Starstones Campaign Chapter Two

 CHAPTER TWO

Recently there have been a series of bizarre disappearances and gruesome murders in the town of Sibenik. Intelligence suggests that the Ottomans had been running some sort of experimental facility in the town. Four weeks ago, the agent tasked with observing the facility reported hearing gunfire and blood curdling screams coming from the building. It was after this time that the strange deaths and disappearances started to occur. Since then, a number of Ottoman agents and military have arrived in Sibenik, presumably to tidy up their mess and remove any evidence of their activities. Due to the peculiar nature of the situation ARSS have been tasked with investigating the situation. 

Set Up: Streets in Old Sibenik, with 8 randomly scattered crime scenes. PCs must obtain 4 items of evidence from the crime scenes, it takes one action to search a crime scene. 

To search, roll 1d6.

If it is the first crime scene searched, 6+ finds evidence. 2nd crime scene 5+, 3rd crime scene 4+, 4th crime scene 3+, 5th or more automatically find evidence.

Deployment: Deploy all PCs along the southern edge, then deploy foes randomly but not closer than 8” to any PC (if a foe appears closer than 8” from a PC, place it 8” away). From the outset the PCs are aware of a sensation of undefined dread – All must take a DL10 Horror check.

Foes:

2 x Ottoman Dervish Swordsmen

3 x hordes of 3 Ottoman Soldiers.

Trap: There are no Traps.

Ambush: An Ottoman swordsman leaps out from the nearest cover and attacks the closest PC.

Reinforcements: 3 Ottoman Militia enter from a random table edge.

At Our Back: 3 Ottoman Militia.

Complications: An Ottoman Iron Man enters from a random table edge. Leave the card in the deck, the Iron Man acts as a normal foe for drawn cards, except it also activates if the Complication card is drawn. 

Game Event: A bizarre creature enters in the middle of the Eastern table edge and will attempt to exit from the NW corner.  Leave the card in the deck, the creature acts as a normal foe for drawn cards, except it also activates if the Game Event card is drawn. It will ignore PCs unless they are within 5”, if it moves into contact with any Ottomans it will automatically kill them. A PC that begins  a turn within 4” of the creature must take a DL12 Horror check (once passes they do not need to repeat).

Wandering Monster

1 to 3: 1 Dervish Assassin

4 to 6: 3 Ottoman Soldiers

Victory

The game ends if 4 pieces of evidence are found or if all PCs are off table or dead.

Shooting

After the previous game's bloodbath I am trying to tone down the effect of foes shooting (especially minions).

Foes will attempt to close into melee unless they have the "Shooter" tag.

Shooters will move to within 8" and then stand and shoot using their gun DL (normally 8 or 10).

All other foes have a gun DL 2 and will move 2" and shoot if they start, or can end their move, within 8". If they are within 4" they will charge.
So a non-shooter foe with a gun will move 2" and shoot if they start their move between 10" and 4.1" of a PC, or charge if within 4".

The table layout, the six crime scenes are marked with sewer manhole covers. The PCs entered the table from the left, just behind the centre building and just out of camera shot.

A group of Ottoman soldiers lay in wait on the other side of that building, just by one of the craft scenes. Jack seemed more interested in the delivery cart in the foreground.

Maisie immediately spots a starstone and move up to investigate - a good start! A swordsman is lurking in the arcade of the purple building ahead.

The swordsman charges Jack but is cut down.

As Jack and Maisie move forward another swordsman springs an ambush on the Professor, who takes a wound before dispatching his attacker.

Now thing start to go badly as an Iron Man appears, immediately behind Lady Amelia.

Some bad poor dice and even poorer cards mean that soldiers rush onto the table, lots of soldiers (again)!

Lady Amelia unloads both barrels into the mechanical monstrosity, damaging it but is overrun and falls to the ground.

The Professor thows one of his exploding globes....

...which eliminates the soldiers and damages the Iron Man.

Whilst Maisie moves around the other side of the building and puts a high-powered round through it's metal skull, causing a permanent malfunction. The Proferssor rushes forward and uses his healing skills to administer to Lady Amelia, who recovers, albeit still badly hurt. A dose of Mrs Pinkman's Restorative Compound completes her recovery.

Maisie moves to the first crime scene, but finds no evidence, then is ambushed from the balcony above. She takes a wound before overcoming her attacker. Singh and Jack check another crime scene each but tfail to discover anything useful.

Maisie is wounded in a fusillade of shots from a group of soldiers, who are rapidly dispatched by her and Lady Amelia, then yet another ambusher fells Maisie. Her uncle cuts the rascal down and Lady Amelia utilses her considerable medical knowledge on Maisie, who is fortunately only slightly injured.

At this point Jack sees a truly bizzare creature scaling the walls of a nearby building. He moves forward but is distracted by an Ottoman swordsman and loses sight of the creature as it rushes away down a side street.

Singh finds himself set upon by no fewer than 6 Ottoman soldiers, but is only hit once in their volley of fire. The Professor thows another exploding globe....

....and then there was one!

The party move forward and successfully manage to scout all the remaining crime scenes, when the Professor is shot down by a group of militia. Jack and Maisie blast them away and Lady Amelia helps the badly injured Professor to his feet. He can barely walk but fortunately he has one draft of Restorative Compound left and swiftly drinks it.

A mass of foes are closing in, temporarily kept at bay by Jack and Maisie's shooting.

As the Professor is helped up they find a Dervish Assassin bars the escape route, but Singh swiftly deals with him!

Not such a blood bath as the last chapter, only three wounds were inflicted by all the shooting this time, but still a dangerous time for the party. Three party members put out of action but all successfully healed enough to leave under their own steam.