AFMBE Session Report & Episodic Horror Gaming

So, I ran a game of All Flesh Must Be Eaten (AFMBE) on Thursday. It was my first game in over a year, and first time using that system.

It was a blast!

It was also my first salvo in an attempt to get regular gaming jump started. My plan is monthly gaming using AFMBE to run horror one shots with rotating DMs (or ZMs in this case). We are all in our 30s or 40s, busy with family and work and random interests, and weekly gaming locked into a storyline curated by one person just seems impossible. So, horror anthology gaming, kind of like the Twilight Zone. We use pregens every session, but XP accumulated by players stays with them, and can be used to modify their character in whatever session. This incentivizes continued presence without punishing absence. New players or one time only appearances by people is also encouraged, avoiding the hard feelings of spotty campaign participation, but also adding a little spice to the proceedings.

Admittedly, AFMBE has a lot of whistles and bells, so it was also a good chance to test drive the system and slowly learn it. There wasn't too much looking things up, and now I am familiar with the rules and how they run. If the seasons take off, ZMs can also draw from the Buffy RPG, Terra Primate (basically Planet of the Apes), The Evil Dead and CJ Carellah's Witchcraft besides AFMBE books. That is a lot of gaming potential there.

Anyway, on to the adventure!

Most people I know are off somewhere for summer holidays, but thankfully my mates Casey and Paul were around and agreed to give AFMBE a spin. I decided to let them have two characters each, and run them through an adventure I had made entitled "Generation Kill Zombies," based on the miniseries Generation Kill about the 1st invasion of Iraq. The synopsis I wrote for myself is at the bottom.

First, for characters we used the Soldier template (corebook pg. 78). I encouraged Casey and Paul to come up with one word personality descriptors they could use like Risus cliches for their characters. They did not disappoint.

We began with four characters:

Casey
1) Billy, a 'techie' from Georgia in the USA. +1 to Int and tech rolls, starts with a taser pistol.
2) Ricky the Rat, NYer like Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy. +1 Per and searching, always has the right gewgaw when needed.

Paul
3)  Father Ted McBride, parson-like figure from the UK. +1 to people skills, also carries various medicines all the time.
4) Bobby Staunton, contractor from Manchester. + 1 End/Str, good with munitions.

PART ONE - THE SET UP

07:00-07:30
I informed the players it was February, 1991, and they were soldiers in the coalition invading Iraq. They began with their mission briefing in a tent. A commander Grenfell greeted them then ran them through the covert mission they were given.

First, they were shown this photo:

Grenfell informed them that the Iraqi army was in disarray and that US and ally troops were now rushing to final objectives before a peace settlement and withdrawal. Their mission would be to go to the Al Muthanna R&D facility, which had been bombed and partially destroyed by US airstrikes, and recover strategic assets. Only the bio-toxin building and animal house were intact and showed minimal activity, and otherwise most personnel had abandoned the area after the bombing run. They were looking for 3 things:

1) data on the Scud missiles and nerve gas they contained
2) any cash 'repatriated' to Iraq during its unlawful invasion of Kuwait
3) any of the 3 'chemical brothers' or A-list war criminals in the US army deck of Iraqi VIPs to be captured, and who all have a bounty on their head

The PCs would be given a Humvee mounted with a machine-gun and whatever gear they requisitioned. They thanked the commander and were on there way at 07:30.


PART TWO - ON THE ROAD

07:30-10:30
Three hours later, deep in Iraqi territory they received a radio transmission from a convoy of three US trucks that had stopped to fix a flat tire and started taking sniper fire. The CO of the convoy was requesting any nearby unit to help neutralize the sniper, and the PCs realized they were the closest. Without hesitation, they agreed to go help out. This is the scene I sketched for them:

The team pulled up on the far side of the village away from where the sniper was and 1 klick from the stranded convoy. Stashing their Humvee behind a dune, they humped over to the village, incurring a 1 Endurance loss from the heat. The village was a lump of low thatched huts made of baked clay surrounding higher buildings with flat roofs. It looked like this:

I informed them they could easily climb on top of a thatched roof, but a flat roof would take something more. They elected to go through the main entrance quietly.

A few Stealth rolls later and they were through the village entrance and up a central stairwell onto the rooftops. They catch a glimpse of the sniper at the far edge of the roofs moving between hanging laundry and reed partitions, and Billy & Father Ted decide to close the distance with tasers drawn while Ricky and Bobby cover them with their assault rifles. The plan works, and Billy shoots his taser leads into the sniper from behind.

To their dismay, the insurgent turns out to be a boy of 13 or so, and Father Ted quickly realizes a taser jolt intended for an adult male may be the reason the boy is turning blue. Using his knowledge of medicines recreational and legal, Father Ted stabilizes the young insurgent, who they carry downstairs.

At the base of the stairs they are confronted by a woman wailing at them and gesticulating at their prisoner. Father Ted realizes it is probably the boy's mother, and in his poor Arabic somehow manages to calm her down. Although the village seemed nearly deserted at first, the four soldiers can now see women, children, and the elderly peeking at them from cracks in windows and doorways. The players muse about whether the boy was just trying to protect his village or really a soldier.

Still, wartime is hell and firing on a convoy makes you a combatant, so they radio the convoy to bring an interpreter and pick up their captive. This done, they continue on to their objective.


PART THREE - ANIMAL HOUSE

12h30-13h30
At the gates of Al Muthanna, the team decided to visit the animal house first. They pushed straight up to the front of the building, guns ready under the noonday sun. Nobody was there, and the front double doors were slightly ajar. They scouted the perimeter and found a well-used civilian car, which Billy immobilized by taking its spark plugs.

They crept inside the double doors to find a small flock of sheep sheltering from the baking sun in the now shitstained lobby of the building. After a brief search they turn towards the closed double doors leading to their interior of the building. Ricky motions the others to silence and presses his ear against the doors.

He hears the opening beats of Madonna's 'Justify My Love', which was dominating the Top Forty at the time. The others listen as well, dumbfounded. (I had started the song on Casey's cellphone, so it became the soundtrack of this portion of the adventure). Ricky eases the doors open and sees a hallway leading straight in, with a door on either side about 15 feet down, and a barricade made of desks, chairs & equipment twice that distance further down.

The team decides to advance down the hallway and simultaneously breach both doors. They inch down the hallway, then Fr Ted and Ricky break left while Billy and Bobby break right. On the left, they find the building's kitchen, now a mess of food crates, dirty dishes, and garbage. On the right, they bust in on a young Iraqi male lying on a bed, dressed in a dirty lab coat, Madonna T shirt and boxer shorts reading books on a bed.

"Don't shoot, please!" the young man pleads in near-perfect English. They tie his hands and he explains that he is Mustafa, a research assistant here in the animal house who learned biochemistry at Michigan State University. He tells the soldiers that all his colleagues have fled since the bombing, but that he stays to care for the sheep, read and listen to music.

They ask Mustafa about the barricade, and he is quiet for a second before responding. He reports, "They tested gas on a monkey down there. Three of my coworkers came in, none came back. I could hear the screams and sounds from here. Luckily, the doors are all auto-locked. So I made the barricade and don't go down to the research labs anymore." The four soldiers agree to follow Mustafa's example.

They ask about the Bio-toxin building and Mustafa draws them a map.

Mustafa explains that the small platoon stationed at the facility had left after the bombing, but that a small group of a half dozen Republican Guards (RG) stayed with the facility head, Sayid. The players show Mustafa the kill or capture card for Chemical Sayid and Mustafa confirms this is the man they are looking for.


PART FOUR - THIS IS A SHOWDOWN

13:30-14:30
The PCs load Mustafa into their Humvee and drive to the bombed out barracks down the road from the Bio-toxin building. Ricky creeps through the ruins to the side closest their target and peeks out to confirm a heavy machine-gun nest and two RGs guarding the front doors of the facility.

He reports to the group, and they decide to let Mustafa return to the animal house on foot while they sneak around to the rear of the building. The team inch across the dunes on the far side from the machine-gun nest.

Coming to the far side, they note the balcony on the roof as one possible entrance, and Ricky decides to climb up using a grappling hook and line he happens to have in his gear bag. The rest of the team decides to wait until he gives the all clear before climbing up.

But the signal never comes. Instead, Ricky knocks over some furniture on the patio, alerting Chemical Sayid who waits in the office beside it. Sayid begins firing 3 shot bursts at Ricky, the first a critical (if I recall) that tears through Rick's armor and his life points. Rick returns fire

Meanwhile, on the ground the remaining team members take action. Father Ted goes to scout around and see if the front guards are coming. (I secretly roll that the soldiers there and on the roof have been ordered by Sayid to stay at their posts or die, and so they will not come looking for the PCs, but only engage when the PCs enter their location. Lucky for the team!) Billy does the same on the other side.

At this time, Bobby tries to breach the wall with an explosive charge, but in his nervousness he fumbles around for a few rounds until succeeding. The wall blows inward, and Bobby slips in to find several civilians with horrid chemical burns staring at him unmoving from inside holding pens (the zombies, taken from Nazi zombies on p. 191 of corebook) on the left, a corridor to the lobby straight ahead, and a door to the stairwell besides the elevator on the right. He opens the stairwell door and clears the area, while the returned Billy goes to the elevator and Fr Ted comes back from scouting and starts clambering through the smoke filled hole.

Back on the roof, Ricky starts firing back into the office with his grenade launcher, missing Sayid directly but kicking him around and setting his office ablaze. Rick gets initiative and with an aimed shot brings Sayid down. He debates opening the door to the front of the building, but smartly decides to stay still and bandage, missing an encounter with the two Republican Guards stationed on the other side.

Returning downstairs. Billy's investigation of the elevator is seen on camera by the guards in the security office, who remotely lock the elevator and unlock the cage to the chemical zombies, who immediately begin to rush out. The next few rounds are a flurry of dice rolls as Father Ted is jumped and Billy and Bobby begin firing at the other zombies as they emerge from the cage.

Father Ted is choked and punched, but manages to survive and take out a zed while Bobby and Billy mow down the others as they come out of the cage. Just as they finish and before they can move further into the building, Ricky calls down, drops the suitcase of cash to them, and starts painfully making his way down.

Lucky, lucky, lucky! They decide not to push it and sneak back around to the barracks the way they came before getting in the Humvee, picking up Mustafa and heading for HQ.


PART FIVE - YOU CAN'T GO HOME

14:30-19:00
The PCs drive back the way they came, Father Ted's face busted up by a zombie, and Ricky covered in bloody bandages over his gunshots and shrapnel wounds. Although Chemical Sayid has been obliterated and they have destroyed or left any data on the chemical weapon and its strange effects, the one success is the suitcase of 1.5 million USD that sits on the backseat of their Humvee with Mustafa.

They pull into their base to find huge billboards proclaiming VICTORY! and HUGE USO SHOW!  They park and return to their briefing tent, but Grenfell is not around. The base seems nearly deserted, with only a few essential personnel on duty. Music blares from the nearby amphitheater, so they make their way over.

As they climb the stairs into the arena, they see a huge crater with the remains of a SCUD missile strewn in and around it. The 1000 strong crowd in the amphitheater all stand eerily silent amid the blaring music, their faces bubbled and oozing like the Iraqi test subjects the team had run into at Al Muthanna. Suddenly, a zombified George Bush senior on stage points in their direction and howls, and the crowd moves en masse towards our heroes.

Fade to black.


REFLECTIONS

Yeah, I took it easy on the guys. The zombies were non-infectious, and enemy soldiers only engaged when PCs entered their zones. I have no problem with any of this - the session was just a test drive of the system, as well as a taste test to drum up interest for monthly horror sessions.

If there is a next time, nobody will be so lucky, including me if someone else ZMs! If I can't rustle up a local group, I may run sessions on G+, so drop me a line if you are interested.


RESOURCES

Generation Kill Zombies
Scenario synopsis

This is the adventure outline I wrote for myself to keep me on track as ZM. Feel free to run it as is or punch it up with more details or events as you desire.

Events

• Radio call out from a platoon pinned down by sniper fire, PCs choose to go or ignore. 15 year old sniper on top of village huts.
• Going through factory ruins, run into zombie-like old caretaker.
  
  

Locales

The Animal House: One caretaker is still here feeding the animals, some sheep and some rabbits. He has info. about the Bio-toxic facility (zombie features, 6 soldiers, Chemical Sayid)

The Bio-Toxic Facility: Outdoors, 2 soldiers man a machinegun and sandbags.

First floor, 2 soldiers with AKs behind bulletproof glass in security office of lobby, iron door to hallway. Hallway leads to security office door, then locked electronic door to holding pen filled with 2d6 gassed civilians, and turn to elevator at end. Video cameras everywhere. Sayid will shut down elevator and open pen doors when PCs pass turn.

Second floor, main hall with three offices on right, cafeteria and prayer room on left, d6+1 zeds here, and stairway to third (top) floor at end.

Third floor, stairway has 2 soldiers with AKs at top. Door on left is maintenance, right is balcony leading to roof, middle is general office with d6+1 zeds and door to Sayid's office at rear. Lots of Scud and zed gas data here. Sayid has $1.5 M USD in his office safe, will slip out to balcony and climb ladder to roof to escape by rappelling down. The controls to elevator and auto locks are here, as well as Scud firing remote control, which Sayid uses when PCs enter general office. Office shakes, mechanical noise, sound of blast off from Scud in underground silo behind facility.

Motor pool: Next to Bio-Toxic Facility, has two jeeps hidden under tarps.

Denouement: PCs get the money, info, or POW if they survive. They drive back with no incident until they get to the camp, see "Victory!" signs everywhere, hear music blaring from USO ampitheatre. Go in, zeds turn on them, end of session.

England Abandoned - A 28 Days Later style system-free zombie adventure

Man, have I been busy! Since last I posted work, the PhD, job hunting and having a son (HOORAH!) really swamped me. Since I haven't been able to post on topics I had planned, I thought I'd dig through the vaults and offer up a 28 Days Later style infected adventure I wrote for a con awhile back (which I also missed due to being swamped by life!!).

The scenario is largely  system free, and ZMs can extrapolate stats and rules as they see fit. I originally intended to use AFMBE, but Kreg Mosier's 'The Dead' or 'Zombi' are both freely available on the web and would do in a pinch. It is written for me, so read through once and prepare your mental territory before running it. Sadly, there are no maps, but just scribble up some or spend some good time with Google maps.

If you like the adventure or (Zod forbid) actually run it, drop us a line!

England Abandoned          infected apocalypse scenario             Rated Mature.

BLURB

ENGLAND ABANDONED

England lays in ruins, overrun by psychotic‘infected’, chained with a blockade of ships, the Pound collapsed, government gone, Queen eaten, the people scattered. Dispossessed Britons like you are the new gypsies, impoverished pariahs unwelcome wherever they wander. You have one chance at a comfortable life – sneak in to your homeland and recover‘the product’ for a French crimelord. Of course, it won’t be easy. Guy Ritchie meets 28 Days Later. Requires a massive sense of humour, stomach for blood and gore, and outrageous British accent (real or fake). Rated R.

I’ll be using tournament system – fulfill your victory conditions to win the game and a cheesy prize.

PROLOGUE

Purpose: To test the system (combat, etc) and set up the story. Warn the players that it is a tad railroadey, but respect their decisions once shit starts going down.

Set Up: Each player takes a soldier sheet and rolls two d6. Results are as follows: Sex, 1-4 is male, 5-6 is female. Race, 1-3 is white, 4 is brown, 5 is black, 6 is asian. Players add a last or nick name then play begins. Each is fully armed and equipped. Try to go for an Aliens colonial marine feel.

An army helicopter flies inland away from a seaside town where we start the action. Your squad of soldiers guards the chainlink fence gate for a local wharf. Inside is the dock and, off to the side, a few small warehouses. Several yachts and fishing vessels loaded with civilians can be seen plying the Channel towards France, while one waits at the dock. Landside, the central collection of buildings forming a small village with pub stands nearby, while another clump of apartments and some rows of council houses further up the hillside sit darkened and devoid of people. The last few cars arrive on the main road through the town winding down the hillside and stop at the gate where the soldiers check the passengers for infection and pass them through. Suddenly, a last vehicle appears over the ridge and comes driving down erratically. The soldiers can see people inside the bus fighting as they drive. They have the choice to ignore it or try and take it down.

Either way, it crashes into the town and explodes, catching buildings alight. Uninfected and infected pile out of the wreck burning, the former screaming for help, the latter making a beeline for the wharf. Seeing the conflagration, the last vessel guns its engine and takes off. The soldiers are cut off. They get a radio message from their CO: “This is commander Curt. Procure transport and rendez-vous at the field HQ.”

The cars left by the fleeing civilians are all locked and largely devoid of gas. Just as the soldiers are searching for keys or busting in windows, they hear a metal shutter going up and a truck engine start. A large delivery van rumbles out of one of the small warehouses and slowly trundles toward the gate.

The soldiers can see a straggly haired, Russell Brant type at the wheel, next to a wigger gangster-style cradling a shotgun.

The soldiers can stop them either by force or threats as the two are cowards, or the ZM can have the wigger fire at the soldiers to increase tension or give them some wounded and more of a reason to take the truck. The van looks large enough to transport the entire squad and their gear, and has a full tank of diesel. If they open the rear cargo door they see ‘the product’ shining at them like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. End of Prologue.

FRANCE FLASHBACK

Set Up – Players each take a sheet from the random selection of dispossessed Britons. They get one + 1 in French, one Weapon Skill and one Secret Skill, giving a + 1 to each, which they may choose now or later in the adventure when they see fit. Next, they choose a Secret Mission and are ready to go. They start with nothing.

Preamble:

In the three months since the Infection began, life has been hell for you all. As luck would have it, you were either outside the country or were among the first to evacuate. Since then, the Pound was wiped out, and for the first time the EU is relieved you hadn’t adopted the Euro. Nevertheless, the world has gone into a recession, and with all your savings destroyed, you’ve been forced into menial jobs to make ends meet while you learn the language and hope the Infection will burn itself out. But the flood of UK refugees has made finding honest work nigh impossible, and EU social support systems are strained to the limit. You are on the verge of committing a crime to survive when you hear about a job for Britons from the east coast, near Calais.

You are taken up the coast to Calais, the old port for ships to England, to an old yet stately mansion in the

woods. There you meet Mr. Lassad, a crime boss specializing in cross-border acquisitions.

Allo, and thank you for coming. As you know, the world is in a terrible state now. Not only your country, but all nations are affected. Cross-border traffic has slowed to a trickle, while security and customs are a thousand times stricter than before. This has affected my business. In addition, the world economy is in a slump of historic proportions. France can hardly feed her own, much less care for you British. Since rumours abound of the infection coming from one of your labs, there isn’t much sympathy for you. However, I know a way you can earn your keep. I have a favour to ask. Just before the infection spread, I sent a shipment of my product to England. If you can get it back for me, I will reward your for your troubles. I will equip you, train you, and when the opportunity comes, arrange for safe transport through the barricade to England, near Skegness. I have lost contact with my men in there. Find them, and what happened to my product, and I will give you a small reward. Get my entire shipment of product back to me, and my gratitude will know no bounds.

The PCs then spend a fortnight training at Lassad’s compound, learning one weapon (hence the bonus Weapon Skill) and being briefed on the last known position of the product.

One night they after supper they are told to make ready. They are driven to a boathouse by the ocean where they choose gear from a selection of soiled weapons and backpacks, board a sailing sloop, then set sail for England. They are told to keep quiet the whole voyage. 8 long hours later, as the sun rises into a fog, they hear the sounds of waves lapping the shore. The captain weighs anchor, and the PCs are put into a Zodiac and told to row. They have their weapons, a week’s worth food each, and two encrypted satellite phones between them. Make them decide who carries these latter.

DIRTY OLD TOWN

1. The warehouse – The first place to search for clues is the warehouse from the Prologue. If either the driver or guard were spared by the soldiers, they are here.

SYD – Russel Brant lookalike, he has hold up eating sardine cans in the warehouse and snorting the bag of product left for him by the soldiers. He wears leather pants and Doc Marten’s only, and smells quite funky. He carries a Desert Eagle and may fire at the PC unless they can talk him down. He can give them information on the truck and the soldiers, and the direction they headed in.

Dizzy – The wigger is dead, locked in the office. Unable to come to terms with the reality outside his doors, he has blown his head off and is rotting in here. Make appropriate Fright/Sanity checks. Syd in his delusion thinks Dizzy is still alive, but just refusing to talk.

2. The Duffer – Unless or even if one of the players can hotwire a car (probably by using a Secret Skill), another may notice what looks like a light briefly visible from the council houses on the hill (appropriate Perception check). It is a good 15 minute walk to the houses, or just a few minutes in car. When they get there an old man’s voice calls out “Who goes there?” This is ‘The Duffer’, the caretaker of the estates. He has survived hiding out in a root cellar, scavenging canned foods from people’s homes and vegetables from the gardens. He is a WWII veteran and still a crack shot with his double-barrel quail gun.

If attacked he will fire back then attempt to hide and make his way back to the cellar, knowing Infected have probably heard the gunfire and are on their way. He is, however, lonely, and will answer any attempts to parlay with an offer of tea and biscuits. If engaged in conversation, the Duffer explains he saw the soldiers take off in the van towards the west, and that their HQ is located on the outskirts of Pendleton. If the players don’t have transportation, he will offer them his Land Rover.

“All this reminds me of Dunkirk. The screaming, the panic, the madness, then the quiet. Except now I want to stay right here.”

GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND – Random Encounters

1. Raccoon girl – As they drive through the deserted country roads, they may spot the Raccoon Girl. She is a tween (13 years old) who has gone feral and survived by hiding out and scavenging or foraging for food. She carries a wrench as a weapon, has blacked out her eyes with soot and is in filthy clothes. She lives in a nearby abandoned animal den. If cornered, she will fight.

2. Tyger tiger – Another encounter may be the tiger, which has escaped from a nearby private collection. It will follow the PCs for a while (Perception check), and will wait until one or two pair off before attacking. If they fire at it they will drive it off. This will also alert any Infected in the vicinity.

3. The Green Berets – At some point, a PCs may notice camouflaged, ghilie suited commandos watching them (Perception check). These are a US reconnaissance team, and will refuse to communicate or cooperate, attempting to slip away. If PCs approach too close, they will receive a verbal warning in an obvious US accent, then if they continue a warning shot will be fired. Finally, the PC leader or the nearest one will be targeted by a sniper.

4. The checkpoint and the Tardis – Finally, as the PCs reach the town below the city, they see a military checkpoint, with a tanktrap and sandbags blocking the road.

Off to the side is a chainlink area with tents inside. A spray-painted sign reads “FOR RESCUE USE PHONE INSIDE TENTS.” Inside the tent is a phonebooth that has been sloppily painted blue.

If they lift the receiver, after 3 rings a voice on the other end will introduce itself as a soldier and give directions for the Pleasuredome.

THE PLEASURE DOME

1. In the foxholes – Whether the PCs follow the directions received at the checkpoint or arrive on their own, they arrive at the closed wrought iron gates of a large estate surrounded by stone walls with trees waving behind them. A sign tells them the servant’s door to the left of the gate is unlocked, that they should enter, close the door behind them, and FOR SAFETY’S SAKE stay on the stone path and make their way to the manor house.

Entering the servant’s door, they see an immense lawn, with roughly placed stone slabs leading up to a 3 storey manor house. To their right from the gate a narrow road winds up to a large oval in front of the manor house where a camouflaged Hummer is parked. The lawn is mined, so anyone straying from the stone path should make a hard Luck roll every turn or take landmine damage.

As they enter the foyer, they see there is a security cage barring entry, with a table on one side underneath a pullbox for goods, and a desk on the inner side. A half-dressed soldier named Hash tells them they must leave their weapons in the pullbox. If they do, they enter the foyer before the stairwell. Off to the side, one bare-chested soldier smokes a spliff while another, on his knees, fellates him. He gives a peace sign and a wink as they pass. From somewhere Babybird’s ‘You’re Gorgeous’ plays. The smell of marijuana smoke is heavy in the air. A female soldier, topless in panties, looks down at them from the top of the stairs, eyes bleary and bloodshot. She croaks out “Welcome to the Pleasuredome!” as the PCs enter.

The Pleasuredome is done up with murals based on album covers or fantasy scenes. Beanbags, throw rugs, and pillows are everywhere. There are a pair of pet foxes in a cage on the ground floor, as well as a peacock in another. Groundfloor has pantry and kitchen.

Armed If PCs scout about the Pleasuredome, the find the following: The second floor has pleasure rooms (where PCs will be allowed to sleep), and dining. Third is barracks, Curt’s office, and armory, and is always guarded by an armed soldier who will warn off snoopers and shoot if disobeyed. The roof has a small vegetable garden. Landscaping tools are locked in the shed next to the garage, which is likewise locked. Inside the garage is the truck from the Prologue with the remaining product.

The soldiers include the PCs who survived the Prologue, plus the following:

Maureen, a Scottish Doc (If the PCs converse with her, she is the only one against Curt)

Singh, a cook,

Donnie, a muscled Orkney grease monkey

Finn and Billie, a pair of London-Irish snipers

Sandra, Yorkshire stoner

Anne, London career soldier

Tyrese, black London demolition expert

Reg, Brummey career soldier

There are four crosses in the backyard. These mark the graves of Father Phil (shot by Curt), Meg and Tommy (lover, ODed on the product), and Smith (infected and shot).

PCs are stripped of weapons and taken to see commander Curt.

2. The Art of Darkness - Commander Curt

Newly arrived PCs are taken to meet commander Curt in the dining room when they are fed.

Commander Kurt is shaven headed and wiry. He stands to shake the PCs hands and offer them seats. He asks about their reasons for coming, then explains his mission. “We are here to maintain an official presence, to stop thieves, and to lay the claim to our land in case the Yanks or French or whoever attempt to land.”

If asked about the drug use or hedonism, Curt replies as follows:

“Do you know where the word assassin comes from? It comes from Persia and Syria, before the Crusades. A sect of Nizari Ismailis created a Pleasuredome and training temple in the mountains. Their leader, the Old Man of the Mountain, would take young men, give them all the hashish, wine, women, and sumptuous food they wanted. Then, one day, he would throw them out and tell them not to come back until they had killed a certain person. Addicted to the drugs, sex, and delicacies, they either went mad or began training and completed their mission. Or died trying.” “If the Old Man told a hashasheen to jump from a cliff, he would. Sir Conrad of Monferrat was killed strolling in his garden by two hashasheen who were in turn hacked down by the knights that surrounded them.” “My soldiers are pure killers. They have seen heaven on earth, and so have no fear of death. This is the only kind of soldier that I can depend on here”

3. Getting the Goods

There are a few ways the PCs could get the product. First, they could try to steal it. The soldiers have kept it in the delivery truck in case they need to get rid of it quickly, except for the bag they are currently working on. Commander Curt has the keys, and the truck needs diesel fuel, which will have to be siphoned from the generators or procured from some source in town.

Second, they could reason with the commander. Especially if they tell him they encountered US commandos, he might be convinced to get the product out of the Pleasuredome and clean up his act. However, his followers may not be happy at that and could start an armed resistance. They will still need to procure diesel.

Last, they could fight their way out. Since half the soldiers are armed at any time, they would have to make a diversion or choose a moment of weakness. The soldiers are true hashasheen now, and are sloppy taking cover but fearless in battle and don’t feel much pain.

HOMEWARD BOUND

However the PCs manage to obtain the product and transport, their journey isn’t over yet.

1. Getting Gas – As noted earlier, the truck is on fumes, but a jerry can of fuel is hidden locked inside the armory. Otherwise, PCs will have to track down to the bus terminal or truck depot and siphon gas. Either of these places could be filled with Infected.

2. Bandits/Soldiers – The PCs may have a run in either with bandits or the soldiers if they have crossed them. Bandits would be largely armed with melee or improvised weapons with a leader who may carry a pistol. They should not be a threat, just a challenge. The soldiers would be a greater threat, trying to get the product back.

3. The Infected – Of course, driving a large, noise delivery truck back to the seaside is bound to attract attention. Especially since they have to call for pickup and wait for it to arrive, and one can of fuel will only get them half way.

4. Get to the Chopper (Optional) – If the ZM thinks it feasible, he could have the chopper from the Prologue parked in the back garden of the Pleasuredome. It is under a tarp and has low fuel. It could get to or near the coastal village. A PC who hasn’t selected his or her secret skill could select Pilot Chopper.

THE AFTERMATH

If all goes according to plan, they can call Mr. Lassad on the satellite phones and arrange a rendez vous. It will take a day for a ship to get in, the safest place to hide being probably the warehouse from the prologue, but one that would also be known to any of Curt’s vengeful soldiers.

After the journey to France, Mr. Lassad will pay the PCs upon receipt of his product and the adventure ends. If they return without the product or it is destroyed, he will be a fearsome enemy and will send killers to exact vengeance.

England Abandoned Secret Missions

IN DEBT 25 / 75 points For loot taken and sold in France up to/over 5000 EU	RIVAL GANG 100 points For delivering product to them in Paris	DRUG ADDICT 10 / 50 points For getting stoned / overdosing	PSYCHOPATH 10 points For every human killed, double if unnoticed
PHOTOGRAPHER 10 points For every close up of Infected taken	INSIDE MAN 20 points For every member killed while delivering product	LOST SIBLING 25+50 points For sibling found + brought outside England	RESEARCHER 15/75 points For Infected blood sample / prisoner brought back
NATURE LOVER 25 points For every rare animal brought back to France	HEIRLOOM 60 points For family heirloom brought back to France	FANATIC 15 / 50 points For stopping sin / destroying the product	GRASS 75 points For getting Lassad arrested on return to France