Re: [HoE] Interesting Black Hat story (Possible spoiler???)

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

Well, not to be picky.  But assuming you posted looking for feedback...  :)

>This is an adventure idea I was going to run last GenCon, but didn't.
>Goff technically bought it for a nickel, and one of the events at either
>GenCon or Origins looks pretty similar, from the pre-reg description,
>hence the:
>
>
>SPOILER SPACE
>
>
>
>The posse rolls into a small town that's damn near deserted.  This works
>better if they've gone through before, when the place was bustling and
>busy.  The people are very gloomy.  It doesn't take long to find out
>that a platoon of Black Hats came through not to long ago and forced the
>citizenry to put together a Tribute Caravan (the BH's organize the
>people into a land train, carrying everything that isn't nailed down
>back to Denver, leaving only enough so that the people can survive, and
>eventually be hit again).  Knowing that they wouldn't be able to help
>against the kind of forces Throckmorton sends to F up towns whose
>Tributes are interrupted, the posse offers sympathy, maybe some food,
>and moves on.

I've never been totally clear, and it seems to be a matter of individual 
interpretation, but...are regular Templars supposed to be sympathetic and/or 
provide aid to folks who support Throckmorton in his efforts?

Sure, the townsfolk didn't have much choice.  Then again, one gets the 
impression that that doesn't necessarily hold water with a lot of Templars.  
Someone could always say, "Well, we couldn't help our next-door neighboring 
village because of X, Y, and Z."  And yet, that (and throwing stones at 
beggars & mutants) seems to be the main stated criteria for why templars 
refuse to help folks.

Anyhoo, my point is not that Templars _must_ all think that way or another 
way - only that you could have a PC Templar that _might_ think that way.  
And that such thinking could have a significant impact on the adventure.

If the adventure uses pre-designed characters, you could simply not include 
a Templar.

>Not too long after, they see a bunch of wrecked vehicles in the road.
>Sitting on top of one of the HMMV's is a rather large man in a black
>tabard, finishing off a 6 pack.  It seems that a warband of
>Anti-Templars had decided to liberate the caravan (remember, they think
>they're heroes, too), not realizing the important bit that the posse
>did.  They've been camped out for a day or two, and don't know where to
>go from here.  The townsfolk are happy to be free, but are beginning to
>get leery of their new "friends."

First of all, I'm not clear here.  Who was driving the caravan?  Black Hats 
(who were killed by the Anti-Templars)?  The village people (then why are 
the vehicles wrecked?)?  Where did the vehicles come from?  Later you seem 
to make it clear they are BH vehicles with BH drivers.  But that's another 
problem...

Again, the presence of a Templar could be upsetting here.  Again, it's a 
discretionary thing, but some Templars seem to take the offenses of the 
anti-Templars rather...personally.  And violently.  Sure, you or I might not 
think that, but the question would be how any given player Templar might 
discretionarily choose to view the Anti-Templars.

Of course, if you don't _care_ if the party kills the Anti-Templars, no 
problem.  :)

*shrug* Sure, reasonably a Templar might not kill some potential 
anti-Templar allies when the lives of hundreds hang in the balance.  Then 
again, there's really nothing that forces players to be "reasonable" either. 
  Some delight in being unreasonable in the name of role-playing.  And 
sometimes, you get chips for playing unreasonable Hindrances (Big Britches, 
Bloodthirsty and Vengeful in this case).  I can see it now:  "Hell, we don't 
need these punks, and they're the mortal enemies of the Templar.  *slice 
slice*"  So much for Big Britches.

But...Anti-Templars get mucho power for killing a Templar.  If there is a PC 
Templar in the group, why would they really care if he's alive.  "Sure we'll 
ally with you to get the stuff to Denver.  Let's just kill your buddy Fred 
over there and let one of us get more powerful, and we'll be on our way..."

Again, the best way to bypass all of this in a "fixed" one-shot adventure is 
simply not to provide a Templar as a PC.  Of course, Templars are part of 
the "feel" of HoE (and that Lay on Hands comes in handy...).  Could be a 
tough choice.

>However, when Throckmorton finds out what happened to the caravan,
>neither the Anti-Templars nor the posse will be able to help the
>survivors.  The only solution now is to make sure the caravan gets to
>Denver.  The posse has to take hats from the corpses of the dead goons,
>and together with the Anti-Templars, impersonate Combine troops long
>enough to drop off the supplies and get the townspeople out of there
>alive.

So here it looks like the vehicles _were_ driven by the Black Hats (I get 
that impression, because you say the dead goons have black hats).  Then 
aren't the vehicles BH-wired to the chips, and rigged to self-destruct (or 
whatever) if a non-BH drives them?

The party also won't be able to use legitimate BH weapons due to the lack of 
chips.

In a one-shot type adventure, it would probably work to have one of the 
Anti-Templars be a former electronic whiz, or a pre-designed character with 
the necessary skill to circumvent the chips.  In a regular campaign, it 
might make it seem a bit easy for appropriately-skilled folks to get around 
the Combine's security procedures, undermining some of the fear and terror 
and basic concepts of the Combine.  In a one-shot, you probably won't care.

They'll also probably need some kind of barcode thing, since the Combine 
seems to use that for security purposes closer to home (one of the entries 
in Monsters/Muties mentions such a method of "tagging" - take that as you 
will).

From there, it just seems a matter of what you're going to have the group do 
in Denver once they get there.  The problem here, IMO, is that the best-case 
scenario here seems to be that the PCs and their allies get to Denver, turn 
over the caravan goodies, make sure the village doesn't get wiped out for 
failing to deliver, and...the Combine wins!  They'll be back next season to 
terrorize the villagers again.  Any cover story about the village's fate 
that the party provides (assuming they get past the Combine security 
measures) will fall apart once they are revealed as infiltrators.

Kind of a downer non-heroic ending.  Sounds like the heroes need to find a 
way to get the caravan to Denver..._but_ then arrange for a way to destroy 
it that doesn't incriminate the villagers.  And possibly make the Combine 
thinks the village is wiped out.  Without blowing their covers.

Was this the direction you were thinking of going with it...?

>--
From Whom it May Concern,
>Rich Ranallo, The Man They Couldn't Hang


---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

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