BTS Adventures
Created by Brett Hegr
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The following adventures are designed for the Beyond the
Supernaturaltm game, though they could
certainly be altered to work in another game genre. These ideas are
in the Hook, Line, and Sinkertm format,
created by Jolly Blackburn.
The Beasts Within
Hook: Several mysterious disappearances and murders have occurred
in the last few weeks. Children, housewives, policemen, etc. have been
affected.
Line: Someone that a PC knows has vanished, giving that PC
a motive for investigation. Or, the characters are contacted by a rich
philanthropist and asked to find a lost loved one. During the course of
investigation, the characters discover that there were two young men
checked into a local asylum for emergency therapy. They were raving
about a friend who suddenly transformed into a monster and tried to
kill them. PCs should also find out that police took photos of two of
the crime scenes, and some of the photos got "lost." They were lost by
a low level officer with a couple minor psionic powers. He'll try to
anonymously send them to the PCs, but they could track him down without
a great deal of effort. He'll tell them a little bit of information
found below. The police concluded that the deaths were caused by a large
animal, perhaps a bear or cougar.
Sinker: The truth behind the mystery is that an evil wizard
from another world (maybe the Palladium Fantasy RPG®)
is behind all the chaos. He escaped his world through a dimensional
portal and brought with him knowledge of a corrupted version of
Xy's (an Old One) circle of transformation. The wizard can cause the
circle's victims to spontaneously change shape into one horrible form
of his personal design (GMs be creative) and at his every whim. The
victims have virtually no control over their actions when they become
monsters. The transformation is also excruciatingly painful, making the
people subservient to the wizard out of fear. Reducing a monster to
zero hit points will cause it to revert to human form, which will cause
serious and potentially life threatening injuries to the human. PCs
will need to find a way to stop the wizard without hurting the people
he has victimized.
Tunnel Run
Hook: PCs are witness to a strange event - a man in rags is seen
crawling into a manhole. It wouldn't be strange except for the fact
that the man was skinny and spindly, yet could somehow lift a heavy
manhole cover like the lid off a jar of pickles. Chasing the man is
a waste of time.
Line: Soon after the characters witness the above event,
there are reports of sewer creatures causing property damage all over the
news. The creatures come alone or in pairs and have a fondness for
shattering glass. Jewelry stores are the standard targets. Somehow, the
security systems of the burglarized stores are disabled. The PCs should
end up being witnesses (and possible suspects) at one or more of the
burglaries. Thus, to prove their innocence they must find the real
thieves.
Sinker: The man in rags is an escaped schizophrenic man named
Herman Burgess. He has some minor psychic abilities and always speaks by
stuttering riddles and rhymes. He has seen the creatures that have been
doing the robberies, and player characters will have to get through his
insanity to get his information. The perpetrators could be common
thieves in costumes, mafia thugs testing a stolen holographic imaging
system, someone using magic and/or psionic illusions to cover their
identities, or actual supernatural beings like Temporal Raiders (who
found easy pickings). Herman can see through all illusions, and will
know the perpetrators for what they are. He'll speak frequently of
their base in a riddle that the PCs will have to solve. They could
also search the tunnels and break out some surveillance equipment to
try and localize their quarry's location.
Urban Safari
Hook: Scores of bodies have been found in dumped in a city
landfill. No suspects have been taken into custody, and the identities
of the victims cannot be determined.
Line: A few murders occur on a night soon after - local
innocents are the victims. Several local atheletes, bar brawlers, and
gang members are found dead over the next few days. Then police, martial
arts instructors, and Olympic atheletes are victimized next. It's almost as
if someone was hunting more and more deadly prey. Someone the characters
are acquainted with might have been murdered, or had a loved one murdered.
Sinker: The murders are the result of a diverse group of
interdimensional or alien bounty hunters hosting their annual games in
the local city. As the PCs get closer to the unbelievable truth, they
become the next targets in the game.
Clues might include the fact that the bodies in the landfill are previous
victims from another city (possibly in another dimension) and have no
identities in the local society. They were dumped locally as a matter of
convenience. The bounty hunters won't talk about their game to outsiders,
but PCs might be able to take or find a score sheet from one of the hunters.
The murders also occur after midnight all over the city - indicating that
these "games" have some sort of defined starting time. Object reading the
body of a victim or sensing residual emotion will give an impression of
primal fear, the instinct to flee, and the sensation of being followed.
Players might also notice that certain murders appear to have been
performed by particular individuals, from telltale weapon marks or
other signs. Characters with forensics skills can finally use them!
Cross the Border
Hook: A locally well-known family has been trying to sell their house
lately, but has been unsuccessful. Ever since an article appeared in the
local paper saying their house was haunted they haven't been able to get
any interest.
Line: An eccentric family member asks the players to investigate
and find out what is making the house such a hotbed of spiritual activity.
They'll have the opportunity to gain some publicity and funds, since the
family is well off (but not super rich). They also get to camp out in a
real haunted house. The house was partly remodeled before the activity began,
and is now unfinished on the lower levels and somewhat bare. It has been
in the family for nearly 100 years, but has changed hands between distant
relatives a few times.
Sinker: The house has been in the family for generations,
and has a hidden room full of old antiques, furniture, pictures, etc. A
recent small earthquake or cosmic event (a planetary alignment maybe)
has caused an influx of ley line energy to bombard the house. This energy
activated a mystical item in the hidden room, and it now opens random
gateways to the astral plane. Entities escape, and begin to haunt the
premises. Tectonic entities and poltergeists will wreak havoc on the
lower levels (they were being remodeled and all the tools and supplies
are still there) while haunting entities will run amuck in the upper
levels (there was a suicide, lots of domestic violence, and a couple
affairs for the entities to re-enact). After a couple days of haunting,
a malevolent entity will enter the house and begin to terrorize the
characters. The house will partially D-shift (dimensionally shift) and
the PCs will be trapped for the night in a shifting environment where
the past, present, and future mix together. Then suddenly... it ends.
Or does it? The PCs might have to find the artifact causing the
disturbance in order to end it. They'll even get to keep it once the
ordeal is over as partial payment.