THE BURNING SANDS--A Mutant Future Scenario Part 7

THE BURNING SANDS
A Mutant Future scenario
(c) Jerry Harris, 2013

Index

UNDERWORLD continued

Complex:


At the center of the Geo-Front, is the circular control and power building with a tall cooling tower in the middle and massive power cables reaching up the ceiling. There are no windows on the building or other doors. The security shutters on the motorpool are the only way in or out.

It is surrounded by an electrified chain link fence (2d6 dam). There is only one break in the fence at the security gate. It is guarded by two Guard Bots on elevated platforms. There is a clearing before the gate, so the bots can see anything coming. They fire a warning shot first.

A break anywhere in the fence brings out a worker bot from the motor pool, along with a guard bot from the entrance gate. The security doors are open as long as the guard bot is functioning. If it is destroyed, the worker bot will immediately head back to the doors, grabbing the guard bot if possible. The doors are only open for one round after they are destroyed or get inside. Otherwise the doors are going to be tough to crack, but not impossible.

A Vid message greets the group after they get in, congratulating them for making it this far, but now they all have to die because they’re too close to the prize. If asked about it, the computer, in a fit of paranoia, claims that they’re all after it.

Inside the Motor Pool is 4 hover bikes and two hover trucks (all in working order), as well as four Worker Bots and four Agri-bots. The bots all work, but are currently recharging. They do not attack. There are also many boxes full of spare parts, but none of them terribly useful, unless the group has an android that needs repair.

The motor pool is a safe place to rest for the night. The door to the rest of the complex is codekey locked, but can be shorted out and forced.


First Aid:

The complex rooms are set up in rings. The first contains the Med Center and a series of empty offices and barracks. Four insane Med Androids are dissecting or vivisecting a group of morlocks, vampires, and ghouls. The androids will immediately attack to knock out the party. One Ghoul is alive enough to break loose in two rounds and attack the characters while fighting the androids.

Almost all the medical supplies are gone. The only useful items in here are:
2 x Breathing masks with oxygen bottles, 2 x Rad suits, 4 rad shots.

A door in the Med Center leads to the second ring and the Creche.

Crèche:

Here is where the clone zombies are produced, fed, and then cast out when the area gets overcrowded. The group can hear slurping sounds as they approached the unlocked door. A series of 10 tubes hold clones in various stages of development, while 20 Zombies (all naked) mill about the room or are lapping at a trough in the floor. They all look at the party when the door is opened. The group will need through them to get to the armory and the rest. The zombies do not react unless attacked. Against the wall are four open cryogenic chambers. They are all open and is fog coming out of them, like they were recently opened. These were Cyborg commando cells.

Armory:

The armored door is standing wide open. A Cyborg Commando is inside, armed with a laser rifle. He is steaming, literally, as he was the last to exit his chamber. He’ll start with the rifle and then use each of his other weapon capabilities. A fight may stir up the Zombies (depending on how the fight goes), but they will attack the party and the commando.

The armory is mostly empty, except for batteries and rounds. A short hallway leads to the next ring, the Computer Center.

Computer Center:

This is a leaded plasti-glass walled facility filled with the blinking, flashing lights of many computers. A large steel supporting column stands in the center of the room. The party can see all the way through the windows to the reactor core on the other side of the computer center. Airlock style doors with computer locks are the only way in the room. A video message plays outside the room: “You’ll never take me alive!”

Cyborg commandos: Three are present, one is inside the airlock (will use its gamma eyes), and the other two are hiding behind the various computers inside (armed with gauss rifles and will use palm lasers at close range and have a tear gas grenade each).

Missed shots may have consequences: d10, 1-5 nothing, 6-7 electric shock (2d6 sv ½), 8-9 lights knocked out, 10 Halon dump (2 rd warning) wipes out anything that needs to breathe.

Video message: “Well, you beat me fair and square.” The steel column drops and reveals a large crystal plugged in. It can be removed fairly easily and reconnected to any standard power source. Of course, unplugging it sends the reactor into overload. A warning message flashes, “20 minutes to meltdown.” From here the players can opt to fix the reactor or run for it.

Reactor:

The inmost ring is guarded by airlock doors. The keypad doesn’t work, but the doors are now ajar and can be forced open. This is a high rad area. The party needs to get the cooling rods back in place, either by tech roll or physical force.

Further salvage adventures in the geo-front will possible. Who knows what else may be inside? People from Crossroads may even want to try to colonize the place. Maybe more Brain Lashers show up for revenge.

Run for it:

Zombies may be in the hallways. They don’t attack, unless attacked first.

There are four usable hovercycles in the garage. The doors are now unlocked but will have to be forced open. The robots are non-functioning. The gate is locked and still electrified, but can be forced easily.

It should take four minutes to reach the tunnel. There is a group of five Morlocks clustered around the tunnel and looking for a fight.

The bunker and the town will offer no resistance, but the characters need to get outside of the neighborhood before the reactor detonates. That will take about five minutes from outside the bunker. The insects are deserting as well and do not attack. Failure to get out requires a saving throw to live.

Needless to say, detonation destroys the geo-front, the bunker, and the neighborhood, obviously limiting further adventuring in the area. At least the adventure ends with a bang.


Next up, some flavor text material on spellcasting in Fantasy Core.