The following adventure is presented in our popular Hook, Line and Sinker format (refer to the HLS article in this issue for more information.) Although this adventure was designed for West End Games TORG ™ system, the HLS format presents the elements in a generic manner so that it can be adapted to any system. The adventure is set in a Pulp Fantasy Realm and is a fast paced adventure in which the players are constantly being challenged with obstacles. The adventure centers around the villain, Mr. Tode, a citizen of Orrorsh. Mr. Tode thrives off the fear of others and loves to terrify his opponents. He will try to literally scare the party members to death. HOOK The party has been chasing a spy/thief from Nippon Tech Realm who has stolen documents from Jean Malraux and the Cyberpapacy Realm. They have been chasing him for some time and have finally caught up to him in Cairo, Egypt where he has boarded a train called the Cairo Express. The Cairo Express is traveling non-stop to Baghdad, Iraq. LINE On the train is a denizen from the Realm of Orrorsh. He is also after the information the Nippon Tech agent stole. As the party boards the train, it starts on its merry little ride of death and mayhem. During the first part of the adventure the party will have the opportunity to explore some of the train before they track the agent down and finally corner him in the dining car. Just as the party approaches the Nippon Tech agent, the train passes through a tunnel where the lights go out. There is a scream and a sound of a body falling. The train exits the tunnel, the lights come back on and the party sees that their quarry is dead. Before any of the players have a chance to move to the body, the train passes through another tunnel and the lights go out again. This time the party hears a deep, yet melodic laugh. The lights come on again and the body is gone along with the documents. Game Master Notes The feel of this adventure should be one of suspense and horror, therefore it is 'script' driven. The GM should funnel the players along the chosen storyline. Since the pace is fast - and the players are trapped on the train - this shouldn't prove too difficult and the players will never notice they she being taken on a 'ride'. The GM is encouraged to add any devices to the adventure to keep the players on the edge of their seats. The lights flickering, mysterious sounds, unexpected encounters, and so on. Theme music from movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th might provide good atmosphere. SINKER The adventure begins in the dining car. The party, along with several stunned train passengers, will be left standing in the middle of the aisle, empty handed. All traces of the Nippon Tech agent are gone except for a fresh bloodstain on the carpet where his body was seen after passing through the first tunnel. Since the party can't stop the train they will be unable to determine if the body has been dumped off at some point. Try to keep the players believing that the body must still be on the train. The party's next objective should be to try to find the body of the agent and attempt to recover the information. The party now has a large Victorian style train to search; the train consists of seven cars and the engine. The dining car is toward the front of the train and will be fairly unoccupied at the moment. The Dining Car, The Sleeping Cars Second Class, The Sleeping Cars First Class Crew Quarters Car, The Engine, The Luggage Car, The Caboose, The Final Battle The Horror: Mr. Tode Back to Table of Contents -- SHADIS Issue No. 9 Back to SHADIS List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by Alderac Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com