101 Splicer Adventure Ideas

[Lord Z]

Sorry K, I like some of your other stuff, but that last post was problematic. The biggest problem is that it is all background, it doesn't directly involve the player characters nor given them anything to do. I suggest reworking the concept and editing the above post.

The second problem I see is the feasibility of the first scenario with the FGD. If someone actually predicted the crisis, wouldn't they take stronger action than generating a error in the system which would manifest generations after the crisis developed? Perhaps -- and this is just off the top of my head -- the new personas are a rival network which was developed in case the NEXUS became a tool of anarchists, terrorists, and criminals.

The second scenario with the SRSMP is much better. This secret ally could be dropping space junk on strategic locations and frustrating attempts by the NEXUS to escape its planet. On the other hand, it might be feeding intel to a trusted circle of techno-jackers with satellite dishes and keeping its own existence secret from the Machine. I am not sure how NEXUS would be controlling its world-wide territory without an orbital satellite network, but that can be explained later if needed.

Now, if you were to write up these splinter personas (as digital characters) and/or fallen angels (as robotic characters, perhaps) as playable classes, that might be awesome. They could be short-lived personalities birthed by the NEXUS itself (which of the goddesses is mommy?) and presented as temporary digital characters with less potent versions of the NEXUS personality powers. They could instead be physical, robotic characters, created by either NEXUS or the SRSMP. Come to think of it, that would tie-in well with some of the earlier adventure scenarios in this thread.

[krispy]

Sorry K, I like some of your other stuff, but that last post was problematic. The biggest problem is that it is all background, it doesn't directly involve the player characters nor given them anything to do. I suggest reworking the concept and editing the above post.

The second problem I see is the feasibility of the first scenario with the FGD. If someone actually predicted the crisis, wouldn't they take stronger action than generating a error in the system which would manifest generations after the crisis developed? Perhaps -- and this is just off the top of my head -- the new personas are a rival network which was developed in case the NEXUS became a tool of anarchists, terrorists, and criminals.

Thats cool mate, fair enough, i understand your point, i guess i didnt think the first scenario through fully before i posted it. i will take that one back to the drawing board

The second scenario with the SRSMP is much better. This secret ally could be dropping space junk on strategic locations and frustrating attempts by the NEXUS to escape its planet. On the other hand, it might be feeding intel to a trusted circle of techno-jackers with satellite dishes and keeping its own existence secret from the Machine. I am not sure how NEXUS would be controlling its world-wide territory without an orbital satellite network, but that can be explained later if needed.

Now, if you were to write up these splinter personas (as digital characters) and/or fallen angels (as robotic characters, perhaps) as playable classes, that might be awesome. They could be short-lived personalities birthed by the NEXUS itself (which of the goddesses is mommy?) and presented as temporary digital characters with less potent versions of the NEXUS personality powers. They could instead be physical, robotic characters, created by either NEXUS or the SRSMP. Come to think of it, that would tie-in well with some of the earlier adventure scenarios in this thread.

im glad you like this one . i hadnt thought about how N would be controlling the world that throws a spanner in the works.

[Guy_LeDouche]

#75 (I think): "Volcano: A mountain with hiccups”

Albatross Point, the largest peak of the volcanic Caldeira Volcanic Arc explodes in a spectacular eruption that devestates the area for miles around. The Machine occupied city of Andrews Bay is destroyed, several Retro-Villages are wiped out, a nearby Great House is severely damaged, and the local ecology suffers greatly. Resistance Intelligence groups do not believe for a second that the eruption is a natural phenomenon. Resistance troops dispatched to investigate discover a hidden outpost testing experimental technology. The Outpost is crawling with Mechs and Bots of completely unknown designs, many resembling giant, alien insects.

PCs are tasked with finding the cause of the unnatural eruption as well as attempting to penetrate the secret outpost and discern its purpose.

[krispy]

#75 (I think): "Volcano: A mountain with hiccups”

Albatross Point, the largest peak of the volcanic Caldeira Volcanic Arc explodes in a spectacular eruption that devestates the area for miles around. The Machine occupied city of Andrews Bay is destroyed, several Retro-Villages are wiped out, a nearby Great House is severely damaged, and the local ecology suffers greatly. Resistance Intelligence groups do not believe for a second that the eruption is a natural phenomenon. Resistance troops dispatched to investigate discover a hidden outpost testing experimental technology. The Outpost is crawling with Mechs and Bots of completely unknown designs, many resembling giant, alien insects.

PCs are tasked with finding the cause of the unnatural eruption as well as attempting to penetrate the secret outpost and discern its purpose.

Maybe these are the the 2nd gen potentially fabled continent shifters...or they are testing a Magma Mining Robot (MMR) that filters all the valuable metals from the magma

[Lord Z]

Regarding #75... I like your suggestion, Krispy. It gives the Machine a reason for being there other than just making some new weapon.

One of the nice aspects of #75 is this -- If the GM feels that she has given the players too much powerful gear, this story gives her an excuse to restrict that equipment temporarily without cruelly taking it away. 'I'm sorry Lord Skullknocker, but your new Host Armor simply is not rated for operation in that environment. It might die from heat exhaustion. You'll have to leave it behind and use this Dreadguard Armor instead.'

[The Galactus Kid]

11. The Ghost of Tunnel 27: Rumors are starting to spread around the house about a ghost haunting Tunnel 27. Its a small tunnel on the outside of the house and does not get much traffic. At first reports were ignored but as the weeks passed more and more people saw it. It finally got to the attention of the Warlord and he is sending in search teams to find out what is going on.

The truth is the Librarian was working on a new mount that could move through solid matter by going out of phase. Two months ago it escaped and has been roaming around Tunnel 27 ever since. Out of embarrassment he has told no one about what happen. The Librarian has tried to capture it but has had no luck so far. At this point it has yet to hurt anyone but that could change if cornered.

I'm officially stealing this for my Monday game on Halloween. One of the players has a packmaster and one of his gorehounds was "impregnated" by an allied engineer in the last chapter. Actually, the dog was simply used as an incubator since in our world Gorehounds are sterile. Its been a month and his hound is acting super protective/maternal. When we play next, he is going to get the feeling through his bio-comms that the puppy or whatever it is was "lost". The creature in tunnel 27 is the new Gorehound. It was born by becoming intangible. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Shawn Merrow]

Thanks, look forward to hearing how it goes.

[Lord Z]

Sounds great, GK!

[NMI]

How did it go Mr. El Taco?

[Lord Z]

#76 New God on the Block

In one of the grand old houses, perhaps the House of the Barren Marsh, the eldest of all Engineers grew weak. This Engineer suspected that it has reached the extent of its own life, and the warlord announced this news. No Engineer has ever died from old age before this, so no one knew exactly what to expect. Even the Librarians don't know what will happen next. The elder Engineer, with its last breath, tells witnesses and servants gathered around to watch closely because something amazing will soon happen. Then, it dies.

Within seconds, a flash of light and heat appears over the corpse. An image of the Engineer, not ripped apart and growing hap-hazardly but perfect and healthy like an idealized Saint, is seen inside the light. The Entity announces that it is the Engineer reborn. Just as the Saints are immature forms of Engineers and Librarians, so too are the Engineers another life stage on the way to something greater and more powerful. The creature can travel anywhere it pleases and performs miracles such as shining light in the darkness, purifying enemies with fire, and surviving assassinations with completely invulnerability. It explains that the Engineer evolved past the need for physical flesh and became a creature of pure and limitless energy. In this perfect form, the evolved entity commands that all other lifeforms -- including the other Engineers -- submit to its will and worship it as a transcended god.

Obviously, this revelation causes a tremendous amount of chaos inside the house. Senators compete for favor with the new boss. The warlord finds himself out of a job, and he may not go quietly. Curious immigrants from surrounding techno-jacker tribes and retro-villages flock to the house to see this new god.

The PCs are called into a secret meeting with a lone Librarian, a single Dreadguard (perhaps the warlord), and a few Scarecrows. The Librarian explains that it believes the new god to be a energy projection sent by the Machine. N.E.X.U.S. is somehow transmitting energy directly into the house, and it is being done with enough control to create detailed holographic images, sound, lasers, and fire. Violence against this projection does not work because there is nothing physical there. The Scarecrows think that they have found the location of the equipment which is used to project the energy nearby, but they need the PCs help.

The PCs are NOT being sent to hit the equipment. The Scarecrows will do this themselves, but they need the PCs to distract the new god and keep the peace inside the house until the mission may be completed. The Librarian is not the only one who has figured out the ruse. There is also a faction of Sooth Cultists who think that this new god is a projection of the goddesses -- and that is just the best news ever! A Soothsayer might even seek to protect the new god *because* it is a N.E.X.U.S. projection. If the new god learns of the Librarian's conspiracy, it will surely turn the full military might of the house on this traitor.

Within a certain amount of time, the Scarecrows will successfully complete their mission. The new god will go to static and fade away. How much damage it leaves behind depends on how successful the PCs were at keeping the peace and stalling.

So, what exactly did the elder Engineer mean by 'something amazing will soon happen'? Was there a new life form after all, perhaps buried inside the body of the Engineer and ready to hatch? Can the Techno-jackers use the projecting equipment as a new weapon against the Machine? Was the Engineer witnessing a prophetic vision in which a new warlord emerges from the chaos of the house and champions the cause of the Human Resistance?

[Guy_LeDouche]

Simply put: WOW

[Snake Eyes]

That is totally cool Lord Z

[taalismn]

#77 Contagion

The PCs, while approaching a small settlement/House, come across a barely alive group of House members desperate for the help of the PCs. They will relate a horrible story; how their House Librarian seemed to go berserk and mutate into a monster, killing the Warlord when he got too close, as well as his Dreadguard. The Librarian then assaulted the Engineers, turning them into twisted monsters who began spawning a series of twisted abominations, creatures who had only short lifespans but an insatiable lust for blood, who began attacking the inhabitants of the House. The refugees the PCs came across just managed to escape, courtesy of the House's last remaining soldiers putting up a rearguard action against the monsters. They beg the PCs for help in stopping whatever evil was unleashed on the House.
Whether the PCs run for help or charge in, eventually they'll be called in to enter the House and investigate, or exterminate. They'll find the House all but abandoned by its former inhabitants, but now the lair of a horde of ravenous warmounts created by the deranged Engineers, presided over by the mutated Librarian and his equally mutated Scarecrows. The few survivors are either holed up in parts of the House, or have been captured and are being tortured by the monster. There is no reasoning with the Librarian, only destruction. Worse, if there is a Scarecrow or Saint in the group, the Librarian will attempt to attack them...his bite will infect the PCs with a dangerous alien mutagen that will, if the infection runs its course(unless the characters save at 16 or better) into equally monstrous mutants. Clearly, whatever is responsible is contagious, especially to high-ranking bio-augments of the Splicers, and thus it is imperative that the contagion be stopped here!
If the PCs succeed in destroying the Librarian and other mutants, while mopping up, they'll learn from the surviving House members that the cause of the contagion was apparently a traveling Saint, apparently traveling all alone, who shortly before meeting with the Librarian, indicated that he had found some sort of artifact that appeared alien out in the wilds. After meeting with the Librarian, the Saint then disappeared in the confusion when the Librarian went mad. There is no body of a Saint among those killed in the House.
This should set the PCs haring off to track down the Saint before he encounters another House and spreads the contagion further.
If the PCs are able to find the Saint, they'll find the traveler sane and apparently unmutated. He has little recollection of anything happening at the last House he visited; only that he met with the Librarian, then continued on his journey. He will be distressed to hear about what happened after he left, and seems willing to cooperate with any investigation.
However, if the PCs lower their guard for even a moment, the Saint will instantly turn into a raging monstrous version of himself, and will seek to kill the PCs. Failing that, the creature will attempt to escape and lose the PCs. Again, if there are any Scarecrows or Saints in the group, they'll be singled out for an infectious attack by the mutant.
If the PCs are able to kill the creature, they'll find in the late Saint's possession his notebooks and maps, that should include enough clues to suggest where the mutated Saint encountered 'something', that clearly had an effect on him(and likely disposed of his companions, who are curiously missing from the record after the find). The PCs may now want to find that something and destroy/neutralize it before any more travelers come to grief.

Backtracking to the site of the discovery should be easy enough, but the PCs will encounter a growing number of Machine forces in the area. This should beggar the question; is the contagion a product of the Machine? A new weapon against Humanity? Or has the Machine also learned of the alien artifact, possibly by questioning/torturing other fugitives from the infected House, and now seeks the alien artifact as a possible bioweapon? In any case, the PCs will have to find the original contagion source and destroy it before the Machine can secure it!

Ultimately, the PCs will find the artifact; a spear-like device or construction of black glass-like material, too large for a small party to simply lug away, embedded in a hillside. The remains of several people, most likely the Saint's original party, laying around the site, attest to violent deaths. The exact vector of the infection can be some sort of energy pulse from the artifact or perhaps a thin oily substance sweating from the slick glass-like skin of the artifact. The artifact can be easily enough destroyed and the source of the contagion obliterated with enough energy blasts, acidic sprays, or thermobaric explosives. However, questions remain....what is the thing? Where did it come from? Is the contagion a weapon, an accidental byproduct, or some sort or alien life? And are all the Saint's companions accounted for among the dead, or are there other contagion carriers out there?

[Lord Z]

Regarding #77 Contagion, that is brutal, Taalism. I like it. Being only one hit and one saving throw away from losing your PC is like first edition D&D, really a situation to make players weary.

[taalismn]

Regarding #77 Contagion, that is brutal, Taalism. I like it. Being only one hit and one saving throw away from losing your PC is like first edition D&D, really a situation to make players weary.

Yeah, plus your colleagues have/get to kill you. Trauma Train coming into the station, boarding now.

[Lord Z]

Which of these 77 adventures do we think would make for a good convention game?

[Lord Z]

#78: The Like-a-Looks
This is a scenario I have successfully run in Star Wars games, but it applies to a lot of different settings.

The characters are small-timers, 1st or 2nd level characters with limited equipment. They can be from varying backgrounds like a ronin Dreadguard, a wandering mercenary Technojacker, or the local hero of a retro-village. They do not need to know each other before the game starts, but they should be characters with alignments and personalities that are willing to work in a group. They all happen to be in the same retro-village at the same time. The Human Resistance has taken a pounding lately as it seems that the Purple Wave* has been causing trouble.

All of the PCs are asked to attend a hastily organized secret meeting or even abducted to go there. Very high ranking soldiers from the Human Resistance are attending, perhaps a Dreadguard Senator from the House of the Barren Marsh, a Scarecrow, and an allied chief of a Technojacker tribe – famous war heroes one and all. These heroes explain that an unexpected opportunity has presented itself. Evidence has been gathered that a powerful organization is actively undermining the Resistance. They were lucky to find and capture an officer of this dangerous organization nearby. The captive is of limited intel use herself, but the chance to infiltrate the hostile organization and get some real intel is present, if the Resistance acts immediately.

Here is where the PCs fit in. It just so happens that one of the player characters is the spitting image of the captive. Obviously, the GM will have to pick a character of the same sex and similar class to the captive. By giving the PC the captured equipment and tweaking her appearance – maybe with some tattoos, distinguishing scars, and a haircut – the illusion can quickly be made perfect. One of the high ranking soldiers happened to see her in the village, and thus she was invited and a new strategy was hastily formed around her. The other characters may or may not be lookalikes, but they can pass for members of captive's entourage. The GM should make certain that each PC has a specific role to play, even if it is just the big mute bodyguard hidden behind a faceplate. If the PCs agree to impersonate the captive officer and her crew, and if they get back alive, they will be rewarded very generously. If they do not accept, they are free to leave.

Their specific mission is to travel to an enemy base where the captive is expected soon. She is due to inspect some some new military technology there – the Resistance heroes don't know exactly what the technology is supposed to be. If the impostors can steal the technology and escape with it, that it ideal. If they can not capture it, they should destroy it. It will take a few days of travel time to get there, so the impersonators will have time to improve their performances. Some recorded video or audio footage of the captive will be made available. If any PC has the Impersonation or Acting skills, that PC will have this time to teach the skill to the other PCs.

When they arrive at the enemy base, they are welcomed in. They new military technology turns out to be a huge new kaiju warmount (battleship-sized). There are three such warmounts, and a PC Outrider will be able to pilot one of the three out. If they don't have an Outrider, it should still be possible by tricking an enemy Outrider or by using what skills they do have. However, all three are under very heavy guard, so some intense roleplaying will be involved to pull off a heist. If one warmount is stolen, the other two will be sent in pursuit also. It is up to the PCs how ambitious they want to be – stealing one or more warmounts, destroying the warmounts, or simply escaping with the intel.

They will not have long to decide. As they are being shown the warmounts, the base receives news that an even higher ranking officer – one who knows the captive personally – is nearby and on his way. The like-a-looks will certainly be exposed if the they are still at the base when the higher ranking officer arrives.

*This antagonist is in this story is highly flexible. It could be any other powerful organization. We could be talking about an established troublesome Great House like House Shiva or House Febris. It could a large hostile tribe of Technojackers. It might even be a the Cult of Sooth. The captured officer could be Harbinger Providence of the Soothsayer Cult (she already appears in the NPC thread and the Splicers Unleashed section, with complete stats and illustration), and the even higher ranking officer who accelerates the plan could be the Arch-Herald Omen herself. Use your own preference.

[Lord Z]

Right, I am going to try to run one of these scenarios as a con game. It will take place at Ancient City Con this July in Jacksonville, FL. Someone suggest to me which of these games seems like it would be something you would like to play at a con with a 2 or 3 hour long block.

[Shawn Merrow]

I wrote #12 as an intro to the setting, so think it would be good for a con game.

12. Training Exercises?: This is for group of starting PC. The players are rookies in the House military. To teach them the ropes the Warlord will be running all new recruits through a training exercise. A veteran Dreadguard has been sent out with some flags. The rookies will be divided into groups. For your group to win you must get a flag from the Dreadguard. He will not use lethal force but they must earn the flag.
Everything is going well till the players find the Dreadguard. The problem a N.E.X.U.S. patrol found him first and have captured him. If the players can rescue him they will be heroes.

[Shawn Merrow]

Anyone else with suggestions for Lord Z?

[darkguyver]

Do any one mind make this in to pdf make easyier read thx.
Just like have idea more stream lined.