Suitable Campaign Age: Golden, (Late) Bronze, Dark, or Cinematic 

Adventure Tone: Introspective Action-Adventure  

Recommended Power Level: Low or Classic 

Content Warning: This story involves asymmetrical use of power, multiple hostage situations, including the possible use of a school and it’s students as hostages (no direct physical danger) to draw out the heroes. The Night Warden’s methods are cruel, aggressive, and can involve forced medical procedures. While they may see themselves as a hero, the Night Warden is both an assassin and would be dictator using effectively mind controlled slaves as foot soldiers. 

Overview 

Following an assassination attempt by the Night Warden on a local politician, the deranged stalker has set their sights on the heroes who stopped him. Can the heroes avoid his gaze, as he sizes them up, studies them and eventually moves in for the kill? 

This adventure builds off of the following past stories: 

Judgement of the Night Warden (Link)

Mock Madness (Link)

GMs should use these links above for the stat blocks of all characters mentioned though this adventure. 

Patreon Bonus Content: Want to expand the story options? Join our Patreon for new ways to interact with the Night Warden. (Link)

The Fall of Johnathon Grouse 

Note: GMs with established local politicians are free to substitute established characters and customize the motivation for the Night Warden’s assassination attempt. 

The following story runs on WFCX, a local news affiliate of a larger FCN (Field and Central News) national news organization. The national news has a reputation for being more editorial than hard news, with targeted hit pieces that typically lean right.  

State Senator Grouse (D-<Campaign State>) has recently been exposed in a “money laundering scheme” that funneled campaign donations into a private consulting company run by his wife. Effectively allowing Grouse to drain his war chest into his personal accounts. 

Senator Grouse was quoted as saying. “The only indication for impropriety is that it is my wife, Tabitha’s firm. However, as those in politics know, she’s one of the savviest minds in the field. Her firm’s advice has helped to guide me through two re-elections as I serve the people of this great state.” 

Tabitha Grouse’s consultancy was established the year after her husband was elected. There is no indication that the firm has any employees, or clients beyond her husband. No formal charges have been filed, and it appears that the Senator will avoid prosecution as they insist that all funds were accounted for and services rendered by the agency.  While the air of illegality floats around the Senator, they appear to be within the letter of the law. 

Investigating the Allegations (Wisdom + Research Expert (20) Difficulty) 

Heroes can use Talents like Study: Politics or Political Science as well. 

• Failure: The news story, as portrayed above, seems to check out. 
• Partial: All the details mentioned in the news story seem to be accurate. However, there are a number of details, like dollar amounts are missing. 
• Success: Prior to opening her own consultancy Tabitha Grouse worked as a lobbyist and political consultants for several other firms. 
• 1 Degree: Locating the financial disclosures, all the amounts line up with mid-tier (i.e. state politics) consultants. Which implies that the Senator was not overpaying for his wife’s consultation. 
• 2 Degrees: There are numerous secondary reports and records showing Tabitha Grouse researching campaign trends, interacting with staffers as a consultant, and with other research firms. Verifying that she was performing services related to the job she was paid for, in short, the original news article either did not do enough research, or didn’t care to do the research. 

The Death, or Salvation, of Johnathon Grouse 

Following the news that no charges will be pressed, the senator is attacked in his home by a group of “gang members.” In the attack,the Grouses are able to secure themselves in a panic room. By the time police arrive, the unknown gang is long gone. 

Interviewing Grouse (Expression + Etiquette Average (15) Difficulty) 

If the heroes have a good public reputation, Grouse will have no issues meeting with the heroes. Otherwise the heroes can “surprise” Senator Grouse, this requires a Mental + Intimidation roll Difficulty Advanced (25) instead. In either case, use the results below: 

In either case, Senator Grouse will tell the heroes that they don’t think this is over, and whoever attacked them is going to make another attack. 

• Failure: The Grouses are traumatized from the experience and just remember hearing the break in, retreating to their panic room, and what looked like a collection of gang members from central casting. 
• Partial: It was so strange, they wore different colors, not like gangs you see in the news. 
• Success: The attackers seemed to be made up of members from different gangs in the area. It seemed strange that they would work together. 
• 1 Degree: None of them seemed focused, as if in some kind of haze or stupor, just doing what they were trained to do. 
• 2 Degrees: Those with exposed temples all had scars on the left side. 

Separate Gangs? (Wisdom + Street Smarts Expert (20) Difficulty) 

Heroes who Succeed in Interviewing Grouse may attempt to identify the gangs involved. If the heroes received 2 or more Degrees of Success, they gain 1 additional Degree of Success on this roll. If the heroes did not receive 2 or more Degrees of Success, the most they can learn is 1 Degree of Success here. 

• Failure: Between the Senator’s account and the number of gangs in the area, it’s impossible to identify who may be involved in the attack. 
• Partial: Lay out at least three gangs in the area. If your campaign has not established unique gangs, use the Deadheads, Masters, and Union from the core book. 
• Success: While two of the gangs may work together, there is no way all three would team up. Using the default gangs, the Deadheads and Masters would never associate due to the Master’s view of drug use. 
• 1 Degree: Each of the gangs have very unique styles in combat, and preferred weapons. Grouse’s description omits this, implying they seemed more unified in this regard. 
• 2 Degrees: The damage to the temple and how they worked together implies some sort of mind control. 
• 3 Degrees: There are rumors of a new gang recruiting from others, calling themselves the Trustees. If the GM has introduced the Night Warden prior to this story, at this point they can reveal who is hunting Grouse. 
• 4 Degrees: The Trustees are not joining voluntarily, whoever controls them is using some form of targeted lobotomy to keep them in line.   

The Second Shot 

Two days after the initial attack, the Night Warden will move on Grouse. He will attack when the Senator leaves his office using Trustees to take care of any security while he dispenses justice. 

The heroes will have 3 Turns to get past a Typical group of New Bloods and Guards and reach Grouse’s limo before the Night Waden is able to kill him. If the limo is Close Range, the Trustees ring it at Short and Medium Range. The Night Warden himself, having come up below the limo using a sewer grate and cutting a hole in the limo to gain access. 

If the heroes reach the Night Warden he will use his Actual Tools to escape. He will spend 1 Willpower to add his Electric Law Bracers, creating a magnetizing the sewer grate, and 1 Willpower to explode their dice. 

Dexterity (12) + Stealth (5) + Smoke Bombs (Actual Tools) 10 + Electric Law Bracers (12) + (4d6*2). 

Changing Targets 

Seeing the heroes as having been corrupted either by the Senator, or possibly having been corrupt all along. With the intervention of the heroes, the Night Warden will back off his pursuit of Senator Grouse, believing he will need to eliminate the bodyguards before the actual target. However, as the Night Warden relies on his own training, gear, and Trustees he’s not about to try and take on an entire superteam at once. Instead, he will begin monitoring the heroes, as he looks for weaknesses. 

Phase 1: Observation 

The next time the heroes make a public appearance, the Night Warden will be there. GMs have a lot of flexibility to customize the story here, inject a scene that fits with the current Campaign. If the heroes are more covert, the Night Warden might try and flush them out using a Major Mob of New Bloods that will attack Sunset, a local second chance High School, for children that have been expelled. 

Storming Sunset 

• Stakes: A small hoard of gang members storm a school. They do not harm the students as the Night Warden thinks this is a way to scare them straight.   
• Size 2 – Impacts the grounds around the building.
• Ferocity 3 – The kids are just props, it’s really the number of New Bloods that makes them a threat. 
• Target 35
• Damage 5
• Success Threshold 9
• Starting Advantage 5
• Note: During the event, allow the heroes a Sense + Perception roll versus a 47 Difficulty, as the Night Warden plants a tracer on them. 
  • Failure: The hero does not notice at all. 
  • Partial: Something seems off about the attack on the school. 
  • Success: The hero catches a glimpse of the Night Warden as they slip away. 
  • 1 Degree: The hero finds the tracer on their body. 

Note: GMs can offer heroes with a Secret Identity Drive a Willpower to fail this roll. 

Studying Their Prey 

After the Night Warden has planted tracers on the heroes he will begin monitoring them, Give each of the heroes some spotlight time. Of course, if the bug wasn’t found, the Night Warden or one of his Trustees, a Reformed with an added Sneak Template. 

Interlude: The Black Dragon Fitness Club 

While the Night Warden monitors the heroes, life goes on. Here is a quick encounter for the heroes where the Night Warden can collect some good intel. Alternatively, GMs may want to take a break from this storyline to run other adventures, while the Night Warden collects data on the heroes. 

Running a separate storyline here will give the Night Warden information on tactics, strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, consider springing Phase 2 in the middle of another storyline to break up that adventure. Although, in either case, it would be advisable to have the Night Warden remind the heroes why he’s targeting them when he strikes. 

Attack on Titan (Chemicals) 

After the events of Mock Madness, Grendel, or whoever is running the gang in his absence, will need to replenish their ranks, and that means making more Snake Oil. For that they need some specific ingredients, which means raiding a local lab run by Titan Chemicals. 

Due to the unstable chemicals in the lab, the building goes up almost immediately, and the fires are keeping police from entering the building. The heroes don’t have to deal with the fires, but there are hostages inside and acidic smoke in the air. 

Evacuating Titan Chemicals  

• Stakes: Six scientists are being held inside, while the building burns down.   
• Size 2 – Impacts the grounds around the building.
• Ferocity 5 – The chemical fire burns the ears, nose, throat, and lungs.  
• Target 35
• Damage 7 – 3 Penetrating 
  • Suffocation: Anyone inside the building suffers the effects of Suffocation with a +10 to the Difficulty. 
• Success Threshold 9
• Starting Advantage 7
• Note: The Black Dragons will attack the heroes but ignore the bystanders. If the heroes rescue the bystanders, everyone gains 3 Willpower. 

Black Dragons 

1 Minor Mob of Snake Jocks

Mongoose and one other Black Dragon Leader (either Viper or King) both with a Leadership Bonus. 

Villainous Twist 

Mongoose has ingested some chemical agents that have added additional properties to her necrotizing spit. Pick a hero’s vulnerability if any have one, otherwise grant her Lingering for 3 Turns on any Damage. If a hero has a Vulnerability to a metal Mongoose spews superheated metal gas. GMs may want to give her Devastating for bonus Damage with her taking the same bonus Damage automatically. 

Phase 2: Divide & Conquer 

Once the Night Warden has studied the heroes, he will try to isolate them, preferring to attack when the heroes are not expecting him. If the heroes live together, he may change tactics to attack directly after another battle, when the heroes are weakened. 

GMs will need to decide how comfortable they are in splitting the party. If GMs are not comfortable with this, see the Morecroft Contingency. 

On his own, the Night Warden is a Classic Powered villain, he will use ambush tactics, and terrain to the best of his advantage. If he can target a hero outside their home, all the better. However, he has no intention of killing the heroes, yet. Instead, if the heroes are defeated, he will take them to Morecroft State Penitentiary for “rehabilitation.” Once one of the heroes has been captured, the GM can activate the Morecroft Contingency. 

The Morecroft Contingency 

If the heroes cannot be separated the Night Warden will use their connections to others to lure them to Morecroft State Penitentiary. As described in Judgement of the Night Warden, the penitentiary was designed for maximum isolation. The Night Warden has installed traps, pitfalls and moving walls to isolate any group that enters unwanted. Once inside the group will be almost immediately split up, but their individual actions will work to resolve the larger Disaster. 

Surviving Morecroft   

• Stakes: Reunite the team and locate any hostages. 
  • Note: Heroes that are captured can work to free themselves. They begin with 0 Stamina and Max Willpower. 
• Size 4 – A large maze with no good visual queues.
• Ferocity 4 – The prison is filled with the Night Warden’s personal army who will assault the heroes at every turn.  
• Target 40
• Damage 6
• Success Threshold 10
• Starting Advantage 6
• Note: If there are captured heroes, the Night Warden will not appear until the team is reunited. Instead, the room is staffed by Reformed Trustees, which work as part of the Disaster as described above. 

Team Reunited 

Assuming the heroes survive Morecroft, the Disaster will end on Sub-Basement 3, inside a room labeled 101 in thick painted numbers. Here the hostages are bound to metal chairs with flex cuffs (industrial zip ties). If any heroes with Powers were captured, they would be fitted with an inhibitor collar (as Crippling Power Loss, Metahumans Rising, Page 76). This means until they can Escape using the Surviving Morecroft values above, they suffer the listed restrictions. 

Room 101 is made of reinforced concrete and uses reinforced steel doors. There is a wall of cages that look like they belong in a dog shelter office that are currently empty. As stated previously, if there are heroes in the room, part of the Disaster will be taking care of a number of Reformed, using the values from the Disaster. Otherwise, when the heroes arrive, the Night Warden is waiting for the heroes along with 1 Reformed for each hero. 

The GM should check to see if the hostage situation triggers any of the heroes Drives. 

If the Night Warden was able to observe any Vulnerabilities he will have Hidden Weapons prepared for each of them.

Beyond Room 101

There is a second steel door where Dr. K maintains their lobotomy and brain washing equipment. There is a secret escape route that she has already taken, not wanting to stick around for the final confrontation. 

Aftermath 

With the Night Warden in custody and Morecroft exposed the remaining Trustees will be referred for psychiatric care to try and undo the brainwashing they ensued. However, the doctor has escaped and with the Night Warden’s connections it’s unlikely he’ll stay incarcerated…