The Vralkans share their land with an intelligent nonhuman race, the mnethashi. These creatures possess humanoid upper torsos ending abruptly at the waist, where four mighty arachnoid legs grow. Their claws drip with a powerful acid that also runs through their blood. As they cannot abide numenera devices (the largest being in
Thorash). These items protect her, monitor various situations, provide comforts, and assist in destroying enemies. It is said that thanks to some of her devices, it is literally impossible to speak a lie in her presence or aim a weapon directly at her.
Auster wants nothing more than to expand her kingdom, and she plans to invade the lands to the southwest—a sparsely populated region just north of Dessanedi. This is a small matter, essentially involving marching through the lands and ignoring the few nomadic tribes that dwell there. After that, she wishes to spread into the realm that people in the Steadfast call the Beyond. She knows, however, that her greatest challenge will be the Augurs in the region of Augur-Kala. Her spies report that their military might is considerable. She plans on building a new vallation fortress in Dessanedi, not far from the town of Norou, from which she
Dessanedi, page 187 Augur-Kala, page 215 Norou, page 213 The Sheer, page 213 Sere Marica, page 192
the sun, mnethashi dwell underground in caves and tunnels beneath the kingdom. They share some of the sensibilities of the militaristic, violent Vralkans and interact with them amicably. (If anything, the mnethashi capacity for cruelty and sadism is greater.) Some mnethashi serve as spies and assassins for the Vralkans and have fully integrated into the hierarchy of Vralkan society. Others dwell apart but still appreciate that the advancement of the Vralkans will aid the mnethashi. These creatures are as eager as their human counterparts to spread into other, more hospitable lands and take what can be taken.
Queen Auster keeps two highly skilled mnethashi assassins skulking in the shadows near her at almost all times.
Deep in the mountains, small communities of mnethashi are not as cooperative with the Vralkans. These few capture humans and use them as slaves and food. This kind of activity almost ingratiates them with the folk of Vralk, except that these mnethashi show no deference to station or the overall war plan. They are hunted and killed when possible.
WHY GO TO VRALK?
At this point, some readers might wonder why anyone would leave the Steadfast or the Beyond and go to Vralk, a place where everyone and everything is likely to kill you. Even the air can be deadly.
Vralkans make awesome villains. They are, as a kingdom, a well-organized society of sadists and psychopaths, and they are eager to conquer and plunder the world. Vralk is a bomb about to go off in the Ninth World, and the frightening thing is that most people in the Steadfast and the Beyond don’t even know the Vralkans exist. Because they have holed up for so long in their harsh, isolated land to hone their skill and their blades, perfecting everything they can about war, domination, and murder, they have not yet made their presence known to the rest of the world.
In many ways, it is the greatest of ironies that the people of the Steadfast fear the machinations of the Gaians—who have no interest in conquest—and are completely unaware of the Vralkans, who may come sweeping across the landscape any day.
In the course of a Numenera campaign, a noble or local ruler who has heard of Vralk can send the PCs to gather information about this newly discovered land, or perhaps the Vralkans begin their invasion of lands to the south and west and the PCs must gather intelligence or attempt to subvert the enemy. In the latter case, the PCs might have one or more dangerous encounters with the Vralkans in the Beyond as the invasion moves southwest, and later head into the Red Kingdom as the culmination of the scenario. It would be wonderful if the PCs learned enough about the Vralkans early on that a chill runs down their spines when they realize that they need to go into Vralk. It’s like learning that one must go to Hell itself after sparring with the devil again and again.
Maybe the PCs go to Vralk for a reason that’s entirely incidental to the impending invasion. Perhaps the trail of an artifact they need takes them to the Red Kingdom, or someone they like or need is kidnapped and enslaved by Vralkans (such as a friend with a great deal of numenera knowledge being taken to the war machines in Thorash). In any event, the course of what seems
like a typical adventure takes the PCs into a land they never heard of that’s set to explode into a war for which no one in the Beyond or the Steadfast is prepared. What they do with that information could send the campaign into all sorts of new and
interesting directions.
The GM could also start a campaign in Vralk, with all the PCs being Vralkans. Such a campaign would differ greatly from the norm and probably isn’t for everyone. Although terms like “good” and “evil” aren’t often tossed around in Numenera, by most standards the Vralkans are evil, at least in terms of their capacity for cruelty, domination, and bloodlust. They have little altruism or compassion. A Vralk campaign would need to address these issues in a way that made the players and the GM comfortable.
preying upon a herd, they worry at the weak or slow members of a group with hit-and- run attacks in the dark of night. They are not choosy about their food, so if they can get a mount or animal companion, that’s fine as well.
When Ghasts cannot find larger food, they subsist on insects, worms, and grubs. They use bone weapons, wear no clothing, and make no shelters. Their speech is a very limited, guttural form of Vralkan. During the day they bury themselves in the dust and dirt to hide from the sun.
SCREAMSTORMS
The merciless, ash-filled winds of the Ghastlov are infamous, but the screamstorms are a step beyond. An unknown force or energy creates these windstorms, interwoven with a sonic wail that can literally flay flesh from bone or split stones. Some people speculate that incorporeal, ultraterrestrial entities are involved, but it also might simply be uncontrolled sonic energy harnessed and discharged in ways beyond understanding.
Anyone caught in one of these terrible storms must make a Might defense roll (difficulty 5) or suffer 8 points of damage. The worst screamstorms force two or even three such rolls. Finding adequate cover reduces the difficulty of the roll by one or two steps, depending on the quality of the shelter.