[Our Last Best Hope] Overgrown: A Mission Playset

A mission playset for Our Last Best Hope

Overgrown Mission

Introduction

Plantlife has never been considered "dangerous," as it's among the simplest lifeforms on the planet. We consume plants, build structures out of them, cultivate them. Our foods, our medicines, our very existence depends on the flora. But what if the world's plantlife ran unchecked or, even worse, decided to eradicate its biggest threat -- us? The Overgrown mission presents the team with a crisis where the most benign of living things becomes the catalyst for mankind's potential extinction.

Suggested viewing/reading: The Happening, Day of the Triffids, Seeds of Destruction, The Ruins, Little Shop of Horrors

Themes

How can we destroy that which we depend upon? – Mankind -- in fact, all life on Earth -- depends on plantlife. Even if humans were able to somehow avoid contact with vegetation, insects and animals are dependent upon plants for sustenance and survival. If we were to poison or destroy all vegetation, in the long run, we'd only be poisoning and destroying ourselves.

Silent, but deadly – Unlike other predators, flora doesn't make a sound. There is no guttural roar, no screech from above, no screams as it descends upon its prey. As the plantlife chokes off and consumes mankind, it comes silently. The only screams are those of anguish as humanity finds itself doomed.

Crisis

1W – Vegetation growth has accelerated to the point of visible encroachment, and the world is quickly becoming overrun, engulfed, and smothered.
2W – All plantlife starts emitting a virulent pheromone that causes humans to fly into a berserk murderous frenzy.

3W – The world is invaded by an alien form of flora that subsists solely on blood.

4W – Tree root systems throughout the world begin to swell and grow to monstrous proportions, causing the tectonic plates to shift and crack.

5W – A carnivorous parasitic vine has begun spreading through major population areas.

6W – All plantlife has become highly toxic and poisonous to the touch.

1B – Plantlife has begun to spontaneously wither and die across the globe, turning the world into a barren desert.

2B – Dangerous spores are taking root and sprouting in the lungs of all air-breathing creatures.

3B – The natural conversion of carbon dioxide into oxygen performed by all vegetation has ceased, and the Earth's atmosphere is becoming poisonous.

4B – Plantlife has become sentient, intelligent, and resentful, and wishes to replace mankind as the dominant lifeform.

5B – Trees globally have grown to gargantuan proportions, and their leaf canopies have blotted out the sun to those underneath.

6B – Pollen counts have skyrocketed and the world is becoming buried in a fine yellow dust as humanity smothers.

Limit

1W – Time is running out, and humanity is doomed within hours.

2W – The team is made up of specialized horticultural experts with knowledge specific to the Crisis.

3W – The team has encountered this Crisis before on a smaller scale.

4W – Most of humanity has been decimated by the Crisis.

5W – The team has access to the only piece of equipment that will be of use in fighting the Crisis.

6W – The materials needed to stop the Crisis are nearly depleted and there's only enough for one chance.

1B – The team are the only ones close enough to reach ground zero of the Crisis.

2B – Once underway, the team's communication will be cut off from the outside world.

3B – The team is uniquely immune to the effects of the Crisis.

4B – No one else believes the Crisis is a world-ending event.

5B – The team was isolated from the Crisis when it began and are unaware of the scope of the Crisis.

6B – The team accidentally set the Crisis in motion and feels obligated to stop it.

Complication

1W or 1B – The team receives a distress call on-route to the Crisis they must act upon.

2W or 2B – The environment is aware of their presence and is sending out wave after wave of defenses to stop them.

3W or 3B – There is a saboteur actively working to thwart the team.

4W or 4B – The timeline for the Crisis was originally miscalculated, and there's only half the time as originally thought.

5W or 5B – There is another Crisis as well as the original one; roll for a second Crisis that's occurring at the same time.

6W or 6B – The team's original plan won't work, and they must come up with a new one with the resources on hand.

Threats

Poisonous plantlife

Prehensile constrictive vines

Giant insect swarms

Oppressive heat/humidity

Razor-like thorns

Insane environmentalists

Aggressively hungry wildlife

Toxic environment

Assets

Accurate map of the Crisis zone

Powerful defoliants

Deforestation equipment

Armored all-terrain vehicle

Flamethrowers

Environmental suits

Medical bay/laboratory