without further ado:
Little Shop on Skid Row
it's been a year since the
event that became known as “The Mushnick Incident” . The little
flower shop lies in ruins, it's owner missing and the two employees
Seymore Krelborn and Audrey Dubois leaving skid row despite being
wanted for questioning by the police. It was shortly thereafter this
incident that the scientists and armed guards from W.B.E. came down
to skid row. They had authority from the highest powers that be to
quarantine the area. They built a wall around skid row, sealing all
entrances and exits. Skid row became a lawless zone, where its every
man for themselves.
Important things:
Drops: WBE sends food via
helicopter drops once a day at 10am at Green Park. They give out
enough food to feed the general population of Skid Row (approx 500)
however, without a presence in the streets, hoarding and extortion
take over.
There are also unscheduled
drops not affiliated with WBE that happen from time to time. Certain
criminal elements might have some outside connections.
Environment: Skid Row is a
filthy place, so much so that all that really occurs during the
daytime hours is a horribly overcast day, with a sun that appears
distant and barely visible through the cloud cover. At night the sky
generally clears a bit with some occasional clouds.
Generally the place Is
always bathed in colors of black gray and blues.
Streets Graveyard: when
people die, there used to be a place to put them. With the only
cemetery filled to capacity, or reserved for those with the cash, the
populous has had to resort to burying the dead in piles of rubble on
the streets near the old church. The old overpass, now decrepit and
crumbling, serves at the marker for the makeshift burial site.
Power and Connection: The
WBE is in control of the power grid and is blocking/controlling all
calls. The power is often sporadic, but there are ways around the
power outages. Perhaps a side mission of hacking into the power grid
could be possible here.
What's really going on?: the
WBE (World Botanical Enterprises) has quarantined off skid row,
because they have reasonable evidence that Audrey II is still in the
area. Where the alien plant has gone, they know not for certain, but
they intend to find out by sending out search/raid parties into skid
row.
After the collapse of
mushnick's flower shop, Audrey II retreated into the severs, she was
badly damaged from the falling building. Needing time to heal, she
fed off the sewer rats and other assorted creatures for almost a full
year. She is stronger now, moving along the tunnels, looking for a
way out. She still needs nutrition, so she has found ways to snag
people on her own and devour them. She is getting bigger day by day,
and her vines can reach almost anywhere in the city. If she gets too
big, she can leave the sewers and rampage through the city.
The characters know very
little about the Mushnick incident and the true story behind the
ongoings. If they wish, they can pull to see how much they really
know, by a number of pulls, at the beginning of the game. Otherwise,
they will need to discover the info for themselves, whether by seeing
an old person who knows, or by visiting a hall of records somewhere.
The flow of events:
Day 1:
the Drop at Green park
10am.-players will have to fight for their daily rations provisions
and needed supplies. Seedier characters will try to get what they
want.
A wayward package drops
away from the park and heads towards an alleyway. The group should
notice this package, and should hopefully see that another person is
in pursuit and chasing it down. The characters hopefully should take
chase, if not , they'll here a scream, and maybe investigate.
If they get to the
alleyway, they find the package, coated with a green slime, no sign
of the person giving chase, and perhaps a leaf. The package holds
something valuable it it.
Once the provisions are
secured, they can go about their normal business, but they begin to
notice that some people are a bit on edge. They've heard rumors of
people disappearing, missed appointment, and the increased amount of
missing persons being posted on the structures. “It seems that
everyone is looking for someone who's missing”
if characters have some sort
of contact, they're is a good possibility that someone might not make
it to a meeting.
***
Night 1: the night sky
clears enough to let some moonlight in, but that’s when the real
lawlessness kicks. in. it is real dangerous to go outside, with
muggers and gangs around every corner.
On the first night, there is
a very faint pulsating green glow from the sewers, which can be
dismissed as pollution. The second thing that goes on is voice
mimicry. Audrey has learned to mimic human voices and even some
sounds (the ruins) and can lure prey to her.
If the characters go out at
night, and are assaulted by any gang, there is a chance that they
will see a tendril come out of the sewers and try to take some prey
during a fight.
There is a very slight
chance that the characters will see a WBE party in skid row looking
around.
***
Day 2: another day, another
drop, this time, point out that there are some specific people
missing from the first day. Also at this time, there is a very good
chance that the characters will see a WBE party snooping around.
There is also a good chance that some of the characters who have
contacts are missing them.
Today will be the first time
that the character come face to face with a part of audrey II.
Wherever they are in skid row, for more that a short period of time ,
and it will provoke an attack with several tendrils and chomping
heads. This attack is supposed to be a weakening of the tower, rather
than getting a fatality. Several pulls are needed to injure the plant
enough to force it to retreat into the depths.
This is designed to give the
group some needed insight into what is really going on here. That
there is a botanical terror running around and eating people. This
should spark the group into trying to find out more information from
someone, as well as a plan to take out the plant, or at least find a
way to protect themselves.
***
Night 2: The night is
restless for those who try to sleep in peace. There are more screams
in the night and the streets are rampant with people running around
everywhere. People are being dragged away into the shadows, never to
be heard from again, and the WBE presence has stepped it up a notch,
adding helicopters with searchlights to the search for the plant.
If the group runs around at
night, there is a very good chance that they are either attacked by
the plant, a gang, or they will be arrested by the WBE and held for
questioning. All of these options are bad. The key thing to remember
for this night is to survive and to be on guard.
***
Day 3: after last night,
there are only a handful of people at the drop this morning. It is
impossible to know if those absent are hiding in fear, taken by the
WBE, or eaten by then plant. The streets are deathly quiet. The drop
of supplies is meager on this day, which confirms the beliefs of the
group.
A Helping Hand: if the group
has not been able to formulate a plan up to this point, as few
options can occur here:
The Stranger: a weather-worn
man dressed in greasy combat fatigues is sneaking around the streets
nearby Green Park. He is carrying a duffel bag in one hand as has
an old rifle slung across his shoulder. He will not actively search
out the characters or help them, but with the proper persuasion from
the group, he will lend a hand and take them back to his hideout. His
hideout is an Audrey II HQ with maps and pictures of the creature,
newspaper clippings, and a full armory of weapons, including some new
stuff from the WBE which he took off some of the guards. The stranger
will tell the group what he knows, and where the plant should be. He
will accompany the characters into the plant's lair and assist them
in destroying the plant.
or
The Extra Drop: a large
helicopter flies over the heads of the group and drops a special
package at their feet. The box is quite large and contains several
specialized weapons and equipment. The weapons appear to be
tranquilizer rifles and gas canisters. gas masks are provided. A map
points out a possible location for the creature in the sewer system.
There is also a formal letter included in the box, which tells the
group that the WBE knows about the characters and what they have been
doing for the past 48 hours. The WBE is willing to cut a deal with
the group and will assist them in the containment and capture of the
plant, not its destruction. The WBE stresses this point by stating
that if the plant is successfully captured, the WBE will allow the
group to leave skid row without any issue or questions, and will set
the characters up with a life and job outside the walls. If the plan
results in the plant's death, all bets are off.
It is entirely up to the
characters to decide on what direction of action they want to take.
***
The Lair: the final battle
takes place deep in the sewers, where the plant has carved out its
own catacomb-like lair. Once the group gets close to the lair on the
map, the sewer floor will cave in and send the characters down a
slide-like chute that deposits them on a huge pile of human bones.
The stench in the catacombs is overpowering, smelling of raw compost
and fetid water. There is a fresh water stream that runs down the
side of the floor and flows deeper into the caves below. There is a
large black opening on the wall that faces the group, and the sound
of loud breathing echoes throughout the chamber.
As the character climb down
the pile of bones and get closer to the large black cave opening,
they notice that there are two more skeletons nearby the opening.
These are still dressed and in good condition. One is a small male
that is wearing a black suit and tie, white shirt, and glasses. The
other is female, wearing an off-white dress and a pearl necklace.
These are obviously the remains of Seymore and Audrey who were
thought to have escaped Skid Row, but now the truth is known about
the couple's whereabouts.
As the characters enter the
black cave, they can see the faint outline of a giant fly-trap plant.
It appears to be sleeping, but it is still imperative for the group
to remain quiet, because the plant is hypersensitive to sound. The
smallest noise will wake the plant and send it into a fit of rage.
***
The Battle: nothing can be
said for the group of characters and what they are trying to
accomplish in this battle, but the plant sticks to a few tactics and
will use them freely.
Tendril/Vines: This is
Audrey II's main attack. She will use several of her vines and
attempt to slap around the group as much as she can. The size of the
vines can range from thin as a whip to as large as a tree trunk.
Chomp: Audrey II has a huge
mouth that can just about disable any person unfortunate enough to
get stuck into the giant maw. If a character gets stuck in there,
it's going to be very difficult to get out of the maw before being
chomped. Another option is that there are several smaller heads of
the plant on the ends of some of the vines and are biting for
significantly lesser damage.
Bringing Down the House:
self preservation only goes so far, but in a last ditch effort all
bets are off, when the plant is close to being knocked out or killed,
it will try to finish the job by any means necessary, even if it
means bringing down everything on top of it. The plant will use it's
attacks to go after structure points to bury everything and everyone.
Perhaps the plant is betting on the fat that it survived a structural
collapse once, and that its strong enough to survive another one.
***
The Wrap Up: whether the
plant is destroyed or captured, there are a few loose ends that need
to be tied up. There is a chance for the character to escape Skid Row
by venturing deeper into the sewer system to find themselves outside
the walls. Or perhaps they choose to confront the WBE and hope that
they remain faithful to their bargain (if the group chose to go that
route). The one thing to remember here is that not all the questions
should be answered, because there's always a chance for a sequel.
