POE PLAYING “eaRS@Me 4 ‘ alwial —— f } Vif, poe, Bb) be \, AA G, by Bruce Humphrey Pe WfTable of Contents History: Before the Adventure .FIRE AND ICE © 1986 DC Comics Inc. All Rights Reserved. Published by Mayfair Games Inc. Author: Bruce Humphrey Editor: Thomas Cook Cover Art Pencils and Inks: George Perez Colors: Bob LeRose Layout: Ed Hannigan Interior Art: Terry Pavlet Maps: Jonathan M. Coke Playtesters: Mike Fortner and the group at the Adventurers Guild © isatrademark of DC Comics Inc., used under license by Mayfair Games Inc. [No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a ‘review, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission is granted to the purchaser of this book to copy the ‘maps and histories for personal use, provided that none of the copies are sold or traded. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Manufactured in the United States, _ISBN; 0-912771-59-3 Mayfair Games Inc. © P.O. Box 48539 © Niles, IL ¢ 60648The Heroes This module is intended to be the first DC Heroes adventure ever played by the participants. In this case, they will be running completely new Characters in the original and exciting environment of DC Heroes. Once they have prepared their Characters according to de- sign rules, read them the following “From many different places and origins comes a new group of heroes. Your varied backgrounds repre- Sent the variety of people who fight for good all around the world. Yet despite your differences you have one great cause which binds you together: to use your pow: ers to protect and help the people of Earth, And be: cause you represent all that is good in people, your cause is actually the protection of all creatures every: where, whether they be human, animal, or alien. “Your path is not an easy one. Villainy often seems simpler and more profitable than virtue. Yet despite the abilities which ‘make you more powerful than your neighbors, you heroes realize that everyone has the same right to freedom and happiness. Your powers do not give you license to do your will; they are a respon: sibility, not a right. By becoming heroes, you accept this responsibility and all the struggling, dangers, and rewards which accompany it. “In this struggle the hero team is your family. You History: Before the Adventure ‘must work together in order that all. might survive and succeed in the trials ahead. For this reason, you ‘must join together in friendship, not just for expedien- cy, You are not meré co-workers; as'a team of heroes you comprise the vanguard of freedom and coopera tion among peoples. You symbolize the brotherhood of ali peoptes and must work to marintain it.” The Players should be encouraged to make the most of the group in terms of role-playing. They might want to decide on a rallying cry to be used as a team call-to- action. They should definitely decide early on how the different Characters react toward one another. ‘To do this, each Player should first be encouraged to specify his own Character’s personality: how he thinks, why he fights, how he got his powers, ete. The interplay of these traits should help the Players work out the in- teraction of their Characters during the adventure. DC Heroes is a role-playing game. Half the fun is in por- traying Characters to the fullest extent. As Gamemas- ter, you must be the one to encourage this, rewarding role-playing and acting in Character. ‘The Players should decide who will be the leader for this adventure. They should also be encouraged to spell out exactly what the group stands for and what. its goals are. As heroes, their actions must be heroic; ‘an agreed-upon group organization and charter is use: ful in establishing a background for the adventure. Gamemaster Only The study of history is not al ways for scholarly purposes . Dr. Uilyen Svoboda is a genius, and he knows it. His theories in the areas of Astrophysics and Xenobi- ology (the study of alien life forms) are billiant but not generally ac- cepted by the seientific community. In short, they laughed him out of respectable circles, That was ten years ago. Since then, Svoboda has been studying and ‘researching, plotting his re- venge. One of his theories was that ‘a great explosion in the early 1900s at Tunguska, Siberia, was caused by a crashing alien spaceship. This he had proven, but his peers refused to even review the scientific find- ings. By studying maps and re- searching related events of the time, Svoboda determined that at least one “survival ship" ejected from the main craft before impact, the survival ship itself crashing into the polar ice cap not far from the North Pole. Svoboda decided to claim that ship for himself. Svoboda still had influential col Jeagues in scientific circles. To these he proposed an expedition to the Arctic to study the microscopic creatures which had evolved under the ice cap. His friends, eager to see him return to respectability, recom- mended Svoboda to ST.AR. Indus- tries’ research department. Svoboda. received STAR. funding to do his research. Over his years as an outcast, Svoboda turned to crime to survive. In the past he had developed a number of weapons and equipment for villains and he now has many underworld connections. Through these associations he hired the Fearsome Five (now only four, Mammoth, Shimmer, Jinx, and Gizmo) to’aid and protect the ven. ture. He has put them on STLAR's payroll as support personnel, and STAR. gathered a team of scien- tists to aid Svoboda in his research. Altogether, ten people travelled north with the expedition. Svoboda quickly found the ship. It was intact and deep within the ice. The other scientists, still un. aware of Svoboda’s true intent, were surprised by the discovery but excited. Using STAR. equipment brought along by Svoboda, the team cut a tunnel down to ‘the ship, Svoboda himself claiming the honor of being the first to enter. Inside the Alien ship, the seien- tists found six Aliens in suspendedanimation and Svoboda immediate: ly began performing experiments to revive them. Alien tissue samples were sent to STAR. for study. Us- ing the Alien’s equipment, Svoboda also located a second ship in the Canadian Klondikes. He later sent Jinx south, by plane, to investigate the site, ‘Svoboda was not aware that the survival ships housed two very dif- ferent sets of occupants. The one he had entered contained six Alien police, the other a single, powerful Alien criminal. The police had cap- tured the criminal, but the battle to do so damaged ‘their own ship. While taking the criminal back to their home planet, the police ship malfunctioned, ‘The Alien police were preparing to land in Siberia for repairs when the systems completely failed, and they and their prisoner were ejec: ted in different survival craft. The prisoner's ship is a combination lifeboat and prison, made to con: tain him while also’ protecting him against all natural hazards and at- tempts at internal or external breakout, In experimenting with the Alien tissue samples, Svoboda made a discovery which both excited and disturbed him. The Aliens had many remarkable powers and the injec- tion of their tissue into an earth creature gave that animal similar abilities. However, Svoboda had sent samples to STAR. which might al so discover their properties, and Svoboda wanted everything for himself. He continued to experiment, test- ing the effects of the tissue by se- cretly injecting different prepara- tions into the other scientists on the team, Three died, Svoboda re- garding those deaths with cool im- passivity. The fourth survived, how- ever, and was taken into Svoboda's confidence. Amazed at the powers he now possessed, the scientist, Arthur Motrel, willingly joined Svoboda, who aiso injected himself with the perfected formula, To re- tain the powers they now have, both Motrel and Svoboda daily in- ject themselves with Alien tissue. Not all vampires, it seems, drink blood. Svoboda decided that he must recover the tissue samples sent to STAR, To this end, he contacted his underworld friends and sent them several vials of tissue . Once in the hands of Svoboda’s goons, the vials’ contents were to be in: jected into some dependable crimi- nals, With the resulting powers these hoods could easily raid STAR. and destroy the tissue samples, records of Svoboda’s ex- pedition, and anyone who knew any: thing about either. Thomas Typson is a research bi ologist. with STAR, who recently received a vial of strange organic matter from one Dr. Illyen Svoboda in the Arctic and who has not yet been able to determine its origin. AS he was returning to his office after dinner, he saw several suspicious characters enter his STAR, office and lab, Unfortunately, they also saw him, He fled in search of our new hero group which recently es- tablished headquarters nearby. He valiantly dodged lightning bolts and attacks all the way but was still in jured, arriving with barely the strength to pound on the door of the headquarters as the villains closed in on him. ‘The Players will find Typson on their doorstep and several villains blasting at them from down the street. During and after the battle the Players will gain enough clues to lead them to STAR. They will then find a full-scale fight on their hands. After the fight, and given any further research, they should have sufficient clues to lead them to investigate Svoboda’s expedition site (the Arctic Research Center- ARC). Once at ARC, the Players will meet several strangers. The Fear- some Five are disguised, and so cannot be recognized. Investigation of ARC will eventually result in a battle with Svoboda, Motrel, and the three of the Five present. From that combat, the Players will be led to the other Alien ship in the Klon- dikes. There they will meet Jinx and the Alien villain, TalHalar. How the story is carried out and how it ends will be up to the Players. Tf left to himself, Svoboda would perfect his formulas. In doing s0, he ‘would also kill several of the Aliens in the first ship. But this would leave him and his people in control of the ship and its advanced tech nology. Jinx, in trying to enter the prison ship on her own, would suc ceed but free the prisoner. The re- sult would then be the unleashing of two powerful new forces for evil, Svoboda and the Alien, Talfalar.Timeline Day1 Q a Breakfast. | Adventure Synopsis JJ 0 D_ THO; Fake tests for day begin, a Alarms in lab triggered. 1 8:00: Svoboda to ship 1 9:20: Hoods (entire group) leave Allens left. STAR. 1 9:00: ‘Transformer/Motrel get- Cl 9:80: Oificials arrive at lab, send ting tense (Svoboda over- for or talk to heroes. due); next time heroes on (10:00: Hoods fall unconscious. snow, he attacks, 1 11:00: Plane to ARC ordered. 9:80: Svoboda returns (11:48: Plane leaves for ARC. © 9:40: Jinx finds ship, reports. Day 2 Fae Poe Jot Coat 6:00 a.m. Plane nears ARC. G_ 12:00p.m.: Svoboda to ship — 4 (6:10: Lands at ARC. "Aliens left o ARC awakens. Q 12:45: Svoboda returns. Q Breakfast. 2:00: Jinx calls for instructions, a ‘Transformer/Motrel shows (3:80: Second. fake equipment Players around. trip. (70: ARCers begin fake tests 9 4:00; Svoboda to ship. and work. 1 5:00: Svoboda returns D_ 8:00: Svoboda goes into Alien 5:30; Meeting following is @ rough gui s returns, DB 9.00; ing to leave. suggesting when certain events with- End of Tour. 1 10:00: ARC attacks group in the adventure might occur. a : ARC meeting to decide 11,00; Scheduled time to leave. what action to take, © 12:00p.m.: Lunch. Day 4 8:00: End fake tests for day. 1D 10:00a.m.: If heroes have not 8:50 p.m Hoods enter STAR. T7490: Dinner. arrived yet, Jinx enters faa cn oe Tab; 8:00: Svoboda returns to ship ship herself. we sees and escapes. 6 Aliens left 12:00pam.: Jinx awakens Alien, } Three Hoods begin search ©) 6,00; Lights out = for Biologist. 900: Biologist approaches head- Day 3 quarters. 6:15 am: ARC awakens. ENC. ENC. ENC. #4 #9 |] #10 Potential in | f | Attack rc ENC. ENC. ENC. ENC. #5 #8 #11 #14 | ENC. ENC. #12 #13Several new powers and skills are included in this module, These are powers and skills which villains and NPGS use in the adventure. Players should be allowed to include these powers in the design of their Characters. Matter Control, Mental Power Link: Will Range: Normal ‘Type: Standard Base Cost: 25 Matter Control is the ability to change a substance into another substance. ‘The original substance can be of any form or composition, but the resultant substance must be uniform in composition (all stone, all one element, ete.) and will occupy as much relative space as the original substance. The only way to change a substance into something more complex is if the Laser, Physical Power Link: Dexterity Range: Normal ‘Type: Standard Base Cost: 15, Laser is a ray of power similar to the Starbolt or Bio-Energy attack forms. Laser, however, can be one ray or many. For each additional ray, subtract 2 from the normal AP of the power for each ray. Thus a Character with Laser: 8 firing three rays will subtract four from each rays effect (two additional rays times two points for each), so each ray will have an AP of 4 and may New Powers and Abilities ‘Stability, Physical Power Link: Body Range: Self ‘Type: Automatic Base Cost: 10 Stability prevents a Character from being easily knocked back. The power increases the mass of the Character so that only an attack which does damage to the Charac- previously altered item. power, a Character can ‘ter’s BODY will do knockback. Nor- mally knockback occurs when a Physical attack succeeds in gaining column shifts, whereas in this case the RAPs equal the number of col- umn shifts reduced. Characters with this power are typically hulking, blocky figures, although this is not necessarily the case. The power works even if the Character is in flight or is swimming. resistance (WILL APs) to this power. If the affected object is dispersed after the change, such as the case of a cloud of gas being blown away, it cannot be reformed by the Chi acter, When returning an object to its original form, the act is auto- ‘matic and requires no action throw.Optional Rules Escape velocity note: An object ‘must be thrown at an initial speed of 15 APs in order toachieve orbit- alvelocity. Thus aCharacter witha Strength (STR) of 15 can toss a sack of grain (weight: 0 APs) into orbit. A Character with a STR of20 ‘can toss a grizzly bear (weight: 2-5 APs) into orbit. Superman can send into orbit a large office building with one throw. This assumes no power of flight on the part of the ‘thrown item which might counter- act the throw. It also assumes a throw straight up. Thrown items: Damage done by thrown items results from the STR ofthe thrower (impact being equal to a derivation of velocity and mass). Ifthe STR of the thrower is greater than the BODY of the thrown item, the item is destroyed. when it hits anything, For example, Trigon (STR 38) hurls a street sign (BODY of 3) at Starfire, Trigon can throw the sign 35 APs, when it strikes Starfire, its Acting Value will be 38: 35 APS of Trigon’s throw plus the 3 APs of BODY from the sign itself. The re- sult of the damage done as an Act- ing Value Js always equal to the STR of the thrower. Dropping Small Items: When an item is dropped on or to an ob- Ject or Character, the Effect Value is determined as follows: Caleulate the AP distance in space the item has gravitationally fallen and add this number (up to 7 APs, Earth's terminal velocity) to the BODY of the item. The Acting Value of this attack is the DEX of the Character initiating the drop. The GM should be wary of the respective difficulty or simplicity of the drop and apply appropriate Universal Modifiers to, the attempt. Player Characters ‘This adventure is intended for nov- ice Players using Characters who have been newly created under the Charac- ter Design rules for DC Heroes. More experienced Players may adventure, or Players may use DC Heroes provided in the basic set, but the result will be a loss of play balance.The only standard DC Characters considered permissible in this module are Robin, Nighvwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Change ling, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Green Arrow, and Jericho. Guidelines for bal- ancing the adventure with such Char- acters are given within the module. The module allows Player Charae tersto learn each other's powers, begin working together, and make mistakes without major repercussions, The ad- venture tarts out simply and gets pro- gressively more involved, making it a good way for a new GM or new Players to learn. The Players are guided along and will be forced by cireumstance to make certain decisions, although they always have the opportunity to exam- ine alternatives. Clues are available at every turn, When the Players search an area, talk to people, or study and item, they will use Skills or Attributes to try to discern these clues. Each section has a list of clues, where they are found, and what Skills or Attributes are used to gather ‘them, ‘Because this adventure is prepared for a variable group of Players, some Players’ Characters might have powers, which unbalance the module, At var- ious points, encounters may be altered by the Gamemaster to adjust fora par ticularly strong (or weak) group of Characters, This module is intended to give ‘enough guidelines and specifics for you to run the adventure with little or no preparation. But ifthe Players are do ing too well or too poorly, feel free to make such additions or changes as you feel necessary to maintain balance for that group. The play is the important thing, not the words found in the modi. Headquarters ‘The beginning of this module as: sumes the purchase or rental of a building or rooms to be used as the team’s headquarters. Such a head quarters willbe useful in future adven tures and should be obtained by any new group. You should stress the need for such headquarters to open onto the street for easy access by those needing the heroes’ services. This al- lows the adventure to begin right on the heroes’ doorstep, ‘The Players may equip the head- quarters as they see fit, depending on their wealth. Various charts applicable in creating headquarters may be found in the GM's Manual, pp. 2837 Encourage the Players to make the headquarters as detailed as they like: the more detailed, the more the head: quarters will lend itself to later adven: turing. In this adventure only the front and immediate door areas will be im portant, 90 Players need not have an in-depth plan prepared for this module, Locales and the Real World (Subplots for Headquarters) A headquarters will attract consid erable attention froman assortment of people. Not only are there those who appreciate the relative protection of nearby heroes, but some people will realize that the headquarters is likely to become a target for villains — a vir~ tual war zone when criminals want control of the area. Other people will be attracted to the glamour and hero- ies of the Player Characters. Neighbors can prove very interest ing. Some will be supportive, offering themselves as witnesses and inform: ants or gathering to encourage the he- roes when need be. A crowd of such locals can even distract avillain, aiding a hard-pressed hero. Of course, there will also be those who do not want the heroes in the area, The headquarters might bring down property values ifthe heroes’ ac- tions bring down property. Such neigh: bors may picket, bring charges against the heroes, or get in the way in combat, Both types of neighbors can easily got ‘caught in a battle and require saving. No hero can allow abystander, no mat- ter how obnoxious, to be harmed. ‘The heroes’ fans can be the most dif- ficult of spectators around a head- quarters. Such people have read of and dreamed about heroes and love to fol: low their exploits. Some seek auto-‘fraphs, some souvenirs. All tend to get in the way. Some unstable people may actually believe they are heroes. These ‘ean become quite challenging for the heroes to handle and can make even a simple situation interestingly difficult. Of course, public relations can make a hero's life much easier or much harder, and Players must handle every situa- tion carefully. Concocting some of the subplots re- volving around the headquarters or ==> ‘Then there aretthe usual functions of running any business. The Characters will be bothered by salesmen, people asking for donations, bill collectors re- questing payment for equipment deliv- ered to theheadquarters, police asking questions or for help, deliveries (oF equipment or furnishings) to be re ceived, and reporters to be avoided. Some may lead to adventures, others can improve the heroes’ connections. ping clues to the group's next big ad- venture is challenging, All the little day-to-day activities around the arg can be adventures in themselves, little imagination and you can tu Players into role-playing without ing them, Play on their curiosit you can get them to adventure wit resorting to contrived situations. Friendly NPCs "AMY SHECKLESTON Amy is a “bag lady.” She often sleeps near the heroes’ headquar- ters and is very interested in the new neighbors, She is very helpful, telling the heroes all about the people in the neighborhood. Dur- ing street combat, she will be sit~ ting behind the large parked car on the western edge of the map, She will coach the heroes, yelling out encouragement and’ telling them what the villains are doing. She is very loud and talkative, but also brave and friendly. DETECTIVE DAVID KUEHR SKILLS: Detective: 4, Scholar (Computer Science): 4, (Film): 3 EQUIPMENT: 38 pistol (AV: 0, EV: 8, 0-2/3/4, ‘Ammo: 6) A detective on the local police force, Kuehr was once a senior of- ficer in a major city but could not stand the politicking and corrup: tion. Kuehr is a decent and hard. working cop, but somewhat cyni cal about the intentions of others, He will be the main police repre sentative in the adventure, Hostile/Neutral NPCs ROGER LOESCH SKILLS: Butcher: 3 Scholar (Marketing): 4 Equipment: Meat Cleaver (AV: 0, EV: 4, 0/1 2/3, Ammo: NA. Loesch is one of those who does not want the heroes in the neigh- borhood. He frequently comes over to the heroes’ headquarters to complain, particularly after an es pecially violent combat nearby. Most of his antagonism is due to envy of the heroes’ powers, which he always dreamed of having as a child. He stands about 6 feet tall, is balding, and has a pot belly. After the street battle, ifany of the cars on the street has been dam- aged, Roger will comealong wearing hissplattered apron and shout, “My car! Look what you've done to my car!” He will be waving his cleaver and be bouncing up and down. The car he talks about will be ablack and gold ten-year-old wreck, so previ- ously beat up that the heroes will barely be able to see the damage done by the battle,ARC Villains Powers: Growth: 6, Bio-Energy Blast (from hands): 5, Energy Ab- sorption: 4 SKILLS: Scholar (Astrophysics/Xenobi- ology): 6, Scientist (Biology): 8 Svoboda’s Scientist skill allows him to create gadgets and po- tions which affect creatures, and enables him to interpret alien technology. Ilyen Svoboda is your typical power-mad genius. Having been ridiculed by his fellow scientists, he is determined to have the last laugh. To this end he intends to prove his theories correct, attain great power and control. over scientific studies, and acquire great wealth. He would sacrifice one of the latter goals to achieve one of the former. Svoboda is unbalanced. He will treat any heroes or visitors very well, considering them to be little more than a trivial problem, After all, he’s a genius, so what could a rag-tag bunch of heroes do to his scheme? If the Characters discov- er his plans, Svoboda will go to great extremes to falsely explain away susy Svoboda refined and tested the Alien tissue samples before inject- ing himself. As a result, he gained a variety of powers, whereas the others who took it gained only one or two related powers. He will use his Growth to impress any heroes who try to fight him then fire his Bio-Energy Blasts at the gaping heroes. He will take great pleasure from any combat until he is hit for more than 2 RAPs of damage, after which he will become en’ raged (-1 to AV, +2 to EV), TRANSFORMER stn ator mora PoweERs: Air Animation: 8 ‘SPECIAL POWERS: Able to link physical self to a power; may become column of air, tornado, etc. sents: intist: (Geology): 5 ‘Transformer is the sole survivor of Svoboda’s initial experiments with the Alien tissue injections. He has always been a nervous indi: vidual and the situation at ARC has his composure extremely strained, Heroes’ Headquarters Attackers "TRAVELLER is satin Gramm PoweERs: Teleportation: 6 Like the other “hoods" sent to wreck the STAR, lab housing the Alien tissue, Traveller has had his powers for just a few hours. The hoods are “expendable” in the eyes of their bosses, and Traveller has no personal abilities or skills. Traveller's teleportation power creates a doorway from where he is to where he wants to go. The Transformer enjoys his new powers and practices frequently but he fears some kind of delayed complications. He saw the other scientists die from the injections and dreads that happening to him. Part of the reason he joined with Svoboda is because ‘he is afraid of what might happen to him without his periodic injections to maintain his powers Transformer will appear very nervous and tense around the Player Characters. He will avoid being in the same area with them and will leave at the earliest op- portunity. He feels guilty about and is fearful of the place where the other scientists have been bur- ied. If the Characters approach that area, he will become nearly hysterical. opening of this door is accompa- nied by a loud tearing sound. The door remains open until he passes through or cancels it out, and others may also pass through it ‘Traveller is a small-time crook with a record of pick-pocketing and shoplifting. He has also been involved in muggings, but only of the most helpless of people. He is really a coward and only joined organized crime because his friend, ‘Jorge Constabulos (Shocker), di In any situation, Traveller wil remain out of the line of fire and as far from combat as possible. He will also suggest fleeing at the first sign of trouble, He will not leave Shocker, however, unless absolute- ly necessary.Lightning: 7 SKILLS! Electronics: 1 EQupMenr UL Balt 5 (ball and chain he clectrifies for total Action/Effeet Values of 6) lusion: 6 (Limited to Mlusions involving himself.) Vehicles (Land): 2 Shocker revels in his recently acquired powers and feels invinei: ble. He has been an “employee” of his criminal bosses for some time and enjoys his job, He has fee quently been sent out masquer ading as a telephone or computer repairman and so has acquired a minimal background in electronics, Shocker has a powerful Mystical lightning bolt which he uses with relish, In combat he has a ball and chain which he picked up some time ago as an antique, His elec Apparition is the leader of MO.VE,, the Metropolitan Organi zation of Villains for Evil, and chauffeur for the leader of the city’s crime syndicate. Wanting to rise in the syndication, he volun- tered to lead in this job in order to show his abilities Apparition’s Illusion powers are limited to illusions involving him. self. He can change his form, with the illusion occupying an apparent volume of up to 6 APs. He can fire rays or cause effects which remain in contact with his body. He ean trical powers charge the weapon to do additional damage in combat. Shocker is virtually fearless, more from his ignorance, inexpe- rience, and overconfidence than through any justified cause. He will be the first to attack and the last to retreat, a fact which dis- ‘Traveller, who. wi cause any effect (darkness, crea tion of a building, etc.) around his body up to 6 APs in volume. Any attack he makes on a Character is, done against that Character’s Mental Attributes. ‘Apparition cannot_move, sup. port, or affect anything physically beyond his normal Physical At tributes, although he can use his illusions to make it appear so. (Any Action Check to test reality is done against Apparition’s WILL of 5.) ANIMOTION sinsson serum ‘SHROUD sins hve ovarian TRIPLET vines [pa Dex 6. Sees Bs Bovey 4] vrmariin 12 Powe: Animate Objects: 9 (Limited range: 2 APS. Obj stops moving if Animotion fal: unconscious or moves out of range.) Skits: ‘Acrobaties: 2 Animotion is an unsuccessful track and field star whe turned to crime when he failed to make the regional Olympic tryouts, He is convinced that others are out to get him and trusts no one, Animotion uses his Animate Ob- Jects power to do his bidding. His favorite trick is to create “crea- tures” out of road signs or tools. He also enjoys driving cars with his power, Powers: Dispersal: 6 SKILLS: Thiet 4 Shroud is one of the two erimé: nals respected by the crime syndi- cate to be sent on this job. He is there to make sure that the lab is entered and the correct items found and destroyed. Shroud’s skills as a thief are ex- cellent. He is very over-cautious, however, and this leads him to take more time than necessary when doing his job (may only per- form an Automatic Action every ‘other combat phase as he weighs his options). His Dispersal power allows him to enter areas without unlocking doors. He also main- tas the dispersal in combat, so that he cannot be struck with physical objects, returning to normal only to attack Powsns: Split into 3 duplicates, subtract- ing 1 AP each split’ from all Attributes SKIL ‘Martial Arts: 5 ‘Obsessed with martial arts movies and books, Triplet has been honing his skills in the serv. jee of minor criminals for several ‘Triplet has modeled himself on. his martial arts heroes, As a re sult, he often exaggerates his ac tions before and during combat resulting ina +1 column shift to an opponent's Opposing Value. He likes to make yells and jumping attacks. Any person hitting him becomes the target of his next at- tack. At the same time, his re- Hance on the martial arts causes him to fear anyone who is better than he or immune to Physical attacks,The Fearsome Five Gadgetry: 12 EQuiPMENT: Flight Suit: 3 (BODY: 4), 3 AB Omni-Gadgets, Gas Mask (as per Systemic Antidote at 8 APs; Uses: 12, Duration: 10), assorted tools, Gizmo is a dwarf possessing an extraordinary skill with gadgets, He can create nearly any item he wants from any ordinary object, such as a fire extinguisher, el tric motor, or transistor radio, Gizmo can be quite bloodthirsty. He routinely makes gadgets which can do killing damage and gloats over his successes, He is boastful about what gadgets he is working on and will announce what he holds even before using it, Of course, this can warn heroes. He respects intelligence and scientific skill, Powers: Matter Control: 10 Shimmer has the ability to change any substance into any other substance, limited only by volume and range, although living creatures have a resistance equal to their WILLs (as per any Mental attack). Mammoth’s sister, Shimmer does the thinking for the pair, and Mammoth depends on her. She, however, exhibits neither the same dependence on him nor the same strong reaction to threats to him as Mammoth does when she is hurt or threatened Shimmer is very evil and excep- tionally willful. Anyone who at- tacks or harms her becomes a special target on whom she seeks revenge. She generally avoids di rectly attacking heroes, preferring instead to change their clothes in: to steel, their perspiration into poisonous gas, etc, She has a very devious mind and uses her powers in new ways at every opportunity. Skin Armor: 3, Stability: 3 Mammoth is the brother of Shimmer and together they make @ powerful team. He is not the brightest of villains but he makes up for it through raw strength and power. He is also not as clined to evil as his sister, who is, actually the force behind their lives of crime. They are both here merely as hired bodyguards for Svoboda, having no true allegiance to the mad scientist, Mammoth may be convinced to refrain from combat. If a Player attempts to Persuade him from participating and the RAPs from the Persuasion Check are equal to or greater than 4, he will not join the other villains in the fight. Shimmer may automatically di suade him from this decision by merely telling him to fight. Svobo: da can Persuade Mammoth to re- join the villains if he makes a Per- suasion Check greater than the RAPs of the Player's Check, If Shimmer is fighting or is hurt by a Player, Mammoth will attack If Shimmer is hurt, Mammoth will uncontrollably increase his WILL and MIND scores to the indicated values and will attack the Charac- ter who hurt her to the exclusion of all else,Mystic Multiple: Animate Objects: 12, Plant Con- 12, Weather Control trol: Minsion: 6 Jinx is a sorceress from India, In order to use her powers, she must be in physical contact with the earth or with some other in- animate object touching the earth, Without this contact, she ean use none of her powers. ‘The newest member of the Fearsome Five, Jinx is confident of 12, her powers but defers to the ver- eran members on many points. She is, however, very self-possessed and strong-willed, brooking no familiarity. Encounter 1 Typson Attacked yo Setup | Any Characters near the front door will be immediately on the scene for the start of the encounter. Those not in the area must either contact someone there or move to the foyer in order to find out what is happening before moving on the villains. Hostile NPCs’ Tactics ‘Traveller: In the pursuit of Thomas Typson, Traveller's purpose is merely for transport. He remains at the rear of the group, ready to create his Warp for the return to the lab. He will not willingly join in the fight. Shocker: Leads the attack on the Players’ headquarters, Hewillfire several bolts at the headquarters and ifthere is no reply sueh as thrown or fired missiles, he will move in on Typson, Only when he has been hit by a hero or is ‘outnumbered by two or more will he retreat. Animotion: Animates several streetsigns (BODY: 3 APs) and parked cars (BODY: 7 APs) to attack the head- quarters for him. He will follow Shocker, but at a distance and with cautio ‘STANDARD HOOD Dec 3 Sm 3 Boor 3 te 1) Wi 3 Miu: 2 live: 2 Avra: 2 Spier 2| Jwrrumve: _7_Heno Powers: 0. SKILLS! Vehicles (Land): 3, Weaponry: 3 EQUIPMENT: 45 Automatic pistol (AV: 0, EV: 4, Ammo: 7), Submachine gun (AV: 5, EV: 5, Ammo: 4) ‘There are two hoods present; one will use a 45, one a ‘Submachine gun, at GM's discretion, Bach also has a knife 2 (AV: 0, EV: 3), The hoods are rather slow-witted and cautious. They will fire at. the front of the headquarters but will not approach, They will be the first to jump through the warp when Traveller sets it up. iam Player Information “It is late in the evening when you hear someone pounding on the front door. Leaping to it, you pull it open. In staggers a man in his late thirties, battered, burned, and dressed ina charred and torn lab coat. As he falls to his knees just inside the doorway, there is a crash ‘anda flash of light. The door is twisted back on its hinges by a bolt of lightning and hangs askew. The entire door- way is burned and cracked from the blast." cen GM Information ‘The villains begin at the'T, 8, A, and two H locations on the street map. If no hero returns Shocker’s fire after three bolts, he will advance to the front door followed by Animotion, The two hoods will cover their approach with gunfire and Traveller will wait. Shocker and Animotion will attempt to carry off Typson. In the face of determined opposition, all villains will immediately flee through Traveller's portal. A scan of a captured villain's body by a Character with Detective or Medicine skill will reveal aswollen area anda ‘small puncture inside the right forearm where a hiypo- dermic has been introduced. Thomas Typson Although he is unconscious during the fight, Typson can be brought around afterwards ifthe villains did not, reach him, Hesays, “They wereat S.7.A.R. Isaw themandsome others breaking into my lab as I was coming back from my dinner break. They saa me and followed. They ‘found me several times between here and there and shotat ‘me, but each time I escaped. I don't know what they want, but they will get whatever itis if you leave them there for too long.” With a shaking hand he reaches into a pocket and hands them his singed S.7.A.R. pass card, It identifies him as a research biologist for S.T.A.R.and is used as a key to doors in the building. (Players are assumed to know the location of their local 8.T.A.R Lab). Fighting to stay con- scious, he says, “Stop them, please... but you must hurry, T Troubleshooting Ifthe villains reached Typson and took him with them, the Players may have few, if any, clues. They will discover that his pass card fell from his pocket during the encoun- ter. It is lying just inside the door of their headquarters. Any hero within two APs of the villains when they pass through the warp will hear one of them say “We have to get back to the lab, Villains rendered unconscious will remain that way due to the effects of the injections they were given. Any conscious villain or hood captured may be Inter rogated. If the Player Characters Interrogate their cap- tives, they will gain the following information: Villain’s Knowledge Information 2-Knowledge Points: (Hoods) “We're supposed to follow these supes after this Thomas Typsom guy. He ‘saw ‘em breaking inta $.7.A.R., so we were to shout him up.” 3 Knowledge Points: (Hoods) “Heck, no, wedon't know nothing about what they were supposed to do, We're just muscle, Butt, you know, the guy they call ‘Shocker; we knew him back years ago and he didn't have any weird powers then.” 4 Knowledge Points: (Villains) "We were told by the Hoss that we had to get this guy Typson and wreck his lab in STAR. Industries. When Typson ‘ran out, we chased him all the way here, Once we ‘caught him, we were supposed to bring him back to the lab, where the others are. They're looking for some special vial and this Typson's notes. STAR LABS City street obstacles heroes might include in similar situations: igns, pipes, trasheans/bags, cars (moving and parked), manhole covers, dogs, people, toys, bricks, boards, live wires, telephone poles, fences, bottles, rope, chains, glass storefronts, street vendors and their ¢arts, 13Street (Encounter #1) SCALE: 1 SQUARE = 5 FT, KEY: ® Fireplug © Parking Meter —|4- ite S.T.A.R. Labs (Encounter #2) SCALE: 1 SQUARE = 5 FT. Foyer key: T= Traveller (If present) = Shocker {if present) ‘A= Animotion (it present) Equipment Locker, —z “Encounter 2: §.1.A.R. Labs seu] All villains who escaped from the headquarters en- counter are present, in addition to those who did not go. For every hero present there is one standard hood and if the Players are using more powerful heroes (such as the ‘Teen Titans), then there are two additional hoods for each hero. The villains are just completing their destruc- tion of ARC materials. As a result, they will attempt to flee if the heroes prove to be too much for them, iam Player Information “You see no one during your entry into S.T.A.R. A lone security guard lies unconscious in the foyer. From a quick scan of the guard's electronics console, you discover that the security systems and alarms have been at the source, The building is ominously quiet. A small Jloorplan for the building adorns a wailnearby andon it you locate Typson's lab using the number of his card.” em GM Information ‘The villains are located at the places noted on the map of STAR. Any extra hoods you place should be added to the group in Typson's lab. The hoods in the corridors are on guard but do not have their weapons out. If the Player Characters can subdue the hoods in the corridors with- out making much noise (Action Checkvs. the hoods’ INTs of | alongwith a +1 Universal Modifier), they can surprise the villains in the tab. Suprised Characters may not make any action during the first phase of combat, as they have no Initiative, and have their Opposing Values shifted 2 columns to the left on the Action Table. Ifthe Player Characters were unsue- cessful in their check, the villains and hoods will be ready for the group. If the villains are surprised, they will be at the letter locations shown. If they are prepared, the fighting villains and the hoods will be beside each door and the others (Traveller and Shroud) will be in a far corner, out of the way. In both cases, the fighting villains will struggle with the heroes until outnumbered, at which point they will try to flee, Ifthe villains appear to be too strong or too weak for a balanced battle with the group, judging by the fight at the headquarters, you should do some juggling with the par- ticipants. If the heroes handled Animotion and Shocker easily, add one normal hood to the villain's team and run each of the villains to his maximum potential, Ifthe Players could not handle the two villains at their headquarters, they could not conceivably do any better against more at the labs. In this case, have Traveller, Shroud, and the hoods flee on the first successful attack made bya hero on any villain, Ifthe heroes are particular: lyinept, overplay thevillains, for instance making Shocker even more overconfident so the villains make mistakes and the Players can take the advantage. Ifthe villains win at the labs, they will depart, their job done. Go to the After the Battle segment since they leave ‘the heroes unconscious at the lab. The heroes will be more limited in the information they can acquire, but otherwise there is no change. If the villains have been subdued or put to Might, the Player Characters may begin to gather clues through a standard Knowledge Point Check: |_Clue Investigation _| Information I point: Each of the villains captured has a swollen needle-mark om his inner right forearm. 2 points: Papers have been burned and a pack of computer disks destroyed. 3 points: A burnt piece of paper is found bear- ing the letters ARC. 4 points: It seems that the destruction is very specific, with only certain papers, notes and computer data destroyed 5 points: No mention of ARC is found in any file or on any computer printout. Ifa Persuasion Check is successful, the Players glean the following information: Villain: “Yeah, we were given the address to this place and told to destroy notes and some vials. AlL the information for the job came in a package in the mail. We never saw the guy who sent us.”” Hood: “We don't know nothing. The head supe hired us and told us to stand guard and all that, We never saw any guy who might have hired them.” After the Battle Soon after the battle, police and S.T.AR. officials begin, toarrive. The heroes are recognized immediately and may attempt to communicate with any connections they might have in either STAR. or the police force. Any direct questions about the Arctic Research Center will be successful only through high level connections with the police or STAR. 1516 [ STAR. | Low-Level: The intruders succeeded in entering the lab and destroyed some miscellaneous papers, but did no real damage. The villains were definitely searching for some particular information and seem to have found most or all of it, High-Level: STAR, is missing virtually all of its information concerning the Arctic Research Center. ‘The office of the head of that expedition, Dr. llyen ‘Svoboda, was also ransacked and destroyed. Police (Det. Kuehr is on the Scene.) _ Low-Level: The STAR. Industries lab was en- tered and damaged by known criminals who did specific damage under the direction of an unidenti- fied third party. High-Level: The criminals identified during and after the combat are low-level syndicate stooges, but the crime was organized and directed by an After they have completed their investigations, the Player Characters will be approached by the head of the STAR. installation, Dr. Richard Heilam. He will say: “Tam sorry you were dragged. into this thing. But now that you are here, S.T.A.R, would like you to continue investigating. This whole situation seems to revolve around Dr. Svoboda and the Arctic Research Center. I am authorized to arrange for your trans- port up there, as we are very worried about ARO. It ‘may be that they are about to be attacked by the same people who sent these thugs here. STAR. will pick up your expenses, of eourse, but you must agree to go this evening.” employer outside the syndicate, None of the crim nals involved in the break-in has previously exhib- ited any unusual powers or special abilities, ac- cording to prison and police records. High Level Information available through sources, using direct questioning pertaining to ARC: STAR: “We have been very disappointed in the progress of ARC and the findings of Dr. Svobo- da, the leader of the expedition He has barely deen on even the fringes of science, speculating on alien worlds and alt. He spent a tot of time wan- dering around Siberia last year. We've taken quite @ chance funding him in the ferst place.” Police: “This guy Svoboda that S7-A.R. has in charge of the research place up near the pole was ‘once accused of “inhuman experiments’ during the ‘war. In fact, it sounds tike the whole crew up there is a little peculiar, We can't find any criminal re- cords for any of his people, but then we can't find ‘any records at all for four of them.” ui Troubleshooting ‘The Players should not be allowed to ransack STAR. or walk away with equipment, as this is very unheroic behavior, S‘T-AR. will transport the Players, plus provide them with any clothes, communications equipment, and STAR. identification they want. Any further equipment will be available, but on a purchase-only basis. Should the Players decline the S'TAR. offer, remind them of the connections they will make from the offer, the potential Hero Points they are passing up, etc. If they still refuse, let them return to their headquarters. Within two hours, have any uncaptured villains and hoods make an attack on the headquarters. This should get. the point across that the Players will get no rest until ARCis settled, Encounter 3: The F light ea Late that night, the Players are driven to a ST.AR. Jet for the flight north. As they get on the plane, their pilot hands them a package of material gathered by SILA.R. whieh is reproduced in the Player Information. ia Player Information A list of books and papers written by Svoboda, in. cluding The Biology of Acquired Abilities, The Tun- gaska Explosion: Siberia’s First Contact?, and The Case for Rational Experimentation. © A police report, stating the remaining villains have fallen into comas. As each villain has fallen asleep in police custody, they, too, have gone into comas, # A police report stating the local syndicate boss has admitted the attack on STAR, was done as a favor for some third party but refuses to explain further. © A list of equipment requisitioned by Svoboda: © Two ice borers, one advanced jet for transport, numerous eartons of laboratory equipment, assorted electronics gear. (Svoboda himself provided several crates of personal equipment, which were also loaded aboard the plane.) # ASITAR. report on the departure of the ARC ex-pedition indicating that Svoboda hired several people on his own in addition to the S'LAR. research group. A total of ten people went north in the expedition, in- cluding the pilot. All contact with ARC since then has been through Svoboda and no other. GM GM Information The STAR pilot, Hal Langsford, will follow any sensible directions given him by the heroes. He has been given orders to do whatever the heroes want if it seems to pertain to solving the ARC problem, Hes at their disposal for the remainder of the adventure, Unless they have other directions, he will suggest that he fly south ways while they are visiting ARC. He gives them small homing, beacons with which (0 call him back to ARC if necessary. ‘This will make sure hes safe, but available ifsomethingis wrong at the base. Hal is a cough ex-Vietnam fighter pilot. Ifthe heroes call on him to return and help he will do so. “We may not have been able to win the big one in ‘Nam, but intend to win the little ones back home.” A very intense and solitary Individual, Hal appears to be always clenching his teeth, when in reality he has difficulty moving his jaw because of awar sustained injury, resulting in a seemingly brusk and irritated demeanor. ‘HAL LANGSFORD. SKILLS: Vehicles (air): 5, Weaponry: 3 Hal has a$.7.A.R. laser pistol (AV'3, BV: 4, Range: 0.5/6 7/8), his old army 45 (AV.0, EVA, Range: 0-3/4/5, Am mo:7), and a bowie knife (AV:0, EV:3). Ifealled in, he will ‘take only half an hour to appear. If the Players are eap- tured when he arrives, he will surprise the ARCers and attack. He will ire with his laser pistol, toss his knife to the nearest hero, then use one pistol in each hand, Encounter 4: The Arctic sep] ‘The Players may decide to land at either the base or several miles away in order to approach unseen. The STAR jet can take off and land vertically on virtuallyany type of terrain (like a helicopter), travels at 11 APs, has a STR and BODY of 12 and 13, respectively, and has arange ‘of 2,500 miles, In traveling over the ice and snow of the Arctic, Charac. ters will suffer several exposure effects: ‘* DEX and WILL shall both be reduced by one no matter how warmly a Character is dressed, unless the Character has an ice or heat-related power. # Ifthe Character is not dressed for such bitter cold and cannot neutralize the cold through some power (such as Icing or Flame Being), he will temporarily lose one AP from each of his DEX, STR, and BODY for every 10 APs of time. © Any Characters dressed in heavy Arctic parkas or fur cloaks gain one BODY AP and retain their WILLS, but their DEXs are still reduced by one due to the bulky, nature of the coats, Read the following information to any Players examining: Vehicle Shed “The building near the dome appears to be a shed. You see one door is open and inside you see one ond of a tracked vehicle. It seems to be one of the tice borers described on the equipment list.”” _ Gizmo's Igloo e “The igloo seems small compared to the igloos you've seen and read about over the years. The en- trance appears so small that seemingly no one could crawl through it. Around the igloo sled dogs are huddled,” Bore Holes “You see a small hole in the te alveadk Just over «foot in diameter, it is covered with a thin crust of| {ce and seems not to have been used for some time. The hole appears very deep.” The Graves ‘ou are walking over several dark areas of ice when one of you notices that these are vaguely re- miniscent of human shapes. Peering down into the ‘ice, you realize that it's true, these are people. The presence of the three frozen bodies chills you more than the deepest cold of the Aretic.””GM GM Information ‘The Arctic Research Center Incorporate this information into your usage and de- scription of ARC to the Players: ARCisa large dome of glassy blue material which looks, like opaque blue ice. Around the dome are sheds and a single igloo, with sled dogs staked out nearby. Tracks of people and machines mark trails between each of the buildings. Around the entire encampment is a broken ring of holes bored into the ice, These holes are small and nearly invisible unless within 2 APs. At distances further than 2 APs Players must gain positive RAPs vs. OV/RVs of 8 APs for the natural coverage to detect the holes. | The Base Around the central dome which houses most of the ARC personnel are a number of other features. Clos- est to the dome is the vehicle shed, which houses the ice borers, several snow mobiles, and crates of spare parts, The only other structure is Gizmo's igloo, built near the perimeter of the camp and surrounded by his pack of six robot sled dogs. Between these two buildings is a small mound of ice, 10 feet under which are buried the three dead ARC scientists. Around the perimeter of the camp is 4 ring of small drill holes used to take ice and water samples. |_The Storage Area Half the floor space of the dome is taken up by a single open area. The entrance to the dome opens in- to this area, where extra equipment is stored and ‘where the ARC personnel have meals, Along the north wall and forming a pile near the center of the Storage area are crates and boxes con- taining extra equipment, chemicals, food, and cloth- ing. On either side of the dome’s entrance is a space heater. The southern part of the dome (to the right of the entrance) contains a large wooden table, a number of chairs, and a portable kitchen, Stew is al- ways heating on one of the stoves. ‘The wall running along the middie of the dome sep- arates the Storage Area from the Sleeping and Lab areas. There are two doors along the wall. One leads Into the Sleeping Area and through that into the Labs. The other leads directly to the Labs. The Dome oem Housed in the dome are the labs and quarters of ARC personnel. The dome itself was created only re- cently, shaped by Mammoth out of snow, altered by. Shimmer. It is a flattened hemisphere with a peak 3 APs (60 feet) above the floor. The material of the dome cannot melt and is extremely light (the entire dome weighing only 10 APs) and strong (BODY of 15), The material is a very good insulator. Sunlight causes the material to glow, lighting the interior. The Dome Interior ‘The area inside the dome is warmed by three large space heaters. The floor is also made of the blue dome material, which insulates the ice underneath from the heat in the dome. The temperature remains at a comfortable 70 degrees Farenheit. Large plastic and plywood panels have been set up within the dome to mark rooms and work areas. ‘These panels are 15’ high and are connected together to form wails, Originally the panels had a BODY of 2, and they still look flimsy, but Shimmer has strength: ened them to a BODY of 6, The Sleeping Quarters Each of the original members of ARC had a separ- ate room (except Gizmo, who sleeps in the igloo out- side). Now only five of the rooms are occupied. The rooms once used by the other personnel are dusty and beds are made — but obviously unused for some time. The rooms presently in use are so marked (for Jinx, Motrel/Transformer, Collins/Mammoth, Averell/~ Shimmer, and Svoboda/Maestro), are generally clean, and reflect the occupant’s temperament. The Labs _ Each of the three lab areas is in constant use by Svoboda and Transformer in their studies and exper. iments and has many tables and millions of dollars in equipment in it. The lab area marked for the tunnel underneath it also has lab equipment, but only re- cently unpacked, since this is more a storage than a work area, The tables here are dusty and the room is colder than the others due to the presence of the tunnel.Encounter 5: ARC Personnel On approaching the ARC dome, the Player Characters willbe greeted by Svoboda, who will come out of the dome. ig Player Information You have not seen anyone, but they have apparently seen you, for a man appears in the doorway of the dome and watks out to greet you. He is wearing an enveloping parka, but you can see that ke is tall, middle aged, and healiity. He smiles and the wind blows his whitehair into ‘a cloud around his head. Welcome tothe Arctic Research Center, "he says Doctor Iliyen Svoboda, the leader of the expedition. How is i you come to our remote and desolate home?” com GM Information ‘Svoboda will listen to whatever the Player Characters have to say, appearing to believe any wild cover story. Actually, he will suspect that something went wrong at STAR. and think that these are 8.7. AR. security people. He will be perfectly friendly, inviting them in for a meal and offering to have them shown around. Since Svoboda believes them to be SAR. representa- tives, he will treat the Player Characters very well until they show some sign of trying to stop his work. He will overlook suspicious actions and questions in the hope that the Characters will eventually give up or not do nything until he finishes with the Alien ship. He assigns, ransformer to act as guide for a brief tour. Read to the Players during their tour of ARC: The huge blue dome is made of some glassy substance thai glows in the suntight and the entire interior is litas bright as the day outside by this glow. First you pass through the storageand eating area, filled atone end with large crates and boxes and at the other with kitchen equipment and supplies. You go from there through a doorway in the low wall which bisects the circle of the dome. Following a corridor, your guide points out the rooms where the ARC members live, plus one for the pilotof their plane; nine in all, At the end of the corridor you enter several large labs, each containing a number of tables and much equipment. He leads you through three labs and then back out into the storage area through another ‘open door. “Outside, "he says, “there is a vehicle shed and the igloo of ur dogioam master. Around the entire base is a circle of drill holes which we use to dig for ice and water sam- ples. That's about it for the base I'm afraid I'l have to 20 Personalities for ARC Svoboda: Determined to have the powers and science of the Aliens, Only Character likely to go into killing combat. Very orderly and methodical, he will try to stick to his plan unless the heroes be- ‘come very persistent. Unbalanced by his desire to rove himself right. ‘Transformer: Worried about any strangers and very suspicious, He fears the experiments which have already killed his fellow scientists and is scared that he will die as well. Certain actions by the heroes (continual snooping, overt question ask- ing) are worth points in agitating Transformer. ‘When the total of these points reaches five, he will begin following the group and will attack them the next time they go outside the dome. ‘Mammoth: Uncomfortable in the Arctic cold, he is worried about Shimmer and is nervous about Transformer, because he knows Shimmer likes the scientist. Shimmer: Interested in ‘Transformer and will react violently to any harm done to him, She be- comes very angry when beaten in combat or insult- ed in any manner. Gizmo: Amused by the entire excursion. He tinkers with his dog robots, plays with the borers, and experiments with numerous gadgets. take you down to the dining area and leave you — I have ‘much work: to complete,” After the tour, Svoboda shows the Players to three rooms (Di, D2, D3) which they may use while they are at ARC, ‘These rooms are very dusty and took unused for some time. He says: “These are the rooms of some of our team ‘members who have gone to another site for several days. You have complete freedom of ARC, but I ask that you always be escorted in the labs, Otherwise you might dis tuerb some of our experiments.” Clues to Be Found: Clues are available in every area of ARC. Players with Detective skill must make a Perception check vs. the listed OV/RVs in the described areas and gain the listed RAPs in order to discover the clue. Other Player Characters may discover the clues by searching in the correct place or asking the correct questions of ARC personnel. If person nel other than Svoboda are asked the questions described below, they become agitated and say: “You should ask Dr. Svoboda about that, I don't know much about it.”‘Too much prying on the part of the Player Characters ‘will invite ARC personnel to attack. As suggested above, Transformer will attack alone when the group reaches five Agitation points. Transformer’s attack will lead di- rectly to a fight with the rest of ARC, but if the heroes reach eight Agitation points, Svoboda will arrange to per- sonally attack them. Missing Persons/Plane If asked about the apparent disparity between the personnel sent north and the number at ARC, Svoboda will say, “Ah... a team has gone west by plane to locate other research sites.” One Agitation point if the heroes express disbelief. 3 Knowledge Points (OV/RV. 8/7 — values of Svoboda’s INT/WILL): No equipment other than the plane seems to be missing judging by the equipment list seen on the flight north. The team would have had to leave without any extra clothes, food, or scientific equipment. Gravesites If the Players walk from the shed to the igloo, crossing over the X, they will find the scientists’ gravesites, If asked Svoboda will say: “Possibly ‘some Eskimos. In this waste, a body could remain fresh for many years buried in the ice." One Agi- tation point, 2 Knowledge Points (OV/RV: 13/13; reason — graves 10’ deep plus visibility difficulty of ice, snow, and cold): These are white men, not Eskimos. Their skins are blotched and red, and their right arms are dark and swollen around injection marks. (A Character with a Scholar skill of 8 APs or more in Archaeology can recognize these facts with no roll, needed.) Borer Machines in Shed ‘Svoboda’s explanation for their use: ‘We are hoping to be able to bore down and take samples of colony sea creatures once we locate ‘them with the drill holes around the base.” 2 Knowledge Points (OV/RV: 8/7): Such study is unnecessary. The borers are large and hard to handle for Such a job. If the group enters a Borer to study it, they will find it very difficult to use. The Borers have been booby-trapped by Gizmo to protect them from the heroes, although any Player with positive RAPs of Military Science skill vs. Gizmo's Gadgetry of 12 may detect this. Any attempt to start one will re- sult in an electrical attack of 5 APs on all Charae- ters inside. Transformer will see the Characters en- tering and exiting the borer shed (1 Agitation Point). ARC Crati ‘The heavy (12 AP) boxes piled in the ARC dome are moved around each time the group re-enters the area. There is no equipment on the site to move them. If asked, ARC personnel say, “We are a team, and. veams get things done, no matter how 8 Knowledge Points (OV/RV: 3/5 — Mammoth’s INT/WILL): The acting Character notices Collins/~ Mammoth moving one of the larger crates unaided, ‘Special Dome Material | “We are testing some construction materials developed by a friend at S.T.A.R.” 2 Knowledge Points (OV/RY: 8/7): The equip- ment list included no such materia _Drill Holes Around Camp Perimeter There are real sample drill sites, driven before ‘Svoboda found the Alien ship. They obviously have not been used for some time, however. One Agita- tion point. 2 Knowledge Points (OV/RV: 8/7): While the holes ring the camp, one is missing from the circle (A on the map). On close examination, the group finds that this hole was drilled, but has been pur- Posefully filled back in. ‘A visit to the igloo near the camp's perimeter will cause the group to meet the dog team and its “trainer.” OVJeneus will come out of the igloo si ing. The half dozen robotic dogs will rise to their feet all around the igioo. They are made of grey metal (all stats 3, except for STR and BODY — both 4) and act like real dogs. O'Jeneus will explain that he is testing ont these new robots for a friend. They are working very well, he claims. The robots do exactly as he commands. 2 Knowledge Points (OV/RV: 7/5 — values of Gizmo's INT/WILL): No mention of the robots in STTAR’s equipment report,5] ‘The labs are all biological study areas filled with tables of equipment and chemicals. Svoboda will give the group another tour any time they like, ‘then again request that they not come in without company, as they might disturb some of the experiments. If an unescorted Character studies the side lab with the area labelled T and has a Check of 3 or more RAPs vs. Svoboda's INT/ WILL of 8/7, he will discover the tunnel entrance there. A Character ‘with a Biologist or Detective skill in a lab at any time getting 3 or more RAPs on a similar Percep- tion Check can determine that these labs are for something other than simple water-sample analysis. Any unescorted Character will find a half dozen empty syringes in the labs and one full one (with iu Troubleshooting Any itnmediale attack on Svoboda should be diseour aged. Until Uiey look around, the Players have no real evidence against Svoboda or any of the other ARC people, Alien tissue injection in it). Using this syringe causes the injected Character to suffer a 12 AP at- tack against his Strength. The resultant BODY damage cannot be healed during the adventure with the exception of a Last Ditch Defense (see Player's Manual, pg. 25) An unescorted hero will be discovered in the labs (Gn 4 to 8 APS) unless he has some form of invisibil ity or shape change 50 he will not be recognized. If & Character is injected, ARC members will miss the filled syringe and note that one of the heroes looks Ml (if it has been used and a Last Ditch Defense was unsuccessful). In either case, a discovery that the labs have been entered causes 3 Agitation points, Discovery of a Player Character in the tun- nel at T causes an immediate attack by ARC personnel. Any accusations or attacks on ARC members will gener: ate Agitation points, but until the five and eight point limits are passed, the ARCers will remain outwardly riendiy. Uno such point, the ARC people witl not show any powers, Any attack on an ARC member adds 2 to the eroes’ Agitation point total and any accusations add 1 Encounter 6: Surprise Attack x setup] AL some point witile the heroes are poking around looking for clues, they should get enough Agitation points to cause Tyansformer to attack, However, be will wait until the group is outside to do this, then at- cack in his wind cone Jor, If the Players do not go ouside soon after reaching five Agitation points, ‘Transformer will lure (hem outside, saying: “Please, fot low me T hare somettting to tell you, but T can't say i in here with evergour arousd,” Qutside the dome, Transformer will lead the group. toward the borer shed then disappear around its west corner, He will use his control wind power to create a violent storm, tien will attack in person in his wind form, iam Player Information “The wind begins to how! suddenty, and the shed creaks in the gusts which whip around you. Snou is biown in your faces; ice pelts you. A roaring sound rises and from tw fur side of the shed comes a cone of wind, twisting and writhing. You are almost blinded by the snow and ice, nearly deafened by the noise,” GM GM Information Once Transformer takes at least 8 RAPS of damage, he will fee the combat. Since he ean stay in his cone of ‘wind form for only @ limited period of tine, af he has not suffered 3 RAPs of damage after four phases, he will flee. He will return to the domme where he will tll Svoboda what happened and why. Svoboda will give Motrel a sedative which will immediately render hum unconscious. He will still have wounds which match the successful attacks made on him by the Player Characters (such as bruises by fists, scorch marks from flames, red arcas from bolts aud beams, etc) On returning to the dome, if the Players ask about Motrel, he wil be said to have had an accident (ice fall) If the Players insist, Motrels unconscious body wll be shown to them (1 Agitation point | ui Troubleshooting If by some fluke Transformer wins, he will leave the heroes lying in the snow and run to tell Svoboda, See the preceeding paragraphs for the result of such an occurance. The heroes will wake up soon after, still in the snow, but without further harm.If the heroes win, knocking Transformer uncon- scious, he will return to his normal form and be recog- nized by the Characters but will remain unconscious for the rest of the adventure. On returning him to the dome, the heroes will receive 1 more Agitation point and some very angry looks from Shimmer, Enonanter?; ARC Strikes Back x Setup] ‘The Players can cause an attack by all the ARC per- sonnel by gathering 8 Agitation points, being discov- ered in the ice tunnel under the labs, or by hanging around until the final day. In the first and last cases, ‘Svoboda will organize an ambush by all ARC personnel at once. In the second case, ARC members will join in the attack (one every five phases) in this order: Trans- former, Shimmer, Mammoth, Svoboda, Gizmo. iam Player Information “The building is suddenly very quiet. The sounds of work and study have stopped, a blanket of silence de- sconded. You feel the watching of many unfriendly eyes. Something is very wrong.” GM GM Information In the event of ambush: If an ambush is organized, the ARC personnel will wait until the heroes are inthe vast Storage area of the dome. Mammoth will step from behind the eastern side of the pile of boxes and throw them at the heroes until someone closes to personal combat range. Shimmer will stand in the south doorway and use her power. Gizmo will enter through the outer entrance, send his robots (AV/EV: 4/5, OV/RY: 4/3) into battle, and fire a laser rifle (AV:4, EV-4, 0-5/6-7/8, Ammo:10) Svoboda will grow to giant size, step over the partition from Lab 1, and prepare to use his Bio-Energy Blasts, t of Immediate Battle If the heroes force an immediate battle sometime during their time at ARC or are discovered in the tunnel, ARC members will appear haphazardly. They will follow the order and timing given in Setup, ex- cept for the cases of those members who were at- tacked by the group or where Transformer is unconscious, 23After the Battle: If the Player Characters win, then Shimmer will tell, them all about the situation, including how to get down to the Aliens’ ship through the lab tunnel. She will blame Svoboda for the heroes’ victory and Tra former's injuries because he failed to deal with the in. truders immediately; this will be her way of evening the score. If the ARC people win, the Players will awaken after the battle tied hand and foot with durable nylon- entwined rope (BODY: 12 APs). The ARCers will be standing before them (except ‘Transformer, who re: mains unconscious) and Svoboda will explain every- thing in the best villainesque tradition. He will be gloat ing and will answer all the heroes’ questions, Then he will say: “But none of this will do you any good. See this bow I hold? I found it in the Aliens’ ship and have ana- lyzed it. It creates a stasis field, an area out of time. Anything within the radius of this field is frozen in ime for as long as the field is in effect “It runs on any kind of energy. If { lit @ match under it, the field would be energized for a period of perhaps a second. But if Shimmer here were to use her power on it, the field would stay on for months, maybe years. Or I could have Gizmo fire one of his weapons fat it, But in any case, you people will be inside it for some time to come. That should keep you out of the way while we go to visit dear Jinx in the Klondikes.” He steps toward the group, smiling, T Troubleshootin If the Players’ group has been notably unsuccessful in battle, you should change the appearance schedule of the villains in an encounter. In the ambush, only Mammoth and Shimmer will appear at first, followed by Gizmo once the Players seem to have the first two in hand. Svoboda will wait. to let his hirelings wear down the heroes before appearing. In the case of the immediate battle and sequential appearance of the villains, introduce the next villain fon the list only as the Player Characters gain the upper hand on those already present. Careful intro duction of new villains into combat will help balance the battle, In the case of a very successful group of heroes, simply run the villains more efficiently. Allow them to team-attack or appear in twos instead of alone. Encounter 8: The Stasis Conflict er If the group called Hal Langsford for help, he will enter at this time. Otherwise, any hero with a range power can attempt to fire it at the stasis box, if they think of it, In the case where a Player Character can. not use a ray power because his hands are tied or he cannot point the necessary weapon, the attempt may be made using a Trick Shot (+2 Opposing Value col- umn modifier) The box will run on any type of energy, including Physical, Mental, or Mystical attacks. A successful hit fon the box (against Svoboda's respective Opposing values) creates the field, which will surround the ARC people with an opaque, silvery sphere 1 AP in diameter lasting two APs of time for every RAP of striking energy. Nothing can affect the sphere and those inside will not feel any passage of time while it is functioning, iam Player Information Variable, depending on the Characters’ situations. GM should improvise the description for the Players, especially noting the presence of the stasis field generator. GM GM Information If the Players fail to activate the stasis field, Svoboda will have Shimmer do so. Shimmer, however, blames Svoboda for the hurt done to Transformer and for Trans- former's present condition and will use only 6 APs of power (activating the field for 12 APs/4 hours). She wants the heroes to follow Svoboda. The ARCers will remain at the base for an hour, when their S.A. plane will ap- pear, and then they will embark for the Klondikes. After 12 APs (four hours), the fleld will go down and the heroes will be free, ‘The Players may elect to immediately follow Svoboda (go to Encounter 10) or they may search ARC and the Alien ship first (proceed to Encounter 9),setup] filled-in drill hole on the ARC perimeter and is 40 feet in diameter and 100 feet long, iam Player Information “The Alien ship at the far end of the tunnel is half cleared of ice. You see its silver dome bulging into an ice cave carved out by Svoboda’s people. One end is as smooth as glass, while from the other end propulsion units and equipment project. The main hath, toward the smooth end, is ajar. You enter, walleing into a cir cular control area. Guidance equipment and control panels flash “Around the rear half of the ship the walls are tined with six chambers containing Alien forms. Some of these chambers have a red light flashing above them, AL the front of the ship are six chairs and a screen with a map of the western hemisphere.”” em GM Information ‘The interior of the Alien ship is circular. Along halt Encounter 9: LO the Alien Ship the circle, the walls are lined with the equipment and capsules which contained the six Alien police. Depend ing on how long it took for the heroes to reach this Doint, several of these suspended animation capsules should s undamaged and the Aliens within still unharmed. The Aliens used by Svoboda are in the cap- sule/chambers marked by the red lights, There is no way Lo free the Aliens, The other half of the ship is comprised of control panels, screens, and chairs, The controls are so ar ranged that each will respond only to a specific Alien However, the front screen shows a map of the western hemisphere, including North and South America. One white light is flashing near the north pole—at the loca tion of this ship. Another red fight flashes in the Klon dike Mountains of Northern Canada The Players can do nothing tiere, Disturbing the con trols or the Aliens’ capsules would only disable equip ment or kill the Aliens, The Aliens harmed by Svoboda. are alive as long as they remain in functioning cap sules, but if Svoboda has completed his experiments, he will also have turned off the power to these, thus estroying their occupants, No Alien weapons or tools will be found in the ship since Svoboda already picked up everything potentially useful ‘Any attempt by Player Characters to repair either this Police ship or the Alien’s Prison ship discovered in Encounter 12 will be futile due to the advanced nature oF the design.Police Ship (Below ARC) Hull Resistance: 10 APs Hull BODY: 12 APs Ship Welght: 12 APs SCALE: 1 SQUARE = 5 FT. S = Screen Encounter 10: Heading South Because Svoboda will be in a hurry to go to the Klondikes or will have been defeated by the heroes, ARC will still be intact when the Players decide to travel south to Canada, ig Player Information Redd to Players when they decide to head South: Your radio message was received by Hal, who will be arriving with your STAR. plane to pick you up in half an hour (9 APS): GM GM Information During the time the Players are waiting for Langs: ford, they have full control of ARC and its equipment. Any tools, chemicals, or electronics which seem reason. 26 able for them to find can be found here, however no weapons are present. Random looting should be dis couraged, as this is not a heroie act. ‘The Player Characters will also have the stasis box available to carry with them if they think of it, No Alien implements will be available to the heroes since Svoboda took all of them apart for study and none of the Player Characters will have the expertise to reas: semble them due to their exceptionally advanced structure. T Troubleshoo! If the Players did not defeat Svoboda or go into the Alien ship, they do not know about the Canadian based ship. Hal will instead be tracking the other STAR. ship with his instruments and will suggest that they follow. In any other case, they will know some- thing about the activity there and should be persuaded to investigate. The Players will be able to rest on board the plane; the flight takes 12 APs,Encounter 11: Search for the Ship By tracking Svoboda’s plane or locating it with the same instruments if it is still waiting for Jinx in the Klondikes, the heroes can find the general location of the Alien ship. Jinx has been looking for it for the last few days and should have just recently found it (ac: cording to the time schedule), but it was not simple to locate. The ARC plane has a homing beacon tracing Jinx, s0 the Players can locate her (and thus the Alien ship) easly. If Svoboda’s group escaped from ARC and flew here, Mammoth and Shimmer will not accompany them to the Alien ship. Shimmer will remain upset. by Svoboda and will have arranged to take Transformer to a New York hospital. Mammoth will have gone with her. Hal Langsford will locate the ARC plane and land nearby, but the heroes will find the pilot present. He is, Ricardo Estabanez, a long-time S.T.AR. employee who is unaware of Svoboda’s intentions, If the Characters have Langsford explain the situation, Estabanez will believe them and use his instruments and beacon to locate Jinx (who is at the Alien ship). Otherwise, Ricardo may be Persuaded (INFL and SPIRIT of 3 APs each) with a -1 Opposing Value column modifier for being a friendly Character. Ricardo suggests that you let him locate these vil- WHITEOUT! Re ae et eee ens Seema ete aen emery eee ne een a Cree ne Oe eos Cn ea en eet ORC Rode eet ee main snowblind (no visual abilities) for Co Re ce CR ee eres eC Se ees es Ce met CeCe en ees any Cha lains with his equipment, He said the woman told him to track her movements, so it should just take a min ute. He says she’s out there looking for something for the last three days. Looking out into the frozen wasteland, you're glad Jor the help; you mighi never find Jina or the Alien Ship om your own GM GM Information The Klondikes The cryogenic climate of the Canadian Klondikes has unique dangers and difficulties. Overexertion, in the form of running or fighting, will cause the Character involved to lose one BODY point for every 4 APs of time (I minute) due to the intense environment and thin air. Travel through the dense snowfall is treacher ‘ous and at half speed, If the Characters did not elicit the aid of Estabanez in tracking Svoboda/Jinx and head out 10 search on their own, they will find themselves in the midst of a Whiteout of 10 AP duration. Following the Whiteout, Characters will find them- selves once again at Estabanez’s S.T.AR. plane, The pi lot will fee! partially responsible for the heroes’ difticul ties and will offer to locate the Alien ship for the party. Cee ae eee Dace eae ee Ton Ve Neem Cy Soars Characters with Air Control Sees neice ee eet eae ene eee eat ts Ponca ble) cliffs, a normal Physical attack with AV/EVs PreeEncounter 12: The Alien Ship Buried deep in the Canadian snows is the Alien pris: on ship. It is basically a saucer-shaped pod with no controls or propulsion system. It was fired like a pro- jectile from the disabled mother ship. ial Player Information You struggle over yet another mountainous drift to see an alien ship. It is a circular silver mound and is half buried by the snow and ice build-up of many frigid years but still gleams in the sun. Tenuous aris overhang the ship but have not completely enclosed it, 50 you face a clearing — the first one you have seen in this wasteland, ag rials Ship (Klondike Location) GM GM Information ‘The heroes can find the hatch for the ship fairly eas: lly, as the top half of the ship has been blasted clean by the incessant Aretic winds. If Jinx has entered the ship, Uie door (BODY of 10) will be completely opened. ‘Otherwise, the Players can tear or blast it open with Strength or powers or, if a scholar or scientist is pres- ent, open it with the information Svoboda gave them earlier when he boasted about how he studied the ARC ship. Inside, the Alien ship is completely different from the one at ARC. The Players will enter a corridor which follows the hull of the ship. The ship is a small maze, intended as much to keep the imprisoned Alien in as to keep would-be rescuers out.Encounter 13: Inside the Ship : Sse] As the Player Characters attempt to enter the ship, internal defenses continually hinder their progress. igi Player Information As you step inside the hatoh into a corridor which follows the curving hull of the ship, a sparkling red beam of light flashes toward you from a ceiling. mounted turret down the corridor. It strikes the metal wali nearby, scorching it, and a pungent burning smelt comes to you, The ray is accompanied by a roar- ing sound, which rumbles with each red beam and in- tensifies as the red beam hits closer. On the wall in front of you is a red flashing sign. GM GM Information The beam is one of the ship's defensive lasers. Map- marked areas of corridor are covered by these lasers, which fire with AV/EVs of 6 APs, Areas marked N drop nets on Characters. These nets. (BODIES of 10) entangle a Character on a successful hit (with Character’s DEX vs. net's AV of 4) and stay wrapped until torn off. Once entangled, a Character has his or her DEX reduced to zero and may not move. ‘A normal Physical Attack may then be made on the net with the net’s STR (12) as the Opposing Value and the Character’s STR as the Acting and Effect Values. ‘These nets may only entangle-one Character. Areas marked N drop nets on Characters. These nets. (BODIES of 10) entangle a Character on a successful hit (with Character’s DEX vs. net’s AV of 4) and stay wrapped until torn off. Once entangled, a Character has his or her DEX reduced to zero and may not move. A normal Physical Attack may then be made on the net with the net’s STR as the Opposing Value and the Character’s STR as the Acting and Effect Values. These nets may only entangle one Character. Areas marked C have bars (BODY of 7) which slide up from the floor to imprison those in the area. They automatically catch anyone with an Initiative of 20 or less (no die roll included). Doors and walls marked with an E are electrified to the touch for 5 APs and have BODIES of 9 APs, These weapons and effects will function against any Characters entering or leaving the ship until the CPU is destroyed or the Alien criminal is disabled. ‘The ship ‘operates on a central power system which can be over: loaded by a Character’s effective electrical attack (either weapon or power) with 6 or more RAPs against the transformers marked T or the central processing unit (CPU), OV/RVs of 4/9 and 4/25, respectively. Jinx is located at the J on the ship map. If she has been inside the ship for more than two hours, she will have already fought a battle with the Alien, have lost 3 BODY APs, and be badly bruised and scorched. In any case, she will use her Illusion power to create a false wall between herself and the heroes, hiding from them. Perception Checks are against Jinx's INT/WILL of 6/6. If Jinx has just recently entered the ship, then she will have sensed the heroes’ approach and will hide at J waiting to ambush them, If Svoboda escaped from the earlier encounter, he, Jinx, and Gizmo will have entered the ship a few hours earlier. They will have been beaten and captured by the Alien.Ship Investigation Should Players choose to investigate the ship be- fore locating Jinx, the following information is avall- able when analyzing: Red flashing warning signs: Unlike those on the other ship, these are to warn unsuspecting tres- passers that this is a detention ship holding a dan- serous captive. One of these signs appears on every wall. Blue markings on walls: These Alien scripts ap- pear on each wall, directly under the red flashing signs. A Character who has an applicable skill (lin- Buisties, languages, codebreaking, etc.) can read these if he or she receives five or more deduction RAPs vs. OV/RVs of 5/5 for Alien morphology. They say, “Qualified officers only. Do not trespass.” Defenses: A Check with a Character’s Detective skill resulting in at least 3 RAPs vs, OV/RYs of 6/6 for Alien sciences will reveal that the defenses seem to point mostly inward, preventing those inside from leaving, * Propulsion: The other Alien ship had a propulsion unit and controls while this one cannot function under its own power, being basically a projectile launched by the damaged mothership long ago. Any 6 AP or higher scientist. will notice this, This ship ‘was never meant to move on its own, Central compartment: ‘On reaching the main compartment of the ship, the Characters will find the ship's central processing ‘unit (CPU) and the freed Alien if Jinx or Svoboda entered the ship ahead of the group by at least two hours, for they would have freed the Alien. In this case, Jinx will be at J and any others will have been captured and will be unconscious beside the Alien. If less than two hours have passed, any villains will be with Jinx at J. Imprisoned Alien If the Alien is imprisoned, the heroes will enter the central chamber to find that “a large, bluegrey pod cecupies the center of this room, Masses of pipes, con: duits, cables, and tubes lead to this pod. Over it is a cube (BODY ‘of 25) made out of « transparent mate- rial, containing a swirling, multicolored glow. The cube is making strange sounds.” ‘The cube is the central computer and the pod is the Alien’s prison, Any Character with a language skill check resulting in 5 or more RAPS vs. OV/RVs of 5/5 can understand the computer's warning: “By order of the Security Committee, this ship is off'limits to all non-official personnel! Leave now. This is the final warning!” ‘Ten RAPs of electrical damage to the cube (which is impervious to other forms of attack) will cause all in- terior systems to fail. Five RAPs of damage to the pod (BODY: 20) will destroy its function as a prison. Either result frees the prisoner If the Player Characters are successful in either at- tack or if they hesitate for more than 4 APs (one min. ute), read the following to all Players in the presence of the imprisoned Alien: A vibration goes through the ship. Then there is a screeching sound and a rending of metal. Cracks ap. pear in the pod; cables and tubes pop off. writhing ‘across the floor. A broad fissure opens in the casing of the pod and widens by the second, Then the chamber is filled with @ roar and flying shards of metal. You are alt knocked 0 the floor and when you look up you see a huge, seated, blue-green Alien standing amid the wreckage af the pod. The Alien bares black teeth, roars in what you rec- ognize as a laugh of triumph, and steps menacingly toward you. ‘The cube's explosion acts as a 4 AP Physical Attack to each Character in the chamber.NonAmprisoned Alien Read the following to all Players in the presence of a freed Alien: As you enter the room, you see a huge, scaled, blue: green Alien sitting atop a wreck of blue grey metal. He is staring up at a cube of transparent material, with- in which are swirling, multi-colored lights. The Alien lowers his gaze and looks at you.(If Svoboda and Gizmo are here, they are at the base of the wreckage, unconscious.) The Alien bares black teeth, roars in what you ree ognize is a laugh of triumph, and steps menacingly toward you. ALIEN otos raiser Katyn ‘POWERS: Flame Project: 8, Flame Ani- mation: 7, Flame Control: 8, Mlusion: 5, ‘Telepathy: 7 SKILLS: Gadgetry: 15, Seientist: 12 ‘TafHalar is the premier criminal of Kath'yan society. He isthe Aliens’ equivalent of Earth's greatest villain. As such, he is proud, vain, and power-hungry. If freed, he will use all his powers to gain dominance over Earth and hi knowledge of Kathyanian science to create powerful space ships to return to dominate Kath'yan. TalHalar is, arrogant and will refuse to communicate with lower life forms, such as the heroes. "NORMAL KATH'YANIAN Powers: Illusion: 3, Telepathy: 5 ‘The Kath'yan are a typically peaceful and obscure race, preferring to remain aloof and apart from the rest of the universe, They have an extreme sense of responsibility, however, and so wish to deal with their criminals them- selves. Atypical Kath'yanian is 7’tall and covered in blue-green or silver-black scales. Sporting small horns on their fore heads and vestigial tails, they could conceivably be the cause of Earth's “demons from the skies" legends, ‘Ta¥Htalar will use his Flame Project power against the first attack made on him each round and will use his Flame Animation on anyone avoiding combat. With his telepathy he could communicate his evil intentions to the heroes but will choose not to do so, prefering instead to use his illusions to make himself appear more menacing and powerful. His favorite trick is to make himself appear even larger than he is (and at 9’ tall he is even taller than average fora Kath'yanian), tearhis way through illusory walls, and toss illusory machinery (Intimidation attack of 6 APs). He also enjoys pretending to turn himself into a creature of flames (that round’s Automatic Action) while using his Flame Project and Control powers to incinerate his enemies, Encounter 14: The Battle! | TafHalar will be furious if a hero destroys the ship's computer, which he hoped would give him information. He is not truly powerful enough to destroy the entire group, but will use his illusory powers to appear to be. If the heroes leave the central chamber and stop bothering him, he willsit on the wreckage of the pod and think about what he should do on this Korald-forsaken rock of a planet. If any hero is knocked unconscious, Tal Halar will, hold him or her for later questioning. iam Player Information None Applicable. GM GM Information While the Alien is much more powerful than each of the heroes or even two together, he can be defeated. If the Players refuse to leave the chamber yet still. are being eaten, allow Jinx to appear in the doorway behind them (either returning tothe chamber after the earlier battle or having followed the group). Ifthe Players flee the room to regroup, she will reveal herself in her location down the hall. Jinx: “Stupid heroes. Defeat is not easy, is it? Creature from @ distant world! Stranger to Barth, yet hoping to ‘conquer it! Ah, if I only had the power to destroy it!" Ifthe Players ask her, she will join them in fighting the Alien. T Troubleshooting At some point, if the battle is going poorly for the Players, there is another option. On being knocked-back or thrown toa location in the central chamber, one of the heroes would find asmallsilvery box near-at-hand. Thisis, exactly like the stasis box shown them by Svoboda at ARC. 31Ifafter two additional phases of combat they don’t get the connection, Jinx will shout: “That looks like the weapon Svoboda found under the ice. Just get itelose to the Alien aud strike it with one of your powers; it will stop the ‘ereature!” Player Character failure to stop Tal'Halar will be re flected in their Standard Awards. The Alien will not deign to permanently harm any of the heroes or villains in tis control, treating them more like lab mice whieh might be valuable for informational purposes. ife will study them for a few hours, then knock them unconscious and leave, He is then free on Earth. — ENDGAME — 32 Once Svoboda is unconscious, he will slip into a coma like the hoods and Transformer. When these Characters awaken after the adventure, they will no longer have their powers but will be otherwise unaffected, IfS-T.AR.is told of the Alien ships, it will send teams to recover the ships and the Aliens, and will try to help any Aliens harmed by Svoboda. 8.T.A.R. will not be willing to share any Alien technology with the Players, as it hopes to gain some technological advantage over its competitors with the Alien science. As such, STAR. will not press charges against Svoboda or any of the ARC people; how ever, the hoods will go to Jail for assault on Typson. This module should provide you with material for your own adventures. Suggestions for later encounters and events include: Svoboda may regain his powers, hoods ‘ay regain their powers, the Alien might escape, Alien police may be healed and freed, the heroes may adventure to the Alien homeworld, Remember that even supposedly dead Characters, ifsufficiently powerful, may be brought back through some complicated, creative method, The Standard Award While this module is designed for beginning Player| groups, the complexity of the adventure merits signi icant reward. The GM should remember to compen-| sate Players for exceptional role-playing or defense| caleulated as follows: Opposition: Group of Worlds Severity: Permanent. Nonfatal TOTAL STANDARD AWARDHow to Use This Book ‘This book is divided into four sections: GM's Introduc- tion, Characters, Encounters, and Places. In any of these sections, text in italics is to be read to the players, Gamemaster’s Introduction ‘The Gamemaster's Introduction provides the Game- ‘master with the background needed to run the adventure, Characters: ‘This section contains information about the major characters, both Player and Non-Player, involved in the adventure, Heroes and villains which appear in the Game- master's Manual only give Hero Points and information; the basic abilities are the same as given in the Game- ‘master's Manual. In addition, the information which can be obtained from each Non-Player character appears here, ‘Encounters ‘The DC Heroes Role Playing system is based on encoun- ters, That is, the players go from situation to situation instead of location to location, as in other Role Playing games, Each encounter is broken up into at least three sections: Setup, Players Information, and GM Informa- tion. When necessary there will also be Troubleshooting, Rules sections, and/or Sidebars to help the GM run the game, Places Deseriptions and maps pertaining to the encounters arein this section. Brief descriptions including gamestat- fsties are provided. A Note on the Module Difficulty Rating System Bach module which Mayfair will polish will have a estimate on the power of characters. This estimate willbe in form stating For 5-7 Characters Generated using 1000-2000 Hero Points, To determine whether your characters will be powerful enough to use the module, add up the nuraber of Hero Points needed to getterate the Attributes, Powers, and Skills of the character, including those Powers and At- tributes in special equipment that are unable to be pur- chased. The Batman Option and Link Costs are ignored. Add the banked Hero Points and the amount of Hero Points spent for equipment and labs, ‘Compare the Hero Point levels to the bracket amounts given. If the average character in your team falls within the bracket, the module will ikely be a good challenge for ‘them, Having several characters one or even twobrackets below the stated bracket will be all right if there are a couple characters above the bracket. Brackets ‘Typical Groups or Characters Beginning Level Characters ~The New Teen Titans without Raven and Kid Flash 1600-2000 .. ‘The New Teen Titans Raven and Kid Flash 2000-4000 Justice League without Superman 4000-8000 Justice League with Superman 8000-16000 «+++ Wonder Woman: 16000 eee eeeiccecrieseseeercesees Superman « -Attribute Point + -Aura Attribute - Acting Value Result Attribute Point . Resistance Value Spirit AttributeTHE BATTLE BEGINS VLE U) el ii if, | MOU ccu noon By his ultimate, power-mad plan! etme oe een PCM etm cts All this, and the Fearsome Five, too! Your Player Group must suffer severe Arctic climates and brave CCM eS mS Canadian Klondikes in an adventure Rea om eats STRSTR eT CMe he PO RUSE Ee crate come yy Oso io AND ICE! Into the eternal darkness, @ aH ey - into fire and into ice. Dante Alighieri Pre \\ roe ite ey A et Inferno canto Ill, 1. 87 Il SNe nian