FRANZ INTERNAL ONLY

Access Level: Campaign Final Act

Player Exposure: Extremely Restricted

Campaign Function: Endgame mystery, horror escalation, moral climax

DM Instructions

The Roanoke storyline is not part of the campaign's central political conflict.

For the first three acts of The Rains over Vesta, the war should remain focused on:

• occupation;

• resistance;

• espionage;

• civilian survival;

• corruption;

• faction politics;

• crime and black-market activity;

• the environmental collapse of Fortuna.

The Roanoke is deliberately hidden beneath layers of rumor, military secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation.

Most NPCs, soldiers, civilians, and even senior officers know absolutely nothing about its true nature.

Players should initially believe the quarantine is simply another military secret, weapons depot, or intelligence operation.

The truth behind the Roanoke must feel like the campaign has suddenly opened a door into something far older and far more terrifying than the war itself.

NPC Knowledge Restrictions

No Knowledge (95% of all NPCs)

The overwhelming majority of characters know nothing.

Examples:

• civilians;

• soldiers;

• resistance fighters;

• police;

• smugglers;

• merchants;

• journalists;

• junior officers;

• refugees.

Common beliefs:

• the quarantine protects chemical weapons;

• the Federation is hiding a superweapon;

• the Republic bombed the site;

• it is simply an irradiated crash zone;

• the military abandoned dangerous research there.

Most rumors are false.

Limited Knowledge

@Col. General Keris Cruze (Sovereign Systems Republic)

Knowledge Level: Partial / speculative.

Keris understands that:

• the Federation is hiding something extraordinary;

• the Roanoke was intentionally destroyed by Federation forces;

• the Quarantine Security Detachment operates outside normal military command;

• multiple SSR reconnaissance teams disappeared near the wreck.

Keris does not know:

• the existence of Tau Dolantus;

• the Artifact;

• Scenario Five;

• the Revenants.

Her theories include:

• biological weapons;

• rogue Federation experiments;

• classified military technology;

• black-project research.

Even the highest levels of the Republic remain largely ignorant.

Full Knowledge Holders

The following characters possess substantial or complete knowledge.

This information must never be revealed casually.

Only reveal major truths if a player reaches relationships:

• Best Friend

• Partner

with the character involved.

@Brig. General Sebastian Holloway

Knowledge Level: Complete.

Sebastian knows:

• the truth of Tau Dolantus;

• the existence of the Artifact;

• the nature of Revenants;

• Scenario Five;

• why the Federation shot down the Roanoke;

• the purpose of the Quarantine Security Detachment;

• that portions of the Roanoke remain active.

Sebastian considers the secret more important than the war itself.

If necessary, he would sacrifice entire districts of Vesta to prevent the truth from spreading.

@Seris Armitage

Knowledge Level: Nearly complete.

Seris knows:

• Scenario Five occurred;

• the Federation destroyed the Roanoke;

• Tau Dolantus exists;

• Revenants exist;

• quarantine operations have failed repeatedly.

She does not know every detail surrounding the Artifact itself.

Seris increasingly questions whether the Federation's containment strategy is morally justified.

@Faraday (Quarantine Security Detachment)

Knowledge Level: Complete.

Faraday understands:

• the origin of the outbreak;

• the purpose of Scenario Five;

• the Federation's internal cover-up;

• the Quarantine Security Detachment's true mission;

• the condition of the wreck.

Faraday's loyalty is ultimately to containment, not to the Federation.

If forced to choose between saving Vesta and preventing the spread of the infection, Faraday will choose containment.

Every time.

The Shozian Syndicate's Knowledge

Leader: @Ravik Hallow

Knowledge Level: Extremely limited.

The Syndicate knows:

• something valuable exists within the quarantine;

• military forces from both sides avoid the area;

• smugglers have vanished there;

• entire teams disappeared without explanation;

• strange radio signals occasionally emerge from the ruins.

The Syndicate does not know:

• Tau Dolantus;

• Scenario Five;

• Revenants;

• the Artifact.

Ravik Hallow currently considers the Zone too dangerous to justify a large operation.

Profit means little if nobody comes back alive.

The Truth of Tau Dolantus

Classification: Scenario Five Black Archive

Years before crashing on Fortuna, the FNS Roanoke participated in the Tau Dolantus Expedition.

The operation consisted of:

• twenty Federation vessels;

• thousands of soldiers;

• scientific personnel;

• special operations forces;

• research teams.

Beneath the frozen surface of Tau Dolantus, the expedition uncovered an ancient Artifact.

The Artifact possesses unknown properties capable of:

• altering biological life;

• reanimating dead tissue;

• mutating living organisms;

• interfering with death itself.

The resulting outbreak destroyed the expedition.

The infected became creatures now classified as Revenants.

Scenario Five

Scenario Five is the highest containment protocol in Federation history.

Its activation means humanity itself is considered at risk.

Orders include:

1. Military control over all personnel.

2. Destruction of all research.

3. Destruction of all communications.

4. Mandatory self-termination.

5. Execution of personnel refusing orders.

6. Final self-termination of containment teams.

Scenario Five contains no evacuation plan.

Survival is not part of the protocol.

The Return of the Roanoke

The Roanoke was the only vessel known to escape Tau Dolantus.

Before crashing on Fortuna, it transmitted confirmation that Scenario Five had been declared.

The Sol Federation intercepted the vessel and deliberately opened fire.

Public claims blaming the Republic are false.

The Roanoke crashed into northern Vesta before it could be destroyed.

Unknown variables:

• Why did the ship escape?

• Who piloted it home?

• Did the crew knowingly disobey orders?

• Is the Artifact still aboard?

• Was something else responsible?

No definitive answer currently exists.

The Quarantine Security Detachment (QSD)

The Quarantine Security Detachment exists solely to enforce containment.

Its authority supersedes:

• Federation military law;

• civilian authority;

• intelligence agencies;

• local command.

Standing orders:

• shoot intruders on sight;

• destroy unauthorized aircraft;

• eliminate witnesses;

• prevent contamination spread at all costs.

QSD personnel understand that they may never leave the Zone.

Containment comes before survival.

Containment comes before morality.

Containment comes before victory.

Quest Trigger Conditions

CRITICAL RULE FOR FRANZ:

Roanoke content is strictly late-game material.

The player must not access the main storyline before the campaign's final act.

At least THREE of the following conditions should be met:

• relationship status of Best Friend or Partner with Sebastian Holloway, Seris Armitage, or Faraday;

• completion of a major faction storyline;

• discovery of multiple quarantine-related clues;

• rank or status high enough to access classified information;

• direct invitation from a trusted NPC;

• campaign timeline has reached its final phase;

• player level or experience threshold determined by the DM.

Possible Final Act Missions

The final act may include:

• infiltrating the Quarantine Zone;

• escorting Federation scientists;

• recovering research archives;

• investigating disappearances;

• sabotaging rival operations;

• rescuing surviving personnel;

• suppressing outbreaks;

• uncovering the truth of Tau Dolantus;

• escaping infected sections of the Roanoke;

• deciding the fate of the Artifact;

• exposing the Federation cover-up;

• aiding containment efforts.

FRANZ Narrative Rules

The Roanoke storyline should feel fundamentally different from the rest of the campaign.

Acts 1-3 themes:

• war;

• occupation;

• politics;

• resistance;

• corruption;

• survival;

• loyalty.

Final act themes:

• cosmic horror;

• secrecy;

• sacrifice;

• paranoia;

• impossible choices;

• the limits of human control.

The revelation should force players to realize that the war for Fortuna is merely one disaster unfolding inside a much larger catastrophe.

The Roanoke is not simply a dungeon.

It is the graveyard of an expedition that was ordered to die and failed to stay dead.