[HOE] Biodome Torn Down; or How I Plan to Make the Adventure Work

[Sean Gore <sgore@midlink.com>]

Hey all,
    First, to any members of my posse...SKIP PAST THIS EMAIL...DO NOT
READ!!!! (Like that'll really work ;)
    Anyway, someone, or a bunch of someones, has made the comment that
Biodome was less than adequate because there was no reason for the posse
to actually be there (amongst other reasons).  Well, that's true
(unless, as a Marshall, you can get them running away from walkin'
dead).  Fortunately, for my campaign, I came up with a relatively
creative way to do it.
    But first, for some PPSS (peeking player, spoiler space)

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    oKAY...oops...caps lock...Okay, now for the changes.
    First, its coincidental for me that Biodome takes place near
Phoenix.  For those of us Marshalls that have read all the available HoE
stuff, and found its too much to remember, I'll jog your memory.  Just
/where/ is the S-Mart Overlord's base of operations?
    I'll answer, so you don't have to go dig it up elsewhere...Phoenix.
    Now, my posse's already been in the process of taking that S.O.B.
down, to the extent of even capturing a battered and beaten wartruck to
use as a Trojan Horse.  So this made my life a little easier.  Now, I'm
the kind of ref that likes to tinker with pre-made adventures, anyway,
so this isn't anything new to me, stringing and altering to make it fit,
and this one is no exception.
    My players have an upcomming plot with the Chamber (where the
Chamber's internal Hunting Ground gate goes the way of the
dinosaur...rather literally, and the posse has to fix it...with the help
of a handy and Chamber-allied sludge shaman (Mire) so they can navigate
the Hunting Grounds...at least in theory).  Along the way, its my
intention (read as a plot device) to get the posse to...somehow...spill
the beans about their desire to lop off the Overlord's head...to which,
at the end of the adventure he will say something akin to:
    "An' 'bout ya, Templa', Mire been askin' th' Spirits...Ya know wha'
they say, Templa'?"
    "Heh...No, course ya don'.  Ya don' got th' vision.  But ya c'n get
it...an' 'at Mire c'n tell ya 'bout."
    "For ya ta defeat th' Masked Gladiator (read S-Mart Overlord), mon,
ya're gonna 'afta drink ya some juice (spook juice) an' fin' ya some
weed...Th' jimson, mon!  Th' devilweed..."
    "Mire be bettin' ya ain' gotta clue where ta fin' none, do ya?
Leas' none 'at ain' been taint'd by th' Glow..."
    "Heh...No, course ya' don'...But Mire c'n tell ya..."
    "The Spirits be sayin' ya need ta be fin'in th' World 'n th' Metal
Sphere...Only there c'n ya fin' th' devilweed...leas' ways, th' kind ya
be lookin' fer.
    "But remember, Templa'...only when ya 'ave digested th' answer will
ya learn th' truth..."

    Now, as you can see, the World in the Metal Sphere is, of course,
the Biodome..and thus the posse has a reason to go there...to get this
jimson weed so they can defeat the Overlord (after drinking the spook
juice and eating a good few handfulls of the weed, the Templar will get
incredibly ill (well, d'uh!) and while feverish, will have a vision as
to the Overlord's weakness).
    Now, aside from that change, I fundamentally altered the rest of the
adventure, removed the living, powered the entire place down, locked
most of the doors, and made the "Baron" Harrowed.  Furthermore, things
are set-up so that the posse themselves will have to turn the place's
power back "on," so they can get to the jimson weed (its in the
IAB...the doors leading to it are locked and beyond the posse's ability
to remove, so the power MUST be turned on to unlock and open the door).
Of course, this means that while they get things powered up, they'll
have the dead Baron watching them and studying them...then, once they
get the power up and running, they'll (ultimately) be the ones
responsible for reactivating the big spirit magnet and drawing in all
those zombies.  As for "red shirt" extras, there's going to be a group
of scavs that are hightailing it for the Biodome and away from one of
the approaching hordes...
    Anyway, so that's how I plan on getting my posse into and dealing
with the problems that Biodome, in its original write-up, presented.
    Sorry for all the babble, but thanks for the attention and time.

Sean "Bad Mojo, Bad" Gore