Last Man Standing

By David Eber

The Premise

The PCs have to recover a lost map from the 1850s that shows the locations of key Feng Shui sites all over the American Southwest.

The Twist

The other factions have found out about the map, and are determined to get it for themselves.

The Climax

The PCs battle it out with the Ascended, the Architects, and the Lotus in an abandoned ghost town.

Backstory

In the 1850's juncture the Ascended spurred on westward expansion among the American people as a means of seizing key feng shui sites across the continent. With most of the action in the secret war taking place in China, the Ascended were able to act virtually unchecked by the other factions. Naturally, few people were aware of what was really going on, but among the Native Americans a few of the wise old ones knew the truth. One such man was William Redfeather, an Indian shaman — and a Dragon sympathizer. Redfeather knew that there was no way he could save the remaining Feng Shui sites from the Ascended. Instead, he made a carefully detailed map of the major feng shui sites of the southwest, and then hid it in a secret place. He then sent a letter in his native language to his contact among the Dragons and left instructions that it be delivered to his descendants in the future. That was the last anyone ever heard of him.

William Redfeather was wise in knowing when his time was up. The Ascended in 1850 were onto him by the time he made the map. They learned that he sent a message to the Dragons, but they don't know what it contained. As a result, they've directed Jack Marko, a Lodge member who oversees the area, to gather his forces quickly and keep an eye out for unusual activity in the area. However, the Ascended aren't the only ones interested in the situation. The Architects got wind of things developing and have responded by sending their own covert task force to evaluate the situation. Meanwhile, the Lotus too have heard rumors of something big developing, and so they have recruited a local sorcerer to be their agent. The irony of the situation is that none of the factions really know what is going on. As a result, all three have sent representatives to the area, thus reinforcing the idea between each other that something big is happening. Only the PCs actually know what the real deal is, but they don't know that their enemies have all gathered to oppose them.

About This Adventure

Last Man Standing is a short adventure designed to be played in one session with a group of 3-5 characters. This scenario assumes that the players are all familiar with the secret war, and that they are all affiliated with the Dragons. It also assumes that the characters have some experience and are thus a bit better than the average starting character. If you want to use new characters, you should encourage your players to use specifically combat-oriented archetypes, such as the Killer, Maverick Cop, or Martial Artist. You can also make James Redfeather a bit tougher to compensate for a weaker party. You can, of course, adjust the difficulty of this adventure to your taste. Essentially, this scenario consists of a brief build-up to a big battle. You can insert additional action scenes if you want to lengthen the adventure, but you are also just as free to eliminate earlier scenes if you want to directly cut to the chase. Running the climax may prove a bit of a challenge, as you will not only have to deal with the players but most likely also three different named GMC's and their mooks. Having run this myself, my advice is to get an assistant GM (if possible) to run some of the bad guys (this may be ideal if you have too many players). At the very least you should designate one of the players as a shot-keeper and/or have all the mooks act on the same shots.

GMC Notes

What follows are notes on the major GMC's the PCs will encounter and their unnamed mook followers.

Getting Started

The players will be contacted by the Dragons (either by their usual contact, if they have one, or by someone of your choosing) and filled in on the bare bones of the story. In short, they will be asked to find James Redfeather and deliver the letter and have him translate it. Of course, the players should figure out that they should get Redfeather to go with them after the map themselves (and if they don't, try to drop a few hints in that direction). The first part is no problem; the contact already knows where he is. He (or she) can also tell the players that Redfeather is a cop and a practicing shaman, but that's about it. Their contact should stress the seriousness of this mission: William Redfeather was a respected ally, and he wouldn't have done this if he didn't believe it was important. Now it's up to the players to find his descendent and convince him to help.

Scene One: The Diner

James Redfeather is a police detective in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico (about 45 milesnorthwest of El Paso). How he reacts to the PCs depends, of course, on how they behave. If they burst out with secret war stories right off the bat, he'll just dismiss them as kooks. However, mention of William Redfeather will get his attention. Mentioning that they have something of his will get him to meet with them. He'll suggest a diner a few blocks from the police station around lunch time.

The diner itself is your typical greasy spoon, consisting of a long countertop with stools on one side and booths along wide glass windows on the other. The place is basically one large rectangle, with the door on one end, nearest the counter, and a square section on the other end with more booths, some tables, and the restrooms. The place will be busy during the lunch hour, and James will be sitting by himself in a booth about halfway down the diner. You may wish to have your players make Perception checks as they enter. On a 10 or better, they'll notice two things: Jakob Young sitting by himself in the back and a group of four men sitting in the booth nearest the door. On a 15 or better, they'll notice that no one else seems to be paying much mind to the fact that there's a dirty street person (Jakob, of course) sitting in diner with them, and that the four men in the booth are wearing suits that are about 50 years out of style (but which still look new). A very perceptive sorcerer might figure out that Jakob is using a very low-power Influence spell to make himself inconspicuous.

Once introductions are made, James will want to get right down to business. He'll want to know who the PCs are, what they have to do with William, why they came to him, and what they want. He will also want to see the letter as well. Once the players show it to him, he will be able to translate it. Basically, the letter gives directions to a hidden map. James will explain that, according to the letter, William made a map detailing all the sacred places of power throughout the southwest. According to William, control of these places was the key to defeating the enemies of the Indian peoples and restoring their lands. He hoped that, in the future, his descendants would be able to use this knowledge, and so he included directions with the letter leading to the hiding place of the map.

This letter will be of tremendous interest to James, but at the same time he'll be suspicious of the PCs. As far as he can tell, the letter seems authentic, and so he'll want to know how the PCs came by it. So long as the players don't burst straight out with wild tales of the secret war he will treat them with open-minded skepticism. Unlike most, James won't dismiss the PCs out of hand. His background as a shaman and the stories he grew up with have taught him that there is more to the world than most people think. Still, he is a part of the modern world, and tales of global conspiracies and time-travel will do nothing to reassure him of the players intentions.

At some point during the conversation, Jakob Young will approach the table, a smile on his face and his hands up and palms forward in a gesture of peace. After introducing himself, he will explain that he couldn't but help overhearing the group's discussion. He will then offer his services as a local guide. If the players ask what his interest is, he will make cryptic statements alluding to the secret war. He will be evasive if asked which faction he serves, declaring instead that his interests and goals are the same as those of the players, and that he only wishes to help. If rebuffed, he will be persistent, going so far as to express concern for the players safety and security in this undertaking without the benefit of an expert guide. Eventually he will give up and cheerfully express his regrets, though not before stating that he's sure they'll meet again. Unless the PCs attack him outright, he will not fight with them under any circumstances. Observant players should also note the men in suits leaving soon after Jakob does. Any attempt to tail either of them should fail automatically, although the PCs may get a glimpse of the men in suits leaving together in a black sedan.

If James has been hesitant to accompany the PCs up to this point, this incident should convince him otherwise. Jakob will give him an unsettling feeling that he can't quite put his finger on. While he will still be skeptical of the situation, he'll be convinced that enough is going on to warrant his participation. He'll give the PCs an address and time at which to meet him, suggest they get some outdoor gear, and tell them he'll meet them tomorrow to go find the map.

Scene Two: The Hotel Bar

The setting of this scene largely depends on what your players do after their meeting with James Redfeather. If they check into downtown hotel, this can take place in the downstairs bar, assuming they go to get a drink. More likely than not, however, you'll have to get the players there yourself. Have a mysterious, unsigned letter arrive for the PCs at their hotel, asking them to meet in the downstairs bar that evening (or in a hotel bar that evening, if the place they're staying isn't fancy enough to warrant its own bar). Of course, the players could chose to ignore this letter, in which case you can skip directly to the next scene.

The letter was sent by Jack Marko, who will be waiting for the PCs when they arrive at the bar. He'll call them over to his table and offer to buy drinks. With the formalities out of the way, he'll begin discussing the letter. He wants it for himself, and he's willing to pay quite handsomely for it. Of course, he won't reveal who he really is or why he wants it, and if pressed he'll simply say that the matter is none of their concern. He will, however, let on that it would definitely be in the PCs best interests to cooperate with him. He'll remain friendly and smiling during the whole conversation, but he'll also let the group know that they're in over their head. Assuming the players don't relent, he'll finally shake his head in disappointment and leave his card with the group, just in case they change their mind.

Marko himself is not armed, but he does have a few men scattered about the bar. He won't call on them unless he is attacked directly, at which point he will try to exit quickly and quietly while his men cause a diversion, after which the police and hotel security will intervene and arrest the players. You can use the stats for the BuroMil Agents to represent his men, but in truth there shouldn't be a fight here unless you (or the players) really want one. Note that no matter what the players do, the rest of the evening will pass without incident. Marko, Brucher, and Jakob Young all realize that trying to get the letter now would be a wasted and noisy effort. They're all content to follow the PCs instead.

Scene Three: The Cave

When the players meet up with Redfeather the next day they'll find him ready to go. He'll be waiting with a jeep, and he'll be dressed in rugged outdoor clothing. Among his possessions are spelunking equipment, basic outdoor gear, his Remington 870 (just in case), and a leather shoulder bag filled with a variety of fetishes and other ritualistic components. He'll also have told the PCs what to bring, including another jeep, so this shouldn't be a problem. The letter will lead the PCs far off the beaten track, out to a old ghost town so deserted it doesn't even have a name. The town sits in a sort of valley in the foothills of the Organ Mountains, with the road running east/west through it. There are about half a dozen buildings on either side of the road, all abandoned and falling apart. Drifting tumbleweeds, cattle skulls, and the like complete the picture. James tells the group that, according to the letter, the map is hidden in a cave in the hills on the southern side of the town. The hills are only accessible by foot, so he suggests leaving the vehicles in the town and proceeding on foot.

You can make locating the map as difficult and suspenseful as you want, including cave-ins, rockslides, rattlesnakes, and treacherous footing if you wish. Eventually, however, the group should find the cave with the map, which takes the form of a small shrine. At this point, James will ask the PCs to stand back. He will then begin a ritual to contact the spirit of William. If his Summoning task check is successful (or if you want it to be successful), the ghost of William will appear in the cave. He will congratulate James on his success and thank him for heeding his words. He will then relate his story briefly (i.e., the backstory given at the beginning of this adventure), and then warn James of the power and the evil of his enemies. Finally, he will exhort James to continue the fight for his people and for justice, and he will issue one last word of warning that his enemies are already upon him, and that he must be both brave and careful.

Whether or not you decide to do the meeting with William's spirit, Jakob Young will appear soon after the players find the map. He's been tailing the group all day, but you should not allow them to spot him until now. He once again offers a friendly greeting and his assistance. This time, however, he warns the PCs the town has been occupied by agents of the Buro, who are waiting for the their return. However, he points out, they aren't waiting for him. He suggests that the players give him the map so that he can get it to safety. Unfortunately for him, this is about all the subtlety he can manage. He'll refuse to answer questions about himself or who he serves, merely repeating that he wants what the PCs want: to get the map to safety. In his mind, the players are expendable, and he certainly won't help them fight the Buro. When the players refuse his help, he'll become shrill and agitated and begin making threats. Finally, he'll tell the players that if they won't give him the map, then they can keep it — forever. He'll then use his blast schtick to destroy the roof in front of them, trapping them in the cave. Note that if the players attack him, he'll do the same. If they even try to approach him, he'll warn them off and then blast the ceiling if they don't back off. At any rate, you should allow Jakob to get away for now (though you can let the players wound him). The cave-in will keep the players trapped for about an hour while they dig themselves out. Even if they have a sorcerer of their own, it will take at least a few minutes to clear out the rubble, by which time Jakob will have made his getaway.

Scene Four: The Ghost Town

When the PCs head back to town they'll discover that Jakob wasn't lying about one thing: Major Brucher has shown up with his men, and they've occupied the town. Specifically, they've blocked off either end of the town with their sedans, 10 in all, 5 at each end of the road. There will be about 10 men around each group of cars, standing guard. The remaining 20 will be spread out around the town, by doorways, on balconies, on walkways, and on the roofs of the buildings, 10 to each side. If the PCs left their vehicles in town, there will be a few guards around them as well.

How things proceed depends largely on the players. James will point out that, without their vehicles, they have no way of making it back to civilization. The guards are watching every direction, but this also means that there are no more than a few of them focusing on any one particular area. Unless they're very obvious and clumsy, the guards probably won't notice them in the hills, giving them the advantage of surprise. The guards only have a Perception rating of 5, but there isn't much cover between the hills and the town. PCs who want to try to sneak past the guards must make an Intrusion check with a difficulty of 8 to avoid being spotted. There is, of course, plenty of cover in town.

Of course, the PCs could try to negotiate with Brucher or, worse, they could be spotted by his men. If the latter happens, they'll immediately open fire on the PCs (they are Buro-trained, after all), which will probably force the situation anyway. Otherwise, Brucher is not very interested in negotiation, and his terms are very simple: turn over the map, and you'll be allowed to leave. He's lying of course — he has no intention of letting the PCs live — but he's also bluffing to some extent. He knows that the hills offer a lot of shelter, cover, and places to hide, and that if the PCs decide to hole up in them he has little chance of flushing them out. If the PCs point this out to him, he'll threaten to let them stay there until they starve — after all, he's got their vehicles. He'll only send his men after them as a last resort.

Battle in the Town — Part 1

Ideally, you want to get your PCs to go on the offensive. If they seem hesitant, have James pointout that, although outnumbered, the troops are also trying to cover every approach, and thus are spread thin and unable to effectively cover each other. The group also has the element of surprise on their side as well. Of course, you should only bring this up if the players don't come up with all this themselves. Assuming they do, the battle breaks down into three parts, with each part beginning a sequence or two after the last one. The first part occurs when the players decide to attack the town.

Neat Things That Could Happen — Part 1

• Some of the buildings have intact roofs, while others have second story walkways. Either place makes a great vantage point for gunmen (which is why Brucher has stationed his men there). Of course, anyone shot while on one will naturally scream as they fall to the ground. Anyone falling from this height suffers 15 points of damage (or 19, if from a second story roof). PCs could also shoot out the support posts of the balcony, or shoot directly upward at the Buro agents while underneath them (the balconies only provide a +2 difficulty modifier).
• Some of the windows still have intact plate glass. This will be the case whenever a character gets shot while in front of one of them or thrown through one of them. Note that using a windowframe as cover only adds +2 to the “to hit” difficulty (the thin wood doesn't stop bullets very effectively).
• There is an old but still functional cart on the street. Players could use this as a moving barricade. Alternately, they could load it with tumbleweeds, set it on fire, and use it as a weapon. The sedans can be blown up with a called shot to the gas tank (difficulty 10). The cars can also be crashed into the buildings, which are likely to collapse from the impact, or into other cars, which may or may not explode at your discretion. Also, everything is flammable, especially the old wooden buildings. The damage values for all these things can be found on p. 161 of the rulebook. Note that a car can be used for cover, and will provide a difficulty modifier from +1 to +6 (see p. 159 of the rulebook).
• Should the fighting move indoors, there's plenty of furniture to work with, including tables, chairs, an old piano, bar stools, a bar, and wooden chandeliers. Some of the buildings will also have second story landings with railings. If the fight moves up here, then at least one character should be knocked through the railing to collapse onto a table below.
• There's plenty of outdoor scenery for your players to utilize as well, including wagon wheels, barrels, hitching posts, and so forth. If you like “classic” comedy, then at least one mook should be knocked backwards into a water-filled trough. Be creative.

Battle in the Town — Part 2

The second phase of the battle occurs once the players have mixed it up with the BuroMil agents. At this point, the Reapers will come thundering into town on their motorcycles, with Jack Marko in the lead. The Reapers will attempt to leap or go around the cars blocking the entrance to the town (you can have them come it at either end). Their instructions are simple: find the PCs (the ones not wearing suits), find the map, take it, and kill anyone who gets in their way. Ironically, the BuroMil agents will stop attacking the PCs (unless, of course, they're fighting indoors or in hand-to-hand combat) to attack the Reapers, as they will perceive them as the greatest threat by dint of their numbers. The Reapers will, of course, return fire (there should still be some left over for the PCs). Marko will go after the character with the map first and foremost. If this isn't obvious, he'll go after whoever looks like the biggest threat.

Neat Things That Could Happen — Part 2

• In order for the Reapers to clear the cars at the end of the town they'll need to make a Driving task check with a difficulty of 10. Success means that they drive past the cars at full speed, while failure simply means that they have to slow down to maneuver around them. Way Awful Failure means that they slam into the cars, taking themselves out of the fight. Because of the large number of Reapers, I suggest you roll for them in groups of 5.
• While the Reapers are on their motorcycles, the difficulty to hit them is anywhere from 9 to 13, depending on their speed (you can assume it's 9 while in town). Trying to take out the gas tank of a moving motorcycle has the same difficulty as trying to take out it's rider (i.e. the difficulty +5). On the other hand, the Reapers have a −2 penalty on their action values when trying to fight from a moving vehicle, as well as the usual continuous action shot penalty. If you want to handle this very simply, then assume that any Reapers who aren't directly engaging a PC are fighting with the BuroMil agents. Roll 2 die, one for the Reapers and one for the Buro, and subtract that many of each as casualties from the total.
• Remember that motorcycles can blow up, and that when they blow up they also may set other things ablaze. Also remember that motorcycles can crash into other things, including buildings, people, cars, and other motorcycles. Sometimes the things they crash into blow up, burst into flames, or simply collapse. Best of all, when one motorcycle crashes, it can cause other things to crash. Use your discretion in all these matters, and remember that the damage values for these things can be found on p. 161 of the rulebook.

Battle in the Town — Part 3

The third part of the battle takes place when things have gotten good and messy. By now a lot of mooks should have been taken out, and all the PCs should be in the thick of it. At this point Jakob will appear on one of the hills overlooking the town (though the PCs may be too busy to notice him). He has a scroll with a very powerful summoning spell given to him by the Lotus, which he will proceed to use. This spell will call forth the spirits of all the dead surrounding the town to serve him. In this case, this will take the form of a group of spectral Indians on horseback, who will come charging into town through the hills, and a second group of skeletal cowboys, who will literally rise up out of the ground in the middle of the town. The undead mooks will attack everything living in the town until either they or everyone else are completely destroyed.

Once the attack begins, the BuroMil agents (if any are left) will stand their ground and fight, while the Reapers, who aren't prepared for this, will likely flee. James Redfeather will immediately try to disengage himself from the battle and attempt a Banishment spell, which will automatically fail. He'll explain that the spell is too strong, and the only way to banish the undead is to get a hold of the scroll, with which he can reverse the spell. Of course, the PCs could just hold their ground and fight, but by this time they should be wounded, and their bullets won't be effective against the Spectral Indians. What's more, if Marko and/or Brucher are still alive, they will go after the map to the exclusion of everything else.

Jakob will be up on the hill, surveying the battle. Naturally, he will defend himself when the PCs approach. He cannot, however, summon the ghosts to defend him (they can only be set to one task), and he won't flee either (he has to keep the ghosts in sight to maintain the spell, and he wants the map). He'll try to avoid blasting the PCs directly because he doesn't want to accidentally fry the map. Instead, he'll try to blast the ground out from underneath them. Once James has a hold of the scroll, he can undo the spell and banish all the undead. If the PCs are hard pressed, you can simply rule that killing Jakob or destroying the scroll is enough to do the job.

Finishing Up

Once the bad guys are dispatched the adventure is pretty much over, but you should find it easy to develop things from here. If Marko, Brucher, or Jakob escapes they'll continue to go afterthe map. If they fail, then eventually they'll be back with a vengeance. The PCs should end up with the map, but what will they do with it? It shows the locations of all the major Feng Shui sites in the Southwest. Will they take advantage of this information? What about James Redfeather? The fight will convince him that something big is going on, but not necessarily that there's a secret war going on throughout time. He may decide to join the PCs, or you may have him call on them in the future. Don't think of this as a complete adventure in and of itself, but as a springboard for future stories.

All content copyright ©1997-2004 by David Eber, unless stated otherwise. (Read the legal fine print.)

Last modified: