Fire and Ice: Overview

From SSDC, Inc.

1 INTRODUCTION
2 PLAYER CHARACTERS
3 DEATH AND INJURY
4 SKILL COMPENSATOR
5 PLOT OVERVIEW (FOR BM's EYES ONLY!)
6 Maps for the BM

INTRODUCTION

FIRE AND ICE is a module for BATTLELORDS OF THE TWENTY-THIRD CENTURY. It is designed for a group of players with some experience - if you made it through INJECTION, you're more than ready! Like any good BATTLELORDS adventure, FIRE AND ICE requires more than brute force.

You will need wits and cunning to survive, and careful planning and quick thinking to succeed! You will need at least one copy of the BATTLELORDS main rulebook and dice to play. Additional books which are helpful are LOCK-N-LOAD 2nd Edition, NO MAN'S LAND, and GALACTIC UNDERGROUND.

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PLAYER CHARACTERS

FIRE AND ICE is designed for four to six characters with 20,000 to 40,000 experience points each. In order to have the best chance to succeed, the party should be suited to hit-and-run espionage.

The team should include a close-combat specialist (Phentari or Gen-Human Warrior model are most recommended), one security specialist (Mutzachans are an excellent choice), one Espionage specialist (Gen-Human Spy model is best), and a medic (Zen Rigeln are the obvious best choice). The party will enjoy the best chance of success if there is at least one Eridani on the team, but aside from that, Humans and Gen-Humans will "blend in" most easily. Players in an ongoing campaign may use their current characters, or the BM may allow them to use the pre-generated characters included in this module for a "one-shot" or tournament game.

The following skills are important to the outcome of the adventure: Stealth, Detect Security, Bypass/Defeat Security, Computer Operation, Concealment, Pilot Automobile, Detect Concealment, Infiltration, Pick Locks, Safecracking, Chemical (or Pulse) Weaponry, and Repair Chemical (or Pulse) Weaponry. Helpful (but not absolutely necessary) skills are Disguise, Impersonation, Chemistry, and Physics.

NOTE: The team should NOT be currently working for Able or Eridi-Corp! If they are, it is up to you, the BM, to change the identity of Dr. Schott's employer or the enemy operatives based on your own campaign. If any PC is a Rebel or sympathizer, the Rebels will ask him to procure this "secret weapon" for them.

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DEATH AND INJURY

A careful team can complete this mission without loss of life or serious injury. A well-thought plan can allow them to accomplish their objectives, without necessitating any combat encounters. This is not to say that a combat specialist, and especially a medic, are unnecessary! It is a military truism that "no plan survives contact with the enemy". Lady Luck can take a dump on you when you least expect (or need) it. A smart group of players will include a medic, and someone (preferably several people) who can handle themselves in a fight. The combat specialists shouldn't be a problem - you'll find players willing to play such types in nearly every group. However, you'd be surprised how few players in my group ever choose to play medics - until I punk a couple of their characters! If the team is unprepared for conflict, waste 'em without remorse. This is, after all, BATTLElords of the Twenty-Third Century. Death is a fact of life!

FIRE AND ICE is an adventure of moderate length, requiring about five six-hour sessions to complete. However, there aren't many opportunities to introduce "replacements". If the players are acting sensibly but simply suffering from bad luck, go easy on them (but not so easy that they can tell - no Battlelord worth his salt respects a wishy-washy BM!). NOTE: Failing to provide for the team's needs and requirements with respect to skills and equipment (especially medical) is not considered "sensible" in my book! It's a well-known Battle Master's credo to "never waste a character when you can maim him instead!". If a team member falls in battle, his or her buddies might leave the corpse behind in order to complete the mission. Few players, however, will leave behind an injured comrade, especially if that person is essential to the success of the mission (for instance, the espionage/security specialist, or the only person who can fire and/or fix the experimental weapon).

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SKILL COMPENSATOR

Like INJECTION, this module was designed for player-characters of Intermediate experience. If unadjusted, Novice PCs will find it difficult to complete, while Expert PCs will find it all too easy. The Skill compensator affects experience awards, skill checks, SMR checks, and combat. No adjustment is made to NPC statistics. This module is designed at the INTERMEDIATE level, and no adjustment is necessary if played at that level. The adjustments for Novice and Expert levels are as follows:
EXPERIENCE AWARDS (PCs): Novice, x .67; Expert, x 1.33

SKILL CHECKS (PCs): Novice, -2 Difficulty Level; Expert, +2 Difficulty Level
SMR CHECKS (PCs): Novice, +20; Expert, -10
VITAL STATISTICS CHECKS: No adjustment for any level.
COMBAT DAMAGE: At Novice level, PC attacks do one extra point of damage per die, and NPC attacks do one less point per die. At Expert level, PC attacks do one less point of damage per die, and NPC attacks do one extra point per die. In any case, damage is limited by the normal minimum and maximum damage dealt by the weapon or attack.

If, at any point during the adventure, it becomes apparent that the party is having either too easy or too difficult a time of it, the BM can easily adjust the Difficulty Level on the spot. If done carefully, the players will never know.

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PLOT OVERVIEW (FOR BM's EYES ONLY!)

Several months ago, a scientist at the Able Corporation designed a devastating new personal weapon combining Juicer and Frost Gun technology. This weapon, dubbed the "Shattergun" by its designer, Dr. Wolfgang Schott, is the cutting edge of modern firearm technology. As soon as Eridi-Corp and Balshrom Science Corporation (the other leaders in Juicer and Frost Gun technology) learned of this breakthrough, both were determined to obtain this weapon at any cost. The loss of the prototype and test data would represent a significant setback to Able, allowing the "acquiring" corporation to rush their model onto the market first. The first company to manufacture a commercially available Shattergun might conceivably prevent others from doing so (under patent laws), or at the very least, stop Able from doing the same to them.

The player characters represent a team hired by Balshrom. Their mission is clear-cut: Infiltrate Able's test lab, steal the prototype and test data; and destroy any other information regarding the project (to prevent others from producing the weapon). This will require dealing with Doctor Schott in some way (either kidnapping him, hiring him, killing him, or mind-wiping him). If this sounds difficult, it is only the beginning...

The team is to leave no evidence that would link this action to their employer. If any team members are captured, Balshrom will disavow any knowledge of this "black op". As the penalty for corporate espionage is about 25 years in prison, the team has good incentive not to get caught.

Finding (and getting into) the test lab is not quite so easy as it sounds. Balshrom only knows the general location of the lab, so the team must scout an area of several hundred square kilometers, with only an aerial recon photo to guide them. Several "false alarms" and wilderness encounters await the team before they reach their final goal. Not all of them can be solved by combat.

If that is not enough, other complications await the mission team. Unbeknownst to Balshrom, their major competitor Eridi-Corp has also sent an elite strike team to steal the weapon and data. This team is composed of Cuontol (the Eridani equivalent of ninja). If this were not enough, the Rebels have also learned of the team's secret mission, and have sent a spy team to retrieve it! All of the rival teams will meet at some point, and the outcome is totally dependent on how the PC team handles the encounter.

NOTE: It is possible for at least two teams to complete their missions satisfactorily, but this requires open-minded cooperation and a willingness to bend the rules. Seeing as most BATTLELORDS PCs are selfish, paranoid bastards or brown-nosing "straight men", suspicion and fear of prosecution might prevent such an outcome.

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