The Modern Dispatch 054 - Suddenly, Podreczniki RPG, The Modern Dispatch
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The
Modern
Dispatch
Suddenly...
By Shannon Kalvar
Introduction
This issue of Modern Dispatch is an introduction
to
Suddenly...Encounters
, a line of supplements
produced by Adamant Entertainment. Each
supplement contains a brief encounter, a
discussion of how characters might interact with
it, and an array of elements you can introduce
to further complicate the situation. You can use
the supplement to jump-start a stalled situation
or as a jumping off point for an entirely new
adventure.
Suddenly He Falls…
#
54
The Set Up:
The characters .go back to
a well-tapped information source with yet
another round of questions. They might or
might not bother with simple pleasantries
and courtesies; most likely they get down to
business immediately. Rather than holding a
conversation they launch into a set of questions
that would make a hostile mob lawyer proud.
Content Manager:
Charles Rice, Chris Davis
Layout:
Chris Davis
This supplement introduces a staple of pulp
adventures – an informant suddenly falls to the
ground, dead by unseen means. At that moment
why takes a back seat to what as characters
scramble for their cover. They might get
back to why after the action, or they may find
themselves being measures for a long pine box.
These superficial interactions, especially with
long standing characters not under player
control, break any illusion of immersion. Pure
exposition, especially forced exposition like
that delivered by a flat character, also ruins the
storyʼs flow. In this case, though, make the best
of the situation. Play up the target characterʼs
nervousness, the flatness of his responses,
and his inability to interact normally. Then
suddenly…
Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying
Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
About the Line
Adamant Entertainment is
releasing several additional
Suddenly...Encounters
as part
of our
Thrilling Tales
line
of pulp-genre D20 products.
The first,
Suddenly...The
Door Bursts In!
is already
available.
d20 Modern and Wizards of the Coast are
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the
United States and other countries and are used
with permission. ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20
System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. and are used according to the terms
of the d20 System License version 6.0. A copy
of this License can be found at www.wizards.
com/d20.
The Event:
the informant slumps to the ground.
A few seconds later the characters hear a soft
crack. Then another person slumps forward, a
blossom of red on the back of his head. If the
characters fail to react one of them gets a bullet
to the head next.
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D20 Event:
The Character Information section
below contains stat block for the assailant.
Select a block capable of challenging the
characters without overwhelming them. The
encounter starts with a surprise round. The
target NPC fails his massive damage save and
immediately dies.
folds over, clutching his
stomach
2. A character close by
screams in panic as an
ornamental object (lamp,
vase, etc.) explodes due to
a missed shot
In this case do not be afraid to use “timed”
rounds. Give each player 30 seconds or less to
decide his characterʼs action. If player takes
longer the character loses his action for the
round.
3. A man is hit in the head by
an object flung by another
character. He takes off
his hat to examine it for
damage. As he feels the
brim the sniper shoots him.
The hat falls to the ground,
unharmed.
Working out the sniperʼs location requires the
characters to make (cumulatively) three Listen
skill checks (DC 25). As soon as a character
moves towards the sniperʼs position he will run.
Chasing him down depends entirely on what you
need from the session – do you want to use the
chase rules from Hot Pursuit or do you want the
characters to catch him quickly for some bloody
revenge.
Encounter Goals and Variations:
Though the sniperʼs attack initially
seems random, he acts with both
purpose and precision. His choices
and the eventual outcome revolve
around this purpose.
Story Structure:
We want to shake the characters
up. At this point things have become routine.
They do what they do, follow their routines,
and get the job done. The sudden change, from
routine to terrorist target, completely shifts
the story around. The dull pace changes from
plodding to frantic, with a corresponding change
in writing style.
Misdirection:
In this case the
sniper works for or is someone the
characters will cross. The attack,
brutal and effective as it is, really
serves as a way to distract the
characters from their immediate
goals. It leads them away from
whatever the sniper protects,
possibly into a trap or into further red herrings.
crash forward, probably not even noticing the
sudden change in plans. However, be careful
not to accidentally derail their activities entirely.
Things That Happen:
During the combat you
can use the following images:
Misdirection works best when the characters
have forward momentum. They will happily
Retribution:
In this case the sniper wishes
1. One of the other characters in the scene
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to destroy one or more of the non-player
characters. Alternately, he may wish to
harm one of the characters by systematically
destroying everything he (the character) holds
dear.
go. We took the liberty of suggesting a few
possibilities below.
leaves a receipt at the crime scene that leads
back to one of the mayorʼs political enemies.
Misdirection:
Once the sniper stops firing the
characters should ask “what was going on?”
If they search they will find additional clues
designed to drag them in an entirely new and
useless direction. The ideas below suggest some
traditional possibilities.
M3)
The target of the charactersʼ current
investigation has secret and powerful
protection from a corrupt prison official. This
official allowed the sniper to get out of jail
early with the understanding he would “take
care of a problem”. The investigation leads
the characters back to the jail, where they
have to figure out how the sniper escaped in
the first place.
Retribution works best when one or more of
the characters wronged someone in the past.
The sniper becomes the personification of their
past misdeeds, and the death of the informant a
tangible symbol of the damage they have done.
M1)
The target of the charactersʼ current
investigation ordered the hit to stop the
informant from talking. The sniper leaves
evidence (perhaps a dropped note at his
firing position) indicating a third party was
responsible. The characters can follow up on
this clue or drop it, though they will still have
to find a new information source.
Terror:
In this case the sniper wants to
induce terror in someone (not necessarily the
characters). Shortly after terrorizing he will
issue demands then claim failure to meet those
demands will “force” him to further acts of
violence.
M4)
The sniperʼs attack is psudeo-random.
He believes the characters are members of
a global anarchist conspiracy out to destroy
the civilized world. The sniper will stop
at nothing to prevent them from tearing
Terror works best when the characters routinely
use similar tactics themselves. When they
routinely bully, commit assault, and otherwise
abuse others, having the tables turned causes
a kind of queasy recognition most people find
uncomfortable.
M2)
The mayor
ordered the
sniper to silence
the informant
because
he gained
information
about a vote
rigging scandal.
The sniper, who
works for a local
bootlegging
operation, does
not actually
know who
ordered the hit.
He just follows
his orders and
Note: This is not a reference to current events,
at least not unless you count the anarchist
bombings of the 1910s-1920s as recent.
What Happens Next
Eventually the characters resolve the sniper
attack. What happens next depends on the
sniperʼs goal and where the story needs to
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characters, slaughtering their friends
wholesale until they can finally bring him to
justice.
R3)
A spurned woman/man from the
characters lives develops a homicidal
“fixation” on one of the character. Perhaps
he resembles the spurned loverʼs abusers, or
some other complex context the character
was unaware of. For whatever reason
he decided the best way to deal with the
character was to “cause him the pain he
caused me” by removing important people
from the characters life.
R4)
The wife of someone the characters
killed during one of their mass killing sprees
in the name of justice hired the sniper. She
worked unspeakable jobs, willingly delving
into the worst parts of society, in order to
raise the money. The sniper will happily give
her up, but will the characters have the heart
to destroy a woman sunk so low?
down the pillars of society, though he fears
to directly attack them. Instead he rains
bullets into the characters friends, family, and
support network until finally captured.
Civil War veteran, decided to hunt down
the characters and “make them pay for their
deeds.” The good news is he doesnʼt really
have very good eye-sight; the bad news is he
likes to use his bolt-action rifle and he doesnʼt
much care who gets hurt.
Terror:
Once the sniper makes his point he flees
into the shadows. A short time later the news
papers print, or the characters intercept, his
demands. The question then becomes “what will
the characters do about it?”
Retribution:
After someone carts the bodies
away the characters will have to face the
inevitable question of “Why did this happen
around us?” Once bodies start piling up around
them as the sniper strikes again, and again,
and again this question should become even
more important. Some traditional pulp answers
include:
R2)
A member of the police force, his
career blighted by the characters constant
intervention into criminal affairs, decides to
remove them from the scene after his wife
leaves him for another man. However, he
realizes that just removing the characters
will not solve his problem. He must root
out the characters entire “organization”,
making the world safe for “decent working
men everywhere”. The sniper stalks the
T1)
The sniper represents a splinter anarchist
cell. If their demand for immediate
revolution is not met they will begin a
bombing campaign, eventually destroying
the local National Guard Arsenal. They will
also target individuals responsible for the
maintenance of social order, including the
R1)
Select a female in the past the characters
abused, insulted, or simply ignored. This
insulted ladyʼs husband, a none-too-stable
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characters.
SRD format, about his potential
abilities. The sniper relies on
cover, surprise, and massive
damage to deal with his foes; as
such he does not present much of a
threat in direct combat..
T2)
The sniper represents a fringe movement
within the labor organization. He killed
the characters contact because he ratted out
an organizational meeting to the cops, who
attacked the meeting with their boozy wrath.
In his note he demands freedom for workers
and decent hours for the working class.
The Sniper
(Human Male)
T3)
The sniper is an independent professional
paid for by one of the local landlords. The
landlord ordered him to perform a random
strike, and then pin the blame on “capitalist
oppression of the working class”. The
sniper issues a list of nonsense demands then
vanishes into the woodwork.
Description: The small manʼs grey
fedora falls from his head as he vaults
the low retaining wall encircling the
roof. From below you hear a crash,
the creak of wood, and a shout from
someone disturbed by his fall…
Stat Block
Fast 6; CR 6; Medium human
criminal; HD 6d8+6; hp: 33; Mas
12; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 18,
touch 18, flat-footed 18; BAB: +4;
Grap +4; Atk +4 melee knife (1d4)
or +6 (+8 aimed) ranged sniper
rifle (2d10); Full Atk +4 melee knife (1d4) or +6
(+8 aimed) ranged sniper rifle (2d10); FS 5 ft. by
5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.; SV Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +3;
AP 4; Rep 2; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 11, Wis
13, Cha 10
T4)
The sniper is one part of an elaborate
plan to destabilize the city immediately
before the next election. He blames his
actions on the mayorʼs corrupt government
and demands their immediate removal.
Every day he targets those who support the
status quo, gunning them down with ruthless
determination. At the same time a wide
array of new newspapers appear with splashy
headlines about government corruption.
The characters can either participate in the
madness, help shut the sniper down, or help
him to clean the city up. However, they may
never know who started the plot or what
exactly he intends.
Talents (Fast):
Defensive Roll, Evasion,
Uncanny Dodge 1
Possessions:
Suit, Masterwork bolt action sniper
rifle
(2d10, 240 ft., RoF 1)
Skills:
Balance +9, Climb +4, Hide +13, Jump
+11, Move Silently +13, Tumble +13
The description below provides some clues
as to the sniperʼs identity. The accompanying
stat block gives information in the Modern
Feats:
Acrobatic, Dead Aim, Far Shot, Focused,
Personal Firearm Proficiency, Point Blank Shot,
Precise Shot, Stealthy
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