Deadworlds: Trust Us, We're Here to Help You! Episode 3

Episode Three: Rescue and Escape

What's going on?

The Cast Members must somehow rescue the loved one before they are drained of blood. It is also possible that some of their own party have been captured by the Neo-Vampires.

Setting the Scene

There are four options here from this point:

1. The Cast Members have successfully snuck up on the Neo-Vampires, their presence unknown.

2. The Cast Members have inadvertently made their presence known, but have remained free from capture.

3. The Cast Members have inadvertently made their presence known, and some of them have been captured.

4. The Cast Members have all been captured. This could be very bad.

Tell The Story

There are too many options to go plot-by-plot in this part of the adventure; rather it is up to the characters and ZM to make the story happen from here on out. Of course, as mentioned prior, if they have gotten this far then they know what they are doing.

The Basement Door

While the main doors is guarded, a door (used for shipping and deliveries) to the basement is locked but unguarded. Gaining entrance requires sneaking up to the city hall without alerting the tower guard, however. A distraction to lead the soldier's attention away would make this task much more likely. The door to the basement is locked, but can be picked with a Difficult (-1) Lockpicking (Mechanical)/Dexterity Task. The basement is empty, and remains unexplored by the soldiers.

The Soldiers

The soldiers are far from competent, as their transformation has severely limited their intellectual abilities. They can be easily hornswaggled by a resourceful Cast Member. Exploiting this is contingent upon the character somehow figuring out that the soldiers are hampered and may have Drawbacks that can be used against them.

For example, Dr. Lloyd has the Megalomaniac Drawback. He is convinced that his "creation" will bring about a new order, with him as the leader. He sees non-transformed humans as lesser creatures and cattle to feed upon, and cannot imagine them out-thinking him. Still, he is quite a bit more intelligent than those he leads, and will learn from his mistakes.

The Neo-Vampires' thirst can be used against them as well, if the Cast Members are willing to use each other as "bait" to distract or seduce them. Also, with their Intelligence of "1" it is unlikely that they learn from their mistakes in any meaningful way.

Harris's Cruel Drawback can also be exploited with the right plan. He is more concerned with inflicting pain than doing his duties, if given the opportunity.

Other possible Drawbacks for the soldiers may be Covetous (blood of beautiful women or children or something), Emotional Problems (usually guilt and depression related to the transformation), Prejudice (never/only drink the blood of a certain racial/ethnic group), Reckless (I'm an immortal vampire, look at me!), Recurring Nightmares (usually related to the transformation), Zealot (we'll take over the world, watch us! No one can stop us!). A resourceful Cast Member could use any of these to her advantage.

Surprises . . .

Most likely, the players will come up with something new and different (isn't that always the way). If they do, treat them fairly using the following guidelines:

1. The soldiers are dopes. Psycho Neo-Vampires, but dopes nonetheless.

2. The party has only a little time before their loved one is drained (48 hours max).

3. The zombies are interested in getting in the way in the hope of finding "lunch." This could become a huge problem if the party wants to act silently or inconspicuously.

4. Dr. Lloyd will happily destroy his victims if he concludes that the Cast Members are trying to save one or all of them. However, he will use them as hostages to bargain for his own life.

5. Dr. Lloyd sacrifices any or all of his soldiers in order to facilitate his own escape (after all, he has the Neo-Vampire serum and can create more "friends").

If any of the soldiers are killed during the rescue attempt, the other soldiers go mad for revenge. They stop at nothing to see the characters destroyed, and to gorge on the blood from their slashed throats! All subtlety is put aside for pure, brutal, vengeance. If Dr. Lloyd is killed, the soldiers lose a lot of their tactical ability and are likely to act very foolishly (of course they will be even MORE mad with his destruction).

If a Neo-Vampire is killed and allowed to reanimate, the ZM has a choice. Does a Neo-Vampire rise as a "normal" zombie or as something else? They are already half-undead. Whatever the case, t he point is moot if the Cast Members destroy the brain, as they should.

The following events could also be used to enliven the plot:

1. What would happen if a small family showed up to be "rescued" at the "rescue station?" See the opening story. Would the Cast Members try to rescue everyone?

2. Dr. Lloyd may have some failed experiments hibernating in the field lab. They may or may not be totally dead, and he probably had a lab-rat or two . . .

3. Dr. Lloyd's serum may not be totally stable, and the Neo-Vampires might go through another transformation even more horrible than the first.

Continue to The Final Chapter: Success