But This Time, the Bugs Hunt You... Spider Effects: Matt Wilson additional Effects: Anson Maddocks, William O'Connor and Rob Taylor Technical Assistance: David Williams Technical Supervision: Matt Staroscik Story by John Zinser and John Wick Screenplay: John Wick Produced: AEG, ODS, and New Millenium Entertainment Executive Producer: D.J. Trindle Directed by YOU Starring: Hapless players Bug Hunt is designed to be a spring-board to our BattleLords campaign. We've provided five PCs that you can use, but if you want, you can create your own characters. Many things are supposed to be secret, so if you are a player...DO NOT READ FURTHER! GM Information Where am I? The PCs were mercenaries, hired out by the Doltharians to hit a research station, allowing the Arachnids to gain yet another foothold in Alliance space. They were paid well for their work; and they perform it without error. All humans and gen-humans were eradicated mercilessly. The PCs performed their function of clearing out the base and went back to the drop ship to await retrieval. That's when everything went wrong. The planet was inhabited, and the research station was observing a new kind of Arachnid-like race that, has never been encountered before. This Arachnid race exhibited signs of intelligence and the scientists on the planet were just beginning to establish communications with the race. That's when the mercs dropped in and killed everything. The Arachnids stayed clear of the base and watched as the mercs wiped out the other humans. While the Arachnids were not yet "friendly" with the researchers, a fair amount of trust and respect had been developed. The Arachnids became confused. The idea of killing one's own's kind is completely alien to them. They decided to investigate. Meanwhile, the mercs were in their cryochambers awaiting pickup. However, the Doltharians had another idea in mind. In their cryochambers, the mercs were being mind wiped. All of their memories were washed from their brains as they slept, leaving them without knowledge of their activities. The spiders broke into the dropship. The computer implemented defense mechanisms. The spiders defended themselves, damaging the ship and the beacon that signaled their position for pick-up. The spiders retreated. When the rendezvous ship arrived, there was no beacon, and the mercs were left on the planet, in their cryochambers. Fortunately, the damage to the ship caused the main computer to crash, cutting off the program that was sucking their minds. The emergency computer booted up and kept the cryochambers active, saving the mercs' lives. That was two years ago. Now, two years later, the mercs awaken to the sound of a plasma rifle spitting out liquid fire in white-hot bursts and the screams of their compatriots. Their sleepy eyes open and they see a cryochamber covered in a thick web substance, and as their sight grows clearer, they see one of their own engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle with a thing straight from their darkest nightmares as it rips his head clean off, his pulse rifle firing another round into its badly wounded belly. As the limp body of their comrade falls to the floor, the wounded spider turns toward them, its body oozing with a black fluid that steams and stinks of month old corpses and its mandibles flash a wet crimson as it moves closer. THE ARM The mercs are on the planet because of the ARM (The Anarchist Rebellion Movement). Information regarding the ARM can be found on p 22 of No Man's Land, but all pertinent information is summarized here. The ARM is an organization dedicated to serving the Arachnids - an alien race that is devoted to the destruction of non-Arachnid life. They are traitors to the human race and though there are many theories as to why (basic greed, brain washing, etc.), the only important element here is that they will sell you out without a second thought. When the ARM heard about a secret base located far off the main trading routes, and that it involved Arachnid research of some kind, they spent no expense at wiping the research base out. They hired a gang of mercs to go in and eradicate the base. They were to take all research material they could get and bring it back to ARM. The-mercs (PCs) did a thorough job, although they did not stop to check exactly what kind of research was being performed. If they had, they would have discovered something quite extraordinary ... THE SPIDERS The Spiders on Driscoll VII are very curious indeed. They have a "hive mind" intelligence, thus allowing them to share thoughts and experiences. Unlike terran spiders, the spiders of Driscoll VII have both an exoskeleton and an endoskeleton. They are also equipped with a powerful stinger and are able to spit poison up to fifty feet. They are fully capable of spinning webs, and it is these webs that allows them to move about on ceilings and walls and such. Eventually, their weight and mass forbids them from such acrobatics, and that is when they begin their long journey towards isolation and death. More information regarding the spiders can be found in Part Two of this article next issue. Just before the mercs showed up, the Spiders had established contact with the terran scientists, and though, initial contact was hesitant, further contact allowed the humans to establish a bond of trust with the aliens. Then the mercs arrived and slaughtered the scientists. The concept of murder is alien to the Spiders, but rage is not. The Spiders viewed the mercs as abominations and sought their destruction. They attacked the mercs after they had settled down in their cryochambers. The ship responded to the attack by setting off its defense systems. The Spiders were unsuccessful in destroying the mercs, but they did damage enough of the ship to knock out its main computer, thus rendering the signaling system and most of the secondary functions useless. The emergency computer booted up, finding the antenna completely inoperable and the mercs slipping away in their cryochambers. It reestablished the cryochambers and began its long process of rebooting the main computer. But too much damage had been done by the Spiders, and with only emergency programs, all the computer could do was keep the mercs alive and in stasis. The Spiders, meanwhile, continued their normal way of life. They set traps for the local fauna, mated, multiplied and stayed clear of the villainous ship. However, the Spiders never forget, and soon, their curiosity overcame their fear. They once again decided to investigate the mercs' ship. The emergency computer detected the alien life form as it approached and began waking the mercs. Unfortunately, much damage had been done to their memories by the main computer, and they are unable to remember anything other than their basic training as mercs. Other instincts will come back to them immediately (the need for a smoke, favorite phrases, etc.), but they will be lost as to where they are or why there are there. ORGANIZATION This scenario begins with the PCs having no memory of who they are, what they are, or why they are, and here's a big nasty icky thing bearing down on their near-naked frozen bodies. There are weapons visible on the other side of the compartment. The spider stands between them and their only means of survival. Yeah, they're in deep kaka. The rest of the scenario takes place in a rather linear fashion. Each area on the map is a Scene. Each Scene is divided into 4 Sections: The Rundown, The Set-Up, The Action, and The Follow-Up. The Run-Down will give you a basic understanding of the area the mercs are about to enter, including any pertinent information you should remember. The Set- Up will give you a complete description of what the PCs see when they enter the area. The Action will tell you what will occur when the mercs enter and what will occur while they are there. The Follow-Up will tell you what effect their actions will have on future Scenes. BattleLords of the 23rd Century An Old-Fashioned Bug Hunt by John Wick, et. al. GM Information Scene One: Spiders, Spiders, Everywhere Scene Two: Jane Fonda's Nightmare Scene Three: The Living Quarters Scene Four: Lost Little Alice Scene Five: Waking Up Hatter Scene Six: Goodies Scene Seven: Putting The Hatter To Sleep Scene Eight: Getting Some Wheels Map of Starship Gamera (slow: 103K) Part 2 Back to Shadis #23 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1996 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com