This is an old revision of the document!

SCENE 3a — REST STOP IN HOPE (OPTIONAL)

1 | Scene Overview

Location: Hope — primarily Route Stop of Hope (Riverfront 2), with optional detours to The Floodgate, Old Netter’s Rest, the Medical Station of Hope or any other possible location on the settlement's map like the River Dock Market.
Type: Rest & Recovery · Resupply · Social Hub · Rumor Intake · Risk of Trouble
Era: Beta Age
Tone: Frontier warmth · muddy realism · cautious optimism · low-key tension beneath routine
Entry & Exit (Nested Scene): If arriving with an NKCS caravan, a 4–6 hour rest stop is mandatory, and the PCs must leave when the caravan departs. Independent travelers decide how long they stay and what they do. Upon leaving Hope, the journey resumes in Scene 3 (Phase III).

2 | Read-Aloud Description

Hope arrives before its streets do — a smell of wet grain, smoke, and river salt carried on warm air. The Trade Route straightens out near the Arla, and the jungle pulls back just enough to reveal the settlement: a stubborn sprawl of porches, granaries, and patched container walls planted into mud and optimism.

River mist hangs low. Seed drones buzz somewhere over the fields like tired insects. You pass carts stacked with sacks of grain and bundles of netting, and for the first time in hours the road feels less like wilderness and more like civilization. Or better said: civilization under construction …

Staged Read-Alouds (Progressive Descriptions)

Trigger / Timing	Read-Aloud or Narrative Insert
If the PCs arrive with an NKCS caravan	The courier carts roll in like a practiced machine. Cart Guides call quiet instructions. Hoos are watered. Harnesses loosen. A manifest clerk at the Hope Region Courier Station ticks names off a board without looking up. This stop is routine — which means it’s safe, but also watched.
If the PCs arrive on foot or with Veyras	You’re noticed, but not stared at. In Hope, travelers who walk or ride their own beasts mean the same thing: the road demanded effort, and they paid it. A settler steps off a loose wooden plank into the mud to let you pass. Someone jerks their chin toward the Route Stop and says, almost casually, 'You look like you could use some refreshment.' No questions follow. If you made it here under your own power, you’ve earned a pause
If they arrive with a Mortician’s Cart	But as your cart rolls over the loose wooden planks, that optimism falters. The settlement doesn’t go silent but the crowd does thin around you. People glance at the dark wood once, then quickly look away, as if bad luck is contagious. A passing courier mutters, 'Bad road today,' and suddenly everyone finds a reason to look down at the mud instead of at you.
First look at the Route Stop counter	Cauldrons hiss. Flatbread stacks in cloth. Payment slots clink with Kourou or with nothing at all, when someone claims credit in a ledger. The Butler Bot serves without judgment. The Combat Drones do the judging.

3 | Scene Intent

Scene Type	Player Intents	DM Function / Story Link
Rest & Recovery · Social Hub · Narrative Pivot	Heal up · stabilize losses · gather rumors · follow weak signals · test trust	Provide breathing room after travel pressure while quietly advancing the core investigation. Scene 3a introduces the first concrete material clue linking the incident at the Office for Special Operations to a specific economic actor (fur trade pricing). The Kettler twins serve as a controlled narrative funnel: they are optional, deniable, and mundane on the surface — yet capable of unlocking the identity of the unseen hunter.

4 | Key (N)PCs + Dynamic Cues

Name	Role / Affiliation	Motivation / Goal	Dynamic Cues in Play	Wiki-Link
Butler Bot (Route Stop)	Automated staff	Maintain flow & rules	Emotionless efficiency; immediately escalates to drones if weapons drawn	Route Stop of Hope / Butler Bots
Medical Bots	Automated care	Stabilize, not judge	Calm, precise, indifferent to politics or guilt	Medical Station of Hope / Medical Bots
Chief Physician	Exohuman oversight	Keep station functional	Brief, factual, tired; defers to data	Medical Station of Hope
Vicky Ahuja	Floodgate owner	Keep peace, read people	Picks up lies by tone and timing	The Floodgate
Hank Basta	Netter’s owner	Profit, dominance	Pushes bets and conflict; smells desperation	Old Netter’s Rest
Elias Kettler	Traveling Fur Trader (“The Spiritual One”)	Sell wholesale pelts; gauge threat levels; avoid law enforcement	Soft-spoken, alert, and intensely business-minded. He wears a dark hide beanie and a matching fur coat. Let him speak first to de-escalate tension, masking his caution behind smooth sales talk.	The Kettler Twins
Ruben Kettler	Traveling Fur Trader (“The Pessimist”)	Track operational risks; protect inventory; identify spies	Cynical, blunt, and highly suspicious. He stares down at the party with dead-eyed, predatory intensity. His hands remain close to his gear straps unless checked by a show of force.	The Kettler Twins
Guarding Trooper Patrol	Local Guarding Trooper Station of Hope	Maintain order, verify manifests	Move in pairs.	Guarding Troopers

5 | Triggers, Actions & Consequences

Phase 1a — The Ticking Clock (Wanted PCs Only)

If the PCs have a High Exposure status from Scene 1, Hope is dangerous. They cannot linger.

Trigger / Cue (Player Action)	Immediate Reaction	Clue / Consequence
🚨 PCs walk the streets of Hope openly (Ticking Clock Starts)	A local farmer squints at them, then whispers to a passing Guarding Trooper patrol.	The Clock Starts: The PCs have exactly one (1) location visit before the Troopers close in. If they visit the Market and then try to go to the Pub, the gates shut.
🚨 PCs use the Medical Station (Ticking Clock Starts)	The Medical Bot scans their biometrics to administer healing. Its optical ring flashes red.	The Clock Starts: The PCs have exactly 1d4 rounds (a few tense seconds) to grab their gear and run before the Station's security lockdown engages and Troopers arrive.

—

Phase 1b — Location Visits & Recovery

The PCs may choose where to spend their layover. The DM should design these interactions and set the scene using the linked wiki articles for the respective locations. Select the corresponding outcome.

PC Action / Cue	Immediate Reaction / What Happens	Consequences / Mechanics
🍲 Eat/Rest at the Route Stop	Stew is ladled hot, flatbread torn. Butler Bots keep the line moving. A narrow stair leads to creaking bunks.	Meal: Removes 1 level of exhaustion. Bunks: Costs 7 Kourou/hr. 1 hour = Short Rest.
🍻 Socialize at The Floodgate	A functional hub for farmers and fishers. Earth Pop plays softly.	Safe rumor gathering. +1 to CHA checks for local information.
🥊 Gamble at Old Netter’s Rest	Heavy drinking, thick smoke, and an illegal brawl-ring. Hank watches from the bar.	Twenty-One: Opposed Sleight of Hand/Deception vs. table's Insight to win Kourou. Fight Betting: DC 13 Insight to pick the winner (doubles a 10-50K stake). Crit fail = Hank notices them.
🩹 Seek Healing at Medical Station of Hope	Built from repurposed starship containers. Clean, cold, smells of machine oil.	Standard Healing: Emergency Trauma Stabilization (50 K), Nano-Therapy Boost (80 K).

—

Phase 2 — The Kettler Twins (Floating Encounter)

The Kettler Twins Encounter Block

This encounter triggers automatically the moment the PCs sit down in a taproom. It handles the discovery of the physical paper trail linking the hit squad to the fur trade.

Trigger / Player Action	Immediate NPC / Environmental Reaction	Consequences & Skill Mechanics
🪑 The PCs sit down at a taproom table	As the characters slide onto the wooden bench to rest, a player's foot accidentally brushes against something soft, thick, and heavy hidden underneath the framework.	The Setup: The players are directed to investigate the space beneath their boots. Bypassing or ignoring the contact delays the clue discovery until they prepare to leave. Character Specific Modifier: If Lexa Rourke is in the active party roster, she is automatically the one who touches and discovers the bundle.
A PC pulls the hidden bundle out from under the bench	The bundle reveals a high-end vest made from the iridescent, distinctive hide of a Veyra.	The Visual Cue: Characters with a background in tracking, survival, or frontier trade instantly recognize the immense market value of raw Veyra fur in this sector.
👁️ PCs examine the tag pinned to the collar	The tag is a small piece of grid paper reading: “VEYRA, 450 Kourou.”	Automatic Success (Hana Lee's Analysis) or a DC 12 INT (Investigation) check: The player notices the letter 'R' in the word VEYRA has a precise 1mm stencil break where the loop fails to connect to the vertical stem. This matches the exact handwriting of the assassination orders from Ezrah's office.
👥 The Twins approach the booth out of the shadows	The Kettler twins confront the party while they are holding the tag. They note that this was actually their table and that they were just steping away after “having a conversation” with someone who needed a motivational speech. Then their eyes lock onto the vest: “Do we have a buyer? Or did you just try to steal our pelt?”	The Disguise Check: The party must use a DC 13 CHA (Deception or Performance) check to maintain their peaceful, monastic Covenant personas to explain why they are holding the contraband.
💬 PCs question the high price of the vest	The twins narrow their eyes, suspicious of why “monks” are questioning luxury market margins.	The Stand-Off: The room grows tense. The twins move closer to the booth, their posture turning aggressive as they track the party's movements.
🗺️ A PC presses the twins to demand the producer's identity	The twins exchange suspicious glances.	DC 14 CHA (Persuasion or Intimidation) check.Success (The Intel Payoff): The right twin reveals they are just traveling salesmen who pick up their pelts wholesale at Hale & Hook in Morningstar. They don't know the producer personally, but state he is a seasoned hunter specialized on rare pelts.
🚶‍♂️ The PCs conclude the conversation or let the twins walk away	The twins offer a mock salute, turn in unison, and disappear through the exit doors into the foggy twilight.	The Deduction Transition: The encounter concludes. Any lingering or resting party members gather back at the booth to consolidate their findings: The anonymous client is hiding nearby in the Atrana Mountains, funding his elite hitmen directly through fur trafficking.

—-

6 | DM Notes

Arrival State (Carry-Over): PCs may arrive injured, exhausted, or robbed due to Scene 3 encounters. Let NPCs react with frontier pragmatism—offering stew, not sympathy.
This is not neutral downtime: Scene 3a looks calm, but it is information-dense. The Kettler twins appear ordinary, helpful, and dull. That is the point. Clues (the handwriting, the Hale & Hook paper) should feel accidental. If players feel clever for connecting the dots, you are doing it right.
The Safeword is a warning, not a trigger: “Cold salt” marks the PCs in the twins’ internal risk model. Treat it as a future-loaded gun, not a present threat. Do not start a bar brawl here.
Wanted PCs: Hope is hostile infrastructure disguised as hospitality. Bots recognize faces. Locals report quietly. Guarding Troopers respond procedurally.
Exit Cleanly: Once the PCs have rested or the Twins encounter resolves, the caravan horn blows (or they finish their drinks). Gently push the PCs back onto the road.

DM Tutorial: How to approach the scene

Related Pages and Further Information

↑↑ Start: Hunting An Unknown Hunter
★ Overview: All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter
☞ Resolution: Case Resolution and discoverable Backstory
← Previous Scene: Scene 3 — Traveling to Morningstar
→ Next Scene: Scene 3 — Traveling to Morningstar

My DokuWiki

Table of Contents

102 Pen and Paper Adventure | Beta Age | Hunting an Unknown Hunter