Monday, April 25, 2016

Dark Continent Redux: The Docks

Dark Continent Redux
A Fantasy Core Adventure
© Jerry Harris 2016
(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Playtest Rules.)



The Docks
2 XP for rescuing the civilians.

There are many civilians huddled at the docks, hiding behind the various makeshift cargo barricades.  There was only so much room on the available on the escaping ships.  (If the Light Watchtower hasn’t been taken out, then there’s five ships full of civilians still there.)  There are about 20 men, women, and children left on the main “T-shaped” dock.  None of them are warriors.  They’re not even armed.  (Civilians: AC 10, Hp 4, All Saves +0, no attacks.)  What has saved them to this point is a squad of Marines holding the position.  They’ve held off several charges, but are badly diminished.  Currently there are 5 Shieldmen, 2 Grenadiers, and 2 Sharpshooters.  They are low enough on arrows to have to hold their fire until a charge.               
 
The native attack here has been restrained because of their orders to take as many of the inhabitants alive as possible.  With the departure of the ships, that restraint is now over.  (Kurtz curses himself.  He’d wanted those ships left intact to make a surprise attack on Central Station with them.  Of course this is assuming the ships have left.)  There are 30 Possessed Natives lead by 3 Possessed Witch Doctors gathering at the end of the dock. 

[And here it is.  If Gunpowder, Snake Woman, and/or Immortal broke out of Central Station, replace the Witch Doctors with them instead, on a one for one basis.  Don’t let the Characters see them initially.  Let them make an entrance, taunting them before the fight begins.  They will fight to the death here.  The rest of this description assumes that they are not present, so you’ll have to improvise a bit.]

The good news is that the natives are not paying attention to what is going on behind them.  Further, their main goal is eliminating the Marine resistance on the dock.  When the Characters make a threat of themselves, only 10 warriors and 1 Witch Doctor will face them.  The rest will only engage the Characters if forced to.  The bad news is that these are fanatics.  They will all fight to the death, so they’re all going to have to be killed. 

Meanwhile, assume that for each rd of combat, 1 Marine Shieldman and 3 Natives are killed (or roll out it out if you’re running a tactical skirmish).  Once all the Shieldmen are killed, the rest of the Marines fall the next rd (taking 1 of the Witch Doctors with them).  Thereafter, the Possessed Natives will be taking captives amongst the civilians.  Hostages will make the fighting harder for the Characters (Called Shots and such).           

Assuming the Characters are successful, the civilians are going to be very grateful, though still frightened out of their wits.  They saw a dragon earlier attack the Keep and are scared to death.  They haven’t seen him exit the Keep though.  They’ve noticed that the natives that attacked them are clearly not natural.  The citizens want the Sheriff Marcus found.  They’ve sent people over to his tower, but they haven’t come back.  “Did Kurtz send you?” one of the people will ask.  This will lead to a round of people expressing their hope that  
Kurtz brings swift retribution to these savages for what they’ve done. 

Just bombard the Players with all with information at once and see if they can sort it out for themselves (and hopefully disturbing the hell out of them, realizing how much the people idolize Kurtz here).  If there are any Marines left, they will want to link with their commander, Lt. Granger.  He and some of the troops were going to the Inn when the attack hit.  The Temple bell is still ringing, indicating somebody up there is still resisting. 

The civilians will have to be lead to some kind of safety.  They’ll insist on it.  Perhaps any Marines left could lead them to the blockhouse at the Military Pier or the Estates.  Or escort them all to the Temple.  Let the Players think up something.  The Characters shouldn’t be allowed to rest for more than a turn.  Prod them back into action if necessary.  It’s a warzone, damn it!   

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