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--- hauh_scene_10_epilogue [2026/09/05 07:01] – [Final Read-Aloud B — What Outlives the Hunter] admin
+++ hauh_scene_10_epilogue [2026/09/05 07:29] (current) – [7 | How to Proceed] admin
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ===== 1 | Scene Overview =====
-  * **Location:** The Interrogation Room on the Second Floor · the Enclosed Salvage Yard behind the [[headquarters_of_the_office_for_special_operations|OfSO Headquarters]] · Ezrah’s Office on the Ground Floor, [[new_kourou|New Kourou]] · Conditional: the nearby Forest Clearing
+  * **Location:** The Interrogation Room on the Second Floor · the Enclosed Salvage Yard behind the [[headquarters_of_the_office_for_special_operations|OfSO Headquarters]] · Ezrah’s Office on the Ground Floor, [[new_kourou|New Kourou]]
   * **Type:** Successful Extraction · Epilogue · Reward · Revelation
   * **Era:** [[beta_age|Beta Age]]
@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 | **The completed contract is paid** | Back in her ground-floor office, Ezrah opens the secure lockbox behind her desk and removes several bundles of [[kourou|Kourou]] banknotes. She counts out one thousand Kourou for each of you and pushes the money across the desk. //"You fulfilled the contract,"// she says. //"Every last Kourou. You earned it."// |
 |  **— A QUIET BURIAL —**  ||
-| **J.W. died and a funeral is held** | You stand once again in the small clearing, surrounded by the low breath of [[asari|Asari’s Tropical Forest]]. Perpetual twilight filters through the alien leaves, tinting the mist violet-grey. Martin has built the pyre in the same place where the Nameless Man was laid to rest. J.W. lies at its centre, wrapped in simple cloth, his mask no longer covering the face he destroyed to escape his former identity. Martin touches an igniter to the kindling. A thin blue arc passes through the wood, and the first flames rise. Whatever J.W. believed he had protected, whatever suffering he caused and whatever truth he tried to bury, none of it disappears with him. The smoke climbs through the canopy until the forest takes it from sight. |
+| **J.W.’s body has been examined and prepared for cremation** | The shattered window of the interrogation room hangs open above the enclosed salvage yard. Beneath it, a section of bare earth has been cleared between the rain-darkened remains of the Last Frontier. Sheets of old hull plating form a shallow bed for the fire. J.W. lies at its centre, wrapped in simple cloth, his mask no longer covering the face he destroyed to escape his former identity. An igniter touches the dry kindling beneath him. A thin blue arc passes through the wood, and the first flames rise. Their light moves across rusted metal, broken glass and the jagged spar that ended his life. Whatever J.W. believed he had protected, whatever suffering he caused and whatever truth he tried to bury, none of it disappears with him. Smoke climbs toward the shattered window before dissolving into the mist above the yard. |
 |  **— THE BLUES ENTER THE PUBLIC RECORD —**  ||
 | **Blues Exposure is Exposed** | The comm-system on Ezrah’s desk interrupts the silence with the urgent signal of the [[weber_broadcasting_services|Weber Broadcasting Service]]. //"We are interrupting our scheduled feed with news from the Atrana Mountains. Guarding Troopers have confirmed evidence of a previously undocumented population living beyond the established settlements. Their number, legal status and connection to recent events remain unknown. Authorities have not yet disclosed further details, but comparisons are already being drawn to the unidentified man recovered from the Ralar Region several weeks ago."// Ezrah slowly raises her eyes from the receiver. The secret no longer belongs to J.W., the compound or the mountains. It belongs to the world. |
@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
 | **Ezrah Scherkenstein** | Conclude the contract and secure the truth | Ezrah is deeply relieved that the PCs fulfilled the extraction order. If J.W. survives, she ensures that his custody becomes formal and lawful. If he killed himself, she regards his death as a loss of answers but does not automatically blame the PCs. | [[ezrah_scherkenstein|Ezrah Scherkenstein]] |
 | **J.W. — conditional** | Captive or deceased perpetrator | If alive, J.W. remains controlled and observant even after losing his authority. If dead, the removal of his mask becomes the final revelation of the identity he erased. | [[jareth_wyrick|Jareth Wyrick]] |
-| **Martin “The Tinkerer” Gagnon — conditional** | Practical assistance and quiet remembrance | Martin may help recover J.W.’s body and prepare the funeral pyre. He avoids speeches and allows the PCs to decide what the death means to them. | — |
+| **Martin “The Tinkerer” Gagnon — conditional** | Practical assistance and quiet remembrance | Martin may help recover J.W.’s body and prepare the funeral pyre. He avoids speeches and allows the PCs to decide what the death means to them. | [[the_tinkerer|Martin "The Tinkerer" Gaugnon]] |
-| **Guarding Troopers — conditional** | Assume formal custody and preserve evidence | They appear only if their involvement or J.W.’s transfer has already been established. Until they arrive, Ezrah and the PCs remain responsible for keeping J.W. secured. | [[guarding_troopers|Guarding Troopers]] |
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@@ Line 149: / Line 148: @@
   * His features remain recognizably human.
   * The damage was deliberately self-inflicted to prevent recognition of his original identity.
-Do not describe J.W. as monstrous or inhuman. The disturbing part of the reveal is what he deliberately did to a human face in order to enter the registered world.
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-==== Phase II — Resolve J.W.’s Fate ====
-| **Trigger / Cue** | **Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
-| **The PCs want J.W. to remain temporarily at the Office** | Ezrah agrees, but warns that the OfSO has no detention staff. The PCs must help guard J.W. until a secure transfer or another practical arrangement can be made. | J.W. remains **Temporarily in OfSO Custody**. He cannot be held safely at the headquarters indefinitely. |
-| **The PCs support a formal Guarding Trooper transfer** | Ezrah documents J.W.’s condition and the available evidence. The PCs continue guarding him until the Guarding Troopers arrive and accept custody. | Record J.W. as **Transferred to the Guarding Troopers**. The OfSO no longer controls his treatment or how widely the case is disclosed. |
-| **J.W. killed himself after reaching the headquarters** | Ezrah and the PCs secure the salvage yard, recover the body and preserve the immediate evidence. Martin may assist if he is present and physically capable. | Record J.W. as **Dead After Successful Extraction**. His death does not retroactively invalidate the PCs’ completed mandate. |
-----
-==== Phase III — Pay the Reward ====
+==== Phase II — Pay the Reward ====
-The agreed reward is **1,000 Kourou per PC**.
+//The agreed reward is **1,000 Kourou per PC**.
-Because J.W. reached lawful custody alive, the mandate has been fulfilled. His subsequent suicide does not normally remove the PCs’ right to payment.
+Because J.W. reached lawful custody alive, the mandate has been fulfilled. His subsequent suicide does not normally remove the PCs’ right to payment.//
 | **Trigger / Cue** | **Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
@@ Line 176: / Line 167: @@
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-==== Phase IV — A Quiet Burial — Conditional ====
+==== Phase III — A Quiet Burial — Conditional ====
-//Use this phase only if J.W. killed himself after reaching the headquarters and his body has been released after formal examination.//
+//Use this phase if J.W. killed himself after reaching the headquarters and his body remains available after its examination.//
 | **Trigger / Cue** | **Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
-| **The PCs request or agree to a funeral** | Martin prepares a pyre in the forest clearing where the Nameless Man was laid to rest. Read **“J.W. died and a funeral is held.”** | The PCs may decide whether the funeral represents justice, relief, waste, anger, pity or the loss of answers. |
+| **The examination of J.W.’s body is complete** | Ezrah asks the PCs to help clear a safe space in the enclosed salvage yard. Salvaged metal sheets are placed beneath the pyre to contain the fire and protect the surrounding workshop materials. | Once the area is prepared, J.W.’s body can be cremated without carrying it through New Kourou. |
-| **The PCs decline to attend or hold a funeral** | Ezrah respects their decision. The body is handled according to the available legal and funerary procedures. | Skip the funeral Read-Aloud and continue with Phase V. |
+| **The PCs want to preserve physical evidence** | Ezrah helps them document J.W.’s injuries, face, mask and possessions before the pyre is lit. | No probe is required to preserve obvious evidence. An INT (Investigation) or WIS (Medicine) probe (DC 12) may identify an overlooked physical detail. |
-| **The PCs want to examine the body or preserve evidence first** | Ezrah delays the funeral until the examination and documentation are complete. | Relevant evidence is preserved. Cremation cannot later be used to recover information that was never documented. |
+| **The PCs decide what happens to J.W.’s mask** | The mask may be preserved in the OfSO archive, transferred with the case or placed beside J.W. on the pyre. | Record the **Mask Outcome**. If it is burned, it cannot be examined or presented as evidence later. |
-| **An outside authority retains the body** | The Guarding Troopers or another lawful authority refuses to release it. | No private funeral occurs unless the body is released later. |
+| **The pyre is ready** | Ezrah allows the PCs to speak, perform a personal gesture or remain silent. One of them may light the pyre; otherwise, Ezrah does so. | Read **“J.W.’s body has been examined and prepared for cremation.”** |
-| **Sagan or another companion also died and their body was returned** | Martin prepares a separate farewell according to the wishes of the survivors. | Do not turn another character’s death into part of J.W.’s symbolism. Each fallen companion receives a distinct moment of remembrance. |
+| **Sagan or another companion also died and their body was returned** | Ezrah asks the PCs how they wish to honour them. | Give each fallen companion a separate farewell. Do not place them on J.W.’s pyre or make their death part of his symbolism. |
 ----
-==== Phase V — The Fate of the Blues ====
+==== Phase IV — The Fate of the Blues ====
 | **Trigger / Cue** | **Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
@@ Line 227: / Line 218: @@
 //Use this version if J.W. killed himself after reaching the headquarters.//
-The last flames settle into the heart of the pyre. Charred timber collapses with a soft shower of sparks, and a thin column of smoke rises into the mist above the clearing.
+The last flames settle into the heart of the pyre. Charred timber collapses against the salvaged hull plates with a soft shower of sparks.
-Around you, Asari’s Tropical Forest has fallen silent. Perpetual twilight filters through the canopy, turning the drifting ash violet-grey before the trees swallow it from sight.
+A light rain begins to fall through the opening above the yard. Each drop hisses as it touches the embers. Smoke gathers beneath the shattered interrogation-room window before the mist carries it over the surrounding walls.
-J.W.’s life ended in the salvage yard. Here, what remained of him has been surrendered to the fire.
+J.W.’s life ended here. Now the same yard holds what remains of him. His compound has been found. His hidden system has been disturbed. The face beneath his mask has finally been revealed.
-His compound has been found. His hidden system has been disturbed. The face beneath his mask has finally been revealed.
 But the choices he made remain in the lives of everyone he controlled, everyone he harmed and everyone who learned to survive beneath his authority.
@@ Line 243: / Line 232: @@
 The man is gone.
-The consequences return with you.
+The consequences remain.
-{{ :finalreadaloud_scene_10a_alternate.mp3 |}}
+{{ :finalreadaloud_scene_10a_alternatenew.mp3 |}}
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@@ Line 251: / Line 240: @@
 ===== 7 | How to Proceed =====
-The PCs have completed **Hunting an Unknown Hunter** and fulfilled Ezrah’s live-capture mandate.
+//The PCs have completed **Hunting an Unknown Hunter** and fulfilled Ezrah’s live-capture mandate.
+//
+==== Clearing the PCs’ Legal Status ====
+If the PCs still have a **Wanted** or otherwise compromised Legal Status, Ezrah instructs them to remain inside the OfSO Headquarters. Leaving before she receives confirmation could expose them to arrest by Guarding Troopers who have not yet been informed about the resolved case.
+Ezrah contacts the people within the Guarding Troopers whom she trusts with the evidence. She explains the Office’s investigation, confirms that the PCs delivered the person responsible for the attack and provides the records necessary to distinguish them from ordinary fugitives.
+No probe is required. Clearing their status is part of the institutional reward for successfully completing the mission.
+**Read or paraphrase:**
+//“Until I tell you otherwise, stay inside,”// Ezrah says. //“The people who need to understand what happened are being informed. I would rather not have you arrested by someone who has only received half the story.”//
+**Once Ezrah receives confirmation, read or paraphrase:**
+The comm-system clicks softly. Ezrah listens to the voice on the other end, answers with a few quiet words and then lowers the receiver.
+//“It is done,”// she says. //“The right people know who solved this case. You can walk through New Kourou without looking over your shoulder.”//
+Remove any **Wanted Status** or active alert caused by the Nameless Man’s extraction, the attack on the Office or the events of this adventure. Record the PCs’ new Legal Status as **Cleared**.
+This clean slate does not automatically erase serious unrelated crimes the PCs deliberately committed outside the mission. The DM may preserve such consequences if they remain relevant to the campaign.
+==== Final Character Updates ====
 Allow the players to:
@@ Line 263: / Line 276: @@
   * Record the Blues Disposition, Resistance and Exposure.
   * Record J.W.’s final condition and legal status.
+  * Record the PCs’ Legal Status as **Cleared**.
   * Decide how their characters understand what they accomplished.
 If the PCs continue working with the [[office_for_special_operations|Office for Special Operations]], Ezrah will remember that they completed an extraction most people would have considered impossible.
+When the PCs finally leave the headquarters, they do so with their reward, their names cleared and no active mission-related warrant hanging over them.
 The hunt is over. Another story may begin with its consequences.
@@ Line 278: / Line 294: @@
   * **Choose the Correct Opening:** Use Initial Read-Aloud A if J.W. remains alive. Use Initial Read-Aloud B if he killed himself after reaching the headquarters.
-  * **The Mandate Was Fulfilled:** J.W. reached lawful custody alive. His later suicide does not normally remove the PCs’ reward.
+  * **The Mandate Was Fulfilled:** J.W. reached the headquarters alive. His later suicide does not normally remove the PCs’ reward or invalidate their successful extraction.
-  * **Keep the Mask Reveal Canonical:** J.W.’s mask is practical, partial and made from leather, fabric and metal brackets. His face is burned and distorted but recognizably human.
+  * **Keep the Mask Reveal Canonical:** J.W.’s mask is a practical partial covering made from leather, stitched fabric and thin metal brackets. His face is severely burned and distorted but remains recognizably human.
-  * **Do Not Portray Him as Inhuman:** The reveal concerns deliberate erasure of identity, not concealed monstrosity.
+  * **Do Not Portray J.W. as Inhuman:** The unsettling revelation is that he deliberately destroyed his own face to erase his former identity. His pale bluish skin and enlarged pupils connect him physically to the Blues.
-  * **Keep the PCs Active:** The players may participate in the unmasking, influence J.W.’s custody, discuss the reward, decide whether a funeral occurs and determine what Ezrah is asked to do with the truth about the Blues.
+  * **Keep the PCs Active:** Let them decide who restrains J.W., who removes the mask, what evidence they preserve, what happens to the mask and who lights the final fire.
-  * **Do Not Force the Funeral:** Use A Quiet Burial only if J.W. died, his body was released and the participants choose it.
+  * **Keep the Ending at the Headquarters:** If J.W. survives, conclude the adventure in Ezrah’s Office or the second-floor interrogation room. If he kills himself, conclude it in the enclosed salvage yard.
-  * **Give Fallen Companions Their Own Farewell:** Do not make Sagan’s or another companion’s death merely part of J.W.’s conclusion.
+  * **Examine the Body Before Cremation:** If J.W. dies, allow the PCs and Ezrah to document his face, injuries, mask and possessions before anything is burned.
-  * **Do Not Force Public Exposure:** Use the WBS broadcast only when Blues Exposure is **Exposed**.
+  * **The Last Fire Takes Place in the Salvage Yard:** The PCs help clear a safe area and contain the pyre with salvaged hull plating. There is no need to carry J.W.’s body through New Kourou.
-  * **Keep the Ending Emotional:** This scene rewards the successful completion of an extremely difficult live extraction. Give the players time to reflect before resolving advancement and long-term consequences.
+  * **Give Fallen Companions Their Own Farewell:** Sagan or another companion must not be placed on J.W.’s pyre or reduced to part of his symbolism.
+  * **Do Not Force Public Exposure:** Use the WBS broadcast only when Blues Exposure is **Exposed**. If it is **Hidden** or **Limited**, preserve that outcome.
+  * **End on the Correct Emotional Image:** A living J.W. waits without his mask and without control. A dead J.W. is reduced to ash in the yard where his life ended. In either case, the consequences of his system survive the hunt.
 ==== DM Tutorial: How to Resolve the Final Debriefing ====
-{{ :dm_briefing_scene_9_new.mp3 |}}
+{{ :dmbriefing_scene_10a_new.mp3 |}}
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