[Thundarr Thursday] Dangerous Encounter: Stalker From the Stars

Today's Thundarr Thursday feature is the first Mutant Future mini-adventure based on one of the episodes!

The PCs should find themselves travelling through a wintery Arctic area. Aside from the usual dangers the post-apocalyptic world holds, they should be worried that something as simple as exposure to the elements will be their swansong. While they search for shelter from the elements, have one of them spy a meteor streaking far overhead. They should hear an explosion in the distance where the object crashed. If they wish to investigate the impact site, the party must cross over an ice bridge on their way. However, due to the heat of the passing meteor, the ice bridge is dangerously melted and it should collapse under one of them (or all of them), dumping them into a deep ravine and at the entrance to an Ice Wolf den. (New creature, click here for a description.) There are three Ice Wolves who attack the party.

Ice Wolves (3) (AL N, MV 150' (50'), AC 6, HD 5, #AT 1 (bite or frost breath), DG 2d6 or 4d6 cold damage, SV L2, ML 8, Mutations: albinism, thermal vision, frost breath)

When the last Ice Wolf is dealt with, the Mutant Lord should make it clear that the party cannot reach the crash site from the bottom of the ravine and that the ice walls are too slick to climb back up. Plus, the temperature is beginning to drop rapidly. (Give one of the characters a cold if you need to prompt them.) If they follow the bottom of the ravine, they will eventually come to a guard outpost manned by a single young human girl named Meena. If they explain what brought them here, she'll explain she saw no "lights in the sky," but she will also offer to take the characters to her village so they can rest up and warm themselves. She will take them to a nearby ice cavern and, after traversing about a mile of tunnel, the cavern will open up revealing an Ancient buried amusement park that had been swallowed up during the cataclysm. Meena's people have converted this long-buried theme park into a small thriving village.

The village elder and Meena will take the characters into one of the shantys where they will be fed and warmed. While eating and socializing, the characters should be given a chance to hear screams in the distance. If they do hear the commotion and are alert, they will not be surprised when the Stalker From the Stars (New creature, click here for a description) explodes from the floor and begins attacking the village elder. Otherwise, they are surprised when the creature appears and will miss an attack on the first round.

Stalker (1) (AL C, MV 120' (40'); burrowing 90' (30'), AC 4, HD 11, #AT 6 (4 claws, tail, and bite), DG 1d8, 1d8, 1d8, 1d8, 1d6, 1d8, SV L9, ML 10, Mutations: webs, hyperburrowing, optic emissions, machine control)

The Stalker is an alien from another planet who crashed in the ship the characters mistook for a meteor. (The ship is completely destroyed and is now buried forever under tons of ice and rock. The Stalker escaped using its hyperburrowing ability.) It has used its hyperburrowing to try to sneak up on the party while they fought the Ice Wolves, but they had moved on by the time the Stalker arrived. (The remaining Ice Wolves in the den are now packed away for a future feast though.) The Stalker has followed the party to Meena's village and, using its hyperburrowing ability and its webs, has been systematically catching and bundling up other villagers while the party ate and rested. It has now decided to go after the elder as well as test the PCs who seem to be the most powerful enemies here.

The elder offers no real fight and is caught in webs and dragged underground before the party knows what happened (though they may get in a good shot or two). If the party starts to gain an advantage, the Stalker will fire its optic emissions at the roof, causing it to collapse. It will escape during the commotion.

After the attack, if the party goes outside, they will see several villagers standing around, wondering what has happened and what to do next. Several of them feel as if they are sitting ducks for the Stalker once the party explains what they just encountered. It is up to the PCs to determine what to do next. If they split up to go looking for the Stalker, it will pick off the other villagers one by one. If they decide to stay together, the Stalker will attack without warning, overpowering a villager and quickly dragging them off. The villager numbers should dwindle until only the PCs are left. (The Ancient amusement park should make for some creepy encounters with the Stalker as it jumps out, attacks, and hyperburrows away after catching another victim.)

The party should eventually discover that the Stalker has been using the abandoned Fun House as its base, whether by tracking it or seeing it running into the building. Once they enter, they will see web-cocooned villagers stacked up like cordwood throughout the building. The Mutant Lord should play up the otherworldliness of the Fun House as they track the Stalker. A tumbling barrel, a maze of mirrors, spring-loaded paper mache "monsters" that jump out at the party, etc. can be used to keep them on their toes. If the Stalker is cornered or if the fight starts going badly, it will escape from the Fun House and will try to use the other old decrepit rides to throw off the party. An exciting fight can take place on the roller coaster or the Ferris wheel.

Eventually, the fight should begin to turn against the Stalker. When the Stalker is down to 15 hit points or less, it will use its machine control ability to take control of some nearby heavy machinery (a bulldozer perhaps) which it will send toward the party. However, if the Stalker is defeated, the controlled machine will stop moving. Once the Stalker is defeated, the party is free to release the villagers and help them recover and rebuild after the encounter with the alien being.

If the party ever does decide to investigate the crash site, a bit of digging will reveal the Stalker's escape tunnel. If they follow it into the ship, they will find it fairly well crushed and destroyed. However, they will be able to salvage the following items: 2,155 gp; a stun pistol; a stun rifle; 8 bottles of synthihol; 6 light sticks; and a water purifier.

NOTE: This adventure and its creatures were inspired by the episode “Stalker From the Stars” from the classic Ruby Spears post-apocalyptic cartoon “Thundarr the Barbarian.” Obviously some liberties needed to be taken with the original episode's plotline, but I tried to stay as true as I could to the feel of the show. Stay tuned each week for “Thundarr Thursday”!

Dangerous Encounter: The Treasure of Dri’in Hill – Part 1

To introduce this encounter, the Mutant Lord should plant the rumor of an Ancient treasure at nearby “Dri’in Hill.” Some suggested ways of planting the seed:

• One of the characters finds a map pinned to the inside lining of a jacket they scavenge or buy from a trader. This map should show a large X with the words “Dri’in Hill” and “treasure” scribbled to the side.
• A badly beaten mutant is found lying in a road. He points to a well-hidden path nearby, groans “Dri’in Hill…treasure…” then dies.
• A defeated brigand or villain tells the PCs that he’ll reveal the location of Dri’in Hill – rumored to have a priceless Ancient treasure – if he’s released.

Once the party’s curiosity is peaked, let them do some research to find the location of Dri’in Hill. Interestingly, the location doesn’t appear on any “formal” maps and even the most well-travelled of scouts or traders have never heard of Dri’in Hill. Only the information originally gleaned (as described above) can give the characters any clue as to the direction of Dri’in Hill or its location. (Although the Mutant Lord may allow for creative use of mutations or other methods to determine appropriate location and direction.)

Once the party reaches the area, have one of them notice an Ancient sign nearly covered in brush and overgrowth. The sign reads “DRI IN” in big red letters and an arrow points to an old road that winds off into the forest. If the sign is examined, the letters “VE” will be found on the ground next to the sign.

If the party follows the sign, the road eventually empties out into a big open overgrown field. There are metal poles sticking out of the ground at regular intervals and at one end of the field stands a large white featureless sign. The most striking thing is the large (40’ high) mound of dirt in the center of the area. A colony of Mants (MF rulebook, pg. 82) has made this Ancient entertainment complex their home, and the party is now looking at a large Mant hill. (Yes, this is “Dri’in Hill.” The reason no one knows of its existence is that it was formed by the colony only a few months ago.)

Wandering around the base of the hill are four Mant drones standing guard. All of the Mants in this colony have the mutations of control light waves and body adjustment. (See page 28 of the MF rulebook for more information on these abilities.) If they see the party, they will attack. However, the rest of the colony is deep within the hill and will not hear any combat, so the PCs shouldn’t worry about reinforcements.

Mants (4) (AL C, MV 120' (40'), AC 5, HD 7, #AT 3 (2 claws, 1 bite), DG 1d8, 1d8, 2d8, SV L9, ML 11, Mutations: control light waves, body adjustment)

Once the Mant guards are dealt with, the PCs are free to examine the area. A small crumbling structure (labeled “SNACK SHACK”) yields nothing of value. The following vehicles are in the lot (caught exposed when the Ancient Wars began) and could be potentially of use to the party:

• A one-person four-wheeled ATV. Has one broken wire, but that’s the only problem. Everything else looks in working order. Gas tank is ¾ full as well.
• Motor scooter. Missing its engine, one tire, and its power cell. Frame is badly bent too. Salvageable for parts only.
• Four-person sedan automobile. All four tires are flat, rims are bent, and the gas tank is crushed. Will run if these parts are replaced.

Once the PCs have looted the area, there are two choices: leave the area or venture into the Mant hill itself in search of The Treasure of Dri’in Hill…

(End of Part 1)

Who Here Can Talk "Netspeak?"

In the world of Mutant Future, not everyone is going to be able to communicate clearly with each other. A mutated animal with its snarls and grunts would have a hard time making itself understood to a synthoid who only communicates in computer-based algorithms. Over at the Mutant Future forum at Goblinoid Games, "Outlander" posted an incredibly interesting list of languages that may have evolved in the Mutant Future. It's going to be helpful if your mutant can speak "Ancient" for those times he stumbles across an instruction manual for that scavenged hovercar. And the "Native"-speaking nomads would be wise to learn to speak "Scavenger" and "Trade." The whole discussion of language is underway here: Languages of the Wastes.

Meet The Slagon (And Maybe Win A Prize Yourself)

Over at the blog RPG Blog II, blogmeister Zach explains how the "Slagon" - his Mutant Future critter creation - was posted at The DM's Sketchpad. The slagon is a frightening combination of slug and dragon, breathing fire and oozing acidic slime. He now challenges other readers of his blog to post their own horrific animal combos in keeping with an earlier post of his on Kitchen Sink Gaming - RPG systems that mash-up genres, settings, powers, and abilities. And Mutant Future fits the bill nicely.

Anyway, here's the link with more info: A Kitchen Sink Contest: Behold the Slagon! (And there's a prize involved for the most creative creature. I've already posted my version of the ravenous bearsharktopus from this blog's very pages.)