Babes in London: Act Four, Scene 1B (Part 2: Kew Gardens—In Case of LN7)

If PCs call LN7 for back-up:

LN7 arrives in force, and with back-up. The Girl-with-the-Dog comes straight to the garden and attempts to convince the girls to go with her willingly. She is accompanied by 5 LN7 operatives (2 thelema, and 3 cyphers) whose sole task is to secure the girls if Girl fails to do so. There are other agents nearby, but they hang back unless the children try to escape and the PCs try to assist the children rather than the agency. Anika is very taken aback by their arrival, but will speak with the Girl.

If the Girl makes a successful TH4 Air (Trickery) roll, opposed by Anika’s Earth (Interaction or Trickery) skill, whichever is higher, the Anika agrees to go with LN7, taking Leyila and Lewistrom with them. LN7 allows the PCs to tag along. If the Girl is unsuccessful in her Trickery test, Anika and Leyila try to escape, and the PCs are ordered after them, along with a number of other LN7 operatives. PCs must, at this point, decide if their primary loyalty is to Anika’s Brood, or to LN7, and act accordingly

They can choose to pursue the girls and capture them for LN7, or to foil LN7’s attempts to capture the girls. If they choose the former, they lose the status (and benefits) of the Modern rewards: Friend of Anika Collins/Leyila Andrews, until such time as they do something to redeem themselves in the girls’ eyes. Their actions do not affect their Mythic era status with the brood, however. If they choose to foil LN7, they not only lose any beneficial standing with that group (such as Friend of LN7/Better Friend of LN7/Access to LN7 Library), but they will also be put on a hit list and designated ‘Containment Required’, which earns them entrance into a Containment Required scenario, and means that any future interactions with the group are conducted on a hostile footing—at least, from LN7’s point of view.

If the Girls Agree to go with LN7:

The PCs are allowed to accompany them, and Anika requests this, if the PCs do not think to ask. They are taken to a group of waiting limousines and driven from the gardens to a basement garage in an office block belonging to the agency. Go to Act 5, Scene 3b.

Escape Attempt:

The garden is full of places a child can hide, but it is not able to hide them from LN7s advanced equipment. Attempting to stay in one place, under cover of foliage results in the PCs and the children being surrounded, and captured, as LN7’s snipers find a clear line of fire and dart them, or they are surrounded by an overwhelming force of agents and given the choice of surrender. This can either lead to a fight, or the escapees being darted. The darts contain a powerful soporific and victims wake up in a cell at LN7’s Headquarters. Go to Act 5, Scene 3B, and modify it accordingly.

The childrens’ tactics: Anika is not aware of LN7’s equipment, however, and tries to hide in the foliage. If she sees this is not working, she’ll try to make it to the edge of the garden and the way they came in. This will require 3 rounds of successfully evading LN7’s (or the PCs’) pursuit. The PCs are able to follow the girls, either through the gap in the fence, or over an easily scalable section of the wall. One more round of evading their pursuit is all the girls (and the PCs) require to escape the agency’s clutches and move on to the next part of the adventure. Leyila will do her best to evade capture, also, but will try to trip or hinder agents who look like they are about to capture her friend. Anika is burdened with Lewistrom Beam, and this adds a +2 penalty to any physical tests she must make that require agility or speed. If a PC takes on the burden of Beam, the child adds a +1 penalty to any physical tests the PC must make that require agility or speed.

LN7’s tactics: The agents of LN7 are seasoned veterans when it comes to dealing with supernatural foes. They are equipped with darts that can be used to put targets to sleep for capture, or the usual, lethal rounds. At least three of them have net launchers, which are reserved for the children, unless the PCs are the only ones left free. They are aware that, if they have been ordered to bring the children in, then the children are anomalies and therefore potentially dangerous. However, they are children, and the agents will not use lethal force against them. The same does not apply to the PCs, whom the agents will credit with knowing who and what they are. However, unless the PCs manifest supernatural traits, such as their draconic forms (either in full, or partially), or show an ability to use magic or psychic abilities against them, the agents will try to bring them in alive. LN7 still runs a number of facilities for the study of anomalies, and their understanding is that is often best done when the subject is alive. Alive does not mean uninjured (or that this will remain the case), but it is preferred. This policy, however, does not mean that agents will be put at risk. If the PCs use lethal or supernatural force against them, all bets are off. In this pursuit, the children are the main focus, and PCs who side with them will be treated as distractions and dealt with swiftly to prevent them from hindering the capture. There will always be a core team of five LN7 agents who focus solely on the children, and ignore the PCs, relying on the rest of the team to cover them as they try to achieve their prime objective. The agents acting as cover take 1 round to enter the combat as they have hung back out of sight.

If the PCs are successful in helping the children escape:

Anika leads them through a garage, and several back gardens (via loose boards in fences, or gaps in hedges), until they come to an abandoned potting shed, which she secures after they have all gone in. It’s cramped, but seems safe enough. At this point, she asks the PCs what they think they should do next, who the agents were, and if they know of somewhere safe the children can wait while the PCs rescue their parents. Right now, they all want to go home, and, if the PCs dither too long in deciding, Lewistrom throws a tantrum about wanting his mother. He calms only if they promise to take him to her. At this point, the characters can either return Lewistrom (Act 5, Scene 1); go to Leyila’s parents (Act 5, Scene 2); or attempt to hide the children in their own place (Act 5, Scene 3C). PCs are now designated ‘containment required’, and gain entry into a Containment Required scenario.

If the PCs are successful in helping to capture the children:

Anika regards them with horror at their betrayal, and they lose any Modern day rewards regarding friendship with the girls or the brood, until they redeem themselves. Go to Act 5, Scene 3B, and modify as required.

If the PCs are captured helping the children but the children escape:

The PCs wake up in cells, either beneath an office building that serves as LN7’s London Headquarters, or in a facility elsewhere. How they escape from this facility, where it is, and the nature of its business, is up to the GM—as is how to bring the adventure back on track. (Although reinserting them in Act 6, Scene 1, is always a possibility, should their escape from the facility or LN7’s HQ be successful.) PCs are now designated ‘containment required’. If they escape, they have gained entry into a Containment Required scenario.

If the PCs fail to help the children escape and they are all caught:

Go to Act 5, Scene 3B, and modify as necessary. Note, also, that the PCs have been designated ‘containment required’, and, although LN7 is happy to use them to retrieve Anika’s parents and keep the children happy until the two groups can be separated, they plan to arrest them as soon as LN7 no longer has a use for them being ‘in the wild’. They have gained entry into a Containment Required scenario.

If the PCs fail in their attempts to help capture the children:

They lose any Modern friendship status with the children, and skip most of Act 5. LN7, however, wants them to find Anika’s parents, as their mystics are convinced it is of the greatest importance to winning the children to their side. They are told to do their best to ‘win the children over’, and to convince the families to enter a government-based protection program for their own safety. Go to Act 5, Scene 1, letting PCs choose an option of where to go first. LN7’s preference is Anika’s house, Act 5 Scene1B, although the PCs might have other ideas.

LN7 Agents:

There are two groups of agents the GM will need to track: the ones focussed on the children, and the ones covering them from the PCs’ interference (if there is any). There are 2 thelema adepts and 3 cyphers (all carrying net launchers) focused on the children, and double that for the PCs. (LN7 does not do anything by halves.)

Thelema Adepts

See the Game Master’s Handbook.

Soldier (Cypher)

See the Game Master’s Handbook.

NOTE: This adventure is not sanctioned in any way, shape or form by Fantasy Flight. It is not an official product, and I am in no way affiliated with them or they with me. There is no relationship between us. This adventure is mine, for fun, and for you, because some of you asked me to finish it.

Also, if you like this adventure and want to play it, please go buy the official rulebooks from somewhere where the original creators and publisher of the setting will be paid. I got mine from a Melbourne game store, but I’ve found PDF versions of the Player's Handbook and the Gamemaster's Handbook are now available from DriveThruFiction. If you enjoy their world, this is the best way to thank them.