Gamma World Campaign Journal
Who’s Who
Shelby (Julie)-- PSH Examiner -– A recently-promoted Mechanic of Clan Ford. Carries as a “holy book” a painstakingly hand-copied Chilton’s manual for the Shelby Cobra.
Mallerus the Younger (Jimmy)-- AH Scout -– A native of Jen City in the Barony of Horn. Estranged from his family due to his rejection of the family business in favor of the life of a scout.
Lefty (Mayo)-- AH Enforcer –- A young rogherd of Clan Tiger. Wears a Detroit Tigers ballcap as a Clan totem.
Pre-Game Activity
Mallerus the Younger, a Scout from Jen City in the Barony of Horn, had been sent as part of a delegation to the communities surrounding the Ancient city of Troyt in order to acquire a shipment of Hydrox fuel for the Barony’s vehicles. For the return trip he was accompanied by Shelby, a recently-promoted Mechanic of Clan Ford, and Lefty, a young rogherd from Clan Tiger. A violent storm delayed the crossing of the Great Michigoom, and so when the PCs and their cargo arrived in Port Munster aboard the Faremen vessel Misty Eyes, they were already a day behind schedule.
Adventure 1 -– Port Munster to Jen City
By the time Mallerus, Shelby, and Lefty arrived in Port Munster, it was already after noon and too late to load the wagon and set out for Jen City. They were introduced to Griffin, the wagon driver, and told that they were free to explore the town until sunset, at which point they would need to be back at the warehouse to set watch over the cargo.
That night, there were some tense moments when a fire broke out in a nearby warehouse and threatened to spread to the one in which the Hydrox was stored. However, the fire was contained and soon extinguished, and the PCs were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
The next morning, the wagon set out for Jen City with Shelby riding shotgun (literally) and Mallerus and Lefty escorting it from the backs of war-stagons. This leg of the trip, while only 10 km in length, was expected to take some 6-8 hours due to the slow movement necessitated by the transport of the volatile liquid.
Two hours into the trip, the group came across a tree that had fallen across the road. Mallerus pronounced this to be a prime place for an ambush, but none seemed to be forthcoming (the tree had actually fallen during the storm) and the PCs were able to move the tree out of the way by unhooking the rakoxen and using them to drag the tree to the side of the road.
Three hours later, the caravan was passing through a forested section of the road and encountered a warbot floating in the middle of a clearing. After some discussion, Shelby went forward to attempt to deal with it. Indeed, she appeared to have some initial success, as the warbot followed her instructions to move to one side of the clearing in order to allow the wagon to pass.
As the wagon began moving forward again, however, the PCs heard a low buzzing noise from the south. The warbot vanished like a soap-bubble just as a group of five dabbers mounted on arns flew over the trees and tossed grenades down at the party. Three of the grenades were fragmentation, and caused only minimal damage to the PCs. However, the other two were chemex grenades hurled at the wagon; one missed, but to the PCs horror the other struck close enough to the wagon to set it ablaze.
Mallerus raced for the wagon in an effort to extinguish the flames before they reached the cargo of explosive Hydrox, while Lefty and Shelby returned fire. They managed to shoot down two of the giant dragonflies, killing one of the dabbers and capturing the other before the rest escaped. Mallerus was successful in stopping the fire; the wagon was a little charred, but still serviceable.
Upon questioning, the captured dabber readily confessed to being a member of a squadron of airborne mercenaries hired to attack the wagon and its cargo. He was unable to identify the individual who hired him, and gave his parole for the remainder of the trip to Jen City where he could be ransomed.
Three hours after the attack, the wagon entered a section of forest that appeared to have recently been burned. (It had suffered a small forest fire following a lightning strike during the storm.) Off to one side could be seen a small group of ruins, once completely concealed by the thick undergrowth and now visible at the fringe of the burned area. The PCs made a note of the location in order to return later and explore them.
Before they could continue to Jen City, however, they were attacked by an enraged mutant rhinoceros that charged the wagon and severely damaged it. They were able to kill the creature, but not before it had wounded Lefty and finished the destruction of the wagon. Fortunately, the barrels of Hydrox were undamaged.
Griffin set out on stagon-back to Jen City in order to acquire a replacement wagon while the PCs stood guard over the cargo. Once the barrels had been placed into a more-or-less secure area, the PCs went to check out the ruins. Unfortunately, the area proved to be the lair of an attercop which entangled Lefty in its webs. Lefty was able to Teleport away, and Mallerus and Shelby shot the giant spider to death.
A search of the ruins turned up a number of interesting-looking items (including a couple of small statues claimed by Lefty as holy icons revered by his tribe), but nothing of immediate use. In one corner of the ruin, however, was a deep pit with a metal floor; a hatch could be seen in the center of the floor.
Mallerus and Lefty descended down into the pit (an exposed elevator shaft) and eventually managed to open the hatch through the simple expedient of bashing it repeatedly with heavy rocks. They climbed down into the elevator car and, after experimenting for a moment with the emergency phone, pried open the elevator doors.
They saw a long hallway with several doors…and a floating metallic sphere that shot Mallerus with a laser the moment he stepped out of the elevator. When Mallerus attempted to return fire with his flintlock pistol, only to see the bullet ricochet off the surface of the sphere, he and Lefty wasted no time in scrambling back up out of the elevator and to the surface. The three adventurers decided that further exploration of the ruins could wait until they were better equipped.
Shortly afterwards, Griffin returned with a new wagon and they loaded the drums of Hydrox into it. The remainder of the trip was uneventful, and they stored the cargo in a warehouse at the edge of the town. Griffin did warn them that he would need to replace the wagon, so they would need to guard the Hydrox for an extra day.
In the meantime, the PCs were paid off for this leg of the journey – Shelby got to keep the shotgun, and all three received 1000 shillings. The dabber mercenary was good to his word, and as part of his ransom all three of the PCs were taken to the White Hand monastery in order to heal them completely.
The PCs went shopping, with Shelby purchasing ammunition for her new shotgun and Mallerus buying a revolver and ammunition, as well as a suit of armor complete with shield and helmet. They were on their way back to the warehouse when they were attacked by a pair of tear gas grenades; a press gang was attempting to kidnap Lefty in order to ship him to the frontlines in the war against the Bonapartists of Rock City. The attempt failed, however, and the PCs made it back to the warehouse.