Mission - Ranch Hand - Act 3 and Mission Debrief
A D23 Entry for Red Rocks' Shadow - zwoshea.itch.io/rrsash or https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/422566/Red-Rocks-Shadow
Act 3
Time-Twisted Zeppelin
Soar high above the ground, and in a time before the War, the Deserters find themselves in a zeppelin destined for a fiery demise. Can they escape in time? Do they even want to escape if it means going back to the Eternal Trenches?
Aboard this luxury skyliner are a host of Civilians, doomed to shortly die. Nothing can be done to save them and they appear as ghostly shades to the Deserters. They are also as intangible as shadow itself, though everything inorganic such as the floor, tables, chairs, and doors are solid enough to the Deserters. The Deserters are also not the only entities that should not be aboard the zeppelin, dubbed the Kaiser. The presence of something else, something evident is clear from the beginning. The windows looking out into the landscape cast many facets instead of one. Some twist a reflection back like a funhouse mirror, while others show the same view sliced into a dozen different times. Some windows display vistas not of creation, but a twisted place of floating islands and aborted gods.
Passenger Deck
The passenger deck of the Kaiser has a Near and Close Range Segment. The ‘shadow people’ will act like the frightened passengers they are, fleeing from the Deserters and Foes - who they see as shadow people in turn. It is not possible to contact these poor, doomed souls; their fates are sealed.
Command should give the Deserters a few moments to orient themselves, look out the windows, and figure out what is going on before involving the Foes to follow. At the very latest, these Foes should arrive when the Deserters attempt to leave the passenger deck. The rupture in time attacks a swarm of Inconceivable creatures. These entities may want to feed off the leaking anguish, siphon ‘time energy’, or maybe seek to keep time flowing properly. No matter the reason, these Unnamable things are immediately hostile to the Deserters. These entities pull themselves from anywhere there is a sharp angle, pouring like spilled ink. They quickly take form, but said form is a constantly twisting, wild angles with soulless eyes that form and dissolve along their dark surfaces. Given the odd nature of the Unnamable, it’s a good idea to use 1 plus 1 Unnamable for each Deserter which manifests in the Near segment. Command may want to seed more of these Foes if the Deserters can do a great deal of Fire, Poison, or Profane Harm, or less if the opposite is true.
Unnamable (Incomprehensible)
Time parasites or protectors. Their motives are as strange as their angular, eye-festering form.
Health- π
Armor - Can only take Harm from Fire, Poison, or Profane attacks unless a Deserter rolls at least one 6 on the attack.
Actions-
Consume Shadow. The Unnamable absorbs a panicked shadow Civilian and regains 2 Harm.
Attacks -
Caress. 2 Blessed Harm. Near
Maneuvers - Menace, Scramble Senses, Teleport
In the aftermath of the angular attack, the Unnamables will leave behind clusters of raw, alien blood. Effectively, each Deserter gains 1 Vial. There are two exits from the passenger deck. The bow exit leads to the crew deck, and the stern exit leads to the propeller deck. As there is no obvious way to return home in the passenger deck, more investigation is needed.
Crew Deck
A scaffolding connects the passenger deck to the crew deck. It is a one-person wide walkway of solid steel and sturdy construction with a waist-high railing covered with a mesh trellis. This provides reasonable protection from tumbling off the side. This gangway only has a Near segment, but Command should take into account its single-file nature.
Below the landscape is a horrific display. Oh, it has hills and plains but they are made from weeping, raw meat that undulates as if the world is taking wounded breaths. Ponds are open sores, rivers eddies of fetid blood. Trees are little more than jutting, splintered bones. Yet, the landscape has an air of the familiar as landmarks are the same whether they are constructed from earth or meat.
Traveling the scaffolding does have a complication, however. The souls sacrificed by Major Pryne skitter on all fours across the surface of the dirigible like spiders instead of what were once humans. Their hollow eyes search for souls to devour, their mouths for words to steal. It’s possible to sneak past the Hollowed coming and going if the Deserters would like to do so. They can of course also blast their way through. While the Hollowed are infused with Inconceivable magick, they are not as strange and powerful as others of their ilk. After all, they are still (mostly) comprised of weak, human flesh. If a fight does break out, a good rule of thumb is 2 Hollowed for every 1 Deserter. They start in a Close Segment, swarming off of the dirigible onto the gangway.
Hollowed (Fodder)
Human shells inhabited by unearthly energy. Their eyes and mouths have been replaced with shadow.
Health- 1
Attacks -
Spit Oblivion. 1 Blessed Harm. Close.
Shadow. Bite 1 Blessed Harm. Near.
Maneuvers - Howl, Leap, Scutter
The command deck itself is quite small, taking up a Near segment only. It consists of a bank of control panels in front of wide bay windows and a set of benches for the crew to rest on away from the passengers. Out these wide windows stretch a view of distant galaxies with long spirals clashing against one another akin to agitated cephalopods. The gory world glimpsed on the way here is nowhere to be seen.
There is only one occupant within this section, The Captain. This entity wears an outdated military coat and cap belonging to the Hitherland Theocracy, but that’s about the only thing about him that is human. Five black feathers stick out of his cuffs where his hands should be, and a column of self-same pinions twist like a collection of tendrils from torso to feet. Under the cap is a vague shadow where six eyes float. The Captain is not immediately hostile. He is mostly curious what the ‘Unbound’ are doing here and is willing to talk. His voice is a warm, inviting, but accentless tone.
The Captain is simply a captain and a shepherd. He will not elaborate.
The schism of time created here has folded in on itself, and as such its angles let the Captain and things like him but not like him come to feed.
He does not want the Unbound here as they will disrupt things even further, the longer they are here.
There is one in the propeller deck that is fueling this wrinkle, a human woman whose soul burns bright. When she is extinguished, the Unbound can use her ashes to go home and it would close the wrinkle, ending the trip.
Ending the trip is fine by the Captain. Every journey must come to an end so a new one can begin.
The Captain would also love to test the Unbounds’ mettle if they are willing. He promises a great reward if they are able to overcome him. Hidden Objective.
No matter if the Deserters fight the Captain or not, he will reach into his feathers and pull out a scepter carved out of a human thigh bone. This scepter can be applied to Mrs. Pryne’s charred skeleton once she is released to open a portal back to the Cruor Pasture.
The Captain (Angel)
A collection of eyes, feathers, and shadows. Housed in a captain’s coat and cap, he seems almost human.
Health- 15
Armor - Immune to Blessed Harm
Attacks -
Feather Slash. 3 Harm. 2 Targets. Near.
The Seventh Eye. 4 Blessed Harm. Near, Close.
Maneuvers - Adjust Instruments, Quote Scripture, Teleport
Hidden Objective
The Captain is a timeless entity and needs some amusement. He is willing to fight the Deserters and reward them, should they win or lose. If a Deserter is Slain in the following fight, they do not return to Base. Instead, they explode into a nebulous cloud of misty Cruor. At the end of the fight, all Deserters reform with full Health and Cruor.
If the Deserters win, the Captain will reward them with his coat before exploding in a swirl of feathers. The Captain’s Coat provides 1 Blessed Armor to the Deserter who wears it.
If the Deserters lose, the Captain restores them to full Health and Cruor.
Propeller Deck
A scaffolding connects the passenger deck to the propeller deck. It is a one-person wide walkway of solid steel and sturdy construction with a waist-high railing covered with a mesh trellis. This provides reasonable protection from tumbling off the side. This gangway only has a Near segment, but Command should take into account its single-file nature.
Below the landscape is a bizarre display. Oh, it has hills and plains but they are made from rusted, seeping metal that shutters as if the world is a massive machine about to break down. Ponds are oil slicks, rivers eddies of coolant fluid. Trees are little more than worn bolts and nails. Yet, the landscape has an air of the familiar as landmarks are the same whether they are constructed from earth or metal.
Traveling the scaffolding does have a complication, however. The souls sacrificed by Major Pryne skitter on all fours across the surface of the dirigible like spiders instead of what were once humans. Their hollow eyes search for souls to devour, their mouths for words to steal. It’s possible to sneak past the Hollowed coming and going if the Deserters would like to do so. They can of course also blast their way through. While the Hollowed are infused with Inconceivable magick, they are not as strange and powerful as others of their ilk. After all, they are still (mostly) comprised of weak, human flesh. If a fight does break out, a good rule of thumb is 2 Hollowed for every 1 Deserter. They start in a Close Segment, swarming off of the dirigible onto the gangway.
The propeller deck proper has a Near and Close segment, but it’s a narrow area flanked by humming engines keeping the propellers going. Instead of coal or gas, the exposed furnace has a howling, burning woman with charcoaled skin. Her face is twisted in bewildered pain. There is no other threat than this poor ‘fuel’ who is Mrs. Pryne. Her son’s misguided ritual causes her torment and keeps this twist in time going. Killing her on its own will not stop her suffering or close the loop. When she dies, she immediately collapses into a charred skeleton missing her left thigh. Within minutes, her body will start reforming itself from the ash. The only to stop this is to put her thighbone (a scepter held by the Captain on the crew deck) back into place when she is in a skeletal state. If this is done, move to Climax below.
Mrs. Pryne
A soul burned to keep a feeding ground for Inconceivables thanks to her son’s mad hubris.
Health- 10
Armor - Immune to Fire Harm
Attacks -
Scorch. The Deserter makes a Build Test, taking 1 Fire Harm for each 1 rolled. Near, Close.
Maneuvers - Cry, Scream, Writhe
Climax
There isn’t any final conflict tied to the climax. Once Mrs. Pryne’s thighbone is placed, her bones explode and the shards form a circular portal. This portal shows the Crupr Pasture the Deserters came from at the altar where they fought Major Pryne. Traveling through the portal erupts an Open Vein finishes this Mission.
Debrief
At least 1 Deserter survived the Time twisted zeppelin and made it back to Base - 1 Investment for each Deserter involved in the Mission.
At least 1 Deserter survived the Time twisted zeppelin and made it back to Base - each Deserter raises their Maximum Cruor by 1.
Remember to any Vials, Trophies, or other rewards from Hidden Objectives.
Professor Monika Khral, Cruor Engineer now becomes a Friendly Civilian Ally at the Deserters’ current base.
This opens up a new mission: Pilllars of Salt.
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