Specimens : Maps and Descriptions

Shadows : An Adventure for GAMMA WORLD!
David Little
If you use this, please provide feedback!

This is an adventure which can be incorporated into any campaign, possibly as a random encounter.

This adventure can be very deadly!  DO NOT use it as an introductory module for beginning characters! You may even want to reduce some of the security systems if you wish. (IE: Some of the turrets could be low on ammo, out of ammo, or inoperable). OR reduce the amount of Specimens.  Characters should have some heavy firepower/mutations.

The Specimens in this adventure are based on the "Aliens" from the movies!  If you use this adventure in your campaign, make sure that the characters win, or at least that the Specimens do not escape the complex! Otherwise, the specimens could cause big trouble for your campaign world.

I have only the most basic of descriptions.  You may embellish this all you want!  You can even throw out what I have done and do your own. I have tried to keep everything as generic as possible so GMs running other editions of GAMMA WORLD can use it with minimal conversion.

The maps used in this adventure were originally a small board game called Underground base for Shadow Command (Mekton Zeta).  This was a public file, which I have converted into an adventure for GAMMA WORLD 1st/2nd editions. All of the descriptions for rooms and encounters were done by me.

Unfortunately, I cannot remember where I found these map files, so I am unable to give the appropriate credit.

Statistics for the Weapons are from B.J. Johnson's Gamma World "The New West" site.  This is one of the best Gamma World sites on the net! You can contact the owner at bigfellamachine@mediaone.net

If you have suggestions / improvements or comments about this adventure, EMAIL ME at david.little@us.army.mil

This installation was designed and built during the shadow years.  It was a small military genetics research station disguised to appear as a weather station, keeping the true nature of the installation secret and preventing it from becoming a target.  It also had two fighter aircraft for protection.

During the time of it's operation, the geneticists were attempting to create the "ultimate" killing machine, which would obey orders without question and continue the mission until either the mission was complete or it was dead.  Unfortunately, they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams as far as the killing machine went, but failed miserably on the "taking orders" part.  Upon release, the specimens would not listen to a word and tried to kill everything in sight.  The "creatures" only possessed an animal intelligence, and actually seemed to hate all other life, other than their own kind.

The first test resulted in four researchers and two soldiers killed, plus one security bot heavily damaged before the specimen was killed.

The researchers worked day and night on finding a solution to this problem.

However, something went drastically wrong (as it always does in GAMMA WORLD). Several of the specimens escaped killing all personnel (within the yellow area of the map), before the base A.I. was able to contain them.

The A.I. closed the main corridor doors to prevent an escape of the creatures and after evacuating personnel which happened to be working in the white area of the map (west of the hallway doors), placed the elevators in the "up" position.  These lucky personnel fled into the wilderness, never to be seen again.  To make matters worse, it was at about the same time as this was occuring, that the outside world "blew-up"; causing the A.I. to lose contact with higher authority and having to rely on it's own resources.

The A.I. has been fighting the specimens for the entire time when the PCs show up.  Somehow, the specimens' reproduced, but are at an all-time low at this time.  There are a total of eight (8) specimens remaining.  They have learned to stay out of the corridor! (# 9). The number of specimens can be adjusted to suit the party.

Needless to say, the A.I. is quite PARANOID.  It will shoot first and then ask any questions.

There are only two entrances into the complex; the elevators at locations # 25 and 26.

LIGHT MACHINE GUNS (LMG): These are the heavier man-portable machine guns, like the M-60/7.65 mm machine guns used by the army. They can only fire in bursts, hitting anyone in a 90% firing arc for 4d6 damage per target.  This uses 5 rounds per action round, which depletes a magazine by 25%, or a 100 round belt by 5%.  These weapons are found either as magazine fed, or belt fed.  They cannot do both.  Belt fed LMGs are more numerous than magazine fed LMGs.

These weapons are usually equiped with a bipod, or mounted for firing on vehicles, but a man-sized being of average strength can carry the weapon and fire it. They must make a Strength check for every round they use it in this fashion, or else they cannot move and fire. Fire can be concentrated on single targets, but if the weapon is being carried this imposes a -3 penalty to a second Strength Check. This sort of attack does 32 points of damage to a target.
 

HEAVY MACHINE GUNS: These are the big bruisers, the .50 cal chainguns that can usually only be fired from a tripod or vehicle mount. They do 6d8 with a burst to all targets in a 90% firing arc. Damage can be
concentrated if the weapon is mounted, with a Strength check minus -2. This does 70 points of damage.
Critters with Strengths over 16 can carry these weapons and fire them. A Strength check is necessary each
round, and it is impossible to concentrate fire.

NOTE:For the purposes of this adventure, each turret contains 500 rounds of ammunition.  Over the years of combat, this is all that remains of the original supply.

The GM must pay close attention to the amount of ammo for each turret.

Once (if) the specimen menace has been taken care of, the A.I. will cooperate with the players.  It will maintain the base for them and will direct the maintenance robots from # 26 to restore the areas ransacked/destroyed by the Specimens.  This will take several months of work to complete.  The A.I. will also open the main hallway doors and turn-off the Quarantine alarm.

The remaining food supply will feed 50 people for 10 years.  The autogalley cannot create "rations" for adventuring.  Once dispensed, it must be eaten immediately.

The complex is powered by a fusion reactor, which will last another 100 years.  This reactor is underground, beneath the A.I. complex.

I figure that the complex, A.I., robots and anything found should be more than enough of a reward for surviving this!  If you think it is too much of a reward, you may want to have the reactor shut-down (or worse), forcing the characters to use conventional / available technology to light the complex (torches/lanterns/light cubes).

Naturally, if this is done, the autogalley, showers, toilets, etc.  will no longer operate, and the A.I. and robots only have enough back-up power to last 1d10 days.  Then they only have the complex, which is still a great reward!