a compulsion to
wander, to Walk the Earth, in search of they know not what. They do not
know anything about their creators, save that they all speak a long dead
language, and their dreams are filled with images of an alien world,
and its destruction by hordes of silver cybernetic aliens. The Ashar Kiel created by this mysterious entity seem to be created
in three distinct types: the First, Second and Final Phase Warriors.
Phase Warriors are always normal humans and cannot be mutants, psychics
or mages. Phase Warriors cannot have cybernetic or bionic implants,
M.O.M. or Juicer conversions, and cannot be affected by Biowizardry. They do not get cybernetics, magical or psionic powers or anything else.
So, for example, if a First Phase Warrior chooses Wilderness Scout as his
sub-O.C.C., that character would have the Wilderness Scout O.C.C. Scholastic,
Related and Secondary Skills, and Wilderness Scout equipment, as described
in the Rifts R.P.G. In addition, all Phase Warriors speak the ancient
language of the people who created the Remnant, although they may not realize
they do; use of the language will slip out inadvertently at first, inserting
an alien word in the course of normal speech here and there. With time,
and concentration, the Phase Warrior may begin to organize the speech
of this alien tongue into a coherent language (gains a skill rating of 12% at
level 3, which increases at +4% per level of xp). The First Phase is youth, to live with fire and enthusiasm, impatience
and reliance on the physical. The First Phases live with a burning desire
to see what lies beyond, to wander under a compulsion they do not comprehend.
Their dreams are of the death of an ancient world, of agony and suffering,
and their lives obsess with what they cannot control, and cannot understand. First Phase Warriors may select any O.C.C. from
the following list. Special Abilities Education is the Second Phase, to learn of the world in reasoned and
sterile portions, and to be brought into the universal folly of thinking
that the universe is something which can be, or should be, understood. The
Second Phase Warrior is invariably a mystically oriented individual,
pursuing the arts of magic, with a scientific mind. The Alteration forever
destroys this pursuit, but the Second Phase Warrior struggles on despite it,
striving to understand in intellectual terms what the First Phase Warrior
confronts in emotional terms. Second Phase Warriors may select any O.C.C. from
the following list. Special Abilities Second Phase Abilities The Final Phase is acceptance, wisdom, and understanding, the accumulated
perception which provides insight and spiritual tranquility. The Final Phase
Warrior knows no more about himself or his destiny than any other, but he
accepts it; he is troubled by the dreams of death and genocide, but he understands
that the universe is a place of death, and appreciates what that culture
must have achieved as he feels the weight of their loss. The Final Phase
Warrior is distant from all others, even other Phase Warriors, knowing
as he does of the death of a race and having as he has adjusted to live with
what would destroy the mind of lesser men.
Final Phase Warriors may select any O.C.C. from
the following list. Special Abilities The Ashar Kiel Adventure Campaign is something
that everyone can take part in. This section has three parts: What is the
Campaign, How to get Involved, and Installment 1. The Ashar Kiel adventure campaign is something
that will be ongoing on this page. Any Rifts group can take part. It isn't
meant to be continuous; rather, it will come in installments, posted here,
which your group plays as they come up. The first installment would then
be played now; once that is done, let them go off and do something else.
When the Second installment appears, it will be written so as to allow your
group to get involved wherever they might have gotten to. The Ashar Kiel
Campaign is a constant thread running through your games, periodically returning
to the evolving story line. Further, it is something you all have a say in.
When each Installment is posted, I'll ask for certain information back. The
various player groups start into the campaign, and their GM's E-mail me back
with the results. I work out the overall result based on all those responses,
and that data is involved in determining where the campaign goes next. This
sort of thing has been done very successfully elsewhere, and I love the idea;
it is perfectly suited to Rifts. Players who arrive later and want to
get in on the campaign can, as well, although they will most likely want to
play all the installments presented so far at once so that they can get
caught up and start contributing as well. That really is the best part
of the Campaign; it isn't pre-set, the end is not known, and what you
do makes a difference. Simple. Download the first Installment
presented here. Play it with your group. At the end of the installment will
be a few questions; send me an E-mail with the answers as they pertain to
your group. Then do something else for a while, checking in from time to
time. After a bit I'll post Installment 2, and then 3, and so on and so forth.
As we go along, the campaign evolves, until at the end everything comes together
in a climactic conclusion the nature of which will be determined by how
everyone does. Bringing your group into the campaign is also easy. If you
are just starting out with a new group, suggest that one of your players
might want to choose a Phase Warrior as their O.C.C. (Of course, you can do
it in stronger terms than that, but make certain that whoever is the Phase
Warrior wants to be one). You can have more than one Phase Warrior in the
group if you want. If your group is already playing with established
characters, you can a) try to convince someone to start up with a new PC;
b)bring someone new into the group to play the Phase Warrior; or c)select
someone who is a suitable O.C.C. and have them abducted and transformed (ie,
a Wilderness Scout could become a First Phase Warrior. This is particularily
good in the case of a mage to Second Phase Warrior, as they will be used
to using their magic spells as written). The campaign can begin anywhere on Rifts Earth. It should begin in North
America, preferably in or near the domain of the C.S., for the sake of time
and the GM's mental health.
The Phase Warrior character in the group will begin to show aberrant
behaviour. This is particularly effective if the group is already involved
in a secondary adventure; the Phase Warrior will waken from nightmares
of vivid intensity, of the Mechanoid hordes descending on the planet of the
ancient race which gave rise to their kind. At times the other characters
will notice the Phase Warrior staring blankly into space, loosing track
of conversations, and generally acting disoriented and distracted. The
GM may wish to impose a -10% penalty on skills during this period. When
asked why the Warrior is acting so strangely, he will deny acting so, or
ask, Was I really? This behaviour should draw attention, but not to the
point of making the other characters doubt their comrade's sanity or
ability to perform in a crisis. Note that if the party has more than one
Phase Warrior, they will all evidence this behaviour.
The actual problems begin after several
days (as their original adventure nears completion). The Phase Warrior
will begin to experience an inexplicable longing to travel, an insistent
demand that he go somewhere. The Warrior in question should feel uncertain,
uncomfortable, and bothered by a nagging sensation that he is needed or
has forgotten something important. Once the original adventure is completed,
this feeling is undeniable and the Warrior will attempt to convince his
comrades to come with him. (Don't tell the Warrior player what is happening,
just that he feels he must be somewhere. If you have to prod him into action,
do so.) At this point the adventure can go one of two ways; either the
Warrior convinces his comrades to come with him, or leaves on his own.
The next part of the adventure is a long (depending on where they are) voyage
to a point in North America, either with his companions or being followed
and pursued by them. All manner of incidental encounters can take place
along this voyage. The Phase Warrior will still not be able to explain
why he must go or where he is headed, but he will continue to be plagued
by distraction and nightmares, and will rise early, agitated to be gone,
and travel until late at night. He does not know where he is going, but
will automatically follow the quickest route there, and chafe at any delay
(even to the point of arguing against making detours to avoid CS installations
and military forces). The place they are headed for is Columbus, Ohio,
located in the centre of that state. This destination may pull the group
through several Coalition States. As they near their unknown goal, the
Phase Warrior will grow calmer, his nightmares receeding, until he states with
certainty that "they have arrived".
Sneaking forward, they will discover that what they have found is a
Coalition excavation site on the outskirts of the ruins of Columbus.
The site is circular, lined with powerful lights on tall poles, producing
a vivid circle of daylight effect if the players arrive at night. Several
large CS robot vehicles will be standing guard on the perimeter, watching
for approach, save that the Phase Warrior will have subconsciously chosen
an approach they are not watching. Numerous CS troops in body armour patrol
the illuminated area; two large cranes and several pieces of construction
equipment are labouring to uncover the focus of the site. Several temporary
housing units have been erected. The Phase Warrior, like the players, should
be baffled as to what is happening.
If the players continue to watch, they will note that the work seems to
be ongoing without break or pause, and that the object they are uncovering
seems to be smooth on the small area uncovered. Scouting around the site
should probably not trigger the Coalition soldier's attention, but rather
to uncover another peculiar fact -- they are not the only Phase Warrior
and adventure group to arrive. A small party of mismatched figures will
run across the players before too long and guide them back to their camp,
some short distance from the worksite.
The camp is large and well maintained, housing dozens of people, well
sprinkled with Phase Warriors. The Phase Warrior in their group will take
all of this with a contended appreciation. The players will be guided to the
impromptu leader of the conglomeration, a Final Phase Warrior named
Alicai Mannen. Alicai is not a young woman, but she has not lost her
vitality; she welcomes the group's Phase Warrior warmly, and the others
with a cordial nod. She will tell them that Phase Warriors and their
friends and companions have been arriving steadily, all drawn by an unavoidable
compulsion, and the focus seems to be the excavation site. She will
answer most of their questions to the best of her ability; The group will be given a place to settle in; the camp is very informal,
and mildly disturbing; all the Phase Warriors, PCs included, walk about
with a sublimely contended expression, whileas all the companions and
friends cast uneasy glances and keep their weapons close at hand.
Feel free to introduce sub-plots; perhaps an old enemy is in the camp, or
old friends, perhaps thought long since dead? A famous face or two
could surface, and individuals from any Rifts or Palladium environment
might appear. Run with it.
That night, every Phase Warrior in the camp awakens from a dream in which
a silver seed-shaped form pleaded in a language which drifted across the
edges of their understanding, pleading for its own destruction. The rest of
the party, like the rest of the camp, is awoken by this realization. In
a dramatic moment (play for emphasis), Alicai declares that the object
must not be unearthed. If they must destroy it, so be it. The attack will
commence shortly. With an atmosphere of anticipation tinged with fear,
the camp mobilizes for its wilderness strike.
The assault is fairly disorganized. The player group will most likely be
involved. The overall plan is to overwhelm the defences and plant charges
on the object's exposed surface; enough satchell charges are circulating
among the camp for two or three to be given to each party. The GM should
organize the defences to suit the nature of their group, bearing in mind
that many will be attacking, and so the group's fight is part of a greater
engagement. The charges are to be planted, and then everyone gets out.
Incidentals: The mobile buildings include one filled with computer
equipment. These computers contain information concerning CS operations
in the area, including minor details of the excavation, such as the fact that
it is not a high priority due to campaigns elsewhere, and so is entirely
under the jurisdiction of a minor staff officer (ie, Prosek won't know of it).
Resolution: The players ideally want to get their charges planted
and to get out. They should be quite a distance away when the area they
were in (now hidden behind vast distances of forest) is shook by explosions.
The camp has been dismantled; the CS will be looking for them. Going back
to the site is a bad idea, and they should be prevented from doing so,
but questions abound: there was an explosion, but did it destroy the object?
How many CS troops escaped alive? Will word leak back to the CS leadership?
What will they make of it? How many Phase Warriors survived? Plagued
by these questions, and fleeing for their lives, the player group will have
to wait for the answers. In the meanwhile, other adventures will
occupy their attention. Rest assured, however, that the saga of the
Ashar Kiel is far from over.
THE ASHAR KIEL PHASE WARRIORS
Note:The Phase Warriors are optional O.C.C.s, which can be a lot of fun
when used with the Ashar Kiel Campaign, described below.
Phase Warriors may select an O.C.C. from lists presented under their O.C.C.
The Phase Warrior takes from the O.C.C. selected the following features:
First Phase Warriors have the following
abilities.
Second Phase Warriors have the following
abilities.
The abilities here are listed by intent.
When the Phase Warrior wants to cast a spell, as they once did, the Phase
Ability which manifests is based on the goal they had in mind for the
original spell.
Final Phase Warriors have the following
abilities.
THE EPIC CAMPAIGN
What is this all about?
How do I get involved?
