Suitable Campaign Age: Bronze, Dark, or Cinematic
Adventure Tone: Introspective Macabre
Recommended Power Level: Low or Classic
Content Warning: This adventure explores Native American culture, and the political tensions at play between the US and Reservation borders. The adventure also draws on the Two Spirit ideal that embraces a non-binary understanding of gender.
Author’s Note: With luck, and a fair bit of reading, I hope that this adventure is respectful to the culture it explores. Although my biological father was both Mexican and Apache, for reasons non-germane to the story, I grew up outside of his culture. While I hope that readers enjoy and have fun playing through this adventure, it is also a means to help understand a part of my own heritage.
Overview
There have been a number of animal attacks outside Oklahoma City border with the Chickasaw Nation around Sundog Trails. Reports include a black bear and a red wolf near the lake. As the wolf is critically endangered that local animal control has not been able to track, the heroes are asked to investigate.
Heroes must uncover the cause of the animal attacks and how a confused Chickasaw teen plays into the mystery. The heroes will have to be careful in how they proceed as local politics and tribal rights conflate the problem. The source of these problems may not be as clear cut as they seem.
Foreshadowing
A pickup truck sits backed up to the river, it’s wheels inches from the water. A quartet of college aged kids chat about all the things they think are important. Their voices loud enough to drown out the music from the cab radio. One lobs an empty beer can out onto the resting lake as they laugh. Another tosses them a fresh beer, before they can catch it, they are thrown forward as a hulking red wolf collides with them, landing in the truck bed. The students scream, scrambling out of the cab, running. All except one.
Animal (Un)Control(led)
If the heroes are local to the area, news reports of increased animal attacks may have bubbled up, along with the death of a student at OSU. The reports are primarily about a red wolf, although considering the number of attacks, there is speculation that there may be more than one, despite the rarity in the region. However, there are additional reports of black bears being spotted in the same area along the Candian River near Sundog Trails.
If the heroes have not already begun investigating the animal attacks, they will be contacted by Berk Reader, an OKC comptroller. They inform the heroes that the local animal control is out of their depths and the resource requests are beyond the city budget, and the stories that are coming in have Reader suspecting there is more going on, but isn’t sure what.
An Expression + Subterfuge Roll Difficulty Advanced (25) will indicate that Reader knows more than they are letting on. If pressed he will talk about projected legal costs. If the hero had more than two degrees of Success they will realize this is true, but a deflection. Reader is a slick enough conversationalist to avoid giving away more. Characters with mind reading powers may be able to learn more, see the Berk Reader entry for additional details.
Along The River
A 320 acre offroad park boarding the Canadian River, Sundog Trails has camping and fishing areas along with trails for dirt bikes and ATCs.
The park hasn’t officially been closed, but there are very few visitors. The area where the latest wolf attack is marked off. The wolf tracks have gone cold due to a hard rain and waters from the river washing them out, along with the foot and vehicle traffic in the area. As the heroes investigate they will notice someone wearing a tattered shirt, torn jeans, light elm skin and thick matted dark brown hair walking barefoot. Despite standing almost six feet tall, they lack the tell tale signs of physical maturity.
Approaching them, the teen seems distant, or confused, not noticing them at first. Getting close, it becomes clear that the dirt and grime on their hands, face, and chest is mixed with blood. If the heroes take aggressive actions, they will run (see Salem Colber for their characteristics). If they are captured, see Two Nations of Laws.
Otherwise, Salem will try to answer any questions the heroes may have.
Talking To Salem
Their name is Salem Colvert, and a member of the Chickasaw Nation. They live a few miles south west of the park near Purcell, and do not know how they got to Sundog Trails. If asked about the blood, they do not have any memory of being attacked.
If characters try to empathise with Salem, roll Expression + Etiquette, any backgrounds relating to poverty or fear can be used as Supporting Characteristics against an Expert (20) Difficulty. On a Successful roll they will tell the group about the dreams she’s been having.
They walk along a river shore, A forest to her side and plains of grass on the other side of the river. Traditional Chickasaw hunters move through the trees stalking something they cannot see. Standing just inside the shallows of the waters is an older woman holding a net for fish. The air carries the scent of bread, but they don’t know from where. Then everything changes. Fires erupt from all sides. The hunters are caught off guard, and the river begins to boil. Sometimes she tries to save the hunters, others the woman, it always ends with her burning and everything going black.
Whenever they have this dream, they will wake up at the lake. This scares Salem more than they let on.
Blood on Their Hands
If the heroes have access to police or medical data, an analysis of the blood will reveal that it does match one of the vitamins of wolf attack. If Salem is arrested, see Two Nations of Laws.
Two Nations of Laws
Sundog Trails borders Parcell and the Chickasaw Nation. As a border city law enforcement can be nuanced, especially at the federal level. Local law enforcement uses cross-deputization to allow police to operate effectively in border towns and countries. Problems arise from jurisdictional and judicial disputes such as with regards to the death penalty, where this is practiced in the state of Oklahoma, but not inside the Cherokee Nation.
If Salem is arrested, they will be processed by the Lexington, Oklahoma police. As previously noted Salem is coated in the blood of one of the dead park goers. Without other evidence, this will lead to a jurisdictional dispute due to their citizenship and the border status of the Canadian River.
Local news will pick this story up. The narrative quickly becomes one of how the Chickasaw Nation cannot police their citizens and that state government needs to have a more direct presence. This conversation explodes following the revelation of Salem’s metahuman nature (see the Change), due to the lack of MCPD presence.
Throughout these discussions Berk Reader, will be a major proponent of the revocation of Indian Territory protections. Reader will outline the need for a stronger police presence and how the Chickasaw Nation negatively impacts the Oklahoma economy. Empirically false, but no one will challenge them on these claims.
The Change
When Salem sleeps the dream comes. If they are in police custody they will become the Wolf, if they are under the care of someone, they will become the Bear. As the Wolf Salem will want to escape, his claws are strong enough to rend metal, and normal police have little hope of defending against the Wolf’s pyrokinetic abilities. As the Bear, the night will be marked by a hard lulling rain, and she will cuddle anyone who may be injured, or the physically smallest member of the heroes. While she takes no aggressive actions, being snuggled by a bear can be scary and if startled she will become defensive, and if attacked will protect herself.
Foul Magic
Heroes with the ability to detect magic, or mind control can identify that Salem is being manipulated with an Expert (20) Power Roll. Breaking this Control requires a roll against Difficulty (34). Tracing this magic back to Reader requires the same Roll.
If the heroes are able to break Reader’s control, Salem will regain control of themselves gaining an understanding of their male and female spirits and the nature of her abilities. This will come through a vision of their ancestors, Salem’s two spirits speaking to them.
Breaking the control will also trigger Reader to try and assault the heroes to prevent the truth from coming out (See BMA Assault)
Investigating Berk Reader
At some point heroes may want to investigate Berk Reader.
Researching his record is fairly straight forward. They are a moderate consiritive and have a record of enforcing a balanced budget.
Researching his time prior to becoming a city controller requires an Intelligence + Research Roll vs a Very Advanced (25) roll, and will reveal he was a legal accountant for a local firm that closed the year after he took office. With a Degree of Success it’s also clear that all the other employees of the firm have left the city.
Researching his identity Difficulty (38) will reveal that their actual name is Marcus Gates, and a member of the BMA.
BMA Assault
If Reader finds out they may be exposed, or if the heroes have broken his control over Salem he will lead a team of Major Mob of MAP Soldiers (Metahumans Rising Core Book) to attack the heroes. When doing so, he will wear a black suit and full face mask obscuring his identity. In this disguise he will refer to himself as the Vulgar. Affixed to the mask is a deep red gem.
If Reader’s control over Salem has been broken, they will help the heroes assuming a friendly relationship, otherwise they will attempt to flee in the chaos.
Events Without Intervention
If the heroes fail to uncover Reader’s true identity, or break the control over Salem, BMA lawyers will be brought in to litigate the case. Salem will be taken into their custody and disappear. The BMA will push for an expansion of MCPA (Metahuman Crime Prevention Act) to allow access into Indian Territory. While it can take years, this will eventually go to the supreme court (decisions based on the Tone of the Campaign).
