(Read the previous chapter here.)
Tools: Gamemaster’s Apprentice Deck ; Beyond the Black Gate’s: Things You Find In An Abandoned Post-Apocalyptic Outpost table
Housekeeping: This is a good point in the game to spend some of the character’s XP. To advance a level in OmegaLite20, characters need to spend 20x their current level in XP. (i.e. A level 1 character needs 20XP to move to Level 2, a level 2 character needs 40XP, etc.) Each character received 20XP for the previous leg (the amount OmegaLite recommends for a session of standard adventuring). Even with the extra XP I gave each character to start off the game, they only have enough to raise one level each, to level 2. This means each character will gain the following:
+1d6x2 hit points
+1 to all attack rolls
+1 to primary skills
+1 to secondary skill (this happens at every even-numbered level)
Alyssa gains 2 HP, for a max of 36
Nate gains 6 HP, for a max of 38
Additionally, the PCs are spending the night at Sean’s farmhouse. By the letter, OmegaLite allows characters to heal 2xLevel worth of HP for a day’s rest. I’m going to apply this for a night’s sleep. I’ll also assume they raised the level before sleeping, healing them 4HP (Level 2x2).
Scene 1 [Tension Lvl: 1 (technically this should be 2, but I forgot to advance it and realized it too late to go back and correct it)]:
The next morning we woke up with a destination and a plan, however, the weather wasn’t on board. The skies were cloudy as Sean, Nate, and I got an early start in the fields gathering what we would need for our journey into Mausdale. Soon, rain began to fall and we retreated inside to wait for it to pass. Unfortunately, instead of clearing up, the clouds grew darker, the rain fell harder, and lightning flashed across the sky.
[Weather roll for the day: Cloudy and stormy, starting at 7am and lasting 21 hours with lighting.
Per oracle roll, they are unable to pull up any weather information on the Nets, but both Alyssa and Sean make a successful DC10 survival check to suspect that the weather will remain bad all day.]
Nate stood staring out the window at the puddles forming in the drive. “Maybe this is a morning storm and it will let up in a few hours.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Sean countered. “A storm like this will often hold on for the entire day.”
“He’s right,” I seconded. “It’s probably best if we just hang tight for another day.”
“Let me check the Nets,” Nate said, still holding out hope. “Maybe I can find a forecast or something.”
As he goes off to check on Sean’s computer, I pull out one of the books from my pack and settle in for a day of reading. Having a full day of reading ahead of me, I choose Silent Bells Are Ringing, a horror novel. My favorite genre. It was thick, so I doubted I would finish it today, but I could definitely take a big chunk out of it.
[Character note: Since Alyssa is an avid reader and plans on using books as currency/trade items, I randomly determined how interested she is in certain genres. I listed 10 genres and rolled a d10 for each, with higher numbers indicating greater interest. Surprisingly, Alyssa’s likes and dislikes are rather extreme, as everything was either a 1-3 (rather disinterested) or 8-10 (great interest). Nothing was a mediocre 4-7. She is very interested in horror, romance, sci-fi, action, historical fiction, and non-genre specific (stories or dramas that don’t fall into the other categories). She isn’t as thrilled to read Thrillers (more spy/espionage type, as opposed to the horror variety she does like), fantasy, mystery, and non-fiction. I counted non-fiction as a whole, however, if she is going to read non-fiction, she prefers books that fall along the lines of her fiction interests. For instance, she would rather read a book about space travel than the memoir of someone working for the CIA.]
A few hours later, I heard the sound of some kind of techo-beat music that grew louder every second. I looked up to see Nate enter the room, his attention directed at the rectangular PCC he held in his palm, the same device from which the music emanated.
“Excuse me?” He looked up. “Do you mind? I’m trying to read.”
“Oh, sorry. I’ll turn it down.”
“Or you could use a VO PEECE,” I suggested.
“Only have manual models,” he replied apologetically.
Personal Compact Computers, or PCC’s -- which consumers pronounce PEECE--come in two varieties: the voice-operated, or VO, and the manual. The VO version is little more than an earpiece that allows you to communicate with another PEECE user, listen to music, or access information on the Nets, all by using voice commands. The manual variety is a hand-held device that is on average four inches long and two inches wide and about as thick as a cheap hamburger patty. It is more versatile than the VO as it has a touch screen that adds video capabilities. In addition to all the functions of the VO, it can also display pictures and videos, play games, and run programs that require a screen for tactile data input and visual display.
“I thought your PEECE was white?” I asked.
Momentarily confused, Nate glanced at the black device in his hand. “Oh, yeah. That was a different one. It’s out of power. Thanks for reminding me. I should charge them all while I’m here and save my batteries.”
“All? How many do you have?”
“Around six. I try to keep a few extras on hand. They’re good items to barter.”
Fair enough. I value books. He values electronics . . . or music . . . I can’t tell. Regardless, it makes sense we would each hoard items important to us, believing others might want them in trade.
Nate continues to tap at his PEECE’s screen before letting out a frustrated growl.
“What’s up?”
“I still can’t access the Nets to get an update on the weather.”
“What’s your hurry? Rest awhile. Who knows when we’ll have another chance.”
“You’re probably right, but I’m just eager to get going. [Reason: Find/Work] I know we’re going to Mausdale to help Sean, but I was also hoping we might find a working vehicle that we could use to help speed up our journey.”
“If the bunnymen have any cars or trucks, I doubt they’ll just give one to you. Such things are hot commodities these days.”
Nate agreed but asked me to let him hope before leaving me alone to continue my reading.
[Nate made another attempt, with disadvantage, at a DC20 Tech Check to hack the computers and get on the Nets. He failed.
The rest of the day passes without incident. Each PC gains another 4 HP for the day of rest.]
Scene 2 [Tension Lvl: 2]
[Weather Roll: Sunny, but a moderate storm with lightning expected around 4 pm, lasting 21 hours. ]
By the next morning, the sun was shining brightly and we were able to get an early start. Besides our packs and weapons, we took turns pushing a tarp-covered wheelbarrow filled with trade items. Sean was very willing to donate the items, hoping they could be used to buy the services of Jesse, his mechanic. The wheelbarrow, on the other hand, took some convincing. The farmer was reluctant to part with it, as the tool was invaluable on the farm and he only had two at the moment. He didn’t want it getting lost, damaged, or having us run off with it. It hurt a bit to think he didn’t trust us, but I understood. He just met us and we’ve only spent a little more than a day together. As far as he knew, we were only interested in his food, shelter, and anything else we could coax, or steal, from him. We assured Sean we’d be back and, in the end, he agreed to let us have it as long as we promised to return it. I’m sure the three Personal Compact Computers and packs of batteries Nate left behind as collateral helped.
The distance to the heart of Mausdale was approximately three miles. Luckily, the road was in decent shape, making the trek with the wheelbarrow much easier. [Mile 6: Moderate conditions, Object (to be revealed momentarily), no encounters] Our plan was to turn south on Jerseytown road and approach the town from the northeast. However, we were sidetracked when Nate noticed something laying on the ground just off the shoulder.
“It’s a walkie-talkie,” he said, examining the small radio.
“Does it have power?”
“It’s solar. It should.” He turned a knob on the side of the small box-like device. Crackles and hisses emitted out of its speaker. His eyes raised hopefully as he lifted the box to his lips and pressed the transmit button. “Hello? Can anyone hear me?” He released the button and waited.
Nothing but static.
He was about to try again when suddenly a woman’s venom-filled voice blasted over the airwaves.
“Ken! Is that you, you bastard! Get your ass back here right now! I’m going to kill you!”
Nate’s eyes went wide as he held the walkie-talkie away from him, almost as if it was possessed by the woman’s spirit and would bite him if it was too close.
[Per "Beyond the Black Gate’s: Things You Find In An Abandoned Post-Apocalyptic Outpost table" they found “A battered, solar-charged walkie-talkie. If activated, someone answers!”
Male or Female? Female
UNE for conversation: Neutral Mood-hostile-capture-experience
Random words: Recess Small]
Tentatively, Nate moves the radio to his lips and speaks once again, “Uh, hello? I . . . I’m not Ken. My name’s Nathan.”
“Who! Where’s Ken?!”
“I don’t know. I found this walkie-talkie by the side of the interstate. I’m Nathan. I’m here with my friend Alyssa.”
It took several long moments before the woman spoke again.
“Did you say you found Ken’s walkie-talkie on the interstate? And Ken’s not with it?”
“Yes,” Nate confirmed. “There is no one around except us . . . at least that I can see.”
“Shit! Then he really did leave me.” I couldn’t tell if she was sad, frustrated, or defeated.
“Uh, is there anything we can do to help?” Nate asked, looking at me with an uncertain shrug.
“Sorry about that,” the voice apologized. “Thanks. I’m Alexandria Andrews, but everyone calls me Alex.”
[Is Alex from Mausdale? (Good) Yes + random event.
Norse Symbol: Perthro 
discovery of a mystery or secret, Characters have a destiny that is yet to be realized. Tension resets to 1.]
I motion for Nate to hand me the walkie-talkie.
“Hello Alex. This is Alyssa. Are you in Mausdale?”
“No. I’m from Mausdale, but I’m in a small cabin. More of a shack. Ken, my boyfriend, brought me here a couple of days ago. Wanted me to experience living in the wild. Funny if you think about it. Every day these days is like living in the wild. Anyway, he thought some recreational time alone in the woods would be good for our relationship and I agreed. It feels like we’ve been drifting apart these past couple of months. And besides, it wouldn’t hurt me to learn some survival skills.”
When she paused I cut in. “If Ken wanted to spend time with you, why do you think he left?”
“This morning I woke up alone. I found a note from him saying he was going hunting since the storms kept us inside all day yesterday. I was pissed. He knew I was scared out of my mind last night, hearing all kinds of creatures outside the cabin. And he leaves me alone? What the heck! He doesn't return all morning. Now I hear he was on the interstate. That just doesn’t make sense unless he was abandoning me. The interstate is nowhere near here.”
“Where is ‘here’?”
“I’m not actually sure. We came up Jerseytown Road, crossed over the interstate, and walked for about another half hour. Then Ken took us off the right side of the road and into the woods. About another half hour later we were here.”
I looked at Nate with uncertainty.
“We have our own mission,” he says. “This is not our problem.”
“But she’s alone in the woods. And you know what might be out there. We can’t just leave her.”
Nate’s expression was firm. Just when I thought he wasn’t going to budge, he let out a sigh and grabbed the walkie-talkie back.
“Alex. We are going to try and help you, but there is no way we’ll be able to find you in the woods. Is there any way you can get back to the road?”
“I think I remember the door to the shack was on the right side when we got here, so I think I know which direction leads to the road.”
“Good. If you can make it to the road, we can head up and try to meet you. Do you have a weapon?”
There was a long pause before she answered. “I found a machete. Ken must have left it here.”
“Okay. We’re heading that way now. Do your best to travel in a straight line. I know that might be difficult, but keep your eyes open for things you may have left when you first came through. Footprints. Broken branches. Anything. We will keep in touch on the radio and start calling out when we think we are close.”
[At this point I tracked Alex’s progress to the road separately. At the end of this post I will explain how I did that and what happened beyond what is recorded here.]
We hid the wheelbarrow amongst some bushes and started north along Jerseytown Road. We hadn’t gone very far before Alex was checking in.
“I only left the cabin about five minutes ago but nothing around me seems familiar. I’m afraid I might be going in the wrong direction.”
“Can you see the sun at all through the trees?” Nate asks.
“Barely. I see light, but not the sun itself . . . wait! I hear something.”
I held my breath waiting for more information.
“Something is definitely coming. I need to hide . . . oh my! I see it. I think . . . I think it might be a bear, but . . . something's not right. It has wide eyes and a beak . . . almost like an . . . owl?”
To me, Nate asked, “Do I respond? What if my voice draws it to her?”
Turned out we didn’t have to make the decision after all.
“I think it can smell me,” Alex continued. “It’s looking toward the tree I’m hiding behind. Oh no! It sees me! It’s coming!’
The last thing we hear is a loud growl (interestingly mixed with call of a hoot owl) before the radio goes silent.
“Alex! Alex!” Nate called into the walkie-talkie but got no response.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Immediately, we took off running past fields that were broken by small copses of trees. After a while, the fields completely disappeared and Jerseytown Road was bordered on both sides by dense woods. Every couple of minutes Nate would call to Alex over the radio, but get no response. We traveled for what felt like a mile’s distance before we stopped and began calling out Alex’s name into the woods. After a few minutes with no sign of the girl we stopped, not wanting to attract whatever it was that attacked her . . . or anything else for that matter.
“What do we do?” I asked uncertainly. Up to this point, I felt like the level-headed one. Like the one who knew what to do. Right then, however, I felt powerless.
“Nothing,” Nate said. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. It would be foolish to search the woods for her. We don’t know where they left the road or where the cabin is. We could get turned around and lost. We already know there are wild mutant animals in there. I think the best course of action is to wait a while longer, then head back to the interstate.”
While I hated to do nothing, I couldn’t argue with his sound reasoning. In one last attempt to mount a rescue, I asked if Nate could pick up a GPS signal on his PEECE. I got to give him credit. He at least checked, but it turned out to be a wasted effort. [Do they have GPS? (even) No.]
After thirty minutes we gave up waiting and began the return walk south.
Scene 3 [Tension Lvl: 2]
“Alex made a good point.”
“What’s that?” Nate responded to my seemingly out-of-the-blue statement.
“If Ken was just going hunting and was planning on returning to the cabin, why did we find his walkie-talkie as far south as the interstate?”
“Maybe he got lost?”
“Perhaps, but look around us,” I said, indicating the fields on either side of the road. “He would have exited the woods long before I-80. He knew how to get back to the cabin from Jerseytown Road. He could have gone back up to the cabin instead of continuing south.”
Nate had no reply.
“Also, why would he leave his walkie-talkie by the side of the road?”
“Maybe he ran into trouble,” Nate suggested. “A Sep? Wolf? Raiders? Anything?”
“I guess you’re right,” I admitted. “But that still doesn’t explain Ken’s being near the interstate. Something’s not right, and when we get to Mausdale I’ll be asking some questions.”
[This is the result of the random event above (Pethro - discover a mystery or secret). The PCs will try to figure out what the real story is behind Ken taking Alex to the cabin in the woods.]
We arrived back at the place where we stashed our wheelbarrow, retrieved it, and continued south along Jerseytown Road toward the town of Mausdale. By our best estimates, we were halfway there when we were met by a group of four hoops. Each held a crossbow in their gloved hands and had a sword, or sword-like weapon, hanging from their belts. While it was hard to tell at first, we eventually figured out that two of them were female and two were male. What became obvious right away was that the leader was a pure white bunny-woman who introduced herself as Kelli.
[Are they met on the road by Hoops from Mauseville before they reach the town proper? (Good) Yes.
How many? (d4) 4 two male, two female Immediate Reaction? (2d6) 8 Uncertain, confused. In this case, cautious but not aggressive. Are they armed like a patrol? (Good) Yes
All have swords, (d4=4) and all have crossbows.
I created a table to randomly determine each hoop's color unless there was a narrative reason for any specific color.
M1: White M2: Blk/Grey F1 Kelli: whilte F2: Black]
Kelli asked about our business and I told her. I explained that we were from the Murphy farm and that we were hoping to find Jesse, the mechanic, as well as Sean’s son Lucas.
“What’s in the wheelbarrow?” Kelli asked, motioning with the tip of her crossbow.
“Trade items.” I pulled back the tarp to reveal a heap of freshly harvested carrots. [Yes, I realize I am stereotyping bunnymen and years from now libraries will ban this story for inappropriate portrayals of mutant humans.] Kelli stared at the boon and I could almost see the wheels spinning in her head.
“Murphy has more of this?” She inquired.
“Perhaps,” I answered cautiously. “Why do you ask?”
“We might want to make a deal. He provides us with carrots and other crops and we can provide services like mechanical work, carpentry, man-power at harvest time. Things like that.”
“I can’t speak now for Mr. Murphy, but he might be interested. Especially if he gets to talk with Lucas. I’ll ask him when we go back.”
Thinking that was that, I covered the wheelbarrow back up, grabbed the handles, and started to push it toward town. Kelli stepped in front of me, blocking my progress.
“I’m sorry. You must’ve misunderstood. You make arrangements with Murphy first. Then we’ll let you in the town. We need to know we can trust you. In the meantime, we’ll take this batch as a good faith offering for even considering helping you.”
[Does Kelli agree to take them into town and help them find the people? DC10 (due to bargaining) Alyssa’s Comm check. 5+1MND+2 Comm = 8 Fail!]
Not liking the turn the situation was taking, I reached for my [1:gun 2:crowbar 3:knife d3 Roll: 3] knife. Two of the other hoops raised their crossbows and aimed them at me. I didn’t back down. I knew they were just carrots and could easily be replaced. But the wheelbarrow, that was one of Sean’s prized possessions and I wasn’t letting them have it without a fight.
“Do any of you know Alexandria Andrews or her boyfriend Ken?” What the heck was Nate doing? I was preparing to die defending a piece of farm equipment and he’s making small talk? But I do have to admit, it shifted the attention from me to him. “We have some information about them you might want to hear. Bring us into town and help us find the mechanic and we’ll tell you what we know.”
[Do they know either of the two? (Good, being it’s a small town) Yes.
Nate will need to make a Communication check to persuade the group. I randomly determined the difficulty at DC10 and gave Nate advantage, thinking the group would at least be interested in what he had to say. Roll: 1 or 7 +2 Comm +0 MND. Best total: 9 Fail!
Why does he fail? Halt/Relative]
“Don’t listen to them!” said one of the hoops who was pointing his crossbow at me. He was grey with black markings. “I don’t know who put them up to this, but they’re probably here to spread some more lies about my brother.” He shifts his aim to cover Nate. “Ken loves Alex, and nothing you, or whoever put you up to this, says will change that.”
Kelli’s gaze bounced between her fellow guard and Nate as she contemplated what to do. Finally, she sided with familiarity.
“You two better go. Make your deal with Murphy and come back.”
“Not without our carrots,” I demanded.
“Sure, take ‘em,” the white hoop sighed.
I turned the wheelbarrow around and Nate and I headed back north toward Interstate-80. I glanced back from time to time to see the group of bunnymen guards keeping watch to make sure we left.
Once they were out of sight, I said to Nate, “Something’s up and I’m going to find out what.”
“WE are going to find out,” he corrected.
Surprised at his eagerness at spending more time on this mystery, I shot him a questioning glance.
“Don’t look so surprised,” he said. “Kelli was a little too willing to let us go once Alex was mentioned. I’m suddenly very interested in the answer to one particular question?"
"And that is?" I ask.
"What’s up, Doc?”
END OF CHAPTER
================================
Before I share Alex’s side encounter I need to address a farming issue. After I played through this session I began to wonder if carrots would have even been in season in that part of the county at that time of year. The short answer is no, they probably would not have. However, besides the fact that this is a fictional game and trading carrots with bunnymen is just an amusing setup, there are a couple of possible explanations. One is that some fifty years from now farming techniques have evolved to a point that some crops could be planted and grown out of season. Another is that the carrots themselves have been altered, either by naturally using selective breeding and planting methods or through scientific genetic modification (courtesy of Tech West, if course.). Whatever the reason, this world has carrots that can be harvested in Pennsylvania in the early spring.
ALEX’S ENCOUNTER
I decided that it would take Nate and Alyssa ten turns to travel to the approximate location along Jerseytown road where Alex and Ken headed into the woods. (These aren’t official game turns in regards to length of time. They are just arbitrary steps that correspond to Alex’s movements through the woods.) Alex would need to move from the cabin to the road in order to meet them. To simulate this I relied on the Game Master’s Apprentice’s Deck’s scatter mechanic. Each card has an arrow that points in one of the eight cardinal and intermediate compass directions. For each turn, I would flip a card in the deck and use the arrow to determine what direction she is moving in. Also, each turn she would make a D15 “Survival” check (survival skill + MND). If she is successful she can rotate the scatter arrow one click in the correct direction to simulate her ability to navigate from her surroundings.
Using a standard square grid, I placed Alex in a space three steps east of the left edge, that edge representing the road. If at any time Alex reached that edge of the grid she would find the road. Every two turns she had a 1-in-6 chance of encountering a wild beast. Despite her confidence as I wrote it in the narrative, Alex was apparently not very good at navigation because her first two turns actually took her in the opposite direction from the road and she failed both survival rolls. However, she didn’t have to wander lost for too long, as the first encounter check resulted in her running into an owlbear (58hp, AC15, Claw +9 to attack, 1d6+5 damage).
Alex (40 hp, AC10, ATK +4 for the machete)
Alex wins initiative.
Rd1: A: 21 hits for 2 pt O: 57hp O: 22 hits for 9 A: 31hp
Rd 2: A: 23 hits for 5 O: 52hp O: 21 hits for 10 A: 21hp
Rd 3: A: 8 misses O: 1 Crit fail, loses turn
Rd 4: A: Nat 20 max damage hits for 8 O:46hp O: lost turn
Rd 5: A: 17 hits for 3 O: 44hp O: 19 hits for 6 A: 15hp
Rd 6: A: 21 hits for 5 O: 39hp O: 21 hits for 6 A: 9hp
Rd 7: A: 15 hits for 8 O: 31hp O: 1 Crit fail, loses turn
Rd 8: A: 14 miss O: lost turn
Rd 9: A: 8 miss O: 21 hits for 7 A: 2hp
Rd 10: A: 23 Hits for 5 O: 16hp O:14 hits for 6 Alex is dead
===============
Psalm 104:19-21
(Read the next chapter here.)
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