Rosa, Snipe and Ruin the dog stood just inside the doorway of the old convenience store. To the right of them was what remained of the stores old counter and behind a broken cash register stood Mad Spikes, he gave the appearance of a shopkeeper waiting to serve his customers. It was a surreal sight in a damp dark shop now covered in grass, moss, rusty shelving and other debris.
Rosa broke the silence first “what you doing here Spikes?”
“Same as you Rosa, just doing a better job of it than you two and your mutt”.
“So you’re looking for radio equipment to Spikes then?”
“No, keeping out of the way of that mad bull, same as you two.” Mad Spikes wiped his sleeve over the top of the cash register. “I think I could get this shop up and running again. I reckon a convenience store would go down well in this town”
Snipe stuck his nose out of the entrance, the town was a deserted waste, Breds and Crazies were all you would find living here, Spikes was neither of those but he was just mad enough to try and open a store here.
This was a world of chaos and Mad Spikes fit right in.
Tookbox
The Ruin d100 by Feral Gamers Inc.
my simple d100 Oracle
game-icons.net (for hints to answers for those pesky open questions)
8 steps to game prep by Sly Flourish
Session Prep
(Using Sly flourish 8 steps to game prep.)
Review Characters
Rosa Garcea is a ‘Scrapper’, she spends as much of her time looking for items of use which others may see only as scrap. A loner except for her dog Ruin, Rosa has found a place for herself in the small commune known only as ‘Settlement’ where her skill at spying items of value is highly regarded by the elders.
Andy ‘Snipe’ Montano is a Merc, he has never been good with people, give him a gun and he can shoot a cigar from the mouth of a squirrel. Snipe was born in ‘Settlement’ and is proud to belong in the small commune. He sees his role there as one of protector, ready to defend the people, his friends and family, from anything that threatens their peaceful way of life.
Strong Start
I get a random icon for inspiration. Arrow Shield Icon
I take this as meaning the party are attacked. My strong start will be an attack by Tribals, Raiders or Marauders.
Outline Potential Scenes
attack on the old general store
Going deeper in to the deserted village
Enter buildings to find the Radio Equipment
Return to settlement
Define secrets and clues
Discover a cult has set up in the old abandoned church, maybe.
Develope fantastic locations
A small town with a church was also abandoned some time ago. Houses are assumed to be empty and have long since fallen into disrepair. The village is not known to be currently inhabited.
Important NPC’s
At this early stage of the game I will just list 6 male and 6 female names. Should I require a new NPC I can quickly pick a name at random from the lists. It is surprising how much time this can save during the game.
Female Names.
- Suki
- Old Mrs Tibbs
- Gabriella Blanco
- Carla Costa
- Nurse Rash
- Dazzline Moses
Male Names.
- Da’Vion Page (Elder and oldest resident of the small settlement called simply Settlement by its residents)
- Judgment Reaver
- Mad Spikes (Wanderer, flamboyant and a bit odd. Spikes knows everyone and everyone knows Mad Spikes)
- Alam Al-Mazzud
- David Prats
- Juan Martin Figuroa
Mad Spikes
ATTRIBUTES
INT 13 STR 13 SOC 13 DEX 14 INS 15
DERIVED STATS
Wounds 16 Grit 1 Damage (Fighting) +1 (Firing) +2 Initiative d10+3
SKILLS
Barter 55%, Fighting 60%, Knowladge 70%, Firearms 65% Survival 80%
WEAPONS
Scrap Pistol d6 Shotgun 3d6+1
Relevant Monsters
Cultists – (number appearing) 1 cult leader plus 1d8+9 followers armed with daggers d4
Tribals – (number appearing) 1d6 armed with scrap bows d6 and axes d6
Raiders – (number appearing) 1d4 armed with daggers d4 plus (roll d6) 1-2 scrap bow d6, 3-4 shot gun d10, 5-6 scrap long gun d8
Crazies – (number appearing) 1d6 armed with (roll d6) 1-2 knife d4, Scrap Axe d6, scrap long gun d8.
Selecting Magic item rewards
Old radio equipment.
Possibly books and magazines scattered around inside the abandoned village buildings.
Scene 3 – the attack at the old convenience store.
From my strong start I know that my PC’s are attacked while in the old shop. To find out who is attacking them I roll d6, 1-2 Tribals (1d6), 3-4 Raiders (1d4), 5 Crazies (1d6), 6 Cultists (1d4). I roll a 1, three Tribals armed with scrap bows d6 and axes d6 are attacking the party.
Snipe has his face stuck outside the ruined convenience store entrance when an arrow flies past his head, he quickly ducks back inside.
Tribals Stats – Wounds 15 (armour 2), Grit 2, Damage (Fighting)+2 (Shooting) +2 Initiative d10+3. Skills – Fighting 65%, Firearms/Ranged 60%Snipe takes his long gun and Rosa, telling Ruin to stay inside, takes out her crossbow. Both roll for initiative, Snipe rolls 13, Rosa rolls 11. Mad Spike elects to stay behind the
shop counter but pulls out his shotgun and loads it just in case.
The three Tribals also roll for initiative, getting 9, 10 and 12.
Snipe sticks his head and gun around the door and fires at one of the tribals, needing 58 or less he rolls 22 (a double means an advance so I give him an extra 1d6 damage). He rolls 8 and 4 with his +3 damage the tribal takes 13 hits (15 less his armour rating of 2).
One of the Tribals gets an arrow off aimed at Snipe who is partially hidden by the door making him harder to hit, the Tribal needs to roll 40 or less to hit (60% with a -20% for Snipe being in partial cover), he rolls 04, rolling 1d6 for damage, Snipe loses 1 hp (roll of 2 less Snipes armour of 1)
Rosa fires next, she aims at the same Tribal as Snipe did, this is close range so she needs a roll of 31 or less (she gets a -10% penalty at close range due to her trait of keen eye which gives a benefit at long range but detriment at short range), she rolls 68, a miss.
The remaining Tribals both fire their arrows and both hit, Rosa takes 5 damage and Snipe a further 3.
Round 2
Rolls for initiative. Snipe rolls 5, Rosa 6, the Tribals roll 7,8,& 10.
Three more arrows are fired at Snipe and Rosa, this time two miss, one arrow does graze Snipe and he takes a further 1 point of damage.
Rosa fires a second crossbow bolt, at short range her eyes are not good and once again she misses. Snipe fires his long gun aiming for the same Tribal as before, he hits and causes 5 damage, the Tribal drops to the ground.
Round 3
Initiative rolls, Snipe rolls 13, Rosa 5, Ruin 5, the Tribals 8, 11, 12
Snipe fires one final shot before the two remaining Tribals are upon them at the entrance to the store, he misses. Both Tribals draw their axes but are unable to strike this round. Rosa and Ruin can both attempt to strike one of the Tribals, Rosa needs 32 or less, she rolls 66, (a complication) she manages to drop both her bow and her dagger. Ruin rolls 12, he bites one of the Tribal causing 5 damage to him.
At this point the two Tribals spot Mad Spikes and realise they are outnumbered two to one, both break off the combat and run away from the old store leaving their fallen comrade behind.
Both Snipe and Rosa have taken 5 wounds, they are down to 12 and 11 wounds respectively.
Rosa picks up her crossbow and dagger and rounds angrily on Mad Spikes for not helping, Mad Spikes takes it all in his stride, “Girl, you brought this on yourself, standing around out there and making enough noise to bring every crazy for miles around down here. They were probably just hunting that mad cow and thought you two were after it as well. Now I’ve lost some potential customers for my store, thanks Rosa”.
Rosa turns to leave the building, “I came here to find some old radio equipment I don’t have time to waste talking to a crazy like you Spikes. you coming or not Snipe?”
I ask the oracle if mad Spike knows anything about the radio equipment? Yes, But. .
Mad Spikes gently puts his hand on Rosa’s shoulder, “Rosa, if you want that radio equipment you need to listen to me and hear what I tell you”
Scene 4 – Mad Spikes story.
I get three random icons to help work out what Mad Spikes knows.
The Gear icon I take to mean equipment rather than gears used on a bike or car. In this instance I take it to mean the radio equipment.
The night vision icon I take as indication Mad Spikes has some night vision goggles.
The falling blob I take as meaning a shooting star, comet or meteor.
Rosa shrugs Spikes hand off her shoulder, “this had better not be one of your mad stories Spikes”, she commands Ruin to guard the entrance to the old store.
Mad Spikes begins his tale “Listen Rosa, there is a working radio here, its in the old church building on the other side of the town. I was on my way to Settlement, spotted about 6 or 7 folks dressed in strange religious rags pulling a cart with some gear in it and, more important to me, some food in it as well”Snipe butts in “gear?”
Spikes continues, “I mean equipment, just looked a bit to good for scrap and provisions, good quality food as well, where they got it all from I have no idea, maybe the tribals we just encountered but that seems unlikely. I followed them to that old church place, they took everything inside. I hung about, been hiding here during the day, using my night goggles to see what they are up to at night. Either of you know anything about them or the tribals?”
I get both Rosa and Snipe to make a Knowledge roll to see if they know anything about the cultists or tribals, it is unlikely that they do, Rosa will need a roll of 8 or less on d100 and Snipe needs a 01, unsurprisingly both fail.
Snipe and Rosa shake their heads, “we didn’t know of any tribes in the area, this place has been deserted since the cataclysm”.
Spikes continues “so yea, I hung around, watched what was going on, listened at the windows and doors when it seemed safe. It’s some kind of cult. Their leader stands at the pulpit spouting rubbish about a ball of fire he saw in the sky and how it means the coming of the saviour, gonna lead the true believer to the promised land”.
Rosa interrupts, “and the radio equipment?”
Spikes smiles, “I forgot, they have put a mast on top of the building roof, radio stuff and some generator is inside, they are using it to broadcast their message to anyone who may be listening. My guess is that the Settlement Elders picked up the broadcast and sent you to find the broadcast location”.
Snipe nods “And the cultists will be telling anyone who hears them to head to this area but they wont be stupid enough to give their exact location away, too dangerous for them to do that”.
Spikes goes back behind the counter and grabs his backpack, “correct, and old Elder Page may be old but he is not daft, that radio equipment is certainly useful to Settlement but he knows the cultists will be trouble”.
Rosa looks at Spikes, “so what do you suggest we do now?” Spikes puts his backpack over his shoulders, “well that’s up to you but you sure ain’t
gonna take out 14 of them cultists with a bow, a pea shooter and a mutt. Me, I’m heading to Settlement, been here too long and I don’t want to be around if more Tribals come back.
Snipe agrees with Mad Spikes, “Rosa, better we go back now, tell Elder Page what we found out, let him decide what to do next”.
Rosa, knowing she has little option but to go back without the radio equipment calls Ruin to her side and the four set out towards Settlement. At this point I am going to draw a close to this post. My feeling is the game has become too heavy on dialogue and a bit light on adventure. In the next post I hope to show how to spice up the game by generating a random ‘theme’ at the start of each scene. The theme is just a one or two word descriptor such as ‘Enemy Action’ or ‘Capture’, it is then up to me to decide what this means.
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