Month: March 2023

Prometheus was asked to give a lecture at the University of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Germany, the alma mater of his “father,” Victor Frankenstein. The scheduled date is Monday 15 November 2016, and he flew to Germany on Friday the 11th (on Max Mars’ private jet), and is returning on the 20th (after explore some of his creator’s old haunts in Germany and Switzerland).

In the days following the near-disaster of the Halloween fund-raiser at the New Camelot Theatre and the exorcising of the ghostly Silver Scream (however temporary it might prove to be), the Vanguard were able to return their attention to the matter of the Pack-Rat. The facts that the child-like Junkpile could provide concerning his new “friend” were few enough, but it gave Artemis a place to start.

While she worked her many contacts in the Undercity, Scion put Chuck, Jonny and Seth on a deep search and pattern analysis of the news archives from the last yer, looking for any information on the kind of low-profile crimes that Pack-Rat and his gang seemed to favor. Meanwhile he and Quanta continued to spend as much time as they could spare with Junkpile, both studying and socializing him. Totem joined them on occasion, to examine the possibility of supernatural elements in the creature’s origin.

At the group’s weekly meeting on Monday morning 7 November…

My game plot points/notes:

This will be somethign of a seat-of-the pants adventure, as it’s one where the PCs are being proactive and setting a trap for the new criminal Pack Rat and his band of merry streetfolk, the Rat Pack. There are as many as four set pieces for this adventure, depending on what plan the Vanguard comes up with:

A Street Encounter when the McGuffin technology is being moved from the old Reshift Energy (now Apergy Systems International) ware house to the storage warehouse of the auction house TechCycle. This is if the Rat Pack decides to try an in-transit heist. They will use the sewers to move about and launch the attack.

A Warehouse Encounter, at TechCycle’s warehouse, where the McGuffin tech is being stored prior to the auction, used if the Rat Pack decides to do a B&E heist instead, coming up from the sewers as is their MO.  

Regardless which method the Rat Pack uses to steal the McGuffin tech, they will escape (as part of the brilliant Vanguard plan or in spite of it, as required). Any technological tracker will be disabled as soon as it enters the big Faraday cage that is their main lair. This will give the heroes the general area of Astoria, within a two block radius, but no more. If Totem’s mystical tracker is used, then it will lead them to the Astoria Tower and it’s basement – it’s a magic directional guide, so it will point them towards their path, not directly at the tracker itself.

Once the Vanguard figure out how to breach the upper security of the Rat’s Nest the action will move to the final set piece, the Abandoned Subway Station Encounter. This is intended to be the main boss fight of the adventure.

With either the Street Encounter or the Warehouse Encounter, Pack Rat will have a group of his minions set off the alarms at several major stores in the Diamond District, as well as the Emerald City Diamond Exchange. None of these are actual robberies, just a diversion to draw away the Vanguard while  rodent and his gang go after the tech they want. In either scenario, Pack Rat will have six of his regular minions with him and two Hornet Drones at the actual target sight.

The Rat’s Nest is an abandoned subway station in Astoria – quite a feat for a city with no subway system. It was  one of two built secretly in 1928-29 by Elija Astor, a cousin of JJ’s grandfather. The secrecy was felt to be neccessary after the Emerald City and Astoria City Councils both refused permits. Under cover of supposedly tunneling a new 8-foot diameter sewer line, for which he could get permits, Astor went ahead and built a quarter-mile of pneumatic train tunnel and a grand showpiece station. 

In Emerald City, using several local front companies, he built a much less grand station and another quarter-mile of track. The final phase of his elaborate scheme, the construction of a tunnel under the Columbia River connecting  the two sections of track, was almost two-thirds completed in October of 1929. Astor lost most of his personal fortune in the Crash, and was forced into bankruptcy. He lost the Astoria Tower, and with it the station and tracks beneath it, although he somehow managed to keep the Emerald City property. 

This was salt in the wound, though, as he hated EC – his life’s goal had been to push his city, Astoria, into the limelight, even if he couldn’t push Emerald City out of it entirely (that long-fought battle had been over for decades by then, as most of the rest of the Astor family had realized well before the turn of the century). Elija’s Astoria Tower had been meant to show Astoria as cutting edge as the dynamic new 20th Century began. At 16 stories it was the  tallest building on the West Coast when it opened on 12 June 1901, topping Emerald City’s McTavish Building by six floors and 100 feet. It only held that record for 14 months, however, until the 35 story, 349-foot Stanley Tower  was completed in Emerald City in August of 1902. That held the West Coast record until 1923 and the construction of Seattle’s Smith Tower, at 49 storys and 489 feet.

Elija Astor died on 14 January 1932 at age 57, a bitter and disappointed man living in a residence hotel in Astoria,  estranged not only from his East Coast cousins but from his own three children. Born 11 March 1875.

When his illegal subway project was discovered during the bankruptcy, Elija spent much of his remaining money fighting legal battles to avoid now-crippling fines. He succeeded, but the effort left him almost destitute anyway, by the standards of his class. The new owners of the Astoria Tower quickly paved over the two-story atrium lobby, making the former mezzanine level the new lobby. The lower lobby was sealed off except for the sidewalk freight elevator, becoming a storage basement. In the 1940s the ticket booth and the entrance to the subway were walled off entirely during an effort to shore up the supports of the building after a minor earthquake.

Pack Rat found the place after being told by the Professor (Reginald Brown) about it – the man’s grandfather had been set to be one of the ticket sellers when the line opened, and was one of the few people to see the project, outside the work crews, before it was abandoned and selaed away. The humanoid rodent bored in from a sewer line and created a new opening into the walled off section with the ticket booth. A hidden door in a main sewer tunnel opens into a new tunnel leading to the refurbihsed lair. 

To open the boarded-up doors to the booth requires a DC 20 check against Investigation or Perception.

The lair is protected by sensors that alert inhabitants when the secret door is opened and two disguised security cameras (DC 15 against Perception to notice them).

When trying to find a way into the basement of the Astoria Tower it’s a DC 20 Persuasion (or Intimidation)  roll to learn about the freight elevator from the sidewalk to the basement. Only one small section is currently used (the building is old and seedy, up for sale, and half empty of tennants). A DC 30 Investigation roll is required to learn more about the closed off area – almost no one even knows that it exists.

Attempts to talk Pack Rat or any of his minions out of their life of crime are not doomed to failure (none of the  humans are really bad people), but it’s a tough sell. The Rat Pack have all been discarded by society and have little trust in any authority figues, including the Vanguard. Artemis’ reputation gives her a +5 to any attempt at either Persuasion or Intimidation. Scion recieves a +2 bonus at Persuasion or Insight. 

Persuasion, Intimidation or Insight can be used to try and sway Pack Rat and his gang (the minions roll as one, the Librarian, the Professor and Pack Rat himself get individual rolls. The attempt is a Challenge, and lower the Attitude of the gang and/or its leader, with a DC 30 (for the Rat Pack) or DC 35 (for Pack Rat ). Each attempt at persuasion takes a Standard Action at least, and requires two degrees of success to improve attitude by one level (can be cummulative), but only one degree of failure to worsen it. Three degrees of failure or more ups attitude two levels, while three or more degrees of success lowers the level by two. If Pack Rat’s Attitude ever hits “Hostile” then any future attempts at persuasion have a DC 40.

Attitude: Effect

Hostile Will take risks to attack or interfere with you. 

Rat Pack becomes totally focused on attacking heroes. Pack Rat becomes vicious in his attacks.

Unfavorable Will insult, mislead, or otherwise cause you trouble. Rat Pack attacks when
provoked, but will disengage if allowed to do so – Attitude starts here.

Indifferent Acts as socially expected towards you.

Rat Pack tries to ignore heroes, focused on the job. Rat Pack will try to occupy
but not harm heroes.

Favorable Will chat, advise, and offer limited help. Rat Pack can be reasoned with, won’t
attack first. Pack Rat remains defensive, but willing to listen.

Helpful Will take risks to help or protect you. Rat Pack an be convinced to do what the
heroes ask, within reason. Pack Rat can be convinced to depart, but will only
surrender on a second successful roll or on a natural 20.

Edgar Holmes is the name of  The Librarian, who seldom leaves the Rat’s Nest. If either or The Professor are killed,or even seriously injured, Pack Rat will go berserk and attempt to kill at least one hero before escaping.

If either of the uplifted rodent’s chief lieutenants can be moved down two levels, then Pack Rat is automatically lowered by one level. If he himself is lowered a level by direct persuasion, the Rat Pack moves the same distance on the Attitude Table.

Discover Perimiter Alarms – DC 35 Perception / Investigation /Technology Check (DC 20 for Scion)

Disable Perimiter Alarms – DC 30 Technology Check (DC 20 for Scion)

Disable/Control Security Cameras – DC 20 Technology Check (DC 15 for Scion)

Disable/Control Robo-Defenses – DC 40 Technology Check for Scion (no chance for anyone else)

Discover existence of the Menagerie – DC 25 Investigation Check or DC 30 Current Events Check)

Artemis #1 –  You knew of, and on a couple of occasions had business interactions with, Elija Astor, back in the early 20th Century. You found him annoying, a relentless self-promoter, and a tedious champion of Astoria over Emerald City in the (generally one-side) rivalry of the two cities. You remember shaking your head at the money he spent building his 16-story Astoria Tower in 1901, and his petulant fury when Emerald City took back the record for tallest building on the West Coast just 14 months later with the 35-story Stanley Tower. You were in Shambhala Vale during the Depression, of course, but know he lost everyhting and died broke in the early 1930s. You can roll a DC 20 Check against Expertise: History to remember more details of the man and his works, if you wish. 

Artemis #2 –  You’ve known Reginald Brown, street name The Professor, for several years as a denizen of the Undercity. He was a tenured professor of history at ECU in the ‘90s, but suffered an emotional breakdown in 2003 when his beloved wife of 32 years died in a freak home accident. He took to drink to dull the pain, eventually lost his job, and by 2005 was living rough on the streets. He never lost his compassion, however, and became a sort of father-figure to many younger cast-aways fo society once he found a place in the Undercity, even while despising the system that he believed failed them all. You worked with him on several occasions when, as Artemis, you needed aid in trying to help some lost soul. You knew him as a bitter, broken man, but nonetheless a good one at his core, more focused on others than himself (except for his own loss and pain).

Scion #1 –  You know of a company named TechCycle, which specializes in auctions of technology & commercial property. You have a bunch of older tech that you acquired from Redshift Energy for which youy have no use – you planned to get rid of it using TechCycle’s services at some point. It’s exactly the kind of relatively low-value stuff the Rat Pack seems to go for, so why not advertise that you’re auctioning it off now to lay the trap? 

Scion #2 –  The ever-efficient Ms. Penny Monet, whom you’ve promoted to Operations Officer for Apergy Systems, has found an employee, a holdover from the ZeroPoint Energy acquisition, who has a gambling problem and would likely be a good candidate to “sell” information about old tech being disposed of. His name is Gerhart Mueller, and he works at your manufacturing and shipping facility. It’s a DC 20 Persuasion Check to talk him into helping. If you offer to pay off his debts (conditional on his seeking treatment afterward, of course), add a +5 to the roll. 

Astoria, Oregon – 24 December 2017

Another write-up I’ve not finished. But here are the game notes I ran the adventure from:

24 December 2016, 16:18 – You have just returned from dealing with a train derailment on the eastern edge of the city… no deaths, no significant environmental damage, and only minor injuries, but it did help to break up the boredom of this gray early-winter Saturday. 

Winter has definitely settled upon Astoria like a dark, grey shroud. The leaden sky has been spitting bursts of freezing rain onto the streets, creating a chill that settles into the bones and spirit. Now, as the feeble daylight fades, an icy fog has begun to settle over the city. It’s clear the people of Astoria feel the oppressive weight of winter, too, as they huddle into coats, hats, and scarves, scuttling about their dreary business, scarcely even looking up to the grey sky above. Night is coming, and there seems little to look forward to except another evening of patrolling the streets for signs of trouble, which has become increasingly common, as it always does at this sad, grey time of year…but really, what else can you do?

If any of the players ask exactly when in December it is, mention it’s the early evening of December the 24th. If any of them note that it’s Christmas Eve, or ask about the holiday season, or Christmas in any fashion, just give them a blank look and say, “Christmas? What’s that?” Indeed, make it clear the heroes, at least, have no recollection of any such holiday or time of the year, nothing that breaks up the endless monotony and bleakness at the start of the long, dark winter months.

Before the players have too much time to wonder about this oddity, however:

Sure enough, you haven’t long to wait for trouble to arise. Dispatch informs you that an alarm is sounding from the Northwest Diamond Exchange at the corner of 3rd & Amethyst, on Diamond Circle. Police sirens can be heard wailing in the distance, but this sounds like a job for the Vanguard!

Scene 2:
NW Diamond Exchange, Diamond Circle (Combat)

16:24 – A group of six thugs are robbing the Diamond Exchange. They’re armed with pistols and wearing ski-masks and their getaway car is running outside the building. Needless to say, the robbers are not prepared to deal with an entire team of superheroes; treat them as minions, meaning one hit is enough to take them down. But they hired a metahuman to cover their asses in case of just this situation.

Unfortunately, the meta is Foxfire, who is more interested in fun than money; she’ll put up a token fight but will vanish soon enough, leaving her would-be employers in the lurch. She’s wearing a different body, so it’s unlikely any of the heroes will recognize her from their previous encounter. This encounter isn’t really meant to challenge the heroes in any case, just give them a little warm-up and the opportunity to show off their powers. Once the group has mopped up the bad guys:

Suddenly, there is a shimmer in the air in front of you, and you brace yourselves for more trouble. What could it be now? 

The shimmer takes the form of a man in a long, flowing cloak of dark blue, clasped at the throat with a circular silver amulet with a triangle inscribed inside it. You recognize him immediately: Arkanos, the Magus Prime of Earth! His image remains translucent, as he spreads his cloak and holds out a hand towards you.

“My friends,” he says in a hollow and spectral voice, “I have paused this moment in time to reach out to you.” Indeed, as you glance around, you see everything and everyone else frozen, motionless. Even scatterings of snowflakes hang still in the air.

“There is a great disturbance in the natural order,” the master mage says. “Some force has disrupted reality and things are not as they should be. Whoever, or whatever, is responsible for this alteration to reality has chosen their timing well – I away from Earth’s dimension, in a far nether realm, and facing a critical battle – but I have managed to send my astral form to you. I need your aid to right this disturbance and restore the cosmic balance. If you are willing to help me, then quickly reach out and take hold of my cloak.”

Totem is most familiar with the Magus Prime, and will certainly encourage the others to accede to his wishes. When the heroes touch Arkanos’ cloak, it feels only vaguely substantial. The world swirls around them like a blizzard and they are instantly whisked…elsewhere.

Scene 3:
Realm of Myth and Archetypes (Combat / Roleplaying)

Time unkonown – A chill wind swirls around you and the world fades as if behind a wall of snow and mist. When it clears, you find yourselves standing outside on snow-covered ground in a mountain pass of some sort. Arkanos’ phantasmal form hovers above, a look of strain on his face.

“I have expended my energies,” the Magus Prime says. “I must return to my physical body at once, in preparation of my upcoming battle. The forces that have derailed the natural order are close at hand, however. It is now up to you, my friends. You must put things right once more!”

Before you can respond, Arkanos’ astral form fades and is gone. A cold wind swirls through the pass, whipping up the snow, and thunder rumbles somewhere in the distance.

Although he hasn’t time to explain to the heroes, Arkanos has in fact transported them to another plane of reality, a kind of “dream realm” where the archetypes of human myth and consciousness are real. In particular, they are near a mythic representation of the North Pole, the home of Santa Claus! Initially, the world appears quite normal, but things quickly make it clear the heroes are not in Astoria any longer.

One particular thing the heroes discover immediately is their movement powers don’t work: they can’t fly, teleport, run at super-speed, and Jonny can’t take on his plasma form. This is because of the unique nature of the realm. The same is true of any unusual sensory powers like Remote Sensing or Post-Cognition, which allow the heroes to sense beyond their immediate area/time. There’s no immediate explanation why these powers don’t work, they just don’t. So, for the time being, the heroes have to make their way through the pass on foot. 

Award the players a hero point for this complication.

As the heroes make their way through the pass, they’re affected by Desparia’s increasing influence over the realm and are set upon by her hobgoblin minions. Fortunately, they get some aid from an unexpected quarter. Read the following aloud to the players:

The air is freezing cold in the mountain pass and you’re wishing Arkanos had provided you with some winter gear before he disappeared. The snow reaches up to your knees and it’s slow going trudging through it to who-knows-where. It’s rapidly growing darker as night begins to set in and curtains of green and gold light begin to appear in the dark sky above you, flickering and shimmering in a gorgeous display. But despite the beauty of the scene, you have the disturbing feeling that you’re being watched.

As the rough stone sides of the pass loom up overhead, the wind whistles and moans through the narrow gap. Suddenly, burning red eyes gleam from the shadows and a pack of grey-furred wolves with eyes like burning coals rushes to attack! 

The winter-wolves are Desparia’s minions, ordered to keep intruders away from the North Pole and the Workshop. There are at least twice as many of them as there are heroes. What’s worse is the wolves’ attacks appear to ignore mundane defenses. Non-Innate Protection powers are largely useless against them, providing no reduction to their damage. The heroes should discover this the first time they are scratched by a wolf’s claws or teeth. The creatures are not immune to counterattack, but they are supernaturally tough. The heroes should put up a good fight, but they should also feel outnumbered and out of their depth. 

Award the players another hero point for this complication.

If the fight begins turning against the heroes, or if the heroes gain a significant edge over the wolves, a new element will enter the picture:

Suddenly, from the rocky crags up above, comes a volley of missile fire! One wolf is struck by a half dozen darts tipped with suction cups and falls over in the snow. Another is pelted by water balloons, which begin instantly freezing its fur, while others are bombarded by snowballs, foam-darts, wiffle-balls, footballs, soccer balls, and a variety of other things. Howling and shying away from the sudden rain of attacks, the wolves quickly withdraw.

“That’s got ‘em,” a high-pitched voice says from above you, “but they’ll be back soon enough.”

You glance up to see a small figure, about three feet tall, standing on an outcropping of rock, hands on his hips. He’s dressed in a bright green coat with brass buttons, red and white stripped stockings, and curly-toed green shoes. A jaunty green hat rests on his shock of red hair, supported by a flaring pair of pointed ears. Similarly dressed little figures emerge from cover behind the rocks.

“What’s the matter?” the little guy asks with a grin. “You look like you’ve never seen an elf before.”

The heroes’ rescuers are indeed Santa’s elves, or at least those elves that escaped Desparia’s takeover of the Workshop. They’ve been hiding out in the wilderness and organizing resistance, but haven’t been able to do much more than evade the sorceress’ minions. With outside aid, however, they may be able to do more.

The red-headed elf and leader of the small band of rebels introduces himself as Herbie, although the other elves all call him “Doc.” (If any of the heroes happen to ask Herbie what he’s a doctor of, he curtly answers “dentistry.”) The elves are holed-up in a nearby cave in the mountains, where they’ve stockpiled various toys as weapons against Desparia’s minions.

More importantly, the elves have a small amount of Santa’s magic corn, which Herbie correctly suspects will restore the heroes’ powers, at least temporarily. It tastes like candy-corn and restores the heroes’ memories and abilities, allowing them to recall Santa Claus and Christmas and to use their powers normally.

NOTE: Chuck has been feeling a strong sense of deja vu since the group arrived in the Mythic Realms, especially when he gets occasional glimpses of a tall, jagged mountain range far to the southeast (insofar as compass directions mean anything here). If he asks the elves about it, they’ll explain that the range marks the edge of another realm, that of Jotenheim, home of the terrible Frost Giants. If pressed, they’ll say that while there’s no love lost between the North Pole and the land of the giants, they’ve had a peace treaty for many centuries now, if little regular intercourse beyond occaional trade delegations. Once Chilz makes an appearance the elves will be surprised; if the hero makes a DC20 Perception Roll he will notice their reaction and may ask about it. If he fails the roll, or doesn’t follow up on a successful one, they will not offer any comment, being too polite. But if he asks they’ll say he looks like a tiny version of one of the many varieties of Frost Giants.

Scene 4:
Elves’ Cave / Santa’s Workshop (Roleplaying / Combat)

Time unkonown – Once the heroes are ready for action, after eating the elves’ magic corn, Herbie tells them the situation:

“It all happened just a few days ago, but it seems like it’s been forever. We were getting things ready for the big Christmas run when she showed up. Came right out of a swirling blizzard, she did, with those wolves and hobgoblin soldiers behind her. We tried to protect the Workshop, of course, but she’s a sorceress and her power…”

Herbie sighs deeply. “She calls herself the Ice Queen Desparia. She captured both Santa and Mrs. Claus. He told us to run, to save ourselves, and we fled out into the storm… all we could hear as we ran was her laughter on the wind, mocking us. We need to free Santa and the Missus, but all we’ve managed to do so far is stay out of the clutches of the sorceress’ minions. We’ve developed a plan, but we just don’t have the elf-power to pull it off, even with the reindeer who escaped… but with your help, it just might work!”

Herbie explains the basic plan: the heroes create a distraction, drawing out Desparia and her minions, while an elite group of elves slip into the Workshop to free Santa and Mrs. Claus. Let the players offer suggestions and their own plans. They can investigate or attempt some reconnaissance, if they’d like.

When the heroes want to create a distraction, all they need to do is offer a show of power, or even just appear within sight of Santa’s Workshop, to draw the attention of Desparia and her minions. The sorceress confronts the heroes, proclaiming loudly how they cannot defeat her and Christmas will never come again. Her not-inconsiderable Toughness and Magic rank make Desparia a formidable foe. Feel free to use complications to provide Desparia with enough successful resistance checks to weather the heroes’ initial attacks, and to allow her to overcome some of the heroes with her powers.

The hobgoblins are vaguely ape-like creatures, with thin limbs, distended bellies, and heavy green fur. Their faces are distorted with rage and their eyes burn with an unholy yellow glow. Feel free to arm the hobgoblins with melee weapons, or even to give them Ranged Combat skill and things like crossbows or nets to make them more of a challenge, if you like.

Scene 5:
Santa’s Workshop (Challenge / Roleplaying)

Let the fight against Desparia and her minions play out for as long as it’s interesting, or until one side clearly gains the upper hand, then:

Suddenly, the howling wind dies down, the growls and grunts of Desparia’s minions are silenced, and a single voice booms out.

“Ho, ho, HO!” laughs the jolly old gent in the red suit trimmed in white fur. “What have we here? You’ve been a very, very sad and naughty girl, Heather, now haven’t you? Do you really want to ruin Christmas for all the boys and girls of the world?”

“Why not?” Desparia sneers, face twisted with anger. “It was ruined for me! Why did my mommy and daddy have to die? Why? It’s not fair!”

Desparia’s tall, pale form seems to shrink in on itself, becoming more like a thin little girl with a tearstreaked face. As she starts to sob a burst of black smoke, smelling of brimstone, appears next to her, and a dapper man dressed in a dark suit steps out of it, one eyebrow raised in a sardonic expression.

“Because life isn’t fair, my dear,” he says. “Not for you, anyway, so why should it be for anyone else?”

This is primarily a roleplaying scene. Once Trastada Infante appears, the players should have some idea of what’s going on. If they don’t, play out the conversation between Heather, Santa, and Infante a little longer, until they understand “Desparia’s” motives better. The revelation that the “evil sorceress” is just a sad little girl should restrain the heroes’ desire to simply beat her into submission.

The ideal way of handling the problem is, of course, to encourage Heather to deal with her pain and reject Infante’s gift of power of her own free will. While interaction checks are entirely appropriate, you don’t have to make it all about which character has the higher Presence or Persuasion rank. Let the players offer heartfelt speeches on the true meaning of the holidays, family, and forgiveness. Infante plays devil’s advocate (rather literally), countering the heroes’ arguments and encouraging Heather to take up the power at her command and wipe out Christmas once and for all. Still, the terrible tempter’s words ring hollow sooner or later. All he really has to offer Heather is vengeance and power over her monstrous minions. He can’t give her real happiness or a family to replace the one she lost.

CHALLENGE: To convince Despairia to reject Infante’s power and to encourage Heather to deal with her pain in a healthy way. The challenge is DC 15, requiring six successes before three failures. Encourage players to use the Hero Points they earned during their battles earlier to help persuade Heather to help them.

If the players falter, or seem intent on using brute force to solve the problem, Santa Claus steps in to offer a word or two of fatherly advice. The old fellow certainly won’t condone the heroes using violence against a confused young girl, and you can be certain that Mrs. Claus will soundly scold anyone who even contemplates it! It’s best to allow the heroes to do the convincing rather than having Santa step in to save the day, of course, but it’s an option for a quick and easy ending to the scenario.

Desparia starts out at “Hostile,” and must be moved to “Helpful” to succeed:

“Hostile” – Desparia will order a renewed attack the heroes by her minions after any failure that leaves her in this state or that returns her to it.

“Unfavorable” – Desparia will not attack the heroes first, but will keep her minions ready. If attacked she will fight back (and move one level up, to Hostile).

“Indifferent” – Desparia will relax her guard, but if attacked will defend (and move up to Unfavorable).

“Favorable” –  Desparia will send her minions away, disolving them into mist with a wave of her hand and a sad smile, but will herself remain in her “adult” form, with all its powers.

“Helpful” –  Desparia will revert to Heather, and Trestada Infante will give an insouciant shrug and a wry smile, saying “Win some, lose some… but the Game goes on eternally,” as he vanishes.

Then it’s back to the Claus’ house for milk and cookies before the big guy has to leave on his yearly run. As he drives out of sight the heroes will find themselves returned to JJ’s condo, where it’s Christmas Day. Moments after they return a knock at the door Meg and Álvaro, followed over the next few minutes by Eddie “Paragon” Ritter, Cassandra “Ghostlight” Hartwel, and Chris “Kid Singularity” Terrazo. Several of the support staff from the Tower also show up, as does Penny Monet, Sang Smith, and Kevin “Stormlord” Kasperbauer, all ready for the X-mas breakfast buffet JJ had invited them to. Everyone is in a particularly festive, thankful, and joyous mood, althought they can’t quite say why…

Maybe hint that the Vanguard visit the Danvers Orphanage, out in Bethlehem Flats, and bring a little holiday joy to Heather Landers and the other children there, if none of the players think of it…

Author’s Note: I still haven’t got around to properly writing up this adventure, but I herewith present the notes/script I wrote to run the game the day we played it… so enjoy a “peek behind the curtain” while I work on the finished tale.

Thorson Conglomerate HQ, New Atlantis, NJ
Thursday 15 June 2017

In the aftermath of what the world in general believes to be the latest attempted invasion by Chronos and his Weldian forces, a grateful city throws a party for the heroes of the day, Astoria’s Vanguard. Everyone who’s anyone in New Atlantis is there, including Mayor Erik Thorson, who awards them a ceremonial key to the city.

Urbana stays away, ostensibly to maintain her monitor duty in the Overwatch, but really so as to not steal the Vanguard’s thunder in their moment of triumph. The Sampson Family, of course, are on Europa with Vitruvian.

Sarah Thorson, the mayor’s daughter, was already a civil rights lawyer before the recent influx of aliens to Earth in the wake of Entropy’s destruction of the planet Halicon and the subsequent upheavals and military losses in the Confederated Union of Words, and has recently been making waves as a leading alien-rights advocate.

Given that her father, recently (if very narrowly) elected to his third term as mayor, has made some questionable legal moves to seize “illegal aliens” – and their technology – and hold them without trial or recourse to counsel, this has put her at loggerheads with him. Tensions are running high with them both there, given that she has led many of the protests against his actions, and won two court victories so far.

With her at the celebration is K’ora-thyn, a blue-furred, hulking behemoth of an alien. He stands over seven feet tall and presents a frightening appearance to most humans at first glance. In fact, he is highly intelligent, a scholar on his home planet of Jevasik. He was already on Earth as part of the Union Ambassador’s entourage when the Stellar Protectorate (very recently officially re-named the Stellar Empire) overran his home system. He now works with Sarah Thorson in defending the legal rights of alien refuges on Earth (or at least in the US), and is currently studying to get a law degree himself. He plans to eventually seek US citizenship, once the courts sort out extraterrestrial immigrant’s rights.

Ella-Va, rescued by the team (and later, on Earth, by Artemis) has recently moved to New Atlantis to accept a job as advisor to the Union Ambassador / Observer, Manga-Tor. Both aliens are at the party, and pleased to see the Vanguard again.

Manga-Tor is accompanied by Daily Star Senior Editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Louise Lancaster. The two seem to be romantically involved, to the discerning observer, although their behavior is so circumspect and proper that they just might be good, old friends enjoying one another’s company.

Meg Halcyon is also at the event, on the job as a reporter for the Vanguard’s home state newspaper, the Oregonian. She’s been in town as long as the Vanguard, having traveled with them on assignment to cover their gig as the Liberty Alliance’s designated replacements.

John Quest and Hadji Singe were in town during the big event, and stayed on specifically to come to this party. They spend some time with Cooper and Meg, and have little liking for Mayor Thorson, which they make abundantly clear to their friends – if off the record, of course.

Protesters are the other major “guests” at the celebration. Two groups have managed to infiltrate a handful of partisans each, trying to use the event to catch the mayor’s (and more importantly, the press’) attention.

The anti-alien crowd want Thorson to keep on “doing something” about all the illegal aliens “flooding” New Atlantis, robbing, murdering and “taking our wimmin!” They are supportive of the mayor’s questionable legal tactics in rounding up aliens – in fact, any and all aliens, legal status be damned!

The others are in favor of giving the alien refugees all the rights and protections of American law, and letting them immigrate and integrate into American society. They oppose the mayor’s “fascistic” attempts to “disappear” the already traumatized visitors, and his seizing of their property, all without due process.

THE FACTS

Erik Thorson is a corrupt, amoral monster, although he’s been good at hiding it for years. He is a puppet/front man for The Forgotten and the Crucible. In 1989, at the age of 28, he murdered his father, Charles, as the price of “admission” into the criminal organization, making the death look natural. He took over as head of Thorson Technologies, changing the focus from tech to bio-pharmacutical and medical research, and the name to Thorson Conglomerate. The company has been a successful legitimate front for the Crucible ever since.

Recently he has been funneling captured alien tech to the Crucible via one of his subsidiary companies, Regal Fabrication. The Forgotten has been very enthused at having new alien devices to study and reverse-engineer in his on-going drive for world domination.

Even more reprehensible, however, is the fact that some of the more “interesting” aliens arrested have also been shipped of to another subsidiary, Helix Labs, and a more dire fate. Thorson has long been in the business of finding ways to “empower” humans – in fact, the infamous Ascendance process was developed by one of his subsidiaries, the now defunct GeneJump.

He’s begun to feel the heat, and been forced to back off considerably, in recent weeks, not least because of the legal victories his daughter has won. Increased federal scrutiny has made it much more difficult to “disappear” both the aliens and their tech.

Sarah Thorson runs a non-profit law center aimed at both traditional Earther immigration and civil rights, and the very new emerging field of off-world refugee rights. The Pavonia Law Center is run out of modest offices in the North Canal district of the city.

She knows nothing of her fathers ancient crimes, barely remembering her murdered grandfather who died when she was just three, nor of his association with the Crucible. She does, however, have her suspicions regarding his possible connections to organized crime. She also despises his politics, which she’s seen firsthand when she worked for her his administration fresh out of law school.

After less than two years she quit and joined the law firm of Keldan & Reese, well-known champions of civil rights in New Atlantis. She’s had a distant relationship with her father ever since. The last six months have been especially rocky as her new practice, less than a year old, has scored two victories in court opposing his administration’s policies concerning treatment of alien refugees and their property.

Sarah was inspired to get into the alien-rights arena after reading the eight part series on the destruction of Halicon by Meg Halcyon and Louise Lancaster, which ran in September of last year, and makes that clear to both when she meets them tonight.

Recently Sarah and K’ora-thyn have been is some disagreement in how to proceed after the two injunctions their Pavonia Law Center has won against the city administration. He wants to go after the mayor in person, to hold him accountable personally for the crimes committed by his administration; she worries both about the legal precedents and the personal costs of completely dynamiting her relationship with her father.

Ted Harper was a former intern at the Law Center, an intense young man with a passion for justice, but also a great impatience at the slow turning of the wheels of the legal system. Four months ago, at age 23, he was diagnosed with a severe case of Hashimoto’s disease, a devastating and potentially fatal condition.

Three months ago he left both graduate school and his internship to pursue a potential cure, via a revolutionary gene-therapy being developed by TheraGene, a division of biotech giant Helix Labs. His friends and former co-workers knew what he was seeking, but he was fairly quiet about specifics, at the request of the company, who claimed trade secrets were a concern. Three weeks ago was the last time any of his friends saw him.

In fact, TheraGene is a front, providing real gene therapy but also stealing patients’ genomes for their own research. Since acquiring several aliens, they’ve been developing a new method of hybridizing alien and human genes, seeking a new method for creating controllable super-beings. Ted was one of three patients who met their criteria of: genetic compatibility, no close family, and a certain specific psyche profile; he became their third test subject…

TIMELINE:

18:00 – Thursday 15 June 2017

The soirée to celebrate the Vanguard’s defeat of Chronos begins in the Grand Lobby of Thorson Conglomerate’s headquarters building.

18:00 – 21:00

The Vanguard meet various guests, notably Mayor Erik Thorson, activist-lawyer Sarah Thorson, alien scholar and law student K’ora-thyn, Daily Star editor Louise Lancaster, Union Ambassador Manga-Tor, John Quest and Hadji Singe, and a slew of alien-rights protesters, both pro and con.

19:38

The festivities are interrupted by a group of pro-alien protesters who managed to infiltrate the event to put their arguments to the mayor directly. Anti-alien protesters also managed to sneak in some partisans, and the two groups confront one another. Security belatedly moves in to break it up and ejects the first set of protesters (but not the second).

Mayor Thorson is obviously in sympathy with the anti-alien group, despite his politician’s attempt to at least appear even-handed in front of the press. The confrontation re-ignites an obvious long running argument with his daughter.

This in turn sparks a disagreement with her associate, K’ora-thyn over the tactics they should pursue against the city – he wants to bring suit directly against the mayor, personally, but she prefers to keep it strictly policy-based. The exchange is heated, enough so that it draws some attention from other attendees, but could not reasonably be called a “fight.”

K’ora-thyn leaves in frustration shortly thereafter, and the whole event winds down on a rather sour note.

20:17

Ted Harper escapes from the secret TheraGene lab faculty, killing five people in the process – two fellow experiment-victims, a med-tech and two security guards – and injuring several more.

20:42

Harper accosts several teen gang members, stealing a cell-phone, which he uses to call Sarah, leaving a desperate voicemail at 20:46, demanding her help.

21:35

Sarah Thorson arrives at her North Canal condo, but it isn’t until 22:45 that she listens to her voicemails. She is disturbed by the rambling, difficult to understand message, but attempts to call Harper back, only get some Hispanic kid’s voicemail (in his frustration, Harper destroyed the stolen phone after leaving his message).

23:06

Harper scales the side of Sarah’s condo building to reach her 12th-floor balcony. He manages to restrain himself enough to not smash the glass sliders, and Sarah lets him in. She is horrified, but her compassion overrides her fear as he disjointedly recounts his horrifying story.

23:32

Harper, exhausted, eventually falls into a doze. Sarah phones K’ora-thyn and insists that he come over immediately. She refuses to go into details, and speaks in strained, hushed tones, but claims “it’s so much worse than we thought.”

23:34

Harper wakes up to hear Sarah whispering into her phone and his already paranoid mind snaps. Sure that she is betraying him to “them,” he attacks her, killing her almost instantly. Now thoroughly panicked, he crashes through the glass sliders and vanishes into the night.

22:36

Worried neighbors call the police.

22:39

K’ora-thyn, who resides in a small apartment above their law clinic just a few blocks away, arrives. Getting no response, and his alien senses smelling human blood, he breaks the door down. Shocked to see his friend dead and mutilated, he futilely attempts emergency medical aid.

22:41

The NAPD arrive to find a monstrous-looking alien, covered in blood, pawing at the savaged corpse of a human woman. In the time-honored tradition of police restraint and professionalism, they taser him before he can do more than turn and raise his hands. Within five minutes the condo and street out front are packed with police cars, ambulances and TV trucks,

23:02

The first televised reports of a “viscous alien killer” go out over the local Fox affiliate; other outlets are more circumspect in their language, but don’t hide the fact that police have a “non-human alien” in custody. No outlet immediately identifies the victim, as the police release no names, but it is quickly known that the victim is Sarah Thorson, the mayor’s daughter and champion of alien rights.

23:41

Unable to resist the delicious irony of it, Fox interrupts their late-night programing to break the news of just which alien-loving lawyer was murdered by an alien. This is when the Vanguard will learn of what has transpired.

00:07 – Friday 16 June 2017

Erik Thorson arrives at his daughter’s condo just as the coroner is preparing to leave with her body. The resultant breakdown in front of the cameras is media gold, and the half of the city that’s still awake sees the mayor vow to end “this alien scourge on our city, whatever it takes – and to hell with anyone who gets in my way!”

His lawyer and aides hustle him away quickly at that point.

00:19

Ted Harper, freezing even in the East Coast mid-summer heat and humidity, seeks warmth. He finds it a mile or so southwest in the West Side Industrial district, in the Fitzmeyer Industries steel processing plant. He sneaks past the skeleton night crew and collapses in the shadows on a catwalk above the furnaces, where he’s finally comfortable. He drifts into a deep sleep.

09:00

Sarah Thorson’s associates, backed by lawyers from her old law firm of Keldan & Reese, appear before Judge Ellen Gordan to demand access to K’orathyn, who has so far been denied access to counsel. The DA argues that the alien suspect has no expectation of human legal rights, and besides it’s too dangerous to produce him in open court, as witnessed by the growing crowds already beginning to gather outside the courthouse, threatening mob justice.

The Pavonia Law Center and K&R lawyers argue that there at least as many gathering to demand ACTUAL justice, and a fair trial, and since when do mobs dictate the decisions of the court and the legal system?

09:24

Judge Gordan rules that the city has until noon to produce the accused, healthy and unharmed, for a proper arraignment in her courtroom. They are also to immediately allow the accused access to the legal team here representing him, without further hindrance or delay.

10:00

Darren Krosden, one of Sarah Thorson’s Law Center associate, and Karen Reese are allowed in to meet with K’ora-thyn. He relates the events of the previous night as he knows them, adding that the wounds he saw on Sarah could not have been made by his relatively thick, dull claws – they seemed more razor-like – and surely the forensic evidence must acquit him.

If the Vanguard have not yet involved themselves in the case, this is when the lawyers will call them in to help.

11:00 – 12:00

Rumors swirl across the city, and the crowds around the Justice Center continue to grow, becoming increasingly restive. Clashes between the pro-alien, justice-for-all crowd and anti-alien, hang-‘em-all crowd begin with verbal confrontations, but become increasingly more violent as themorning wears on. Police are out in force to try and keep order, and Judge Gordan grants a one hour extension. She also agrees to a video arraignment, as long as the defendant has counsel present with them at the jail.

13:45

K’ora-thin is bound over for trial, not least because the judge fears for his safety in the current climate if he is released. Given the mayor’s own incendiary comments, she also grants the defenses motion that K’ora-thyn be held in the Liberty Alliance’s detainment cells, under the watch of the Vanguard and Urbana (who agrees to return from the Overwatch to take personal responsibility for the prisoner).

14:05

K’ora-thyn is moved into a cell in the Alliance’s high-tech detention center, via teleport.

14:00 – 18:00

Unrest continues to grow, as do physical clashes between pro- and anti-alien groups. Resident aliens, even one’s who have been in the city for years, are attacked in several cases, as are humans who “look” alien. The Mayor’s Office issues a mandatory curfew, beginning at 18:00 and lasting until 07:00 the next day.

18:00 – 00:00

The curfew lessens, but does not eliminate, the disturbances, as not everyone obeys it. “Humans First” groups prowl the streets in several neighborhoods, while pro-alien groups mount protective watch vigils outside known alien-owned businesses or homes. The police enforcement of the curfew is sporadic and uneven – some officers ignore the anti-alien “patrols” and disperse or arrest the pro-alien factions, while others back up the defensive groups and actively disperse or arrest the anti-alien agitators. This leads to some tension within the police force itself.

17 June 2017

This is going to be a bad day for New Atlantis if the Vanguard hasn’t solved the case yet. Continuous news reports on the attacks on alien residents inflame passions, and a full-blown riot will occur in Alliance Park in the late afternoon unless other events occur to defuse the situation.

CLUES AND INFORMATION:

Scene One – The Féte

Mayor Thorson recently squeaked out a narrow victory in his third run for the highest office in the city.

Source(s): Sarah Thorson, John Quest, Louise Lancaster

Mayor Thorson placed all of his corporate holdings into a blind trust nine years ago, when he first ran for mayor. He has no day-to-day contact with the business, beyond collecting dividends like any stockholder.

Source(s): Erik Thorson, Sarah Thorson, Louise Lancaster

The tension between the two Thorson’s will not be obvious to strangers on first meeting without a DC 30 Perception Roll. After the protesters’ interruption, however, the tension will be palpable – noticed on a DC 10 Perception Roll. But any emotion sensing (or successful DC 15 Perception Roll) will determine that under the anger there is still love on both sides; and in his case a deep, genuine sadness.

Source: Observation

Sarah Thorson was inspired to start her Pavonia Law Clinic eight months ago by the moving eight-part series that Halcyon and Lancaster wrote last year. She was encouraged in this by her former employers at Keldan & Reese, especially her mentor Karen Reese.

Source: Sarah Thorson

K’ora-thyn is a large, physically intimidating being. His voice, deep and rumbly in normal conversation, has harmonics that trigger instinctive fear in many humans, especially when he is angry or upset.

Source: Observation

K’ora-thyn and Sarah seriously disagree about the future tack to take in opposing the city’s stance on aliens. The alien will leave after they argue publicly about it, but Sarah will assert that he’ll cool off soon enough, it’s just their way.

Source: Observation, Sarah Grant

K’ora-thyn is not a warrior, nor are most of the Jevasiki (natives of the planet Javasik), although a few do go for a mercenary in their youth. They are, in general, a contemplative, non-violent race, and he himself is a scholar of some repute in the Union.

Source: Sarah Grant, K’ora-thyn, Manga-Tor

Ambassador Manga-Tor and Louise Lancaster are rumored to be dating. They neither confirm nor deny, but only smile.

Source: Observation, Meg Halcyon

Sarah Thorson went to work for her father’s administration straight out of law school, but quickly became disillusioned with his politics and policies, even before the alien crisis. She left to take a job with the civil rights law firm of Keldan & Reese, which proved to be much more her style.

Source: Sarah Thorson, K’ora-thyn, Louise Lancaster

Scene Two – The Scene of the Crime

The condo is on the 12th floor, out of 15 floors, with no security to speak of, including no cameras in lobby or elevators. The latter was a selling point to privacy-rights advocate Sarah.

The front door has been kicked in by a powerful single blow that shattered the lock and door frame and took it partially off its hinges, so that it cannot now be properly closed.

Blood spatter on the inside of the door indicates it was kicked open after Sarah was killed – there is not a drop of blood on the edges or outside of the door. DC 20 Perception or Investigation Roll.

The slider to the balcony was shattered from the inside – almost all the glass is outside of the living room, on the balcony. DC 10 Perception or Investigation Roll.

Downstairs neighbor heard a scream, cut off, followed by breaking glass, “around eleven-thirty” and called the police. Police logged the call at 23:36.

Examination of the railing will reveal fresh scratches to the metal; further examination will reveal narrow, deep gouges in the stonework from the ground up, in a roughly hand-shaped pattern. Examining the ground shows something heavy landed, three-point spread. DC 15 / 20 Perception or Investigation Roll.

Sarah’s voicemail can be accessed legally by a court order, or extra-legally by hacking the phone company. DC 30 Technology Roll (or similar, if a player can justify it).

Her last voicemail is: “Sarah, please, you have to help me! I didn’t mean to – they did this to me – I hate them! Please, you can save me from them! This is Ted, Ted Harper, please, your were always so kind, help me! Oh, why don’t you answer—” The call ends abruptly.

Sarah’s phone shows two attempts to call the number associated with the message, at 22:46 and 22:47, neither call lasting more than 15 seconds.

Calling the number brings up the voicemail of a young Hispanic man: “Yo, you got my machine, so hit me up wit you message and you digits and I get back a’ tchu. Maybe.”

Phone records indicate it belongs to Hector Lagunista, a 16-year-old middle-class Latino kid with pretensions to being “gangsta.” If found and questioned he reveals that he and his “homies” were out last night, coming back from a late movie (Baywatch) and were jumped my some maniac on the Esplanade. “Dude jumped out of the bushes, threw us around like we were little kids!” He can show a series of cuts on his shoulder and arm, and his ruined hoodie, shredded as if by knives. All the dude wanted, though, was a phone (if pressed he’ll sheepishly admit he’d just been on the phone with his mom, explaining he was on his way home, when attacked).

Getting a description will prove difficult. Neither Hector nor his friends can give much beyond an impression of grayness… it was dark, the guy moved so fast… big, wide, white eyes and a face “like Voldemort” is the best they can do. Once he had the phone he vanished into the greenery along the river as fast as he’d appeared.

The phone message should lead to either the Pavonia Law Clinic, and the questioning of the grief-stricken staff, or Ted Harper’s apartment:

If questioned, the staff can report that Ted was a graduate student at Bensalem University, and started as an intern at the Law Center about six months ago.

Four months ago he was diagnosed with Hosimoto’s disease, and three months ago he quite both school and the internship to pursue some sort of treatment.

He was fairly reticent about the treatment, but one person, another intern named Katie Walsh, will remember that the clinic he went to was in Queensport, because she drove him there for his first appointment.

He’d seemed very excited, but after that visit he seldom mentioned it again, would just mumble that it was “going well.” A week later he was gone.

She thinks the name of the clinic (it was very discrete, just a little plaque next to the door) was something like Theraputic Genetics.

If the gang search Ted’s apartment in the North End they may discover that he hasn’t been there in three weeks, based on the backed-up mail. Neighbors will confirm that they haven’t seen him in about that time.

Amongst his papers are literature from TheraGene gene-therapy clinic, advertising the benefits of modern gene-therapy in curing many previously incurable conditions. There are also several invoices from the clinic, starting in March, all paid except the last one, from May, which is amongst the unopened mail accumulation.

One of the most recent bits of mail, delivered two days ago, is a past-due notice from the clinic.

A DC 10 Investigation Roll will reveal that the clinic is a legitimate, if low-key, business that was founded in 2005. It has a good reputation for delivering on cutting-edge gene-therapy techniques, but nothing extraordinarily good – a success rate about 7% higher than most competitors.

A DC 20 Investigation Roll will reveal that it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cryodyne, a medical research company specializing in cryonics.

It will take a DC 35 Investigation Roll to reveal that Cryodyne shares some board members with Helix Laboratories, and both are owned by Thorson Conglomerate Holding Company, .

Scene Three – TheraGene Clinic

Presumably the Vanguard will investigate the clinic as soon as possible. Assuming it’s the next day, they will find the business closed, although clearly there is activity within. Two sheets of plywood cover the main doors, on which is a “closed” sign.

Once inside, it’s fairly obvious that something has gone wrong… the receptionist is looking a bit shellshocked, uncertain that she should be letting costumed heroes in, but too intimidated to really object.

She will confide, when asked, that a gang of thieves broke in last night, obviously under the mistaken impression that they had drugs on hand. They didn’t get anything, of course, but they killed the two night guards – poor Marty and Bruce. She’s so grateful Dr. Kieth hired these new security men!

A DC 10 Investigation Roll will reveal that one of the elevators appears to have damaged doors – scored metal and a slight crumbling along one, so it doesn’t quite close. A security guard stands next to it.

There is a surprising number of security guards around, actually, and not just any security – Underhill-Hart men! This is rather a surprise for a small boutique medical operation, even one in New Atlantis.

One of the security men will quickly approach the heroes and demand to know their business.

The Underhill-Hart Security lead will insist that nothing here can have anything to do with their murder investigation, and that he will have to ask them leave… unless they have a warrant?

If the heroes ignore the security and insist their Federal Marshals credentials allow them to pursue leads wherever they may take them, there’s not much the man can do to stop them. He’s already alerted his clients that heroes have arrived…

This is a legally risky move, unless they can determine true probable cause – such as using super-senses to detect the patient-prisoners downstairs, or other such exigent circumstance. It will take at least an hour to 90 minutes to get a physical warrant, but contacting Karen Reese will get a phone warrant in less than 15 minutes.

If the heroes act quickly, they will catch the geneticists of TheraGene in the act of trying to destroy the evidence of their research and can stop them before they completely succeed. Some electronic evidence will be lost in any case, but plenty remains. If the heroes wait an hour or more, the scientists will have incinerated the poor dead test subjects (killed by Harper in his escape) and the living aliens they used to create their hybrids.

Once in the subbasement they will find the two cells where various alien “stock” were kept, and the one cell that held the human-alien hybrids. The hybrids’ bodies have already been removed, but the aliens have all been crowed into the last cell, awaiting disposal – Underhill-Hart won’t do it, and the scientists are too squeamish to do it, so they’re wait on some independent “fixer to arrive.

Most of the scientists and techs will clam up and demand lawyers, but persistent questioning and a search of any surviving (paper) documentation will reveal the key fact that Ted Harper was chimeraized with two alien species, the H’uruuk and the Sarveen, in an attempt to create a very stealthy super-soldier.

Basic facts to be found on a DC 20 Science or Investigation Roll are: he has chameleon-like powers that allow him to blend in to his surrounds, if imperfectly; razor-like claws and various arm and leg spurs utilizing various metallic elements; enhanced strength and toughness, as well as reflexes; superb low-light vision as well as a nictating eye membrane that protects against bright light.

His greatest draw-back, from the scientists’ point of view, is his blazing body temperature and high metabolism. The first was the more serious, as he was constantly complaining of the cold, no matter how high they turned up the heat; the latter issue was not quite as relevant since he could now ingest various metals and other inorganic chemicals to fuel his metabolism (and help with bone, spur and claw development).

He’d been growing increasingly paranoid, and last night he lashed out and killed the med-tech who had been trying to sedate him (the med-tech had violated policy by going in alone). He’d then turned on his “roommates,” killing them in a savage and bloody burst of speed and fury. He proceeded to kill two security guards and severely injure two more before escaping up the elevator shaft.

Scene Four – The Steel Processors

The heroes can find Ted Harper in any of several ways – search for major heat sources in this part of town (it’s a safe assumption he would avoid the river, given his heat issue); the knowledge that he needs metals and silicates now as “food” might lead them to such facilities; scanning the police bands for any unusual reports will bring up a report of workers at Fitzmeyer feeling like they’re being watched; they can have Urbana seek their target via her connection to the city (although this is a last resort if they need the help); tracking the direction of his known movements might narrow down the search area; and hopeful others the players will come up with.

After the fight and Harper’s (presumed) capture and confession, they Vanguard will have the evidence to prove K’ra-thyn’s innocence and defuse the immediate anti-alien rancor by showing that it was a human, mutated by other humans, that committed the crime.

When faced with this knowledge and the responsibility he shares with his employees for his daughter’s death, Mayor Grant will publicly confess to knowledge of the project to create “better humans to face the growing alien threat.” He does this at a live press conference, and against his lawyers and advisor’s advice, but before he can say more (even assuming he planned to say more, which is unclear), the assassin Drive-by appears, racing across the city hall rotunda on his motorcycle, guns blazing, and kills Erik Thorson. Before the heroes or anyone else can act, he vanishes on the far side of the rotunda.

The press names Harper the Killer Chameleon.