Suitable Campaign Age: Any 

Adventure Tone: Philosophical Action-Adventure  

Recommended Power Level: Low or Classic 

Content Warning: The following adventure mixes Hellenism and modern New Years myths. It may not be appropriate for all game tables. 

Overview 

People have begun moving backwards, aware of their actions, but unable to change anything. The heroes, along with a few others, seem unaffected by this weird temporal anomaly.  But, can they correct whatever is happening?

Foreshadowing 

An old man twists, rolling to the ground as the blade slices into the earth where he had stood only a breath prior. Reeling, the man staggered to his feet.

“I’m not done yet!”

“You selfish fool! It has to be this way.”

“No more!”

Stepping off the plateau, the man disappeared into the fog.

Personal Scenes 

It’s New Year’s Day, just after midnight, when it starts. Where are each of the heroes when people begin moving backwards? The people seem disturbingly aware of what is happening, but unable to control their actions. Touching them seems to break the effect, until the hero loses contact with them. 

Note: If players have other heroes they would like to play, this may be an opportunity to introduce them, as in the next scene they will be called together. Additionally, if there are long standing villains, or foes that a player would like to run for a session, this one shot allows them to do so with little issue teaming up with the heroes. 

Death Comes Calling 

As the heroes are trying to sort out what is going on, they will find themselves on the top of what appears at first to be a great plateau. Those that look over the edge will see all of time that has been forgotten spinning out into eternity (See Witness to the Forgotten Infinity below). Before them floats a being that appears to be an animated cloak, with the hood pulled forward. Only shadows can be seen below. 

The figure will greet those assembled as the Shepherd. They have had other names through time, but this is the title that comforts more people when they meet. Once known as Thanatos they have existed in roughly their current form for almost three thousand years. They will also assure any who are wondering, no they are not dead. 

However, as they may have noticed, there is a problem. Mr. New Year refuses to be reborn. Living for exactly one year, New Year is to die and be reborn as the sands of the last year run out. However, some event in the last cycle has sent New Year into a panic, he has stolen the annual glass and cast himself into the pits of Tartarus to find the primordial and freeze time. 

Should he succeed, the last year will loop into eternity. The Shepherd does not know why the heroes are unaffected. However, because of this, Shepherd has chosen the heroes to enter the pits and stop Mr. New Year. Shepherd will explain that what they see is only a shadow of their true self. They are currently splitting themselves thousands of times over, trying to heal souls now trapped on the cusp of life and death. 

Note: GMs, it is critical to include the information about Shepherd being able to split themselves. 

Witness to the Forgotten Infinity (Roll: Mental + Concentration + Occult versus a Very Advanced (30) Difficulty)

Results

• Failure: The hero suffers 15 Psychic Damage – Any Psyche Armor. If this is enough to trigger an Injury, reduce the Damage by 9 and Take an Injury (Players should explain how what they are seeing triggered the Injury, such as being so traumatized they are in a Dazed state, or their body goes numb Hurt, or Broken). If there is enough remaining Damage, treat this as a Staggering Attack, reducing the final Damage by increments of 3, and losing that many Actions.
• Partial: The hero suffers 12 Psychic Damage – Any Psyche Armor. If this is enough to trigger an Injury, reduce the Damage by 9 and Take an Injury (Players should explain how what they are seeing triggered the Injury, such as being so traumatized they are in a Dazed state, or their body goes numb: Hurt, or Broken), otherwise treat this as a Staggering Attack, reducing the final Damage by increments of 3, and losing that many Actions.
• Success: The hero suffers 9 Psychic Damage – Any Psyche Armor. Treat this as a Staggering Attack, reducing the final Damage by increments of 3, and losing that many Actions. 
• 1 Degree: The hero suffers 6 Psychic Damage – Any Psyche Armor. Treat this as a Staggering Attack, reducing the final Damage by increments of 3, and losing that many Actions. 
• 1 Degree: The hero suffers 3 Psychic Damage – Any Psyche Armor. Treat this as a Staggering Attack, reducing the final Damage by increments of 3, and losing that many Actions.
• 2 Degree: The hero passes, unequivocally. 

Get in the Pits

The lower point within the underworld. The pits are home to Tartarus, third of the primordial beings that existed before the gods. This is the prison of gods and home of the truly damned. According to Plato, after death this is where the wicked received divine punishment. This is not some simple punishment, rather, the gods would choose souls to be placed in the pits with specific torments. Perhaps the most famous of which is King Sisyphus, damned for his numerous crimes, but most of all, considering himself the equal of gods. 

The Underworld is not a place solely devoted to torture. However, the pit does conform to some of these more modern conceptions of the afterlife. Although, tortures are often very selective, and given by various gods directly. GMs can fill the pit with imagery fitting their campaign. 

The Pit and the Punished 

Finding Mr. New Year is a Contested Action. Heroes may try to track him, or interact with the beings using social Talents to try and collect clues to the old man’s whereabouts. Mr. New Year knows the pit and the denizens of the Underworld so tracking him down may not be as easy as one might hope. 

Finding The New Year 

Required Successes 5 

Mr. New Years Starting Successes 3 

Mr. New Years roll 30 + 4d6 

The Maze 

Assuming the heroes are able to track down Mr. New Year, they will find him at the edge of a giant stone maze. The old man is slumped down, defeated. When he sees the heroes he will look up shaking his head. 

“I can’t reach them. Every time I go in, I end up back here.” 

Mr. New Year will not resist if the heroes attempt to take him back to Shepherd. If asked why he is at the maze, he will explain. 

This is the playground of Minos. A child is now trapped in the maze, set to be hunted for eternity to help the demigod continue to improve his work. Minos chose the child because he saw their ability to work out puzzles. That’s why he stole the annual hourglass. Minos killed the child, just to place him in the maze. A punishment for attempting to create a greater puzzle than a god. 

A Hero Link: If the players have experienced a death trap, or puzzle, the design may have been from this kid. While the kid didn’t know it, a villain had been monitoring his computer, effectively mining him for ideas, much in the same way Minos does now. The heroes have all escaped one of his puzzles in the past. If one of the PCs is a villain, inform the player that they have been the one stealing the designs. 

Either way, Mr. New Year will not fight with the heroes. However, he will ask them to enter the maze to try and find the child. If they can bring him out, Mr. New Year can use the hourglass to unwind his death. 

Minos? (Roll: Wisdom + Occult or Religion + Education + Study: Greek Mythology versus an Expert (20) Difficulty)

• Failure: It’s all Greek to me. 
• Partial: Minos, Minotaur, maze, we see where this is going. 
• Success: Minos was the ruler of Crete, his wife gave birth to the minotaur as a punishment for betraying Poseidon. He then had Daedalus craft a maze to house the beast. 
• 1 Degree: After his death, Zeus appointed him as one of the judges within the underworld. 

If the heroes follow up with Mr. New Year about why Minos maintains a maze in the Underworld, he will explain that there was no other place for his step-child’s soul. Why he’s chosen to torment a child though, he doesn’t understand. 

The Labyrinth

The size and scale of the labyrinth are incomprehensible. It is filled with traps, shifting and moving, like a living thing designed only to kill you, or draw you further in. Somewhere inside the maze is the Minotaur, and once the heroes enter, they will become prey. 

• Stakes: Finding the child before the heroes become lost for eternity.   
• Size 5 – It’s bigger on the inside. 
• Ferocity 2 then 4 – A mortal may survive, but for how long? 
  • On a Roll of two 1s or 6s the Minotaur has caught the hero’s scent. Increase the ferocity to 4 at this point. The Minotaur cannot be killed but is susceptible to attacks that affect ghosts. 
• Target 50
• Damage 8 or 4 then 10 or 5
  • Special: Each Turn, describe a different trap or event. Depending on the nature of the event the heroes will take 8 Damage normally, or 4 Damage, either Penetrating or Defended by the GMs choice. 
  • Damage increases once the Minotaur is on their trail. 
• Success Threshold 15
• Starting Advantage 4 then 6
  • Gain 2 Free Successes once the Minotaur is on their trail. 
• Notes: The walls of the labyrinth grow to prevent people from flying above, and twist and turn to prevent teleportation to a location or object. 

Who is the kid? 

The child is a Metahuman with a single, limited power, to envision mazes and puzzles. They do not have the ability to create them from their mind, just to work out the logistics and map everything out. The kid used to post them online as fun free games, until someone took notice and convinced him they could use this as a career. The child now stores the designs for some nebulous future project, not realizing that a supervillain is reading his plans and using it to create death traps. 

No Name: The child’s name has been left out to help integrate the character into the campaign. Is there an interesting younger character that’s been introduced in the past? 

Facing Minos 

Upon exiting the labyrinth, Minos will be waiting to stop the heroes. He will demand the heroes stop and tell them that the child must be kept in the maze. Not as punishment, but as protection. Daedalus can no longer confuse the Minotaur as he once did, and should he escape he will cause untold destruction. 

The heroes will now need to make a choice, trust Minos, or not. If they trust him, they will need to decide if they must stay in the labyrinth, or find some alternative to this punishment due to their creativity. 

The Riddle of the Maze 

There are any number of creative solutions. The heroes should take the following into consideration: 

• The Minotaur is a spirit creature, dead and therefore unkillable, but able to pass into the mortal realm. 
• The labyrinth must continue to evolve faster than the Minotaur can find their way through. 
• If he escapes it may be impossible to return the Minotaur to their prison. 

GMs should allow for virtually any creative solutions. Daedalus can build virtually anything, but their creativity is at an end after nearly three thousand years.

Crafting A Better Labyrinth, Roll: Wisdom or Intelligence + Cryptography (or other appropriate Talent) verses a Heroic (65) Difficulty

It is possible for the heroes to come up with a change to the labyrinth that will satisfy Minos. If the heroes are willing to attempt this, Minos will call Daedalus to review their design. 

• Failure: The ideas are interesting, but have either been tried before, or will not work 
• Partial: The design is simple, but different enough to last a year. 
• Success: The maze changes are functional, and should last seven years. The same as if Daedalus has designed it himself. 
• 1 Degree: Innovative! The design should last twice as long as Daedalus’ normal renovations. 
• 2 Degrees: Inspiring! As innovative, but Daedalus has ideas based on the design, and can begin building agan! 

Remember the Shepherd? Roll: Wisdom verses an Expert (20) Difficulty, or use Eidetic Memory

If the players need a hint to come up with a solution, allow them to make a Wisdom roll to recall something from earlier. 

• Failure: No hint 
• Partial: Something about the island. 
• Success: Shepherd said something. 
• 1 Degree: Thanatos can be everywhere they need to be at once. 

If called, Shepherd can grant the child a gift. When they sleeps, another part of them will return to the Underworld, where his spirit can move unfettered to help maintain the labyrinth.  

Taking Their Place

One of the heroes can opt to take the child’s place if they have one of the following Talents at 10 or greater: 

• Cryptography 
• Distraction 
• Education 
• Hobby: Mazes, Puzzles, or other related
• Movement (They aren’t making a new maze, just playing chase for eternity.)
• Research 
• Survival 
• Tracking 

Mr. New Year’s Goodbye

Once the final decision is made for the child, Mr. New Year will allow himself to die. Burning up, he turns into ash, leaving behind an infant. Shepherd (Thanatos) will arrive, if they haven’t already, to take Mr. New year to tomorrow.  

What Just happened? Roll: Intelligence + Occult versus a Very Advanced (30) Difficulty

• Failure: That was weird.
• Partial: So Mr. New Year is also the New Year baby. 
• Success: Was Mr. New Year a phoenix? 
• 1 Degree: If Thanatos can become the Shepherd, then what change are others capable of? 
• 2 Degrees: What came first, the myth or the legend? 

Rewards 

There are a number of possible outcomes to this adventure. Here are some possible rewards based on likely endings:

Relegated to the Labyrinth: With the dangers of the Minotaur’s escape the heroes are left with no choice but to side with Minos. The heroes gain: Contact: Minos 1 

A New Trap: The heroes devise changes to the labyrinth that will hold the Minotaur. The heroes are given gifts from Daedalus. Each act as a Typical Tools Boon: 

• Animated Toy: This is a toy soldier that will follow the command of the hero. Bug and Tracer 
• Compass: This device will always show the way. Actual Tool (Can also be used on some Intuition Rolls) and Escape Clause 
• Journal: This book contains Daedalus notes on inventions he’s given up on. Actual Tool (Education, Research, Science) or Smart Device 
• Wings: They fold into a small glass ball. Elevator or Hidden Weapon: New Movement: Flight (Don’t get them too hot.)
• Wooden Bull: This small carving can be used to summon a Bull, or to knock down a door. Actual Tool or Hidden Weapon: Summon. 

My Sacrifice: One of the heroes opts to sacrifice themselves to take the pace of the child. The heroes gain: Contact: The Shepherd, he will allow them to speak to their friend. 

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