Backstage Pass (WtB)

*With the Band Adventure Module created by Morrie Mullins (Converted by Wikia user Darthauthor).*

*Main Page: With the Band*

*Preceded by Meet the Band*

While waiting for the concert to begin, the heroes can make whatever preparations they want. They receive full cooperation from the Trandoshans (as long as the heroes make it clear that they know who's in charge) and have free rein to implement whatever elaborate scheme they concoct.

The heroes have full access to the security system and can read all of Distraction's personnel files with a DC 20 Use Computer check. There are no records of anyone named "Niklas Cories" or anything similar in the band's personnel files. Each of the 73 members of Distraction's touring entourage has an individual file that the heroes can peruse. This file contains a picture of each person, and none of the pictures match Cories. But a DC 30 Use Computer check reveals that all images have been updated within the last three days, and the old files have been purged with no trace remaining. Individuals perusing the files may notice (DC 15 Perception check) that the images sometimes do not correspond to the Species described. Enni Anni's file, for example, includes a picture of a Woostoid rather than a Herglic. In fact, each band member's file contains an incorrect picture.

This is part of Cories's plan to confuse anyone who might be trying to find him. To protect his identity, he had someone slice the computer system and change the images in every personnel file. Given that he's about to terminate his employment with Distraction once he takes care of Aquella, he is being as careful as he can about covering his tracks.

It takes some work, but the heroes can locate every individual in the personnel file except for six. One is Xydge. He is currently escorting four individuals named Veris, Gindo, Essara, and Rossi Kildaon off-ship. Those four are the public appearance doubles for the members of Distraction- a tattooed female Human (with surgery to make her look like a Devaronian), a Herglic, a Tarasin, and a white-faced Human. The sixth missing individual is a Human male named Aphus Polix who was hired three months ago as an instrument-handler and who has done some work on the band's pyrotechnics and security system.

## Murderous Misdirection

Polix's quarters are in the cargo freighter that hauls Distraction's equipment. If the heroes enter, the scene is gruesome. Someone was killed here, the body destroyed with a Thermal Detonator. Because of the extensive sound-proofing and thick hull of the freighter, and because everyone has been aboard the *Sleemo* preparing for the show, no one heard the blast. Searching the scene (DC 25 Perception check) allows the heroes to find a smashed Datapad in one corner. It can be fixed well enough to play back the most important contents (DC 30 Mechanics check), a recording from a security camera aboard the *Sleemo*. There is no sound.

***A woman with a ghost-white face sits atop a crate, twirling percussion sticks. From behind her, another individual appears- an exact duplicate of the first woman. The new arrival pulls a Vibrodagger from her belt and jabs it into the base of the first woman's skull. There's hardly a twitch as the woman drops her percussion sticks and collapses. The assassin pulls the dagger free, slips something into the dead body's pocket, and tosses her into the airlock. The door slides shut, the airlock expels the body, and you see an explosion through the airlock's window. The screen goes blank.***

Cories wanted the heroes to deduce that Tzeel had been killed and replaced by her public-appearance double, Rossi Kildaon, who could take Tzeel's place on stage and be in a prime position to kill anyone in the audience. But this is a misdirection. Cories actually disguised himself as Tzeel, killed the double, and dumped the body out the airlock, making sure to capture it all on a lone security camera. (This feed can be accessed through the regular security system on the ship with a DC 25 Use Computer check once the heroes know what they're looking for.) He then killed Ushka Et's Human double, Veris, and blew her body up in his own quarters, where no security camera was present. A PC skilled can identify (DC 25 Treat Injury or Knowledge (Life Sciences) check) that the corpse in Polix's room is not male and so could not be Polix.

Lastly, Cories modified Xydge's transmission log to make it seem as though the Trandoshan escorted all four public-appearance doubles off the ship. In reality, Xydge only had three doubles with him. Tzeel's double never showed up for the "Smile and wave at the docking ships" tour. Cories himself took Veris's place on that run, but by the time the heroes realize that someone was missing and start to piece things together, the doubles and Xydge are back on board. Perhaps more troubling, the band didn't feel like waiting any more and decided to make their fans happy. They've started their concert an hour early.

*Continued in Concerto in Red*