Date: Thu, 5 Oct 1995 19:24:40 GMT From: "Brendan O'Donovan" Subject: Dark Century Campaign - Section 2 Flu and work both conspired to hold this up, but its finished more or less now. Even if you don't run this, you might find some useful ideas in it. Overview: In part one, the characters were framed with involvement in the theft of a prototype Reformation Coalition starship. Escaping from the shipyard where the head of security was involved in framing the characters, the adventure opens in some docks on Aubaine. The characters are wanted by the police, and until the end of this section they are likely to be hassled at various points by the police. These first two encounters can be added into this section as appropriate. The safe house. The characters will require accommodation while they pursue their inquiries into the ship theft. Any character who has criminal contacts can arrange somewhere to stay. Alternatively, the characters can be approached by a stranger after a close escape from a police patrol. The characters will be offered 'safe' accommodation for Cr25 each per night. 'The place wasn't in a part of town you knew, come to that, it wasn't even in a part of town you knew existed. The building looked like it had been burnt out in the past, but plants grew in colourful swathes from the windows, and the doors and windows looked new. Still, rebuilding was nothing new to you, and the building blended in with those around it well enough' After a day or two, the police will set a trap in the building, having either been tipped off by the owner in return for a reward, or after the police followed and arrested the character's contact. Formidable:Observation - 'As you return to the place you're renting nothing seems out of place, but in a street that has constantly surprised you, with impromptu performances by artists and violent arguments by neighbours, this in itself is strange. A man stands by one of the streetlights reading a newsheet, you can't be sure, but it seems like he's watching you.' If the players look around before going inside, they will find a police air raft at the rear of the house, with a single law enforcement officer. This gives the players an opportunity to steal a getaway vehicle and escape. If they try to leave on foot then they will encounter the police, just the same as if they go inside, but of course, they will have a better chance to escape. If the players go inside, they will be confronted by the police who are waiting inside their apartment. There are 4 more police than characters and allied NPCs, and they will attempt to subdue the characters, as the Coalition needs to question them. Law Enforcer Template NPC Level: Experienced, Combat Assets:Armed Martial Arts (Small Blade), Slug Pistol, Other Assets:Pilot (IF/Grav) 9, Observation 10, Persuasion 10 Equipment:10mm AutoSnub (1D6 1-4Tranq 5-6HEAP), BW vest (AV1 Chest/Ab), Blade Police Sweep Ten police officers are conducting a sweep of the area looking for the players. Each character must roll Average:Stealth to slip by. If anyone fails, they get past on Impossible:Act Bluff. If a successful Forgery (false ID) or Disguise roll has been made earlier, then they receive a -1 diff mod for each, or -2 for a critical success (and possibly -1 for superb roleplaying if they hadn't done either) This situation could be complicated by the appearance of a drunken acquaintance of one of the character's. If the players fail to slip past, they will have to defend themselves against the police long enough to escape into the crowd. This will be helped by the fact the police are on foot. Research Some leads which were mentioned in the previous section might now be followed up. Difficult:Streetwise or Research (-1 diff level if any character has media contacts) The death of Farlos was investigated for Coalition News Services by a Schalli journalist. He was unable to find any witnesses to the death, and schalli who were in the area of Farlos' disappearance remember the weather as stormy, but not unusually so. More significantly, none of them actually saw Farlos' boat in the area on the night he disappeared. Formidable:Research, (average:admin to enable, -1 diff level for a medical contact) There was a survivor from the air raft crash which killed the crew of Farlos' original ship. He was resuscitated at a local hospital, but then disappeared a few days later. Staff on duty report that he went to the bathroom and never came out. An open window from the room looked out over a side alley. Formidable:Computer - Remotely access the shipyard computers. From here the following information can be obtained if the players ask for it: -Motion Video or stills of the video which incriminates the characters -Personnel files for the head of security, showing his arrival on planet on the same ship as some of the mercenaries. This is not in itself incriminating, other civilians from both Coalition worlds and the wilds arrived on the same ship, but it is interesting. -Work schedules for the construction of the RCS Dark Century. Average:Admin to notice that the chief technician in charge of the project actually left to go on holiday shortly before the Dark Century was completed. -Account numbers used for paying wages which will assist the players in obtaining information from bank computers. This information is important, so if the characters are not skilled enough with computers they will need to locate someone who is. Average:Streetwise to locate a cybercafe where an infamous hacker hangs out. 'The bar is dark, illuminated principally by the rows of vid screens along the walls. A wide variety of people sit at the terminals, businessmen in suits, mothers with their children pointing to the screen and more. The lighting in the room is not unpleasant, the light from the screens being cast through sepia coloured filters, creating a warm atmosphere reinforced by the smell of steaming cups of sharp but sweet smelling Chakka and fresh baked doughnuts' If the players ask the owner of the shop they will be directed to a young woman in a business suit sitting in one corner. The lady is Jan Coley, an accomplished computer expert, with an amateur interest in computer intrusion which nonetheless leaves most full time hackers speechless. She will break into the shipyard computers for Cr1000, (Difficult:Bargaining to bring down to Cr600, or C300 on exceptional success) and may even suggest retrieving some of the above information if the players don't think about it. Unfortunately for the players, she is unknowingly under investigation by a group of bounty hunters, who heard of her reputation, and have been observing her through bugs in the cafe terminals to watch for shady dealings. When they realise that she may be acting on behalf of the characters, they decide to step in, encouraged on the kCr250 reward for the capture of the characters. Fortunately, the bounty hunters working on Aubaine are far less competent than their counterparts in the wilds. The bounty hunters will enter the cafe just as Jan finishes retrieving the information the players need. They enter through the front door and start firing immediately. The civilians present dive for cover and players would be quite justified in fighting back. There is one more bounty hunter present than the number of players in the group. Bounty Hunter, Experienced, Combat assets:Energy pistol, Unarmed Martial Arts, Slug Pistol. Other assets:Observation 10, Tracking 10, Streetwise 10. Armed with 10mm AutoSnub-8 (HE), leader carries a TL9 laser pistol. They are wearing combat environment suits under casual clothes. Jan Coley, Experienced, Combat assets:Slug pistol. Other assets:Computer:16, Observation:10, Research:10. Carries a gauss pistol (dart) Cafe owner, Veteran Combat assets:Slug rifle, Unarmed martial arts. Other assets: Service:14, Computer:12, Electronics:10. Has a pump action shotgun under the counter (slugs) The police and emergency services will arrive in three minutes. Players gain much karma for attending to the wounded civilians until the ambulances arrive instead of fleeing straight away. Difficult:Computer (-2 diff levels if the players have account number from payroll files at the shipyard) Obtain account information on people that the players suspect of involvement The head of security has no suspicious payments on file. The chief technician had a Cr1,500,000 deposit made about four months ago. A large withdrawal was made a few weeks ago to pay for a holiday on a well-known resort near the equator on Aubaine. In the past couple of weeks numerous small withdrawals have been made in shops on the resort island. Formidable:Streetwise (-1 diff level if any character has criminal contacts, -1 diff if anyone has military contacts) - Players trace some of the mercenaries who appear in the security camera pictures to a mercenary unit which arrived onworld ten years ago. No record of them exists prior to this date. The members had obtained one or two minor contracts for various commercial concerns, but nine years ago the group split up, and the members obtained a variety of civilian jobs, principally in security and law enforcement, but some entered more mundane careers as accountants and administrators. No details of the mercenary missions they carried out have been released. Recently, the band began to reform, hired by a mysterious businessman, who paid in cash. Impossible:Streetwise (-1 diff level if the Medical research above was done) The survivor of the air raft crash is now working as a technician for the Aubani communications company. He has changed his name, and is living under cover. He will not be happy about talking to the characters about the crash, and will only reluctantly agree to see them. He will explain that he is fearful for his safety, suspecting someone wants him dead, and telling the characters that the air raft crash was no accident. He offers to meet the characters in a local park to explain further. When the characters turn up for the rendezvous, they will find him sitting on a park bench, staring into space in from of him. When the players try to talk to him, they realise that he is dead. Any post mortem would reveal he died of poisoning delivered by a fragment of ceramic found in his neck, as if it had been shot there. Most likely the characters won't have the opportunity for any close investigation, and if they did, it would not provide any information as to the killer's identity. Whatever else the players find out, the significant pieces of information are those relating to the chief technician. The players should decide to investigate him. Investigation will determine that he has let the rent lapse on his flat, and appears to have moved out to the resort permanently. Reaching the island is not likely to be easy as the police are hounding the players. I'll outline four possibilities for reaching the island: 1/Passenger ship 2/Chartered ship 3/Stolen ship 4/Charter flight Buying the tickets The tickets will need to be purchased for 1, 2 & 4 above. This could be done by a character, suitably disguised (opposing an observation asset of 7). Alternatively a trusted contact could do it, but this could cause some problems for players - How much do you trust your contact? Does he still blame you for the death of X? Can you trust your journalist friend to keep his mouth shut? The tickets cost: Passenger ship Cr200 each Chartered ship Cr1500 total Chartered flight Cr2000 total Security checks The characters will be checked as they enter the harbour or airport complex. Security has been tightened due to the increasing tensions in Coalition space. The security still seems friendly rather than intimidating, but there is an atmosphere of polite caution. Players attempting to get prohibited weapons (automatics and high-energy weapons) through security will be arrested if discovered. Players with criminal or merchant contacts can arrange for the weapons to be smuggled to the resort. This costs Cr100 to Cr 500 per weapon. The chance of it getting through safely is equal to 60% + 5% for each Cr50 over the original Cr100. Passengers will be asked to check weapons into secure lockers for the duration of their flight/cruise. It is Formidable:Stealth to avoid any concealed weapons being found (-1 difficulty level for pistols), or it is Difficult:Intrusion to obtain them once on board. Passenger ship. 'The ship sits easily in harbour, a faint trail of steam reaching up from one end. The hydrofoil underneath the water has a modified HEPlaR drive mounted on it, which takes water in from in front of the ship, heating it to steam and then venting it behind the ship. The efficiency of the propulsion, combined with a fusion plant make it possible to achieve extremely high speeds with very little cost. The tourists around you all look excited, they jostle and crowd around the boarding gates, and the people who were originally checking people's papers give up and get out of the way.' The voyage takes about twelve hours, and while the characters will encounter no trouble getting off again, it's not all plain sailing.... ' "Hey! You!" the shout comes from behind you. Turning, you find yourself face to face with a short angry looking man. You recognise him from the briefing as one of the would-be officers from the briefing at the shipyard. His shouting is beginning to attract the attention of the other passengers around you' Lots of Act/Bluff, Persuasion, and clever ideas will be needed to shut him up. He will harangue the characters, although he won't get violent. If he is allowed to get away, then he will call the port authorities using the ships laser relay. The characters could try to disable the communicator, either by taking over the comms room, or by sabotaging the antenna. If they don't they will be ambushed by the police (see below) as they disembark. Charter Vessel and Flight. The characters will not be immediately apprehended if they fail to sneak past security while boarding, but the police will be waiting at the port/airport when the characters arrive, and will try to arrest them (see below). The characters may plan to use parachutes or scuba to get past these problems, and these are possible, depending on character skills. To pass through security Formidable:Stealth (the corridors are designed to prevent this) Formidable:Act/Bluff ('...no, you want my second cousin, he looks just like me') Difficult:Disguise Difficult:Forgery Stealing a ship. In the port there is a small HEPlaR propelled water skimmer. A fat man in a loud shirt sits on deck, drinking and soaking up the sun. He is a novice NPC and has the keys for the yacht in his pocket. The characters can easily intimidate him into starting the engine, or piloting the ship. As the characters leave the port, they will be pursued by his bodyguard, who has borrowed a speedboat to chase them. The characters can outrun him easily if they choose to. If they do, they will be reported by the bodyguard, and tracked by the police. The police will be waiting for them when they arrive. If however, they allow the bodyguard to catch up and they subdue him, then nobody will raise the alarm, and the characters will be able to land uninterrupted by the police on the island. The bodyguard is an Experienced NPC, armed with a gauss pistol and unarmoured. Police ambush If the characters get noticed from travel above, they will be ambushed by a group of police in a fitting location (customs, a small harbour, as they get out from their grav vehicle and walk across the grasphalt to the terminal building). There are twice as many police as there are characters. Use the law enforcer template above. The holiday home. The Chief technician (Steffan Gray) 's house is set in considerable grounds. The grounds are surrounded by a wire fence, with surveillance cameras set every hundred meters along their length. A narrow road leads from the main road to the house. The grounds are patrolled by trios of security guards, all in combat environment suits and carrying TL10 ACRs with HE ammunition. At night they use light intensifier goggles, and they have headset radios for communication. Technician's security. Experienced NPC. Combat assets: Slug Rifle. Other assets:Observation 12, Stealth 10, Tactics 8. Most of the estate is covered in dense forest, but reaching in a circle about 50m in radius from the house are landscaped gardens these include four spectacular 'holographic' fountains, where projection onto a spray of opaque white liquid gives the impressions of a fountain of fire, of pebbles and rocks, of clouds and of water, all four fountains changing theme in rotation. There is a second road leading from the house to a private beach. Draw maps if you want, or alternatively handle it in a more descriptive fashion. Some suggested complications for various approaches. Entry through the woods - Poisonous wildlife Dry leaves underfoot attracting guards Entry through the private beach - Wildlife Toxin laced netting covering the cove. Intended to keep unfriendly wildlife outside the swimming area it is laced with a slime containing a contact poison. Although intended to discourage small fish only, the sting is uncomfortable, and one randomly selected member of the party could suffer an allergic reaction to it (fever, halved assets, needs medical attention within an hour). Rip currents Entry over the fence (for all but beach approaches) The wire fence is made of superdense, and requires specialised cutting equipment. Digging under the fence could produce an entry, but there is a 30% chance of uncovering a small antipersonnel mine. This is primed when the unfortunate lays his hand on it, but won't go off until he reduces the pressure on it. The others can try to disarm it, while the unfortunate who discovered it rolls lots of willpower tests to not scratch his nose. Climbing over the fence is possible, but the razor wire on the top will do 2D6 damage each limb. Easy:Acrobatics to prevent damage to one limb, Average for two limbs, Difficult to save three limbs, and Impossible to vault over without damage (roll and see which if any task would be successful). Then there are those video cameras..... Entry along paths through the woods/along a road Guard patrols are common, and the players are likely to encounter them. There are several automated weapons which are deactivated by radio transmissions from security tags which the people living in the house use. These can be obtained from defeated guards. Using a radio jammer doesn't deactivate the weapons, but it will cause them to fire indiscriminately. In the house the players will find copies of the Dark Century's blueprints, annotated to highlight security weaknesses, ways door locks can be over ridden, means of defeating the anti hijack program. They will also find parameters for a planned jump to Lancer, with risk assessments for the untested jump drives. There is no RC authorisation stamp on any of these documents. There is also correspondence from the Head of security who framed the characters, assuring Steffan that the characters will be caught and convicted by the police on the evidence that he has created. The characters hear a sudden roar and see a large flash out through the windows. A fusion small arms shot has ignited much of the top floor of the house. Steffan will die in the blaze unless a courageous character chooses to go up to save him. He will be found severely burnt from a grazing shot, unconscious and will have to be dragged from the building. He will remain in a coma for several weeks, but will eventually make a full recovery. Unfortunately he knows little else about the ship theft, as his involvement was entirely through Trefin (who will have disappeared off planet by the time the characters reach the authorities with the evidence. The characters can try to pursue the cloaked gunman responsible, but he will have gone by the time they get outside, and they will find him impossible to track. They will see a craft take off from the beach and climb up on an orbital trajectory. The government tracking agencies will deny having seen anything (they really didn't, but let the players get paranoid about government cover ups). The police will arrive within a few minutes, and with the evidence gathered, the players should be able to prove their innocence. The authorities are able to determine the planned path of the Century and a mission to return the ship to the Coalition is organised. Naturally, the players are offered command positions to chase after the people who framed them.... ..To be continued in about a fortnight... -- Brendan