Having been recruited and set to purpose the cabal has to choose how to go about achieving their goal. The following is an outline of how these events might go:
Gather Information on the Junkyard
Grief’s Junkyard, Campaign Outline
Early Sessions
Possible Milestones:
- Gather information on the Junkyard
- Gather supplies
- Find an entry site
Gather Information on the Junkyard
By default Christopher Whitehead knows a little about the Junkyard and is happy to share it. He knows the entry ritual, how the dead can be retrieved and the general idea of what environment can be expected inside although he will stress this is all old information. Beyond this it will be down to the PC ingenuity and connections, consider short-cutting the process by handing out leads based on GMCs and cabals detailed in the previous two blog posts as a way to get things rolling.
Mundane sources will reveal that several people have miraculously returned from the dead (mostly false and unrelated to the Junkyard, but at least one is) and cases of crash sites being dug up have made minor news articles all over the world. Web forums and darknet channels spread both rumour and facts. GMCs and cabals the PCs might become involved with taking this route are: Anna Moines and Hank Filmoore, Nolan Boone and (if they’re reckless) Saturn’s Bulls.
Gather Supplies
Whitehead’s money will go a long way toward outfitting the group. If you’re using the Supply rules his material aid counts as a 40% baseline for the group to work up from. Otherwise allow the PCs considerable leeway with what purchases they choose to make with the caveat that Whitehead will baulk at his money being used for anything illegal or especially immoral.
GMCs and cabals mentioned in the previous section can also get involved here.
As a side-note the Junkyard is full of vehicles in various states of disrepair. With access to gasoline, tools and spare parts it is absolutely possible to get an old wreck running for a while with Wendy’s Self Sufficient identity. This is resource intensive, barring a crit or matched success on Wendy’s roll it does damage to a Supply pool like a firearm attack (capped at 50). It won’t last forever, sans replacement gasoline and more parts a vehicle will allow player characters to make a number of encounters optional equal to the tens place of the roll, circumstances permitting. Terrain, ambushes and breakdowns are all possible complications that might stymie relying on a vehicle. It will definitely draw attention.
It may also be possible for the PCs to bring a vehicle in with them (keeping in mind weight limitations, they do have to climb in while carrying it) in which case use the above as a rough guideline.
Find a Crash Site
Identifying an appropriate crash site is easy enough. Finding one that won’t be disturbed is a little trickier, especially if the PCs have drawn attention to themselves. They may have to cut a deal with someone to make sure their entry point goes undisturbed while they’re inside.
Mid-game Sessions
Possible Milestones:
Find OA515
Mundane sources will reveal that several people have miraculously returned from the dead (mostly false and unrelated to the Junkyard, but at least one is) and cases of crash sites being dug up have made minor news articles all over the world. Web forums and darknet channels spread both rumour and facts. GMCs and cabals the PCs might become involved with taking this route are: Anna Moines and Hank Filmoore, Nolan Boone and (if they’re reckless) Saturn’s Bulls.
- Detective Anna Moines and Retired Special Agent Hank Filmoore are looking into the disappearance of high-schooler Peter Cabbage. If Anna thinks the PCs have information she won’t hesitate to track them down and dig into their activities. Hank will be circumspect since he is secretly sandbagging Anna although his tune will change if he learns something actionable.
- Nolan Boone is trying to tack ‘investigative’ onto his small-town reporter shtick. He doesn’t know what to make of all the magickal hooplah he keeps hearing about and thinks it’s a kind of urban legend fad people are using to prey on the impressionable, like the 2016 clown sightings or the Momo challenge hoax. Regardless he is interested.
- Saturn’s Bulls are extremely cagey and dangerous. If the PCs can convince them that they have the right stuff they may take them on as outside help. There’s supposed to be something big coming up in their dealings with Freya’s Liberated and Arturo wants an ace in the hole. Whether he intends to let them survive is another matter.
- The Othernauts will take an interest in any PC investigation, while friendly enough their reaction will be dictated by the way their approach and views received. They’re upfront about what they want and they aren’t pushovers.
- The Ballards think they are the only ones who know about the Junkyard and will be haughty, mysterious and insecure about it, with a few lower on the hierarchy desperate to show off their secret knowledge. As the most inept of the clued-in cabals they’re begging to be played.
- At GM discretion Christopher Whitehead can put the PCs in touch with people who have Junkyard experience but have refused to go (Leland Stokes for example).
Gather Supplies
Whitehead’s money will go a long way toward outfitting the group. If you’re using the Supply rules his material aid counts as a 40% baseline for the group to work up from. Otherwise allow the PCs considerable leeway with what purchases they choose to make with the caveat that Whitehead will baulk at his money being used for anything illegal or especially immoral.
GMCs and cabals mentioned in the previous section can also get involved here.
As a side-note the Junkyard is full of vehicles in various states of disrepair. With access to gasoline, tools and spare parts it is absolutely possible to get an old wreck running for a while with Wendy’s Self Sufficient identity. This is resource intensive, barring a crit or matched success on Wendy’s roll it does damage to a Supply pool like a firearm attack (capped at 50). It won’t last forever, sans replacement gasoline and more parts a vehicle will allow player characters to make a number of encounters optional equal to the tens place of the roll, circumstances permitting. Terrain, ambushes and breakdowns are all possible complications that might stymie relying on a vehicle. It will definitely draw attention.
It may also be possible for the PCs to bring a vehicle in with them (keeping in mind weight limitations, they do have to climb in while carrying it) in which case use the above as a rough guideline.
Find a Crash Site
Identifying an appropriate crash site is easy enough. Finding one that won’t be disturbed is a little trickier, especially if the PCs have drawn attention to themselves. They may have to cut a deal with someone to make sure their entry point goes undisturbed while they’re inside.
Mid-game Sessions
Possible Milestones:
- Find OA515
- Rescue everyone
- Get back to the Pit
Find OA515
Navigating the Junkyard boils down to two options: use magick or get help from the locals. On the magick side of the track there is: Wendy’s Twinning ability, Aisha’s adept sorcery or gutter magick. Raiders, the slavers and Huxley or any allies they’ve made outside could also help them find what they’re looking for but only the latter two are likely to be willing without some serious convincing.
Use encounters on the way in to highlight the nature of the Junkyard and introduce its factions and dangers.
Rescue Everyone
Depending on whether extra trouble is needed the following complications can occur when it comes to getting people’s dead loved ones back:
Get Back to the Pit
Use encounters on the way in to highlight the nature of the Junkyard and introduce its factions and dangers.
Rescue Everyone
Depending on whether extra trouble is needed the following complications can occur when it comes to getting people’s dead loved ones back:
- Christopher Whitehead’s wife (and possibly others) has been taken by slavers, the PCs will have to track them down and negotiate to get them back.
- Fatima has had enough of Dimitri’s controlling and put-on nature and was planning to call off their engagement prior to the crash. This will come up at the worst possible time.
- Camille was thrown free of the wreckage during the crash before she died, disqualifying her from being in the Junkyard. Other passengers will be able to shed light on this, but only if roused from their endless death loops.
- Greg and Wendy’s mother, long dead, is roused as a grim spectre by their reunion. She will dog their steps on the return, attempting to finalise the deathless resurrection she plotted all those years ago.
Get Back to the Pit
The trek back out of the Junkyard is several times the length of the one made on the way in. Stress PC resources and if they’ve made enemies or stirred up trouble this is the time to make them pay the piper. Play out any unresolved complications. Give the PCs ample opportunities to give in to the Junkyard’s appetite to make things easier (without stonewalling) and run with the ramifications of accepting that devil’s bargain if they take it. If they need a bailout Huxley is a good ace in the hole.
Endgame & Aftermath
Endgame & Aftermath
Possible Milestones:
Leave the Junkyard
- Leave the Junkyard
- Happily Ever After
Leave the Junkyard
Leaving the Junkyard should be straightforward, dive into the Pit. If the PCs have made contingencies to ensure that enemies can’t block them from leaving let those play out. Everyone likes to feel smart.
Happily Ever After
Bringing people back from the dead, especially after something as dramatic as a well publicised airline crash, is likely to cause a stir. In addition there is the question of whether the retrieved people are real or simulacra created by the Junkyard. Does it make a difference? As coda consider having the PCs deal with the ramifications and consequences of fulfilling their desires or have Whitehead’s money sort everything out if you’d rather skip it.
Happily Ever After
Bringing people back from the dead, especially after something as dramatic as a well publicised airline crash, is likely to cause a stir. In addition there is the question of whether the retrieved people are real or simulacra created by the Junkyard. Does it make a difference? As coda consider having the PCs deal with the ramifications and consequences of fulfilling their desires or have Whitehead’s money sort everything out if you’d rather skip it.
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