[HOE] HELL ON EARTH ADVENTURE

["Kerry D. Jordan" <kdjordan@netdoor.com>]

I thought some of you might find this interesting, so I decided to forward
the following adventure summary to the list after sending it to my
players.  You may notice some things are explained rather simply; that's
because two of my players are new to rpgs and all of us are new to HOE.
If this doesn't interest anybody, sorry about cluttering up the list...

Marshal Kerry


THE CAST:

CHARACTER___________  PLAYER  CLASS________________________
Buffy                 Tara    Junker (Techno-wizard)
Ian Pace              Tony    Syker (Mind Power Specialist)
Rabbi Ely Weisenberg  Jay     Doomsayer (Mutant Monk)
Rick Diaz             Gabe    Waste Warrior (Gunslinger)


THE STORY SO FAR:

Buffy (Tara's character) spent the last few years training in Roll, AZ
(near Yuma), under the guidance of a junker called Griffon.  Griffon was
very knowledgeable about the merging of magic and technology and trained
Tara well.  In fact, just recently, Buffy completed one of her greatest
junker achievements; she created a CHAINSWORD.  This awesome weapon
combined the traits of a sword with the cutting power of a chainsaw.
Additionally, Buffy met a wandering syker named Ian Pace (Tony's
character).  After only a few days, they became fast friends, which was
why Ian agreed to accompany Buffy in scavenging the ruins of Yuma for
useful old tech (at least, useful to a junker).  To round out their team,
Buffy asked Rick Diaz (Gabe's character), an old Yuma gang-banger, to
accompany them and advise them on the general layout of Yuma.

The trip began uneventfully and the posse soon found themselves scouring
the Yuma suburbs for items of interest.  Unfortunately, as was often the
case in the Wasted West, the peace did not last.  The posse stumbled upon
a gang of scavengers that did not welcome their intrusion into the gang's
territory.  However, Buffy had almost succeeded in convincing the gang
that violence was not necessary and she could simply trade for the items
the posse had already collected, when the gang's leader, Harley
"Eyebiter", entered the scene.  That might not have been the end to
negotiations, if Harley had not recognized Ian from a bar fight several
years before. (Good ol' Tony just had to get the Veteran of the Wasted
West feat for his character.)  Harley's vivid memories end all possible
parlaying and sent the posse fleeing to the north (the gang had the team
blocked off from the more direct route of east to Roll).  The posse hoped
to eventually lose the gang members and then head southeast to return
home.

It was at this time that the fleeing heroes met Rabbi Weisenburg (Jay's
character).  The Rabbi had been seeking possible mutant converts in Yuma
(since big city ruins were known for radiation, and therefore, large
populations of mutants).  He quickly joined the posse when the gang
members began to take "pot shots" at him as well.

The party fled into the desert north of Yuma, and traveled roughly 15
miles before stumbling upon a walled, concrete complex.  As they examined
their new find (from a distance), they were attacked by the gangers once
again.  As they fought the gang, a vicious storm blew in from the west,
forcing everyone to seek cover (but not before Rick insured that at least
one gang member would never bother them again).  The gang ran off into the
desert while the posse raced to the old complex.  The front gates had been
battered open, allowing the group easy access to the core buildings.  At
first, the party was thwarted in their attempts to enter one of the
high-security buildings, but they quickly discovered the cause of the
destruction of the front gates, an old school bus, crudely painted green.
The bus had also conveniently been wrecked into the side of a building,
allowing the posse access to the interior.

Once safely inside, the party began to explore the complex.  They found a
kitchen, a dining area, two cell blocks (defining the complex as a prison
of some sort), a laundry, a workshop, and a flooded boiler room.  During
their search, they also found several items of interest, including a
55-gallon drum of cooking oil, a mop (used with the cooking oil to create
a torch), many bunks (some apparently having been used), old magazines,
college textbooks (focusing on genetics and nuclear physics), and a
half-full 55-gallon drum of lye.  Perhaps most interesting was several
disturbing hand-written notes found in the margins of one of the
textbooks:

1. We are the Chosen  born anew with the powers of a god  but we are not
yet complete.  Soon, we will reach the next phase and move beyond the
bounds of our current bodies.

2. Life brings change. Change brings power. Power brings new life. Such is
the cycle by which the enlightened live.

3. Silas feared me as norms fear us all. He could not comprehend the next
step or the power I would wield. Fool! When I have been reborn, he will
beg to know my secrets

4. As the Chosen, we have been entrusted with the source of power. It is
we that are destined to reach the next step by basking in its divine
radiance! All weakness will be burned away in the fire of its glow
replacing it with the strength only we may know.

Rabbi Weisenberg identified the Chosen as mutants and Silas as Silas
Rasmussen, the Mutant King, leader of an evil band of mutants in Las
Vegas.  These notes, combined with the apparently "lived-in" cells, did
not bode well for the group.

As the posse entered the second cell block, they discovered that Harley's
gang from Yuma had somehow beaten them there.  Apparently, the gang had
been searching the cells, but quickly shifted gears to attack the party.
The party, not wanting to risk a fight in the cell block where the gangers
could fire down upon them, fled into the corridor and prepared for the
gang's attack.  Four gang members with various close-combat weapons (i.e.,
machetes, hand axes, etc.) charged into the corridor after the posse.  As
the posse fought the gang members, they noticed that no gang
reinforcements were entering the fight.  In fact, they could hear screams
and the flash of gunfire coming from the cell block.  After finishing off
the last gang member in combat (with much of the work being handled by
Buffy and her marvelous chainsword), the group began advancing toward the
cell block.  They saw a single ganger in the room racing toward the door,
screaming the entire time.  Suddenly, a flesh-colored pseudopod (as thick
as a man's arm) reached through the doorway and slammed the door shut.
Rabbi Weisenberg attempted to open the door, but could not overcome the
strength of the "thing" holding the door.  As the party pondered their
next move, they pragmatically searched the dead gangers for useful items
(as any veteran of the Wasted West would do), but found nothing other than
the weapons that the gangers had been using...

What will happen next to our intrepid heroes?  Will they be eaten alive by
some Lovecraftian horror?  Will they ever find a flashlight?  Will Ian and
Harley ever be reconciled?  Find out next Tuesday, in "Deadlands Hell on
Earth: The Shape of Things A'Comin'"...