Hi,

I'm going to run Tattered Fates next week and would like to have some more encounters for the Red Cages before they enter Vault XIII.

I would love to have some more curious/lethal and dangerous encounters, my group of Acolytes has 3.200 - 4.000xp so they should be able to handle alot.

GrtZ,

Santiago...

 if you have DotDG then id suggest looking through that for chaos beasts or CA for some xeno

GENERAL ADVISE:
Instead of simply inserting one "event" after the other ("you walk through this nighmarish labyrinth as you...") offer them "intersections" from time to, possibly with some hints where there next decision might take them. After some Perception roles, perhabs!

Hopefully, this creates a "feel" of a labyrinth, even if without "a map". Tried the "event after event" approach in a different down-hive-mission (of my own) and the feeling failed miserably

[ENCOUNTER]: The Chasm of broken ways (Vault-Level)
The tunnel/way the pc are following ends in a large, cylindric chamber criss-crossed by gangways and pipes (similiar to what is described in the Encounter given in TF). The bottom lies in darkness an can not be seen. If the pc drop something to "gauge" the dept...it turns out to be really deap and ending on soldi ground. The gangway leading from the side of pc has collapsed, leaving only a downward bend "stumpf" of the forma bridge on both the opposing sides. 
If the pc want to cross the chasm, they have to cross the distance (about 10meters or more) "layway" along the pipes criss-crossing the the room. Ask for extended outine checks for strenght to get across or for check on acrobatic for balancing along a pipe... or brachiating among them like a monkey!

Anyway... after the first made it safe to the other side and the second, voices and the sound of approaching men can be heared. A slaver patrol!
The pc have to hurry (worsen the checks or put a limit to the number of roles allowed). If the pc are fast enough, they can disappear without being seen. If not, they might have to fight the patrol while being on different sides of the chamber (or even in the middle of crossing it!). Take a number of three to five slavers, as you see fit. Raise an alarm if the pc do not get out of the way or can´t deal with them quickly.

[ENCOUNTER]: Flood Pipe (Vault-Level)
The pc opened a heavy door in a wall or the ground which leads into a large and damp pipe (3m in diameter) filled by half with a dirty-brown water. Due to the smell obivously part of some sewage system. The pipe obivously goes upward in a steady angle, the sewage flows down slowly. Smaller opening along the sides lead in more sewage

As the pc walk the pipe, after a view hours can first make them run across some rat-size leach-like creatures trying to attach to them. INT to notice that removing this suckers while inside the sewage is a sure way of getting a nasty wound infection, properbly resulting in the loss of limbs if not treated with the next day!

Anyway, as they walk upwards, mention the water begins to rise notible and that the current gets stronger. Ask every checks for strenght and later swimming to go a long, one worse then the other. If the pc want to leave, there are opening hatches, but they are hard to open while "rusted shut / seized up". At the end, the water does not rise farer the "need-to-swim", but the current is strong enough for challenging swim tests. (Contest between the "strenght" of the pipe flow and the swimming pc) if they do not get out at one point, they will be flushed down in THE DEEP SINKS. 

[ENCOUNTER]: The fungid devil and THE DEEP SINKS (Deep Level)
A large room (30m x 60 m) filled with sewage (do not even THINK to dive to the ground), the walls covered with some green shroom-like goo glowing in a sick and pale yellow-green that as floating in patches ontop the sewage as well. Advances are going round the walls every ten meters, with "Sewage Level X m" written next to it. Each one of them rarely broad enough for a man to stand on, but solid rokcrete.  The next ("Sewage Level 60meters"). is 2 meter above the sewage actual sewage level. There are iron steps in the center of two of the walls leading up. Large pipe opening in the ceiling can be visible for every pc

The stench is overwhelming! Have every pc make ordinary checks for Toughness. If they do not succeed, they are quiet nauseated and dizzy (-10). Three level of failure, and they pass out! (Hopefully, the other pc notice and dive for them!)

As the pc move along the walls (or swim, if they fell in!) they might register something moving in the water... and see a fate yellow-green-glow growing stronger! After a while, a huge semi-plant-like massive blobb emerges, obviously made up of the same material then this goo all over the place. The blobb will start to ooze up the the vertical walls (!) after the pc, extending many small tendrils as it does so. 
Make a point about that it does not leave the water completely, seemingly just "stretching" itself ..and the glow beneath the sewage growing stronger!

Make this a "flee!" encounter with a massive opponent. Perhaps you want the pc to be ablte to spot something like "nerve clusters" in the blobb, allowing to "stun" it with pain for a round of time if hit.  Decide how much success the pc need in "climbing" to reach the next door out of this (and what it takes to open it!).

If one pc dies and burns a fate point, "pull the plug". Literally. Make a sound of MASSIVE machinery below be heared... and the sound of a flush... the sewage and the thing go down gurgling...and the glow with it, leaving the pc in utter darkness till the get to a door next to the stair (glowing EXIT sign?)

(No stats given for the "fungid devil in the DEEP SINKS"...but are they needed at all?)

 

Good ideas, but a practical, nit-picking question:

If you're walking uphill inside a closed pipe, how can the water-level and rate of flow INCREASE as you get higher up? That makes no sense, unless there is a general increase in the amounts of water, not related to elevation or position. In which case one would imagine it being temporary (someone flushing a tank, or whatever)

Darth Smeg said:

Dart, I THANK YOU! I am excellent in ruining my own ideas with some EVIDENT BUGS !

BugFIX:
The increase isn´t slow but a rush of water building up quickly. The can either hurry to the next hatch & open it OR (failing checks for running in the smudge) swim against it to the next hatch to get out in an level a little bit higher OR (failing this as well) they will get swooped down into the "Deep Sinks".

http://rapidshare.com/files/256212470/Microsoft_Word_-_TA_RedCageEncounters.doc.pdf

Another two Encounters (One Stealth/Combat and One Social/Dilemma; both "Vault Level).

I hope, Rapidshare is fine with you!

http://rapidshare.com/files/256235062/TA_RedCageEncounters02.doc.pdf

And another two of them. Somehow, I can´t keep myself from adding "combat" and "stealth" as options, but the second is actually about "Tech".

I am REALLY Missing the "Edit"-Function now...

http://rapidshare.com/files/256343746/TF_RedCageEncountersV03.doc.pdf

Rolled them up into one and cleaned some of my grammatical errors. Some very minor "mechanics" changes, but only very-very minor (one or two about Awareness)

I will delete the other files now. Thx.

Good stuff, Gregorius. I'll probably swipe these when I get around to running Tattered Fates myself.

I am not familiar with the adventure myself, having only briefly looked over it, but would slaver barracks and "medic-stations" be scattered around the unverworks like that?

Hi Darth,

the adventures makes you believe exactly that, as far as I understand it. It seems that the whole area is a mess of tunnels, gateways, corridors and the like with only some rooms here and there. The adventures itselfs "sports" a structure like this, mentinoning some obivous "beast house operated areas" which do not seem to have any provided link besides "it is assumed that something else is around".

But since there is nothing like a map for this, one can conveniently make these rooms/encounter as close as 5m of tunnel without further rooms inbetween.

The only "orientation" is that "Vault Level" is anything near the "centrel operation area" why "deep level" is everything "further down" (or perhaps further away !) and even "Up Level" (surface) is given in the adventure itself.. 

But I share your feeling. While thinking of it, I was considering something "rather close to one another" and also wanted to add an "Arena Encounter" I am still working.

"Unfortunately" , my own group is due tomorrow, so "have" to spent the time on them.

Additional "Reason":

it seems that the "Red Cages" are not a support "road network" for ONE arena, but dozens of smaller ones. Therefore some "logistic central points" seem to be somewhat "scattered" in between (i.e. imagine the "fodder pen" to be one "pen" placed "half way" between two or three arenas why might lay "50meters and two leves" in different directions.

Methinks Gregorius you are a tad excited about this adventure... nice work though!

I must admit there's a delicious amount of fun a GM can have with this section of the adventure. I've started scribling ideas of extra encounters too. One encounter I really want to add is the PCs walking along and finding a headless corpse. They proceed further on then whoever's at the back gets attacked by a Gloomhaunt (the nasty headmunching bat-thing from CA). From it's description I could imagine these wee critters inhabiting the Red Cages, plus it wouldn't be too hard for them to kill.

Darkshroud said:

@Excitement
Not really. I do not even know if I want to run it at all! The "Red Cages" are fun, but the "beginning"...and the rest of it! Oh dear... perhaps I will take the "Red Cages" and turn it into the "end game" of a "purification" agains the beast house on Quaddis!

@"A headless corpse"
A good idea! Anyway, I do not think that the GH is easly killed. Especially if your "throw" him at your pc at the beginnen...while they are not armed that much ;) But an excellent idea!

I always wanted to weave the following "scene" into my ongoing campaign. Perhaps Tattered Fates can be altered to accomodate it?

It was inspired by Hostel (the horrible gore-movie), and i pictured the acolytes (or at least some of them) waking up on a cart covered with corpses. Right next to the cart is a huge and rather simple looking butcher chopping up the corpses and throwing the parts into a furncae or incinerator. This butcher fella obviously thinks the acolytes dead, and will get around to "processing" them in a few minutes (one or two corpses lying on top of the acolyte(s)).

The acolytes are naked, perhaps wounded, and have to somehow surprise this butcher fella, and kill him (forcing him into the furnace is an obvious choice).

Now, naked and armed only with his cleaver and whatever improvised weapons they can find, they must escape whatever "facility" they are in.

@Darth
Possible to re-work TF like this. Everything to need do is...re-write the whole beginning! 

You will therefore "lose" the introduction of one certain npc, whatsoever. You own the modul, so you will know who I am talking about.

Anyway, this should not be that much of the problem. The only difference is that the pc will not know who the Inquisitor is talking about! Introduce said npc later. perhaps during the revel. On the streets. While a lot of  (drugged) revellers  are lead into a dancing on a square where a strange clockface was drawn on the surface of the pavement with bright chalk by a skilled artist.

The revellers dance to music, dancing in circles around the clock and pirouette around themselves. The music (played with fiddles, flutes and bells) gets more and more frantic, the song goes

"Dance! Dance!
 Around it goes!
 Dance! Dance on top of your toes!
 Dance! Dance! Dance my friends!
 Till the light / it shines and
 The Clock Strikes (Number)"
Chours repeat 3x: The Clock strikes (Number)

The number goes up every verse and it gets more frentic every verse. Introcude the players to the scene on "ELEVEN! The Clock strikes ELEVEN! The Clock Strikes ELEVEN!"

The pc might notice some native around, looking to be shocked at the sight and leaving the area. If the players ask and get no answer, stranger in a heron mask will approach them kindly, explaining "and old custome... and an old superstition. The natives believes it brings bad luck if the clock strickes thirteen. That something bad will happen. Strange custom, isn´t it?"

When the verse comes to "THIRTEEN!".,.. it will appear....carnage will ensue among the dancing reavellers and panik will break out as the musicians and leaders of the dance reveal themselves as pilgrims. The pc can watch for a while, but the longer they stay the more endanger they will become

[My thougt about the "alternative". to be honest, I was thinking about HOSTEL as well as I was reading the "red cages". Inciddent? Or clever working of the authors?]

EDIT. by "introducing at the revel" I meant "the carnival" (the second part of the adventure)