Chapter 1A: The Broadcast (Metropolins)
Core Objective: The Metropolins must infiltrate a Covenant communications
hub to broadcast raw footage of a family exile, revealing the Covenant's
cruelty and stumbles upon fragments of data about the Scarecrow.
Scene 1: The Plan
Setup: The Metropolins gather at their safehouse in Haven to finalize
their plans for the raid.
Roleplay Opportunities:
o Players coordinate their approach: hacking the mainframe,
sabotaging security, and escaping.
o Tension brews between resistance members over the risks of
such a high-profile attack.
Complications:
o A spy within the resistance leaks the raid details to the
Covenant, setting the stage for complications during the mission.
Scene 2: The Raid
Setup: Players infiltrate the facility under cover of night, relying on
stealth and sabotage to bypass Covenant patrols and automated
defenses.
Action Elements:
o Overcome security checkpoints with skill challenges (e.g.,
Operating + Insight for hacking).
o Avoid detection with stealth mechanics (e.g., Moving +
Coordination).
o Extract the raw footage and encrypted data about a creature
feeding on terror.
Complications:
o The Covenant has increased security, forcing the PCs to adapt
their plans.
o A timed challenge to disable an alarm system adds urgency.
Scene 3: The Escape
Setup: Covenant reinforcements arrive just as the PCs complete their
mission, leading to a high-stakes escape.
Challenges:
o Players must avoid capture or fight their way out, with
opportunities for improvisation (e.g., setting traps, hacking
security systems).
o The encrypted data contains a chilling phrase: “Terror consumes
the heart, one beat at a time.”
Outcome:
o The raid succeeds, but the footage is raw and disturbing. The
encrypted data hints at a monstrous biological weapon.
o The Metropolins regroup, unaware the Covenant is already
preparing their counterattack.
Chapter 1B: The Missing Scientist (Oceanicans)
Core Objective: The Oceanicans investigate the disappearance of Dr. Burke
Adele, ultimately rescuing him from Covenant captivity while unknowingly
carrying the radioisotope tracker back to Haven.
Scene 1: Arrival in Haven
Setup: The Oceanicans arrive under diplomatic pretenses, claiming to
assist with agronomic projects. Secretly, they are tasked with finding
Dr. Burke Adele.
Roleplay Opportunities:
o NPCs like Mayor Lira Dael and Amara Tien (Burke’s assistant)
provide clues about Burke’s disappearance and his ties to secret
research.
Complications:
o Tensions rise as Ashen survivors confront the Oceanicans,
blaming them for indirectly aiding Burke’s dangerous
experiments.
Scene 2: The Trail
Setup: Clues lead the PCs to a remote lab outside Haven, now
abandoned.
Challenges:
o Survive environmental hazards in the Ashen Wastes, such as
collapsing terrain or mutated predators.
o Investigate the lab for evidence of Burke’s connection to the
Scarecrow.
o Players find fragmented data logs revealing the creature’s
awakening and Burke’s potential role in neutralizing it.
Complications:
o Covenant operatives have rigged the lab with traps to destroy
remaining evidence.
o A group of scavengers might ambush the PCs for supplies.
Scene 3: Rescue and Betrayal
Setup: The PCs track Burke to a Covenant-controlled safehouse.
Action Elements:
o Infiltrate or assault the safehouse to free Burke.
o Evade Covenant patrols during the extraction.
Outcome:
o Burke is rescued but unknowingly carries a radioisotope tracker.
o He insists on returning to Haven, believing he can help neutralize
the Scarecrow.
Chapter 2: Into the Wastes
Core Objective: The factions join forces to track and destroy the Scarecrow
in its lair within the ruins of Kalamazoo.
Scene 1: The Alliance
Setup: The factions meet to compare findings and plan their mission.
Tensions run high, with mistrust threatening to derail cooperation.
Roleplay Opportunities:
o Each faction presents its evidence and goals:
The Ashen want vengeance for B’Gor.
The Metropolins want proof of the Covenant’s involvement.
The Oceanicans see neutralizing the creature as essential.
Complications:
o Disagreements over tactics create friction, requiring skill checks
in Communicating + Reason to unify the group.
Scene 2: The Wastes
Setup: The team ventures into the Ashen Wastes, navigating
treacherous terrain and mutated predators.
Challenges:
o Environmental hazards like ash storms and unstable ruins.
o Combat encounters with scavengers or mutated creatures.
Scene 3: The Lair
Setup: The PCs reach the Scarecrow’s lair in the subbasement tunnels
beneath Borgess Hospital.
Action Elements:
o Navigate a labyrinth of collapsed tunnels filled with traps and
remnants of failed Covenant experiments.
o Confront the Scarecrow in a climactic battle, using both physical
and psychological tactics.
Outcome:
o The Scarecrow is destroyed, but fragments of Covenant data in
the lair hint at a larger operation tied to mantle-tapping.
Chapter 3: The Hollow Victory
Core Objective: The PCs return to Haven only to find the resistance base
destroyed and survivors scattered, with the Covenant once again gaining the
upper hand.
Scene 1: Return to Ruin
Setup: The PCs arrive to find Haven in chaos. The resistance base is a
smoldering ruin.
Challenges:
o Investigate the ruins to uncover the Covenant’s role in the
attack.
o Survivors reveal that Burke’s radioisotope tracker led the
Covenant to the base.
Scene 2: Fallout
Setup: Tensions among the survivors boil over, with blame and
mistrust threatening to tear the factions apart.
Roleplay Opportunities:
o Mediate disputes between survivors, the Ashen, and the
resistance.
o Decide whether to rally the survivors or retreat into the Wastes.
Scene 3: What Comes Next
Setup: The PCs piece together clues about the Covenant’s larger plans
while preparing for the next phase of their fight.
Outcome:
o The factions are left fractured but determined to stop the
Covenant.
o The stage is set for the overarching conflict in "Return of the
Blaze."
