As with all of my pages, females should take no offense in my using male pronouns. While the game is prodominantly male, there are many females who participate on all sides of the game. Any male pronoun should be considered to be s/he, his/hers, himself/herself, etc. The reason they are not used within the text is that it looks awkward with all of those slashes. No offense is intended.
         This adventure is designed for a medium-sized group of people (about 3-7) aged between 14 and 50 (preferably within a few years of each other). Older players will pretend they are 50. Players must be willing to play themselves and start as characters of level zero (undeveloped, unspecialized).
         The DM should have a better knowledge of the campaign world than the players; in fact, the DM should know more on any one topic of the campaign world than any player. This makes the use of settings like Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and Dragonlance VERY difficult. It is highly recommended that the DM use a campaign world of his own creation or that the players have little or no knowledge in. There is nothing wrong with asking players if they have read novels in the campaign setting that an adventure takes place in, and even to ask them not to read any until the completion of the adventure (or retirement of the characters). Campaign worlds that shouldn't be used (incompatable) include Dragonlance (5th Age), Ravenloft, Planescape, and Spelljammer. This adventure is written for my own campaign world, Tergie, but is also written with the generic setting in mind.
         The syntax of this adventure is simple. The entire text should be read by the DM and improvising is the key, so make notes and run the adventure from those notes, using this as reference material only occasionaly. Comments that are specifically for the DM to keep to himself

         The players all happen to find themselves in the elevator of a recently constructed hi-tech building (of a common interest, for example, their favorite radio stations' parent companies just merged, built a new corporate building, and are hosting a major contest inside. The players are testing their luck). Whatever the players are wearing now (casual wear) should do for what they wore to the radio station unless the players are not wearing their usual attire or are wearing items that wouldn't be brought, like guns or encyclopedias. Any sound emitting devices or other devices that effect radio frequencies (like radios, watches with remote controls inside, discmans, and palmtop computers with sound) have been confiscated due to hightened security and sensitive equipment. Inside the elevator, which is rather richly decorated, there is a television (with no nobs) tuned to CNN Headline News at a volume that makes talking over it no too difficult. Note that the players don't have to know each other (while that would help); they are simply sharing an elevator. As they go up to the fourth floor, a person gets on at the second floor, then gets off at the third <This is just to get the door opened on a floor in between the player's start and destination>. As the elevator is closing, a man in his mid-thirties and a woman of about thirty years run to catch the elevator <Actually, they are running from security, but the players don't know this>. The man has dark hair and hazel eyes, fair skin, gray slacks, and a lighter gray button up shirt that is half open at the top. The woman has long, thick light brown hair and silvery hazel eyes, fair skin, dark gray jeans, a simple white shirt, and a very dark gray jacket. <Don't tell them, but her hair covers her ears, which are actually pointed as she is a half-elf. This is something that you will determine later with a peripheral vision check (3 and under on 1d20, -1 if wearing glasses; same as hearing check) and an intelligence check to see if they remember.> They hurredly enter the elevator as it closes, standing facing each other with the woman's back to the party in the corner farthest from the monitor.
         At this time, the news anchor at CNN states that there is a homicidal maniac in the area. If none of the players specifically mentioned that their character, roll a peripheral vision check for each character that is not specifically looking at something else (none of those who are watching the television will get rolls--if they are all watching the television, the character(s) in back may notice this anyway, as they may not have too good a view of the monitor). Successfully rolling indicates that they notice that the woman's hands are in the man's pants <this is to make the characters believe the male is in charge; he is not. "She" is also picking his pockets. If any players happen to know a great deal about picking pockets, they will only come to that conclusion after they leave the elevator; she needs those things; a gun and a Palm Pilot.>. The man softly moans in delight and reaches to her to return the favors. She stops him by saying "I don't think so." <This should be done in a unique tone so that it may be identified later. If the dungeon master changes his voice to mimic the characters, the voice should be androgynous or like a fake female voice, but not too fake (male DMs have an edge here)> The news anchor describes the killer, named Jean Gluetten <like the jean in "jeans"--do NOT spell that; it is an androgynous name> as a dirty blond or light brown haired, about 27 and states that they (his crew) are trying to locate a picture of the maniac, who is believed to be in the brand new radio station offices (or whatever building they are in--it would be good to have it named something like the Ted Kazinski Rockin' Building). As this happens, there is a brown-out. The elevator, still between the third and fourth floors, jerks. The power returns, but the elevator remains stopped for another few seconds before getting started again. The television's reception is horrible and the picture is fuzzy while the sound is unintelligible. <yea, it's cable, but there may be a radio transmission to the elevators, or maybe its just supposed to be weird. give some minimal amount of experience (like 50) to the first person to notice but don't give them an explanation unless they pester too much>
         The doors open to the fourth floor. The television reception clears and an image of the man is shown as the party is stepping out. Policemen and security guards then rush into the elevator, seizing the couple. One of the guards shouts "Now we've got ye! Hands up--no games this time!" a pause, then the guard shouts some gargled word as mist (smoke?) drifts out of the elevator. "Gone? How? Where'd ye go, ye creep?" the sound of the access panel being opened. "Not up here, Joe." "Then where the hell is this fuck?" By now, the loud shouting has attracted the attention of the entire hall and many of the ajoining rooms; the hall is packed. The mist also hasn't ceased and the entire hall is covered by it. It is hard to see more than a few feet from one's body. Any athsmatic players or players with other breathing conditions find breathing especially difficult. On a roll of 19 or 20 on a d20, one of these characters will be extremely weak and on the verge of fainting or even dying.
         The players should decide to go where the air is better for breathing and seeing. If they do not, people around them do and they are all pushed into the closest room. As the door opens, there is a loud click and then some beeping spaced by equal increments in time. They enter the room to see that each player's loved ones (good friends, family, lovers, etc. About three to six each) are there, bound and gagged. Ah, but the doors have opened! The mist pours in, blanketting the whole room much faster than the hall was filled. There is a large explosion from the direction of the loved ones. The party then realizes that the floor is made of dirt and mud. The moisture level has shot up considerably. The explosion, which should have reached them in a matter of nanoseconds, is gone. Scientists in the group will have recognized the begginings of a mushroom cloud (which means that it was a nucular bomb, very big). <Let the players determine that opening the door triggered the bomb, don't tell them.>
         All players with any medical contitions (athsma, diabetes, heart problems, seizures, deaf, mute, blind, worse-than-20/20-vision, handicapped-by injury or lost limbs, etc.) are instantly healed and all players immediately feel better than ever before, aside from the heavy moisture of the swamp they are now in. Remember that the guards confiscated all of their radiowave devices. If they have a compass, it has been magnetticaly ruined by the trip. Watches, flashlights, multi-function knives, and drugs are all fine for bringing. Assume that large knives and weapons (like guns, boot knives, switchblades and butterfly knives of over 2.5") have been confiscated already. All items that use standard batteries (AA, AAA, AAAA, AA, C, D, and NOT watch-sized batteries) have about an hour left in them. Watch batteries last four years. Things with really big batteries don't work. Beepers, cellphones, those annoying gigapets, and similar things have all been confiscated since they make noise.
         Make a hearing check for each character (they all have normal hearing now, 3 or less on 1d20) to determine if the players notice the murderer running off. If they do, they don't know the direction, and all attempts to chase are failed. <Jean cast a spell leading the players to the game's setting, the players happened to be caught in the spell somehow. This will be explained to the players later if they do not figure it out at this point.>

         The party should eventually get their bearings straight and head for a road. After about fifteen minutes of searching, they find a road. Once they choose a direction <it doesn't matter, whichever way they go is the "right" way. Also, keep in mind that the players still do not have statistics; the only thing on their character sheets should be a detailed description of their equipment>.











         The party eventually encounters Jean Gluetten, a half-elf who has long, thick light brown hair and silvery hazel eyes, fair skin, dark gray pants <hint 1>, and a dark bannana in his hand. In the same voice as when he was the female in the elevator, he says, "I don't think so." (The same words). <hint 2>. The spoiled bannana is pointed directly at the party. <since it is the gun that he stole, but it has been so long and the party isn't ready for it> On a successful peripheral vision check, the characters may notice that there is a square object in his pocket (the Palm Pilot, now containing spells) <hint 3>. While the party doesn't know that Jean has this, it may look technologically advanced. If they vocally come to this conclusion, the same person(s) who noticed the Palm Pilot gets another peripheral vision check to see if they recognize the gun <hint 4>.
         Roll an intelligence check for each member of the party with a penalty equal to the number of years it has been since their last time on Earth. Each success then rolls a peripheral vision check to notice that the hair had covered the ears of the woman in the elevator <hint 5>, and then another roll to see if the character can identify the man to the woman in the elevator <hint 6>. Then, the party must connect the woman in the elevator to the murderer Jean Gluetten, requiring another intelligence check with the same penalty.
         The conclusion will become apparent if they anger Jean; he will simply shoot at them <hint 7>. Shooting a gun ignores all armor and protections, magical or not. If the target has good dexterity, roll a surprise check. If not surprised, the character makes a dexterity check at -5. Success means that the AC bonus applies. Otherwise it doesn't, although a dexterity of 18 or higher will still allow a +1 bonus to AC. The gun will deal 4d4 damage and can fire 2 times in one round, although Jean is only threatening the party and will not fire more than once unless he has to. The clip has four shots and Jean has a second one with twelve (full). It will take one round to reload, so Jean will probably put the gun in his pocket and draw his sword (also taking a round, but not forfeitting his parry). The gun has no real stats, since it is a standard FBI issue pistol, not a flintlock or anything like the weapons offered in A Mighty Fortress or Combat and Tactics.

© 1999 Khopesh, L+d. Khopesh (khopesh@mindless.com)

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