Adventure Edition: Fireborn - Babes in London:Little Girls Lost - Act One, Scene 3A

You can find the introduction to the Babes in London adventure sequence HERE, the background to Act One HERE, the Overview for Act One HERE., and Act One Scenes 1-2 HERE.

To play or run this game you will need the following:

PLAYERS: Fireborn Player's Handbook;
GAME MASTERS: Fireborn Gamemaster's Handbook; Fireborn Player's Handbook;

This is a piece of fan fiction. It is NOT endorsed or acknowledged by Fantasy Flight Games; it is IN NO WAY official; it DOES NOT indicate any form of relationship between myself and Fantasy Flight Games; and I DO NOT CLAIM any of the setting specific material or setting specific concepts as my own.

PLAYERS SHOULD NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCENE THREE: NOT SO HAPPY FAMILIES

You glance towards an unsteady shimmer in the air, thinking perhaps the Seer has reappeared. Instead you see that the great elms have been replaced by their smaller, modern-day cousins. The butcher’s shop is back, and so is the green grocers. Back also are the two little girls. They are no longer looking at you, however, but towards a cluster of adults striding across the playground towards them. Neither of them seems alarmed.

“Anika! Where have you been? You were supposed to come straight home!”

“Leyila! You were supposed to meet us at the library after school!”

“Mother! We were just…”

“I needed to talk to Leyila, mum. It was important.”

This is the sort of conversation that dominates the interactions between the parents and the children for the next few minutes as the parents shepherd the children back to the cars. Give the PCs an opportunity to do something now.

Notes for New Characters:

At this point the PCs just becoming aware of their true identities. Have the players keep the Albion descriptions so that they may later incorporate them into their characters’ background. At the end of the battle, alter the end of Scene III to read:

Just before she goes to meet her mother, the taller, dark-haired girl, raises blue eyes in your direction: “Go back to your dreaming,” she says. “Your reality is there.”

The smaller child, with hair like gold flame glances at her in surprise: “How can they not know?” she asks, her small voice filled with scorn. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Before you can even think of approaching them, their mothers hurry them towards two different cars. Their words to you, however, have drawn the attention of their fathers, and the two heavily-built men are striding directly towards you. The frowns on their faces aren’t friendly.

Run the encounter according to the section: ‘Speaking with the Children’.

ALL Characters:

• Speaking with the Children: means that the PCs are intercepted by the fathers while the mothers continue to move the children towards the car. In order to negotiate the parents’ natural suspicions and antagonism towards strangers the PCs need to make an Interaction TH of 4 (due the pedophile incident of the previous year), modified by the player’s roleplaying of the encounter. At first the fathers are interested only in making the PCs ‘go away’, but then Leyila’s father wants to know what the PCs were doing ‘anywhere near the girls’ in the first place. Answers mentioning the Seer of Cathach are met with the half-joking response of: “Well, you’re a little out of your way then, aren’t you?” and “What do you want to see her for?”. The fathers have no idea who the Seer might be and certainly do not know the true identities of their daughters. The mothers drive off once the girls are in the cars, going in opposite directions. The nearest the PCs come to the girls at this point is to arrange an interview for the following day – but not on the grounds that they want to speak to the Seer of Cathach! Plausible reasons for interviewing the girls include a police investigation, private investigator seeking leads, journalist writing an article on the local school or library, teacher thinking of coming to teach at the local school etc. Any reason given must be backed up with some form of proof – professional id such as a Press pass, police badge, Teacher’s Union card will suffice here as will anything similar. Either of the fathers might make mention of the ‘incident’ the year before if the right conversational circumstances occur. Once interactions with the fathers are over, the men either walk over to the cars, or walk the three or four blocks to their homes.

• Using Ka on the Children: PCs are considered to have had a relatively close connection with Anika and Leyila in their past lives – as the flashbacks will reveal. This grants uses of the Ka skill on either of the girls a -3 TH modifier. (The connection wasn’t close enough for the full -5 TH modifier.) A successful Ka check (TH 2 due to the modifier) on Anika reveals the horse-riding part of her nature, and her role as a defender but not her identity as an Erebean Unicorn Maid. A similar check against Leyila reveals the dancing and Kehebite mysticism but not her identity as a Kehebite temple dancer.

• Knowledge: Law: TH 3 means that the PC recognizes the children from the news, and has a basic knowledge of their role in the break-up of the pedophile ring of the year before. They may even know of the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 4). Note: PCs with a cop background gain a -2 modifier to the TH#; those with private investigator or lawyer backgrounds gain a -1 modifier to the TH#.

• Knowledge: London: TH 4 means that the PC recognizes the children from the news of the year before. Those who followed the news closely may even have a basic knowledge of, the break up of the pedophile ring (TH 5) and the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 6). Note: PCs with a journalist background gain a -2 modifier to the TH#.

• Knowledge: Street: TH 4 means that the PC recognizes the children from, and has a basic knowledge of, the break-up of the pedophile ring of the year before. They may even know of the strange circumstances in which the children were rescued (TH 5).

•  Taking Note of the Area: means that the PC notices the ‘shopping precinct’ and may take note of some ‘shady characters’ (Air – Senses: TH 4 to note one of the following: the LN7 operative reading a paper in the small coffee shop that doubles as a bakery opposite the park; the LN7 operative walking her dog – except that she seems scared of the dog, a big German Shepherd; or the two men sitting in the car in the street that borders the other side of the park looking in their London street directory – they’ve been sitting there since the PCs arrived in the park).

•  Following the Children or their Fathers Home: gives the PCs a chance to further note the involvement of LN7 and Gehenna operatives. If they are actively looking for anyone else who might be interested in the children or their families, they might notice one of the above LN7 operatives (Coffee Shop Guy and Dog Girl) also traveling in the same direction they are (TH 3). In addition to this, the car in which the two men were studying their London street directory, also follows the family cars when they pull away (TH 3). As they get closer to the house, the Gehenna Consortium car continues driving and the LN7 operative stops at a non-descript blue sedan and gets in. Before it can be approached, the car drives away. Newspaper Guy follows the Collins family, while Dog Girl follows the Andrews family. The Gehenna Consortium operatives just happen to follow whichever of the families the PCs are tailing. On arrival at the Collins home, the PCs have a small chance of spotting the Servants of Set preparing for their attack (TH 6). If, for whatever reason, the PCs settle down to watch either of the families overnight, they later see the arrival of two police cars. If they remain, they are approached by four, highly suspicious police officers who ask them to move on. Non-compliance means that they are arrested and held overnight in the cells. Compliance means that they are openly followed and ‘observed’ overnight. The up side of this latter development is that they are cleared of any suspicion in the initial disappearance of the children and learn of it sooner.

•  Following the LN7 Operatives: as those operatives leave the family house means that the operatives stop at a local pub, bar, coffee-house, or restaurant. Here PCs are able to approach and speak to the operatives. If they do so, read the following:

They look like ordinary Joes – denim jeans, heavy cotton t-shirt with a dolphin scene printed on the front, work suit without the jacket. And they brought the dog. The dog is an Alsation, some German Shepherd sort of thing but fluffy and way too alert. The other patrons in here are giving it a wide berth. As you approach the happy grin on its face disappears as it jaws snap shut and it becomes very still. As if aware the sudden tension in the air will draw more attention than he’d like, the guy in the half suit waves you over.

“It’s about time you got here.”

The people around you relax. The dog doesn’t. Not even the tip of its tail moves in greeting.

The LN7 operatives are as interested in the PCs as the PCs are in them. They won’t say who they work for, only that it’s an organization that’s concerned for the children’s welfare. They ask what the PCs are “poking around for”; “it’s a felony to harass kids, you know”. If the PCs are polite about it, and say they are looking for someone but aren’t interested in the children, the agents leave it at that. If the PCs mention the Seer of Cathach, the agents become more interested and ask what the connection is with the children. Neither of them laugh if the PCs reveal that they think one of the children is the reincarnated form of the Seer, but they immediately invite the party to a more private venue to discuss the theory. If the party won’t go, the operatives leave anyway; there is no way they want to be discussing this kind of thing in front of Joe Public. If the PCs state that they too are interested in the children’s welfare, then the operatives offer to pay each of them £100 a day to place a 24-hour watch on the families starting in the morning. If the PCs accept the offer, they will be considered ‘Friends of LN7’. Whether or not they accept the offer, they will be watched by the group for some time to come.

• Following the Gehenna Consortium Operatives: The Gehenna Consortium goons have noticed the PCs in the park. They are just as interested in the party as the party is in them. They lead any PC who follows them for several blocks, taking what at first appears to be a fairly direct route, then turn off into a side street lined by houses. Once the PCs follow them into the side street read, or paraphrase, the following:

You’re about half-way down the block when the car in front of you steps on the gas, and then pivots sideways to block the road. Behind you, a dark blue limousine with heavily-tinted windows glides out of a laneway and parks across the street. You’re trapped – unless someone in the houses on either side of the road decides to call the police or come to your rescue. From the way curtains are suddenly closed, you’d guess that the latter just ain’t about to happen.

As soon as you’ve decided this, the front doors of the four houses on either side of you open, car doors slam behind you, and the woman in the passenger’s seat of the car you’ve been following steps out into the street.

Give the players time to decide how their PCs react. If they decide to do anything violent, have them role initiative. At this point, the mooks all draw their glocks and begin approaching the car cautiously as the woman calls out. Read:

As you get ready to fight, the lady from the car calls out to you. “Excuse me, but didn’t you want a word?”

If the PCs respond positively to the suggestion, the mooks put their glocks away and she invites them to meet her in a coffee shop located in a not too distant shopping center. If they react hostilely she gets back into the car and waits until the PCs are subdued and taken into one of the houses, or until the mooks are defeated – at which point she casts slow the living and has her driver leave the scene.

GEHENNA CONSORTIUM MOOK (12)

Era Modern; Race Natural being; APL 0; Init 6; Aspects Fire 4, Water 3, Air 2, Earth 2; Health 2m; <3 / 3+ / 6+ / 9+ / 12+ / 15+ / 18+ / 21+; Size/Reach 0/2 ft.; Armor 0; Stride 20 ft. (Moderate)

Combat

Glock 22 22 ~ range 100 ft. ~ reload 1/3, Night Stick 5/M, Fist 3/L, Kick 4/M, Sequences Street Fighting, Underhanded

Agg F8 / W3 / A0 / E0 – Power + Power + Night Stick: Dmg +10, Daze

Neut F4 / W3 / A2 / E2 – L Fist + R Fist + Ready + L Fist: Disadvantage (physical) 1

Def F1 / W6 / A2 / E2 – Spin + Ready + Fist: Dmg +5, disadvantage (mental) 2

Abilities

Skills Athletics 3, Knowledge: London 2, Knowledge: Street 2, Melee 4, Quickness 3, Ranged 3, Senses 1, Stamina 3; Edges Aggressive 1 (Ranged), Daunting 2

ALICE MCINTYRE – GEHENNA CONSORTIUM SPOKESMAN

Era Modern; Race Natural being; APL 1; Init 8; Aspects Fire 2, Water 3, Air 4, Earth 3; Health 3m; <3 / 3+ / 6+ / 9+ / 12+ / 15+ / 18+ / 21+; Size/Reach 0 / 2; Armor 0; Karma 15; Stride 20 ft. (Moderate)

Combat

Colt Python Elite 24 ~ range 150 ft. ~ reload 1/6 Fist 3/L, Kick 4/M, Sequences Nil

Abilities

Skills Athletics 2, Casting 4, Interaction 4, Ka 2, Knowledge: Ancient Cultures 2, Knowledge: London 4, Knowledge: Occult 2, Knowledge: Religion 2, Melee 2, Quickness 2, Ranged 2, Senses 2, Trickery 3, Will 3; Edges Allies 3, Casting 2, Mentor 2, Network: Occult 2, Network: Academic World 2; Spells Rank 1 – Beguile, Buzz Kill (A); Rank 2 – Aegis (B), Slow the Living (D); Traits Supernatural heritage (fae)

The Gehenna Consortium does not know about the Seer of Cathach. All they know is that their own people have located a ‘being of power’ in the area of the park. They had begun to suspect that the source might be one of the two girls who visit the park, and that is why they dispatched Alice.

They want to know what interests the PCs have in the children. If the PCs admit to being interested in the children’s welfare, Alice asks them if they’re willing to keep the girls under surveillance for the next few days. The Consortium is willing to pay £100/day per PC if the group can keep a 24 hour watch on the girls starting from the following morning.

If the PCs mention anything to do with their search for the Seer of Cathach, Alice can promise them access to research resources in the future to help find the seer. (She, of course, carries this news back to her masters at the Consortium, who are very interested in finding out who the Seer is and, more importantly, what her connection to the PCs might be.) No matter how this encounter turns out, the Consortium diverts a minor portion of its vast array of resources into keeping watch on the PCs and discovering who they really are. If the PCs accept the mission of watching over the girls and their families, they become known as ‘Friends of the Gehenna Consortium’.

END OF ACT ONE, SCENE3

Next week, I will post the Act One Rewards  of Little Girls Lost.