Warning: Pre-Alpha
This game is currently in pre-alpha, and at this time, I do not recommend running a game in it yet. Every single game mechanic and piece of lore is subject to potentially breaking changes.
Thank you for your interest in this game! You can follow its development at https://www.youtube.com/@trekiros
-Trek
V - Example Adventure: DMS Protocol
Introduction
This adventure is designed to introduce new players to the world of Flare Fall as well as teach them how to play. It should take between 2 and 4 hours to play.
Setup. Give your players the Setting Primer and the Rules Primer, and tell them to create level 1 characters, or to choose a pre-generated character. Their characters are a crew of scavengers in a post-apocalyptic world - the only people brave (or foolish) enough to venture out into the wasteland while the rest of the ~50 survivors they live with usually just stay in camp.
Running this adventure. This adventure uses some iconography and visual language to help you find the information you're looking for while you're running the game:
Location Name of the Location
A general description of the location.
🔎 Topic: Information that the players should be told if they investigate (no roll required)
X Trying to do Y (DC Z): if the players try to do Y, they must roll X with a DC of Z to succeed
Italicized text can be read aloud to the players directly
POI: Name of the Point of Interest
Information the players should be told as soon as they investigate the point of interest.
A location can include points of interest, topics of discussion, objects, etc...
Synopsis
Adventure Hook: the Probe. The PCs are woken up by a loud alarm sound. They discover the alarm comes from a cybernetic implant on "Big Dunk", an old man who, it turned out, was actually the president of the USA until he died of old age... 10 minutes ago.
His implant is a "Dead Man Switch": if it stops detecting a heartbeat, it sends a radio signal to Mount Weather. Unless the PCs manage to get there in the next 24 hours to stop a countdown, this military base will automatically launch dozens of **nuclear missiles** and cause a second end of the world.
Part 1: The Path to Mount Weather. Mount Weather is about 10 hours away from where the PCs set up camp. The first thing they'll need is to get there using their buggy.
On the way, they stumble upon a convoy of mercenaries who work for the Union, and who are under attack by some phytozoids. This can serve as both a tutorial to teach your players how combat works, and a way for them to meet Mark the Merc', a disgruntled underling who hates his gaudy bosses and can give the players information about and access into Mount Weather - if they manage to make friends with him.
Part 2: Party Like it's 2077. As it turns out, Mount Weather was converted into a giant rave party by some rich kid from the Union. To get to the bunker below, the players will need to find their way into the party - which might prove tricky as it's an invite-only event. Then, they'll need to power the reinforced door to the bunker - which probably means taking some power away from the party somehow.
Whether they do this through trickery, sneakery, violence, negotiation, or some other mean entirely, is up to the players.
Part 3: The Bunker. Now finally inside Mount Weather, the PCs have to find their way to the two control rooms and press the two big "cancel launch" buttons simultaneously. Only problem: while the staff of the base is long dead, their security robots aren't.
Once the launch has been cancelled, one last choice awaits the PCs: what to do with the nukes. Do they want to make them self-destruct? To keep them as leverage to become the masters of the wasteland? To use them to erase their enemies from existence?
Example Introduction
Welcome to what's left of New York City... Over the past 20 years, you've helped build a survivor's camp out of a hotel, just outside of Central Park.
Right now it's daytime, which means you're sleeping, because going out into the Sun makes people sick... Or at least you should be sleeping.
But just a few moments ago, you were all jolted awake by a loud electronic alarm sound ringing throughout the hotel. Which is weird, because whenever there's an emergency, whoever's on watch duty normally just hits a frying pan like an alarm bell. This place doesn't have any working electronic alarms.
So you've all just woken up, a moment ago. Right now you're all in the same communal dormitory, with a bunch of bunk beds. Who do you reckon is waking up first, and what does it look like when they do?
The PCs are scavs whose camp is a hotel in New York City, hosting around 50 survivors. They all start in the same room, sleeping in some bunk beds.
The adventure begins as the PCs are woken up by a loud electronic alarm sound coming from another room.
The hotel has just one location of interest:
Location: Big Dunk's Room
The hotel room the sound is coming from. There's a single bed, with someone in it, and a bedside table. A pulsating red light and loud beeping sound is coming from the bed.
P How well did you know him? (DC 8): When he first showed up, 12 years ago, he introduced himself as "Duncan McEagle", which is the name of the president of the USA at the time of the Flare.
Thing is, over the past 20 years, you've probably met about half a dozen lunatics who claimed to be the president, so you never really took him seriously... Until now?
PoI: The Bed
Big Dunk lies under the bedsheets, dead. The red light and the beeping sound are coming from his chest.
🔎: Under his shirt, he has a cybernetic implant near his heart which is what is making the sound and the light. It has an inscription which reads "DMS".
When his shirt is lifted, the red light turns into a hologram which reads: "Dead Man Switch Protocol: 3rd Strike countdown initiated. Bring this device to Mount Weather within 24 hours to abort."
Obj: The Implant
This device can be safely unplugged and removed.
🔎: If the device is removed, it stops beeping but the hologram stays there.
T hack (DC 12): Encrypted network logs show an outgoing message 10mn ago, and an acknowledgment in response.
Topic: "3rd Strike Protocol"
A part of the military doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction: originally meant to automatically launch retaliative strikes if the president is dead and there's nobody left to activate the launch.
What's worse, assuming the targets have a 3rd Strike protocol of their own, they'll automatically send nukes back.
Topic: Mount Weather
A nuclear shelter meant for government officials.
It's about 300 miles from NYC. Using the camp's buggy, the PCs can get there in ~10 hours.
POI: Bedside Table
On the table, there's a massive revolver with the high caliber chamber mod.
🔎: On the gun's handle, there's a small worn out logo which is the seal of the president of the USA.
The DMS Probe
Plot Twisting Tip
If one of the PCs has a military background, they're the ones who should know about Mt.Weather and the 3rd Strike Protocol. Otherwise, Adelaide can tell them about it.
Part 1: the Path to Mount Weather
The PCs leave when the Sun sets 2 hours later, and the drive is uneventful for the first 9 hours. Mount Weather's shape comes into view on the horizon. Then, they hear gunshots and cries for help in the distance.
If the players come check it out, they see 5 raiders wearing microwaves as helmets attacking a convoy, to steal supplies. The only survivor is a downed merc (Mark the Merc').
The merc is taking cover down at the gas station. The raiders are using the darkness and taking cover to avoid return fire. The PCs come from the North, but the road is blocked and they will have to step out of their buggy if they want to help.
Location: Loudoun Street
A street on the outskirts of a small town, with a motel, a pharmacy, a parking lot and a gas station. There was a massive car crash at the street junction when the Flare happened - the vehicles are still there... And so are their drivers.
Vehicles. The cars act as destructible cover (DT +6 for small cars, and +10 for large trucks).
G Pushing cars (DC 10): Cars can be shoved in the direction they are facing. Trucks can't.
Darkness. Since it is night time, everything is in darkness except for two sources of light:
- The PCs' buggy at the North, which gives a 20m cone of light that can be oriented in a new direction by piloting the buggy
- Mark's vehicle, which is currently on fire and emits light in a 10m radius.
T Powering the streetlights (DC 10): Using the hack action, one can turn all of the streetlights in the district back on for 1 minute, each giving a 10m radius of light. Each streetlight can be destroyed (1 HP, DT 5).
POI: Parking Lot
A simple parking lot
L Anything useful here? (DC 10): One of the cars has a briefcase on the passenger seat. Breaking through the car's window to retrieve it, it contains a deuterium battery worth 2d6 ⚡.
POI: Car Crash
The tanker has spilt some oil on the ground.
If it takes any Area of Effect damage, it catches on fire, dealing 3d6!!🔥 to any creature which starts its turn on the burning puddle.
After 1 round, the fire spreads and the gas station catches on fire.
POI: Motel
A motel that probably doesn't look any more worn down than it did before the Flare.
L Anything useful here? (DC 10): Looks like nobody else thought to strip this motel of its TVs. You gain 2d6📻
POI: Gas Station
The merc's vehicle plowed into the gas pumps... It will probably blow up in just a minute or two.
If the pumps take any fire damage, they catch on fire: 1 round later, they blow up, dealing 6d6🔥 to all creatures within 10m.
A Raider
Plot Twisting Tip
The players can choose to ignore this encounter entirely. It's okay if they do.
Part 2: Party like it's 2077
The military base was re-purposed into a settlement by Alan Ross, a member of the union. Alan is currently away on business, so his son, Alexei, organized a party with some friends who are fellow "Union Kids".
The PCs can arrive from whichever side they want - the settlement is very flashy and they can safely scout it from a distance. To get to the bunker, they will need to open the Bunker Entrance - unfortunately, it is currently closed.
Power Charges
To open the Bunker Entrance, the PCs will need to divert power from the party to the magnetically-locked blast door.
Each asterisk next to a POI's name means 1 charge can be redirected from that POI to the bunker entranceTo open the door, the PCs need 3 charges.
However, if they ruin the party, they will attract Alexei's wrath!
POI: Bunker Entrance
A sloped structure made out of concrete, with a massive, metallic blast door. Clearly the entrance to an underground bunker.
🔎 Blast Door: It uses a magnetic lock, which means it could be forced open by applying a strong enough electrical current.
G or T (DC 12): the door can be forced open by hacking it, lockpicking it, or prying it open, but doing so is extremely difficult.
POI: Refurbished Barracks**
A set of 6 military barracks which were re-purposed into luxury accomodations. Each barrack has a sign above its door. From top left to bottom right, they read: "master bedroom", "conference room", "guest suite 1", "kitchen", "bathroom", and "guest bedroom 2"
It is possible to get 1 power charge from the top row of barracks, and 1 power charge from the bottom row.
🔎 Occupants: Each barrack potentially has people in it that might make a fuss if electricity is cut from their barrack:
-Master bedroom: three party-goers are playing video games on the couch
-Kitchen: two cooks are working hard
-Bathroom: a couple party-goers are puking in the showers due to being inebriated
-Guest rooms: a couple party-goers are napping on the beds
Only the conference room is empty.
POI: Dancefloor***
Dozens of rich kids are dancing here. Marcus runs a bar and Marcella is at the DJ table.
🔎 Power Supply: It is only possible to redirect 1 charge before the party gets ruined.
POI: Swimming Pool*
A bunch of rich kids are having a pool party here. There are floating pool trays with food and beverages on them.
🔎 Fountains: The fountains each have a battery. If taken out, the pool party is ruined, but these batteries can be used to gain 1 power charge.
POI: Warehouse***
The largest building here - with walls made of 3m tall sheet metal, topped by a row of opaque glass windows which circle the entire building. A purring electrical noise is coming from inside.
🔎 Outer Wall: There are a few loose panels on the side near the fence: a small enough character (Grit lower than 2) could crawl into the building.
🔎 Generator: There are 2 unarmed mechanics working on the reactor - it's working over capacity, and without their continuous oversight, it risks shutting down after a couple minutes.
T Generator (DC 10): The generator can be made to go into overdrive, which grants every location connected to it 3 power charges for 1 minute. After that, the reactor shuts down and the party is ruined.
POI: Mercs' Campfire
The mercenary company Mark works for is not allowed to sleep on the premises, so they've set up a camp just outside the fence and are enjoying a nice nightly campfire. Groans are coming from one of the tents.
🔎 Groans: Earlier tonight, Alexei shot one of the mercenaries in the leg for spilling a drink on him. The mercenary is undergoing surgery without anaesthesia.
POI: Parking Lot
A number of sports cars are parked here - they belong to the party-goers. It is strange to see people using sports cars: the roads haven't been maintained for 20 years, so they're full of bumps and potholes. Given the choice between those and a buggy, most people would choose a buggy.
POI: 2nd Entrance
This entrance is used mostly by the staff. If Mark is with the party, he can let them in through here.
POI: Guest Barracks
Each barrack contains 10 bunk beds, for a total of 20 mattresses. They're intended for the guests to sleep in but don't have many accommodations. beyond this.
POI: Outer Fence
A 3m tall wire fence, with barbs at the top, some projectors emitting light around the camp, and some automated turrets. Climbing the fence safely would take around 5 minutes.
🔎 Circling the fence: There is a hole in the fence, behind one of the Refurbished Barracks, just large enough for someone to crawl in.