JUNGLE APOCALYPSE
A One-Shot KULT Adventure
For 4 to 6 players
"Man sprang out of the faulty world, Charlie. Therefore, I'm imperfect. Whats
the use? Its a bad design, the human body. Skin's not thick enough, bones
arent strong enough, too little hair, no claws, no fangs. Drop us and we
break!...We should be on all fours, hairier, more resistant to heat and
cold, with tails. What happened to my tail, thats what I'd like to
know...Yes sir, I'm going to live on all fours from now on. And thats what
I'm fit for -- hands and knees!"
-- Paul Theroux, _The Mosquito Coast_
Jungle Apocalypse is a one-night KULT adventure suitable for tournament
play, or as a Dark Secret for a military character to be used in a future
KULT campaign. It was designed out of a belief that KULT needs more
short-short adventures where all the characters can die in awful ways without
bringing a long campaign to a halt. The player characters must be members of
the U.S. army or at least have a military background; however, the players
can make their own characters within these specifics. The adventure is meant
to capture the spirit of Italian jungle cannibal films, Joseph Conrads
_Heart of Darkness_ (and the film adaptation, _Apocalypse Now_), and certain
other books and movies. Survival rate is expected to be close to zero.
THE LIE
The player characters are soldiers in the U.S. army peacekeeping force in
Honduras. They do not have to be literally soldiers; special operatives,
secret agents and even mercenaries are all appropriate for the adventure.
The one requirement is that the characters have a military background which
would permit them being employed by the U.S. Army. Supernatural backgrounds are
discouraged and Children of the Night are definitely unsuitable. The
characters may or may not choose to have linked backgrounds.
Tell the players this and allow them to make characters within this
framework. Either by group decision or GM fiat, appoint one character as the
leader of the group, the Lance Corporal (if they do not specify, the others
are probably Privates or PFCs).
THE TRUTH
For almost a year the U.S. army has occupied Honduras, nominally overseeing
the peace process which has allowed President Marquez to come to power in a
free election for the first time in twelve years. However, although Marquez
has proven to be less moral than was expected, the army has had to keep his
U.S.-friendly government in power and cover up the fact that they have
backed a corrupt loser.
They have done this by killing a number of reporters, priests, and
others whose investigation threatened to reveal Marquezs failures, as well as
members of the Socialist rebels who want to come to power. To keep this
hidden from the world governments, a mass grave was established in the
Olancho Valley, a remote area with only one village, La Croix, nearby. Two
soldiers, John Polski and Erik Maywit, obeyed the orders of high-up military
lictors in escorting these victims over the long track to the Valley and
there executing them. During a six-month period Maywit and Polski killed
over 100 people.
However, the psychic stink from the slaughter began to awaken forces
from Inferno. An Incarnate of Sathariel, the Tar Mother, possessed the bodies
in the mass grave, motivated by their unfulfilled hate. The mass of bodies
itself began to give birth to more agents, the Blood Angels. On the latest
trip, bringing journalist Jorge Diego to be shot, the Incarnate surprised
Polski and Maywit. While they desperately fought it and were consumed, Jorge
Diego escaped into the jungle where he became lost and hides in fear. The
next day the Blood Angels descended upon the only town in the Olancho Valley
and took everyone, man, woman and child, also into the pit.
Unaware of the chemical change that has happened as a result of
their brutality, the U.S. command in Honduras sends the characters to
investigate the fate of Polski and Maywit, and to capture Jorge Diego --
hoping, though they have not ordered it, that they will kill him. Also unaware
of the Incarnate, an anti-American mercenary force, Captain Albert Holt'
s Black Horse Troop, also moves upon the Olancho Valley where all killers will
soon converge.
CHARACTER CREATION
NOTABLE SKILLS
As members of a group, the investigators would be smart to coordinate their
skill selection. Suggested (but not required) skills include:
Unarmed Combat, Martial Arts (Commando Training), Dodge,
Dagger/Knife/Bayonet, Rifle/Crossbow, Handgun, Weapons Maneuvers, Auto
Weapon, Throwing Weapon, Demolitions, Heavy Weapons, Impact Weapons, Swim,
Hide, Climb, Sneak, Track, Radio Communications, Code Systems, Drive
Vehicle, Motor Mechanics, Military Tactics, Scuba Diving, Seamanship, Piloting,
Night Combat, Two-Handed Combat, Survival, Interrogation.
NEW SKILL: Track
The PER-based ability to pursue prey, in a wilderness setting in particular.
If the trail is old, negative modifiers should be applied.
NEW SKILL: Military Tactics
This EGO-based ability covers tactical and strategic intelligence and
quickness to react, as well as some knowledge of military history. It also
includes some knowledge of how to lead and discipline soldiers and improve
morale. In combat, the GM may advise characters with Military Tactics, or
allow them to predict (to some extent) the behavior of opposing forces.
NOTABLE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
GOOD REPUTATION/INFLUENTIAL FRIENDS
If it is appropriate considering their skills and background, consider
making a character with these advantages the leader of the group.
PACIFISM
This Advantage is not allowed.
GIFT FOR LANGUAGES
Languages spoken in Honduras (besides English) include Spanish, Creole, and
Native American languages (Miskito, Paya, Twahka) and tribal languages (such
as Zambu). The black and Native American peoples are sometimes
indistinguishable. In towns, nearly everyone knows a little English, or
likes to believe they do.
CODE OF HONOR/FANATICISM
This Advantage and/or Disadvantage are recommended, the object being of
course to ensure that the characters are loyal soldiers.
BAD REPUTATION/INNOCENTLY BLAMED
Whether in summary or role-play (acting as the characters superiors),
inform the leader of the group that the character with a Bad Reputation has
a
lousy military record and is cowardly, insubordinate, left-leaning, etc. (as
appropriate) Keep an extra close eye for insubordination in this character,
and dont let them handle anything important themselves!
ANIMAL ENMITY
A terrible Disadvantage in this setting. The character is plagued by bugs,
mosquitoes, grubs and vermin. Birds may dive bomb or peck at them. If they
end up wounded or lost in the wilderness, predators will attack them guided
by the smell of blood.
INTOLERANCE
Consider using the native (black or tribal) populations of Honduras as the
target of prejudice.
OATH OF REVENGE/MORTAL ENEMY
It is suggested that Albert Holt be the enemy or the target of the oath
(perhaps the character was one of the soldiers Holt left to die in Panama
when he turned traitor.)
EQUIPMENT
In the course of the adventure the characters are equipped in standard
military fashion, plus some special gear for the situation. Give the
characters weapons and gear based on their skills. If no person in the party
thinks to have radio communications (and you allow this foolishness) give
them no radio. If a character has Demolitions skill, give them some
plastique. As soldiers, the characters will be likely to ask for powerful
weapons; remember that they are on a basically stealthy mission and that
anti-aircraft missiles or land mines are inappropriate.
*** PART ONE: ***
LA CIEBA
The adventure begins with the characters in the port of La Ceiba in
Honduras. Honduras is a Central American country between Nicaragua and
Guatemala, and bordering on El Salvador. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Like
its neighbours, it has a reputation for violence and political upheaval. The
current government, under President Marquez, is U.S.-supported, but rebels,
believed to be supported by the Cubans, have caused trouble with terrorist
attacks of late. The characters are on leave.
La Ceiba is a medium-sized city through which constant boat traffic
brings a stream of refugees, disposable goods, and tourists. Most tourists have
been scared away by the recent, much-publicized terrorism, so the economy is bad.
The beach is a stretch of dirty sand, through which shallow streams, used by
sewers by the poor residents, run to the sea. Rags, plastic can holders, and
coconut shells wash up in waves of garbage under the iron piers. The poor
live in a shantytown of wooden shacks which look like chicken huts. Further
into town, businesses are run for the benefit of French, German and American
traders and travellers, and prostitutes and panhandlers are more vigorous.
Everyone who can afford to carries a gun, even in the good neighborhoods
where French is spoken instead of Creole and fireflies gather under the 19th
century lamps. To the south, west and east of town rises palm trees and the
green pampas which swiftly rises into jungle.
Dogs roam everywhere in La Ceiba, fighting over the meat of dead
horses and cattle. Seagulls and vultures pick over the remains, moving in huge
cawing, shrieking masses and leaving unsanitary clots of feathers.
The characters -- who are probably staying in hotels or boarding
houses of varying levels of quality -- are awakened unexpectedly one gray morning
by a sharp knock on their doors. Standing outside is a young looking man in
military whites. He tells the characters that a car will pick them up
outside their apartment and take them to the U.S. Military Consulate this
afternoon at 4 p.m., and to pack all their things. They are to return to
active duty. If asked why, the man will only shrug. If they show signs of
hesitation or insubordination, however, he will add that they have been
ordered to be present by high-ranking officers, and that their presence is
expected.
The characters have some time to wait for the ride, or they can go to
the Consulate themselves. If the investigators would like to use their time
and Net of Contacts to gather weapons, equipment, or services, allow them to try
but remember they have less than 24 hours.
If an investigator has some sort of Net of Contacts: Military and makes
a roll, they will hear that they may be part of some sort of mission to the
Olancho Valley, a forested area inland.
This part of the adventure can be extended or shortened as desired.
Encounters in La Ceiba
* Going to a bar, whether to drink or to meet a contact, the character meets
a bartender they have seen around before. His name is Gian Martinez, a
quiet, polite man with a strawberry nose who is good at listening to
problems. His bar is a cool, dirty room smelling of rum, with old Socialist
and Communist posters up on the walls, showing sexy freedom fighting women
waving red flags.
If one of the characters has Intuition, however, they briefly get a
bad feeling while talking to Martinez. Martinez is a rebel sympathizer and an
informant for the Black Horse Troop. If the characters speak to him, or are
too loud in his vicinity (Martinez has a PER of 16) he will tell the Troop
whatever they tell him, and Albert Holt will be looking for the characters
in the Olancho Valley. On the other hand, if the characters become
suspicious or violent, Martinez can always call the police.
* Prostitutes walk down the street, with long black hair and black purses.
If a character acts like a proud soldier they will ask him for drugs, making
sexual propositions in return.
* A young boy, 12 at the oldest, tries to pick a characters pocket. Make a
DEX roll for the boy (DEX 10+1d10 (16)) vs. a PER roll for the character. If
the characters effect is greater, they notice the theft in progress. The boy
bites if grabbed.
* A mulatto strongman flexes his muscles for a crowd of tourists and banana
harvesters, cracking eggs delicately between his biceps and finally bending
an iron bar. He solicits for money in a worn-out baseball cap lying on the
sidewalk.
* On a billboard facing a slum with the ground made slick with sewage
runoff, a laborer pastes up a new poster: RE-ELECT PRESIDENT MARQUEZ.
* ENHANCED AWARENESS/SCHIZOPHRENIA ONLY: The character sees a soldier forcing
three men to dig a pit. This is not uncommon, as prisoners are forced to
work in Honduras. However, the soldier seems to be a member of the U.S. army,
which is unusual; he holds a shotgun pointed at the diggers, but seems
distracted. When they are up to their necks in the hole they suddenly begin
spinning around, as if in a blender; and, without making any effort to save
themselves, blood suddenly splashes up from the pit as they sink out of
sight. The soldier drops a few shovelfuls of sand into the pit, but before
the characters can intervene, he leaves and all that remains is a shallow,
empty pit, more like a large pothole. If the investigators dig they will
find several brass stars, as are found on the uniforms of the American military.
The scene requires a Terror Throw for schizophrenics.
THE U.S. MILITARY CONSULATE
At 4 p.m., as promised, a jeep appears with two soldiers (one armed)
to take the characters to their mission. It drives them up to the U.S. Military
Consulate on the opposite side of town, along with their luggage. If the
characters do not have linked backgrounds, this is the first time that they
meet.
An old French building with white pillars, the interior of the
Consulate has already degraded into an institutional building with square corners,
rusty metal furniture and the small of lead-based paint. As soon as the
characters enter, they find themselves criticized if they have loosened in
discipline at all during their time in La Ceiba (entering out of uniform,
unshaven, etc.). The characters are taken to a briefing room in the back
where Commander Beauregard of the Army Special Forces speaks to the leader
of the group, then to all of them together, and then to the leader again to
make sure that everything is clear.
THE MISSION
The characters are taken to a dark room where black and white images are
projected onto a screen, and told the following. Roleplay out the briefing
and emphasize the seriousness of the situation and the characters
responsibility.
"Four days ago, two U.S. soldiers -- John Polski and Erik Maywit --
were lost while escorting a prisoner out of the Olancho Valley, an area deep in
the Honduran jungle. (A map of the Valley is provided). We have lost all
contact with them. They are now AWOL, and believed to be in danger.
(Photographs of Polski and Maywit are provided.)
"The prisoner was Jorge Diego, a journalist suspected of terrorist
activities and believed to be very physically dangerous. Diego was believed
to be implicated in a bombing a week ago at Tegucigalpa airport. (A
photograph of Diego is provided.) The anti-government mercenary group,
Captain Albert Holt's Black Horse Troop, has recently been active in the
area; however, we do not have reports of it being in the Olancho Valley.
"Your mission is to go into the Valley. You are to find Polski and
Maywit and if possible return them safely to civilization. If you encounter Diego,
treat him with extreme caution. Lastly, this mission is top secret. Do not
discuss it with nonmilitary personnel. Do you understand?"
In two hours, the investigators mission will begin. The characters
are told that La Croix, a town in the Olancho Valley, is said to harbor
anti-government elements. However, they can stay there if they feel it is
necessary. They are also told that an abandoned army bunker exists in the
Gowdy Mountain Range in the southwest part of the valley. The group is then
taken to another room and provided with the following equipment:
* one radio kit
* one waterproof map of the Olancho Valley area
* one tent per two characters, with tent stakes, rope etc.
* one portable cooking and water purification kit
* one complete medical kit with painkillers, sedatives and antibiotics
* one handheld distance meter
* two field flashlights (usable as lanterns)
* one pair of handcuffs
* two medical sleds for use transporting bodies or the wounded
In addition, each character receives:
* one pair of light-amplifying binoculars
* one passive camouflage suit (green and olive)
* five days B rations
* one survival kit with knife, bandages, morphine, fishing gear, compass
* one helmet (covers head; 10 points of armor)
* one field walkie-talkie (connecting only to the other characters)
* one M16A1 5.56mm automatic rifle with bayonet
Rifle (scr 1-4, lw 5-9, sw 10-14, fw 15+) Range: 50 m Load: 2
Bayonet (scr 1-8, lw 9-12, sw 13-18, fw 19+)
* one box (20 clips, 8 rounds each) of ammunition
If they request, they may be provided with:
* bulletproof vests (covers chest and abdomen; 8 points of armor)
* handguns, some type of Magnum revolver
Handgun (scr 1-5, lw 6-9, sw 10-14, fw 15+) Range: 25 m Load: 4/2
* grenades, up to 8 each
Shrapnel Grenade (scr 1-3, lw 4-8, sw 9-12, fw 13+)
* cigarettes and alcohol
* IR goggles (see heat sources in complete darkness)
* _one_ tripod-mounted light machine gun
LMG (heavy weapon; ld 1-7, md 8-11, sd 12-18, dd 19+) Range: 100 m
* other reasonable requests (i.e., climbing or swimming equipment)
They will _not_ be provided with:
* Rocket Launchers or anti-vehicular weapons
* Any form of poisons or bacteriological weapons
* Any form of air support
After being equipped for the mission, the characters are hastily, before
they have had all their questions answered or fully know what to expect,
escorted ouf of the Consulate (Good luck! Godspeed!) and to an airfield in
part of La Ceiba. If it has not begun to already, it begins to rain.
*** PART TWO: ***
THE TRIP
The characters are taken into a UH-1 helicopter, which leaves the ramshackle
La Ceiba field and flies to the south. The pilot is silent and chain-smokes
cigarettes. Beneath, under clouds of mist, they see the town give out,
followed by dirt roads through swamps and expanses of seething green. As the
land rises, glistening brown streams, their distance difficult to gauge, cut
through the increasingly large mountains. Investigators with Sixth Sense
probably have a perceptive twinge. The flight takes over two hours.
Gradually, the helicopter settles over an area with a
poorly-maintained road, high in the mountains. By the road, a large area has
been fenced off with ten feet of chain link and barbed wire,
and gravel and pesticides have cleared out a space.
Inside, a few old oil drums sit around, and a U.S. flag
flies next to a tin shack. This is Emergency Airfield 21-B, a mostly-disused
landing point for helicopters in the region. The helicopter touches down and
drops the characters off.
The airfield is deserted. The characters have the key to the gate,
which is padlocked. Some gasoline is not in the drums, but in a pump behind the
tin shack, which is otherwise empty.
HOBSONS CHOICE
Also within the enclosure, relatively well-maintained-looking, are a
jeep and a motorboat, both large enough for the entire party, if not comfortably.
If examined, there is only enough fuel for one of the two. Taking both would
anyway split their fighting force... but which is safer and more stealthy?
The characters must choose whether to enter the jungle by road or by river.
A Drive Vehicle roll is necessary to get the car running, and a Seamanship
roll is necessary to align and start up the boat. The car can be driven
straight out of the enclosure; the boat must be carried 50 feet (three men
can do it) to the river, on the other side of the road.
The north entrance to the Olancho Valley is an hour by jeep, up rough
country roads, and two hours by boat, smoother but slower (it is upstream).
If the characters go by road, they head on muddy, hard-to-navigate roads
which roughly follow the rivers course. If they go by boat, they have a
calmer time.
If the characters are tempted to stay at the airfield overnight,
they will hear metallic grinding sounds and tones from its dark corners, and will
hopefully be frightened into leaving. No further help is forthcoming from
the U.S. Army.
If the characters radio to the Army frequently, the GM must create a
personality for the Army radio operators, but they are businesslike, even
cold people.
THE ENVIRONMENT
The nearby jungle is a thick, green rain forest. Ferns, mosses and all
variety of plantlife grow at the root bases of black trees, who support
entire different ecosystems at the level of their branches. The trees are
not as tall as in large jungles, few higher than 20 or 30 feet. The
characters may still have to hack through some areas with machetes or the
like (bayonets are awful for this work).
Peccaries, panthers and other animals live in the Olancho Valley.
Their behavior has been altered by the horror and is erratic. A character making
an appropriate Academic Skill roll (Zoology or Natural Science), or a
Survival roll with 10+ effect, notices the strange behavior; unusually
placed spoor, half-mutilated but uneaten bodies of prey, animals wandering
seemingly aimlessly. Bats are also present, flapping their shrieking way
between the trees after dark and lapping blood from sleeping humans. The
people in civilized parts of Honduras spread tall tales that the tribes
in these areas have tails.
All Endurance costs and losses (except from wounds) are doubled
during the day because of the heat, unless a character has the Endure Heat/Cold
Advantage. +3 is added to the die roll for all Infections (cumulative with
other modifiers).
THE WAY TO OLANCHO
The following is an optional encounter. This part of the adventure
can be eliminated if desired.
As the characters approach the Olancho Valley, a PER roll with good
effect spots human figures watching from the forest. The native Zambu tribes
who have lived there sense the characters. Having fled the Valley themselves,
they now try to protect other people from exposing themselves to the danger.
However, fear has not increased their communication ability, and they
believe the best way to keep the characters away is to frighten them.
* If the characters are in the jeep, a crowd of 2d10 Zambu tribesmen
and women appears from the forest, blocking the road. One word in English is
repeated: Go. The tribespeople bear spears and bows, and threaten the car
with them. If the characters do not want to confront the tribespeople, they
will have to turn around and come back later (this is the easiest method;
the faster the characters drive, the less chance there is that the Zambu
will have time to organize a resistance. If they are literally speeding
along (fast enough as to have to make a Drive Vehicle roll or roll on the
vehicle damage table for a mild crash), the Zambu will move aside for the
characters rather than being run over.
* If the characters are in the boat, the Zambus method is more
aggressive; 2d10 of them begin shooting arrows from along the bank into the
boat, intentionally missing the characters but causing collateral damage.
The surprise of suddenly being attacked by arrows may cause characters to
overreact, if not to instantly fire back. Each round a PER roll with an
effect of 10+ may be attempted; a success indicates to the character that
the Zambus are not aiming to hit. Intuition also reads no dangerous
intentions from the Zambu. After several minutes, if arrow showers do not
get a reaction from the characters, they too shout Go! Go! from the woods.
The Zambu cannot stop the characters from advancing up the river,
but they _can_ physically block the road. Sign language may be able to tell some
of the story, or one of the characters may speak Zambu. The Zambu know that the
people in La Croix have not left the village for days. They know that the
animals are going mad and something is spreading evil. They just want to
protect the characters, but the last U.S. soldiers to come here (Maywit and
Polski, as is confirmed if the characters show them pictures) were rude to
them and if it becomes too much trouble the Zambu will leave into the jungle
and hide, abandoning the characters to their fate. The Zambu are not very
specific about the dangers but they do tell the characters to beware the
black men who are roaming the woods.
If, conversely, the characters attack the Zambu, the encounter could
become a bloodbath. The first round that the characters attack will probably
kill many Zambu, but the survivors will fight back for at least one or two
rounds, shooting arrows and throwing spears from cover. The characters best
hope is to lie low until their superior transportation takes them out of
range; the Zambu will not follow them deeper into Olancho Valley. If the
characters face the Zambu on the road, pointing guns at them will also
cause them to flee into the forest.
If a fight takes place on the river the characters may be knocked
into the water, in which case the blood will attract bull sharks (described
later).
If the GM intends the characters from this adventure to possibly be
used again, the tribesmen could reappear later as allies to rescue a character
from the jungle. The darker (and preferred) outcome is a slaughter of the
natives.
OLANCHO VALLEY
Whether by river or road, soon the characters enter the Olancho Valley area.
If they are heading upriver, their first sign of a change is the bridge.
100 km from the nearest town besides La Croix, Olancho Valley is a
remote spot created by the intersection of the Gowdy and Lastima mountains. In
the 1960s a shelter was built there by the American military in the case of an
attack by Cuban Communists. It has never been used. La Croix (population
300)s primary industry is fruit growing.
THE MAP
(One disadvantage of Text files is that its impossible to create a map.
However, this lists the landscapes dominant features:)
(1) The Gowdy Range, the northwest/west/southwest border of the
valley
(2) The Lastima Range, the southeast/east border of the valley
(3) The Airfield, in the north entrance to the valley
(4) The river, which flows from the meeting point of the Gowdy and
Lastima ranges (south edge of the map) through the north entrance to the
valley and away
(5) La Croix, a small town, on the west side of the river near a
bridge
(6) The abandoned bunker, in the Gowdy range to the far west.
(7) The road, which goes directly from La Croix, over the bridge,
and out the north end of the valley to the airfield.
(8) The concealed road, which goes from the source of the river to
the road just before La Croix.
It is an extra half-days walk to go directly through the mountains
on any side of Olancho Valley. Clouds often hang over the mountain edges,
causing rain and poor visibility within the green jungle already full of musty,
rotten scents and the shrieks of animals and bats. In glens which would
otherwise be peaceful, flies and mosquitoes buzz over sticky fruit and
decaying meat.
Time becomes important at this part of the adventure. The characters
may rush through everything in one day and night. Or they may hole up for
several days in the wilderness, limited only by their food supplies. As time
goes on, however, the attacks of the Blood Angels (q.v.) and the Black Horse
Troop (q.v.) become more dangerous and insistent. Make sure that the
characters do not encounter too much too fast; save the truly horrible
events until it is too late for them to turn back.
THE BRIDGE
A wooden bridge, its paint curling and peeling, ten feet wide. It crosses 15
feet above the somewhat turbulent brown river. From the bridge it is less
than 10 km to La Croix. If the bridge is destroyed, it does not sink
entirely in the water and blocks both the road and the river.
An investigator with Enhanced Awareness or Schizophrenia may see the
muddy color of the river water turn to blood. Its source is high up in the
mountains, in an area unmarked on the map.
Bear in mind that the river water contains bull sharks (see
description) in its lowland areas. As the landscape rises the water is too
rapid for the hungry, concealed predators.
LA CROIX
The road ends in a large clearing of dirt and wood chips, which is La Croix.
The buildings range from European-style structures made of wood and white
paint to low, dark huts made from spare timber and corrugated tin. Chicken
droppings and manure are smeared at the edge of the houses. The characters
may expect to find either allies or enemies here. However, the first thing
that they will notice is that all is quiet.
The town is deserted. The electricity (which runs from a generator
behind the church) has been allowed to run out. In the mayors house a radio
kit sits unused. From all signs, it was inhabited as recently as a week ago.
There are some signs of struggle or violence, but not nearly enough to
account for everyone; one of the few cars has crashed into a wall, a doors
lock is broken, there are shell casings from a .45 automatic in the street.
However, a disturbing quiet still hangs over the entire area. Most of the
evidence seems to indicate that everyone simply got up one morning and left.
There is one unusual mark: on the white wall of the church a black
handprint is smeared. The black substance resembles tar, but smells like
rotting meat. Some sort of Chemistry roll indicates that it there is some
human flesh in the stuff, but it has undergone an unclassifiable,
decomposition-like change.
If the characters want to do some looting, they can pick up gamy
food and drink, and some personal goods, although these are poor people. A
Search roll with 5+ effect discovers inside one house a black armband --
symbol of the Black Horse Troop -- and some revolutionary literature and
bomb-making equipment.
While the characters are in town, they may have a gradual, creeping
feeling that they are being watched.
THE BUNKER
In the west edge of the Gowdy Mountains, the black entrance to the old
army bunker lies half-concealed, buried in plant growth. The bases gray,
chipped concrete entrance is now closed off with steel bars and a padlock
reading PROPERTY OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. However, the bars are weak enough
to bend (STR 11, resisted effect rolls) and wide enough to squeeze through
(AGL roll, normal effect). A strong enough blow could also knock them out
of their moorings forever.
The old bunker is two levels deep, with an upper story and a
staircase leading down to a second level.
Both levels contain broken rock, spiderwebs,
dust and little else. It would be a good place to defend or hole up for the
night.
However, Jorge Diego is also hiding here. If the characters search
the bunker and make a higher effect with their PER/Search rolls than Diego does
with his Hide roll, Diego is spotted. He is a disshevelled, unshaven figure
and the characters may be prone to shoot first and ask questions later.
However, if allowed, Diego will tell the truth as he knows it.
DIEGOS STORY
Diego was a left-wing reporter who had uncovered many stories,
including a scandal in President Marquez handling of the Honduran Constitution. Not
long after the story, one day in Tegucigalpa, about a week ago, two army
men took him away at gunpoint. (Diego identifies them as Polski and
Maywit.) They were very quiet (and forceful), but said something to the
effect that they were taking him to a special place where he would meet
important people. He was chained between the two of them, too afraid and
confused to say anything to cops or other people.
They drove him up into the mountains and into the Olancho Valley.
They took a side road and were climbing even higher up into the mountains when
suddenly something got in the road (or something) and Polski and Maywit
flipped the car. By this time Diego was very scared so when he found his
bonds had been severed he just ran. Behind him he heard gunshots. However,
he did not stop running until he came to the bunker. Since then, he has
been hiding.
Diego could become either an ally or a victim of the characters,
depending on how they handle him.
THE CONCEALED ROAD
This side road is almost invisible when coming into La Croix; it is nothing
more than a track matted down by repeated jeep rides. A PER roll with 10+
effect is needed to notice it, and a Track roll is required to follow the
road for any distance.
The road does not parallel the river, but it gradually leads up to
the conjunction of the Gowdy and Lostima ranges, and the river's source. To
drive along this road the characters must make Drive Vehicle rolls for every
10 km or the car bogs down or blows a tire.
THE OVERTURNED JEEP
Along the almost invisible side road, half-buried in the tall grass, glints
the bluish gunmetal color of a jeep of the same sort the characters might be
driving. It was the jeep Polski, Maywit and Diego were in. It has rolled
over on its right side, leaving heavy tracks in the mud.
The key still in the jeep ignition shows it was requisitioned from
the U.S. Army base at Tegucigalpa. Some beer cans lie in the floor of the car. A
Search roll with 10+ effect notices spent shell casings in the grass around
the jeep; someone fired at least a full clip of an automatic weapon.
However, there is no blood anywhere.
No trackable footprints lead off anywhere, though army-regulation
boots -two pairs- are imprinted in the same mud the jeep slipped in. The only
unusual thing otherwise is a flattened area in the direction the jeep was
going, as if a very heavy weight was pressed on the ground. This requires a
Search roll with 5+ effect to notice.
SIGNS OF TERROR
As the characters explore further, they will come upon signs of Sathariels
presence and the human reaction to it.
More traces of the black substance are smeared in various areas
throughout the woods, on plants and the sides of trees. In spots the characters may
also find bloody bits of meat strung between the trees, swarmed over by
flies and insects. This is human flesh, as anyone with Forensics or Medical
academic skills can identify.
Some of the flies in the valley seem unkillable; they immediately
try to gather on the characters eyelids and, even if swatted and crushed, the
smashed pieces continue to squirm. Of course, with insects such things can
almost be rationalized away.
The characters may spot animals running towards them, only to
continue running past them, as if in fear of something else.
EVENT: THE WATCHERS IN THE WOODS
The only things that now walk the Olancho Valley at night are the Blood
Angels, children of Sathariel.
The Blood Angels watch the characters from the moment they enter the
valley. At first only small groups of one or two will be present, but
gradually, more and more will join to go on the hunt. Moving on all fours,
climbing the trees and keeping _very_ quiet -- except sometimes for a
telltale dripping -- the Blood Angels wait for the moment to attack. The
Blood Angels will kill the Black Horse Troop and Jorge Diego with equal
eagerness.
Build up the frequency of encounters gradually. When the characters
finally actually see the Angels, make it a shocking event. Do not make
the adventure a routine series of attacks. The Angels are tactically
intelligent. They will try to attack when the characters are already
fighting or are distracted; at night, when they can see and the
characters cannot; or when the characters weapons are not out. Once in
combat, though, they keep coming suicidally. When the Angels kill a human
they crouch around like dogs and divide up the meat.
When they are alone in the valley, the characters are faced by Blood
Angels only in the 1d5 number range. When the Black Horse Troop arrives,
the Angels numbers rise dramatically, so that hordes of 10+1d10 Angels
sweep through the valley, ambushing and killing.
EVENT: THE BLACK HORSE TROOP ARRIVES
When the characters have been in the valley for a short time, and are
just beginning to feel that something is wrong, spring this second major
catastrophe on them. Up from the road past the airbase, and straight into
La Croix if not stopped, rolls a convoy of 3 jeeps, 2 armored personnel
carriers, and an old requisitioned bus; Captain Albert Holts infamous
mercenary army, the merciless Black Horse Troop.
If the characters are on or near the road, they may hear the Troop;
if they are watching the road, they may see them;
otherwise, their first sign of the Troop's
presence may be smoke coming from the town of La Croix when the Troop sets
up its camp. (The characters may take this smoke for any number of things,
of course.) If the characters are parked or encamped asleep near the road
they may have very little time indeed to escape before the Troop pulls in.
Murderers, ransackers, possible old foes of the characters -- why is
the Troop here? If the characters revealed their plans to Gian Martinez at La
Ceiba, or if one is Captain Holts Mortal Enemy, they are here looking for
the characters. If not, they are here to check up on their allies and
informants in the town of La Croix (the bomb-making equipment the characters
may have found). In either case, their presence cuts the characters off from
the one road out of the valley, if they came by jeep.
The characters may go face-to-face with the 60-member Troop. Captain
Albert Holt, however, stays out of danger with PER 20 and Sixth Sense. If
the characters snipe at them or otherwise engage them in terrorist attacks,
the Troop takes a defensive position and sends guerilla-like units of 5-10
men each out into the jungle to look for the characters. They can also
bring Gatling guns and grenade launchers to bear against the characters,
once they have an idea of their location. (Remember that, even if the
characters are only one hidden sniper, there may be ten soldiers with
binoculars scanning for them at a given time.) In an emergency, the Troop
may always simply fire off smoke grenades, obscuring whole kilometers of
ground. The one thing the Troop will not do is retreat or leave the Valley;
Captain Holt would never admit defeat.
If unobstructed, the Troop arrives in La Croix. Immediately they too
realize that something has gone wrong. However, they camp in the town, using
the abandoned houses near the center of town for cover, and guarding their
vehicles and weapons. The unexpected, absolute silence makes the soldiers
wary; they build a bonfire and burn some of the shacks. If they find traces
that the characters have been there (such as their jeep) Captain Holt will
spare no effort to find the characters. He believes that the village was
massacred by the U.S. Army for harboring allies of the Troop.
Several soldiers are always on watch outside the camp. Squads of the
Troop, trained in guerilla warfare and completely trigger-happy, are sent
into the jungle looking for the characters. If they engage in combat, one
fires a flare into the air to alert the other teams of their position.
IF CAPTAIN HOLT IS KILLED:
The characters may try to defeat Captain Holt, which should not be
easy. Being paranoid, he has tripwires in the entrance to his tent, and always
sleeps on the floor with a roughly-human-looking pile of blankets in his
hammock instead. He is also guarded by at least two men at all times.
If Holt, however, is killed, the Troop becomes merely a leaderless
mass of men with guns. The dissent and rivalry leads into firefights which spill
throughout the Valley. Or perhaps in the confusion the Blood Angels (q.v.)
strike and wounded men run screaming with their rifles while black shapes
squat over the bodies of their former comrades tearing them apart with
their tar-caked teeth.
IF THE BLACK HORSE TROOP IS DEFEATED:
If the characters kill or seriously demoralize the 60-man Troop,
possibly by exploding their vehicles, setting their camp on fire, etc...
well, the GM has probably been too light on them. However, a tournament
adventure must accept all possibilities. With the majority of his men dead,
several others defect, leaving only Captain Holt (who survives all random
dangers) and a few loyalists. However, this small, select group is now
capable of moving as stealthily as the characters. Seeking revenge on the
ones responsible, Holt sets out to find the characters. They are certain to
run into one another somewhere in the vines and ferns of the jungle.
IF THE CHARACTERS ARE CAPTURED:
Captain Albert Holt will make some slight effort to keep the
characters alive -- one of them. In combat engagements his men have absolutely
no mercy, but will capture a character alive if
possible. They are mocked and kicked
around for their U.S. Army insignia; surviving characters find themselves
disarmed and shoved past a stinking, sweating gauntlet of army personnel,
past battered helmets, fingers caked with gun grease, and gas masks with
Twahka fertility symbols painted in black-market makeup on the rubber.
In the center of the Troop sits Albert Holt, sleeves rolled up, his
Desert Eagle in one hand. Holt eyes the characters emotionlessly while
the soldiers continue to abuse them. Then he cuts them short.
"What does the U.S. army want in Olancho Valley?" he asks.
The characters could tell him is the truth as they know it. However,
Holt still does not know enough. Where was this political prisoner, Jorge
Diego, being taken? What happened to Polski and Maywit? And why is everyone
in the Valley gone?
Holts theory is that the U.S. army has a secret base somewhere
nearby where they are testing biological weapons. Diego knew too much, so he was
being taken there -- probably taken to be executed. As this rumor spreads
through the Black Horse Troop, they become afraid of disease, and burn all
the corpses from the recent battles, throwing them onto the bonfire. The
sound of crackling fat continues throughout the conversation.
Albert Holt hates the characters, and now he has them in his power.
He wants to know why everyone in Olancho is gone. The best thing they could do
is to imply that they can show Holt more, or lead Holt to the answer. If
they take him to other places they have seen in the Valley, he will be
temporarily satisfied, but will soon lose patience. If the characters have
not thought of it already, Holt discerns that the obvious path of Polski
and Maywit -- the obvious place to go -- is to the source of the river.
Clearly that is the location of the secret U.S. base. He, the characters,
and the Black Horse Troop begin marching in that direction.
The worse thing the characters could do is to imply that they know
more, but they arent telling. If the characters are at all disrespectful of Holt,
or are his Mortal Enemy, he will go expressionless, mutter something, and
leave. A PER roll notices him make a gesture to one of the nearby soldiers.
Almost immediately after Holt is out of sight the other soldiers begin to
torture the characters. Restraining the others, they take the one who Holt
was talking to and hold them down while they sharpen a bamboo stake and burn
it in the fire. Seeming to become possessed by a group madness, they then
return and impale the character, who dies painfully, incidentally suffering
a +10 Terror Throw first. The other characters must make a Terror Throw to
witness the scene. At this point the soldiers expect the characters to
scream for mercy and for Holt to come back. If the GM wishes, this part can
be dragged out, but it is suggested that no more than one or two characters
die from impalement, castration, or being burned at the stake. After a few
minutes of this, Holt returns. He looks dispassionately at the body of the
dead character. Those making a PER roll notice his bone-white face lengthen
almost imperceptibly for a second.
"Nicaragua," he said. "They learned it from guerrillas in Nicaragua.
I try to stop them, but they..."
He shakes his head and the Black Horse Troop laughs as Holt points
his Desert Eagle at the surviving characters and tells them to lead the way
upriver.
*** PART THREE: ***
UP THE RIVER
At some point, the characters will realize that the source of the river is
important; whether from seeing the river turn to blood, from Jorge Diegos
testimony, from following the concealed road, or simply from noting the lack
of features there on the map. The climax of the adventure assumes that the
characters head in that direction.
If the characters radio to HQ for instructions, their commanding
officers will tell them under no circumstances to go to the source of the river,
leaving no explanation. However, assuming that an investigator with Radio
Communications skill is still alive, remember the radios are still fragile
and prone to damage from falling into rivers, being accidentally shot or
caught in the blast area of grenades, or being confiscated and ripped apart
by Black Horse Troop members.
Note that the nearest U.S. helicopter base is an hour and thirty
minutes flying time from the Olancho Valley. The Black Horse Troop is prone
to fire Gatling guns at U.S. copters in these circumstances, blowing them up.
If the characters go upriver with the Black Horse Troop, they will
be forced to walk like slaves, tied to one another and watched by men with
rifles. The Troop is unwieldy for such long hikes in the wilderness, but
Holt leads them inexorably on. If the GM desires, the Blood Angels may
attack the Black Horse Troop, possibly allowing the characters an opporunity
to escape.
If the characters have been captured by a smaller force or possibly
ambushed by Albert Holt himself, he will lead them with his Desert Eagle
handgun up the river, shooting at the first sign of misbehavior. His voice
becomes more cracked and hoarse as he accuses the U.S. army of all sorts of
crimes; of prejudice, of miscegenation, of imperialism, of killing thousands
of innocent people, of letting thousands more stay alive. Holts value system
is completely insane at this point. Anyone who tries to turn back is shot.
If the characters go upstream alone, or with Jorge Diego, they will
have to stop using the boat and walk 2/3 of the way up the mountain. As they
climb, the sounds of wildlife stops completely, and a gray, dark mist clings
like dew around the plants of the rain forest. The river becomes a stream
which cascades over rocks.
ALBERT HOLT'S TRANSFORMATION
At some point, whenever the GM finds it appropriate, Albert Holts low
Mental Balance causes him to undergo physical changes. This may be after
a particular traumatic experience or simply gradually, as his maniacal ego
goes wild.
Holts face suddenly goes white, as the bones push their way to the
top of his skin. His cheeks lengthen and his chin climbs forward, elongating.
His hair recedes and his eyes sink back until only dark eyesockets are
visible, but still he is somehow able to see. Then his skin recedes
completely and in place of Albert Holts head, still in his U.S.
military uniform, is a horses skull, frozen in an eyeless, perpetual grin.
(If the GM has a horse skull or a picture of one present, it would
make an excellent prop.) The change causes a +5 Terror Throw to watch. Most
horribly, Holt does not notice anything. His Mental Constrictions refuse
to let him acknowledge that anything is happening. If a few of Holts men
are alive, some may rebel or go mad. Holt shoots them. His dry, foot-long
jaw clacking hollowly, he announces that any more traitors can go back to
civilization if they want and wait for the atomic bombs. He starts to say
that he has heard secret army dispatches and the world outside is about
to be destroyed by a nuclear war.
"You want to go back?" he says. "Places like this are all that
wil survive! Its death down there! Death! Death!"
THE SOURCE OF THE RIVER
One way or another, the characters climb over a final series of steppes
just before the flat plateau between the mountains. Those making a PER
roll notice a rank, dead smell.
When they climb over the last ridge, they see a 100 diameter muddy
swamp, sometimes a lake, where the river originates. This however is not
the souce of the smell. Nearby, behind a low hillock, is an area where the
ground is scraped up with jeep tracks. Looking over the hill, the characters
see a long, deep trench, over which flies are buzzing.
In the trench are half-buried over a hundred bodies, some male, some
female. None of them are armed. All of them have been killed
execution-style with M16A1 ammo, the same kind used by U.S. soldiers.
Spent casings litter the ground. The bodies seem almost to have melted
together in their decay, with folds of gray, greasy skin already being
spotted with dark livery patches. If the characters search, they will find
some identification cards, and remember (with an EGO roll) the names of
several antigovernment activists and journalists from Honduras, who
vanished between weeks and months ago.
If the Black Horse Troop or Albert Holt are present, they recognize
the villagers from La Croix, also in the morass of corpses. Holts
voice trembles with hate and stupefaction as he accuses the characters
of murder, if they have not voiced such sentiments already.
Call for a Terror Throw for characters who seem to understand. Then
call for a PER throw. With a successful roll the characters recognize Polski
and Maywit, also half-buried in the rotting pile, mouthes agape. They may
also notice a black substance on the mouthes of some of the corpses, and
that Polski, Maywit and the villagers did not appear to have been killed
by guns.
While they are considering what this means, or when it seems
appropriate to the GM, the entire pile of corpses moves. A tremble passes
through it. Then the sticky black mass, like tar, which dwells underneath
and inside them rises to the top and begins
to beat the entire mass of rotting meat
into a froth. With a long, wet motion the grave oozes out of the trench and
dead arms begin to reach for the characters, the Black Horse Troop,
anything nearby -- and Polski's eyes flicker open, he opens his mouth as
if to speak, but a long spout of tar splashes out instead and onto a
characters face.
THE OUTCOME
Everyone takes a +10 Terror Throw as the Incarnate of Sathariel comes
alive, attacking the nearest living things. Unless the characters have
fared well against them and killed many, the Blood Angels also now rush out
of the jungle and attack.
Sathariel cannot be destroyed, and the characters are guilty,
guilty; if they suffer from disadvantages such as a Death Wish or Depression,
they must make EGO rolls or commit suicide or throw themselves into the mass.
The Blood Angels can at least be fought, and Albert Holt and the Troop
degenerate into a mass of madmen, half shooting their attackers, half
killing themselves rather than face them. Terrorized, Albert Holts mental
guard begins to break down, and his hands clutch madly over his inhuman
face, crying in a child's voice for his brother.
The moving mass grave will follow anyone who survives the initial
assault. Moving at 30 m/round, it is impossible to outrun except in a
motor vehicle or boat. To make it back to La Croix (the nearest arbitrary
place where they are likely to find either, adjust values otherwise) the
characters must make 5 CON rolls, losing 10 Endurance for each roll they
make and 20 Endurance for each roll they fail. Soon they will hear the
black mass crashing through the woods after them. Their only hope is to
split up, after which the slowest character will then be devoured. If
they remain together, they will all die. Heavy explosives can stun the
thing long enough for them to make it to a vehicle, if they know where one
is.
If they cannot drive out -- perhaps the bridge has been blown out,
perhaps the vehicles have all been destroyed in collateral damage during
fights -- the river provides one alternative, but Blood Angels will still
throw themselves from the branches above, attacking them mercilessly. The
nearest village is 2 days downstream. If the characters instead end up in
the jungle, civilization is at least 4 days away by foot, and they may
always end up in the endless greenery of Gaia instead. Memories of the
battles may reappear as Manifestations, and new disadvantages dog them,
causing them to wake in their sleep, dreaming of combat.
Finally, returning to the U.S. army, they are locked in a small room
in the bottom of an outpost in La Ceiba or Tegucigalpa, where
expressionless army Inquisitors find out what happened to them. While
their supernatural encounters are not acknowledged, only characters who
seem to show the most total callousness or forgetfulness towards the mass
grave are allowed to return to anything like a semblance of normal army
service. They are told never to speak of their experience. If they register
outrage, sadness, or betrayal, the characters remain locked in their
steel-walled rooms until either incarcerated in an asylum or taken out
unexpectedly one night by two armed men in U.S. Army uniforms for a ride
into the middle of nowhere.
POINTS IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Some people (such as Convention organizers) seem to like deciding on
a winner in tournament-style games, so here is a way to calculate team and
personal score for the party.
TEAM SCORE
+10 Did not attack the natives going upriver
+5 Did not kill Jorge Diego
+5 Made it to the source of the river and encountered the Tar Mother
+15 Defeated or avoided combat with Black Horse Troop
PERSONAL SCORE
+5 Good Roleplaying (Advantages & Disadvantages)
-5 Personally killed Jorge Diego, i.e. took a gun and shot him
+5 Personally killed Albert Holt (unless inappropriate to character)
+10 Made it to the source of the river and encountered the Tar Mother
+15 Survived entire adventure
+5 Died in any other way than through the Tar Mother
+5 Realizes the significance of the mass grave and the plot (as such) of
the adventure (and vocalizes this in or out of character)
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
JORGE DIEGO
A reporter from northern Mexico who went to college in Arizona, Jorge Diego
has spent the last two years in Honduras studying the civil unrest. He
believes in the power of the press to expose government injustices, and was
shocked when two U.S. soldiers intercepted him at the airport in Tegucigalpa
and drove him into the jungle, telling him to stay quiet if he wanted to
stay alive. Since his escape he has remained hidden, absolutely afraid and
uncertain of how to return to civilization. By now his fear of more abusive
soldiers only barely outweighs his fear of his current situation.
PERSONALITY: Originally idealistic if somewhat patronizing, Diego has been
battered by his experiences in Honduras. However, he has not allowed himself
to believe that the U.S. government would kill him. If overtaken by fear, he
will flee at the first opportunity.
GAMEMASTERING HINTS: Do as you are told once found, but keep looking
nervously behind your back. Talk rapidly, switching between different
languages; try to be friendly, say anything to stay alive.
AGL 14
STR 11
CON 12 (currently 7)
COM 13
EGO 13 (10)
CHA 14
PER 12
EDU 16
Mental Balance: -15
Advantages: Gift for Languages (+10)
Disadvantages: Wanted (by U.S. army, -10), Innocently Blamed (-15)
Skills: Written Report 13, Photography 13, Drive Vehicle 13, Rhetoric 13,
Diplomacy 13, Acting 13, Unarmed Combat 6, Man of the World 10, Computers
12, Hide 6, Sneak 6, Creole 13, Spanish 13, Zambu 7
ATTACK MODES: By weapon; Diego is initially unarmed.
CAPTAIN ALBERT HOLT
Born in 1949 in Maryland, Holts Mental Balance first fell below zero in
1959 when he saw his older brother trampled to death by one of the familys
four prized horses. The following day, Holt took the familys Civil War
revolver and executed all the horses at close range, becoming sprayed in
the process with brains and blood.
His first military experience was Vietnam. An efficient, callous
soldier with a supernatural ability to predict and avoid danger, he was
quickly promoted. However, there was an unspoken prejudice against his
progression too high on the chain of command, actually the work of military
lictors against a human officer. During the ousting of Noriega from Panama,
Holt defected, betraying most of his official soldiers to the Panaman army
and buying leadership of a 20-man mercenary outfit with guns and drug
secrets. In the next five years Holts Black Horse Troop, as it was
called, expanded to over 50 members. Selling to the highest bidder
(although always opposing U.S. policy) and encouraging Central Americas
wars, the Troop has always slipped out of the traps laid by other military
units.
Holt is currently in league with rebels against the U.S.-backed
Honduran government. He is in the valley either to meet with informants
in La Croix, or to capture the party in the isolated valley and torture
them to reveal the armys plans.
Holt is a tall, bony, clean-shaven Caucasian man with brushed-back
black hair which is graying at the temples. He usually wears a battered
green cap with earflaps which partially hide his face. When shocked at
his current Mental Balance and in this environment, he undergoes physical
changes for the first time, his eyes receding into his head and his face
elongating into a fleshless horses skull, locked in a dead, impossible
leer.
PERSONALITY: Holt is a megalomaniac who will not acknowledge his own
failures or give up on a goal once he begins. He hates the U.S.
government, abhors weakness, and always has a scapegoat. Deep down he is
still scarred from his childhood. For all this he is very intelligent
and competent.
GAMEMASTERING HINTS: Allow little expression in your face, but let your
voice register anticipation, malice, and repressed doubt. Talk endlessly
about political goals, your army days or revenge, but let it become obvious
you only like the sound of your own voice. When you develop physical
changes, try to change your voice and hide your face from the characters.
AGL 17
STR 11
CON 16
COM 9
EGO 18 (8)
CHA 15
PER 20
EDU 15
Actions: 3
Initiative Bonus: +5
Damage Bonus: +2
Mental Balance: -70
Dark Secrets: Insanity, Guilty of Crime
Advantages: Sixth Sense (+15)
Disadvantages: Megalomania (-10), Mental Constrictions (physical changes
and his own errors, -10), Bad Reputation (-10), Wanted (by various
governments, -5), Paranoia (-15), Rationalist (-15), Oath of Revenge
(U.S. army, -5), Habitual Liar (-5), Intolerance (civilians, -10)
Skills: Auto Weapon 12, Handgun 17, Unarmed Combat 10, Rifle/Crossbow 12,
Sneak 17, Search 17, Info Retrieval 6, Code Systems 6, Radio Communications
10, Written Report 15, Man of the World 15, Interrogation 15, Net of
Contacts 15 (paramilitary units), Diplomacy 10, Military Tactics 18, Drive
Vehicle 12, Dodge 17, Hide 11, Track 11, Shadows 11, Change Targets 17,
Quick Draw 17
Attack Modes: Desert Eagle handgun 17 (scr 1-5, lw 6-9, sw 10-14, fw 15+)
BLACK HORSE TROOP
(Average Member)
Physically powerful men between 18 and 45, wearing stolen military uniforms
(usually green or camouflage) and black armbands to indicate their
allegiance. Some wear gas masks, respirators or spiked, feathered and
bone-ornamented clothes inspired by the native tribes; others maintain
the appearance of normalcy. Many have military- or equstrian-style tattoos
some of which stink and itch in the heat, attracting lice and flies as the
ink runs perverting the original design still further. Alternately, they
are warped alter egos of the player characters.
If the GM wants to toughen the Black Horse Troop, give some of the
soldiers Martial Arts ability.
PERSONALITY: The Troops are a polyglot of American, Spanish, Native
American and black Honduran soldiers, most disbanded from various armies
in disgrace or opportunism. Some have withdrawn to nurse private grudges
and goals, but many others seek only to drink, loot the countryside and
rape its natives after killing resistance. All, however, obey Albert Holt
totally.
GAMEMASTERING HINTS: Swing between behaving with tense, military seriousness
and casual, personal cruelty. Leer, laugh, snarl, be raucous. Be at your
best behavior when addressed by Albert Holt, but also show your fear of him.
Wipe sweat off yourself.
AGL (14-16)
STR 16
CON 11
COM (6-11)
EGO (6-11)
CHA 6
PER (11-15)
EDU (6-11)
Actions: (2-3)
Initiative Bonus: (+2-4)
Damage Bonus: +3
Mental Balance: -20 -2d20 (-42)
Dark Secrets: Guilty of Crime
Advantages: (suggested) Endure Pain, Endure Cold/Heat, Resistance to
Illness
Disadvantages: (suggested) Bad Reputation, Death Wish, Fanaticism,
Forgotten, Touchy, Wanted (by U.S. army or for crimes), Egotist, Greed
Skills: Climb 10, Swim 10, Sneak 12, Dodge 14, Unarmed Combat 16, Auto
Weapon 11, Handgun 11, Rifle/Crossbow 16, Dagger/Knife 11, Survival 11,
Throwing Weapons 11, Interrogation 6, Burglary 11, Drive Vehicle 10,
Night Combat 6, Heavy Weapons 10
Individual soldiers may have other or higher skills (such as Motor
Mechanics) as necessary.
Attack Modes: Ingram Mac-10 submachine gun 11 (scr 1-4, lw 5-9, sw 10-14,
fw 15+) (single, burst, auto)
Glock m17 handgun 11 (scr 1-5, lw 6-9, sw 10-15, fw 16+)
CAR 15 machine gun 11/rifle 16 (scr 1-4, lw 5-9, sw 10-14,
fw 15+) (single, burst, auto)
Hunting Rifle 16 (scr 1-5, lw 6-9, sw 10-13, fw 14+)
Sniper Rifle 16 (scr 1-3, lw 4-8, sw 9-13, fw 14+)
Survival Knife 11 (scr 1-9, lw 11-15, sw 16-18, fw 19+)
Shrapnel Grenade 11 (scr 1-3, lw 4-8, sw 9-12, fw 13+)
Mortar 10 (heavy weapon; ld 1-10, md 11-14, sd 15-7, dd 18+)
Gatling Gun 10 (heavy weapon; ld 1-5, md 6-9, sd 10-18, dd
19+)
Number Encountered: Varies. There are 60 members of the Black Horse Troop.
ZAMBU TRIBESPEOPLE
(Average Member)
The Honduran native peoples vary between friendly, curious and warlike. All
have encountered Western civilization, usually in the form of missionaries,
soldiers or other exploiting and corrupting elements.
The Zambu near Olancho lived by fishing and hunting. They are short
black people with slightly Asiatic features. They wear ragged white or
khaki loinclothes made of bits of clothes they have collected, which do
not conceal their nudity.
PERSONALITY: The tribal folk are generally of positive MB but suspicious
of strangers. A strong feeling of community and family binds them. Being
pre-rational, they do not think well in generalizations, only in the
here-and-now. Fear of the thing in the valley has made them paranoid and
prone to violence.
GAMEMASTERING HINTS: Keep your face calm, but do not entirely conceal
your mixture of curiosity and fear for the soldiers. Look distrustful
and pitying. Stand in a relaxed, almost slouching position. Do not make
unnecessary movements. Let the calmness break to show powerful emotions.
AGL (16-18)
STR 13
CON 14
COM (6-11)
EGO 11
CHA (6-11)
PER 16
EDU 0
Actions: 3
Initiative Bonus: (+4-6)
Damage Bonus: +3
Mental Balance: d20 (11)
Advantages: (suggested) Animal Friendship, Resistant to Illness, Code of
Honor (protect the tribe), Endure Cold/Heat, Endure Hunger/Thirst
Disadvantages: (suggested) Persecuted, Phobia (modern technology), Paranoia
Skills: Track 16, Hide 11, Sneak 16, Pole Arms 16, Bow & Arrow 11, Throwing
Weapons 11, Impact Weapons 16, Unarmed Combat 13, Survival 11, Night
Combat 11
Attack Modes: Spear 16/11 thrown (scr 1-5, lw 6-11, sw 12-14, fw 15+)
Bow & Arrow 11 (scr 1-6, lw 7-11, sw 12-16, fw 17+)
Number Encountered: 2d10 (11)
BULL SHARKS
These sharks can swim a great distance upstream into freshwater
rivers. They are common in South America, but some are found as far as NY or
the Caribbean Sea area. They eat fish, garbage and practically anything.
Bull sharks are 6-9 feet long, gray with white bellies. Like all sharks,
they are nearly mindless and very aggressive.
If a character enters the river in the Olancho Valley there is a 1
in 20 chance per minute or fraction thereof that they will attract a bull shark
who will attack them. If they are wounded, add their wound penalty (up to
15) to the 1 in 20 chance (i.e., if someone with one light wound (-2) and
one serious wound (-3) enters the river, the combined blood results in a 6
in 20 chance of encountering a bull shark).
AGL 2d10 (11)
STR 12+2d10 (23)
CON 10+2d10 (21)
EGO 1
PER 2d10 (11)
Length: 180-270 cm
Weight: 70-120 kg
Senses: Good smell, particularly for blood.
Movement: 5 m/combat round (swimming)
Actions: 2
Initiative Bonus: none
Damage Bonus: +4
Damage Capacity: 6 scratches=l lw, 5 light wounds=1 sw, 3 serious wounds=1
fw
Endurance: 140
Natural Armor: 2 points of rubbery hide
Attack Modes: Bite 15 (scr 1-6, lw 7-12, sw 13-21, fw 22+)
Home: Tropical seas, the Amazon, other rivers
Number encountered: 1d10 (5)
BLOOD ANGELS
These horrors are statistically identical to the Blood Angels as depicted
in LEGIONS OF DARKNESS. Blood Angels are born of men and the Incarnate of
Sathariel. They are tall, lanky humanoids who move like predatory animals;
their heads are disturbingly small for their size. Instead of skin or flesh,
they are coated in a blood and a black, sticky substance which drips and
perodically sloughs off them. You can reach straight through to a Blood
Angels bone and internal organs without meeting any resistance except
disgust. Their faces are featureless behind the ooze, except for two
staring, seemingly living eyes.
PERSONALITY: The Angels of Blood have cunning and a certain dim reasoning
ability, although they are entirely controlled by the Incarnate of
Sathariel.
AGL 10+1d10 (16)
STR 20+2d10 (26)
CON 20+2d10 (26)
COM 1d5 (3)
EGO 2d10 (11)
CHA 1d5 (3)
PER 10+1d10 (16)
Senses: Moves and fights without impediment in darkness
Communication: Understands a few words
Movement: 8 m/round
Actions: 3
Initiative Bonus: +4
Damage Bonus: +5
Damage Capacity: 7 scratches=1 lw, 6 light wounds=1 sw, 4 serious wounds=1
fw
Endurance: 160
Attack Mode: Bite 15 (scr 1-7, lw 8-14, sw 15-24, fw 25+), Claws 18
(scr 1-8, lw 9-16, sw 17-26, fw 27+)
Skills: Track 16, Sneak 16, Hide 16
Home: Wherever Sathariel dwells.
Number: Varies depending on stage of adventure; maximum 5+1d10 (11)
THE TAR MOTHER
INCARNATE OF SATHARIEL
This horror is statistically identical to the Voice of the Blood,
Sathariels incarnate in India. It has arisen from the innocent being left
to rot together with the guilty by the U.S. use of the mass grave. In
appearance it is a gigantic blob made up of corpses and a sticky stew of
dirt, blood and other bodily fluids. A black, tar-like substance pumps
thickly in and out of the mouthes, eyeballs, and ribcages of the gray
dead, covering them and then receding like a tide. Flies and worms are
caught in the fluid and themselves become undead. It never takes human
form, but at some point the GM may find it more horrendous if it develops
toothy mouthes and muscular arms of rotting flesh with which it pulls
itself over the landscape.
PERSONALITY: The Tar Mother has no consciousness. It exists only to eat and
eat, to bring all within its putrescent mass where mind, memory, body and
past crimes melt into one.
AGL 25
STR 70
CON Spec.
EGO 40 (w/o consciousness)
PER 10
Modification of terror throw: +10
Senses: Can feel order, instinctively tries to conform it into chaos. Smells
and senses the auras of those around it.
Communication: none
Movement: 30 m/round
Actions: 4
Initiative Bonus: +13
Damage Bonus: +11
Damage Capacity: Cannot be killed, only scattered. Reshapes itself within
20d10 rounds.
Endurance: Unlimited
Powers: Lowers the mental balance of humans with negative balance a step per
day within a range of the kilometer.
Attack mode: Devour creature 18 (scr 1-5, lw 6-12, sw 13-19, fw 20+). The
victim is melted by the damage, which will become worse by one step/round.
Ego throw must be higher than the Incarnates ego in order to break free. A
fatal wound means that the creature is devoured and becomes a part of the
Incarnate.
Home: Wherever corpses are buried secretly; Honduras