Suitable Campaign Age: Bronze, Cinematic
Adventure Tone: Introspective Action-Adventure
Recommended Power Level: Low or Classic
Overview
It’s not a turf war, but it sure feels that way. Grendel’s back, having recruited the remaining Snake Jocks. They now use the name the Black Dragon Fitness Club, and they are looking for revenge. To defend themselves, Mock and the rest of the Brood have recruited foot soldiers to protect themselves from the super powered monstrosities they created.
Mock Madness follows the events of Burning The Midnight Oil, the adventure included in the Metahumans Rising core book.
Foreshadowing
Locker room muffles the sounds of conversation. A large man, slumping to make himself look shorter than seven feet, hides his features. He hands off a trio of vials. A sickly yellow substance sloshes.
“Will this work?”
“Oh, yeah…”
The gym goer moves to hand over some cash. As he does so, the dealer reaches out revealing a scaly clawed hand.
“Better than you can imagine.”
Personal Scenes
Allow each of the heroes some personal spotlight time. If any of them go to a public gym, let them know that some of the more competitive lifters have really been pushing themselves over the last few weeks. Some of the body builders are lifting weights at near Olympic levels. If the hero goes to more than one gym, or heroes go to different gyms, this phenomena is not unique. There are a few lifters at different locations showing the same level of talent.
Burn The Past
The heroes are notified of a building fire. GMs should use the location from the climax in Burning the Midnight Oil. Otherwise, use the following location; in either case, the Disaster Values are listed below:
Located in one of the worst neighborhoods is an abandoned tenement building. The fire started in the basement and seems to have trapped several displaced people seeking shelter inside. Police and fire are on the scene, but the blaze seems exceptionally aggressive. There are also a number of people gathered, watching.
Building Fire
- Stakes: Save the people inside.
- Size 2 – Impacts a six story building.
- Ferocity 3 – Too widespread for non-powered people to prevent casualties
- Target 35
- Damage 5
- Success Threshold 9
- Starting Advantage 5
If the heroes were a part of the Burning the Midnight Oil storyline, they will quickly recognize the building from that experience. Otherwise if they talk to any of the police or firemen, provide the following:
“This place has had it rough. A couple of years ago this building was condemned after some other capes uncovered a drug lab in the basement, after some shootout.”
On Scene Interviews (Expression + Etiquette, Expert (20) Difficulty)
The heroes may want to speak to the people who were in the building, or others at the scene.
- Failure: The people trapped inside are too traumatized to really talk, and the emergency services are too busy.
- Partial: One of the fire fighters mentions that the blaze seemed resistant.
- Success: One of the people who was in the area saw a large man running out of the building before the fire started. This is the highest result the heroes can achieve if they did not stop the Building Fire.
- 1 Degree: One of the survivors will tell the heroes that a trio of men, all of them too big to be real, wearing hoodies went door to door looking for something before the fire. They threatened them not to move.
- 2 Degrees: Someone else was able to get a glimpse of one of the men saying they had skin like a snake’s.
Gang Violence
Over the coming weeks, there are outbreaks of violence in the street. From shootouts at stores, to outright attacks in the streets. If there is a Metahuman district or ghetto the gang fights seem to concentrate here and around gyms or fitness centers. Heroes patrolling the city will experience this first hand.
The gangs are made up of Minor or Typical Mobs of Snake Jokes on one side, and Metahuman Mercenaries and Tanks.
GMs should use civilians to introduce Hero Dilemmas or other complications.
What’s Going on? (Mental + Intimidation or Negoration, Advanced (25) Difficulty)
The heroes may want to interrogate the gang members to try and find out why they are fighting.
Optional: If the heroes are unable to uncover all the information from a single encounter, they may want to have a few gang events, each time allowing a new roll, and following the Degrees of Success until everything is uncovered. GMs are free to mix up the Mercs with Energy Projectors, or other Metahuman Background characters found in the core book. GMs may run several encounters with different heroes dealing with different situations, mixing up the rival gang troops can keep things interesting.
- Failure: The gang members are not talking. However, heroes who participated in Burning the Midnight Oil will recognize the signs of Snake Oil in one of the gangs.
- Partial: The gangs call themselves the Brood and the Black Dragon Fitness Club.
- If Anthony Smalls was not stopped at the football game, the heroes may have encountered him using the name Grendel and led the Snake Jocks. Heroes who encountered Grendel can make an Expert (20) Wisdom + Education (Or appropriate Study) to remember that in Beowulf Grendel’s mother was a Black Dragon.
- Success: Members of the Brood are all relatively new. While the Black Dragon Fitness Club has been “getting organized.”
- 1 Degree: There is bad blood between the two gang leaders. The Black Dragon Fitness Club began by targeting locations important to the Brood.
- 2 Degrees: While none of them realize this, the new members of the brood appear to have been recruited as foot soldiers and fodder to protect their interests from the Black Dragon Fitness Club.
Going For the Throat
As the gang violence escalates, Gendal has been monitoring Mock’s reaction, and the core members of the Brood. Once he knows their patterns, Grendel will begin sending his lieutenants to target core members of the Brood when they are isolated. In the encounters the members of the Brood will do their best to take down the Black Dragons, but all of them will cut and run when the going gets tough.
Uncovering Grendel’s Plan (Expression + Street Smarts or a History + Appropriate Contact roll, Expert (20) Difficulty)
- Failure: The gang attacks seem random and unrelated.
- Partial: This appears to be some kind of strike back (possibility relating to the events of Burning the Midnight Oil)
- Success: It’s taken Grendel time to recover from his change and the addictive nature of Snake Oil. Now he’s out for revenge.
- 1 Degree: Mock and the Brood have been recruiting low level Metahumans to protect themselves, which has forced them to start working like a more traditional gang.
- 2 Degrees: Grendel seems to have found a new source of Snake Oil, although it’s unclear if it is nearly as potent, but he has used it to solidify his leadership of the Snake Jocks and form the Black Dragon Fitness Club.
The Black Dragon Fitness Club: Major Mob + 1 the team leader (Leadership Bonus):
Viper: Still not over his transformation, Viper has a chip on his shoulder. He also has three inch telescoping razor thin claws. (Snake Jock + Advanced + Devastating (2))
King: Unlike most other Snake Jocks, King looks like he won the horrible mutation lottery, other than his massive size, only his ever shifting milky eyes reveal his Metahuman nature. He can use his eyes to transfix others. (Snake Jock + Advanced + Crowd Control w/Cluster)
Mongoose: Covered in scales and fur, Mongoose gets her name from just being better than the other jocks. She can also spit a necrotizing venom. (Snake Jock + Advanced (2) + Shooter)
Anaconda: Perhaps the person closest to Mock, the Black Dragon Fitness Club will target her after she finishes thrashing a pair of patrol officers. If things get too hot, she will escape into an open sewer grate (Sense + Forensics Advanced (25) Difficulty to notice beforehand.)
Gargoyle: Bound to Mock, they are rarely away from his side. However, because of the magic binding them it means that Gargoyle can be trusted to collect money from businesses that pay into a protection racket. Should the fight not go his way, Gargoyle will plow through a wall to bring down the building and take to the sky and push their speed to escape quickly.
Rampage: Living up to his name, if Rampage is not placated he is often spoiling for a fight. The Black Dragon Fitness Club will target Rampage as he indulges one of his “vices” as he tries to keep a low profile, at Mock’s request. Rampage will almost immediately cut and run.
Engaging the Heroes
There are a number of ways the heroes can become embroiled in the attacks on the Brood. Below are several options the GM can use:
- Investigations: If the heroes take actions to uncover the events going on, the GM can add a top for one of the attacks as part of any other information they obtain.
- Contacts or Drives: If the heroes have appropriate Contacts or persons as Drives, they can be pulled into these events. If a Drive is pulled in the hero gains Willpower as normal.
- Police on the Scene: The event has become something larger and both sides are now fending off police forces.
- An Anonymous Tip: A complete stranger near one of the heroes stops what they are doing, turns to them to warn them about one of the attacks. Heroes with any knowledge of psychic powers or knowledge of mind control can immediately tell this person is under some form of compulsion to warn them.
Cutting Off The Head
The attacks on the individual members of the Brood were all to lure Mock out. Once Grendel learns of Mock’s location, he will rally his forces to strike. Any members of the Brood who were not arrested will also be present for the final showdown, along with any of Grendel’s lieutenants who escaped. If the heroes are not investigating this final event, they will get an anonymous tip.
Location
Depending on which members of the Brood are available to Mock will determine where the final confrontation will take place. The locations are listed in the list of Mock’s preference.
Rampage: U252 Broadcasting Station: An old UHF broadcasting station. Rampage has modified the broadcasting antenna into a power amplifier giving him a +10 to all Lighting Attacks.
Gargoyle: Shipyard: The Brood will use the verticality of the shipping containers to stay out of range. If Anaconda is present, she will have a rifle, allowing her to attack at range using her normal attack (without the extra effects).
Anaconda or Mock Alone: Sewer Cistern: Mock has a rebreather, and Anaconda can hold her breath, once all the players have arrived, they will flood the chamber.
Going Out With A Bang
Regardless of location, there are explosives charges set through the area. If the fight goes south, the members of the Brood will attempt to escape as Mock monologues. He has no apparent fear of the repercussions that may be coming to him.
“You simple minded twits! Do you think I would so easily sacrifice my companions? I fed you leads knowing it would diminish your limited foot soldiers. We knew the whole time. Did you think your feeble brain could outsmart me? Why do you think the spandex is here? Please, come on! How do I put this in the parlance of your kind? Do you even think, bro? This is where we say goodbye.”
During this time, the remaining members of the Brood will make their escape… and Mock will detonate the bombs after using a Psychic Web to lock everyone down, normal Attack with Radius and Trapping. The Brood will then flee. The bombs will go off two Turns after the Brood escape.
Bombs: 20 Damage to everyone in the location/10 Damage within Close Range of the Location/5 Damage within Medium Range.
“Mock”
Mock knows his comeuppance are-a-comin’, and will face the battle with dignity and pride. Just kidding, he has created a psychic construct that looks exactly like him to use a decoy while he watches from a remote location. This is why every location has been designed for a way the brood can escape. Characters with the ability to detect psychic energy can sense the doppelganger with a Sense roll Difficulty 27.
Backup + Advanced (2) + Reinforced + Shooter
Basic Roll 27 + 4d6
Stamina 15
Defense 33 Dice 5 Armor 7
Psychic Blast 33 + 5d6 Range Long Damage 14
