DARK CONTINENT: HOME STATION

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The group arrives at the colony via an ocean-going vessel. A ship can be seen near the mouth of the river firing flaming pitch into the jungle by a catapult. There is no discernable target. It appears to be a somewhat senseless act.

The group’s ship enters into a natural harbor. The docks are teeming with activity from a multitude of native laborers and colonial traders from several countries. The capital city, also called Home Station is displayed on the hills about them. It is a fine representation of a city from the old country, seemingly transported here, to the middle of a jungle.

On the highest hill are the gleaming, white walls and tall towers of the governor’s palace. The nobility and aristocracy mostly live inside governor’s palace complex. I use the mental image of Vatican City as a model. Within the walls are large amounts of intrigue between the various power groups: colonial government, religious officials, bankers, merchants, and foreign agents. These sort of challenges aren’t covered or detailed in this adventure, but DM’s are encouraged to develop them as they see fit.

Defensive walls surround the entire city. Just outside them, the characters are immediately reminded that they are not in the old country. A tremendous slum of native hovels squats about the walls. They easily double the population inside the walls. All native laborers, who are not wearing a seal, are forced out of the city after dark under pain of imprisonment. The main city gates are very busy at sun up and sun down. This is a security issue that has been implemented since the rebellion began.

Beyond the slums are mansions and plantations. Beyond that, nothing but a misty, green hell. All impenetrable jungle.


CHARACTER GOALS
The group needs money to buy transit up river, as well as an Interior travel permit. The group will soon learn that officious, petty bureaucratic tyrants run the colony and that favors and bribes are the only way to get by.

They can get some favors from “the Intended,” and money through some loans and opportunistic looting. A favor to the Interior Minister can get the permit. The DM may need to provide other opportunities depending on the characters’ actions.


OBLIGATORY
As it seems necessary to start off an adventure with some action, the characters should debark straight into a fight. This could take the form of catching a petty thief up to a full-scale native riot, perhaps a combination of the two. Or, a gang of drunken foreign sailors may take sudden offense to the characters.

In any case, soldiers will arrive to break up any fight. At best, the characters will be viewed with suspicion and given an official warning. In the worst case, a patrol of harbor police lead by a haughty bureaucrat may want to take the characters into custody because they look suspicious and their company charter papers are fake. Jail time is a possibility depending on player actions. This whole incident is meant to impress upon the players that this isn’t a frontier town where anything goes. Home Station considers itself to be highly civilized. The city is also very edgy and paranoid with the native revolt going on.

Thankfully, the Baron, a foreign ambassador and their initial contact, arrives and bails the group out of trouble with a bribe.


HIS INTENDED
The Baron doesn’t look like a baron, as he can’t be seen with ruffians, such as the party. He does know about the group’s mission, though nothing else about Kurtz. He does know all about the city and can provide some help there, but not any official help. The Baron might be willing to loan the group some funds or give them money in exchange for a minor favor or two. (Helping them out after the Obligatory incident is on the house.) He should give the party its goal of gaining an Interior travel permit, as they are setup as a mercenary company. (Travelling around the Interior, heavily armed, and without the papers, would mark the group as a bunch of highwaymen.) They won’t be able to get in with a caravan, a ship, or into an Interior station without that permit.

He invites them to dinner at Kurtz’s old estate, just outside of town. The Baron is a cousin of Kurtz’s fiancée, his “Intended.” (Name her as you will.) He will meet them there that evening. The Baron cautions the group to use the utmost discretion around her. The Intended may be told that they are off to join him, but not their true mission or Kurtz’s current status. “She does not know, but I think she suspects.”

The Kurtz estate is well known, and the group should have no problem getting there. In fact, mentioning Kurtz anywhere in the city will elicit immediate praise from any colonial. It is lavish multistory building with many native servants scurrying about. The Baron is there waiting for them and escorts them in. Inside, he introduces them to the Intended. She is a fine, elegant woman, but obviously burdened with many troubles.

At dinner, the Intended will offer whatever help she can by way of information and influence. However, she is low on funds right now and in danger of losing the estate, so no loans. The Intended has several of Kurtz’s progressively insane letters that he wrote to her from the field, which have recently stopped coming. Feel free to drop in any hints and allusions about the encounters to come up river. She wants him to come back or send for her, but she’s worried about what has become of him. “Perhaps he has become too enamored of his jungle to leave it.”

During the dinner, the mansion is attacked by two small strike teams of native assassins, each lead by one of the 13. One of them has been sent to secure a large dragon bone from the basement vault. The other is trying to capture the Intended for Kurtz. The assassins will fight to the death, but the two demons will run if their individual objectives are achieved, or if they are seriously threatened.

The native servants and guards will try to be helpful, as distractions, giving information, up to even dying for the Intended. (They are well treated here and love her.) Likewise, the Baron protects her with his life.

If the Intended is captured, give the party one, quick opportunity to rescue her, before she is lost into the jungle. If the dragon bone is taken, it is gone. The Baron will mention that there have been several such robberies lately.

Assuming the Intended is not captured, the Baron makes sure to put his personal guards at the estate after this incident. The Intended gives the party access to estates’ armory and magic stores to help them on their travels. She also gives them her engagement ring and tells the party to give it to Kurtz. He must return it to her himself if he still loves her. The ring is cursed, if the party attempts to later pawn said ring. It will reappear back in their possession the next day, along with appropriate bad luck for the rest of that day.


ASYLUM
This is something of an optional encounter. The characters learn from the Intended that a former member of Kurtz’s expedition made it back to Home Station. He has been pronounced hopelessly insane and been incarcerated. The characters might wish to talk to him for information. The Intended has not been permitted to and would appreciate hearing of anything they learn.

However, this insane person is actually a member of the 13, a mind controller type. He has virtually taken over the asylum and has established a network of unwilling spies, which funnels information back to Kurtz about the colonial government.

The inmate will say that Kurtz found the Forbidden City (not giving the location) and various other tidbits. He will want to know why the group wants to know and why they’re looking for him. Any discussion between the characters and the inmate that alludes to them knowing that Kurtz is running the native rebellion will end the discussion. When the characters try to leave, an inmate and staff riot begins with the intention of killing them. The mind controller will try to escape in the chaos. The riot stops when he leaves. Kurtz will now know that the characters are after him. If the group gets back to the Intended, she will make some effort to get the group a direct meeting with the Interior minister, without having to go through his Sub-deputy.


FAVORED
Getting into the palace may be a problem for the group. Name dropping the Intended and/or bribery will help. The Baron will disavow any knowledge of the group in public, so that name won’t work. All weapons and armor must be left at the entry gate. They could try sneaking in, but the palace grounds are well guarded. All visitors and officials must wear a royal seal on the outside of their clothes at all times as well.

From here, the group needs to see the Interior Minister to gain an Interior travel permit. They must get an appointment via the Interior Minister’s Sub-deputy. Yes, another bribe is required, or they won’t get in. Force is not an option. Mind control maybe. If the party is low on funds, they may need to do the Deputy a minor favor. This is left to the DM’s discretion. Nothing very dangerous. Then, the group may meet with the Minister.

The Minister, of course, is suspicious of the group and the price of a permit becomes quite extravagant. The party will not have anywhere near enough funds to get the travel permit anytime soon. Bribing the Minister is going to be comfortably outside the group’s income bracket. He is also well protected against other forms of persuasion. (Unless the party wants to be creative and figure out a way to blackmail him.) The Interior Minister will look the group over and comment that they look fairly tough. Perhaps they could do a small favor for the state, in exchange for the permit?


RIOT
There is a native revolt going on at a diamond quarry in the hills just outside of the city. It is contained and being kept quiet, but the natives are holed up in tough to get at underground area. The Minister gives the group introduction papers (assuming they are interested) and tells them to find the Captain in charge at the scene.

Work at the quarry is slow and there are armed guards everywhere. The Captain will accept the characters via the Minister’s papers (and being far more expendable than his own men). The natives have barricaded an entrance to a lower tunnel complex. There are many bodies of dead soldiers littering the outside of the area. It is booby-trapped and set up for ambush (including the bodies). Hopefully the characters can make use of their special talents to get past the entry.

Inside, there should only be a few chambers with guards. The final chamber contains a native witch doctor and one of the 13 and several bags of rough diamonds. The demon will grab up a couple of bags and attempt to make a quick exit. Natives in the chamber will all fight to the death to help him escape.

This encounter should leave the group in the room with a bunch of diamonds. They will need to hide them quickly, as troops will be coming in soon after the final battle. If they can hide or bluff their way out with them, fencing stolen the diamonds should not be difficult. Where bureaucracies rule, black markets abound.

The group should not have money problems after this encounter. Having done the Minister a favor, the group will also find an Interior travel permit waiting for them wherever they are living. A thank you note with an official seal is included to help them in their travels and the name of a recommended caravan company. The Baron has also left a note. The Owner of the Dagger Inn at Central Station is their next contact.