124841902 alternity action check of ghosts and goblins

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    Action Check Disclaimers

    Action Check is an on-linemagazine dedicated to theAlternity Science Fiction Role-playing Game.

    This work is offered free ofcharge to all interested par-ties and is not to be sold inany form. It may be printed ifdistributed free of charge.

    This work supports the Alter-nity roleplaying line, specifi-cally the Alternity PlayersHandbook and GamemasterGuide, and the Dark*Mattercampaign setting by Wizardsof the Coast, Inc. Alternityand Dark*Matter and theirlogos are registered trade-mark of Wizards of the Coast,Inc., All Rights Reserved.

    The staff is not associatedwith Wizards of the Coast,Inc.

    Wizards of the Coast, Inc.:http://www.wizards.com

    STAFFSTAFFSTAFFSTAFF

    Publisher/Layout: Jeff IbachEditor: Jim Sharkey

    Artwork: Dragan Ciric

    WRITTENWRITTENWRITTENWRITTEN BYBYBYBYNEIL SPICER

    HOW TO SUBSCRIBEHOW TO SUBSCRIBEHOW TO SUBSCRIBEHOW TO SUBSCRIBEE-Mail: ac-

    [email protected]

    BACK ISSUESBACK ISSUESBACK ISSUESBACK ISSUESwww.alternity.net

    Neil Spicer is the coordina -

    tor of Action Check on-line

    Alternity maga zine. He can

    be reached at

    [email protected]

    T ab l e o f Co n t e n t s

    Cover Art: Ghosts and Goblins by Dragan [email protected]

    Page 3 Of Ghosts and Goblins [Neil Spicer]An Alternity Dark*Matter adventure

    GUIDE TO SIDEBARS

    Scaling the Adventure 3Rachel Prewitt 8Security Break-In Results Ladder 12Goblin Technology 14Wray Security Guard 14

    Goblin Technician 16Colombian Mercenary 18Orrin Wray 19Goblins 21

    GUIDE TO MAPS

    Armadillo Dump 9Wray Basement 13Goblin Cave and Starship 17

    Action Check On-Line Magazine is published bimonthly by Jeff Ibachhttp://www.alternity.net

    TABLEOFCONT

    ENTS

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    Of Ghosts and Goblins is a beginning ALTER-

    NITY Dark*Matter adventure for 3-5 heroes of 1st

    level. A good mix of professions is importantsince the heroes will require a variety of skills tocomplete their mission. Combat Specs, FreeAgents, and at least one Tech-Op skilled in Secu-rity-securi ty devices, Technical Science-xenoengineering, and Computer Science-hackingshould be given heavy consideration. ADiplomat with Culture-first contact, could alsoprove useful. This adventure draws upon infor-mation contained within the Alterni ty Gamemas-ters Guide, Dark*Matter Campaign Setting,Dark*M atter Arm s & Equipment Guide, and the

    Xenoformssupplement. Heroes that survive thisadventure should amass enough achievementpoints to advance at least halfway to 2ndlevel. Inaddition, the adventure can also accommodatemore experienced heroes of higher level. See thesidebar Scaling the Adventure for more details.

    AdventurAdventurAdventurAdventure Backgrounde Backgrounde Backgrounde BackgroundThis adventure revolves around one mans finan-cial difficulties, his fascination with alien technol-ogy, and the strange otherworldly visitors fromwhom he receives his latest breakthroughs. Orrin

    Wray made a living traveling abroad as a merce-nary-for-hire after leaving the United States Army,becoming involved in a number of paranormaland extraterrestrial encounters. He only returnedto the States eight years ago when his fatherpassed away so he could reclaim the family cor-poration, Wray Information Systems. He had todig deep into his personal funds and make a se-ries of hasty loans to barely pull the company outof bankruptcy. His little known secret is that hesstill teetering on the edge of financial ruin andsearching for a way to make money fast.

    In 1998, Orrin made contact with a group of Gob-lins on an Internet fringe newsgroup called alt.alien.visitors. Initially skeptical, he accepted theirinvitation to visit an auction website event to bidon some computer accessories the Goblinsbrought with them from another star system.Considered low-tech pieces at best on the worldwhere the Goblins acquired them, Orrin discov-ered the hardware to be light-years ahead of hiscompetition. Seizing the opportunity, he reached

    out to his previous contacts for potential investors

    so he could acquire the off-world goods. Thislanded him in an illegal business arrangementwith Colombian drug runners in South America.In exchange for laundering their drug money andassistance in the smuggling operation, they of-fered him a cut of the cocaine that he could thentrade for Goblin wares. Viewing cocaine as anovelty consumer product, the Goblins weremore than happy to do business with Orrin, plan-ning to carry the drug out of the star system forresale to other buyers.

    Everything went well for a year or two, and Orrin

    believed he might finally free himself and hiscompany from financial debt. That was, until fourmonths ago. A young reporter by the name of

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    HOSTS&GOBLINS

    SSSScaling the Adventurecaling the Adventurecaling the Adventurecaling the AdventureThis adventure is intended for 1st level heroes,however it may also accommodate heroes of 2ndthru 5th level with some minor adjustments. Re-member that altering the number of adversariesand challenges opposing the heroes should alsoresult in a modification to the total number ofachievement points awarded at the end of the ad-

    venture. It is recommended that heroes of 1st

    thru3rdlevel be awarded enough achievement pointsto advance another level, or at least halfway to anew level. Heroes of 4thor 5thlevel should expecta smaller amount of achievement points, justbarely enough to put them halfway to anotherlevel. The following adjustments are recom-mended:2222ndndndnd level:level:level:level: Simply increase the number of Colom-bian mercenaries in Scenes Two and Five andprolong Rachels chaotic outburst when the he-roes first encounter her in the Trigger Scene.3333rdrdrdrdlevel:level:level:level: Apply the options listed above, and also

    increase the number of Goblins operating in thelower tunnels and passages by two in ScenesFour and Five.4444thththththru 5thru 5thru 5thru 5ththththlevel:level:level:level: Apply all options listed above andinclude a powerful guardian aboard the Goblinship in Scene Five. The creature could be anotherextraterrestrial brought with the Goblins from adistant world, a prisoner unleashed from astrange alien artifact, or a servitor race much likethe Sasquatch are to the Greys.

    OF GHOSTS AND GOBLINSBy Neil Spicer

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    Rachel Prewitt joined his company around thattime, going undercover as an assembly-lineworker. She intended to uncover the truth behindthe rise of Wray Information Systems when somany other technology companies were in de-cline. She believed they must be engaging in un-

    derhanded activities and resolved to prove it. Un-fortunately for her, she managed to stumble uponthe truth. Not only did she learn about Orrins in-volvement with Colombian drug-runners, but alsothe source of his cutting-edge technology: theGoblins. Initially, Rachel contacted the Drug En-forcement Agency with an anonymous tip, but sheknew her biggest success would be measured byacquiring pictures of the strange alien visitors.She stole a security passkey so she could eaves-drop on one of Orrins high-level meetings. Be-fore she could escape with the images she cap-tured on her digital camera, Orrins men cap-

    tured her.

    Afraid that Rachels nosiness would ruin every-thing, Orrin had his Colombian friends arrangefor her disappearance. The violent nature ofher death transformed her into a ghost that nowyearns for revenge. Unknown to Orrin or his mer-cenaries, Rachel managed to hide the memorydisk from her camera before they killed her. Atthe very least, she wants to use those images toexpose Orrin Wray and ruin him. If given the op-portunity, however, she would like nothing more

    than to see him and his Colombian friends joinher in the afterlife.

    AdventureAdventureAdventureAdventure SummarySummarySummarySummaryIn the beginning, the heroes are literally pulledinto the adventure by the ghost of Rachel Prewitt.Late one night, while visiting friends at a FortWorth news publication, they observe a manifes-tation of her otherworldly spirit. The results of herfledgling psychokinetic powers cause chaos andpanic. Rachel attempts to communicate with aformer co-worker, but he is too frightened to re-spond and becomes injured during the episode.

    Only the heroes manage to understand her andshe turns to them for help.

    In Scene Two, Rachel guides the heroes to theactual site of her death, a junkyard somewhereon the outskirts of the city. She encourages themto retrieve the disk from her digital camera, whichshe managed to hide prior to her death. It con-tains proof of Orrins shady dealings. A number

    of Orrins Colombian friends are also discoveredat the site. The Colombians are in the process ofconducting another execution involving the DrugEnforcement Agent that came to investigate Ra-chels anonymous tip. The mercenaries assumethe heroes are with the authorities and have

    come to rescue the man. They immediately try toeliminate the threat posed by the PCs presence,opening fire in a mad scramble to escape. Thisforces the heroes into combat, both to save theDEA agent and to locate the disk from Rachelscamera. Rachels ghost once again manifests insmall ways to aid them.

    Scene Three opens with the challenge of ques-tioning the DEA agent, assuming the heroes actu-ally managed to save him. A search of theshacks occupied by the mercenaries and the sur-rounding junkyard finally reveals Rachels body,

    the camera and its memory disk, and evidence ofthe Colombian drug operation. Examining theimages from Rachels camera, it becomes appar-ent that an extraterrestrial race is operatingsomewhere in the Texas area and has somehowbecome involved in the drug trade. Clues amongthe photographs and the DEA agents testimonypoint to Wray Information Systems.

    Scene Four involves a clandestine raid on Orrinscorporate compound to uncover the truth. Thebuildings are strangely quiet but security is

    strongly centered on two elevators leading to thelower levels. Battling deep underground, they fi-nally arrive at a massive tunnel complex cut intothe bedrock by alien fusion torches. A Goblintechnician is surprised by their arrival and at-tempts to escape and warn the others.

    Scene Five brings the heroes face-to-face withOrrin aboard the Goblin ship, currently berthed ina massive underground cavern. A battle quicklyensues against more of his Colombian mercenar-ies. Rachel attempts to manifest and assist theheroes, but the Goblins imprison her in an alien

    artifact. Its up to the heroes to rescue her andstop Orrin and his men.

    Scene Six wraps up the adventure by giving theheroes an opportunity to interact with the alienartifact and free Rachel. She thanks them forbringing her murderers to justice and fadesaway. The heroes are then left with cleaning upthe mess left behind.

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    BLINS

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    Getting the Heroes InvolvedGetting the Heroes InvolvedGetting the Heroes InvolvedGetting the Heroes InvolvedThe adventure assumes that the heroes are work-ing for the Hoffmann Institute, and therefore havea good reason for following up on the case. How-ever, many alternate methods exist for gettingthem involved. The following are merely sugges-

    tions:One of the heroes could be a good friend ofRachel Prewitt, bringing the others together toassist in a personal investigation of her disap-pearance.

    Heroes with government connections (DEA,FBI, etc.) could have been sent to Texas toinvestigate illegal drug trafficking comingacross the Mexican border and originating inSouth America.

    A hero with contacts among the Grey Ahottifaction could have received a hint regarding

    the strange occurrences in Dallas, purpose-fully leading him or her to investigate the mat-ter. The Greys have reason to believe thatGoblins are interfering with their own plansfor humanity and want the heroes to takesteps to counter them. However, they donttell them that, of course.

    Heroes with professions and/or interests inTexas could easily find their way to Dallas,either as a homecoming or possibly as a prel-ude to another investigation into Sandmanactivities in nearby Houston.

    Trigger Scene: Spiritual GuidanceTrigger Scene: Spiritual GuidanceTrigger Scene: Spiritual GuidanceTrigger Scene: Spiritual GuidanceWhen youre ready to begin the adventure, reador paraphrase the following text to your players.Special care should be taken to keep the sceneas dark and suspenseful as possible.

    Your fligh t into Dalla s-Fort Worth left you shaken

    and m ore than a bit nauseous thanks to all the

    upper air turbulence. Pow erful w eather patterns

    had stirred up a number of Texas twisters and

    though none of them threatened your imm ediate

    surviv al, they w ere sure to keep you from catch-

    ing the next plan e out. Just as you suspected, the

    airp ort canceled your connecting flight as soon

    as you collected your bag s. The Hoffmann Insti-

    tute w ould just have to wait aw hile longer for

    your next debriefing.

    Luckily you a lready knew a friend in tow n that

    could fix you up with a pla ce to stay. His name

    w as Hal Robinson and h e worked for the news

    media . You knew him b ack when he used to be

    a TV personality, but now ada ys Hals w ork only

    app eared in printed pub lications, usually a n edi-

    torial p iece in the financia l section of the local

    newspaper. He wa s more than happy to renew

    old friendships and inv ited you to meet him at his

    office when you called.

    The heroes should have an opportunity to clearsecurity at the airport and hail a taxi. If any of theplayers heroes dont know each other yet, theGamemaster should devise a reason for bringingthem together. Perhaps they split the fare for aride into town, banding together to ride out thestorm before they catch their next flight. At leastone of the heroes should be an acquaintance ofHal (use the template for an Ordinary Reporter inChapter 6 of the Gam emasters Guide). Regard-less, the ride to his office only takes twenty min-utes. He greets everyone with typical southern

    hospitality, offering them coffee or hot chocolateto warm up. After a few minutes, continue thescene by reading the following:

    Youre relaxing in the larg e office pool of Hals

    new s agency, spread out among several desks

    and cub icles. Most of the staff has alread y left,

    and Ha l tells you hes supposed to lock up on h is

    w ay out. He takes a sip from his cup of coffee

    and a sks for a nother story of your most recent ad-

    ventures. Though hes unaw are that you work for

    the Hoffmann Institute, hes alw ay s known that

    you perform investigations for an im portant gov-

    ernment ag ency. As a true friend, he has never

    published any thing youve told him off the record,

    but sti l l , none of you have ev er giv en him the full

    story about the things you do as Hoffmann

    agents.

    Youre just starting to expla in y our la st adventure

    to him, properly edited of course, when the com-

    puter monitor on his desk interrupts you. At first,

    the device merely fl ickers off and then back on

    ag ain. Hal frow ns and stares at it for a moment.

    Thats w eird, he starts to mu tter, and then the

    desk itself begins to tremble. Next to you, aw astebasket tumbles over, spillin g its trash

    acr oss the floor. What is it? Ha l asks, clearly

    alarmed now , An ea rthqua ke?

    But there are no trem ors to supp ort that theory .

    Instead, the desk suddenly heav es away from

    Hal, sliding across the newsroom floor and

    smashing into a coat rack and several chairs. A

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    startling coldness seeps into the air, raising

    goosebum ps on your arm s. The trash on the floor

    starts to move as w ell, swirl ing around un til it

    forms a miniature tornado reaching al l the wa y

    up to the ceil ing. Finally, a distant voice ema -

    nates from inside the vortex. Haaaa aa aa l it

    calls, Heeeeelp meeee What do you do?

    At this point, the heroes should begin to surmisethat a ghost has come to speak with Hal. The ap-parition belongs to Rachel Prewitt, a former friendof Hals inside the news business. She used tohelp him with investigative reports into financialmarkets and corporate holdings. Now that shesa ghost, she has come to ask his help in seekingrevenge upon her murderers instead. Unfortu-nately, her manifestation is a shock for her aswell as everyone else. New to the ways of thespirit world, she hasnt quite mastered her new-found psychokinetic abilities yet and doesnt quiteknow how to go about contacting the real world.

    Make the manifestation scene as chaotic andfrightening as possible:

    Round One:Round One:Round One:Round One: On the Good phase, the vortex losescohesion and swirling trash is thrown outward ina blinding storm, reducing visibility and imposinga +1 step penalty on all actions. A successfulAwareness-perceptionskill check can be used asan action to peer through the debris, thereby ne-

    gating the penalty for any follow-up actions in thesame round. On the Marginal phase, three com-puters are drawn into the air and tossed ran-domly around the room. Each attack targets oneindividual (effective score 14/7/3, damage d4s/d4+2s/d4w). Heroes diving to protect Hal inflict a+4 step penalty on attacks directed against him,but provide a 2 bonus to attacks directedagainst them instead.

    Round Two:Round Two:Round Two:Round Two: On the Amazing phase, Rachelsspirit forms as a barely discernible outline of herformer self, crouched over Hal as he cowers be-

    hind his chair. She tries to communicate withhim, but no sound can be heard. Only heroesmaking an Awareness-intuition check at a +2step penalty are able to perceive the exchange.She seems to be asking, Help me! Help me!over and over again. On the Ordinary phase, Ra-chel loses her patience as Hal doesnt seem tosee her and more objects fly around the room.

    This time Hals chair and two more just like it are

    tossed into the air, attacking anyone nearby(effective score 14/7/3, damage d4+1s/d4w/d4+1w).

    Round Three:Round Three:Round Three:Round Three: On the Good phase, Rachel beginsto realize the chaos shes creating. In an effort toshield Hal from the barrage of dangerous ob-

    jects, she pulls desks from every direction, plac-ing them in a square around him. To the heroes,

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    OFGHOSTS&GOBLINS

    GGGGhost of Rachel Prewitthost of Rachel Prewitthost of Rachel Prewitthost of Rachel PrewittSTR 4 INT 9DEX 10 WIL 11 [+1]CON 8 PER 8Durability: 8/8/4/4

    Action Check Score: 15+/14/7/3Move: fly 28, sprint 14, run 10, walk 4 #Actions: 2Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Resorts: 1Psionic energy points: 6

    Attacks:Psychokinetics 14/7/3 special LI/O

    Defenses:Intagibility: +5 resistance modifier to melee andranged attacks (only +2 vs. silver weapons)

    +1 WIL resistance modifier vs. encounter skills

    Skills:Acrobatics [10]-fligh t [15]; Stealth [10]-hide [ 20],sneak [ 20],shadow [20]; Stamina [8]-endurance[20],resist pain [ 20]; Awareness [11]-perception[14]; Creativity [11]-jour na li sm [ 14], photography[12]; Investigate [11]-research [14], search [ 14];

    Telekinesis [11]-photokinetics [ 14], psychokinetics[14]; Interaction [8]-charm [12], intimidate [12];

    Telepathy [8]-contact [ 10].

    Description:

    Rachel Prewitt was once a very promisingphotojournalist, undertaking a number of specialundercover assignments in order to blow thewhistle on corporations involved in illegal activi-ties. She made her living by scooping the compe-tition with her disguises, charm, and wit. Herghostly image strongly resembles her former self:thin, petite, and with soft-chiseled features. Shestands only five-feet-six, but hovers nearly a footoff the ground. Her insubstantial clothing resem-bles the smock of a factory worker and she car-

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    it might appear as though shes trying to crushhim instead. Her control over the desks is tenu-ous at best. Any hero moving to rescue Hal issubject to more attacks from light debris (effectivescore 14/7/3, damage d4s/d4+1s/d4+2s). On theOrdinary phase, the storm finally blows itself out

    in a wave of numbing cold. Anyone within 3 me-ters of Hals position must make a Resolve-physical resolve skill check. On a Critical Fail-ure, the hapless victim suffers d8+3 points of stundamage; Failure, d6+2s; Ordinary success,d4+1s; Good success, d4-2s; and no damage onan Amazing success.

    After the three rounds of dangerous and harrow-ing psychokinetic activity, Rachel finally calmsdown enough to regain control. Only heroes thatsuccessfully make an Awareness-intuition skillcheck can perceive her ghostly form still hoveringin the air. If all of the heroes fail the check, allowthe lowest roll to still spot her. Read or para-phrase the following, including only the first para-graph for those that fail the check:

    Suddenly , the chaos comes to an end. The news-

    room is an utter shambles. Fluorescent ligh ts

    hang from their shattered casings in the ceiling,

    ma ny of them broken and no longer providing

    il lumina tion. Trash and broken furniture lies eve-

    ryw here and Ha l is very sti l l , clearly struck un-

    conscious by the flying debris or num bing cold.

    No, the softly g low ing v ision of a w oma n

    say s, hovering in the air as she looks dow n upon

    Hal. A long coat hangs from her body, softly

    flapping in an ethereal breeze. She also holds a

    camera in her sma ll hands. It seems to float next

    to her as she puts her hands over her face and

    begins to cry. What hap pened? I never meant

    for thisI just w anted tooh , Hal, Im so sorry ,

    she say s, reaching a translucent hand dow n to

    touch him, but draw ing b ack before the coldness

    of her touch can do m ore harm , I just wanted to

    talkI need your help

    Finally, she turns and looks directly into your

    eyes. You! You can see me? Yes! she ex-

    claims. Somewhere in the distance a telephone

    ra ttles acr oss the floor in response to her excite-

    ment, smashing into the door. You must help

    me! Please? She gestures toward the w indow s

    that look out upon the streets of Dallas,

    Somewhereout therelies my b ody. A junk-

    yar d. Its w here they took my life. You must re-

    trieve the pictures! I can prove w ho did it. And I

    can p rove the other things theyve been doing

    that theyvethat The girl s form w avers for

    an instant. Oh no, she says looking help lessly

    ar ound the room, I cant stay . Iplea se, before

    its too late! Find the junkyard! It has an arm a-dillo on the sign out front. Pleaseyoure the

    only ones that can help. And then her ghostly

    imag e fades aw ay.

    After RachelAfter RachelAfter RachelAfter Rachels Departures Departures Departures Departure

    With the ghosts disappearance, the heroes cantake time to recover (through first aid, if neces-sary). Eventually, Hal awakens but provides al-most no help since he never perceived the ghost,only the dangerous effects of Rachels manifesta-

    tion. If the heroes describe her appearance tohim, he acknowledges that he occasionally workswith an undercover journalist named RachelPrewitt that fits the description. He shows them apicture of her for positive identification. The he-roes discover that Hals leg was broken duringRachels psychokinetic episode and he drops inand out of consciousness as they try to stabilizehim (successful Medical Science-treatment orKnowledge-first aid skill check). If they succeed,they can continue to speak with him. A success-ful Interaction-interviewskill check will yield thefollowing information about Rachel:

    Ordinary successOrdinary successOrdinary successOrdinary success She recently got involved inan undercover operation about four months ago.Something involving a computer company. Ra-chel was surprised by how fast they dominated acertain segment of the market and wanted to seeif they were dirty somehow. She always liked re-vealing the dirt on big corporations.

    Good successGood successGood successGood success Rachel called him once for acontact number inside the Drug EnforcementAgency, but never told him what the story was allabout. He gives the heroes the same phone num-

    ber, and if they contact the DEA the organizationacknowledges they currently have an agent on acase in the area, but refuse to share any detailsabout it, citing security concerns.

    Amazing successAmazing successAmazing successAmazing success Rachel mentioned somethingabout a strange piece of computer-tech that shediscovered. She sent him a schematic once andhad him forward it to an expert. The results never

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    came back, but he kept a copy of the diagramjust in case. If the heroes examine it, they canmake a Lore-fring e science skill check to deter-mine that its a computer core of alien design.

    Scene Two: Junkyard BluesScene Two: Junkyard BluesScene Two: Junkyard BluesScene Two: Junkyard Blues

    Following Rachels clues about the junkyard withan armadillo sign, the heroes can use any localphone book to locate the site. An Investigate-searchskill check is recommended, but not en-tirely necessary. The Armadillo Dump is clearlyadvertised in the yellow pages and its addressputs it on the outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Wortharea. Unknown to the heroes, Rachel continuesto invisibly tag along, hopeful that they will help tocarry out retribution for her untimely death. Stillnew to the ways of the afterlife, she must rest be-fore she can manifest again, so theres no way tocontact her until shes ready to reappear.

    When youre ready to continue the adventure,read or paraphrase the following to the players:

    The w ide-open skies of Dal las continue to

    loom over you. Heavy thunderclouds are gather-

    ing, sharply defined b y the late evening sunset.

    At least the rain ended some tim e ag o, but the

    streets ar e still wet. As you turn off onto a dirt

    road you can hear the mud stirred up by your

    car. A short while later you pull up to a pair of

    chain-link ga tes held together by a padlock. Alarg e sign ab ove them announces your ar riva l to

    the Arm adillo Dump. Peering through the ga te,

    the junkyard itself app ears deserted and you ca n

    ma ke out huge piles of rusting debr is leading off

    in every direction. The w hole site is circled by a

    fence topped w ith razor-w ire.

    To enter the junkyard, the heroes are faced withthe challenge of getting past the fence or gates.A successful Manipulation-lockpick skill checkwith a 1 step bonus due to the poor quality of thelock will easily open the gate. Climbing over the

    fence is a bit more difficult because of the barbedwire. An Athletics-cl imb skill check with a +1step penalty will have the following results: Criti-cal Failure, d4+1w inflicted by the razor-wire andthe victim is unsuccessful in climbing over thefence; Failure, d4-1w and the climb fails; Ordinarysuccess, d4-1s and the climb succeeds; Goodsuccess or Amazing success, no damage. If ex-tra precautions are taken, such as throwing a

    heavy blanket over the wire before attempting theclimb, the +1 step penalty is negated.

    The only other alternative is to crash the gate(durability 5, Ordinary toughness, and d4 light ar-mor). This can easily be accomplished in a vari-

    ety of ways, including the use of the heroes vehi-cle. The rules for destroying such a barrier canbe found in Chapter 3 of the Gamemasters

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    CCCColombian Mercenaries (4)olombian Mercenaries (4)olombian Mercenaries (4)olombian Mercenaries (4)Level 1 Combat Specs, MercenariesSTR 13 [+2] INT 9DEX 11 [+1] WIL 9CON 10 PER 8Durability: 10/10/5/5Action Check Score: 14+/13/6/3Move: sprint 24, run 14, walk 4 #Actions: 2

    Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Resorts: 0

    Attacks:Unarmed 14/7/3 Personal

    d4+2s/d4+3s/d4+4s LI/OKnife (x1) 14/7/3 Personal

    d4+2w/d4+3w/d4+4w LI/OBrass Knuckles (x1) 14/7/3 Personal

    d4+2s/d4+2w/d4+3w LI/O.45 caliber Pistol* 12/6/3 6/12/40

    d4+1w/d4+2w/d4+1m HI/O* This weapon incurs a +1 step accuracy penalty

    Defenses:+2 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks+1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks

    Skills:Athletics [13]-climb [14], throw [14]; Melee Weap-ons [13]-blade [14]; Unarmed Attack [13]-brawl[14]; Modern Ranged Weapons [11]-pistol [12];Vehicle Operation [11]; Stamina [10]-endurance[11]; Knowledge [9]-lang uag e: English [10], lan-gua ge: Spanish [12]; Awareness [9]-perception[10]; Resolve [9]-phy sical resolve [10]; Interaction[8]-intim ida te [10].

    Description:These mercenaries are little more than

    hired muscle by the Colombian drug lords inSouth America. Not especially bright, they like toresort to their fists to resolve most problems.

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    Guide, but the action is certain to announce theirpresence to the Colombian mercenaries inside,negating any opportunity for surprise.

    Once inside, the heroes are free to explore thearea. Eventually, they will encounter a handful of

    Orrins Colombian mercenaries engaged in theinterrogation of a DEA agent, the same agent Ra-chel contacted with her discoveries. They are inthe process of interrogating him. Read or para-phrase the following text to the players when theirheroes arrive on the scene. If the mercenariesare already aware that the heroes entered the

    junkyard, this scene is simply acted out by twomercenaries while the others ambush them frombehind.

    Weaving your way over and around various

    piles of junk, youre beginn ing to giv e up a ll hope

    of ever finding Rachel Prew itts body . The junk-

    ya rd is just too big a nd it could ta ke day s to sift

    through every mound of steel and rubb le. Per-

    hap s a search-and-rescue team w ith dogs might

    help?

    Just then, you r ound the corner and hea r the dis-

    tinctive sound of a ma n being struck w ith a hard

    fist! Tell us w hat you know and well let you

    live! a ha rsh voice speaks, somew hat br oken by

    a Span ish accent.

    The rag ged response from the man on the receiv-

    ing end of the blow is too muffled to understand.

    Quietly creeping forward you close the distance

    and p eer past a pile of junk at the interrogation

    scene. A large, angry H ispa nic man dressed in

    military pan ts and a t-shirt punches his prisoner

    ag ain. You can do better than that. I think you

    know more, he say s. The beaten ma n looks to

    be nearly unconscious, but you can bar ely ma ke

    out a patch from the Drug Enforcement Agency

    on the jacket used to bind his arm s.

    I told youI only know w hat the girl saidthat

    Wray w as dirtysmugg ling cocaine across the

    border, the pri soner mumbles, I just star ted sur-

    vei l lance on the company two da ys

    ag o. You were the first lead I had,

    so I follow ed it.

    Another ma n w alks into view . I

    believe w e hav e enough, he says,

    also w ith a Spa nish-accent, Hes

    acting alone. If any one else knew

    about us they w ould have come to

    save him by now . He lifts a pistol,

    pointing it in the direction of the

    pr isoner. Adios, am igo. Thanks

    for your cooperation

    At this point, the heroes may wishto intervene. Its clear that the mer-cenaries intend to murder the DEAagent. A combat scene shouldprobably begin. However, if theheroes devise a crafty plan to talktheir way into the situation, they

    should be allowed to try. The Co-lombians will view them with alarge amount of skepticism,though, and combat may eventu-ally break out anyway.

    Its important to note that only twoof the mercenaries are in sight.

    The other two are keeping watch in

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    a different direction than the heroes approachedand wont arrive on the scene until the secondround of combat. If, however, the heroes madeenough noise entering the junkyard or broughtattention to themselves in some other way, thetwo additional mercenaries will have circled

    around behind them. Allow the heroes an Aware-ness-intuition or Tactics-infantry skill check tosense the ambush, and require a separate checkfor each of the two men. If both go unnoticed, Ra-chels ghost will briefly manifest to warn the he-roes, pointing behind them. If they spot at leastone of the ambushers, she wont come to their aidyet.

    Once the Colombians feel they are outmatched,they will attempt to grab the prisoner and use himas a shield. Theyll be more interested in escap-ing and making sure the heroes dont get a

    chance to learn anything from the DEA agent.Their van is parked on the other side of the junk-yard, requiring a swift run to reach it. In addition,any hero attempting to chase the fleeing merce-naries should perform a Movement-race or trailblazing skill check depending on whetherthey are trying to go around or over the piles of

    junk lying in the way. A Critical Failure results ind4 points of stun damage.

    The van itself has standard statistics from thePlay ers Handbook. Its quite possible that a

    small chase scene could be inserted. The merce-naries arent particularly good drivers, so the he-roes stand a good chance of running them off theroad. Rachels ghost may also assist by frighten-ing them into a crash.

    Scene Three: Picture ThisScene Three: Picture ThisScene Three: Picture ThisScene Three: Picture This

    After resolving the situation between the DEAagent and the Colombian mercenaries, the he-roes greatly improve their chances of discoveringRachels body, the storage disk from her digitalcamera, and evidence of drug trafficking. They

    also have a chance to speak with the DEA agent.His name is Devin Hembree (use the template foran Ordinary Law Enforcer from Chapter 6 of theGamemasters Guide) and hes way in over hishead on this assignment. He only knows aboutthe drug connection. Rachel never shared anyinformation about the Goblins. Give the heroes achance to administer first aid to Devin and thenrequire a complex Interaction-interview skill

    check to obtain the following information:

    1 success:1 success:1 success:1 success: Devin does indeed work for the DrugEnforcement Agency. Hes been on the force forless than a year now and doesnt have much ex-perience.

    2 successes:2 successes:2 successes:2 successes: An anonymous girl contacted himabout two weeks ago with accusations of drugtrafficking and smuggling by Wray InformationSystems. At the time, she didnt indicate the par-ties that were involvedjust enough informationto get his superiors interested in sending himdown to check out the allegations. He nevermade contact with her, even though she hadagreed to meet him at a neutral site.

    3 successes:3 successes:3 successes:3 successes: After staking out the company,Devin was able to positively identify a known Co-

    lombian drug runner apparently working there asan employee. The men that captured and interro-gated him at the junkyard were also Colombians,illegally residing in the countryand actively en-gaging in the production and smuggling of co-caine.

    4 successes:4 successes:4 successes:4 successes: Although the Wray corporate head-quarters is quite large, Devin identified a smallerbuilding where the Colombians come and go,usually during the night shift. His next step wouldbe to secure a search warrant and take a team of

    DEA agents on a raid.

    Devin hasnt had a chance to contact his superi-ors yet and would appreciate it if the heroeswould report his condition to them. Its quite ap-parent that hes going to need more medical at-tention at the hospital and the painkillers willkeep him sidelined too long to follow up on theinvestigation. This gives the heroes a golden op-portunity to investigate the matter themselves.Once they become aware of the extraterrestrialGoblin presence, this will be even more importantin order to manage how much information gets

    into the hands of the DEA.

    The rest of the scene involves a complex Investi-gate-search skill check to collect the necessaryclues to figure out whats really happening andwhy Rachel Prewitt died. Their labors can yieldthe following results:

    1 success:1 success:1 success:1 success: A shallow grave is discovered not too

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    far away from Devins interrogation site. Beneathfour feet of dirt rest the remains of Rachels body.A successful Medical Science-forensics skillcheck would place the time of death around tendays ago. She is dressed in a lab coat bearingthe Wray Information Systems logo. Attached to it

    is a stolen passkey card that can be used to ac-cess Orrins secret compound beneath the corpo-rate headquarters.

    2 successes:2 successes:2 successes:2 successes: Directly behind the site of Devinsinterrogation, the heroes discover a tool shed.Hidden among several hammers, shovels, andpieces of junk is a fairly expensive digital camera.It resembles the insubstantial version held by Ra-chels ghostly image. A Medical Science-forensicsor Law-law enforcement skill check canidentify the fingerprints on it as belonging to Ra-chel Prewitt, as well as another unidentified per-

    son (Orrin Wray). Its memory disk is missing, soany photographs that were taken by the deviceare currently unavailable.

    3 su3 su3 su3 successes:ccesses:ccesses:ccesses: Inside a secret compartment in theColombians van lies a suitcase and a paper bag.

    The suitcase contains fifteen packages of purecocaine (with a street value of $500,000). The pa-per bag is full of money ($25,000).

    4 successes:4 successes:4 successes:4 successes: Drug synthesizing equipment isfound inside another shack, clearly designed for

    distilling cocaine into its various street forms.Two sleeping bags are also on the floor and oneof them contains a strange piece of equipmentinside. A successful Lore-fringe science skillcheck can determine that its manufactured withalien technology. Another Lore-fringe scienceskill check, or a Knowledge-deduce skill checkwith a +2 step penalty, discovers that the deviceacts as an easily controllable heat source, provid-ing steady, even cooking of substances whileinjecting different kinds of chemicals (some of ex-traterrestrial origin). Apparently, the mercenarieshave used it to experiment on crafting new forms

    of cocaine.

    At some point during the investigation processand collection of clues, Rachels ghost onceagain appears to the heroes. Read or para-phrase the following text to them:

    A cool br eeze begins to pick up as the sun finally

    disappears over the horizon. A few drop s of rain

    begin to fall a gain, causing you to look up a t the

    sky. Somewhere in the distance you spot a plane

    beginning to land, its lights blinking aga inst a

    background of gray.

    Then a noise captures your attention. The hood

    of a rusty old ca r beg ins to rattle in the breeze, its

    headlights suddenly flaring to life. Shielding y oureyes again st the gla re, the silhouette of Rachel

    Prew itts ghost once ag ain materia lizes before

    your eyes. The carthe diskthe photosthe

    proofits in the car, she murm urs, Find it. Use

    it. You have to know the full story and m ake it

    know n to ever yone. Please?

    The breeze suddenly stops. The headlig hts go

    out. And only the rumb le of the planes engines

    can b e heard in the distance.

    Searching the car, the heroes can easily discover

    the lost memory disk from Rachels digital cam-era. She tossed it through an open window andonto the floor of the drivers side when her execu-tioners left her alone for a few moments. A suc-cessful Awareness-perceptionskill check by anyhero will find it. Getting access to the imagesstored inside might be more difficult, however.

    If the heroes managed to locate Rachels camerain the nearby shack, all they need to do is re-charge its batteries, insert the disk and view theimages on the cameras LCD display panel.

    Without the camera, a complex Technical Sci-ence-ju ry r ig skill check (5 successes / 15 minutesbetween each check) is necessary to access thedata and download it to another computer. Com-puter Science-hardware can be used as a sup-porting skill to provide a 1/2/3 step bonus toeach subsequent roll. Optionally, the heroescould also be forced to take the disk to a local re-tailer of digital cameras and bargain for a newone so they can view the images.

    Once they gain access to Rachels photographs,the plot should thicken considerably. Several of

    the digitally rendered images contain shots of anextraterrestrial race of 3-foot tall beings. Unlessthe heroes are familiar with Goblins, they wontrecognize thembut theyre clearly different thanGreys or any other extraterrestrial currently onfile. The pictures also portray Orrin Wray in anumber of meetings with the aliens on companygrounds. Beside him are the same Colombianmercenaries.

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    Scene Four: Hostile TakeoverScene Four: Hostile TakeoverScene Four: Hostile TakeoverScene Four: Hostile Takeover

    Acting upon the information provided by DevinHembree and/or the clues from the site of Ra-chels death, the heroes should set about the taskof infiltrating Wray Information Systems. With the

    sun going down, they already have the cover ofdarkness on their side. The above ground mapalso might prove useful in orienting the players,and Devin would have provided at least a de-scription of the corporate compound to the he-roes. Once they arrive, read or paraphrase thefollowing aloud:

    The app roach to

    Wray Information

    Sys tems p ro -

    ceeds without a

    hitch. The cloudy

    skies serve to

    block out the

    moon and only a

    few star s shine

    through occa-

    sionally . A fine

    mist of rain also

    continues to fall around you, muffl ing your m ove-

    ments and hopefully making any security guar ds

    reluctant to venture outside.

    The heroes have a number of options available to

    them for getting inside the Wray compounds pe-rimeter. Use of the Security-protection protocolsskill should provide a 1/2/3 step bonus on anyadditional actions to enter unnoticed. Heroescan attempt to do so with a Stealth-sneak checkopposed by the security guards Awareness-perception (scores of 12/6/3), or an Entertainment-actskill check in combination with a reliable andmundane disguise (such as a Wray employee).

    They can also choose a more direct method, opt-ing for Interaction-charm, Deception-bluff and -bribe, or even Entertainment-act in order to passthemselves off as the Colombian mercenaries

    from the junkyard, legitimate law enforcers (suchas the DEA), or just visiting businessmen. TheGamemaster is encouraged to assign a penaltyor bonus to the overall skill check based uponhow well the players roleplay the situation andany useful props they might employ (such as theColombians van).

    At some point, it is assumed the heroes enter thebuilding and want to locate the most secure sec-

    tions because theyll hold the greatest secrets.Orrin likes to keep the Colombians totally de-pendent on him for access to the complex, sonone of them hold a passkey. In addition, al-though he provides security passes to his guards,he hasnt trusted any of them with the goings-on

    down below in the secret compound. The heroeswill simply have to use all of their skills and wits toget inside.

    By accessing any of the security workstations viaComputer Science-hacking (or a Knowledge-

    computer op-

    eration check ata +1 step pen-alty), they canlearn that thebasement is off-limits to anyone

    not bearing theproper passkey.Only the securityguards havethem, so eventu-ally the heroesmust try to ob-

    tain a passkey from one of them, or simply makeuse of Rachels stolen passkey if they obtained itfrom her remains at the junkyard. If they have totake on the guards, this could involve combat,Manipulation-pickpocket, Interaction-seduce, orany number of other skills. Again, the Gamemas-ter is encouraged to play out the scenario ac-cording to the ideas generated by his players.

    If the heroes decide to attempt a break-in withouta passkey, they will have to perform a complexskill check involving Security-security devices

    OFGHOSTS&GOBLINS

    SSSSecurity Breakecurity Breakecurity Breakecurity Break----In Results Ladder:In Results Ladder:In Results Ladder:In Results Ladder:SuccessesSuccessesSuccessesSuccesses ResultResultResultResult

    1 Successful removal of the secu-rity keypads faceplate; accessgained to internal wiring.

    2 Proper wires and internal compo-

    nents for authentication routineidentified.

    3 Wiring and components disabledwithout alerting system of break-in attempt.

    4 Mechanical locks rewired to ac-cept a new passcode providedlocally.

    5 Success!

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    with a +3 step penalty (5 successes / 5 minutesbetween each check). Supporting skills are

    Technical Science-ju ry rig, Computer Science-hardware, and Manipulation-lockpick, with eachproviding a cumulative 1/2/3 step bonus onany single Security roll. A Critical Failure or threetotal Failure results during the Security check,before achieving 5 successes, will alert theguards.

    If at anytime the heroes call attention to them-selves, four security guards will converge on theirlocation. Additional guards monitor their move-ments via cameras mounted at various pointsthroughout the building. The Gamemastershould feel free to send more or less guards afterthe heroes, depending upon how easily they han-dle being pursued. No more than fifteen total

    guards should be available, however, and theyare reluctant to summon outside law enforcerswithout Orrin Wrays permission.

    Wray BasementWray BasementWray BasementWray BasementOnce the heroes gain access to the secure sec-tion of the corporate compound, they can take thestairs or the elevators down to the basement.Several important encounters and discoveriesawait them below:

    1. Secured Elevators This is the entry pointto the secret subterranean complex be-neath Wray Information Systems. A secu-rity camera monitored from room #2,keeps watch over the corridor. A suc-cessful Stealth-sneak check against theguards Awareness-perception (score of12/6/3) is necessary to leave this areawithout being observed. If the complex isalready alerted to the heroes presence,two guards from room #2 will be coveringthe area from the north, making use ofthe walls at the end of the hall to providepartial cover. Their attack could come asa surprise unless the heroes succeed atan Awareness-intuitionskill check.

    2. Security Station Four security guards

    work here. One of them is always patrol-ling the deeper sections of the base,while the other three stay behind. Of theremaining men, one is always monitoringthe communications and security systemsto stay in touch with the other guards andwhats happening elsewhere in the build-ing.

    3. Research & Development Laboratories Wray Information Systems has a numberof R&D labs in the upper levels, but this

    one is special. This is where Orrinhas his best scientists working

    around the clock to reverse-engineer the computer technologyhe acquires from the Goblins. Thetwo chambers to the southeast aremade from bulletproof glass andthree scientists are at work here atall times (use the template for Ordi-nary Scientists from Chapter 6 ofthe Gam emasters Guide). Thesepeople are non-combatants andcan be easily interrogated or intimi-dated into providing additional in-formation about the facility. The

    results of any relevant skill checkare as follows: Critical Failure, theindividual refuses to give any infor-mation and silently triggers analarm to summon additional secu-rity; Failure, the individual eitherrefuses to give any information ortruly knows nothing useful (a newemployee, for instance); Ordinarysuccess, the scientist explains that

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    GGGGoblin Technology:oblin Technology:oblin Technology:oblin Technology:Much of what the Goblins have brought to tradewith humanity is actually the cast-off equipment ofmore advanced races. One mans junk is anothermans treasure, and the Goblins make a living offsuch a premise. The items Orrin Wray has bar-tered for consist of the following examples:

    Gnoshian EmittersGnoshian EmittersGnoshian EmittersGnoshian Emitters These oddly inverted wrist-watches are actually portable holographic projec-tion units. Gnoshian children often use them toplay games, but they also support other computerapplications. A flat round surface resting justabove the palm projects a three-dimensional dis-play when the wearer concentrates upon the pro-gram he or she wants to run and manipulate.Orrins vault contains two of these devices andfive energy packs or batteries to run them. A

    typical energy pack lasts for 24 hours of continu-ous use by tapping part of the wearers bioelectricfield. One fatigue point of damage is inflictedupon the human physiology every hour unless aStamina-enduranceskill check succeeds with a 1 step bonus.

    Goblin GravGoblin GravGoblin GravGoblin Grav----StripsStripsStripsStrips These slightly luminous day-glow stickers function as weight neutralizers, ef-fectively working to counter gravity so that heavyobjects can be lifted more easily. They take somegetting used to, but when applied correctly canprovide a 1 step bonus to Athletics and Acrobat-

    ics skill checks. The Goblins have traded slightlyless useful versions than those they employ today.Orrins vault holds five of them, but they cease op-erating five minutes after lifting something over200 kilograms.

    Grey Nerve PistolGrey Nerve PistolGrey Nerve PistolGrey Nerve Pistol This non-lethal pistol is a PL6design largely abandoned by the Greys after de-veloping energy weapons. Functioning with simi-lar principles, the nerve pistol radiates a sub-sonic vibration that causes pain in the centralnervous system of a target:Skill Acc Md Range Type DamageSkill Acc Md Range Type DamageSkill Acc Md Range Type DamageSkill Acc Md Range Type Damage Actions Actions Actions Actions

    Mod-pistol 0 F 4/8/16 En/O d4+1s/d4+1w/d6+1w 2

    Sseran ProcessorsSseran ProcessorsSseran ProcessorsSseran Processors These devices work just likeany other central processing unit inside a com-puter, but they allow machines to operate at aquantum level. When joined together they are ca-pable of supporting a PL6 Grid or virtual reality.Orrin has only one of these precious machinesand hes desperately trying to reverse-engineer itso he can establish the first Gridscape for com-mercial use.

    WWWWray Security Guards (8)ray Security Guards (8)ray Security Guards (8)ray Security Guards (8)Level 1 Combat Specs, Corporate Security Spe-cialistsSTR 11 [+1] INT 9DEX 11 [+1] WIL 10CON 11 PER 8Durability: 11/11/6/6 A c t i o nCheck Score: 14+/13/6/3Move: sprint 22, run 14, walk 4 #Actions:2Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Re-sorts: 0

    Attacks:Unarmed 12/6/3 Personal

    d4+1s/d4+2s/d4+3s LI/ONight Stick 12/6/3 Personal

    d4+2s/d4+1w/d4+2w LI/O

    9mm Pistol 12/6/3 6/12/50d4+1w/d4+2w/d4m HI/O

    Defenses:+1 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks+1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks

    Skills:Athletics [11]-climb [12], throw [12]; Melee Weap-ons [11]-bludgeon [12]; Unarmed Attack [11]-braw l [12]; Modern Ranged Weapons [11]-pistol[12]; Vehicle Operation [11]-land [12]; Stamina[11]-endurance [12]; Knowledge [9]; Security [9]-

    protection protocols [10], security devices [10];Awareness [10]-perception [12]; Investigate [10];Resolve [10]-phy sical resolve [11]; Interaction [8].

    Description:These security guards know nothing of Orrins se-cret arrangements with the Goblins. They areaware that he often receives foreign visitors fromdown South in one of the Spanish-speakingcountries, and are under orders to keep anyonefrom accessing the lower levels of the corporateheadquarters. When the Goblins come to visit, hemakes sure the Colombians keep guard instead.

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    they are working with foreign technologydesigned to enhance the processingspeed and power of modern-day com-puters; Good success, the technologycomes from an extraterrestrial source,though they are unaware of which group

    of aliens; Amazing success, the aliensproviding the technology arent very talland wear silver spacesuits.

    4. Technology Vault This chamber islocked by an incredibly complex securitysystem, with equal parts of computerizedand mechanical components. A complexSecurity-security devices skill check (5successes / 10 minutes between eachcheck) is necessary to open it. OrrinWray has the only key. Not even Rachelsstolen security pass will get the heroes inhere. The vault contains all of the originalGoblin devices and schematics that Orrinhas collected over the past two or threeyears. The Gamemaster is free to inventstrange alien artifacts and knick-knacks,some useful, some entertaining, and onlya few of the deadly variety.

    5. Mainframe Systems This is the process-ing center for all of the computer termi-nals located in the upper levels of theWray corporate headquarters. Nothingvaluable can be found here in terms ofinformation about the Goblins or drug-

    trade.6. Off-System Data Cores This chamberholds the Wray databases that are notaccessible by any means other than alocal interface. Even then, access is lim-ited to those with a proper password. Asuccessful Computer Science-hackingskill check yields the following results:Critical Failure, access denied, security isimmediately summoned; Failure, the sys-tem cannot be accessed, but no alarmsare triggered; Ordinary success, accessis granted, but the only useful information

    that can be obtained are some financialrecords that indicate Wray InformationSystems has misreported its income forthe past three years; Good success, addi-tional information obtained regarding apartnership with Colombian investors,including a well-known drug lord; Amaz-

    ing success, additional information in-cludes the schematics for a prototypeWray computer network that builds uponGoblin technology using Sseran proces-sors to create a PL6 GridOrrins com-pany hasnt tested the configuration yet,

    however.7. Trophy Room This chamber contains a

    number of trophies that Orrin keeps fromhis mercenary days, serving in Latin andSouth America. He put them here to helpimpress his Goblin guests when theycome to trade. A single security guard islocated here, walking his rounds beforereporting back to room #2, above.

    8. Meeting Rooms This is where Orrinbrings his Goblin guests to bargain withthem. One of the rooms is currently over-flowing with heavy crates of various met-als and ores. The Goblins have continu-ally expressed an interest in acquiringsuch things instead of the cocaine ship-ments. For them, the drugs are a noveltyitem that appeals to only a select seg-ment of their interstellar clientele. Natu-ral resources such as metals, ores, andother compounds command a wider mar-ket.

    9. Tunnel Access Access to this chamberis guarded by another security check-point. The device can be overridden with

    a complex Security-security devices skillcheck (5 successes / 5 minutes betweeneach attempt). Rachels stolen passkeyprovides immediate entry. Inside, thislarge chamber was once a storage facil-ity for Wray computer systems. Instead ofstoring his latest models here, Orrin hasconverted it into a staging area for ship-ping drugs to the Goblin starship. A widetunnel opens in the western wall, unnatu-rally shaped by Goblin fusion drills.

    There is currently one Goblin technicianworking in the room, examining the tun-

    nel for stability. He and his comrades in-tend to launch soon and dont want theirships engines to cause any structuraldamage on the way out of the nearbycavern. As soon as he becomes aware ofthe heroes presence, he turns and sprintsdown the tunnel.

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    Scene Five: Illegal AliensScene Five: Illegal AliensScene Five: Illegal AliensScene Five: Illegal Aliens

    Following the unnatural tunnels beneath Wrayheadquarters, the heroes finally encounter theGoblin starship. Orrin and his Colombian merce-naries have just been invited to visit the Goblinmerchants on board. They are eager to completetheir business before the ship lifts off to visit an-other market.

    Read or paraphrase the following text whenyoure ready to run this scene:

    The tunnel stretches for near ly a m ile before it

    finally opens up into a cave. Vaguely, youre

    aw are that the rock forma tions inside w ere natu-

    rally formed ra ther than smoothly shaped like thew alls of the tunnel behind you. But something

    else draw s your immedia te attention. Resting in

    the center of the cavern is wha t can only be de-

    scribed as a forty-meter spa ceship. Floodlights

    ring the vessel, il luminating the ship a nd m ost of

    the cavern floor, but leaving the rest covered by

    deep shadow s. Several crates also sit on a load-

    ing pla tform next to a ramp leading into the belly

    of the ship. Three gua rds, all mer cenar ies like

    the ones from the junky ar d, stand ju st outside.

    What do y ou do?

    If the Goblin technician from Scene Four man-aged to escape and reach the ship ahead of theheroes, the mercenaries on guard duty will havetaken up positions behind the crates. The heroeswill have to fight their way through them to in or-der to board the Goblin ship and eventually con-front Orrin Wray. If they manage to arrive at thecave unannounced, an opposed Stealth-sneakcheck (vs. the guards Awareness-perception of12/6/3) is necessary to silently move around. Aslong as the heroes stick to the shadows at theedge of the circle of light, these checks gain a 2step bonus.

    Goblin Cave:Goblin Cave:Goblin Cave:Goblin Cave:The Goblin-made tunnels leading from Orrinssecret compound open up into a cavern thatsactually just a giant hole in the ground. The as-cent leads to the top of a rugged hillside tuckedbetween the outermost buildings of Wrays corpo-rate headquarters and a private golf course. Un-til the Goblins began using it to hide their ship,only a colony of bats made the cave their home.

    The Goblins have set up a large holographic pro-jector to cover the opening above their ship in or-

    der to keep people away from the site. From thetop, the hill looks perfectly normal, with an unbro-ken stretch of grass covering the entrance. Frombelow, a natural ceiling conceals the sky. Thehidden shaft leads upward for seventy meters be-fore emerging outside through a similar-sizedopening.

    A. Cave Entrance This is where the heroes

    GGGGoblin Technicianoblin Technicianoblin Technicianoblin TechnicianSTR 7 INT 11DEX 11 [+1] WIL 11 [+1]CON 6 PER 8Durability: 6/6/3/3

    Action Check Score: 13+/12/6/3Move: sprint 20, run 12, walk 4 #Actions: 2Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Resorts: 1

    Attacks:Unarmed* 3/1/0 d4s/d4+1s/d4w LI/O* +d4 base situation die

    Defenses:+2 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks+1 WIL resistance modifier vs. encounter skillsArmor (Good): d6 (LI), d6+1 (HI), d4+1 (En)*

    * Weight neutralizing gravity strips provide a 1step bonus to Athletics and Acrobatics skill checks

    Skills:Armor Operation [7]; Athletics [7]; Acrobatics [11]-dodge [18], zero-g [ 12]; Stealth [11]; Vehicle Op-eration [11]-space [14]; Movement [6]-race [7];Stamina [6]-endurance [8]; Knowledge [11]-compu ter [12]; System Operation [11]; TechnicalScience [11]-ju ryr ig [12]; Awareness [11]-perception [12]; Investigate [11]; Lore [11]-UFO[14], fringe science [14]; Resolve [11]; Culture [8].

    Description:This unfortunate Goblin was sent to check on thestability of the cavern system. He donned hisbody-fitting, silvery utility suit before leaving theship and it gives him an otherworldly appearancein the dim lighting of the caves. He stands just alittle over three feet tall with short stubby legs,tending to lean forward upon his hands whileshuffling around in a monkey-like fashion.

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    first emerge from the tunnels into the cav-ern.

    B. Cargo Loading Platform This area isused for loading and off-loading cargo onthe Goblin ship. Currently, severalwooden crates are stacked nearly four-feet high on the platform, with each ofthem containing cocaine. Three Colom-bian mercenaries stand guard over theproduct while Orrin tours the Goblin shipand makes arrangements for anotherdeal. One of the men carries an SMG.

    C. Storage Tucked in the shadows, thisarea holds all of the additional trade-goods Orrin intends to offer to the Gob-lins. Realizing their interest in raw re-sources, he has collected crates of un-processed ores containing iron, nickel,

    and copper. Above these crates, a col-ony of bats have taken roost, hangingfrom a lower area of the ceiling only fif-teen meters above the ground. Anyone

    moving through this area is likely to dis-turb them. A Stealth-sneak check at a +1step penalty is necessary to slip by unno-ticed. Otherwise, the bats take flightcausing quite a commotion before escap-ing through the shaft above the Goblinship. This should give the heroes theirfirst indication that the ceiling above is

    just a holographic image.D. Holographic Projector These bulky emit-

    ters are far too large to move with any-thing less than a crane or heavy forklift.

    The Goblins placed them here using theirgrav-strips and then removed the weightnullifying devices so the projectors couldbe anchored to the cavern floor. It takesthree of the emitters working together toachieve a realistic hologram. At the mo-

    ment they are projecting a natural ceilingabove the Goblin starship. Any hero at-tempting to interact with these deviceswill have to spend several minutes in a

    complex Knowl-edge-deduce skillcheck (5 suc-cesses / 1 minutebetween eachcheck) or a simple

    Technical Science-xenoeng i nee r i n g

    skill check. If suc-

    cessful, then a Sys-tem Operation-c ommu n i c a t i o n s

    or sensors checkcan be made at a+1 step penalty toeither change theprojected image orshut down the ma-chine.

    Goblin Ship:Goblin Ship:Goblin Ship:Goblin Ship:The Goblin shiprests in the middleof the cavern, di-rectly below theseventy-metershaft leading out.Its an ugly lookingvessel, sharingnone of the smoothlines and rounded

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    surfaces of Grey flying saucers. The Goblins re-fer to it as a Gremlin-class scout, especially de-signed for evasion and small cargo hauling. Sofar, theyve taken very careful steps to keep it hid-den from prying eyes. Goblin attempts to barterwith humans have often met with violence and

    fear, so they only trust Orrin and his cocaine-providing mercenaries to actually walk on board.Even then, this is the first time theyve allowedanyone to visit them on the ship.

    1. Cargo Hold The cargo hold is currentlyempty. The Goblins have already off-loaded the goods Orrin bought, and thecocaine shipment is still waiting outsideon the loading platform.

    2. Storage Room This room holds varioussupplies for keeping the Goblin ship inoperation. Nothing incredibly useful willbe found here, unless the heroes are in-terested in Goblin versions of food, drink,toiletries, and cleaning supplies.

    3. Engine Room This chamber containsthe fusion reactor that powers the ship

    and the machinery necessary to operatethe engines. A single Goblin technicianis stationed here at all times. Hes cur-rently busy monitoring the equipment forthe impending lift-off, so the heroes couldslip through unnoticed with a successfulStealth-sneakcheck. Otherwise the tech-nician will call attention to them by hittingthe intruder alert. He will also defendhimself if necessary, resorting to the Greynerve pistol on his utility belt.

    4. Auxiliary Power This room providesbackup power generators. It is currently

    empty.5. Shower6. Crew Quarters Six bunks fill this room.

    No one is currently here.7. Galley A small kitchen and refrigeration

    unit take up space in this room.8. Weapons Station The stations in this

    room control the single energy weaponmounted on the Goblin ship. The Weap-ons officer is currently absent as hemeets with his fellow Goblins and OrrinWray.

    9. Sensors Station The stations in this

    room are also unmanned while the meet-ing is in progress with Orrin Wray.

    10. Escape Pod This chamber is actually abreakaway escape pod that can be sepa-rately piloted or used as an additionalairlock to exit the ship. The hatch in thefloor can only be opened from inside thepod. Also, the door from room 10 cannotbe opened from here, since it serves as

    CCCColombian Mercenaries (5)olombian Mercenaries (5)olombian Mercenaries (5)olombian Mercenaries (5)Level 2 Combat Specs, MercenariesSTR 11 [+1] INT 9DEX 11 [+1] WIL 10CON 11 PER 8

    Durability: 11/11/6/6 A c t i o nCheck Score: 14+/13/6/3Move: sprint 22, run 14, walk 4 #Actions:2Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Re-sorts: 0

    Attacks:Unarmed 12/6/3 Personal

    d4+1s/d4+2s/d4+3s LI/OHunting Knife 12/6/3 Personal

    d4+2w/d4+3w/d4+4w LI/O.45 caliber Pistol* (x3) 13/6/3 6/12/40

    d4+1w/d4+2w/d4+1m HI/O.45 ACP SMG* (x2) 12/6/3 8/16/50

    d4+1w/d4+2w/d4+1m HI/O* This weapon incurs a +1 step accuracy penalty

    Defenses:+1 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks+1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacksBattle Vest: d6-3 (LI), d6-2 (HI), d4-2(En)

    Skills:Armor Operation [11]; Athletics [11]-climb [12],

    throw [12]; Melee Weapons [11]-blade [12]; Un-armed Attack [11]-brawl [12]; Modern RangedWeapons [11]-pistol [13], SMG [ 12]; Vehicle Op-eration [11]-land [12]; Stamina [11]-endurance[12]; Knowledge [9]; Awareness [10]-perception[12]; Investigate [10]; Resolve [10]-physical re-solve [11]; Interaction [8].

    Description:These mercenaries are on loan to Orrin Wrayfrom the Colombian drug lords in South America.None of them speak particularly good English, butthey know how to fight fairly well. Three of themare armed with .45 caliber pistols while the othertwo carry submachineguns.

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    an emergency exit from the CommandDeck only. The hallway door is accessi-ble from either side., however. The poditself is incapable of interplanetary flight,but it can be guided down into anyplanets atmosphere once launched, andthen operated as a somewhat unwieldy

    jet aircraft.11. Command Deck The only entrances to

    this room are from the hallway or room 9.The door to room 10, the Escape Pod, is aone-way access initiated from inside theCommand Deck during emergency es-capes. The meeting between Orrin Wrayand the Goblins takes place here. Orrinhas two Colombian mercenaries with himand three Goblins are also present. Ifthey already became aware of the he-

    roes presence aboard the ship, the meet-ing will have come to an abrupt end andeveryone is prepared for their arrival.Otherwise, the meeting is just windingdown and Orrin is on his way out afterconcluding a new deal. Either way, theGoblins are in the process of initiating thelaunch sequence for the ship. Read orparaphrase the following to the players:

    As you reach for the door, it suddenly

    opens and you com e face-to-face w ith

    three men . Tw o of them look just like the

    mercenaries youve been fighting withfor so long. The other is a la rge m an slip-

    ping a pocket computer into his jacket.

    Behind him are three aliens just starting

    to reach for the ships piloting a nd control

    systems.

    The man w earing the suit lifts a shotgun

    in his other hand. Getem boy s! he

    says, Nobodys gonna mess w ith this

    deal What do you do?

    As the heroes encounter Orrin and his

    men on their way out the door, he directsthe mercenaries to open fire. This shouldbegin the first round of combat. One ofthe mercenaries carries a submachine-gun and Orrin has both a shotgun andfragmentation grenade obviously capa-ble of clearing a path to the exit. BeforeOrrin decides to use the grenade to goodeffect however, Rachels ghost bursts

    OOOOrrin Wrayrrin Wrayrrin Wrayrrin WrayLevel 4 Combat Spec, For-mer Mercenary/CorporateExecutiveSTR 11 [+1] INT 9

    DEX 11 [+1 WIL 10 [+1]CON 10 PER 9Durability: 10/10/5/5Action Check Score: 14+/13/6/3Move: sprint 22, run 14, walk 4 #Actions: 2Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Resorts: 1

    Attacks:Unarmed 14/7/3 Personal d4s+1/d4+2s/d4+3s LI/O9mm Pistol 14/7/3 6/12/50 d4+1w/d4+2w/d4m HI/OShotgun 13/6/3 6/12/30 d4w/d6w/d4m HI/OFrag. Grenade*

    12/6/3 11/22/44 d4w/d4+2w/d6+2w HI/G

    * This weapon incurs a +1 step accuracy pen-alty

    Defenses:+1 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks+1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks+1 WIL resistance modifier vs. encounter skillsBulletproof Vest: d6-3 (LI), d6-2 (HI), d4-2 (En)

    Skills:Athletics [11]-throw [12]; Unarmed Attack [11]-braw l [14]; Modern Ranged Weapons [11]-pistol[14], rifle [ 13]; Vehicle Operation [11]-land [12];

    Stamina [10]-endurance [12]; Knowledge [9]-compu ter operation [11], lang uag e: English [12],lang uage: Spanish [12]; Tactics [9]; Awareness[10]-perception [12]; Lore [10]-UFO [ 11], fringescience [12]; Resolve [10]-phy sical resolve [12];Street Smart [10]-net sav vy [11]; Deception [9]-bluff [ 10], bribe [10]; Interaction [9]-intimidate[12], taunt [ 10].

    Perks: Fortitude, Willpower

    Description:Orrin Wray is a large burly man, only

    somewhat out-of-shape compared to his days asa mercenary. He trained and fought in the jun-gles of Latin America for ten years after muster-ing out of the United States army. He has a deeplove for strategic combat, something that hastranslated well to his ruthlessness in corporatelife. Physically, he stands just over six-feet-twoand weighs nearly 200 pounds. His baldinghead is covered by a Texas cowboy hat and hehandles his weapons like a trained professional.

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    onto the scene as well. Play out the firstround of combat with shots being ex-changed. Then, read or paraphrase thefollowing to introduce Rachels reappear-ance in the Amazing phase of the secondround:

    Suddenly, in the heat of battle, a num b-

    ing coldness creeps into the room . Even

    your opponents recognize that something

    unusual is starting to happen around

    them . The aliens seem concerned as

    w ell, fidgeting w ith their controls to deter-

    m ine if theres a p roblem w ith the ship.

    But youre somewhat better prepared.

    Youve experienced this feeling before. It

    alw ay s comes when Rachels ghost ap-

    pears. And true to form, her image mate-ria lizes from the hull of the ship, bla zing

    into the melee in a fury of ethereal w ind

    and lig ht.

    Yooooouuuuu! her disembodied voice

    cries out, I told you Id hav e my r evenge!

    Not even the cold shallow grave your

    men dug for me could hold me dow n.

    Even in death, you wont escape me,

    Orrin Wray!

    As Rachel appears, this should begin the

    second round of combat. She tries to in-voke her psychokinetic powers to aid theheroes, but actually stirs up even moretrouble. In the Good phase of Round

    Two, another vortex of wind erupts acrossthe command deck of the Goblin ship,lifting a number of small objects and toolsand flinging them around the room. Treatthis as an area attack (score of 14/7/3,d4s/d4+1s/d4w, LI/O) against everyoneon the bridge.

    Frightened by Rachels disruptive psy-

    chokinetic powers, the Goblins take stepsto neutralize her before she can do anyfurther damage. In the Marginal phaseof Round Two, one of the tiny aliens pro-duces a strange mechanical box andunleashes its effects on her spirit. Thisessentially imprisons Rachel inside thealien artifact and the rest of the combat isup to the heroes. Read or paraphrase

    the following to describe the scene.

    Orr ins face has visibly p aled a t the sight

    of Rachel Prew itts ghost. He scrambles

    behind one of the aliens shouting for

    them to do something. A cold w ind wh ips

    around the room forming a v ortex sim ilar

    to the one Rachel summoned at Ha ls of-

    fice w hen you first met. Tiny tools and

    small p ieces of equipment are pulled into

    the air and hurled violently outward.

    Ma ny of them a lso sail in your direction!

    After the initial ba rra ge of objects ends,

    one of the aliens finally steps forw ard.

    Clutched w ithin its hand is a sma ll rec-

    tangula r box w ith luminous signa l lights

    blinking all along the outer edges. He

    presses a button and an orange lightstar ts to glow from in side. He then rolls it

    under Rachels hovering spirit an d a cone

    of light erupts from the box as two sma ll

    pa nels slide open. The energ y engulfs

    Rachels form and pulls her dow n into the

    inner depths of the box. Her w hirlw ind of

    force abrup tly ends and the shooting be-

    gins again.

    At this point, Orrin and any of his remain-ing mercenaries open fire again. TheGoblins return to preparing the ship for

    takeoff, take cover behind their stations,and leave the mechanical box lying onthe floor. If the battle starts to turnagainst Orrin (e.g., once he gets down tohalf his wound points), he throws his gre-nade and rushes for the escape hatchleading to the escape pod (room 10). TheGoblins showed him how the hatcheswork when they gave him a tour of theship, so hes aware that it offers a wayoutside.

    Any heroes chasing Orrin will have to

    contend with the grenade, which causesirreparable damage to the Goblin com-mand deck, but not enough to preventthem from flying the ship. In addition,Orrin locks the hatch behind him and theheroes must succeed at a Manipulation-lockpick, Security-security devices, or

    Technical Science-ju ryr ig skill check at a+2 step penalty to follow. Once outside,

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    Orrin runs for cover behind the crates atlocation C (and stirring up the bats iftheyre still around). He makes his laststand there as the Goblins attempt to pi-lot the ship out of the cavern.

    Give the heroes at least a couple ofrounds to exit the ship, regardless ofwhether they chase Orrin or leavethrough the cargo hold area. They canalso pick up the ghost-trap used to im-prison Rachel, if they think to do so. If in-stead, the heroes try to prevent the Gob-lins from leaving (at gunpoint or similarmeans), the aliens simply shrug and pointat the terminals as if to say the system ison autopilot and cant be overridden. In-deed, it is on autopilot now and being

    controlled remotely by a larger Goblincruiser passing through the system. Ifany heroes refuse to exit the ship, theycould find their way into the stars, effec-tively cutting short this adventure and be-ginning an entirely new one. Or, at theGamemasters option, a Grey vesselcould intercept the Goblin ship and re-turn the heroes to Earth. This option pre-sents a number of nasty opportunities forthe Gamemaster to install Grey implantsinto the heroes or wipe their memories ofthe entire episode.

    GGGGoblins (4)oblins (4)oblins (4)oblins (4)STR 7 INT 10DEX 11 [+1] WIL 11 [+1]CON 6 PER 8Durability: 6/6/3/3

    Action Check Score: 13+/12/6/3Move: sprint 20, run 12, walk 4 #Actions: 2Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Last Resorts: 1

    Attacks:Unarmed* 3/1/0 d4s/d4+1s/d4w LI/OGrey Nerve Pistol*

    11/5/2 d4+1s/d4+1w/d6+1w En/O* +d4 base situation die

    Defenses:

    +2 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks+1 WIL resistance modifier vs. encounter skillsArmor (Good): d6 (LI), d6+1 (HI), d4+1 (En)** Weight neutralizing gravity strips provide a 1step bonus to Athletics and Acrobatics skill checks

    Skills:Armor Operation [7]; Athletics [7]; Acrobatics [11]-dodge [18],zero-g [ 12]; Modern Ranged Weapons[11]; Stealth [11]; Vehicle Operation [11]-space[14]; Movement [6]-race [7]; Stamina [6]-endurance [8]; Knowledge [10]-computer [12]; Sys-tem Operation [10]; Awareness [11]-perception

    [12]; Investigate [11]; Lore [11]-UFO [14], fring e sci-ence [14]; Resolve [11]; Culture [8].

    Description:These goblins have little fight in them.

    Seeing themselves more as traders than warriors,they are more than happy to allow others to dotheir fighting, including Orrin and his men. But, ifhard pressed, they will defend themselves withweapons they liberated from a Grey outpost.While near the relative safety of their starship, theGoblins have removed their helmets, but still wearprotective utility suits. This allows some of their

    physical characteristics to be more easily dis-cerned. Barely over three feet tall, they hunch overon their hands much like a monkey, using them towalk more often than their short stubby legs. Twolarge pointy ears protrude from their heads andtheir eyes are perfectly circular with an unnaturalluminosity even in total darkness.

    GGGGhost Trap:host Trap:host Trap:host Trap:This alien artifact usually appears in the form of asmall rectangular box with mechanical compo-nents designed to harness the energies of other-worldly beings and draw them inward. It forcesthe target to make a Resolve-mental resolve skillcheck or become imprisoned inside the trap. Itcan only do this to one creature, lacking the stor-age capacity to accommodate more than one be-ing at a time. Effectively, the device serves as atrap for ghosts, spirits, and other creatures ofnon-corporeal nature. Once inside, the prisoner

    is subjected to the slow torture of the artifactdrawing away its life sourceit uses this topower the dampening fields used to contain thespirit. Its quite an unpleasant experience andcan drive most ghosts mad with the pain afterprolonged exposure. The prisoner can attempt tobreak free of the box once a month through an-other Resolve-mental r esolve skill check, but onlyan Amazing success will do so.

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    Scene Six: Death Becomes HerScene Six: Death Becomes HerScene Six: Death Becomes HerScene Six: Death Becomes Her

    Eventually the heroes free themselves from theGoblin ship and bring closure to the adventure. Ifthey grabbed the alien artifact used by the Gob-lins to imprison Rachel, they can experiment withit to release her. Doing so requires a complex

    Technical Science-xenoengineeringskill check (5successes / 3 days between each check) to re-search the item and the necessary features to op-erate it. After that, the heroes can attempt to re-lease Rachels spirit by involving a mindwalker ormaking the attempt on their own. See the Ghost

    Trap sidebar for more information.

    If the heroes do successfully release Rachel fromthe artifact, read or paraphrase the followingscene to the players:

    The pa nels on the tiny b ox slide open once ag ain

    and y ou shield your eyes aga inst the glaring light

    inside. Freeeeee Rachels voice rea ches your

    ears and then she reappea rs before you, hover-

    ing i n the air as the box snaps shut.

    Than k you so m uch, she say s, It waspa inful

    in there. And thank you for every thing else, too. Idont know w hat to ma ke of being a ghost now,but Ive learned a lot in the past several hours. I

    certainly never thought Id get the oppor tunity to

    repay Or rin and his men. I never could have

    rested until someone exposed his operation

    here.

    She looks off into the distance, as if seeing some-

    thing beyond your own abil ity to perceive. I

    dont know if I l l be able to come ba ck aga in. But

    if I do, I w ont forget you. She starts to float

    aw ay towa rd the sky. I have to go. Tell Hal I

    said goodb ye.

    In the meantime, the heroes have a lot of looseends to wrap up. The Hoffmann Institute is goingto want to know what happened. If the Goblinship successfully launched from the cave, theDallas area experiences a number of UFO sight-ings called into local news stations. The MIBsshow up to downplay the situation, offering a host

    Anyone manipulating the device while a spirit istrapped inside can attempt to communicate withit. A mindwalker with Telepathy-contact will findthis easier than a non-mindwalker, giving them anintuitive 2 step bonus to the attempt. Still, any-one can try to use the built-in mechanical compo-nents of the box with a System Operation-communications feat check. The results of eithercheck will yield the following possibilities:

    Critical FailureCritical FailureCritical FailureCritical Failure The spirit contained within theartifact is unleashed in a painful psychic explo-sion, both to it and the holder of the device. Eachmust immediately undergo a Resolve-mental re-solve skill check and the wielder suffers one fa-tigue point of damage. A Critical Failure on theResolve check knocks the victim unconscious (ordissipates the spirit, forcing it to spend a last re-

    sort point to reform itself weeks later). A Failureresult inflicts d8+4s; Ordinary success, d6+2s;Good success, d4+1s; and an Amazing successinflicts only d4-1s.

    FailureFailureFailureFailure No contact can be made with the impris-oned spirit, and the wielder loses one fatiguepoint.

    OrdinaryOrdinaryOrdinaryOrdinary The wielder of the artifact can estab-lish three rounds of conversation with the impris-oned spirit, but it is not obligated to respond. In-teraction skill checks are necessary to otherwise

    keep it interested in the conversation.

    GoodGoodGoodGood The wielder can speak with the spirit forup to ten minutes, and it is somewhat more in-clined to respond. Treat the contact as Friendly,rather than Neutral. In addition, the wielder canoffer the imprisoned spirit another opportunity toescape in the form of a cooperative Resolve-mental resolve and Technical Science-xenoengineering skill check. The success of thewielders xenoengineering check can provide a 1/2/3 step bonus to the spirits attempt to breakfree. An Amazing success on the Resolve-mentalresolve check is still necessary to do so.

    AmazingAmazingAmazingAmazing The wielder gains complete access tothe spirit and may speak with it for up to an hour.

    Treat the spirit as Friendly, rather than Neutralduring the encounter. He or she can also willinglyrelease the spirit from the prison at any time dur-ing their conversation by simply succeeding at a

    new Technical Science-xenoengineering ANDSystem Operation-defenses or Security-securitydevices skill check.

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    of more plausible explanations (freak thunder-storms, low flying planes trying to avoid theclouds, etc.). In addition, Orrin Wray comes un-der DEA investigation and if the heroes capturedhim, hes placed on trial and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison on multiple counts of drugtrafficking. A small obituary appears in the news-paper for Rachel Prewitt and the discovery of herremains at the junkyard stirs up controversy onthe local news broadcasts.

    AcAcAcAchievementshievementshievementshievements 2 achievement points for giving Rachels spirit

    a sense of closure and the ability to finallyrest in peace. Recovering her body and thephotos, and then putting them into the handsof the proper authorities can accomplish this.It also implies seeking justice against Orrin

    Wray and the Colombians as well as freeingher from imprisonment inside the Goblinghost-trap in the final scene. A singleachievement point might be awarded for par-tially completing the goal.

    2 achievement points for rescuing DevinHembree the DEA agent, while eliminatingthe Colombian mercenaries and their drugoperation. This can be accomplished by tak-ing custody of the illegal drugs and cash,freeing Devin from their clutches, and defeat-ing all of the Colombians throughout the en-tire adventure. A single achievement point

    might be awarded for partially completingthese tasks.

    1 achievement point for recovering all of theGoblin technology from the junkyard andWray headquarters, thereby keeping it out ofthe hands of dangerous people.

    1 achievement point for outsmarting OrrinWray (either through direct combat, interac-

    tion, or by capturing him to be turned over tothe authorities).

    1 bonus achievement point for successfullydealing with the Goblins (either through com-bat, the establishment of friendly relations, oralerting the Greys and other rival Illuminatigroups to their presence).

    Powerful Ally/New Contacts: especially re-sourceful heroes might be rewarded with acontinuing contact in the DEA, among theGoblins, or Rachel herself as she returnsevery now and then with new information.

    Future Adventure HooksFuture Adventure HooksFuture Adventure HooksFuture Adventure Hooks The Goblins could go on to develop another

    relationship with the Qualitech Corporationand Gamemasters can kickoff the adventurehook under the East Coast Boys in Chapter 6

    of theDark*Matter Cam paign Settingsource-book.

    The heroes could move on to Houston, Texasand become involved in the Sandman opera-tions there as another breakout of the Hous-ton virus occurs.

    A relationship with Devin Hembree in the DEAcould develop, thereby pulling the heroes intoanother adventure involving that organizationand the Colombian drug lords seeking re-venge. Perhaps the Goblin cooking devicefrom the junkyard was already used to createa dangerous new drug finding its way onto

    the streets? Hal Robinson could maintain contact with the

    heroes, soliciting them for assistance in anew plot.

    Rachels ghost could return and kick off awhole new investigation of yet another shadyenterprise.

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