Quest for Power
A Tale in the Ruins of Old Sanaf and Kirkie
Introduction: Emergency in the Village of
Bern
The villagers of Bern have come to inhabit
the ruins of a large, seemingly resplendent ancient building. The building in
question included an amazing store of food, kept in a unique “freezer” powered
by an unknown source. Until recently, this reserve was in no way threatened,
but unexpectedly the enigmatic power source has gone out.
The village elders (named Moxo, Paz, and Erna) have
gathered and asked the PCs to seek out a means of fixing or replacing the power
source for the “freezer.” They know of two likely sources: Kirkie is a vast
metropolitan ruin and there may be lost tech that can replace the power source;
in Old Sanaf there is a known tinkerer called Electro Bill, who is reputed to
be extremely savvy with lost tech and might be able to repair or bring the
power back on line.
Bern is only ten miles north of Kirkie. The
ruins of Kirkie suffer from two primary threats: first, the Great Crater with
the ruins of what some call a “Martian” Sky Platform in its center, and second:
the legions of the Super Mutant called Noximus ( a serf). Noximus is said to
have found a vast cache of lost weapon tech, and he has used this to make his
raider gang the most powerful in the region. Kirkie City is his domain, and he
lords over what used to be a fairly friendly community to the south.
Old Sanaf suffered less during the
Cataclysm, but still has problems. The ruins are thick with overgrowth and
rumors of strange plant mutants abound. The technologist named Electro Bill is
supposedly now working for the enigmatic order of the Restorationists, and it
is believed that he is dwelling in an ancient Vault in the mountains just north
of the ruins. Problem is, raiders from Noximus’s army have also been searching
for the technologist and his allies for some time now; there is also the
problem of the indigenous plant-based mutants, which are notoriously hostile to
all beings.
The elders have decided to task the new
young heroes with this job. They have opened up the village’s cache and will
let the heroes each pick one piece of omegatech from the resources at hand to
help them on their journey to save the village’s previously unending food
supply.
About Bern
Bern is described as:
“A fabulous
village built inside an ancient structure. It is filled with brightly colored
boxes from which the coins of the ancient spill in endless quantitity; these
can be smelted and turned in to useful tools. The long cooridors and open
spaces of this structure have been turned in to indoor protection for dozens of
huts and families, constructed from the many strange boxes and other materials
left intact after the Collapse. It is most famous for the so-called
“restaurant” in the back which is still in working order and run by a mutant
called Cook. The restaurant is connected to a storage unit called the pantry,
which in turn provides a unique sort of freezer called a “Stasis Freezer,” in
which vast quantities of food can be found. The machine that operates this
device has been repeating verbally to Cook that it detects that the “fusion
cell” is powering down and either needs to be repaired or replaced.”
GM ONLY: Bern was built inside the
ruins of the Star Casino, and the machines within disassembled or smelted down
to make construction materials or tools. The actual furnace and smithy is
located outside, but the surprisingly intact main structure now provides
shelter for an entire town. About nine years ago the open-air section of town
inside the old multi-story car garage was lost when the garage collapse. Since
then, the villagers (about 200 of them) have lived off of the vast amount of
food inside a very long-lived Stasis Freezer, which keeps its contents
perfectly preserved (and might even do so to living beings trapped within). The
freezer is powered by a cold fusion cell manufactured from the alternate
timeline that the casino comes from, and had a 200 year lifespan which is now
winding down. A new power source as well as a technologist or mechanic of
decent skill (DC 28) can fix it and get the device working again, before it
shuts down completely and the food is spoiled.
Locations in Bern:
The Smithy: Run by Chos, a big burly
fellow, this is where materials are smelted and cast in to new molds. Chos
comes from Phenx and is famous for his learned talent as a smith. He can make
real weapons for the PCs if they ask, though he likes trade for services
rendered.
Chos: Giant yeti (level 3)
The Cache: Once a bank vault in the
casino, this is now where the village omegatech cache is kept. Many items
acquired through salvage found inside the building and abroad can be found
here, and many of them aren’t even very well understood. It is guarded by an
android named Mike.
Mike: android pyrokinetic (level 4)
The Smokes and More: this was once the
gift shop, now converted in to a store front for the village and run by the
woman Yasna. She’s always looking for new items for trade. She is known for
being able to stalk fresh tobacco smokes, made and traded to her by the Westos
Trading Guild. Her main contact with the Westos Traders is Tom Orlan, a Badder
from somewhere out west.
Yasna:
radioactive cockroach (giant spider level 2)
The Glitterhall: this is the largest
central area of the casino, where more than three dozen “huts” made from
reworked slot machines and tables have been turned in to housing.
The Restaurant: Here is where Cook
serves the food he “prepares” from the Stasis Freezer. Villagers eat free, but
guests must pay; Cook likes ammo in trade for food best; he has quite a
collection of arms in his private room.
Cook: seismic elektrokinetic mutant (Level
3)
Hall Watch: the old security room has
been turned in to a makeshift office and is used by the android cockroach swarm
named Moxo as the constabulary
headquarters. The security cams still work, and he uses them to monitor the
village, though he suspects they too will go off, once the “fusion core”
expires.
Moxo: android sentient cockroach swarm
(level 4)
The Wastelands outside of Bern:
Traveling outside of Bern is always risky.
The following represents a sampling of the threats that might be encountered
(typically encounters happen on a 5 or less on a D20 once per hours of travel
in the region 10 miles around Bern):
D20 Encounter
1 An
undiscovered cache of omega tech (1D4 omega draws)
2-4 Raider
patrol for Noximus (800 XP):
1
dabber sharpshooter (scout), 2 hoop warriors,
2 porker marauders, 1 porker warhog
5-8 independent
raiders (600-1000 XP):
Pick
2D4 from Random mutant list
9-10 Pack
of Green Folk Gren (850 XP)
3
gren headhunters, 2 gren archers
11-12 Blight
flight (850 XP)
2
blight hunters, 2 blight venomwings
13-14 A
lone android named Praetorius willing to trade (has 1D6 omega tech)(650 XP)
1
android, 4 badder steading guards, 8 mutant cattle pack animals
15-16 A
lone Orlen named Chud arguing with himself (350 XP)
1
Orlen
17-18 Pack
of wild mutated dogs (600 XP)
6
wild mutant dogs
19-20 A
predatory sep land shark attack (600 XP)
3
sep land sharks
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