Voussoir

Voussoir is the GATE Voussoir Facility, a high-altitude research outpost dedicated to studying notable and unusual macro-phenomena. The facility houses one of the largest privately operated telescopes (an ELT) for celestial observation and deep-space monitoring, and it is equipped for terrestrial research into telluric control and geomagnetic countermeasures. Voussoir contributes essential data to GATE’s global perforation research and is used to prototype and test experimental electromagnetic equipment. Because of its research remit and location, the facility also functions as an improvised containment site for locally endemic immurement subjects and other anomalous fauna.

When the player arrives, the facility is fully occupied by the Order, who have sealed off access. Surviving staff reveal that Order forces infiltrated the site by posing as Groupe soldiers. The complex includes a cable car (ski-lift) and caverns beneath the lift station; a dangerous beast roams those caverns and remains an unresolved threat at the time of the player’s visit. A secluded cave accessible only with the Jetpack contains the corpse of a GATE Keystone employee, lightly equipped and apparently a victim of exposure; her possessions include a Skip Cookies and a Blue Antelight Seed.

Voussoir’s enemy roster consists of Mountaineers, Close-Quarters Combatants, Rooks, and Yetis. Mountaineers and other human foes drop typical field loot and occasional specialty equipment; some trinkets and pieces of cold-resistant gear can be obtained from Mountaineers and from containers around the facility. Voussoir is also notable for being the first portal world to include several deployables: water coolers (usually with a mostly full quantity of water), barrels (used alongside water coolers as renewable liquid containers), and toolboxes (containing common toolbox loot).

Practical notes for approaching Voussoir:

• Cold resistance is the primary environmental concern. A total of +3 cold resistance fully negates hypothermia in the region. Equipping a combination of pieces that sum to +3 is sufficient; a full armor set is unnecessary.
• Certain armor items and the Mountaineer Armor Set provide both protection and cold resistance; the Mountaineer set is obtainable only within Voussoir.
• Traits and trinkets can supplement cold resistance: the Weathered trait grants +1 cold resistance, and equipping two generic trinkets that each give +1 provides +2 together. A specific trinket dropped by Mountaineers in the facility grants +1 cold resistance.
• Portable heat sources function while equipped. These items raise the hypothermic ambient temperature to Cold, preventing freezing and effectively lowering the required cold resistance from 3 to 2.
• Some areas are reachable only after taking an exit portal in the cave system; the Jetpack provides access to exclusive locations such as the cave with the Keystone corpse.

Design and lore notes: Voussoir draws architectural inspiration from the real-world Sphinx Observatory in Switzerland. An in-game email chain found at the site references an indie game about signal scanning in Alpine ranges, and an attached image of silhouetted dishes alludes to external media used as creative reference.