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Scenario Outline(s) [in the rough] |
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 Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 1:30 pm |
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This is just an outline- not even particularly well written. It is what I'm planning on running this weekend though, and I thought it could serve as a starter for a thread of scenario nuggets for MA................
THE ANNUAL AGBOT CONTEST & FESTIVAL
HOOK: A contest with the hoops for who gets to use the agrobot this year. 20 years ago, the land dwelling tribes on Level 4 fought over control of a captured agrobot. As this threatened to be a costly exchange (and nobody could actually USE the bot while the contest raged) they agreed to compete non-violently for it each year. This year, the PC’s tribe must send their thee contestants to the hoop village of Hombraria, for the hoops won last year......... The King’s name is Maurice; he has three wives. (He is the one who sends the saboteurs, but will under no circumstances admit it, and will “have those ruffians locked up!”- at least until the PCs leave).
DAY 1
12:00 The drawing for contestants. The PCs are chosen, as well as enough NPCs to round out a three man team. The village council vaguely explains the seven coming challenges, and the party is sent to gather what they need (taking from the village stores if they must)
2:00-7:00 The trek to the Hoop village. Along the way, the party is beset by two nasty mutant beasties- 2 Kai Lin. A group of 3 hoops afar off are seen fleeing (these hoops sic’ed the muties on the party, hoping to weaken them before the contest). The hoops have knives and spears, and communicate with the plant beasties via a language of whistles and clicks.
8:00 The Festival of Athletes. The hoops play host to the team, with dancing, music, food, and fermented coconut milk. The same 3 hoops try to poison the team’s drinks though. Should this take place, and the drinkers fail a Difficult Fitness check, the sick feeling induced from the boiled root poison makes all imbibers make all rolls at -10% for their 1/10 Fitness- 10 days.
10:00 The team is assigned huts. These huts are like the others in the village. The same three hoops (or two others working with them if they aren’t available) will try to sneak in and swipe stuff- or turn it to rubber- from one of the huts. They have knives.
DAY 2.*
8:00 a festive breakfast. Those who eat heavily or drink the offered fermented coconut juice perform their rolls in the contest at -5% (the hoop team does not so behave, although other hoops do to entice the PCs team.)
10:00 The first contest: one participant per team- Heave a Tree Trunk. Reflexes to pick it up, Fitness to keep it up, Throwing Skill to throw it. Best throw wins. A Critical Failure margin of 8 causes the trunk to fall ON the contestant: 3-12 SP, plus a Fitness check to avoid a broken limb (equal chances for each).
10:30 The Foot Race: (R+W)/2 One participant per team; no flying allowed. This is through an obstacle course administered impartially by Katkin. They are from another deck, and carry a card which allows them access to the ship’s elevator shafts.
11:30 The Story Telling Contest. 2 participants per team. The PLAYERS must tell their stories while making a Charm Check (NPCs just roll Charm). The GM may grant bonuses or penalties depending on how hard the PLAYERS work at their stories. This takes place during a lunch of boiled mutant boar and boiled potatoes & green carrots.
1:00 Arm Wrestling: All team members square off; best “two out of three” Contestants roll (F+W)/2. The best roll wins. The contest is best 2 out of three, and Exp. can be spent per usual. A Critical failure margin of 8 results in a sprained arm (-20% for rolls with that arm for Fitness/10 -10 days).
2:00 Archery. Straight up contest; best shots win. All participate
3:30 War of the Worlds: All participate playing at a tattered “Risk” set. Roll I; best roll wins.
6:00 Tug of War. (F+W)/2. Each team against team. Success determined by the most successes. Losers ends up in the mud to the delight of the crowd. Nearing the end of this contest, 3 Blights descend from the skies to carry off hoop children. 4 hoops respond, but any help from the PCs will be appreciated. The hoops have spears and shields to be grabbed.
7:00 (or so): Closing remarks, final feast, the PCs depart (hopefully with an Agrobot in tow)
_________________________________________
*During this process, the hoops will attempt to cheat in small ways however possible. The hoop team- supposedly chosen by random allotment- will nevertheless just happen to be +5% higher in all relevant stats for each particular event. Also, should the party not show up with bows, for the archery event they will be provided with slightly warped ones worth a -5% penalty, Etc............... Nothing will be blatant, however. 
Feel free to contribute your own rough outlines, or make comments. 
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:50 am |
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I really like the sound of this outline. A nice mix of combat with role-playing activities. And the contest idea is great, and the background for why it's being held works very nicely.
How will you ensure that the players know about the devious hoops, yet feel unable to directly confront them without good evidence? Depending on your players, they might end up starting another war against the hoops if they decide to fight it out (perhaps they can catch up after the Kai Lin encounter, or go fisticuffs after the poisoning attempt). Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it may upset the planned flow.
But as they say, "“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ DM / Gang aft a-gley"
LT
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:33 am |
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| Lt. Tyler wrote: |
How will you ensure that the players know about the devious hoops, yet feel unable to directly confront them without good evidence? |
Well, its just going to be the three of them in a village full of hoops. The katkins from deck 5 are there to "ensure a fair contest"; but really, there's not MUCH they can do. The hoops IMC have a demeanor much like hairy, long-eared klingons though- they'll respect tough talking PCs who stand up for themselves. Starting a spear-to-spear fight with the whole village, however.......... This would be a Bad Thing.
| Lt. Tyler wrote: |
Depending on your players, they might end up starting another war against the hoops if they decide to fight it out (perhaps they can catch up after the Kai Lin encounter, or go fisticuffs after the poisoning attempt). Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it may upset the planned flow.
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If they capture hoops tring to thwart the games, King Maurice will be all "Shocked! Just SHOCKED I tell you! Pedro! Lucinda! How can you SHAME our people this way!" Then he'll lock em' up- until the PCs leave............... Of course, DEAD hoops would be another matter. The lead player though is very level headed; her calmness has saved this group of players a TPK on several occasions, so its hard to picture this happening. But, if it does, it does................ I'm a big fan of letting the story go where it will. The PCs represent a tribe of Fen (having fled their own human tribe), and a Fen/Hoop war has lots of roll play potential!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:39 am |
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Hey Wilowisp, if you get a chance, I'd love to hear more about how your campaign actually plays out. Maybe you could whip up a post, either here or in the campaign logs section, for us all to live vicariously through?
And when mine gets going, I promise to do the same!
LT
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| Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 8:35 am |
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As that's the second request made here for this, I'll see what I can do. We play again tomorrow evening.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 4:05 am |
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:00 am |
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UNSETLLING DREAMS:
An adventure outline for Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega
SETTING: Deck Four, the water world. All page references are to the MAtO rulebook.
HOOK: One of the PCs each night has a dream of a handsome young man trapped in the ruins of an ancient ruined small ship. In this dream, the young man is reaching out his hand, imploring the PC to come, and to free him from being pinned under debris. The young man does NOT seem to be drowning. On the keel of the boat, the PC is able to read the words “White Fang.”. Each morning the PC awakes covered in sweat, and feeling achy and wet.
LINE: Over time, the PC is going to become fatigued. If several days go by, and they don’t investigate the possible meaning of the dream, begin to impose a -5% penalty on all actions and a -1 initiative modifier, both of which will only grow worse with more passage of time. Obviously, the dream is causing a deterioration of the PCs health, and something must be done to end its recurrence.
Once the PC does investigate, through approaching a tribal healer (who happens to have the Telepathy mutation) or a tribal lore-master, or approaching a knowledgeable fen from the land, Etc. the PC should be told that the “White Fang” is a sunken vessel of the ancients, laying a mile and a half out to “sea” in the Salt Sea east of “the Land”, between the first two “northern” islands. This wreckage is revered by the fen, who never go near it, because, they say “the ghosts of the Ancients still groan from within its metal hull”. Also, the area is known to be a haven for sharks, who use the shallow water between the islands to hunt. The PCs will be advised not to go near the place.
To investigate the dream however, the PCs will have to go to the wreckage. Friendly fen know of the area, and can be cajoled into telling PCs who are their friends (or good manipulators) how to get there. This can be done via small log dinghy, a number of which are maintained by a friendly clan nearby, but this will involve bartering to get the use of a dinghy. A friendly NPC fen knows of a small clan of humanoid otters nearby who use boats to fish the salt water (which they find distasteful to swim in, but they are relegated to it because this level’s hoops have driven them off the fresh water lake). The otters will trade the use of one of their boats for a day for some tech item they find attractive (GM’s choice).
The PCs will also have to be able to breathe under water. This won’t be such a problem for plant PCs or beings like the fen, but human or animal PCs will need some form of breathing apparatus most likely. The otters have a Tech VI Hazmat suit (see p. 69) they would loan to the party hid somewhere within the confines of their village’s huts, but it will come at a cost. The nearby great metal pipes that spill into the sea provide a breeding ground for mussels the otters like to harvest, but a pair of gators (see p. 84) now burrow in the sand nearby and hunt the area. If the PCs will hunt the gators down and kill or drive them away, the otters will let them barrow the suit. Finding the beasts won’t be hard, as they are territorial, and if the party begins searching for them among the pipes, the gators will begin to stalk them, and the gators are crafty hunters.........
Once the PCs have the boat and the suit (if needed) its off to the area of the area of the ruins. The water the small ship sits in (and under) is 30 m. deep, with corral formations rising and falling in beautiful craggy formations all around it. Fish life is plentiful- schools of rainbow colored fish of amazing variety swim this area because of the corral and its undersea plant life. A warm sun beats down on cool, greenish-blue waters, shadowed to the eye by the corral formations. It will take searching the corral bottom for 3-12 hours to locate the wreckage (with PCs able to stay submerged for probably no more than two hours at a time). During the series of dives that make up this time, the party will encounter a pair of great white sharks (see p. 132).
SINKER (THE WRECKAGE): The craft sits soundly on the sandy bottom facing “east”, a hole in its port side. This hole is jagged, but wide enough PCs could squeeze through into the port compartment (see below). The upper deck is corroded, with only the ruined wheelhouse being of interest. Everything within the wheelhouse is ruined, and the glass is shattered, but entrance to the wheelhouse is easily gained. The only thing of interest visible is a slimy set of steps going down into a lower hallway. However, if the wheelhouse is searched, in its rotting cabinets the PCs can find a pack of five chemical torches (Artifact difficulty 6; see pp. 60-61). These light up with a torch’s illumination- even under water- if broken in two. Their light lasts an hour apiece.
The Hallway runs toward the “west”, and has three rusted metal hatchways: one to the stern compartment, one to the port compartment, and one to the starboard compartment. There is also a TINY little head that can be reached in the bow section under the stairs, via a little hatch just to the step’s starboard side. This chamber’s hull is cracked, and corral grows throughout.
All within the ship is dark but not totally (during the day), except in the head, and artificial light must somehow be supplied. Without such, PCs with normal vision will see only a few feet in front of them- small portholes and cracks in the hull let in just a smidgen of sunlight from above.
The Port Chamber has most of its bottom hull cracked, and sea plants grow thickly within the chamber, obscuring vision. The wreckage of a living chamber has rotted away in the salt water here, but bits of slimy wood and metal remain. The weeds are home to a family of three electric eels, who will attack PCs moving through or searching this chamber (see pp.131-132). There are treasures among the tangle of sea weed strands however. There is a working Tangler (see p. 74) with three cartridges of ammo to be found laying nearby. There is also a working Universal Cooker (but with a dead and corroded solar power cell; see p. 76). These items take a successful difficult “I” roll to find (check per turn; one item per successful roll per PC).
The Stern Chamber was the engine room. This room shows signs of a fire, and the machinery looks like a few fiery explosions once occurred in this room. There is little room to navigate in this chamber because of the stationary and/or twisted metal, and any PC spending much time in this room must make a “R” check per minute to avoid ripping their outer clothing. Such a rip could be disastrous for an air breathing PC in a Hazmat Suit....... A PC will be able to hold his breath for his Fitness/20 turns (rounded up) before beginning to take 1d6/1 damage per minute. Though there is much to fascinate the party in this room, there is however nothing of value.
The Starboard Chamber once held much equipment, furniture, and tables, but this is all now a muck encrusted jumble. Nothing of value has escaped the time and saltwater, except one individual trapped under a pinning of debris. This is Martin, a supervisory borg (see. pp. 93, 99-100. Martin travels by anti-grav pod; he used to have two, but one now doesn’t work, so if freed he will float lopsided and awkwardly. Due to his damaged state, he is only BP 16). Martin was trapped in this wreckage when it sank, and has been on standby stasis for ages, but a freak broadcast power surge a month ago triggered his automatic repair functions, which were unable to really do the job or free Martin, but nevertheless revived his consciousness. During the years Martin has been submerged, his human brain has mutated, and Martin now has a potent but non-consciously controlled Telepathy mutation, which his fevered brain has been using to call for help (disrupting the PC’s sleep). The images the PC has been dreaming are those of Martin before his brain was transferred into the robot housing, back when he was a human being.
Martin is now hopelessly insane, but not violently so. Martin can be freed with the effort of 100 Fitness points, and if such happens, he will thank his rescuers profusely. He then will babble incoherently with the party for awhile, telling them about being a concert pianist, and then attempt to leave them, saying he must “seek a new mission”. If allowed, he will awkwardly, shakily float away towards the nearest elevator shaft, never to be seen again. If the PCs try and detain Martin however, he WILL become violent- and such could be a dangerous moment for the party. If allowed to leave, he will leave. Marin is beyond any repairs the PCs will be able to accomplish.
There are treasures to be found in this wreck of a room. If the party frees Martin, they will find pinned under him and slightly bent (but in quite a workable order) a Life Force Detector with a working full chemical battery good for 20 hours worth of use. Marin in his former life was using the device when pinned, but now doesn’t acknowledge its existence in any way, so it could now be grabbed by the PCs. There is also a Remote Hand with a full chemical battery (for another 20 hours of use) hidden in the wreckage, and a Science I.D. Card (labeled “Marin Leibowitz”), both of which can be found by searching PCs with the same chances as in the Port Chamber.
While the party is in the water in and around the ship, the GM should roll for a random encounter (1 chance in 8 ) every hour from the correct table on p. 132. No robots will be encountered however.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:04 am |
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Really great outline WW! I wasn't sure how you'd tie in the dreams, but it worked perfectly with the mad cyborg brain.
The underwater aspect is very cool too, never gave much real thought to doing it, but it's a nice change, and the new critter possibilities are endless.
So do you plan on only one of the PCs being able to go on this adventure, since there's only one Hazmat suit, or just one PC and the plant PC? Or maybe someone has gills? Just curious really.
Thanks again for the update!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:48 am |
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| Lt. Tyler wrote: |
So do you plan on only one of the PCs being able to go on this adventure, since there's only one Hazmat suit, or just one PC and the plant PC? Or maybe someone has gills? Just curious really.
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There's one HUMAN PC; the other two are a man-sized apple-&-lilly bush (who can become water-logged, but doesn't have the same breath requirements) and a talking corral snake (who could be carried IN the suit; the charcter likes to complain, so this ought to let him get in some good lines!). To fill out needed NPCs, the party is now an adopted part of a tribe of fens, so underwater action is no problem for them. 
I'm still wrestling with wether to have the party accosted by two sharks, or one. When they faced the kai lin last time we played, the beasts could have killed everybody, and sharks in their naitive environment are going to be at least as dangerous, with no hoops to call them off. I'm thinking I'll go with one............... 
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:12 am |
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| Wilowisp wrote: | | I'm still wrestling with wether to have the party accosted by two sharks, or one. When they faced the kai lin last time we played, the beasts could have killed everybody, and sharks in their naitive environment are going to be at least as dangerous, with no hoops to call them off. I'm thinking I'll go with one............... |
Sounds like that's probably a good idea. Depending on the stats of the sharks, and the limitations of the PCs' weapons for use underwater, that could easily be a very tough encounter. And they might not be able to get too many Fens to come along with them, if the site of the wreck has such a bad dangerous reputation.
But, as a lucky GM, you'll give them one shark to face, only to have them kill it in the first round through sheer luck!
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