GAMMA WORLD ADVENTURE SEEDS #1
by Miller
May 15, 1998
The following list is a functional springboard to get the creativeness flowing if the GM is stuck with a "writer's block". Feel free to contact me to help you flesh these out, or I can even do it myself given adequate time. Have fun!
WHAT DO WE DO NOW? (QUESTS)
Some of these you may recognize from my posting (i.e. not stolen) on the Arpiji Apocalypse Appreciation Homepage
- Road Crew: Send the PCs on a mission to clear off an old road with an Engineering Robot or two at their disposal. The robots work to clear trees, repair patches and sweep away debris, and the PCs have to fight off a band of Archivists who happen to notice their activities. Not only will the GM have a chance to create a corps of Archivists to use and reuse, but the PCs will have to put up with the instruction, care and upkeep of the robot. (Lets just say that the robot will make enough noise to attract a lot of attention, maybe even a Kamodo).
- Beef Quest: Send the PCs on a quest to round up wild Rakoxen for the annual festival. (Fun, fun, fun, but deadly, if done right). "Bring 'em in alive, people!"
- The Sighting Incident: Have the PCs hometown government get a report from a local about a "UFO" sighting. The report indicates that the eyewitness saw the general area where the flying machine went down. When the PC's get to it, have them discover a patrolling Warbot. If and when the Warbot is destroyed, have the PCs notice something peculiar about the area. Intact, electrified fences, above ground ventilation shafts and fading tread tracks will get the PCs attention that there might be an installation here. Another Warbot will be on it's way, reaching the same landing site as the previous one in a matter of minutes while the PCs search the area. The PC's have stumbled onto a den of the Created, and if the second Warbot doesn't succeed in dispatching the troublesome PC's, the android army will have to reveal their secret base in order to defend it.
- Signal Watch: As a gesture of good will and trust, the leader of the PC's base will appoint the PCs to watch over the working short band radio located in an old equipment hanger near home, which he will also leave to their defense. All they have to do is monitor the radio for incoming messages, and if they get one, they must deliver the message to the Council of (the PC's base) by using the radio. The watch will be for one month, and several encounters will be brought to the PCs instead of the PCs going to the encounter.
- Airship Peril: A renegade member of the Knights of Genetic Purity (KGP), only known as The Exorcist (The base's leader knows his real name but is not telling), has found a Trek bomb and he plans on using it on the PC's home village! He has a grudge on a particular human (preferably a leader) that spans a decade. The Exorcist wants that human to wake up and see the insult he has made by accepting mutants as first class citizens. Correction through force is the prime motive. Equipped with a band of twenty men and a reliable ancient airship, he has got to be stopped. Stopping him involves espionage (disguises, explosives and all that fun stuff), the PCs will be challenged more in their skills.
- Gas Zone: What is hidden in the tomb of the ancients that everyone knows of, but no one dares enter. Everyone who goes into the portal doesn't make it out. Surely, there must be vast treasure to be had, or is there? A poisonous gas is to blame for the "silent death" that so persistently kills all who venture in, and the base's science staff thinks that they knows the way around it, the only thing left is to find someone foolish enough to venture in on his guess... The base should be some kind of refinery or natural gas power plant, filled with anaerobic or adapted nightmares such as mutant fungi (Obbs).
- Death Pulse: A high frequency communications tower has mutated fungi into mind control weapons. The radiation field that it is in is a trap killing all life that enters. The symbiotic fungi turn corpses into zombies and the zombies go out of the area on killing sprees, destroying the enemies of the AI in control. The underground AI is jealous of life above the ground and wants it wiped from its monitors, so it could survey without discretion.
- The Antibody Quest: A particularly nasty disease is raging within the PC's base. This adventure should come just as the PCs are arriving home after being away for a while. They won't be allowed in the quarantined base, since it's very contagious. The chief Healer (doctor, wiseman, whatever) shouts out a shopping list of ingredients for the PCs to gather within three and a half days, or else people will start dying. The list is composed of such interesting things as: four intact Ber Lep pads, fur of a Centisteed, Dabber saliva, Fleshin toxin, one powdered Obb, and the like. All items should be recognizable by the players and fairly near by (of course). The GM should tailor the list towards things endogenous to the immediate terrain around the player's base. Hopefully they'll be depleted of ammo, hit points and food in order to make the quest a matter of efficiency and cunning on their part.
- Who Made Who?: A renegade Death Machine is being tracked by ground radar to be heading east, straight for the PC's home. Who sent it and why? In the middle is the Gren village of Torneq, a secluded community who are actively trading in furs and botanical goods. The objective is to meet the DM half way, help the Grens defend their village and destroy the Death Machine. Clues will be found of it's origin and programmer. The culprit is the Exorcist, hell bent to destroy all non-human progress. He convinced the local Archivists to let him "talk to their god". Meanwhile, he has found and read a book on reprogramming military bots and droids, so he did what he could to get inside and get his hands on the DM. He is their well protected high priest, and he lives up to the role very well. Who wouldn't if they could communicate with the gods and evoke their powers? It won't be the last of the Exorcist!
DID SOMEONE SAY "INTELLIGENT" RACES?
- Have a flock of Hawkoids defend their property by sending one or two of their best soldiers flying out with high tech looking toy guns/rifles/whatever. As the players attack, have the Hawkoids swerve wildly to avoid fire (unless it's too late). When the birdmen swerve have them bobble their weapons and eventually drop them a short distance to the open ground below and fly back to cover. The PCs will see this "treasure" as easy pickings, but when they go in to get the gun(s)/rifle(s) or whatever, and just as they are realizing the worthlessness of the item(s), have them be attacked by a half a dozen Kep Plants that the Hawkoids have been harvesting just for this purpose. The Kep Plants should be totally surrounding the players for the full effect. The PCs are fooled again!
- Make a band of rogue Orlens convince the party that they (the Orlens) have been looking for them (the PCs). When asked why, have the Orlens tell them (the PCs) that a key NPC needs their help (one of the Orlens has telepathy and has picked up a memory of any living NPC from the PC with the lowest MS). Have the Orlens convince the PCs to share camp with them. As they talk (each Orlen taking turns stealing the thoughts of the weak minded PC and talking as if they know the NPC), have several more Orlens (as yet hidden) pick through the belongings with telekinesis and rob the PC's blind. If the Orlens can, make an opportunity for them to drug the PC's food with sleeping powder (or similar drug) so they can make a clean get away. Then have the PCs track them down after a night's head start!
- Have the PCs rummage through an Ancient City where they find a fully intact rejuvenation chamber. The catch is that it's occupied with a dead Serf! As they decide what to do with it, have the Serf's kinsmen return. The Serf's won't want to surrender the machine (of course), since they're willing to use all the power in the installation to bring back their Great Serf Czar that recently died. This will affect how the Serfs react to aggression and/or blackmail because they'll want to keep the machine intact. This may make a great bargaining chip for wise PC's - or a desperate full bore attack by the Serfs to kill those threatening the Czar's rejuvenation.
JUST TO BE MEAN...
- Tell the PCs that they have been sold into slavery by their government in a trade agreement with the Knights of Genetic Purity (or similar opposing faction). How far this goes is up to the PCs. The deal is real enough, the leaders of the PC's base needed something that badly, what they needed is campaign specific.
- Have the PCs uncover stairs leading down to a metal door. When the door is eventually open, have them notice (to their terror) that they have uncovered a mega-nest (d100) of hibernating Zarns which will awaken to attack the PCs. Not only will the Zarns attack the PCs, but they will also plague the nearest village, to which the PCs (if still around) may have to make an effort to defend. The door leads to an empty bomb shelter, all useful items are destroyed, but the GM may want to throw them a bone for their troubles (I advise against it, sometimes life on Gamma Terra is just that rough).
- Have a party member hook a "big one" when fishing, and then have him/her pull up an extra large Ert Teldon which takes out the whole boat/pier once it goes firebomb. Hopefully the PCs will be smart and alert enough to jump into the water prior to the explosion, and this will give the GM a chance to use some the (useless?) fish given in the GW critters manual. The farther from shore, the better.
- Have an NPC notice a particularly unique item that one of the characters may have and have the NPC try to get it back since it looks just like one that was stolen from him or her (swindle/force/steal/gamble).
- Try to convince the players that one of their closest acquaintances is actually a spy/ assassin/ jerk from an opposing alliance. There is a mix-up, however, since their source of information is actually the spy/assassin/jerk (best if this is also an ally, well known to the players) who wants the PCs thrown to the wolves for kidnapping /murder/ assault/etc.
- (This one should only work once!) Bring a shotgun/scattergun carrying character's attention to a box of strange looking shotgun/scattergun shells. They're shiny and have very strange runes on it's side. Have the shells fit very nicely into the player's weapon. When the opportunity comes around for the character to use the new shells, tell them that the gun makes a god awful noise. If the player is still alive after this (and still talking to you), they'll probably inspect the shells for what went wrong. Tell them there's a very sticky red substance clogging up the entire shaft of the weapon. It'll take a week to clean completely. The "shells" were actually an Ancient lipstick cartridge with the advertizing logo of "Blonde Bullet" in a handsome shotgun shell-like container. (Works good with purfume too! The characters know right away what happened if you say "The shell sounds like exploding glass. All of a sudden you find youself attracted to your shotgun's magnificently delightful odor.") Don't forget to duck when you get a heavy object thrown at you for this.
MORE TO COME!