Adventure Edition - Babes in London: Little Girls Lost Act Two Scene 3C

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., Act One Scenes 1-2 HERE and Act One Scene 3 HERE.

Act Two Preparation and Scene 1 can be found HERE, Act Two Scene 2 can be found HERE, Act Two Scene 3A can be found HERE and Act Two Scene 3B can be found HERE.

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

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

GMs, please note that there are two sizable cut-scenes interlinked with Scene 3A. This is the final one for this Scene. You should not run Scene 3A until you have both cut-scenes, as they interrupt this scene when they occur. Scene 3B was posted last week. Also note that these scenes have not been playtested, so you may need to adjust them on the fly. If you do, I would be grateful for any feedback.

PLAYERS SHOULD NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCENE THREE C: FRIENDS OF KREDAK

You are sitting around a rough, wooden table on benches worn smooth by use and time. The walls appear to be made of mud bricks and heavy wooden shutters cover deep, narrow windows. Outside a storm wind howls but, somehow, you know that the constant hiss against the shutters is sand, not rain. It is not a day to be outside. Or, possibly, a night. Who can tell? The storm has raged for so long it could be either. Your host is about to continue the epic he was reciting for your entertainment when there is a sudden thud from the trap door at the top of the stairs leading to the roof. For a few seconds it is followed by nothing more than the howling wind, and then a roar shakes the building. Either there’s a lion on steroids out there, or you’ve got company…

Let the PCs decide what to do. Inspired by the heroic deeds in the epic he was reciting, their host is all for climbing the stairs and taking a peek – something he does if the PCs take too long discussing the situation. (A Senses [Earth] TH2 test is all that’s required to notice him picking up his scimitar and heading for the stairs – he’s not being subtle.) Roars and shrieks can now be heard from above and it sounds like there’s some sort of fight going on up stairs. Their host is insisting he sees what is happening on his roof. If/when the PCs open the trapdoor read, or paraphrase, the following:

The wind is so strong that it snatches the trapdoor out of your hands and slams it open into the roof. Sand stings your skin and beats against your robes but you see that the crash of the trapdoor has drawn some interesting attention.

There is a dragon to the left of you, his snout and claws bloody as he uses his wings to keep him on the roof. There are deep gouges in his chest and flanks and the shaft of a snapped spear is lodged in one shoulder. The creatures between you are a strange mix. They look like an oversized cross between wild boars and men. Some are wielding scimitars and some spears. All are wearing what looks like a rough leather skirt at their waist and thick cloth bands criss-cross the red-black bristles of their upper torsos. How they flew to the roof, you’ll never know, but they outnumber the dragon eight to one and he is barely holding his own. The one nearest you turns: “Be gone humans,” it roars, “lest you join this one in death!”

Let the PCs decide what they are going to do. If they try to talk to the dragon they get no reply as he parries another spear thrust with a swipe of his foreclaw and struggles to keep his balance on the edge of the roof.  

NOTE: The Red Boars of Set are particularly powerful. The PCs may need to use their draconic forms in order to survive this battle.

If PCs decide not to do battle: read or paraphrase the following: No, that’s not how it happened. There was a battle, a glorious battle and you won the admiration of your host and a new friend. The creatures were destroyed, shattering into so many shards of sand as each death blow fell. They died and Kredak became your friend. The world turns on the memory of his name and you are once again, standing in Anika’s ransacked room.  

NOTE: If PCs choose not to fight the Red Boars of Set, they do not receive the heritage AP for the battle, even though they still become known as Friends of Kredak.

If PCs decide to do battle: Give players the choice of what form to use in the battle to come and role initiative. (For new characters/players, go to the Notes for New Characters Sidebar II.)

NOTES FOR NEW CHARACTERS SIDEBAR II: New players/characters may not know to use their draconic form in this battle so have them turn to their dragon descriptions and read, or paraphrase the following: With the beating these things are giving that dragon, you’d be a fool to take them on as a man. You feel your bones shifting as you leap into the fray with a roar.

 

RED BOARS OF SET – WARRIORS (7)

Era Mythic; Race Mythic supernatural being; APL 6; Aspects Fire 5, Water 4, Air 3, Earth 3; Init. 8, Health 3m; <3 / 4+ / 8+ / 12+ / 16+ / 20+ / 24+ / 28+; (the four Boars facing Kredak are currently on three wound dice, while the four facing the PCs are on two), Size/Reach 1 / 5; Armor 5 (cloth + natural hide); Karma 15 (currently 5); Stride 50 ft. (Moderate)

Combat

Fist (2) 3/L, Kick (2) 4/M, Scimitar 9/M, Medium Spear 7/M, Sequences Rank & File, Long Arm

Abilities

Skills : Athletics 2, Knowledge: Set 2, Melee 3, Senses 2, Stamina 2, Will 2;

Edges: Aggressive 1, Brutal 2, Deft 1, Resilient 1

Powers: Swift 2, Undeterred 2

Traits: Alternate Form 2, Ferocity 1,

RED BOARS OF SET – CAPTAIN (1)

Era Mythic; Race Mythic supernatural being; APL 7; Aspects Fire 5, Water 4, Air 3, Earth 3; Init. 8, Health 3m; <3 / 4+ / 8+ / 12+ / 16+ / 20+ / 24+ / 28+; (currently on 1 wound dice), Size/Reach 1 / 5; Armor 5 (cloth + natural hide); Karma 15 (currently 5); Stride 50 ft. (Moderate)

Combat

Fist (2) 3/L, Kick (2) 4/M, Scimitar 9/M, Medium Spear 7/M, Sequences Rank & File, Long Arm

Abilities

Skills : Athletics 6, Knowledge: Set 3, Melee 5, Senses 3, Stamina 4, Will 4;

Edges: Aggressive 2, Brutal 3, Deft 2, Resilient 2

Powers: Swift 2, Undeterred 2

Traits: Alternate Form 2, Ferocity 1

KREDAK

Era Mythic; Race Noble Beast Dragon; APL ; Aspects Fire 3 (3), Water 6 (4), Air 5 (3), Earth 5 (4); Init. 8, Health 5m; <6 / 6+ / 12+ / 18+ / 24+ / 30+ / 36+ / 42+ (currently at 2 wound dice); Size/Reach 4 / 20; Armor 8; Karma 50 (currently 15); Stride: 90 ft. (Speedy), Fly 45 ft. (Slow, mnv 4)

Weapons:

—Foreclaw: 12/M

—Hindclaw: 18/M (Grab move ready requirement)

—Bite: 18/H

—Gore: 21/H

—Sweeping Tail: 18/Size 5 (Weapon Sweep move)

Sequences: Barroom Brawling, Swift (Archangel, Underhanded)

Skills : Athletics 3, Casting 3, Interaction 6, Knowledge: Atlantean Culture 3, Knowledge: Geography 3, Knowledge: Kehebite Culture 3, Knowledge: Kehebite Language 3, Knowledge: Set 3, Medicine 3, Quickness 6, Ranged 6, Senses 6, Stealth 6, Trickery 6, Will 3;

Spells: Aegis AB, Catcher’s Creation ABCD (Coruscating Bolt AB, Flash ABC)

Edges: Adaptive 3, Casting 5, Deft 4, Stealthy 2, Trivia 1

Powers: Alternate Form 5, Group Mind 2, Heightened Senses: Hearing 1, Heightened Senses: Scent 1, Heightened Senses: Sight 1, Heightened Senses: Touch 1, Metabolic Control 4, Nobility 3

Legacy: Shapeshifter

Traits: Heightened Senses, Horned Skull, Sweeping Tail

Hoard: 3

Red Boar Tactics: The Boars have been sent to destroy Kredak who has been investigating their activities on behalf of his brood. They have the Undeterred power until his death and the return of his head to the High Priest of Set; this makes them particularly difficult to kill. They continue to attack Kredak in preference to any other attacker but, as only four can get to the dragon at any one time; that leaves four to deal with any PC interference. On reaching their death, they shatter into an exploding whirlwind of sand. The Red Boars fight back to back in two rows with one row attacking Kredak and the other row defending against the PCs. The captain of the Boars is in the row facing the PCs.

Kredak’s Tactics: Kredak has spent the last three days trying to outrun these creatures. He has used every trick of stealth he knows and still the boars are able to find him. So far, he has managed to take down enough of the creatures to escape, but this hunting party caught him by surprise, chasing him through the storm until they caught up with him. Kredak is tired and in desperate need of his brood. He is using his Group Mind ability to call them for aid. He has been calling them for the last three days but doubts they will reach him in time. With the arrival of the PCs Kredak’s only goal is to survive long enough for his brood to rescue him.

The Rooftop: The rooftop is shared by a long row of buildings. It is twenty-feet deep and about eighty-feet long. Kredak is currently pinned in one corner, but PCs have enough room to come at his attackers from three sides.

If Things Go Badly: PCs are rescued by two other members of Kredak’s brood. Read, or paraphrase, the following: With your brood badly wounded and the dragon looking more injured than ever, you think this is going to be the end. So much for good intentions, you’re thinking, when another roar breaks through the noise of the storm. “GET BACK!” you hear, but the voice is inside your head and you find yourself backing up before you have time to think. Fire bursts over the giant boar-men, singing your skin as lightning rips through the flying sand. The stinging grains feel heavy against your flesh, coagulating as rain begins to fall. Two other forms plunge into the midst of the battle, landing on the boar men, great jaws snapping closed as teeth and claws tear your opponents apart. Go to ‘Aftermath’.

If Things Go Well: read, or paraphrase, the following: “Thank you,” the dragon says, sinking to the rooftop, seemingly oblivious to the sand tearing at his hide. You open your mouth to say something when two massive forms plunge out of the storm. “Friends!” the dragon bellows struggling to stand. “They’re friends!” The forms sheer off and lightning snaps through the storm. A sheet of flame causes sand to turn liquid and spatter onto a rooftop nearby. The dragon slowly collapses again: “My brood…” he whispers as the two forms settle at the other end of the roof. Go to ‘Aftermath’.

Aftermath: Allow the players to decide what to do next but, before they can actually react read, or paraphrase, the following: The scene fades. You know how it ends. Kredak – the dragon you saved from creatures he named the Red Boars – swore friendship to you and your brood. It seemed your goals weren’t that far apart. His broodmates were friendly, but noncommittal – allies, you think, but not friends. You are staring once more at the disk and the strange symbol marked on its surface, realizing that each of the boar men had a similar mark branded into its left shoulder. What was it Kredak had said: The Red Boars, the Red Boars of … who?

If PCs have searched the house and Anika’s room, and garnered all the clues they can, Go to the section titled: ‘Finalizing Scene Three’.

END ACT TWO SCENE 3C

Next week, I will post Act Two Scene 3 finalization.