[Games] Creature Feature, Part 2

[jordangreywolf]

Wow, that last post was in APRIL? Well, I've been kind of busy. Work has me traveling a lot, since I don't have a Florida office anymore -- either to off-site projects for the clients, or else to one of the two remaining other offices to support a project.

It's July now, and that's usually when I really, really need to nail down what exactly I'm going to do for Necronomicon. It's time for me to get something on the schedule. Also, I got contacted by the folks running the gaming department at Necronomicon, asking if I would be running any Savage Worlds this year: Apparently someone from Pinnacle finally contacted them about providing prize support for the convention, but only if someone has Pinnacle products (Savage Worlds, Deadlands, etc.) on the game schedule. "Can you run some Savage Worlds again this year?" Yes. Yes, I think I can.

Furthermore, Koogrr is visiting. He's coming down for Megaplex, and sometimes that means he's going to be in the area, but ends up being so busy that he isn't actually available to meet with Gwendel and me. (Or else, the narrow window of opportunity he has happens to fall on a day when I'm in some other state, on a project.) This time, he's staying long enough to encompass another *weekend*, and although working over the weekend isn't unheard-of in my job, I'm still more likely to be around on any given weekend. Koogrr wanted to join in one of our games, but it just so happens that weekend falls in between our game sessions every other weekend.

So, I'm going to run an extra game. And that's going to be THIS UPCOMING WEEKEND, and I still don't have my adventure ready.

I'm planning on running "Creature Feature" because it's the one adventure seed I have in my head that at least has the *potential* for being more than just a shoot-'em-up exercise. So I don't have to reinvent characters, I'm thinking of reviving the "Rooby-Doo Gang" from my silly games last year -- in that the PC pre-gens are all heavily inspired by various members of the "Scooby-Doo gang," but slightly tweaked to be "Fallout-ized." Since there are only *5* members of the gang (I'm not counting Scrappy), and the Necronomicon RPG standard is to seat up to *6* players, I see the 6th PC as a "special mystery celebrity guest star." JZ immediately suggested "Don Knotts," which I think would be just fine, except that in Fallout tradition, we'd have to mangle his name a little -- make him "TV's Ron Dotts, co-star on the popular Randy Griffin Show" or something like that. It's not a matter of thinking I'll be sued for ripping off a real name; it's just a silly convention in keeping with the game series.

I had a few rough ideas come to mind, of all things, in a dream (or half-dream) while I had Fallout on my mind (after I'd been playing it for a bit on Gwendel's PC one weekend while she was still in bed and the computer was free ;) ). The dream was particularly nonsensical, but attempting to reason-filter it a bit, the basic idea was that there needed to be some sort of "villian" to unmask, and there ought to be something "futuristic" about the theater -- not just a conventional projection image and that's it. In my half-dream of actually running the game, I imagined myself putting a wrecked Vault-Tec van on the table, and that this theater was somehow serving an experiment in a new Vault-Tec technology -- ostensibly for entertainment purposes, but secretly (as with all things Vault-Tec) having some more sinister application.

That technology? SMELL-O-VISION.

Now, the "easy" way to employ such a "technology" would just be to have a bunch of devices rigged up with various scented substances to pump out when triggered by some signal timed with the film. However, that's just not "high-tech" enough, and presumably such things would *run out* after a limited number of uses.

In my dream, I imagined some sort of hand-wavy tech that I called "Theta Waves" -- some sort of "wave" being emitted from a device hits the right "resonant frequency" (more technobabble) to trigger olfactory nerves and thus register false "scents" in the human brain without any actual chemical being required (and thus, you could still "enjoy" the sensation even if you have your car window rolled up -- or, unfortunately, even if you really don't like the smell and you try covering your nose).

The effect is stronger near the "emitters," so it's localized, and only has a limited range. My dream-plot involved this being WHY there are deathclaws attracted to the area -- not just that there's a "Go-Zero" movie on the screen, but rather that the SMELL-O-VISION effect is triggering senses in the deathclaws, and behaving like pheromones. (Deathclaws in FO3 and FO4 are pretty much just reptiloid quasi-humanoid big bad monsters, but in the original Fallout, there were *intelligent* deathclaws, as their origin story is that they were being engineered in secret by the US military as a new breed of "super-soldier" in competition with the power armor projects. If they don't have human DNA in their particular genetic soup, then there's at least some deliberate convergent "evolution.")

Anyway, my rough idea:

* This drive-in theater, pre-war, was home to a Vault-Tec experiment in artificial sensory stimulus through bursts of radiation (not the "turn-you-into-a-ghoul" sort, but more akin to "psyker" effects). The wrecked Vault-Tec van on-site has a monitoring device, plus some controls for a Vault-Tec technician to secretly hijack the controls for the theta wave emitters for experimental purposes. The theater owners mostly saw it as an opportunity to boost sales of popcorn and hot dogs with inescapable aromas, with the novelty of "movies you can smell," but Vault-Tec saw potential for theta-waves for riot suppression or behavioral modification.

* Long after the bombs dropped, some survivors moved into the lot, taking advantage of its fenced-in perimeter, working power source, and the on-site utility site (for a workspace and tools). Various of the wrecked cars were used for salvage, or else supplementary power (running cables out from their unstable-but-still-working fusion engines). Thus, this became a small settlement and trading outpost along the highway, and a stop-off point for caravans on the journey between larger settlements.

* At some point, a "ghost" was spotted lurking in the projection tower. Images of "Go-Zero," the movie monster depicted on posters at the theater, CAME TO LIFE and attacked!

* In actuality, it was a disgruntled member of the settlement community who wanted to drive off the others and keep the resources to himself. He'd figured out how to get the theta-wave emitters working again, and discovered some of its effects on the local wildlife by accident (as a deathclaw came to inspect one of the emitters at the corner of the lot, but soon left). He figured out about the other emitters, and that the effect could be boosted. He didn't know about the Vault-Tec experiments; he can only trigger the "smell" effects by playing particular movie segments, and getting the effects automatically triggered by the signals timed with those segments. Of course, he's got a lizard-suit disguise (a costume worn by an employee as a gag as part of promoting the film, handing out free balloons and such), because there HAS to be a mask that can be ripped off in a "Rooby-Doo" adventure.

* So, the settlement survivors have been driven off (or worse) by the deathclaws who showed up in response to the boosted theta-wave emitters that gave off the "musky aroma" of "Go-Zero" during parts of the movie -- that acted like pheromones to the deathclaws. Our villain would just hide in the projection tower, let the deathclaws wreak havoc, then switched to some less-pleasant aromas -- the simulated smell of poor Go-Zero's flesh BURNING toward the end of the film -- to drive them off.

* Once our gang arrives, of course the villain is going to have to start up the movie and the emitters again, and there are traps to dissuade anyone from simply rushing up to the projector tower. It won't STOP the PCs from doing so, but the intent is to delay them at least long enough for our villain to plausibly escape to elsewhere.

* Wave 1 is one or more deathclaws showing up -- which the PCs might take to be "Go-Zero." PCs can probably defeat this simply through brute force (get somewhere the deathclaw can't reach you, and snipe it, or deliberately blow up one of the unstable car reactors when it's nearby). Or, if they get into the tower, they could try messing with the projector. Given the "theta-wave" effect of smelling things to go along with the film, and a sign advertising "SMELL-O-VISION," it shouldn't take long for the PCs to figure out that there's some sort of smell effect going on with the film and that it has something to do with the weirdness, so they might either destroy or disable the emitters, or try to use them in some way.

* Wave 2 is when the BIG super-alpha-deathclaw shows up. That's the one I think of as "Go-Zero." Against small-arms fire, it's invincible (i.e., Heavy Armor), so the PCs can't hope to defeat it by just shooting it or punching it. However, there should be some way for the PCs to either destroy or drive off Go-Zero.

* I have in mind that there's some sort of "stronghold" location on the lot that the PCs can't readily get into. Maybe it could be an APC that ended up on the lot for some reason (after the bombs dropped, a military convoy was passing by, but this APC was heavily damaged, and pulled over so they could move essential equipment and personnel over to another vehicle before continuing, say), and only our villain figured out how to get inside. The PCs could either deliberately try to goad Go-Zero into attacking the APC (perhaps it's right next to one of the emitters), or else once Go-Zero is defeated, it falls over on top of the APC, or if it's driven off, it tail-sweeps the APC on the way out. Either way, once the Big Bad is defeated, then plot convention demands that there be a villain to be unmasked (alive or dead) to "see who you REALLY are!" And of course, it's "Old Man Smithers," the former tech for the settlement who was disgruntled about too many young whippersnappers joining the settlement or whatnot. "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" (Of course, he can't say that if he's DEAD, so better he survive at least that long. ;) )

TOOLS/OPTIONS:
I want to give the PCs various things to work with. I just don't want there to be a "pushbutton" solution to things, and I'd prefer it that everyone has a chance to contribute *something* to the effort. A "bad" game resolution is if all it takes is for someone to point a gun at Go-Zero, go "bang!" and it's game over. (In a campaign, I can deal with that, because if this guy goes down a little too quickly, then that just means we get an early start on the *next* challenge. It's more important for a campaign that I DO NOT "fudge" things behind the GM screen for short-term gains, because eventually players will catch on. But for a convention game, I have to make things a little more modular, so I can justify having a little bit of "Schroedinger's Plot.")

If the players come up with a "plan" that sounds entertaining enough, and doesn't simply subvert everything and wrap up the adventure in 5 minutes (real-time), then I want to be willing to tweak my plans to accommodate it. Rule #1 is that I want the players to have fun.

So, for the players to work with:

• Exploding Cars. I don't envision that just ONE car should take out Go-Zero, but it could well take out lesser deathclaws. Contrary to expectations, you don't just bump a fusion-powered car and have it instantly explode. You hit it a few times, then a fire starts, THEN you hear a pop that lets you know you really, really ought to get away, and then KABLOOIE. So timing could be a big problem unless you have something to KEEP the deathclaw there next to the car until it blows up. Perhaps the players could try to defeat Go-Zero by detonating SEVERAL cars, but in that case it ought to be more than just popping cars randomly. The PCs might try moving several of the cars together (a bit of a challenge while Go-Zero is rampaging), and then detonate them as a *group*. Mega-boom.



• The Projectionist Booth. Film segments include the movie "Go-Zero," with coding for SMELL-O-VISION tie-ins. There are also some intermission segments with SMELL-O-VISION compatibility. Maybe I could have a second feature at the ready, that could have some interesting effects, but I don't know what it could or should be. Maybe someone in the group with "Pre-War Knowledge" (such as Ted Bones, the Fred equivalent and Vault-Dweller) could guess at what part of the movie various things might happen, and thus get an idea for what reel to put on. (I envision that rather than the movie being on a SINGLE reel, this is a really old-style projection setup with *two* projectors, the movie divided up into several reels, and there's a timing feature so one reel gets queued up as the other is about to end, so there's a nearly-seamless transition.) Plus, someone could take a reel, hold it up to the light, and spend some time going through it to SEE what images are showing up, and get an idea that, "Oh, this is the jungle scene," or "Oh, this is the big explosion." I just need to work out a very rough outline of what sorts of scenes there might be, and what SMELLS might accompany them and be of any interest. Successful check (either through high pop culture check, or taking the time to scan the reel) and the player gets a handout that lists the major "reels" and "scenes," and the player can puzzle over what sort of useful smell might accompany it, to try out.



• The Vault-Tec Van: For some reason, it hasn't simply been looted. Maybe because the tech looked scary? Or maybe there's a radiation leak (so venturing into the van is either a job for a guest-star ghoul, or you need to suit up first with a rad suit, or something like that). Or maybe the locals just fear Vault-Tec. Or there was some hazard inside that killed the first person to intrude, and they left it alone. (But what sort of hazard?) Anyway, I figure the Vault-Tec van needs some sort of gizmos that could provide an alternative to going up into the projection booth to be able to tweak the results. Perhaps there are some "holo-tapes" with a few programmed theta-wave effects that can be plugged in, to "hijack" the theta-wave emitters. (Maybe the van is right next to one of the emitters, and there's a cable going directly to it.) Possible effects: Cupid's Arrow (human "pheromone" effect?); Unbearable Stench (crowd suppression!); Aromatherapy (lullaby-like?). Spirit saves to avoid the effect. Could have unpredictable alternate effect on Deathclaws. Or, at least, it lets you interfere with and shut off whatever it is the projector is doing at the time.



• Sniping Position: Perhaps someone set up a sniper nest atop the big screen as a security position for defending the settlement, and there's a heavy weapon up there. It's unlikely to one-shot-kill Go-Zero, but it could certainly get its attention if you need a distraction while the rest of the gang does something else.



• Workshop: Full of tools and junk, so if someone wants to try to whip up a gizmo, that's the place to do it (if the others can buy you some time).



• Weaponized Theta-Wave Gun: Maybe this should be in the Vault-Tec van, or someone FOUND it in there, and took it somewhere else (the workshop?) to experiment. It's a portable theta-wave transmitter, but it only works with a focused beam (like a gamma gun), thus against only a single target. And, because of "focused wave" tech (hand-wavy technobabble), like a gamma gun, you can SEE the energy wave burst as it's shooting through the air, and quite possibly dodge it. (It's much slower than a bullet.) Perhaps it can be customized with holotapes from the Vault-Tec van, but it has a default setting with an interesting-but-not-incredibly-useful starting point. Like ... I dunno, by default it's loaded with Hot Buttered Popcorn aroma? Could momentarily distract targets who wonder what the heck is going on, as they search for the origin of the overpowering smell.
  If loaded up with the Unbearable Stench or Ultra-Lavender or Pheromone effect, it could be used to "Shake" an opponent without doing actual damage, but perhaps repeated effects have diminishing impact as the novelty wears off. Therefore, it could theoretically be used to momentarily hold off Go-Zero from stomping someone, say.

I probably need more options than that. The projector and the experimental van seem to offer the most opportunity for fun handouts for the players to sift through and argue over.