I recommend the movie The Ghost and the Darkness ( warning it is very gory, and quite scary) for additional inspiration on how to maximize this adventure's "punch".  My thanks to Pete for granting permission for me to host it on my web site. - Kevin Clark - June 15th, 2003.

INTRODUCTION

The transport's tires whisper as they touch the runway and the engine whistle changes to a lower note for deceleration.  The single viewscreen at the front of the cramped passenger section lights up with the helmeted face of the captain.  He speaks in French, "Attention, attention.  Nous arrivons a l'Avante-post Daikoku.  Debarquement, quatre minutes."  In American-accented English he adds, "Thank you for flying the Boneyard Express."

The transport sighs to a stop and your group of troubleshooters, duffels in hand, file down the tall escalator to the tarmac of Outpost Daikoku, the scientific enclave for study of the Eber ruins on the planet.  It is night; the floodlights illuminate the unloading dock and shine off the white van with the logotype of the Institut des Etudes Xenologiques on the side.  A tall dark man with a beard steps forward to meet you.  "I'm Dr. Thor Bradley," he introduces himself "Associate Director for Expedition Support.  Glad you could make it on such short notice."  After you've loaded yourselves into the van, he says, "We've arranged a briefing at nine tomorrow morning, and lodging for you tonight in the enclave.  Or would you prefer to eat first?  The commissary is still open."

Gee, this is nice -- not the sort of welcome you would expect on an animal-control call.  But then, this is the IEX, and you do not expect a normal -- or even a simple -- job ahead of you.
 

OUTPOST DAIKOKU

The 40-year-old science colony midway between the two sites of Eber ruins, with its clusters of laboratories and apartments widely spaced with lawns, trees, and boulevards, has a feel halfway between a college campus and a military base.  Though it has only one name, there are three centers to the outpost: the extensive Astronomischen Rechen-Institut establishment, where you landed; the much smaller enclave of the Accademia Dei Lincei, which you have not seen; and the mid-sized fief of the IEX, where you have been called.  After breakfast, you are driven to the Administration Building, d'Aubisson Hall, and welcomed on the steps again by Dr. Bradley.

In his office, he outlines the job: "The IEX has from time to time allowed private industry access to the Eber sites for purposes of semi-commercial research.  This surprises many people, who imagine science to be a wholly charitable pursuit beyond the grubby realities of finance.  We do charge private interests for their access, while providing them transport and security, and we require them to share their findings with us as a matter of course.

"It's one of these private groups, a botanical sampling expedition from Noukka-Lieb Pharmaceuticals, who is having trouble.  We were alerted by radio some days ago to expect a letter sent back via the weekly supply flight.  Here it is."  He passes around the following letter:

Dear Dr. Bradley,

An unknown animal has invaded our research area at Chowawillien.
Sightings have been vague, and I have no images to send you, but
it would appear to be large, carnivorous, and, to my knowledge,
of a type completely unknown to this region of the planet.

I have no resources to deal with it, and I fear for the safety
of my expedition and its equipment.  Our agreement, section 9, 
paragraph XVIII, specifies that animal incursions constituting
a nuisance will be your responsibility.  Therefore, I request
the immediate dispatch of a suitable team to deal with the
problem.

Sincerely yours,
Dr. Andreas Borg

"Dr. Borg," Bradley continues, "is an experienced field scientist and one familiar with the local ecology.  We must assume, therefore, that his report is true -- some large, unknown type of animal is threatening his expedition.

"I'd like you and your group to hunt down this creature, capture it alive, and bring it back to the IEX for examination and study.  Naturally, there will be recompense.  We're offering Lv300 each, to go to Chowawillien, make the capture, and return here.  Any questions?"
 

CROSS-EXAMINATION

Dr. Bradley seems very much an honest sort, and entirely trustworthy; there may be no questions.  If any are asked, have the questioner roll the following task to learn more information than was asked:

Task: To learn of Dr. Bradley's misgivings ( Uncertain): Difficult.  Intelligence, Interviewing, or Psychology.  1 minute.

A total of one hour remains before the party must receive equipment and leave on the scheduled weekly supply flight.

Success at the above task will result in Dr. Bradley's disclosure of one of the following data.  Each failure will result only in the hint ( given in parentheses) following the data.  The choice of the appropriate datum is left to the referee.

1. Dr. Borg will be authoritarian, abrupt, and treat you as if you were under his orders, not ours.  He may try to deny you access to his data which, as IEX contractors, you have the right to examine at need. ( Dr. Borg is sometimes a difficult person to work with.  His company requires strict secrecy in many matters.)
    
2. There is no supervision of Noukka-Lieb's work or activities in the field.  They're completely on their own from the time they leave here until they return, unless they request aid. ( Noukka-Lieb has much experience in field work in out-of-the-way locations.  They're a respectable firm.)
    
3. There's an unknown threat to the other study groups at the site, particularly the Al-Fredoun University student dig that's closest to Noukka-Lieb's site.  If any of the locals are injured by this unknown animal, it would blacken IEX's reputation with the Arabian colony, on whom we are dependent. ( We are worried that this animal may endanger the safety of other persons at the site.  Speed is essential.)
    
4. We have reason to suspect that Dr. Borg's group has been gathering samples well outside the area they originally indicated they wished to survey.  It's not prohibited, or even strictly unethical, but it makes us uneasy. ( Pharmaceutical research in alien plant life requires Noukka-Lieb to do most of its work outside its actual campsite -- quite some distance outside, actually.)
    
5. The animal is probably a rogue from outside, maybe even somebody's pet gone wild, but part of Noukka-Lieb's lab equipment includes experimental animals.  One could have gotten loose for some reason. ( Please respect Noukka-Lieb's private property as much as possible.  You have free rein over the site, of course, but don't abuse that privilege without cause.)
    
6. We really have no idea what's going on, but Borg sounded agitated each time we called him for more details, which he was unable or unwilling to provide.  Be prepared for anything. ( Naturally you're concerned over the lack of details.  That's why we're taking no chances.  Dr. Borg will certainly be glad to assist you in any way he can.)
    

SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT AND RESTRICTIONS

Dr. Bradley will be quite firm on one point; Capture is the goal.  Therefore, each member of the mission group will be issued, for the duration of the mission, one Quinn Optronics Restraint Carbine each, and instructed to use it as a primary weapon.  There is another reason to use sonics: the ruins.  Collateral damage would be highly undesirable -- therefore, no projectile weapons and absolutely no explosives.

The group will also be provided with an autoinjector rifle ( as described in the 2300AD Adventurer's Guide, p 28) with four subdual darts and two microtransponders, plus the radio direction finder for tracking.

Three collapsible cages will also be provided, all equipped with handles for hand carry and hooks on the side for pole carry.  Their characteristics are as follows:

Small cage: Made of gnaw-proof polycarbon plastic strips in a one-centimeter mesh, with one small end fitted to slide in grooves as a door, secured by a single latch.  Expanded dimensions are 40 by 50 by 80 centimeters, and it can bear the weight of an animal weighing up to 15 kilograms.  Weight: 1 kg; Length: 80 centimeters ( bulk=1); Armor Value: 0.2

Medium cage: Polycarbon strips in a 1.5 centimeter mesh, a sliding door as on the small cage, and a weight limit of 40 kilograms.  Expanded dimensions are 80 by 80 by 120 centimeters.  Weight: 3 kg; Length: 120 centimeters ( bulk = 2); Armor Value: 0.2

Large cage: Made of polycarbon rods with a two-centimeter mesh and a swinging door hinged from the top, secured by two hasps.  The expanded dimensions are 120 by 120 by 180 centimeters, and it can hold an animal weighing up to 150 kilograms.  Weight: 4 kg; Length: 180 centimeters ( bulk = 5); Armor Value: 0.5

The cages are usually carried collapsed, a flat package intended for backpack carry, until they are needed.  Expanding the cages requires no task unless it is done in a hurry.

Task: To expand a collapsible cage ( Uncertain): Routine.  Average of Dexterity and Hunting.  3 seconds.

Referee: A major mishap, and only a major mishap, causes the cage to look sound, but to collapse when an animal is put inside it, permitting escape.

Collapsing an expanded cage is the reverse of expanding it.

If asked, and only if asked, Dr. Bradley can also provide the following sensor equipment: three pairs of binoculars and one FarSeer, plus one large animal detector.  No other sensors are available.

Other equipment is left to the referee's discretion.  The group members are expected to live at the Noukka-Lieb campsite and to have access to most of their nonscientific gear.  They probably will not stay for more than a week, and re-supply comes weekly anyway if they have forgotten something which the campsite cannot provide.

Almost as an afterthought, Dr. Bradley provides the party with a portacomp loaded with an expert program on animals in the Chowawillien area and designed to answer any questions about their signs and spoor the party may have.  Guidelines for running this expert program are given in the Procyon Lorica section below.

Once the equipment has been distributed, Dr. Bradley will see the party to their transport and wish them well: "Bring 'em back alive!"
 

CHOWAWILLIEN

Chowawillien is the second, larger group of Eber ruins discovered in 2253.  It was, judging by location, a major city and seaport roughly 4000 years ago.  Weathering in the temperate climate has been heavy, and all that remains above ground are stone, concrete and steel skeletons of buildings laid out in a sprawling grid along wide roadways.  The IEX has expended much effort to clear large trees, vines and climbing plants from the ruins, but the ways between them are still thick with vegetation.  Even after 50 years, only a small proportion of the site has been excavated to road level or below.  Only a few trees remain in the site, far from the surviving walls, and some of these are "yo-yo teres" that will attempt to drop sticky tendrils on animals or people below their canopies, to attempt to draw them up for digestion.  Small pieces of equipment could be lost or damaged in the process.

The Noukka-Lieb Pharmaceuticals expedition is located in an unexcavated part of the site; it is one of seven expeditions currently at Chowawillien, which is so large that each expedition is out of contact with the others.  The Al-Fredoun University site is only two kilometers from Noukka-Lieb's, close enough to share the weekly supply flight.

Chowawillien is far from any permanent human habitation, but there is a large and unknown population of transients outside the fenced perimeter -- scouts, trappers, explorers, opportunists, and vagabondds for the most part, some of them not averse to turning artifact poacher.

Chowawillien is an abundant habitat for animal encounter purposes.
 

ARRIVAL

The transport sets down vertically in a clearing within the Chowawillien site, which seems to stretch to the horizon.  Waiting for it are two groups of men and vehicles.  The Al-Fredoun University people, mostly Arabic-speaking, arrive first to offload their equipment.  The other group, two Swift Songbirds and three men, seem to be waiting.  These men are:

Dr. Andreas Borg

Borg is a Veteran in Biology and Administrator, head of the Noukka-Lieb expedition.  Large, balding, with close-cropped steel-gray hair, piercing blue eyes, and a meaty handshake, he speaks with a pronounced German accent; German speakers can identify it as vaguely Hanoverian.  He is self-assured, abrupt, and has an air of command about him.

NPC Motivation Results: Heart Jack: He is an extremely adept field administrator with more than 20 years of experience behind him, quite knowledgeable in and out of his specialty, particularly in chemical and drug interactions in people and animals.  Spade Jack: He is also overbearing, imperious, and firm in his belief that he is every bit as good as he is while others are not so good as they pretend.  He is clever, a quick study, and can make people doubt their own competence.

Dr. Bob Baudet

A Green NPC in Biology, Baudet is a student-intern from the Universite d'Tirane, and Dr. Borg's obvious protege.  He is young, with short blond hair, piercing blue eyes of his own, and a vaguely cool manner.  He takes his status as a favored child almost for granted.  His family is wealthy, he has lacked for nothing, yet ambition drives him on.

NPC Motivation Results: Spade 8: Baudet is an extremely ambitious student, if not particularly gifted, and he is prone to take credit for work done by a group, as instigator or coordinator.  Spade 6: There is also in him a desire for responsibility and authority, like his protector, Borg, and a feeling that he is closer to this than people think.

Richard Sorge

Sorge is one of the nine other staff members of the expedition.  He is an Experienced NPC in Chemistry, an uncommunicative man, and Dr. Borg's favorite flunky for public-relations jobs, like today.

NPC Motivation Results: Diamond 4: Sorge is a pure Company Man, in it for the money.  This month the money is in the ruins on Daikoku.  Diamond 3: Even if everything caves in and lives are threatened, Sorge's highest hope is to salvage his hazardous-duty bonus.  He has no personal stake in the mission, its results, the world or its ecology, even in staying with Noukka-Lieb, if it comes to that.

When the Al-Fredoun group has nearly finished unloading, Sorge will drive up to the plane to transfer cargo back aboard: two wounded men, heavily bandaged and semi-conscious.  They are in stable condition ( so the characters will be told), but there are no facilities for them here.

Should any character wish to examine them, Borg will reluctantly approve, but remind them that the plane must be leaving shortly, and they must unload their supplies yet.  Making a quick diagnosis of the two is a task:

Task: To evaluate the condition of the wounded men ( Hasty): Difficult.  Medical or First Aid.  20 seconds.

Referee: Success reveals that both men have been mauled, clawed, bitten and bruised, with extensive wounds on their heads, hands, arms, upper torso and legs.  It will also reveal that they are drugged, not unconscious.

Any other result will show only that the men have been severely mauled.

As Sorge and the plane's cargo handlers wrestle the men aboard, one man will moan and mutter in Arabic.  An Al-Fredoun student who is there will stare until Sorge chases him away.  If this student is stopped and questioned, or the character with the wounded men speaks Arabic, the character will learn that the man said: "Devil... the three-eyed devil."

Once cargo has been loaded, Dr. Borg will take the party back to the Noukka-Lieb encampment.  He will brief them there.
 

THE NOUKKA-LIEB CAMP

A large clearing, perhaps once a park or square in the ancient city, now holds the temporary structures of the Noukka-Lieb expedition.  One is a long, low metallic shed 10 meters wide, five meters high, and 80 meters long, with a considerable amount of air-conditioning machinery outside, solar collectors on the roof, and no windows.  This is the main lab.  Its mate, except for no outside machinery and including windows in its sides, parallels it 10 meters away; these are living quarters and offices.  The hovercraft will stop here to unload.  Cots and sleeping bags have been provided for the player characters, Dr. Borg explains, if they choose to sleep indoors.  He will take the time to escort the group around the camp, show them what parts of the layout he can, and introduce them to his staff.

The living quarters are divided into a kitchen/dining area near the front; eight small, private rooms that double as offices along a central corridor; and Dr. Borg's larger private office and private quarters at the end of the building.  There is no back door.  Dr. Borg will not enter any sleeping space with the party in tow.  Everything seems tidy and ordinary.

The labs are protected by an airlock; this is the only door, and air pressure is kept greater inside to keep out alien spores, bacteria, molds and other organisms that could contaminate the work.  Inside, flanking a central corridor, are three large lab spaces visible through windows, accessed through sturdy, airtight doors always kept shut.  The three sections are: Analysis, where raw plants are studied in their natural forms, classified, and samples preserved, alive, dried and frozen; Extraction, where mechanical mills, chemical baths and electrical fields are used to pull concentrated chemicals from leaves, stems, berries, roots or what-have-you for more rigorous examination; and Synthesis, where the compounds are purified, analyzed, tested and their chemical natures recorded.  This is where useful and cost-effective new drugs are discovered, and Dr. Borg will be careful that none of them or their sources are discussed before the group, even accidentally.

There is also an unmarked door without windows at the end of the corridor, which Dr. Borg describes as the Experimental Animal Habitat, nothing more.  He will not take the characters in there unless someone insists and passes the following task:

Task: To out-face Dr. Borg politely: Routine.  Average of Eloquence, Intelligence and Determination.  5 seconds.

Success grants them a one-time tour of the Animal Habitat.  The interior is a chittering, warm and furry-smelling room lined with cages on three walls, with a computer station, food and water dispensers, and cage-cleaning equipment.  The animals range from Terrestrial mice, rats, rabbits and one 40-kilogram pig to an assortment of other, less-familiar creatures, most of them Pentapod lab animal "machines" designed for special testing purposes.  There are also a number of empty cages -- the result, Dr. Borg will explain if anyone asks, of the inevitable attrition in testing, particularly far from a source of approved new specimens.  No one is here now; this is Dr. Baudet's usual workplace when he is not in Analysis.

The party will also meet the rest of the Noukka-Lieb complement:

Dr. Jorge A. Prieto

Prieto is a Veteran NPC in Chemistry, usually working in Extraction.  A proud and haughty man, obviously not fond of Dr. Borg.

NPC Motivation Results: Spade Jack: He is Sorge's boss and runs this department, which he clearly considers the nexus of any really important work.  Diamond 6: He is here because field work pays better than sitting in a permanent lab somewhere, even if he has to put up with Borg.

Marie Crane

Crane is an Experienced NPC in Biology, a plump and motherly woman with a discerning eye for plants; she is head of the Analysis section.

NPC Motivation Results: Heart Jack: She not only is the expert on local fauna and flora, but knows more about the private lives of the other team members than she lets on.  Diamond 9: She is, alas, woefully underpaid because she has no doctorate degree, and is a soft touch for a guaranteed improvement in her income -- likewise not something she lets on.

Neil Warheit

Warheit is an Experienced NPC in Biology, a slight and nervous young man in Analysis, Marie's underling and junior.  He has a tendency to stare at people.

NPC Motivation Results: Heart Queen: Though he seems to have a fixation on Paula, he is profoundly attached to Marie, who is like a friend as well as a mother to him.  Spade 10: He is a show-off and a know-it-all to everyone but Marie; everybody but Marie thinks he is a pain in the neck.

Olga Kronik

An Experienced NPC in Medical, Kronik is a studious-looking young woman with long dark hair and large heavy-framed glasses, and a manufacturing pharmacist.  Quiet, shy, and retiring -- and very easy to scare.

NPC Motivation Results: Diamond Jack: She is frightened easily, and tends to shriek if surprised or terrified.  Deafening and scary.  Heart 3: She is a very decent sort, more than a little cute, and friendly.

Mohammed Atouboranian

Atouboranian is an Experienced NPC in Medical, head of the Synthesis section, and an accomplished manufacturing pharmacist.  Suave and smooth.  He is Arabian and speaks fluent German; his accent is unplaceable.

NPC Motivation Results: Spade King: Though it was originally his idea to hire the outside diggers, he will deny it to Borg's face.  He is not above sacrificing Borg and everybody else to save his own skin.  Club Queen: He is quiet and rarely takes a stand, but when he does, he is immovable.  His stories will always match up.  He will stick by them even when no one else does.

Paula Virtannen

A Green NPC in Chemistry, she is tall, blond, young and Finnish, a student-intern from the Universite d'Tirane but not the girlfriend of, or even terribly friendly with, Bob Baudet.  He is the exception; everybody else likes, and is liked by, Paula.

NPC Motivation Results: Diamond Ace: Her generosity and friendliness grows from her idealized view of science, where all knowledge is shared openly, above personalities and conflicts.  Club 8: She is intensely competitive, a top-notch student and researcher, and extremely harsh toward those who oppose her ideals.

Everybody is at work in the labs except for Sorge and Baudet.  The animal menace has made them all very uneasy -- Olga in particular.
 

THE STORY

After the tour, Dr. Borg will lead the party back to his office, a plain and tidy space with a filing cabinet as well as a computer station, and tell them the following story:

"We'd been here about a month when one of our field teams noticed some unusual footprints in bare ground not far from camp.  I thought nothing of it until two nights later, when we were all awakened by dreadful screaming in the ruins.  Thinking that someone from another expedition had become lost or injured, I sent Richard, Bob, and Neil with lights toward the source.  They came upon a dreadful scene.  Two men, horribly wounded already, were attempting to fight off a beast none of us had ever seen or heard of before.  It was shaggy with thick black and gray hair, about the size of a dog or burrowvarg.  My men yelled at it, hoping to drive it off.  It turned on them, snarling, and scared them full out of their wits.  The monster had a massive head, no discernible nose, a mouth the width of its powerful body, and three malevolent red-rimmed eyes.  But instead of attacking, it plunged into a hole the two unfortunates had been digging, growling most fearsomely.  Then it sprang from the bottom of the hole fully six meters to the top of an outcropping in one bound, and from there it leapt away into the darkness.  The sound of it was soon lost.  My poor men, unarmed except for their belt knives, quickly gathered up the wounded wretches and brought them back here.  We did what we could for them, of course, which was little enough.  You saw them leave this morning on the flight that brought you in.

"I summoned aid from IEX as soon as I could.  So horrible was this apparition that I felt it wise not to describe it even in my letter.  Now that you are here, I feel much better.  I would appreciate you acting promptly to dispose of this monster."

He does not care if it is captured; he merely wants it gone from here.  It is holding up research.  He will give the men free run over the encampment and, of course, the ruins.  But, he laughs and wags a finger at them, he does not expect them to find the creature under his bed.  Out in the ruins it will be found.  If they want his advice it is best to use the day to scout and rest, and the night to post watches and stalk.
 

THE REAL STORY

Noukka-Lieb's contract specified a stay of approximately eight weeks at Lv200 a day and a collection radius of two kilometers.  The princely "rent" puts time and positive results at a premium, and Atouboranian, who has relatives in Al-Fredoun, suggested hiring local plant gatherers at Lv1 a day to save professional time and effort.  The use of unsanctioned labor in the ruins makes Noukka-Lieb responsible for any damage they do -- or damage done to them.  Hence the two wounded men are treated as strangers, possibly artifact poachers.  Two dozen diggers were employed until the attack; they have all fled.

Bob Baudet runs the Animal Habitat closely with Dr. Borg's blessing.  He was captivated, soon after arrival, with a curious animal a trader had for sale -- a small furry beast the size of a house cat.  It was called an arnab-doub -- a rabbit-bear.  It was about five kilograms, shaggy with coarse hair or skin tendrils, a wide mouth, and three eyes.  Baudet bought it, after much haggling, for Lv5.  He discovered it was a local animal, its three eyes were by no means unique on Daikoku, and that while it was not "domesticatable" by most standards, it was tolerant of captivity.  It ate insects, worms, a wide variety of plants and meats ( native and off-world), and lab pellets.  Baudet kept it with the rest of the lab animals and studied it whenever he had a chance.  He did not keep it a secret, but he made no effort to inform people either.

At the extreme northern end of the Noukka-Lieb range is a structure not yet formally discovered, a roughly oval construct now marked by occasional walls and beams protruding from the surface.  It may have been an arena or museum, or perhaps a botanical garden or laboratory.  In it and within 200 meters of it are a large number of exotic plant types found nowhere else on Daikoku.  A week after the Noukka-Lieb campsite had been established, the diggers began to bring back some extremely unusual plants from here and Dr. Borg instructed them to concentrate in the area.  He took the entire Analysis section ( Marie, Paula, and Neil) there for a personal survey and evaluation.  It was on this trip that the first example of Specimen T-5485 was unearthed at a depth of more than a meter.  The plant was a dark-brown, wrinkled, and twisted knobby root looking like horseradish about 25 centimeters long, with a strong distinctive scent coming from its cut end.  The pungent odor is what caused Marie to name it Deep Ginger.

That would have been that, but its complex chemistry defied the Analysis and Extraction sections for several days, causing much excitement.  Out of a misplaced sense of discovery, perhaps, or a simple desire to take a chance, Baudet fed a tiny sliver of Deep Ginger to the arnab-doub.  It liked the treat, though it seemed to make it thirsty.  And it cried after its next meal, and would not stop until it was fed again.  And again.  It began scratching itself furiously with its tiny burrowing claws until it loosened several leathery strips from its skin.

At the end of two days, it had gained four kilograms and would not stop crying even when it was full.  Desperate, afraid of discovery, Baudet took a second chance and smuggled it more Deep Ginger.  It ate 200 grams and seemed satisfied.  Again it was thirsty; again it started eating prodigiously.  And again it grew -- larger than the cage could hold.

By this time Deep Ginger had proved a treasure-trove of several unusual compounds, but full analysis was beyond the survey mission's capability.  Dr. Borg ordered Deep Ginger stockpiled, alive and in various kinds of preservation, with an eye to growing it outside Chowawillien, even off-planet.  There was an awful lot of the stuff around, and the scent seemed to madden the fifteen-kilogram arnab-doub.  It was impossible to keep the creature around.

On the excuse of inspecting the diggers, Baudet borrowed one of the Songbirds and drove out of Chowawillien, with the outsized animal drugged in a carryall.  Some 40 kilometers from the perimeter he dumped the woozy critter out and drove back without a second look.  He figured that was the last of it.

When diggers began reporting a strange animal snuffling around the holes at night two weeks later, Dr. Borg told them it was a harmless burrower, even when one digger said it had stood its ground and growled at him.  Baudet knew his failed experiment was back to haunt him but said nothing to anyone.

Then came the attack.  Now research and collection is at a standstill, Dr. Borg is deeply angry, and Baudet dares not say a thing.  Paula once asked him about the missing arnab-doub; Baudet said it had died of unknown causes, and after the autopsy he had incinerated it.
 

GETTING THE REAL STORY

No one is readily going to admit that outside diggers were hired.  Only Baudet and Atouboranian, who has guessed the truth from the animal's feeding pattern and appearance, know about the creature's origin, and they will not talk.  Paula and Marie both know that Baudet had a strange animal, but think it died two weeks ago and have not connected it with the sizable creature outside.  Deep Ginger is a company secret, a potential gold mine once fully analyzed, and no one will discuss it freely.

Questioning will be difficult; they will all back up Dr. Borg's story if interviewed with any other expedition members in ear-shot.  Someone might figure out that people will be easier to quiz if they are alone.  Getting an Noukka-Lieb staffer alone is a task:

Task: To isolate an Noukka-Lieb researcher without suspicion: Difficult.  Intelligence, Psychology or Interviewing.  3 minutes.

A mishap indicates that someone has walked in on the effort and noticed it for what it is.  The referee should role-play this scene with care.

While searching for the beast or its spoor amid the ruins, the players could notice a few things that will alert them to unusual happenings they have not been told about.  For one thing, the number of holes left when plants were dug up is too high to be accounted for by the personnel at the camp, unless everyone had been out and digging, which is obviously not the case.  Discovering the truth about the holes is a task:

Task: To deduce the use of outside diggers: Difficult, Survival or Tracking.  Absolute ( 3 hours).

Any mishap causes any players without Tracking or Hunting skill to think that the creature dug up the holes.

The Noukka-Lieb staffers will not reveal the arenal area to the mission group, though they will not deny they have been doing work there.  There are more holes here than anywhere else; players looking in the north roll the above task at one difficulty level less.  In addition, they may discover the arena itself, a honeycombed maze of ruined walls, caves, pits and weird plants:

Task: To discover the arena area ( Unskilled): Routine.  10 minutes.

Any searchers in the area will find the tracks of the creature quite readily:

Task: To discover the tracks of the creature: Routine.  Hunting or Tracking.  2 minutes.

Tracking the creature down in its lair is more difficult due to the rough nature of the terrain; see the Tracking the Beast section below.

There may be players who want to break into the files or computers to see what secrets are there.  This is a small camp, people are always nearby, asleep or not, and all doors are locked at night.  There is little to discover.  Dr. Borg's personal files ( not his computer files) contain some vague notations on petty cash flow to pay off the diggers.

The Animal Habitat's computer station has a locked and coded file on the arnab-doub up to the day Baudet abandoned it.  Getting into this file is a task:

Task: To open the arnab-doub diary: Difficult.  Information Gathering or Computer.  2 minutes.

Any mishap crashes the system and leaves tell-tale evidence of tampering.

Players may even think of going to the Al-Fredoun University site and asking questions.  They know all about the diggers; they use them themselves, with IEX's knowledge and blessing.  They see nothing wrong with the idea.  They have no knowledge of any beast.  If the Al-Fredoun diggers are questioned, however, players will quickly be surrounded by several frantic men babbling simultaneously in fear about a "three-eyed devil dog", a "friend of Shaitan", or a "demon".
 

PROCYON LORICA

The creature which Baudet bought is actually a well known Daikokian animal with a proper taxonomic name: Procyon lorica trivides fayadii.  It is a gatherer and burrower, like the raccoon, fairly intelligent, and nocturnal.  Its oddest features are its leathery skin that peels in strips to form its armoring "hair", and its three reddish eyes, two low, one high, which give it superior night vision and depth perception.

The trivides family contains numerous Daikokian creatures, most of them small or medium-sized gatherers, and one sluggish night grazer.  No predators.

When Baudet fed the arnab-doub Deep Ginger, it reacted badly with the animal's metabolic and growth rate.  It grew, became hungry, grew larger, and began to crave Deep Ginger again.  This cycle repeats at roughly four-day intervals, causing the creature to eat ravenously and to actively seek Deep Ginger, to which it has become addicted.  As the adventure begins, it has just devoured Deep Ginger from the hole the men it attacked were digging.  It is now ravenously hungry and will devour whatever it falls upon, including humans.

It is now a pouncer on the 2300AD scale of animal encounters, with the following characteristics:  Encounter: 4 or less; Attack: Only if it possesses surprise; Number: Always alone; Initiative: 5; Hit: Easy; Size: 80 kg; Speed: 75; Armor: 0.4; Wound: +0; Consciousness/Life: 3/8; DPV: 0.2; Signature: 0.  It attacks with teeth and digging claws, usually going for the head and then the soft tissues like the belly.

If it feeds upon a man-sized victim, it will increase in size, become more aggressive, and begin to stalk human beings up to five kilometers from the arena.  It will be a killer, and its characteristics will be as follows:  Encounter: 3 or less; Attack: 8 or less; Number: Always alone; Initiative: 10; Hit: Easy; Size: 100 kg; Speed: 75; Armor: 0.4; Wound: +0; Consciousness/Life: 4/10; DPV: 0.3; Signature: 0.

[ pic here ]

This is as large as it can get, but nobody knows that.  It can scent Deep Ginger up to three kilometers away; it can smell it at the Noukka-Lieb site.  It can only find buried Deep Ginger if it is within 100 meters of the location.  The stockpile at the camp is functionally as close as the Deep Ginger still in the ground.

The portacomp that the player characters have is designed to answer specific questions about tracks, signs, usual prey of predators, habits and feeding patterns, and to help the user determine from signs what animal made them.  It can be used as an encyclopedia as well, describing the tracks and other spoor or markings and habits of a particular animal, but this is a secondary purpose.  For game purposes, the portacomp's expert program works better if it is given raw data and asked to identify the animal than if it were asked to reveal all information about a specific animal.  Correct operation of the expert program therefore requires two separate tasks depending on how it is used:

Task: To identify a specific animal from its traits or spoor: Routine.  Hunting or Tracking.  10 seconds.

Task: To learn information about a specific animal: Routine.  Information Gathering or Computer.  20 seconds.

The program has no information about what attacked the two men; it will indicate several different animals who could only be present under very unlikely circumstances.  It will read out data on all three-eyed animals as stated above, none of them dangerous or carnivorous.
 

TRACKING THE BEAST

Finding tracks is not the same as following those tracks.  The animal is crafty and hides its trail well, doubling back, sticking to well worn tracks, and going over stone and steel in the ruins.  During the day, however, the creature is immobile, sleeping deep in the ruins.  Finding it there is a task:

Task: To track the creature to its lair ( Uncertain): Formidable.  Tracking.  15 minutes.

Success catches the creature asleep and unaware, though it may not stay that way.

Any failure and the creature hears the approach soon enough to escape.  The characters may be close enough to see or hear it tear off.

If disturbed, the creature will run in a circle around the ruins to draw off pursuit, and return to find a different place to sleep.  It will run and hide over and over again, never attacking, unless it is cornered.

If the creature is found asleep, it will always be found in a cave or niche with only one entrance.  Only one character may shoot at it.  If the first shot neither kills nor incapacitates the creature, it will roar, spring at the person in the entrance, make one attack, and then run away.

If the players have not found the arena, or tracks, they still have a chance of encountering the creature or its spoor during the day using the normal Animal Encounter rules.  The creature will remain a pouncer until if feeds.

At nightfall it will wake and begin to stalk any animal, particularly humans, within two kilometers of the arena.  It will be drawn to the Noukka-Lieb campsite if there are no targets available.  It will always attack the smallest number of persons.  If it can, it will feed on any unconscious or prone human, soft tissues first, at the attack site; if this is not possible it will attempt to seize the victim in its jaws and run away, preferably back toward the ruins.  Once it is not pursued it will feed.

It will force its way through any window of the living quarters if it finds no humans out and about; it cannot pass locked doors.  If the windows are barricaded, it will snuffle around for a while, and then attack the air-conditioning machinery until it gains access to the Animal Habitat through the vent.  There, it will devour every lab animal -- approximately one human- weight of flesh, total -- and depart.  When next seen, two days later, it will be at the killer stage, but if it has been harassed it will attack the Al-Fredoun University site instead, where it might not be expected.
 

ENDING THE ADVENTURE

This adventure ends in one of two ways: Either the creature is captured or killed by the player characters, or else it lives to feed on two NPC human beings.  If the players actually capture the beast, regardless of deaths among their number, Renown may be awarded to the survivors.  They do not get Renown for merely killing it.

If the creature feeds twice, it grows no larger, but no one will know this.  Players and NPCs will be evacuated and troops sent in to end the menace.  Referees may choose to prolong the adventure if no Al-Fredoun casualties have accumulated and the players can stand the shame, but once the beast has fed outside the Noukka-Lieb camp the news will be out and evacuation IEX's only next step.

The player characters will not be permitted to stay behind unless, at the referee's option, they know enough of the beast and its habits and habitat to be of some use.  In such a case, no Renown shall be awarded at all even if the original group makes the capture.

- Pete Rogan

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