A Fantasy Core Adventure
© Jerry Harris 2016
(This link will take you to the
Fantasy Core Playtest Rules.)
The Opera House Part 2
No, it’s not going to be that easy, for the Players or the
Ref. Here’s where you all get to work on
your improvisation skills. Dead bodies
aren’t the only patrons of the arts here.
There are 12 Spectres
haunting the building. (There could be
more or less, depending on your tolerances.)
They were here at the end for Hemisphere and haven’t moved on to the
afterlife. The appearance of the
Characters will draw them out for some interaction.
They aren’t exactly “friendly” as they are annoying. If the Characters ignore or irritate the
Spectres, they will surely attack. If
they play along, the Spectres will eventually become bored of the Characters’
company and leave them alone, or perhaps become fast friends with them. (A good place to hand out some 1 XP
role-playing awards.) The Players’ job
will be to avoid fighting. The Ref’s job
will be to provoke the Players into combat.
(You’ll know you’re playing this out correctly if the Players say in
exasperation, “Screw this! I draw my
sword!”)
I’d hate to limit your creativity, but here’s some example
Spectres. Use what you want, as there’s
more than 12 listed here.
William the Usher (Entrance): Will want to see the
Characters’ tickets and insist on escorting them to their seats. If the Characters exit the auditorium and
attempt to re-enter, he’ll tell they’re not allowed to go back in, unless
they’ve had their hand stamped. (This does
not happen at real Opera Houses.)
Leslie in Concessions (Entrance): Will insist on
selling the Characters popcorn, soda, and Good & Plenty boxes. (This does not happen at real Opera Houses.)
The Marx Brothers (Grand Stairway): Groucho will
sarcastically and cruelly comment on the Characters. Chico
will attempt to fast-talk them into buying scalped tickets and Opera
memorabilia. Harpo, the quiet one, will
be honking a horn and attempting to pick the Characters’ pockets.
Mrs. Claypool (Grand Stairway): This overweight
aristocrat woman will probably be being pestered by the Marx Brothers, but
she’ll also insist on telling the Characters about the latest in scandalous
society news.
Max the Director (Stage): Of course, he’s a tyrant
and a petty dictator. He’ll be shouting
at the Characters, telling them what to do and how to do it.
Statler & Waldorf the season ticket holders
(Private Box): Yes, right next to the stage where everyone can hear them, are
these two notorious hecklers. I’m sure
the Characters will give them plenty of material. Somehow, they’ll even know about all their
past failures and bloopers. [Remember,
only go after the Characters, not the actual Players themselves. As much abuse as you should be heaping on
them in this encounter, don’t make it personal.]
Biff and Buffy the bored opera fans (Common Seats):
Drool, very drool. Quite sure that the
production the Characters are about to be involved in will be a disaster. Their performance in their last adventure was
much better, even though that was also dreadful.
Leopold the Conductor (Orchestra Pit): This madman
will hysterically be giving silent instructions to the Characters with his
baton, expecting to be obeyed. 
Anna the Diva (Stage): Well, at least a good-looking,
talented Spectre. Anna will start
singing to the Characters, praising them and their prowess and declaring her
endless love for them. She’ll expect
them to return the favor in praise and song.
Pavarotti the Baritone (Stage): His booming voice
will command everyone’s attention. He
will make threatening, yet beautiful, song at the Characters. After a prelude, he’ll want to mock duel with
them. If engaged, he’ll take a mortal
blow immediately and begin his death song.
If not acted with, he’ll attack for real.
Scott the Supporting Cast Member (Stage): Neglected
and forgotten amongst the stars of the show, Scott will insist on rehearsing a
scene with the Characters in a needy, jealous manner. He’s really sure that he’s just as good as
the stars are, he just needs some more practice.
The Extras (Backstage): These human props, living
scenery, are waiting for their cue to rush on stage to make the stars look good
by comparison. They are filled with
gossip about the other actors and the director and anyone else involved in the
production.
Raye the Set Designer (Backstage): Iconoclastic and
cutting edge, Raye is a visionary (as she’ll tell you) and paints pictures
before the audience using the performers as her medium. In the meantime, she’s got some painting and
set building that needs to be done, by the Characters. She’ll give them plenty of over-the-shoulder
instruction.
Ben the Custodian (Backstage): Somebody has to clean
up the mess. He’ll start to tell you all
of his troubles, personal, financial, and medical, whether you want to hear it
or not.
Spectre (x12
?)
HD 7 (d12), Hp 45, AC 15 (Can be hit by normal weapons)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +7
Melee: Energy Drain Touch +6 melee 1d8
+ DC 12 Will Sv or lose 1d4
Negative Hp
Incorporeal: When
not attacking, Spectres may pass through walls and doors. They do not disappear and cannot fly.
Sunlight Powerlessness: Spectres are powerless in
natural sunlight, including Daylight spells and Divine Light. They will seek to flee from it.
[Spectres are an odd case of undead. They are the spirits of those killed who have
refused to surrender their existence in the mortal world. They are undead who manifest by their sheer
will to continue living beyond death.
Normally, this involves death in a mystical place under tragic
circumstances. Unlike similar undead,
such as Ghosts, Spectres actually have a physical form with which they interact
with the real world, though it takes a concentrated effort for them to do
so. Their motivations and what will
cause them to take their final rest are all completely individual.]
Meanwhile, here are the poor beleaguered, pestered
Characters, just trying to figure out how to end this encounter. This would be a terrible time for a sneak
attack (especially given that the Characters will be heckled the whole
time). Threadman and Shadow
Controller of the Demon Host are here and watching the group from the
shadows. They know they’re overmatched
in a straight-up fight, so they’re going for assassination.
Two specific events will trigger their attack. One, getting up on stage. SC will start sniping at the Characters from
the Boxes, while Threadman will be backstage.
He’ll be activating Trapdoors (DC 12 Ref Sv or 2d6 damage) and dropping
Sandbags (DC 12 Ref Sv or 2d6 damage) on every Character on stage, one at a
time. Two, when the party figures out
that they need to destroy the smaller chandeliers before they can destroy the
big one. Once again, the Demon Hosts
will be sniping, harassing, and trying to move and hide before the Characters
can get to them. If it’s down to the
Grand Chandelier, they’ll both make a frontal assault to try and stop
them.
Threadman
HD 5 (d6), Hp 30, AC 14, Enhanced Init +4
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
Melee:
Electro-Whip +5 to hit 1d6 + Stun 1 rd
Ranged:
Electro-Thread +9 to hit thread wraps itself around opponent 2d6 + Stun 1
rd. Medium range (If from Surprise, the
thread will be unnoticed and the attack can be delayed.) If the thread is not immediately cut,
Threadman will jump to higher ground and the next rd, will attempt to hang and
choke the victim, DC 18 Fort Sv or pass out 1 turn.
Stealth: +7 (DC
19 to Detect)
Description:
Unarmed man in loose fitting clothing.
He’ll try to keep to the edge of combat and hit people from Surprise.
Shadow Controller
HD 5 (d8), Hp 40, AC 14, Enhanced Init +4
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
Melee: Poisoned
Dagger +5 to hit 1d4 + DC 12 Will Sv or victim is mind-controlled. Victim is controlled until they make the save
or until after the encounter is over. SC
may control 1 person at a time. (4 Poison doses)
Ranged: Light
Crossbow +9 to hit 1d8 + Poison DC 12 Will Sv or victim is
mind-controlled. Victim is controlled
they make the save or until after the encounter is over. M range. SC may control 1 person at a time. (20 Poisoned Darts)
Stealth: +7 (DC
19 to Detect)
Special Defense:
SC can jump into a shadow on his turn and reappear in any other shadow the next
turn (usually behind his attackers). SC
can also create 2d4 illusion duplicates of himself once per encounter.
Description: A
creepy-looking hooded man.
[Oh, Lord. This is
the dangerous encounter I’ve ever written, for everyone involved. Please forgive me.]
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