Many Faces, One Mask An Adventure for the Fallout PnP RPG Recommended for Levels 1-3
GM’s Notes
Many Faces, One Mask takes place roughly 100 years after the War in Southwest Missouri and Northeastern Oklahoma. Although it is intended to be run as the first adventure in a complete campaign, Many Faces, One Mask can be run independently. The setting is fairly universal, and the adventure can easily be adapted to any scenario, although places with a strong religious presence work the best. Remember that this adventure is for the GM’s eyes ONLY; players who read certain parts of this text will spoil the fun of trying to solve a deep, multi-layered puzzle.
Adventure Overview
The adventure opens with the characters looking for work in the city of Springfield, in the old state of Missouri. How they came to be together is a problem for the GM to sort out; perhaps the group is a bunch of childhood friends, or perhaps they were all laid off from a factory together. At any rate, the mayor of Springfield hires the characters to make a personal delivery for him: a very important letter that he must get to a relative in the ruins of Tulsa, to the south. He suggests that the characters try to get a job guarding a merchant caravan, so they can be paid for their troubles. In addition, he will pay them a large sum of money when the characters return with his relative’s answering letter.
The characters then locate a caravan and take a job as guards. It leaves the very next day. On the way to Tulsa, the caravan is attacked. The raiders aren’t all that tough, and everyone should survive.
Once arriving at Tulsa, the characters find an extremely oppressive religious environment, run by a church called the True Believers. They deliver the mayor’s letter to his sister, and she informs the party that it will be a week before she can give them a letter in return. The characters should then look for something to do, and find that the outpost town of Okmulgee is in need of supplies. Okmulgee is a supplier of Tulsa’s wood, and the party is promised a rich reward for their troubles. This is the point at which the sample adventure ends; for the rest of the adventure, you’ll have to download the complete “Many Faces, One Mask” of the Fallout PnP website.
Once arriving in Okmulgee, the town is attacked by a strange tribe from the Great Wastes. Riding horses and attacking like ghosts, the tribe does some serious damage to the town. Battered but not broken, the party is sent back to Tulsa with word of the attack and the message to send reinforcements.
Once the party shares the news, they contact the mayor’s sister and she gives him a missive to take back to Springfield. Once this task is complete, the characters get some experience and supplies.
The Background Story
Of course, nothing is what it seems in this adventure. Tulsa is ruled by an extremely strict religious group called the True Believers, who teach a modified version of late 20th-Century fundamentalist Christianity. Using guilt and fear, they have a near chokehold on Tulsa’s 40,000 people and are currently expanding their operations to other cities. The True Believers have had their eye on Springfield for quite a while, and it is their next planned conquest.
The True Believers are far more than just a religious organization with a grasp on a group of people. They use their religion as a front for business operations, many of them illegal – and many of which are the same things they preach against in their pulpits every Sunday. The wood operation in Okmulgee is a front for a lucrative slave trade, and the manufacture of drugs that are covertly distributed to Tulsa’s population keeps the people in a constant state of guilt-riddled addiction while they work in factories owned by some of the highest members of the Believer’s church, and continue to consume goods produced by these factories.
Of course, there are only six people who know the full extent of the true nature of these operations – a council of businessmen known as the Elders. Each Elder is a “priest” of the True Believers, and they are all amazed at how well their little operation is going. In addition, each is hungry for more, and expansion northward and eastward, into the fertile, resource-rich land in Arkansas, is their next goal.
Of course, the mayor of Springfield recognizes this threat. When strange drugs began appearing on the streets of Springfield, he ordered a full investigation and found they came on caravans from Tulsa. He is aware that the Believers are likely a front for business, and that they would like to take over Springfield, but he isn’t fully aware of the extent to which the web has been woven. His “sister” is really a spy attempting to gain access to the highest levels of Believer knowledge, who has met with moderate success.
The mayor isn’t interested in saving his own people so much as he is interested in saving his own business interests. Given half the chance, he would extend his own empire into Tulsa, but is content with his holdings in Springfield and the entertainment industry in Branson, not far to the south.
The Tribals that attack the party in Okmulgee are very much aware of the Believer’s plans, as these tribals are often the targets of slave raids. They are a tribe of Indians that moved to reclaim land the White Man once stole, and then befouled with radiation. They are extremely well equipped, even possessing energy weapons, as they have learned to adapt to conditions within the Great Wastes and have raided old military installations for supplies. Their attack on Okmulgee was merely testing the town’s defenses; although there is not a single Indian leader, many tribes have banded together and are planning to attack Tulsa, rescue their enslaved brethren, and attempt to destroy the Believers.
Chapter 1 – The Adventure Begins
Overview – Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is home to about 10,000 people. Since the town was spared direct bombing in the War, many of the buildings are relatively intact. Springfield is run by a man named John Dotson, who calls himself the mayor. Dotson is a gray-haired man in his mid-50s, who became rich after getting an abandoned factory in operation again, turning out goods like clothes and shoes. His business flourished, and he opened a series of factories in Springfield, giving the people a sense of purpose, a higher quality of life, and bringing himself considerable wealth. It wasn’t long before Dotson built a power plant, bringing electricity back to Springfield. Most of Springfield’s residents live in the old downtown area since the buildings are in such good shape, and many of those that do are employed in Dotson’s factories. The main currency in Springfield is a tiny coin called a gold bit. Gold bits are simply round pieces of metal covered with gold paint, but since there are very few people with access to gold paint, there usually isn’t a whole lot of counterfeiting. Bits are also accepted in Tulsa.
For a map of central downtown Springfield and a description of important places, see below.
Locations
1. The Glowing Lights Bar – The Glowing Lights is Springfield’s local watering hole, and the most likely place for the characters to start the adventure and find work. This smoky, dingy bar is in the basement of a large apartment complex, and the crowd changes from the usual drunks and prostitutes early in the evening to toughs and gangsters later on. One the far wall is a notice board about work; this is where the characters can find notices about Mayor Dotson needing a favor, and work in the Brahmin yards west of town.
The Glowing Lights is run by a surly, bald-headed giant of a man named Jason Lester. Jason is friendly enough, but if anyone causes trouble, they can expect to get a lot of it back.
Jason Lester – Bartender (Level 1). HP: 36 DT: 2 DR: 20% AC: 14 To-Hit (Small Guns): 70% Weapon: Pump-Action Shotgun (W: 4 Dmg: +12 Rng: 15 AP S: 5 T: N/A B: N/A), 40 shots 12-guage ammo (1d10).
2. The Springfield Power Plant – This enormous, brick-and-mortar building is surrounded by rusty razor wire. It is here that Springfield produces the electricity that runs the town by burning old junk from before the War (and there is plenty of it to scavenge). Unauthorized personnel are not allowed inside, and the guards will physically restrain anyone attempting to enter.
3. The Old Town Square – The town square is left from the pre-War days. It used to house a park with a fountain; now, it is an ad-hoc farmer’s market where people from surrounding farms and tiny towns come to sell their produce in exchange for supplies from the factories. The farmers stay from sunup to sundown, and after night falls, you can buy almost any kind of chemical from dealers who hang out in the shadows. Expect the dealers to demand at least 200% of a drug’s list value; Springfield isn’t the easiest place to smuggle drugs into and out of.
4. Residences – These brick and metal buildings were originally department stores and clubs before the War. Since then, they have become apartments for Springfield’s citizens. Most apartments are one or two room affairs, and extended families often live next to each other so they can break down walls and give each other more room. These buildings are anywhere from five to fifteen stories high.
5. Police Station – This long, squat building houses Springfield’s police department. Of course, Springfield’s finest are all owned and controlled by Dotson.
Cops (x40) HP: 30 DT: 3 DR: 30% AC: 18 To-Hit (Small Guns): 60% Weapon: Beretta Silverhawk (Single or Double Shot) (W: 5 lbs. Dmg: +12 Rng: 14 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), 40 shots 12-guage ammo (1d10).
6. Bob’s Guns N’ Pawn – The only sanctioned weapons store in town, Bobs Guns N’ Pawn capitalizes on his monopoly status and charges 200% the listed price for guns and ammunition. Bob is a crusty old coot who chews tobacco and likes to spit on his tired old hound, Blue. Bob’s stock is listed below. Bob pays a large sum to Dotson for “job security.”
Bob’s Guns N’ Pawn: Brass Knuckles (x3); Club (x5); Sledgehammer (x1); Combat Knife (x1); Colt 6520 10mm Pistol (x3); VP91z 9mm Pistol (x2); Winchester 12-guage Shotgun (x1); 10mm JHP (x10); 9mm JHP (x20); 12-Guage Shells (Buckshot) (x10); 12-Guage Shells (Slugs) (x2).
7. General Store – Run by Bob’s ornery son Bob Jr., the General Store is a wood-frame building with a rather thin stock. Aside from the farmer’s market, which is a hit-or-miss situation, the General Store is the only place where some items are guaranteed to be in stock. Like the gun store, the General Store will charge 200% of the value of most goods.
General Store – Flare (x10); Lighter (x3); Flashlight (x2); Shovel (x1); Boots (x10).
8. Brahmin Yards – The Brahmin yards take up most of western Springfield. They are made up of corrals where Brahmin are held either for drives to other cities or slaughter at one of the tiny slaughterhouses interspersed throughout the yards. This is where Brahmin drive caravans leave for Tulsa and other parts of the countryside. The Brahmin yards are a dusty, open area that sits on the remains of Interstate 44, the main road to Tulsa and St. Louis.
9. Mayor Dotson’s House – Mayor Dotson lives in the rambling Victorian house left over from Springfield’s railroad days in the 1850s. Dotson completely restored the structure, and its quiet elegance is almost out-of-place in the wastes. Dotson’s house is protected by his personal, well-armed bodyguards.
Bodyguards (x7) HP: 50 DT: 3 DR: 30% AC: 20 To-Hit (Small Guns): 87% Weapon: AK-47 (W: 10 lbs. Dmg: +7 Rng: 40 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), 7.62mm (x100) (1d8).
Encounters
The Job
The players should take the time to get acquainted with each other and become comfortable with their characters. Somehow, they should end up in the Glowing Lights Bar and see the job notice. The job notice reads:
“Looking for work? Like to travel? Mayor Dotson needs reliable delivery specialists to run correspondence to Tulsa. Inquire in person at the Mayor’s house.”
That should be enough of an incentive to encourage the players to go to the mayor’s house. If not, Jason the bartender can give the party encouragement as well, by speaking well of the mayor.
The Mayor’s House
When the party arrives at the mayor’s house, they will find the lights blazing if it’s nighttime, or the windows open if it’s daytime. After knocking on the door, the party is met by a huge, muscled guard who doesn’t give his name. The guard ushers them into a formal sitting room, where Mayor Dotson will come out to meet them. For complete info on the Mayor, see the NPC roster, below. Once the party is in the room, read the following.
After a few moments wait, an average-looking, gray-haired balding man comes down the stairs and steps into the sitting room. He has the warm, measured smile of a politician as he shakes your hands in turn.
“So, you’re looking for delivery work? That’s great. Usually, I ask my own people, but for this job, it might be better if I didn’t send one of my usual couriers. The job is simple: run a sealed letter to my sister in Tulsa, about seven days journey south. After a few days, she’ll write you a letter to bring back to me. When I get that letter, sealed, and I know my letter to her arrived intact, everyone gets 200 pieces of gold each. I’m not really interested in Tulsa’s authorities knowing about this little exchange, so your reward is dependant upon whether or not you are noticed as well. So, what do you say?”
Give the party a few minutes to discuss the mayor’s proposal. If they agree, skip to the text below. If they attempt to bargain, the mayor will pay as much as 250 per person. If the party demands any more than that, the mayor will bid them good night and the adventure more or less ends.
When the party agrees, read this:
“Excellent! My sister’s name is Maria Dotson, and you can find her in Tulsa’s Residential Zone. I don’t recommend traveling to Tulsa alone. You’re best bet is to try and find a caravan heading that direction and ask if you can travel with them. Unless there are any questions, I’ll see you in half a month.”
The mayor will answer basic questions about Springfield, but merely refers to the letter as “personal correspondence.” If, at any point, the party opens the letter to read its contents, they will either be tearing the envelope or breaking the seal. Although Maria will pretend not to notice this in front of the characters, she will include something about it in her letter to Dotson. Knowing his security has been compromised, Dotson will pay the characters only 100 gold bits and then ask his goons to have the characters executed at the first opportunity.
The Caravan
Once the characters leave Dotson’s house, they almost run into a scarred, jovial man named Jeremiah. Jeremiah is a caravan driver about to leave for Tulsa whom Dotson contacted shortly after the characters arrived. After leaving the mayor’s house, read the following:
Walking past Mayor Dotson’s neatly manicured lawn, you take a moment to marvel at the simply beauty of his flower gardens. As you do so, you almost run headlong into a huge, bald man covered with scars. The man laughs and says, “excuse me, friends. I nearly didn’t see you. I’m Jeremiah, the best caravan driver in this area.” He sticks out his meaty hand, ready to shake.
If the characters shake Jeremiah’s hand, or otherwise greet him, read the following. If they don’t warm up to him, Jeremiah merely shrugs and walks into Dotson’s house.
After shaking your hand vigorously, Jeremiah sizes you up. “You look like a group that can handle themselves. I’m lookin’ for some hired guns to go on a run with me down to Tulsa. What do you say? We’d leave tomorrow morning, crack of dawn.”
If this scenario seems too good to be true, it’s because it is. Jeremiah is one of Dotson’s agents, but cannot deliver the letter to Maria himself. His caravan is also somewhat undermanned, so he’s willing to pay each character 50 gold bits. When the characters agree, Jeremiah tells them to meet him at the Brahmin yards tomorrow morning before the sun comes up (about 5:00 am). The party is then free to spend the evening however they wish.
Chapter 2 - The Brahmin Drive
If the characters did not accept Jeremiah’s offer and make it to the Brahmin yards the next morning, they will find him ready to leave and more than willing to hire them for a (much reduced rate) of 20 bits each.
Regardless, the caravan pulls out of Springfield and begins moving down I-44 just as the sun is beginning to rise. There are two hundred head of Brahmin and seven cowboy guards besides the characters and Jeremiah. For a complete description of Jeremiah, see the NPC roster, below.
Guards (x7) HP: 40 SQ: 10 AP: 8 DT: 2 DR: 10% AC: 14 To-Hit (Small Guns): 55% Weapon: H&K MP-9 10mm SMG (W: 7 lbs. Dmg: +6 Rng: 25 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), 150 shots 10mm JHP ammo (1d6).
For the most part (see below), the trip goes smoothly. Allow the characters to interact with Jeremiah and the other cowboys, or else try their hand at Brahmin-wrangling (always interesting when there is no horses).
Random Encounters
If the GM wishes, he or she can cook up a couple of random encounters for the party, to either add to the story or build suspense (or just make travel time seem a little less dull). Some suggestions:
Molerats
The caravan is attacked in the night by a hungry tribe of molerats.
Molerat (x17) HP: 20 SQ: 7 AP: 7 DT: 1 DR: 5% AC: 15 To-Hit (unarmed): 80% Attacks: Claw (3 AP, D: 1d8), Bite (75%, 3 AP, D: 1d8, Poison type A). XP: 100
Dead Believer
Lying in the road is a dead person. If inspected, the blood appears to be fresh and rigor mortis has not yet set in. The body (it can be male or female) is dressed in a long, purple robe and has a large silver cross on a chain around its neck. The person died by a single arrow wound to the head.
Raider Attack
Near nightfall (6:00) on the third day, the caravan passes through an area where I-44 cuts through a rocky hill. There are 20-meter-tall cliffs on either side of the road. While passing through, a Raider party attacks, first by dragging a makeshift barrier across the road made of twisted pieces of metal and wood, effectively stopping the Brahmin, and then attacking from the cliffs above and behind the barrier.
Raiders (A) (x7) HP: 30 SQ: 12 AP: 8 DT: 1 DR: 15% AC: 15 To-Hit (Small Guns): 51% Weapon: H&K MP-9 10mm SMG (W: 7 lbs. Dmg: +6 Rng: 25 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), 50 shots 10mm JHP ammo (1d6) XP: 50
Raiders (B) (x7) HP: 40 SQ: 10 AP: 8 DT: 2 DR: 10% AC: 14 To-Hit (Small Guns): 65% Weapon: Winchester 12-Guage (W: 5 lbs. Dmg: +12 Rng: 14 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), 40 shots 12 Gauge ammo (1d10) XP: 60.
Raiders (C) (x7) HP: 45 SQ: 10 AP: 10 DT: 2 DR: 10% AC: 14 To-Hit (Small Guns): 71% Weapon: Desert Eagle 44 (W: 5 lbs. Dmg: +10 Rng: 19 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), 50 shots .44 JHP ammo (1d8).
Unbeknownst to the party, the raiders are actually hired by Dotson to try and eliminate a few party members. Dotson knows it will be cheaper to hire a few thugs than actually pay all the party members what he has promised. For this reason, the Raiders and Caravan Guards will fire at each other, but the GM should roll the dice behind a screen, as every shot the Raiders and Guards make aren't intended to hit. Every shot will be a miss. Don't mention this fact or make a big deal out of it unless one of the players specifically asks why they seem to be missing; if a player does that, have him or her make a Roll Against Perception with a -1 penalty. If the roll succeeds, the character notices that the Raiders and the Guards are aiming so they miss.
The Raiders will go after the party, however, and the fight should be a furious one. When at least 14 Raiders have been killed, the rest retreat. Whether or not the party follows is up to them; the Raiders will no longer fight unless obviously cornered, preferring to get away instead.
After the battle, Jeremiah will approach the party. Read the following:
The scarred man reaches out to shake your hands in turn. His grasp is firm, and his eyes have genuine thanks in them. "I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your help. Those Raiders have consistently attacked us and have killed some of my best guards. You have my thanks." Jeremiah returns to barking orders at the guards and cowhands, and before long, everyone moves out.
On the eighth day, the party reaches Tulsa sometime in the mid-afternoon.
Chapter 3 – The True Believers
When the party reaches Tulsa, read the following:
After hours of trudging through blackened and burned ruins, a large building comes into view in the distance. As the caravan approaches, you realize it isn't just large, it's enormous; its walls must be over 50 meters tall. Made of giant chunks of scrap metal and concrete, you can barely make out people walking along the top, and gun turrets placed at regular intervals. You realize you aren't looking at a building at all, but instead a defensive structure. The caravan draws nearer, and Jeremiah makes his way over towards the party.
"This is Tulsa, a veritable diamond in the rough around here. Go but fifteen miles west of this camp, and you're in the Great Wastes, and you might as well kiss your asses goodbye. Tulsa is run by a group that calls themselves the True Believers - you'll know a Believer when you see 'em. They've all got huge crosses around their necks. They pretty much write the laws around here, so be careful of 'em.
The caravan heads back to Springfield in 10 days. You can cool your heels around Tulsa, or you can take a look around the countryside - doesn't matter to me. We leave at sunrise on the 10th day whether you all are here or not. If you're interested in traveling back with us, I'd be glad to have you on again as guards."
Finished, Jeremiah returns to the remainder of the group, and the city walls loom high over you.
Give the party a minute to respond to Jeremiah's warnings. They'll probably make plans to spend their money, or discuss other options. After a moment, read the following.
After a while, you realize the caravan is in a large corral in front of a gate that looks tiny next to the walls. Behind you, a metal gate closes, effectively locking the Brahmin in the corral. Jeremiah is talking with a huge man in metal armor emblazoned with a large, purple cross on the chestplate. Although you can't make out their words, it appears Jeremiah is processing your entry into the city. Several other guards look on, each armed with wicked-looking machineguns. Occasionally, someone takes a drink from a canteen or spits into the dust.
After what seems like forever, a small side door opens and Jeremiah waves everyone over with a flick of the wrist. "Alright," he says, "here's your pay," handing each of you the promised amount in turn. "Meet by this gate in 10 days time if you want to come back with us. If not, have fun, and stay out of trouble." With that, he points towards a wretched-looking tunnel through the walls. "Welcome to Tulsa," Jeremiah says as he goes back to controlling the Brahmin.
For completing the Brahmin Drive, each party member should receive 150 Experience Points. Once inside the city, the party can get some idea of just how immense a settlement Tulsa is. Entirely encased in the protective walls, the town is divided into roughly three areas: the residential zone, the industrial zone, and the farm zone. See the map below for important areas and information:
1. Brahmin Corral - This crude but effective corral is used as a staging area for Brahmin entering and leaving the city. This is where the characters will likely begin their adventures in Tulsa. The small door through the walls is on the southwest corner.
2. Main Gates - These massive structures are the main gates to Tulsa, although they haven't opened in years. Most business is done through one of the many small gates around the city - farmer's gate, cowboy's gate, merchant's gate, and traveler's gate. These gates could, conceivably, open wide enough to let six or seven cars drive through abreast.
3. The Farm Zone - The farm zone is where some of Tulsa's food is grown, and also holds the stockyards. It is almost evenly divided between fields of wheat and corn, and Brahmin corrals and slaughterhouses. This area is patrolled lightly, but no one is allowed into this zone without a pass.
4. Industrial Zone - The largest zone in Tulsa, the Industrial Zone houses the dozens of factories that turn out clothes, bullets, and other valuable resources. This area is highly patrolled by guards, and no one is allowed into this zone without a specific pass.
5. The Believer's Cathedral - Easily the largest and most ornate structure in town, the Believer's Cathedral is an abominable cross between old Gothic architecture and the gaudy art deco style from the 20th Century. It is a huge concrete structure with stained-glass windows, and each window contains an ornate picture depicting some event from the War or immediately after. Inside, the Cathedral can easily hold 10,000 people, and there is a giant television screen on the far wall where the face of whatever Elder happens to be preaching is projected. The Cathedral is usually locked up tight when no services are being held.
6. Elder's offices - The offices of Elders and church clergy are in these squat brick houses behind the Cathedral. Each house has at least two guards stationed in it at all times, although those guards may not be obvious to the casual observer.
7. Church of St. Pat the Evangelist - Named for Pat Robertson, famous television evangelist, this little church handles overflow crowds from the Cathedral services and also serves to minister to Outsiders. The church is run by a young but sickly looking man named Father Tim. Father Tim is unusual for a Believer clergyman, as he is completely ignorant of the Believer's operations and truly subscribes to his faith. For more information on Father Tim, see the NPC roster, below.
8. Welcome Office - The Welcome Office is a converted semi-trailer just inside of the main gate. It is here that Outsiders and Citizens are issued passes. The Welcome Office is run by a brash young bureaucrat named Jake who loves to push paper around and not do much else, which is exactly why he was hired.
Jake (x1) HP: 30 DT: 3 DR: 30% AC: 20 To-Hit (Small Guns): 47% Weapon: Desert Eagle 44 (W: 5 lbs. Dmg: +10 Rng: 19 AP S: 5 T: 6 B: N/A), .44 JPH (x20) (1d8).
9. Stores - These stores don't really sell anything useful, unless the party is interested in buying clothes, shoes, or toys. Since guns are illegal to buy and sell in Tulsa, they will have to look elsewhere for weapons.
10. Rick's Dry Goods - Rick's Dry Goods is a Believer-run store that exists specifically so Outsiders can stock up between trips to the wastes. Rick is a young, callow Believer who will refer anyone who comes into his store not wearing a silver cross to either the Church of St. Pat or the Church of St. Jerry. Rick’s charges about 150% of an item’s listed price.
Rick’s Dry Goods – Antidote (x2), Stimpack (x10), Flare (x5), shovel (x2), Leather Jacket (x3), Leather Armor (x2)
11. The Church of St. Jerry the Righteous - The Church of Saint Jerry is named for the Reverend Jerry Falwell, a hellfire-and-brimstone preacher from the 20th Century. It handles overflow from the Cathedral and serves as a base of operations for missionaries heading to other cities. Unless there is a missionary meeting or a church service, the building is usually locked up tight.
12. The Residential Zone - Rows of similar-looking cookie-cutter houses line the streets of Tulsa's residential zone, where close to 40,000 people live. There are children everywhere in the Residential Zone, as Believers are encouraged to have as many kids as possible to create an Army that will eventually return America to its Godly roots. There are guard patrols everywhere, and only people who either wear a silver cross prominently around their necks or have a pass are allowed here. Outsiders who fail to produce a pass are executed immediately.
13. Maria Dotson's house - Although it looks like everyone else's house, this building - #1323 Christopher Lane - is where Maria Dotson lives. Since Maria keeps a rather high profile, staying active in many church-related groups, nearly any adult Believer can tell the party where to find her. For a complete profile of Maria Dotson, see the NPC roster, below.
Maria’s House
Getting to Maria Dotson’s house is a relatively simple affair; first, the party must get a Residential Zone pass from the Welcome Office. Residential Zone passes are issued for 24 hour time periods, and cost nothing, although Jake tends to take weeks to process anything unless the proper incentive is provided (about 10 bits per party member). Once Jake has been bribed, the party is free to enter the Residential Zone. To play up the air of oppression that seeps through Tulsa, have the party encounter several armed guards. These guards will always carry heavy machineguns, and should obviously be much more than the characters could ever hope to fight off. They guards demand the pass, and at least one of them will test the pass for “authenticity.” This guard might need another 10 bit “incentive” to return the pass.
Once the characters have Maria Dotson’s address from someone, have a pass, and have dealt with the guards, getting there is easy. Once at her door, read the following.
Your knocks echo across the sticky streets. Far off, you hear children screaming happily and a dog barking. The stench of unwashed people is strong in this section of the city, as is the odor of garbage.
After a moment, the door opens slightly, and a woman’s face peers at you from behind a chain. “Can I help you?” she says.
If the characters indicate they have a letter from Mayor Dotson in Springfield, she quickly unlatches the chain and lets them in. Read the following:
“Sorry about that. Sometimes, I can’t be too sure around here.” Maria takes the enormous cross off, her long hair getting caught in the chain. She curses, but you can see she’s an intelligent and lovely woman. She tosses the cross on a table and says, “stupid thing. It’s heavier than hell. Now, you have a letter for me?”
The characters should give her the letter. Maria thanks them profusely, and tells the characters that she will have a response for them in five or six days – they can come by and pick it up anytime after that. If questioned about the lengthy time between when she got the letter and when she is responding, Maria simply says that she’s very busy and it takes her a long time to write anything.
Maria tells the characters that they might want to consider finding work in the interim, as Tulsa can be a fairly boring town and they don’t want to attract too much attention to themselves as Outsiders.
Adventure Concludes
This is where the sample adventure concludes. The complete “Many Faces, One Mask” adventure will be available for download sometime in May of 2001 at http://www.iamapsycho.com. Until that time, GMs are encouraged to make up their own ending using the characters and locations provided, or make up their own adventures for the characters to become involved in. Or, you can use this adventure as a model to write your own. “Many Faces, One Mask” is the first in a series of adventures that will eventually involve three forces each attempting to take control of the resource-rich area east of the Great Wastes. Each force has its own agenda, and parties will eventually have to pick loyalties if they remain involved in this little war. Political intrigue, suspenseful battles, and good storytelling abound in this action-packed epic campaign.
NPC Roster
Mayor John Dotson
Mayor Dotson is a bit of an enigma; he’s a street urchin who became such a successful thief and charlatan that he decided to try his hand at legitimate business. Finding it equally as successful, especially after turning Springfield into his own private empire, Dotson is beginning to realize just how far his power and wealth can reach. To this end, he is cooking up plots within plots, attempting to embroil the True Believers to the south in an inner struggle so that he can consolidate his forces and eventually take them over. Dotson would never attack Tulsa with an army, but his business partners would be more than happy to enter the market, ruin the local economy, and then establish Dotson as a kind of Savior to sort the miserable people out from the strife of a Church turned against itself and a shattered economy. Dotson is extremely shrewd and anticipates plots against him; unless he can trust a pawn, that person usually disappears shortly after they cease becoming useful.
Jeremiah the Caravan Driver
Jeremiah, or “just Jeremiah,” is one of Dotson’s friends from their life on the streets together. Jeremiah is a little concerned with how power-hungry Dotson has become lately, but continues to support his old friend, probably both out of fear as well as out of friendship. Jeremiah is one of Dotson’s most trusted supporters and advisors, and in addition to running Dotson’s personal herd of cattle down to slaughterhouses in Tulsa, is more or less in charge of Springfield’s Brahmin yards, although Jeremiah prefers to reside over his domain from behind the scenes. He genuinely cares about the characters and everyone else under his control, and sees himself as a person who has had some very good luck and can help others who are less fortunate than himself.
Maria Dotson
Maria Dotson really isn’t Mayor Dotson’s sister, of course – besides the almost 30 year age difference, they aren’t related at all. Maria Dotson is one of the Mayor’s supremely loyal lieutenants, and is his “inside operative” in Tulsa. She has steadily been feeding him information on everything from Church activities to guard patrol patterns, and Dotson has been pouring over this data, analyzing it for patterns and weakness, trying to think of how best to utilize his rather limited resources in Tulsa. Maria, in turn, has been organizing a “resistance” group of sorts in Tulsa itself – asking questions to people about the Believer religion, questions no one can answer. Of course, she isn’t leading the group at all – merely planting the seeds of doubt in enough people so they begin to mobilize on their own. So far, either through luck or skill, Maria has not yet attracted the attention of the Elders.
Father Tim Gibbon
Father Tim, the newly-appointed minister of the Church of St. Pat the Evangelist, is one of Tulsa’s truly pious priests. Raised from a young age in the priesthood, Father Tim loves what he does – bringing the Biblical Word of the True Believers to anyone who hasn’t been blessed enough to hear It. He came from a long line of preachers, people who could trace their roots back the fundamentalist churches that littered the Tulsa landscape before the War. His father is one of the Elders, and his mother is a leader of a large women’s group. Tim believes strongly in many of the ideals of the True Believers: Jesus suffered for everyone, Jesus wanted people to make their own lives on Earth better. His ignorance of the real nature of the Believers may be self-imposed; he has had his doubts before, and if confronted with any hard evidence, Father Tim would most likely admit as much. First and foremost, Father Tim cares about helping other people, and feels in his heart that he is doing so in the best way possible.