Stage 1 - the Steel Corridor

A large, smoking hole gapes before you, beyond which you can see a long corridor of riveted steel plates. There is no way that this corridor can exist within the prison. You know the prison building well enough. This corridor is too long. Cell block 5W should exist on the other side of this wall.

The hole shrinks perceptibly. You only have about three and a half hours. Time is of the essence if you ever wish to see sunlight and home again. You push down your fear as you and the other guards step in, your boots sending loud echoes down the corridor as the hard soles strike the steel floor. Cautiously, you begin creeping down the hallway.

This corridor stretches off into infinity, but after about 100 feet, there is a large steel door on the right wall. If the characters open it, they will find a featureless brick wall behind it. More doors can be seen at varying intervals down the hallway, becoming more frequent as the team advances until there is a door about every 10 feet. Roll on Table 1 to determine what is behind each door.

Table 1

Behind the Door (Roll 1d10)

1: Solid brick wall
2: A 10-foot by 10-foot mine shaft, bottomless
3: Open space, twilight and hazy, no surfaces or objects detectable in any direction. The wall that the door is in stretches as an infinite plane in all directions.
4: A small closet with a rotting body chained to the back wall. The body cries feebly and moans for help, but is incapable of coherent speech or movement.
5: A vertical ventilation shaft with a huge low-speed fan at the bottom (50 to 100 feet below). There is light beyond the fan.
6: A large noisy generator that makes speech almost impossible.
7: A rotting pile of liquified flesh, mucus, and blood that will begin to ooze into the hallway.
8: Another infinite corridor identical to the one that the characters are already in.
9: An infinite night sky of unfamiliar stars. No surfaces or objects detectable in any direction. The wall that the door is in stretches as an infinite plane in all directions.
10: Special (roll on Table 2).

Table 2

Special Doors (Roll 1d6)

1: Solid brick wall with a rotting hand protruding from the bricks at eye level. This hand will attempt to grab anything that comes within 2 feet (clothes, hair, face, neck) and hang on. Only a fatal wound will cause it to release. Damage capacity: 4 scratches = 1 light wound, 3 light wounds = 1 serious wound, 2 serious wounds = 1 fatal wound; Attack modes: Grab 12 (2-foot range); scr 1-8; lw 9-13; sw 14-19; fw 20+ (STR throw to break away).

2: A 10 foot by 10 foot mine shaft, bottomless, with a helpless, crying sound drifting up from below. After a few seconds, a long thick tentacle will lash up out of the darkness to grab the legs of anyone standing in the doorway. A serious wound or better will force the creature to release its prey and retreat. Damage capacity: 4 scratches = 1 light wound, 3 light wounds = 1 serious wound, 3 serious wounds = 1 fatal wound; Attack modes: Grab 10 (6-foot range); scr 1-6; lw 7-11; sw 12-18; fw 19+ (STR throw to break away).

3: An incinerator. A blazing inferno crackles and hisses just beyond the threshold. The heat is so intense that any character standing next to the door after the first round, must make a CON roll every round thereafter or suffer a light wound (blistering and low-grade burns). Clothing and other flammable items will smolder and eventually ignite.

4: A small closet with a rotting body on the floor. The body cries and moans for help, but is incapable of coherent speech. It will crawl towards the characters and attempt to grab their ankles or clothing, or claw at their legs. On a serious wound effect, the creature has grabbed both legs and the character must make an AGL roll every round or fall to the floor. Once the victim is on the floor, the creature receives a +3 bonus to skill and effect rolls. Only a fatal wound will stop the creature. Damage capacity: 4 scratches = 1 light wound, 3 light wounds = 1 serious wound, 2 serious wounds = 1 fatal wound; Attack modes: Grab 8 (3-foot range); scr 1-10; lw 11-15; sw 16-20; fw 21+ (STR throw to break away).

5: A horizontal ventilation shaft with a huge high-speed fan at the end (10 to 60 feet away). There is light beyond the fan. This fan is so strong that it can pull characters into the shaft towards the fan blades. All characters within 3 feet of the threshold must make STR or AGL rolls, whichever is better, to avoid being sucked down the shaft. If dragged down the shaft, damage per round from fan blades: scr 1-6; lw 7-10; sw 11-16; fw 17+

6: A large noisy generator that sparks and fumes. Smoke from the generator is toxic and will blind characters and make them choke and cough until they can close the door and get away from the area. Characters must make CON roll every round or become incapacitated. The sound from the generator makes speech almost impossible.

As the doors become more frequent, the characters may notice that several doors are scarred and dented. Odd mechanical pieces will be scattered about the hallway, an occasional spring, gear, a small curved blade, or a rotor. When they begin noticing the mechanical debris, the attack will start.

A chorus of high-speed whirring sounds, like a drill or a mixer will be heard coming down the hallway. Three small, football-shaped airborne devices (about 4 inches long, 2 inches wide) of highly polished stainless steel will coming flying in at high speed. These mechanical devices have small curved blades that spin around their horizonal axis. The devices will be aimed at three targets at random. They are highly maneuverable (although the corridor is too narrow for them to turn around). The following statistics apply:

Flying saws:
Movement: 20m/combat round
Actions: 1
Initiative bonus: +5
Attack modes: Saw blades 15 (scr 1-11, lw 12-15, sw 16-19, fw 20+)

They can be stopped in one of several ways.

1) The intended character can make a successful Dodge roll. In this case, everyone behind that character must make a successful Dodgex2 roll to also be missed. Anyone falling to the floor and remaining prone automatically gets a Dodgex2 roll if they are the target. The device will continue down the corridor careening off the walls, throwing sparks, and disappear into the distance.

2) The devices can be shot or knocked out of the air. A minimum effect roll of 10 is required to destroy the device. An effect roll of 5 or better will cause the device to alter course slightly, giving the target character at least a Dodgex2 roll to avoid the device.

3) The characters can open a nearby steel door and stand behind it. The devices will crash into the doors and self destruct. What is behind the door is another matter....

After the initial attack, additional devices will be launched one or two at a time every couple of minutes. Roll a random target for each device. After 20 devices have been launched, or if the characters destroy five of them, the attack will stop, and the end of the corridor will come into view.

The corridor ends with a large steel door, similar to the kind found on a walk-in freezer. Two feet before this door, hidden in the walls are two six-foot curved blades that will sweep together from either side when the door is opened. A successful Dodge roll is required to avoid the blades. The blades cause damage as follows: scr 1-4; lw 5-8; sw 9-14; fw 15+.

The blades can be detected on a successful Search roll, and if found, can be disarmed by wedging something into the fulcrum point of each blade.

Prison Break

Introduction
Stage 1: Steel Corridor
Stage 2: Abattoir
Stage 3: Above the City
Stage 4: The Slum
Stage 5: Skid Row
Stage 6: Darkness to Light
Ready Made Characters

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