marvel saga adventure - saga rules - pages of doom - [1999]

Pages of DoomAn Adventure for the MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ Adventure Game

Designed especially for the Adventurers’ Guild™ RPGA Program

Design: Robert Wiese, Jeff Quick, and Rich RedmanWith contributions from Steve Kenson

Editing: Jeff QuickMarvel Folk: Steve Behling & Ursula Ward

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Narrator’s IntroductionThis adventure pits heroes against the most formidablenemesis in the Marvel Universe, Doctor Doom. Inmany ways, Doctor Doom is more dangerous than evencelestial beings, and the Fantastic Four (and otherheroes) have spent a lot of time foiling his many plansto conquer the world.

Use the Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, InvisibleWoman, Human Torch, and Thing) as the heroes forthis adventure. If you have more than four players, addAgatha Harkness and then Crystal to the hero list.Agatha must accompany the heroes anyway, so includeher if at all possible. You will find hero sheets for allsix of these heroes at the end of this adventure.

The Musings of DoomIn the heart of Latveria sits the castle of Doctor Doom,a vast fortress protected by robots and filled with thetechnical marvels Doom has created over the years.From this place Victor von Doom looks out over hiskingdom and plans the conquest of Earth. It is hisdestiny to rule, he knows, because only he is suited toguide the Earth and its people. Such is the mantle ofDoom.

This is not a story of conquest, however, but ofvengeance. So sit back and relax, true believers— orbetter yet, grab some Fate Cards and get ready to giveyour players the ride of their lives in the MightyMarvel Manner.

From the time Doctor Doom learned the ways ofmagic, he has known of the dreaded Darkhold. Thisbook, written in ages past by the elder god Chthon,leaves evil in its wake as it passes from owner toowner. Only those of the strongest will, steeped inmystic knowledge, can avoid the curses derived fromreading a even single page of this tome. But DoctorDoom fears the work not, and plans now to acquire itfor vengeful ends.

Doctor Doom’s mother died when he was veryyoung. Mephisto, a demonic lord of a hellishdimension, captured and tortured her spirit. For yearsDoom tried to rescue her without success. Finally, withthe help of Doctor Strange, he freed his mother's spiritfrom Mephisto’s foul grasp. But Doctor Doom stillharbors a strong hatred of the demon lord and wouldlove to destroy him utterly. He does not have the powernow, but the Darkhold would give him that power.

Some time ago, Doctor Strange, Earth’s SorcererSupreme, came into possession of the Darkhold andused it to destroy Dracula and all vampires in ourdimension— at least temporarily. Afterward, he securedthe book in his Sanctum Sanctorum. The alien sorcererUrthona stole it briefly (or so Strange thought), butAgamotto the All-Seeing returned it to him. Strangehas kept it ever since, secured in a magical sphere of

Nirvalon, which isolates its malevolent presence. IfDoom has his way though, Strange might not have itfor much longer.

During the Infinity Gauntlet crisis, Doctor Doomworked with Earth’s heroes to stop Thanos. In thatprocess, he spent some time in Strange’s Sanctum,where he somehow learned of the Darkhold’s presence.Unable to bypass the magical wards that guarded thebook, he studied them briefly and filed the informationaway. Since Thanos’s defeat, Doom has thought oftenon the Darkhold. Though he never devoted himself tobreaching Doctor Strange’s mansion, he nonethelessplanned and bided his time. Now the time has come,thanks to his arch-nemesis, Reed Richards.

Doom’s first step was to get Strange out of theway. He contacted Satannish, a demon lord likeMephisto, with his own infernal realm. Doom andSatannish have never worked together before, butSatannish and Mephisto are bitter enemies, and Doomenjoys using the enemies of his enemies to gain hisown ends. In exchange for a favor to be named later,Satannish agreed to abduct Doctor Strange, imprisonthe Sorcerer Supreme somewhere in his own grislydimension, and later release him— the precisecondition of Strange on release was specified only as“alive.”

Scene One: Everything Right is WongAgainRead or paraphrase the following to your heroes:

You are the Fantastic Four. Of Earth’sheroes, you rank among the mightiest.Though the membership of your group haschanged, the FF has always stood againstthe evils that beset our world from withinand without.

This morning you stood in Mr.Fantastic’s lab at Pier 4, looking over hisnew matter replicator. You're all prettytired, because you were up late helpingReed get it in working condition last night.The latest in a long line of his astonishinginventions, the replicator can make a copyof any object. Such replicated objectsmatch the physical specifications of theoriginals, but do not duplicate any specialpowers those have.

During breakfast you got a phonecall from Agatha Harkness. Reed and Suehad hired Agatha to watch over their son,Franklin, when he was an infant. Theyknew she possessed supernatural powerswhen they hired her, and later found outshe was also a powerful witch and a master

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of magic as well. Agatha wouldn't explainanything over the phone except that she’dhad a psychic dream focused on your oldally, Doctor Strange, Earth’s SorcererSupreme. She wants you to meet her atDoctor Strange’s brownstone mansion at177A Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village.

When the heroes arrive, Agatha is waiting on the frontsteps of the mansion. If someone is playing her as ahero, tell that player that Agatha had horrible dreamsthe night before of Stephen Strange in agony,surrounded by flames. She woke this morning, andrushed to the good Doctor’s brownstone to assureherself of his safety. When she arrived, the door waslocked and no one answered. She immediately calledthe FF for help. Let that player convey the informationto the FF. If no one is playing her, paraphrase thefollowing information:

“Thank goodness you’re here. I’ve knockedand rung the doorbell, but no one answers.After that horrible dream, I'm notsurprised that Stephen isn’t here, but Wongshould answer! Something is terriblywrong, I can feel it.”

The front door is indeed firmly locked. The heroes cancrash through in concern (a daunting Strength action),or go around and try the back door. That entrance leadsfrom a small, secluded garden to the kitchen.(However, the information on the interior of Dr.Strange’s brownstone is presented in order from thefront door. If the heroes do go around back or try tobreak a window, adjust the action as necessary.)

First FloorThrough the front door lies the foyer. It is in thecentral front of the house, and has four exits other thanthe front door. From left to right, those exits are: anarchway leading to a well-appointed living room, a hallleading past the stairs to the kitchen, a set of stairsgoing up to the second floor, and a smaller archwayleading to a drawing room. All of these rooms arefurnished as befits a wealthy ex-doctor: tasteful butconservative in neutral tones.

From the living room, one can go left through adoor into a small library, or right through a door intothe dining room. There are no occult tomes in thelibrary on this floor, only medical ones.

The dining room connects to the kitchen directlyvia a door. The hall from the foyer ends at the kitchendoor. To the right of the kitchen door, at the end of thehallway, is a door to a bathroom. There are no otherexits from the drawing room.

In the kitchen, stairs go down to the basement,which contains a storage room and laundry machines.Nothing pertinent to the adventure is in the basement,but if your heroes want to get stubborn stains out oftheir unstable molecules, this is the place.

After some searching, the heroes eventually findan unconscious Wong lying crumpled at the end of thehall, against the kitchen door.

WongIt will take a little while to rouse Wong, as he has anasty head wound. Upon awakening, he will be glad tosee the heroes. He tells them that he was at the kitchendoor talking with his master when a horde of demonsappeared out of nowhere, grabbed Doctor Strangebefore he could react, and evidently returned to theirown dimension. One of the demons hit Wong hard andknocked him out. He adds that he recognized thecreatures as minions of Satannish. If necessary, heexplains that Satannish is the demonic ruler of ahellish dimension.

If no one is playing Agatha, paraphrase thefollowing for your heroes. Otherwise, give theinformation to Agatha’s player directly:

“That explains it! That explains my dream!I remember now . . . I saw Stephen boundto a log, with thorny vines growing throughhis body. It was horrible! I can’tunderstand how Satannish’s minions couldovercome him though . . . perhaps beingoutside the wards of this house made himvulnerable enough. No use guessing now. Heneeds our help!”

Wong adds his pleas for them to go to Satannish’srealm and rescue his master. If they ask how they canget there, Wong says he knows of a spell in the Book ofthe Vishanti, which his master has upstairs. That spellallows the Orb of Agamotto to open a gateway to otherdimensions. Someone knowledgeable in magic mustcast the spell, and Agatha Harkness is capable of doingso. If she is a character, she immediately volunteers todo it; if she is a hero in play, let her player know thatthis is within her capability.

If Reed wants to use his own devices back at Pier 4to go dimension-hopping, let him, but inform himthrough Agatha or Wong that Satannish’s dimension isthe size of a world itself. If they have to search for Dr.Strange, Satannish’s minions will be attacking themthe whole time they are there, leaving them in nocondition to help Stephen. Agatha, however, can findDr. Strange’s exact location in Satannish’s realmbefore entering by using the Orb of Agamotto. The Orbis upstairs in Strange’s mansion. If someone is playingAgatha, give her player that information to reveal.

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Wong: Strength 5X, Agility 6D, Intellect 6D,Willpower 7B, Edge 1, Health 17. Martial Arts [A],Occult [I], Meditation [W], Observation [W], Trance[W]. Calling: Guardian.

Scene Two: Upstairs at DoctorStrange's HouseThere are several wards between the ground floor andDoctor Strange’s laboratory. If the heroes charge aheadof Wong, the wards will affect them. If the heroesfollow Wong to the lab, then you can safely ignore thewards and go on to Scene Three.

Ward: The stairs from the ground floor arewarded with a spell that summons Mists of Morpheusto make trespassers fall asleep. If the heroes haveWong with them, the ward will not activate. The Mistsaffect everyone in the foyer and on the stairs.

Resisting the spell requires a challengingWillpower (Magic) action opposing the Magic of thespell (15), for a total of 27. Agatha Harkness can try aneasy Magic (Magic) action to negate the gas.Unaffected heroes can easily awaken sleeping heroesafter the Mists disperse.

Second FloorThe second floor has four rooms. From left (above theliving room) to right they are: Doctor Strange’sbedroom, Doctor Strange’s study, a guest bedroom, andWong’s bedroom. The staircase also continues up tothe third floor. Wong’s room is spartan, but the othersare decorated in the same style as those on the floorbelow. There is nothing of value to the adventure onthis floor, but the heroes don’t have to know that rightaway.

Ward: Opening the door to Doctor Strange’sbedroom releases a spell of illusion and mental assault.Ghostly figures with indistinct, yet horrible featuresappear from thin air. One more than the number ofheroes appears and attacks. Their attacks look physical,but are Willpower-based, so heroes must useWillpower to resist them instead of Strength in hand-to-hand fighting. The figures can be harmed withmental or magical power attacks, force fields, and byTorch’s and Crystal’s energy attacks (+8 difficulty tohit with energy). When destroyed, the figures dissipateinto thin air.

The ward does not activate if Wong is with theheroes, but Wong is reluctant to let the heroes intoDoctor Strange’s study or bedroom. He is reluctant toenter either room, and remains far enough back thatthe ward activates if any heroes charge in without him.

Ghostly Figures: Strength 1X, Agility 3X,Intelligence 2X, Willpower 8X, Edge 1, Health 17.

Invulnerability [S] (to all physical attacks exceptenergy). Calling: Guardian.

Third FloorWard: The stairs from the second to the third floor arewarded by a variant of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorakspell. When a hero reaches the middle of the flight ofstairs, crimson energy bands emerge from the wall andwrap up all those on the stairs, pinning them to thewalls. The bands completely encircle the victims, sopunching through the walls won’t help.

Releasing the bands requires an easy Magic(Magic) action against the intensity of the spell (15).They can also be broken with a superhuman Strengthaction. Reed can stretch, but the bands always whip outto keep him tangled. Sue can use force fields to pushthe bands away (a desperate Force Field action), butthe bands continue to move, keeping her trapped. Shecan, however, create a bubble with herself inside, thenmove slowly through the bands as if she were inside agiant, invisible gerbil ball. Again, the ward does notactivate if Wong is with the heroes.

Scene Three: Come Up to the LabThe third floor has three rooms: the library, themeditation chamber, and the Sanctum Sanctorum.Each room has a ward, and the wards recognize Wongunless otherwise noted. (One hopes the heroes willhave caught on to this by now.)

The LibraryThe library contains most of Doctor Strange’s magicalbooks, including the Book of Eibon, plus severaltalismans of power. The Wand of Watoomb wards thisroom and all the magical devices in it.

The ward triggers the Winds of Watoomb whenany unrecognized person opens the door. The windpicks up everyone in the doorway and on the landing atthe top of the stairs, whisking them back down into thestairwell. It is possible to resist the winds by Strengthalone, but that requires a desperate Strength (Magic)action against the Wand’s Magic intensity (28). Lowerthe difficulty to average if the characters do somethingclever, like punch a hole in a wall and grab onto theframe of the house, or block the door with the Thing.

It is also possible to use a combination of Agilityand Strength to avoid being swept away. An automaticAgility (Magic) action against the Wand’s intensity(28) allows a hero to grab the doorframe or some otherpart of the structure. Then it’s an average Strengthaction against the Wand’s intensity to hold on.

If any heroes wind up in the stairwell, the CrimsonBands of Cyttorak grab them again (See Scene Two).Attempts at struggling free are one difficulty levelharder this time.

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Once triggered, this ward fires every time anunrecognized person tries to get into the library, unlessan easy Magic (Magic) action succeeds against theintensity of the Winds of Watoomb spell (24).

The Meditation ChamberThe meditation chamber holds the Book of theVishanti and the Orb of Agamotto under the skylight.The book is warded by the Orb, which activates whenany unrecognized person opens the door and projectsthe intruders into an astral space, from which theyhave one exchange to escape or be trapped untilreleased. Portray the astral space as a place wheregravity does not have meaning, with floating islands ofether in a sea of air. Not everyone will consider “up” tobe the same direction, and confusion ensues. Toescape, the heroes must use an appropriate movementaction to reach the closing portal, or try something elseyou think might work. Make the action daunting,desperate, or superhuman, depending on the attempt.For instance, Reed could stretch across and try to holdthe portal open, or Sue could fill the space with a forcefield until everyone is reoriented and ready to leave.Trapped heroes must await rescue by Wong a fewexchanges later.

The Sanctum RoomThe sanctum room contains the Darkhold and otherbooks. Doctor Strange once used it for study andexperimentation— it was a place where he could casthis astral form adrift while his body remained safe.Wong explains that when Doctor Strange stored theDarkhold there, he sealed the room and does not enterit anymore. This room is sealed with a spell that won’tallow the door to open for anyone but Doctor Strangehimself or Wong. No one else can enter the roomwithout a tremendous magical backlash. The Darkholdis such a menace that the Sorcerer Supreme takes nochances. Wong tells the heroes that despite thedangers, he fears the Darkhold may be the only thingwith the power to free the master mystic.

Scene Four: Crossing OverIn this scene, the heroes use the Orb of Agamotto to goto the dimension of Satannish and rescue DoctorStrange. Wong shows them the spell in the GreaterBook of the Vishanti (which is in the meditationchamber), and Agatha Harkness must read it. She canalso use her Magic power to scry with the Orb and findthe Sorcerer Supreme, but she must overcome theOrb’s reluctance to be used (the Orb has intensity 25Magic). If she discovers Doctor Strange’s exactlocation in Satannish’s realm, the heroes see a scenemuch like what she described in her dream.

Let your heroes discuss it as long as they wish. Ifsomeone is playing Agatha, tell that player that Agathaknows she must get the Darkhold to Dr. Strange so thathe can free himself. If no one is playing Agatha,roleplay her impassioned pleas for the FF’s aid in thatendeavor. It’s very dangerous, and she’s concernedabout taking it from behind its wards, but she sees nochoice. She also needs the FF’s abilities to hold offSatannish’s minions while she gets the book to theDoctor.

Getting the Darkhold:The Darkhold is carefully warded. Getting into theSanctum is the easiest part— for Wong. The heroeshave to figure out a way. Wong cannot find theDarkhold (see below).

Once inside the Sanctum, the heroes have to findthe Darkhold and get Agatha in contact with it. Asusual, if no one is playing Agatha, paraphrase thefollowing for the heroes. Otherwise, let Agatha’splayer pass along the warning:

“Even standing within this room, I cannotdiscern where the Darkhold lies. We mustsearch the room, but have a care! Stephenused powerful magic when he set up thewards around the book. As powerful as youare, even you could be killed by them if youare careless.”

The Nirvalon sphere and the Darkhold are in thecenter of the Sanctum, surrounded by wards. Thewards around the Darkhold are arranged in concentriccircles, each progressively more dangerous than thelast. The wards are not visible to the naked eye, butAgatha can use her Magic to locate and identify them.Agatha can also use her Magic to remove them, but it’sa superhuman Magic (Magic) action against the wards’Magic intensity (16, unless otherwise specified), andshe must do make a separate action for each ward.

The wards serve multiple purposes. First, theyfend off those of evil intent. That function doesn’tconcern us, because Agatha and the FF certainly aren’tevil! Second, they fend off unskilled thieves, sinceplenty of easily duped lummoxes exist in the MarvelUniverse, and some of those could muscle throughStrange’s more physical wards. Thus, the second wardmakes it nearly impossible to find the Nirvalon spherewithin which the Darkhold rests. Rather than resort toinvisibility, Doctor Strange made it . . . hard to find. Ifone of the heroes watches the others search for theDarkhold, have the watcher make a challengingIntellect action. Successful watchers notice thateveryone seems to avoid the center of the room,unconsciously detouring around the center. Oncesomeone points this out, everyone who looks will

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notice that fact. But just because they notice it doesn’tmean they can walk to the center.

In fact, it’s an impossible Willpower action to walkthrough the center. Those who try and fail findthemselves on the other side of the room, convincedthat they walked through the center, even if observerstell them otherwise. If someone directs another herothere blindly, or throws something into the center ofthe room, the inner wards immediately activate.

The inner wards can take care of anyone smartenough to figure out the spatial problems of theprevious ward— including sorcerers and other powerfulbeings. The first inner ward is a cylinder of heat thatstretches from floor to ceiling. (Treat this as if it wereFire Control 28 [Heat Sphere]). It’s invisible, so theonly sign of its presence is sudden severe burns!Finally, if anyone makes it through the heat (both theHuman Torch and the Thing probably can), then thefinal ward activates: a lightning discharge (ElectricalControl 28) that affects everyone trying to cross theheat cylinder.

Circumventing the WardsAny number of strategies could penetrate the wards.The first is brute force. It’s possible that the Thingand/or the Human Torch could use their tremendousresistances to energy damage and just force their waythrough the wards. Before your heroes try, have Mr.Fantastic make a daunting Intellect action. If hesucceeds, remind him that even if they manage to getthrough twice (once on the way in and once on the wayout), they’ll be in no shape to fight Satannish’sminions afterward.

The second way uses Intellect. Doctor Strange’swards are tough, but they can be overcome with a littlethought— something for which Mr. Fantastic is wellequipped! If the Invisible Woman makes the heat wardvisible (a challenging Invisibility (Magic) actionagainst Magic16), this breaks the ward that makes ithard to find the center of the room. A superhumanIntellect action can then reveal that the cylinderdoesn’t quite reach either the floor or the ceiling. Thegap between is about as thick as a sheet of paper. Ifanyone tries to slip under it (say, someone stretchy),that hero must make a challenging Agility action toavoid touching the wall of heat. If he or she issuccessful, then the final ward doesn’t activate!

A savvy player may suggest that the InvisibleWoman could use Force Field (Entrapment) to justgrab the book. Let that player try. After all, DoctorStrange foresaw remote attempts to grab the book withtelekinesis or force fields. A daunting Force Field(Magic) action against each ward’s strength will freethe book. But the Invisible Woman must pass eachward separately.

A better solution might be trying to protect Agathauntil she can reach the book. Agatha could stopbetween wards (there is just enough room to stand) fora few exchanges and let Sue recover some cards.

No matter what, read up on and plan to use thePushing to the Limit rules on page 23 of the GameBook.

The Darkhold is held in a sphere of Nirvalon— amystic containment spell that glows around it. Thisprevents the book’s powers from wreaking havoc andblocks it from magical detection. This is why no onehas found it here. If no one is playing Agatha,paraphrase the following; otherwise let the player tellit:

“Only the Nirvalon sphere limits theemanations of the book and allows us tohandle it safely. Whatever happens,remember that you must not touch theDarkhold directly, lest dread Chthon makeyou his servant! A single page in this bookremoved every vampire from Earth whenthe spell upon it was invoked. The ritualsinside are immensely powerful, and coulddo endless damage in the wrong hands. Anevil person could use this book to createHell on Earth— literally. I know of only twopeople who could reverse such terribleconsequences. One is Stephen, and theother is your child Franklin. I don’t want tobring the little dear into such danger, andwe all know how much trouble Stephen isin, so please be careful!”

If someone remembers Reed’s matter replicator at thispoint, the heroes may want to make a copy of the book.They will need the original to free Doctor Strange, butthey’re welcome to make a decoy or twelve just in case.

Chances are that the heroes aren’t at their fullhand sizes at this point (because of ward damage orPushing). If they use the replicator, reward them byallowing them to draw back to their normal hand sizes.If they just rest in the mansion, perform an aurareading for every five minutes that they rest. On apositive reading, let them each draw a single card.Every five minutes they have a similar chance, untilthey’re back at maximum. On a negative reading,Agatha loses patience and reminds them how muchpain Doctor Strange is in. On a neutral reading,nothing happens.

Scene Five: Journey to Satannish’sRealmWhen the gate spell is read from the Book of Vishanti,the Orb rises from its case and glows bright white. A

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rift opens in space between the Orb and the heroes. Ifsomeone is playing Agatha, have that player make adaunting Magic action to cast the gate spellsuccessfully. If no one is playing Agatha, feel free toflip over the top card of the deck, study it carefully, andthen discard it (just to worry your heroes). They can’tsee through the portal to the other side, but they don’treally have the option of not going.

This scene gets a little complicated. Satannish hasa trap set for the FF. If they overcome the trap, there’sa fight with Satannish’s minions. Then, Doctor Doomshows up and tries to talk the FF out of the book.Somewhere amidst all that, someone has to get thebook close enough to Dr. Strange so he can use it tofree himself.

Into the BreachWhen they emerge from the rift in space, the heroesfind themselves in the hellish domain of Satannish.Describe this place as you would picture hell. It isstiflingly hot. Lava flows break up the uneven, rockyground. Fire bursts randomly from crevices in the rock,and the whole place has an eerie red backlighting. Theuneven terrain makes ground movement difficult.Nearby, Doctor Strange is chained to a log, beingtortured by several demons who are taking turns withwhips and scourges. Try your best demonic cackle orgiggle here, because demons think that kind of stuff isbig fun. Doctor Strange is face up on the log and thick,thorny vines grow up from it through Strange’s body,causing him enormous amounts of pain. The vines alsokeep their host alive to prolong the agony. The look onStrange’s face is one of immense pain matched by grimdetermination. The heroes are in firing range of DoctorStrange, but as they move, Satannish springs hiswicked trap!

Satannish's TrapA holding bubble (Paralysis 20) surrounds the areawhere Satannish’s minions torment Doctor Strange.Everyone approaching the log is caught. Give theheroes a single exchange to overcome the field. If theydo, skip down to Break Free! below. If they do not,both Satannish and Doctor Doom appear. Doom wearssome kind of harness over his regular armor. If Reedasks, tell him that it appears to be some kind ofdimension-traveling device.

Satannish greedily plucks the Darkhold from thefrozen hands of whoever was carrying it. He waves aclawed hand at Dr. Strange, and the scene shifts toreveal that the person they thought was Doctor Strangewas actually another minion of Satannish. The realDoctor Strange shimmers into view nearby, bound tothe log as in Agatha’s dream. All the minions ofSatannish then start tormenting the heroes.

Let the heroes rant at Doom if they wish. Laugh atthem mockingly, and say in your best Doctor Doomvoice:

“Fools! Your meaningless prattle onlyreveals your ignorance!”

Doom takes the Darkhold from Satannish and caressesthe Nirvalon sphere surrounding it.

“Once again we see, Richards, that yourvaunted intelligence is no match for Doom!It was I who sent the vision of Strange’storture to Agatha Harkness. Manipulatingyou was mere child's play. I thank you fordoing my work for me! Tell me, wereStrange’s defenses terribly painful?”

Laugh mockingly again.

“Of course they were! You predictablywent to Strange’s mansion, fought throughhis defenses, and then brought my prize tome. Now I have the Darkhold, andSatannish has you! After I deal withMephisto, this book will be my tool forbringing the world under the iron fist ofDoom! While I mold the world into itsproper shape, you’ll be here, helpless.”

Doom then gives a triumphant “Hah!” and departs forEarth.

All is not lost if the heroes are paralyzed andDoom has the Darkhold. Now that Satannish’s minionsare tormenting the heroes, Doctor Strange canconcentrate long enough to free himself. Use an aurareading to determine when this happens. On a positiveaura, he frees himself, though he is not fullyfunctional. Nevertheless, he comes to the heroes’ aid,banishing the Paralysis effect. Satannish orders hisminions to attack (see Clobbering Time! below), andafter a brief fight, Strange opens a portal back to hisbrownstone through which everyone can escape. On aneutral reading, describe some psychological tormentperformed by the minions (for instance, they mightsuddenly be starving while the minions eat a deliciousEarth dinner just out of reach). On a negative reading,each hero loses a card because of some physicaltorment.

Be creative, but not too graphic in the tortures youinflict upon the heroes. Let them spend cards fightingwhatever tortures you inflict, but don’t spend too muchtime with it. Soon enough, Strange will free himself.

Satannish the Supreme: Strength 18X, Agility 5X,Intellect 11D, Willpower 18D, Edge 3, Health 30.

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0ccult [I]; Manipulation [W]. Body Armor [S] +5,Claws [S] +2, Horns [S] +3, Immortality [S],Invulnerability [S] (to Disease and Poison), LifeSupport [S] 15, Magic [W] 18 (can duplicate anypower), Teeth [S] +2. Calling: Greed (collecting souls).

Satannish, known as the Supreme, is one of manypowerful, extra-dimensional beings known as“demons.” He rules a netherworld dimension oftencalled “hell,” although it is actually one of numeroushellish dimensions in the Marvel Multiverse, not theactual Christian Hell. Satannish’s hell is filled withhordes of lesser demons who obey his commands, andthe demon lord can manipulate his dimensionaldomain at will using his Magic.

Like many powerful demons, Satannish collectsliving souls, particularly those of intelligent creatures.He has been known to bargain with mortals, offeringthem power in return for their souls after death.Satannish follows his own particular code of honor. Hewill abide to the letter of any agreement he makes, butwill seek to find loopholes he can exploit. Satannishalso accepts the sacrifices of souls offered to him by hisvarious earthly followers, like “the Sons of Satannish”cult. Magicians call on Satannish in spells; in fact,even Dr. Strange has been known to do so.

In addition to his natural demonic abilities,Satannish commands powerful magic, allowing him toduplicate the effects of virtually any power in the gameat will. Some of Satannish’s most commonmanifestations of this power include: Corrosion(vomiting forth noxious green slime), DimensionalTravel (to move between his home and Earth), EnergyBlast (in the form of “dark lightning”), Ensnarement(“ribbons of nihility”), Fire Control (usually projectedfrom one of his mouths) and Size Alteration (tobecome a towering giant). Like Mephisto, Satannishhas one apparent limit to his Magic: He cannot readthe mind of a sentient being or control another beingwithout that individual’s previous permission.

With his magical powers, Satannish can appear inany form he wishes. His most common forms include ahumanoid made out of fire and a green-skinned,demonic humanoid with horns, fangs, claws and asecond face on his chest (complete with fanged maw).His true form (if he has one) remains unknown.

Break Free!If the heroes overcame the Paralysis, Satannishappears. He says:

“Come now, Doctor Strange means nothingto me. I will gladly free him if you but giveme the Darkhold.”

If the heroes thought to make a fake copy with Reed’smatter replicator and they give it up, Satannish frees

Doctor Strange. The scene shifts to reveal that theperson they thought was Doctor Strange was actuallyanother minion of Satannish. The real Doctor Strangeshimmers into view nearby, bound to the log as inAgatha’s dream. Satannish almost immediatelydiscovers their deception and orders his minions toattack (see Clobbering Time! below).

If the heroes give up the real book, Satannishlaughs triumphantly. (Do your best triumphant laughuntil the players start to shift in their seats.) The sceneshifts to reveal that the person they thought was DoctorStrange was actually another minion of Satannish. Thereal Doctor Strange shimmers into view nearby, boundto the log as in Agatha’s dream. Satannish orders hisminions to attack (see Clobbering Time! below).During the fight, Doctor Doom arrives, wearing somekind of harness over his regular armor (Reed canautomatically deduce that it’s some kind of dimension-traveling device). Laugh mockingly at the heroes, thentell them that Doom politely takes the Darkhold fromSatannish, and departs.

If the heroes refuse to give up the book, thenSatannish orders his minions to attack!

Clobbering Time!The horde of minions is endless. The battle starts withsix of them, but two more arrive every exchange. Usedramatic events that favor the villains to maximumeffect, as they’re on their home turf. Feel free to use thePile-on rules too.

Minions of Satannish: Strength 5X, Agility 3X,Intellect 2X, Willpower 4X, Edge 1, Health 17.Calling: Demolisher.

Doctor Doom Makes His BidIf the heroes haven’t given up the book after receivinga goodly amount of damage, Doctor Doom appears,wearing that same dimension travel harness over hisregular armor. He says:

“Quickly! Give me the Darkhold! I havethe will and the knowledge to save us allwith it!”

If the heroes try to deal with Doom, Satannishimmediately interrupts saying:

“Hold!"

His minions stop fighting instantly, and hecontinues:

“Will you trust this villain Doom? I willgive you another chance. NO more tricks

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this time. Give me the Darkhold, and notonly will I hold back my minions while youescape, but I will free Earth’s SorcererSupreme to go with you.”

There’s hardly a lesser of two evils to choose here. Ifthe heroes outright refuse to give up the Darkhold, theminions resume their attack, and more continue toappear each exchange, as before. Anyone can make adaunting Intellect action during combat to note that theminions don’t attack Doctor Doom. If the heroes justfight and fight, eventually the minions will wear themdown. After a while, give still-conscious heroes achallenging Intellect action for a clue about a betterway to proceed. If someone makes it, skip down to“Stay on Target . . .”

Satannish Gets the DarkholdIf the heroes give the book to Satannish, he ripsStrange from the log (nearly killing him in theprocess), then teleports the FF, Agatha, and Strangeback outside the sorcerer’s mansion. While Satannishis doing that, Doom takes the Darkhold and slips away.Skip ahead to Scene Six.

[h3]Doom Gets the DarkholdIf the heroes give the book to Doom, he opens it andcasts a spell, immobilizing Satannish. Then he sendsthe FF, Agatha, and Doctor Strange back to thesorcerer’s mansion— with Doctor Strange still bound tothe log! Laugh mockingly at the heroes, as Doom says:

“Once again we see, Richards, your alleged‘genius’ is no match for Doom! It was I whosent the vision to Agatha Harkness.Something so simple, and you were all sopredictable. You did my work for me, fools!Tell me, were the wards terribly painful?”

Laugh mockingly again.

“Of course they were! That’s why I dupedyou into dealing with them. Now I have theDarkhold. After I deal with Mephisto, thisbook will be my tool for bringing the worldunder the iron fist of Doom! Wait there,Richards. Soon I will return and show youthe true meaning of power!”

With a loud, triumphant “Hah!” Doom departs forLatveria. If anyone demands that Doom free DoctorStrange from the log, he refuses and instead says,

“Bah! Doom is a man of his word. Neverdid I give my word that I would freeStrange from his bonds.”

Pulling the vines straight out of Strange’s body inflictsintensity 14 damage on the good Doctor for each oneremoved. There are four vines growing through themaster mystic, so the direct method will kill him. Theheroes should figure this out when they pull out thefirst vine and Strange starts to bleed profusely. Gentlerways to remove the vines include:

• careful burning, a process which inflicts onlyintensity 4 damage per vine. Burning the vinesthis way is a superhuman Fire Control action.

• Shaping a force field around each vine withinStrange’s body. This prevents the thorns fromtearing his flesh on removal. This does intensity 3damage per vine and is a daunting Force Fieldaction.

• magical counteraction of some sort that AgathaHarkness can dream up.

[h2]Stay On Target...If anyone tries to slip through the swarm of minionsand take the Darkhold to Doctor Strange, he or shemust make a challenging Agility (Agility) actionagainst the minions. Once the Darkhold is closeenough, Doctor Strange mutters a few arcane wordsand the Nirvalon sphere vanishes.

Everyone sees this happen. The demonsimmediately freeze where they are and look wide-eyedat Doctor Strange. Before they can recover, he takesthe book and uses it to free himself. He is immediatelyfully functional and comes to the heroes’ aid. He canopen a portal back to his brownstone and hold off theminions while everyone escapes. Then he will gothrough the portal, carrying the Darkhold, and close itbehind him. The narrator should do an aura readinghere. If it’s negative, a minion of Satannish pursuedthem through the portal, and they must fight it in Dr.Strange’s house. (Note to the Narrator: Don’t suggestthe option of giving Strange the book to your heroesunless half or more of them are unconscious and thingslook grim.)

The FF Fall, Without Surrendering theDarkholdIf the heroes fall without freeing Doctor Strange, thenDoctor Doom takes the Darkhold and leaves everyoneto Satannish, who unceremoniously deposits them backat Strange’s mansion after a bit of torture.

Doctor Strange, How Do You Feel aboutThis?Once Satannish’s minions target the heroes instead ofDoctor Strange, he can concentrate long enough to freehimself. Use an aura reading to determine when this

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happens. On a positive aura, he frees himself, but isnot immediately functional. Nevertheless, he comes tothe heroes’ aid. Strange can open a portal back to hisbrownstone and hold off the minions while everyoneescapes. Doctor Strange refuses to leave the dimensionwhile the Darkhold is in the hands of Satannish. IfDoom has the book, Doctor Strange will pursue him,regardless of his own condition.

Scene Six: Wrap-upThe effects on Marvel Earth, and indeed the MarvelCosmos, depend greatly on how the heroes perform inthis adventure. If they stop Doctor Doom fromobtaining the Darkhold, all is well. Doctor Strangethanks the heroes for their help and returns theDarkhold to its wards. It will remain safe there untilsomeone else makes an attempt. Doctor Doom willclaim diplomatic immunity if captured and walkhaughtily to the Latverian Embassy, unopposed by theauthorities. He may try for the Darkhold again in thefuture, but he knows that the protections on the bookwill all change.

If the heroes fail to stop Doctor Doom, he takes theDarkhold back to Latveria. From there he studies it tolearn how to remove the Nirvalon sphere. Once that isdone, he tries to learn the spells necessary to destroyMephisto. This study takes some time, and the resultsare the stuff of future adventures. The Fantastic Fourcannot reclaim the book at this time, as they would bebreaking the law to invade Latveria. Doctor Strangedevotes all his efforts to recovering the book beforeDoctor Doom is totally overcome by Chthon.

If Satannish winds up with the Darkhold, thenDoctor Strange moves Heaven and Earth to recover itas soon as possible. He calls on every ally, includingthe Avengers and the Fantastic Four, to aid hismission. This is the stuff of which crossovers are made.

If Satannish ends up with no Darkhold, no FF, andno Strange, then he keeps Doom instead (Doom, ofcourse, escapes later... but that’s another tale).

In future adventures, the characters could findthemselves caught up once again in Doctor Doom’smachinations as he tries to destroy Mephisto, andpossibly the Earth in the bargain. Attacking a being aspowerful as Mephisto is not something done lightly,but Doom has the utmost confidence in himself. Theplot twists could involve Satannish again, particularlythe unspecified things that Doom promised in returnfor the abduction of Doctor Strange. Certainly DoctorStrange would be pulled into such an adventure, andthe Fantastic Four could have to save Earth once again.

The End

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marvel saga adventure - saga rules - pages of doom - [1999]

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